Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1850-06-22
An Hour with the Spirits.

VI s'o 0Iu hiStahIs SlseS IAS AoAo"lHS HlBulI
! interesting account: .g....s ,r.
The young ladies' from the vicinity of Ro
| CHESTER who have excited so much curiosit,
| from the fact of their being accompanied b!
| spiritual manifestations" or knockngs hav,
now been in this city three or four days. The,
have taken rooms at Barnums Hotel, where
| they have already been astonished at the devel
opments made to them, and some more or less
convinced of their supernatural origin. W.
understand that the ladies', who have recently
been creating quite sensation in Troy, lef
that place and came to this city in obedience
to the direct injunction Of the spirits, who, il
seems, exercise very arbitrary control ovel
their movements. .t l. sa et
In company with friend, we called upor
them yesterday afternoon. 1t was past the
usual hour for the appearance of the spirits
but after short delay we were admitted to the
presence Of the ladies. The eldest, Mrs. Fish
is about twenty five years old, and has pleas
ing and intelligent countenance. Her two sis.
ters, the Misses Fox, are of the ages of eighteen
and fourteen. Their eyes and hair are dark
and their compilations of transparent pale
ness, such as we have observed in persons high.
ly susceptible of mesmeric influences. Their
manner is quiet and refined, and all their ac'
tions are marked by entire propriety.
They were seated on sofa, with q plain table
before them We had scarcely taken seats on
the opposite side, before succession ofsraps
was heard, some on the table and some on the
originated from different sources. Some were
so strong as to ia, the floor or the top of the
table, and if hand was laid on the latter, the
/ 1o A. ho
request of the ladies, we took a seat on the
sofa beside them, SO that they could not, appa-
rently, have touched the table without our per-
ceiving it. The table in question belonged to
the hotel, and, as we satisfied ourselves, con-
tained no machinery of any kind by which the
sounds might have been produced. Neverthe-
less, thumps both loud and frequent were made
on the under side of the lid. In answer to a
question from Mrs. Fish, (who seemed to be on
the most familiar terms with the knockings),
one of the spirits signifed its willingness to
converse with US. 's
We mentally selected a relative whom we
had never seen, and who had been dead num-
ber Of years. In answer to the questions
"Are you friend!" and "Are you a relative!'
it replied in the affirmative, by double thump
OF, the floor, apparently under our feet, the jar
being distinctly felt. The next question was
"How many years since you were living?" We
were directed to write down series Of num-
bers, with the assurance that the spirit would
indicate the correct one. At the tenth number
which was the true one-there was an af-
frmative knock. We then asked that the
number should be indicated by knocking, no
one having seen what we had written. 1mme-
diately there were twenty-seven distinct knocks
under our feet, which was precisely the num-
Der! The sex of the person, and age at the
time Of death, were also correctly Indicated
We then requested the place of death, and the
invisible knocker agreed to designate the let
ters upon our writing the alphabet. The initial
letter (K.) was truly given, after which the
esprit" seemed disinclined to continue the
spelling. It however informed us that there
were FIVE Of our guardian spirits present. Dur
ing our questioning, several other raps of a
different character were occasionally heard,
some on the table and some on the floor, not
far from a corner Of the room. ss..f se
Our friend was less successful in his conyer-
sation. Out of some five or six questions, but
one was correctly answered. The spirits finally
refused to hold any further parley, but appoint
ed an hour. when they would be more commu-
nicative. There was one, which the ladies as
serted to be that of child, which kept up q
faint, timid knocking on the table, the meaning
Of which they declared themselves unable to
explain. 1t appears that male and female, old
and young spirits, can be readily distinguished
from the character Of the sounds, The indi-
viduality, SO to speak, of the various knocks,
is one of the most curious features Of the per-
formance.y .ss zga ..sssl 4! 5:a5=.s b..a Esse
Notwithstanding the closest scrutiny, we were
unable to detect any motion on the part Of the
ladies', which could have originated the sounds
They seemed at perfect ease, and their whole
department exhibited an apparent frankness and
sincerity which would dispose one to acquit
them Of any intent to deceive. Still, we cannot
help believing they are in some way cognizant
of the manner in which the sounds are produ-
ced, though we think it would puzzle any spec
tator to discover it. They stated that the nois-
es followed them every wherein the steam
boats, on the railroad, in carriages, and even on
the marble floor of the hall Of a hotel. They
have been thus accompanied for two years past,
and consider the attendance as rather irksome.
As we rose to leave, the knocking which had
been nearly silent before, recommended. Three
thumps were given in the inside of
i bureau-drawer, near which the ladies were.
standing. They opened the drawers to show
rs there was nothing inside which could have
the sound, aud ia truth, we saw
nothing. It is to be remarked, however, that
The knockings were heard in their vicinity, the
distance being insufficient to remove the suspi-
ZION of their agency. Yet, admitting thisisus
picion to be true, the manner in which they pso-
luce the effect battles our comprehension. The
answers to questions may be accounted for on