"I never met the lady," said Miss Whiting, "but Miss Willard and Lady Henry told me they had been obliged to leave their friend behind owing to an attack of influenza, and asked me to call upon her someday. I went a day or two later, carrying some fruit and newspapers with me. The matron, whom I knew well, said her patient was doing splendidly, and was likely to be leaving in a few days, but that as I was a stranger, it would perhaps be better for me not to come in and see her that afternoon. So I left my little gifts, and was shocked next day to hear of her sudden and quite unexpected death. By-the-by, I believe she was Stead's 'Julia'--I am not sure about this, but somebody told me so lately." Miss Whiting then mentioned the lady's name, which I withhold, as Mr Stead still makes use of it as a test when strangers profess to be in communication with "Julia." The day following the _seance_ just described as taking place in New York, Mr Knapton Thompson called at my hotel to ask me to accompany him to Mrs Stoddart Gray, as he had arranged to have a short "_writing seance_" that afternoon. The son was the agent as usual. On this occasion he had an alphabet mounted on card, and pointed to the letters in turn, whilst his mother wrote them down as indicated. Thinking I would verify Miss Whiting's story if possible, my first question was: "Can Stead's Julia give me her surname?" "Julia O." was spelt out, and then the O was given again. "They often do that," said Mrs Gray casually--"begin the name over again, I mean." So it passed at that. The rest of the letters corroborated the surname mentioned by Miss Whiting. Then I asked: "In what country did you pass away--Europe or America, or elsewhere?" "_America_" was spelt out at once. "In what city?" "_Boston._" "Was it in a private house, a hospital, a hotel, or _where_ did you die?" "In a hospital" was again spelt out. "How long ago?" "_Five years_" was the answer. I may note here that Miss Whiting had _not_ mentioned the number of years, only having said "A few years ago" when speaking of the event. _Five years_ proved to be true. My last question was: "What was your age when you passed over?" "_Twenty-three_" was the answer. This last, I felt sure, must be wrong. Miss Whiting had not mentioned any age, but it seemed to me unlikely that so young a woman should have been travelling round the country with two temperance lecturers. When these answers were being given, Mrs Gray's son, the medium, asked if he might put one hand on my wrist to come into magnetic conditions with me. I agreed to this, but said I should turn my eyes away from the alphabet, lest my muscles should give him any unconscious indications.