for dark seances. The objection to a dark seance in
itself can of course have no scientific basis. But a strong feeling
against dark seances has arisen from the abuses to which they have led.
It is possible that the extent of the evil has been exaggerated, and has
thus produced an exaggerated prejudice against darkness as a condition.
It is, however, safe to say, that, even if promiscuous seances are ever
useful or wise, a promiscuous dark seance should never be sanctioned by
an earnest inquirer.

Orthodox science has not yet condescended to bestow any attention on
"spirit lights." I had the privilege of private acquaintance with Dr.
Tyndall, and once acted as his assistant at some lectures he gave in a
country place. I remember sending him a report of some rather remarkable
manifestations of light witnessed at a private seance in London, under
fairly good test-conditions. Dr. Tyndall was at the time engaged in some
special optical investigations, and I asked him to spend five minutes in
reading the notes enclosed. Dr. Tyndall's reply, in his laconic, jocular
style, was to this effect--"I have spent five minutes as you desired,
and it is a long time since I spent five minutes so badly!"

The best series of "light" phenomena, both as regards their varied
character, and as regards the observers, and the care with which
records at the time were made, occurred in the presence of Mr. W.
Stainton Moses. A special chapter is devoted to his general
experiences later on, but I will deal with the phenomena of lights
here, and make this the only illustration of this branch of the
subject. For the general credibility of the W. Stainton Moses
phenomena the reader is referred to the opening paragraph of Chapter
VI. The following pages are taken, by way of either extract or
abstract, from two articles on Mr. W. Stainton Moses by Mr. F. W. H.
Myers. They thus have the advantage of Mr. Myers' moral certificate,
so to speak, as to their value. The articles were published in the
_Proceedings_ of the Society for Psychical Research.[15]

Mr. Stainton Moses says that the first occasion on which large luminous
appearances were seen at the circle consisting of Dr. and Mrs. Speer and
himself was on 7th June 1873. They had become familiar with floating
masses of luminous vapour; and on several occasions, the masses
condensed, so to speak, until a distinct objective light was formed. On
that evening, however, a number of cones of soft light sim