University of Virginia Library

42. CHAPTER XLII.
AT NORTH BEACH.

It was a rather imprudent step in Miss Shaw
to accompany Mr. Gray to church, while the
storm raised by his Oakland adventure was at
its height. But Miss Shaw had character enough
to do what seemed to her to be right. Regarding
him rather as a victim of a foolish girl's
fondness than as the designing villain he was
represented to be, she gave evidence of her faith
by appearing with him before the very congregation
he had unwittingly offended. It was imprudent,
but it was courageous.

I am not prepared to assert, however, that her
motive was entirely unselfish. She was well
enough acquainted with the social law that governs
he trial of offenses of this nature to know
that his standing in society would not be seriously
impaired by his indiscretion, and that
he needed no champion of her sex to set him
right; but the association of his name with
that of Miss Fox caused a sharp tinge of jealousy.
Not that she was in love with Mr. Gray. Had
she not been schooling herself to receive Mr.
Hopp's addresses in deference to her mother's
wishes, and would a woman of her spirit receive
the addresses of one man while conscious of loving
another? Of course not. She answered
this interrogatory without hesitation. The
question was settled. She did not love Mr.
Gray, but she was not quite so indifferent to him
as to be willing that he should be spoken of as
an especial admirer of Miss Kitty Fox.

Mr. Hopp had not yet gained the position which entitled
him to remonstrate with Miss Shaw, but Mr.
Hopp remonstrated with Miss Shaw's mother. Miss
Shaw's mother remonstrated with Miss Shaw. The
remonstrance brought on a crisis. Mr. Hopp lost all
the vantage ground he had gained by six months' assiduous
attention.

Meantime the time approached when the case of the
People vs. Smith was to come up for final consideration.
The death or absence of Mliss did not affect the
question at issue. The real question was as to the
claim of Mrs. Smith to the rights of a widow's share
in the estate of the late John Smith.

The case was set for the 14th of July. The 10th had
arrived. No James Smith was yet reported. Without
him the pretended widow had the case. Mother Nell

swore that if she was called into court she would deny
all knowledge of the Smith family or Smith family affairs.

Regina proposed a last visit to Mrs. Rhodes. Believing,
perhaps without what seemed sufficient
grounds for belief, that Mliss was still alive, Regina
felt a deep interest in the result. Mr. Gray had little
hope of ever seeing Mliss again, but he had a professional
interest in the case. So on the evening of the
10th they wended their way to the elegant though
haunted abode of Mr. Rhodes. They were courteously
received, and after a little conversation, the room was
darkened and the spirits invited to put in an appearance.

No time was lost. The play of electral lights commenced
at once, and soon resolved into legible characters,
as described in a previous chapter.

“How—is—my—little—princess?” were the first
words read by the medium.

“O, Papa!” exclaimed Regina. “I know it's papa.
I am so glad he is here.”

“Then speak to me, not of me,” read the medium.
“Speak to me just as you would if you saw me.”

“Well, papa, I am glad you are here. Make Mr.
Gray believe it is you, if you can.”

“That is just what I propose to do. Mr. Gray, have
you heard from James Smith yet?”

“Not a word.”

“His Mother Nell heard from him?”

“She had not, two days ago.”

“Very well. We have got that man in such a state
of subjection that we can predict his movements with
tolerable certainty. To-day is the 10th of July. James
Smith will enter your office and make himself known
to you at precisely four o'clock on the afternoon of
the 12th.”

“I shall be glad to see him.”

“If he comes promptly at the time specified, will
you believe he was sent through spiritual agency?”

“No.”

“On what grounds will you withhold belief?”

“On the grounds that he may be under human control
and sent to my office through human agency. Let
us suppose, for instance, that I had Mr. James Smith
under lock and key, ready to produce at any moment.
I might then with confidence predict that on the afternoon
of the 14th, when the case comes up for
trial, James Smith would walk into court at any hour
I should designate. I could predict this, because I
could make him, accidents aside, fulfill the prediction.
Now, I do not know but some human being has this
James Smith under lock and key, and proposes to
make him call on me at the hour you have designated.”

“But how could a human being announce his coming
in the way it is now announced to you?”

“That question I cannot answer. There are magicians'
tricks which I do not understand. I see them
performed, and know they can be performed by various
persons. I look upon this table and see nothing.
Mrs. Rhodes reads to me certain words conveying
information I did not know any human being to
possess. I do not know, however, that this information
is not possessed by one or more persons. I do
not know how it is communicated to Mrs. Rhodes, although
I will admit that it comes to her as she represents—that
is, that it appears in letters of light, which
she sees, but which others cannot see.”

“Your position is correct,” said Mr. Rhodes. “Evidence
on a question of this nature must be positive to
command belief. I talked in the same way for two
years. Let us see now if these spirits cannot give us
some information which no human being in this State
can possibly possess.”

“Yes,” replied Mr. Gray, “I would like something
of that kind. Can you tell us,” he continued, addressing
the table, “if the Sea Nymph has arrived at ValParaiso?”

“The Sea Nymph has arrived at Valparaiso,” was
the answer.”

“Can you give the date of her arrival!”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We did not mark the date at the time. As our divisions
of time do not correspond with yours, we cannot
fix a date for an event happening on earth by any
date of our own.”

“If you had been requested to note the date of her
arrival, could you have done so?”

“Yes. We could have ascertained what date it was
with you and remembered it.”

“If the Emperor of France should die to-night,
should you be likely to know of the event before it
could reach us by mail?”

“It would depend upon what circle I am in. In
certain circles I might know of his death at the moment
of taking place, in others I might not hear of it
for months.”

“Could not some spirit in a circle that received immediate
intelligence of such an event transmit the
event to earth in advance of earthly means of communication?”

“Doubtless, if such spirit had ready means of communication
with portions of the earth distant from the
scene of the event. But the means of communication
are very imperfect. We are not organized to gather and
disseminate news. We cannot drop down on any portion
of the earth as the notion may seize us, and tell
our news. There are the difficulties of language, for
instance. The spirit of a Frenchman who did not
speak English, could not communicate through an
English or American medium who did not speak
French. In time these difficulties will be removed,
and we shall compete with your telegraph in giving
news. You must recollect, however, that ordinary
earthly affairs lose much of their interest to us after
we pass away, and that we have no other object in
gathering news than to convince you of the fact of our
existence and power to communicate.”

“Do you ever expect to convince the mass of mankind
of the fact of your existence and of your power
to communicate?”

“We do. What you call death is a problem we have
solved. We know there is no death for the spirit.
This is not a matter of belief, as with you, but a positive
knowledge. Now we know also that we can communicate
with you, because we see our letters appear
on the table and hear them read by the medium. Here

are items of knowledge. They are truths. Now, a
great truth must in the end triumph. A great fact
must in the end be made manifest. We expect to
make mortals aware of our existence, because we do
exist, and we expect to show mortals that we can communicate
because we do communicate. It is a part of
the unfolding law of nature. A cause begins to operate
when under a general law it can produce an effect.
The cause may have existed through all time, but it
only begins to operate when the material upon which
it acts is in a condition to respond. Thus spirits have
always existed, but only in exceptional instances have
they had the power to communicate until the present
day.”

“Is this power given them as a special gift?”

“No; it becomes theirs by the fulfillment of required
conditions.

“One of the conditions is the enlightenment of
man. A hundred years ago a medium would have
been burned at the stake. But the medium is getting
tired, and my friend Smith wants to speak Good-night,
Good-night, Regie.”

“Good-night, papa.”

The lights went out. For two or three minutes the
table was a blank to the medium as well as to others.
Then although it remained a blank to three of the
party, the medium reported a spirit as present.

“Please give your name,” said the medium.

“I am John Smith.”

“Have you anything especial to communicate?”

“I want to speak to Mr. Gray.”

“I am listening, Mr. Smith,” replied that gentleman.

The medium then said:

“I am sorry, Mr. Gray, that you do not believe in
us.”

“I am open to conviction.”

“You think you are, but you are not. Without any
accurate knowledge of the laws which control our action,
you establish tests in accordance with your own
rules of evidence. Such proofs as you require can
only be given under very advantageous circumstances.”

“Still, being on this sphere, I must insist upon
proofs in accordance with our rules of evidence before
I can believe. If spirits cannot furnish such
proofs, they cannot hope to convince men accustomed
to examine evidence by the aid of pure reason.”

“I leave these questions for Mr. Shaw to discuss.
I would peak to you of Mliss.”

“Do you know where she is at present?”

“I know she is in Valparaiso, but I cannot communicate
with her. She is surrounded by influences adverse
to us.”

“Can you not approach her as easily at Valparaiso
as in San Francisco?”

“Yes, if the immediate influences around her were
as favorable.”

“What do you mean by immediate influences?”

“I mean personal associations. There are human
beings of positive and powerful magnetism whom we
cannot approach. If such an organization is in harmony
with us, it becomes a powerful ally; if adverse,
it resists any spirit force which I can command.”

“Is Mliss associated with such a person?”

“Yes.”

“Is it a man or woman?”

“A man.”

“Is it O'Niel?”

“No. This person has taken her from O'Niel.”

“For what purpose?”

“I cannot tell. I cannot approach him, nor read
his mind.”

“What character of man is he?”

“A very dangerous character.”

“Does he hold Mliss against her will?”

“No. He has won her confidence.”

“How do you know he has won her confidence if
you cannot approach her?”

“I was able to approach her during the first days of
their association. Her mind was tranquil in his presence
and she looked upon him as a friend.”

“What is the man's name?”

“He is known as Colonel Wade.”

“Colonel Wade! Is he the man who man who was
sentenced to be hanged in Dayton some months ago?”

“I don't know. I knew nothing of him until I saw
him on board the Sea Nymph.”

“This is a rather singular coincidence,” said Mr.
Gray, speaking to the company rather than to the
spirit: “A man named Wade, a desperate character,
was tried by a Vigilance Committee in Dayton, sometime
in April, and sentenced to be hanged. He
managed to escape, by the aid, it is supposed, of confederates,
and has not since been heard of.”

“It is possible,” said Mr. Rhodes, “that he may
have reached the city and taken passage under an assumed
name on board the Sea Nympth.”

“It is possible but not at all probable. Mr. Smith,”
he continued, addressing the table, “what would you
have me do?”

“Send a trusty agent to Valparaiso by the next
steamer I would ask you to go yourself, but you
will be needed in the city when the case comes off.”

“Well,” said Mr. Gray, “your advice shall be followed?”