Show MR SLUDGE THE MEDIUM rhe poet detected an imposition on III wife sin frederick greenwood in his personal recollections written for the realm tells the following story everybody who lives with books has heard that robert brownings sludge the medium reflected upon home and most people have also heard that the celebrated creature succeeded in bringing mrs browning under his influence completely but the trick that undeceived her we must suppose bup pose is not so well known it may have got into print but if so I 1 for one have never seen it and tell the story as it was told by browning himself home had been about the brownings a good deal knew many people known to them was in liis tea party way an agreeable sort of person and there were stances here and stances there and said the poet a vague look about the room to express his bewilderment 1 I dont know how it was I 1 lid my best but little by little he gained her over to believing in him how much to my distress after awhile home found a yet more excellent way of working on the poor ladys mind she had lost a little child by death and her own wishes running out to embrace the promise he began to halit that some day he would bring the little ones spirit into her presence bu he was slow in performing this promise naturally for he would have lost the advantage of an excited expectation often stimulated and as often baffled at last an evening was named alien alie mothers yearning should be satisfied in the customary way light was shut out of tha room when alie three sat down and the ansual rap pings and questionings and invocations went on for a time and then then the childs spirit was to appear and bure enough there did arise above alie edge of the table something that was whiter than the dark that seemed to have a motion of its own and the of a living thing and that might veritably be what poor mrs browning fancied it but conscious of her trembling state of mind her husband was in another guess sort of passion 1 I suddenly sprang up dashed my arm across the table and took hold af what do you think the scoundrels obscene foot naked the flaming anger in which browning finished tho atory after so many years too left no doubt about what next to the celebrated medium home he was instantly and literally kicked out of the house his shoe a nd stocking after him no doubt |