The communication from Marie St. Clair, which accompanied these envelopes, runs thus:—­’To H.H.  Furness.  Your kindly nature has often drawn the Spirit of Marie to your side.  I consider myself indebted to you for certain acts which you will understand.  Not that the poor inanimate thing which you have so kindly treated, is of itself of much account, but your kindness has often drawn me to your side in moments when you little dreamed I were near.  Had I met in material existence one like yourself my past might have been far different.  In this beautiful life, the sources and courses of all earthly misfortunes and sins appear to us like a figure seen in a dream.  The lowest plane of Spiritual life is as much superior to earthly existence as sunlight is superior to starlight.  From Marie St. Clair.  Please inform Mrs. Martin why you so carefully preserved the skull, and where you obtained it, and all you know about it, and oblige yours truly, E.A.  Martin.  There is an acrostic upon your name waiting for you here from Marie.’

If the fair and frail Marie appears somewhat cautious in direct allusions to her skull, and to her ‘earth-life,’ it is certainly to her credit that she seems to have retained no taint of mercenary greed.  She made no demand or reference to a fee, and a second letter had to be sent to her Medium to learn the amount of my debt.  This is her reply:—­’Your kind favour came duly to me, and as your message to your Spirit Friend was delivered previously, that is, as soon as it was written, I had no further effort to make than to convey the following to you: 

’Amants, heureux amants, voulez-vous voyager!  Que ce soit aux rives prochaines.

Patience, je n’en ai pas quand je suis si pres et si loin de vous.

Ah! tout ce qu’il y a dans le coeur de crainte, de douleur, de desespoir, j’ai tout devine; tout souffert, je puis tout exprimer maintenant surtout la joie.  Adieu!  Marie St. Clair.’

Here end my investigations into the power of Spirits to answer sealed questions.

In every instance the envelopes had been opened and reclosed; it is therefore scarcely necessary to add that every instance has borne the stamp of Fraud.

There is yet one other dark chapter, perhaps the darkest of all, which my duty compelled me to read.

I began with Dr. Mansfield, in Boston; let me end with him there.

In addition to the answering of sealed letters sent to him by mail, this Medium exercises his Mediumistic powers on questions propounded to him, or rather to the Spirits through him, at his own home.