The record-union., 1891-02-02
A PARS0N AT A SEANCE.
Professor Stems Spirits Material
and Immaterial.
The Cleric Gets Away from Home and
Into Queer Company-Experience in
Cabinet-The Astral Hand.

'sCalifornia is a great State" continued
the parson. at is full of enterprise and
voters, consequently il is great resort.
Cheap spirits, ten cents drink, but there
are two kinds of spirits, material and inn
material, and it is of the latter that pro-
pose to speak this evening. / am side
partner of the former, but for the latter
have no time. A few weeks ago at
tended what is called a spiritualistic
seace' at the New Wigwam building in
San Francisco, and there must have been
about three thousand people there. 1t twas
given by Mr. and Mrs. Steen, and at the
request of the medium, who was self
made woman by the name of Catastrophe
+ Jane. went upon the stage to collar the
spirits if possible, and exhibit them to
the gaze of the audience. | made up my
mind TO do so before the show was over,
and make good record for myself.
''On the stage stood cabinet, a kind of
four-cornered tent, in which the medium
hid herself and allowed the spirits to
monkey around ringing bells, pounding
tambourines, playing guitars and such
things, while the medium was firmly
bound to board nailed to the stage, with
court-plaster and strong cotton thread.
~ Dlg rope WAS lieu dTOttDu ueI lGGt, etlll
and a fellow on the outside held it for
fear that she'd make sneak through a
crack in the floor when the people weren't
looking.
sEvESTH-sTREET WHISKY.
81 want it distinctly understood that I
don't take any stock in immaterial spirits,
but at the same time / amt got the kid
ney to say that such an arrangement
don't exist after what / saw that night. /
hn1 fob Il. ir,l-e Of Z,
street whisky before | went to the seance,
and was feeling in pretty good condition
for a picnic of that kind. After the medi-
UNI had been shut up in the cabinet, and
the guitar, tambourine and bells had got
through fourteen-round contest, Mar
Guis of Queensberry rules, Mr.. Steen
asked me to look into the rear OF the
cabinet and see if | could discover any
artificial means for producing the effects.
/ drew back the curtain with jerk, and
Pm goose pimple if the table didn't
rare up on its hind legs and make a jump
for me, clawing the air with its fore feet.
Iremoved myself from the cabinet and
told Mr. Steen guessed he'd better take
me me to the hospital, as I'd never had
them before, and 1 was afraid they
might go hard with me if L
didn't get good treatment. /
told him my father was q hard
drinler, and had died with them. and I
laughed at me, and told me the spirits had
done it. / told him l knew it, but if /
got over it that time I'd never drink
again. He laughed some more, and told
me to sit down and keep my eye on the
cabinet. did so. Everything seemed all
right, and | began to think that perhaps
l wasn't so BAD off as had thought / was,
when Mr.. Steen said there would be man
lteStations given on the open stage in
front OF the cabinet.
HoMELY, BUT DANDY.
HE called a woman up out of the au-
dience and sat her near one corner of the
cabinet, and got the medium near the
other corner, and he placed me between
the two. / allowed each woman to hold
my hand, and when we had fixed our
selves, Mr.. Steen covered US all up but our
heads, and we sat facing the audience like
three munmies. The woman who had
come up out OF the audience was homely
enough to make a street car Jump the
track, but she was q dandy to hold a fell
lows hand. When we were all ready
MIR. Steen gave the signal and the me-
dunn began to whistle for her spirits, but
they wouldn't show up. | suggested to
Mr.. Steen that he cover up the woman'S
face on my right and give the spirits a
chance. Just as | was shooting Of my
mouth somebody slugged me in the neck,
and guitar was stuck out through the
curtain over my shoulder and played
We Won't Go Home Till Morning.
with variations. | whispered that we'd
probably stay unless somebody I'M
pinned us, and the guitar came off its
Toost and slid down into my lap. I
looked down expecting to see it squirm,
but it didn't, and / had just begun 10 ,
feel encouraged when 1 got another
slug in the neck, and pretty soon
lot of flowers were thrown
at me. bowed to the audience
and was just about to thank them for the
banquets, when big Gala lily was stuck
into my ear and twisted around several
times, and in the cabinet behind me bells
began to ring and the tambourine began
to rattle, and | could hear that table
prancing around. This was too much for
my weak nerves. ana with Il yell / re-
signed my position, and, lying down ON
the stage, asked Mr.. Steen to see that the
papers said died of typhoid fever, as my
folks didn't know that / was an intem-
perate man, and it would kill them to
know that | had taken rooms in drunk
ards grave. This brought the house
down, and after awhile / got so that /
could look ut my boots without shivering,
and stood up.
ARE YOU THERE?
after the woman who sat near to me
had regained consciousness, Mrs Steen
said she would give me an exhibition
with hand which was purely on scien-
tific principles. She said she would stand
OF at a safe distance and ask questions.
which the hand would answer by ran
ping. One rap means yes, two raps no
and three raps perhaps she said. The
hand that she trotted out was big enough
to hoe Early Rose potatoes, and weighed
about eight pounds. She laid it on a pane
OF glass and asked a lot of questions.
which it answered. Finally, she said il
would answer questions for ANYBODY.
and suggested that L ask some. stepoed
up. and looking straight at the hand.
said in a calm voice, Are you there?'
l hadn't more than got the last word
out of my mouth, when the hand
jumped and tapped Yes on the after
wards of my pants, and in sharp, de-
cisive way came, Perhaps So in the
same locality. BY the time the last tap was
an had descended from the front OF the
stage and was wedged in between the
piano and the proscenium box. Two
days later came to my senses in the
hospital, and the doctor told me on the
quiet that if took proper care of myself
would probably be able to sit down.
without making loud demonstrations. in
couple of weeks. That was the first
and only seance 1 tempered with. and
Pm not anxious To make dates with any
more of them''