340 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



at length I recognized the likeness to a photograph I had of 

 my cousin Algernon Wilson, whom I had not seen since we 

 were children, but had long corresponded with, as he was an 

 enthusiastic entomologist, living in Adelaide, where he had 

 died not long before. Then I looked pleased and said, " Is 

 it Algernon ? " at which he nodded earnestly, seemed very 

 much pleased, shook my hand vigorously, and patted my 

 face and head with his other hand. 



These two recognitions were to me very striking, because 

 they were both so private and personal to myself, and could 

 not possibly have been known to the medium or even to any 

 of my friends present. I may state here that a few months 

 afterwards, a party of twelve gentlemen went to a stance at 

 Mrs. Ross's, determined to seize hold of the alleged spirit 

 forms, which they believed to be all confederates, and thus 

 expose the supposed imposture. It was agreed that some were 

 to seize the Indian, others to hold Mr. and Mrs. Ross, others 

 the women and children performers, while the remainder 

 were to assist when called upon and secure any " properties " 

 they could find in the cabinet. They carried out the first 

 part of their programme successfully, but notwithstanding 

 they were twelve men against two men, one woman, two 

 boys and a little girl (according to their own account), they 

 appear to have been entirely overmatched in the struggle, for 

 they did not succeed either in securing or identifying any one 

 of them, or in carrying away any of the alleged parapher- 

 nalia of imposture. They further declared, as if it were an 

 observed fact, that the assistants, young and old, entered the 

 cabinet by a sliding portion of the mop-board (or skirting, as 

 we call it). Immediately this was published in the Boston 

 papers, Mr. Brackett and some other friends of Mrs. Ross 

 called on the landlord of the house and asked him to go with 

 them, taking a carpenter with them, to see if the tenants had 

 made any such alteration as described by the would-be 

 exposers. The examination was made, and it was declared 

 that there v/as no such opening as alleged, nor had any been 

 made and closed up again. I wrote a letter to the Banner of 

 Light, pointing out these facts, and I urged, that the utter 



