spension of some
months owing to the state of her health, she gave a sitting to Dr
Hodgson on October 21, the day after the article in the _Herald_
appeared, and it was then arranged to resume the sittings after a
further interval of three months. This has been done, and Mrs Piper gave
sittings to Dr Hodgson all through the spring of last year, and is still
doing so through the winter of 1902-1903.

The reader will excuse this digression on a subject which made some stir
at the time, and is interesting as throwing light on the medium's own
attitude towards her trance phenomena.

To return to Professor Hyslop's report.

Professor Hyslop told only his wife and Dr Hodgson of his intention to
have sittings with Mrs Piper. The days were fixed, not with Mrs Piper in
the normal state, but with Imperator, the chief of the present controls,
while she was in trance. Now we must never forget that Mrs Piper has no
recollection of what happens during the trance. Professor Hyslop's name
was not given to Imperator; Dr Hodgson called him the "four times
friend," because Professor Hyslop had at first asked for four sittings.
I should not call this a transparent pseudonym.

Professor Hyslop had once been present at one of Mrs Piper's sittings,
and his name had been pronounced. Although there seemed to be small
chance of her recognising him, as the sitting had taken place six years
before, and Professor Hyslop did not then wear a beard as he now does,
he put on a mask while he was in a closed carriage at some distance from
Mrs Piper's house. He kept on his mask during the first two sittings,
and then the precaution became useless, because his father's name was
pronounced by Mrs Piper at the end of the second. Dr Hodgson presented
him as Mr Smith, which name is given to all new sitters. Professor
Hyslop never spoke before Mrs Piper in her normal state, except twice to
utter short sentences, and he took pains to change his voice as much as
possible. He avoided all contact with the medium throughout all the
sitting. Most of the facts were obtained from the communicators without
previous questioning. When Professor Hyslop was obliged to ask a
question, he did so in such a way that it did not contain a suggestion
of the answer. To prevent Mrs Piper's seeing him during the sitting, he
kept always behind her right shoulder, the easiest position too for
reading the writing.

But when we recollect that Mrs Piper's head is always buried in pil