Glimpses Of The Next State.Pdf - Spiritualists' National Union

47Q.: “Do you know the name of my eldest daughter’s husband?”A;: “G ---. “ (Correct surname).Various other details were given. It was obvious throughout that Mrs. Endicott’s “sensing” was asreliable as the table, but the latter was required for connecting the members of the circle. She gavethe correct surname of Iola. During the second sitting (after tea) I let the table slip through myfingers as it tilted, and at all times only touched it lightly.I had met Mrs. Endicott before in London, and also her daughter-in-law; but neither ofthem knew, normally, anything whatever about my affairs, or relatives, alive or dead. It was thefirst time I had seen the fisherman. There are only two theories to account for the foregoingphenomena – (a) mind-reading; (b) the presence of invisible intelligence’s.Let us consider this much-talked-of and, in my opinion, overworked theory of mind-reading.First I would ask, Whose mind is being read ? Is it mine ? Well, if so, how is the pet name “T.”to be accounted for, and the wrong answer of “England” for “Scotland”? Certainly neither ofthese items came out of my mind. Then, how is it I have never since been able to obtain suchprecise information through the mediumship of the Endicotts, , though, of course, I have hadexcellent tests through Mrs. Endicott in other ways ? Again, who moved the table ? It generally,but not always, tilted towards Mrs. E. I watched her and her husband carefully. She did notconsciously move the table, I am sure. The impressions she often received had nothing to do withwhat was passing in my mind. Take the first message from Iola on this particular day. It did notoriginate with me, and was on a subject of which the Endicotts were entirely ignorant. I paidseveral visits to these psychics after the one I am describing, and came away with a number ofquestions unanswered or answered wrongly, though in every case I was acquainted with the correctanswer. If “mind-reading” is the correct solution of the difficulty, why is it all-powerful one dayand powerless the next ?I attribute the phenomenon to the presence of spirits, who impressed the psychics, chieflyMrs. Endicott. I do not deny that Iola may have assisted her own memory by tapping myconsciousness, especially in the case of the numbers given ; but it was she who gave the repliesthrough the organism of the psychic. As in the case of my relative A., it may be that Mrs.Endicotts hands automatically moved the table after the message was received in her brain. Thatis not proved ; it is possible ; but Iola was there in the room, and that is all I care to establish atpresent.At the end of August, 1906, I again visited the Endicotts. The table séances were verywearisome and unsuccessful. I asked many questions, but got only one reply worth recording.Iola manifested, and I inquired the name of her father. The reply was correct, and it is a verypeculiar name ; I doubt if there is another person in Great Britain with the same Christian name.A characteristic message, as from the father was added.(36) In another form of spirit manifestation we were more fortunate. I gave Mrs. Endicott apacket containing forty crates-de-visite, and asked her to pick out the portrait of Iola, whom she hadoften seen clairvoyantly. I retired to another part of the room, and turned my back to the psychic,who unfastened the packet herself. After feeling them for a moment or two, she said : “There ismore than one of the spirit here.” I said : “Yes ; two.” In two minutes both of the photos werehanded to me across my shoulder. This was done without any preliminary guesses ; they were thefirst two given back into my hand. Neither picture had ever been shown to the psychic before.Towards the end of August, 1907, I again visited the fisherman’s cottage. My first sittingwas on the 19 th . Within five minutes of my greeting Mrs. Endicott she said :— “A man has comewith you. He is a big man ; his name is Henry ; he has a broad, open forehead, square face, andbig jaw. One eye looks a little fuller than the other. I should say he opens one eye a little widerthan the other. His hair is brown, but there is grey in it. I get a B. What is that for?”This was about 3.43 Greenwich mean time. At 4.10 she said : “That man is still here. Heis not an old man ; looks about forty. I have noticed that the astral form always looks youngerthan the natural body. I have got the idea that he is sitting, resting,. Does he ever talk with youabout New York ? I have an impression that way.