Observations placeholder
Monsieur Petit d'Athis, hypnotized by Mousieur du Potet, reads with his eyes closed
Identifier
022715
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Flammarion, C., Carroll, L, - Death and its mystery: before death
192 death and its mystery
Monsieur Ribes, a member of the Academy, presented a catalogue which he drew from his pocket. The somnambulist (it was Monsieur Petit d'Athis, hypnotized by Mousieur du Potet), after several efforts which seemed to tire him, read quite distinctly: ….
The last words were printed in very small characters. They placed under his eyes,(which, of course were shut) a passport; he recognized it and called it a “pass-terrain"; they substituted for the passport a permission to carry arms which, as we know, almost exactly resembles a passport, and they showed it to him on the blank side. Monsieur Petit could only recognise that it was a framed piece of paper very much like the other. They turned it over, and after a few minutes of hesitation he said what it was and read very distinctly these words: "By law" and at the left, 'Permission to carry arms."
They showed him an open letter, he said he could not read it, as he did not understand English. It was in fact, a letter written in that language.
All these experiments greatly fatigued Monsieur Petit. They let him rest a little, then, as he was fond of cards, they suggested that, in order to rest himself, he should take a hand at cards. Monsieur Reynal, former Inspector of the university, played a hundred points at piquet with him, and lost. Several times they tried unsuccessfully to trick him into a mistake by changing the cards.