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

and
Early Life and Development as a Psychic.
let loose ; highly dangerous," etc., etc. This so far offended his father, that he was told either to join
the circle, or leave the house during the investigation. He elected the former alternative; and, under
protest, entered the seance room. I now continue in his own words :— " My manner, previous to
doing so, was that of a boy full of fun ; but as soon as I found myself in the presence of the ' inquirers,'
a strange and mysterious feeling came over me, which I could not shake off. I sat down at the table,
determined that if anything happened / would put a stop to it ! Something
did happen, but I was
powerless to prevent it. The table began to show signs of life and vigour ; it suddenly rose off
the ground, and steadily raised itself in the air, until we had to stand to reach it. This was in full
gaslight. It afterwards answered, intelligently, questions which were put to it, and gave a number of
test communications to persons present. The next evening saw us eagerly sitting for further manifestations,
and with a larger circle, for the news had got widely spread that we had ' seen ghosts and
talked to them,' together with similar reports. After we had read the customary prayer, I
seemed to be no longer of this earth. A most ecstatic feeling came over me, and I presently passed
into a trance. All my friends were novices in the matter, and tried various means to restore me,
but without result. At the end of half an hour I returned to consciousness, feeling a strong desire to
relapse into the former condition. We had communications which proved conclusively, to my mind,
that the spirit of my mother had really returned to us. Even upon the hypothesis that we and our
friends were conspiring together to delude each other, as is too commonly suggested nowadays by
many, the internal evidence contained in the messages was sufficient to convince me of the presence of
some abnormal power which could tell us of things only known to ' the dead '
ourselves. The
various theories of ' elementals/ 'astral bodies,' and ' shells' had not then been propounded to perplex
and confound, and I readily accepted as proved the fact that those who had passed beyond this life
could and did communicate with us. I then began to realise how mistaken—how utterly empty and
unspiritual— had been my past life, and I felt a pleasure indescribable in knowing, beyond a doubt,
that those who had passed from earth could return again, and prove the immortality of the soul. In
the quietness of our family circle, only broken by the admission of friends to witness the marvellous
manifestations, we enjoyed, to the full extent, our communion with the departed ; and many are the
happy hours I have spent in this way."
Frequent seances were also held with a professional trance medium.
About this time Mr. Haxby,
afterwards well-known as an excellent physical medium, and who died a few years ago, joined the
circle, and began to develop strongly his mediumistic faculties.
A few months after the first seance, stronger phenomena gradually developed, and instruction and
guidance were given by a spirit who gave the name of "Joey Sandy," and who has since become one
of the principal directors at all Mr. Eglinton's seances. The latter says :— "To his honesty and fidelity
I owe the success I have met with both in public and private, while his vivacious disposition and
common sense have rendered him a general favourite."
I, as well as many others, can confirm this estimate of " Joey Sandy's " character and work. I
have ever found him willing and patient in his endeavours to bring home to earnest inquirers the
truth of Spiritualism. I have learnt, after a long experience of his ways and objects, to respect him
as a man, and to esteem him most highly for his work's sake. Ever faithful and true, "Joey
Sandy " will never be effaced from the memory of thousands who owe to him what has proved an
inestimable
blessing.
"Ernest," another of Mr. Eglinton's "guides," or instructors, as I prefer to say, came to him