“Dr. Slade seemed to be pleased by my description. After some pleasant talk as to his appearance with Scientists, Kings and other royal persons and Rulers in Europe and his success as a lecturer and his way of living, he gave me his address, No. 221 West 22nd Street, New York.
“Then I asked Dr. Slade that we change ‘rôles,’ he to take my place and be the Investigator,—and I to play the ‘medium,’ there, in his room, as an ‘experiment.’
“Dr. Slade also said that if I could overcome my skepticism I would be a good ‘psychic,’ having ‘mediumistic’ gifts.
“I suggested that he should watch me carefully and then honestly tell me, as to the effect and ‘impression’ my ‘manifestations’ could (or would) be producing on his mind, and eventually on the outcome of the ‘Spiritualistic, the Harmonial, Philosophy, or so-called, Scientific Religion of the Spiritists.’
“Then, to his consternation, I, earnestly, by actual demonstration, reproduced every one of his manifestations, exactly (and by the same modus operandi, as I, and my witnesses had seen and detected) as Dr. Slade had performed them. He asked me, how, and by what means we detected his ‘occult’ or secret mode, or ‘process of wonder working’ or miracle?—I mentioned that he had positively refused to try any ‘experiment’ on the first and second sets of tables and chairs, and had requested me to substitute them by a plain kitchen table and chairs of a certain construction.
“I told him that I had bored observation-holes in the corners of the panels (particularly so through the lower corners) in the parlor doors, the floor, ceiling and other places from where my concealed witnesses observed, and have seen exactly all the movements of his feet, hands, etc., below and above the table,—saw how he raised (‘floated’) Mr. Wertheimer sitting in the chair, saw how he (Dr. Slade) with his foot upset chairs, kicked a book (extending over the edge of the table), tossed a slate pencil from the edge of the table from a slate held under and at the edge of the table, etc., etc.
SKETCH SHOWING SLADE’S SEAT AT THE TABLE, DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF SLATES, LOCATION OF SPONGE, AND METHOD OF MOVING BOOK.
“Dr. Slade, now turned very pale and wiping off the thick perspiration from his forehead and face, said:—‘Well, what of it?’ and rashly asked:—‘Where were Hudson Tuttle and Dr. H. Tiedemann?’ I reminded him of the fact that they had sent an excuse, being unable (by reason of unforeseen circumstances) to attend that seance in my house.
“Then I sternly gave him the alternative:—That either he sign his own confession (as to the fact)—that he has (during the many years in his career as a professional Spirit medium and in everything he had professed or pretended to be ‘genuine’ Spiritistic or Spiritualistic) deceived and defrauded the public.—I read the confession to him and sternly demanded, ‘Either you sign this or you will be put behind the bars.’—