We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni

Author:Dianne K. Salerni
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781402252716
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Published: 2010-05-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Maggie

The fall of 1851 came upon us too quickly. Soon we would be finishing our business in Philadelphia and rejoining the rest of the family, not in Rochester, but in New York City, where Leah had rented a house.

Our popularity in Philadelphia had not diminished during our four-month stay. Spiritualists from all across the state of Pennsylvania had journeyed to the Quaker City for a meeting with one of the Fox sisters. Very few of these visitors had ever experienced any supernatural event before. When they arrived at Webb’s Union Hotel, it was with the reverence of attending church for the very first time, having only read about worship but wishing ardently to participate. When rapping in Rochester and New York, I had always presumed myself to be something like a performer. But in Philadelphia I understood for the first time that Kate and I, or perhaps Leah, had created a new religion.

This caused a great deal of guilty reflection on my part, exacerbated by Elisha’s insistence on the sinfulness of my actions. “You know I am nervous about the rappings,” he told me. “I believe the only thing that gives me fear is this confounded thing being found out! I would not know the truth myself for ten thousand dollars.” And he did not, in fact, know the truth. No admission ever passed my lips. I believe at that time it would have been a physical impossibility, my tongue stiffening in my mouth as if by some poison, were I ever to confess the method by which I manifested the raps. Unlike some other skeptics, Elisha never demeaned himself by trying to guess their source.

Dr. Kane continued to attend our sittings when he was able and especially when he had failed to engage my companionship otherwise. Some of the Philadelphia spiritualists began to believe that he was a devoted believer, much to his consternation! However, astute participants commented, “Dr. Kane is far more intent on the medium of communication than the substance of the message,” and they would smile indulgently at the two of us. In any case, his continued presence could be interpreted only as tacit approval for the rappings, whether he realized it or not.

Our time together was dwindling, for not only was my visit to Philadelphia due to end, but Elisha was scheduled to speak in several other cities across the Northwest in his crusade to raise funds. In the meantime, he escorted me to concerts and plays, and on two more occasions I attended his lectures as an honored guest. Mother usually accompanied us as our chaperone, although sometimes Elisha invited the wife of his cousin Robert Patterson as an escort.

On a brisk October afternoon, just four days before Elisha was to leave for New York City, he took me on a carriage ride through the countryside with Mrs. Helen Patterson along in place of my mother. I found Mrs. Patterson to be a pleasant and agreeable companion, very elegant and gracious. She kept

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