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

—
CHAPTER VIII.
THE STORY OF A
HAUNTING SPIRIT.
N returning to England he at once gave a series of non-professional seances at
the house of his old friend, Mrs. Macdougal Gregory. He adhered to his
resolution, if possible not to allow himself to be drawn again into the arena
of public work. In this resolve he was very materially helped by a friend,
whose kindness and consideration are the same now as then.
In June, 1879, business called him to Rouen and Paris, and on his return
a seance took place at Mrs. Gregory's, at which the late Serjeant Cox was present. In the
presence of Mr. Eglinton and a non-professional medium, two chairs were threaded at the
same moment of time upon the arms of two sitters, each of whom was then holding the
hand of a medium. Mr. Serjeant Cox was holding the hand of Mr. Eglinton, and the back
of the chair passed through his arm, giving him the sensation of a blow against the elbow
when it did so. When a light was struck, the chair was seen hanging on Mr. Serjeant
Cox's arm, and his hand was still grasping that of Mr. Eglinton. An immediate examination
of the chair showed that the back of it was in good condition, with none of the woodwork
loose or broken. This is only one instance of a manifestation which has been often repeated,
but I mention this as the evidence seems all that can be desired.
Desiring a change of scene and air, Mr. Eglinton, in July, 1879, accepted an invitation
from his friends Colonel and Mrs. Lean (ne'e Florence Marryat) to accompany them to Belgium,
on a visit to her sister at Bruges. Whilst there an exceedingly novel and interesting
experience befell him, the account of which I cannot do better than give in Florence Marryat's
own words :
" Bruges, July \%f/t, 1879.
" At last the dry bones in this world-renowned old city have commenced to shake. A lady
who is resident here, whilst on a visit to England last month invited Mr Eglinton to pass a
short time in Bruges whenever it might be most convenient to himself, and he crossed in the
same boat with us yesterday (Wednesday). His hostess met him at the station and took him
direct to her house, whilst we came on to the one from which I write, which is situated in
another part of the town. Our first 'conference,' as. they call the seances here (and I think,
since the latter term has fallen so much into disrepute, that it would not be a bad idea to
introduce the word amongst our English Spiritualists), was held the same evening at the
house of Mr. Eglinton's hostess, Mrs. M ,
where we imagined all our sittings would take