ing. Whether it
be an independent "spirit," as it claims to be; or the subconsciousness
of the medium; or whether it is a sort of compound consciousness, made
up of the collected minds of those forming the circle at the time; or
whether some other interpretation is open to us--this is all a moot
question, which is referred to here, merely to draw attention to the
fact of its existence.

It will be at once apparent to the reader, also, that physical and
electrical apparatus have played an important part in such
investigations, in the past, and are certainly destined to occupy a far
more important place in the future. These curious phenomena--like all
others in our world--depend upon invisible forces or energies for their
production. Those interested in electricity should realize, more than
all others, the power of the invisible; and the fact that _the invisible
is the real_. Anything that we see consists merely in a bundle of
"phenomena"--of _effects_. The real cause is always behind, and is
always invisible.

There is nothing inherently absurd or impossible, therefore, in these
odd manifestations,--however bizarre and unusual they appear to us at
first sight. An unusual combination of circumstances might bring them
about. Stones do not ordinarily fall out of the air; yet at times they
_do_ (meteors). Water does not usually rise above its own level, yet it
can be made to do so. The curious freaks of lightning are well known.
There is nothing inherently impossible, therefore, in supposing that a
table can be "levitated" into the air, under unusual conditions; it is
simply the manifestation of an unknown energy--of which, doubtless,
there are many. We can manipulate and control the electric current; but
we do not know yet precisely what it _is_. Similarly, we can study the
effects of many of these curious biological forces, without
understanding their true nature. Above all, it behooves us to keep an
open mind, and not to cry "impossible," just because we have never seen
such facts, or because they appear to us innately improbable.

Here, as elsewhere, we depend upon hidden and unknown energies. Could we
but find an _energy common to the two worlds_--the spiritual world and
the material world--we should have here a means of direct communication,
possibly by instrumental means. _Delicate physical and electrical
apparatus may be the means, after all, by which such communication will
ultimately be established!_ At all even