Chapter 8

These slates were washed one by one on the stand, and laid in a pile on the table at Mr. Kellar's right.

A slate was taken from the pile, both sides washed, another slate placed upon it, and both held together under the edge of the table. A long communication appeared upon one of them (or what seemed to be one of them), purporting to come from the Spirits.

Two more slates were taken and apparently both sides washed. One was placed on the other and both laid upon the table in front of Professor Thompson, one end of the slates being held by him and the other by Mr. Kellar. When the upper slate was removed the under side of it was covered with writing.

Professor Thompson then changed his position to that which he held when with Dr. Slade--to the end of the table opposite Mr. Furness, and to Mr. Kellar's right.

Writing was produced in similar manner on two other slates without the Committee detecting the manner in which it was produced.

One of these slates was covered on both sides with the following messages: On voyage tout éveillé dans le royaume des rêves et des illusions; l'esprit se refuse à admettre les merveilles executées dans une salle éclairé devant un public incrédule qui cherche à s'expliquer les trucs employés à deviner les--

Kellar huye del espiritismo porque ya pasó la época de ella, y solo dá el ejercicio carácter de prestidigitacion.

Het blyfft onbegrypelyk hoe de heer Kellar die door twee personen uit het publiek stevigwordt vast gebonden, zich in een oogwenk wist los te maken

[Here follow, in eight lines, sentences for which we have no types, in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Gujerati. This remarkable feat closes with the following in German script:] Ich bin ein Geist und ich liebe mein Lagerbier--Hans Schneider.

Von Moltke.

One slate was broken in a similar way to that broken by Dr. Slade.

Professor Thompson was asked to write a question, which he did while the side of the slate on which he wrote was turned away from Mr. Kellar. The slate was not turned over, the written question remaining on the under side, and it was held at the usual place under the table, Mr. Kellar's thumb remaining above the table in full view, while the fingers held the slate up under the table.

A moment after the placing of the slate under the table, it was withdrawn to admit of a small pencil being placed upon it, Mr. Furness having remarked the absence of the pencil.

The slate was not otherwise withdrawn from under the table above two inches until its final withdrawal, and the question was always, seemingly, on the under side.

When the slate was brought out a communication was found upon it in answer to Professor Thompson's question.

The answer was on the upper side of the slate. [April, 1887: Mr. Kellar afterwards revealed his methods to our colleague, Mr. Furness.]

GEO. S. FULLERTON,

_Secretary_.

* * * * *

February 19th, 1885.

The Commission met on Thursday, February 19th, 1885, at 8 P.M., at the house of Mr. Furness, to attend a séance in the presence of Mrs. Maud E. Lord.

All of the Commission were present, and there were present also, at the request of the Medium, several friends of members of the Commission, both men and women.

There were in all eighteen persons present beside the Medium; these seated themselves, as directed by the Medium, in a circle, which was about six or seven feet in diameter; the Medium took her seat in the centre.

The lights having been put out, the Medium drew her chair to one side of the circle, placing her feet in contact with those of one of the persons in the circle. Those composing the circle linked hands, while the Medium had her hands free.

The Medium described a number of Spirit forms as coming to those present--to one a little child, to another an old man with white hair, etc. The descriptions were in general vague and indefinite, and might have applied to many persons. Nevertheless, they were in very many cases wide of the mark. Sometimes a father, a mother, or other relation was described as present. In some cases the death of such relations was acknowledged by the person to whom the Medium addressed herself, but in other cases the relation in question had not died, or, as in the case of a child or brother--had not existed. To give an instance of the Medium's inaccuracy: Mr. Fullerton's grandfather was described as coming to him, and the Medium, describing the form, added that Mr. Fullerton was not familiar with it, as his grandfather had died while he was a young man, and had had but little intercourse with him. Both Mr. Fullerton's grandfathers died some years before he was born. Many other descriptions were quite as erroneous.

Sometimes a form was described as coming to one person in the circle and not being recognized by that one, was referred to the next; described as standing between them, etc. The number of successes, compared with the number of failures, was not striking.

Whispers were heard--_one at a time_--always at a point in the circle at a distance from that at which the Medium was just after the whisper heard to speak to some one in her natural voice. The whispers _were never simultaneous_ with the remark afterward made by the Medium.

In the short interval between the whisper and the succeeding remark by the Medium, I distinctly heard, on many occasions, a rustle of clothing, and once or twice a slight creak of the chair, as though the Medium had moved her body from one side to the other, which she could easily have done without taking her feet away from those of the person she faced.

Upon one of those present inquiring why the whisper always sounded as if made by the same voice, the Medium stated that the whisper did always sound the same, and that she was sorry to have to add, that it always sounded as if made by the voice of the Medium.

Upon one occasion a light appeared and reappeared two or three times in front of the Medium, passing from near her knee up for a foot or two. The light was indistinct, apparently phosphorescent, and passed so quickly that it could not be examined. It was described by the Medium, however, as a form of a child from the Spirit world.

Those present changed their seats during the séance, as suggested, but without producing more satisfactory results. The séance lasted about two hours.

At Mrs. Lord's own suggestion before the séance, two women present took the Medium into another room, and searched her clothes.

GEO. S. FULLERTON,

_Secretary_.

* * * * *

February 20th, 1885.

The Commission met on Friday, February 20th, 1885, at 8 P.M., again at the house of Mr. Furness, to attend a second séance in the presence of Mrs. Lord.

On the part of the Commission were present Mr. Furness, Mr. Sellers and Mr. Fullerton. There were also present several women and men, some of whom had been present at the previous sitting. The circle, when formed, was about six feet in diameter.

A ring was given by the Medium to Mr. Sellers and another to Miss Logan to wear during the evening, with the expectation that they might be taken by the Spirits and passed to another person in the circle, in accordance with the unexpressed wish of the one holding the ring. This was not done during the evening.

A small musical-box was also given to one of the women to hold, and a zither placed upon the lap of a man. The former was, during the séance, taken from the woman holding it, and passed to another person in the circle. The Medium sat as before, with her hands free, while those in the circle clasped hands, as was done on the former evening, each one having his left wrist grasped by the right hand of his neighbor, or _vice versa_.

The zither was undisturbed during the evening.

Touches were felt here and there on the knees of those in the circle, and whispers were again heard from time to time.

The whispers were, as before, _never simultaneous_ with the speeches of the Medium, which were heard just after in another part of the circle.

I distinctly noticed, on several occasions, the same rustle, as of a change of position on the part of the Medium, between the whisper and the remark by the Medium.

Many Spirit forms were described by the Medium as coming to those present, with about the same proportion of success as on the former evening.

At various times during the sitting, lights were seen, which appeared and disappeared rapidly. They were indistinct and phosphorescent--such as can be produced in a dark room by rubbing a match-head, or by exhibiting an object rubbed with a match.

The lights--at least all that were clearly seen by several persons--were within the circle and about the Medium.

Occasionally the Medium spoke of lights as without the circle, and one or two of those present (not members of the Commission) assented. But, as on two such occasions, when those opposite myself described the light as above and behind me, I saw it above and in front of me, or between me and the Medium; there is no reason to believe that they were not deceived by the difficulty of judging of the distance of an indistinct and evanescent appearance in a quite dark place. The direction, but not the distance, can in such a case be readily known.

After a sitting of about two hours, the attempt to produce more striking phenomena was abandoned.

During both séances Mrs. Lord kept up an almost continuous clapping of hands--the noise was not loud, but sufficient to aid in hiding any rustle of the Medium's dress, or creaking of a chair. The Medium also talked constantly.

At the suggestion of the Medium those present joined in singing on two occasions.

The whisper heard in the circle was uniformly hoarse.

A list of those present at these séances and the names of the ladies who searched the Medium, are appended:

Those present at Mrs. Lord's séance on Thursday were: Dr. and Mrs. Pepper, Professor and Mrs. Fullerton, Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, Professor and Mrs. Thompson, Geo. S. Pepper, Mr. Leonard, Miss M.M. Logan, Dr. Leidy, Mrs. A.L. Wister, Miss Agnes Irwin, Walter R. Furness, Dr. C.B. Knerr, Dr. Koenig, Dr. H.H. Furness.

Those present at Friday's séance were: Professor Fullerton, Miss Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, Dr. Leidy, Mr. Leonard, Mr. and Mrs. F. Furness, Mrs. A.L. Wister, Miss Irwin and Miss Sophie Irwin, Miss Logan, Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Dick, Mrs. J.E. Carpenter, H.H. Furness. Mrs. A.L. Wister, Mrs. Dr. Pepper, Women Searchers.

GEO. S. FULLERTON,

_Secretary_.

* * * * *

May 27th, 1885.

On May 27th, The Seybert Commission held a meeting at the house of Mr. Furness, at 8 P.M., to examine the phenomena occurring in the presence of Mr. Pierre L.O.A. Keeler, a professional Medium.

There were present on the part of the Commission, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Furness, Dr. Koenig, Dr. White, Dr. Knerr, Mr. Sellers and Mr. Fullerton. The following friends of the Commission were also present:

Mr. F. Furness, Mr. W.R. Furness, Mr. J. Foster Kirk, Mr. Yost, Mrs. E.D. Gillespie, Miss Gillespie, Mrs. Dr. Mitchell, Mrs. C.B. Rossell, Mrs. Dr. Pepper, Mrs. Sellers, Mrs. A.L. Wister, Mrs. Dr. Knerr, Miss Agnes Irwin, Miss M.M. Logan.

There were also present, as introduced by the Medium, the Medium's wife, Mrs. Keeler; Col. S.P. Kase and Mrs. Kase, and Dr. Annie D. Ramburger.

The Medium, Mr. Keeler, is a young man, apparently about thirty years of age, with well cut features, curly, brown hair, a small, sandy moustache, and rather worn and anxious expression; he is strongly built, about five feet eight inches high, and with rather short, quite broad, and very muscular hands and strong wrists. The hands were examined by Dr. Pepper and Mr. Fullerton after the séance.

The séance was held in Mr. Furness's drawing-room, and a space was curtained off by the Medium in the north-east corner, thus:

The curtain is represented by _a_, _b_; _c_, _d_ and _e_ are three chairs placed in front of the curtain by the Medium, in one of which (_e_) he afterwards sat; _g_ denotes the position of Mrs. Keeler; _f_ is a small table, placed within the curtain, and upon which were a tambourine, a guitar, two bells, a hammer, a metallic ring; the asterisks show the positions of the spectators, who sat in a double row--the two marked (1) and (2) indicate the positions taken by Mrs. Kase and Col. Kase, according to the directions of the Medium.

The curtain, or rather curtains, were of black muslin, and arranged as follows: There was a plain black curtain, which was stretched across the corner, falling to the floor. Its height, when in position, was 53 inches; it was made thus:

The cord which held the curtain was 1, 2, and the flaps which are represented as standing above it (_a_, _b_, _c_, etc.), fell down over _a'_, _b'_, _c'_, etc., and could be made to cover the shoulders of one sitting with his back against the curtain. A black curtain was also pinned against the wall, in the space curtained off, partly covering it. Another curtain was added to the one pictured, as will be described later.

The Medium then asked Col. Kase to say a few words as to the necessity of observing the conditions, need of harmony, etc. And then the Medium himself spoke a few words of similar import. He then drew the curtain (shown on the preceding page) along the cord (1, 2) and fastened it; placed three wooden chairs in front of the curtain, as indicated in the cut, and saying he needed to form a battery, asked Miss Agnes Irwin to sit in chair (_d_), and Mr. Yost in chair (_c_), the Medium himself sitting in chair (_e_). A black curtain was then passed by Mrs. Keeler over Mr. Keeler, Miss Irwin and Mr. Yost, being fastened at _g_, between _e_ and _d_, between _d_ and _c_, and beyond _a_: thus entirely covering the three sitting in front of the stretched curtain up to their necks; and when the flaps before mentioned were pulled down over their shoulders, nothing could be seen but the head of each.

Before this last curtain was fastened over them, the Medium placed both his hands upon the forearm and wrist of Miss Irwin, the sleeve being pulled up for the purpose, and Miss Irwin grasped with her right hand the left wrist of Mr. Yost; his right hand being in sight to the right of the curtain.

After some piano-music, the Medium said he felt no power from this 'battery,' and asked Mrs. E.D. Gillespie to take Miss Irwin's place. Hands and curtain were arranged as before.

The lights were turned down until the room was quite dim. Those present sang.

During the singing, the Medium turned to speak to Mr. Yost, and his body, which had before faced rather away from the two other persons of the 'battery' (which position would have brought his right arm out in front of the stretched curtain)--his body was now turned the other way, so that, had he released his grasp upon Mrs. Gillespie's arm, his own right arm could have had free play in the curtained space behind him. His left knee also no longer stood out under the curtain in front, but showed a change of position.

At this time Mrs. Gillespie declared she felt a touch, and soon after so did Mr. Yost. The Medium's body was distinctly inclined toward Mr. Yost at the time. Mrs. Gillespie said she felt taps, but declared that, to the best of her knowledge, she still felt the Medium's two hands upon her arm.

Raps indicated that the Spirit, George Christy, was present. As one of those present played on the piano, the tambourine was played in the curtained space and thrown over the curtain; bells were rung; the guitar was thrummed a little. At this time the Medium's face was toward Mrs. Gillespie, and his right side toward the curtain. His body was further in against the curtain than either of the others. Upon being asked, Mrs. Gillespie again said she thought she still felt two hands upon her arm.

The guitar was then thrust out, at least the end of it was, at the bottom of the curtain, between Mrs. Gillespie and the Medium. Mrs. Keeler drew away the curtain from over the toes of the Medium's boots, to show where his feet were; the guitar was thrummed a little. Had the Medium's right arm been free, the thrumming could have been done quite easily with one hand.

Afterwards the guitar was elevated above the curtain; the tambourine, which was by Mrs. Keeler placed upon a stick held up within the enclosure, was made to whirl by the motion of the stick. The phenomena occurred successively, not simultaneously.

When the guitar was held up, and when the tambourine was made to whirl, both of these were to the right of the Medium, chiefly behind Mrs. Gillespie; they were just where they might have been produced by the right arm of the Medium, had it been free.

Two clothes-pins were then passed over the curtain, and they were used in drumming to piano-music. They could easily be used in drumming by one hand alone, the fingers being thrust into them.

The pins were afterwards thrown out over the curtain. Mr. Sellers picked one up as soon as it fell, and found it warm in the split, as though it had been worn. The drumming was probably upon the tambourine.

A hand was seen moving rapidly with a trembling motion--which prevented it from being clearly observed--above the back curtain between Mr. Yost and Mrs. Gillespie. Paper was passed over the curtain into the Cabinet and notes were soon thrown out. The notes could have been written upon the small table within the enclosure by the right hand of the Medium, had it been free. Mrs. Keeler then passed a coat over the curtain, and an arm was passed through the sleeve, fingers, with the cuff around them, being shown over the curtain. They were kept moving, and a close scrutiny was not possible.

Mr. Furness was then invited to hold a writing-tablet in front of the curtain, when the hand, almost concealed by the coat-sleeve and the flaps mentioned as attached to the curtain, wrote with a pencil on the tablet. The writing was rapid, and the hand, when not writing, was kept in constant tremulous motion. The hand was put forth in this case not over the top curtain, but came from under the flap, and could easily have been the Medium's right hand were it disengaged, for it was about on a level with his shoulder and to his right, between him and Mrs. Gillespie. Mr. Furness was allowed to pass his hand close to the curtain and grasp the hand for a moment. It was a _right_ hand.

Soon after the Medium complained of fatigue, and the sitting was discontinued. It was declared by the Spiritualists present to be a fairly successful séance. When the curtains were removed, the small table in the enclosure was found to be overturned, and the bells, hammer, etc., on the floor.

It is interesting to note the space within which all the manifestations occurred. They were, without exception, where they would have been had they been produced by the Medium's right arm. Nothing happened to the left of the Medium, nor very far over to the right. The sphere of activity was between the Medium and Mr. Yost, and most of the phenomena occurred, as, for example, the whirling of the tambourine, behind Mrs. Gillespie.

The front curtain--_i.e._, the main curtain which hung across the corner--was 85 inches in length, and the cord which supported it, 53 inches from the floor. The three chairs which were placed in front of it were side by side, and it would not have been difficult for the Medium to reach across and touch Mr. Yost. When Mrs. Keeler passed objects over the curtain, she invariably passed them to the right of the Medium, although her position was on his left; and the clothes-pins, paper, pencil, etc., were all passed over at a point where the Medium's right hand could easily have reached them.

To have produced the phenomena by using his right hand, the Medium would have to have passed it under the curtain at his back. This curtain was not quite hidden by the front one at the end near the Medium, and this end both Mr. Sellers and Dr. Pepper saw rise at the beginning of the séance.

The only thing worthy of consideration, as opposed to a natural explanation of the phenomena, was the grasp of the Medium's hands on Mrs. Gillespie's arm.

The grasp was evidently a tight one above the wrist, for the arm was bruised for about four inches. There was no evidence of a similar pressure above that, as the marks on the arm extended in all about five or six inches only. The pressure was sufficient to destroy the sensibility of the forearm, and it is doubtful whether Mrs. Gillespie with her arm in such a condition could distinguish between the grasp of one hand, with a divided pressure (applied by the two last fingers and the thumb and index) and a double grip by two hands. Three of our number, Mr. Sellers, Mr. Furness and Dr. White, can, with one hand, perfectly simulate the double grip.

It is specially worthy of note that Mrs. Gillespie declared that, when the Medium first laid hold of her arm with his right hand before the curtain was put over them, it was with an under grip, and she _felt his right arm under her left_. But when the Medium asked her if she felt both his hands upon her arm, and she said yes, she could feel the grasp, but no arm under hers, though she moved her elbow around to find it--she felt a hand, but not an arm, and at no time during the séance did she find that arm.

(Taken from notes made during the séance and immediately after it.)

GEO. S. FULLERTON,

_Secretary_.

N.B.--It should be noted that both the Medium and Mr. Yost took off their coats before being covered with the curtain. It was suggested by Dr. Pepper that this might have been required by the Medium as a precaution against movements on the part of Mr. Yost. The white shirt-sleeves would have shown against the black background.

G.S.F.

* * * * *

December 29th, 1885.

There was a meeting of The Seybert Commission this evening, at the house of Mr. Furness, on Washington Square, to investigate some Materializations promised by the Mediums, Dr. Rothermel and Mr. Powell.

There were present Mr. Furness, Dr. Leidy, Professor Thompson, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, Dr. White, Dr. Knerr, Mr. Fullerton, Colonel Kase, Mr. Frank Furness, Mrs. J. Dundas Lippincott, Mrs. Dr. Pepper, Mrs. A.L. Wister, and a number of others.

The Mediums arrived with quite a bundle of apparatus, and stretched their curtain where Mr. Keeler had his, across the corner of the parlor, from the door leading into the hall to the edge of the window. The curtain was similar to that of Mr. Keeler in its general character, and, as in that case, the whole corner was draped in black. The shape of the Cabinet was triangular.

The Mediums said it was impossible to produce materialized forms as they had expected, and proceeded to give much the same sort of a séance as Mr. Keeler's--in this case, however, the hands of the Medium covered by the curtain being fastened with tape, instead of being held.

The arrangement of the curtain, positions of the Mediums, and the positions of the spectators were as indicated.

The lights were all extinguished but one, and that one was prevented from throwing light on the Medium by a shade placed upon one side of it--it was turned low. The light was not so good as during Mr. Keeler's séance.

Before the lights were put out, Dr. White was asked to tie the Medium, and Mrs. Lippincott to sew the ends of the ribbon and tape with which he was tied.