A Visitor from the other World.

I could go on enumerating instances of the remarkable phenomena which this illustrious Scientist has witnessed, but must conclude by briefly relating the most sensational of all his experiences, which occurred during the presence in his own home of a Miss Florence Cook, whom Sir Wm. Crookes describes as a young, sensitive, innocent girl. For three years, he tells us, he was almost daily visited by the beautiful spirit form of a young woman who, as a matter of convenience, was named Katie King, and who, to all intents and purposes, appeared to be a veritable human being.

"On one occasion," says Sir William, "for nearly two hours Katie walked about the room, conversing familiarly with those present. Several times she took my arm when walking, and the impression was conveyed to my mind that it was a living woman by my side, instead of a visitor from the other world." He then describes how he clasped her in his arms and found her as material a being as the medium herself. He also tells us that he took several flashlight photographs of his mysterious friend, and that on one of these occasions "Katie muffled her medium's head up in a shawl to prevent the light falling upon her face.

"It was a common thing,' he adds, "for 7 or 8 of us in the laboratory to see the medium and Katie at the same time under the full blaze of the electric light."

In the photographs Katie is half a head taller than the medium, and looks a big woman in comparison with her. "But," he goes on, "photography is as inadequate to depict the perfect beauty of Katie's face as words are powerless to describe her charming manner. Photography may, indeed, give a map of her face, but how can it reproduce the brilliant purity of her complexion, or the ever-varying expression of her mobile features, now overshadowed with sadness when relating some of the bitter experiences of her past life, now smiling with all the innocence of happy girlhood when she had collected my children around her and was amusing them by recounting anecdotes of her adventures in India."

Alfred Russel Wallace,

F.R.S., D C.L., L.L.D.

Foremost Living European Naturalist.

"Spiritualistic phenomena in their entirety do net require further confirmation."

Katie had always explained that she was an Indian in her earth life. She was attired in flowing raiment and always wore a turban. "The medium's hair," continues the narrator, "is so dark a brown as almost to appear black; a lock of Katie's, which is now before me, and which she allowed me to cut from her luxuriant tresses, having first traced it up to the scalp and satisfied myself that it actually grew there, is a rich golden auburn. One evening I tried Katie's pulse. It beat steadily at 75, whilst the medium's pulse, a little time after, was going at the usual rate of 90. On applying my ear to Katie's chest I heard a heart beating rhythmically inside and pulsating even more steadily than did the medium's heart," and Katie's lungs were found to be sounder than the medium's.

It may interest the reader to add that Sir William Crookes declares that the production of the phenomena he has witnessed was generally preceded by a peculiar cold air, sometimes amounting to a decided wind. "I have had sheets of paper blown about by it.," he says, "and a thermometer lowered several degrees."

Just ten years ago this distinguished Scientist had the honor of being President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and in the course of his courageous Presidential address he emphatically re-affirmed all that he had said and written on the subject for many years previously, whilst as recently as two years since he again publicly declared his conviction that "he had witnessed and proved to be genuine certain phenomena which cannot be explained by any Scientific knowledge possessed by us page 22 at present." On that occasion, the celebration of his golden wedding, he added—"I have studied these phenomena for over twenty-five years, and Sir Oliver Lodge is as keen a student of them as myself. It is certain that a great many persons are seriously studying the subject to-day"