New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-01-18
LETTERS FROM The PEOPLE
SPIRITUAL HUMBU6s.

d public journals to expose aid in the exposition OF
s<h evils tend to su0vert tie beet Institutions OF
our country; and Of al evils what is denomnated
Modem Sp.riuasm is justly considered by the Chris
ten world to he the greatest therefore request yen
to insert in your Journal the following detailed account
u deceptiors prsetced by protested Spirit Medium
il Ills civ. The room il wtich he operates is on
Broadway, rear Gisrd street and is daily visited BY
q humber OF psi sons, the majority OF whom leave
Nth the conviction Il - they have received comm mi
cstous from their spirit friends lie is called by De-
6eyera in Spritualism tpping-test mediums and his
moSe Of operating is follows lie takes seat at
the eide of table about four feet in length aud 1T
q. over ;vC N width, AID requests the investigator To
eli opposite Lin. He then hands the latter pencil
ara surubsr Of small slips Of blank paper white aud
asks him oT her the case may be- TO wnte the hr5I
names--one OF each psper-Of several deceased re!a
iiyes ard 10 fold each paper "a soon as the name
written upon IT. all Of which being done, the inves
sstor j. desired TO hold fret and then another
iLs folded papers mp til one Of them is designated
by three tips Of the table, containing the naoae
Il the spirit who VIII communicate. TEE selected pa
per il then laid aside and the others are brushed 90
the foor the investigator being further requested TO
write OIL az different pieces Of paper as coneined
The names, degrees of relationship correspondence
them. SuppoeiDg the naEes written were Mary, Jo-
seph and Samuel respectively, sustaining TO the IN
v.sicator the relations of mother, father ard son,
the last named wond be secondly written am one OF
them designated by three tips of the table, as In the
first instance. The respective ages ct the deceased
parties at the tire Of their decease the invest gator
arc desired TO write different pieces Of ps2er, and,
after they folded, Of them is selected in the
msuIe r above msntior ed. The first test" consists
IN having the name relationship and sge selected cor
respond refer to tie spirit; to sscert in which,
II. investigator i, desired TO look ~ them and Gform
the "meci1m" if i, be the case; aud If the response
is affirmative, the hand Of the medium" is spas
medically NOV d to xrts communication, appendng
20 the name, relationship and age selected That -
Il. Ia
tioU il the communca of another which the
investigator had written. is generally Suggested TO
the latter that he had better proceed with the nvesti-
cation by writing questions to be answered by the
ssers, when any given, are relevant if not peril
lent TO the questions II is to be inferred by the
reader tSat the investigator invariably does his
Tor her part Of the writing in guarded manner-that
IT, cuardiTg sgsinst the medium seeing what II Is.
Such berg the case, the surprise mshfested by the
skeptcsl at Intelligence of the assumed :pirlt
generally great and often results 10 the conviction THAI
the desd communicate with the living. Now os
the naon-firet, o. the table tipping. The table
in the room of the :" medium referred TO has small
spikes 10 the two legs 90 one si'e OF T. The 'medl-
I'M ri, the other side snd places his hands on
the table that the .pscI0rm bone OF each mana
presses sgsinst It's ejgc. They then appear however
to the nvestg who sits opposite in fact TO
The medium" with his haads thus stusted can
without apparent muscular exertior easily tip the t.
be from him, the spikes in the opposite legs keeping
it from slipping on the floor. small table msy DO
tipped in The manner above stated without there beng
spikes in the legs OF side Of IT. fr the resistance OF
the floor will be greater than the force required tn
move it; though the tipping mediums generally
guard against the possibility OF the table slipping AS
they push sga9st it, for that would be likely 10 aetray
the cause Of its movement.
Few investig ators, when they visit the " metiun
Of whom have been writing and are asked by him
10 ipsoribe on pieces of paper the names vi their
r,;ri,f ink IN 1o q
from the table bat do it on top, merely by interpreting
the le hand between the mediums eyes and the paper
which they w1ite eupposlng that VIII preclude The
possibility Of his knowing what is writteo. So thought
the pretent writer too till by experiment with
friend found not only possible but easy to tell
what was written by the motions OF the hand-essy
when the eye became practiced. The medium de.
termines, in the manner above stated what name IS
first written, and notes just how the paper containing
it s folded; and when that is held up be tips the
table 10 designate il. NLe out Of ten investigators
wht they come to write the degrees Of relation sus
tsned 10 them by the spirits whose names they have
written, viii write that relationship first that cOrre-
spOIds the fin written; also with the ages.
Therefore fthe assumed medium selects the first that
was written of each class they will in most cases
refer To the same party Or, the order OF writing
being generally pre.erved throughout, the second OF
each cass may be selected with the same success as
re- CARDS the sponGeDce. The medium waits till
tLe iryesig .tor arms the correspondence before he
proceeds, for he would not like to write communities
a IL,
when il ought TO be your Father Jonn; but when
be is satisfied to the agreement of tue contents OF
the selected papers, he can proceed without fear OF
mistake, knowing, as before stated just what such
contents are. Ia the same manner that he determines
what names writtep he knows what questions are
written, and return answer 10 each that salts
fes the majority Of those who visit him TO obtan
" hsts." Verify his assumed mediumsbip 10
" translucent bumbug." He has been known to re-
fuse to grant investigators the privilege Of writing
their questions &c, out Of his sight assigning as
reason that sDiTils could only see what was written
through the medium OF his emsnations, everything
pertaining TO the material world being very dark TO
them only ii was here and there Illuminated by the
peculiar carnations Of the so-called mediums Only
few SpIituaiets, however hold to such doctrine.
the IDediams occasionally adv ancng i: ia defense OF
position they are obliged to assume.
Is il not reasonable to suppose that if spirits could
give their first Cbistian name, they could a-0 give
their cir came The test medium" of whom have
been writing does not AK those who sit at MS table 10
write the sIrames of bic spIt.ffiends for this
scr: Almost all C1rlstisn names are common, and ne
il familiar with the motions the hand must make 10
writing them but there comparatively few people
who have he sir names the Smiths, Browns ard
JOLeses excepted therefore il would be more dficut
for him 10 tell Whist sir-name an investigator might
write: aud his failure 10 give such when II Is not
written il presumptive evidence that he lie hunbng
even If we could not know il without. novice 10
such matters may tell b, the motions oil tie hand what
lie written Iuere IL out one relationship
CONNER chg with b. ard bnt two commencing With r,
viz: Father and Friend; therefore i" medium could
rot know what relationship person was going to
write by merely observing tho motions necessary TO
io H but the dotng Of an 10 friend and the cross
irg Of in Father would enable him to distinguish
betseen them. When investigator is about TO
write relationship, and the medium at glance
obseIves the motions tina. form y, that is sufficient
10 cradle him 70 know thst Brother is being written
80 lool out Of the window and others 10 the room
viii be wiIlrg TO swear that he did not look at the
person writing except a mere glance now and then
Most Of those VINO vsit him have greed for the mar
ye,ous, ana readily believe him TO We q medium OF
between disembOSied spirts AID NOR