Part 4 (1/2)
”Then came the crowning glory of the seance. The control, Cadaleene, still holding the medium, directed that the gas be lit and the hall door opened. She then closed the sliding door in front of the cabinet, and fastened back the curtains which hung over it to form the front of the regular cabinet when in use, so that all might know if it was opened.
”The audience was then seated facing the corner where the curtains had been hung for a temporary cabinet, some near and in front of the door just mentioned, which could be seen by all present. The medium, still under control, pa.s.sed behind the curtain, but came out in a moment, followed almost immediately by a form dressed entirely in white. After this form returned to the cabinet, two others came out,--one a lady, the other a gentleman,--and it was said a third was seen in the cabinet.
”All this time the medium was controlled by Cadaleene, who was finding the friends of the spirits with remarkable dexterity.
Several others followed, and we might give names and personal experiences, but feel that our readers will appreciate most these special points of interest.”
Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, Mr. Thomas Hazard, and Mr. John Wetherbee have given graphic descriptions of these seances.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, in company with William D. Brewer, I attended a private seance with Mrs. Fairchild. I examined the cabinet without being able to discover anything that would lead me to suppose that there was any chance for a confederate to be used. The seance lasted about two hours, during which time scarcely a minute pa.s.sed that there were not forms out in the room, either to Mr. Brewer or myself; sometimes three or four at once. More than half the time the extemporized cabinet in the corner of the room was used. There appeared to be no difference between the workings of the two; the manifestations came as freely from one as from the other.
As I examined the walls and everything connected with the temporary cabinet, I have no hesitation in saying that the forms that came from or appeared in it were materialized beings. I was in this cabinet several times during the seance, often with two forms at the same time. Once I sat between them, an arm around each, satisfying myself of their objective reality as well as if I had been walking with them outside in the room. While thus holding them, the one encircled by my left arm, and whose right arm was around my neck, instantly disappeared, without the slightest indication of any movement;--she was there, and she was not there. Still holding the one encircled by my right arm, I rose and with my left hand drew the curtain aside, so that I could see everything behind it. There was not the faintest trace of the beautiful being that, a moment before, I had so firmly held, and with whom I had been talking.
Similar things have occurred to me in various ways, so often that they produce no surprise, only an earnest desire to discover how or where the forms go, or possibly gain some knowledge of the laws governing these strange phenomena.
The force at Mrs. Fairchild's seances is mainly expended in materialization, and for that reason they are valuable to skeptics; but to the experienced investigator they offer nothing new. Many of the forms come heavily veiled, and there is an absence of that social and mental character which is ever the surest evidence of recognition.
CHAPTER VIII.
SeANCE WITH MISS HELEN BEERY AT ONSET.
”Spirits are never finely touched But to fine issues; nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence, But, like a thrifty G.o.ddess, she determines Herself the glory of the creditor, Both thanks and use.”
At one of Miss Helen Berry's seances at Onset in the summer of 1885, there came a young female spirit, apparently about sixteen years old.
She took me by both hands and led me up to the cabinet, where she greeted me very warmly. As she could bear more light than most of the forms, I had no difficulty in studying her face and figure. She was a little below the average height, lithe and graceful in all her movements. A cloud of dark golden hair drifted around her neck and shoulders, falling far below her waist. Her dress was pure white, of a rich fabric, so thin that it revealed a form beautiful as the finest Greek statue. She appeared more like a dream of ideal life, than a creature who had ever walked the earth.
There are moments of exultation in the life of every artist, when his soul reaches out to visions of great beauty. No canvas or marble can record these visions. In his a.s.sociations with the world, he may, at times, catch glimpses that remind him of what he has seen, but nowhere does he realize, as a whole, the perfection of those forms that have allured him from his ordinary surroundings.
Was this charming creature one of those beings who had haunted my dreams?--who, in the still hours of the night, had sometimes dispelled the darkness by the glow of her presence?
If I hesitated a moment in recognizing her, it was because she had never before appeared clothed in so beautiful a form, or if so I had failed to appreciate it. Perhaps it was due, in part, to the negative condition I was in, which allowed a freer and more perfect development, undisturbed by any mental action on my part; and this idea is strengthened by the fact that, in all my connection with these seances, what I most desired to obtain seldom came until after I had become more or less indifferent about it. As I stood beside this form, I pa.s.sed my fingers through her long silken tresses, and put my hand upon her finely formed head. As she laid her face to mine, she said in the most earnest yet tender tones, ”You did not think I would come.” This was true; tired with my journey and the sultry heat, I was indifferent to taking an active part in the seance. I was, however, in a listless way, interested in what came to others, and had given up expecting that anything would come to me; and yet, had I reflected for a moment, I should have known that at any true seance, where I was present and the conditions favorable, it would have been hardly possible for her to keep away. The consciousness of her presence at other times than in the seance-room is no uncommon occurrence with me.
In the seance-room, where she comes so strong and substantial, I have often put forth little playful, but somewhat provocative remarks, in order to draw out, as far as possible, an expression of her character.
Sometimes these things excited her, but never, except for the moment, disturbed the harmony between us.
At this interview I was not in a condition of mind likely to attract spirits, whether in or out of the flesh. In the course of conversation, I dropped a remark that disturbed her. She grasped my hand nervously, her chest rose and fell with increased respiration, and without making any reply she retreated to the cabinet.
Thinking it possible that I might have displeased her, and that she would not return, I went to my seat. A moment afterward, I was surprised by her rus.h.i.+ng out and kneeling down in front of me. Throwing her bare arms around my neck and pulling my head down to her, that others might not listen to what was said, she poured forth, in the most earnest and impa.s.sioned strain, her thoughts; talking as only a woman can talk under the highest inspiration.
I had long since abandoned all doubts of the existence of these beings, and had been, in a quiet and affectionate way, studying the different phases of character manifested by them. Like many others who have investigated this subject, I had met with things which I could not understand or harmonize with my experience. This was leading me to conclusions that I intuitively felt were not true, and yet I could not extricate myself from the network of apparent evidence that surrounded me.
That she understood my mental condition, was evinced by the fact that her whole force and energy were directed to this one subject. Her form trembled and vibrated with emotion as she uttered sentence after sentence in clear explanation of what had perplexed me. Raising her head, and tossing back her long hair, she grasped both my hands, and, with a face beaming with light, said:
”It seems strange to you, but what can I do? We are subject to conditions; and if I come at all, it must be in harmony with them.
There are spheres and circles we cannot penetrate, if the controlling influence is against us. We are still human, still yearning for affection,--that love which is the silken cord that binds us all. What would you not do to reach those dear to your heart? You understand me now.”
There was a remarkably childlike simplicity in the way she unburdened her mind, giving free expression to her feelings, bearing me mentally along with her, until I was lost to everything else. That is all. There are thoughts and feelings which no language can express. Like the silvery notes of a sweet song that echo in the distance, they revel in their freedom from restraint, and forever elude our grasp.