THE VOICES OF 1912 : THE TESTIMONY REVIEWED¹

 [From Light, November 23, 1912]

It only remains for me to make a few remarks in summing up the various narratives in Light devoted to the voices which have been obtained through the mediumship of Mrs. Wriedt.

The truth or otherwise of spirit return is entirely a matter of evidence. If the reader does not think that there is any truth in these papers, or imagines that it is possible for a foreign medium to have become possessed of the knowledge of the various events described by the voices to the sitters who have recorded their experiences, there is nothing in them to convince him of the proximity of people in another state of consciousness; whatever value there is in the narratives depends upon their veracity, and the assurance (1) that the sounds were discarnate voices, and (2) that the utterances were not merely echoes of facts known to the psychic (and consequently to her controls or familiar spirits) , but items of information which could only be recalled by the sitters themselves, or by their friends not in the house.

The witnesses consist of a publisher in London, a physician in London, a late private of the R.M.L.I., two clergymen, an Eastern traveller, a lady from Surrey, two military men, one naval officer, a lawyer from Ireland, a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society from Ireland, two ladies in London, a lady from Southsea, a lady from Bournmouth, a foxhunting lady from Wales, a Dutch lady, a mining engineer from Durham, a gentleman of leisure from Surrey, two ladies Australian by birth, a hotel proprietor from Poole, and a foreign diplomat. Had there been room in Light for more narratives, I could have produced testimony from many others.

The gem of the collection, in my opinion, is the first letter on page 435. The psychic was in a distressed condition of mind about a matter which had gravely disturbed her for four days, but which had nothing more to do with her than Home Rule for Ireland. Everyone knows that this is the most unfavourable circumstance under which a spirit can get through. Nevertheless, so powerful were the influences that they managed to overcome the mental storm and to introduce perfect harmony. No less than seven discarnate entities made their identities known, and in such a way as to cause it to be abundantly clear that they were aware of even the most trifling actions of the sitter. John King was the control in charge on that occasion.

A correlation proving the influence of John King in Mrs. Wriedt’s séances is given on page 410. A lady who has been in the habit of sitting with the mediums Husk and Williams, enters Cambridge House for the first time. She had often been playfully addressed by John King’s band as “The Rose.” John King manifests and speaks to her, using the same nickname at Mrs. Wriedt’s séance. On this occasion an Indian spirit visits my friends at my request, though I was not present.

Many languages were spoken by discarnate spirits; Mrs. Wriedt is unacquainted with any language except Yankee. A good instance of this is given by “E. F. S.” on page 472. The daughter in spirit life speaks English to her brother in earth life; both son

and daughter were educated to speak Dutch, English, and French with equal facility. One day an aunt and friend from Holland accompany “E. F. S.” to Cambridge House. The same spirit speaks to these ladies in Dutch, and the husbands (in spirit life) of the aunt and friend converse with their wives in their own language. As regards foreign tongues, we have the evidence of M. Chedo Miyatovich, formerly Servian Minister at the courts of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, on page 271, that German, Servian, and Croatian were spoken during his sittings with Mrs. Wriedt.

W. T. Stead speaks to me and others at a brief séance held within two hours of the psychic’s entry into Cambridge House, and alludes to the last conversation we had together when he was alive. The next morning he shows himself to me; the etherealisation, though certainly Steed, does not resemble any picture taken of him in life. He is seen and speaks frequently to his personal friends, not only in the Julia circles, but at casual séances; and he uses phrases which it was known he used when in the body.

On page 380 it is recorded that a spirit comes to a physician and inquires earnestly if he has been paid his fee for attendance upon her during her last illness. The inquiry is pertinent to the circumstances of the case. On page 381 Grayfeather and Dr. Sharp remind me of a trifling incident — a breach of discipline—which occurred on board a ship I commanded twenty-nine years ago. It happened, I know, but I can only faintly remember it; when and where it occurred I have no recollection. It is not the sort of incident which would make a lasting impression upon the mind of a commanding officer immersed in the details of a somewhat important mission.

Valuable testimony to the extraordinary nature of Mrs. Wriedt’s gift is given to us by Mrs. Jacob, who records, on page 507, how she was able to obtain messages when noise was going on, and the psychic was walking about the room cutting up paper, opening parcels and packing. A deputy-lieutenant of a midland county relates how he heard voices when the psychic was downstairs in the drawing room forty feet distant, and the séance room closed. He has told me of this, and his assertion is repeated on page 490.

The attention of the reader is directed to page 429, where he will find an account by a civil servant whose work lies in Dublin. This gentleman visits Cambridge House with me as a perfect stranger. His name, nationality, and his position as a member of two societies for psychical research—indeed, everything about him—are unknown to the psychic and the inmates of the house. Yet Dr. Sharp, the spirit control, greets him as “Mr. Psychical Researcher,” and lays himself out to give him certain definite proofs of the action of intelligence’s which were not those of the mortals present. On this occasion a supremely beautiful spirit form appears.

On page 387 there is a letter from Mr. Maybank, formerly a private R.M.L.I., who, by way of testing the identity of his son Harold in spirit life, says: “Do you remember poor old Cyril?” The son instantly replies: “Of course I do; didn’t I tease him?” and proceeds to imitate the noise that a cat would make when angry. Mr. Maybank remarks: “It is reasonable to assume that, when the name ‘Cyril’ was mentioned, not one of the people sitting there would suppose it referred to a cat.” I think most of us would agree to that.

On page 448 will be found three good tests. The spirit of an old bellringer, who died an idiot, speaks to his vicar in earth life and says: “You still ring the curfew bell.” I

wonder in how many places in England the curfew bell is rung to-day. It so happens that it is rung in a tower half a mile from old Crookes’s home when he was in earth life. Again: Grayfeather comes to a lieutenant R. N., and says, “I see three rings for you at cherry time.” On June 30 (seven weeks later) this gentleman is promoted to the rank of commander. The distinctive mark of the new uniform is three gold rings round each arm. The third test or prophecy is not quite so clear, but, allowing for the spirit’s rude manner of expression, I consider it significant. “Heap much trouble across water—white people, black people, all kinds of people, —they go to fight—lots of heads cut off.” At that time no one could foresee the invasion of Turkey by the Balkan States, or the appalling slaughter which has taken place in Thrace. It would seem that the old Indian was predicting the sanguinary war now in progress. God alone knows whether it will affect the British Empire, which embraces nearly one hundred millions of Moslems, who look to the Caliph as the head of their religion. Grayfeather has repeated his dismal forebodings of great slaughter across the sea twice since May.

Sir William Barrett, who, in conjunction with Mr. Dawson Rogers, founded the S. P. R. in London, is rightly considered by most psychic investigators as the greatest expert on the subject now living, for this reason: He combines sympathy for these abnormal people we call mediums with acute observation and a cautious habit of mind—so cautious that he stated in public last winter that he did not believe any satisfactory test had ever been obtained through the exhibition of psychical phenomena—this, after over thirty years of investigation, a personal knowledge of the prominent English psychics, and a close acquaintance with fellow-scientists who had investigated them. The evidence for the existence of the phenomena of the “direct voice” through the mediumship of Mrs. Wriedt, which I gave him, produced no impression upon him, though he began to think when a Norwegian lady told him she had conversed with her relatives in her own language. He did, however, guarantee for two sittings this year. Let us see what his attitude is now. After relating some remarkable experiences, on page 459, he says: “I went to Mrs. Wriedt’s séances in a somewhat sceptical spirit, but I came to the conclusion that she is a genuine and remarkable medium, and has given abundant proof to others besides myself that the voices and the contents of the messages given are wholly beyond the range of trickery or collusion.”

Dr. Abraham Wallace, on page 513, gives a curious piece of information: “Those who had attended these séances knew that John King spoke with a marked English accent. But, none the less, John King once [at Cambridge House] conversed with him in broad Scotch, and, when interrogated on the subject, replied: “Why, I got it from you,” explaining that he was speaking under an influence derived from the aura of Dr. Wallace.

Mr. James Robertson and Mr. Coates have borne testimony to the Scotch voices heard when Mrs. Wriedt was in Scotland. As the evidence given in Light shows conclusively, Mrs. Wriedt has often been heard to speak at the same moment as the spirits, and two spirits have frequently been heard talking simultaneously to different members of the circle, with and without the trumpet.

Of my own experiences this year I have little to report. I talked only to my guide, about five relations, and two or three friends. There was nothing of public interest. My guide, at private sittings, invariably spoke only of private matters; she did not use

the trumpet, and the psychic could not hear one word. Nor did she usually see her, though I was always able to do so.

But enough! If the evidence for the voices given in these papers from people who in most cases were unacquainted with one another is not sufficient to establish their genuine character, human testimony is no good for anything whatsoever.

There is only one alternative theory to that which attributes these voices to the discarnate spirits of our dead. It is this: That surrounding us is a region inhabited only by a special breed of demons who can ascertain every thought and action of our lives, create dramatic situations at will, and who, by their dexterity, can silence any doubt as to identity by returning to us our own thought. Let those who can believe this cheerful doctrine, as the Roman Catholics undoubtedly do, hug it for all it is worth if it affords them comfort. For my own part, I cannot see how it could interest these alleged demons to give me proofs of immortality. Rather would they endeavour to teach: “Eat, drink, for to-morrow ye die.” Catholics like Monsignor Benson and Mr. Raupert are a great support to Spiritists; speaking broadly, they admit all the facts, but say that these spirits who visit us are “fallen angels.” I am content that they should believe so. I think differently; I believe the time has come in the evolution of the human race when the Almighty has thought fit to permit the veil to be slightly lifted, and to allow us to meet the growing materialism of the day with evidences of the senses—not alone by faith, which is inadequate; and to let us know that the phenomena recorded in the Bible did not cease with the mission of the Apostles.

In some cases psychics, after many years, lose their sense of proportion, and get to think themselves the “Gift,” and not merely the instrument. I earnestly hope that Mrs. Wriedt will not be spoilt by the adulation of admiring sitters. If such a catastrophe takes place, she will, I feel confident, lost her divine gift. I sincerely trust that she will so regulate her life as to make it possible for her to retain the mysterious power which has been the means of spreading so much happiness around her.

November 9, 1912                                                       W. Usborne Moore. The following séances are not recorded in Light :—

Lieut.-General A. Phelps sat with Mrs. Wriedt eight times. In 1911 he attended one general circle sitting and two private sittings, and in 1912 five private sittings. I was present on four of these occasions. A stenographer was in attendance at the General’s last private sitting of 1911. and during the five private sittings in 1912. His first two sittings in 1911 have been described in Light, August 12, 1911, p. 377. During the second of these a famous homeopathic physician, Dr. Compton Burnett, manifested. I refer the reader to the above-mentioned account as an introduction to this vigorous spirit, who came again at other séances.

General Phelps for many years held a highly responsible administrative post in the Indian Army. He is the president of the Anti-Vaccination League of Great Britain, a spiritualist of some forty years’ standing, and seventy-five years of age.

I propose to record his séances at some length, in order to show the vigour of the communicating entities, the length of time they were able to talk, and the characteristic nature of their speeches. Neither the General nor I would desire to associate ourselves with the opinions expressed. They do not say much which is

profoundly wise, nor are their utterances suggestive of any new truths. They are, however, interesting as examples of attempts of strong personalities to get through and give ideas to the world they have left, if only in somewhat obstructed and imperfect language.

Most of the more interesting statements from near relatives are necessarily suppressed.

After the sitting of July 21, 1911, General Phelps asked me to find out what I could from Iola with reference to Mrs. Burnett’s state of health. He knew she was very ill. My guide told me during our last interview in 1911 (late August) that her disease was hopeless—no power could save her.

After this, on August 31, 1911, the General sat again with Mrs. Wriedt. The stenographer entered the room five minutes after the séance had begun, and General Phelps said to him: “Dr. Burnett came, and he spoke about his wife, and said if there was anything to relieve her pain he would have come to some medium in this city, and told them to convey the message in a way that it would be understood, to help her; but, as there was no way possible to cure her, and an operation would kill her, it was unwise to attempt anything. A Voice (Dr. Burnett), through trumpet: “I want the General to understand that it is not wise to say anything to my brother-in-law, for he is not sufficiently educated on these lines, and it is unwise to say anything about this. There is nothing young man, that I can do to restore my wife; there is nothing I can do to build up the disease—to kill it—to cure it; death is the only thing that can help her on this side of life and the next! I have fought all these things. Cancer is one of these things; when internal, and it has eaten some of the membranes—certain lining membranes—that cannot be cured by the knife or by medicine. They can numb her consciousness. She understands—she knows; she is conscious that the medicine is doing it. And it is very good of you to try and help her; but at her age—incurable! incurable! incurable!”

General Phelps: “I am so indebted to you for what you did for my wife that I would gladly do something for yours. I believe if you had been on this side when she was ill you would have prolonged her live.”

The Voice: “We are here for a long time, and it makes no difference what comes about us; we have to live out the laws of the great universal powers. We cannot live beyond our allotted time. I believe we are here born under the planetary conditions, and they rule our lives.”

General Phelps: “That is a very hard thing to believe. Mdme. Blavatsky used to say that; but I never could understand its truth.”

The Voice: “With the present conditions of the atmospheric wave you do not feel as brisk as you do on a bright, sharp day. Why is it? The elements form a current, a blood current, which rushes through the veins in an active way. It is the planetary conditions and the atmospheric conditions that really can govern all things that have breath. Man is a stream of gas and liquid. Yes, but the man has the brains and the woman the heart!”

General Phelps: “Mrs. Somerville had the brains, and Hypatia had the brains.”

The Voice: “She had the brains and the heart as well; but the ingenuity of man is far beyond the comprehension of woman!”

General Phelps: “I believe myself that woman has ingenuity much deeper than man, and it is a mere accident that man uses it much more strongly. Sir Richard Burton thought that women had a contempt for danger. Look at the women soldiers in Africa! He came to the conclusion that the women were stronger, braver, and more practical than the men, in Ashanti.”

The Voice: “The women did not lose their temper, but they lost their head with their heart in their hand. I tell you man is man all the days of his life—you cannot change him! But, going back again to my wife, I feel it very keenly to say that it will not be long before she joins me.”

General Phelps: “Is she anything of a spiritualist? Will she be prepared to meet you?”

The Voice: She will meet me on that rock of truth. She met me and we were one on earth, and we will be one in heaven. Well, we must all look forward to meeting. But remember one thing, there is a law—it controls all things. We spring from something. We come here unsolicited.”

General Phelps: “Is that so?”

The Voice: We did; we came from the law of the great power of force, and we are going to leave this world by the law of this great force.”

General Phelps: “I cannot help thinking that we pre-existed.”

The Voice: “If such was the case, I have never met nor seen one over here that knew anything about it. I have not met a soul that could tell me one thing about reincarnation.”

General Phelps: “Negative evidence is outweighed by positive!”

The Voice: “Nonsense, it is only a descension from another descendant. And when we come down to this pillar of truth, what did we emanate from—the Power, the law, the Light, the force of nature!”

General Phelps: “Nature in that case is a synonym for the Creator?”

The Voice: “Supposing we were all men, where does your reincarnation come from?”

General Phelps: “When we were in a certain state the two sexes were in one, and reproduction was conducted by fission, and there was no need for sex. It gradually arrived, and the two sexes have been evolved; but they are not essential to life, because if we go back to the spherical animals—the Rotifers, reproduced by fission— we find they are produced without sex.”

The Voice: “I never saw a tree, a bush, or a flower without the two sexes, and so with the birds that soar in the air, and so with light, and so with the moon, and so with sunshine—Oh, my boy, my boy!”

General Phelps: “But if we carry our minds back to the genesis of the human race, we come to a time before their bodies were human!”

The voice: “If we were not human in those days, my dear boy, then what education came before us to give us the intelligence, the power, the wisdom, the hope? Why are we not covered with hair like the savages, or think and see like the animal? We are the proper mechanism of the great mundane sphere!”

General Phelps: “At one time we occupied bodies which were not human. Evolution is that of the physical, and not of the spiritual body. It has been very wide.”

The Voice: I met a man over here who lived in 122 â.ñ.; he told me that there were stronger men and women, stronger intellects longer lives than there are at the present day; and he said they were human beings—ate, slept as we do, lived and worked, only in a different manner.”

General Phelps: “That is a story of historical times. The Grecian architects arrived at results—they went forward, beyond us! But still we go forward and back; but going back one million years we come to the bodies which were not human. We find that from the annals of the Jesuits. The Jesuits tell us——“

The Voice (interrupting): “If you believe that, what do you suppose came before that? My dear man, my dear General, when you come over here I will take you round and show you something that will open your eyes. But every man will change his opinion when he comes into this land of reincarnation. Mdme. Blavatsky is not reincarnated yet, and no more am I, nor will I; I will always be the same old chap, looking after the boys and taking care of the women. Speaking again about my wife, there is nothing I can do to cure her or help her. The doctors are doing all they can for her. Give her the medical treatment she has had; it is not helping her, but it is giving her a little relief, because at times she has terrible spells, and again she is quite easy. After the effect of morphine wears off, it is worse than ever again.”

General Phelps: “Is there anything wrong with her diet?”

The Voice: “Her stomach is so weak that it is hard to give her food to digest; but once she begins to vomit, then the time is not far distant.

General Phelps: “I remember a case of that kind in one of your books.”

The Voice: “The minute the gasses form and she spits water, then look out; the worst is there. I wish it were to-morrow that she comes to me, but life is sweet to some of

General Phelps: “And useful. It was not given to us by mistake.”

The Voice: “And when a man is low down in life it is because of his own negligence. You know what a happy chap I was; and when I saw a woman grumbling, and nothing was right, many a time I gave her a little salt water, and she was all right next day” (here the spirit laughed).

General Phelps: “By the by, I have to give you a message from Mrs. W. She wants me to thank you for your address (paper) on the ‘Supersalinity of the Blood’—she fears too much salt in the body for the kidneys. I think I read it in your book on Natrum Muriaticum, which I enjoyed reading very much.”

The Voice: “I am glad you enjoyed it—I wrote that from my own experience. The best thing to treat the subject of bad circulation is salt. Give injections of one kind of salt, and it sets the heart going immediately.

General Phelps: “I have been treating my brother lately and successfully with Natrum. It affected his heart at first, but it has got right to the chilliness. He is older than I.”

The Voice: “Yes, age is the difficulty. You have to be guided by age and pulsation, and you have to understand your patient.”

General Phelps: “You said if you wanted to keep a thing to yourself you must publish it.”

The Voice: “Yes but I had another meaning for that.

General Phelps: “I have been trying your recommendations for diseases of the skin. There is the lady of seventy who is about cured by taking 30~12” (Stenographer did not understand).

The Voice: “It is different when you look at a person; you can tell what is good for him. I used to look at the person and tell what was wanted.”

The spirit then gave some medical advice to the stenographer, which was as useful as it was unexpected. It consisted of one hundred and eighteen words. After a few more remarks about his wife’s condition and his approval of her present treatment, Dr. Compton Burnett left.

Hypatia came and stated that she was a guide to Dr. John King of Toronto. She alluded to Dr. John of Ontario, and to Iola.

Iola manifested, and had a conversation with the General and Mrs. Wriedt. Then Mrs. Phelps came and conversed with her husband for several minutes about their children and grandchildren. John King wound up the séance. Hs spoke of his medium, Cecil Husk, and said he was going to keep him as long as he could, and ended by saying: “I don’t believe you can do anything to this lady [meaning Mrs Burnett] to cure her, there is nothing can help her.”

General Phelps: “When I got Admiral Moore’s letter saying that, I lost all hope. I suspected it myself before.”

Mrs. Wriedt: “My head goes round.”

John King: “Tell him [Mrs. B.s Brother] the doctors are doing all they can; but there is no cure for her: if they cannot relieve the pain, they cannot relieve the pain. To give her this hypodermic morphine is not cure.”

The next of General Phelps séances was on May 31, 1912. Present Mrs. Wriedt (medium), General Phelps, Admiral Usborne Moore, and a stenographer.

There was a good deal of talk at first about the phenomenon of the trumpet being taken away and put back in exactly the same spot, which occurred a few days before (see Light, page 380), and also about the present condition of an invalid lady. After sitting about twenty minutes we heard a voice: “William.” General Phelps said:

“Which one?” answer: “Brother William; I am glad to see you again.” General Phelps: “I am glad to see you.”

Admiral Moore: “It is the brother I knew; I am delighted to meet you. You did not think much of this in your lifetime.”

The Voice: “You know I had a great admiration for my brother and his views; but I would not accept it as he did, and so I consequently left it alone.”

General Phelps: “Do you know the house is to be sold on the fourth of next month?” Answer: “I am very glad of it.” General Phelps: “It is possible our Nephew might buy it.” Answer: “I should like to have it in the family, but it is a great load to carry. You can quite understand it. And I fear when the owner of the home has gone that the head has gone.”

Admiral Moore: “I hear you had a beautiful garden and were very proud of it.” Answer: “Yes, yes, I was proud in my heart and soul to see things grow that we could cherish.” General Phelps: “And to give away the fruit and flowers to your neighbours!” Answer: “Yes, but I had not half enough. But I had to give it up and go on to something different. I had to give it up. I would like to see it with my relatives, who would appreciate it as I did. But under the circumstances let it go cheerfully to the one that can hold it. God bless you and the step you have taken. My religion would not allow me to perforate the laws.”

Admiral Moore: “I hope you are quite happy?” The Voice: “What I mean by perforate is that I always thought that looking into the unseen was too dangerous, and not right. I did not want to perforate the deep veil called death. I loved the thought of seeing my blessed mother, my cherished father, and loved ones; but I was fearful that the law of God would punish me, so I would not look. Feed it to the mutes, feed it to the sensitives, feed it to those who look into darkness. You have taught me a lesson that no book could do. My dear brother, you have taught me the better way; but I was so dense I could not see.” General Phelps: “Have you met our parents?” The voice: “Mother showed herself to you a spell ago when you thought you saw a scull. You remember the little bonnet she used to wear on her head? That was what you saw.”

A spirit here came in who called himself “Brennen,” and said he had been invalided when serving with the General. He implied that he had been sent home from Gibraltar suffering from dysentery a very long time ago (not recognised). He was followed by the mother of Iola, who greeted me and General Phelps, then said to me, “Grayfeather is helping you remarkably.” I said, “I hope you feel better towards him than you did?” (This relative had previously expressed a great dislike to the old Indian.) Answer: “You understand I am getting accustomed to these things. I did not like the earth element……My dear W., I wish you would ask this man Sharp about this other dimension. He claims there is a fourth. Well, I don’t know what the fourth is, so if you would just ask him.” Admiral Moore: “We do not understand.” Answer: “Well, he does, and I wish you would just ask him.” Admiral Moore: “The thing could not be done in three dimensions, for we swept well over where the trumpet stood, and there was nothing there; when the lights were switched on, there it was in the same place where I had originally placed it.” (Nobody has been able to understand Dr. Sharp’s explanation of this phenomenon . We have been obliged to give it up.

General Phelps’s mother now came in and talked of a member of the family who had caused trouble in his life. She was followed by the relative himself. General Phelps: “Well, I hope you have come to your right mind now?” Answer: “There are no excuses for me to make. It is done, and you cannot make it over again. We all do certain things which we wish that we had not done, but when we do them we think we are quite right. The biggest mistake a man can make is when he punishes another man for vengeance. We carry it too far in flesh and blood.” After a few remarks by the General, he went on to say: “I was represented to have done a great deal more than I did. I should have worshipped my mother. I see a lot of people coming over here, and they are troubled. They say, ‘I did this, that, and the other, and I must make it right.’” General Phelps said: I don’t understand that; what you did wrong was due to ——“ (his second wife). The Voice: “There is not a woman on the face of the earth who could make me do a thing if I did not want to.” Question: “You were as obstinate as a mule when you liked.” Answer: “I am sorry for it, and my mother knows it.” Question: “Which of your wives is with you now?” Answer: “I loved my first wife, and there is no one living on the face of the earth who can love two women like their first love.” Question: “Where is the second one?” Answer: “She is not with me; I found the girl of my love; I cannot love two and love them alike.” Here the trumpet dropped to the floor.

Iola, my guide, now came in: “I am happy to see you this morning. Down in Wales she is feeling splendid [my wife was at Llandrindod Wells]. She would love to know how you are; I am trying to impress her that you are very well and happy, and I will go down with you.” I said I was going next day by the 1.15 train from Euston, and the spirit repeated that she would accompany me.

Enter John King: “How do you do, God bless you?” General Phelps: “I am old and— —.”

John King (interrupting): “Then come over here and we will make you new. Grayfeather is away this morning; he is working hard.” The control then addressed a few words to the stenographer, and the séance terminated.

June 1, 1912. Present Mrs. Wriedt, General Phelps, Admiral Usborne Moore, and a stenographer.

John King manifested, speaking very loudly, and held a conversation of several minutes with General Phelps, of no particular interest to the reader. I remarked that his voice was unusually loud that morning, when he said; “Three men against one woman; more men, more power, more women, more fine vibration; clearer and more distinct voices through the female organism.” He then handed me the trumpet, which I stood up on the floor.

Iola then came in and said: “Good morning; how do you do? I was with——[my wife] this morning: you will have a nice time today and tomorrow. You will return home with her……I will go down with you.” We were then very pleased to hear the voice of Dr. Burnett. General Phelps: “Pleased to hear you again. Since you were here your beloved wife has joined you.” Dr. Burnett: “I told you nothing would save her. You know how the brilliant young man expressed himself to you; you remember the message I gave you that my wife—you know to whom you gave it, and what sarcasm there was in connection with it. I knew perfectly well she could not be cured.” After

some further remarks: “You know, my dear good friend, that I would do anything to assist you mentally, physically, and spiritually.”

General Phelps: “Taking a hint from your book, Fifty Reasons, I have been using Vanadium. It has done me a great deal of good, but it leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.”

Doctor Burnett: “That is the stomach—the liver parts solely; and in your condition the weakness of the flesh does not carry off the saliva. You understand the depressed feeling which comes over you occasionally? That is the weakness of the liver, not the heart. Your heart is as sound as a bell.” General Phelps: “Thank you; but I sometimes feel a pain underneath the breast-bone.”

Dr. Burnett: “That is not the heart; it is the pleural lining of the lower part of the lungs.” After a question from me about Turkish baths the doctor said to me: “A Turkish bath is a good thing if you have nicotine in the system, or gout.” Question “I thought you left something behind in drawing from us.” Answer: “No, not at all. You have a certain amount of nicotine in your system, and there is a little chalk in your bones; and understand, the kidneys do not operate right; that is due to the uric acid in the system…… I want to say a word to the reporter.” (Here the voice approached much closer and spoke more deliberately.) “I want you to put in your notes that I was gifted with the sixth part of the sixth sense of medicine. For instance, if I was baffled and did not know just how my case was—did not know the real cause of my patient’s trouble —in the evening, just before I retired, I sat in my office. Took notes in my brain that such might be the case with this patient. I worked upon it from inspiration, but did not know about the law of spiritualism. But it is true through spiritualism in an unknown way that I made a success of my medicines. I knew that something was telling me what to do, but I did not know what it was.”

General Phelps: And who was your inspiring spirit? Hahnemann?”

Dr. Burnett: “Yes, and we have inspiring spirits for every person living.”

A brief talk then ensued about the new discovery of “Crookes’s Collsoles” and the advisability of drinking out of silver vessels. General Phelps said that Dr. Burnett had been cured once too quickly of a cold, and it brought on an attack of jaundice.

Dr. Burnett: “Will you allow me to suggest—just a moment—I was listening to your conversation. Jaundice comes in this form—the gall duct overflows. It is not from any other reason. And why does it overflow? Do you know that?” Answer: “No.” Dr. Burnett: “Take a note of this, because these gentlemen are at an age when they might forget. [Laughter.] The gall duct overflows from the liver being chilled. Then it goes all over the whole system, and you are pretty near as yellow as a copper-coloured man.” Later on the spirit said: “Another thing I want to say, gentlemen. I may never get another opportunity. My wife one time was quite ill, and I did not know what under the living canopy of heaven to do for her. I thought the only thing I could do was to give her an injection in the arm of salt and water, and in three hours she was herself again. I gave her an injection of solution of salt water, and it strengthened and revived her. Salt is an excellent thing if you know how to use it, but you can take too much of anything. I gave it to a great many others who did not know what I was giving them.”

Mrs. Phelps now manifested, and talked with her husband about their children and grandchildren. She was followed by Iola. General Phelps remarked that he thought that the two voices of his wife and Iola sounded very much alike; but Iola exclaimed “Oh, oh no, I am much younger; she is older than I; the voices are not at all the same.” Then came the member of General Phelps’s family whom he criticised the previous day. He said to me; “That lady who has just left forgot something. She intended to congratulate you upon your new suit.” (This little pleasantry was very apt. ) The travelling suit I had on was precisely the same cut as that which I had worn for weeks, but it was entirely new.)

John King: “I hope everyone is well here today. I think the doctor thought he was in a medical college the way he spouted it. But he is a good chap.” I asked, “Where is Grayfeather?” Answer: “He is with the lady that is sick in the institution. [A relative of mine]……She is going to get well. It is just a little pressure on the veins that lead from one brain to the another. Good luck to you all—God bless you. I always like to come to you, whether I say a little or a lot.”

The lights were switched on, and the trumpet fell from the ceiling between the General and myself.

The following notes are necessary to explain the personalities of the spirits who manifested at General Phelps’s séances :—

Dr. Compton Burnett, a descendant of the famous bishop of Salisbury, was born July 20, 1840, and passed over April 2, 1901. He made a profound study of anatomy as a young man. He practised at Chester and Birkinhead, and finally in London, where he had a large consulting practice for twenty-three years. Latterly he lived at Brighton. In middle life he adopted Homeopathy. His cures were very remarkable, and gained him the soubriquet of “the Magician.” He wrote a book called Fifty Reasons for being a Homœopath, and edited The Homœopath World for fifteen years. Those who wish to know more of this remarkable man should read Life and Work of James Compton Burnett, M. D., by D. J. H. Clarke (Homœopathic Publishing Company). General Phelps says: “I did not know him in private life, unfortunately, so only formed opinions of him from visits to his consulting-room……He very soon convinced me on July 21, 1911, that it was verily himself who was speaking; it was quite his own free idiomatic style, and his description of my own condition and symptoms was characteristic.”

Captain William Phelps passed over on December 24, 1911, aged seventy-six years. He was a Church of England ritualist, and avoided any discussion of the subject of spiritism. He lived at Droxford, Hampshire, devoted to his house and to his garden, where he grew a large quantity of fruit. General Phelps, in writing to me, says: “I think there is no room to doubt that his was the intelligence which spoke to me through Mrs. Wriedt’s trumpet.”

Mrs. Burnett passed over October 5, 1911.

June 4, 1912. Present Mrs. Wriedt, General Phelps and a stenographer.

Dr. Sharp came in first and chatted. Mrs. Wriedt asked him to get Mr. Stead to speak to General Phelps that morning. Dr. Sharp: I will go right up to the office and tell him

you want to see him, also General Phelps; I know you would like to have a word with him.” General Phelps: “I should; but I have never met him.”

Dr. Sharp (to stenographer): “Tell your brother that I would like him every morning after he got up to go right out into the open air, and inhale and exhale on an empty stomach, and to take a good drink of cold fresh water the first thing before he does anything else.”

General Phelps: “How often should he inhale and exhale?”

Dr. Sharp: “Every morning before he eats a bite. As many times as he feels the lungs are filled with good air. Understand that, when he inhales, it goes from the bronchial tubes down to the stomach, and it passes through the bowels, liver, heart, by expanding the chest as much as he can a little every day; and he should keep that up all summer long.”

General Phelps: “I suppose it gets through the blood.”

“Dr. Sharp: It gives strength to the veins, muscles, and sinews of the body, and it gives the breathing tubes better action.”

A conversation about whipping children and lynching ensued between General Phelps and Mrs. Wriedt.

W. T. Stead: How do you do; how do you do General,?”

General Phelps: “I am fairly well. I am sorry I never met you in life.”

W. T. Stead: I am delighted to meet you at Julia’s Bureau.” (To Mrs. Harper) “I am very sorry that times have changed and conditions have changed; but I want you to stand erect; carry out everything you can, and well, and there is no necessity for you to drop work at the Review office. Plenty to do for you if you carry it out as I did. Now, Trefauls, I want to talk to you in regard to Edith and the book. I want you to have that book done. I want it printed as cheap as you can print it. And I want you to help Edith to do it. I want you to speak to——. You know; who you were speaking to a fortnight ago.”

E. T. H. (the stenographer): “Yes; I understand—the publishers.”

W. T. Stead: “And I hope it will be done in my publishing house……I want you to see about it first thing—my publishing department, and I don’t think ——will interfere. He has no right to interfere if —— says she can have it done.”

E. T. H. : If —— (mentioning a certain firm) do it, they will pay. I want Edith and Estelle to have the result. I want Edith to consult——.” (Trumpet dropped)

Mrs Wriedt: “I want you to answer those questions. I got a letter from Rochester. Did you go to a medium there and tell him you wanted him to take the Bureau up and carry it out in America?”

W. T. Stead: “No I did not. It is a falsehood.”

Mrs. Wriedt: I got a letter that you came to him through a medium, and also a medium in trance, and also an automatic writer, saying the same thing through each of them.”

W, T. stead: “No, that is not true. Julia’s Bureau remains where it is. It should not be transferred to any part of the globe with my consent.”

 

Mrs. Wriedt: “If you were over there, why didn’t you tell Austin I was here?”

 

W. T. Stead: “I had too much to do. I have stopped running round to mediums, for they don’t get the message right, and I am not strong enough to use anyone’s

magnetism. But I didn’t tell Mr. Austin any such thing; they are making it out of stained glass.”

 

(General Phelps tells me that the mere reading of these notes gives no idea of the nature of his interview with Stead. The voice was raised after the first few words, until it literally bawled and was heard in the garden below,—W. U. M.)

 

Mrs. Phelps now manifested and spoke to her husband for several minutes about their children and grandchildren.

 

Charlie: “You are as bright as a young rooster.”

 

General Phelps: “I don’t feel so.”

 

Charlie: “I hope you will live for fifteen years to settle the vaccination question.” General Phelps: “It will take fifteen years.”

 

Charlie: “Yes, to get the ignorant people of the world to understand.”

 

General Phelps: “They are afraid of the doctors. My great hope is that the doctors are gradually being penetrated with the feeling that they are wrong.” Charlie: “They cannot, because they fear losing money on it.”

 

General Phelps: “At the same time they are losing credit. All they can do now is to swear there is going to be an epidemic.”

 

Charlie: “It has not come, and for five years they have been predicting it. It is the dirty and filthy people that would cause it.”

 

General Phelps: “How soon after you passed away did you recover consciousness?” Charlie: “Three days.”

 

General Phelps: “And your clarity of sense?”

 

Charlie: First week or nine to ten days.”

 

General Phelps: “Then your mind was clouded?”

 

Charlie: “No, no; it was just like a dream, as though you were in a slumber, dreaming; and then I really pulled myself together—I found I had gone into another sphere.”

 

General Phelps: “You say you are in the fifth?”

 

Charlie: “My mother is in the sixth sphere, seventh realm. I am glad to see you so well and happy.”

(Some conversation of a private character here took place.)

Charlie: “I am glad to see you this morning, and I came to you because I wanted to help you. I did not do anything for you on this earth, but I will now.”

General Phelps: “Now what are you going to do for me?”

Charlie: Keep you well, and see that your boys are better than they are now. Good­bye.”