Spontaneous manifestations in Marseille.

— At this moment the manifestations of Poitiers have their counterpart in Marseille. Should one conclude that the so-called pranksters, who disturbed the first city without being discovered, transported themselves to the second, where they likewise are not discovered? It must be granted that they are very skillful mystifiers, thus to frustrate the investigations of the police and of all those who have an interest in discovering them.

The Gazette du Midi, of the 5th of March, gives the following brief notice on the subject:

“During the day of Friday, the Chave quarter was in an uproar, and on the boulevard of that name numerous groups were stationed near house No.

The rumor was circulating that in that house strange scenes were taking place, which had put to flight the inhabitants of the bewitched building. They said that phantoms walk about there; at a certain hour strange noises are heard and invisible hands make furniture, dishes, and kitchen objects collide with one another. The intervention of the police was necessary to maintain order in the midst of these groups, which increased at every instant. By the way, what there is reasonable to say, it seems, is that the house in question perhaps does not offer all the requisite solidity, upon a terrain undermined by the waters. A few cracking sounds heard, transformed by fear into games of witchcraft, will have generated rumors that will not be slow to dissipate.” Cauvière.

— Here is the detailed account transmitted to us by Dr. Chavaux, of Marseille, dated the 14th of March:

“About a fortnight ago, I had the honor of giving you some details about the manifestations that, for more than a month, have been occurring in the house No. 80 of the Boulevard Chave. I told you only what I had heard said; today I come to tell you what I myself saw and heard.

“Having obtained permission to visit the house, I went on Friday, the 10th of March, to the apartment on the first floor, occupied by Mrs. A… and her two daughters, one eight years old and the other sixteen. At one o'clock precisely there was a strong detonation in that very house, followed by nine others, in the space of three quarters of an hour. At the second detonation, which seemed to me to come from inside the room where we were, I saw a light vapor form, then a very pronounced smell of gunpowder made itself felt. Mrs. R… having entered at the moment of the eighth detonation, said that there was a smell of gunpowder. This pleased me, because it proved that my imagination was responsible for nothing. “On Monday, the 13th, I again went to the house, at half past eight in the evening. At nine o'clock the first detonation was heard and, in the space of one hour, thirty-eight. I said to Mrs. C…: “If these noises are produced by Spirits, let them make two more, totaling forty.” At that very instant two detonations were heard, one after the other, with a frightful noise. We looked at one another with surprise and even with dread. Mrs. C… said further: “I am beginning to understand that there are Spirits in this matter; to convince me completely, I would like the Spirits to knock ten more times, which will make fifty.” The ten detonations occurred in less than fifteen minutes. “Sometimes these noises have the force of the firing of a small-caliber cannon, set off in a house; the doors and windows are shaken, as well as the walls and the floor; the objects hung on the walls are vigorously agitated. One would say that the house, shaken on all sides, was about to fall; but there is nothing. After the shot there is not the slightest crack; nothing is damaged and everything returns to the ordinary calm. These reports sometimes occur at intervals of one to five minutes, sometimes follow one another up to six times, blow upon blow. The police made a raid, but discovered nothing. “Here, dear master, is the whole truth and the most exact truth.

“Accept, etc.”

Chavaux; D.M.P., 24, rue du Petit Saint Jean.

— Another letter, of the 17th of March, contains the following:

“Yesterday we spent part of the night in the house on the Boulevard Chave. The gathering was composed of seven persons. The detonations began at eleven o'clock and, in the interval of ten minutes, we counted twenty-two. We can compare them to those of a small cannon; one could hear them at a great distance from the house. That house is in excellent condition of solidity, contrary to what the Gazette du Midi says.

“I was told that last night four detonations occurred in another house on the same avenue, and that they were louder than the first ones.

“Receive, etc.”

Carrier.

— They will say that the cause is entirely natural: one sees smoke, one smells the gunpowder, and do you not guess the means employed by the mystifiers? – It seems to us that mystifiers who make use of gunpowder to produce, for more than a month, such detonations in the very apartment where the witnesses are found, who have the complaisance to repeat them according to the desire expressed to them, must be neither very far away nor very well hidden. Why, then, were they not discovered? – But then, where does this smell of gunpowder come from? – This is another question, which will be treated in due time. While one waits, the noises are a fact and the fact has a cause. You attribute them to malevolence? Then look for the ill-intentioned.