The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-05-28

A1dWn4 Ups IOE rs the CdDlue6 WAS OA
that evening virtually without trap,
Katie King having entered through the
door, under cover of darkness, she could
not have made her escape except dur
ing the second dark seance, at the
close of the evenings performance.
This was almost the only occasion on
which a Holmes entertainment began
and ended with dark seance, and the
reason why this change was made should
at that time have been more closely in
quired into. 1t has been stated that for
a time the door leading from the front
room into the hall was always locked.
As this created much suspicion, the
mediums finally consented to have it
remain open until the manifestations
first appeared. Under such circum-
stances it became necessary to make q
change in the manner of Keeping
&c Katie" out of sight. The bolster Oh
the bed was therefore so arranged that
" Katie" could creep into it, and in
this she hid herself before the seance
and after it was concluded. The bed
room was many times examined after
the change, and the bed was also in
spected, but no one ever thought of
looking into the bolster to find out what
it was stuffed with. Katie King, during
last summer, when these seances were
being given at No. 50 North Ninth
street, boarded with Mrs. Holmes, and
was at first suspected by Or. Child, but
on several occasions he WIS requested
by Mrs. Holmes to answer the violent
ringing of the door-bell Immediately
following the close of the seance. He
always found the suspected lady wait,
ing very impatiently to be let in, and
she often complained that, as she
boarded with Mrs. Holmes, that lady
had no right to lock her out.
Tue DOCTORS suspicious were soon
quieted by this ruse, and the young
lady was seldom afterwards thought Of
During the heated term Mr.. and Mrs.
Holmes left the city and travelled
through the west, where they were once
| exposed, but as the account was not
clearly written, the effect was not very
/ damaging. Upon the return of the me-
| diums to Philadelphia in the fall, DIR.
Child was sent for by Mrs. Holmes and
asked to assist them in finding house.
The doctor gladly complied with the
request, as he was anxious to have the
| cabinet placed IN a room where il could
stand near solid walls. He found one
or two houses where the front room
would admit of this arrangement, but
Mrs. Holmes discovered some fault with
them all, and finally decided upon the
house at 825 North Tenth street. In the
second-story front room of this house
the cabinet WAS placed in such posi-
ton that it stood about eighteen inches
from boarded up window.
As already described III the Press,
this window was arranged in such way
that, with the sash taken out, there was
room for a person to stand between the
/ boards on the inside and the shutters on
the outside. One of the boards was
apparently fastened by screws, but they
were only dummies. In reality il
swung on pivots, and was held in its
! place by q stout button on the inside.
! A board in the back of the cabinet was
similarly arranged. Before the seances
began "Katie King" took her position
in the window and fastened herself in.
! The space between the cabinet and the
wall was then concealed by a door,
which at first glance appeared as part OF
the cabinet table of musical instrU,
ments was showed up against it, and tie
guests, who were always received in 6
downstairs room, we're invited to as
cend.
A dark seance always opened the en-
tertainment, during which Katie would
descend from her perch, and, making
her way into the cabinet, take position
in the corner, where she could not bt
seen when the cabinet door was opened
Mr.. Holmes would then enter the cab
met, and between the two the usua
manifestations were produced. The
| numerous faces shown we're nothing but
rubber masks, so made that they could
be blown mp into different sizes, and a
the same time produce different appeac
ances. Mr.. Holmes could conceal hal
a dozen such faces in his inside pocket
At the Tenth street house Mr.. and Mrs
Holmes were supposed TO live alone
having only an old colored woman as al
assistant. This "auntie" was quite
dumb, and on several occasions forgot
herself, and sat the table for three in
stead of two, as the Holmeses usually
partook of a light supper after the even
ing's performances.
The dark circles given at 825 NORTH
Tenth street were often quite entertain
ing to lovers of the mysterious and a:
they performed almost all of the still
unexplained tests given by the best me
diums, it was less difficult for them tc
avert suspicion than it would have beer
had they confined themselves to Katie
King. Their mediumistic powers are
highly attested, and those who are most
familiar with spiritualism state that
there is no doubt but that Mr.. and Mrs.
Holmes are really excellent mediums,
who have been by cupidity to mix g
great deal of trickery with their natural
powers. There was published in the
London Spiritualist of Feb. l, 1873. q
record of a sitting held with the
Holmeses in London, at which Mr..
Luxmore, who reports the seance, de-
clares that the same Katie King, y
who materialized through Florence
Cook, appeared through Mr.. and Mr..
Holmes. Mr.. Luxmore is a wealthy
gentleman, living in one of the fashion
able squares of London, and it was at
his residence that many of the Florence
| Cook seances were given.
Some of the best-known spirituRlists
seem to believe from this that Mr.. and
Mrs. Holmes have at some time pre-
scented the veritabie "Katie King,
and, failing to reproduce the manifesto