San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-08-11
ROMANCE OF SPIRITUALISM
SOME REMARKABLE LOCAL
CLAIMS HANDLED AND RE-
FUTED.
How a Noted Spiritualist got $780,.
900 From a COnfiding Widow
Who Believed and Lost.

A youth calling himself Master
Charles Carter and claiming to be a
phenominon in spirituslism appeared
at Rische's opera house on Sunday
night and gave an entertainment of
the Fsy-Davenport Brothers charac-
ter. 1t was not up to the standard and
deserved no more tnan passing
notice were it not for the fact that in
his prospectus he. claims that he
''is positively the only boy in the
World who has the endorsement OF
members of the Royal Society of
London; they having for three
months tested him in every conceiva-
Die way that human ingenuity could
conceive, and at the end of the inves-
tigation presented him with letters
signed with such names as VIM
Crooks, F. r. g., Wallace; Sargent
Cox; Ionides, the Greek philosopher
and others to the effect that the illus
trations given in their presence were
beyond human aid; some claimed
odic force; some electricity or magnet
ism; and still others supernatural
power" and prints. testimonials and
critiques, which 1 contend are of b
bogus character. La a conversation
with the writer, Carter said that he q
IL years old and that his test occurred
IN 1888. These latter facts should be
remembered by the reader.
Now the Royal Society, of
London has never Investigate. d
spiritualism nor the claims of any OF
its mediums to supernatural powers,
hnt - Toh IL
founded society called the London
Dialecttc Society, and some of it's "fel
lows" were members of it. About
this time, 1868, an American named
Daniel Douglass was secretary OF the
Spiritualist Atheneum at Chelsea.
London, and published vol
ume called incidents in My
Lille" i'll which he made
some astounding revelation of spirit
ulism and he subsequently did some
apparently miraculous feats which he
claimed was done by spirits but
which have since been done in a bet.
ter way by DR.. Lynn, Maskelvne and
Cook and others and without Esprit
ual >, assistance. This naturally at.
trscted the attention of the scientific
World and the London Dialectic
society In 1868 appointed a committee
TO investigate this new and so. called
science. l forget the personnel of that
committee, but L remem Der that ord
Dunraven, Sir John Lubbock, Profes
sor crooks, Professor A. Russell Wal
lace, w. SERGEANT Cox, mot "Sarpent
cox Mr.. Charles Bradlaugh, and as
an attache of prominent Lor ION
paper, was a kind of ex-Cffi ,iC
member, The investigation v as 3
long and tedious one and prod, cti 70
OF no real good beyond furnish ing ar
authorlt tive report published In 1871
Ior the committee could arriy o at nc
dennlte conclusion. The mai, rit !
however, denounced spiritualis n as =
humoug-rightly or wrongly-a I'D
very lew believed, though they could
not then explain the mysteries. ,
This was the only official investiga.
ton OF the kind, and it occurred sew
eral years prior to Carter's advent ar
this mundane sphere.
Home was a hands ONE fellow. n
great magnetic powder. a repuIa,
lady's man, fine talker I'd an acto,
of no mean ability. He was defend
ant in the cause celebre OF LYONS VS.
Home, in which the plaintiff, a widow
sought to recover $500, 900 worth n
stock, which she, as a devotee n
spiritualism, had given the de-
fendant at her dead bnS
bands command conveyed +,
her through him as a spirituaIisti,
medium. The trial occupied severa
days and eventually the jury gave i,