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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



pressed itself after seeing in private Mr. Bishop's 

 imitation of them, as well as of " Katie King," 

 whom the Graphic's "commissioner" had pre- 

 viously tried to rehabilitate: 



"Mr. Bishop unraveled the Katie King mys- 

 tery, that seemed for a time to defy the most rigid 

 scrutiny ; and more recently he has been engaged 

 in revealing the method by which the Eddy broth- 

 ers produced those sub-mundane entertainments, 

 which long harassed the public mind and im- 

 posed upon the credulity of many thoughtful and 

 intelligent men."— Graphic, April 12, 1876. 



Returning to the subject a month afterward 

 (May 10th), the Graphic says : 



" It certainly would be a laudable thing for 

 clergymen, physicians, and leading citizens gener- 

 ally, to invite Mr. Bishop to exhibit in every city 

 and town in the country ; for the exposure he gives 

 of the mediumistic tricks is so complete that it 

 could not but convince even the most credulous 

 that ' spirits ' have nothing to do with these mani- 

 festations." 



Materialization Seances. 

 It is, I suppose, now generally known that 

 spiritualists claim not only to hold intercourse 

 with "the spirits" by i*aps, slate-writing, and 

 the like, but also to induce them to clothe them- 

 selves afresh in a "materialized" form, possess- 

 in.;' the substance and weight of ordinary mortals. 

 It was Mr. Home, I believe, who first " produced " 

 spirit-hands ; but he has been so far outdone by 

 those who " materialize " whole figures, that he 

 feels it incumbent upon him not only to denounce 

 them as impostors, but to make a full exposure 

 of the various modes in which the trick is played. 

 As I have never myself been present at any 

 of these performances, and could therefore only 

 describe from hearsay, I borrow Mr. Home's ac- 

 count of them : 



" Nothing is offered that can in the slightest 

 degree be considered as approaching a test; the 

 imposture is often of the baldest and grossest char- 

 acter ; yet the ' medium ' is congratulated on the 

 success of the seance, and credulous fools are hap- 

 py. Perhaps the sitting is for ' materialized ' 

 forms or faces ; in such case the proceedings are 

 regulated according to the character of the per- 

 sons present. Should these be unknown, or re- 

 garded as possessing a fair share of common-sense, 

 nothing <roes well. The circle is described as ' in- 

 harmonious.' The cabinet is jealously guarded. 

 A distressincly tiny ray of light having been in- 

 troduced, ' materialization ' takes place. All that 

 the persons present can perceive is something 

 white ; shape and features there are none. Such 

 is a faithful portraiture of perhaps the majority of 



sittings for 'spirit-forms.' If, however, the audi- 

 ence consists of known and enthusiastic dupes, 

 the conditions are at once pronounced favorable. 

 A larger share of light is admitted ; the form ap- 

 pears, and moves about among the believers pres- 

 ent. Their credulity rapidly mounts to fever-heat. 

 Patched and darned shawls are discovered to be 

 ' robes of delicate texture and surpassing gorgeous- 

 ness.' A kerchief twisted round the head be- 

 comes an unmistakable turban ; false whiskers 

 and Indian-ink produce ' a manly and noble face;' 

 rouge and pearl-powder, in conjunction with a 

 skillfully - arranged head-dress, are sufficient to 

 send the credulous into raptures over the ' vision 

 of surpassing loveliness ' presented. The famil- 

 iarity of the spiritual visitors is charming ; they 

 have been known to seat themselves at the tea- 

 table, and make a hearty meal, ' inquiring jocular- 

 ly whether the muffins were well buttered.' They 

 have mixed stiff glasses of grog for the sitters, 

 and, not satisfied with mixing, have themselves 

 partaken of them. In such little reunions, tests 

 are never employed or mentioned. Not a dupe 

 present but would rather perish than take a sus- 

 picious peep into the cabinet while the materialized 

 form is out and moving about the room. Not a 

 hand among the party but would rather be cut off 

 at the wrist than grasp in detective fashion the 

 said form. The spirit is in every respect at home, 

 and may walk in or out of the cabinet as he or she 

 lists. 



"The darkness of the stance is thus propor- 

 tioned to the sense of the sitters. Where skepti- 

 cism is rife, the most jealous precautions are taken 

 lest that skepticism should behold too much. If 

 they be of an inconvenient nature, the impostor 

 whom they are intended to unmask usually de- 

 clines them. If, on the other hand, they appear 

 such as may be eluded by jugglery^ or confederacy, 

 they are at once adopted." 



In the simplest form of these performances, 

 only one " spirit " appears ; and, if it should be 

 objected that it " is very like the medium," the 

 incredulous are sometimes admitted into the 

 back-room, or cabinet, where either a " dummy " 

 has been prepared, or a confederate introduced, 

 to represent the "medium" as in a state of 

 trance ; no light being allowed but that of a bot- 

 tle of phosphorized oil, or some similar glimmer ; 

 and no handling being permitted. A wicked 

 skeptic has been known to endeavor to identify 

 the " spirit " and the " medium " by squirting 

 ink on the arm of the former, and pointing out 

 its presence on the arm of the latter on his (or 

 her) return to the company ; or by smearing ink 

 on his own hand, and then, by a friendly grasp, 

 imparting some of it to the hand of the " spirit," 

 who unsuspiciously reappears as the "medium" 

 without washing it off. But this little incident, 



