Fate ofthe World JP 15
the girls with plenty of fresh plates, but the girls had to admit, sadly, that
although the nature spirits would "come out" and approach them, they
retreated almost at once with a sort of gesture of dis1ike.A~ a reason for
this failure, Hodson concluded that the nature spirits were no longer
able to use Frances's aura to strengthen their own forms and thus failed
to appear on the plates.
In a letter to Doyle, Gardner surmised that Frances's attainment of
puberty-she was now fourteen-could be the reason for her failure to
obtain new photographs. "Sufficiently dense material of a suitable na-
ture was not to be had," wrote Gardner, "or rather, was unacceptable."
According to Gardner, in order to produce a visible photograph, the
"associated aura" of the two girls was needed. Neither girl was ap-
parently powehl enough to produce the required effect by herself.
Gardner explained that it had evidently been a very delightful sensa-
tion for the nature spirits to take Frances's auric material, or ectoplasm,
in order to densify their own bodies. "The fairies," said Gardner, "had
probably done this ofien, before the camera was used at all.The tangi-
ble and concrete clarity of shape and outline obtained was evidently an
enjoyable experience, resembling a stimulating bath. It was while using
her aura that the forms came within the optical field of the camera, as
they were then much denser than their normal structure."
Gardner believed that had anyone been near the girls at the time
they successfully photographed the fairies, they, too, might have been
able to see them dancing. Gardner further explained that the clairvoy-
ance of both Elsie and Frances was altogether another matter from
Frances's mediumistic qualities, and their viewing the fairies was due to
the use of what he termed their "etheric eyes." He described the word
etheric as denoting "a field of electromagnetic activity in which many
bio-chemical transformations take place."
According to Gardner the girls could thus continue to see the
fairies even when photography was no longer possible. "Everyone,"
said Gardner, "possesses these etheric eyes; they resemble concave disks
behind and around the eyeball, something like a saucer-shade behind
an electric bulb.The etheric discs endow the physical eyes with vital-
ity and fire, but normally do not function independentlywhen etheric