Mrs. Piper & the Society for Psychical ResearchSage, Michael
Religion
Mrs. Piper & the Society for Psychical Research
Sage, Michael
Mediums -- Practice -- Great Britain; Parapsychology -- Investigation -- Great Britain; Piper, Leonora, 1859-1950; Spiritualism
1. "Dear Sister,--In the bottom of my trunk in the attic with my clothes
I have placed a little money and some jewels, given to me, as you know,
by mother, and given to her by grandfather, who has now passed away.
Bessie, I now give to you; they are all I have, I wish I could have
more. It has grieved me not a little not to have given the Society
something, but as you know, sister, I am unable to do so. If it be
possible I will give them my presence in spirit." (Sister left no trunk.
Never lived in any house with an attic. Mother never gave her any
jewels. Mother's father died in 1835. Mother died in 1880, and gave all
her jewels to me. These jewels had previously been given to mother by
myself. Sister left money, and could have given the Society some had she
chosen to do so.)
2. "The table-cover which I worked one year ago I want you to give
sister Ellen, John's wife. The reason I did not dispose of them before
will be a satisfactory proof of spirit return. My dearest sister, should
you ever marry, as I think you will, take the money and use it as you
think best, to buy a wedding outfit." (She never worked a table-cover. I
worked one and gave her. Brother John died when five years old. There
is no one by the name of Ellen connected with the family. She did think
I would marry, but knew that I had plenty of money to buy an outfit.)
3. "Do not dress in mourning for me, for if it be true the spirit can
return I want to see you dressed in light, not black. Not for me now, my
dear sister Bessie. Try to be cheerful and happy through your married
life, and when you hear from me--this for you a copy, 'remember sister
Hannah is not dead, only passed out of the body.' I will give you a
beautiful description of our life there and of my darling mother if I
see her." (Hannah always wore black, and often said it would be wicked
for me to take it off, for my child always said, "Mamma, you will always
wear black for me," and I have worn black for twenty years, ever since
my child died.)
And so forth.
Phinuit's elucubrations were six good manuscript pages long. Except
Hannah Wild's name everything was wrong. And yet Mr J. W. Piper affirms
that during all the sittings he had the feeling that he was talking to
the spirit of Miss Hannah Wild. Phinuit was asked for a description of
the communicator; all the details were false. After this it is
unnecessary to say that the letter Miss Hannah Wild had written before
her death, when opened by Professor James, after receiving the Phinuit
letter, differed totally from that document.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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