_Secretary_.
* * * * *
February 20th, 1885.
The Commission met on Friday, February 20th, 1885, at 8 P.M., again at
the house of Mr. Furness, to attend a second séance in the presence of
Mrs. Lord.
On the part of the Commission were present Mr. Furness, Mr. Sellers and
Mr. Fullerton. There were also present several women and men, some of
whom had been present at the previous sitting. The circle, when formed,
was about six feet in diameter.
A ring was given by the Medium to Mr. Sellers and another to Miss Logan
to wear during the evening, with the expectation that they might be
taken by the Spirits and passed to another person in the circle, in
accordance with the unexpressed wish of the one holding the ring. This
was not done during the evening.
A small musical-box was also given to one of the women to hold, and a
zither placed upon the lap of a man. The former was, during the séance,
taken from the woman holding it, and passed to another person in the
circle. The Medium sat as before, with her hands free, while those in
the circle clasped hands, as was done on the former evening, each one
having his left wrist grasped by the right hand of his neighbor, or
_vice versa_.
The zither was undisturbed during the evening.
Touches were felt here and there on the knees of those in the circle,
and whispers were again heard from time to time.
The whispers were, as before, _never simultaneous_ with the speeches of
the Medium, which were heard just after in another part of the circle.
I distinctly noticed, on several occasions, the same rustle, as of a
change of position on the part of the Medium, between the whisper and
the remark by the Medium.
Many Spirit forms were described by the Medium as coming to those
present, with about the same proportion of success as on the former
evening.
At various times during the sitting, lights were seen, which appeared
and disappeared rapidly. They were indistinct and phosphorescent--such
as can be produced in a dark room by rubbing a match-head, or by
exhibiting an object rubbed with a match.
The lights--at least all that were clearly seen by several persons--were
within the circle and about the Medium.
Occasionally the Medium spoke of lights as without the circle, and one
or two of those present (not members of the Commission) assented. But,
as on two such occasions, when those opposite myself described the light
as above and behind me, I saw it above and in front of me, or between me
and the Medium; there is no reason to believe that they were not
deceived by the difficulty of judging of the distance of an indistinct
and evanescent appearance in a quite dark place. The direction, but not
the distance, can in such a case be readily known.
After a sitting of about two hours, the attempt to produce more striking
phenomena was abandoned.
During both séances Mrs. Lord kept up an almost continuous clapping of
hands--the noise was not loud, but sufficient to aid in hiding any
rustle of the Medium's dress, or creaking of a chair. The Medium also
talked constantly.
At the suggestion of the Medium those present joined in singing on two
occasions.
The whisper heard in the circle was uniformly hoarse.
A list of those present at these séances and the names of the ladies who
searched the Medium, are appended:
Those present at Mrs. Lord's séance on Thursday were: Dr. and Mrs.
Pepper, Professor and Mrs. Fullerton, Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, Professor
and Mrs. Thompson, Geo. S. Pepper, Mr. Leonard, Miss M.M. Logan, Dr.
Leidy, Mrs. A.L. Wister, Miss Agnes Irwin, Walter R. Furness, Dr. C.B.
Knerr, Dr. Koenig, Dr. H.H. Furness.
Those present at Friday's séance were: Professor Fullerton, Miss Smith,
Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, Dr. Leidy, Mr. Leonard, Mr. and Mrs. F. Furness,
Mrs. A.L. Wister, Miss Irwin and Miss Sophie Irwin, Miss Logan, Mr. and
Mrs. F.M. Dick, Mrs. J.E. Carpenter, H.H. Furness. Mrs. A.L. Wister,
Mrs. Dr. Pepper, Women Searchers.