_Secretary_.
The following stenographic report of the meeting of November 6th, 1884,
has been read and approved by the Commission before being entered upon
this book.
The few additions which were made when it was read, appear as foot
notes. The report was approved as excellent.
(A Record from the notes of the Stenographer--Mr. J.I. Gilbert.)
PHILADA., November 6th, 1884.
The Committee reconvened this day, at 8 o'clock P.M., at the residence
of Mr. H.H. Furness, when the investigation of the Spirit Rappings, in
the presence of Mrs. Margaret Fox Kane as Medium, was resumed.
The persons present were the following:
Of the Committee--Dr. Leidy, Mr. Furness, Dr. Koenig, Mr. Fullerton, Mr.
Coleman Sellers, and by invitation of the Committee, Mr. Geo. S. Pepper.
The Medium--Mrs. Kane.
The Stenographer--Mr. Gilbert.
The company promptly repaired to the dining-room, and there gathered
around a common pine-wood table, consisting solely of its supports and
top, which had been specially provided, in compliance with the direction
of the Medium. The dimensions of the table, approximately stated, are as
follows: height, three feet; length, four feet; width, two and a-half
feet.
The 'Spirit Rappings' during the evening, aside from those heard during
the test with the glass tumblers, were apparently confined to the
floor-space in the immediate vicinity of, and directly beneath the table
described--around which the company were seated in the order here
stated. Mr. Sellers (to whom had been deputed the duty of eliciting the
responses) occupied the chair at the end of the table more remote from
the Stenographer. Next, upon Mr. Sellers' right and at the side of the
table, sat Mr. Pepper, and Mr. Furness in the adjoining seat. The first
chair on the side of the table to the left of Mr. Sellers was occupied
by the Medium, and the remaining chair on the same side by Mr.
Fullerton. At the near end of the table, Dr. Leidy and Dr. Koenig were
seated. The Committee, with one exception, in accordance with a
requirement imposed by the Medium, rested their hands upon the table and
fixed their minds upon the subject of the rappings. The exception was
Dr. Koenig, who, being seated at a distance of three feet from the
table, could not conveniently comply with the requirement. After the
expiration of some twenty minutes, the Medium requested Dr. Koenig to
place his hands upon the table, and he promptly complied with the
request and moved his chair closer to that of Dr. Leidy, thus depriving
himself of any facilities of observation of the space beneath the table.
The Stenographer was at a table about four feet from the circle of the
Committee.
The lengths of the intervals between the questions addressed to the
Spirits and the responses thereto, were computed by the audible
second-strokes of a clock in an adjoining apartment; the periods of
waiting being necessarily brief in view of the assurance of the Medium
(as set forth in its proper place in the Report) that "When the raps
come, they come right away."
The "Spirit Rappings" varied materially in quality and character, being
at times faintly, and at other times distinctly audible.
The record of the Investigation is as follows:
Mr. Sellers: Is any Spirit present now?
Three raps--faint and partly indistinct--are almost instantly audible.
The raps apparently emanate from the floor-space directly beneath, or in
the immediate vicinity of the table. This remark is applicable to all
the rappings during the séance at the pine table.