The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-08-07
KATIE KING, THE MYTH.

The sensation for some time since in
London has been the Katie King" al
luded to as the spirit test that convinced
Mr.. Wallace, the naturalist. How spirit
came to revisit the glimpses of twi-
light room is thus told:
Among the persons in England pos
sessing mediumistic powers is a young
girl of fifteen years of age, Miss Flor
ence Cook. Mr.. Crookes vouches en-
phatically for her responsibility and
her righteousness. Her powers have
been submitted to the severest tests at
Mr.. Orookes' own house, and under
conditions which he has himself die
tated, and he does not seem to have a
doubt that they are genuine. While in
the trance state about three years ago,
a luminous form began to appear near
her person. This has in the course of
medeveloped into full grown woman,
and not merely the form of a woman,
but flesh and blood one, which appears
suddenly, walks, talks, permits itself
to be touched and embraced, and melts
away into nothingness before the eyes
of the company. This esprit" syas
that her name is Annie Owen, that she
died hundred years ago in Wales, and
that her nickname is Katie King"
She is described, as very beautiful in
face and figure, wearing long hair of
light auburn, which hangs in ringlets
down her back and each side of her
head, reaching nearly to her waist. On
the occasion of her later appearances
she was dressed in pure white, with
low neck and short sleeves. She wore
long white veil, but this was drawn
over her face but seldom.
After the testimony of Mr.. Wallace
aud Mr.. Crookes, the next witness must
be Mrs. Ross Church, the novelist.
On the evening of the 9th of May,
Katie King led me, at my own request,
into the room with her beyond the cur
tain, which was not so dark but that I
could distinguish surrounding objects,
and then made me kneel down by Miss
Cooks PROSTATE form and feel her
her hands and face and head of curls,
while she (the spiriD held my shoulder,
with one arm around my neck. I have
not the slightest doubt that upon that
occasion there were present with me
two living, breathing intelligences, per-
fectly distinct from each other, SO far
at least as their bodies were concerned.
If my senses deceived me, if I was lie
by imagination or me smeric influence
into believing that touched and felt
two bodies instead of one if "Katie
King" who gasped and embraced and
spoke to me, is projection of thought
Only-a will-power, an instance of IN
known force-then it will be no longer
possible to know "who's who in 1874, +"
and we should hesitate to turn up the
gas incautiously, lest half or friends
should be but projections of thought
and melt away beneath its glare.
Whatever Katie King was on the
evening of the 9th of May she was not
Miss Cook. To that fact am ready to
take my most solemn oath. Katie was
very busy that evening. 10 each of
her friends assembled to say good-by
she gave bouquet of flowers tied up
with ribbon, a piece of her dress and
veil, and a lock of her hair, and a note,
which she wrote with her pencil before
US. Mine was as follows "From An
ME Owen de M ryan (alid8 Katie KING
to her Friend, Florence Marryatt Ross
| Church. with love. Pensez q moi.
| May 81, 1874" I must not forget to
relate what appeared to me one of the
most convincing proofs of Katie's more
than natural power, namely, that when
she had cut, before our eyes, twelve or
| fifteen pieces of cloth from the front of
her white tunic as souvenirs for her
friends, there was not hole to be seen
in it, examine it which way you would
1t was the same with her veil, and I
have seen her do the same thing several
| times