Mr. Sellers next presented the minutes of the meeting of January 24th, as follows:
The Committee met on January 24th, 1885, at the Girard House, Philadelphia, in Room 24.
There were present: Dr. Leidy, Mr. H.H. Furness and Mr. Coleman Sellers, with the Medium, Dr. Henry Slade. Dr. Leidy occupied the position previously held by Professor Thompson, to the right of the Medium; Messrs. Sellers and Furness were seated as at the former sittings.
Slates were produced and held as at the previous séances. Upon one slate the following interrogatories and responses were recorded:
'Spirits, are you ready to work?' Answer: 'Soon,'
'Will you write for the gentlemen?' Answer: 'We are trying to do so.'
At this point the Medium substituted another slate for the one which he had held in his hand, and almost immediately thereafter, upon the new slate being placed under the table, the sound of writing began and was carried on with little interruption. The writing continued for a very long time, during which the Medium, removing his hand from the hands of the other gentlemen, said, 'You see that if I take my hand away from the circle and thus break the circle, the sound of the writing ceases; if I place my hand back again, the writing is repeated.' The sound of the writing, which had been temporarily suspended, recommenced when the hand of the Medium returned to its former position. The Medium further stated, by way of qualifying his statement on this point, 'If I do not jerk it away I can raise my hand a little.' He illustrated his meaning by slightly elevating his hand and withdrawing it from the other hands, at the same time calling attention to the fact that the sounds of the writing on the slate were continued.
This modification by the Medium of his original statement was regarded as intended to cover instances in which the circle had been surreptitiously broken by members of the Committee without any of the results which, had been predicted. Several such breaks had been made by the writer (Mr. Sellers) unknown to any one but himself; and the Medium, finally becoming aware of this fact, observed that the circle might frequently be broken a little without any effect being apparent.
Professor Thompson: But did not the Medium make that statement at the very first séance?