'Twixt two worlds : a narrative of the life and work of William Eglinton

Psyckograpky Expla ined. 103
the more necessary as many persons have strange and confused ideas as to the manner in which
seances are conducted, their conception of what takes place being, if anything, even more hazy
and bizarre. Considering, however, the long prevalence of misrepresentation of the subject by
interested persons, and the gruesome and garbled pictures drawn for a too confiding public by
would-be critics, this state of mind is hardly surprising. In endeavouring to expose Spiritualism,
these writers and self-constituted authorities have exposed, as I shall show, nothing more than
their own ignorance of a subject which, of all others, requires careful and patient handling.
And even honest and earnest truth-seekers have sometimes vague and erroneous ideas as to how
Window.
Table.
Fig. 13.—Ground Plan oi" Mr. Eglinton's Seance- it Old Quebec Street.
or under what conditions, the phenomena are presented for observation. On both these grounds
therefore, a plain matter-of-fact explanation of the modus operandi of spiritual seances may be
serviceable as well as interesting.
One of the most striking characteristics of this abnormal writing is its production, in many
instances, within a closed space, access to which by ordinary means is precluded : as, for example
between two slates, exactly paired, fitting accurately one on the top of the other and
secured in position by cord tied in one or more directions round their outer surfaces. Or it
may be obtained when the slate or paper has been put under lock and key, or between two
book-slates locked together, and in a variety of other ways,