Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-12-10
THE DEAD RETURN
And Leave as Evidence Of MateriaIiza-
ton MOlds in Paraffine, From Which
Portrait Busts are Taken.
The Singular Experiences or the Hon.
i'll. O'SuIliVan, Late United States
Minister to Portugal.

The Hon. J. L. O'sullivan, late United
States minister 10 Portugal, tells the follow
ing thrilling story, and vouches for the won
derful materializaiions and manifestations
it describes:
These extraordinary seances look place
every day from ii 30 am. 10 about AZ
pm. Every day means literally seven
times a week. For Count de Bullet they
must have lasted about five years. At FIRST
he held them alone, no other spectator
being admitted. He had none of my zeal
for the propagation OF our new aud precious
knowledge. After bad the good fortune 10
, make his acquaintance j was made an ex-
oeption; a favor which must, think, have
been prompted BY the controlling spiriie,
with knowledge that l would make them
known TO the world, as in fact did through
weekly letters TO the London Spirtaaiist. /
must have attended not less ban 700 OF
them. We neither of us would ever fail in
attendance, any more than we would have
broken appointments to meet with angels,
which most Of those spirits 50 much resem-
bled. During q considerable portion of the
period 1 obtained admission also for another
gentleman, wealthy American friend resi-
dent IN Paris, though not generally known
as Spiritualist. The Counteaa de Bullet
was an occasional attendant, her mother and
two listers being among the spirits whom we
used 10 see materialized. With extreme
rarity some other highly Spiritualist friend
would be admitted 1.-THE consent Of the spirits
FIRST obtained), though this did not occur
more than perhaps a dozen times during the
two years or more of my participation in the
seznces.
Some eight or ten different spirits used to
come to US, visibly and sometimes palpably
msterialiEed, including my own mother.
There was one controlling spirit, or man.
sger, at these seanees (as seems USUALLY to be
the case) who seemed to be a sort of medium
TO the spiriis, and who was able 10 talk in
strong, firm voice as freely as myself, though
his power would fail when the Conditions
atmospheric or other) were unfavorable.
He was the John King" we'll known in
Spiritualism, and claimed to have been the
historical buccaneer, Sir Henry Morgan, of
Queen + izabeth's day, now working out a
mi sion to atone for the sins of his life. He
said that he acted through other mediums
also, though not all who took that name
were really himself. He wss not only strong
in what is called 6uidic form, but also good,
kind and devout, and profoundly reyeren-
tial 10 God, and also to The name OF Christ,
whom he regarded rs one of the highest and
greatest OF spirits. He usually carried a
round, Luminous something, resembling a
white stone, that We called his "lamp," about
l might tell mich that is interesting, were
1t pertinent TO the present subject.
We often sIw mors spirits than one at 4
time, and once even four, and The medium
at the same tine; ali the ave in a row, the
medium seated in the middle, asleep in
trance, snd two spirits on each side q him,
one OF whom wss John King, who parsded
his lamp before all their faces to and fro
several times, for our clearer view and recog-
n 4 L. a.
fuI female spirits, one of whom was my
Znotber, the other two being Angela and the
mother OF the Countess de Bullet. The ig-
ures were all drsped in white, the garments
hanging in graceful folds from the neck.
We repeatedly be held single forms floating
up IN he air to the ceiliag, sometimes two
or three; ard we often concurred in the
opinion thai it was such materiaIizsd
spirits, appearing to mediumistic peasant
children, who were regarded by the Roman
Catnollcs as appsTitions of the Virgin
Mary-snd why not Mary, the mother of
Jesus, IS we'll as any other spirit?
The spirit whose bust is represented in the
engraving had been, according 10 her own
account. of the Romanoff Qhe imperiai) fam
lily Of Russia. She objected to publicity
being given 10 her name, SO cali her in
print fIly enough-Angela. 1 now pro-
coed 10 tell Of how The psrsfine mold OF her
served by photography.
Weehad read Of the parsfine molds of ma
terialized hands and feet obtained both in
America and in England. We had ourselves
obtained number of John Kings lamp
OF which two appear on the photograph of
the mold Of Angels's bust. / one day aeked
"Jobn King" il be could not give us molds
of the faces of these lovely spirit friends,
with whom We had now become intimate, SO
IN IL haw
"Ihough it cannot be very pleasant fer young
ladies (sic) to Dip their faces into bot greasy
wax" But be told us 10 get two large
basins, the one OF melted par1ffine, the other
OF cold water" The next morning we had
them ready, on a email table placed 20 as to
touch the curtain which formed the cabinet,
at the middle where the curtain divided and
opened. The ssance room was q small OBJ.
long one, one end of which was made z
"cabinet" by The curtain hung across. The
other sides of the cabinet were the solid pa
pered wall. The floor was carpeted, and the
room below was occupied by another family.
(The medium occasionally gave the seances
OF our own rtsidences.) We sat at the table,
with our feet and knees under IT.; of course
within few inches OF the basins. The
parafine was very near the temperature
Of boiling water, being 94o cent?
grade BY the thermc meter; the boiling
from allowing the experiment to proceed, so
painful was il too see lovely young girls
lace dipped into such temperature; nor
Was il wiihost some difficulty that j over
came his objection, aided by John Kings
assurance that the temperature would do no
injury, ard was OF no const quence. Present
~ the curtsin divided at the middle, and
there was Angela, at less than arms length
from us, with the tall form of John King
standing behind her, bending forward, and
holding his lamp jast over her. OF her
there was no more visible than the head
with drapeTy below. She at once, in our
full and close view, dipped her face down
into the hot basin of parsffine, and then into
the cold water basin Alongside, repeating the
operation, to std flo, several Tins s; and then
IA she held her face above the cold water,
the mold cropped from IL. On our picking
itup we found that she had not dipped deep.
er than 10 mid-cheek, 30 that the mold was
a mask. NJ Gustave DA Yah, beloved oc.
togenariau Spiritualist friend, was present
and sha the delight with which we con
tempiated the beautiful object, as was
duly reported in my letter 10 the
ISpiritnaiist. As we talked the matter over,
expressed some regret that she had moi
dipped deeper, and also remarked that tn,
eyes were shut, which l presumed to be or
account Ct the parsffiue. When she wrots
through the hand OF the mediums little
wife) she said she was glad we were 80 much
pleased; that she had shut her eyes 10 max,
her face look ike that of a marble statue
and that she would repest it the next day
And 30 in fact she did, and this time she
dipped to beyond the projecting lobes of thu
ears (which did not prevent the mask mold
dropping of in the same Way), and thi
time her eyes ,rere open, as they are 10 the bus
subsequently, Obtained. OF these two fac
masks in parsffine have no photogra apis
but the count has the masks themselves il
Psri-; not in plaster, but in alabsster. w,
did not begin taking photographs OF then
till later.
The next day we went further, and / sale
to the controlling spirit that inasmuch a
hands with their wrists had been similarl,
nodded, which involved the dematerializs
ton or vanishing of the whole width OF tn
hand and thumb throug b the much SUI allie
oIifce left by tie Wrist-snd the same in re
gard to feef-I saw no reason why a who'll
bust mould could not be obtsined in lh'
same wsy, the head vanishing through tn
ori6ce left by the neck. He replied that il
could, and they would try it if we woult
make the proper Preparations for 1t. AND
he told us not TO do az had hereto core Away
been done. namely, having only a stratum o
parafine floating on the top of hot water, bu
TO have the whole liquid consist of ib
melted parafine. He gave the good reasol
that when the head, after passing throug
the stratum OF parafine, shall enter the wste
and then return through the parafine,
would bring back with it adherin
drops or particles of the water
which would make the mold less perfect tina
n nothing but the parafine were employed
The count accordingly procured an iro