首页 >出版文学> Magic and Real Detectives>第章
  Afterthelightwentoutagain,morehandswereseen;thetablewasfloatedaboutovertheheadsofthecircle,aswasthemusicbox,whichweighedatleastfiftypounds。Anotherexaminationofthecabinetwasmadeandeverythingfoundsatisfactory。Thistimethelightwasnotputentirelyout,butaverydimlightwasallowed。
  Themusicboxwasagainsetplaying,and,whileyetitwasplayingthefirsttune,atallfigure,robedincreamywhite,withgleamingsparksinherhair,andonherheadasortofcrown,issuedfromthecabinet。Shewasrecognizedbyagentlemanpresent,aspiritualist,whosespiritguideshewas,andwhoaddressedheras“myqueen。“Shestoodafewsecondsbehindthetableandthensteppedoutintheopenspacebetweenthesittersandthetable。
  Thegentlemannowarosefromhisseatand,standingbesideher,holdingherhand,conversedinawhisperwithherforsomeseconds。
  Thiswasmostassuredlyalady,ifappearancesgoforanything。
  Herhandswerequitesmall,andwerewarmandlifelike,asseveral,includingmyself,cantestify,havingbeenpermittedtoshakehandswithher。Atlastshestartedtothecabinet,and,asshewent,appearedtogrowshorter,until,asshedisappearedbetweenthecurtains,shewasnotmuchtallerthanthetable。Themanagernowexplainedthatthespirithadremainedoutrathertoolongandcameneardematerializingbeforeshereachedthecabinet。Nowcamethespiritofayoungman,dressedinalightsuitofclothes,whogavehisnameandsaidhismotherwaspresent。Shewas,andhadafewwordsofconversationwithhimwhenhedisappearedintothecabinet。Theladysaidthatitwasunmistakablyherson;buttherewasSOMETHINGthatwasnotashehadbeen,butwhatitwasshewasunabletodescribe。
  ThenextspirittopresentitselfwasmysonEddie。Hecameoutfromthecabinetcalling“Papa,papa。“Themanagerasked“Whoisyourpapa?“andhereplied,“Mr。Smith。“Allthistimehestoodbetweenthetableandthecabinet,andonlyhisheadandshoulderscouldbeseen。Themanagertoldhimtostepoutwherehecouldbeseen,whenhecamearoundtothefrontofthetable。
  Itwasratherdark,butIcouldswearitwasmyson。Hewasjusttherightsize,withlongflaxenhairandaverypaleface。Heworealight-coloredwaistanddarkerknee-breechesandstockings,withalargeblackbowathisthroat,JustasIrememberseeinghimlastinhealth。
  WhileEddiewasstillstandinginfrontofthetablealargemancameoutandtookhimbythehand。Eddiespoke,saying:
  “MustIgoback,grandpa?“Theformturnedtowardme,saying:
  “Myson,thisisagreatpleasuretous,butwemustnotlongremain,asitisourfirstattemptatmaterializing。“Heturnedtogowhenthemanagersaidtohim:
  “Ifthegentlemanisyoursonyououghttogivehimyourname。“
  “ThenameofthechildisEddie,andmyownisJ。A。Smith,“
  repliedtheform,astheyvanishedintothecabinet。
  Themanagersuggestedthatitwouldbewelltoexamineandseewhetherthemediumhadbeenoutornot。Thecabinetwasexaminedandeverythingfoundsatisfactory。
  Spiritafterspiritcamefromthecabinet,oneortwoatatimeforanhour;someofthemcametofriends,andotherswere“controls“
  ofthemedium。Manyofthemwererecognizedbydifferentonesofthesittersintheroom。I,forone,couldsweartotheidentityofmyownsonEddie,whilemyfatherwasplainlyrecognizable……
  Theroomwasagainmadedark。Suddenlythereappearedonthefloor,infrontofthetable,alightaboutaslargeasabaseball。
  Itmovedaboutinacircleofperhapsafootindiameterandgrewlarger。Itsoonlosttheshapeofaballandappearedtobealuminouscloud。Seeminglywecouldseeintoandthroughit。Inthecourseofthirtysecondsithadbecomeaslargeasasix-year-
  oldchild;stilltherewasnodefiniteshape,onlyafleecycloudlikemass,turning,twisting,androlling。Attheendofperhapsaminuteitwasthesizeandshapeofanadultperson。Thefacecouldnotbeseen,butlight,luminousspotswerevisibleasthoughthehairandearsweredecoratedwithgems。Theshapespokeandrequestedlight。Asthelightwasturnedontheluminousnessdisappeared,andwebeheldabeautifulyoungladyclothedinadazzlingwhitecostume。Herarmsandshoulderswerebare,andabouthernecktherewasanecklaceofwhatappearedtobeverybrilliantdiamonds。Herfeetwereencasedinwhiteslippers,withstrapsacrosstheinstep。Inherearsandhairglistenedandshimmeredbeautifuldiamonds。Herfaceandarmswereasalabaster,andaltogethershewasoneofthemostbeautifulwomenIhadeverbeheld。Shewasrecognizedbyaladyandgentlemanpresentastheirdaughter。Theyhadmetherherebefore。TheywerefromtheEast,andwerewealthy。Thespiritrequestedthattheycometoher,whichtheydid,andwereeachkissedandembracedbyit。Theyheldamoment’sconversationwithherandresumedtheirseats,whenthelampwasslowlyturneddown。Asthelightbecamedimthespiritbecameluminous。Thefaceandarmsdisappearedandthebodybecameasacloudagain,turningandtwistingandgrowingsmalleruntilitwasnothingbutasmalllightspotonthecarpet,whichofasuddendisappearedentirely。
  Immediatelyafterthismanifestationanexaminationofthemediumandcabinetwasmade,anditwascertainthemediumhadnotbeenawayfromhischair。Thelightwasagainturnedoutandthemusicboxstarted,whenTWObrightspotsappearedonthecarpet,oneateitherendofthetable。Thesewentthroughthesameprocessofdevelopmentuntil,whenthelightwasturnedon,therewasanotherbeautifulfemalespiritatoneendofthetable,andachildofperhapseightyearsofageattheother。Thechildwasrecognizedbyaladypresentasherdaughter,whiletheadultspiritwasrecognizedandrapturouslygreetedbyagentlemanwhosatnearmeonmyleft,ashis“darlingangelguardian。“Theyhadquitealongconversation,inwhichtheymadeuseofveryendearinglanguage,eachtotheother。Isupposeditwasthegentleman’swife……
  Thespiritsdidnotdisappearasthefirstonehad,but,whenthelighthadbeenturnedoff,theluminousshaperevolvedafewtimes,andontwooccasionsassumedthegarbandshapeofmen,andwhenthelightwasturnedonagain,therestoodthemenwithbeardsandmen’sforms。Aftersomeeightortenofthesematerializationsanddematerializations,beforeoureyes,thelastcouplecompletelydisappeared。
  Thelightwasagainturneddownandaluminousshapecamefromthecabinet,followedbyothers,untilsevenofthemstoodonthefloor。Thelightwasturnedupuntilwecouldseethesevenspirits。Fivewerefemalesandtwomales。Theywereofdifferentsizes。Thecurtainatthedoorofthecabinetwaspulledasideandwecouldseethemediumsittinginthechairinwhichhewasbound。
  Theformsnowfiledintothecabinetagain,whilethemusicboxplayed。Aftertheyhaddisappearedthelightwasturnedup,aninvestigationmadeofthecabinet,andtheseancewasover。
  There,reader,isatruthfuldescriptionofwhatcanbewitnessedattheseancesofmediumswhoareartists。Noneofyourbungling,amateurworkhere。TheworkofsuchamediumisalwayssatisfactoryforthereasonthatifamanfeelsSUREthatthemediumisafraud,hehasbeensowellentertainedthathedoesnotregretthemoneypaidfortheopportunitytowitnessit。Thisistheclassofmediumalsowhofrequentlysucceedingettinglargesumsofmoneyfromwealthypersonstheyhaveconvertedtospiritualism。
  Didthewriternotgiveyouthetrueexplanationofthemannerinwhichthesethingswereproduced,youwouldprobablysayitwasconceivedbyaveryfertileimagination。Ifyoubelievedthathesawthesethingsyouwouldperhapsofferthepreacher’sexplanation,bysaying,“itistheworkofthedevil“;orthatofthescientist,byassertingthat“itisthemesmerist’spoweroveryourmind“;or“theoperatorhasdiscoveredanoddforceinnature“;orgooffonalongdissertationonhypnotismandfourthdimensionofspaceproblems。However,itisnottheworkofthedevil,neitherarethereanybutNATURALlawsnecessarytoitsproduction。
  TheseancedescribedactuallyoccurredandwasdescribedinwritingbyMr。Smithinthelanguageused,althoughitwasnotprinted,andthewriterwasoneofthosewhoassistedinitsproduction。Hewillnowproceedtoexplainthisparticularseance……
  Itwillberememberedthattheroomandcabinetwerecarpetedwithadarkcarpet,andthattheceilingswereofwood。Theceilingsweredecoratedbybeingputoninpanels。Theceilingofthecabinetwouldnothavebeenlikethatoftheroomhadtheclosetbeenapartofthearchitect’splansofthehouse。Itwasnot,butwasmadebythemedium。Hesimplybuiltalathandplasterpartitionfromthecornerofawidechimneytothewall,thusinclosingaspaceofsixbyfourfeet。Thepanelintheceilingoftheclosetwastwentyinchessquare。Thispanelwas“doctored“andcouldbedisplaced,leavinganaperturelargeenoughforthe“spooks“togetthroughwithperfectease。Alightladderwhichreachedwithinthreefeetofthefloorofthecabinetwashookedfastaboveandfurnishedthemeansofgettingdownandupagain。
  TherewereeightpersonsconnectedwiththeseancedescribedbyMr。
  Smith,sevenupstairsandthemediuminthecabinet。Ofcourseitwasnotnecessarythatthemediumgetoutofhisfastenings,andthefactsarethathedidNOT。Thetablewasplacedacrossthecabinetdoor,nottolaytheinstrumentson,buttobeverymuchinthewayshouldanyonemakearushand“grab“forthematerializedforms。Incasethisoccurred,the“spooks“abovewouldclosethelight,makingtheroomperfectlydark,andthemanagerwoulddohisutmosttoturnthetableonend,orside,withthelegsoutintheroom。Beforethe“grabber“couldgetthelayofthingsandgetpastit,thespookswouldhavegonethroughthetrap,closedit,pulleduptheladder,andthe“grabber“wouldhavefoundthemediumwrithingandgroaningandbleedingfromthemouth。Thebleedingwasforeffect,andwascausedbysuckingveryhardonhisteethorgums。
  Thetablealsoservedaconvenientpurposeinthematerializationanddematerializationthroughthefloor。Younowknowwherethespookscamefrom,inthisparticularhouse,andhowtheygotinandout。Nowletusseehowtheymanagedthematerializations,andthepropertiesusedtoproducethem。Thetrapandladderwerepracticallynoiselessintheiroperations,butthemusicboxmadeassurancedoublysurethattheleastsoundfromthecabinetshouldnotheheardintheseanceroom。
  Whentheboxbeganitsfirstairthetrapdoorwasopenedanddowntheladdercameayoungmancladinasuitofblacktights。Hewasentirelycoveredwithblackwiththeexceptionofhisrightarm,whichwasbaretoapointalittlemorethanhalfwayfromtheelbowtohisshoulder。Thebarearmglowedwithaluminousbluishlight。
  Thisconditionofthingswasbroughtaboutbypowderinghisarmwithpulverizedluminouspaint。Ifyouarenottoldthemethodoftransformingthestickypainttopowder,youwillnotbeabletodoit,andwillconcludethewriterwasromancinginthiscase。Themostessentialthingtoyouwillbetoknowwhereyoucanprocurethispaint。Thewriterhasbeenunabletoprocureitanywhere,exceptofDevoe&Co。,ofNewYorkCity。Itisputupinapackageresemblingsix-ouncejellyglasses,andyouwillgetsixofthemforfivedollars。Inordertoreduceittopowder,thinthecontentsofoneoftheglasseswithonepintofturpentine。Whenitisthoroughlycutandincorporatedintotheturpentine,soakstripsofmuslininitandhangthemouttodry。Whenthoroughlydryyoucanshakethepowderfromthecloth。Inordertopowderoneofyourarms,gatheroneoftheclothsinyourhands,anduseitasapowderpuffonyourarm。Youwillnotbeabletogetallthepaintout,butthepieceswillmakeluminouscrowns,slippers,stars,andluminousdecorationsforyourrobes。Youwillbeunderthenecessityofperfumingyourrobeseachtimetheyareused,fortheodoroftheturpentinewillalwaysremaintoagreaterorlessdegree。Toilluminatearobeorcostumethemediumsalwayssay“robe“youproceedthesameasinthepowderingprocess,exceptthattothepintofpaintyouwilladdawineglassfullofDemarvarnish,whichwillpreventitsfallingorbeingshakenoffaspowder。Youarenottomaketherobeofmuslin,butofwhitenetting。Everyladywillknowwhatnettingis。Itisthelightest,thinnestmaterialthewritereversawsoldinadrygoodsstore。Tenyardsofitcanbeputintothevestpocket。Donotscrimpthematerial,butgetasmuchofitintoyourrobeaspossible。
  Whenheoftheluminousarmstepsfromthecabinetintothedarkroomnopartofhimisvisiblesavethearm。Hepicksthestringsoftheinstrumentwiththeilluminatedhandandfingersthekeyboardwiththeother。Hemakesasoundofwritingonthetabletandtearsoffaleafwhichheconceals,and,drawingalongblackstockingovertheluminousarm,placesinthepocketofthesitteracommunicationthathasbeenwrittenupstairsinagoodlight。
  Thisaccountsfortheeven,beautifulwriting,supposedtohavebeendoneinthedark。Hecoverstheluminousarmsothatanyonesoinclinedcouldnotlocateitinorderto“grab“whenheisnearenough。Bymountingthetable,thatluminoushandandarmcanbemadetoshowasthoughitwasfloatingaboutneartheceiling。