Year: 1877

Boston Globe.l


Last Sunday night Mrs. Suydam, a
medium" whose particular feat is to
hold her arm over the light of lamp
for an indefinite period without being
burned, gave fire-test " in Eagle Hall.
The exhibition was not altogether salts
factory, several declaring that the woman
had used chemicals to guard against
burning. Consequently another test
was arranged to take place at the same
hall this evening. Mr.. F. b. Butler, a
skeptic, to superintend the experiment,
and use such chemicals as he might
choose, to prevent any snide !" game in
preparing for the exhibit. Quite num-
Der of gentlemen, disbelievers in the
spiritualistic ideas, were engaged as a
committee of investigation. The me-
dunn declared that although there
were persons present who didn't believe
anything, there are others who believe
that there are certain conditions for
what they are going to do" These con-
ditions she stated to be perfect stiffness
in the room and the avoidance of all
movements during the test. Mr.. Butler
brought forward kerosene lamp, which
he had provided for the occasion, and
he knew to be sufficiently hot. A bowl
of water was then brought into the room.
The medium then subjected her arms to
a rubbing of preparation of pure al
cohol and ether, designed by Mr.. Butler
to remove any chemical that might have
been used. In his subsequent examiDa-
tion of the woman's arm DIR. Thayer
noted nothing extraordinary except GER
tain scars, which were explained as the
result of poisoning at Mount Pleasant
camp meeting fortnight ago. The
skin and flesh were pronounced to be in
normal state.


Then the lamp, fully turned up, was
placed upon the table. Mrs Suydam,
shutting her eyes and swaying to and
fro, thereupon went into trance. She
grasped the nearly red-hot chimney of
the lamp in her hands, repeating words in
some unknown tongue or "gibberish !"
and pressedit to her face andlip Putting
it down, she held her hands and arms
in the flames of the lamp for several
minutes-long enough for the skin to be-
come blackened by the carbon smoke
She also inhaled the flames, keeping up
continually the "food of strange
words" and occasional cooling or MUIR
muring sounds. 1t was not very pleas
ant thing to see or hear, and everybody
was relieved when Mrs. Suydam came
out of her trance, and sat down amid a
round of applause. Then DIR. Thayer
examined her arms, and found that
there had been no burning, the little
hairs on the arm remaining the same as
before.


There was a call for some scientific
explanation. Mr.. Butler thought that
possibly the carbon smoke might protect
the hand, and after little test on his
own account with the lamp, declared
that he thought in weeks time he
could undergo like experiment. He
found, however, that the little hairs on
his hand were burned. Then there was
a profound discussion on the causes
which produced the immunity from
burning. The spiritualists' theory is
that the spirits produce film (invisible
to the general eye) between the skin and
the flame, protecting it from fire, and
that any sudden noise or movement
would dispel the film and cause the skin
to be burned. DR.. Moore had seen men
swallow melted lead, was skeptical on
these materialistic phenomena, and
finally averred that he didn't believe
any disembodied spirits were instrument
tai in the case. DR.. Thayer said that
the scars on the arm looked like the ef-
fects of burning; and he had heard that
at similar test by Mrs. Suydam a year
ago similar scars were accounted for as
caused by burning on an occasion when
conditions were violated at the test.