n, who might be supposed to be
quite as unsophisticated as departed red men, have hitherto developed
no such materializing proclivities. It is, perhaps, even more strange
that while, in my experience, Italian Spirits neither understand nor
speak Italian, and French Spirits can neither comprehend nor talk
French, and German Spirits remain invincibly dumb in German, it is
reserved to Indian 'braves' to be glibly and fluently voluble in the
explosive gutturals of their own well-known tongue.

Before a seance begins, a thorough examination of the Cabinet is always
tendered, a privilege of which I very seldom avail myself, and hold to
be always superfluous, on the following grounds: First, if the Spirits
which come out of the Cabinet be genuine, it is of very small moment how
they got in, and no possible scrutiny of the material structure of the
Cabinet will disclose the process. Secondly, if the Spirits be
fraudulent, the Mediums are too quick-witted and ingenious in their
methods of introducing confederates into the Cabinet not to conceal all
traces of mechanical contrivance far too effectually to be detected in
any cursory examination. It is also to be borne in mind that much can be
done under cover of the darkness, which is sometimes total for a few
minutes before the seance begins, and also that the notes of the
melodeon are sufficiently deep and loud to drown not a little rustling.
If the Mediums are deceitful I have always felt that in any endeavor to
unmask them the odds are heavily in their favor. The methods are
manifold whereby confederates may be introduced into the Cabinet: from
above, from below, and, enveloped in black stuff, from back parlors,
rooms and closets. It is not what goes into the Cabinet which, in my
opinion, demands our scrutiny but what comes out of it; it is to the
Spirits to which all our tests should be applied, the Cabinet and the
Medium are quite secondary. Furthermore, it should be remembered that
those who sit nearest to the Cabinet are always staunch friends of the
Medium, or known by her to be perfectly safe and harmless.

Not infrequently a Materialized Spirit is seen to subside into the floor
between the folds of the curtains at the opening of the Cabinet, This is
termed 'de-materialization,' and not a little mystery is ascribed to it.
The mystery vanishes when we reflect how easy it is for a lithe and
active young woman so to bow down quickly, even to the very ground, as
to convey th