Modern spiritism; its science and religion - SpiritArchive.org

i
9 4
MODERN SPIRITISM
Anne's Court, and also when her materialised
"Mary" was seized and .exposed.
I have now gone briefly through seven varieties of
dangers that are constantly found in Spiritism, of
which such fraud is one. All of these dangers are
more familiar to Spiritists and students of the subject
than they are to most of my readers.
Mrs. Sidgwick, for example, says: "I am afraid
'Raymond' is likely to lead many of such ignorant
people, who had much better not do so, to go to
professional mediums, and is likely to increase a very
undesirable trade."
I will conclude this rather depressing, but most
necessary, chapter with a few general remarks on my
subject.
Mr. E. Maitland was convinced at a Spiritist
seance that he was a reincarnation of St. John;
while one communication he received was from the
angel Gabriel. (Curious to say, my reader's surmise
is wrong, he was not mad.) Mr. J. Arthur Hill,
a well-known writer on Spiritism, remarks: "This
kind of thing is dangerous. Avoid automatic
writing unless you are prepared to treat everything
with a critical sceptical scrutiny.
"There does seem something very diabolic in the
heartless deception which they (the mediums) so
often perpetuate. I do not take the communications
seriously as regards their face value; but there is
always an element of danger (present)."*
The celebrated medium, D. D. Home, felt the
spirits that controlled him were gaining entire
mastery of his whole being, and gave up Spiritism
* "Spiritism," J. Arthur Hill, pp. 91, 92.