I must confess that although under the Act, as it stood, I could have been arrested as a rogue or vagabond, I had been neither deterred nor frightened by the thought of such a happening. My family rested a little more peacefully after the amendment, however, because it was customary for Hannen Swaffer, when on the same platform, to challenge the Police generally on duty at the rear of the Hall, because of the large audiences, to arrest me. There was no longer the need for them to carry my…

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These two Acts, which had the effect of making séances illegal and denying religious freedom to Spiritualists, were still on the State Book at the end of the Second World War. A campaign to repeal the sections which affected mediums began to gather momentum, and a vigorous attempt was made to end this archaic legislation. A Spiritualist Member of Parliament, Mr. T. J. Books, invited me to attend the first of a series of all-party dinners in the House of Commons, the purpose of the gatherings being to enlist the…

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I opened the meeting with a flat denial of Red Cloud’s “vindication” rumour. Red Cloud, I reminded my audience, was a spiritual teacher and unconcerned with my material affairs, however distasteful they may be to me. In saying this, however, I was not entirely right. At this meeting Red Cloud delivered one of his lectures, speaking, as always, through me after I had been entranced. The trance address lasted some thirty minutes and when it was over he turned briefly to the subject of my recent sufferings. Speaking of the…

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More recently that other mass-selling Sunday newspaper The People published a series of articles on survival after death, basing their findings in some instances on certain of my cases. I was not unnaturally proud when they named me among the five best- known women in the country, but I was embarrassed by the unexpected response. During the next few days over five thousand letters from people all over the world came pouring in to me. Most of them were from strangers, though from their wording they might have been from…

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It was at one of these “overflow” meetings that Ishbel, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair received convincing proof of her husband’s survival. As a result, she became an enthusiastic Spiritualist. When, at the age of eighty-four, she joined the House of Red Cloud, she thought nothing of flying back from Paris expressly to attend my direct-voice séances. During his earthly life the Marquis had been deeply interested in Red Cloud’s teaching, and had actually passed into the next world while peacefully reading one of his guide’s lectures. At another of…

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The receiving and transmitting of messages is always a most exhilarating experience. I feel myself vibrating with the power of the spirit as I walk from side to side of the platform, pointing to people in all parts of the audience, even to the back of the gallery. Some messages are short and to the point, others long, and some so involved that they have little meaning to anyone but their recipients. Then, usually after about three-quarters of an hour, Red Cloud comes to me and says gently, “Sufficient.” He…

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At the advertised hour for the meeting to begin, I would leave the ante-room and take my seat on the platform. Sometimes we would begin with a hymn and a prayer; sometimes just a prayer. This would be followed by the chairmen’s introductory comments. Usually he was famous in some other field of activity and had a number of well-known people seated on either side of him. When he sat down, it was my cue to rise. I would walk to the front of the stage and, speaking into a…

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CHAPTER SEVENCLAIRVOYANCE: 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…

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“Would you like to tell us what it is all about?” I asked. Again he shrugged his shoulders, as though it did not matter whether he told us or not. “It’s the usual story,” he said, at last. “Out of work, down and out, broke! It wasn’t too bad while the wife was alive; when there’s two of you, you seem to make out better. But she died a couple of months ago, and somehow it took all the heart out of me. I’ve been trying for the last couple…

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