Part 4 (2/2)

I know the breath that fans my cheek, The thoughts, the words I cannot speak, The arms that round me twine.

What need of words when thoughts are told In light that gleams like burnished gold, With pulse that throbs to mine?

Never before had I listened to such eloquence. Every word, with its rich intonation, is indelibly stamped upon my memory, and I regret that, for personal reasons, it cannot be recorded here.

Exhausted by her long effort, as she rose and led me to the cabinet, I noticed that her form was rapidly changing. Suddenly, like the extinguis.h.i.+ng of a light, she pa.s.sed into that invisible s.p.a.ce whence she came.

There were no ”test conditions” here; and there might have been a dozen confederates, for aught I can prove. It is barely possible that this delightful being belonged on this side of life; but whether on this side or the other, in the fulness of my artistic nature, I thanked G.o.d that such beauty could exist anywhere. The evidence of truthfulness in what came to me at this seance rests on something stronger than barred windows and locked doors;--it was in the complete embodiment of the character, both mentally and physically.

The seance closed, and I returned to Glen Cove by the road that skirts the sh.o.r.e. The south wind played with the blue waters of the bay, throwing up myriads of little waves that danced in the moonlight. As I stood gazing upon the sea, baring my feverish brow to the cooling breeze, I felt that my whole nature was flowing out into a vast circle of being. Thoughts, words, feelings, all blended with the mellow light which flooded the scene. If I was not supremely happy, it was not from lack of harmony with everything around me.

There is ever a tinge of sadness in the background of life. With the beauty of the waves comes the low moan as they break upon the sh.o.r.e.

With the warmth of friends.h.i.+p, comes the pain of parting, and, sadder still, that relentless fate that hurries us from those we love into the dim, uncertain future. The sands of life are golden only where thought diffuses itself without shadows, and the light that charms us flows from the object of our affections.

It was late, and I retired for the night--closed my eyes, but not to sleep. The walls of my room disappeared, and my vision swept over an undefined and illimitable s.p.a.ce. Before me like a mist, but perfectly outlined, glided the beautiful being who only a few minutes before had come so close to me. Soon she was joined by others, lightly drifting, floating through the air.

As round the mountain's craggy steep The trailing vapors curve and sweep, So, hand in hand and side by side, Through s.p.a.ce unmeasured, soft they glide.

Now there, now here--so far, so near-- With outstretched arms they beckoned me, And, like the murmur of the sea, Their voices broke upon my ear.

As they pa.s.sed near me, a hand was laid upon my face; I started, sprang up, looked around; there was no one in the room. All was still save the low surging of the tide that swept the beach below.

CHAPTER IX.

SeANCE AT THE BERRY SISTERS' IN BOSTON.

In looking over my notes, my attention is strongly drawn to the many remarkable things I have witnessed at the Berry Sisters'. As I have given a drawing of Mrs. Fay's cabinet, and its surroundings, which I know to be honest, I give a carefully drawn plan of the seance-room here (see next page). It will be seen that this is one of the most simple and truthful arrangements possible, and the thanks of every investigator are due to the able manager and controls for placing the cabinet in a way that every one can see at a glance that a confederate is out of the question. I have attended several seances at this place since this arrangement has been adopted; and, so far from injuring the manifestations, they are, if anything, improved.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Diagram of the Misses Berry's Seance-Room.]

At these seances, when I have been present, Bertha has materialized outside of the cabinet, more than three feet from it, and at least six feet from the entrance, and on one occasion so close to me that she brushed me with her garments as she rose.

On Sat.u.r.day, Nov. 7, 1885, I attended in company with my wife and little daughter--Mrs. A. E. Newton, of Arlington, also making one of the party.

Although the atmosphere was unfavorable, the manifestations were good, there often being two forms out at once, talking with their friends. My seat was on the right, facing the cabinet, and very near to it. Before the seance commenced, by the request of Mr. Albro, the manager, I locked the door at the farther end of the room; and when this was done, he offered me the privilege of sitting beside it. I declined, preferring to take part in the seance.

I will state, however, for the benefit of those who have any doubt about this arrangement, that the seat I occupied commanded a full view of this door, and that I unlocked it after the seance, and can state positively that it was impossible for the door to have been opened without my knowing it. Again, the cabinet is so constructed that if a confederate had entered, he would have been obliged to go around to the front, in full view of the audience, before he could have pa.s.sed into the cabinet.

Those persons whose fertile brains are always leading them into absurd conclusions, will have to seek for some other explanation than that of a confederate here.

In the course of the seance, I had warning of Bertha's presence, and requested Mrs. Newton, who sat beside me, to watch the left-hand corner, near the cabinet. In a few minutes there appeared a soft light on the carpet, near the wall, and almost instantly Bertha came up in full view of all.

Springing forward and taking my little daughter by both hands, she came briskly across the room to where I sat. After our usual greeting, I introduced her to Mrs. Newton, who detained her for some time, my wife coming forward and joining in the conversation. I have described this beautiful spirit so fully in the preceding chapter that it is unnecessary to repeat it here.

Many persons will find it desirable to make themselves familiar with the different phases of materialization as expressed through different mediums; but nowhere else will they find more strength combined with delicacy and refinement, as shown both in the beauty of the forms and their affectionate bearing. Neither in the controls, the forms, nor the surroundings, is there anything here to offend the most fastidious taste. These seances appear to have advanced beyond the mere fact of materialization, offering to those whose magnetic relations are in accord with conditions, a more attractive expression of social and mental character than is frequently met with. As Mrs. Newton seemed quite interested in Bertha, I felt desirous to know what impression was made upon one so well prepared to form a just opinion on such matters.

To my expressed wish she kindly responded with the following statement:--

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