,price1 #ej cents     ,do the ,dead     
,return8    ,a ,startling ,story from   
,life     ,crown ,publishing ,company   
,san ,francisco   #aijj                 
,illustration3 ,,dr4 ,,louis            
,,schlesinger4       ,,do ,,the ,,dead  
,,return8     ,a ,,true ,,story   ,,of  
,,startling ,,seances   ,,in ,,san      
,,francisco     ,,notice    ,this work  
is copyrighted4 ,editors are warned     
not to make unlawful abridgments4       
,,crown ,,publishing ,,company   ,,san  
,,francisco   #aijj       ,,copyright1  
#aijj   ,,by ,,crown ,,publishing ,,co4 
,,table ,,of ,,contents4                
,,page    ,,introduction                
#e    ,,the ,,author',s ,,story         
#g    ,,the ,,examiner ,,seance         
#ad    ,,some ,,startling ,,daylight    
,,seances     #ai    ,,character ,,of   
,,the ,,narrators          #ee          
,,introduction4   ,before this little   
volume is read a few words of           
explanation should be carefully weighed1
 for otherwise the reader might go away 

with many false impressions4  ,the      
author desires to say that every word   
here printed is absolutely and literally
 true4 ,nothing has been added or       
suppressed1 but the entire truth has    
been expressed1 usually in the exact    
language of the distinguished gentlemen 
whose narratives make the bulk of the   
book4 ,in most instances the witnesses  
summoned wrote their accounts with their
 own hands1 and the original manuscripts
 are still preserved4  ,though many     
years have passed since the events      
recorded herein transpired1 all who     
witnessed the phenomena are still alive1
 and all are well-known and reputable   
citizens of ,san ,francisco4 ,it was    
only a few days ago that the author met 
,captain ,w4 ,s4 ,barnes1 who was       
,district ,attorney of the ,city and    
,county of ,san ,francisco in #ahic 7the
 date of the occurrences with which the 
book deals71 and he said3 ,what ,i saw  
in the presence of the medium has       
puzzled me all these years4 ,i can      

truthfully say that the things that took
 place at ,mayor ,ellert's office are   
the most wonderful events that ,i have  
ever come upon4 ,they are absolutely    
beyond my understanding4  ,the          
circumstances with which the narrative  
deals are an important contribution to  
the history of psychic research1 and    
they are presented for what they are    
worth while the witnesses and actors in 
the story are alive4  ,,the ,,author4   
,san ,francisco1 ,september1 #aijj4     
,,chapter ,i4  ,,the ,,author',s        
,,story4   ,in the autumn of #ahia1 the 
author of this narrative was business   
manager of the ,modesto 7,california7   
,daily ,news4 ,one afternoon while he   
was engaged in an important consultation
 with the late ,senator ,j4 ,d4         
,spencer1 one of the owners of the      
,news1 there was a knock at the door of 
the editorial rooms4 ,in a twinkling an 
old gentleman entered2 he was a         
venerable-looking1 long-bearded man1    
with ,hebraic features4  ,before        

,senator ,spencer and ,i could say1     
,good day1 sir6 the old man said        
something like this3 ,gentlemen1 ,i am  
,dr4 ,louis ,schlesinger1 the famous    
,spiritualist medium4 ,it is well known 
that ,i can talk with the good angels1  
and ,i desire to have a series of       
seances here in ,modesto4  ,our         
advertising columns are open1 ,i said1  
and we shall be pleased to announce your
 meetings at the regular rates4  ,i have
 no money to spare1 he replied2 but ,i  
think you will say something about me   
when ,i show you that man lives after   
death4  ,the ,senator whispered to me   
7on discovering that the old gentleman  
was quite deaf71 ,i guess he's escaped  
from the ,stockton ,lunatic ,asylum4    
,stockton was but twenty miles away1 and
 ,i assented1 but said1 ,suppose we     
sound him before we send for an officer4
  ,so we agreed to give ,dr4            
,schlesinger an opportunity to convince 
us that he was a man of rare endowments1
 as he pretended to be4  ,coming to the 

point1 it was arranged that the ,senator
 should retire to the press-room while  
,i remained with the aged suspect4      
,take eight or ten slips of paper1 said 
,dr4 ,schlesinger1 and write one name on
 each--some of living1 some of dead     
persons2 and don't tell me or anybody on
 earth what names you have written on   
the slips4 ,roll them into little       
pellets--and come back here with your   
mind at rest1 for ,i am not insane1 as  
you think4  ,we were somewhat surprised1
 for both were certain that the old     
gentleman could not have heard ,senator 
,spencer's whispered doubt concerning   
our visitor's sanity4  ,in a few minutes
 ,senator ,spencer returned1 bearing a  
number of paper pellets which he held in
 his clenched right hand4  ,doors were  
closed and a table was rolled to the    
center of the room4 ,dr4 ,schlesinger   
closed his eyes and appeared to fall    
into a light slumber4 ,at once there    
were many distinct raps on the table1 as
 if some one had thumped upon it with a 

finger4 ,this was rather singular1 as we
 could see that our visitor's hands in  
no manner touched the table4  ,suddenly 
the old man opened his eyes and said3   
,gentlemen1 are you satisfied that ,i do
 not know any of the names on those     
papers8  ,as ,senator ,spencer was as   
truthful and honorable a man as ever    
lived1 one whose word was better than   
most men's bonds1 ,i replied3 ,i am sure
 you have not seen the names and that   
you do not know one of them4  ,and some 
of the names are not known to anybody in
 ,california1 added the ,senator4  ,then
 ,i'll have to show you that ,i can talk
 with the spirits of the departed1 said 
,dr4 ,schlesinger4  ,without further    
delay he said3 ,i see the spirit of your
 mother standing over you4 ,she calls   
you ,dillard1 which is your middle name1
 and she says she died in ,kansas ,city1
 and was buried in the old cemetery at  
,westport4 ,am ,i right8  ,senator      
,spencer turned pale and said3 ,that is 
absolutely correct4 ,which one of the   

pellets bears her name8  ,he then held  
the bits of paper between his right     
finger and thumb1 and when he had picked
 up three or four of them1 the medium   
said1 ,that is the one which contains   
your mother's maiden name4  ,i have now 
forgotten the maiden name of the        
,senator's mother1 though ,i think it   
was ,dillard4 ,the answer1 however1 was 
correct4  ,next1 without asking me to   
write anything down1 the medium thus    
addressed me3 ,i see the spirit of your 
mother's mother4 ,her name was ,eliza   
,johnson1 and she calls you 'my son1'   
and says1 ',tell ,anne that immortality 
is the glorious truth of human life4'   
,anne was the name of her eldest        
child--your mother4  ,if ,senator       
,spencer was convinced that ,dr4        
,schlesinger had told him the truth1 ,i 
had the same kind of conviction in my   
case2 for every word uttered was        
correct4 ,i have never understood how   
this old man came to the results        
announced1 nor have ,i ever seen any one

 who was able to explain his power4     
,with the memory of my ,modesto         
experiences fresh in mind1 ,i decided1  
when ,i came upon ,dr4 ,schlesinger in  
,san ,francisco1 in #ahic1 to institute 
a series of daylight seances in the     
presence of some of the most            
distinguished citizens of ,san          
,francisco4 ,as ,i was then a writer of 
the ,san ,francisco ,daily ,examiner    
staff ,i found rare opportunities for   
enlisting the men desired in the        
experiments4 ,i was not then1 nor am ,i 
now1 in any manner affiliated with      
,spiritualists1 nor do ,i set forth the 
facts of this narrative for the purpose 
of making converts to any theory of mind
 or matter4  ,the manuscript from which 
this work is printed was written at the 
time of the matters recorded1 on an     
order from the ,examiner4 ,owing to the 
fact that ,mayor ,ellert afterwards     
regretted that he had allowed a seance  
to be held in his office1 the ,examiner 
was induced to suppress the story1 which

 now appears in detail for the first    
time4 ,it should be borne in mind that  
all that follows was written at the time
 of the events described4     ,,chapter 
,,ii4  ,,the ,,examiner ,,seance4       
,that the reader may fully understand   
the origin of the experiments recorded  
in the narrative that follows1 it is    
necessary to state again that ,i was a  
writer for the ,examiner in the autumn  
of #ahic1 and that ,i was on the alert  
for what newspaper men call stories1 or 
special articles--things a little       
outside of the ordinary run of news4    
,ambitious to arrange something of      
unusual interest1 ,i approached ,mr4    
,hearst and ,s4 ,s4 ,chamberlain1 who   
were in charge of the news department of
 the paper4 ,i told them what ,i had    
seen ,dr4 ,schlesinger do in ,modesto1  
and outlined the plans that were        
afterwards carried out--seances at the  
office of ,mayor ,ellert and the ,chief 
of ,police1 in the presence of prominent
 citizens4 ,first1 however1 it was      

necessary for the editors to see the    
medium at their offices2 for they feared
 there would be some failure1 and that  
the citizens invited would be disgusted 
because of their loss of time in useless
 experiments4  ,for these reasons1      
therefore1 the first sittings were at   
the editorial offices of the ,examiner1 
where the editors were as much puzzled  
as anybody else4 ,they were at once     
convinced that1 however he performed his
 feats1 ,dr4 ,schlesinger was at least  
not a bungling master of the black art4 
,several intelligent observers were     
present1 among them one or two of the   
brightest newspaper men in the city4    
,the experiments were not only carefully
 noted1 but they were viewed with grave 
suspicion4 ,they were1 however1 wholly  
informal and merely preliminary to the  
more important and prolonged seances    
that followed at the office of the      
,mayor of the city1 and later at the    
office of and in the presence of the    
city's ,chief of ,police4 ,a few facts  

concerning the occurrences at the       
,examiner office are given that the     
reader may have the full benefit of the 
story4  ,one of the investigators       
7,managing ,editor ,a4 ,b4 ,henderson7  
wrote a number of names on slips of     
paper1 before ,dr4 ,schlesinger arrived4
 ,they were not seen or known to any one
 save the person that prepared them1 and
 the slips on which they were written   
were carefully folded and clasped in a  
bundle1 by a rubber band or elastic4    
,great pains was taken by ,mr4          
,henderson to prevent the medium from   
handling or seeing the slips4 ,without  
seeing the writing1 ,dr4 ,schlesinger at
 once gave the names correctly4 ,one of 
them was that of ,thaddeus ,stevens1 the
 eminent ,pennsylvanian2 and when the   
folded slip on which his name was       
written was touched by ,mr4 ,henderson1 
the medium said3 ,that is the name of   
,thaddeus ,stevens1 who knew you well4  
,he calls you ,alexander1 and sends you 
his love4  ,then the name of the        

sitter's deceased uncle was properly    
announced1 though it had not been       
written on any of the slips4 ,correct   
information was also given concerning   
the uncle's religion while in the flesh4
  ,s4 ,s4 ,chamberlain1 now ,managing   
,editor of the ,philadelphia ,north     
,american1 7then ,news ,editor of the   
,examiner7 was one of the investigators4
 ,he wrote down1 on separate slips of   
paper1 the names of many living and dead
 persons1 but1 contrary to the medium's 
request1 he did not write the names of  
persons he had ever known4 ,in a few    
moments ,dr4 ,schlesinger read the names
 correctly while the slips were beyond  
his reach1 and firmly clasped in        
,chamberlain's hand4 ,they were of such 
persons as ,john ,ruskin1 ,ralph ,waldo 
,emerson1 ,shakespeare1 ,longfellow1    
etc4  ,a faithful report of all that    
occurred was submitted to the managing  
editor of the paper1 who at once decided
 that a series of similar experiments1  
conducted at the office of the ,mayor of

 the city and others1 in broad daylight1
 would make the basis for some          
interesting ,sunday specials4 ,under his
 instructions ,i arranged the seances1  
and was present at all of them4 ,i      
subsequently wrote a faithful account of
 what occurred1 but the articles were   
rejected by the editor of the ,sunday   
,examiner for personal reasons4 ,this   
volume embraces the substance of what   
was then prepared4     ,,chapter ,,iii4 
,,some ,,startling ,,daylight ,,seances4
   ,it was on ,september #d1 #ahic1 that
 a number of the most prominent citizens
 of ,san ,francisco held a daylight     
seance 7at high noon7 at the office of  
,mayor ,ellert4 ,the company had        
assembled in response to the ,examiner's
 invitation1 and all of the witnesses   
had agreed in advance to observe        
everything closely and write an         
absolutely fair account of what they    
saw1 adding any theory or explanation   
that seemed sufficient to account for   
the phenomena4  ,it is as well to say   

that is was a mirthful assembly at the  
outset1 and the newspaper man who had   
arranged for the experiments was the    
butt of many little jokes4 ,the idea    
that the medium could do anything more  
than a little clever juggling seemed    
farthest from anybody's thoughts4  ,dr4 
,louis ,schlesinger1 then a man about   
sixty-one years of age1 was the         
spiritualist medium who said he could   
convince all present that the dead      
return1 and that he could hold communion
 with the living4 ,the following        
spectators were present1 and the written
 reports of some of them are given in   
full in the subjoined narrative3 ,mayor 
,levi ,r4 ,ellert1 ,district ,attorney  
,w4 ,s4 ,barnes1 ,president ,theodore   
,f4 ,bonnet1 of the ,san ,francisco     
,press ,club1 ,ex-,president ,grant     
,carpenter1 of the same club1 ,h4 ,h4   
,mc,closkey1 then a ,state ,central     
,committeeman of the ,republican party1 
and many other casual observers4  ,at   
another seance ,chief of ,police        

,crowley1 ,judge ,robert ,ferral1 ,dr4  
,r4 ,e4 ,bunker1 and ,attorney ,charles 
,l4 ,patton were the principal          
investigators1 though ,captain ,wright  
and many others saw all that was done4  
,at this seance the observations were   
conducted under the test conditions     
arranged by ,chief ,crowley1 ,dr4       
,bunker1 and ,attorney ,patton4  ,the   
reader should satisfy himself concerning
 the mental and moral qualifications of 
all the witnesses named by glancing at  
the biographical sketches elsewhere in  
this volume4  ,at the ,mayor's office   
,dr4 ,schlesinger was announced as a    
resident of ,no4 #a ,polk ,street4 ,he  
said he knew none of the committee1 and 
nobody present except the ,examiner's   
representative knew the ,doctor4#a      
#a ,he now lives in ,boston4--,editor4  
,i can converse with the spirits of your
 deceased friends1 said the medium1 and 
,i am giving my life to this work4 ,i   
gave up a great tea business to teach my
 fellow men that life does not end at   

the grave4 ,my home is constantly filled
 with bands of angels from the celestial
 depths1 but ,i am able to call a few   
spirits around any box1 table1 or desk4 
,i want you to satisfy yourself that all
 that is done here is absolutely honest4
  ,before proceeding further the ,doctor
 produced a testimonial from ,editor    
,will ,s4 ,green1 of the ,colusa ,sun   
7afterwards ,state ,treasurer71 which   
explained that ,dr4 ,schlesinger's      
performances could not be explained on  
the theory of trickery4 ,a clipping from
 the ,sun of ,september #e1 #ahij1 gave 
an account of matters that had puzzled  
the people of ,colusa4 ,the             
investigations began1 therefore1 with a 
great deal of interest1 and before their
 conclusion the old ,doctor had greatly 
puzzled all present4 ,they could not    
tell whether it was some psychic power  
by which he operated1 or whether they   
had been basely deceived4  ,at his own  
request1 ,dr4 ,schlesinger was not      
introduced to any of the persons        

present4 ,he soon called their names1   
however1 and said they were given to him
 by the spirits in the raps that all    
could hear on the desk4  ,the ,doctor's 
favorite method of communicating        
startling information was to have the   
sitters write1 before they came into his
 presence1 fifteen or twenty names of   
living and dead friends4 ,each name     
being on a separate piece of paper1 the 
visitors were requested to fold each    
slip tightly1 so as to preclude any     
possibility of its being read by the    
medium4 ,this done1 the slips1 all of   
equal size1 were put into a hat and     
thoroughly shuffled4 ,the ,doctor would 
then say3 ,pick out any slip yourself1  
and ,i will read it without looking and 
before you yourself know what the name  
is4 ,there would then be raps1 and in a 
few seconds the ,doctor would give the  
name correctly4 ,these names were       
written and folded in a room apart from 
the ,doctor4  ,granting that there is   
such a thing as mind-reading1 said      

,chief ,crowley1 ,i do not think        
mind-reading would account for what was 
done for me1 because he read things that
 were not in my mind1 telling me my     
mother's maiden name and where she died4
  ,dr4 ,schlesinger calls his gift      
clairaudient mediumship1 and says his   
right ear is deaf to all terrestrial    
sounds1 but quickened1 as with a sixth  
sense1 for communications from the other
 world4 ,he says he can both see and    
hear spirits1 and that bands of them    
encircle him1 and at times1 in the      
presence of some peculiarly fit         
visitors1 manifest themselves with great
 clearness and power4 ,to prove that the
 sounds he hears are celestial voices1  
he does many things which baffle those  
who witness the strange phenomena which 
abound in his presence wherever he goes4
  ,it was with much difficulty that     
those who participated in these seances 
and whose accounts of what they saw are 
subjoined1 were induced to give the     
medium a hearing4 ,chief ,crowley was   

particularly opposed to giving serious  
attention to what he denounced as       
trickery and sleight of hand1 and       
afterwards called marvelous and beyond  
power of explanation4 ,finally he wrote 
down a number of names on separate      
slips1 as explained in the foregoing1   
and among those names appeared that of  
his mother--her maiden name4 ,the medium
 at once told the ,chief which pellet   
contained his mother's name1 then read  
it1 and in a few moments told where she 
died and where she was buried4  ,a few  
minutes later the aged ,doctor said3    
,the spirit of ,detective ,hutton1 who  
died a violent death1 hovers near you4  
,the medium then spoke of matters that  
were known to nobody but ,chief ,crowley
 and the dead detective4 ,this greatly  
puzzled the ,chief1 who was later deeply
 affected over purported messages from a
 son and others who had been dear to him
 in life4  ,speaking of the purported   
message from his dead mother the ,chief 
said3 ,i cannot explain this1 which is  

marvelous1 for ,i do not believe a human
 being in ,san ,francisco knew that my  
mother's maiden name was ,elizabeth     
,mc,carthy1 that she died in ,new       
,jersey and was buried in ,new ,york4   
,chief ,crowley then wrote down a list  
of years1 among them the year of his    
mother's death4 ,dr4 ,schlesinger       
pointed to the year #ahcc as that of her
 death4  ,correct6 replied ,chief       
,crowley2 whereupon the medium said1 and
 the name of your father1 ,patrick ,j4  
,crowley1 is also here1 and he comes    
with your son ,lewis1 who has not been  
dead long4  ,the ,chief thought it the  
most wonderful performance he had ever  
seen4 ,he does marvelous and            
inexplicable things1 said the ,chief1   
and ,i'll admit ,i cannot tell how it is
 done4 ,while ,i cannot believe he      
converses with spirits1 ,i am puzzled4  
,i want to see him again and look into  
the matter further4   ,illustration3    
,,ex-,,chief ,,of ,,police ,p4          
,,crowley4   ,the experiments with      

,mayor ,l4 ,r4 ,ellert1 who sprang from 
his chair and positively declined to be 
thrown into a trance condition when the 
doctor requested him thus to visit the  
spirit world1 were fully as startling as
 those with ,chief ,crowley4  ,mayor    
,ellert took a chair in front of his    
official table1 which had thus been     
dedicated to spiritual uses1 and asked  
if any spirits desired to communicate   
with him1 whereupon the medium grasped  
his ,honor's hands and the line of      
communication with the spirits was      
declared fully established4 ,quite      
distinct raps were then heard on the    
table1 and ,dr4 ,schlesinger looked at  
the ,mayor and said3 ,you are a medium  
yourself1 sir6 ,my1 what a power6  ,the 
,mayor was urged to sit alone often and 
be patient1 and was told that he could  
develop much power by such a course4    
,illustration3 ,,hon4 ,l4 ,r4 ,,ellert4 
,mayor ,ellert then wrote down ten of   
fifteen names of living and dead        
friends1 on separate slips of paper4 ,he

 refused to use the paper handed him by 
,dr4 ,schlesinger1 but cut up an        
official letter head which lay on his   
own desk4 ,as he began to write the     
names1 the medium stepped away and      
engaged in conversation with ,district  
,attorney ,barnes and ,mr4 ,bonnet at   
the other side of the room1 so that he  
could not see what ,mayor ,ellert wrote4
 ,the ,mayor carefully folded the slips1
 put them in a hat1 and shuffled them4  
,he then brought one forth from the     
hatful4  ,that's a dead one1 said ,dr4  
,schlesinger4 ,open it and see whether  
,i am correct2 but don't let me see it4 
,the ,mayor obeyed the request1 and     
answered1 ,yes1 this is a dead person's 
name6  ,don't let me see it1 said the   
mysterious visitor1 and ,i'll tell you  
what it is1 whereupon he at once        
correctly pronounced the name of the    
,mayor's sister1 which was not ,ellert4 
,the ,mayor then announced that he was  
unable to explain the phenomena4 ,he    
watched the medium's movements and      

convinced himself that there had been no
 juggling in the shuffle1 and said that 
his visitor out-,hermanned ,hermann4 ,he
 would leave the solution of the        
phenomena to others learned in the arts 
of divination4   ,illustration3         
,,charles ,l4 ,,patton4   ,the outcome  
of the seances and the story of what    
occurred may best be told by those who  
were present1 and the subjoined versions
 are given3--   ,,attorney ,,patton',s  
,,story4  ,i desire to preface what ,i  
have to say by remarking that while ,i  
have never been nor am ,i now a         
spiritualist1 nor have ,i ever before   
been present at the performance of a    
medium1 yet what ,i saw of ,dr4         
,schlesinger's so-called manifestations 
from the spirit world is entirely       
inexplicable to me upon any scientific  
hypothesis with which ,i am familiar2   
yet at the same time ,i must admit that 
,i cannot explain the phenomena         
exhibited upon any theory of legerdemain
 or sleight of hand within my knowledge4

 ,therefore1 ,i merely state that ,i    
have seen1 or seemingly seen1 and heard 
the following remarkable things1 during 
the sitting or seance with ,dr4         
,schlesinger1 leaving it to others more 
competent than ,i to determine whether  
they are the manifestations of some     
psychic force at present unadmitted by  
scientists or the legerdemain of a      
sleight-of-hand performer4  ,the facts  
are as follows3 ,at the request of the  
,doctor1 ,i wrote eight or ten names of 
different persons on as many slips of   
paper1 two of the number being dead1 and
 folded the slips in such a manner that 
the ,doctor could not read them2 and so 
far as ,i can judge1 the ,doctor could  
not have had any method of knowing what 
names ,i wrote4 ,i then placed the      
folded papers in a hat1 and one of the  
other gentlemen present drew them out   
one by one4 ,the ,doctor1 as each paper 
was drawn out1 asked some question1 such
 as ',guide1 is this the one dead8'     
,finally1 after all the papers had been 

held up and the questions asked1 some   
raps on the table1 seeming to have      
indicated according to the ,doctor that 
the persons whose names were on two of  
the slips were dead1 ,i1 on examination1
 found that he was correct in his       
judgment4 ,he then without 7so far as ,i
 could see7 having had any opportunity  
to have seen the names1 desired me to   
place the slips with the names on in my 
pocket4 ,presently he said3 ',i see two 
faces over your shoulder2 the name of   
one is ,j4 ,b4 ,the other says3 ,i am   
glad you have commemorated my name by   
writing it here1 the name is ,v4 ,c42'  
the ,doctor being correct in naming the 
deceased person in each instance1 and   
the message being appropriate to the    
character of the deceased person4 ,i    
will add1 that1 so far as ,i know1 ,dr4 
,schlesinger had no possible means of   
knowing the name or anything about      
either person4 ,one of the names1 ,i    
feel confident1 was not known to any    
person in ,california outside of myself4

          ,,chas4 ,l4 ,,patton4         
,,barnes ,,was ,,puzzled4  ,district    
,attorney ,barnes gives the following   
account of the seance3--  ,i was        
completely surprised at the performance 
in the ,mayor's office4 ,it was the     
first seance ,i had ever attended1 and  
,i must confess that ,i had not the     
slightest respect for such              
manifestations other than a natural     
admiration for the quickness of the     
operator4 ,i had always supposed that   
batteries1 wires1 a tolerable           
acquaintance with the sitter1 all aided 
by darkness1 were the causes of the     
effects produced by the medium4 ,in this
 case1 however1 the seance took place in
 broad daylight1 and no attempt was     
made1 so far as ,i could see1 to use any
 mechanical means4 ,the medium sat two  
or three feet from the ,mayor's desk1   
and only touched the desk occasionally  
with his hand1 yet from that desk came  
the spirit rappings that were clearly   
audible to all of us in the room4 ,i    

watched the others write lists of names 
containing each the name of some dead   
person1 and saw the quickness with which
 ,dr4 ,schlesinger picked out the       
persons who had passed away1 and gave   
messages from them4 ,when it came my    
turn ,i wrote a number of names on small
 slips of paper1 folded them and held   
them in my hand4 ,among these names was 
that of a classmate of mine at ,harvard1
 who died long ago at ,philadelphia1 who
 had never been in ,california1 and     
whose name ,i have not mentioned for    
years4 ,hardly had ,i sat down when ,dr4
 ,schlesinger called his full name and  
gave me a message from him1 recalling an
 occurrence1 so far as ,i am aware1     
known only to the dead man and myself4  
,to say that ,i was amazed but feebly   
expresses it2 and when ,i asked the     
,doctor whence he got his information1  
he replied1 ',it is borne to me on      
angels' wings4'   ,illustration3        
,,attorney ,w4 ,s4 ,,barnes4   ,whether 
it was or not1 it was a most remarkable 

thing1 and deeply impressed upon me that
 ',there are more things in heaven and  
earth than are dreamt of in our         
philosophy4'          ,,william ,s4     
,,barnes4  ,seven years after the       
foregoing was written1 ,mr4 ,barnes     
expressed himself as still deeply       
puzzled4 ,i cannot think of any         
experience in life so marvelous1 he     
said1 so beyond my power to explain4    
,,judge ,,ferral',s ,,testimony4        
,ex-,judge ,robert ,ferral's narrative  
largely corroborates what the others    
said4 ,he presents the case in his own  
way4  ,having taken a deep interest from
 early boyhood in exhibitions of a      
marvelous nature1 such as magic1        
legerdemain1 mesmerism1 hypnotism1      
mind-reading1 and spiritualism1 it was  
with pleasure that ,i accepted the kind 
invitation to visit ,dr4 ,schlesinger   
and personally witness his experiments  
and manifestations4  ,i found the       
,doctor an aged1 venerable man1 in a    
large room1 surrounded by a company of  

ladies and gentlemen1 bright1 cheerful1 
and intelligent1 all apparently bent    
upon the rational enjoyment of this     
life1 and happy in the belief of        
companionable intercourse with the realm
 of spirits4  ,retiring to more quiet   
quarters1 consisting of an ordinary     
bedroom and parlor1 the business began  
without waste of words or loss of time4 
,having written the names of half a     
dozen persons1 living and dead1 each    
name on a separate slip1 carefully      
folded and looking precisely alike1     
which were tossed into a hat and well   
shaken up1 the doctor proceeded to name 
the contents of each paper as it was    
drawn out4 ,occasionally he made a      
mistake1 but in nearly every instance   
succeeded at the first or second trial4 
,he first separated the living from the 
dead1 without opening the slips1 and    
sometimes not even touching them2 then  
proceeded to give the names4 ,afterward1
 upon writing place and cause of death1 
age1 occupation1 etc41 upon other slips1

 the same result followed4 ,some of the 
names submitted by me were peculiar1 and
 ,i believe known to no one else in this
 city1 yet they were announced--read    
off1 as it were--with but little        
hesitation and generally exactly as     
written4 ,the same thing occurred as to 
the diseases and places of death4       
,illustration3 ,,judge ,,robert         
,,ferral4   ,during this manifestation  
of his power ,dr4 ,schlesinger simply   
formed a circle or chain of hands1      
connecting with himself1 frequently     
tapped the table1 and appealed to an    
unseen 'guide' for his information4     
,raps were said to have been heard also1
 but of this ,i cannot bear testimony4  
,how was this done8 ,by mesmerism8 ,no2 
for there was nothing in the nature of  
sleep or putting to sleep4              
,mind-reading8 ,possibly2 although some 
of the slips of paper were read         
correctly when the contents were for the
 time forgotten and unknown to myself4  
,hypnotism8 ,don't know1 having but a   

faint idea how far these phenomena      
extend4 ,by sharpness of sight1         
trickery1 sleight of hand8 ,i cannot    
answer1 at least for the present1       
remaining1 as before1 an agnostic on    
these matters2 unable to give an        
intelligent explanation1 but at the same
 time not disposed to jeer or scoff at  
what ,i do not understand4              
,respectfully1          ,,robert        
,,ferral4             ,september #e1    
#ahic4   ,,dr4 ,,bunker',s ,,narrative4 
,the following is ,dr4 ,r4 ,e4 ,bunker's
 account1 written at his old office1    
,no4 #hjb ,kearny ,street1 just after   
the seances and while he was still in   
charge of the ,city ,receiving          
,hospital3--  ,i saw ,dr4 ,schlesinger  
in company with the other gentlemen     
named1 and ,i saw wonderful things which
 ,i am wholly unable to explain4 ,the   
phenomena1 manifestations1 or things    
that occur in the medium's presence are 
not only interesting1 but marvelous4 ,i 
went possessed of something like eight  

or ten slips of paper1 on each of which 
,i had previously written 7at my office7
 a name of some person ,i had           
known--some living1 some dead4 ,not a   
soul ever saw the slips1 for ,i was     
alone when ,i wrote the names4          
,furthermore1 they were so folded that  
no one could possibly have read a single
 name4 ,dr4 ,schlesinger at once picked 
out the names of living and dead        
persons1 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 held4 ,he       
pronounced every name correctly while ,i
 held the pellet1 or as it lay untouched
 on his table4  ,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         
possessed4 ,this is no explanation2 nor 
has any one ever been able to explain to
 me how these things were done4 ,i do   
not believe it was mind-reading 7a term 

that conveys no intelligent idea to me  
anyhow71 for ,i did not know the name on
 the slip under question--not until ,i  
afterwards unfolded it and corroborated 
the ,doctor's readings4 ,you understand 
that the entire bunch had been          
thoroughly shuffled in a hat before any 
slip was picked up4  ,to come to        
specific instances1 let me give a few   
cases as they occurred4 ,on one slip ,i 
had written my mother's maiden name1    
which was not known to anybody in ,san  
,francisco4 ,it was placed among eight  
or ten other names of women--some       
married1 some unmarried1 some wholly    
fictitious4 ,all slips were folded alike
 and placed in a hat under the table1   
which ,i held in my hands4 ,dr4         
,schlesinger asked me to pick out the   
pellets1 one at a time and hold them    
between my finger and thumb4 ,he would  
say1 ',that is not the name1 throw it   
aside2' and so on1 until he hesitated at
 one pellet and said1 ',that is your    
mother's maiden name2 it is ,emily ,j4  

,laumann4'  ,the answer was correct1 and
 in a similar manner he read other names
 and told me all about the persons4 ,i  
had written the name of ,dick ,foster on
 one slip4 ,foster had died of          
consumption at the old ,bella ,union    
,theater1 on ,june #bast4 ,the medium   
did not read his name1 but wrote a      
message backwards--that is1 from left to
 right--very rapidly1 and when ,i held  
it up to the light with the written     
surface from me1 ,i could read the      
following3--       ,i am glad to be     
here1 and if ,i can obtain the          
appropriate conditions      ,i will show
 my identity4       ,,dick ,,foster4    
,this was a puzzling thing1 and ,i      
should like for some one to explain how 
it was done1 if there was not           
communication with some invisible       
intelligence4 ,in regard to ,foster's   
name it should be said that the medium  
had not seen nor heard it1 and that his 
hand flew over the paper very fast while
 he wrote the backward message4 ,so far 

as ,i could see1 ,dr4 ,schlesinger was  
quite deaf and near-sighted4 ,he was an 
old man of heavy weight and clumsy      
fingers4 ,his manner was that of a      
devout believer in the genuineness of   
his theory4 ,if any one can explain to  
me how these things were done1 he will  
interest me far more than ,dr4          
,schlesinger did1 and it should be said 
that my attention to what he did was    
held without interruption from the      
start4 ,there were several other like   
tests wherein he read for me other names
 by a process equally startling1 making 
one feel that he had marvelous powers4  
,r4 ,e4 ,,bunker1 ,m4 ,d4   ,,what ,,mr4
 ,,bonnet ,,saw4  ,theodore ,f4 ,bonnet1
 who was a reporter for the ,daily      
,report at the time of the seance at the
 ,mayor's office1 was a guest of the    
author during the seance4 ,mr4 ,bonnet1 
who is now editor and owner of ,town    
,talk1 an influential weekly newspaper1 
wrote the following account of what he  
saw and handed it to the author just    

after the seance3--  ,after witnessing  
the efforts of ,dr4 ,schlesinger as a   
medium1 one cannot but be impressed by  
his marvelous powers of divination4     
,they are impossible of explanation on  
any hypothesis calculated to reduce his 
work to the vulgar plane of legerdemain4
 ,yet the manifestations1 as he is      
pleased to call his marvelous1 puzzling 
and apparently supernatural revelations 
concerning matters with which he could  
not become familiar under ordinary      
circumstances1 are after all1           
unsatisfactory to the person engaged in 
testing his power4 ,i must give him     
credit1 however1 for having startled me 
by one message4 ,i had written on small 
slips of paper1 which were then         
carefully folded--all this an hour or   
more before the meeting4 ,one of the    
names was ,joseph ,touhill1 an ,oakland 
burglar1 who had been killed by a       
policeman who caught him robbing a      
saloon4 ,i had known ,touhill1 and had  
been quite friendly with him in late    

years1 but had never suspected that he  
was of the ,jekyll and ,hyde species4   
,the medium did not at once direct me to
 the piece of paper on which ,touhill's 
name was written1 but afterwards he     
suddenly said3 ',the spirit of the man  
with whom you wish to communicate is    
here now4'   ,illustration3 ,,editor    
,,theodore ,f4 ,,bonnet4   ,i signified 
my willingness to hear from the spirit1 
whereupon the ,doctor said1 ',old boy1  
,i'm not quite as dead as you think4'   
,then he mentioned the name of ,joseph  
,touhill4 ,now1 this circumstance deeply
 impressed me1 because the language was 
so characteristic of the dead burglar1  
it having been customary with him to    
address me as ',old boy4' ,mind-reading 
will have to be rejected as an          
explanation1 because the ,doctor        
subsequently read a name that was on a  
pellet that ,i had not opened1 and knew 
nothing about until ,i subsequently read
 it4 ,i picked up the pellet from the   
desk where ,i had put it with a number  

of others1 and handed it to ,mayor      
,ellert1 who1 without examining it1     
deposited it in his vest-pocket4 ,then  
came rappings on the table1 and the     
medium said3 ',behind you stands the    
spirit of the man whose name is on that 
paper4 ,he was an eminent person1 and he
 died far away from here4 ,he is waving 
a flag over your head1 and on it is     
written the name of ,victor ,hugo4'     
,the name was correct4 ,subsequently the
 ,doctor correctly read the name of     
,william ,cullen ,bryant1 which ,i had  
also written4 ,the ,doctor quoted the   
spirit of the poet as saying that he was
 delighted that ,i was interested in    
demonstrating that there was a world of 
spirits4 ,dr4 ,schlesinger's feats are  
bewildering to the human mind4 ,if he is
 a mere trickster he possesses in a     
marvelous way the skill to disguise his 
character1 for his appearance and       
demeanor are those peculiar to          
fanaticism or strong faith in a cause4  
,,theo4 ,f4 ,,bonnet4   ,,mr4           

,m',,closkey',s ,,version4  ,the        
following is the narrative of ,mr4 ,h4  
,h4 ,mc,closkey1 a resident of ,merced  
at the time of the seance1 but now a    
,san ,francisco lawyer3--  ,i did not   
attend the little seance at the ,mayor's
 office by appointment4 ,i was on my way
 to finish up some business and catch   
the #d-o'clock boat1 when ,district     
,attorney ,barnes suggested that ,i drop
 in and see the fun4 ,intending to      
remain but a few moments1 ,i accepted   
the invitation1 and have no reason to   
regret having done so4 ,as to what      
happened there1 while ,i remember       
perfectly well what was done1 and kept  
careful note of all that ,i saw1 ,i am  
unable to account for it on any other   
hypothesis than that the ,doctor was1 as
 he claims to be1 a spiritual medium4   
,at the same time ,i am not prepared to 
admit that much4  ,what ,i saw ,i saw   
clearly2 it was real and devoid of      
illusion4 ,there being no one present   
but the ,mayor and thoroughly reputable 

gentlemen1 collusion by which a portion 
of the events of that afternoon might be
 accounted for is1 of course1 out of the
 question2 and neither collusion1       
mind-reading1 nor anything else could   
account for all that occurred4  ,the    
,doctor requested me to write on seven  
slips of paper1 one on each slip1 the   
names of six acquaintances1 five of whom
 were living and the sixth dead4 ,on the
 seventh my own name was to be written4 
,i had never seen the ,doctor before1   
and have no reason to suppose that he   
had ever seen me4 ,i used my own pencil 
in writing the names1 and wrote upon    
paper furnished by the city and county  
for the use of his ,honor the ,mayor4   
,when writing the names ,i was twenty   
feet away from the ,doctor1 and as ,i   
wrote upon each slip ,i folded it up    
carefully1 so that ,i myself could not  
see anything of the writing1 nor tell   
one of the seven slips from the others4 
,five of the names were those of        
intimate personal friends1 the sixth of 

a man whom ,i knew in a business way1   
but for whom1 while ,i was not at all   
intimate with him1 ,i had always a great
 regard4 ,this man is dead1 and has been
 so for a couple of years4  ,in         
obedience to the ,doctor's request1 ,i  
placed the seven slips on the table4    
,taking the hand of ,mr4 ,barnes1 ,i    
holding the hand of the latter1 the     
,doctor proceeded to take the slips one 
by one from the table4 ,the first he    
held a second and dropped4 ,the second  
he handed to me saying1 ',this contains 
your name4' ,upon opening it ,i found   
the ,doctor to be correct1 and asking   
him what my name was he promptly told   
us4  ,i confess ,i was a little         
mystified1 but the ,doctor didn't stop  
there4 ,continuing1 he picked up the    
other slips until the fifth one had been
 reached4 ',this is the name of your    
dead friend4 ,his name is ,v4 ,c4 ,w4   
,hooker--not exactly1 but a name very   
similar4 ,i can't quite make it out4 ,he
 says he will talk to you at another    

time4' ,as you saw when ,i opened the   
slip it showed as ,i had written it the 
name of ,v4 ,c4 ,w4 ,hooper1 a man who  
was quite prominent in ,merced during   
his lifetime4 ,just how the ,doctor     
found that out ,i leave to others who   
were there to explain when they have    
time after accounting for the mysterious
 things that happened to themselves4 ,i 
cannot and will not pretend to4 ,it was 
not mind-reading1 however4 ,of that ,i  
am satisfied4 ,for as he picked up the  
fifth slip and said1 ',this is the name 
of the dead man1' he did not get that   
information by reading my mind1 for     
there were two more slips remaining1 and
 ,i couldn't say which was which4 ,that 
is beyond any explanation4 ,mind-reading
 will not fit it at all4  ,one of the   
party--,i think it was ,mr4             
,barnes--wrote the name of two dead men 
in his list4 ,leaving out the first     
problem--the picking up of the right    
slip--putting that aside1 how is it to  
be explained that the ,doctor chose the 

right name of the two dead ones8 ,mr4   
,barnes did not know4 ,he had not opened
 the slip2 therefore the ,doctor could  
not read his mind4 ,for myself1 ,i give 
up the conundrum4          ,very truly4 
,h4 ,h4 ,,mccloskey4     ,,chapter ,,iv4
  ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,narrators4   
,to any one who has a fair knowledge of 
human nature1 a glance at the line      
pictures of the gentlemen who           
participated in the events with which   
this book deals will tell that they are 
men of character and keen observation4  
,in ,san ,francisco and throughout the  
,west many of them are as well known as 
the ,governor of the ,state4  ,their    
names need no introduction1 and since   
they have been representative men for   
many years it is not necessary to say   
much about them4 ,for the benefit of    
persons who know nothing concerning     
them1 however1 the following information
 is submitted3--  ,,patrick ,,crowley1  
,chief of ,police1 was born in ,albany  
,county1 ,new ,york1 on ,march #ag1     

#ahca4 ,when quite young he went to ,new
 ,york and worked in different          
printing-offices4 ,he came to ,san      
,francisco in #ahej1 and worked in the  
mining-camps for two or three years4 ,he
 was engaged in the boating business    
here1 when in #ahed he was elected to   
the office of ,town ,constable on the   
,democratic ticket4 ,he was re-elected  
on the same ticket in #ahee1 and from   
#ahef he was re-elected every two years 
on the old ,people's ,party ticket till 
#ahff1 when he was elected ,chief of    
,police4 ,he held that office by        
election for six years1 when he quit the
 force and went into the brokerage      
business4 ,in #ahgh1 by an act of the   
,legislature1 the ,board of ,police     
,commissioners received the power to    
appoint the ,chief of ,police4 ,the     
office was tendered him1 and after      
considerable pressure he reluctantly    
accepted it1 as he was making an        
excellent living at his business4 ,he   
held the office by election or          

appointment for twenty-four successive  
years4 ,his wide experience with        
criminals1 bunko-men1 and all sorts of  
tricksters gave him excellent training  
and amply fitted him for a thorough     
inspection of all that was done during  
the seances4 ,in fact1 it was his boast 
at the beginning of his sitting with    
,dr4 ,schlesinger that he had helped to 
trap the ,eddies and other disreputable 
mediums1 and that he would soon expose  
the fraud in the case in hand4          
,,william ,s4 ,,barnes1 son of the      
eloquent and famous ,general ,w4 ,h4 ,l4
 ,barnes 7known all over ,america as the
 greatest living after-dinner orator1   
and known all over the ,united ,states  
as a ,republican orator71 is a graduate 
of ,harvard and a man of fine legal     
attainments4 ,he is one of the most     
prominent ,native ,sons1 and is famous  
for his shrewdness as ,prosecuting      
,attorney for the great ,city and       
,county of ,san ,francisco4 ,it was he  
who prosecuted and convicted ,theodore  

,durrant in one of the most marvelous   
criminal cases of the century4 ,he was  
also the star lawyer in the prosecution 
of the great ,sydney ,bell footpad case4
 ,mr4 ,barnes was the organizer and     
president of the ,association of        
,district ,attorneys of ,california2 is 
an active member of ,california ,lodge  
,no4 #a1 ,f4  ,a4 ,m41 a member of the  
,pacific-,union ,club1 also of the      
,union ,league1 of which he is one of a 
committee on political action1 of the   
,juarez ,manufacturing ,company1 of     
which he is ,president4 ,thus his       
mastery in the legal profession is no   
less equaled in his social and business 
associations4  ,attorney ,,charles ,l4  
,,patton is ,grand ,master of           
,california ,masonic fraternity1 and is 
a gentleman of the highest personal and 
professional character4 ,he was a strong
 competitor against ,mayor ,phelan1 and 
was chosen by the ,republican party a   
few years ago as the best candidate     
against the present 7#aijj7 ,mayor of   

the city4 ,mr4 ,patton is a man of much 
erudition and wide experience with men  
and books4 ,he1 like all his associates1
 and like the writer of this book1 was  
and is a skeptic regarding the truth of 
so-called spiritual phenomena4 ,his     
account speaks for itself4  ,mayor ,l4  
,r4 ,,ellert is a man of legal          
attainments and of wide business        
interests4 ,he was a popular reform     
,mayor1 and was in office at the time of
 the occurrences narrated4 ,he is to-day
 one of the best-known and most highly  
respected lawyers and business men of   
,san ,francisco4 ,for many years he was 
a skillful pharmacist1 and his wide     
knowledge of drugs and physiology was   
useful in the attempted solution of the 
various problems presented by the       
medium4  ,judge ,,robert ,,ferral is the
 warhorse of ,democracy1 and one of the 
,nestors of the ,california bar4 ,he    
made some of the most spirited races    
ever entered upon for ,congress1 and    
polled the largest vote ever known for  

an unpopular political party in the old 
days4 ,as a judge and criminal lawyer of
 wide experience1 as well as by reason  
of his unexcelled literary attainments  
and extended experience in the science  
of hypnotism and kindred phenomena1 the 
,judge was an invaluable spectator and  
participant1 especially as his native   
wit usually enables him to see through  
many things that puzzle other men4      
,here1 however1 he stood dumbfounded4   
,dr4 ,r4 ,e4 ,,bunker is a regular      
physician of high reputation and        
personal standing4 ,he was at the time  
of the matters recorded in charge of the
 ,city ,receiving ,hospital1 and was    
considered one of the most careful and  
competent observers at the seance4 ,like
 all others named1 ,dr4 ,bunker's word  
is absolutely above reproach1 and there 
is not a more competent man in the      
country4  ,,theodore ,f4 ,,bonnet was at
 the time of the seance a reporter for  
the ,daily ,report4 ,he was afterwards  
elected to the important position of    

,license ,collector1 and is now editor  
and owner of ,town ,talk4 ,this is one  
of the best weekly papers in the ,united
 ,states1 and its success dates from its
 purchase by the gentleman named4 ,mr4  
,bonnet is an ,elk of high standing1 and
 a man of good family and social        
position4 ,in addition to all these     
facts1 it should be borne in mind that  
his long training as a reporter fitted  
him in a peculiarly advantageous way for
 the duties of trying to detect what was
 done by the medium4  ,h4 ,h4           
,,mccloskey was a casual visitor at the 
seance1 being the guest of ,district    
,attorney ,barnes4 ,mr4 ,mc,closkey was 
at the time a resident of ,merced1 and  
was a prominent lawyer and politician4  
,he was also a ,republican ,state       
,central ,committeeman and was          
considered one of the ablest of the     
party4 ,he is to-day a well-known ,san  
,francisco attorney4 ,his account of the
 seance explains just what occurred4    
,these facts1 with some of the pictures1

 will give the reader an idea of the men
 whose narratives he has doubtless read 
with pleasure4  ,in conclusion1 it      
should be remembered that this book is  
sold by the publishers only4 ,it will be
 sent to any address for fifty cents4   
,if you have enjoyed reading it1        
recommend it to the next friend you     
meet4