A correspondent of the same serial gives the following facts:—
“On the 1st October, 1865, I attended a séance at 13, Victoria Place, Clifton, where the younger Mrs. Marshall, the well-known medium from London, was staying.
“I had previously prepared, as a test, a series of written questions inserted in a book and numbered consecutively; my wife, who was present, was by the usual method put in communication with the spirit of her mother, and the following are a few of the results. It is important to observe that no clue was given to the medium, or to the others present, as to the nature of the answer required, the questions being put in the following form:—‘Will you answer the question No. 33?’ &c., and as the answers were occasionally given in a different form from what was anticipated, though still quite correctly, these two facts taken together conclusively prove, as it appears to me, that the answers were neither the result of any knowledge on the part of the medium, nor any ‘reflex action’ from the mind of the interrogator.
“The spirit having been requested to answer the question numbered 33, viz.:—‘Will you spell the name of the place where we lived when you left this state?’ The reply, spelt through the alphabet, was ‘Aust.’
“Question No. 34 having been put in the same manner, viz.:—‘Where was your body buried?’ The reply was, ‘Saint George’s.’
“No. 35.—‘While your body was lying in the coffin, was anything put in the hand?’[51] Reply, ‘Yes.’
“No. 36.—‘What was it?’ Reply, ‘A sprig of myrtle.’
“No. 37.—‘By whom was it put there?’ Reply, ‘Thomas Bowman.’
“No. 38.—‘Who else were present at the time?’ Reply, ‘Ann, Tommy and Mary Bowman Bryant.’
“Many other replies were given of an equally satisfactory character, but I must not further trespass on your space. I would merely remark that the answers in each case were quite correct, and that the events referred to occurred upwards of forty years since.”