It is plain that a power such as this of acquiring and reproducing fresh knowledge interposes much difficulty in the way of identifying any alleged spirit by means of his knowledge of the facts of his earth-life. 948 A. [Abridged from Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xi. pp. 69-93.] In his little book on "Spirit Identity" (1879), Mr. Moses had collected some of the most impressive of these cases of identity, and added some interesting matter as to the subjective side of his experiences. The book was never widely known; and when the small edition was exhausted Mr. Moses postponed the republication, on the ground that the book was imperfect, and that he had no time to improve it. I repeatedly pressed him on the subject; and when last we spoke of it (October 15th, 1886), he said that he would some time re-write the book, and would consult me as to further passages of MS. to be published. The book was never re-written; but an essay called "The Identity of Spirit," found among Mr. Moses' papers, and apparently intended to be read to the London Spiritualist Alliance, in some degree fulfils his expressed intention. I communicated this paper first to Light, the newspaper of which Mr. Moses was Editor until his death.

I have carefully compared it with the MSS. on which it rests, and have found it accurate. I have also discussed it with Mrs. Speer, who helped Mr. Moses in its compilation and vouches for facts of verification, etc, not recorded in the MS. From this paper I cite the following instances. I add in square brackets a few notes where I have been able to bring some independent corroboration.

(1) It was in August 1872, that I first became acquainted with evidence of Spirit Identity. Dr. and Mrs. Speer and I were then sitting regularly almost every evening. A friend of Mrs. Speer's, of whom I had never heard, came and wrote through my hand her name, "A. P. Kirkland." Dr. Speer said, "Is that our old friend?" Then I wrote. "Yes. I came to tell you that I am happy, but I can't impress our friend to-night." The handwriting then changed, and there came communications from Mr. Callister (a friend of mine); and from my cousin, T. J. S.; and from another spirit, which I do not think it of importance to mention here.

With regard to these communications, they were distinct in style, and it is of importance to notice that the handwriting of Miss Kirkland was very similar to her own, which I had never seen, and that of Mr. Callister, on being questioned as to his identity, recalled to my memory a fact which had escaped it, and referred to a conversation, the last I had had with him on earth. This I do not adduce as evidence of identity, nor do I withdraw it as such.

This was on August 21st, 1872, and on September 4th in the same year there came a little sister of Dr. Speer's, particulars respecting which case are printed in "Spirit Identity," p. 59, as follows:-

(2) "I pass to a case in which a spirit who first manifested her presence on September 4th, 1872, has remained in permanent communication with us ever since. I note this case because we have the advantage of prolonged intercourse to aid us in forming an opinion as to identity, and because the spirit has not only given an unequivocal proof of her characteristic individuality, but has evidenced her presence in various ways. This is a remarkable case, too, as tending to prove that life once given is indestructible, and that the spirit which has once animated a human body, however brief its tenure, lives on with unimpaired identity.

"The spirit in question announced herself by raps, giving a message in French. She said she was a sister of Dr. Speer's, and had passed away at Tours, an infant of seven months old. I had never heard her mentioned, and her brother had forgotten her existence, for she lived and died before his birth. Clairvoyants had always described a child as being in my company, and I had wondered at this, seeing that I had no trace of any such relation or friend. Here was the explanation. From the time of her first appearance she had remained attached to the family, and her clear, joyous little rap, perfectly individual in its nature, is never-failing evidence of her presence. It never varies, and we all know it at once as surely as we should know the tone of a friend's voice. She gave particulars of herself, and also her four names in full. One (Stanhope) was new to her brother, and he verified it only by reference to vol. II. 2 P another member of the family (Mrs. Denis). Names, and dates, and facts were alike unknown to me.

I was absolutely ignorant of the fact of the existence of any such person".

(3) On an evening in the month of January 1874, I repeatedly said to Mrs. Speer, "Who is Emily C--.? Her name keeps sounding in my ear." Mrs. Speer replied that she did not know any one of that name. "Yes," I said very emphatically, "there is some one of that name passed over to the world of spirit." She could give me no information, and I was disturbed, in the way in which I always am when such things take place. This is one of the many cases occurring about this time. When the evening paper came in we looked (as we frequently did) at the obituary. I may say that our minds were set on this subject of identity. At our daily sittings fact on fact was given to prove it and to remove any doubts. It became a regular thing for us to receive a message giving such facts as an obituary notice would contain. We therefore looked for them, and we found an announcement of the death of "Emily, widow of the late Captain C--C--." On a subsequent evening in the following year, the date of which I can produce, but which I have not by me at the moment, she returned again.

Dr. Speer and I had gone out for a walk in the afternoon - I was then staying with him at Dudley Villa, Shanklin, Isle of Wight - and at our seance in the evening came "Emily C--C--." I inquired what brought her, and her answer was rapped out on the table, " You passed my grave." Here I should explain that at this time I never went near a graveyard but I attracted some spirit, identified afterwards as one whose body lay there. I said, "No, that is impossible; we have been near no graveyard," and Dr. Speer confirmed my impression. The communication, however, was persistent, and we agreed that we would take the same walk the next day. We did so, and at a certain place I had an impulse to climb up and look over a wall, which quite shut out from the view of the ordinary passer-by what was behind it. I climbed up and looked over, and my eye fell at once on the grave of "Emily C--C--," and on the dates and particulars given to us, all exactly accurate.

(4) Another instance similar in kind-though this is of a personal friend of Mrs. Speer's - is the case of Cecilia Feilden. (See "Spirit Identity," p. 58.) We were then at Shanklin, sitting regularly every evening, when on January 1st, 1874, there came a fresh sound, a little ticking sound in the air, close to Mrs. Speer. We inquired what it might represent, and were told that it indicated the presence of Cecilia Feilden, who had died 17 years ago. We asked why she came, and were told that she had been attracted to her old friend, Mrs. Speer, through me, and in consequence of Dr. Speer's and my presence at her grave at Bonchurch that afternoon. She answered many questions, and finally rapped out, "I must now depart. Adieu." This word Miss Feilden always used at the end of her letters. Mrs. Speer tells me that she seldom concluded a letter otherwise. I had never known her, or heard of her until Dr. Speer pointed out her grave. When we rose from the table we found that a piece of marked paper, which we had put down under the table, had written upon it the words, "passed 17 years".

(5) Again, there is the case of Henry Spratley. We were then the same circle, sitting in the same way, on January 2nd, 1874, and I can aver that not one of us had ever heard of this person. He had lately departed (December 1873), and it was alleged that he had been brought by the controlling spirit, "Imperator," for purposes of evidence, and in pursuance of a plan intended to break down my persistent scepticism. We had from him messages of the usual type, saying simply who he was, when he was born, and when he died. We found it difficult, I remember, to verify the facts, but in the end Mrs. Speer succeeded in doing so by writing (1) to the Post Office, making a general inquiry, to which no answer came; (2) to the vicar of Maidenhead, with no reply (we afterwards discovered that he was on his holiday); (3) to the "present occupant of Moor Cottage," the address given to us by the spirit; (4) to his nearest surviving representative, who wrote back with some surprise to say that all things were quite true. "My father lived here till he died on December 24th".