Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-24
Homes Prs,eu,ion, E.po.ed.

Mr.. Home, the medium" is convinced that
his going to St. Petersburg was mistake. He
was successful in England in persuading many
persons of apparent intelligence that he could
make himself taller or shorter at will, could
carry live Goals in his hands without being
burned, and that he was lifted from the earth
and carried through the air by spirits, besides
performing the common tricks of rapping, ia bic
moving, and so forth He was quite the rage
there. Some prosaic philosophers, to be sure,
wished to subject his marvels to scientific tests,
and when he refused to submit to what they
thought the indispensable conditions of fair
trial, courteously intimated that he lacked the
faith in his own powers that he ought TO have
if he was sincere; but fashionable and aristo-
cratic people believed in him, and wrote letters
10 the newspapers telling of the astonishing
manifestations they had seen, and, as the aver
age Englishman puts much higher value on
lords belief than on philosophers demon
stration, Mr.. Home held his own pretty well in
England, in spite even of the awkward develop
ments Of his lawsuit with the credulous widow
whom he had deluded into entrusting him with
her property.
But in st. Petersburg he Jared differently.
The Russian scientists are keen-eyed and shrewd.
A committee of them requested Mr.. Home to
give them an opportunity TO test his spiritualis-
tic powers. He consented, either because they
were willing to admit more liberal conditions
than were allowed him in London, or because
the society of St. Petersburg was disposed to
await the verdict of the philosophers before Civ
ing the medium their confidence. The commit
tee say that they assented to Mr. Homes condi-
tons, notwithstanding their unscientific charac-
ter, which was rather like the precautions taken
by eonjHrer to prevent his tricks being dIscov-
cred, because they considered him not a very
skillful performer, which opinion was warranted
by the result. For the first trial Mr..
Home, with his two witnesses" met
the committee in q large room in which was q
table covered with a cloth. The tabletippine
and rapping performances were to be irst in
vestigated. The medium was asked whethe
the material Of the table was important. Oh
his answering that it made no difference, tn
cloth was removed showing table made entirel,
ofglass. The party seated themselves about it By
Mr.. Homes direction, and awaited the spiritua
Influences. They waited long time withou
observing anything unusual, although Mr.
Home thought he perceived slight rapping an(
some disposition of the table to move, which
were imperceptible to the committee An appa
ratus to test the weight of the table was applied
at bis request, and disclosed no change in this
respect.
This trial having been thus unsatisfactory, q
day-the 2ad of March-was fixed for second
On that day Mr.. Home sent word that he coult
mot come on account of illness, and the mex
meeting was appointed on the z5th. On tina
evening he again pleaded sudden indisposition
but the next evening he was seen at the theatr
apparently in perfect health. He said, how
ever, that he could not give any more seance
as under the influence of the weather he felt
diminution of the spiritualistic powers. On Ii
18th of March, he left St. Petersburg for Lol
don. His discontinue was therefore complet,
and he takes his place with the Davenpoi
brothers and other pretenders to supernatur,
powers, as an exposed charlatan.