Bulletin

Reading of the minutes and proceedings of the session of June 22.

Reading of a letter from Dr. de Grand-Boulogne, former vice-consul of France, requesting to be admitted as a corresponding member in Havana, whither he will soon be going.

The Society admits him in that capacity, and as his letter contains very judicious observations on Spiritism, it calls for insertion in the Review.

Various communications: Reading of a spontaneous dictation received by Mrs. Costel, on the Origins, signed by Lazarus.

Account of spontaneous physical manifestations that recently occurred on Rue des Noyers, reported by various newspapers, recalling analogous facts that took place in 1849 on Rue des Grès. Some added that the facts that occurred on that street resulted from trickery contrived by the tenant in order to rescind the lease contract.

Mr. de Grand-Boulogne said in this regard that he can certify the authenticity of these facts, reported, moreover, by Mr. de Mirville, who took all the necessary information to assure himself of their reality.

A member observes that, in this case, the influx of the curious had become so troublesome for the parties concerned that they extricated themselves by attributing the matter to ill will. Fearing to see the house deserted, the owner had every interest in not believing in the manifestations. Such is the reason for the denial often given to facts of this nature.

Studies: 1st Discussion on the merit and efficacy of the trials of the man of good, borne with a view to providing relief to suffering and unhappy Spirits, apropos of a passage in Mr. de Grand-Boulogne's letter.

In this regard, he observes that, the efficacy of prayer, considered as a proof of sympathy and commiseration, once established, the trials we impose upon ourselves with this aim may be considered an analogous testimony that must produce the same effects as prayer. The intention is everything, in this case, and it must be regarded as a prayer even more ardent than that which consists only of words. 2nd Mrs. N… expresses her doubts as to the identity of the Spirit who gave her some counsel at the last session, which she does not consider applicable. She begs that it be asked, through another medium, whether the Spirit who communicated is indeed Saint Louis. She adds that she thought she saw, in the nature of his reflections, a sentiment of little benevolence, which does not accord with his habitual gentleness. It was this that raised her doubts. Questioned in this regard, through Miss H…, Saint Louis replied: “Yes, it was I myself who came to trace those lines and to give you counsel. It is unjustly that my counsels are ill received. He who wishes to advance on the path of good must know how to accept the counsels and warnings given to him, even if they wound his self-love. The mark of his progress consists in the gentle and humble manner in which he receives them. Formerly, when I was on Earth, I did not give proof of great humility, submitting, without murmuring, to the decisions of the Church, and even to the penances it imposed upon me, however humiliating they were. Be, then, docile and humble, if you are not proud; accept counsels; strive to correct yourselves and you will progress.” Mr. T… observes that, in life, Saint Louis did not always submit to the Church, since he struggled against its pretensions. Saint Louis replies: “In saying that I submitted to the penances imposed by the heads of the Church, I told you the truth. But I did not tell you that my conduct was always irreproachable; I was a great sinner before God, although men, later, granted me the glorious title of saint.” Mr. Allan Kardec adds that Saint Louis always submitted to the decisions of the Church with regard to dogmas; he struggled only against pretensions of another nature.

3rd Questions on the counsels of Saint Louis, relative to the experiments of physical manifestations, advising the Society not to occupy itself with them.

4th Questions concerning the mediumistic faculty in children, apropos of the manifestations obtained at the last session by the young N…

5th Questions on the manifestations of Rue des Noyers.

6th Two spontaneous dictations are obtained simultaneously: the first by Mrs. Costel, on the Electricity of thought, signed by Delphine de Girardin; the second by Mrs. Lubr…, apropos of the counsels given by the Spirits, signed by Paul, familiar Spirit.

FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1860.

(Private Session.)

Reading of the minutes and proceedings of the session of June 29.

Various communications: Mr. Achille R… reads a letter from Limoges, in which the author speaks of a medium, a friend of his, whom a Spirit makes work eight to nine hours a day; he says that this Spirit is to give him an infallible means of assuring himself of the identity of the Spirits and of never being deceived. But it counsels him secrecy on this point and on his communications in general. Mr. Allan Kardec observes in this regard that he sees three grounds for suspicion in this case: the first is the duration of the work imposed on the medium, which is always a sign of obsession. Doubtless the good Spirits may ask the medium to write, but, in general, they are not imperative and prescribe nothing absolute, neither as to the hours nor as to the duration of the work; on the contrary, they restrain the medium when there is excess of zeal. The second is the alleged infallible process for assuring oneself of identity, and the third, finally, the recommendation to keep secrecy. If the recipe were good, he ought not to make a mystery of it. It seems to him that the Spirit wishes to take hold of the medium, in order to maneuver him at will, in favor of the supposed infallibility of its process. It probably fears that others may see things clearly and frustrate its maneuvers; this is why it recommends silence, in order to have no contradictors: it is the means of always being in the right. Studies: 1st Evocation of François Arago by Miss H… Saint Louis replies that this is not the medium suited to that Spirit. He advises choosing another.

Various questions are asked about the special aptitude of mediums to receive communications from such or such a Spirit. The reply is: “A Spirit comes by preference to a person whose ideas are sympathetic to those it possessed in life; there is a relation of thoughts between Heaven and Earth even greater than those existing on Earth.”

2nd Question proposed by Count de Z… on the distinction made by certain lucid somnambulists, who designate men by blue light and women by white light. He inquires whether the perispirit might have a different color according to the sexes. Reply of the Spirit questioned: “This has no relation to our world; it is a purely physical fact and depends on the person who sees. Among men there are those who, even when awake, do not see certain colors or see them differently from others. The same occurs with sleeping persons: they may see what others do not see.” 3rd Four spontaneous dictations are obtained: the first by Miss Huet…, from the Spirit who continues his memoirs; the second by Mr. Didier, on Spiritual Electricity, signed by Lamennais; the third by Mrs. Costel, on the High Truths of Spiritism, signed by Lazarus; the fourth by Miss Stéphan, on To each his own task, signed by Gustave Lenormand.

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 1860.

(General Session.)

Reading of the minutes and proceedings of the session of July 6.

Mr. Eugène de Porry, of Marseille, pays homage to the Society with his new poem, entitled: Linda, Gaulish legend. The Society recalls his charming poem Urania, expressing to him its thanks for having sent it the new work. Miss P… is charged by the Society to report on it.

Various communications: 1st Mr. S… transmits a note about a man who, last year, took his own life on Rue Quincampoix, in order to exempt his son from military service, making him the only son of a widowed woman. It is thought that his evocation will be instructive.

2nd Mr. de Grand-Boulogne sends a note about the Muslim Seih-ben-Moloka, who has just died in Tunis, at one hundred and ten years of age and whose life was notable for the acts of charity he performed. He will be evoked.

A conversation arises on the question of longevity. Mr. de Grand-Boulogne, who lived a long time among the Arabs, says that examples of this nature are not very rare among them; which leads him to attribute it to sobriety. He knew one about one hundred and thirty years old. Count Z… says that Siberia is perhaps the region where longevity is most frequent. Sobriety and climate will certainly exert great influence on the duration of life; but what, above all, must contribute to it is tranquility of mind and the absence of moral preoccupations that generally affect people of the civilized world, consuming them prematurely. This is why greater ages are found among those whose lives are closer to Nature. 3rd Mr. Allan Kardec relates a personal case, which shows the desire that certain Spirits feel to be evoked, when they never have been. They take advantage of favorable occasions to communicate, when these present themselves.

4th Several members report the protest, published by various newspapers, of Mr. Lerible, former coal merchant of Rue des Grès, in whose house, in 1849, notable manifestations occurred, whose authenticity had been called into doubt.

Studies. 1st Critical examination of the dissertation of Lamennais on Spiritual Electricity, given at the session of July 6. The Spirit explains and develops the points considered obscure.

2nd Evocation of the suicide of Rue Quincampoix.

3rd Evocation of Gustave Lenormand.

4th Various questions on mediums.

5th Three dictations are obtained simultaneously: the first, on the Knowledge of the Spirits, signed by Channing; the second, continuation of the Electricity of Thought, signed by Delphine de Girardin; the third, on Charity, signed by Lamennais, apropos of the note read on the Muslim Seih-ben-Moloka.

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1860.

(Private Session.)

Reading of the minutes and proceedings of the session of July 13.

The President points out that, for some time, there has been a neglect to read, as had been agreed, the names of the Spirits who claim assistance. Henceforth this will be done following the general evocation.

Various communications: 1st Reading of two dictations obtained by Mr. C…, a new medium, one on the Pretensions of man, signed by Massillon; the other on the Future, signed by Saint Louis. Mr. C… asks whether, above all in this last dictation, there is not something that denotes a substitution of Spirit, without taking into account his own opinion.

After an attentive reading, the Society recognizes in the communication the stamp of an incontestable superiority, seeing nothing that belies the character of Saint Louis, concluding that it can emanate only from an elevated Spirit.

2nd Another dictation on Experience, obtained by Mrs. Costel and signed by Georges.

The president announces that several new members are making notable progress as mediums of various kinds. He invites them to communicate to the Society the facts they obtain. The Society is necessarily limited in its work by time; it must be the center to which the results obtained in the private gatherings will arrive. It would even be selfishness to keep for oneself work that may be useful to all. Moreover, it is a means of control, through the clarifications they may give rise to, unless the medium is convinced of the infallibility of his communications, or has received, like the one in Limoges, the injunction to keep them secret, which would certainly be a bad omen and a double ground for suspicion. The first quality of a medium is the renunciation of all self-love, as of all false modesty, for the simple reason that, being no more than an instrument, he can neither attribute to himself the merit of the good he receives, nor take offense at the criticism of what may be bad. The Society is a family, whose members, animated by reciprocal benevolence, must be moved by the sole desire to instruct themselves, banishing all sentiment of self-interest and of rivalry, if they understand the doctrine as true Spiritists. In this regard, Mr. C… gave a very good example and showed himself not to be one of those mediums who believe they have nothing more to learn, merely because they receive a few communications signed by great names. On the contrary, the more imposing the names, the more we must fear being the plaything of deceiving Spirits. 3rd Mr. Achille R… reads a letter, relating a curious fact of spontaneous manifestation, occurred in the prison of Limoges, whose reality was verified by the author of the letter. (Published further on, in the article Varieties).

4th Mr. Allan Kardec narrates another very bizarre fact that was related to him last year, by a visitor whose name and address he does not recall, a source to which, consequently, he cannot turn to verify it. Here is what it is about:

A believing physician and a friend of his who believed in nothing were conversing about Spiritism; the first said to the other: “I am going to attempt a test; I do not know whether it will yield a result; in any case, I answer for nothing. Designate to me a living person who is very sympathetic to you.” The friend having indicated a young woman who resides in a rather distant city and who was equally known to the physician; the latter said to him: “Go and walk in the garden and observe what happens; I repeat that it is a trial I am making and that may produce nothing.” During the friend's walk he evoked the young woman. At the end of a quarter of an hour the friend returned and said to him: “I have just seen that person; she was dressed in white, she approached me, pressed my hand and then disappeared. But what is very singular is that she left this ring on my finger.” Immediately the physician sent to the young woman's father the following telegram: “Do not question me; but answer me without delay and tell me what your daughter was doing at three o'clock and how she was dressed.” The reply was this: “At three o'clock my daughter was with me in the parlor, she was wearing a white dress; she fell asleep for fifteen to twenty as usual.” A discussion arose on the fact, whose different degrees of probability and improbability were examined. Questioned in this regard, Saint Louis replies: “The fact of the apparition is possible; that of the transport is no less so, by the perispirit of a living person. Certainly, to God all is possible, but he permits such things only very rarely. A detached Spirit can effect these transports more easily. As to telling you whether the fact is true, I do not know it. Note. – The fact being published, if by chance it falls into the hands of the person who related it, we shall be grateful for the clarifications he may be so good as to give us in this regard.

Studies: 1st Questions on the Spirits who take fictitious names.

2nd Evocation of the Spirit of Rue des Noyers.

3rd Five spontaneous dictations are obtained: the first from Lamennais, on a rectification he requests, of the minutes of his communication on Charity; the second, on The victims of Syria, signed by Jean; the third, on The aberrations of intelligence, signed by Georges; the fourth on The errors of mediums, signed by Paul; and the fifth on The cooperation of mediums, signed by Gustave Lenormand. During the session very distinct raps were heard near Miss Stephan. It was the Spirit of Gustave who, as he said, wished to compel her to write things about which she cared little. He thought it was a means of provoking questions that would oblige her to come to the table, he himself desiring to give a communication through her intermediary.

After the session, in a private communication, Saint Louis having been asked whether he was satisfied, he replied: “Yes and no; you erred in tolerating continual whisperings of certain members, when the Spirits are questioned. At times you receive communications that require serious replies on your part, and even more serious responses on the part of the evoked Spirits who, thus, rest assured, will be displeased. Nothing perfect can come of this, because the medium who writes experiences in turn grave distractions, prejudicial to his ministry. There is one thing to do: read these observations at the next session, which will be understood by all the members. Tell them that this is not a cabinet for conversation.” Saint Louis.