A Spirit awarded a prize at the Floral Games.

— We reproduce verbatim the following letter, which was sent to us from Bordeaux, on May 7, 1863:

“Dear Master, “On the past April 22 I received from Mr. T. Jaubert, vice-president of the civil court of Carcassonne, honorary president of the Spiritist Society of Bordeaux, a letter informing me that the Academy of the Floral Games of Toulouse had judged the merit of the poems admitted to the competition of 1863. Sixty-eight competitors had entered in the fable category; two fables stood out: one obtained the first prize (the Spring); the other was praised in the record. Now, these two pieces, Mr. Jaubert tells me, are both by his familiar Spirit. “Since this fact was of capital importance for Spiritism, I wished to be a witness myself. I therefore went to Toulouse, with a delegation from the Spiritist Society of Bordeaux, to attend the awarding of the prize to the rapping Spirit of Carcassonne. We thus attended the solemn prize session and, after the reading of the prize-winning fable, we joined in the applause of the city’s public and saw, through the suffrages and honors gathered from the distinguished members of the academy, the hydra of materialism crumble beneath their applause and, in its place, arise the holy and consoling dogma of the immortality of the soul. “At your side, dear master, we are nothing more than mere interpreters of our honored president, Mr. Jaubert. He charged us to communicate this happy event to you, knowing as we do that no one will be able, with such wisdom, to draw out its consequences, so as to make it useful to the cause we are proud to serve under your paternal direction. “We take this occasion to testify our gratitude to the excellent and honored Mr. Jaubert, for the cordial and sympathetic welcome he gave to the delegation of the Society of Bordeaux. Such testimonies of friendship are precious to us and encourage us to march with perseverance along the painful and laborious path of the apostolate, without stopping at the obstacles we might encounter there. Mr. Jaubert is one of those men who can serve as an example to others; he is a true Spiritist, simple, modest and good, full of dignity and self-denial; calm and grave like all that is great; without pride and without enthusiasm, qualities essential to every man who makes himself an apostle of a doctrine, and who links his name to the courageous professions of faith he sends to the weak and the timid. “We consider the triumph of the Spirit in the Capitol of Toulouse as a victory for our holy and sublime doctrine. God wishes to silence the smiles of irony and incredulity. It is no doubt for this reason that He permitted the learned jurors to award a prize to the soul of a dead man. May the 3rd of May, then, be engraved in letters of gold in the annals of Spiritism. It cements the first link of the fraternal solidarity that unites the living to the dead: a splendid and sublime revelation that warms and vivifies souls through the radiation of faith. “For all the Spiritists who attended that solemnity, how beautiful the celebration was! Detaching their thought from the material world, they saw in the hall of the Floral Games, fluttering here and there, groups of good Spirits, who congratulated themselves on this victory obtained by one of their brothers and, radiating over all, the Spirit Clémence Isaure, the founder of these new Olympic Games, holding in her hands a flexible crown to place, at the moment of triumph, upon the brow of the laureate Spirit. “If there are in life moments of bitterness, there are also moments of ineffable happiness. This is to say that on May 3, 1863, in Toulouse, I saw, or rather, we saw one of those moments that make one forget the tribulations of earthly life. “Receive, dear master, etc.

Sabò.”

It is, indeed, an important fact, this one that has just occurred in Toulouse, and everyone will understand the emotion of the sincere Spiritists who attended that solemnity, an expression of truth without fanfare, without boastfulness and without useless bravado. Some people might be surprised that Mr. Jaubert did not confound the adversaries of Spiritism by proclaiming, during the session, and before the multitude, the true origin of the prize-winning fables. If he did not do so, the reason is very simple: it is that Mr. Jaubert is a modest man, who does not seek to make noise and who, above all, knows how to live. Now, among the judges there were probably some who did not share his ideas regarding the Spirits. It would then have been to publicly throw in their faces a kind of challenge, a contradiction, a procedure unworthy of an elegant man, or better, we shall say, of a true Spiritist, who respects all opinions, even those that are not his own. What would this commotion have produced? Protests on the part of some of those present, perhaps scandal. Would Spiritism have profited from it? No; it would have compromised its dignity. Mr. Jaubert, like the numerous Spiritists who attended the ceremony, thus gave proof of high wisdom by abstaining from any public demonstration. It was a sign of deference and respect, both toward the academy and toward the assembly. They proved once more, in this circumstance, that Spiritists know how to maintain their calm in success, as well as before the insults of their adversaries, and that it is not from them that one should expect the incitement to disorder. The fact loses nothing in importance, because it will soon be known and acclaimed in a hundred different countries. The deniers, in good or bad faith, for there are both, will surely say that nothing proves the origin of these fables, and that the laureate, to serve the interests of Spiritism, could have attributed to the Spirits the products of his own talent. To this there is a very simple answer: it is the notorious honorability of Mr. Jaubert’s character, which defies any suspicion of his having played out a comedy unworthy of his seriousness and his position. When the adversaries oppose to us charlatans, who simulate Spiritist phenomena on improvised stages, we answer them that true Spiritism has nothing in common with them, just as true Science has no relation with the conjurers who call themselves physicists; it is for those who are willing to take the trouble to study it to make the difference. So much the worse for the judgment of those who speak of what they do not know. The question of loyalty not being able to be put in doubt, it remains to know whether Mr. Jaubert is a poet and whether, in good faith, he might not have taken as the Spirits’ a work of his own. We do not know whether he is a poet; but, even if he had the talent of Racine, the means by which he obtains his Spiritist fables cannot leave a shadow of doubt in this regard. It is notorious that all those he obtained were obtained through typtology, that is, through the alphabetical language of raps, and that the majority had numerous witnesses, no less worthy of faith than he. Now, for whoever knows this process, it is evident that his imagination could not exert the slightest influence. The authenticity of the origin is therefore incontestable, and the Academy of Toulouse could ascertain it by attending an experiment. We give below the two prize-winning fables.

THE LION AND THE CROW.

(First prize.)

A lion roamed his immense domains, By a noble pride possessed;

Devouring without rage his defenseless vassals;

A good prince after all, once well dined!

And never did he walk alone; about his mane In haste are seen wolves, tigers, panthers, Leopards, boars; a famished escort;

And even foxes far from the beasts.

Now, the monarch wished one day To speak to the rustics and to the court with joy:

“ – Companions, you are the support of my glory And faithful subjects to a notorious gluttony, For it was to understand me well that you came, I who by the grace of God am king!

Hear my voice: I could…

But, why cite the power?”

Then the lion, without embarrassment, Better than an experienced lawyer would have done, Or a good attorney of cunning intelligence, Spoke of duties, of the burdens of State, Of the shepherds, of the dogs, of the new shrewd charter, Of the evil that many a fool has often affirmed of him;

And full of emotion, the sly one ended:

“If I leave my palace it is to give you pleasure;

Speak your sorrows; I will see what to do;

Bulls, sheep… I will listen with kindness.

I wait; speak with all freedom, For what! All the realm I here esteem, Without a single unhappy one! Not a complaint do I hear!…”

An old crow then interrupted him, And, already free in the air, replied:

“You believe them satisfied; their silence touches you, Great king!… It is terror that shuts their mouths.”

THE BONE TO GNAW.

(Honorable mention.)

Adorned with a hat and with benevolence, A disciple of the late Vatel, In the courtyard of his grandiose hotel, Gave audience to his dogs.

“Of you, he said, I am always thinking;

I love you much and it is an act of mine To destine to you the leftovers of the kitchen, This bone, this fine bone I am going to give!

But only one shall enjoy my great favor;

In justice I shall give it to the most deserving.

The competition is open; attend to your merits.”

A famous water dog and among the cleverest, Of a canine troop once the foremost, At once greeted the master like a merry mongrel, Paraded before the others with a triumphant gaze, Barked, played dead, showed himself to the emperor.

Behold, a mastiff exclaimed: “What matters such boasting!

Of the house and without cease I keep the watch.

Sir, do not forget that an imprudent thief Fell, last year, upon my tooth.”

A little dog then said: “Valiant and without reproach, For years now, some ten, I serve you with finesse;

And always, for you, with this little pouch, Only to buy you good tobacco at the shop.”

“ – I love, howled Tayant, the resounding fanfare Have you seen me at the hunt among the laggards?

At least you owe me foxes, sundry rabbits;

I am sober and submissive; and never the one that devours The partridge found in the snare.”

And who in the end gnawed the bone? It was a dull old basset hound!

As a deputy would once have done, And will, without further blushing, then do again, Before the chief, then, belly glued to the floor, He merrily licked his feet and… made him open his hand.

You, basset hounds of the Big Bosses, of notorious condition, Behold, O vile flatterers, your story.

[See article: Mediumistic picture at the Exposition of Constantinople, the comments of Allan Kardec on the secret of the origin of Mr. Jaubert’s fables to the judges of the Toulouse competition.]

[See also: Letter of Mr. T. Jaubert, of Carcassonne.]