Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-02-20
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we are llOC VI tnOse WHO UeiicNe Ill
Spiritualism. There may be some
thing in 1t, but we arc skeptical as to
there being anything tangible In Spir-
itualism. The editor of the San Fran
cisco CAT attended n "seance" last
Friday, and gives quite an interesting
sketch of what lie saw and heard in
the Call Of Sunday morning. lie says:
"Do Spirits appear?" It Is an old
question, and was discussed in the de-
batting societies when we we're q boy.
The evidence that they do appear,
under certain conditions, is respect
able. TO many 1t Is convincing. We
have never seen a ghost that could not,
upon close analysis, he explained
away into a white horse stumbling
among the tombstones Of q graveyard,
or n queer effect Of imperfect light
thrown upon objects dlmly outlined,
or some kind Of m optical illusion.
We are rather inclined to disbelieye
in ghosts; but are, nevertheless, open
to conviction. "Do spirits communi-
cate ?" Is n direct question. On that,
also, we are open to conviction. On
Friday night we "asSiSted" Mt q
seance not a thousand miles from the
corner of Clay and Powell streets, at
which certain communications" were
made, or were pretended to be made,
which greatly interested us. No mat
ter whence they came, or how they
were produced, they are curious and
full Of startling novelty.
TIFF MEDIUM AMI THE INVESTIGATORS.
Only six persons, including the me-
dunn, were present. The Army, the
Bar, the Pulpit and the Press were
each represented. The medium "a
LADY, constituted the fifth member Of
the party, and a hard-headed, skepti-
cal specnlator IN real estate made up
the sixth. Curiously enough, it was
the lawyer who was most inclined Of
all the investigators to an easy faith
in the manifestations" 1t was he
who had organized the seance, and he
assumed the business Of propounding
the questions. His name, If we were
ut liberty to give 1t, would be &C
copied rs q guarantee Of the strict
good faith Of the proceedings.
TIE "sEANcE" OPENS.
The scene is q dining-room Of a
house of ordinary dimensions. An ex-
tension table occupies the center Of the
apartment, with chairs ranged around
it, occupied by the investigators and
the medium. The latter is seated ut
the head of the table. After Il little
desultory conversation she becomes
Her head droops upon her
bosom. A SILVER runs through her
frame. She gazes tlXedly into the
distance. A sigh, another SILVER, n
of the limbs, and she Is In a
"trance state" She commences
speaking In a voice that Is not her
own. She Is n slender woman, with
what appears to be q feeble physique.
But the voice Is that Of a strong man.
and there Is something sinister and
In its infections. According
to the Spiriturlistic theory, the spirit
of some deceased person is now speak
ing through her. She Is n "medium "
because her physical organs can be
taken possession Of and used by the
spirit, as a means of communication
with mortals. The spirit, having no
body and no organs Of its own, Is fain
to avail itself Of those Of some person
who Is so constituted that they car be
thus used.
ENTER TIE
"Who are you?" asks the lawyer,
who constitutes himself the master Of
ceremonies.
"Pshaw! what n silly question.
How do know" isthe rather singular
answer.
"Dou't you know your own name?"
"a name Is nothing but an accident;
q trifling, u%nessentlal thing. l had a
name that l was called by when on
but 1 have forgotten it."
Forgotten his " name :" muir
INJURED the General, stroking his gray
moustache, "Well, that's a likely
"Suppose you had lived on earth q
hundred and fifty thousand years ago."
was the prompt retort. land had gone
of into another world where there are
no names, would you have remembered
such an insignificant circumstance as
The name they called you by In the
flesh? Suppose my name Vas Ptolem-
or Ptolemkloeps; suppose It
was Isibente ; suppose 1t was Rumple-
; suppose It was Smith-wlat's
he consequence Of itp | don't know
what they called me"
The General stared and passed his
hand through his hair, but said moth
.ng.
"Where did you live?" asked the
uris-consult.
"How do I know whore ] lived?
Everything Is changed since then. II