ece. There was absolutely no
room for any trap-door machinery, even could such have been worked
successfully in the perfect silence in which we sat, within two feet of
the alcove. The room was about the size of the small back dining-room in
an ordinary London lodging--say in Oxford or Cambridge Terrace, for
example.

The medium sat amongst us at first, only going behind the curtain after
a few moments, when she was "under control" as it is called.

A little child of hers, who died some years ago at the age of four, is
supposed to help in the materialisations, but is never seen outside the
curtains. If she came out herself she would not be able to help the
others to do so. I mention these things in the words in which they were
told to me, offering no comment, but putting the case for the moment as
spiritualists would put it. To do this, and then to give a faithful and
unprejudiced account of what took place, seems to me the only fair way
of treating such a subject.

I was told again and again that too much concentration of thought on
the part of the audience was deterrent. This accounts for music as an
invariable accompaniment of all such sittings. It seems to harmonise the
circle, to break up over-concentration, and may also, unfortunately,
serve to cover the doings of dishonest mediums.

It must not, however, be supposed that in this case the materialisations
went on only whilst we were singing. This might point to a possible
"trap-door theory," although in a city where flats abound (rooms, not
human beings!) there would still be the difficulty of getting your
downstairs neighbours to look kindly upon such proceedings. As a matter
of fact, we were often sitting in absolute silence when fresh "spirits"
appeared.

I can corroborate the assertion that too much concentration of thought
upon them proves deterrent to the spirits, for on more than one occasion
I heard a voice from the curtain or cabinet saying: "Do get the people's
minds off us; we can do nothing whilst they are fixed upon us so
intensely," as though _thought_ in spirit life corresponded to some
physical obstacle on the earth plane.

The first spirit who came (the daughter of an old gentleman sitting near
me) intimated through him that she would like me to go up and help her
to materialise the white veil which all in turn wore, and which, though
perfectly transparent, is considered a necessary shield between them and
the earth's influences; on the same