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

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aspire to act as judges ! Remarkable Stances at Malvern. 29
have seen a white-robed form standing by Willie Eglinton. I have seen 'Joey' make yards
of muslin. I have seen him standing beside his medium, and I have heard him speak in a
brilliantly lighted room, when Mr. Eglinton was with us, and no more entranced than the
rest of us. I have seen hands, and arms, and the face only, and I have seen full forms
appear and disappear. I have seen a tall man appear, and after many minutes with us, and
in a good light, I have seen him gradually sink down and become invisible, all but a few
inches of form, and then that seemed to snap out. I have seen a full form dissolve, and
leave the drapery suspended as if held up by a hand ; and I have seen the form shrink
away to nothing visible, and leave the garments lying along the floor. These not long after
disappeared. All this and much more I have seen, and except for their use in converting
people to a belief in immortality, all physical phenomena are to me insignificant as time
compared to eternity, beside the spiritual truths given us from the invisible world, and which
involve the everlasting destiny of the human soul."
These narratives need no addition of mine : they speak for themselves. Startling as were
the facts recorded, they were, however, only the precursors of even more wonderful phenomena,
and a gradual development may be traced in the strength and quality of Mr. Eglinton's mediumship.
Before closing this chapter, however, I must relate a somewhat amusing incident which
Mr. Eglinton has told in reference to his sojourn at Malvern. I give it in his own words :
" During the Slade trial a most amusing incident occurred on my journey from Malvern to
London. I was reading a comic journal in which poor Slade was cartooned. My only fellowtraveller
offered to exchange his paper for mine, which I did. Upon seeing the subject of the
cartoon, he turned to me and said, 'Have you ever seen anything of this humbug' referrin°to
Spiritualism generally.
' Yes,' replied I, '
a good deal.' I le said, There is a man by the
'
name of Eglinton at Malvern, who is creating a great stir in the town by his seances.' I asked
'
if he had ever seen him. 'Yes,' he replied, I have often been at his seances, and he is as
deserving of punishment as this man ' (referring to Slade). I asked what Eglinton was like.
'Well,' said he, 'he is a man about forty years of age, very clever, and acquainted with all
the subtle powers latent in man.' I knew of course that the man was lying, for not only did
he not know me, but I had never met him at any of my sittings. I thereupon took a keen
delight in drawing him out to the fullest extent ;
and we had an extremely pleasant journey
up to town. When we got to Paddington he asked to exchange cards ; and as I drove off
amidst his protestations of friendship and his desire to meet me again, I caught sight of his face
as he read my name ! I afterwards met him on more than one occasion in Malvern, but he
fled from me as though he had a mad dog behind him. Such is the ignorance of some who
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