Chapter II: Part 2

“Five correspondents write on this head; but they only bring forward experiences of many years ago, references to the _News_ and _Journal_ of old dates, and similar evidence. The letters are interesting, but we cannot find room for a correspondence on the subject. Of testimony there is more than enough. Those who can be convinced by testimony are probably convinced already, if they have examined the subject. If the matter is to be advanced further, it must be by careful experiments under test conditions, and such experiments will not satisfy the active objectors unless they can be repeated to order, and, so far as we know, no one has claimed to be able to do this. Only new tests, well authenticated, are of use in our columns at present. Any such we are prepared to publish, with reproduction of the alleged psychic photographs if desired.”

_THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS, April, 1893._

In the _Review of Reviews_[8] for April, there is a reproduction of one of the spirit photographs taken by Mr. Traill Taylor, and also of the portrait obtained by Mr. Glendinning and Mr. Duguid, without the use of a camera, and without exposing the prepared dry plate to light until after it was developed and fixed. Mr. Stead refers to Mr. Taylor as a well-known photographic journalist, of unquestionable good faith, and prints the details of the experiments as given in Mr. Taylor’s paper. Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., who has had much experience in this subject, and possesses a large collection of spirit photographs, thinks the most interesting results of the recent experiments are those in which the form of one of the sitters is blended with the form of the psychic portrait; but Mr. Stead thinks the portrait obtained without the camera the most interesting. He concludes his article thus:—

“Mr. Glendinning assures me most positively that the plate had not been tampered with. If so, it is to be hoped Mr. Duguid will repeat the last experiment under test conditions. It is much the most interesting of the lot.[9]

“The illustrations are badly developed, but they suffice to show that the plate was sensitive to the presence of entities invisible to the human eye. Everything, of course, depends upon the accuracy and honesty of the photographer; and the reputation of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Glendinning is above reproach.”

_From THE MORNING, April 4th, 1893._

The recent lecture on “Spirit Photography,” given by Mr. J. Traill Taylor before a large audience, composed of the members of the London and Provincial Photographic Association and their friends, is being much talked about in photographic circles. Mr. Taylor, whose personal _bonâ fides_ in the matter are admitted to be quite above suspicion, showed upon an ordinary lantern screen the results which he had obtained. The conditions under which the spirit experiments were conducted were as follows:—Mr. Taylor used his own binocular stereoscopic camera, and provided himself with unopened packages of “Ilford” dry plates, purchased from dealers of repute. He exposed the plates by means of magnesium ribbon in the presence of a medium. At the first attempt, between the camera and the sitter a female figure was developed. On several of the other plates exposed various figures were also discovered. It was distinctly asserted by Mr. Taylor that none of these were visible to him at any time during the exposure in the camera, and he vouched that no one had the slightest opportunity of tampering with the plates before they were placed in the dark slide or immediately preceding development.

_From THE MEDIUM AND DAYBREAK, March 24th, 1893._[10]

THE EXPERIMENTS IN SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY.—We call attention to certain important points in Mr. Taylor’s paper and the remarks which follow it. The first consideration is, that nothing should be jumped at as fraud, though it may appear to be so. Mr. Taylor has taken a strong, manly position in exhibiting photographs which have all the appearance of being spurious, and yet he knows they are not so. A man in a position less eminent could not afford to be so bold. Mr. Glendinning dwells on this feature of the investigation in an excellent manner.

The photograph obtained without exposure at all, described at the close of the report, suggests a means of producing pictures quite unknown to science or photographic art. It, in its way, resembles the direct writing on closed slates, or on unopened packets of paper. But on carefully examining Mr. Taylor’s negatives it appears as if the spirit figures had not been cut out and stuck on, but there is a blending of the one picture with the other, showing plainly that a different mode of operation was at work.

We have often observed in our lectures that the nature of the image differs in the pictures of every spirit photographer. Evidently the photographers on the other side have taken up Mr. Taylor’s challenge to investigate in a very serious manner, and have shown some of their skill to set the brains of mortal photographers on the alert for a more comprehensive knowledge of the possibilities involved in their art.

Let this thought dwell in the mind of every reader, that many of the so-called “frauds” attributed to spiritual experiment have not been frauds at all, but the hasty conclusions of that unworthy suspicion which is begotten of ignorance. Such conclusions bring the subject to a standstill, whereas a tentative and trustful investigation would lead to most important discoveries. We rejoice to see the healthy direction which the present experiments have taken.

_From LIGHT, March 18th, 1893._[11]

We invite the special attention of our readers to a report in our present issue, of experiments in “Psychic Photography,” conducted by Mr. J. Traill Taylor. Never before, so far as we are aware, has the investigation of this, one of the most interesting of Spiritualistic phenomena, been undertaken by a man so competent in every way for the work, enjoying, as he does, a high reputation for his scientific attainments in his own special department, and for his powers of keen and careful observation. Using his own camera and plates, and conducting the operations with his own hands, he succeeded in photographing figures, “not one of which,” he avers, “had been visible in any form or shape during the time of exposure in the camera.” But more than this, by observing the results on the occasion when a stereoscopic camera was employed, he arrived at the conclusion that—as some Spiritualists have long thought to be probable—the figure developed had not been formed by the lens, and the psychic image might be produced without the camera at all. It will be interesting to observe what Mr. Taylor’s photographic brethren will have to say to him; for ourselves we tender him our hearty thanks.

_From LIGHT, March 25th, 1893._

The importance of this address can scarcely be exaggerated, and for two reasons,—one, that we have a scientific photographer, of the first rank, treating the subject publicly before a body of men, the majority of whom would, presumably, be at least sceptical; and, next, that in the address there were advanced certain speculations which may not only help to the elucidation of the means whereby such photographs are produced, but also throw light upon the great problem of Spiritualism itself.

Of the experiments which have been already described we have nothing to say, except that, unless fraud be admitted as having been possible, figures were produced on the plates which could only have got there in some abnormal way. Fraud, however, seems to have been about as impossible as it could be under any circumstances whatever. Mr. Taylor used his own camera. The plates were bought from dealers of repute, and the parcel was opened in view of two witnesses, witnesses above suspicion. Mr. Taylor insisted that he should keep the plates in his own hands until after development, and this caution he relaxed only so far as getting one of those present to lift out from the dark slide the exposed plate and transfer it to the developing dish held by himself, or to transfer a plate from the manufacturer’s package into the dark slide held by his own hand. Unless, therefore, there had been connivance on the part of the “dealers of repute” who supplied the plates, which is out of the question, or the persons present were all of them leagued together to cheat, we are forced to the conclusion that the results were genuine....

A few more words must be given to Mr. Traill Taylor. The importance of his lectures has been dealt with elsewhere, but it can bear emphasising here. Facts, or what appear to be facts, we have in plenty, but the explanation of these facts, except theoretically, is not so common. Anything which sheds even the faintest glimmer on the meaning of these facts is supremely welcome, and this glimmer, or more than glimmer, Mr. Taylor has produced. It will be strange if that “fluorescence” which has been so relied upon for the general theory of fraud should turn out to be the means of demonstrating the opposite.

_From LIGHT, May 6th, 1893._

It was not to be expected that Mr. Traill Taylor’s photographs would be left unchallenged. But as it is impossible to impute fraud to Mr. Taylor or his associates, the objectors are thrown back on somewhat flimsy arguments. A letter to the _Christian World_ may perhaps be taken fairly well to represent the kind of argument. The letter is signed “F. Gass.”

Of course we know that fraudulent spirit photographs have been plentifully sold, but because there is a large amount of falsehood in the world it does not follow that there is no truth. But let us see how Mr. Taylor is treated by this critic: “Mr. Taylor says these forms were invisible to watchers in the room, and were, therefore, disembodied spirits.”

There is no such “therefore” in Mr. Taylor’s address. What he did say was: “In the foregoing I have confined myself as closely as possible to narrating how I conducted a photographic experiment open to every one to make, avoiding stating any hypothesis or belief of my own on the subject generally.”

The writer takes exception to Mr. Taylor’s statement that the figures when examined by the stereoscope were absolutely flat; because “the figures were solid enough to obscure a view of the sitting medium when they stood between him and the camera.” That is, Mr. Gass knows all about solidity, and what could or could not be done by what Mr. Taylor is careful to call a “psychic entity.” That there is any appearance of light and shade in the engraving as it is in the _Review of Reviews_ proves nothing; even if it is there, we have Mr. Taylor’s assertion that in the photograph he examined with the stereoscope the “psychic figure was absolutely flat.” As to the nonsense about the clothing of the figures and the draper’s shops in Ghost-land we have nothing to say. Mr. Gass then falls foul of photographs being taken without the employment of a lens. Such a thing would be a miracle. So Mr. Gass knows what a miracle is. “To obtain a portrait on a plate, light is imperatively necessary, and to obtain an image of a figure it must be brought into focus by the lens of a camera.” Of course, if these things “must” be so, there is an end of the matter, but the experiment went to disprove the necessity of this “must.” And what is “light”? Has Mr. Gass any knowledge of the spectrum, and could he himself “see” the actinic rays which produce the pictures on the sensitised plate?

_From the “TWO WORLDS” March 24th, 1893._[12]

Mr. Taylor is, perhaps, the most competent and reputable man who, as an experienced and scientific photographer, has undertaken such experiments, hence his testimony is all the more valuable. The medium was Mr. David Duguid, and the results are of great importance.

Mr. A. Glendinning, who brought about the sittings, deserves the thanks of all Spiritualists.

GHOSTS AND THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS.[13]

_By_ THE REV. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A.

“I suppose there is nothing more difficult than for scientific
people to realise that the dead are living.”—Rev. H. R. HAWEIS,
M.A.

Ever since the appearance of the more than sensational “Real Ghost Stories” and “More Ghost Stories”—which are, like the ghosts, still appearing—a great and calm tolerance of the occult made manifest seems to have diffused itself throughout English society. People are bringing out their own private little bogey stories, of which they used to be quite ashamed, and, what is more curious, they are bringing out their bogey photos, both of which things reveal the fact how many more ghost stories and ghost photos are about than people seem generally to have imagined. Only the other day I was told of a young lady who went down to Brighton to an ordinary photographer. She sat as an ordinary sitter, suspecting nothing. The plate came out blurred all over; photographer surprised, and on point of casting plate aside, when sitter begs to see it, and further begs to have it printed off. Result—photo blurred all over, sitter unrecognisable; when subjected to high magnifyer, milky way of blue reveals innumerable faces, but all the same face! Recognised by young lady at once as face of dead lover. This is the kind of story which is becoming tiresomely common, and often bewilderingly well evidenced.

Now, unless I had thought this question of alleged appearances—palpable enough to be seen, perhaps photographed—might have a grave side to it, I should not have for two Sundays rung the changes, and the _pros_ and _cons._ in the pulpit, and pointed out the momentous connexion between such manifestations and our interests here and hereafter. People seemed much impressed with this view. The fact is that every time I announced the subject at St. James’s, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, crowds were unable to get seats, and I was in a way compelled to resume the topic next Sunday, while thousands struggled in vain to get into my tolerably spacious vestry after the sermon to catch glimpses of the selected photos and spirit drawings there exposed to view. Well, this shows, I suppose, that I had, if possible, under-estimated the toleration which I solicited for this dubious subject, but which I hardly expected to win.

_“WILL YOU SHOW ME THE GHOST?”_

The physical philosopher (and we are all physical philosophers, whatever else we may be) naturally asks, when he is told that this or that person has seen a ghost, “Will you show me the ghost?” Sometimes he is informed that if he sleeps in the haunted room he will be quite satisfied. Sometimes he does, and isn’t—sometimes he does, and _is_; when he _is_, like a wise man he is apt to keep what he has seen (as Johnson said every man did his religion) to himself. Perhaps he may have been in the habit of laughing at ghosts and sneering at people who believed in them, and doesn’t want to eat his own words. Perhaps he resembles the man who said “he did not believe in ghosts, but was very much afraid of them;” or, perhaps, he had no taste, after making a full confession about what he may have seen, for the retort courteous, that he was probably a fool or a liar—or both. Anyhow, the physical philosopher might next inquire, Did several people see the ghost at once, or independently at different times? Is there reason—that is to say—to suppose the ghost was really an objective (external to the spectator) or merely a subjective hallucination? A very reasonable inquiry. “Photograph me a ghost; chemicals have no fancies, plates don’t get nervous, and lenses tell no lies!” Good. So we proceed to get a medium into the studio; we photograph away, and a ghost comes out behind the medium!

“Ah! but did you examine the plate before it was slipped in?”

“No.”

“Then the plate was cooked; the ghost was already on it.”

“Try again.” This time you bring your own plate; but again comes a ghost.

“Ah! but did you change the screen behind you—shift it, or put your own screen?”

“No.”

“Well, the ghost was in chemicals on the screen.”

So next time you remove the photographer’s screen, and put your own, and bring your own plate, too; but again comes a ghost.

“Ah! but did you examine the inside of the camera? Did you watch the developing process? Did you watch your plate from beginning to end? Nay, did you spy everything—windows, &c.—outside thoroughly? A ghost might be shot on to the exposed camera. Did you allow any one to dress up in a sheet behind you, and do the partial exposure trick?”

Well, next time you take every precaution, and if still you get a ghost, “that gives to reflect,” as the French say; so let us reflect a little.

_“AUTHENTIC” GHOST PHOTOS._

The most authentic ghost photos are the hardest to get hold of. They are in the hands of private amateur photographers, who are shy of lending or showing them because they are shy of being accused of fraud or folly; besides, to them these photos are often sacred, or they seem to portray the features of the beloved dead. I believe Mr. Crookes, F.R.S., one of the greatest scientists living—the renowned inventor of the radiometer—has obtained spirit photos of a materialised form that appeared apart from the medium, and moved about the room freely while a continuous current of electricity was being passed through the entranced medium, so that she could not move without betraying the motion. But, like the wise man he is, Mr. Crookes, after having tasted the quality of scientific bigotry, and already suffered somewhat for his ardour in the pursuit of unpopular and novel truth—Mr. Crookes, I say, keeps certain experiences, together with his abnormal photos, to himself, and will not now even show them. It is of no importance to him what those who do not and cannot know the facts think about them. They belong to his laboratory work. Why should he bother himself with a crowd of outsiders? Of course, no spirit photo, of itself, can bear conviction, nor is it possible to produce about it in a journal any evidence that will. The two spirit photos I have been prevailed upon to allow the Editor of the _Daily Graphic_ to use with this open letter are, nevertheless, of considerable interest. (1) The lady seated went with her daughter. She did not tell the photographer who was in her thoughts. She thought of and longed for her father to appear. She did not even tell her daughter or any one else the mental test. She thought that her father should appear wearing a peculiar black cap which he commonly used during the last days of his illness. That test was never revealed before the plate was developed; but it was answered, as may be seen in the photo (see opposite); the features also are too marked to allow of any doubt.

(_Lent by the Editor of “The Daily Graphic.”_)]

_THE LATE EDITOR OF “LIGHT.”_

The picture on page 83 represents Mr. Stainton Moses and a figure unknown to him. The accomplished Editor of _Light_ is best known to the public as M.A. Oxon. The Rev. Stainton Moses, a graduate of Oxford University, was for many years Classical and English master at University College, London. From his investigations he became convinced of the general truths of what is vaguely called Spiritualism, and has devoted himself for some twenty years to making the public familiar with the higher aspects, while warning them against its ridiculous, dangerous, or degrading tendencies. The only interest of the photo is that it was taken under all those strict test conditions which I have alluded to above in this open letter. The chief professional spirit photographers are M. Buguet, of Paris, frightened by the priest into a recantation of his spirit photos, which recantation no one who tested Buguet believes any more than does Buguet himself; Mr. Hudson, who was, I am told, not always above suspicion, but, like other mediums, was also successful under rigid test conditions; Mumler, Beattie, and many others I know nothing about. Mr. Stead is now occupied in testing spirit photography, and that being the case, we are soon likely to hear more about it from an abler pen than mine. So great was the interest shown in the labelled spirit photos and the spirit drawings by the late Mrs. Watts, daughter of William and Mary Howitt, exposed in my vestry, St. James’s, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, that I kept them up for a second Sunday. There is nothing like publicity as a means of getting at truth. Let in the light! Sift facts! “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”—1 Thess. v. 21.

(_Lent by the Editor of “The Daily Graphic.”_)]

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY.

_By_ JAS. ROBERTSON, _Glasgow_.

The most striking phenomena associated with what comes under the name of Spiritualism are those connected with photography. It was very naturally thought that nothing was so capable of bringing conviction to the inquirer as a record made by the camera, which might be considered free from all imagination, unconscious cerebration, expectancy, &c., and yet there has been no part of the phenomena that has been more fiercely assailed as being fraudulent. No matter how clear and searching and honest has been the experimenter, if success attends his work suspicion and cruel innuendo invariably follow him. The truths pertaining to the spiritual are not received in the same calm, critical, and philosophic spirit as the discoveries that are presented in other realms. People gladly welcome a new planet, or a new metal, and laud the discoverer; but the explorer in spiritual phenomena is at once set down as either a madman or a fraudulent person. One can scarcely estimate the loss the world has sustained by its want of fair treatment; sensitive souls fear to speak out and tell all they know. Robert Chambers kept his Spiritualism in the background, and walked through life honoured and respected, but he made the battle of unpopular truth all the more difficult to fight for the men and women who did speak out. Spiritualists, though set down as credulous, are as far removed from this condition as it is possible to be; they have had to fight their way step by step, critically examining, but honestly yielding when the facts were too much for them.

Very many photographic artists are in their ranks who have again and again met with strange and weird markings on the sensitive plate, which they could not understand; they have sought only to get at the truth. Fraud lives but for the hour, and the person who has joined the ranks of an unpopular cause knows that a fierce light will beat upon all his actions, so that he need be more than ordinarily cautious in all he sets down; but though bogus spirit pictures can be made, must we cease to present those which are got by honest people under conditions that have been considered perfect? Over twenty years since, in New York, a photographer named Wm. H. Mumler succeeded in getting hundreds of pictures of the so-called dead, which were recognised by their friends as portraits; the great body of people who went to him were total strangers, one of them, thickly veiled, being the wife of the murdered President Lincoln. On the plate was seen her husband and one of her children, who had passed on. I had the good fortune to come in contact with those who went to Mr. Mumler shortly after arriving in New York, and who got test pictures which were beyond cavil or suspicion. In hundreds of cases the camera saw and reported what the physical senses did not cognise.

Mr. Mumler’s success brought him only hardship and excessive pain; he was dragged into the law courts and fiercely assailed as an impostor, but the volume of evidence which was brought in his favour so vindicated his character that he triumphed. In our own country again and again we have had photographers, amateur and professional, who have met with these forms on their plates.

Mr. Hudson, of London, got many test pictures, and a whole crowd of eminent people have vouched for the reality of the likenesses of their deceased friends.

Mr. John Beattie, of Clifton, a retired photographer of twenty years’ experience, a man thoughtful and skilful, along with his friend Dr. Thompson, made experiments in spirit photography for their own private satisfaction, and placed on record details of their patience and ultimate success. Forms again and again, some fragmentary, faint, and shadowy, some full and clear, appeared on the plate, fully attesting that spirit photography was real.

The late editor of _Light_, Rev. Stainton Moses, M.A., had a most extensive experience, and brought a clear and searching intellect to bear upon it. His series of papers dealing with the subject is careful and complete in all details, and shows with what patience and care the spiritual investigator examines the ground before he gives forth his conclusions. In his experiments he ofttimes saw the figures which afterwards made their appearance on the plate.

My own opportunities for the observation of the reality of the phenomena have been good. Brought into close and daily contact with Mr. David Duguid, through our business relations, I have been able to witness almost all the pictures which have been taken through his mediumship. He has been most averse all the time to give sittings, as he fully knows the amount of suspicion which must gather, and the annoyance that will be created, however successful; yet still he is anxious to perform his share in the work of demonstrating human immortality. It seems hard that the spiritual medium, of all persons, should have the taint of suspicion cast around him. Spiritualists themselves have come from such a sceptical, materialistic side of human experience, that they are suspicious of each bit of phenomena which has not hitherto come under their gaze. It must not be overlooked that the bulk of exposures have been the result of the actions of spiritualists who would have nothing but what is genuine.

Some years since Mr. Duguid yielded to the strong pressure that was brought to bear, and took at intervals pictures on which appeared other forms than those seen by the physical senses. Each effort was not a success. Again and again have we gone into the developing chamber, only to find there was but the physical sitter. On all these occasions we took the utmost care to be able to vouch for the conditions under which they were taken, so as to meet the naturally critical questions which would be put. Mr. Andrew Glendinning, of London, who has been on the closest terms of friendship with Mr. Duguid for over thirty years, used to come down, and at such times the latter yielded to the request for a sitting.

Mr. Glendinning brought his own plates, took every precaution that they should not pass out of his sight—not that he suspected anything wrong, but that he might make his testimony of value. We had on almost every visit the most marked success. During the process I was often conscious of the presence of spirit people before they made their appearance on the plate; people who were known in the flesh and others came in this mysterious way, and clearly showed that death must be some other thing than what was made out by popular theologies. As the Rev. John Page Hopps says, “A future life means persistence of life, means that the spirit self remains a conscious living self when it sheds the muddy vesture of clay.... Such a being, acting from the unseen upon the sphere of what is to us the seen, might, under certain conditions, be able to work what we call miracles.” It was the good fortune of Mr. Glendinning to get beside us on one occasion a most exquisite face of a lady, full of each charm and grace that make up the womanly character. The term angelic might be applied to it. Such a face the seraphic painters have ofttimes drawn, a Raphael might have painted it. From somewhere must have come this form; and Spiritualism demonstrates what Mr. Justice Groves, in _The Correlation of Physical Forces_, gives as a probable theory, “Myriads of organised beings may exist imperceptible to our vision, even if we were among them.”

A legal gentleman of some literary culture, who had become conscious of the reality and beauty of the spiritual philosophy, wrote several valuable articles, in which were given the clearest proofs of spirit identity. He was most anxious to get the picture of a dear boy whom death had carried away some years before, and whose absence, perhaps, made him at first inquire as to whether Spiritualism had any joy to give.

Under the signature of “Edina” this gentleman gives one of the most satisfactory bits of evidence it would be possible to get. He made attempts to get this portrait in Glasgow, but in vain; though the child’s sister, who was clairvoyant, saw him quite distinctly, “Edina” was not able to get his impress on the plate. I give the following from “Edina,” which surely places beyond a doubt that these spirit photographs are what they claim to be:—

“Seven separate attempts were made to get a spirit photograph
of our lost one—twice in Glasgow and five times in
Edinburgh—and on every occasion, although our family medium
informed us that our son was in the room and standing before
the camera, besides being assisted or attended by others of our
relatives, now on the other side, nothing was got but faces of
persons unknown to us. ‘Try and try again’ has, however, always
been our motto in matters appertaining to the spirit world,
and, though we were discouraged, we resolved to persevere. Two
of the seven sittings were taken with Mr. David Duguid, in
Glasgow, and he also came to Edinburgh and had two sittings, or
trials, for photography in our house, and in the room in which
our son was born and died, so that every favourable condition
possible was complied with, but all in vain. Mr. Duguid was
here early in April, 1892, giving his second painting séance,
and he again kindly offered to make another effort to get what
we desired. On this occasion, I am proud to report that our
efforts have been crowned with conspicuous success. On the
night previous to the day on which our eighth and successful
sitting took place, a letter was automatically written by our
daughter, in the handwriting we know so well, that of my wife’s
eldest sister, who passed over twenty-eight years ago, and who
has had charge of our son since he entered the spirit world.
The letter gave us full directions as to next day’s experiment,
and again requested it to be made in the bedroom referred to.
Mr. Duguid was in Edinburgh the same night on which the letter
came, but he merely called, left his camera, and arranged as
to next day’s sitting. He returned next day at noon, and the
photographic sitting was at once begun. The day was bright and
clear, and the conditions seemed to favour a good sitting. The
bedroom is a large one, being twenty feet long by about fifteen
feet broad, and is well lighted by a plate-glass window, so
that the light was excellent.

“Before dealing with the sitting, I premise that the dry
plates which were to be used in the camera were purchased by
us in a shop in Edinburgh on the day preceding Mr. Duguid’s
arrival, and the chemicals required for the development of the
negative were what remained of the supply purchased by us on
the occasion of Mr. Duguid’s former visit. The sitting began
about twelve o’clock, and four plates were first used by the
medium. After an hour two more plates were tried, and then we
ceased operations. These six plates were taken out one by one
from the paper in which they were wrapped, by my second eldest
daughter, in a ‘dark’ room, lighted with a small red lamp,
and then handed by her to Mr. Duguid. He, in her presence,
put each plate, as it was required to be used, into the dark
slide, which he then took to the bedroom and inserted in the
camera. By desire of the medium my wife and two daughters in
succession, just before each photograph was taken, put one of
their hands on the top of the camera for a second or two. As I
have said, six of the twelve plates purchased by us were used
at the sitting, and on development it was found that on four of
them there was a child’s face and form appearing close to the
sitters, who were my wife and two daughters before referred to.
After the sitting closed, Mr. Duguid proposed to take the four
plates with him to Glasgow to get them printed off; but pending
his going home, he left the whole series with us overnight, and
got them from us next day.

“In the interim, however, our anxiety as to the child’s face
on the four negatives led us to attempt to print off an
impression on some prepared paper we had left in the house
from the last futile experiment. Accordingly, my second eldest
daughter, who has had some experience in amateur photography,
took the four plates I have above referred to, and put them
to be printed at one of the windows. On examining the four
impressions as they were printed off, we were gratified to
find, on each of the four photographs or copies so printed,
a clear and well-defined likeness of our departed son, not
with a ‘shadowy’ or ‘filmy’ face, like some spirit photographs
I have seen, but quite ‘human-looking,’ although a sweeter
and more spiritual expression pervades the countenance than
when in earth life. The portrait of our boy is as clear and
distinct as the one we possess of Professor Sandringham, which
is admitted, by every one who has seen it, to be a splendidly
distinct spirit photograph. The first of the negatives which
was printed off disclosed our boy sitting up in bed, just in
the place where he died, and although, as I have said, his face
is more spiritualised, and not so chubby as when in earth life
three years ago, yet there is not the least doubt in our minds
that it is our loved and lost one as he is now on the other
side. The second photograph discloses him as clothed in a boy’s
suit, and sitting on his mother’s knee. Here also the face is
quite human-looking, and just our son as he looked about the
close of his sharp and severe illness. The likeness in all the
photographs is essentially the same. Over the figure in each
photograph is a beautiful star, and the whole experiment has
been a phenomenal success in spirit photography, besides being
a source of great joy to us all.

“Mr. Duguid was never in my house in Edinburgh till the end
of January last (1892). Two of our family went twice to
Glasgow—once in 1890 and once in 1891—and had a sitting with
him on the occasion of each visit. Faces came on the negatives
on both occasions, but not the face wanted. At these sittings
nothing was said to Mr. Duguid as to our family affairs, or the
appearance of our boy, but he was told what we wanted, and did
his best to get a satisfactory result. We were not disappointed
at failure, because we knew, the difficulties attending the
experiment. The only photograph we have of our son was got when
he was two years old, and is not at all like what he was when
he was taken from us. The photograph was shown by me to Mr.
Duguid for the first and only time on the day succeeding the
successful sitting, and after the negatives had been printed
off in the manner before detailed. The dry plates were our own,
and were never handled by the medium till he put them in the
slide or box as before described. The chemicals were ours, and
the development took place in the presence of my second eldest
daughter, in the dark room before referred to, and to which
we all had access during the whole process. I therefore claim
that this demonstration has been a complete success, because
every test condition has been complied with. As ‘Salem Scudder’
puts it, in a certain sensational scene in Dion Boucicault’s
well-known drama of the _Octoroon_, ‘I guess the apparatus
can’t lie.’ The apparatus, _i.e._, the camera, has certainly
not lied to us. I have also to state that our family medium saw
our son in the room ‘posed’ in front of the camera during the
sitting and pointed out the place where he stood, before the
medium put the slide into the instrument.

“It has been with considerable reluctance that I have alluded
to so much that is sacred and personal in our family, but in
the interests of spiritual truth, and for the sole purpose of
showing that spirit photography, by an honest medium like Mr.
David Duguid, is possible, I have deemed it necessary to give
these facts, and they have been stated with all the care and
minuteness of detail in my power. As I have said, we failed
seven times; but the eighth trial gave us something to treasure
for life. We are certainly under a deep debt of gratitude to
Mr. David Duguid for the beneficent use of his mediumistic
powers in literally ‘giving us back our dead,’ or rather,
showing us our dear one clothed as he now is, in his spiritual
body, as on the other side.

“These are the consolations of Spiritualism which the
uninstructed cannot understand or appreciate. In my humble
judgment Spiritualistic research should be prosecuted in the
_home_, as, there only, results will be got of the best and
purest kind. That at least has been our experience, and we
gratefully acknowledge the mercies bestowed on us.”

Why should we not accept this as a truthful statement? The word of such a man as “Edina” would be accepted to the full on any other subject, but there is a deep-rooted antipathy in the public mind against the recognition or acceptance of spiritual phenomena. Florence Marryat, in describing the striking and marvellous incidents of her life, asks why she should be disbelieved in these matters any more than Lady Brassey, or Livingstone, or Stanley regarding their travels.

The most conclusive of testimony as to the reality of spirit photography was that recently given in London by Mr. Traill Taylor, editor of the _British Journal of Photography_, and one of the most capable men it was possible to get for entering into an investigation of this matter. Mr. Taylor holds the first of scientific reputations, and would have been selected by all the leading minds in the world of photography as worthy of representing it. The story told by him is clear in every detail as to the methods he adopted to meet any objections that might arise, and the success attained was quite in keeping with what had hitherto been got by Mr. Glendinning and others in their Glasgow experiments. Mr. Glendinning felt so confident that other honest minds could only reach the same results as himself, that he prevailed on Mr. Duguid to visit London, and give these test sittings to Mr. Taylor. This is another stone in the fabric of evidence that builds up the new spiritual truths. Such evidence has been given again and again by other workers in this field, but scarcely ever before by a person enjoying such a reputation in this special domain as does Mr. Taylor.

It was scarcely to be expected that Mr. Taylor’s statement, clear as it is, and which, had it had no connexion with spiritual phenomena, would have been welcomed and widely applauded, would be accepted. Even as Wm. Crookes, F.R.S., when he blessed Spiritualism, instead of cursing it as was expected, met with a tremendous amount of ridicule and malignity, so has Mr. Taylor. Those who heard the story, while admitting that Mr. Taylor was quite the ablest man in the ranks to enter on such an investigation, still felt that _they_ would have been abler still, and yet no one could point out any other precautions which might have been taken. As one who was present I know the matter was entirely in his (Mr. Taylor’s) hands to do as seemed to him best. We were as desirous of truth as he was, and the unprejudiced mind could only find in it all, results which are perfectly conclusive of the reality of spirit photography. Mr. Stead gives publicity to one of the pictures obtained by Mr. Taylor, in the April number of _Review of Reviews_, and concludes his remarks by saying that “Everything, of course, depends upon the accuracy and honesty of the photographer, and the reputation of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Glendinning is above reproach,” and so is it also with the medium (Mr. Duguid) who only contributed his presence during the experiments, taking the least interest really of all those who were present.

It might be asked what kind of evidence would be accepted to prove the reality of the various phases of spiritual phenomena? Could a Tyndall or a Huxley have done more in an investigation of this kind than was done by Mr. Taylor, Mr. Glendinning, and those who were associated with them? Were photography the sole phenomenon associated with the movement, this might require to be investigated again and again, but for over thirty years certain positive statements have been made, and the evidence tendered, as to the reality of spirit raps, which psychical science can throw no light upon.

Cromwell Varley, F.R.S., with his acknowledged electrical experience, thought he could soon explode the spirit theory, but, instead, he became a devoted and courageous spiritualist. William Crookes, F.R.S., and Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., have alike testified to the spirit raps, and to the phase of materialisation by which forms solid and tangible are built up. Mr. Crookes on many occasions has photographed these physicalised “forms,” and Dr. Wallace has vouched for the fact that with a spirit medium he got a photograph, and, on sending this abroad to other relatives, it was at once recognised as the portrait of his departed mother, and certain peculiarities which could not be imitated made the matter more certain.

Mr. Taylor has done nothing new, only corroborated what the many bold but practical people had found out before—the people who, to get at truth, had stood any number of hard names. They were not deceivers or idlers carried away by the light of an idea, but practical, sober-minded people, who trusted to nothing but experiment, and willing to tread down any amount of obstacles that truth might be reached. A man like Mr. Andrew Glendinning, certain of the facts of spirit communion, might, had he been selfishly inclined, have allowed the world to sneer on, and have troubled little about the accumulation of evidence; but the rich fruits he had gathered during many years made a naturally generous nature anxious to share them with others. The propagation of an unpopular idea was not likely to bring him honour of any kind. He knew well what all past experimenters had to face, but he was determined this question should be placed in such a position that there would be no reason for cavil. It has been with much patience, and amid many suspicions, that this careful investigator has helped to make palpable that there is a roadway between the “undiscovered country” of spirit life and this world of ours; that the transcendent intuitions of poets and seers have been founded on realities which are now being demonstrated.

We spiritualists have indeed got to know, beyond a doubt, what the human race had not learned in its thousands of years, viz., that death is a delusion. The lamp has been kindled at the light gleaming from the sky, and nothing can again put out the flame.

Spiritualism has a certain aim, and does not mean to drift. It has come for a divine purpose, to be sacredly cherished and unfolded. Even Mr. Stead, the longer he pursues his investigations, has less and less to say regarding the danger of investigation. He feels and acknowledges that he has entered upon a realm which may yet have many priceless gems to give up. The spiritualist must be a _come-outer_, able to break away from trammels and all despotic traditions. The fear of the Evil One, the bad odour associated with the name “witchcraft,” the unwise and weak bits in Old Testament history, stop him not in his investigations. “Thou shalt” and “thou shalt not” of tradition he asks the authority for, taking nothing on authority but truths which can be demonstrated.

If the world applauds those who joined together fire and water and iron and made it ready to do men’s bidding, if it reverences those who with audacious hands have taken the lightning from heaven and sent it to carry tidings between the ends of the earth, so will it one day surely reverence and honour the many spiritual workers who have toiled bravely to make it evident that there is no death. “He that walks with humble men,” says a wise teacher, “often stumbles over masses of unsunned gold where men, proud in emptiness, looked only for common dust.”

Why should intelligent men mock at small beginnings like the rise of the modern spiritual movement? The great institutions which have done the best work for mankind have had to face the same kind of sneer and ridicule. History repeats itself all the time. As Lecky eloquently points out, the Christian religion, which was surely a potent force for good or evil, was unseen by the leading minds who made up the intellectual force of the Roman empire. No single man of weight saw in it a conquering power, but glanced at it as something weak and ignoble. Carlyle regrets that the wise and penetrating Tacitus could only see in it a weak superstition, while he (Carlyle) held somewhat similar views about Spiritualism (which, according to Theodore Parker, has more evidence for its wonders than any other historic form of religion), as the best word he could offer was that it was “the religion of Dead Sea apes.”

That the idea of spirit communion will grow and find a place in the people’s hearts is as certain as that the sun shines each day. The best of minds have welcomed it, even those who could not tolerate it at first. It is indeed a choice revelation of higher import than all physical science has yet given. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wondered how the world, weeping for its dead, did not accord it warm welcome. She found in Spiritualism the richest consolation. This age has almost witnessed the abolition of slavery, and to-day there is not more antagonism to Spiritualism than sixty years since there was towards the anti-slavery party. Lloyd Garrison, afterwards a pronounced Spiritualist, was indeed bold for conscience sake, for truth and justice, when he started the _Liberator_. It did not seem as if the idea which possessed him could take root. When his enemies made inquiry as to Garrison’s movements in 1831, they reported that his office was in an obscure hole, his only visible auxiliary a negro-boy, and his supporters a few insignificant persons of all colours—and yet in spite of this early report his idea shook the world. The man and the negro-boy were pretty vigorous, and there was a great truth promulgated from that obscure hole.

Spiritualism, through the brave advocacy of heroic men and women, is at last becoming credible; more toleration is now shown for its claims. Phenomena once considered trivial now receive attention. Many are awakening to the new thought, and becoming better able to read the mystery of their past lives through what it teaches. The influence of a noted journalist like Mr. Stead is sure to keep the flame alight, and divert the thought of those who want rest on this most important of all problems that concern us. Thanks to such men as Wallace, Crookes, Stainton Moses, Taylor, and others, who have collected and verified facts so patiently, and demonstrated so surely that our dead live on, and take an affectionate interest in our goings out and comings in.

MISCELLANEA.

_By_ ANDREW GLENDINNING.

“Wherever a road opens, and I am moved to examine and
experiment, there I shall most surely go.”—REV. GEORGE W. ALLEN.

Either the discoveries made by Mumler, Stainton Moses, Beattie and others, have now been confirmed, or a very eminent man, specially trained in rigid investigation, and an acknowledged expert in optics and the chemistry and manipulation of photography, has been the victim of a marvellous and inexplicable delusion.

To say that, notwithstanding all the precautions arranged, and carefully carried out by Mr. Taylor, he was time after time deceived, is to make a statement entirely opposed to probability and common sense, yet that is the false refuge to which some fly from whom better things might be expected. It exhibits strongly the credulity of incredulity, and an ability to strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. To print insinuations against the characters of those who investigate new and important facts, and to air the superior wisdom of the critics in what are apparently intended as witticisms, may serve the purpose of a day, but truth remains unsoiled and unassailable.

When George Cruikshank was preparing his pictorial _brochure_ against Spiritualism, he was asked what he knew of the subject; he replied he knew nothing, and did not intend to inform himself till he had finished his book. That is the position of many in regard to spirit photography; the less they know about it, the more they feel qualified to judge; and a man who, for the first time, deigns to consider it, will, with the utmost confidence in his own opinion, condemn as fraudulent a genuine spirit photograph; yea, he will even profess to discover the mark of the scissors and the grain of the paper from which he imagines the photograph has been cut and copied.

Other objectors profess to have looked into the subject, but because _they_ saw nothing they thought worth following up, therefore they practically conclude it is impossible any one else can be more fortunate.

That there are, and will continue to be, honest doubters goes without saying. There are scientific men who cannot believe in the possibility of this new thing—their minds are in old grooves. Others say the consensus of opinion of photographers is against it. Granted; and what of that? Any mere opinion as to whether spirit photography be possible does not in any way affect the question. Opinions do not alter facts. The facts in this matter are entirely in favour of the reality of spirit photography.

There need not now be any question as to whether spirit photography is possible. That was settled thirty years ago. There is nothing in the whole range of psychic phenomena for which the evidence is more conclusive. Had there been no other proof, the sworn evidence of scientific men, bankers, merchants, lawyers, photographers, and others, at the Mumler trial was overwhelmingly abundant. And since that trial there has been an accumulation of evidence from various quarters, yielding proof upon proof that spirit photography is a fact, and must be recognised as such. Contradicted it can be; that is easy to do. Sneered at it may be; that, too, is not difficult. A man may sneer at a fact which he is unable to comprehend, but a sneer proves nothing. Neither does an unsupported contradiction, whether the contradiction be made by a single person, or be made as a formal resolution by a society.

Some of the witnesses who were examined on oath at Mumler’s trial were experts, such as Samuel K. Fanshaw. That gentleman was one of the best miniature painters and facial experts in New York, and was also familiar with photographic manipulations. He said he went to Mumler an entire stranger, sat for a picture, witnessed the whole process, and received a likeness of his mother, which he said was more like her than the one he had painted from memory. Mr. Livermore, banker, had three negatives, in which his wife appeared in three different positions. He was accompanied by Mr. Hitchcock, of the _New York Sun_, and Mr. Gurney, a leading photographer. When Judge Dowling asked Mr. Livermore if he recognised these pictures as likenesses of his wife, his answer was, “_Unmistakably_.”