THE SEANCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 605, 7 September 1909, Page 6

THE SEANCE.

, f • No. V. v GEOWTH OF THE MANGO.

■' /a variety of'apports^ ;:-:.i:|Tho'conditions'; musfc'.:have : been .unusually -favourable.when Mr: Bailoy, medium,,held ; ■ his seince last evening, for not only was the growth-of tho mango plant > apparently increased, but several . unoxpcct«l "aj>ports", wero produced. ..These consisted of 1 a Roman coini " said-to'bo ft - denarius of the :• etime tof - TiboriuS, .-two; tablots from. ancient mounds, ono of them,: with its surrounding 'olay, somewlat smaller than a'tennis ball, and an Eastern Woman's veil,- about four feot in length by a fpot broad. 'f-W. i): ■;? .a There -were. nearly, forty people ; present,' -. - viDcarly all of whom were moil. . Mr. Bailoy :?bad.; ; statcd;'beforehand 'that ho ;;than:'ho"had done'on:some; previous and tho circlo did their' best to. : : ■ Produce-; a favourable atmosphere. ' :"Dr. i'S: : '/V ; tWfitMmbei"'as"..'^trbi ) ;7directM' the:search 'Si:the : medium,- which;was by tho -writer and another, member of the circlo as -■ >' thoroughly-, as Mr. Bailey's clothed stato ■J iv-would permit. . Tho medium was .tied up In . tho 'nflual bag, and locked/ up in tho gauze The lights wore lowored, ,the circle sang "Shall We Gather at the River," with - V- fair unammity,.and,soon "Professor Denton" was-hoard speakiiig. . :''PtofQssor Denton" Roplles to Attacks.. .■~ ' -.jThis : timo. tho .professor ibased • his*sermon: 7. 'ton a text. Ho olioso the words of Christ ; when lie" was shown tho . tribute money: •VBendor unto fihe. thingsthat are Oaosar's, and'.unto God -, the things -that- are : ,«f God.". '.It was a'-'sermon "in support of ,;r: ?.fipirituaUsmj and some severe, yet not new, said'about false Chnstians.;, At U ?>V- Vante'ryals.': .the "■ ''cbritrpl".-: replied to. recant j Vpiulpit of .our'tfriends, : of: my state of lifo wont to church last night," lie .said,. "to -listen to a-pastor, a ' - . ' -Prcabyterian, I think, hold forth .against ', 'Spiritualism. Ho that that pastor, like many other people, . had r.o wknowledge" l 'of the ' sybject in-question. w i -He -'• ■ believed. that modorn'. Spiritual-. .. . . -'ism .and : primitive Gliristianifty wero : idcnti-. ': < .-:'<:.'. > .;'.'.':-ciil-in\{aitn,"and''practioo. Ho was not spoak---of sham Spiritualists and frauds, who ',-were liko the'barnacles on> a ship's bottom/ if-f'y".-; 1 t;>"-jT^o i -it"--'was - writlehji "■ "©afct-'* v , ; eredi:in the ( houses-"of- r the -.broth-ren," - ,and. - : .'after..prayers i.and" reiitogs i "spake ; . as they .-.'. v: , ' iwero moved' by; tho Spirit." . That was wliat . _ ifaa done by Spiritualists to-day.- >.H« denied was 'nothing Christliko .about Spiritualism. -i'Theto :.wero thou•sands of people who go into (he. J yet.; were .> in;':oontihual [ com--:i , /i-:.-;--v-"pniunion J 'witi{i-.Godi- Ho'-referred to tho mis-: ■ . conceptions jtnd persecutions' under' w;h:ch the ©arly . Christians •. laboured, ' and said that ? "'.-aV'fSpiritualists wero .now-in a liko case. ' Ho . - "agreed with- Dr. '.-Gibb .that many messages: • 'fxeceived -'wero meaningless .and' frivol■i . .ous, but it was not tho work and mission . .• '• of .the i spirits' to "give-information- about ■■■:% '"/rViimindano affairs.'' When. peoplo, "asked 1 ; the about-ithe Waratai-,'-goldmines) ' : r iand the North Polo,:they did not understand -vrhatVtheir.'iniMioil i; vva3 rbn .thf 'eirth ; -plaiie.: j-Tho: phenomena - of, Spiritualism 1 ' wore "but •• a ineans to: ail end, and should ~,not; be. studied V:,..!'.-;'. ifor '.themsolves alone;- Tho. philosophy : andteaching. of Spiritualism were bringing peace ' r- ;to 'thousands of. anxious hearts.' s "- sThe "control" ,wont-on to say:that ono of : the Hindu -spirits wonld bring as ani apport fsi^-^tlwt^eveniiig'a.dinarius of-the rius—tho tnbuto - money which - was 'shown, to 1 . .Christ.-.- On- one. sido :would bo"a ropresentation L of Julia, - or:,rathor livia, . and -on) . ihe : v;. other • side of Tiberius, with the usual m- , eenption "Pontifex Maximus." The Hindu ']'-IWSJ; 'giing >: then to v'a' i:inoun'd : to l ;-get'■ dn'e lof i-.'i 1 those coins, which wero r now. very-rare; and : it would be presented to Mr.,W. M'Lean inlrfi!fcd'gnitioii;;:ijf'hi&; interdstrinithe/ seanbgs, Reij iferruig to-press reports of the ;meetingSi the •'. "control'- .complained of the term "the man -' . Jlailey" heing; applied to' thp';mcdium. The Mi.-.- man- was,n6t a criminal, ■ and should receive'' r 'i4'; ;)lie;'courtesy."of,''Mr."::.-Somo day tho press uc,:,'- ponldi. not';hav;o , f.-to- shonfc with, the greatest' lumber.v.He knetv, :liaiveVer,lthat'ijournalists -. had to get a living, and 1 thatjthe-rent must bo paid. - j, l ri ',-, . , - • ' The Mango' Plant. The Hindu Mahmoud was - then: heard speaking in;,his: broken English. .He ■ de r . scribed the ,natnTali'growth: of' mango trees, llow the' largo, stono was v gradually absorbed - ; into the growth of. the' plant-. ,Ho w'oujd /do'- ; - jn'a few minutes--'-whaV., .weeks to pGrfnrra. .Hc suggested .tiiaL CQr-' - v ;tain Hindus did, this , feat-Toy- trickery,- but-. '% ,-not, ehipldy': ; such, nieans. -. ■ It' should .be explaned ' that at, tho commencc- ■ ,tho plant . .used ,at; tho previous seanco had been exam-' t i.'Snedj 'i andAfound'^toVconsist of :; two :diminii-V-tt<; shoots-wifh.--'avthird. It was placed,-in 'its pot; hi the cage, and a piece of brown-papor placed over it Tho . circlo :now ' sang, /'There's • a* land that - ■: « ' ( Fairer Than Day,'' and after prolonged t.,. NBinging tho lights wore turned on, ; and a . r plant exposed:to view. -It was-passed:round-.tlife plant'being three inches ; 7 1 ::-,;;;. above.; tho earth. Of. its being taken from. 'theV total .length, including the reduced root, was /found to' bo six inches. The'owner of tho ! seed '.- expressed. himself as ; quite satisfied . . .. with'the-feat,-, but regretted that tho plant .tatOT'fr6m;the';p6t''aiid to' so- .. much.,handling -that,-"Mahmoud?' .expressed: himself hopeless of its further growth. ; . -A • Bedouin Woman's Veil. ; The lights, were.extinguished;. and - the 1 oircle sang "Nearer 'My God to Thee" for some minutes. .Then tlio voice was.heard of the. control Abdullah, , and tho medium - produced what was declared to be a Bedouin ■ i ; ; woman's .veil. This.article was held up and j.::exhibited. Ylt ! wais about four feet long and i,..a foot broad, of;black, material, with- a red top.. There wero holes for the nose and eyes. -The, 1 , control announced -vthat:. Selitn would

something:• if thecircle waited for' a viniiijate. ;Thero,;wa3 : ; more;ringing, 'and- with ■. one. of tho two lights still burning near tho j,: 'cage, the,denarius was produced. It was r :-,; 1 i quite bright, and shiny,, and answered ox- - . actly to tho. description given by ."Professor ( 'Denton." There was no .encrustation on i^io : ~ .. . coin,, which. it was subsequently stated came , from a dry mound. , i Tablots.From' Babylon. ' i':- ' i;, Still the''spints'! and the medium were not ~- yv;;• exhausted,■ and,, in '-darkness,' after,- further' "Abdul" produced two tablets, said s-v- . - to l be from Babylonian ruins. They were ■ :: • thickly: coatcd with' clay,- which had - a pccuW"} &liaivJsmell.v' One i',"apjiort','..'.;wa'sy.about■ the '■ v: i - -8izo;of 'a.;;walnut,'and the other was a-round, 'lump, which must have 'weighed 'six .or seven-, -, ,-j ounces. The "tablet,'.' . like - a. smooth • '■ pebble, was seen 'protruding through'the clay". ... •• -of the latter. ; v :This apport was extremely in-: i"■ for, ■ owing ;to Its'-iwo .'and :shaj)o; . • it'- was. difficult to suppose iaht it . could havo escaped discovery if it had been secreted on tho medium's person at the time when ho was searched. Wfi .Whitcombo"then ;; took posses-,' sion of .the' medium,and ■ gave, some account of'-the. apports pioducod. The veil had. at- • : tached to it fivo. copper coins, almost as I ■' largo as pennies! "control"..stated.that J'a/superstitious .value .was attached to:, these v., . ; coins by Eastern women, and it was tho loss • of such a com that was alluded to in one of i ; his parables by Christ. - Tho veil was heavilyi' Scented. As regards- tho denarius, if that . wore washed 1 with'water, it' would be found to bo of the.reign of Tibonus. The "control" - ; did not seem to know: that the com was in -:i.-;.V" such a state as require washing. \ j , Ths "Control" Questioned. Mr. M'Lean said,ho had met; Tibenus r but ; . 1 the latter had nevor montioWd: these coins to him. Ho asked the "contral" if ho thought Tiberius would remember, them. - . ."No moro than KiligEdward would know ■all..tho coins.that wero struck .in his timo," ;/■ . was the reply, j "Dr.-iWhitcombe'' added that • 1 sometimra -coins', were struck .bearing tho ' - ! superscription' of;ia*.,-king, no;!longer liviifg. " Mr. -Stanford) of Melbourne,, had had hun- : ■ dreds of Roman coins thrown down in clumps ■a ■:■ ■:;at a seance. ; Thoy wero now. in the Stanford "BiuseuiiLi"?. = ' : '■.,. ; T- -'

; An-inquirer asked, how -it was that the tablets and denarius did not arrive hot with : their j-apjd passage through/-space,,as. had been the tiaso with other inanimate apports. Tlio "control",replied that the.denarius .was slightly-hot-wlion: it first arrived, but that somo ten minutes had elapsed beforo it was handed, .outtof tho cago.' This estimate of tho'-,'time appearfcd to the writor to bo con- • siderably/exaggeraW.tThO'"control": seemed to'find; somo further explanation in the fact that.tho denarius was received,; in tho"light. He . said that previous' apports liad' been received.in a'much hotter.-state, f A lady,- stated, that, she would like very muQh to Mo .of' live fish' produced, as' had been done at Melbourne,,whero a fish threo feet long'was apported. '''■- Tho: "control" : Oh, no. Eighteen inches was the longest. ' . In' answer to further questions,',"Dr. WhitcombeL 1 stated that ho had.laiown casos of individuals •. being obsessed i' by-' evil spirits. In- the early church they:useu to cast these spirits, out, but tho modern churoh . had lost that power. ; Ho explained how tho, veil-Vad been obtained without, infringement of 'the rights, of' property.":'.- The, veils • wore : often' thrown>asido when a woman's husband died, and "sometimes they , were stored in tombs.. The veil produced h'ad been taken- from a:tomb.' V , " "Dr. 'WJiitcombo ' also said that,there wero which - could:bo, seen by people . in-'Kho flesh.... Otherwise, whence came the'stories of pixies and of similar creatures, 'wh'ich'. niust: have .had some; foundation: 'in -fact?.,' But that subject was of'no profit to' huinanirv. . ' 1 - Tho Medium. "Dr. Whitcombe" then said "Good-night," and' the circle sang "Abide With Me," to assist Mr. Bailey to recover from his trance. This was found to -be a;very _diificult' proceeding, and'tlie-members, of tho circlo were , asked to: leavo the roomwhilo Mr. MLean arid others .used restorative measures. In about,ten minutes Mr. Bailey was his formal ■ self, !and professed to. have practically no -knowledge of what had -happened- in" his. trance condition.' Ho stated; that he ; wafc: So used: tp ■ the 'proceedings that ho took small notice■;of them. -With 'regard, to .the mango ' performance, it 5b explained'that this was only done ,to show that one' of : the ~"controls". possessing . Bailey .is !'.Hindu, as onljfr Hindus can\perform this feat. : ■ Another seance will be'-gfyen -'-.thisewn-ihg.-There will be no. apports,".'but ,"Dr. ' Wjitcombe',' : promises other phenomena;,. of equal: interest,'and that a,.writing-, pad- shall be placed in the cage. After .this seance,; Mr. Bailey will ..leavo' Wellington' , temporarilyon .a visit to a relative Vho' lives neariChristchurch. ...Hi', states that the -desire /this-relative was - largely instrum'entar:ifi.bringing hjm to. NeV Zealand.- ,