Experimental investigation of the spirit manifestations, [electronic ...

OF THE EXISTENCE OF Sl'IIUTS. 343scoini;- doiIuhl;, (hey were about to leave, -wlicii the person wlio cxpreiisedthe wish I'ouiul himself' minus a hat. A thorough searehing followed, butno iiat could bo ibund;consequently, the gentleman decided to remain untilthe next day. During the evening and night, phenomena transpiredsufficient to gratify his most abundant desire. Similar cases, with likeresults, afterward occurred.1G84. " Ou the nineteenth and twentieth, little occurred to cause alarm.Some of the family heard loud and frightful screams in an adjacent outhouse,which must have been torturing to the feelings, much more so thanthe silent images. Small articles were also thrown about the house. Reportshad now got abroad, and some excitement was beingproduced, as isalways the case in country towns, where each person knows their neighbour'sprivate business quite as well, and sometimes better, than those mostinterested. And in a matter of this kind all efforts to prevent publicitywould prove unavailing.Curiosity and staring wonder would overstep allbounds of propriety and respect for the private rights and feelings of thefamily, forgetting that it isno slight thing for the harmony and quiet of ahousehold to be invaded, each member being subjected to suspicion, illnaturedscrutiny, or careless reproach. On this subject I can speak fromexperience, having myself passed the ordeal. To persons of refined sensibilityit is a trial indeed. In this case, Dr. P. adopted the rule of givinoallwho called an opportunity to investigate for themselves, and to thisrule he adhered, notwithstanding theannoyance such a constant visitationmust have occasioned. In one instance, while a rabble was gathered outside,a stranger, who came unintroduced by letter orspend the night, and was refused for obvious reasons.otherwise, asked to1685. " On Friday and Saturday, March 23d and 24th, the disturbancesincreased, and became still more annoying. Loud poundings and screamswere heard in different places, and on Saturday evening, between sunsetand dark, Harry was passing through thedining-room, and thought himselfsuddenly caught up by some unseen power from the floor, and supposedthat he was about to be carried off through the ceiling.He was very muchfrightened, and screamed so as to alarm the fiimily, and remained in a stateof great nervous excitement for two or three hours, and the effects did notwholly wear off for more than a week. At times he was in such a stateas to require two men to hold him. For several days after this, he spenta portion of his time with one of the neighbours during the day;but thedisturbances continued the same at the house, although he appeared to bemore or less the medium as long as the phenomena continued. At onetime he was thrown into a cistern of water;at another he was tied up andsuspended from a tree, and several times was thrown into a state of apparentinsensibility, in which he would remain from ten to fifteen minutes,and for which no human cause could be assigned.1G86. " Somewhere about the 20th or 22d of 3Iarch, Dr. P.'s attention