The herald., 1897-03-31

amount OIL lllG klnQ OI mental pdDulQiit
doled out was in proportion to the
/ credulity of the recipient Some had a
very keen mental appetite and had, ap-
parently got far along the road when
| absolute receptivity of mind would be
attained.
AN EVENING sEANCE !.
The witness description of the seance
that was held on the Sunday evening
the day of her arrival at Belmont hall
was graphically depleted. The seancs
was held in the old school auditorium in
the basement for the reason that batch
| of devils had broken them up when held
in the drawing room. Seats were ar
ranged in a semi-circle in front of two
chairs for the mediums. Close in front
the disciples sat, so as to reinforce Miss
| Holmes with their magnetism. Red
shaded lamps cast a subdued light over
the large room, and cast ghostly shad-
| ows into the corners.
Mrs. Russell came in first" said Miss
| Irwin, land a moment later Miss Holmes
holding the arm of young Mr. Arthur
| Taylor, who took a seat Immediately in
her rear. Miss Holmes first rearranged
most of the people In the seats. she
said that some had dark impure mag
netisms and these must be placed so as
| to blend with the others. Then she re-
| sumed her seat on her chair. by the
side of Mrs Russell, having an arm
thrown around her waist. She crouched
lower and lower in her chair. moving
| her head up and down with the sinuous
motion that reminded me of a snake.
| Suddenly, and with a spring, she was
upon her feet and pouring out torrent
| of words. 1t was a TRADE of abuse.
abuse for their daring to rebel, to critl-
| else, to think for themselves. Over and
over again she covered the ground of
| her complaint. Then just as suddenly
| he nj again
MRS. Russell arose to speak, and as
she did so Miss Holmes also arose and
kept her hand upon her dress or arm
all of the time. This lady's address was
the same in sentiment as the previous
one, and upon its conclusion the Lords
prayer was repeated in concert and the
seance was over.
During the evening the audience
showed no emotion or expressed any
feeling until Miss Holmes left the hall.
Then some of them discussed the de-
lightful experience they had had and
how much better they felt. Old Mr. Tay-
lor, speaking of it. regretted his lack of
hearing, for he felt shut out from much
spiritual benefit"
DEVIL HAUNTED FAvORITE."
The witness had alluded in. the al
legged libelous article, to Mrs. Russell as
resembling tenth-rate actress" and
was asked if the lady as she sat in the
court room appeared the same as at
Belmont hail.
Her appearance now" replied wit
ness, 'is very different Then she wore
a great deal of jewelry, her dress was
cut rather low and she had a high
color
did you during your stay see Miss
Holmes betray any affection for any,
one?" inquired Mr.. Gage.
"She showed the greatest affection for
young Mr.. Taylor. She told me he need
ed the greatest attention. He was
about nineteen or twenty years of age,
and appeared to be in a state of stu
por."
"Who went with her after these per-
fcrmances to her room?"
There were only two performances,
but he went"
And in the morning, who came from
the direction of her room?"
Young Taylor. He would have his
arm around her waist, or be carrying
her shawl"
How did Miss Holmes dress?"
There was only one dress she ever
wore. 1t was a dull red flannel wrap
per- such as accentuated the pallor of
her skin. Her hair was slovenly twisted
up, and she had an exhausted look Mrs.
Wheeler said she lacked sleep by reason
of her looking after the boy and keeping
the devils away. 1 would hardly rec
ognize the lady in court as the same
parsonage"
How came you to make compari-
son of a faded rattlesnake and tor
toise shell cat"
1T was a comparison that flashed
across my mind when 1 saw her crouch
ing beside Mrs. Russell. The chalky
paleness of the face accentuated by the
colored wrapper, with the indefinite
colored hair that suggested a cat. ap-
peared to me to approximately de-
scribe her."
Miss Irwin went on to tell of other
curious things she noted during her
stay. AT the meeting the children were
phenomenally quiet and went to sleep.
Upon remarking upon this popularity
she was told that Miss Holmes threw
stuff" over them before the meeting
began. While asleep they imbibed spir-
itual goodness, for being of tender age
they were not fully responsible and if
awake might disturb the meeting. AS
for Miss Holmes herself, she claimed to
be so pure that her actions must neces-
sarily be incomprehensible to the Others
and that the proper thing for them to do
was to just mind their own business.
A MODERN PYTHONESs.
Miss Holmes told me- continued Miss
Irwin. that she had a great liking for
me- She said I was a sensitive. mild
ana submissive, ana could see by her
power that there was no antagonism on
my part. She said any mental antagon-
ism affected her like push, and when 1
asked her under what circumstances
said antagonism was manifested she
remarked that she was the one that
pushed. She claimed too, not only to
read thoughts but to be able to see the
suggestion of a thought, or the sur
rounding influences that would prompt
thought"
What about her healing powers?"
queried Mr.. Gage.
She said no sickness or trouble could
exist close to her; that she was superior
to earth conditions, and that those with
in her magnetism were protected by
her."
Did you sleep upstairs or down
stairs?"
II slept on the third floor from the
basement, and few doors from Miss
Holmes room"
Did any one ever visit your room?"
Mrs. Wheeler and later on Mss
Holmes"
why did you speak of hypnotic pow
er?"
Because Miss Holmes tried to hyp-
notize me-
"State the facts in that regard"
A COMBAT OF EYES.
"It was after the Thursday evening
They had had to change the arrange
ment of the auditorium somewhat, and
had the speakers upon little platform.
[ had been uncertain by what influence