The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-26
A CABINET OF MYSTERIES.
Recollections of a Seance Given by the
Davenport Sisters
From the Neto York Evening Telegram.


istic tso-called) festations-including
the Diss Dollar spirit-painting deception
recalls the performances of the Davenport
Sisters in this city quarter of a century
ago AS clever as Prof. Hermanns per-
formances were, they fell far short of some
of the sleight-of-hand achievements of the
sisters-Mrs Cole and Mrs Lamb
The first seance in New York was pri-
vate parlor entertainment, to which few
members Of the press were invited, and the
writer was among the number The COM
pany formed semi-circle around table,
at which sat the sisters-one at each end.
They were firmly tied in such way that it
seemed utterly impossible for them to ex-
tricate their hands or rise from the chairs in
which they were sitting Then all the
semi-circle Joined hands and the lights were
extinguished. Immediately some musical
Instruments, consisting of two guitars, an
accordion, a barmonicon, a tambourine.
violin, bell and two trumpets, were sim
ultaneously played upon, and while the
manifestation was progressing the lights
were struck, and the mediums as thew
professed to be, were found tied precisely as
when the room was darkened.
What do you think of thatp' said an
elderly lady, a well-known spiritueIist.
with whom the writer had long been ac-
quainted and whose left hand he had held
during the performance. care you skep-
tic any longer3 Surely somebody must
have played upon the instrument and it
would certainly be unreasonable in you to
suppose that tlrese ladies. bound as they are.
could nave done sol"
who or what did it, thenr sne was
asked. 80.
why" answered the old lady, "there is
only one answer to that question 1t was
done by some supernatural power-the
spirits, believe, beyond doubtn
Phosphorus was then sprinkled upon the
guitars, and the lights wore again extin-
guished In an instant the guitars and
violin were lifted and, while they were
played upon, appeared to float over the
heads Of the company, the shifting phos-
phorescent lights serving as test to show
that the manipulation and movement of the
musical instruments were not produced bv
any physical action of the mediums When.
a moment later, the gas was again turned
on, Mrs Lamb, still tied, was sitting in her
chair on the table, and Mrs Coles position
had been changed to place Immediately in
front Of the circle.
Now" said the old lady, what do you
think OF thatl Could these two ladies place
one Of themselves upon the table while thew
were both engaged in playing upon the in
struments and passing them over our heads,
and that, too, while they were still firmly
bound and tied to the chairsl And If thew
did not do it, who did itP
They've got confederates, may be- sug-
gested the writer.
"Oh, you're an awful skeptic," she said,
giving the unbeliever a look which seemed
to be one of pity for his incrdulousness.
Among those present was Simmons, who,
like Robert Heller, was distinguished
prestidigitateur of the time. He was per
mitted TO sit between the mediums after he
l0oSened the cords that bound them and
then retied them. He bound their hands.
necke. waists and feet, and they sat there
apparently as unable to move as if they were
LOI cianIts. NO sooner were the lights
put out than the bell was lifted from the
table and carried, ringing, over the heads
of the circle, while the air of Lilly Dale
was played upon the accordion.
ut is wonderful-wonderfull" said the
astonished wizard, when the lights were
turned on. ''If it is a trick-which | be-
lieve it is-it is yet a puzgler to me. felt
six distinct hands all at one time on differ
ent parts OF my body"
This statement was the cause of much
perturbation to a gentleman i'll the circle,
who said that his skepticism was as solid as
Gibraltar. He asked permission to take a
seat between the mediums.
II want to SEQ if the spirits can fool me. ("
he said, with a chuckle.
This request was granted. The room was
again darkened, the instruments were
again played upon, and when the gas
was turned on the man was standing facing
the sisters with half-dazed expression upon
his face and his hair unkempt
Tell us all about it" said the manager
Of the seance.
well, | must say that it has knocked me
q httla Hizzy " said fhn Oalaflap1orn.
skeptic though / be, l will faithfully tell
you just what occurred. As soon as the
lights were extinguished l felt the tam
BOURNE tap Inc pretty smartly on the head
At the same instant the guitar struck me on
the breast While these instruments were
striking me the bell began to ring, and at
the same time / felt a number of hands
slap me ON my forehead and temples and
pull my hair. it seemed as If dozen
hands were operating upon me all at once.
The most astonishing feature of the manip-
ulation, however, was the size of the
fingers They seemed to be twice as long
and twice as thick as those of the aver Ige
sized hand, and they felt as If they could
have crushed my skull had they been SO dis
posed"
This statement, relative to the size of the
fingers, was corroborated by Simmons and
two other gentlemen who were subsequent
y OpCidOOO upOlh
Note paper was then laid upon the table.
and several communications, each in a diff
ferent handwriting, were written upon it
in the dark, while the sisters were still tied,
and the MISREPRESENTATION guitars
were floating about the room. Mysterious
hands grasped the hands Of persons III the
circle, and four or five distinct voices con-
versed with the audience on different sub
jects, spiritual and temporal Handker
chiefs were then bound over the mouths of
the mediums. but the voices were heard all
the same. And this was all done while the
audience sat with hands clasped from one
end of the circle to the other.
Mrs Collie then entered a cabinet
which was placed in front of the circle. She
was united, and she held rice in her hands.
but in moment or two the door OF the
cabinet few open, and there she sat, her
arms and wrists bound with ropes and the
rice still in her hands.
~ can't find q grain of rice on the floor,
and there's no give to any portion OF the
ropes with which she is tied, ;" said an inves-
tigator, who had been selected to make an
examination of the situation in the cabi-
let
This test afforded much satisfaction, but 1t
was not sufficient to silence the skeptics,
some of whom declared that "the thing was
all humbug, anyhow"
"Now, have some floss silk here, !" said
gentleman to the master OF ceremonies.
Would you object 10 having it tied around
the fingers of the lady before her feet are