The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-06-04
THE TRICKS OF MEDIUMS.
Keller Tells How Easily Great Men Have
Been Duped.

THE TRICKS OF MEDIUMS.
Keller Tells How Easily Great Men Have
Been Duped.
"Well I'll tell you how l got into
the business" said Mr.. Keller, the
magician, beginning one of his lively
chats yesterday. "a good many years
ago | travelled with the Davenport
brothers. Their father was an old man
then, and he used to tell me over and
over that his sons were true mediums
of spiritual power, and that they were
called to that mission by divine will.
Well, he being an old man and | boy,
of course l believed him, especially
when l saw their inexplicable tricks.
l looked on the brothers with awe, and
travelled with them for eight years as
an assistant Finally, filled with
pious desire to serve the spirits a little
myself, l got hold of rope alone. /
tied my hands the best | could initiate
the brothers, to sort of coax the spirits,
but they acted as if they didn't care
for my services, and whether l wanted
myself tied or united, | had to do it
myself l studied knots awhile and
practiced them, and finally got one of
the other assistants to tie me. The
result gratified me, for found l could
just manage to get out. | kept on
trying and found could get out of the
rope let him tie it as be would. Skep-
ticism had already set in, and soon
found myself working at the other
tricks of the brothers and could do
many of them. About this time Fay,
who was the old manager of the
brothers, found out that | had dis
covered their secrets, and we at once
started up company of two and
struck off on our own account. We
travelled all over the world, and have
seen all the tricks going. You hear
great stories about the tricks of East
ern jugglers, and a great many of them
are pure yarns. l saw newspaper ar
ticle just the other day that was full of
them, such as man throwing a rib
bon up in the air, climbing up out of
sight, falling down in pieces, and put
ting himself together, and all that. 1t
isn't so. The European magicians are
far superior to the Orientals.
But it is the mediumistic trick that
am bent on exposing, without hurting
the business of any reputable juggler.
To begin with, l think thatSpiritualism
puts more people in the insane asylum
than anything else except liquor. But
we can excuse the majority of the
Spirituallsts when great men allow
themselves to be easily fooled. For
instance, | was the assistant at a pri-
vate seaace which the Davenport
in, | 70 Ia.
of gentlemen, among whom were Dion
Boucicault, Charles Reade, Algernon
Borthwick, Lord BURY, Capt. Ingle-
field, and others. The brothers were
both tied in their cabinet. Lord BURY
stepped up and leaned over one of
them to examine the knot, when the
other quickly slapped him on the back.
There was murmur in the room.
These great men were struck with awe.
Now, let me tell you, this rope trick
depends upon mere physical dexterity,
and the slap was made like flash and
pretty hard; but here is the descrip-
ton Dion Boucicault wrote of it: A
small white, delicate female hand sud-
denly appeared above one of the doors
of the cabinet. 1t quivered for several
seconds, and then, slowly descending,
tapped Lord BURY gently on the
shoulder, and then melted in air.
1T is just in this way that otherwise
sensible people allow their senses to be
deceived and their imaginations preyed
upon.
1.-The celebrated theosophist Engling-
ton completely dumfounded me in Cal
cutta. Three of us were seated by a
plain round table. Two states were
brought in. l took the two and washed
and wiped them clean. He then gave
me little piece of slate-pencil, which
put between the two clean states. He
took hold of one corner with one hand
and | took hold with the other We
then clasped our free hands and held
the states under the table. Presently
there was noise as of the pencil
writing, and when we opened the slate
/ beheld the following: My name is
Geary. Don't you remember me? We
used to joke of this matter at the st.
George. l know better now
81 remarked: 4 know no one by the
name of Geary.' The slate was put
under the table again, and the word
'Geary, Geary,' was written several
times. Other states were put under,
too, and one was brought out with this
on it: am Alfred Geary. You know
me and St. Leger.
Then l remembered having met
both men at Cape Town, in South
Africa. four years before. Geary had
died three years before. Geary and l
had joked about Spiritualism at the St.
George Hotel in that town, thousands
of miles away. Well, | had to confess
L didn't know how the thing was done,
and paid my forfeit. But the mystery
is now clear. | learned it several wears
afterward. At the hall in Cape Town,
Africa, where performed, there was a
janitor named Hutchinson, a great
Spiritualist. Englington had been
there just after left, and, of course,
Hutchinson told him all about me-
That's how he got his information, for
the spiritual letter and mediums are al
ways preparing themselves in this way.
AS to how he wrote the communication
on the slate | found that out. too, and
have done it before the Siebert Com
mission, which is investigating Spiritu-
alism, and will soon report. They have
had Slads and Lord and a great many
alleged mediums before them.
Nearly all the SpiritualiSts are honest
In their ridiculous belief, however
much accused for dishonesty, and,
stranger still, l believe there is
chance medium who speaks in trance
who really believes in his agency; but
those mediums who make use of tricks
are frauds every time. Philadelphia
North american.