Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-01-22
REPLY TO aJUsTICE."
To the Editor Of the Ledger:


l have thought l would not write an
other line for your paper in regard to
the Miller seances. Nor would / now
change this purpose out for an ar
ticle over the non de plume of Jus
tice in your Thursday issue. To re-
maiu silent might lead some people to
believe that the things mentioned by
your correspondent were true. He says
he went there " through an invitation
from Rev. Dr. Watson" How was
this obtained? Last week l purchased a
hat from Messrs. Francisco & Wiggin.
As / passed out of the door one Of the
gentlemen said to me: Il wish you
would give me an invitation to attend
one of Mrs. Miller's seances." Ireplied
he could do so, I presumed, on Monday
evening. Give me your name and
1 will report it to Mr.. Miller"
Taking a piece of paper cut of my hat
he wrote his and another gentleman's
name on it.
On Wednesday l saw him, when he in
formed me he went there on Monday
night, but there was no seance, when l
remarked be could 90 that night. This
is as near as | can state it how he got the
Invitation" have not, to the best Of
my recollection, invited but one there
for weeks, only as they have requested
me to do so except the editors and pro-
prietors of the Appeal and Avalanche.
/ have requested through your paper
twice for those who wished to 90 to see Mr..
Miller, not myself, as | was no agent for
that or anything else. In this Justice
violates that public request as above,
and then claims that it was only through
my Invitation" that he went there.
The facts are, l found no one there but
these two gentlemen with whom l had
had a word about their coming. l do
not now remember that | am acquainted
with but one or two of the twenty gen.
tlemen that we're there. There were but
two ladies, l think, and they had been
there previously without my agency,
When these gentlemen tied Mrs. Miller
they we're told that if she was tied so
that the blood would not circulate she
could not do those things which they de-
sired to see. Yet she was so tied that
the physical manifestations we're omitted
entirely. When she was %eRtranced these
same gentlemen went and examined her
and found her tied securely, and i%nsensi-
BILE, yet, in a few seconds after they left
the cabinet a lady dressed in white Mrs.
Miller always dresses dark came out on
the platform clapping her hands.
These manifestations continued for from
a half to three-qusrters Of an hour, when
Red Face" announced that Chief Lee
had come and said he would bring the
seance to a close, as the blood couldn't
circulate through the medium arm. 1t
was then, and not till then, that she was
cut loose from her confinement. Even
after that several persons showed them
selves dressed in white.
Now, to the more serious charges
made by your friend, who has not the
courage to put his name to what he
writes: Zone o ftwo thingsis evideGt-Dr.
Watson is a party to the fraud or a fit
subject for the lunatic asylum" II a resi-
dence OF over SO years in this vicinity
will not acquit me Of this charge of being
allied with a fraud, then nothing that |
can write now will do it. / therefore
pass that over with that silent contempt
which its injustice demands. But ID
regard to the lunacy, / am not prepared
10 Judge. One thing, however, | do
know, that for a score of years / have
been an open and avowed Christian spir-
i%tualist. During all hat time some
" ~wiseacres" have called me crazy. 1t
is passing strange that the Methodist
Episcopal Church South should have,
by a unanimous election Of the
highest tribunal known to the church,
elected me alter. all this lunRcy
stuff as editor Of their church or
gan; and then kept me four years
las long as | could remain) as the Pre-
siding Elder Of this, the most important
district in the Conference. Then at the
General Conference, which met here in
1870, they appointed me to edit another
church paper, where, ifI had been crazy,
| could have done more harm than in
any position they could have assigned
me. This official relation l filled until
after / voluntarily withdrew from the
church. Your correspondent thinks l
must 20 to the State capital to one or the
other of two public institutions. Well,
if / do 90 to the asylum will be the
first one according to DR.. McFalls
statement, who was the chairman of the
Legislative Committee on the Lunatic
Asylum) who was ever sent there in con-
sequence Of sp~irituslism.
| do hope, Mr.. Editor, | shall never
have occasion 10 reply to anything more
in your paper. / have neither the time
nor disposition TO do so.
Yours, truly, s. WATSON.
P. ST. hereby extend to Chief Athy
an invitation 10 attend at any time these
seances. s. W.
VICTORY FOR THE DRUMMERS.