Mr. Hope and Mrs.
Buxton, of Crewe, have brought this phase of mediumship to great
perfection, though others have powers in that direction. Indeed,
in some cases it is difficult to say who the medium may have
been, for in one collective family group which was taken in the
ordinary way, and was sent me by a master in a well known public
school, the young son who died has appeared in the plate seated
between his two little brothers.
As to the personality of mediums, they have seemed to me to
be very average specimens of the community, neither markedly
better nor markedly worse. I know many, and I have never met
anything in the least like "Sludge," a poem which Browning might
be excused for writing in some crisis of domestic disagreement,
but which it was inexcusable to republish since it is admitted to
be a concoction, and the exposure described to have been
imaginary. The critic often uses the term medium as if it
necessarily meant a professional, whereas every investigator has
found some of his best results among amateurs. In the two finest
seances I ever attended, the psychic, in each case a man of
moderate means, was resolutely determined never directly or
indirectly to profit by his gift, though it entailed very
exhausting physical conditions. I have not heard of a clergyman
of any denomination who has attained such a pitch of altruism--
nor is it reasonable to expect it. As to professional mediums,
Mr.
Pages:
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71