The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-12-11
A SEANCE WITH FOSTER.
The Evidence OF Our senses Against
the Education OF Our Youth.


From the ST. Louis TlMes,l
II any one desires food for thought,
to awaken memories that will not
soon sleep, to arouse lOngings and
wOnderlDgs that will not be easily sat
ished, let him try Il seance with Mr..
Charles II. Foster the spirit medium,
or whatever you may please to call
him, who is now soj0urning mt the
Southern Hotel. If he he not one OF
the most stolidly uuimpressive or stu
pidly obstinate of men, he cannot fail
To be convinced that there are more
things in heaven and earth than his
philosophy had ever dreamed Of lie
cannot help admitting that he has
witnessed something wonderful, ana
will also confess that 1t is unaccounta-
BILE, unless he chooses 10 account for 1t
on the spiritual hypothesis. II he be
willing to admit that theory, all Is
plain and clear; If NOT, he finds him
self adrift on sea of wonder ana
speculation. He may, ii he choose,
form no hypothesis, but simply receive
whaS is given to him, without ques-
tioning It's source. This is the easiest
way, and the visitor may gain much
interesting information aHd need not
puzzle his brain. AS to the
creaibility Of the communities
tions he can have hut one opinion,
Last night, two gentlemen, not re-
moteiy connected with the newspaper
profession, called upon Mr.. Foster.
They were reasonably cool and sa-
gacious people; skeptical in all things,
but larger believers in possibilities;
given to requiring mathematical dem
onstrations OF truths; but receptive
and absorbtive, with no avenues closed
against facts, in whatever shape they
might present themselves.
They saw quiet, good humored and
sociable gentleman, who answered
questions which he could not possibly
have read, and answered them in a
manner that indicated n perfect ne
quaintnnce with the dead persons of
whom they were asked. As he could
have had no personal acquaintance
with those dead people, he must have
received the answers through their
spirits or by means OF impressions
which he derived from the minds of
the querist. There We're circumstances
that induced them to believe that all
the answers could not have been re-
iiected from their own consciousness.
This is a brief summary of the facts
and conclusions, the latter not being in
the shape of an absolute verdict, but
liable to alterations by further evil
dence. The answers were all entirely
satisfactory, were received by means of
raps, and In other manners, and were
evidently dictated 10y some conscious
hess outside of Mr.. Foster
A third entered, an acquaintance of
these two, n man of great vitality and
personal magnetism, but who, although
anxious to do so, had never attempted
communication with another world.
1t became an interesting question
what information would be given him,
and how lie would receive it. In ac-
cordance with directions, he wrote
few names on n pieces of paper, threw
them on the table, and Foster, after
his usual fashion, took them up, one
by one and pressed them upon his
forehead, and the spirits Were present.
He held a piece of paper under the
table, and one of the names was writ
ten upon it. AT this the visitors eyes
opened, aud they spread yet wider
when he was told that he had called
for a person who had been shot The
visitor asked several questions, of per
sons with whom his relations during
life had been most intimate and pecu-
liar, and received answers which not
only seemed to be entirely satisfactory
to him, but affected him visibly. Mr..
Foster gave the year and month of
this gentleman's birth, and enlight-
ened him concerning the age at which
he would die and the manner of his
death. To one question he found IL
difficult to get an answer The
visitor had asked deceased
friend concerning his last dying
request. With this Mr.. Foster
struggled somewhat, but finally came
forward with the Information that the
request was concerning piece Of gold,
which proved to he correct, and the
gentleman related the circumstance,
which was quite interesting and pa
thetic. The question, whether the an
swers to these questions might have
been reflected from the mind of the
qIerist seemed to be answered by this
instance. Mr.. Foster tells the third
visitor that person with reddish hair,
one of those for whom he had called,
was present; but the questioner could
not for some time remember any per-
son with reddish hair. At last the
recollection came to him, and the
name was spelt correctly by means of
the alphabet. There were two or three
other instances in which the answers
to questions had not been in theminds
of the querists.
Mr.. Foster claims to receive some of
these answers by means of raps; 9TH
ers are spoken in his ear, others are
impressed upon his mind. He believes
that they are given by the spirits of
those who have left the world, aud IL
Is not too much to say that II is not
easy to maintain the negative Of this
proposition.
Many of the Dallas delegation to
v