DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME
Following the first seances of the “Fox Sisters,” in 1848, mediums
sprang up all over the country like mushrooms but of this multitude
there have not been more than a dozen whose work, in spite of repeated
exposure, is still pointed to as proof of Spiritualism, and whose names
have found a permanent place in connection with its development and
history. Of these, one of the most conspicuous and lauded of his type
and generation was Daniel Dunglas Home. He was the forerunner of the
mediums whose forte is fleecing by presuming upon the credulity of the
subject. A new and fertile field was opened and from that time to the
present day there have been numerous cases of mediums falling into the
clutches of the law as a direct result of using his methods, but Home
had characteristics which went far in many cases to keep him out of
trouble. Outwardly a lovable character with a magnetic personality and
a great fondness for children; suave, captivating to the last degree,
a good dresser fond of displaying jewelry; an appearance of ill-health
which aroused sympathy and with an assumption of piety and devotion
to established forms of religious worship, he made his way easily and
found favor with many who would have spurned him under other conditions
and this too, strange as it may seem, in spite of persistent _rumors_
of immorality in his private life.
Home helped to build up his reputation by not charging for his
mediumistic services. The claim that he did not accept fees for his
sittings may, or may not, be quite true, but the fact remains that the
spirits were good to him and provided for his temporal needs abundantly
and sumptuously, and he subsisted on the bounty of his Spiritualistic
friends who seemed to rival one another in entertaining him in their
homes for long periods and showering him with gifts, a practice which
began in America and was continued in England and on the Continent to
an extent which made a life of positive luxury possible.
It is strongly intimated that the gifts which Home received were in
many cases _suggested_ by the _Spirits_ he invoked and his spirit
guide seems to have always kept a sharp eye on his need for earthly
sustenance even to the point of satisfactorily bedecking his person
with jewelry. This was always _materialized_ for him when required, and
since he, personally, could not be held responsible for what wicked
spirits might do, and as they used good judgment in picking victims,
nothing was said about it and he escaped the prison fate of Ann O’Delia
Diss Debar.
His early life was spent in Connecticut but whether at the home of his
aunt in Waterford or with his mother in Norwich, twelve miles away,
is a question, but certain it is that at the death of his mother he
went to the aunt’s. This was when he was seventeen, two years after
the “Fox Sisters” had begun their career in New York State. How much
he had heard of them is uncertain, something no doubt, and it is not
strange that a youth of his characteristics might want to emulate them.
Then too his mother had the reputation of being possessed of so-called
“second-sight” and he may have inherited traits which helped to make
the life of a medium look attractive to him. At any rate, claiming the
assistance of his mother’s spirit, he tried out his mediumistic powers
at the homes of the neighbors with such success that before long he
announced to his aunt that he was going to set up as a _professional
Spiritualist_. The lady, a devout Trinitarian, was so shocked and
disturbed, he tells us, that “in her uncontrollable anger she seized
a chair and threw it at me.” But much as she disliked the idea of the
young man becoming a medium his performances soon attracted so much
attention that she was reconciled to his leaving her home in Norwich
to go to Willimantic, Connecticut, where he began his life-long custom
of living on the bounty of friends and dupes. His first feats were of
the simplest kind such as are in the repertoire of every itinerant
sideshow proprietor, but his success seems to have been instantaneous.
One reason for this was that while mediums as a class were a lazy lot
Home was an untiring worker as well as an unflinching egotist and his
personal qualities went far to disarm suspicion and inspire confidence
in the minds of his dupes.
Where he obtained his early education does not appear but the records
are full of indications of considerable intellectuality. He claimed to
have studied medicine and obtained a degree in New York but he never
practiced. In his later years he set up a studio in Italy[34] and gave
his attention to sculpture between seances and “sold busts at prices
quite out of proportion to their artistic merits.” He studied elocution
too and is said to have given many successful readings.[35] He also had
the credit of being quite a musician and playing several instruments,
which partially explains his accordion trick. With it all he was
considerable of a linguist, toward the last being able to speak most
of the modern tongues. He was the author of two pretentious books[36]
whose chief purpose seems to have been to establish the impression that
while all other mediums cheated at times _Home was strictly honest_ on
all occasions, and in proof it was said that he was never exposed and
never received a fee for his sittings. Nevertheless one charge of fraud
was proven against him in court.[37] It may or may not be true that
he was never completely exposed but many of his manifestations were
discovered to be fraudulent and every one of them can be duplicated by
modern conjurors under the same conditions. The principal reason why
he was never _completely_ exposed was that he gave no public sittings,
always appearing as the guest of the family where he was living and as
one writer expressed it, “one would no more think of criticising his
host’s guest than he would his host’s wine.”
On one occasion Robert Browning, the poet, attended one of Home’s
seances. He had become somewhat alarmed by his wife’s interest in
Spiritualism, and when a face was materialized and said to be that
of a son who had died in infancy, Browning seized the supposed
materialized head and discovered it to be _the bare foot of Mr. Home_.
Incidentally, Browning had never lost an infant son. The living son,
R. Barrett Browning, in a letter to the London _Times_, December 5,
1902, referring to this occurrence said, “Home was detected in a vulgar
fraud.” In the same letter he tells of the modification of his mother’s
belief after having been deceived by a “_trusted friend_” and his
closing words were: “The pain of the disillusion was great, but her
eyes were opened and she saw clearly.”
What might be called Home’s American apprenticeship began in 1850 and
in spite of his youth and inexperience he succeeded in convincing
many prominent persons of the genuineness of his phenomena, among
them being such men as Judge Edmonds,[38] William Cullen Bryant, and
Bishop Clarke of Rhode Island. In the spring of 1855 a committee of
admirers collected a sum of money sufficient to send him to England
and establish himself comfortably. He carried with him a letter of
introduction to a man of scientific tastes by the name of Cox who
was proprietor of Cox’s Hotel, in Jermyn Street, and through whose
influence he was able to arrange sittings with Lord Brougham, Sir David
Brewster, Robert Owen, T. A. Trollope, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, and others
equally prominent.
After only a few months’ stay in England Home went to Italy, ostensibly
for his health, and for the next four years he lived on the Continent,
travelling from place to place, living in luxury, being almost
continually entertained in the homes of “friends,” which in almost
every case were people of rank and wealth. He seems to have had little
difficulty in meeting royalty and nobility on terms of intimacy even
numbering among his patrons the Emperor and Empress of France as
well as the Czar of Russia. From this clientele he received many and
valuable gifts. At the Russian Court, with its leaning toward the
occult, he was especially welcomed and lived for weeks at a time in
the palace of the Czar, like the similar careers of Washington Irving
Bishop, Mons. Phillipi, and Rasputin. During his stay in Russia he
met a beautiful young lady of rank and with the approval of the Czar
married her.[39]
Home at this time had already begun to show that fondness for precious
stones which finally became so pronounced that a few years later an
English writer in describing him said:
“But the salient feature of the man after all was his jewels. On the
third finger of the left hand he wore an immense solitaire, which
flashed imperial splendors with every movement; above that a sapphire
of enormous size; on the other hand was a large yellow diamond and a
superb ruby set in brilliants.”
But these were not all for the writer adds a list of others in
Home’s possession which would easily arouse the envy of any
multi-millionaire’s wife. In view of this fondness for jewels an
incident which occurred just prior to Home’s leaving the Russian Court
is interesting. The story was told me by Stuart Cumberland. I have
heard him repeat it to others and he also tells it in his book, “That
Other World,” from which I quote.
“Whilst in Petrograd--so at least, a famous diplomat assured me when I
was there--Home did a feat of dematerialization before the Court which,
had it not been for the favor in which he was held in high places,
might have curtailed his liberty for a period.
“He had dematerialized a splendid row of emeralds lent the “dear
spirits” for the purpose of the test; but up to the time of his
departure from the seance, the emeralds, for some occult reason, had
declined to materialize and be given back to the confiding owner.
They were, of course, in the spirit land engaging the attention of
the spooks, who seemed to have a pretty taste for valuable jewels.
But the chief of police had not that faith in spiritual probity
generally accepted at the Court, and before leaving the palace, Home
was searched, and--so the story came to me--the dematerialized emeralds
were found materializing in his coat-tail pocket. They had been placed
there by an evil spirit, of course, but the chief of police impressed
upon the medium that the climate of the Russian Capital might not be
good for his health--that an early departure would probably benefit
it. Home took the hint and his early departure. To his dying day, I
think he regretted the interference of the evil spirit (or the police).
It would have been so much more satisfactory for the jewels to have
remained dematerialized in the spirit land, to be materialized at will
with no interfering police around, for they, the jewels, were of great
earthly value.”
[Illustration: DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME]
The year 1859 found Home back in England and marked the commencement
of what proved to be the period of his greatest success. It was but a
few years later that he attempted his most noted financial venture.
He had become established in Sloane Street, London, as Secretary of
what was called “The Spiritual Athenæum.” One day, late in 1866,
there came to him a widow by the name of Jane Lyon who was anxious to
join his society. She was seventy-five years old and besides being
wealthy in her own right had been left ample means by her husband.
Previous to calling on Home she had read his book, believed it, and
in addition been having a series of unusual dreams. The medium had
little difficulty in finding a way to make it possible for her to
join the Athenæum, and she told how later at this first meeting her
husband’s spirit “had communicated with her through Home, and knotted
her handkerchief.” Just all that the spirit of her husband said to her
at this interview does not appear but it was enough to persuade her
to give him twenty-four thousand pounds. The spirits became very much
interested in Mrs. Lyon’s affairs and in November, at their direction,
Home burned her will and before long she gave him another six thousand
pounds.
The attachment between the widow of seventy-five and the medium of
thirty-three grew apace and soon the spirit of her husband suggested
that she adopt Home as her son “for he would be such a comfort to her.”
The suggestion was immediately acted upon and the medium began to call
himself Daniel Home Lyon. Nor was the spirit forgetful of the needs
of a son, suggesting that an allowance of seven hundred pounds a year
would be about right. In January (1867) Mrs. Lyon assigned a mortgage
of thirty thousand pounds to Home, only reserving the interest as an
annuity for herself. Not until a month later did she become worried and
consult a lawyer, who assured her that she had been imposed upon, but
she was not convinced until she had questioned the spirits through a
girl of twelve, the daughter of a flower medium by the name of Murray.
As reported by this girl even the spirits seemed to think that Mrs.
Lyon had been fleeced out of sixty thousand pounds and she accordingly
demanded its return by Home. He ignored the demand but offered to
return the mortgage if she would give him undisputed possession of the
first thirty thousand pounds and allow him to drop the name of Lyon.
She would not agree to this. Home was arrested and a suit for recovery
begun. The litigation was long, the case finally ending in May, 1868,
with a judgment in favor of Mrs. Lyon; the Court holding that as the
transfer of money and deed had been accomplished by _fraud_ it was
therefore void. In his closing remarks the Vice Chancellor referred
to Mrs. Lyon as an old lady with a mind “_saturated with delusion_”
and characterized Spiritualism as being, according to the evidence, a
“system of mischievous nonsense well calculated to delude the vain, the
weak, the foolish, and the superstitious.”[40]
Home continued his mediumship, notwithstanding, and between 1870 and
1872 he held several seances with Sir William Crookes,[41] who was so
impressed that he credited him with being “one of the most lovable
of men--whose perfect genuineness was above suspicion,” an opinion
strikingly in contrast with the verdict in the case of Mrs. Lyon, but
which shows how thoroughly and easily the followers of Spiritualism are
beguiled and misled. _No_ medium is _ever_ open to suspicion by the
faithful and Sir William Crookes’ statement encourages the belief that
even scientists are not always immune from the influence of _personal
magnetism_. He is also quoted as saying:
“As to the theory of fraud, it is obvious that this theory can account
for a very small portion of the facts observed. I am willing to admit
that some so-called mediums of whom the public have heard much, are
arrant impostors, who have taken advantage of the public demand for
Spiritualistic excitement, to fill their purses with easily earned
guineas; _while others who have no pecuniary motive for imposture are
tempted to cheat, it would seem, solely by a desire for notoriety_.”
So it will be seen that even Professor Crookes, while defending the
so-called genuine medium, in the same breath admits that there are
fraudulent practitioners.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS, WINDOWS, ETC.,
WHERE HOME’S REPUTED FEAT OF FLOATING TOOK PLACE.]
Home gained wide notoriety for unusual phenomena by his reputed
levitation acts, wherein he would slide from the chair on which he was
sitting to a horizontal position, then ask to have the chair removed as
it was not supporting him, and would “float” under a table and back,
but his masterpiece, the incident oftenest referred to, was sailing out
of a window feet first, and sailing into another, seven feet and four
inches distant, landing feet first in an adjacent room, where he “sat
down.” Lord Adare, an observer, expressed surprise that he could have
been carried through an aperture so narrow as eighteen inches whereupon
“Home, still entranced said, ‘I will show you,’ _and then with his back
to the window he leaned over and was shot out of the aperture head
first, with the body rigid, and then returned quite quietly_.”[42][43]
This is the way the story has been recounted again and again by
Spiritualist writers and speakers and to this day is told by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle with as much seriousness as if he had been an eyewitness of
the occurrence in the full glare of a noon-day sun.
“When D.D. made that ‘home-run’” around the outside of his house he
seems to have been seeking an altitude rather than a speed record, as
the three reliable (?) witnesses agree that the windows through which
he floated were in the third story and either sixty or eighty feet from
the ground. This would make the height of each story from twenty to
twenty-seven feet, but _tall stories_ appear to have been a specialty
with these remarkably observant gentlemen.
In 1920 I made plans for reproducing this window feat under the same
conditions as Home and the late Stuart Cumberland openly challenged
Spiritualists that I was ready to submit to such a test but no response
was received before I left Europe. Consequently I desire to go on
record as being able to perform the same phenomena (?) provided I am
given the same conditions and scope which Home was. I believe that
those who witnessed the feat were sincere in giving credence to it but
that it was an illusion and they were deceived by Home, for the mind
of the average person accepts what it sees and is not willing to apply
the laws of physics, no matter how much or how glaringly the act defies
the fundamental principles upon which our very existence depends.
The years between 1859 and 1872 were those of Home’s greatest success.
Toward the end of this period, however, his popularity waned and having
for a second time married a lady belonging to the Russian nobility,
he gave up the practice of his profession, broke with nearly all
his former friends and returned to the Continent where he devoted
much of his time to writing. He died in 1886 and is buried at St.
Germain-en-Laye.
His active career, his various escapades, and the direct cause of his
death[44] all indicate that he lived the life of a hypocrite of the
deepest dye. How strange that these inspired agents of “Summerland,”
these human deliverers of messages, these stepping stones to the
Beyond, are, for the greater part, moral perverts whose favorite
defence is the claim that they are forced to do such deeds by the evil
spirits which take possession of them.