“On the 26th April, old style, or 8th May, according to our style, at
seven in the evening, and as the snow was fast falling, our little boy
was born at the town house, situate on the Gagarines Quay, in St.
Petersburg, where we were still staying. A few hours after his birth,
his mother, the nurse, and I heard for several hours the warbling of a
bird as if singing over him. Also that night, and for two or three
nights afterwards, a bright starlike light, which was clearly visible
from the partial darkness of the room, in which there was only a
night-lamp burning, appeared several times directly I over its head,
where it remained for some moments, and then slowly moved in the
direction of the door, where it disappeared. This was also seen by each
of us at the same time. The light was more condensed than those which
have been so often seen in my presence upon previous and subsequent
occasions. It was brighter and more distinctly globular. I do not
believe that it came through my mediumship, but rather through that of
the child, who has manifested on several occasions the presence of the
gift. I do not like to allude to such a matter, but as there are more
strange things in Heaven and earth than are dreamt of, even in my
philosophy, I do not feel myself at liberty to omit stating, that during
the latter part of my wife’s pregnancy, we thought it better that she
should not join in Séances, because it was found that whenever the
rappings occurred in the room, a simultaneous movement of the child was
distinctly felt, perfectly in unison with the sounds. When there were
three sounds, three movements were felt, and so on, and when five sounds
were heard, which is generally the call for the alphabet, she felt the
five internal movements, and she would frequently, when we were mistaken
in the latter, correct us from what the child indicated.”
We should ask pardon of our readers for sullying our paper with this
nauseous matter, if without it they could adequately understand what Mr.
Home’s book is.