About that time she suffered from a tumour, caused by a blow
from a sledge, and she feared cancer. This illness brought about the
discovery of her mediumship. Up to this time absolutely nothing abnormal
had occurred to her. Her husband's parents had had, in 1884, a sitting
with a medium which had much impressed them. They frequently advised
their daughter-in-law to take the advice of some medium who gave medical
consultations. To please them, she went to a blind medium named J. R.
Cocke, and there she had her first loss of consciousness or "trance."
But we shall return to this.

It is to be concluded that the prescription of the medium had no more
influence on the disease than those of ordinary doctors, for this tumour
continued to make Mrs Piper's health rather precarious for a long time.
She only decided in 1893 to undergo a surgical operation--laparotomy. No
complications resulted from it, and her convalescence was rapid.
However, in 1895, the after-effect of this operation was a serious
hernia, which necessitated a second operation in February 1896. She only
recovered thoroughly in October of the same year.

Many persons will be disposed to believe that Mrs Piper's tumour is the
explanation of her mediumship, particularly as the mediumship only
appeared after the tumour. It is rather difficult to prove them wrong.
There is, however, a fact which seems to indicate that they would be
mistaken. When Mrs Piper is ill, her mediumship decreases or becomes
less lucid; she only furnishes incoherent, fragmentary, or quite false
communications. The syncope or "trance," which is easy when she is well,
becomes difficult or even impossible when she is ill. Her health has
been good since her last operation, the syncopes are easy, and the
communications obtained in this state have acquired a degree of
coherence and plausibility which was previously wanting.

If, then, Mrs Piper's mediumship was the result of illness, it is
strange that her recovery should have favoured the development and
perfecting of this same mediumship. There appears to be a contradiction
here. I am not competent regarding the question, but, on examining the
facts, I can hardly believe that mediumship is a mere neurosis. After
all, are there not famous men of science who declare that genius itself
is only a neurosis? In their eyes the bandit is only a sick man; but the
genius also is only a sick man.

If it is true that the best and worst in humanity are on