My dear Darwin

I enclose the revised statement about the curious trick in D^r Butler’s family.¹ I questioned his widow only a fortnight before her death all his 7 children his son’s wife & her 2 nurses.² There is no contradictory evidence whatever.

Now about M^r. Crookes   I have been twice at his house in Séance with Miss Fox who puts her powers as a friend, entirely at his disposal & once at a noisy but curious seance Sergeant Cox!³

I can only say, as yet, that I am utterly confounded with the results—and am very disinclined to discredit them. Crookes is working deliberately and well.

There is not the slightest excitement during the sittings, but they are conducted in a chatty easy way. & though a large part of what occurs might be done if the mediums were free, yet, I dont see how it can be done when they are held hand & foot, as is the case.

I shall go on with the matter as far as I can, but I see it is no use to try to enquire thoroughly unless you have (as Crookes has) complete possession of a first class medium.—⁴ The whole rubbish of spiritualism seems to me to stand & fall together. All orders are given by raps. Levitation—luminous appearances hands. —writings.—& the like are all part of one complete system.

The following is confidential at present. What will interest you very much, is that Crookes has needles (of some material not yet divulged) which he hangs in vacuo in little bulbs of glass.

When the finger is approached the needle moves, sometimes by attraction sometimes by repulsion. It is not affected at all when the operator is jaded but it moves most rapidly when he is bright & warm & comfortable, after dinner. Now different people have different power over the needle & Miss Fox has extraordinary power. I moved it myself, & saw Crookes move it, but I did not see Miss Fox (mem the warmth of the hand cannot radiate through glass)

Crookes believes he has hold of quite a grand discovery & told me & shewed me what I have described, quite confidentially but I asked him if I might say something about it to you & he gave permission.

I ca’nt write at length to describe more particularly the extraordinary things of my last seance on Monday. I had hold in one of my hands of both hands of Miss Fox’s companion who also rested both her feet on my instep & Crookes had equally firm possession of Miss Fox. The other people present were his wife & her mother⁵ & all hands were joined yet paper went skimming in the dark about the room & after the word “Listen” was rapped out the pencil was heard (in the complete darkness) to be writing at a furious rate under the table, between Crookes & his wife & when that was over & we were told (rapped) to light up the paper was written over — all 4 sides of a bit of marked note paper (marked for the occasion & therefore known to be blank when we began) with very respectable platitudes— rather above the level of Martin Tupper’s composition and signed “Benjamin Franklin”!!⁶

The absurdity on the one hand & the extraordinary character of the thing on the other quite staggers me.

Wondering what I shall yet see & learn I remain at present quite passive with my eyes & ears open | Very sincerely your’s Francis Galton