Thus this legacy gave birth to the celebrated "Seybert Commission," whose
labors have resulted in the most valuable expose, prior to this present
publication, of the fraudulent methods of Spiritualism--"the tricks of the
trade," as it were--which has ever been made.

Even the investigation of the remarkable "rappings," produced by Mrs.
Kane, in which the Commission engaged--while less successful than any
other branch of their researches--went so far as fully to convince them
that these alleged manifestations were entirely fraudulent, and that they
were produced by physical action on the part of the "medium," probably by
or in the vicinity of her feet.

This they were unable to prove, however, by any use of their five senses,
which they were permitted to make. Mrs. Kane gave them no such chance of
examination, on this occasion, as had been vouchsafed to the Buffalo
doctors some thirty-six years before, almost with the result of throttling
Spiritualism in its infancy. No; she was much too clever for that. She
would greatly have preferred, to being ignominiously found out, to make a
public and unreserved confession.

The fact is that no other scientific committee ever enjoyed the facilities
of close observation of the production of the "raps" which were accorded
to the "Buffalo doctors," and that, up to this final day, when Mrs. Kane
herself tells the truth, there has been not one single positive exposure
of the primitive fraud of the "toe-knockings." Conjectures, it is true,
have groped in that direction, time and again--but they never have done
more than to grope.

The members of the "Seybert Commission" were extremely eager to obtain
sittings with Mrs. Kane, and were successful at an early stage of their
studies in doing so. Mr. Horace Howard Furness of Philadelphia was acting
chairman of the Commission a good part of the time, and as such he wrote
to Mrs. Kane in the following very urgent manner:

"222 WEST WASHINGTON SQUARE.

"DEAR MRS. KANE:

"I wrote to you some ten days ago, but, since I have not heard from
you, fear that my letter has miscarried, and will therefore repeat
it.

"I am anxious, very anxious, that the 'Seybert Commission,' of which
I am the chairman, should have an opportunity of investigating the
'Rappings.' Will you, therefore, appoint some day and hour, at your
earliest convenience, when I can visit you in New York and make
arrangements w