"Here is a strange story that the Duc d'Orleans told me one day in atete-a-tete at Marly, he having just run down from Paris before hestarted for Italy; and it may be observed that all the eventspredicted came to pass, though none of them could have been foreseenat the time. His interest in every kind of art and science was verygreat, and in spite of his keen intellect, he was all his life subjectto a weakness which had been introduced (with other things) from Italyby Catherine de Medici, and had reigned supreme over the courts of herchildren. He had exercised every known method of inducing the devilto appear to him in person, though, as he has himself told me, withoutthe smallest success. He had spent much time in investigating mattersthat touched on the supernatural, and dealt with the future."Now La Sery (his mistress) had in her house a little girl of eight ornine years of age, who had never resided elsewhere since her birth.She was to all appearance a very ordinary child, and from the way inwhich she had been brought up, was more than commonly ignorant andsimple. One day, during the visit of M. d'Orleans, La Sery producedfor his edification one of the charlatans with whom the duke had longbeen familiar, who pretended that by means of a glass of water hecould see the answer to any question that might be put. For thispurpose it was necessary to have as a go-between some one both youngand innocent, to gaze into the water, and this little girl was at oncesent for. They amused themselves by asking what was happening incertain distant places; and after the man had murmured some words overthe water, the child looked in and always managed to see the visionrequired of her."M. le duc d'Orleans had so often been duped in matters of this kindthat he determined to put the water-gazer to a severe test. Hewhispered to one of his attendants to go round to Madame de Nancre's,who lived close by, and ascertain who was there, what they were alldoing, the position of the room and the way it was furnished, andthen, without exchanging a word with any one, to return and let himknow the result. This was done speedily and without the slightestsuspicion on the part of any person, the child remaining in the roomall the time. When M. le duc d'Orleans had learned all he wanted toknow, he bade the child look in the water and tell him who was atMadame de Nancre's and what they were all doing. She repeated wordfor word the story that had been told by the duke's messenger;described minutely the faces, dresses and positions of the assembledcompany, those that were playing cards at the various tables, thosethat were sitting, those that were standing, even the very furniture!But to leave nothing in doubt, the Duke of Orleans despatched Nancreback to the house to verify a second time the child's account, andlike the valet, he found she had been right in every particular."As a rule he said very little to me about these subjects, as he knewI did not approve of them, and on this occasion I did not fail toscold him, and to point out the folly of being amused by such things,especially at a time when his attention should be occupied with moreserious matters. 'Oh, but I have only told you half,' he replied;'that was just the beginning,' and then he went on to say that,encouraged by the exactitude of the little girl's description ofMadame de Nancre's room, he resolved to put to her a more importantquestion, namely, as to the scene that would occur at the death of theking. The child had never seen any one who was about the court, andhad never even heard of Versailles, but she described exactly and atgreat length the king's bedroom at Versailles and all the furniturewhich was in fact there at the date of his death. She gave everydetail as to the bed, and cried out on recognising, in the arms ofMadame de Ventadour, a little child decorated with an order whom shehad seen at the house of Mademoiselle la Sery; and again at the sightof M. le duc d'Orleans. From her account, Madame de Maintenon, Fagonwith his odd face, Madame la duchesse d'Orleans, Madame la duchesse,Madame la princesse de Conti, besides other princes and nobles, andeven the valets and servants were all present at the king's deathbed.Then she paused, and M. le duc d'Orleans, surprised that she had nevermentioned Monseigneur, Monsieur le duc de Bourgogne, Madame laduchesse de Bourgogne, nor M. le duc de Berri, inquired if she did notsee such and such people answering to their description. Shepersisted that she did not, and went over the others for the secondtime. This astonished M. le duc d'Orleans deeply, as well as myself,and we were at a loss to explain it, but the event proved that thechild was perfectly right. This seance took place in 1706. Thesefour members of the royal family were then full of health andstrength; and they all died before the king. It was the same thingwith M. le prince, M. le duc, and M. le prince de Conti, whom shelikewise did not see, though she beheld the children of the two lastnamed; M. du Maine, his own (Orleans), and M. le comte de Toulouse.But of course this fact was unknown till eight years after."Science may conceivably come to study crystal visions, but veraciouscrystal visions will be treated like veracious dreams. That is tosay, they will be explained as the results of a chance coincidencebetween the unknown fact and the vision, or of imposture, conscious orunconscious, or of confusion of memory, or the fact of the crystalvision will be simply denied. Thus a vast number of well-authenticated cases of veracious visions will be required beforescience could admit that it might be well to investigate hithertounacknowledged faculties of the human mind. The evidence can never beother than the word of the seer, with whatever value may attach to thetestimony of those for whom he "sees," and describes, persons andplaces unknown to himself. The evidence of individuals as to theirown subjective experiences is accepted by psychologists in otherdepartments of the study. {66}
