(Copied and arranged from notes made in the car on the way home from this seance—­Saturday evening, March 26th, 1887.)

N.B.—­I have neglected to state (though it is mentioned in my notes) that the seance was commenced by an “invocation” from Mrs. Coleman, who sat near the curtains.  It was in no wise remarkable.

G.S.F.

* * * * *

DR. LEIDY.

The undersigned, a member of The Seybert Commission, appointed by the University, in company with one or more of the other members, at different times, from March, 1884, to April, 1887, attended twelve seances with reputed Spiritualist Mediums.  Led to view Spiritualism with the respect due to its importance, based on the reflection that many of the most intelligent and honorable of the community had become convinced of its truth, I undertook the investigation of the subject free from conscious prejudice, and with a desire to observe with unbiased judgment the phenomena which might be presented to me in the seances of Spiritualist Mediums.  Of the dozen seances attended in company with other members of the Commission, five were held with three Slate-writing Mediums, two with as many Rapping Mediums, and five with four Materializing Mediums.  All the Mediums possessed more or less celebrity as such among the advocates of Spiritualism.  I further attended, unaccompanied by members of the Commission, three seances, of which one was held with one of the former Materializing Mediums, and two with other Rapping Mediums.

The reputed phenomena or manifestations were carefully observed, as far as circumstances would permit, i.e., under the conditions ordinarily exacted by Mediums.

I have kept a record of my observations of the Spiritualist seances, but it is unnecessary to relate them here.  As the result of my experience thus far, I must confess that I have witnessed no extraordinary manifestation, such as we ordinarily hear described as evidence of communication between this and the Spirit world.  On the contrary, all the exhibitions I have seen have been complete failures in what was attempted or expected, or they have proved to be deceptions and tricks of jugglery.  Sometimes accompanied by buffoonery, I never saw in them anything solemn or impressive, and never did they give the slightest positive information of interest.  Having thus far failed to discover anything in evidence of the truth of Spiritualism, I yet remain ready to receive such evidence from an honest Medium.

One of the Slate-writing Mediums, with whom we held several seances, relieved the tedium of waiting for a slate-communication by writing in pencil on slips of paper, under Spirit control, as we were assured, communications from a succession of Spirits.  The hand of these communications was good, and in each one different as it would appear from different individuals.  There was, however, in all a similarity of expression and grammatical construction, which indicated a want of entire Spirit control.  One of these communications, in my possession, reads literally thus: