ago she abandoned the art of
deception and has since to her intimate friends evinced no ordinary
measure of contempt for all who still pursue it. She is known on both
sides of the Atlantic, and when in London, is entertained by some of
the best-to-do of the great and comprehensive middle class.

Circumstances had brought me to this house, and I did not at first
know her. I soon found, however, that this was the most famous of the
celebrated trio of witches, the Fox sisters, among the earliest
spiritualistic mediums in this country. She is also the widow of Dr.
Elisha Kent Kane, the heroic Arctic explorer, who died of the effects
of his exposure in searching for Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated
party. Mrs. Margaret Fox Kane has lately returned from England for a
brief visit here, and she purposes in a very short time to deliver
just one lecture, and no more, which shall shame and dumfound all the
spiritualistic frauds who have not yet repented into poverty or exile
of their nebulous ways. She will reveal one after another of the
methods by which willing believers have been so briskly duped and
robbed, and will herself demonstrate how simple, natural and easy are
most of those methods.

Brooding upon the troubles that had been brought upon her by Spiritualism
and on her personal guilt in connection with it, it is hardly strange that
Mrs. Kane, even when bent upon making a sweeping confession of the whole
imposture, should in intervals of nervous excitement have turned to the
thought of suicide.

"'My troubles weighed upon me,' she said, 'and when I was coming over on
the _Italy_, I do believe that I should have gone overboard but for the
Captain and the doctor and some of the sailors. They prevented me, and
when I landed, I could not express to them the gratitude I felt. I had
very little English money with me, but all of that I distributed to the
men.'"

As Mrs. Kane told of her impulse to commit suicide her manner became
tragic and she clutched her listener's arm. After a moment, however, she
reverted quietly enough to the original subject.

But she speedily became much excited again, as what follows will show. It
was but natural:

"Since you now despise Spiritualism, how was it that you were engaged
in it so long?" I asked.

"Another sister of mine," and she coupled the name with an injurious
adject