eath. "James, I am your brother Charles. I am
happy. Give my love to my new sister Henrietta. Tell her I shall know
her some day. Our father often talks of her." A little further comes
this curious phrase, "Our father would much like you to have his
pictures, _if you are still in the body, James_."

I have said there were some inexact statements, but they are very few. I
will quote two concerning proper names.

The family name of "Uncle Carruthers" could never be given properly. He
was always called Uncle Charles or Clarke. The error is probably
attributable to Rector, to whom the name Carruthers was not familiar.

The other mistake is odder still, though it may also be attributed to
Rector. Robert Hyslop's second wife was named Margaret, familiarly
called Maggie. Now, although it was impossible to misunderstand when
Robert Hyslop was talking of his wife, this name Maggie never came
correctly. Professor Hyslop waited a long time without rectifying the
mistake; he waited for the communicator to perceive it and correct it
himself, but this spontaneous correction was not made. At last he wanted
the matter cleared up, and Dr Hodgson explained that the name of
Professor Hyslop's step-mother had not been given. Rector, failing to
understand, gave up his place to George Pelham, who began by
administering a tolerably sharp scolding to the sitters. "Well, why do
you not come out and say, Give me my step-mother's name, and not confuse
him about anything except what you really want? By Jove! I remember how
you confused me, and I don't want any more of it. I am going to find
out, and if your step-mother has a name you shall have it." George
Pelham went out of the "machine" and returned shortly, saying, "I do not
see any reason for anxiety about _Margaret_." Margaret was really the
name asked for, but one would have expected to obtain it in its more
habitual form, Maggie. However, it is easy to understand that Robert
Hyslop should not have given the familiar name of his wife to a stranger
like George Pelham.

While Professor Hyslop was preparing his report, a number of his friends
who knew of his researches asked him what proportion of truth and error
he had met with in these manifestations. This frequently-repeated
question suggested to him the idea of making tables in which this
proportion should be made clear at a glance. This kind of statistics
would be important for the class of persons who think themselves
stronger-minded