The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-05-04
SPIRITUAL PHOTOGRAPS.
4 VERY CURIOUS TRIAL IN NEW YORK.
Witnesses Unable to Detect Tiickers.

It will be remembered that Mr.. Mum
ler, photographer, was recently ar
rested in New York on the charge OF
swindling, in obtaining money for pic
lures which in addition to the likeness
of the sitters, had on each them
shadowy outlines which the artist claims
to be those of some spirit in close affin-
ity with the sitter. The second hearing
of the case before Justice Bowling has
just been had
The Star furnishes the following re-
port:
TIE LOCKERS ON.
Justice Dowling before whom the ex-
aminstion IS being male, took his seat
on the bench promptly at 8 o'clock =
The Court room was filed. many Of the
spectators being ladies. There was
present motley array OF believers in
the spiritual doctrine OH men with
long white boards, and gray hair pushed
behiad their ears, sickiy sentim eltal
eyes, and cadaverous, lantern jawed
physiogomies young believers Of ef
Terminate look, who had the appearance
OF having stretched their necks TO the
utmost tension by constant endeavors to
peer into the shadowy world 'on the
other side Of Jordan women young
and old, whose conferences betolened
the fact OF their afliliatlon with the
strong minded of their sex, and whose
lives, seemingly. are spent in endeavors
to ascertain precisely what's up in the
happy land of Canaau;' elderly Spirit
ualists, lank and lean, of shuffiing gait
and golden spectacles, whose intimacy
with ghosts, ghouls and gobins damned
has apparently rendered them ohlivious
to everything that is transpiring around
them in this material world. but who can
discourse in esqnipedalian phrase of the
minutest matters, affecting the economy
of the spheres. Besides these, there
were present unbelievers IN the theory
OF spirit manifestations many who
came to enjoy the fun Of the thing, and
to see how far the doctrine of ETHEREAL
essences is being carried. and = sprilk
ling of roushs, whose viiiainous coun
tenances gave evidence of the little faith
they had Of hereafter Of any sort, but
who would not scruple, if opportunity
presented, to give the spirit OF man Or
woman sudden exit from its mortal
shroud, for stamps.
The prosecution restel the case on
the testimony of Marshal Tooker, who
claim ed that he had been cheated.
VIM. P S!ee, photographer, testified
that Mumler had produced he pictures
in his presence, and that he t.i1 not &c
tect any tricEery.
VIM. Guy, alias Silver. Numbers part
ncr, gave the same tes -imony.
VETERAN sPIRITUALIsr' EXPERIENCE.
Elk Judge John W Elmontss was the
next witness. He testified 10 having
visited Nr. Mnmler's galley by invita-,
ton of DR.. John F. Geary and q Mr..
Hunt; each OF the three had several pic
lures taken, and on each pictnre there
was the ghost like spi ;tusl p'so ogrn phi,
plain and apparcnt witness VAS taken
sitting in several positions; once he sat
facing the wall the camera being pointed
toward his side face: the picture then
taken was a profile view Of him: SO far
as he could see, nothing, wss in front Of
him but FLANK brown wall, and yet
when the picture came from the cam era
there Was on it a form Of lady, appar
entity having been between himself and
the wall when the picture was taken; he
tl:t, not recognize whose spirit it was,
however. Witness contiaue,i: Ol one
OF tie pictures I think ! recognised the
)
from somewhere west Of the Mississip
pi, dozen daguerreotypes, which par
ported to be spiritnal PICTURES; after
ward heard Of Mumlers process, which
was then in vogue in Bos. on; many OF
my friends believed implicitly in the
process; l doubted il q spirit picture
could be taken OF any one via had not
been photographed before death; re
mcmhered particularly tie case of a
Jewish merchant who died in Hong
Kong twenty Eve years ago, without
ever having picture taken; his spirit
photograph was taken; / went 10 Ap
pieton, of this city, who told ne that
no photograph Of a person 50 long dead
could be taken the JUDI here showed
a photograph which contained the spec
tral picture Of a Lady, standia9 behind
the chair OF the sitter. with MS h md on
his shoulder; l know q great many
persons who have visited Mumler; Mr..
Lirernore had some very extraordinary
pictures taken; we spiritualists reason
that these pictures are spirit pictures,
but we do not know it; I an myself not
yet ready to pronounce Judgment on
the matter; / believe that in time lis
truth or falsitv be fully demon stra ed,
as spiritual intercourse becomes more
apparent.
l have seen spirits; II any spiTitua.ists
cannot. l remember the other day
was in court in Brooklyn, where the
question at issue was the payment of an
accidental insurance policy. On look
ing toward the jury box, saw standing
behind the jury the spirit Of the man
who had Eeen insured; that spirit told
me the circumstances connected with the
death; he had committed suicide; 1 drew
diagrs m of the place at which his
death occurred, and on showing it to the
counsel, was told that it was exact,
had never seen the place or the man,
and no one in the court room saw the
spirit excepting myself, it dictated to
me, also, certain questions to be put by
the counsel in the case to gentleman