It is with a degree of pleasure that one may turn to letters which were written by the sincere disciples of the “Fox Sisters,” and which breathe a deep anxiety for the fate of that fantastic creed in which they have so much delighted.
The reader has but to think for an instant of the actual meaning of this long-deferred exposé to these persons. They had greedily fed their souls upon the delusion that they had held intercourse with the spirits of their dear departed. The supposed messages which they had received seemed a sure earnest of that union with those they loved on earth for which the true heart most longs. In view of this expectation and in the light of this exposure of its utter fallacy—so far as any material evidence is concerned—it is most difficult to find adequate terms with which to characterize the work of those who still persist in contributing to a delusion which has numbered so many victims.
Here is a letter from a resident of Southern California, enclosing a clipping from a newspaper containing Mrs. Kane’s renunciation of Spiritualism:
“Buena Park, Los Angeles Co., Cal.,
Sept. 29, A. D. 1888.
“Mrs. Margaret Fox Kane,
“Dear Madam:
“I have just read the enclosed item, taken from one of our Los Angeles city papers. Please let me know if the statements therein contained are true, and you will greatly oblige,
“Yours for truth,
“T. J. House.”
The following was written by one of the best known early settlers of San Francisco, a man whose example and absolute faith have influenced hundreds, probably, to embrace Spiritualism:
“San Francisco, Cal., Oct. 2, 1888.