This revival and its consequences are like a page out of a silly romance. The story, if told by a disinterested historian, would require authentication as belonging to 1850. We therefore turn, by way of voucher, to a publication called Zadkiel's Almanac for 1851. At page 46, after referring to the existence of magic crystals at the present day, the writer, says, "One of large size was a few years ago brought over to England by a friend of Lady Blessington, after the sale of whose effects, it recently fell into the hands of a friend of mine; and, having tested its powers, I have resolved on giving my readers an account of this wonderful mode of communicating with the spirits of the dead. The crystal is spherical, and has been turned from a large mass of pure rock crystal. I have been shown some few others, but, with the exception of one shown me by Lord S., they are all much smaller. These smaller ones are said to be consecrated to angels of the planets, and are, therefore, far less powerful than Lady Blessington's crystal, which, being consecrated to the Archangel of the Sun, Michael, may be consulted during four hours each day, whereas the others can generally be used only for a very brief space of time; nor can very potent spirits be called into them, or made to render themselves visible. In this larger crystal is given most important information of the actual existence of the soul after death, and of the state in which it exists and will exist until the judgment."
"The first intimation we received," says Dickens, in his Household Words, "of the revival of this notable practice of divination, was about six months ago, when we were casually informed that the son of a distinguished officer of the royal navy was, at that time, frequently engaged in developing, before a few privileged friends, the extraordinary faculty of being able to hold intercourse with the world of spirits. It was added that the revelations made through the medium of this youth were of so wonderful a nature, and carried such conviction to the minds of those who listened, that they were declared to be the result of more than human power."
The conjurer was asked, on one occasion, to describe Lord Nelson. And, accordingly, the spirit, with an accuracy that was quite astonishing, considering that no portrait, bust, or statue of Nelson is known to exist, gave a full, true, and particular account of England's hero, describing him as a very thin man, in a cocked hat, with only one eye, one arm, &c.; and the truth of the description was declared to be something truly marvellous.
A demand was made that the spirit of a deceased brother of one of the querists should be summoned to appear. Presently he said, "I see him; he has curly hair, and stoops a good deal. I can't exactly see his features, but I think he squints." This account of her late brother's personal appearance, though not very flattering, satisfied the lady as far as it went; but being, like Macbeth,—
"… bent to know,
By the worst means, the worst,"
she required further proof of his identity. There was a pause for a minute or two, and then the spirit seer spoke again—"He has got a scroll in his hand, which he unfolds; there is this inscription on it, in letters of fire:—
'I am Tom!'"
This sublime revelation was received with a degree of solemn awe, and with suppressed throes of well-bred laughter.
Other cases not a whit less marvellous have been described by the narrators, who could not be reasoned out of their absurdity, insisting that there could be no deception in the matter, on account of the means employed, and the evident sincerity of the employés! These means, they said, required that the person who looked into the crystal should be perfectly pure; that is to say, a child free from sin, and by no means given to lying, and that the form of adjuration used was, "In nomine Domini," &c.; Latin being, as is well known, the language which spirits of all denominations are most accustomed to. When interrogated after this fashion, the spirit, if evil, fled away howling; if good, it came, when called, unless particularly engaged in the sun; for it appears that it is to that planet almost all spirits go when their term of purgatory is over. It seems that the spirits would sometimes get out of breath, travelling so far, and talking so much; and they then had recourse to the expedient of letters of fire, which seemed to be written in various ways in the crystal; sometimes on flags, which the spirits hold up, but sometimes they are in print. In these letters of fire, the querist was counselled something like the following: "Be merry. Quarrel not. Keep your temper, and your children too. You are a good man, but try to be better. I am wanted. Let me go."