Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-18
UNDER THE BED AT A sEANCE.
Unexpected Feature of the Sitting of Wire.
Cage Medium.

Cage Medium.
From the New York Sun.
ONSET BAY. MASS, August 15.-'Irs. Eta
Roberts, the materializing wire-cage medium
has been exposed, is the word that passes from
cottage to cottage, from tent to tent, from
mouth to mouth at the Onset Bay spirituaiists
camp meeting, where thousands OF spiritualist.
are eating fish and clans by day and consulting
spirits by night.
For several days Mrs. Eta Roberts has been
an object of interest to believer and skeptic
alike. She had a wire cage built by local
Joiner and placed it on the stage of the Casino
A large crowd was present on the night of her
| first performance. The medium invited exam.
nation from everybody and then. the commit.
mlttee OF investigation reporting favorably, she
| entered the cage. She was locked in and a seal
was put on the lock. The black curtain tina,
| covered the cage soon began to move and n
hgure In white stepped into view. For an hour
| supposltitlous spooks held high carnival. Tall
spirits, snort spirits. spirits with long robes and
spirits without any robes to speak of appeared
In rapid succession until the audience was mo-
tloniess with fear and dumb with establishment,
The sitting was brought to sudden conclusion
by the mediums being pitched head first APP
parenty through the locked door and almost
| INTO the faces OF the spectators. Examination
| with.
The performance was under the presidency
OF MeridIth Little of Glen Fails. II. l. The
names OF the spirits were announced and Mr.
Little said he recognized some of his own dead
! friends.
! so much interest was aroused that another
sltting was arranged. 1t took place at the me-
dlums house and Meridith Little, John Brooks
VI Phliadeiphia, Z. Baker OF Topeka, Mrs. DIR.
Bland, wife OF DR.. Bland of Washington, Mrs.
| Kate Stiles of Boston and three others were
present The medium was caged--as usual
| nnd the show proceeded. with the usual results,
except that there were more Of them. There
was not the same responsiveness as on the for
mer occasions. Mr.. Little, the presiding elder,
hadn't kissed his spirit bride with quite SO
much warmth as usual and ''Pinkie." a Choc-
taw squaw. didn't get anybody to dance the
| Irish Jig with her. There was, in fact, a wet
blanket over the company. Mrs. Kate Stiles,
| who calls herself the medium for King Philip,
| stamped her foot on the pine floor and de-
manded an immediate termination.
With fear and trembling Mr.. Little asked the
medium If they might look around and see for
themselves. ''Of course; there's nothing to
see, replied tho medium. So, led by Mr.
Little, the company began to search under the
| chairs, under the bed, behind the doors, up
stairs. down stairs, inside and outside of the
house, and had it not beer for pile of cloth
ing found IN the kitchen adjoining the spook
chamber all would have been we'll for the be-
Levers, but on discovering the clothing care
fully placed on chair the inquirers resumed
the search.
Mr.: Little, armed with a cane. began probing
the closets and finally ran the cane way under
the bed. AS lie exclaimed that there was
! something there every woman in the company
| uttered deep "Oh."
Come out here, You devilI" exclaimed Mr.
Little, come ont here, i sayr' and he gave
the bed vigorous pull into the middle of the
small room. There was nothing to be seen.
by Jove j struck something with my stick
as sure as am alive, he continued, as the
blazing lamp. held with trembling hands, re-
veaed only the vacant space.
"Oh, we are mistaken; she's a medium,
guess, after all, added sympathetic voice.
Lets try again" said Mr.. Little, and with
all his strength he pulled the bed away with
SO much rapidity that il revealed disappear
ing stockinged foot.
"Ah, here you are.'' he cried "We've got
you, have WEI You little devil, could shake
the very breath out of your body. Well make
shor. work out of your And he drew forth
from under the bed Young girl whose lack Of
clothing was the most striking feature Of her
appearance.
How in the devil did you come here, you
the shoulder.
"Oh, just come in for fun: climbed in at
the kitchen window, and l have been hav-
ing a great time, being Rugged and
kissed just as if l was real spirit" re-
Piled the haif-dressed girl, wholly unabashed.
and then she turned and he'd to the kitchen in
search of her clothes, closely followed by the
company. They seized her aud took her back.
Az they drew the girl TO the light they saw she
was little Annie West, a neighbours da lighter,
about fourteen years old.
80 you have been playing spirit, have you?'
they asked.
yes, it's fun. I'm two thousand years old,
am Il" and the girls eyes twinkled.
Where did you come from, childf" asked
II got in at the kitchen door to play spirit
Didn't you see me! When the other spirit was
out of sight then came out"
You are a confederate and shall be made to
confess, said Mr.. Little as the spokesman for
the crowd.
81 have nothing to confess. except Won
squeezed and kissed me and called me your old
ducky sweetheart answered the girl mysti-
Tying the company moro and more
You shall confess; III choke it out Of you,"
cried one OF the men vehemcntlv whereupoI
Mrs, Roberts stepped between them, saving:
This has gone fur enough: tho child shan't be
touched. She says she's played a Joke; If that's
SO she has hurt me worse than anybody else.
Now get out of here, all OF you, and let the girl
dress herself"
directory OF the Onset Bay Grove Association,
and as result the following notice was sent to
Mrs. Roberts.
70 Mrs. Eta Roberts.
- Sohe W our kEOWleUPe rom feLaDle wit
nesses. who were Present at your the
afternoon OF August II. that you assisted by a
confederate in the person of Miss Annie West pro-
ducing fraudulent manifestations and
whereas, he uoerd Of directors desire to sustain by
their sympathy and support all genuine mediums for
every variety OF manifestation and to protect Their
regulations from the deinora izing influence OF fraud
uient pretenaers, though they may be az times
genuine mediums. hereby request you TO leave the
grounds OF the association, and to attempt no more
deceit in the sacred name OF spirtuaiisIn.
THOMAS B. GRfFIiTH, treasurer.
w. L. NIE, Secretary.
HESRIEff Ho B. III z. BULLOCK Directors.
Onset, Mass, Aug. IL, 1881.