959 C. [The following is from Dr. Hodgson's report in Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xiii. pp. 353-57].

I close this section of my Report by a brief account of the case of the friend whom I have called Mr. Hart, to whom in the first instance G. P. manifested (see 959 A), and who himself died in Naples on May 2nd, 1895. As in G. P.'s case, I substitute other names for the real ones. I had not been having regular series of sittings at this time, and heard incidentally on May 3rd that a cablegram had been received by a relative announcing the death of Hart. My assistant, Miss Edmunds, went out to Mrs. Piper at my request to arrange a sitting for me for the next day, May 4th, and to say that it was extremely important that I must have the sitting. I did not tell Miss Edmunds the reason, and she made a totally erroneous conjecture concerning it. The announcement of the death, however, with the place and cause of death (inflammation of the heart), appeared in a Boston evening paper on May 3rd. At the sitting on May 4th, after a few words from Phinuit, G. P. wrote and gave several messages from friends, and then asked what he could do for me. I replied that I had something for him to do, but could not tell him what it was.

He made a brief reference to his father and mother, and then to a friend of my own, and then came the following:-

Hold, H. See all of these people bringing a gentleman. [R. H. thinks this is unintentionally written, and doesn't repeat the words aloud].

Read ... do you see them, H.? (No.) He is coming here. I think I knew him. [R. H. can't decipher after think.] That I knew him. Come here and listen, H. He has been here before and I have seen him since I passed out. (Who is it?) John. "Do you see me, H.?" He says this. (No.) "What about my health? Oh, George, I am here, do not go away from me," . . . not to you, H., to me. (Yes, I understand.) "I thought I should see you once more before I came here." (What is the full name?) John H. (Give me the second name in full.) Did you speak? (Write the second name in full.) Hart. (That's right, Hart, old fellow.) "Will you listen to me, Hodg . . . [Much excitement in hand, and letters jumbled over. G. P. writing throughout, but at times apparently much perturbation introduced.] George knew I was here and met me, but I was too weak to come here and talk, H." . . . Yes, H., but the dear old fellow is short-breathed. ..." I expected to see you before I came here, H. (Yes, I hoped to have met you in the body again) but you see I was failing.

How are you?"

What [apparently from G. P. to Hart].

"I brought Ge--here first." (Yes, you did).

Yes, I do [from G. P. to Hart.] [More probably from Hart to G. P., in answer to some such question as "Do you mean me?" from G. P. to Hart 1898].

Oh, what about me, H.?

(He means your first messages came to him).

Oh, I see! but I was ... but (you were out of the body) yes. ..."I am a little dull, H., in my head." (Isn't the light good, to-day?) Yes, but it is I, H., my (you mean you are not in good trim, George?) No no' I Hart no, H. I Hart (I see, Hart is dull, Hart can't do so well.) [H. is the initial of Hart's real name. 1898.] [Thump with fist. Much thumping with fist during sitting, indicative of assent at different times].

The above is transcribed from the type-written copy of the record of the sitting, and the quotation marks were doubtless inserted by myself to make the record clearer. There was much confusion in the rest of the sitting. The cause of death he stated to be inflammation of the stomach, which was not correct, though he had suffered much from this for a year before his death. I may have known of this, but was not consciously aware of it. I knew that he had been ill in Europe, but when I last heard from him several months previously, I understood that he had recovered. There were confused references to the Howards. He referred to two other friends in Europe (whose names had been given in previous sittings by G. P.), mentioned several names unknown to me, and referred to incidents in connection with them, as well as other matters, none of which, for family reasons, I have yet been able to verify. I think it probable that they will be partially, but only partially correct. There seemed to be glimpses here and there of a clear consciousness.

He wanted to know if it was Paris (where he had stayed some time while in Europe). I said it was Arlington Heights.

"Arlington, I remember Arlington - did you not take me here? (Yes, this is the very room where George came to you.) Oh yes, I had his [article of G. P. specifically mentioned] and my watch. . . . Will they send my body on to New York? (I don't know.) I hope they will. They are now talking about it." [I learned later that the desirability of taking the body to America was discussed]

When I asked, "Why didn't George tell me to begin with?" he replied, "Because I told him to let me come and tell myself." This was like Hart, and so was the statement quoted above that it was he who brought G. P. first.

At this sitting, and several also in the following week, during which the confusion continued, a knowledge was shown of various matters known to me which were specially suggestive of Hart, references to friends and relatives, presents which he had given to me, jokes about cigars, magazines which he had entrusted to me just before he went to Europe three years previously, etc, but of course I was anxious to obtain information concerning events in Europe of which I was entirely ignorant, especially any that occurred just before his death; and I have such on record, but have not yet succeeded in discovering how much correct statement they include. Between the first and second sitting it occurred to me that the announcement of his being there to communicate was "led up to" by G. P., and at the second sitting, when Hart wrote part of the time himself, I said, "I suppose last time you thought I took your coming very coolly." The hand wrote excitedly: "You seemed very inconsiderate to what you used to do." I explained that I had heard of his death by a cablegram which had been received by his "brother-in-law." He then wrote the name of the brother of his sister s husband.