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 “EVIDENCE FOR A FUTURE LIFE."— A trans¬ 
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 “LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN. ’-i/. net. The 
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 “MORS JANUA VIT/E?”— A discussion of certain 
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ACROSS THE BARRIER 
 
 \ \ 
 
 (($. Q^ocord of 2hue <£rpemncee) 
 
 BY 
 
 lp A«* 
 
 H; A. DALLAS 
 
 WITH AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER 
 
 BY 
 
 H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON 
 
 It is all very well for you, who have probably never seen any spiritual manifesta¬ 
 tion, to talk as you do ; but if you had seen what I have seen, you would hold a 
 different opinion. — W. M. Thackeray 
 
 LONDON 
 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH,TRUBNER & Co., Ltd 
 Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane, E.C. 
 
 1913 
 
> 33,93 
 
 i msft 
 
 TO DEAR MONICA 
 August 18, 1903—July 31, 1911. 
 
 “Would I might give thee back, my little one, 
 
 But half the good that I have got from thee I ” 
 
 H. COLERIDGE. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/acrossbarrier01dall 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IN the following pages I have tried to set forth as 
 accurately as possible an account of certain ex¬ 
 periences which have happened in a family person¬ 
 ally known to me. I am well aware that to a reader 
 unacquainted with the persons concerned the record 
 cannot have the value which it has for those who 
 received the account at first hand. I believe, however, 
 that those who read it will recognise that it is sincere, 
 that in permitting its publication the parents of the 
 child who plays so large a part in the story are 
 prompted by a desire to bring comfort to others 
 such as they themselves have so abundantly received. 
 
 It is obvious that the experiences gain value by 
 their collective character. For this reason I have 
 given them as fully as possible, whilst withholding 
 those which are too personal and private. I have 
 inserted much which to a scientific investigator will 
 appear non-evidential, my aim being, not to select 
 only the strictly evidential matter, but to tell the 
 story as completely as I can, leaving it to those 
 who may read it to form their own opinion as to the 
 interpretation that should be put upon it. 
 
 I should like to point out, however, that many of 
 the phenomena experienced by the Normans are 
 supported by similar experiences attested repeatedly 
 by other trustworthy witnesses. 
 
 For the benefit of those who are not familiar with 
 the language of Psychical Research, or with ex¬ 
 periences such as those described in these pages, I 
 will briefly explain some of the expressions of which 
 I have made use most frequently. 
 
 There are persons who have the capacity for auto¬ 
 matic writing; that is to say they find that after 
 holding a pencil quietly for a few minutes it will 
 write words without their being aware of what is 
 written. Sometimes the hand feels numb and lifeless 
 whilst the writing is done, sometimes the pencil moves 
 slowly, at other times very rapidly. In some cases a 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 thrill is felt in the arm before the writing begins and 
 frequently it is in differing styles. Writing is also 
 called automatic, when the writer is conscious of each 
 word as it comes, but has no knowledge of the whole 
 sentence to be written. In Mrs. Norman’s case she 
 is ignorant of what is written until she reads it over 
 afterwards. 
 
 Clairvoyance denotes vision in which, apparently, 
 the physical eyes take no part; for objects or persons 
 seen clairvoyantly may be described in darkness, or 
 when they are invisible to other persons. Clair- 
 audience is a kind of inner hearing. This is no doubt 
 difficult to explain. I have several times asked clair- 
 audients how they seem to know themselves to hear ; 
 but they have always found it difficult to tell me. 
 On one occasion—and I think only one—I have 
 heard thus, and I can only describe it as a clear, far 
 sound. It seemed a small voice far away, but quite 
 distinct. 
 
 Psychometry is a word used to indicate impressions 
 received by “ sensitives ” when they handle objects. 
 (By “sensitives” I mean those who are gifted with 
 pyschic faculties). For instance I sent Mrs. Norman 
 a lock of hair to psychometrise before she had seen 
 me, and she sent me back a good description of my 
 person and of the style and colour of my attire at 
 that time. 
 
 Perhaps some readers will dislike the term “medium” 
 which occurs now and then in this book. It is used 
 to denote a person who is a channel of communication. 
 It is not easy to find any other equally suitable term, 
 but I have occasionally used “psychic,” and “sensitive,” 
 as alternatives. 
 
 Readers should bear in mind that one of the most 
 marked features of psychic visions and experiences is 
 their symbolic character. F. W. H. Myers has dis¬ 
 cussed this in his work on Human Personality , (vol. i., 
 chapter iii.) A very literal mind, incapable of under¬ 
 standing the language of symbolism will of necessity 
 be puzzled by psychic experiences, and they are also 
 likely to misinterpret the Scriptures, which being 
 
PREFACE 
 
 vii 
 
 oriental works, are full of symbolism. If we bear in 
 mind the symbolical character of ordinary language 
 we shall not think it strange that communications 
 should be made through symbolic visions and signs. 
 
 It should, also, be remembered that the mind of 
 the medium is a factor in the experiences and may at 
 times affect the form which the messages take, even 
 when they allude to matters quite unknown to the 
 writer or to any one present at the time. 
 
 Having been for many years a student of Psychical 
 Research I am, of course, aware of the various theories 
 which have been suggested as explanations of phe¬ 
 nomena similar to those dealt with in this book ; I 
 have, however, purposely refrained from discussing 
 these, my object being merely to record facts and to 
 leave the reader to find his own interpretations. 
 
 I wish here to express my grateful appreciation of 
 the frankness and confidence with which Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman have treated me throughout the time that I 
 have been studying their experiences. Their personal 
 kindness has greatly added to the pleasure which my 
 work has given me. I am well aware that the force 
 of the narrative has been weakened by omissions which 
 I have been obliged to make, and that if I had printed 
 private details the whole story would have gained in 
 impressiveness; even as it stands, however, it is 
 sufficiently remarkable. 
 
 I also wish to thank Mr. Marriott Watson for very 
 kindly volunteering to let the statement about his own 
 experiences appear over his signature. In other cases 
 the names used are pseudonyms, and I should not 
 have ventured to ask to be allowed to use his own 
 name, although obviously his testimony gains value 
 and interest from the fact that it is that of one already 
 well known to readers, as an able and popular novelist. 
 
 I also sincerely thank the other friends who have 
 allowed me to add their experiences and who have in 
 many ways done much to assist me in this work. 
 
 H. A. DALLAS. 
 
 August 18 th, 1913 
 
“Yet men are led away from threatening destruction : a 
 hand is put into theirs which leads them out gently towards 
 a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward, 
 and the hand may be a little child’s .”—Silas Marner. 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAr. face 
 
 I.—The Song Bird .i 
 
 II.—A Little Child Shall Lead Them . .12 
 
 III. —Messages. . 29 
 
 IV. —Monica’s Secret.43 
 
 V.—Physical and Visual Phenomena . .51 
 
 VI. —The Symbol of the Cross and Circle . 71 
 
 VII.—Personal Matters.80 
 
 VIII. —An Unseen Companion . . . .96 
 
 IX.—A few Incidents Connected with Monica 
 
 and Myself.102 
 
 X. —Writings in August and September . 112 
 
 XI. —Visions and Writings . . . -125 
 
 XII. —Incidents Concerning Katherine Willis 147 
 
 XIII. —Some Experiences of Mrs. Norman’s 
 
 Mediumship, by H. B. Marriott 
 
 Watson.162 
 
 XIV. —Concerning some Conditions in the Next 
 
 Life .175 
 
 An Additional Incident .... 196 
 
 Notes ....... 202 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACROSS THE BARRIER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 A bird in the silver dawn 
 Was singing, singing to me, 
 
 It sang so shrill, so sweet 
 In the little wood by the sea. 
 
 * J * # * # 
 
 In the green ash grove by the sea. 
 
 Sweet was the song that I heard, 
 
 For Hope and Courage and Joy 
 Woke at the voice of the bird. 
 
 Rosamund Marriott Watson. 
 
 On July 31, 191 r, a little girl aged seven years 
 and eleven months, called Mary Helen Monica 
 Giuseppina, passed out of this life, after an 
 illness of seventeen days. She was dearly 
 loved, not only by her parents and little sister, 
 but by all who came into contact with her. 
 
 A few letters printed in this chapter show 
 how attractive she was to those outside her 
 home, and her mother’s brief narrative gives a 
 vivid and living picture of the qualities which 
 
2 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 made her the darling of her parents. Vivacity 
 running over into innocent mischief, combined 
 with ardent affections and a religious conscious¬ 
 ness unusually developed in one so young 
 united to make a character of great fascination 
 and promise. 
 
 Her mother thus writes of her :— 
 
 “From the time that she could lisp a 
 few words Monica was, as the sisters of the 
 convent said, an extraordinary child. ‘ Elle 
 sera origfinale,’ said the Rev. Mother of the 
 Annunciation Convent, who fairly worshipped 
 her. 
 
 “ One side of Monica’s nature was all fun, 
 mirth, and mischief. We dared not leave any¬ 
 thing near her when absent, if only for a couple 
 of hours, for she would surely try experiments 
 —mostly disastrous. For instance, all my 
 brown boot polish was distributed over the 
 sitting-room furniture, the smell being strongly 
 in evidence when we returned. Another time 
 a custard was tried, mint sauce, custard, and 
 the contents of the cruet were mixed, ‘ for a 
 salad,’ she said. Of course she was scolded, 
 but one could not be cross with her for long. 
 Her big, dark blue eyes would keep flashing 
 
THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 3 
 
 side looks to see if we were not going to laugh. 
 She had a regular mane of auburn hair which 
 reached to her waist, even at four years old, 
 and when I looked cross, she shook it over 
 her face to hide it. 
 
 “ Her laughter was a regular bubbling out of 
 mirth, and even if you heard it from a distance 
 it was so infectious you had to join in. 
 
 “ I remember once we were sitting on the 
 promenade at Ramsgate, and there were one 
 or two others on the seat, strangers to us. 
 Suddenly, after watching a man carefully for 
 a while, she began to gurgle with laughter. 
 They all caught it, and soon we were all laugh- 
 ing together. I asked her why she had laughed 
 so, and she said, ‘ The man was reading and 
 it made his moustaches curl ; p’raps it was 
 the funny bits, ’cause it kept going up and 
 down.’ Another time, with her father and 
 myself, she stopped us by a churchyard and 
 exclaimed : ‘ Why, look at all those dinettes on 
 the graves. Do the people have their dinners 
 laid there still ? ’ She meant the glass-covered 
 wreaths, which gleamed white in the sunshine 
 from the road. ‘Dinette’ was the French 
 name for her doll’s dinner set. 
 
4 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 “ When we were in apartments, one day at 
 dinner, her father said something in a joking 
 way that she thought irreligious. She fought 
 hard to keep a smile off her face, then, looking 
 severely at him, she said, pointing downwards, 
 
 ' Daddy, you’re a bold, bad man, and you’ll go 
 down there when you die.’ 
 
 “They were nearly all Irish girls at the 
 convent, and she had caught a little brogue, 
 which just suited her bonnie, laughing ways. 
 She was extremely fleet-footed, a real Atalanta, 
 and pirouetted round us sometimes on the very 
 tips of her toes. Men, women, and children, 
 the priests and sisters at the convents, all 
 adored her. 
 
 The other side of her, strange to say for one 
 so young, was deeply religious. She loved 
 coming to Mass and Benediction, and the first 
 time she was taken to the latter service and 
 saw all the candles alight, she cried out in 
 surprise: ‘Mummy, do look! It is Jesus’ 
 bedtime ; He goes before I do. How funny! ’ 
 
 “The most difficult thing to cure her of was 
 answering the responses when she should not. 
 When only the server was supposed to answer, 
 Monica would join in with a loud ‘Yes,’ and 
 
THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 5 
 
 ‘ Amens ’ where there were not any. When I 
 reproved her she would say piteously : * But 
 I love Jesus, too ; they’re not the only ones 
 that love Him. I want Him to know I do, 
 too.’ 
 
 “One morning about 5 a.m., we were 
 annoyed at being awakened by Monica sing¬ 
 ing in a loud, clear voice. I went to the 
 children’s room to tell her to be quiet. There 
 she stood, on the bed in front of the crucifix, 
 looking very pleased, and saying: ‘ There, 
 
 isn’t that pretty?’ ‘Monica,’ I said, ‘Go to 
 sleep at once, and don’t make such a noise.’ 
 Like lightning she had shot into bed again, 
 and looked up at me protestingly. ‘Weally,’ 
 she said, ‘ I was singing “ Rosy ” to Jesus, and 
 He did love it so.’ Another time, in winter, 
 she took down the crucifix, and wrapping her 
 little stays around it, took it into bed with her. 
 
 ‘ Poor Jesus was so cold,’ she said. Then I 
 found she had removed all the nails from His 
 hands and feet. They were of wood, and she 
 broke them all off trying to get them out. The 
 sisters in the convent told me that she always 
 cried bitterly whenever they told her about the 
 Agony in the garden and the Crucifixion, so 
 
6 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 that they would send her out to play when that 
 part came in the lessons. Her love for Him 
 was so very real, and so different from that of 
 most tiny ones ; she wanted to comfort Him. 
 
 ‘ I will make Him never cry any more,’ she 
 said once. 
 
 “ She was a natural little child, fond of play 
 and fun, and very mischievous, yet terribly 
 sensitive. If I was depressed, she was by my 
 side, saying, ‘ Darling, laugh, do laugh and be 
 jolly.’ If I cried she sobbed silently till 
 ‘ Mummy ’ was happy again. 
 
 “ There was nothing she loved more than 
 helping me to make the beds and dust. I 
 am sure she would have been very fond of 
 home. 
 
 “ Her favourite pastime on a wet day was to 
 sit and comb out her long hair for hours 
 together, sitting on the floor; this gained her 
 the name of ‘ Mermaid,’ that and her passion 
 for water. At the Convent once she wanted 
 some water, and as she could not have 
 any she turned on the hot water from the 
 pipes and flooded the room. She was then 
 four. 
 
 “ I have another remembrance of Monica. 
 
THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 7 
 
 When we were at C— and she was home for 
 the holidays my husband, Dick, had a chum 
 whose name was Reggie, and one day they 
 quarrelled and when Reggie came in Dick 
 went out into the garden. Reggie and Monica 
 were very fond of each other and seeing him 
 look depressed she went up to him, put her 
 hands on his knees and looking up at him 
 coaxingly, she said, ‘ Uncle Bridget,’ (she 
 always would call him so) ‘’sposing you said to 
 Dickie you were very, very sorry, and asked 
 his pardon, p’raps he’d forgive you—or—shall 
 I go and tell him, ’cause you are sorry you was 
 rude, aren’t you?’ Well, the tears came into 
 Reggie’s eyes, and he took her advice, went 
 into the garden, and a few moments after, both 
 men went off with their guns as happy as ever, 
 and Reggie did not forget Monica, but got her 
 a present at Eastbourne. This is an example 
 of her peace-making nature.’’ 
 
 The following letters from two priests bear 
 witness to the hold little Monica had on 
 their affection. The first letter is from 
 a French priest. He had made a great 
 pet of Monica and called her by the pet 
 name of “ mon petit chou.’’ This pet 
 
8 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 name was only used by this priest, not by 
 any member of the family. This point 
 should be noted, as it will presently be seen 
 that it has some importance. 
 
 “ Old papa very, very, very deeply sorry on 
 dear, dear little Monica, now looking down on 
 us from Heaven. What can we say but what 
 we, though broken-hearted, repeat with holy 
 Job, ‘ God gave us an angel, God recalled his 
 angel back,’ with, no doubt, a long and 
 touching message of us all. 
 
 “ Blessed be the Holy Name of the Lord, 
 our common beloved Father. She will be 
 happier there, more useful to us where she is, 
 than with us here below ; therefore blessed be 
 God. 
 
 “ I heard on last Saturday week the child 
 was not well. We all prayed for her and for 
 you. Yesterday I heard the striking, sad news, 
 dear Monica passed away to a better world, 
 leaving us so sweet and lovable memory. At 
 first I could not believe it, but I realise we 
 were not worthy of such an angelic new 
 communicant child, and she may be our 
 protector and helper in Heaven, to prepare us 
 
THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 9 
 
 a safety place near to her in the bosom of our 
 Eternal and beloved Father. 
 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 A. A.” 
 
 “Just a word to thank you for your very 
 kind letter. It was a joy to me to know the 
 peacefulness of the little one’s end, though she 
 suffered so much—must have done, poor child. 
 I am so thankful that I was able to see her as 
 I did, so shortly before her death. It is 
 another inspiring memory, another grace from 
 God. I can assure you my affection for my 
 little friend was not disinterested. I coveted 
 her prayers in return, especially as I could not 
 fail to see that by her loss to earth, they were 
 soon to have a greater power. Her disposal 
 of her little treasure is very touching—God 
 bless her. Her little soul is, I feel sure, with 
 Almighty God ; if only by reason of her sweet 
 patience during the painful days of her sickness. 
 Resignation to the Will of God was taught me 
 by her little dying face, and I should be un¬ 
 grateful if I ever forgot the lesson or the one 
 who imparted it.” 
 
 T. V. 
 
io 
 
 THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 When she knew that she was dying, she 
 said : “ I wonder who will meet me,” and to 
 her mother, “ Come with me.” 
 
 To her father she gave her medal and a 
 badge and asked him to wear it. 
 
 The writer of the last letter also wrote the 
 following to a Sister of the Convent :— 
 
 Dear Sister A., 
 
 Your letter with the sad news of dear 
 little Monica’s death has just arrived. God 
 rest her pure soul. I am sure she will not 
 forget you, Sister, now that she is able to help 
 you in return for your devotion to her. The 
 patient little face, as I last saw it, cannot easily 
 be forgotten. 
 
 There was something most instructive and 
 edifying about her silent suffering. May 
 Almighty God console her parents with the 
 thought that their little one has gone to That 
 which, to even the longest life, is a welcome 
 end, and that we are the richer for a little 
 friend to plead for us before the throne of Him 
 who values more than all the prayers of 
 children. 
 
 T. V. 
 
THE SONG-BIRD 
 
 11 
 
 THE TINY SEED OF LOVE. 
 
 On the day Monica came home for her last 
 holidays, just before her seventh birthday, she 
 went up to her Daddy and laying her hands 
 on his knees, she looked up at him with her 
 great blue eyes and sang :— 
 
 “ If I could plant that tiny seed of love 
 In the garden of your heart, 
 
 Would it grow to a great big love some day, 
 
 Or would it die or fade away, 
 
 Would you care for it and tend it every day 
 Till the time was nearly past, 
 
 If I could plant a tiny seed of love 
 In the garden of your heart?” 
 
 She sang with much expression, and her 
 voice was as clear as a bird’s, in fact they 
 called her “ The song-bird.” 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM ” 
 
 In order to appreciate the significance of the 
 following narrative it is necessary to state a 
 few facts about Monica’s parents. As they 
 were members of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 Monica was sent to a Convent school ; she 
 was confirmed when she was seven and received 
 her first Communion about a month before she 
 died. Her father’s adherence to the Church 
 was, however, merely nominal; actually, he 
 cared for no religion. He had been brought 
 up in a very strictly religious atmosphere; and 
 when a boy, most of his Sundays were spent 
 in church or in some religious work, but this 
 was from compulsion, not voluntarily. When 
 he was about fifteen his father lost money, 
 and it was necessary that he should go out into 
 the world and earn his living. Having a re¬ 
 markable gift for music he adopted the musical 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 13 
 
 profession, and in a short time he was in the 
 midst of the excitements of the dramatic and 
 musical world. His great ability soon procured 
 him distinction, and he had engagements at 
 Covent Garden, Drury Lane, the Olympic, the 
 Gaiety, and other theatres in the country and 
 in the United States. In the whirl of what is 
 called “a gay life” he threw off all vestiges of 
 religious and moral principles and drained the 
 cup of dissipation, even to its very dregs. 
 When he married he dropped to a considerable 
 extent his former habits of life, but he still 
 neglected home and family, although he was 
 fond of them both in his own way. He says:— 
 “ I was, and had been, for many a long year, 
 at enmity with my wife’s family, and would 
 neither allow her to see or write to any of 
 them. To sum it all up I was a nuisance to 
 my loved ones and to myself. My companions 
 were undesirable ; I knew it, but I clung to 
 them. I felt life was indeed hell. And so it 
 dragged on until suddenly I was brought 
 up with a jerk, and brought face to face with 
 a great reality, the Unseen Life. I experienced 
 a great shock, a great change. The past 
 dropped away from me. It was as if I had 
 
i4 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 
 
 just unbuttoned a cloak from round my neck 
 and it slipped off. There was no struggle 
 then , no fighting with myself, I felt born again. 
 I could breathe ; I seemed to stand in a new 
 world, in new clothes. In a second here was 
 peace and a great calm. I wanted all that I 
 had neglected, and how I wanted Monica! . . . 
 The enmity was gone. . . . And now I wish 
 that the happiness and peace and love I feel 
 could be experienced by everybody, and I 
 know for a grand certainty that what Monica 
 has been instrumental in doing for me, count¬ 
 less little ones are, on the other side, eagerly 
 waiting to do for their own loved ones.” 
 
 The above is quoted from a statement which 
 Mr. Norman sent to me, with permission to 
 use it at my discretion. 
 
 Monica’s mother has always been religiously 
 disposed, and her husband’s alienation from 
 religion naturally grieved her. She is Irish, 
 she married young, and soon after marriage 
 she was separated from her family on account 
 of the strained relations between her husband 
 and her father, which extended to the whole 
 family. One of his sisters-in-law he could not 
 get on with ; her name was Kathleen. When 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 15 
 
 Kathleen was dying she expressed a wish that 
 she could see little Monica, who was then four 
 months old but this wish was not fulfilled. 
 
 Until the year of Monica’s death her mother 
 had not discovered that she had any psychic 
 faculties, although there are indications that 
 these had appeared on one or two occasions. 
 They had not been recognised, and the father 
 had paid no attention to the subject and did 
 not even know that a Society for Psychical 
 Research existed. 
 
 Here are two experiences, however, which 
 seem to be supernormal in character : 
 
 Mrs. Norman says :—“ One night just as I 
 was going off to sleep, or rather tossing about, 
 trying to get comfortable, I suddenly saw a 
 brilliant white light illuminating the staircase. 
 The door faced me and was open, the stair¬ 
 case was always pitch black, and had no 
 windows. I could not understand the light, so 
 I awoke my husband who was already asleep, 
 and asked him if he saw it. He replied, ‘ Of 
 course not, it is black as usual.’ But I was 
 not convinced and lit a candle and went down 
 to look at the fire. It was out and all in the 
 
16 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 sitting-room was dark. When I returned the 
 light had disappeared. 
 
 “ The next day I asked the landlady if the 
 place was haunted, as every time my little girl 
 slept in our room she would wake about an 
 hour after ailing asleep, panting, and her heart 
 thumping, and always called me up, when I 
 found her in a profuse perspiration. Several 
 times that happened to me. The landlady 
 laughed at me, as did my husband, but the 
 following night he saw a light, white and 
 brilliant, the size of a small tea tray, hovering 
 over me, causing every flower of the pattern on 
 the eider-down to show up clearly.” 
 
 On another occasion, when Mr. Norman 
 went to look at a house with a view to 
 residence, Mrs. Norman described the house 
 on his return, although she had never been in it. 
 She described it both inside and out; she saw 
 the stained glass squares of the sitting-room 
 door and the oak panelling, the kitchen 
 and enormous bedrooms, all were correctly 
 described. 
 
 After little Monica’s death she heard a voice 
 call her, but she attributed this at the time to 
 fancy. It is only in the light of subsequent 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 17 
 
 experiences that she has recognised that this 
 voice may have been supernormal in character. 
 
 When Mrs. Norman’s father died she 
 attended the funeral, and after Monica’s death 
 there was a reconciliation between the two 
 families, so that Mrs. Norman visited her 
 mother occasionally. 
 
 On December 21, 1911, she had a curious 
 experience which may be related in her own 
 words :— 
 
 “ A few days previous to Christmas, at 
 about six p.m., I was sitting with my husband 
 and little girl and we were all reading. All at 
 once I closed my book and said, ‘ Don’t speak, 
 
 I am going over to B.’ (her mother’s residence) 
 ‘to see what mother is doing.’ 
 
 “ Then I closed my eyes and entirely lost 
 count of my surroundings. I found myself 
 going down Albert Road from the station. 
 Entering the house, I looked into the dining¬ 
 room, and saw my sister, Lucy, embroidering 
 with green silk on something black, and Minnie 
 was writing. (I thought as I looked—Well, 
 for a wonder! Minnie is writing). Then I 
 looked into the kitchen, but it was empty, so I 
 
18 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 
 
 went upstairs, and found mother at the top of 
 the house, in her ‘den.’ The oil stove was 
 alight and smoked. Mother sat near the table, 
 writing-things before her, and looked ill and 
 worried. Then Bessie, the cook, came in and 
 sat down near the door, telling mother about 
 the hours her husband (a baker) had to work. 
 She had on a helio woollen coat and cap. She 
 asked something about next day, then she went 
 down and mother followed, and went and spoke 
 to Minnie about Father X. and something 
 about the Bishop. Later I heard Minnie say 
 ‘ John York, John York, where hast thou 
 gone, John York.” (This was part of a story 
 by Sir Gilbert Parker which Minnie and I both 
 loved, and I had given her a bugle brooch 
 which she named ‘John York’ in remembrance 
 of the story). Then Minnie spoke of some¬ 
 thing' she had heard tomatoes were good for. 
 
 I came back then and wrote it all down. I 
 went over next day (to home), and when 
 mother heard it she was astonished, because it 
 had all happened exactly as I had seen.” 
 
 I here add the mother’s corroboration of 
 the statement:— 
 
 “ I certify that all the above statements are 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 19 
 
 to my positive knowledge absolutely true and 
 correct in every detail.” 
 
 I have this certification with Mrs. Norman's 
 mother’s signature of her own name. 
 
 Little Monica died in the Convent in July, 
 1911, both her parents being with her, but 
 with the exception of this instance of “ sight at 
 a distance ” nothing supernormal occurred to 
 her parents until March 16, 1912. On that 
 evening they were startled by an experience 
 which proved to be the first of a series. 
 This can be related in Mr. Norman’s own 
 words, as he published the following letter 
 
 “ Sir,—In asking you to kindly insert this 
 letter in your valuable paper * Light,’ in the 
 hope of obtaining an explanation of our ex¬ 
 perience, I would impress upon you that I am 
 a level-headed, extremely practical, non- 
 imaginative individual, and my wife is equally 
 practical. On Saturday, March 16, about 9.15 
 p.m., I was sitting at supper with my wife, 
 when suddenly I became conscious of a ‘some¬ 
 thing ’ behind me. There was a rustling 
 sound, as if someone were brushing up against 
 
20 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 
 
 the wall behind the sofa. My wife heard it and 
 exclaimed, ‘ What’s that ? ’ Here let me say 
 that, being in a Hat, the bedroom we occupy is 
 behind the dining room, the head of the bed 
 being against the other side of the same wall. 
 Retiring to bed at about n p.m., I suddenly 
 saw, a few minutes afterwards, a live burning 
 flame, about the size of a teacup, issue from 
 the top of the wall and slowly proceed along, 
 and beneath, the ceiling for a distance of about 
 eighteen inches or two feet. It remained 
 stationary for some seconds then descended 
 over me about midway between the ceiling and 
 the bed, alternately ascending and descending. 
 It was quivering and pulsating with life. I 
 immediately whispered to my wife, calling her 
 attention to it, and together we watched the 
 phenomenon. It never moved right or left, 
 but remained over me, and the movements 
 stated continued. The room was in total 
 darkness. I got out of bed and subjected it to 
 every test I could think of, moving the mirrors, 
 window blinds, etc. Upon lighting up ‘ it ’ was 
 not discernible, but immediately upon darkness 
 ‘ it ’ was still there, and was there when we fell 
 asleep. Last night all was as usual. We 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 21 
 
 hope to be favoured with further manifestations. 
 I might say that we lost our dear little girl last 
 July. She loved us very dearly and almost 
 her last words to her mother were ‘ Come with 
 me.’ Whatever this phenomenon may have 
 been, I am convinced that it was something 
 not of this earth.—Yours, etc.” 
 
 I read this letter when it appeared in the 
 paper, and it occurred to me to answer it and to 
 give some advice which might be useful. But 
 having much to occupy my attention I did not 
 do so, thinking that probably others would 
 respond to the appeal. A week or two later, 
 however, I read another letter signed with the 
 same name, as follows :— 
 
 “ Sir,—We had repetitions of the pheno¬ 
 menon mentioned in my letter in 1 Light,’ page 
 168, on March 18, 19, and 23 ; the last time it 
 was accompanied by raps upon the washstand 
 —one rap, then two, followed by one again. 
 As I said, I am a level-headed man, but there 
 is something in this beyond my ken, and I 
 should be thankful if any reader of ‘ Light ’ 
 can render me some assistance in getting to the 
 root of it. 
 
22 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 I believe one communication did arrive for 
 me after I had left. If so doubtless the writer 
 has had it returned marked ‘ gone away ! ’ I 
 am extremely sorry if this is so.—Yours, etc.” 
 
 On reading this second letter, I determined 
 to yield to the impulse I had already had, and 
 I wrote to Mr. Norman advising him to read a 
 book called, “ From Matter to Spirit.” The 
 book is now out of print and as I think that 
 certain experiences related in it are analogous 
 to some of the experiences of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman I will quote some passages here. 
 These passages refer to lights seen at the time 
 of a death and at other times. It should be 
 borne in mind that neither Mr. nor Mrs. 
 Norman had read books on this subject at this 
 time. 
 
 The following was related to Mrs. De 
 Morgan, wife of Professor De Morgan, and 
 authoress of the book in question. Mrs. De 
 Morgan was watching a dying person, and as 
 she did so she observed that her fellow-watcher 
 gazed intently on what, as far as she could see, 
 was vacancy. She continues : 
 
 “ She told me after a few minutes what 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 23 
 
 she had seen, thus :— “ I was looking at a 
 
 mist which seemed to be rising from the bed, 
 and which I had noticed some time, when my 
 attention was drawn upwards and I saw a 
 pillar of light, between sunshine and moonlight, 
 rising three or four feet. Within this was 
 still a brighter light becoming more brilliant 
 at the centre; and from the centre to the 
 circumference, from within outwards, it was 
 all working together with intense rapidity.’ 
 The seer has been a trusted friend of my own 
 for many years ; her character for truthfulness 
 is quite above suspicion.” * 
 
 Any one who has studied this subject knows 
 that seeing a column of light is not a infrequent 
 experience in this connection. 
 
 The next experience happened when Mr. 
 and Mrs. Norman were alone in the house with 
 their only child, a girl of thirteen. No maid 
 was sleeping in the house, and the child was in 
 bed. 
 
 Before reporting this occurrence to me Mr. 
 Norman mentioned that little Monica was “ the 
 soul of 1 lischief.” This is apparent also 
 
 From Matter to Spirit,” p. 128, 
 
24 
 
 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 
 
 from the account already given in an earlier 
 chapter. 
 
 Mr. Norman had risen, gone down stairs, 
 put the kettle on the gas stove and returned to 
 bed. He says: “ When my wife went down 
 five or six minutes afterwards the light was 
 out, the water was cold, and the gas turned off 
 at the meter. The following day the same 
 thing happened when the oven was full of 
 pastry, etc. The next morning we had the 
 kettle episode again. No maid in the house. 
 Our little girl on the first and third occasion 
 in bed, the second time at school.” As this 
 phenomenon is very strange it is desirable to 
 give careful details. Mrs N. has allowed me 
 to copy the account she had written in her 
 diary :— 
 
 “On the 13th April, 1912, at about 8.30 a.m. 
 D. came down, turned on gas at meter, lit the 
 gas stove and put kettle on, whilst I was 
 dressing; he got back to bed and I came 
 down ; the kettle was singing, and I started 
 lighting the fire. Suddenly I noticed the 
 kettle had left off singing, and went to look. 
 The little handle was turned full on at the stove, 
 but the gas was off at meter, this being done 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 25 
 
 by someone turning a little cog at meter. Now, 
 when I told D. he said I must have done it 
 myself, that it couldn’t be otherwise, and so it 
 was left. But one morning, 15th, the same 
 thing happened to him, as if it were to convince 
 him, and it did.” The gas was turned off three 
 times. When I was at their house J carefully 
 examined the position of the meter. I saw 
 that it was quite visible from the kitchen, so 
 that any one standing at the stove could have 
 seen a person at the meter by just looking in 
 that direction. Apart from my personal con¬ 
 viction that the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman is incapable of deceiving by playing 
 such a trick, it is important that readers 
 who are disposed to think otherwise (because 
 they do not know the child) should understand 
 how easily any trick of this sort might have 
 been detected, how difficult it would be to 
 carry it out on two occasions without being 
 found out, to say nothing of the fact that the 
 same thing happened when she was at school. 
 I apologise to my little friend for these 
 explanations, but I know she will not object to 
 them, as she is too keenly interested in the 
 investigation and wishes to help to make the 
 
26 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 evidence for the genuine character of the facts 
 as clear as possible. 
 
 On April 17th, at about 8 p.m., another 
 phenomenon occurred which was also recorded 
 in Mrs. Norman’s diary. Mr. Norman gave 
 me an account of it by letter : — 
 
 “ There was a sheet of foolscap on the 
 dining-room table. It began to move in the 
 most extraordinary fashion, rolling and curling 
 into a cylinder, then being filliped up and down, 
 an inch or more off the table. I won’t attempt 
 to describe our astonishment. My wife then 
 took a pencil, and her hand wrote automatically 
 and rapidly. ‘ Mischief is me. Get your empty 
 box to tell you what. It is only me near you 
 two. Open your eyes more, dears. Kiss 
 Daddy—Your Pet.’” 
 
 In a later letter, in reply to further inquiries 
 on my part, he wrote :— 
 
 “ I ought to tell you that the rolling into a 
 cylinder and flipping went on over half a minute, 
 during which time we stood by the side of the 
 table and watched it. I cannot express our 
 awe and wonder.” He added that the paper 
 continued to flip “ at the corner (top) during 
 
“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM” 27 
 
 the message, and when free from pressure of 
 pencil flipped as before.” 
 
 When I was with them I was shown the 
 manner in which the paper curled. He took 
 a piece of paper and curled it with his fingers 
 so as to make clear to me what he saw. 
 
 The reference to the empty box was unin¬ 
 telligible to them. He wrote : — 
 
 “ The only box we could think of was a huge 
 packing case used in moving, but we got 
 nothing from that. Upon retiring for the night, 
 I was just dozing off, when there came a 
 tremendous bang. It roused as all. I said to 
 my wife, ‘ What on earth is that ? ’ 
 
 “ ‘ Why,’ she replied. ‘ That is in Monica’s 
 empty medicine box.’ It had been placed 
 under the bed and forgotten.” 
 
 The automatic writing done by Mrs. N. is 
 usually done with her right hand, and she is 
 not aware of what she is writing until she has 
 read over the message afterwards. She prefers 
 to be read to or talked to whilst the writing is 
 going on, so as to keep her attention off it. 
 I have seen her writing in this way. On one 
 occasion she wrote with the left hand. 
 
 I have been allowed to study almost all the 
 
28 “A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 automatic messages which have come to the 
 Normans, and a few may be quoted at this 
 point of the record. 
 
 It is a striking fact that the first mention 
 made of Monica by automatic writing came 
 from * Kathleen,’ the sister of Mrs. Norman 
 who had expressed a wish to see her little 
 niece before she died. With this sister-in-law 
 Mr. Norman was not on good terms; in fact 
 there was no intercourse between the two 
 families for seven years ; it was, perhaps, one 
 of the last things which he, at least, would 
 have expected, that this particular sister-in-law 
 should open up the communications between 
 Monica and her parents. To Monica’s mother 
 this may have seemed more natural, for she 
 had taught Monica to pray for her aunt as 
 soon as she could learn to pray at all. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 During the month of March Mrs. Norman 
 dreamed repeatedly of Kathleen. After the 
 appearance of the “ flame” she mentally asked 
 “ Why do 1 keep on dreaming of Kathleen ? ” 
 and, through her automatic writing, received 
 the reply, “ Because my photograph is away.” 
 
 After having been in a frame for a long¬ 
 time it had been taken out and used to back 
 another photograph, which was put into the 
 same frame. After this message it was 
 restored to its original place and the dreams 
 ceased. 
 
 On March 28th Mrs. Norman felt impelled to 
 write, and she received the following in the 
 midst of a message of a private nature :— 
 
 “ Monica needs your love and messages. 
 This was signed “ Kathleen.” 
 
3 ° 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 It was not until after this that writing came 
 inMonica’s name. 
 
 This is one of the early messages which 
 came, unsigned :— 
 
 “ See wherein your heaven lies. Fear 
 not the sneers of man. Serve not all men, 
 serve Him, in leaving particulars of the how 
 and wherefore, and search right and left for 
 light. 
 
 “ You shall find and see and have knowledge 
 full and to spare. Purify yourself. Have no 
 graves for your loves. Love all, great and 
 small.” 
 
 “ Socialism in spirit is necessary in the 
 great Brotherhood. Love one another is, or 
 should be, our law. 
 
 “ Live up to ideals and so rise out of the 
 little into the heights your spirit covets. You 
 are rising, cast off all clogs, and soar higher. 
 To forgive is not degrading, but divine law.” 
 
 After being doubtful and impatient, Mrs. 
 Norman received through her automatic 
 writing :— 
 
 “ Permit us, don’t turn us away. We 
 wish you all love and peace. Be sweet and 
 trustful. Soul, be patient.” 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 3 l 
 
 After a request for guidance came the 
 following :— 
 
 “Guidance may help, but you must 
 learn self-reliance. Learn that you yourself 
 are your self’s master. Be strong. Say I—I 
 —I—over and over again. (Shan’t I get 
 selfish ?) It won’t make you selfish. It will 
 strengthen you. 
 
 “ It is needful that you should know what ego 
 means. Good-night.” 
 
 April 28, ’12.—“Make way for us. Don’t 
 open the door with one hand and close it with 
 the other.” 
 
 April _9, ’12.—“ Dear Boy—Would not 
 credit the joy I feel when I tell you your 
 sweet Monica and myself are frequently to¬ 
 gether. We watch over you and all our dear 
 ones. God bless you. Your loving father.” 
 
 “ The well-being of the soul depends entirely 
 upon the will. Concentrate, concentrate. 
 Know what you want and keep the intention 
 pure. Realisation will follow.” 
 
 “ Rivers of love shall flow from you, but 
 you yearn in vain if it is the love of mortals 
 you wait. Only, little one, God will satisfy 
 your heart.” 
 
3 2 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 “ You will do better in time. Do try to be 
 patient in all things. Let not small things 
 trouble you. Make efforts ; spirits have to. 
 This is one. In peace. Amore.” 
 
 April 12, 12.—Monica’s message. 
 
 “ A good thing coming to you. See if it won’t 
 be nice. Dickie is very glad because he will 
 soon be seeing me. Lovely dickie birds sing 
 to me. Monny.” 
 
 Three days after this Mr. Norman received 
 a cheque, unexpectedly, in payment for a song 
 he had never expected to see published ; this 
 was, perhaps, the “good thing” referred to in 
 this writing. 
 
 Messages from Kathleen have not been very 
 frequent, but they occur from time to time, and 
 seem to show that she is close at hand though 
 leaving the actual communications chiefly to 
 little Monica. 
 
 On June ist Mrs. Norman received a message 
 which had come through a near relative. This 
 was sent to her through the post. It claimed 
 to come from Kathleen and it used an expression 
 which, as already said, was a pet name for 
 Monica, given to her by the Father whose 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 33 
 
 letter has been printed in an earlier chapter. 
 I mean the term, Mon petit chon. 
 
 The relative through whose hand the message 
 came referring to Monica as Mon petit chou, 
 did not know that it had been a pet name for 
 her. The priest who used it was not living in 
 the same town and she was not acquainted with 
 him. Mr. Norman assured me : “ My wife has 
 positively never spoken of it to anybody . . . 
 she never discussed any of us with the relative 
 in question, being on extremely strained terms. 
 
 . . . She knows nobody in the Order to which 
 this monk belongs . . . there is absolutely no 
 connecting link.” 
 
 These facts suggest that Kathleen and Monica 
 were in close association on the other side. 
 
 This conclusion is borne out by Monica’s 
 messages also. On June 3rd she wrote through 
 her mother’s hand :— 
 
 “ My dearest dears—You must be sure God 
 will help you if you have faith. So we pray 
 with you. I do love my darlings so. I tell you 
 I love Grandpa, and Kathleen, and Zora, and 
 Winnie, and lots here—your dears—lots of 
 Daddy’s dears. His papa is my dear Grandpa 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 I love. God bless you all. Cissies prayers 
 tell her. Your dear little Mermaid.” 
 
 Who Zora was they do not know. When 
 they asked Monica she wrote that she had once 
 been a princess but was now “a dear little 
 spirit like me.” Later she said that Zora had 
 " gone on.” 
 
 What this meant they could not say. It 
 remains unexplained. 
 
 More than once in the messages Monica’s 
 “ Cissie ” is reminded of her prayers. On one 
 or two occasions Monica announced that 
 “ Cissie had forgotten to say her prayers.” 
 This was correct and unknown to her parents. 
 
 With reference to the possibility of her 
 leaving them she wrote :— 
 
 June 6th.—“Glad I am, darlings, to see you 
 so happy. 
 
 “ Daddy does hear me whisper to him now. 
 I will be very much with him as long as I can. 
 Some go away. I will not have to yet. I have 
 lots to do yet. If any one comes I will meet 
 them. I love my darlings so. Pray—pray for 
 us ever. You do—I know it. You know I love 
 you all. Good night, sweeties. Your dear 
 Monica.” 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 35 
 
 As these messages mention Mr. Norman’s 
 father, an episode connected with him may 
 be introduced at this point. 
 
 In April a clairvoyant to whom Mr. Norman 
 applied by letter for assistance in understanding 
 these extraordinary phenomena, replied (April 
 ioth) “ I am strongly impressed that your father 
 has charge of the daughter and is making these 
 manifestations to open up the correspondence, 
 to tell you all about it.” 
 
 In reply to inquiry as to how he knew it was 
 Mr. Norman’s father, he wrote (April 13th) 
 “ How I knew it was your father is because I 
 saw him clairvoyantly with the child ; he was 
 clothed in white, standing behind her with his 
 two hands upon her shoulders. He wore a 
 light brown beard.” 
 
 This detail was correct. Mr. Norman’s 
 father had a light brown beard in this life. 
 
 On July 14th came a message from his 
 father, to which he has added a footnote ;—“ It 
 is indeed my father, the wording as he would 
 speak to me—even his signature.” 
 
 In the same month came the following from 
 his father :—. 
 
 “Poor Miss H-. You did lead her a 
 
36 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 dance. She was so attentive ! Bad Boy ! You 
 have put away the past and I am glad of it. 
 I can feel more at rest now. You must not 
 judge. Let him who is without, etc. We shall 
 meet again boy, dear boy.” (Then follows the 
 signature in initials). 
 
 Mr. Norman makes the following remark :— 
 
 “Good proof given. 'Miss H.’ My wife 
 was not born when I knew her, and I had 
 forgotten her years ago. Writing and signature 
 like father’s—language most certainly is his.” 
 
 From the same, on July 23rd :—“ I am here, 
 my heart is filled with peace, which I share with 
 you all, my dear ones. There is so much good 
 everywhere, dear boy, if you could see as we do. 
 There is a light waiting to follow every dark 
 hour. I will be near you with your dear child.” 
 (Signature). 
 
 When these messages were read to Mr. 
 Norman’s mother the manner in which they had 
 come was not at first mentioned, but she at 
 once exclaimed that they were like his father in 
 style. 
 
 Then he read her the following which had 
 come later, and which reached me by post 
 (J uly 31 st) some days before it was read by his 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 37 
 
 mother, with a remark from Mr. Norman stating 
 that the allusion to the “ veil ” was unintelligible 
 to him, but he would let me know if his mother 
 recognised the message. 
 
 July 29th.—After a few endearing words 
 addressed to her, came the following: “Tell 
 her I don’t want veils for her now. I am 
 always with her. She loves me, faithful heart 
 . . . God guard you all. Your ever happy,” 
 (Signature). 
 
 This allusion to the wearing of a veil is a 
 remarkable test, as in her early married years 
 her husband used to insist on her wearing a 
 thick Shetland veil when she went out; his 
 reason being that he liked her pretty face to be 
 concealed from passing strangers. This little 
 circumstance Mr. Norman’s mother explained 
 to him. It was evidently mentioned as a test 
 of identity, and was obviously a detail which it 
 was impossible for Mrs. Norman to have known 
 personally, and a very unlikely one to have 
 been told to her by any one. From an 
 evidential point of view this message is 
 excellent as a test of identity. 
 
 When Mr. Norman went to see his mother 
 and to carry her these messages, he was, as he 
 
3« 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 told me, rather anxious as to how she would 
 take them. He knew that she was very 
 religious but he had no reason to suppose that 
 she would be disposed to accept anything 
 psychic and unusual, except that his father, in 
 a message, had promised to prepare her. 
 
 On August 15th., immediately after his 
 visit, he wrote to me :— 
 
 “ She was quite prepared to hear all I had 
 to say and my task was a very easy one. In 
 fact our views are hers and have been for some 
 time, ever since she had my letter when I told 
 her of the change that had come in my life. 
 It had been the great prayer of her life and 
 coming after all these years made her under¬ 
 stand God and His works in a different way. 
 She was unable to explain what seemed to 
 come over her. I gave our views, and led 
 her up to the messages. Here again was 
 absolutely no surprise. It was as though she 
 expected them, and that I had simply gone 
 there with a message; but her great joy I 
 cannot paint. She recognised them and said, 
 ‘Yes, yes, that is the voice of Papa—they are 
 his words. It is Papa.’ The veil episode she 
 was surprised at, as it took her back to her 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 39 
 
 bridal days. This message certainly gave her 
 intense surprise.” 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that Mr. Norman 
 should have closed his letter by saying that the 
 strange experience which first arrested him 
 seemed to him a “miracle wrought to bring me 
 to the light, but since then it has been one series 
 of miracles. It is all very wonderful, and it 
 makes me very happy and contented.” 
 
 I will here add a few more messages to show 
 the type of the loving communications which 
 came to Monica’s parents. Their purpose was 
 not to satisfy curiosity as to the future life, but 
 to hearten trust, to quicken love, to bring into 
 the lives of her parents an assured sense of 
 the nearness and dearness of their unseen 
 companions and friends and specially of their 
 child. 
 
 July 30, ’12.—“ My darlings I come to you 
 with lots of love and sweet kisses. Good 
 dears, everything is well now, you see, so have 
 plenty [of] faith. God is a good Father. 
 Don’t ever forget it. You see, He sees all you 
 want. Daddy, my dear Daddy, can you still 
 hear me ? I will still hear your thoughts and 
 whisper because you do what I want. I am 
 
40 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 really pleased you know it. I am so much 
 with you. [Cissie] with you is growing up higher 
 like sun flowers. Look at the light, dearies. 
 It is so clear and bright. God bless you. 
 Kiss my Dickie. Your own dear Monica.” 
 
 July 31, ’12.—“Understand now, dearest 
 dears, all is well. Now you must not fret for 
 your pet. You know she is here and truly 
 helping you, so don’t cry, very dears, when you 
 want me so. I wish I could let my Dickie see 
 me so very close to him. He hears my voice 
 and that is good, but only I love him so. I 
 will always want him to do lots for me. He 
 will do things for others too. . . . When you 
 believed it was easier for me to get more near.” 
 
 August 4, ’12.— . . . “Dear ones must be 
 dear, you must never forget. If any one is 
 kind to you it isn’t only for you. You must 
 give it away again. I think people will say, 
 What a little girl to tell you things, but I am 
 let to, and I’m not so little here. I like to tell 
 you what I learn here.” 
 
 August 11, ’12.—“Dickie, darling, I tell you 
 it is well for you. It will be more now. You 
 do know, dear, don’t you, how God loves you ? 
 You see how he let your kiddie help you, 
 
MESSAGES 
 
 4i 
 
 instead of taking her right away. Oh, He is 
 so good and kind. We must all keep on 
 wanting Him, then He will always be there. 
 He doesn’t like us to be sad. If you knew, 
 there is everything He has given to the world 
 to make it happy, but it’s so silly and turns the 
 good things into bad. We do pray for all the 
 people to see better, specially all our darlings. 
 We will do big things for you, dears, and poor 
 others. They won’t all know but its surely that 
 one day all will so. We are happy, we sing 
 when people listen and love Him. I love you, 
 darlings, yes, so much. I love every one. 
 Your pet birdie, Monica Joe.” 
 
 August 15, ’12.—. . . “I have got my big 
 wish. Tell Dickie he gave it to me. I want you 
 to know I am really happy. Never think I’m 
 not. Living here is lovely. I do enjoy myself. 
 I sing, but I want you to hear my song always. 
 You always talk of me, and love me. That 
 keeps me so close. I will be always you know. 
 Daddy wants so to see me. I wish he could, as 
 much as him, but I do try, and it is true if we 
 keep loving, perhaps, I will be seen by him, 
 but anyway it must be as God wills. Then I 
 couldn’t stay seen and Daddy will feel more I 
 
42 
 
 MESSAGES 
 
 am lost for him. He would miss me more than 
 ever. Now he hears me speak to him and he 
 knows I am alive and loving.” 
 
 The signature “ Monica Joe,” stands for 
 Monica Giuseppina. She used to call herself 
 this, for short. Her father, gradually became 
 clairaudient, and heard whispers from Monica. 
 It is to this that she refers in the last message. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Monica’s secret 
 
 The breach that had existed for years between 
 Monica’s parents and her mother’s family had 
 been healed, but in the autumn of 1911 one of 
 her near relatives said something which deeply 
 offended them. As it seemed to involve an 
 insult to his wife, Mr. Norman was very hurt, 
 and would not allow his wife to speak to the 
 person in question until she had apologised. 
 The apology was not offered, and the breach 
 continued. They frequently met in the same 
 house but did not speak. It is necessary to 
 mention this quarrel in order to understand 
 what follows. 
 
 Some time about the end of J une or beginning 
 of July (exact date is uncertain) Mr. Norman 
 clairaudiently heard a voice whisper repeatedly 
 “ Dickie, you must say ‘ Forgive us our tres- 
 
44 
 
 MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 passes as we forgive them that trespass against 
 
 J )) 
 
 us. 
 
 He did not mention this to his wife. Her 
 automatic messages did not mention it either; 
 they were, however, full of allusions to peace and 
 love. Thus on July the nth she wrote:— 
 “ Don’t let anything take away your peace and 
 love. Like that I get closer to you. Think 
 always of that. I know how you love me. 
 God bless you, darlings. Your pet lamb, 
 Monica Joe.” 
 
 On the 16th she wrote:—“Tell my Dickie 
 to say the ‘Our Father’ every day carefully. 
 I have a reason.” 
 
 On the 17th :—“ Remember how 1 want you 
 to love everybody for my sake. Oh! my 
 darlings, if you knew how we win a lot by loving 
 all, being pitiful, forgiving, and kind, you will 
 make us happy to. Do remember i love you so, 
 my own pets. You are always in my thoughts. 
 I feel when you are sad and when you are happy. 
 I hug my Dickie, and I ask God to give you 
 his peace and love. Your own Monica.” 
 
 These messages seem to point to a recogni¬ 
 tion on the part of Monica that peace with all 
 
MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 45 
 
 is an essential for true communion. We are 
 reminded of Tennyson’s lines in ‘ In Memoriam : 
 
 How pure in heart and sound in head, 
 
 With what divine affection bold 
 Should be the man whose thoughts would hold 
 An hour’s communion with the dead. 
 
 In vain shalt thou, or any, call 
 
 The spirits from their golden day, 
 
 Except like them thou too canst say 
 My spirit is at peace with all. 
 
 Still the offence remained unforgiven, and the 
 relatives occasionally met but did not speak. 
 If the breach was to be healed, it must be with 
 the united consent of both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman. 
 
 On July the 18th Monica became bolder. 
 She said :—“ Dickie has to please me. He is 
 going to, ever so soon.” 
 
 On the 19th came the following :—“ How I 
 pray about things. I am certain it will be well. 
 I hope soon. This month. I will see. He 
 hears but does not understand it is me. I am 
 very glad he prays ‘Our Father.’ It is in it.” 
 
 Monica was asked, “ Tell Mother what it is.” 
 And the reply was written, “ No, because he 
 will not believe it was me, but your mind.” 
 
46 
 
 MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 On the 20th she wrote :— 
 
 “ I love Dickie’s thoughts, they are better 
 than his words, often.” Her Mother here 
 interjected the remark—“ Do tell me your 
 secret.” The message continues :— 
 
 “ It is only something he will say to you 
 when the time comes. You wait, my love. 
 You will have gained it, little Mother. Do 
 hug each other. I’m so ‘exited’.” \_Sic.~\ 
 
 On July the 23rd:—“Here I am, dears, 
 happy like you, I am a sunbeam, your very 
 own. Wherever I am I am still your own. I 
 still have a Mummy and Daddy and Cissie. 
 Then all is the same, only different, because I 
 am more safe now, and I work for you . . . 
 Tell Daddy not to forget I love him, and 
 wait.” 
 
 (He adds, “ for accomplishment of her 
 secret.”) 
 
 By this time Monica’s father had become 
 aware of what her secret was, for he continued 
 to hear (clairaudiently) “ Forgive us our tres¬ 
 passes as we forgive them that trespass against 
 us.” He did not, however, tell his wife what he 
 heard. On the 24th he was alone all day, and 
 when his wife took up the pencil for her 
 
MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 47 
 
 message in the evening, she received the 
 following :— 
 
 “ Loves I hoped—but I still do, never stop. 
 Hope is good. Try to understand if you pray 
 for a good thing and it doesn’t come, it will 
 come later a better way. Don’t think God 
 doesn’t love you. He does, but he knows best 
 what is the good thing. Darling Daddy, I 
 have said lots to you but only some heard. My 
 Dickie, do hear your Kiddie,”(Mr. Norman adds 
 parenthetically, “ Her secret—I do hear it, 
 darling.”) “ I was all day close to you. Make 
 me very jolly, and good will come. I love you, 
 darling. God bless you. Your pet Monica 
 
 J n 
 
 oe. 
 
 This persistent attitude of love proved ir¬ 
 resistible. I arrived at B— for my first visit 
 on July the 24th, and Mr. Norman said to 
 his wife, in my presence, “ I am going to 
 tell you Monica’s secret now;” and turning 
 to her, he added, “ You must make it up 
 with X.” 
 
 Mrs. Norman was glad, indeed, to do so, 
 but even then she did not seem quite certain 
 whether the matter was settled ; knowing how 
 deeply her husband had resented what had 
 
48 
 
 MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 happened, she felt uncertain whether the im¬ 
 pulse to forgive would really last. This she 
 intimated to me in private. 
 
 Any one who knows how hard it is to put 
 away all resentment for injuries, especially when 
 they are directed towards those we love, will not 
 be surprised to learn than even after this recog¬ 
 nition of the reason lor the repeated whisper 
 which he calls “ Monica’s Secret,” it was not 
 without a struggle that the resolution was 
 adhered to. There was no going back, how¬ 
 ever. Peace and good-will were restored. 
 The breach was healed. 
 
 Monica wrote on the 27th of July:— 
 “Precious dears! I am so very happy now. 
 It is done now. I bless my Daddy. Tell him 
 I do love him more now that it is done. Oh, 
 my dear, dear Daddy, now I am so jolly and 
 happy . . . God bless you, darling dears. Your 
 own Monica Joe.” 
 
 When Mrs. Norman heard ‘ Monica’s secret’ 
 told in my presence she told me that she had 
 not been aware of what it was, and she added, 
 “ It might have been so many things.” It 
 must be borne in mind that she never knows 
 
MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 49 
 
 what her hand has written until she reads it 
 over afterwards. 
 
 Monica was not working alone in this effort 
 to bring about peace and harmony. The word 
 alone can have no meaning in relation to spirits 
 in light. If there is one fact to which the 
 messages from the Other Side testify more 
 frequently than to others, it is to the fact that the 
 life beyond death is a life of co-operation, full of 
 the reciprocities which can only exist in fulness 
 when individuality is strongly developed, and 
 yet which can never exist at all unless there is 
 sympathy and mutual love. Not to know this 
 life of loving interaction is indeed death, and 
 that there are some in the other life who have 
 not yet entered into Life seems very certain. 
 But they too are loved and sought, and will be 
 sought until they are found. 
 
 Mr. Norman received another message on 
 July the 25th, which claimed to come from one 
 who called himself “ Amore,” and said he was 
 his guide. 
 
 “ The wishes of your spiritual friends are 
 ever for your advancement and your good, and 
 they can best be realised when you do your best 
 
 4 
 
MONICA’S SECRET 
 
 5o 
 
 to further that of those dear to you. Be sure 
 not to stand in their light. You are a fortunate 
 man. Search yourself if you are in doubt as to 
 the sense of this. Peace be with you. Watch 
 and pray. Amore.” 
 
 (Mrs. Norman asked—“ In what way does 
 D. stand in our light ? ”) 
 
 “ Peace, I said. He must allow peace, not 
 prevent it.” 
 
 This message came after Mr. Norman had 
 told his wife what he knew Monica’s secret to 
 be; but before the actual reconciliation had 
 taken place. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 On more than one occasion there have been, 
 apparently, attempts at materialisation. On 
 June the 5th, 1912, Mr. Norman described one 
 of these experiences to me in a letter. He 
 wrote :— 
 
 PLAN OF BEDROOM. 
 
 CUPBOARD FIREPLACE 
 
 “ On two separate occasions I have seen what 
 appeared to me like a small armful of bluish 
 
52 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 silvery vapour, or cigarette smoke, descend from 
 the top corner (R. H.) of window, travel down¬ 
 wards across the room (right over bed and 
 almost touching it in its descent), and alight in 
 corner of alcove. (See plan). There, between 
 Monica’s table and the wall (L.H. of alcove), 
 it remained stationary some seconds, touching 
 the floor, which it seemed to sweep with a slight 
 swaying motion. Then it formed into a kind 
 
 of column—at least 
 describe it- 
 
 -so- 
 
 that is how I can best 
 about a yard or so in 
 height. It seemed to be on the work, very 
 much as a jelly-fish appears to work upon being 
 taken out of the sea. Then it dissolved and 
 On these occasions we had no 
 
 was 
 
 raps. 
 
 gone. 
 
 In reply to an enquiry as to whether Mrs. 
 Norman saw this appearance also, he wrote :— 
 “ Yes, upon another occasion she saw it be¬ 
 hind me, I was sitting by an open door. It 
 was half in the room, half out.” 
 
 This incident was more fully described in 
 Mrs Norman’s Journal, which she allowed me 
 to see, and from which I take the following 
 extracts :— 
 
 “ One evening at supper time, the incan- 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 53 
 
 descent light full on, I happened to look up 
 at Dick to say something, when I saw behind 
 him, partly in the room, and partly outside, a 
 shadowy form of a child, only filmy, but of 
 such an intense dazzling whiteness that it made 
 the gas-light look quite dim after. Only a 
 moment it stayed, then it was gone.” 
 
 “ We have noticed that it is very luminous 
 over and around Monica’s table at night. 
 There are often beautiful shooting lights and 
 stars in the bedroom at night, and we watch 
 them ; and five nights out of seven raps 
 after raps come, sometimes a regular bom¬ 
 bardment.” 
 
 “On the night of July the 17th” (Mrs. 
 Norman’s diary states), “ I saw a shadowy man’s 
 face with a beard [just like the one I saw 
 smoking a pipe when psychometrising] ; then 
 when he had gone two letters stood out. I have 
 seen him again in the kitchen by the wall, where 
 Monica was. He has a very kindly face.” 
 
 The psychometric description here referred 
 to had been sent to me before I had met Mrs. 
 Norman. The initials and the description 
 applied correctly to a deceased relative of mine. 
 
 Students should compare this description 
 
54 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 with a very similar one given by a man who had 
 been watching by the bedside of his dying wife, 
 and published in the Journal of the S.P.R. for 
 November, 1908. It is quoted, by kind per¬ 
 mission of the Editor of the Journal, at the 
 end of this chapter. 
 
 Five days after the above experience Mr. 
 Norman wrote me an account of another 
 extraordinary appearance, as follows :—“ On 
 Sunday night, the 29th, at 11 p.m., there 
 
 were footsteps in the bedroom for some time. 
 No raps, but one bang on wooden chest. At 
 1 a.m. (Monday, 10th June) we were both 
 simultaneously awakened by a voice speaking ; 
 we were both too sleepy to grasp what was 
 said, but it seemed to me that it was a man’s 
 voice. The wife is a heavy sleeper and cannot 
 say whether it was the voice of male or female. 
 She only knows that we were both awakened, 
 and by a voice. At about 1.20 my head was 
 rubbed up and down twice—left side. I turned 
 round, when the top of head was treated in the 
 same manner. Upon lifting my head I saw two 
 bright lights about the size of a sixpence. They 
 were as bright as electric light (arc). They 
 nearly touched the brass rail of bedstead 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 55 
 
 [within a foot of it] and moved with a very 
 rapid motion from right to left and vice versa , 
 four times, and then disappeared. My wife 
 was asleep, and although I called to her she did 
 not wake up properly.” 
 
 This phenomenon may be compared with 
 that obtained by Dr. Ochorowicz in the photo¬ 
 graphic experiments he has had with Mdlle 
 Tomcyzk (see Annales Psychiques , 1912). 
 
 Some photographic experiments were made 
 subsequently by Mr. Norman in which some 
 curious globular lights appeared on the plates. 
 
 On the 9th of August Mr. Norman wrote to 
 me that on the 7th lights had been seen by 
 both himself and his wife. He says :— 
 
 “ When I was out for an hour or so G. had 
 her ‘quiet hour;’ after some time she heard 
 noises—a knocking on ironwork of bedstead. 
 Then footsteps around the bed. The steps 
 went out of the door into Lena’s room [Lena 
 is their little girl], and passed close to her. 
 She flew into her mother’s room very scared, 
 and said, ‘ Oh, there is someone walking about 
 in my room. They passed right alongside me.’ 
 G. saw a vision of a child. ... it was a 
 stranger to her.” 
 
56 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 “ After locking up carefully and shutting all 
 doors securely, as I always do, we went to bed. 
 There were plenty of lights floating about the 
 room at 11 p.m. but no raps. We both saw 
 the lights. About i a.m. G. woke me up, 
 saying she heard someone about downstairs in 
 the sitting-room, and that they were quite noisy 
 sometimes. I simply said ‘ rubbish,’ and went 
 off to sleep again, being very tired. But this 
 morning upon going downstairs, I found the 
 door wide open, but nothing disarranged.” 
 
 I asked for an independent account of this 
 incident from Lena, and received the following : 
 
 “ One night when ‘ Mummy ’ was having her 
 quiet hour I was sitting reading in my bed¬ 
 room, which is next to hers, I suddenly heard 
 footsteps come into my room. They came 
 over from the door to my bed, so loudly that 
 they made a board creak, and walked on past 
 the bed as far as the wall, when they disap¬ 
 peared. It startled me for a minute, and I 
 flew into Mummy’s room and told her about 
 it. She told me not to be silly, but when we 
 went down she said that they had been in 
 her room first.” 
 
 Mrs. Norman sent me the following account 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 57 
 
 of an experiment in photography connected 
 with these phenomena :— 
 
 “ First of all the room was made so intensely 
 black that Lena said she would not like sitting 
 there, as it was like looking into nothingness! 
 I rubbed my palms together briskly for 25 
 seconds, as per directions, then sat for my 
 quiet time the film between my palms, in a 
 sealed black envelope. Now, though I certainly 
 was not frightened, I must admit I was not 
 comfortable; you will see why later. . . . 
 First, I was absolutely surrounded by forms 
 and lights [this is no exaggeration, for I am 
 always very careful to keep quiet in my mind, 
 and level-headed]. To describe the lights, 
 some were like stars, live burning ones, many 
 were like darts, and so close to my head 
 that I did not dare move and this was where 
 the discomfort came in.” 
 
 A few day later Mrs. Norman wrote me an 
 account of another vision of lights :— 
 
 “On Wednesday, August the 14th, I got 
 Monica’s message as usual at 9.30 p.m ; then 
 I went to get the candlestick from beside her 
 table. It was pitch dark in there, the blind 
 down, and as I got the candlestick the matches 
 
58 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 fell, and I stooped to pick them up [all in the 
 dark]. As I got up, or was getting up, I saw 
 next to me, between myself and the table and 
 reaching just above it, a little pillar of light, 
 very white, and if you can understand, it looked 
 fluffy, like clouds. At first, feeling it so close, 
 a shiver ran down my back, then I thought, 
 
 ' I am silly, it’s only Monica,’ and I made a 
 movement as if to nestle nearer still, speaking 
 softly to her, but then it disappeared. But as 
 I stood up [I had stayed in a crouching position 
 so as not to disturb] I saw there were three 
 big, round, white, cloudy lights around the 
 table, as big, about, as Dick’s head. Lena 
 called out to know why I stayed up in the 
 dark, so I came down.” 
 
 Later Mrs. Norman wrote to me again : 
 “ On the 27th Dick and I saw lots of lights 
 and the rapping was continual. 
 
 “ High up was like a bar about three inches 
 long. For a moment, just where your picture 
 is, there flashed a square as if around the frame, 
 but I could not see the picture for the dark. 
 The one that startled me most was quite close 
 to me, the largest of all, and from the distance, 
 I should say would be at Monica’s table. It 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 59 
 
 was weird, about the size of the palm of my 
 hand, and it worked and glowed up, then died 
 down, seeming to emit smoke as it faded, but 
 it soon came up and so it went on. When it 
 went right down only smoke was there. It 
 shed no rays, lighted up nothing around. The 
 resemblance, as a light, to the first we ever 
 saw was very strong, save that the first had no 
 smoke. I call this one a miniature volcano. 
 Another startler was one I watched with great 
 interest, up high—I should think near the 
 ceiling [though for me there was no ceiling, 
 no nothing]. This one was about the size of a 
 shilling and circular. After I had looked at it 
 a little it gently and slowly slid down to the 
 floor and disappeared. This reads like mad¬ 
 ness ! But it is not all; I have yet to describe 
 the forms. I cannot say how many there were, 
 but as I tried to count they moved about and 
 got mixed. I noticed some were taller, and I 
 counted two little ones. They were like this 
 (here a rough outline was drawn), and outlined 
 by a thin silvery line ; not a face did I see. 
 Never before have I been the centre [to my 
 knowledge], of so much moving, living mystery ! 
 I can assure you I would have been pleased if 
 
6 o PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 I could have seen their faces, or hear them 
 speak ; but as it was I spoke softly to them, 
 and I said how pleased I was. Then Dick 
 came up and it felt so funny leaving it, for I 
 seemed to have got right out of this world. 
 Dick saw one bright light close to me. I do 
 hope you w r on’t say I have lost my reason at 
 last! ’’ 
 
 Right across the film which had been held 
 during this experience there is what may be 
 described as a wash of light not brilliant, rather 
 filmy, and a circular mark on one side. I 
 asked whether this could be a print of Mrs. 
 Norman’s finger—whether she had held the 
 film with her finger and thumb wrapped, of 
 course, in the black paper, as I knew it had 
 been. 
 
 Mr. Norman replied : 
 
 “ The circular mark on one side is not the 
 mark of G—’s finger or thumb. Her finger¬ 
 tips have not touched the film. . . The film 
 lay in her hand, so [drawing]. . . The corner 
 of envelope is held by me, about so much of it 
 [drawing of a small corner] and placed directly 
 on her palm and the palm of other hand laid on 
 top. No fingers touch the film at all until the 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 61 
 
 development and clearing is finished. On each 
 film is a tiny slip of paper sufficient for my 
 purpose. There is no possible chance of the 
 finger touching film under the great care I now 
 exercise. The only time that happened the 
 film dropped out of my hand, and in raising it 
 from the floor I inadvertently picked it up to 
 save it, and in doing so I inadvertently stuck 
 my chemically tainted fingers on the top. That 
 was the 40 minutes’ exposed one.” 
 
 This finger-mark had been pointed out to me 
 by Mr. Norman when he first sent me the print. 
 
 On the 11th of September Mrs. Norman sat 
 with her little girl, holding her hand and in 
 complete darkness. On this occasion she saw 
 a hand outlined in silvery light rise upwards, 
 “stars, and vivid blue and white flashes.” 
 Some heather which I had sent from the moors 
 where I was staying, and which was standing 
 on Monica’s table, was rustled, and a white 
 smoke hovered over the place where her table 
 stands. There were raps behind her back, and 
 she felt a strong wind, although the window 
 and door were locked and covered over. Also, 
 a figure of a military man had appeared to her. 
 [This she has told me she has seen before, and 
 
63 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 several times since, in connection with my 
 letters when they arrived, and I have been able 
 to identify the person described]. 
 
 Mrs. Norman also saw an elderly man with 
 side-whiskers holding a magnifying glass. She 
 did not recognise him, but a lady who visited 
 her the next day, by appointment, said that she 
 recognised the figure. 
 
 Mrs. Norman’s little daughter Lena also 
 gave me an account in writing of her experi¬ 
 ence during this quiet time in her mother’s 
 room. She said, “ For the first time in my 
 life I saw the atmosphere. It was all lines 
 strung closely together like a spider’s web, 
 some lines blue and some red, and some 
 violet, and they worked like this. 
 
 “ I saw outline of star in light, outline of hand 
 in light, as far as I could judge, in corner of 
 alcove furthest from Mamma. It was palm 
 downwards. I saw long flashes of blue light, 
 ever so many teeny lights as if on ceiling; 
 heard raps, heard rustling of heather, my legs 
 and arms twitched. Last night I saw lots 
 of teeny sparks, one big light that looked 
 like a moon. I heard heather rustle and heard 
 raps.” 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 63 
 
 In one of his letters Mr. Norman says :— 
 
 “ I want G. to write and tell you about my 
 hair. Monica is continually roughing it. It 
 looks rummy in bright light to see it stand out 
 and ruffled all over, and screwed into little 
 bunches and no visible power touching me.” 
 
 On December the 11th, 1912, Mr. Norman 
 wrote :— 
 
 “ It gave me a great shock when I saw 
 Monica fully for the first time. It seems so 
 strange to see her walk over to her table 
 and touch and look at things. Last night 
 after doing this she went on to another 
 table, and looked at one or two things, 
 afterwards going back to her table and fading 
 from view.” 
 
 In another letter referring to the first vision 
 of Monica he wrote :— 
 
 “She suddenly loomed out in front of me 
 and almost immediately passed to my side and 
 put her arms round my neck. I shall never, 
 never forget the great shock.” 
 
 In connection with these remarkable physical 
 and visual phenomena it is interesting to recall 
 
64 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 some remarks of the Abb£ Lacordaire written 
 to Madame Switchine, June 20th, 1853. He 
 says :—“ There have always existed more or 
 less singular means of entering into spirit- 
 communication, but these proceedings have 
 until now been wrapped in mystery. It may 
 be that by the divulgation God may desire to 
 proportion properly the development of spiritual 
 forces, to that of the material so that man in 
 the midst of so many wonders may not forget 
 the existence of two worlds, both closely in 
 touch with each other, the world of the incarnate 
 and that of the spirits.” (Quoted from “ La 
 Fraternite” Journal, in Light July 5th, 1913). 
 
 It will be interesting also to compare the 
 following case sent to Dr. Richard Hodgson, 
 who is well known to all students of Psychical 
 Research, by Dr. Burgers, an Associate of the 
 American branch of this Society. The incident 
 occurred in 1912, and was recorded in the same 
 year. The doctor who was present testified 
 that the man who had this experience was 
 apparently in a perfectly normal state before 
 and after, and that there were features in the 
 vision that would not be likely to occur to him. 
 This doctor, an expert in nervous and mental 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 65 
 
 diseases, was eminently qualified to form a 
 just estimate of this case. He sent the following 
 account to Dr. Burgers, signed by “ Mr. G.” 
 who had the strange experience :— 
 
 “ Before telling the story, and for the benefit 
 of any one who may read this paper, I will 
 state that I am not addicted to the use of 
 alcoholic liquors, cocaine, or morphine. Nor 
 am I nervous or imaginative, but considered 
 cold, calm and deliberate, and a disbeliever in 
 what is known as spiritualism, and hostile to 
 all such theories. 
 
 “ As all my friends know, my wife died at 
 11.45 P- m> on Friday, May 23rd, 1902, and 
 after 4 o’clock upon the afternoon of that day, 
 
 I became convinced that her death was merely 
 a question of moments. 
 
 “ At 6.30 I urged our friends, the physician 
 and nurses, to take dinner. All but two left 
 the room in obedience to my request. 
 
 “ Fifteen minutes later, I happened to look 
 towards the door, when I saw floating through 
 the doorway three separate and distinct clouds 
 in strata. Each cloud appeared to be about 
 four feet in length, from six to eight inches in 
 
 5 
 
66 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 width, the lower one about two feet from the 
 ground, the others at intervals of about six 
 inches. 
 
 “ My first thought was that some of our 
 friends (and I must ask their pardon for the 
 thought) were standing outside the bedroom 
 smoking, and that the smoke from their cigars 
 was being wafted into the room. With this 
 idea I started up to rebuke them, when lo! I 
 discovered there was no one by the door, no 
 one in the hall way, no one in the adjoining 
 rooms. Overcome with astonishment I watched 
 the clouds, and slowly, but surely, these clouds 
 approached the bed until they completely 
 enveloped it. Then, gazing through the mist, 
 I beheld standing at the head of my dying 
 wife, a woman’s figure about three feet in 
 height, transparent, yet like a sheen of brightest 
 gold, a figure so glorious in its appearance that 
 no words can be used fitly to describe it. She 
 was dressed in a Grecian costume, with long 
 loose and flowing sleeves, upon her] head a 
 brilliant crown. In all its splendour and 
 beauty the figure remained motionless] with 
 hands uplifted over my wife, seeming to 
 express a welcome with a quiet glad counten- 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 67 
 
 ance, with a dignity of calmness and peace. 
 Two figures in white knelt by my wife’s 
 side, apparently leaning towards her, other 
 figures hovered about the bed more or less 
 distinct. 
 
 “ Above my wife, and connected with a cord 
 proceeding from her forehead, over the left eye, 
 there floated in a horizontal position a nude 
 white figure, apparently her astral body. At 
 times the suspended figure would lie perfectly 
 quiet, at other times it would shrink in size 
 until it was no larger than perhaps eighteen 
 inches, but always was the figure perfect and 
 distinct ; a perfect head, a perfect body, perfect 
 arms and perfect legs. When the astral body 
 diminished in size it struggled violently, threw 
 out its arms and legs in an apparent effort to 
 escape. It would struggle until it seemed to 
 exhaust itself, then become calm, increase in 
 size, only to repeat the same performance 
 again and again. This vision, or whatever it 
 may be called, I saw continuously during five 
 hours preceding the death of my wife. In¬ 
 terruptions, as speaking to my friends, closing 
 my eyes, turning away my head, failed to 
 destroy the illusion, for whenever I looked 
 
68 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 towards that death-bed the spiritual vision was 
 there. 
 
 “All through those five hours I felt a strange 
 feeling of oppression and weight upon my head 
 and limbs ; my eyes were heavy as if with 
 sleep, and during this period the sensations 
 were so peculiar and the visions so continuous 
 and vivid that I believed I was insane, and 
 from time to time would say to the physician 
 in charge, * Doctor, I am going insane.’ 
 
 “At last the fatal moment arrived ; with a 
 gasp, the astral figure struggling, my wife 
 ceased to breathe, she apparently was dead ; 
 however, a few seconds later she breathed 
 again twice, and then all was still. With her 
 last breath and last gasp, as the soul left the 
 body, the cord was severed suddenly and the 
 astral figure vanished. The clouds and the 
 spirit form disappeared instantly, and strange 
 to say, all the oppression that weighed upon 
 me was gone ; I was myself, cool, calm, and 
 deliberate, able to direct, from the moment of 
 death, the disposition of the body, its pre¬ 
 paration for a final resting-place.” 
 
 (Signed) G.-. 
 
 The physician in attendance appended his 
 
PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 69 
 
 statement to the effect that this gentleman had 
 been known to him long enough to enable him 
 to affirm that he had no tendency to any form 
 of mental alienation. He says, “ From my 
 own observations I can most positively put 
 aside a temporary acute state of hallucinatory 
 insanity during the time of the vision 
 mentioned above. I had occasion to know 
 that he never read anything in the occult line ; 
 that everything that was not a proven fact was 
 incompatible with his positive mind.” 
 
 The same copy of the S.P.R. journal contains 
 a statement by a nurse-probationer at a cottage 
 hospital dated Nov. 23, 1905. 
 
 She describes having seen a figure standing 
 by the bed of a dying woman. She says, “ I 
 was seated by the bedside reading a magazine 
 article, from time to time glancing at the 
 patient (who had been unconscious for about 
 five hours). About five minutes past twelve, 
 as I looked up, I saw on the opposite side of 
 the bed a figure ; I say a figure because it was 
 the shape of a person, although no features 
 were distinguishable and the whole appearance 
 seemed to be a thick mist or fog, with no sharp 
 outlines but a blurred edge ... I noticed the 
 
70 PHYSICAL AND VISUAL PHENOMENA 
 
 edge of the screen was visible through the 
 misty shape. I felt no sense of fear at the 
 sight of the figure, though I was not inclined 
 to address it. I put down my book and 
 watched it for some time, so far as I could 
 judge between ten and fifteen minutes, then 
 another nurse entered the ward and the figure 
 faded or melted away. The pulse in the neck 
 of the patient was still beating, but she was not 
 then breathing, although when I first saw the 
 figure she was. There was a good light the 
 day being bright.” 
 
 These two accounts given so clearly and 
 without apparent excitement are sufficiently 
 similar to the lights and figures described in 
 this record to justify their being quoted here.— 
 (Quoted by kind permission from the Journal 
 of the Society for Psychical Research , Nov., 
 1908). 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE SYMBOL OF THE CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 In the sitting-room of the little house occupied 
 by the Normans one spot is devoted to the 
 remembrance of Monica. A table stands there 
 with a vase of flowers, and above it hangs her 
 picture and her first Communion certificate. 
 
 On June the ioth Mrs. Norman discovered 
 under this table a symbol, apparently drawn in 
 ink, roughly, as a child might draw it. The 
 symbol represented a cross in a circle and was 
 about the size of a shilling. They wrote to 
 me, “We have not done it, and have only just 
 noticed it. If it has always been there we 
 have not seen it, and it is a great coincidence 
 that it should be in the position it is in. But 
 the remarkable part follows : 
 
 “ After my attention had been called to it, at 
 about 2.30 this afternoon (June ioth), we went 
 upstairs at 3 p.m. for psychometry. I always 
 
72 
 
 SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 accompany my wife to write down the ‘sensing.’ 
 Before drawing down the dark green blinds to 
 shut out the sun, I called my wife’s attention to 
 the dust on the window panes, suggesting that 
 they should be seen to. The psychometry 
 finished at about 3.30; the blind was raised, 
 when, to our astonishment, there, drawn in the 
 dust upon the upper pane, and evidently by a 
 finger, was the same symbol as the one upon 
 the floor downstairs. My wife and I were 
 alone in the house, and it had been done while 
 we were in occupation of the room. This room 
 was our bedroom, of which you have the plan.” 
 
 In reply I pointed out how difficult it is to 
 make the evidence for this sort of phenomena 
 really valuable. I asked whether they were 
 really sure that the mark had not been on the 
 pane before he pulled down the blind, and 
 whether it might not have escaped notice. To 
 this question he replied : 
 
 “ The dust was too noticeable. Again, the 
 window was open top and bottom. The 
 symbol was drawn on the dust, between the 
 upper and lower panes. For any mortal 
 person to have done it, it would have been 
 necessary to squeeze the hand through the 
 
SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 73 
 
 crack between the two frames. It would be 
 difficult to force a bit of cardboard down.” 
 
 I often wondered what this symbol could 
 mean, that is to say, what it meant or might 
 mean to Monica. I looked for the significance 
 of the symbol in some books I had by me, but 
 I did not feel satisfied that I had discovered 
 what was the intention in Monica’s mind; 
 if, indeed, in some unknown way, she had 
 drawn this symbol. Her messages had been 
 so simple and childlike. This departure into 
 occult symbolism seemed inconsistent in char¬ 
 acter with what had hitherto come in her 
 name. I pondered, but I did not see how to 
 place this phenomenon so that it would seem 
 in harmony with the rest. 
 
 There was no repetition of this sign until 
 two months later, on August 19th. 
 
 On August the 18th, Monica’s birthday, her 
 mother wrote, as usual not looking at what she 
 wrote, and not being aware of the sense until 
 she read it afterwards. Her “letter ’ from 
 Monica contained a promise that she would 
 send me a message on the following day. 
 
 “ I will give her a message, not now ’cause 
 you are tired, but to-morrow afternoon I will, 
 
74 
 
 SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 then you must send her a sacred heart picture 
 out of my prize—I mean my prayer-book—and 
 put on it, 1 Love from Monica.’ So she will be 
 exited (sic), won’t she now ? ” 
 
 Her father, when sending this to me, added : 
 “ This is good. We did not know she had 
 this card, or that there was one in the book. 
 We knew of twenty or more in a big envelope, 
 put away. On looking, we found this one in. 
 the prayer-book.” 
 
 He added also, that it was evidently chosen 
 specially because of the inscription behind. 
 This inscription showed that this card was 
 given to her by a favourite “Sister” whose 
 name also was “ Monica.” And it contained a 
 request for prayer for “ Sister Monica.” I 
 mention this detail because it shows that 
 neither Mr. Norman nor his wife had dis¬ 
 covered any other special significance in the 
 choice of this card. Had they done so they 
 would have pointed it out to me. That there 
 was another reason for this choice is, however, 
 obvious to me. 
 
 Monica’s “letter” of the 18th then goes on 
 to say that she will do a “big thing” for her 
 father, so that he will say—“this is Monica.” 
 
SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 75 
 
 This card was posted to me on Sunday the 
 19th, as Mr. Norman said he thought “ Monica 
 was very anxious for me to have it soon.” It 
 reached me on the 20th with another message 
 written specially to me. 
 
 The latter contained a very striking response 
 to a request I had made about four days 
 earlier to a friend in the U nseen. I made a 
 note of this at the time, and I had added to 
 my request that I should be thankful for 
 any token that my thought had reached my 
 friend. I received two answers to this re¬ 
 quest ; one through a member of my family 
 the next day; the other through Monica’s 
 letter written four or five days later. I had 
 not breathed a word to either about my written 
 thoughts. 
 
 But to return to the card Monica had sent to 
 me. When I saw it I was much impressed by 
 the fact that the words printed on this little 
 card seemed like a direct response to some 
 thoughts which had been very present with 
 me through the 18th and 19th. Into this 
 matter I cannot go, as it is of too personal a 
 nature ; but I must state my conviction that 
 these thoughts, which had not been told to 
 
7 6 
 
 SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 anyone when the card was selected for me, 
 were known either to Monica, or to some one 
 in the Unseen who suggested to her to send 
 that card. There may, however, be yet 
 another reason also for the selection of this 
 particular card. 
 
 On the 20th, the day that the card reached 
 me, after saying in her “ letter ” that there are 
 some people she could not get near to, she 
 added, “ I see Lady quite.” [Lady is her name 
 for me]. The pencil then went round and 
 round very quickly for quite a dozen times, 
 making a circle, and then drew a cross in the 
 centre. Her father wrote : “ She spun round 
 ever so quickly, evidently for a joke. We 
 went into fits of laughter. Coming as it does 
 in the middle of a message to you she may 
 mean it for you.” This remark shows that 
 neither of Monica’s parents attached any special 
 significance to the symbol. Her message 
 about me then went on :— 
 
 “ My thoughts get into her—times when she 
 is keeping hers quiet. Early I go when she 
 knows it. It is better then, the times she very 
 much thinks of us.” 
 
 Here then was the symbol which had been 
 
SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 77 
 
 drawn twice before. When I read the message, 
 I felt sure that this meant more than we had 
 yet seen. I again turned to books. This time 
 I found one which gave the meaning as the 
 triumph of spirit over the physical. This 
 seemed quite appropriate, but it was not what 
 I should expect from little Monica ; it was too 
 abstruse. 
 
 On August 28th, about a week after I had 
 received the card (at about 7 a.m.), I took up 
 the little card and looked at it, but not with 
 the idea of looking for anything particular. 
 Then for the first time I saw that just above 
 the “ sacred heart ” there was a circle with a 
 cross in it. The finger of Christ in the picture 
 points directly to this. 
 
 I wrote and asked Mr. Norman whether 
 they had observed any special detail in the 
 card he had sent to me. He replied that 
 neither of them had done so ; they had only 
 been impressed by the apparent care with 
 which this card had been selected for me. I 
 then told them that I had observed this circle 
 and that I was struck by these facts :— 
 
 (1) That on the day the card reached me 
 the writing from Monica had been 
 
7 « 
 
 SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 accompanied by a repetition of the sign 
 drawn twice in June. 
 
 (2) That this had occurred in a message 
 
 referring to me. 
 
 (3) That she had drawn the sign on that 
 
 occasion with peculiar emphasis. 
 
 (4) That she had said that “ she could get her 
 
 thoughts ” into me in the “ early ” morn¬ 
 ing, and that it was at an early hour 
 that I had suddenly perceived the circle 
 and cross in the picture. 
 
 (5) That at the back of this card was her 
 
 own name, “ Monica.” 
 
 All this seemed to show me that she wanted 
 to connect this symbol specially with herself. 
 
 After some weeks photographic experiments 
 began. On the second occasion on which this 
 experiment was carried out with a camera one 
 of the lights which appeared (a small one) con¬ 
 tained within the circle a cross. Mr. Norman 
 sent me this, merely asking me if I observed 
 anything special about the small light on the 
 print. I at once noticed the cross in the circle. 
 I showed it to a relative without even asking 
 her to look for anything special, and she also 
 said, “There is a cross.” I showed it to 
 
SYMBOL OF CROSS AND CIRCLE 
 
 79 
 
 another friend, telling him I wished to know 
 whether anything special appeared to him to 
 be in the small light, and he too at once 
 recognised the cross. This then is not an 
 imagination : it is there. 
 
 Mr. Norman tells me that he finds the same 
 sign on cards given to his children in 
 remembrance of their First Communion. 
 Monica received her First Communion a few 
 weeks before her passing over. It is therefore 
 easy to understand why she may love this 
 symbol, and what it may represent to her. 
 The host is stamped with a cross in a circle. 
 To her, therefore, it was the symbol of the 
 Greatest Love and the Highest Communion 
 between Heaven and Earth. Certain it is that 
 she has been an angel of love in her home ; 
 she has prompted aspiration towards the 
 highest life, and has brought into it a sense of 
 Communion with the Unseen. By her presence 
 she has “ heartened faith ” and fulfilled the 
 promise, “a little child shall lead them.” 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 When I arrived at B-for my first visit, 
 
 very soon after I had entered the house, Mr. 
 Norman handed me a card which, he said, had 
 been put into his hand by a stranger in the 
 street a few days (perhaps a fortnight) before 
 I arrived. Usually he throws away any leaflet 
 thus thrust upon him, but on this occasion he 
 put it into his pocket without looking at it. It 
 was not until he got home that he observed 
 that this card had on it a printed prayer, written 
 by someone bearing my surname, who proved 
 to be a near relative of my own, one who passed 
 away in the seventh decade of last century. 
 Of this prayer mention is made in his 
 autobiography. He says that when he was 
 preparing for ordination, while mastering the 
 construction of the New Testament, he was 
 much impressed by the promises of the Holy 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 81 
 
 Spirit: “There arose,” he says, “an habitual 
 reference to the Spirit of God, to which I feel 
 that I am indebted for all the honour which has 
 been subsequently put upon me in the success 
 of the ministry. Out of this habitual feeling 
 afterwards arose the construction of that little 
 prayer, in which there is a condensation into 
 the fewest possible words of all that is needful 
 in practical Christianity. ‘ Oh, God, for 
 Christ’s sake, give me the Holy Spirit.’ This 
 prayer combines an appeal to the right source, 
 by the right name, for the one thing needful in 
 every emergency, and especially in the work 
 of the ministry. It is too short to admit of 
 that distraction of mind which so commonly 
 mars our supplications. In the course of a 
 long ministry I have found the use of this 
 prayer to have been the means of blessing to 
 numberless persons, and to myself especially.” 
 
 Both the Normans and myself were 
 impressed by the co-incidence that this card 
 should have been put into his hand just at 
 this time. It seemed as if it might be more 
 than a co-incidence, or at least more than a 
 chance co-incidence. 
 
 Mrs. Norman said with a smile, “ It is your 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 relative’s card of introduction.” I noticed that 
 they took the matter seriously and Mrs. 
 Norman told me that she intended to use the 
 prayer before beginning her automatic writing. 
 
 The appearance of this prayer, so associated 
 with one dear to me, and one whose lofty aims 
 were well-known to me, gave me a feeling of 
 confidence. I must here go into detail a little. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norman’s letters, which I had 
 been receiving for some weeks before visiting 
 them, had given me great confidence in their 
 sincerity and also in their good sense. But, I 
 suppose, no one goes through life without 
 having a few great disappointments and finding 
 that trust has been misplaced. When I first 
 
 went to B-I had just a little feeling of 
 
 anxiety. I thought, “ Suppose I find when 
 I know them, that their witness is not quite 
 so valuable as it seems ? ” They were com¬ 
 parative strangers to me. I was not suspicious, 
 but I was a little cautious. When I received 
 their letters I was on the watch for any 
 discrepancies which might suggest a careless 
 and inaccurate recorder. The result of my 
 observation had been very reassuring, but still 
 I was on the watch. It will be easily under- 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 83 
 
 stood that, feeling thus, the card presented to 
 me on arrival had a value difficult to define. 
 For one thing it helped me to know them. I 
 did not tell them of the effect the arrival of the 
 card produced in reassuring me, but the 
 genuineness of their interest in receiving this 
 prayer and in the possibility that it had come 
 to them under some influence from my relative 
 gave me further insight into their attitude 
 towards these experiences. My friends will 
 not, now, mind this free statement as to the 
 condition of my mind on first arriving, and 
 students will see by it that I by no means 
 went blindfold into this inquiry. I repeat, I 
 was not suspicious, for I had no ground what¬ 
 soever for suspicion, but I was alert and 
 cautious. 
 
 My three days satisfied me entirely as to the 
 complete sincerity of the people I had to deal 
 with. It would have been rather awkward for 
 me if it had not been so ; for I doubt if I could 
 have concealed from them any distrust I might 
 have had. One afternoon I had been resting 
 on the sofa in the room I had taken and 
 thinking how thoroughly sincere they seemed 
 to me to be. When I returned to their house 
 
8 4 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 a short time afterwards, Mrs. Norman looked 
 me in the face and said, she had an impression 
 of the word “ sincere ” in connection with me. 
 Had I been thinking of this ? I told her 
 frankly that I had, and what had been my 
 thought. 
 
 When I returned to my home my mind was 
 much occupied with the Normans, and I 
 decided to send her, for psychometry, a bit of 
 hair belonging to my relative without telling 
 her whose it was. Either before, or soon after 
 doing this, I observed that the description she 
 had given me whilst I was with her of some 
 one she had “ sensed ” when holding my hands 
 corresponded more than I had noted at the 
 time with the picture of this relative which 
 hangs in my home ; she had mentioned some 
 details which I had forgotten until I looked at 
 the picture again. 
 
 I posted the bit of hair to her on August 2nd, 
 and when I did so I deliberately and definitely 
 asked that he might, if possible, give some 
 token of his presence, and that he might draw 
 nearer to the new friends I had made. 
 
 On August 4th I received a letter from Mrs. 
 Norman written on the 3rd ; this letter did not 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 85 
 
 contain a psychometrical reading, as she had 
 not yet attempted it, but this is what she 
 wrote :— 
 
 “ I want to tell you I feel a strong conviction 
 that your dear relative was with us last night, 
 and I will tell you why. 
 
 “After our prayers, at just 11 p.m., I said 
 to my husband. ‘ It has just come into my 
 mind that the card with the prayer came, not so 
 much as an introduction, as a voucher for our 
 honesty, so that she could be satisfied having 
 his word.’ Well, no sooner were these words 
 spoken than three sharp raps came near Monica’s 
 table, startling us both. Then I said, ‘ It is 
 strange that this view of it only came to me 
 to-night, and now I feel sure he meant that.’ 
 Once more three knocks, then a few little ones, 
 such as we always presume come from darling 
 Monica. The first six were much louder and 
 stronger. How I wish you could have heard 
 them. I did not dare address the one who 
 rapped, fearing that it would all stop as before, 
 so we went on talking quietly.” 
 
 The prayer has been framed and placed on 
 Monica’s table and it is often used. In one of 
 the messages Monica speaks of him as a “ Big 
 
86 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 Light,” and intimates that he was the means of 
 bringing me into contact with the Normans. 
 Monica’s messages generally refer to him as 
 “ Big Light,” and she claims to be in frequent 
 communication with him. 
 
 On September the 28th I called at a photo¬ 
 grapher’s and made an appointment to see him 
 about some copies I desired to have made of 
 two photographs. One of these two is a photo¬ 
 graph of “ Big Light.” I had been looking at 
 it, and thinking what a handsome face he had, 
 and how nice this particular portrait is, and how 
 like him before he began to lose his health. 
 As the photograph is fading, I decided to have 
 a reproduction and to give a copy to the 
 Normans. 
 
 On the 28th I saw the photographer and 
 made the arrangement. I said nothing of this 
 to the Normans. 
 
 On the 27th Monica’s message ran as 
 follows : — 
 
 “ Lady’s Big Light was here. He tells me 
 nice stories, and he did to dear Lady. He 
 puts his hand on her head when she stands and 
 looks lovingly at his picture. She is helped 
 what to do.” 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 87 
 
 As to the stories, my relative had many 
 varied experiences, and he often told of them. 
 On one of my last visits to him a story was 
 read aloud and he gave me the volume after¬ 
 wards. I remember how he enjoyed that story, 
 which was “ Alice in Wonderland,” and was the 
 only book I remember his ever giving me. I 
 have it still with my name in it in his hand¬ 
 writing, and the date. 
 
 I may add that in this message of September 
 27th Monica also said :—“ Tell Cissie, of course 
 I will do it.” Her father adds : “ We did not 
 
 know Cissie had asked for anything, we now 
 find she had done so.” And the thing was 
 done. This then was Monica’s reply to her 
 sister’s thoughts, thoughts which had not been 
 expressed to anyone. This message contained 
 also another indication of knowledge concerning 
 a matter normally unknown to Mrs. Norman. 
 
 “ Big Light ” has often been seen during the 
 “quiet hour,” which they keep daily, when 
 other lights also appear to them. Mr. Norman 
 wrote :— 
 
 (December 5, 1912). “He sometimes ap¬ 
 pears suddenly with utmost radiance . . . after 
 
88 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 you have asked something.” Monica had 
 written on this date :—“ Wasn’t her Big Light 
 bright for you to-night ? Well it’s sometimes 
 for you to do like she says.” Mr. Norman 
 says that this remark explained to them the 
 reason for these sudden appearances of the 
 “ big light.” I had just made a special request 
 for an experiment, concerning which I believe 
 the Normans had hesitated. 
 
 When I was at B— I told the Normans very 
 little about my family, but I mentioned that I 
 had some little brothers who had died young. 
 This they appear to have forgotten, though it 
 must have been latent in their memory which 
 must, of course, be taken into account in what 
 follows. 
 
 Sometime, about August 20th, I had been 
 thinking of Monica in the early morning and 
 also of one of my brothers Harold.* On August 
 22nd Monica wrote (through her mother’s hand) 
 a loving message to me, and added, “ She is 
 all right and has a brother here. He is a high, 
 good one. I don’t see him, but it is true. He 
 
 * Pseudonym. 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 89 
 
 is on our side, Sunny * said it. He was here 
 before Sunny—only bigger. Well, it is true, 
 so I say.” 
 
 It is true that my brother passed over long 
 before “ Sunny,” and that he was “ bigger ” and 
 olderthan “Sunny.” Mr. Norman wrote asking 
 me if I had a brother who had died. 
 
 After this I spoke mentally to my brother in 
 the Unseen World (on August 25th), and asked 
 him to give his name ‘ Harold ’ to Monica to 
 give to her mother, if it were possible. I made 
 a note of my request at the time, and then it 
 passed out of my mind that I had made this 
 deliberate request. 
 
 On September the 2nd I received a message 
 from Monica in which she said, among other 
 things, “ There is a Harold here with her 
 name.t He is here since long time. I tell 
 you ; of course you tell her, and she will say 
 she is so pleased when I can tell her the name. 
 
 I do like it, then it is sure to them it is true.” 
 
 On the day I received this I felt very glad, 
 although still, I did not remember my definite 
 
 *A brother of Monica’s who passed over as an infant, 
 t Name correctly given. 
 
9 ° 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 request. On that day, the 2nd of September, 
 Monica wrote by her mother that I was ‘ very 
 happy.’ Mr. Norman told me that he was 
 very anxious about this name, fearing that I 
 should not recognise it. 
 
 When I returned home I looked at my 
 diary and came upon the note made on the 
 25th, and then I realised that this request also 
 had been heard. 
 
 On four separate occasions anniversaries of 
 the birth or death of near relatives have been 
 signalised by some reference appearing in one 
 of Monica’s messages to the person connected 
 with the date, or by Mrs. Norman telling me 
 that she had seen the person at her quiet hour. 
 I have been informed of these references 
 without the Normans having the slightest 
 knowledge of the anniversary. Sometimes 
 the reference has been on the day sometimes 
 within a day or two, always closely associated. 
 The fact that this has occurred four times 
 within the space of eight months makes the 
 coincidences worthy of attention, and justifies 
 the belief that they were not accidental. 
 
 When I went to B-, in January, 1913, I 
 
 brought with me a closed letter and laid it on 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 9 1 
 
 Monica’s table. The letter had been written 
 by a friend who had never seen Monica or her 
 parents, but she asked that this might be done 
 and hoped that she might obtain some answer 
 to her letter. It seemed to me unlikely, but I 
 was willing to try and so were the Normans. 
 I told my friend that the letter would be 
 returned to her in a month. On the 19th of 
 January my friend took up a pencil to see if 
 she could get any automatic writing as she has 
 often done. A brief sentence was written 
 containing the name of Monica : “ Monica is 
 here. Monica will write to her mother to¬ 
 morrow.” My friend asked, “ Through me ? ” 
 The reply was, “ No, Monica will write through 
 her mother to day to you.” This bit of auto¬ 
 matic writing was copied and given to me to 
 keep. On the following day I received a 
 letter from the Normans enclosing- one of 
 Monica’s messages in which she mentioned 
 my friend ; and although she did not answer 
 the letter, she referred to a thought which my 
 friend tells me she had in her mind when she 
 wrote the letter which had been laid on 
 Monica’s table. I wrote to the Normans and 
 told them of the communication which had 
 
92 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 come on the 19th. In his reply Mr. Norman 
 has informed me that Monica’s mother had 
 asked her to try and get something written 
 through my friend, “as proof.” The com¬ 
 munication in Monica’s name came to my 
 friend on the very day that Monica’s mother 
 had asked her to send some message through 
 her. Perhaps Monica was able to get into 
 touch through “ Big Light,” as he is also 
 related to this friend of mine, and, if Monica is 
 really in communication with him he could 
 surely pass on her message. We do not know 
 the modus operandi over there, of course, but it 
 is easy to see how links may exist between the 
 mind of Monica’s mother and that of my friend, 
 if we are ready to admit the intervention of the 
 Unseen Fellowship, and if we believe in the 
 ministry of this Fellowship as messengers of 
 love. 
 
 Since writing the above I have found in a 
 writing from Monica dated Jan. 9, 1913, a 
 sentence in which this friend’s name is men¬ 
 tioned and a statement is made that she “ is 
 going to give a message one day.” 
 
 In October 1912, I also paid a visit to B-, 
 
 and each evening during this three days’ 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 93 
 
 visit I sat with Mrs. Norman during her quiet 
 hour. We sat in the dark near Monica’s table 
 and she saw many things which my eyes could 
 not see. The camera was exposed all the time 
 and the film on development showed markings 
 which could not be accounted for, unless they 
 were the lights which the Normans see at 
 their “ quiet hour.” 
 
 Before I arrived she told me that she had 
 seen a military man in a cloak, the cloak was 
 clasped round the neck and thrown back over 
 the shoulder. I have a photograph of a near 
 relative in uniform with a cloak thrown over 
 his left shoulder (but not clasped round the 
 neck). It seemed to me that this vision might 
 be an attempt on his part to show himself in a 
 way that I should recognise. Needless to say, 
 Mrs. Norman knew nothing of the photograph, 
 and I did not mention my thought to Mrs. 
 Norman, but when I arrived she told me that 
 she had seen him again with yellow braid 
 on his coat. This relative was in the Horse 
 Artillery, and the photograph above referred to 
 represents him with the braided uniform of that 
 regiment. I may add that he has often been 
 described to me by other psychics, as with me. 
 
94 
 
 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 On the 5th of October she again saw him 
 near me at the “quiet hour.” By this time she 
 knew that I thought I had recognised him, but 
 no further details. She said that his head 
 appeared above me and that he had a merry 
 “ twinkling ” expression, and that his presence 
 cheered her. This description is very char¬ 
 acteristic and there were other slight details 
 which convinced me of the identity of the face 
 she saw. 
 
 During this visit to B— Mrs. Norman told 
 me that she felt so nervous when trying to get 
 a message for a stranger that she wished in 
 future only to take messages for her own 
 family. I did not feel justified in pressing her 
 to go against her strong feeling, in fact I wrote 
 to a friend to warn him that he should not send 
 others to her. Soon after this I received the 
 following extract from a message which Monica 
 had written on October 9, ’12. 
 
 “ I am going to bring ever such lots of 
 people to you to be got happy. You never 
 will say no, will you, dear? You mustn’t, no 
 not once you won’t. It is the one thing I 
 want most.” 
 
 I quote this because it was directly contrary 
 
PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 95 
 
 to Mrs. Norman’s expression of her own 
 wishes, and in spite of this message it was 
 with some anxiety that she agreed to still 
 receive occasional messages for strangers. 
 
 Many other experiences have convinced 
 me that my unspoken thoughts have become 
 known to unseen companions. But many of 
 these are not suitable for publication. I will, 
 however, mention one. Near the date of 
 Monica’s birthday the hope crossed my mind 
 that she might get into contact with another 
 friend of mine. I had mentioned her when I 
 was with the Normans a month before, but 
 none of the many messages which had come 
 since then referred to her. One day I wrote 
 to Mr. Norman that I wished Monica could 
 get into touch with a particular friend, but I 
 added, “ I will not mention the name of the 
 friend I am thinking of as it would spoil 
 the evidence if anything should come.” This 
 letter crossed one from them which contained 
 a message from Monica, mentioning this friend 
 in a most appropriate way. The message was 
 full of significance to me. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 In one of her early messages (April the 8th, 
 1912), Monica said, in her loving, childish way : 
 
 “ Of course I want you always my own 
 Dickie, and my soft mummy. Nearly always 
 I am with you.” 
 
 Her father then said, “Tell me something I 
 did days ago.” This request was partly 
 answered at the time, but later, a more striking 
 response was made to the desire that she 
 should prove that she really was with him and 
 knew what he was doing. I will here relate a 
 few instances in which Monica, in her messages, 
 told facts unknown to her Mother, through 
 whose hand these messages were written. 
 
 These facts seem to have been stated on 
 purpose to convince them of the reality of the 
 presence and knowledge of their child. 
 
 On June, the 19th, came the following 
 
AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 97 
 
 message. It was written on the evening of a 
 day when her father had been alone. “ Before 
 light came to me,” he says, “ I would never be 
 alone, and used to spend days at the club.” 
 On this occasion, June the 19th, she wrote : 
 
 “ Only a dear little girlie near you. I kiss 
 my own darlings. Tell Dickie his kiss-girlie 
 was with her Daddy. He worked hard and 
 puffed, then he lay down,” [true] “ I was there. 
 He wrote not much,” [true] “ I made him feel 
 happy. He saw another little girl, not so big 
 as me.” [* Mrs. Gay’s little girl called, she 
 reminded me of M.] 
 
 Your own Monica.” 
 
 I asked Mr. Norman whether his wife could 
 have had any normal knowledge of what 
 had happened on that day. He replied : 
 
 “ Absolutely no knowledge. She leaves 
 here [on that day of the week] at 10 a.m., 
 and gets back a few minutes before 8 p.m. . . 
 
 I never account for one minute. Monica 
 generally tells her.” 
 
 On August the 6th the little daughter, Lena, 
 remained with her father, and Monica told, 
 
 * Mr. Norman’s comments are placed between brackets. 
 
 7 
 
98 AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 through her mother’s hand in the evening, 
 what her father had talked about to Lena. 
 
 On August the 8th Mr. Norman determined 
 to test her knowledge by varying his usual oc¬ 
 cupations. He says :— 
 
 “At io I started adding a couple of pages 
 to your letter, then I went upstairs to shave, 
 spoke to Monica and said, ‘ Come along, 
 darling, I am going out, and we will go to¬ 
 gether into church, and pray for Mummy.’ It 
 was ii a.m. then. In church I said ,.0 her, 
 
 ‘ Now a prayer for “ dear Lady.” ’ All this was 
 quite out of my routine. At that time of day 
 I am always at work. This is what she told 
 her mother:— 
 
 “ ‘ Where is your Birdie now, dears ? Quite 
 close to Daddy and you. He wrote some more 
 letter, shaved, and said, “ Come along, darling.” 
 We were together. . . He did say that prayer. 
 [True]. He wrote it—I mean the kind man 
 who brings people to Jesus. He is like the 
 Jesus I loved in the parlour at school.’ [Picture 
 or statue, I suppose]. ‘He is a big light. I 
 hope my boy will keep hearing me tell him. 
 I say first always, Daddy darling, I love my 
 dear, good boy. He loves you and Cissie. 
 
AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 99 
 
 He says, when you are out, for God to bless 
 you, and what a dear Mummy you are. I did 
 go to church with him—the time you and I 
 used to go once. It was to see “Bon Papa" 
 then.’ [They used to go to the monastery at 
 ii to see Father A., who called her ‘petit 
 chou’]. ‘We don’t forget a lady we know, do 
 we, Daddy?’ [Refers to praying for you in 
 church]. ‘ May is good, I see.’ [I don’t under¬ 
 stand. Do you know a May ? ] ‘So good¬ 
 night, my darlings. Your own Monica Joe.’’’ 
 
 He adds:—“ I was astonished at this 
 message. The most convincing thing I’ve 
 ever heard of. Upon second thoughts, we 
 were married in May. Probably she means 
 that.” 
 
 On another occasion [September the 18th, 
 1912], Mr. Norman tested Monica’s knowledge 
 of his doings. He says :— 
 
 “Soon after they had gone out Monica 
 whispered that she was with me, in the room 
 beside me. We had a little talk, and I said to 
 her that, as the others had gone to the station, 
 she should come out with me for a couple of 
 hours. Now I purposely altered my morning 
 in a way that my wife could not guess at, so 
 
100 
 
 AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 that only Monica and myself knew. I left here 
 at about n. We went on the top of the 
 hill and I said a prayer, afterwards going 
 down the steps. I entered an ironmonger’s to 
 inquire for something I did not want. Then 
 I went into our grocer’s and had a political talk 
 with the three owners and another customer. 
 Coming out I said, ‘ Come along, Monica, they 
 shan’t be the only ones to go to the station. 1 
 will take you up there for five or ten minutes.’ 
 I did so, and then went straight home. I said 
 to Monica, ‘Tell your Mother, darling,’ and 
 she replied,* ‘Yes, yes, yes, Daddy darling, I’ll 
 tell Mummy all, see if I don’t.’” 
 
 In the evening he received, through his 
 wife’s writing, the following message :— 
 
 September the 18th.—“ My darling, we are 
 all together. Hooray! I stayed with my 
 Daddy and I said to him lots, and we talked 
 about you like anything. He missed you 
 dreadfully, and we went and prayed on the 
 hill. Down the steps to a shop and talked to 
 some people, and then I think it was to home.” 
 
 Mr. Norman told me that he felt grievously 
 
 * That is to say, he heard a voice clairaudiently. 
 
AN UNSEEN COMPANION 
 
 lot 
 
 disappointed, and he mentally told Monica that 
 he was so. Without saying a word to his wife, 
 he said to his child, that if she could not tell 
 what they had done before going home, he 
 would have to say it was not her writing. 
 The omission of the visit to the station seemed 
 to him inexplicable, if Monica had been with 
 him, as she claimed to have been. 
 
 The message continued with many little 
 loving words for several lines, and then towards 
 the end came the sentence, 
 
 “ I was at the station, too, so there! If I’m 
 not Monica there never was one.” 
 
 Mr. Norman uttered a cry in his joy and 
 surprise, for he had begun to think that this 
 matter would not be mentioned ; and his wife 
 wondered why he seemed so excited. 
 
 Mrs. Norman wrote to me saying :— 
 
 “ Before I went to B—— yesterday morning, 
 I went to Monica’s table, said the prayer, and 
 then I said, * Monica darling, stay with Daddy, 
 and tell me everything he has done when I 
 come back.’ You will see by her message how 
 she did it. I myself was absolutely astonished, 
 for as it happened Dick varied his morning, 
 and did not go on the usual way.” 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A FEW INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 
 AND MYSELF 
 
 In the autumn of 1912 Monica’s messages 
 often referred to me. For instance, on Sep¬ 
 tember the 2nd she wrote :— 
 
 “ Keep trying darlings. You can’t stop 
 learning. You see it helps lots for you to 
 know more. There is ever so much that will 
 surprise you, but you will not be so surprised as 
 some people because you believe so much. I 
 do so hope you will learn. You can, and when 
 you want to, really there are those that will 
 teach you lots. But you aren’t quite ready yet. 
 Love makes you know more than anything— 
 will find out all—but not all on earth, as you 
 don’t see there the wonderful of it all. You 
 are with us. It is funny to me, but if you are 
 happy now you can’t think of how it is here. 
 I do tell you just this ; I know, and I tell you 
 
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 103 
 
 now no stories. I am so happy here and more 
 now I am sure you will be, my owns. And 
 every body can be if they like. If God our 
 Father didn’t love you He wouldn’t let me 
 come, would He? But He did know how I 
 loved my dears. He let me make you happy, 
 and then He did send “ Lady” to say to you 
 the rest, and finish it, so you wouldn’t lose 
 believing in this and yourselves. You see it 
 all now . . . My Dickie, how times I hear you 
 say, ‘happy, happy!’ Well what is it? only 
 love. God does love you and I do. do, do. 
 There now, God bless you, my loves. All dear 
 ones send their real love to you. Your real 
 truly birdie, Monica Joe.” 
 
 On September the 3rd was written :—“ Pray 
 hard always. Don’t stop saying, ‘ Thank you,’ 
 to our Father when nice times come. Why, 
 all the bad ones show you how lovely to be 
 good. I love you. Be kind to all and in your 
 thought.” 
 
 September the 4th, after many loving words— 
 “ I am a happy girl to have got so quickly 
 what I wanted for my dears. Lots don't for 
 years and years and it is so sad for them. You 
 think how happy our Father has let me be. 
 
104 INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 
 
 Directly I knew where I was, I found out at 
 once I could get you to know something if I 
 kept on; but all can’t even after. So they 
 only wait and pray and think out all they can. 
 If any one gets through they are so exited [sic\ 
 Just like me. I get it awf’ly [jzV] when a thing 
 comes nice. You dears, I’ve been talked about; 
 but every one does not really believe it is little 
 me. They try to, but they can’t, see ? ‘ Lady ’ 
 isn’t easily believing, but she knows it is Monica, 
 and it is well for us and her.’’ 
 
 She then added a message which was not to 
 be given to me yet, but which proved to be a 
 little prophesy, which was subsequently fulfilled. 
 
 On September the 5th, Monica wrote :— 
 
 “ I do love heather.” That afternoon I had 
 climbed up on to the moors, and gathered a big 
 bunch and sent it to a relative in London. As 
 I packed the parcel I determined that I would 
 send Monica some to be placed on her table. 
 Did she know my thoughts ? She appears to 
 have done so. 
 
 The Normans were very pleased that the 
 name of my brother should have been given. 
 They are as anxious for the evidence to be 
 
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 105 
 
 strong as I am, and this success pleased them 
 greatly, for they had been wondering whether 
 I should recognise the name. 
 
 On September the 6th, Monica wrote 
 quaintly :— 
 
 “ Zigzelsier I say now ” [Excelsior she never 
 could say or spell] “ Do you remember 
 darlings ? I am so happy I sing with it. I 
 know how my own Dickie feels. We feel jolly 
 together, don’t we ? Well it is all love you see, 
 dears. I know that you will keep saying ‘how 
 strange,’ but it isn’t, if you only knew how easy 
 it is really, once you understand and love 
 people. You don’t be long to do it with us, 
 then your help comes, not through us, but by 
 God in us. Do you see? If He wasn’t in us, 
 you and me, we couldn’t help each other. It’s 
 that joins us together. All comes right in the 
 end, ’cause there isn’t really any end at all, but 
 I mean all is well soon, isn’t it ? I do feel 
 pleased with ‘my lady,’ she’s going to help you 
 all nearer to us by getting you more light.” 
 
 Then the message goes on referring to me 
 and she says, “ Mummy would like it there, but 
 it would be too cold after. There is a place 
 and the tops of the trees touch. It is like our 
 
io6 INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 
 
 blue-bell wood,” [“ where we once lived,” adds 
 her father] “ only it’s a road. I love trees always 
 —like you. They are awf’ly like people. Well 
 dears, good night, God bless you, and always 
 give you the Holy Spirit.” [First time she 
 ever said this]. “Your own dear pet birdie, 
 Monica Joe.” 
 
 The road in the wood which she describes, 
 with the trees touching over head, exactly 
 describes a walk in the place where I was 
 staying.* It was my favourite walk, and the 
 only one there which runs by the side of a wood ; 
 the trees meet thickly over head. Of course, it 
 may be urged that some such road as this 
 might be easily imagined, as it was known that 
 I was staying in the country. At the same time 
 it should be noted that there was only one like 
 this anywhere near me. I had often thought 
 of Monica as I walked through this wood and 
 along the shady road. I showed her parents a 
 post-card picture of this walk on my return from 
 Yorkshire, and Mr. Norman wrote :—“Yes, we 
 most certainly recognise the walk in Yorkshire 
 Monica spoke of. It is very like the second wood 
 in C-— and leading out of the blue-bell wood.” 
 
 *The place was unknown to the Normans. 
 
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 107 
 
 Later she said in one of her messages that 
 some one had been shooting where I was, but 
 that he had not killed anything. Only on two 
 occasions do I remember to have heard the 
 report of a gun. Once was a few days before 
 I received this message. It was a single 
 report. I do not know whether anything was 
 struck. 
 
 She added—“ My Dickie did used to shoot. 
 I don’t forget it, dears. I never really forget 
 anything, but sometimes they aren’t close to me 
 when I want them, that’s it. ‘ Lady’s ’ thoughts 
 come here . . . and she never forgets nothing 
 she was told.” She goes on recalling old 
 recollections of things done in her earth life 
 and ends with many loving child words of 
 endearment. 
 
 On the 9th of September she again referred 
 to me, and said that she knew my own friends 
 over there, and so she managed to bring me 
 into contact with her family. She added— 
 “We often do that, sending friends to lonely 
 people.” 
 
 On September the 20th Monica wrote 
 [but I did not receive the message until several 
 
io8 INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 
 
 days later]—“ She [lady] will be catching cold 
 if she does not take care.” 
 
 Three days after this I developed a cold. 
 
 I wondered why Monica took account of a 
 cold, which seemed to me very unimportant, 
 and why she said that she did not like me to 
 have it. But the cold was followed by lumbago 
 and neuritis, which obliged me to desist from 
 all work for some weeks, and for a time quite 
 stopped progress with this Record of Monica, 
 and these experiences. This rather worried 
 me as neuritis often lasts a long time, and I 
 began to wonder when I should be able to 
 complete my work. 
 
 In September, as I have already mentioned, 
 a message had been sent to me from Monica 
 with instructions not to open it until I received 
 permission to do so. This I kept by me unread 
 until November 19. At this date I was so far 
 recovered as to be able to type and write a little. 
 This was the message :— 
 
 “Sept. 4, 1912. More and more now she 
 will be thinking to have a trouble. It will be 
 well, even if it doesn’t look it. But we shall 
 keep her through all her work now. You see 
 if it isn’t. Do keep this and show her after the 
 
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 109 
 
 trouble is finished. It hasn’t come yet, I know. 
 It is about to, but she does know it won’t be 
 easy.” 
 
 When I had to tell Monica’s parents that my 
 letters and typing must cease for a time, he 
 wrote to me that he knew it would be all right, 
 that he wished he could tell me the contents of 
 the sealed envelope which he had sent me as it 
 evidently referred to this check to my work. 
 The assurance cheered me and made me hopeful 
 that the check would not be long and this 
 proved to be the case. When I was better 
 permission was given by Monica that I should 
 open the sealed envelope which contained her 
 prophesy. 
 
 On October the 18th Mr. Norman wrote 
 to me :— 
 
 “ Last night our quiet hour was spoiled, as a 
 visitor called. It was annoying as things were 
 advancing. We saw light through the curtain 
 which had been drawn over Monica’s table in 
 the alcove, and one tongue of moving, quiver¬ 
 ing light came through the centre of the curtains. 
 It is on the photo enclosed.” [The photograph 
 shows a little flame just in the centre]. “ Forms, 
 radiant, were seen through the material. The 
 
no INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA 
 
 first night after moving the bed we had our 
 old flame [as we first saw it as big as a 
 teacup] next to the fireplace, and close to me. 
 I gave it the usual sifting. It remained 
 only about half an hour and then Monica 
 came.” 
 
 Mrs. Norman wrote on the same date :— 
 
 “ Last night we had a wonderful quiet hour, 
 quite the best I think. The room was full of 
 moving figures. Your relative was there 
 without the beard.” [I had just sent them a 
 portraitof Big Light before he had growna beard, 
 and I had told them that I liked his appearance 
 better thus than with a beard. On any 
 hypothesis therefore this would be likely to 
 affect the form in which he would be seen by 
 them.] “ A book in one hand that seemed to 
 have brass or metal binding, and something 
 embroidered, folded up in the other. Dick 
 thought it might be a stole but I said I did not 
 think he ever wore one, though of course I don’t 
 know. There was a lady there about middle 
 height, with darkish hair done in two plaits, 
 large bright eyes, a rather long face I thought, 
 and a white fluffy thing like a shawl over her 
 shoulders. Many others I saw and a huge 
 
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MONICA m 
 
 light appeared as your relative disappeared, 
 exactly on the same spot. It was glorious.” 
 
 Mr. Norman also adds :— 
 
 “We had the most marvellous night last 
 night we ever had. I was enveloped in 
 phosphorescent fog, and my right arm was in 
 a blaze.” 
 
 The book was, perhaps, “ shown ” as a means 
 of identification. A Bible with metal corners and 
 a metal clasp had been given by the relative 
 Monica calls “ my Big Light ” as a wedding gift 
 to my mother. It is still existing, and it is one 
 of the few objects which passed into my posses¬ 
 sion in connection with this relative. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER I912 
 
 In this chapter I shall deal with messages and 
 incidents of various kinds related to occurrences 
 during the two months of August and September 
 1912, that is to say, between my first and second 
 visit to B—. Some of these have been already 
 referred to in other chapters, but there are others 
 which must not be passed by ; although they 
 are slighter episodes they are not without value 
 from an evidential point of view, and also they 
 have interest of a personal kind, showing the 
 thoughts and character of Monica. 
 
 On the night between August the 10th and 
 the nth I dreamed of Monica. I awoke early, 
 recalling that she had been in my dreams, and 
 that she was associated with the idea of pansies 
 and a rose spray. Before falling asleep 
 again I impressed the memory of this dream 
 upon my consciousness, for I seemed aware 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 113 
 
 that it ought to be remembered, slight though 
 it was. 
 
 I do not usually remember any dreams when 
 I awake ; but I had not forgotten this when I 
 awoke in the morning, and I wrote to the 
 Normans and asked them whether there was any 
 reason why I should specially associate ‘ pansies 
 and a rose spray ’ with Monica. I thought that 
 they had said to me that pansies were a favourite 
 flower of hers. They sent me the following 
 messages : 
 
 “ August 9th—‘ Dear darlings, it is all 
 lovely. You love, that is it. Now be very kind 
 to everybody, not just the people who are nice 
 to you ; that will be a big thing truly. You will 
 be more happy still, dears. You see I want to 
 show you how it is here. You can’t see them, 
 but I will tell you this way, so you can see. 
 It is nearly all unhappy because there is only 
 fun. Fun and love is good, but if there isn’t 
 any love when the fun is gone there is no more 
 anything ; so then people are sad. It is a pity. 
 
 “ The poor beggars they want some too, and 
 
 the nasty ones want more still.” [Mr Norman 
 
 adds, “ How like her ! ” ] “ If you give it them 
 
 in your thought and they don’t want it, you go 
 
 8 
 
11 4 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 19x2 
 
 on, some of it will get in. I sent my Cissie a 
 hug, and to all the dears of mine. I will go 
 and see some nice people you know to-morrow. 
 I will try and make her hear, my pets. God 
 bless you. I love you. Your dear Birdie, 
 Monica Joe.” 
 
 The “nice people,” Monica’s father and 
 mother understood to be those living in the 
 same house with me. And “ I will try and 
 make her hear,” certainly refers to me. 
 
 On the following day, August 10th, Monica 
 wrote:—“ I am here, dearies. It is a good thing 
 you know I am, isn’t it ? And you will say it 
 is a good thing when you come here, ‘ cause it 
 is so happy and lovely. Most glorious,” [spelt 
 her way ‘glowious’] “my heaven it is. You 
 can have lots of it if you love enough and get a 
 quiet heart. We can be very close together in 
 that heaven. Lots of our dears around me 
 with you to-day, dears. I went to my lady.” 
 [Her name for me always]. “ It was this 
 evening She was speaking to another . . . 
 
 I am so glad you all pray more. We must 
 love God and love all to show that we do love 
 Him. I like the prayer on my table.” [“Big- 
 Light’s ” printed prayer]. “We all want more of 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 115 
 
 Holy Spirit to come perfect—even here. Every 
 one has got a little bit perfect—the God bit. I 
 love you, dear, dear Mummy, and Dickie, and 
 Cissie more and more. I do. You make me 
 sing. Kiss my Dickie. God bless you. Your 
 own Birdie, Monica Joe.” 
 
 This message implies that she had tried to 
 carry out her promise to try and make me 
 “ hear,” and that she had visited me. I conclude 
 that the dream was the result of that effort. 
 Pansies were her favourite flower. She used to 
 say they had faces and looked at her. Roses, 
 also, were favourites ; she had a special bush. 
 In reply to my inquiry her mother sent me a 
 little bit of dried rose gathered from this 
 special bush of hers. This had been preserved 
 because it was closely associated with little 
 Monica. 
 
 It seems as if this dream was impressed on 
 me as a token of her presence, and I was 
 awakened early in order that my normal 
 consciousness might remember it. If I had 
 slept straight on probably it would have been 
 totally forgotten. 
 
 On August the 16th Monica wrote :— 
 
 “ When I hear you and my Daddy say, 
 
116 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 
 
 ‘ Dear Monica—darling Kiddy,’ I am there 
 at once. You won’t ever call for nothing. 
 If any one who loves me is wanting me I have 
 to go, only sometimes I have to go by a 
 thought if I am in other place. I won’t let 
 sadness stay with you. I chase it away. God 
 is Love, and Love is happy. It is true, dears. 
 Why does Daddy be happy ? Because he 
 loves. He must keep on. I make him in my 
 way. You must always say, ‘Thank you,’ to 
 our dear Father for letting me come for helping. 
 Don’t forget. Give my Lady a message that 
 Birdie loves her and lots. Hug my only 
 Daddy.” [Mr. Norman says, “ As a little one, 
 when she wanted something out of me I was 
 her ‘only Daddy.’ That was her highest term 
 of endearment.”] 
 
 About this date a message came from 
 “Kathleen.” This only occurred very rarely. 
 She said :— 
 
 “ We draw you together. There is unlimited 
 scope for work here, and had I known I 
 should have had less regret—felt even more 
 resigned. I am able to do more for mother 
 here than on earth. I stood near by you 
 at the time of your operation. You came 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 117 
 
 to us for a while, and so nearly stayed. But 
 you were so badly needed. What we could 
 not accomplish was reserved for your own 
 baby to do. How like you she is, and just as 
 you were once. She is full of love.” 
 
 This was'signed with the pet name by which 
 Mrs. Norman had called her sister when she 
 was eight years old. 
 
 The 18th of August was Monica’s birthday. 
 It was kept with a happy confidence that she 
 was sharing in the home festival. It was in 
 response to the letter I had written to her 
 [which was laid on her table] that I received 
 the card, searched for and found by her 
 directions in her prayer-book. This is re¬ 
 corded in another place. Monica wrote : 
 
 “ I was so pleased of my letter,” [just 
 her wording]. “ It is all in my heart. I will 
 get my lady a lovely answer.” [And she did.} 
 “ My dear brother, beautiful Sunny,” [she 
 spells the name always like that] “ was with 
 me. He loves me and all of you. He is most 
 of an angel, and gives lovely pure thoughts to 
 people when they are tempted.” [Sunny passed 
 over at the age of a few months only.] “ We 
 get a lot of presents, you know we are still 
 
x 18 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 
 
 glad to see them. They mean love—every 
 one. They were nice when I was on earth, 
 but they are better now, for we didn’t know 
 then the love there was. Oh, darlings, I used 
 to love you ever so, but now sometimes I want 
 to be getting right inside of you all. I won’t 
 finish till you all see Jesus, then we can be at 
 rest and be the happiest. Every time we are 
 are good and happy He is too. Is not it 
 lovely to make Him happy you know? Ask 
 Lady if she will talk to me often. I will 
 answer.” 
 
 Then follows the part of the message 
 referring to me and to the card. (See p. 74). 
 
 Her father writes :— 
 
 “On August the 19th Monica refers to a bit 
 of work she did for me and wishes me to use 
 it. We had forgotten what she meant for the 
 moment. Three years ago she made me an 
 art linen envelope for my shaving materials. 
 I think it was the first piece of work she had 
 ever done. It has never been used and has 
 been entirely forgotten.” 
 
 She also reminded him of a badge which she 
 had given him when she was dying, and wrote 
 that memorials ought to be worn. This had 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 119 
 
 been put away in the days when he had no 
 faith, but, at her request, it was now found and 
 kept on his watch-chain. 
 
 After my visit to B— in July, 1912, Mr. 
 Norman wrote to me that there seemed to be an 
 increase in power. The messages became 
 longer, and physical phenomena continued. 
 For instance, on July the 31st, he wrote: 
 “Yesterday at 7 p.m. in broad daylight, our 
 little china clock was banged violently against 
 the ornamental glass. I thought the clock 
 would be smashed, but it was not. The ink 
 bottle that was broken stood just by the clock. 
 They seem to have a partiality for that 
 particular spot. Raps continue—last night at 
 11 p.m. the old style ones in bedroom. I do 
 hope they will spare our clock! ” 
 
 The messages overflow with the love of 
 this dear child, pouring itself out upon her 
 parents and her friends. Sometimes evidential 
 statements are interpolated into the midst of 
 these expressions of love, sometimes they 
 contain hints of a larger life, and suggest that 
 the messages which show the child in her 
 home, whilst they give a true aspect of her 
 present consciousness, do not give a complete 
 
(20 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 
 
 one ; that there is a growing development of 
 the spirit in the Unseen, and that she is 
 ripening under the sunshine of Love. 
 
 September 10th, 1912.—"Let me say my 
 darlings you must be quite sure all will be 
 as you want, as your wish is good. So 
 you must be knowing it is good and is cer¬ 
 tain. Good always is. It never fails any 
 one, but if they don’t have faith it is not so 
 certain, ’cause if they don’t they are saying, 
 Perhaps it might go wrong. Do you see ? 
 You must have ever so much faith. It is all 
 faith and love. Well, now, I say this for you 
 not to forget it, so please don’t dears. I have 
 a big work to do. I ask you to help me by 
 prayers. We do say thank you for praying for 
 us. Really. Not one teeny one that isn’t 
 listened to. So pray on. Oh, I do love you 
 so, my owns. You must know it. How I 
 want to be proving I am alive. It is not very 
 easy to prove from us to you. I thank our 
 Father, God, that you believe me, but I would 
 be very glad to make many know it. Then by 
 me they would know their own are alive. 
 Well, Lady will help us in that and I will 
 help her. There is such a such a lot to do— 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 I21 
 
 so many to make happy. I love sad people, 
 I want to be comforting them and make them 
 have real joy. My dearest dears, we must be 
 sending light all round. It will touch so many. 
 Don’t forget there is lots of light—you won’t 
 lose it. I say, God bless you all, and X— who 
 loves us. Your own dear birdie, Monica Joe.” 
 
 September 12th, 1912.—“Always I am close 
 to you, my own dears. I am so full of 
 love. I really want you to get on. Tell Cissie 
 often when I am learning I think of her. They 
 say here even some of the very oldest aren’t 
 finished. Well, I love it, ’cause all I learn 
 makes me see and understand more about you, 
 so I want to keep on. May be even Daddy 
 will be like at school again. Fancy Daddy! 
 Tell him that. Well really, he is at school 
 now, so are you and everybody, and there is 
 always lots to know. I can’t say quite like I 
 would if you could hear like before, but I do 
 love you. Your birdie does try to get you all 
 the very best blessings. Of course I do get 
 wondering what to say, ’cause there is only, ‘ I 
 love you,’ I think of; then I get thinking 
 of all that matter to you, I have to send those 
 things away before I can tell you other ones. 
 
lit WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 
 
 Well, darlings, God bless you. Your own 
 birdie Monica, your Kiddie.” 
 
 In her own childish way Monica’s message 
 tells us of some of the difficulty that attends 
 communication. There is the difficulty of 
 collecting thought sufficiently to know what to 
 say. The heart is full of love and is occupied 
 with thinking of the needs and concerns of 
 those she loves. These thoughts, and many 
 marginal thoughts, come through from her to 
 the mind of her mother, and, as she hints 
 elsewhere, she dare not check the flow of 
 thought or the contact and control might be 
 broken.* At the same time she must try to 
 dismiss thoughts which would only be as the 
 echo of the thoughts already occupying the 
 minds of her parents if she wishes to give them 
 something concerning the other life, as she had 
 apparently tried to do in this message. She 
 has spoken of her life as a school time, and has 
 said that what she is learning is not something 
 which has no relation to them. But that as 
 
 *This possibility is plainly indicated also in the record of 
 communication through Mrs. Piper, as I have pointed out in 
 my book “ Mors Janua Vitae ?” 
 
WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 123 
 
 she increases in knowledge and in wisdom she 
 is able to get nearer to them in true under¬ 
 standing. 
 
 We have to realize that it is one life there 
 and here. As we grow in knowledge and true 
 understanding we can enter better into the 
 consciousness of communion with them and 
 sympathy with their life. And the same 
 is true for them. As they expand and develop 
 they too learn to share their blessedness and 
 their knowledge with those they love on earth, 
 and this they can only do by learning to 
 understand better our conditions and our needs. 
 
 September 13th, 1912.—“Really dears, I 
 do love to help you. I am stopped often 
 just when I am going to tell you something. 
 There is a time coming that things will be 
 easier for us. Yes, I am hoping for it, so pray 
 very much. I am only a little girl, though I 
 am not a baby, and I can’t put things always 
 the best way. Of course I shall grow, we still 
 grow on. This is a nice place, I love it so. 
 I am standing by you ; it is true. It makes you 
 glad to know I am so near, doesn’t it, darlings ? 
 So it does me. I do feel this very much to-day 
 
124 WRITINGS IN AUGUST AND SEPT. 1912 
 
 somehow. Sometimes I feel to be like I was. 
 Of course children always want their Daddys 
 and Mummys and dears. My dears, we’ll all 
 be together some day, won’t we ? ” 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 Mr. Norman gradually developed the power to 
 see clairvoyantly. His wife saw Monica some 
 time before he could do so. For many weeks 
 he could hear, but could not see her. 
 
 In December, 1912, he wrote to me :— 
 “ Last night Monny (we know it is she now ; 
 my wife sees her) was playing as she does 
 every night at the side of her table. I saw 
 part of her arm, and a hand touch your 
 photograph. Then came a light wherever it 
 was, and the heather looked as if there were a 
 great number of glow-worms among it. 
 
 “ I think my wife told you I had seen the 
 ‘ big light,’ he is indeed a ‘ big light! ’ I could 
 not see his face, but his form right down to his 
 feet was a beautiful soft radiancy. The outline 
 of it was a thin line—like a piece of cotton— 
 of shining gold. I saw his hands and when I 
 
126 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 asked for his blessing he put out both his 
 hands in the act of benediction, afterwards 
 coming right forward to us and putting his 
 hand in ours.” 
 
 From an undated letter written by Mrs. 
 Norman some time in October or November 
 I quote the following :— 
 
 “ I am seeing the faces better than ever, and 
 last night I nearly cried to see dear A. quite 
 close to me, but clearer than ever before. 
 She looked at me so lovingly but did not speak. 
 Then your dear ‘ big light ’ brought the book 
 again (perhaps because you mentioned it) and 
 the strange part was he seemed to be trying 
 to shew me something particular about it. I 
 believe there was a clasp or clasps and that 
 was what it was ; any way it seemed to be a 
 thickish book bound round the edges of the 
 covers with brass or metal of some kind and 
 there seemed to be something, perhaps a cross 
 on the cover.* He was plainer than the book 
 last night. . . . The lights last night were 
 truly wonderful, long shafts of brilliant gold 
 
 ♦The book to which I have already referred has brass 
 corners and a raised pattern on the cover, but it is not bound 
 round the edges. 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 •127 
 
 rising from Monica’s table, like a sunset. Also 
 Dick saw them all. Some lovely violet clouds 
 appear now. 
 
 “ Dick has made a new overmantel, white and 
 gold, containing several photos among which 
 are Lena’s and mine. Now two days after he 
 put it up I got up in the morning and found 
 the glass of Lena’s photo cracked right across. 
 No one had touched it and the night before it 
 was not done. As you know, the fireplace is 
 opposite the bed. Well, about a week after, I 
 was quietly watching the alcove when I heard 
 a funny little sound from the fireplace like a 
 sharp click. To my surprise I saw a long 
 bright light like a finger, and it seemed to be 
 tracing or moving about the glass of my photo 
 on the opposite side to Lena’s. However, that 
 is not broken, but it suggested that, perhaps, 
 by accident, some power from them broke it. 
 I do not believe it was wilfully done. . . . 
 We have seen forms standing there by it.” 
 
 October 12/12. — In one of Monica’s messages 
 of this date she says :— 
 
 “You know I must say something about 
 love sometimes. You see what are we to 
 teach—only love. That’s all Jesus meant, 
 
138 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 All what He said, it meant love, but He put 
 it different ways ’cause all the people should 
 understand. You needn’t worry about any¬ 
 thing.” 
 
 October 24, ’12.—“Here’s Birdie again, so 
 very happy to tell you things again. . . . 
 There’s much trouble in some houses—not 
 here. But that is to thank God our Father 
 for. Oh dear, I do wish I could take away 
 troubles from lots and lots ; not all sadnesses 
 ’cause some are good.” 
 
 November 14, ’12.—“ We hear you tell people 
 how it helps, and it all helps us. Darlings! 
 Darlings! if you did know all you would 
 be exited [sic], but you don’t yet, not all, only 
 some. You are quite right if you keep on 
 wishing we hear it and try to get it for you, 
 if we can. We do try always, believe that.” 
 
 November 17, ’12.—“Loves, I have to stay 
 with Dick now [her Father]. It was my 
 choosing, and I know Mummy likes it. She 
 isn’t a bit jealous really, see? Well I say over 
 again I will always stay by him. I don’t leave 
 home much, ever. Something—it is your love 
 does keep me. There’s lots to do for one 
 little girl. Oh, my dear Daddy, have always 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 129 
 
 a loving heart. I did tell you lots of times of 
 it.” 
 
 In the following rather obscure message there 
 seems to be an attempt to convey the idea 
 that the deepest value in all these experiences 
 is not in those things which are most striking 
 to the observer, but in hidden things which are 
 unknown and unknowable except, perhaps, by 
 the hearts of Monica’s parents and others who 
 have benefited by this ministry. 
 
 November 20, ’12.—“ You know lots of things 
 to happen isn’t the best. The things what 
 nobody knows that is done is the real best. I 
 want you to know that many things do happen 
 to you that is not noticed by us. I mean, you 
 see, best of all is to be a helper and a comforter. 
 It is me for my owns. If I did always be 
 thinking to do things you could see, I wouldn’t 
 be able to have done the help. Not all any 
 way, and there’s some more you want. I 
 know, so there. When I haven’t more to be 
 helping I will do lots all ways, but I haven’t 
 been here very long time yet. Love, love, 
 love, and be patient.’’ 
 
 December 10, ’1 2.—On this date she wrote, “ I 
 say I did push that table because Mum asked 
 
 9 
 
13 ° 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 me to make a noise. Then she forgot she’d 
 asked me." Her father adds that a basketwork 
 table that stood in their room had been pushed 
 violently against the bed. Monica’s message 
 continues :—“ I know. I can hear all you say, 
 but not in the same way I used to. So you 
 hear me, only my voice doesn’t make a noise. 
 It’s more like feeling it. Well, it can’t be 
 helped, can it ? Perhaps one day you’ll hear it, 
 but even then not always. . . A few times I 
 made it sound, but I didn’t know it was going 
 to. Only once you woke up both of you and 
 said, Who called? Then I knew you heard 
 when I called. You did hear me two other 
 times. Now you know. . . . Oh, dear, I do 
 wish everybody would be all happy, don’t you ? 
 I know you do, but we can’t do it all, so it’s no 
 use to be miseble [sic]. We’ll do just all we 
 can and that’s better than nothing.” 
 
 On December 7, ’12.—Monica’s message 
 said :—“ We are trying to get everyone of our 
 dears to have a quiet hour for us to get to them. 
 It’s a very good thing so if you will tell those 
 who know all about us to do it they will. Even 
 not so long as you it would be better than 
 nothing.” 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 131 
 
 December 19, 13. — “I love you more and 
 more. You do get the Holy Spirit. You ask 
 our Father. If you really want it you get it, 
 but it’s when people pray and they don’t really. 
 They don’t open the door for spirit to come in. 
 That is quite true. If you knew how you can 
 lock yourself up, and then nothing gets in. 
 Then all of a sudden the door opens—some¬ 
 thing loving comes in, then a smile comes and 
 a nice feeling.” 
 
 December 22, ’12.—On this date in the midst 
 of a message in which she wrote, “ I say never, 
 never, never worry. It’s no good to you,” 
 Monica suddenly referred to a near relative and 
 to a feeling of jealousy which had disturbed 
 her. 
 
 This was not known to Monica’s parents 
 when the message was written. They dis¬ 
 covered afterwards that it was correct. 
 
 “ I do love her, specially when her face is 
 light. It is often dark, like any one when their 
 [sic] cross. I tell you you’d be surprised if you 
 could see them like we do.” 
 
 This may be compared with a statement 
 made by a communicator through Mrs. 
 Chenoweth, a medium with whom Dr. James 
 
i 3 2 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 H. Hyslop has carried on many careful experi¬ 
 ments. 
 
 The communicator, through her, said that 
 when those in the body are, “ put out of humour, 
 or in some strained attitude of mind,” they 
 appear as if distorted to those who see them 
 from the spirit side. 
 
 On December 28, ’12.—Monica said :—“ It 
 was me looking at the things on my table. I 
 did move something I suppose. Hooray! ” 
 Her father adds, “ The contents of her table 
 drawer were shifted and rattled in the quiet 
 hour.” 
 
 The expression, “ I suppose ” seems to imply 
 that she did not know that she had done this ; 
 and this is in agreement with other statements 
 which have been made not only through Mrs. 
 Norman but also through other psychics. They 
 indicate that those who are manifesting are 
 not always sure that they have succeeded in 
 being seen or heard. 
 
 I insert here a portion of a letter received 
 about this date, as it shows the kind of 
 experiences which accompanied these messages. 
 
 Mr. Norman wrote to me :—“ On Boxing 
 Day, at 4.45 a.m., I suddenly woke up . . . ” (he 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 r 33 
 
 explains that he felt himself touched four times). 
 “Then a female voice spoke and my wife woke 
 up with a start. I said, ‘ What did you say ? ’ 
 She replied, ‘ I never spoke—I heard a voice. 
 I thought it was you calling me.’ We could 
 not go to sleep again. I made some tea and 
 we sat and watched Monica and other forms. 
 One was leaning and watching us over the end 
 of the bed. Another sat on the edge close to 
 my wife.” 
 
 On December 28 Monica’s letter alluded to 
 this, “ I won’t wake him up again. I did not 
 know it was so soon, but he can get up. It 
 wouldn’t hurt him.” 
 
 At the close her father adds, “ The whole of 
 this message is the old Monica.’’ 
 
 To readers, of course, the characteristic 
 qualities of the messages are unrecognisable. 
 To her parents the fact that they are in 
 character and phraseology so completely such 
 as they were familiar with in their child, gives 
 them a value they cannot have for those who 
 did not know her. But readers will easily 
 recognise the difference of style in the various 
 communicators, which is an interesting feature 
 in the whole set of experiences. 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 134 
 
 January 3.—“ My darling Daddy, I do try for 
 you to see me, but it will be quite well. . . . 
 You’ve got such a lot to say, ‘ Thank you ’ to 
 God about, so say it and be sure that He 
 never finishes to give good things to the ones 
 who love Him. Well, I’m not saying a 
 sermon, like you say, but you must be jolly 
 happy, won’t you ? You won’t be thinking so 
 much soon about all things, then you will see 
 me better and listen more too. See ? I do, 
 do love my room and I do simply love to you 
 to play.” (Her Father adds, “ I played for 
 two hours to-day).” “ It’s lovely in the Mum’s 
 pretty room. Yes, that’s making me awful 
 happy to play to me all nice things. I just 
 began you know, and I love it, and there’s 
 lots of music in the world, some what you 
 wouldn’t hear sometimes. If anyone speaks 
 loving and kind right with there [sic] heart— 
 well, it’s simply sweet songs, I think. You 
 notice it, it will make you happy. Then there’s 
 to hear laughing when people are so happy. 
 Well, that’s another sort, and people praying 
 hard for other dears—that’s lovely. Is not it 
 nice for you to hear the birds now ? You’ve 
 made me think all of nice sounds to-day, and 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 135 
 
 I feel I must speak them. Will you be tired 
 of it ? (playing). No, I don’t believe it. You 
 love it too, don’t you, darling Dickie ? Well, 
 
 I do wish for you to be jolly, and be very kind 
 when people want you to be helping them. I 
 will help. 
 
 “You know, my darling Gran’ma—I mean 
 your mamma—gets awful tired. She is nearly 
 a spirit, but you won’t be sad of that, cause 
 I’m one too, so we’ll both be the same 
 then.” 
 
 This message expresses simply and in child¬ 
 like fashion a truth which has been deeply felt 
 and expressed by mystics of various times and 
 climes. 
 
 “ There are three kinds of music,” says 
 Hugh of St. Victor. “The music of the 
 worlds, the music of humanity, the music of 
 instruments. Of the music of the worlds, one 
 is of the elements, another of the planets, 
 another of Time. Of the music of humanity, 
 one is of the body, another of the soul, another 
 in the connexion that is between them.”— 
 (Quoted in “ Mysticism,” by Evelyn Underhill, 
 P- 9i-) 
 
 The founder and prophet of the Sikh 
 
*3 6 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 religion expressed the same thought in 
 the “Japji,” the sacred scripture of the 
 Sikhs :— 
 
 “ What is Thy gate, what is thy House, 
 
 Where sitting Thou supportest all ? 
 
 Thy musical instruments and sounds are many, and 
 innumerably many are Thy musicians.” 
 
 Robert Browning puts the same thought 
 into the month of Abt Vogler. The musician 
 knows that the music of instruments is but the 
 outward expression of the music of life in all 
 its heroism and devotion to God and man, that 
 these are the veritable and eternal “ music 
 sent up to God ” which we shall hear by-and- 
 bye, “ When eternity confirms the conception 
 of an hour.” 
 
 In this message little Monica seems to 
 gently persuade her parents to listen now for 
 that true music of life, which may be heard 
 even here by those who watch for it. 
 
 This seems a suitable point at which to 
 allude to an impression which the messages 
 have often made upon myself as I read them, 
 and which even these few quoted in this 
 volume may have made upon readers. 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 i37 
 
 They are always couched in the language of 
 a child and her parents recognise them as very 
 characteristic of their child, at the same time 
 they suggest that Monica in spirit is grow¬ 
 ing and developing. One of the messages 
 says, “ I am big now. Love makes me 
 grow.” And this often makes itself felt in the 
 messages. She is the little child plus some¬ 
 thing more. 
 
 She comes to her home with the fresh 
 exuberant love of a child, with the heart of 
 a child, but also with an insight and a wisdom 
 and spirituality beyond that which we expect 
 from a child. In another message she said, 
 “Well, I’m a little girl and everything al¬ 
 together.” That sentence gives a clue to 
 much which we find in these communications. 
 
 In another message she says, “ I’m a little 
 girl, but I’m not so little here.” That is as we 
 would wish. We desire to recognise we 
 want them to show us again the aspect in 
 which we knew them, but we do not want them 
 not to progress. We would think of Monica 
 and other little ones as children, with the 
 child’s heart of gold, but Monica we are sure 
 is more than that, and because she is more she 
 
138 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 is able to be the guardian angel and guide of 
 those she loves on earth. 
 
 January 6.—“ I tell you I’m pleased about 
 the playing, too. Well, we did go out, didn’t 
 we, and saw the playing man and another 
 one ? ” [The father adds, “ A good test. I 
 went out on Saturday and saw these two men. 
 My wife knew nothing of it.”] “We’ll always 
 go, won’t we ? There was another playing 
 man came to-night. Lots of them come, for 
 Daddy they come. I ask them to make him 
 no more lazy [sic] about it. So I guess they 
 do.” [Her father had almost given up playing 
 for pleasure, but had begun to do so again 
 during these weeks]. 
 
 In this message Monica says, “Yes, you are 
 most nearly got another person, but we don’t 
 want you to be. We want you to be you.” 
 This refers to the fact that recently Mrs. 
 Norman had almost lost consciousness. When 
 this happened the scent in the house was over¬ 
 powering. Monica continued, “ You need not 
 think each time you feel that funny way that 
 you will be ill, ’cause it’s soon gone, so don’t be 
 fritened [sic.]” [Mrs. Norman had felt that 
 she could not speak properly, and thought it 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 139 
 
 might be an atempt to make her speak in an 
 unknown tongue]. 
 
 Mrs. Norman has several times felt as if she 
 might be entranced, but has resisted it, as she 
 dislikes losing consciousness. 
 
 On the same date—January 6—Mr. Norman 
 wrote to me :— 
 
 “ I burned a light all night last night, to 
 stop the incessant noises we experienced 
 Sunday night. The movement outside our 
 bedroom door up and down stairs—the bangs 
 in our room, etc., got on my nerves. The raps 
 and bangs are more decided now they have 
 their own room, and in quiet hour in her room 
 last night, the table (M’s) was pushed and con¬ 
 tinually tapped as if with a finger nail. A 
 brushing sound continued the whole hour-and- 
 quarter. It was as if somebody was sweeping 
 down the walls with a boot-polishing pad.” 
 
 On January 18, in the midst of a long 
 message, came the following sentences :— 
 
 “Well, surely I’ll try for all. It isn’t never 
 too many for me, ’cause it isn’t me—like I told 
 you. You know I’ll tell you when it’s too 
 many for my Mum. Not yet it isn’t. My care 
 I’ll take always of my Mum, and all my dears.” 
 
140 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 Here we have an indication that little Monica 
 is acting with others and for others, and that 
 she is their “medium,” and is strengthened by 
 the group life and by the support of mutual 
 co-operation. Later, she warned her mother 
 that she must desist from taking so many 
 messages, thus fulfilling the promise that she 
 would “take care.” 
 
 “ It’s funny, I know in a minit [sic] always 
 if a person is thinking of me, and mostly of 
 you.” [When they are thinking of her parents, 
 she seems to mean]. 
 
 “ I tell you, you can’t know how all around 
 you, my Mum, it’s like light. Love makes 
 lovely, bright light. Now, I’ll tell you it isn’t 
 ’cause they’ve been here long times. If they’re 
 bright it’s if they were awful loving—then it’s 
 quite a dif’rent [sic] light. Beautiful it is, and 
 the more they could love, then it’s more shining, 
 and if it was a sort of quiet love then it’s more 
 white, not so like what you see, you know—all 
 like candles that when their—their—their—” 
 [long wait here]. “ Big Light says I mean 
 ardent. He knows ’cause he is.” 
 
 February u, ’13.—“It’s no use to bother, 
 ’cause Big Light says my Mum she has enouf 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 141 
 
 [sic] faith to keep the thing nice. It’s faith 
 what makes us strong. He teaches us such 
 lots of lovely things—how to be strong, and if 
 we are strong in the light spirit we will do all 
 —all the good what we want to, and there’s 
 such a lot for us to do.” 
 
 February 26, ’13.—“They keep coming. 
 That’s good. Help all.” [A great many people 
 had been calling on Mrs. Norman for help]. 
 “ It’s funny, but you’ll see how you won’t never 
 get tired of it ’cause it’s so awful good for you. 
 See? . . . No people don’t get to know all the 
 things here . . . people on earth do think it 
 that we do sometimes. ’Course, it’s only people 
 whose had lots of sad is sent to you, ’cause 
 even if you weren’t always jolly, you can’t help 
 making other people happy. . . It’s quite true 
 about Lucy [an infant ?] She doesn’t be often 
 here on earth, ’cause she’s like Sunny—since a 
 baby. Well, those help us to help you. . . 
 Each lights help the other ones. We stay for 
 the earth, and a lot what we do is ’cause of the 
 help. Some people go up and don’t never 
 come back—some who didn’t care for earth. 
 Oh, I can’t say it all nicely like some could, but 
 I do want you to know. It’s best to know all 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 142 
 
 we can learn. It’s better to go on always 
 learning for here, ’cause if you know lots, you 
 can do such lots more after.” 
 
 March 16, 1913.—This was the first 
 
 anniversary of the evening on which the first 
 “light” appeared. Mr. Norman wrote to me 
 that none of them had remembered the date. 
 In the afternoon, however, when they were all 
 together, all three were conscious of an 
 unwonted feeling as of a weight upon them. 
 Suddenly Mrs. Norman exclaimed, “This is 
 the day of your first light.” 
 
 The following is the message they received 
 on this anniversary :— 
 
 “ I’m here, so is Sunny and Harold. All the 
 time we tried and tried ” [i.e., to make the 
 Normans remember] “but it’s best when we 
 let you wait till you’re not thinking, so we 
 said, ‘ Let’s be awful heavy on them,’ 
 and when you all began to yorn [sic], then 
 it was easy. Now isn’t it funny, all of it ? 
 Well, I’m so glad you did have a happy 
 time since you did know ’bout us. Mostly 
 peoples are, you know. ’Tisn’t only ’cause 
 we do help them. It’s ’cause they don’t 
 know why—only their happier, see. Big 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 M3 
 
 Light said that lovely peace what you said, it’s 
 going to stay ’cause you do try so not to have 
 nothing bad in your lifes, \_si :'<?]. I tell you 
 we sometimes don’t get a light on earth—not 
 to see it, but when we do, then we don’t never 
 be able to do bad things and be comfy inside ; 
 not never, only we keep on seeing the bad and 
 not liking it at all, till it’s all gone. That’s 
 after the light has come, isn’t it? We’re all 
 very jolly, ’cause not everywhere it doesn’t do 
 so much, nor so soon. It has been lots of love 
 work, hasn’t it ? That’s the nicest work. 
 Well then, Dicky, say ‘ Our Father,’ and see 
 how it goes now, right inside. Say it all now, 
 ’cause it’s a nice day for that. Well, you tell 
 my lady, she came soon after me to you— 
 ’course we came with her—Big Light and me. 
 He said, ‘we’ll try, but it won’t be very 
 quick.’ 
 
 “ Oh, we did lots of us come. I want to tell 
 all of you now that I’ve had a happy, lovely 
 year too, and to lots too. I say you’ve done all 
 we wanted, and we’re awful pleased with you, 
 see ! and I say I love all the peoples and all 
 the dears here send their love to all the dears 
 there. That’s all, and it’s Sunny too what 
 
144 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 says it. God bless you all. Your own pet 
 birdie, Monica Joe.” 
 
 This anniversary message may fittingly 
 conclude the quotations from Monica’s intimate 
 “letters” which have come, and still come, to 
 her parents. They have been recorded in 
 order that others may derive comfort and hope 
 from their experiences. They will have failed 
 in their purpose if they suggest that it is only 
 through what is called mediumship that there 
 can be intercourse between those in this life 
 and in the Unseen. 
 
 It is true that through the exercise of these 
 “ mediumistic faculties ” proofs of survival and 
 of identity may be given which are of great 
 importance, and, perhaps, as Professor M. T. 
 Falcomer has said, “They afford the only 
 positive proof of a future conscious existence.” 
 But these conspicuous and rare experiences 
 bear witness to a fact which is not rare. They 
 indicate that there is no insurmountable 
 barrier between us and those we are wont to 
 call “ the dead,” who have given evidence 
 in so many ways that they are not dead, and 
 not unmindful of us. 
 
 Immanuel Kant foretold that “the time will 
 
VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 i45 
 
 come when it will be proved that the human 
 soul is already, during its life on earth, in a 
 close and indissoluble connection with the 
 world of spirits, that their world influences ours 
 and impresses it profoundly.” This prophesy 
 is now being fulfilled. Mediumistic experiences 
 such as those experienced by the parents of 
 Monica may be exceptional, but the com¬ 
 munion to which they bear witness is a constant 
 reality, and affects our daily lives whether we 
 are aware of it or not. 
 
 I will conclude this chapter with a paragraph 
 from an article by Sir Oliver Lodge in which 
 he presses home this truth. 
 
 “ One thing that conspicuously suggests itself 
 is that we are here made aware, through these 
 trivial but illuminating facts, of a process which 
 by religious people has always been recognised 
 and insisted on, namely the direct interaction 
 of incarnate with discarnate mind,—that is to 
 say, an intercourse between mind and mind in 
 more than one grade of existence, by means 
 apart from, and independent of, the temporary 
 mechanism of the body. 
 
 “ The facts, indeed, open the way to a 
 
 perception of the influence of spirit generally, 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 VISIONS AND MESSAGES 
 
 as a guiding force in human and terrestrial 
 affairs, active not under the exceptional 
 circumstances of trance alone, but always and 
 constantly and normally, so uniformly active 
 in fact that by ordinary people its agency is 
 undetected and unperceived. Most people are 
 far too busy to attend ; they are too thoroughly 
 occupied with what for the time are certainly 
 extremely important affairs.”—Sir Oliver 
 Lodge, “ Proceedings of the Society for 
 Psychical Research,” vol. xxiii., p. 284. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 INCIDENTS CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 In the following chapters I shall relate certain 
 experiences which are connected with personal 
 friends of my own. I introduced these friends 
 to the Normans, in the manner indicated below 
 because I hoped that they might obtain evidence 
 which would prove to them a comfort in bereave¬ 
 ment. My hope was fulfilled beyond my 
 expectation and they were received with very 
 generous kindness. 
 
 The first case is that of a friend whom I 
 shall call Mrs. Willis. During my first visit to 
 B., I mentioned that she had lost a child recently 
 and suddenly, but I gave no other particulars, 
 being careful not to say anything that might 
 interfere with the value of the results or stultify 
 evidence. 
 
 Mr. Norman asked me if I would write the 
 name of the child on a piece of paper which he 
 suggested might be laid on Monica’s table, on 
 
148 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 the chance that Monica might be able to get 
 some comfort for her mother. 
 
 This I did, giving both Christian and surname. 
 The latter is not a name likely to be known 
 to them, and therefore I knew no hint of the 
 circumstances of the death would be revealed 
 by giving the name. I did not myself know 
 many facts about the girl and I avoided saying 
 anything that I did know, such as the cause of 
 death, or the approximate date. The exact 
 date I did not myself remember. 
 
 On August 2, ’ 12, Mr. Norman sent me the 
 following :—“ We laid the following question on 
 the table for some hours, meanwhile sending 
 out our thoughts and asking for help. ‘Will 
 Katherine Willis come here to-day and give me 
 a message through us to her parents ? Will 
 Monica help to find Katherine Willis and assist 
 her?’ 
 
 “ At 11.55 a.m. my wife was impelled to write. 
 To our surprise the message read from Monica. 
 It ran :—‘ I am trying to do it, but can’t always 
 get names. They are not much good, only if 
 dear ones to find. Wait, I will try more. I love 
 my darlings. Monica Joe.’” 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 149 
 
 He adds, “ The evening message I think 
 refers to the one of the morning.” 
 
 “ So many are here you can’t think dears, 
 I know lots, but there are lots asleep. Some 
 have been a long time but they will all wake 
 when it is time. Lot of people on earth are 
 fast asleep. They don’t know, they think they 
 are awake. It is funny, dears.” [Just her 
 expresssion in the midst of anything solemn] 
 “ You will find things will surprise you, but 
 I shall be here to show you. It is very lovely 
 when you come. I will wait. I say I will be 
 there for you. Won’t it be nice ? ” [Her again] 
 “Tell my lady I will know her too and all 
 I get thoughts from. You see people who are 
 praying for us they help us, then it helps them 
 and we never forget. You must say, ‘my kiddies 
 are with me. My Monica Joe didn’t go away, 
 just went behind the curtain.’ Tell Dickie 
 darling to say it always. They said what is 
 true, we just change frocks.” [Convent teaching 
 —going to heaven is like changing your frock] 
 “ I am a good girl now. Kiss each other. Your 
 real Monica Joe.” 
 
 He adds; “G— [his wife] nearly off [i.e in 
 trance] when this message started.” 
 
150 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 On August 8, 1912, I received a brief 
 automatic script containing a few disjointed 
 sentences. 
 
 “ Demi semi quaver. I don’t like playing- 
 before people. Will I pass ? We are clever. 
 I want to read * Little Women.’ No the other 
 one. It is best to be a boy, but I can’t now. 
 I don’t know. I want a blue one—a bag. I 
 like Philip.” 
 
 Then followed an emphatic statement that 
 she preferred “ Kate ” to Kitty, but liked 
 Katherine best. 
 
 When I received this I was also told by Mr. 
 Norman that his wife felt sick when this 
 message was written. This is unusual; Monica’s 
 messages usually come without any discomfort. 
 
 I sent on the “message” to my friend, Mrs. 
 Willis, with some anxiety, for if it was irrelevant 
 it might only cause pain. I knew that the name 
 was correct, and that Katherine had been pre¬ 
 paring for an exam., also that she learned music, 
 but I had no knowledge of whether any other 
 points could be recognised. 
 
 Mrs. Willis informed me that all the points 
 were appropriate with the exception of “ it is 
 best to be a boy,” which did not seem to her 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 151 
 
 likely to have been said by her daughter, 
 and the name Philip she could not identify. 
 Katherine Willis had just passed a musical 
 exam. She was fond of “ Little Women ” and 
 her mother had tried to get her another book 
 by the same author, but had failed. A blue 
 bag had been given to her a few weeks before 
 she died to take her books to school in. Her 
 mother adds, “ We often discussed Kitty and 
 Kate, and always agreed that Kate was better 
 than Kitty, and that we liked neither so much 
 as Katherine.” 
 
 The fact that Mrs. Norman felt sick when 
 receiving this message is not without signifi¬ 
 cance, as will be apparent when we consider 
 the next experience which occurred on 
 November 29. On that date Mrs. Willis paid 
 a visit to the Normans, and she received 
 another “message” through Mrs. Norman’s 
 hand. 
 
 This message began thus :— 
 
 “ I went with Amy to the mountains. She 
 didn’t know it.” Mrs. Willis did not recognise 
 who was meant by Amy. She remarked when 
 reading the writing afterwards that Katherine 
 had a friend with a name very similar, but that 
 
152 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 she did not know of her movements, but would 
 try and find out. It did not at the moment 
 occur to her that the letters of the name had 
 been accidentally transposed. Katherine’s 
 sister was called “ May.” She had visited 
 Switzerland in the summer of 1912, and when 
 this message was read to her afterwards she 
 told her mother that she had mentally asked 
 Katherine to come with her, in spirit, to the 
 mountains. 
 
 “ I did feel so sick.” [This could not be 
 verified. Katherine seemed never to recover 
 consciousness after an operation under chloro¬ 
 form ; but it is, of course, possible that she may 
 have been conscious of a sense of sickness 
 when the doctors were trying to revive her]. 
 
 “ I could pass now if I did come back. I 
 don’t think I should have after all, some things 
 were wrong.” 
 
 [She had only obtained a bare pass in the 
 musical exam., having only just the requisite 
 number of marks. The message seems to 
 express a doubt as to whether she was really 
 entitled to pass. Katherine was an extremely 
 conscientious girl, and would not like to claim 
 credit which she thought undeserved]. 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 153 
 
 “ There is such a lot I forget now. I try 
 to remember. I think it’s Madeline I mean. 
 I am silly, May. I do love you all so. I don’t 
 forget that." 
 
 [Katherine was evidently struggling to give 
 her sister’s name, which, it must be borne in 
 mind, her mother had not recognised. It has 
 frequently been observed by investigators that 
 the act of communicating seems to produce a 
 condition like partial amnesia. Katherine was 
 evidently aware that she had given the name 
 incorrectly. Madeline was another attempt to 
 get it right; the first letter is the same. Then in 
 a flash came—“ I am silly, May ”—which was 
 correct]. 
 
 “ Monica is a comforter. I will be a mother 
 for little babies who come. Not just yet, but 
 when I have learnt. There are lots here.” 
 [Katherine was very fond of babies]. 
 
 “James Willis is a long time here.” 
 
 [This is the name of Katherine’s paternal 
 grandfather who died many years ago, from 
 this grandfather Mrs. Willis specially desired a 
 message]. 
 
 “ I’m just finished. Your little chum 
 Katherine,” 
 
154 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 Katherine’s sister says that they used to 
 say that they were “chums.” 
 
 Mrs. Willis sent me this message to read 
 with the following comment :— 
 
 “I discussed the ‘Amy’ with Mrs. Norman 
 saying I knew no Amy, but an Emy to whom 
 Katherine was very devoted, and that I did not 
 know what this Emy’s movements were, but 
 would make inquiries.” Thus it is quite clear 
 that Mrs. Willis did not understand that this 
 part of the message referred to her other 
 daughter, and could not have given any hint 
 to Mrs. Norman, either consciously or sub¬ 
 consciously, that this daughter had expressly 
 desired her little sister to be with her during 
 her Swiss tour, a fact which she only learned 
 when reading the message to the sister later. 
 The latter at once recognised that this part of 
 the message and the word “ chums ” referred 
 to her. 
 
 In the evening of the same day when 
 Monica usually gives her own messages, came 
 the following explanation :— 
 
 “You know it was where there are snow 
 mountains she did go, but the name wasn’t 
 sure, but I do think it was her sister.” 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 *55 
 
 When Katherine’s message had been written 
 through her hand Mrs. Norman again felt sick. 
 Presently she said to Mrs. Willis that she had 
 a taste of chloroform in her mouth [which 
 lasted for some hours] ; she was then told for 
 the first time that Katherine has passed away 
 under chloroform after an operation. 
 
 During the short visit Mrs. Norman described 
 several objects which Mrs. Willis identified as 
 connected with her daughter, one being a little 
 brooch which she had given to me after 
 Katherine’s death. 
 
 In October of this year, before Mrs. Willis 
 had seen the Normans, and after she had 
 received the first brief message, I received the 
 following letter from Mrs. Norman 
 
 “ Monica, in a message asks me to tell you 
 about something I saw at night while awake. 
 It may interest you. I seemed to be in a road 
 with houses both sides, it was raining hard, and 
 the door of one house opened, and a lady whose 
 face I did not see, but I judged her to be 
 elderly and slim, came on to the step. She 
 opened her umbrella, and a person behind her, 
 inside the door said, ‘Do wait until this shower 
 passes over,’ but she replied ‘No, I really 
 
156 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 can’t, it is getting- late,’ so off she went across 
 the road and on till she came to some railings 
 —it was a cemetery and when she reached the 
 gate she stopped and shook it, then leaving go 
 she said aloud, ‘No, I expect if I once got in I 
 should never get out,’ so she walked on, and 
 that’s all. I shouldn’t have troubled to tell you 
 this, as 1 see so many things, but as Monny 
 says so, I do it.” 
 
 This letter was dated 17th October, 1912. I 
 read the letter to Mrs. Willis before she had 
 paid her first visit to the Normans; after a 
 moment’s reflection she told me that the 17th 
 was the anniversary of the death of her child, 
 and that on the 16th she had gone out late to 
 take some flowers to the grave. It was raining, 
 and she quite well remembered that one of her 
 daughters had asked her if she would not wait 
 until the rain stopped. She had found the gate 
 locked, after first shaking it to see if it would 
 open, she had gone to the caretaker for the 
 key. She had no recollection of whether it 
 had crossed her mind to consider whether there 
 would be any difficulty in getting out again 
 from the cemetery. As I had forgotten the 
 date of the anniversary I had merely read the 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 157 
 
 letter to Mrs. Willis on the chance that she 
 might find some significance in it, and I was 
 very surprised to find how exactly she could 
 do so. 
 
 Shortly after Mrs. Willis’ visit to the Nor¬ 
 mans Mrs. Norman wrote me : “ We have been 
 having many sounds and knocks again the 
 last few days. I think 1 must be developing 
 the power much stronger. . . My eyes burn 
 and the band round my head still continues. 
 Last night was the longest message from 
 Monica. It was funny, I nearly fell asleep, had 
 the other symptoms, and my arm felt like an 
 automatic machine; as if, apart from me, it 
 would go on and on and never stop. It was 
 not stiff and aching, because 1 could hardly tell 
 I had an arm at all.” 
 
 This suggests that had it been possible to 
 test her arm, it might have been found to be 
 anaesthesic. Dr. James H. Hyslop has proved 
 that this condition often accompanies medium- 
 istic faculty. 
 
 Concerning another incident, Mrs. Willis 
 wrote to me as follows :— 
 
 “ Before the Christmas of 191? Mrs. Norman 
 sent a little note saying that Katherine Willis 
 
158 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 had shown a small book with a cross on it, and 
 with the letter M ; and she asked if we pos¬ 
 sessed such a prayer book. She thought 
 Katherine Willis wished my daughter to have 
 it. I wrote back that so far as I knew I had 
 no prayer-book or any other book with a cross 
 on the cover. I knew that formerly I had pos¬ 
 sessed a small leather prayer-book, but this I 
 could not find and could not recollect that it 
 had a cross on the cover.” 
 
 A message was sent to Mrs. Willis for Christ¬ 
 mas day, at the end of this message the word 
 “ prayer-book ” was written, but the power failed 
 and the sentence was not finished—Mrs. Willis 
 continued:—“We came to the conclusion that 
 an effort had been made to explain the book with 
 the cross on it and the letter M, which had been 
 shown at the quiet hour, and we decided that the 
 cross was only symbolical and indicated a re¬ 
 ligious book of some kind, probably a prayer- 
 book. Acting on this belief I gave a little 
 prayer-book which Katherine often used to her 
 sister. No more was thought of this until the 
 April of 1913, when, turning out a book case to 
 dust the books I found on one of the shelves be¬ 
 hind the books, the little prayer-book which I 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 159 
 
 had missed and on its cover a tiny cross. The 
 book is old and the cross lies deeply embedded 
 in the leather of the cover so is not very notice¬ 
 able. It must have been there for some time, 
 long enough for the fact that a cross was on it 
 to have completely escaped from all our 
 memories.”* 
 
 Mrs. Norman had never been in Mrs. Willis’ 
 house so that she could not possibly have seen 
 the prayer-book, consciously or unconsciously. 
 
 Although I have used pseudoyms in this 
 narrative I have carefully selected those which 
 would indicate the relations of spelling and sound 
 between the names which appeared in the 
 messages, obviously is an important detail. 
 
 A few months after this incident Katherine 
 Willis grandfather gave a very appropriate 
 message. Mrs. Norman complained of con- 
 considerable pain of the heart, which, however, 
 soon passed off; she was not aware at the 
 time that Katherine’s grandfather suffered 
 from angina pectris. 
 
 When introducing the friend who testifies to 
 the interesting experiences she had with the 
 Normans in the statement immediately following. 
 
 * The book was one Katherine used to carry to church when 
 a little child. 
 
160 CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 
 
 1 was as cautious as I had been with regard to 
 Mrs. Willis, and I avoided mentioning any 
 circumstances which might invalidate the worth 
 ol the evidence for communication from the 
 other side, which I hoped she might receive. 
 
 This friend writes under the name of M. Y. 
 de Lawny, as follows :— 
 
 Mrs. De Lawny’s Statement 
 
 Early in 1913 I visited B— and was 
 introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Norman who 
 received me most kindly, and on hearing that I 
 mourned for many friends “ gone before,” and 
 being anxious to give consolation and to share 
 their new-found joy, they proposed that I 
 should sit with them during their “ quiet hour,” 
 a privilege which I appreciated most highly. 
 During that hour I received unmistakable 
 evidence of the “ Life Radiant,” for the little 
 comforter, Monica appeared to her parents and 
 brought with her many of my own friends from 
 the Unseen World whom Mrs. Norman des¬ 
 cribed accurately, though of course they were 
 all quite strangers to her. As proofs of identity 
 objects were shown, names flashed out, and 
 messages given of which the meaning was 
 known only to me, or to members of my family 
 
CONCERNING KATHERINE WILLIS 161 
 
 of whom I enquired later. One instance, among 
 many others, was that in connection with one of 
 my friends Mrs. Norman frequently saw an 
 antique^Roman lamp which I could not place at 
 all, but I found afterwards that the one who 
 showed it had brought it from Rome, and 
 prized it highly. 
 
 I, also, though not usually clairvoyant, saw 
 many flashes and sparks of light, floating filmy 
 white clouds, tiny stars, little balls of light, also 
 cloudy pillars resembling in outline human forms 
 shining faintly in the dark. 
 
 The little messenger of love also brought 
 several touching and convincing messages from 
 my friends, two of whom have since written 
 through her mother’s hand, giving indications 
 of survival and memory of earth-life, speaking 
 of their present happiness, of their much prized 
 opportunities of helping others on both sides of 
 the veil, and also of their loving gratitude to 
 little Monica and her parents for bringing them 
 into communication with the one who had 
 mourned them so long and who now rejoices 
 with them in their happy freedom from physical 
 limitations and in the increase of their powers 
 of love and service. M. Y. de Lawny. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SOME EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN S MEDIUMSHIP 
 RECORDED BY H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON. 
 
 At the request of my friend, Miss Dallas, I am 
 here writing an account of my experiences of 
 the mediumship of Mrs. Norman. As I desire 
 this to be a plain, straightforward statement of 
 facts I shall abstain from any comments, save 
 those which may be necessary to elucidate the 
 phenomena. Mrs. Norman, a lady, non-pro¬ 
 fessional, and the wife of a professional man, is 
 a normal medium who has only comparatively 
 recently developed the faculty of automatic 
 writing. That she possessed this power was 
 discovered by her some months after the death 
 of her little daughter, Monica, from whom most 
 of the early messages purported to come. The 
 power rapidly improved, and the phenomena 
 grew in strength and decisiveness. 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 163 
 
 My wife passed from this life in the last days 
 of the year 1911 ; and, after some experience 
 herself of Mrs. Norman’s psychic gifts, Miss 
 Dallas was kind enough to suggest to me that 
 I might obtain through her faculty valuable 
 evidence of the kind which my studies in 
 psychical research led me to desire. To this 
 suggestion Mrs. Norman very kindly assented. 
 The following is a record of the experiences, 
 with the reservation of certain private matters. 
 
 I.—Finding myself unable to go to B—, the 
 town in which Mr. and Mrs. Norman live, on 
 October 7th, 1912, I sent a confidential maid, 
 A. A., who has been in the service of my house 
 for sixteen years, and who nursed my wife 
 through her last illness. A scarf belonging to 
 my wife was taken and placed on the table. 
 Immediately Mrs. Norman’s hand began to 
 write, though she was engaged in interested 
 conversation all the time ; and a message was 
 written in which the initial of my boy, D. was 
 given, and also the initial of my wife’s name, R. 
 
 Comment .—At this sitting Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman, Miss Dallas and the maid A. A. were 
 present. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Norman knew 
 my name, but only that I was a friend of Miss 
 
164 EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 Dallas. They knew A. A.’s name as Miss 
 Alexander. 
 
 II. —I received a copy of an automatic 
 message through Mrs. Norman’s hand, dated 
 October 12th, in which occurs the sentence, 
 “ You ask the Annie who came why she loves 
 roses so much.” 
 
 Comment .—The maid’s name is Annie, which 
 was unknown to Mr. and Mrs. Norman. 
 
 III. —On November 26th I paid a visit to 
 B—with my boy and A. A., and made the 
 acquaintance personally of Mr. and Mrs. Nor¬ 
 man. On this occasion I received an automatic 
 message in which it was stated that my boy 
 Dick was to have “lots of rest. He grows too 
 much for his good.” This message was signed 
 Rose. 
 
 Cominent .—By this time Mrs. Norman was 
 aware of my surname, Watson, also of the 
 name Dick, and also the name Annie. No 
 other particulars about us were known. The 
 statement as to the health of my boy was 
 correct. My wife’s name is Rosamund, but 
 she was always called Rose by her own family. 
 
 IV. —On January 19th, 1913, Mrs. Norman 
 sat for writing, and Mr. Norman was good 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 165 
 
 enough to forward me a message which was 
 intended for me. Its content was not 
 “ evidential,” but it was signed R. M. W. 
 
 Comment. —Mrs. Norman at this time knew 
 no more than on November 26th. She did 
 not know my wife’s middle initial, M. 
 R. M. W. was the usual signature of my wife 
 in writing to intimates. 
 
 V.—In January I received an extract from a 
 message, purporting to come from Monica to 
 her mother, in which a reference was made to 
 my son, Dick. The words were, “ I call him 
 Toby,” her own father's name being Dick also. 
 Then ensued what seemed a persistent attempt 
 on the part of the communicators to get me to 
 understand the significance of this statement. 
 On January 18 an extract forwarded to me 
 said, “ I know what the mother of the other 
 Dick did mean by what she showed you when 
 you asked her what the name means [ i.e . 
 Toby]. But I won’t tell you because when the 
 Papa is told he’ll know, and will be pleased. 
 Perhaps he’ll know even if you don’t say what 
 she did.” I failed to understand, and the 
 communicator again insisted. On February 
 5th a message came asking if I had been 
 
166 EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 told “what the mamma showed you [i.e. Mrs. 
 Norman] when you asked why I called the 
 other Dick Toby. You know it’s a book.” 
 
 Comment .—At this time no more was known 
 of me than on date of November 26th, namely, 
 that my name was Watson. I had puzzled 
 over the “Toby ” incident, but it was not until 
 I learned that my wife had showed Mrs. 
 Norman, clairvoyantly, a book that I saw any 
 significance in it. Then its relevancy and 
 pertinence became plain. In 1906 I pub¬ 
 lished a book, called “The High Toby,” the 
 hero of which was a gentleman of the road 
 called Galloping Dick. It used to be a jest 
 among our friends that our boy Dick was 
 Galloping Dick, and he has one volume by a 
 well-known author so inscribed to him. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Norman were ignorant that I wrote 
 books and that my name was Marriott Watson. 
 It seems absolutely clear that the communicator 
 of the messages set forth above had knowledge 
 of the facts I have mentioned, and wished to 
 reveal identity by calling my attention to 
 them. 
 
 I wrote to Mr. Norman that the solution 
 was satisfactory, but I did not explain it. At 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 167 
 
 the risk of seeming discourtesy I was anxious 
 to keep private my full name and the fact that 
 I wrote novels. Still in ignorance of these 
 facts, Mrs. Norman received a message on 
 February 1 i, from which I extract the following 
 as an adequate summary of the course of 
 events :—“First it was the mamma of the other 
 Dick did say to call him Toby. Then I did. 
 Then you ask her if she did say it, and she did 
 nod. Then you said to her ‘ Why ? ’ and if it 
 was a nickname. Then she showed you a 
 book. She said ‘ He will know now.’ ” 
 
 VI.—I had, early in 1913, made a suggestion 
 through Miss Dallas to Mrs. Norman that I 
 might be privileged to make a test by photo¬ 
 graphs. This I did because Mrs. Norman had 
 several times stated that my wife was seen 
 clairvoyantly by her. She was good enough 
 to consent to this test, and felt sure that she 
 would be able to pick out a photograph of my 
 wife. I have several photographs of my wife 
 taken at different times, and one of these 
 stands in my bedroom, It is a long panel 
 photograph in evening dress. I should like to 
 have sent this in a pack for identification, but 
 1 felt that it would be impossible to procure a 
 
168 ^EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 number of long panel portraits, and that if this 
 were the only panel sent the medium’s mind 
 might unconsciously be influenced by its 
 difference from the others. So I abandoned 
 the thought of sending it, and chose a later 
 photograph. I had recourse to the help of the 
 photographer who had taken it, and who made 
 me up a packet of seventeen photographs much 
 about the same size, all of women between the 
 ages of 30 to 40. This packet I submitted by 
 post on February 24 to Mrs. Norman. By 
 return I received the packet back with the 
 photograph of my wife tied in pink ribbon as 
 the one identified. Mr. Norman, in writing, 
 said that his wife “ threw one after another 
 aside—barely glancing at them—and picked 
 out this one and tied it in ribbon.” 
 
 There is a most interesting pendant to this 
 identification. The panel portrait in my room 
 which I did not send shows an evening dress 
 with short lace sleeves, and ribbons forming a 
 bow in front. References had been made in 
 messages for some time to a bow, but I had 
 failed to connect them with the photograph. 
 However, a message from Monica on February 
 23rd, which was forwarded to me later, referred 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 169 
 
 undoubtedly to this dress, and described it. 
 And Mr. Norman, in sending me the result of 
 the photographic test, enclosed a sketch of the 
 usual dress in which my wife appeared to Mrs. 
 Norman. I regret very much that it is im¬ 
 possible to reproduce here this sketch and the 
 photograph. I must content myself with 
 saying that the two are identical. 
 
 VII.—I come now to even a fuller, more 
 interesting, and more convincing test. I had 
 craved the indulgence of Mr. and Mrs. Norman 
 for one more experiment, which was kindly 
 granted to me. I wrote three questions on a 
 paper and forwarded this to Mrs. Norman, in 
 the hope that they would be answered by 
 automatic writing. They were these:— 
 (1) An inquiry as to what work my wife had 
 been most interested in in this life. (2) A 
 request that she would give the name of some 
 book. (3) A request that she would, if 
 possible, sign her name in full. It must be 
 
 remembered that I was not present at B-; 
 
 that, indeed, the only visit I paid was on 
 November 26th. This paper of mine was 
 placed on the table, and automatic writing 
 began. I shall not go into the message as 
 
170 EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 received except so far as it refers to these 
 questions: (i) The following words occurred 
 
 in the message: “Were it possible, I would 
 still rhyme the hours away, as was my wont.” 
 
 (2) “If 1 Ifs and Ans’—will that do?” 
 
 (3) Signed “ Rosamund Marriott Watson.” 
 This was on March 21st. 
 
 Comment .—At this time all Mr. and Mrs. 
 Norman knew of me was that my name was 
 Watson, and that I had written a book called 
 “ The High Toby,” long out of print. They 
 did not know my name was Marriott, or that 
 my wife’s name was Rosamund. It had always 
 before been “ Rose.” (1) My wife was a poet, 
 and so the answer is correct. (2) In my mind 
 I wished her to give the name of one of her 
 books. But in reply she gives one of mine, 
 “ Ifs and Ans,” a title she herself suggested 
 when in the body. (3) Rosamund Marriott 
 Watson is my wife’s full name. Mr. Norman, 
 in writing to me, said that the name was not 
 only written, but was flashed out clairvoyantly 
 previously to the automatic writing. 
 
 General comments on the above .—If Mr. and 
 Mrs. Norman had set out with the intention of 
 cheating, it would have been possible for them 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 171 
 
 to have bought a directory of the county in 
 which I live, and (it may be) so have discovered 
 that my name was Marriott Watson. It would 
 then have been possible to baveprocured “Who’s 
 Who” or a kindred publication, and to have 
 found out that I had written books. It would 
 after that have been possible to obtain “The 
 High Toby” from a library or some other 
 source, if still in stock. And it would have 
 been possible also to discover the full name of 
 my wife, and the fact that she was a poet. If 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norman, I say, had resolutely 
 determined on cheating, this would have been 
 just possible. But, having said as much, I 
 make the further statement that, to those who 
 know Mr. and Mrs. Norman, this, in the ex¬ 
 pressive American phrase, does not “begin” 
 to be conceivable, and I apologise to them for 
 the mere mention of this impossible assumption. 
 I add to that that I have no shadow of doubt 
 that my wife survives in another state, and that 
 she has communicated to me through the 
 automatic writing of Mrs. Norman. 
 
 H. B. Marriott Watson. 
 
 ******* 
 
 The following statements were made and 
 
172 EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 signed by Mr. and Mrs. Norman and their 
 daughter:— 
 
 March io, 1913. 
 
 I hereby state that I have never previously 
 seen Mrs. Watson in the flesh, or any photo¬ 
 graph of her. I also state that I have never 
 previously seen Mrs. de Lawny’s relatives in 
 the flesh, or any photograph of them. 
 
 May 22nd, 1913. 
 
 We hereby state that,—previous to getting 
 Mrs. Watson’s full name and the gift from 
 Mr. Watson of his wife’s poems and the copies 
 of his own works, “The King’s Highway” 
 and “The High Toby,” given as a reminis¬ 
 cence of the incident,—we had neither of us 
 read any of his works, or hers, and did not 
 know his full name or his occupation until he 
 gave it to us himself. 
 
 R. Norman. 
 
 G. Norman. 
 
 Lena Norman. 
 
 Later, “ Annie ” specially asked her mistress 
 to bring Monica to the garden, and a little after 
 this Monica’s message spoke of the flowers 
 under the trees and of the garden in general, 
 
EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 i73 
 
 of a horse that could be stroked, also of the 
 house, and said that Mr. M. W. did not smoke 
 as much as her Daddy, but smoked “harder.” 
 This detail is correct ; he does not smoke 
 much but he smokes fast. 
 
 The confidential maid sent by Mr. Marriott 
 Watson to visit Mrs. Norman has, at my re¬ 
 quest, put into writing an experience of which 
 she told me on the occasion of this visit. 
 
 Oct. 11, 1912.—“ I was staying at W-, 
 
 the first part of September, from the 1st to 
 the 12th part of time, but I could not tell date for 
 certain. One night, or rather towards morning, 
 
 I woke up feeling very cold, so I put my head 
 beneath the bedclothes and went to sleep. I 
 had been to sleep about an hour when I was 
 awakened with a start, and under the bed¬ 
 clothes there was a circle of bright light, and 
 in the circle there was a face, distinct. Fair 
 hair, blue eyes, aquiline nose, looking at me, 
 it so startled me that I got out of bed and 
 switched on the electric light, not daring to go 
 to sleep again. When I saw Mrs. Norman at 
 
 B-on October 7, I recognised the same face 
 
 as I had seen in the circle of light. I herewith 
 
174 EXPERIENCES OF MRS. NORMAN 
 
 affirm that on the occasion of my visits to Mrs. 
 Norman on Oct. 7th and Nov. 26th, I did not 
 mention Mrs. Marriott Watson’s name or that 
 she wrote poetry, or my own Christian name. 
 
 (Signed) Annie Alexander.” 
 
 I repeat that I was most careful to avoid 
 giving any information to Mr. or Mrs. Norman, 
 as I was anxious in no way to spoil the 
 evidential value of any communication that 
 might be made to him. 
 
 H. A. Dallas. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 CONCERNING SOME CONDITIONS IN THE 
 NEXT LIFE 
 
 It has been suggested to me that it would be 
 useful if I were to put down some of the 
 conclusions concerning the other life to which 
 my studies in Psychical Research have led me. 
 I have hesitated before attempting this ; for 
 whilst the truth of survival appears to me to 
 rest on a very secure basis, in matters of detail 
 there is room for greater uncertainty. 
 
 In the most trustworthy communications 
 comparatively little is told us as to the 
 occupation and conditions of the next life ; and 
 we can conceive of various reasons for this 
 silence. Those who communicate tell us that 
 we should not be able to understand if they 
 tried to explain. This is quite likely, for they 
 can only use terms familiar to us, and yet what 
 they may have to describe are probably things 
 
176 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 quite unfamiliar and when they translate the 
 experiences of their world into terms of our 
 experience we may easily form very misleading 
 impressions, for we are prone to give literal and 
 material interpretation to language which may 
 be symbolical. Difficulties of this sort lie in 
 the way ; nevertheless, no careful student of 
 psychic experiences can fail to glean many 
 valuable hints as to the conditions of the next 
 life. They may not be as full or numerous as 
 we could wish, but they are precious, for they 
 help us to realise communion with our Unseen 
 friends. 
 
 It is with the object of helping those who 
 desire to keep in touch with friends whose 
 visible companionship they miss that I add 
 this essay to the Record of little “ Monica.” 
 
 I desire merely to draw a few deductions 
 which seem to me justified by a variety of 
 well-authenticated experiences and communi¬ 
 cations, and in so doing I shall confine myself 
 to the most obvious, and shall lay upon myself 
 a “ self-denying ordinance,” and use imagina¬ 
 tion, not fancifully, but only to assist the 
 realisation of facts strongly supported by evi¬ 
 dence. At the same time, I do not claim 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 177 
 
 for most of these conclusions that they are 
 as abundantly evidenced as the fact of survival 
 itself, and I recognise that they must be held 
 provisionally, and with due acknowledgment of 
 the fact that here we see only “as in a mirror 
 dimly.” 
 
 One of the difficulties which adds to the pain 
 of bereavement is that of conceiving of ex¬ 
 istence apart from the bodily form which is 
 familiar to us. Although this trouble is not 
 entirely removed by the new views which this 
 study has brought before us, it is considerably 
 lessened. We are no longer obliged to try 
 to conceive of “ disembodied spirits,” for we 
 gather that the putting off of the flesh does 
 not imply bodilessness, but only the exchange 
 of one kind of body for another.* 
 
 All evolutionary processes suggest the 
 reasonableness of this. If there is one fact 
 which science teaches more emphatically than 
 another it is the fact that lower forms change 
 into higher, and that when the shell breaks 
 another form emerges from the covering which 
 has served life in its earlier stages. Why 
 
 ♦See i Cor. xv. 40 and 2 Cor. v. 2-5. 
 
 12 
 
178 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 should we assume that this universal law is 
 abrogated for man when he puts off the body 
 of flesh ? To one who is convinced that the ego 
 does not survive, the argument from the 
 analogy of nature will, of course, carry no 
 weight. But I am addressing those who, at 
 least faintly, “ trust the larger hope,” and 
 believe that man survives in some way ; and I 
 maintain that the assumption that the surviving 
 spirit is bodiless is not warranted by our 
 knowledge of the laws that govern life ; and 
 moreover that all psychical studies lead to the 
 opposite conclusion. 
 
 The messages from the other side imply 
 that when the self (or spirit) leaves the material 
 body it is “clothed upon ” (in the language of 
 St. Paul) with a body of finer and more ethereal 
 substance, related to the new environment in 
 which it has to live. And there is reason to 
 believe that this new body is during incarnate 
 life potentially existing in connection with the 
 body of flesh, that there is no break of con¬ 
 tinuity, no total disembodiment with an interval 
 of bodilessness, but a gradual withdrawal of 
 the elements of the ethereal enswathement 
 from the elements of the material, which may 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 179 
 
 fitly be compared with the withdrawal of the 
 butterfly from the chrysalis. And as the 
 elements of the pupa are taken up into the fly, 
 so mental and psychical elements are, probably, 
 carried over from our incarnate state into our 
 ethereal embodiment, and our capabilities in 
 the next stage may be to a considerable extent 
 determined by our present development. 
 
 To the question, “ With what body shall we 
 come?” we cannot as yet give any detailed 
 or certain answer, but we may assume that the 
 faculties which have found expression in such 
 wonderful instruments as the ear and eye and 
 brain will be equipped not less efficiently in 
 our new state of being. 
 
 “ Sensitives ” (who have been called the 
 precursors of the race, since they seem to be 
 able to exercise even here some of the powers 
 with which we may believe we shall be more 
 fully endowed in the next life) appear to 
 exercise the faculty of vision and of audition 
 without use of eyes or ears. “ Seers ” of this 
 kind perceive what occurs at a distance, and 
 that which no human eye can normally see. 
 Sometimes the organ through which they thus 
 perceive seems to be some other part of the 
 
180 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 human body, the top of the head, or the hand, 
 or the solar plexus. This fact suggests that 
 the faculty of sight is not to be confused with 
 the instrument through which we are enabled 
 to see the things of this material world, nor the 
 faculty of hearing to be confused with the 
 instrument through which the sounds of earth 
 reach our brain. Eye and ear and brain are 
 merely organs by which these faculties of mind, 
 sight, hearing and thinking are related to the 
 environment of the material world. We know 
 that seeing and hearing are in the last resort 
 not physical but mental processes. It is the 
 ego that sees, the physical process consists 
 merely of vibrations, first in the ether, then in 
 a delicate set of nerves ; seeing and hearing, 
 as well as thinking, are mental activities, and 
 they may be described as the interpretation of 
 vibrations. It is, therefore, quite reasonable to 
 believe that when the physical instrument is 
 no longer available, other instruments will be 
 evolved for the use of these faculties of the 
 mind adapted to other conditions. 
 
 In one of the records from which I shall 
 quote, the unseen communicator says :— 
 
 “ Evolution is all right in the real life, as 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 181 
 
 Darwin says, but it goes on evoluting in the 
 ideal life, [of] which fact he of course knew 
 nothing until he came here.”—(Proc : S.P.R., 
 vol. xiii., p. 420). 
 
 It is, of course, the higher faculties which 
 we may reasonably expect to find still further 
 evolving- in another life. Some of our organs 
 are evidently adapted to the maintenance of 
 the physical body chiefly, or entirely. But 
 others find a higher use. The eye and the ear 
 and the brain foster and develop our sense of 
 beauty and our appreciation of the wonders of 
 the universe. These are the higher organs, 
 and they serve a higher kind of life. Whilst, 
 however, we use them with delight and find in 
 their use a constant source of progressive de¬ 
 velopment we are conscious that they do not 
 convey to us all that our minds desire, that 
 they are still but imperfect instruments; for 
 we know that there is more to see and to 
 know than these organs enable us to see 
 and know. They feed us, but they do not 
 satisfy. They show us much of the wonder 
 and beauty of the Universe and of its Great 
 Creator, but we are conscious that our sense 
 of beauty and our craving for knowledge 
 
182 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 exceed the capacities of eyes and ears and 
 brain. “ The eye is not satisfied with seeing, 
 nor the ear with hearing.” Having culti¬ 
 vated our faculties through the use of these 
 instruments here, shall we have possibilities of 
 cultivating them further in another and finer 
 body ? Certainly psychical studies encourage 
 us to believe that we shall. 
 
 The constant mention that is made in spirit 
 communications of light and of the greater 
 brightness of the other world for those who 
 are progressing, implies that vision of a more 
 ethereal kind is possessed by those who no 
 longer use our physical organs. 
 
 For instance, Mr Stainton Moses was told 
 that his mediumistic capacities were discerned 
 by a spirit in the other life by the colour which 
 surrounded him :— 
 
 “ He would be enabled to discern you by the 
 aura which surrounds you and which is visible 
 to the spirit eye. Light and attraction would 
 both enable him to recognise a channel of 
 communication which he longed for. You have 
 been told before that an aura surrounds all 
 material objects, and that aura in the case of 
 a medium is recognisable afar off by spirit 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 183 
 
 eyes. To spirit eye the aura declares the 
 character.”—(Proc : S.P.R., vol. xi., p. 93). 
 
 In this connection I will quote a passage 
 from Dr. Richard Hodgson’s Report (above 
 mentioned p. 180-181) of communications that 
 were made through Mrs. Piper in a trance 
 state. George Pelham (who had died) claimed 
 to be writing through her hand. He said :— 
 
 “ Now about my theory of spirit life inde¬ 
 pendent of the material substance. I live, 
 think, see, hear, know, and feel just as 
 clearly as when I was in the material life, but not 
 so easy to explain it to you, as you would 
 naturally suppose, especially when the thoughts 
 have to be expressed through substance 
 materially. I am light and free and much 
 clearer in thought than I was in the material 
 body. Thought is an immediate intuition or 
 primary datum of consciousness—in my present 
 life, everything is expressed by thought.”— 
 (Proc : S.P.R., vol. xiii. pp. 433, 434). 
 
 Again, on p. 547 we find the following with 
 reference to some flowers which a mother had 
 brought, with thoughts of her child, and had 
 laid on the table. The spirit who was 
 communicating said:—“You know she [the 
 
i8 ( SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 child] takes the spirit of these things—the 
 spiritual thing—and the spirit part is just as 
 real to her as your life is to you.” 
 
 Those who have been in a trance-state speak 
 of their return out of the trance as a passing 
 out of light into comparative darkness. Many 
 and various experiences strongly confirm the 
 belief that those who pass out of the body, in 
 a progressive state, live in a world of light and 
 beauty, a world which by comparison with ours 
 is as sunshine to shadow. 
 
 How may this help us in our efforts to live 
 in communion with our friends in the Unseen ? 
 It may help us much, for we may realise that 
 in our delight in the beauties of Nature and 
 Art we are still participating with them. They 
 too are finding similar delight and even better 
 in a world, unknown to us indeed, but still 
 governed by the same spirit of beauty which 
 delights us here. When we gaze upon our 
 flowers or lose ourselves in beautiful scenery 
 we may be assured that One Spirit is awakening 
 in us here, and in them there, the same sort of 
 response and the same reverent and exquisite 
 appreciation. 
 
 But we may believe more than this. When 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 185 
 
 we think of them they are aware of our thought, 
 and see us and our mental life. This is 
 abundantly attested by strong evidence. We 
 may therefore draw them to share our visions 
 of beauty, we may attract their attention to the 
 objects which delight us. Whether they can 
 see the physical world as we see it, is doubtful, 
 but if we accept the statements which claim to 
 come from them, there is no doubt that they 
 can see the images in our minds, and that in 
 measure as we cultivate the habit of forming 
 our images vividly, and hold friends in our 
 thoughts when we look at beautiful scenes, 
 they are able to share with us in our delights 
 by communion with our minds. 
 
 We are familiar with the thought that Nature 
 can soothe us by her beauty, but to an aching 
 heart her very beauty seems at moments un¬ 
 bearable ; for it awakens so deep a longing for 
 those who were wont to share it with us. But 
 in the realisation of communion through this 
 mental and spiritual contact there is healing 
 gladness. If we take God’s gift of beauty 
 home to us we may still minister to them, still 
 share this joy with those we love ; and we may 
 regain in some degree—nay, even in some 
 
186 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 better way—a sense of mutual, inseverable 
 companionship. I believe that they desire 
 this fellowship with us, and that we can draw 
 nearer to them by entering into joy than by 
 mourning. 
 
 Here is another quotation from the same 
 “ Report,” which is one of many testimonies on 
 this point :— 
 
 “ I want to say there is no death. I am 
 living. I am with you still—and fear not. 
 Close your eyes and go to sleep—waken up, 
 and it’s all over. You live again. And not 
 much memory of what has transpired. I see 
 you clearly ; as clearly as anything you like ! 
 . . . . Tell my wife I live. What are they 
 
 doing ?. Why do they mourn ? Why 
 
 fret for me ? They must not weep ; I cannot 
 have it so. Tell them it is wrong. I live.”— 
 (Proc : S.P.R., vol. xiii., p. 543). 
 
 I have said that the fact that they can read 
 our thoughts is abundantly attested. I might 
 have said that the evidence for this is to me as 
 convincing as the evidence for survival itself. 
 Not that those in that other life can read all 
 thoughts even of those in contact with them 
 through affection and sympathy ; but un- 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 187 
 
 doubtedly many of our thoughts can reach 
 them, and they see us better, and become aware 
 of our thoughts, when we, so to speak, attract 
 their attention by directing our thoughts upon 
 them. The fact of telepathy, as experienced 
 by those still in the flesh, may help us to 
 understand this thought-transference between 
 those in different conditions of existence. Here 
 thought transference is intermittent and con¬ 
 fused, for whilst we are embedded in the matter 
 of this earth we are less susceptible to impres¬ 
 sions from other minds than we may expect to 
 be when we are set free from physical obstruc¬ 
 tions. 
 
 George Pelham, one of those who had given 
 the best evidence of identity through the 
 mediumship of Mrs. Piper, has said that the 
 ego “exists after the disposition of the body in 
 an immediate intuition,” which may be taken to 
 imply a far more direct cognition and perception 
 than is habitual within us.—(Proc : S.P.R., vol 
 xiii., p. 431). 
 
 In this record concerning little Monica the 
 evidence for communication by thought is 
 abundant. 
 
 If the recognition of this fact were more 
 
188 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 frequently acted upon, we should cease to regard 
 death as a complete bar to intercourse, we 
 should speak to those we love in the silence of 
 thought, and we should not speak in vain. 
 
 There are some who will fear to take this 
 comfort to themselves, lest it in any degree 
 seem to infringe upon the prerogatives of God, 
 I will therefore add a few remarks on prayer in 
 a note at the end of this book. 
 
 The greater susceptibility to thought-im¬ 
 pression which seems to be a condition of life 
 in the next state, is probably due to greatly in¬ 
 creased consciousness. Man’s consciousness in 
 this life is awake to a degree greatly exceeding 
 that of the animal world. But to those who 
 have “awaked from the dream of life,” we on 
 earth seem to be more or less asleep. So they 
 tell us, and it is not difficult to believe. 
 
 We are sufficiently awake here to be touched 
 into memory by associations of sight or sound 
 or scent. A familiar scene, a melody, a flower, 
 will awaken seemingly dead memories, associa¬ 
 tions are many and, often, vivid with us, yet 
 when we are truly awake, probably, this faculty 
 greatly increases. It seems as if contact with 
 any object which has belonged to them during 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 189 
 
 their earthly life starts a train of associated 
 ideas. When the “ sensitive ” who is being 
 used as their instrument handles these objects 
 there Hows through this medium’s mind a suc¬ 
 cession of reminiscences of events unknown to 
 her, but known and recalled by the spirits who 
 communicate through her. 
 
 Possibly “sensitives,” as I have pointed out 
 in the preface, have a keener faculty of associa¬ 
 tion than ordinary people, and this enables them 
 to give the wonderful psychometric readings 
 which are so inexplicable by ordinary faculty. 
 
 These considerations have a very practical 
 bearing. If we believe that those we love are 
 aware of our mental states when our thoughts 
 are specially concerned with them, this should 
 afford the strongest incentive to control grief, to 
 look above the apparent loss of outward parting, 
 to direct our minds steadily away from the 
 pains of last illnesses so that we may in no 
 way cloud their peace, or bring them 
 into the illusion of death making loss and 
 bereavement seem real to them by communion 
 with our thought. And if we realise the force 
 of association and how subtly and quickly it 
 affects the freed imagination of spirits, we shall 
 
x 9 o SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 take care to let the objects about us be such as 
 can only bring good and happy associations. 
 We shall get rid of mere tokens of mourning or 
 relics connected with pain or crime. Our homes 
 must be filled with objects that suggest memories 
 which we desire may live with them, and in¬ 
 crease their joy and peace. 
 
 This point leads us to another, namely, to 
 the prevalence of “ habits.” Habits are psycho¬ 
 logically allied to the faculty of associations ; 
 they are generated by associations. We need 
 not stop to prove this ; a little reflection will 
 suffice to do so. If “freed” spirits are even 
 more keenly affected by associated ideas than 
 those still in this body, is it possible that they 
 are also affected by mental habits ? 
 
 This question requires some further con¬ 
 sideration. What do we understand by a 
 mental habit ? Physical habits are repeated 
 actions which become almost or quite automatic : 
 we know how persistent they can be, how useful 
 if they are good habits, how troublesome if they 
 are bad. But it is not always recognised that 
 mental habits behave in a similar way, that the 
 mind may easily form a rut and go on working 
 automatically with either beneficial or mischievous 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 191 
 
 results. Thus a habit of worrying, or being 
 censorious, or argumentative, a habit of dis¬ 
 agreeing with any remark that may be made, 
 of suspicion, or of doubting, all these tendencies 
 may become stereotyped and at last involuntary 
 and almost unconscious. Physical habits, we 
 have good reason to hope, will be snapped by 
 the death of the physical body ; but will death 
 break mental habits ? There is no reason why 
 it should necessarily do so, and psychical studies 
 suggest the opposite, namely, that a mental 
 habit thoroughly established in the mind may 
 persist for some time after death. It is whole¬ 
 some to remember this, even if it makes us 
 uncomfortable to do so. It may serve as a 
 warning against allowing ourselves to get into 
 mental ruts. To shut ourselves into grooves of 
 thought or feeling may be to prepare for our¬ 
 selves future difficulties when we enter the 
 sphere where thought and imagination and all 
 that appertains thereto become the dominant 
 factors in our self-conscious life. 
 
 If we desire to progress we must get free 
 from bondage to habitual prejudices and 
 moods. 
 
 Edward Carpenter has said:—“This is an 
 
192 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 absurd position for man, the heir of all the ages, 
 to be in, hag-ridden by the flimsy creatures of 
 his own brain ... It should be as easy to 
 expel an obnoxious thought from your mind as 
 it is to shake a stone out of your shoe : and 
 until a man can do that it is just nonsense to 
 talk about ascendancy over Nature. . . . 
 Naturally the art requires practice . . . and 
 it is worth practice. It may indeed fairly be said 
 that life only begins when this art has been 
 acquired. For obviously when, instead of being 
 ruled by individual thoughts, the whole flock of 
 them in their immense multitude and variety 
 and capacity is ours to direct and dispatch and 
 employ where we list, life becomes a thing so 
 vast and grand compared with what it was 
 before, that its former conditions may well 
 appear almost ante-natal.”—(“ A Visit to a 
 Gnani.”) 
 
 This is very true, if we allow for some ex¬ 
 aggeration in the way it is expressed. If a man 
 has never practised this thought-control, but 
 has, so to speak, let himself be obsessed by his 
 own prejudices, his life over there may still 
 seem “ante-natal.” 
 
 Perhaps herein may be found the clue to 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 193 
 
 some strange hauntings, well authenticated, but 
 apparently inexplicable. The haunting appari¬ 
 tion may be the product of thoughts by which 
 some soul is itself haunted. 
 
 But let us now turn to more cheering reflec¬ 
 tions. Hints are occasionally given as to the 
 nature of some of the occupations of spirits in 
 the Unseen world, though very little is told us 
 in detail. One thing, however, stands out 
 clearly. Their life—the life of those who are 
 progressing—is a life of fellowship. Like 
 attracts like and thus intimate bonds of affection 
 and sympathy are formed ; there is fellowship 
 in service, and compassion also attracts spirits 
 to those whom they can help ; particularly do 
 they delight to minister to those to whom they 
 are bound by memories of earth life and by the 
 bonds of love. 
 
 The whole of the Record of Little Monica 
 bears witness to this, the evidence for it is 
 abundant in all well attested communications ; 
 and the possibilities of ministry are largely 
 increased by the extension of the faculty of 
 thought transference. 
 
 By thought they can suggest, counsel, and 
 guide ; but the best and most trustworthy will 
 
i 9 4 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 never usurp authority or inhibit the exercise of 
 our own personal judgments. To do this would 
 be to hinder, not assist, our individual growth. 
 Therefore, if any such autocratic claim is made 
 from across the border, it should be taken as a 
 danger signal, and we should beware of such 
 spirits. And, here, I would like to point out that 
 the record contained in this book is a record 
 of spirit visitation which came spontaneously, 
 and it does not offer a precedent and sanction 
 for all, and any, to experiment with their psychic 
 faculties. To those who would thus seek inter¬ 
 course with the Unseen I would say, Beware. 
 Some are called to this, and they are protected 
 and assisted in a work encompassed with 
 difficulty and not free from peril. “ Let every 
 man be fully persuaded in his own mind ” that 
 this quest is indeed for him ; for, as in the days 
 of King Arthur and his round table, many 
 “ follow wandering fires,” and some suffer 
 serious loss because they have dared to thrust 
 themselves rashly and with self centred aim into 
 a path which can only be safely trod “rever¬ 
 ently, discreetly, advisedly, and soberly.” 
 
 Direct contact with experiences of the kind 
 recorded in this volume has left upon me an 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 195 
 
 impression very difficult to pass on to others by 
 words, but which I cannot pass over altogether. 
 One seems to touch a sphere of life permeated 
 and dominated by the spirit of love in a degree 
 beyond all earthly experience. 
 
 Those who are no longer under the limitations 
 of this existence, and who are freed from the 
 mental and spiritual bondage, which, as I have 
 said, is not necessarily broken by death, breathe 
 an atmosphere of abounding love which, whilst 
 it meets the heart’s need with glad surprise, 
 seems almost too good to be true. We catch a 
 glimpse of possibilities of a life of fellowship and 
 of friendships which surpass our best dreams. 
 
 As we come into contact with this communion 
 of pure and strong and merciful love we know 
 that we have touched reality. This experience 
 permanently affects our outlook on life, and all 
 its human relations re-adjust themselves on a 
 more natural and truer basis. We recognise 
 that only those who love can truly be said to 
 live, and lack of love is a kind of death. It is 
 the same truth that Dante learned and which he 
 strove to teach in his great poem concerning his 
 ascent to the great goal of all experience—“ The 
 Love that moves the sun and the other stars.” 
 
196 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 An Additional Incident 
 
 An interesting incident occurred after this 
 record had been completed. 
 
 Mrs. De Lawny designed a gift as a surprise 
 for Monica’s mother. It was a gold pendant, 
 a cross within a circle with a jewel at the centre. 
 The circle was surmounted by letter “ M.” 
 This surprise gift was planned early in the 
 year. 
 
 No hint of this was given to the Normans. 
 But on April 6th, in Monica’s message, written 
 through her mother’s hand, the following 
 sentence occurred in connection with a 
 reference to Mrs. de Lawny :—“ I have 
 secrets with [her] and I laugh for the fun.” 
 
 Without making any allusion to her purposed 
 gift, Mrs. de Lawny sent a packet to the 
 Normans in the month of May. She was 
 leaving England for a short time, and she 
 asked them to kindly take charge of it and 
 let it remain in Monica’s room during her 
 absence. This contained her gift, carefully 
 packed. She placed the pendant in a silver 
 casket which had an embossed lid, enclosing 
 also a few scented rose leaves ; the casket was 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 197 
 
 wrapped in tissue paper and cotton wool and 
 put into a wooden box ; the box was covered 
 with white paper, tied with blue ribband, and 
 sealed. The whole was enclosed in brown 
 paper and addressed to the Normans, who 
 removed the brown paper cover only , and, in 
 accordance with her wishes, placed the packet 
 on Monica’s table. 
 
 On June 17, in the course of her automatic 
 writing, Monica’s mother drew what looked 
 like the top of a box, and her hand wrote :— 
 “ You’ll soon have a lovely present, shiny and 
 lovely, don’t forget ... I shan’t tell you 
 what’s that.” 
 
 On June 20 was written :—“There’s such a 
 pretty box ; I like sent [sic] don’t you ? And 
 I like pretty juls [sic] when there [sic] on my 
 Mum.” 
 
 On June 29, the top of a box was drawn 
 again, and her hand wrote :—“ That’s some¬ 
 thing." Underneath was drawn a circle with 
 “ M ” above it, and : “ That’s something too.” 
 
 On June 30, at Mrs. de Lawny’s request, 
 Mrs. Norman tried to psychometrise the 
 packet. She could not get much impression 
 from it ; she saw “something shiny, it seemed 
 
198 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 to be square, with something on it . . . 
 
 Then she was impressed with some one 
 shutting- something down with a click and 
 with initials intertwined.” 
 
 The interesting feature in this psychometry 
 is its vagueness. It is evident that the contents 
 of the packet were not known to Mrs. Norman 
 either normally, or subliminally, neither was 
 there any indication that she had guessed the 
 nature of the contents, or had psychically 
 perceived what it was. The failure to describe 
 the contents only adds to the evidential value 
 of the whole incident, and it is for this reason 
 that I draw attention to this attempted 
 psychometry. 
 
 On the same date Mrs. Norman wrote to 
 Mrs. de Lawny asking when she should return 
 the packet. Two days later, and before Mrs. 
 de Lawny’s reply had been received, Monica 
 wrote :— 
 
 “ It is you will have to open it. Don’t be 
 afraid I don’t know.” 
 
 In reply to questions from her parents about 
 the drawing that had been done, Monica 
 wrote :—“ If I did just say I said, Yes, to both 
 the things; that doesn’t tell the secret does it?” 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 199 
 
 On the same date a circle was drawn again, 
 and Monica wrote :—“ Shall I do it all ?” 
 
 She seems to have been giving hints and 
 playing with her secret with childlike pleasure. 
 Her father says she “always loved a secret.” 
 
 On July 3, Mrs. de Lawny wrote directing 
 that the packet should be opened. They then 
 found a “shiny square box,” the scented rose 
 leaves and, inside, the pendant with circle and 
 cross surmounted by letter “ M.” 
 
 On July 4, Monica wrote :—“ Isn’t that a 
 lovey present? 1 am most pleased. ... It is 
 a dear of her, and she was exited \sic~\ too 
 about it. . . . We did laugh ’cause you did 
 think to send it back. . . . Well it’s all very 
 good, isn’t it ?. . . All the surprises is not 
 finished yet. ... I didn’t put the cross ’cause 
 you might guess. You will have a chain, 
 darling ; we’re so glad you like our secret.” 
 
 Mrs. Norman had not anything suitable for 
 hanging the pendant on, so her husband told 
 her he would give her a clasp. Monica’s state¬ 
 ment on July 4, “You will have a chain,” was 
 not, of course, mentioned to Mrs. de Lawny. 
 
 The latter spent a week, from July 10 to 17, 
 in the town in which the Normans reside, and 
 
200 SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 
 
 seeing that Mrs. Norman was not wearing the 
 pendant on a chain she determined to give her 
 one, as, indeed, she had already wished to do. 
 
 On July 13, Monica wrote:—“I am so 
 exited [szV] about something ; I won’t tell you 
 what till after. I’ll keep a secret what it is ; 
 but I’ll tell after. I love secrets.” 
 
 On the 17th, Mrs. de Lawny bought a gold 
 chain with links. Soon after this she called at 
 the Normans’ house, and learned that Monica 
 had just drawn something, through her mother. 
 The drawing was shown to Mrs. de Lawny 
 who was surprised to see that it represented a 
 chain with links, underneath the drawing was 
 written, “ Never mind.” The parents had 
 asked Monica to tell them what the drawing 
 represented, and she had written: “No, not 
 yet.” Mrs. de Lawny did not say anything 
 about her purchase, but before leaving that 
 day she deposited the chain in a little box 
 behind a vase on Monica’s table, thinking that 
 it would soon be found. On the same day she 
 returned to her home. 
 
 A week passed and she heard nothing of the 
 discovery of the chain. Mrs. Norman told 
 me later, when narrating this incident, that on 
 
SOME CONDITIONS IN THE NEXT LIFE 201 
 
 July 23 she felt a very strong impression to 
 go into Monica’s room and look round ; she 
 was engaged in work at the time, but she 
 paused and went into the room, looked at 
 Monica’s table, and came out again without 
 observing anything. 
 
 On the 24th, as her husband was coming 
 down stairs, he says that he heard, clair- 
 audiently, “ Go to my table, we are tired of 
 waiting-. I tried to make mum know vester- 
 day.” He went to her room and then caught 
 sight of the little box behind the vase, which 
 contained the gold chain. 
 
 Mrs. de Lawny has asked me to state very 
 emphatically that she never gave the Normans 
 the slightest hint as to what either packet con¬ 
 tained, nor did she tell anyone of the chain that 
 she had placed on Monica’s table. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 I will here add a few experiences of Mrs. Norman’s which 
 were not included in the record of Monica, because most 
 of them are not directly connected with her. 
 
 The following occurrence was related to me after this 
 record had gone to the publisher. 
 
 Mr. Norman wrote:—“ Some twenty years ago my 
 professional duties brought me into contact with Sir August 
 Manns and the C. P. Orchestra. The leader, Carl Jung, 
 was a magnificent violinist. We became great friends. 
 Then I had to fulfil engagements in America and I com¬ 
 pletely failed to correspond with Carl. When I returned 
 to England I found that dear old Carl had committed 
 suicide. . . He was found in a fountain basin after some 
 days, with his pockets weighted with heavy stones. . . . 
 Here let me say that G— never knew Carl, neither had 
 she heard of him and I had never mentioned him to her.” 
 [His death occurred five years before their marriage]. 
 
 Mr. Norman went on to explain that at the “ quiet hour ” 
 on June 23, 1913, a communication came from a man 
 called John Harrington Young, a flautist, and that he 
 intimated that another musician would be with them in a 
 short time—one with a similar name. Mr. Norman 
 continues :— 
 
NOTES 
 
 203 
 
 “A few minutes later G— startled me by calling out, 
 ‘ Oh, oh ! the water is so cold,’ and shivering violently. 
 Then she said, 1 There is a short man come,’ and described 
 him and a violin. I knew him at once, and greeted him 
 with very great joy. He intimated that he had been unable 
 to get through or come before, but he owed it to Monica. 
 She had brought him as he was a musician.” He then 
 made them understand by signs that he would like to write, 
 as Monica had told him she would try and help him. He 
 adds: ‘ My wife does not know German, neither does 
 she know the characteristics of German handwriting. He 
 always pronounced ‘ was ’ as ‘ wass.’ ” 
 
 I have studied this letter in the original. The letters 
 a. r. g. are written in German characters, also the con¬ 
 cluding words and signature. Here is a copy of the letter. 
 
 “ It is good. Thank you. I am very sorry of the mad 
 thing I do. You are very good to me, my friend. My 
 heart is made glad. I thank you much. I shall come 
 more to see you. The old times wass heaven and it wass 
 hell too. The hell wass very bad. Now it gone. Thank 
 you. Guten Nacht. 
 
 Carl Jung.” 
 
 ****** 
 
 The following extract is from a letter dated June 16, ’12. 
 —“ I am enclosing with this a message we had the other 
 evening. It is another proof, absolutely undeniable proof. 
 It concerns a few boys I knew when I was twelve—I am 
 now forty-seven, and since I was thirteen, or thereabouts, 
 I have never thought of them, or the episodes referred to. 
 Indeed, it took me some hours to locate the names, and 
 
204 
 
 NOTES 
 
 days to get at the surnames. The wife had never heard of 
 them and certainly never knew them. She was not born 
 and did not know of the existence of such a place. I 
 remember I was thirteen when we moved from there to 
 Dorking. Dodd, I call to mind now, was very fond of me, 
 though I don't remember ever having made more of him 
 than any other boy I used to play with. Most certainly 
 all these years I have never thought of him and was 
 astonished. 
 
 June io.—“Jemmy Dodd,” (a schoolboy acquaintance 
 of thirty-five years ago) “ Round pond. Green. Good 
 Lord ! ” (Pond referred to was at Goose Green. We used 
 to build rafts in it, and have hairbreadth escapes from 
 shipwreck, and getting blown up with gunpowder. I said, 
 “ Please write something sensible.") 
 
 “ Might put my foot in it.” (Never mind that, go on, 
 please). “ Dick’s bust ups. Where money got ? ” (“ Busts 
 up ” were monkey nuts, ices, buns, sweets, ginger-beer and 
 other nice concoctions so dear to boys. Mo?iey raised by 
 selling anything we could lay our hands on at home 
 augmented by present money and choir remuneratiori). 
 “ How sick we felt ” (used to be laid up for two days after 
 one of these “ busts"). “Cheap fags no good.” (We 
 used to smoke com?non tobacco in paper round the above 
 mentioned po?id). “ Hugh, Jerry and Percy, you and I.” 
 (Hugh Morrison, ferry Cormack, Percy Whyte, myself 
 and Dodd). “ Old Lawrence ” (organist and choirmaster 
 of St. fohiis, Goose Green. We were all choir-boys 
 there). “ Black gowns.” (Our cassocks, no doubt. We 
 used to tear all over the Green in them, and chase other 
 
NOTES 
 
 205 
 
 boys up and down the adjoining road). “ Look down. 
 Catch him. Hair scarce.” (/ think this must refer to 
 the Sunday evening organ recitals after service. We 
 used to go into the side gallery and drop a hassock or a 
 book on any bald head we could see, and then make a bolt 
 for it). “ Letters. I twig. Table hands under.” ( Refers, 
 no doubt, to passing of letters and messages during 
 school hours). “No more now. Ice-cream.” ( Our 
 favourite dissipation). “ Jemmy Dodd. So do unto 
 me.” 
 
 In July, 1912, Mr. Norman told me by letter of another 
 instance of his wife’s strange perception. 
 
 “ Three weeks ago she was introduced to a gentleman, 
 and he asked her to ‘ sense ’ his hand. She saw a 
 Japanese village, cases of tea, and rows of bushes, also 
 there was death. He had just returned from Japan, and 
 he himself was buried yesterday.” 
 
 Some time in August, 1912, Mrs. Norman was doing 
 psychometry at the house of a lady who was a stranger to 
 her. She wrote to me afterwards :—“ The strange thing 
 was that I got so miserable in that room and felt just as if 
 I had been cast off by someone I loved; the feeling was 
 so intense that my voice shook while I was sensing. She 
 \i.e. the lady for whom Mrs. Norman was doing this] was 
 astonished and said we ought to have been elsewhere as 
 that room had always been used by a friend who had lived 
 with her for years ; but that she had been obliged to break 
 with her, and she had been very sad at going. Wasn’t 
 that strange ? 
 
206 
 
 NOTES 
 
 “Now another experience. Last night, Thursday, I 
 suddenly felt nervous about the gas-house and gasometers, 
 seen from our windows, just below. I said to Dick, ‘ I 
 can’t feel comfortable when ever I see that gas house.’ 
 Now I had not spoken of it before, or even thought of it 
 for days, but the nervousness then was very strong. 
 
 “ To-day, about 10.30 or 11, I was dusting the sitting- 
 room when I heard a terrific crash, like an explosion it 
 sounded. Dick and Lena ran in, and there we could just 
 see through the clouds of dust that the large chimney and 
 part of the gas-house had fallen in. I was terrified, and 
 Dick said at once, 1 You felt this last night.’ I begin to 
 dread feeling things in advance ; I never know what it will 
 be next.” 
 
 The following letter was written by Mrs. Norman’s 
 mother :— 
 
 “ Dear G-It may interest and encourage you to hear 
 
 that two of the smaller foretellings given by you in your last 
 psychometrical reading of my hair, etc., have been fulfilled. 
 You warned me that I should break a tea-pot and lose my 
 black swede hand-bag, though after an interval of much 
 search I should find it again. This has happened. 
 
 “ Yesterday morning, at 7.30 a.m., in pouring out the early 
 tea, I let the lid of the teapot fall to the ground, and it 
 broke in several places. At 12.30 the day before yesterday, 
 I went shopping and on my return found I was without my 
 hand-bag. As it contained a cheque, several private letters, 
 and some change, I was anxious. On returning to the 
 bazaar, however, it was restored to me. (Signed). 
 
 August 4, 1912.” 
 
NOTES 
 
 207 
 
 On several occasions Monica’s writings have mentioned 
 names which were not recognised. More than once she 
 mentioned that “ Elsie Macpherson ” was with her, and 
 said that her father was, or had been, a minister. It 
 has not been possible to trace the father, although the 
 attempt has been made, for it seemed as if “ Elsie ” desired 
 to communicate with him. Sometimes a name without 
 any circumstance connected with it occurs. The names 
 “ Hugh ” and “ Frank ” and so forth. One name, however, 
 which occurred more than once has since been recognised. 
 The Christian and surname were both given. 
 
 For the real names I will substitute “ Flettie Trevers.” 
 The incident is as follows:— 
 
 In the summer of 1912 I introduced to Mrs. Norman 
 a lady, whom I will call Mrs. Clarke, who received through 
 her some interesting and convincing evidence in connection 
 with deceased friends. Mrs. Norman described also a 
 girl who was not at the time recognised by her visitor ; 
 later, however, she recalled having known a girl two years 
 before, who had since died, and who answered to the 
 description Mrs. Norman had given. Mrs. Norman saw 
 Mrs. Clarke again in December, and after that not again 
 until June, 1913- 
 
 In the meantime several messages from Monica referred 
 to “ Hetty Trevers,” and she was urged to “ tell the lady ” 
 (i.e. Mrs. Clarke). 
 
 The Normans had lost her address and they did not 
 therefore carry out this request; they expected that she 
 would call again soon. The messages naming “ Hettie 
 Trevers” were sent to me to read. I did not know the 
 
2o8 
 
 NOTES 
 
 name, and did not therefore pay special attention to the 
 references. 
 
 In June, 1912, Mrs. Clarke wrote to me:— 
 
 “ I felt a great desire to see Mrs. Norman, and went 
 on the 10th. . . . She greeted me with, ‘There has been 
 a message for you four times repeated, and the last 
 insistently, “ You have never given that lady the message.” ’ 
 . . . ‘ Who from ? ’ I asked. She had forgotten the name, 
 but when her husband came in he said, ‘ From Hettie 
 Trevers.’” He looked for the papers, but found that three 
 of them had been sent to me. I have since found these 
 three references. 
 
 Since this visit another message from Monica states 
 that the name should be spelt Trevors, which is correct. 
 
 The fact that this name has thus been verified and 
 identified leads one to think that other names also might 
 be similarly recognised if circumstances made the recogni¬ 
 tion possible. 
 
 ****** 
 
 Since writing the above I have been told that “ Frank ” 
 has been identified also. 
 
 ****** 
 
 No doubt some readers may be perplexed by the 
 material aspect of some of the experiences recorded in 
 this volume. They will ask, “Are we to believe that in 
 the future life time and space bear the same aspect as 
 with us ? Do those who pass on observe dates of anni¬ 
 versaries ? Do they in short live in a world which is a 
 replica of the world of physical things ? ” 
 
NOTES 
 
 209 
 
 To jump to this unqualified conclusion would be a 
 serious error. We have to bear in mind, first, that there 
 is gradual progress in that life, as in this. Monica intimates 
 more than once that she is purposely remaining in contact 
 with the world we know, in order that she may help her 
 parents, but that “ Sunny ” and others are in a more 
 advanced sphere. Such self-sacrifice brings its own reward. 
 It is her “ heaven ” thus to give and receive love, and this 
 is her service. In other spheres no less a service may be, 
 and doubtless is, rendered, but not just the same kind of 
 service. 
 
 Then, secondly, we must not suppose that the aspect 
 presented by these manifestations represents the whole 
 experience of Monica’s present life. In one of Mrs. 
 Richmond’s addresses (claiming to come from a spirit 
 source), she says :—“ I live in a sphere of thoughts, instead 
 of things; I am surrounded by atmospheres of minds, 
 instead of atmospheres of material bodies. I hold com¬ 
 munion with minds, and time and space form no com¬ 
 ponent parts in my spiritual existence except that portion 
 of each which is incident to my sympathetic relations with 
 the earth. On the side of life which is touching you I am 
 conscious of days and hours, I measure the years ; but on 
 the other side I have no knowledge of time; years might 
 go by unnoticed; the thought is born, but no time is 
 noted as an agent in its production ; I am in a world of 
 spirit.” . . . Further on she adds : “ Any form, any symbol, 
 any expression is used to reach a lower and inferior order 
 of mind. . . . Whatever sphere is yours to that you will 
 attain.” 
 
 14 
 
2 10 
 
 NOTES 
 
 “There is much food for thought in these reflections. 
 Each one “ goes to his own place.” Those who still need 
 symbols for their spiritual development will pass into an 
 environment in which they can be still symbolically taught. 
 But those who through experience, through aspiration and 
 through pain, have risen into a higher sphere of spiritual 
 life will find their home in things wholly spiritual; never¬ 
 theless it may be their delight to “absent” themselves 
 “from felicity awhile,” in order to lead and comfort and 
 inspire us, and bring us to share with them, by gradual 
 progression, the higher consciousness and the more perfect 
 experiences of spiritual life and bliss. 
 
 ****** 
 
 SOME THOUGHTS ON PRAYER. 
 
 The question may arise in the minds of some readers of 
 this book: Ought we to hold intercourse in the Unseen 
 with any but God? 
 
 All experiences in life have their attendant dangers; this 
 is the inevitable result of our limitations. We only appre¬ 
 hend life in fragments, and we never or rarely realise one 
 truth without partly, at least, losing sight of another. We 
 are constantly liable, in our daily life, to lose sight of 
 Divine rule and guidance in our use of the ordinary means 
 of living. In the use of food or money we readily forget 
 that really it is upon God and God alone that we depend, 
 that these are only ways in which God Himself sustains us. 
 In our relations with our fellow men we are similarly prone 
 to ignore God. The remedy lies, not in ignoring the 
 channels by which God ministers to us, but in realising 
 
NOTES 
 
 2 I I 
 
 His Presence in using them. We do not hesitate to apply 
 to the physician if we are ill, and yet we know, or should 
 know, that the real Healer is the Inscrutable, Infinite Life 
 in Whom we “ live and move and have our being.” 
 
 Our only security against a species of idolatry in our 
 relation to things or to our fellow men, in this life or in 
 another, is to have “ God in all our thoughts,” that is to 
 say, to realise our dependence upon Him, Who is the 
 Source of all, in all and through all, as well as above all. 
 When we can find God in all, as well as over all, then, and 
 only then, may we safely and freely use all the means 
 whereby His Life is ministered to us. Then do we 
 begin to understand the fuller meaning of the analogy used 
 by S. Paul when he spoke of those who have been brought 
 into the realisation of spiritual fellowship through Christ 
 as “ one body fitly framed and knit together through every 
 joint of the supply, according to the working in due 
 measure of each several part,” and so “ making increase of 
 the body unto the building up of itself in love.” * This 
 expresses the ideal for Humanity, and when we realise it 
 we are compelled to realise our dependence on one another 
 according to the Divine Order. We make no breach in 
 that order when we thus depend, and when we appeal to 
 friends both in the Seen and in the Unseen for sympathy 
 and help. If we believe in God it is in God we commune 
 with them, and this intercourse will not supplant our direct 
 intercourse with the Father of all Spirits. The words, 
 “ God bless them,” which form themselves so spontaneously 
 
 (Eph. iv. 16, R.V. marginal reading). 
 
2 12 
 
 NOTES 
 
 in our minds, are a witness to an innate consciousness that 
 our ultimate dependence is neither on them nor on our¬ 
 selves, but on the Eternal and Infinite Being whose Good¬ 
 ness and Love have been made known to us supremely in 
 Christ, and also, in varying degrees, in all noble souls who 
 have lighted for us the path of life. 
 
 If our friends are not bonds binding us to the Eternal 
 Goodness, then our relations with them are not worthy to 
 be described by that consecrated term, “ friendship.” But 
 if their magnetic attraction impels us to push upward, 
 leaving behind all that may hinder the perfection of our 
 communion with them, then they, in their measure, will do 
 for us what Jesus Christ came to do for all mankind, 
 namely, they will “ bring us to God.” We may define that 
 Name in various ways, but however we may define it, it 
 must stand for the Highest and Best, for LOVE in Its 
 perfection, unknown and yet known; for every heart that 
 loves knows something of God. Only “ he who loveth not, 
 knoweth not God, for God is Love.” 
 
 “Speak to Him thou, for He hears, and Spirit with 
 Spirit can meet, 
 
 Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands 
 and feet.” 
 
 The End 
 
 VV. Jolly, & Sons, Printers, Aberdeen. 
 
l_i tJKARV 
 
 *WAPSYCHOLOOY LAtOHAYKW 
 BUKC UNIVERSITY 
 
 
Duke University Libraries 
 
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