Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft: Illustrated Investigations into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and Theosophy — John Shaqi
Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft: Illustrated Investigations into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and TheosophyEvans, Henry Ridgely
Religion
Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft: Illustrated Investigations into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and Theosophy
Evans, Henry Ridgely
Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891; Spiritualism; Theosophy
One of the most notable passages in the life of the great medium was the
famous law suit in which he was concerned in England. In 1866 he became
acquainted with a wealthy lady, Mrs. Jane Lyons. In his role of medium she
consulted him constantly about the welfare of her husband in the spirit
world, and her business affairs. She gave him £33,000 for his services.
Relatives and friends of Mrs. Lyons, however, saw in Home a cunning
adventurer who was preying upon a weak-minded woman. A suit was instituted
against the medium to recover the money, and the case became a _cause
celebre_ in the annals of the English courts.
In the autumn of 1871, Home, who before that time, had been quite a "lion"
at the court of Napoleon III and Eugene, followed the German army from
Sedan to Versailles, and was hand-in-glove with the King of Prussia. His
second marriage took place in October, 1871, at Paris, and after a brief
honeymoon in England he visited St. Petersburg with his wife, who was a
member of the noble Russian family of Alsakoff.
On the 21st of June, 1886, the great American ghost-seer died of
consumption, at Auteuil, near Paris, France. For years he was out of
health, and he ascribed his weakness to the expenditure of vital force in
working wonders during the earlier part of his career.
He was buried at St. Germain-en-Laye, with the rites of the Russian
Church. The funeral was a very simple one, not more than twenty persons
being present, all of whom were in full evening dress. The idea was to
emphasize the Spiritualists' belief that death is not a subject for
mourning, but is liberation, an occasion for rejoicing.
The curious reader will find many accounts of Home's invulnerability to
fire while in the trance state, notably those of Prof. Crookes, contained
in the proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. In the March,
1868, number of "_Human Nature_," Mr. H. D. Jencken writes as follows
concerning a séance given by the medium:
"Mr. Home, (after various manifestations) said, 'we have gladly shown you
our power over fluids, we will now show you our power over solids.' He
then knelt down before the hearth, and deliberately breaking up a glowing
piece of coal in the fire place, took up a largish lump of incandescent
coal and placing the same in his left hand, proceeded to explain that
caloric had been extracted by a process known to them (the spirits), and
that the heat could in part be returned. This he proved by alternately
cooling and heating the coal; and to convince us of the fact, allowed us
to handle the coal which had become cool, then suddenly resumed its heat
sufficient to burn one, as I again touched it. I examined Mr. Home's hand,
and quite satisfied myself that no artificial means had been employed to
protect the skin, which did not even retain the smell of smoke. Mr. Home
then re-seated himself, and shortly awoke from his trance quite pale and
exhausted."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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