04 " Ten Years of niy Life. 



Very soon we heard a sound like one produced by distant 

 rapid sawing, intennixed with tlie muffled knocks of a hammer. 

 This strange noise lasted for nearly half an hour, when sud- 

 denly the table lost its balance and fell against my legs. On 

 examining it at the light I found that one of its legs had been 

 sawn off The cut was quite smooth, as if produced by a 

 sharp knife or an extremely fine saw ; but all my most careful 

 search for any sawdust was in va in. Mrs. Speirs was trium- 

 phant, and quite angry with me that I still did not believe. 



I tell the facts as I saw them. They are indeed strange, 

 and I cannot explain them, but these knocking and noisy and 

 sawing spirits are too absurd. When I soon afterwards went 

 to Washington, Miss Sugden gave me a letter of introduction 

 to a celebrated tipping medium, and once when Salm visited 

 me there we invited that lady to entertain the company with 

 her spiritual performance. The lady sat down to play at a 

 very heavy piano, which, after some time, commenced movmg, 

 two of its feet being lifted some inches from the ground. We 

 were astonished, but the gentlemen present laughed, and Salm 

 said that he was also a tipping medium, and could perform 

 the same feat without the spirits. He sat down, and after 

 having run over the keys, the piano moved in the same man- 

 ner as before. He had simply pressed his knees under it, and 

 lifted it on one side an inch or two. The detected medium 

 received her five dollars, and retired somewhat confused. 



The affairs of Salm did not progress meanwhile. The dis- 

 inclination of the people to military service became more and 

 more decided. The drafted men were employed in filling up 

 old regiments, but to form new ones by voluntary enlisting 

 was nnpossible, notwithstanding the liberal bounties which 

 were ofiered. Poor Salm was in despair, for he could not 

 brmg together the required seven hundred men, and had only 

 heavy expenses. I felt extremely sorry at his troubles, and 

 puzzled my brain to find a way out of that maze. Having 

 assisted him once, I thought it possible to do so again. I 

 consulted with my spiritits familiaris^ dear old Senator Harris, 

 who suggested the idea of trying with the Provost-Marshal 

 General in Washington, whom he knew to have a good num- 

 ber of men at his disposition. I eagerly caught at that idea, 

 and without telling Salm what I intended to do, I got leave 

 from him to go to Washington, under the pretext of visiting 

 my sister^ who was living there. 



