After some four years of residence near Ramsey, he accepted the curacy of St. George's, Douglas, Isle of Man. Here also he was esteemed as an active clergyman, and admired as a preacher. In April 1869 he had a serious illness, and hearing that Dr. Speer, whom he knew slightly, was in the island on a holiday, he called in his medical aid. Dr. Speer brought him successfully through his illness, and invited him as a convalescent to the house which he was renting in the island. The foundations of a lifelong friendship with Dr. and Mrs. Speer were then laid.

In 1870 he took a curacy somewhere in Dorsetshire, where also he was liked, and was appointed "Lent preacher" for the county. A very severe attack of whooping-cough obliged him to interrupt his parish work, which, in fact, he never resumed. Dr. Speer invited him to become his son's tutor, and for seven years he filled that office in a way that attached to him both parents and pupil more closely than ever. In 1871 he was offered a mastership in University College School; and this post he held until failing health compelled him to resign it some three years before his death. The physical phenomena about to be described began in 1872, and continued with gradually lessening frequency until 1881. The automatic script began in 1873, and finally died out, so far as we know, in 1883. During these later years Mr. Moses was active in contributing to, and afterwards in editing, the weekly newspaper Light; and he took a leading part in several spiritistic organisations. Of one of these - the London Spiritualist Alliance - he was president at the time of his death. In 1882 he aided in the foundation of the Society for Psychical Research; but he left that body in 1886, on account of its attitude towards Spiritualism, which he regarded as unduly critical.

It is worth remarking that although, as the fact of his withdrawal shows, many members of the Society held an intellectual position widely differing from that of Mr. Moses, and although his own published records were of a kind not easily credible, no suspicion as to his personal probity and veracity was ever, so far as I know, either expressed or entertained.

Mr. Moses' health became steadily weaker. He suffered greatly from suppressed gout, in addition to other ailments. A serious fall from the top of an omnibus made matters worse. In 1890 he was attacked by influenza in the severest form, and was reckoned, I believe, to have had twelve separate relapses or recurrences of that complaint. An accident to his eyes also gave him much trouble. He worked on, as best he could, to the last; but the period of decline was tedious and distressing; and it would be very unfair to judge him from the utterances of these last years. When in September 1892 he passed from earth, we may surely trust that his achievements here had won their way to promotion, and his sufferings to repose.

Mr. Moses never married, and went very little into general society. His personal appearance offered no indication of his peculiar gift. He was of middle stature, strongly made, with somewhat heavy features, and thick dark hair and beard. His expression of countenance was honest, manly, and resolute. Many testimonies of affection and esteem appeared in Light and elsewhere after his decease; especially, of course, from those to whom his experiences and teachings had brought a convincing hope. I subjoin a few letters from friends who had good opportunities of estimating his value in the common duties and intercourse of life.

Dr. Johnson, of Bedford, writes to me as follows: -

"68 High Street, Bedford, March 24th, 1893.

"Dear Sir, - As the intimate friend and medical adviser of the late Stainton Moses I have had ample opportunities of thoroughly knowing his character and his mental state.

"He was a man even in temper, painstaking and methodical, of exceptional ability, and utterly free from any hallucination or anything to indicate other than a well-ordered brain.

"He was a firm believer in all that he uttered or wrote about matters of a spiritual nature, and he impressed me - and, I believe, most others he came in contact with - with the genuineness of his convictions, and a firm belief not only that he believed in the statements he had made and written, but that they were the outcome of a mind which had given itself up entirely to the study of a subject which he considered of essential value and importance to the welfare of his fellow men.

"I have attended him in several very severe illnesses, but never, in sickness or at other times, has his brain shown the slightest cloudiness or suffered from any delusion. I not only consider that he believed what he stated, but I think that those who knew him best would not for an instant doubt that all he stated were facts and words of truth. - Sincerely yours, Wm. G. Johnson".

In another letter Dr. Johnson says: -

"He was a most lovable character; kind and generous in his every action; and with a fund of information on most subjects which made him a most welcome guest".

Dr. Eve, headmaster of University College School, writes as follows to Professor Sidgwick: -

"University College School, Gower Street, London, W.C., March 18th, 1893.

"My dear Sidgwick, - Stainton Moses was an excellent colleague. He confined himself entirely to English; in that subject he took classes in all parts of the school, and his work was always well and methodically done. He taught essay-writing well, and was very skilful in appreciating the relative value of boys' essays, which is not easy. He was much looked up to by boys, and had considerable influence over them. On general points connected with the management of the school he was one of the colleagues to whom I most naturally turned for advice, and I have every reason to be grateful to him. - Yours very sincerely, H. W. EVE".

Mr. F. W. Levander, a master at University College School, writes to me thus:-

"University College School, Gower Street, London, W.C., May 16th, 1893.

"Dear Sir, - My acquaintance with the late W. Stainton Moses com-menced in the year 1871, when he first became one of the masters here. This acquaintance soon extended beyond the nature of that generally met with between colleagues; it ripened into a constantly increasing friendship, which continued unbroken until his death. During the whole of this long period he always impressed me with the idea that he was thoroughly earnest and conscientious, and I believe that perfect reliance can be placed on all his statements. - Yours faithfully, F. W. Levander".

I have often heard Mr. Moses discussed by persons of opinions opposed to his own; and since I owe it to my readers to make the present paper not merely eulogistic, but as accurately descriptive as my materials allow, I feel bound to reproduce adverse criticisms. I have, then, heard him, in his later years, characterised as an obstinate, confused, and irritable controversialist. I have heard him described as lacking in the grace of humility, and in that spirituality of tastes and character which should seem appropriate to one living much in the commerce of the Unseen. But I have never heard any one who had even the slightest acquaintance with Mr. Moses impugn his sanity or his sincerity, his veracity or his honour.