Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism: In Accordance with the Request of the Late Henry SeybertUniversity of Pennsylvania. Seybert Commission for Investigating Modern Spiritualism
Religion
Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism: In Accordance with the Request of the Late Henry Seybert
University of Pennsylvania. Seybert Commission for Investigating Modern Spiritualism
Parapsychology -- Investigation; Spiritualism
Desirous of submitting the mother-wit of this Medium to the test of
stitched envelopes, I wrote the following:--'Is Marie St. Clair pleased
in having her skull carefully treasured here in my Library? Does it
gratify her, as a Spirit, that it is mounted on black marble? Does she
ever hover over it?'
This was placed in an envelope, gummed, and sealed with five seals in
the ordinary, easy-going way, and marked No. 1.
The very same questions were repeated on another piece of paper and put
in an envelope, which was stitched securely with silk, the stitches
passing through both the envelope and the paper, and carefully concealed
under the sealing wax. This was marked No. 2, and in the note
accompanying these two envelopes, the Medium was requested to sit with
No. 1 first. The Test was the same as that to which Dr. Mansfield had
been subjected, and to which he had succumbed.
The mail soon returned both envelopes, with this note:--'The reply comes
to us in the affirmative to both envelopes. There is quite a
communication for you from same Spirit Friend.'
A close examination of the edges of the envelopes soon revealed the edge
at which they had been opened and closed again. That edge has been
preserved intact for future verification, if required, and the envelopes
were opened by cutting the other edges. The seals had not been removed;
as, in fact, there was no need of removing them. The paper containing
the questions had not been extracted from No. 2; it still remained
firmly stitched to the front of the envelope. Yet the Medium had
evidently read it. Her words are 'the reply comes in the affirmative to
both envelopes,' which is a good, fair answer. I was puzzled, it must be
confessed. Suddenly it occurred to me to try how far one could look into
the contents of the paper, supposing the end of the envelope to be open.
I tried it, and lo! enough can be easily read to make out that No. 2 is
a repetition of No. 1. The needle had missed taking up all the folds of
the paper!
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