point of time came last, we must premise that in our investigations
with this Medium we early discovered the character of the writing to be
twofold, and the difference between the two styles to be striking. In
one case the communication written on the slate by the Spirits was
general in its tone, legible in its chirography, and usually covered
much of the surface of the slate, punctuation being attended to, the
_i's_ dotted, and the _t's_ crossed. In the second, when the
communication was in answer to a question addressed to a Spirit the
writing was clumsy, rude, scarcely legible, abrupt in terms, and
sometimes very vague in substance. In short, one bore the marks of
deliberation and the other of haste. This difference we found to be due
to the different conditions under which the communications were written.
The long messages are prepared by the Medium before the séance. The
short ones, answers to questions asked during the séance, are written
under the table with what skill practice can confer.

With this knowledge, it is clear that the investigator has to deal with
a simple question of legerdemain. The slate, with its message already
written, must in some way be substituted for one which the sitter knows
to be clean. The short answers must be written under trying
circumstances, out of sight, under the table, with all motions of the
arm or hand concealed. It is useless to attempt to limit the methods
whereby these two objects may be attained. All that we can do is to
describe the processes which we distinctly saw this Medium adopt.

In its simplest form (and one which any person can try with astonishing
results upon an artless, unsuspicious sitter), a slate, on which, before
the sitter's visit, a message has been written, is lying face downward
on the table when the séance begins. There are other slates on an
adjoining table within easy reach of the Medium. In order that the