The Republican journal., 1869-07-08
HOW WR. FAY AND THE DAVENPORTS MAN
AGED THEIR PRESTIDiGITATiON


AGED THEIR PRESTiDiGlTATiON.
\ clergyman sends to the Round Table the
following account of the performances of a
Mr.. Van Week, a travelling medium, who
for consideration publicly explained the
phenomena exhibited by himself and Mr.
Fay in western city:
The hall, the largest in the city, was crowd
ed. The Spiritualsts were present in full
force. They occupied front seats The lee
turer had bitterly hostile jury to convince
Back of him was a drawing-room scene from
a cheap local theatre. Ii contained in the
centre folding doors. A table stood at the
lecturers side. On it were a drum, tambour-
inc, guitar and bell. A committee of two
was appointed by the audience to supervise
all the experiments. 1t consisted of an eX-
congressman, an active member of the Meth
odist Church, whose reputation is national,
and whose integrity is above the possibility
of suspicion, and of the editor of our local pa
per. member of our own congregation, and
well known by reason of his position in the
community. The medium was then firmly
bound to his chair if | remember right, by
the committee; they, at all events examined
the knots Each wrist was fastened to the
round Of the chair at the side. Thus bound,
he was lifted up, carried through the folding
doors and placed on the other side of the
screen. The table with the musical instru-
ments was placed at his side. The doors
were then shut. In an incredibly short space
Of time the drum was sounding. the bell ring
ing, the guitar was thrummcd, the tambour-
inc beaten. The music was of that hideous
order. or rather disorder, which character
ICES the spirits, who certainly do not possess
the musical talent which ina gination usually
attributes to the residents of the celestial
spheres. The music stopped. the doors were
opened the medium was bound as firmly As
ever. He then disclosed the secret of the
mystery. The medium always furnishes his
own rope. He is tied by 4 committee, usual
1 ly Of literary, political or scientific gentlemen
| No one of them can bind the wrist so firmly
that an adept cannot loosen the knot with his
third and little finger sufficiently to draw out
his hand. He proceeded 10 afford Us ocular
demonstration of the fact. sit is true he
said, "a sheriff can bind me 50 tight that |
cannot unbind myself. But it is not by sher-
| ifs that the knot is customariy tied If ii
should be, the spirits would refuse to come
The conditions would prove unfavorable. ;.
| \ second time he was carried behind the
screen, this time unbound. The spirits tied
him as they had tied Mr. Fay. examined
the knot myself. | am not an adept in knots
1t had, however, the same appearance The
spirits then tied him before our eyes They
operated wholly through his muscles After
tying the rope firmly to the chair and making
a noose-not a running one however-in the
rope, he inserted his hands in this moose, then
by a sudden and dexteronS twist gave them
! the appearance of being firmly bound to,
gether, while, in fact he withdrew them and
inserted them with the greatest ease HI
called for manacles. The sheriff brought
them from the county Jail They locked Will
a spring. He knocked them with 4 sharl
blow on the iron pillars that supported the
roof. They sprang apart and out dropped
the manacled hand. Every jalbird knows
that trick he said. hope our police have
different manaeles from those Of the Indiana
sheritf>. He repeated the trick which, as per
formed by Mr.. Fay. had been my greatest
perple kitty. The editor sat at the side of the
table The eX-congressman occupied one
side, Mr.. Van Week the other The editor
hands We're placed one on the head of eacl
Of his companions. His arms were firml,
by the medium on the other
Nov, Mr. Editor" said the medium that
YOU may be in the same condition IN which
You would be if You We're in a dark circle
please close Your eyes and keep them closed
till the end Of the experiment"
lie did so. The medium quietly took of
one hand, took up the guitar, thrlmmed or
it with one finger in the true spiritual fashion
tapped him gently on the head, then replaced
the guitar on the table and hi, hand on the
editors arm.
Medium-"Now, ~ir, open Your eyes Die
| moveo'
Editor (very seriously, but 10 the grea, As
tonishment Of the audience, who had seen the
whole pertormance) )-'.Nu, sir, not ri all
The grasp of the upper hand deadens the
| 'Ihp IDWnr and na no ra,,,n1raA NJ
replaced at will, and the movement is not
recognized. One of the members of my
church, a young man, acquired the grip and
repeated the trick on halt-a-dozen customers
in his store the next day, much To their aston
lshment. And so the greatest mystery in
this ''humbug and charlalanrv' was explain
ed.
do moi pretend to explain all so-raled
spiritual phenomena. There are certain ap-
parently well-authentcated eases of tahle-tip-
ping and clarvoyant writing, difficult, if not
impossible to interpret on any theory o.
fraud. But the lecture of Mr.. V. convinced
me- Of what confess | was substantially con
vnccd of before, that nine-tenths Of Spiritual
ismiSa trick that in these so-calle,t phenomena
there are much alloy Of humbug and Sc
little grain Of truth that ii does moi pay fol
mining and that as a class, the travelling
mediums. whether they exhibit in halls al
twenty-five cents 4 head or in private parlorS
at dollar are ineal descendants of the gvp-
sizes and fortune tellers of the last century
and entitled to the same measure of respect
and consideration. The question may be
asked, why does mol Mr.. v. repeat his expose
in other towns and other communities SIM
ply because credulity pays better than skep-
ticsm and the mountcbank apostles Of this
new unlusion are too Shrew to Kill. for a pres
ent advantage, the goose that lays for them
50 many golden eggs.
Ma, ma, cousin Bill he's in the parlol
with sister Jane, and he keeps biting her
what! William biting my Jane?''
'Yes'm. | seed him do it ever so many
times. Bit her right on the mouth, and the
tarnal gal didn't holler bit mother"
"Ah, never mind, Ned I guess he didn't
| hurt her much.
Hurt her, crackey. why, she loves it, she
does; cos she kept letting him, and didn't
say nothing but Just smackcd her lips as il
it was good, she did. seed it all through
the key-hole. I'll fire taters at him the next
time, see if DON'T
a number of versifiers live we'll in New
York by supplying graveyard poetry to peo-
pie who have been bereaved of their friends
. and hy-H Haathc Nhnx f,,lI