Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1913-03-22
BODY TO SCIENCE
Archdeacon CoIIey Was Cham
plon Of Psychic Research.
Eccentric churehman Who Died Re
Gently In England Requested That
His Brain Might Be inspected
After Death.

London.--Archdeaco Colley, who
died recently. won notoriety outside
the church as champion of spiritual-
ism. and his challenge to Mr. Maske-
lyme, which led to the latter's produc-
Ing spirit form from, and return
ing to. his side and the litigation
which followed 1t are fresh in the pub
lie mind
Eight years ago the archdeacon had
his coffin made and stored in the mu-
sic room of the rectory. In 1904 he
made a will bequeathing his body to
the University of Birmingham for dis
section. ito be cut up in the interests
of anatomical and surgical science
when have done with It,"
In letter to the university the
archdeacon recalled that as child he
was laid out for dead and narrowly
escaped being buried alive. and. there
fore asked that 'it may be seen that
am really dead"
please, again. tell me what should
do" he wrote. about giving in let
ter or other formal disposal of my
mortal remains, to be brought under
my hand with my cofiined body. parti-
culars of what i should write as to
mental idiosyncrasies, bias of will.
likes and dislikes, with whatever else
may be useful when the top of my
skull. as we arranged. shall be sawn
off. to enable exploration to be made.
that 1t may be known II I am, or have
been. any more mad than other peo-
ple."
Last New Years day the archdea-
con was carried round his church in
the coffin, or box. clothed as he had
expressed a wish to be clothed after
death-a performance that startled a
congregation already accustomed to
his eccentricjties. 81 desired to i'm
press on my parishiouers that death
is the gate of life" he said after
wards II hope and expect that after
death and spe't of rest-which may
be one year or 500 shall return
4 again for useful work. That is the
doctrine have taught. and the doc
trina L believe in ''.-A4----
In the following months he an
nounced to his congregational Stock
holm that he had resigned his living
and that 1t was his intention to go to
South Africa, where he had property
During the sos, he said. he bought
land near johannesburg for which be-
fore the Boer war he was offered G4.-
100000
OF all his extraordinary spiritualis-
tic experiences none Is more amazing
than his psychic" parcels post. Here
ls his own story of his experiences:
"At Southsea. some years ago, I
with no little discomfort wore all day
under my clothes and next the skin
several yards of white muslin In the
evening still wearing it. | cycled to
Chichester, for a surprise visit to a
young woman of my own developing
Making there an unwrapped up small
l bundle of the attire, and loosely pin
aJling my card to it with no other ad-
|, aress, / and a friend and the young
Eoman's sister saw the muslin fade
away. disappear, and melt like vapor
rom the lap Of the little medium.
lit was then nearly midnight and
1ad willed the muslin to go to Lon
don to friend. Next day came o
telegram from my friend. quickly fol-
lowed by letter, to the effect that at
the. first hotel he had chanced on
having been to the opera and missed
the last train that would have taken
him to his home out of London-the
muslin and card SO insecurely pinned
to 1t had fallen upon his face as he
had gotten into bed, and seeing my
name and address, he wired to me the
first thing in the morning"
He afterward found that It had Ia
ken less than five minutes by aerial
flight of about seventy miles from Chi
chester to secure midnight delivery of
the goods in London somewhere at q
chance hotel by psychic parcels post.