A Reading from The American Museum of Photography
The Testimony of Moses A. Dow, Writer and Editor
on the Spirit Photography of William H. Mumler
from The Personal Experiences of William H. Mumler in Spirit-Photography. Written by Himself.
(Boston: Colby and Rich, 1875)
I
will here Introduce the valuable testimony of editor
and proprietor of the Waverley Magazine, Bunker Hill
District, Boston. This gentleman had a picture taken
which was fully recognized by him. He says: Having
some time since become somewhat interested in the subject
of Spiritualism, and being urged to do so by a request
which I do not feel at liberty to decline, I have,
according to the best of my ability, noted down the
prominent items of my experience, hoping they may give
encouragement and increase the confidence of those whose
minds have not yet become settled on the
subject. I
well remember the time when the phenomena of spiritual
manifestations were first introduced by the Misses Fox,
of Rochester, N.Y., and I did not, even at that early
day, when Spiritualism was so little known and its
promulgation so new and wonderful, do, as many others did
and do now, scout its pretensions, for I saw the germ of
a new era--one in which the human mind would become more
free and more expanded, and that it would do away with
many false and cruel tenets in most of the popular creeds
of the day. I was desirous, however, that others should
study its reality and its claims to public confidence, as
I had neither the time nor the inclination to search into
its mysteries, for I had some fears that I might go too
deep and that the subject might so involve my meditations
as to unfit me for the actual duties of life, of which I
had many responsible ones. It
was in the early part of 1870 that circumstances brought
me in contact with some spiritual manifestations, and
what I saw and heard at those meetings set the doors of
my understanding "ajar," and the probability of the truth
of such manifestations was indelibly impressed on my
mind; and it was not very difficult, for the results of
my observations, in after researches, made me a sincere
believer in the doctrine that the spirits of our departed
friends come back to us, and, through proper media,
communicate hope and consolation to their nearest friends
and those whom they loved on earth. It
has not yet become sufficiently popular for a man
somewhat known in a community to step forth and avow
himself a believer in Spiritualism, much less to advocate
its promulgation. But, if he truly, consciously and
understandingly believes anything that courts
investigation, especially one so important as is this,
and dares not acknowledge that belief, he is not imbued
with the spirit of liberty and free discussion which our
institutions should have implanted within his
bosom. It
has been my privilege, during the last twelve months, to
enjoy the most positive tests of the truths of spiritual
manifestations that any one ever had, and I propose, in
this imperfect narrative, to give the results of my
experience in plain and unequivocal language, that shall
neither confuse or mystify those who may honor me by
their perusal. I
am the publisher of a literary paper in Boston, and in
the year 1862 there entered my office a young lady,
apparently a recent graduate of our high schools, who
offered me some manuscripts for publication in my paper.
She was reserved and dignified in her speech and manners,
and she seemed the very ideal of what the most
imaginative mind would deem almost perfection. Her
writings made a favorable impression, and I received
several specimens of them during that year. After
becoming acquainted with her intellectual ability, and
having seen the probability of the rapid advancement that
she would make by a little experience, I made
arrangements with her to take a permanent place in my
office as an assistant on my paper. The
situation which she was to fill was that of assistant
editor. She was a fine writer of both prose and poetry,
and her good taste proved to be a valuable acquisition to
my editorial circle. Her amiable disposition, unselfish
nature and graceful deportment, as well as her
faithfulness and honesty in performing the duties
allotted to her, made her an object of admiration to all
her acquaintances. She filled the place to my
satisfaction for eight or nine years. Mabel
Warren, as we will call the young lady’s name, was
taken ill on the 12th day of July, 1870. After nine days
of severe suffering she peacefully and quietly passed to
the spirit-land. I will not attempt to give language to
the grief which I felt at her death. She seemed like a
dearly-beloved daughter, her natural father having died
in her infancy. Her funeral was attended by a large
circle of weeping friends, who felt that a vacuum had
been made in their circle which could not be again
filled. On
the seventh day after her death, while riding, I met with
an accident, which caused me to keep [to] my
house for several weeks. An arrangement had been made
with Mrs. Higgins, a spiritual medium, to take tea with
my housekeeper, (who was a Spiritualist,) my family being
away on a vacation. Several other friends of the cause
were present. Before the company had assembled I had a
short time to talk with the controlling spirit of the
medium, which was that of an Indian girl, who said that
there was a beautiful spirit present to see me, but she
could not talk then as she was so weak, having been in
the "spirit-hunting-grounds" so little while; but that
she would talk to me another moon-time, or another night.
This Indian spirit was called Mary, and was generally the
first to communicate through this medium, at her
sittings. Later
in the evening another little spirit took control of the
medium-that of the son of an ex-mayor of one of the
suburban towns of Boston. After some other remarks, he
said: "The
beautiful spirit, Mabel, is here. She is sitting on the
banks of a beautiful river, and she is surrounded with
flowers, and has a beautiful flower in her hand, and that
is for you. She loves you because you were so good to
her. The banks of the river look somewhat like the river
Nile, but the river Nile had people who were mourning and
weeping, but here all are happy." At
another time, on the same evening, Mabel took control of
the medium herself, though weak and hardly able to sit in
her chair. She requested paper and pencil that she might
write. They were brought to her, and she proved almost
too weak to take the pencil from the table. She at last
succeeded, and made an effort to write, and with much
difficulty wrote the following, which was in the
handwriting she used during her life-time: "And
it was my.fate to be taken beyond the----" When
the pencil dropped from her hand, she fell back in her
chair, unable to proceed any further. On
another evening, a week later, Mrs. Higgins, the medium,
made us another visit, and being anxious to have a
private interview, in hopes of obtaining some test that
would prove to my mind the reality of Mabel’s
presence, I had a sitting half an hour before the time
set for the rest of the company to meet. Mabel
immediately took possession of the medium, and in a
friendly manner took my hand and said: "You
felt very sad when I passed away, didn’t you? But I
shall always be near you, to console you. I used
sometimes to feel as if I did wrong to think so much of
you, but I do not think so now-it was all
right." I
will not attempt to relate all that was communicated to
me at these sittings. My object is only to give
prominence to such points in my narrative as shall enable
the reader to trace a harmonious line of evidence from
first to last of my experience, and, if not very nicely
expressed, I hope there may be seen a consistency in my
arguments in favor of the truth. About
a month after the meeting above alluded to, Mrs. D. and
myself made a trip to Saratoga Springs. It was about the
first of September. The "season" had passed away, and we
rambled over the almost deserted fields of gayety
unmolested and unnoticed. The shops and hotels were being
closed ; the hidden machinery (as it seemed) which forced
the briny waters of the "Geyser" needed repairing, no
doubt, and there seemed to be a move among the
townspeople toward such improvements as were necessarily
laid aside for the better convenience of the throng which
had just left. We had ample room for driving about, and
plenty of gay teams at our call. We visited the "Lake,"
the "Fishery" and the "Springs," the waters of which we
freely drank. I
took a stroll up Broadway [in Saratoga Springs, New
York] one pleasant afternoon, and casually stopped in
front of a palatial mansion, which was being improved and
fitted up by "Lord Willoughby," an English nobleman, who,
I believe, intends to make it his permanent residence.
While admiring the place, with its beautiful garden of
flowers, I noticed approaching me an elderly gentleman,
who gave me a pleasant greeting. He informed me that his
name was Baker; that he made Saratoga his abiding place;
that his family were grown up and scattered over the
world, and that he found pleasure in the subject of
spiritual manifestations, in which be was a firm
believer. He said he was then on his way to the "Waverley
House," to meet Dr. Slade, a very powerful medium; that
he performed wonders on the slate. He asked me to go with
him, to which I consented, remarking that I had witnessed
some manifestations, and had received communications from
some of my friends. Spiritualist
Medium carte
de visite photograph circa 1868 by Mrs. S.
E. Morrill, Coldwater Michigan A
rare and unpublished portrait of Slade near the
beginning of his career. Slade was among the
most celebrated of all American mediums; he took
London by storm and counted Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle among his admirers. Slade was the first
medium prosecuted in England, in a sensational
case that pitted much of the scientific
community against spiritualism. He was convicted
of violating the Vagrancy Act but was allowed to
leave the country without serving a prison
sentence. I
found Dr. Slade to be a delicately-constituted gentleman,
of a remarkably fine countenance and of genial manners.
After introducing the subject which we called to witness,
he seated us around a common fall-leaf table, about four
feet square. The Doctor sat on one side, I sat on another
side at his right, and Mr. Baker sat on my right,
opposite to the Doctor. We placed our hands on the centre
of the table, touching each other, to form an electric
circle. Raps came thick and loud under the table, as well
as on my chair. The medium asked the spirits: "Are
there spirits here who wish to communicate?" Three
raps answered "Yes." "We
will see what you desire to tell us," said the medium. He
then took a common school slate, and placed on it a small
slate pencil about one-sixteenth of an inch long, and
held it under the leaf of the table with the four fingers
of the right hand, his thumb resting on the top of the
table for support. His left hand remained on the centre
of the table in connection with both those of Mr. Baker
and myself, as before said, to keep the circle unbroken.
There was no space between the frame of the slate and the
table, and only about one-sixteenth of an inch between
the slate and the table for the pencil to work
in. Soon
was heard the sound of the pencil writing on the slate.
It moved with great rapidity, and the sounds of dotting
the i and crossing the t were distinctly discernible.
Three distinct raps on the slate with the pencil said, "
that is all," and the slate was taken out. On it was
written: "Have
no fears for the future. This is a beautiful place.--C.
Dow." I
remarked that I lost a brother Charles about thirty years
ago. He died a member of the Orthodox church, and
believed in all the peculiar tenets of that creed. He
expressed a fear to me that my Universalism was not true;
but, said he, "I hope it is." And now to have him tell me
in his first communication from the spirit.world to "have
no fears for the future," was very gratifying, for it
confirmed my previous convictions that the idea of pain
or sorrow after the death of the body, as a punishment,
was only the fabrication of a false theology. I
then said that I had lost a friend in Boston a few weeks
before, and had communications from her, in which she
said she should always be with me; and that I would like
to know whether she had come to Saratoga with me. The
slate was held under the table, and when taken out these
words were plainly written on it: "She
is here!-C. Dow" Then
I said I should like to have her write to me. Instantly
there was written on the slate- "I
am always with you.-MABEL." The
medium then held the slate on the top of my head by his
right hand, while his left remained in the center of the
table, and on it was written, in Mabel’s
hand-writing, as follows: "l
am glad you are interested in this beautiful truth. Ask
Mrs. D. to come, and she wilt be
convinced.-MABEL." During
this manifestation the medium said he felt a hand take
hold of his wrist and pull his cuff. I expressed a wish
that she would manifest herself to me in that way, and
soon the side of my coat was jerked quite hard, and a
hand gently patted me[.] The
medium took an accordion and placed it under the table in
the same way he had held the slate. He took hold of the
back part of it, and let the bellows and keys hang down
loose. The bellows were raised to a horizontal position,
and began to move backward and forward to take in wind,
and the tunes of "Sweet Home" and the "Last Rose of
Summer" were played as sweetly as they could possibly be
executed on that instrument by mortal fingers.
The
medium also took a silver fruit-knife and laid it on the
slate with the blade closed, and held the slate under the
table. Instantly the knife was thrown across the room on
the floor, with the blade opened to Its full
extent. On
the last evening before our leaving Saratoga I called
with another gentleman to have a sitting with Dr. Slade.
After witnessing more phenomena, I said that I was going
to leave Saratoga on the next morning, and I would like
to know whether my friend Mabel was present. The slate
was held under the table, and on it was instantly
written- "l
am glad to meet you; you are so very dear to
me.-MABEL." Mr.
Baker informed me that if I wished to know of a good
medium in Boston on my return home, I had better call on
Mrs. M. M.. Hardy, No.4 Concord Square, as she was one of
the best mediums he had ever seen. I arrived home in
about a week, and a few days afterwards called on Mrs.
Hardy. As almost every hour of the day is previously
engaged, I could only engage to call three days later. I
did not see the lady at this time, as she was occupied.
At the time appointed I called and saw her. I had never
before seen her, neither had she ever seen me, though she
may have read my name in my paper. She did not know what
I expected to learn; nor whether I wished to meet father,
mother, wife or children. I did not tell her my name, or
give her any information in regard to myself. I
was invited into the sitting-room, and took a seat
opposite to her, about six feet distant. In a few minutes
she was in a trance, and controlled by a little spirit
called "Willie," who is generally the first that appears
to one who has never been there before. After
his telling me that there were several spirits present
who knew me, I asked him if I had any friend present,
when lie answered with the voice and accent of a child of
four years: "Yes,
you have a beautiful spirit here, and she has got flowers
for you. Mary is here, too. Who is Mary?" The
Indian girl who first spoke of Mabel, and told me of her
presence through Mrs. Higgins, came to my mind, and I
asked Willie if it was the Indian girl. "Yes,
it is the Indian girl, and she has got flowers; they have
both got flowers for you. The beautifull spirit gave you
positive demonstration of her presence in Saratoga,
through Dr. Slade, by writing on a slate. She is always
with you." I
asked Willie if my friend would speak to me, and he said
she would, and that he would go and let her come to talk
with me. The
medium remained silent for a moment, when a deep sigh
indicated a change of influences, and both hands were
extended toward me, a manner of greeting a friend which
was habitual to Mabel when in the earth-form. I took a
seat nearer to her, and took her hands, which she clasped
in a manner that indicated pleasure in meeting a long
absent friend, and with great earnestness of language
gave me a hearty welcome. The
reality of her presence was so sensibly felt by me that I
could not speak for some time. Her wishes seemed to be to
impress me with the fact that she was really my friend
Mabel. "My
dear friend, I am so glad to meet you," said she.
"Promise me that you will not use the word death when you
speak of me, for I am not dead, but alive, arid am always
with you. It is so beautiful to pass away from earth; I
do not wish to come back, unless it were to die again, it
is so beautiful. I am with your father, mother and
brother; they all love me, and are waiting for you when
you come over the river, and will meet you half way over
the bridge. It is only a breath long; when the breath is
gone you are here, and it is such a beautiful home and we
are all so happy here. I will go now, and let your
friends come to you." After
she had gone I had a talk with father, mother and
brother. They all spoke of the beautiful spirit which had
recently come among them. My brother Charles
said: "Brother
Moses, I am glad to meet you. You are the first one I
have ever communicated with. We are very happy. The
beautiful spirit is with us, and she can teach us our
alphabet in spiritual progress because she was so good
and pure when she came. I will go now, and let our mother
come. Give my love to your daughters, and tell them their
Uncle Charles lives." I
would remark that my brother died about thirty years ago.
My father died about fifteen, and my mother about
forty-six years ago. My mother next came to meet me. She
said I should find a beautiful home when I came to the
spirit-land to meet my friends who were waiting for me.
My father talked pretty much in the same manner; and
altogether, the good things they told me make life here
seem not very desirable, and take from death all its
terrors. At
another sitting I asked Mabel if her father would speak
to me, as she had told me that he was her guardian spirit
while she lived on the earth, and that he was ever
present with her. She said he would, and went away to let
him come. The voice of the medium was changed from
feminine to masculine, as he said: "I
am glad to meet you, sir. I passed away when this child
(Mabel) was in her infancy. It was my doings that she was
placed under your care and protection. Had it not been
for that care and protection she would not have been the
bright and pure spirit that she now is. I thank you for
what you have done for her. I thank you for what you have
done for her mother and sister. Good by." At
another time, when I was holding converse with Mabel, she
said, voluntarily, without such a thought coming to
me- "I
shall give you my spirit picture some time." I
supposed that it would have to be done with colors by a
medium artist; and, not comprehending her meaning the
matter dropped from my mind. I now reminded her of her
promise to give me a picture. She said it would be a
photograph, and it must be taken by a medium artist. I
asked her when we should have it done, and she said she
would tell me the next time I came. I called again in
just one week, and she voluntarily spoke of the picture
first: "Now
I am ready to give you my picture. I met the spirit of
Rufus Choate, and I asked him if he could tell me where I
could get a picture taken for a friend. and he told me I
could get it at No.170 West Springfield street, in
Boston, of Mr. Mumler. I went there to see if that was
the right number, and found that it was. I went in to see
how they did it, and I got so near the instrument that I
was taken on the glass. They didn’t know who I was
and so they rubbed it off. Now, when you leave here, you
must go there and make arrangements for us to go at one
o’clock, a week from to-day. You call here at
twelve; then we will go there at one." Mrs. W. H. Mumler -- By
Mumler Wood engraving after a
photograph Harper's Weekly, May 8,
1869 "When
will you come?" asked she. "I
will call a week from to-day, at one
o’clock." "What
name shall I put down?" I
did not like to give my true name, as I had
heard that Mr. Mumler was an impostor, and
told her she might call me Mr. Johnson-which
she did; and I came to my place of
business. Just
a week from that time I called at Mrs. Hardy’s to
have a chat with Mabel previous to our going to Mr.
Mumler’s to get the picture. When I first came, Mrs.
Hardy gave me a letter which Mabel had written through
her mediumship, from which I will make an extract or
two: "MY
DEAR FRIEND--I again come to you. I am never absent from
you so but what I can hear you speak. I promised you my
picture. I am ready to give it you any time when you may
try to get it. I will bring you flowers of beauty, and
the Great Spirit will paint for you the lily with
whiteness and the rose with blushes. We can trust that
Great Spirit through the infinite future. I am one of his
ministering spirits to you. Grasp death with a smile when
it comes, for we will meet you and lead you through the
valley. I will meet you again soon.-MABEL." The
meeting alluded to was no doubt that at Mr. Mumler’s
house to get the picture. Mrs.
Hardy then went into a trance, and Mabel was present in
fine spirits. The first thing she said was-"How do you
do, Mr. Johnson? I did not know that you was ashamed of
your name. I was there when you gave them the name of
Johnson." I
told her I did so because I hardly believed that Mr.
Mumler could take her picture, though he might take my
own. "Oh
you skeptic! Oh, you skeptic!" said she, and laughed at
my lack of faith. At
two different sittings Mrs. Hardy has seen the spirit of
Mabel standing at my side, with her hand on my shoulder,
dressed in a light striped dress, which was the last
dress she wore on earth. Just before going to have our
pictures taken, she asked- "What
dress shall I wear ?-a white robe, or my light striped
dress?" I
told her I should prefer the striped dress, as that would
distinguish hers from other spirit pictures, but I did
not care much for the dress if I saw the face of my
friend there. "You
wish to see Mabel, don’t you?" "Yes,
I wish to see my friend Mabel." "Well,
I shall wear my striped dress, and I shall stand by your
side and put my hand on your shoulder, and I shall bring
you many beautiful flowers. Now we will go for the
pictures. Good-by." from
Harper's Weekly May 8,
1869 The
second trial was not much better, though he said he saw
traces of something, but rather indefinite. I told him I
had just conferred with my friend, and she said she would
be there. "Well,
then, we must persevere," said Mr. M. The
next time I sat just five minutes by his watch, which he
kept his eye on, with his back to me all the time, with
his left hand on the instrument. He took the plate out as
before, and Mrs. Mumler came into the room. She looked as
if she was under spiritual influence. I asked her-"Do you
see any spirits present?" "Yes,"
said she; "I see a beautiful spirit;" and immediately she
was entranced, and under the control of Mabel, who
said: "Now
I shall give you my picture; it will be here in a few
moments. I shall have a wreath of lilies on my head, and
a dress that will not be positively striped, but the
lights and shades will indicate stripes. I put into it
all the magnetism which I possessed." Mrs.
Mumler then came to herself, and at the same moment Mr.
Mumler entered with the plate. "Have
you got a picture now?" ask Mrs. M. "Yes, I think I
have," said he. I
took the plate and looked at it, and saw on the glass
my own
picture distinctly given, and close to my side was that
of a lady with a wreath of flowers around her head, as
she had promised. Mr. Mumler said he would send me proof
the next day. It did not come, however, till two days
after. The picture was small, but by the aid of a
microscope it was magnified to the natural size of the
human face, and in that face I saw the perfect picture of
my friend. I was both surprised and delighted, and wrote
to Mr. Mumler and told him I was perfectly satisfied, and
gave him my true name. The
next time I met Mabel at Mrs. Hardy’s she said she
wished I would get it enlarged while the conditions were
favorable for doing so. I suppose if Mr. or Mrs. Mumler
should die, the conditions would be changed, for I think
the combination of magnetism is the source of the
remarkable power which they have of taking this kind of
pictures. William H.. Mumler (U.S.,
1832--1884): Moses A. Dow with the Spirit
of "Mabel" Albumen carte de visite,
1870 It
also proves the immortality of the soul of man, and that
that immortality is a blissful one. It also negatives the
idea of there being any misery for the soul after it has
left this body of clay, in which alone are garnered all
the seeds of temptation and sin. Freed from that body, it
is a spirit-form, and is free to act itself; and that it
will advance in brightness and glory during the endless
ages of eternity. The
picture also assures me that we have our friends about
us, watching over us at all times; and the influence of
such thoughts is to warn us in the hours of temptation,
and also to reconcile us to the trials of life, and open
our hearts to deeds of charity.
"Doctor" Henry
Slade
On
arrival at Mrs. Mumler’s, I told her
that I had called to see about having a
picture taken-that a spirit friend had said
she would give me one.
I
left and went directly to Mr. Mumler’s
house, arriving there before one. He said he
had no one in, and would proceed with my
sitting for the picture. I was seated in a
chair in the centre of the back parlor, about
ten feet from the instrument, which was
placed near the window, to take in as much
daylight as possible, as it was a cloudy day.
The first time I sat about two or three
minutes, when he took the plate and went out
of the room to wash it. In a few moments he
returned and said it was a failure, and that
sometimes it required half a dozen trials
before a picture could be secured.
I
have given here a simple and condensed account of my
experience in spiritual manifestations. Should I write
them out in detail, they would fill a large volume. I
wish to say a word about spirit-pictures, and then I have
done. It is often said that such pretensions are an
imposition, because Mr. Mumler was prosecuted in New York
for making them. It may do for rival photographers to
denounce him, for it places him in a position which they
cannot attain. But when the spirit of a friend, whom I
have known for years, tells me that she will give me a
picture of herself on a particular day, and at a
particular hour, and tells what shall be the dress and
decorations, what she will wear and what position she
will take, and the picture is then taken and thus
costumed, where is the humbug?
The
picture presents me as sitting upright in a
chair, with my legs crossed. My hands lie on my
lap, with the fingers locked together. Mabel
stands partially behind my right shoulder,
dressed in a white, well-fitting robe. Her hair
is combed back, and her head is encircled by a
wreath of white lilies. Her head inclines
forward so as to lay her cheek on my right
temple, from which my hair is always parted. Her
right hand passes over my left arm, and clasps
my hand. Her left hand is seen on my left
shoulder, and between the thumb and forefinger
of this hand is held an opening moss rosebud,
the exact counterpart of the one that I placed
there while she lay in the casket, at her
funeral. Her head partially covers my forehead,
showing that my picture was not taken on a
previously prepared plate.
That
picture contains in itself a volume of proof of the
reality and reliability of spiritual manifestations. I
have indubitable evidence that in this instance it is
true; and if this is true, may not other similar pictures
be bona fide? It also proves the truth of all that Mabel
has told me in her communications, as she has sealed the
document with her honest and truthful face.
--Moses
A. Dow, as quoted in The Personal Experiences of
William H. Mumler in Spirit-Photography. Written by
Himself. (Boston: Colby and Rich, 1875, pp.
31—40.) Transcribed
by the American Museum of Photography from an
original in the collection of the William L.
Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor
Copyright
© 2000 The American Photography Museum, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.