157. We call the writing thus obtained indirect
psychography, in opposition to direct or manual psy-
chography, obtained by the medium's self. To understand the last, it is necessary to notice what happens
in this operation. The spirit who is communicating acts on the medium, who, under this influence, directs
his arm and hand to write, without having (at least
in ordinary cases) the least consciousness of what he
writes ; the hand acts on the basket, and the basket on
the pencil. Thus, it is not the basket that becomes
intelligent; it is an instrument directed by an intelli-
gence ; it is, in reality, but a pencil-holder, an appen-
dage to the hand, an intermediary between the hand
and the pencil; suppress this intermediary, and hold
the pencil in the hand, and you will have the same
result, with a mechanism much more simple, since the
medium writes as he does in normal conditions, so
every one who writes with the aid of a basket, plan-
chette, or other object, could write directly.
Of all the means of communication, writing with the
hand— called by some involuntary writing — is, with-
out contradiction, the most simple, the easiest, and the
most convenient, because it requires no preparation,
and because, as in ordinary writing, it can be used for
the most extended development. We shall return to
this in speaking of mediums.
