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On the evening of January 29th, 1887, in company with Dr. J.W. White, I
called on Mrs. Thayer, at No. 1601 North 15th Street.
The lady seemed not to be pleased with our visit, and declared that we
were no Spiritualists. She reluctantly agreed to give us a séance on the
following Sunday, and on parting the gentleman of the house politely
invited us to attend a flower séance to be held by the same lady on the
following Thursday.
Calling on Sunday, Mrs. Thayer excused herself on account of
indisposition.
The next Thursday we attended the flower séance, in which I felt much
curiosity from the wonderful story that had been told to me by a
Spiritualist friend, who had seen one by the same Medium several years
before.
The séance was held in the second story of the back building, in a room
which the proprietor of the house informed me he had devoted to the
purpose of Spiritualist séances. About thirty persons were assembled,
and, without any examination of the premises, they were seated around a
long dining-table. In the company Dr. Koenig was the only other member
of the Seybert Commission present. The séance was opened with an
'invocation' by a lady, and during the 'manifestations' the company sang
popular airs, such as 'Sweet by-and-bye,' etc. The doors and windows
were all securely closed and the lights extinguished. Sounds were heard
of objects dropping on the table, and from time to time matches were lit
and exposed, strewed before the company, cut plants and flowers. There
were all of the kind sold at this season by the florists, consisting of
a pine bough, fronds of ferns, roses, pinks, tulips, lilies, callas
(Richardia) and smilax (Myrsiphyllum). At one time there fell on the
table a heavy body, which proved to be a living terrapin; at another
time there appeared a pigeon which flew about the room. The flower
manifestation ceased, and the gas was re-lit. A lady then made some
remarks on the wonderful phenomena exhibited in evidence of the truth of
Spiritualism, and another followed with some sentimentalities on the
subject. The proprietor of the house declared that the flowers and other
objects brought to view in the séance were not previously in the room,
and their appearance could not be explained unless through Spiritual
agency. He said that in former years, at similar séances, flowers had
appeared in much greater quantities. The Medium, Mrs. Thayer, said she
had not before served in a flower séance for several years.
At the next act of the séance, as I understood it, a 'test' was called
for. A young man, whose name I did not distinctly hear, now took the
chair of the former Medium. He promptly announced the appearance of the
Spirit of an Indian girl, and then personified her by assuming a silly
address in broken English. In this manner he expressed himself as seeing
various Spirits of friends and relatives of the company hovering among
them. They were announced by the first name in a rather uncertain and
expectant manner, and in a few instances they were supposed to be
recognized by some of the company, but mostly did not accord with their
knowledge. As an example, the Medium informed Dr. Koenig that a tall man
named Charley was holding something over his head and encouraging him in
some great enterprise. Dr. Koenig did not recognize the man, nor could
he be made to comprehend anything of the subjects of which he was
informed by the materialized Indian girl. During this second act of the
séance, I could detect nothing that could be attributed to other than
ordinary human agency. The Indian girl retired, and the séance closed.