Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-09-21
"A WICKED SPIRIT.
A WelI-knOwu MaterIaIisL COnfesses
TO be Freud,

10 Dc u Ec uGt
Poston Herald.l
ROCHESTER,, N. Y, September
12.-There is great excitement
here, occasioned by the publication
in the Democrat and Chronicle Of
the confession of G. L. Jennings, a
noted materialist medium. Jen-
nings came to Rochester from Ell
mira eight months ago, aud gradu-
ally developed into a first-class me-
dium. He held seances, which were
numerously attended, and produced
faces and hands, aud gave commu-
nications, orally and written, from
the spirit world. His manifesto
tons were very satisfactory to be-
levers, and bafled skeptics. At
first he worked alone, but after
wards employed a confederate. He
gives the following account of his
first seance:
"The first seance held after it
became known to the Rochester
people that | was a medium, was
in the Whitcomb House, and at this
seance was present. a gentleman
from Chicago, who recognized Liz
zie, his daughter, in me after l had
covered my small mustache with
piece of flesh-colored cloth, and
reduced the size of my face with a
shawl that l had hung up purpose
llyin the back of the closet, but for
the purpose, it is said, of making
a dark back ground. From this
sitting my fame commenced to
spread, and at almost every. private
house where / sat after that, / had
the luck Of being placed in a
clothes-press, or some place that
contained inexhaustible parapher-
MALTA for getting up different kinds
of spirits. Consequently ! would
offer to be examined on these occa-
sions, but | don't think any one
ever did it." Afterwards he hired
a house and engaged his confeder-
ate. His cabinet occupied the real
of a small room, in which was q
closet, where the accomplice was
concealed, the door Of which was
apparently secured, but which was
skilllully arranged so that it could
be opened from the inside and ad,
nit the confederate into the cabi
net. Jennings was thus en-
abled to submit to all the tests
required. He usually entered
The cabinet and was placed in stocks
his hands and feet being visible
outside. The curtain hungin from
of the cabinet. Music in the au
dience deadened all sounds within
the cabinet, and his confederate wa
well supplied with masks, wigs ant
=. costumes, and appeared at the aper
:. ture in the cabinet and'oonverse,
. with the audience. Jennings tell
Q how he obtained information con
: cerning the dead friends Of those il
t the circle. Among other things'h
4 visited the CITY cemetery, an
: learned the time Of death and som
: particulars of the lives Of thos
a whom he introduced as spirit
b Many were Unidentified by friend
d and relatives, and full credence wa
l. given to the revelations. Jenning
i seems to be a very ingenious ca
!. penter, and is gifted with 0 grei
T. deal OF cunning. He says that
he had had money at his comman,
and could have prepared contri
is ances as he desired, be would hay
% defed detection. The circumStanc
B. eading to exposure are as follow
Some two weeks ago CIVIL eng
10 neer of this city insisted upon beir
allowed to seal the closet in hisow
way, and brought to the sean
It. tools for that purpose. JenninJ
refused to allow this, whereupon
was talked to in such a mann
r; that he took the alarm, his Co
J federate fled, and the seanc
closed, Finally he made a cle'
breast of the matter to a clergyma
+. protesting the deepest peniten
and stated that he should leave toy
to avoid meeting his dupes.
, had prepared a statement which
lr- intended to deliver as a lecture, b
which he finally concluded to gi