The present writer requested Mr. B. to send him a note on the night that he intended to make his next experiment of the kind, and received the following note by the first post on Monday, March 24th, 1884.

"March 22nd, 1884.

(16) "Dear Mr. Gurney, - I am going to try the experiment to-night of making my presence perceptible at 44, Norland Square, at 12 p.m. I will let you know the result in a few days. - Yours very sincerely,

"S. H. B".

The next letter was received in the course of the following week: -

"April 3rd, 1884.

"Dear Mr. Gurney, - I have a strange statement to show you, respecting my experiment, which was tried at your suggestion, and under the test conditions which you imposed.

"Having quite forgotten which night it was on which I attempted the projection, I cannot say whether the result is a brilliant success, or only a slight one, until I see the letter which I posted you on the evening of the experiment.

"Having sent you that letter, I did not deem it necessary to make a note in my diary, and consequently have let the exact date slip my memory.

"If the dates correspond, the success is complete in every detail, and I have an account signed and witnessed to show you.

"I saw the lady (who was the subject) for the first time last night, since the experiment, and she made a voluntary statement to me, which I wrote down at her dictation, and to which she has attached her signature. The date and time of the apparition are specified in this statement, and it will be for you to decide whether they are identical with those given in my letter to you. I have completely forgotten, but yet I fancy that they are the same. S. H. B".

This is the statement: -

"44, Norland Square, W.

"On Saturday night, March 22nd, 1884, at about midnight, I had a distinct impression that Mr. S. H. B. was present in my room, and I distinctly saw him whilst I was quite widely awake. He came towards me, and stroked my hair. I voluntarily gave him this information, when he called to see me on Wednesday, April 2nd, telling him the time and the circumstances of the apparition, without any suggestion on his part. The appearance in my room was most vivid, and quite unmistakable.

"L. S. Verity".

Miss A. S. Verity corroborates as follows: -

"I remember my sister telling me that she had seen S. H. B., and that he had touched her hair, before he came to see us on April 2nd. A. S. V".

Mr. B.'s own account is as follows: -

"On Saturday, March 22nd, I determined to make my presence perceptible to Miss V., at 44, Norland Square, Notting Hill, at 12 midnight, and as I had previously arranged with Mr. Gurney that I should post him a letter on the evening on which I tried my experiment (stating the time and other particulars), I sent a note to acquaint him with the above facts.

About ten days afterwards I called upon Miss V., and she voluntarily told me, that on March 22nd, at 12 o'clock midnight, she had seen me so vividly in her room (whilst widely awake) that her nerves had been much shaken, and she had been obliged to send for a doctor in the morning.

S. H. P.

[Unfortunately Mr. B.'s intention to produce the impression of touching the percipient's hair is not included in his written account. On August 21st, 1885, he wrote to me, "I remember that I had this intention "; and I myself remember that, very soon after the occurrence, he mentioned this as one of the points which made the success "complete in every detail"; and that I recommended him in any future trial to endeavour instead to produce the impression of some spoken phrase].

It will be observed that in all these instances the conditions were the same - the agent concentrating his thoughts on the object in view before going to sleep. Mr. B. has never succeeded in producing a similar effect when he has been awake. And this restriction as to time has made it difficult to devise a plan by which the phenomenon could be tested by independent observers, one of whom might arrange to be in the company of the agent at a given time, and the other in that of the percipient. Nor is it easy to press for repetitions of the experiment, which is not an agreeable one to the percipient, and is followed by a considerable amount of nervous prostration. Moreover, if trials were frequently made with the same percipient, the value of success would diminish; for any latent expectation on the recipient's part might be argued to be itself productive of the delusion, and the coincidence with the agent's resolve might be explained as accidental. We have, of course, requested Mr. B. to try to produce the effect on ourselves; but though he has more than once made the attempt, it has not succeeded.

We can therefore only wait, in the hope that time will bring fresh opportunities, and that other persons may be induced to make the trial.1

The following [similar case was received after publication of the book, and was inserted in "Additions and Corrections " in later issues. It adds to its interest that it was] directly due to the publication of this book. The receipt of it justifies us in hoping that we may encounter more like it. On November 16th, 1886, the Rev. C. Godfrey, of 5, The Goffs, Eastbourne, wrote to Mr. Podmore as follows: -

1 Since this was written two further cases have been received - Nos. 685 and 686 in the Additional Chapter at the end of vol. ii. [No. G85 has, however, since broken down (see Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xiv., p. 114), and No. 686 being rather remote, is not reproduced in the present edition. It is, however, interesting as the agent was awake and in a normal state. - Ed].

"I was so impressed by the account on p. 105, that I determined to put the matter to an experiment.

"Retiring at 10.45, I determined to appear, if possible, to [a friend], and accordingly I set myself to work, with all the volitional and determinative energy which I possess, to stand at the foot of her bed. I need not say that I never dropped the slightest hint beforehand as to my intention, such as would mar the experiment, nor had I mentioned the subject to her. As the 'agent,' I may describe my own experiences.