Alongside of Home's manifestations, the exploits of other Victorian mediums dwindle into insignificance. But they furnished _Punch_ with food for ridicule, as when the Nottingham spiritualists in 1863 suggested the writing of a new Bible from their direct revelations; or when an American clairvoyante published, and distributed in Great Britain, her claims to having made "the greatest discovery ever made," viz., "Mediation Writing, direct to and from the spirit world, in One Minute, without any mechanism, except Pen, Ink and Paper." Her claim to have communicated with Shakespeare gave _Punch_ a special opportunity, for it was the year of the Tercentenary, and the Bard of Avon must have had the whole history of the squabbles which beset that luckless undertaking inflicted upon him by the American lady. More interesting to us, however, is the reference to success achieved by legitimate conjurers in imitating the manifestations of spiritualists. For in 1860 the late Mr. Maskelyne had already exposed the Davenport Brothers, and greatly surpassed any feats they had accomplished in the way of levitation and the materializing of spirit forms. But _populus vult decipi: decipiatur_; and the game went on. Home was much in evidence in 1870 in the provinces and in Belgravian drawing-rooms, flying "by miracle up to the ceiling, And carrying hot coals on pate or palm, no inconvenience feeling." And in the same year there appeared Dr. Newton, an American faith-healer, or "healing medium," as he was called,
... Out-Homing Home, and curing folks' diseases, Giving blind and dumb, and deaf and halt, eyes, ears, tongues, legs as he pleases; By laying his hands upon them, and bidding their ailments begone, And doing it all for love, and not money--the downy one! And for all our march of intellect, and our monarchy of mind, There's never a Reynard the Fox, but he draws his tail of fools behind; And there's never a quack that quacks, but he finds green geese to echo his quacking, And never a swindler that lowers his trawl, and finds the flat fish lacking!
SINBAD (as representing the British Public): "I can't be expected to attend to any of _you_, with this 'Interesting Topic' on my shoulders!"]