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.Ihave never seen a materialization or a manifestation which I cannot fully explain.Ofcourse, I cannot explain those that I hear about, as no two people see the same one thingalike.Spiritualism is really a beautiful belief for those that are honest and believe in it; but as Ihave visited the greatest spiritualistic meetings in the world, I am sorry to say that no onehas ever produced anything for me that would smack of the spiritual.In Germany, spirit mediums are put in jail for obtaining money under false pretences.InEngland, Maskelyne, of Maskelyne & Cook, has done a great deal to keep the socalled fraudspiritualistic mediums out of England.In the future, I contemplate writing a book on spiri-tualistic methods, and how they do their tricks.I do not mean genuine spiritualists whohave no tricks, but those mediums who use their knowledge of magic to gain a living.The Davenport Brothers, during their short but strenuous career, had a terrible time of itin their journeys abroad.They were driven out of England, but they made enough moneyto last them the rest of their lives.NEVER believe that a so-called antique piece of furniture or a painting by one of the oldmasters is genuine until its authenticity has been proven beyond a possible doubt.That ismy advice, and if you, reader, could see some of the impositions practised upon wealthycollectors and curio hunters, you, too, would take that view.The people who purchase this class of goods are usually new-made millionaires, ambitiousto own an art gallery of old masters.It would give them little satisfaction to know that someof their priceless treasures are simply copies, and often poor ones at that.M.Felix Duques-nel, of Paris, famous as an art critic, says that certain galleries of ancient masters containfew pictures more than ten years old.Forged pictures are regularly included in sales of pri-vate collections in which they never belonged.Nor is a written and duly attested pedigreeof the least value.I know of one case in London where a dealer in fake antiques sought outan impoverished nobleman whose only property besides his title was an ancient manor43 The Right Way to do Wronghouse that was heavily mortgaged.The house was in a re-mote spot and had scarcely a stick of furniture left in it.Thedealer bought it and sent out to it many vanloads of paint-ings, black oak furniture, arms, armour, moth-eaten tapes-try, etc.In a few weeks he announced a sale of art treasuresat the ancient home of the last of an ancient race.The saleactually lasted several weeks as though the very cellars hadbeen packed with art treasures. On the continent, to my certain knowledge, the case is evenworse.One man that began life as a sculpture s assistant,but soon began the manufacture of imitations of ancient statues and antique furniture and now makes about$7,500 a year and employs several workmen.His masterpieces are certain Greek heads attributed toPhidias, but he also makes eighteenth century and Empirefurniture.The opinion of such an authority is valuable.Hesays: You can take it as a fact that even an art expert can no longertell if a piece of furniture is a forgery.At least, yes, he can tell ifhe takes the furniture to pieces.But few will dare incur thatresponsibility because you spoil the piece. This cultivator of the artistic sense talks to his friends of one ofthe best-known Paris collectors, who bought at an enormousprice an eighteenth century writing desk: He purchased with a written guarantee from a respectabledealer, who was in good faith.Well, this table comes from myown workroom, only if I told the owner he probably would notbelieve me. A dealer who lives not far from the church of the Madeline inParis keeps the choicest fakes in his bedroom.He nevershows his private collection, as he calls it, until the wealthyamateur tearfully begs to see it.The gem of the collection isthe dealer s own bed in Louis XVI.style.He has sold his bed five or six times, but still sleeps well, I suppose because he lies soeasy, like a most honorable Frenchman.At this moment, eighteenth-century engravings, including colored prints, are counter-feited on a vast scale.44 Harry HoudiniJewelry is made to look old by steeping in sulphuric acid for silver, or aqua regia for gold.The surface is worn with ground brick.The stones are then inserted and the whole isgreased with tallow and rubbed in white soot.Greek and Roman jewels, Renaissance enamels, Episcopal rings, and Benvenuto Celliniplate are made in Germany. Vienna is specialized in counterfeiting sixteenth-century enamels.Abbeville and Armiens make flint arrow-tops and hatchets for museums of geology.Old pewters are manufactured at Roden.Etruscan pottery comes from Leeds.In Holland, I met a student who was in demand as he could forge any of the old masterssignatures on oil paintings
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