Therewasnodoubtthathedidnotexchangeenvelopesandthatheburneditbeforemyveryeyes。Henowtooktheashesandemptiedthemintothebowlofwateronthesidetable。Alittleblueflameappearedonthesurfaceofthewaterafterthatforamoment，andthendisappeared。
Henowbroughtfromadraweranumberofslates——abouteightortensmallslateswithpaddededges。Theywerethesmallestsizeofslates，Ishouldjudge；andwiththemhebroughtanotherslate，atriflelarger，probablytwoinchesbothlongerandwider。Herequestedmetoexaminethoroughlyortocleanthemalltomyownsatisfaction，andtostackthesmallonesonthetable，oneontopoftheother；andwhenallwerethusplaced，toplacethelargeslateontopofthestack。
WhileIwasdoingthishecalledtohisattendantforadrinkofwater，andincidentallysteppedintothehalltoreceiveit，sothathismenialwouldnotprofanethissanctuarywithhispresence。
Returningtothetablehetookaseatoppositemeandplacedoneofmyhandsandoneofhisontopoftheslates。Induetimehetookuptheslatesandwefoundnothing。Hereplacedthem，andwaitedforafewmoments；thenseemingdissatisfiedwithconditions，hetookupthetopslateinhislefthandandwithhisrighthandbeganwritingamessageforme。Hedidthislikemediumsdoautomaticwriting，witheyeshalfclosed；andwhilewritinghispersonwasconvulsedafewtimes。Hethenopenedhiseyesandreadaloudwhathehadwritten，askingmeifitansweredmyquestion。I
repliedthatitdidnot，asitwasentirelyforeigntothesubject。
Thenseemingdissatisfied，hemoistenedhisfingers，erasedthewriting，andreplacedthetopslateonthestackofslates。
Henowplacedhishandsonthisslateagain，andafteratimeexaminedit；butitwasstillfreefromwriting。Heliftedupsomeoftheotherslates；butastherewasnowriting，hescatteredtheslatesaroundonthetableandaskedmetospreadalargeclothoverthemwhichhehandedtome。ThisIdid，andunderhisdirectionplacedmyarmsandhandsoverthis。Hewalkedtothebowlofwateronthesidetable，andgazedintoit。Iwatchedhim；
andIsawaratherlargeflameappearonthesurfaceofthewater，danceabout，anddisappear。
HeimmediatelyinformedmethathewascertainthatInowhadamessage。HeremainedatadistancewhileIexaminedtheslatesonebyone。Finally，ononeofthemIfoundamessage，neatlywrittenandcoveringtheentireslate。Itread：
“Mrs。Piperisagenuinemedium。Shepossessespowersofaveryunusualnature。HertestsgivenHyslopandothersaregenuine。Donotbeaskeptic。Youaremakingamistake，dearfriend。Itisallplaintomenow，andspiritisallthereis——WILL。“
Now，thequestionIhadwrittenwasaddressedtoaverydearfriendwhoisnowdead，andreadasfollows：
“WILLJ——：Inregardtothemedium，Mrs。Piper，ofwhomweconversedonyourlastvisit，Iwouldaskifshebegenuine，andifthetestsshegaveProfessorHyslopandothersweregenuine。Givemeatest。“
Thiswasallnicelydone，andIamsurewouldhavegreatlyimpressednearlyeveryone。Beingaperformermyself，Icouldofcoursefollowtheperformanceinminutedetail，andIamthusenabledtogivetothereadersofthispaperadetailedaccountofthemethodusedbythedoctor。IwillstatethatsincethattimeI
haveverysuccessfullyoperatedthissametest，minusthebowlofwaterandflameoffire；andthatIcanassureallthatitisverypracticableandthatitisverydeceptive。
Whenthemediumpickeduptheenvelopeinwhichtoplacemypaper，therewaswithinitaduplicatepieceofpaperfoldedthesame，andofthesamesizeoneinchandaquarterbytwoinchesastheoneIhadfolded。HekeptthefaceofthisenvelopeoppositemesoI
couldnotseethatsideofit。Onthefaceofitwasahorizontalslitcutwithaknife。Thisslitwasabouttwoincheslongandwassituatedabouthalfwaydownthefaceoftheenvelope。Theduplicatefoldedpaperwasplacedverticallyintheenvelopeatitscenter，sothatitscenterwaslocatedagainsttheslit。Thispieceofpaperwasheldinpositionbyatouchofpasteatapointoppositetheslit，whichcausedittoadheretotheinsideofthebackoftheenvelope。
Whenhepickedupthispreparedenvelopewithhislefthand，hedidsowiththeslitsideorfaceinhispalmnexttothefingersofhislefthand。Thisenvelopelayslitsidedownbeforehepickeditup；sothatIdidnotseethefaceoftheenvelopeatall，andhekeptthatsideoftheenvelopefrommeduringtheentiretrick。
Thepaperwithintheenvelopehadbeenplacedfarenoughdownsothatitstoppartwasnotexposedtomyview。Theenvelopethusappearedperfectlynatural，asanordinaryonewithnothinginit。
Hethusheldtheenvelopeinhislefthand，flapopenwide，withthebacksideoftheenvelopelatertobesealed，facingme。Nowhereallyinsertedmypaperinthisenvelopewithhisrighthandashetookitfromme；butinfact，hepusheditdownjustbehindthehiddenslipofpaperwithintheenvelope。Imeanthatheinserteditbetweentheconcealedslipandthefaceorslitsideoftheenvelope；andashedidthishecausedthelowerendofmyslipofpapertopassthroughtheslitinthecenterofthefrontoftheenvelope。Thelowerportionofmyslipwasthusoutoftheenvelopeonitsrearside，betweenthefrontoftheenvelopeandthefingersofhislefthand；althoughIcouldseenothingofthis。
Hepusheditdownsothatthetopstillremainedinviewwiththebentcornerexposed，andthensealedtheflapoverit。
Holdingtheenvelopetowardthewindow，hecalledtomynoticethefactthatmypaperwaswithin，andthatIcouldseeitplainly。I
couldseetheshadowofthetwopapers，whichappearedasone，andthushisstatementseemedcorrect。OfcoursehedidnotshowmetherearsideORFACEoftheenvelope，withmypaperprotruding，whichwasimmediatelybehindtheduplicate，sothattheshadowofitwasalsotheshadowoftheduplicate。
Thisshadowalsohidfrommyviewtheshadowoftheslit。Theenvelopewassealedfairly。
Nowwithhisrighthandhemovedasmallvesselonthetabletowardhimself。Thentakingtheenvelopeinhisrighthand，slitsidedownward，hehelditclosetothisvessel；atthesametimewithhislefthandhetookamatchfromhispocketandproceededtoburntheenvelope。Thismoveconcealedthetrick；anditwasverydeceivingandcleverlydone。Ashetooktheenvelopefromhislefthandwithhisrighthand，he，withhisleftfingerstouchingtheprotrudingportionofmyslip，causedittoremaininhislefthandandtobedrawnentirelyoutoftheslit。Hiseyesfollowedtheenvelopeashisrighthandtookit；whichnaturallycausedmyeyestofollowit，ashisattentionseemedcenteredontheenvelopeanditappearedtooccupythestageofaction。Thismovewasexecutedinamoment，notrequiringanytimeworthmentioning，althoughittakessolongtodescribeitonpaperintelligibly。Nowwhilehiseyesandofcourseminefollowedtheenvelope，withoutpausehislefthandwentintohisleftpocketinanaturalmannertogetthematch。He，ofcourse，leftmyslipinhispocketwithhissurplusmatches；andwhenheretiredforthedrinkofwater，hereadmyquestion。
Astotheslatetrick，allwasfairuntilhepickedupthetopslate，wroteanautomaticmessage，apparentlyreaditaloudtome，andthenuponmyinforminghimthatthemessagedidnotanswermyquestion，heseemeddissatisfied，apparentlyerasedthemessage，andreplacedthelargeslateontopofthestackofslates。Whathereallydidwastopickupthelargetopslate，bottomsidetowardhimself，andatthesametimetocarrywithitasmallslatepressedtightlyagainstitsunderside。Heheldthelargeslatewithitsundersidetiltedfromme，soIcouldnotseethissmallslate。Therebeingsomanysmallslatesinthestack，thetemporaryabsenceofonefromthestackattractednonotice。
Hekeptthissmallslatenexttohimoutofmyview，andreallywrotethemessageonthesmallslatewhichwasnexttohim，andwhichwasconcealedfrommyviewbythelargerslate。Hedidnotreadaloudwhathehadactuallywritten，butmerelypretendedtodoso，repeatingsomethingentirelyforeigntothesubjectinstead。
Whathehadwrittenreallyansweredmyquestionfully。Whenheappearedtoerasethemessage，hismovementswerebutapretense；
andhedidnoteraseitatall。Whenhereplacedthelargeslateonthestackofslates，he，ofcourse，replacedthesmallonewhichwasconcealedunderit，messagesidedown。
Itmustberememberedthattheoperator，atthebeginningoftheslatetrick，firsttookupandexaminedthelargeslateatimeorsoforamessage；andfindingnone，seemeddisappointed，andfinallywrotetheautomaticmessage；thenonbeinginformedthatitdidnotapplytothecase，heseemeddissatisfiedandappearedtoeraseit。
Afterthemessagewaswrittenandtheslatesreplaced，heexaminedthetopslateatimeorso，andevenliftedoffafewsmallslateslookingforwriting，butdidnotturnthemover；thenseeingnothing，hescatteredtheslatesaroundonthetable，leavingtheirsamesidesdownward；andhandingmethecover，herequestedmetocoverthemandplacemyhandsonthem。
Thetrickwasnowpracticallydone。Astheslateshadbeenexaminedsomanytimesandnothingfoundonthem，evenaftertheautomaticwriting，themajorityofpersonswouldtestifythattherewaspositivelynothingontheslateswhenthemediumleftthetable。Themajorityofpersonswouldneverrememberthatheatonetimewroteonthelargeslateanderasedit。Themessagebeingonasmallslate，andthesebeingspreadaround，fewwouldhaveknownthatthismessagereallyappearedontheparticularsmallslatethatwasoriginallynextthetopofthestack。
Mostpeoplewouldhavecertifiedthattheycleanedalloftheslatesthemselves，thatthemediumnevertouchedanyofthesmallones，andthatheonlylaidhishandsontopofthestackafewtimes。Somewouldevenforgetthatthemediumhandledtheirwritingatallbeforeburningit。
Iamsurethatthenickeledtubethatcarriedthedrippingwaterintothespaceovertheglassbowl，hadasecondtubewithinit；
throughwhichhisassistantfromtheadjoiningroomeitherblew，orsentbysomemechanism，thechemicalsprobablypotassiumthatwouldtakefireandburnonstrikingthewater……
WhenIperformtheslatetrickdescribedabove，afterwritingthe“automatic“message，apparentlyerasingit，andreplacingtheslates，Idonotscattertheslatesaroundonthetableasthismediumdid。Instead，IproceedasIwillnowdescribe。
Weplaceourpalmsonthestack，andafteratimeexaminethelargeslateforamessage，butfindnone。Imayincidentallyremarkthatthislastexaminationunconsciouslyverifiesinthesitter’smindthefactthatIactuallyerasedwhatIwrote“automatically。“
Inowlookonsomeofthesmallerslatesforamessage，butfindnone。WhenIdothisIdonotturntheseslatesoverandlookontheirundersides，butmerelytakeoffthetopslatetoseeiftherebeamessageontheuppersurfaceoftheoneunderit。I
merelyremark，“Well，thereisnothingonthatslate，“indicatingthesecondonefromthetop；andatthesametimeIdropthetopslatenowinmyhandonthetablebesidethestack。I
immediatelytakeoffthesecondslateandrepeatthissameperformance，droppingitontopofthefirstone。IkeeponwiththisperformanceuntilIhaveremovedfourorfiveoftheslates，andhavethemstackedinasecondstackbesidethefirstone。Thenseemingtogrowdiscouraged，Iremark，“Iguessthereisnomessage“；andIreplacethesecondstackonthefirststack。Thisplacesthemessageslatefourorfiveslatesdowninthestack；asthebottomslateofthesecondstack，beingthetopslateoftheoriginalstack，isnowthemessageslate。
Inextup-edgethesmallslatesandplacearubberbandaroundthemplacingtheminthesitter’slap。I，ofcourse，placewhatwasthetopofthestackdownwardwhenIdoso。AsthestackisonthesideedgesoftheslateswhenIfirstup-edgethem，Inextbringthemupontheendedges，whileIputthebandinplace。Itisnoweasytoplacethestackofslatesuponthesitter’slapwiththetopslatedownandtoattractnonoticetothisfact。Thisisbecausethepositionhasbeenchangedatimeorsoinplacingthebandon；andIthentakethestackinmyhandsbytheedgesoftheslates，andsimplyplacewhatwasthetopsideofthestackinthebeginning，atthebottom。
InduetimeItellthesubjecttomakeanexaminationforamessage，andofcoursefourorfiveslatesdownhefindsamessageontheuppersurfaceofoneoftheslates。
Thisseemsverymiraculous，astheslateshavebeensorepeatedlyexaminedandnothingfound。Findingthemessageontheuppersurfaceofamiddleslate，wherebutamomentbeforetherewasnothing，seemstobetrulyamarvel。Thesubjecthavingcleanedandstackedtheseslateshimself，andhavingseenthemexaminedsomanytimes，naturallyfeelsimpressedthatthemessagecomesbysomesuperhumanpower。
InthebookentitledPsychics：FactsandTheories，byRev。MinotJ。
Savage，atpage15，thefollowingaccountwillbefound：
“SoonIbegantohearraps，apparentlyonthefloor，andthenindifferentpartsoftheroom。Onthis，theladyremarked，simply：
’Evidentlythereissomeoneherewhowishestocommunicatewithyou。Letusgointothefrontparlor，whereitwillbequieter。’
Thiswedid，therapsfollowingus，orratherbeginningagainassoonaswewereseated。AthersuggestionIthentookpencilandpaperwhichIhappenedtohaveinmybag，andsatatonesideofamarble-toptable，whileshesatattheothersideinarockerandsomedistanceaway。Thenshesaid：’Asonewayofgettingatthematter，supposeyoudothis：Youknowwhatfriendsyouhaveinthespiritworld。Writenowalistofnames——anynamesyouplease，realorfictitious，onlyamongthemsomewhereincludethenamesofsomefriendsinthespiritworldwho，youthink，mightliketocommunicatewithyou，ifsuchathingwerepossible。’Ithenbegan。IheldapapersothatshecouldnotpossiblyhaveseenwhatIwrote，eventhoughshehadnotbeensofaraway。Itookspecialpainsthatnomovementorfacialexpressionshouldbetrayme。Meantimeshesatquietlyrockingandtalking。AsIwrote，perhapsattheeighthortenthname，Ibegantowritethenameofaladyfriendwhohadnotbeenlongdead。Ihadhardlywrittenthefirstletterbeforetherecamethreelouddistinctraps。Thenmyhostesssaid，’Thisfriendofyours，ofcourse，knowswhereshedied。Writenowalistofplaces，includinginittheplaceofherdeath，andseeifshewillrecognizeit。’ThisIdid，beginningwithVienna，andsoonwithanythatoccurredtome。AgainIhadhardlybeguntowritetherealname，whenoncemorecamethreeraps。Andsoon，concerningothermatters。Ispeakoftheseonlyasspecimens。
“Now，Icannotsaythatinthisparticularcasetherapswerenotcausedbythetoejointsofthelady。Thethingthatpuzzlesmeinthistheory，isastohowthetoejointshappenedtoknowthenameofmyfriend，whereshedied，etc。，whichfactstheladyherselfdidnotknow，andneverhadknown。“
Ithasbeenthewriter’sgoodfortunetowitnesspracticallythissameexperiment，performedbyaveryexpertmedium，Dr。