Chapter 19

WE were nearly six weeks in the Havana, being detained byLord Durham's illness. I provided myself with a capitalSpanish master, and made the most of him. This, as it turnedout, proved very useful to me in the course of my futuretravels. About the middle of March we left for Charlestownin the steamer ISABEL, and thence on to New York. On thepassage to Charlestown, we were amused one evening by thetricks of a conjuror. I had seen the man and his wifeperform at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. She was called the'Mysterious Lady.' The papers were full of speculations asto the nature of the mystery. It was the town talk andexcitement of the season.

　　This was the trick. The lady sat in the corner of a largeroom, facing the wall, with her eyes bandaged. The companywere seated as far as possible from her. Anyone was invitedto write a few words on a slip of paper, and hand it to theman, who walked amongst the spectators. He would simply sayto the woman 'What has the gentleman (or lady) written uponthis paper?' Without hesitation she would reply correctly.

　　The man was always the medium. One person requested her,through the man, to read the number on his watch, the figuresbeing, as they always are, very minute. The man repeated thequestion: 'What is the number on this watch?' The woman,without hesitation, gave it correctly. A friend at my side,a young Guardsman, took a cameo ring from his finger, andasked for a description of the figures in relief. There wasa pause. The woman was evidently perplexed. She confessedat last that she was unable to answer. The spectatorsmurmured. My friend began to laugh. The conjuror's breadwas at stake, but he was equal to the occasion. He at onceexplained to the company that the cameo represented 'Leederand the Swan in a hambigious position, which the lady didn'tprofess to know nothing about.' This apology, needless tosay, completely re-established the lady's character.

　　Well, recognising my friend of the Egyptian Hall, I remindedhim of the incident. He remembered it perfectly; and we fellto chatting about the wonderful success of the 'mystery,' andabout his and the lady's professional career. He had begunlife when a boy as a street acrobat, had become a streetconjuror, had married the 'mysterious lady' out of the 'saw-dust,' as he expressed it - meaning out of a travellingcircus. After that, 'things had gone 'ard' with them. Theyhad exhausted their resources in every sense. One night,lying awake, and straining their brains to devise some meansof subsistence, his wife suddenly exclaimed, 'How would it beif we were to try so and so?' explaining the trick justdescribed. His answer was: 'Oh! that's too silly. They'dsee through it directly.' This was all I could get out ofhim: this, and the fact that the trick, first and last, hadmade them fairly comfortable for the rest of their days.

　　Now mark what follows, for it is the gist and moral of mylittle story about this conjuror, and about two other miracleworkers whom I have to speak of presently.

　　Once upon a time, I was discussing with an acquaintance thenot unfamiliar question of Immortality. I professedAgnosticism - strongly impregnated with incredulity. Myfriend had no misgivings, no doubts on the subject whatever.

　　Absolute certainty is the prerogative of the orthodox. Hehad taken University honours, and was a man of high positionat the Bar. I was curious to learn upon what grounds such anone based his belief. His answer was: 'Upon the phenomenaof electro-biology, and the psychic phenomena of mesmerism.'

　　His 'first convictions were established by the manifestationsof the soul as displayed through a woman called "TheMysterious Lady," who, &c., &c.'

　　When we have done with our thaumaturgist on board the ISABEL,I will give another instance, precisely similar to this, ofthe simple origin of religious beliefs.

　　The steamer was pretty full; and the conjuror begged me toobtain the patronage of my noble friend and the rest of ourparty for an entertainment he proposed to give that evening.

　　This was easily secured, and a goodly sum was raised bydollar tickets. The sleight-of-hand was excellent. But thespecial performance of the evening deserves description infull. It was that of a whist-playing dog. Three passengers- one of us taking a hand - played as in dummy whist, dummy'shand being spread in a long row upon the deck of the salooncabin. The conjuror, as did the other passengers, walkedabout behind the players, and saw all the players' hands, butnot a word was spoken. The dog played dummy's hand. When itcame to his turn he trotted backwards and forwards, smellingeach card that had been dealt to him. He sometimeshesitated, then comically shaking his head, would leave it tosmell another. The conjuror stood behind the dog's partner,and never went near the animal. There was no table - thecards were thrown on the deck. They were dealt by theplayers; the conjuror never touched them. When the dog'smind was made up, he took his card in his mouth and laid iton the others. His play was infallible. He and his partnerwon the rubber with ease.

　　Now, to those ignorant of the solution, this must, I think,seem inexplicable. How was collusion managed between theanimal and its master? One of the conditions insisted uponby the master himself was silence. He certainly never brokeit. I bought the trick - must I confess it? for twentydollars. How transparent most things are when - seenthrough! When the dog smelt at the right card, the conjuror,who saw all four hands, and had his own in his pocket,clicked his thumb-nail against a finger-nail. The dog alonecould hear it, and played the card accordingly.

　　The other story: A few years after my return to England, agreat friend called upon me, and, in an excited state,described a SEANCE he had had with a woman who possessed thepower of 'invoking' spirits. These spirits had correctlyreplied to questions, the answers to which were only known tohimself. The woman was an American. I am sorry to say Ihave forgotten her name, but I think she was the first of hertribe to visit this country. As in the case spoken of, myfriend was much affected by the results of the SEANCE. Hewas a well-educated and intelligent man. Born to wealth, hehad led a somewhat wildish life in his youth. Henceforth hebecame more serious, and eventually turned Roman Catholic.

　　He entreated me to see the woman, which I did.

　　I wrote to ask for an appointment. She lived in CharlotteStreet, Fitzroy Square; but on the day after the morrow shewas to change her lodgings to Queen Anne Street, where shewould receive me at 11 A.M. I was punctual to a minute, andwas shown into an ordinary furnished room. The maid informedme that Mrs. - had not yet arrived from Charlotte Street, butshe was sure to come before long, as she had an engagement(so she said) with a gentleman.

　　Nothing could have suited me better. I immediately set towork to examine the room and the furniture with the greatestcare. I looked under and moved the sofa, tables, andarmchairs. I looked behind the curtains, under the rug, andup the chimney. I could discover nothing. There was not thevestige of a spirit anywhere. At last the medium entered - aplain, middle-aged matron with nothing the least spiritualabout her. She seated herself opposite to me at the roundtable in the centre of the room, and demurely asked what Iwanted. 'To communicate with the spirits,' I replied. Shedid not know whether that was possible. It depended upon theperson who sought them. She would ask the spirits whetherthey would confer with me. Whereupon she put the question:

　　'Will the spirits converse with this gentleman?' At allevents, thought I, the term 'gentleman' applies to the nextworld, which is a comfort. She listened for the answer.

　　Presently three distinct raps on the table signified assent.

　　She then took from her reticule a card whereon were printedthe alphabet, and numerals up to 10. The letters wereseparated by transverse lines. She gave me a pencil withthese instructions: I was to think, not utter, my question,and then put the pencil on each of the letters in succession.

　　When the letters were touched which spelt the answer, thespirits would rap, and the words could be written down.

　　My friend had told me this much, so I came prepared. I beganby politely begging the lady to move away from the table atwhich we were seated, and take a chair in the furthest cornerof the room. She indignantly complied, asking if I suspectedher. I replied that 'all ladies were dangerous, when theywere charming,' which put us on the best of terms. I placedmy hat so as to intercept her view of my operations, and thuspursued them.

　　Thinking the matter over beforehand, I concluded that whenthe questioner, of either sex, was young, love would veryprobably be the topic; the flesh, not the spirit, would bethe predominant interest. Being an ingenuous young man ofthe average sort, and desperately in love with Susan, let ussay, I should naturally assist the supernatural being, if ata loss, to understand that the one thing wanted wasinformation about Susan. I therefore mentally asked thequestion: 'Who is the most lovely angel without wings, andwith the means of sitting down?' and proceeded to pass thepencil over the letters, pausing nowhere. I now and then gota doubtful rap on or under the table, - how delivered I knownot - but signifying nothing. It was clear the spiritsneeded a cue. I put the pencil on the letter S, and kept itthere. I got a tentative rap. I passed at once to U. I gota more confident rap. Then to S. Rap, rap, withouthesitation. A and N were assented to almost before I touchedthem. Susan was an angel - the angel. What more logicalproof could I have of the immortality of the soul?

　　Mrs. - asked me whether I was satisfied. I said it wasmiraculous; so much so indeed, that I could hardly believethe miracle, until corroborated by another. Would thespirits be kind enough to suspend this pencil in the air?

　　'Oh! that was nonsense. The spirits never lent themselves tomere frivolity.' 'I beg the spirits' pardon, I am sure,'

　　said I. 'I have heard that they often move heavy tables. Ithought perhaps the pencil would save them trouble. Willthey move this round table up to this little one?' I had, beit observed, when alone, moved and changed the relativepositions of both tables; and had determined to make this mycrucial test. To my astonishment, Mrs. - replied that shecould not say whether they would or not. She would ask them.

　　She did so, and the spirits rapped 'Yes.'

　　I drew my chair aside. The woman remained seated in thecorner. I watched everything. Nothing happened. After awhile, I took out my watch, and said: 'I fear the spirits donot intend to keep their word. I have an appointment twentyminutes hence, and can only give them ten minutes more.' Shecalmly replied she had nothing to do with it. I had heardwhat the spirits said. I had better wait a little longer.

　　Scarcely were the words out of her mouth, when the table gavea distinct crack, as if about to start. The medium instantlycalled my attention to it. I jumped out of my seat, passedbetween the two tables, when of a sudden the large tablemoved in the direction of the smaller one, and did not stoptill it had pushed the little one over. I make no comments.

　　No explanation to me is conceivable. I simply narrate whathappened as accurately as I am able.

　　One other case deserves to be added to the above. I haveconnected both of the foregoing with religious persuasions.

　　The SEANCE I am about to speak of was for the express purposeof bringing a brokenhearted and widowed mother intocommunication with the soul of her only son - a young artistof genius whom I had known, and who had died about a yearbefore. The occasion was, of course, a solemn one. Theinterest of it was enhanced by the presence of the greatapostle of Spiritualism - Sir William Crookes. The mediumwas Miss Kate Fox, again an American. The SEANCE took placein the house of a very old friend of mine, the late Dr.

　　George Bird. He had spiritualistic tendencies, but wassupremely honest and single-minded; utterly incapable ofconnivance with deception of any kind. As far as I know, themedium had never been in the room before. The companypresent were Dr. Bird's intimate friend Sir William Crookes -future President of the Royal Society - Miss Bird, Dr. Bird'sdaughter, and her husband - Mr. Ionides - and Mrs. -, themother of the young artist. The room, a large one, wasdarkened; the last light being extinguished after we hadtaken our places round the dining-table. We were strenuouslyenjoined to hold one another's hands. Unless we did so theSEANCE would fail.

　　Before entering the room, I secretly arranged with Mr.

　　Ionides, who shared my scepticism, that we should sit side byside; and so each have one hand free. It is not necessary torelate what passed between the unhappy mother and the medium,suffice it to say that she put questions to her son; and themedium interpreted the rappings which came in reply. These,I believe, were all the poor lady could wish for. To therest of us, the astounding events of the SEANCE were the dimlights, accompanied by faint sounds of an accordion, whichfloated about the room over our heads. And now comes, to me,the strangest part of the whole performance. All the while Ikept my right arm extended under the table, moving my hand toand fro. Presently it touched something. I make a grab, andcaught, but could not hold for an instant, another hand. Itwas on the side away from Mr. Ionides. I said nothing,except to him, and the SEANCE was immediately broken up.

　　It may be thought by some that this narration is a biassedone. But those acquainted with the charlatanry in these daysof what is called 'Christian Science,' and know the extent towhich crass ignorance and predisposed credulity can be dupedby childish delusions, may have some 'idea how acute was thespirit-rapping epidemic some forty or fifty years ago. 'Atthis moment,' writes Froude, in 'Fraser's Magazine,' 1863,'we are beset with reports of conversations with spirits, oftables miraculously lifted, of hands projecting out of theworld of shadows into this mortal life. An unusually able,accomplished person, accustomed to deal with common-sensefacts, a celebrated political economist, and notorious forbusiness-like habits, assured this writer that a certainmesmerist, who was my informer's intimate friend, had raiseda dead girl to life.' Can we wonder that miracles are stillbelieved in? Ah! no. The need, the dire need, of themremains, and will remain with us for ever.