As the birth of her second child approached Mrs. Piper gave up what she
considered a form of hysteria; but after the birth of the child the
sittings, paid for at a dollar each, began again. Dr. Hodgson, of the
London Society for Psychical Research, saw her at the house of Professor
James, and he became so interested in her case that he decided to take
her to London to be studied. She spent nearly a year abroad; and after
her return the American branch of the Society for Psychical Research was
formed, and for a long time Mrs. Piper received a salary to sit
exclusively for the society. Their records and reports are full of the
things she said and did.

Every one who investigated Mrs. Piper had to admit that her case was
full of mystery. But if one reads the reports through from beginning to
end one cannot help feeling that her spirit messages are filled with
nonsense, at least of triviality. Here is a specimen--and a fair
specimen, too--of the kind of communication Pelham gave. He wrote out the
message. It referred to a certain famous man known in the reports as Mr.
Marte. Pelham is reported to have written by Mrs. Piper's hand:

"That he (Mr. Marte), with his keen brain and marvelous perception, will
be interested, I know. He was a very dear friend of X. I was exceedingly
fond of him. Comical weather interests both he and I--me--him--I know it
all. Don't you see I correct these? Well, I am not less intelligent now.
But there are many difficulties. I am far clearer on all points than I
was shut up in the prisoned body (prisoned, prisoning or imprisoned you
ought to say). No, I don't mean, to get it that way. 'See here, H, don't
view me with a critic's eye, but pass my imperfections by.' Of course, I
know all that as well as anybody on your sphere (of course). Well, I
think so. I tell you, old fellow, it don't do to pick all these little
errors too much when they amount to nothing in one way. You have light
enough and brain enough, I know, to understand my explanations of being
shut up in this body, dreaming, as it were, and trying to help on
science."

Some people would say that Pelham had had a little too much whisky toddy
when he wrote that rambling, meaningless string of words. Or we can
suppose that Mrs. Piper was dreaming. We see in the last sentence a
curious mixture of ideas that must have been in her mind. She herself
says:

"I do not see how anybody can look on all that as testimony from another
world. I