Fifty Years a Medium – Chapter 7, 1/16 by Estelle Roberts

CHAPTER SEVEN
CLAIRVOYANCE: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

In the course of a long career as a medium I have given clairvoyance in most of the principal public halls in the United Kingdom. My biggest meetings were, of course, at the Royal Albert Hall where,

on most of the score of occasions that I appeared there, every one of the seven thousand seats was occupied. But, more often, my London appearances were at the Queen’s Hall, where I demonstrated many, many times, and at the Seymour, Caxton, Kingsway and Aeolian Halls.

I asked no payment for my services though generous fees were frequently offered. I wanted only to bring my gifts to the greatest number of people, without thought of personal gain. The only exception to this rule was when I demonstrated in Scotland, Ireland, or on the Continent. My limited resources could not be stretched to cover the costs of these journeys, and at such times I was happy to accept my out-of-pocket expenses.

These public demonstrations usually followed a similar pattern. I always made a point of arriving at the venue, in plenty of time, going straight to the ante-room where I would silently commune with the spirit people. “I have come here as a bridge between you and your loved ones in the audience,” I would tell them.

“Help me to help both you and them.” Not that they have ever failed me, or were ever likely to do so – of that I was quite sure. It was in my own shortcomings that my doubts lay. I imagine that few people accustomed to appearing on a stage or platform have entirely outgrown the “nerves” which invariably precede the big occasion.

This heightening of tension is almost bound to arise and at such moments my fears were not that the spirit people would fail me but that I might somehow fail them. It was a burden of responsibility which always weighed heavily upon me until I rose to speak. Then, magically, it would disappear, to be replaced by a surging sense of power and confidence.