< Spiritualism Put to Use (continued from page 3-186) >
believed that he had gone to Orange to visit with his mother. A week had elapsed since he had set out for Jersey City, and his parents in alarm telegraphed to Orange, but the message was returned that he had not been seen there. Then search was made through Jersey City and Brooklyn, and every means taken to trace his whereabouts, but no tidings could be obtained of him subsequent to his parting with Van Liew at the Hoboken car. His parents have advertised in the local and in the New York papers, and offered a reward for information of his whereabouts and for his safe return, but they believe that he has been led away and murdered. “He must be dead,” said the mother in conclusion, “for if he were not he would not stay away so long, he was so fond of his home and of me.”
A short time ago a relative of the family, a gentleman, called at the office of a noted spiritualist of New York, as a last hope of obtaining a clue to the fate of young Buckhout. The caller and the medium had not met before, and the latter was ignorant of the story of the disappearance. Before the gentleman could make known the purport of his call, the spiritualist said: “Sit down, sir, and write on a sheet of paper the question you wish to ask.” The caller complied, and wrote at the head of a large piece of paper the words: “Can you tell me what has become of Frank?” The question was directed to Mr. Isaac Birdsall, a quaker, the father of Mrs. Buckhout. He has been dead for several years.
The paper was folded in widths of half an inch or more, and then was tightly sealed with wax and handed to the medium. He laid it upon the table before him, and with closed eyes made several passes over it with his hands. Then seizing another sheet of rough white paper, he wrote rapidly the following words:
My Dear Nephew: Thee hast come asking the whereabouts of dear Frank. I know the concern and anxiety of his family for his safety and whereabouts, but tell them not to be concerned. Frank is yet alive, I am quite certain, and in good time will return home again. He cannot be a sprit. Was he, I should have met him here, it would seem. It appears to me, from tracing the magnetism, he is on the water. There is water connected with it, but feel not alarmed. We feel confident Frank is safe, and in proper time the dear ones will see him walking in again.
Thine affect.
The gentleman again made application to the spirit land, but this time called on another deceased relative’ David Griffin who died recently. He folded the paper as before, in neither case mentioning the name of the spirit to be interviewed.
The medium went through the same pisses as before, and, closing his eyes again, wrote hurriedly. The reply came in a rather impatient style from Mr. Birdsall again. He said that he had met Mr. Griffin in his walks a few days before, but that he knew nothing at all about the fate of Frank. The writing concluded with the forcible words, “I tell you he is safe.” In the extreme corner of the page, and entirely removed fron the rest of the lines, was the word, “water,” doubly underscored. To make the communication the more wonderful, Mrs. Buckhout, who recollects her father's personalities perfectly, admits that in emphasizing his remarks, he was accustomed to lift his long, forefinger energetically and clinch an argument with the unanswerable “I tell thee.”
He also spoke with the use of the Ouaker "thee.” From these communications, out of which the bereaved mother seeks to extract a grain of hope and consolation, the family are cheered into solacing themselves with the possibility that the absent son has been induced to set out on a long whaling voyage.
Young Bucahout is about 21 years old, of medium height, with very dark hair, eyes, and mustache, and of slender physique. He had money in the savings bank in Sing Sing, but he left it untouched when he went away. It is not, therefore, believed that he set out on his own accord. A story is told in the village that a New York detective professes to have seen him working as a deck hand on a fall river steamer, the officer has not appeared to claim the reward, and the report is discredited.
The Unpardonable Sin
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Editor's notes