dimly outlined in this blue light, the form of a hand, back toward
him, fingers together, and no thumb.

"Why is no thumb visible?" asked my friend of the medium in a solemn
manner.

"The reason is," said the medium, still more solemnly, "that the spirits
have not power enough to produce a whole hand and so they exhibit as
much as they can."

"And do they always show hands without thumbs?"

"Yes."

Here my friend, with a sudden jump, grabbed for the place where the
wrist of the mysterious hand ought to be. Strange to relate, he caught
it, and held it stoutly, to. A light was quickly had, when, still
stranger, the spirit-hand was clearly seen to be the fleshy paw of the
medium--and a fat paw it was too. Mr. Medium took the matter with the
coolness of a thorough rascal, and, lighting a cigar, merely observed:

"Well gentlemen, you needn't trouble yourselves to come here any more!"

He also insisted on his usual fee of five dollars, until threatened with
a prosecution for swindling.

The secret of this worthy gentleman is simple and soon told. Holding one
hand up in the air, he held up with the other, between the thumb and
finger, a little pinch of phosphorus and bi-sulphide of carbon, which
gave the blue light. If inconvenient to hold up the other hand, he had a
reserve pinch of blue-light under that invisible thumb. It is a curious
instance of the thorough credulity of genuine spiritualists that a
believer in this wretched rogue, on being circumstantially told this
whole story, not only steadily and firmly refused to credit it, and
continued his faith in the fellow, but absolutely would not go to see
the application of any other test. That's the sort of follower that is
worth having!

Another case was witnessed as follows, by the very same person on whose
authority I give the spirit-hand story. He was present--also, this time
in Washington, as it happened, at an exhibition by a certain pair of
spiritual brothers, since well known as the "Davenport Brothers."

These chaps, after the fashion of their kind, caused themselves to be
tied up in a rope, an old sea-captain tying them. This done, their
"shop" or cabinet, was shut upon them as usual, and the bangs, throwing
of sticks, etc., through a window, and the like, took place. Well, this
sly and inconvenient old sea-captain now slipped out of the hall a few
minutes, and came back with some wheat flour. Having tied up the
"brothers" again, he remarked:

"Now,