Rapid and inverse typtology.

— We have said that one of the Spiritist groups of Antwerp possesses a typtological medium endowed with a special faculty. Here is what it consists of.

The indication of the letters is made by means of raps of the foot of the little table, but with a rapidity that almost reaches that of writing and such that those who write them down sometimes have difficulty keeping up; the raps follow one another like those of the electric telegraph in action. We saw a dictation of twenty lines made in less than fifteen minutes. But, above all, what is singular is that the Spirit almost always dictates backwards, beginning with the last letter. By the same process the medium obtains answers to mental questions and in languages that are foreign to it. The medium is also a psychographer and, in this case, likewise writes backwards with the same ease. The first time the phenomenon occurred, those present, finding no sense in the letters collected, thought of a mystification; only after attentive observation did they discover the system employed by the Spirit. Perhaps it is merely a fancy of the latter; but, as all its communications are very serious, one must conclude that, in this case, there is a serious intention. Independently of the rapidity with which the raps follow one another, the manner of proceeding makes the operation much briefer still. They make use of a little three-footed table; the alphabet is divided into three series: the 1st, from a to h; the 2nd from i to p; the 3rd from q to z. Each foot of the little table corresponds to a series of letters and raps the number of strokes necessary to designate the desired letter, beginning with the first of the series. For example: to indicate the t, instead of 20 raps the foot in charge of the 3rd series raps only 4. Three persons position themselves beside the little table, one for each foot, enunciating the letter indicated in its series, which, for that person, is a small alphabet, without having to concern oneself with the others. Several persons write down the letters as they are indicated, in order to be able to check, in case of error. The habit of reading backwards often allows them to guess the end of a word or of a sentence that has been begun, as is done in the ordinary process; the Spirit confirms, if such is the case, and passes on. This division of the letters, combined with the cooperation of three persons who cannot understand one another, with the rapidity of the movement and with the indication of the letters in reverse order, makes fraud materially impossible, as well as the reproduction of individual thought. The word reproduction, for example, will then be written in this manner: noitcudorper, and will have been spelled by three different persons in a few seconds, namely: noi by the 2nd, t by the 3rd; c by the 1st; u by the 3rd; d by the 1st; o by the 2nd; r by the 3rd; p by the 2nd; e by the 1st; r by the 3rd.

Of all the devices imagined to ascertain the independence of the medium's thought, none surpasses this process. It is true that, for this, the influence of a special medium is necessary, because the two persons who assist it are not responsible for the rapidity of the movement.

This process, in the final analysis, has real utility only for the conviction of certain persons, and as the ascertainment of a remarkable mediumistic phenomenon, since nothing can replace the ease of written communications.

[Review of December 1864.]

VARIETIES.

COMMUNICATION BACKWARDS.

(Antwerp, November 1, 1864.)

.wal larutan fo redro eht ni ti ecalp ot retcarahc larutanrepus dna citsatnaf lla fo msitiripS pirts uoy yhw si siht ;noitcefrep :evitcejbo emas eht eusrup srehto eht ew dna gnivil eht uoy taht yllanif ,egduj ngierevos eht ot stnuocca deredner ydaerla evah ew hcihw rof noissim a gniunitnoc htiw doG yb degrahc dna ,ydob dellac ,epolevne lairtserret ruoy ni denosirpmi ,si taht ,stiripS etanracni ,uoY .stiripS lla era ew taht noisulcnoc elpmis yrev eht ta sevirra eno ,luos eht fo ytilatrommi eht fo tcaf nevorp eht yb ,won ;enirtcod siht dnuorrus ot ekil elpoep hcihw htiw egitserp rebmos semitemos dna suolevram eht gniyortsed ta gninosaer elpmis yb sevirra eno ,rehto eht tuohtiw eno tcejer ro timda ton dluoc eno hcihw ,selpicnirp owt eseht morf gnitratS .luos eht fo ytilatrommi eht dna doG a fo ecnetsixe eht :shturt taerg owt uoy sehcaet msitiripS ).gninnigeB.dnE( .ytirahc fo tca na yb deinapmocca reyarp doog a )daed eht( yadirF rof dna ,hcum oot sevlesruoy erit ton od :noitadnemmocer lanif a ,gnitraped erofeB ).gninnigeB.dnE( We gave above a curious example of inverse typtological writing, of which we spoke in the number of last October. It will be noted that it is not only the words that are dictated backwards, but entire paragraphs; so that one must begin with the last letter of each paragraph. We leave to our readers the care of the translation.