My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

MESMERISM TO SPIRITUALISM 337receive a friendly communication from the Mr.Wallace of my friend Darwin's Origin of Species/*and my gratification is greatly heightened on findingthat he is one of the few men of science who admitthe verity of the phenomena of spiritualism. I havefor many years known that these phenomena are real,as distinguished from impostures ; and it is not ofyesterday that I concluded they were calculated toexplain much that has been doubtful in the past, andwhen fully accepted, revolutionize the whole frame ofhuman opinion on many important matters.*******'How provoking it has often appeared to me thatitseems so impossible, with such a man, for instance,as Huxley, to obtain a moment's patience for thissubject — so infinitely transcending all those ofphysical science in the potential results !" My idea is that the term ' supernatural ' is agross mistake.We have only to enlarge our conceptionsof the natural, and all will be right." I am, dear sir," Yours very sincerely," Robert Chambers."In the latter part of the year, while attending themeeting of the British Association at Dundee, Ivisited St. Andrews, and after a geological excursionunder the guidance of Sir A. Geikie, and a collationwith the university authorities, at which RobertChambers was present, I had the great pleasure ofan hour's conversation with him in his own house.During the years 1870-80 I had many opportunitiesof witnessing interesting phenomena in the housesof various friends, some of which I have not madepublic. Early in 1874 I was invited by John Morley,z