Broadcasting From Beyond - AE PERRIMAN

8/9/2019 Broadcasting From Beyond - AE PERRIMAN

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B R O A D C A S T I N G

F R O M B E Y O N D

A .E. P E R R I M A N

F I R S T P U B L I S H E D I N 1 9 5 2


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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Had our grandparents been told that it would be possible to speak tofriends by means o f a telephone to almost any part of the world simply

by lifting a receiver, and asking for a num ber, they wou ld have laughed

us to scorn. Yet today that is an accomplished fact. What thosegrandparents would have thought had they been told about modern

wireless m ay be better im agined than expressed. This goes to prove howready the world is to scoff at some new thought or fact unknown to it,

wha tever the generation, past, present or future.

What now appears to be wonderful and bordering on the miraculous, will be accepted by the next generation as a normal event. It is only amatter of progress and evolution. A prophet is never a hero in his own

country, neither for that matter is a pioneer, whose ideas andaspirations differ from the established conception of things, received

with any gr eat enthusiasm by his fellow-ma n.

Speaking with the dead! How absurd! Bunk! Eyewash! Piffle!Impossible! These are a few of the expressions of those who do notunderstand, and who have never given a moments thought to such apossibility.

I confess being guilty of this attitude before I set out to prove or todisprove the possibility of spirit communication. As a member of theChurch of England, I believed in life eternal, but I could not visualise orgrasp its me aning to the fullest extent.

I knew that when a person died, and was buried or cremated, that wasthe end of the body. What was it that survived? And in what tangibleform ? That was my pro blem, and, I believe, everybodys problem. HaveI succeeded in solving that problem? W ell, I will leave it to you to judgefrom the experiences I have had in psychic research covering many

year s of intense investigation.

It may be of interest to r elate how I came to delve into the mystery of theafter-life.

My wife, who has now passed on, and I accepted a friends invitation todinner. During a discussion after dinner, Spiritualism and psychicmatters were mentioned. I was totally ignorant of these subjects andtook no part in the discussion. I was content to listen. I gathered that

there were among my friends guests that evening some who hadattended sances - at that time I had not the slightest notion what a


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sance was - and had experienced phenomena which could not beprodu ced by huma n agency. That was w hat we wer e told, but I am afr aidI held other view s, although I did not express them. I continued to listento wha t was said, but I was n ot very impr essed. In fact, I thought it to bethe leg-pull of the eve ning.

The views I held that evening began to react. I started by asking m yself what right had I to criticise when I was not competent to do so. As anarchitect, I knew I was competent to express an expert opinion onarchitecture. My training plus experience had made me an authority,

but I had to go through years of routine before I became conversantwith the pro fession. This applies to any other pr ofession.

If the High Court desires guidance and help on a medical problem, it

seeks the assistance of a medical expert, because he would becompetent to express an opinion. The court would certainly not acceptthe evidence of an unqualified man. Yet, in psychic matters, it is theunqualified individual who sets himself up as a critic. If there is to beany criticism - and there is plenty of room for it - let it come from those

who have a wide kno wledge of psychic m atters.

I talked the m atter over w ith my wife, and w e decided to investigate thetruth of psychic manifestations for ou rselves.

W e heard that many people started experimen ting with a table, and wedecided to follow their example. We did not go to any Spiritualistchurch, nor did we read any books on the subject. We thought it would

be better to be free fro m these influences.

W e pro ceeded in a sim ple way. Unless business prevented it, we sat forour inquiry twice a week for an ho ur. W e took up ou r positions at thetable, sitting opposite each other. Sometimes we sat in completedarkness and other times in subdued light. We found complete

darkness best because our thoughts were not distracted by objects inthe room. We always opened our sitting with a hymn, followed by aprayer an d second hym n. The rest of the period was spent in silence.

I do not wan t to discour age earnest and sincere investigators when I saythat my wife and m yself sat over a period o f nearly twelve years before

we got even a rap on the table. Just remem ber the best things of life arethe hardest to get and, to enjoy them to their fullest, one has to work

very har d.


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CHAPTER ONE

HOW THE VOICES ARE HEARD

As this book d eals m ainly with direct voice phenom ena, I will explain insimple language, and as br iefly as possible, what they are.

There is a mistaken idea that the voices heard are those of the spiritcommunicators. If we stop and think, we realise that everything of ourphysical make-up is left on the ear th when the soul passes into the spirit

wo rld, where it manifests throu gh the etheric counterpart of our being.In the etheric state everything is expressed by mental and spiritual

vibrations. When spirit entities comm unicate their messages by m eansof direct voice, they transm it their thoughts to an a pparatus constru ctedfrom the power taken from the sitters.

The only physical contribution is the mediums larynx. The larynx isdem aterialised and then rem aterialised in a form r equired by the spiritentity. The larynx is then attached to an ectoplasmic pipe, which in turnis connected by means of an ectoplasmic rod to an ectoplasmic sound-

box. All the apparatus is built up outside and away from the medium.The next process is to bring about suitable conditions for spiritcommunication, or, in other words, getting the right wave length. Justlike the wireless, where it is necessary to tune in the instrument to a

wave-length to receive the station we desire to hear , so we have to tunein to the higher vibrations of the spirit wor ld. The only w avelengths on

which the spirit wor ld operates are love, sympathy, harm ony and faith.The sitters are responsible for supplying the right vibrations. Havinggone so far, one has to wait with patience for any com m unication.

The spirit entity wh o desires to com mu nicate transm its his thoughts onto the ectoplasmic so und-box. The thought-vibrations are then built upin some ingenious w ay on to the ectoplasmic larynx so that they becom e

audible to the sitters physical hearing. When the channel ofcommunication is free from disturbing vibrations, the voices comethrough loudly and distinctly. The individuality of the spirit entitycannot be mistaken once he has accustomed himself to this newexperience. Dialects are recognised, and I have heard many foreignlanguages spoken.

The medium is in a normal state during a direct voice sance. There isno need for tran ce, because the m ediums body and intelligence are notrequ ired in this type of phenomen a.


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A lot of so-called direct voice phenom ena is nothing m ore than a spiritentity taking charge of a m edium w hen in trance and speaking throughhis lips. That is trance m edium ship, and should not be confu sed, as it sooften is, with direct voice.

In the early stages of developm ent a trum pet - it is really a megapho ne -is needed to amplify the weak voices so that they may be audible tositters.

The megaphone should be constructed of light aluminium or celluloid.It should be on the small side. The one we used was not more thanfourteen inches long, with four inches diameter at one en d, tapering tothree qu arters o f an inch. It needs pow er for the spirit entity to levitatethe megaphone and hold it, suspended in space. It is for this reason it

should be light in constru ction.W hen a spirit entity is using a m egaphone, it is usually suspended a boveor some little distance away from the medium, not in front of themediums lips. Neither is it necessary for the medium to touch themegaphone in any way or under any circumstances.

As spirit entities get accustomed to the new vibrations, and providingconditions are good, they are able to carry the megaphone to differentparts of the room and speak, so that the sitters are able to hear the

voice com ing from other than one fixed place.

When we speak of direct voice, we are apt to lead people to believethat it is the actual voice of the spirit communicator we hear. This isnot so. If it were, there would be no logical reason for the use of themediums larynx.

Are the voices of the spirit entities like their earthly ones, and canthey be recognised? This question is often asked. Sometimes they have

been and sometimes they have not. It all depends on the vibrationsoperating at the time of com mu nication.

Like many people, I was under the impression that spiritcommunicators spoke with their own voices. It was not until a spiritentity, wh o purpo rted to be my mother , addressed me one evening thatI realised my m istake. All the voices I had heard up to then w ere thoseof strangers. Every voice had a different intonation, and it was

because of this I had im agined I was hea ring the real voice.

On this particular occasion a fem ale voice said, Hello, my boy.


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Who is that? I replied. Expecting to be addressed by name, I wassurpr ised when the voice said, Hail smiling morn, a dding, Its yourmo ther, my boy.

Hail smiling mor n had a special significance, and only I knew to wha t

it referred. The evidence that was given could have been kno wn o nly tomy mother, but I was puzzled because I could not recognise her voice.Later I mentioned this fact to my mother, and received my firstexplanation of the me thod of comm unication. Anyway, I was com fortedin the know ledge of my m other having survived the grave, and that she

was happier in her n ew life than she had been on earth.

CHAPTER TW O

COMING OF THE V OICE We had moved into another house. It was charmingly situated a shortdistance from the quaint old cathedral city of Llandaff, Glam organ. Theatmosphere was one of intense restfulness and peace, and all ourfriends remarked on this before they had been inside a couple ofminutes. There was a glorious garden, at the end of which ran a canal,and in the distance could be seen the Garth mo untain.

There was a pleasant room which I thought would be suitable for ourresearch. I decorated the room in apple green and cream, and ar rangedit to represent a little chapel. When I had completed the decorationsand arr angem ents, I introduced m y curate friend of the church wher e I

was a member to what I called our sanctuary. He was generous in hispraises, and asked that I should acquaint him with anything we mightexperience.

W e had not finally completed the arranging of the whole house w hen w ehad a surpr ise visit from a London fr iend who w as on a business visit toCardiff. He was a consulting engineer and director of a well-knownengineering firm in Y orksh ire. He too was interested in psychic matters

but had no t yet met with any re sult. On previous visits he had joined usin our investigations.

During the evening meal we discussed our investigations. We told himthat we had been too busy since moving to have any sittings, but wehoped to resu me o nce we h ad got straight. Our friend suggested that wehad a sitting later that evening. We cou ld not very well carry on w ith our


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work while he was w ith us, so we agreed to hold what would be our firstsitting since the break caused by rem oving.

W e retired to the sance room and took our places rou nd a small table. We joined in the singing of a hymn, which was played on the

gramophone, after which I offered a prayer, followed by the playing ofanother hym n. We put out the lights, and with our hands re sting on thetable sat in silence.

We had been sitting for a little while when the silence was interruptedby distinct rappings com ing from under neath the table top. We felt the vibrations. This was something new. To make sure that neither of uswas unconsciou sly rapping the table, I suggested that we linked hands,and sat further awa y from the table. W e did this, and to our a ma zemen t

the rappings continued. W hat was m ore startling, we hear d rappings onthe walls in different parts of the room .

There was a further surprise in store for us. Following the cessation ofthe rappings, we placed our hands again on the table. We werediscussing the raps, when we felt the table swaying to and fro like aclock pendulum. To satisfy ourselves that we were not responsible, wetried to stop it, but despite our combined physical efforts the tablecontinued to sway. It was only for fear of breaking the table in our

efforts to stop it that we eased off. Even then the table continued to rockwithout ou r h ands touching it! Eventually it stopped of its ow n accor d, but by this time we were alarmed. However, we decided to carry on alittle longer to se e if anything else happe ned. It did!

We had placed our hands on the table again, and to our astonishmentfelt it rising off the floor . Higher and h igher it rose until we h ad to standin order that our hand s could continue to rest on the table. Having goneso far, we decided to check the tables upward progress by pulling it

down. Our exertions were fruitless. The table continued to rise higherand higher. W hen it had got above our head s, I suggested that we hu ngon to it. We did, and up we started to go. We were lifted clean off ourfeet. To say that we w ere alar med is to put it mildly. I was scared. W e letgo and came to the floor with a bump. The table went on its upwardcourse u ntil we he ard it touch the ceiling, where it rem ained for a time.

W hen the table had com e dow n and taken u p its original position, I saidthat I had had enough for one night. Our combined weight totalled

nearly thirty-five stones, yet we were lifted off our feet by someunkno wn pow er w ith such ease that we m ight not have turne d the scale


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with a feather as the weight. That was our dilemma, and rather afrightening one, too.

While I was expressing my opinion on what had happened, and wasabout to close the sitting, we heard something fall on the table. We

discovered it to be a cushion which had been taken from a nother part ofthe room, some distance from where we were. Just as swiftly as thecushion cam e, so it was taken aw ay.

I got up from my cha ir to put on the light. As I did so, I felt somethingbrush the side of m y face. It was very u ncanny. I instinctively put up m yhand and caught hold of a cushion.

I told my wife and my friend what had happened, and said: Heresgoing. I do not know about you two, but I am not staying a moment

longer.

That was the end of the first sitting after nearly twelve years patientinvestigation at which anything of an unusual nature had happened,and I was glad to see it finish. None of us was looking or feeling ourproper selves as we sat down to a meal. We were unnerved, and notasham ed to admit it.

Discussing the strange happen ings, I said: I do not mind or care w hat I

meet in the substance, and I am not afraid to tackle anybody in a tightpush. But when something you cannot feel or see is able to lift a tableand three hum an beings, and carr y or throw cushion s about the place, itrather pu ts one at a disadvantage. I had the wind up just as badly as Idid the first night I spent under sh ell fire in France.

Our friend stayed a week. On the evening of the day prior to hisdeparture for London, he suggested that we had another sitting. Idemurred. I told my friend that I was uncertain of the forces we had

contacted, and I did not feel inclined to expose m yself needlessly to anyphysical violence. I still had in mind the physical phenomena we hadexperienced at the first sitting. I rea lised that weighty articles could bethrown and I was not anxious to be a target. After a long discussion, Iagreed that we sh ould hold an other sitting, but I was go ing prepared foremergency. As we were sitting in the dark, I decided to take a candleand a box of m atches, and have them handy in case of the unexpected.

We were on tenterhooks when we entered the sance room. We took

our places round the small table. The candlestick and ma tches I placedalongside my left foot. It was left to m e to offer the pr ayer, but I made a


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poor job of it because the uneasy state of my mind m ade me som ewhatincoherent. However, I struggled through it as best I could. We placedour hands on the table and w aited. Realising the force w e had contactedin the first instance had been able to move physical objects, my mind

was centred o n the candlestick. To make su re the candlestick remained where I put it, I kept tapping it with my foot. I am sure that had theunseen force removed it, I should not be writing these reminiscences,for I shou ld have finished my investigations there and then.

The rappings began soon after we had taken up our positions, both onthe table and on different parts of the walls. We had been sitting forabout a quarter of an hou r w hen we observed what appeared to be w hiteflecks. Although it was August, I jocularly said, It looks like snow . W ehad no knowledge of ectoplasm in those days. Curious to find out

whether what appeared to be blobs of cotton-wool were solid, we triedto get hold of them , but all we gr asped was the air.

While we were observing and discussing this phenomenon, a metallicsound was heard on the table. I instantly put my hand where I hadheard the sound and felt an object. There is something here, Iexclaimed. W ait a mom ent until I light the candle, and then we w ill see

wh at it is.

I lit the candle. On the table we saw a gold cross with a large piece ofhoneysuckle fastened throu gh the ring by which it was suspended. Ourfaces were a study. Looking at my wife, I said, If this is not the cross

which we have hanging over the head of our bed, then it is the nearestreplica I have seen. To satisfy our curiosity I left and went to ou r bed-roo m. I was astounded to find there was no sign of the cross. I returne dto the sance room and told my wife and friend of my discovery. Here,indeed, was a problem. We were mystified as to what pow er could carry

an article from one part of the house to another, but we were moremystified by the appearance o f the honeysuckle.

I remembered we had a honeysuckle tree in the garden, but as it wasdark I decided to leave my investigations. The following morning Iexam ined the tree and foun d a newly broken br anch. I told my wife andmy friend what I had found. I took the piece of honeysuckle which wehad found in ou r ro om the previous night. W hen I tried it on the broken

bra nch o f the tree it fitted exa ctly.

Our dilemma was not eased by this latest happening. We were lost foran explanation. We had contacted a power - desirable or undesirable,


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we had no means of finding out - that was able to produce phenomenathat were beyond human agency.

It was impossible for the honeysuckle and cross to be brought into theroom through an open door or window as both were fastened. We made

a close inspection of the chimn ey, but failed to find any particles of sooton either of the articles. That matter had passed through matter therewas no t a shadow of dou bt.

After the return to London of our friend, my wife and I decided tocontinue our resear ch into the mysteries of this intriguing subject.

Our first attempt, when we two were the only sitters, proved to beinteresting. After we had put out the light we were amazed to find theroo m illum inated by psychic lights. The who le of the frieze surroun ding

the room was a mass of lights. On the ceiling and walls were hugepatches of lights twinkling like stars in the heavens. So illumined wasthe room by mea ns of these lights that it was possible for us to see eachother. Almost immediately we placed our hands on the table, rappings

wer e heard. W e suggested the use of a code to the power responsible forthe rappings in order that we might get a message and to find out who

was the oper ator. How ever, we failed to get any message.

It was during a pe riod of inactivity of psychic forces, wh ile my wife and

myself were engaged in conversation, that another strange happeningoccurr ed. We hear d a sound as if something had touched the table. As Irem arked on this, I felt something being pushed into my han ds. It was afram ed cru cifix. Although we did not actually see the crucifix in transit,it had been taken from the wall in another part of the room from w here

we were sitting. We did not hear a sound until it actually touched thetable.

The bringing of the crucifix had the effect of easing my mind r especting

the forces we were contacting. I had no desire to dabble with a powerwhich w as harm ful or undesirable. Having no other m eans of letting m eknow, I assumed that the force operating, to put my mind at ease, had

brought the cro ss and the crucifix. This was co nfirmed at a later period.Nothing of importance happen ed for the rem ainder of the sitting whichlasted an hour .

We continued, twice a week, to hold sittings of one hours durationbefore w e got the vo ice.


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Amo ng the man y interesting happenings were the following. W e had noreason to close the sittings. W hen w e had sat the allotted hour, the table

was levitated. When we put on the light, we found the table by the window, with the cloth on it and the bowl of flowers which we alwayskept in the room. We had flowers brought into the room. Where theycame from , we never knew. There wer e occasions when the flowers thatcame were not of British cultivation, and could not be bought in thiscountry. Sometimes w e had most fragrant perfumes. On one occasion,the perfume w as sprayed over us, our hair and faces being saturated.

We had a letter from our London friend to say that he was coming toCardiff on business, and that his wife was accompanying him. As theamount of business needing his attention would take at least afortnight, we ar ranged for them to stay with us.

Just over two months had elapsed since we had experienced our firstphenomena. I had kept my friends posted with the phenomena we hadexperienced. During the whole of the time we had not received amessage on which we could place any reliance. Every attempt to get amessage by means of raps was a disjointed affair. However, there wasone point of interest. Several times, during each sitting, we got thenam e Belle spelt out. We w ere un able to place it.

The second night after our friends arrival we held a sitting, the firstoccasion on which the four of us had sat together. Taking our placesround the table, the sitting was opened in the usual way by prayer andthe singing of hymn s. Rappings on the table began almost before w e hadfinished singing, but, try as we could, we were unable to get a tangiblemessage, which annoyed us. Suddenly my friends wife exclaimed,Someone is touching m e.

Who is it? we asked. The next moment, my wife said, I am being

touched, too. In turn, my friend and myself were touched as well. It was an uncanny experience at the time. Giving our views of thesensation we experienced, we all agreed that it was just like a warmhand caressing and stroking our heads.

W hile we w ere discussing this latest phenom enon m y friends wife said,My glasses have been taken off. At the end of the sitting we found theglasses resting on the mantelpiece. My wife then called out that hernecklace had been r emoved from her neck. The necklace was placed on

the table. My friend was the next victim. He exclaimed, Someone is


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fiddling about in my hip-pocket. Next, all his loose change, which hecarried in that pocket, was dropped o n the table.

Naturally, I wondered what was in store for me. Anyway, I had a brilliant idea. I had a ring on one finger which had got uncomfortably

tight. I was un able to rem ove it, and had decided to have it filed off tosave the finger from any injury that might result from continuedpressure. I thereupon said, Well, whoever is doing the removals, youcan do m e a favour by taking the ring from m y finger wh ich I am u nableto rem ove.

I was confident that my request w as an impo ssible one. But I was so onto be disillusioned. I felt what appeared to me to be warm fingersstroking my ha nd. These then held the finger on which w as the ring. In a

twinkling of an eye, the ring wa s taken off and placed on the table. At the next sitting we got our first definite message rapped out. Thiswas, Please get a trum pet, and we w ill try to speak. To make sure thatwe had got the message right, we asked that it might be repeated. Thiswas do ne.

We bought a trumpet, and looked forward with expectation to the nextsitting. We placed the small trumpet on the table. We had plenty ofrappings, but our interest was centred on the trumpet and what was

going to happen. We had been sitting for about twenty minutes when w esaw the trumpet rise above our heads. It circled round, dipping andrising, as an airship m ight do. This went on for a little wh ile, and thenthe trumpet gently tapped our heads. It eventually became stationaryabout three to four feet above our heads, and as near in the centre of thecircle as possible.

Nothing untowar d happened for a little while, but suddenly we hear d ahissing noise, not unlike that produced by escaping steam. The hissing

continued for some time, then it changed to a gurgling sort of noise. Itsounded very like someo ne gargling his throat. W e listened w ith intenseinterest, and at long last a very squeaky voice w as heard com ing fromthe trumpet. We had the greatest difficulty in understanding what was

being sa id.

We almost gave it up in despair. Although still squeaky and decidedlyincoherent, the voice did at last make itself understood. It said,Hello, hello; will try to speak better another time. A very short


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message, you may remark, but it made a profound impression on ourminds.

We were not so much concerned with the message as with the voice.Whose voice had we heard? Was it the voice of a discarnate spirit?

How had the voice been made possible? These were a few of the manyqueries we asked ourselves.

CHAPTER THREE

THE PASTOR W HO RETURNED

Three days after our first experience of hearing the voice we decidedto hold another sitting. The trumpet was placed on the table in caseanother attempt wou ld be ma de to speak.

After the usual prayer and singing of hymn s, we sat in an atmospher e ofexpectancy. A little time elapsed before we observed the trumpet leavethe table and rise above our heads where it remained suspended. Wenaturally expected a repetition of the previous sitting, but a surpriseawaited us. There was no hissing or gurgling sound this time. Withoutany warning, a terrific voice bellowed through the trumpet whichscared all of us. It was dea fening, and vibrated the who le room .

After we had r ecovered fro m the sho ck, the entity announced him self asthe Rev. T. H. J. (for private and personal reasons I have to omit thename), adding that he was onetime pastor of a chapel in a well-knownMonmouthshire mining town. We were told it was his special missionthat night to assure me I was contacting the right spiritual conditions,and there was no reason to wor ry in this direction any more.

He explained that having no other m eans of com mu nication at previoussittings, the cross and the framed crucifix were brought to us in the

hope that symbolically they would give the necessary assurance. Hegave one of the most inspiring sermons I have heard. He was a giftedorator . For over twen ty minutes he held us spellbound. It was o ne of themo st delightful and uplifting mom ents of m y life.

At the close of his serm on, he asked m e to verify the inform ation he hadgiven. In the cour se of m y inquiries, would I convey a fathers love and

blessing to his two daughters, tell them that he was with them andhelping them as much as he did when on earth. I agreed to do this. He

then prono unced the blessing and bade us good night.


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I was so impressed with this wonderful experience that I sent a reportto a psychic journal. After it was published, I received letters from allparts of the country asking for advice regarding the development ofdirect voice. As the phenom enon w as new to m e, I could be of little help.

Amo ng the letters I received was one from a friend with wh om I had losttouch for about thirteen years. He had apparently forgotten me in thepassing of the years, for he addressed me in the formal Dear Sir. Hisletter was in the same strain, Could I help him with my experience?The outcom e was a n invitation to my friend to visit us.

It so happened that he was living within ten miles of the townmentioned by the Rev. T. H. J. My business at the time preventedmaking a special journey to pursue m y inquiries. When m y friend came,I talked the matter over with him and he volunteered to make thenecessary investigation. A fortnight later he wr ote that he had foun d thechapel just as the Rev. T. H. J. described it, and the grave where thisclergyman was buried. He had sought out the caretaker of the chapeland learned of the whereabo uts of the two dau ghters.

My friend we nt to the addr ess and m et the ladies. He was anxious as tohow they wo uld accept the message from the dead father , but when heexplained the whole circumstances, instead of fainting or being upset,

as he thought they might, they told him that they were very glad toreceive such a comforting message from their father. They added thatthey often felt the fathers presence and influence, and w ould m y friendconvey their thanks to him when he next had an opportunity ofspeaking to him.

Although at this stage we had m any interesting experiences w e wer e farfrom being confirmed Spiritualists. We were still investigators,endeavouring through long and patient research to satisfy ourselves

about the truth of Survival. I would like to mention, too, that we wereunaware who was the medium through whom the phenomena werebeing prod uced.

The manifestation of the Rev. T. H. J. proved one vital point. Oursubconscious minds had played no part in the happenings. He was astranger and absolutely unknow n to us. The mining town he men tioned

we had never visited, neither did we know that the chapel he haddescribed wa s in existence.


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From now on it became our joy to hold conversation with those whomwe considered dead, but whom we found very much alive, in fact moreso than many wh o are living on earth.

As time went on, different entities attached themselves to us. These

were known as controls. Controls should not be confused with guides.There is a marked difference between the two in respect of theirparticular wo rk. There is only one guide, better kno wn to the wo rld as aguardian angel. The special duty of the guide is to take charge of thesoul of an individual during its earthly experiences. The guide is theheavenly parent of the soul from the time of its association with the

body of a child un til it leaves that body to enter the higher r ealms. Thecontrols are, in a sense, specialists. For instance, doctors who havepassed to the greater life come back and give medical advice; others,like. nurses, clergymen and philosophers, deal with their own specialsubjects.

The Rev. T. H. J. told us that a little girl, a daughter of a maharajah,wo uld be attached to the circle in the role of doork eeper and m essenger.He said that she was unable to speak English, and with the help ofothers in the spirit wo rld we w ould have to teach her. We learn ed, too,that it was the w ish of the little girl wh en on earth to speak the language

of the Great White Queen-Queen Victoria - but owing to an earlypassing, as the result of a snake bite, her ambition was not realised.However, she was told by those in the spirit world that her ambition

wo uld be realised one day. And so it came abou t that we w ere chosen tohelp the little one .

At first I thought we were tackling a hopeless task. How were we tostart? We co uld not hold co nversation in the childs native tongue, andshe did not kno w o ur langua ge. I sought advice from the Rev. T. H. J. He

inform ed me that the spoken w ord w ould be mentally interpreted by thespirit control to the little girl, and by this procedure sh e wo uld in timeget to under stand.

It was a tedious business, and required a lot of patience, but it had itscompensation because we found the child a very apt pupil. We started

with the alphabet, then w ith small w ords like cat, dog, top, etc., until wegot her to repeat and understand sm all sentences. Later, we introdu cednursery rhymes, which she thoroughly enjoyed when she became

proficient. W e taught her to sing many of the Sunday School hymn s, herfavourite being, Now the day is over. It was a sheer de light to hear h er


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singing this hymn. In the end, she spoke perfectly apart from a sweetlittle accent. The spirit name of the child was Belle, known toSpiritualists all over the world who heard her speak on varyingoccasions.

As time went on, relations and friends who had passed into the higherlife manifested. It was a source of comfort to us to know that they hadsurvived the grave, and were a live and w ell. W e wer e happy in this new-found understanding, as everything seemed to be going along sosmoothly. But an alarming, not to say unnerving, experience was instore for us.

At the suggestion of friends w e we nt to London to spend Christmas w iththem. We arr anged to have a sitting and a room was m ade ready. From

the start we sensed a disturbing condition. We missed the usualharmony and brightness to which we had been accustomed. Theatmosphere was heavy and depressing. Owing to our inexperience wecould not understand the reason for this depression. We had not beensitting long when one sitter exclaimed that he had a feeling ofsuffocation as though his hear t had stopped beating. Our collie dog, wh o

was in the roo m, began to snarl and gro wl. The dog then paced the roomas if in search of something, growling and snarling the whole time.

Suddenly, a weird laugh was heard, followed by blasphemousutterances. The cursing and foul language were appalling. We werealarmed.

W e imm ediately offered a pra yer, after w hich we sang hym ns, hoping bydoing so to bring about the right conditions and rid ourselves of theundesirable influence that had come into our midst. All the time theprayers were said and the hymns sung, unsavoury epithets wereshouted at us. Finally, a terrific crash filled the air. The dog began

how ling. W e decided to close the sitting and get out of the room as soonas w e could. At this mo me nt, the Rev. T. H. J., in a lou d voice, called onus to offer further prayer s and to make the sign of the cross.

W e did as w e wer e told. After a w hile a feeling of peace and tran quilitycame over the ro om . With this more peaceful condition, the Rev. T. H. J.informed us that an undesirable entity had managed to get in, and

because of our ignorance had been able to cause the distressingconditions we had exper ienced. He warne d us to be careful in future of

our mental and spiritual attitude. Before pronouncing the blessing, he


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told us that in the event of meeting similar trouble in the future, weshould close the sitting imm ediately with a pra yer.

When we switched on the lights we found the carpe~ covered withfragments of what was once a figure of the Buddha. The Buddha,

previous to the sitting, had occupied a place on a plate shelf whichformed a part of the frieze running round the room.

W e carefully exam ined every part of the ro om , walls, furniture, etc., but we found no marks which could have been caused by the Buddhasma shing against it. As a m atter of fact, the resou nding crash w as heardabove our heads, and the only conclusion at which we could arrive wasthat the Budd ha had been sm ashed by psychic forces.

Three days later we held another sitting, and this time peaceful

conditions prevailed. After a gener al discussion, the Rev. T. H. J. told usthat we were to prepare ourselves for a special sitting when fourmedical men would be attached to the circle for the purpose of healingthrough me. We respected his wishes and held the sitting a few dayslater. After the custom ary prayer and hym n, the Rev. T. H. J. manifestedand addressed us at length. Before leaving, he said the medical men

wo uld come in turn an d introduce themselves.

The first to manifest told us that he wa s Charles W right, of Leeds, giving

his full name an d addre ss. He said that he w as at one time con sultant tothe Wo me n and Childrens Hospital in Leeds. He expressed his joy thatan opportunity had been afforded him to help the sick and sufferingfrom the spirit wo rld as he tried to do w hen on ear th. In turn the otherthree spoke. Each gave his name and other par ticulars such as addr ess,the branch of medicine in which they specialised, and the name of thehospital they visited. Their names were, Scattergood, Jessop andBrow n. The last named was a surgeon, and as he said, he was know n as

Bu tcher Brow n to the residents. They had all lived in Leeds and wer ecolleagues. The particulars supplied by these men w ere reco rded and indue course w ere verified.

Some two years later we m et a doctor in London. Through conversationon psychic matters, a subject in wh ich he wa s keenly interested, we ha da pleasant surprise. He had known Scattergood, who was one of hislecturers in his student days when training in Leeds. Later, anotherdoctor recalled having met Wr ight when the form er w as a young m an.

Not the least rema rkable w as the occasion when W right, in a public hailin London, where over 600 people were gathered to hear the direct


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voice, called ou t, Hello, Nurse Groves. How are you , my little pro? Anelderly lady in the gallery responded, and they both held an animatedconversation to the delight of those present. Afterwards it was learnedthat this lady was a nurse, and used to be present at the operations

when Wright was the surgeon. He always addressed her as the littlepro.

Several friends and relations spoke to us after the departure of themedical men.

CHAPTER FOUR

A PSY CHIC OPERATION

We continued our sittings on our return home, and kept our friends

inform ed of the ha ppenings. A little time elapsed befor e they paid us avisit. While we were holding a sitting, one of the sitters complained ofan acute pain in the heart region. We asked for a spirit doctor to comeand give him advice.

Wright immediately diagnosed the trouble, told our friend to visit hisown doctor when he returned to London, and find out what he had tosay. When this man returned to London he consulted his own doctor,

who diagnosed the complaint exactly as Wright had done. His doctortold him that he could do nothing to help him, and an oper ation was outof the question. The only advice he could give was to take a completerest, not to attempt to drive his car or do anything that would involvethe slightest strain to the heart.

We consulted Wright to find out if anything could be done. Wrightsuggested that our friend got three weeks leave of absence from

business, which he could easily do on the strength of the medicalcertificate from his own doctor, and to com e to Cardiff. If he had faith inthe Suprem e Pow er, we w ere told, the spirit wo rld wou ld put him right.Our friend was able to get the required sick leave, and in due coursecame with his wife to Cardiff

We held a sitting when instructions were given as to the mode ofprocedure. The date for the psychic operation - as the spiritcom m unicators called it - was fixed, and in order to get extra pow er w e

wer e asked to invite two extra sitters.

A treatment bed was fixed up in the sance room, around which wasplaced a screen. A table, on which we put a red electric light, stood at


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the head of the bed. Those present w ere the patient, who was su bmittingto this unique experience, his wife, two men whom we had invited asextra sitters, my wife and myself. My friend lay on the treatment bedand I stood beside him. The others took their seats out-side and awayfrom the screened bed.

When everything was ready, a prayer was offered by the Rev. T. H. J.,the first to m anifest, in which he ask ed for the help and guiding hand o fGod to aid the doctors in the work they were about to do. In rapidsuccession voice after voice was heard to say, I am standing by togive help.

Wright then came through, and asked us to give all the help we couldthrough kindly thought and loving sympathy. I was ask ed if I wer e ready

to carry out the operation in accordance with instructions that wouldfollow. I replied that I was, although I mu st say I was n ervous abo ut it.This was a new experience to me, and I had no idea what I would beasked to do.

Immediately the four medical men - their voices coming from abovethe head o f the patient - held a con sultation. W hen they had ar rived attheir conclusions, Wright gave me instructions what to do. I had tomake certain passes, also I was told to apply pressure on certain

arteries. It is interesting to note that the spirit operators knew when I was giving the requisite pressure, for, on several occasions, Wrightcalled out that the pressur e wa s insufficient, and wou ld I press harder . Ithought I was pressing hard enough, and I did not want to hurt myfriend by undue pr essure, but the patient did not complain.

Following the passes and pressures, Wright instructed me to place mythumbs in a certain position, and, on a given signal by him, I was topress hard a nd at the same time m ove my left thum b to the left, and my

right thumb to the right with a quick movement. I did as I wasinstructed, and a distinct click was heard from the heart region.Simultaneously my friend groaned as if in pain. Wright told us thateverything was all right and that we need not get alarmed.

He gave instructions for the left arm to be strapped acro ss the patients body to relieve any strain that its weight might bring on the left side,and for the two men to assist me in putting my friend to bed with aslittle discom fort as possible. He was told that be wo uld have to re main

in bed for a week at least. From his subsequent condition, he had nodesire to leave his bed. I gave the patient a light massage daily, and at


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the end of a fortnight he was convalescent. A week later he was wellenough to retur n to London. It was not very long before he began to feellike his old self, and now, several years later, he has not been againtroubled with his heart.

I would like to say that up to this stage we were unaware who theme dium w as, and it had never da wne d on us to ask. At a later sitting, Ithought one of our party had gone to sleep because of the heavy

breathing that I heard. Whos gone to sleep? I asked. Before anyonecou ld reply, the Rev. T. H. J. interp osed . It is quite all right, he said.

W hat is happening? I asked. We ar e putting Mrs. Perrim an to sleep,was the answ er.

W hy? I queried. I was told that a new con trol was com ing, and the only

way po ssible for this entity to m anifest was throu gh a trance conditionof the med ium. After further q uestioning, the Rev. T. H. J. inform ed usthat Mrs. Perrim an was the medium for the direct voice.

While in the trance state, an entity controlled my wife. Speaking in adecided Scots dialect, the communicator gave her name as FloraMacdonald. Wh en asked if she was Pr ince Charlies Flora Macdonald,she re plied, No, but a descendant of that line. She told us that she w asa nur sing sister whe n on ear th, and was killed in the first Boxer Rising,

in China, while on duty. She added that she had been appo inted one ofthe chief controls of the circle, and would, in future, be a frequent

visitor. Befo re bidding us go od night, she said that she hoped to be ableto speak in the direct voice w ith a little practice.

W e pulled Mrs. Perrim ans leg when she wo ke up. She wou ld not believethat she had been controlled by a spirit entity when we told her whathad happened. All that she remembered, she said, was feeling drowsyand unable to keep her eyes open. We had the greatest difficulty in

convincing her that she had been in a trance. W hen at last we did assureher that we were not fooling, she expressed alarm and concern, andhoped that unseen powers would not use her again in this way withoutfirst asking her perm ission.


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CHAPTER FIVE

THE FIRST MATERIALISATIONS

One of the mo st remar kable sittings we held in Cardiff took place som ethree months after the psychic operation when our friends came to

stay with us for their holidays. Flora Macdonald told us that they weregoing to try an experiment, and in order to bring about the desiredconditions, requested us to spend o utdoors the day on w hich the sitting

wo uld be held that evening. W e wer e to eat sparingly and to avoid mea tof any kind.

At Belles request gram ophone m usic was played. W e saw a cameo h eadand shoulders of a control, known to us as Matron, in nurses attire,

build up. She w ent to each sitter and h eld a conver sation. Although the

cameo manifestation was no larger than four inches, all the featurescould be discerned. After bidding us good night, the materialisationfaded.

We were commenting on the last manifestation when I felt a pressureon m y left knee. Looking do wn, I saw that Belle had partly materialised.

We had a long talk, she gazing at me, and I looking down at her. Bellewen t to each sitter in tur n, sat on their knees, and held a conver sationas she had done w ith m e.

Following Belle, twenty-two en tities comm unicated, among them beingmy w ifes four brothers w ho wer e killed in Wor ld War I, my m other, my

brother-in-law, m y two re gimental pals, Sergts. W alwyn and Cross w ho were killed on the same day as I was wounded at Mametz Wood, July,1916, Flora Macdo nald and W . T. Stead.

Thinking we had reached the close of the sitting, we were surprised tohear Belle say, I wonder what I can do now before wishing you good

night. After a m om entary pause, as if in meditation, she said, I know,I am going downstairs. The sance room was upstairs. Almost as quickas thought, Belle was downstairs and back to the sance room, as welearned w hen she said to me, Take this. I held my hands ou t in front ofme, and in them Belle put a telephone cover, which was a model of a

wo ma n dressed in r ed velvet, eighteen inches high. The cover wa s keptin the front sitting-room dow nstairs.

Belle again said she was going dow nstairs. Jocularly we ask ed her no t to

clear the roo m of its furnishings. Returning in a twinkling of an eye, sheagain asked me to hold out my hands. This time she placed four ash


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trays, one after the other, counting them as she did so, and finallyhanded me the stand-holder for the trays. These articles also had been

brou ght from the sitting-roo m dow nstairs.

One visitor a sked Belle if she w as going to bring him so me thing. Just a

minute, she replied. Let me think. I know, she added, and away shewent. Almost immediately, she asked our friend to hold out his hands.In them she placed his shaving bru sh, soap and safety razor. These shehad brought from the bathroom.

Turning to his wife, Belle said she would try to bring her something.Again, in less time than one can say it, Belle had been to the bedr oom ,collected her hair brush and com b, and handed them to her.

My wife asked Belle if she was going to be favoured as well. Yes,

replied Belle, but wait a minute. W e waited a mom ent, then we hear dBelle say, Her e you are. Belle handed to my w ife her powder puff and

bowl which had been taken off a dressing-table in another bedroom.That was the end.

After the Rev. T. H. J. had pronounced the blessing, we closed thesitting with prayer and thanksgiving for being honoured in witnessingthese rema rkable phenom ena. The clock chimed m idnight as we left thesance room. We had spent four of the most wonderful hours of our

lives.

During one o f our frequ ent visits to London to stay with our friends, wehad an amusing experience. It was arranged one day that we shouldme et the husband at his office in Victoria Street, S.W.1, about 5.30 p.m.It was getting dark when we arrived at the office, in the basement of alarge bu ilding.

We sat in his private office while he went through the letters before

han ding them to the typist to post. After the typist left, we w ent into thegeneral office to have a chat on the days events before going out to tea.W e did not bother to switch on the lights because the man y lights fromadjoining offices shining across the area gave all the illumination werequir ed for the short time we intended to stay.

We had only just started talking, when Belle interrupted ourconversation w ith, This is a funny place to br ing me; its like a cellar.Y ou w ere not asked to come, I replied. In any case, you wer e the last

person we expected. She then told us she was going to have a lookrou nd. Espying som ething she found of interest, she asked if I could tell


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her what were the little things on the shelf. I said that I did not know,but if she wou ld pass one do wn to me, I m ight be able to tell her.

Here, catch, called Belle. I cupped my hands to catch what she hadthrow n, but I missed it. The object fell with a thud on the floor. Groping

arou nd, we foun d it was a small weight, as used on balance scales. Ourfriend said that a number of the weights were store d on the top shelf.

Belle then said, What are these boxes? I replied, I dont know.Catch this one, she said. I missed again, and the box fell on the floor.The impact knocked off the cover, and tile contents, envelopes, werescattered over the floor. While we were picking them up, she said,Good n ight, Mr. Man. Asked to who m she w as referr ing, Belle replied:

Oh, the man with the bald head in the next room . Hes putting his hat

on ready to go hom e. Imm ediately afterwards, we hear d the door of theadjoining office shut. Our friend confirmed that the man in the nextoffice was bald.

Belle told us that there was a bowl of water that should have beenemptied, as it was not very clean. Just where we were sitting, a cornerhad been curtained off where the typist kept cups and saucers, wash

bowl, etc., and made morning and afternoon tea. Belle said that as shedid not like the bowl of water w here it was she wo uld mo ve it.

Imagine our astonishment when we saw the bowl, three parts full ofwater, floating in space som e two feet above the floor. As it floated fromthe curtain to come to rest by our feet, we looked at each other withastonishment. Before we had completely recovered, Belle said: There,thats that. Now we w ill go and have som e tea at Dickens Cafe.

She asked us to stop in front of the mirrors as we went into the cafe.W e wo uld look funny, she said, and she wou ld have a laugh. At that

time, there were a number of distorting mirrors that you had to passwhe n going dow nstairs to the cafe.

On entering, we chose a table under one of the relieving arches, atunnel-like affair. The waitress came and took ou r ord er. Wh ile we were

waiting to be served, loud raps were heard underneath the table. Thetable itself then began to rock , causing the crockery to clatter. We w erefeeling embarra ssed, but whe n the table began to rise from the floor, wegot scared. What if the other occupants observed what was going on?

W e hoped that the waitress wo uld not arrive w ith the food, and see thetable suspended in space. Fortunately, the table descended, and


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everything was normal by the time the waitress arrived with the order.W e breathed a sigh of relief.

CHAPTER SIX

OUR TW O INTRUDERSIt was after midnight when we closed one sitting. I hurried downstairsto prepar e a little mea l before r etiring. I had just put the kettle on w henthe front door bell rang. Wondering who was calling at this time ofnight, I was surpr ised to find it was a policeman .

Is anyone ill, here? he inquired . No, why? I replied. Well, as I wascycling along, I noticed a man come out of the gate and dash up theroad. Seeing the doo r open , I rang the bell, thinking that if anyone w as

ill I might be of a ssistance. I explained that nobo dy wa s ill, and I couldnot account for the man . In that case, it may be that he w as attemptingto break in. I will slip along on my cycle and try to overtake him. Will

you w ait until I return?

About ten m inutes later he return ed, told me that he had failed to tracethe man and suggested an inspection of the house be made to find out

whether the man had been inside and helped himself. With the aid ofelectric torches, we searched among the trees and bushes in theforecourt. Under one big bush the officer found fifty gramophonerecords. These had been taken from the ballroom, w here we found dirty

boot marks, obviously those of the intruder. Each room in turn wasthoroughly examined by the policeman. In the dining-room we foundthe sideboard had been cleared of the silver. An evening wrap an d coathad also been taken from my w ifes wardrobe.

We could not very well tell him we had been holding a sance when heasked if we had hear d any noise, which we had not.

After his departure, we asked ourselves why one of the spiritcommunicators had not told us that an unwelcome visitor was in thehouse during our sitting. I suggested that after our meal we ask thespirit friends the reason for their oversight.

When Belle came through, I asked if she knew anything about thehappening. She told me that they knew a man was there. He was poor,his wife wa s seriously ill, and his children ha d no food. Belle said he wa s

not a bad man, and w hat he had done w as for his wife and children.


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How do you know all this? I inquired. We have been to his home,she replied. In that case, you are able to tell me wher e the man lives.

Yes, but I will not be allowed to do so unless you promise you wonthurt him. Despite our loss, I had no wish to make the lot of this poor

fellow and h is family wor se, so I told Belle that as far as I was co ncernednothing mor e wo uld be done in the matter, but I hoped we wo uld haveno further n octurnal visitors.

Belle then gave a detailed description of the man and his home. Out ofcuriosity, I made a few inquiries, which confirm ed Belles statements.

We were fated, however, to have another unw elcome Visitor. We w ereholding a sitting when Belle said we would have to stop. Asked thereason , she told us there w as a m an trying to get into the house, adding

that he was in the con servatory. Quick, but do be careful, said Belle. Iimmediately rushed downstairs while a friend hurried to a roomoverlook ing the garden. As I got into the ballroom I heard a shou t frommy friend.

He had spotted the intruder making a getaway across the garden. Without hesitation, he flung up the window and made a flying leap tothe garden below. It was a wonder he did not break his neck. Anyway,he w as shaken u p, and by the time he r ecovered, the fugitive had cleared

the wall. I immediately telephoned the police, who arrived quickly.Despite their search, in w hich we all joined, no trace of the intruder wasfound.

On this occasion we suffered no loss, but the police found a packet ofpepper in the conservatory, dropped, no doubt, by the intruder in hishaste to get away. Obviously this fellow was a tough customer, and it

was for this reason B elle had warne d us to be careful.

A woman, whose acquaintance we had made during a visit to London,invited my wife and myself to spend a short holiday with her at hertemporary home in Rye. The house was one of the old type for whichRye is noted. It was in Watch Bell Street, opposite to the modern butcharming Roman Catholic Church. Our hostess had only one maid, acook general, who w as a Rom an Catholic.

One evening, when we had taken our seats for dinner, we thought weheard a r ap coming from underneath the table. We did not take m uch

notice of it, but when a succession of loud thumps occurred, we sat up


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and took notice. As we did, w e noticed the table give a slight sway, wh ichalmo st spilled the soup in ou r plates.

Whats happening here? I asked. I am not going to risk the soupemptying itself on me. I suggested that we remove ourselves from the

table. After we had done so, we watched the table, with its load, risewith a swaying movement from the floor. It remained suspended abouta foot from the floor. Suddenly, it shot across the other side of theroom. That all the crockery, silver, etc., were not swept off seemed amira cle. Even the soup w as intact.

We looked at the table, now stationary, and wondered what the nextmo ve wou ld be. Anxious to proceed w ith our dinner befor e it got cold, Isuggested that it would be a s well for those in co ntrol to bring back the

table and allow us to proceed. The next moment it rose from the floorand floated - there is no other w ord for it - across the roo m, and cam e torest in its original position. We then ate our dinner without furtherinterruption.

It was a very old r efectory table, so heavy that I could n ot lift it. It mu sthave weighed well over a hundredweight. After dinner, we retiredupstairs for coffee, when we thought we might ask our spirit friendsabout the happenings in the dining-roo m.

Belle came an d appeared to be highly amused . She told us that some ofthe boys had got together to see wha t they could do, and they w ere qu itehappy with the resu lts.

Belle broke off the conversation. I am going to try to do something,she said. W hat? I asked. I am not going to tell, she replied. I cantdo it yet, but I am going to w ait until I can. Belle refused to be draw n.Full of expectation, we w aited in silence.

Suddenly, she said, Its all right now; I can do it. In a trice, she calledour hostess and myself to hold out our hands. We did so. Goodheavens, I cried. W hat is it? Som ething I got downstairs, answ eredBelle. B ut it is hot, I said.

Our ho stess said the ar ticle she had bee n given was also h ot. Putting myhand o ver the ar ticle I had been given, I found it was a desser t spoon. Ime ntioned this fact and ou r ho stess said, I have also been given one. Iasked Belle how she ha d man aged to get them. She told us that she was

watching the maid washing up downstairs and, as soon as she had


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turned her back , got hold of the two spo ons and bro ught them to us. Ourhostess said she wou ld make a few inquiries.

Leaving the room , she called for the m aid, and asked if all the silver wa ssafe. I think so, answered the maid. To make sure, will you kindly

check it? said our hostess. After a few m inutes the m aid returned, andtold her mistress that there were two dessert spoons short. She couldnot account for them because all the silver was together when shestarted washing up.

Here are the two missing spoons, said our hostess, handing them tothe surprised and embarrassed maid. But I didnt bring themupstairs, said the servant. Surely you dont think it can be ghosts?The ma id was not enlightened on the ma tter, but there was a seq uel. She

sprinkled holy water about the house, and first thing the followingmo rning sought the priest over the way.

As a contrast to these happenings, during one of our frequent visits toLondon we ha d a m ixed but an interesting sitting. W ith our friends, wehad been invited by a woman to hold a sance in her flat near CoventGarden Market. On arrival, we found that she had invited two friends,so our num ber totalled seven.

Belle opened the proceeding in her usual inimitable way. She was

followed by several controls. Then she returned and asked if we wouldhelp someone to get through. There was a lull; then came a voicemaking a desperate effort to be understood. We had almost given it upas hopeless when, with a final effort, the communicator cried, ItsJimm y! Its Jimm y!

Jimmy who? we asked. Its Jimmy! Its Jimmy! Cant you hear me? We said that we could hear him, but it would help if he could give hisfull name. Im Jimmy White, came the reply. Tell my wife I didnt

me an to do it. Please tell her how sorr y I am that she has been left likeshe has. Do tell her how sorry I am, and that I send her my love. I amglad I have been able to make myself understood , and I thank you all forhelping me to get throu gh. Dont forget to tell my w ife. Good night, andGod bless my w ife.

It was a touching experience. Jimmy White, the financier, had passedunder tragic circum stances, but from the appeal he made to us, there isno dou bt that he was n ot lacking genero sity and a thought for other s. I


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under stand the message w as conveyed to his wife throu gh the wo ma n inwh ose flat we h eld the sitting.

After Jimmy W hites departure, we w ere entertained with some singing. A voice, feminine and husky, began to sing, Im one of the ruisis that

Cromwell knocked about a bit. We listened while she sang the wholesong. It was the one an d only Mar ie Lloyd. She was just like her r eal self,and she had us ro aring with laughter with her hum our and wit.

Apart from the fact that we did not see her, we might easily have beensitting in a music hail listening to the real Marie Lloyd, so natural washer perfor man ce. She spoke lovingly of her daughters, and wished them

well. Before leaving, she treated us to a nother so ng about the old cocklinnet.

We had hardly recovered from the hectic time that Marie Lloyd hadgiven us, when a weak voice, with a cough, was heard singing, I wasstanding at the corner of the street. After singing the whole song, thecommunicator said: Good evening. Its George, you know, GeorgeForm by. Not coughing so bad tonight, am I? I just saw M arie Lloyd, andI thought I would have a try. We told him that he had succeeded very

well, and we w ere glad to have him.

Not bothered w ith my chest now, you kno w, he said, but I should like

to sing you ano ther song, that is, if you don t mind. It went som ethinglike this: Im very fon d of sea life, and m y wife, by the way, she said tome , John. Willie, you shall have a h oliday.

During the song he broke off and gave a little patter. There you goagain, he said. I wish those stage carpenters wouldnt leave nailssticking up on the stage. Then followed a talk between George and animaginary condu ctor of the orchestra. It was am azing. W e almost forgotthat we were listening to one who had passed through the valley of the

shadow s. George For mby told us how happy he was in his new conditionof life, and that he hoped his son w ould m aintain the traditions he hadfounded.

After this sitting, when we were returning to Cardiff by car, wewitnessed an unusual phenomen on.

W e had pu lled up for a picnic lunch, a m ile or so beyond W itney. At thespot, a wide grass verge r an para llel to the roa d for som e distance. After

completing our lunch, my friend and myself cleared up while thewo me n we nt for a quiet stroll along the grass verge. They had not gone a


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minute or two when w e heard them calling us. Looking up, we saw themfrantically waving their hands and beckoning us. We hurried to wherethey were, won dering wha t had happened to cause the excitement.

On our a rrival, we saw thousands of beautiful butterflies of a species we

had not seen before nor since. They were no larger than the size of ashilling. The top part of the wing was deep turquoise blue, with gold veins running through, and the underside was an egg-shell blue withsilver veins. We were able to handle the butterflies, and they appearedto be dazed. We w ere im pressed by the fact that they made no attempt tofly away. It was as if they were in a m agic circle, from which they couldmake no escape. They fluttered languidly in a space of about nine feetsquare . Despite our efforts to drive them aw ay, they took no no tice. Westood for nearly fifteen minutes watching them, when suddenly they

vanished.

W e told ou r spirit friends a t the next sitting about the h appening, andwer e inform ed that they had been responsible for the phenom ena. Theyexplained that the butterflies had been brought by them from anothercountry.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE CALL TO SERVICEMy wife and I continued to hold our sittings every Wednesday andSunday evening, and as one ended we loo ked forw ard to the next. Soon

we w ere to learn of some thing which w as to change the who le course ofour lives.

Flora Macdonald was addressing us one evening. There is work for youto do, she said. Aren t we w orking now ? I asked.

Of course you are, sh e replied, but it is a different sort of wo rk that Ihave in mind. Please explain, I urged.

W ell, she w ent on, I want you bo th to understand that this God-givengift of the direct voice is intended for the m any to enjoy and not for youalone.

W hat do you suggest we do? w as my next question. She said it was thewish of those on the Other Side for us to go to London, w here w e shoulddevote our lives to the service of others by using this gift to comfort

mourners.


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Thats all right, Flora Macdonald, I said, but so far as I am concernedI have no wish to give up m y business, and no particular desire to leavehere for London. We are going along quite nicely, and I do not see anysense in throwing up everything here for an uncertainty in London.For the next half an hour or so, Flora Macdonald and I argued for andagainst the project. My principal objection w as - and I thought a soun done - com me rcialising the gift.

Her re ply was that the labourer was w orthy of his hire. Nobody objectedto a clergyman being paid for his work. What was the objection to us

being paid for a similar w ork? In any case, we cou ld always invite to thesittings one or two people who were unable to pay, and in this way bedoing two goo d turns. Still, I dem urr ed. However , I prom ised to think itover. My wife and I had a long talk about it, but neither was willing toma ke the suggested drastic change.

Flora Macdonald and I resumed our arguments at the next sitting. Ieventually promised to inqu ire about a su itable house, enlist the help ofour friends in North Harrow, and see w hat could be done.

A bombshell dropped. Owing to a sudden business slump, and anadverse change of circumstances, our future, which, two weeks earlier,looked rosy, now seemed very black. We w ere temporarily stunned by

this blow. Any hopes of getting to London vanished, as we thought,through financial straits. Flora Macdonald, however, assured us thateverything would be all right, and w e had no thing to fear.

Getting a place in London suitable to our requirements was not easy.Disappointment after disappointment came ou r way. Wh at appeared to

be the last straw was spraining my ankle as I was hurrying from anestate agents office on m y way to view a ho use. I was a sorr y sight whenI arrived home in the early hours of the morning from London. My

ankle was twice its normal size and very painful. I limped upstairs, innot the best of moods. I told my wife that, after the previous daysaffairs, I did not wan t to see Lon don again. As for hou se hunting, I hadfinished.

The same evening we held a sitting. I wanted an opportunity of tellingFlora Macdonald that I had washed my hands of the London project.She listened without interruption to my long tale of woe. When I hadfinished, she said:


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W ell, Sergeant Perrim an, it doesnt ma tter w hat you say. I tell you nowthat you w ill go to London, and m uch soon er than you expect.

All right, well see, I replied Yes, w e will see, was her rejoinder.

The following morning I received a letter from a friend in London

informing me that he knew of suitable premises, and if I let him knowmy intentions by return of post he would see the landlord. I did notknow what to do. My wife suggested that I consulted Flora Macdonald.If I consulted her , I told m y wife, I thought I knew wha t she wo uld say,and it would not be the advice I wanted. However, we agreed to have asitting to discuss the position, and to hear w hat Flora Macdon ald had tosay. As I anticipated, she told me to w rite my fr iend at once to say that I

wo uld see the landlord in the cour se of a few da ys. The few da ys would

allow my ankle to get stronger, as she did not want to see poorSergeant Perrim an limping to London.

I thought there was a suggestion of Scottish irony about my limping,and I am afraid a battle of words follow ed on the respective qualities ofthe Scots and English. Flora Macdona ld had the last word. I, poor m an,gave in, and prom ised to go to London.

Despite the fact that we had no t the means to m eet the cost of a remo valfrom Cardiff to London, I wrote to several removal contractors for

estimates. In the meantime, I asked Flora Macdonald about the wherewithal to pay. She told me that I need not worry, as everythingwo uld turn out all right.

In due course I received the estimates, and found them far in excess of what I had anticipated. As Flora Macdonald had been prime mover inthis uncertain state of affairs, I thought it would be as well to discussthese with her.

Of course they are too much, she said. Och, you would not get aScotswom an paying all that money.

Probably not, I replied, but unless you can do the removal for us, Idont see how w e can get it done an y cheaper.

You will get it done much cheaper, she said, and in a way you leastexpect. Just wait and see.

The following evening, as my wife and I were r eturning hom e, I noticeda furniture van and trailer, with a London firm s name, on a spare pieceof ground. There was nobody in charge. As there was a small inn close


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by, I thought the driver might be having a little refreshment. He wasthere. I learned that he had a load of furniture which was beingdelivered not far away in the morning. He said that he would bereturning to London e mpty unless he had instructions from h is firm tothe contrary.

I told the driver that I was moving to London, but I was not sure whether the house I was taking would be ready, as I was not due for afortnight. I suggested he came round to see me the following morning

whe n he could give me a n estimate. He agreed to do so.

On arriving home we had a sitting. Well, said Flora Macdonald,didnt I tell you that you would hear of something in an unexpected

way, and that you wo uld get your rem oval done mu ch cheaper?

W e have not re ceived an estimate from this m an yet, I replied, so I donot know whe ther it is going to be cheaper or no t.

Listen to me, she said. When that man com es tomorr ow, tell him theinconvenience to which you w ill be put by a hurried rem oval, and unlesshis estim ate is a mo derate one, you wou ld prefer to w ait. Better still, tellthe man w hat you are prepared to pay.

What about suggesting a figure? I asked. That I will, she replied,

me ntioning a figure I thought ridiculous. There is no doubt about yourbeing a Scot, I told her. W hy, if I told the m an I wa s only prepar ed topay what you su ggest, he wou ld either collapse or think I was m ad.

Dont you w orry about that, Flora w ent on. You can take it from methat you will get the job done at the figure I suggest. And now, get on

w ith it.

Befor e you go, Flora, what about the wher ewithal? I asked. That willcom e, she r eplied, abruptly. Good n ight!

W hen the ma n cam e the next day, I told him w hat I was prepared to payfor the rem oval. His face was a study. He said, W e are~ not doing thisfor the benefit of our health.

Of course not, I replied, but it is better than going back empty. Isuggested he put a trunk call throu gh to his firm to get their opinion. Heagreed, but said, I am afraid they wont consider your o ffer. Anyway,

when he returned from the call box, he told me, much to his surprise,that the firm had accepted my offer without question, and that they

were forwarding a contract form right away. He arranged to come with


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his mate in the evening to pack the china and glass ready for loading thefollowing mo rning. In the m eantime I sent a wire to the landlord askingif it were possible for me to move in immediately. I got a reply that it

wa s all right.

Everything was now in order except the wherewithal. As the men wereloading up, the postman delivered a letter containing a cheque whichmore than covered the cost of moving. Luck was with us during theremoval. The van had not gone more than half an hour when we hadtorrential rain. So heavy was the dow npour that miles of land and roads

wer e flooded.

When I met the men in London the following evening, they told me oftheir experiences. They had just managed to reach Gloucester when

they heard the main road by which they had come was flooded, makingit impassable for traffic. Still, here was our furniture safe and sound,and we re ady for the great adventure.

As I wr ite, we are in the seventh year of this adventure. Since the adventof the voice phenom ena, we have held some two thousand five hundredsittings, and have listened to over ten thousand spirit entities discour se.From these figures it will be realised how impossible it is to record inthis book everything that has happened. For this reason, I am confining

myself to som e of the m ost interesting sittings.The first where unusual phenomena took place happened about threemonths after our arrival in London. Resulting from a public talk I hadgiven, we made the acquaintance of a Scottish family visiting Londonfrom Southern Rhodesia.

W e invited them to a sitting, and learned fro m Flora Macdon ald that thedaughter had potential voice mediumship. Flora said she would needdeveloping, and asked us to sit for development with the young woman

and her parents. We offered them the use of our sance room onSunday afternoo ns. At one of these sittings we had a surpr ise and a littleshock.

The husband sat next to m y wife, on her left, his daughter next to him,and then her m other. I was by the piano in case music was re quired. Wehad been sitting for a while talking when the husband, in great alarm,called out to m e, Your wife is not here!

What do you mean, not here? I asked. Shes gone! he exclaimed. Icalled to m y wife, but got no answ er.


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Are you sure she is not in her chair? I inquired of the husband.Absolutely, he replied. She was here a moment ago, but now herchair is em pty.

I again called my wife, but still there was no answer. I knew she could

not get out of the room because the doors were locked and I held thekeys. For the third time I called, but there w as no r esponse. I have hadenough of this, I said, I am going to find out what has happened toher. I am going to switch on the lights.

As I spoke, Flora Macdonald called out, Leave the lights alone,Sergeant Perr iman. W e have got her, and she is quite safe.

You have got her? I queried; what do you m ean? We have taken herfor a little ride, she answered. Calm yourself. At this moment we

heard m y wife calling us. Her voice seem ed a long wa y off, com ing, as it were, from the housetop. You do look funny down there, she said.Never m ind about our looking funny, I replied. Wh at I wan t to knowis, where are you?

I am up here, she said. Up where? I asked in disgust. Feelingannoyed, I requested Flora Macdonald to explain what had happened.

If you want to know, said Flora, we have levitated your wife. We

found the power here this afternoon suitable for this kind ofphenomena, and w e experimented.

Very nice, too, was my rejoinder. But supposing something hadhappened to cause her a sever e injury, wha t then?

Unless the conditions had been ideal, and we knew no harm wouldcome to your wife, we should not have attempted to do what we have,she replied. I asked Flora h ow high my w ife had been levitated, and shetold me that she had been taken abo ve the roof.

Next came the descent of my wife. We heard Flora instructing otherentities, giving us the impr ession that my wife w as being borne do wn bythem. All the time, Mrs. Perriman was remarking on the funnysensation, sitting on a cloud, she aptly expressed it. When n earing herchair, Flora gave instructions to let my wife go. We h eard he r flop in herchair. As she did so, we breathed a sigh of r elief.

After the sitting was over, we questioned my wife on her experience.She told us that she felt as if she wa s being elongated and cover ed w ithcotton woo l. She had no sensa tion of rising, but suddenly found her self


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looking dow n from a great height through a long tube. The dark sanceroo m w as quite light to her, and that was the reaso n why she w as able tosee us.

W hen she w as being lowered, it was like coming dow n a lift that had no

sides to it. She felt that she w as w ithout shape, and as light as a feather. When she dropped into her chair, she had the sensation of beingremoulded into her natural shape, and this was accompanied by aprickly feeling. For a little while, the sensory nervous system did notfunction in the norm al way.

Asked wh ether she liked the trip, my w ife said that, had she known wha tthe spirit people had intended doing, she would have been afraid totrust herself. We agreed that it would need a great deal of courage to

subm it to such an ordeal, and doubted whether w e wou ld have risked it. As I put it, There are less alarming ways of losing ones wife than bylevitation. At a subsequen t sitting, my w ife was again levitated, but thistime she did not mind.

On another occasion, a young man was told by Flora that he possessedunusu al physical me diumsh ip. If we all agreed, the spirit people wo uldtest his powers at a sitting to be arranged, providing he did not mind.He was quite willing, so were we, and the sitting was held. There were

just the three of us. Instructing us to place our hands on our solarplexus, to conser ve the power , Flora told us that they were r eady.

Our attention was first attracted to a large light which appeared aboveour heads. After rem aining stationary for a w hile, it began to circle theroom. Vases of flowers, which were on our little altar, were brought tous. My large cabinet gramo phone, on w hich I was r esting my arm s, shotaway, causing me to overbalance and come to grief on the floor. Icomplained and said they might have told me what was happening.

Here you are, said Flora Mac, theres your gramophone. The nextmom ent it was pushed towards me. W e then saw a light near my w ife,and hear d her say, Im going up. The light was stron g enough for us tosee her outline. We saw her suspended about five feet from the floor. Iasked how she felt. Fine, she replied, but I hope they dont drop m e.

W e wo nt do that, said Flora. Next we saw m y wife floating roun d theroom, and rise to the ceiling, where she came to a halt. The lightappeared to be attached to her. She was very amused, and so were we.

After a while she began to descend, and around the room she floatedagain.


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As she passed close to me, I wished her bon voyage. Eventually shecame gently to rest in her chair. I thought this would be a cheap andcomfortable way of travelling, but I got no encouragement from Flora.W alk, it will do you good, she sa id.

CHAPTER EIGHT

A CHRISTMA S TREE SANCE

Two occasions to which we looked forward each year were the spiritchildrens Christmas tree sitting and the Remembrance service sitting.The idea for holding them cam e from the spirit wor ld.

Owing to my wifes serious illness, which was followed by threeaccidents, including a motor smash, and my own illness, weexperienced a pre tty tough tim e the first year we w ere in Londo n. At the

beginning of December, things were about as bad as they could be, theonly bright spot was our improved condition in health. It was at thistime, when we were sitting by ourselves, that the first suggestion ofhaving a Christmas tree for the spirit children w as m entioned.

Belle, after gre eting us, full of excitement, said, We a re going to have aChristmas tree for the children. W hose children? I asked.

Why, the spirit children, she said. You have to get a Christmas tree,collect pennies for toys, and when the spirit children have played withthem, you will take the toys to the poor little children who are on yoursphere. You will have a letter from a m an who talks about Jesus, asking

you to help him to provide something for the poor little children he islooking after.

Just a moment, Belle, I interrupted, this sounds all very nice, buthow can you expect us who have no pennies, and very little hope of

getting any, buying a Christmas tree and gathering toys? Surely, if thereare two poor children needing help, it is the medium and I. Much as we

would like to carry out your suggestion, we cannot do the impossible.But Belle wou ld not be put off I told her that we w ould have to wait andsee.

Wait and see, exclaimed Flora, who at that moment came through.Yo u w ill do as the little one has suggested and get a Christmas tree a ndtoys. But . . . Ther e are to be n o buts or ifs, said Flora befor e I could

complete my sentence. Have it your own way, I replied, but still, I


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dont see how it is going to be done, I added. Youll see, was herrejoinder.

We spoke to several people about the idea, and they agreed to help us.As the res ult, we had a nice tree, so m e fifty toys, and thirty-five shillings

in cash. Incidentally I got a letter from a clergyman o f one of the poor estLondon parishes appealing for help. In response, we took the toys andthe money to him on Christmas Eve, and he invited us to stay to thechildrens party that was being held.

The Christmas tree sittings have to be experienced to be r ealised. What joy it is to hear the little ones from the other side of life exclaim in wonderment when they see the huge tree laden with toys of everydescription.

Here is one accoun t as described in Psychic News by Hannen Swaffer:

The most remarkable sance held in London for weeks past wasprobably the party given for spirit children by Mr. and Mrs. A. E.Perr iman. It began with a Chr istm as tree. It ended with a bit of psychicresearch.

Belle had invited nearly forty people to attend a direct voice sance atwhich there was a big tree, covered with toys. They had been sent - over

three hundred of them - from all over the country, many of them forspirit children whose names were given. Others came from formersitters of Mrs. Perrimans, or people who had been helped. A huge doll

was sen t to Belle by someo ne oversea s.

It is hard for non-Spiritualists to u nderstand, but these toys, sent afterthe party to poor children living in London slums, have astralcounterparts which are taken back to the Other World by the deadchildren to who m they are first given.

You know all these pretty toys you have got, said Elsie Carter, one ofthe spirit children whose voices we heard. We take back with us theimpre ssion of them, and then each, has one like the one chosen her e. So

you are a nswer ing two~ purposesone for us in spirit life, and one forthe poor children w ho have not got any.

It was not very grammatically phrased, but it explained the childsmeaning.

Do you realise you have taken part in a great occasion? later said theRev. Waiter Coulthard, who often speaks at the Perriman circles,


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explaining it in his own words. There have been children from theother side of life here, amidst surroundings of joy. They have come to

you in their innocence and love, bringing with them peace andunder standing, taking away with them photographs on their mem ories.They will have replicas of these toys for their joy in the Other W orld. Asthe little messenger told you, they take back a thought-form of the toy.

Remember, every toy has been claimed by spirit children who have been present. Every toy has been claimed by some child, both in thisroom and in the other - there w ere m any toys that there was not roomfor them all round the Christmas tree. The others were put in anotherroo m. Every toy has now a spirit owner . You are giving joy to the otherside of life, and you are giving joy on earth.

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