R.P.F. Mathieu
Former army chief pharmacist and member of several scientific societies
Mr. Mathieu, deceased on February 12th, 1864 was very well-known in the Spiritist environment of Paris where he used to attend several meetings in which he took active part. He was involved with the Spiritist phenomena since its origin. We met him when we were initiating our preliminary works. The nature of his mind led him to doubt. A long time after he had carried out experiments himself with the planchette he still refused to acknowledge the action of the Spirits. Later on his ideas changed and he was no longer so radically against the idea of reincarnation.
Mr. Mathieu only hardly and with time would admit something that was not the way he saw things but he was not a systematic adversary and although not totally convinced by the doctrines found in The Spirits’ Book we must pay tribute to his controversy since he has never distanced himself from the boundaries of civility. The kindness and honorability of his character made him appreciated by all of those that met him and he shall be missed. He died at the moment when he was giving the finishing touch in his important book about the Convulsionaries that has just been published by Mr. Didier & Co.
