RoA^ Book
ColZe,ctlon
iXm/'ie/iMiw Jl' Luaoo/ma/ Uv Jj'iAniUioJnam/
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2010 witii funding from
Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/spiritlandOOemmo
THE y
T fLj2j
THE SPIRIT LAND.
Bt S. B. EMMONS
PHILADELPHIA:
JOHN E., POTTEB. AND COMPANX.
Nos. 614 AND 61.7 Sansom Street.
StRMIHUHUH. AlJ^ilMA SS2dl
finterar aexirding to Act of Congresa, in tbe ymi 1857, If
L. P CROWN & CO.,
m Ibe Clerk's Office nf tbe District Court of the District of MassaebnsenB
TO THE READER.
This volume is intended as an antidote to a species of
errors that have been rife in every age of the Christian
church. Notwithstanding the disclosures the Most High
made of himself to his ancient people, they were yet prone
to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to follow the
lying spirits of the prophets of Baal, and other deceivers,
from the days of Moses till the destruction of Jerusalem.
So, likewise, under the Christian dispensation, there has
been a succession of Antichrists, until their name is legion,
whose teachings have clouded the understandings and blinded
the moral perceptions of men, subverting the faith of many
whose mountains stood strong, and who had been counted the
chosen people of God.
The present is viewed as an age of isms. Men have run
mad, and are chasing phantoms. They are roaming round
to find some fulcrum to overturn the church and the Bible ;
they are imagining they are receiving utterances from heaven,
when nothing is uttered but the vain fantasies of their own
minds and hearts. It is the grossest fanaticism — fanaticism
in its most frightful form, leading its unhappy victims, not
unfrequently, to flagrant crimes, and to the most horrid of
all — that of self-destruction.
These pages are submitted to the public with the counsel
of the wisest and best of all ages, that, amid the wily arts of
the adversary, we should cling to the word of God, tha
Bible of our fathers, as the only safe and infallible guide of
faith and practice.
NOTE.
We would here give credit to the principal works
from which valuable and important matter has been
selected for these pages: "Whitman's Popular Super-
stitions ; Upham's Lectures upon Witchcraft ; Chris-
tian Freeman and Family Visitor ; Abercrombie on
the Intellectual Powers ; Influence of the Imagination
upon the Nervous System, by Rev. Grant Powers ;
Life of Adam Clarke ; Hay ward's Book of all Reli-
gions ; Miller on the Second Coming of Christ ;
Sorrow's Gypsies of Spain ; Stone on False Prophets
and Christs ; Dickens's Household Words ; Capron
and Barron on the Spirit Knocldngs; Dick on the
Improvement of Society ; Revelations of A. J. Davis ;
The Great Harmonia ; Rogers on Human and Mun-
dane Agents ; Miss Crowe's Night Side of Nature ;
Spiritual Telegraph, &c.
As the work embraces a mass of facts of an absorb-
ing and intensely interesting character, we trust that
it will commend itself to an enlightened and judicious
public.
THE AUTHOR,
CONTENTS.
PAET FIRST.
INTRODUCTION.
THE OBJECT OF THIS WORK.
PAS]
Narseiy tales of giants, dwarfs, ghosts, fairies, and witches. — Their
effect upon juvenile minds. — A belief in ghosts still prevalent. —
The excitability of the public mind. — Ghost reported as having
been seen in Waltham, Massachusetts 17
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN OP POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Ignorance of correct reasoning. — Conclusions from particular facte.
— Water boiled by heat. — Signs. — Breaking a mirror. — General
conclusions from a few facts. — A victim to superstition in New
Hampshire. — How signs may be multiplied. — The design of
the Creator in endowing us with reason 19
CHAPTER II.
INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD.
Ignorance of it the cause of many superstitions. — Lights seen in
marshy grounds, &c. — Supposed to be supernatural. — Causes
of these lights, and phenomena connected with them. — Shrinking
and swelling of pork in boiling. — Cause. — Supposed influence
of the moon in making soap, grafting trees, cutting timber, &c. —
Lunar influence in matters of wedlock. — Love not to be fed on
moonshine 22
1*
6 CONTENTS,
CHAPTER m.
IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS.
Fruitful source of superstitions. — Opinions of ancient divines — ■
Dreams related in the Scriptures. — Tlieir object. — Principles of
mental philosophy applied to modern dreams. — Examples of
singular dreams. — Dreams occasioned by sickness. — Fulfilment
of certain dreams. — Causes of the same. — Remarkable case of a
German student. — Case of a member of Congress. — Amusing
case concerning a passage of Scripture. — Necessity of a pure
conscience, and a careful attention to our stomachs. . . .24.
CHAPTER IV.
EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Ignorance of it has given rise to many superstitions. — Experiments
of Mesmer and Deslon in Paris. — Singular developments. —
Trials at Dr. Franklin's house. — Children uninfluenced by mes-
meric operations. — Magnetizing a tree in Dr. Franklin's gardeil.
— Experiments upon two females. — Effect produced. — Experi-
ment upon a female by Dr. Sigault. — Practice among the
Chinese. — Girl frightened to death by a Gypsy. — Practice
among the New Zealanders. — liiliing others by incantation —
Intercourse with departed spirits. — Au account of Perkins's
metallic tractoi's. — Their supposed influence in various diseases. —
Suspicions concerning them. — Experiments with wooden tractors.
— Result of these experiments. — Statements of a niodera
mesmerizer 2S
CHAPTER V.
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL FHILOSOPHT,
This ignorance a cause of many superstitions. — Case of a person
who slept in a bed room supposed to be haunted. — Skeleton seen
by moonlio'ht. — Apparition seen by Dr. Gregory. — Case related by
Dr. Conolly. — Ship's crew frightened by an apparition. — Young
lady supposed to have been murdered by pirates. — Cases of ini-:
pressions connected with bodily disease. — Phantasms in febrile
diseases. — A farmer frightened to death by a light in the road. —
A figure like Death striking a lady in her side with a dart. —
CONTENTS. /
niusion of sight and hearing. — Case of a lady who saw her absent
husband standing by her side. — Countenance of a friend seen
in a mirror. — Tunes heard. — Inverted objects. — Visions of the
world of spirits. — Case of Baron Swedenborg. — Case of a lady
in Boston, who saw her deceased grandmother. — The phantom
ship seen in New Haven. — The science of optics. — Of nauscopy.
— Cases of mirage 18
CHAPTER VI.
IGNOKAJSrCE OF TEUE KELIGION.
God the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. — The natural world
governed by regular laws. — Sign of the howling of a dog under
the window. — Lucky and unlucky days. — Sir Matthew Hale's
opinion. — Early laws of Connecticut. — Superstition of sailors.
— Timidity of Voltaire. — Peace and happiness on all days. —
How procured . . 50
CHAPTER VIL
BELIEF IN WITCHCKAFT.
A witch as regarded by our fathers. — Compact or agreement with
the devil. — Carried through the air on brooms and spits. — •
Anointing their bodies with a magical ointment. — How to
prepare the same. — Singular ceremonies at the meetings of
witches. — How they afflicted others. — The bewitched pins
shown to Grace Greenwood. — Mode of examining and trying
witches. — Witch catcher in England. — How he was arrested and
condemned. — Singular record on a church book in Scotland. —
Notice of the Salem witchcraft. — How such superstitions are to
be done away. — Witches and wizards of modern times. . . 53
CHAPTER VIII.
NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING.
Moll Pitcher, the queen of the race. — Her place of abode. — Com-
pany that visited her. — Member of a church sent to consult her.
— Casting out evil spirits in Syria. — Account of Lady Hester
Stanhope. — The astrologer of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. —
Chief characteristic of fortune seekers. — Effects produced upon
them .... 58
8 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
FAIRIES, OK WAJSTDEEING SPIRITS, AND GYPSIES.
Description of fairies, habits, localities, &c. — Subterranean spirits
in Wales, called Knockers. — The Brownies in Scotland. — A
farmer in Ireland who was tormented by fairies. — Method taken
to appease their anger. — Spenser's poem of the Fairy Queen. —
Gypsies and their employments. — Casting the evil eye. — Safe-
guard against it. — Charm of the Bible and key. — Superstition
called the elf-shot. — Practice of poisoning animals, and the cure.
— Superstitions concerning the loadstone. — Translation of St.
Luke into the Gypsy tongue. — Singular notions of the Gypsies
wncerning it. — Condemned by the royal edict at Madrid. —
the Gypsy choirs at Moscow. — Anecdote of Madame Catalini. . 61
CHAPTER X.
OMENS, CHARMS, AND DITINATION.
K.^OK c T)ubli3hed upon these things. — Their injurious tendency. —
ii jiiii^pic Oi" their contents. — Practice of boxers. — Whistling in
A SuOim ai sea. — Setting hens on an odd number of eggs. —
Salutej of an odd number of guns. — Omen concerning the
numbei ihirUrM. — Methods of ascertaining who will be a future
husband — Crossing of knives. — Click of insects. — Advent of
comets. 76
CHAPTER XL
MODERN MIRACLES.
They partake of superstition. — Instructions of the Savior concern-
ing them. — Object of Scripture miracles. — Modem miracles not
satisfactory. — Judge Howe's opinion concerning Christianity. —
Times of miracles ceased .79
CHAPTER XII.
FALSE PROPHETS AOSTD CHRISTS.
History of the prophet Matthias. — His career in Albany and New
York. — His deceptions upon conspicuous individuals. — His
arrest for alleged crimes. — Account of John of Leyden. — Sketch
of Cochi-ane, and his impositions 81
CONTENTS. 9
CHAPTER Xin.
MOKMON SUPERSTITION.
Account of the golden plates found by Joseph Smith. — Their
translation and publication in a volume. — Peculiar style of the
writings. — Attempt at imitation. — Mormon preachers speaking
with new tongues. — Increase of the doctrine, and why. — Mormon
cities not to be identified. — Strong indications of fabrication. —
Fluency and earnestness of their preachers. — Traits of the Coch-
ranites. — Effects produced upon their hearers. — An account of
the real origin of the Mormon Bible, and its author. — Of Joseph
Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet. — His early characteristics. —
Exposure of the indecent ceremonies at Nauvooj as established by
Smith and others 94
CHAPTER XIV.
MILLER DELUSION.
Prophecies of Mr. Miller. — His computation of time. — Manage-
ment to suit his own particular views. — Keeping the world stand-
ing thirty years on a simple if. -^ Various blunders and mistakes.
— Confession of his errors. — False information respecting signs.
— Disappearance of stars. — Of the Aurora Borealis. — Shooting .
stars. — Sun and moon turning to blood. — Darkness of the sun.
— Its cause. — Remarkable appearances in various ages of the
world. — Opinion concerning Halley's comet. — Ignorance of
the constitution of comets. — The comet of 1770. — Tests of signs
that shall indicate the end of time. — Scientific men stationed in
various parts of the earth. — No such changes as have been spoken
of by the second advent preachers, observed by them. . . .102
CHAPTER XV.
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
Sjiirits, ghosts, and spectres seen in all ages. — Account of the
magic crystals, or divining glasses. — Seeing spirits in Egypt. —
Lady Blessington's crystal in England. — Spirit of Lord Nelson
described. — The Latin language commonly used by spirits. —
An account of spirits that live in the Sun. — Spirits conversing
with human beings. — Mode of communication by letters of fire,
or large printed capitals. — Interview with the spirit of Pharaoh,
— His present dwelling in the planet Jupiter. — Information
10 CONTENTS.
gleaned in conversation with him. — Swedenborg's account of
Sir John Franklin. — Describes his situation, blocked up by ice. —
Spirits do not understand about latitude and longitude. — Descrip-
tion of the spirit of Socrates, his dress, &c. — Account of the
emperor Alexander in the spirit world. — Dickens's account of
fashionable dupes in England. — The sciences of astrology and
magic. — Practices of high titled ladies in London. — Account of
famous conjurers, or fortune tellers. — Account of the " rappers,"
or " knocking spirits." — Children frightened by their noises. —
Snapping of fingers, and clapping of hands, imitated by the spirits.
— Mrs. Fox asks questions of a spirit. — Answers given by a
succession of raps. — Account of a ghost that appeared in Wal-
tham, Massachusetts. — Conversation with the ghost by a gentle-
man. — Said he had been murdered, and told by whom. — Tones
of the ghost, (unearthly,) its mode of walking, &c. — Great ex-
citement on account of the ghost. — Mode of communication
with the rapping spirits. — Tables and chairs moved, sounds
heard, &c. — Band of music, beating of the bass drum, and roar of
artillery. — Guitar played by unseen hands. — Ladies' hair taken
down and braided by spirits. — People touched by unseen hands.
— How spirits produce the sounds of music. ^- How they make the
rapping noises. — Account of an interview with the spirit of Dr.
Franklin. — Sounds heard like trying the batteries in the tele-
graph office. — Occupation of Franklin in the spirit world. —
Getting up a line of communication between the two worlds. —
Dr. Franklin predicts great changes in the nineteenth century. —
Connection of magnetism with tho. spiritual rappings. — Clairvoyant
interpreters between men and spirits. — Spiritual postmasters,
letter paper, and envelopes. — Letters received from the spiritual
■»'<^'•lds. — The Spirit Journal, in Auburn, New York. — Its pages
edited, controlled, and superintended by spirits. — The prophets
and apostles its conductors, acting under the Lord Supreme.
— Blunders and errors of the rapping spirits. — Ignorant spirits.
— Mischief produced by them. — Swedenborg's account of their
stupidity. — How to distinguish the sounds made by an ignorant
or an intelligent spirit. — "Wonderful precocity of infant spirits. —
Progression of spirits, both upwards and downwards. — The spirit
of Dr. Channing deteriorated in the other world. — Theological
teachings of the rapping spirits. — Prophecy of Swedenboi g con-
cerning the year 1852. — Noises of the rappers indicative of the
approach of his prediction. — Are to be considered as omens
of a new advent. — Compared with the Miller prophecy of 1843.
— Miracles, both of the rappers and the Millerites. — A sick man
and his bed taken up by spirits. — The body of a Mr. Gordoa
CONTENTS. 11
taken up by spiritual hands. — Miracles wrought in favor of
Millerism. — Miracles wrought in favor of witchcraft. — Millerites
taken up by spiritual hands. — Strange noises made by spirits
among the Adventists. — Houses shaken, mirrors shattered to
pieces, furniture broken. — Four women carried through the air
on a pole. — Testimony under oatli respecting it. — Account of a
bewitched ventriloquist. — Witches in 1850. — What the editor of
a Boston journal says of them. — Witches, ghosts, spooks, and
hobgoblins, in all ages of the world. — Account of a haunted
house in Boston. — Every window illuminated at midnight. —
A young man frightened by the scene. — Singular notion of the
Greenlanders respecting the cause of thunder, and of the Aurora
Borealis. — Notion of the ancients concerning the foundation of
the earth. — Of the mathematician Kepler. — Performance of
Signor Blitz. — Effects produced by ventriloquism. — Singular
vibrations of the guitar. — Spirit rappings considered as a new
science. — Noises heard by the Wesley family, in 1716. — Noises
heard by Martin Luther. — Empty barrels and hogsheads tum-
bling down stairs. — Information of past, present, and future
events. — The fortune tellers in comparison with the spirit rap-
pers. — Spirits unwilling or unable to spell their own names. —
Spiritual communications on the decline. — Contrast between the
doings of ancient and modern spirits. — Swedenborg's informa-
tion concerning the spirit of Melancthon. — A clairvoyant inter-
view with Tom Paine. — Account of an interview with Mr. Sun-
derland. — Dialogue with a young lady. — Interview with a
clairvoyant medium in Lowell. — Facts respecting mesmeric
operations. — People deceived by " sympathetic spirits." — Judson
J. Hutchinson made insane. — Exposure of the deception prac-
tised upon him. — Davis's account of Benjamin Franklin. — Dr.
Phelps concerning the " spirit rappers." — Singular developments
at his house. — How tables, chairs, &c., are moved by spirits. —
Exhibitions of " chin music " in London. — Singular transactions
in England, as related by Dr. Thomas Dick. — Tricks performed
by Joe Collins of Oxford. — Spirits seen by tb.e votaries of St.
Vitus, and the Shakers of later times. . . '. . . .118
CHAPTER XVI.
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPEESTITIONS.
Great waste of time. — Ceremonies among the ancients. — Practices
in Catholic countries. — Injurious practices in Protestant lands.
12
CONTENTS.
— Dreams, visions, signs, tricks, omens, &c. — Great waste of
human life. — Account of the trial by ordeal. — Murder of inno-
cent persons. — Belief in dreams and forewamiugs. — Modem
miracles, appearances of the dead, &c. — Unfavorable influence of
a belief in dreams. — The death watch, new moon, &c. — Predic-
tions of Nanny Scott. — Of the good Mrs. Taylor. — Mamages
on a stormy day. — Practice of wedded couples. — Moles on the
wrong side of the body. — Opening books, tricks, fortune telling.
— Practice of a lady in a clergyman's family. — Disadvantageous
matrimonial alliances. — Anticipation of dreadful calamities. —
Practice of Rev. John Wesley. — Temperaments of Melancthon
and Luther. — Luck, chance, fatality, &c. — Saul and the witch of
Endor. — Conjurers and impostors. — Injury done to the cause
of medicine. — King's touch in scrofula. — The ninth son of a
ninth son. — The seventh son of a seventh son. — Cure by the cold
hands of a malefactor. — Plaster on a pitchfork ; polishing rusty
nails. — A female heart made into pills for consumption. — Heart
taken out of a female in Maine, and in Waltham, Massachusetts,
and made into pills. — Influence of the imagination. — Account
of a Mr. Austin, in Vermont. — His singular mode of healing the
sick. — Account of the celebrated rain-water doctor. — Sketch of
an astrological physician in New York. — Of Valentine Greataks
and Francisco Bagnone. — Momentary relief obtained, and why.
— Injury done to the cause of religion. — Account of the
Pharisees, compared to vipers and toads, and their numerous
progeny. — How we may know a Pharisee. — A young man
catechized by our Savior. — St. Paul once a Pharisee. — Proof.
— Customs among the Catholics. — Practices of many Protes-
tants. — Mistaken views upon religion. — Views concerning Satan.
— Satan versus Cotton Mather. — Professor Stuart's views con
cerning the devil. — Periodical revivals of religion ; the cause. — .
How to have a constant revival 129
CHAPTER XVIL
BANISHMEKT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS
How shall it be eflTected ? — The proper use of our reasoninff faculties.
— :The exercise of our understandings. — Persevering self-di,sci-
pline. — Conduct towards believers in ghosts, signs, &c — Mis-
conduct in families ; trying tricks, &c. — How we should employ
our time. — Belief in an all-wise Providence, as Governor and
Controller of all events. — Importance of a correct education of
CONTENTS. 13
youth. — Nursery tales and maryellous stories. — Their baneful
influence. — Correct examples before children. — Superstitious
tales to be avoided. — Attention to the means of education. —
Immense value and importance of knowledge. — No lack of
means to educate the young. — Money foolishly wasted in various
ways. — Perseverance in laudable exertions. — The blessing of
Heaven to crown our labors 185
PART SECOND.
MIRACLE IN SPEINGFIELD, MASSACHUSEITS.
Miracle performed by spirits in Springfield, Massachusetts. — Case
of biological deception. — Case of a " writing medium." — Effects
produced by pathetism. — Incident related by Miss Martineau. —
Travelling to other countries, and to other spheres. — Singular
feat by a boy of Dr. Phelps. — Wonderful case of a lady in New
Jersey. — Advice of Hon. Horace Greely. — Testimony of Eev.
Dr. Phelps 191
PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER ON MAGNETISM. . . 199
SCENE AT EAST BOSTON.
" Circle " at the house of Mr. Hoyt, at East Boston. — Effects of vital
electricity. — Imitating handwritings, writing poetry, music, &c. 200
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
Facts related by a gentleman of Maine. — Renunciation of a spirit
rapper. — Murder committed at the instigation of "spirits." —
Conflicting testimony concerning John Thompson. — Experi-
ments of Mr. Kellogg, the table lifter. — Discovery by Dr. Taylor,
the writing medium. — Renunciation of Mr. Cooley, of Spring-
field, Massachusetts. — Attempt to murder a family in Barre,
Massachusetts. — Sacrifice of the innocent in heathen countries. —
Great danger in civilized communities. — Reports concerning the
burning of the Lunatic Asylum in Maine. — Testimony of Pro-
fessor Stowe. — Reply of Bingham to Professor Pond. — Singular
confessions of the reviewer. — Intelligence said to be communi-
14 CONTENTS.
cated by " spirits." — Vital electricity of embodied and disem-
bodied spirits 20S
EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL.
Star singers, concerts, parties, and lectures in the other spheres. -^
Studies of French, Italian, geology, chemistiy, drawing, &c. — ^
Semi-clergymen, outsiders, or come-outers. . . ~ . . . 215
FORETELLINGr FUTURE EVENTS.
Prediction concerning the ship Staffordshire. — General Pierce's
election foretold by Professor Anderson's glass bell. — False pre-
dictions of the " spirits." — Error committed by Professor Lester.
— Suggestion of a lady to a sick friend. — Sentiments of Alexander
Pope 218
VISIONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS.
Sights, sounds, signs, miracles, maps, drawings, hieroglyphics. —
Talking cow in Maine. — Her prophecy. — Proposition for
another " New Chukch." — Predictions concerning all other
churches. — Opinions three hundred years ago. — Fate of Galileo. 220
CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS.
Prescriptions from the dead. — Power of the imagination. — Won-
derful efficacy of brown bread pills. — Singular cure of palsy, by
Sir Humphrey Davy 221
STYLE OF "SUPERNAL" COMPOSITIONS.
Fishbough's new work. — Fancy-captivating publications. — Refined
atheism. — Transcendental nonsense. — False communications
relating to patriots, statesmen, orators, and divines. — Mounte-
bank scenes of " psychology." — Testimony of A. J. Davis, upon
the tricks of the spirit demonstrators. — Concealments, mis-
statements, and exaggerations 223
MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA, WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES
Thumping noises in New Jersey. — Door opened as if struck by a
mallet. — Great excitement. — Glass broken, &c. — Knockings
heard in New Hackensack. — Pile of lumber shaken ; tables, chairs,
stand, and candlestick thrown about. — Bags of salt, tin ware,
and cooking utensils thrown in a heap. — An English officer
CONTENTS. 15
haunted by noises in the night. — Heavy marble top tables pois-
ing themselves on two legs. — Brass door knockers bewitched. —
Commotion among crockery, tin ware, &c. — Firing a gun at
noises in the walls. — Tearing up floor to get at the noises. —
Suit brought for damages. — Bed of a sick girl raised. — Trem-
bling of the house walls. — Singular pranks in a factory. — Jerk-
ing of the frames, and cylinder thrown at a distance. — Alarm
and flight of the operatives. — A chest with three men, and a man
«n a tub, taken up by an invisible power. — A chair broken
between two men's hands. — An image seated on a stool, clad in
white. — Visions of beings like spirits. — Knockings on the walls,
and noises in the air. — A lady suspended by the tips of the
fingers, as a magnet suspends a piece of iron. — Electrical flashes
from a lady's body. — Knockings made to be heard at a distance.
— Quotation from a work by Rev. T. Hill, of Waltham. — Singu-
lar developments in New York. — Freaks of a knob of a door
bell. — Fiery flashes, and fiery smacks, on kissing. — Blows in
the mouth from a speaking tube. — Account of two girls that
could move tables without touching them. — Effects of storms on
raising tables. — Electrical circles in Cincinnati. — Case of a
lady in Strasburg. — Power of giving electrical shocks to persons
at a distance. — Singular effects of the northern lights on a lady. 224
EXPEKIMENTS IN BIOLOGY.
Chairs, tables, and persons moved. — Biological table-liftings in
East Boston. — "Mediums," as visible human operators. — Re-
solve of the " rappers " at Poughkeepsie. — The unseen agent
that moves tables, beds, &c. — Dancing plates, knives and forks, &c. 264
FACULTY OF IMITATION.
Delivering speeches ; imitating orators. — Case related by Walter
Scott. — Case of a man haunted by the devil. — Effects of wine
and heavy eating. — Voice heard by Judge Edmonds. — Lady in
Providence who writes music by " spirits." — Diagram of the
spheres, by a lady in a magnetic state. ..... 268
UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES.
Imitating unseen letters, signatures, and languages. — Suspicions
concerning Professor Bush. — Singular feat attributed to spirits.
— No difficulty in raising chairs or tables. — Spirits shown by
Egyptian boys. — Unbelief of practising " mediums." — School
children forbidden to move tables, &c 273
16 CONTENTS.
A DANCING LIGHT.
Dancing light seen in Southboro', Massachusetts. — Ignis fatuus
seen by Dr. Derham. — Corpusants seen by mariners. — Dam pier's
account of them 274
SAILORS' OMENS.
Sailors' omens and superstitions. — Devil's power in stindng up
winds. — Losing a cat overboard, a bucket, or a mop. . . . 27C
LOVE CHARMS.
Othello winning Desdemona by conjuration. — Execution of a
young lady for giving a love powder. — Her dying confession. —
A charm or an allay for love. 277
EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST.
Effects of a belief in the reality of ghosts. — Case at the University
at Cambridge. — A student frightened to death. . • - . 279
THE INVISIBLE LADY.
The invisible lady in Boston. — The invisible girl in London. —
Joice Heth, the India rubber woman. — Professor Grimes's dis-
covery among the " rappers." — Mrs. Culver respecting the
Bochester rappers. 280
SORCERERS IN THE EAST.
Persons killed by the enemy's fires. — Singular custom in Java. . 281
SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES.
Men turned into tigers by eating a certain root, and turned back
again by eating another. — A tiger-man shot in the woods and
recognized, after having devoured some of his neighbors. —
Account of the wolf mania in Egypt and in Brittany. — A husband
that lived and died a wolf. 282
PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH.
Astrology. — Vegetable oil of swallows, &c. — Cleanliness, diet,
&c. — Ablution. — Ventilation. — Food. — Quality of meats. . 284
THE SPIRIT LAND
INTRODUCTION.
The object of this treatise upon some of the
various errors of the past and present ages i? to
explain their nature — investigate their origin —
describe their injurious effects — and to ofier and
recommend the necessary measures for their ban-
ishment. Most persons, even those who have been
well educated, can call to mind the avidity with
which, in their days of childhood, they listened to the
nursery tales of giants, dwarfs, ghosts, fairies, and
witches. The effects of these juvenile impressions are
not easily effaced from the mind, and the impressions
themselves are but rarely, if ever, forgotten.
To doubt, in former times, the power of charms, and
the veracity of omens, and ghost stories, was deemed
little less than atheism. The terror caused by them
imbittered the lives of persons of all ages. It either
served to shut them out of their own houses, or de-
terred them from going abroad after it was dark. The
room in which the head of a family died was for a long
time untenanted ; particularly if he died without a
2*
18 PHILOSOPHY OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
will, or was supposed to have entertained any peculiar
religious opinions. If any disconsolate maiden, or
love-crossed bachelor, became the instrument of their
own death, the room where the fatal deed was com-
mitted was rendered forever uninhabitable, and not
unfrequently nailed up. K a drunken farmer, return-
ing from market, fell from his horse, and by the fall
broke his own neck, that spot, ever after, was haunted
and impassable. In truth, there was scarcely a by-
lane or cross-way but had its ghost, which appeared
in the shape of a headless cow or horse. Ghosts of a
higher degi-ee rode in coaches, drawn by six headless
horses, and driven by a headless coachman. As for
the churchyards, the legitimate habitations of spectres,
clothed all in white, the numbers who swarmed there
equalled the living parishioners ; and to pass such a
place in the night was more perilous than the storming
of Badajos.
Confuted and ridiculed as these opinions have been,
in later days, the seeds of them are still widely diffused,
and at times attempt to spring up in all their earlier
excess. In the year 1832, crowds of men, women, and
children jflocked to the village of Waltham, a few
miles from Boston, to see a ghost which was said to
make its appearance towards midnight, walking to
and fro in a turf meadow, declaring itself, in un-
earthly tones, to be the spirit of a murdered man,
whose bones lay in a mud hole near by. The excite-
ment spread many miles around, and hundreds from
the city and neighboring towns hied to the spot, with
eyes agape, to behold the solemn visitor from the spirit
world. And such was the credulity inspired in the
minds of the people, that a clergyman in the vicinity
THE ORIGIN OP POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 19
declared from his pulpit, on the following Sabbath,
that the awful crime of murder had been revealed by
the spirit which had appeared in Waltham ! Such is
the excitability of the mind, and its tendency (not-
withstanding the light that has been scattered abroad)
to give credence to all the vagaries and nonsense of
the darker ages.
CHAPTER I.
THE ORIGIN OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Ignorance of correct reasoning has undoubtedly
given rise to many superstitions. Inductive reasoning
teaches us to infer general conclusions from particular
facts which have come under our observation. This
definition may be illustrated by an example. You
know that water boils on the application of a certain
degree of heat. You have seen this experiment tried
many times without a single failure. You therefore
conclude that water will always boil on the application
of this degree of heat, although you have seen it ap-
plied but to a small portion of the water in creation
Thus you draw this general conclusion from the few
particular facts which you have witnessed. But had
you noticed several failures in the trial, your conclu-
sions would have been doubtful. And if the experi
ment had failed ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
you would have adopted an opposite conclusion.
You would have said that the application of the
20 THE ORIGIN OP POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
. ppocified degree of heat would not boil water. In
this way, logical reasoning leads to the discovery of
truth. Now, apply this principle of sound reasoning
to the whole mass of pretended signs. Let me select
one to show you the absurdity of believing in any.
It is commonly reported that the breaking of a look-
ing glass betokens death to some member of the
family. This sign probably originated in the follow-
ing manner : A death happened to follow the breaking
of a mirror. Some ignorant person immediately con-
cluded that the breaking of the glass was a sure sign
of death. The story soon spread among credulous
people, and at length was handed down from gener-
ation to generation as an established truth. But you
readily perceive the absurdity of forming this general
conclusion from one or a few particular facts. We
all know that death does not follow the supposed sign
oftener than once in a hundred times ; and therefore
the breaking of the glass is almost a sure sign that no
death will immediately take place in the family. But
as mirrors are always breaking, and people are always
dying, it is not strange that the latter event should
sometimes follow the former. It would be a miracle
if it did not. But the events have no connection what-
ever with each other. The coincidence in any case is
altogether accidental. We might with the same rea-
son affirm that the breaking of a teakettle is the sign
of death, or any thing else, as the breaking of a mirror.
But the truth is, there is no sign in the case. It first
originated in ignorance of correct reasoning, and 1 as
been perpetuated by the credulous. It is but a short
time ago that a girl in Exeter, N. H., broke a mirror.
She believed that iU luck always followed such an
THE ORIGIN OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 21
event and therefore became seriously affected in her
mind. Finally, her sti-ength failed, and she died a
victim to her superstition. Hence we perceive the
great imporance of a just conception and well-in-
formed judgment upon such apparently trifling, yet
oftentimes serious events, in their effects upon social
and individual happiness.
We have only to apply this principle of correct
reasoning to every sign in existence, to find them to
be superstitious. We shall find, upon investigation,
that they are based upon no rational evidence, and
consequently are not entitled to our belief or confi-
dence. If they indicate any thing, it is something
directly opposite to what is generally supposed, for
they do not come to pass more than once in a
hundred times, and therefore warrant a different con-
clusion. Not only so. If you believe in the present
pretended signs, you may make a million more
equally good. A man quarrels after drinking a glass
of wine ; you may therefore say that taking a glass
of wine is the sign of a quarrel. A man draws a
prize in a lottery ; you may say therefore that the
purchase of a ticket is the sign of a fortune. A man
dies after supper ; you may say therefore that eating
supper is the sign of death. In this you may multiply
signs to infinity, and they will prove just as true as
any now in existence. But our Creator has endowed
us with understanding. He has given us reason to
regulate our belief by satisfactory evidence. And if
we do this, we cannot believe in any of the pretended
signs. We must conclude that they have all origi-
nated in ignorance of correct reasoning, and are kept
in remembrance by those who will not use their
ititeUectual powers as their Maker designed.
22 INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD.
CHAPTER II.
NDUJTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD-
Ignorance of inductive philosophy has giver, rise
to many superstitions. By the means of indu jtive
philosophy, we are enabled to trace effects to their
true causes. For example : Lights have frequently
been seen dancing over marshy grounds, near tan-
yards, and burying-places, and along the sea shore.
Credulous people have believed them to be the
spirits of the uneasy dead. This belief must be con-
sidered superstitious, not having any foundation on
rational evidence. Philosophy teaches that these
lights are occasioned by an inflammable gas, which
arises from decayed animal and vegetable substances,
and takes fire on coming in contact with atmospheric
air. Thus we may trace all effects to their true
jauses.
Many persons have supposed that pork killed in the
increase of the moon would swell in boiling, while
that killed in her wane would shrink. This opinion
probably originated in the following manner : Some
person killed, at different periods of the moon, two
nogs which had been born and fattened together.
That killed in her increase swelled in boiling ; while
the other, killed in her wane, shrunk. He could con-
ceive of no way to account for the facts but on the
supposition of lunar influence. This conclusion was
accordingly adopted, and at length became an estab-
lished truth. Yet there was no philosophy in form-
ing this opinion from a few such facts. More ex-
INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD. 23
periments should have been tried; and the results
would have shown that the real cause of the swelling
and shrinking existed in the constitution of the
animals. It would have been discovered that pork
of fine and solid texture would commonly swell,
whenever killed ; while that of loose and coarse grain
would as generally shrink. And the person would no
more have thought of attributing the difference in his
pork to the moon than to the spirit of Bonaparte.
Let this philosophic principle be applied to this
whole class of superstitions, and we shall arrive at
similar results. There is the supposed influence of
the moon on making soap, grafting trees, cutting
timber, and also upon the fortunes of love-sick swains
and maidens. The latter are directed to go out in the
evening and stand over the bars of a gate, and, look-
ing on the moon, repeat the following lines : —
" All hail to the moon ! all hail to thee !
I pray thfee, good moon, reveal to me,
This night, who my husband shall be."
They must then go directly to bed, and will dream of
theu' future husband. Upon trial of the experiment,
they will probably be inclined to consider it a dreamy
notion altogether ; for love is of too serious a nature
to ]>e fed upon mere moonshine.
24 IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS.
CHAPTER in.
IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS.
Ignorance of the causes of our dreams has given
rise to many superstitions. Ancient divines have told
us that some of our dreams proceed from ourselves,
others from the Deity, and others ; again from the
devil. We know, to be sure, from experience, that
dreams proceed from ourselves in some, if not in all
cases. We admit, however, that God has spoken to
some of his dependent creatures by dreams ; for we
learn this from the Holy Scriptures. But such dreams
were direct revelations for the accomplishment of
some divine pm'pose. The volume of revelation was
long since closed, and all that is essential to the present
and eternal happiness of mankind is plainjy revealed.
There is therefore no necessity for any further com-
munications from Heaven ; and the gospel does not
authorize us to expect any. Dreams may sometimes
strike a conviction upon the mind, which our waking
thoughts may fail to do. And they may sometimes
have the appearance of being fulfilled ; and yet there
may be no necessity of supposing that God has made
us the special organ of divine communications. Our
dreams, in such cases, may be explained upon the
principles of mental philosophy, without resorting to
the miraculous interposition of Deity for an expla-
nation.
To say tliat the devil is the author of all our disa-
greeable dreams that happen generally when we are
in some trouble of body, mind, or estate, is too absurd
IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS. 25
to believe. And it is specially unbecoming the fol-
lowers of Jesus to harbor an opinion so unbecoming
in itsdi.f, so pernicious in its consequences, and so
derogatory to the supreme Ruler of the universe.
The true doctrine is, that our dreams originate from
ourselves. Some are influenced by our bodily sen-
sations. A person with a bottle of hot water at his
feet dreams of ascending ^tna ; and he finds the
heat of the ground almost insupportable. Another
kicks the bed clothes from his feet, and dreams of
walking through snow banks, even in the summer
season. Some dreams are influenced by the state of
our stomach and bowels. The hungiy prisoner dreams
of well-furnished tables and the pleasures of eating.
The glutton dreams of a surfeit and its attendant
unpleasant sensations. Some dreams are influenced
by our dispositions. The person of amiable temper
and cheerful spirits is frequently refreshed with
delightful scenes and visions of bliss ; while those
of morose, gloomy, irritable, and melancholy habits
are generally harassed with those of a disagreeable
and oppressive character. Some dreams are in-
fluenced by the state of our health. Sickness is
usually productive of those of an unpleasant nature ;
while health secures those of an opposite description.
A gentleman, mentioned by Locke, was not sensible
of dreaming till he had a fever, at the age of twenty-
six or seven. Some dreams are influenced by our
waking thoughts. The mathematician solves diffi-
cult problems. The poet roves in Elysian groves.
The miser makes great bargains. The sensualist riots
in the haunts of dissipation. The criminal sees the
dungeon or the gallows. The awakened sinner b«
3
26 IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS.
holds the flames of hell, or looks upon the sceptre
of pa.don ; and the Christian anticipates heavenly
joy.
Strong mental emotions are sometimes embodied
into a dream, which, by some natural coincidence,
is fulfilled. A murderer, mentioned by Mr. Combe,
dreamed of committing murder some years before the
event took place. A clergyman on a visit to the city
of Edinburgh, from a distance in the country, was
sleeping at an inn, when he dreamed of seeing a fire,
and one of his childi-en in the midst of it. He awoke
with the impression, and instantly started for home.
When he arrived within sight of his house, he found
it on fire, and got there in time to assist in saving one
of his children, who, in the alarm and confusion, had
been left in a situation of danger. Without calling
in question the possibility of supernatural communi-
cations in such cases, this sti-iking occurrence may
perhaps be accounted for on simple and natural
principles. Let us suppose that the gentleman had
a servant who had shown gi'eat carelessness in regard
to fire, which had often given rise in his mind to a
strong apprehension that he might set fire to the
house. His anxiety might be increased by being
fi-om home, and the same circumstances might make
the servant^ still more careless. Let us further sup-
pose that the gentleman, before going to bed, had, in
addition to this anxiety, suddenly recollected that
there was on that day, in the neighborhood of his
house, some fair or periodical merry making, from
which the servant was likely to return home in a
state of intoxication. It was most natural that these
impressions should be embodied into a dream of hia
IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS. 27
house being on fire, and that the same circumstances
might lead to the di-eara being fulfilled.
The cause of a dream may sometimes be the cause
of its fulfilment. A clergyman di'eamed of preaching
a sermon on a particular subject. In a few weeks, he
delivered the discourse. His dream was therefore
fulfilled. But his waking thoughts caused the dream,
for he had meditated on this very subject ; and they
also caused its fulfilment, for he proceeded to write
and deliver the result of his meditations.
A belief in the supernatural origin of dreams some-
times leads to their fulfilment. A person dreams of
approaching sickness. His fears and his imagination
hasten on the calamity. A general, on the eve of
battle, dreamed of a defeat. His belief in dreams
deprived him of courage, and, of course, the enemy
conquered. We have on record the case of a German
student, who dreamed that he was to die at a certain
hour on the next day. His friends found him in the
morning making his will and arranging his affairs.
As the time drew near, he had every appearance of a
person near his end. Every argument was used to
shake his belief in the supernatural origin of his
dream, but all to no effect. At last, the physician
contrived to place the hands of the clock beyond the
specified hour, and by this means saved the student's
life. There are instances on record where death has
actually ensued in consequence of such a belief. It
has been produced by the wonderful power the mind
possesses over the body. And there can be no doubt
that believers in dreams often take the most direct
means to hasten their fulfilment.
28 IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSE? OF DREAMS.
The apparent fulfilment of dreams is sometimes
merely accidental. The dream happens, and the event
dreamed of soon follows ; but the coincidence is alto-
gether fortuitous. A member of Congress informed
a friend that he frequently dreamed of the death of
some one of his children, while residing at Washing-
ton. The whole eocene would appear before him —
the sickness, the death, and the burial ; and this too
several times the same night, and on successive
nights. His anxiety for his family caused his dreams.
Now, it would have been nothing strange if a member
of his family had died. But in this particular instance
it was not the case. In this way, however, we are
always dreaming of our absent relatives, and it
would be singular if a death did not sometimes occur
at the time of the dream. So on all other subjects.
One event may follow the other, and yet the coinci-
dence be perfectly accidental. There are occasionally
some amusing cases of this kind. A person di'eamed
three times in one night that he must turn to the
seventh verse of the fifth chapter of Ecclesiastes, and
he would find important instruction. He arose in the
morning, and, referring to the specified passage, found
these words : "/» the multitude of dreams there are
divers vanities.''^
Finally, the occasion of some dreams seems as
yet inexplicable. But as we can account for so large
a portion of them, it is rational to believe that the
causes of the few mysterious ones will be hereafter
satisfactorily explained. We think we are safe in
believing that all our dreams are caused by some
principle of our intellectual oi animal nature. Let
THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 29
ns then pay no further regard to them than to aim
uy a pure conscience before God, and a careful atten-
tion to our stomachs and health, to have them refresh-
ing and agreeable.
^
CHAPTER IV.
EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Ignorance of the influence of the imagination upon
the nervous system has given rise to many supersti-
tions. We will give a few statements of facts to
establish and illustrate this position. Some time
previous to 1784, a gentleman in Paris, by the name
of Mesmer, professed to have discovered a universal
remedy for all diseases ; and this remedy consisted in
being magnetized under peculiar forms and circum-
stances. M. Mesmer became so noted for his discovery,
and he performed such extraordinary cures, that, in
1784, the F'''ench king appointed a committee, con-
sisting of four physicians and five members of the
Royal Academy of Sciences, to investigate this mat-
ter. The committee, as soon as they had examined
the whole apparatus employed in magnetizing, and
taken cognizance of the manoeuvres of Mesmer, and
his partner, Deslon, proceeded to notice the symptoms
of the patients while under the influence of magnetism.
These were various in different individuals. Some
were calm and tranquil, and felt nothing ; others were
affected with coughhig and spitting, with pains, heats,
3*
30 THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION.
and perspirat'ons ; and some were agitated and tor-
tured with convulsions. These convulsions were
sometimes continued for three hours, accompanied
with expectoration of a viscid phlegm, ejected by
violent efforts, and sometimes streaked with blood.
They had involuntary motions of the limbs, of the
whole body, and spasms of the throat. Their eyes
wandered in wild motions ; they uttered piercing
shrieks, wept, laughed, and hiccoughed. The com-
missioners observed that the gi'eat majority of those
thus effected were females, and that these exhibitions
did not begin until they had been under the operation
of magnetism one or two hom-s, and that, when one
becdme afi'ected, the rest were soon seen in the same
situation. In order to give the magnetizer the faires*
opportunity to exhibit the power of his invention, and
to give the most satisfactory evidence to the public,
the commissioners all submitted to be operated upon
themselves, and sat under the operation two hour?>
and a half, but without the least effect upon them,
except the fatigue of sitting so long in one position.
They were magnetized three days in succession, but
without any sensible effect being produced. The
magnetizing instruments were then removed to Dr.
Franklin's house, away from public view, parade, and
high expectation, and fourteen persons were then mag-
netized, all of them invalids. Nine of them experienced
nothing, five appeared slightly affected, and the com-
missioners were surprised to learn, in every instance,
that the poor and ignorant alone were affected. After
this eight men and two women were magnetized, but
without the least effect. At length a female servant
submitted to the same operation, and she afiirmed that
THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 31
she felt a heat in every part where the magnetized
finger was pointed at her ; that she experienced a
pain in her head; and, during a continuation of the
operation, she became faint, and swooned. When
she had fully recovered, they ordered her eyes to be
bandaged, and the operator was removed at a dis-
tance, when they made her believe that she was still
under the operation, and the effects were the same,
although no one operated, either near her or at a
distance. She could tell the very place ^vhere she was
magnetized ; she felt the same heat in her back and
loins, and the same pain in her eyes and ears. At
the end of one quarter of an hour, a sign was made
for her to be magnetized, but she felt nothing. On
the following day, a man and woman were magnet-
ized in a similar manner, and the result was the same.
It was found that to direct the imagination to the
parts where the sensations were to be felt, was all
that was necessary to produce these wonderful eff"ects.
But children, who had not arrived at sufficient matu-
rity of age to be excited by these imposing forms,
experienced nothing from the operation.
Mesmer and Deslon asserted that they could mag-
netize a tree, and every person approaching the tree,
in a given time, would be magnetized, and either fall
into a swoon or in convulsions, provided the magnet-
izer was permitted to stand at a distance and direct
his look and his cane towards the tree. Accordingly,
an apricot tree was selected in Dr. Franklin's garden,
at Vassy, for the experiment, and M. Deslon came and
magnetized the tree while the patient was retained in
the house. The patient was then brought out, with a
bandage over his eyes, and successively lead to four
32 THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION.
trees, which were not magnetized, and was directed
to embrace each tree two minutes, while M. Deslon,
at a distance, stood pointing his cane to the tree
actually magnetized. At the first tree, which was
about twenty-seven feet from the magnetized tree, the
patient sweat profusely, coughed, expectorated, and
said he felt a pain in his head. At the second tree,
now thirty feet from the magnetized tree, he found
himself giddy, attended with headache, as before.
At the thu'd tree, his giddiness and headache were
much increased, and he said he believed he was
approaching the magnetized tree, although he was
still twenty-eight feet from it. At length, when brought
to the fourth tree, not magnetized, and at the distance
of twenty-four feet from that which was, the young
man fell down in a state of perfect insensibility ; his
limbs became rigid, and he was carried to a grass plot,
where M. Deslon went to his assistance and recovered
him. And yet, in no instance had he approached
within a less distance than twenty-four feet of the
magnetized tree.
A similar experiment was soon afterwards made on
two poor females, at Dr. Franklin's house. These
women were separated from each other. Three of
the commissioners remained with one of them in one
chamber, and two of them with the other, in an
adjoining chamber. The first ha^ a bandage over her
eyes, and was then made to believe that M. Deslon
came in and commenced magnetizing her, although
he never entered the room. In three minutes the
woman began to shiver. She felt, in succession,
a pain in her head, and a pricking in her hands.
She hecame stiff", struck her hands together, got up,
THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 33
stamped, &c., but nothing had been done to her. The
woman in the adjoining chamber was requested to take
her seat by the door, which was shut, wdth her sight
at liberty. She was then made to believe that M.
Desloii would magnetize the door on the opposite
giiJe, w\iile the commissioners would wait to witness
ihe result. She had scarcely been seated a minute
before she began to shiver. Her breathing became
hurried ; she stretched out her arms behind her back,
writhing them strongly, and bending her body for-
wards ; a general ti-emor of the whole body came on.
The chattering of the teeth was so loud as to be heard
out of the room ; and she bit her hand so as to leave
the marks of her teeth in it; but M. Deslon was not
near the door, nor in either chamber, nor was either of
the women touched, not even their pulse examined.
We perceive, then, that these effects were produced
solely by the imagination, and the above facts exhibit
very satisfactorily the power which the mind has over
the body. The symptoms were not feigned, but, in
the peculiar state of mind of these persons, they were
involuntary and irresistible. They believed they should
be effected in this manner ; the idea was formed in
then* imaginations, and the nerves were acted upon
precisely as though what they conceived was rea], and
tJie muscular effects followed. And as the patients
themselves could not explain the causes of these
effects, they very naturally attributed the whole to
magnetism. When the commissioners explained the
matter, magnetism ceased to produce these wonderful
effects. The minds of persons were enlightened upon
the subject, and they no longer expected to be in-
fluenced in this manner, and accordingly they were not.
o4 THE EFFECTS OF TilE IMAGINATION.
Dr. Sigault, an eminent physician of Paris, pro-
fessed to be an adept in the art of Mesmer. Being
at a great assembly one day, he caused it to be
announced that he could magnetize. The voice and
serious air he assumed had a very sensible effect
upon a lady present, although she endeavored at
first to conceal the fact. But having carried his
hand to the region of the heart, he found it palpi-
tating. She soon experienced difficulty in respiration.
The muscles of her face were affected with con-
vulsive twitches ; her eyes rolled ; she shortly fell
down in a fainting fit, vomited her dinner, and ex-
perienced incredible weakness and languor. This
seemed to corroborate the remarks of Burton, in his
Anatomy of Melancholy^ where he says, " If, by some
soothsayer, wise man, fortune teller, or physician,
men be told they shall have such a disease, they will
so seriously apprehend it that they will instantly
labor of it — a thing familiar in China, (saith Riccius,
the Jesuit.) If they be told they shall be sick on
such a day, when that day comes they will surely be
sick, and will be so terribly affected that sometimes
they die upon it."
A late English paper states that a young woman,
named Winfield, who had been on a visit to Derby,
returned home to Hadborn, taking a little dog wi:h
her by a string. On arriving there, she informed her
friends she had seen a gypsy on the road, who told
her, that if she led her dog by the string into the houst;,
she would soon be a corpse. Singular to relate, tiie
young woman expired on the following morning!
It was thought she died from the effect of imagina-
tion, aided by a debilitated constitution.
THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 35
A missionary among the New Zealanders says,
" There is a class of people in New Zealand, called by
the natives Areekee^ and whom we very improperly
call Priests. These men pretend to have intercourse
with departed spirits, by which they are able to kill,
by incantation, any person on whom their anger may
fall. And it is a fact, that numbers fall a prey to their
confidence in the efficacy of the curses of these men,
and pine under the influence of despair, and die."
In less than fifteen years after the trial of the preten-
sions of Mesmer and his coadjutors, in regard to mag-
netism, there \vas originated in America, by a Mr.
Perkins, a cause of delusion of precisely the same
nature. It prevailed in all the United States, in Great
Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, and to considerable
extent on the continent of Europe. Mr. Perkins pre-
pared two small pieces of different kinds of metal
drew them to a point, and polished them. These
Metallic Tractors, as they were denominated, were
said to have, in their joint operation, great power over
the electric fluid ; and by moving these points gently
over the surface of an inflamed part, the heat was
extracted, the swelling subsided, and, in a short time,
the patient was relieved. After a while, thousands and
tens of thousands were ready to certify to the happy
influence of these Tractors. Mr. Perkins went to
England and obtained the royal letters patent, foi
the purpose of seeming to him the advantages of his
discovery ; and it has been asserted by the best author-
ity, that he returned from England possessed of ten
thousand pounds sterling, which he received for the
use of his Tractors.
But Dr. Haggarth, an eminent physician and
36 THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION.
pnilosopher, recollecting the development of aniraai
magnetism at Paris, wrote to Dr. Falconer, surgeon of
the General Hospital at Bath, (England,) and stated hia
suspicion concerning the Tractors ; that their efficacy
depended wholly on the imagination of the patient;
and recommended the experiment of wooden Tractors
in the place of the metallic.
Accordingly, five persons were selected for the ex-
periment, who were laboring under chronic rheumatism
in the anlde, knee, wrist, and hip. "Wooden Tractors
were prepared and painted in such a manner that the
patients could not discover but that they were metal ;
and on the 7th of January, 1799, these wooden Trac-
tors were employed for the first time. All the patients
except one, were relieved. Three were very much
benefited. One felt his knee warmer, and he could
walk much better, as he showed the medical gentle-
men present. One was easier for nine hours, till he
went to bed, and then his pain returned. The next
day, January 8th, the metallic Tractors were employed
with the same effect as that of the preceding day.
This led to further experiments of a similar kind, and
they were continued, until the physicians became fully
satisfied that the wooden Tractors were of the same
utility with the metallic, provided the patients supposed
them metallic. Similar experiments were soon after
made at Edinburgh, and the result was the same.
A servant gitl, afflicted with a most acute headache,
which had rendered her nights altogether restless for a
fortnight, readily submitted to be pointed at with these
ivooden Tractors. The operator moved them about
her head, but did not touch her. In four minutes she
felt a chilliness in the head. In a minute or two
THE EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 37
more, she felt as though cold water was running down
her temples, and the pain was diminished. In ten
minutes more, she declared that the headache was
entirely gone ; and the next day she returned to ex-
press her thanks to her benefactors for the good sle(^)
she enjoyed through the night. By similar experi-
ments, the intelligent citizens in America soon ascer-
tained the true cause of the deception, and when these
facts came to be developed, the Tractors lost all their
influence on the human system, and have since been
spoken of only in derision.
Here, again, we behold the astonishing power of the
imagination over the human system, and witness the
miracles that have been performed on the ignorant and
unsuspecting. Even in the modern practice of the
mesmeric art, a great deal of the success depends upon
this tendency of the mind. A very respectable opera-
tor assures us, that he cannot magnetize persons
unless he can first impress them with the belief that
they are actually to become magnetized. They must
have faith in order that the effect may be produced.
A public lecturer may hang up his watch before his
auditors, and tell them to look upon that watch, and
they will become magnetized. Those who expect to
be affected are thrown into the magnetic state. Those
who have little faith and expectation are seldom, if
ever, influenced by such experiments. "We, however,
do not mean to avow a disbelief in the science of
magnetism. On the contrary, we look forward with
much interest to its perfection, unencumbered with
the false pretensions of its zealous and mig'akeii
friends.
4
38 IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
CHAPTER V.
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
Ignorance of mental philosophy has given rise to
many superstitions. Many persons have believed in
the real, visible appearance of ghosts, spirits, or ap-
paritions. Yet these things are clearly and satisfac-
torily explained on the established principles of mental
philosophy. And from this source we learn that they
exist alone in the mind, in the same manner as do
other ideas and images, except in the instances re-
corded in Scripture. They are caused by some mis-
conception, mental operation, or bodily disorder. We
will give a few examples to substantiate this position.
Dr. Ferriar relates the case of a gentleman travelling
in the Highlands of Scotland, who was conducted to a
bed room which was reported to be haunted by the
spirit of a man who had there committed suicide.
In the night, he awoke under the influence of a fright-
ful dream, and found himself sitting up in bed with a
pistol grasped in his right hand. On looking around
the room, he now discovered, by the moonlight, a
corpse, dressed in a shroud, reared against the wall,
close by the window, the features of the body and
every part of the funeral apparel being distiactly
perceived. On recovering from the first impulse of
terror, so far as to investigate the source of the phan-
tom, it was found to be produced by the moonbeams
forming a long, bright image through the broken
TAindow.
" Two esteemed friends of mine," says Dr. Aber-
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 39
crombie; " while travelling in the Highlands, had occa-
sion to sleep in separate beds, in one apartment. One
of them, having awoke in the night, saw, by the moon-
light, a skeleton hanging from the head of his friend's
bed, every part of it being perceived in the most dis-
tinct manner. He got up to investigate the source
of the appearance, and found it to be produced by the
moonbeams falling back upon the drapery of the bed,
which had been thrown back in some unusual manner,
on account of the heat of the weather. He returned
to bed, and soon fell asleep. But having awoke again
some time after, the skeleton was so distinctly before
him, that he could not sleep without again getting up
to trace the origin of the phantom. Determined not
to be disturbed a third time, he now brought down the
curtain to its usual state, and the skeleton appeared
no more."
Dr. Dewar relates the case of a lady who was quite
blind, and who never walked out without seeing &.
little old woman, with a crutch and a red cloak, ap~
parently walking before her. She had no illusion
when within doors. Dr. Gregory once took passage
in a vessel to a neighboring country, to visit a l^dy
who was in an advanced stage of consumption. On
his return, he had taken a moderate dose of laudanum,
with the view of preventing seasickness, and was
lying on a couch, in the cabin, when the figure of a
lady appeared before him in so distinct a manner, that
her actual presence could not have been more vivid.
He was quite awake, and fully sensible that it was a
phantom produced by the opiate, in connection with
his intense mental feeling ; but he was unable by any
effort to banish the vision.
40 IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
A gentleman, mentioned by Dr. Conolly, when in
great danger of being WTecked in a boat, on the
Eddystone rocks, said he actually saw his family at
the moment. In similar circumstances of great danger,
others have described the history of their past lives,
being represented to them in such a vivid manner,
that, at a single glance, the whole was before them,
without the power of banishing the impression. We
have read the account of a whole ship's company
being thrown into the utmost consternation by the
apparation of a cook, who had died a few days be-
fore. He was distinctly seen walking ahead of the
ship, with a peculiar gait, by which he was distin-
guished when alive, from having one leg shorter than
the other. On steering the ship towards the object,
it was found to be a piece of floating wreck !
There is a story on record, of a piratical cruiser
having captured a Spanish vessel, during the seven-
teenth century, and brought her into Marblehead
harbor, which was then the site of a few humble
d^ veilings. The male inhabitants were all absent on
thiir fishing voyages. The pirates brought their
prisoners ashore, carried them at the dead of night
in o a solitary glen, and there murdered them. Among
the captives Avas an English female passenger. The
women who belonged to the place heard her dying
outcries, as they rose through the midnight air, and
reverberated far and wide along the silent shores.
She was heard to exclaim, " O, mercy, mercy I Lord
Jesus Christ, save me ! save me ! " Her body was buried
by the pirates on the spot. The same piercing voice
is believed to be heard at intervals, more or less often,
almost e^ery year, in the stillness of a cahxi starlight.
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 41
or clear moonlight night. There is s Dmething, it is
said, so wild, mysterio is, and evidently superhuman
in the sound, as to s rike a chill of dread into the
hearts of all who listen to it. A writer in the Marble-
head Register, of April 3, 1830, declares that " there
are not persons wanting at the present day, persons
of unimpeachable veracity and known respectability,
who still continue to believe the tradition, and to
assert that they themselves have been auditors of the
sounds described, which they declare were of such an
unearthly nature as to preclude the idea of imposition
or deception." When " the silver moon holds her
way," or when the stars are glistening in the clear,
cold sky, and the dark forms of the moored vessels are
at rest upon the sleeping bosom of the harbor, — when
no natural sound comes forth from the animate or
inanimate creation but the dull and melancholy note
of the winding shore, how often, at midnight, is the
watcher startled from the reveries of an excited imagi-
nation by the piteous, dismal, and terrific screams of
the unlaid g-host of the murdered lady !
Erroneous impressions are often connected with
some bodily disease, more especially disease in the
brain. Dr. Gregory mentions the case of a gentleman
liable to epileptic fits, in whom the paroxysm was
generally preceded by the appearance of an old
woman in a red cloak, who seemed to come up to
him, and strike him on the head with her crutch. At
that instant he fell down in the fit. Another is men-
tioned by Dr. Alderston, of a man who kept a dram
shop, and who would often see a soldier endeavoring
to force himself into his house in a menacing manner ;
and in rushing forward to prevent him, would find it
4*
42 IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
a mere phantom. This man was cured by bleeding
and purgatives ; and the source of this vision was
traced to a quarrel which he had had some time before
with a drunken soldier. In delirium tremens such
visions are comn.on, and assume a variety of forms.
Similar phantasms occur in various forms in
febrile diseases. A lady was attended by Dr. Aber-
crombie, having an affection of the chest. She awoke
her hufband one night, at the commencement of her
disorder, and begged him to get up instantly, saying
that she had distinctly seen a man enter the apartment,
pass the foot of her bed, and go into a closet that en-
tered from the opposite side of the room. She was
quite awake, and fully convinced of the reality of the
appearance. But, upon examining the closet, it was
found to be a delusion, although it was almost im-
possible to convince the lady it was not a reality.
A writer in the Christian Observer mentions a lady,
who, during a severe illness, repeatedly saw her father,
who resided at the distance of many hundred miles,
come to her bedside, withdraw the curtain, and talk
to her in his usual voice and manner. A farmer,
mentioned by the same writer, on returning from
market, was deeply affected by an extraordinarily
brilliant light, which he saw upon the road, and by
an appearance in the light, which he supposed to be
our Savior. He was greatly alarmed, and, spun-ing
his horse, galloped home ; remained agitated during
the evening; was seized with typhus fever, then pre-
vailing in the vicinity, and died in about ten days.
It was afterwards ascertained, that on the morning of
the same day, before he left home, he had complained
of headache and languor ; and there can be no doubt.
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 43
says this writer, that the spectral app&arance was con-
nected with the commencement of the fever.
Analogous to this is the very striking case related
by a physician, of a relative of his, a lady about fifty.
On returning home one evening from a party, she
went into a dark room to lay aside some part of her
dress, when she saw distinctly before her the figure of
death, as a skeleton, with his arm uplifted, and a dart
in his hand. He instantly aimed a blow at her with
the dart, which seemed to strike her on the left side.
The same night she was seized with a fever, accom-
panied with symptoms of inflammation in the left
side, but recovered after a severe illness.
We have read the account of a lady who had an
illusion affecting both her sight and hearing. She
repeatedly heard her husband's voice calling to her by
name, as if from an adjoining room. On one occasion,
she saw his figure most distinctly, standing before the
fire in the drawing room, when he had left the house
half an hour before. She went and sat down within
two feet of the figure, supposing it to be her husband,
and was greatly astonished that he did not answer
her when she spoke to him. The figure continued
visible several minutes, then moved towards a window
at the farther end of the room, and there disappeared.
On another occasion, while adjusting her hair before
a mirror, late at night, she saw the countenance of a
friend, dressed in a shroud, reflected from the mirror,
as if looking over her shoulder. This lady had been
for some time in bad health, being affected with a
lung complaint, and much nervous debility.
Another case of an illusion of hearing is reported
of a clergyn••an^ who was ac.ustomed to full living,
44 IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
and was suddenly seized with vomiting, vertigo, and
ringing in his ears, and continued in an alarming con-
dition for several days. During this time he heard
tunes most distinctly played, and in accurate succes-
sion. This patient had, at the same time, a remark-
able condition of vision, all objects appearing to him
inverted. This peculiarity continued about three days,
and ceased gradually ; the objects by degrees changing
their position, first to the horizontal, and then to the
erect.
Some profess to have visions or sights relative to
the world of spirits. This was the case with Sweden-
borg. He relates some of them in the following lan-
guage : " I dined very late at my lodgings at London,
and ate with gi'eat appetite, till, at the close of my
repast, I perceived a kind of mist about my eyes, and
the floor of my chamber was covered with hideous
reptiles. They soon disappeared, the darkness was
dissipated, and I saw clearly, in the midst of a brilliant
light, a man seated in the corner of my chamber, who
said to me, in a terrible voice. Eat not so much. At
these words, my sight becaiue obscured ; afterwards it
became clear by degrees, and I found myself alone.
The night following, the same man, radiant with light,
appeared to me, and said, I am God the Lord, Crea-
tor and Redeemer. I have chosen you to unfold to
men the internal and spiritual sense of the sacred writ-
ings, and will dictate to you what you ought to write.
At that time, I was not terrified, and the light, although
very brilliant, made no unpleasant impression upon
my eyes. The Lord was clothed in purple, and the
vision lasted a quarter of an hour. The same night,
the eyes of my internal man were opened, and fitted to
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY, 45
see things in heaven, in the world of spirits, and in
hell ; in which places I have found many persons of my
acquaintance, some of them long since dead, and others
lately deceased." In another place, he observes, " I
have conversed with apostles, departed popes, em-
perors, anS kings ; with the late reformers of the
church, Luther, Calvin, and Melancthon, and with
others from different countries." In conversing with
Melancthon, he wished to know his state in the spirit
world, but Melancthon did not see fit to inform him ;
" wherefore," says Swedenborg, " I was instructed
by others concerning his lot, viz., that he is some-
times in an excavated stone chamber, and at other
times in hell ; and that when in the chamber, he ap-
pears to be clothed in a bear's skin by reason of the
cold ; and that on account of the filth in his chamber,
he does not admit strangers from the world, who are
desirous of visiting him from the reputation of his
name."
The apparitions of Swedenborg were probably
caused by his studies, habits, and pursuits. They
bear the marks of earthly origin, although he firmly
believed they were from heaven. Overloading his
stomach at late meals, no doubt, caused some of them.
He was in the habit of eating' too much, as he himself
admits. Hence his brain may have been disturbed.
We have all heard of the case of an elderly lady,
who, being ill, called upon her physician one day for
advice. She told him, among other things, that on the
preceding night her sleep had been disturbed — that
she had seen her grandmother in her dreams. Being
interrogated whether she ate any thing the preceding
evening, she told the doctor she ate half a mince pie
46 Ignorance of mental philosophy.
just before going to bed. " "Well, madam," said he,
" if you had eaten the other half, you might have seen
your grandfather also."
The slightest examination of the accounts which
remain of occurrences that were deemed supernatural
by our ancestors will satisfy any one, at the present
day, that they were brought about by causes entirely
natural, although unknown to them. We will close
this part of our investigation by relating the following
circums'tances, attested by the Iclev. James Pierpont,
pastor of a church in New Haven : —
" In the year 1647, a new ship of about one hun-
dred and fifty tons, containing a valuable cargo, and
several distinguished persons as passengers, put to sea
from New Haven in the month of January, bound to
England. The vessels that came over the ensuing
spring brought no tidings of her arrival in the mother
country. The pious colonists were earnest and instant
in their prayers that intelligence might be received of
the missing vessel. In the course of the following June,
a great thunder storm arose out of the north-west ; aftei
which, (the hemisphere being serene,) about an hour
before sunset, a ship of like dimensions of the afore-
said, with her canvas and colors abroad, (although
the wind was northerly,) appeared in the air, coming
up from the harbor's mouth, which lies southward
from the town, seemingly with her sails filled, under
a fresh gale, holding her course north, and continuing
under observation, sailing against the wind, for the
space of half an hour. The phantom ship was borne
along, until, to the excited imaginatioas of the spec-
tators, she seemed to have approached so near that
they could throw a stone into her. Her main topmast
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 47
then disappeared, then her mizzen topmast, then her
masts were entirely carried away, and finally her hull
fell off, and vanished from sight, leaving a dnll and
smoke-colored cloud, which soon dissolved, and the
whole atmosphere became clear. All affirmed that
the any vision was a precise copy of the missing
vessel, and that it was sent to announce and describe
her fate. They considered it the spectre of the lost
ship, and the Rev. Mr. Davenport declared in public
' that God had condescended, for the quieting of their
afflicted sJDU-its, this exti'aordinary account of his sov-
ereign disposal of those for whom so many fervent
prayers were made continually.' "
The results of modern science enable us to explain
the mysterious appearance. It is probable that some
Dutch vessel, proceeding slowly, quietly, and uncon-
sciously on her voyage fi'om Amsterdam to the New
Netherlands, happened at the time to be passing
through the Sound. At the moment the apparition
was seen in the sky, she was so near, that her image
was painted or delineated to the eyes of the obser-
vers, on the clouds, by the laws of optics, now generally
well known, before her actual outlines could be dis-
cerned by them on the horizon. As the sun sunk
behind the western hills, and his rays were gi-adaally
withdrawn, the visionary ship slowly disappeared, and
the approach of the night, while it dispelled the vapors
from the atmosphere, effectually concealed the vessel
as she continued her course along the Sound.
The optical illusions that present themselves, on the
sea shore, by which distant objects are raised to view,
the opposite islands and capes made to loom up, lifted
above the line of the apparent circumference of the
48 IGNORANCE OF xMENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
earth, and thrown into every variety of shape which
the imagination can conceive, are among the most
beautiful phenomena of nature, and they impress the
mind with the idea of enchantment and mystery, more
perhaps than any others. But they have received a
complete solution from modern discovery.
It should be observed that the optical principles that
explain these phenomena have recently afforded a foun-
dation for the science, or rather the art, of nauscopy.
There are persons, it is said, in some places in the
Isle of France, whose calling and profession it is to
ascertain and predict the approach of vessels by their
reflection in the atmosphere and on the clouds, long
before they are visible to the eye or through the glass.
Our vision is at all times liable to be disturbed by
atmospheric conditions. So long as the atmosphere
between our person and the object we are looking at
is of the same density, we may be said to see in a
straight line to the object. But if, by any cause, a
portion of that atmosphere is rendered less or more
dense, the line of vision is bent, or refracted, from its
course. A thorough comprehension of this truth in
science has banished a mass of superstition. It has
been found that, by means of powerful riifraction,
objects at great distances, and round the back of a
hill, or considerably beneath the horizon, are brought
into sight. In some countries this phenomenon is
called mirage. The following is one of the most
interesting and best-authenticated cases of the kind.
In a voyage performed by Captain Scoresby, in 1822,
he was able to recognize his father's ship, when below
the horizon, from the inverted image of it which ap-
peared in the air. " It was," says he, " so well defined,
IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 49
that I could distinguish, by a telescope, every sail, the
general rig of the ship, and its particular character,
insomuch that I confidently pronounced it to be my
father's ship, the Fame, — which it afterwards proved
to be — though on comparing notes with my father, I
found that our relative position, at the time, gave our
distance from one another very nearly thirty miles,
being about seventeen miles beyond the horizon, and
some leagues beyond the limit of direct vision I "
Dr. Vince, an English philosopher, was once looking
through a telescope at a ship which was so far ott
that he could only see the upper part of the masts.
The hull was entirely hidden by the bending of the
water ; but, between himself and the ship, he saw two
perfect images of it in the air. These were of the
same form and color as the real ship ; but one of them
was turned completely upside down.
In the sandy plains of Egypt, the mirage is seen
to great advantage. These plains are often inter-
rupted by small eminences, upon which the inhabit-
ants have built their villages in order to escape the in-
undations of the Nile. In the morning and evening,
objects are seen in their natural form and position ;
but when the surface of the sandy ground is heated
by the sun, the land seems terminated, at a particu-
lar distance, by a general inundation ; the villages
which are beyond it appear like so many islands in a
great lake ; and an inverted image of a village ap-
pears between the hills.
The Swedish sailors long searched for a supposed
magic island, which, from time to time, could be de-
scried between the Island of Aland and the coast of
Upland. It proved to be a rock, the image of which
5
50 IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION.
was presented in the air by mirage. At one time, the
English saw, with terror, the coast of Calais and
Boulogne, in France, rising up on the opposite side
of the Channel, and apparently approaching their isl-
and. But the most celebrated example of mirage is
exhibited in the Straits of Messina. The inhabitants
of the Calabrian shore behold images of palaces,
embattled ramparts, houses, and ships, and all the
varied objects of towns and landscapes, in the air — ■
being refracted images from the Sicilian coast. This
wonderful phenomenon is superstitiously regarded by
the common people as the work of fairies.
CHAPTER VI.
IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION.
Ignorance of true religion has given rise to many
prevailing superstitions. The Savior has taught us
that the Father of spirits regulates the minutest
events of this world, and that he alone is the Su-
preme Ruler of the universe. Our experience and
observation must convince us that this infinite work is
accomplished by regular laws, and that Infinite Wis-
dom sees fit so to govern all events without the inter-
vention of miracles, or through the^agency of any in-
strumentality but his own. And by examination, we
shall find that these truths are in direct opposition to
the general mass of popular superstitions.
There are many who believe in signs. They
IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION. 51
believe that the howling of a dog under a window
betokens death to some member of the family. But
how does the dog obtain this foreknowledge ? Who
sends him on this solemn errand ? K you say that
his appearance at the house is accidental, then you
would have us trust to chance for information upon
this most important subject. If you say that liia
knowledge of the approaching event is intuitive,
then you would have us believe that the irrational
brute knows more than his intelligent master. If you
say that he is instigated by some wicked spirit, then
you would have us admit that an enemy of mankind
is more attentive to their welfare than God ; for it
certainly betokens the greatest kindness to notify us
of our near dissolution. K you say the animal is
sent by God, how will you explain the fact that the
sign so often fails? not actually taking place oftener,
at most, than once in a hundred times. Certainly we
are not to accuse the omniscient and merciful Jeho-
vah either of ignorance concerning future events, or
of trifling with the feelings of his dependent creatures.
"We must therefore consider the sign to be altogether
superstitious, and contrary to all rational evidence.
Some persons profess to believe in lucky and un-
lucky days. They say, for instance, that Friday is an
unlucky day. And why so ? Does God part with
the reins of his government, and employ wicked
spirits to torment his creatures on this day ? Does he
make this day more unpropitious tc human affairs
than others ? Do facts go to show that more disas-
ters occur on this day than on any other ? Paul in-
structs us that all days are alike, and that God rules
the universe with infinite wisdom and benevolence.
52 IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION.
Then why should we account Friday to be an un
lucky iay ? Whence came such an opinion ? From
heathenism. The heathen were much influenced by
this superstition ; and when converted to Christianity,
they incorporated this among some other absurdities
into their religious belief. Because our Savior was
crucified on Friday, they placed this at the head of
their unlucky days. But why they did so, we cannot
conceive; for the death of Christ was absolutely ne-
cessary for the deliverance of mankind from sin and
death. And for this reason alone, Friday was the
most propitious day that ever dawned upon a dying
world. But the heathen converts did not consider
this circumstance. They pronounced Sunday, the
day of his resurrection, to be the most fortunate.
Later Christians, in a certain sense, have thought dif-
ferently. Sir Matthew Hale has remarked, that he never
knew any undertaking to prosper that was com-
menced on the Sabbath. And the early laws of Con-
necticut prohibited any vessel from either leaving a
port, or entering a port, or passing by a village on
Sunday. But such prohibitions are not agreeable to
the notions of seamen, who, as a class, are inclined
to be somewhat superstitious. We frequently meet
with dissipated, unbelieving sailors, who could not be
induced to put to sea on Friday on any consideration ;
but who would rather labor seven successive nights
than not sail on the Sabbath. It is rather singular that
sceptics should be so afraid of the day of our Savior's
crucifixion, and so fond of that of his resurrection.
Such inconsistency, however, is not uncommon.
Those who rail most at the credulity of others are
frequently the most superstitious. Those who lay
BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. 5ii
the greatest claims to bravery are, for the most part,
the greatest cowards. Voltaire could ridicule religion
ill fair weather, but the moment a thunder cloud
appeared, he was thrown into extreme consternation,
and must have a priest to pray during its continuance
for his preservation. K we would avoid the influ-
ence of this heathen superstition, we must regard
actions rather than days. If our engagements are
proper, we have nothing to fear from the day on
which they are commenced. K we feel the evidence
within that God is indeed our Father, we shall not
be prevented, by any belief in lucky or unlucky days,
from doing our duty on every day, and enjoying
peace and happiness on all days.
CHAPTER VII.
BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT.
A WITCH was regarded by our fathers as a person
who had made an actual, deliberate, and formal con-
tract with Satan, by which contract it was agreed
that the party should become his faithful subject, and
do whatever should be required in promoting his
cause. And in consideration of this allegiance and
service, he, on his part, agreed to exericise his super-
natural powers in the person's behalf. It was consid-
ered as a transfer of allegiance from God to the devil.
The agreement being concluded, Satan bestows some
trifling sum of money to bind the bargain ; then, cui-
5*
tNl BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT.
ting OX pricking a finger causes the individual to sign
lis oi her name, or make the mark of a cross, with
;heir own blood, on a piece of parchment. In addi-
Vioa to this signature, in some places, the devil made
•he witches put one hand to the crown of their head,
and the other to the sole of the foot, signifying they
tvere entirely his. Before the devil quits his new
subject, he delivers to her or him an imp or familiar,
and sometimes two or three. They are of different
shapes and forms, some resembling a cat, others a
mole, a miller fly, !:;pider, or some other insect or ani-
mal. These are to come at bidding, to do such mis-
chief as the witch may command, and, at stated times
of the day, suck the blood of the witch, through teats,
on different parts of the body. Feeding, suckling, or
rewarding these imps Wcis, by law, declared /e/on.?/.
Sometimes a witch, in company with others of the
fraternity, is carried through the air on brooms or spits,
to distant meetings or St^bbaths of witches. But for
this they must anoint themselves with a certain mag-
ical ointment given them by the devil. Lord Bacon,
in his philosophical works, gives a recipe for the man-
ufacture of an ointment that enabled witches to fly in
the air. It was composed of the fat of children,
digged out of their graves, and of the juices of smal-
(age, cinquefoil, and wolfsbane, mixed with meal of
fine wheat. After greasing themselves with this prep-
aration, the witches flew up chimney, and repaired to
the spot in some graveyard or dismal forest, where
they were to hold their meetings with the evil one.
At these meetings they have feasting and dancing,
the devil himself sometimes condescending to play
on the great fiddle, pipe, or harp. When the meeting
BELIEF IN AVITCHCRAFT. 55
breaks up, they all have the honor of kissing his ma-
jesty, who for that ceremony usually assumes the
form of a he goat.
Witches showed their, spite by causing the object
of it to waste away in a long and painful disease,
with a sensation of thorns stuck in the flesh. Some-
times they caused their victims to swallow pins, old
nails, dirt, and trash of all sorts, invisibly conveyed
to them by their imps. Frequently they showed their
hate by drying up the milk of cows, or by killing
oxen. For slight offences they would prevent butter
from coming in the churn, or beer from working.
Grace Greenwood says, that, on a visit to Salem in
the fall of 1850, she " was shown a vial of the verita-
ble bewitched pins with which divers persons were
sorely pricked by the wicked spite of certain witches
and wizards."
It was believed that Satan affixed his mark or seal
to the bodies of those in allegiance with him, and
that the spot where this mark was made became cal-
lous and dead. In examining a witch upon trial,
they would pierce the body with pins, and if any spot
was found insensible to the torture, it was looked upon
as ocular demonstration of guilt. Another method
to detect a witch, was to weigh her against the chm-ch
Bible. If she was guilty, the Bible would preponder-
ate. Another was by making her say the Lord's pray-
er, which no one actually possessed could do correctly.
A witch could not weep but three tears, and that only
out of the left eye ; and this was considered by many
an decisive proof of guilt. But swimming was the
most infallible ordeal. They were stripped naked, and
bound the right thumb to the left toe, and the left
56 BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT.
thumb TO the right toe. Being thus prepared, they
were thrown into a pond or river. If guilty, they
could not sink ; for having, by their compact with the
devil, renounced the water of baptism, that element
renounces them, and refuses to receive them into its
bosom.
In 1 664, a man by the name of Matthew Hopkins,
in England, was permitted to explore the counties of
Essex, Suffolk, and Huntingdon, with a commission
to discover witches, receiving twenty shillings from
each town he visited. Many persons were pitched
upon, and through his means convicted. At length,
some gentlemen, out of indignation at his barbarity,
tied him in the same manner he had bound others,
thumbs and toes together, in which state, putting him
in the water, he swam ! Standing condemned on his
own principles, the country was rescued from the
power of his malicious imposition.
The subsequent illustration of the condition of re-
ligion less than two hundred years ago will excite a
few humbling thoughts. In the parish register of
Glammis, Scotland, June, 1676, is recorded — " Nae
preaching here this Lord's day, the minister being at
Gortachy, burning a witch." Forty thousand persons,
it is said, were put to death for witchcraft in England
during the seventeenth century, and a much greater
number in Scotland, in proportion to its population.
In 1692, the whole population of Salem and vicini-
ty were under the influence of a terrible delusion con-
cerning witchcraft. By yielding to the sway of their
credulous fancies, allowing their passions to be
worked up to a tremendous pitch of excitement, and
rmining into excesses of folly and violence, they have
BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. 57
left a dark stain upon their memory, that will awaken
a sense of shame, pity, and amazement in the minds
of their latest posterity. The principal causes that
led to their delusion, and to the proceedings con-
nected with it, were, a proneness to superstition,
owing in a great degree to an ignorance of natural
science, too great a dependence upon the imagination,
and the power of sympathy. In contemplating the
errors and sufferings which ignorance of philosophy
and science brought upon our fathers, we should be
led to appreciate more gratefully, and to improve
with more faithfulness, our own opportunities to ac-
quire wisdom and knowledge. But we would not be
understood as saying, that mere intellectual cultiva-
tion is sufficient to banish every superstition. No.
For who were ever better educated than the ancient
Greeks and Romans ? And yet, who were ever more
influenced by a belief in signs, omens, spectres, and
witches ? We believe that, when the gospel, in its
purity and simplicity, shall shed its divine light
abroad, and pervade the hearts of men, superstition,
in all its dark and hideous forms, will recede, and
vanish from the world.
In concluding our remarks under this head, we
would add that, in a dictionary before us, a witch is
designated as a woman, and wizard as a man, that pre-
tends to some power whereby he or she can foretell
future events, cure diseases, call up or drive away
spirits. The art itself is called witchcraft. K this is
a correct definition, witches and wizards are quite a
numerous class of people in society at the present
day ; for there are many among us who presume to
practise these things. "^ ,
v8 NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING.
CHAPTER VIII.
NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING.
Although the belief in witchcraft has nearly passed
away, the civilized world is yet full of necromancers
and fortune tellers. The mystic science of " palmistry "
is still practised by many a haggard and muttering
vagrant.
The most celebrated fortune teller, perhaps, that
ever lived, resided in Lynn, Mass. The character of
" Moll Pitcher" is familiarly known in all parts of the
commercial world. She died in 1813. Her place of
abode was beneath the projecting and elevated summit
of High Rock, in Lynn, and commanded a view of
the wild and indented coast of Marblehead, of the ex-
tended and resounding beaches of Lynn and Chelsea,
of Nahant Rocks, of the vessels and islands, of
Boston's beautiful bay, and of its remote southern
shore. She derived her mysterious gifts by inherit-
ance, her grandfather having practised them before, in
Marblehead. Sailors, merchants, and adventurers of
every kind visited her residence, and placed great con-
fidence in her predictions. People came from great
distances to learn the fate of missing friends or recover
the possession of lost goods. The young, of both
sexes, impatient at the tardy pace of time, and burn-
ing with curiosity to discern their future lot, especially
as it regarded matters of wedlock, availed themselves
of every opportunity to visit her lowly dwelling, and
hear from her prophetic lips the revelations of these
•^nost tender incidents and important events of their
NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING. 59
coming lives. She read the future, and traced wliat,
to mere mortal eyes, were the mysteries of the present
or the past, in the arrangement and aspect of the
grounds or settlings of a cup of tea or coffee. Her
name has every where become the generic title of
fortune tellers, and occupies a conspicuous place in
the legends and ballads of popular superstition.
A man was suddenly missed by his friends from
a certain town in this commonwealth. The church
immediately sent a member to consult the far-famed
fortune-telling Molly Pitcher. After making the ne-
cessary inquiries, she intimated that the absent person
had been murdered by a family of negroes, and
his body sunk in the deep waters behind their dwell-
ing. Upon this evidence, the accused were forthwith
imprisoned, and the pond raked in vain, from shore to
shore. A few days previous to the trial, the missing
man returned to his fi'iends, safe and sound ; thus
proving that the fortune teller, instead of having re-
ceived from Satan certain information of distant and
unknown events, actually played off a piece of the
grossest deception upon her credulous visitors.
We are told by travellers that there is scarcely a
village in Syria in which there is not some one who
has the credit of being able to cast out evil spirits.
About eight miles from the ancient Sidon, Lady
Hester Stanhope, the granddaughter of the immortal
Chatham, and niece of the equally immortal Pitt,
recently lived in a style of Eastern splendor and mag-
nificence. She spent her time in gazing at the ex-
tended canopy of heaven, as it shed its sparkling light
upon the ancient hills and sacred groves of Palestine
— her soul absorbed in the fathomless mysteries of her
60 NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING.
loved astrology, and holding fancied communion with
supernatural powers and spirits of the departeds
There recently died in Hopkinton, Mass., an indi
vidual by the name of Sheffield, who had long fol
lowed the art of fortune telling by astrology. He
professed to unfold almost every secret, or mystery,
even to foretelling the precise day and hour any person
would die. In case of lost or stolen goods, it was only
necessary to enclose a small fee in a letter, containing
also a statement of your name, age, and place of
residence, and forward the same by mail to his ad-
dress. In two or three weeks, the information you
sought, as to the person who stole the property, &c.,
would be forwarded to you, leaving you to judge of
the case for yourself. He did quite a business in his
line, and made something of a foi-tune out of a long-
exploded science.
There are many who trust to the declarations of
such persons, and are often made unhappy thereby.
In fact, it is doubtful if a more unhappy class can be
found than those who are in the habit of consulting
fortune tellers of any character. It is discontent,
chiefly, that leads them to pry into futurity. And
after having had their fortunes told, as it is termed,
they are no better satisfied than before ; for the best
of fortune tellers are famous for their errors and mis-
fakes, although it would be strange if they did not
blunder upon some facts in the whole routine of their
business. But we pity those who rely upon their
prognostications. If told they will die at such or such
a time, or if they are to meet with some dreadful ac-
cident, misfortune, or disappointment, their imagina-
tions will lead them to anticipate and dread the event,
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS. 61
which will be the surest way to produce its fulfilment.
If a husband or wife is told that he or she will marry
again, it will lead them to be dissatisfied with the
partner with whom they are at present associated.
And look at this subject as we will, we shall find
it productive of a vast amount of evil, and therefore
deserving of om* entire disapprobation.
CHAPTER IX.
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
Fairies, says a certain author, are a sort of inter-
mediate beings, between men and women, having
bodies, yet with the power of rendering them invisible,
and of passing through all sorts of enclosures. They
are remarkably small of stature, with fair complexions,
whence they derive their name, fairies. Both male
and female are generally clothed in green, and frequent
mountains, the sunny side of hills, groves, and green
meadows, where they amuse themselves with dancing,
hand in hand, in a circle, by moonlight. The traces
of their feet are said to be visible, next morning, on
the grass, and are commonly called fairy rings, or
circles.
Fairies have all the passions and wants of men, and
are great lovers of cleanliness and propriety ; for the
observance of which, they frequently reward servants,
by dropping money in their shoes. They likewise
punish sluts and slovens by pinching them black and
6
62 FAIRIES, OR AVANDERING SPIRITS..
blue. They often change then' weak and starveling
elves, or children, for the more robust offspring of men.
But this can only be done before baptism ; for which
reason it is still the custom, in the Highlands, to
watch by the cradle of infants till they are christened.
The word channeling, now applied to one almost an
idiot, attests the current belief of these superstitious
mutations.
Some fairies dwell in mines, and in Wales noth-
ing is more common than these subterranean spirits,
called knockers, who very good naturedly point out
where there is a rich vein of lead or silver. In Scot-
land there was a sort of domestic fairies, from their
sun-burnt complexions, called brownies. These were
extremely useful, performing all sorts of. domestic
drudgery.
In the Life of Dr. Adam Clarke, we have the follow-
ing account of a circumstance that took place in the
town of Freshford, county of Kilkenny, Ireland, show-
ing the superstition prevailing in that country con-
cerning the influence of these fairy beings : "A farmer
built himself a house of three apartments, the kitchen
in the middle, and a room for sleeping, &c., on either
end. Some time after it was finished, a cow of his
died — then a horse ; to these succeeded other small
er animals, and last of all his wife died. Full of
alarm and distress, supposing himself to be an object
of fairy indignation, he went to the fairy man, that is,
one v/ho pretends to know fairy customs, haunts,
pathways, antipathies, caprices, benevolences, &c.,
and he asked his advice and counsel on the subject of
his losses. The wise man, after having considered all
things, and cast his eye upon the house, said, ' The
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SFIRITS 63
fairies, in their night walks from Knockshegowny Hill,
ir county Tipperai'y, to the county of Kilkenny, were
accustomed to pass over the very spot where one ox
your rooms is now built ; you have blocked up theii
way, and they were very angiy with you, and have
siain your cattle, and killed your wife, and, if not
appeased, may yet do worse harm to you.' The poor
fellow, sadly alarmed, went, and with his own hands,
deliberately pulled down the timbers, demolished the
walls, and left not one stone upon another, but razed
the very foundation, and left the path of these capri-
cious gentry as open and as clear as it was before.
How strong must have been this man's belief in the
existence of these demi-natural and semi-supernatural
beings, to have induced him thus to destroy the work
of his own hands!"
In Spenser's epic poem, called the Fairy Queen,
the imagination of the reader is entertained with the
characters of fairies, witches, magicians, demons,
and departed spirits. A kind of pleasing horror is
raised in the mind, and one is amused with the
strangeness and novelty of the persons who are repre-
sented in it; but to be affected by such poetry re-
quires an odd turn of thought, a peculiar cast of fancy,
with an imagination naturally fruitful and super-
stitious.
The Gypsies are a class of strolling beggars, cheats,
and fortune tellers. They have been quite numerous
in all the older countries, and are so still in some of
them; but in the United States there are but few,
some one or two tribes in the west, and a small party
of them in New York state. They are probably
called Gypsies from the ancient Egyptians, who had
64 FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
the character of great cheats, whence the name might
afterwards pass proverbially into other languages, as
it did into the Greek and Latin ; or else the ancient
Egyptians being much versed in astronomy, or rathei
astrology, the name was afterwards assumed by these
modern fortune tellers. In Latin they are called
Egyptii; the Italians called them Cinari, or Cingani;
the Russians, Zigani; the Turks and Persians, Zingarri;
the Germans, Ziguenor ; the Spaniards, Gitanos ; the
French, Bohemians, from the circumstance that Bohe-
mia was the first civilized country where they made
their appearance.
In most countries they live in the woods and for-
ests ; but in England, where every inch of land is cul-
tivated, the covered cart and little tent are their houses,
and they seldom remain more than three days in the
same place.
Dabbling in sorcery is in some degree the province
of the female Gypsy. She affects to tell the future,
and to prepare philters, by means of which love can be
awakened in any individual towards any particular
object; and such is the credulity of the human race,
even in the most enlightened countries, that the profits
arising from these practices are great. The following
is a case in point : Two females, neighbors and friends,
were tried, some years since, for the murder of their
husbands. It appeared that they were in love for the
same individual, and had conjointly, at various times,
paid sums of money to a Gypsy woman to work
charms to captivate his affections. Whatever little
effect the charms might produce, they were successful
in their principal object, for the person in question
carried on for some time a criminal intercourse with
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS. 65
6oth. The matter came to the knowledge of the hus-
bands, who, taking means to break off this connection,
were both poisoned by their wives. Till the moment
of conviction, these wretched females betrayed neither
emotion nor fear; but at this juncture their consterna-
tion was indescribable. They afterwards confessed
that the Gypsy, who had visited them in prisoii, had
promised to shield them from conviction by means of
her art. It is therefore not surprising that in the fif-
teenth and sixteenth centuries, when a belief in sorcery
was supported by the laws of all Europe, these people
were regarded as practisers of sorcery, and punished as
such, when, even in the nineteenth, they still find peo-
ple weak enough to place confidence in their claims
to supernatural power.
In telling fortunes, the fijst demand of the Gypsy,
in England, is invariably a sixpence, in order that she
may cross her hands with silver ; and here the same
promises are made, and as easily believed, as in other
countries, leading to the conclusion that mental illumi-
nation, amongst the generality of mankind, has made
no progress whatever ; as we observe in the nineteenth
century the same gross credulity manifested as in the
geventeenth, and the inhabitants of one of the countries
most celebrated for the arts of civilization imposed
upon by the same stale tricks which served to deceive,
two centuries before, in Spain, a country whose name
has long and justly been considered as synonymous
with every species of ignorance and barbarity.
In telling fortunes, promises are the only capital
requisite, and the whole art consists in properly adapt-
ing these promises to the age and condition of the
parties who seek for information. The Gitimos are
6*
66 FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
clever enougli in the accomplishment of this, and gen-
erally give perfect satisfaction. Their practice lies
chiefly amongst females, the portion of the human
race most given to curiosity and credulity. To the
young maidens they promise lovers, handsome inva-
riably, and oftentimes rich; to wives, childifen, and
perhaps another husband ; for their eyes are so pene-
trating, that occasionally they will develop your most
secret thoughts and wishes ; to the old, riches, and
nothing but riches — for they have sufficient knowl-
edge of the human heart to be aware that avarice is
the last passion that becomes extinct within it. These
riches are to proceed either from the discovery of hid-
den treasure, or from across the water. The Gitanos,
in the exercise of this practice, find dupes almost as
readily amongst the superior classes, as the veriest
dregs of the population.
They are also expert in chiromancy, which is the
determining, from certain lines upon the hand, the
quality of the physical and intellectual powers of the
possessor, to which lines they give particular and
appropriate names, the principal of which is called the
" line of life." An ancient waiter, in speaking of this
art, says, " Such chiromancy is not only reprobated
by theologians, but by men of law and physic, as a
foolish, vain, scandalous, futile, superstitious practice,
smelling much of divinery and a pact with the devil."
The Gitanos in the olden time appear to have not
unfrequently been subjected to punishment as sorcer-
esses, and with great justice, as the abominable trade
which they have always driven in philters and decoc-
tions certainly entitled them to that appellation, and
to the pains and penalties reserved for those who prac-
tised what is generally termed " witchcraft."
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS. 67
Amongst the crimes laid to their charge, conLCcted
with the exercise of occult powers, there is one of a
purely imaginary character, which if they were ever
punished for, they had assuredly but little right to
complain, as the chastisement they met with was fuUy
merited by practices equaJy malefic as the one imputed
to them, provided that were possible. It was the cast-
ing the evil eye.
In the Gitdno language, casting the evil eye is
called zuerelar nasula, which simply means making
sick, and which, according to the common superstition,
is accomplished by casting an evil look at people,
especially children, who, from the tenderness of their
constitution, are supposed to be more easily blighted
than those of a more mature age. After receiving the
evil glance, they fall sick, and die in a few hours.
In Andalusia, a belief in the evil eye is very prev-
alent among the lower orders. A stag's horn is con-
'sidered a good safeguard, and on that account, a small
horn, tipped with silver, is frequently attached to the
children's necks, by means of a cord braided from the
hair of a black mare's tail. Should the evil glance be
cast, it is imagined that the horn receives it, and in-
stantly snaps asunder. Such horns may be pur-
chased at the silversmiths' shops at Seville.
The Gypsies sell remedies for the evil eye, which
consist of any drugs which they happen to possess, or
are acquainted with. They have been known to offer
to cure the glanders in a horse, (an incurable disorder,)
with the very same powders which they offer as a
specific for the evil eye.
The same superstition is current among all Orien-
tal people, whether Tm-ks, Arabs, or Hindoos; but
68 FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
perhaps there is no nation in the world with whom
the belief is so firmly rooted as the Jews ; it being a
subject treated of in all the old rabbinical writings,
which induces the conclusion that the superstition of
the evil eye is of an antiquity almost as remote as the
origin of the Hebrew race.
The evil eye is mentioned in Scripture, but not in
the false and superstitious sense we have spoken of.
Evil in the eye, which occurs in Prov. xxiii. 5, 6,
merely denotes niggardness and illiberality. The
Hebrew words are ain ra, and stand in contradis-
tinction to ain toub, or the benignant in eye, which
denotes an inclination to bounty and liberality.
The rabbins have said, " For one person who dies
of sickness, there are ten who die by the evil eye." And
as the Jews, especially those of the East, and of Barbary,
place implicit confidence in all that the rabbins have
written, we can scarcely wonder if, at the present day,
they dread this visitation more than the cholera or the
plague. " The leech," they say, " can cure those
disorders ; but "who is capable of curing the evil eye ? "
It is im.agined that this blight is most easily inflicted
when a person is enjoying himself, with little or no
care for the futm-e, when he is reclining in the sun
before his door, or when he is full of health and spirits,
but principally when he is eating and drinking, on which
account the Jews and Moors are jealous of strangers
when they are taking their meals.
" I was acquainted," says a late writer, " with a
very handsome Jewess, of Fez ; she had but one eye,
but that one was particularly brilliant. On asking her
how she lost its fellow, she informed me that she was
once standing in the street, at nightfall, when she was
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS. 69
a little girl ; a Moor, that was passing by, suddenly
stopped, and said, ' Towae Ullah, (blessed be God,)
how beautiful are your eyes, my child ! ' Whereupon
she went into the house, but was presently seized
with a dreadful pain in the left eye, which continued
during the night, and the next day the pupil came out
of the socket. She added, that she did not believe the
Moor had any intention of hurting her, as he gazed on
her so kindly ; but that it was very thoughtless in him
to utter words which are sure to convey evil luck." It
is said to be particularly dangerous to eat in the pres-
ence of a woman ; for the evil eye, if cast by a
woman, is far more fatal and difficult to cure than
if cast by a man.
When any one falls sick of the evil eye, he must
instantly call to his assistance the man cunning in
such cases. The man, on coming, takes either a girdle
or a handkerchief from off his own person, and ties a
knot at either end ; then he measures three spans with
his left hand, and at the end of these three he fastens
a knot, and folds it three times round his head, pro-
nouncing this beraka, or blessing: '■'■Ben porat Josef,
ben porat ali ain,^^ (Joseph is a fruitful bough, a
fruitful bough by a well ;) he then recommences
measuring the girdle or handkerchief, and if he finds
three spans and a half, instead of the three which he
formerly measured, he is enabled to tell the name of
the person who cast the evil eye, whether male
or female.
The above very much resembles the charm of the
Bible and key, by which many persons in England
still pretend to be able to discover the thief, when an
article is missed. A key is placed in a Bible, in the
70 FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
part called Solomon's Song ; the Bible and key are
then fastened strongly together, by means of a ribbon,
which is wound round the Bible, and passed several
times through the handle of the key, which projects
from the top of the book. The diviner then causes
the person robbed to name the name of any person or
persons whom he may suspect. The two parties, the
robbed and the diviner, then standing up, support the
book between them, the ends of the handle of the key
resting on the tips of the fore fingers of the right hand.
The diviner then inquires of the Bible, whether such
a one committed the theft, and commences repeating
the sixth and seventh verses of the eighth chapter of
the Song ; and if the Bible and key turn round in the
mean time, the person named is considered guilty.
This charm has been, and still is, the source of infinite
mischief, innocent individuals having irretrievably
lost their character among their neighbors from re-
course being had to the Bible and key. The slightest
motion of the finger, or rather of the nail, will cause
the key to revolve, so that the people named are quite
at the mercy of the diviner, who is generally a cheat,
or professed conjurer, and not unfrequently a Gypsy.
In like manner, the Barbary cunning man, by a slight
contraction of his hand, measures three and a half
spans, where he first measured three, and then pre-
tends to know the person who has cast the evil eye,
having, of course, first ascertained the names of those
with whom his patient has lately been in company.
When the person who has cast the evil eye has
been discovered, by means of the magical process
already described, the mother, or wife, or sister of the
sufferer walks forth, pronouncing the name of the
Fairies, or wandering spirits. 71
latter with a loud voice, and, making the best of her
way to the house of the person guilty, takes a little of
the earth from before the door of his or her sleeping
apartment. Some of the saliva of the culprit is then
demanded, which must be given early in the morning,
before breakfast ; then the mother, or the wife, or the
sister goes to the oven, and takes from thence seven
burning coals, which are slaked in water from the
bath in which the women bathe. The four in-
gredients, earth, saliva, coals, and water, are then
mixed together in a dish, and the patient is made to
take three sips, and what remains is taken to a private
place and buried, the person w^ho buries it making
three paces backward, exclaiming, " May the evil eye
be buried beneath the earth." Many people carry
papers about with them, scrawled with hieroglyphics,
which are prepared by the hacumim, or sages, and
sold. These papers, placed in a little bag and hung
about the person, are deemed infallible preservatives
from the " ain ara."
Like many other superstitions, the above may be
founded on a physical reality. In hot countries,
where the sun and moon are particularly dazzling, the
belief in the evil eye is most prevalent. If we turn to
the Scripture, we shall probably come to the solution
of the belief. " The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night." Ps. cxxi. 5, 6. To those
who loiter in the sunshine, before the king of day has
nearly reached his bourn in the west, the sun has an
evil eye, and his glance produces brain fevers ; and to
those who sleep uncovered, beneath the smile of the
moon, her glance is poisonous, producing insupportable
itching in the eye and not unfrequently total blindness :
72 FAIRIKS, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
all the charms, scrawls, and rabbinical antidotes have
no power to avert these effects.
The northern nations have a superstition which
bears some resemblance to the evil eye. They have
no brilliant sun and moon to addle the brain and
poison the eye, but the gray north has its marshes,
and fenny ground, and fetid mists, which produce
agues, low fevers, and moping madness, and are as
fatal to cattle as to man. Such disorders are attributed
to elves and fairies. This superstition still lingers in
some parts of England, under the name of elf-shot,
whilst, throughout the north, it is called elle-skiod,
and elle-vild, (fairy wild.) It is particularly prevalent
amongst shepherds and cowherds, who, from their
manner of life, are most exposed to the effects of the
so called elf-shot.
The Gitanos had a venomous preparation called
drao, or drow, which they were in the habit of fling-
ing into the mangers of the cattle, for the purpose of
causing sickness and death. It was the province of
the women to compound the ingredients of this poison,
which answered many wicked purposes. The stalls
and stables were visited secretly, and the provender of
the animals being poisoned, they at once fell sick ;
speedily there appeared the Gitanos, offering their
services on the condition of no cure no pay, and when
these were accepted, the malady was speedily re-
moved. They used no medicines, or pretended not
to, but charms only, which consisted of small variegated
beans, called, in their language, bobis, coming from a
Russian word signifying beans. These beans they
dropped into the mangers, though they doubtless
administered privately a real and effcacious remedy.
FAIRIES, OB WANDERING SPIRITS. 73
B} these means they fostered the idea, already preva-
lent, that they were people possessed of supernatural
gifts and powers. By means of drao, they likewise
procured themselves food ; poisoning swine, as their
brethren in England still do, and then feasting on the
flesh, the poison only affecting the head of the animal,
which was abandoned as worthless ; witness one of
their own songs : —
" By Gypsy drow the porker died ;
I saw him stiff at evening tide ;
But I saw him not when morning shone,
For the Gypsies ate him, flesh and bone."
By drao, also, they could avenge themselves on their
enemies by destroying their cattle, without incurring
a shadow of suspicion. Revenge for injuries, real or
imaginary, is sweet to all unconverted minds — to no
one more than the Gypsy, who, in all parts of the
world, is, perhaps, the most revengeful of human
beings.
But if the Gitanos are addicted to any one super-
stition above others, it is in respect to the loadstone,
to which they attribute all kinds of miraculous powers.
They believe that he who is in possession of it has
nothing to fear from steel or lead, from fire or water,
and that death itself has no power over him. The
Gypsy contrabandists are particularly anxious to pro-
cure this stone, which they carry upon their persons
in their expeditions. They say, that in the '^vent of
their being pursued by the revenue officers, whirlwinds
of dust will arise and conceal them from the vic-iW of
their enemies ; the horse stealers say much the same
thing, and assert that they are uniformly successful
when they bear a Dout them the precious stone. But
7
74 FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS.
it is said by them to effect much more. It is extraor-
dinary in exciting the amorous propensities, and on
this account it is in great request among the Gypsy
hags. All these women are procuresses, and find
persons of both sexes weak and wicked enough to
make use of their pretended knowledge in the compo-
sition of love draughts and decoctions.
In the Museum of Natural Curiosities at Madrid,
there is a large piece of loadstone, originally extracted
from the American mines. There is scarcely a Git;ana
in Madrid who is not acquainted with this circum-
btance, and who does not long to obtain the stone,
or a part of it. Several attempts have been made
to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuc-
cessful.
A translation of the Gospel of St. Luke was printed
in the Gypsy language, at Madrid, in 1838. The
chapters were read over and explained to some of
these strange people, by the late agent of the British
and Foreign Bible Society, in Spain. They said it was
lacho, and Jucdl, and misto, all of which words express
approval of the quality of a thing ; and they purchased
copies of the Gypsy Luke freely. The women were
particularly anxious to obtain copies, though unable
to read ; but each wished to have one in her pocket,
especially when engaged in thieving expeditions, for
they all looked upon it in the light of a charm, which
would preserve them from all danger and mischance ;
some even went so far as to say, that in this respect
it was equally as efficacious as the Bar Lachi, or
loadstone, which they are generally so eager to possess.
Of this Gospel, five hundred copies were printed, the
greatest part of which were circulated among the
FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS, 75
Gypsies ; but it was speedily prohibited by a royal
ordinance, which appeared in the Gazette of Madrid,
in August, 1838.
Before closing, under this head, we will remark that,
although the Gypsies in general are a kind of wander-
ing outcasts, incapable of appreciating the blessings
of a settled and civilized life, yet among the Gypsies
of Moscow there are not a few who inhabit stately
houses, go abroad in elegant equipages, and are not a
whit behind the higher order of Russians in appear-
ance, nor in mental acquirements. To the female part
of the Gypsy colony of Moscow is to be attributed the
merit of this partial rise from abjectness and degrada-
tion, having from time immemorial so successfully cul-
tivated the vocal art, that, though in the midst of a nation
by whom song is more cherished and cultivated, and its
principles better understood, than by any other of the
civilized globe, the Gypsy choirs of Moscow are, by the
general voice of the Russian public, admitted to be
unrivalled in that most amiable of all accomplish-
ments. It is a fact, notorious in Russia, that the
celebrated Catalini was so enchanted with the voice
of one of these Gypsy songsters, who, after the former
had displayed her noble Italian talent before a splendid
audience at Moscow, stepped forward, and with an
astonibhing burst of almost angelic melody, so en-
raptm-ed every ear, that even applause forgot its duty,
and the noble Catalini immediately tore from her
own shoulders a shawl of Cashmere, which had been
presented to her by the Father of Rome, and embra-
cing the Gypsy, insisted on her acceptance of the splen-
did gift, saying, that it had been intended for the
matchless songster which she now perceived she her-
self was not.
''6 OMENS, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION.
CHAPTER X.
OMENS, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION.
Many books have been published, having a tendency
to deceive the credulous, who suffer themselves to be
guided by any thing but reason and experience.
Hence the encouragement bestowed on works of
enchantment, dreams, omens, and fate. Mankind
have always discovered a propensity to peep behind
the veil of futurity, and have been lavish of money
in consulting persons and books that make a preten-
sion of unravelling the decrees of Fate, which lie
hidden in the labyrinths of darkness. From these
sources have arisen the following superstitions, as a
sample of the many that have disturbed the peace of
individuals, families, and sometimes of whole com-
munities.
" A coal in the shape of a coffin, flying out of the
fire to any particular person, denotes his death is not
far off. A collection of tallow rising up against the
wick of a candle is called a winding-sheet, and deemed
an omen of mortality. If, in eating, you miss your
mouth, and the food falls, it is very unlucky, and
denotes sickness. To dream you are dressed in black
is an unlucky omen. Some quarrel is about to happen
between you and a friend or relative. Sickness is
about to attend your family. Death will ^deprive you
of some friend or relation. Lawsuits will perplex
and harass you. If you undertake a journey, it will
be unsuccessful. If you are in love, it denotes that
your sweetheart is very unhappy, and that sickness
OMENS, CHARMS, ANB DIVINATION. 77
will attend her. If you are a farmer, your crops will
fail, the murrain will attack your cattle, and some
dreadful accident will happen by the overturning of
one of your wagons. If you are in business, some
one will arrest you, and you will have great difficulty
in settling the matter. To dream of hen and chickens
is the forerunner of ill luck. Your sweetheart will
betray you and marry another. If you go to law,
the case will be decided against you. If you go to
sea, you will lose your goods, and narrowly escape
shipwreck. To dream of coals denotes much afflic-
tion and trouble. If you are in love, your sweetheart
will prove false, and do every thing to injure you.
To dream you see the coals extinguished, and reduced
to cinders, denotes the death of yourself, or some near
friend or relation. It also indicates great losses, and
forewarns you of beggary and a prison. To dream
you are married is ominous of death. It also denotes
poverty, a prison, and misfortunes. To di-eam of
lying with your newly-married husband or wife
denotes danger and sudden misfortunes."
Popular charms are equally absurd and nonsensical.
For example, a ring made of the hinge of a cof-
fin is good for the cramp. A halter with which a
man has been hanged, if tied about the head, will
cure the headache. A drop of blood of a black
cat cures convulsions in children. If a tree of any
kind be split, and weak, rickety, or ruptured children
are drawn through it, and afterwards the tree is bound
together, so as to make it unite — as the tree heals
and grows together, so will the child acquire strength.
If in a family the youngest daughter be married before
her older sisters, they must all dance at her wedding
- 7*
78 OMENS, CHARMS, AND DtVlNATION.
without shoes, to counteract their ill luck, and procure
themselves husbands. And to procure luck when a
person goes out to transact business, you must throw
an old shoe after him. To spit on the first money re-
ceived for the price of goods sold on any day will pro-
cure luck. And that boxers must spit in their liands
before they set to, for luck's sake.
Seamen have a superstition that if they whistle in
a storm, the storm will be increased. And in time of
a calm, they practise "whistling to call the ivind, as
they term it. Among farmers, in setting a hen, it is
deemed lucky to use an odd number of eggs. Among
soldiers, salutes with cannon must be of an odd num-
ber. A royal salute is thrice seven, or twenty-one
guns. Healths are drank odd. Yet the number tlm'-
teen is sometimes deemed ominous ; it being supposed
that when thirteen persons meet in a room, one of
them will die within the year. To know whether a
woman shall have the man she desires, it is' directed
to get two lemon peels, and wear them all day, one in
each pocket, and at night rub the four posts of the bed-
stead with them. K she is to succeed, the person
will appear to her in her sleep, and present her with a
couple of lemons. If not, there is no room for hope.
And again the fair ones are directed to take a piece
of wedding cake, draw it thrice through the wedding
ring, lay it under their pillow, and they will certainly
dream of their future husbands. A thousand other
equally successful methods have been proposed to
solve the mysteries of future fortune ; and yet the
magical stone, that will turn all our schemes into
wished-for realities, remains to be discovered. As
time advances, and knowledge pervades the abodes
MODERN MIRACLES.
79
of darkness and ignorance, all this trumpery of
ghosts, witches, fairies, tricks, and omens will go
down to the "tomb of the Capulets." People will
be able to pass through the chm-chyard, sleep in an
old house, though the wind whistle ever so shrill,
without encountering any supernatural visitations.
They will become wise enough to trace private and
public calamities to other causes than the crossing of
knives, the click of an insect, or even the portentous
advent of a comet. Thanks to the illustrious names
recorded in the annals of science and letters, who
have contributed towards so happy a consummation.
. CHAPTEK XI.
MODERN MIRACLES.
There are some who profess to believe in modern
miracles. But such belief necessarily partakes of su-
perstition. The Savior gave no intimation that mira-
cles should continue after the establishment of Chris-
tianity. He promised to be with his apostles even
unto the end of that age. He declared that all who
believed their instructions should also have power to
cast out devils, heal diseases, speak with new tongues,
and withstand any deadly thing. But his promise
did not extend beyond the immediate converts of the
apostles. And we have no satisfactory evidence that
miracles were wrought by any but these ; while we
have abundant testimony that our Savior's promise
80 MODERN MIRACLES.
was literally fulfilled. In fact, there was no necessity
for miracles after the establishment of Christianity.
They were first wrought as so many testimonies that
Jesus was the sent of God ; and at the same time,
were so many significant emblems of his designs, so
many types and figures, aptly representing the benefits
to be conferred upon the human race. But they were
not designed to be perpetuated ; for a history of di-
vine revelation was committed to writing, and trans-
lated into the prevailing languages of the civilized
world. If any could be so obstinate as not to be con-
vinced of its divine origin by the mass of evidence
with which it was accompanied, neither would they
believe, though one should rise from the dead.
Pretended modern miracles admit of an easy ex-
planation on natural principles. Diseases have been
suddenly healed ; but imagination effected the cure.
Visions, ghosts, and apparitions have been seen ; but
they existed only in the minds of the observers, and
were caused by some mental or bodily operation.
But nothing of this kind can be said of the mkacles
of Christ. His cannot be accounted for on any
natural principles, but must have been caused by di-
vine miraculous agency.
Modern miracles are not supported by satisfactory
evidence. They have been mostly wrought in secret.
No witnesses can be produced but the most inter-
ested. This was not the case with those of our
Savior. They were performed openly, and in the
presence of friends and enemies. They could not be
deceptions ; for the resurrection of a dead person
could be tested by the evidence of the senses. The
remark of Judge Howe may be appropriately intro-
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 81
(Inced in this connection. He had thoroughly and im-
partially studied the evidences of Christianity, and a
firm belief in its divine origin was the result. He ob-
served that no jury could be found that would give a
verdict against Christianity, if the evidences on both
sides could be fairly presented before them, and they
were governed in forming their opinion by the com-
mon rules of belief. The truth of this observation is
confirmed by the fact, that candid inquirers after
truth have uniformly risen from an examination of the
evidences of Christianity believers in its divine origin.
The same cannot be said of modern miracles. No
jury could be obtained of disinterested persons, who
would give a verdict in their favor. Therefore we
have no satisfactory evidence of their reality. Our
safest course is to admit the conclusion of eminent
writers of all denominations, namely, that miracles
ceased with the first converts of Christianity.
CHAPTER XII.
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
Many have professed a belief in the divine inspira-
tion of some one of the many false prophets or Christs
that have appeared in diflerent ages of the church.
In the year 1830, there was a man in this country,
calling himself Matthias, who declared that he was
the v^ry Christ, and pretended that he had come to
judge the world. And strange as it may seem, he
82 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
was attended by some individuals of quite respectable
standing, who worshipped him as God ! He appearea
in pontifical robes, with his rule in his right hand, and
his two-edged sword in the left. Underneath a rich
olive broadcloth cloak, lined and faced with silk and
velvet, he wore a brown frock coat, with several stars
on each breast, and a splendid golden star on his left
breast. His belt was of white cloth fastened by a
golden clasp, sm-mounted by an eagle. He occasion-
ally put on a cocked hat, of black beaver, trimmed
with green, the rear angle being surmounted by the
golden symbol of glory.
On being asked where his residence was, and what
was his occupation, he replied, " I am a traveller, and
my legal residence is Zion Hill, Westchester county.
New York ; I am a Jewish teacher and priest of the
Most High, saying and doing all that I do, under oath,
by virtue of my having subscribed to all the covenants
that God hath made with man from the beginning up
to this time. I am chief high priest of the Jews o^
the order of Melchizedec, being the last chosen of the
twelve apostles, and the first in the resurrection which
is at the end of 2300 years from the birth of Maho-
met, which terminated in 1830, that being the summit
of the power of the false prophets. I am now de-
nouncing judgment on the Gentiles, and that judg-
ment is to be executed in this age. All the blood
from Zacharias till the death of the last witness
is required of this generation. Before this genera-
tion passeth away, this judgment shall be executed
and declared. The hour of God's judgment is come."
Matthias commenced his public career in Albany ;
but not making many converts there, he soon removed
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND tUIRISTS. 83
to the city of New York. Here he met with but little
success for some time ; but it appears that in the
autumn of 1832, he had succeeded in ingratiating
himself into the favor of a number of individuals,
among whom were three of the most wealthy and re-
spectable merchants of Pearl Street. He representeck
liimself to them to be the Spirit of Truth, which had
disappeared from the earth at the death of Matthias
mentioned in the New Testament, and that the spirit
of Jesus Christ entered into that Matthias whom he
now represented, having risen again from the dead.
This blasphemous impostor pretended to possess the
spirit of Jesus of Nazareth, and that he now, at his
second appearance of the spirit, was the Father, and
had power to do all things, forgiving sins, and com-
municating the Holy Ghost to such as believed on
him. And what was most astonishing and unparal-
leled, these men, who were before professors of the
Christian religion, were blind enough to believe and
confide in all he imposed on them.
So completely did he succeed in deluding these
men, and in impressing them with the belief that he
was actually a high priest of the order of the mysteri-
ous Melchizedec, upon a divine mission to establish
the kingdom of God upon the earth, that he obtained
entire control over them and their estates. " I know
the end of all things," he would assert, illustrating it
by placing a piece of paper in a drawer, leaving one
end upon the outside, and saying, " You can see but
one end of the paper, and so the world sees ; but 1
see the whole length of it — I see the end."
Whenever he saw fit to call upon his dupes to con
tribute of their substance for his support and the pro
■ 84 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
motion of the kingdom he was about to establish, he
did' so ; and if they refused to provide him whatever
money he desired, he threatened to visit upon them
(which he declared he had the po^ver to do) the
wrath of the Almighty. But if they beliiwed in him
and obeyed him in all things, he promised them tlia.t
they should be called into the kingdom, and he would
forgive all their sins, and they should enjoy eternal
happiness. Impudent and blasphemous as such lan-
guage and pretensions truly were, the intended eifect
was produced, and the prophet received new encour-
agement by the gratification of pecuniary abundance.
This object gained, he was enabled to adorn his per-
son with costly apparel, and to obtain other appurte-
nances and furniture which he thought were neces-
sary, that all things' might correspond to the nature
and dignity of the office which he had assumed.
In August, 1833, two of his friends and proselytes,
Messrs. Pierson and Folger, were residing at Sing
Sing, Westchester county. Thither, about that time,
Matthias repaired, and took up his residence with
Mr. Folger and family. In a week or two, Matthias
came to the conclusion that their dwelling-place did
not correspond with his character, and accordingly
suggested to Folger and Pierson that it was their
duty to hire, for his use, a house which he might con-
secrate wholly to himself. In this he was accommo-
dated, not only without any hesitation, but with the
acknowledgment that the request was reasonable.
Soon after this, it appeared to Matthias's mind, that
his habitation should not be subject to worldly inter-
ests or infidel intrusion ; and he accordingly presumed
to require of his two obedient followers the purchase of
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 85
a house to be exclusively his own. With this re-
quest they agreed to comply. Before it waa accom-
plished, however, Matthias manifested some new at-
tribute of his character, and accompanied the revela-
tion by an effort to make Folger believe that the
house in which he then resided at Sing Sing, and had
purchased some time previous for the use of himself
and family, was purchased at the instigation of the
Spirit of Truth, for him, Matthias — Folger having
been the instrument under the influence of that Spirit
for that purpose ! So complete was Matthias's con-
trol, that Folger believed even this ! And having re-
sided with Messrs. Folger and Pierson about two
months, he took this house, thus miraculously pur-
chased, into his own especial charge. Matthias then
requked these gentlemen to give him an account of
tbeu- property, and having obtained this statement,
which exhibited their easy circumstances, he required
both of them to enter into an agreement to support
him, assuring them they should receive the blessing
of God by so doing. This agreement was according-
ly entered into, and Matthias enjoyed the full benefits
of it for several months, when Mr. Folger became
bankrupt. His wants were afterwards supplied by
Pierson, until the death of Mr. P., which took place
under very suspicious circumstances. It seems that a
short time previous to this melancholy event, and
while Mr. Pierson was yet in health, Matthias pre-
vailed upon him to assign him his whole estate.
And it seemed, by Matthias's account on his examina-
tion, that Messrs. Folger, Pierson, and Mills frequent-
ly declared to him that they believed him to be the
Father, and that he was qualified to establish God's
8
86 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND ClIRISTS
kingdom on earth, and that Zion Hill, which was the
place miraculously purchased at Sing Sing, was
transferred to him for that purpose, together with
horses, carnages, and furniture of a house in Third
Street, New York — that it was also agreed that the
house and lot in Third Street should be conveyed to
him, and that Mr. Pierson directed a deed to be made
out accordingly, but died before it was completed.
He still considered the property as his own for the
original purpose, and considered it the beginning of
the establishment of the kingdom. It is certain that
Mr. Pierson was suddenly taken sick, and it was be-
lieved to be immediately after this contract was made.
He fell under the care of Matthias, who would neither
allow his friends to visit him, nor to call medical aid,
declaring himself to " have power of life and death"
Mr. Pierson's body having been removed to New Jer-
sey for interment, a post mortem examination was
held by four respectable physicians, all of whom cer-
tified that they found in the stomach a " large quanti-
ty of an umvholesome and deadly substance^ Mat-
thias was therefore arrested with the charge of having
■")oisoned Mr. Pierson, on which he gave bail for ap-
pearance at court.
Soon after this, he went to the city of New York,
and entering the family of Mr. Folger, resided with
them for several months ; but the mysterious death of
Mr. Pierson, and the attending cii'cumstances, having
shaken the confidence of Mr. Folger and his fanaiy,
they began to be conscious of their delusion, and
resolved to abandon Matthias and his principles. On
announcing their determination to him, he resorted to
his old practice of threats and promises, and told them
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 87
they must not throw him destitute on the world ; that,
if they did so, the blessing of God would depart from
them, and sickness and perhaps death would follow ;
but if they gave him money to support him, the bless-
ing of God should continue to them. Mr. Folger
having become bankrupt, Matthias perhaps was will-
ing to leave him — not, however, without having first
insisted on a supply of money, which he obtained to
the amount of six hundred and thirty dollars, and im-
mediately left the city. On the morning of that day,
Matthias partook of a very little breakfast, and scarcely
Tasted of the coffee, alleging, as an excuse, that he was
ill. Immediately after breakfast, Mr. Folger, his wife,
and children were taken sick. Mr. Folger did not sus-
pect the cause of their illness, until after Matthias had
left the city, when, upon examination, he learned that
the black woman who did the cooking for the family
had also abstained from the use of coffee that morning ;
and from other circumstances he became confirmed
that the woman was bribed by Matthias to poison the
family. The effort was unsuccessful, the poison pro-
ducing but a temporary effect. This nefarious transac-
tion induced Mr. Folger to procure the arrest of Mat-
thias, firmly convinced, at this melancholy stage, that
he was a base impostor.
The third gentleman named as one of the dupes of
Matthias became a lunatic under the unfortunate
delusion. But on a removal to the country, and from
the influence of the " prophet," he recovered, and be-
came convinced of his lamentable error.
In the sequel, it appeared that Matthias had received
in the aggregate, from these gentlemen, about ten
thousand dollars in money, and negotiable paper, which
88 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
he appropriated in furnishing the establishment at Zion
Hill and in Third Street. And by whatever means he
obtained money, it is evident he used it for the wildest
and most extravagant purposes. His wardrobe was
most bountifully supplied with new boots, shoes, and
pumps ; linen shirts of the most exquisite fineness, the
wristbands fringed with delicate lace ; silk stockings,
handkerchiefs, and gloves; coats embroidered with
gold ; merino morning dresses ; and two caps made of
linen cambric, folded in the form of a mitre, richly em-
broidered, one with the names of the twelve apostles
written around it, and " Jesus Matthias " adorning the
front in prominent characters, the other surrounded
with the names of the twelve tribes, the front like the
other. With his two-edged sword (with gold chain
and mountings) he was to destroy the Gentiles, as
Gideon did the IVIidianites. With his six feet rule
he was to measure the New Jerusalem, " the gates
thereof, and the waUs thereof," and divide it into lots
for those who believed on him, and obeyed the Spirit
of Truth, as it came from him, the trumpet. With the
golden key which he possessed, he was to unlock the
gates of paradise.
Somewhat versed in the rites and antiquities of the
Jews, this impostor united with a quick and active
mind a considerable cunning, a fluent speech, and a
vast amount of persevering impudence, and endeav-
ored to impress his dogmas by assuming a sanctified
and uncompromising air, and by invariably fixing
upon his victim his remarkably fierce and penetrating
eyes. He reasoned plausibly and ingeniously, and
was exceedingly subtle at evasion. Although he never
could hav^ obtaired an extensive and permanent influ-
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 89
ence, even if his knavery had not been detected, since
his schemes were too wild and incoherent, and his
demands too absurd to produce an effect that would
endure beyond his actual and immediate presence, yet
that his blasphemous pretensions should have gained
any credence among intelligent minds is to be greatly
lamented. The whole history of these transactions
will form a dark page in the records of modern fanat-
icism, and will present an enduring but melancholy
evidence of the weakness of human nature.
As an excuse for the conduct of Matthias, or Mat-
thews, which was his real name, he was supposed by
some to be laboring under monomania, partly hered-
itary and partly superinduced by religious fanaticism
and frenzy. Still, he was not without " method in his
madness ; " and it seems evident that, with a tinge of
insanity, he was also much of a knave, and probably
a dupe in part to his own imposture. During his
confinement in jail, awaiting his trial for the alleged
murder of Mr. Pierson, Matthias issued a decree, com-
manding all the farmers to lay aside their ploughs,
declaring, "As I live, there shall be no more sowing in
the earth until I, the twelfth and last of the apostles,
am delivered out of the house of bondage." He also
prophesied that if he were convicted, White Plains
should be destroyed by an earthquake, and not an
inhabitant be left to tell the tale of its destruction ;
and strange to say, men were not found wanting who
believed in his absurd and blasphemous predictions.
On trial, the physicians who had examined the stom-
ach of the deceased were led to suspect poison, but
could not say positively that poison had been admin-
ist?red ; whereupon the prisoner vras discharged, on the
8*
90 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
ground tl at no evidence had been produced to convict
him either of murder or manslaughter. In the case of
his arrest at the instigation of Mr. Folger, that gentle-
man afterwards wrote to the district attorney, request-
ing him to dismiss the case, it not appearing to be an
indictable one, and declaring, that the day — "so far
as passing himself for a pure and upright man — ''has
passed, and there is no danger of his imposing upon
any one here or elsewhere." In a letter written by
Mr. Folger, dated New York, Nov. 8, 1834, and pub-
lished in the Commercial Advertiser, Mr. Folger says,
" My object is now to rid myself of him and all con-
nected with him, with as little trouble as possible. Mr.
Pierson, myself, and family have been deeply, very
deeply deluded, deceived, and imposed upon ; and I
regret exceedingly that the former could not have been
spared to witness the deep deception. We are sensi-
ble of our error — we repent it sincerely ; and although
we cannot expect to recover, at present, the situation
which we held in society previous to our acquaintance
with this vile creature, yet in time we shall be able to
show that we are enemies to him, and all who under-
take to sustain him in his wickedness and plans to
destroy us."
For closeness of resemblance, in many striking fea-
tures, to the case of Matthias, was that of the Anabap-
tists of Munster, in Germany, which excited the won-
der of Europe during the early part of the seventeenth
century, and of which such strange accounts are to be
found in the histories of that epoch. The similarity
between the principal of this sect, known as John of
Leyden, and Matthews, not only in doctrine, but in
worldly obsirvance, in the passion for magnificence of
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 91
apparel and luxurious living, and in the rites and cer-
emonies exacted by each, is so remarkable as almost to
lead to the conclusion that the latter had formed himself
and his creed upon the model of his ancient prototype.
' The number of deluded proselytes who blindly followed
the dictates of the Anabaptist leader was at one time
so great, and their power so formidable, that several
princes of Germany united against them ; and it was
not until after a vigorous siege, and an obstinate
resistance, that the city of Munster, of which the
fanatics had obtained complete possession, was taken
and their power broken down.
This John of Leyden wore upon his head a triple
crown of gold, richly adorned with gems. Around his
neck he wore, suspended by a golden chain, an orna-
ment of gold, representing the terrestrial globe, with a
cross, and two swords, one of gold, the other of silver,
with the inscription, " King of Righteousness over
the whole world." He also assumed the title of "the
Father," and he required all his followers to pledge
themselves to do his will, and, if necessary, to suffer
death at his command, or in his defence and service.
He enjoined and enforced a community of goods, a
surrender of all possessions, land, money, arms, and
merchandise to him, as the Father and Lord of all,
to be employed by him in the universal establishment
of his kingdom ; and he denounced the vengeance of
Heaven and eternal damnation on all such as refused
to believe in him and do his will. All churches and
convents he commanded to be destroyed, the priests
denounced as children of darkness, and all sovereigns
he would put to death. He proclaimed the nullity
of aU marriages, except such as were solemnized by
92 PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CPFRISTS.
himse. f or his o^\m prophets, but enjoined polygamy,
himself setting the example. Each of his principal
followers had from six to eight wives, and both men
and women were compelled to marry. He taught
that no man xinderstood the Scriptures but himself, or
those whom he enlightened with his spririt, and all
the prophecies in the Old Testament, relating to the
Savior, he applied to himself, and proclaimed their
fulfilment in the establishment of his kingdom.
In our own country, the most surprising instance of
imposture and delusion, perhaps, that has occurred,
was that of the Cochranites, whose enormities in licen-
tiousness made so much stir in Maine and New Hamp-
shire a few years since. Cochrane was an officer in
the army, thrown out of commission by the reduction
of the military establishment of the United States,
after the conclusion of the last war with England.
Having become poor and penniless, he left Portland,
and struck off into the country, seeking his fortune,
and caring not whither he went. One day, as night
drew on, he found himself near a farm house, weary
and hungry, and without a penny to purchase a mouth-
ful of food or the use of a pillow for the night. The
thought struck him suddenly of throwing himself upon
the hospitality of the farmer, for the occasion, in the
character of a minister. Introducing himself as such
to the family, he was cordially received, and as the
country was new and destitute of clergymen, the good
people forthwith despatched messengers to the neigh-
bors, that a minister had come among them, and in-
vited them into attend a meeting. The impostor haj
not anticipated so speedy a trial of his clerical charac
ter ; but having assumed it, there was no escape —
PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. 93
he must act the part, for the time being, in the best
way he could. Being neither ignorant nor destitute of
talents, he succeeded in acquitting himself much bet-
ter than he had anticipated, and gave so much satis-
faction to his audience as to induce him to persevere
in the imposture he had commenced. As he acquired
skill and confidence by practice in his new vocation,
his popularity increased, and he soon found it a profit-
able occupation. He was followed by multitudes,
and it was not long before he announced himself as
some great one, and founded a new sect of religionists.
His command over the audiences which he addressed
is said to have been wonderful, and his influence over
his followers unbounded. It seemed as though he was
enabled to hold the victims of his impostures in a state
of enchantment. A professor in an eastern college
having heard of the wonderful sway which Cochrane
held over his disciples, and of the impressions he made
upon casual hearers, determined one evening to go and
witness his performances. While present, although a
very cool and grave personage, he said he felt some
strange, undefinable, mysterious influence creeping over
him to such a degree, that he was obliged actually to
tear himself away, in apprehension of the consequences.
This gentleman, however, was a believer in animal
magnetism, and was therefore inclined to attribute it
to that cause. It was said that if the impostor did
but touch the hand or neck of a female, his power
over her person and reason was complete. Conse-
quently it led to the most open and loathsome sensu-
ality. So atrocious was his conduct, that he seduced
great numbers of females, married and unmarried,
under the pretext of raising up a holy race of men.
94 PRETfiNDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS.
The peace of many families was broken up, and the
village kept an establishment like a geraglio — a disgust-
ing and melancholy commentary upon the weakne?s
of human nature. His career, however, was but of
short duration.
A history of religious impostures would form a
library of itself. The human mind, in all ages and
countries, and under all forms of government and
religion, seems to have been wonderfully susceptib-3
of delusion and imposition upon that subject, which,
of all others, is the most important for time and
eternity. The court of Egypt was deluded by the
impostors who undertook to contend with Moses.
And the chosen people themselves, notwithstanding
the direct disclosures w^hich the Most High had made
of himself, in all their wonderful history, were prone
to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to
follow the lying spirits of the prophets of Baal and
other deceivers, from the days of Moses till the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem. So, likewise, under the Christian
dispensation, from the defection of Simon Magus to
the wild delirium of Edward Irving, there have been
a succession of Antichrists, until their name is legion
— pretenders to divine missions, the power of working
miracles, the gift of tongues — perverting the Scrip-
tures, leading astray silly men and women — destroy-
ing the peace of families, throwing communities into
confusion, and firebrands into the church — clouding
the understandings, and blinding the moral percep-
tions of men, and subverting the faith of these even
whose mountains stood strong, and who had been
counted among the chosen people of God. " In the
last days," says the apostle Peter, " there shall come
PRETENDED PROPHETS AISTD CHRISTS. 95
scoffers, walking after their own lusts," — " chiefly
them which walk after the flesh, in the lust of un-
cleanness, and despise government ; presumptuous
are they, self-willed ; they are not afraid to speak evil
of dignities ; sporting themselves in their own deceiv-
ings, having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot
cease from sin ; beguiling unstable souls ; for when
they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure
through the flesh, through much wantonness, those
that were clean escaped from them who live in error ;
while they promise them liberty, they themselves are
the servants of corruption." Jude also admonishes us
" to remember that they were foretold as mockers,
who should be in the last time, who should walk after
their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate
themselves, sensual, not having the Spirit."
^ It is wonderful to observe with what precision these
prophecies have been fulfilled by the clouds of im-
postors who have appeared — " spoken great swollen
words of vanity," and fallen — since the inspired sen-
tences were uttered. And it may be regarded as one
of the evidences of the truth of inspiration, that, had
the long array of apostates and deceivers actually
stood before the sacred penmen, at the time of their
writing, their characters all naked before them, the
likenesses, from the first Christian apostate to the
sdlisual Mormons, could not have been drawn with
greater fidelity. The " Truth of God," distinctly
set forth in the book of Revelation, is an infallible
criterion by which to test the true character of any
religious opinion or practice ; nor can any radical or
fundamental error long escape detection, when sub-
jected to this plain and unerring standard.
pfi
MORMON SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER Xni.
MORMON SUPERSTITION.
A CERTAIN Joseph Smith, Jr., pretended, a few years
ago, to have been directed by the Spirit of God to dig,
in a hill, in the township of Manchester, Ontario coun-
ty, New York, for a set of golden plates which were
there concealed, and upon which were inscribed sacred
records by the hands of Mormon. He obeyed the
direction and found the plates. The inscriptions upon
them were in an unknown tongue. But, by the special
power of the Spirit, Smith was enabled to translate
them. A volume containing these writings was soon
after published, constituting, in the whole, fifteen books,
purporting to have been written at different times, and
by the different authors whose names they respectively
bear. In these writings there seems to be a bungling
attempt to imitate the style of the sacred Scriptures.
But the attempt is manifestly unsuccessful. Nearly
two thirds of the paragraphs are introduced with the
phrase, "And it came to pass." In endeavoring to
preserve the solemn style of the Scriptures, there is
great disregard of grammatical propriety. We read,
" The Lord sayeth unto me, and I sayeth unto the
Lord." Perhaps a few extracts, selected at chance,
will give the reader a more correct idea of the general
style of the book than any remarks we might offer.
" And it came to pass that when they had arriven
in the borders of the land of the Lamanites."
" And it came to pass that I Nephi did make
hellowses wherewith to blow the fire."
MORMON SUPERSTITION. 97
" And it came to pass that Limhi and many of his
people was desirous to be baptized."
The Mormon preachers claim for themselves and the
members of their church the power of working miracles,
and of speaking with new tongues. They jabber with
Bome strange sounds, and call this the speaking with
tonjrues. They assert it as a fact, that among them
the dead have been raised, and the sick healed, as in
the days of Christ and his apostles. From these facts,
as they call them, they draw the conclusion that they
are the members of the true church of Christ. The
doctrine increases among men ; and well it may, for
there are ckcumstances in the condition and views of
those who embrace it which are calculated to secure
its success. In a large portion of the community there
is a great degree of ignorance in regard to the geog-
raphy of the sacred Scriptm-es, the manners and
customs of the Jews, and the natural history of the
Bible. There are many who read their Bibles daily,
and with true devotional feelings, it may be, who have
no idea that the places mentioned in sacred history,
like those mentioned in any other history, can be
traced on the map, can be found and visited at the
present day, although disguised under modern names.
It makes no part of their study of the Bible to ascer-
tain where the places mentioned are to be found, and
\\hat they are now called. They have no idea that
the allusions to manners and customs, found in the
Bible, can be understood, through an acquaintance
with the practices and habits of the people described ;
and, consequently, the study of Jewish manners and
customs makes no part of their preparation for under-
standing the Scriptures. They have no idea that the
Q
98 MORMON SUPERSTITION.
allusion in Scripture to facts in natural history car be
verified by an acquaintance with that science, and
therefore they make no exertions to understand the
natural history of the Bible. They do not take up
the Bible and read it with the expectation of being
able to understand it, in regard to these particulars,
as they would understand any other book. All such
are prepared, by their ignorance on these subjects, to
become the dupes of the Mormon delusion ; or, at
least, they are not prepared to withstand this delu-
sion. They open the Book of Mormon, claiming to
be a kind of appendix to the Bible. The paragraphs
begin with the phrase, " And behold it came to pass."
They read of the cities of Zarahemla, Gid, Mulek,
Corianton, and a multitude of others. They read
of prophets and preachers, of faith, repentance, and
obedience ; and having been accustomed, in rea^ling
the Scriptures, to take all such things just as the;y are
presented, without careful examination, they can see
no reason why all this is not as much entitled to belief
as are the records of the Old and New Testaments.
But if, on the contrary, they were acquainted with the
geography and the natural history of the Bioie, and
with the manners and customs of the nati->ns there
mentioned, and especially if, in their reading of the
Scriptures, they were accustomed to examine carefully
into these points, they would at once perceive the
litter impossibility of identifying the cities mentioned
in the Book of Mormon with any geographical traces
which they can now make. They would thus perceive
the deception, and be put on their guard. And then,
too, upon further examination, they would discover
that the manners and customs of the people, the senti-
MORMON SUPERSTITION. 99
ments and disputes, are not such as belong to the
period of the world in which the people are represent-
ed to have lived ; that they take their coloring from
modern customs, from modern opinions and contro-
versies ; and, upon these discoveries, they would be
led to reject the whole as a fabrication.
Many are deceived in consequence of the fluency of
the preachers in warning sinners. They pray with
fervor ; the people are affected ; and the Spnit of God
is declared to be present, ow^ning and blessing the
work. But there is deception here. It is but a few
years since the Cochrane delusion, as it is called, pre-
vailed in and around the village of Saco, Maine.
What gave that delusion so much success ? It was
because Cochrane spoke ^vith great fluency, warned
sinners with great earnestness, and poured forth his
prayers with zealous fervor. The people became
aftected ; many were in tears ; many sobbed aloud,
cried for mercy, and some became prostrate on the
floor. " Surely," it was remarked, " the doctrines
advanced by Cochrane must be true, the preaching of
them being so signally owned and blessed of God."
In this way, men of sound judgment in other respects
are carried away by false views and appearances, and
become the dupes of the most extravagant sentiments
and delusions. They become " zealously affected,"
but it is not, as the apostle says, " in a good thing."
A correct knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, and of
proper principles in regard to the study of the Bible,
with sound and rational views of the nature of religion,
and of the influences of the Holy Spirit, will serve to
correct all such tendencies to error and deception.
From the best account that has been published
100 MORMON supi:rstition.
respecting the origin of the Mormon Bible, it appears
that it was written by an individual named Solomon
Spaulding, some twenty-five years ago ; but without
the least intention, on the part of the author, of fram-
ing a system of delusion for his fellow-men. This
Spaulding was a native of Ashford, in Connecticut,
where he was distinguished, at an early age, for his
devotion to study, and for the superiority of his suc-
cess over that of his schoolmates. He received aa
academic education, and commenced the study of law
at Windham ; but his mind inclining to religious sub-
jects, he abandoned the law, went to Dartmouth Col-
lege, prepared himself for the ministry, and was
regularly ordained. For some reasons unknown he
soon abandoned that profession, and established him-
self as a merchant at Cherry Valley, New York. Failing
in trade, he removed to Conneaut, in Ohio, where he
built a forge ; but again failed, and was reduced to
great poverty. While in this condition, he endeavored
to turn his education to account, by ^vriting a book,
the sale of w^hich he hoped would enable him to pay
his debts and support his family. The subject selected
by him was one well suited to his religious education.
It was an historical novel, containing an account of the
aborigines of America, who were supposed by some
to have descended from the ten tribes of Israel.
The work was entitled the " Manascript Found,"
and the history commenced with one Lehi, who lived
in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judea, six hundred
years before the Christian era. Lehi, being warned
of Heaven of the dreadful calamities that were im-
pending over Jerusalem, abandoned his possessions,
and fled with his family to the wilderness. After
RJORMON SUPERSTITION. 101
wandering for some time, they arrived at the Red Sea,
and embarked on board a vessel. In this, after float-
ing about for a long time, they reached America, and
landed at the Isthmus of Darien. From the different
branches of this family were made to spring all the
Indian nations of this continent. From time to time
they rose to high degrees of civilization and refine-
ment; but desolating wars among themselves scat-
tered and degraded them. The Manuscript was writ-
ten in the style of the Bible, the old English style of
James the First. When the work was ready for the
press, Spaulding endeavored to obtain the pecuniary
assistance necessary for its publication, but his affairs
were in so low a condition that he could not succeed.,.
He then removed to Pittsburg, and afterwards to
Amity, in Pennsylvania, where he died. By some
means or other, the Manuscript fell into the hands of
Joseph Smith, Jr., who afterwards published it under
the name of the " Golden Bible." Smith was the son
of very poor and superstitious parents, and was for a
long time engaged in digging for Kidd's money, and
other feats of like description. Possessing considerable
shrewdness, he became somewhat skilled in feats of
necromancy and juggling. He had the address to
collect about him a gang of idle and credulous young
men, whom he employed in digging for hidden treas
ures. It is pretended that, in one O- the excavation
they made, the mysterious plates from which th*
Golden Bible was copied were found. Such, brief] ^'
is the origin of the Mormon faith — a humbug tvi
which not a few, otherwise sensible men, have pinned
their hopes of happiness here and hereafter.
After the death of Joseph Smith, and shortly befoit,
9*
102 MILLER DKLUSION.
the Mormons were driven out from Illinois, many of
the disciples of the gi-eat impostor seceded and re-
fused to acknowledge the leadership of the knowing
twelve who becames his successors. Among them
were a very pious Mormon named McGhee Vanduzen,
and his wife Maria. They soon gave to the v/orld an
exposition of the shameful manoeuvres attendant upon
Mormonism as a religion ; of the absurd and indecent
ceremonies which the unprincipled leaders of that
wicked imposture enforced upon their infatuated
disciples. Smith, and his associate leaders at Nauvoo,
evidently established these ceremonies for the base
purpose of enticing the more beautiful females among
his disciples to their ruin and disgrace. The shame-
ful character of the mysteries developed could lead to
no other conclusion.
Says the Boston Traveller, of April 21, 1852,
" The rapid spread of Mormonism is one of the mys-
teries of the age. A more barefaced delusion, except
that of the spiritual rappings, w^as never imposed on
the all-swallowing credulity of mankind. Yet it has
gained adherents by thousands in Europe as well as
in the United States."
CHAPTER XIV.
MILLER DELUSION.
A MAN by the name of William Miller published a
book in the year 1836, in which he undertook to show
+.hat this earth would be destroyed in the year 1843.
MILLER DELUSION. lOei
His calculaticiii, as to the transpiration of such an
event during the said year, is founded upon the proph-
ecy of Daniel, that the sanctuary should be cleansed !
in two thousand three hundred days. He took the
days to mean years, and began his reckoning from the
going forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem,
mentioned in a subsequent vision. Why did he not
begin the reckoning from the date of the vision itself ?
Because this would not answer Mr. Miller's turn. To
tell the people that the earth was to be burned up
in 1747, would produce little or no excitement. He
must hit upon a time for the beginning which would
m&,ke the end yet future, in order to gratify his love
for the marvellous.
That Mr. Miller intended to manage his reckoning
of time to suit his own scheme, is obvious from his
different computations of time, to make his interpre-
tations of other prophecies comport with his applica-
tion of the two thousand three hundred days. Daniel
says, " And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall
be taken away, and the abomination that maketh
desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred
and ninety days." " Blessed . is he that waiteth, and
Cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and
thirty days." Taking the thousand three hundred and
thirty-five days to reach from the taking away of the
daily sacrifice, and setting up the abomination that
makelh desolate, to the resurrection, he subtracts the
thousand three hundred and thirty-five from it, and
finds the remainder to be five hundred and eight,
which must, to suit his calculation, be the year of our
Lord in which the daily sacrifice should be taken
away, &c. Then, t<i get at the taking away of a daily
104 MILLER DELUSION. *
sacrifice, and the setting up of an abomination that
maketh desolate, which should come any. where in the
neighborhood of this date, he makes the taking away
of the daily sacrifice to be the doing away of the pagan
worship in Rome, and the setting up the abomination
spoken of to be the commencement of the Papal
authority. This he sets at A. D. 508, without refer-
ence to fact, because his reckoning of prophetic time
brings it so. The truth is, that the pagan charac-
ter of Rome ceased soon after the conversion of the
Emperor Constantine to Christianity, which was
about A. D. 313. This makes about 195 years' dif-
ference in the age of the world, and brings it to an
end in 1648, over 200 years ago !
But let us examine a little farther. Having come,
as we have shown, at A. D. 508, which, having taken
from the years of Christ's life 33, leaves 475 from the
death of Christ, he proceeds to add up: The 70
weeks, or 490 years, to the crucifixion of Christ, 490 ;
from the crucifixion of Christ to the taking away the
daily sacrifice, 475. And here are his time, times, and
half, which he takes to be the duration of the pagan
reign, i. e., three years and a half, which, taking a day
for a year, makes 1260.
Here, then, he has his whole time, down to the end
of his second or Papal transgression of desolation,
which he has all along held to be the end of the
world. But these several numbers added amount to
but 2225, 75 short of the 2300, reckoning from the
going forth of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. And
what now shall be done ? How shall the 75 years
be made up to bring the 3nd of the world to 1843 ?
Why, he succeeds in finding two different numbers in
MILLER DELUSION. lUO
the 12th of Daniel, viz., 1290 and 1335. And noth-
ing is easier, when you have two different numbers, to
substract the less from the greater. This he does in
the present case, and finds the difference to be just 45.
Well, what -of that ? Why, he says this is the time
which was to elapse between the destruction of the
great beast in his second or Papal character, and the res-
urrection ! He does not pretend that the vision men-
tions this, but so he fixes it. He is like a country
schoolmaster, who, not always finding it easy to
manage by rules, when a scholar would carry him a
sum which he could not work, he would look at the
answer in the book, and get the difference between
that and his own, and then he would slip in the ascer-
tained difference, somewhere in the operation, to be
added or substracted, as the case might require, to
bring the answer as he wished it.
But although he succeeded in finding 45 years, he
is still minus 30, for it brings out the end in 1813.
And how shall the other 30 years be found ? It must
be gotten somehow, for who will believe it as it now
stands ? Yet this extraordinary man meets with no
difficulty in finding the 30 years. In his parade of
parts, of factors, to make up the great whole, he sets
down for the space between the putting down of the
Pagan power, to the setting up the same power, 30
years ! And how he gets this number there, no mor-
tal can tell. Yes, he tells us himself.
Considering himself so great a prophet, he seems
to think that his own suppositions will certainly pass
among others as good authority. He therefore un-
blushingly tells us that he supposes this 30 years.
Hear him, /page 96.) " Therefore, to reconcile these
106 MILLER DELUSION.
two statem3nts, we must conclude there were 30 years
from A. D. 508, when paganism ceased, before the
image beast, or Papal Rome, would begin her reign.
If this is correct, then," &c.
Here, then, the foundation on which he keeps the
world standing from 1813 to 1843, is a simple if.
And to get in these supposititious 30 years, between the
death of the pagan and the life of the Papal beast, he
involves himself in a maze of absurdity. He makes
the taking away of the daily sacrifice to be the put-
ting an end to the Papal beast, that did daily sacrifice
to idol abominations. The little horn, by whom the
daily sacrifice was taken away, Mr. Miller takes to be
the Papal beast, or Catholic church. This beast takes
away the daily sacrifice, i. e., puts an end to the pa-
gan beast, and yet does not exist until 30 years after
the pagan beast is dead. This is truly an unheard-
of strait for a schemer to come to, to be obliged, in
order to bring out his reckoning, to get 30 years be-
tween the existence of two beasts, one of "which kills
the other. The second beast slays the first, and per-
forms many wonderful works, 30 years before he has
any existence ! No marvel that the man who could
see into such mysteries should imagine that he could
see the end of the world in 1843 !
Mr. Miller commits various other errors in his cal-
culations and dates, as, for instance, he states that
pagan Rome commenced 148 years before Christ,
whereas Rome was founded by Romulus, as an inde-
pendent government, 752 years before Christ, being
pagan from its beginning. He dates the erection of
the Papal authority at A. D. 538. By the Papal
power he means, of course, — not the Papal doctrine, for
MILLER DELUSION. 107
that existed much earlier than 538, — but the establish-
ment of the civil authority. And this was not until
about A. D. 750.
Indeed, Mr. Miller is palpably wrong in nearly all
his positions ; and the reason is, he is not looking for
facts, but for reckonings to fill out his own scheme.
And even in this, too, he fails. On page 109 of his
Course of Lectures, first published in 1836, speak-
ing of events to happen in 1839, he holds the follow-
ing language : " He that is filthy will be filthy still.
Mankind will, for a short season, give loose to all the
corrupt passions of the human heart. No laws, hu-
man or divine, will be regarded ; all authority will be
trampled under foot ; anarchy will be the order of
government, and confusion fill the world with horror
and despair. . Murder, treason, and crime will be com-
mon law, and division and disunion the only bond of
fellowship. Christians will be persecuted unto death,
and dens and caves of the earth will be their reti-eat.
All things which are not eternal will be shaken to
pieces, that which cannot be shaken may remain.
And this, if I am right in my calculations, will begin
on or before A. D. 1839. ' And at that time (1839)
thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book.' Now is come salvation
indeed. The people of God are now to be delivered
from outward foes and inbred lusts, from the corrup-
tions of the grave and the vileness of the flesh.
Every one, the poor and despised child of God, will
then (in 1839) be delivered when he makes up his
jewels.' "
Mr. Miller, in finding that things did not take place
as he prophesied, put a note in the end of his book,
108 ; MILLER DELUSION.
on the last page, stating that he had made a mistake
of one year in some of his computations, and hence
these things which he supposed would take place in
1839, according to the first computation, will not be
realized until the year 1840 ! And yet 1840 passed
over our heads, and these things did not take place.
On page 296 of his Lectures, he says the sixth vial
was poured out in 1822, when the Ottoman power be-
gan to be dried up. This he considered to be a very
important sign, indicating that we were on the very
brink of the judgment day. Here he introduces Rev.
xvi. 12. " And the sixth angel poured out his vial
upon the great River Euphrates ; and the waters there-
of were dried up, that the way of the kings of the earth
might be prepared." This preparation, Mr. M. says, is
for the last great battle, which will take place at the
pouring out of the seventh vial, in the year 1839 or
1840. " At the pouring out of the seventh vial, a voice
from the throne will pronounce the words. It is done.
The kingdoms of the earth and the governments of
the world will be carried away, and their places be
known no more." But these kingdoms still remain.
Mr. Miller's last assumption was, that Christ would
come in the spring of 1844, at the date corresponding
with the ending of the Jewish year for 43. Mr. M.
says, in h".s preface to his book, " If I have erred in
my exposition of the prophecies, the time, being so
near at hand, will soon expose my folly." He had al-
ready seen the folly of some of his computations, and
he seemed to fear lest it might prove the same in the
final result also. And this he soon experienced, as
may be seen by reading his confession, made at the
Tabernacle ii Boston, on the evening of May 28,
MILLER DELUSION. 109
1844. He there stated that what he had preached and
published respecting the coming of the Lord in 1S43
was done honestly ; (!) that he fully believed it ; but
that the time had now passed^ and he was proved to
be mistaken; that when the time' arrived and the
event did not take place, he felt bad — felt lonely —
thought he should never have any ^ore to say in
public ; that he felt worse on the account of others
than he did for himself. He said there was an error
somewhere in his calculations, but he could not tell
where. He had now no definite time — he should
wait God's time : it might come in a day, it might
not come in fifty years ; he could not say exactly when ;
he was waiting. Thus the whole affair exploded —
came to nought ; although much evil in regard to Mr.
INIiller's prophecies may yet be experienced in the
community. Some will yet cling most obstinately to
the system, and still maintain that Christ may be ex-
pected every day, hour, or minute, while others will
fbc upon some other date within a short period of
time. They will still refer us to certain signs in the
starry heavens, endeavoring to persuade the people to
believe that the whole machinery of nature is out of
joint, and that this is a certain precursor to the
speedy dissolution of the world.
One of the second advent preachers gave the startling
intelligence that '■^fifteen hundred stars had recently
faded from the vault of heaven." But what are the
facts ? Not more than thirteen stars are recorded in
the annals of astronomy as having been lost ; and so
far from having faded recently, some of them disap-
peared many ages since. It is not even certain that
10
110 MILLER DELUSION.
any stars ha\e been blotted out. There are nearly
one hundred variable stars which have periods of
unusual brilliancy, and then gradually fade till nearly
invisible, and after a time revive again. The thirteen
missing stars may be of this description. These
changes were observed many centuries ago. The
bright star which appeared suddenly, with unusual
splendor and brilliancy, in Cassiopeia, in 1572, is sup-
posed to be the same star which suddenly appeared in
the same place, with great lustre, about the year 900,
and also about 600 years before, during the intervals of
which it was invisible.
The same preacher adduced the Aurora Borealis as
another sign of the last days. " Is it not remarkable,"
says he, "that no record of them appears till quite
recently?''^ But what are the facts? It was indeed
suppos^ed by many, who had not investigated the sub-
ject, that the Aurora was first seen in England in
1716 ; but on examination we find it spoken of in
1560, in a scientific work, entitled A Description of
Meteors, published soon after the invention of print-
ing, subsequent to which, and before 1716, there are
many accounts of the same phenomenon.
Many have supposed that nothing has ever before
appeared, similar to the remarkable red Aurora, which
was witnessed on the evening of January 25, 1337.
Yet such spectacles nave often been witnessed in the
northern parts of Sweden, Lapland, and Siberia, and
in remote and different periods. The Aurora is a
great blessing in those high northern latitudes, where
the sun is absent for many weeks, furnishing the in-
habitants with a splendid light, in the midst of thei
MILLAR DELUSION. Ill
dreary winter nights. Gmelin describes the Auiora
Borealis of those regions as differing in color according
to the states of the atmosphere, " sometimes assuming
the appearance of blood." He observes that " they
frequently begin with single bright pillars rising in the
north, and almost at the same time in the north-east,
which, gradually increasing, comprehend a large space
in the heavens, rush about, with incredible velocity,
from place to place, and finally almost cover the whole
sky to the zenith, producing an appearance as if a
vast tent was expanded in the heavens, glittering with
gold, rubies, and sapphire. A more beautiful spectacle
cannot be painted." These lights occasionally come
so far south as to illuminate the sky in our latitude.
Sometimes they have not appeared for many years.
In 1716, these lights were seen in England, though
never witnessed before by the oldest inhabitants living ;
and, as might be expected, they were alarmed, and
actually supposed the day of judgment had come.
From Barber's History of New England, we learn that
the first appearance of the northern lights in this
country, after the period of its first settlement, was on
December 11, 1719, " when they were remarkably
bright; and, as people in general had never heard
of such a phenomenon, they were extremely alarmed
with the apprehension of the final judgment. All
amusements, all business, and even sleep was inter-
rupted, for want of a little knowledge of history."
We were told by some of the advent preachers that
meteors and shooting stars, falling to the earth, were
never seen until 1799. But this is a great mistake.
As early as the year 472, Theophanes relates, " The
sky appeared to be on fire, with the coruscations of
112 MILLER DELUSION.
flying meteors." Virgil, in his book of Georgics, speaks
as follows : —
" And oft, before tempestuous winds arise,
The seeming stars fall headlong from the skies,
And, shooting through the darkness, gild the night
With sweeping glories and long trails of light."
In 553, under the reign of Justinian, were seen
showers of falling stars in extraordinary numbers.
In 763, under that of Constantine Capronymus, the
same spectacle was witnessed. In 1099, in the month
of November, it is said, in Vogel's Leipzig Chronicles,
that there was seen an unheard-of nunaber of falling
stars, burning torches, and fiery darts in the sky. In
1464, on the 7th of November, the great meteoric
stone fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. On the 8th of
August, 1723, numerous falling stars appeared in
many parts of the heavens, like fireflies.
But we are told of the sun and moon appearing like
blood, and that this sign of our Lord's second coming
was never witnessed, since the resurrection, till the
year 1780. Yet this is likewise a mistake ; for in the
Basle Chronicle of Urtisus, under the year 1566,
mention is made of the fact, that on the 28th and
29th of July, the sun and moon became blood red;
and on the 7th of August, this striking phenomenon
was agdin repeated. And, according to the Frankfort
Chronicle of Lersner, under the year 1575, on the 29th
of July, a remarkable redness of the sun occurred.
It has been said that the darkness of the sun, that
occurred in 1780, was a sign given to portend the
speedy destruction of the world. Why was it not
then witnessed simultaneously in all parts of the
earth ? It was confined principally to New England
MILLER DELUSION. ll3
and witnessed only by the generation precedi ig the
present. To be sure, thousands \vere appalled by the
event, and a feeling that the judgment day had
actually come rested upon many minds. Bat yet
they were in a mistake. This darkness commenced on
the 19th of May, between the hours of 10 and 11 A.M.,
and continued until the middle of the next night.
Persons were unable to read common print, determine
the time of day by their clocks or watches, dine, or
manage their business, without additional light.
Candles were lighted in their houses. The birds sang
their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent.
The fowls retked to roost. The cocks were crowing
-all around, as at break of day. Objects could be dis-
tinguished but at a very little distance, and every
thing bore the appearance and gloom of night. The
legislature of Connecticut was in session at this time,
in Hartford city. A very general opinion prevailed
that the judgment day was at hand. The House of
Representatives, being unable to transact business,
adjourned. A proposal to adjourn the council was
under consideration. When the opinion of Colonel
Davenport was asked, he answered, " I am against an
adjournment. The day of judgment is either ap-
proaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause
for an adjournment ; if it is, I choose to be found doing
my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be
brought."
A similar darkness has sometimes gathered over the
city of London, in consequence of a vast accumulation
of smoke, so as to make it necessary for passengers in
the streets to use h.rhted torches at midday. Jn 1783,
a great part of Euro, >e was for weeks overspread with a
10*
114 MILLER DEI,USICN.
haziness of atmosphere which caused great cons ferna
tion. The churches were crowded with supplicants.
The astronomer Lalande attempted to allay the fright
by endeavoring to account for the appearance, which
he ascribed to an uncommon exhalation of watery par-
ticles from the great rain of the preceding year. But
at last it was ascertained to be owing to smoke, oc-
casioned by the great eruption of the volcano Hecla,
which covered more than three thousand square miles
with burning lava, in some places to the depth of forty
feet. Dr. Franklin was in Europe at the time, and
afterwards gave an account of the circumstances re-
lating to this uncommon eruption. In fact, immense
issues of smoke, from fires and volcanoes, have, from
time immemorial, produced similar effects in difFeren+
countries.
We will subjoin a few remarkable appearances that
have taken place in the heavens, that the reader may
at once perceive that in scarcely any age of the world
have its inhabitants been destitute of some sigyi, that
might, to the timid and uninformed, be considered as
the prognostication of some awful catastrophe about
to happen.
In 1574, on the 15th of November, large and terrific
beams of fiery light were seen during the night. And
similar appearances are noted in Vogel's Chronicles^
as having occurred in November, 1637, and 1661. In
the old Breslau Collections, there is mention made of
a large moonlike meteor, which passed off with an ex-
plosion, on the 1 0th of November, 1721 ; and of a
great fire-flash, or fiame-emitting comet, on the 12th
day. According to Vogel's Chron'cles, there appeared
on the 30th November, 1663, a hvrge cross, and other
MTLLER DELUSION. 115
signs in the skies. On the 11th of Aui^ust, 15G1, there
was seen, in the forenoon, a tery remarkable red
meteor, emitting frequent flashes of light. In 1717,
numerous meteors were seen at Fryeburg ; and at
Utchland, in August, 1715. On the 10th of August,
1717, a large fire-hall was seen in Lusace, Silesia,
I'oland, and Hungary. In the Frankfort Chronicle of
July 29, 1694, « it is mentioned that the heavens were
full of fiery flames ! as also again on the 9th of
August. On February 22, 1719, a large flre-hall was
seen in several places. On the 22d, 1720, an immense
red cross was seen at Novogorod and Kiew ; and on
the 19th, 1722, a huge flre-hall !
What would the Millerites think, if they should now
see " an immense red cross in the heavens," " a re-
markable red meteor, emitting flashes of light during
the night," or " a blood-red appearance of the sun and
moon," and " showers of falling stars in extraordinary
numbers " ? These things are as likely to happen at
the present day as they were a hundred years ago,
and still the world remain as it has remained.
Just before the last return of Halley's comet, an
article was published in a religious paper in this state,
going to show that the world would probably be struck
and set on fire by a comet, and that, most likely,
Halley's would be the one to do it, as it was coming
much nearer the earth than it had ever been before.
The editor seemed to be ignorant that the quantity of
matter that enters into the constitution of a comet is
exceedingly small, and that the comet of 1770, which
was qui+e large and bright, passed through the midst
of Jupiter's satellites without deranging their motions
in the least perceptible degree. Comets, it is believed.
116 MILLER DELUSION.
consist of exceedingly rare vapor ; indeed, so much so,
that some philosophers say that our thinnest clouds are
dense in comparison. And yet this exceedingly thin
vapor was to dash the world to atoms, or set it on fire,
it was not fully determined which.
Whether comets, or any unusual appearances in
the sky, are to be considered as signs prognosticating
the final dissolution of- all things, as being near at
hand, is for each to determine for himself. And in
forming a judgment upon the subject, we may surely
be permitted to exercise the common sense which
God has given us. To lay this aside, and judge only
by feeling- or fanct/, is to criminally reject a light
which we are sure is from God, and follow one which
may prove an ignis fatuus, and land us in the
quagmire of infidelity. If the Scripture signs are
to receive a literal fulfilment, we may reasonably
expect that they will conform to the four following
tests : —
1. They will appear near the event of which they
are intended as the harbinger ; probably within the
generation of those who will be living at the end of
the world.
2. They will be witnessed in all parts of the earth,
because all are alike interested.
3. They may all be expected to appear, and not
a single class of phenomena without the other.
4. They will be such as will impress intelligent
minds with their strangeness and peculiarity.
The Aurora Borealis conforms not to any of these
tests. It has been seen for centuries, and is confined
to the northern portions of the globe ; having rarely, if
ever, been seen so far north as the thirtieth degree of
MILLER DELUSION. 117
north latitude. And, as we have before remarked, the
darkness of 1780 ^was confined principally to New
England. And from a careful examination of all the
accounts we have been able to collect of meteoric
showers of the last and present century, the whole of
them together have occupied a space on the globe
less than one eighth of its surface. The shower of
1799 was probably the most extensive. Its centre was
near the middle of the Atlantic; its edges touched the
northern parts of South America, the coast of Labrador
and Greenland, and the western shores of Europe and
Africa. That of 1833 may be represented on a six-
inch globe by the space occupied by a dollar. Such
magnificent scenes are calculated to impress the mind,
with awe ; yet it is surprising that many intelligent per-
sons should suppose them to be the precursors of the
final conflagration. If the simple but reasonable tests
we have given be correct, they are disarmed of their
character as ominous of the destruction of the world.
With regard to any changes in the order or succes-
sion of the heavenly bodies, it is only necessary to
observe, that hundreds of scientific men, in Europe
and America, have for many years been employed in
exploring the material heavens with the most power-
ful telescopes. Many are employed, by the govern-
ments of Europe, in astronomical observations, scat-
tered over the earth, for the express purpose of making
new discoveries, if possible, and of furthering the inter-
ests of science. No phenomenon escapes their notice ;
and should any thing extraordinary occur, it would
appear before the public, vouched by names that would
command universal credence. It may be unnecessary
to add, that no such changes in the planets and fixed
118 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
stars, as have been proclaimed to the world by some
of the second advent preachers, have been observed by
learned astronomers and men of science.
CHAPTER XV.
INTERCOURSE W^ITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
In no age, says a popular wi-iter, has the world been
destitute of those who professed, by some instrumen-
tality or other, to hold intercourse with departed spirits.
Neither has any age been without its reputed spectres,
ghosts, or apparitions. The high priest of the Buddh-
ist and Hindoo temples, in former times, when ar-
rayed in the consecrated garments for the festivals,
wore a round knob, about the size of a large pendent
drop of a chandelier, suspended from his neck by a
chain of great value and of dazzling brilliancy. It
was through the agency of this crystal that he was
supposed to hold communion with the spirit or spirits
to whom he and his followers accorded devotion and
made intercessions ; and the glass, acting as did the
famed oracle of Delphi, gave orders and commands,
and settled all great questions that might be submit-
ted to its spiritual master. The priest, although he
might be a pattern of purity, and the quintessence of
all that was good, having, however, the sin of being
in years, and not able, perhaps, to hide from the spirit
inhabiting the crystal all the transactions of his youth,
could not hold a direct communication with it. To
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 119
arrange this, a certain number of boys, and sometimes,
in some of the temples, young damsels, were retained,
who, having never mixed with the world, could not be
supposed to be in any way contaminated by its vices.
These alone were said to be capable of beholding the
spirit when he chose to make his appearance in the
divining glass, and interpreting to and fro the ques-
tions put and answers received. Although it was not
every boy or seer to whom was permitted the gift of
spiritual vision, yet in latter times, when divining,
crystals multiplied, little ragged boys would run after
the passers in the streets, and offer to see any thing that
might be required of them, for a trifling gift, even a
cake or sweetmeat. In Egypt, the divining glass is
superseded by putting a blot of thick black fluid into
the palm of a boy's hand, and commanding him to see
various people and things ; of which practice Lane,
in his Modern Egyptians, gives some curious dis-
closures.
Divining mirrors were not confined to the East.
Dr. Dee was the first English inpostor who vaunted
the possession of one of these priceless treasures. He
had for the seer one Keily, an Irishman ; and to this,
doubtless, was attributable the impression that pre-
vailed among the astrologers and amateur spirit hunt-
ers, that when the spirits condescended to speak, they
always gave speech with a very strong spice of the
brogue. This " beryl," as it is called, was preserved
among the Strawberry Hill curiosities, and fell under
the hammer of George E,obbins at the memorable
sale. It proved to be a globe of cannel coal. In Au-
brey's Miscellany there is an engraving of another
larger crystal, and there are with it many wonderful
120 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
stories. Yet, notwithstanding the magic capabilities
of these mirrors, they went out of fashion until the be-
ginning of the year 1850.
This revival and its consequences are like a page
out of a silly romance. The story, if told by a disin-
terested historian, would require authentication as
belonging to 1850. We therefore turn, by way of
voucher, to a publication called Zadkiel's Almanac
for 1851. At page 46, after referring to the ex-
istence of magic crystals at the present day, the
AATiter says, "One of large size was a few years
ago brought over to England by a friend of Lady
Ble.ssington, after the sale of whose effects, it recently
fell into the hands of a friend of mine ; and, having
tested its powers, I have resolved on giving my readers
an account of this wonderful mode of communicating
with the spirits of the dead. The crystal is spherical,
and has been turned from a large mass of pure rock
crystal. I have been shown some few others, but, with
the exception of one shown me by Lord S., they are
all much smaller. These smaller ones are said to be
consecrated to angels of the planets, and are, therefore,
far less powerful than Lady Blessington's crystal,
which, being consecrated to the Archangel of the Sun,
Michael, may be consulted dming four hours each day,
whereas the others can generally be used only for a
very brief space of time ; nor can very potent spirits be
called into them, or made to rer der themselves visible.
In this larger crystal is given most important informa-
tion of the actual existence of the soul after death, and
of the state in which it exists and will exist until the
judgment.''
" The first intimation we received," says Dickens,
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 121
in his Household Words, " of the revival of this
notable practice of divination, was about six months
ago, when we were casually informed that the son of
a distinguished officer of the royal navy was, at that
time, frequently engaged in developing, before a few
privileged friends, the extraordinary faculty of being
able to hold intercourse with the world of spirits. It
was added that the revelations made through the
medium of this youth were of so wonderful a nature,
and carried such conviction to the minds of those who
listened, that they were declared to be the result of
more than human power."
The conjurer was asked, on one occasion, to de-
scribe Lord Nelson. And, accordingly, the spirit, with
an accuracy that was quite astonishing, considering
that no portrait, bust, or statue of Nelson is known
to exist, gave a full, true, and particular account of
England's hero, describing him as a very thin man,
in a cocked hat, with only one eye', one arm, &c. ;
and the truth of the description was declared to be
something truly marvellous.
A demand was made that the spirit of a deceased
brother of one of the querists should be summoned to
appear. Presently he said, " I see him ; he has curly
hair, and stoops a good deal. I can't exactly see his
features, but I think he squints." This account of her
late brother's personal appearance, though not very
flattering, satisfied the lady as far as it went; but
being, like Macbeth, —
" . . , . bent to know,
By tht worst means, the worst,"
she required further proof of his identity. There was
a pause for a minute or *;wo, and then the spirit seer
It
122 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
spoke again — " He has got a scroll in his hand,
which he unfolds ; there is this inscription on it, in
letters of fire : —
'I AM Tom!'"
This sublime revelation was received with a degree
of solemn awe, and with suppressed throes of well-
bred laughter.
Other cases not a whit less marvellous have been
described by the narrators, who could not be reasoned
out of their absurdity, insisting that there could be no
deception in the matter, on account of the means em-
ployed, and the evident sincerity of the employes I
These means, they said, required that the person who
looked into the crystal should be perfectly pure ; that
is to say, a child free from sin, and by no means given
to lying, and that the form of adjuration used was,
" In nomine Domini,''^ &c. ; Latin being, as is well
known, the language which spirits of all denomina-
tions are most accustomed to. When interrogated
after this fashion, the spirit, if evil, fled away howling ;
if good, it came, when called, unless particularly en-
gaged in the sun; for it appears that it is to that
planet almost all spirits go when their term of purga-
tory is over. It seems that the spirits would some-
times get out of breath, travelling so far, and talking
so much ; and they then had recourse to the ex-
pedient of letters of fire, which seemed to be ivritten
in various ways in the crystal ; sometimes on flags,
which the spirits hold up, but sometimes they are in
print. In these letters of fire, the querist was coun-
selled something like the following : " Be merry.
Quarrel not. Keep your temper, and your children
too. You are a good man, but try to be better. I am
wanted. Let me go."
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 123
We subjoin the following as specimens of conver-
sations heard by large parties of amazed, titled, and
believing listeners : " Are you Pharaoh, that was
king of Egypt ? " " Yes." " Where do you dwell
now ? " "In Jupiter." " How long have you been
there ? " " About thirty years." " Where did you
dwell till then ? " "In the atmosphere, and was
undergoing punishment till then." " Were you
king of Egypt when Moses was there ? " " Yes,
and Aaron too^'' " Did you build the pyramids ? "
" Some^ " Were any built before your time ? "
" Yes." " Do you know how long the first was built
before Christ?" "About three hundred years after
Adam ; it was built then." " Do you mean that it
was built before the flood ? " " No, it was not
finished; the flood destroyed them." "What was
the principal object of them ? " " To hold the kings
of Egypt." " Were there kings of Egypt so soon after
the creation ? " " Yes ; that was the first country
kings were in." " Were you drowned in the Red
Sea ? " « Yes:'
At one time Swedenborg volunteered to give in-
formation about Sir John Franklin, when the follow-
ing dialogue took place : " What is the best way
to communicate with him ? " " By the natives ;
they speak to him sometimes." " Will he be home
next summer ? " " No." " Why ? " " Because he
cannot help himself ; he is stopped by ice ; but his
heart does not fail him ; he wants to explore." " How
will he do for provisions ? " " He will find bears, dogs,
and wolvesP " WiU he find the passage ? " " No ^
there is a continent there." " But there is also a
passage." "There is one, but he will not find it."
124 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
" What latitude does he lie in chiefly ? " "I do not
know : good hyP It appears strange that Sweden-
borg, who knew so much, did not know this. But
we learn in another place that " spirits do not well
understand about latitude and longitude." Socrates' s
appearance is described as follows : " A tall, middle-
aged man, rather bald, di'essed with striped coarse
trousers, very loose at the top, and tight at the bot-
tom ; a kind of frock, open in the front, and without
sleeves. He is generally employed in singing praises,
but was not quite happy." Alexander the Great
appeared on horseliack, in armor, the horse also in
armor ; deeply regrets killing Clitus, and all the
murders he perpetrated ; amuses himself in fighting
his battles over again.
To give these things a sort of eclat and popularity
with the public, Zadkiel sums up the whole in the
following language : " In concluding this account,
I may remark that numerous children have seen these
visions, some of them the sons and daughters of per-
sons of high rank ; and that several adults have also
seen visions, one of them a lady of title, and another a
member of one of the highest families in England.
It will be seen that delicacy prevents my naming
individuals ; but J can assure my readers that above
one hundred of the nobiliti/, and several hundreds of
other highly respectable ladies and gentlemen, have
examined this wonderful phenomenon, and have ex-
pressed the highest giatification and astonishment."
Dickens declares it to be " the fashion, especially
among people of fashion, to point with pity to a tale
or modern witchcraft, to an advertisement of a child's
caul, or to the bona fide certificates of cases from the
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 125
takers of quack medicines, and to deplore the ignorance
of their inferiors. Delusions, however, of the grossest
kind are not confined to the illiterate. A cloud of
dupes have ever floated about in the higher regions of
society ; while it is quite a mistake to suppose that
the refinements and discoveries of the nineteenth
century-/ have dispersed them. The reign of Queen
Victoria, like that of Elizabeth and Anne, has its Dr.
Dees, and Lillys, and Partridges, who are as success-
ful as their precursors in gaining proselytes who can
pay handsomely. Damsels of high degi-ee, fresh from
boarding school, with heads more full of sympathy
for the heroes and heroines of fashionable novels,
and ideas more fixed upon love affairs than on any
legitimate studies, can easily find out, through mys-
teriously-worded advertisements in the Sunday papers,
or through the ready agency of friends who have
already become victims of the ' science ' of astrology
and magic, the whereabouts of these awful and won-
derful beings. There are a number of styles and
classes of them, all varying in appearance and mode
of operations. There are the old women, who, con-
soled by the glories of their art, repine not at inhabit-
ing comfortless garrets in the purlieus of the New Cut,
Lambeth ; and hidings their vocation under the mask
of having stay laces or infallible corn plasters to sell,
receive more visitors from the fashionable cream of
Belgravia than from the dross of -Bermondsey. Dis-
guises are sometimes resorted to, and parties of titled
ladies have been known to meet, and put on the
habiliments of ' charwomen,' and ^ to pass themselves
off as dress-makers. There is an old man, with un-
shaven beard and seldom-washed face, who lives in
11*
126 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
more comfortabls circumstances, with his son, in
Southwark, (the favored district of the conjurers,) who,
to keep up appearances, has ' Engineer ' hugely en-
graved on a great brass plate over the door, who casts
nativities, and foretells events of the future, for three or
five shillings, as the appearance of the visitor will war-
rant him in demanding ; receives all his votaries sit-
ting at a terribly littered table of dirty paper, with a
well-smoked clay pipe beside him. Passing to a higher
grade, the ' agent,' or arranger of matters, legal, pecu-
niary, or domestic, only practises the black art for the
love he bears it, and to oblige his friends, but never
refuses a few shillings' fee, out of respect to the in-
terests of the science. Nearly all his customers are
people of title."
We now come to speak of events in our own country
which seem to be somewhat akin to those which have
so recently transpired in England. We allude to what
are familiarly termed " rappers," or " knocking spirits,"
from the noises which they are said to make.
From a history of these knockings, as given in a
pamphlet by Capron and Barron, of Auburn, New
York, we learn that they were first heard in the family
of Mr. Michael Weekman, in the town of Arcadia,
Wayne county. He resided in the house where the
noises were heard about eighteen months, and left it
some time in the year 1847. He relates that one
evening, about bedtime, he heard a rapping on the
outside door, when he stepped to the door and opened
it, but, to his surprise, found no one there. He went
back, and proceeded to undress, when, just before
getting into bed, he heard another rap at the door
loud and distinct. He stepped to the door quickly
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 127
and opened it, bnt, as before, found no one there.
He stepped out, and fooked around, supposing that
some one was imposing upon him. He could dis-
cover no one, and went back into the house. After a
short time he heard the rapping again ; he stepped
(it being often repeated) and held on the latch, so that
he might ascertain if any one had taken that means to
annoy him. The rapping was repeated ; the door was
instantly opened, but no one was to be seen. He
could feel the jar of the door very plainly when the
rapping was heard. As he opened the door, he sprung
out, and went around the house, but no one was in
sight. His family were fearful to have him go out,
lest some one intended to harm him. It always re-
mained a mystery to him ; and finally, as the rapping
did not at that time continue, it passed from his mind,
till some time afterwards, when, one night, their little
girl, then about eight years of age, was heard to
scream from fright, so that the family were all alarmed
by her cries, and went to her assistance. This was
about midnight. She told them that something like
a hand had passed over her face and head ; that she
had felt it on the bed and all over her, but did not feel
alarmed until it touched her face.
It seems that Mr. Weekman soon after moved
away from the house, and nothing more was heard
of the rapping, or other manifestations, till it was
occupied by the family of Mr. John D. Fox, who
have since become so conspicuous with '' the advent
of spirits." In March, 1848, they, for the first time,
heard the " mysterious sounds," which seemed to be
like a slight knocking in one of the bed rooms on the
floor. It was in the evening, just after they had
128 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
retired. At that time the whole family occupied one
room, and all distinctly heard the rapping. They
arose, and searched with a light, but were unable to
find the cause of the knocking. It continued that
night until they all fell asleep, which was not until
nearly or quite midnight. From this time the noise
continued to be heard every night.
After having been disturbed and broken of their
rest for several nights in a vain attempt to discover
from whence the sounds proceeded, they resolved, on
the evening of the 31st of March, that this night they
would not be disturbed by it, whatever it might be.
But Mr. Fox had not yet retired when the usual signs
commenced. The girls, who occupied another bed in
the same room, heard the sounds, and endeavored to
imitate them by snapping their fingers. The attempt
was made by the youngest girl, then about twelve
years old. When she made the noise with her
fingers, the sounds were repeated just as she made
them. When she stopped snapping her fingers, the
sounds stopped for a short time. One of the other
girls then said, in sport, (for they were getting to be
more amused than alarmed,) "Now do what I do;
count one, two, three, four, five, six," &c., at the same
time striking one hand in the other. The same num-
oer of blows or sounds were repeated as in the former
case. Mrs. Fox then spoke, and said, " Count ten,"
<and there were ten distinct strokes or sounds. She
then said, " Will you tell the age of Caihy ? " (one of
her children ;) and it was given by the same num )er of
raps that she was years of age. In like manner the
age of her different children was told correctly by this
unseen visitor.
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 129
Mrs. Fox then asked, if it was a human being that
made the noise, to manifest it by making the same
noise. There was no answer to this request. Sh
then asked if it was a spirit, and if so to manifest i
by making two distinct sounds. Instantly she heard
two raps, as she desired. She then proceeded to
know or inquire if it was an injured spirit, and if so
to answer in the same way, and the rapping was re-
peated. In this way it answered her until she as-
certained that it purported to be the spirit of a man
who was murdered in that house by a person that had
occupied it some years before ; that he was a pedler,
and that he was murdered for his money. To the
question Iiow old he ivas, there were thirty-one distinct
raps. By the same means it "was ascertained that'
he was a married man, and had left a wife and five
children; that his wife had been dead two years.
We might relate a little different manoeuvre in the
case of the ghost that appeared in Waltham, Mas-
sachusetts, a few years since. A superstitious old
man, by the name of McClarren, a mechanic, pur-
chased a lot of turf that had been piled up in a
meadow about half way between his workshop
and place of residence. Upon returning to his work
from supper, he used to take a basket with him, and
fill it at the turf heap on his return late in the even-
ing. It was on one of these occasions that the re-
puted ghost first appeared to him, and caused him
some alarm, when he dare not linger to reconnoitre
this strange and unexpected visitor. He resolved,
liowever, to muster courage the next evening to ac-
cost the figure, should it again appear to him. Ac-
cordingly, he went with a large Bible open in hia
130 INTER'COURSE WITH DEPARTED SP1RIT3.
hands ; and as the ghost appeared, he followed it till it
crossed a ditch, when he was requested by the same
to proceed no farther. Thus they stood, facing each
other, on either side of the d tch, when the following
conversation took place between them : —
Ques. By McClarren. " I demand of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, our once crucified God, whether
you are mortal or immortal ? "
Ans. " I am not mortal."
Ques. " What, then, are you ? "
Ans. " I am the spirit of a murdered man."
Ques. " By whom were you murdered 1 "
Ans. « By , of Waltham."
Ques. " Where does your body lie ? "
Ans. " In yonder pond, behind me."
It is supposed that this affair was got up in an
innocent mood, merely to test the strength of McClar-
ren's faith in ghosts. But it caused a wide-spread
excitement; and some, who were thought to be con-
cerned in its projection, were prosecuted and brought
before a justice for examination, although nothing
was proved. McClarren testified under oath, that he
believed it to be a real ghost ; " its tones,^^ he said,
" were so unearthly^'' " and when it moved its motion
was not like that in walking, but it glided along like
a sM^an, or a boat in the water." He was neither to
be reasoned nor laughed out of it. He would believe
it to the day of his death. You might as well tell
him he was not a living being, as to tell him he had
not seen a living ghost.
The advocates of the " influx from the world of
spirits into our own " claim in its behalf many aston-
ishing miracles. Chairs, tables, and beds are moved
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 131
up or down, to and fro, &c. At Auburn, New York,
on one occasion, sounds on the wall, bureau, table,
floor, and other places were heard as loud as the strik-
ing with a hammer. The table was moved about the
room, and turned over and back. Two men in the
company undertook to hold a chair down, while, at
their request, a spirit moved it ; and, notwithstanding
they exerted all their strength, the chair could not be
held still by them — a proof that spirits are far more
strong and powerful than men. On another occasion,
the sounds proper to a carpenter's shop were heard,
apparently proceeding from the wall and table. Saw-
ing, planing, and pounding with a mallet were imi-
tated, it is said, to the life. Some gentlemen were at
the house of the Fox family at one time, and were
conducted into a dark room. They called for the
sounds to be made like a band of martial music. As
they requested, the sounds were produced ; the play-
ing of the instruments and the heavy beating of the
bass drum were perfectly imitated, together with the
sound of the roar of distant cannon. Shall we not
gather from this, that in the spirit world they have
their bands of music and compa-nies of artillery, the
same as in this world ? We are also told of the
spirit or spirits playing on a guitar in a dark room,
the gu tar hei^ig taken from the hands of those who
held it and put in tune, and played while it passed
around the room above their heads. On oae occa-
sion, as it is aaid, it played an accompaniment, for
pearly two hours, to some persons engaged in singing,
being very exact both in time and tune. On one occa-
sion, whUe several ladies were present, some of them
yequested that the spirits would take their hair down.
132 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
Accordingly it was done. One of them had her hair
taken down and done up in a twist, and one of them
had hers braided in four strands. Sometimes per-
sons have felt a hand passing over or touching their
arms, head, or face, leaving a feeling of electricity
upon the part touched; and the hand that thus
touches them will, by request, instantly change from
a natural warmth to the coldness of ice.
In answer to the question, " Why do these spirits
require a dark room to play upon instruments of
music, or to take hold of persons," they answer by
saying that " they assume a tangible form in order to
do these things, and we are not yet prepared for such
a visitation."
To the inquuy how it is they make the rapping
noises that generally accompany their visits to this
world, they answer, that " they are made by the will
of the spirits causing a concussion of the atmos-
phere, and making the sounds appear in whatever
place they please."
A Mi's. Draper, of Rochester, New York, had an
interview with Dr. Franklin, at one time, while she
was in a magnetized state. She said he appeared to
be busily employed in establishing a line of commu-
nication between the two worlds by means of these
" rappings." On another occasion, while in a clair-
voyant state, at her own house, sounds were heard in
exact imitation of those heard in the telegraph office.
These sounds were so unusual, that Miss Margaretta
Fox, who was present, became alarmed, and said,
" What does all this mean ? " Mrs. Draper replied,
*' He is trying the batteries. ^^ Soon there was a sig-
nal for the alphabet, and the following communica-
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 133
tion was spelled out to the company present " Now
I am ready, my friends. There will be great changes
in the nineteenth century. Things that now look
dark and mysterious to you, will be laid plain before
youi" sight. Mysteries are going to be revealed. The
world will be enlightened. I sign my name, Benja-
min Franklin."
It seems that, in the early history of these rappings,
they used to be without any limitations as to whether
persons were in a magnetized state or not. The first
we learn of magnetism being employed as a medium
of communication is in the case of a daughter of
Lyman Granger, in Rochester, New York. For a
long time, answers could be obtained by any two (why
two ?) of the family standing near each other. And
in the freedom of the answers, no preference seemed
to be manifested towards any particular members of
the family. At length, one of his daughters was
placed under the influence of magnetism, and be-
came clairvoyant. From that time none of the fami-
ly could get communications unless the daughter who
was magnetized was present. Why the communica-
tions should leave all the family except the magnet-
ized daughter, after they once had free conversation
without her, remains to be explained. The whole
business now seems to be pretty much, if not wholly,
monopolized by the clairvoyants. They seem to be
employed as agents, or mediums of correspondence,
between the two worlds, acting as interpreters be-
tween two classes of beings, or beings existing i»
two different states, natural and spiritual. They act
as a kind of spiritual postmasters between the two
countries. We find spiritual letter paper^ and enve
12
134 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
hpes to enclose the same, advertised for those who
wish to avail themselves of an opportunity to write
to their deceased friends in the other spheres. Let-
ters said to have been written in the spirit world have
been ti ansmitted through the established mediums to
friends in this world, and have been published in some
of the papers devoted to these subjects. In the New
York Daily Tribune of February 28, 1851, we find the
prospectus of a quarto journal, to be published in
Auburn, " to be dictated by spirits out of the flesh,
and by them edited, superintended, and controlled.
Its object is the disclosure of truth from Heaven, guid-
ing mankind into open vision of paradise, and open
communication with redeemed spirits. The circle of
apostles and prophets are its conductors from the
interior, holding control over its columns, and per-
mitting no article to find place therein unless origi-
nated, dictated, or admitted. by them: they acting
under direction of the Lord Supreme."
We hope the information coming through its
columns will be more reliable than the communica-
tions from some of the " rapping spirits." No depend-
ence whatever can be placed upon them. They are
so blundering, awkward, and uncertain, and even
trickish and deceitful, that they spoil all our notions
of the dignity and purity — the spirituality, in fact —
of the spiritual world. The advocates of the mani-
festations attribute the fault to ignorant spirits, who
do not know whether the matter they attempt to speak
of be true or not. Swedenborg says, " There are some
spirits so ignorant that they do not know but they are
the ones ca\led for, when another is meant. And the
only way to detect them, in speaking, is by the differ-
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 135
*
ence of sound — that made by intelligent spirits being
clear and lively, and that of the ignorant being low and
muffled, like the striking of the hand upon a carpet."
It is contended by the authors of the pamphlet from
which we quote, that these ignorant spirits will ulti-
mately progress to a state of intelligence. But this
idea of progression seems to be at variance with the
observations of a writer in the Boston Post, who was
astonished at the wonderful precocity of little infants
in the spirit world. " I have known," says he, " the
spirit of a child, only eighteen months old when he
died, and only three months in the second sphere,
show as much intelligence, and as perfect a command
of our language, as Br. Channing himself seems to
possess." On the other hand, when I find that " the
spirit of Dr. Channing cannot express an idea above
the rudimental conception of a mere child, I am forced
to the conclusion that his mental endowments must
have greatly deteriorated since he left us."
It is said that the theological teachings of these
spirits generally agree with those of Davis, Sweden-
borg, and others who have claimed to receive their
impressions from spirits. Accordingly, We find them
using the term higher and lower spheres, instead of
heaven and hell. Swedenborg prophesied that the
year 1852 would be the one to decide the fate of his
church or his doctrines ; and Capron and Barron tell
us that " the probabilities now seem to be that his
general spiritual theory will, not far from that time,
be very generally received." We presume that the
" mysterious rappings " are considered by them as so
many omens of such an event. And we may reason-
ably conclude that they are as decisive tests.^ as sure
136 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
prognostications, as were the various celestial signs of
the coming of the end of the world in 1843. The
believers in the " harmonial philosophy " have their
miracles in attestation of their theory; and so of the
Millerites. On Saturday evening, January 18, 1851,
we are told by La Roy Sunderland, that Mi's. Coopei
(clairvoyant medium) was taken to Cambridge, by
Mr. Fernald and a friend, for the purpose of visiting
a gentleman who had been confined by a spinal
ditHculty some ten years or more. The spirits gave
beautiful responses for his consolation, and in the
sight of all present, the sick man and his bed were
moved by spiritual hands alone. The sick man and
the " bed whereon he lay " were both moved by
attending angels, without any human power. And
more recently, a Mr. Gordon, it is said, has been taken
up and his body moved some distance entirely by
spiritual hands. Were such miracles ever wrought
in favor of Millerism ? Most assuredly, if we are to
believe the Millerites themselves ; and even more in
favor of witchcraft also. At a meeting of the friends
of Millerism, held in Waltham, in 1842, a lady was
taken from her seat by some unseen power, and
carried up to the ceiling of the room ; and she after-
wards declared that it was done without any effort on
her part. More recently, (1851,) another lady of the
same place testifies that she has, in a similar manner,
been taken from her seat in church and carried up
above the tops of the pews. And at times, at the
advent meetings, strange noises have been heard,
houses also have been shaken, mirrors shattered to
pieces, and furniture broken, and all have been con-
sidered by the Adventists as so many auguries or
INTERCOURSE V/IT.i DEPARTED SPIRITS. 137
signs of the approaching dissolution of all things, to
take place in 1843.
We have already made mention of the fact, in an-
other place, that bewitched persons used to be carried
through the air, on brooms and spits, to distant meet-
ings, or Sabbaths, of witches. But we will now give
a case to the point.
On the 8th of September, 1692, Mary Osgood,
wife of Captain Osgood, of Andover, was taken before
John Hawthorne, and other of their majesties' justices,
when she confessed that, about two years before, she
was carried through the air, in company with Deacon
Fry's wife, Ebenezer Baker's wife, and Goody Tyler,
to Five Mile Pond, where she was baptized by the
devil, and that she was transported back again
through the air, in company with the forenamed
persons, in the same manner as she went, and believes
they ^vere carried on a pole I She was asked by one
of the justices, how many persons were upon the
pole ; to which she answered. As I said before,
viz., four persons, and no more, but whom she had
named above.
Are not these cases to be relied upon as much as
those related by Mr. Sunderland ? Could not four re-
spectable ladies tell whether they were actually carried
through the air on a pole or not ? Could they be de-
ceived ? Possibly, in the days of chloroform, or e ther, it
might have been the case ; but not at the period in
which it actually occurred.
Some of the bewitched persons, as in the case of
Elizabeth Knap, of Groton, alarmed the people by
their ventriloqual powers, in imitating sounds and
languages. And it would be nothing strange if son>e
12*
138 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
of our modern witches were in possession of the same
talent. No wonder that the editor of one of the
Boston papers should have ventured the opinion, that
if some of these persons had lived two hundred years
ago, they would have been hanged for witchcraft.
It appears to us, that if we believe in all that is
alleged of the rapping spirits, and their manifestations,
we must be prepared to indorse all that has been pub-
lished of witches and ghosts, spooks and hobgoblins,
in every age of the world, which, at present, we are
not at all inclined to do. We do not believe that any
of the noises heard, or any of the information given,
has proceeded from beings out of the normal state.
We are rather inclined to adhere to the sentiment con-
tained in the old couplet : —
" Where men believe in witches, witches are ;
But where they don't believe, there are none there."
We once went to stay over night in a house said to
be haunted, the house being empty at the time, the
family who had occupied it having actually been
frightened away by the noises they had heard. But,
strange to tell, we did not hear any noises, neither did
we expect to. There was a house in Green Street,
Boston, formerly occupied by the celebrated Dr. Con-
way, v/hich, after his decease, was said to be haunted.
A young man of our acquaintance never passed that
house late at night but every window in it appeared
to be illuminated. And fkially, he became so alarmed
about it, that as soon as he approached the vicinity
of the house, he would commence running, and
continue to run till it was out of sight. We have
frequently knovn him to cross the ice on Charles
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 139
River to avoid passing the house. And still, we often
passed the same house, at late hours of the night,
without seeing any thing unusual. And we know of
no reason why, unless it was because we did not
believe in such things, which our friend actually did.
Faith alone made the difference.
One of the believers in the " spirit rappings " tells
us that " if these things are emanations from the spirit
world, we are bound to believe them." True, if they
are ; but this little conjunctive i/" is a word of very
doubtful meaning. We have already shown how Mr.
Miller kept the whole world standing thirty years on
this same little if; and then it did not end in 1843,
as he supposed it would. We must, therefore, be
cautious how we depend upon a simple if.
But we are told that, as honest persons, we are
bound to believe what we cannot disprove by actual
demonstration. But let us examine this for a moment.
The Greenlanders have an idea that thunder is caused
by two old women flapping seal skins in the moon.
Now, who has ever been up in the moon to ascertain
whether it is so or not? Again, they say that the
Aurora Borealis is owing to the spirits of their fathers
frisking at football. Who can say it is not so ? And
yet we reject such belief on account of its apparent
absurdity. Some of the ancients have told us that
the earth stands upon the back of a tortoise, or upon
that of an elephant ; and yet, without investigation,
a majority of mankind reject the idea as being per-
fectly ridiculous. We might here remark, that no less
a scholar than the great mathematician Kepler at-
tempted to prove that the earth is a vast animal, and
that the ti ies are occasioned by the heaving's of its
prodigious lungs.
140 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
Many of the performances of jugglers and ventril-
oquists puzzle us, and yet we do not believe there is
any thing supernatural in them. Signor Blitz once
called upon the ladies in the hall where he was giving
an exhibition to pass him a handkerchief with their
name stamped upon it, and he would put it into a
pistol and fire it off in their presence, a,nd it should be
found in the steeple of a church some quarter of a mile
distant, and yet not a window or a door should be open
on the occasion. A committee of honest and respect-
able men were despatched from the hall to the house
of the church sexton, the keys procured, with a lan-
tern, when the belfry was ascended, the handkerchief
found hanging on the tongue of the bell, and returned
to the lady, who instantly recognized it as the identi-
cal handkerchief she passed into the hands of the per-
former. Now, who could prove that the thing alleged
was not actually done ? and yet who will believe that
it was ?
We have heard distant sounds of music, and other
imitations of men, birds, and animals, that deceived
our sense of hearing, knowing that they were produced
by the power of ventriloquism. We have seen things
moved from place to place by magnetic attraction, and
we do not think it at all strange that so light an in-
strument as a guitar could be thus attracted to differ-
ent parts of a room by an unseen poioer, especially
in a dark room, and its tones be imitated by a being
as yet in the normal state. A guitar will give vibra-
tions of its tones to the concussions of the air, caused
by the conversation of persons present ; and a stranger
to the fact might possibly interpret these vibrations
as something quite mysterious, and suppose the in-
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 141
stniment, as it stood alone, to be touched by iome
spirit hand. When people's minds, or their imagina-
tions, get wrought up to a certain pitch, the most tri-
fling things are looked upon as wonderful phenomena.
Every thing is new, and strange, and appalling. We
hear of the doings of the spirits at Rochester, and
other places, and which are called the " ushering in
of a new science^ " We know of what we speak,"
says the pamphlet before us, "we knoiv they are facts,
strange, new, and to many wonderful! ^^ (See page
43.) And yet the authors introduce several pages
from a work by Dr. Adam Clarke to show that, as
early as 1716, the Wesley family were troubled by
noises made by the " knocking spirits," and that " the
present manifestations have no claim to the credit of
originality." The cracking of hazel nuts upon Martin
Luther's bed posts, and the racket and rumbling upon
his chamber stairs, as if many empty barrels and hogs-
heads had been tumbling down, claim still greater
antiquity, and belong to the same category or chapter
of wonderful events.
It is said to be impossible that any mere human
being could inform persons, with whom they never
had any previous knowledge or acquaintance, of the
past, present, and future events of their lives — whether
they are married or single, the number of their children
living and dead, age, health, business, letters expected,
the whereabout of long-absent friends, &c. It is
supposed that such information must indeed emanate
from the spirit world. Yet precisely such things are
and always have been told, more or less, by astrolo-
gers and fortune tellers, without any pretensions to
being in league with spirits of the other worlds. We
142 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
have said that fortune tellers do not always tell cor-
rectly ; but, as poor an opinion as we have of them,
we will venture to assert that they are full as correct,
if not more so, in the information they give, as the
members of the Fox family, or any of their contempo-
raries, of the alleged spiritual manifestations.
Persons of sane mind, though ever so ignorant of
arithmetic or orthography, can tell at least how many
children they have, and are usually able to spell their
own names ; but one who has spent a good deal of
time in witnessing the performances of the spirit rap-
pers, says, " They seem to be unwilling or unable to
answer purely test questions, like that of answering
their own names. I have never known them to do
this," says he, " though often solicited." He also speaks
of their great deficiency in mathematics, not being
able to enumerate the number of children they have on
earth with anything like accuracy. " I am aware that
such questions have sometimes been correctly an-
swered, and I have heard them so answered ; but I
have much more frequently known them to refuse en-
tirely, or to do it very awkwardly, or to fail entirely in
the attempt. Out of five numbers four were erroneous-
ly selected as the right one. The fifth was right, of
course. This goes to show, at least, that spirits have
greatly deteriorated, rather than improved, while inhab-
iting the celestial spheres." But this is not all. The
facility of communication between the two classes of
beings is also on the decline. The time was when
ghosts or spirits held free conversation with those
they visited, without calling in the aid of clairvoyan-
cy or electricity. Neither did they resort, like modern
spirits, to the slow and clumsy mode of communica-
INTERCOrR3E WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 143
tion, through the letters of the alphabet. In spelling
out a sentence by letters, one of the ladies com-
mences repeating the alphabet ; and when the desired
letter is mentioned, a rap is heard. In this slow and ^
tedious process, long sentences are communicated.
No wonder that the slowness of the mode of commu- n
nication should be considered as " perfectly appalling."
And then, too, the substance of these communica-
tions is too absurd and ridiculous to be believed.
We might here refer to the information given by the
prophet Swedenborg himself, in relation to the con-
dition of the pious Melancthon in the future state,
that he was sometimes in an excavated stone cham-
ber, and at other times in hell ; and when in the
chamber, he was covered with bear skins to pro-
tect him from the cold ; and that he refuses to
see visitors from this world on account of the filthi-
ness of his apartment. This is about as probable
and interesting as the account given by a female
clairvoyant in Cleveland, Ohio, who says that she has
(just) had an interview with Tom Paine, " who re-
cants his errors, and is at present stopping with Gen-
eral Washington and Ethan Allen, at a hotel kept by
John Bunyan."
We here introduce the following from one of the
Boston papers : —
" The ' Spiritual Rappings ' exploded. — There is a
good article under this head, on the first page, to
which we invite attention. The writer is an accom-
plished scholar, an able physician, and one of the first
and best magnetizers in this country. He has inves-
tigated the ' rappings ' — tested them theoretically
and practically, and ' exploded ' them, if our readers
144 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
have not already done so for themselves. His com-
mtinication is entitled to weight, and if circulated, as
it should be, among the credulous and unsuspecting,
might save some from the pitiful effects of a mis-
chievous, absurd, and contemptible superstitious de-
lusion."
The article is as follows : —
" About the 16th of December last, I called on Mr.
Sunderland, in good faith, in order to hear and see
manifestations from the spirit world. He received
me in a friendly manner, and, with a young lady who
was with me, seated me in the spirit room. We had
to wait an hour or more, and while seated we devout-
ly invoked the spirits. Finding them silent, I put on
them some of my most powerful mesmeric electric
formula. They persevered, however, in preserving
profound silence.
" When, however, the medium, Mrs. Cooper, had
arrived, and seven of us, four gentlemen and three
ladies, were seated round a square centre table, the
responses were made, and came freely. The young
lady with me, willing to believe, but \\dshing to know
with absolute certainty, before she assented to the
truth of the proposition, that the rappings were
made by spirits, and not by the persons engaged in
the business, had seated herself about three feet from
the table, so that she could see under it. The follow-
ing dialogue then ensued between Mrs. Cooper, her
adopted sister, and the young lady : —
" ' Will you sit close to the table, miss ? '
" ' If they are spirits, they can rap just as ^vell where
J am. I am willing to be convinced, and where I am
I can hear perfectly well.'
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 145
" ' The rule is, to sit close to the table.'
" ' I will not disturb, but choose to sit where I am.'
" • If you will not comply with the regulation, you
had better go into the other room.'
" ' I came to know, and I shall sit where I am.*
" She was inflexible, and the work proceeded.
When my turn came, I could put no test question,
and was so told. I saw and felt that there was col-
lusion, and, ashamed of myself as being the dupe of
supposed and known imposition, after enduring the
liour's sitting, I arose with the full conviction that all
was the effect of bones and muscles, and of mes-
meric action and reaction on the subjects themselves.
While we were examining a piano which was used on
such occasions, and our backs were turned towards
the table, standing partly sidewise, I caught a
glimpse of Mrs. Cooper's foot in the very position and
act of commencing a spirit somerset on the table.
She looked confused. I appeared not to have fully
recognized any thing wrong, thanked them for their
father's kindness and their attention, and left the
domicil of the ' spnitual philosopher ' under a full,
stern, and abiding convicc'.on that there was not the
abiding place of invisible beings — that all was me-
chanical which we heard, and all that any one had
beard or seen was mechanical or mesmeric.
" The second opportunity I had of testing the truth
or falsity of these spirit communications was in
the city of Lowell. Every thing was favorable as
to place, time, and company. My eyes were every
where, and raps came seldom and solitary. The me-
dium dropped from between his fingers a small black
pencil, about two inches long, with which I believe he
13
146 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
made the raps. After it fell, we heard no more. He
looked despairingly disappointed, soon went into a
trance, arose, locked us into the room, and when the
hour had transpired, came out voluntarily.
" Invited by a friend who was anxious to convince
me more fully, and especially to convert the young
.ady who was with me at Mr. Sunderland's, he called at
my house with the medium, and was received into
my office. The young lady requested that we should
stand around the table, and no one touch it. We
did so. On the first response, she exclaimed, indig-
nantly, addressing the medium, ' That, sir, was from
your foot ; I heard it distinctly ! ' He looked guilty,
and his eyes flashed with anger. He asked the spirits
if it was not ' nonsense,' and received the response
from the foot, ' yes,' and left, evidently highly in-
censed.
" I determined to give one more trial to the spirits.
In this latter case, there were the three raps, clear
and strong, and the answers highly satisfactory, as
far as they went. But the difficulty was, that the
spirits were capricious, and would respond only to
just such as they saw fit ; and the medium was pretty
well acquainted with me. The perfect regularity of
the knocks, and the sound, convinced me that, in this
instance, it was purely mechanical. I endeavored to
get the secret from the medium, and the answer was,
' If I should tell you, you would be as wise as my-
self.' She evidently knew how it was done.
" I will now state a few facts, and conclude. 1. "Wood
is an excellent conductor of sounds. A small worm,
called at the south a sawyer, and sought for angling,
can be heard three yards, as it gnaws between the
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 147
wood and bark of a fallen pine; and the slightest
scratch of a pin, on the end of an isolated mast, sixty-
feet long, can be heard distinctly.
" 2. In mesmeric operations, we well know that indi-
viduals can be made to hear and see things that never
occurred or existed, and yet the subjects remain uncon-
scious that they have been made the subjects of mes-
meric hallucination I
" 3. Persons highly observant and susceptible can,
by their eye and feeling, when they put themselves
into a semi-abnormal condition, tell, in many instances
nine times out of ten, who is and who is not a be-
liever, and what is in the mind of the inquirer.
" 4. Mediums are invariably of this character.
" 5. In matters of faith, friendship, love, or the spirit
world, many are willing to be deceived; and when
they fall into the hands of the shrewd and designing,
who can appear the impersonation of truth, virtue,
honesty, and even piety itself, they are emphatically
humbugged, and give their money and their testimony
to confirm the fraud.
" Lastly. Many are so sincere and honest in their
intentions, that it is not in their hearts to believe that
some of our most respectable men, even clergymen,
would lend their names to sustain any thing but what
they had believed and tested as a reality, and therefore
themselves believe.
" Now, Mr. Editor, from all that 1 have seen and
know of these spiritual communications, as 'rappings,'
and from all these facts, I am free to declare, tha^ I
believe them an arrant humbug, and one, too, of the
most pernicious tendency. They can all be traced to
a human agency, as either mechanical or mesmeric,
148 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
alone or combined ; and I will give my right hand to
any medium whose operation and device I cannot
fully discover, trace, and demonstrate, as deducible
from either the one or both of these sources, and from
no otherP
A correspondent of the Boston Traveller, in a com-
munication dated New York, January 22, 1852, says,
" I look upon the delusion as I do upon a contagious
disease. It is a moral epidemic. Any man of peculiar
diathesis may be its victim. It spreads by sympathy
and by moral infection. Men of standing and intel-
lect gi'avely and seriously affirm that they have seen
a man rise and float about the room like a feather, till
some unbelieving wretch approaches and breaks the
spell, when the aerial swimmer falls suddenly to the
floor. Franklin, Washington, and all the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, have visited them,
and these departed worthies sanction any doctrine
which the uninitiated may happen to entertain before
consulting them." A. J. Davis says, " There is a class
of spirits who dwell in divine love more than in divine
wisdom, and who are easily influenced to feel pre-
cisely what the majority of those who consult them
feel and think, and under peculiar circumstances will
say precisely what the questioning minds of the circle
xnay ardently and positively desire. Affectionate spirits
— those dwelling in the love circles — are readily in-
fluenced to approve the desues of the hearts ci those
with whom they commune on earth ; as in our homes,
the infant, by virtue of its cries and positive entreaties,
captivates the affectionate, and perhaps intelligent,
mother, who, consequently, forthwith coincides with
her child's desires, submitting her judgment to xta
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 149
powerful appeals. Thus it is, through the power of
sympathy, spirits of the other world gratify all our
thoughts and desires." This is the opinion of Mr.
Davis, which may pass for what it is worth. "We
never indorse his spiritual notions.
To give an idea of the conduct exhibited at the
circles, or meetings, of the " harmonials," we submil
the following from the Springfield Republican of
January, 1852 : —
" When we entered the hall, the meeting had rioi
commenced, and all parties were engaged in a lively
chat. Soon there was a spontaneous coming to order,
and the ladies formed a circle around a table. The
gentlemen then formed a larger circle, entirely sur-
rounding the ladies. A good hymn was given out and
sung. During the singing, we noticed one lady grow-
ing excessively pale and cadaverous. Then her hands
began to twitch, and she commenced pounding upon
the table. Directly opposite her, a young woman was
undergoing the process of being magnetized by the
spirits, while she, as we were informed, was resisting
them. Her hands were drawn under the table by
sudden and powerful jerks, and every muscle in her
body seemed to be agitated with the most powerful
commotion, as if she were acted upon in every part
by shocks of electricity. This continued for ten or
fifteen minutes, until she was, at last, in a state ap-
parently resembling the magnetic sleep.
" Another lady, with a fine eye and an intellectual
cast of countenance, was then moved to write, which
she did, while her eyes stared and rolled as if in a state
of frenzy, and every muscle seemed strained to its
utmost tension. She wrote absolutely furiously, but
13*
150 INTIKCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
no one but the spirits could read it, and it was passed
over tc another medium, who announced it a message
of such utter unimportance that we have forgotten it.
A brawny blacksmith was among the mediums, but
he did nothing but pound on the table, and write the
word ' sing.' The famous medium Gordon was there,
too, and he went through various contortions — got
down upon his knees, stood upon his seat, and
stretched up his arms and fingers, trembling all the
while, as if in the highest state of nervous excitement.
Once he was twitched bodily under the table, uttering
a scream as he went. At times, the different me-
diums would rise, spread their arms, slap the table,
and throw their hands into motions almost inconceiv-
ably rapid.
" One of the mediums, a young woman, arose by
the dictation and powerful urging of the spirits,
and delivered a rambling sermon. It abounded in
quotations from the Bible and the doctrines of Uni-
versalism.
" But it was when the singing was in progress that
the spirits and the mediums were in the highest
ecstasy. Then the latter would pound, and throw
their arms around, and point upwards, in the most
fantastic manner possible. And thus, with singing,
and pounding, and reading the Bible, and writing,
and preaching, the evening passed away ; and while
Old Hundred was being sung, the spirits gave their
good night to the circle.
" We can give but a faint idea of this scene. It is
one we shall never forget, and we only wish that the
respectable men we saw there, the men of age and
experience, the young men and young women, could
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 151
understand the pity with which a man without the
circle of their sympathy regarded them. With the
light of reason within them, with minds not untaught
by education, and with the full and perfect revelation
of God's will in their very hands, it was indeed most
pitiable to see them swallowing these fantastic mum-
meries, and mingling them, in all their wild, furious,
and unmeaning features, with the worship of Him who
manifests himself in the ' still small voice.'
" Of the sincerity of the majority of those present
we have no doubt ; but that there are rank impostors
in this town, who are leading astray the credulous, we
have as little doubt. The most that we saw on Satur-
day night was mesmerism, and the rest a very trans-
parent attempt at deception. At any rate, if it was
any thing else, we should attribute it to any thing but
good spirits. Were we a devil, and should we
wish to see how foolish we could make people
appear, we should choose this way. O men and
women, do have done with such outrageous non-
sense."
Some have been most grossly deceived, and even
made insane, by being made to believe that they were
magnetized by spirits. This was the case with one
of the celebrated Hutchinson singers — Judson J.
Hutchinson. Mr. Sunderland, in the fourth number
of the Spiritual Philosopher, observes as follows :
" We shall bear of communications from ' prophets,'
' apostles,' ' kings,' and ' statesmen,' and of divers
' revelations,' said to be made by them. We shall
hear of human beings said to be magnetized by spirits.
But the good and the true will know and understand
how easy it is for some to become ' magnetized' by theii
152 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
own ideas, and to take for ' revelations ' the fancies of
their oivn brains. The notion about mortals being
magnetized by spirits is a mistake, an error ; and it
was this error which was the principal cause of all
the real difficulty in the case of Judson J. Hutchinson.
Mr. H, was made to believe that he was in company
with his deceased brother, and that his own deceased
children came and sat upon his knees, and put their
arms about his neck. When he found himself sinking
into an abnormal state, he was told to believe that it
was the spirits, and that there was nothing human
about it. This, of course, Mr. H. was ready to believe.
He had heard of others being magnetized by spirits,
and they were happy, very happy. And as this
seemed to promise him approximation to the spirit
world, for which he was earnestly longing, he readily
gave himself entirely to that idea." The operator,
Mr. Hazard, of Rochester, New York, suggested that
Mr. Hutchinson should ask the spirits to move his
(Mr. H.'s) hand to the top of his own head, that then he
(Mr. H.) might know it was they. " But the operator
should have known," says Mr. Sunderland, " that his
suggesting it to the mind of Mr. Hutchinson, in the
manner he did, or, if Mr. Hutchinson's own mind
was directed to the movement of his own hand, that
was sufficient to cause his hand to move, even if there
had been no spirits in existence. And so, when Mr. H.
went to Cleveland, the difficulty was increased by a
repetition of the cause. He fell into the same state
again, of course, when similar associations brought it
up before his mind ; and there he was again told by
a clairvoyant lady, that she ' saw the spirits ' (his
brother Benjamin and Swedenborg) operating upon
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 153
him. The effect was, to render him insane P His
brother Jes&e says, that " the shock was too great
for Judson, on account of his bodily weakness, and
that his feeble nature was too fine strung to bear up
against the severe attacks, and it was with great
difficulty he was brought back to Milford, New
Hampshire." "While in this state, Mr. Sunderland
was sent for, and staid with him three davs and
three nights, to render him assistance. Mr. S. says,
" He was unfortunate in being told that, he was
magnetized by spirits, and still more so, perhaps, in
the treatment he met with from some uncongenial
spirits in Syracuse and in "Worcester." From this,
as well as from some other unfortunate cases, persons
are admonished to be careful to refrain from visiting
such impostors.
Some have been told that St. Paul, St. Peter, St.
Luke, and Timothy, were present, and answered ques-
tions put to them ; but Mr. Davis and Mr. Sunderland
declare it to be false. Mr. Davis says, " This point 1
have been led to investigate carefully; and at no one
of the circles referred to do I discover, upon the most
critical interior retrospection, a single communication
from the veritable St. Paul, nor from any one of his
glorious compeers."
So of Benjamin Franklin, who, it is said, has never
condescended to converse but a very few times with
earthly beings, though his name is often quoted in
connection with clairvoyancy. The reason he is said
to assign to Mr. Davis is, that he cannot " prevent
the almost exact human imitations of his vibrations ;
and that they produce so much confusion and con
tradiction, that he thinks it best to wait until som
154 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
further improvement can be made in the mode of com-
munication between the two worlds." Yet how many
are told that they have been put in communication
with Franklin!
Mr. Sunderland says, " We need the same condi-
tions, or guaranties, for believing spirits^ that we do
for believing human testimony." Speaking of those
clairvoyants who are supposed to be exalted into the
spirit sphere, so as to see and converse with spirits, he
says, " Whether they do, really, see the spirits, whom
they think they do, must be determined by other things
besides their own testimony. We are not obliged to
take their own mere ipse dixit upon this, any more than
upon any other subject." And as yet, as has been
remarked by Dr. Phelps, there is no proof that what
purports to be a revelation from spirits is the work of
spirits at all Mr. Sunderland, for all we can see, is
liable to be in an error, as well as others ; and all the
evidence he gives us that he has had interviews and
holds conversations with spirits is that of his own tes-
timony alone. And so of Mr. Davis.
We have said that no dependence whatever can be
placed upon the rapping spirits. Dr. Phelps, of Strat-
ford, Connecticut, once heard a very loud rapping
under the table while at his breakfast. " I asked if it
was my sister. The answer was, ' Yes.' ' Well,' said
I, ' if you are the spirit of my sister, you can tell me
how many chi.dren you have in this world.' So the
spirit commenced counting, and counted up to twenty-
five, when I pronounced it a li/ing- spirit. I asked it,
'Are you unhappy ? ' It answered, ' Yes.' ' Can I
do you any good ? ' ' Yes.' ' How ? ' The spirit
then called for the alphabet, and spelled out, * Give
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. lt^5
me a glass of fresh gin.' ' What will you do with
it,' said I. ^Put it to my mouths I asked, ' Where is
your mouth ? ' No answer."
Letters, and lines written upon scraps of paper,
have, it is said, been sent from the other world. The
following was dropped from the ceiling of Mrs. Phelps's
parlor when she and others were present.
. " Sir, — Sir Sambo's compliments, and begs the
ladies to accept as a token of his esteem." Other
papers have been similarly written upon, and signed
" Sam Slick," « The Devil," " Beelzebub," " Lorenzo
Dow," &c.
On the 15th of March, 1850, a large turnip was
thrown against Dr. Phelps's parlor window, having
several characters carved out upon it, somewhat re-
sembling the Chinese characters. A facsimile of them
may be found in Davis's explanation of Modern Mys-
teries, page 55.
Some may receive such things as emanations from
the spirit world ; but to us they seem too simple and
puerile to be considered as having any thing to do
with the higher spheres.
Dr. Phelps, who has been witness to every species
of manoeuvre of the alleged spirit rappers, says that
he has become fully satisfied that no reliance whatever
is to be placed on their communications, either as a
source of valuable information, or as a means of
acquiring truth. " I am satisfied," says he, "that their
communications are wholly worthless. They are often
contradictory, often prove false, frequently trifling and
nonsensical, and more in character with what might
be expected of a company of loafers on a spree than
from spirits returned from a world of retribution to
' tell the secrets of their prison house.' "
156 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
With regard to moving tables, chairs, beds, &c., Mr.
Davis says that, " at a circle of friends in Bridgeport,
Connecticut, there was a large congregation of spirits,
who, from a distance of eighty miles, or thirty above
the atmosphere of our earth, directed a mighty column
of vital electricity and magnetism, which column or
current, penetrating all intermediate substances, and
by a process of infiltration, entered the fine particles
of matter which composed the table, and raised it,
several successive times, three or four feet from the
floor ! " This we are to receive upon his authority,
or upon the testimony of those who may say they
saw the table moved. But if the operator can make,
things appear that never occurred or existed, and can
imagine a thing, and have that imag-ination transferred
to others, then what evidence have we that spirits are
concerned in the transaction ? Just none at all. A
while ago, we heard of an Italian, at the Massachusetts
Hospital, who could raise tables from the floor with-
out touching them ; and the art of so doing, he said, he
learned in Italy. And how are we to account for the
Millerites and others being so raised, as they believed ?
Are they not as much to be credited as those who
profess a belief in the miracles of the " harmonial
philosophers " ? For ourselves, we are satisfied that
such things, for the most part, are but a delusion,
whether they are alleged to take place among those
supposed to be bewitched, the Adventists, or the har-
monials.
As to the rapping- noises, we are inclined to think
they may have something to do with the knee and
toe joints, and that the two performers usually sit to-
gether, in order the better to alternate with, and spell
or relieve each other. Upon a fair trial, it certainly
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 157
has been proved that the noises cannot be produced
when the joints are grasped firmly by another. But
it may be doubted by some whether the joints can be
made to produce the distinct rappings that are some-
times heard. We think they can. A few years ago,
a boy in London gave exhibitions of what was
termed " chin music." It was done by striking the
fists upon the lower jaw. By this practice he was
able to produce quite loud and distinct sounds, and
play a variety of tunes, to the amusement of the pub-
lic. The sounds were made by the finger joints, it
was supposed ; and perhaps the jaw bone may have
contributed its share in the performance. The sounds
given by the " rapping spirits " are by no means so re-
markable as many suppose. They are often quite in-
distinct, and nearly inaudible. Unless a person was
possessed of a large share of credulity, he would
never consider them as the responses of an intelligent
spirit. This is the decided conviction of hundreds
who have witnessed their performances in various
parts of the country. Yet many have been, and
others will be, deceived. And, doubtless, many ten-
der and sensitive minds may be made insane by the
wicked trifling of these unprincipled impostors. Cer-
tainly we have not the least desire to set at nought
any thing of a tridi/ serious character. Yet we are
constrained to believe that the things of which we
have spoken are too ridiculous and nonsensical, if
not actually sinful, to be entitled to the least favor
from the public. The learned Thomas Dick, in his
Essay on the Improvement of Society, gives an
account of far more singular and wonderful phenome'
na produced by mechanical agency, than any that has
14
158 INTERCOURSE fVITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
as yet been attributed to the agency of spirits, as af
firmed by A. J. Davis, or La E,oy Sunderland. And
we here subjoin the facts of the case, for the benefit
of the public : —
" Soon after the murder of King Charles I., a com-
mission was appointed to survey the king's house
at Woodstock, with the manor, park, and other de-
mesnes belonging to that manor. One Collins, under
a feigned name, hired himself as secretary to the
commissioners, who, upon the 13th October, 1649,
met, and took up their residence in the king's own
rooms. His majesty's bed chamber they made their
kitchen, the council hall their pantry, and the pres-
ence chamber was the place where they met for the
despatch of business. Things being thus prepared,
they met on the 16th for business ; and in the midst
of their first debate, there entered a large black dog-
las they thought,) which made a dreadful howling,
overturned two or three of their chairs, and then crept
under a bed and vanished. This gave them the
greater surprise, as the doors were kept constantly
locked, so that no real dog could get in or out. The
next day their surprise was increased, when, sitting
at dinner in a lower room, they heard plainly the
noise of persons walking over their heads, though
they well knew the doors were all locked, and there
could be nobody there. Presently after, they heard,
also, all the wood of the King's Oak brought by par-
cels from the dining room, and thrown with great vio-
lence into the presence chamber, as also all the chairs,
stools, tables, and other furniture forcibly hurled
about the room ; their papers, containing the minutes
of their transactions, were torn, and the ink glass
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 159
broken. When all this noise had ceased, Giles
Sharp, their secretary, proposed first to enter into
these rooms ; and in presence of the commission-
ers, from whom he received the key, he opened the
doors, and found the wood spread about the room, the
chairs tossed about and broken, the papers torn, but
not the least track of any human creature, nor the
least reason to suspect one, as the doors were all fast,
and the keys in the custody of the commissioners.
It was therefore unanimously agreed that the power
that did this mischief must have entered at the key-
hole. The night following, Sharp, with two of the
commissioners' servants, as they were in bed in the
same room, which room was contiguous to that where
the commissioners lay, had their beds' feet lifted up so
much higher than their heads, that they expected to
have their necks broken, and then they were let fall at
once with so much violence as shook the whole
house, and more than ever terrified the commissioners.
On the night of the 19th, as they were all in bed in
the same room, for greater safety, and lights burning
oy tliem, the candles in an instant went out, with a
sulphurous smell; and that moment many trenchers
of wood were hurled about the room, which next
morning were found to be the same their honors had
eaten out of the day before, which were all removed
from the pantry, though not a lock was found opened
in the whole house. The next night they fared still
worse ; the candles went out, as before ; the curtains
of their honors' beds were rattled to and fro with
great violence ; they received many cruel blows and
bruises by eight great pewter dishes and a number of
wooden trenchers being thrown on their beds, which,
160 INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.
being heaved off, were heard rolling about the room,
though in the morning none of these were to be seen.
" The next night the keeper of the king's house and
his dog lay in the commissioners' room, and then they
had no disturbance. But on the night of the 22d,
though the dog lay in the room as before, yet the
candles went out, a number of brickbats fell from the
chimney into the room, the dog howled piteously,
their bed clothes were aU stripped off, and their terror
increased. On the 24th, they thought all the wood
of the King's Oak was violently thrown down by their
bedsides ; they counted sixty-four billets that fell, and
some hit and shook the beds in w^hich they lay ; but
in the morning none was found there, nor had the
door been opened where the billet wood was kept.
The next night the candles were put out, the curtains
rattled, and a dreadful crack, like thunder, was heard ;
and one of the servants, running in haste, thinking
his master was killed, found three dozen of trenchers
laid smoothly under the quilt by him. But all this
was nothing to what succeeded afterwards. The
29th, about midnight, the candles went out ; something
walked majestically through the room, and opened
and shut the windows ; great stones were thrown
violently into the room, some of which fell on the
beds, others on the floor ; and at about a quarter after
one, a noise was heard as of forty cannon discharged
together, and again repeated at about eight minutes' in-
tervals. This alarmed and raised all the neighborhood,
who, coming into their honors' room, gathered up the
gi'eat stones, fourscore in number, and laid them by
in the corner of a field, where they were afterwards to
be seen. This noise, like the discharge of cannon,
INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. 161
was heard for several miles round. During these
noises, the commissioners and their servants gave one
another over for lost, and cried out for help ; and Giles
Sharp, snatching up a sword, had well nigh killed one
of their honors, mistaking him for the spirit, as he
came in his shirt from his own room to theirs. While
they were together, the noise was continued, and part
of the tiling of the house was stripped off, and all the
windows of an upper room were taken away with it.
On the 30th, at midnight, something walked into the
chamber, treading like a bear ; it walked many times
about, then threw the warming pan violently on the
floor ; at the same time, a large quantity of broken
glass, accompanied with great stones and horse bones,
came pouring into the room with uncommon force. On
the 1st of November, the most dreadful scene of all
ensued. Candles in every part of the room were
lighted up, and a great fire made ; at midnight, the
candles all yet burning, a noise like the bursting of a
cannon was heard in the room, and the burning billets
were tossed about by it even into their honors' beds,
who called Giles and his companions to their relief,
otherwise the house had been burned to the ground ;
about an hour after, the candles went out as usual,
the crack as of many cannon was heard, and many
pailfnls of green stinking water were thrown upon
their honors' beds ; great stones were also thrown in
as before, the bed curtains and bedsteads torn and
broken, the windows shattered, and the whole neigh-
borhood alarmed with the most dreadful noises ; nay,
the very rabbit stealers, that were abroad that night
in the warren, were so terrified, that they fled for fear,
and left their ferrets behind them. One of their
14*
162 INTERCOURSE WITH DEl-ARTED SPIRITS.
honors this night spoke, and, in the name of God^
asked what it was, and vjhy it disturbed them so.
No answer was given to ti is ; but the noise ceased
for a while, when the spirit came again ; and as they
all agreed, brought with it seven devils worse than
itself. One of the servants now lighted a large candle,
and set it in the doorway between the two chambers,
to see what passed ; and as he watched it, he plainly
saw a hoof striking the candle and candlestick into the
middle of the room, and afterwards, making three
scrapes over the snufF, scraped it out. Upon this the
same person was so bold as to draw a sword ; but he
had scarcely got it out, when he felt another invisible
hand holding it too, and pulling it from him, and at
length, prevailing, struck him so violently on the head
with the pommel, that he fell down for dead with the
blow. At this instant was heard another burst, like
the discharge of the broadside of a ship of war, and at
the interval of a minute or two between each, no less
than nineteen such discharges. These shook the
house so violently that they expected every moment
it would fall upon their heads. The neighbors, being
all alarmed, flocked to the house in great numbers,
and all joined in prayer and psalm singing; during
which the noise continued in the other rooms, and the
discharge of cannons was heard as from without,
though no visible agent was seen to discharge them.
But what was the most alarming of all, and put an end
to their proceedings effectually, happened the next day,
as they Avere all at dinner, when a paper, in which they
had signed a mutual agreement to reserve a part of the
premises out of the general survey, and afterwards to
share it equally among themselves, (wh:"ch paper they
' INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED Si IRITS. 163
had hid for the present under the earth, in a pot in one
corner of the room, and in which an orange tree grew,)
was consumed in a wonderful manner by the earth's
taking fire, with which the pot was filled, and burning
violently with a blue flame and an intolerable stench,
so that they were all driven out of the house, to which
they could never be again prevailed upon to return."
This story has been somewhat abridged from the
EncyclopsBdia Britannica, where it is quoted from Dr.
Plot's History of Oxfordshire, in which these extraor-
dinary occurrences are ascribed to satanic influence
At the time they happened, they were viewed as the ei
fects of supernatural powers ; and even Dr. Plot seems
disposed to ascribe them to this cause. " Though
many tricks," says the doctor, " have often been
played in affairs of this kind, yet many of the things
above related are not reconcilable with juggling ; such
as the loud noises beyond the powers of man to make
without such instruments as were not there ; the tear-
ing and breaking the beds ; the throwing about the
fire ; the hoof treading out the candle ; and the striv-
ing for the sword; and the blow the man received
from the pommel of it." It was at length ascertained,
however, that this wonderful contrivance was all the
invention of the memorable Joseph Collins, of Oxford,
otherwise called Funny Joe, who, having hired him-
self as secretary under the name of Giles Sharp, by
knowing the private traps belonging to the house, and
by the help of pulvis fulminans, and other chemical
preparations, and letting his fellow-servants into the
scheme, carried on the deceit without discovery, to
the very last.
The occurrences whieh are said to have taken place
164 INTERCOURSE WITH DEJrARTED SPIRITS.
at the house of the Rev. Dr. Phelps, in Sti'atford,
Connecticut, are not to be comparec in their marvel-
lousness to those we have quoted from Dr. Dick, and
which things were the results of the ingenuity of Joe
Collins. Therefore, when we hear of such like oc-
currences in our day, there will be no necessity for us
to attribute them to any supernatural influence, either
good or bad ; for it is a well-received maxim, that
" what man lias done man can doP To suppose that
the merciful Father of spirits would harass and
frighten mankind by haunting their houses with
strange noises and rappings, ghosts and hobgoblins,
and spirits of the uneasy dead, would be derogatory
to his paternal character. And who, for a moment,
could believe that he would torment little children in
this way, when our Savior took them in his arms, and
blessed them, and said, " Of such is the kingdom of
heaven " ? No, we must attribute such things to any
other source than as proceeding from the throne of God.
Up to the present time it may be that many will
profess to the world that they have actually seen the
spirits of the departed. Yet this is no new profession,
for the votaries of St. Vitus, and the spiritually-minded
Shakers of later times, have declared to us that they
have seen their departed friends and acquaintances.
But even Mr. Davis is led to consider a large majority
of these cases to be the results of cerebral agitation.
" I can truthfully affirm," says he, "that the objects,
localities, scenery, and personages, seen by those la-
boring under monomania, delirium tremens, &c., are
of the same class of mental delusion, and are abso-
lutely nothing more than the unconscious elaborations
of the surcharged brain."
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 165
CHAPTEE XVI.
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
The following are some of the evils that result from
a belief in popular superstitions : —
1. They have caused a great waste of time. Look
at the practice of heathen nations. Their religious
ceremonies are altogether superstitious. All the time
devoted to false gods must be considered as wasted.
Take a survey, too, of Catholic countries. During
the dark ages, their priests were engaged in nonsensi-
cal disputes. Treatise after treatise was composed on
such subjects as the following : How many angels
can stand on the point of a needle ? Have spirits any
navels ? Is the Virgin Mary the mother of God ? and
a thousand others equally senseless and unprofitable.
In their monasteries, multitudes passed their days in
repeating unintelligible prayers, poring over the le-
gends of their saints, cutting figures in paper, and tor-
menting their bodies for the good of their souls. Turn
our attention to Protestant lands, and here we find,
also, that many a folio has been written on foolish
and unintelligible subjects ; that many a day ha,s been
occupied in trying and burning witches and heretics ;
that many a pharasaic custom has been scrupulously
observed, and many an absurd opinion advanced and
defended. Even in our own times, many hours are
occupied in discoursing about dreams and visions,
signs and tricks, spectres and apparitions ; in consult-
ing charms and lots, and fortune tellers ; in prying
into future events and occurrences ; ir borrowing
166 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
trouble on account of some supposed unfavorable
omen ; or in various other practices equally vain and
superstit ous. Now, all this is wrong. Time is given
for no such purposes. We have but a short period
allotted to us to remain in this world, and a great
work to accomplish. Let us then be always engaged
in something useful and virtuous.
2. Popular superstitions have caused a great waste
of human life. Cast your eye over the page of history.
You there notice an account of the trial by ordeal.
The accused person was required either to hold red-
hot iron balls in his naked hands, or to \valk over red-
hot plates of iron with bare feet. If he escaped un-
burned, he was considered innocent ; but if he was
scorched, sentence of death was pronounced. Or he
was compelled either to thrust his arm into a caldron
of boiling water, or be thrown into a deep pond. If
he was either unscalded or drowned, his innocence
was proved ; but if he was scalded or could swim, the
sentence of condemnation was passed. In neither
case could life be saved, except by the interposition of
a miracle ; and this was not expected on such occa-
sions. And through this superstition, thousands per-
ished in the most cruel and unrighteous manner. A
distinguished writer computes that more than one
hundred thousand persons, of all ages, have suffered
death for witchcraft alone. Only think I one hundred
thousand persons murdered for a crimt Df which no
nuinan person was ever guilty !
There are others who bring upon themselves sick
ness, and even death, by their belief in signs, dreams,
and forewarnings. But as the gospel sheds abroad
its divine 'ight, these things are found to recede, and
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 167
to give place to more rational views of divine wisdom
and goodness, in the control and arrangement of events
having a relation to our being and happiness. The
author of the Family Encyclopaedia says, that " the
superstitious notions of ghosts, spirits, &c., are rapidly
declining ; and notwithstanding all the solemn tales
which have been propagated, there is no reason to
believe that any real spirits or celestial agents have
held intercourse with man since the establishment of
Christianity;" and that "the history of modern mir-
acles, appearances of the dead, &c., will be always
found, when thoroughly examined, merely the phan-
toms of a disordered imagination."
3. Popular superstitions have caused great and un-
necessary misery. We need not refer to history for
an illustration of this assertion. We have sufficient
examples around us. Look into society, and we shall
find one class who pay particular attention to all signs
and dreams. If any thing unfavorable is indicated,
their feelings are greatly depressed ; and if the con-
trary, they are as much elated. If a little insect,
called the death watch, knocks for its mate on the
wall, sleepless nights are sure to follow. K they notice
the new moon over the wrong shoulder, their comfort
is destroyed for a whole month. Nanny Scott, the
old washerwoman, is sure that another death will
happen in the family this year, because, when her
sister-in-law was taken out to be buried, somebody
shut the door before the corpse was under ground, and
so shut death into the house. And her neighbor, the
good Mrs. Taylor, suffers the baby to scratch and dis-
figure its face, because it is said to be unlucky to cut
the nails of a child under a year old. Another neigh-
168 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
bor has seen a single raven fly over the house, or
heard a cricket chirping upon the hearth, and is greatly
alarmed, because such things are said to be a sign of
death to some member of the family within the year.
And thus many are found who are silly enough to
imbitter their own lives and the lives of others by
such foolish superstitions.
There may be noticed another class, whose belief in
the supernatural origin of signs, omens, and warnings
leads them to adopt measures for their speedy fulfil-
ment. Many a wedded couple seem to think they
must quarrel because it happened to storm on the day
they were married ; and when some dispute arises
between them, they fall to fighting, to prove, if possible,
the truth of the prediction. And for all this interrup •
tion of domestic harmony, they blame, not their own
tempers and passions, but the decrees of fate. Many
a person has concluded he must live in poverty all his
days, because a few moles have appeared on the wrong
side of his body. And hence he neglects all industry
and economy, and dissipates his time, his privileges,
and his talents.
We may notice a third class, who give themselves
to tricks, fortune telling, and opening books, to dis-
cover the events of futurity. Their spirits vary with
the supposed indications of good or evil occurrences.
"A lady, who moved in the first circles, was once
visiting in a clergyman's family of my acquaintance,"
says the late Rev. Bernard Whitman, " and it was her
regular morning custom to toss up a little box of pins,
ana make her happiness for the day depend upon their
accidental variation in falling. If they came down
more heads thaw pointe, she was cheerful and happy;
EVIL EF.ECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 169
but if more points than heads, she was gloomy and
wretched. It seemed she valued her comfort, worth
at least a brass pin." Many a worthy Christian has
not only been deprived of his happiness, but betrayed
into wild, extravagant, and even sinful acts, by at-
tempting to follow the suggestion of the passage
which first meets his eye on opening the Bible. Many
a poor wight has formed a disadvantageous matrimo-
nial alliance, because some old hag has described black
eyes and rosy cheeks as the characteristics of his
future bride.
"We may notice, moreover, a fourth class, who are
forever anticipating some dreadful calamity. Let any
fool solemnly proclaim that war, famine, or pestilence
is approaching, and they will give more heed to it
than to that holy word which assures us that our
heavenly Father will never leave nor forsake us. All
uncommon appearances in the heavens they look upon
as indications of the threatened judgments of an angry
God. Even the beautiful Aurora Borealis, which
spans the blue concave above us, was so inter-
preted. To permit such fears to disturb and destroy
our happiness is a sin against Heaven. Our heavenly
Father created us for enjoyment. He has furnished
us with capacities and means of felicity. He has
even commanded us to rejoice in the Lord always.
He has given us a religion to effect this desirable ob-
ject. It is as much a part of this religion to be always
cheerful, contented, and happy, as to be always tem-
perate, just, and virtuous. And if people would take
one tenth part of the pains to make themselves happy
that they do to render themselves miserable, there
would h° ten times the present amount of happiness.
15
170 EVIL EF~ECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
" By the grace of God," says the Rev. John Wesley,
*' I never fret. I repine at nothing ; I am discontented
at nothing. And to have persons at my ear fretting
and murmuring at every thing is like tearing the flesh
from off my bones. I see God sitting upon his throne,
and ruling all things well." A companion of Mr.
Wesley says that he never saw him low-spirited in
his life, nor could he endm*e to be with an unhappy,
melancholic person. " Every believer," he often re-
marked, " should enjoy life." " I dare no more fret,"
said he, " than curse or swear." Would that all Chris-
tians were as cheerful and consistent as Mr. Wesley.
There would be less of dark and dismal forebodings ;
less of distrust, and more of solid peace and comfort,
in the soul. It seems that Melancthon was somewhat
of a melancholic turn of mind, and, when gloomy
and dejected, would call upon Luther, and relate to
him his troubles and afflictions. Luther, being of a
more lively and hopeful turn, after listening to him a
short time, would jump upon his feet, and say,
" Come, come, let us sing the forty-sixth psalm;"
and when they had sung that, all was peaceful and
happy again.
As to what is commonly termed good or ill luck,
we may be assured that they have no other existence
but in the imagination. Luck means chance ; but
every thing, great and small, is under the wise and
gracious direction of God. Nothing can happen
without his permission, and he permits nothing but
what, in his wonderful plans, he designs to work for
our good. We are kept in ignorance of the particular
events that are to befall us, in order to keep alive
within us an abiding sense of oui ^.ependence on God,
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 171
and a constant obedience to the directions of his
word, by which alone we can be prepared to meet the
dispensat'.ons of his providence. The Bible teUs us
quite enough of futurity to teach us to prepare for it,
as far as it rests with us to prepare. And it is both
vain and wicked to endeavor to obtain any further in-
formation from any other source, or for any one to pre-
tend that they possess it. Had it been necessary for
our good that we should know every thing beforehand,
the information would have been given us in the Bible,
or it would have been left so that we could have
gathered it from general instruction and observation,
as is the case with every kind of knowledge that is
essential to our present as well as everlasting good.
It certainly would not have been left to creaking
doors, croaking ravens, or ill-made tallow candles.
Neither would God reveal to weak and wicked men
or women the designs of his providence, which no
human wisdom is able to foresee. To consult these
false oracles is not only foolish, but sinful. It is
foolish, because they themselves are as ignorant as
those whom they pretend to teach ; and it is sinful,
because it is prying into that futurity which God, in
mercy, as well as in wisdom, hides from man. God
indeed orders aU things ; but when you have a mind
to do a foolish thing, do not fancy that you are fated
to do it ; this is tempting Providence, not trusting
God. It is charging him with folly. Prudence is his
gift, and you obey him better when you make use of
prudence, under the direction of prayer, than when
you heedlessly rush into ruin, and think you are only
submitting to your fate. Fancy never that you are
compelled to undo yourself, or to rush upon your own
172 E^lh EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
destruction, in compliance with any supposed fatality.
Believe never that God conceals his will from a sober
Christian, who obeys his laws, and reveals it to a
vagabond, who goes from place to place, breaking the
laws both of God and man. King Saul never con-
sulted the witch until he left off serving God. The
Bible will direct us best. Conjurers are impostors ;
and there are no days unlucky but those we make so
by our vanity, folly, and sin.
4. Popular superstitions have greatly injured the
cause of medicine. That superstition which leads
people to believe in the efficacy of charms is very in-
jurious. We wiH enumerate a few cases by way of
example. The scrofula, for instance, is frequently
called the king's evil. It received this name because
it was generally believed that the touch of a king
would cure the disorder. For centuries this belief was
so prevalent, that any one who should call it in ques-
tion would have been considered no less than an
infidel, and an enemy to his king and country. And
so great was the demand for the king's touch, from
invalids, that one day in seven was set apart for the
king to bestow healing mercies on his subjects. Vast
numbers flocked to him, from Wales, Ireland, Scot-
land, and many parts of the continent.' An exact
register was kept of the number of persons who came
to Charles the Second for relief, from 1660 to 1664,
and they amounted to twenty-three thousand six hun-
dred and one. From May, 1667, to 1684, the number
of persons touched amounted to sixty-eight thousand
five hundred a id six. Total, ninety -two thousand one
hun('red and seven. The practice was begun in the
year 1051, and continued until the reign of the present
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 173
royal family, who were possessed of too much sense
to encourage such an idle superstition. But notwith-
standing this belief and practice were abandoned by
the royal family, yet, with some individuals, a belief
still prevails that certain persons are endowed with
healing power.
In 1807, a farmer in Devonshire, England, who was
the ninth son of a ninth son, officiated in the cure of
the king's evil, and multitudes believed that they
received healing from his touch. In this country, a
seventh son of a seventh son has officiated in similar
cases, and performed incredible cures, as we are told
by those who think they have received signal blessings
through his instrumentality.
Not many years since, the cold hands of a convict,
who had terminated his life on the gallows, in Liver-
pool, were drawn over several wens a number of times
to effect a cure. A person in one of our western
states ran a pitchfork into his hand, and he applied a
plaster to the cold iron as well as to the fresh wound.
When people run a nail into their foot, they frequently
save and polish the rusty iron to facilitate the recovery
Some time since, in the State of Maine, the body of a
female was taken from the grave, her heart taken out,
dried, and pulverized, and given to another member of
the family, as a specific against the consumption.
And the same thing has more recently been done in
the town of Waltham, Massachusetts. The heart was
reduced to a powder, and made into pills, but they
did not cure the patient ; while the person who took
up the remains from the grave, and removed the heart,
came very near losing his life, from the putre "active
state of the corpse at the time.
15*
174 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
We could relate many other cases, equally foolish
and disgusting. All such things should be classed
under the general name of charms, and be looked upon
as relics of the grossest superstitions. Why not as
well have the touch of a slave as a king ? Why not
as v^eW apply your .plaster to a tree as to a pitchfork ?
Why not as well drink the heart of a lamb as a woman ?
You may say that God has determined certain cures
shall follow certain applications. No such determina-
tion is published in his word, and no such conclusions
can be inferred from facts. You may pretend that a
special miracle is wrought in such cases. But this
is incredible; for the object is not compatible with
the miraculous interposition of Deity. And the few
cures which are reputed to have taken place can bp
satisfactorily accounted for, on the influence of the
imagination, and other natural causes. So that such
a belief is not only superstitious, but calculated to
lead people to neglect the proper means of recovery, and
thus injure themselves and the medical profession.
In the years 1808, '9, and '10, a Mr. Austin of
Colchester, Vermont, gave out that he was a gifted
person in the art of healing ; and if the patient would
describe to him, by word of mouth, or by letter, the
true symptoms of his malady, he would receive heal-
ing at his word, if indeed his disease was curable.
In a very little time the obscure retreat of Austin was
thronged with invalids, coming from almost every
section of the country; and Colchester was scarcely
less in favor than Ballston or Saratoga. The mail
carriers groaned under the burden of ma.adies de-
scribed. Bar roomb at public inns, on roads leading to
Colchester, were decorated with letters directed to
fiVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 175
the " Prophet of Colchester ; " an: vagrants were
found travelling over the country, collecting of in-
valids their evil symptoms, to be truly and faith-
fully delivered to the prophet in a given time, at
the moderate price of fifty cents per letter. We
were soon referred to cases wherein the most invet-
erate deafness was removed ; the blind saw ; drop-
sies and consumptions, in the last stages of them,
were cured ; and the patient, it is said, in many in-
stances, would tell the day and the hour when their
letters were received by the prophet, although they
might be some hundred miles distant from the de-
liverer, because, at such an hour, they began to mend.
The prophet, however, did not long enjoy his far-famed
celebrity. His house, after a while, was deserted of
invalids. The people discovered their folly, and per-
mitted him to sink into his former merited obscurity.
It was just the same with the celebrated rain-water
doctor, as he was called, who established himself at
onetime in Providence, and at another time in the
vicinity of Boston. Many of those now living can
recollect the accounts of marvellous cures, and the
flocking of invalids of all descriptions to his temple of
health. But the community at length discovered the
imposition of his practice, and left him to the undis-
turbed enjoyment of his rain water and his gruel.
The most recent case of medical imposition pactised
upon the public, that has come to our knowledge, is
that of a practitioner in New York city, who, by
receiving a letter from sick or diseased persons, giving
the year, day, and hour of their birth, immediately for-
wards them a package of medicine suited to their case.
It seems to be a matter of astonishment to many how
176 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
he arrives at a knowledge of their state of health, so
as to be able to adapt his remedies to their several
conditions. But it is probably done on the principles
of astrology — by finding the planet under which the
patient is born, the diseases appertaining to that planet,
and the plants belonging to the same, which are sup-
posed to have a special effect upon the relative
planetary diseases. Culpepper, in his English Herbal,
if we mistake not, arranges or classifies all plants and
diseases in this way, and contends that astrology is
the only true key to medical science. Fortune telling
is practised upon a similar plan, through the agency
of astrology. But the whole is a deception, entirely
unworthy the age in which we live. The fortune
teller may hit upon an incident which is correct, once
in a while, and it would be strange if he did not.
And the astrological physician may prescribe some
little tonic, or stimulant, that will raise the drooping
spirits for a time, and actually lead the hopeful patient
to believe that he or she is fast recovering from their
long-afflictive maladies. But the sequel too often
teaches them the lesson of their sad mistake.
The history of Valentine Greataks, the son of an
Irish gentleman, who lived in the time of Cromwell,
is very similar to what we have related of the prophet
of Colchester. And about the same time, Francisco
Bagnone, a Capuchin friar, was famous in Italy,
having a gift of healing, principally by his hands
only. Multitudes of sick people attended him wher-
ever he went, to obtain healing mercy. And here,
perhaps, we may find the true principle on which all
the impositions of Popery have been maintained for
centuries gone by. It cannot be a matter of surprise
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERS TITIOXS. 177
that, if men, of more information than they, can be
made to believe that they are delivered from disease
by experiments of magnetism, tractors, or the mere
touch of the hand, these should believe that they are
healed by visiting the tombs of saints; by standing
before their statues ; being touched by nails from
tfieir coffins, rings from their fingers, or by the bones
of the fingers themselves.
We are by no means authorized to say that none
of these persons were relieved of pains and diseases
by seeking relief in this way. So great is the influ-
ence of the imagination on the nervous, vascular, and
muscular systems, as has already been shown, that it
would be no more than probable that obstructions,
causing pain and sickness, should in some instances
be removed, and lay a foundation for recovery. And,
moreover, that in a still greater nnmber of instances
the power of the imagination on the origin of the
nerves within the brain should counteract the motion
to the brain by disease acting upon the extremities
of the nerves ; and thus the patient for a season
might experience relief from pain, and even feel pleas-
ure, as was the case with an artist upon the Pont
Royal, mentioned by Dr. Sigault, and in the gambols
of the rheumatic patient, as mentioned by Dr. Hay-
garth. But in all these cases, experiment and illus-
tration, like those of the commissioners at Paris,
and like that of Dr. Haygarth in England, would dis-
close the real ground of these effects. The patients
would no longer attribute them to a supernatural in-
fluence. They would learn why, in most cases, the
relief supposed to be obtained was only momentary,
and why all those gifted persons, both in Europe and
178 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
America, have had in more than an ephemeral celeb-
rity, and, in most instances, lived ■•'o see themselves
neglected, and their pretensions become the subjects
of just satire and reproof.
5. Popular superstitions have greatly injured the
cause of religion. That superstition which allows
any substitute for personal holiness is very pernicious.
The Pharisees considered themselves holy, because
they were the descendants of faithful Abraham.
They fasted twice a week ; paid tithes of all they
possessed ; made long prayers in public places ; and
were strict observers of aU sacred days and religious
ceremonies. At the same time, they neglected the
weightier matters of the law — justice, mercy, faith-
fulness ; devoured widows' houses ; were proud, bigot-
ed, and self-righteous.
Some people think they lived only in the times of
the apostles. " But we should recollect," says the
E,ev. George Whitefield, " that vipers and toads have
the most eggs, and most numerous progeny. If you
were to look at the eggs of a toad through a micro-
scope, you would be surprised at the innumerable mul-
titude ; and the Pharisees are an increasing genera-
tion of vipers, which hatch and spread all over the
world. If you would know a Pharisee, he is one
who pretends to endeavor, and talks about keeping
the law of God, and does not know its spirituality.
'There are some of them very great men, in their own
estimation, and frequently make the greatest figure in
the church. One of them, a gentleman's son, be-
cause he had not broken the letter of the law, thought
he was right and without siij. " O," says he, " if I
have nothing to do but to keeo the commandmentsj I
EVIL EFFECTS OF l-OPCl-xVR SUPSRSTITIO.N 5. 179
am safe. I have honored my father and mother; I
never stole ; what need he to steal who has so good
an estate ? I never committed adultery." No, no ! he
loved his character too well for that : but our Lord
opens to him the law — This one thing' thou lackest ; go,
sell all thou hast, and give to the poor : he loved his
money more than his God ; Christ brought him back
to the first commandment, though he catechized him
first in the fifth. So Paul was a Pharisee. He says,
' I was alive without the law, once ; I was, touching the
law, blameless." How can that be? Can a man
be without the law, and yet, touching the law, be
blameless ? Says- he, "I was without the law ; that
is, I was not brought to see its spirituality. I thought
myself a very good man." No man could say of
Paul, Black is his eye. "But," says he, "when God
brought the commandment with power upon my soul,
then I saw my specks, and beheld my lack of true
righteousness."
Some Roman Catholics perform tedious pilgrim-
ages ; lacerate their own bodies ; abstain from meats
on certain days ; and some have paid the pope or
priests for the pardon of their sins, or purchased in-
dulgences for the commission of wickedness. Some
Protestants, too, attend punctually upon all religious
meetings, subscribe liberally to the charities of the
day, observe all gospel ordinances, and profess great
attachment to the cause of Christ ; and yet are fret-
ful, unkind, and disobliging in their families ; censori-
ous in their conversation ; uncharitable in their judg-
rient ; grasping in their dealings, and unhappy in
their dispositions. Some have thought that, because
Christ died for the sins of the whole world they
180 EVIL EFFECTS OP POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
could commit sin with impunity ; or, if they were
elected, they could do what they pleased, and be sure of
heaven at last. But all these things have no founda-
tion in reason, experience, or revelation, and may
therefore be considered superstitious. A belief in
them is exceedingly injurious to the cause of piety
and holiness, because it leads to the neglect of the one
thing needful — a uniformly sober, righteous, and god-
ly life. God will certainly render unto every man
according to his deeds. Be he Pharisee or Sadducee,
Catholic or Protestant, elect or non-elect, he can es-
cape the punishment of no sin but by repentance and
reformation. And no sin is ever removed, no virtue
is ever given, by miracle. Our iniquities must be for
saken, and our goodness acquired, by our own exer-
tions, aided by the promised influence of the Holy
Spirit. And, until we have accomplished these ends,
we cannot rationally expect pure and permanent
happiness.
There have been opinions respecting the devil, tinc-
tured somewhat with superstition, that have contrib-
uted to bring reproach upon the Scriptures, which
were supposed to teach the existence of just such a
being as many believed him to be. Martin Luther,
in speaking of his confinement in the castle of Wart-
burg, says, " The people brought me, among other
things, some hazel nuts, which I put into a box, and
sometimes I used to crack and eat of them. In the
night time, my gentleman, the devil, came and got
the nuts out of the box, and cracked them against
one of the bed posts, making a very great noise and
rumbling about my bed ; but I regarded him nothing
at all : when afterwards I began to slumber, then he
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 181
kei)t such a racket and rumbling upon the chamber
stairs, as if many empty barrels and hogsheads had
been tumbling down."
Dr. Cotton Mather, in the time of New England
witchcraft, took home one of the possessed damsels, to
learn the ways and works of Satan. When the doc-
tor called the family to prayers, she would whistle,
and sing, and yell, to drown his voice, would strike
at him with her fist, and try to kick him. But her
hand or foot would always recoil when within an
inch or two of his body ; thus giving the idea that
there was a sort of invisible coat of mail, of heaven-
ly temper, and proof against the assaults of the devil,
around his sacred person. She seemed to be greatly
displeased at the thought of his making public the
doings of her master, the evil one ; and when he at-
tempted to write a sermon against him, she would
disturb and interrupt him all manner of ways. For
instance, she once knocked at his study door, and said
that there was somebody down stairs that would be
glad to see him ; he dropped his pen, and went down :
upon entering the room he found no one there but his
own family. He afterwards undertook to chide her
for having told a falsehood. She denied that she told
a falsehood. " Did not you say that there was some-
body down stairs that would be glad to see me ? "
" Well," she replied, with great pertness, " is not
Mrs. Mather always glad to see you ? " She even
went much further than this in persecuting the good
man while he was writing his sermon : she threw
large books at his head. But he struggled manfully
at these buffetings of Satan, as he considered them to
be, finished the sermon, related all these and other
16
182 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS
kindred circumstances in it, preached and published
it. Richard Baxter wrote the preface to an edition
printed in London, in which he declares that " he who
will not be convinced, by the evidence Dr. Mather pre-
sents, that the child was bewitched, must be a very
obdurate Sadducee."
A few years since, a house in Maine was said to be
haunted. The buUding and furniture were shaken,
dreadful noises were heard, dismal sights were . seen,
and heavy blows were received. The occupant of the
house had lately left a Calvinistic theological semina-
ry. He afterwards became a settled Universalist
preacher. " A neighboring family informed me," says
the late Bernard Whitman, " that he now considered
it the Spirit of God, haunting him to forsake Calvin-
ism, and proclaim universal salvation." His explana-
tion, though satisfactory to himself, may not be
equally so to our readers.
The devil should never be made a packhorse for
our sins, nor should our thoughts be turned from
within, causing us to neglect a watch upon our own
lusts and passions, in looking for the assaults of some
outward tempter. The effect sometimes produced
upon the minds of children has a very unfavorable in-
fluence. A pious mother, not finding it convenient to
attend her little son to rest, told him to omit his pray-
ers for one night. " Mother," said the child, " will
the devil forgive me if I neglect my prayers ? "
" What shall we say," says the late Professor
Stuart, " of the excessive use that has been made of
the passages that speak of his influence and domin-
ion ? Because, in reference to the wide-spread influ-
ence of Satan, he is 3alled the ' prince of this world,'
EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS 183
and even the ' god of this world,' are we literally to
interpret passages of this nature, and thus in a clan-
destine manner introduce effectually the old dualism
of ZoFDaster and the Persians ? This, indeed, has of-
ten, very often, been substantially done ; (ione, I ac-
knowledge, for the most part without any direct in-
tention of such a nature. Still there is an impres-
sion, wide spread among the lower classes of people,
even in our own country, that Satan is a kind of om-
nipotent being ; and he is often represented as the
successful, or rather the invincible, rival of the great
Redeemer.
" Yet the New Testament is full enough of instruc-
tion relative to this subject to correct any erroneous
views in relation to it, if it be duly examined. 1
need only appeal to the large class of passages which
represent Satan as a conquered enemy ; as ' falling
like lightning from heaven ; ' as being reduced to a
state of impotence in respect to that deadly power
which he exercises, (Heb. ii. 14;) and all the evil
principalities, and powers, and magistrates (1 Cor. xv.
24, Eph. vi. 12, Col. ii. 15) as being subdued, or to
be subdued and utterly discomfited, by Christ ; for
the prince of this world is cast out,' (John xii. 31 ;)
' the Son of God was manifested that he might de-
stroy the works of the devil,' (1 John iii. 8 ;) and
Christians are every where spoken of as being liber-
ated from his dominion and power, (1 John v. 18—44.)
When the apostle, therefore, calls Satan ' the god of
this world,' and the Savior calls him ' the prince of
this world,' it is the world of the wicked which is
meant ; for such is the usual idiom of the Scriptures.
And as to the power of Satan over the wicked, it is
184 EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
eveiy where presented in the New Testament aa
something that will wholly cease after a time, and the
reign of the Princ 3 of Peace become universal.
" How deeply these considerations intrench upon the
long-practised methods of exhibiting Satan as om-
nipotent and omnipresent every thinking mind Avill
easily perceive. Especially has the Romish church
erred here beyond all bounds of reason or modera-
tion. According to the doctrines which they sedu-
lously inculcate, Satan has not only irresistible power
over the world of the wicked, but, next to such a
power, even over Christians. Nothing but exorcisms,
and holy chrisms, and lustrations with holy water,
and incantations, and the like, can keep off evil
spirits, or disarm them of their fatal power. And as
the consumma^tion and chief end of all the doctrine,
nothing short of the interposition of the priesthood
can secure any one against destruction, either in this
world or the next — an interposition, however, which is
not freely given, as the Savior commanded the disci-
ples to impart the blessings of the gospel, but to be
purchased at whatever price the church may fix upon
it." — Bibliotheca Sacra, February, 1843.
Language sometimes used in times of excitement
is prejudicial to the cause of religion. It is some-
times said that the Almighty is visiting such a town ;
that he is coming this way ; that he has taken up his
abode in a certain village ; that he \^ill remain but a
few days ; that he has been driven away by unbe-
lievers, and that he cannot be expected again for
some months or years. Now, it should be remem-
oered that God is every where present, and that his
spirit is ? Iways striving within the soul ; and its voice
BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 185
is drowned only by the strife and tumult of our own
discordant passions. The Spirit is ever ready to as-
sist us, whenever we resolve to use our own efforts in
hearty cooperation. And if revivals of religion seem
to be of a periodical nature, it is because our own
zeal or engagedness is too fitful. The church can en-
joy a constant season of refreshing from the presence
of the Lord, only let its members be ever active, ever
diligent, ever devoted and persevering. God works
not by miracle, but through the agency of common
means or efforts. We must not, therefore, defer at-
tention to the duties of religion, in expectation of
some special interposition of Heaven. We should re-
member that a sober, righteous, and godly life is the
best evidence of true conversion; and that we are
called upon to work out our own salvation with fear
and trembling, God himself having vouchsafed to
work within us both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.
CHAPTER XVn.
BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Seeing the evils of popular superstitions, what
c Durse shall we adopt for their banishment ? Or, in
other words, how shall we best lend a helping hand
to hasten the downfall of ignorance, error, and sin ?
1. We must deliver ourselves from their domination ;
for we are all more or less under their influence. When
16*
186 BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
any of the common signs of good or evil fortune
appear before us, our thoughts involuntarily recur to
the thing supposed to be signified. Sometimes a
momentary shudder is communicated to the whole
system ; unpleasant sensations are often excited ; and
frequently a depression of spirits is produced. And
how can we free ourselves from this thraldom? By
the exercise of our reason. A proper use of our reason-
ing faculties will enable us to accomplish this under-
taking. We must endeavor to convince ourselves
that all these things are the offspring of ignorance ;
that they have no foundation in reason, philosophy,
or religion ; and that they are exceedingly pernicious
in their consequences. "When fully persuaded of these
truths, we must strive to make our feelings coincide
with the dictates of our understandings. And this we
can effect by persevering self-discipline. Such exer-
tions, with the blessing of Heaven, will eventually
deliver us from the inconvenience, vexation, and sla-
very of popular superstitions. And as such a consum-
mation is most ardently to be desired, we must enter
upon the duty with a zeal and earnestness commen-
surate with its importance.
2. We must also assist our fellow-men in the per-
formance of this great and good work. When we
meet with those who believe in ghosts, in signs, en-
chantments, and divination, we must try to persuade
them that no dependence whatever can be placed on
any of these vanities — that they are all fictions, ab-
surdities, and abominations. And perhaps, in some
cases, if we cannot produce conviction by sober sense
and sound argument, we may be justified in resorting
to ridiculo
BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 187
It is a lamentable consideration that so much tirnf*
should be criminally wasted in many families in ex
plaining tricks, relating and expounding dreams, tell-
ing fortunes, and in detailing stories of haunted houses,
hobgoblins, and spirits of the supposed uneasy dead.
In this way, the evil is cherished, and transmitted from
generation to generation. But if we can succeed in
giving an opposite direction to conversation; if we
can induce people to reason upon these things, and
inquire into their origin, causes, and effects, and inves-
tigate the evidence on which they are imagined to
rest, and adopt rational conclusions, we shall be use-
fully employed. A course like this would eventually
lead to the banishment of popular superstitions, with
their baneful effects upon our peace and happiness:
especially if we labor to impress upon the minima of
others the existence of an all-wise Providence, that
controls and governs all things for the highest good of
all, calling upon us to place our trust in Him, with-
out whose notice not even a sparrow falleth to the
ground.
3. We must likewise attend to the early education
of our children. It is during infancy and childhood
that our heads are filled with " nursery tales " and
marvellous stories. They are told us by those to
whose care we are early intrusted, either to frighten
us into obedience, to gratify our thirst for the new
and wonderful, or to while away a tedious evening.
They sink into our confiding hearts, and leave impres-
sions the most pernicious and the most lasting. Could
a child be educated without any knowledge of such
things, he world never be troubled with their baneful
188 BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
influence. Our duty is therefore plain. In taking
the principal care of our children at home, we should
not permit them to learn any such things from our
own lips ; and we should evince, too, by our daily con-
duct, that they exert no influence on our own feelings,
character, or happiness. In intrusting our offspring
in early life to the care of other persons, we must
charge them, as faithful guardians of the young, to
conceal every thing of the kind from their knowledge.
And after our children become of sufficient age to
associate with others, we must caution them to avoid
believing or relating any superstitious tales as they
would shun known falsehoods. By persevering in this
course, we shall save them from the degrading influ-
ence of popular superstitions.
4. We must, moreover, endeavor to increase the
means of public education. We generally find that
the most enlightened are the most free from supersti-
tion ; and it therefore follows that a high degree of
mental cultivation will effect a general deliverance.
And how shall this great object be accomplished?
We must reason with them upon the immense value
and importance of knowledge. We must show them,
by an appeal to facts, that all our civil, social, domes
tic, and religious blessings depend on the intelligence
and virtue of the people. But perhaps many wiU
complain of the scarcity of money and the want of
means. If so, we must also show them, by an appeal
to incontrovertible facts, that more money is annually
wasted, in all our towns, in extravagant living, dress,
furniture, and equipage ; squandered in shows, amuse
nients, balls, and parties ; i i gaming, dissipation, public
BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 189
parades, and intoxicating liquors, than is expended
for the instruction of the rising generation. No, there
is not a lack of funds. Where there is a will there is
also a way. The value and importance of the subject
is not generally understood ; or, if understood, is not
properly appreciated. Almost every thing else seems
of more consequence than learning and wisdom. Yet
this will never answer. The world is growing wiser.
Those who will not employ the requisite means must
rest contented with comparative ignorance. Let us
not be of this unworthy number. If we feel the im-
portance of the change in these respects, let us perse-
vere in our laudable exertions, leaving no objections
unanswered, no measures untried, until we succeed
in giving our children a high degree of education.
And if the Father of spirits shall see fit to prolong
our lives to witness the results, we shall look upon
the almost universal banishment of popular super-
stitions.
5. Finally, we must labor for the diffusion of pure
and undefiled religion, adhering alone to the teachings
of Jesus. We shall then believe in one perfect, all-
pervading Spirit, who regulates all the events of this
world which are above our control, and that all his
various dispensations originate in perfect wisdom and
goodness. We shall believe that we have no worse
enemies than our own sinful lusts and passions, and
that power is given us through faith to conquer these,
even in this state of existence. We shall believe that
it is as much our duty to be always happy as it is to
be always honest and virtuous. We shall have the
assurance that our heavenly Father has commissioned
190 BANISHMENT OP POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
no fate nor chance, spectres nor devils, to tormer t us.
And if we live up to this belief, we shall secure a ' irge
share of temporal enjoyment, and be prepared fc the
increased and increasing felicity of the spiritual \\ "rid.
If we produce this state of faith and practice in >ur-
selves and in those around us, we shall have one
much for the banishment of popular superstitions f «
the downfall of ignorance, error, and sin.
MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 191
PART SECOND.
MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.
Four gentlemen in Springfield, not long since,
publicly attested to a " miracle," performed, as they
believed, by spirits, at a "circle" where they were
present. It consisted in moving a table, and a num-
ber of chairs in the room, and in shocks, resembling
distant thunder, or cannon at a distance, causing the
persons and the chairs and tables to tremble in such
a manner that the effects were both seen and felt, the
room being well lighted at the time, and an opportu-
nity afforded for the closest inspection, so that the
company unitedly declare that they know they were not
imposed upon nor deceived.
Now, there is nothing very remarkable in this affair,
for all might have been done by the medium himself,
by first pathetizing the persons present, as it might
be done without their knowledge, and while in that
state could be made to see and hear any thing ima-
gined by the operator. We are assured, by one who
knows, that it is impossible for those who are fit sub-
jects to be present at a circle without being more or
less under the mesmeric influence. And, in such
cases, they can be willed to remember or forget what
they have seen or heard. We do not consider such
persons as competent witnesses in such a case as they
have testified to. It may all have been induced^ or
ir92 MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
it may all have been real. And if real, there was no
need to refer it to the agency of spirits, since such
things have been done without spirits, as in the case
of Joe Collins, or others which we shall refer to, in
this part of our volume. But here we may be told,
that a thousand dollars has been offered to any one
who will prove that such things are produced by any
other power than that of spirits. But the same sum
has been offered to any one who will prove that spirits
move tables, chairs, and the like, or that spirits pro-
duce the noises and other manifestations ascribed to
them.
We have heard the case of a person who went to a
medium and wished to know if he could be put in
communication with his father, who had died several
years before. He was answered in the affirmative.
But the inquirer desired, as proof that it ^voald actually
be the spirit of his father that would be introduced to
him, that a pencil and paper should be laid upon a
table, and that the spirit of the father should come
and write his own name upon the paper, the son feel-
ing assured that, if this were done, he should at once
recognize both the name and the writing. Accord-
ingly, the spirit in question came, and did as was
desired, and the son declared it to be the real name
and handwriting of his father. Now, the philosophy
of the case is this : The inquirer was first pathetized,
although ignorant of the fact at the time — a thing very
common, though not generally understood. Thus the
medium became acquainted with the name of the
father as it existed in the mind of the son ; but did
the pencil actually write the name upon the paper ?
No. It was only made to appear so to the mind of the
MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 193
inquirer. As to the handwriting, the inquirer's mind
was directed to a piece of paper, and to look at the
WTiting. Of course, he saw his father's name, and
the handwriting, for he could see nothing else for the
time being, his mind being impressed with that one
idea or object, and closed to every thing else. It was
in fact, to him, his father's name and chirography, and
no one's else. It could not be otherwise while his
mind was under the control of the operator.
We have been told of a lady, who, in a magnetized
state, sits at a table and writes down information that
is imparted to her, as is said, from the world of spirits.
Her hand and pen glide- over the paper with astonish-
ing speed and velocity, far more rapid than the most
expert penman in a normal state. And what aston-
ishes many is, that she cannot stop writing when she
wishes to, and sometimes becomes so exceedingly
fatigued as to beg of the spirit or spirits to grant her a
little repose from the wearisome task. But the whole
matter is easily accounted for, without referring it to
the supposed agency of spirits. The lady's arm is
first paralyzed — deprived of motion by the will of the
medium or operator, so that her own mind or will has
not the least control over it. She thus becomes a
mere machine, under the will and control of another,
whose will directs the movements of the arm and pen,
and dictates what is written in answer to inquiries
made of things appertaining to the spirit world, just as
Miss Martineau declares, in her letters on magnetism,
that " the volitions of the mesmerist may actuate the
movements of the patient's limbs, and suggest the
material of his ideas." Many singular effects are pro-
duced upon the minds and feelings of subjects in a
17
194 MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
sleep-waking state, by Professor Williams, Dr. Cutter,
and others, such as being made drunk with water, eat-
ing cayenne as sugar, exercising complete control over
their mental as well as physical condition.
We have been assui'ed by a pathetist, who is a
thorough adept in the profession, that he can and often
has put persons in communication apparently with a
deceased father, mother, brother, sister, or friend. The
individual is first pathetized (another name for mes-
merism) by him in a wakeful state, though uncon-
scious, it may be, that he is under such an influence.
His- mind being in the possession and under the con-
trol of the operator, a person is now either actually or
mentally (for it makes no difference) presented before
him, and he is told of the fact, and asked. Do you not
see your father ? The idea of father is so presented
to the mind, through the organ of form, that the organ
can take cognizance of none other than the father.
The person, if an actual person is employed for the
occasion, is then shifted or changed for another per-
son ; yet the subject perceives no difference, even if
changed successively for a dozen others ; it is. all
the same ; it is father, and no one else, through the
whole exhibition. The father speaks, the son recog-
nizes his voice, and they converse together. The sub-
ject can be willed to hear any sound, as that of music,
artillery, thunder, and the like, though no sounds what-
ever are in reality made. A niece of ours was op-
erated on in this way, and she was told to look abroad
and behold the majestic waves of the ocean, the
pageantry of a military procession ; and she saw and
was delighted with the scenes that were willed to pass
before her. Apples were oranges to her, and she
MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MA-S. *95
sucked their juice with a delightful zest. An apple
paring held before her was a beautiful bird, then a
squirrel, a rabbit, ©r whatever the operator willed it to
become. The mind of the operator and the subject,
in such cases, become as one, and they then hear, see,
taste, and feel the same thing at the same moment.
Miss Martineau says that, while in a mesmeric state,
she saw " things out of other worlds — not the things
themselves, but impressions of them." " They come,"
says she, " from my brain. The influence does not
separate soul and body, but it sets the body at rest,
while it exalts and elevates the thinking powers."
" A striking incident," says Miss M., " occurred in
one of my earliest walks after recovery from a pro-
tracted illness. My mesmerist and I had reached a
headland nearly half a mile from home, and were rest-
ing there, when she proposed to mesmerize me a little
— partly to refresh me for our return, and partly to
see if any effect would be produced in a new place,
and while a fresh breeze was blowing. She merely
laid her hand upon my forehead, and in a minute or
two the usual appearances came, assuming a strange
air of novelty from the scene in which I was. After
the blurring of the outlines, which made all objects
more dim than the dull gray day had already made
them, the phosphoric lights appeared, glorifying every
rock and headland, the horizon, and all the vessels in
sight. One of the dirtiest and meanest of the steam
tugs in the port was passing at the time, and it was
all dressed in heavenly radiance — the last object that
my imagination woLild select as an element of a vision.
Then, and often before and since, did it occur to me,
that if I had been a pious and very ignorant Catholic,
196 MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, IfASS.
I could not have escaped the persuasion that I had seen
heavenly visions. Every glorified object before my
eyes would have been a revelation ; and my mesmer-
ist, with the white halo around her head, and the illu-
mined profile, would have been a saint or an angel."
We know not whether, in this instance, the mes-
merist willed her subject to behold things as she did,
yet as to the general truth that the will of the operator
can produce in the subject mesmerized those states of
mind and body which he ivills him or her to experience^
there is abundant evidence. O. S. Fowler, editor of
the Phrenological Journal, says he " can bear ample
testimony to the fact, as he has seen, experienced, ami
induced similar states by the thousand." And many
others testify to the same effect.
Persons can be made to travel to other countries,
and even to other spheres, and come back and tell
w hat they have seen. And as persons vary in the
talent of description and observation, in the normal
stale, so do they vary in a semi-abnormal condition.
Some are found to be better travellers, and will see
more than others, and in spiritual things will differ in
their descriptions as they differ in religious creeds and
sentiments. Thus a Swedenborg, or a Fishbough,
sees a hell in the future state, where sinners suffer the
penalty of their earthly sins ; while an Ambler, or a
Davis, discovers that all men are alike joyful and hap-
py. Mr. Davis has seen fit to caution the public not
to believe too quickly or too fully the things excitable
persons relate ; " because some minds are naturally
inclined to exaggerate or enlarge upon every thing
which they may feel, see, or hear." The state alluded
to is merely induced. It is not real.
MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 197
Persons are frequently made to do what they be-
lieve is done by others, as in the case of a son of Dr.
Phelps, of Stratford, Connecticut. The boy, on one
occasion, was found (with a rope passed under his
arms) suspended to the limb of a tree, having been
taken, as was supposed, from his bed in the evening
by spirits, and thus treated by them. The boy de-
clared that when it was done, he " screamed at the
top of his voice ; " but it was ascertained that he
made no noise at all, for if he had, the domestics,
who were in the kitchen when he passed through it,
must have heard him, which they did not. We have
the testimony of A. J. Davis, himself, that the boy
" really supposed that he had called aloud ; and so
far from having been tied to the tree bi/ spirits, he had
been made unconsciously instrumental in tyin<j: himself
to the tree ! " " I have heard," says Mr. Davis, " in-
stances of mischief cited, as occurring in Dr. Phelps's
house, in evidence of satanic agency, which I now
discover to have been caused or accomplished by one
of the children in sport, sometimes by electrical dis-
charges and magnetic attractions, and sometimes by
the almost unpardonable mischievousness of persons
unknown to the family. The wanton destruction of
property alleged to have taken place on this gentle-
man's premises is referable, in most cases, to emana-
tions of vital electricity, seeking its equilibrium in the
atmosphere. In this manner window panes were
broken and furniture injured. In Woodbridge, New
York, some few years ago, a young lady was affected
with a disease which gave rise to similar phenomena.
Mysterious sounds were heard in her presence ; window
panes were frequently broken in her vicinity; and,
17*
198 MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
in like manner, door panels were burst out, some-
times falling towards her, sometimes from her, and
quick, concussive, and very loud sounds were heard
under her feet as she ascended a flight of stairs. Ul-
timately, the mysterious phenomena frightened her
into an illness which cured the malady."
" People cannot be too cautious how they receive
the doings of those who profess to be in connection
with spirits of the other spheres ; and to those who
wish to inquire into the matter, we would say. Go and
hear, but try to keep your wits about you, and not
swallow bodily either the preachers or their strange
affirmations." • — Horace Greely.
" Under an impression that whatever is communi-
cated by a spirit must, of course, be true, many per-
sons are receiving these communications as the truth
of God — as a new revelation from the spirit world.
But if these communications are from spirits, we
have no proof that they are good spirits. The pre-
sumption is, that they are bad spirits — lying spirits.
At my house they often accused each other of lying
— contradicted at one time what they affirmed at an-
other; inflicted injury upon property in the most
wanton manner ; and have given conclusive evidence
throughout that the discipline of hell, which they pro-
fess to have experienced for several years, has not
been wholly effectual in improving their characters,
and qualifying them for the ' higher spheres ' for
which many suppose that the discipline after death
is a preparation." — Dr. Phelps.
" Many of the doings of the rapping spirits are too
nonsensical and absurd to be believed. They spoil
all our notions of the dignity, the spirituality^ of the
PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER. 199
spiritual world. That a messenger should come from
the spirit land to tell an old woman that her black
cat did eat another old woman's white rabbit, is not
in accordance with the ideas most people have of the
doings and missions of beings in the enjoyment of an
immortal state." — Puritan Recorder.
PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER.
We have been informed, by a certain mesmerizer,
that a distinguished lecturer upon magnetism fre-
quently trains persons to enact certain parts in his
public exhibitions. He first puts them under mes-
meric influence, and while in that state they are in-
structed to say certain things, or to perform certain
acts, which he wishes to exhibit at some subsequent
lecture. To this they severally agree, and thus a reg-
ular programme, or series of performances, is made
out. They are then brought out of the mesmeric
state, having been previously willed by the operator
to forget all that has passed while in that state. At
the next meeting appointed, these persons are pres-
ent, and are again put into the same state as be-
fore, when they immediately perceive, and are ready
to perform, the several parts assigned to them. In
fact, they are so completely under the will and control
of the lecturer, that they must do or say what he vnlls
them to do or say, and they cannot help it, neither can
they have the least recollection of what has trans-
pired, after being restored to the normal state.
200 SCENE AT EAST BOSTON.
SCENE AT EAST BOSTON.
Wt were present at a " circle," at the house of a
medium in East Boston, on the 30th of April, 1852.
Instead of that decorum and seriousness that might
be expected while holding intercouse with departed
spirits, we were surprised at the levity and sport in-
dulged on the occasion. The spirits were laughed at,
and scolded, because they made so many blunders in
spelling out names, and were urged and coaxed to do
better. A lady, who had buried a friend, was told
that the name of the deceased was Hannah. But
she informed the medium that it was a brother she
had buried, and that she had never lost a sister. But
the medium said it made no difference, as the spirits
often gave the name of a sister for a brother, and
sometimes a cousin for either, as they were all in the
family connection, and all such dwelt together in the
Love Circles.
In spelling out the name of any deceased friend,
you are presented with a card containing the alpha-
bet, and are required to commence with the letter A,
and go through the alphabet some one, two, or three
times, touching each letter with a pencil as you pass
over it. On touching some particular letter, a rap is
given, indicating that it is the first letter of the name
of your departed friend. And so of the other letters
comprising the name. The spirits often made mis-
takes in rapping at the wrong letter, and were re-
quued to try again till they got the spelling right.
We were very particular to observe that the spirit
was sure to rap whenever the inquirer stopped or hes
SCENE AT EAST BOSTON. 201
itated in passing over any letter. Five or six would
De eagerly watching the movement of your hand,
and the least possible hesitation upon any one letter
was sure to be accompanied with simultaneous raps.
And as the inquirer was frequently cautioned to pro-
ceed slow, it was natural enough to hesitate on those
letters comprising the name as it was spelled in their
own mind. In this way the alphabet became an
interpreter to the supposed sph-its.
We requested that some demonstrations should
be given in the art of table lifting, but were told that
the gentleman through whose agency the feat is per-
formed was not present this evening. We inquired
if it was necessary that any particular gentleman
should be present that tables or chairs might be
raised, and were told it was, and that the gentleman
in question seemed to carry a large amount of elec-
tricity in a circle about his person.
We have been informed by another person, who
says he has, and often does, raise tables and other
articles, by request of others, that he does it by control-
ling the vital electricity of individuals present at the
time. He says he "s^eaZs" their vital electricity, and
appropriates it to his own use, although those from
whom he thus takes it are not conscious of the fact.
The more persons there are in the room, the larger
the amount of electricity obtained, and the greater the
effects produced by it. There is nothing as yet per-
formed by those alleged to be in connection with
spirits but what he can successfully imitate, such as
producing effects upon persons at a distance, imitat-
ing the handwriting of absent or deceased persons
unknown to him causing persons to write music,
202 SCENE AT EAST BOSTON.
poetry, &c., who, in a normal state, are incapable ol
doing either, as well as many other exploits, at the
option or desire of those who are present ; inquirers,
oftentimes, in such cases, becoming the operators,
transferring their own impressions, ideas, sentiments,
and knowledge to the acting medium, and yet entirely
ignorant of the fact, and astonished at the results pro-
duced. The gentleman referred to discards the agency
of spirits in these transactions, and declares that the
whole is done by the power of his own will in using
and controlling the amount of electricity present at
the time ; thus proving that the mind or spirit in
the body has as much power and control over elec-
tricity as the mind or spirit has out of, or separate
from, the body. And he is of the opinion that if
scientific men would investigate the powers of elec-
tricity, and the laws by which it is controlled, they
would no more think of attributing the phenomena of
the times to the agency of spiriU, than to the Pope of
Rome. Many engaged in producing these phenom-
ena are themselves ignorant of the power or means
by which they are produced, and therefore attribute
them to ^iritual agency, which is, in fact, transferring
the whole matter to a point beyond human investiga-
tion, where no mortal being can possibly explore.
Some seem to think that these modern develop-
ments must be the work of spirits, because, amid all
the opposition arraigned against them, they still con-
tinue to progress, and are becoming more and more
wonderful every day. Yet the same argument is as
conclusive and convincing in favor of Mormonism,
and other foolish and wicked extravagances, as it is in
••uvor of the alleged spiritual manifestations. But
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. 203
while hundreds, and perhaps thousands, are marvelling
at the strangeness of these developments, we find that
several who have been engaged in them for months or
years, and believed them to be emanations from the
spirit world, now declare their convictions to the con-
trary, as wiL be seen by the following account from
the pen of a distinguished writer, Professor Pond, of
Maine,
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
" The feats of the ancient jugglers were many of
them mere acts of deception. They were known to
be such by those who performed them. And the same
is true of many who practise the like things now.
Their rappings and writings, and other strange per-
formances, are secretly, artfully got up by themselves.
I do not say that this is true in all ceases ; but in some
cases we knoiv it is true ; because the matter has been
fully investigated, and public confession has been
made. For example : A young woman, who had been
instructed by the Rochester rappers, and practised tha
art with them for a time, afterwards renounced it, and
exposed the delusion to the world. 'All who saw her
and heard her,' says my informant, 'were entirely sat-
isfied of the truth of her statements, and that she had
revealed the actual method in which the deception
was effected and tie deluded were blinded. Another
young woman in Providence, Almira Beazely, who
was noted for her rappings and revelations, and whi.
murdered her brother to accomplish one of her own
predictions, confessed, on her trial, that she made the
204 EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
noises herself, and explained the manner in which
they were produced. She also confessed to the remo-
val of certain articles in the house which had strange-
ly disappeared, and which she pretended had been
taken avmy hy spirits. Drs. Lee and Flint, of Buf-
falo, assisted by two gentlemen by the name of
BmT, have very thoroughly investigated the matter,
and explained the manner in which the mysterious
noises are made. Mr. Burr has himself made the
lappings, and made them so loud as to be heard by a
congregation of fifteen hundred people.
" These instances are sufficient to prove that the
spiritual manifestations of our times, like those of
ancient times, are in many instances a sheer decep-
tion — a vile trick, palmed off upon a wondering and
credulous community, for the sake of money, or for
other sinister and selfish ends. If there is any thing
more than trick in these spiritual manifestations, —
and I am inclined to think that, in some instances,
ther^ may be, — I should refer it, as in case of the
ancient wizards, to the influence of occult natural
causes — perhaps electricity, or animal magnetism, or
something else, operating upon a nervous system of
peculiar sensibility. I incline to this opinion for sev-
eral reasons.
" In the fu'st place, if the noises and other manifesta-
tions were really the work of spirits, why should they
not be made through one person, as well as another ?
"Why should not all mediums be alike ? "Whereas it
is confessed that only persons of a peculiar nervous
temperament are capable of becoming mediums.
"Again: if the disclosui'es which are made are really
from the spirit world, it might be expected that they
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. 20f
would, at least, be consistent with themselves. Where-
as it is well known that they vary endlessly. In
numerous instances, they are directly self-contradic-
tory. ' Some of the communications,' says one who
had been a medium, 'were orthodox; others were
infidel. Some would acknowledge the truth of the
Bible ; others would condemn it. Some would be in
favor of virtue ; others would encourage the grossest
crimes.'
"Another man, who had been a noted medium, but
who was beginning to get his eyes opened as to the
character of the proceedings, told his audience one
night, ' Now, any one present ask a series of ques-
tions, and I pledge myself that the answer shall be,
every time, yes.' Some one in the company asked,
' Is John Thompson alive ? ' The ans^ver was, ' Yes.'
' Is John Thompson dead ? ' ' Yes.' ' Does John
Thompson live in Vermont?' 'Yes.' 'Does he live
in Massachusetts ? ' ' Yes.' And so the spirits went
on contradicting themselves times without number.
After this, a like series of questions were answered in
the negative, exhibiting the most glaring contradictions,
just as the operator pleased.
"But this brings me to another reason for supposing
that the answers are not from departed spirits, but
rather from the mind of the operator, or from so7ne other
mind in communication with his, under the influence of
an electric or magnetic cause. It is an admitted fact
tliat these answers coincide very generally with the
opinions or wishes of the medium, or of some one
present in consultation with him. I knew a very
respectable man, who discovered that he was a me-
dium, and who practised various experiments upon
18
206 EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
himself. Upon being asked what he thought of it, he
replied, ' If the answers are from the spirits, they must
be very silly spirits ; for they always answer just as I
wish to have them.' Another medium informs us
that he can obtain any answer he pleases, by fixing
his mind strongly upon it at the time. Now, does
this look as though the answer came from spirits ? If
the spirits of the dead spoke, they would be likely to
speak out independently ; to speak just what they
thought, and not what those thought with whom they
were consulting.
" There is another circumstance to be noted in this
connection. When the requisite preparation is made,
there is no need of consulting the spirits at all, in order
to secure answers. You may consult with the chairs
or the table just as well. This experiment was tried,
not long since, at Wilmington, Vermont. A Mr.
Kellogg was the medium, and he had succeeded in
consulting the spirits to the satisfaction of all con-
cerned. At length he remarked that he was about to
let the company into an important secret. ' We will
interrogate the table,'' said he, ' and have nothing
more to do "with spirits.' He did so ; and the table
talked and ansivered, just as the spirits had done before.
At the same time the table was made to stand on one
leg, and to move about, as is usual in such cases.
This experiment demonstrated, to the satisfaction of
all present, that the strange appearances could be pro-
duced just as well without the spirits as with them.
' The calling for spirits,' to use the language of my
informant, ' is mere garnish and fog, by which the real
agency in the case is concealed.'
" On the point now under consideration, viz., the
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN REC ORDER. 207
possibly electric character of these manifestations, I
am happy to introduce the testimony of Dr. Samuel
Taylor, a respectable physician of Petersham, Massa-
chusetts, whose article on the subject may be found
in a late number of the Boston Medical and Surgical
Journal. Dr. Taylor discovered accidentally that he
was a medium, and he proceeded to make experiments
upon himself. The manifestation, in his case, was
not by rapping, but by writing — a much more conven-
ient mode of communicating with the spirit world.
On taking his pen, and holding himself in a peculiar
attitude, and proposing mentally some question to the
spirits, his pen would begin to oscillate in his fingers,
and very soon would write out an answer ; and this
without any voluntary effort of his own. And what
is particularly to be noticed is, the pen would always
write an answer which accorded with his own opinion
or wishes, that is, if he had any wish on the subject.
For example : Dr. Taylor inquired of one of the spirits
about the different forms of religion. ' I asked which
was the best religion, at the same time fixing my mind
sternly on the word Protestant. My hand immediately
wrote Protestant. In the same manner, and by direc-
tion of the same spirit, my hand wrote successively,
Methodist, Unitarian, and I believe one or two others.
"While in this state,' Dr. Taylor says, '■I felt a sensation
like that of a light galvanic current passing throvgh me.
Sometimes it appeared to be a steady thrill, and some-
times it was intermittent, resembling light shocks of
electricity.'
"After numerous experiments, Dr. Taylor comes to
the conclusion, that the strange phenomena of which
he was the subject were not tricks of his own, neither
20y EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
did they come from the spirit world, but were the
result of what he calls detached vitalized electricity.
When this conclusion had been formed in his own
mind, it occurred to him that he would put it to the
test of the spirits themselves. 'Accordingly I asked
them,' says he, 'if this was the work of departed
spirits. The answer was, " No." I asked if it was the
work of the devil. Again the answer was, " No." I
asked if it was the effect of detached vitalized electri-
city. The answer was, " Yes." ' So the spirits con-
firmed the conclusion to which the doctor had come,
as they did, in fact, all his conclusions.
" We have the testimony of another medium, of the
same import with that of Dr. Taylor. Mr. Benjamin
F. Cooley, who had long been a believer and operator
in the spiritual rappings, states that his mind is now
entirely changed. This change was brought about in
consequence of ' a deep and earnest study of the na-
ture, power, and application of electricity, and of the
susceptibility of the mind to electrical or psychologi-
cal changes.' These things, he says, will produce the
same mysterious and startling phenomena which have
been produced throughout the country, and attributed
to the operations of departed spirits. (Mr. Cooley
has recently published a work entitled An Exposi-
tion of Spiritual Manifestations, to which we would
refer the reader.)
"A part of what is done by those who claim 1o have
familiar spirits, may be the result of unknown natural
causes. This is the most plausible and excusable
view which can possibly be taken of these practices;
and yet, even in this view, they are frightfully evil.
The persons who alone are susceptible to the influence
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. 209
of these natural causes are generally those of a dis-
eased or delicate nervous temperament ; and the effect
of experimenting upon their nervous system is usually
to shatter it the more. They become excitable, fan-
tastic, and often insane. Diseases are engendered,
both of body and mind, which lead on to the most
fearful consequences. But a short time ago, the
papers gave an account of a man in Barre, Massa-
chusetts, who had been much given to the rappings
and other spiritual manifestations, who became, in
consequence, a raving maniac, threatening the life of
his family, and was committed to the Lunatic Asylum
at Worcester. Other like instances are occurring fre-
quently, from the same cause. Almira Beazely, the
Providence rapper, who murdered her brother in fulfil-
ment of one of her own predictions, was cleared on
the ground of her insanity.
" But this is not the only evil of the practices in ques-
tion, when viewed as the result of natural causes. For
the truth is, that, in most cases, they are not so viewed
by those who engage in them. They regard them as
the work of spirits. They are, therefore, deceived;
and those who follow them are deceived. Both sup-
pose they are receiving utterances from the other
world, when nothing is uttered but vain fantasies from
their own minds and hearts. Such a deception is,
manifestly, a hurtful one. It is full of danger to all
concerned. To mistake one's own fancies for divin \
revelation, and feel conscience-bound to obey them as
such, is the very essence of fanaticism. It is fanati-
cism in its most frightful form. Under the influence
of such an impression, persons may be led to perpe-
trate the greatest cruelties, and the most horrid crimes,
18*
210 EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
and vainly think that they are doing God service. The
wretched man in Barre was led to attempt the life of
his family, in obedience to a supposed revelation from
the spirit world.
" The practices which have been considered are of
heathen origin. They originated with the ancient
heathen ; they were spread over a greater part of the
heathen world; and they continue to pervade and
curse it to the present time. Among numerous hea-
then tribes at the present day, scarcely a calamity
occurs — a death, a flood, a fit of sickness, or an in-
stance of death — but some poor creature (and often
more than one) is accused and put to death, as being
the cause of it. ' The sick man is bewitched : who
has bev/itched him ? His death (if he chance to die)
has been brought about by evil spirits : who has sent
the spirits upon him ? ' To get an answer to these
questions, some old hag or conjurer is consulted ; the
cause of the mischief is quickly discovered, and an inno-
cent person is put to death. Probably hundreds die
every year after this manner, among the heathen, even
in this nineteenth century ! And the case would soon
be no better among ourselves, if we were to go, exten-
sively and confidently, into the practice of consulting
with familiar spirits. The spirits would unravel all
mysteries for us ; they would reveal all secrets ; and
not a man, woman, or child would long be safe from
their malicious accusations.
" Something more than a year ago, the Lunatic Asy-
lum in Maine took fire, and a portion of its inmates
were smothered and consumed. And there are hun-
dreds of persons now in the state, who affirm that the
building was set on fire by the keepers, with a view
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. 211
to cover up and conceal their own wickedness.
These persons know it was so ; they have not the
shadow of a doubt on the subject. Why ? Not
that they have a particle of evidence to this effect
from our world, but because the spirits have so in-
formed them. Now, let these utterances become
common, and be commonly received, and in three
months' time those keepers might every one of them
be dragged to the gallows, or the stake, while they
were as innocent of the charge laid against them as a
child unborn.
" I refer to this instance just to show the sin, the
evil, the exceeding peril, of indulging in those prac-
tices which have been exposed. Let all those who
read these things, then, beware of them and shun
them. If any of us are capable of becoming me.'
diums, as they are called, we had better not know it ; or,
if we know it, we had better refrain from aU experi-
ments. To tamper with such a power is to tamper
with an already shattered nervous system, the only
effect of which will be to shatter it the more.
" There is nothing more striking than the difference
between those representations of the future world
which are made known in the Bible, and which we
know are true, and those which are put forth by the
revealers of our own times. The former are solemn,
exciting, impressive, some of them awfully so, others
gloriously. While the latter, as Professor Stowe
says, are ' so uniformly and monotonously silly, that
we are compelled to think, if these are really the
spirits of the dead, in dying they must have lost what
little of common sense they ever possessed. If these
are actual specimens of the spiritual world, then this
212 EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER.
world, hard and imperfect as it is, is altogether the
most respectable part of God's creation.'
" In the Bible, we have frequent accounts of per-
sons who were raised from the dead — who actually
returned from the spirit world to this. But they re-
turned uniformly with sealed lips. In not a single
instance did they make any disclosures. But our
modern revealers pursue a very different course.
They practise no reserve. They go into the minutest
particulars, — sometimes into the most disgusting de-
tails, — and publish, as one expresses it, ' a penny mag-
azine of the spiritual world.' "
In the language of the Puritan Recorder, " The
worst of the evil is the soul-hardening familiarity they
produce with the most awful subjects ever ofiered for
human contemplation. We know of nothing in hu-
man experience so fatally destructive of all that rev-
erence for the spiritual, that awe of the unseen, that
tender emotion, as well as solemn interest, which con-
nect themselves with the idea of the other life. Who,
that has a Christian heart, would not prefer the
silence of the grave to the thought of the dear de-
parted one in the midst of such imaginings, and such
scenic associations as are usually connected with the
performances of the spirit rappers ? ' They are not
dead, but sleep.'' ' They enter into peace^ says the
prophet. And then the precious and consoling addition
— ' They sleep in Jesus ; ' meaning, beyond all doubt,
a state of rest, of calmness, of security, of undis-
turbed and beatific vision — far removed from all re-
semblance to this bustling life — a state in all re-
spects the opposite of that which fancy pictures as
belonging to the scenes presented in the manifesta-
EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. 213
tioi.s of spiritual rappings, and spiritual table liftings
and all those spiritual pantomimes, which seem to be
becoming more and more extravagant and grotesque
in proportion to the infidel credulity with which they
are received."
Should any think, by reading what we have offered
upon this subject in the preceding pages, that we
have imputed guilt and deception to mediums, who
are believed to be, many of them, above such trickery,
we would merely refer such to page 29 of the Reply
of Veriphilos Credens to the communications sup-
posed to have been written by Dr. Enoch Pond, pro-
fessor in the Bangor Seminary, as published in the
columns of the Puritan Recorder. The reviewer
says, " To suppose that mediums could practise de-
ception on men of shrewdness and caution implies a
greater credulity than does a faith in the most star-
tling of their performances." " There is not the
slightest degree of evidence," says this writer, " that
such a case has ever occurred ; " and yet on the self-
same page he says, " There is no doubt that some me-
diums, when the sounds and motions have failed to come
in the usual mysterious way, have counterfeited them hy
some sly motions of their feet and hands. I have seen
such things done, in some instances I "
The same author says, page 63, " I have not at-
tempted to justify any reliance on disclosures made to
us in the way of rappings. I think it altogether un-
safe to do so, for the declaration has already come to
us, from what purports to be the spirits themselves,
that all these manifestations are of a low order, and
are produced by the lowest grade of spirits."
21i EXTRACT FRON THE PURITAN RECORDER.
As to the plea that " spirits must make the sounds."
to account for the intelligence communicated, it being
impossible for mere " eleotricity to originate facts,"
we reply by affirming that there is no intelligence
given beyond a certain limit ; i. e., the mind of some,
one or ones in connection, either present or absent, for
it makes no difference. For available purposes, a
person a thousand or ten thousand miles distant may
yield all the amount of intelligence required in a
given case. Distance is no obstacle whatever. Elec-
tricity counts neither time nor space. For instance,
the transmission of electricity through a conducting
Bubstance is instantaneous. A wire, or other con-
ductor, may have motion communicated to its whole
length at the same moment, whatever that length may
be ; and it is stated that an electro-magnetic impulse
may be transmitted at the rate of one hundred and
eighty thousand miles in a second, thus outstripping
the sun in its march !
A large number of intelligent individuals, who, for
a year or two past, have instituted a series of experi-
ments upon this matter of " intelligence," have found
that in no case has information been imparted be-
yond what existed in their own minds or that of some
kindred or friend. Finding this to be the case, they
have wisely come to the conclusion that spirits have
never originated a solitary idea ; that is, disembodied
spirits ; and as to the spirit within a man, in his cor-
poreal state, why cannot it command as much influ-
ence over vital electricity as in its disembodied exist-
ence ? Since both parties claim to perform by the
same agent, and both claim this agent to be that of
EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL. 215
vital electricity, we have also come to the same con-
clusion, with a host of others, that the "calling for
spirits is mere garnish and fog, by which the real
agency in the case is concealed."
EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL.
" A CONSIDERABLE heap of books, pamphlets, ana
periodicals, some against, but most of them for, the
' spiritual phenomena,' has been accumulating upon
our table, and now looms up large before us, demand-
ing notice. That departed spkits have any thing to
do with them is an explanation that we have
never been able to accept for one moment. We
should as soon think of asserting that an apple, roll-
ing suddenly at our feet, must necessarily have fallen
out of heaven, because we could not see the tree it
had blown from. To bring such an astounding theory
to explain such trivial phenomena is like sending a
frigate to pick up a champagne bottle that might be
floating down the bay.
" By some of the works before us we are informed,
among many other things, that in the other world
every man has his name upon his front door ; that
Swedenborg is a great man, delivers lectures, and has
a street named after him ; that in heaven parties, con-
certs, and converzationes are frequent ; that at some
of the concerts, star singers of great celebrity perform,
attracting inconceivable multitudes of spirits to hear
them ; that children take lessons in French and
Italian every morning; that the space allotted to
216 EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL^
some of the spirits is as large as New York ; that the
' seventh sphere ' (the highest heaven) is about five
thousand miles fi 3m the earth ; that the beds are of
roses, and when the spirits recline upon them, the
birds sing joyfully around, and mingle their music
with the perfume of the flowers ; that the celestials
(not the Chinese) wear white robes, edged with pink ;
that a man generally attends his own funeral ; that
spirits, on their arrival in heaven, are set to studying
geology, chemistry, and other dull subjects, which
they soon begin to like, and say their daily lessons
with an excellent grace ; that parchment is in exten-
sive use ; that spirits are allowed to visit ' earth '
once a day only, and have the privilege of staying
one hour ; that they have books, rings, newspapers,
robin redbreasts, fruit, lakes, streams, diamonds, and
drawing masters in the next world. ' Dora's dress,'
says one of the revelations, ' was of blue satin, with
a white sash ; half sleeves, full ; a pink velvet rib-
bon round her throat, fastened by a cameo. Her
hair was in curls each side of her face, and fastened
in a knot behind.' Dora, be it observed, is a depart-
ed spirit.
" K it could be shown that all these things were real-
ly revealed, as they are said to be, we should still
think them unworthy of notice. The greater part of
the ' supernal theology ' is utterly frivolous ; and
whether frivolous or not, it bears very plainly the im-
press of the medium's own mind, or of the unknown
desires of those by whom he is surrounded. If we
were called upon to minister to a mind diseased, or to
find pabulum for a soul hungering after moral excel-
lence, we should as soon think of offering a copy of
EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL. 217
the Arab "an Nights' Entertainments as a book of the
' supernal theology.' For the practical guidance of
Life, there is more help in any two maxims of the
Sermon on the Mount, than in the whole literature of
supernaturalism.
" The manifestation mania would have died away
long since but for one unfortunate circumstance.
We have in our land a large number of men who
may be termed semi-clergymen, or, as they are fre-
quently called, ' outsiders,' or ' come-outers.' These
are they who, either because they know too much or
because they know too little, or from superfluity of
naughtiness or redundancy of virtue, find it difficult to
obtain a ' settlement.' These are the men who fos-
ter delusions ; who, because they cannot find a way
to serve the public, are reduced to prey upon it.
They embrace the new light — whatever it may be —
with a degree of sincerity, and commit themselves to
it ; then they push it, stimulate it, make a business
of it, and live by it. O the multitude of spiritual de-
lusions that in every age of the world have originated
and derived their strength solely from the fact that
the bodily necessities of certain individuals depended
upon their perpetuity ! That, at this moment, there
are men most diligently engaged in the new spiritual
line, for the purpose :^f securing by it a reprieve from
starvation, (or work,) Is a fact which we do not mere-
ly believe, but know^^
19
-^18 FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS.
FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS.
Many devices have been resorted to in order to
foretell th 3 events of the future. Some pretend to do
it by cards ; some by the settlings of a tea or coffee
cup ; some by astrology ; some by tables of letters and
figm-es ; some by the lines of the hand ; and some by
spirits of the dead. Strenuous advocates of these vari-
ous modes are found, who recount the wonderful pre-
dictions that have taken place. Some spirit hunter
recently prognosticated that the ship Staffordshire (re-
ported to be lost) would arrive safe at San Francisco
on a certain day, as she did. Professor Anderson had
a glass bell at the Melodeon, in Boston, in September,
1852, that answered questions pertaining to future
events. In deciding upon who would be the next
president, it gave six distinct taps for Pierce — the
number agreed upon if he was to be the successful
competitor. This was done without any aid from
spirits. We very much doubt whether Robach or
Lester would refuse a challenge from A. J. Davis him-
self, to test their respective claims to correct predic-
tions. Yet we do not believe that any reliance can be
placed upon the prophecies of either party. Events
may sometimes transpire in accordance with their
predictions ; and it would be strange if they did not, as
they are always predicting, and events are ever occur-
ring. But they never think of naming the multiplicity
of failures that take place. Not long since, the spirits
said that a distant friend would never live to reach
home ; but he soon after arrived, safe ancj well. Mr.
FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS. 219
Lester told a young man of Woburn that in two
years he would marry a certain young lady ; but in
two' months he was a corpse. Hundreds of such fail-
ures are constantly occurring, but are kept out of sight.
If generally known, they would spoil the trade. We
are surprised that men professing to high attainments,
as A. J. Davis and some of his coadjutors, should fall
back and plant themselves upon such stale trash.
Some two years since, while lying apparently near
our end, a lady suggested to us that, if we desired, she
would consult Mr. Lester upon the probability of our
recovery. We declined the offer, choosing to leave
all with the Sovereign Disposer of events, believing
that he would permit nothing to take place but what
would be for om- best good, and that of all concerned.
" Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate,
All but the page prescribed — their present state ;
From brutes what men, from men what angels know;
Or who could suffer being here below 1
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day.
Had he thy reason, would he skip and play ?
Pleased to the last, he crops the flowery food.
And licks the hand just raised to shed his blood.
O, blindness to the future ! kindly given,
That each may fill the circle marked by Heaven.
Hope humhly then ; with trembling pinions soar ;
> Wait the great teacher death, and God adore !
What future bliss he gives not thee to know,
But gives that ope to be thy blessing now." — PopB.
220 VIS' ONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS.
VISIONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDEES.
The writings of the spirit rappers abound with
accounts of sights, sounds, visions, and wonders. We
are forcibly reminded of a similar display in the writ-
ings of the Adventists, previous to the predicted end of
the world in 1843 — an overwhelming array of facts,
calculations, signs, visions, wonders, miracles, maps,
pictures, drawings, and hieroglyphics, all going to show,
in the most positive manner, that in that year the world
would be annihilated. And still it remains ; and the
works containing the omens and facts to substantiate
the prediction are called to share the fate of a Farm-
er's Almanac quite out of date. Some few still hold
on to a semblance of the theory, like him who, in the
spring of 1851, declared that a talking cow, somewhere
in Maine, had prophesied that the world would be
burned up the following June. How lamentable to
view the numbers of men and women who have given
heed to such things, when assured that the day and
the hour is not known even by the Son himself
(Matt. xxiv. 36.) Many of these persons ^vere once
active in the church, and exerted an influence for
good; but by remaining in their present position, their
influence in the cause of Christ is palsied, and their
talents buried in the earth. And yet we have pro-
pounded to us another " New Church," which, ac-
cording to the predictions of its adherents, is destined
to destroy all other churches, as it was to be, according
to the predictions of Miller, Fitch, Himes, and others.
In conclusion upon these things, we would add,
that it has been our belief from the first, that there
CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS. 221
is nothing supernatural in the so-called spiritual mani-
festations. They all bear the marks of earthly origin.
The pub He not knowing how to explain them, the first
tappings were attributed to the " spirits ; " and the idea
having been set afloat, it has been adopted without in-
vestigation, being the easiest way of accounting for it.
To the common mind, three hundred years ago, it
was plain and easy, that the world was flat, and rested
on something — on the back of Atlas, and he stood on
2i tortoise, and the tortoise again on something', and
the fact that nobody could tell what, was not allowed
to stumble any one ; it rested on a foundation, and
that was enough for any one to know or believe.
Motion, space, attraction, and repulsion were not
understood, and Galileo came near losing his life, and
did lose his personal liberty and character, for intelli-
gence. When the world is as fully instructed in cer-
tain principles connected with our existence as it is in
the laws of the physical universe, the "rappings," we
think, will cease to be a wonder.
CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS.
Persons in a clairvoyant state, by being put in con-
nection with a diseased person, feel, by sympathy, the
pain and disease of the patient. But to be qualified
to describe the locality of the disease, or be able to
tell what organ or part is affected, the practitioner
must first have studied anatomy and physiology.
The more perfect they are in these branches, the more
accurately can they describe the seat of the disease.
19*
2^ CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS.
Their remedies are mostly botanical, and are generally
safe in their operation. The reg-ular " clairvoyant phy-
sician," so to speak, does not pretend to be in league
with " spirits ; " but there are those who profess that
their prescriptions come from the other world — from
those who, though dead, rest not from their labors.
Notwithstanding the extreme simplicity of their rem-
edies, such as any common nurse would advise, yet
such is the profound sanctity and mystery thrown
around them by an unseen spirit, that some profess
to have received " wonderful healing mercies." To
believe that a medicine (however simple) is prescribed
by a spirit from above, is enough to perform a cure in
any case. Imagination alone is equal to the task. A
very eminent allopathic physician informs us that he
often rolls up brown bread pills, which, in certain
cases, perform unmistakable cures. In fact, history is
full of recoveries wrought out by aid of the imagina-
tion. We will subjoin a case by way of illustration.
" Sir Humphrey Davy, on one occasion in early
life, was assisting Dr. Beddoes in his experiments on
the inhalation of nitrous oxide. Dr. Beddoes having
inferred that this agent must be a specific for palsy,
a patient was selected for trial, and placed under the
care of Davy. Previously to administering the gas,
Davy inserted a small thermometer under the tongue
of the patient, to ascertain the temperature. The par-
alytic man, wholly ignorant of the process to which
he was to submit, but deeply impressed by Dr. Bed-
does with the certainty of its success, no sooner felt
the thermometer between his teeth, than he concluded
the talisman was in operation, and in a burst of en-
thusiasm declared that he had already experienced the
STYLE OF SUPERNAL COMPOSITIONS. 223
effects of its benign influence throughout his whole
body. The opportunity was too tempting to be lost.
Davy did nothing more, but desired his patient to
return on the following day. The same ceremony
was repeated, the same result followed; and at the
end of a fortnight he was dismissed wholly cured ; no
remedy of any kind, except the thermometer, having
ever been used."
STYLE OF "SUPERNAL" COMPOSITIONS.
In the "supernal" productions we are presented
with a 'pedantic display of high-sounding words and
phrases. To use the language of inspiration, " they
speak great swelling words of vanity." A work has
recently been announced with this imposing title :
" Macrocosm and Microcosm," containing, among
other things, " The Potential Media" " The Diastole
and Systole of. Nature." A writer in the Spkitual
Telegraph, of October 9, says, " There are very
many faiicy-captivating, and depravity-flattering pub-
lications — some of them filled with indications, the
most specious and subtle, of a refined atheism. And
I have seen a copy or two of a certain ' Journal,' os-
tensibly advocating the great truths (?) of spiritual
manifestations, but containing some articles in which
there was a congregation of words superlatively un-
meaning- and transcendentally ridiculous." The. same
writer says, " I do not believe one half the communi-
cations which are said to come from George Wash-
ington, Benjamin Franldin, Henry Clay, John C. Cal-
224 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
lioun, John "Wesley, and a host of other great names.
What affinity can these spirits have with many of the
thoughtless, light, and trifling circles, formed to pass
off an hour, and perhaps ending with foolish mounte-
bank scenes of psychology, falsely so called ? "
Davis, in his Great Harmonia, page 206, ex-
poses a class of " mercenary practitioners, who claim
extraordinary or supernatural powers for their sub-
jects, ivho give public and vulgar exhibitions, who em-
ploy chicanery and ignorant plans, who trifle ivith and
play fantastic tricks ivith their subjects." He speaks
of a class of " doctrinal practitioners, who pre vert and
misinterpret principles and results ; who labor to make
the phenomena subservient to, and illustrative of, the
theological dogmas ; who receive, modify, or reject,
as a sectarian education and prejudice may sanction ;
who conceal, misstate, and magnify disclosures."
Enough, in all conscience, to condemn the whole
farce.
MYSTEEIOUS PHENOMENA, WITH THEIR
AGENTS OR CAUSES.
A WORK has recently been issued in Boston, by E.
C. Rogers, containing an exposition of mysterious
agents, and dynamic laws, or science of moving
powers. It is a very valuable work, and, with his
consent, we shall take the liberty of introducing some
of the principal facts adduced ; and at the same time
would advise every inquirer to purchase the work for
himself, which he will never have cause to regret.
On page 22, the author says, " Light and heat
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 225
have always been known as agents by the common
sensation of their more palpable phenomena. But
electricity and magnetism were not known until their
phenomena were specially observed. Many of the
facts of these agents, before the latter had become
known, were referred to spiritual agencies. It is the
tendency of ignorance, in every age, to do the same
thing. Reason demands an agent adequate to the
production of every phenomenon. If she has not
been furnished with sufficient data by which to arrive
at a correct conclusion, imagination, influenced by a
blind marvellousness, will refer the phenomena to
some supernatural cause. Hence the early super-
stitions about chemical operations, the appearance of
comets, eclipses, meteors, the ' bog lights,' and a
thousand other phenomena. But as the agencies of
nature have become known, and their laws and con-
ditions of action discovered, the domination of super-
stition has given place to the triumph of reason and
the reign of truth."
" Reason determines that, for every phenomenon,
there is an agent ; but never, without sufficient data,
does she determine what that agent is. The imagina-
tion often assumes this prerogative, and gives conclu-
sions without facts, or furnishes the false data from
which the logical faculty draws false principles. We
mention these things to show how easy it is to be de-
ceived, by our imaginations, with regard to the causes
of outward phenomena, and that the only legitimate
and trustworthy process in arriving at a solution of
the mysteries of nature is, to furnish the reason with
facts, and exclude the influence of imagination. A
blind precipitation of faith is also a fatal influence
226 MYSTERIOLfS PHENOMENA,
to all correct reasoning ; for it rouses the action of the
imagination, and long before the reason can possibly
give a correct deduction, credulity and imagination
have conjured one up ; and this will be the more in-
sisted upon as the only correct conclusion, as it is the
least possessed of the real truth and the action of
reason. Hence it is that those persons who are most
ignorant of the principles of nature are the more
positive and precipitate in their decisions upon any
question of mystery. They know that there is no
natural explanation, and the man is a fool who at-
tempts to find one." (Page 34.)
The first case we shall quote from the above work
occurred in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and was pub-
lished at the time in the Newark Daily Advertiser.
The phenomena made their appearance in the family
of Mr. J. Barron, consisting, for the most part, of un-
usual sounds accompanying a servant girl.
" The first sounds were those of a loud thumping,
apparently against the side of the house, which com-
menced one evening, when the family had retired, and
continued at short intervals until daylight, when it
ceased.
" The next evening it commenced at nightfall, when
it was ascertained to be mysteriously connected with
the movements of a servant girl in the family — a
white girl, about fourteen years of age. While pass-
ing a window, on the stairs, for example, a sudden jar,
accompanied with an explosive sounds broke a pane of
g-lass, the girl at the same time being seized with a
violent spasm. This, of course, very much alarmed
her ; and the physician, Dr. Drake, was sent for, who
came and bled her. The bleeding, however, produced
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 227
no apparent effect. The noise still continued, e^s be-
iore, at intervals, wherever the girl went, each sound
producing more or less of a spasm ; and the physi-
cian, with all the family, remained up during the
night. At daylight the thumping ceased again. In
the evening the same thing was repeated, com-
mencing a little earlier than before ; and so every
evening since, continuing each night until morning,
and commencing each night a little earlier than be-
fore, until yesterday, when the thumping began about
twelve o'clock at noon. The circumstances were
soon generally spread through the neighborhood, and
produced so much excitement that the house was
filled, and surrounded from sunrise to sunset, for near-
ly a week. Every imaginable means were resorted
to, in order to unravel the phenomenon. At one time
the girl would be removed from one apartment to
another, but without effect. Wherever she was
placed, at certain intervals, the thumping would be
heard in the room. She was taken to a neighboring
house. The same result followed. When carried
out of doors, however, no noise was heard. Dr.
Drake, who was constant in his attendance during
the whole period, occasionally aided by other scien-
tific observers, was with us last evening for two hours,
when we were politely allowed a variety of experi-
ments with the girl, in addition to those heretofore
tried, to satisfy ourselves that there is no imposition
in the case, and, if possible, to discover the secret
agent of the mystery. The girl was in an upper room,
with a part of the family, when we reached the house.
The noise then resembled that which would be pro-
duced by a person violently thumping the upper floor
228 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
with the head of an axe, five or six times in succes-
sion, jarring the house, ceasing a few minutes, and
then resuming as before. We were soon introduced
into the apartment, and permitted to observe for our-
selves. The girl appeared to be in perfect health,
cheerful, and free from the spasms felt at first, and en-
tirely relieved from every thing like the fear or appre-
hension which she manifested for some days. The
invisible noise, however, continued to occur as before,
though somewhat diminished in frequency, while we
were in the room. In order to ascertain more satis-
factorily that she did not produce it voluntarily,
among other experiments we placed her on a chair on
a blanket in the centre of the room, bandaged the
chair with a cloth, fastening her feet on the front
round, and confining her hands together on her lap.
No change, however, was produced. The thumping
continued as before, excepting that it was not quite
so loud. The noise resembled that which would be
produced by stamping on the floor with a heavy heel ;
yet she did not move a limb or muscle, that we could
discover. She remained in this position long enough
to satisfy all in the room that the girl exercised, vol-
untarily, no sort of agency in producing the noise.
It was observed that the noise became greater the
farther she was removed from any other person. We
placed her in the doorway of a closet in the room, the
door being ajar, to allow her to stand in the pas-
sage. In less than one minute the door flew open,
as if' violently struck with a mallet, accompanied with
precisely such a noise as such a thump would pro-
duce. This was repeated several times, with the
same effect. In short, in whatever position she was
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 229
placed, whether in or out of the room, similar results,
varied a little perhaps by circumstances, were pro-
duced. There is certainly no deception in the case.
The noise was heard at least one hundred yards from
the house."
"In this case, no suspicions were entertained by the
investigators that there was any supernatural or spir-
itual power manifested, as there was no manifesta-
tions of intelligence. They were purely physical phe-
nomena."
The next case we shall notice we copy from the
Spiritual Telegraph of July 3, 1852, taken from an
old New York paper, dated March 10, 1789. The
extract is as follows : —
" Sir : Were I to relate the many extraordinary,
though not less true accounts I have heard concerning
that unfortunate girl at New Hackensack, your belief
might perhaps be staggered and patience tired. I
shall therefore only inform you of what I have been
an eye-witness to. Last Sunday afternoon my wife
and myself went to Dr. Thorn's, and after sitting for
some time, we heard a knocking under the feet of a
young woman that lives in the family.; I asked the
doctor what occasioned the noise : he could not tell,
but replied, that he, together with several others,
had examined the house, but were unable to discover
the cause. I then took a candle and went with the
girl into the cellar: there the knocking also contin-
ued ; but as we were ascending the stairs to return,
I heard a prodig-ious rapping- on each side, which
alarmed me very much. I stood still some time, look-
ing around with amazement, when I beheld some
lumber, which lay at the head of the stairs, shake
20
230 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
considerably. About eight or ten days after, we visit-
ed the girl again : the knocking was again heard, but
much louder than before. Our curiosity induced us
to pay the third visit, when the phenomena "were still
more alarming. I then saw the chairs move ; a large
dining table was thrown against me, and a small standi
on which stood a candle, ivas tossed up and thrown into
my wife''s lap; after which we left the house, much
surprised at what we had seen."
"Catharine Crowe, in her Night Side of Nature, men-
tions several well-authenticated cases of this character,
and other writers have noticed the same phenomena.
A case is given on the 410th page of Miss Crowe's
work — that of a young officer in the English army,
who, wherever he went, whether in camp or at home,
or among strangers, was liable to be tormented with
these noises at night. Although they gave no partic-
ular marks of intelligence, yet they were regarded by
his relatives with an abundance of superstition. They
considered him " haunted."
"When these sounds commenced, he would sit up in
bed, and express his anger in strong execrations. If
a cage bird was in his room, it was certain to be found
dead in the morning; or if he kept a dog in the apart-
ment, it would make away from him as soon as
released, and never come near him again."
"The phenomena in Dr. Phelps's case, already men-
tioned in this volume, consisted in the moving of arti-
cles of furnitm-e in a manner that could not be ac-
counted for. Knives, forks, spoons, nails, blocks of
wood, &c., were thrown in different directions about
the house, when there appeared no visible power
by which the motior could have been produced. A
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 231
writer in the New Haven Journal and Courier testifies,
that while he was present, " the contents of the pantry
were emptied into the kitchen, and bags of salt, tin
ware, and heavy cooking utensils were thrown in a
promiscuous heap upon the floor, with a loud and
etartling noise. Loaves of delicious cake were scat-
tered about the house. The large knocker of the out-
side door would thunder its fearful tones through the
loud-resounding hall, chairs would deliberately move
across the room, heavy marble-top tables would
poise themselves upon two legs, and then fall with
their contents to the floor — no person being within
six feet of them."
"On the 1st of October, 1850, Mrs. Phelps and her
two children left home for Pennsylvania : with this
the phenomena ceased. The doctor remained at his
house five weeks after, without disturbance. It was
ascertained that these and other manifestations were
less frequent and feebler when but one of the children
was in the house ; and that they were more frequent
in connection with the lad, (one of the above children,)
eleven years of age.
These children had frequently been mesmerized into
the trance state by their father ; and one of them was
subject to spontaneous trance, and at one time was
found in the barn in a cataleptic state. Since the
return of the doctor's family, in the spring of 1851, he
has kept the two children separate, the boy being
away, lest his presence would occasion a recurrence of
the seme phenomena. Simultaneous with the phe-
nomena, the boy would frequently start while asleep
in bed.
Analogous to the above are the wonderful occur-
222 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
rences which took place at Stockwell, England, in
January, 1772, as related in the work entitled Night
Side of Nature, page 370. We shall only give the
most important particulars of the case, leaving the
reader to consult the work itself."
" On Monday, January 6, 1772, about ten o'clock
in the forenoon, as Mrs. Golding (the hostess) was
in the parlor, she heard the china and glasses in the
kitchen tumble down and break ; her maid came to
her, and told her the stone plates were falling from the
shelf ; Mrs. Golding went into the kitchen, and saw
them broken. Presently after, a row of plates from
the next shelf fell down likewise, while she was there,
and nobody near them : this astonished her much, and
while she was thinking about it, other things in differ-
ent places began to tumble about, some of them break-
ing, attended with violent noises all over the house ;
a clock tumbled down, and the case broke." The
destruction increased with the wonder and terror of
Mrs. Golding. Wherever she went, accompanied by
the servant girl, this dreadful waste of property fol-
lowed.
Mrs. Golding, in her terror, fled to a neighbor's,
where she immediately fainted. A surgeon was called,
and she was bled. The blood, which had hardly con-
gested, was seen all at once to spring out of the basin
upon the floor, and presently after, the basin burst to
pieces, and a bottle of rum, that stood by it, broke at
the same time.
Mrs. Golding went to a second neighbor's, as the
articles she had conveyed to the first were being de-
stroyed. And while the maid remained at the first
neighbor's, Mrs. Golding was not distm-bed ; but when
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 233
putting up what few things remained unbroken of her
mistress's in a back apartment, a jar of pickles, that
stood upon a table, turned upside down, and other
things were broken to pieces.
Meantime the disturbances had ceased at Mrs.
Golding's house, and but little occurred at the neigh-
bors', while Mrs. Golding and her servant remained
apart. But as soon as they came into each other's
company, the disturbance would begin again.
About five o'clock on Tuesday morning, Mrs. Gold-
ing went to the chamber of her niece, and desired her
to get up, as the noises and destruction were so great
she could continue in the house no longer: at this
time, all the tables, chairs, drawers, &c., were tumbling
about. In consequence of this resolution, Mrs. Gold-
ing and her maid went over the way to Richard Fow-
ler's. The maid returned to JVIrs. Pain's, to help this
lady dress her children. At this time all was quiet.
They then repaired to Fowler's, and then began the
same scenes as had happened at the other places. It
must be remarked that all was quiet here as well as
elsewhere, till the maid returned.
When they reached Mr. Fowler's, he began to light
a fire in his back room. When done, he put the can-
dlestick upon the table in the fore room. This apart-
ment Mrs. Golding and her maid had just passed
through. This candlestick, and another with a tin
lamp in it, that stood by it, were dashed together, and
fell to the ground. A lantern, with which Mrs. Gold-
ing had been lighted across the road, sprang from a
hook to the ground. A basket of coals tumbled over,
and the coals rolled about the room.
Mrs. Golding and her servant now returned home,
20*
234 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
when similar scenes were repeated. Mr. Pain then
desired Mrs. Golding to send her maid for his wife to
come to them. When she was gone all was quiet.
When she returned she was immediately discharged,
and no disturbances happened afterv/ards."
"The account gives us the following particulars,
namely : that the phenomena always depended upon
the presence of the servant maid, and that they always
occurred with the greatest energy when the mistress
was in the company of the maid; also that, when
the maid passed through a room alone, there would
be little or no disturbance of its contents, but if she
was soon after followed by Mrs. Golding, various
articles would begin to play the most singular pranks.
Very often one article would be attracted by another,
or they would fly towards each other, and striking
together, fall upon the floor as if both had been
charged with some physical agent which made them
act like opposite poles. Then, also, they would fly
from one another, as by repulsive forces. Every thing-
which Mrs. Golding had touched seems to have been
in some way affected, so that afterwards, on the ap-
proach of the maid, it would be broken to atoms,
sometimes, even, without her touch. The blood of
Mrs. Golding was highly susceptible under the same
circumstances, and the bowl in which it was contained
and the glass ware standing by it burst to pieces."
" In the year 1835, a suit was brought before the
sheriff of Edinburgh, Scotland, for the recovery of dam-
ages suffered in a certain house owned by a Mr. Web-
ster. Captain Molesworth was the defendant at the
trial." (See Night Side of Nature, page 400.) The
fallowing facts were developed : Mr. Molesworth had
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 235
seriously damaged the house both as to substance and
reputation.
First. By sundry holes which he cut in the walls,
tearing up the floors, &c., to discover the cause of
certain noises which tormented himself and family.
Second. By the bad name he had given the house,
stating that it was haunted. Witnesses for the de-
fendant were sheriff's officers, justices of the peace,
and officers of the regiment quartered near ; all of whom
had been at the said house sundry times to aid Cap-
tain Molesworth detect the invisible cause of so much
disturbance.
The disturbance consisted in certain noises, such
as knockings, pounding, scratching sounds, rustlings
in different parts of a particular room ; sometimes, how-
ever, in other parts of the house. Certain boards of
the floor would seem to be at times infected with the
noises ; then certain points in the walls, at which
Mr. Molesworth would point his gun, or cut into with
an axe, all to no purpose..
The bed on which a young girl, aged thirteen years,
had been confined by disease, would very often be
raised above the floor, as if a sudden force was applied
beneath it, which would greatly alarm her and the
whole family, and cause the greatest perplexity. . The
concussions which were often produced on the walls
would cause them visibly to tremble. The force that
produced these results was soon discovered to be in
some strange way connected wdth this invalid, and
wherever the young invalid was moved this force
accompanied her."
"It is plainly exhibited, in the cases just given, that
no characteristics of spiritual agency are exhibited,
236 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
but those, on the contrary, of a mere physical power,
associated with the organism of certain persons.
" We have not," says Mr. Rogers, " the least possible
evidence that ^any spirit, demoniacal or angelic, had
any hand in performing the wild antics among crock-
ery and furniture which we have seen performed in
the accounts given. For it is admitted that a spir-
itual agent is an intelligent agent. Its characteristics
are those of intelligence, as every one admits. Wher-
ever, therefore, these characteristics are wanting in a
class of phenomena, it is blindly absurd, greatly super-
stitious, even to draw the inference that they are spir-
itual phenomena. But what shall be said when it is
asserted as a veritable certainty, and the crowd is
made to stretch their throats and swallow the absurd-
ity without a moment's examination ? " " Is it possi-
ble we are to be driven to the conclusion that the
ground of faith in spirituality is identical with that
of ignorance, superstition, fanaticism, bigotry ? "
We shall now proceed to give the case of Angelique
Cottin, as reported in the Night Siat of Nature, and
in the Courrier des Etats Unis, and the investigations
of the case as reported by M. Arago, before the Paris
Academy of Sciences, 16th of February, 1846.
"Angelique Cottin was a native of La Perriere,
aged fourteen, when, on the 15th of January, 1846,
at eight o'clock in the evening, while weaving silk
gloves at an oaken frame, in company with other girls,
the' frame began to jerk, and they could not by any
efforts keep it steady. It seemed as if it were alive ;
and becoming alarmed, they called in the neighbors,
who would not believe them, but desired them to sit
dow 1 and go on with their work. Being timid, they
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES.
237
went one by one, and the frame remained still till
Angelique approached, when it recommenced its move-
ments, while she was also attracted by the frame.
Thinking she was bewitched or possessed, her parents
took her to the presbytery, that the spirit might be
exorcised, or cast out. The curate, being a sensible
man, objected, but set himself to work to observe the
phenomenon, and being satisfied of the facts of the
case, he bade them take her to a physician.
" Meanwhile, the intensity of the influence, whatever
it was, augmented; not only articles made of oak,
but all sorts of things, were acted upon by it, and
reacted upon her, while persons who were near her,
even without contact, frequently felt electric shocks.
The effects, which were diminished when she was on
a carpet or a waxed cloth, were most remarkable when
she was on the bare earth. They sometimes entirely
ceased for three daySj and then recommenced. Metals
were not affected. Any thing touching her apron
or dress Would fly off, although a person held it; and
Monsieur Herbert, while seated on a heavy tub or
trough, was raised up with it. In short, the only place
she could repose on was a stone covered with cork.
They also kept her still by isolating her. When she
was fatigued the effects diminished. A needle, sus-
pended horizontally, oscillated rapidly with the motion
of her arm, without contact; or remained fixed while
deviating from the magnetic direction. Great num-
bers of enlightened medical and scientific men wit-
nessed these phenomena, and investigated them with
every precaution to prevent imposition. She was often
hurt by the violent involuntary movements rhe was
thrown into, and was evidently afflicted by chorea,
238 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
or St. Vitus's dance." — Night Side of Nature, page
382.
" The French paper mentions the circumstance that
while Angelique was at work in the factory, " the cyl-
inder she was turning was suddenly thrown a consid-
erable distance without any visible cause ; that tliis
was repeated several times ; that all the young girls in
the factory fled, and ran to the curate to have h m
exorcise the young girl, believing she had a devil."
After the priest had consigned her to the physician's
care, the physician, with the father and mother,
brought Angelique to Paris. M. Arago received her,
and took her to the observatory, and in the presence
of MM. Laugier and Goujon made the following
observations, which were reported to the Paris Acad-
emy of Sciences : —
'■''First. It is the left side of the body which appears
to acquire this sometimes attractive, but more fre-
quently repulsive, property. A sheet of paper, a pen,
or any other light body, being placed upon a table, if
the young girl approaches her left hand, even before
she touches it, the object is driven to a distance as by
a gust of wind. The table itself is overthrown the
moment it is touched by her hand, or even by a thread
which she may hold in it.
'■'■Second. This causes instantaneously a strong com-
motion in her side, which draws her towards the table ;
but it is in the region of the pelvis that this singular
repulsive force appears to concentrate itself
" Third. As had been observed the first day, if she
attempted to sit, the seat was thrown far from her,
with such force that any other person occupying it
was carried awav with it.
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 239
'■'■Fourth. One day a chest upon which three men
were seated was iioved in the same manner. An-
other day, although the chair was held by two very
strong men, it was broken between their hands.
^'■Fifth. These phenomena are not produced in a con-
tinued manner. They manifest themselves in a greater
or less degree, and from time to time during the day ;
but they show themselves in their intensity in the even-
ing, from seven to nine o'clock.
^^ Sixth. Then the girl is obliged to continue stand-
ing, and is in great agitation.
'■^Seventh. She can touch no object without breaking
it or throwing it upon the ground.
^^Eig-hth. All the articles of furniture which her gar-
ments touch are displaced and overthrown.
^'■Ninth. At that moment many persons have felt, by
coming in contact with her, a true electrical shock.
" Tenth. During the entire duration of the paroxysms,
the left side of the body is warmer than the right side.
"Eleventh. It is affected by jerks, unusual move-
ments, and a kind of trembling which seems to com-
municate itself to the hand which touches it.
" Tivelfth. This young person presents, moreover, a
peculiar sensibility to the action of the magnet.
When she approaches the north pole of the magnet
she feels a violent shock, while the south pole pro-
duces no effect; so that if the experimenter changes
the poles, but without her knowledge, she always dis-
covers it by the difference of sensations which she
experiences.
" Thirteenth. The general health of Angelique is very
good. The extraordinary movements, however, and
the paroxysms observed every evening, resemble what
one observes in some nervous rialadies."
240 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
" The great fact demonstrated in this case,'' says
E. C. Rogers, " is, that, under peculiar conditions, the
human organism gives forth a physical power which,
icitJiout visible instruments, lifts heavy bodies, attracts
or repels them according to a law of polarity, over-
turns them, and produces the phenomena of sound.
So far as the mere movement of objects, even of great
weight, in connection with certain persons, is con-
cerned, whether in the phenomena of the so called
' spiritual manifestations,' or out of them, the imme-
diate agent is a physical one, and is identical through-
out. None but the most ignorant can deny this."
For a further delineation of the facts in this case, and
deductions therefrom, we refer the reader to the work
of Mr. Rogers, on the Dynamic Laws and Relations
of Man.
" The next case we shall refer to is that of Frederica
HaufFe, of the town of Prevorst, in the mountainous
parts of Germany. It was found that in her hands, at
a very early age, the hazel wand pointed out metals
and water. It was also found that, in certain local-
ities, the influences from the earth had a very powerful
effect upon her susceptible nerves. It was frequently
observed by the one she often accompanied in his
walks through solitary places, that though she was
skipping ever so gayly by his side, at certain spots a
kind of seriousness and shuddering came over her,
which for a long time he could not comprehend. He
also observed that she experienced the same sensations
in churchyards, and in churches where there were
graves ; and that, in such churches, she never could
remain below, but "was obliged to repair to the gal-
leries. Superstition, it is true, has always claimed
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 241
such facts as parts of her ghostly superstructure ; but
they are too material for this.
Frederica was almost constantly in a magnetic
state, and in this condition frequently communicated
what was taking place at a distance, and was aware
(»f producing sounds in space, and some ways off; but
this being found to materially injure her, the habit was
abandoned. She had a very high degree of suscep-
tibility to mundane influences, and the effect was, that
mineral loads and subterranean currents acted through
her upon a simple stick held in her hand.
At one time she was attacked with nervous fever,
which continued fourteen days with great violence.
This was followed by seven years of magnetic life,
interrupted only by very short and merely apparent
intervals. After the fever, she was attacked with
spasms in the breast, which continued three days.
On the second day, a peasant's wife came from the
village, and seating herself beside her, said, " She
needs no physicians; they cannot help her; '' and laid
her hands on her forehead. Immediately she was
seized with the most direful spasms, and her forehead
was as coM as if she was dead. During the whole
night she cried dcMriously that tht woman had exer-
cised a demoniacal influence upon her ; and whenever
the woman returned she was always attacked with
spasms. On the third day they sent for a physician ;
and being then in a magnetic condition, she cried to
him when he entered, although she had never seen
him, " K you are a physician, you must help me ! "
He, well understanding her malady, laid his hands on
her head; and it was remarked that, as long as he
remained in the room, she saw and heard him alone,
2X
242 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
and was insensible to the presence of all other persons.
The same kind of exclusive attachment has been seen
in cases of persons who have fallen tinder the pecu-
liar influence of the magnet or a crystal, thus showing
the relation of mundane agencies to the psychological
nerve centres, as well as to the nerve centres in the
spine, and among the viscera.
After her physician had laid his hands on her she
became calm, and slept for some hours. Some in-
ternal remedies and a bath were prescribed for her;
but the spasms returned in the night, and for eighteen
weeks she was attacked by them from twice to five or
six times a day. All the remedies prescribed proving
inefficacious, recourse was had to " magnetic passes,"
which, for a time, relieved the spasms. It was amid
such sufferings and such influences that, in the month
of February, 1823, after extreme tortures, she gave
birth to her first child. This event was followed, for
some time, by additional ills. The following is a
somewhat curious circumstance, and goes to show
the influence which one organization will have upon
another, when a certain relation is established between
them. It is this : The woman who, on a former oc-
casion, had exerted so unhappy an influence upon the
mother, produced precisely the same effects upon the
child. Her contact with it threw it into spasms, and
the convulsions became periodical until its death.
About a year after the birth of her child, being
laughed at for her superstition, she was thrown into
a state of rigid spasm, and became as cold and stiff
as a corpse. For a long time no respiration wa?
visible. She lay as in a dream. In this peculiar
condition she spoke for three days entirely in verse
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 243
and at another, she saw, for the same period, ncithing
but a ball of fire, that ran through her whole body as
if on thin bright threads. And then, for three days,
she felt as if water was falling upon her head, drop by
drop ; and it was at this time that she saw her own
image. She saw it clad in white, seated on a stool,
whilst she was lying in bed. She contemplated the
vision for some time, and would have cried out, but
could not ; at length she made herself heard, and her
husband entering, it disappeared. Her susceptibility
was now so great that she heard and felt what hap-
pened at a distance, and was so sensible to external
agencies, that the nails in the walls affected her, which
obliged her friends to remove them. The least light
had a powerful influence upon her nervous system, and
could not be endured.
She was now induced to take a medicine which
made her more calm, but threw her into a deeper
trance. Still she could not endure the sunlight. She
was taken in a darkened carriage to her home on the
mountains. " Here she existed," says her physician,
" only through the nervous emanation of others, and
it became necessary that some one should always hold
her hand ; and if the person was weak, it increased
her debility. The physician prescribed magnetic passes
and medicines, but she fell into a magnetic sleep, and
then prescribed for herself Her greatest suffering
arose from the sensation of having a stone in her
head. It seemed as if her brain was compressed, and
at every breath she drew, the motion pained her. At
this time a large magnet was applied to her forehead ;
immediately her head and face were turned round, and
her mouth distorted as by a stroke of palsy. On the
244 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
28tli of December she gave birth to her second child,
which was followed, as before, by a long and severe
illness. She continued constantly in a magnetic state.
Persons of various tempers now became her mag-
netizers. The effects of these different nervous tem-
peraments upon hers were very serious. It brought
her into special relation to so many persons, that, even
at a distance, they affected her, visions of whom would
appear to her like visions of spirits. This, moveover,
brought her into a deeper magnetic condition, and
rendered her more dependent on the nervous energy of
others. Another physician was employed from a
distance. He gave her an amulet to wear, composed
of certain substances, and a small magnet, all arranged
together. Occasionally this amulet, untouched by any
one, would run about her head, breast, and bed cover-
ing, like a live thing."
"It has already been remarked, that, in the earlier
stage of her magnetic state, she was aware of making'
sounds at a distance. This she repeatedly performed,
so that her friends at a distance, as they lay in bed,
heard distinctly the sounds. This fact being com-
municated to her physician, Dr. Kerner, he, by actual
experiment and observation, confirmed it. This was
not performed by her will, which was inactive in her
somnambulic or cataleptic state, as well as her con-
sciousness. Every nerve centre was in a most in-
timate rapport or relation with the mundane agencies,
especially that which acts in conjunction with the
nervous force, and holds every animal in a certain •
connection with every thing out of the organism.
The father of this unfortunate woman inhabited a
house which formed a part of an old cathedral, where,
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAVSES. 245
it had bet n reported by former tenants, strange sights
had been seen, and strange sounds heard. It was in
this house, at the time of her somnambulic state,
already spoken of, that there were heard unusual knock-
ings on the walls, noises in the air, and other sounds,
which, as Dr. Kerner remarks, " can be testified to by
more than twenty credible witnesses." There was a
trampling up and down stairs by day and by night to ba
heard, but no one to be seen, as well as knockings on
the walls and in the cellars ; but, however suddenly a
person flew to the place to try to detect whence the noise
proceeded, they could see nothing. If they went outside,
the knocking was immediately heard inside, and vice
versa. The noises at length became so perplexing,
that her father declared that he could live in the
house no longer. They were not only audible to
every body in the house, but to the passengers in the
street, who stopped to listen to them as they passed.
"Whenever there was playing on the piano, and sing-
ing, sounds would commence on the walls,"
We have not room to mention all the facts in her
case ; but will add a few of the most remarkable.
" She was very suceptible to electrical influences, and,
what is almost incredible, she had a preternatural
feeling or consciousness of human loriting. Various
minerals seemed to have a specific effect, when brought
in contact with her. Glass and rock crystal had a
powerful effect in waking her from the somnambulic
state, or in exciting the force within her organism.
This fact, and others of this character in abundance,
point to the peculiar tendency of this force, in some
cases of disease, to act outwardly from the nerve
centres upon glass ware, window glass, &c. " We
21*
246 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
have known a child, eight years old," says Mr. Rogers,
" who seldom, at one period, took hold of a glass dish
without its soon bursting to pieces." In the case of
Frederica, a rock crystal, placed on the pit of her
stomach, and allowed to remain there for some time,
would produce a deep state of catalepsy. She was
atFected in the same manner by silicious sand and
gravel, or even by standing some time n( ar a glass
window. If she chanced to seat herself on a sandstone
beach, she was apt to become cataleptic; and once,
having been for some time missed, she was at length
found at the top of the house, seated on a heap of
sand, so rigid, that she was unable to move away from
it. Whenever she was placed in a bath by her
medical attendants, it was with a great deal of labor
they could immerse her body beneath the surface.
Her specific gravity seemed to be more like cork, or a
bladder of air, than that of muscle, nerve, and bone.
Something seemed to pervade her body, or to act
upon it, so entirely opposite to the centripetal action
of the earth, as to counteract this law of force in the
most marked manner. This fact suggested to Dr.
Kerner a curious experiment, which resulted in the
development of another important phenomenon. He
had concluded, that as all these phenomena had taken
place more or less in conjunction with those usually
termed magnetic or mesmeric, there might be some
relation of the forces in both, or indeed they might be
identical. To test this matter, he at one time placed
his fingers against hers, when he found at once there
existed a mutual attraction, as between two magnets ;
and now, by extending his hand upward, he raised her
clear from the ground ; thus she was suspended^ as a
VITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 247
magnet suspends a piece of iron, or another magnet,
simply by a polar force. This was repeated several
times, and afterwards his wife did quite the same
thing."
" We have already spoken of the action which the
sun's light had upon her in producing physical effects.
Among others it was observed that the different
colored rays produced each a specific effect. The
light of the moon, also, when she looked at it, pro-
duced coldness and shivering, with melancholy."
The effects of these agents on the human organism
are clearly explained, in the numbers of an as-
tronomical paper, by Mr. Chapman, of Philadelphia.
" On touching Frederica with a finger, during an
electrical state of the atmosphere, she saw small
flashes, which ascended to the ceiling ; from men these
were colorless, from women blue ; and she perceived
emanations of the same kind, and of the same varia-
tion of color, from people's eyes."
Concerning the power possessed in the nerve centres
of this woman, to produce sounds at a distance. Dr.
Kerner remarks as follows: "As I had been told by
her parents, before her father's death, that, at the
period of her early magnetic state, she was able to
make herself heard by her friends, as they lay in bed
at night, in the same village, in other houses, by a
knocking, — as is said of the dead, — I asked her, in
her sleep, whether she was able to do so now, and at
what distance. She answered that she could some-
times do it. Soon after this, as we were going to bed,
(my children and servants being already asleep,) we
heard a knocking, as if in the air over our heads.
There were six kn 3cks, at intervals of half a minute.
248 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
It was a hollow, yet clear sound, soft, but distinct.
We were certain there was no one near us, nor over
us, from whom it could proceed ; and our house stands
by itself. On the following evening, when she was
asleep, (we had mentioned the knocking to no-
body whatever,) she asked me whether she should
soon knock to us again ; which, as she said it was
hurtful to her, I declined." And yet, not long after
this, Kerner relates the following, as having taken
place at his house : " On the morning of the 23d of
March, 1837, at one o'clock, I suddenly awoke, and
heard seven knocks, one after another, at short inter-
vals, seeming to proceed from the middle of my
chamber : my wife was awakened also ; and we
could not compare this knocking to any ordinary
sound. Mrs. Hauffe lived several houses distant
from us."
"On the 30th of the same month, E.ev. Mr. Hermann
came into rapport or special relation with Mrs. H.,
through the medium of psychological sympathy, as
well as through the physical influence. Previous to
this he had not been troubled with strange sounds at
his house, but after that period he was awakened
every night, at a particular hour, by a knocking in
his room, — sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on
the walls, — which his wife heard as well as himself.
In a great part of her magnetic state, Mrs. H. was
under a strong state of religious feeling, and was often
engaged in prayer. Rev. Mr. Hermann sympathized
with her in this, and with the commencement of the
rapping in his room, he experienced an involuntary
disposition to pray." (See Mr. Rogers's work, where
many such cases are given.)
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 249
In elucidation of the effect of glass, sand, gravel, &c.,
upon her organism, we will state an additional fact,
as related by her physician : " On the 21st of April,
Dr. K. was at the house of Mrs. H. The window being
open, he saw a quantity of gravel come in the window,
which he not only saw, as he says, ' but picked it up ! '
To be certain that no one threw it in, he immediately
looked out. On comparing it, he found it to be such
gravel as lay in the front of the house."
"Now, let the phenomena we have related be put
side by side with those which occmred at the house
of Rufus Elmer, in Springfield, Massachusetts, on the
5th of April, 1852, as witnessed by Professor "Wells,
of Cambridge, and others, and alleged to be the work
of spirits.
First. The table was moved in every possible direc-
tion, and with great force, when no cause of motion
could be perceived.
Second. The table was forced against each one
present so powerfully as to move them from their
positions, together with the chairs they occupied, in
all several feet.
Third. Mr. Wells and Mr. Edwards took hold of
the table in such a manner as to exert their strength
to the best advantage, but found the invisible power,
exercised in the opposite direction, to be quite equal
to their utmost efforts.
Fourth. In two instances, at least, while the hands
of all the members of the circle were placed on the
top of the table, and while no visible power was
employed to raise the table, or otherwise to move
it from its position, it was seen to rise clear of the
floor, ani to float in the atmosphere for severa.
250 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
seconds, as if sustained by a denser medium than
the air.
Fifth. Mt. Wells was rocked to and fro with great
violence, and at length it poised itself on two legs, and
remained in this position for some thirty seconds,
when no other person was in contact with the table.
Sixth. Three persons, Messrs. "Wells, Bliss, and
Edwards, assumed positions on the table at the same
time, and while thus seated, the table was moved in
various directions.
Seventh. Occasionally we were made conscious of
the occurrence of a powerful shock, which produced a
vibratory motion of the floor of the apartment. It
seemed like the motion occasioned by distant thunder,
or the firing of ordnance far away, causing the tables,
chairs, and other inanimate objects, and all of us, to
tremble in such a manner that the effect was both
seen and felt.
In conclusion, it was observed that D. D. Hume,
the medium, frequently urged the company to hold
his feet and hands. The room was well lighted, and
a lamp was placed on and under the table, and every
possible opportunity afforded for the closest inspection.
They were therefore positive that there was no decep-
tion in the case. The conclusion was, that it must be
the work of spirits — a singular conclusion, indeed, for
men of such standing and acquirements. It might all
have been accomplished, biologically; but admitting
the whole to be literally and substantially true, they
fall far short of well-attested phenomena, where it was
not so much as conjectured even to be at all super-
naturaV^
The fact is incon^rovertibly evident, that physical
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 251
agents, subtile and unseen, are every where at work.
" Force shows itself," as the elegant Somerville re-
marks, in his Connection of the Physical Sciences,
" in every thing that exists in the heavens or on the
earth." There is a physical power which not only
binds satellites to their planet, and planets with suns,
and sun with sun throughout the wide extent of crea-
tion, which is the cause of the disturbances, as well
as the order of nature, but it physically binds man to
man, and man to nature. And as every tremor it
excites in one planet is immediately transmitted to
the farthest limits of the system, in oscillations, which
correspond in their periods with the cause producing
them, like sympathetic notes in music, or vibrations
from the deep tones of an organ, so every vibration,
thus excited, is transmissible to the delicate centres
of every organic being, provided the repulsive agent
of those beings is changed in its relative condition so
as to admit its influx. (See Geometry and Faith,
by Rev. T. Hill, of Waltham.)
"It is well known to every chemist, that wherever
there is chemical action going on, there is a constant
evolution of some force. Now, that there is a con-
stant chemical aption taking place is certain, and the
sources of this action are very numerous. Among
others, we have that of water, (often holding in solu-
tion saline ingredients, thus increasing its action upon
metallic substances,) which, percolating through the
surface, acts upon all those surfaces whose materials
have a strong chemical affinity for the oxygen or
hydrogen of the water.
Wherever there is a mineral load the development
of force is in S3me instances very great. For instance,
252 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
Mr. E. W. Fox was able, by connecting two lodes
with copper wires, and conducting the latter to the
surface of the earth, and immersing them in a cell
which contained a solution of sulphate of copper,
to obtain an electrotype copy of an engraved cop-
perplate.
Thus " the earth itself may be made a battery,''^
as Robert Hunt says. " We know," he repeats,
" that, through the superficial strata of the earth,
electric currents circulate freely, whether they are
composed of clay, sand, or any mixture of these "with
decomposed organic matter ; indeed, that with any
substance in a moist state, electric currents suffer no
interruption." The electricity of mineral veins has
attracted the attention of some of the first philosophers
of Europe, and has led to some highly-interesting ex-
periments with regard to the action of this important
agent in the formation, disposition, and direction of
rocks and mineral veins. M. Becqueral and others
have made use of these currents successfully in imi-
tating Nature in her processes of making crystals and
other mineral formations."
"It is not, however, necessary to suppose that the
agent of which we are treating particularly requires
a chemical action to develop it, or the action of the
electric force. Experiments have proved that it is
developed in every form of material action — that
even the substances of the earth, without sensible
alteration, exert this force. To this agent the sensitive
nerve centres are extremely susceptible. The celebrat-
ed Ritter, of Germany, devoted much time to an in-
vestigation of this subject, and, in 1809, published
Supplementary Treatis^.s upon it, together with
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 253
Amoretti's celebrated work on the same subject —
Physical and Historical Inquiries into Rhabdomancy,
&c., in Germany. (See Dr. Ashburner's Translation
of Rheinbach, first American edition ; Redfield.) Schu-
bert, in his work on Natural History, says, " It seems
clear, from many observations, that the whole mineral
(and much of the vegetable) kingdom has a profound
and mysterious relation with the organism of man^
*' This relation," says Rogers, " is that of matter with
matter connected by an imponderable agent." " The
phenomena which betray this, as a fact of nature,
have been observable from the earliest ages. It is
certain, however, that local causes often give de-
velopments to such strange phenomena, that it re'
quires all the science that can be mustered to keep back,
the tide of superstition which will be thus aroused in
the breasts of those unacquainted with the action of
these agents^
Some will ask the question, "If these things be
true, why have we not heard of them before ? " "We
confess that we know of no other possible reason than
that such inquiries are not ^'•posted up^'' as they should
be, in matters of history and science. But, before
closing this part of our subject, we propose to relate
a few more incidents, by way of illustration.
" In the year 1849-50, certain highly-respectable
houses in the city of New York seem to have been all
at once unaccountably beset with a strange power,
which seized upon particular parts, and would not
allow any one, not even the members of the families,
to touch those seemingly consecrated things. When-
ever this was attempted, a loud, sharp sound would be
instantly given, accompanied with a sharp and spiteful
22
254 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
flash of light, as if the agent was determined tc pro-
tect that which it had seized upon. But this w^as not
all ; it would smartly shock the intruder with a blow,
as if with an unseen fist, or the like. It even seized
upon the members of these families at times, and
would — so to speak — make them apparently strike
one another, in an unseen manner, simultaneously. It
was often the case that a stranger could not call at
the door without being instantly struck on the wrist or
elbow, on touching the knob of the door bell ; and he
would see, at the same instant, an angry flash of light,
as if from some demon's eye. The ladies \\^ere not
allowed to kiss each other without each receiving, on
the approach of their lips, a fiery smack, as from a
spirit's lips. The dear little ones of these families
were prevented from giving their mothers the parting
salutation on retiring for the night."
" There seemed to be a great deal of cunning shown
by this agency. If the lady of the house did not think
to pay all due deference to its rules, when she "wished
to give orders to the servants below through the
metallic speaking tube, she was sure to receive an
unseen blow In the mouth, almost sufficient to stagger
her : at the same instant she would see the flash of
what might have been taken for a ' fiery,' if not for an
* evil eye.' "
"Professor Loomis visited these dwellings, (see
Annual of Scientific Discovery, 1851, page 129,)
and observed these phenomena. He perceived the
flash whenever the hand was brought near to the knob
of the door, also to the gilded frame of a mirror, the
gas pipes, or any m.etallic body, especially when this
body communicated freely with the earti. "In one
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CA JSES. 255
house," says this scientific gentleman, in his descrip-
tion before the American Scientific Association, at
New Haven, " in one house, which I have had the
opportunity to examine, a child, in taking hold of the
knob of a door, received so severe a shock that it ran
off in great fright. In passing from one parlor to
the other, if the lady of the house chanced to step upon
the brass plate which served as a slide for the folding
doors, she received an unpleasant shock in the foot.
When she touched her finger to the chandelier, there
appeared a brilliant spark, and a snap." After a
careful examination of several cases of this kind. Pro-
fessor Loomis came to the conclusion " that the elec-
tricity is created (excited) by the friction of the shoes
of the inmates upon the carpets of the house." " If
the professor is correct in his conjecture, it would
follow that every house," says Mr. Rogers, " with
similar carpets, should become electrized, and exhibit
similar phenomena, in which case we should have
observed their appearance at a much earlier period,
and the occurrence would have been presented much
more frequently and extensively. Yet the phenomena
is every whit electrical ; hence we are led by them to
see, that when local circumstances are favorable, ar
agent may be developed in our midst, which may play
the most singular pranks, which, it is more than pro
bable, may be attributed to supernatural, and even to
SPIRITUAL j90i(?er5, if the witnesses should be ignorant of
those characteristics which identify them with a well-
hnown agent. Had the characteristics in the above
been contrary to those of any known agent, although
the phenomena had been entirely physical, how many
would have leaped to the conclusion, without a mo-
256 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
merit's thought or investigation, that the force was a
power of the invisible spirit world ? With regard to
the phenomena of the present day, reason has been
entirely set aside ; hence the precipitate conclusion
concerning them, even by many who lay great claim
to its use and application to all other subjects. We
have been truly astonished at the course of such persons."
" We shall now present a few cases that bear a closer
analogy to electricity, perhaps, than those we have
been considering. The first we shall speak of is that
of the two Smyrna girls, who visited France in 1839,
and exhibited what was called their electrical powers,
in moving' tables without contact. The account was
published in the Boston Weekly Magazine, of De-
cember 28, 1839. The two girls landed at Marseilles,
about the first of November, 1839. In hopes of realiz-
ing a splendid fortune, they intended to exhibit them-
selves in France, and other parts of the continent.
Immediately on their arrival, several persons, including
several men of science and professors, visited them,
and ascertained the following phenomena : —
First. " The girls stationed themselves, facing each
other, at the ends of a large table, keeping at a dis-
tance from it of one or two feet, according to their
electrical dispositions.
Second. " When a few minutes had elapsed, a crac-
kling, like that of electric fluid spreading over gilt paper,
was heard, when, —
Third. " The table received a strong shake, which
always made it advance from the elder to the younger
sister.
Fourth. " A key, nails, or any piece of iron placed
on the table instantaneously stopped the phenomena.
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAISES. 257
Fifth. " When the iron was adapted to the under
part of the table, it produced no effect upon the ex-
periment.
Sixth. " Saving this singularity, the facts observed
constantly followed the known laws of electricity,
whether glass insulators were used, or whether one
of the girls wore silk garments. In the latter case,
the electric properties of both were neutralized."
Such was the state of matters for some days after
the arrival of the young Greeks ; but, —
Seventh. " The temperature having become cooled,
and the atmosphere having loaded itself with humidity^
all perceptible electric virtue seemed to have deserted
them. One may conceive the melancholy of these
girls," the writer continues, " and the disappointment
of the two Greeks, their relations, who came with
them to share their anticipated wealth."
"In this case we have the " manifestation" of a force
greatly analogous to that often witnessed at the pres-
ent day. In one important respect it acted differently
from electricity, in that it was broken by simply laying
a key or a small piece of iron on the object the agent
had acted upon, &c. " It must be admitted, how-
ever," says Mr. Rogers, " that the fact of the influence
cf glass insulators and the sUk dress, causing a ces-
sation of the phenomena, shows that the agent that
acted upon the table was, in some way, a form of
electricity, though greatly varying, in its laws of
action, from that usually known to science. We
have," says Mr. R., " some curious facts relating to
this Toodified agent, to present from Matucci and
others," (in the second number of our work.)
" From the effects of the humidity of the atmosphere.
258 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
^ome may conclude that the agent must have been
electricity, inasmuch as the same state of the atmos-
phere produces a like effect upon the action of friction
electricity. Let us allow this, and turn to precisely
the same phenomenon, as it has been manifested in
the cases of numerous 'mediums' for the so-called
^spiritual manifestations.^ "
" We will not state it upon our authority alone, but
also upon that of a large number of intelligent be-
lievers in the spiritual origin of these phenomena, that
the electrical condition of the atmosphere enters into
the circumstances of their evolution ; that in a humid
state of the weather it is not only difficult, in many
instances, but sometimes it is absolutely impossible, to
obtain them under such a condition." We know that
many of the less informed " mediums " attribute these
failures to the capriciousness of the spirits, and fre-
quently scold them soundly for their misdemeanors,
though at other times they seem to pity them because
they get so weary and fatigued in answering so many
inquiries, and being so long " on dutyP
"It was thought by some who witnessed the case of
Angelique Cottin, that the agent which acted so
powerfully from her organism, overthrowing tables,
twisting chairs out of stout men's hands, raising a
man in a heavy tub, was electricity. C. Crowe says it
did cause the deviation of the magnetic needle ; but
M. Arago, who knows more about this abused agent
than a nation of theorizers, could not detect the least
signs of it by the nicest tests. And yet it would give
the person who touched her or her dress a powerful
shock, as if it were electricity. Still, it may be the
same agent that is ground out of plate glass, that
WITH TflEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 259
propagates news from city to city on iron wires, and
that thunders in the material heavens."
" It has been supposed that because, in many in-
stances, ' mediums ' have given shocks like those given
by electrized bodies, the two agents must be identical.
Not long since, a young lady, about sixteen years of
age. Miss Harriett Bebee, was placed in a magnetic
state, in company with Mrs. Tamlin, both being of a
clairvoyant character. The sounds were heard while
they were in that state. Every time these occurred a
very sensible jar, like an electric shock, was experienced
by Miss Bebee. In answer to a question, she stated
that at each sound she felt as if there was electricity
passing over her. Several of the persons, in whose
presence these sounds are heard, always receive a
slight shock, so that there is a slight jar, which has
sometimes been so plain as to lead persons, ignorant
of the facts and the phenomenon, to accuse them of
making it themselves." Says a writer upon this
subject, " This feeling of electricity seems to pervade
nearly every thing connected with these phenomena.
When the rapping is heard, the peculiar jar is felt,
differing from the jar produced by a blow; and in
various other ways we are reminded of the use of this
subtile agent. We often see, in a dark room, bright
electric flashes on the waU and other places."
The same writer observes, " Persons sometimes feel
a sensation of electricity passing over their limbs when
they stand in the vicinity of those who get the sounds
most freely, although the particular persons who
-feem to be the mediums feel no sensation at all.
In one or two instances we have seen a perceptible
shock, as if caused by a galvanic battery, especially
260 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
when the persons were under the influence of mag-
netism."
"In a work published in Cincinnati, by William T.
Coggshall, the author says, " We have felt positive
electrical influences from clairvoyants. At the present
time," he continues, " what is termed ' electrical
circles ' are being formed every week in Cincinnati,
for the benefit of persons whose systems require ad-
ditional electrical power. We have seen several
women so powerfully electrized in these circles, that
the same effects were produced upon them which
would have been had they been isolated in connection
with a galvanic battery." So it has been seen that,
on touching Angelique Cottin, a person would receive
a " true electric shock." This kind of shock was ex-
perienced by Campeti and Bleton, in passing over
mineral veins and subterraneous streams, as mentioned
by Dr. Ashburner. " Many somnambulic persons,"
says C. Crowe, " are capable of giving an electric
shock ; and I have met with one person, not somnam-
bulic, who informed me that he has frequently been
able to do it by an effort of the will."
" When an iron plate was brought near to one of
Reichenbach's patients, and a crystal brought in con-
tact with it, the effect upon it was like an electric
shock, which even ascended from the elbow to the
shoulder." Many other cases might be cited to the
same purpose. The magnet and iron have a specific
action upon the nervous system ; and the same agent
acts also from crystals, vegetable substances, and the
human hand, nay, from the earth itself." The second
number of Mr. Rogers's work contains some interesting
facts of this character.
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 261
** Vitality," says Dr. W. E. Channing, in his Notes
on Electricity, " is dependent on physical conditions,
and performs its functions by the agency of physical
forces." The Rev. Thomas Hill, in his Fragmentary
Supplement to the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, ob-
serves that " all bodies are moved through the agency
of other bodies, and we see nowhere a motion whicti
is not dependent upon physical causes, that is, which
is not produced hj physical agents. Our will employs,
unconsciously, the aid of nerve and muscle ; the su-
preme will employs, with wise designs, the interven-
tion of the laws of impulse, attraction, and repulsion."
" When, in the course of ages, the comparative easy
problems of astronomy were solved, problems of more
difficulty were brought to view. Phenomena which
were not obvious, not pictured alphabet, but the Jine
print of creation, electrical, optical, and chemical
phenomena, led men into more hidden knowledge."
" The agents employed by the animal organization,"
says Dr. Channing, " are principles found universally
IN NATURE, and, in addition to these, a force which is
peculiar to living structures — the special agent of
vitality." "Now, it might reasonably be expected, that
if electricity, among other agents found " universally
in nature," is also associated with the agent of the
animal economy, it might, under favorable conditions,
exhibit its characteristic phenomena. These condi-
tions would, of course, be owing to a variation of the
organism from its normal standard. The following
case, given by Dr. Ennemoser, of Germany, exhibits
some of these characteristics : —
The case was that of a young woman, sister of a
professor at Strasburg. Immediately on a sudden
262 MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA,
fright, she was seized Vvdth a nervous malady, which
continued for a long period, and finally terminated in
her death. Among the remarkable symptoms in her
case were the following : —
First. Those of somnambulism, with more or less
lucidity.
Second. Her body became so highly charged with
electricity that it was necessary to conduct it away
by a regular process of conduction.
Third. Her body would impart powerful shocks to
those who came in contact, and even when they did
not touch her.
Fourth. She controlled its action so as to give her
brother (the professor) a " smart shock when he was
several rooms off." (The account states, that when
the professor received the shock, " he started up and
rushed into her chamber, where she was in bed ; and
as soon as she saw him, she said, laughing, ' Ah, you
felt it, did you ? ' ")
Fifth. She was subject, also, to spasms and parox-
ysms of rigor and trembling.
Some of the phenomena, in this case, resemble those
we see exhibited by the electric fish. The case is an
important one in considering the command which
the nerve centres possess over the general agents
associated with them."
We shall now present another singular case, which
occurred in this country, in the month of January,
1839, an account of which was given in Silliman's
Journal, by a correspondent : —
First. That " on the evening of January 28, 1839,
during a somewhat extraordinary display of the
northern lights, a espectable lady became so highly
WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. 263
charged with electricity, as to give out vivid electrical
sparks from the end of each finger, to the face of each
of the company present."
Second. That this did not cease with the heavenly
phenomena, but continued several months, during
which time she was constantly charged and giving
off electrical sparks to every conductor she approached.
This was extremely vexatious, as she could not touch
the stove, or any metallic utensil, without giving
off an electrical spark, with the consequent twinge.
Third. That "the state most favorable to this
phenomena was an atmosphere of about eighty
degrees Fahrenheit, moderate exercise, and social
enjoyment. It disappeared in an atmosphere ap-
proaching zero, and under the debilitating effects of
fear."
Fourth. That, " when seated by the stove, reading,
with her feet upon the fender, she gave sparks at the
rate of three or four a minute ; and under the most
favorable circumstances, a spark that could be seen,
heard, or felt, passed every moment."
Fifth. That " she could charge others in the same
way, when insulated, who could then give sparks
to others."
Sixth. " To make it satisfactory that her dress did
not produce it, it was changed to cotton, and woollen,
without altering the phenomenon. The lady is about
thirty, of sedentary pursuits, and delicate state of
health, having, for two years previously, suffered from
acute rheumatism and neuralgic affections."
For further investigation into the cause of singular
phenomena evolved from secret agents, and the true
philosophy of biology, magnetism, trance, &c., we
264 EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY.
would again refer to the numbers of a work by Mr.
Rogers, now in process of publication. His principles
and deductions challenge successful contradiction.
EXPEEIMENTS IN BIOLOGY.
Biology, so called, is one peculiar feature, or form,
of mesmerism. " These experiments," says Dr. Rich-
mond, " attracted much attention some three years
since, in Ohio, and other places, and such was the
intense excitement of the public mind that, in some
places, parents and the public were obliged to inter-
fere and stop children from biologizing each other."
It was found that not only muscular motion, but the
exercise of the senses, could be destroyed by the will
of the operator. Taste was obliterated, or changed,
memory destroyed, and any picture presented to the
mind of the subject would be seen. Tell him he saw
snakes, and he would become frightened, and rush
with violence over the seats and benches. Tell him
he was sleigh riding, and he would instantly seize the
reins, and drive the horses with great glee. Tell him
he was a witch ■— an old woman in rags — and he
would own the character, and confess all the crimes
with which you had charged him. Tell him he was
a gay young lady, and another subject was about to
court him, and a love scene would commence. Tell
him he was cold, and he would shiver, his teeth chat-
ter; he would stamp, and thresh his hands to keep
them warm. Tell him it was summer — very hot,
EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY. 265
and he would begin fanning himself, fling off his coat,
and, unless prevented, would divest himself of all
garments tell him that a tiee of fruit was before him,
and he would begin to fill his pockets. Sweep the
room before him, and open the sky, and say that the
river of life and a white throne were before him, that
the judgment was set, and instantly he would assume
the attitude of devotion ; he would gaze with burning
eye and rapt delight into the scene of glory. Take
him to a lake side, tell him a child was drowning in
the water, and he would wade in, take it in his arms,
and lay it carefully down, and weep over it in deep
pity. Bring before him the lightning's flash, the
thunder's roll, or proclaim a God in grandeur, and a
world on fire, and, as once actually took place in Cov-
ington, Kentucky, a dozen subjects fell in intense
fright : some on to the floor, some on benches, others
sought to fly, and all declared to the audience that a
shower of fire seemed to be around them. Any im-
age the operator sees fit to plant in the subject's mind
is readily done ; any passion readily assumed ; rever-
ence, revenge, vanity, love, hate, fear, mirth, joy, grief,
or ecstasy, are all imitated at his bidding, and safely dis-
persed and reproduced with the rapidity of thought,
changing in an instant both the actions and motions
of the subject. Tell the person he is suflbcating in
water, and he will suffocate, unless you prevent him.
Tell him he is struck on the head, and he falls, as if
stricken down with a hammer. No doubt a subject
might be killed by a mental impression — by saying
to him he was shot through the heart, or was strug-
gling in water. This is the opinion of all operators
in the art. The subject at the time is, to all appear-
23 "
266 EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY.
ance, i i a perfectly normal state ; his mental, moral,
and physical powers seem unchanged, and he thinks
at the time he can resist your power over him ; he but
gives you his eye, and you lead him captive by men-
tal impressions. The only perceptible variation from
the normal state is, that the eye, in most subjects, is
clear and glassy, the same eye that is observed in
some maniacs, and in consumptive patients — clear,
sharp, and fearful to look at. The hidden fires of the
soul seem to burn through it, with intense force. I
have watched it for months, and years, in consumptives,
under the wasting of vitality; and the eye kindles
and sparkles with more inteusxcy as they near their
end. All impressible subjects have this eye, to a
greater or less extent; aU consumptives have it, as
well as those who in early life are inclined to con-
sumption.
The facts and incidents under the effects of biology
are truly singular and wonderful ; and yet the advo-
cates of the " spirit mania " admit there is nothing
supernatural in them. For aught we can see, the
phenomena put forth by the " rappers " differ not ma-
terially from the biologic developments. They seem
to be identical with each other.
I know it is affirmed that the developments of elec-
tro-biology do not cover the whole ground in dispute,
inasmuch as men and women only are found to yield
to its impressions, while chairs, tables, and other inan-
imate objects remain unimpressed. But if chairs and
tables are not moved by one form of magnetism, they
are by another, as we have abundantly shown. And
any one with half an eye cannot but see that it would
require less efSort to move a table, or other inanimate
EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY. ^7
object, than living, intelligent beings, capable of exert-
ing their will in opposition to the effort. Dr. Rich-
mond says he has " seen an operator draw a dozen
persons from their seats, by the magnetic force of his
hand, at the distance of many feet. The first move
of the hand would bring the head forward, then the
body, and by adding his voice, ' You will stand up,'
they would, while resisting with the will, in spite of them-
selves, stand up, and follow his hand around the room."
If biologists have not usually exerted their power upon
inanimate things, it has probably been because they
did not deem it of sufficient importance. We have
seen, however, a biologist raise a table to the ceiling
of a room, kindly permitting it to stick there a while,
to the no small amusement of the spectators ! And it
can be done again. By the way, we would inquire
what biologist is it that has sometimes lent his aid in
the raising of tables, at a " circle " in East Boston,
himself an unbeliever in " spirit table-lifting's .^"
The editor of the Spiritual Telegraph says, that
"in the biological experiments there is a visible human
operator" but, "in the spiritual manifestations, no
human operator can be found, or demonstrated to
exist." But, pray, what is the "medium," in these
manifestations, but a visible human operator ? Some-
times it takes three or four persons to produce a single
demonstration. And sometimes they cannot muster
force enough to do this, especially if the weather be
rainy. And this is probably the reason why the rap-
pers at Poughkeepsie have resolved not to admit
unbelievers, nor at any time more than two or three
new-comers, at a " circle," making, with the believers,
ten or twelve in all — successful results never being
guarantied to those invited ta attend.
268 FACULTY OF IMITATION.
Mr. Brittan himself asserts that it is " the same
power that moves the human medium that also moves
the wooden table" &c. Here we have a human medium
that is moved to do something, and wooden tables, also ;
and if we can discover the secret agent in the one case,
we shall likewise in the other, for there is a perfect
sameness or coincidence in their operations. It is the
same unseen power, in both cases, moving chairs, tables,
tubs, troughs, bedsteads, and piles of lumber, besides
other gross, ponderable bodies — cutting up an infinite
variety of pranks to the consternation of some, and the
amusement of others, as A- J- Davis says of the dan-
cing plates, knives and forks, shovel, tongs, and poker,
moved by "electrical discharges and magnetic attrac-
tions," or emanations of vital electricity seeking its
equilibrium in the atmosphere.
FACULTY OF IMITATION.
The faculty of imitating signatures, of writing
music, poetry, specimens of foreign tongues, &c., is
no more strange than imitating the voice and gestures
of those we never heard nor saw. Persons of scarcely
any education or talents, while under biological influ-
ence, have been made to imitate the voice of Web-
ster, Everett, Fillmore, and others, delivering off'-hand
speeches of most impassioned diction and eloquence ;
while, in their normal state, they could scarcely frame
a paragraph in the king's English, much more de-
liver a formal address, embellished with a profusion
of metaphors, tropes, and figures, accompanied with
FACULTY OF IMITATION. 269
the finished attitudes and movements of a Choate, a
Sumner, or a Banks! These mesmeric imitations
refer also to mechanical and artistic power, and every
talent that characterizes us as intelligent beings. Some
assert that mediums are in a perfectly normal state
during the exhibitions of the " spirit " phenomena ;
and yet, to the practical mesmerizer, nothing is plainer
than that they are most absolutely mesmeric persons.
The power of imitation among mediums is various,
but distinct. Some draw maps, purporting to come
from a deceased schoolmate. Others draw likenesses ;
others speak in voices imitating the dead — but they
can imitate the living just as well ; others hear sounds
— the voice of a wife, or child, or friend. Walter
Scott relates the case of an English gentleman who
was ill, and was told by his physician that he had
lived in London too long, and lived too fast; and
advised him to retire to the country and ruralize.
One of his troubles was, that a set of green dressed
dancers would enter his drawing room, go through
their evolutions, and retire. He knew it was an illu-
sion, but could not resist the annoyance, or the
impressions made on him. He returned to his coun-
try seat, and, in a few weeks, got rid of his visitors.
He concluded tp remain out of town, and sent to
London for the furniture of his old parlor, to be placed
in his country house ; but when it came, and was
arranged in the room, the corps de ballet, dressed in
green, all rushed into the room, exclaiming, " Here we
are all again ! " He had associated in his mind the
furniture and the dancing apparit'ons, and when it
returned, they came with it, and, as he thought, spoke
with voices. We recollect of reading in a medica.
23*
270 FACULTY OF rMITATION.
paper, published in Boston, an ajoount of a man who
believed his house to be haunted by the de-\'i], in con-
sequence of which he resolved to vacate it and remove
into the country. His goods were packed into a
wagon, and he was just upon the point of starting
with his load, when to his surprise he heard a voice,
seemingly among the goods, crying out, " We are all
going together." " If that is the case," said the man,
" I will unload again ; for if I am to have the devil's
company, it may as well be in one place as another."
The excessive use of wine will induce a state of
the brain, in which the person thinks he hears voices
and sees spirits ; but on close examination it will be
found that it is the work of the abnormal powers,
developed in the brain by stimulating agents or in-
tense thinking. It will be recollected that Sweden-
borg, after eating a late, heavy supper, heard a voice cry-
ing out to him in terrible accents, " Eat not so much."
(See chap. 5.) Such phenomena may unravel the
voice Judge Edwards heard. His long-continued
meditation on death, with night, solitude, loneliness,
and grief, had so impressed him that he thought he
heard a sound in exact imitation of the voice of his
wife. In the case related by Scott, hearing was not
only affected, but the organ of color was involved in
the hallucination, and the green figures were as plain
before him as real persons. This is always one of the
phenomena of ghost-seeing that the seer aigsociates
with the spectre, namely, fcrm and color ^ voice and
action.
The cases of imitation referred to, and others of the
same class, are the results of the imitative mechanic
power of the individual, brought out by the abnormal
FACULTY OF IMITATION. 271
magnetic state existing at the time. For instance,
if the individual has timB and tune — the faculty of
music within lying undeveloped — it may be brought
out, and made to act, by the effects of magnetism.
Last winter we listened to a lecture delivered in
Newark, New Jersey, by the Rev. Mr. Harris, from
New York city. He stated that there was a lady in
Providence, who, by the agency of spirits, produced
musical compositions equal to the productions of the
best masters, as Haydn, Beethoven, and others, and
that a volume of these pieces were soon to be issued
from the press. And although the said work has not
been heard of as yet, still we doubt not that a person
in a magnetic state might write very good music, even
if totally ignorant of its rules, as this young lady was
said to be.
Phrenologists often tell persons that they would
make excellent tailors, dressmakers, poets, painters,
musicians, &c. — persons who never attempted to oper-
ate in these callings. " All they need," it is said, " is
an opportunity for the development of their powers."
Now, magnetism tends to develop or rouse these
dormant faculties into action. It also gives a far-reach-
ing, a far-seeing grasp and perception of things, as in
the case of Miss Martineau, who, be it remembered,
was too intelligent to attribute such effects to the
agency of spirits.
A marked case of the increase of the imitative power
of persons in the magnetic condition, is found in the
case of Frederica HaufFe. In one of her magnetic
moods she informed Dr. Kerner that she would make
a diagram of the spheres. " The sun sphere," as she
called it, is very complex ; but " she spun out the com-
272 FACULTY OF IMITATION.
plicated web with unerring precision," and a pair of
compasses given her to facilitate her labor only em-
barrassed her. It is made up of circles within circles,
and sections and points, amounting to thousands,
related and connected ; and yet the " whole was ex-
ecuted," says Dr. K., " in an incredible short space of
time." An engraving was made of this sphere, and a
year after she was shown the engraving, and said it
was not correct ; a point on one of the lines was want-
ing. On referring to the original, they found she was
right. This diagram contained many curious things,
and in some parts related to the highest departments
of mathematics. This faculty she only possessed in
the magnetic state, being wholly incompetent to the
task when not clairvoyant. No living artist can exe-
cute that diagram with a pen, with a fac-simile before
him, with the rapidity with which that ignorant, un-
lettered child of nature did it. " I have, in many
cases," says Dr. Richmond, " witnessed this imitative
power of mediums with the pen, dashing off figures
and images with a rashness and rapidity almost in-
conceivable." As far as we can see, there is no more
proof of the agency of spirits in one case than in the
other ; and we are sure no such claim was ever set up
in the case of Mrs. Haufie, though living in a less
enlightened region, perhaps, than these United States.
We might multiply cases of this kind, but space will
uot permit.
UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES. 273
UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES.
The operator in biology or magnetism often la/s
hold of the inquiring spectator, and uses him or her
to imitate unseen letters, signatures, and sentences, in
foreign languages. And no doubt but what Professor
Bush has been made unconsciously instrumental in
executing a few specimens of languages, his eyes wide
open, it may be, all the while. It can be no more
strange than that the son of Dr. Phelps should have
been made unconsciously instrumental in tying himself
to the limb of a tree in his father's yard, supposing it to
have been done by spirits. (See the version of the
affair by A. J. Davis.)
A biological mesmerist assures us that he finds no
difficulty in raising beds, chairs, and tables ; and in
the case of Mr. KeUogg it is shown that such things
are easily done without any aid from spirits. In the
case of Dr. Taylor, the writing medium, it is shown,
by the testimony of the spirits themselves, if their word
is to be relied on, that the phenomena in his case were
not done by spirits, but were the results of vital
electricity. Such things are getting to be so common
that we may expect soon to see the time when little
ragged boys even (like those in Egypt, who went
through the streets offering to show the spirit of any
deceased friend for a penny or a piece of cake) will
offer to lift tables, or imitate handwritings, at a penny
a sight. We know of several " mediums," now engaged
in these things, who confess they do not understand by
what power it is they raise tables, or write sentences,
&c., yet they do not believe it to be done by the agencv
274 A DANCING LIGHT.
of disembodied spirits. In many schools, the children
have been forbidden by their teachers to indulge in
these foolish practices. This power may be electri-
city, in some of its forms, or some other agent that has
some relation or affinity to it, as in the cases related
by Mr. Rogers.
A DANCING LIGHT.
»
A FEW years since the inhabitants of Southboro',
Massachusetts, were excited and alarmed at the ap-
pearance of a light, about the sLze of a star, which for
several successive nights was seen moving over a spot
of land in the westerly part of the town. Upon ex-
amining the premises by daylight, it was found that a
quantity of bones that had been buried in the earth
had been thrown upon the surface by the roots of a
tree, the trunk of which had recently been prostrated'
by a gale of wind. By many, these bones were sup-
posed to belong to some human being, who, it was
conjectured, had been murdered, and buried beneath
the spot. And the light seen hovering near was con-
sidered indicative of such an event. But if the
reader will turn to the second chapter of this work, he
wiU learn that these dancing lights, so called, arise
from an inflammable gas, evolved from decayed
animal and vegetable substances, which take fire on
coming in contact with atmospheric air. This ignis
fatuus, Jack-with-a-lantern, or Will-with-a-wisp appear-
ance is generally seen in dark nights, over boggy
and marshy ground, and generally in motion, at the
height of five or six feet, skipping from place to place,
A DANCING LIGHT. 275
and frequently changing in magnitude and form.
On some occasions, it is observed to be suddenly ex-
tinguished, and then to reappear at a distance from
its former position. Those persons who have en-
deavored to examine it closely have found that it
moves away from them with a velocity proportioned
to that of their advance — a circumstance which has
had no small influence on the fears of the ignorant
and superstitious. Dr. Denham once saw an ignis
fatuus in a boggy place, between two rocky hills, in
a dark and calm night. He approached by degrees
within two or three yards of it, and thereby had an
opportunity of viewing it to the best advantage. It
kept skipping about a dead thistle, till a slight motion
of the air — occasioned, as he supposed, by his near
approach — caused it to jump to another place ; and
as he advanced it kept flying before him. He ob-
served it to be a uniform body of light, and concluded
it must* consist of ignited vapor. These appearances
are common on the plains of Boulogne, in Italy, where
they sometimes flit before the traveller on the road,
saving him the expense of a torch on dark nights.
Sometimes they spread very wide, and then contract
themselves ; and sometimes they float like waves, and
appear to drop sparks of fire. They shine more
strongly in rainy than in dry weather.
An appearance of the same kind is sometimes met
with at sea, during gales of wind, and, of course, has
become connected with many superstitious notions
of sailors, who call it a corpusant. There are some-
times two together, and these are named Castor and
Pollux. The following is a description of one, given
by the voyager Dampier : " After four o'clock the
276 sailors' omens.
thunder and the rain abated, and then we saw a cor-
pusant, at our maintopmast head. This sight rejoiced
our men exceedingly, for the height of the storm is
commonly over when the corpusant is seen aloft ; but
when they are seen lying on the deck, it is generally
accounted a bad sign. A corpusant is a certain small,
glittering light ; when it appears, as this did, on the-
very top of a mainmast, or at a yardarm, it is like a
star ; but when it appears on the deck, it resembles a
great glovirworm. I have been told that when the
Spanish or Portuguese see them they go to prayers,
and bless themselves for the happy sight. I have
heard some ignorant seamen discoursing how they
have seen them creep, or, as they say, travel about, in
the scuppers, telling many dismal stories that happened
at such times ; but I did never see any one stir out of
the place where it was first fixed, except on deck,
where every sea washeth it about. Neither did I ever
see any but when we had rain as well as wind, and,
therefore, do believe it is some jelly."
The origin and nature of the lights above described
have not yet been satisfactorily explained. More
accurate observations than have been made are
required to furnish the basis of a correct theory
respecting them.
SAILORS' OMENS.
Sailors, usually the boldest men alive, are yet not
unfrequently the very abject slaves of superstitious
fear. Nothing is more common than to hear them
LOVE CHARMS. 277
talk of noises, flashes, shadows, echoes, and other
visible appearances, nightly seen and heard upon the
waters. Andrews, in his Anecdotes, says, " Super-
stition and profaneness, those extremes of human
conduct, are too often found united in the sailor ; and
the man who dreads the stormy effects of drowning a
cat, of whistling a contra dance while he leans over
the gunwale, wiU, too often, wantonly defy his Creator
by the most daring execrations and licentious beha-
vior." Dr. Pegge says that " sailors have a strange
opinion of the devil's power and agency in stirring up
winds, which notion seems to have been handed down
from Zoroaster, who imagined that there was an evil
spirit, called Vato, that could excite violent storms of
wind." To lose a cat overboard, or to drown one, or
to lose a bucket or a mop, is, at the present day, a
^ery unlucky omen with common sailors.
LOVE CHARMS.
Theocritus and Virgil both introduce women into
their pastorals, using charms and incantations to re-
cover the aifections of their sweethearts. Shakspear*;
represents Othello as accused of winning Desdemona
" by conjuration and mighty magic."
" Thou hast practised on her with foul charms ;
Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals
That waken motion. ,
She is abused, stolen from me, and corrupted,
By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks."
24
278 LOVE CHARMS.
In Gay's Shepherd's Week, these are represented as
country practices : —
" Straight to the 'pothecary's shop I went,
And in love powders all my money spent.
Behap what will, next Sunday after prayers,
When to the alehouse Lubberkin repairs,
These golden flies into his mug I'll throw,
And soon the swain with fervent love shall glow."
In Love Melancholy, by Dr. Ferrand, it is said,
" Wj have sometimes among us our silly wenches,
some that, out of a foolish curiosity they have, must
needs be putting in practice some of those feats that
they have received by tradition from their mother
perhaps, or nurse ; and so, not thinking forsooth to do
any harm, as they hope to paganize it to their own
damnation. For it is most certain that botanomancy,
which is done by the noise, or crackling, that box or
bay leaves make when they are crushed between one's
hands, or cast into the fire, was of old in use among
the pagans, who were wont to bruise poppy flowers
betwixt their hands, by this means thinking to know
their loves." Speaking of the ancient love charms,
characters, amulets, or such like periapses, Dr. F. says,
" They are such as no Christian physician ought to use,
notwithstanding that the common people do to this
day too superstitiously believe and put in practice
many of these paganish devices."
Miss Blandy, who was executed many years ago
for poisoning her father, persisted in affirming that
she thought the powder given her by her villanous
lover, Cranston, to administer to him, was a " love
powder," which was to conciliate her father's affection
to her lover. She met her death with this assevera-
EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST. 279
tion ; and her dying request, to be buried close to her
father, seems a corroborating proof, that though she
was certainly the cause of his premature death, yet
she was not, in the blackest sense of the word, his
wilful murderer.
We quote the following lines from Herrick's
Hesperides : —
A CHAKM OR AN ALLAY FOR LOVE.
" If SO be a toad be laid
In a sheepskin newly flayed,
And that tied to a man, 'twill sever
Him and his affections ever "
EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST.
"Whenever a real ghost appears, — by which we
mean some man or woman dressed up to frighten
another, — if the supernatural character of the appari-
tion has been for a moment believed, the effects on
the spectator have always been injurious — sometimes
producing convulsions, idiocy, madness, or even in-
stantaneous death. The celebrated Allston, the
painter, when in England, related the following in-
cident to his friend Coleridge, the poet : " It was, I
think," said he, " in the University of Cambridge,
near Boston, that a certain youth took it into his
wise head to convert a Tom Paine-ish companion of
his by appearing as a ghost before him. He accord-
ingly dressed himself up in the usual way, having
previously extracted the ball from the pistol which
always lay near the head of his friend's bed. Upon
280 THE INVISIBLE LADY.
first awakening, and seeing the apparition, the youth
that was to be frightened very coolly looked his com-
panion, the ghost, in the face, and said, ' I know you ;
this is a good joke ; but you see I am not frightened.
Now you ^nay vanish.' The ghost stood still.
' Come,' said the youth, ' that is enough. I shall
get angry ; away ! ' Still the ghost moved not. ' By
heavens ! ' ejaculated the young man, ' if you do not,
in three minutes, go away, I'll shoot you.' He
waited the time, deliberately levelled his pistol, fired,
and with a scream at the immovability of the figure,
became convulsed, and soon afterwards died. The
very instant he believed it to be a ghost, his human
nature fell before it."
THE INVISIBLE LADY.
In the year 1804, an invisible lady and acoustic
temple were exhibited in Boston, as an " Extraordinary
Aerial Phenomenon." Its body was made of glass
It gave answers to questions asked by visitors. In
London, a few years ago, there was shown an ap-
paratus consisting of a four-footed stand, and several
trumpet-mouthed tubes, from any one of which spec-
tators received ready answers to questions. The
answers were said to come from the " invisible girl ; "
but the true explanation of the puzzle was, that a
secret tube, in the legs of the apparatus, communicat-
ed the sounds to a girl in a neighboring apartment.
Probably something similar was arranged in the glass
body exhibited in Boston; and if we mistake not,
during the sojourn of Joice Heth, of iP^re recent
SORCERERS IN THE EAST. 281
notoriety, at the Albany Museum, a shrewd Albanian,
after a minute and diligent examination, made the
wonderful discovery that the old lady, or nurse of
Washing-ton, was composed of India rubber, and was
made to breathe, speak, cry, sing, &c., by the aid of
ventriloquism I
In a case of spirit rappings. Professor Grimes dis-
covered that the party had contrived to have some
levers concealed beneath the floor, and by means of
certain little pegs coming through where the rappers
sat, connecting with the levers, aU nicely poised on a
balance, they placed their feet upon them, and pro-
duced the raps at pleasure. And in the case of the
Rochester rappers, when their ankles were firmly held
by the committee of investigation, it is said a servant
girl rapped with her knuckles under the floor. Mrs.
Culver, who had been instructed by the Fox family,
and had practised with them a while, afterwards re-
nounced the craft, and exposed this among other
deceptions to the world. "The girl," she says, "was
instructed to rap whenever she heard their voices call-
ing for spirits."
SORCERERS IN THE EAST.
The operations of the men sorcerers in India are
quite scientific. They set about their work in a busi-
ness-like manner, and in sight of the house of their
intended victim the mystic caldron begins to boil and
bubble. The victim, however, is not to be terrified
out of his senses. What are his enemy's fires and
24*
282 SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES.
incantations to him ? He takes no notice, and con-
tinues to live on as though there was not a sorcerer in
the world. But that smoke : it meets his eye the first
object every morning. That ruddy glare : it is the last
thing he sees at night. That measured but inartic-
ulate sound : it is never out of his ear. His thoughts
dwell on the mystical business. He is preoccupied,
even in company.' He wonders what they are putting
into the pot, and if it has any connection with the
spasm that has just shot through him. He becomes
nervous ; he feels sick ; he cannot sleep from thinking ;
he cannot eat for that horrid broth that bubbles for-
ever in his mind. He gets worse and worse, and
dies ! But this empire of the imagination is beaten
in Java, where it is supposed that a housebreaker, by
throwing a handful of earth upon the beds of the
inmates, completely incapacitates them from moving
to save their property. The man who is to be robbed,
on feeling the earth fall upon him, lies as motionless
as if bound hand and foot. He is under a spell, which
he feels unable to break.
SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES.
In the East, men are believed to be frequently met-
amorphosed — sometimes voluntarily, sometimes in-
voluntarily— into tigers. The voluntary transforma-
tion is effected merely by eating a certain root, where-
upon the person is instantly changed into a tiger ; and
when tired of this character, he has only to eat an-
other, when, as qui .k as thought, he subsides from a
SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES. 283
tiger into a man. But sometimes mistakes happen
An individual of an inquiring disposition once felt a
strong curiosity to know the sensations attendant on
transformation I but, being a prudent man, he set
about the transformation with all necessary precau-
tion. Having provided himself with
"the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner,"
he gave one also to his wife, desiring her to stand by
and watch the event, and as soon as she saw him fairly
turned into a tiger, to thrust it into his mouth. She
promised, but her nerves were not equal to the per-
formance. As soon as she saw her husband fixed in
his new form, she took to flight, carrying in her hand,
in the confusion of her mind, the root that would have
restored him to her faithful arms. And so it befell that
the poor tiger-man was obliged to take to the woods,
and for many a day he dined on his old neighbors of
the village, but was at last shot, and recognized I
In this superstition will be seen the prototype of the
wolf mania of mediaeval Europe. In Brittany, men
betook themselves to the forests in the shape of wolves,
out of a morbid passion for the amusement of howl-
ing and ravening; but if they left in some secure
place the clothes they had thrown off to prepare for
the metamorphosis, they had but to reassume them
to regain their natural forms. But sometimes a catas
trophe, like that above related, took place : the wife
discovered the hidden clothes, and carrying them home,
in the innocent carefulness of her heart, the poor hus-
band lived and died a w If!
284 PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH.
PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH
In a former part of this volume, we have spoken
of several impositions upon the credulity of the public,
in matters appertaining to health. The astrologists
have told us that " some plants are only to be plucked
at the rising of the dog-star, when neither sun nor
moon shine, while others are to be cut with a golden
knife, when the moon is just six days old." To some
particular plants " a string must be fastened, a hungry
dog tied thereto, who, being allured by the smell of
roasted flesh set before him, may pluck it up by the
roots." At one time, the vegetable oil of swallows
was considered a potent remedy. It was prepared
" by compounding twenty different herbs with twenty
live swallows, well beaten together in a mortar."
Another medicine was prepared from the raspings of a
human skull ; another from the moss, growing on the
head of a thief, who had been gibbeted and left to
hang in the air. In addition to these, we have had
'' the powder of a mummy ; the liver of frogs ; the blood
of weasels ; an ointment made of sucking whelps ; the
marrow of a stag ; and the thigh bone of an oxP And
we have numerous modern nostrums scarcely better
than these, by which the gullible public are often
sorely victimized.
There are many opinions among the people, which
prove highly deleterious in being carried into practice.
For instance, that we must " stuff a cold to cure it,"
when the reverse of the case is the only safe mode of
procedure. In a cold, the lungs are already loaded
and congested with accumulations of muco-purulent
PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH. 285
matter, which is increased by taking large quantities
of food.
Erroneous views, in regard to cleanliness, often
lead to great mischief. There is a notion with some
that dirt is really healthy, especially for children.
This idea probably originated from the fact, that
those children who are allowed to play in the dirt are
often more healthy than those who are confined in the
nursery or parlor. But it should be remembered that
it is not dirt which promotes their health, but active
exercise in the open air. This more than compensates
for the injury sustained by the dirt. There is, how-
ever, something deceitfrd, after all, in the ruddy ap-
pearance of these children, who, like some four-footed
animals, are allowed to wallow in mire and dirt ; for
they actually suffer more, not only from chronic, but
from acute diseases, than children whose parents are
in better circumstances. The pores of the skin, as we
have shown in the Family Physician, published by us
a few years since, cannot be closed with filth for any
length of time, and the subject remain uninjured. It
is true, some years may pass away before the bad
effects appear ; but in after life, scrofula, rheumatism,
jaundice, and even consumption, often arise after the
cause which first gave rise to them is forgotten, if
indeed it were ever suspected. It is our candid
opinion, that a larger part of the deaths that occur
among children by typhoid, scarlet fever, and other
baleful diseases, is owing to some defect in manage-
ment, as to diet, air, dress, or exercise, which we will
briefly show in this connection.
There are some, in adult life, who abstain wholly
from external ablutions, and never think of washing
286 PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH.
their bodies from one year to another. Now, such
persons must be considered, to say the least, to be of
an uncleanly habit ; and such a habit is not only
unfavorable to health, but to morality. Mr. Wesley
reckons cleanliness to be second only to godliness.
We venture to affirm that he who is most guilty of
personal neglect will generally be found the most
ignorant and vicious. I am well acquainted with a
whole family who neglect their persons from principle.
They are a sort of new lights in religious things, and
hold that the true Christian should " slight the hove],
as beneath his care." But there is a want of intel-
ligence, and even of common refinement, in the family,
that certainly does not, and cannot, add much to their
own happiness or comfort, aside from the fact that it
greatly annoys their neighbors.
We do not pretend to say but that there are some
great and good persons who are slovenly in their
general appearance ; but these are only exceptions to
a general rule. On the contrary, common observation
teaches us that it is a distinguishing mark of low-bred
rowdyism, and of vicious and intemperate habits, to
see young men dressed in the most loose and careless
manner. A person of refinement and cultivation
would feel ashamed to appear in such a manner
before the public gaze.
Neglect of proper ventilation leads to incomparable
mischief. There are many persoris who live through
the day in closely confined and excessively heated
apartments, and also sleep in small contracted bed
rooms, without the least opportunity for a current of
fresh air. Who can wonder that they rise in the
morning with wearied limbs, languid and listless.
PERNICIOUS EiRRORS RELATING TO HEALTH. 287
with a furred tongue, parched mouth, and headache ?
They are continually subjected to inhaling, over and
over, the poison, the miasma, of their own bodies,
which cannot but result, in the end, to the great detri-
ment of health. We are perfectly astonished, often-
times, to see to what an extent such a thing is carried.
Take this, in connection with eating improper and
badly-cooked food, fat meats, gravies, and pastries,
the want of suitable protection against atmospheric
changes, and active exercise in the open air, and who
can marvel at the prevalence of deadly fevers, con-
sumption, or cholera even ? It is only a matter of
surprise that there are not ten deaths where there ia
now one.
Look at the quality of the meats purchased for use.
It is now a common practice with farmers (in order to
save the milk) to sell their calves for market as soon
as born ; and people eagerly purchase this immatured
meat because afforded at a low price. Then look at
the enormous quantities of pork consumed. Go past
the sausage factories, in the cities of Jersey, and you
behold it heaped in piles, ready for the work of the
hundreds of " choppers," driven by steam. Then look
into the groceries, see the array of pound sausage
meat, and cheese heads, so called. A grocer in
Newark city informed us, last winter, that sausage
meat and buckwheat cakes fornied three quarters of
the aliment of the citizens. And in Paterson, New
Jersey, in the hottest of the season, calves were lying
upon the pavements, ready to be slaughtered, and
almost as momentarily devoured, as occasion de-
manded. Even the poor fowls, their legs swollen
with inflammation from the cords with which they
288 PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH.
were bound, and half famished for water and food^
and fevered by fright and exposure, were readily pur
chased by men and women, to satisfy the cravings of
a perverted appetite. When we behold such practices,
we cannot think it strange that mortality should be so
rife as it is at times, especially when the atmosphere
is in a condition to affect the body in a predisposed
state, favorable to the development of diseases, such
as that of small-pox, cholera, fever and ague, scarlet
and typhoid, (i. e., decomposing fever,) which is the
concentration of all others. The food we eat may
convey the disease within, and unless the state of our
system is healthy and harmonious, the resisting power
will not be equal to the force and action of the exter-
nal elements, and consequently we shall become a
prey to the contagion, whatever type or form it
assumes. "We are somewhat inclined to think that
A. J. Davis (who is a physician by profession) is
correct, when he says, " The atmosphere has had the
cholera, more or less, for thirty years, and will continue
to have it until there occurs a geological change in
many portions of the earth ; and from the atmosphere
the disease has been, and is, communicated epidemi-
cally to the predisposed potato plant, and also to the
human system." A late English writer remarks, that
" certain diseases prevail at the approach of the
equinoxes."
>#ll||pUMl.iiWlWppi|ip|p
UAB - Mervyn H. Sterne Library
36339 10 565 312 5
Spirit land /
BF 1042E421857 00326787