874 A. From Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xi. pp. 432-37. The following appeared in the Religio-Philosophical Journal for November 1st, 1890:-

Statement of Dr. Suddick.

For some time past we have been holding spiritual seances, or circles, regularly every Tuesday and Friday evening at our home in Cuba, Mo., and have gotten and are getting many messages, truthful and otherwise, although the untruthful ones are few comparatively and are generally so from known causes, such as misunderstanding of question asked, inharmony in circle, etc, etc. Most remarkable was a "Prophecy and its Fulfilment," a hurried statement of which appeared in the Better Way of October 18th. Two friends had called in, namely, Charles H. Cottnam, bookkeeper for the firm of Newman and Jones, general merchants, and James E. Hollow, jun., of the firm of Hollow & Son, dealers in stoves, hardware, and furniture, both doing business at this place. Then my wife and I sat around a small walnut centre table, placing our hands on its top surface in the usual manner, and in about ten or fifteen minutes the table began to move, indicating the presence of our spirit friends, or some intelligence with the power to move it, and answer questions intelligently, as we found by asking.

The lamp was sitting on a piano in the corner of the room, turned down so as to make a subdued or mellow light, but not so low but that we could see what time it was by our watches as we sat at the table, or jot down the communications as they were spelled out.

Mr. Cottnam had a friend, Mr. Chris. Varis, a prominent hotel-keeper of St. James, Phelps County, Mo., and a former resident of this place. His disease was a chronic affection of the throat. Mr. C. had called on him a few days previous and found him very weak and sinking fast. He could take no solid food, and all the nourishment he got was by painful swallowing a little eggnog or milk. His attendant physician, Dr. Headlee, of St. James, told Mr. Cottnam that he thought Mr. Varis could live but a few days at most, and from his appearance Mr. Cottnam was of the same opinion. After many other questions were asked and answered, the table answering by tipping two of its feet two or three inches off the floor, and then striking it again, once for no, twice for don't know, and three times for yes, Mr. C. asked, "Do you know my friend Chris. Varis, of St James, Mo.?" "Yes." "Is he any better than when I was with him last?" "No." "Is he worse?" "Yes." "Will I have time to get to him before he passes out if I take the next train?" "Yes." "Will he live over to-morrow?" "Yes." "Do you know when he will pass out?" "Yes." Then the table rocked back and forth slowly, the feet striking the floor forty times, making forty distinct raps, much to the surprise of all present, as we were expecting him to pass out much sooner.

We counted, and found that the time indicated would be October 8th; so to make sure we were right we asked, "Will he pass out on October 8th?" "Yes." "In the forenoon?" "Yes." "Will a telegram be sent to me on the morning of the 8th to that effect?" "Yes".

A night or two after the above-described seance Mr. Cottnam sat at another house with different sitters, and received the following confirmation of the above. He says: "We had been sitting only a few minutes when the table began to move. I asked, 'Is the spirit demonstrating a friend of mine?' 'Yes.' (Indicated by three distinct tips of the table.) 'Will you spell your name?' 'Yes.' The alphabet was called in the usual way, and the letters signalled by tips spelled Ben Walker. 'Are you my friend, Ben Walker, of St. Louis?' 'Yes.' 'I was not aware of your demise; when did you pass out?' Three distinct tips. 'Does that mean that it has been three days since you passed out?' 'Yes.' 'Is your body buried?' 'No.' 'Will it be buried to-morrow?' 'Yes.' 'Do you know my friend Chris. Varis?' 'Yes.' 'Will he pass out on October 8th?' 'Yes.' 'Are you sure of this?' 'Yes.'"

Mr. Cottnam was not aware of the death of Mr. Walker, and rather doubted the truth of the message about him. The Globe Democrat of the next day, however, confirmed the truth of his death, and stated that the interment was deferred until his son arrived from a distant city.

The prediction about Mr. Varis became an open secret, and was talked of freely through the town from the morning of August 30th until October 8th, when' a telegram came over the wires informing Mr. C. that Mr. Varis died that morning at six o'clock.

I append a letter from Dr. Headlee, the physician who attended Mr. Varis, which corroborates the account just given. I also send the signatures of twelve of our best citizens in further confirmation, and the signatures of the sitters. Many more names could be obtained, but I judge the following to be sufficient. S. T. Suddick, M.D.

Cuba, Mo.

St. James, Mo., October 18th, 1890.

Dear Doctor, - About a week previous to the death of Mr. Chris. Varis I was in Cuba, and a friend was inquiring about him. I told him that on the evening before I did not think he would survive the night, but on that morning he had rallied a little, that the chances all were that he would not last twenty-four hours. He then told me that he (Mr. V.) would live until the eighth day of October, and that he would die on that day; this he did, dying at 6 a.m.

Mr. Varis was sick about seven or eight months, and for the last three was expected to die at any time. - Respectfully yours, S. H. Headlee.

Cuba, Mo., October 15th, 1890. To all whom it may concern:- This is to certify that we, the under-signed citizens of Cuba, Mo., did, prior to the death of Mr. Chris. Varis, of St. James, Mo., which occurred on the morning of the 8th of October 1890, hear a prophecy to the effect that he would die on the morning of that day.

We heard that his death was foretold at a seance, at the house of Dr. S. T. Suddick, in the town of Cuba, Mo., on the night of August the 29th, or forty days prior to that event. S. T. Suddick, M.D.

I received message for Cottnam October 8th, from St. James.

Chas. C. Kent, Telegraph Operator at Cuba. J as. E. Hollow, Jun., one of the circle of August 29th. Longstreet Simpson, Clerk in Store.

I. P. Brickey, Proprietor, Cuba Hotel.

E. A. Evans, Real Estate Agent.

F. R. Hardesty, Druggist. W. T. Hunter, Blacksmith.

C H. Cottnam, one of the circle of August 29th.

Dr. V. L. Shelp, Dentist.

Dr. J. H. Martyn, Physician and Surgeon.

Geo. Askins, Hotel Clerk.

Mrs. Louise Farley Suddick, one of the circle of August 29th.

J. A. Rost, Shoemaker.

J. A. Caims, Clerk in Store.

B. F. Johnson, Notary Public.

The letter from which the following is an extract, and of which the original was sent to Dr. Hodgson by Dr. Suddick, fixes the date of the seance.

Cuba, Mo., August 29th, 1890.

D. E. Perryman, Bonne Terre, Mo.

Dear Friend, - . . . 30th. We had a nice little circle last night, in our parlour, and good phenomena, so far as table-tipping goes. Myself, wife, and two neighbours composed the circle. There were about a hundred questions asked, and all were answered correctly, so far as we know.

One gentleman was requested to go to a sick friend, and was told the number of days he would live, etc. etc. S. T. Suddick.

(This extract appeared in the Religio-Philosophical Journal.) Dr. Suddick says that the letter was returned to him at his own request, and writes:-

You will find that the first seven or eight lines were written August 29th and the remainder of the letter on the 30th, or part before and part after the sitting.

Mrs. Suddick sends the following account of the sitting:-

Cuba, Mo., November 9th, 1890.

Replying to your favour of the 5th inst., requesting my confirmation of the "prophecy" of which my husband wrote, I can say that I was one of the sitters: the seance having taken place at our house. There were two other sitters besides my husband (Dr. Suddick) and self, namely, J. E. Hollow, jun., and C. H. Cottnam. The message was given in answer to questions put by Mr. Cottnam concerning his friend Mr. Varis. He did not call the name of the latter at the time of the sitting, but only spoke of him as "my friend," and I, for one, did not know at the time to whom he referred. (I think perhaps the other sitters did.) I heard casually the next day through a neighbour lady that Mr. Varis, of St. James, was expected to die at any time, and associating the two incidents, I concluded he was the sick friend of whose demise Mr. C. had been questioning the "spirits," and on inquiring found that I had surmised correctly.

At the sitting Mr. Cottnam asked a number of questions about his sick friend, among which were, "Will he be alive when I arrive there?" "Will he die to-morrow?" "Will he die the day after?" etc. After receiving negative answers to the last two - and perhaps the question whether he would live a week was asked, - I do not distinctly remember - he requested the controlling power to rap once for every day that his friend would yet live, and the table rapped forty times: each of the sitters counted the raps as they were given distinctly by the table rising on one side off the floor and striking down again. On counting the forty days from that date we found that the time of his death as prophesied would fall on the 8th of October. (The date of the prophecy was August 29th.) Mr. C. asked if the 8th of October was the day on which he would die, and the table rapped three times, the conventional signal for " Yes." He then asked if the demise would take place in daytime or at night; in the forenoon or afternoon, etc, and received answers that it would be in the day-time, and in the forenoon.