My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

—MESMERISM TO SPIRITUALISM 349with us, and seeing the writing-pad on the pianomarked several of the sheets with his initials. Themedium was very angry and said it would spoil theseance. However, he was calmed by his friends.When it came to the writing the pad was given to meover the top of the curtain to hold. I held it justabove the medium's shoulder, when a hand andpencil came through the curtain, and wrote on thepad as I held it. It is a bold scrawl and hard toread, but the first words seem to be, " Friends werehere to write, but only this one could. ... A. W."Another evening, with the same medium, I receiveda paper with this message, "I am William Martin,and I come for Mr. William Wallace, who could notwrite this time after all. He wishes to say to youthat you shall be sustained by coming results intheposition you have taken in the Ross case. It was amost foul misrepresentation."This, and other writing I had afterwards, are tome striking tests in the name William Martin. Inever knew him, but he was an early friend of mybrother who was for some time with Martin's fatherto learn practical building, the latter being thenengaged in erecting King's College. When I waswith my brother learning surveying, etc., he usedoften to speak of his friend Martin, but for the lastforty-five years I had never thought of the name andwas greatly surprised when it appeared. About amonth later I had the following message from theelder Martin, written in a different hand :" Mr. Wallace," Your father was an esteemed friend, andI like to come to you for his sake. We are oftentogether. How strange it seems to us here that the