When the boy came on the stage directly from the front with the hat full of sealed envelopes, the manager placed a handkerchief over the hat and asked the boy to take a seat near the front of the stage facing the audience.  He was also directed to hold the hat in his lap, and to deliver the envelopes to the manager, one at a time, as he should call for them.

The operator now delivered a lecture, lasting some ten or fifteen minutes, explaining the strange powers of the blindfolded medium, who sat at the rear of the stage in full view; while the boy still maintained the seat at the front of the stage, and held the hat of envelopes in sight of all.

After the lecture, the manager requested the boy to give him one of the envelopes, which the boy did.  The manager did not look toward it in any manner; but took it in the tips of his right fingers, held it in the air, and asked the medium to give the writer of this question a test.  The medium shivered a few times, allowed his frame to convulse slightly, and thus began: 

“I feel the influence of one who was a brother.  I get the name of Clarence.  Will the one who wrote this question identify it as his?” There was no response from the spectators, and the medium asked again that the writer speak out.  Still silence greeted his request; when suddenly he pointed his bony finger into the crowd, while his blinded face confronted them, and exclaimed:  “Mr. John H——­, why do you not respond to your test?” A gentleman in the audience then acknowledged the test as his.  The medium then continued:  “Clarence was drowned.  I sense the cold chilly water as it envelopes his form.”  At this the lady sitting with the gentleman began to cry.  The medium continued:  “The drowning was wholly an accident.  There was no foul play.  Now, Mr. H——­, have I answered your question, and are you satisfied with your test?” The gentleman, a well-known citizen, acknowledged that he was perfectly satisfied.

The manager then laid the envelope on a small table and asked the boy for another one.  The boy gave him another from the hat when the blindfolded medium, ten feet or more distant, gave the second test.

He shivered again and began:  “I feel the influence of a young lady who died suddenly.  She says, ’Sister Mary, I am very happy, and death was not so hard to endure.  I want you to consult a good honorable attorney, and take his advice in the lawsuit you ask me about.’” The medium then continued, " Miss L——­, your sister regards you with a look of great tenderness and love.  Are you satisfied with your test?” A lady then replied that she certainly was entirely convinced.

The manager now laid this sealed envelope beside the other one and again called for another.  This was continued until all of the envelopes in the hat were removed and the questions answered.  None of the envelopes were opened.  In some instances the medium first read the questions, word for word, before answering them; and when he did so, he described the writing minutely, even the formation of the strokes of the letters.