< Various Manifestations, and Speculations Thereon (continued from page 5-50) >
in the manifestations of these doubles. But Dr. Wyld and Mr. Serjeant Cox should explain how it is that the medium is often awake, and holds audible and sometimes argumentative conversations, with the forms which externally resemble their own? I think that the theory of these particular manifestations most likely to prove true in the end is, that an independent spirit, having either lost its earthly body or never possessed one, has usually no means or instrument whereby it can produce effects on the plane of matter; it consequently by will-power gains influence over a mesmeric sensitive, and more or less controls his organism; in so doing acting somewhat upon hermit crab principles. The public ask that it shall more and more externalise and materialise itself, and in so doing it perhaps loses more and more of its own identity, and appears before us in the only human shape under its control, that of the medium.
With this speculation in my mind, I for a long time sought for some solution of the apparently hopeless problem, of measuring how far in any given manifestation, the intelligence displayed was that of medium, and how far that of the spirit. But once I noticed that while Dr. Slade’s “Allie” wrote with velocity in much the same handwriting as the medium, another professed spirit, who came for the first time, wrote with one-fourth the velocity, and in a laboured manner. The writing still resembled that of Dr. Slade, but it was larger, rounder, and more vertical than Allie’s, written a few minutes before. Possibly, had the message been compared with that of the man whose spirit professed to write it, it might have beenfound to be nearly half-may between the writing of Dr. Slade, and that of the “dead” man. Thus possibly, by comparison of specimens of handwriting, some indication may be afforded of the extent to which a spirit is able to manifest its own individuality by this process, in any given case.
Another theory of these doubles deserves consideration. May not a spirit, by will-power turn the spirit of a medium out of his body, and make that spirit do at seances what he wills? Mr. Desmond Fitzgerald once saw a black man mesmerize a woman on a public platform at Blackheath, and order her spirit to go home and touch one of her fellow servants in the house. A committee, formed by the audience, went to the house, and found the servants in a state of terror, because one of their number had been u touched by an unseen ghost.” Mr. Fitzgerald had reasons for believing that in this case there was no trickery anywhere, and he knew the mesmerist. Here, then, we have a spirit (in the body), driving a spirit out of another body, and making it produce physical effects at a distance. If that second spirit had been seen, it would have been the “double” of the body of the medium.
As to the other and widely different class of forms, which appear while the medium is awake and in full view of the observers, I have never been able to see flexible living features in the spirit, except some years ago on the premises of some very strong genuine physical mediums, who finally swindled a well-known Spiritualist and some tradesmen out of considerable sums of money, and disappeared. On sesthetical grounds, I often fancy that some fine high-class living heads which came out of their bedroom cabinet—which many of my readers will remember—were not imposture, yet the evidence is not satisfactory to me who did see them, and would be utterly worthless to the public who did not see them. I then gave much time in the special endeavour to get living flexible, recognisable faces with private mediums, and up to the present hour have failed, in spite of every effort, and of using every available opportunity. The manifestations were very powerful, with good mediums, and the phenomena were genuine, but the faces were not living; they were rigid.
Spirit Drapery
The following is a letter from the spirit “Lillie” (who manifests through Miss K. Cook’s mediumship), and which was addressed, a few days ago, to Mr. Charles Blackburn, of Parkfield, Didsbury, near Manchester:—
To my friend, Mr. Blackburn.
So many questions have been asked lately about the drapery worn by materialised spirits, and so many doubts raised as to its spiritual manufacture, that I think it but right that I, as a spirit, should try and give you what information I am able on the subject. I fear, however, I can give you but few new ideas; I can only state my experiences. I know that it is possible for spirits to materialise drapery, but, as a rule with most mediums, it is only done on rare occasions. It is impossible to form such material unless corresponding material is worn or possessed by the medium or sitters, for everything in the material world has its corresponding quality in the spirit world. White is usually chosen by spirits, but if dyes of a vegetable nature were placed in the seance room, almost any spirit could change their white drapery to the colour of the dyes so placed; this experiment, with a little development, could be done before the sitters’ eyes, with either drapery materialised by spirits, or material made in your world.
The materialisation of drapery is by no means so common as when materialisation of spirit forms were first developed. Spirits have so much to do to form themselves, that the drapery becomes a secondary consideration; it is easier to take from and restore to different places sufficient white material to clothe themselves, and I cannot think it dishonest to do so, providing the spirit so clothed plainly tells you that the dress is of your own world’s manufacture. I, myself, have spirits under my control able to fetch me the clothing required; it is dematerialised in the place it is brought from, and conveyed in that state to the seance room, or near the medium. By the help of a power drawn from the medium, I am enabled to again render it material; so, in one sense, all spirit clothing is of spiritual manufacture. I may here say that it is not absolutely necessary for the medium through whom the materialisation takes place to be present, or near, while the materialisation of the drapery is performed. Many people have noticed that when a spirit first issues from the cabinet its clothing appears phosphorescent, and they take that as a proof that the dress is not of their world; but this is no proof; the dress is merely covered with a substance taken from the medium, and which disappears after the spirit has been in the room some time, and so keeps away from the medium.
If I have not made those things clear to you, or you would wish to ask questions, write either to me or to Katie, and I will do my best to explain myself on this matter or any other. I should have written this before, but I have been trying many new things lately, and have succeeded well in my experiments. Do not, however, have Katie to see you just yet. I wish her to be rather more developed. Give my kindest love to your daughter, and believe me always to be your true and faithful friend.
The British National Association Spiritualists
On Wednesday, the 2nd inst., one of the above seances, with Mr. Eglinton as medium, took place at 38, Great Russell-street, London, under the direction of the Seance Committee of the National Association of Spiritualists, the circle consisting of nine persons. Mr. Eglinton’s sleeves were sewn together, and affixed to the back of the coat; such tests being accepted as “almost absolutely conclusive” by some experienced Spiritualists, as proving that any hand shown at a distance from the medium could not be his own hand. The coat was further sewn together at the breast, and the curtains pinned together in front of the medium’s face. Light being lowered, the usual phenomena of lifting the book-cover, motion of the “fairy bells,” agitation of small objects in front of the medium, were shown as on previous occasions. A sound was then heard, which some present considered to bear a resemblance to that which would have been produced if the strings of the fairy bells had been thrummed. Several ladies and gentlemen put their hands into the cabinet, and stated that they were grasped by a hand at a distance from the medium. At this time, under the directions of the voice familiarly called “Joey,” the arms of the medium had been tied around the upper part of the biceps, with tape on the right hand side, and with thread on the left hand side, the ends of the respective tape and thread being held by the sitters outside the cabinet. The object of this “test,” as directed by “Joey,” was not apparent to me. “Joey” then called for a piece of paper, and a pencil. I produced from my own pocket a sheet of paper, and filled a pen with ink. This was held before the front of the cabinet by a visitor, who stated that it was taken from him, and the following words written:—“What constitutes truth ?” “The present manifestation.” “Joey is a spirit,” and a fourth message, which is so scrawled and written over the others that I can scarcely read it, though others read it, “I am not the medium’s spirit,” which it may very well be. I then took the paper, and, putting the clean side upmost, filled a pen with ink, which was taken from me by a white object, having resemblance to a hand, and showing separate movement in what would be called (on the hypothesis that it was an “astral” hand) fingers. When taking the pen from me, this “hand” was decidedly warm to the touch. At this time the spot where the curtains were pinned together by me (a second time) was about three or four inches higher than Mr. Eglinton’s head. I saw at a distance of about six inches between my eye and the “astral” hand, the pen moved on the paper slowly, and the words written, “I am not the medium’s (sic) s,” the writing failing because there was no more ink in the pen. I beg to present this piece of paper to the Association, without comparison of the handwriting with that of Mr. Eglinton, but noting the fact that the tapes and sewing were found to be intact at the end of the seance, and that several times immediately after a manifestation, visitors entered the cabinet and satisfied themselves of the feet that Mr. Eglinton’s hands were in the position in which they had been placed in the earlier part of the evening.— C. Carter Blake, Member of the Seance Committee, in charge.
Editor's notes
London Spiritualist, No. 281, January 11, 1878, p. 15