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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 3a

What I Saw and did

What I Saw and did.

I have no reason to believe that I am suspected of being an over-credulous individual. Having had twenty-five years' training in a profession in which the full development of the critical and analytical faculties is absolutely essential to success, I have naturally approached these investigations in a scrutinising spirit, and knowing, moreover, that much fraud has hitherto been associated with the occurrence of these phenomena in different parts of the world, I have been studiously careful to safeguard myself from being made the victim of an imposture. I have searched Mr. page 54 Stanford's medium myself and have sat to his immediate left in the circle, with my right arm touching his left arm and my right foot pressed hard against his left foot.

On one occasion I have reason to suspect that the control considered that I was in need of a pretty stiff test to "straighten me up." He accordingly stopped the proceedings abruptly and said—"I see there are two or three Pressmen here to-night and we are going to give them a special test. One is sitting to the left of the medium (referring to myself) and I want him and .the other on the right to make a special search of the medium, and after they have searched him they can thump him all over his body so that if he has anything fragile on his person it will be sure to be broken."

The light was full on at the time, and the two of us proceeded to act as detectives. We thoroughly ransacked the medium's pockets, felt up his trousers and under his arm pits, and made quite certain that he could have nothing bigger than a coin in his possession. Then we slapped him as directed, and did it with an amount of vigor that I am sure had the medium not been in a trance there would have been a stand-up fight!

However, when we had finished we were somewhat discouraged by the remark made by the invisible control that "we didn't know how to search a medium." An imperative order was thereupon given for the table to be pushed aside so as to leave a good clear space on the floor. This having been done, the medium was lain prone on the floor by the controlling intelligence and rolled over and over until he went whack against the table. Then he was rolled back again, and then once more in the other direction, until he again struck the table with force, whereupon Mr. Stanford proffered the advice that the control should not hurt the medium.

At the conclusion of this performance, which thoroughly satisfied everybody that if there was anything breakable on the medium it could not have escaped injury, the medium was re-seated in his chair and the table put back in position. I also resumed my seat next to the medium and was particularly careful to keep in close contact with him as we were told that as soon as the lights were lowered, to facilitate the re-materialisation process, an apport of a specially fragile character would be brought.

Abdul then assumed control and within three minutes he exclaimed in his broken English—"Me have 'em; turn um lights up." We then saw in the medium's hands a beautifully-formed bird's nest containing four eggs. Abdul persisted in breaking one of the eggs, contrary to the wish of Mr. Stanford, just to show us, as he explained, that they were really eggs.