“During this manifestation of his power Dr. Schlesinger simply formed a circle or chain of hands, connecting with himself, frequently tapped the table, and appealed to an unseen ‘guide’ for his information. Raps were said to have been heard also, but of this I cannot bear testimony.
“How was this done? By mesmerism? No; for there was nothing in the nature of sleep or putting to sleep. Mind-reading? Possibly; although some of the slips of paper were read correctly when the contents were for the time forgotten and unknown to myself. Hypnotism? Don’t know, having but a faint idea how far these phenomena extend. By sharpness of sight, trickery, sleight of hand? I cannot answer, at least for the present, remaining, as before, an agnostic on these matters; unable to give an intelligent explanation, but at the same time not disposed to jeer or scoff at what I do not understand. Respectfully,
“Robert Ferral.”
September 5, 1893.
DR. BUNKER’S NARRATIVE.
The following is Dr. R. E. Bunker’s account, written at his old office, No. 802 Kearny Street, just after the seances and while he was still in charge of the City Receiving Hospital:—
“I saw Dr. Schlesinger in company with the other gentlemen named, and I saw wonderful things which I am wholly unable to explain. The phenomena, manifestations, or things that occur in the medium’s presence are not only interesting, but marvelous. I went possessed of something like eight or ten slips of paper, on each of which I had previously written (at my office) a name of some person I had known—some living, some dead. Not a soul ever saw the slips, for I was alone when I wrote the names. Furthermore, they were so folded that no one could possibly have read a single name. Dr. Schlesinger at once picked out the names of living and dead persons, while the slips were held between my fingers and when I did not know what person’s name was on the particular slip that I held. He pronounced every name correctly while I held the pellet, or as it lay untouched on his table.
“To say that what he did was by the aid of wires or batteries would be to impart to wires and batteries more intelligence than the greatest philosophers have ever possessed. This is no explanation; nor has any one ever been able to explain to me how these things were done. I do not believe it was mind-reading (a term that conveys no intelligent idea to me anyhow), for I did not know the name on the slip under question—not until I afterwards unfolded it and corroborated the Doctor’s readings. You understand that the entire bunch had been thoroughly shuffled in a hat before any slip was picked up.
“To come to specific instances, let me give a few cases as they occurred. On one slip I had written my mother’s maiden name, which was not known to anybody in San Francisco. It was placed among eight or ten other names of women—some married, some unmarried, some wholly fictitious. All slips were folded alike and placed in a hat under the table, which I held in my hands. Dr. Schlesinger asked me to pick out the pellets, one at a time and hold them between my finger and thumb. He would say, ‘That is not the name, throw it aside;’ and so on, until he hesitated at one pellet and said, ‘That is your mother’s maiden name; it is Emily J. Laumann.’
“The answer was correct, and in a similar manner he read other names and told me all about the persons. I had written the name of Dick Foster on one slip. Foster had died of consumption at the old Bella Union Theater, on June 21st. The medium did not read his name, but wrote a message backwards—that is, from left to right—very rapidly, and when I held it up to the light with the written surface from me, I could read the following:—