The times, places and modes of her appearing were various. Sometimes she appeared to be alone, as the events which followed bore witness: for the testimony of events is sometimes more valid than that of persons. Sometimes she appeared to two or three; then to five or six; then to ten or twelve; again to twenty, and once to more than forty witnesses. She appeared in several apartments of Mr. Blaisdel’s house, and several times in the cellar. She also appeared at other houses, and several times in the open field, as already observed. There, white as the light, she moved like a cloud above the ground in personal form and magnitude, in the presence of more than forty people. She tarried with them till after day-light, and vanished: not because she was afraid of the sun: for she had then several times appeared when the sun was shining. Once in particular, when she appeared in the room where the family were, about eleven o’clock in the day, they all left the house; but convinced of the impropriety of their conduct they returned.
At another time, when several neighbors were at the house, and were conversing on these remarkable events, a young lady in the company declared that though she had heard the discourse of the Spectre, she would never believe that there had been a Spectre among us, unless she could see her.
In a few minutes after, the Spectre appeared to several persons and said she must come in the room where the company was. One of those who saw her, pleaded that she would not. The Spectre then asked, “Is there a person here, who desires to see me?” The young lady was then called, who, with several others saw the Spectre. “Here I am, said she, satisfy yourselves.” The lady owned she was satisfied. It was now about two o’clock in the day. In short the ghost appeared or conversed, or performed both almost as frequently in the day, as in the night.
But will christians argue that the appearance of an angel to the Shepherds was a fiction because it happened in the night?[18]
In all the appearances of the Spectre she was as white as the light, and this whiteness was as clear and visible in a dark cellar and dark night, as when she appeared in the open field and in the open day. At a certain time, August 9-10, 1799, she informed a number of people that she meant to appear before them, (for she frequently conversed without appearing at all) that they must stand in order and behave in a solemn manner: “For the Lord,” said she, “is a God of order.” Accordingly she appeared and vanished before them several times. At first they saw a small body of light, which continually increased till it formed into the shape and magnitude of a person.
This personal shape approached so near to Capt. Butler, that he put his hand upon it and it passed down through the apparition as through a body of light, in the view of six or seven witnesses. There were now thirteen persons present, who all saw the apparition except two.[19] And five others, whether they were looking another way, or were prevented by some standing before them, or whatever might be the cause, did not see this attempt of handling the apparition.
But I attend to your reasoning. “If this extraordinary fact be true, what a pity it is that there were no more witnesses! would not the evidence have been greater had it been acquired by all the eleven.” The more extraordinary the fact, the more numerous should be the witnesses. This is the opinion naturally entertained by mankind every where. Hence it follows that all of those eleven persons were not then practising artifice: for then they would all have seen this extraordinary fact.
The five who did not see it, saw that which was very little short of it. They saw that which rose into personal form, face and features in a moment. Returned to a shapeless mass in a moment, resumed the person in a moment, and vanished again in a moment. They saw that which was not afraid to be handled by them: For she passed slowly by them near enough for that purpose.
The transfiguration of Christ was a very extraordinary fact. Out of all his twelve disciples, why chose he only three to be eyewitnesses of it?
As to the six witnesses, not one of them has ever been accused or even suspected of being concerned in the supposed artifice. Some of them are aged, others young. They had, and still have, professions, employments and interests widely different and belong to four different families. It is the fixed and settled opinion of our opponents here, that two of them are not only persons of integrity, but were ensnared by others through the whole scene.