THREE APPORTS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2603, 10 September 1909, Page 3

THREE APPORTS

CHARLES BAILEY’S SEANCE. GOOD CONDITIONS AT LAST. When a “New Zealand Times” reporter presented himself at Charles Hailey’s seance on Monday last, lie received anything but a welcome. Mr. V. 7 . Mel/can said it was not fair the way the newspaper men came round and spoilt the conditions, and lie did not think lie would have any more to do with them. The pressman, however, promised to help with the “harmony,” and was accordingly shown a seat. At the conclusion of the seance, everyone agreed that the conditions for once had been of the best, and the result wa« the most successful yet held bv the medium. The reporter confesses that he. was perfectly mystified by what he saw, although he was far from impressed by the “addresses.” The statement which follows is simply a story of something of what took place, without -any attempt at explanation.

The medium was subjected to the usual rather perfunctory and ineffective .search, got into his bag, and was locked up in his muslin cabinet. A moment later. “Professor Denton” announced himself. When he had been on tho earth plane, lie said, lie knew an old Presbyterian parson who was a great believer in a “good fat text,” and on this occasion he intended to depart from his usual custom, and have a. text, ft was, from the 20th chapter of Luke, and ran: —“Show me a penny. Whose image hath it? They answered and said Caesar’s. And lie said unto them. Render therefore unto Caesar the thing; which be Caesar’:; and unto God the tilings which be God’s.” The “Professor” then delivered a sermon, in which lie said that all who lived a good upright life lived a spiritual life, and wore therefore spiritualists, no matter what their religion or denomination might be. ITe referred to certain criticisms by a parson —a Presbyterian the control thought lie was- —and said that the- parson did not know what he was talking about. People came to seances and saw tilings they did not understand., and then went away to scoff. The secret was that they did not 'know the A.R.C. of the matter. Thev should go to an elementary class before they came to a circle for those who bad studied the phenomena of spiritualism, for they did. not understand what was said. Evidently a largo proportion of Monday night’s circle were strangers to the cult, for they certainly did not understand * the arguments of the “Professor,” and some- actually got tired of listening. The. “Professor” had to remonstrate with one man for yawning. “It makes me think my lecture is uninteresting,” he raid.

“Abdul” then took control, and in a mixture of guttural grunts, which may have boon Hindoostani and “pidgin” English, announced that Selim had gone to a mound to got one of the pennies of the kind which had been shown to Christ, and of which Denton had spoken. The only light in tho room was put out, and a verse of a hymn sung very badly, at the end of which time “Abdul” was heard to- say. “I got him. Li’l coin I promise for Sahib McLean.” (Professor Denton had already said that such a coin would he brought for McLean, as a reward for bringing the medium to 'Wellington, and for fighting opposition). The coin proved to bo a silver denarius, bearing on tho obverse side a portrait of Tiberius Caesar—who reigned in Christ’s time—and on the reverse side, a picture of Olivia—so “Dr. Whitoombo later described it. On the “heads” side, the inscription AYGVSTVS, and one or two other cleta tolled letters wore clearly discernible, and on the other side were the words POXTIF.

MAXIM. . which were obviously the remains of the term Pontifex Maximus (high priest), a term applied to Roman emperors. 'flic second apport was a long red and black veil, ornamented with heads and five copper coins, which bore inscriptions such as those seen on postage stamps of Turkey, Persia, and some of the Indian States. This veil. “Dr. Whitcomb?” exnlnined. had belonged to a married Mohammedan woman ni Fgvpt. He assured Mr. M?Txvm that there were no microbes in it. although it was stained, showing that it had been used. Tho veil had a strong smell of attar of roses. Tho third and last- apport was a pjore of clav. a h’ttlo smaller than n ok-p.wl fiat, in which there were two smaller pieces of fiat, hard clay, hearing certain marks, and said to he Babylonian tablets. “Dr. ‘Whitcomb?” forbade the handling of this specimen, in onit would fall to pieces. He said it had comp from a very wet mound and must, be left a day or two to dry. The spirits also caused a mango tree to grew perceptible. Tho seed had b„.p T r planted some days ago. when the seance orwued there were two small leaves, with a suspicion of a third. At the end the plant had grown bv fnllv two inches. These were all the phenomena for the night, nltlmugh mere wer? promised bv'‘'Dr Whitcomb?” for the night following.