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

One night a face presented itself to me that I could not recognise, as it was swathed roundthe mouth by a white bandage. After I had made two wild guesses, the head, hitherto facing me,suddenly swerved round to the left until only the profile could be seen. I then knew it, and namedthe relationship; three hard knocks sounded in front of me on the table. It was Iola; this was herfirst materialisation.It may be mentioned here that no séance at which I have been present in Husk’s house cancompare with the séances I have attended in these lofty rooms.Bulwer Lytton, the mystic and novelist, in his letter to the Dialectical Society’s Committee,February 28, 1869, says with reference to physical phenomena: “In these constitutionalidiosyncrasies, whether the phenomena exhibited through or by them be classed under the name ofclairvoyance, spirit manifestation, or witchcraft, I have invariably found a marked comparativepreponderance of the electric fluid; and the phenomena are more or less striking in proportion tothe electricity of the atmosphere. Hence the most notable exhibitions appear to have been obtainedin the dry winter nights of New York”. I had heard from Miss Bates of her personal experiences inNew York and other parts of the States, and determined to go there in December 1904; I arrived onChristmas day, a Sunday. That evening I attended a materialisation séance; Mr. de Witt Houghwas the medium. The female figures were veiled, but one appeared at the opening of the cabinet,after some six or seven materialisation’s had taken place, which was precisely the right height andfigure or Iola, and have her earth name. I approached the cabinet; the figure advanced to meet mewith outstretched hands; she was trembling excessively, and could utter only a few words. I sawher twice after that through Hough’s mediumship, and communicated with her many timesthrough psychics in New York and Boston. On one occasion she said “I did not know I was deaduntil I saw someone cut off a lock of my hair from behind my right ear.” I was ignorant of this, asI was in the Indian Ocean when my relative died in Scotland; but on inquiry, I found the statementto be correct: after her death a lock of hair had been cut off from behind her right ear.It is not easy for any man to recall the exact date when he came to a definite understandingwith himself as to the certainty of a consciousness that a new proposition is, to him, a matter ofbelief; but I think I may say there was one evening during this visit to New York when I was able tosay to myself: “Mistakes there may be; fraud there is, occasionally, no doubt, as in all othermatters on earth; but I now know that this spiritism is worthy of careful investigation, as I haveevidence that there is reality behind it.It was on December 30, 1904, and the medium was a young woman called Dora Hahn. I amsorry to hear that she passed over six years ago, and that I shall not have the pleasure of meetingher again on this plane of consciousness. She had never seen or heard of me in her life. We satdown opposite to one another in the dark. She first described a form near me, and gave the earthname of Iola; then went into trance, and an Indian girl called “Lark” assumed control. Lark,accompanied by Iola, when went on a voyage for me; the particulars I shall describe in their properplace in another chapter. After about half-an-hour or so Lark departed, and the psychic came outof trance. The lights were lit, and I produced a packet of fourteen cartes-des-visite from my pocket,laid it down on the table and retired sufficiently far away to avoid giving any suggestion by lookingat the pictures. I said “Please pick out the portrait of Iola; you described her to me before youwent into trance.” She took some time over this; but while she was looking through thephotographs she took up one and brought it to me with an air of perfect confidence, saying “Iolasays this is your wife; and she tells me that, among these others, there is another one of your wife.I will get it.” She then returned to the table. I followed her back, and she handed out a secondportrait of Mrs. Moore. Both were correct.Remark the following particulars. These two portraits had been taken, one in 1865 and theother in 1871; the former was as a little girl in a short frock. When she was on earth Iola not onlyknew these pictures well, but she knew all the cartes in the pack except one, as she was closelyassociated as a young woman with my wife. I had no one in my mind at the time but Iola.6