63. The form and substance of the table, the presence of metals, jewels, silk,
etc., the time of day, the amount of light, etc., are of no importance. The size of the
table may be of some moment; but only when the medium's power is insufficient to
vanquish the material resistance offered by the weight of the table employed. When the
medianimic power is strong, even in the case of a young child, it will suffice to move,
or even lift, an enormously heavy table; while, on the contrary, persons not endowed
with that peculiar power would produce no effect whatever on the lightest.
The moving of a table is usually preceded by a slight creaking, and by a sort of
shudder, that seems to occur in the fibres of the wood, and is felt under the hands of all
present. The table then appears to be making an effort to move; and a rotator
movement is gradually established, and is sometimes accelerated to such a degree, and
the table spins round so rapidly, that those present can only follow it with difficulty. In
some cases, when the movement has once been established, the experimenters may take
their
hands off the table, which continues to move in various directions, without any human
contact.
Sometimes the table tilts upon one Bide, poising itself; first on one leg, and then
on another, after which it gently subsides into its natural position. Sometimes it sways
backwards and forwards, as though imitating the pitching and rolling of a ship. At
other times-but, for this, the medium must be a powerful one-the table rises entirely
from the floor, and remains in the air, with nothing to rest on, rising, perhaps, to the
very ceiling, so that persons can stand or walk under it, and then gently lets itself down,
with a fluttering movement, like that of a sheet of paper, or falls to the floor with a
crash, and, perhaps, is broken by the fall. The sudden smashing of a solid oaken or
mahogany table, of a couple of hundred-weight or so, is surely sufficient proof that the
parties present are not the victims of any optical illusion.
