Peter D. Buerly, James Padgett's Old Schoolboy Friend, Writes His Testimony and Asks for His Help

October 29, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Peter D. Buerly.

I am the spirit of your old schoolboy days, Peter D. Buerly. I have been here several times when you were writing and have been much interested in what I saw and heard, and when cousin Sally came last night and wrote and recalled old times, I felt that I wanted to write also, so I am trying.

As you may have heard in the long years after we left school, I became quite a dissipated man, given to drink and other things that I need not mention and continued these habits up to the day of my death. I caused Nannie much unhappiness and, in fact, almost broke her heart, for she was a mild, loving girl, and my treatment of her was such as to give her many weary and suffering hours of anguish. Oh, how I have repented for this since I came into the spirit world, and how I have suffered and undergone many, many years of darkness.

But repentance was earnest, and I am commencing to see the light. And, besides, since she came over, she has been with me and forgiven me all my harsh words and neglect and bad treatment of her. So you see, there is nothing in the world like the pure, forgiving love of a noble and sympathetic woman - and she was such.

We do not live together for she is a much purer and elevated spirit than I am, but she comes to me and tries to cheer and encourage me with her love and beautiful words of promise. She is, she says, in the Third Sphere, where she tells me much happiness is, while I am in the earth plane, yet, but in a much brighter condition than when I first came over.

But I want to express my surprise that you can receive communications from spirits as you do. I don't quite understand it. When on earth I never knew anything about such phenomena, and I have only recently heard of your being so close to us and so easy to communicate with.

I wish that I could get with my Nannie, for there I know I would be so happy. Some of these spirits say that you can help the spirits in these lower planes and if that is so, I would like for you to help me.

Well, I have looked, and I see a number of very beautiful spirits, but do not know any of them, and I wonder who they are. I have done so, and I'll be damned, if there ain't Professor Salyards. Why? What does it mean? Well, he has come to me and shaken my hand and says that he is very glad to see me and wants me to go with him. He has introduced me to a beautiful spirit, who he says is your wife. What beauty and love. You must be glad to have such a wife.

I have told her, and she says she is so glad to meet me, and that she wants me to go with her after the Professor has finished his conversation, and I am going with her. But, tell me, what does it all mean? I can't understand. I must stop.

Goodnight,
Peter D. Buerly