The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-13 00:00:00

TO THE =ITO& OF TES ELMS&

sEance by the Brother. Davenport and
Mr. W. Fay took piece is ay house yesterday, in the pre-
sence of Lord Bury, Sir Merles Nichobon, Sir John Gar-
diner, Sir a Llano: Wyk., Rev. E. H. Newenham, Rev.
W. Ellis, Captain E. A. laglefiald. Messrs. Charles Beads,
James Matthews, Algernon Barthwick, L Willa., H. E.
(hawed, J. W. Ka J. A. Rostock, R. J. Hideout,
Robert Bell, J. N. H. M. Dunphy, W. Tyler
Smith, M.D., E. Tyler Smith, T. L. Coward. Jobs Brown,
M.D., Robert Chambers, and Dion Boticioault.
The room in which the mooting woo bold is • large draw-
imprcoai, from which all the Inraitnie bad bees previously
removed,
excepting the carpet, • chandelier, • small table,
a mobs, s pedestal, sod 26 case-bottomed clubs.
. .

Af two o'clock six of the above party arrived, and the
room was subjected to careful scrutiny. It was suggested
that a cabinet to be need by the Broth as Davenport, but
We erected in ea adjacent room, should be removed into
the front room, and placed in a spot selected by ourselves.
This was dose by our party, bat in the promos we die.
plead a portion of this piece of furniture. thus enabling us
to examine its material and straotare before we mended
, it. At three o'clock our_
We
was fully assembled, and
continued the scrutiny. We sent to a neighbouring music-
seller for six guitars and two tambourines, so that the
im-
plements to be need should not be those with which the
operators were familiar. At half-past three the Brothers
Davenport and Mr. Fay arrived, and found that we had
altered their arreagements, by changing the room which
they had previously selected for their =cif Istatioos. The
*lance then began by an examination of the dress and par-
secs of the Brothers Davenport, and it was certified that no
apparatus or other cootrivsace was concealed on or about
their persons. They entered the cabinet, and sat facing
each other. Captain Inglefield then, with a sew rope pro-
vided by ourselves, tied Mr. W. Davenport hared and foot,
with his hands behind his back, and then bound him firmly
to the seat where he sat. Lord Bury, in like meaner,
secured Mr. L Davenport. The knots on these ligatures
were then fastened with sealing-wax and a seal was affixed.
A guitar, violin, tambourine, two bells, and a braes trumpet
z closed,
on the door of the cabinet. The doors were then
and a sufficient light was permitted in the room to
amble as to see what followed. I shall omit any detailed as
count of the Babel of sounds which arose in the cabinet, and
the violence with which thedoore were repeatedly burst open
sod the instrument, expelled ; the hands appearing, as usual,
at a losenge-shaped orifice in the centre door of the cabinet.
The following incidents seem to as particularly worthy of
note. While Lord Bary was stooping inside the cabinet,
the door being open, and the two operators seen to be
sealed and boand, a detached hand was clearly observed
to descend upon him, and he started back, remarking that
• hand had struck him. Again, in the full light of the gas
chruidirlier, and during an interval in the seance, the doors
of the cabinet being open, and while the ligatures of the
Brothers Davenport were being examined, a very white,
thin, female hand end wrist quivered for several seconds in
the air above. This appearance drew a moral exclamation
from all the party. Sir Charles Wyk. now entered the
cabinet and sat between the two young men—his bands
being right and let ton each, and secured to them. The
doors were then closed, and the Babel of sound recom-
menced. Several hand, appeared at the orifice—among
them the bands of a child. After a space Sir Chules re-
turned amongst us aod stated that while he held the two
heathen several hands touched his face and pulled his hair;
the instruments at his feet crept up, played round his
body and over his head—one of them lodging eventually on
his shoulders. During the foregoing incidents the hand.
which appeared were touched and grasped by Captain
Inglefield, and he stated that to the touch they were ap.
pareatly human hands, though they passed sway from his
pup.

I omit mentioning other phenomena ; an account of
which has already been rendered elsewhere.
The neat part of the Mance was performed in the dark.
One of the Misers. Davenport and Mr. Fayllaeated them-
selves amongst us. Two ropes were thrown at their feet,
end in two minutes and • half they were toned tied hand
and foot, their heads behind their backs bound tightly to
their chairs, and their chairs bound to an adjacent table.
While this process was going on the gaiter rose from the
table, and swung or floated round the room and over
the beads of the party, and slightly touching some. Now •
phosphoric light shot from side to aide over oar heeds; the
laps arid hands and shoulder of several were simultane-
ously touched, struck, or pawed by hands, the guitar mean-
while smiling round the room, now near the ceiling, and then
scuffling on the head sod shoulder of some !tickled* wight
The bells whisked here and than, and • light thrumming
was maintained on the violin. The two tambourines seemed
to roll hither and thither on the floor, now shaking it
violeetly, and now 'thing the knees end halide of oar
clrole—all these foregoing actions, audible or tangible, being
simultaneous. Mr. Hideout, holding • tambourine, re-
quested tt migghht be plucked from his had ; it was almost
irtentansooaly taken from him. At the saw time Lord
Bury made • similar mown, and a forcible attempt to
pluck • tambourine from his grasp was made, which be
resisted. Mr. Fay then asked SW his coat should be re-
moved. We beard instantly a violent twitch; and hare
occurred the most remarimble fan. A light was struck
before the coat had quite left Mr. Fay's pendia, and it was
moo quitting him, plucked off him upwards. It flew rep to
the shandalwr, where it hung far a moment, ad thew fell
to the ground. Mr. Fay was mesa meanwhile bound hand
and foot as before. One of our party now divested himself
of his coat, and it was placed on the table. The light was
aniaguished, and this coat was rushed on to Mr. Fay's tea
with equal rapidity. Daring the above occurrences in the
dark we placed • sheet of paper under the feet of these two
operators, and drew with a pencil an outline around them,
to the end that if they moved it might be detected. They
of their own accord offered to have their hands filled with
Hour, or any other similar substance, to prove they made no
use of them, but this precaution was deemed unaecessery ;
• we required them, however, to count from Ito 12 repeat-
edly, that their voice* constantly heard might certify to us
that they were in the places where they were tied.
Each of our own party held his neighbour firmly, so that
no one could move without two adjacent neighbours being
aware of it. _

-4.ttietermination of this stance a general coeverration
took pleas on the subject at what we had heard sad wit-
eesaed Bury suggested that the genteel °plume
seemed to be that we should ware the Brother. Daven•
port and Mr. W. Pay, that after a very et trial and
strict scrutiny of their proceedings, the patlsmw present
could arrive at no other cctinhunin than that there warn no
trace of trickery is any form, and °Mandy there were
Deither confederates nor machinery, and that all than who
had witnessed the results would freely state is the society
in which they moved, that so far as their isveetigatiorn
enable them to form aa opinion, the phenomena which bad
taken place in their preemie were not the product of
Legerdemain. This suggestion was promptly weeded to by
•11 pr.wt.. . . .. .

Before leaving this question, in which my same has
aecidentally become mixed up, I may be permitted to ob-
serve that I have no belief to what is called spiritualism.
and nothing I have seen inclines me to behove in it—indeed
the puerility of some of the ducoostrations would Bulb.
neatly alienate such a theory ; but I do believe that we
have Dot quite explored the realms of natural philosophy—
that this enterprise of thought has of Lie years been cos-
fined to useful inventioos, sad we are coutent at last to
think that the laws of nature are finite, amiertained and
limited to the mope of oar knowledge. A very groat
number of worthy ptson seeing sock phenomena as flows
detailed ascribe them to supernatural agency ; others
weeder around the subject in doubt; but as it engages
seriously the feeling and earnest thought of so large a num-
ber in Europe and America—is it a subject which scientific
men are jostified in treating with the neglect of cootempt
Some persons think that the requirement of darkness
seems to infer trickery. Is not a dark chamber emeatial
in the proms of photography ? And what would we reply
to him who should say, " I believe photography to be a
humbug ; do it all in the light. and I will believe other-
wise, and not till thee " It is true that we know why
darkness is nereseary to the productics of the sun picture ;
sad if soientifia rose will subject these plassoniese to
analysis, we shall find out why darkness is emeetisl to such
mandestations.—l am,
DION BOUCICAU LT.
326, Begentatraet, Oct.

"MADAMS Tuesarto'a."—The effigy of Muller
already aocupist a plow is this various gallery. It has
*vides* boos entrusted to a ant rats artist. Tao ha-
taros aro not such so aro paorally .apposed to belong to
groat orlmiakalo, sad to a prolog oboorvor moist sotttiug
remarkable.