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

Scientific Investigation on the Continent. 67
quietly. The only new thing was that not only were Eglinton's hands sewn together behind
his back, but his coat was likewise securely sewn up in front, so that his getting out of it was
a matter of utter impossibility ; he likewise allowed one of the spectators to place his hand
on his head so that he could, in close proximity, observe the book opening of itself. We must
likewise remark that at one time Eglinton's knee was buckled to his chair, and at another
was held by a band fastened to it by my sceptical friend.
" The third and last seance took place one forenoon at my house, in the presence of a
gentleman and lady, at which there was this variation, viz., that a small greyish hand appeared
through the curtains, without, however, taking hold of anything, and that the small table near
the door, on which some albums were placed, was drawn suddenly towards the door.
"I imagined that the two albums might be carried into the next room in the same way as
the book, therefore, while sitting in the arm-chair, I kept my eyes fixed on the albums ;
and,
in fact, one of the albums slowly raised itself from the table, and apparently carried itself
through the curtains, for not the shadow of a hand was to be seen, and I found it, later on,
with the heavy book, on the writing table in the library. Both the folding doors behind
Eglinton were pushed to, and without rising from his seat he could not possibly have reached
them.
" It gave me particular satisfaction that this same lady and my young relative should have
been present at a light seance, because they both, after some dark seances, declared that they
had seen Eglinton's hand on the table. Had they been persons of less good breeding they
might have professed to have unmasked an imposture. I explained to them that the fact of
their seeing a hand on the table did not prove that the hand was Eglinton's. It is, indeed,
a hand that performs all these movements, only it is not always visible to everyone. I can
assert this with confidence, because, while sitting with Slade in full light, I have both seen
and felt hands which could not possibly be those of Slade, as the latter were too far off,
besides being visible to me. These two sceptics were obliged to confess after the light seances
that they had arrived at a false conclusion. Still I repeat once more, it is not a question of
my subjective opinion as to the character and honesty of Eglinton, but solely one of facts."
As usual, the extraordinary success attending his mediumship excited ire and jealousy. It
appears that after the series of successful seances described by Baron Hellenbach had
terminated, Mr. Eglinton went a second time to Munich, where he had engaged to give twelve
seances, and it was at the eleventh that a contretemps occurred, which had an unfortunate
issue for him. Ten seances had been given with great success, in the presence of many
eminent persons of the University and others, but the eleventh ended in a different manner.
He was sitting as usual with both hands held. At the termination of the seance a mechanical
frog was discovered in the corner of the room, but no one owned to having brought it.
When he got back to his hotel, he discovered, to his surprise, black upon his face and hands,
but suspecting nothing, he went to the twelfth seance, being called for as usual by a person
who professed great esteem for him. When he got into the room, instead of the usual
circle, he found fifteen or sixteen persons, some of whom were strangers. One man acted
as spokesman. He said Mr. Eglinton was a fraud, desired him to take £2$ (his fee was
sixty guineas), and leave the city at once, or take the consequences. Mr. Eglinton demanded
an explanation, but could get none other than that the mechanical frog had been used by