The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 3a
Rigid Tests in Sydney
Rigid Tests in Sydney.
The coat pockets were first overhauled, the lining was felt all over, then the coat was folded, placed on a chair beside Dr. X, and left there during the sitting. The control meanwhile separated the arms, so that the arm-pits could be searched by sight or touch; the hands, including the spaces between the fingers, being also examined by at least two pairs of eyes and hands. Then, while the arms were still extended outwards the clothes were searched, the pockets turned out, the linings examined, the non-possibility of secret pockets or receptacles noted, and every inch of the body from head to foot pressed hard and stroked down deliberately and systematically, somewhat after the manner of massage. As one of the more sceptical searchers remarked, when asked if he was satisfied, "Satisfied I why, not a threepenny bit could have escaped."
After this exacting scrutiny the medium was placed in a bag— with his arms and head free—secured beyond the possibility of opening without detection, and yet under these exceptionally stringent circumstances, the following objects were brought into the room on various occasions :
Ten coins of the reign of the Ptolemys.
Three Ancient Roman coins.
One Egyptian Scarabaes.
Twenty precious stones.
Three live Indian jungle sparrows.
One bird's nest
Eight Tablets.
page 57
One newspaper in Arabic.
One shovel-nosed shark, one foot long.
Some dripping seaweed.
A half baked Chupatty Cake.
A terra cotta Cylinder weighing upwards of two pounds.