CHAPTER VIII.

 

SEANCE WITH MISS HELEN BERRY AT ONSET.

 

"Spirits are never finely touched

But to fine issues; nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence. But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines Herself the glory of the creditor, Both thanks and use."

 

AT one of Miss Helen Berry's seances at Onset in the summer of 1885, there came a young female spirit, apparently about sixteen years old. She took me by both hands and led me up to the cabinet, where she greeted me very warmly. As she could bear more light than most of the forms, I had no difficulty in studying her face and figure. She was a little below the average height, lithe and graceful in all her movements. A cloud of dark golden hair drifted around her neck and shoulders, falling far below her waist. Her dress was pure white, of a rich fabric, so thin that it revealed a form beautiful as the finest Greek statue. She appeared more like a dream of ideal life, than a creature who had ever walked the earth.

 

There are moments of exultation in the life of every artist, when his soul reaches out to visions of great beauty. No canvas or marble can record these visions. In his associations with the world, be may, at times, catch glimpses that remind him of what he has seen, but nowhere does he realize, as a whole, the perfection of those forms that have allured him from his ordinary surroundings.

 

Was this charming creature one of those beings who had haunted my dreams?—who, in the still hours of the night, had sometimes dispelled the darkness by the glow of her presence?

 

If I hesitated a moment in recognizing her, it was because she had never before appeared clothed in so beautiful a form, or if so I had failed to appreciate it. Perhaps it was due, in part, to the negative condition I was in, which allowed a freer and more perfect development, undisturbed by any mental action on my part; and this idea is strengthened by the fact that, in all my connection with these seances, what I most desired to obtain seldom came until after I had become more or less indifferent about it. As I stood beside this form, I passed my fingers through her long silken tresses, and put my hand upon her finely formed head. As she laid her face to mine, she said in the most earnest yet tender tones, "You did not think I would come." This was true; tired with my journey and the sultry heat, I was indifferent to taking an active part in the seance. I was, how ever, in a listless way, interested in what came to others, and had given up expecting that anything would come to me; and yet, had I reflected for a moment, I should have known that at tiny true seance, where I was present and the conditions favorable, it would have been hardly possible for her to keep away. The consciousness of her presence at other times than in the seance-room is no uncommon occurrence with me.

 

In the seance-room, where she comes so strong and substantial, I have often put forth little playful, but somewhat provocative remarks, hi order to draw out, as far as possible, an expression of her character. Sometimes these things excited her, but never, except for the moment, disturbed the harmony between us.

 

At this interview I was not in a condition of mind likely to attract spirits, whether in or out of the flesh. In the course of conversation, I dropped a remark that disturbed her. She grasped my hand nervously, her chest rose and fell with increased respiration, and without making any reply she retreated to the cabinet.

 

Thinking it possible that I might have displeased her, and that she would not return, I went to my seat. A moment afterward, I was surprised by her rushing out and kneeling down in front of me. Throwing her bare arms around my neck and pulling my head down to her, that others might not listen to what was said, she poured forth, in the most earnest and impassioned strain, her thoughts; talking as only a woman can talk under the highest inspiration.

 

I had long since abandoned all doubts of the existence of these beings, and had been, in a quiet and affectionate way, studying the different phases of character manifested by them. Like many others who have investigated this subject, I had met with things which. I could not understand or harmonize with my experience. This was leading me to conclusions that I intuitively felt were not true, and yet I could not extricate myself from the network of apparent evidence that surrounded me.

 

That she understood my mental condition, was evinced by the fact that her whole force and energy were directed to this one subject. Her form trembled and vibrated with emotion as she uttered sentence after sentence in clear explanation of what had perplexed me. Raising her head, and tossing back her long hair, she grasped both my bands, and, with a face beaming with light, said:

 

"It seems strange to you, but what can I do? We are subject to conditions; and if I come at all, it must be in harmony with them. There are spheres and circles we cannot penetrate, if the controlling influence is against us. We are still human, still yearning for affection,— that human, love which is the silken cord that binds us all. What would you not do to reach those dear to your heart? You understand me now."

 

There was a remarkably childlike simplicity in the way she unburdened her mind, giving free expression to her feelings, bearing me mentally along with her, until I was lost to everything else. That is all. There are thoughts and feelings which no language can express.

 

Like the silvery notes of a sweet song that echo in the distance, they revel in their freedom from restraint, and forever elude our grasp.

 

I know the breath that fans my cheek, The thoughts, the words I cannot speak, The arms that round me twine.

What need of words when thoughts are told In light that gleams like burnished gold, With pulse that throbs to mine?

 

Never before had I listened to such eloquence. Every word, with its rich intonation, is indelibly stamped upon my memory, and I regret that, for personal reasons, it can not be recorded here.

 

Exhausted by her long effort, as she rose and led me to the cabinet, I noticed that her form was rapidly changing. Suddenly, like the extinguishing of a light, she passed into that invisible space whence she came.

 

There were no, "test conditions" here; and there might have been a dozen confederates, for aught I can prove. It is barely possible that this delightful being belonged on this side of life; but whether on this side or the other, in the fulness of my artistic, nature, I thanked God that such beauty could exist anywhere. The evidence of truthfulness in what came to me at this seance rests on something stronger than barred windows and locked doors;—it was in the complete embodiment of the character, both mentally and physically.

 

The seance closed, and I returned to Glen Cove by the road that skirts the shore. The south wind played with the blue waters of the bay, throwing lip myriads of little waves that danced in the moonlight. As I stood gazing upon the sea, baring my feverish brow to the cooling breeze, I felt that my whole nature was flowing out into a vast circle of being. Thoughts, words, feelings, all blended with the mellow light which flooded the scene. If I was not supremely happy, it was not from lack of harmony with everything around me.

 

There is ever a tinge of sadness in the background of life. With the beauty of the waves comes the low moan as they break upon the shore. With the warmth of friendship, comes the pain of parting and, sadder still, that relentless fate that hurries us from those we love into the dim, Uncertain future. The sands of life are golden only where thought diffuses itself without shadows, and the light that charms us flows from the object of our affections.

 

It was late, and I retired for the night—closed my eyes, but not to sleep. The walls of my room disappeared, and my vision swept over an undefined and illimitable space. Before me like a mist, but perfectly outlined, glided the beautiful being who only a few minutes before had come so close to me. Soon she was joined by others, lightly drifting, floating through the air.

 

As round the mountain's craggy steep The trailing vapors curve and sweep,

So hand in hand and side by side,

Through space unmeasured, soft they glide.

 

Now there, now here—so fax, so near— With outstreched arms they beckoned me, And, like the murmur of the sea, Their voices broke upon my ear.

 

As they passed near me, a hand was laid upon my face; I started, sprang up, looked around; there was no one in the room. All was still save the low surging of the tide that swept the beach below.

CHAPTER IX.

 

SEANCE AT THE BERRY SISTERS' IN BOSTON.

 

IN looking over my notes, my attention is strongly drawn to the many remarkable things I have witnessed at the Berry Sisters'. As I have given a drawing of Mrs. Fay's cabinet, and its surroundings, which I know to be honest, I give a carefully drawn plan of the seance-room here (see next page). It will be seen that this is one of the most simple and truthful arrangements possible, and the thanks of every investigator are due to the able manager and controls for placing the cabinet in a way that every one can see at a glance that a confederate is out of the question. I have attended several seances at this place since this arrangement has been adopted; and, so far from injuring the manifestations, they are, if anything, improved.

 

At these seances, when I have been present, Bertha has materialized outside of the cabinet, more than three feet from it, and at least six feet from the entrance, and on one occasion so close to me that she brushed me with her garments as she rose.

 

On Saturday, Nov. 7, 1885, I attended in company with my wife and little daughter—Mrs. A. E. Newton, of Arlington also making one of the party. Although the atmosphere was unfavorable, the manifestations were good, there often being two forms out at once, talking with their friends. My seat was on the right, facing the cabinet, and very near to it. Before the seance commenced, by the request of Mr. Albro, the manager, I locked the door at the farther end of the room; and when this was done, be offered me the privilege of sitting beside it. I declined, preferring to take part in the seance.

 

I will state, however, for the benefit of those who have any doubt about this arrangement, that the seat I occupied commanded a full view of this door, and that I unlocked it after the seance, and can state positively that it was impossible for the door to have been opened without my knowing it. Again, the cabinet is so constructed that if a confederate had entered, he would have been obliged to go around to the front, in full view of the audience, before he could have passed into the cabinet. Those persons whose fertile brains are always leading them into absurd conclusions, will have to seek for some other explanation than that of a confederate here.

 

In the course of the seance, I had warning of Bertha's presence, and requested Mrs. Newton, who sat beside me, to watch the left­hand corner, near the cabinet. In a few minutes there appeared a soft light on the carpet, near the wall, and almost instantly Bertha came up in full view of all.

 

Springing forward and taking my little daughter by both hands, she came briskly across the room to where I sat. After our usual greeting I introduced her to Mrs. Newton, who detained her for some time, my wife coming forward and joining in the conversation. I have described this beautiful spirit so fully in the preceding chapter that it is unnecessary to repeat it here.

 

Many persons will find it desirable to make themselves familiar with the different phases of materialization as expressed through different mediums; but nowhere else will they find more strength combined with delicacy and refinement, as shown both in the beauty of the forms and their affectionate bearing. Neither in the controls, the forms, nor the surroundings, is there anything here to offend the most fastidious taste. These seances appear to have advanced beyond the mere fact of materialization, offering to those whose magnetic relations are in accord with conditions, a more attractive expression of social and mental character than is frequently met with. As Mrs. Newton seemed quite interested in Bertha, I felt desirous to know what impression was made upon one so well prepared to form a just opinion on such matters. To my expressed wish she kindly responded with the following statement:—

 

"ARLINGTON, MASS., Nov. 11, 1885. MY DEAR MR. BRACKETT,—

 

"In accordance with your request that I would give you my observations and impressions in regard to the materialized apparition claiming to be your spirit-niece, Bertha, I will state that I think her the most intelligent and sprightly re­embodiment of a spirit that I ever saw,—and I have seen a great many within the last ten years. At all events, I am confident no one who sees her can imagine her to be either a made-up figure, a lifeless effigy, or the medium in disguise.

 

"At Mrs. Fay's seance, where I first saw her, she showed, on meeting you, that spiritual illumination in the face which joy and gladness give to us when we meet those we love, after an absence. She had also those fine intonations of the voice that can spring only from the affections. Can it be, said I to myself, that this beautiful girl, so charming and graceful, so full of life and intelligence, is truly a spirit? Just as the thought had formed itself in my mind, she had turned toward the cabinet and vanished before the curtain. But hardly a minute had elapsed before she sprang out again from the cabinet, like a new-born seraph, and, opening her hands before all the company present, her arms being entirely bare to the shoulder, she extended them above her head, began to manipulate something apparently in the air, and soon handed me a most exquisite rose, with the moisture oozing from the stem where it had apparently been twisted off from the stock.

 

"When at Miss Helen Berry's seance, a few days later, I had the assurance made doubly sure that she was not a being of earth, by seeing, about three feet from the cabinet, a small, white, cloud-like substance expand until it was four or five feet high, when suddenly from it the full, round, sylph-like form of Bertha stepped forward. Seeing her little cousin and namesake (Bertha Brackett, nine years old), she took, both the child's hands in hers, drew her from her chair, and, after greeting her affectionately, led her playfully across the room to where we were sitting. There I studied every lineament of her face. Her hair had all the warmth and glossiness of that of a healthy girl of eighteen. She said to me, 'Don't you think I am very strong to-day?' and, putting both hands in mine, allowed me to caress and converse with her freely. 'Do you remember you materialized a rose for me last week?' asked. 'Yes,' she replied, 'and you have it now at home.' This was true.

 

"Mrs. Brackett called my attention to the length and beauty of Bertha's hair, and asked her if she could not make it longer if she wished to. 'Yes,' she laughingly replied; 'but it will grow shorter if I don't get to the cabinet soon!' and, with a graceful adieu, she tripped across the room, leading her little cousin into the cabinet with her, where she dematerialized in the child's presence.

 

Since witnessing the foregoing, I have reread your account of the seance with Miss Berry at Onset, and I feel quite safe in saying your description of Bertha is not overdrawn. She certainly exhibits an individuality intensely human, and yet not of ordinary flesh-and-blood, as shown by her sudden appearance and disappearance. She proves beyond a doubt that, given the same conditions and opportunities to other spirits that you have afforded her, they may come with the same fulness of life and strength.

 

"I cannot refrain from expressing the hope that some of the members of the Seybert Commission will come to Boston and study Bertha—see her materialize three feet from the cabinet, as we did— hear her converse intelligently—see the divinely moulded form—and then witness, as we did, her sudden change to another sphere of being, doubtless to engage in pleasant duties among that deathless throng who are ever learning, and who will unfold to us, if we will become receptive, the laws of entrancement and of materialization. It seems scarcely possible that these gentlemen would fail to be convinced that "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in materialistic philosophy.'

 

"Very truly yours,

CHAPTER X.

 

MATERIALIZED FORMS—
HOW SHALL WE MEET THEM?

 

YEARS ago I had a friend who was generous to a fault. He freely gave wherever he thought there was need. With all his liberality, he was singularly successful in business, and when he passed to the other life left a large fortune, which was mainly distributed to charitable institutions.

 

Walking with him one day, we passed some beggars sitting on the sidewalk,—pitiful specimens of humanity, with large placards in front of them, detailing the misfortunes that had befallen them. One, not over thirty years old, had lost a leg in the battle of Waterloo; another had lost his eyes by an eruption of Vesuvius which must have occurred twenty years before he was born. The cards must have been heirlooms, handed down at least one generation. These little discrepancies apparently made no impression on my friend, who emptied his pockets of his spare change, giving something to each of them. As we passed on, I said to him, "Do you know that these poor fellows were up before the police court a few days ago for being engaged in a drunken brawl?" I shall never forget the expression of his face as he turned to me and said, "it is my duty as well as my pleasure to give; the responsibility of using it is theirs, not mine."

 

Many years had come and gone, and the memory of my friend had almost faded from my mind. I was engaged in studying materialization. As my custom is to take one thing at a time I did not trouble myself about the quality. I did not even propose to myself what I might do afterward; but did propose, if there was any truth in it, to so clearly demonstrate it that no doubts should come up as a disturbing element in any subsequent investigations I might make.

 

When I had finished my investigations on this point, I found that I stood on the shore of a boundless sea of speculation and uncertainty. I could not help asking myself the question, "What are these forms that, for a few minutes only, clothe themselves in objective reality, bearing the semblance of my friends, blended with the likeness of the medium? Are these my father, my mother, my wife, my brother? Is this the rollicking boy who made the hills echo with his laughter, now whispering in my ear so low that I can scarcely hear him?"

 

In the midst of this perplexity, this whirl of unanswered questions, the voice of my old friend came to me: "Don't stare these sensitive beings out of countenance but (rive to them all that you can of your better nature, and you shall have your reward. If there is a possibility of mistake as to identity, if you are in any way deceived, the responsibility is theirs, not yours. In all true seances, if the forms are not what they are supposed to be, they are, at least, beings from another life, seeking strength and comfort from association with you, else they would not come. Let not a shadow of doubt or distrust bar their approach. Have no awe, no reserve, no fear as to what they are, and they will blend into your soul, become a part of your life. In the true relations which you hold to them will be the fulness of what they bring to you."

 

With a nature naturally skeptical, and a mind long trained to a close comparison of objects, it was not easy to accept this advice. What, then, was to be done? It was plain that I must move on, or abandon all that I had so successfully demonstrated.

 

I could not launch out into the endless speculation of "psychical research;" I had not time for that; so I decided to follow the course which had been suggested, to me. I would lay aside all reserve, and greet these forms as dear departed friends, who had come from afar, and had struggled hard to reach me.

 

From that moment the forms, which had seemed to lack vitality, became animated with marvellous strength. They sprang forward to greet me; tender arms were clasped around me; forms that had been almost dumb during my investigations now talked freely; faces that had worn more the character of a mask than of real life now glowed with beauty. What claimed to be my niece, ever pleasant and earnest in aiding me to obtain the knowledge I was seeking overwhelmed me with demonstrations of regard. Throwing her arms around me, and laying her head upon my shoulder, she looked up and said, "Now we can all come so near you!" Her wonderful spontaneity of character at once asserted itself, and has ever since been the delight of all who have come in contact with her.

 

My association with these forms is of the most simple character.; it is that of children with each other: we realize the fall force of the Master's words, "Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Science may wrangle over the supposed movements of molecules and atoms, and the correlation of forces; may dissect the bird to find its song; but love alone shall set the boundaries of knowledge. The key that unlocks the glories of another life is pure affection, simple and confiding as that which prompts the child to throw its arms around its mother's neck.

 

To those who pride themselves upon their intellectual attainments, this may, seem to be a surrender of the exercise of what they call the higher faculties. So far from this being the case, I can truly, say that until I adopted this course, sincerely and without reservation, I learned nothing about these things. Instead of clouding my reason and judgment, it opened my mind to a clearer and more intelligent perception of what was passing before me. That spirit of gentleness, of loving kindness, which, more than anything else, crowns with eternal beauty the teachings of the Christ, should find its full expression in our association with these beings.

PART II.
OPINIONS AND THEORIES.

THE credulous have their weak points, but the belief of unbelievers surpasses all credulity.

 

There is no position a man can assume so weak as that of extreme skepticism in the face of fair evidence.

HEAT, light, electricity, and force are common things. We accept them as matters of everyday life; our familiarity with them prevents surprise. In our attempts to discover or learn what they are we have utterly failed. All that we have found is how they act under certain conditions. They are the elements necessary to the existence of physical life, and by cultivating their acquaintance we have made friends with them. They walk beside us, lending a helping hand in everything; still they are our masters—we know them not. For the moment we comprehend a, thing we are greater than the thing we comprehend: it is behind us, not in front.

 

Those who are seeking to know how these spirit-forms are created will seek in vain, for there is no language by which the process can be conveyed to our understanding. When it is said that they come out of invisible space, and depart in the same way, all is said that can be in explanation of their advent among us.

CHAPTER I.
A GLANCE BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

 

The nature of man is, to a certain extent, dual. The brain is divided into two parts; there are two sets of nerves crossing each other so that an injury received on the left side of the brain affects the right side of the body, and vice versa. While the duplicated organs are capable of separate action anatomically suggesting two distinct beings, they are united so as to form a complete union of both. There is, however, a preponderance of brain or will-force force in the left side of the head, giving a more complete control over the right side of the body, and, in some instances, a manifestation of character, which would indicate that each side of the brain might act in alternation, and somewhat independently of the other.

 

The force which the brain exerts over its own organism and that of others is not understood. Could it be explained, all the phenomena of the material and spiritual would, probably, lie within reach. A person with a strong will may possess a magnetic power enabling him to throw another, of a peculiar temperament, into a trance, in which that person is physically insensible to everything except what comes through the sensibility of the magnetizer.

 

The material bodies are brought en rapport with each other, or under the law of individual control, and the magnetizer can direct the physical movements of the other very much as he would his own, leaving the spirit of the entranced person free to act, for the time being, independently of its own body. If it has the strength or power to control other sensitives, it may manifest itself in remote places, either clairvoyantly or by materialization more or less tangible. It can, however, do this much more perfectly in close proximity to its own body. Such a materialization is a counterpart of the entranced person; is, in fact, the spirit of that person clothed in a body not strictly its own, but composed of material largely drawn from it. The existence of this phenomenon has been more or less known through all ages, and is probably the origin of that mythical story of the creation of woman, where the Lord is said to have caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.

 

Among all nations, traditions of what is known as "the double" exist. Though often classed as a vulgar superstition, it nevertheless finds expression in the works of some of the best intellects. It plays an important part in the progress and development of all physical seances, since it is the first indication of true materialization. Furthermore, the `,substance composing this counterpart is, to a certain extent, the nucleus around which all spirits materializing are developed or clothed.

 

The form appears to issue from the left side, but in reality it comes from the whole circumference of the body, in a rapidly-moving luminous vapor, which quickly consolidates into a separate individualized form, complete in its organization, and capable, for the time, of physical and mental action. Such manifestations are what is understood to be the production of living forms by means of living matter given off from the body of the medium.

 

The process is more or less affected by the surroundings, and is ever the result of more intelligent beings cooperating with the spirit of the entranced person.

 

The spirit occupying this temporary body can, when proper relations have been established with it, surrender it into the control of other spirits, the same as it surrendered its other body into the control of the magnetizer, and from its peculiar structure they can contract, expand, or change it to suit his or her requirements. So long as it remains in the possession of the spirit of the entranced person, the likeness to it is maintained; but the moment it passes into the possession of another, the resemblance will depend entirely upon the strength of the control, and the knowledge the spirit has in shaping the form like to that borne in earth-life. From these conditions materialization may broaden into more complex forms, always depending upon the currents of magnetic thought, and that central will-force that sweeps into its vortex all atoms necessary to its use.

 

Until the spirits acquire more than ordinary strength by frequent manifestations, or by favorable surroundings, this will probably be found to be the usual way in which they make themselves visible to us. These conditions necessitate more or less resemblance to the medium, both in form and intonations of voice.

 

I have seen hundreds and thousands of materialized forms; have seen, in a few instances, personation, where the medium was taken possession of, brought out, and controlled as in trance-mediumship; I have seen what appeared to be the double of the medium, so thoroughly like, that I should have testified that it was the medium had I not seen it dematerialize, or been taken into the cabinet by the form and found the entranced medium there; but I have never seen a single instance of transfiguration, unless the double of the medium be considered as such. The fact that Mrs. Fairchild stands outside, by the cabinet, during the seance, in full view of the audience; that at the Berry Sisters', and at Mrs. Sawyer's, the spirits lead the medium out of the cabinet; that at Mrs. Fay's the forms often take the visitors into the cabinet and show them not only the medium but the materialized control,—are things which the skeptic will find very hard to explain. If they are not evidence of the existence of these phenomena, it is difficult to understand what evidence is.

 

To a sensitive person, with even a limited experience, the character of a seance is easily determined. There is always in the true materialized forms a decided lack of some of the elements that make up the magnetism of what we call real life; something not easily described, but readily perceived by a person thus constituted. To such a one, neither a confederate nor a personation by the medium can pass undetected.

CHAPTER II.
EXPOSURES OF MEDIUMS.

 

THERE have often been sensational reports circulated claiming to be "exposures" of materialization, but when traced to their origin they have generally been found to be unreliable, and never the result of careful study or scientific investigation. The ungentlemanly and in some instances brutal conduct of the parties engaged in the "exposures" has been such as to discredit their statements, and in no case have they produced evidence that would be considered valid in any court.

 

If it be true that the garments used to clothe the forms are materialized and dematerialized in the cabinet, any sudden disturbance of the magnetic conditions of the circle might arrest the process of dematerialization, leaving the draperies intact. Persons not understanding this would naturally charge fraud upon the medium, on rushing into the cabinet and finding them there. This has led some mediums to submit to a thorough examination of their clothes before entering the cabinet, going so far, at times, as to allow themselves to be dressed entirely in dark clothing without a, particle of white upon them, and giving every opportunity to prove that there were no concealed draperies in the room. These arrangements, while taking up valuable time that otherwise would have been devoted to the seance, have never interfered with the manifestations.

 

The most serious and perhaps the most generally believed charges made against these seances is that confederates are used to personate the forms. Passing by the many knotty questions which cannot possibly be explained on the theory of confederates, and considering it in a business point of view, there are difficulties connected with such an arrangement that might in the end prove disastrous.

 

A employs B to personate, at one dollar a seance. B finds that A is making money, and, being rascally enough to engage in such work, would have no scruples in demanding, under threats of exposure, the lion's share of the proceeds.

 

A is completely in his power, and has no alternative but to submit. This, and the outside pressure which would be likely to be brought, to bear upon B to make public the fraud, would render it almost impossible to carry on the deception for any great length of time.

 

Again, there are often from fifty to sixty distinct individual forms appearing at each seance, requiring as many confederates to represent them. As the circle is rarely composed of more than twenty-five persons, would it pay to keep so many actors for so small an audience? If people who listen to these accusations would reflect for a moment, they would see that the theory of confederates is not a very plausible one, and it might do much toward relieving mediums from the unjust suspicions to which, through lack of understanding on the part of the public, they are more or less obliged to submit.

 

All honest mediums will cheerfully do all they can to satisfy the public that there is no deception, and that the cabinet and its surroundings are such as to preclude the possibility of confederates. Any other arrangements are unnecessary, and, to say the least, suspicious. These things are new and strange to most people, and they very naturally expect strong evidence; and they are right, provided their desire is expressed in a kindly and gentlemanly manner.

 

Any one at all familiar with these seances cannot help seeing that there are some mediums and their controls who are largely responsible for the feeling of distrust more or less manifested toward the subject. When the question of a confederate is fairly settled (and no one can be certain of his position until it is done), and two forms appear at the same time; or when you can be taken into the cabinet by a form, and shown the entranced medium, it is self-evident that one of them is a materialized form, and not a personation by the medium. It needs no argument to settle this, no matter how much it may conflict with preconceived notions.

 

I have quoted from Chief Justice Jacolliot's work on Occult Science in India, to prove that there is no connection between those manifestations and what is called sleight-of-hand.

 

There is, however, a more important fact conveyed in his statements, corroborated by other writers upon this subject, showing the perfect fairness with which these mediums, or Fakirs, submit to tests, courting the most thorough and exhaustive investigation, even trusting themselves, while in a trance, without any protection, to the honor and good faith of those around them, repeating at request the experiments, again and again, to satisfy that there is no deception about them.

 

This is strangely in contrast with our mediums, who as a rule shrink from anything of the kind and are disposed to regard any request of that nature as a direct imputation upon their honesty.

 

If materialization means anything besides dollars and cents—if it has a mission to perform— it is to enlighten and educate the people upon one of the most important subjects that has ever engrossed the mind.

 

The lack of openness and confidence on the part of many of the mediums, or their managers, creates a feeling of distrust which sometimes finds an expression in rudeness on the part of skeptics, and leads those who are confident of the genuineness of a part of the seance to be impressed with the idea that there are things connected with it that are dishonest.

 

There is no difficulty in tracing the source of this feeling. Everywhere like begets like, and as long as this state of feeling exists there will be a lack of harmony in the circle, with more or less disturbance.

 

It may be that these things are inseparable from the newness of the manifestations among us, and will disappear when mediums are more freely developed in our homes, and the seances assume less of a commercial character.

 

'While no apology should be made for fraud in these seances, we have no right to make charges that cannot be sustained. Every medium is bound, in justice to the audience, to see that the cabinet and its surroundings are so arranged that the appearance of fraud is, as far as possible, avoided.

 

Lack of experience, want of perception, or ignorance of a subject, gives no authority to assume that it is a fraud. The eagerness with which the press circulates reports of imposture finds its excuse, not in a manly defence of the truth, but in a morbid disposition to cater to the whims and caprices of the public. Those who accept such statements without investigation may possibly become victims of a worse delusion than that which they fancy they are condemning in others—a delusion born of ignorance and self-conceit.