Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-10-27

interposition of the human bands. The
Fox sisters were taken to New York city in
1850 and gave public exhibitions there. In
side Of a year mediums " developed all
over the country, and before 1852 there was
ro community that did not have its spirit
ual circle and its rapping and trance-speak-
inc medium, and most of them had also
spirit halls, usually octagonal in form and
without windows or skylighis.
The public is familiar with the after his
| tory of spiritualism; the " development OF
Home and his marvellous manifestations
here and in Europe, but which the world
has since settled upon were but remark
ably clever devices and fine clairvoyant
! examples. He was followed by the ex-
| periments and conversion of Professor
Crookes. and by the materializations " OF
| Florence Cook. Then came the Eddy
brothers, and next the Davenport boys
with their rope-tying phenomena, that ex-
| ceeded in mysterious character the rap
pings and the showing of Esprit hands. y
But the tricks of the Davenport boys were
exposed some ten years ago and initiated
by clever copjurers. Finally one of the
brothers travelled with the Royal Illusion
lists in common modern magic show, in
which the rope-tying and spirit-hand tricks
were nightly exposed.
Three years ago a wealthy citizen of
Philadelphia left sum of money to a
| mixed commission of scientific men, re-
ligionisis, social philosophers, spiritualists,
educators and business men. They were
to examine fairly and fully into spirit
phenomena, to bring TO test every medium
in America or Europe willing to submit,
and to publish the results of their exsmi-
nations. The first volume, covering OF e
year of research, has appeared, and it un-
hesitatingly and emphalically declares that
the commission is unanimously OF the
opinion that none of the phenomena ex-
amined into is based on evidence of suf-
ficient reliability to justify any human
Judgment in attributing the manifestations
to supernatural agencies. This commits
sion Investigated in the first wear spirit
rapping, table-tipping, rope-tying, slate
writing, naturalization and trance. speak
ing. 1t found some things attributable to
not generally well understood natural
forces, and mental and nervous conditions,
but the great mass of them were capable of
reproduction by simple agencies.
Kate Fox married Mr.. Jencken, and
Margaret, the elder-now about 50 years of
age-is Mrs. K ane. 1t is this latter who
appeared on the stage at the Academy of
Music, in New York, Sunday night, and
read paper admitting that tie so-called
spirit phenomena manifest through the
agency of herself and her sister for so
many years, was all deceit and fraud
With the great-toes of her feet she pro-
duced the " Rochester knockings" so loud
~ and clearly that the audience in the great
building heard them distinctly. Physicians
examined the woman's feet and declared
the sounds were produced by the toe-joints
Mrs. Kane would call upon the "spirits,"
and in response the raps would be heard
family upon the wall growing louder and
ascending apparently to the ceiling, per-
feet shower of knocks would follow her
request. Her sister Kate sat in stage-box
and listened attentively and unmoved to
Margarets explanation of the deceit and
her expressions Of contrition for having
defrauded the people. Previous to this
performance, DR.. Richmond performed
the test feat of reading, without opening,
names written upon slips of paper by audi
tors, and folded into small compass by
them. He also did other tricks success
fully that have heretofore been supposed
to be beyond the limit of human research.
This breaking down of one of til earliest
foundation stones Of the spiritualistic
structure-taken with the collapse Of other
noted mediumistic frands, and the reports
of the Philadelphia Commission -testifes
to rspid decline of spiritualistic mani
festations," and indicate not very distant
period when they will be looked back upon
as folies and the mere deceits OF balf
CENTURY