Bulletin

Meeting of the committee.

Reading of the minutes and of the proceedings of the session of August 24.

Upon the report of the committee, which took cognizance of the letter of application, and after the reading of the minutes, the Society admits as a free member Mr. B…, a merchant in Paris.

Various communications:

Mr. Allan Kardec reports on the result of the journey he has just made in the interest of Spiritism and rejoices at the cordiality of the welcome he received everywhere, especially in Sens, Mâcon, Lyon and Saint-Étienne. In all the places where he stopped he was able to observe the considerable progress of the doctrine; but what is, above all, worthy of note is that nowhere did he see it made into a pastime. Everywhere people occupy themselves with Spiritism in a serious manner and understand its scope and its future consequences. It is possible that there are still many opponents, the most obstinate of whom are the self-interested, but the mockers are diminishing noticeably. Seeing that their sarcasms do not draw the jesters to their side, and that these favor rather than hinder the progress of the new beliefs, they begin to understand that they gain nothing and waste their wit to no purpose, which is why they fall silent. A very characteristic expression appears everywhere, on the agenda: Spiritism is in the air; by itself it describes the state of things well. But it is principally in Lyon that the results are most remarkable. There the Spiritists are numerous in all classes and, in the working class, they number in the hundreds. The Spiritist Doctrine has exercised, among the workers, the most salutary influence from the point of view of order, of morals, and of religious ideas. In short, the propagation of Spiritism advances with the most encouraging rapidity. Mr. Allan Kardec reads the speech delivered by Mr. Guillaume, at the banquet which the Lyonese Spiritists offered him, as well as the reply he gave to it.

Grateful for the testimonies of sympathy which the colleagues of Lyon gave him on the occasion, the Society votes them a motion of thanks, the draft of which was submitted to the Committee and amended by it. This motion will be transmitted through the president.

Mr. Allan Kardec saw in Saint-Étienne Mr. R… and heard from him the exposition of the system which was dictated to him, by means of what he calls unconscious writing. Later this system will be the object of a special study.

In addition, he gives an account of a very curious case of physical obsession of a person from Lyon; of a case of visual mediumship, of which he was a witness, and of a phenomenon of transfiguration which occurred in the surroundings of Saint-Étienne, with a young woman who, at certain moments, took on the complete appearance of her brother, who had died some years before.

Account of a remarkable case of spiritist identity which occurred on a ship of the imperial navy, anchored in the seas of China. The fact is related by a surgeon of the fleet, present at the session. Everyone on the ship, from the sailors to the officers, occupied themselves with evocations; but, not knowing the means of obtaining written communications, they made use of alphabetic typtology. Someone had the idea of evoking a lieutenant who had died two years before; among other particulars, he said: “I earnestly request that they pay the captain the sum of… (he designates the sum), which I owe him, and which I regret not having been able to do before dying.” No one knew of such a circumstance; the captain himself had forgotten it, but, checking his accounts, he found mention of the lieutenant's debt, the figure of which, indicated by his Spirit, was perfectly exact.

Mr. de Grand-Boulogne reads a charming poem, addressed by him to his familiar Spirit.

Studies:

Questions addressed to Saint Louis concerning his apparition to a seeing medium of Lyon, in the presence of Mr. Allan Kardec. He answers: “Yes, it was indeed I; it was a duty of my mission not to abandon the director of the society which I sponsor.” – Other questions concerning the physical impression produced in certain writing mediums by good or evil Spirits.

Evocation of Mr. Ch. de P…, who was found drowned, whose death was attributed to suicide. He denies such an opinion and recounts the accidental causes which brought about his death.

Spontaneous dictation, signed by Lamennais, received by Mr. D…

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1860.

(General Session.)

Meeting of the committee.

Presidency of Mr. Jobard, of Brussels, honorary president.

Reading of the minutes and of the proceedings of the session of October 5.

Various communications:

Reading of several communications obtained by Mrs. Schm…: The Orphans, signed by Jules Morin. Others, signed by Alfred de Musset, by the queen of Oude, and by Nicolas.

Reading of a spontaneous dictation signed by Saint Louis, received by Mr. Darcol, containing various counsels to the Spiritists.

Letter addressed to Mr. Allan Kardec by Mr. J…, of Terre-Noire, concerning the painful impression which the exposition of Mr. R…'s system produced on him.

Studies:

Evocation of Saul, king of the Jews. He declares that it is not he who communicates with Miss B… The Spirit who communicates under that name had taught in that lady's circle a particular system, the principal points of which are these:

The Spirits are the more enlightened the more ancient their last terrestrial existence has been, from which it is concluded, for example, that Saint Louis must be less advanced than he, because he died more recently;

The Spirits incarnate only on Earth, the number of these incarnations being exactly three, neither more nor less, which suffices to lead them from the lowest degree to the highest. Mr. Allan Kardec having combated this theory, as irrational and contradicted by the facts, the Spirit endeavored to make him change his mind. Evoked, he could not sustain his system, but does not consider himself defeated and asks to be heard in an intimate session, by his habitual medium.

Note. – The session having been held some days later, the Spirit persisted in saying he was Saul, king of the Jews. But, pressed by the questions, he gave proof of the most absolute ignorance, saying, for example, that incarnation occurs only on Earth, because this is the only solid globe; according to him, the other planets being nothing but fluidic globes, they could not serve as a habitation for corporeal beings. When the phenomenon of the eclipses of the Sun was objected to him, he asserted that the Sun was never eclipsed by Mercury and Venus, on which, moreover, the astronomers had not always been in agreement.

The fact proves, once more, that the Spirits are far from having infused science [1] and how necessary it is to be on guard against the systems which, out of self-love, some seek to impose, through a few fine maxims of morality. This one, despite his boasting, revealed his true intention with the ridiculous theory of the planetary bodies and proved that, in life, he must have been less instructed than the most backward student, which is no guarantee in favor of his progress. When these Spirits find listeners who receive their words with too blind a confidence, they take advantage of them; they will, however, be encountered less as we penetrate ourselves with this truth: it is necessary to submit all communications to the severe control of logic and reason. When these pseudo-learned Spirits perceive that no one will let himself be deceived by the respectable names with which they adorn themselves, and that they cannot impose their utopias, they will understand that they are wasting their time and will fall silent.

Evocation of the Spirit who communicates with Mr. R… and who also dictated to him a complete system. This study will be taken up later.

Spontaneous dictation obtained by Mr. D… on infused science, signed by Saint Louis. This communication seems to have been provoked by the subjects with which they occupied themselves during the session.

Drawing obtained by Miss J… and signed by Ary Schoeffer.

Evocation of Nicolas by Miss J… As usual, he manifests himself through violence. “To ask calm of me,” he says, “is to ask that I not be myself. As you see, I still burn; it is that the breath of battle has risen up to me.”

Questioned as to the reason why he showed himself so calm with Mrs. Sch…, he answers: I had taken an interpreter so as not to harm this frail creature; I could have fine and good thoughts, but I could not write them myself.

Another Spirit communicates spontaneously through Miss J…; by its extreme gentleness, by its well-formed writing, correct and almost molded, which contrasts in such a notable manner with the broken, angular, and impatient writing of N…, the medium believes she recognizes John the Baptist, who has manifested himself thus several times. He speaks of the efficacy of prayer and recalls the prophecies of the Apocalypse, which today find their application. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1860.

(Private Session.)

Meeting of the committee.

Reading of the minutes and of the proceedings of the last session.

Upon the indication of the committee, and after the minutes were read, there are admitted, as free members, Mr. G…, a merchant in Paris, and Mr. D…, an employee of the Post Office.

Various communications:

Reading of a communication received by Mrs. Sch…, from her brother. It is extraordinary for the elevation of the thoughts, proving the affection which the Spirits preserve for those whom they loved on Earth.

Mrs. Desl… reads the evocation of a former employee of her family, already deceased. This evocation, in which the Spirit proves her affection and her good sentiments, offers a notable particularity in the form of the language, which is, in every respect, similar to that of the simple country folk, the Spirit having preserved even the expressions which were familiar to her.

Case of identity, relating to the Spirit of Mr. Charles de P…, evoked in the session of October 5. The person with whom he had already communicated in Bordeaux, and who had evoked him again in the first days of this month, learned from him that he had been called to the Society, where he had confirmed what he had said concerning the accidental cause of his death. Shortly afterward this person received the letter of Mr. Allan Kardec, transmitting details of the evocation made at the Society.

Account of various cases of vaporous and tangible apparitions and of transport of material objects, which occurred with Mr. de St.-G…, present at the session, as well as with one of his relatives. These cases will be the object of later examination.

Studies:

Evocation of the Spirit who manifested himself visibly to Mr. de St.-G… He gives some explanations, but declares that he prefers to communicate through his habitual medium.

Evocation of a Spirit who takes the name of Balthazar and revealed himself spontaneously to Miss H…, showing gastronomic dispositions. This evocation offers a great interest from the point of view of the study of the Spirits who are not dematerialized, and who preserve the instincts of terrestrial life. [v.

Balthazar, the gourmand Spirit.]

Three spontaneous dictations are obtained: the first by Mr. Didier the Son, on Christianity, signed by Lamennais; the second by Mrs. Costel, on the material Spirits, signed by Delphine de Girardin; the third by Miss Huet, the parable The Kiss of Peace, signed by Channing.

[1] Translator's note: A science supposed to come from God by inspiration.