| Show STRANGE MYSTERY OF MRS PEPPER AND HER spiritualistic POWER P T barnum once remarked that the american public loved to be humbug ged and he candidly pointed to the fortune he had amassed in ot the assertion recent events in vail cus line of activity that the show mans cynical observation is as true today as it was when he made it it indeed it does not apply to even a baiger number and a more intelligent class of persons than ho probably had in mind excluding from the financial operations which relied for success solely upon credulity it is safo to say that it a census could be taken and set down in round figures ot tho fortune tellers clairvoyants and others claiming possession of occult powers who flourish in new york alone it would surprise those matter of fact individuals divi duals who scoff at such things it would surprise them more Iio wever could they know how many persons ot seemingly sound sense and judgment men of substantial business and station in life patronize and pay money to these self styled seers crystal gaa ers and what not according to scientific students of the situation this Is to bo ascribed not so much to a thorough belief in the ability of the persons consulted as to the tact that in many they actually are endowed with tome supernormal quality of mind whether it be called telepathy or anything else and that extraordinary feats have been performed in cases where the suspicion of confederacy or collusion could not bo entertained for a moment the latest manifestation of this kind hai been made by mrs mary S pepper in brooklyn and it is perplexing the most hidebound detractors detract ois of spiritualism and other faiths founded on communion with supernatural sp lieres from time to time mrs pepper has been branded as a fraud and on cesry such occasion she has replied with a challenge to the critic to come to her demonstrations and to pursue as exhaust ivean investigation of ncr methods as he may deem fit where the challenge has been accepted it has only in added mystification mrs pepper does not to read tho future but she does declare that she can summon the spirits ot the dead and exchange messages them certainly she has done some astonishing things she does not rely for effect upon lowered lights slow music or ay of the other theatric tricks commonly used by other ms drums but gives her exhibition in a well room and generally in the presence pie sence of several hundred per eoas thia fact has impressed many un believers and increased the strange hesss of the whole affair GREAT STRAIN OF TESTS another incident that has bad an f fact even upon those not ordinarily superstitious is the sudden illness that overcame her immediately after one of her performances a few night ago she had been moio than usually audience seemed to be laboring un ekr a great strain throughout the evening hardly had she finished when she swooned and remained unconscious for se eral hours since then she has been confined to her home and oven now iho is not entirely recovered physicians aid that the attack was due to heart failure but the disciples ot the woman are firm in the belief that it was due to too close communion with the spirit land and eliat she came very near paa over as describes death until about five years ago tho rev ira moore Co urless had been holding services la spiritualism in what was called the aurora grata cathedral at bedford avenue and madison street brooklyn under the auspices of tho church ot the fraternity ot soul communion but when he died there was dissension among his former followers and the suggestion was made that a row church be formed under another name this dissatisfaction continued until mrs pepper opportunely arrived aiom providence R I 1 in january she gave some tests brought together a largo congregation and av wakened deep interest in those ano to believe in spiritualism As a result an organization was formed with an advisory committee of which abram H dailey a former judge was made chairman be having been interested in psychical research lu ui w duj AL was he who drew up a creed of which the following are the principal tenets first we claim for mankind universal brotherhood second that man is and ever has been conscious of the exist enco 0 an all pervading power which brought him into being and involved in which is the destiny of tho race third that immortality and future happiness are the hopa of tho soud and that tho religions of mankind have ever been predicated upon varying conceptions 0 tho nature and character ot deity and the uncertain evidence of immortality fourth we believe that that which is good and true in all religions should bo sustained by all possible available knowledge and that neither doctrine nor creeds should stay legitimate legit imato investigation vesti gation into spiritual truths the manifestation 0 spiritual power nor the promulgation of a religion incorporating po all that is essentially true ra those respects fifth we believe that tho time is anpo for tho incorporation into tho doctrine and tenets 0 all truth desiring religious organizations of an acceptance of the fact of spin communion between the physical and spiritual worlds and in the absence of such acceptance cep tance wherever practicable religious organizations should bo formed which should recognize such communion sixth we include in the basis mp on which wo shall build all essential truths whether incorporated or not in mhd religions of mankind and declare it our purpose to ascertain and make known abat 13 true especially ot that which pertains to the spiritual nature of man bis psychic powers and pos his relation to the spiritual world and to the encouragement of the judicious culture of spiritual gifts Se veath we claim that truth ia divine and sacred and absolutely authoritative to those that apprehend it yet that while one may aid another in ho perception of truth and duty no one can determine for another what truth or duty and cah ca h individual must believe and act on his or her own responsibility in all things lighth eliat freedom is the birthright of every soul and is an indispensable pen sable condition of the highest progress purity and perfection aej that true license but implies a wholesome re from infringing upon the rightful freedom and welfare of others philosophy OF spiritualism elaborating upon this philosophy former judge daicey made some interesting te statements scientists an scholars sho have given years to the study of spiritualism he said have demonstrated as a truth the survival of the human spirit after the ordeal ot bodily death AH nature has its spiritual side death Is only the dropping off of the mortal form and the passing into a spiritual state of existence 0 all things which have lived this law of the survival of the spirit extends to plants and other forms of life the scientists havo demonstrated this as a fact so far as conditions go it has baen shown that we are subjects of environ and neither in this nor in the spiritual world can we get brynd the bounds of the spheres in which wo are living unless we adapt ourselves to the changed condition into which we must enter it necessarily follows that we are subjects of a law which we may call the law of adaptation and correspondence which means that a bad man will bo a bad spirit a good man a good spirit that beati makes no change in him and by the very law of correspondence he goes into the very sphere ot existence to which be has by his life every man is making his own hell or heaven spiritualism is completely against the law of vicarious atonement we believe that man in order to enter into the highest spiritual sphere after death must purify his life here by constant work in this field of labor the repentant lepen tant spirit may build himself up in niya noughts and good lohes until he finds himself entering into the higher plane of the spiritual worlds the main object in spiritualism and of the new church is to demonstrate the great and important fact that Is a spiritual part la man tl at survives death after this organization it was decided that meetings should be held every sunday evening and mrs pepper jooa so deeply impressed tho of brooklyn that it was decided to form a congregation to be known as iho arst church of brooklyn and to make her its several prominent of the borough who had been interested in the general subject of psychical research joined tho movement and mrs pepper agreed to their plan since then it should be incidentally ci stated she has been commissioned as a preacher by the national society of no church edifice has yet been erected for her but the meetings are held in a room in the masonic temple and are always well A STRIKING FIGURE notwithstanding a tendency to mrs pepper la a striking figure when she appears on the platform she wears a robe of dull black ith flowing sleeves like a surplice and set off with a stole of white her feature aio thick her hair a mass of yellow and she wears eyeglasses eye glasses one of the interesting phases of her demonstrations is that she makes no predence pretence pre tence of going into the trance state her plan la to have sealed let tei s placed on tablets by persons other than the writers aad she without breaking the seals announces the answers of the spirits to questions put by the writers in the envelopes As a rule of course these answers arc unmeaning except to the writers but so frequently have these persons beclar any in the affair tho me dilim have an army of confederates apparently it is merely a business affair with her as an admission fee of twenty five cents ii charged and she always has a largo audience here are some of the things she has done taking up an envelope one night I 1 she said the arst spirit is a young man he says sir Is here he chomoa comoa to that gentleman over there indicating him and says sir connell is hero and ho knos what trouble you bad getting his ahrag after he left thia world and he knows it was you vrho found the diamond Is that correct it is most accurate replied tho man in the audience grace was the next arrival and according to mrs pepper she was accompanied compa nied by an old lady spirit who pathetically cakl that had not been asked for and abbody ever wanted her but she granted to be around to see what was doing here this intruding she believed was hart v one spook objected to a photograph somebody had put in one of the envelopes declaring through mrs pepper of course that it was a bad capy and be should have known better on another occasion one of the spirita protested because iris name had awn apelles wrong in the envelope la there any ono here mamed gastor or gaston mrs pepper demand ea and a man in the audience raised bla hand she ecat on the spirit of a woman la here and she wants 0 o reach her son tell hun says I 1 have watched over tho tribulations ot father and my boy she says bome ne about a guinea or yes guiana jhb country interposed the man ho had litter his band yea eho saya it would have been better tor if bo had stayed there but there was a pause but he was bound to go to barbados yes yes he would go exclaimed theman in the audience and he has done nothing since but write continued mrs pepper mother says it you have any influence over him keep him out of the states let him go back to guiana and stick to his business there and ho will do well then she turned to the man and malj Is that right joo he started as bafs uttered the name and in an almost sobbing tone replied yea yes one night one of the envelopes bora across its face a picco ot chinese tissue paper and mrs pepper said he spirit was the of a girl chosa name seemed to be bessie russell at this a young woman in tho audienna audi enca gave a sharp cry and became hysteric cal mrs pepper roused herself from the mental effort under which she waa laboring and said to the woman do not cry tears arc not for this time this is a moment for joy and instantly the woman became composed ONE OF HER CONVERTS S B robertson manager of a publishing company in park row was aaa of mrs peppers patrons at ono of tho meetings aej he afterward declared aliat he had become converted ha said that when he had bought the busi in which he was engaged he had received two big with the combinations bi in cipher not long afterward the man from whom he had bought them died and robertson then discovered that he could not open the safes he consulted mrs popper wco called the spirit of his former partner and the latter told him that there was a cog loose inside one of the safes and told him how to open it he followed instructions and was successful 1 I see a spirit walking down tha amo in the rear of the church said mrs pepper one night it is pointing to ft boman seated pear the sidn wall it is you and she indicated a parent ic his first name continued the medium is a pet name you called him willie do you rec him yes replied the woman evidently with great emotion his last name is Jar ringlon continued mrs pepper and he is accod donled by an old man grandpa flynn I 1 think yes yes exclaimed the woman in the audience weeping it Is mar alous and I 1 thank you that sama night alie poise an en v in her hand and said 1 seem to see th eSpirit of aman 0 iari he ells me his name 1 tom 0 asborno Os borno I 1 think it is doe any ono in tho congregation fo commune with the spirit of tom osborne Os borna A girl of about twenty dressed in deep mourning arose in the middle of the hall and with great distress di answered yes then mrs pepper went on tom osborne met with death bv accident the pirl nodded he 11 from a wagon none could save him i and he desires you not to mourn he sends you words of comfort weeping profusely the girl departed at one of her recent demonstrations mrs pepper said that some one had called tor the spirit of cornelius van cott former postmaster of new york who had died only a few days before and she gave this message from him everything Is all right the children arc managing the estate all right and as long as they act as they are now everything will tell dick everything is all by dick it was supposed that the dead mans son richard was meant this as presented by a young woman but ahe left the place before her identity could be learned it is interesting to recall that a tew days ago so eminent a clergyman as the rev R heber nekton made an address before a physical research 0 o clety in which he declared his firm belief that tho spirits of the dead commune with the living dr newton would not however discuss ane pepper case I 1 THE SECRET OF LONG LIFE in my opinion says dr philip OHan lop who haa performed hundred of autopsies for the county of new no man die before he is eighty indeed I 1 think the life might reasonably be prolonged to or years dr lias in these significant sentences the view held by and other investigators and he has reached it by the same road of analysis and experiment he has found men who had been rejected by insurance companies because they showed symptoms of specific disease to be entirely free from such diseases on tho other hand in the case of andrew H green he found a man whose arteries were alko glass and probably had been so for years yet at eighty three mr green bade fair to live for years and might have dono so miff for an as bullet waste Is dr OHan lona way of accounting for those frequent cases where in spite of the improvement in public sanitation and in the art of medicine young and middle aged men dlo without apparently adequate cause in specific disease pool tickets in tho suicides pocket the irritable manner of men jostled in public conveyances vey ances unnecessary exertion put forth in the most ordinary acts ara all manifestations of thia wate it cannot be said that uio laboratories have come very near the secret of prolonging life to talk of phagocytes ia the mood sounds learned but it only pushes the problem of causation one step further back nor has any ono yet bettered tho advice of cornaro who born in |
