Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-13


peculiar powers, and with good reason
These faculties are in a sense inspired, be
cause they come not by the exercise of the
natural mental and sensuous abilities, hui
have spiritual origin. Some of the exhi
bitions of these powers which 1 have wit
messed might be called Supernatural" I" but
1 never use that word seriously. The
spiritual world is as natural to me as the
physical world. 1 am perfectly sure that
many spiritualistic mediums, as well as
theosophical adopts, per orm feats which nc
own phrase, by which I suppose you mean
professional conjuror-can duplicate, though
most such teats are easily initiated or coun.
terfeited.
| CANNOT BE DUPLICATED.
The lucidity of the trance state cannot be
attained by any jugglery; clairvoyance,
clalraudience and like unusual psychic fac
ulties can be exercised at will by few persons.
Telepathy, mind-reading or thoughttrans-
ference are actually accomplished BY few,
while materializations-I mean genuine
ones-are still rarer exhibitions of psychic
power. 1t is hard to select 'best feat"
from among the num5erless phenomena I
have witnessed in the presence OF Mediums
tic persons. Perhaps the accurate and COM
| plete description OF an event before it hap
pened and of the circumstances of which the
medium knew nothing is as remarkable as
| anv.
But genuine naturalization is good
| illustration of one of the strangest things
| known to the occulist. These shadowy phan-
| tom forms have an actual objective exist
ence for few moments, during which they
| may be seen, heard and sometimes felt.
| They appear in the magnetic field which en-
velops the living bodies of the persons pres
nj AL fol hava f1,a
rents which are playing, much as iron fl
ings dispose themselves in geometrical fig
ures about the poles of horseshoe magnet,
or grains of sand dance on plate of glass to
the sound Of certain musical notes. Such ap-
partitions wear the aspect of human beings,
and are often recognized by their friends.
Spiritualists commonly believe them to be
the souls or spirits Of the deceased, and I
should not like to say they are never SUCH
My own view is somewhat different, how
ever, for naturalization may be an actual
fact,yet the apparition be not human soul.
ALEXANDER wILDER's OPINION.
The answers furnished by Alexander
Wilder follow:
Spiritualists are probably very much like
others; some as true as angels, and others
superlatively dishonest. L am disposed to
think that there is a large intermediary
class, honest when circumstances permit,
and playing the charlatan or impostor
when finding occasion. Ii judged them by
some OF my personal experiences 1 would
denounce them as scamps and hypocrites;
yet some OF these very hybrids exhibit manly
disposition and humane temper.
l have seen table vibrate when questions
were put to it, aud give intelligent answers,
some OF them requiring perception of mat
tiers beyond common knowledge. This oc-
Cured when lady, a cousin of mine, sat at
the head of the table. 1t would move under
her slightest touch. 1 also put questions to
the late Charles H. Foster. They were
written on torn pieces OF paper in a dis
guised style, which third person would not
understand. A day having interviewed be-
tore presenting them, 1 had actually forgot
ten many of them. Mr.. Foster replied to
every one of them while folded, using the
same diction which 1 had employed. He
also uttered names of several persons de-
ceased whom had known, the names being
unusual ones and positively not known to
him. One he wrote, or else some unseen
personality, back-handed, requiring look
ing glass to recognize it. Yet his predic-
tons to me were at fault.
Beyond this world of sense there is a su-
perior world in which the past, present and
future are as one. Persons who are en- rap
port with that world may thus become cogn1- |
zant of what has been or will be. The story |
OF the Seeress Of Prevorst explains this very |
well; so also does Stilling's Theory of |
Pneumatology and Hudson Tuttle's Psychic |
Science. l think that many persons die |
while yet in close connection and applica-
tion to external and earthly matters.
Such have strong passion to attach |
themselves to living individuals, and
through them taste the delights of phys
ical life. Some of these become sensible, |
and their clients perceive and communicate
with them.
A strong inspiration of the sensitive"
may sometimes magnetic" the spirit, sus-
pending individual consciousness. and |
making it suppose itself the person whom
the sensitive 1Isupposes. would not saw
that all manifestations come in this way. 1t |
is notion which derived from Emanuel |
Swedenborg.
DIR. ALLAN LANE HAMILTON.
1t would be unjust for me to denominate
all Spiritualists as humbugs, writes DR.,
the scientist, but my experience
has taught me that mediums, as a rule. are
dlsingenuous If not actually fraudulent in |
Practice. So far as my experience goes, and
it is a large one, have never seen or
known of mediumistic wonder that could
not be duplicated by the cotemporary
magician. As a rule, the clever medium is
not only an able sleight-e-hand performer.
put be is possessed of a cool head, and has
made study of the weaknesses of his
fellows.
He is able to impress his subject in such
a way that their seusory functions are per.
verted; in other words, he is able to iuggle
the sensation SO that the subjects perception
and space association is for the time dis
torted, and the testimony of the individual
arises from an honest though false concep-
ton or coordination of distorted impress
slons. The surroundings are favorable at the
seance, the lights are turned down, the
'searcher for the truth" is surrounded by
others equally eager tor revelations, delu-
slons OF the senses are produced, and per-
haps with some guessing or chance coinci-
dent hasty conclusion is formed, which is
often magnihed into supposed real convic-
lion.
MARUIsE DI LAMA,
judging from my personal experience.
SAYS the Marquise di LAMA, 1 should saw
that the world takes sort
1i morbid pleasure in being humbugged.
The so-called spiritualistic mediums are, in |
NY opinion, deserving of scant considera-
ion do not think they take themselves
seriously. In most cases their object
seems to be mercenarv one. have at
ended good many OF their seauees, but
never saw anything that did not strike me
Is ridiculous and almost puerile. 1 under !
tand that medium who gained good
ieal OF notoriety not long ago would take
blank drawing book, exhibit it. shut it up
ind hold it for awhile undisturbed. When
the pages were tound tn no flad |