Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-01-21
The sniri,nAm hnci,.

Oo'CHPoIts ies!Olng IN BuHal0, N. L. 1neSe
boys, one fourteen and the other sixteen years
OF age, have been represented as very honest,
modest, passive. boys, and wholly incapable of
any attempts to deceive those who called upon
them. In their presence the table would be
taken up; tambourines. violins, guitars, and
other musical instruments, would be played
upon, while trayersing the room with unac
countable speed; bells would be rung, spirit
hand toould be made cisi5ze, and the spirit of
one King John or John King, would actually
utter sentences through a speaking trumpet
All this,save the exhibition of the spirit-hand
would oceur only in very dark room. The
hand would be displayed with just light
enough to make dark -eolored hand visible.
Well, this Davenport family, after astonish-
ing the world at Buffalo, went to New York,
by invitation Of the spiritualsts; and for two
or three weeks their performances were looked
upon as the most wonderful that had ever
been given. At last, however, they were
caught in some of their tricks and we shall
not be deemed very uncharitable for saying,
that it very Fortunately happened that some
skeptics were present Mt the time. An expo
sure of this trickery, however, is now given
to the public by spiritualists themselves, and
fills two or three columns of the last number
of partridge and Brittans Spiritual Tele-
graph" The first chapter is written by DR..
H. F. Gardnerof Boston. who is well known
as a believer III the spiritual theory. He says ::
''On Thursday afternoon, 9th ult.. re-
paired to the rooms of Mr.. Davenport. and
found thers some forty persons of both sexes,
assembled to witness tile expected manifesto
tons. After the company were seated, the
lights were exlinguished, and great care was
taken to make the room perfectly dark. The
two lads were seated, one at either end of an
oval shaped table in the centre of the room.
For few moments perfect Silence reigned,
when slight vibration Of he strings of a
guitar was heard, gradually Increasing to the
full power Of the instrument. Sounds also
were heard from some OF the other instru-
,ments on the table, which, by the way, were
two guitars, tambourine, violin, two bells,
and two ordinary speaking trumpets. Soon,
as indicated by the sound, the guitars and the
tambourine commenced their gyrations around
the room moving with great rapidity (the
strings being constantly snapped), occaaional-
ly being brought to and lightIytouching some
of the visitors. This exhibition continued at
intervals for considerable time, when one Of
the party, who had left his seat and crawled
on the carpet toward the centre of the
room, found the chair which had been oc-
cuped by the eldest Davenport boy, vacant.
He soon came in contact with the pedal ex
tremities of wEat he considereda spirit clothed
in flesh; he caught hold OF the LEGS, and re-
ceived for his pains severe blow on his head
he caught tie instrument with which the
blow was given from the hands of the Spirit,
who fed toward the table. He then threw a.
tambourine In that direction, hitting the old
est boy on his head. The violin was then
thrown from the table in the direction of the
gentleman on the floor, and struck another
person and desk with a crash breaking the
instrument i'll pieees. The gas was lighted,
and as no one was much injured, order was
restored, the room again darkened, and the
performance proceeded as before, accompanied
by loud noise as of two persons pounding
on the floor OF table with some hard substance,
ringing the bells, etc., etc. This was sudden
ly interrupted by the production CT a light
from dark lantern from behind the desk at
the west end Of the hail. The light being
thrown directly upon the scene of the per-
Torrance in the centre Of the room near the
table, the oldest boy was distinctly seen in
the act Of aiding in the production Of the
manifestations, out of his chair and several
feet distant from the table. He immediately,
on seeing The light, resumed his chair, the
instruments lying upon the floor where he
was when the light was produced. Much
confusion ensned, and many things were said
and done which are not necessary to relate
l will, therefore, give my opinion of the mat
ter i'll a very few words, viz; haze not ra-
tionaJ doubt that the oldest Davenport boy uas
deliberately attempting to decei0e those present,
By at least aiding IN the production of Tie man.
gestatioas himself, and by his oaoa free soiA."
Nothing daunted, however, DR.. Gardner
tries it again; and orsthis second occasion, he
received what he calls very striking evidence
of spiritual presence. Only five persons be-
side himself, were present The boys were
tied into their chairs. and DR.. G. took seat
near desk at one end of the room. He says;
1--WE had been in our places but moment,
sitting upon the edge of the seat and lean
ing forward, so that my face was about even
with the front Of the desk, and my hands
slightly projecting over the edge, when re-
celyed very severe blow upon my nose, evil
I IDENTIFY with the large end OF the guitar, MAX
ing the instrument crack >sone and my pro-
boscis more, and starting Che blood freely.
at once called for light; for some reason
+ none was produced for minute or two, and
| again called for and insisted upon having
light, when the eldest boy cried ont, "Ihe
Spirits have t.! rown me out of my chain
The gas being lighted, the boy was discovered
at the table loosed from the cords, except one
foot, which he had sufficient time to have
tied, after received the blow. The handker-
chief with which his hands had been tied to-.
gether, was found lying on the floor beside
the desk whore ! was seated.
But Dr. Gardner tries it once more:
"After much urging, consented to give
them another opportunity, and accordingly
seated myself at the table with the two boys
(mediums) and-Mr Partridge the latter hold
ing one hand of each of the boys in his, and
Iholding the other hands in mine, and with
our feet upon the feet of the boys. No other
person was in the room the door was locked,
and the lights extinguished. While in this
position, voice through the trumpet was
heard, apologi2ing to me for the blow, asking
my forgiveness, and making sundry, to me,
Lance and ridiculous excuses and explanations
| plrporting to come from the attending spirits.
The voice considered at the time to be the
Oldest boys, and the language, in my judg-
ment, correspondent precisely with that ordi-
narily used by him. In short, did then, and
still do, believe that il was he, and not another
spirit, that did the talking"
Now we viii leave DR.. Gardner and turn
to John L. Coles formerly editor of the New
England Washingtonian, but now very de-
| cided spirituast He was agent and door