第章
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  Whenfourhandswerevisiblethereweretwospooksatworkwithbotharmsilluminated……Youcanreadilyunderstandtheforcesthatfloatedthemusicboxandtableabovetheheadsofthesitters,andanexplanationisuseless。

  Whenthefirstfemalespiritappeareditwas,inreality,ayoungwoman,dressedinagorgeouswhitecostumewithoutpaint,hencethelightwasturnedupinsteadofdown,inorderthatshebevisible。

  RhinestonesandSumatragemsbeingcheap,shewasplentifullysuppliedwith“diamonds,“althoughmanyofthosewhoarethequeensorspiritguidesor“controls“ofwealthyspiritualisticfanaticswearrealdiamonds,thegiftoftheirwealthycharge,or“king“astheyusuallycallhim。

  Whenshestartedforthecabinetsheusedherhandstokeepherrobefromunderherfeet,andasshewentstoopedlowerandlower,until,asshedisappearedinthecabinet,shewentonherhandsandknees。Thisiswhatcausedtheappearanceof“dematerialization。“

  WhenMr。Smith’sson,Eddie,camefromthecabinet,hewasrepresentedbyaboyofabouteightyearsofage,thesonofoneofthefemale“spooks“upstairs。Hereceivestwodollarsanightforhisservices,thesameasthelargerspooks。Hewaspowdereduntilhewasverywhite,ablondwigputoverhisownhair,anddressedasmostboysareattheageMr。Smith’ssondied。Mr。Smithrecognizedhimbyhissize,hislightcomplexion,andflaxenhair,andthefactthathecalledhim“papa“andgavehiscorrectname。

  Hisfatherwas“madeup“fromthedescriptiongivenbythemedium,andacknowledgedbyMr。Smithascorrect。Ofcourseheknewhisownname,foritwasgivenhimbytheslate-writer……

  Wenowcometoapartofthephenomenathatallspiritualistswhohavewitnesseditwillswearby。Whatisreferredtoisthematerializinganddematerializingofthespiritfromthefloorandbeforeyoureyes。Inthisyouseefirstasmalllight,whichgrowslargerandlarger,untiltherestandsbeforeyouafullyformedfemaleormalespirit,aswasdescribedinMr。Smith’sexperience。

  Inordertoaccomplishwhathewitnessed,thesamespookwhohadbeforebeenrecognizedbyagentlemanas“hisqueen,“preparedherselfinthefollowingway:Divestingherselfofallclothingshedonnedsimplyalongchemisethatreachedhershoetops。Shedrewonapairofwhitestockings,andoverthemapairofwhiteslippers。Intoherhairandearssheputrhinestonediamonds,andaroundherneckanecklaceofthesamebeautifulbutvaluelessstones。Oneachearlobeandaroundherneckwereputsmallspotsoftheluminouspowdertorepresentthediamondswhileitwasdark。

  Herfacewaspowderedandhereyebrowsandeyelashesdarkened,whileadarklinewasdrawnundereacheye。Shenowtookablackmaskthatcoveredherhead,andher“robe“inherhands,andwentdowntothecabinet。Arrivingthere,sheputtheblackmaskoverherhead,topreventtheluminousdiamondsbeingseenuntilthepropertime。Shecarriedherrobeinablackbag。Crawlingfrombetweenthecurtainsandunderthetable,sheexposedonthefloorasmallpartofherrobe。Thissheshookandmovedabout,allowingittoescapefromthebaguntilitwasallout。Shewasnowfromunderthetableandonherknees,anditwastimetheheadshowontheform,so,gettingclosetotherobe,shethrewoffandunderthetabletheblackmask。Theshapewasnowthesizeofanadult;

  sheadjustedtherobetoherperson,andrappedforlight。Asamatterofcourse,whenanylightwasmadetheluminousnessoftherobewasdrowned,andsheappearedinsimplyawhitecostume。Thenecklaceandeardropscouldnowbeseen,butwhenthelightwassuchastorevealthem,theluminousspotshaddisappeared,leavingthespectatortothinktheoneshenowsawweretheoneshehadseeninthedark。Theprocessofdematerializationwillnowbeapparent,andadescriptionwillonlytirethereader。Onesmallspookwasallthatwasrequired,ashecouldbemadetorepresentboyorgirlaswasdesired,byclothinghiminthegarmentsofeithersex。

  Atthecloseoftheseance,thefullforceof“spooks“cameintotheroom。Afterdisappearing,theyshinneduptheladder,drewitafterthem,closedthepanelandthetrapintheflooraboveit,replacedthecarpetandpushedovertheplaceaheavybedsteadfromwhichtheytookthecastors。Theynowcarriedtheladderdownstairsandconcealeditinthecoalhouseastheywentthroughitontheirwayhome。Theywillgettheirpaynextday。

  Shouldeversocloseanexaminationofthecabinetbemade,youwouldnotfindanythingwrong。Thisparticularmediumhastakeninvestigatorsintothecellarbeneaththecabinet,andtheroomaboveit,scoresoftimes,yetnothingwasdiscovered。

  Youarenotalwaystosearchforthetrapintheceiling,noryetinthefloor。Atrapisnotpossibleintheceilingexceptaclosetisusedas“cabinet,“andtheceilingisofwood。Wherethisconditionofthingsdoesnotexist,youmustsearchelsewhere。

  Thefloorisaverylikelyplacewhenitcannotbemadeintheceiling。Ifyoudonotfinditthere,examinethebaseormopboard。Ifitisinthemopboardyouwillfind,uponexamination,thatthereisajointinitnearthecornerofthecabinet,butyouwillfinditsolidlynailedwithaboutfournailseachsideofthejoint。ThisappearanceofextraordinarysoliditywillbeabsoluteproofthatitisNOTsolid。

  Thenailsarenotwhattheyappear,butareonlypiecesaboutonehalfinchinlength,anddonotevengothroughtheboard。Thepieceisfastenedontheothersidewithacoupleofboltsthatholditveryfirmlyinplace。Thereisacorrespondingopeninginthemopboardinthenextroom,althoughnoattemptismadetosocarefullyconcealit,asnooneiseveradmittedtoit。Throughthistrapthe“spooks“enterthecabinetbycrawlingandwiggling。

  Itisnotaverydesirabletrap,forthemopboardisscarcelyeverwideenoughtopermitofatrapthatthespookcouldgetthroughinahurry;besides,theymustassumetheircostumesaftertheygetintothecabinetortearthemtopieces。Youcanseehowthiswouldmakeitveryinconvenient。

  Iftheroomiswainscotedthespookwillhaveallthesearoomnecessaryinhistrap,foritwillextendfromjustbelowthemoldingonthetopofthewainscotingtothefloorbehindthestripofquarter-round……

  Itisnexttoanimpossibilitytodetectthesetrapsbyexamininginthecabinet。Theywereconstructedtoavoiddiscovery,andnopainssparedtomakethemsoabsolutelyperfectthatnotonechanceinamillionistaken。Theproperplacetoseekfortrapsisintheadjoiningroom,upstairs,orinthecellar。Oneisfoolishtoundertaketofindatrapbythumpingthewallsorfloor;for,ifyouhappentothumpone,themediumwhoissmartenoughtomakeuseofatrapisalsosharpenoughtomakeprovisionforitsbeingthumped,andyoursoundingmethodgoesfornaught。[1]Bearinmindthatwhenyouareexaminingthecabinet,youareseekingattheveryplacethatispreparedmosteffectuallytowithstandyourinvestigations……DonotforgettheMANAGERinyoursearch。

  Heorsheisneversearched,orneverhasbeenuptodate,whichhasbeenthecauseofmanyafailuretofindthe“properties“ofthemediumwhentheseancewasgiveninaroomandcabinetfurnishedbyastrangerandskeptic。Donotbedeceivedintoabeliefthatallofthesittersarestrangerstothemedium。Theremaybefromonetofivepersonspresentwhopaytheirmoneythesameasyourself,andwhomayappeartobethemostskepticalofanyoneintheroom。Theywillgenerallybetherecipientsofsomeveryelegant“tests,“andweepcopiouslygreatgrief-ladentearswhentheyrecognizethebelovedfeaturesofsomerelative。

  Itmustberememberedthatitisoccasionallypossibleforthemediumtodoawaywithtrapsaltogether,eitherbyhavingacon-

  federateintheaudiencewhoproducesallthephenomena——themediumsittingboundmeanwhile——orbysomesuchsimpledeviceasthefollowing:Supposetheseanceroomisclosedatoneendbyapairoffolding-doors;thesedoorsarelocked,thekeykeptbyamemberoftheaudience,whilethekeyholeissealed,andstripsofgummedpaperarealsostretchedacrossthecrackbetweenthedoors,sealingthemfirmlytogether。Confederatesentertheroom,inthiscase,bymerelypushingBOTHdoorstooneside,theybeingsoconstructedthatthisispossible。AsmallspaceisnowleftaroundtheendofONEdoor,throughwhichthemedium’sconfederatecreeps!

  Theyarethemostcarefulofinvestigators,and,whenthemedium’strapislocatedinthedoor-jamb,willpoundthewalls,andinsistonthecarpetbeingtakenup,whentheywillgetupontheirhandsandkneesandmakeamostsearchingexaminationofthefloor。Theyaretheclosestandmostcriticalofinvestigators,buttheyareverycarefultoexamineeverywhere。Becauseoneortwomenseemtobemakingsuchacriticalinvestigation,donotallowthatfacttopreventyoumakingoneonyourownresponsibility。Waituntiltheyhavefinishedandthenexaminenotonlywheretheydid,butmoreparticularlywheretheydidNOT。Theirexaminationisonlyforthepurposeofmisleadingothers。Their“tests“arereceivedinawaytocausethoseaboutthemtothinktheyadmitthemveryunwillingly,orbecausetheyweresoundeniablethattheycoulddonothingelse。

  Agreatmanywillprobablydenythatconfederatesareeveremployed。Theyarenot,bymediumswhoarenotsmoothenoughtoproducethatwhichappearssowonderfulastomakeagoodbusinessforthem。Thewriterwouldadvisethosemediumswhogivesuchrankseancestoemployafewfloorworkerstheyareeasilyobtained,andseewhatadifferenceitwouldmakeintheamountofbusinesstheywilldo。Getgoodones,thosewhoknowhumannature,andknowwhentheyhavesaidallthatisnecessary。Mostofthemareinclinedtosaytoomuch,thuscausingtheordinarymantosuspectthattheyareconfederates。

  End

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