one plane to the other. Now he would be unable to
borrow this material from an ordinary person, because such a man's
principles would be too closely linked together to be separated by any
means likely to be at his command, but the very essence of mediumship
is the ready separability of the principles, so from a medium he can
draw without difficulty the matter he needs for his manifestation,
whatever it may be. When he cannot find a medium or does not
understand how to use one he sometimes makes clumsy and blundering
endeavours to communicate on his own account, and by the strength of
his will he sets elemental forces blindly working, perhaps producing
such apparently aimless manifestations as stone-throwing,
bell-ringing, etc. It consequently frequently happens that a psychic
or medium going to a house where such manifestations are taking place
may be able to discover what the entity who produces them is
attempting to say or do, and may thus put an end to the disturbance.
This would not, however, invariably be the case, as these elemental
forces are occasionally set in motion by entirely different causes.

But for one entity who is earth-bound by the desire to communicate
with his surviving friends, there are thousands who, if left alone,
would never think of doing so, although when the idea is suggested to
them through a medium they will respond to it readily enough, for
since during earth-life their interests were probably centred less in
spiritual than in worldly affairs, it is not difficult to re-awaken in
them vibrations sympathetic to matters connected with the existence
they have so lately left; and this undesirable intensification of
earthly thoughts is frequently brought about by the interference of
well-meaning but ignorant friends, who endeavour to get communications
from the departed through a medium, with the result that just in
proportion to their success he is subjected to the various dangers
mentioned above. It should also be remembered that the possible injury
to the entity itself is by no means all the harm that may accrue from
such a practice, for those who habitually attend _seances_ during life
are almost certain to develop a tendency to haunt them after death,
and so themselves in turn run the risks into which they have so often
brought their predecessors. Besides, it is well known that the vital
energy necessary to produce physical manifestations is frequently
drawn from the sitters as well as fro