hould like to follow up the
interesting subject, if I am not taxing your powers too heavily. I
therefore enclose two more sealed envelopes, marked No. 1 and No. 2. If
it be possible, I should like to have you sit with No. 1 first. If the
Spirits respond, pray send me word and let me know how much I am
indebted to you.'

My object in asking the Medium to sit first with No. 1 was that, if he
were fraudulent, finding the ease with which No. 1 could be opened, he
would undertake the opening of No. 2 with such freedom and assurance
that the envelope would be torn beyond the healing power of mucilage,
and a confession of failure would have to follow.

In a few days the envelopes were returned with the following brief note:

'Dear Furness: Send you what came to your P K the 2d gave no response my
terms are $3 for each trial--warrant nothing.

Respectfully,

J.V.M.'

The Spiritual communication enclosed reads as follows:

'I Bress de Lord for deh one mor to talk to de people of my ole home I
been thar lots o tim since I com here--but o Lord de Massy--they no see
_Winne_ cos she be ded and she jus no ded at tall--now--as to dot Col
gal--_Hed_ I could not say--sure--but I think it Dinah Melish--she who
lov de Lord too. I think it seem Dina top not. Will see Dina som time
and then i ask her--do you no Minister Du Cachet well he here--and want
the [there here follows in the original a rude drawing of a decanter and
wine glass. In this scandalous allusion there is no trace, it will be
observed, of phonetic spelling in the proper name] just de same. I Bress
de Lor I don't want it.

March 13, '85.

Cornelia Winnie.'

An examination of the envelope marked No. 1, by cutting it open at the
edges, revealed the same story of fraud: three of the seals had been cut
out, and replaced.

An examination of No. 2, in the same way, readily disclosed the reason
why the Spirits had failed to answer, although the question assuredly
presented no greater difficulties than in No. 1. An attempt had been
made to start two of the seals, but meeting with unexpected resistance
in the silk stitches, and finding that further effort would end in
tearing the envelope in a very palpable and mundane fashion, the Spirits
had grown disheartened and taciturn.

We shall meet this Medium again, but for the present we will leave him,
after pausing for a minute over his business card, which, after stating
his terms in prosaic dollars and cents, thus apost