Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-07-18


street, San Francisco. What We witnessed
there Is here given the readers Of the Post
without bias, prejudice or comment, leaving
them perfectly free To draw their own con-
illusions. This medium i, a lady OF com
handing figure, with Il finely formed and
well developed intellectual head keen, bri !,h',
sparkling eyes and a pleasant, frank, open
count-nance. The particular
PHASE OF HER MEpIuMsHIp
Is indcpend, Mt slate writing, though she also
claims the gifts Of seeing spirit forms and
hearing spirit voices, commonly known as
cla!ryOyance aud lairaudiencc The Scancc
was given in well lighted parlor OF her resi-
dcnct, the furniture Of winch consisted Of
MI elegant pIr!ur suite, including Il walnut
center table. The center table was orna-
mented with music box, with Il capacity Of
six or seven tunes, ~ cheer the spirits with
its notes On their return to this world. The
Moor was rich Y carptt,d. and nothing in or
about the room indicated any previously pre-
pared syttcm for the development If spirit
manifestations. Having previously witnessed
the various other PHASES Of so'calied spirit
manifestations, the Investigator requested u
seance for
INDEPENDENT SLATE WRITING.
The medium took a seat at the table,
wound up the music box aud requested her
visitor to also take Il seat at the table. \ re-
quest to be permitted to examine the con
struction Of the table was readily and cheer
fully granted him, and the examination re-
vcalcd nothing out of the ordinary style of
manufacture. An ordinary school slate lay
upon the table, and was thea given to the
incrcdulouS vi itor for hi. inspection, which
was also critically performed, without max
ing any mysterious or unusual discovery.
After carefully celebrating every vcstiTr of
II mark with moist sponge, the slate was
returned to the medium, who placed a small
piece OF common slate pencil. not More than
onc-eig nth Of au ingii IN length ON il, aud
holding it in her left hand, passed it under
the table, while the writer, at her request,
took one end of the slate in his right hand.
The left hand OF The writer and the right
hand Of the medium were then placed on the
table, while the music box, which had pre-
viously been turned loose" kept up the
tunes of" The Bottom of the Punch Bowl"
The Spirit of the Ball. and other popular
| airs highly appropriate to spirit ears. In
less time than 1t takes to write it the pencil
| could b" distinctly heard grating over the
surface Of the slate, apparently WALKING TO
the tune Of the music box. The slate was
then passed from under the table to the full
view of the visitor, where the pencil could
be seen gliding in graceful curves over its
surface, leaving in its wake clearly defined
white lines After watching its eyolutions
for II short time it suddenly stopped, with Il
thud, rs though it had dropped on the slate
lTOUl IL HlpHt VI ttNeTui Iteu, when the meal
UNI informed her now thoroughly interested
visitor that the communication was ended.
The slate was then taken from the position
in which it had been held under the table,
and handed over to him for his inspection.
And to his utter establishment it was found
to contain communication written in
very clear, bold hand, with the exception of
the signature, which was not as clear and
distinct MS the rest. The communication
commenced, "My dear friend" and the skep-
| teal visitor, perfectly surprised at the phen-
omenon, naturally enough had his curiosity
| aroused as to the name of this unknown and
invisible friend who should address him in
such sociablc and, still, mysterious manner
The interest in the phenomenon now passed
to that of the signature, and after many vain
| attempts to decipher it the slate was. laid
aside and another one taken and placed in
the same position, when the medium request
ed the unseen writer to try and improve his
chirography sufficiently to be legible.
THE PENCIL AGAIN STRUCK INTO TINE
On the slate to the tune of familiar schot-
tischc from the music box, when, after few
tuins, it again as suddenly stopped with the
peculiar thud as before, and, to his greater
surprise, the visitor witnessed ON the slate
the familiar name of a deceased uncle. A
very peculiar feature of this phenomenon is
the fact that the person whose name ap-
pcared here, during his life WAS in the habit
OF writing the body of all his correspondence
in plain and distinct hand, while his sigma
ture would be an extended scrawl OF slightly
curvllinear marks, so that the person adj
dressed, unless previously notified of its pro-
spective arrival, or informed in some other
manner of it's authorship, WAS at sea, without
rudder, compass or sails, as TO its identity.
The writer had undertaken this private
seance, convinced in his own mind that the
so-callcd spirit manifestations were but a
al. az
his sagacity and ability to detect it but bis
| previously formed convictions in this drcc.
| ton have met with u severe backset. In the
| first place, he had confidently expected the
performance to take place in The dark, where
| the movements of the medium could not be
distinctly seen, but instead of which, not
| only was the room Well lighted by the ample
| uncurtained windows, through which the
| sun poured flood Of golden light, but the
slate itself was not even concealed from view
and the tiny pencil could be seen gliding
over its surface, forming every stroke and
curve OF the well formed letters. Again, he
expected that the communications, il any
we're received, would be written in a hurried
and only semi-legible manner, through some
| sleight. ofhand of the medium, or prepared
! by her beforehand in some mysterious way,
| and in either case to have, II any, some sigma.
turc attached with which he was entirely un.
acquainted. In short, he anticipated the
shadow without the substance, the phcno-
menon alone instead of which, he found the
| writing clear, deliberate, distinct: saw the
pencil move on the slate, and found sigma.
! turc the name of II relative, the existence of
whom either in the spirit or physical world
the medium must necessarily have been pro-
| toundly Ignorant of. Let philosophers ex.
| plain, If they can, the coincidence between
| the way this signature first came on the
| slate, and that in which the one who bore
| the name, which on Il second trial appeared,
was accustomed to write it while in the
physical body Let scientists solve, il they
can, how communication or name appeared
on the slate. What mysterious, invisible
power propelled this inanimate, inert piece
Of mineral in correct and measured lines
over the slate, with sufficient pressure to
leave its traces in perfectly distinct outlined
letters, aud those letters arranged with pre-
cison into words, and the words again into
intelligent, grammatical phrases and SEN
fences. Is it
DEMONSTRATION or THE WONDERFUL
MAGNETIC INFLUENCE
And power which mind exerts over matter =?
Did the medium, by some process of mind
reading, divine the thoughts of her visitor,
and by powerful exercise of will, command
this inert body to write them But the