Behind the Scenes With the Mediums

ling over the country. The idea is to get an impression of the writing that is not a carbon impression. The impression is, in fact, invisible until after it is "developed." The paper used is a thin, highly glazed paper. A tablet of this paper is provided for the subject to write upon. He can make an inspection of the tablet if he so desire, and he will find nothing. The operator first prepares a few sheets of the paper by rubbing over one side of them with wax. Some mediums use paraffin wax, which has been melted and mixed with a small amount of vaseline. If this wax be used, it must be kneaded with the hands while cooling and afterwards pressed into cakes. I prefer to use "spermaceti" wax. The wax being white, can not be seen on the paper after the same has been coated with it. The sheet must be laid on a flat, smooth surface and thoroughly rubbed over with the wax. This prepared sheet is generally placed in the tablet two or three sheets below the top, coated side down. It should be held in place with library paste; and another prepared sheet should be similarly placed a little further down, to be used in case emergency demands it. When the writing is done, an invisible impression of it is transferred from the waxed surface of the prepared sheet, to the sheet next under it. Of coursethis can not be seen until developed, as the wax is very thin and is the color of the paper. After the subject writes his questions, and removes the sheet bearing them, the ope...