The Henson Journals

[152]

Monday, September 1st, 1919.

A confused day, frittered away in letter–writing and interviews. After lunch Lilley walked with me for 1½ hours. He gave me an account of a visit which he had paid to the Percy Dearmers, in the course of which he had witnessed the process of automatic writing by Mrs Dearmer. She brought herself into the requisite condition by reading a book – a novel of Maurice Hewlett's: then her fingers began to move quickly, at first making erratic & meaningless marks, & by degrees writing intelligent English with great rapidity. She was quite ignorant of what she had written which was in fact a discussion of hope & prayer, coherent and good stuff of the kind which any educated & liberal theologian might compose. This she attributed to her first husband, who had given her to understand that he wished to communicate with her daily for half an hour 'when her mind was fresh.' Lilley watched the process with more interest since the supposition of fraud was wholly inadmissible. He concluded that there was some unknown natural process (self–suggestion) at work, but nothing that could justify the notion of communication with the dead.

Beattie came in to arrange about the service next Sunday. Wynne–Wilson came over for the letters, & stayed the night.

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