Wallace, in his letter to Prof.  Barrett which follows, refers to Reichenbach’s experiments with certain sensitives who declared they saw luminosity from the poles of a magnet after they had been for some time in a perfectly darkened room.  Acting on Wallace’s suggestion, Prof.  Barrett constructed a perfectly darkened room and employed a large electro-magnet, the current for which could be made or broken by an assistant outside without the knowledge of those present in the darkened room.  Under these circumstances, and taking every precaution to prevent any knowledge of when the magnet was made active by the current, Prof.  Barrett found that two or three persons, out of a large number with whom he experimented, saw a luminosity streaming from the poles of the magnet directly the current was put on.  An article of Prof.  Barrett’s on the subject, with the details of the experiment, was published in the Philosophical Magazine, and also in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol.  I.).

* * * * *

TO PROF.  BARRETT

Rosehill, Dorking, December 18, 1876.

My dear Prof.  Barrett,—­ ...  I see you are to lecture at South Kensington the end of this month (I think), and if you can spare time to run down here and stay a night or two we shall be much pleased to see you, and I shall be greatly interested to have a talk on the subject of your paper, and hear what further evidence you have obtained.  I want particularly to ask you to take advantage of any opportunity that you may have to test the power of sensitives to see the “flames” from magnets and crystals, as also to feel the influence from them.  This is surely a matter easily tested and settled.  I consider it has been tested and settled by Reichenbach, but he is ignored, and a fresh proof of this one fact, by indisputable tests, is much needed; and a paper describing such tests and proofs would I imagine be admitted into the Proceedings of any suitable society.

You will have heard no doubt of the Treasury having taken up the prosecution of Slade.  Massey the barrister, one of the most intelligent and able of the Spiritualists (whose accession to the cause is due, I am glad to say, to my article in the Fortnightly), proposes a memorial and deputation to the Government protesting against this prosecution by the Treasury on the ground that it implies that Slade is an habitual impostor and nothing else, and that in face of the body of evidence to the contrary, it is an uncalled-for interference with the private right of investigation into these subjects.  On such general grounds as these I sincerely hope you will give your name to the memorial....—­Yours very faithfully,

A.R.  WALLACE.  TO PROF.  BARRETT

Rosehill, Dorking.  December 9, 1877.