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

Bates in April and July. The July paper was given first. In the bureau there were over onehundred papers.54On December 17, 1905. A., who was again my guest, went with me to Mrs. Arnold’s forsome planchette writing. Iola came and wrote for A., “I was with you and it was about yourpapers.”Q.; “What papers ? “A,; “Did I not get you to look for a paper out of a certain drawer ? “Q.; “Was that last message for Admiral Moore or for me ? “A.; “It was for you, one Saturday about a moon ago. I gave the message and you shouldnot have forgotten, and the paper was not at V. B. [Von Bourg], but on the Parade” (S WesternParade).It is out of the question that Mrs. Arnold could have known anything about the curiousscene in my library on November 4.I have exposed some hundreds of plates in attempts to obtain photographs of spirits. A redflannel screen was used for background and a Jena mercury lamp for illumination. About a thirdof the prints show abnormalities of different kinds ; there are many very faint faces difficult todistinguish clearly, and none distinct enough to be reproduced by photography of the existingprints. Sensitives can see a great deal more in these prints than I do ; on the other hand, quite halfthose to whom I have shown them can see nothing at all.Mr. Richard Boursnell often obtained genuine psychic photographs. He was a medium,and, when the power was with him, his pictures were reliable. But, like some other professionalpsychics, when his gift was in abeyance he faked. I have given to the London SpiritualisticAlliance a complete proof of a fraudulent production by this man. The negatives and the printsshow unmistakably how the fraud is accomplished. I have, however, in my possession two or threeof his photos that I believe are true evidences of spirit presence. The only proof is the likeness tothe person when in earth life, together with the certainty that the photographer had no means ofaccess to any existing photograph of that person. Duplicates, triplicates, and quadruplicates ofBoursnell’s spirit pictures are numerous. Some years ago a man was stopping with me who hadphotographs of three precisely the same spirit persons near him as I had near me. The attitude,face, and form were exactly the same, down to every crease in the robes. Boursnell’s story wasthat spirits, having once entered his studio, reappeared again and again. This may be, but it seemsimprobable that they should keep for many years the same cast, so to speak ; as they appear now,you can put a tracing of the form in one photograph over the form in another, and not be able todetect the smallest difference in detail. It cannot be doubted that some sitters bring betterconditions than others, and these enabled Boursnell to exercise his gift of mediumship to the bestadvantage ; I have seen several photographs obtained in his presence that I believe show genuinespirit forms behind or beside the sitters. He was also an excellent clairvoyant. Once he gave mean account of a very eccentric naval captain who died over forty years ago. His peculiarities werewell described, and the name of the ship he last commanded was mentioned. The information wasnot available to the public. Though I had heard of this officer, I had never met him. On anotheroccasion he affirmed that he saw a marine who was drowned at the time of the capsizing of theEurydice, and gave his name. I ascertained that there was such a man in the crew of that ill-fatedship.That showing on a sensitised plate is one of the hundred or more methods of spirits to provetheir existence to mortals is, in my opinion, proved in the United States and this country by themany portraits which have been obtained.Some years ago the body of an old gentleman who died in London was taken to his countryseat to be buried. The house was in the occupation of relatives, and the coffin was conveyedstraight from the railway station to the church. A young lady, who was a guest in the house, andabout to take her departure, took a photograph of the library during the time the funeral ceremonywas in progress. When the negative was developed, the dead man was found in the picture sittingin the chair he usually occupied when alive. I have seen this picture, and cannot doubt that it is