chapter 3 — the modern spiritualist movement sources for ...€¦ · the rise of modem...

WORK-IN-PROGRESS (JULY 19, 2020) PARALLEL CHART FOR

Chapter 3 — The Modern Spiritualist Movement

from The Truth About Spiritualism (1923)by

William S. Sadler, M.D., F.A.C.S.

© 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020 Matthew Block

Sources for Chapter 3, in the order in which they first appear

(1) John Herman Randall, The New Light on Immortality: or, The Significance of PsychicResearch (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921)

(2) Alexander James Grieve, “Swedenborg, Emanuel,” in Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.,1911)

(3) Carlyle B. Haynes, Spiritualism versus Christianity (Nashville, Tennessee: SouthernPublishing Association, 1918)

(4) Joseph McCabe, Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud?: The Evidence Given by Sir A. C.Doyle and Others Drastically Examined (London: Watts & Co., 1920)

(5) Edward T. Bennett, Psychic Phenomena: A Brief Account of the Physical ManifestationsObserved in Psychical Research (New York: Brentano’s, 1909)

(6) Mme. Dunglas Home, D. D. Home: His Life and Mission, Edited, with an Introduction bySir Arthur Conan Doyle (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1921)

(7) Isaac K. Funk, D.D., LL.D., The Psychic Riddle (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company,1907)

(8) Seybert Commission, Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by TheUniversity of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism in Accordance with theRequest of the Late Henry Seybert, with a Foreword by H. H. Furness, Jr. (Philadelphia:J. B. Lippincott Company, 1920 [original copyright 1887])

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Key

(a) Green indicates where a source first appears, or where it reappears.

(b) Yellow highlights most parallelisms.

(c) Tan highlights parallelisms not occurring on the same row, or parallelisms separated byyellowed parallelisms.

(d) An underlined word or words indicates where the source and Sadler pointedly differ fromone another.

(e) Bold type indicates passages which Sadler copied verbatim, or nearly verbatim, froman uncited source.

(f) Pink indicates passages where Sadler specifically shares his own experiences, opinions,advice, etc.

(g) Light blue indicates passages which strongly resemble something in the Urantia Book, orwhich allude to the Urantia phenomenon.

(h) Red indicates either an obvious mistake, in most cases brought about by Sadler’smiscopying or misunderstanding his source, or an otherwise questionable statement onSadler’s part.

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SOURCE 3: THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUALISM

Work-in-progress Version 13 juli 2011© 2011, 2020 Matthew BlockRevised 28 May 2013, 22 July 2014, 2 March2019, 19 July 2020

III — THE MODERNS P I R I T U A L I S T I CMOVEMENT

I: THE NATURE OF THE NEW LIGHT(Randall 1)

3:0.1 MY RESEARCHES have led meto believe that

The rise of modem spiritualism the modern cult of spiritualism,

as we understand it and recognize ittoday,

is usually associated with the Fox sistersof Hydesville, New York, thoughProfessor Hyslop regards Swedenborgwho died in 1772 as the real originator (R5).

really had its origin with the teaching anddoctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).

“SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL” (Grieve)

SWEDENBORG (or Swedberg),Emanuel (1688-1772), Swedish scientist,philosopher and mystic, was born atStockholm on the 29th of January 1688....

... In no field were Swedenborg’sresearches more noteworthy than in thoseof physiological science (G n.p.)

Swedenborg was a physiologist of moreor less note, who lived in Stockholm.

In 1734 he also published Prodromusphilosophiae ratiocinantis de infinito etcausa finali creationis, which treats of therelation of the finite to the infinite, and ofthe soul to the body, seeking to establisha nexus in each case as a means of over-coming the difficulty of their relation.

His first published works dealing with philosophy and theology appeared in1734,

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From this time he applied himself to theproblem of discovering the nature of souland spirit by means of anatomical studies(G n.p.).

and it was about at this time that he beganhis extensive researches in physiologyand anatomy for the purpose of locatingthe human soul,

He travelled in Germany, France andItaly, in quest of the most eminent teach-ers and the best books dealing with thehuman frame, and published, as theresults of his inquires among other works,his Œconomia regni animalis, (London,1740-1741) and Regnum animale (Hague,1744-1745; London, 1745) (G n.p.).

and he published numerous works dealingwith his researches along this line.

His friend Robsahm reports, fromSwedenborg’s own account to him, thecircumstances of the first extraordinaryrevelation of the Lord, when He appearedto him [in 1745] and said, “I am God theLord, the Creator and Redeemer of theworld.

He claims to have had Divine revelations

I have chosen thee to unfold the spiritualsense of the Holy Scripture. I will Myselfdictate to thee what thou shalt write.”

in which were revealed to him thephilosophy of the spiritual world,

From that time on he gave up all worldlylearning and laboured solely to expoundspiritual things.... His life from 1747 wasspent alternately in Sweden, Holland andLondon, in the composition of his worksand their publication, till his death, whichtook place in London on the 29th of March1772 (G n.p.).

and he published numerous workscontaining these alleged revelations.

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1. THE FOX SISTERS

3:1.1 While it is probably true thatSwedenborg was the father of modernspiritualism,

II: THE ORIGIN OF SPIRITUALISM(Haynes 14)

Origin of Modern Spiritualism (Haynes 16)

Modern Spiritualism American spiritualism, as a spectacularphenomenon,

had its beginning in Hydesville, N.Y., inthe year 1848 (H 16).

seems to have had its origin in Hydeville,near Rochester, New York, in 1848.

In the year mentioned, a farmer by thename of John D. Fox lived in Hydesville,near Rochester, N.Y.

Near this little village there lived a farmerby the name of John D. Fox.

He was the father of six children, two ofwhom were living at home. There wereMargaret, who was fifteen years of age,and Kate, aged twelve.

He had a family of six children, two ofwhom (daughters) were living at home.

They had been recently moved, It seems that the Fox family, who had butrecently moved into this home,

and they found the house they occupieddisturbed, especially at night, by peculiarnoises.

were early disturbed by peculiar noctur-nal noises.

They attributed these noises at first tomice and rats, and then to a loose board.

These strange sounds were attributed torats and mice, loose boards, and what not,

They soon discovered, however, thatthese noises were distinct and intelligentrappings (H 16).

but ere long it appeared that these noiseswere more or less systematized,

and so it is recorded that

[contd] After retiring on the night ofMarch 1, 1848, the parents and childrensleeping in the same room,

on the night of March 1, 1848, when theparents and the two daughters had gone tobed in the same room,

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these rappings commenced with greaterviolence than usual. Mr. Fox arose andtried the window sashes, and, findingthem all secure, was about to return to hisrest, when Kate, observing that when heshook the sashes the rappings seemed toreply, turned in the direction from whichthe sound seemed to come, and snappedher finger several times, at the same timeexclaiming, “Here, Old Splitfoot, do as Ido” (H 16-17).

these noises, or as they were later called,“rappings,” became unusually violent.

It would seem that Mrs. Fox becameinordinately interested in these pheno-mena,

[contd] Instantly the rappings repliedwith sharp, distinct taps. This frightenedthe girls so that they had no further desireto continue the conversation with “OldSplitfoot.” But the mother continued tocultivate his acquaintance

and she embarked upon a program offurther acquaintance and experimentationwith this strange force or intelligencewhich had so unceremoniously invadedher quiet and unpretentious home.

According to report, it seems that

until she received a message whichprofessed to come from the spirit of aman by the name of Charles B. Rosma.

Mrs. Fox succeeded in eliciting theinformation that these rapping forcespurported to be the spirit of a dead manby the name of Charles B. Rosma,

and as time went on

This message informed her that this man,Rosma, had been murdered in that veryhouse some years before (H 17).

the spirit communicated to Mrs. Fox theinformation that this man Rosma hadbeen murdered several years before in thehouse in which these manifestations weretaking place.

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Other Messages Received (Haynes 18)

[contd] The members of the Foxfamily continued to press their inquiriesupon the intelligence which was back ofthe rappings,

3:1.2 By this time the other membersof the Fox family had resumed interest inthese manifestations,

and for miles around the news of the“rapping spirits” and the Fox sisters hadspread,

and they received other messages and as time went by many messages werereceived from what purported to be thisdead man Rosma’s spirit returned to thescene of his murder.

which were verified. It is claimed that many of these messageswere verified,

Margaret Fox soon developed veryremarkable occult powers in her con-tinued intercourse with the spirits.

and Margaret Fox began to develop veryextraordinary occult ability as time wenton,

By the aid of the spirits lost articles werefound, hard questions were answered, anddifficult problems solved.

and many remarkable seances were heldby her with the rapping spirits.

Neighbors came in to investigate. Somecame from long distances to look into this“rapping delusion,” as it was first called,and finding the answers given by thespirits to be in the main correct, manybecame convinced that

Scores of people who attended theseseances were led to believe that

the Fox girls were actually in commun-ication with the spirits of the dead (H 18).

the Fox girls were really in commun-ication with the spirits of dead anddeparted souls.

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III: THE MYSTERY OF RAPS ANDLEVITATIONS (McCabe 42)

These raps were clearly associated withthe two girls,

These raps were always clearly associ-ated with the two daughters,

Margaretta (aged fifteen) and Katie orCathie (aged twelve).

Margaret (aged fifteen) and Kate orCathie (aged twelve).

A third, a married elder sister, namedLeah—at that time Mrs. Fish, and laterMrs. Underhill—came to Hydesville,

A third, a married elder sister, namedLeah—at that time Mrs. Fish, and laterMrs. Underhill—came to Hydeville,

and, at her return to Rochester, tookMargaretta with her.

and, on her return to Rochester, tookMargaret with her.

Leah herself was presently a “medium.” Leah herself was presently a “medium.”

The excitement in rural America wasintense.

The excitement in the neighborhood wasintense.

Throughout the whole country

Mediums sprang up on every side, andthe Foxes were in such demand thatthey could charge a dollar a sitter.

mediums sprang up on every side, andthe Foxes were in such demand thatthey could soon charge a dollar a sitter.

The “spirits,” having at last discovereda way of communicating with the living,rapped out all sorts of messages to thesitters (M 44).

The “spirits,” having at last discovereda way of communicating with the living,rapped out all sorts of messages to thesitters.

2 . S P I R I T U A L I S M I NAMERICA

3:2.1 As near as I can ascertain, theconcrete, organized, spiritualistic move-ment in the United States had its originand spread from this New York episode.

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Spiritualism, it should be known, issimilar to socialism, in that there aremany ramifications and branches of thecult, while there are tens of thousandswho believe in its essential tenets who arenot formal communicants of the organ-ized movement. Later on, the phenomenaof spiritualism were so enlarged as toinclude such stunts as table tipping, slatewriting, and subsequently to the actualmaterialization of alleged spirit entities.

II: HOW GHOSTS ARE MADE(McCabe 17)

The real crusader of this importantdepartment of the movement [i.e. ghostmaterializations] was Mrs. Underhill,

3:2.2 So the real pioneer of Americancommercial mediums was Leah, (Mrs.Underhill),

the eldest of the three Fox sisters whofounded Spiritualism (M 19).

the eldest of the three Fox sisters whovirtually founded American Spiritualism.

She was an expert in fraud and awoman of business.

She was an expert in fraud and awoman of business.

Until her own sisters gave her away,forty years after the beginning of themovement, she was never exposed;

Until her own sisters gave her away,forty years after the beginning of themovement, she was never exposed;

and even an exposure by her sister inthe public Press and on the public stagein New York made no difference to hercareer.

and even an exposure by her sister inthe public press and on the public stagein New York made no difference in hercareer.

She was the Mme. Blavatsky, the Mrs.Eddy, of Spiritualism (M 19).

She was the Mme. Blavatsky, the Mrs.Eddy, of Spiritualism.

[contd] Leah began in 1869, everyother branch of Spiritualist conjuringhaving now been fully explored, toproduce a ghost at her sittings (M 20).

In 1869 she first produced “Ghosts” ather sittings.

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A few months later a wealthy New Yorkbanker, Livermore, lost his wife, and the“hyenas”—as Sir. A. C. Doyle callsmediums who prey on the affections ofthe bereaved—hastened to relieve hisgrief and his purse. For four hundredsittings, spread over a space of six years,Katie Fox impersonated his dead wife. AsKatie Fox confessed in 1888 that Spirit-ualism was “all humbuggery—every bitof it,” we need not enter into a learnedanalysis of these sittings (M 20).

Her sister Katie (so Katie laterconfirmed) impersonated the dead wife ofa New York banker.


3:2.3 Confession of the Fox Sisters.

Margaretta Fox married Captain Kane,the Arctic explorer, who often urgedher to expose the fraud, as he believedit to be.

Margaret Fox married Captain Kane, theArctic explorer, who often urged her toexpose the fraud, as he believed it to be.

In 1888 she found courage to do so(New York Herald, September 24,1888).

In 1888 she found courage to do so.(New York Herald, September 24,1888.)

She and Katie, she said, had discovereda power of making raps with their toe-joints (not knee-joints), and had hoaxedHydesville.

She and Katie, she said, had discovereda power of making raps with their toe-joints, and had hoaxed Hydeville.

Their enterprising elder sister hadlearned their secret, and had organizedthe very profitable business of spirit-rapping.

Their enterprising elder sister hadlearned their secret, and had organizedthe very profitable business of spirit-rapping.

The raps and all other phenomena ofthe Spiritualist movement were, Mrs.Kane said, fraud from beginning to end.

The raps and other phenomena of theSpiritualist movement were, Mrs. Kanesaid, fraud from beginning to end.

She gave public demonstrations in NewYork of the way it was done;

She gave public demonstrations in NewYork of the way it was done;

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and in October of the same year heryounger sister Cathie confirmed thestatement,

and in October of the same year heryounger sister Cathie confirmed thestatement,

and said that Spiritualism was “allhumbuggery, every bit of it” (Herald,October 10 and 11, 1888).

and said that Spiritualism was “allhumbuggery, every bit of it” (Herald,October 10 and 11, 1888).

They agreed that their sister Leah (Mrs.Underhill), the founder of the Spiritual-ist movement and the most prosperousmedium of its palmiest days,

They agreed that their sister Leah,(Mrs. Underhill), the founder of theSpiritualist movement and the mostprosperous medium of its palmiest days,

was a monumental liar and a shamelessorganizer of every variety of fraud.

was a monumental liar and a shamelessorganizer of every variety of fraud.

That a wealthy Spiritualist afterwardsinduced Cathie to go back on thisconfession need not surprise us (M 45).

That a wealthy Spiritualist afterwardsinduced Cathie to go back on thisconfession need not surprise us.

3. SPIRITUALISM IN GREATBRITAIN

II: THE MOVEMENT OF OBJECTSW IT HOUT AN Y A P P A RENTPHYSICAL CAUSE (Bennett 16)

TESTIMONY COLLECTED BY FREDERIC W.H. MYERS. (Bennett 26)

3:3.1 Spiritualism, in its earlier historyin England, was given a great impetus by

[contd] Next in order of time come twopapers by Mr. F. W. H. Myers, one Mr. F. W. H. Myers,

who took it upon himself,

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under the title of “Alleged Movements ofObjects without Contact, occurring not inthe Presence of a Paid Medium.” Theyare published in vol. vii. of the Proceed-ings of the Society for Psychical Research(B 26).

in connection with the PsychicalResearch Society, to collect togetherevidences of moving objects,

[Compare B 15.] noises, lights, etc., in connection withspirit seances.

The two following cases in the firstarticle present the strongest evidence.

(1) THE ARMSTRONG CASE.—Mr.George Allman Armstrong, of 8 Leeson Place,Dublin, and Ardnacarrig, Bandon, writes anaccount dated 13th June 1887.

It was he that reported the famous Arm-strong case

After vouching for the perfect good faith ofthe small group of experimenters, he describesin detail the movements of a table. The“rising” was generally preceded by a continu-ous fusillade of “knocks” in the substance ofthe table. When the knocks had, as it were,reached a climax, the table slowly swayedfrom side to side like a pendulum.

where the tables pranced about

It would stop completely, and then, as ifimbued with life, and quite suddenly, wouldrise completely off the floor to a height oftwelve or fourteen inches at least. It nearlyalways came down with immense force, andon several occasions proved destructive toitself, as the broken limbs of the table used atKinsale could testify (B 27).

and on one occasion came down withsuch destructive force that the legs werebroken.

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(2) A BELL-RINGING CASE.—Mr.Myers, in introducing this case, says: “Theusual hypotheses of fraud, rats, hitched wires,&c., seem hard to apply....” The following isan abstract:—

... Nine bells hung in a row just inside thearea door, opposite the kitchen door, and therewas one bell—a call bell—on the landing atthe top of the house.

Mr. D. frequently saw several of thesebells ringing at once, the ringing being suddenand very violent, louder, he believed, thanthey could be rung by pulling the handles.[Etc.] (B 27-28)

He also gave publicity to extraordinarybell-ringing,

The second paper by Mr. Myers isdevoted exclusively to some “strange exper-iences” which occurred several years previousto 1891, at the village of Swanland ... Therewere no intellectual phenomena, nothing butthe apparently meaningless throwing about ofpieces of wood—directed, however, by someintelligence, so as to attract attention withoutdoing harm (B 30).

and other stunts which were supposed tobe of spirit origin.

XI: THE SUMMING UP OF THEWHOLE MATTER (Bennett 121)

3:3.2 It should be stated that,

As long ago as the year 1874, Sir WilliamCrookes

as far back as 1874, Sir William Crookes

became attracted to spiritualism

gave permission for the reprint of alimited number of copies of variousarticles which he had contributed to theperiodical literature of the day. These,with some other original matter, werepublished under the title of “Researchesin the Phenomena of Spiritualism” (B124).

and read papers and made many addressesconcerning his experiences with allegedmediums.

[INTRODUCTION, by Sir Oliver Lodge (B 9)] His interest in the movement considerablyanti-dated that of Sir Oliver Lodge.

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4. HOME—THE PATRONSAINT OF SPIRITUALISM

3:4.1 D. D. Home seems to have beenthe central character around whichspiritualism in Great Britain had its originsome fifty or sixty years ago,

[INTRODUCTION, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(Mme Home iii)]

and Sir A. Conan Doyle elevated him tothe pedestal of the Patron Saint ofModern Spiritualism.

I: SCOTLAND AND AMERICA (Mme.Home 1)

[contd] Daniel Dunglas Home wasborn near Edinburgh, March 20, 1833.

3:4.2 Home was born near Edinburghin 1833,

His parents both came of ancient Scottishfamilies. Through his mother, whosemaiden name was McNeill, he was de-scended from a Highland family in whichthe traditionary Scottish gift of the“second-sight” had been preserved.

of a Scottish family that is reputed tohave had a traditional “second sight” as apart of its heredity.

Mrs. Home possessed it herself; Home’s mother is supposed to have beena sort of clairvoyant, or to have beenotherwise endowed with second sight.

and while her son was still an infant shehad a vision concerning him that foundfulfilment more than twenty years later atFontainebleau (MH 1).

He was a sensitive, delicate child, of ahighly nervous temperament, and of suchweak health from his infancy that he hadnot been expected to live (MH 1).

He was a delicate child, of highly nervoustemperament.

An aunt, who had no children of herown, adopted Home; and his infancy waspassed in her care at Portobello.

He was raised by an aunt,

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When he was nine years old, she and herhusband emigrated to America, and tookwith them the boy whose life wasdestined to be so wonderful (MH 1).

who, when he was nine years of age,immigrated to America.

3:4.3 Home’s spiritualistic experienceseems to have had its origin in 1845,

A few weeks before [he went with hisrelatives to live in Troy, New York],Home was, as usual, with his friendEdwin in the woods (MH 2).

when he and a young companion were outin the woods

On this occasion—it was in April, 1845or 1846—Edwin was full of a ghost-storythat he had just read (MH 2).

reciting a ghost story,

When Edwin’s story was told, thetwo boys set themselves to discuss it, andalso the possibility of such apparitions ofdeparted spirits appearing to those whomthey had loved on earth. With theromance of their age, they ended byagreeing to bind themselves by the samepromise that the two lovers in the legendhad taken; and exchanged vows on thespot, in the most solemn manner theycould devise.

and they agreed between themselves thatwhichever one should die first he wouldsubsequently reappear to the survivingmember of the duet.

A few weeks later, Home went to live atTroy. He was then about thirteen years ofage (MH 2).

They were soon separated by Edwin’sparents moving away,

[contd] In the month of June following, and Home, a few months afterwards,

... at the moment when the boy, havingfinished his prayers, was slipping intobed, [the moon’s] light was suddenlydarkened. Startled by this phenomenon,Home looked up, and beheld a vision thathe has described in the opening chapter ofhis Incidents in My Life, published in theyear 1863 by Messrs. Longman:—

is reported to have had a vision oneevening, shortly after retiring,

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“[T]hrough the darkness there seemed to be agleam of light, which I cannot describe ... Thislight increased; and my attention was drawn to thefoot of my bed, where stood my friend Edwin.... Helooked on me with a smile of ineffable sweetness,then, slowly raising the right arm, he pointedupward; and making with it three circles in the air,the hand began slowly to disappear. Then the arm,and finally the whole body, melted away.... I wasspeechless and could not move, though I retainedall my reasoning faculties. As soon as the power ofmovement was restored I rang the bell, and thefamily, thinking I was ill, came to my room, whenmy first words were—‘I have seen Edwin—he diedthree days ago’” (MH 2-3).

after which he said to the family:“I haveseen Edwin. He died three days ago.”

[contd] A day or two afterwards aletter was received, announcing the deathof Edwin after a very short illness (MH3).

And two or three days afterward wordwas received announcing the death of hiscompanion.

[See MH 4, re Hume’s hearing loud blows at thehead of his bed one night, and raps on the tablewhere he and his aunt were sitting at breakfast thefollowing morning.]

3:4.4 From now on ensue a successionof marvelous events, demonstrations, etc.,

Much to the displeasure of his aunt, whowas a member of the Kirk of Scotland,

much to the displeasure of his aunt, whowas a member of the Church of Scotland,

he had joined the Wesleyan communion;but her opposition to this step was sopersistent and violent that

and who opposed her nephew’s Wesleyanconnections so much that

her nephew finally compromised mattersby leaving the Wesleyans for theCongregationalists, whom she regardedwith less dislike (MH 4).

he finally joined the Congregationalists asa compromise.

These events, it should be borne in mind,are occurring

About two years earlier, theknockings at Rochester had attractedpublic attention. Home’s aunt had heardof them from some of her neighbours, andbelieved them to be works of the Evil One(MH 4).

about two years after the famousknockings of the Fox sisters at Rochesterhad attracted so much attention.

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II: ENGLAND AND ITALY (Mme.Home 23)

3:4.5 It would seem that Home, afterall, created much more of a stir inEngland than he had in America. Therewere no Fox sisters there to shareattention with him. He was the wholeshow in Great Britain.

Home’s presence in London soonbecame known, and without havingcourted it, he found the notice of Englishsociety attracted to him.

The best of society took an interest inHome’s manifestations;

More requests for séances were pressedupon him than he could gratify; andamong other noted personages of the day,Lord Brougham expressed a desire toinvestigate the phenomena. [Etc.] (MH23)

earls, lords, and what not became hispatrons,

[It is true that he did not charge so much a sitter. and while Home does not seem to havesought to commercialize the immediateseance,

He had a more profitable way. He lived—apartfrom his wives and a few lectures (supported by hisfollowers)—on the generosity of his dupes all hislife (McCabe 8).]

it is evident that he received liberalsupport from numerous sources.

I: SCOTLAND AND AMERICA (Mme.Home 1)

The results of numerous applicationsmade to the friends of Mr. Home in boththe Old and New Worlds, together withthe correspondence preserved by him,enable me to supply most of the namesomitted in the Incidents, and in variouscases to add the personal testimony ofinvestigators concerning their exper-iences.... My only difficulty will be tocontain the record of a life so full ofwonderful and various incident within thelimits of a single volume (MH 7).

It would require a book twice the size ofthis little volume to reproduce all theletters from prominent people

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who were willing to swear to theremarkable things they saw at the seancesconducted by Home from time to time.

II: ENGLAND AND ITALY (Mme Home 23)III: ITALY AND FRANCE (Mme Home 40)IV: FRANCE AND RUSSIA (Mme Home 56)

In the years that followed, Home visitedItaly, France, and Russia, where heconducted many seances,

VI: ENGLAND (Mme. Home 91)

[contd] Friends in Russia had beenurging Mr. Home to re-visit them; butfinding that there was no immediateprospect of his making the journey, twoof their number, Count Alexis Tolstoyand Count Steinbock-Fermor, determinedto go to him instead; and he hadaccordingly the pleasure of welcomingthem to London about the middle of June,1860. [Etc.] (MH 91)

and became a fast friend of AlexisTolstoi.

V: ENGLAND (Mme. Home 69)

[contd] The second residence of Mr.Home in England lasted from November,1859, unto the last week of July, 1860. Hereturned a third time in the followingwinter, and was in England during thewhole of 1861 (MH 69).

3:4.6 From 1859 to 1861 he seems tohave been back and forth between thecontinent and England,

[See Chaps. IV, V, VI.] holding seances for the highest societyand royalty,

[See MH 71, re Faraday’s theory of “involuntarymuscular action”.]

and it was about this time that thescientist, Faraday, contemplated aninvestigation,

“He” (Faraday) “prescribed certainconditions which it would have beenutterly impossible for Mr. Home, whetherthat gentleman be the apostle of a newscience or a mere pretender and humbug,to accept...” (MH 71).

but it seems that his conditions were notaltogether acceptable to the medium

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Faraday’s second condition, of openand complete examination, Home wouldas readily have accepted as he afterwardsdid in the case of Crookes; but was itconceivable he should accept this? Mr.Robert Bell was so assured he would not,that he did not think it worth while evento transmit to Mr. Home a proposal soinsulting;

and accordingly the negotiations betweenBell, Sir Emerson, and Faraday weredropped and never resumed (MH 72).

and so the test never came off.

At these séances in Hyde Park Place,and at others that Home held in Londonduring 1860 and the years following,many of the best-known figures inEnglish society were present. The effecton some was to convert them to a beliefin the spiritual origin of the manifest-ations; others preserved a suspense ofjudgment as to their origin, whileadmitting the facts (MH 76).

By 1860 a number of influential convertsto spiritualism had been made in England.

VIII: AMERICA, RUSSIA, ANDENGLAND (Mme. Home 129)

At this visit [to the Spiritual Athen-æum in London], Mrs. Lyon, an absolutestranger to Home, entered into conver-sation with him concerning his work,Incidents of My Life, which she declaredherself to have read with much interest(MH 141).

3:4.7 In London Home met Mrs. Lyon,

A day or two afterwards she made a giftof £30 to the funds of the Athenæum, andfollowed this act by astounding Mr.Home with the declaration that she hadtaken a great fancy to him, and wasdetermined to adopt him as her son, andsettle a handsome fortune on him (MH141).

who subsequently took a fancy to him,adopted him—

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Early in December, 1866, Mr. Homeformally assumed the name of Home-Lyon.

he changing his name to Home-Lyon—

Without saying anything to him, Mrs.Lyon wrote on this occasion to the samesolicitor:—

“ 7th December, 1866.“MY DEAR MR. WILKINSON,—On the

occasion of my adopted son taking the name ofLyon, I wish to give him a little surprise. I intend toadd six thousand pounds to the twenty-four I havealready given him, making a sum total of thirtythousand. . . . Yours very truly,

“JANE LYON” (MH 144)

and settled upon him twenty-five or thirtythousand pounds at first,

[contd] Mr. Wilkinson in reply oncemore suggested that, as he had known Mr.Home long and intimately, she shouldemploy another solicitor to transact thebusiness. Mrs. Lyon refused ... and verysoon afterwards informed him of herdesire to transfer a further sum of £30,000to Mr. Home (MH 144).

and subsequently another thirty thousandpounds,

V : PHYSICAL PHENOMENAALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED INTHE PRESENCE OF DANIELDUNGLAS HOME (Bennett 41)

The gift to Home by Mrs. Lyon of a largesum of money, the subsequent lawsuit,and the judgment in accordance withwhich the money was returned to itsoriginal owner, excited much attention atthe time (B 54).

all of which ended in a lawsuit

This episode with Mrs. Lyon has prob-ably had more effect than any othercircumstance in causing the feeling ofaversion which large numbers of peopleregard Home and all his doings (B 54).

which detracted much from Home’spopularity,

20


Mr. H. Arthur Smith further says:“There was also an admitted letter fromMrs. Lyon to Home, in which she statedthat she presented him with the £24,000as an ‘entirely free gift.’ This, she said,was written by her at Home’s dictation,under magnetic influence” (B 55).

as Mrs. Lyon claimed that the money wasextracted from her under spiritualisticinfluence.

[She swears that Home brought a fictitious messagefrom her dead husband, ordering her to adoptDaniel and endow him, and she gave him at once£26,000. She swears that, when Home’s birthdaycame round, another fictitious message ordered herto give Daniel a further fat cheque, and she gavehim £6,798 (McCabe 9).]

She claimed that her deceased husband’sspirit, speaking through Home as amedium, directed that she give thismoney to Home.

The courts decided against Home, andordered the money returned to Mrs. Lyon.

XIII: 1876-1886 (Mme. Home 216)

To relate in detail Home’s life duringthese last years on earth would simply totell a story of great suffering patiently andcheerfully borne. In place of this, let me,now that I approach the close of my work,state briefly the substance of manycommunications made concerning the lifebeyond this. The greater part of suchcommunications were given throughHome while he was in a state of trance.[Etc.] (MH 225)

3:4.8 It seems that in the later years ofHome’s life he received the majority ofhis communications in a state of trance.

In June, 1886, the complication ofwhich he had foretold the dangersupervened, and attacking the lungs,proved quickly fatal (MH 229). Home died of his lung trouble and other

affections

Home’s grave is at St. Germain. Aplain cross of white marble rises from aCalvary, on which is engraved: “DanielDunglas Home. Born to earth-life nearEdinburgh (Scotland), March 20th, 1833.Born to spirit-life: ‘To another discerningof spirits’ (1st Corinthians, 12th chapter,10th verse): June 21, 1886" (MH 230). on June 2, 1886.

21


3:4.9 The careful study of Home’s lifeand the perusal of his writings suggeststhat there is indeed a great paucity of“leading lights” in the modern spiritisticmovement—or else the present daysponsors for this new religion wouldhardly settle upon such a character asHome for its Patron Saint. His wholecareer was “fishy” from first to last;though notwithstanding the unsavorylawsuit and the adverse judgment of theBritish courts, directing him to return thefortune he had secured from Mrs. Lyonunder the guise of spirit messages fromher dead husband—notwithstanding theutter preposterousness of the impossibleclaims and assertions of Home—hisfanatical followers believed in him to theend, and today they would commemoratehim, in the words of Doyle, as

PROLOGUE (Mme. Home vii)

By sacrificing himself to everydescription of research, he enabledscientific investigators to establish theexistence of forces that until his day hadremained unknown; and he founded beliefin a spirit-world on those remarkableevidences of identity that will remain thebases of the true modern spiritualism(MH vii).

“the basis of the true modern spirit-ualism.”

22


5. REV. STAINTON MOSES

[Note: Moses lived and worked in England, nevervisited America, and became known there onlyafter his death.]

3:5.1 About the time that Home was invogue in England, the Rev. StaintonMoses was occupying the center of thestage in America. Reverend Moses seems,like Home, to have made little attempt tocommercialize his seances, but he wasone of the earlier and more pretentiousadvocates of spiritualism in America.

VI: PHYSICAL PHENOMENAALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED INTHE PRESENCE OF WILLIAM STAIN-TON MOSES (Bennett 58)

LIGHTS WITHOUT APPARENT PHYSICALCAUSE (Bennett 72)

[contd] The phenomena of Lightwithout any apparent physical cause wasa frequent one with Mr. Stainton Moses,and the manifestations were of a veryvaried character (B 72-73).

The seances of Reverend Moses are saidto have been particularly characterized bywhispering voices in the magic circle, aswell as by numerous lights whichappeared from time to time.

III: THE PRODUCTION OF SOUNDWITHOUT ANY APPARENT PHYSIC-AL CAUSE (Bennett 31)

Some little time later, at a similar seanceat the [house of prominent Londonspiritualist, Mr. Thos. Everitt, Mrs.Everitt being the medium], the sittingwas terminated by the singing of a hymnby three or four soft, gentle voicespurporting to be “direct” voices, The voices are repor ted to have

sometimes, blended into a quartet or achoir which could be heard in gentlemeter

23


which sounded as if they proceeded fromthe top of the room close to the ceiling....I can only compare it to the singing of achoir of boys’ voices, high up out of sightin Truro Cathedral, which I had heardmany years before (B 34-35).

as if the music were being wafted to thehearers from a considerable distance.

V: A CHAPTER OF GHOSTLYACCOMPLISHMENTS (McCabe 77)

He worked always in the dark, or in avery bad light;

Of course, these manifestations alwaystook place in a perfectly dark room.

and his doings are mainly described byhis trustful friend and host, Mrs. Speer(M 87).

The majority of the seances of theReverend Moses were conducted for hisfriend, Doctor Spear.

[Mr. Stainton Moses’ most intimate friendswere Dr. and Mrs. Stanhope T. Speer (B 60).]

Like Home, and only a few of the quiteholiest mediums,

3:5.2 Like Home,

he was occasionally lifted off the ground; the friends of Moses claim that he wasfrequently lifted off the ground,

or, which is, of course, the same thing, hesaid that he was.

or that he told them of experiences inwhich he had been levitated.

Raps were common when he was about. So-called “rappings” were often asso-ciated with this medium,

but his chief spirit pursuit seemed topertain to automatic writing.

Automatic writing of the most elevating(and most inaccurate) description flowedfrom his pencil. From his hand, by automatic writing,

there would ensue a flood of elevatingand interesting, but always more or lessinaccurate, material.

As previously noted,

Lights floated about the room; lights were frequently seen floating aboutthe room,

24


and once or twice he dropped and broke abottle of phosphorus in the dark (M 88).

and on one occasion the medium was sounfortunate as to drop and break a bottleof phosphorus

whose fumes soon penetrated the wholeatmosphere of the darkened seance room.

6. LATER SPIRITUALISTICLIGHTS

3:6.1 During the half century thatspiritualism has been masquerading inthis country and Great Britain, a vastnumber of leading lights have come andgone. Among this number may bementioned:

A pretty variation of musicalmediumship was next introduced by Mrs.Annie Eva Fay, another American fraudwith whom Sir W. Crookes made solemnscientific experiments (M 81-82).

3:6.2 The Case of Mrs. Fay.

She came to London in 1874, andeverybody soon went to see and hear the“fascinating American blonde” at theHanover Square Rooms (M 82).

A few years back the world wasentranced by the astonishing seances ofMme. Fay.

[See M 82.] In her performances, she was alwaysaccompanied by her husband, theColonel, and she practiced and prospereduntil one time

By an accident at one of her performances an accident occurred in one of herperformances

which was attended by Mr. Podmore,

Mr. Podmore was enabled to see how shedid it, and the secret has long beenknown.

and he made the discovery of just howshe liberated herself.

The tapes supplied had to be fastened insuch a way

She had perfected a method of fasteningthe tapes that bound her hands together,

25


that she could with great speed slip themup her slender arms and get into aworking position.

so that she could liberate herself at willand carry on the numerous stunts,

all of which, of course, were done in aperfectly dark room.

Maskelyne also exposed her, A London Museum proprietor1 alsosubsequently exposed Mrs. Fay,

and trade fell off so badly that she madehim an offer, by letter, to go on his stageand, for payment,

and her income as a medium was soreduced that she offered, by letter, to goon his stage, for a fee,

show how all the tricks were done. and show how all of her tricks and thoseof other mediums were done.

This sort of thing becomes a real tragedywhen we come to think that

She had by that time converted hundredsto Spiritualism (M 83).

by this time she had been the means ofconverting hundreds, if not thousands, tothe cause of spiritualism

and influencing them to become devoutbelievers in the supernatural.

VI: THE SUBTLE ART OFCLAIRVOYANCE (McCabe 93)

Mrs. Piper, the great Americanclairvoyante, the medium whoseperformances are endorsed as genuineeven by men who regard Spiritualism asninety-eight per cent. fraud, began hercareer as a “psychic” in 1874 (M 101).

3:6.3 The Interesting Mrs. Piper.

Mrs. Piper is probably one of the mostinteresting specimens of mediumship thatever attracted attention in America, orwho was ever investigated by anythinglike what could purport to be a scientificcommission.

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Mr. Podmore, who, in spite of hishigh critical faculty, was taken in by thisepisode [i.e. Mrs. Piper’s four-year periodof transmitting messages by her thenspirit control, “George Pelham”],

Mrs. Piper was even able to take in theshrewd and critical Mr. Podmore;

thinks that telepathy alone can explain thewonderful things done. He does notbelieve in ghosts.

although Podmore would not accept thehypothesis of “spooks” or “spirits,” hewas disposed to grant the genuineness ofsome of her performances and to explainthem on the hypothesis of telepathy.

Mrs. Piper’s “subconscious self,” hethinks, creates and impersonates thesespirit beings,

He resorted to the theory that it was Mrs.Piper’s subconscious self that thinks andcreates these spiritual beings,

and draws the information telepathicallyfrom the sitters (M 102).

and that she elicits communications fromher sitters by making telepathic contactwith their respective minds.

3:6.4 Now when we are discussingMrs. Piper, the reader should bear inmind that

I am, you see, not choosing “weakspots,” as Sir A. C. Doyle said, and amnot quite so ignorant of psychic matters,in comparison with himself, as herepresented (Debate, p. 51). I am takingthe greatest “clairvoyant” in the history ofthe movement,

we are considering a woman who wasregarded as the “greatest clairvoyant inthe history of the movement”

and in precisely those respects in whichshe was endorsed by Dr. Hodgson and theAmerican S. P. R.

and that she was endorsed by DoctorHodgson and his American Society forPsychic Research;

and Sir O. Lodge and all the leadingEnglish Spiritualists.

and that she was further endorsed by SirOliver Lodge and the leading Britishlights in the firmament of spiritism.

She failed at every crucial test. But Mrs. Piper always fell down when itcame to the actual test—

when it came to “brass tacks,” in thelanguage of slang.

27


Phinuit, who knew so much, Her spook, Phinuit, who could commun-icate so much through Mrs. Piper to theinvestigators, on subjects of a generalnature,

could not give a plausible account of hisown life on earth,

could not give a sane or connected ac-count of his own life on earth,

or how he came to forget medicine (M103-04).

or give a plausible reason why he shouldforget the medical facts and knowledgewhich he had possessed when in the flesh.

When Myers 3:6.5 When Myers,

the renowned English investigator andwriter on spiritism,

died in 1901 and left a sealed envelopecontaining a message,

died in 1901, and left a sealed envelopecontaining a test message,

she could not get a word of it. Mrs. Piper could not get through to theinvestigators a single word of thismessage.

When Hodgson died in 1905 and left alarge amount of manuscript in cipher,

When her long time sponsor, Hodgson,died in 1905 he left behind a largeamount of manuscript in cipher,

she could not get the least clue to it. but Mrs. Piper was unable to catch theleast clew to his writings

and this experiment added but another tothe long list of dismal failures to makegood under real test conditions.

Even when she claimed to have called upProfessor Hodgson from the grave,

When friends put test questions to thespirit of Hodgson about his early life inAustralia,

when his friends put test questions to her,or to what purported to be his spiritspeaking through Mrs. Piper as a medium,about his early life in Australia,

the answers were all wrong (M 104). her answers were all consistently wrong.

28


She was completely baffled when amessage was given to her in Latin,

3:6.6 She was completely baffledwhen a message was given to her inLatin,

though she was supposed to be speakingin the name of the spirit of the learnedMyers,

though she was supposed to be speakingin the name of the spirit of the learnedMyers,

and it took her three months to get themeaning (out of a dictionary?) of one ortwo easy words in it.

and it took her three months to get themeaning (out of a dictionary?) of one ortwo easy words of it.

She gave a man a long account of anuncle whom he had never had;

She gave a man a long account of anuncle whom he never had;

and it turned out that this informationwas in the Encyclopædia, and related toanother man of the same name.

and it turned out that this informationwas in the Encyclopedia, and related toanother man of the same name.

In no instance did she ever give detailsthat it was impossible for her to learn ina normal way,

In no instance did she ever give detailsthat it was impossible for her to learn ina normal way,

and it is for her admirers to prove thatshe did not learn them in a normal way,

and it is for her admirers to prove thatshe did not learn them in a normal way,

and, on the other hand, to give a moreplausible explanation of what Dr.Maxwell, their great authority, calls her“inaccuracies and falsehoods” (M 104-05).

and, on the other hand, to give a moreplausible explanation of what DoctorMaxwell, their great authority, calls her“inaccuracies and falsehoods.”

VII: MESSAGES FROM THE SPIRIT-WORLD (McCabe 109)

3:6.7 The Famous Bangs Sisters.

Among the most interesting of thephysical-manifestation mediums of therecent past were the Bangs Sisters ofChicago, whom I have seen operate verymany times.

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[Carrington] tells in his PersonalExperiences in Spiritualism of a pair ofChicago mediums—the same MissesBangs who painted spirit pictures beforeyour eyes, as I have previouslydescribed—

They were the same Misses Bangs whopainted spirit pictures right before theeyes of their sitters.

whose method was extraordinarilydifficult to detect (M 120).

And many of their methods, it must beconfessed, were very difficult to detectand expose.

Here were two quiet and inoffensive-looking spinsters earning a good living bydeceptive practices

3:6.8 These interesting maiden ladiescontinued their work of deceiving thepublic—

(this and the spirit-painting trick) whichthey had themselves, apparently, origin-ated, and which taxed the ingenuity of anexpert conjurer to discover (M 121)

and they were very clever at it—

[Note: The Bangs Sisters were arrested in Chicagoin April 1888 but continued in their trade till the1920s.]

until they were finally rounded up by theChicago police and their profitablebusiness was brought to an end.

3:6.9 Sooner or later, it seems, themost brilliant mediums are detected; andthis same thing occurred in the case of

Mrs. Ebba Wriedt came from thatperennial breeding-ground of greatmediums, the United States, where shehad long been known.

the famous Mrs. Wriedt, the Britishmedium

In 1912 she illumined London.... Lighthad wonderful columns on Mrs. Wriedt’smarvels (M 124).

who flourished in England,

[See M 125-26.] but who was caught in Norway.

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III: COMMUNICATIONS PURPORT-ING TO COME FROM DR. RICHARDHODGSON. (Funk 47)

3 . INTERESTING BUT SCARCELYEVIDENTIAL (Funk 71)

Rev. Mr. Wiggin, a noted platformmedium, in his church in Boston on Sunday,January 28, 1906, announced—or was it, as heclaims, the spirit control through him thatmade the announcement?—that Dr. Hodgsonwas present, and desired to speak [to his oldfriend in New York, Dr. I. K. Funk] (F 73).

3:6.10 And so the Rev. FrederickWiggin

was able to put many things over, butwhen he got up against the shrewd DoctorFunk, the wires got crossed

The message unfortunately contains avery grave error. My wife did not die becauseof an “accident,” but, some thirty-five yearsago, died of peritonitis in childbirth; but mymother, over two score years ago in Ohio,died exactly in the way described in themessage except that she stept down from achair, on a needle which resulted in herdeath—she did not fall. [Etc.] (F 75)

and he got Doctor Funk’s mother’s deathmixed up and attributed it to his wife.


Again let us, in order not to wastetime, address ourselves at once to theclassical case of Eusapia Palladino. 3:6.11 The Classic Palladino.

Not many years ago, they brought toAmerica the classic medium ofcontinental Europe, Eusapia Palladino.

Your common or garden medium, withhis uncritical audience, has a dozen waysof tilting and lifting tables and pullingfurniture about the room about the room.[Etc.] (M 52-53)

She was not the common garden varietyof medium,

but the real thing.

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You all know how she came, heralded, tothis country; how this

Eusapia Palladino was an Italianworking girl, an orphan,

Italian working girl,

who married a small shopkeeper ofNaples. She remained throughout lifealmost entirely illiterate, with no education, the daughter of a

shopkeeper in Naples,

held the attention of scientists andinvestigators,

but she came in time to earn “exorbitantfees” (Lombroso’s daughter says) by herséances (M 53-54).

and how she earned fortunes through herprofession.

And you will recall how

In 1910 the Americans tried her. the late Professor Hugo Munsterberg andhis assistants trapped her in this country.

At one sitting Professor Münsterberg wascarefully controlling her left foot, as hethought, when the table in the cabinetbehind her began to move.

In the midst of her wonderfulperformance,

she uttered an outlandish scream.

3:6.12 The seance was suddenlyterminated.

But one man had stealthily crept into thecabinet under cover of the dark,

One of Professor Munsterberg’sassistants had crawled along on the floor,

and in the midst of the performance

and he seized something. Eusapiashrieked—it was her left foot! (M 56)

had seized the medium’s leg.

She was carrying on her wonderfulperformance by means of the dexteroususe of her toes, handling instruments, andcausing the rest of the phenomenaassociated with her seance.

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3:6.13 It should be borne in mind that

From 1905 to 1907 she was rigorouslyexamined by the General PsychologicalInstitute of Paris. They reported constanttrickery and evasion of tests. Sitters werenot allowed to put a foot on her right foot

the investigators and observers of Eusapiawere not allowed to put a foot on herright foot

because she had a painful corn on it. because of the fact that she claimed thatthat foot was “afflicted with a painfulcorn.”

At the same time we should rememberthat

One of her hands must not be clasped bythe control

one of her hands must not be clasped bythe investigator

because she was acutely sensitive to painin that hand.

because of the further fact that she “wasacutely sensitive to pain in that hand.”

She will not allow a man to stand nearand do nothing but watch her.

Under no circumstances would thisfamous medium ever allow a man to standnear her with nothing to do but intentlyobserve her performances.

It would seem that she was able to

She wriggles and squirms all the time,and releases her hands and feet. release her hands and feet from almost

any ordinary control by means of herconstant wriggling and squirming.

3:6.14 One of the early frauds Eusapiawas detected in was effected by means ofan investigator who sneaked in a camera

She learns that, in a photograph they havetaken of one high “levitation” of a stool,

and took an exposure of the levitation ofa stool high in the air.

When the photograph was developed

it is plainly seen to be resting on her head, it was plain to be seen that the stool wasresting on the medium’s head.

33


so she allows no more photographs ofthis. And so on (M 56).

From that time on she developed apeculiar phobia for photographers oranyone carrying anything that in the leastresembled a camera of any size.

VII: MESSAGES FROM THE SPIRIT-WORLD (McCabe 109)

The supreme artist in [the trick ofreceiving messages from spirits on slates]was Henry Slade, 3:6.15 Slade, The Slate-Writer.

whom Sir A. C. Doyle regards as agenuine intermediary between the loftyspirits of the other world and ourselves.

As Truesdell’s account of the way inwhich he unmasked Slade as early as1872 contains one of the richest stories inthe whole collection of Spiritualistanecdotes, one would have thought that astory-teller like Sir A. C. Doyle could notpossibly have forgotten it (M 112).

Truesdell undertook a serious inves-tigation of Slade.

Truesdell paid the customary fivedollars,

Having paid the customary five dollars,

and received pretty and edifying, butinconclusive, messages from the spirits.

he received a number of interesting andpretty messages purporting to be of spiritorigin,

but wholly unsatisfactory and un-convincing to the investigator.

Incidentally he detected that the spirit-touches on his arms were done by Slade’sfoot,

He soon discovered that the supposedspirit touches on his arm were executedby Slade’s foot.

He concluded that they were performed

to distract his attention; in order to divert his attention away frombeing too closely concentrated on theslate-trick.

but he could not see the method of theslate-trick.

34


However, as the main theme of themessages

3:6.16 The main theme of the messages

which most sitters received on Slade’strick-slates

was an exhortation to persevere in hisinquiries

was in the nature of an exhortation topersevere in the investigation of thingsspiritual,

and of course this meant—although notdirectly implied—that

(at five dollars a sitting to the medium),he made another appointment.

the investigator would pay the medium,Slade, five dollars a sitting.

How else could these investigations besuitably or successfully carried on?

3:6.17 Truesdell tells of a subsequentvisit to Slade

It was on this occasion that he left amisleading letter in his overcoat inSlade’s hall,

at which time he left a misleading letter inhis overcoat pocket out in Slade’s hall,

and found the spirits assuming that hewas “Samuel Johnson, Rome, N.Y.”

and subsequently found that the all-wisespirits assumed that he was “SamuelJohnson, Rome, New York.”

But before Slade entered the room, But before the medium had entered theseance room,

and while he was presumably out in thehall,

or while Slade was going through hisovercoat-pockets,

going through the investigator’s overcoatpockets,

he rapidly overhauled Slade’s room. Truesdell rapidly overhauled Slade’sroom.

He found a slate with a pious messagefrom the spirits already written on it,

He found a slate containing a carefullyprepared and pious message, purporting tocome from the spirits,

35


signed (as was usual) by the spirit ofSlade’s dead wife, Alcinda.

already written and signed, as was Slade’scustom, with the name of his dead wife,Alcinda.

Beneath the message Truesdell wrote Directly underneath this message on theslate Truesdell wrote:

“Henry, look out for this fellow—he is upto snuff! Alcinda,”

“Henry, look out for this fellow—he is upto snuff! Alcinda.”

and replaced the slate. Then he carefully replaced the slate,

leaving everything exactly as he found it.

Slade came in, and gave a most dramaticperformance.

Presently Slade came into the room andgave a most dramatic performance,

In his contortions, during which he indulged in numerouscontortions,

under the spirit-influence, and under the apparent influence ofinvisible spirits

he drew the table near to the hidden slate, he gradually drew the small table onwhich his slates rested nearer and nearerthe location of the hidden slate,

and “accidentally” knocked the cleanslate off the table.

whereupon he “accidentally” knocked theclean slate, which was about to be usedfor test purposes, off the table.

Of course, This of course

was nothing more nor less than a ruse togive him an excuse for

he picked up the prepared slate. picking up the prepared slate,

which by this time was near at hand.

His emotions can be imagined when heread the words which Truesdell hadwritten on it.

The reader can easily imagine whatSlade’s emotions must have been when heread the words which Truesdell hadwritten on the slate

36


underneath his message but a few minutespreviously.

However, the medium soon overcame hisembarrassment

After a little bluster, however, helaughingly acknowledged that he was amere conjuror,

and after a little confusion he “laughinglyacknowledged that he was a mereconjuror,”

and he told Truesdell many tricks of hisprofession (M 112-13).

and told the investigator who had out-witted him about many of the tricks of hisprofession.

[See M 113-14.] He was many times arrested and exposedin both this country and in England.

3:6.18 The Seybert CommissionFindings.

V: A CHAPTER OF GHOSTLYACCOMPLISHMENTS (McCabe 77)

Henry Seybert, a Spiritualist, left a largesum of money to the University ofPennsylvania

Henry Seybert bequeathed funds to beused by the University of Pennsylvania

on the condition that the Universityauthorities would appoint a commissionto examine into (among other things) theclaims of Spiritualism (M 86).

in the scientific study of the phenomenaof spiritualism.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THESEYBERT COMMISSION FORI N V E S T I G A T I N G M O D E R NSPIRITUALISM (Seybert Commission)

[contd] A Commission was accord-ingly appointed, composed as follows:

A committee, consisting of ten eminentmen,

37


Dr. William Pepper, Dr. Joseph Leidy,Dr. George A. Koenig, Professor RobertEllis Thompson, Professor George S.Fullerton and Dr. Horace HowardFurness; to whom were afterwards addedMr. Coleman Sellers, Dr. James W.White, Dr. Calvin B. Knerr and Dr. S.Weir Mitchell (SC 5).

By the advice of Mr. Hazard weaddressed ourselves first to the inves-tigation of Independent Slate Writing, andthrough his aid a séance for this purposewas arranged with a noted Medium, Mrs.S. E. Patterson (SC 6).

made a thorough-going investigation ofslate writing,

trance mediums, and other mediumisticphenomena,

and came to the conclusion that the wholesordid mess was fraudulent.2

[Very few mediums would face the professors, andthose who did were shown to be all frauds (M 86).]

They caught their mediums again andagain in cheating,

When the slate is held under the table,knees and feet and clothing exert nodeleterious effect, but the gaze of ahuman eye is fatal to all Spiritualmanifestation; although to one of ournumber, on three occasions, a pocketmirror, carefully adjusted, unknown tothe Medium,

and by means of mirrors and other devices

gave back the reflection of fingers, whichwere clearly not Spiritual, opening theslates and writing the answer (SC 15-16).

were able to detect the deceptive methodspracticed by the mediums.

[See endnote.] And subsequent investigations haveconfirmed the findings of the Philadelphiainvestigation.3

38


1. John Nevil Maskelyne (1839-1917) was an English stage magician and inventor.

2. We request your honorable body to note that this Report is preliminary and that we do not consider ourinvestigations in this department [i.e. Independent Slate Writing] as finally closed, but hold ourselves ready tocontinue them whenever favorable circumstances arise (SC 21).

3. Slade was one of these [fraudulent mediums], and the Pennsylvania professors, wondering how any trained mancould be taken in by so palpable a fraud, sent a representative to Leipsic to investigate the experiences of ProfessorZöllner and the three other German professors who had endorsed Slade. The gist of his report was that of the fourprofessors one (Zöllner) was in an early stage of insanity (he died shortly afterwards), one (Fechner) was nearlyblind, the third (Weber) was seventy-four years old, and the fourth (Schreibner) was very short-sighted, yet did not(as Sir. A.C. Doyle says) entirely endorse the phenomena! (M 86)

The Seybert Commission in its reportsays:

An eminent professional jugglerperformed, in the presence of three of ourCommission,

“An eminent professional jugglerperformed, in the presence of ourcommission,

some Independent Slate Writing far moreremarkable than any which we havewitnessed with Mediums.... We wereutterly baffled. For one of our number thejuggler subsequently repeated the trickand revealed its every detail (SC 19-20).

some independent slate writing far moreremarkable than any we have witnessedwith mediums.”

3:6.19 And so no matter whether theinvestigation is conducted by UniversityProfessors or by the ScientificAmerican—so far, at any rate, themediums have all turned out to becheats—they have all been detected infraud.

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