The Spiritualist newspaper > No.140, April 30th 1875

214
THE SPIRITUALIST.
April 30, 1875.
that pieces of cloth and linen remain after separation from
the drapery with which the spirit was clothed,—that drapery
vanishing with the spiritual body which it covered. Is it
possible that the sudden pouncing upon the spirit caused it
to melt away with some of its materialised clothing, while a
part—the shawl and some drapery—remained ? Is there any
experiment within your knowledge, that would lend a colour
to such a supposition ?
I think one has a right to demand that in such a matter as
this, no evidence should be put forward save that which is ob¬
tained under strictest conditions. It is easy to ascertain
whether a medium has drapery concealed about him, by
making him change all his clothes before the seance. If he be
then placed in a corner of a room where there is no door or
window, and in a house not his own, the opportunity for
deception is absent. Let the experimenter leave him untied—
no tying is really of any service—and steadily persist in seeking
such manifestations as will lead to a clear view, in good light,
of medium and spirit form together, or to] the materialisation
of a form whilst the medium is held by one or two persons.
Such a plan, steadily persevered in, would yield results which,
if very slow, would be very sure; and one fact ascertained
under such conditions is worth any amount of trouble in the
getting; for one would be sure of it, and in the midst of the
mass of worthless evidence which is recorded about this
matter, it is very hard to be sure of anything.
One word more. An act of deception, however abominable,
ought not to invalidate the weight of such a fact as that to
which I drew your readers’ attention some weeks ago. I
trust that Mrs. Gledstanes will furnish a clear and direct state¬
ment of results obtained when Firman was held. If only in
one case a form was materialised 'under these conditions, it
proves the reality of his mediumship. The broad facts of
materialisation fortunately do not rest on the evidence of any
one man. M. A. (Oxon). *
April 26tb, 1875.1
Sib,—The highly important letter from Mr. Gledstanes in
your last may be, so I hope, the signal for a thorough investi¬
gation of an affair, which is one of similar cases which have
several times shaken the ground of gained experience without
leaving a clear view of things behind. In this instance, my
own former connection with Mr. Firman (son of Madame
Louise-Firman) enables me to add my testimony to his power¬
ful mediumship being the agency in the extraordinary mani¬
festations in the physical part of our seances (vide Spiritualist,
14th Nov., 1873). Shortly before both mother and son left
Manchester he tried for materialisations, but they were very
unsatisfactory, and sometimes looked like shams, without
offering positive evidence of wilful deception. Therefore I
ignored them in my reports, waiting for further developments.
Guided by my long and carefully continued investigations,
and aided in the meantime by the valuable instructions in
your paper, I came to the conclusion that manifestations,
before they assume a decided shape, partake often of a sus¬
picious character, especially when suddenly interrupted. The
common table-moving, for instance, with contact, will present
a chain of self-deceptions until by lifting from the ground, or
moving without being touched, it leaves the field of our
knowledge, and enters that of so-called spirit action. I may
liken it to the attempt of a big bird to fly. The animal runs
awhile until the power of the wings gets the uppermost, then
it rises. Before this point one observer will insist, “ He
runsthe other, “ He flies.” Both are right from their point
of view. Perhaps this is yet to come. But the idea of
watching the proceedings in a cabinet is highly suggestive,
and here, as well as in the elementary stages of mani¬
festations, the observer may catch some facts suspicious
enough, but in waiting to the end will find his wits set at
nought. If now, in the case of Mr. Firman’s capture, positive
evidence of wilful deception could be furnished, it would be
only another instance of mixing up the genuine with fraud,
and a good share of indignation would fall to the investiga¬
tors for omitting strict test conditions. In spite of the cor¬
ruption many mediums may perceive in the example of the
so-called respectable classes, of unfairness by the assumption
of the right of breaking conditions on their side, no mercy
whatever should be shown in cases of undoubted imposture.
But before judgment is passed the utmost severity of sifting
should be used; thus may this affair be turned to good ac¬
count, being taken up by so able an investigator as Mr.
Gledstanes. C. Reimers.
Ducie Avenue, Manchester
THE DEVELOPMENT OP MEDIUMSHIP.
Sib,—At a particular stage of human progression, sur¬
roundings antagonistic to the development of mediumship are
unhappily rather the rule than the exception. But few minds
are prepared to shake off the shackles of the old teachings
which bind the spirit, in order to soar into the broader freedom
of the heavenly knowledge now descending into our midst.
Those who are so qualified, and essay to lift themselves up,
meet with an opposition which in some instances demands the
greatest power of will to withstand, and the exercise of a self-
control almost superhuman. But if the will be weak, and the
nature sensitive and loving, the spirit receives wounds which
sooner or later affect the physical well-being, and the mind or
body inevitably suffers. In these antagonistic spheres not
only mortal opponents are to be encountered, but spirits—
earth-clinging,ignorant, and stubborn in their ignorance, loving
their old darkness, and setting themselves to oppose the light of
new ideas and knowledge by every means open to them, which
means are too often those of an indescribable torment inflicted
upon the sensitive, newly developing medium. If they happen
to be spirits who are confirmed in some old religious creed, by
which they have become mentally purblind to the light of
truth, they consider they are doing the best thing for the
salvation of the being in the flesh, whose spirit already sees
clearer than theirs. But if of a lower nature still, they happen
to be attached to certain individuals of the family, or even the
locality, and find their abode comfortable, as is the case many
. times, more especially in haunted houses, they dread the in¬
crease of a power which may dislodge them, and selfishly tor¬
ment mediums to frighten them off from progressing any fur¬
ther in development. Of course to encounter such a host of
enemies in and out of the flesh, demands a mind almost super¬
humanly calm, patient, determined, and self-controlling,
and that the bodily health should be preserved unbroken;
for often this weak point is assailed, and the balance up¬
set, when hysterical or delirious attacks ensue, or periods
of debility and prostration. Truth, however, always meets
with more or less antagonism: it has ever been the same old
story, the opposition of ignorance to knowledge, darkness to
light, and man is always the sufferer. There must always be
some martyrs—saviours—men or women whose lives are ren¬
dered up in one way or another for the benefit of human kind.
Our acceptance of what we intuitively feel, with minds in
advance of those around us, to be true, seems to turn against
us our nearest and dearest, who immediately commence a
species of persecution. ” / came not to send peace, but a
sword,” said Jesus. “A man’s foes are they of his own
household. ”
In all cases of unhappiness, or apparent disorder in the
opening of communion with the spirit world, prayer is the
especial safeguard,—earnest, soul-felt prayer to God for guid¬
ance, for truth, for preservation, and protection. Prayer
never fails to bring its response in some form or other, and it
surrounds the soul with an atmosphere of purity which is a
defence against the assaults of low spirits. It not only invites
the company and protection of the higher spirits, but also
strengthens and adds to their power of protection. It is es¬
sential, too, to know those who are appointed to the important
office of guides. This may be ascertained in the first instance
through some good and reliable medium, and, once ascer¬
tained, an appeal in any difficulty can always be safely made
to them. But no one should be satisfied with a guide who is
not likely to be qualified for the office; who has not passed
through an earth-life marked by goodness, benevolence, and
some intellectual training; for a great deal of mischief is fre¬
quently done to developing mediums by spirits too ignorant to
know how to take care of them. The foolish eagerness of the
mediums, also, for rapid development, often acts upon the
spirit-watchers, and forces them to do more than the system
of the medium can healthfully undergo. A wise, high spirit
can never be induced by the anxiety or eagerness of the medium
to swerve from what he sees to be essential to the bodily and
mental health of the being under his care. Hence the
necessity for feeling sure of the protection of one qualified to
guide.
If in the beginning of development lower spirits take con¬
trol, and assume the office of guides, they are sometimes forced
by the higher spirits to confess their quality in some way or
.other, and to leave the medium ; but not so readily if the as¬
pirations of the medium be low, and he do not pray for pro¬
tection. In this case he lays himself open to the danger of
obsession, or, if that be impossible, he will most certainly be
liable to meet with deception and misleading. In all cases it
is necessary to “ try the spirits”—that is, if a spirit ever seek