Skip to main content

Full text of "Spirit-rapping unveiled!"

See other formats 


u^ 


iH     Q. 


H  cl 


v* 


*"' 


O-.     -> 


- 


*1'  o  #  o 


V      y 


v^ 


/ 


^0* 


H  a 


°o. 


/V-         /%\      //^ 


-C 


-^ 


^d<        -" 


^0« 


V    *A  *  "  >■     <% 


%.     *V.„S 


o°  , 


cP  , 


'*  A*  °9,   "'; -s    #  °Q,  ' 


V 


'-.    *-%,       A*        ■    '  '-    ^      ^ 


c>> 


:  V       ^cP     ^""^  /^ 

^  "/        -G         ^  //-        a<^        ^  ''/  r.  ss  „ag 


*       K 

■s        -CL^ 


^   H* 


^0^ 

^  % 


*W 


V 


^ 


^>   cv 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2011  with  funding  from 
The  Library  of  Congress 


http://www.archive.org/details/spiritrappingunvOOmatt 


SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED ! 

AN   EXPOSE   OF   THE 

ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  THEOLOGY  AND  PHILOSOPHY 

OF  CERTAIN  ALLEGED   COMMUNICATIONS   FROM  THE 

SPIRIT    WORLD, 

BY  MEANS   OF 

"SPIRIT  RAPPING;  "MEDIUM  WRITING;  "PHYSICAL  DEMONSTRATIONS 

ETC. 

SStttft   illustrations. 
A  SEW  EDITION  WITH  AN  APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING    REPLIES  TO   "PROFESSOR    BRITTAN "   AND  THE   TRIBUNE;     AND   REVIEWS   OP 

THE    EXPLANATORY    THEORIES    OF   REV.    DR.   POND,   DR.    ROGERS,    REV.    ABEL 

STEVENS,    REV.     JAMES     PORTER,     REV.     CHARLES     BEECHER, 

DR.    DODS,   PROFESSOR   FARADAY,    ETC. 

BY   REV.  II.  MATTISOtf,  A.  M., 

PROFESSOR  OF   NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY   AND   ASTRONOMY;    MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
ASSOCIATION   FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  SCIENCE,   ETC.,   ETC. 


«4»*-~ 


NEW  YORK: 
J.  0.  DERBY,  119  NASSAU  STREET 

BOSTON  :   PHILLIPS,  SAMPSON  &  CO.     CINCINNATI  :   H.  W.  DERBY. 

1855. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  by  J.  C.  DERBY,  in  the  Clerk's  Office 

of  the  U.  S.  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York,  in  the 

year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  lifty-five. 


Gift 
rf  Estate  v 
Henry  Ridgsly  Evans 

August  17,  1049 
Library  af  Congress 


W.    EL   TIXSON, 

"R1XTEK   AND   STEREOTYPER, 

•i-i   Beeltumn   Street. 


A 
^ 


sO 


?i 


PREFACE. 


The  design  of  the  fallowing  pages  is  to  expose  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable delusions  that  has  ever  prevailed  in  any  age  or  country. 
In  all  the  annals  of  the  past  we  find  nothing  at  all  comparable  with 
modern  "spirit-rapping."  It  is  the  grand  climax  of  soothsaying,  as- 
trology, witchcraft,  phrenology,  mesmerism,  clairvoyance,  psychology, 
Fourierism,  Millerism,  Mormonism,  and  all  other  superstitions,  delu- 
sions, and  isms  that  ever  have  been,  or  probably  ever  will  be. 

Appealing  to  that  love  of  the  marvelous,  for  which,  as  a  nation,  we 
are  somewhat  distinguished,  and  also  to  our  natural  affection  for  the 
departed ;  and  not  having  been  regarded  hitherto  as  really  worthy  of 
refutation ;  the  delusion  has  gone  on  from  one  step  to  another,  and  from 
year  to  year,  till  it  has  undermined  the  faith  of  thousands,  and  has 
already  ruined  its  hundreds  for  time  and  for  eternity.  And  yet  some 
continue  to  say,  "  Let  it  alone  ;  it  will  soon  die  of  itself"  But  are  such 
counsels  wise  ?  Why  is  it  not  dead  already  ?  Is  silence  the  best  anti- 
dote for  the  spread  of  error  ?  Especially,  are  watchmen  placed  upon 
the  walls  of  Zion,  and  pledged  to  "banish  and  drive  away  all  erroneous 
and  strange  doctrines  contrary  to  God's  Word,"  to  discharge  their  duty 
by  a  studied  silence  ?  Alas  for  us  and  for  the  cause  of  God,  when  such 
comes  to  be  the  general  policy  of  Christian  ministers ! 

"I  am  perfectly  aware,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  Clark,  of  Hartford,  "that  to 
ascribe  so  much  importance  to  such  a  subject  as  this,  will  lead  those 
who  know  nothing  about  it,  to  suspect  the  soundness  of  one's  judg- 
ment, and  it  will  be  said  that  our  wisest  course  is  to  let  it  alone ;  it  is 
one  of  the  humbugs  of  the  day,  and  will  soon  die  of  itself.  It  may  be 
so,  but  the  indications  do  not  point  that  way  at  present." 
i  "Few  really  know,"  says  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  "how  the  belief 
in  the  spiritual  nature  of  these  rappings  is  increasing.  And  this,  too, 
not  among  the  ignorant,  but  among  men  of  learning  and  standing  in 
society."  The  "  spiritualists,"  as  they  style  themselves,  now  number 
their  "mediums"  by  thousands,  and  their  disciples  by  tens  of  thousands. 
They  are  making  powerful  efforts  to  disseminate  their  principles  by 
means  of  lectures,  books,  and  papers ;  and  are  now  organizing  for  a 


4  PREFACE. 

regular  and  concerted  movement  against  the  Bible  and  all  our  religious 
institutions.  "There  is  a  work  going  on  in  this  spiritualistic  move- 
ment," says  a  distinguished  minister,  "  which  we  shall  soon  be  obliged 
to  meet,  in  some  more  potent  way  than  mere  official  malediction.  It  i3 
undermining  the  ancient  faith  in  many  quarters  more  effectually,  be- 
cause more  secretly,  than  any  other  influence  now  at  work  in  our  com- 
munity." 

With  these  views  and  sentiments  I  most  heartily  concur;  and  it  is 
under  similar  convictions  that  I  have  bought  and  examined  spirit 
books,  taken  periodicals,  and  made  experiments,  and  lectured  and 
written.  And  to  have  done  otherwise,  under  the  circumstances,  would 
have  been  to  have  disregarded  the  clearest  convictions  of  duty. 

In  regard  to  the  best  mode  of  treating  such  a  subject,  different  views 
may  be  entertained.  To  me  it  seemed  important  to  vindicate  the  Sa- 
cred Writings,  as  the  only  infallible  standard  of  truth,  and  to  set  forth 
their  teachings,  in  regard  to  the  intermediate  state,  as  beyond  all  con- 
troversy. In  contrast  with  these,  I  judged  it  best  fully  to  state,  and 
even  to  illustrate  the  new  "  spirit"  philosophy ;  that  its  absurdities  might 
be  the  more  apparent,  and  the  impression  made  the  more  vivid  and 
distinct.  Hence  the  cuts  are  mere  pictorial  representations  of  princi- 
ples or  phenomena  described  by  the  "  spiritualists"  themselves.  If, 
therefore,  they  complain  of  the  cuts,  they  must  lay  the  blame  to  .their 
own  bad  "  philosophy,"  and  not  to  the  author  or  publishers. 

In  the  progress  of  the  expose,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  cite  numer 
ous  quotations  from  the  writings  of  the  spirit-rappers,  not  only  to  sustain 
the  general  propositions  respecting  their  views,  but  to  place  every  point 
charged  beyond  all  cavil.  Many  of  these  quotations,  I  am  aware,  ar*t 
of  the  most  pernicious  character ;  and  if  found  in  any  other  book  than 
a  professed  unveiling  of  a  dark  and  iniquitous  system,  their  repetition 
would  be  not  only  an  offense  against  good  taste,  but  a  questionable  an- 
tidote to  error.  But,  under  the  circumstance,  I  had  no  alternative  but 
to  leave  the  infidelity  and  licentiousness  of  the  system  to  be  admitted 
upon  my  bare  assertion,  or  to  support  every  charge  by  indubitable 
proof.  The  latter  course  was  judged  to  promise  the  best  results,  and 
was  consequently  adopted.  Indeed,  it  would  be  impossible  to  review 
and  expose  a  system  of  error  fairly  and  effectually,  without  quoting  from 
the  works  containing  it. 

Of  the  literary  character  of  the  work  it  is  due  to  say,  that  it  has  been 
written  in  the  midst  of  other  and  pressing  duties,  and  in  much  less  time 
than  should  have  been  devoted  to  it.  Not  a  page  of  it  has  been  trans- 
cribed or  rewritten.  It  would  be  strange,  therefore,  if  it  was  not  in 
many  respects  unfinished.  Still,  it  will  probably  be  understood,  even 
by  unlettered  readers,  and  that  is  the  main  thing  desired. 


PREFACE.  5 

As  to  the  style  and  price  of  the  book,  the  author  has  no  control  or 
responsibility.  Not  wishing  the  care  and  trouble  of  publishing  it  myself, 
it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  enterprising  and  honorable  publishing 
house,  and  appears  in  good  style,  and  at  as  low  a  price  as  circum- 
stances would  justify.  The  engravings  add  materially  to  the  expense 
of  publication. 

May  the  God  of  the  Holy  Bible — the  Author  of  everlasting  life — 
approve  and  bless  the  effort  to  vindicate  His  own  truth,  and  to  save 
His  people  from  error  and  sin,  and  from  their  consequences,  now  and 
hereafter 

JSfew  York,  Nov.  1854.  H.  MATTISON 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. — History  and  alleged  phenomena. 

Origin  of  Spirit-rapping — Its  Progress — Eocent  alleged  Phenomena — Eapping  and 
Writing  Media— Speaking  by  "Afflatus" — Seeing  and  hearing  Media — Physical  De- 
monstrations, &c 9 

CHAPTER  IT. — Alleged  causes — theory  of  spiritual  intercourse. 
Disembodied  spirits — Spheres  and  Circles— Progress — Low  and  high  spirits.    .    16 

CHAPTER  III. — Standard  of  truth — the  bible  on  psychology. 

Truth  distinguished  from  Error  only  by  comparison  with  some  acknowledged  Stand- 
ard— The  Bible  treats  fully  of  Spiritual  Matters :  of  Man,  his  Origin,  Nature,  and  Des 
tiny :  of  various  Sciences,  but  never  in  Error — Good  Authority  on  Psychology— En 
dorsed  by  "Spirits" — Often  appealed  to  by  Necromancers 24 

CHAPTER  IV.— The  intermediate  state. 

The  Soul  distinct  from  the  Body — Nature  of  Death — Souls  do  not  linger  about 
their  former  Homes,  or  the  Grave  of  the  Body — Depart  from  Earth — Intermediate 
State — Not  to  return  till  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ  and  the  General  Resurrec- 
tion  28 

CHAPTER  V.— Ministering  spirits. 

Who  are  the  "  Ministering  Spirits"  of  the  Bible — Angels  not  the  spirits  of  men — 
Good  and  evil  angels 89 

CHAPTER  VI. — Witches,  wizards,  etc.,  of  the  bible. 

Origin  of  Witchcraft— Witches  and  Wizards— Necromancers  and  Soothsayers — As- 
trologers and  Magicians — Modern  Fortune-tellers — How  classified  in  the  Scriptures — 
Denounced  by  Jehovah — Simon  Magus — Elymas— Ghost-books  burned — "  Medium" 

at  Philippi 42 

i 

CHAPTER  VII. — Apparitions,  ancient  and  modern. 

Apparitions  of  the  Bible— Modern  ghosts— Who  see  them — Why  so  seldom  seen — 
When  and  where— Ghosts  ©aught— Different  kinds — General  conclusion  respect- 
ing  49 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  VIII.- -Various  alleged  spirit  media  considered. 

Recent  "  Spirit  Communications" — Various  Modes  of  Communication — Rapping 
Process — Card  Process — Writing  Media — Hand  used  by  a  Spirit — Spiritual  Atmos- 
phere Process — Spirit  Occupation  Process — Spiritual  Impression  Process — Spirit  Pho- 
nography— Independent  Spirit  Writing — Speaking  Media — A  Spirit  Lecture — Several 
Spirits  in  one  Body — Trance — Pointing  Media — Dancing  Media 52 

CHAPTER  IX.— Theology  of  the  "spirits.1' 

Sources  of  information — Both  matter  and  spirit  eternal — Man  never  fell— Needs 
no  conversion — Christ  a  mere  man — Never  made  any  atonement — Never  rose  from 
the  dead — Never  wrought  any  miracles— Borrowed  his  wisest  sayings— The  Bible  not 
of  God— One  of  the  worst  of  books— No  devils — No  hell — No  resurrection — No  Day 
of  Judgment — Christianity  no  blessing — Ministers  hypocrites — Churches  must  bo 
broken  up— Civil  government  abolished— No  Sabbaths — Marriages  annulled— Practical 
nullification— Summary  of  spirit  theology — Who  are  the  "mediums?11 — Davis,  Ham- 
mond, Brittan,  Post,  Ballou,  Partridge,  Spear,  Hoar,  Winchester,  Ambler,  Harshman, 
Boynton,  &c $3 

CHAPTER  X. — Literature  of  the  "  spirits." 

Spirits  alone  responsible— Mediums  in  the  fog— Not  to  be  relied  upon — What  have 
they  revealed ? — Spirit  orthography — "George  Washington V  spelling — Mr.  Brittan 
correcting  John  Wesley's  communication — A  sublime  production — Spirit  poetry,  from 
Franklin  and  Washington — Spirits  forgetting  how  to  spell  their  own  names — Palpable 
forgeries — Spirit  autographs — Spirit  Hebrew — Translation  by  Professor  Vail.  .    .  108 

CHAPTER  XL — Science  and  philosophy  of  the  "spirits." 

Spirit  astronomy — An  interview  with  "  the  Seer" — Spirit  cosmogony — "  Develop- 
ment11 theory — Mr.  Davis1  illustrious  ancestry — Spirit  geology — A  spirit  plagiarism — 
New  motive  power — Essence  of  spirit  discovered— New  mode  of  education— Taking 
the  lightning  out  of  a  lady — "  Spiricity11  in  the  lump— "Tom  PaineV1  philosophy — 
The  earth  self-luminous — The  sun  opake— True  source  of  "  spirit  philosophy.  .    .  121 

CHAPTFR  XII. — Mistakes  and  contradictions  of  the  "spirits." 

Number  of  spirit  spheres— Distances — Spirit  homes— Intercourse  just  opened,  and 
yet  opened  ages  ago — Deceptions  exposed  by  a  rapper— Tom  Paine  contradicting 
himself— Laval ette  and  George  Fox  at  odds — California  mediums  and  election  re- 
turns— Another  medium  in  a  fix — Still  another  ditto— Philadelphia  mediums  in  error 
— Another  spirit  plagiarism — Books  and  no  books  in  the  Schools  of  the  Spheres — 
"John  Wesley11  contradicting  himself— Mr.  Harvey's  "spirits11  all  Methodists— Le 
Eoy  Sunderland  done  for — The  Fox  girls  ditto 132 

CHAPTER  XIII.-  Astonishing  revelations  by  the  spirits. 

What  have  they  revealed  ?— Davis1  sublime  philosophy — Judge  Edmonds1  "kitten" 
—Learning  to  write  in  the  Spheres— Ladies  most  intellectual — Bloomer  dresses  to 
prevail — Ladies  to  pay  addresses  to  the  gentlemen — All  to  live  without  eating — 
"Pay  the  printer" — Spirit  wanting  gin — Spirits  want  money  in  the  Spheres — Birds 
and  other  animals  in  the  Spheres — Playing  cards  in  the  Spheres — Parties,  balls,  raid 
concerts  in  the  Spheres  -A  battle  in  the  Spheres — Spirits  won't  serve  the  press — 
Won't  operate  in  public—  Deception  and  collusion 142 


o  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. — Effects  of  spout-happing. 

Frauds  by  the  spirits— Spiritual  banking— Kuin  of  George  Doughty— Insanity— Or- 
ville  Hatch— Melissa  Haynes— Adaline  (3.  Moore— Robert  G.  Shaw— Samuel  Cole- 
Ninety  insane  rappers— Remarks  of  Judge  Rosevelt— Tendency  to  suicide— Bishop 
Peabody— Mrs.  Rich— S.  W.  Lincoln— Murder  by  a  medium— Suicide  of  Matthew 
Langdon 154 

CHAPTER  XV. — Causes  of  alleged  spiritual  phenomena. 

Sophistry  of  the  rappers — Rapping  in  a  school-room  with  the  toes — Discovery  by 
the  Buffalo  physicians— Detection  of  the  Fox  girls— Rapping  with  the  feet  or  ankles 
— "Wiseacres  deceived  by  a  young  girl — Medium  tables  with  machinery — Disclosure 
at  Hartford— Statement  of  Mr.  Pack— Confession  and  affidavit  of  Mr.  Beardslee — Ex- 
perience of  Mr.  Burr— Physical  demonstration— Moving  of  Tables.      167 

CONCLUSION. 

Keep  away  from  the  "  circles"— Of  ghost-books  and  papers — A.  word  to  ministers- 
Appeal  to  the  press — A  word  to  mediums .  188 


APPENDIX. 


CHAPTER  I. — Replies  to  my  Reviewers. 
The   "  Spiritual    Telegraph" — "Professor    Brittan's"    annihilating 
Review — Reply  to   "  Professor  Brittan." 193 

CHAPTER  II. — Theories  explanatory  of  Spirit-rapping. 

Br.  Enoch  Pond's  Three-fold  Explanation— Dr.  Rogers'  "  Odic  Force" 

Theory — Rev.  Abel  Stevens  and  the  National  Magazine — Rev.  James 

Porter's  Explanation — Rev.  Charles  Beecher's  u  Report" — Doctor  Dods' 

Involuntary  Theory — Professor  Faraday's  Explanation.       .     .     .     203 

CHAPTER  III. — Interesting  recent  Developments. 
The  Challenge  Accepted — Mrs.  French ;  a  Libel  Suit,  almost — Addi- 
tional Cases  of  Insanity — Spiritual  Free-love-ism 233 


SPIRIT-RAPPING  UNVEILED. 


CHAPTER    I 


Origin  of  Spirit-rapping — Its  Progress — Eecent  alleged  Phenomena — Rap- 
ping and  Writing  Media — Speaking  by  "Afflatus" — Seeing  and  hearing 
Media — Physical  Demonstrations,  &c. 

It  is  now  several  years  since  the  first  accounts  of  spirit-rap- 
ping were  published  to  the  world.  Two  young  ladies  by  the 
name  of  Fox,  residing  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  heard 
certain  strange  and  unaccountable  rappings  about  their  room  ; 
and  on  asking  whence  the  noise  proceeded,  the  invisible  agents 
called  for  the  alphabet  (how,  we  know  not),  and,  by  rapping 
out  certain  letters  and  words,  indicated  that  they  were  the 
spirits  of  the  dead,  and  wished  to  communicate  with  them  ! 
Such  was  the  commencement  of  what  was  first  known  as  the 
"  Rochester  Knockings." 

For  some  time  after  the  opening  of  the  supposed  intercourse 
between  the  dead  and  the  living,  no  messages  of  any  extent 
were  received :  they  were  all  very  brief  and  orthodox.  But 
the  news  that  messages  from  the  unseen  state  were  being  re- 
ceived  at  Rochester  spread  like  wildfire,  and  was  read  every- 
where with  avidity.  The  staid  and  sober  portion  of  the  press 
gave  the  alleged  facts,  but  withheld  their  endorsement ;  while 
a  few  editors  were  found  who  lent  their  columns  and  their  in- 
fluence to  foster  the  new-born  wonder. 

In  almost  every  community  some  were  found  who  at  once 
had  full  faith  in  the  spirit-rappings ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  such 
disciples,  and  others  who  were  not  believers,  but  wished  to  see 
and  hear  for  themselves,  began  to  flock  to  Rochester,  and  in- 


10  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

quire  /or  "  the  Fox  family."  The  young  ladies  soon  found 
theuuelves  in  great  demand.  As  "mediums,"*  through  whom 
the  ••  spirits"  had  deigned  to  communicate  with  this  lower 
world,  they  could  not,  of  course,  be  otherwise  than  wise  and 
good,  and  were  caressed  and  admired  by  troops  of  pilgrims  to 
our  modern  Mecca.  This,  of  itself,  was  doubtless  highly  grati- 
fying to  the  young  ladies,  especially  as,  but  for  the  distinction 
conferred  upon  them  by  the  spirits,  they  might  have  lived  and 
died  in  obscurity,  as 

"  Many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

But  smiles,  and  adulation,  and  expressions  of  astonishment 
would  not  buy  fine  furniture,  nor  rich  clothing,  nor  ornaments. 
Besides,  it  was  no  small  trouble  to  be  consulted  so  often,  and 
by  so  many,  so  that  the  Misses  Fox  were  compelled,  in  self- 
defence,  to  charge  a  small  fee  for  admission  to  their  "  circles." 
This  feature  of  the  "  knockings"  (of  course,  not  anticipated  at 
the  first,  but  now  fully  sanctioned  by  the  "  spirits")  was  soon 
noised  abroad  wherever  the  first  tidings  had  gone ;  when  lo ! 
in  a  very  short  time,  the  "  raps"  began  to  be  heard  all  over  the 
land! 

From  this  small  beginning  the  spirit-communication  business 
has  gone  on,  till  men  and  women  have  been  "  developed"  from 
"rapping  mediums"  to  write  and  speak  for  the  spirits,  to  see 
and  hear  them,  and  to  be  the  media  and  witnesses  of  the  most 
astonishing  "  physical  manifestations."  Hundreds,  if  not  thou- 
sands, have  fully  embraced  the  faith  of  spirit  revelations  ;  some 
eight  or  ten  periodicals  have  been  started,  devoted  to  the  spread 
of  the  "new  philosophy;"  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  different 
volumes  have  been  published,  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
all  professedly  written  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  unfold- 
ing the  secrets  of  the  unseen  world  ! 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  our 
modern  necromancers,  down  to  the  present  writing ;  and  though 

*  We  prefer  the  word  mediums  to  media,  because  more  easily  under- 
stood by  general  readers. 


TREATMENT    OF   SPIRITISTS.  11 

the  reader  may  exclaim  with  St.  James,  "  Behold  how  great  a 
matter  a  little  fire  kindleth !"  the  fact  cannot  be  denied,  that 
whether  a  reality  or  a  deception,  the  doctrine  that  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  are  in  constant  communication  with  our  world,  through 
certain  mediums,  is  already  the  faith  of  thousands ;  many  of 
whom,  we  should  suppose,  had  too  much  sound  sense,  and  were 
too  well  versed  in  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  to  be  led  away 
by  such  a  delusion.  But  what  error  was  ever  promulgated  that 
did  not  find  its  votaries  ?  Even  the  licentious  vagaries  of 
Mormonism  have  built  a  city,  and  peopled  a  state ;  and  what 
wonder  if  the  spirit-rapping  enterprise  should  be  equally  suc- 
cessful ! 

There  are,  no  doubt,  some  who  have  fallen  in  with  this  new 
mania  who  are  honest  and  sincere  at  heart — deceived,  and  not 
deceiving.  We  have  known  a  few  such,  men  and  women  of 
prayer,  conscientious  and  upright,  but  whose  judgments  were 
not  perfect,  though  their  motives  and  intentions  were  good,  and 
who,  consequently,  were  beguiled  into  a  belief  in  this  "vain 
philosophy,"  while  they  honestly  intended  to  follow  nothing 
but  the  truth.  Such  persons  should  be  treated  with  great  ten- 
derness and  forbearance  by  friends,  and  especially  by  their  pas- 
tors and  brethren,  if  members  of  the  church  of  God.  The 
views  they  cherish  may  be  more  their  misfortune  than  their 
fault ;  and  it  becomes  us,  in  all  such  cases,  to  endeavor  to  re- 
store such  an  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  considering  that  we 
ourselves  may  also  be  tempted. 

Should  this  book  fall  into  the  hands  of  any  who  fear  God, 
and  wish  to  know  the  truth,  and  yet  have  been  inclined  to  be- 
lieve in  the  reality  of  the  alleged  "  spirit  manifestations,"  I  shall 
have  full  confidence  that  such  readers  will  be  set  right  by  the 
perusal  of  its  pages,  will  cut  loose  from  the  fireship  before 
it  consumes  them,  and  will  join  us  not  only  in  pursuing  the 
"  old  paths,"  that  lead  to  heaven,  but  in  exposing  and  arrest- 
ing this  terrible  delusion,  that  is  spreading  so  fearfully  over  our 
country,  and  leaving  blight  and  mildew  in  its  path  wherever  it 
goes. 

Having  thus  glanced  at  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  recent 


12  SP1BIT-KAPPING    UNVEILED. 

"spirit"  movement,  I  shall  now  enter  upon  a  direct  examination 
of  its  claims,  as  set  forth  by  its  advocates,  and  professedly  by 
the  "spirits''  themselves.  First,  then,  let  us  inquire,  What  are 
the  phenomena  alleged  to  have  been  exhibited,  and  which  are  re- 
ferred, for  their  cause,  to  the  agency  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead  ? 
That  we  may  do  no  injustice  to  the  friends  of  the  new  doc- 
trines, the  alleged  phenomena  shall  be  stated  in  the  language 
of  one  of  their  most  zealous  and  able  advocates.  We  quote 
from  "  An  Exposition  of  Views  respecting  the  principal  Facts, 
Cases,  and  Peculiarities  involved  in  Spirit  Manifestations,  &c, 
dr.,  by  Adin  Ballou."  The  principal  phenomena,  as  laid 
down  by  this  writer,  are  the  following : 

"  1.  Making  peculiar  noises,  indicative  of  more  or  less  intelligence — 
such  as  knockings,  rappings,  jarrings,  creakings,  tickings,  imitation  of 
many  sounds  known  in  the  different  vicissitudes  of  human  life,  musical 
intonations,  and,  in  rare  instances,  articulate  speech.  Some  cf  these  vari- 
ous sounds  are  very  loud,  distinct,  and  forcible  ;  others,  low,  less  distinct, 
and  more  gentle,  but  all  audible  realities.  , 

"  2.  The  moving  of  material  substances,  with  like  indications  of  intel- 
ligence— such  as  tables,  sofas,  light-stands,  chairs,  and  various  other  arti- 
cles, shaking,  tipping,  sliding,  raising  them  clear  of  the  floor,  placing 
them  in  new  positions  (all  this  sometimes  in  spite  of  athletic  and  heavy 
men  doing  their  utmost  to  hold  them  down) ;  taking  up  the  passive  body 
of  a  person,  and  carrying  it  from  one  position  to  another  across  the 
room,  through  mid-air  ;*  opening  and  shutting  doors ;  thrumming  musi- 
cal instruments  ;  undoing  well-clasped  pocket-books,  taking  out  their  con- 
tents, and  then,  by  request,  replacing  them  as  before  ;  writing  with  pens, 
pencils,  and  other  substances,  both  liquid  and  solid — sometimes  on  paper, 
sometimes  on  common  slates,  and  sometimes  on  the  ceilings  of  a  room,  <fcc. 

"  3.  Causing  catalepsy,  trance,  clairvoyance,  and  various  involuntary 
muscular,  nervous,  and  mental  activity  in  mediums,  independent  of  any 
will  or  conscious  psychological  influence  by  men  in  the  flesh,  and  then 
through  such  mediums,  speaking,  writing,  preaching,  lecturing,  philoso- 
phizing, prophesying,  etc. 

"'4.  Presenting  apparitions — in  some  instances,  of  a  spirit  hand  and 
arm  ;  in  others,  of  the  whole  human  form  ;  and  in  others,  of  several  de- 
ceased persons  conversing  together  ;  causing  distinct  touches  to  be  felt  by 
the  mortal  living,  grasping  and  shaking  their  hands,  and  giving  many 
other  sensible  demonstrations  of  their  existence. 

"  5.  Through  these  various  manifestations  communicating  to  men  in 

*  See  cut  on  the  opposite  page. 


PHYSICAL    DEMONSTRATIONS . 


13 


"  PHYSICAL    DEMONSTRATIONS."* 


4he  flesh  numberless  affectionate  and  intelligent  assurances  of  an  immor 
tal  existence,  messages  of  consolation,  and  annunciations  of  distant 
events  unknown  at  the  time,  but  subsequently  corroborated ;  predictions 
of  forthcoming  occurrences  subsequently  verified,  forewarning^  against 
impending  danger,  medicinal  prescriptions  of  great  efficacy,  wholesome 
reproofs,  admonitions,  and  counsels,  expositions  of  spiritual,  theological, 
religious,  moral,  and  philosophical  truths  appertaining  to  the  present  and 
future  states,  and  important  to  human  welfare  in  every  sphere  of  exist- 
ence, sometimes  comprised  in  a  single  sentence,  and.  sometimes  in  an 
ample  book." 

"  This/'  says  Mr.  Ballou,  "  is  a  general  statement  of  the 
facts  to  be  considered  and  disposed  of  in  a  just  discussion  of 
this  subject."  But  this  catalogue  of  phenomena  was  written 
more  than  eight  months  ao-o,  since  which  time  other  events  still 

*  These  alleged  movements  of  ponderable  substances,  without  any 
visible  cause,  are  usually  denominated  "  physical  demonstrations."  In 
this  cut,  the  wonders  discovered  by  Mr.  B.  are  presented  to  the  eye. 
The  "  medium"  sits  on  the  right,  waving  her  hand,  to  direct  the  various 
movements.  The  table  will  tip  up  with  a  heavy  man  on  it ;  other  arti- 
cles are  flying  about  the  room,  and  "the  passive  body"  of  another 
"  athletic  and  heavy  man"  is  seen  in  the  act  of  being  "  carried  from  one 
position  to  another  across  the  room,  through  mid-air  I"  He  has  not  so 
much  as  a  broomstick  to  ride  upon. 

2 


11  SriRIT-RAPPING    UNVEiLED. 

more  marvelous  have  transpired.  Not  only  have  "  prescrip- 
tions of  great  efficacy''  been  given  by  spirits,  if  we  are  rightly 
informed,  but  in  some  cases,  the  spirits  of  several  deceased 
physicians  have  been  seen  consulting  together  in  regard  to  the 
sick  ;  and  in  one  case,  it  is  said  that  a  large  tumor  was  re- 
moved from  the  person  of  a  lady,  in  a  most  skillful  manner,  by 
the  spirit  of  a  deceased  surgeon ! 

To  the  above  phenomena  we  must  now  add  the  Hebrew  and 
other  ancient  languages  said  to  have  been  written  by  spirits  in 
the  room  of  Mr.  Fowler  (of  which  we  shall  speak  more  fully 
hereafter),  and  also  the  following,  which  has  appeared  in  the 
"  Peoples  Paper"  under  the  heading  of  "  The  Spirit  World," 
and  over  the  signature  of  Thomas  Dexter,  Brooklyn  : 

"  The  family  of  Mr.  Snyder,  of  Astoria,  are  all  mediums,  even  to  a 
little  infant  not  two  years  old,  through  whom  most  remarkable  demon- 
strations have  been  had.  What  think  you  of  a  child  not  twenty  months 
old,  sitting  down  to  a  table  and  writing  out  lengthy  communications  in 
Greek,  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  many  of  the  living  languages,  including  the 
English  ?  What  think  you  of  a  girl,  not  fifteen,  taking  up  a  pencil  and 
drawing  you  a  portrait  of  some  deceased  friend,  who  died  years  before 
she  was  born  ? 

"  A  friend  of  mine,  a  resident  of  Greenpoint,  who  a  few  months  ago 
fell  and  dislocated  his  hip,  was  measurably  cured  by  attendant  spirits ; 
and  when  enabled  to  rise  from  his  couch,  and  while  sitting  one  afternoon 
in  his  parlor,  with  the  assistance  of  crutches,  they  were  forcibly  with- 
drawn, and  himself/ raised  as  if  by  the  grasp  of  strong  men,  walked  up 
and  down  the  floor  for  some  time,  even  in  opposition  to  his  willj  his 
limbs  exercised  and  much  benefited  thereby.  There  were  several 
persons  who  witnessed  this  extraordinary  circumstance.  The  crutches 
were  apparently  held  by  invisible  hands  and  carried  up  and  down  the 
room  with  him,  but  at  a  distance  of  from  three  to  four  feet  from  his 
person.  The  same  gentleman  informs  me  that  on  several  occasions  lie 
has  seen  the  radiant  form  of  Ins  deceased  daughter,  and  distinctly  felt 
the  tresses  of  her  hair  !"* 

*  "  I  could  fill  volumes  with  facts,"  says  Mr.  D.  "  But,  say  some 
ot  my  readers,  how  are  we  to  know  that  these  statements  of  yours  are 
true  ?  You  certainly  cannot,  unless  you  take  my  word  for  it,"  &c.  But 
why  not  go  and  see  the  "  child  not  twenty  months  old"  write  "  Greek, 
Hebrew,  and  Latin?"  A  two-cent  ferry  only  separates  the  writer  from 
Mr.  D.,  and  it  is  but  a  short  distance  to  Astoria,  and  we  will  go  with 


ASSUMPTION    NOT   ARGUMENT.  15 

These,  also,  and  many  other  recent  phenomena,  must  now 
be  added  to  Mr.  B.'s  "statement  of  facts,"  so  that  we  may  be 
able  to  "consider  and  dispose  of"  all  of  them  at  the  same 
time.  It  is  rather  remarkable,  however,  that  instead  of  ad- 
ducing proof  that  the  alleged  phenomena  are  facts,  Mr.  B. 
disposes  of  that  important  part  of  his  duty  by  writing  the 
following  brief  sentence  : — "  If  any  man  presume  to  deny  that 
they  are  facts,  he  is  either  one  who,  having  never  investigated 
the  subject,  is  grossly  ignorant  of  its  merits  ;  or  who,  pre- 
tending to  have  investigated  it,  is  grossly  dishonest  /■"*  But 
suppose  one  as  honest  and  as  intelligent  as  Mr.  B.  should  say, 
"  I  have  investigated  this  subject  thoroughly,  by  reading,  ob- 
servation, and  experiment,  and  the  facts  assumed  by  Mr.  B. 
are  not  facts  ;  the  phenomena  never  took  place,  and  no  man 
or  set  of  men  living  can  cause  them  to  take  place,  by  the  aid 
of  "  spirits"  or  in  any  other  way  ;  what,  then,  would  become 
of  Mr.  B.'s  castle  built  upon  this  bare  assumption  ?  And  yet 
such  is  precisely  the  state  of  the  argument  so  far  as  Mr.  B.'s 
"  exposition"  is  -concerned.  But  let  that  pass  for  the  present. 
It  is  enough  that  we  have  an  authentic  list  of  the  alleged  phe- 
nomena, preparatory  to  a  consideration  of  the  supposed  causes 
of  these  wonderful  "  manifestations." 

him  any  day  he  may  designate,  and  will  give  him  $  100  to  show  us 
what  he  here  pretends  to  have  seen.  Tliat  will  settle  the  matter  much 
quicker  than- any  man's  word,  and  to  the  pecuniary  profit  of  Mr.  Dexter. 
Let  U3  have  the  truth  of  these  statements  fairly  tested. 

*  If  the  reader  has  any  doubts  as  to  the  alleged  "  facts,"  he  may  avail 
himself  of  the  indulgence  of  Mr.  Ballon,  who,  after  pronouncing  every 
doubter  either  a  knave  or  a  fool,  remarks,  that  "  if  any  honestly  doubt 
for  want  of  adequate  opportunity  to  observe  the  phenomena,  or  to  ex- 
amine testimony,  they  will  of  course  suspend  judgment  till  they  can 
avail  themselves  of  the  necessary  information.  Light  awaits  all  such," 
tfcc.  The  reader  is  at  liberty,  therefore,  to  remain  in  a  state  of  sus- 
pended judgment  if  he  choose,  till  he  has  "  opportunity  to  observe  the 
phenomena,  or  to  examine  the  testimony ;"  and  if,  after  repeated  efforts 
here  and  there,  he  should  fail  to  find  any  phenomena,  except  on  the  lips 
cr  in  the  books  of  our  modern  ghostmongers,  he  will  be  at  liberty,  we  sup- 
pose, to  keep  his  judgment  "  suspended"  till  the  requisite  "  testimony" 
is  adduced,    Many  thanks  to  Mr.  Ballou  for  this  gracious  indulgence. 


16  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Alleged  causes  of  the  new  Phenomena — Theory  of  Spirit  Intercourse  — 
Spheres  and  Circles — Progress — Low  and  high  Spirits. 

Having  now  an  understanding  of  the  alleged  phenomena  of 
"  spiritualism,"  it  is  appropriate  to  inquire  after  the  causes  of 
these  remarkable  manifestations.  True,  it  would  not  be  out  of 
place  thus  early  in  the  discussion  to  inquire  whether  there  was 
any  reliable  evidence  that  these  wonders  ever  transpired  ;  but 
waiving  this  inquiry  for  the  present,  let  us  examine  the  theory 
by  which  our  modern  "  illuminati"  account  for  these  miracles. 

One  of  the  first  disclosures  of  the  "  spirits"  at  Rochester 
was  to  introduce  and  identify  themselves  to  "  the  Fox  girls." 
"  We  are  the  spirits  of  the  dead,"  said  they ;  and  from  that 
time  onward  the  rapping,  writing,  physical  demonstrations, 
&c,  have  all  been  attributed  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead — our 
parents,  children,  and  friends,  whose  bodies  we  have  buried. 
But  it  was  not  enough  for  the  "  spirits"  to  assert  that  they 
were  about  our  world  rapping,  and  creaking,  and  tipping,  and 
jarring,  as  Mr.  B.  has  it,  but  they  have  constructed,  by  the  aid 
of  their  friends  on  earth,  a  regular  theory  of  spiritual  inter- 
course. This  theory,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  gather  it 
from  numerous  descriptions  and  several  illustrative  diagrams, 
is  substantially  as  follows  : 

1.  Commencing  at  the  earth's  centre  and  proceeding  out- 
ward in  all  directions,  the  surrounding  space  is  divided  into 
seven  concentric  spheres,  rising  one  above  and  outside  the  other. 
Each  of  these  seven  "  spheres"  or  spaces  is  again  divided  into 
seven  equal  parts,  called  "  circles  ;"  so  that  the  whole  "  spirit 
world"  consists  of  an  immense  globe  of  ether,  divided  into 
seven  spheres  and  forty-nine  circles,  and  in  the  midst  of  which 
our  own  globe  is  located. 


CIRCLES    AND   SPHERES. 


17 


The  following  cut,  from  "  The  Pilgrimage  of  Thomas  Paine 
and  others  to  the  Seventh  Circle"  &c,  will  illustrate  the  theory. 
It  is  entitled  a  "  diagram  representing  the  different 


CIRCLES   AND    SPHERES    IN   THE   SPIRIT   WORLD. 


This  remarkable  diagram  is  accompanied  by  the  following 
sublime  "  explanation/'  we  suppose  of  the  qualities  of  the 
different  circles  in  the  first  sphere,  though  the  explanation  does 
not  say  to  which  set  of  figures  in  the  diagram  it  refers.  We 
give  it,  however,  precisely  as  we  find  it. 

[explanation.] 

1.  Wisdom,  wholly  selfish,  or  seeking  selfish  good. 

2.  Wisdom,  controlled  by  popular  opinion. 

3.  Wisdom,  independent  of  popularity,  but  not  perfect. 

4.  Wisdom,  which  seeks  others'  good  and  not  evil. 

5.  Wisdom  in  purity,  or  a  circle  of  Purity. 

6.  Wisdom,  in  perfection  to  prophecy. 

7.  Wisdom,  to  instruct  all  others  of  less  wisdom. 

2* 


18 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


This  diagram,  it  will  be  seen,  gives  us  a  view  of  only  two  of 
the  seven  spheres,  so  that  we  must  imagine  the  remaining  five 
spheres  and  thirty-five  circles  extending  outward  still  beyond 
those  represented  in  the  diagram. 

2.  But  it  so  happens  that  this  sphere  theory  is  by  no  means 
original  with  the  "  spirits."  It  is  substantially  the  old  Ptole- 
maic theory  of  the  structure  of  the  material  universe,  not  oi 
the  spirit  world.  Ptolemy  was  an  Egyptian  philosopher  who 
taught  astronomy  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

PTOLEMAIC   THEORY  OF   THE    STRUCTURE    OF   THE    UNIVERSE. 


He  taught  that  the  earth  was  a  plane  instead  of  a  globe,  and 
inhabited  only  on  the  "  upper  side,"  that  it  was  surrounded 
by  eight  chrystalline  spheres,  in  which  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars 
were  set,  viz.,  the  Moon  in  the  first ;  Mercury  in  the  second  ; 
Venus  in  the  third  ;  the  Sun  in  the  fourth  ;  Mars  in  the  fifth  ; 
Jupiter  in  the  sixth  ;  Saturn  in  the  seventh  ;  and  the  Fixed 
Stars  in  the  eighth.  Ptolemy  had  no  knowledge  of  Uranus  or 
Neptune. 


PLAGIARISM    OF    THE    "  SPIRI1S.  19 

According  to  the  Ptolemaic  theory  these  ponderous  spheres 
revolved  westward  around  the  earth  every  twenty-four  hours, 
carrying  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  with  them,  &c.  The  chief 
points  of  difference  between  the  recent  "  spirit"  theory  and  the 
ancient  theory  of  Ptolemy,  are  the  following : 

(1.)  Ptolemy  had  eight  spheres  instead  of  seven. 

(2.)  He  did  not  divide  his  spheres  into  "  circles." 

(3.)  His  spheres  were  solid  crystal,  instead  of  open  space. 

(4.)  They  were  simply  constructed  to  place  the  sun,  moon, 
planets,  and  stars  in,  to  keep  them  from  falling  down  to  the 
earth,  and  to  carry  them  around  westward,  and  not  as  the 
abodes  of  spirits  in  any  sense.  Indeed  Ptolemy  placed  his 
"  elysium"  beyond  the  eighth  sphere  altogether  ;  and  little  did 
he  think  while  constructing  a  theory  upon  which  to  account 
for  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  that  he  was  framing 
the  structure  of  "  the  spirit  world  !"* 

3.  The  old  physical  theory  of  Ptolemy  was  first  "  spiritual- 
ized" by  Emanuel  Swedenborg — a  visionary  dreamer  from 
whose  writings  Prof.  Bush,  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  and  other 
"spirit"  philosophers  have  all  taken  their  cue.  So  that  neither 
the  "  spirits"  nor  their  mundane  followers  can  justly  claim  the 
honor  of  having  discovered  the  "  sphere"  philosophy.  It  is  an 
old  physical  vagary,  long  since  repudiated  by  all  well-informed 
persons,  but  recently  spiritualized  and  promulgated  as  a  valu- 
able revelation  from  the  spirit  world  !  Wonder  if  Ptolemy 
does  not  regard  it  as  an  infringement  of  his  patent  ? 

"  When  a  man  dies,"  says  the  new  philosophy,  "  his  soul 
ascends  at  once  to  that  sphere  for  which  it  is  fitted  by  know- 
ledge and  goodness  on  earth ;"  and  from  that  point  ascends  or 
progresses  outward,  from  circle  to  circle,  and  from  sphere  to 
sphere,  increasing  in  knowledge  and  happiness  as  it  goes,  till 
it  reaches  the  seventh  circle  of  the  seventh  sphere,  which  is 
the  highest  degree  of  knowledge  and  bliss  to  which  it  is  pos- 

*  For  a  more  detailed  description  of  this  ancient  theory  of  Astronomy, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  author's  "Primary  Astronomy"  page 
eighth,  from  which  the  above  cut  is  taken,  or  to  the  "High  School  As* 
tronomy"  page  twelfth. 


20 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


sible    to    attain    in    the    "  spirit 
world."     And  what  is  quite  re- 
markable, though  there  are  many 
"  low    spirits' '    in    the    "  second 
sphere,"  as  well  as  in  the  "  rudi- 
mental  sphere"  in  which  we  live, 
yet  they  are  ever  advancing  or 
growing  better,  and  can  never  gr 
worse.      True,    the     spirits    of    the 
upper  spheres   can  descend   through 
all  intervening  spheres  and  circles  to 
the  rudimental  and  help  their  tardy 
brethren   up,   but  the   "  low   spirits 
never     pull     their     more     advanced 
brethren    doivn.       So     we    suppose, 
by   parity    of    reasoning,    that    none 
grow  worse  but  all  are  growing  bet- 
ter    in     our     present      "  rudimental 
sphere." 

5.  The  theory  of  "  progress"  as  the 
spirit  advances  through  the  spheres  is 
strikingly  illustrated  by  the  adjoin- 
ing cut.  It  is  copied  verbatim  from 
"  Love  and  Wisdom  from  the  spirit 
world/7  by  Jacob  Harshman,  medium  ; 
and  purports  to  have  been  drawn  by 
the  spirit  of  J.  V.  Wilson.  The  re- 
marks respecting  the  cut,  and  accom- 
panying it,  are  quoted  precisely  as 
given  by  the  spirit. 

In  the  same  work  we  have  another 
diagram,  somewhat  different,  but  de- 
signed to  illustrate  the  same   law  of 
progress,  and  as  it  is  a  most  convincing  and  interesting  dia- 
gram, we  insert  it  for  the  edification  of  our  readers. 


"This  shows  a  law  of  pro- 
gression— how  the  spirit  must, 
progressing,  go  from  one  de- 
gree to  that  of  another.  This 
is  the  spiritual  nature  in  man 
that  makes  him  a  progressing 
being,  and  prepares  him  for  a 
higher  sphere. — J.  V.  Wilson.1' 


SPIRIT   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


21 


LAW    OF    PROGRESS. 


"  This  diagram,"  says  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Wilson,  through  Mr.  Harshman, 
i  represents  the  spirit's  progression  ;  the  spirit  in  its  rudimental  sphere 
takes  its  starting  point  at  the  small  end  of  the  diagram,  and  as  it  advan- 
ces it  increases  in  truth  and  wisdom,  and  in  all  the  moral,  intellectual, 
and  spiritual  attributes  of  a  superior  being ;  and  so  it  will  continue  on 
throughout  infinite  duration  ;  this  is  the  course  that  spirits  must  go, 
and  the  sooner  the  spirit  strives  to  develop  its  spiritual  nature  in  order 
that  it  may  contain  more  wisdom  to  enable  it  to  progress  more  rapidly, 
the  sooner  it  will  be  enabled  to  enjoy  the  happiness  that  is  laid  out  for 
spirits  in  their  progress." — Love  and  Wisdom,  p.  14. 

To  make  the  above  diagram  correspond  with  the  sphere 
theory  and  the  preceding  illustration,  the  spirit  should  have 
divided  it  into  seven  parts,  and  placed  a  head  over  each,  ex- 
panding as  it  advances,  thus  : 


We  hope  none  of  our  readers  will  regard  it  as  irreverent  to 
suggest  an  improvement  in  a  diagram  drawn  by  a  "  spirit,"  as 
for  aught  we  know  Mr.  J.  V.  Wilson  may  be  a  "  low  spirit," 
inferior  even  to  some  in  the  "  rudimental  state." 

Let  us  now  put  these  various  descriptions  and  illustrations 
together,  and  see  how  they  will  look  when  presented  to  the 
eye  in  one  grand  progressive  "  diagram  of  the  spirit  world." 

In  accordance  with  the  theory  already  described  and  illus- 
trated, it  is  assumed  by  our  modern  necromancers  that  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  descend  to  the  earth  or  "  rudimental 
sphere"  at  pleasure,  and  thus  communicate  from  time  to  time, 
and  in  various  ways,  with  certain  favored  mortals  called 
"  mediums."  At  the  same  time  they  belong  each  to  his  own 
sphere,  respectively,  according  to  the  time  he  has  been  "  pro- 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


THE    "  NEW    PHILOSOPHY.''  23 

gressing,"  and  his  head  is  large  or  small  according  to  the  sphere 
to  which  he  has  attained.  Indeed  the  earth,  seen  in  the  center 
of  the  cut,  is  a  small  affair  compared  with  the  heads  of  some 
of  the  sixth  and  seventh  sphere  progressives. 

In  regard  to  the  sphere  theory  several  questions  will  at  once 
suggest  themselves  to  the  mind  of  the  reader. 

(1.)  How  happens  it  that  the  main  features  of  it  were  pro- 
mulgated by  Ptolemy  fifteen  centuries  ago,  as  the  physical 
theory  of  the  material  universe  ? 

(2.)  If  all  spirits  are  bodies,  as  taught  by  the  new  philoso- 
phy, and  their  heads  become  as  large  in  the  distant  spheres  as 
is  represented  by  the  spirit  of  J.  V.  Wilson,  we  should  like  to 
know  how  it  is  that  so  many  of  these  immense  heads  can  swarm 
around  our  little  globe  without  coming  in  contact,  to  the  great 
injury  of  their  "  cerebral  developments  ?"  Let  the  reader  send 
twenty  of  the  sixth  or  seventh  sphere  heads  down  to  the  first 
circle  of  the  first  sphere  if  he  can,  without  either  blending 
heads  into  each  other  (to  say  nothing  of  con*esponding  bodies), 
or  actually  knocking  out  each  other's  brains  !  This  giving 
spirits  material  bodies,  and  then  making  them  so  very  large, 
does  not  allow  of  their  being  brought  into  very  narrow  quar- 
ters ;  and  rather  excludes  all  but  the  "  low"  or  small-headed 
spirits  from  visiting  the  "  rudimental  state." 

(3.)  In  the  technical  language  of  the  new  philosophy,  all 
messages  from  the  higher  spheres  are  "  disclosures  from  the 
interior,"  i.  e.,  the  outer  spheres.  This  use  of  the  term  "  in- 
terior" which,  according  to  the  diagram,  and  the  prevailing 
ideas  of  mortals,  would  indicate  some  place  in  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  is  used  by  the  "  spirits"  to  signify  the  more  remote 
circles  and  spheres ;  or  in  other  words,  interior  means  exterior, 
and  vice  versa. 

(4.)  It  is  somewhat  singular  that  none  of  the  "old  mediums" 
(as  the  spirits  are  pleased  to  call  the  Prophets  and  Apostles), 
ever  said  any  thing  about  this  "  sphere"  and  "  circle"  arrange- 
ment. Why  is  this  ?  Was  it  not  then  in  existence,  or  was 
the  world  at  that  time  unprepared  to  receive  so  sublime  a  phi- 
losophy ?    So  much  for  the  "  philosophy  of  spiritual  intercourse." 


24  SPIKIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Truth  distinguished  from  Error  only  by  comparison  with  some  acknowl- 
edged Standard— The  Bible  treats  fully  of  Spiritual  Matters  :  of  Man,  his 
Origin,  Nature,  and  Destiny  :  of  various  Sciences,  but  never  in  Error — 
Good  Authority  on  Psychology— Endorsed  by  "  Spirits"— Often  ap- 
pealed to  by  Necromancers. 

Whoever  enters  upon  the  investigation  of  any  subject,  po- 
litical, historical,  scientific,  or  religious,  starts  off  with  the  as- 
sumption that  some  things  are  already  known,  i.  e.,  certain 
points  are  settled,  and  need  no  discussion.  The  astronomer 
assumes  the  truth  of  the  Coperniean  theory ;  the  chemist  that 
different  elements  have  different  affinities,  &c. ;  and  the  books 
in  which  these  indisputable  facts  are  laid  down  are  regarded, 
so  far  at  least,  as  standard  works.  And  as  they  proceed  with 
their  inquiries,  whatever  contradicts  these  established  and  un- 
alterable facts,  is  regarded  as  false  in  theory.  Thus  a  system 
that  did  not  recognize  the  Laws  of  Gravitation,  or  in  other 
words  was,  in  this  respect,  at  war  with  the  principles  of  nature, 
would  be  rejected  at  once  as  visionary.  There  must  be  some 
first  princi-ples, — some  infallible  standard  with  which  to  compare 
and  by  which  to  test  all  supposed  discoveries,  otherwise  we 
might  never  be  able  to  distinguish  truth  from  error ;  and  that 
standard  must  always  be  found  in  the  same  branch  of  science 
or  art  in  which  these  new  phenomena  are  to  be  classified.  We 
should  never  test  music  by  Euclid,  nor  perspective  drawing  by 
a  volume  of  Draper. 

Let  us  apply  these  principles  to  the  subject  before  us. 
Certain  phenomena  are  alleged,  and  an  explanation  given,  all 
of  which  are  said  to  relate  most  intimately  to  man — to  his 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  natures — to  his  present  state  and 
his  condition  after  death.  Nay,  more ;  these  phenomena,  and 
the  theory  based  upon  them,  are  set  forth  as  pre-eminently 
"  spiritual ;"  indeed  as  the  only  spiritual  doctrines  in  the  land. 


STANDARD   OF   TRUTH,  25 

Our  first  business,  then,  is  to  determine  with  what  to  com- 
pare this  new  theory,  and  what  to  regard  as  standard  upon 
this  psychobgical  and  spiritual  subject;  and  its  very  nature 
will  at  once  suggest  the  Bible  as  the  first  and  most  important 
touchstone.  If  it  involves  Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Astronomy, 
or  History,  let  those  parts  of  the  subject  which  fall  under 
these  several  heads  be  tried  respectively  by  the  canons  of  Phi- 
losophy, Chemistry,  Astronomy,  and  History ;  but  as  the  gen- 
eral subject  is  one  of  psychology,  spiritualism,  and  super- 
naturalism,  let  it  be  first  tested  by  that  book  which,  above  all 
others,  covers  the  whole  field  of  modern  Necromancy. 

The  reasonableness  of  testing  the  "  New  Philosophy"  first 
by  the  Sacred  Writings,  will  appear  from  the  following  con- 
siderations : 

(1.)  The  Bible  treats  professedly  and  originally  of  spiritual 
and  supernatural  subjects;  and  more  fully  than  all  other  books 
on  earth. 

(2.)  It  treats  especially  of  Man — his  Origin,  Nature,  and 
Destiny — of  Psychology,  or  the  distinct  existence  of  the  soul, 
its  separation  from  the  body  at  death,  and  its  condition  after 
death — of  the  relations  of  the  present  to  the  boundless  future — 
of  angels — of  Necromancy  as  such,  and  of  the  spirit  world. 

(3.)  Though  this  book  has  been  in  being  from  eighteen  to 
thirty-three  centuries,  during  ail  of  which  time  its  first  utter- 
ances have  remained  unaltered,  while  every  branch  of  science 
has  been  growing  and  advancing,  there  has  not  a  real  discovery 
been  made,  from  first  to  last,  in  any  department  of  study,  that 
when  fairly  submitted  to  the  test,  has  been  found  at  variance 
with  the  Bible. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  time  and  circumstances  under  which  this  book 
was  written,  and  the  variety  of  topics  upon  which  it  treats,  there  is  not 
a  solitary  physical  error  in  it — not  one  assertion  or  allusion  disproved 
by  the  progress  of  modern  science.  None  of  those  mistakes  which  the 
science  of  each  succeeding  age  discovered  in  the  books  of  the  preceding ; 
above  all,  none  of  those  absurdities  which  modern  astronomy  indicates 
in  such  great  numbers  in  the  writings  of  the  ancients — in  their  sacred 
oodes,  in  their  philosophy,  and  even  in  the  finest  pages  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Church ;  not  one  of  these  errors  is  to  be  found  in  any  cf  our  eacrea 

3 


26  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

books.  Nothing  there  will  ever  contradict  that  which,  ifter  so  many 
ages,  the  investigations  of  the  learned  world  have  been  able  to  reveal 
to  us  on  the  state  of  our  globe,  or  on  that  of  the  heavens.  Peruse  with 
care  our  Scriptures,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  to  find  there  such  spots ; 
and  while  you  apply  yourselves  to  this  examination,  remember  that  it 
is  a  book  which  speaks  of  every  thing,  which  describes  nature,  which 
recites  its  creation,  which  tells  us  of  the  water,  of  the  atmosphere,  of  the 
mountains,  of  the  animals,  and  of  the  plants.  It  is  a  book  which  teaches 
us  the  first  revolutions  of  the  world,  and  which  also  foretells  its  last ;  it 
recounts  them  in  the  circumstantial  language  of  history ;  it  extolls  them 
in  the  sublimest  strains  of  poetry,  and  it  chants  them  in  the  charms  of 
glowing  song.  It  is  a  book  which  is  full  of  oriental  rapture,  elevation, 
variety,  and  boldness.  It  is  a  book  which  speaks  of  the  heavenly  and 
invisible  world,  while  it  also  speaks  of  the  earth  and  things  visible.  It 
is  a  book  which  nearly  fifty  writers,  of  every  degree  of  cultivation,  of 
every  state,  of  every  condition,  and  living  through  the  course  of  fifteen- 
hundred  years,  have  concurred  to  make.  It  is  a  book  which  was  written 
in  the  center  of  Asia,  in  the  sands  of  Arabia,  and  in  the  deserts  of  Ju- 
dea ;  in  the  courts  of  the  temple  of  the  Jews,  in  the  music-schools  of  the 
prophets  of  Bethel  and  of  Jericho,  in  the  sumptuous  palaces  of  Babylon, 
and  on  the  idolatrous  banks  of  Chebar  ;  and  finally,  in  the  center  of  the 
western  civilization,  in  the  midst  of  the  Jews  and  of  their  ignorance,  in 
the  midst  of  polytheism  and  its  idols,  as  also  in  the  bosom  of  pantheism 
and  of  its  sad  philosophy.  It  is  a  book  whose  first  writer  had  been 
forty  years  a  pupil  of  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  in  whose  opinion  the  sun, 
the  stars,  and  the  elements  were  endowed  with  intelligence,  reacted  on 
the  elements,  and  governed  the  world  by  a  perpetual  alluvium.  It  is 
a  book  whose  fiFst  writer  preceded,  by  more  than  nine  hundred  years, 
the  most  ancient  philosophers  of  ancient  Greece  and  Asia — the  Thaleses, 
and  the  Pythagorases,  the  Zalucuses,  the  Xenophon^  and  the  Confu- 
ciuses.  It  is  a  book  which  carries  its  narrations  even  to  the  hierarchies 
of  angels — even  to  the  most  distant  epoch  of  the  future,  and  the  glorious 
scenes  of  the  last  day.  Well,  search  among  its  50  authors ;  search  among 
its  66  books,  its  1189  chapters,  its  31,173  verses  ;  search  for  only  one  of 
those  thousand  errors  which  the  ancients  and  the  moderns  o*wmitted, 
when  they  speak  of  the  heavens  or  of  the  earth — of  their  r€v^*,lions,  of 
the  elements;  search — but  you  will  find  none." — Gausscn. 

"  Whence  but  from  heaven  could  men  unskill'd  in  avi< 
In  different  nations  born — in  different  parts — 
Weave  such  agreeing  truths  ?     Or  how,  or  why 
Should  all  conspire  to  cheat  us  with  a  lie  ? 
Unask'd  their  pains,  ungrateful  their  advice, 
Starving  their  gains,  and  martyrdom  their  price." 


"  SPIRITS"    AND   THE   BIBLE.  27 

(4.)  Still  further,  we  appeal  to  the  Bible,  first  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  modern  spiritism,  because  it  is  still  good  authority  with 
the  majority  of  our  readers,  despite  all  the  efforts  of  infidelity  to 
convict  it  of  error,  disparage  its  claims,  and  destroy  its  influ- 
ence. Thanks  be  to  God  !  of  this  book  we  may  sing,  as  we 
sing  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 

"  Immovably  founded  in  grace, 

It  stands,  as  it  ever  hath  stood, 
And  brightly  its  Builder  displays, 
And  flames  with  the  glory  of  God." 

Yes — "it  stands,  as  it  ever  hath  stood;"  and  so  it  will  stand, 
as  the  island  rock  stands,  having  repelled  the  angry  billows 
raised  by  a  thousand  tempests,  when  a  thousand  generations 
of  infidels  have  lived,  and  scoffed,  and  written  against  it,  and 
passed  away. 

(5.)  Though  the  Bible  is  degraded  by  such  an  indorsement, 
and  it  may  seem  irreverent  to  cite  it,  it  is  a  fact  that  may 
weigh  with  one  reader  of  a  thousand,  that  the  "  Spirits  of  the 
Sixth  Circle,"  as  they  are  called,  while  on  the  one  hand  they 
have  denounced  the  Bible  as  not  being  what  it  professes  to  be, 
have  indorsed  it  as  of  equal  authority  with  the  "  revelations" 
they  have  recently  made  to  the  world  through  the  medium  of 
Mr.  Ambler.  We  quote  from  the  "  Spiritual  Teacher" — writ- 
ten by  "Spirits  of  the  Sixth  Circle,"  through  "R.  P.  Ambler, 
Medium :" 

"  The  spirits  would  therefore  speak  in  the  outset  of  the  real  origin  of 
the  book  which  is  reverenced  as  the  word  of  God.  *  *  *  Far  back  in 
the  depths  of  humanity's  history,  there  lived  individuals  who  were  mor- 
ally and  spiritually  advanced  beyond  the  medium  development  of  the 
age  in  which  they  lived.  *  *  *  The  spirits  have  reference  to  the 
persons  mentioned  in  the  writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments ; 
such,  for  example,  as  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Christ,  Paul,  and  John.  Those 
persons  were  seers  and  prophets.  In  their  systems  dwelt  that  peculiar 
essence  of  spiritual  life  which  prepared  them  for  an  intercourse  with  the 
dwellers  of  the  second  sphere  ;  were  unconscious  of  this  truth,  and  knew 
not  the  source  of  their  inspiration ;  they  naturally  ascribed  the  impres- 
sions which  they  received  to  the  direct  agency  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and 


28  SPIPwIT-KArPING   UNVEILED. 

really  imagined  that  they  wrote  and  spoke  as  they  were  dictated  by 
the  Deity  himself.  *  *  *  The  seers  and  prophets,  whose  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  Primitive  History,  were  mediums.  *  *  *  It  was  in 
this  manner  that  the  writings  of  the  Bible,  which  have  been  properly 
termed  the  Scriptures,  were  originated.  •  ■  *  *  Therefore  will  the 
spirits  assure  the  world  that  the  Bible  is  not  the  direct  and  infallible 
word  of  God.  *  *  *  The  spirits  wtmld  claim  the  authorship  of  these 
records  as  they  were  primarily  given  to  the  world." 

Even  then,  according  to  the  "spirits"  themselves,  the  wri- 
tings of  the  prophets  and  apostles  are  of  equal  authority  with 
their  more  recent  productions,  through  the  medium  of  Mr.  R. 
P.  Ambler  and  others.  We  hope,  therefore,  it  will  be  admit- 
ted on  all  hands  as  good  authority  in  the  present  discussion. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Soul  distinct  from  the  Body — Nature  of  Death — Souls  do  not  linger 
about  their  former  Homes,  or  the  Grave  of  the  Body — Depart  from 
Earth — Intermediate  State — Not  to  return  till  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ  and  the  General  Eesurrection. 

We  now  turn  with  confidence  to  the  holy  Scriptures  to  as- 
certain what  light,  if  any,  they  shed  upon  this  otherwise  mys- 
terious subject. 

1.  In  the  very  opening  of  this  wonderful  book,  we  are  met 
with  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  material  universe.  " 
the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth, " 
Gen.  i.  1.  Then  follow  in  order  the  arrangement  of  light, 
and  sea,  and  land  ;  the  clothing  of  the  continent  with  vegeta- 
tion ;  the  peopling  of  the  land,  and  seas,  and  air  with  their 
respective  animal  inhabitants ;  and,  finally,  the  origin  of  man 
himself.  "  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  out  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ; 
and  man  became  a  living  soul,"  Gen.  ii.  7.  Here  the  physi- 
cal form,  made  of  material  elements,  existed  as  a  perfect  organ- 
ism before  the  "breath  of  life"  or  the  soul  was  "breathed  into," 


NATURE   OF   DEATH.  29 

or  connected  with  it.  It  is  obvious,  that  the  soul  and  body  of 
Adam  were  originally  distinct,  and  actually  existed  indepen- 
dently of  each  other  ;  and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  his  natural 
life  began  with  the  uniting  of  his  spirit  with  his  body. 

2.  The  curse  which  consigned  his  body  to  the  dust  had  no 
reference  to  the  "breath  of  life,"  or  spirit  that  dwelt  in  the 
body,  as  consigning  it  also  to  darkness  and  silence.  "  In  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return  unto 
the  ground ;  for  out  of  it  wast  thou  taken :  for  dust  thou  art, 
and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return," — Gen.  iii.  19.  Only  that 
part  of  Adam  which  is  composed  of  "  dust,"  or  was  "  taken 
out  of  the  ground,"  is  consigned  to  earth  again  by  this  decree ; 
and  as  the  "  breath  of  life,"  or  soul,  was  not  of  earthly  origin, 
it  neither  dies  nor  sleeps  in  the  grave  in  virtue  of  this  maledic- 
tion. 

3.  As  the  Scriptures  represent  life,  in  the  case  of  Adam, 
as  commencing  with  the  union  of  his  physical  and  spiritual 
natures,  so  they  uniformly  represent  death  as  the  separation 
of  soul  and  body — the  "giving  up  of  the  ghost." 

"Then  Abraham  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old  age, 
an  old  man  and  full  of  years ;  and  was  gathered  to  his  people." — 
Gen.  xxv.  8. 

"  And  Isaac  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died,  and  was  gathered  unto  his 
people." — Gen.  xxxv.  29. 

"  And  when  Jacob  had  made  an  end  of  commanding  his  sons,  he 
gathered  up  his  feet  into  the  bed,  and  yielded  up  the  ghost,  and  was 
gathered  unto  his  people." — Gen.  xlix.  33. 

"  But  man  dieth  and  wasteth  away :  yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost, 
and  where  is  he  V — Job  xiv.  10. 

"  And  when  Jesus  had  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  he  said :  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit :  and  having  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the 
ghost." — Luke  xxiii.  46. 

"  While  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord. 
*  *  *  "We  are  confident,  I  say,  and  willing,  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord." — 2  Cor.  v.  6-8. 

"  Knowing  that  shortly  I  must  put  off  this  tabernacle." — 2  Pet.  i.  14. 

"  For  as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works 
is  dead  also." — Jas.  ii.  2. 

"  And  he  stretched  himself  upon  the  child  three  times,  and  cried  unto 

3* 


30  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

the  Lord,  and  said  :  O  Lord  my  God,  I  pray,  let  this  child's  soul  come 
into  him  again." — 1  Kings  xvii.  21. 

"  And  the  Lord  heard  the  voice  of  Elijah  ;  and  the  soul  of  the  child 
came  into  him  again,  and  he  revived.'' — 1  Kings  xvii.  22. 

The  above  passages  are  sufficient  to  show  that  natural  death 
is  the  separation  of  soul  aud  body — the  "giving  up  of  the 
ghost" — the  being  "absent  from  the  body" — the  "putting 
off"  of  the  material  "tabernacle" — the  leaving  of  the  body 
"without  the  spirit."  But  the  same  point  will  be  still  more 
fully  established  as  we  proceed  to  our  next  proposition. 

4.  The  Scriptures  teach  not  only  that  the  soul  leaves  the 
body  at  death,  but  that  it  leaves  this  world,  and  does  not  tarry 
about  this  terrestrial  ball  to  be  seen  or  heard  by,  or  to  com- 
municate with  its  inhabitants.  Then  commences  the  jour- 
ney to 

"  That  undiscover'd  country,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveler  returns." 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  as  her  soul  was  in  departing  (for  she  died)." — 
Gen.  xxxv.  18. 

"  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth  upward,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  beast  that  goeth  downwar^    o  the  earth?" — Eccl.  iii.  20. 

"  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit 
shall  return  to  God  who  gave  it." — Eccl.  xii.  7. 

"  0  spare  me,  that  I  may  recover  strength,  before  I  go  hence  and  be 
no  more." — Psalm  xxxix.  13. 

"  The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years  and  ten  ;  and  if  by 
reason  of  strength  they  be  fourscore  years,  yet  is  their  strength  labor 
and  sorrow  ;  for  it  is  soon  cut  off,  and  we  fly  away," — Psalm  xci.  10. 

"  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." — Luke  xxiii.  43. 

"  For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is 
at  hand." — 2  Tim.  iv.  6. 

"  Having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  be  with  Christ."-;— Phil.  i.  23. 

"  For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter 
in  among  you." — Acts  xx.  29. 

Now,  if  at  death  we  not  only  give  up  the  ghost,  but  "  go 
upward" — "return  to  Grod" — "go  hence" — "depart" — "fly 
away,"  &c,  it  is  certain  that  we  shall  not  remain  about  our 
world  to  rip,  and  tip,  and  "  peep  and  mutter,"  as  it  is  assumed 


SPIRITS    DO    NOT    RETURN.  31 

that  we  shall  by  the  "  new  philosophy."     We  leave  earth  at 
death. 

" In  heaven  or  hell, 

Their  disembodied  spirits  dwell." 

The  spirits  of  the  good  then  "  rest  from  their  labors,  and 
their  works  do  follow  them." 

"  The  saints  who  die  of  Christ  possess'd, 
Enter  into  immediate  rest :" — 

"  The  body  which  came  from  the  earth, 
Must  mingle  again  with  the  sod  ; 
The  soul,  which  in  heaven  had  birth, 
Returns  to  the  bosom  of  God." 

It  would  lead  us  too  far  from  our  main  design  to  inquire 
into  the  character  of  the  intermediate  state,  or  the  difference 
between  the  states  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  between 
death  and  the  resurrection ;  and  their  ultimate  and  unalterable 
condition  after  the  resurrection  of  their  bodies,  and  the  decision 
of  the  General  Judgment.  We  wish  simply  to  show  (as  we 
trust  we  have  done),  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  do  not  linger 
about  our  globe  after  death,  but  depart  to  the  distant  regions 
of  eternal  retribution. 

5.  "But,  admitting  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  depart  at 
death,  as  the  Bible  has  always  been  understood  to  teach,  do 
they  not  come  back  at  pleasure,  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their 
former  probation,  and  to  mingle  once  more  with  the  mortal 
living  ?"  It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  prove  that  they  do  not 
come  back.  Having  proved  that  they  go  away,  if  any  assert 
that  they  return,  it  devolves  upon  them  to  prove  what  they 
assert.  As  the  man  who  admits  future  punishment,  but  denies 
that  it  is  eternal,  must  himself  prove  its  termination  or  fail  in 
his  argument,  so  he  that  believes  in  "  departed"  spirits,  but 
asserts  that  they  have  returned,  must  himself  prove  such  re- 
turn. It  is  enough  for  us  to  trace  them  away — to  "  pursue 
them  where  they  fly" — to  show  that  they  depart.  Still  it  is 
not  difficult  in  this  instance  to  show  that  the  spirits  of  the 


32  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

dead  having  left  their  bodies  and  gone  away,  do  not  and  ca^ 
not  return  till  the  general  resurrection  and  final  judgment. 

"  But  now  be  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast  ?  can  I  bring  him  back 
again  ?    I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to  me" — 2  Sam.  xii.  25. 

"  Cease,  then,  and  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little,  be- 
fore I  go  whence  /  shall  not  return?' — Job  x.  20. 

"  When  a  few  years  are  come,  then  I  shall  go  the  way  whence  /  shall 
not  return.'' — Job  xvi.  22. 

The  doctrine  of  the  above  passages,  that  the  dead  do  not 
return  to  earth  is  still  more  clearly  taught  in  the  account  of 
the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  Luke  xvi.  19-31.  In  relation  to 
this  account  it  should  be  observed,  (1.)  That  Lazarus  was 
borne  away  from  earth  at  death — "  carried  by  the  angel  to 
Abraham's  bosom,"  v.  22  ;  (2.)  That  immediately  after  the 
rich  man  "died,"  "  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ment," v.  23.  (3.)  When  the  rich  man  desired  Abraham  to 
send  Lazarus  to  mitigate  his  "  torment,"  he  was  told,  first,  of 
the  justice  of  his  present  sufferings,  and  secondly,  of  the  non- 
intercourse  between  "  hell"  and  "  Abraham's  bosom,"  or 
heaven.  "  Between  us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed," 
&c,  v.  26;  thus  flatly  contradicting  the  "new  philosophy," 
that  the  spirits  of  the  "  higher  spheres"  may  descetfd  to  and 
assist  the  spirits  of  the  "  lower  spheres."  (4.)  The  rich  man 
then  requests  that  the  spirit  of  Lazarus  might  be  sent  back  to 
earth  to  warn  his  "  five  brethren,"  "  lest  they  also  come  to  this 
place  of  torment,"  v.  28.  To  this  request  Abraham  replied 
that  they  have  revelation  enough  already,  and  no  such  visits 
from  the  dead  were  necessary :  "  They  have  Moses  and  the 
prophets ;  let  them  hear  them,"  v.  29.  But  the  rich  man 
suggests  that  an  apparition  and  a  message  from  the  spirit  world 
would  be  more  effectual  for  the  reformation  of  his  wicked 
brethren,  than  the  inspired  Word  of  God.  "  If  one  went  unto 
them  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent,"  v.  30.  To  this  Abra- 
ham answers,  that  to  such  as  reject  divine  revelation — the 
Bible — apparitions  and  messages  from  the  dead  would  be  of 
no  avail.  "  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither 
will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead,"  v.  31. 


SAINTS  "dwell"  with  cheist.  33 

From  this  whole  account,  therefore,  it  is  clear  not  only  that 
there  is  no  intercourse  between  the  saved  and  lost  in  a  future 
state,  but  that  neither  the  spirits  of  the  wicked  nor  of  the 
righteous  are  permitted  to  revisit  our  mortal  shores.  And  if 
the  writings  of  "  Moses  and  the  prophets' '  so  clearly  taught 
man's  duty  and  destiny  as  to  render  apparitions  and  "  spirit 
messages"  superfluous  and  inadmissible ;  much  more,  now  that 
we  have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  the  Gospels,  and  the 
Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse,  would  such  apparitions  and 
messages  be  inadmissible  and  impossible.  The  whole  narrative 
is  directly  and  flatly  against  the  new  doctrine  of  spirit  in- 
tercourse. 

6.  The  Scriptures  always  represent  the  righteous  dead,  at 
least,  as  dwelling  with  Christ,  away  from  earth,  and  in  heaven. 
Accordingly,  heaven  is  a  "  house" — a  "  city" — a  "  country," 
&c,  all  of  which  figures  indicate  a  locality.  Hence,  the  lan- 
guage of  Christ — "  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man 
ascend  where  he  was  before,"  John  vii.  62.  "I  leave  the 
world  and  go  to  the  Father,"  John  xvi.  28.  "  If  any  man  serve 
me,  let  him  follow  me ;  and  where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my 
servant  be,"  John  xii.  26.  "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you, 
that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also,"  John  xiv.  2,  3. 
"  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him 
day  and  night  in  his  temple :  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne 
shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,"  &c, 
Rev.  vii.  15. 

"  No  oppressive  heat  they  feel, 
From  the  sun's  directer  ray ; 
In  a  milder  clime  they  dwell, 
Region  of  eternal  day." 

And  if  the  righteous  dwell  in  their  Father's  "  house" — the 
"New  Jerusalem" — the  "better  country" — "where  Christ  is," 
and  serve  God,  "  day  and  night,"  in  his  heavenly  temple,  they 
are  not  hovering  about  our  earth,  rapping  and  moving  tables, 
either  to  amuse  or  astonish  poor  credulous  mortals  at  a  dol- 
lar a  head.  Neither  is  it  likely  that  the  wicked  (the  "low 
spirits"  of  the  new  philosophy)  are  more  highly  privileged  in 


34  SPIRIT-EAPPING    UNVEILED. 

this  respect  than  their  "  high  sphere"  brethren.  Either,  there- 
fore, we  must  reject  the  new  doctrine  of  spirit  intercourse,  or 
reject  the  obvious  teachings  of  the  holy  Scriptures. 

7.  The  only  general  return  of  spirits  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
is  that  of  the  spirits  of  the  saints,  at  the  second  coming  of 
Christ  and  the  general  resurrection.  "  And  the  Lord  my  God 
shall  come,  and  all  his  saints  with  him,"  Zech.  xiv.  5.  "  At 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  his  saints/' 
1  Thess.  iii.  13.  "Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand 
of  his  saints,''  Jude  v.  14. 

Thus  the  Scriptures  teach  most  distinctly  and  unequivocally, 
as  a  general  doctrine,  that  the  soul  and  body  are  distinct  es- 
sences ;  that  death  is  the  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body; 
that  at  death  the  soul  departs  from  earth ;  that  it  dwells  away 
from  earth  during  the  intermediate  state,  or  period ;  and  that 
it  does  not,  and  can  not,  except  as  a  miracle,  return  to  earth 
till  the  second  coming  of  Chiist,  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead. 

To  this  general  law,  however,  there  have  been  a  few  ex- 
ceptions ;  and  to  these  exceptions,  or  supposed  returns  of  de- 
parted spirits,  we  shall  now  direct  our  attention. 

8.  The  apparition  of  immortals  to  Abraham  and  Lot 
(Gen.  18th  and  19th  chapters)  will  be  reserved  for  considera- 
tion in  the  next  chapter,  when  we  come  to  speak  of  "  angels 
and  ministering  spirits ;"  but  the  cases  of  Samuel,  and  Moses, 
and  Elias  require  consideration  in  the  present  chapter ;  for  we 
concede  that  the  latter  two  were  really  Moses  and  Elias ;  and 
that  if  there  was  actually  a  spirit  or  body  present  in  the  former 
case,  they  were  those  of  Samuel.  In  the  analysis  of  the  narra- 
tive of  this  case,  however,  as  we  find  it  recorded  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  the  First  Book  of  Samuel,  the  following  points 
should  be  observed:  (1.)  Samuel  was  dead  and  buried  at 
Ramah,  some  distance  from  Endor,  ver.  3.  (2.)  God  had  for- 
saken Saul,  and  "  answered  him  not,  neither  by  dreams,  nor 
by  Urim,  nor  by  prophets/'  ver.  6.  (3.)  When  the  woman 
saw  the  "  gods,"  as  she  called  them,  that  preceded  the  appari- 
tion of  Samuel,  and  afterwards  the  form  of  "  an  old  man  covered 


APPARITION    OF   SAMUEL.  35 

with  a  mantle,"  she  was  terribly  frightened,  and  shrieked  out 
for  fear,  or  "cried  with  a  loud  voice,"  ver.  12.  This  shows 
that  the  apparition  was  unexpected  to  the  woman,  and  not  the 
usual  result  of  her  incantations.  Upon  this  point,  Dr.  Clarke 
observes : 

"The  woman  certainly  meant  no  more  than  making  her  familiar  per- 
sonify whomsoever  the  querist  should  wish.  In  the  evocation  of  spirits 
this  is  all  that,  according  to  the  professed  rules  of  their  art,  such  persons 
pretend  to ;  for  over  human  souls  in  paradise,  or  in  the  infernal  regions, 
they  have  no  power.  If  we  allow  that  there  is  such  an  art  founded  on 
true  principles,  all  it  can  pretend  to  is  to  bring  up  the  familiar,  cause  him. 
when  necessary  to  assume  the  form  and  character  of  some  particular 
person,  and  to  give  such  notices  relative  to  futurity  as  he  is  able  to  col- 
lect. And  this,  even  in  the  cases  to  which  authenticity  is  generally  al- 
lowed, is  often  scanty,  vague,  and  uncertain ;  for  fallen  spirits  do  not 
abound  in  knowledge  :  this  is  an  attribute  of  God,  and  rays  of  this  per- 
fection are  imparted  to  pure  and  holy  intelligences ;  and  even  Satan 
himself,  as  may  be  seen  from  most  of  his  temptations,  is  far  from  excel- 
ling  in  knowledge." 

(4.)  Whatever  might  have  been  the  real  character  of  the 
apparition,  he  "said"  what  he  had  to  communicate  in  an  audi- 
ble manner,  and  in  a  language  well  understood.  No  "  circle" 
was  formed ;  no  "  rapping"  out  words  and  sentences,  letter  by 
letter;  no  writing  with  the  hand  of  the  "medium;"  nor  was 
any  "  electrical  apparatus"  seen,  as  in  the  pretended  apparition 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Fowler.  (5.)  The 
message  communicated  was  a  straightforward  and  important 
prediction  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  Saul,  every  word  of  which 
was  literally  fulfilled,  in  perfect  contrast  with  the  silly  mes- 
sages and  seldom  fulfilled  predictions  or  guesses  of  our  modern 
necromancers. 

Here,  then,  admitting  all  that  can  be  asked — that  the  spirit 
of  Samuel  was  actually  there — we  have  one  solitary  instance  of 
the  return  and  appearance  of  a  human  spirit,  in  a  Scriptural 
history  extending  over  more  than  forty  centuries,  and  that  case 
recorded  as  a  distinguished  miracle.  And,  still  further,  differ- 
ing so  essentially  from  the  mode  in  which  spirits  are  said  to 
communicate  in  our  own  times,  as  to  stamp  the  pretensions  of 


36  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

the  present  race  of  necromancers  as  savoring  more  of  trickery 
and  deception  than  of  honest,  outspoken  communications  from 
the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

9.  The  case  of  the  appearance  of  Moses  and  Elias  on  Mount 
Tabor,  at  the  transfiguration  of  Christ,  is  clearly  an  instance  of 
the  reappearing  of  the  departed.  "  There  appeared  unto  them 
Moses  and  Elias  talking  with  him,,,  Matt.  xvii.  3.  But  in  re- 
gard to  this  case  also,  there  are  several  particulars  worthy  of 
special  note. 

(1.)  One  of  the  two,  at  least,  was  not  a  mere  spirit,  but  a 
glorified  human  being,  soul  and  body  together,  such  as  the 
righteous  shall  be  after  the  "  change"  at  the  last  trump,  or  the 
general  resurrection.  Elijah  was  translated  to  heaven,  soul 
and  body,  without  seeing  death  (2  Kings  ii.) :  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  his  soul  left  the  body  in  heaven,  i.  e.,  that  he 
died  there,  and  that  his  spirit  only  appeared  on  the  mount. 
This,  therefore,  was  not  an  instance  of  the  return  of  a  disem- 
bodied spirit.  (2.)  It  is  far  from  being  certain  that  Moses 
was  in  this  respect  different  from  Elias.  He  had  died  on 
Mount  Nebo  some  fifteen  centuries  before,  and  God  sad  buried 
his  body  somewhere  "in  a  valley  in  the  land  of  Moab,  over 
against  Beth-peor,"  but  where  no  man  ever  knew.  (See 
Deut.  xxxiv.  1-6.)  But  from  a  seemingly  incidental  allusion 
to  Moses  in  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  it  seems  that  this  was  not  the 
last  of  his  body,  when  buried  by  the  hand  of  God.  "  Yet 
Michael  the  archangel,  when  contending  with  the  devil,  he 
disputed  about  the  body  of  Moses,"  &c,  ver.  9.  What  the 
nature  of  this  "  dispute"  was,  between  the  good  and  evil  an- 
gels about  the  body  of  Moses,  is  not  known.  It  has  been 
supposed,  however,  that  God  buried  and  concealed  his  body, 
that  it  might  not  become  an  object  of  idolatrous  worship,  as 
the  serpent  lifted  up  in  the  wilderness  afterward  became 
(2  Kings  xviii.  4),  and  that  Satan,  on  the  other  hand,  greatly 
desired  to  discover  his  body  to  the  Jews,  that  it  might  become 
a  stumbling-block  and  a  snare  to  Israel.  And  hence  the 
"  dispute"  between  Michael  the  archangel  and  Satan  "  about 
the  body  of  Moses."     If  this  explanation  is  correct  (and  to 


MOSES    AND   ELIAS.  37 

say  the  least,  it  is  highly  probable),  it  affords  much  ground  for 
the  belief  that  God  had  settled  the  "  dispute"  by  raising  the 
body  of  Moses  from  the  dead,  and  that  he  appeared  on  the 
mount  of  transfiguration  precisely  as  Elias  appeared.  As  the 
saints  are  to  appear  with  Christ  hereafter  "in  glory,"  and  the 
bodies  of  the  just  are  to  be  "  raised  in  glory,"  so  of  Moses  and 
Elias  it  is  said  "  they  appeared  in  glory,"  which,  we  think,  im- 
plies the  full  redemption  of  both  soul  and  body.  The  only 
Scriptural  objection  to  this  view  of  the  subject  is  the  general 
statement  that  Christ  should  be  "  the  first  that  should  rise 
from  the  dead ;"  a  statement  that  might  no  more  be  intended 
to  apply  to  the  case  of  Moses — whose  body  God  took  under 
his  own  special  charge,  and  which  may  never  have  seen  cor- 
ruption— than  to  the  cases  of  Enoch  and  Elijah,  whose  bodies 
God  translated  to  heaven.  (3.)  These  two  immortals  "talked" 
face  to  face  with  Christ.  No  table  nor  "circle,"  no  "rapping" 
nor  writing ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  Samuel,  all  is  open  and  in- 
telligible. (4.)  The  subject  of  their  communications  was  of  the 
most  exalted  character — the  great  atonement  for  sin — for  they 
"  spake  of  his  decease,  which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusa- 
lem." Compare  such  a  theme  with  the  subjects  of  our  mod- 
ern "spirit  messages,"  and  how  do  they  appear?  (5.)  The 
whole  account  shows  that  the  evangelists  regarded  the  trans- 
figuration  and  the  appearance  of  Moses  and  Elias  not  as  an 
ordinary  occurrence,  but  as  an  unusual  and  wonderful  event — 
a  stupendous  miracle.  And  who  that  considers  the  narrative, 
the  personages,  the  celestial  brightness,  and  the  voice  from 
heaven,  can  regard  it  in  any  other  light?  This  case  then, 
like  that  of  Samuel,  so  far  from  favoring  the  new  doctrine  of 
general  intercourse  between  the  two  worlds,  by  rapping  and 
writing,  goes  to  rebuke  it  as  a  most  insipid  and  bungling  at- 
tempt at  imitation,  bordering  upon  sacrilege. 

10.  One  more  case  of  the  apparition  of  a  spirit  remains  to 
be  considered — that  of  the  spirit  seen  by  the  Revelator  (xix.  10), 
who  said,  "  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren,"  &c. 
But  where  was  this  spirit  seen?  John,  it  is  true,  was  "in  the 
isle  that  is  called  Patmos ;"  but  the  vision  or  "revelation" 

4 


38 


SPIRIT-RxVPPING    UNVEILED. 


which  he  had  was  not  of  Patmos,  nor  of  earth.  He  had  seen 
"a  door  opened  in  heaven,"  and  heard  a  voice,  saying,  "  Come 
up  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee  things  which  must  be  hereafter," 
(iv.  1),  and  the  scene  which  opened  before  him  was  not  in  our 
dark  world,  but  in  the  far-off  and  brighter  regions  of  eternal 
day.  There,  he  saw  the  elders  and  the  white-robed  company; 
there,  he  heard  the  harpers  and  the  songs  of  the  rejoicing  mul- 
titude, "  like  the  sound  of  many  waters  ;"  and  there,  he  saw  the 
spirit  of  a  "  fellow-servant,"  so  glorious  in  the  image  of  Christ, 
so  much  as  he  had  seen  the  Redeemer  at  his  transfiguration, 
as  to  betray  him  into  the  error  of  offering  worship  to  him  as 
divine.  Indeed,  not  only  this  passage,  but  the  whole  Apoca- 
lypse, is  a  decided  refutation  of  the  notion  that  the  dead  linger 
about  our  world.  The  happy  company  who  had  washed  their 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  dwell 
not  on  earth,  but  in  "heaven;"  not  around  our  globe,  but 
"round  about  the  throne." 

The  most,  then,  that  can  possibly  be  made  of  these  several 
apparitions  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  is,  that  from  first  to 
last  two  spirits  of  the  departed — -Samuel  and  Moses — have  re- 
turned to  earth  ;  and  that  one  entire  man,  soul  and  body,  has 
also  returned — three  cases  in  over  fifteen  centuries !  Does  this 
seem  to  favor  the  doctrine  of  great  familiarity  between  the 
living  and  the  dead  ?  Do  not  these  very  exceptions  confirm 
the  doctrine  of  general  non-intercourse  ? 

All  these  cases  are  evidently  set  forth  as  miracles  ;  and  they 
no  more  prove  that  departed  spirits  generally  have  access 
to  the  living  of  earth,  than  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  after 
four  days,  proves  that  it  is  a  law  of  nature  that  all  men  shall 
come  to  life  after  they  have  been  dead  four  days.  The  very 
idea  of  a  miracle  requires  that  the  general  law  should  be  vio- 
lated or  departed  from  ;  so  that  the  miraculous  appearance  of 
one  or  two  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  would  only  go  to  estab- 
lish it  as  a  general  law.  that  the  dead  can  not  return  to  earth. 


MINISTERING   SPIRITS.  39 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ministering  Spirits— Who  are  the  "  Ministering  Spirits"  of  the  Bible— An* 
gels  not  the  spirits  of  men— Good  and  evil  angels. 

Having  shown,  we  trust,  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  candid 
reader,  that  at  death  the  spirit  leaves  this  world  not  to  return 
except  by  special  interposition  of  God  till  the  second  coming 
of  Christ,  let  us  now  consider  the  question,  Who,  then,  are  the 
"  Ministering  Spirits"  of  the  Bible  ? 

Upon  this  subject  we  remark,  that  we  fully  recognize  the 
doctrine  of  ministering  spirits  as  a  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. By  "  ministering  spirits"  we  mean  pure  spirits  who  min- 
ister to  or  serve  the  people  of  God,  and  help  them  on  in  the 
wray  to  heaven.  This  belief  is  founded  not  only  upon  the  vir- 
tual affirmation,  Heb.  i.  14,  "Are  they  not  all  ministering  spir- 
its, sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salva- 
tion," but  upon  numerous  instances  on  record  in  which  angels 
have  assisted  and  defended  the  people  of  God.  But  the  ques- 
tion is,  tvho  or  what  are  these  angels  ?  Are  they  the  spirits  of 
our  friends,  whose  bodies  we  have  buried,  or  are  they  a  dis- 
tinct and  higher  order  of  beings  ?  A  good  poet  but  poor  theo- 
logian has  said, 

"When  the  partition  walls  decay, 
Men  emerge  angels  from  their  clay  ;*' 

and  another,  a  poetess  of  brilliant  fancy  but  doubtful  logic  and 
theology,  has  said, 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  belief, 
That  ever  round  our  head 
Are  hovering,  on  viewless  wings, 
The  spirits  of  the  dead  1" 

But  however  beautiful  this  belief  may  be  as  a  poetic  image,  it 
lacks  one  essential  element  of  beauty,  and  that  is  truth.  Spir- 
its may  hover  around  the  pathway  of  the  righteous,  but  they 


40  SPIIHT-RAPriNG    UNVEILED. 

are  not  "  the  spirits  of  the  dead."  On  the  contrary,  we  shall 
beg  leave  to  dissent  both  from  the  poets  and  the  necromancers 
upon  this  point,  and  shall  proceed  to  show  that  the  "minister- 
ing spirits,"  or  "  angels,"  of  the  Bible,  are  not  the  spirits  of 
the  dead,  as  is  assumed  by  the  "  new  philosophy,"  but  a  dis- 
tinct and  higher  order  of  intelligences. 

1.  If  angels  are  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  then  there  could 
have  been  no  angels  until  some  one  had  died.  But  we  have 
abundant  proof  that  angels,  both  good  and  evil,  existed  and 
manifested  themselves  before  any  human  spirit  had  left  the 
body.  Cherubim,  a  high  order  of  angels,  were  placed  at  the 
east  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life, 
before  the  death  of  Abel  (Gen.  iii.  24) ;  and  the  Almighty 
speaks  of  the  joy  of  angels  at  the  creation  of  our  globe,  even 
before  man  was  created.  "  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  ?  *  *  •  When  the  morning  stars 
sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ?"  Job 
xxxviii.  4,  7. 

The  temptation  of  our  first  parents  by  Satan,  before  the 
death  of  Abel,  the  first  who  died,  is  proof  in  point  that  evil 
angels  existed  before  the  first  human  soul  had  left  the  body; 
and  wherever  the  Scriptures  refer  to  the  fall  of  angels,  and 
their  becoming  devils,  the  allusion  is  evidently  to  a  probationary 
period  enjoyed  by  them  anterior  to  the  creation  of  man.  "For 
if  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down 
to  hell,  and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  darkness,  to  be  re- 
served unto  judgment,"  2  Peter  ii.  4.  "  And  the  angels  which 
kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath 
reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness  unto  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  day,"  Jude  6.  To  this  fall  of  the  devil 
and  his  angels  our  Saviour  alludes,  John  viii.  44,  where  he 
says,  "  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not 
in  the  truth ;"  and  also  Luke  x.  18,  where  he  says,  "I  beheld 
Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven.' ' 

As  we  have  nothing  in  human  history  answering  in  any  wise 
to  these  allusions,  and  as  they  are  evidently  designed  to  ac- 
count for  the  existence  of  devils,  which  we  find  in  being  before 


ANGELS   NOT   HUMAN   SPIRITS.  41 

any  human  being  had  died,  it  is  certain  that  the  "  serpent" 
that  tempted  Eve  could  not  have  been  a  disembodied  human 
spirit,  but  was,  as  the  Scriptures  teach,  "  That  old  serpent  the 
Devil  and  Satan,"  who  kept  not  his  first  estate,  fell  like  light- 
ning from  heaven,  and  now  goeth  about  with  his  angels  seek- 
ing whom  he  may  devour.  And  if  both  good  and  evil  angels 
existed  before  any  human  being  had  died,  it  is  clear  that  nei- 
ther good  nor  evil  angels  can  be  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  This 
fact  of  itself  is  enough  to  overthrow  the  Swedenborgian  notion, 
now  taken  up  by  the  necromancers,  that  all  angels  are  disem- 
bodied human  souls. 

2.  A  clear  distinction  is  kept  up  throughout  the  Bible  be- 
tween the  angels,  both  good  and  evil,  and  the  spirits  of  the 
dead.  The  evil  angels  are  the  "  devils"  that  tempt  and  with- 
stand the  righteous.  Such  were  often  cast  out  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  when  they  had  taken  possession  of  the  bodies  of 
men  and  women.  But  will  our  necromancers  admit  that  these 
"  devils"  were  human  spirits  ?  So  of  the  holy  angels  ;  the 
innumerable  company  of  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect  (Heb.  xii.  22),  are  distinct  orders  of  beings ;  and 
the  "nature  of  angels,"  and  "  the  iseed  [or  nature]  of  Abra- 
ham" (Heb.  ii.  16),  are  entirely  distinct  natures.  And  in  the 
visions  of  the  Revelator  the  angels  and  the  spirits  of  the  re- 
deemed are  always  distinct,  except  in  one  solitary  instance 
(Rev.  xix.  10),  in  which  St.  John  seems  to  have  mistaken  one 
of  the  prophets  for  the  Son  of  man. 

3.  In  none  of  the  instances  in  which  human  spirits  have  re- 
turned to  earth,  have  they  appeared  as  ministering  spirits, 
The  angels  ministered  to  Lot,  and  Elijah,  and  Hezekiah,  and 
Daniel,  and  Christ,  and  Peter,  and  Paul,  and  many  others,  and 
they  are  represented  as  having  charge  of  and  camping  about 
the  people  of  God ;  but  when  Samuel,  and  Moses,  and  Elias 
appeared,  we  hear  nothing  of  their  labors  as  "  ministering  spir- 
its ;"  neither  is  it  possible  to  find  throughout  the  Bible  the 
least  intimation  that  the  angels  or  ministering  spirits  of  the 
Scriptures  are  the  souls  of  the  departed  dead.  Whoever, 
therefore,  assumes  this  point  to  help  out  the  new  theory  of 

4* 


42  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

"spiritual  in.ercourse,"  is  not  only  wise  above  what  is  written, 
but  against  what  is  written ;  and  if  he  persist  in  his  devotion 
to  "  the  new  philosophy,"  he  has  no  alternative  left  but  to  re- 
ject the  inspired  teachings  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  become, 
sooner  or  later,  an  avowed  Deist.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  is  resolved  to  abide  by  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  whatever 
may  become  of  human  dreams  and  theories,  he  will  at  once 
abandon  the  notion  of  human  angels,  and  reject  the  doctrine  of 
intercourse  with  the  dead.  That  holy  angels  come  and  go,  as 
"  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall 
be  heirs  of  salvation,"  is  clearly  revealed;  but  these  angels  are 
not  human  souls  ;  and  so  far  from  favoring  modern  necromancy, 
the  very  fact  that  holy  angels  are  appointed  of  God  to  guard, 
and  in  various  ways  minister  to  his  saints,  proves  that  human 
souls,  having  left  the  body  and  departed  from  earth,  are  not 
required  or  allowed  to  return  and  minister  to  the  living. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Witches  and  Wizards  of  the  Bible— Origin  of  Witchcraft — Witches  and 
Wizards — Necromancers  and  Soothsayers — Astrologers  and  Magicians- 
Modern  Fortune-tellers — How  classified  in  the  Scriptures — Denounced 
by  Jehovah — Simon  Magus — Elymas — Ghost-books  burned — "  Medium" 
at  Philippi. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  hostility  of  the  "spirits"  and 
the  spirit-rappers  to  the  Bible,  they  are  by  no  means  slow  to 
avail  themselves  of  any  thing  they  can  find  in  the  Scriptures 
that  can  be  pressed  into  the  service  of  their  ghostly  cause. 
Hence  we  frequently  hear  the  questions :  "  Does  not  the  Bible 
often  speak  of  witches,  and  necromancers,  and  familiar  spirits? 
and  does  not  the  mention  of  these  things  in  the  Scriptures 
show  that  in  old  times  invisible  beings  communicated  with 
mortals?" 

It  is  not  denied  that  holy  angels  and  devils  sometimes  mani- 


ORIGIN    OF    DIVINATION.  43 

fested  themselves  to  men,  and  that  the  one  sometimes  ministers 
to  the  righteous,  while  the  other  seeks  to  destroy.  But  the 
desio*n  of  these  questions  is  to  suggest  that  the  witches,  necro- 
mancers, &c.,  among  the  Egyptians,  Babylonians,  and  Canaan- 
ites,  were  not  mere  pretenders  or  impostors,  but  that  they  really 
had  intercourse  with  departed  spirits.  Let  us  inquire,  then, 
for  a  moment,  into  the  origin  and  character  of  their  preten- 
sions. 

1.  The  knowledge  of  a  future  state  was  early  revealed  to 
man;  and  the  frequent  apparitions  of  angels  during  the  patri- 
archal and  Mosaic  ages,  tended  to  support  the  belief  in  a  spir- 
itual and  immortal  life.  And  wherever  the  doctrine  of  the 
immmortality  of  the  soul  prevailed,  associated  as  it  always 
was  with  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments, 
there  was  not  only  a  measure  of  solicitude  about  the  future, 
but  a  conviction  that,  as  the  dead  had  experienced  what  the 
living  had  not,  so  they  hieiv  what  the  living  did  not.  It  was 
hence  concluded  that,  if  the  living  could  only  commune  with 
the  dead,  they  would  at  once  learn  their  own  future  history, 
and  all  the  mysteries  and  secrets  of  the  unseen  world.  Add 
to  this  a  natural  desire  in  every  unrenewed  heart  to  pry  into 
the  future,  and  learn  those  "hidden  things  that  belong  to  God," 
and  we  have  the  original  element  that  g-ave  birth  to  witchcraft 
and  every  other  system  of  divination. 

The  manifested  anxiety  to  know  the  future  of  the  present 
life,  was  doubtless  the  main  incentive  to  the  early  diviners  to 
pretend  to  divine,  or,  as  we  say  in  modern  times,  to  "tell  for- 
tunes;" and  finding  that  such  professions  not  only  gave  them 
notoriety,  but  could  also  be  turned  to  their  pecuniary  ad- 
vantage, they  yielded  to  the  temptation  and  set  up  as  di- 
viners. 

2.  Of  these  diviners,  or  fortune-tellers,  there  were  several 
classes,'  generally  distinguished  by  the  manner  in  which  they 
professed  to  obtain  their  superhuman  information. 

(1.)  Witches  and  wizards  were  those  who  professed  to  divine 
by  the  aid  of  the  devil.  These  claimed  to  be  in  league  with 
the  prince  of  darkness,  and  to  have  each  a  "  familiar  spirit,"  ox 


44  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

devil,  who  revealed  to  tlicm  the  secrets  which  they  revealed  to 
others. 

(2.)  The  necromancers  were  those  who  professed  to  divine 
by  intercourse  with  the  dead.  The  term  necromancy,  from 
nehros,  the  dead,  and  manteia,  to  divine,  signifies  to  divine  by 
the  dead ;  and  as  our  modern  spirit-rappers  have  professedly 
repudiated  the  devil,  and  claim  to  divine  only  by  the  dead, 
their  appropriate  name  is  necromancers* 

(3.)  The  soothsayers  pretended  to  divine  by  the  clouds,  and 
by  the  flight  and  chatter  of  birds.  Of  this  class  was  Balaam, 
the  son  of  Beor,  whom  Balak  hired  to  curse  Israel,  and  who 
was  afterwards  slain  by  the  Israelites.     See  Joshua  xiii.  22. 

(4.)  Astrologers  professed  to  divine  by  the  aspects  of  the 
planets,  stars,  &c,  like  several  impostors  that  are  now  con- 
stantly advertising  themselves,  and  getting  their  living  by  thus 
imposing  upon  and  defrauding  the  credulous  and  supersti- 
tious. 

(5.)  The  magicians  were  those  who  performed  seeming 
miracles  by  legerdemain,  or  sleight  of  hand.  Such  were 
Jannes  and  Jambres,  who  withstood  Moses ;  and  such  are 
Messrs.  Anderson,  Blitz,  and  others  of  our  own  times,  except 
that  the  latter  gentlemen  frankly  declare  that  their  apparent 
miracles  are  only  a  deception. 

(6.)  Besides  the  above  there  were  sorcerers,  conjurors,  en- 
chanters, <fec,  the  precise  character  of  whoso  pretensions  it  is 
not  easy  at  this  remote  period  to  ascertain.  And  from  these 
we  come  down  to  our  modern  gipsies,  and  "fortune-tellers" 
of  every  class,  whether  they  "divine"  by  a  pack  of  cards;  by 
looking  into  a  black  stone,  or  into  a  hat;  by  examining  the 
wrinkles  in  your  hand,  or  the  settlings  of  your  tea-cup.  They 
are  all  of  the  same  general  family,  and  all  equally  reliable. 

*  Invocations  of  the  dead  were  practised  among  the  Greeks  in  the 
time  of  Homer,  and  afterwards  among  the  Romans ;  but  we  have  the 
most  satisfactory  proof  that  in  all  cases  they  were  a  work  of  science 
and  art,  like  our  phantasmagoria  or  dissolving  views,  and  had  nothing 
preternatural  about  them.  See  Thompson's  Philosophy  of  Magic,  vol. 
1,  p.  261,  and  onward.  * 


ASTROLOGERS THEIR  CHARACTER.  45 

3.  Astrology,  magic,  and  other  kindred  arts,  were  practiced 
and  taught  in  Egypt — the  land  in  which  the  Israelites  sojourned 
for  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  previously  to  the  Exodus,  and 
in  which  Moses  was  "  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyp- 
tians"— and  also  among  the  Canaanites  and  Babylonians.  When 
Moses  wrought  miracles  in  Egypt,  Pharaoh  called  for  his  magi- 
cians ;  and  when  Nebuchadnezzar  had  a  troublesome  dream,  he 
also  called  for  his  "  magicians,  and  astrologers,  and  sorcerers," 
to  interpret  it  to  him.  But  all  this  merely  proves  that  such 
arts  were  taught,  and  such  pretenders  were  common,  without 
in  the  least  favoring  the  idea  that  they  were  any  thing  more 
than  impostors  and  deceivers."*  And  when  the  Almighty  saw 
fit  to  release  the  Israelites  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt,  that 
they  should  thenceforward  be  his  own  peculiar  people,  he  not 
only  prohibited  and  denounced  "divination,"  but  exacted  the 
most  stringent  laws  for  the  punishment  of  such  offenders. 

4.  The  general  character  of  the  diviners  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  light  in  which  they  were  regarded  by  the 
Almighty,  may  be  inferred  from  the  following : 

(1.)  There  is  not  a  word  in  all  the  Bible  in  favor  of  witch- 
craft, necromancy,  or  divination  of  any  kind,  or  that  goes  to 
show  that  they  were  not  in  all  cases  a  deception. 

(2.)  The  Scriptures  uniformly  classify  witchcraft,  sorcery, 
and  necromancy,  with  the  worst  of  abominations.  In  Rev. 
xxi.  8,  "sorcerers"  are  classed  with  the  "abominable,  and 
murderers,  and  whoremongers,  and  idolaters,  and  liars,"  who 
are  to  "  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death."  The  apostle  Paul 
classifies  "witchcraft"  with  "fornication,"  and  "murder,"  and 
other  "works  of  the  flesh,"  Gal.  v.  20,  and  then  adds,  "of  the 
which  I  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  also  told  you  in  time  past, 


*  It  is  well  known  that  several  of  the  discoveries  of  modern  time3 
both  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  were  known  to  the  ancients,  but  were 
lost  for  want  of  the  art  of  printing,  and  by  being  kept  in  their  temples 
by  the  priests,  as  the  means  of  deceiving  their  disciples,  and  keeping 
the  multitudes  in  awe. 


4:6  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

that  they  which  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God."  The  Revelator,  also,  enumerates  "sorcerers"  with 
"dogs,  and  whoremongers,  and  murderers,"  who  are  forever 
excluded  from  the  New  Jerusalem. 

(3.)  So  offensive  to  God  were  these  blasphemous  pretensions, 
that  under  the  Jewish  theocracy  they  were  visited  with  the 
same  punishment  as  murder,  and  that  too  by  the  special  com- 
mand of  the  Almighty.  "  Thou  shalt  not  suffer  a  witch  to 
live,"  Ex.  xxii.  18.  Again:  "When  thou  art  come  into  the 
land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  thou  shalt  not  learn 
to  do  after  the  abominations  of  those  nations.  There  shall  not 
be  found  among  you  any  one  that  maketh  his  son  or  his  daugh- 
ter to  pass  through  the  fire,  or  that  useth  divination,  or  an  ob- 
server of  times,  or  an  enchanter,  or  a  witch,  or  a  charmer,  or  a 
consulter  with  familiar  spirits,  or  a  wrrzard,  or  a  necromancer. 
For  all  that  do  these  things  are  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord ; 
and  because  of  these  abominations  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
driven  them  out  from  before  thee,  f  *  *  For  these  na- 
tions, which  thou  shalt  possess,  hearkened  unto  observers  of 
times,  and  unto  diviners ;  but  as  for  thee,  the  Lord  thy  God 
hath  not  suffered  thee  to  do  so,"  Deut.  xviii.  10-14.  Of  Ma- 
nasseh,  king  of  Judah,  it  is  said,  "  He  observed  times,  and  used 
enchantments,  and  used  witchcraft,  and  dealt  with  familiar 
spirits,  and  with  wizards  ;  he  wrought  much  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord  to  provoke  him  to  anger.  He  made  Judah  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  to  sin,  and  to  do  worse  than  the 
heathen,"  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  6,  9. 

(4.)  In  the  progress  of  Christianity  during  the  apostolic  age, 
as  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  have  several  in- 
stances in  which  the  apostles  came  in  contact  with  these  divin- 
ers. Philip  found  one  Simon,  at  Samaria,  "  which  beforetime 
in  the  same  city  used  sorceries,  and  bewitched  the  people  of 
Samaria,  giving  out  that  himself  was  some  great  one."  (How 
exactly  like  the  leading  Necromancers  of  our  time,  Davis,  Am- 
bler, and  others  !)  This  "  Simon"  desired  to  buy  the  power  to 
communicate  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  doubtless  for  pur- 
poses of  gain,  and  was  told  by  the  apostles  that  he  had  nei- 


SORCERERS   AND    THEIR   BOOKS.  47 

ther  part  nor  lot  with  them — that  his  heart  was  not  right  in 
the  sight  of  God,  and  that  he  was  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and 
in  the  bond  of  iniquity,  Acts  ix.  9-23. 

St.  Paul  found  another,  one  Ely  mas,  a  sorcerer,  at  Paphos 
(Acts  xiii.  6-11),  who  withstood  the  apostles,  and  to  whom 
Paul  said,  "  0  full  of  all  subtil ty,  and  all  mischief,  thou  child 
of  the  devil,  thou  enemy  of  all  righteousness,  wilt  thou  not 
cease  to  prevent  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord?"  And  yet  our 
modern  ghostmongers  would  have  us  believe  that  sorcerers  and 
necromancers  are  the  only  real  Christians  in  the  land ! 

The  effect  of  a  revival  of  pure  religion  at  Ephesus  was,  that 
"  many  confessed  and  showed  their  deeds.  Many  of  them, 
also,  which  used  curious  arts  [the  sorcerers  and  necromancers 
of  Ephesus]  brought  their  books  together,  and  burned  them 
before  all  men ;  and  they  counted  the  price  of  them,  and  found 
it  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver.  So  mightily  grew  the  word 
of  the  Lord  and  prevailed,"  Acts  xix.  18-20.  And  as  the 
"  word  of  the  Lord"  and  pure  religion  prevailed,  deception  and 
intrigues  were  exposed  and  confessed,  and  the  "  books"  from 
which  they  learned  these  "  curious  arts,"  were  committed  to 
the  llames.  Who  can  read  this  account  without  thinking  of 
the  numerous  and  high-priced  ghost-books  now  in  circulation, 
and  of  the  uniform  hostility  of  all  such  works  to  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  ? 

In  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Acts  we  have  an  account  of  the 
imprisonment  of  Paul  and  Silas  at  Philippi :  "And  it  came  to 
pass  as  we  went  to  prayer,  a  certain  damsel  possessed  with  a 
spirit  of  divination  met  us,  which  brought  her  masters  much 
gain  by  soothsaying:  The  same  followed  Paul  and  us,  and 
cried,  saying,  These  men  are  the  servants  of  the  most  high 
God,  which  show  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation.  And  this  she 
did  many  days.  But  Paul  being  grieved,  turned  and  said  to 
the  spirit,  I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
come  out  of  her.  And  he  came  out  the  same  hour.  And 
when  her  masters  saw  that  the  hope  of  their  gains  was  gone, 
they  caught  Paul  and  Silas,  and  drew  them  into  the  market- 
place unto  the  rulers,  and  brought  them  to  the  magistrates, 


48  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

saying,  These  men,  being  Jews,  do  exceedingly  trouble  our 
city,"  &c.  This  ancient  "  medium,''  it  will  be  observed,  was 
not  only  a  "  damsel"  like  most  of  our  rapping  mediums,  but 
she  also  had  "  masters,"  or  keepers,  who  made  "  much  gain  by 
her  soothsaying,"  and  were  specially  indignant  "  when  the 
hope  of  their  gain  was  gone."  And  have  we  not  a  perfect 
parallel  to  this  in  the  sensitiveness  of  certain  gentlemen  of  our 
own  time,  who  are  more  or  less  interested  in  the  "  gains"  re- 
ceived by  certain  mediums  ?  And  have  we  not  here  the  rea- 
son why  it  is  so  difficult  for  them  to  keep  their  seats  in  public 
assemblies,  while  the  delusion  is  being  exposed  ?  To  be  sure 
they  never  refer  to  the  pecuniary  interest  they  have  in  keeping 
up  the  deception,  but  simply  exclaim,  "  These  men,  being 
Jews,  do  exceedingly  trouble  our  city  ;"  but  so  long  as  the 
sale  of  their  books  and  papers,  in  which  they  have  invested 
money,  is  dependent  upon  the  perpetuity  of  the  delusion,  so 
long  they  must  be  expected  to  resist  exposure  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power.* 

These  passages  are  sufficient  to  show  that  witches,  necro- 
mancers, sorcerers,  and  soothsayers,  are  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures only  to  be  denounced ;  and  if  such  mention  of  impostors 
and  deceivers  amounts  to  an  indorsement  of  their  pretensions, 
then  a  law  prohibiting  the  sale  of  galvanized  watches  at  mock 
auctions  would  prove  that  such  auctioneers  are  honest  men, 
and  that  every  yellow  watch  they  sell  is  pure  gold.  We  have 
no  evidence  that  even  those  possessed  with  devils,  like  the 
"  medium"  mentioned  above,  had  any  knowledge  of  the  future 
by  that  means,  or  of  the  invisible  state. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  Bible  is  concerned,  it  is  scarcely  possible 
that  it  could  have  borne  a  more  decisive  and  terrible  testimony 
against  necromancy  and  all  similar  pretensions  than  it  has  done. 

*  So  extremely  sensitive  «re  our  self-styled  "  spiritualists,"  in  regard 
to  the  exposure  of  their  tricks,  that  in  almost  every  instance,  where  the 
writer  has  lectured  upon  the  subject,  he  has  been  interrupted  more  or 
less  during  his  lectures  by  medium-keepers,  or  ghost-book  publishers, 
or  both  together ;  and  in  one  instance  a  lady  "  medium"  lavished  hei 
"  spirit  -  u  -  ality"  quite  profusely  upon  the  devoted  head  of  the  lecturer 


APPARITIONS    OF    THE   BIBLE.  40 

And  even  on  the  supposition  that  the  ancient  diviners  really 
held  intercourse  with  devils  and  familiar  spirits,  it  is  enough 
for  any  Christian  to  know  that  "all  that  do  these  things 

ARE  AN  ABOMINATION  UNTO  THE  LORD." 


CHAPTER   YU. 

Apparitions  of  the  Bible — Modern  ghosts — Who  see  them — Why  so  sel- 
dom seen — When  and  where — Ghosts  caught — Diiferent  kinds — General 
conclusion  respecting. 

Having  shown  in  the  preceding  chapters  that  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  depart  at  death,  not  to  return  till  the  general  resur- 
rection— that  the  "  ministering  spirits"  of  the  Bible  are  holy 
angels,  and  not  disembodied  human  spirits,  and  that  necro- 
mancers and  other  similar  characters  are  mentioned  in  the 
Bible  only  to  be  denounced,  I  shall  now  devote  a  few  pages  to 
the  question,  "  If  the  spirits  of  the  dead  do  not  have  access  to 
oar  loorld,  how  shall  we  account  for  the  various  apparitions  or 
ghosts  that  have  been  seen  in  all  ages  of  the  tuorld  ?" 

1.  In  regard  to  the  apparitions  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures, 
it  is  sufficient  to  restate  what  has  already  been  shown,  that 
most  of  them  were  apparitions  of  holy  angels,  who  minister  to 
those  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.  And  the  few  instances 
in  which  human  spirits  reappeared  after  death  are  recorded  as 
miracles,  and  go  to  show  that  non-intercourse  with  earth  is  the 
general  law  governing  all  human  spirits  after  death.  While, 
therefore,  we  admit  that  apparitions  have  in  a  few  cases  occur- 
red, as  also  resurrections  from  the  dead,  we  claim  that  they 
no  more  establish  general  intercourse  with  earth  as  the  law 
governing  departed  souls,  than  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and 
Lazarus  proves  that  the  resurrection  of  all  men  soon  after 
death,  is  a  law  of  nature.  We  ask  no  better  evidence,  there- 
fore, of  the  general  non-intercourse  of  departed  spirits  with  our 

5 


50  SPIRIT-RAFIING    UNVEILED. 

world,  than  the  few  miraculous  apparitions  of  the  spirits  of  the 
dead  recorded  in  the  Bible. 

2.  The  alleged  apparitions  of  modern  times  rest  upon  a  dif- 
ferent basis.  The  time  was  when  a  majority,  perhaps,  even  in 
this  country,  believed  more  or  less  in  ghosts,  and  "spooks," 
and  "goblins"  of  various  kinds;  but  happily  that  time  has 
long  since  passed  by ;  and  but  for  the  recent  efforts  to  revive 
the  ghostology  and  ghost  stories  of  the  past,  they  must  soon 
have  found  a  grave  together  in  a  common  oblivion. 

During  the  last  forty  years,  observation  and  experience  have 
taught  several  lessons  in  regard  to  apparitions  and  ghost-see- 
ing, that  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  in  the  discussion  of  this 
subject. 

(1.)  It  has  been  observed  that  the  number  of  ghosts  seen 
in  any  given  community,  depends  altogether  upon  the  charac- 
ter and  circumstances  of  that  community.  If  they  are  ignorant 
and  superstitious,  have  been  early  taught  to  believe  in  ghosts, 
and  are  terribly  afraid  of  them,  they  will  be  very  likely  to  see 
them.  Hence  it  is  that  some  people  are  always  seeing 
"spooks,"  while  others,  equally  sharp-sighted,  never  see  any. 
And  hence  it  is  that  we  now  so  seldom  hear  of  an  "  appari- 
tion," when  fifty  years  ago  every  tenth  person  you  met  had 
seen  one  or  more  ghosts  during  his  life.  Until  recently  ghosts 
and  ghost  stories  had  become  quite  obsolete.  And  why  ? 
Had  the  ghosts  really  withdrawn  from  our  mortal  shores  ?  or 
were  the  people  less  favored  with  "second  sight?"  Or  have 
the  Pulpit,  the  Press,  and  the  Schools  of  our  country  banished 
the  ghosts  from  the  imaginations  of  the  people  ? 

That  the  latter  is  the  true  cause  of  the  scarcity  of  appari- 
tions for  the  last  twenty  years,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  in 
many  rural  districts  in  Europe,  where  not  one  of  ten  can  write 
his  name,  ghosts  are  far  more  plenty  now  than  they  ever  were 
in  this  country.  This  shows  an  intimate  connection  between 
common  schools  and  ghost-seeing. 

(2.)  It  has  been  observed,  in  regard  to  ghosts,  that  they  are 
generally  seen,  not  only  by  those  who  believe  in  and  fear  them, 
but  just  about  when  and  where  they  expect  to  see  them.     And 


DIFFERENT    KINDS    OF    GHCSTS.  51 

what  is  very  strange,  though  regarded  as  ethereal  and  shadowy 
beino-s,  and  of  course  difficult  to  be  seen  under  the  most  favor- 
able  circumstances,  they  always  select  the  night-time  for  their 
apparitions,  when  human  vision  is  necessarily  most  imperfect. 
The  first  instance  is  yet  to  be  recorded  in  which  a  modern  ghost 
has  been  seen  in  the  day-time ;  and  they  even  fly  before  a  lamp 
or  taper  of  any  kind,  as  if  their  very  breath  was  darkness. 

(3.)  When  ghosts  are  overtaken  and  caught  (as  they  fre- 
quently have  been),  they  are  always  found  to  possess  physical 
qualities,  like  other  mundane  substances.  A  roguish  student, 
with  a  sheet  wrapped  around  him  ;  a  goat,  carried  into  the  col- 
lege belfry  and  tied  to  the  bell-clapper ;  a  bush  or  stump,  near 
a  grave-yard,  or  in  some  deep  and  dark  glen;  a  loose  shingle, 
flapping  upon  the  roof;  the  limb  of  an  old  tree,  chafing  against 
the  clapboards,  or  a  screech-owl  in  the  garret.  Any  of  these 
will  answer  for  a  ghost,  provided  they  have  an  "  impressible" 
subject  to  work  upon.  Indeed,  many  of  us  have  been  ghosts 
ourselves  to  others  ;  some  purposely,  and  others  without  know- 
ing it  at  the  time;  and  in  several  instances  human  life  has  been 
sacrificed,  when  the  persons  committing  the  homicide  supposed 
they  were  firing  at  ghosts. 

From  all  these  circumstances,  it  is  a  legitimate  conclusion 
that  all  modern  ghosts  are  mere  creatures  of  the  imagination, 
like  the  "griffs"  and  "elfs"  of  other  countries  ;  or,  at  least,  that 
they  are  nothing  but  mundane  objects,  transformed  into  "  ap- 
paritions" by  superstitious  fears.  From  the  clear  and  unequiv- 
ocal testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  in  regard  to  the  circumstances 
of  human  souls  during  the  intermediate  state ;  as  well  as  from 
the  known  influence  of  fear  and  superstition  in  creating  ghosts, 
or  in  transforming  earthly  objects  into  them,  and  the  influences 
of  education  and  religion  in  banishing  them  from  the  land ;  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  first  immortal  human  being  has  mani- 
fested himself  to  man  in  any  way,  either  visibly  or  audibly, 
since  the  apocalyptic  vision  upon  the  isle  of  Patmos.  If  anv 
think  they  have,  they  must  either  admit  all  the  ghost-stories  U 
be  true,  and  call  many  things  spirits  that  we  know  to  be  ma- 
terial and  earthly,  or  else  winnow  out  the  genuine  from  the 


52  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

spurious,  as  the  necromancers  are  now  trying  to  do  with  their 
"spirit  messages. " 

We  have  no  disposition  to  treat  this  subject  irreverently,  or 
to  trifle  with  the  honest  convictions  of  the  reader,  should  he 
dissent  from  the  views  here  presented  ;  but  with  the  above  in- 
disputable facts  before  us,  corroborative  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  are  we  not  fully  borne  out  in  saying  that  the 
notion  that  human  souls  "  appear  to"  mortals  on  earth  has  no 
support  whatever  from  observation  or  experience ;  and  as  it  is 
not  a  doctrine  of  revelation,  but  directly  opposed  to  the  obvious 
teaching  of  the  Bible  in  regard  to  the  dead,  it  should  be  re- 
jected,  as  having  no  foundation  in  fact  ?  It  is  vain,  therefore,  to 
appeal  to  the  obsolete  superstitions  of  the  people,  to  support 
the  pretensions  of  modern  necromancy.     . 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Recent  "Spirit  Communications" — Various  Modes  of  Communication- 
Rapping  Process — Card  Process — Writing  Media — Hand  used  by  a  Spirit 
— Spiritual  Atmosphere  Process — Spirit  Occupation  Process — Spiritual 
Impression  Process — Spirit  Phonography — Independent  Spirit  Writing 
— Speaking  Media — A  Spirit  Lecture — Several  Spirits  in  one  Body — 
Trance — Pointing  Media — Dancing  Media. 

Having  now  considered  the  several  preliminary  questions 
that  stand  connected  with  the  subject  of  modern  necromancy — 
what  may  be  regarded  as  the  a  priori  argument — and  having 
seen  that,  from  all  that  we  can  learn  of  the  condition  of  the 
dead,  there  is  not  the  least  probability  that  they  do  or  can 
communicate  with  the  living  of  earth  ;  we  shall  in  the  present 
chapter  take  up  the  subject  of  mediumship,  and  the  various 
methods  by  which  it  is  said  the  "  spirits"  communicate  with 
our  world. 

A  cardinal  principle  in  the  "new  philosophy"  is,  that  a  small 
portion  of  our  race  have  such  an  amount  of  "  electricity"  in 
their  composition  that  the  "spirits"  can  us?  them  as  "me- 


RAPPING    MEDIA.  53 

diums;"  while  others,  and  by  far  the  largvi  portion,  are  desti- 
tute of  this  electricity,  and  are  consequently  non-conductors  of 
spirit-messages.  Of  the  philosophy  of  this  theory  we  shall 
speak  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  as  we  wish  to  confine  our 
present  inquiries  to  the  various  kinds  of  media,  and  the  various 
methods  employed  by  the  "spirits"  in  communicating  with  our 
world. 

RAPPING     MEDIA. 

The  "  rapping  process"  is  in  some  respects  the  most  import- 
ant of  all.  It  was  by  mere  "  raps,"  heard  in  "  the  Fox  family," 
that  this  "new  era"  of  ghosts  was  introduced.  But  it  was  not 
long  before  the  spirits  "called  for  the  alphabet."  By  what 
rap  or  raps  they  signified  "alphabet"  to  the  young  misses,  we 
know  not.  Indeed,  it  would  be  very  difficult  for  a  dumb  man, 
or  one  who  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  to  make  known 
by  sounds  a  wish  to  have  the  alphabet  called  over.  His  only 
mode  would  be  to  get  a  spelling-book,  and  point  to  the  letters. 
But  these  very  tractable  "  Foxes"  could  tell  at  once,  by  mere 
raps,  that  the  spirits  wanted  the  alphabet  called  over.  And  the 
same  intuition  enabled  them  to  understand  that,  with  the  spirits, 
one  rap  meant  no,  and  three  raps  yes.* 

To  arrange  for  the  rappings,  the  following  conditions  must 
be  observed : 

1.  There  should  be  twelve  persons  in  the  circle: 

"As  there  are  twelve  elements  and  attributes  in  every  human  soul, 
abstractly  considered,  so  should  there  be  twelve  persons  constituting 
a  circle ;  the  twelve  consisting  of  six  males  and  six  females." — Spirit 
of  J.  R.  Fulmcr— Telegraph,  JSro.  26. 

2.  One  of  the  circle,  at  least,  must  be  a  "  medium." 

"In  order  to  have  spiritual  manifestations,  it  is  necessary  that  a 
medium  be  present." — Phil.  Hist,  p.  11. 

"Though  the  presence  of  a  medium  is  necessary  for  the  production 


*  When  the  spirits  went  to  Philadelphia,  "arrangement  was  made 
with  them  that  one  rap  should  signify  no,  three  yes,  and  two  a  medium 
between  yes  and  no." — History  of  Recent  Development,  &c,  in  Philadel- 
phia, by  "a  member  of  the  first  circle"  p.  22. 

5* 


^  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UN VEILED. 

of  the  sounds,  lie  or  she  cannot  control  them.  Sounds  cannot  always 
be  produced  in.  the  presence  of  a  medium;  there  are  other  conditions 
required.  But  all  the  other  conditions  may  be  as  favorable  as  possible, 
yet  the  sounds  cannot  be  produced  without  a  medium." — Ibid.,  18. 

3.  We  are  told  that  "  positive  and  negative  persons  must  be 
placed  alternately  in  arranging  the  circle."* 

"There  is  a  peculiar  electrical  condition  that  is  necessary  for  the 
production  of  sounds  or  raps." — Phil  Hist.,  p.  11. 

"It  is  essential  that  circles  be  always  organized  upon  positive  and 
negative  principles.  *  *  *  Let  the  person  whose  electrical  tempera- 
ment is  usually  indicated  by  cold  hands,  and  who  possesses  a  mild  and 
loving  disposition,  take  his  or  her  place  on  the  immediate  right  of  the 
medium  or  clairvoyant,  upon  whose  immediate  left  should  be  seated 
one  of  a  magnetic  or  warm  physical  temperament,  being  a  positive  and 
intellectual  individual,"  <fcc. — Tel.,  Xo.  26. 

4.  To  succeed  well  in  getting  raps,  &c,  the  room  in  which 
the  circle  are  in  session  should  be  made  dark.  "  Put  out  the 
lights." 

"I  am  impressed  to  further  direct  that  the  rooms  where  the  circles 
meet  should,  as  much  as  possible,  be  retired  from  noise  and  interrup- 
tion ;  that  they  should  also  be  darkened,  so  that  the  persons  present, 
not  having  their  minds  attracted  and  diverted  by  external  things,  may 
the  more  easily  concentrate  their  thoughts  upon  the  object  for  which 
they  have  met  together." — Spirit  of  J.  R.  Fulmer — Tel.  26. 

5.  There  is  an  intimate  connection,  it  seems,  between  the 
character  and  "  condition"  of  the  "  medium,"  and  the  character 
of  the  communications : 

"The  character  of  the  communications  depends  very  much  on  the 
condition  of  the  medium.     A  high  order  of  communication  cannot  be 

*  It  is  impossible  for  two  persons  to  be  one  positive,  and  the  other 
negative,  unless  they  are  separated  by  a  non-conductor.  As  positive 
means  simply  having  more  electricity,  and  negative  less,  and  bodies  are 
positive  and  negative  in  reference  to  each  other  relatively ;  and  inas- 
much, also,  as  electrical  equilibrium  is  produced  the  instant  the  two 
bodies  of  different  electrical  states  are  connected  by  any  conducting 
substance,  it  follows  that  two  persons  standing  upon  a  floor,  or  the 
earth,  or  any  thing  but  glass,  cannot  be  the  one  positive,  and  the  other 
negative.  However,  such  philosophy  will  do  to  help  keep  up  appear- 
ances, and  cover  the  deception  and  trickery  of  the  spirit-rappers. 


SPIRIT-RAPPING.  55 

obtained  through,  or  in  the  presence  of  a  low  medium  ;  neither  can 
low  communications  be  received  in  the  presence  of  a  high  medium.  It 
is  the  physical  condition  of  the  medium  that  favors  the  production  of 
sounds  or  raps;  but  it  is  the  intellectual  and  moral  conditions  that 
give  character  to  the  intelligence  connected  with  the  sounds,  mani- 
festations, or  communications." — Phil.  Hist.,  p.  11. 

6.  The  "  medium"  must  give  herself  entirely  up  to  the  con- 
trol of  the  spirits ;  that  is,  abandon  herself  to  her  imagination, 
if  not  to  any  thing  else  that  may  occur.  This  "giving  up 
wholly  to  the  control  of  the  spirits,"  is  so  universally  insisted 
upon  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  cite  authorities. 

"In  order  to  prepare  a  medium,  the  person  must  give  up  all  self- 
control,  all  resistance,  and  resign  him  or  herself  to  the  entire  direction 
and  control  of  the  spirits.  Sometimes  the  process  of  preparation  or 
development  is  easy  and  quick,  at  other  times  it  is  protracted  and  diffi- 
cult ;  but  it  is  always  rendered  more  easy  and  quicker  of  accomplish- 
ment, by  perfect  resignation  and  entire  non-resistance." — Phil.  Hist., 
p.  11. 

7.  It  is  quite  important  that  no  "  materialists"  or  "  skeptics" 
be  present.  "None  but  the  candid,  honest,  truth-seeking  in- 
quirers should  be  admitted."  "The  captious  and  sneering 
should  be  excluded"  (Phil.  Hist.,  p.  28) ;  that  is,  let  no  person 
be  admitted  who  has  any  doubts,  or  who  will  be  likely  to  detect 
and  expose  the  deception.  This  is  probably  the  most  important 
"  condition"  of  all.* 

8.  Although  we  believe  it  is  not  always  regarded,  yet  the 
direction  of  the  "  spirits"  is,  that  in  all  cases  the  "  medium" 
should  repeat  the  alphabet. 

"Always  let  the  medium  repeat  the  alphabet." — Spirits  to  circle  in 
Phil.  Hist.,  p.  26. 

Every  thing  being  arranged,  the  "  circle"  take  their  seats  at 
the  table,  darken  the  room,  and  in  due  time  the  "rappings" 
begin. 

*  What  a  beautiful  "philosophy"  this  is,  and  how  congenial  with  the 
views  and  practices  of  a  certain  class.  It  not  only  mingles  males 
and  females,  "positives  and  negatives,"  in  the  same  circle;  but  excludes 
the  "skeptics," inculcates  "entire  non-resistance," and  then  puts  out  the 
lights. 


56 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


A    CIRCLE    OF    SPIRIT- RAPPERS    IN    SESSION. 


life 


m  M  I 


In  the  cut,  the  lady  "medium"  sits  on  the  right,  with  her 
"  secretary"  behind  her  in  the  background.  The  members  of 
the  circle  look  (as  they  should)  very  "impressible;"  and  quite 
"negative,"  both  as  to  "electricity"  and  common  sense.  And 
the  gentleman  who  has  just  paid  his  admission- fee,  and  is  about 
to  enter  the  circle,  is  obviously  sufficiently  "  honest"  and  "truth- 
seeking"  for  all  practical  purposes. 

The  raps  being  heard,  the  medium  inquires  if  the  spirit  of 
such  a  one  is  present.     Rap,  rap,  rap,  (yes).     "  Will  the  spirit 

of communicate  with  us  ?"     Rap,  rap,  rap.     " Shall 

we  call  over  the  alphabet?"  Rap,  rap,  rap.  The  medium 
then  begins,  "a,  b,  c,  d,"  <fcc,  till  she  comes  to  the  first  letter 
of  the  first  word  wanted  by  the  spirit,  when  a  "rap"  is  heard, 
and  that  first  letter  is  recorded  by  the  "secretary."  The  me- 
dium then  goes  back  to  "a"  again,  and  proceeds  down  the  list 
till  she  comes  to  the  next  letter  wanted,  when  another  rap  is 
heard,  and  this  second  letter  is  recorded  ;  and  so  on,  letter  after 
letter,  and  word  after  word,  till  the  whole  communication  is 
obtained. 


SPIRIT   TELEGRAPHING.  57 

"A  member  of  the  first  circle"  in  Philadelphia,  describes  this 
process  as  follows  : 

"  The  first  mode  is  performed  by  having  the  alphabet  repeated  by 
some  person  (the  medium  is  preferred) ;  this  should  be  done  slowly  and 
distinctly,  with  a  pause  between  each  letter ;  and  when  the  letter  is 
arrived  at  which  the  spirit  communicating  desires,  there  will  be  heard 
a  rap,  more  or  less  distinctly,  the  .letter  responded  to ;  it  must  be  set 
down,  and  the  alphabet  again  commenced  and  repeated,  and  in  like 
manner  will  the  desired  letter  be  responded  to.  This  process  is  re- 
peated again  and  again,  until  words  are  formed,  and  from  these  senten- 
ces are  constructed.  The  sentence  when  finished  will  usually  conclude 
with  the  word  'done.'  These  sentences  will  give  what  the  spirit 
wishes  to  communicate.  This  mode  of  communication  is  very  slow,  te- 
dious, imperfect,"  (fee. — History,  p.  47. 

To  ascertain  precisely  how  "  slow"  and  "  tedious"  this  method 
of  spirit  telegraphing  is,  the  following  plan  was  adopted :  The 
writer  requested  a  friend  (Rev.  Mr.  Ayars,  of  the  New  Jersey 
Conference)  to  act  as  "■  medium"  in  calling  over  the  alphabet, 
while  he  (the  writer)  acted  the  part  of  the  "  spirits"  by  rap- 
ping at  the  letter  desired ;  and  the  following  was  first  written 
out  and  then  communicated  from  the  writer  to  Mr.  Ayars  by 
spirit-rapping : 

"My  Dear  Friends:  I  am  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  com- 
municating with  you."  Mr.  Avars  began,  "  a — b — c — d — e- — 
f — g — h — i — j — \ — i — m"  (rap).  Again:  "a — b — c — d — e 
— f — g  — h — i — j — k — 1 — m — n —  o — p — q — r — s —  t — u — v 
w — x — y"  (rap).  We  had  then  the  word  "My;"  and  in  this 
way  we  proceeded  through  the  sentence. 

Now  this  short  sentence,  of  only  thirteen  words,  or  fifty-six 
letters,  took  us  full  fifteen  minutes  to  get  it  rapped  out,  even 
with  the  message  written  out  beforehand,  so  that  the  "  spirit" 
could  see  the  letter  desired,  and  rap  as  soon  as  it  was  named. 
And  there  was  scarcely  any  "  pause  between  each  letter,"  as 
the  rappers  say  there  should  be,  and  as  is  very  necessary  in 
order  that  the  "  rap"  may  be  made  at  the  right  letter ;  so  that 
it  was  got  through  faster  than  ordinary  spirit  messages  can  be 
telegraphed  by  rapping.  But  even  this  rapid  process  gives  us 
only  240  letters  per  hour.     If  any  man  thinks  he  can  rap  out 

3* 


58  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED 

messages  letter  by  letter  at  a  faster  rate,  let  him  try  the  ex- 
periment,  and  he  will  be  convinced  of  his  mistake. 

Now  let  us  apply  this  fact  to  the  communications  that  it  is 
said  have  been  rapped  out  by  the  spirit?  on  various  occasions, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  instead  of  being  given  at  a  "  sitting/' 
as  they  profess  to  have  been,  many  of  them  must  have  required 
from  five  to  thirty  hours !  They  must,  therefore,  have  been 
obtained  or  composed  in  some  other  way  than  by  being  rapped 
out  letter  by  letter,  as  the  rappers  pretend. 

Another  fact  worthy  of  note,  is,  that  the  rapping  media, 
have  up  to  this  time  been,  and  still  are,  nearly  all  ladies.  A 
gentleman  "  rapping  medium"  has  seldom,  if  ever  been  heard 
of.  No  Mr.  "Foxes,"  or  Mr.  "Fishes,"  but  in  all  cases  ladies. 
Why  is  this  ?  Have  the  spirits  a  stronger  "  electrical  affinity" 
for  ladies  than  for  gentlemen  ?  Or  is  it  because  ladies  would, 
for  certain  reasons,  be  less  liable  to  detection  and  exposure? 
Whether  the  "  spirits"  think  of  it  or  not,  we  mortals  know  that 
their  sex  and  costume  is  a  fine  security  against  detection.  And 
may  not  this  be  the  reason  why  most  of  the  raps  are  made 
through  lady  mediums  ? 

It  is  also  somewhat  remarkable  that  all  the  "  spirits,"  He- 
brew, Greek,  Roman,  French,  German,  and  Irish,  rap  in  Eng- 
lish. The  second  number  of  the  Mountain  Cove  Journal  con- 
tains a  message  said  to  have  been  received  August  5th,  1852, 
from  the  spirit  of  the  man  healed  by  Peter  and  John,  Acts  iii. 
1-9  ;  and  yet,  though  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  this 
"  spirit"  never  heard  a  word  of  English  in  all  his  life,  he  now 
raps  out  his  thoughts  in  English.  In  a  few  instances  only 
have  the  spirits  intimated  that  they  understood  other  languages 
than  that  of  the  mediums  On  one  occasion  a  spirit  gave  a 
message  in  Hebrew,  by  raps,  Prof.  Bush  calling  over  the  al- 
phabet (which  message  for  some  cause  was  carefully  sup- 
pressed), and  in  another  case,  where  a  departed  "spirit"  in 
New  York  had  made  four  grand  mistakes,  in  regard  to  his  age, 
when  he  died,  and  the  time,  place,  and  circumstances  of  his 
death,  the  lady  medium  said  the  error  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  spirit  responding  to  the  inquiries  was  the  spirit  of  an  In- 


THE    QARD    PROCESS.  59 

dian,  who  did  not  understand  the  English  language  !  But 
with  a  few  exceptions  the  spirits  all  rap  in  English — a  very- 
significant  circumstance  in  regard  to  the  real  origin  of  the  "  in- 
telligence."* 

Now  admitting  that  we  know  not  the  origin  of  the  sounds, 
any  further  than  it  is  indicated  by  circumstances,  we  have 
enough  already  before  us  to  show  beyond  a  doubt,  that  they 
originate  in  the  medium  herself.  There  must  be  one  medium, 
i.  e.,  one  person  who  knows  how  to  rap,  and  has  no  conscien- 
tious scruples  upon  the  subject.  She  must  be  a  lady,  to  pre- 
vent scrutiny  and  detection.  The  room  must  be  darkened  and 
"skeptics"  excluded  for  the  same  reason.  The  alphabet  must 
be  called  over  by  the  medium,  because  she  knows  what  she 
wishes  to  "  communicate,"  and  when  she  names  the  letter  she 
wants,  can  the  more  easily  rap  at  the  right  letter.  And  the 
"  spirits"  know  no  language  except  that  of  the  medium,  and 
the  "messages"  are  just  as  sensible  as  the  medium  is,  and  no 
more  so.  A  high  order  of  communications  cannot  be  obtained 
through  a  low  (i.  e.,  an  ignorant)  medium ;  and  to  this  we  may 
add  the  fact,  which  any  one  can  demonstrate  for  himself,  that 
many  of  the  communications  are  of  such  a  length  that  they 
could  not  have  been  rapped  out  letter  by  letter,  in  the  time 
specified.  It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  many  of  them,  at  least, 
were  written  by  the  media  at  their  leisure,  without  even  a 
"  rap"  from  any  spirit  embodied  or  ^embodied. 

THE     CARD     PROCESS. 

The  demand  for  "  communications"  being  good,  and  the  let- 
ter-rapping process  being  "  very  slow,  tedious,  and  imperfect," 

*  A  Dutchman,  consulting  the  rappers,  and  discovering  the  sudden 
change  of  his  wife's  vernacular,  reasoned  on  this  wise:  "Ish  dat  you, 
Mrs.  Hauntz?"  inquired  the  Dutchman.  "Yes,  dearest,  it  is  your  own 
wife,  who — "  "  You  lie,  you  ghost,"  interrupted  Hauntz,  starting  from 
his  seat,  "  mine  vrow  speak  notting  but  Dutch,  and  she  never  said  tear- 
est  in  her  life.  It  was  always,  'Hauntz,  you  thief!"  or  'Hauntz,  you 
shkampP  "  And  the  Dutchman  hobbled  from  the  room,  well  satisfied 
that  the  "rapping  spirits"  were  all  humbug,  and  that  he  was  safe  from 
any  further  communications  with  his  shrewish  vrow  on  this  earth. 


60  SriKIT-KAPPING    UNVEILED. 

another  method  has  been  adopted  by  which  the  "raps"  are 
dispensed  with.  A  card  having  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
printed  upon  it  is  placed  before  the  medium,  and  the  spirits 
take  her  hand  and  point  out  the  letters  wanted. 

"This  process  consists  in  the  medium  taking  the  card,  when  a  com- 
munication is  desired,  and  commencing  by  voluntarily  passing  the 
hand  over  it,  touching  every  letter  with  the  forefinger.  Often  the 
hand  will  be  required  to  pass  over  it  repeatedly,  before  any  unnatural 
sensation  is  experienced ;  when  a  feeling  of  numbness  will  begin  to  be 
perceived,  which  will  increase,  attended  by  a  more  or  less  convulsive 
motion;  as  the  hand  continues  its  exercises,  the  movement  becomes 
altogether  involuntary;  the  motion  now  becomes  increased,  and  the 
hand  is  made  to  pass  over  the  card  with  almost  incredible  rapidity, 
attended  with  convulsive  jerkings  more  or  less  severe.  Sometimes  it 
is  very  great,  causing  the  hand  to  strike  the  card  or  the  table  upon 
which  it  lay,  with  great  violence.  This  is  continued  for  some  time, 
when  the  finger  will  be  observed  to  rest  on  a  certain  letter,  attended 
with  a  shoving  or  rubbing  motion :  instantly  it  will  be  seen  to  fly  to 
another,  and  then  another.  These  letters  taken  down  will  be  found  to 
make  words,  and  these  words  placed  together  make  sentences.  In 
this  way  long  and  highly  interesting  communications  are  spelled  out 
with  a  rapidity  requiring  a  very  expert  penman  to  write  them  down 
as  fast  as  they  are  given.  The  medium,  or  any  other  person,  watches 
the  finger,  and  gives  out  the  words  as  they  are  formed.  The  violence 
with  which  the  hand  is  used  becomes  abated  as  the  medium  becomes 
more  fully  developed,  and  better  control  is  got  of  its  movements.  At 
length  no  inconvenience  is  experienced,  and  words  are  spelled  out  with 
the  utmost  ease  and  comfort.  This  is  a  much  more  perfect  mode  of 
communication  than  the  former,  and  is  altogether  more  preferable. 
In  this  manner  spirits  are  able  to  converse  through  mediums,  long  be- 
fore they  can  make  the  sounds.  Thus  important  information  is  com- 
municated to  circles,  and  encouragement  given  to  them  for  weeks  be- 
fore responses  are  heard." — Phil.  Hist,  p.  11-2. 

Upon  this  method,  the  following  questions  naturally  arise : 

1.  Why  can  the  media  least  developed  use  the  card  before 
they  can  make  the  raps  ?  Is  it  because  it  requires  more  prac- 
tice to  rap  well  than  it  does  to  spell  words  by  pointing  out  the 
necessary  letters  ? 

2.  If  "spirits"  can  communicate  by  the  card  before  the 
niedium  can  make  the  raps,  and  the  card  process  is  so  much 
better,  why  did  npt  the  spirits  call  for  the  card  in  the  first 


VARIOUS    WRITING    MEDIA.  61 

place?     Why  adopt  the  slow  and  more  difficult  process  of 
rapping  ? 

3.  Who  invented  this  "  card  process  ?"  The  first  we  hear 
of  it  is  in  the  Philadelphia  History.  Did  the  "  spirits"  call  for 
the  card,  as  they  originally  called  for  the  alphabet  ? 

4.  What  proof  have  we,  beyond  the  bare  word  of  the  me- 
dium, that  she  does  not  select  the  letters,  and  move  her  hand 
to  them  herself?  Can  the  " spirits"  select  the  letters  just  as 
well  if  she  is  blindfolded,  or  looks  another  way  ?  If  not,  then 
the  selection  of  the  letters  and  movement  of  the  hand  are 
obviously  the  work  of  the  medium,  and  not  of  any  foreign 
agency."* 

5.  This  "card  process"  was  in  full  vogue  in  Philadelphia  in 
April,  1851  (see  History,  pp.  37-39,  &c),  and  yet,  when  the 
"spirits  of  the  sixth  circle"  write  their  lecture  on  the  "Modes 
of  Spiritual  Intercourse"  by  the  hand  of  Mr.  Ambler,  March 
10-13,  1852,  they  say  nothing  about  this  "card"  process. 
(See  Ambler's  "  Teacher,"  pp.  6  and  137.)  Now,  why  is  this  ? 
Were  the  "  spirits"  in  Springfield  ignorant  of  what  had  been 
done  by  the  spirits  in  Philadelphia?  And  if  so,  were  they 
prepared  to  write  intelligently  upon  the  "  modes  of  spiritual 
intercourse?" 

WRITING     MEDIA. 

From  the  pointing  out  of  letters  printed  on  a  card,  the 
transition  to  writing  with  the  hand  of  the  medium  is  very 
natural  and  easy.  And  as  communications  were  eagerly  sought 
for  by  a  certain  class,  and  the  idea  of  spirit-books  had  occurred 
to  the  media,  a  class  of  "  writing  media"  were  soon  "  devel- 
oped."    The  philosophy  of  this  process  is,  that  the  "spirits" 

*  The  author  has  offered  a  premium  of  $500,  and  hereby  repeats  the 
offer,  to  any  card  medium  who  will  publicly  spell  out  an  intelligent 
communication  blindfold,  the  writer  being  allowed  to  procure  the  card, 
and  place  it  before  the  medium  after  she  is  blinded.  This  would  prove 
conclusively  that  the  hand  was  moved  by  a  will  and  intelligence  foreign 
to  that  of  the  medium.  Will  Mr.  Brittan,  A.  J.  Davis,  or  some  of  the 
Philadelphia  gentlemen,  attempt  to  make  good  their  pretensions,  by 
submitting  to  this  test  experiment? 


C2 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

A    WRITING    MEDIUM DIRECT   PROCESS. 


fr&KR- 


take  the  hand  and  arm  of  the  medium,  paralyze  it  so  that  the 
medium  shall  have  no  control  over  it,  and  then  write  with  it,  as 
if  it  were  their  own.  The  "  spirits"  do  not  agree  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  hand  of  the  medium  is  controlled.  Some 
say  the  spirits  take  hold  of  the  medium's  hand  and  write  with 
it.  They  can  feel  the  "  spirit's"  hand,  and  sometimes  see  it 
holding  theirs.  This,  therefore,  we  denominate  the-  direct  pro- 
cess. 

In  all  instances,  the  writing  media  claim  to  have  no  agency 
whatever  in  the  production  of  the  writing,  more  than  to  lend 
their  arm  and  hand  to  the  spirit. 

"In  regard  to  the  merits- of  the  production,  it  must  speak  for  itself; 
for,  whatever  merit  or  demerit  it  may  possess,  I  am  worthy  of  neither 
praise  nor  censure.  Astounding  as  may  be  the  assertion,  that  I  had 
no  will  to  write  it,  or  exercised  any  other  control  than  to  let  my 
hand  be  moved  by  an  invisible  influence,  and  write  as  it  would  without 
any  volition  on  my  part,  yet  it  is,  nevertheless,  true.  *  *  *  Indeed, 
I  have  found,  by  actual  experiment,  that,  in  a  great  many  instances,  the 
spirit  who  controls  my  hand  has  succeeded  in  writing  sentences  con- 
trary to  my  will,  and  while  I  w^as  endeavoring  with  all  my  volition  to 
write  something  else." — Hammond's  Pilgrimage,  p.  7, 


" spirits"  alone  responsible.  63 

"  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  that  the  medium  through  whom  this 
account  was  written  was  a  young  lady  of  sixteen,  member  of  a  refined 
and  highly  cultivated  family,  conscientious  in  the  highest  degree,  and 
therefore  above  deception.  But  this  was  impossible,  had  it  been  in- 
tended. The  medium's  arm  was  moved  entirely  independent  of,  if  not 
against  her  will,  and  made  to  write  without  her  even  seeing  the  page, 
or  having  any  means  of  knowing  what  had  been  written." — Warren's 
Supernal  Theology. 

"This  work  has  been  written  without  the  necessity  of  thought  on 
the  part  of  the  medium,  and  with  the  use  of  his  hand  independent  of 
the  action  of  his  own  will." — "Spirits  of  the  Sixth  Circle"  in  "Elements 
of  Spiritual  Philosophy"  p.  3. 

"For  several  months  prior  to  February,  1852,  my  hand  was  fre- 
quently used,  by  some  power  and  intelligence  entirely  foreign  to  my 
own,  to  write  upon  subjects  of  which  I  was  uninformed,  and  in  which 
I  felt  little  or  no  interest.  The  sentiments  conveyed  were  entirely  ad- 
verse to  my  most  cherished  views,"  <fcc.  "The  subjects  treated  of  were 
not  chosen  by  me,  and  the  sentiments  expressed  were  entirely  opposite 
to  my  own ;  consequently,  I  held  myself  committed  to  no  sentiment 
contained  in  them,  for  reason  of  the  use  that  has  been  made  of  me  to 
write  it." — Boynton's  "Spirit  Unfoldings"  p.  1. 

"I  found  my  pen  moved  by  some  power  beyond  my  own,  either 
physical  or  mental,  and  believing  it  to  be  the  spirits,"  <fec.  [Post's 
Voices  from  the  Spirit  World,  p.  7.)  "It  depends  upon  the  knowledge 
or  wishes  of  the  communicator  what  writings  are  given."  (Ibid.,  p.  12.) 
"  You  only  endeavor  to  keep  your  mind  from  acting." — Spirit  of  Geo. 
Washington  to  Mr.  Post — Ibid.,  p.  33. 

The  above  quotations  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  "  spir- 
its" are  alone  responsible  for  the  writing  ;  chirography,  orthog- 
raphy, and  all — a  point  that  will  be  of  some  importance  when 
we  come  to  examine  their  communications.  The  media  were 
obliged  to  disclaim  all  agency  in  the  getting  up  of  the  books, 
beyond  the  mere  lending  of  a  paralyzed  hand,  otherwise  they 
would  make  little  stir  as  "spirit  revelations,"  "voices,"  "un- 
foldings," "messages,"  &c,  and  consequently  would  have  but 
a  limited  sale.  The  idea  of  supernatural  authorship  must  sell 
the  books.     But  a  word  further  respecting  this  process. 

1.  How  is  it  that  the  "spirits"  have  suddenly  forsaken  lady 
rappers,  and  betaken  themselves  to  gentlemen  writers  ?  Of  all 
the  ghost-books  hitherto  produced  (and  they  are  not  a  few), 
not  the  first  one  has  been  written  by  the  hand  of  a  lady.    Why 


64  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

is  this  ?  Is  it  because  gentlemen  did  not  make  good  rappers 
on  account  of  their  liability  to  detection,  while  having  less  con- 
science and  more  capital  they  would  make  better  authors  and 
publishers  of  "spirit  revelations  ?" 

2.  If  the  media  have  no  agency  in  the  production  of  the 
messages  more  than  to  lend  their  hands  to  the  spirits,  they  can 
of  course  look  away  from  the  desk,  converse,  or  read  aloud 
from  a  book,  while  the  "  spirit"  is  using  their  hands.  Hence 
the  representation  in  the  cut.  But  will  the  gentlemen  writing 
media  consent  to  have  their  pretensions  tried  by  this  test  ?  No 
indeed.  We  have  tried  over  and  over  again,  both  in  public 
and  in  private,  to  induce  some  writing  medium  to  attempt  to 
show  that  he  does  not  concoct  and  write  out  his  messages  him- 
self,  by  writing  something  when  his  mind  is  obviously  engaged 
upon  something  else  ;  but"  as  yet  no  such  attempt  has  been 
made.  The  offer  of  $500  for  a  successful  "message"  written 
under  these  circumstances,  made  at  the  Tabernacle  in  January, 
1853,  and  repeated  in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere,  has  not  yet 
been  accepted,  and  never  will  be.  The  mediums  know  too 
well  that  their  spirit  "  communications"  emanate  from  their 
own  brains,  and  that  if  they  are  not  allowed  to  give  their 
thoughts  and  attention  to  the  writing,  they  cannot  write. 

This  method  of  medium-writing  has  been  employed  in  but 
one  instance,  so  far  as  we  know,  viz.,  that  of  Mr.  Ambler,  the 
youthful  "  seer"  of  New  York.  This  gentleman  tells  us  that 
the  "  spirits"  sent  down  a  current  of  electricity,  or  "  spiritual 
substance"  from  the  clouds,  "  about  two  miles  distant,"  and  by 
this  means  controlled  his  hand,  as  represented  in  the  cut.  He, 
of  course,  has  no  thought  or  responsibility  in  the  matter,  and 
is  consequently  represented  as  taking  a  nap  in  his  chair  while 
the  spirits  are  writing  with  his  hand.     (See  opposite  page.) 

The  following  is  the  description  of  this  process,  as  given 
through  Mr.  Ambler,  by  "spirits  of  the  sixth  circle:" 

"The  spirit  who  was  best  adapted  to  this  purpose,  approached  the 
medium  whose  hand  and  arm  were  to  be  employed,  at  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles  from  the  earth  ;  then  he  breathes  out  the  spiritual  at- 
mosphere which  he  inhales  towards  the  individual  who  now  writes, 


MR.    AMBLER,    THE    "SEER55    OF    NEW   YORK.  65 


WRITING    MEDIUM ELECTRICAL    PROCESS. 


u.v^v?.  Sc. 


and  in  tins  manner  causes  a  complete  chain  of  spiritual  substance  to 
be  established  between  the  directing  spirit  and  the  system  of  the  me- 
dium, by  which  chain  a  perfect  connection  is  formed  from  one  to  the 
other,  so  that  the  hand  and  arm  are  moved  by  the  will  of  the  spirit, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  mind  of  the  medium  is  entirely  passive." — 
Spiritual  Teacher,  p.  77. 

In  further  describing  this  method  of  writing,  Mrs.  Ambler, 
and  other  "  witnesses' ;  of  the  miracle,  say  : 

"The  hand  and  arm  of  the  medium  were  suspended  during  the 
whole  time  of  writing,  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  rest  on  the  desk  or 
manuscript,  and  that  upheld  in  this  way,  the  pen  glided  rapidly  over 
the  paper  with  an  even  and  continuous  movement,  without  any  appa- 
rent thought  or  care  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  and  without  any  per- 
ceptible pause  at  the  commencement  of  sentences  or  paragraphs ;  and 
in  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  frequently,  when  one  lee 
ture  was  finished,  another  was  immediately  commenced  in  the  same 
sitting,  without  any  previous  knowledge  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Ambler, 
according  to  his  own  statement,  with  regard  to  the  subject  to  be  dis- 
cussed."— Teacher,  p.  7. 

Here  we  have  it  again,  "  according  to  his  own  statement ;" 
and  it  is  simply  upon  the  "statement"  of  some  ghost-book 
speculator  that  we  are  to  believe  that  all  these  wonders  have 


66 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


WRITING    MEDIA SPIRIT-OCCUPATION    PROCESS. 


taken  place.  But  suppose  Mr.  Ambler  had  interest  enough, 
and  was  corrupt  enough"  to  deceive  in  this  matter,  and  state 
what  is  not  true  ?  What  proof  have  we  that  he  did  not  think 
out  his  Lectures  as  he  wrote  them,  and  move  his  own  hand  to 
write  them,  instead  of  its  being  moved  by  spirits  ?  Nothing 
but  his  bare  assertion ;  and  that,  too,  when  he  dare  not  submit 
to  any  test  that  would  demonstrate  its  truth  or  falsehood. 
Certainly  a  man  must  be  credulous  enough,  to  believe  so 
transparent  a  romance. 

The  above  method  of  using  a  medium  is  Very  different  from 
the  preceding.  The  medium  takes  his  seat  at  the  table,  and  just 
steps  out  of  his  body,  and  the  "spirit"  desiring  to  communi- 
cate, steps  in,  and  uses  the  body,  brains,  hands,  and  muscles, 
as  if  they  were  his  own. 

"The  spirit  wishing  to  communicate  produces  the  requisite  mag- 
netic condition  of  the  system  of  the  lady  (which  is  a  negative  one, 
quite  analogous  to  death),  when  her  spirit  leaves  the  body,  and  the  one 
desiring  to  speak  takes  possession,  giving  somewhat  its  own  earthly 
style  of  speech,  tone  of  voice,  gestures,  &c.  In  this  way  many  inter- 
esting and  convincing  demonstrations  are  daily  being  made,"  <fec. — P. 
B.  Bristol — Telegraphy  No.  2. 


a  "great  seer"  in  the  fog.  67 

"Q.  Can  you  describe  Low  you  are  able  to  write  through  a  medium, 
<fec.  ?  Ans.  I  feel  as  though  I  enter  into  her  for  the  time  being,  or  as  if 
my  spirit  entered  into  her.  I  am  dismembered  of  my  spiritual  form, 
and  take  hers." 

"I  have  my  spiritual  form  or  body  when  I  communicate  by  tippings 
or  rappings,  but  to  write,  my  spirit  must  enter  the  medium,  otherwise  I 
am  unable  to  control  her  will  or  muscles.  *  *  The  moment  I  leave 
Alice's  [the  medium's]  body,  I  assume  my  own." — Spirit  of  Adin  A, 
Ballou—" Spirit  Manifestations ,"  pp.  222,  224. 

The  same  doctrine  is  very  distinctly  taught,  as  the  philosophy 
of  medium -writing,  in  a  letter  from  D.  J.  Mandell,  published  in 
the  forty-fourth  number  of  the  Telegraph. 

When  this  principle  of  the  "  new  philosophy"  was  stated  by 
the  writer,  in  his  lectures  at  Hartford,  Ct.,  A.  J.  Davis,  who 
was  present,  denied  that  the  "  spirits"  or  "  spiritualists"  taught 
any  thing  of  the  kind.  The  ground  of  this  denial  was  (as 
many  who  were  present  wrell  recollect),  that  he  (Mr.  Davis)  had 
not  seen  any  such  teaching.  And  yet  he  had  been  referred,  the 
evening  previous,  to  the  very  pages  in  Mr.  Ballou's  book  from 
which  the  last  two  of  the  above  extracts  are  taken  ;  and  he 
stated  at  the  time  of  his  denial  that  he  had  consulted  the  pages 
referred  to,  and  that  no  such  doctrine  was  there  inculcated. 
Here,  then,  was  a  question  of  fact,  or  rather  of  veracity,  be- 
tween the  writer  and  Mr.  Davis,  and  one  which  I  was  unable 
at  the  time  to  settle,  for  the  want  of  Mr.  Ballou's  book,  or  the 
extracts  copied  from  it.  But  with  the  above  extracts  before 
him,  the  reader  will  now  be  able  to  judge  for  himself,  and  to 
determine  how  far  Mr.  D.  is  to  be  relied  upon,  even  in  matters 
respecting  which  he  professed  to  be  well  informed. 

In  regard  to  this  occupation  or  possession  process,  a  few 
points  are  worthy  of  special  note. 

1.  How  is  it  that  this  spirit  was  unable  to  control  the  will 
or  muscles  of  the  medium,  when  other  spirits  control  media 
by  paralyzing  their  hands,  and  by  electricity,  even  at  the  dis- 
tance of  two  miles  ?  Is  not  here  a  slight  discrepancy  in  the 
philosophy  of  the  spirits  ? 

2.  As  death  is  a  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  and 
life  is  restored  when  the  spirit  returns  to  the  body,  it  follows 


68  SPIRIT-RAPPING    TJNTEILED. 

that,  if  the  soul  of  the  medium  leaves  the  body,  and  another 
spirit  takes  its  place,  the  medium  is  dead — a  disembodied  spirit; 
and  the  spirit  previously  disembodied  comes  to  life,  or  becomes 
embodied.  Surely,  the  "new  philosophy"  affords  remarkable 
facilities  for  dying  and  coming  to  life  at  will,  and  not  only  gives 
the  "spirits'*  a  chance  to  try  the  mechanism  of  different  bodies, 
as  they  pass  from  medium  to  medium,  but  the  media's  spirits 
have  a  chance,  in  turn,  to  experiment  upon  the  disembodied 
state,  and  to  try  their  hand  as  "  rapping"  spirits  while  out  of 
the  body.  Who  knows  but  most  of  the  "  raps"  heard  are 
made  by  the  spirits  of  writing  media,  who  have  been  crowded 
out  of  their  own  bodies  by  other  spirits,  and  having  stood  long 
and  impatiently  (like  the  ghost  of  the  medium  in  the  cut), 
are  rapping  for  admission  into  their  own  material  "forms?" 
But, 

3.  If  souls  can  come  and  go  from  the  body  with  such  facil- 
ity, it  would  of  course  be  very  easy  for  two  spirits  to  exchange 
bodies,  or  for  two  persons  to  exchange  souls.  Let  the  spirit  of 
A  go  out,  and  enter  the  body  of  B,  and  that  of  B  enter  the 
body  of  A,  and  the  exchange  is  effected ;  and  if  this  "  new 
philosophy"  is  true,  and  is  practically  adopted,  the  time  is  not 
far  distant  when  exchanging  souls,  and  paying  the  differ- 
ence, will  be  as  common  among  the  "  seers,"  at  least,  as  any 
other  branch  of  traffic.  And  if  a  spirit  had  plenty  of  money 
to  pay  the  difference  between  old  and  worn-out  bodies,  and 
young  and  vigorous  ones,  he  has  only  to  keep  exchanging  his 
old  "  forms"  for  new,  as  the  body  does  with  its  garments,  and 
he  could  live  here  forever.  Verily,  these  are  days  of  "pro- 
gress!" 

4.  But  suppose  one  of  the  "  lower  spirits,"  of  which  we 
hear  so  much  in  the  "new  philosophy,"  having  got  possession 
of  the  medium's  body,  and  crowded  his  soul  out  into  the  dis- 
embodied state,  should  refuse  to  go  out  of  the  body  when  he 
had  done  writing  with  it,  what  would  the  poor  medium  do? 
His  soul  is  fairly  in  the  land  of  shades,  dead  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  and  another  spirit  has  his  body,  and  refuses  to  evac- 
uate.    Now  what  will  he  do  ?     If  he  take  out  a  writ  of  eject- 


A    DIFFICULT   PROBLEM.  69 

ment,  the  ghost  has  the  advantage  of  possession;*  and  besides, 
how  are  the  jury  to  ascertain  which  spirit  really  owns  the 
body  ?  So  this  "  new  philosophy''  will  probably  lead  to  a  new 
class  of  chancery  practice. 

5.  The  spirit-occupation  theory  gives  the  mischievous  "  low 
spirits"  a  chance  to  use  the  bodies  of  media  for  other  purposes 
than  writing.  The  spirit  controls  the  "  will"  and  "  muscles  ;" 
so  that  if  a  thievish  spirit  gets  into  a  medium,  he  will  have  a 
"  will"  to  steal,  and  the  "jnuscles"  will  endeavor  to  execute 
that  will :  and  so  of  other  "  spirit"  propensities.  Is  not  this 
a  dangerous  philosophy  while  there  are  so  many  "  low  spirits" 
about  ?  But  the  thief,  or  murderer,  or  adulterer,  would  have 
this  advantage  :  he  could  plead  that  his  body  was  occupied 
and  used  by  another  spirit  in  the  commission  of  the  crime, 
while  his  own  innocent  spirit  was  '-'out"  all  the  while,  deploring 
the  event ;  and  if  the  "  new  philosophy"  is  true,  the  excuse 
should  be  considered  satisfactory. 

6.  Another  rather  laughable  result  of  this  sublime  "  philos- 
ophy" is,  that  it  quite  confounds  the  sexes,  and  obliterates  all 
the  distinctions  of  natural  history.  In  the  case  cited  by  Mr. 
Ballou,  the  spirit  of  a  deceased  gentleman  enters  the  body  of 
a  youtxg  lady !  Adin's  soul  in  Alice's  body  ! !  Well,  then, 
which  is  it,  Alice  or  A  din  ?  a  lady  or  a  gentleman  ?  Could 
the  "  medium"  answer  the  question  ?  Would  she  not  find  it  as 
difficult  to  identify  herself  as  a  certain  Mr.  Ami,  of  whom  we 
once  heard  ?  Awaking  one  morning  after  a  night's  lodging  in 
the  gutter,  his  clothes  torn  and  muddy,  and  his  person  not  a 
little  disguised,  he  was  heard  thus  to  soliloquize:  "Am  I  Ami, 
or  am  I  not  Ami  ?  If  I  am  Ami,  where  am  I  ?  And  if  I  am 
not  Ami,  what  ami?"  So  Miss  Alice  might  have  inquired: 
"Am  I  Alice,  or  am  I  not  Alice  ?"  Will  some  of  our  "  seers" 
inform  us  who  the  medium  was,  under  the  circumstances,  Adin 
or  Alice  ?  a  lady  or  a  gentleman  ? 


*  "  'Possession/  they  say,  'is  nine  points  in  law,'  and  it  seems  to  sus- 
tain a  similar  proportion  in  its  relations  to  the  spiritual  phenomena  and 
demonstrations  of  the  age." — Tel.,  No.  44. 


70  SPIRIT-  RAFFING    UNVEILED. 

7.  This  "  occupation"  theory  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
one  of  which  we  hear  much  in  the  New  Testament,  with  this 
difference,  that  the  "  spirits"  in  those  times  were  devils.  These 
entered  into  bodies  with  human  spirits,  and  were  often  cast  out 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles ;  and  if  Mr.  Davis  and  his  followers 
will  admit  that  the  "low  spirits"  of  the  "new  philosophy"  are 
the  "  devils"  of  the  New  Testament,  we  will  let  the  occupation 
process  pass  without  further  criticism.  That  "  low  spirits"  have 
lately  taken  possession  of  certain  media,  we  are  not  disposed 
to  question. 

8.  But  waiving  all  this  absurdity,  nonsense,  and  irreligion, 
and  admitting  for  the  moment  that  this  occupation  theory 
might  be  true,  what  proof  have  wTe  that  it  is  true?  Like 
all  the  rest  of  the  system,  it  rests  upon  the  bare  word  of  the 
medium,  whose  interest  is  served  by  keeping  up  the  delusion. 
And  upon  their  very  disinterested  assertions  we  are  called  upon 
to  throw  aside  our  Bibles,  open  our  mouths,  and  swallow  their 
silly  transcendentalism  and  infidelity,  as  revelations  from  heav- 
en. Certainly,  they  must  think  the  public  mind  very  "impres- 
sible." 

WRITING    MEDIA SPIRIT-IMPRESSION    PROCESS. 

This  class  of  media  are  not  conscious  of  having  their  hands 
used  by  an  invisible  power,  nor  yet  of  having  their  bodies  oc- 
cupied and  used  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead ;  but  they,  never- 
theless, write  by  "spirit  impression,"  the  thoughts  and  words 
being  "impressed"  upon  their  minds.  Of  this  class  is  Mr. 
Harshman,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  others. 

"When  the  spiritual  influence  commenced,  present  thoughts  and 
preconceived  ideas  vanished  and  disappeared  from  my  mind,  and  after 
a  few  minutes,  without  any  thought  or  knowledge  of  the  subject  mat- 
ter that  was  to  he  written,  I  would  he  impressed  with  the  word  or  sen- 
tence to  be  written,  although  my*  hand  was  not  moved  by  any  myste- 
rious power,  but  my  mind  was  guided  by  the  spirit's  will,  and  they  tell 
me  that  they  had  to  impress  every  word  and  sentence  upon  my  mind 
before  it  was  written ;  and  as  fast  as  it  was  written  it  vanished  from 
the  mind,  while  other  words  and  sentences  were  impressed  upon  tL« 
mind." — Harshman' s  Love  and  Wisdom  from  the  Spirit  World,  p.  7 


WETTING    BY    IMPRESSION.  71 

Here  we  have  it  again.  Mr.  Harsh  man  says :  "  My  mind 
was  guided  hy  the  spirit's  will,"  and  "  they  tell  me  they  had 
to  impress  every  word  and  sentence  upon  my  mind ;"  but 
might  not  Mr.  H.  have  mistaken  his  own  imaginings  or  cogita- 
tions for  " impressions',  from  spirits?*  And  is  it  not  possible 
that  he  fabricated  this  story,  to  awaken  curiosity  and  sell  his 
book  ?  Still  further  ;  is  it  not  possible  that  Mr.  H.  is  partially 
insane,  as  many  of  the  media  are  well  known  to  be  ? 

But  if  any  insist  that  his  insipid  and  almost  senseless  pages, 
well  sprinkled  with  infidelity,  were  actually  written  "  by  spirit- 
ual impression/'  is  it  not  most  probable  that  fallen  angels  are 
the  real  "  spirits"  at  work,  who  have  suggested  what  he  has 
written  to  his  mind  ?  If  "  low  spirits"  can  so  easily  pass  them- 
selves off  for  "  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle,"  and*  other  exalted 
characters,  as  the  new  philosophy  admits ;  and  if  the  apostles 
and  prophets  could  not  distinguish  the  disembodied  human 
spirits,  which  moved  them  to  write  the  Bible,  from  the  Spirit 
of  God  (see  quotation  from  Ambler,  page  27  of  this  work),  is 
it  not  possible  that  Mr.  Harshman,  and  all  other  media  of  his 
class,  have  mistaken  impressions  made  by  Satan  for  those  made 
by  departed  spirits  ?  To  our  view,  this  is  by  far  the  most 
scriptural  and  philosophical  explanation  of  the  "  spirit-impres- 
sion process."  The  cut  on  the  next  page  will  illustrate  the 
manner  in  which  the  process  is  most  probably  conducted,  as  it 
appears  to  the  eye  of  God  and  holy  angels.  It  no  doubt 
represents  the  only  external  agency  employed  in  the  operation. 


*  Mr.  A.  J.  Davis,  "  the  seer,"  has  inadvertently  thrown  a  ray  of  light 
upon  Mr.  Harshman's  inspiration.  At  the  close  of  the  author's  lectures 
at  Hartford,  Ot.,  February,  1853,  Mr.  Davis  stated  publicly  that  he  saw- 
Mr.  Harshman  just  before  in  Ohio ;  that  Mr.  H.  gave  him  one  of  his 
books ;  that  he  (Davis)  had  not  yet  read  it ;  and  that  Mr.  Harshman 
wished  Davis  to  help  him  to  determine  whether  the  book  was  dictated 
by  spirits,  or  was  the  product  of  his  own  brain.  And  yet  Mr.  H.  sent 
the  book  forth,  notwithstanding  his  misgivings  as  to  its  origin,  as  a  veri 
table  spirit's  revelation.  Like  Judge  Edmonds,  he  seems  to  have  had 
some  terrible  doubts  as  to  his  inspiration — a  symptom,  we  should  think, 
of  returning  rationality. 


72 


SriEIT-RxirPIXG    UNVEILED. 


WRITING    BY    SPIRITUAL    IMPRESSION. 


This  process  must  be  far  more  productive  of  evil  than  for 
Satan  to  simply  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light; 
for  by  this  means  he  can  dictate  <c  spirit  revelation"  to  any 
extent,  fill  the  land  with  counterfeit  "  disclosures"  which  the 
people  will  read,  and  at  the  same  time  strike  a  good  blow  at 
the  Bible,  the  ministry,  the  churches,  and  at  Christianity  itself. 
If  there  are  such  beings  as  devils  (as  we  have  no  doubt),  they 
must  have  been  deeply  concerned  in  the  getting  up  of  the  va- 
rious infidel  ghost-books  that  have  recently  been  published. 

SPIRIT     PHONOGRAPHY. 

In  all  the  preceding  modes  of  communicating,  it  is  necessary 
for  the  medium  to  enter  his  "superior  state"  (which  is  several 
degrees  beyond  clairvoyance),  and  to  remain  in  that  state  till 
the  communication  is  all  written  out.  This  too,  like  rapping 
out  messages,  is  somewhat  tedious,  as  it  is  very  fatiguing  to 
keep  up  the  "abnormal"  or  supernatural  appearances  for  sev- 
eral hours  together.  To  relieve  this  difficulty,  the  "spirits" 
have  a  kind  of  celestial  phonography,  by  which  very  long  mes- 
sages may  be  given  in  a  short  time,  and  translated  by  the 


SPIRIT    PHONOGRAPHY.  73 

"  medium,"  or  some  other  person,  at  their  leisure.  The  follow- 
ing description  of  this  spirit-language  is  taken  from  an  article 
by  Dr.  Bristol,  of  Danville,  N.  Y.,  published  in  the  thirty-fourth 
number  of  the  Spiritual  Telegraph : 

"The  following  is  said  to  be  a  specimen  of  the  language  used  by 
spirits  of  the  higher  spheres,  in  conveying  their  ideas.  It  is  written  in 
characters  entirely  different  from  those  of  any  earthly  language,  and 
with  astonishing  rapidity  by  a  medium  near  here.  It  is  translated  and 
spoken  by  a  young  lady  who  resides  in  my  family.  I  give  the  sounds 
of  a  short  sentence,  as  nearly  as  they  can  be  represented  by  the  English 
alphabet:  'Ki-e-lou-cou-ze-ta.'  The  translation  given  of  these  few 
sounds,  is  as  follows:  'As  heaven  or  the  spirit-spheres  are  to  be  the 
future  home  of  all  mankind,  so  is  knowledge  to  accompany  them  in  the 
paths  of  wisdom ;  while  peace  and  love,  in  a  chain  of  goodness,  shall 
bind  the  universal  whole  in  the  bonds  of  harmony.' 

"It  will  readily  be  seen,  by  the  brevity  of  the  language,  that  the 
facility  of  obtaining  communications  from  the  spirit-land  is  greatly  in- 
creased. More  can  be  written  at  one  sitting  than  was  formerly  done 
in  weeks.  The  young  lady,  Miss  II.,  translates  the  manuscript  in  her 
natural  state,  having  learned  the  language  in  the  spirits'  home.  So, 
the  heretofore  tedious  methods  of  obtaining  long  communications,  a 
few  words  or  sentences  at  a  time,  will  soon  be  dispensed  with.  A  half 
dozen  lines  written  in  the  superior  condition,  and  translated  in  the 
natural  state  at  leisure,  becomes  an  interesting  essay,  or  a  splendid 
sermon  of  an  hour  long.  What  will  not  progression  yet  reveal  to 
us?" 

Noiv,  what  does  the  reader  think  of  spirit-telegraphing  ? 
The  "  spirits"  have  a  ivritten  language,  in  phonetic  character, 
very  comprehensive ;  and  while  they  write  it  by  one  medium, 
they  have  taken  a  young  lady  to  the  "  spirits'  home,"  and  have 
taught  her  the  language,  so  that  she  translates  it  with  ease  and 
facility.  And  how  very  convenient  for  the  "  spirits !"  If  a 
word  of  thirteen  letters,  like  "Ki-e-lou-cou-ze-ta,"  can  be  ex- 
panded to  45  words,  or  183  letters  (say  fourteen-fold),  what 
an  immense  saving  of  time  from  "  the  superior  state !" 

But  who  knows  that  the  "medium"  who  writes  the  "  Jci-e- 
lou,"  <fec,  is  controlled  by  any  foreign  influence?  And  what 
evidence  have  we  beyond  her  bare  word  that  "Miss  H.,"  the 
translator,  does  not  read  this  spirit  phonography  precisely  as  a 
Gipsy  fortune-teller  would   read  off  your  fortune  from  the 

4 


74  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

wrinkles  in  your  hand ;  i.  e.,  makes  it  up  as  she  goes  along  ? 
This,  of  course,  is  all  the  translation  there  is  about  it. 

SPIRIT-WRITING INDEPENDENT    PROCESS. 

This  process  is  simply  the  use  of  a  pen  or  pencil  by  the 
"spirits,"  independently  of  any  media  whatever.  It  is  de- 
scribed by  Air.  Ballou  as  "  writing  with  pens,  pencils,  and  other 
substances,  both  liquid  and  solid,  sometimes  on  paper,  some- 
times on  common  slates,  and  sometimes  on  the  ceilings  of  a 
room,"  &c. — Manifestations,  p.  9.  Efforts  at  this  kind  of 
writing,  by  an  "illiterate  spirit,"  are  described  pp.  187-8.  In 
this  way  it  is  said  that  a  "  sentiment"  was  written  in  the  room 
of  Edward  P.  Fowler,  New  York,  on  the  night  of  Dec.  2 2d, 
1851,  by  the  spirit  of  Benj.  Franklin,  and  signed  by  some  fifty 
other  spirits  ;  and  in  the  same  way  the  celebrated  Hebrew  quo- 
tation (of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter)  is  said  to  have  been 
written  by  spirits  in  Mr.  Fowler's  room  in  the  day-time,  Dec. 
10th,  1852.     See  Telegraph,  Nov.  9th  and  22d. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  Mr.  Fowler  saw  Benj.  Franklin 
with  a  large  box  of  electrical  apparatus  (galvanic  we  suppose)  ; 
and  when  the  autographic  spirits  were  subsequently  asked  "  if 
the  signatures  were  in  each  case  executed  by  the  will  of  each 
spirit  whose  name  appears,  or  done  by  one  operator  for  the 
whole  ?"  the  answer  was,  "  Each  for  himself,  by  the  aid  of 
the  battery!" — Telegraph,  No.  22 

Leaving  the  "  Autographs"  and  the  "  Hebrew"  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  chapter  on  the  Literature  of  the  Spirits,  a  re- 
mark or  two  will  suffice  in  regard  to  this  method  of  writing : 

1.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  although  this  notable  miracle 
was  wrought,  according  to  Mr.  Fowler,  in  December,  1851,  it 
was  not  published  to  the  world  till  July  and  October,  1852. 

2.  Who  is  Mr.  E.  P.  Fowler?  Is  he  a  shrewd,  cautious 
person,  who  would  not  be  likely  to  be  imposed  upon  ?  or  is  he 
a  young  and  visionary  student,  who  would  be  very  likely  to 
see  ghosts,  and  to  be  selected  as  a  tit  subject  for  an  imposition  ? 
And  has  he  not,  moreover,  an  interest  in  the  sale  of  ghost 
books,  and  the  propagation  of  ghost  stories  ?     Is  he  in  any 


SPEAKING    BY    AFFLATUS.  75 

way  related  to  Fowlers  and  Wells,  Phrenologists  and  Publish- 
ers ?  It  is  much  more  likely  that  certain  gentlemen  in  New 
York,  engaged  in  "spiritual"  matters,  have  selected  him  as  the 
"medium"  for  a  "spiritual"  trick  and  imposition,  than  that 
Benj.  Franklin  and  others  appeared  to  him  with  a  galvanic 
"  battery"  under  his  arm,  and  wrote  "  by  the  aid  of  the  bat- 
tery." The  whole  story  is  too  ridiculous  to  be  told  in  any 
civilized  community ;  and  as  it  rests,  like  all  the  rest  of  these 
wonders,  upon  the  saneness  and  veracity  of  the  medium,  we 
leave  it  without  further  comment.  Let  those  believe  it  who 
can. 

SPEAKING     MEDIA. 

The  speaking  media  claim  to  be  occupied  by  "spirits,"  like 
one  class  of  writing  media,  and  to  speak  just  what  the  "  spir- 
its" choose  to  speak  through  them,  without  any  thought  or  vo- 
lition of  their  own.  In  this  way  the  spirits  preach,  lecture,  &c. 
A  certain  Mr.  Finney,  and  Mr.  Ambler,  of  New  York,  claim  to 
be  speaking  media,  and  to  discourse  by  "spiritual  afflatus." 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Finney,  Mr.  Ambler  says : 

"Mr.  Finney  claims  to  speak  under  the  direction  of  spirits,  and  he 
asserted  last  evening  that  he  never  premeditated  what  he  said,  that  he 
was  not  liberally  educated,  and  that  he  had  read  but  very  little ;  he 
also  said  that  he  never  spoke  in  public  till  about  six  months  since,  and 
that  he  was  forced  from  the  carpenter's  bench  (he  being  then  a  jour- 
neyman joiner),  to  take  the  stand  before  the  public,  by  spiritual  in 
fiuences." — Spirit  Messenger. 

In  his  Messenger,  No.  7,  Mr.  Ambler  says : 

"By  invitation,  we  visited  the  friends  in  Hartford  on  Sunday,  the 
21st  instant,  and  delivered  two  lectures,  under  spiritual  influence,  to 
large  and  attentive  audiences." 

Of  Mr.  Spear,  Mr.  Hewitt,  his  secretary,  says : 

"Early  in  Mr.  Spear's  spiritual  experience,  a  peculiar  speaking  in- 
spiration came  upon  him,  and  through  that  he  delivered  several  dis- 
courses to  as  many  congregations.  The  first  of  these  was  given  in  the 
town  of  Essex,  Mass.,  some  twenty-five  miles  northeast  of  Boston,  on 
the  first  Sunday  of  April  last.  The  second  was  delivered  at  Ports- 
mouth, 1ST.  H.,  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Since  that,  he  has  been  the  in- 
strument of  the  same  kind  of  influence,  in  giving  discourses  at  Hope- 


76  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

dale,  Milford,  Mass.,  and  at  Milford,  N.  H. ;  and  subsequently,  he  has 
delivered  several  in  the  city  of  Boston,  at  private  circles,  and  confer- 
ences."— Messages,  p.  45. 

Of  these  speaking  media  Mr.  Ballou  says : 

<4  Spirits  not  only  rap  out  the  messages  in  languages  foreign  to  the 
medium,  but  by  impressing  the  mind  of  a  suitable  medium,  enable  him 
to  speak  in  a  language  to  him  entirely  unknown." — Manifestations, 
p.  253. 

Accordingly  Mr.  Finney  and  others  sometimes  speak  in  "  un- 
known tongues,"  like  the  Mormon  "  elders"  that  were  explor- 
ing the  country  a  few  years  since.  But  in  all  cases,  so  far  as 
we  can  learn,  the  "  tongues"  are  not  only  "unknown"  to  the 
medium,  but  to  everybody  else.  It  is  very  easy  for  an  impos- 
tor to  jabber  over  certain  incoherent  sounds,  and  call  them  an 
"  unknown  tongue,"  in  order  to  deceive  the  people ;  but  there 
is  not  a  speaking  "  medium"  in  the  Union  through  whom  any 
spirit  can  speak  a  sentence  in  Greek  or  Latin,  French  or  Ger- 
man, unless  the  medium  first  understands  the  language  to  be 
spoken.  Then  they  may  pretend  to  speak  by  "afflatus"  in 
those  languages  as  well  as  in  any  other. 

These  are  the  principal  modes  of  "spiritual  communication," 
so  far  as  we  know;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  are  all  an 
unmitigated  deception,  and  an  imposition  upon  the  public. 
There  may  be  "  writing  and  speaking  media"  who  are  so  hallu- 
cinated as  to  think  and  believe  that  their  hands  or  tongues  are 
used  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  for  the  purpose  of  writing  and 
speaking ;  but  all  such  "  impressions"  are  like  the  whims  and 
fancies  of  a  maniac,  and  the  visions  of  a  victim  of  delirium  tre- 
mens. 

But  some  are  sane,  and  know  very  well  that  not  a  word  of 
what  they  write  and  send  forth  to  the  world  as  messages  from 
the  dead,  comes  from  any  other  source  than  their  own  intel- 
lects. And  this  we  design  fully  to  prove  before  we  gat 
through. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  that  these  gentlemen  find  no  dif- 
ficulty in  making  appointments  to  speak  "  by  spiritual  impres- 
sion," and  invoking  the  spirits  precisely  when  they  want  them ; 


A  "spiritual  lecture."  77 

but  if  an  interview  is  desired,  at  which  it  is  feared  that  the 
knavery  and  deception  of  the  thing  may  be  exposed,  the  ex- 
cuse generally  is,  that  "the  spirits  cannot  attend." 

2.  Lectures  have  been  delivered  "  by  spiritual  impression," 
in  one  case,  at  least,  that  were  in  type  before  they  were  deliv- 
ered, if  not  actually  printed. 

3.  These  lectures  delivered  by  "  afflatus,"  if  rightly  reported, 
would  be  a  disgrace  to  a  Hottentot,  much  more  to  any  man  of 
common  intelligence.  The  following  is  a  description  of  one  of 
Mr.  Ambler's  "spiritual  lectures,"  copied  from  the  Brooklyn 
Eacrle : 

"  A  Spiritual  Lecture. — An  individual  named  Ambler,  delivered  a 
lecture  last  evening  at  the  Brooklyn  Museum,  on  the  subject  of  the 
spirits.  According  to  the  announcement  published  in  our  columns,  the 
lecture  was  to  be  delivered  by  "spiritual  impression,"  We  cannot  say 
whether  the  lecture  was  actually  dictated  by  spirits;  but  if  it  was,  it 
must  have  been  the  spirits  of  a  number  of  superannuated  donkeys;  for 
nothing  so  stupid  could  emanate  from  the  spirit  of  any  thing,  save  an 
ass,  and  a  very  dull  one  at  that.  The  lecturer,  after  appearing  on  the 
stage,  sat  down  and  threw  himself  into  a  number  of  attitudes,  meant 
to  be  desperately  graceful,  and  remained  for  some  time  without  com- 
mencing his  performance,  no  doubt  waiting  to  be  moved  by  the  spirits. 
At  last  he  commenced  his  discourse,  and  poured  out  a  stream  of  mouth- 
ing nonsense  without  the  fraction  of  an  idea  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  it  was 
not  merely  muddy,  it  was  all  mud;  it  was  not  simply  chaffy,  it  was  all 
chaff.  There  was,  moreover,  beneath  the  volume  of  vapid  rant,  an 
apparent  effort  to  inculcate  infidelity,  and  subvert  Divine  Revelation, 
showing  plainly  enough  that  the  object  of  the  trashy  discourse  was  as 
vicious  as  it  was  silly.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  scene  a  "collection" 
was  taken  up  by  the  lecturer's  direction,  which  realized  some  half- 
dozen  pennies.  The  audience  was  composed  of  the  most  indulgent  class 
of  the  community,  and  yet  there  was  considerable  hissing,  expressive 
of  universal  disgust.  One  useful  purpose  would  be  served  by  a  multi- 
plication of  such  lectures,  and  that  would  be  the  extinguishment  of  a 
dangerous  humbug." 

But  what  more  could  have  been  expected  ?  Mr.  Ambler  is 
an  illiterate  and  weak-minded  man,  as  is  obvious  from  his 
writings ;  and  how  could  he  give  the  people  any  thing  but 
"  chaff?" 

Besides  the  various  modes  of  spirit-communication  already 


78 


Sl'IKIT-KAPPING    UNVEILED. 


SEVERAL     "SPIRir.s''     IN     ONE     BODY. 


described,  there  are  certain  other  "  abnormal"  phenomena  at 
tributed  to  the  spirits  that  deserve  to  be  noticed  in  this  chapter. 


MEDIUM     IN     A     TRANCE. 

The  spirit  of  Adin  A.  Ballou  has  revealed  to  us  the  reason 
why  media  sometimes  fall  into  a  trance  ;  namely,  that  the  spirits 
not  only  crowd  the  soul  of  the  medium  out  of  the  "  form,"  but 
several  spirits  crowd  into  the  forsaken  body  at  the  same  time. 

"More  than  one  spirit  can  enter  the  medium  at  once.  The  mediums 
all  go  into  the  trance  by  means  of  several  spirits  entering  the  body  at 
one  time." — Manifestations,  p.  222. 

This  is  an  interesting  item  of  "  spirit  philosophy,"  and  wor- 
thy of  pictorial  illustration.  The  above  cut  presents  its  leading 
feature  to  the  eye.  The  spirit  of  the  "  seer"  has  stepped  out, 
and  may  be  seen  as  a  spectre  off  at  the  right,  while  his  "form" 
is  left  reclining  in  an  arm-chair,  "and  crowded  with  "spirits," 
even  to  overflowing.  By  this  means  it  is  thrown  into  a  trance. 
The  poor  spirit  in  the  background  looks  quite  meek  and  pa- 
tient, and  yet  a  little  anxious;  as  any  spirit  would  naturally 
feel,  to  see  its  "form"  occupied  by  several  spirits,  hustling 


POINTING    AND   DANCING    MEDIA.  79 

against  each  other,  and  throwing  the  body  into  a  trance.  "Ah," 
says  he,  "that  is  rather  rough  usage  for  any  poor  'form!'  A 
great  want  of  '  harmony'  here.  One  at  a  time,  gentlemen ; 
one  at  a  time :  let  Franklin  communicate  first,  after  which  we 
will  hear  from  George  Washington!" 

This  manifold  occupation  theory  will  no  doubt  suggest  to 
thfc  reader  the  following  parallel,  taken  from  the  twelfth  chap- 
ter of  Matthew : 

"  When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  walketh  through 
dry  places,  seeking  rest,  and  findeth  none. 

"Then  he  saith,  I  will  return  into  mine  own  house  from  whence  I 
came  out;  and  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  swept,  and  gar- 
nished. 

"Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  with  himself  seven  other  spirits  more 
wicked  than  himself,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there:  and  the  last 
state  of  that  man  is  worse  than  the  first." 

Now,  if  the  "  spirits"  of  the  necromancers  are  the  "  unclean 
spirits"  of  the  New  Testament,  we  have  no  further  controversy 
with  them.  Certain  it  is,  that  in  no  case  are  media  made  bet- 
ter by  the  new  possession ;  the  "  last  state"  is  invariably  "  worse 
than  the  first." 

POINTING     MEDIA. 

The  following  description  of  the  pointing  media  is  from  the 
pen  of  Mr.  Hammond,  the  Rochester  "seer,"  as  published  in 
the  13th  number  of  the  Telegraph : 

"The  pointing  mediums  signify  to  each  other  by  signs  what  is  re- 
quired, and  their  silent  language  is  readily  obeyed.  I  saw  whole 
circles  formed  and  placed  in  their  proper  order  without  a  word  being 
uttered,  and  I  saw  no  one  suspicious  of  evil  or  disposed  to  reproach  the 
medium,  because  it  was  not  comprehensible  to  their  minds.  All  were 
disposed  to  wait  the  result  without  anticipating  a  judgment." 

Astonishing !  "  Whole  circles  formed,  and  placed  in  their 
proper  order"  by  signs,  "  without  a  word  being  uttered !" 
Verily  this  must  be  an  age  of  miracles  ! 

DANCING     MEDIA. 

In  the  39th  number  of  the  Telegraph  we  have  a  letter  from 


80  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

Mr.  McCann  Dunn,  describing  "  the  phenomena  at  the  West.' 
In  that  letter,  Mr.  D.  says : 

"It  is  now  nearly  one  year  since  the  first  manifestations,  claiming  to 
be  spiritual,  were  made,  which  were  in  the  form  of  'raps,'  as  they  are 
familiarly  termed.  This  order  of  manifestations  was  soon  superseded 
by  the  higher — such  as  writing  and  clairvoyance,  but  more  generally 
by  a  species  of  dancing  or  exercising  which  we  have  not  seen  described 
in  any  of  the  spiritual  periodicals  now  published,  and  are  therefore  in- 
clined to  the  opinion  that  these  phenomena  are  indigenous  to  the  West. 
In  these  dances  the  former  individual,  as  well  as  national  character  of 
departed  persons,  is  often  portra}^ed  by  those  entirely  unacquainted 
with  them — in  such  a  striking  manner  as  to  be  recognized  by  their  ac- 
quaintances. 

"We  think  that  we  can  safely  state,  there  are  one  hundred  persons 
in  this  vicinity  who  have  been  thus  influenced ;  representing  all  classes 
and  ages,  from  the  child  of  two  years,  to  the  parent  of  fifty,  or  up- 
ward. We  have  frequently  seen  twenty-five,  and  sometimes  as  many 
as  fifty  persons  at  one  time,  dancing  to  the  merry  music  of  the  violin* 
— a  scene  so  novel  and  interesting  in  its  character,  as  not  to  fail  to  elicit 
the  attention  and  consideration  of  the  most  skeptical." 

In  the  13th  number  of  the  Telegraph  (which  it  seems  Mr. 
Dunn  had  not  read),  Mr.  Hammond  thus  describes  the  same 
phenomenon : 

"The  dancing  mediums  are  old. and  young,  and  of  both  sexes.  Some- 
times the  dance  is  performed  in  a  circle  of  three  or  four  persons,  but 
not  always.  The  movements  are  very  eccentric,  yet  often  exceedingly 
graceful.  This  part  of  the  manifestations  came  rather  in  contact  with 
my  sense  of  propriety,  but  as  I  was  willing  to  let  the  spirits  do  as  they 
pleased,  and  as  I  saw  nothing  repulsive  to  my  moral  feelings,  I  gradu- 
ally inclined  to  relish  it  much  the  same  as  the  rest  of  the  company. 
There  was  a  peculiar  feature  in  this  display  of  spirit-power  which  ar- 
rested my  attention.  No  one  who  danced  desired  it,  neither  could  they 
stop  it.  They  sometimes  made  an  effort  (for  they  were  conscious)  to 
sit  down  or  fall  down,  but  they  could  not  do  either.  When  music  was 
heard,  I  observed  that  accurate  time  was  kept  by  the  mediums." 

In  the  same  number  of  the  Telegraph,  a  correspondent 
writes  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  as  follows : 

*  The  "  spirits,"  it  seems,  do  not  dance  without  music :  and  like  most 
other  dancing  characters,  they  are  very  fond  of  the  "fiddle."  Really, 
this  must  convince  the  "skeptics." 


A  "spiritual  dance." 

DANCING    MEDIA    IN    DIFFERENT    CHARACTERS.* 


81 


"A  lady  who  had  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  in  Cleveland,  only 
two  weeks  previous,  was  thrown  into  a  magnetic,  or,  as  our  western 
friends  call  it,  a  spiritualized  condition,  and  called  for  music;  and  after 
she  had  danced  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  was  suddenly  released,  and 
returned  home,  I  presume,  none  the  worse  for  what  she  could  not  help. 
But  lest  the  reader  may  indulge  some  scruples,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
say,  that  I  regard  the  dancing  as  a.  preparatory  exercise  to  other  more 
useful  developments.  I  saw  several  exhibitions  of  dancing  during  my 
stay  in  Cleveland,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  such  exercises  may 
be  necessary  to  prepare  persons  for  a  membership  that  will  confound 
the  ignorance  and  prejudice  of  intolerant  hypocrisy,  that  dare  not  own 
the  truth  until  popular  opinion  yields  to  the  force  of  facts."  *  *  *  On 


*  The  reader  will  observe  that  the  "national  character"  of  the  "for- 
mer individual"  is  exhibited  bv  the  media  during  their  dances;  so  that 
if  six  spirits — say  the  spirit  of  a  "Shaker"  a  negro,  an  "old  maid"  an 
Indian  chief,  a  Turk,  and  a  "brother  Jonathan"  were  to  make  a  descent 
upon  a  circle  of  six  media,  enter  their  bodies,  and  set  them  to  dancing, 
they  would  act  out  the  six  characters  that  had  entered  them  as  repre- 
sented in  the  cut.  It  is  no  caricature  of  the  "new  philosophy,"  but  a 
faithful  representation  of  it,  as  it  would  appear  in  practice.  Those* 
therefore,  who  have  never  seen  a  "  spirit  dance,"  can  see  one  in  the 
abttve  cut,  drawn  to  the  lift. 


4* 


82  SPIRIT-RAPPING   ITNVEILED. 

Sunday  all  the  circles  meet  in  a  large  hall,  and  various  exercises  are 
enjoyed  as  the  spirits  direct." 

And  if  "  the  spirits  direct"  them  to  dance  on  the  Sabbath,  of 
course  they  dance ;  especially  as  they  "  cannot  help"  it,  and 
dancing  is  "necessary  to  prepare  persons  for  a  mediumship." 
And  yet  this  gross  immorality  is  labelled  "  spiritualism ;"  and 
even  some  professed  Christians  are  disposed  to  apologize  for  it, 
as  consistent  with  Christianity. 

In  A.  J.  Davis'  address  delivered  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on 
Sabbath,  December  7,  1852,  we  find  the  following: 

"  '  What  will  people  say  V  Perhaps  you  helong  to  the  Church,  hut 
your  spirit  o'erleaps  the  rigid  formality  thereof,  and  feels  like  dancing. 
'What  will  people  say?'  Perhaps  you  feel  like  bursting  away  from 
your  sectarian  bonds,  and  doing  your  own  thinking." 

It  is  obvious  from  the  preceding  extracts  that  the  "  spirits" 
are  not  only  much  given  to  dancing,  like  the  satyrs  of  old,  but 
that  dancing  is  an  important  part  of  the  discipline  requisite  for 
"  developing"  media.  And  from  A.  J.  Davis  downward,  it 
seems  to  be  admitted  that  spirit-dancing  is  a  legitimate  branch 
of  the  "  new  philosophy."  It  is  this  feature,  no  doubt,  that 
has  attached  now  and  then  a  "Shaking  Quaker"  to  this  "spirit" 
movement,  besides  some  others  who  wish  to  be  religious,  and 
yet  are  very  fond  of  dancing.* 

But  it  is  time  to  close  this  chapter.  We  have  now  a  fair 
and  unvarnished  exhibition  of  the  various  alleged  modes  of 
"  spiritual  communication,"  from  the  first  raps  down  to  writing 
without  a  medium,  and  speaking  through  human  throats ;  the 
descriptions  being  mainly  in  the  language  of  the  necromancers 
themselves,  and  faithfully  represented  to  the  eye  in  the  cuts. 
And  if  all  history  can  furnish  another  such  chapter  of  absurdi- 
ties, contradictions,  nonsense,  and  imposition,  we  should  like  to 
see  it.  Salem  witchcraft  and  Mormonism  are  fairly  eclipsed, 
and  left  forever  in  the  rear. 


*  The  reader  will  find  some  still  more  remarkable  "developments" 
upon  this  subject  in  chapter  xi.,  under  the  head  of  "Remarkable  Reve- 
lations of  the  Spirits." 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE    SPIRITS.  83 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THEOLOGY    OF    THE    SPIRITS. 

Sources  of  information — Both  matter  and  spirit  eternal — Man  never  fell — 
Needs  no  conversion — Christ  a  mere  man — Never  made  any  atonement' — ■ 
Never  rose  from  the  dead — Never  wrought  any  miracles — Borrowed  his 
wisest  sayings — The  Bible  not  of  God — One  of  the  worst  of  books — No 
devils — No  hell — No  resurrection — No  Day  of  Judgment — Christianity 
no  blessing — Ministers  hypocrites — Churches  must  be  broken  up — Civil 
government  abolished — No  Sabbaths — Marriage  annulled — Practical  nul- 
lification— Summary  of  spirit  theology — Who  are  the  "  mediums  V — 
Davis,  Hammond,  Brittan,  Post,  Ballou,  Partridge,  Spear,  Hoar,  Win- 
chester, Ambler,  Harsh  man,  Boynton,  &c. 

From  the  various  kinds  of  media,  or  modes  of  communica- 
ting, as  described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  let  us  now  turn 
our  attention  to  the  communications  themselves.  These  we  take 
as  we  find  them  in  the  ghost-books  and  papers,  and  shall  en- 
deavor by  a  careful  analysis  of  them  to  exhibit  the  teachings 
of  the  so-called  "spirits,"  as  respects  their  theology,  philosophy, 
consistency,  &c.     The  present  chapter  will  exhibit  the 

THEOLOGY    OF    THE    "SPIRITS." 

To  economize  space,  and  avoid  circumlocution,  I  will  first 
state  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  "  spirits,"  and  then  support 
the  articles,  one  by  one,  by  quotations  from  the  "  messages." 

I.  The  spirits  teach  that  both  matter  and  spirit  are  eternal ; 
or  in  other  words,  that  nothing  zoas  ever  created. 

"Matter  and  spirit  are  both  eternal  co-existent  substances, "  &e. — 
Ballou,  p.  11. 

"Matter  is  eternal;  it  ever  was,  it  ever  will  be." — Boyntorts  Unfold- 
ing s,  p.  15. 

"  The  Divine  Soul  is  the  Parent  of  the  human  soul — both  eternal." — 
Messenger,  No.  7. 

Here  we  have  not  only  the  doctrine  that  our  souls  have 
existed  from  all  eternity,  but  that  the  material  universe,  also, 
never  had  a  beginning.    But  if  matter  is  eternal,  then  eternity  is 


81  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

not  a  peculiar  attribute  of  Deity ;  and  if  nothing  ever  was  created, 
then  there  is  no  Creator,  and  the  transition  to  atheism  is  natural 
and  easy.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  "  spirits"  seldom  al- 
lude to  the  Supreme  Being,  more  than  if  he  had  no  existence. 

II.  Man  never  fell ;  and  the  doctrine  of  natural  depravity  is 
false. 

"Man  never  fell.  *  *  The  idea  of  total  depravity,  or  original  sin, 
in  the  human  race,  is  an  absurdity,  a  relic  of  the  past,  developed  in 
mythologic  times." — Spirits  through  Finney — Messenger,  No.  11. 

"  Q.  Then  man  was  not  made,  originally,  as  perfect  physically  and 
spiritually  as  he  is  now? 

"A.  No;  many  changes  have  taken  place.  He  has  progressed  in  his 
physical  being  with  his  spiritual  development." — Colloquy  with  spirits — 
Phil.  Hist,  p.  90. 

"What  God  has  made  pure  and  holy  in  its  nature,  can  never  be  ren- 
dered impure  and  unholy.  *  *  *  Man  can  never,  in  any  circumstance, 
or  by  any  possibility  become  totally  depraved,  but  the  soul  remains 
pure,"  <fec. — Spirits  through  Ambler — Teacher,  pp.  35,  36. 

"A  general  sentiment  has  prevailed,  among  the  most  advanced  minds 
on  the  earth,  that  the  world  needs  to  be  reformed  ;  that  the  structure  of 
existing  society  is  wrongly  constructed,  and  that  it  is  a  source  of  preva- 
lent evils  which  do  not  exist  inherently  in  the  nature  of  man.  This 
sentiment  the  spirits  recognize  as  perfectly  correct,  and  they  have  been 
pleased  to  witness  its  rapid  progress  among  the  minds  of  the  mass.  It 
is  a  true  and  righteous  thought  that  humanity  is  at  present  in  a  de 
graded  state,  and  that  this  state  results,  not  so  much  from  any  inherent 
tendency  to  evil,  as  from  the  false  and  unnatural  position  in  which  it  is 
placed."— Ibid.,  p.  125. 

III.  Men  need  no  external  assistance,  like  conversion  or  regen- 
eration by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  order  to  reformation. 

Speaking  of  the  causes  by  which  the  desired  effect  of  human 
redemption  may  be  produced,  the  "spirits"  say: 

"These  causes  are  inherent  in  the  constitution  of  man;  they  are 
already  established  in  the  organization  of  both  body  and  spirit,  and  all 
that  is  needed  to  be  accomplished  by  those  who  are  the  unseen  agents 
of  the  work  here  represented,  is  to  bring  these  causes  into  active  and 
successful  operation.  In  other  words,  there  are  certain  established 
principles  in  the  human  structure — certain  relations  subsisting  between 
the  body  and  spirit,  and  certain  influences  at  work  upon  the  entire  sys- 
tem of  man,  by  which  the  desired  and  designed  result  of  a  universal 
reformation  can  be  and  will  be  attained." — Teacher,  p.  127. 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  85 

Thus  the  spirits  strike  at  the  very  foundations  of  the  evan- 
gelical system ;  and  while  they  flatter  the  pride  and  self- 
sufficiency  of  the  depraved  heart,  set  aside  the  only  means 
which  God  has  instituted  for  man's  recovery  and  salvation. 

IV.  Jesus  Christ  was  a  mere  man — a  reformer,  like  many 
others. 

Mr.  Boynton,  of  Waterford,  N.  Y.,  represents  John  Wesley 
as  writing  the  following  with  his  (Boynton's)  hand  : 

"It  has  been  supposed  and  believed  that  Jesus  was  all  of  God,  and 
also  a  perfect  man,  which  thing  is  false.  Jesus  was  a  great  and  good 
man ;  but  there  was  nothing  more  miraculous  about  his  conception, 
birth,  life,  and  teachings,  than  any  good  man.  Jesus  never  taught  peo- 
ple to  pay  divine  homage  to  him  ;  he  never  taught  that  he  was  the  Son 
of  God,  except  in  the  sense  in  which  other  men  might  be  the  sons  of 
God." — Unfoldings,  p.  7. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Christ.  Tis  not  as  is  generally 
supposed  the  son  of  the  Creator  of  all  things.  Any  just  and  perfect 
beincr  is  Christ.  The  crucifixion  of  Christ  is  nothing;  more  than  the 
crucifixion  of  the  spirit,  which  all  have  to  contend  with  before  becom- 
ing perfect  and  righteous.  The  miraculous  conception  of  Christ  is 
merely  a  fabulous  tale." — Spirit  of  Julias  Hicks — Telegraph,  No.  37. 

"  God  adopted  him  as  his  Son  from  his  birth,  as  he  would  every  indi- 
vidual who  should  walk  in  the  path  that  Christ  walked  in  from  his 
birth." — The  Bible  as  a  Book,  <tc,  by  Alfred  W.  Hoar,  medium — p.  22.* 

V.  Jesus  Christ  never  made  an  atonement  for  sin. 

In  the  "Pilgrimage  of  Thomas  Paine,  and  others,  to  the  seventh 
circle,"  &c,  by  G.  Hammond,  medium,  we  find  the  following : 

"Thy  wisdom  will  be  increased,  when  thou  shalt  see  the  atonement 
in  thyself,  and  not  hope  for  it  because  another  has  it.  *  *  When  thou 
6halt  agree  with  the  Bible,  in  regard  to  the  atonement,  then  thou  wilt 
find  the  atonement  in  thy  works,  as  thou  now  seest  it  in  Christ.  *  * 
Doing  good  is  the  atonement,"  p.  120. 

*  This  book,  purporting  to  be  from  St.  Paul,  is  probably  the  worst 
in  the  whole  list  of  ghost-books.     In  the  title  we  have  the  following: 

"Being  a  humble  spirit  of  God,  now  in  heaven,  I  send  forth  this 
epistle  unto  the  world,  in  the  year  of  Christ  1852,  in  the  fifth  month  of 
the  same. — Paul." 

It  is  published  by  Beta  Marsh,  Boston,  who  is  the  publisher  of  several 
other  books  of  the  same  character.  Parents,  guardians,  Christians,  and 
Christian  ministers,  will  do  well  to  beware  of  books  having  his  imprint. 


86  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

"Christ,  as  I  have  said,  gave  man  a  way  by'his  example,  to  be  re- 
deemed from  his  sins,  by  following,  in  his  daily  life,  the  laws  of  his 
being,  as  Christ  did;  but  if  man  thinks  that  by  Christ's  spilling  his 
blood  on  the  cross,  his  sins  will  be  forgiven  without  following  the  law 
and  gospel,  of  which  Christ  has  set  the  example,  he  has  fallen  into  a 
mistake  that  he  should  speedily  rid  himself  of.  *  *  This  verse  [C0II03. 
i.  4]  should  read,  "In  whom  we  have  redemption,  by  following  his  ex- 
ample, even  the  forgiveness  of  sins." — Hoar's  Bible  as  a  Book,  p.  65-6. 

The  "  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle"  thus  ridicule  the  atonement, 
through  the  mediumship  of  Mr.  Ambler.  After  speaking  of 
the  efforts  to  extend  Christianity  on  the  earth,  they  ask : 

"And  yet  what  is  the  effect  of  all  this?  Answer,  ye  who  rely  upon 
the  saving  power  of  religious  faith.  Answer,  ye  who  have  believed  in 
the  redemption  of  the  world  through  human  blood.  Answer,  ye  who 
have  cherished  the  faith  that  the  race  are  cleansed  from  its  corruptions 
through  the  sufferings  and  death  of  an  individual  who  lived  on  the 
earth  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago." — Teacher,  p.  99. 

In  the  21st  number  of  the  Spirit  Messenger  the  editor  gives 
an  account  of  "another  visit  to  Hartford/'  in  which  he  says: 

"It  may  be  stated  as  an  item  of  interest  that  Mr.  Davis  was  conse 
crated  to  the  work  of  human  redemption  under  the  name  of  a  guide 
and  leader,  by  the  light  of  whose  revealments  those  who  now  sit  in  the 
valley  and  shadow  of  death  may  be  brought  forth  to  the  blissfulness  of 
a  new  day." 

So  it  seems  that  these  sorcerers  have  installed  A.  J.  Davis 
as  the  redeemer  of  the  world,  in  the  place  of  Jesus  Christ ! 

VI.  Jesus  Christ  never  rose  from  the  dead. 

In  a  letter  from  Dr.  Bristol,  Dansviile,  1ST.  Y.,  published  in 
the  Telegraph,  No.  34,  we  have  the  following: 

"On  Sabbath  evening,  November  28,  we  were  favored  with  a  highly 
interesting  and  pungent  discourse,  on  the  'resurrection  of  the  body,' 
by  the  spirit  of  Wm.  Ellery  Channing.  It  came  very  apropos,  as  a 
diseourse  was  being  delivered  at  the  same  time  in  one  of  the  churches 
of  the  town  on  the  same  subject.  After  listening  to  the  spirit  some 
forty-five  minutes,  a  gentleman  present  raised  a  question  concerning 
the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  the  earthly  body  of  Christ.  The  spirit 
said  it  was  contrary  to  immutable  law,  hence  could  not  be.  He  then 
explained  the  Scripture  thus:  the  spirit  of  Christ  was  not  wholly  sepa- 
rated from  the  body  when  he  was  placed  in  the  tomb,  and  the  guardian 
spirits,  who  had  attended  him  through  life,  using  him  as  a  medium, 
rolled  away  the  stone,  restored  the  spirit  to  the  body,  and  Christ  walked 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  87 

bodily  out  of  the  tomb.  Some  time  afterward  lie  died  naturally,  his 
body  was  left  to  molder  back  to  dust,  and  his  spirit,  seen  only  by  those 
who  were  mediums,  ascended  to  heaven." 

This  letter  was  sent  to  Mr.  Brittan,  to  be  published  "  if  he 
thought  best;"  and  its  publication  in  the  Telegraph  shows  that 
Mr.  Brittan,  its  editor,  thinks  it  best  to  deny  the  resurrection  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  destroy  all  faith,  not 
only  in  his  Messiahship  and  redeeming  acts,  but  in  Christianity 
itself.  Well  do  these  infidels  understand,  that  if  they  can 
throw  doubt  over  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  they  succeed,  to 
the  same  extent,  in  throwing  doubt  over  the  whole  system  of 
human  redemption.  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our 
preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain." 

VII.  Jesus  Christ  never  wrought  any  miracles. 

In  the  letter  from  Dr.  Bristol,  already  referred  to,  the  spirit 
of  Channing  says : 

''The  gentleman  then  inquired  how  Lazarus  was  raised  after  having 
been  dead  three  days,  and  his  body  offensive  by  decay?  The  reply 
was :  *  Were  you  there,  sir,  to  know  that  his  body  was  putrid  ?  It  was 
not.  *  *  The  spirit  of  Lazarus  had  not  entirely  left  the  body ;  he  was 
in  a  trance.  Christ  in  his  superior  condition  saw  this,  and  by  his  mag- 
netic power  restored  the  action  of  the  system.  The  same  was  done  at 
the  restoration  of  the  maid.'  " — Telegraph,  No.  34. 

In  perfect  keeping  with  the  above,  take  the  following  from 
Brittan's  "  Shekinah,"  p.  218: 

"It  is  interesting  to  the  Christian  to  learn,  that  the  same  miracle, 
repeated  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  of  '  walking  on  the  water,'  is  recorded 
of  the  lo7ig-haired  Sa?nian,  nearly  six  hundred  years  before  the  time 
of  the  Saviour ;  and  that  he  also  calmed  the  tempestuous  waves  and 
soothed  the  waters  of  the  angry  seas,  that  his  disciples  might  safely 
pass  over  them.  And  we  shall  be  reminded  of  the  same  holy  prophet 
of  Galilee,  and  of  the  voice  heard  at  his  baptism  in  the  Jordan,  by  the 
story  told  of  the  divine  Pythagoras,  ages  before,  that  in  crossing  the 
river  Nessus,  with  a  large  company  of  his  disciples  and  friends,  a  clear 
voice  from  the  stream  was  heard  to  speak  distinctly,  by  all  present, 
saying,  'Hail!  Pythagoras!'" 

"  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  feeding  a  great  many  people  with  bread  and 
fishes.  This  was  not  correct.  *  *  God  never  gave  power  to  any 
spirit  or  object  of  his  creation  to  put  aside  any  law  of  an  object  of  hia 
creation." — Hoar's  Bible  as  a  Book,  pp.  27,  28. 


88  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

Speaking  of  the  account  of  the  transfiguration  of  Christ,  the 
same  "  spirit"  says  :  "  This  is  true,  except  as  it  relates  to  Moses 
and  Elias,"  p.  29.  Of  his  miracles,  generally,  he  says:  "In 
respect  to  the  miracles  which  he  performed  before  the  eye  of 
man,  they  are  to  be  taken  as  things  of  time,  which  have  been 
and  are  now  shown  to  the  world,"  p.  38.  Of  the  death  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  he  says :  "  The  people  thought  that  it 
was  a  miracle,  yet  this  was  not  the  case,"  p.  47. 

In  order  to  degrade  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  as  much  as 
possible,  he  is  not  only  classed  with  wise  men  (and  some  not 
very  wise)  as  only  one  among  them,  but  his  wisest  and  most 
admired  sayings  are  represented  as  having  been  borrowed  from 
others.  In  the  Messenger,  p.  187,  "Jesus,  Socrates,  and  Con- 
fucius," are  mentioned  together  as  "the  world's  most  immortal 
teachers."  And  Mr.  Brittan,  after  having  promised  his  readers 
lives  and  portraits  of  the  "  seers,"  "  both  ancient  and  modern," 
in  the  "  Shekinah,"  inserts  portraits  of  Pythagoras,  Judge  Ed- 
monds, Jesus  Christ,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  S.  B.  Brittan  !  thus 
putting  Judge  Edmonds  and  himself  among  the  "seers,"  and  so 
far  as  appears  to  the  contrary,  on  a  level  with  Jesus  Christ. 

The  following  account  of  the  origin  of  the  golden  rule,  is 
from  Mr.  Brittan's  Shekinah,  p.  308. 

"  Do  unto  another  as  thou  wouldst  be  dealt  with  thyself.  Thou  only 
needest  this  law  alone;  it  is  the  foundation  and  principle  of  all  the 
rest. — Confucius,  b.  c.  550. 

"Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  that  others  should  do  unto  you. — Jesus. 

"  It  is  much  more  holy  to  be  injured  than  to  kill  a  man. — Pythagoras, 
b  c.  600." 

Here  the  obvious  design  is  to  represent  Jesus  Christ  as  bor- 
rowing the  golden  rule,  &c,  from  Confucius  and  Pythagoras. 
In  the  16th  number  of  the  Messenger  a  writer  says : 

"If  I  understand  correctly  the  position  of  spiritualists,  the  theory 
of  super-naturalism  is  precisely  the  .thing  which  they  are  aiming  to 
overthrow." 

In  accordance  with  this  design,  the  following  fling  at  the 
miracles  of  the  Bible  is  inserted  in  the  Shekinah,  p.  218. 
Speaking  of  Pythagoras,  the  writer  says : 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE    SPIRITS.  89 

"Perceiving  likewise  an  ox  at  Tarentum  feeding  in  a  pasture,  and 
eating  among  other  things  green  beans,  he  advised  the  herdsmen  to  tell 
the  ox  to  abstain  from  the  beans.  The  herdsmen,  however,  laughed  at 
him,  and  said  that  he  did  not  understand  the  language  of  oxen,  but  if 
Pythagoras  did,  it  was  in  vain  to  advise  him  to  speak  to  the  ox,  but  fit 
that  he  himself  should  advise  the  animal  to  abstain  from  such  food. 
Pythagoras  therefore  approaching  the  ear  of  the  ox,  and  whispering  in 
it  for  a  long  time,  not  only  caused  him  then  to  refrain  from  beans,  but 
it  is  said  that  he  never  after  tasted  them.  Those  who  have  a  firm  be- 
lief in  the  stories  contained  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  will  easily  receive 
this  account,  as  it  is  much  more  credible  that  a  being  like  Pythagoras 
should  speak  with  intelligible  influence  to  the  ox,  than  that  Balaam's 
ass  should  turn  and  rebuke  the  sinful  prophet." 

The  writer  of  the  above,  it  will  be  seen,  does  not  believe  the 
"  stories  contained  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,"  but  puts  them 
down  as  far  less  "  credible"  than  the  stories  he  tells  about 
Pythagoras.  Indeed,  it  is  the  constant  efforts  of  the  "  spirits," 
and  of  the  self-styled  "  spiritualists,"  to  either  explain  away  or 
to  ridicule  all  the  miracles  of  the  Bible.  But  to  proceed  with 
the  creed  of  the  "  spirits  :" 

VIII.  The  Bible  is  the  ivork  of  disembodied  human  spirits, 
and  not  the  Word  of  God. 

"The  seers  and  prophets  wThose  names  are  mentioned  in  the  primitive 
history  [the  Bible]  wTere  mediums.  *  *  It  was  in  this  manner  that  the 
waitings  of  the  Bible,  wrhich  have  been  properly  termed  the  Scriptures, 
wrere  originated.  *  *  *  Therefore  will  the  spirits  assure  the  world 
that  the  Bible  is  not  the  direct  and  infallible  Word  of  God.  *  *  * 
The  spirits  would  claim  the  authorship  of  these  records  as  they  were 
primarily  given  to  the  world." — "Spirits"  through  P.  P.  Ambler — 
Teacher,  p.  46. 

"The  Bible,  when  first  written,  was  nothing  more  than  a  book  writ- 
ten through  mediums,  as  I  am  now  writing  through  my  medium.  Its 
contents  were  not  composed  of  all  the  books  that  are  in  it  at  present. 
Some  of  the  Old  Testament  wras  written  by  men  who  had  no  more 
power  than  I  had  to  preach  the  gospel  before  I  had  my  conversion." — 
St.  Paul,  through  Mr.  Hoar,  p.  9. 

Thus  the  Bible  is  degraded  to  a  level  with  the  infidel  ghost- 
books,  from  which  we  are  now  making  extracts.  Read  also  the 
following,  on  the  subject  of  inspiration  : 

"  Revelation  is  one  of  the  natural  gifts  which  the  Divine  Father  be- 


9t> 


SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 


stows  upon  his  earthly  children.  There  is  nothing  which  is  in  the  least 
supernatural  in  any  of  the  revelations  that  have  ever  been  given  to 
man.  But  in  all  ages  the  influx  of  truth  has  visited  the  human  mind 
in  a  mode  as  simple  and  natural  as  that  in  which  the  light  flows  from 
the  sun,  or  the  raindrops  fall  from  the  clouds." — Ambler's  Messenger, 
No.  3. 

Mr.  Finney's  views,  when  "under  spiritual  influence,"  are  thus 
set  forth  by  Mr.  Ambler : 

"Mr.  Finney, in  his  lectures,  passes  high  eulogiums  upon  the  character 
and  extraordinary  powers  of  Christ,  but  denies  the  Trinity.  He  believes 
in  a  God  of  great  controlling  power;  but  denies  a  God  of  special  prov- 
idences or  partiality  and  vengeance:  nor  does  he  believe  in  the  divine 
inspiration  of  the  Bible,"  <fec. — Messenger. 

"  IX.  The  Bible  is  one  of  the  ivorst  of  books,  full  of  error, 
and  a  source  of  profanity  and  corruption. 

"The  influence  and  effects  which  have  flowed  from  the  authority  of 
the  Bible  have  been  of  the  most  deleterious  character,  tending  to  de- 
grade rather  than  elevate,  to  confine  rather  than  expand,  and  to  crush 
and  to  destroy  rather  than  to  ennoble  and  save." — Teacher,  p.  44. 

In  the  "  Spirit  Unfoldings,"  written  through  W.  Boynton, 
John  Wesley  is  represented  as  saying : 

"The  men  who  wrote  the  Bible  were  not  always  under  full  control 
of  the  spirit  communicating,  so  that  many  errors  crept  into  the  Bible; 
besides,  with  interpolations  and  wrong  translations,  we  have  the  truth 
greatly  adulterated.  *  *  *  The  Bible  has  more  good  teachings  than 
any  other  work,  and  has  more  evil ;  choose  the  good,  discard  the  evil." 

In  an  address  delivered  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Sunday,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1852,  by  A.  J.  Davis,  we  have  the  following : 

"From  the  New  Testament  alone  you  may  find  the  entire  vocabulary 
of  the  profane  man.  And  when  any  clergyman  preaches  against  the 
use  of  profane  language — a  habit,  like  smoking  and  chewing,  unfit  for 
man — would  it  not  be  well  for  him  to  look  somewhat  into  its  origin? 
Let  him  show  the  people — no  matter  what  they  say — how  children 
learn  to  swear;  and  where,  from  what  source  of  corruption,  the  dis- 
gusting words  are  drawn." 

"  From  the  New  Testament  alone  you  may  find."  Surely  it 
must  be  a  "  seer"  who  can  write  with  such  perspicuity.  But, 
muddy  as  he  is,  he  manages  to  c  y.v?ey  the  idea  that  the  New 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  91 

Testament  is  a  "  source  of  corruption/'  and  this  is  one  of  the 
obvious  designs  of  all  his  writings  and  lectures.  If  there  is 
such  a  being  as  an  infidel  on  earth,  A.  J.  Davis  is  one ;  and  yet 
he  is  looked  up  to  by  nearly  all  the  "  circles"  in  the  land  as 
the  great  pioneer  and  high-priest  of  the  "  new  philosophy." 

The  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Davis  holds  the  Bible,  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  following  editorial  remarks,  taken  from  the 
"  Light  from  the  Spirit  World." 

"|j]^"We  notice  that  the  celebrated  seer  .of  our  time  has  recently 
appeared  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Rev.  Theodore  Parker,  in  the  city  of 
Boston.  *  *  The  seer's  text  for  the  occasion  was  'All  the  world's  a 
stage,'  from  which  he  unfolded  his  discourse,  which  is  said  to  have  pro- 
duced a  profound  impression  upon  his  audience." 

Here  we  have  a  professed  "  seer"  in  the  pulpit  of  a  professed 
minister  of  Christ,  pouring  contempt  upon  divine  revelation,  on 
the  holy  Sabbath,  by  taking  a  text  out  of  Shakspeare  !  In 
perfect  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  their  great  leader,  the  infidel 
spiritists  of  Ohio  held  an  anti-Bible  convention,  in  which  the 
most  blasphemous  resolutions  were  presented  and  discussed, 
and  the  spirit-papers  published  the  proceedings,  and  rejoiced 
over  the  movement  as  one  promising  great  good  to  their  cause. 
In  the  same  manner,  a  slur  upon  the  Bible  published  in  the 
New  York  Tribune  is  copied  at  once,  both  by  Brittan  and  Am- 
bler, as  a  choice  morsel  for  their  readers.  The  following  is  Mr. 
Ambler's  preface  to  the  extract : 

"The  Primitive  History. — The  book,  which  is  esteemed  sacred  by 
the  Christian  world,  is  beginning  to  be  regarded  with  a  more  searching 
scrutiny  than  is  consistent  with  the  claim  of  infallibility.  When  the 
veil  of  sectarian  bigotry  is  removed  from  the  mind,  it  appears  that  this 
book,  though  long  worshiped  as  the  embodiment  of  all  truth,  is  not  so 
altogether  faultless  and  reliable  as  has  been  commonly  supposed.  The 
following  statement  of  facts,  which  we  copy  from  the  Tribune,  throws 
a  slight  shade  on  the  primitive  history." 

"A.  W.  Hoar,  medium,"  represents  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul  as 
going  through  the  Bible,  and  speaking  of  the  different  books  on 
this  wise : 

Genesis. — "About  as  true  as  any  fictitious  work  that  is  now  print 
ed,"  d.  10. 


92  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

Exodus. — "  As  good  a  book  as  could  be  expected  in  that  day." — Ibid. 

Leviticus. — "Not  directly  from  God,  as  man  supposes,"  p.  12. 

Numbers. — "Such  an  absurdity  as  that  [the  facts  stated  in  chapter 
1st]  ought  to  be  cast  into  the  lowest  depth  of  the  infernal  regions," 
p.  13. 

Joshua. — "Almost  the  whole  book  is  false." — Ibid. 

Judges. — "About  the  same  as  the  others;  and  it  needs  no  argument 
to  show  that  it  is  void  of  inspiration,"  p.  14. 

Ruth. — "Without  inspiration,  the  same  as  the  others,"  p.  15. 

Samuel. — "A  part  of  it  is  correct,"  p.  15. 

Kings. — "Multitudes  of  mistakes — not  correct — no  inspiration,"  pp. 
16,  11. 

Ezra. — "By  a  person  bearing  its  name,  without  inspiration,"  p.  17. 

Job. — "  Written  through  mediums — would  have  been  correct,  had  it 
not  been  that  man  destroyed  its  purity,"  pp.  18,  19. 

Psalms. — "Written  in  the  same  way,  and  some  of  them  are  correct," 
p.  19. 

The  rest  of  the  books  in  the  Old  Testament  are  said  to  be 
"somewhat  correct  in  the  main"  (p.  20) ;  and  in  reference  to 
tbe  whole,  this  "  spirit"  of  darkness  says :  "  Let  me  say  unto 
you,  0  man !  at  this  day,  in  regard  to  the  Old  Testament, 
'mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharsin,'  "  p.  21. 

In  the  same  strain  this  "  medium"  passes  on  through  the 
New  Testament,  exclaiming,  as  he  passes  from  book  to  book, 
through  the  gospels,  epistles,  and  Apocalypse,  "  not  correct," 
" mistake,"  "fictitious,"  "contrary  to  the  will  of  God  !"  &c. ;  and 
as  a  climax,  we  have  the  following : 

"The  Bible,  as  a  book,  represents  God  as  a  changeable  Being,  chang- 
ing so  as  to  suit  the  different  periods  of  earth.  At  one  time  it  repre- 
sents Him  as  a  savage  monster,  sending  forth  his  word  to  men  to  slay 
one  another;  and  at  another  time  it  represents  Him  as  a  merciful  Be- 
ing, dealing  out  mercy  to  all  the  people  of  earth.  At  another  time  He 
sends  them  into  a  hell  of  fire  and  brimstone. 

"Such,  0  man!  are  the  principles  the  books  you  call  the  Bible  are 
conveying  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.     0  horrible!"  pp.  91-2. 

"The  Old  Testament,  which  Christ  declared  wrong  and  wicked,  you 
are  still  calling  the  Word  of  God.  *  *  *  Although  your  angelic  fathers, 
by  the  wisdom  of  God,  are  allowed  to  come  unto  you,  and  do  nway 
with  the  wicked  precepts  of  your  Bible,"  <fec,  pp.  93,  95. 

In  a  word,  there  is  no  one  point  on  which  the  spiritists  are 
more  open  and  undisguised  than  in  their  contempt  of  the  Word 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  93 

of  God.  There  is  not  one  in  fifty  of  them  that  has  any  faith 
whatever  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  yet  the  very  "  spirits" 
who  declare,  as  in  the  first  quotation  upon  this  point,  that  they 
indited  the  Bible,  declare  in  the  same  book,  as  above  cited,  that 
it  is  one  of  the  worst  of  books. 

X.  There  are  no  such  beings  as  devils. 

"The  imagination  of  evil  spirits  is  an  image,  only  belonging  to  the 
human  mind  while  such  mind  is  yet  in  an  unenlightened  or  undevel- 
oped state,"  &e. — Spirit  of  J.  V.  Wilson — Love  and  Wisdom,  p.  98. 

"I  asked  if  there  was  any  devil.  Answer:  'No.'  'Are  all  spirits 
happy  after  death?'  'Yes,  measurably.'  'What  church  is  nearest 
right?'  Answer:  'Universalist  doctrine  is  nearest, right.'  " — Telegrapht 
No.  3. 

"There  are  no  bad  spirits;  that  is,  no  devils  or  demons.  Those 
spirits  Ave  have  conversed  with  will  not  allow  us  to  use  the  term." — 
Supernal  Theology,  p.  71. 

"The  spirits  utterly  disclaim  all  truth  in  the  imaginations  of  indi- 
viduals who  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  evil  spirits." — Teacher,  p.  116. 

XI.  There  is  no  such  'place  as  hell. 

"Hell,  as  I  have  said  before,  is  no  particular  place." — Bible  as  a  Book, 
p.  34. 

"  God,  in  his  wisdom  and  mercy  to  man,  has  ordered  that  all  men 
shall  at  last  be  happy." — Ibid,  p.  34. 

In  the  ninth  number  of  the  Messenger,  the  spirit  of  Dr.  Em- 
monds  is  represented  as  saying : 

"I  was  one  of  the  Old  School,  a  strong,  bold  preacher  of  the  doctrine 
of  eternal  punishment ;  would  that  those  sermons  were  buried  in  ob- 
livion!    They  are  a  curse  to  the  world." 

Ou  the  twelfth  page  of  Mr.  Boynton's  pamphlet,  the  spirit 
of  Lorenzo  Dow  is  made  to  say  : 

"  Hell  and  devil  are  the  creatures  of  fancy  in  the  first  place,  and  in 
the  latter  are  mere  personifications  of  evil  and  misery,  which  are  all 
found  and  experienced  when  in  the  rudimental  sphere." 

Even  Emanuel  Swedenborg  has  something  to  retract  upon 
this  point : 

"Friends,  I  have  long  wished  to  correct  my  errors — the  errors  of  my 
writings.  This  was  one  of  its  most  prominent  ones,  this  antagonism  of 
heaven  and  hell,  of  God  and  Satan,  of  light  and  darkness,  of  life  eter- 


94  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

nal  and  eternal  death,  which  in  contrast  stands,  but  not  in  truth ;  only 
in  my  former  rudimental  misconception." — Messenger,  No.  9. 

Take  also  the  following  : 

"The  passive  find  no  eternal  hell;  the  spirits  rap  out  'no  eternal 
hell ;'  and  those  spirits,  from  whom  prejudiced  mediums  say  they  got 
their  proof  of  an  eternal  hell,  rap  out  that  they  are  not  sufficiently  de- 
veloped or  advanced  to  be  reliable ;  and  the  same  spirits  recommend 
Davis'  Spiritual  Intercourse  to  such  mediums." — /.  B.  Wolff — Telegraph, 
No.  2. 

In  another  number  of  the  Telegraph  we  find  the  following 
"  communication  :" 

"Who  are  you?  (Answered  alphabetically):  ' Lawrence  Corbett,* 
the  infidel.'  Are  you  in  heaven  ?  Three  raps  then  followed.  Are  you 
happy?  'Rap,  rap,  rap.'  Were  you  ever  punished  for  your  sins  on 
earth?  'Rap,  rap,  rap.'  In  what  manner?  It  then  spelled,  'By  being 
debarred  the  pleasure  of  seeing  God.'  Is  there  any  hell,  such  as  is 
mentioned  in  the  Bible  ?     *  No.' " 

XII.  There  will  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

This  is  taught  where  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  denied,  and 
by  representing  the  spirit  as  progressing  onward  forever,  with- 
out ever  alluding  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  finds  no  place  in  the  "supernal 
theology." 

XIII.  There  will  be  no  future  day  of  judgment. 

After  having  described  the  orthodox  belief  upon  this  sub- 
ject, Mr.  Boynton  represents  John  Wesley  as  saying : 

*  "Lawrence  Cobbett"  was  an  infidel,  born  in  Manchester,  England. 
This  was  the  man  who  went  to  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  where  the  noto- 
rious "Tom  Paine"  was  buried,  dug  up  his  bones  in  the  night,  and 
conveyed  them  to  England,  where  he  intended  to  have  had  them  made 
up  into  buttons,  to  be  worn  by  the  infidels  in  a  monster  procession 
which  he  contemplated  getting  up  in  honor  of  Paine.  But  Cobbett 
dying  suddenly,  the  bones  of  Paine  were  found  among  his  bankrupt 
effects,  and  were  sold  as  curiosities  to  the  highest  bidder.  See  "Fate 
of  Infidelity  "  p.  75. 

The  reader  will  please  observe,  however,  that  though  this  spirit  "an- 
swered alphabetically,"  he  spells  his  name  "Lawrence  Corbett,"  instead 
of  "  William  Cobbett,"  as  he  used  to  while  on  earth.  What  is  the  mat- 
ter ?     Has  the  "spirit"  forgotten  how  to  spell  his  own  name ? 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  95 

"All  this  I  unqualifiedly  assert  is  false ;  not  a  shadow  of  truth  in  the 
whole  of  it."     See  " Unfolding s." 

To  the  same  effect  are  the  teachings  of  the  "  spirits"  through 
Mr.  Hammond,  of  Rochester: 

"When  will  he  judge  the  world?  "When  the  world  do  wrong,  and 
when  they  do  right.  *  *  I  know  of  no  end  to  his  judgment,"  <fcc. — 
Pilgrimage,  pp.  119,  120. 

"The  day  of  judgment  is  every  day  with  God,  as  long  as  the  world 
exists." — Bible  as  a  Booh,  p.  75. 

XIV.  Christianity  is  a  cunningly  devised  fable  ;  an  injury, 
rather  than  a  blessing  to  mankind. 

"It  is  now  proper  to  consider  the  inefficiency  of  the  religion  of  the 
Church  to  renovate  and  reform  the  world.  From  a  corrupt  and  pol- 
luting spring  can  flow  no  streams  which  will  serve  to  impart  life  and 
vigor  to  the  soil  which  it  moistens ;  and  on  the  same  general  principle, 
there  can  proceed  no  saving  or  elevating  influence  from  the  systems  of 
religious  faith  which  are  intrinsically  rotten  and  polluted.  For  long 
centuries  has  the  religion  of  the  Church  exerted  its  influence  on  the 
world;  and  down  through  the  channels  of  human  society  have  flowed 
the  murky  streams  of  death,  which  have  proceeded  from  the  fountain 
that  has  been  established  in  the  very  heart  of  the  world." — Spirits  of 
the  Sixth  Circle — Teacher,  p.  99. 

"In  all  the  efforts  of  past  centuries,  this  religion  has  been  entirely 
incapable  of  promoting  the  true  interests  of  the  world.  It  has  been 
unsuccessful  in  securing  the  reformation  and  refinement  which  it  pro- 
fesses to  have  in  view,  and  it  has  failed — signally  failed — to  create  any 
deep  and  lasting  effect  which  can  be  recognized  as  a  blessing  to  hu- 
manity."— Ibid. 

The  reader  will  please  observe,  that  the  "spirits"  are  not 
speaking  of  existing  churches  as  such,  in  contrast  with  primi- 
tive Christianity,  but  of  the  religion  of  Christ  as  a  whole,  from 
first  to  last.  And  what  infidel  ever  spoke  out  more  decidedly 
than  these  "  spirits  ?" 

"  The  religion  which  the  Church  aims  to  inculcate  is  a  religion  of 
form  and  ceremonies,  in  which  there  is  not  sufficient  vitality  to  keep 
the  soul  from  death ;  and  the  Church  itself,  being  destitute  of  any  ani- 
mating life,  is  a  dead  and  rotten  organization,  which  is  ready  to  crum- 
ble and  dissolve." — Teacher,  p.  86. 

"  The  spirits  have  mourned  that  this  has  been  the  sad  fate  of  those 
who  have  bowed  before  the  altars  of  the  Church,  and  they  have  seen 


98  SPIRIT- RAITING    UNVEILED. 

that  the  religion  which  is  here  born  and  nourished  is  the  productive 
source  of  all  the  degradation  of  the  soul  to  which  these  have  been  sub- 
jected."— Ibid.,  p.  92. 

"The  adherents  of  the  religion  of  the  Church  have  been  debased 
and  contracted  in  all  their  thoughts,  feelings,  and  desires;  and  that 
they  have  been  deprived  from  receiving  those  pure  delights  and  exalted 
pleasures  which  are  enjoyed  alone  by  the  free  mind." — Ibid.,  p.  93. 

While  at  West  Wins  ted,  Ct.,  not  long*  since,  the  writer  heard 
a  Mr.  P.  C.  Turner,  whom  Mr.  Brittan  pronounces  "one  of  the 
most  devoted  friends  of  the  spiritual  cause,"  ridicule  the  Chris- 
tian religion  as  "  ihe  Christian  humbug."  We  use  his  own 
words ;  and  yet  this  is  "  one  of  the  most  devoted  friends  of  the 
spiritual  cause"  in  all  Connecticut. 

XY.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  are  time -serving  slaves,  full  of 
hypocrisy  and  corruption,  and  the  foes  of  human  progress. 

"The  priests,  of  whom  I  have  before  distinctly  spoken,  can,  in  your 
present  state,  do  you  little  good.  They,  also,  are  in  bondage.  Your 
rulers,  dependent  constantly  on  public  favor,  cannot  utter  that  thought, 
which  has  come  from  God,  down  into  their  inmost  hearts.  They  are 
slaves  ;  your  rulers  are  slaves  ;  slaves  are  they  to  those  on  whom  they 
are  constantly  dependent ;  and  they,  together  with  your  priests,  would 
fasten  fetters  upon  the  people,  and  keep  you,  one  and  all,  where  you 
now  are.  They  are  unwilling  to  move  onward,  because  all  motion,  all 
motion  is  unfavorable  to  their  individual  interests.  They  stand  in  the 
way  of  human  progress.  They  are,  they  are  its  deadliest  foes." — Mur- 
ray's Messages,  p.  139. 

"  I  see  you,  your  heads  bowed  down  to  the  earth ;  but  it  shall  not 
always  be  so.  A  better  day  is  soon  to  dawn  upon  you.  It  must  come. 
Not  suddenly,  my  young  friend ;  let  not  the  inhabitants  of  your  earth 
be  disturbed.  Important  changes  come  gradually ;  and  there  will  be 
ample  time,  as  I  have  before  said,  ample  time  for  the  old  teachers  to 
make  arrangements  for  themselves.  They  will  go  out,  and  engage  in 
other  and  useful  avocations;  and  let  them  go." — Ibid.,  p.  128. 

"And  then  he  who  pompously — 0,  he  thinks,  he  thinks,  of  himself; 
that  he  is  of  great  importance  !  0,  he  struts  about  on  your  earth,  among 
the  inhabitants  thereof;  and  some  of  the  people  go  down  on  their  knees 
to  him !  But  the  light,  my  young  friend,  shall  come ;  and  he  shall  be 
stripped  of  that  covering  which  now  conceals  him.  0,  horror!  0, 
that  inside!  that  inside!  'We  see  it.  With  emotions  of  pity,  of  pity, 
we  look  upon  it!  His  covering  shall  be  taken  off,  and  he  shall  stand 
up  as  he  is." — Ibid.,  p.  157 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  97 

To  the  same  effect,  Lorenzo  Dow  is  represented  as  writing 
with  the  hand  of  Mr.  Boynton : 

"All  Christians,  or  professed  Christians,  are  idolaters;  they  preach 
against  idolatry,  but  they  are  paying  divine  homage  to  a  created  being. 
AH  are  not  thus  hypocritical;  many  are  ignorant,  but  the  priests,  most 
of  them,  know  better.  "When  I  say  priest,  I  mean  the  clergy  of  all 
sects;  they  are  the  worst  class  spirits  have  to  deal  with." — Unfolding s, 
p.  13. 

The  feeling  of  the  "  spirits"  towards  the  Christian  ministry, 
is  apparent  from  the  course  taken  by  the  spirit-papers  towards 
different  clergymen.  As  it  is  the  great  object  of  the  infidel 
leaders  in  the  movement  to  destroy  Christianity,  root  and 
branch,  it  is  very  important  to  their  success  that,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, they  destroy  all  confidence  in  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
To  this  end,  no  opportunity  for  slandering  the  "  priests"  is 
allowed  to  pass  unimproved.  The  Telegraph,  especially,  is 
famous  for  this  diabolical  work.  Not  only  is  the  writer  slan- 
dered in  its  vile  columns  from  week  to  week,  by  the  publication 
of  the  most  unblushing  falsehoods,  but  its  wormwood  and  gall 
are  poured  out  upon  other  ministers,  and  that,  too,  without  the 
slightest  provocation. 

In  the  forty-fifth  number  of  the  Telegraph,  Mr.  Brittan  tries 
his  hand  upon  the  reputation  of  Dr..  Tyng,  a  well-known  and 
excellent  clergyman  of  this  city.  He  represents  the  doctor  as 
much  annoyed  by  spirit-rapping  in  his  house,  and  as  saying  in 
his  pulpit  that,  "  if  this  annoyance  continued*  to  increase,  he 
should  be  obliged  to  abandon  his  ministry."  This  libelous  edi- 
torial has  been  copied  by  the  spirit-paper,  and  extensively  circu- 
lated ;  and  yet  the  whole  story  is  a  fabrication,  with  scarcely  a 
word  of  truth  in  it.  Speaking  of  this  article,  the  Church 
Journal  observes  : 

"  Our  Philadelphia  correspondent  states  that  the  papers  in  that  city 
nave  republished  a  ridiculous  paragraph  concerning  Dr.  Tyng's  connec- 
tion with  the  rapping  humbug,  which  originally  appeared  in  a  New 
Fork  paper.  Our  correspondent  is  right  in  discrediting  so  absurd  a 
itatement.  "We  have  very  good  and  direct  authority  for  stating  that 
She  paragraph  referred  to  contains  about  *  as  many  lies  as  lines/  H 

5 


98  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

Surely,  Satan  must  be  greatly  delighted  to  hear  gospel  min- 
isters thus  slandered  and  vilified,  and  especially  by  professed 
messages  from  the  other  world.  It  is  no  small  compliment, 
however,  to  the  ministry  of  the  country,  that  even  on  the  show- 
ing of  the  "  spirits"  themselves,  the  ministers  of  righteousness 
are  "  the  worst  class  the  spirits  have  to  deal  with."  May  the 
God  of  all  grace  keep  his  watchmen  faithful,  and  make  them 
more  and  more  a  bulwark  against  every  type  of  infidelity,  and 
every  species  of  delusion. 

XVI.  The  churches  of  the  land  must  be  broken  up,  and  our 
houses  of  worship  forsaken. 

In  the  Telegraph,  No.  8,  we  find  the  following : 

''This  is  the  commencement  of  the  millennium,  and  it  will  be  estab- 
lished on  the  ruins  of  all  churches.  Sectarianism  must  come  down 
before  truth  and  love  can  reign  among  men.  The  clergy,  instead  of 
leading  men  to  God,  are  barriers  in  their  way." 

In  Ambler's  Messenger,  No.  7,  we  have  the  following : 

"The  New  Theology. — It  cannot  escape  the  observation  of  any  in- 
dividual, who  will  carefully  note  the  movements  and  signs  of  the  times, 
that  there  is  a  new  system  of  theological  teaching  arising  in  the  world 
to  take  the  place  of  the  old  and  threadbare  doctrines  which  have  con- 
stituted the  essence  of  popular  religion.  *  *  *  Yet,  though  the 
theology  which  has  been  long  cherished  and  defended  by  the  Church  is 
fast  growing  old,  and  is  even  now  ready  to  vanish  away,  there  exists 
an  urgent  necessity  on  the  part  of  the  true  reformer  to  make  his  arm 
strong  for  its  final  overthrow  and  extinction." 

In  the  same  paper,  it  is  said  that  "  theologians  and  priests 
have  reason  to  fear  that  their  craft  is  in  danger,  and  are  ear- 
nestly inquiring  :  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?"  So, 
in  the  Telegraph:  "The  priests  begin  to  tremble  at  our  pro- 
gress, and  to  avoid  the  effect  of  our  influence,  have  got  up 
'  union  meetings/  "  &c.  Ballou,  Hammond,  and  Post,  and  in- 
deed all  the  ghost-book  writers,  are  of  one  accord,  and  unite 
in  the  common  cry  of  "Down  with  the  churches  /" 

"The  true  worshiper  would  scorn  it.  He  would  spurn  you  from 
him,  should  you  come  to  him,  and  offer  him  gold  and  silver  to  engage 
in  the  praises  of  God.     And  the  man  of  black  stands  there  with  solemn 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE    SPIRITS.  99 

face,  and  lengthened  visage,  and  passes  an  hour,  and  goes  away.  Such, 
you  call  worship.     It  will  pass  away." — Ambler's  Teacher,  p.  130. 

"The  Church  has  lost  its  potency;  it  is  no  longer  able  to  war  suc- 
cessfully with  reason,  or  suppress  the  rising  and  invincible  spirit  of  in- 
vestigation. Sectarianism  and  bigotry  may  retard  the  progress  of  truth 
for  a  season,  but  its  light  they  can  never  extinguish" — Telegraph. 

"And  may  every  true  man,  every  reformer,  join  his  hand,  and  heart, 
and  power,  in  trying  to  elevate  humanity,  and  to  break  up  those  huge 
and  monstrous  institutions,  which  only  tend  to  darken  his  mind,  to  stifle 
the  outgushings  of  his  own  nature,  and  to  scatter  death  and  destruction 
broadcast  in  the  land." — Messenger. 

Here  the  mask  is  fairly  thrown  off,  and  the  design  of  these  in- 
fidels to  "break  up"  the  churches  of  the  land  is  openly  avowed. 
But  hear  Mr.  Ambler  still  further : 

"Mr.  Finney  and  myself  have  delivered  several  lectures  in  this  city, 
which  have  been  exceedingly  well  attended.  Thus  far,  our  lectures 
have  been  devoted  chiefly  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds,  and  the 
dispelling  of  theological  darkness  from  the  minds  of  the  people.  It  is 
clearly  seen  by  spirits,  that  the  time  has  now  come  when  an  open  and 
fearless  exposure  of  mythological  errors  is  essential  to  the  reformation 
which  they  are  seeking  to  accomplish.  Hence  they  will  cause  the  me- 
diums, whom  they  control,  to  speak  plainly  on  theological  questions. 
The  ground  which  has  been  falsely  deemed  too  sacred  for  mortal  feet 
to  tread,  shall  be  examined  by  the  light  of  reason ;  and  the  creeds  and 
dogmas  which  are  unable  to  endure  the  light,  shall  be  dissolved  thereby, 
and  sink  back  into  their  native  darkness." — Messenger. 

In  a  "  vision,"  written  by  Judge  Edmonds,  headed  "Spare 
the  Clergy,"  and  published  in  the  Telegraph,  the  people  are 
represented  as  leaving  their  churches  and  ministers,  and  going 
off  in  droves  after  the  spirit-rappers ;  and  at  length  the  minis- 
ter also  leaves  the  house  of  God,  and  follows  his  people  into 
the  "new  philosophy."  The  judge  has  recently  written  a  let- 
ter, in  which  he  states  that  before  he  left  for  the  South,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health  (mental,  as  well  as  physical,  we  hope),  he 
had  terrible  doubts  as  to  the  spiritual  origin  of  his  "  visions." 
Like  Mr.  Harshman,  he  ought  to  have  applied  to  A.  J.  Davis, 
to  have  settled  the  question  for  him  whether  he  wrote  from  his 
own  resources,  or  was  assisted  by  some  foreign  "  spirit."  It  is 
by  no  means  strange  that  the  judge  should  have  some  misgivings 


100  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

upon  this  point ;  and  if  he  does  not  lose  his  balance,  and  be- 
come a  maniac  before  he  gets  through  with  his  "  visions,"  it 
will  be  next  to  a  miracle. 

XVII.  All  civil  governments  and  laws  are  wrong,  and  ought 
to  be  abolished. 

Upon  this  subject,  the  following  is  alleged  to  have  been  given 
by  the  spirit  of  George  Washington,  through  the  medium  of 
Mr.  Harshman  : 

"But  0,  how  different  is  the  case  with  those  who  have  been  illumin- 
ated from  the  spirit  world!  they  need  no  arbitrary  laws  of  human 
enactments  to  control  their  actions^ — no.  They  need  no  unenlightened 
legislative  body,  to  meet  in  idleness  and  consume  their  earnings;  to 
enact  laws  the  most  arbitrary  and  corrupt,  to  degrade  and  enslave  suf- 
fering humanity.  Those  minds  have  no  necessity  for  any  human  gov- 
ernment whatever,  they  have  been  elevated  by  spiritual  illumination 
above  those  selfish  and  terrestrial  things ;  they  need  not  the  meeting  of 
legislative  bodies,  for  they  are  governed  by  internal  and  spiritual  laws 
which  are  infinite  in  their  being — laws  of  love,  which  govern  the  spirit 
of  man  in  infinite  wisdom  and  universal  harmony." — Love  and  Wisdom, 
p.  180. 

"Thus  we  desire  to  communicate  to  the  nation  that  forms  the  front 
of  spiritual  progression,  that  your  government  is  corrupt  and  arbitrary, 
and  is  not  adapted  to  the  government  of  spiritual  men  in  the  approach- 
ing era.  There  was  a  time  when  your  government  was  adapted  to  the 
then  present  state  of  man's  development,  but  that  time  is  now  going  by. 
If  you  would  introduce  harmony  into  your  nation,  you  must  dispense 
with  all  arbitrary  laws,"  <fcc. — Ibid.,  p.  182. 

"For  as  fast  as  man  advances  in  spiritual  wisdom  by  the  laws  of  de- 
velopment and  progression,  so  fast  will  he  dispense  with  the  selfish 
iaws  and  customs  of  human  construction,  for  they  will  become  unfit  for 
his  government ;  he  will  see,  by  degrees,  their  unfitness  and  entire  in- 
adaptation  to  his  more  fully  developed  nature." — Ibid.,  p.  192. 

"  The  nation  that  is  enabled  to  progress  in  this  spiritual  light,  and 
under  such  spiritual  influence,  will  be  able  to  psychologize  and  reform 
the  whole  world." — Ibid.,  p.  184. 

XVIII.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  of  no  binding  force,  and 
its  observance  ought  to  be  disregarded. 

This  follows  from  the  rejection  of  the  Bible  as  the  rule  of 
duty  ;  and  the  "mediums"  and  "seers"  pay  no  more  regard  to 
the  Sabbath  than  to  any  other  day.     Many  "  circles"  devote  it 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  101 

to  rapping,  dancing,  and  card-playing ;  and  throughout  their 
writing,  from  first  to  last,  there  is  not  the  least  reference  to  its 
sanctity.  On  the  other  hand,  St.  Paul  is  made  to  say,  through 
"A.  W.  Hoar,  medium,"  that  "Christ  had  all  days  alike  with 
him  *  *  had  no  set  time  to  work,"  &c,  p.  43.  I  know  not  a 
man  or  woman  who  is  prominent  in  this  movement,  who  does 
not  disregard  the  claims  of  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

o 

XIX.  The  marriage  institution  is  wrong,  and  ought  to  be 
abolisjied. 

The  following  is  from  the  "  Light  from  the  Spirit  World." 

"  Marriage  is  a  law  of  heaven ;  the  marriage  of  the  spirit  is  the  only 
marriage  to  abide  in  any  condition.  The  marriage  institution  of  man 
is  wrong,  and  must  be  annulled  ere  the  race  is  redeemed." 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  Shekinah,  p.  412,  Mr.  Erittan 
says  : 

"To  change  the  entire  structure  of  society  is  not  the  work  of  a  day ; 
nor  can  the  transition  be  aceomplished  without  a  suitable  preparation 
of  the  social  elements.  Those  who  aim  at  the  ultimatum,  without  the 
appropriate  intermediate  steps,"  &c. 

Here  Mr.  B.  does  not  disguise  the  fact,  that  he  and  his  asso- 
ciate necromancers  design  to  change  "  the  whole  structure  of 
society."  This  is  the  ultimatum  ;  and  he  exhorts  his  deluded 
followers  to  take  the  "  intermediate  steps"  to  bring  it  to  pass. 
He  is  now  laboring  most  industriously  to  prepare  "  the  social 
elements"  for  the  much  desired  consummation.  We  trust,  how- 
ever, that  if  Mr.  B.  ever  sees  the  "marriage  institution  of  man 
annulled,"  he  will  have  to  go  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake  to  see  it; 
and  as  this  feature  of  the  "  new  philosophy"  is  now  in  vigorous 
operation  there  among  the  Mormons,  he  may  perhaps  reach  his 
"ultimatum,"  without  "changing  the  entire  structure  of  so- 
ciety." 

The  creed  of  the  "spirits"  on  the  subject  of  marriage  is 
clearly  set  forth  in  the  Pilgrimage  of  Thomas  Paine,  &c,  by 
"  Rev.  C.  Hammond."  On  page  15,  Paine  is  made  to  describe 
his  own  death.  As  he  is  dying,  the  spirit  of  a  lady  appears  to 
him — one  whom  he  had  "  loved  in  his  youth,"  but  who  was 


102  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

dead — and  makes  herself  known.  He  says  : — "  We  were  united. 
Nothing  but  the  form  of  marriage  was  wanting  to  make  us  one 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  We  were  married.  I  loved  her," 
&c.  And  this  lady  is  his  "  companion''  in  all  his  pilgrimage 
through  the  spheres. 

Now  let  it  be  observed — 

1.  That  the  doctrine  taught  is  that  they  were  married,  al- 
though no  "form  of  marriage"  had  been  observed. 

2.  Although  they  had  never  been  married,  this  lady  is  his 
"  companion"  in  all  his  travels,  in  preference  to  his  first  wife, 
who  had  been  dead  several  years ;  his  second  wife,  who  had 
left  him ;  and  the  woman  with  whom  he  was  living  in  fornica- 
tion at  the  time  of  his  death.  Thus  the  "marriage  institution 
of  man,"  as  it  is  called,  is  set  aside  by  the  "  spirits,"  as  of  no 
account  whatever. 

The  following  extract  will  throw  some  light  upon  the  life  and 
death  of  the  hero  of  the  "  Pilgrimage  :" 

"  His  first  wife  is  said  to  have  died  of  ill  usage.  His  second  was  ren- 
dered so  miserable  by  neglect  and  unkindness,  that  they  separated  by 
mutual  agreement.  His  third  coinpanion — not  his  wife — was  the  victim 
of  his  seduction,  while  he  lived  upon  the  hospitality  of  her  husband. 
Holding  a  place  in  the  excise  of  England,  he  was  dismissed  for  irregu- 
larity ;  restored,  and  dismissed  again  for  fraud,  without  recovery.  Un- 
able to  get  employment  where  he  was  known,  he  came  to  this  country, 
commenced  politician,  and  pretended  some  faith  in  Christianity.  Con- 
gress gave  him  an  office,  from  which,  being  soon  found  guilty  of  a 
breach  of  trust,  he  was  expelled  with  disgrace.  The  French  revolution 
allured  him  to  France.  Habits  of  intoxication  made  him  a  disagreeable 
inmate  in  the  house  of  the  American  minister,  where,  out  of  compas- 
sion, he  had  been  received  as  a  guest.  During  all  this  time,  his  life  was 
a  compound  of  ingratitude  and  perfidy,  of  hypocrisy  and  avarice,  of 
lewdness  and  adultery.  In  June,  1809,  the  poor  creature  died  in  this 
country.  The  lady  in  whose  family  he  lived  relates  that  'he  was  daily 
drunk,  and  in  his  few  moments  of  soberness  was  quarreling  with  her, 
and  disturbing  the  peace  of  her  family.'  At  that  time  'he  was  de- 
liberately and  disgustingly  filthy.  He  had  an  old  colored  woman  for 
his  servant,  as  drunken  as  her  master.  He  accused  her  of  stealing  his 
rum ;  she  retaliated,  accusing  him  of  being  an  old  drunkard  himself/ 
This  is  the  character  of  the  man  who  could  write  against  the  Bible." 

The  doctrine  of  the  "  new  philosophy"  is,  that  souls  pre-exist 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE    SPIRITS.  103 

before  they  appear  in  this  world ;  and  that  they  are  mated  off 
before  they  start  for  this  sublunary  sphere,  just  as  they  should 
be  mated  here.  But  they  seldom  get  together  as  they  should 
on  earth. 

"All  mankind  were  created  male  and  female,  in  pairs,  perfectly 
mated.  The  male  generally  comes  upon  the  earth  first,  and  is  older,  by 
few  or  many  years  (the  difference  being  generally  from  five  to  twenty 
years) ;  and  they  are  generally  located  near  each  other,  so  that,  if  cir- 
cumstances be  favorable,  they  can  meet  and  be  united.  But  the 
chances  are  much  against  the  union,  as  it  is  only  about  once  in  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  times  that  they  meet  in  marriage  on  earth.  Spirits  pre- 
tend that  they  can  ascertain  who  on  earth  are  natural  partners,  and 
will  sometimes  inform  them.  Sometimes,  however,  they  refuse,  alleging 
that  the  person  asking  would  be  made  unhappy  by  the  knowledge. 
They  perceive  sometimes  that  one  of  the  natural  partners  has  become 
refined  and  pure,  while  the  other  is  degraded  in  vice ;  and  thus  they 
think  it  best  to  conceal  from  us  the  fact." — Warren's  Supernal  Theology, 
pp.  7  9-80. 

But  the  "spirits"  and  spiritists  do  not  always  think  best  to 
"conceal"  the  "fact."  In  several  cases,  they  have  informed 
men  and  women  that  they  had  not  their  "natural  partners," 
and  had  better  separate  and  be  differently  married  ;  and  in 
several  instances  that  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  the  "  new 
philosophy"  has  been  carried  into  practical  effect. 

In  one  case,  the  wife  of  a  man  who  was  in  California  was  in- 
formed by  the  "  spirits"  that  her  husband  was  dead,  and  that 
she  must  marry  a  certain  young  man. 

"The  next  we  hear  from  this  misguided  sister  is,  that  she  had  been 
instructed  by  the  spirits  (i.  e.  they  used  her  hand  to  write  it  out)  tlaat 
she  must  take  a  certain  young  man,  named ,  for  her  spiritual  hus- 
band, and  they  (the  spirits)  would  marry  them  ;  and,  strange  and  in- 
credible as  it  may  seem,  the  simple  youth  was  seduced  into  the  ludi- 
crous farce  of  a  "spiritual  marriage"  with  another  man's  lawful  wife. 
A  friend  of  hers,  at  whose  house  she  then  found  a  welcome  home,  chari- 
tably supposed  that  such  strange  conduct  was  induced  by  a  fit  of  par- 
tial and  temporary  insanity,  and  earnestly,  though  ineffectually,  endea- 
vored to  save  her  from  the  disgrace  consequent  upon  a  public  expo- 
sure; and  when  it  was  found  that  he  would  give  no  sanction  to  fhe 
transaction  by  recognizing  such  a  marriage  (performed,  as  was  pre- 
tended by  the  parties,  by  the  spirit  of  her  mother  talking  off  through 


104  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

another  medium  the  marriage  ceremony),  and  feeling  no  disposition,  as 
he  expressed  it,  to  turn  his  house  into  a  spirit  brothel  for  their  accom- 
modation, they  were  instructed,  as  they  claimed,  by  the  spirits  to  leave, 
and  directed  where  to  go,  to  'escape  such  bondage  and  oppression.' 
They  obeyed,  and  found  a  cordial  welcome  in  a  family  of  believers 
(who,  we  will  charitably  presume,  were  about  as  insane  or  deluded  as 
herself),  where  they  were  permitted  to  spend  their  'spirit  honeymoon' 
unmolested." — New  York  Observer,  Oct.  14,  1852. 

A  similar  case  was  reported  to  have  occurred  near  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  fall  of  1852  ;  and  we  have  only  to  carry  out  the 
principles  of  the  self-styled  "  spiritualists, "  to  break  up  every 
family  in  the  land. 

Such  are  the  religious  views  inculcated  by  the  "  spirits." 
From  the  "  Great  Harmonia"  of  Davis,  down  to  the  last  ghost- 
book  written,  their  "  communications"  are  filled  with  the  most 
loathsome  infidelity.  No  creation — no  depravity — no  conver- 
sion— -no  divine  Redeemer — no  atonement  for  sin — no  miracles 
— no  Word  of  God — the  Bible  a  source  of  corruption — no 
devils — no  hell — no  resurrection — no  day  of  judgment — Chris- 
tianity a  curse — ministers  hypocrites — down  with  the  churches 
— down  with  all  civil  governments — down  with  the  Sabbath — 
down  with  the  marriage  institution,  and  down  with  every  thing 
that  is  lovely,  and  fair,  and  of  good  report !  Such,  in  brief,  is 
the  creed  of  the  "spiritualists" — a  creed  that  embodies  more 
elements  of  ruin  than  were  ever  before  combined  under  any  one 
system.  Only  let  these  views  prevail,  and  they  not  only  destroy 
every  thing  fair  in  religion  and  morals,  but  they  upheave  at 
once  all  the  foundations  of  society  ;  abolish  the  relations  of  hus- 
band and  wife  ;  and  parents  and  children  ;  annihilate  all  law ; 
subvert  all  order ;  strike  down  all  justice  and  right ;  and  fill  the 
land  with  anarchy,  corruption,  and  bloodshed. 

In  this  one  system  is  blended  more  or  less  of  Unitarianism, 
Universalism,  Mormonism,  Deism,  Fanny  Wright-ism,  and 
Atheism  ;  and  at  every  point,  and  from  first  to  last,  it  is  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  all  revealed  religion,  and  to  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  Such  being  the  fact,  it  is  very  natural  to 
inquire  as  to  the  religious  sentiments  of  the  "  mediums,"  and 
other  leader?  of  the  movement.    For  if  it  shall  be  found,  on  in- 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  105 

quiry,  that  the  spirit  creed  is  composed  of  the  views  previously 
held  by  the  mediums ;  and  that  the  leaders  of  this  "  spiritual" 
onset  against  Christ  and  his  kingdom  are  a  company  of  super- 
annuated Universalist  preachers  and  infidels  ;  there  will  be  strong 
reason  to  suspect  that  the  spirit  messages  all  originate  with 
themselves;  and  that  they  have  seized  upon  this  delusion  as  the 
means  of  filling  the  land  with  infidel  books  and  papers.  Let 
us  inquire,  then, 

Who  are  the  Mediums  ? 

That  there  have  been  instances  in  which  well-meaning  and 
Christian  people  have  been  led  into  this  spirit  delusion,  I  am 
not  disposed  to  deny ;  but  nearly  all  the  mediums,  and  all  the 
writers  of  ghost-books,  and  editors  and  publishers  of  spirit 
papers,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  are  infidels,  or  at  least  Univer- 
salists. 

A.  J.  Davis,  author  of  the  "  Great  Harmonia,"  &c,  is  at 
best  a  Deist ;  and  if  he  logically  follows  out  his  "  development" 
theory,  he  will  never  stop  short  of  atheism.  For  years  he 
practised  upon  the  credulity  of  the  people  in  New  York  city 
and  elsewhere  as  a  "  clairvoyant."  For  five  dollars  he  would 
look  through  the  body  of  an  invalid,  describe  the  disease,  and 
prescribe  a  remedy.  But  this  method  of  making  money  was 
too  slow  for  the  "  seer,"  and  he  has  been,  for  the  last  year  or 
two,  wholly  absorbed  in  the  "new  philosophy." 

Charles  Hammond,  medium,  author  of  "  The  Pilgrimage  of 
Thomas  Paine,"  &c,  was  a  Universalist  preacher  for  some 
years ;  but  getting  rather  a  poor  support  in  that  line  of  business 
(as  I  learn  from  a  correspondent  in  Rochester),  he  left  his 
ministry,  and  went  to  writing  ghost-books.  I  believe  he  has 
three  different  works  already  in  the  market. 

Isaac  Post,  medium,  author  of  "Voices  from  the  Spirit 
World,"  is  a  Hicksite  Quaker,  which  is  only  another  name  for 
a  skeptic,  and  an  enemy  of  all  true  religion. 

S.  B.  Brittan,  editor  of  the  "  Telegraph"  and  "  Shekinah," 
was  for  a  time  a  Universalist  preacher  in  Bridgeport,  Ct.  ;  but 
became  so  "liberal,"  as  he  told  me  himself,  that  the  Univer- 

5* 


106  SPIRIT-KAPPING   UNVEILED. 

salists  no  longer  invited  him  to  their  pulpits.  He  then  went 
into  the  "rapping"  business,  and  seems  to  find  a  congenial  em- 
ployment in  editing  a  ghost  paper,  and  delivering  infidel  lec- 
tures, wherever  he  can  get  paid  for  them. 

Adin  Ballon,  medium,  author  of  another  "spirit"  book,  was 
first  a  Universalist  preacher,  and  now  preaches  for  a  Fourierite 
community  in  the  town  of  Milford,  Mass.  His  book  shows 
that  he  is  now  some  decrees  bevond  common  Universalism. 

R.  P.  Ambler,  medium,  author  of  the  "  Spiritual  Teacher," 
is  an  out  and  out  Deist — an  open  and  avowed  enemy  of  the 
Bible,  and  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 

Charles  Partridge,  joint  publisher  with  Brittan  of  the  "  Tele- 
graph" and  "  Shekinah,"  is  a  Universalist. 

John  M.  Spear,  medium,  author  of  "  Messages  from  the 
Superior  State,"  by  the  ghost  of  old  John  Murray,  "  the  father 
of  American  Universalism,"  is  also  a  Universalist  preacher. 

S.  C.  Hewitt,  editor  and  publisher  of  the  "  New  Era,"  is  a 
Universalist. 

Jacob  Harshman,  medium,  author  of  "  Love  and  Wisdom 
from  the  Spirit  World,"  has  for  years  been  regarded  as  a  skep- 
tic by  those  who  have  known  him  best,  and  has  now  shown 
himself  to  be  a  Universalist  at  least,  if  not  a  Deist. 

W.  Boynton,  medium,  author  of  "  Spirit  Unfoldings,"  is  a 
Universalist. 

Alfred  W.  Hoar,  medium,  author  of  "  The  Bible  as  a  Book," 
&c,  is  an  undisguised  Deist ;  and  the  low  and  gross  infidelity 
of  his  book,  put  forth  in  the  name  of  St.  Paul,  more  nearly 
resembles  Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason"  than  any  thing  I  have  ever 
before  met  with. 

Mr  Winchester,  editor  of  the  "  Mountain  Cove  Journal,"  is 
a  Universalist.     And  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

And  let  the  inquiry  be  made  respecting  the  religious  views 
of  any  "  circle"  in  the  country,  and  it  will  be  found  to  be  com- 
posed, to  a  great  extent,  of  Universalists,  Deists,  and  Atheists, 
and  scarcely  ever  to  include  a  sincere  praying  Bible  Christian. 
These  are  facts  that  cannot  be  denied.  They  are  seen  and  read 
of  all  men. 


THEOLOGY    OF   THE   SPIRITS.  107 

A  few  months  since,  the  writer  took  occasion  to  speak  against 
the  spirit-rapping  delusion  at  a  camp-meeting  near  Oswego, 
N.  Y. ;  whereupon  a  certain  Mr.  Tuttle,  Universalist  preacher 
at  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  took  up  for  the  "rappers"  with  great  zeal, 
and  even  issued  a  pamphlet,  in  part  to  vindicate  their  cause. 
This  shows  the  sympathy  between  the  two  systems,  so  far  as 
Mr.  T.  is  concerned ;  but  he  is  so  small  a  light  even  among  his 
own  people,  that  I  must  not  hold  them  accountable  for  his  acts. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  a  nice  question  to  decide  whether  J.  H. 
Tuttle  has  intellect  and  conscience  enough  to  make  out  a  fair 
case  of  moral  accountability.  And  in  regard  to  the  other  lead- 
ing ghostmongers  named  above,  I  have  no  wish  to  afflict  the 
Universalists  by  stating  that  these  men  were  once  with  them ; 
but  I  felt  bound  to  state  the  truth,  let  the  reproach  rest  where 
it  may. 

Now  let  the  reader  put  all  these  circumstances  together : — 
1st,  the  leaders  and  chief  operators  in  this  whole  movement  are 
infidels ;  and,  2d,  the  communications  they  profess  to  have  re- 
ceived from  the  spirit  world,  and  which  they  are  publishing  as 
revelations  from  the  unseen  state,  are  the  very  echo  of  their 
own  infidelity,  from  first  to  last.  Now  which  is  most  probable 
— that  the  dead  have  come  back,  contrary  to  the  express  teach- 
ings of  the  Scriptures,  and  selected  a  company  of  broken-down 
Universalist  preachers  through  whom  to  wage  war  upon  the 
Bible,  upon  Christ  and  his  religion,  and  upon  every  thing 
sacred,  both  civil  and  religious ;  or  that  these  infidel  teachers 
have  seized  upon  "  spirit-rapping"  as  the  means  of  filling  the 
land  with  their  pernicious  doctrines  ?  This  last  is  the  simple 
fact  in  the  case.  The  books,  professedly  written  by  the  "  spir- 
its," are,  in  all  cases,  the  productions  of  the  "  medium ;"  and 
under  the  idea  that  they  are  "  spirit  revelations,"  many  are  in- 
duced to  buy  them,  out  of  curiosity  ;  and  thus  the  land  is  being 
filled  with  infidel  publications. 

In  no  instance,  perhaps,  is  this  deception  more  palpable,  than 
in  the  first  book  issued  by  Spear  <fe  Hewitt,  of  Boston.  It  is  en- 
titled "Messages  from  the  Superior  State;  communicated 
by  John  Murray,"  &c»     The  book  contains  167  pages,  101  of 


108  SPIRIT- RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

which  are  called  an  introduction,  and  consist  mainly  of  the  "  Life 
of  John  Murray."  Then  follow  the  alleged  "  messages"  of  the 
ghost  of  this  old  Universalist.  But  the  trick  succeeds  ;  and  that 
most  pernicious  book — the  "  Life  of  Murray" — with  a  new  title, 
and  a  few  "  messages"  attached,  is  having  quite  a  run  again. 
Let  the  people  beware. 


CHAPTER    X. 

LITERATURE     OF    THE    SPIRITS. 

Spirits  alone  responsible — Mediums  in  the  fog — Not  to  be  relied  upon — 
What  have  they  revealed  ? — Spirit  orthography — "  George  Washington's" 
spelling — Mr.  Brittan  correcting  John  Wesley's  communication — A  sub- 
lime production — Spirit  poetry,  from  Franklin  and  Washington — Spirits 
forgetting  how  to  spell  their  own  names — Palpable  forgeries — Spirit  auto- 
graphs—Spirit Hebrew — Translation  by  Professor  Vail. 

It  was  shown  in  the  last  chapter  that  the  "  writing  me- 
diums," and  other  leading  characters  of  the  "new  philosophy," 
are  mostly  skeptics ;  and  that  the  "  spirit  revelations"  writ- 
ten by  them  (professedly  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead)  are 
full  of  the  most  disgusting  infidelity.  Of  the  thirty-five  or 
forty  different  books  issued  under  these  false  colors,  I  know 
not  of  one  that  is  not  well-nigh  a  match  for  Paine's  Age  of 
Heason*  and  some  of  them  even  more  loathsome  than  that 
horrible  production.  In  this  fact,  then— the  perfect  harmony 
between  the  "messages"  and  the  mediums,  through  whom  they 
profess  to  have  been  given,  in  making  war  upon  the  Bible  and  the 
Christian  religion — we  have  strong  proof  that  the  whole  thing- 
is  a  deception ;  that  these  "  writing-mediums"  have  simply 
availed  themselves  of  the  "spirit"  delusion  to  palm  off  their 
infidelity  upon  the  public. 

In  the  present  chapter,  I  shall  adduce  further  proof  that,  in 


*  Mr.  Harvey's  "Defense"  does  not  profess  to  be  a  book  of  "dia 
closures." 


LITERATURE   OF   THE   SPIRTIS.  109 

all  cases,  the  pretended  "  spirit  messages"  are  the  productions 
of  the  "  mediums"  themselves. 

"spirit"    literature. 

1.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  upon  their  own  showing, 
the  mediums  are  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  ideas  conveyed, 
or  for  the  words  or  letters  written  by  their  hands.  To  prevent 
all  interference  on  the  part  of  the  "  seers,"  the  spirits  invariably 
paralyze  their  hands  before  they  write  with  them. 

2.  In  several  instances,  the  mediums  have  admitted  that  they 
themselves  were  at  a  loss  to  determine  whether  these  messages 
were  dictated  or  written  by  disembodied  spirits,  or  were  the 
simple  productions  of  their  own  brains.  Mr.  Harshman  applied 
to  Davis  to  help  him  to  settle  the  question.  In  a  letter  recently 
written  from  Central  America  by  Judge  Edmonds,  he  admits 
that  while  here  he  had  most  distressing  doubts  as  to  the  spirit- 
ual origin  of  his  "  visions,"  published  in  the  Shekinah  and  else- 
where. The  "spirits"  themselves  state  that  there  is  a  great 
uncertainty  as  to  the  true  origin  of  the  communications. 

"Mediums,  too  often,  are  too  impatient  to  get  all  their  exciting  ques- 
tions answered,  and  we  spirits  do  our  work  in  regular  order,  under  the 
government  of  regular  laws,  and  this  mode  of  operation  becomes  too 
tedious  for  some  mediums,  they  become  impatient,  and  then  they  go  to 
work  and  answer  their  own  questions,  and.  these  questions  will  gener- 
ally be  answered,  as  far  as  a  knowledge  in  regard  to  them  is  stored  up 
in  the  mind  of  such  medium,  or  in  those  persons  that  have  control  of 
such  medium's  mind." — Love  and  Wisdom,  p.  24. 

"If  mediims  would  be  patient,  and  wait  until  we  give  them  commu- 
nications, then  all  would  go  right;  but  sometimes  they  will  make  them- 
selves communications." — Ibid.,  p.  26. 

"Under  these  influences,  they  become  impatient  with  the  spirits,  who 
do  our  work  by  immutable  laws.  And  under  snch  a  state  of  excite- 
ment, they  respond  to  their  own  questions,  by  a  law  which  they  do  not 
understand,  and  consequently  mistake  it  for  a  spiritual  operation." — 
Ibid,  p.  28. 

"Most  of  the  communications  here  through  mediums,  I  am  disposed 
to  believe  are  unreliable." — Mountain  Cove  Journal,  No.  6. 

"There  is  scarcely  a  medium  for  spiritual  communications  in  the 
United  States  of  long  experience  who  is  confident  that  the  spirits  who 
communicate  are  the  individuals  whom  they  purport  to  be." — Ibid.,  No.  8 


110 


SPIIHT-HAPPING    UNVEILED. 


And  if  the  mediums  themselves  admit,  in  their  sober  mo- 
ments, that  they  are  not  sure  but  they  originated  the  "  mes- 
sages" themselves,  how  can  they  expect  others  to  believe  that 
foreign  spirits  are  the  real  authors  of  these  productions. 

3.  There  is  not  the  first  idea  in  any  one  of  the  forty  ghost- 
books,  now  before  the  public,  that  is  a  hair's  breadth  above  the 
intellects  of  the  mediums,  respectively,  by  whom  they  have 
been  written.  They  are  shrewd  and  artful,  or  low  and  silly, 
just  as  the  medium  happens  to  be. 

4.  However  many  different  "  spirits"  may  communicate 
through  a  medium,  the  style  and  general  characteristics  of  the 
messages  are  the  same  in  all  cases.  In  Harshman's  book,  the 
messages  of  J.  V.  Wilson,  Benj.  Franklin,  George  Washington, 
and  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  are  all  in  the  same  style.  The  word 
"  organism"  occurs  at  almost  every  turn  in  each,  and  the  com- 
position and  orthography  are  uniform,  and  horrid.  Take  the 
following  as  specimens : 


"spirit"   orthography 

Mortals. 

"Spirits? 

Mortals. 

"Spirits." 

Spirit, 

S  per  it. 

Existence, 

Existance. 

Essence, 

Essance. 

Control, 

Controal. 

Different, 

Differ  ant. 

Erroneous, 

Arronious. 

Germ, 

Germe. 

Cruelty, 

Crualty. 

Need, 

Nead. 

Gorgeous, 

Gargeous. 

Influence, 

Influance. 

Horror, 

Horrow. 

Parents, 

Parants. 

Prevail, 

Prevale. 

Beauties, 

Beauty  s. 

Supremely, 

Supremly. 

Origin, 

Oragin. 

Ignorance, 

Ignorence. 

Capacity, 

Capasity. 

Absorb, 

Absorbe. 

Gone, 

Gon. 

Corresponding 

f,  Corrisponding. 

Anticipated, 

Antisipated. 

Perpetual, 

Parpetual. 

Pervades, 

Purvades. 

Positive, 

Pasitive. 

Greater, 

Grater. 

1  Practice, 

Practise. 

Characters, 

Characters. 

|  Modeled, 

Mocdled,  <fcc. 

This  spelling,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  not  by  ignorant 
spirits,  but  by  such  men  as  Sir  Astley  Cooper  and  George 
Washington;  and  even  "Benjamin  Franklin,  printer!" 

The  folio  wing  communication  was  obtained  of  Mr.  L,  Bedell, 


A   SPIRIT   COMMUNICATION.  Ill 

of  Constantine,  Mich.,  and  is  printed  precisely  as  it  came  from 
the  medium ;  orthography,  capitals,  punctuation,  and  all.* 

"A     SPIRIT     COMMUNICATION." 

"I  am  hapy  to  see  so  meny  here  to  nigh  for  purpass  that  shoudd  in- 
gage  the  attention  of  All  serious  Thinkers,  Som  Say  that  we  are  not 
Spirits,  and  they  will  not  investigate  the  mater  to  prove  what  we  are, 
but  stand  afar  off  and  Cry  out  to  all  others  to  keep  away  two.  Now 
these  showd  be  made  to  Searc  into  the  mater,  and  in  God's  good  tim 
will,  we  have  often  told  you  to  believe  in  us  and  the  Bible  for  we  do 
not  ask  you  to  believe  in  eny  thing  else,  As  the  people  her  hove  but  just 
begun  to  meet  in  numbers  to  write  and  talk  of  us  and  for  us,  I  will 
only  say  that  you  are  ingaged  in  A  very  Good  cause,  and  should  be  firm 
in  what  you  say.  If  ther  eny  here  that  do  not  believe  what  we  Say, 
they  must  look  on  and  be  convinced,  but  you  must  not  trifle  with  us 
for  we  are  no  triflers.  we  meny  times  make  mistakes  and  so  we  are 
called  liars,  but  this  is  owing  to  our  neglect  of  the  records  that  are 
given  us,  and  also  to  evel  spirits,  but  we  will  try  to  be  more  careful  or 
correct  after  we  have  becom  more  use  to  writing  for  our  Friends. 

"  George  Washington." 

Another  communication  received  the  same  evening,  and 
signed  "  William  Bedell,  father  to  L.  Bedell,"  has  the  same  or- 
thography as  the  above ;  and  shows  conclusively  that  "  George 
Washington"  and  "  William  Bedell"  both  spell  exactly  alike, 
and  both  stand  much  in  need  of  Webster's  Dictionary,  or 
Saunder's  Spelling  Book. 

The  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the  mediums  say  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  movements  of  the  pens  while  the 
"  spirits"  are  writing,  the  communications  are  all  in  the  me- 
dium's style  and  orthography,  is  proof  positive  that  they  and 
they  alone  are  the  "spirits."  An  ignorant  medium  cannot  coun- 
terfeit good  spelling  ;  and  here  the  deceivers  are  caught. 

In  the  report  of  the   "  New  York  Conference,"  Dec.  25, 

*  When  we  saw  Mr.  Bedell,  he  was  complaining  of  Messrs.  Partridge 
and  Brittan  for  refusing  to  print  his  messages ;  and  alleged  that  they 
were  reiected  because  in  some  of  them  it  was  said  that  there  is  a  heli 
beyond  the  grave,  and  that  baptism  by  immersion  is  the  only  correct 
mode. 


112  SPIRIT  RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

1852,  it  is  said  of  a  certain  Mr.  Willets  of  Rochester,  "  One 
fact  he  is  unable  to  explain.  The  medium  is  a  poor  speller. 
His  father  spelled  well.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  evidence  of 
its  being  from  his  father  was  undoubted,  the  spelling  would  be 
that  of  the  medium."  See  Telegraph.  But  this  one  fact  is  the 
best  possible  evidence,  under  the  circumstances,  that  the 
"  medium,"  who  is  a  poor  speller,  is  the  real  "  spirit"  com- 
municating. 

CORRECTING     THE     SPIRITS. 

5.  So  little  confidence  have  the  rapologists  editors  in  the 
ghostly  origin  of  these  communications,  that  they  do  not 
scruple  to  alter,  correct,  or  reject  them  at  pleasure,  when  sent  to 
them  for  publication.  The  two  copies  of  Mr. Wesley's  message 
through  Mr.  Boynton,  one  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and 
the  other  in  the  columns  of  the  "  Telegraph,"  are  entirely 
different ;  and  Mr.  Brittan  admitted  to  me  that  he  made  the 
alterations  himself  ;*  and  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  correct- 
ing spirit  communications,  when  they  did  not  come  up  to  his 
standard  of  taste,  as  to  what  spirit  messages  should  be.  Only 
think  of  S.  B.  Brittan  correcting  the  writings  of  the  spirit  of 
John  Wesley  ! 

Even,  then,  upon  his  own  admissions,  so  far  as  corrections 
have  been  made  in  the  so-called  spirit  communications  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Telegraph"  and  "  Shekinah,"  they  are  messages 
from  Mr.  Brittan,  and  not  from  "  the  spirits." 

sublime    productions. 

G.  The  following  very  sublime  passages  are  taken  from  the 
"  Telegraph,"  No.  6.  As  they  passed  the  editorial  ordeal, 
they  have  of  course  been  corrected,  if  they  needed  it,  and  now 
fully  comport  with  the  taste  of  the  editor. 

*  I  am  informed  that  this  liberty  taken  with  "  Mr.  Wesley"  by  "  Prof. 
Brittan,"  was  not  very  well  received  by  Mr.  Boynton,  the  "seer," 
through  whom  Mr.  Wesley  wrote ;  and  that  the  two  seers  are  now 
rather  at  arms  length. 


"  spirit"  poetry.  115 

"my  name. 

c*  To-day,  tl  3  angels  have  told  me  that  I  was  known  in  the  spirit- 
land  by  the  name  of  Love!  O  holy  name  !  O  blessed  word  !  The 
sacred  name  of  the  All-Father  himself;  and  therefore  worthy  to  be  my 
name,  so  I  were  only  worthy  to  wear  it!  For  like  God,  like  man; 
like  father,  like  child.  God  a  Love,  and  I  a  Love,  too.  He  the  great 
Love,  and  I  a  little  Love  from  Him  !  He  the  eternal  Love  of  the  eter- 
nal universe,  and  I  a  young  Love  but  yesterday  unfolded  from  His 
bosom !  He  the  creating  Love,  and  I  the  love  created !  We  two  thus 
infinitely  alike  in  degree,  and  yet  in  nature  but  one,  for  both  of  us 
Loves!" 

In  another  number  of  the  same  paper  we  have  the  following, 
that  purports  to  have  been  received  by  Mr.  Partridge,  publisher 
of  the  "  Telegraph,"  &e. : 

"  I  have  told  you  that  I  want  goin  to  leve  you.  Now  Charles  Part- 
ridge I  have  cride  matches  for  you  many  a  day,  and  I  luve  you  for  you 
are  onest,  and  I  want  you  to  hear  my  story.  I  am  in  a  lone  sphere ;  I 
have  no  friends  here  to  teach  me  how  to  spell ;  then  pity  me  wile  I  tell 
— My  sorrow  ways  me  down  to  earth — my  sole  is  much  deprest  for  all 
I  luved  are  in  another  sphere — The  world  was  cold  to  me — My  children 
crid  for  bred — Nothing  could  make  me  steel,  but  my  troubles  turned 
me  sad  and  in  the  forgetful  dram  I  laughfed  and  wild  away  my  time 
until  to  late — I  returned  to  my  poor  home  and  all  was  gone — I  never 
see  them  more  in  live.  My  God !  pity  me,  and  help  me  to  progress  so 
that  I  can  sometime  see  them  in  a  brighter  sphere. 

"  Jack  Waters." 

Mr.  Partridge  is  a  matchmaker,  as  well  as  a  publisher  of 
ghost  books  and  papers  ;  and  "  Jack  Waters"  used  to  peddle  his 
matches  in  the  streets  of  New  York.  Hence  the  remark,  "  I 
have  cride  matches  for  you  many  a  day."  So  the  "spirits" 
help  Mr.  Partridge  to  advertise  his  match  business  in  the  most 
"  spiritual"  manner. 

a spirit"  poetry. 

7.  In  the  second  number  of  the  "  Messenger"  Mr.  Ambler 
has  a  poem,  respecting  which  he  remarks : 

"  The  poem  in  the  present  number,  entitled  '  The  Angel -Land/  was 
spoken,  line  for  line,  to  the  inner  sense  of  the  editor,  and  purported  to 
be  given  by  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots." 


114  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

The  poem  begins  as  follows : 

"  List,  mortal  ears,  the  harmonies  of  heaven ! 
Let  earthly  harps  be  silent  and  unstrung, 
While  to  the  enrapt  sense  those  sounds  are  given, 
Which  through  the  spheres  celestial  rung,"  <kc. 

And  such  a  string  of  doggerel  as  Mr.  A.  gets  off,  and  charges 
upon  the  poor  "  Queen,"  we  have  seldom  seen. 

The  "  Mountain  Cove  Journal,"  No.  3,  contains  a  spirit  poem, 
one  verse  of  which  runs  thus  : 

"Like  unto  a  globe 
That  floateth  in  the  atmosphere, 
The  Orb  that  encompasseth  creation 
Revolveth  in  the  glory 
Of  His  throne." 

The  "  Messenger,"  No.  4,  contains  a  poem,  entitled  "  The 
Spirit  Home;  written  by  spiritual  impression,"  and  prefaced  by 
the  following  note  : 

"The  following  lines  were  written  on  the  10th  of  April,  1852,  by  a 

servant  girl,  thirteen  years  of  age,  in  the  family  of ,  Charlestown, 

Mass.  The  fact  must  be  stated,  that  the  girl  could  neither  write  nor 
read  one  word  previous  to  this  occasion ;  and  although  she  wrote  these 
lines  legibly  under  the  spiritual  impression,  she  was  unable  to  read 
them  when  written." 

Then  follows  the  poem  : 

"  There  is  a  region  lovelier  far 

Than  sages  know,  or  poet's  sing: 
Brighter  than  summer's  beauties  are, 
And  softer  than  the  tints  of  spring,"  <fce. 

Now  if  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  "  Psalmist" — a  collection 
of  hymns  published  by  Gould,  Lincoln,  &  Co.,  Boston,  and 
used  by  the  Baptist  Church — they  will  find  this  hymn,  No. 
1174,  and  credited  to  Tucker. 

The  prose  communications  from  B.  Franklin  and  George 
Washington,  through  Mr.  Harshman,  are  accompanied  by  por- 
traits of   their  respective  spirit  authors,  with   a  specimen  of 


"spirits"  forgetting  their  own  names.       115 

spirit  poetiy  under  each  portrait.     The  following  is  under  the 
likeness  of  Franklin  : 

"The  likeness  of  this  portrait  is  to  represent 
The  likeness  of  man  when  he  dwelt  here  below, 
But  the  likeness  of  the  spirit  you  would  like  to  know, 
And  this  would  be  no  more  than  I  would  like  to  show, 
But  the  mind  is  not  prepared  the  likeness  for  to  see, 
Of  spirits  from  the  angels'  home  as  bright  as  we.- — B.  Fkanklin." 

Love  and  Wisdom,  p.  130. 

Under  the  portrait  of  Washington  we  read  as  follows : 

"  When  the  likeness  of  this  portrait  you  see, 
Remember  that  it  is  to  represent  the  likeness  of  me ; 
But  the  spirit  in  its  brightness  you  cannot  see, 
For  it  now  far  above  the  brightness  of  thee. — G.  Washington." 

Ibid.,  p.  160. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  two  "  spiri-ts"  as  different  as 
those  of  Washington  and  Franklin  should  both  speak  of  "  the 
likeness  of  this  portrait/'  as  in  the  first  lines  ;  and  some  may  be 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  the  likeness  of  a  portrait  is.  Still,  we 
must  not  doubt,  as  Mr.  Harshman  says  he  wrote  by  "  spiritual 
impression." 

"spirits"  forgetting  their  own  names. 

8.  In  Mr.  Post's  "  Voices  from  the  Spirit  World,"  there  are 
several  instances  in  which  the  "  spirits"  seem  to  have  forgotten 
how  to  spell  their  own  names.  I  will  quote  a  few  specimens, 
giving  first  their  former  names,  as  mortals,  and  the  signatures 
attributed  to  them  by  Mr.  Post,  as  "spirits :" 

Mortals. 
Roger  Sherman. 
D.  Rittenhouse. 
Nat.  Greene. 
Alex.  Hamilton. 
Baron  De  Steuben. 
Cotton  Mather. 


Rodger  Sherman,  page  183. 
D.  Krittenhouse,  "  193. 
Nat.  Green,  "     191. 

Alex.  Hamiltin,  "  192. 
Barron  De  Stuben,  "  199. 
Colton  Mathew,        "     242. 


Now  the  only  rational  explanation  of  these  mistakes  is,  that 
Mr.  Post,  who  wrote  the  communications,  and  put  these  names 


116  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

to  them,  knew  the  names  by  the  ear,  but  did  not  know  how 
they  were  spelled.  Hence  the  incorrect  signatures,  and  the 
demonstration  that  Mr.  Post,  and  not  the  spirits  of  the  dead, 
wrote  all  the  signatures.  Surely,  a  man  who  attempts  to  forge 
another's  name  should  be  careful  to  ascertain  how  that  name  is 
spelled ;  as  a  mistake  in  the  orthography  will  expose  the  forgery. 
It  is  perfectly  certain,  that  in  every  case  where  the  names  of 
deceased  persons  have  been  appended  to  communications, 
whether  for  publication  or  otherwise,  it  has  been  done  by  the 
mediums  themselves.  And  this  is  what  I  call  forgery,  and  of 
the  very  worst  kind.  It  is  forgery  to  the  injury  of  the  living 
and  the  dead ;  and  that,  too,  in  relation  to  matters  of  the  high- 
est possible  moment.  Think  of  those  men  of  God  who  have 
lived  and  preached  and  written  to  extend  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom. By  their  piet}^,  and  zeal,  and  knowledge,  and  abundant 
labors,  they  have  acquired  an  influence  in  the  world  for  good ; 
and  being  dead,  they  yet  speak  through  their  works,  that  live 
after  them.  But  the  spirit-rapping  deception  is  started,  and  an 
infidel  "medium"  sits  down  and  writes  a  communication,  de- 
nouncing the  Bible,  the  church  of  Christ,  and  every  thing 
sacred,  and  signs  it  "Adam  Clarke,"  "Edward  Payson," 
"  Roger  Williams,"  or  "  John  Wesley."  Is  not  this  a  forgery 
of  the  worst  stamp  ?  The  man  who,  on  the  day  of  my  funeral, 
writes  a  promissory  note  upon  the  lid-  of  my  coffin,  and  puts 
my  name  to  it,  to  defraud  my  wife  and  orphan  children  after  I 
am  gone,  is  a  saint,  in  my  view,  compared  with  the  man  who 
forges  a  recantation  of  my  faith  in  the  Bible,  and  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  hope  of  my  soul,  and  signs  my  name  to  it  after  I 
am  dead.  As  things  spiritual  and  eternal  exceed,  in  import- 
ance, those  that  are  earthly  and  temporal,  in  the  same  measure 
the  forgery  in  the  latter  case  is  worse  than  the  former ;  and  the 
"  medium"  who  signs  the  name  of  the  honored  dead  to  docu- 
ments which  they  never  wrote,  ought  to  be  indicted  under  the 
laws  of  the  land,  and  punished  as  for  any  other  forgery.  It  is 
taking  a  liberty  with  the  names  of  others  which  ought  not  to 
be  tolerated  in  a  civilized  country ;  and  the  pretension  that 
their  hands  are  "  moved  by  the  spirits,"  would  bo  just  as  valid 


SPIRIT    AUTOGRAPHS.  117 

an  excuse  for  the  forgery  of  a  note  against  me,  as  for  the  for- 
gery of  a  recantation  of  my  religious  faith.  In  either  case  it 
is  deeply  criminal,  and  deserves  the  scorn  of  all  honest  men,  if 
not  a  term  in  the  penitentiary. 

"spirit"  autographs. 

As  already  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  "  spirits"  have 
power  to  write  with  a  simple  pen  or  pencil,  without  the  hand  of 
a  "  medium."  In  this  way,  it  is  alleged  that  some  fifty  spirits 
wrote  their  names  on  a  piece  of  paper,  in  the  room  of  Edward 
Fowler,  in  New  York,  during  the  night  of  the  22d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1851.  The  signers  were  those  who  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  a  few  others ;  and  so  important  was  this 
document  considered,  that  it  was  copied  cerographically,  and 
published  in  the  9th  number  of  the  "  Telegraph."  But  a  more 
bungling  attempt  at  imitating  the  signatures  of  "  the  signers" 
can  scarcely  be  conceived  of.  Whoever  wrote  it,  and  palmed 
it  off  upon  the  verdant  "  Edward"  as  a  "  spirit"  production, it 
is  a  most  palpable  hoax ;  and  yet  it  "  took"  both  with  Fowler 
and  "  Prof.  Brittan  ;"  and  for  a  time  created  quite  a  sensation. 
But  of  late,  the  whole  fraternity  seem  to  be  rather  ashamed  of 
it,  and  willing  to  have  this  "  revelation"  forgotten  as  soon  as 
possible. 

There  are  a  few  points  in  relation  to  this  "  mystical  manu- 
script" that  may  be  worthy  of  a  passing  notice : 

1.  The  idea  of  seeing  the  spirit  of  Benj.  Franklin  with  a 
galvanic  battery  under  his  arm,  as  described  by  Mr.  Fowler,  is 
extra  "  spiritual."  Of  course  the  battery  was  constructed  of 
spiritual  materials,  viz. :  spiritual  cups,  spiritual  acid,  spiritual 
platinum  and  zinc,  spiritual  wires,  &c.  By  this  means,  the 
spirits  Avrote  "  each  for  himself,  by  the  aid  of  the  battery." 

2.  Why  was  this  miracle  kept  secret  so  long  ?  It  occurred, 
according  to  "  Edward's"  account,  December  22, 1851 ;  and  yet 
we  hear  nothing  of  it  till  July  3,  1852 — some  six  months  after 
— when  out  it  comes  in  the  "  Telegraph  !" 

3.  Why  was  the  first  copy  burned,  "  by  order  of  the  spirits," 
and  a  new  one  written  ?     Had  the  copyist  made  some  mistake  ? 


118  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

Or  did  he  think,  having  copied  the  names  once,  he  could,  on  a  second 
trial,  make  them  appear  more  like  the  originals  ? 

4.  Why  is  the  name  of  Taylor  omitted,  while  those  of  Harrison,  Polk, 
Jackson,  &c,  are  inserted?  Could  not  the  "spirit"  find  the  signature 
of  "Old  Zach"  anywhere  to  copy  after? 

But  I  will  spend  no  more  time  upon  this  transparent  imposition.  Al- 
though Mr.  Fowler  is  a  brother  of  the  phrenologists,  who  publish  the 
"  Supernal  Theology"  and  other  ghost-books,  it  is  more  probable  that  he 
is  merely  the  dupe  of  the  "  New  York  Circle"  than  a  wilful  deceiver.  His 
seeing  Franklin,  however,  with  his  galvanic  battery  under  his  arm,  is  a 
strong  symptom  of  incipient  insanity,  if  not  of  something  worse. 

To  convince  the  "  skeptics"  of  the  reality  of  spirit  communication,  it  is 
alleged  that  a  spirit  came  into  Edward  Fowler's  room  in  New  York,  one 
afternoon,  and  requested  him  to  leave,  promising  to  write  ;  and  that  on  his 
leaving  for  five  minutes,  the  spirit  wrote  the  following,  which  Mr.  Fowler 
found  upon  his  desk  when  he  returned : 

"SPIRIT"      HEBREW. 


The   above  is  a  facsimile  of  the   "  message,"   as  published  in  the 
"Telegraph"  for  October,  1852. 


"  spirit"  hebbew.  119 

That  these  characters  were  made  not  by  a  Hebrew  spirit,  but 
by  some  "  medium"  who  knew  nothing  about  IJebrew,  is  cer- 
tain, from  the  following  considerations : 

1.  The  Hebrew  reads  from  right  to  left  across  the  page,  and, 
of  course,  is  written  in  the  same  way ;  but  the  flourishes  over 
the  top,  running  down  to  the  letter  9  ,  and  also  the  fact  that 
the  first  blank  in  the  lines  is  on  the  left,  and  the  last  (at  the 
bottom)  on  the  right,  show  conclusively  that  this  was  written 
English  fashion,  or  from  left  to  right.  The  poor  ignorant 
"  spirit"  knew  no  better  than  to  copy  the  passages  backward. 
Quere.  As  the  spirits  of  the  lower  animals  sometimes  commu- 
nicate, might  not  this  "  Hebrew"  have  been  written  by  the 
spirit  of  a  lobster  ?  How  else  can  wTe  account  for  its  being 
written  backward.  ?  Would  a  spirit  who  could  write  English 
begin  the  word  Washington  with  an  n,  and  proceed  backward 
to  o,  t,  g,  &c.  ?  And  yet  we  have  demonstration  upon  the 
very  face  of  this  Hebrew,  that  it  was  written  in  this  way. 

2.  This  Hebrew  is  said  to  be  "Daniel  xii.  12,  13"  (Tele- 
graph, No.  22).  But  the  copyist,  not  knowing  how  Hebrew 
read,  and  beginning  in  the  wrong  place,  and  going  the  wrong 
way,  has  not  copied  Daniel  xii.  12,  13,  as  he  no  doubt  intended, 
but  has  given  us  detached  portions  of  the  9th,  10th,  11th,  and 
12th  verses,  in  a  way  to  make  perfect  nonsense  of  the  whole. 
This  blunder  of  the  "  spirit"  is  perfectly  obvious  to  any  one,  on 
comparing  the  "  message"  with  the  original  Hebrew  ;  but  being 
desirous  of  furnishing  the  best  possible  proof  that  this  "  He- 
brew," like  the  autographs,  is  a  forgery,  I  wrote  Prof.  Vail, 
an  eminent  Hebrew  scholar  of  the  Biblical  Institute,  Concord, 
N.  H.,  sending  him  a  copy  of  the  "  mystical  writing,"  and  asking 
him  to  favor  me  with  a  translation.  The  following  is  his 
reply : 

LETTER    FROM    PROFESSOR    VAIL. 

Concord,  October  5,  1852. 
Rev.  H.  Mattison : 

Dear  Brother, — Yours  came  to  hand  yesterday.  I  embrace  the  ear- 
liest leisure  moment  to  answer  your  inquiries.  The  Hebrew  you  sent 
me,  printed  in  the  "Spiritual  Telegraph,"  purporting  to  have  been  writ- 
ten by  a  "spirit,"  I  find  to  be  partial  extracts  from  Daniel,  twelfth 


120  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

chapter — ninth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  verses.  I  will  give  y<m  a 
strictly  verbatim  translation  of  these  verses,  italicizing  those  words 
"  written  by  the  spirit."  You  will  thus  be  able  to  see  what  sense,  if 
any,  can  be  made  out  of  this  Hebrew,  as  quoted  by  the  spirit. 

First,  verse  9.  "And  he  said  :  Go,  Daniel,  for  these  things  (are)  closed 
up,  and  sealed  unto  the  time  of  the  end"  What  sense  is  there  in  these 
words  alone,  "  And  sealed"  &o  ? 

Second,  verse  10.  "Many  will  purify  themselves,  and  become  clean; 
and  make  trial  of  themselves;  but  the  wicked  will  do  wickedly,  and  none 
of  the  wicked  will  understand,  but  the  wise  shall  understand."  What 
sense  would  there  be  in  those  words  only  that  are  italicized  ?  Let  us 
put  them  together: — "Many  ;  but  the  wicked  will  do  wickedly,  and  none 
of  the  wicked  will  understand,  but  the  ivise." 

Third,  verse  11.  "  And  from  the  time  of  removing  the  continual  sacri- 
fice and  of  setting  up  the  abomination  that  makes  desolate  a  thousand 
days."   (The  last  two  words  are  left  out,  viz. :  fc^ifmi  te^£i&fa  two  hun- 

dred  and  ninety.) 

Fourth,  verse  12.  "  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth  and  attaineth  to  days 
a  thousand  (and)  three."  (The  last  three  words  are  left  out,  viz. : 
rilZDfaiTl  t^ttiilB  tVi&to   hundred  and  thirty  and  five.) 

I  will  now  give  the  spirit's  quotations  altogether  in  one  connected 
whole,  but  will  leave  you  to  make  out  the  interpretation,  or  to  any 
other  who  will  undertake  the  task: 

1.  "And  sealed  unto  the  time  of  the  end,  the  things.  2.  Many ;  but 
the  wicked  ivill  do  wickedly,  and  none  of  the  wicked  will  understand,  but 
the  wise.  3.  The  time  of  removing  the  continual  sacrifice  and  of  setting 
up  the  abomination  that  makes  desolate  a  thousand  days.  4.  Blessed  is  he 
that  waiteth  and  attaineth  to  days  a  thousand  (and)  three  I" 

This  mutilation  of  the  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  verses  of 
Daniel  is  not  very  creditable  to  the  "  spirit,"  whoever  he  may  be!  He 
ought  to  be  admonished,  when  he  undertakes  to  quote  Scripture,  that 
he  should  do  it  correctly,  and  not  take  a  part  of  a  verse  here,  a  word 
there,  and  a  clause  from  some  other  place !  and  especially  when  he 
quotes  the  original  Hebrew,  he  should  quote  consonants,  vowels,  and 
accents  all  correctly  arranged ;  in  all  of  which  points  he  or  his  printer 
has  failed  in  several  instances.  I  have  given  as  fair  a  representation  of 
his  words  as  could  well  be  done  by  an  English  translation. 

I  hope,  dear  brother,  you  may  be  successful  in  exposing  this  wicked 
and  miserable  necromancy.  It  is  disgraceful  to  our  times  and  to  our 
people.  No  doubt  Satan  will  try  to  keep  his  arts  concealed  from  you. 
The  whole  business  is  unmitigated  wickedness,  and  cannot  be  tolerated 
without  sin  for  a  moment.     *     *     *     * 

Very  respectfully,  your  brother,  Stephen  M.  Vail. 


SCIENCE   AND   PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    ;c  SPIRITS."       121 

So  much  for  "  spirit  autographs,"  "spirit  Hebrew/'  and  spirit 
literature  in  general.  If  the  reader  is  not  fully  satisfied,  from  the 
foregoing,  that  all  these  "messages"  originate  with  the  "me- 
diums" themselves,  or  with  some  other  persons  who  have  an  in- 
terest in  keeping  up  the  delusion,  it  will  be  vain  to  multiply 
proofs. 


CHAPTER    XL 

SCIENCE    AND    PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    "  SPIRITS." 

Spirit  astronomy — An  interview  with  "  the  Seer" — Spirit  cosmogony — 
"  Development"  theory — Mr.  Davis'  illustrious  ancestry — Spirit  geology 
— A  spirit  plagiarism — New  motive  power — Essence  of  spirit  discovered 
— New  mode  of  education — Taking  the  lightning  out  of  a  lady — "  Spir- 
icity"  in  the  lump — "  Tom  Paine's"  philosophy — The  earth  self-luminous 
— The  sun  opake — True  source  of  "  spirit"  philosophy. 

As  has  often  been  the  case  when  infidelity  was  assuming  a 
new  form,  the  "  spirit"  movement  claims  to  be  very  philosophi- 
cal ;  and  the  title  assumed  by  the  "  spirits"  for  their  dark  and 
ruinous  system,  is  that  of  the  "  New  Philosophy."  And  as  the 
more  shrewd  and  artful  of  the  spiritists*  are  constantly  laboring 
to  make  the  impression  upon  the  masses  that  there  is  a  pro- 
found philosophy  in  the  system  they  advocate,  and  in  the  com- 
munication of  the  spirits,  it  may  be  well  to  devote  a  chapter  to 
the  philosophy  of  the  spirits. 

SPIRIT     ASTRONOMY. 

1.  A.  J.  Davis,  the  present  acknowledged  head  of  the  move- 
ment, claims  to  be  a  great  philosopher.  Some  years  since, 
while  only  a  clairvoyant,  he  had  a  full  view  of  the  whole  uni- 
verse, and  published  a  pamphlet  on  the  Solar  System.  And 
such  a  tissue  of  nonsense,  absurdities,  and  contradictions,  upon 
a  scientific  subject,  I  never  saw  put  together  before  or  since. 
Mr.  D.  saw  all  the  planets  with  rings  about  them,  like  Saturn, 
but  the  rings  of  Saturn  were  seen  wrapped  about  him,  one  over 
another,  like  the  different  layers  of  an  onion !     I  read  the 

6 


122  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

pamphlet,  and  by  request  of  a  friend  in  New  York,  went  to  see 
Mr.  Davis,  in  a  clairvoyant  state,  in  order  to  test  his  clairvoy- 
ance by  a  few  questions  respecting  the  planetary  world.  But 
the  great  "  seer"  found  out  the  object  of  the  visit,  and  though 
he  was  easily  magnetized  by  his  accomplice  (Mr.  Fishbough,  I 
think),  he  could  get  no  "  vision ;"  and  consequently  could 
answer  no  questions.  I  tried  to  get  another  appointment ;  but 
although  the  "  seer"  was  to  have  five  dollars  for  answering  a 
few  questions,  he  declined  any  farther  attempt.  These  facts 
Mr.  D.  virtually  admitted  before  a  large  audience  in  Hartford, 
Conn. ;  and  if  he  had  not,  they  could  have  been  proved  to  his 
face. 

In  Mr.  D.'s  astronomical  revelation,  in  which  he  describes  the 
planets  so  minutely,  he  has  only  the  planets  then  known  to  most 
other  mortals  ;  namely,  seven  large  planets  and  four  Asteroids  ; 
whereas  there  are  now  known  to  be  eight  large  planets  and 
twenty  Asteroids.  How  is  this,  Mr.  D.  ?  Could  you  see  no 
planets  beyond  what  were  then  known  and  described  in  the 
books  ?  And  why  is  not  this  astronomical  revelation  reprinted 
with  your  other  works  ?  Is  it  true,  as  has  been  alleged,  that 
you  and  your  friends  have  recently  destroyed  every  copy  of 
the  pamphlet  you  could  get  hold  of  ? 

2.  The  "  spirits"  who  wrote  the  "  Disclosures  from  the  In- 
terior" for  the  "  Mountain  Cove  Journal,"  are  about  as  well 
posted  up  upon  the  subject  of  astronomy  as  "  The  Great  Seer" 
himself.  In  their  "  Outlines  of  the  Solar  System,"  we  read  : 
" The  number  of  principal  [primary  ?]  planets  revolving  on  the 
plane  terrestrial  in  the  solar  system,  is  twelve,"  p.  25.  Again, 
in  the  "  Journal,"  No.  12:  "The  twelve  planets  of  the  solar 
system,  whereof  the  Earth  or  Hierosolyma  is  a  member,  &c." 
But  the  planets  do  not  revolve  in  the  same  plane  as  the 
"spirits"  say;  nor  in  any  "  terrestrial"  plane;  and  instead  of 
only  "  twelve"  planets,  as  the  "  spirits"  teach,  all  well-informed 
mortals  know  that  there  are  at  least  twenty-eight  planets. 
The  "  spirits"  are  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent,  out  of  the 
way  as  to  the  number  of  planetary  bodies ;  and  some  seven 
years  "  behind  the  times." 


DEVELOPMENT    THEORY.  123 

SPIRIT     COSMOGONY. 

3.  But  the  "  spirits"  not  only  instruct  us  as  to  the  number 
of  the  planets,  but  also  in  relation  to  their  origin.  The  follow- 
ing very  lucid  communications  are  from  the  "  Mountain  Cove 
Journal :" 

"  God  the  Life  in  God  the  Lord  in  God  the  Holy  Procedure  organ- 
ized the  first  Orh-Creation  in  form  of  appearing  as  one  globular  ovari- 
um, which  was  the  germ  of  the  terrestrial  universe  of  universes ;  and 
within  the  globular  was  the  embryo  of  the  external  of  the  universal, 
impersonal  creation,  as  one  curvilinear  ovarium ;  and  within  the  cur- 
vilinear the  germ  of  the  external  of  the  universal,  personal  or  intel 
lectual  creation,  in  form  of  one  vortical  ovarium." 

"  In  the  beginning  of  the  orb-formation  preparatory  for  man-forma- 
tions ;  vehicles  of  the  Quickening  Spirit  into  intellectual  formations, 
the  universal  concavity,  and  the  universal  convexity  were  co-enfolded 
and  encompassed  in  the  universal  zodiac,  and  within  the  concavity  waa 
the  visible  disclosure  unto  the  germ  of  the  Terrestrial." 

We  might  quote  fifty  pages  upon  this  subject,  not  a  whit 
more  intelligible  than  the  above  extracts ;  but  it  is  unnecessary. 

DEVELOPMENT     THEORY. 

4.  "  The  great  seer"  is  a  great  advocate  of  the  "  develop- 
ment theory ;"  that  is,  that  God  did  not  create  the  different 
orders  of  plants  and  animals,  but  that  they  have  been  "  de- 
veloped" up  from  vegetables  to  animals,  and  from  one  class  of 
animals  to  another,  until  man  was  at  last  produced.  The  fish 
produced  a  tadpole  ;  the  tadpole  a  quadruped  ;  the  quadruped 
a  baboon;  the  baboon  an  orang-outang ;  the  orang-outang  a 
negro ;  and  the  negro  a  white  man ;  and  the  ordinary  white 
man  a  "  seer  !" 

Well  done,  Mr.  Davis.  You  have  traced  your  pedigree 
back  through  a  line  of  illustrious  negroes,  orang-outangs,  and 
monkeys,  to  an  ichthyosaurus  or  an  oyster.  No  wonder  you 
are  a  "  great  seer,"  with  such  an  ancestry  as  you  boast.* 

*  "  In  descending  the  scale  of  animation,"  says  Smellie,  "  the  next 
step  [from  man]  brings  us  to  the  monkey  tribe.  Man,  in  many  par- 
ticulars, undoubtedly  resembles  the  animals  of  this  tribe,  more  es- 


121  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

In  vindicating  his  development  theory,  Mr.  Davis  gives  us 
the  following  very  striking  philosophy : 

"Flour,  damped  with  a  little  water,  will,  in  a  few  days,  or  even 
hours,  be  transformed  into  moviyig,  living,  feeling  organisms.  *  *  Any 
man  can  develop  oats  from  rye ;  or  oak-trees,  from  a  combination  of 
chestnut,  pine,  and  walnut.  If  oats  are  cast  into  the  ground  at  the 
proper  season,  and  kept  mowed  down  during  the  summer  and  autumnal 
months,  and  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed  till  the  succeeding  spring, 
the  oats  will  completely  disappear,  and  a  moderate  growth  of  rye  will 
appear  at  the  close  of  the  following  summer." — Approaching  Crisis, 
p.  51. 

And  all  this  by  "  spiritual  impressions,"  by  the  "  great  seer" 
himself !  Well,  henceforth  let  no  good  housewife  be  alarmed, 
if,  after  she  has  prepared  her  flour  for  the  oven,  the  loaves 
should  suddenly  turn  into  mud- turtles,  and  the  pies  into  sun- 
fish,  and  move  off  into  their  respective  elements.  And  if  any 
of  our  growers  of  ornamental  trees  wish  to  produce  the  oak, 
and  cannot  well  get  the  acorn  to  plant,  let  them  take  a  quantity 
of  -  chestnut,  pine,  and  walnut"  chips,  get  them  ground,  make 
the  meal  up  into  little  balls,  and  plant  them  ;  and  we  have  Mr. 
Davis'  word  for  it,  that  from  the  balls  will  grow  up  oak-trees! 
The  farmer,  also,  who  wants  a  crop  of  winter-rye,  and  has  not 
the  seed,  but  has  plenty  of  oats,  has  only  to  sow  the  oats  in 
the  spring,  instead  of  rye  in  the  fall,  and  the  next  season  the 
''moderate  growth  of  rye"  will  be  produced!  Verily,  this  is 
not  only  a  "  new,"  but  a  very  accommodating  philosophy. 
Wonder  if  it  will  be  equally  obliging  in  the  amalgamation  of 
existing  species  of  animals,  and  the  production  of  a  new  spe- 
cies ! 

In  relation  to  the  above  specimen  of  spirit  philosophy,  Rev. 

pecially  in  his  bodily  structure.  But  even  in  this  respect,  the  lowest 
variety  of  the  human  species  does  not  nearly  so  much  resemble  the 
highest  of  the  apes,  as  the  latter  do  the  majority  of  the  quadrupeds. 
In  short,  notwithstanding  the  attempts  of  some  philosophers  to  con- 
found their  own  species  with  monkeys,  it  requires  bui  a  small  share  of 
knowledge  of  the  anatomical  structure  of  animals,  and  the  general 
principles  of  natural  history,  to  convince  any  one  of  the  folly  and  ab- 
surdity of  such  speculation." — Philosophy  of  Natural  History,  p.  309. 


SPIRIT   GEOLOGY.  125 

J.  N.  Murdoch \  a  talented  Baptist  minister,  and  editor  of  the 
Christian  Review,  observes : 

"Is  this  not  a  wisdom  which  challenges  the  admiration  and  reverence 
of  mankind?  Who  after  reading  this  can  doubt  that  Mr.  Davis  should 
be  trusted  when  he  denies  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  ?  He 
who  can  change  flour  into  living  creatures  by  the  simple  application  of 
moisture  and  the  sun,  should  be  allowed  to  develop  a  world  without 
the  creative  energy  of  a  God !  If  it  be  so  easy  to  make  oak-trees,  and 
to  manufacture  rye,  why  may  we  not  make  'a  wolf,  a  fox,  a  lion,'  a  man, 
nay  a  universe  ?  The  only  wonder  is,  that  Mr.  Davis  has  not  told  us 
how  these  things  may  be  done,  for  he  must  know.  At  least,  he  can  find 
out  by  going  into  the  '  superior  state ;'  and  after  having  told  us  so  much 
of  what  chemistry  can  accomplish,  in  the  way  of  producing  life,  it  is 
absolutely  cruel  in  him  not  to  find  out  and  declare  the  ultimatum  of  its 
capacities  in  this  way.  And  there  is  another  matter  that  we  hope  will 
engage  Mr.  Davis'  attention.  Will  he  not  find  what  common  and  easily 
accessible  substances  can  be  changed  into  silver  and  gold?  This,  and 
the  other  discoveries  which  our  seer  is  bound  to  enounce,  would  be  a 
realization  of  'the  good  time  coming.'  O,  what  visions  open  before  us 
of  privileges  and  glories  more  precious  and  more  inspiring  than  those 
of  the  fabled  golden  age!  There  is  only  one  little  drawback  in  all  this. 
We  are  'impressed  distinctly  to  say'  that  this  whole  theory,  of  which 
Mr.  Davis  has  given  us  such  a  prelude  in  the  above  paragraph,  is  a 
fabrication.  There  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it.  The  flour  is  not 
changed  to  insects,  the  chestnut,  the  pine,  and  the  walnut,  do  not  pro- 
duce the  oak,  and  the  oats  are  not  changed  to  rye.  If  we  had  a  boy 
ten  years  of  age  who  could  not  account  for  the  phenomena  to  which 
Mr.  Davis  refers,  without  resorting  to  such  a  theory,  we  should  be 
strongly  disposed  to  flog  him  for  his  stupidity.  We  humbly  submit 
that  a  man  who  can  conceive  and  deliberately  print  such  absurdities  as 
the  above  paragraph  contains,  is  entitled  to  no  confidence  whatever. 
Yet  this  is  the  teacher  on  whose  authority  many  of  our  citizens  have 
surrendered  their  faith  in  the  Bible;  for  whose  crudities  they  have 
abandoned  historical  Christianity !  In  the  sacred  name  of  reason  what 
have  they  gained  by  the  exchange  ?  What !  May  God  pity  them  and 
their  deluded  leader." 

SPIRIT     GEOLOGY. 

5.  In  his  Approaching  Crisis,  Mr.  Davis  informs  us  that 
Hugh  Miller's  Footprints  of  the  Creator  is  u  not  at  all  accepted 
by  those  who  know  any  thing  of  practical  geology.     For  [says 


126  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

Mr.  D.]  it  is  merely  a  plea  of  a  clergyman  in  behalf  of  his 
theological  faith,"  p.  48. 

"Now  we  would  like  to  know," says  Mr.  Murdock,  "from  some  better 
source  than  Mr.  Davis'  'impressions,'  whether  such  men  as  Sir  Rod- 
erick Murchison,  Sir  David  Brewster,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  Dr.  Buckland, 
Dr.  Anderson,  and  Dr.  Hitchcock,  who  have  all  of  them  unqualifiedly 
endorsed  this  book,  are  to  be  put  down  as  novices  in  geological  science, 
by  the  unsupported  assertion  of  a  man  whose  highest  claim  to  credence, 
as  asserted  by  his  friends,  is,  that  he  is  illiterate  and  ignorant!  Besides, 
we  would  like  to  know  whether  Mr.  Davis  was  '  impressed'  to  class  Mr. 
Miller  as  a  '  clergyman.'  We  are  decidedly  impressed  that  the  talented 
author  of  the  '  Footprints'  has  never  yet  assumed  the  cloth.  He  has 
been  a  stone  mason,  and  a  bank  clerk,  and  he  is  now  the  editor  of  a 
political  paper  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  a  practical  geologist." 

6.  In  noticing  some  other  points  in  Mr.  Davis'  philosophy, 
Mr.  Murdock  proceeds : 

"In  replying  to  Dr.  Bushnell's  assertion,  that  the  fossil  remains  of 
a  perfectly  vertebrated  fish  had  been  discovered  in  one  of  the  lower 
strata  of  rocks,  Mr.  Davis  says:  'I  have  tried  to  discover  the  location 
of  that  fish-skeleton,  and  I  do  not  find  such  a  fact  in  nature.'  Of  course 
not!  So  this  fact  (which  Mr.  D.  admits  is  asserted  by  three  or  four 
authors ;  though  instead  of  one  fish,  as  he  ignorantly  supposes,  there 
were  hundreds),  bearing  so  heavily  on  the  'development'  theory  of 
creation,  is  done  for!  To  be  sure,  this  oracle  has  made  no  specific  in- 
vestigations, nor  examined  any  competent  witnesses,  on  this  point,  but 
has  simply  gone  into  the  *  superior  state,'  in  his  chamber  in  Hartford 
and  under  such  conditions  sifted  the  matter  thoroughly!  "Who  will 
ever  dare  to  assert  the  existence  of  such  fossil,  since  Mr.  Davis  has 
tested  its  non-existence  by  a  method  so  infallible!  Who  will  have  the 
temerity  to  assume  that  Nature  has  any  secrets  which  she  refuses  to 
disclose  to  such  a  seer  as  Mr.  Andrew  Jackson  Davis !" 

ANOTHER     SPIRIT    PLAGIARISM. 

7.  Not  lonp*  since,  Mr.  Davis  issued  four  articles  in  that 
scurrilous  paper,  the  Hartford  Times,  on  the  "Philosophy  of 
producing  and  controlling  the  fall  of  Rain."  He  professed  to 
write  them,  not  by  his  own  thought  or  study,  but  by  spirit 
impression.  At  the  close  of  his  first  letter,  he  says  :  "  In  the 
mean  time,  Mr.  Editor,  until  something  more  comes  to  me  con- 
cerning this  subject,  which  when  it  comes,  I  will  hasten  to 


SPIRIT    PLAGIARISM.  127 

write  and  send  you,  I  have  the  pleasure  of  remaining/ '  &c. 
And  every  few  paragraphs  we  find :  "  I  am  impressed  to 
write;" — "it  is  my  impression;" — "  I  see  ;" — "  my  impressions 
now  lead  me  to  a  continuation  of  the  philosophy  of  ram,"  &c. 
At  the  close  of  his  third  article,  he  says :  "  You  may  expect 
the  'plan  for  producing  and  controlling  rain'  in  my  next.  What 
that  plan  will  be,  is  no  more  known  to  my  brain  than  it  is  to 
yours.  And  so  I  confess  that  my  curiosity  to  know  'what's 
coming  next'  is  not  in  the  least  allayed  by  the  fact  that  my 
hand  has  traced  the  foregoing."  At  the  opening  of  his  fourth 
letter,  he  says :  "  With  this  communication,  I  am  impressed  to 
terminate  my  correspondence." 

These  extracts  are  sufficient  to  show  that  Mr.  Davis  pro- 
fesses to  write  by  inspiration  or  impression  from  some  higher 
intelligence  than  himself.    Now  what  are  the  facts  in  the  case  ? 

Some  months  since,  a  Mr.  Daniel  Vaughan,  of  Covington, 
Ky.,  published  a  circular  containing  a  new  theory  for  producing 
rain  by  artificial  means.  This  circular  was  distributed  among 
the  members  of  the  "  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science ;"  and  afterwards  published  in  "  Buchan's 
Journal  of  Man."  In  December  last,  a  copy  of  the  circular 
was  given  to  Mr.  Davis,  then  lecturing  in  Cincinnati,  who 
promised  to  give  it  special  consideration  when  next  in  a  clair- 
voyant state.  This  it  seems  he  has  done  ;  and  now  comes  out 
in  the  "  Times,"  setting  forth  Mr.  Vaughan's  theory  as  an 
original  theory  revealed  to  himself  by  the  "  spirits  !"  And  the 
pliant  editor  of  the  "  Times"  knew  no  better  than  to  publish 
the  borrowed  thunder  in  his  paper,  as  a  genuine  revelation 
from  Mr.  Davis  ! 

The  title  of  Mr.  Vaughan's  article  is — "  On  the  Causes  of 
Rain,  and  the  possibility  of  modifying  them  by  Art." — Journal 
of  Man,  for  Jan.  1853,  p.  20.  This  Mr.  Davis  changes  to  the 
"  Philosophy  of  Producing  and  Controlling  the  Fall  of  Rain." 
What  difference  is  there  in  the  sense  ? 

Again  :  Mr.  Vaughan  says  :  "  Two  volumes  of  air,  saturated 
with  moisture  at  different  temperatures,  will  be  overcharged 
with  it  when  mixed  togetner,  and  deposit  part  of  it  in  a  liquid 


128  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

form."    In  place  of  this  Mr.  Davis  is  "  impressed  to  say  :*'  "  Two 

masses  or  volumes  of  air,  thoroughly  saturated  with  moisture 
or  aqueous  vapor,  and  of  different  temperatures,  will,  when 
they  approach  and  mix  together,  become  overcharged  with 
the  moisture,  and  a  part  ol  it  would  [will  ?]  of  necessity  be 
precipitated  in  the  form  of  rain  to  the  earth." 

Again  :  Mr.  Vaughan  says, — "  The  amount  of  watery  vapor 
which  the  atmosphere  can  contain,  depends  not  only  on  its 
temperature,  but  likewise  on  its  electricity  *  *."  This  thought 
Mr.  Davis  expresses  thus : — "  It  is  my  impression— indeed  I 
may  say  I  '  see'  it  to  be  unqualifiedly  the  case — that  all  atmos- 
pheric phenomena  are  wholly  referable  to  the  alternate  action 
of  electricity  ;"  and  so  on  through  the  whole  of  Mr.  Vaughan's 
theory. 

In  regard  to  this  "  spiritual"  plagiarism,  Mr.  Vaughan  says : 

"  A  few  days  ago  I  received  two  numbers  of  "The  Hartford  Times," 
containing  four  letters  from  A.  J.  Davis,  in  which  he  claims  my  theory 
as  his  own,  and  pretends  to  have  arrived  at  a  knowledge  of  it  during 
one  of  his  clairvoyant  spells.  Besides  amalgamating  my  doctrine  with 
his  Spiritualisms,  embellishing  them  with  his  sublime  jargon,  and  com- 
mitting some  notorious  blunders  in  his  attempts  to  alter  my  expres- 
sions, he  pretends  to  quote  from  the  writings  of  Humboldt,  a  sentence 
which  he  copied  with  scarcely  any  alteration  from  my  circular,"  <fcc. — 
New  York  Tribune,  March  25,  1853. 

And  yet  this  same  Mr.  Davis  succeeds  in  making  hundreds 
believe  that  he  does  not  get  his  knowledge  from  books,  like 
other  private  students,  but  obtains  it  by  intuition,  or  by  "  spir- 
itual impression  !" 

But  notwithstanding  the  liberty  Mr.  D.  has  taken  with  Mr. 
Vaughan's  theory,  he  endeavors  to  mix  in  a  few  thoughts  of  his 
own  ;  and  whenever  he  attempts  to  stand  alone  for  a  few  para- 
graphs, he  manifests  the  most  deplorable  ignorance  of  the  first 
principles  of  Natural  Science.  But  we  leave  this  part  of  the 
"  new  philosophy"  to  be  tested  by  experiment.  Let  Mr.  D. 
get  up  his  mammoth  "  battery"  and  "  Leyden  jar,"  if  he  has 
any  faith  in  his  own  "  impressions,"  and  we  guarantee  abundant 
patronage  and  high  prices  for  all  the  showers  he  can  manu- 
facture. 


DISCOVERIES   OF   THE   SPIRITS.  129 

NEW     MOTIVE     POWER, 

6.  The  "  spirits"  have  "  impressed"  Mr.  Davis,  that  the 
only  real  motive  power  in  existence,  is  the  human  will.  Upon 
this  revelation  an  intelligent  editor  says  : 

"  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  the  Poughkeepsie  seer,  has  discovered  that 
all  sorts  of  machinery,  locomotives,  engines,  &e.,  &c,  can  be  driven  by 
the  power  of  the  human  will.  He  prints  his  paper,  '  The  Universal 
Hum,'  by  just  looking  into  the  office  and  nodding  at  the  press.  This 
is  ahead  of  Hoe." 

So  the  discovery  of  Ericsson  is  superseded  already ;  and  we 
may  soon  expect  to  see  trains  of  cars  drawn,  and  ships  propelled 
by  the  mere  "  will"  of  some  modern  "  seer." 

7.  In  speaking  of  the  spheres,  the  "  spirits"  say  "  the  sec- 
ond is  above  the  atmosphere,  about  six  miles  in  height" — Su- 
pernal Theology,  p.  75.  But  the  atmosphere  is  known  to  be 
from  forty-five  to  sixty  miles  in  height ;  so  that  the  "  new 
philosophy"  is  sadly  at  fault  as  to  the  height  of  the  atmosphere. 

SPIRITUAL     ESSENCE     DISCOVERED. 

8.  The  "  spirits"  teach  that  spirit  is  the  same  as  electricity. 

"  Spirit  is  matter  sublimated.  Mind  is  the  result  of  spirit.  Spirit  is 
matter  sublimated  ;  spirit,  or  the  life  principle,  pervades  all  matter. 
Spirit  is  the  life  of  the  soul;  life  is  electricity;  natural  life  is  electricity 
in  its  grosser  form  :  spiritual  life  is  electricity  in  its  exceedingly  refined 
state." — Boynton's  Un foldings,  p.  14. 

The  "  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle"  inform  us  that  the  spirit  is 
made  of  "  electricity,  magnetism,"  and  "  a  spark  of  fire." — 
Teacher,  pp.  24-27.  In  the  Philadelphia  History,  p.  95,  a 
spirit  is  asked, — "  Is  the  spirit  matter  highly  etherealized  ?" 
Ans.  "No;  its  electrical  combination  is  all  that  is  material." 
This  spirit  flatly  contradicts  "  Matthew  Henry,"  as  cited  above. 
But  Mr.  Ballou  endorses  Matthew  Henry  (Manifestations,  pp. 
11,  61,  11),  so  we  must  recognize  it  as  a  settled  principle  of 
the  "new  philosophy"  that  spirit  and  electricity  are  the  same. 

From  this  item  of  the  spirit  philosophy,  the  following  con- 
clusions necessarily  flow: — (1.)  If  spirit  is  electricity,  then 
spirit  is  matter.     Who,  then,  are  the  "  materialists" — they  who 

6* 


130  SPIMT-KAPPING   UNVEILED. 

deny  the  materiality  of  the  soul,  or  those  who  say  it  is  com- 
posed of  electricity  or  magnetism,  and  even  declare  openly  that 
u  spirit  is  matter  sublimated?"  (2.)  If  electricity  and  the 
spirit  of  man  are  the  same,  then  a  Leyden  jar,  well  charged 
writh  electricity,  ought  to  be  able  to  think  and  reason.  Why 
not  ?  It  has  a  "  spirit"  in  it,  and  spirits  ought  to  possess  more 
or  less  intelligence.  (4.)  If  spirit  and  electricity  are  identical, 
then  the  more  electricity  the  more  mind.  If,  therefore,  a  stu- 
dent is  dull  and  tardy  in  his  studies,  and  seems  to  be  rather 
below  par  as  to  intellect,  wo  can  easily  supply  the  deficiency  by 
placing  him  upon  an  insulating  stool,  and  charging  him  up  with 
"  spiricity,"*  till  his  hair  stands  out  in  all  directions.  He  will 
then  be  able  to  manage  Euclid,  Greek  verbs,  or  any  thing  else. 
A  couple  of  Leyden  jars,  one  each  side  of  his  head,  and  kept 
well  charged,  might  answer  the  same  purpose. 

This  splendid  discovery  may  also  be  applied  to  oratory.  Let 
the  weak-minded  and  ignorant  lecturer,  for  instance,  speak  from 
an  insulated  platform  ;  and  let  some  one  keep  the  electrical 
machine  in  motion,  and  keep  him  well  supplied  with  "spi- 
ricity"  during  his  lecture.  He  will  then  speak  with  unwonted 
interest  and  power.  We  suggest  that  this  philosophy  be  tried 
at  once  upon  Messrs.  Fishbough,  Finney,  and  Ambler,  if  not 
upon  Mr.  Davis  himself. 

TAKING     LIGHTNING     OUT     OF     \    LADY,      s 

9.  In  Mr.  Spear's  "  Messages,"  pp.  37-8,  we  have  an  ac- 
count of  his  visit  to  a  lady  who  had  been  struck  by  lightning. 
She  was  in  great  distress,  and  Mr.  S.  placed  the  palm  of  his 
hand  opposite  hers,  and  took  the  pain  himself,  &c.  In  this 
operation,  it  is  said  that  he  "  took  the  lightning  from  its  lodg- 
ings, and  gave  it  again  to  nature." 

Now  if  electricity  (or  lightning)  and  spirit  are  the  same,  we 
should  like  to  know — (1.)  How  it  was  that  "  spirit"  (electricity) 
could  thus  strike  the  poor  woman  ?  *  Is  it  lawful  for  spirit  to 
dash  against  spirit  after  this  sort?     (2.)  Was  the  lady  any 

*  This  is  Mr.  Ballou's  name  for  th-e  raw  material. 


tom  paine's  philosophy.  131 

more  intellectual  while  she  had  this  extra  supply  of  spirit? 
(3.)  How  is  it  that  the  electricity  lodged  in  the  good  lady's 
body  ?  It  is  not  wont  to  lodge  thus  in  an  object,  unless  it  is 
insulated  by  non-conductors.  Was  she  separated  from  the 
floor  by  glass,  or  some  other  insulator  ?  Why  was  it  that  the 
"  lightning"  did  not  go  out  of  this  lady  till  Mr.  Spear  visited 
her,  made  a  lightning-rod  of  himself,  and  drew  it  out  ?  (4.)  If 
Mr.  S.  actually  "took  the  lightning"  out  of  this  lady,  he  took 
just  so  much  of  her  "  spirit,''  according  to  the  new  philosophy, 
for  electricity  and  lightning  are  the  same,  and  spirit  is  elec- 
tricity. Mr.  S.  was  taking  the  "spirit"  out  of  this  lady,  then, 
instead  of  mere  old-fashioned  lightning.  Really  this  is  a 
splendid  philosophy  ! 

"spiricity"    in  the   lump. 

10.  Mr.  Ballou  goes  still  more  profoundly  into  the  electro- 
spirit  theory.  "  Matter  and  spirit,"  says  he,  "  exist  both  indi- 
viduated and  ^^individuated  throughout  space,"  p.  11;  i.  e., 
both  matter  and  spirit  may  be  found  "  in  the  lump"  or  not  made 
up  into  worlds  or  individual  souls.  To  designate  this  spirit  ma- 
terial— not  yet  made  up  into  "  individuated"  souls — he  coins  a 
new  word,  and  calls  it  "spiricity,"  pp.  13,  61,  &c.  So,  then, 
when  a  spirit  is  wanted  for  a  new  body,  a  quantity  of  "  spi- 
ricity" is  "  individuated"  from  the  mass,  and  becomes  a  separate 
and  conscious  soul.  And  the  more  "  spiricity"  is  cut  off  from 
the  original  stock,  the  more  intellect  the  person  who  receives  it 
will  have.  Those  who  get  a  good  supply  will  be  wise ;  while 
those  who  are  wanting  in  "  spiricity"  must  be  content  to  remain 
fools.  Their  only  hope  is  in  a  resort  to  the  electrical  machine 
to  splice  out  their  intellects. 

TOM     PAINE'S     PHILOSOPHY. 

11.  The  "spirit"  of  Thomas  Paine  is  extremely  dubious  on 
many  philosophical  points.  Page  16  of  "Pilgrimage,"  he  says, 
"  I  doubt  not  my  senses,  but  my  sight."  But  was  not  his  sight 
one  of  his  senses?  Page  22  represents  the  earth  as  a  self- 
luminous  body,  like  the  sup      Page  209  he  says,  "the  sun  re- 


132  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

fleets  rays  of  light,"  as  if  it  was  an  opake  body ;  and  we  might 
go  on  with  similar  instances  of  false  philosophy,  taught  by  the 
"spirits,"  to  any  desirable  extent.  But  the  above  specimens 
must  suffice.  They  are  sufficient  to  show  not  only  that  differ- 
ent "  spirits"  do  not  agree  as  to  their  philosophy,  but  that  on 
this  subject,  also,  the  revelations  of  the  spirits  are  the  simple 
thoughts  of  the  "mediums."  And  as  the  mediums  are  often 
ignorant,  and,  indeed,  generally  boast  of  their  utter  destitution 
of  book  knowledge,  the  "  spirits"  are  made  to  teach  some  very 
bad  philosophy.  We  have  in  this  fact  additional  evidence  that 
the  mediums  are  not  assisted  by  any  superior  intelligence. 
Their  philosophy,  like  their  theology,  is  just  such  as  we  should 
expect  to  originate  in  the  mediums  themselves,  and  nothing 
more. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

MISTAKES    AND    CONTRADICTIONS    OF    THE    "  SPIRITS." 

Number  of  spirit  spheres — Distances — Spirit  homes — Intercourse  just 
opened,  and  yet  opened  ages  ago — Deceptions  exposed  by  a  rapper — Tom 
Paine  contradicting  himself— Lavalette  and  George  Fox  at  odds— Cali- 
fornia mediums  and  election  returns — Another  medium  in  a  fix — Still 
another  ditto— Philadelphia  mediums  in  error— Another  spirit  plagiarism 
—Books  and  no  books  in  the  Schools  of  the  Spheres—"  John  Wesley" 
contradicting  himself— Mr.  Harvey's  "spirits"  all  Methodists— Le  Roy 
Sunderland  done  for— The  Fox  girls  ditto. 

With  a  view  to  showing  still  more  conclusively  that  all  the 
pretended  "  spirit  messages"  originate  with  the  mediums  them- 
selves, and  that  consequently  they  need  not  be  referred  to  any 
higher  source ;  I  shall  now  call  attention  to  a  few  specimens  of 
mistakes  and  contradictions  on  the  part  of  the  "  spirits." 

1.  Most  of  them  teach  that  there  are  seven  spheres,  rising 
one  above  another,  and  that  the  seventh  circle  of  the  seventh 
sphere  is  the  highest  point  to  which  any  progressive  can  ascend. 
But  the  authors  of  the  "  Supernal  Theology"  represent  heaven 


CONTRADICTIONS    OF   THE    "SPIRITS."  133 

as  beyond  all  the  spheres.  "  The  change  from  the  seventh 
sphere  to  heaven  is  equivalent  to  death,  and  is  almost  as  great 
as  the  change  from  the  life  on  earth  to  the  second  sphere," 
p.  75.  So,  then,  none  are  in  heaven  till  they  pass  through 
another  "  death,"  and  get  beyond  all  the  spheres. 

2.  In  the  "  Mountain  Cove  Journal,"  the  spirits  teach  that 
there  are  only  four  spheres  surrounding  our  globe  : 

"  The  terrestrial  earth  inhabited  by  mortals  is  surrounded  by,  and 
revolves  within,  four  essential  orbs,  which  are  the  habitations  of  those 
of  the  human  race  who  have  departed  from  the  corporeal  form." 

But  in  the  "  spirit  manifestations"  by  Mr.  Ballou,  they  say : 

"  There  are  seven  spirit  spheres  or  circles  inferior  to  the  heavenly,*' 
<fcc,  page  52. 

Surely  the  most  ignorant  spirit  ought  to  know  how  many 
spheres  there  are  in  the  spirit  world,  if  there  are  any  at  all ; 
but  here  they  seem  to  differ  to  the  amount  of  nearly  one  half. 

3.  On  the  same  page  of  the  "Supernal  Theology,"  we  are 
told  by  the  spirits  that  the  seventh  sphere  commences  at  the 
distance  of  "four  or  five  thousand  miles  from  the  earth;"  but 
the  spirit  of  "Mrs.  Franklin"  informs  Mr.  Post  ("Voices," 
&c,  p.  122)  that  the  "shining  stars  are  the  homes  of  spirits." 
Unless,  therefore,  the  seventh  sphere  extends  from  within  five 
thousand  miles  of  our  globe  to  the  fixed  stars,  it  must  follow 
that  there  are  no  spirits  whatever  in  the  spheres ;  as  these 
"  homes"  are  far  beyond  even  the  seventh  sphere. 

4.  Part  of  the  "  spirits"  teach  that  the  intercourse  between 
the  invisible  world  and  the  earth  has  just  been  opened ;  while 
others  teach  that  it  has  been  open  for  ages.  After  the  writing 
of  the  spirit  Hebrew  in  Mr.  Fowler's  room,  B.  Franklin  is  made 
to  say  : — "  My  dear  friends,  I  am  happy  to  announce  to  you 
that  the  project  which  has  engaged  our  attention  for  some  years 
has  at  last  been  in  part  accomplished." — "Telegraph,"  No.  22. 
In  Mr.  Bojmton's  "  Unfoldings,"  John  Wesley  is  made  to  say  : 
"  Never  was  more  joy  in  the  spirit  world,  when  it  was  made 
known  that  a  mode  of  communication  was  opened  to  mankind. 
Such  a  gathering  to  hear  the  joyful  news — such  rejoicing  was 


134  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

never  known  in  the  spheres,"  p.  10.  So  in  one  of  Judge  Ed- 
mond's  visions,  "  Shekinah,"  vol.  1,  p.  268,  the  Judge  describes 
the  inhabitants  of  the  spheres  as  "  rejoicing  that  a  communica- 
tion had  at  length  been  opened  between  the  inhabitants  of  earth 
and  the  spirit  land.  *  *  *  They  set  up  one  glad  shout,  which 
rang  through  all  space,  and  pointed  to  Dr.  Franklin  as  him  to 
whose  practical  and  enlarged  philosophy  they  were  indebted 
for  perfecting  the  discovery. " 

But  the  "  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle,"  and  others,  as  quoted, 
page  27,  inform  "  the  world"  that  they  have  b^en  communi- 
cating, through  the  prophets  and  apostles,  as  far  back  as  3000 
years  ago,  at  least.  So  Mr.  Spear  ("Messages,"  p.  23)  says: 
"  These  things  are  nothing  new.  Eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
the  heavens  were  opened,"  &c.  Now  which  shall  we  believe  ? 
B.  Franklin,  John  Wesley,  and  Judge  Edmonds,  on  the  one 
hand ;  or  the  "  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle,"  and  Mr.  Spear,  on 
the  other  ? 

"Who  shall  decide  when  spirits  disagree?"  and  especially 
when  such  high  spirits  and  exalted  "  seers"  as  are  concerned  in 
the  above  contradictions  are  found  at  variance  ?  How  can  we 
ever  explain  away  the  difficulty  without  impeaching  the  whole 
system  ? 

5.  After  all  this  "  rejoicing"  in  the  "  spheres,  and  "  pointing 
to  Dr.  Franklin  as  the  spirit  who  opened  the  intercourse  be- 
tween mortals  and  immortals,"  we  are  told  by  other  spirits 
equally  "  advanced"  that  the  discovery  was  not  made  by  Benj. 
Franklin,  after  all. 

"This  mode  of  communicating  with  you  by  raps  was  not  discovered 
by  Benj.  Franklin,  as  has  been  alleged,  though  it  is  possible  that  he  has 
interested  himself  in  the  matter  from  the  early  stages  of  the  discovery 
It  was  discovered  by  a  spirit  who,  when  he  was  on  earth,  was  very 
much  interested  in  electricity,  magnetism,  and  things  of  a  kindred  na- 
ture. His  name  was  James  G.  Schenck.  I  have  had  some  trouble  in 
finding  it  out  for  you ;  but  I  was  aware  that  you  were  anxious  to  know, 
and  so  have  been  diligent  in  my  inquiries." — Supernal  Theology,  p.  54. 

Now  this  "  spirit"  must  be  right,  for  he  had  "  taken  about  a 
month  to  make  inquiries ;"  so  that  all  the  spirits  seen  by  Judge 
Edmonds,  and  even  Benj.  Franklin  himself,  were  mistaken. 


CONTRADICTIONS   OF   THE    "SPIRITS."  135 

6.  The  24th  number  of  the  "  Telegraph"  contains  a  com- 
munication of  nearly  three  columns  in  length,  headed  "Modern 
Inspiration  at  Mountain  Cove,"  and  signed  "  J.  S.  Hyatt."  The 
substance  of  this  long  article  is,  that  Mr.  Hyatt  had  been 
among  the  rappers  at  Mountain  Gove,  Ya. ;  had  become  con- 
vinced of  their  deception  ;  and,  as  he  alleges,  defrauded  by  them. 
But  as  he  has  now  left  them,  and  Mr.  Brittan  is  hostile  to  the 
Cove  rapologists,  the  columns  of  the  "  Telegraph"  are  opened 
for  the  purpose  ;  and  Mr.  Hyatt  comes  out  with  a  very  rich 
chapter  of  "  disclosures."  He  shows  to  a  demonstration  that 
they  are  sadly  wanting  in  "  inspiration"  at  the  Mountain  Cove 
settlement. 

7.  On  page  14  of  the  M  Pilgrimage,"  Paine  is  made  to  say, 
"  I  was  never  more  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  my  book" — the 
"  Age  of  Reason."  But  as  Mr.  Hammond  advanced  with  his 
writing,  he  discovered  that  the  "  Age  of  Reason"  was  against 
the  immortality  of  the  soul — the  only  truth  of  any  importance 
which  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  creed  of  the  spiritists.  To 
set  this  matter  right,  he  makes  Paine  say,  "  I  was  not  with- 
out misgivings  that  my  *  Age  of  Reason'  sought  not  to  grat- 
ify the  mind  in  its  hope  of  immortality.  I  said,  'When  will 
the  day  come  that  I  can  make  known  the  truth,  and  correct  the 
errors  of  my  work  ?'  "  p.  20.    So  the  book  is  both  "  truth"  and 


"  error." 


8.  In  Mr.  Post's  Voices  from  the  Spirit  World, -page  115, 
George  Fox  is  made  to  say :  "  I  have  not  found  any  other 
part  of  the  universe  where  man  commences  to  live,"  &c.  But 
in  Mr.  Harvey's  Defense,  his  deceased  brother  Lavalette  says : 
"  I  have  visited  every  part  of  the  earth,  all  the  planets  of  the 
solar  system,  and  many  other  worlds.  They  are  all  inhabited 
by  responsible  and  immortal  beings.  They  are  in  a  probationary 
state.  While  creatures  are  in  this  state,  they  are  confined  to 
the  world  in  which  their  being  commenced,'7  p.  55.  Now  which 
"  spirit"  shall  we  believe,  "  Lavalette"  or  "  George  Fox  ?"  Mr. 
Post,  or  Mr.  Harvey  ? 

9.  It  is  a  very  common  thing  for  the  apostles  to  be  present, 
and  communicate  through  mediums,  as  everybody  knows. 


136  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

St.  Paul  was  one  of  the  editors  of  a  spirit- paper,  published 
in  Auburn,  and  it  was  from  this  same  apostle  that  "  Shadrack 
Barnes"  received  the  communication  from  his  sister  "  Clarissa*' 
through  the  Fox  girls  (page  141). 

But  in  the  Supernal  Theology ,  page  95,  the  spirits  say : 
"The  apostles  of  Christ  have  not  been  at  any  of  the  circles 
formed  in  this  country  or  on  the  earth.  They  are  in  heaven, 
except  such  of  them  as  are  appointed  to  govern  the  spheres, 
and  they  have  not  descended  to  superintend  circles  or  write 
sermons  for  them."  Will  Mr.  Brit  tan  please  reconcile  these 
discordant  spirits? 

10.  In  the  general  anxiety  to  learn  the  result  of  the  late 
presidential  election,  the  "  spirits"  in  California  declared  that 
General  Scott  had  been  elected  ;  that  Pennsylvania  had  given 
him  8500  majority,  &c,  while  Illinois  had  given  the  largest 
majority  for  Pierce  of  any  State  in  the  Union.  But  the  elec- 
tion returns  proved  all  these  spirit-revelations  to  be  false. 

11.  The  following  is  cut  from  a  Western  paper: 

"A  gentleman  was  a  few  weeks  ago  interrogating  the  invisible 
author  of  certain  raps,  as  to  the  disease  of  which  he  (the  rapper)  died. 
With  considerable  natural  difficulty  and  delay,  the  reply  was  spelled 
out,  Consumption.  The  questioner  looked  a  little  dissatisfied;  and  a 
physician  in  the  company,  who  was  zealous  in  the  faith,  hastened  imme- 
diately to  explain  that  there  are  a  variety  of  forms  of  disease,  either  of 
which  may  well  enough  come  under  the  general  name  of  consumption. 
*  That's  all  very  well/  said  the  questioner,  'but  it  hardly  applies  in  this 
case,  for  the  man  he  professes  to  be  was  blown  up  in  a  steamboat  P  The 
rapper  was  too  indignant  to  make  any  further  revelations  to  that  me-- 
dium." 

12.  Another  case  equally  in  point  was  published  in  the 
Northern  Christian  Advocate.  The  writer  is  an  intelligent 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

"  The  spirit  of  my  grandmother  told  me  that  my  brother,  P.  C.  Rip- 
ley, died  on  his  way  to  California,  between  Acapulco  and  San  Francisco, 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  one  month  and  nine  days  before  this  time,  which 
was  the  28th  of  June.  He  was  taken  from  a  ship,  carried  to  the  land, 
and  there  died,  of  fever.  He  had  $170  with  him  when  he  died,  and  re- 
quested them  to  write  to  his  friends.    He  wished  that  $90  of  his  money 


SPIRITS    OF   LIVING    PERSONS.  137 

should  go  to  A.  P.  Ripley,  and  the  rest  to  myself.  I  called  up  the  spirit 
of  my  brother,  P.  C.  Ripley,  and  he  testified  to  the  same  that  my  grand- 
mother did. 

"Now  the  facts  in  the  case  are  these:  I  received  intelligence  from 
him,  stating  that  he  had  got  to  California,  and  was  well,  and  weighed 
ten  pounds  more  than  he  ever  did  before  in  all  his  life.  Grandmother 
also  stated  that  she  had  be? a  dead  nineteen  years,  and  grandfather  had 
been  dead  twenty-one  years.  Now  the  fact  is,  they  neither  of  them 
have  been  dead  over  ten  years.  She  stated  also,  that  the  wife  of  my 
brother  Willis  died  three  months  ago,  in  the  State  of  Michigan.  One 
month  ago,  I  received  a  letter  from  him,  and  his  wife  and  child  sent 
their  love  to  me.  These  are  facts.  Facts  are  stubborn  things.  Is  it 
not  strange,  that  strong-minded  men,  and  women,  too,  will  run  after 
and  believe  such  a  host  of  fooleries?  It  is  a  perfect  humbug.  But  I 
will  not  make  any  more  comments  upon  it,  but  leave  the  facts  them- 
selves— to  which  I  am  ready  to  make  oath,  at  any  time — to  cut  their 
own  way,  by  carrying  conviction  as  they  go.  Let  me  warn  all  Chris- 
tian people  to  keep  aloof,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  spirit-rap- 
pings. M.  W.  Ripley. 

"  Fayetteville,  July  26,  1852." 

"  Not  long  since,"  says  the  editor  of  the  "  Daily  Register," 
"  a  friend  called  for  our  spirit,  and  held  a  rapping  conversation 
with  it,  but  we  can  testify  to  having  been  in  the  body  at  the 
time." 

13.  At  a  circle  in  Philadelphia,  the  spirits  were  asked  men- 
tally— "  Are  these  motions  of  the  medium's  hands  all  made  by 
evil  spirits  ?"  "  Yes  !"  "  Can  these  so-called  spiritual  mani- 
festations be  accounted  for  without  reference  to  spirits  at  all  ?" 
"  Yes," — and  very  emphatic. 

"  Similar  developments,"  says  the  writer,  "  took  place  in  sittings  I 
had  with  two  mediums  in  Worcester,  Mass.  The  spirits  made  them 
rap  with  their  hands.  Through  them  both,  spirits  (of  mortals  who  are 
now  living)  responded,  and  each  one  would  have  talked  an  hour — had 
I  consented — uttering  all  the  while  what  I  knew  to  be  false." — Telegraph, 
No.  12. 

14.  In  the  34th  number  of  the  "  Telegraph,"  we  have  a  let- 
ter from  P.  B.  Bristol,  in  which  he  refers  to  an  article  headed 
"  The  Formation  of  Circles,"  and  says  : 

"  It  is  self-evident  that  the  spirit  dictating  this  article  knew,  and 
could  so  act  on  the  muscles  of  the  medium,  as  to  repeat  verbatim  an 


133  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

article  previously  written  by  A.  J.  Davis,  in  "  Philosophy  of  Spiritual 
Intercourse."  Second :  a  fact  worthy  of  note  is,  that  the  spirit  neg- 
lected, whether  intentional  or  not,  to  give  Mr.  D.  credit ;  and  it  may  be 
a  fact  that  the  same  or  some  other  spirit  gave  the  same  article  to  Mr. 
D.,  which,  however,  does  not  to  me  seem  at  all  probable.  In  view  of 
many  similar  occurrences,  and  facts  of  a  singular  nature,  I  am  led  to 
inquire  after  the  philosophy." 

The  "philosophy"  is  simply  this — the  "  medium"  copied  the 
article  from  "  Davis'  Spiritual  Intercourse,"  and  sent  it  to  the 
"  Telegraph  ;"  and  Mr.  Brittan  the  editor  knew  no  better  than 
to  publish  it  as  an  original  spirit  message. 

15.  The  "spirits"  teach  that  they  have  schools  in  the  other 
world,  the  same  as  in  this ;  and  that  the  Virgin  Mary  is  the 
head  manager  of  the  children. 

"Mary,  the  blessed  mother  of  Jesus,  in  His  Incarnation,  is  guardian 
maternal  to  all  children  in  paradise." — Mountain  Cove  Journal,  No.  6 

In  the  "  Supernal  Theology,"  it  is  said,  "  The  brother  hac 
been  writing  a  free  hand,  and  telling  what  studies  he  pursued 
in  the  spirit  world,"  p.  20.  "  Geology,  Botany,  Physiology, 
and  other  sciences,  from  many  books  upon  each  one  of  them, 
by  different  authors.  *  *  The  books  upon  these  subjects  are 
by  authors  unknown  to  us,"  *  *  pp.  27-8.  But  the  spirit  of 
young  Ballou  says,  "  I  teach  those  younger  than  myself.  *  * 
We  study  to  get  a  knowledge  of  all  which  earthly  scholars  do, 
but  not  through  books"  Manifestations,  pp.  219-20.  Now 
which  is  correct,  the  "  Supernal  Theology"  written  by  spirits  ; 
or  the  spirit  of  A.  A.  Ballou  ?  Do  they  have  school-books  in 
the  spheres  or  not  ?  And  if  they  have,  are  they  printed  and 
bound  there  ?  And  if  so,  have  they  type  foundries,  presses, 
ink  and  morocco  manufactories,  paper-mills,  and  book-sto?*es  in 
the  spirit  world  ? 

16.  John  Wesley  has  spoken  to  us  respecting  his  writings 
through  two  different  mediums.  The  first  is  through  Mr. 
Boynton,  of  Waterford,  N.  Y.,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  I  entertained  many  erroneous  views  while  in  the  form ;  and  I  am 
very  anxious  the  world  should  know  wherein  I  was  in  error.  I  be- 
lieved and  preached  many  truths,  but  also  many  errors ;  the  truth  I 


MESSAGES   FROM   JOHN    WESLEY.  139 

wish  to  remain,  the  error  I  wish  to  have  rejected.  The  sect  who  pro- 
fess to  pattern  from  my  life  and  teachings,  have  all  my  errors,  besides 
the  accumulation  of  many  more,  but  have  not  much  of  the  truth.  *  *  * 
I  have  often  looked  back  upon  my  former  writings  and  preaching,  and 
wished  that  oblivion  might  forever  cover  them  ;  and  also,  that  if  I 
could  return  to  earth  in  my  corporeal  form  again,  I  would  teach  quite 
another  doctrine." — Unfoldhigs,  pp.  4,  6. 

But  this  same  "John  Wesley"  sends  us  a  communication 
through  Mr.  Harvey's  medium,  in  which  he  conveys  a  very 
different  sentiment. 

"  My  views  on  Christian  theology,  which  I  taught  in  my  ministry, 
and  are  set  forth  in  my  published  works,  are  in  all  essential  points  the 
same  that  I  now  have,  only  my  present  views  are  much  enlarged." — 
Defense,  p.  58. 

How  is  this  ?  Is  John  Wesley  such  a  two-faced  "spirit"  as 
to  recant  his  former  theology  through  a  Universalist  medium, 
and  reaffirm  it  through  a  Methodist  medium  ?  Or  does  this 
case  show  conclusively  that  the  "  spirits"  are  the  mediums 
themselves,  who  always  give  messages  in  accordance  with  their 
own  peculiar  views  ? 

15.  Mr.  Harvey's  medium  was  a  professed  Methodist.  De- 
fense, p.  51.  Now  on  reading  her  revelations,  we  find  them  to 
contain  the  principal  doctrines  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  this 
respect  they  are  the  very  opposite  of  all  other  messages  I  have 
ever  seen.  They  talk  of  conversion,  pp.  61,  63,  66  ;  of  sin  and 
the  atonement,  p.  55  ;  of  promoting  the  peace  of  churches,  p. 
59  ;  of  prayer,  p.  61  ;  of  devils,  p.  61  ;  of  a  hell,  pp.  67, 
75  ;  of  warning  sinners,  p.  67  ;  and  of  the  resurrection  and 
future  judgment,  pp.  53,  57. 

Of  this  medium  Mr.  Harvey  says  :  "  For  several  years  she 
lias  enjoyed  and  professed  the  blessing  of  perfect  love,"  &c,  p. 
51.  Page  61  a  spirit  says  to  her,  "Be  holy — be  more  holy." 
Page  64  we  read  :  "  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  medium 
to  make  the  profession  of  holiness ;  if  she  does  not  she  will 
backslide,"  &c.  A  fine  character,  this,  to  profess  holiness  ! 
But  both  Mr.  Harvey  and  the  medium  held  certain  ultra- 
Methodistic  views  upon  this  subject ;    hence   these   peculiar 


140  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

views,  like  those  they  held  in  common  with  other  Methodists, 
are- woven  into  the  spirit  messages. 

Mr.  Harvey  was  at  this  time  a  Methodist  minister,  and  in 
regard  to  the  messages  through  his  medium  he  says  :  "  The 
whole  range  of  theology  has  been  covered  by  the  questions 
that  I  have  asked,  all  of  which  have  been  promptly  and  satis- 
factorily answered,"  p.  73.  All  that  came  through  this  me- 
dium then,  was,  in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Harvey,  orthodox 
Methodist  theology.  But  the  forty  other  ghost-books  written 
through  infidel  mediums,  are  all  infidel  from  first  to  last ;  that 
is,  Methodist  mediums  put  Methodist  theology  into  the  mouths 
of  the  "spirits  ;"  and  infidel  mediums  make  the  "  spirits"  teach 
infidelity.  What  better  proof  do  we  want  that  in  all  cases  the 
alleged  "  spirit  messages"  originate  with  the  mediums  them- 
selves ? 

16.  Le  Roy  Sunderland,  of  Boston,  was  for  a  time  one  of 
the  leading  mediums  in  the  country.  To  ascertain  definitely 
whether  the  "  spirits"  actually  communicated  through  him,  a 
gentleman  in  New  York  sent  him  the  following  letter :  we  give 
it  verbatim,  et  literatim,  et  punctuatum. 

"  respected  sur  I  send  one  dollar  if  you  please  tu  have  some  ques- 
tions respecting  of  my  daughter  which  departed  this  lif  January  the  19, 
1851  i  brot  her  up  from  a  child  she  was  a  daughter  too  me  her  name  is 
mary  ellen  Perkins  and  was  19  when  she  dide  my  mind  is  exercirsed 
very  much  in  respect  of  her  state  of  mind  in  a  religious  point  of  view 
which  if  you  Communion  with  spirits  in  the  other  world  she  was  flitey 
and  out  of  her  head  as  the  poet  sais  afflictions  soar  long  time  she  bore 
physician  was  in  vain  send  me  a  letter  i  want  two  here  if  her  state  of 
mind  is  happy  no  more  at  present  PHEBE  NEWELL 

"new  Yore  sity  feb,  the  31st  1851. 

"  mr  laroy  Sunderland." 

This  letter,  inclosing  one  dollar,  addressed  in  characteristic 
chirography  to  Mr.  Le  Roy  Sunderland,  Boston,  was  read  to  a 
friend,  and  by  him  deposited  in  the  post-office,  postage  paid, 
Feb.  13,  1851.     The  following  is  Mr.  Sunderland's  reply: 

"  Eliot-St.,  Boston,  Mass.,  i  past  10,  A.  M.,  Feb.  15, 1851. 
**  My  Sister  Dear : — I  have  this  moment  laid  your  letter  before  the 
Spirits,  and  received  the  following  answer  : — '  Tell  her  Mary  is  happy, 


LE  ROY  SUNDERLAND  CAUGHT.  141 

and  with  her  dear  Mother  Newell  all  the  time.  I  watch  over  her  for 
good  ;  and  I  love  her  now  more  than  ever.  I  will  be  near  her  and 
stand  at  her  right  hand  when  she  reads  your  answer.  She  must  not 
grieve.  I  will  soon  make  sounds  in  her  presence  when  she  is  alone, 
which  she  can  hear,  when  she  will  know  it  is  me.' 

"And  I  understood  the  spirits  to  say  that  you  was  not  her  own 
mother,  but  she  loved  you  as  her  own,  and  she  said  she  came  here  to 
tell  what  to  say  to  you  when  I  answered  your  letter.  In  the  sphere 
where  Mary  has  gone  none  are  miserable,  but  all  are  as  happy  as  they 
possibly  can  be.     Yours  truly,  *LE  ROY  SUNDERLAND. 

"It  is  not  often  that  I  attempt  an  answer  to  letters  like  yours,  but 
I  suppose  I  was  attracted  to  Mary's  sweet  spirit  to  gratify  you.  She 
has  stood  by  me  while  writing,  as  I  believe." 

Now  the  facts  in  this  case  were,  that  there  were  no  such 
persons  as  "  Phebe  Newell"  and  "  mary  ellen  Perkins ;"  and 
yet  Mr.  Sunderland  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  a  message 
from  the  said  "mary  ellen"  to  her  "dear  Mother  Newell." 
The  words  "  I  brot  her  up  from  a  child  she  was  a  daughter  to 
me,"  enabled  the  "  spirits"  to  inform  Mr.  S.  that  "  Mother 
Newell"  was  not  "  ellen's"  own  mother,  <fcc. 

The  above  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  origin  of  the  pretended 
"spirit  messages."  And  yet  it  is  only  one  of  a  thousand  in- 
stances in  which  mediums  have  obtained  communications  from 
fictitious  departed  relatives,  or  from  the  spirits  of  the  living. 
"  Shadrack  Barnes"  of  New  York,  got  a  long  message  through 
the  Fox  girls,  from  his  sister  "  Clarissa,"  alleged  to  have  been 
drowned  on  the  steamer  Erie,  near  Silver  Creek.  The  sister 
had  "jumped  overboard"  with  "  Julius  Holmes,"  to  whom  she 
was  engaged — was  23  years  old,  &c.  But  the  fact  was  that 
Mr.  Barnes  never  had  any  such  sister ;  and  the  whole  message 
was  fabric! ted  by  the  "  Foxes,"  to  supply  the  supposed  de- 
mand. 

1*7.  A  Mr.  Park,  of  Georgia,  an  old  bachelor  of  nearly  sixty, 
was  told  by  a  distinguished  medium  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  that 
he  had  been  twice  married,  and  was  the  father  of  seven  children  ! 
In  questioning  the  spirit  of  his  sister  Sarah,  through  a  medium 
in  Providence,  Mr.  Burr  said — "  Is  the  spirit  of  my  sister 
Sarah  here  ?"     "Yes."     "Do  you  love  me  as  much  as  you 


142  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

did  in  life  ?"  "  Yes.''  "  Do  you  always  know  what  I  am 
doing  ?"  "  Yes."  "  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  spirit 
world?"  "Six  years."  And  yet  Mr.  Burr  never  had  any 
such  sister. 

Did  space  permit,  and  were  it  necessary,  we  could  cite  fifty 
instances  in  which  the  best  "  mediums"  in  the  county  have 
been  thus  caught.  But  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  write 
or  read  them.  Enough  are  already  given  to  show  that  the 
messages  are  the  productions  of  the  mediums  themselves ;  and 
that  they  can  get  just  as  reliable  communications  from  the 
spirit  of  a  living  man,  or  a  fictitious  "  spirit,"  as  from  any  other. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

ASTONISHING    REVELATIONS    BY    THE    SPIRITS. 

What  have  they  revealed  ? — Davis'  sublime  philosophy — Judge  Edmonds' 
"kitten" — Learning  to  write  in  the  Spheres — Ladies  most  intellectual — 
Bloomer  dresses  to  prevail — Ladies  to  pay  addresses  to  the  gentlemen — 
All  to  live  without  eating — "  Pay  the  printer" — Spirit  wanting  gin — 
Spirits  want  money  in  the  Spheres — Birds  and  other  animals  in  the 
Spheres — Playing  cards  in  the  Spheres — Parties,  balls,  and  concerts  in 
the  Spheres — A  battle  in  the  Spheres — Spirits  won't  serve  the  press — 
Won't  operate  in  public — Deception  and  collusion. 

It  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  if  departed  spirits  were 
allowed  to  communicate  freely  with  mortals,  they  would,  in 
the  course  of  thousands  of  messages,  communicate  something 
that  would  be  of  importance  to  the  world.  But  instead  of 
this,  what  have  they  revealed  ?  What  in  History,  Mechanics, 
Agriculture,  Science,  or  Theology  ?  What  that  is  worthy  of 
a  moment's  attention  from  any  intelligent  person  ?  True,  Mr. 
Davis  has  taught  us  his  origin ;  and  how  animals  can  be  made 
out  of  flour  and  water ;  oak-trees  grown  from  chestnut,  pine, 
and  walnut ;  and  rye  from  oats ;  but  the  more  such  philosophy 
the  world  has,  the  worse  it  is  off.  And  we  may  challenge  the 
whole  "  harmonial  brotherhood,"  from  Mr.  Davis  downward, 
to  produce  the  first  thing  revealed  by  the  "  spirits,"  and  not 


SPIRITS    OF    ANIMALS.  143 

known  before,  that  is  of  any  importance  to  the  world.  The 
alleged  "  intercourse''  has  now  been  open  some  five  years  at 
least ;  and  thousands  of  "  messages''  have  been  received  ;  and 
yet  to  what  do  they  all  amount  ?  Just  nothing  at  all.  A 
man  may  wade  through  a  thousand  pages  of  their  ghost-books, 
and  not  find  a  really  new  idea  in  the  whole  of  them.  There  is 
no  lack  of  old  infidel  objections  to  the  Scriptures,  and  oft-re- 
peated arguments  against  Christianity;  but  we  have  seen  these 
before.  Will  not  some  "  medium"  undertake  to  collect  and 
publish  a  statement  of  the  really  important  facts,  <fcc,  revealed 
by  the  "  spirits  ?"  We  have  had  smoke  and  chaff  enough  ; 
and  we  pray  you,  gentlemen  necromancers,  if  the  "  spirits" 
have  revealed  any  thing  important  to  you,  let  us  know  what  it  is. 

In  the  absence  of  any  thing  better,  however,  we  shall  give 
a  few  specimens  of  the  "  facts"  revealed  by  the  "  spirits  ;" 
leaving  every  reader  to  judge  for  himself  as  to  their  importance 
to  mankind. 

One  of  the  disclosures  made  to  Judge  Edmonds  was,  that 
when  Ire  was  a  boy  he  had  either  played  with  or  killed  a  kitten 
— a  very  important  revelation  ! 

SPIRITS     OF     ANIMALS. 

In  another  instance,  the  spirits  of  a  dog,  a  cat,  and  a  horse, 
came  back  and  made  some  very  important  disclosures.  Here 
is  the  account : 

"Six  ladies  and  gentlemen  assembled  around  a  usually  sized  ma- 
hogany table,  and  went  through  the  usual  form  of  laying  on  hands,  <fec., 
which  shortly  brought  out  a  rap.  By  the  desire  and  at  the  suggestion 
of  a  scientific  gentleman,  the  spirit  of  some  animal  was  called  for.  The 
raps  gave  it  by  the  alphabet  to  be,  in  the  first  place,  that  of  a  pet  dog. 
Several  satisfactory  answers  were  given  relative  to  its  n am e;  that  of 
its  late  master,  time  of  its  decease,  <fcc.  Not  fully  persuaded  that  they 
were  dealing  with  the  'spirit'  of  a  dog,  one  of  the  mediums  requested 
that  the  dog  would  scratch  upon  the  table,  when,  to  the  utter  astonish- 
ment of  all  present,  scratching  as  audible  and  as  loud  as  ever  came 
from  the  claw  of  the  canine  race,  was  heard  upon  the  table.  This  was 
repeated  several  times.  The  next  *  spirit'  was  that  of  a  cat,  who  re- 
vealed the  secret  that  it  had  been  drowned  while  at  a  very  tender  age, 


114  SPIEIT-RArPING    UNVEILED. 

in  a  cistern,  by  a  young  lady  who  was  present.     The  answers  in  this 
instance  were  correct  and  satisfactory. 

"After  this,  a  gentleman  (who  was  a  medium)  asked  if  the  spirit  of  a 
favorite  horse  was  present.  The  raps  were  in  the  affirmative.  The 
raps  then  gave  the  name  of  the  horse  by  the  alphabet,  its  age,  the  num- 
ber of  years  it  had  been  dead,  the  name  of  the  place  where  it  had  been 
struck  by  lightning,  (fee." — Boston  Bee. 

Another  "  spiritual"  interview  is  thus  described  by  a  writer 
in  the  "  Westfield  Standard"  of  Feb.  2,  1853. 

"  One  evening  a  company  of  young  people  were  getting  responses 
from  the  '  spirits,'  when  one  of  their  number  suddenly  made  the  in- 
quiry, '  Is  there  a  spirit  of  a  woodchuck  present  ?  The  rest  of  the  com- 
pany, alarmed  at  his  presumption,  jumped  up  from  the  table.  He  en- 
treated them  to  be  seated  again,  and  make  the  trial,  urging  that  it  was 
possible  they  might  detect  some  fallacy  in  the  matter.  Accordingly, 
they  were  re-seated,  and  in  order  to  have  every  thing  fair  and  square 
with  the  '  spirits/  they  called  on  them,  again,  and  they  responded  as 
readily  as  though  no  insult  had  been  offered.  At  length  the  spirit  of 
'  Chucki/  was  invoked,  and,  right  glad  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  his 
superiors,  he  responded  to  the  call  at  once  by  a  good  lusty  '  tip.' 
Having  thus  established  a  communication  with  the  animal  creatures 
(whether  dead  or  alive  yet  remains  to  be  known),  and  finding  them 
equally  ready  to  communicate,  they  called  upon  other  species  of  ank 
mals,  and  found  them  just  as  ready  to  help  on  the  sport.  In  this  man- 
ner, and  by  other  experiments  in  which  the  '  spirits'  were  left  out  of 
the  question ;  the  idea  of  communication  with  the  dead  through  such 
media  was  exploded  in  Halifax,  and  a  more  rational  explanation  of 
these  phenomena  established.  And  thus  it  may  be  exploded,  in  any 
*  circle'  who  are  anxious  and  willing  to  expose  its  fallacy." 

In  Brittan  and  Richmond's  discussion,  "  Telegraph,"  No.  41, 
Mr.  Richmond  says  :  "  Ahies  Cowles,  in  Austinburgh,  called 
up  the  ghost  of  a  horse—'  Old  Pomp' — and  he  tramped  like 
a  horse  on  the  table." 

SPIRITS     LEARNING    TO     WRITE. 

In  Mr.  Bailouts  "Manifestations,"  p.  187,  we  have  an  ac- 
count of  a  visit  from  the  spirit  of  one  Frank  Copeland,  who 
was  unable  to  spell  out  any  thing,  because  he  was  "  an  illiter- 
ate youth"  when  he  died.     But, — 


REMARKABLE   DISCLOSURES,  145 

"Marcus  Wilcox,  knowing  that  Frank  had  an  intelligent  and  amiable 
sister  in  the  spirit  world,  advised  him  to  get  her  to  teach  him.  She 
also  manifested  herself,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  advice  should  be 
followed.  The  result  was,  that  at  the  end  of  three  months,  Frank  de- 
sired to  show  his  earthly  friends  what  improvement  he  had  made. 
This  he  did  by  spelling  many  words  and  names  correctly,  and  by  va- 
rious proofs  that  his  moral  nature  was  experiencing  a  very  great  change 
for  the  better." 

There,  gentle  reader,  think  of  that !  Learning  to  write  in 
eternity!  Think  of  your  "spiritual"  paper ;  "spiritual"  ink 
and  quills,  and  the  "  spiritual"  training  by  a  "  spirit"  writing- 
master  !  Really  this  is  a  hopeful  system  for  boys  who  prefer 
to  play  truant  instead  of  attending  to  their  studies.  They  can 
play  in  this  world,  and  learn  to  read  and  write  in  the  next. 

IMPORTANT     QUESTION     SETTLED. 

The  "  spirits"  have  at  length  decided  that  long  disputed  and 
most  vital  question — whether  ladies  or  gentlemen  are  the 
more  intellectual.  This  disclosure  was  made  in  Philadelphia, 
and  runs  as  follows :  "  Q.  Which  has  the  best  intellect,  men 
or  women  ?  A.  Women  are  the  more  spiritual." — History  of 
Developments,  p.  93.  This  may  be  of  some  importance  to  the 
"  Woman's  Rights"  party ;  for  who  will  deny  that  if  women 
are  the  more  intellectual  (a  point  which  I  shall  not  dispute), 
they  ought  not  only  to  be  equal  to,  but  to  have  authority  over 
the  man  in  all  things.  The  old  scriptural  idea  that  wives 
should  obey  their  husbands  must  therefore  be  a  mistake. 

SPIRITUAL     FASHIONS. 

The  "  spirits"  announce  a  great  change  about  to  take  place 
in  the  fashions  : 

-  "And  even,  even  the  very  form  of  the  garments,  which  you  now  wear, 
— even  these  shall  be  changed  ;  and  those  with  which  you  now  clothe 
your  mortal  bodies,  will  be  looked  upon,  in  a  wiser  day,  with  amaze- 
ment !  Hardly  able  will  the  inhabitants  of  your  earth  be  to  believe 
that  such  were  ever  worn.  The  new  garments  shall  be  beautiful,  comely, 
easy,  and  pleasant  to  look  upon." — Murray's  Messages,  p.  123. 

Now  for  the  Bloomer  dress  by  "  spiritual"  authority. 

1 


146  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 


SPIRITUAL     COURTSHIP. 

We  learn  from  the  "  Spirit  Messenger,"  No.  8,  that  the 
present  customs  of  society  as  to  courtship  and  marriage,  are 
to  be  completely  reversed. 

"The  female — the  negative — as  society  is  now  based,  is  compelled  to 
attract  the  positive,  in  order  that  a  union  may  be  formed ;  must,  with- 
out an  advance,  win  the  object  that  is  to  companion  her  through  life — 
an  isolated  rudder  laying  in  wait  for  a  pilot.  Can  woman,  thus 
shackled  by  society's  fetters,  be  reasonably  expected  to  form  a  correct 
alliance — get  a  good  pilot?  So  long  as  woman  is  compelled  to  remain 
the  thing  of  circumstances,  the  wooed  instead  of  the  wooing,  the 
sought-for  instead  of  the  seeking  party,  just  so  long  there  must  be,  of 
necessity,  incorrect  unions — or  she  be  forever  stigmatized  as  old  maid ! 
Is  it  not  a  sin — to  say  nothing  of  shame — that  existing  restraints  com- 
pel woman  to  remain  at  home  ?  *  *  *  Then  pitch  fashion  to  the 
dogs."     *     *     * 

So,  then,  if  there  are  any  "  old  maids"  hereafter,  they  will 
be  found  among  the  unmarried  gentlemen.  And  who  will 
say  that  this  is  not  an  interesting,  if  not  an  important  dis- 
closure ? 

LIVING     WITHOUT     EATING. 

The  spirit  of  John  Murray  informs  us  that  in  a  short  time  we 
are  all  to  live  without  eating.  "  The  very  food  with  which 
you  now  nourish  your  mortal  bodies,  that  will  be  laid  aside." 
— Messages,  p.  124.  This  must  seriously  affect  the  produce 
market,  and  is  a  very  important  revelation. 

A     PRACTICAL     MESSAGE. 

In  one  instance  a  "  spirit"  exhorted  a  delinquent  subscriber 
to  a  paper,  to  "  pay  the  printer." 

"  We  accepted  an  invitation  to  attend  a  sitting  of  a  circle  of  Spirit- 
ualists, the  other  evening,  and  were  not  a  little  surprised  when  the 
following  message  was  spelled  out  to  one  of  our  company:  *  Pay  the 
Printer P     It  was  subsequently  explained  through  a  'medium/  that 


REMARKABLE   DISCLOSURES.  147 

the  message  was  from  the  spirit  of  a  delinquent  subscriber  who  owed 
us  $1.50.  The  friends  of  the  departed  paid  us  the  money  without 
hesitation,  and  the  joy  of  the  relieved  'spirit'  was  manifested  by  loud 
raps,  tipping  the  table,  &e." — Palmer  Journal. 

So  it  seems  the  "  printer"  got  a  dollar  and  a  half  by  that 
spirit  revelation,  which  was  certainly  of  some  importance  to 
him. 

SPIRITS     LIKE      GIN. 

On  a  certain  occasion  a  spirit  rapped  out  that  he  "  wanted  a 
glass  of  gin  ;"  and  another  "  spirit"  informs  us  that  John  Bun- 
yan  is  keeping  a  tavern  somewhere  on  the  road  up  through 
the  spheres.  Whether  he  sells  "  gin"  or  not,  the  spirits  have 
not  informed  us ;  but  if  he  does,  the  tippling  spirit  should  have 
been  referred  to  John  Bunyan  for  a  supply. 

SPIRITS     BORROWING     MONEY. 

We  learn  from  the  "  Supernal  Theology"  that  the  spirits 
need  money  in  the  other  world,  as  much  as  mortals  do  in  this. 
The  spirit  wanted  "  a  certain  sum  of  money  in  bank-notes," 
and  "said  he  would  pay  it  back  soon,"  p.  102.  But  what 
did  he  want  of  bank-bills  in  the  spirit-world  ?  Will  they  pass 
among  the  "  dwellers  in  the  spheres  ?"  And  why  did  he  not 
patronize  the  spiritual  bankers  at  Chicago  ? 

SPIRITUAL     BIRDS. 

We  learn  from  the  "  Supernal  Theology,"  pages  33-35,  that 
a  spirit  who  lives  "  in  Swedenborg-street"  in  the  other  world, 
has  her  "  beautiful  canary  '  Dick'  "  and  "  Margery's  little 
bird ;"  and  that  the  spheres  are  filled  with  "  humming-birds," 
"robin  redbreasts,"  and  other  "birds  of  love."  But  why  this 
partiality  in  the  selection  of  birds  ?  Are  the  canaries,  and 
humming-birds,  and  robins,  admitted  to  the  spheres,  and  the 
crow6  and  buzzards  shut  out  ?  Are  the  latter  to  blame  for 
not  being  "birds  of  love?"  Are  they  not  as  the  Creator 
made  them  ?     Why,  then,  are  they  not  seen  in  the  spheres  ? 

But  if  birds  are  to  be  seen  in  the  "spirit-land,"  why  not 


148  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

other  animals,  such  as  scorpions,  vipers,  crocodiles,  &c.  ?  And 
where  shall  we  shut  down  the  gate  ?  But  probably  they  will 
all  be  "  spiritual"  birds  and  reptiles,  answering  to  Franklin's 
spiritual  battery :  so  we  leave  "  Dick"  and  his  fellow-warblers 
in  the  spheres  without  further  criticism. 

SPIRITS     PLAYING      CARDS. 

The  very  striking  disclosure  has  been  made  that  "  spirits," 
as  well  as  "  mediums,"  often  plav  cards, — even  the  high  spirits 
of  the  "  fifth  sphere." 

"  On  one  occasion,  a  whist  party  was  formed,  and  one  of  the  four 
being  disinclined  to  play,  this  spirit  volunteered  to  take  the  hand. 
Little  Mary  was  therefore  seated,  and  though  she  could  not  herself 
play  the  game,  it  was  well  played  through  her  hands  by  the  spirit. 
In  the  course  of  it  he  remarked,  that  he  frequently  played  whist  in  the 
fifth  sphere." — Supernal  Theology,  p.  55. 

And  if  departed  spirits  not  only  associate  with  *'  whist  par- 
ties," but  play  whist  with  them,  and  "  frequently  play  whist 
in  the  fifth  sphere,"  card-playing  must  not  only  be  a  very 
innocent,  but  a  very  holy  employment.  Only  think  !  a  com- 
pany of  "  archangels"  (as  the  high  sphere  spirits  are  called) 
around  a  whist- table  in  the  other  world  playing  cards  !  What 
a  splendid  example  for  mortals  ;  and  how  encouraging  to  the 
gamblers  of  our  villages  and  cities  ! 

BALLS     AND     PARTIES     IN     THE     SPHERES. 

The  "  spirits"  inform  us  that  they  have  frequent  parties  and 
balls  in  the  other  world,  and  that  dancing  is  a  favorite  recrea- 
tion in  the  spheres. 

"We  have  many  parties  in  the  spheres.  At  one  of  them  in  the 
sixth,  there  were  two  or  three  thousand  spirits  present.  "We  always 
dance,  and  always  have  music." — Supernal  Theology,  p.  53. 

Again : 

"  The  most  frequent  o£  all  their  assemblies,  however,  are  when  spir- 
its of  their  acquaintance  rise  to  a  higher  sphere.  Then  the  spirits  of 
the  sphere  to  which  they  rise  bring  all  their  friends  to  welcome  the 


SPIRIT    CONCERTS    AND    BALLS.  149 

new  spirit  on  its  advent.    A  grand  entertainment  of  music  and  dancing 
is  given." — Ibid.,  p.  98. 

So  we  have  the  same  high  authority  for  dancing  that  we 
have  for  card-playing  ;  namely,  the  example  of  the  high  spirits 
of  the  spheres.  If  the  spirits  of  the  "  sixth  circle"  dance 
and  give  balls,  it  can  not  of  course  be  wrong  for  mortals  to 
follow  their  example  ;  and  as  we  never  hear  any  thing  of  the 
worship  of  God  in  the  "  new  philosophy,"  the  legitimate  in- 
ference is  that  Christians,  who  are  led  away  by  this  infidel 
delusion,  had  better  follow  the  example  of  the  "  spirits,"  and 
go  to  dancing  and  playing  cards. 

JENNY     LINDS     AMONG     THE     SPIRITS. 

Another  rather  interesting  disclosure  is,  that  they  have  their 
Jenny  Linds  and  Sontags  in  the  other  world  as  well  as  in  this. 

"  Often  in  asking  some  spirit  the  reason  why  he  could  not  he  present 
with  us  on  some  occasion,  lie  has  told  us  that  he  was  going  to  a  con- 
cert. Some  great  singer  was  to  sing,  and  the  number  of  spirits  con- 
gregated to  hear  was  incalculable.  It  seemed,  they  would  remark, 
that  all  in  the  sphere  were  present." — Sup.  Theology,  p.  98. 

So  they  have  "  great  singers"  there  as  well  as  here ;  and  the 
people  rush  in  multitudes  to  hear  them.  Whether  they  have 
a  Barnum  there  or  not,  to  manage  the  finances,  the  "  spirits" 
do  not  inform  us. 

A     BATTLE     IN     THE     SPHERES. 

Since  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  spirits  assert 
that  he  and  Napoleon  have  met  somewhere  in  the  spheres,  and 
that  they  do  not  agree  at  all.  Napoleon  asserts  that  the  bat- 
tle of  Waterloo  was  not  fairly  fought ;  while  Wellington  con- 
tends that  the  battle  was  won  in  the  most  scientific  manner, 
and  that  he  could  do  just  so  again,  if  he  had  the  same  army 
to  command  and  the  same  foe  to  conquer.  To  settle  the  mat- 
ter, it  is  agreed  that  they  will  wait  till  the  few  old  pensioners 
of  their  respective  armies  that  remain  on  earth  come  to  the 
spheres  ;  when  they  will  call  the  roll,  and  fight  the  battle  over 
again  ;  and  the  results  in  this  case  shall  be  final. 


150  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

SPIRITS     WON'T     SERVE     THE     PRESS. 

But,  with  all  their  skill  in  revealing  mysteries,  the  spirits 
utterly  refuse  to  serve  the  press,  in  furnishing  news  for  its  daily- 
issues.  Hon.  Horace  Greeley  has  offered  $2500  a  year,  I  be- 
lieve, to  any  "medium"  or  "  spirit"  who  will  furnish  him  with 
the  daily  London  news  every  night,  so  that  it  may  appear  in 
the  "  Tribune"  next  morning.  But  the  "  spirits"  decline  the 
contract.  They  will  follow  the  "  Foxes"  and  "  Fishes"  all  over 
the  country,  to  rap  and  tip  for  the  people  at  a  dollar  a  head ; 
but  when  any  thing  is  proposed  that  would  be  a  test  of  their 
pretensions,  the  "spirits"  are  off. 

SPIRITS     WON'T    RAP     IN     PUBLIC. 

To  the  above  may  be  added  the  equally  significant  fact  that 
the  spirits  will  not  "  rap"  or  "  tip"  in  public ;  except  where  the 
"  mediums"  can  make  all  the  arrangements  themselves,  and  take 
the  necessary  precaution  to  prevent  detection.  In  January, 
1853,  the  writer  delivered  two  lectures  on  the  subject,  in  the 
Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York.  The  day  previous  to  the 
first  lecture,  the  following  card  was  inserted  in  the  "  Times  " 
"  Herald,"  and  "  Tribune." 

A    WORD     FOR    THE    SPIRITS. 

Mr.  Editor : — Since  the  announcement  in  your  pap#r  of  the  lecture 
about  to  be  given  at  the  Tabernacle  on  Spirit  Communications,  a  gen- 
tleman who  claims  to  represent  the  spirit  interests  of  this  city,  has 
called  upon  the  writer  to  know  if  he  would  allow  questions  to  be  asked 
and  replies  given  during  the  lectures.  For  obvious  reasons  this  modest 
request  cannot  be  granted ;  but  as  a  substitute  for  questions  or  replies 
to  my  arguments  while  they  are  being  delivered,  as  the  means  of  re- 
futing them,  I  wish  now  to  say,  that  a  table  and  chairs  will  be  in 
readiness  at  the  close  of  each  lecture,  to  the  use  of  which  the  "  me- 
diums" of  the  city  are  cordially  invited ;  and  if  they  wish  so  far  to 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  their  pretensions,  as  to  exhibit  the  rappings, 
the  involuntary  writing,  and  the  moving  of  the  table  without  hands, 
before  the  audience,  they  shall  have  the  privilege  of  doing  all  they  can 
in  this  way  to  refute  the  lectures.  And  I  would  especially  invite  the 
"  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle,"  who  have  done  so  mi  ch  of  late  to  enlighten 
us  through  the  mediumship  o<"  Mr.  Ambler  and  others,  to  be  present, 


LETTER    FROM   THE    SPIRITS.  151 

and  explain  their  communications.  They  need  not  fear  a  large  audi- 
ence, though  we  are  in  the  "  lower  sphere"  or  urudimental  state."  We 
hope  the j  will  select  their  best  mediums,  and  give  us  indubitable  evi- 
dence of  their  presence  on  the  occasions  referred  to.  Prof.  Brittan  will 
please  inform  his  invisible  friends  by  "Spiritual  Telegraph,"  that  they 
may  be  sure  to  be  in  attendance.     Yery  respectfully, 

New  York,  Jan.  6,  1853.  H.  Mattison. 

According  to  promise,  a  table  and  chairs  were  in  readiness, 
qnd  at  the  close  of  the  lecture,  the  "  mediums' '  were  invited  to 
come  forward,  and  give  us  specimens  of  their  skill.  But  no 
mediums  came.  A  certain  ''Prof.  Owen,"  however,  who  is 
himself  a  great  wizard,  came  forward  to  the  pulpit  without  in- 
vitation, and  after  informing  the  audience  that  he  regarded  Mr. 
Ambler's  revelations  as  "  of  equal  authority  with  the  Bible," 
read  the  following  letter  from  the  "  spirits,"  the  original  of 
which  I  still  have  in  possession. 

LETTER     FROM     THE     SPIRITS. 

"The  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle  say,  through  Mr.  Ambler,  that  Mr. 
Ambler,  being  previously  engaged  to  lecture  at  the  Brooklyn  Museum 
this  evening,  finds  it  impossible  to  be  present  as  invited  in  the  Herald. 
But  he  would  say  that  the  spirits  of  the  sixth  circle  accept  the  chal- 
lenge to  refute  the  lecture  this  evening,  and  will  do  so  in  a  course  of 
lectures  to  be  delivered  through  Mr.  Ambler  at  a  time  not  far  distant, 
of  which  the  public  will  be  duly  informed." 

This  letter  was  written  with  a  pencil,  and  in  Mr.  Owen's 
handwriting.  The  lecture  that  Mr.  Ambler  was  delivering  in 
Brooklyn,  was  the  one  described  on  page  11.  On  the  reading 
of  the  letter,  I  at  once  informed  Mr.  Owen  that  the  "spirits" 
had  entirely  misapprehended  the  nature  of  my  challenge.  I 
was  not  to  invite  them  to  refute  my  lecture  by  a  course  of 
counter  lectures,  but  to  give  us  a  few  specimens  of  kickino- 
tables  and  flying  men.  Some  one  in  the  gallery  inquired  of 
Mr.  Owen  if  Mr.  Ambler  had  any  engagement  for  the  next 
Friday  evening  (the  time  of  my  next  lecture),  to  which  he  re- 
plied that  he  did  not  know,  and  there  the  "  demonstration" 
ended. 

In  the  advertisement  of  the  second  lecture,  Jan.  14th,  the 
invitation  to  the  mediums  was  again  renewed  in  the  following 


152  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

words.  "  The  *  nle(iiums,  of  the  city  are  again  invited  to  be 
present  to  exhibit  their  marvelous  phenomena,  otherwise  the 
public  will  judge  whether  the  '  spirits'  are  not  afraid  of  gas- 
light, and  an  intelligent  audience."  On  this  occasion  quite  a 
number  of  mediums  were  present,  as  also  Mr.  Partridge,  joint 
publisher  of  the  "  Telegraph  ;"  but  instead  of  the  "  marvelous 
phenomena"  desired,  Mr.  Owen  came  forward  with  a  written 
argument  in  defence  of  spirit-rapping.  This  the  audience  re- 
fused to  hear,  but  called  loudly  for  the  "raps."  No  raps 
could  be  got  up,  however,  in  so  public  a  place ;  and  so  the  au- 
dience were  dismissed. 

The  "  mediums"  and  "  professors"  will  operate  in  private, 
or  publicly  in  some  small  building,  provided  they  can  have  time 
to  arrange  the  "  fixings,"  and  to  take  the  necessary  precau- 
tions to  prevent  detection  ;  but  without  such  means  of  safety 
the  "  spirits"  absolutely  refuse  to  attend.  I  have  invited  them 
out  before  the  public,  in  at  least  ten  different  places ;  and  in 
every  case  they  have  shrunk  back  from  public  investigation. 

Now  why  is  this  ?  If  the  phenomena  are  the  effects  of 
some  physical  or  philosophical  cause  hitherto  unknown,  as 
some  suppose,  why  not  try  the  experiments  in  public  as  well 
as  in  private  ?  Is  any  lecturer  on  Natural  Philosophy  afraid 
to  illustrate  his  theory  by  experiments  in  Electricity,  Magnet- 
ism, &c.  ?  Certainly  not.  And  if  disembodied  spirits  are  the 
causes  of  the  "raps,"  why  should  they  not  delight  to  operate 
publicly,  and  convince  the  "  skeptics"  as  soon  as  possible  ? 

The  simple  truth  is  (as  we  shall  show  more  fully  hereafter), 
that  the  whole  system  is  based  upon  deception  and  collusion  ; 
and  unless  the  "  mediums"  and  "  professors"  can  be  so  cir- 
cumstanced as  to  prevent  detection,  they  can  never  be  induced 
to  exhibit  their  wonders. 

We  have  evidence,  therefore,  from  the  fact  that  nothing  im- 
portant has  been  revealed  by  the  spirits  for  five  long  years 
since  they  began  to  communicate  ;  while  much  that  is  abso- 
lutely silly  and  demoralizing  is  attributed  to  them  ;  and  also 
from  the  facts  that  the  "  spirits"  will  not  serve  the  press  at 
any  price,  nor  operate  in  public ;  that  the  "  mediums"  and 


HOW   THE   SPIRITS    TELL   FORTUNES.  153 

"professors"  are  the  only  "  spirits"  concerned  in  the  move- 
ment. To  suppose  for  a  moment  that  any  higher  intelligences 
are  the  authors  of  those  messages,  is  to  slander  the  whole 
spiritual  world. 

HOW     THE     SPIRITS     TELL     FORTUNES. 

But  it  is  asked—"  If  there  are  no  spirits  who  reveal  any 
thing  to  the  mediums,  how  is'  it  that  they  will  inform  persons 
of  so  many  things  that  they  could  not  have  known  by  any 
earthly  means  ?"  Well,  how  is  it  that  any  shrewd  "  fortune- 
teller" will  make  three-fourths  of  those  who  have  faith  enough 
in  their  pretensions  to  visit  them,  believe  that  they  really  have 
knowledge  of  the  "  past,  present,  and  future,"  as  they  pretend  ? 
No  matter  how  this  knowledge  is  professedly  obtained,  whether 
by  "the  stars,  planets,  and  science  ;"  by  studying  the  wrinkles 
in  your  hand  ;  or  by  any  other  method.  The  fact  that  most 
who  visit  such  characters  think  they  get  their  "  fortunes"  told, 
is  notorious.  The  philosophy  of  this  fact  probably  is,  (1)  That 
such  persons  are  strongly  predisposed  to  believe,  or  very  cred- 
ulous ;  and  consequently  greatly  color  the  revelation  to  their  own 
self-deception.  They  excuse  the  mistakes,  and  magnify  the  few 
happy  hits.  (2)  The  witch  or  wizard  generally  gets  some  clew 
to  the  history  of  the  customer,  through  a  third  person ;  or  by 
some  word  dropped  at  the  time  of  the  interview  ;  and  by  a 
careful  study  of  human  nature,  and  long  practice  at  guessing 
and  deception,  they  manage  to  deceive  three-fourths  of  all  who 
put  themselves  in  their  power. 

So  with  the  spirit-rappers ; — they  are  as  often  wrong  as 
right,  even  with  their  very  convenient  method  of  divinings  by 
a  simple  "  yes"  or  "  no."  They  have  often  been  known  to 
make  appointments  for  interviews,  and  then  send  out  spies  to 
"  fish"  up  something  respecting  the  parties,  by  the  revealing 
of  which  to  "  convince  the  skeptics." 

I  know  a  case  in  point  where  a  young  man  received  a  very 
remarkable  revelation  through  a  New  York  "  medium  ;"  but 
a  friend  of  the  medium  had  previously  obtained  all  the  facts 
from   the    youn^   man's   mother.     In    another   case,  a  spirit 

7* 


154  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

"  professor''  told  a  "  medium,,  certain  secrets,  known  only  to 
himself  and  wife ;  and  then  took  his  wife  to  the  medium  to  re- 
move her  "  skepticism,''  by  the  startling  "  disclosures"  of  the 
spirits.  Hundreds  of  similar  cases  might  be  cited,  and  yet 
there  are  a  class  of  persons  in  almost  every  community  who 
cannot  yet  see  that  the  whole  thing  is  a  deception. 

So  far  from  its  having  any  thing  extra  to  recommend  it  as 
a  system  of  divination,  it  has  even  less  of  consistency  and  truth- 
fulness than  the  old  exploded  systems  of  "  fortune- telling." 
"  If  these  spirits  have  found  such  a  mode  of  communication," 
says  the  Boston  Recorder,  "  they  do  great  injustice  to  them- 
selves and  to  us,  by  abstaining,  as  they  invariably  do,  from 
giving  us  any  useful  information  about  the  world  of  spirits. 
They  undertake  to  tell  about  the  position  of  deceased  indi- 
viduals, but  they  offer  nothing  to  add  to  present  information 
about  the  future  world.  All  the  thumpings  of  the  last  ten 
years  have  not  added  a  particle  to  what  was  before  known  of 
the  world  to  come.  Now  what  is  the  use  of  all  this  ghostly 
rapping,  if  it  is  a  mere  clatter  without  sense  ?  None  but 
senseless  spirits  can  be  engaged  in  it. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

EFFECTS     OF     SPIRIT-RAPPING. 

Frauds  by  the  spirits — Spiritual  banking — Euin  of  George  Doughty — In- 
sanity— Orville  Hatch — Melissa  Haynes — Ad  aline  C.  Moore — Robert  G. 
Shaw — Samuel  Cole — Ninety  insane  rappers — Remark  of  Judge  Rose- 
velt — Tendency  to  suicide — Bishop  Peabody — Mrs.  Rich — S.  W.  Lincoln 
— Murder  by  a  medium — Suicide  of  Matthew  Langdon. 

"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  said  the  Saviour  of 
the  false  prophets ;  and  a  more  legitimate  and  righteous  test 
can  never  be  applied  to  any  system  of  philosophy  or  religion. 
Truth  always  blesses.  Its  fruits  are  always  good.  But  error 
never  produces  gocd  fruit.  It  always  tends  to  misery  and 
ruin.     If,  therefore,  the  "new   philosophy"  was  founded  in 


SPIRITUAL   BANKING.  155 

truth,  it  would  be  sure  to  bless  its  votaries :  but  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  essentially  false,  we  might  well  expect  its 
effects  to  be  disastrous.  Let  us  look,  then,  for  a  moment  at 
the  effects  of  the  spirit-rapping  delusion,  as  developed  in  the 
history  of  the  last  five  years. 

FRAUDS    BY    THE    "  SPIRITS" SPIRITUAL    BANKING. 

A  noted  operation  under  this  head  has  recently  been  "  de- 
veloped" in  Chicago,  111.  The  following  "  disclosures"  are 
from  the  Chicago  papers  : 

"  The  operations  of  the  Bank  of  Chicago,  which  its  proprietors  have 
conducted  in  this  city  for  some  time  past,  affecting  to  have  communi- 
cations in  regard  to  it  from  spirits  of  the  departed,  were  summarily 
closed  yesterday  by  the  interposition  of  the  law. 

"A  commission  of  Lunacy  having  been  issued  and  Conservator  ap- 
pointed in  the  case  of  its  president,  Mr.  Eddy,  the  mediums  took  the 
matter  in  charge,  and  avowed  that  the  '  spirits'  counseled  resistance 
even  unto  death,  and  for  that  purpose  arms  were  provided. 

"  During  the  forenoon  several  persons  having  business  at  the  bank, 
were  somewhat  roughly  handled  and  put  out  by  force.  Mr.  D.  C.  Eddy, 
the  Conservator,  learning  of  these  facts,  entered  a  complaint  before 
Judge  Rucker,  and  John  Drysdell,  Charles  Herrick,  Ambrose  Smith, 
Joseph  M.  Arnold,  Henry  Pilgrim,  Mrs.  Herrick,  and  Mrs.  Ryer son,  were 
arrested  on  charge  of  conspiracy,  threatening  to  take  life,  and  for  as- 
sault and  battery. 

"Grant  Goodrich,  Esq.,  conducted  the  prosecution.  The  prisoners 
being  asked  if  they  had  counsel,  Drysdell  replied  '  Yes.'  The  Court 
inquired  who,  to  which  he  replied  *  God.'  " — Chicago  Journal. 

The  following  synopsis  of  the  proceedings  on  the  trial  is  from 
the  Chicago  Press  : 

"John  W.  Holmes  was  the  first  witness  called.  He  testified  that  he 
had  been  directed  by  the  '  Conservator  of  the  effects  of  Ira  B.  Eddy,' 
not  to  deliver  up  the  keys  of  the  vault  to  any  person  :  but  Ira  B.  Eddy 
demanded  them  on  Tuesday  evening  last,  and,  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand, 
threatened  to  blow  him  through  unless  he  surrendered  the  keys.  Wit- 
ness then  gave  them  up.  He  further  said,  he  heard  Drysdell  remark 
in  the  bank,  about  the  same  time,  that  there  would  be  no  harm  in  Mr. 
Eddy's  shooting  a  person  now,  as  he  had  been  declared  '  insane'  by  a 
jury,  and  he  could  not  be  harmed  for  the  acts  of  an  { insane'  man. 

"  A  mee^g  of  the  mediums  was  held  at  the  bank  on  Tuesday  even- 


156  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

ing,  and  communications  were  held  with  Alexander  Hamilton,  General 
Washington,  and  other  deceased  personages,  who  unanimously  de- 
clared that  Holmes  was  a  traitor  to  the  institution,  and  was  working 
against  them.  He  was  accordingly  told  by  Mr.  Eddy  that  he  must 
leave  the  bank. 

"Mr.  E.  H.  Haight  was  the  next  witness  examined.  He  testified 
that  Ira  B.  Eddy,  in  company  with  Mr.  Pilgrim,  went  to  the  store  of 
W.  F.  Dominick  &  Co.,  and  inquired  for  a  pistol.  They  were  shown 
some,  and  while  examining  a  lot  of  revolvers,  Pilgrim  recommended  to 
Eddy  to  take  one  of  Allen's  patent,  as  it  would  work  quicker  than 
Colt's,  and,  therefore,  would  be  more  useful.  The  pistol  was  procured, 
and  they  left.  Shortly  after  Pilgrim  returned  for  some  powder  and 
ball,  and  was  supplied.  The  pistol  was  returned  to  the  store  yesterday, 
and  six  ball  cartridges  drawn  from  it. 

*  *  *  "Mrs.  Ryerson,  one  of  the  mediums,  stated  she  had  never 
visited  the  bank  until  Tuesday  evening,  when  she  had  a  communica- 
tion with  the  spirits,  who  directed  her  to  inform  Mr.  Eddy  and  the 
officers,  that  they  must  go  on  with  their  bank  although  they  would 
find  it  up-hill  business,  but  that  God  was  at  the  head  of  it. 

"Sheriff  Bradley  testified  that  he  found,  yesterday  forenoon,  in  Pil 
grim's  house,  on  the  west  side,  a  lot  of  gold  and  silver  coin,  and  a 
small  amount  in  bank-bills,  in  all  to  the  value  of  about  $8000,  which 
had  been  carried  thither  from  the  bank  a  few  hours  previously  by 
Pilgrim  himself,  and  was  deposited  in  a  chest,  the  key  of  which  was 
immediately  delivered  on  the  demand  of  the  witness."     *     *     *     . 

Such  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  spirit-rapping,  as  developed  w 
the  line  of  banking*. 

RUIN      OF      GEORGE     DOUGHTY, 

Mr.  George  Doughty  was  a  respectable  farmer  of  Flushing, 
Long  Island.  Becoming  interested  in  the  "  spirit-rappings," 
and  giving  himself  up  to  the  teachings  of  a  "  medium, "  he  at 
length  lost  his  balance,  and  was  robbed  by  the  "spirits"  of 
nearly  every  thing  he  had  on  earth.  The  following  account 
of  this  most  fiendish  transaction  is  from  the  "  Brooklyn  Daily 
Eagle"  of  Feb.  25,  1852. 

"A  case  of  insanity,  produced  by  the  influence  of  the  spiritual 
rapping  delusion,  has  come  to  our  knowledge,  which  has  foi  the  pres- 
ent blighted  the  prospects  of  an  interesting  family,  and  placed  an 
exemplary  member  of  society  among  the  inmates  of  a  lunatic  asylum. 


RUIN    OF    ME.    DOUGHTY.  157 

"A  farmer  residing  on  Long  Island,  a  short  distance  from  this  city, 
&nd  possessed  of  considerable  property,  having  his  interest  excited  by 
the  reports  of  the  doings  of  the  mediums  of  this  most  mischievous  and 
absurd  delusion,  resolved  to  seek  out  one  of  the  professors  of  the  spir- 
itual doctrines  and  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  mysteries  which 
they  pretend  to  disclose.  With  that  intention  he  proceeded  to  the 
city  of  Pittsburg,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  introduced 
to  a  professed  medium,  a  lady  named  Mrs.  French,  whom,  after  a  short 
acquaintance,  he  invited  to  visit  him  and  his  family  on  Long  Island  ; 
and  from  that  time — some  two  years  ago — up  to  within  a  recent  date, 
she  has  been  a  constant  visitor  at  the  farmer's  house,  where  she  was, 
at  the  wish  of  the  unfortunate  man,  treated  as  one  of  the  family. 

"A  few  weeks  since,  however,  she  arrived  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and,  instead  of  proceeding  direct  to  the  farmer's,  as  she  was  wont  to 
do,  took  rooms  at  the  Irving  House,  where  she  was  accompanied  by  a 
strange  man,  whom,  she  informed  the  farmer  upon  visiting  her,  was 
about  writing  an  interesting  legend  of  the  spirit-land,  she  furnishing 
the  materials  and  matter.  We  are  not  advised  of  the  exact  progress 
which  the  farmer  made,  or  the  steps  by  which  he  arrived  at  the  results 
which  followed  ;  but  the  effect  of  his  spiritual  intercourse  with  the 
medium  was  to  unbalance  his  mind  and  deprive  him  of  the  proper  use 
of  his  reasoning  faculties.  Of  course,  the  medium  took  advantage  of 
the  poor  man's  insanity,  and  such  was  the  influence  she  had  acquired 
over  him,  and  the  strange  delusion  under  which  he  labored,  that  she 
induced,  him  to  adopt  her  as  his  daughter,  and  finally  to  make  over  to 
her  nearly  his  entire  property. 

"The  wife  of  the  unfortunate  victim  endeavored  to  restrain  him  in 
his  mad  career,  but  did  not  succeed.  By  threats  of  violence  he  com- 
pelled his  gentle  partner  to  make  an  assignment  of  her  interest  in  his 
affairs  to  him ;  after  which,  he  proceeded  to  convert  his  effects  into 
cash — which  amounted  to  about  15,000  dollars  in  all — and  this  he  im- 
mediately paid  over  to  the  medium  at  the  Irving  House,  upon  which 
the  latter  took  French-le&Ye  and  departed,  going,  it  is  reported,  back 
to  the  city  of  Pittsburg.  The  next  day  he  seemed  partly  to  realize  the 
extent  of  his  folly,  and  called  upon  his  friend  the  medium — but  lo,  and 
behold  !  the  charming  creature  was  missing,  as  was  also  the  fabulous 
book-writer.  He  then  asked  to  be  shown  to  the  room  she  had  occu- 
pied, and  declared  he  would  commit  suicide.  His  request  was  of 
course  refused,  and  he  was  driven  from  the  house. 

"He  then  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  an  acquaintance  in  New 
York,  and  there  repeated  his  determination  to  shuffle  off  this  mortal 
coil,  as  life  had  become  burdensome  to  him.  He  was  only  laughed  at 
and  chided  for  his  folly,  and  told  to  go  home.  He  next  came  to  the 
house  of  his  relatives  in  Brooklyn  with  the  intention  of  carrying  out 


158  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

his  designs  against  his  own  life ;  but,  as  he  afterwards  stated,  his 
friends  treated  him  with  so  much  kindness,  that  he  felt  his  resolution 
give  way,  and  partly  abandoned  the  idea  of  self-destruction.  He  finally 
went  home,  and  his  friends,  with  very  natural  misgivings  as  to  the 
propriety  of  permitting  him  to  have  unlimited  restraint,  had  him  ar- 
rested and  conveyed  to  the  New  York  Lunatic  Asylum,  where  he  now 
remains  a  confirmed  lunatic.  A  telegraphic  dispatch  has  been  sent  on 
to  Pittsburg  for  the  arrest  of  the  medium  who,  it  is  hoped,  will  not 
escape  '  unwhipt  of  justice.' 

"The  victim  of  this  conspiracy  is  the  father  of  two  very  interesting 
daughters,  and  has  many  respectable  relatives  and  connections  in  this 
city,  whose  feelings  with  regard  to  the  sad  event,  may  be  easily 
imagined.  Such  are  the  particulars  of  one  of  the  most  infamous  cases 
of  heartless  fraud,  and  delusion  which  has  probably  ever  been  recorded. 
The  reputed  medium  is  reported  to  be  an  abandoned  female  of  the 
worst  character." 

At  the  time  of  this  writing,  Mr.  Doughty  is  still  confined  in 
the  asylum  at  Bloomingdale.  The  amiable  "medium"  has  not 
yet  been  arrested. 

INSANITY  PRODUCED  BY  THE  "SPIRITS." 

The  effects  of  this  delusion  in  the  production  of  insanity  have 
been  most  terrible,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  slips,  cut 
from  different  papers  during  a  few  months  past,  and  from  the 
statistics  collected  from  different  lunatic  asylums : 

Mr.  Orville  Hatch,  of  Franklin,  Conn.,  has  become  insane,  he  hav- 
ing devoted  considerable  attention  to  the  subject  of  spirit-rappings. — 
JST.  Y.  Times,  Aug.  20,  1852. 

Another  Victim. — A  victim  of  spiritual  rappings,  from  Little  Falls, 
has  recently  been  placed  in  the  State  Lunatic  Asylum.  When  will  this 
lamentable  delusion  cease? — Troy  Times. 

Another  Victim. — Miss  Melissa  Haynes,  of  Cincinnati,  was  sent  to 
the  Lunatic  Department  of  the  Commercial  Hospital,  a  few  days 
ago.  The  "  Times"  there  says  the  true  cause  of  insanity  is  spiritual 
rappings. 

About  two  months  ago,  a  young  Irishman,  said  to  be  remarkably  in- 
telligent, died  at  the  Sisters'  Hospital  in  a  state  of  insanity,  brought  on 
by  frequent  "communication  with  tb*  spirits,"  as  the  phenomenon  is 
called. — St.  Louis  Republican. 


VICTIMS    OF  SPIRIT-RAPPING.  159 

Last  autumn,  a  woman  was  brought  from  the  country  to  one  of 
our  hospitals  in  a  state  of  insanity,  from  the  cause — then  believed 
to  be  hopeless.  She  had  been  considered  a  person  of  strong  mind,  and 
withal  had  been  much  respected  and  liked  by  her  acquaintances. 
Having,  however,  developed  by  frequent  practice  her  latent  rapping 
powers,  and  giving  herself  entirely  over  to  the  doctrine  of  spiritual 
intercourse,  reason  was  unfortunately,  though  naturally  enough,  de- 
throned.— Ibid. 

Robert  G.  Shaw,  known  everywhere  as  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and 
influential  merchants  of  Boston,  the  Fitchburg  "Reveille"  says,  is  crazy. 
He  has  been  for  some  time  deeply  interested  in  spiritual  manifesta- 
tions, and  it  was  to  him  the  spirit  of  Daniel  Webster  is  said  to  have 
communicated,  and  given,  as  an  evidence  of  its  identity,  Webster's  sig- 
nature, which,  by  critics  in  such  matters,  could  not  be  distinguished 
from  the  signature  of  an  unpaid  note  of  $1000  that  Mr.  Shaw  holds 
against  Mr.  Webster.  It  may  be,  however,  that  his  simple  belief  in 
spirits  at  all  gives  rise  to  such  a  report. — Beloit  Journal,  Feb.  10,  1853. 

A  Victim  of  "  Spiritual  Rapplxgs." — A  girl  about  fourteen  years  of 
age,  named  Adeline  C.  Moore,  was  before  the  Police  Court  yesterday, 
charged,  upon  complaint  of  her  father,  Jonathan  Moore,  of  East  Boston, 
with  being  a  stubborn  child.  There  was  evidence  that  the  girl  did  not 
stay  at  home,  but  went  from  place  to  place  as  her  fancy  dictated ;  but 
it  did  not  appear  that  she  was  wilful  or  stubborn,  and,  upon  her  prom- 
ising to  go  home  with  her  father,  she  was  discharged.  Two  or  three 
years  ago  the  girl  became  interested  in  the  "spirit-rapping"  mania, 
and  was  what  is  called  a  "  medium."  Since  then  she  has  exhibited 
symptoms  of  insanity,  and  wandered  about  in  East  Boston  and  Chel- 
sea. She  is  a  pretty  and  interesting  girl,  intelligent  and  modest,  and 
we  hope  she  will  hereafter  shun  those  delusions  which  have  misled 
her. — Boston  Herald. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane  in  Indian- 
apolis, Ind.,  says : 

"An  elderly  gentleman  who  had  previously  enjoyed  good  health, 
now  an  inmate  of  this  institution,  was  living  in  peace  and  harmony 
with  his  family,  until  the  '  spirit-rappers'  visited  the  neighborhood. 
He  attended  their  exhibitions  and  believed  their  revelations ;  but,  un- 
fortunately for  the  old  gentleman,  it  was  revealed  to  him  by  one  of 
the  '  mediums'  that  his  second  wife,  with  whom  he  was  then  living, 
had  caused  the  death  of  his  former  companion. 

"The  old  man  believed  all  to  be  a  direct  and  truthful  revelation 
from  the  spirit- world,  and  from  that  hour  his  domestic  happiness  was 
at  an  end.     Sleep  forsook  him,  and  he  became  a  maniac,  which  he 


100  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

still  continues  to  be,  with  but  dim  prospects  for  recovery." — Report 
for  1852. 

The  Sacrifice  of  a  Medium. — A  man  whose  name  is  Samuel  Cole,  re- 
siding in  Washington  county,  Ohio,  who  was  made  insane  from  the 
workings  of  the  spirit-rapping  delusion,  became  possessed  of  the  idea 
that  he  must  offer,  like  Abraham  of  old,  a  sacrifice  to  the  Supreme 
Ruler  of  the  universe.  He  accordingly  proceeded  to  carry  his  object 
into  execution,  by  taking  off  one  of  his  feet,  which  he  succeeded  in  do- 
ing some  days  since,  in  a  very  scientific  manner,  and  with  an  heroic  de- 
termination that  would  compare  with  the  self-sacrificing  deeds  done 
in  the  earlier  ages.  His  family,  fearing  that  some  other  of  his  limbs 
might  be  demanded  in  a  like  cause,  had  him  conveyed  to  the  lunatic 
asylum  at  Columbus,  where  he  is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  as  much 
liberty  as  the  nature  of  his  disease  will  warrant  the  superintendent  of 
that  institution  in  granting  him. — Register,  Phil.,  Feb.  28,  1853. 

STATISTICS     FROM     INSANE     ASYLUMS. 

But  we  must  not  stop  to  describe  individual  cases.  It  is 
enough  to  know  that  hundreds  have  lost  their  reason  and  been 
ruined  by  this  delusion.  I  have  been  at  some  pains  to  ascer- 
tain the  number  of  inmates  treated  in  the  different  insane 
asylums  in  the  country  during  the  year  1852,  who  lost  their 
reason  by  "  spirit-rapping  ;"  and  the  returns  thus  far,  in  an- 
swer to  my  inquiries,  are  as  follows  : 

State  Asylum,  Utica,  ST.  T., 17* 

Retreat,  Hartford,  Conn., 1 

Asylum,  Somerville,  Mass.,  admitted, 5 

"  "  "       Refused  for  want  of  room,  ...      3 

"      Columbus,  Ohio,  . ....... 30 

"  "  "       Not  admitted,  .  . 10 

"      Worcester,  Mass., 6 

"       Indianapolis,  Ind., 18 

Total, 90 


*  This  was  the  number  up  to  January  1,  1853.  But  at  this  writing, 
there  are  several  more.  "We  learn,"  says  the  "Albany  Register, " 
"that  from  Monday,  the  21st  ult.  [Feb.],  until  Friday,  the  25th  ult. 
(live  days),  seventeen  new  patients  were  admitted  into  this  institution 


STATISTICS    OF    INSANITY.  101 

Here  we  have  returns  from  only  six  of  the  institutions,  and  yet 
the  number  thus  far  reported  amounts  to  ninety  of  our  fellow  - 
beings,  bereft  of  reason  by  this  terrible  scourge.  But  the  num- 
ber made  insane  by  spirit-rapping  throughout  the  whole  country 
is  far  greater  than  this.  In  reply  to  a  note  of  inquiry,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane  in  Philadelphia 
says  :  "  There  have  been  several  individuals  here  whose  disease 
was  connected  with  that  delusion — a  belief  in  which  seems  to 
be  itself  one  form  of  mental  derangement."  While  in  Hart- 
ford recently  I  was  shown  a  young  man  in  the  Retreat,  who, 
on  being  spoken  to  about  the  "  spirits,"  pointed  out  the  win- 
dow and  exclaimed,  "  There  is  the  spirit  of  my  grandfather. 
Don't  you  see  it  ?  There  it  is,  out  there  on  the  limb  of  that 
tree  I"  Poor  fellow  !  It  wras  pitiful  to  see  the  wreck  of  a 
youthful  intellect — but  the  satanic  deception  had  accomplished 
its  work,  and  landed  its  victim  in  the  asylum. 

The  statistics,  as  given  above,  are  either  from  private  letter- 
received  from  superintendents,  or  from  the  printed  reports  of 
the  several  institutions.  Now,  as  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
insane  of  the  country  ever  go  to  any  asylum,  and  yet  we  know 
of  nearly  one  hundred  who  have  either  been  treated  in,  or  have 
applied  for  admission  into  asylums  during  the  past  year,  whose 
insanity  has  been  caused  by  the  spirit-rapping  movement,  it  is 
a  fair  presumption  that  at  least  five  hundred  persons  have  been 
bereft  of  reason,  by  this  one  cause,  during  the  last  five  years. 
How  many  families  broken  up,  children  bereft  of  fathers  or 
mothers,  earthly  prospects  obscured,  and  hopes  blighted  for- 
ever !  And  all  for  what?  That  a  set  of  vagabond  "  mediums" 
may  fill  their  coffers  at  the  expense  of  their  well-meaning,  but 
too  credulous  fellow-beings,  and  a  company  of  infidel  editors 
and  ghost-book  writers  may  flood  the  land  with  their  ruinous 
publications. 


— a  greater  number  than  ever  before  admitted  in  so  brief  a  space  of 
time.  There  is  no  doubt  but  this  increase  is  owing,  in  a  great  measure, 
to  the  unhealthy  state  of  excitement  caused  by  the  spiritual  humbugs 
of  the  day." 


162  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

Of  the  spirit-rapping  inmates  at  Indianapolis,  the  superin- 
tendent remarks : 

"A  new  cause  of  insanity  has  within  a  recent  period  beeu  developed, 
and  by  reference  to  the  table  of  alleged  causes,  it  will  be  seen  that  no 
less  than  eighteen  have  been  added  to  the  number  of  our  inmates,  du- 
ring the  year,  from  the  so-called  '  spiritual  Tappings/     *     * 

"  Of  the  eighteen  cases  of  insanity  alleged  to  have  been  caused  by 
*  spiritual  rappings,'  thirteen  were  men,  and  five  women.  The  form  of 
insanity  wThen  admitted,  was  that  of  raving  mania  in  fifteen,  character- 
ized by  loud  and  incoherent  vociferations.  In  two,  it  was  deep  melan- 
choly, and  in  one,  imbecility,  approaching  to  dementia.  In  all  except 
three,  the  minds  of  the  unfortunate  subjects  of  this  modern  delusion, 
were  in  complete  ruins,  there  being  left  scarcely  one  vestige  of  rational 
thought,  or  ability  to  reason.     *     * 

"Their  profession  of  religion  was  as  follows:  Methodists,  three; 
Christian  Church,  two ;  infidels,  two ;  Mormon,  one ;  Swedenborgian, 
one ;  Baptist,  one  ;  making  no  profession  of  religion,  eight." 

Such  are  the  effects  of  this  terrible  scourge  upon  the  intel- 
lects of  its  deluded  votaries.  Its  tendency  is  only  to  ruin.  And 
when  shall  the  plague  be  stayed  ?  When  will  the  people  see 
that  they  are  closing  their  eyes  to  the  strongest  possible  evidence 
of  collusion  and  trickery  ;  and  being  defrauded  of  religion,  self- 
respect,  property,  and  reason  ? 

In  summing  up  his  remarks  on  the  case  of  Mr.  Doughty, 
Judge  Bosevelt  remarked :  "  If  things  go  on  at  this  rate,  we 
shall  have  to  enlarge  our  lunatic  asylums,  and  establish  a  bed- 
lam wherever  there  is  a  rapping  circle  announced/ ' 

But  forgery,  robbery,  and  insanity  are  not  the  worst  accom- 
paniments of  this  delusion.  In  its  train  have  followed  suicide 
and  murder  !  The  whole  system  is  red  with  the  blood  of  our 
fellow-men. 

TENDENCY      TO     SUICIDE. 

In  the  last  Report  of  the  Ohio  Lunatic  Asylum,  the  Super- 
intendent observes  : 

"  Causes  of  Insanity. — Among  these,  nothing  is  more  worthy  of  no- 
tice than  the  large  and  rapidly  increasing  number  of  cases  caused  by 
the  present  popular  delusion,  *  Spirit-Rappings.'     In  these  the  suicidal 


CASES   OF   SELF-DESTRUCTION.  163 

tendency  is  especially  prominent,  while  the  constant  resting  of  the 
thoughts  upon  the  scenes  of  an  imaginary  world,  renders  it  the  more 
difficult  to  attract  attention  to  those  of  the  real.  Such  cases,  though 
recent,  have  proved  more  unfavorable  than  any  others  of  the  same 
class." 

The  fearful  tendency  here  spoken  of  has,  in  many  instances, 
resulted  in  premature  death. 

CASES     OF     SELF-DESTRUCTION. 

"  Mr.  Bishop  Peabody  hung  himself  in  a  barn  in  Grafton,  Lorain 
county,  on  Friday  last.  He  was  an  amiable,  intelligent,  and  respected 
young  man,  but  became  so  absorbed  in  spirit-rappings  when  that  de- 
lusion appeared  in  his  neighborhood,  as  to  completely  unbalance  his 
mind.  *  *  *  The  case  of  Mr.  Peabody  is  but  one  of  a  long  list  of 
the  insane,  or  partially  such,  caused  by  modern  rappings  and  spiritual- 
ism as  taught  and  practiced  by  the  Fishes,  Foxes,  Finneys,  Davises,  and 
their  followers." — Cleveland  (0.)  Herald. 

"A  Mrs.  Rich,  of  Kirtland,  was  taken  suddenly,  in  what  appeared  to 
be  a  fit,  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Feb.  t8.  Her  family 
supposed  her  to  be  in  a  mesmeric  trance,  and  consulted  a  couple  of  the 
spirit  mediums  to  ascertain  what  was  the  matter.  The  mediums  wrote 
that  she  was  in  a  mesmeric  state,  and  would  not  come  out  until  two 
weeks  from  that  day.  Her  friends  refused  to  administer  any  medicine, 
or  allow  any  others  to  do  so,  supposing,  as  they  did,  that  she  was  in  a 
trance.  At  one  time  she  recovered  enough  to  tell  her  attendants  if  she 
did  not  have  some  medicine  that  she  should  die,  and  then  became  un- 
conscious. She  livea  along  in  this  manner  until  Feb.  23,  when  she 
died." — Geauga  (0.)  Republic. 

"  A  poor  fellow  in  Malone,  Franklin  county,  K  Y.,  whose  thoughts 
have  been  on  the  spirit-rappings  mostly  of  late,  and  who  had  been  pro- 
moted to  the  dignity  of  a  writing  medium,  at  last  became  quite  crazed, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  11th  inst.,  at  4  o'clock,  leaped  from  the  piazza 
of  his  boarding-house,  fracturing  thereby  his  heel  and  ankle-bone.  This 
new  victim  of  a  vulgar  superstition  has  a  wife  and  family  who  depend 
for  subsistence  on  his  earnings." — N.  Y.  Times. 

The  name  of  this  person,  as  we  learn  from  the  Malone  Jef- 
fer sonian,  is  S.  W.  Lincoln. 

A  lady  in  Livingston  Co.,  K  Y.,  sat  up  and  read  the  "  Tel- 
egraph"  till  late  at  night,  and  then  went  out  and  pitched  head- 
foremost into  a  well,  and  was  taken  out  dead. 

A  man  in  Barre,  Mass.,  was  instructed  by  the  "  spirits"  to 


1G4  fcPItf IT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

take  the  life  of  his  wife  and  children ;  and,  but  for  the  timely 
interposition  of  others,  would  have  accomplished  his  purpose. 

MURDER     BY     A     MEDIUM. 

Almira  Bezely,  a  rapping  medium,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  pre- 
dicted the  death  of  her  infant  brother  by  the  rappings ;  and  then 
bought  arsenic  and  gave  him,  and  took  his  life.  On  being  ar- 
rested, she  confessed  the  crime,  and  the  causes  which  led  to  its 
commission. 

On  her  trial  for  murder,  Samuel  B.  Holliday  testified  as 
follows : 

a  She  only  gave  me  one  reason  for  the  commission  of  the  crime.  She 
said  there  had  been  a  gradual  change  coming  over  her.  It  had  not 
come  on  in  a  moment,  but  in  a  month  or  weeks.  The  cause  of  this  was 
the  deception  she  had  practiced,  in  regard  to  these  rappings." — Provi- 
dence Journal,  Oct.  22,  1851. 

"It  was  in  evidence  before  the  [coroner's]  jury,  that  the  death'of 
the  child  was  predicted  at  these  rappings.  My  impression  is  that  the 
child  died  at  about  the  time  predicted." — Ibid. 

"I  do  not  think  she  could  have  committed  this  crime  without  this 
influence  [that  of  spirit-rapping].  I  suppose  the  deception  and  fraud 
practiced  had  weakened  her  moral  principle,  and  prepared  the  way  to 
crime." — Ibid. 

And  what  more  can  we  expect  of  persons  who  will  break 
down  all  conscience,  and  give  themselves  up  to  rob  their  fellow- 
beings  by  a  most  blasphemous  deception  ?  Why  should  they 
not  resort  to  almost  any  crime  that  will  help  to  establish  their 
fame  as  "  mediums,"  or  conceal  their  abominations  ? 

SUICIDE      OF     MATTHEW     LANGDON. 

Matthew  Langdon,  a  printer,  38  years  of  age,  became  insane 
by  attending  the  circles,  and  finally  took  his  own  life.  The 
following  extracts  from  the  testimony  taken  before  the  coroner's 
jury,  and  published  in  the  New  York  Times  of  Jan  8,  1853, 
will  show  the  real  cause  of  this  melancholy  event : 

"  Maria  Langdon,  being  sworn,  says,  I  am  wife  of  Matthew  Langdon, 
now  lying  dead  at  this  place ;  I  do  not  know  when  he  was  born ;  my 
husband  and  myself  lived  at  No  91  Eleventh-street,  up  to  the  time  he 


SUICIDE   OF    MATTHEW    LANGDOX.  165 

cut  his  throat ;  he  cut  his  throat  on  Monday  last,  between  1  and  2 
o'clock,  P.  M.  *  *  *  He  did  not  sleep  on  Saturday  nor  Sunday 
night,  and  constantly  talked  of  spiritual  manifestations.  *  *  *  * 
For  the  last  ten  months,  he  has  been  in  the  habit  of  reading  what  he 
called  spiritual  papers,  to  wit:  TJie  Spiritual  Telegraph,  published  in 
this  city ;  also  The  Mountain  Com  Journal.  *  *  His  mind  seemed 
absorbed  in  these  papers ;  he  has  been  attending  the  spiritual  circles 
For  the  last  ten  months,  and  for  the  last  three  weeks  twice  a  week ; 
one  circle  met  at  Mrs.  Fish's,*  in  Seventh-av.  *  *  I  lost  a  daughter 
ten  months  ago ;  her  death  made  him  feel  very  bad,  and  was  the  cause 
of  his  consulting  these  mediums ;  he  said  they  told  him  that  if  he  would 
become  a  seeing  medium,  he  could  see  his  child;  he  told  me  that  this 
would  satisfy  him,  and  that  he  consulted  the  mediums  for  this  purpose." 

Ellsworth  Elliott,  M.  D.,  surgeon  of  Bellvue  Hospital,  where 
Langdon  was  sent  after  he  cut  his  throat,  said  : 

"He  told  us  he  had  been  influenced  by  spiritual  manifestations  (in 
which  he  expressed  his  belief )  to  commit  suicide;  he  said  about  ten 
months  ago  he  had  lost  a  daughter  under  peculiarly  aggravating  cir- 
cumstances. *  *  *  He  spoke  of  spirits  that  were  about  him — of 
Brother  Harris,  of  Mountain  Cove,  Fayette  Co.,  Ya.,  of  The  Spiritual 
Telegraph  and  Mountain  Cove  Journal."     *     * 

After  hearing  all  the  evidence  in  the  case,  the  jury  rendered 
the  following  verdict : 

"  That  Matthew  Langdon  came  to  his  death  by  exhaustion  consequent 
upon  mental  excitement  and  from  a  wound  inflicted  by  himself  upon 
his  throat.  We  also  find  that  this  state  of  mind  was  superinduced  by 
his  connection  with  persons  calling  themselves  spiritual  media.  We 
also  recommend  the  Grand  Jury  to  take  measures  for  the  suppression 
of  circle  meetings  at  the  houses  named  in  the  testimony." 

A  righteous  verdict,  only  it  does  not  go  far  enough,  Not 
only  should  the  Grand  Jury  "  take  measures  to  suppress  the 
circles" — those  slaughter-houses  of  men  and  women — but  they 
should  suppress  the  papers  by  which,  in  connection  with  the 
circles,  this  man  was  led  to  take  his  own  life.  If  it  be  rio;ht  to 
suppress  obscene  books  and  prints,  because  their  influence  is 


*  Mrs.  Fish  is  since  married;  and  is  now  known  in  the  "spiritual 
circles''  as  Mrs.  Brown. 


166  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

pernicious,  why  not  suppress  the  papers  and  ghost-books  that 
are  robbing  the  people  of  their  money  ;  filling  our  asylums 
with  the  insane  ;  driving  many  into  murder  and  suicide  ;  and 
scattering  "  firebrands,  arrows,  and  death"  wherever  they  go. 
If  there  was  ever  a  case  in  which  the  law  of  the  land  should  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  pernicious  publications,  this  is  one. 

But  the  stereotyped  reply  of  the  rappers  to  the  argument 
founded  upon  the  effects  of  their  teaching  is,  that  the  Christian 
religion  has  often  produced  the  same  results ;  and,  therefore, 
if  we  condemn  the  rapping  delusion,  we  must  condemn  Christi- 
anity also. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  Christianity  has  ever  produced  any 
such  results.  There  have  been  cases  in  which  error,  under  the 
name  of  religion,  has  produced  insanity  (as  was  the  case  with 
the  Millerite  excitement  a  few  years  since),  but  the  truth  has  no 
such  effect.  In  one  instance,  a  person  became  deranged  from 
the  apprehension  that  her  soul  was  irrecoverably  lost ;  but  that 
was  an  error  which  unbalanced  her  mind.  Christianity  never 
taught  her  that  her  soul  was  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy ;  and 
as  error  respecting  departed  spirits  tends  to  ruin,  so  all  other 
error  tends  in  the  same  direction.  But  truth  always  tranquil- 
izes,  blesses,  saves.  I  do  not  believe  the  first  instance  has  ever 
been  known  where  a  belief  of  the  truth,  as  revealed  in  the  Gos- 
pel, has  led  to  the  ruin  of  a  human  intellect,  much  less  to  mur- 
der and  suicide.  But  it  is  not  so  with  spirit-rapping.  Its  effects 
are  evil,  and  only  evil,  and  that  continually.  And  as  "  a  good 
tree  cannot  bear  evil  fruit,"  we  want  no  letter  evidence  that 
the  whole  system  is  a  device  of  the  devil,  to  carry  on  his  oppo- 
sition to  Christ ;  to  deceive  even  some  of  his  followers  ;  and  to 
ruin  souls  for  whom  Christ  died. 

The  necromancers  have  another  sophism  by  which  they  labor 
to  deceive.  "  These  communications,"  say  they  to  the  Chris- 
tian, "  are  doing  great  good.  They  have  convinced  many  infi- 
dels of  the  truth  of  an  immortal  existence,"  &c.  Here  we  have 
another  fling  at  Divine  Revelation.  That  affords  no  sufficient 
evidence  of  immortality.  But  a  few  "  raps,"  produced  by  some 
slip-shod  "  medium, n  at  a  dollar  a  head  to  the  spectators,  are 


FALLACIOUS    REASONING    OF   THE   RAPPERS.  167 

sufficient  proof  of  immortality.  They  are  "  convinced,"  and 
are  no  longer  "  skeptics  !"  But  what  are  they  ?  Do  they  now 
believe  the  Bible  ?  Have  they  sought  the  mercy  of  God  through 
the  merits  of  Christ  ?  Are  they  now  men  of  prayer  ?  No,  indeed. 
They  are  the  same  profane  Sabbath-breaking  infidels  they  were 
before.  They  have  been  "  convinced"  and  "  converted ;"  but 
the  conviction  wrought  in  their  minds  was  that  the  spirit-decep- 
tion would  be  a  fine  thing  to  seize  upon  to  disseminate  infidelity  ; 
and  their  conversion  has  been  from  the  old  form  of  infidelity  to 
the  new  form,  called  "  spiritualism."  And  this  is  the  great 
good  effected  by  spirit-rapping. 


Such  are  the  fruits  of  the  "  new  philosophy  ;"  and  if  it  be  of 
God,  then  must  He  have  ceased  to  be  gracious,  and  resolved  to 
send  darkness,  blight,  and  desolation  upon  the  heritage  of  man. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

CAUSES     OF     ALLEGED     SPIRITUAL     PHENOMENA. 

Sophistry  of  the  rappers — Rapping  in  a  school-room  with  the  toes — Dis- 
covery by  the  Buffalo  physicians — Detection  of  the  Fox  girls — Rapping 
with  the  feet  or  ankles — Wiseacres  deceived  by  a  young  girl — Medium 
tables  with  machinery — Disclosure  at  Hartford — Statement  of  Mr.  Pack 
— Confession  and  affidavit  of  Mr.  Beardslee — Experience  of  Mr.  Burr — ■ 
Physical  demonstration — Moving  of  tables. 

In  the  light  of  the  facts  revealed  in  the  preceding  chapters, 
we  are  now  prepared  to  answer  the  question, — If  there  are  no 
invisible  intelligences  concerned  in  the  production  of  the  rapping s 
and  other  phenomena,  by  tvhat  are  they  produced  ? 

FALLACIOUS     REASONING     OF     THE     RAPPERS. 

In  connection  with  this  question  will  be  found  the  great  fal- 
lacy of  the  rappers.  They  constantly  assume  that  if  we  cannot 
tell  hotv  the  raps  are  produced,  we  are  bound  to  admit  their  ex- 
planation ;  and  to  admit  that  they  are  produced  by  disembodied 


168  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

spirits.  But  suppose  Anderson,  or  Heller,  or  Blitz  were  to  take 
similar  ground  in  regard  to  their  tricks,  and  say,  "  These  effects 
are  produced  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon  ;  and  if  you  don't 
believe  it,  tell  us  how  they  are  produced?"  Cannot  any  one 
see  that  the  argument  is  just  as  good  in  one  case  as  in  the 
other  ?  Suppose  there  were  raps  and  movement  of  tables,  for 
which  we  were  unable  to  account,  would  it  follow  that  they 
were  produced  by  departed  spirits  ?  Our  ignorance  of  the  true 
cause  of  a  phenomenon,  is  no  reason  why  we  should  refer  it  to 
a  false  one  ;  for  I  may  be  sure  that  a  certain  thing  is  not  the 
cause  of  an  effect,  though  I  may  be  unable  to  tell  what  is  the 
cause. 

The  logic  of  the  rappers  is  something  like  this  :  A  murder 
has  been  committed ;  I  do  not  know  who  committed  the  mur- 
der, therefore  it  was  S.  B.  Brittan !  I  do  not  know  how  the 
raps  are  made,  therefore  they  must  be  made  by  departed  spirits. 
And  yet  by  the  use  of  this  transparent  sophism,  the  rappers 
have  convinced  scores  of  their  "  impressible"  dupes  that  the 
raps  are  made  by  "  spirits." 

Even,  then,  on  the  supposition  that  the  cause  of  the  rappings, 
&c,  was  a  profound  mystery,  it  affords  not  the  slightest  ground 
for  the  belief  that  they  are  produced  by  spirits.  Other  causes 
may  exist  and  elude  detection,  as  is  proved  by  the  operations  of 
every  juggler  in  the  land ;  and  the  assumption  that  we  must 
refer  the  rappings  to  departed  spirits,  because  every  person  can- 
not detect  the  cause,  is  sheer  sophistry. 

But  conclusive  as  this  view  of  the  subject  is  to  every  ra- 
tional mind,  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  pointing  out  the 
causes  of  all  the  phenomena  that  have  ever  taken  place  in  con- 
nection with  the  mediums. 

CAUSE      OF     THE      RAPPINGS. 

The  "  rappings,"  as  they  are  called,  are  produced  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways,  but  always  by  the  mediums,  or  by  some  one  in 
league  with  them.  The  rapping  mediums  are  generally  ladies, 
because  their  dresses  and  sex  enable  them  the  better  to  conceal 
the  deception. 


DISCOVERY    BY    THE   BUFFALO    PHYSICIANS.  169 

On  one  occasion,  as  we  learn  from  the  Boston  Traveller,  a 
young  miss,  in  one  of  the  grammar-schools  in  that  city,  sud- 
denly began  to  rap  and  write  as  a  medium.  She  declared  that 
she  was  impelled  to  write,  and  could  not  help  the  rappings  ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  teacher  proposed  to  expel  her  from  the 
school  if  she  did  not  desist,  she  ceased  to  be  a  "  medium." 
There  was  no  difficulty  then  in  controlling  the  "  spirits." 

Rev.  H.  0.  Sheldon,  of  Berea,  0.,  spent  some  time  in  investigat- 
ing the  subject ;  and  the  mediums  that  he  detected  rapped  by 
snapping  their  toes.  I  met  Mr.  Sheldon  at  the  house  of  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman,  at  Leroy,  N.  Y.,  about  a  year  since, 
and  he  not  only  told,  but  showed  us  precisely  how  the  toe-rap- 
pers get  up  their  messages.  He  could  rap  beautifully  with  his 
toes,  sitting' or  standing;  and  had  he  not  told  us  beforehand 
how  it  was  done,  we  might  not  have  suspected  the  true 
method. 

DISCOVERY     BY     THE     BUFFALO     PHYSICIANS. 

When  the  "  Fox  Girls"  first  started  off  with  their  specula- 
tion, they  visited  Buffalo,  1ST.  Y.  Here  three  intelligent  physi- 
cians undertook  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  mysterious  rap- 
pings. The  results  of  their  investigations  will  appear  from  the 
following  extracts,  copied  from  their  "Discovery  and  Explana- 
tion," published  soon  after. 

"  On  carefully  observing  the  countenances  of  the  two  females  (Mrs. 
Fish — now  Mrs.  Brown,  and  her  sister,  Margaretta  Fox),  it  was  evident 
that  the  sounds  were  due  to  the  agency  of  the  younger  sister,  and  that 
they  involved  an  effort  of  the  will.  She  evidently  attempted  to  con- 
ceal any  indication  of  voluntary  effort,  but  in  this  she  did  not  succeed. 
A  voluntary  effort  was  manifest,  and  it  was  plain  that  it  could  not  be 
continued  long  without  fatigue.         *         *         * 

"  Various  facts  may  be  cited  to  show  that  the  motion  of  joints, 
under  certain  circumstances,  is  adequate  to  produce  the  phenomena  of 
the  rappings ;  but  we  need  not  now  refer  to  these.  By  a  curious  coin* 
cidence,  after  arriving  at  the  above  conclusion  respecting  the  source  of 
the  sounds,  an  instance  has  fallen  under  our  observation  which  demon- 
strates the  fact,  that  noises,  precisely  identical  with  the  spiritual  rap- 
pings, may  be  produced  in  the  knee-joint. 

8 


170  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

"  A  highly  respectable  lady  of  this  city,  possesses  the  ability  to  develop 
sounds  similar,  both  in  character  and  in  degree,  to  those  professedly 
elicited  by  the  Rochester  impostors,  from  the  spiritual  world.  "We 
have  witnessed  the  production  of  the  sounds  by  the  lady  referred  to, 
.and  have  been  permitted  to  examine  the  mechanism  by  which  they 
are  produced. 

"We  have  witnessed  repetitions  of  experiments  in  the  case  just  re- 
ferred to,  sufficient  to  exhibit  to  us  all  the  phenomena  of  sounds  be- 
longing to  the  Rochester  rappings,  and  without  further  explanations  at 
this  time,  we  append  our  names  in  testimony  of  the  facts  contained  in 
the  foregoing  hastily-penned  exposition. 

University  )  AUSTIN  FLINT,  M.  D., 
of         J.  CHARLES  A.  LEE,  M.  D. 
"Feb,  11,  1851.  Buffalo.     )  c.  B.  COVENTRY,  M.  D. 

This  communication  was  first  published  in  the  Buffalo  Com- 
mercial Advertiser.  As  soon  as  Mrs.  Fish  saw  it,  she  sent  a 
communication  to  the  same  paper,  inviting  the  doctors  to  an 
interview,  to  detect  her  in  making  the  raps  if  they  could.  The 
following  is  their  account  of  the  interview  : 

DETECTION      OF     THE     FOX     GIRLS. 

"  The  invitation  thus  proposed  was  accepted  by  those  to  whom  it  was 
addressed ;  and  on  the  following  evening,  by  appointment,  the  exami- 
nation took  place.  After  a  short  delay,  the  two  Rochester  females 
being  seated  on  a  sofa,  the  knockings  commenced,  and  were  continued 
for  some  time  in  loud  tones  and  rapid  succession.  The  "  spirits"  were 
then  asked  whether  they  would  manifest  themselves  during  the  sitting 
and  respond  to  interrogatories.  A  series  of  raps  followed,  which  were 
interpreted  into  a  reply  in  the  affirmative.  The  two  females  were 
then  seated  upon  two  chairs  placed  near  together,  their  heels  resting  on 
cushions,  their  lower  limbs  extended,  with  the  toes  elevated,  and  the 
feet  separated  from  each  other.  The  object  in  this  experiment  was  to 
secure  a  position  in  which  the  ligaments  of  the  knee-joint  should  be 
made  tense,  and  no  opportunity  offered  to  make  pressure  with  the 
foot.  "We  were  pretty  well  satisfied  that  the  displacement  of  the  bones 
requisite  for  the  sounds  could  not  be  effected  unless  a  fulcrum  were  ob- 
tained by  resting  one  foot  upon  the  other,  or  on  some  resisting  body. 

"The  company,  seated  in  a  semicircle,  quietly  waited  for  the  "man- 
ifestations" for  more  than  half  an  hour,  but  the  "  spirits,"  generally  so 
noisy,  wer*  now  dumb.     The  position  of  the  younger  sister  was  then 


DETECTION    OF   THE   FOX    GIRLS.  171 

changed  to  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  lower  limbs  extended  on  the 
sofa ;  the  elder  sister  sitting,  in  the  customary  way,  at  the  other  ex- 
tremity of  the  sofa.  The  "  spirits"  did  not  choose  to  signify  their  pres- 
ence under  these  circumstances,  although  repeatedly  requested  so  to 
do.  The  latter  experiment  went  to  confirm  the  belief  that  the  younger 
sister  alone  produces  the  rapping s.  These  experiments  were  continued 
until  the  females  themselves  admitted  that  it  was  useless  to  continue 
them  longer  at  that  time,  with  any  expectation  of  manifestations  being 
made. 

"In  resuming  the  usual  position  on  the  sofa,  the  feet  resting  on  the 
floor,  knockings  very  soon  began  to  be  heard.  It  was  then  suggested 
that  some  other  experiment  be  made.  This  was  assented  to,  notwith- 
standing the  first  was,  in  our  minds,  amply  conclusive.  The  experi- 
ment selected  was,  that  the  knees  of  the  two  females  should  be  firmly 
grasped,  with  the  hands  so  applied  that  any  lateral  movement  of  the 
bones  would  be  perceptible  to  the  touch.  The  pressure  was  made 
through  the  dress.  It  was  not  expected  to  prevent  the  sounds,  but  to 
ascertain  if  they  proceeded  from  the  knee-joint.  It  is  obvious  that  this  ex- 
periment was  necessarily  far  less  demonstrative,  to  an  observer,  than  the 
first,because  if  the  bones  were  distinctly  felt  to  move,  the  only  evidence  of 
this  fact  would  be  the  testimony  of  those  whose  hands  were  in  contact 
with  them.  The  hands  we^re  kept  in  apposition  for  several  minutes  at 
a  time,  and  the  experiment  repeated  frequently,  for  the  course  of  an 
hour  or  more,  with  negative  results:  that  is  to  say,  there  were  plenty 
of  raps  when  the  knees  were  not  held,  and  none  when  the  hands  were 
applied  save  once,  as  the  pressure  was  intentionally  somewhat  relaxed 
(Dr.  Lee  being  the  holder),  two  or  three  faint,  single  raps  were  heard, 
and  Dr.  Lee  immediately  averred  that  the  motion  of  the  bone  was 
plainly  perceptible  to  him.  The  experiment  of  seizing  the  knees  as 
quickly  as  possible,  when  the  knockings  first  commenced,  was  tried  sev- 
eral times,  but  always  with  the  effect  of  putting  an  immediate  quietus 
upon  the  manifestations.  *  *  -  *  The  conclusion  seemed  clear 
that  the  Rochester  knockings  emanate  from  the  knee-joint. 

"  Since  the  exposition  was  published,  we  have  heard  of  several  cases 
in  which  movements  of  the  bones,  entering  into  other  articulations,  are 
produced  by  muscular  effort,  giving  rise  to  sounds.  We  have  heard  of 
a  person  who  can  develop  knockings  from  the  ankle,  of  several  who 
can  produce  noises  vvii.th  the  joints  of  the  toes  and  fingers,  of  one  who 
can  render  loudly  audible  the  shoulder,  and  another  the  hip-joint.  We 
have  also  heard  of  two  additional  cases  in  which  sounds  are  produced 
by  the  knee-joint." 

This  was,  no  doubt,  the  manner  in  which  the  sounds  were 
first  produced  by  the  "  Fox  Girls."     Whether  they  "  rap"  in 


172  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

the  same  way  now  or  not,  is  known  only  to  themselves,  and 
those  interested  in  the  speculation. 

The  phenomena  of  raps  appearing  to  come  from  different 
parts  of  the  room,  are  produced  by  the  rappers  precisely  as 
similar  phenomena  are  produced  by  the  ventriloquist,  viz.,  by 
first  directing  attention  to  the  place,  and  then  adapting  the 
sounds  to  the  place,  distance,  &c. 

RAPPINGS     WITH     THE     FEET. 

At  the  trial  of  Almira  Bezely,  of  Providence,  for  the  murder 
of  her  brother,  her  father  testified  as  follows : 

"  She  made  the  knocks  with  her  feet  [Mr.  Bezely  here  described  the 
mode  in  which  the  rappings  were  conducted].  I  saw  her  make  these 
rappings  with  her  foot  the  day  she  was  arrested.  She  came  into  the 
room  where  I  was  and  confessed  the  murder,  and  asked  me  to  forgive 
her ;  she  then  showed  me  how  she  made  the  rappings,  by  knocking 
with  her  foot ;  she  limped  a  little,  and  said  it  affected  her  foot." — Prov- 
idence Journal,  Oct.  23,  1851. 

Mr.  S.  B.  Holliday  testified  : 

"  I  asked  her  if  she  had  practiced  deception.  She  replied  that  the 
rappings  were  an  imposition,  and  that  so  far  as  she  had  any  thing  to  do, 
they  were  through  her  instrumentality,  and  told  me  several  ways  in 
which  she  produced  them.  She  stated  to  me  that  she  produced  the 
rappings  with  her  foot  and  thumbs." — Ibid. 

Mrs.  Remington  testified  :  "  While  the  rappings  were  going  on, 
I  saw  the  bodice  of  her  waist  shake  ;  I  asked  her  if  the  spirits 
convulsed  her;  she  said  '  yes.'  *  *  I  visited  her  in  prison  ; 
she  said  she  had  made  every  rap." — Ibid. 

Coelia  Bezely  testified  :  "  After  her  arrest,  Almira  told  me 
she  made  the  rappings,  and  explained  how  they  were  produced 
by  her  feet."  * 

And  yet  this  young  girl,  not  fourteen  years  of  ag  ,    u  .'.eeded 


*  Speaking  of  this  case,  an  intelligent  physician  of  Providence,  to 
whom  I  wrote  for  information,  says,  "  I  have  known  of  several  cases  of 
the  same  kind  in  this  State,  that  I  have  detected ;  and  those,  too,  the 
best  '  mediums'  that  could  be  found." 


KAPPING-   BY    MACHINERY.  173 

in  deceiving  hundreds,  and  those,  too,  who  thought  they  were 
above  deception.  Her  father  says,  "there  were  many  who 
c£me  to  see  the  rappings  ;"  another  witness  says,  "  there  was 
great  excitement  upon  the  subject." 

WISEACRES     DECEIVED. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  prove  that  the  rappings  were  not 
caused  by  Miss  Bezely  (as  she  solemnly  affirmed),  but  by  some 
foreign  agency.  It  was  too  much  for  the  rappers  to  be  shown 
up  as  so  very  green.  But  the  testimony  upon  that  point  only 
shows  how  easy  it  is  for  some  persons,  who  think  they  are  very 
shrewd,  to  be  deceived. 

Silas  Moore  testified  that,  "  Correct  answers  were  given  to 
questions  which  alluded  to  facts  not  within  Almira's  knowl- 
edge." John  Allen  stated  several  circumstances,  from  which 
he  concluded,  "  that  the  rappings  were  not  produced  by  Al- 
mira." He  said,  "  I  am  a  believer  in  the  rappings.  *  *  Do 
not  consider  them  a  deception."  Stephen  Weeks  had  "  wit- 
nessed manifestations  which  could  not  have  been  produced  by 
Almira's  agency."  Edward  R.  Mitchel  "  was  present  at  the 
rappings.  *  *  Thinks  they  were  not  a  deception."  Har- 
riet Allen  had  "  witnessed  manifestations  which  could  not  be 
produced  by  Almira.  Mr.  Bezely  told  me  he  had  seen  a  spirit, 
and  it  was  like  a  mouse,  and  run  across  his  table  when  Almira 
was  not  present."  Lucy  Monroe  "  attended  the  rappings,  and 
one  evening  watched  Almira  closely,  and  did  not  detect  her  in 
any  deception." 

Now  if  this  girl  could  rap  thus  long  with  her  feet  without 
detection,  and  deceive  so  many  persons,  why  may  not  other 
and  more  experienced  mediums  do  the  same  thing  ? 

MEDIUM  TABLES RAPPING  BY  MACHINERY. 

In  other  instances,  the  mysterious  sounds  are  produced  by 
delicate  machinery  concealed  in  the  table,  around  which  the 
mediums  sit.     Some  time  since,  I  was  told  by  a  friend  that  J//v 
Hiram  Pack,  a  respectable  manufacturer  of  cabinet  furniture, 


174:  SPIRIT-RAPPING    UNVEILED. 

No.  488  Pearl-street,  New  York,  had  made  two  or  three  of 
these  tables.  When  in  Hartford,  Ct.,  a  few  weeks  afterward, 
a  gentleman  called  me  aside  after  one  of  my  lectures,  and  in- 
formed me  that  application  had  been  made  to  a  friend  of  his,  a 
cabinet-maker  of  that  city,  to  make  such  a  table,  on  condition 
that  he  would  take  a  solemn  oath  never  to  divulge  the  secret ; 
this  his  friend  refused  to  do,  and  consequently  did  not  get  the 
order. 

From  these  circumstances,  I  was  led  to  believe  that  one 
method  of  making  the  "  raps' '  was  by  machinery  concealed  in 
the  table.  To  ascertain  the  facts  in  the  case,  I  called  upon 
Mr.  Pack,  in  Pearl-street,  to  know  if  he  had  ever  made  any 
such  tables.  With  a  frankness  that  is  much  to  his  credit,  and 
which  proves  him  to  have  been  no  accomplice  in  the  deception, 
Mr.  Pack  gave  me  the  following  facts,  which  are  published  by 
his  consent  and  approbation  : 

STATEMENT      OF      MR.      PACK. 

"  Having  been  called  upon  by  Professor  Mattison,  in  relation 
to  certain  tables  made  by  me  for  parties  in  this  city,  I  am  free 
to  state  that  I  have  made  two  '  medium  tables'  during  the 
last  year  ;  both  of  which  had  machinery  concealed  in  them  for 
producing  '  raps'  at  the  will  of  the  operator.  The  beds,  l£  inch 
thick,  were  cut  out  in  the  centre,  so  as  to  admit  the  machinery, 
and  then  carefully  covered,  so  as  to  leave  a  hollow,  and  make 
the  sounds  louder.  Wires  were  carried  out  to  the  legs  of  the 
table,  inside  the  cover  and  the  legs,  by  which  the  machinery 
was  worked.  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  machine 
and  the  manner  of  working  it,  to  describe  them  in  detail ;  my 
business  was  simply  to  make  the  tables  for  the  reception  of  the 
'  spirits  ;'  and  that  I  have  done  this  in  two  instances,  and  am 
ready  to  do  it  in  two  or  twenty  more  if  I  can  be  paid  for  it,  I 
am  willing  to  assert.  And  if  people  will  give  a  dollar  a-  piece 
to  hear  a  little  hammer  strike  inside  a  table  bed,  and  run  crazy 
about  it,  it  is  not  my  fault. 

"  Hiram  Pack,  488  Pearl-street. 

"New  York,  Mar.  25,  1853." 


CONFESSION    OF   ANOTHER   MEDIUM.  175 

Mr.  Pack  gave  us  the  names  of  the  persons  for  whom  these 
tables  were  made,  and  of  the  person  who  put  in  and  arranged 
the  machinery  ;  and  the  time  may  come  when  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  give  these  names  to  the  public.  For  the  present,  how- 
ever, we  forbear  to  expose  them. 

The  above  method  of  producing  the  rappings  is  probably  the 
one  employed  by  Heller,  when  he  causes  the  raps  to  be  heard 
upon  a  board  hung  up  by  two  cords  in  the  middle  of  the  room. 
The  machinery  is  concealed  in  the  board,  and  is  worked  by  a 
galvanic  battery  in  another  room,  through  wires  that  are  twisted 
into  the  cords  by  which  the  board  is  suspended.  A  circuit  is 
thus  formed,  and  the  machinery  worked  at  pleasure  by  a  per- 
son who  can  hear  the  "  medium,"  and  operate  accordingly. 

CONFESSION     OF     ANOTHER     MEDIUM. 

The  following  affidavit  is  from  Mr.  Burr's  pamphlet : 

"Bridgeport,  Feb.  4,  1851. 

"  I  hereby  certify  that  for  the  space  of  about  three  months,  I  was 
what  is  called  a  medium  in  the  phenomena  of  spiritual  rappings,  and  I 
believe  that  I  was  considered  as  good  as  any  of  the  "  mediums"  in 
Bridgeport  at  the  time.  And  I  further  declare  that  all  the  time  I  pro- 
duced the  sounds  voluntarily  with  my  toes  and  shoes,  and  other  tricks 
of  art ;  and  the  answers  which  I  made  to  mental  questions — in  which  de- 
partment I  was  considered  most  successful — were  the  result  of  close 
watching  of  the  person's  countenance,  guessing,  and  a  careful  noting  of 
hints  inadvertently  given. 

"  I  furthermore  declare  that  I  have  seen  Mrs.  Porter  produce  the 
sounds  with  her  feet.  I  also  declare  that  while  Mrs.  Porter's  foot  was 
braced  against  one  side  of  the  table,  I  was  able  the  better  to  lift  it  by 
acting  upon  the  other  side ;  and  I  do  solemnly  declare  that  several 
times,  both  in  the  light  and  in  the  dark  circles,  I  lifted  and  otherwise 
moved  the  table  in  this  manner. 

"I  also  affirm  that  I  went  into  this  business,  in  the  first  place,  to  see 
if  I  could  not  myself  do  all  that  was  claimed  for  the  spirits;  and  after 
I  had  produced  all  the  phenomena,  I  gave  it  up,  and  exposed  it. 

"  I  furthermore  state  that  while  Mrs.  Porter  was  in  a  pretended  clair- 
voyant state,  I  rapped  for  medical  prescriptions,  she  naming  the  list  of 
remedies,  I  rapping  to  certain  medicines  which  were  given,  as  I  am 
informed,  with  success.  LEMUEL  J.  BEARDSLEE." 


176  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

"Fairfield  County,  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Feb.  4,  1851. 
"  There  personally  appeared  before  me,  Lemuel  J.  Beardslee,  and 
made  solemn  oath  to  the  truth  of  the  foregoing  statement  and  affi- 
davit.    Attest,  WM.  H.  NOBLE,  Justice  of  Peace." 

OBSERVATIONS      OF     REV.     MR.     NOYES. 

Rev.  Eli  Noyes,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  C.  C.  Burr,  says  : 

"I  have  examined  sixteen  cases  of  the  rappings,  all  of  which  proved 
perfect  failures.  I  have  never  heard  sounds,  nor  seen  tables  move, 
which  might  not  have  been  accomplished  by  persons  in  the  room ;  and 
whenever  I  have  heard  noises,  I  have  detected  the  motions  which  pro- 
duced them." 

In  another  letter,  published  in  the  Morning  Star,  the  same 
gentleman  remarks : 

"  I  have  heard  no  noises  which  I  could  not  produce  myself,  and  I 
did  produce  such  in  four  different  ways,  so  as  to  effectually  deceive  the 
whole  company." 

EXPERIENCE     OF     THE     MESSRS.     BURRS. 

Mr.  C.  Chauncey  Burr,  and  his  brother,  Heman  Burr, 
Esq.,  have  given  considerable  attention  to  the  detection  and 
exposure  of  mediums.  In  their  expose,  entitled,  "  Knocks  for 
the  Knocking  s"  they  say  : 

"In  this  little  book  will  be  found  the  history  of  the  unmistakable 
detection  and  exposure  of  more  than  fifty  of  the  pretended  spiritual 
mediums.  In  every  instance  where  close  examinations  have  been  al- 
lowed, fraud  has  been  detected  in  producing  the  noises  and  moving 
the  tables.  The  mediums  whom  I  have  detected  were  those  to  whom 
the  rappers  took  me,  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  me  of  the  truth  of 
rapism,  and  were  what  they  regarded  the  'best*  and  *  strongest.' 
The  detections  were  made  almost  invariably  in  the  presence  of  some  of 
the  more  intelligent  and  candid  believers,  who  are  referred  to  as  wit- 
nesses of  the  justice  of  my  reports.  For  more  than  two  months  I  have 
spent  all  my  time  examining  the  'best  mediums'  which  are  to  be  found 
in  five  of  the  States  where  rapism  prevails  most,  and  in  no  single  in- 
stance has  any  cause  but  fraud  and  delusion  appeared  behind  these 
effects.  *  *  *  I  can  now  produce  '  mysterious  rapping'  seventeen 
different  ways,  which  tricks  I  have  learned  by  the  detection  of  so  many 
mediums."  \ 


PHYSICAL   DEMONSTRATIONS.  177 

The  experience  of  Mr.  C.  C.  Burr  with  the  rappers  has 
probably  been  more  extended  than  that  of  any  other  man  in 
America,  and  yet  such  is  his  testimony  in  regard  to  their  un- 
mitigated deceptions. 

Mr.  Burr  is  editor  of  a  daily  paper  in  this  city.  He  is  un- 
impeached  and  unimpeachable,  and  is  willing,  at  any  time,  to 
testify  that  in  all  cases  where  mediums  ventured  to  practice  in 
his  presence  (and  they  were  many),  he  detected  them  in  decep- 
tion. And  if  certain  visionary  people  are  resolved,  after  a 
thousand  mediums  have  been  detected  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, to  shut  their  eyes  to  the  light,  stultify  their  common  sense, 
and  spend  their  time  running  after  "  mediums,"  and  talking 
about  their  wonderful  doings,  it  is  useless  to  try  to  convince 
them  of  their  folly.  They  are  monomaniacs  already ;  and  a 
few  months  will  land  many  of  them  in  the  Lunatic  Asylum. 

PHYSICAL     DEMONSTRATIONS. 

It  was  shown  on  page  thirteen  and  elsewhere,  that  certain 
remarkable  movements  of  ponderable  bodies  have  occurred, 
such  as  the  movement  of  tables  without  hands,  the  flight  of 
persons  through  the  air,  <fec.  In  one  instance  a  spirit  was  seen 
flying  over  the  Washington  Parade  Ground  in  this  city,  with  a 
child  in  his  arms.  Mr.  Charles  Partridge,  joint-editor  of  the 
Telegraph,  stated  before  a  large  audience  in  Williamsburg,  at 
the  close  of  one  of  my  lectures,  that  he  carried  a  full-grown 
man  across  a  room  seventy  feet  long,  and  back  again,  upon  the 
tips  of  his  fingers — Mr.  P.  walking  on  tiptoe,  and  the  man  over 
his  head  on  his  fingers'  ends.  In  another  case  it  is  asserted 
that  a  large  tumor  was  removed  from  the  person  of  a  lady  by 
a  spirit-surgeon,  &c.  . 

Now,  if  we  are  disposed  to  admit  that  the  alleged  spiritual 
phenomena  have  occurred,  and  then  attempt  to  account  for 
them  on  philosophical  principles,  we  must  not  select  the  move- 
ment of  tables  merely,  but  take  all  the  phenomena.  One  part 
is  just  as  well  authenticated  as  the  other.  It  is  somewhat  re- 
markable, however,  that  writers  who  have  attempted  to  give  us 

8* 


178  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

the  philosophy  of  these  miracles,  have  confined  themselves  al- 
most exclusively  to  the  movement  of  tables.  But  why  not  ex- 
plain all  the  phenomena  if  any  ?  Is  there  a  doubt  as  to  the 
truth  of  some  of  the  statements  ?  Do  the  spiritists  fabricate 
part  of  the  phenomena  ?  What  confidence,  then,  can  be  placed 
in  them  as  to  any  of  their  feats  ? 

HAVE  THE  PHENOMENA  OCCURRED? 

For  my  own  part  I  must,  for  the  present,  occupy  very  dif- 
ferent ground  from  that  taken  by  several  writers,  whose  works 
have  just  been  published.  If  I  understand  them,  they  admit 
the  alleged  phenomena  of  spiritism,  and  yet  they  do  not  attempt 
to  explain  the  more  astonishing  feats  of  the  "  spirits  ;"  from 
which  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  meant  to  admit  only  part 
of  the  phenomena.  But  with  all  the  light  I  have  been  able  to 
gather  from  books,  mediums,  periodicals,  and  eye-witnesses,  I 
can  admit  no  superhuman  or  extraordinary  manifestations. 
That  tables  have  been  moved  in  a  mysterious  manner,  I  have 
no  doubt ;  and  that  in  all  such  cases  they  have  been  moved  by 
human  hands  or  feet  I  as  firmly  believe. 

When  I  first  entered  upon  this  investigation,  I  thought  there 
might  be  some  new  principle  in  philosophy — some  undeveloped 
law  of  nature  by  which  a  table  might  be  magnetized,  and  made 
to  move  without  muscular  force ;  but  as  I  have  gone  on  in  my 
inquiries,  my  faith  has  grown  less  and  less,  till  it  is  all  gone,  if 
I  ever  had  any.  It  is  no  difficult  thing  to  move  tables,  and 
perform  other  feats,  in  a  way  to  deceive  the  most  cautious  ob- 
server, especially  if  a  little  excited.  In  the  case  of  Almira 
Bezely  there  were  plenty  of  physical  demonstrations,  which  were 
regarded  as  altogether  beyond  her  ability  to  produce ;  and  yet 
she  confessed  that  she  was  the  only  a  spirit"  concerned  in  their 
production.     On  her  trial,  Coelia  Bezely  testified  : 

"  A  snuff-box  was  mysteriously  removed  at  one  time,  and  professedly 
by  spirits.  No  one  understood  how  it  was  done.  Almira  has  since 
confessed  how  it  was  done.  *  *  *  The  rappings  said  the  *  spirits' 
carried  it  off." 


SPIRITS   AT    WEST    WLNSTEAD.  179 

Silas  Moore  testified  :  "  I  went  to  Mr.  Bezely's  during  the  rappings ; 
saw  things  which  could  not  have  been  caused  by  Almira.  Among 
other  things,  Almira  said  to  the  spirits,  'Won't  you  hold  the  table 
down?'  Turner  took  hold  of  the  table,  and  said  it  was  very  heavy.  I 
took  hold  of  it  and  found  it  four  times  as  heavy  as  I  expected."  And 
yet,  on  his  cross-examination,  Mr.  Moore  says,  "  I  had  not  tried  to  lift 
the  table  before;  I  won't  say  positively  that  she  did  not  touch  the 
table  with  her  feet."— Prov.  Jour.,  Oct.  23,  1851. 

Here  it  is  seen  that  Miss  B.  could  deceive  her  customers  just 
as  well  as  to  the  "physical  demonstrations"  as  in  reference  to  frie 
"  raps"  And  if  she  could  thus  easily  deceive  her  patrons, 
why  may  not  other  and  older  mediums  deceive  theirs  ? 

Whatever  candid  and  reliable  persons  may  have  seen,  or 
think  they  have  seen,  I  can  find  no  sufficient  evidence  that  any 
new  force  whatever  has,  in  any  case,  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  tables,  or  any  other  furniture.  Their  motions  are  always 
the  work  of  the  mediums,  whether  we  catch  them  at  it  or  not. 
But  if  others  see  fit  to  admit  the  existence  of  a  new  principle 
in  philosophy,  which  they  can  not  find  out,  I  shall  not  quarrel 
with  them,  but  shall  leave  them  to  discover  the  new  motor  at 
their  leisure.  For  myself,  I  never  look  for  causes,  in  such 
cases,  till  I  have  good  evidence  that  the  effects  have  been  pro- 
duced. When  those  philosophers  and  others,  who  differ  from 
me,  get  at  the  new  motor,  and  get  the  laws  governing  it  well 
defined,  they  will  please  inform  me,  and  I  will  most  cheerfully 
acknowledge  that  I  have  been  "  slow  of  heart  to  believe." 

MOVEMENT     OF     TABLES WEST     WINSTEAD. 

While  at  West  Winstead,  Conn.,  in  January,  1853,  Rev. 
Mr.  Woodruff  and  myself  were  informed  by  a  gentleman,  that 
tables  had  several  times  been  magnetized  in  a  room  over  his 
store,  and  that  if  we  would  call  at  three  o'clock,  p.  m.,  that  day, 
he  would  show  us  the  phenomenon.  Accordingly  we  called. 
There  were  a  number  of  rappers  present,  among  the  rest,  Mr. 
Brittan's  friend,  Mr.  Turner.  We  first  sat  down  around  the 
table  all  together,  the  Rev.  Mr.  W.,  the  rappers,  and  myself. 
After  waiting  some  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes  without  any  re- 


180  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

suit,  I  proposed  that  we  "  skeptics"  would  retire  and  give  up 
the  table  to  the  "  believers. "  We  did  so.  I  took  my  position 
where  I  could  watch  every  movement.  Pretty  soon,  the  table 
began  to  tip  ;  but  I  saw  how  the  requisite  force  was  applied, 
and  accused  the  parties  on  the  spot  of  moving  the  table  by 
physical  force.  This  they  did  not  deny.  "  That,  I  suppose, 
is  the  way  it  is,"  said  one  of  the  believers,  "  when  we  all  will 
for  the  table  to  move,  we  involuntarily  [?]  apply  a  little  mus- 
cular force."  Rev.  Mr.  Woodruff  will  confirm  this  statement; 
and  also  that  I  made  the  same  statement  in  public  that  even- 
ing, and  called  upon  the  spiritists  who  were  present  at  the 
"circle"  and  also  at  the  lecture,  to  correct  me  if  I  had  misstated 
the  facts.  But,  anxious  as  Mr.  Turner  was  to  contradict  me 
on  other  points,  neither  he  nor  any  other  man  opened  his 
mouth. 

DETECTION     IN     HARTFORD. 

A  scientific  gentleman  at  Hartford  informed  me,  while  there, 
that  he  had  detected  a  circle  in  that  city  moving  a  table  or 
stand  by  physical  force,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  appear 
very  mysterious.  He  not  only  detected  the  cheat,  but  pro- 
duced the  same  phenomena  in  their  presence  himself ;  and  I 
saw  him  make  a  light  stand  tip  and  whirl  about  most  beauti- 
fully, with  only  the  ends  of  his  fingers  upon  it. 

EXPOSURE     AT     BURLINGTON. 

At  Burlington,  Vt.,  every  effort  was  made  to  induce  the 
"  mediums"  to  appear  in  public,  either  for  rappings  or  "  physi- 
cal demonstrations,"  but  all  to  no  purpose.  At  the  close  of 
the  second  lecture,  however,  I  was  told  that  if  I  would  go  to 
a  certain  cabinet- shop  in  the  vicinity,  I  should  see  a  table 
moved  by  the  "  spirits."  Accordingly  some  half  a  dozen  min- 
isters and  myself  accompanied  the  man  who  invited  us.  There 
were  also  present  perhaps  twenty  others,  many  of  whom  were 
believers. 

On  arriving  at  the  shop,  we  found  a  very  light  table  lid, 
with  a  single  support  in  the  center,  and  with  castors  at  the 


EXPOSURE  AT  BURLINGTON.  181 

bottom,  perhaps  five  inches  from  the  center,  so  that  the  slight- 
est force  would  tip  the  table  over,  or  make  it  revolve  on  the 
castors. 

We  placed  ourselves  about  the  table  as  directed.  The  first 
thing  I  wished  to  settle  was,  whether  I  could  move  the  table 
while  some  sixteen  hands  were  upon  it,  and  no  one  see  that  I 
moved  it.  Very  soon  the  table  began  to  revolve.  I  yielded 
with  others  at  first;  but  soon  began  to  resist  the  supposed 
"  spirit."  Feeling  the  resistance,  he  at  once  changed  the  direc- 
tion of  the  table,  and  it  began  to  move  the  other  way.  I  then 
took  it  into  my  own  hands  altogether,  willing  it  to  go  this  way 
and  that ;  and  asking  others  to  will  it  in  the  same  way ;  and  it 
always  obeyed  our  wills,  because  I  always  moved  it  as  I  willed 
it  to  go ;  and  no  one  could  detect  me.  I  then  informed  the 
"  circle"  that  thus  far  I  had  been  the  chief  moving  "spirit," 
and  that  I  had  now  shown  that  if  there  was  one  deceiver  in  a 
circle,  he  could  hoax  all  the  rest,  and  they  not  detect  him. 

I  then  asked  one  after  another  to  leave  the  table,  and  kept 
perfectly  "passive"  myself,  till  I  detected  the  very  man  who 
made  the  table,  and  invited  me  to  see  it  "  revolve,"  moving  it 
with  his  own  strength,  by  his  hands  laid  on  the  top  of  my  own. 
I  told  him  and  the  spectators  at  once  that  I  had  discovered 
the  "  spirit,"  and  was  ready  to  make  oath  to  the  fact ;  where- 
upon, Mr. simply  replied,  that  if  it  was  so,  he  was  not 

conscious  of  it :  and  so  the  matter  was  left  for  that  night. 

The  next  morning  I  called  again,  and  found  the  believers 
assembled  as  the  evening  before  ;  but  after  having  waited  about 
an  hour,  with  no  new  results  (except  that  several  who  had  been 
duped  seemed  to  concede  the  point,  and  were  much  more  soft 
and  pleasant  than  they  were  the  night  before,  while  I  was 
publicly  exposing  the  deception),  I  left.  The  humbug  was 
fairly  unveiled,  and  I  think  must  have  died  in  Burlington  from 
that  hour. 

For  the  truth  of  the  above  statements  I  refer  to  Revs. 
Dodgson  and  Witherspoon  of  Burlington  ;  Rev.  Mr.  Stillman,  of 
Shelburne;  and  other  Methodist  ministers  of  the  Burlington 
district,  who  were  present. 


182  SPIRIT-KAPPING    UNVEILED. 


A     CHALLENGE     TO     THE      "SPIRITS." 

While  Mr.  Burr  was  in  Providence  exposing  the  rappers,  he 
published  the  following  in  the  Daily  Post  of  that  city : 

"Will  the  Spirits  move  the  Table? — Having  in  every  instance  de- 
tected the  physical  cause  of  the  various  manifestations  called  spiritual 
rappings,  whenever  I  have  been  allowed  the  privilege  of  making  a 
thorough  examination,  and  still  hearing  of  most  marvelous  accounts  of 
various  articles  of  furniture  being  moved  without  any  possible  known 
physical  cause,  I  have  deposited  fifty  dollars  in  the  hands  of  Clement 
Webster,  Esq.,  which  shall  be  given  to  any  medium  who  will  produce 
in  my  presence  any  form  of  such  manifestations,  for  which  I  cannot  de- 
tect a  known  physical  cause.  The  examination  shall  take  place  in  some 
parlor  in  which  the  medium  is  a  stranger,  and  a  committee  of  gentle- 
men of  candor,  known  to  the  whole  community,  shall  be  selected  fro*2 
the  learned  professions  of  this  city,  to  decide  upon  the  results  of  ths 
investigation.  Heman  Burr." 

"  Monday,  March  3d." 

"  And  although,"  says  Mr.  Burr,  "  nearly  every  medium  in  the  cit} 
was  rapping  for  money,  at  the  charge  of  fifty  cents  a  head,  not  one  dart 
accept  the  challenge." 

What  better  proof  do  we  want  that  they  were  a  set  of  deceiv- 
ers, like  all  the  rest  of  the  "  mediums,"  and  dared  not  submit  to 
any  such  test,  from  a  consciousness  of  their  guilt. 

REPORT     OF     A     COMMITTEE. 

The  following  Report  of  a  Committee  appointed  to  investigate 
the  causes  of  the  so-called  spiritual  phenomena,  was  published 
in  the  Brooklyn  Daily  Advertiser,  of  March  10,  1853  : 

"  Spiritual  Manifestations — To  the  Public. — We,  the  undersigned, 
appointed  by  the  audience  at  Stuyvesant  Institute,  on  Tuesday  evening, 
at  Professors  Barnes  and  Owens'  lectures,  to  examine  the  Spiritual 
Manifestations  privately,  which  they  were  exhibiting  publicly,  did,  on 
this  day  at  3  o'clock,  p.  m.,  proceed  to  the  private  rooms  of  Professor 
Barnes,  at  Hungerford's  Hotel,  and  there  tested  the  truthfulness  of 
sundry  experiments  represented  to  be  by  the  agency  of  spirits,  and  after 
mature  deliberation,  make  the  following  report : 

"  First.  That  the  physical  force  in  moving,  sliding,  and  tipping  tables 
was  nothing  more  than  mechanical. 


ANOTHER   CHALLENGE.  183 

"  Second.  That  the  testing  experiment  promised  in  relation  to  spirit- 
ual force,  physically,  was  refused. 

"  Third.  That  the  mental  responses  were  in  no  instance  correct. 

"Fourth.  That  from  the  undue  degree  of  mental  excitement  on  the 
part  of  the  mediums,  in  the  exhibition  of  what  is  purported  to  be 
Spiritual  Manifestations,  conditions  of  the  nervous  system  abnormally 
occurred,  which  must  in  the  nature  of  things,  if  persisted  in,  produce  a 
lamentable  relation  between  their  minds  and  bodies ;  and  that  nothing 
whatever  was  done  but  what  we,  who  are  not  mediums,  can  and  did 
perform  by  voluntary  force. 

"  That  we  look  upon  these  Spiritual  Manifestations  as  being  fraught 
with  mental  and  physical  influences  which  cannot  be  attended  with 
the  least  good  to  the  human  race,  but  on  the  contrary,  must  cause  the 
most  direful  results  upon  many  of  those  who  may  follow  this  delusion, 
and  give  themselves  up  as  agents  for  its  promulgation. 

"  B.  Brown  Williams,  No.  506  Broadway, 
Jas.  K.  Magie,  149  Carll-st.,  Brooklyn, 
Samuel  M.  Wood,  252  Broadway, 
John  B.  Brown,  277  Fulton-st.,  Brooklyn, 

"  Committee." 

DR.  REESE ANOTHER  CHALLENGE. 

In  the  February  number  of  Dr.  Reese's  Medical  Gazette,  he 
thus  speaks  of  the  rappers  : 

"They  have  gone  on  from  one  imposture  to  another,  from  rapping 
and  alphabets  when  these  become  stale,  to  bell-ringing,  table-moving, 
singing,  dancing,  writing,  discerning  spirits,  healing  diseases,  revealing 
truths  and  denouncing  errors  in  religion,  morals,  science,  and  philosophy, 
and  all  professedly  from  the  ghosts  of  the  departed.  And  the  public 
press  has  done,  and  is  still  doing  much  to  perpetuate  the  iniquity,  by 
recording  as  facts  the  most  absurd  of  these  stories." 

After  alleging  that  in  all  cases  where  tables  are  moved,  they 
are  moved  by  the  mediums  themselves,  the  doctor  adds : 

"If  anybody  alleges  the  contrary,  we  have  a  small  table  in  our  office 
on  which  we  write,  and  we  offer  one  hundred  dollars  to  any  ghost  or 
medium,  from  this  world  or  the  other,  who  will  move  it  an  inch  in 
daylight  by  any  supernatural,  spiritual,  magnetic,  or  electrical  influence, 
which  shall  be  invisible  and  intangible  to  our  own  optics ;  and  they 
may  sit  around  it  for  a  month."     *     * 

But  do  the  spirits  attempt  to  move  the  doctor's  table  ?     No, 


IS!  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

indeed  !  And  why  not  ?  Simply  because  Dr.  Reese's  office 
is  a  bad  place  to  carry  on  the  fraud,  and  Dr.  Reese  is  the 
wrong  man  to  be  gulled  by  their  impositions. 

CHALLENGE     TO     MR.     PARTRIDGE. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1851,  Mr.  Heman  Burr  sent  the 
following  note  to  Mr.  Partridge,  then  secretary  of  a  circle  in 
this  city  : 

"Mr.  Charles  Partridge: 

"In  order  to  have  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  medium  con- 
cerning whom  you  write  such  miraculous  things,  I  will  deposit  in  the 
hands  of  an  impartial  committee  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  which  shall 
be  paid  over  to  you  whenever  the  medium  will  produce,  in  my  pres 
ence,  any  manifestation  for  which  I  can  not  detect  a  physical  cause 
and  trick.  Or,  I  will  write  and  seal  up  a  series  of  questions,  and  if 
the  medium,  or  the  spirits,  will  answer  one  of  them  correctly,  I  will 
pay  the  same  amount,  which  shall  be  disposed  of  by  you,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  medium,  or  for  the  spread  of  Rapism,  or  for  any  object  of 
charity  which  you  may  please  to  name.  The  committee  shall  be  mu- 
tually agreed  upon ;  and  the  investigation  shall  take  place  in  some 
parlor  where  the  medium  is  a  stranger,  between  the  hours  of  ten  a.  m. 
and  three  p.  m.  You  will  perceive  that  I  do  not  offer  to  bet  this  amount, 
but  I  offer  it  as  a  free  donation  to  any  object  worthy  of  your  charity. 
If  the  medium  can  stand  the  tests  by  which  I  have  detected  nearly 
fifty  other  mediums,  she  will  vindicate  the  cause  of  Rapism,  convince 
many  people  who  now  honestly  believe  the  whole  pretense  is  an  im 
position,  and  contribute  something  to  some  worthy  cause  of  charity. 
If  she  is  detected  in  producing  the  manifestations  by  tricks  of  art, 
many  honest  people  may  have  their  eyes  opened  to  the  fact  that  they 
have  been  deceived  and  deluded.     Truth  and  justice  is  my  object. 

"  Heman  Burr. 
"New  York,  March  Uth,  1851." 

This  proposition  to  test  the  powers  of  Mr.  Partridge's  "  me- 
diums" was  never  answered,  only  as  the  Rappers  replied  orally 
here  and  there,  "  The  spirits  won't  be  challenged  ;"  "  the  spirits 
won't  allow  themselves  to  be  doubted  ;"  "  the  spirits  have  no 
anxiety  to  convince  skeptics,"  &c.  What  a  miserable  subterfuge 
for  any  sensible  man  to  hide  under !  Why  not  confess  the 
truth  as  it  really  is — "  My  '  mediums'  are  hoaxing  their  thou- 


SPIRITS    ADVERTISING.  185 

sands  at  a  a  dollar  a  head,  and  I  have  no  disposition  to  spoil  a 
profitable  business  ?" 

MONEY     ASPECTS     OF     SPIRITISM. 

The  two  great  motive  powers  of  the  spirit  humbug  are 
cupidity  and  infidelity.  The  latter  has  already  been  exhib- 
ited, and  the  former  stands  out  prominently  in  all  their  opera- 
tions. The  "  Fox  family"  (now  Mrs.  Brown  and  Margaretta 
Fox)  live  in  a  fine  house  in  Twenty-sixth-street  in  this  city,  and 
are  getting  rich  at  the  expense  of  their  deluded  visitors.  Par- 
tridge and  Brittan  seem  to  have  an  interest  in  the  concern,  and 
puff  it  lustily  in  the  "  Telegraph,' '  by  publishing  the  miracles 
that  occur  there.  So  flourishing  is  Mrs.  Brown's  business, 
that  a  writer  in  the  38th  number  of  the  "Telegraph"  says, 
"  It  is  impossible  for  her  to  give  that  attention  to  all  that  they 
and  the  subject  demand."  Further  on  the  same  writer  says, 
"  Some  of  the  best  mediums  have  been  actually  bought  up  and 
appropriated  to  private  use,  thus  burying  their  talent  in  the 
love  of  self,"  &c.  But  who  are  those  a  best  mediums"  that 
have  been  "  bought  up  ?"  Has  Mrs.  Brown  been  bought  up 
in  this  way  by  Partridge  and  Brittan?  From  the  interest 
manifested  in  her  establishment,  it  seems  most  probable  that 
they  are  part  owners  in  the  concern. 

SPIRITS     ADVERTISING. 

It  is  somewhat  amusing  to  see  how  adroitly  the  writing  me- 
diums manage  to  advertise  their  books  in  the  name  of  the 
"  spirits."  Mr.  Harshman's  spirits  are  careful  to  speak  of  his 
"future  work,"  p.  42  ;  the  "spirits"  in  Philadelphia  speak  of 
"  the  next  volume,  the  publication  of  which  is  had  in  anticipa- 
tion, which  is  designed  to  contain  a  higher  order  of  communica- 
tions," p.  95  ;  and  Mr.  Ambler's  spirits  say  that  "  from  time 
to  time  other  works  of  greater  value  and  importance  than  this 
will  be  written  with  his  hand  and  published  to  the  world," 
p.  16.  Mr.  Hammond  says,  p.  9,  "The  spirits  propose  to 
write  another  volume,  and  when  it  is  written,  it  will  be  pub- 
lished ;"  and  on  page  259,  the  "  spirits"  say,  "  when  this  me- 


186  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

dium  shall  wait  for  us,  &c,  I  will  write  another  book."  These 
extracts  show  that  the  "  spirits''  are  very  anxious  that  the 
dupes  of  the  imposition  shall  be  ready  for  the  new  ghost-books, 
as  soon  as  they  appear. 

"mediums    wanted." 

The  following  advertisement  recently  appeared  in  the  Tele- 
graph : 

"  Mediums  wanted  immediately. — One  good  medium  for  the  rappings, 
and  for  illustrations  of  spiritual  power,  as  seen  in  the  movement  of  pon- 
derable objects  and  other  physical  effects.  Also,  one  writing  medium, 
who  is  in  the  constant  habit  of  receiving  reliable  communications  ;  and 
one  spiritual  clairvoyant  or  seer,  who  can  diagnose  disease  correctly, 
and  prescribe  remedies  with  precision — are  wanted  in  this  city.  Each 
must  be  equal  to  the  best  of  his  or  her  class :  such  as  fall  short  of  the 
prescribed  standard  need  not  apply.  Any  who  may  answer  the^de- 
scription,  and  would  be  willing  to  remove  to  this  city,  may  advance  the 
cause  of  spiritualism  and  promote  their  interests,  by  making  immediate 
application.     Address  this  office." 

Take  also  the  following,  from  different  papers  in  this  city : 

"  Spiritual  Mission. — Three  mediums  on  a  spiritual  mission  to  this  city 
for  a  few  days,  now  stopping  at  Hungerford's  Hotel,  in  Duane-street, 
near  Hudson-street.  They  will  examine  diseases,  and  prescribe  for  the 
same.   Price  $2  ;  for  spiritual  investigations  $1." — Tribune,  Feb.  3,  1853. 

"  Spiritual  Notice. — I  feel  it  my  duty  as  a  medium  to  state  to  the 
public  that  I  have  investigated  the  spiritual  rappings,  and  do  say  that 
it  is  spirits,  and  can  prove  it  to  any  reasonable  mind,  at  No.  168  Duane- 
street." — Tribune.  "  H.  Burkhart." 

"  Spiritual  Rappings,  at  Stuy vesant  Institute,  from  half-past  two  to 
five  o'clock  every  afternoon  this  week,  as  there  will  be  a  circle  formed 
on  the  stage.  Admission  twenty-five  cents.  People  wishing  to  consult 
with  the  mediums  can  see  them  at  No.  168  Duane-street." — Tribune. 

"  Spiritual  Manifestations. — Mrs.  A.  L.  Coan,  declared  to  be  the  best 
medium,  for  rapping  and  writing  by  the  influence  of  departed  spirits, 
in  Boston,  will  receive  company  for  sittings  every  day  in  the  week, 
from  nine  o'clock  a.  m.  till  ten  p.  m.  Rooms  No.  8  Howard-street,  op- 
posite the  Athenaeum.  Sittings  fifty  cents  each.  Mrs.  Coan  will  give 
sittings  in  the  house  of  any  person  who  may  apply." — Boston  Herald^ 
Feb.  15. 


A   SPIRIT   MEDICINE.  187 

Speaking  of  a  convention  of  rappers,  held  in  Boston,  in  Dec, 
1852,  a  writer  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  who  was 
present,  says : 

"  These  folks  seem  to  want  money,  and  so  one  of  them  gets  up  in  the 
convention  and  says,  '  A  certain  book  is  for  sale*  at  such  a  place. 
Another  says,  '  Here  are  a  few  copies  of  the  New  Era  for  gratuitous  dis- 
tribution ;  I  should  be  glad  to  take  the  names  of  any  who  wish  to  sicb- 
scribe.'  Another  says,  '  A  meeting  of  the  spiritualists  will  be  held  at 
such  a  place,  where  they  sometimes  have  manifestations ;  admittance 
one  dollar.'  Another  tells  us  of  'a  lady  who,  if  any  one  will  write  a 
word,  seal  it,  and  send  it  to  her,  she  will  place  it  on  her  forehead,  and 
tell  the  character  of  the  person  who  wrote  the  word.'  She  charges  two 
dollars." 

This  last-named  lady  is  a  Mrs.  Metier,  of  Hartford,  whose 
advertisement  stands  out  so  prominently  in  all  the  spirit  papers. 
She  will  look  through  you,  discover  your  disease,  and  pre- 
scribe, for  $5  ;  or  for  $10,  if  you  are  absent  and  will  send  her  a 
lock  of  your  hair  and  the  money.  And  so  with  a  score  of  other 
"  clairvoyants.'' 

A     SPIRIT     MEDIQINE. 

A  certain  Dr.  Underhill,  of  Ohio,  communicates  to  the  Cleve- 
land Plaindealer,  a  "remarkable  discovery."  It  is  in  substance 
that  in  the  town  of  Pine  Grove,  Warren  county,  Pa.,  has  been 
discovered  a  new  "  fountain  of  health,"  called  Aqua  PetraVitw, 
or  the  "rock-water  of  life."  The  doctor  informs  his  readers 
that  it  was  discovered  "  by  direction  of  spirits,"  and  belongs  to 
John  Chase  and  Wm.  Brittingham.  He  gives  the  modus  ope- 
randi of  the  discovery — the  proprietors  boring  in  a  certain 
place  a  certain  number  of  feet,  &c. 

The  "  gist"  of  the  discovery  is  contained  in  the  following  par- 
agraph :  _^ 

"  This  remedy  will  be  found  only  in  the  hands  of  spiritualists,  to  be 
dealt  out  under  spirit  direction.  Having  made  arrangements  for  a 
constant  supply,  those  who  desire  health  without  the  effect  of  drugs, 
will  be  able  to  obtain  it  by  the  proper  use  of  these  preparations." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Messrs.  Partridge  and  Brittan  will 
order  a  supply  at  once,  to  be  prescribed  by  the  "  spiritualists' ' 


188  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

of  this  region.  How  very  kind  the  "spirits"  are  to  their 
mediums,  to  furnish  them  with  so  many  extraordinary  facilities 
for  making  money  ! 

We  have  now  before  us  a  full  view  of  the  whole  matter — its 
origin,  progress,  character,  and  terrible  effects.  And  such  a 
system  of  fraud  and  deception — such  a  deep-laid  plot  for  strik- 
ing a  heavy  blow  at  revealed  religion — such  a  blending  of  every 
species  and  shade  of  infidelity — such  unblushing  hypocrisy, 
falsehood,  and  detraction  as  are  resorted  to  to  keep  up  the  de- 
lusion, were,  perhaps,  never  before  witnessed.  Andit  is  evidently 
the  design  of  the  infidel  editors  and  book-makers,  and  the  money- 
making  mediums,  to  keep  agitating,  by  every  means  in  their 
power,  whatever  may  be  the  consequences.  It  is  a  question, 
therefore,  for  ever^  reader  to  decide  what  course  he  ought  to 
pursue  in  regard  to  this  terrible  scourge. 


CONCLUSION. 

That  the  reader  is  by  this  time  fully  satisfied  of  the  fraudu- 
lent and  infidel  character  of  the  spirit-rapping  movement,  I 
have  no  doubt.  And  you  may  be  not  only  willing  but  anxious 
to  do  all  in  your  power  to  stay  the  plague  ;  and  may  be  even 
now  asking  yourself,  "  what  shall  I  do  ?"  Allow  me,  then,  as 
one  who  has  seen  the  working  of  the  system,  and  knows  the 
persons  engaged  in  it,  and  the  means  by  which  they  live  and 
carry  forward  their  work  of  death,  to  offer  a  few  suggestions. 
And  first, 

KEEP     AWAY     FROM     THE     "MEDIUMS." 

Keep  away  from  all  their  circles  and  lectures.  By  going  to 
them  you  give  your  money  and  influence  to  sustain  a  sys- 
tematic onset  upon  the  Bible,  the  Christian  Religion,  the  Sab- 
bath, the  Christian  Ministry,  the  Government  of  your  Country, 
the  Marriage  Institution  ;  and  every  thing  else  that  the  wise 
and  good  of  all  ages  have  regarded  as  sacred.  "  Avoid  the  very 
appearance  of  evil."     "  Let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of." 


CONCLUSION.  189 

Keep  away,  and  keep  your  children  away.  One  of  their  chosen 
schemes  is  to  awaken  curiosity,  and  then  cry  "  investigate  ;"  and 
if  you  will  only  attend  their  circles  at  a  dollar  a  visit,  for  the 
purpose  of  "  investigating,"  their  end  is  accomplished.  They 
have  your  money,  and  your  example  to  induce  others  to  go  and 
pay  their  money. 

The  following:  excellent  remarks  are  from  the  Christian  In- 
telligencer  : 

"For  those  already  involved  in  it  we  fear  there  is  no  recovery.  Ex- 
perience teaches  that  usually  in  such  cases  there  is  no  change  save  from 
bad  to  worse.  The  mind  becomes  unsettled,  its  power  of  discrimination 
is  weakened  and  blunted,  and  it  loses  the  capacity  of  rendering  a  reason 
or  weighing  an  objection.  Sometimes  sovereign  grace  interposes  and 
snatches  the  victims  as  brands  from  the  burning,  but  for  the  most  part 
these  dupes  of  a  strong  delusion  become  more  and  more  deeply  involved 
in  error,  until  in  another  world  the  shades  of  eternal  night  settle  around 
them. 

"  But  while  little  or  nothing  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  cure,  much 
may  be  effected  in  the  way  of  prevention,  and  this  by  the  application 
of  one  simple  scriptural  rule.  We  have  it  in  the  words  of  Paul  (Ephes. 
v.  11),  "Have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but 
rather  reprove  them."  If  the  Christians  and  professed  believers  in  the 
Bible,  who  abound  in  this  land,  were  to  keep  steadily  aloof  from  all 
these  mystery-mongers,  and  to  refuse  to  seek  or  to  heed  any  spirit  but 
the  Spirit  of  God  authentically  revealed  and  confirmed,  the  number  of 
dupes  would  be  rapidly  diminished.  It  is  the  countenance  given  by  a 
few  persons  of  high  character  and  general  information  which  entice 
multitudes  of  lesser  note  into  the  vortex  of  error. 

"  It  is,  therefore,  the  imperative  duty  of  all,  and  especially  of  God's 
people,  to  frown  upon  these  proceedings,  to  refuse  to  attend,  under  any 
pretext,  on  a  '  medium'  or  a  *  circle,'  and  to  warn  others  against  such  a 
course,  as  not  only  foolish,  but  sinful  and  dangerous.  There  is  no  need 
of  arguing  the  question.  These  '  spiritual'  disclosures  are  inconsistent 
with  the  great  and  final  disclosures  contained  in  the  word  of  God,  and 
no  man  can  consistently  hold  both.  The  point,  therefore,  is  decided  in 
limine.  Nothing  can  be  gained  by  listening  to  these  people  'that  have 
a  familiar  spirit,'  but  much,  very  much  may  be  lost.  Even  a  mere 
curiosity  which  treads  on  hazardous  ground  and  sets  a  bad  example  to 
others,  is  not  innocent,  and  should  be  checked.  In  short,  there  is  but 
one  rule  for  these  and  all  other  errorists,  however  specious,  and  that  is 
the  emphatic  injunction  already  quoted  :  '  Have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them.'' " 


190  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

THE     G  H  0  S  T-B  OOKS     AND     PAPERS. 

Beware  of  their  books  and  papers.  Keep  them  from  your 
family — out  of  your  house.  "  The  poison  of  asps  is  under  their 
tongue."  A  single  paper  may  ruin  a  child  into  whose  hands 
it  might  fall.  You  may  have  ghost-books  offered  to  you,  and 
tracts  and  papers  sent  you  gratuitously  ;  but  beware  !  If  you 
are  solicited  to  take  a  paper,  look  closely  and  see  that  it  is  not 
one  of  the  rapper  papers.  If  you  must  read  one  or  the  other, 
you  had  better  read  Tom  Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason"  than  any 
spirit  paper  I  know  of.  It  is  less  insinuating  and  sophistical, 
and  would  be  less  likely  to  ruin  the  soul  forever. 

A     WORD     TO     MINISTERS. 

If  you  are  a  minister,  and  this  delusion  is  talked  of  among 
your  people,  or  in  the  community  where  you  labor,  warn  them 
of  the  sword  coming  !  Is  it  not  your  duty  to  do  it  ?  You 
may  think  it  too  low  for  your  notice  ;  but  is  any  sin,  any  decep- 
tion, or  phase  of  infidelity  too  low  to  be  exposed,  if  it  ruin  souls 
for  whom  Christ  died  ?  Here  is  an  open  war  upon  the  Bible 
and  the  Christian  religion,  and  shall  the  watchmen  on  the  walls 
of  Zion  remain  silent  and  unmoved  ? 

You  may  think  the  best  way  to  cure  error  is  to  let  it  alone 
This  was  not  the  method  of  the  prophets,  nor  of  Christ  or  his 
apostles.  Neither  has  it  been  the  method  pursued  by  those  who 
have  done  most  for  the  cause  of  God  in  past  ages.  And  be- 
sides, many  of  us  were  asked  at  our  ordination,  "  Will  you  be 
ready,  with  all  faithful  diligence,  to  banish  and  drive  away  all 
erroneous  and  strange  doctrines  contrary  to  God's  word  ?"  &c. ; 
to  which  we  answered,  "  I  will,  the  Lord  being  my  helper." 
And  shall  we  now  prove  recreant  to  our  trust,  break  our  vows, 
and  adopt  the  sickly  policy  of  correcting  error  by  letting  it 
alone  ?  God  forbid  !  Let  the  trumpet  be  blown  in  Zion.  Let 
the  churches  know  the  character  of  this  "  spirit"  movement  before 
it  gets  into  their  midst.  It  is  far  easier  to  keep  the  tares  out 
of  the  field  by  a  timely  warning,  than  to  root  them  up  once  they 
are  fairly  sown.     May  the  Lord  help  his  ministers  to  acquit 


CONCLUSION.  191 

themselves  like  men,  and  to  unveil  this  specious  infidel  delusion 
to  the  gaze  and  scorn  of  all  good  men. 

THE      PRESS. 

I  would  earnestly  intreat  the  periodical  press  throughout  the 
country,  to  join  us  in  our  efforts  to  stay  this  moral  pestilence. 
From  week  to  week  your  exchanges  have  brought  you  the  tidings 
of  its  ravages  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  You  have  generally  set 
your  faces  against  it.  But  can  you  not  do  more  by  refusing  to 
publish  any  of  their  pretended  revelations,  or  to  describe  their 
alleged  miracles  ?  Will  not  the  secular  as  well  as  the  religious 
press  give  us  your  powerful  influence,  as  you  have  generally 
done,  in  favor  of  the  Bible  and  the  faith  of  the  gospel  ?  We  look 
to  you  with  confidence,  and  trust  that  you  will  not  cease  to 
denounce  the  instigators  and  managers  of  this  diabolical  plot, 
till  there  shall  not  be  a  necromancer  to  move  his  tongue  in  all 
our  borders. 

A     WORD     TO     MEDIUMS. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  this  work  will  be  read  by  some 
who  have  been  seduced  into  this  wicked  movement,  and  have 
little  by  little  consented  to  take  part  in  the  circles,  till  at  length 
they  have  become  "  mediums."  0  Let  me  entreat  such  to  for- 
sake the  circles  at  once,  and  visit  them  no  more.  Up  to  this 
point  you  may  not  have  been  aware  of  the  character  of  the 
movement,  and  consequently  are  comparatively  innocent ;  but 
now  you  cannot  plead  ignorance.  To  go  a  step  further  is  openly 
to  countenance  and  encourage  the  avowed  enemies  of  Christ, 
and  to  sin  against  God  and  your  own  soul.  If  you  profess  re- 
ligion, let  me  entreat  you,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  to  cut  loose 
from  this  deadly  movement.  Your  character  is  at  stake ;  your 
reason  in  jeopardy  ;  and  your  soul  in  imminent  peril !  It  is  not 
yet  too  late  to  retrieve  what  you  have  lost. 

O  my  brother !  my  sister  !  burn  up  those  ghost-books  and 
papers ;  forsake  the  "  circles,"  and  betake  yourself  to  the 
blessed  Bible,  the  social  religious  meeting,  and  the  people  of 
God.     Here  is  your  only  safety.    And  remember,  you  are  now 


192  SPIRIT-RAPPING   UNVEILED. 

faithfully  warned  !  If  you  pass  on,  decline  in  piety,  become  an 
infidel,  die  in  sin,  perhaps  become  insane  or  commit  suicide,  and 
go  to  hell  at  last,  your  blood  is  upon  your  own  head.  Merci- 
ful God !  should  these  lines  be  read  by  any  "  medium,"  male  or 
female,  young  or  old,  in  city  or  country,  apply  and  enforce  the 
warning  Thyself,  by  the  sacred  influence  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit, 
that  they  may  return  from  their  error  to  Thee,  the  only  living 
and  true  God,  before  it  is  too  late  forever  ! 


I  have  now  done  with  the  expose,  and  have  only  to  request 
that  the  reader,  if  he  owns  this  volume,  will  hand  it  to  his  neigh- 
bor, and  let  it  be  read  from  house  to  house.  Especially  send  it 
to  those  Christians,  if  you  know  any  such,  who  are  half  dis- 
posed to  believe  there  is  something  in  the  pretended  "  manifes- 
tations,' '  and  that  perhaps  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are  actually 
communicating  with  this  world.  Send  such  the  book  to  read. 
By  so  doing  you  may  help  to  stay  the  plague,  arrest  the  spread 
of  infidelity,  and  save  immortal  souls  for  whom  Christ  died. 
And  "  let  him  know  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from 
the  error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide 
a  multitude  of  sins" 


Now  unto  Him  that  died  for  us,  and  rose  again — the 
only  wise  God  our  Saviour — to  Him  be  glory  in  the 
church  thoughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.     amen 


THE    END. 


APPENDIX. 


CHAPTER    I. 


REPLIES       TO       MY       REVIEWERS. 

A  second  edition  of  this  work  being  called  for,  I  avail 
myself  of  the  occasion  to  add  several  pages  of  new  matter, 
bringing  down  the  history  of  this  grand  delusion  to  the  pre- 
sent date.  In  so  doing  I  shall  of  course  pay  my  respects  to 
my  Reviewers,  and  shall  notice  some  of  the  explanations  of 
the  pretended  phenomena  that  have  appeared  since  the  pre- 
ceding was  published.  I  shall  also  adduce  still  further  proof 
that  the  whole  movement  is,  in  every  case,  either  a  stupen- 
dous delusion,  or  an  unmitigated  fraud.  But  I  will  first 
notice  my  reviewers. 

THE       "SPIRITUAL      TELEGRAPH." 

While  the  book  was  in  press  I  was  frequently  in  the  office 
of  Messrs.  Partridge  &  Brittan,  proprietors  of  the  "  Spiritual 
Telegraph."  On  several  occasions  the  young  men  in  the 
office  expressed  their  impatience  to  see  the  book,  and  observed 
that  it  would  help  the  cause  of  "  Spiritualism  " — that  they 
should  sell  it,  and  should  probably  retail  more  than  the  pub- 
lishers themselves.     I  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  Messrs. 

9 


194 


APPENDIX. 


Mason  Brothers — the  publishers — and  they  at  once  sent  down 
an  advertisement  for  the  Telegraph,  paying  for  it  in  advance, 
and  taking  a  receipt. 

At  length  the  book  appeared,  and  a  copy  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Brittan,  with  other  editors,  for  the  customary  notice.  The 
first  week  passed,  and  no  notice  appeared  ;  and  what  was 
more  singular,  the  advertisement,  which  had  been  received 
and  paid  for,  did  not  appear.  A  second  paper  came  out ;  but 
still  no  notice,  no  advertisement.  Thinking  the  book  miofht 
have  failed  to  reach  Mr.  Brittan,  the  publishers  dispatched  a 
clerk  with  a  second  copy,  with  orders  to  be  sure  that  it  went 
to  the  Editor  of  the  Telegraph.  Meanwhile  not  a  copy  of  the 
book  was  ordered  by  Partridge  &  Brittan  to  sell  again, 
though  they  were  selling  by  hundreds  and  thousands  else- 
where. 

A  third  Telegraph  appeared,  and  still  no  notice  of  the  book, 
and  no  advertisement.  Learning  this,  my  publishers  sent 
down  a  messenger  to  ascertain  why  the  advertisement  was 
not  inserted  according  to  agreement.  On  asking  the  ques- 
tion he  was  told  that  it  was  not  in  harmony  with  their  busi- 
ness to  advertise  books  against  their  views,  or  to  that  effect ; 
and  was  persuaded  to  take  back  the  money  previously  paid 
for  the  advertisement. 

A  short  time  after,  passing  the  office,  I  dropped  in,  and 
inquired  if  Mr.  B.  had  not  received  a  copy  of  the  book.  I 
was  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  told,  as  a  reason  why 
the  notice  did  not  appear,  that  "  Professor  Brittan  v  was  pre- 
paring an  extended  and  thorough  Review,  that  would  probably 
annihilate  both  me  and  my  book.  Anxious  to  see  what  he 
would  attempt  to  do  with  my  facts  and  arguments,  I  waited 
patiently  till  May  14,  1853, — (about  two  weeks  longer) — 
when  the  mountain  in  labor  brought  forth  the  following 
magnificent  "  mouse !"  It  appeared  among  the  "  Literary 
Notices  "  in  the  Telegraph  of  that  date. 


PROFESSOR    BRITTAN's    REVIEW.  195 


PROFESSOR    BRITTANS    ANNIHILATING    REVIEW. 

After  giving  the  title  of  the  book,  Mr.  Brittan  proceeds : — - 

a  We  have  here  the  printed  version  of  the  author's  recent  lectures 
against  Spiritualism,  delivered  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  New  York  City,  West 
Winsted  and  Hartford,  Conn.,  Springfield,  Mass.,  somewhere  in  Ver- 
mont, and  in  the  Canadas,  and  which  have  gained  for  the  writer  the 
unenviable  reputation  of  being  profoundly  indifferent  with  respect  to  the 
accuracy  of  his  statements.  When  the  Professor,  for  the  safety  of  the 
Church  and  twenty-five  cents  apiece  from  his  hearers,  proposed  to 
enlighten  this  city,  we  employed  a  reporter,  but  the  lectures  proved  to 
\>e  so  barren  of  interest,  so  utterly  destitute  of  good  sense,  and  withal 
so  foolish  in  their  details,  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  make  any  use 
of  the  report.  The  whole  effort  was  prompted,  ostensibly,  by  ignorance 
and  egotism,  having  for  their  objects  personal  notoriety  and  money. 
Deeming  it  a  pity  that  one  who  was  a  professor  of  religion  and  astro- 
nomy, and  who  claimed  to  have  achieved  some  honor,  as  well  in  the 
study  of  the  exact  sciences  as  in  the  practice  of  correct  morals,  should 
keep  on  repeating  his  blunders  and  selling  his  miserable  caricatures  of 
the  truth  for  two  shillings,  to  the  scandal  of  science  and  religion,  we 
frankly  told  the  professor  that  his  specific  statements  of  alleged  facts, 
at  least  so  far  as  they  had  any  relation  to  us,  were  either  wholly  untrue, 
or  so  entirely  perverted  as  to  have  the  effect  of  falsehood  on  the  public 
mind.  We  also  offered  to  satisfy  the  author  on  this  point,  but  our  ser- 
vices were  not  required.  Of  course  the  author  of  the  astronomy  for  the 
use  of  schools,  and  the  preacher  of  evangelical  and  biblical  Spiritualism, 
did  not  require  any  knowledge  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  And  so  he  went 
on  his  mission  with  precisely  that  measure  of  information  which  would 
best  subserve  his  purpose 

"The  secular  press  spoke  of  the  lectures  as  a  mere  catchpenny  affair, 
designed  to  ridicule  and  misrepresent  the  whole  subject.  The  Hartford 
Times,  Williamsburgh  Times,  the  papers  where  he  lectured  in  "Vermont, 
and  elsewhere,  all  concurred  in  so  regarding  them.  But  still  he  went 
his  way,  in  the  insulted  name  of  religion,  repeating  the  same  silly  anec- 
dotes, and  personal  abuse  of  those  who  believed  in  the  Spiritual  phe- 
nomena. If  any  statement  was  proved  to  be  untrue — as  was  the  case 
at  Williamsburgh,  where  he  was  confronted  before  the  audience  by  one 
whom  he  had  slandered — it  made  no  sort  of  difference.  If  the  press 
exposed  his  self-conceit  and  ignorance  of  the  whole  matter,  it  was  all 
the  same;  he  went  on  to  repeat  the  identical  statements  again,  in  some 
other  place,  and  all  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  the  Church.  The 
divinity  of  the  schools  was,  he  believed,  liable  to  be  corrupted  by  false 
doctrines,  and  to  preserve  it  in  its  purity  he  was  willing  to  encounter 
all  this  opposition  of  the  press, 

"  As  if  divinity  had  catch'd 
The  itch  on  purpose  to  be  scratch'd." 

"  At  length  we  have  the  whole  thing  printed,  with  illustrations  on 
wood,  appropriate  to  the  general  design  and  character  of  the  work,  and 


196  APPENDIX. 


those  who  wish  can  have  the  Professor's  whole  course  for  seventy-five 
cents.  The  picture  on  the  seventy-second  page  is  thought  to  favor  our 
astronomical  friend.  Some  have  conjectured  that  the  author  furnished 
the  artist  with  his  model,  and  this  suspicion  is  strengthened  by  the 
close  proximity  of  a  certain  mythological  personage  who  stands  behind 
the  writer,  and  from  whom  the  latter  probably  derived  his  information. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the-  mysterious  personage  referred  to,  is 
alleged  to  have  been  the  author  of  all  such  oblique  statements,  as  this 
book  contains,  from  the  beginning.  The  work  is,  for  the  reasons  indi- 
cated, beneath  criticism." 


REPLY     TO    MR.    BRITTAN. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  above,  I  had  sup- 
posed that  among  the  numerous  independent  facts  alleged  in 
the  book,  many  of  which  were  obtained  from,  others,  there 
might  be  found  a  few  mistakes  or  errors,  that  could  be 
specifically  pointed  out.  And  knowing  that  Mr.  B.  had 
time,  ability  and  disposition,  I  really  supposed  he  would,  at 
least,  assail  some  one  of  the  alleged  facts  specifically,  and 
attempt  to  refute  a  few  of  the  arguments.  What  was  my 
surprise,  therefore,  to  read  such  a  tissue  of  ridicule,  slander 
and  falsehood,  as  I  have  reprinted  above  ;  instead  of  a  can- 
did and  dignified  attempt  to  refute  my  reasonings !  What 
a  production  after  such  an  effort !  Who  does  not  see,  from 
the  whole  tenor  of  this  notice,  that  Mr.  B.  had  tried  in  vain  to 
answer  the  book  for  several  weeks,  but  utterly  failed, 
and  concluded  to  dispatch  it  with  a  few  sweeping  and 
general  charges,  and  let  it  pass  as  unanswerable.  He  could 
answer  Dr.  Dods  and  Dr.  Butler ;  but  "  Spirit  Rapping 
Unveiled  "  was  too  staunch  a  book  for  his  sophistry  to  grapple 
with. 

Mark  how  he  sneers  at  it  as  a  small  affair,  replete  with 
"  ignorance"  and  "  egotism,"  and  unworthy  of  notice.  Why, 
then,  did  he  refuse  to  let  his  readers  know  that  such  a  book 
was  in  existence,  till  he  was  absolutely  obliged  to '{     Why  did 


REPLY    TO    MR.    BRITTAN.  197 

he  not  insert  the  advertisement  for  which  he  had  received 
pay  ?  Why  did  he  not  decline  the  advertisement,  if  at  all, 
before  he  read  the  book  ?  Obviously  for  this  reason  :  he  had 
learned  that  the  facts  and  arguments  of  the  book  were 
unanswerable — that  it  would  work  injury  to  his  "craft" 
wherever  it  went;  and  that  it  would  never  do  to  have  it 
circulated,  unanswered  as  it  must  be,  among  his  deluded 
followers. 

But  there  are  a  few  points  in  this  remarkable  production 
worthy  of  special  notice. 

1.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  B.  represents  it  as  consisting 
only  of  certain  "  Lectures,"  which  I  had  delivered  here  and 
there.  So  far  is  this  from  being  true,  that  not  one  quarter  of 
the  book  was  ever  delivered  in  the  shape  of  lectures,  in  any 
instance  whatever. 

2.  He  charges  that  these  lectures  were  delivered  as  a 
speculation,  to  make  money.  It  is  true  that  I  delivered  two 
lectures,  in  various  places,  in  the  fall  of  1852  ;  one  on  "  The 
Intermediate  state ;  or,  the  Soul  between  Death  and  the 
Resurrection  ;"  and  the  other  on  "  Modern  Necromancy  ;  or, 
Pretended  Intercourse  with  the  Dead?  They  were  first 
delivered  in  the  city  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  under  the  following 
circumstances : — 

Lectures  in  Newark,  New  Jersey. 

The  ladies  of  the  City  Mission  in  Newark,  resolved  upon  a 
course  of  lectures  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  city,  and 
invited  me  to  deliver  one  of  the  five,  constituting  the  course. 
I  accepted  the  invitation  ;  and  gave  one  of  the  above  as  the 
subject.  As  the  time  drew  on,  I  was  written  to,  and  informed 
that  considerable  interest  prevailed  in  regard  to  the  forth- 
coming lecture  ;  and  asked  if  I  could  not  divide  it,  and  give 
them  two  instead  of  one.  To  this,  also,  I  consented,  and  the 
two  lectures  were  prepared  and  delivered  accordingly. 


198  APPENDIX. 

How  much  the  funds  of  the  Newark  City  Misionaries  were 
assisted  by  these  lectures,  I  know  not  (though  they  were  well 
attended),  but  this  I  know,  that  one  dollar  is  all  I  ever 
received  for  the  two  lectures  ;  and  that  is  just  twenty-five 
cents  less  than  my  expenses  out,  in  going  and  coming.  I 
might  have  received  a  compensation  for  my  services  had  I 
desired  it ;  but  I  did  not ;  and  was  satisfied  to  help  arrest 
a  ruinous  delusion ;  and  serve  the  cause  of  God  meanwhile  by 
obtaining  funds  for  a  mission,  without  any  other  reward.  So 
much  for  the  money  consideration,  in  the  getting  up  and  first 
delivery  of  the  lectures. 

Lectures  in  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New- York. 

Not  long  after  the  delivery  of  the  lectures  in  Newark,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  School  of  the  John  street  M.  E. 
Church,  in  New  York  (Mr.  William  "Price),  requested  me  to 
deliver  a  lecture  or  two  in  that  church  (of  which  I  was  then 
pastor),  for  the  benefit  of  the  funds  of  the  Sabbath  School. 
Of  course  I  consented,  and  after  talking  the  matter  over,  it 
was  concluded  that  the  subjects  treated  at  Newark  were  the 
best  that  could  be  selected  for  John  street.  Accordingly,  the 
two  lectures  were  announced  to  be  delivered  in  the  John 
street  Church.  But  as  the  time  drew  on,  considerable  interest 
was  manifested,  and  it  was  thought  necessary  to  charter  the 
Tabernacle,  in  order  to  accommodate  the  people.  All  this 
was  done  by  others.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  getting 
up  of  the  lectures  at  the  Tabernacle,  more  than  to  deliver 
them  gratuitously  ;  and  I  have  never  known,  from  that  day 
to  this,  whether  the  Committee  made  fifty  or  five  hundred 
dollars  by  them.  So  much  for  the  Broadway  Tabernacle 
lectures,  "  for  personal  notoriety  and  money." 

Soon  after  these  Tabernacle  lectures,  I  had  invitations  from 
various  parts  of  the  country  to  lecture.  Some  of  these  I 
accepted,  anc1    in  a  few  instances,  received  more  than  my 


REPLY    TO    MR.    BRITTAN.  199 

expenses;  but  put  it  all  together,  first  and  last,  I  never 
received  fifty  dollars,  over  and  above  expenses,  for  all  the 
lectures  I  ever  delivered;  and  what  I  did  receive  was,  in 
nearly  every  case,  a  gratuity ;  without  any  understanding 
that  I  should  be  paid  for  my  services.* 

Now,  with  these  honest,  naked  facts  before  him,  what  does 
the  reader  think  of  Mr.  Brittan's  justice  and  veracity  ?  I 
have  referred  to  parties,  that  he  may  disprove  my  statements 
if  he  can  ;  and  until  he  does  so,  he  must  stand  impeached 
before  all  honorable  men,  as  a  defeated  "  Professor  of  Spirit- 
rapping,"  unable  to  answer  his  opponent,  and  obliged  to 
substitute  libel  for  argument. 

3.  Mr.  Brittan  conveys  the  idea  that  he  had  a  report  of  my 
lecture,  but  was  not  able  to  make  any  use  of  it.  It  is  true 
that  he  employed  a  reporter,  and  was  to  give  him  $20  for  a 
report  of  my  lectures  ;  the  design  obviously  being  to  review 
them,  and  publish  the  lectures,  with  his  review,  to  make 
money.  At  the  close  of  the  first  lecture,  a  reporter  requested 
my  manuscript,  from  which  to  correct  his  report  for  one  of 
the  daily  papers.  The  next  day,  I  learned  that  he  had 
obtained  it  to  copy  for  Mr.  Brittan  ;  and  to  head  off  the 
piracy,  I  at  once  had  a  title-page  set  up,  covering  the 
lectures,  and  got  them  copy-righted.  I  then  took  one  of  the 
title-pages,  and  went  to  Mr.  B.'s   office,  and  laid  it   on  his 

*  A  gentleman  then  in  Washington  offered  me  $100  if  I  would  spend 
a  week  between  that  city  and  Baltimore,  and  lecture  in  each  of  those 
cities  ;  but  I  did  not  go  ;  so  I  had  neither  personal  notoriety  nor  money 
in  that  case.  But  why  does  Mr.  B.  resort  to  such  puerile  misrepre- 
sentations ?  Suppose  I  lectured  for  money  :  does  that  prove  that  my 
facts  and  arguments  can  be  overthrown?  And  is  it  such  a  terrible 
offence  to  lecture,  even  for  pay?  Was  not  Mr.  Brittan  lecturing  for 
"public  notoriety  and  money:'  all  that  winter?  and  has  he  not  been  at 
it  ever  since?  How  often  has  he  advertised  himself  for  patronage  as  a 
lecturer  since  ?  and  gone  out,  and  lectured  for  pay,  and  sold  books, 
and  got  subscribers  to  his  paper  into  the  bargain?  How  very  spiritual 
and  consistent,  to  attempt  to  scandalize  an  opponent,  by  charging  him 
with  what  he  has  not  done;  and  doing  the  same  thing  openly,  from 
month  to  month,  for  years  together  himself. 


200  APPENDIX. 

desk,  informing  his  clerks  that  the  lectures  were  copy- 
righted, and  that  he  must  not  publish  them  without  my 
consent. 

Soon  after  I  left,  the  reporter  went  in  with  his  copy  of  my 
lecture,  all  written  out,  to  receive  his  $20  from  Mr.  B.;  but 
seeing  the  title-page  lying  upon  the  desk,  and  learning  what 
had  transpired,  he  concluded  it  would  not  be  best  for  him  to 
deliver  his  manuscript.  He  accordingly  retained  it,  and  in  a 
short  time  after,  I  met  him  in  William  street  with  it  in  his 
hand.  I  informed  him  of  Mr.  B.'s  design,  and  of  my  objec- 
tions, when  he-  at  once  tore  up  the  manuscript  in  my  presence, 
and  scattered  it  to  the  winds.  He  then  apologised  for  what 
he  had  done,  by  saying  he  was  not  aware  that  it  would  be 
disagreeable  to  myself;  gave  back  the  copy  of  my  lecture, 
and  there  the  matter  ended.  And  now,  Mr.  B.  pretends  that 
he  had  a  copy  of  the  lectures !  But  I  aver  that  he  has  not, 
and  never  had  a  copy  of  either  of  them.  He  tried  to  get 
them  in  a  most  dishonorable  way,  to  publish  them  for  gain, 
without  my  consent,  but  failed ;  and  yet  pretends  that  he 
succeeded  in  getting  the  copy,  but  declined  to  publish  the 
lectures  for  other  reasons  ! ! 

But  suppose  all  he  says  about  the  lectures  is  true — that  he 
had  a  copy  of  them,  and  they  were  "utterly  destitute  of  com- 
mon sense,"  and  "  foolish  in  their  details."  Is  anybody  so 
foolish  as  to  believe  that  he  would  have  failed  to  publish 
them,  and  expose  their  want  of  sense  ?  The  weaker  they 
were,  the  easier  for  him  to  review  and  refute,  if  he  ever  had 
the  lectures.  If,  therefore,  he  ever  had  the  lectures,  it  is 
certain  that  he  could  not  answer  them,  and  for  that  reason 
alone,  did  not  publish  them.  But  it  was  the  booh,  and  not 
the  lectures,  that  he  really  had,  but  could  not  answer.  Mr. 
Brittan  never  saw  any  report  of  the  lectures,  except  the  brief 
sketches  that  appeared  in  the  daily  papers ;  and  I  challenge 
hiur  ^o  produce  any  other. 


REPLY    TO    MR.    BRITTAN.  201 

4.  All  that  Mr.  B.  says  about  "  frankly  telling  the  Pro- 
fessor "  so  and  so,  is  pure  romance.  ISTo  such  conversation 
ever  occurred,  unless  it  was  between  the  "  Professor  of  Spirit- 
rapping"  and  some  of  his  spirits.  Though  he  did  wince 
terribly  under  the  lectures  delivered  at  Newark,  as  orally 
reported  to  him,  he  never  mentioned  a  single  fact,  either  in 
relation  to  himself  or  others,  that  he  claimed  had  been  per- 
verted. All  this  is  simple  moonshine,  thrown  in  to  help  him 
out  in  the  difficult  task  of  noticing  a  book  which  he  could  not 
answer. 

5.  In  support  of  the  above  flat  denial,  I  will  refer  to  the 
tone  of  the  notice  under  consideration.  Mark  its  broad 
charges  of  misrepresentation,  perversion  and  falsehood,  and 
yet,  not  the  first  specification  is  given  to  support  these 
libelous  charges.  If  there  had  been  one  instance  of  mis- 
representation or  falsehood,  by  which  Mr.  B.  could  have 
impeached  the  book,  does  anybody  suppose  he  would  have 
omitted  to  cite  it  ?  He  would  have  given  fifty  dollars  twice 
told  for  such  an  instance ;  but  for  want  of  it,  he  makes  his 
assertion  ;  sticks  it  up  upon  stilts,  and  leaves  it  there,  not  only 
without  a  shadow  of  support,  but  with  evidence  in  the  very- 
article  itself,  that  what  he  affirms  is  not  true.  The  failure 
to  cite  a  single  instance  of  the  alleged  misrepresentation  or 
falsehood,  is  proof  positive  that  he  could  find  no  such  instance. 
If  he  could,  let  him  do  it  now,  or  else  meet  the  just  scorn  of 
all  honorable  men. 

Leaving  the  balance  of  "Professor  Brittan's"  annihilator — 
the  flings  at  "religion"  and  "the  Church,"  and  the  very- 
classical  quotation  about  "the  itch" — I  will  only  add,  that 
nearly  all  he  has  ever  published  in  his  paper  respecting 
myself,  is  precisely  of  the  same  type — more  falsehood  than 
truth.  Such  is  his  statement  about  my  being  con- 
fronted in  Williamsburgh ;  such  was  his  story  about  my 
agreeing  to  go  to  a  circle,  and  to  publish  the  proceedings  in 

9* 


202  APPENDIX. 

my  book ;  such  was  his  libel  upon  Dr.  Tyng ;  and  such, 
indeed,  is  the  general  character  of  the  paper.  And  such 
being  the  case,  I  have  already  bestowed  too  much  attention 
upon  it. 

The  New  York  Tribune. 

The  Tribune,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  once  quite  a 
ghost-paper,  but  of  late,  it  seems  to  be  in  a  backslidden  state. 
It  was  quite  "  spiritual,"  however,  in  April,  1853,  and  made 
terrible  faces  at  "  Spirit-rapping  Unveiled."  Dropping 
Fourierism  and  women's  rights,  &c,  &c,  for  a  moment,  it 
read  us  a  severe  lecture  upon  our  unbelief  in  "spiritualism" 
on  the  one  hand,  and  our  faith  in  the  Bible  on  the  other. 
We  have  not  the  article  at  hand,  but  the  substance  of  it  was, 
that  we  had  no  right  to  test  the  claims  of  the  new  revelations 
by  the  old  one.  It  was  not  certain  that  anything  was  false 
because  it  was  contrary  to  the  Bible.  In  other  words,  if  any 
pretender  contradicts  the  Bible,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
pretender  is  right  and  the  Bible  wrong.  This,  however,  was 
a  virtual  concession,  that  if  the  Bible  is  infallibly  true,  we  had 
shown  spirit-rapping  to  be  an  unmitigated  falsehood. 

But  Mr.  Greeley  is  getting  quite  pious  of  late.  He  not  only 
quotes  scripture  himself,  but  is  even  "down"  on  spirit-rapping, 
Professor  Brittan,  and  all  !*  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  should 
give  us  a  first-rate  notice  of  this  new  edition. 

Leaving  my  reviewers  for  the  present,  I  shall  fill  the 
remainder  of  these  pages  with  miscellaneous  matters  of  more 
general  interest  to  the  reader. 

*  In  reviewing  one  of  "Professor  Brittan's "  publications  not  long 
since — (the  pretended  discussion  between  Brittan  and  Richmond) — the 
Tribune  says  : 

"  We  have  very  harsh  things  to  say  of  all  parties  concerned,  and  the 
book  into  the  bargain.  Messrs.  Partridge  &  Brittan  will  not  thank 
us  for  our  opinion  of  'the  better  class'  of  their  publications,  if  the 
present  work  is  to  be  considered  as  a  specimen.  They  must  understand, 
that  we  look  upon  the  spirit-rapping  question  as   a  most  detestable 


CHAPTER    II. 

THEORIES     EXPLANATORY     OF     SPIRIT-RAPPING. 

.  Having  thus  glanced  at  the  only  two  attempts  that  have 
been  made,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  refute  my  argument,  I  shall 
proceed,  in  the  present  chapter,  briefly  to  review  several  publi- 
cations and  theories  that  have  appeared  during  the  last  two 
years,  explanatory  of  the  alleged  spirit-rapping  phenomena. 
And  first  among  these  writers  and  theorists  I  will  devote  a 
few  paragraphs  to  a  series  of  articles  that  appeared  in  the 
Puritan  Recorder,  in  April,  1852,  over  the  signature  of 
"  E.  P.,"  and  attributed  to  Dr.  Enoch  Pond. 

DR.       POND'S       THREE-FOLD       EXPLANATION. 

Dr.  Pond  is  one  of  the  Professors  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  in  Bangor,  Maine,  and  a  man  of  distinguished 
ability  and  piety ;  and  the  articles  attributed  to  him  bear 
internal  evidence  of  having  emanated  from  no  ordinary 
mind. 


swindle.  While  we  believe  that  many  of  the  mediums  are  poor, 
deluded  creatures,  we  are  convinced  that  the  projectors  and  promoters 
of  the  affair  are  knaves,  as  infamous  as  ever  served  out  a  life-sentence 
in  a  State-prison. 

"  Of  this  particular  work,  which  purports  to  be  the  record  of  a  con- 
troversy between  a  believer  and  a  skeptic,  we  can  only  say  that,  if  it 
were  not  saved  from  our  loathing  by  its  stupidity,  the  evident  collusion 
between  the  pretended  disputants  would  disgust  us.  A  more  dishonest 
book  has  surely  never  been  published  in  any  country.  We  do  not,  after 
this  judgment,  expect  to  be  favored  with  any  more  of  Messrs.  Par- 
tridge &  Brittan's  publications." 

Really,  this  looks  as  if  the  Tribune  was  coming  to  its  right  mind 
again. 


204  APPENDIX. 

The  positions  taken  by  Dr.  Pond  are  as  follows : 

1.  Many  of  the  strange  performances  of  the  witches  and 
necromancers  of  the  olden  time  were  a  mere  pretence — a  cheat, 
or  imposition.  Among*  these  he  reckons  the  "  enchantment," 
in  opposition  to  Moses,  and  the  ventriloquism  mentioned 
Isaiah  8  :  19  ;  and  29:  4. 

2.  Many  things  anciently  attributed  to  spirits  were  pro- 
duced by  electricity,  galvanism,  magnetism,  etc.,  which  were 
understood  by  the  operators,  but  unknown  to  the  masses. 

3.  Some  of  the  doings  of  the  ancient  witches  might  have 
been  performed  by  spirits ;  "  but  if  anything  of  this  kind  be 
true,  this  is  true:  That  the  spirits,  with  whom  the  ancient 
witches  and  wizards  had  intercourse,  were  evil  sjnrits, — infer- 
nal  spirits, — spirits  not  from  Heaven  or  Earth,  but  from  Hell. 

But  Dr.  Pond  does  not  commit  himself  fully  to  this  Satanic 
explanation.  He  admits  its  possibility,  but  adds,  "  I  do  not 
say,  positively,  that  this  has  ever  been  the  case."  He  is  by 
no  means  sanguine  that  devils  had  any  special  hand  in  pro- 
ducing the  phenomena.  And  why  should  their  agency  be 
invoked  ?  Could  not  all  the  phenomena  be  produced  by 
deception  ?  On  the  other  hand,  if  devils  produced  part  of 
the  phenomena,  is  it  not  more  consistent  to  give  them  credit 
for  the  whole  of  them  ?  and  not  mix  satanic  agency  up  in  this 
wray  with  the  natural  sciences  ? 

My  deliberate  belief  is  that  the  phenomena  were  all  of  one 
character;  that  is  either  natural  or  supernatural;  and  as 
either  of  these  is  sufficient,  I  exclude  the  other.  And  being 
certain,  with  Dr.  Pond,  that  a  large  portion  of  the  ancient 
witchcraft  was  mere  deception,  I  attribute  the  whole  to  the 
same  cause,  and  nothing  to  special  satanic  influence. 

In  regard  to  the  alleged  phenomena  of  spirit-rapping,  Dr. 
Pond  takes  the  same  ground  that  he  does  in  reference  to  the 
ancient  witchcraft,  viz. :  that  they  are  attributable,  1.  In  a 
large  measure  to  sheer  imposition  and  deception,  for  the  pur- 


DR.    POND'S    THREE-FOLD    EXPLANATION.  205 

pose  of  obtaining  money.  2.  To  "unobserved  natural  causes," 
such  as  Magnetism,  Electricity,  <fcc,  &c.  3.  If  to  any  spirits, 
to  "infernal  spirits"  or  devils. 

Now,  although  I  admire  the  ability  with  which  these  views 
are  set  forth  and  maintained,  I  cannot  regard  the  argument 
as  conclusive,  or  the  several  explanations  as  consistent  with 
each  other.  If  the  rapping  and  tipping,  &c,  can  be  produced 
by  collusion,  as  Dr.  Pond  justly  maintains,  why  call  in 
"  natural  causes  "  or  "  infernal  spirits,"  to  account  for  the 
same  phenomena  ?  Again :  If  they  can  be  produced  by 
natural  causes,  such  as  Magnetism  and  Electricity  what  need 
of  deception  and  collusion  on  the  part  of  the  mediums  \  A 
professor  who  darkens  his  lecture  room  to  illuminate  an 
aurora  tube  by  electricity,  has  no  occasion  for  an  accomplice. 
He  can  trust  his  "  natural  causes "  to  produce  the  desired 
phenomenon.  And  so  with  every  experiment  in  Chemistry 
and  Natural  Philosophy.  If  science  can  account  for  the 
alleged  phenomena,  collusion  and  infernal  spirits  are  out  of 
the  question. 

It  seems  to  me  that  Dr.  Pond's  articles  are  defective  in  the 
following  particulars : 

1.  He  too  readily  concedes  that  the  alleged  phenomena  of 
the  Rappers  have  taken  place — a  concession  which  too  many 
have  made,  who  are  now  heartily  ashamed  of  it.  But  more 
of  this  hereafter. 

2.  Having  admitted  the  occurrence  of  the  phenomena,  he 
assigns  three  distinct  causes,  as  concerned  in  their  production, 
no  two  of  which  are  consistent  with  each  other,  or  can 
co-exi»t  in  harmony  at  the  same  time.  If  the  phenomena 
have  occurred,  they  cannot  be  divided  between  collusion, 
science,  and  infernal  spirits.  Neither  can  collusion  and 
science,  or  collusion  and  devils,  or  science  and  devils,  be  made 
to  affiliate,  or  produce  the  phenomena  in  partnership.  No 
two  such  voke-fellows  could  be  made  to  #ork  too-ether. 


206  APPENDIX. 

I  must  think,  therefore,  that  Dr.  Pond  has  admitted  the 
existence  of  scientific  causes  operating  with  the  medium,  that 
he  will  never  be  able  to  find ;  and  that  he  has  unjustly  impli- 
cated his  Satanic  Majesty,  as  having  possibly  been  engaged 
in  rapping  or  tipping  tables  for  lady  mediums,  at  a  dollar  a 
head — a  species  of  folly  of  which  I  believe  him  altogether 
incapable. 

dr.  Rogers'  "odic  force"  theory. 

While  ti. ^  "  Spirit- Rapping  Unveiled"  was  in  process  of 
preparation,  J.  P.  Jewett  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  were  issuing  a 
work  in  numbers,  entitled  "Philosophy  of  Mysterious  Agents, 
Human  and  Mundane,  d'c."  by  Dr.  E.  C.  Rogers.  I  took 
the  numbers  as  they  came  out,  and  examined  them  carefully; 
and  became  fully  satisfied  that  the  work  was  an  abortion  so 
far  as  inculcating  science  or  arresting  delusion  were  con- 
cerned. 

The  author  sets  out  by  assuming  the  truth  of  Phrenology, 
Mesmerism,  Clairvoyance,  Psychology,  &c,  <fec,  and  builds 
his  entire  superstructure  upon  these  assumptions.  Even  infe- 
rior animals — cats,  dogs,  and  mice — may  become  clairvoyant 
(page  28).  In  a  word,  it  is  an  attempt  to  explain  one  grand 
humbug,  by  several  others  as  fantastical  as  itself. 

If  we  are  first  to  admit  all  the  marvels  of  Phrenology, 
Mesmerism,  Psychology,  Biology,  &c,  and  install  them 
among  the  sciences,  we  shall  certainly  find  no  difficulty  in 
accounting  for  all  the  wonders  of  spirit-rapping  upon  scientific 
principles ;  i.  e.  upon  the  principles  of  these  "  sciences," 
"falsely  so  called."  But  suppose  these  alleged  "sciences" 
turn  out  to  be  no  sciences  at  all ;  but  mere  gull-traps  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  publishers  and  travelling  lecturers,  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  making  money  ?  What,  then,  becomes  of 
Dr.  Roger's  "scientific  explanations?"  If  the  premises  are 
gone,  what  are  his  conclusions  worth  ? 


THE    NATIONAL    MAGAZINE.  207 

The  Doctor's  "  odic  force  "  is  a  myth, — a  creature  of  the 
imagination  ;  and  the  marvel  is  that  any  man  claiming  to  be 
a  philosopher  should  have  built  so  high  upon  so  airy  a  foun- 
dation. 

More  than  two  years  have  passed  since  this  great  scientific 
solution  was  published.  It  came  out  in  a  beautiful  dress,  the 
paragraphs  numbered  like  a  scientific  text-book,  and  with  an 
imposing  array  of  learned  references  in  the  margin ;  it  has 
been  read  by  men  of  science  in  this  country  and  in  Europe ; 
and  what  is  the  result?  Has  any  chemist  or  philosopher 
discovered  anything  of  this  "  odic  force  ?"  Is  its  existence  at 
all  admitted  by  any  man  of  science,  Reichenbach  and  Dr* 
Rogers  excepted  ?  It  is  true  that  they  have  addled  the  brain 
of  a  few  editors,  who  knew  little  of  science,  and  have  elicited 
their  endorsement ;  but  beyond  this  "  all  things  continue  as 
they  were  from  the  beginning."  The  "odic  force"  is  still 
unknown  to  the  scientific  world  of  both  hemispheres,  and  is 
likely  to  remain  so. 

But  I  must  not  spend  too  much  time  with  this  already 
obsolete  publication.  It  is  simply  a  great  display  about 
nothing.  If  a  man  can  swallow  the  humbugs  which  Rogers 
assumes  to  be  true,  it  is  of  no  use  to  reason  with  him.  He 
may  as  well  swallow  spirit-rapping  also;  for  his  elastic  faith 
must  have  something  new  to  feed  upon,  and  it  may  as  well  be 
that  as  anything  else. 

THE       NATIONAL       MAGAZINE. 

As  a  general  thing  the  religious  press  of  the  country  fully 
endorsed  our  "  expose,"  and  treated  the  pretensions  of  the 
rappers  as  a  stupendous  fraud  or  delusion.  To  this,  however, 
there  were  one  or  two  melancholy  exceptions. 

Rev.  Abel  Stevens,  editor  of  the  National  Magazine — a 
man  of  distinguished  piety  and   ability — was  among  these 


208  APPENDIX. 

exceptions.  As  early  as  January,  1853,  he  indicated  his  faith 
in  Mesmerism,  by  selecting  and  publishing  in  his  journal  an 
article  on  "  Electro- Biology  T  (See  number  for  that  date, 
page  56.)  True,  he  says  in  a  note  that  he  does  not  endorse  it, 
but  he  published  it  for  his  Christian  readers,  and  in  his 
"  Editor's  Table,"  in  the  same  number,  recommends  it  as  pre- 
senting a  u  rational  solution  of  the  marvels  of  Biology." 

In  the  same  number  (page  86)  he  gives  an  account  of  Mr. 
Fowler's  "Hebrew"  message  (found  on  page  118  of  this 
work),  and  ridicules  the  whole  thing  as  it  justly  deserved. 
At  that  time  he  declares  that  the  rappers  "  had  not  given  us 
a  single  important  suggestion,  no  new  scientific  idea  what- 
ever." His  solution  of  Mr.  Fowler's  miracle  was, — "  Just 
nothing  at  all,  except  the  submission  of  the  facts  to  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  reader.  The  indenniteness,  the  vagueness, 
the  crotchety  character  of  the  whole  affair  is  too  obvious  to 
need  remark."  Still  he  says  that  "  many  of  the  marvels  con- 
nected with  the  rappings  can  be  referred  to  magnetic  agency 
alone." 

But  in  the  course  of  the  next  six  months,  Mr.  Stevens  seems 
to  have  arrived  at  a  very  different  conclusion.  "Now,  is  it 
not  mortifying,"  says  he,  "  to  our  common  human  nature,  to 
find  talents,  genius  even,  capable  of  such  things,  prostituted  to 
this  abject  nonsense — this  imposture,  or,  at  least  delusion ! 
*  *  It  appears  to  us  like  one  of  those  absurdities  for  the 
explosion  of  which  satire  was  given  to  the  world  ;  and  it  will 
probably  have  to  die  by  the  excess  of  its  follies." 

After  a  most  liberal  outlay  of  ridicule,  Mr.  Stevens  turns  a 
short  corner,  in  the  same  article ;  endorses  the  alleged  phe- 
nomena, and  pronounces  them  to  be  of  scientific  origin  ! 
"  Faraday's  diamagnetism  and  Reichenbach's  '  odic  force  ' — 
identical  facts — as  Reichenbach  himself  believes — meet  all 
the  conditions  of  the  ifew  phenomena — even  the  most  remark- 
able of  them  are  solved  by  them." 


THE    NATIONAL    MAGAZINE.  209 

Iii  the  next  number  of  the  National,  Mr.  Stevens  scolds  the 
scientific  men  of  the  country  severely,  for  not  going  into  their 
laboratories  and  solving  the  mighty  mystery.  In  the  pre- 
ceding number  he  assures  his  readers  that  Reichenbach  had 
furnished  ths  key,  and  Doctor  Rogers  had  fully  and  triumph- 
antly unraveLed  the  whole  affair ;  and  now,  only  one  month 
after,  writes  as  if  it  was  a  mystery  still,  and  the  scientific 
men  of  the  country  were  really  censurable  for  not  explain- 
ing it.  Take  the  following  as  a  sample  of  this  remarkable 
reproof : 

"And  now  we  repeat  what  we  said  in  our  last  number,  that  the 
responsibility  of  remedying  this  wide-spread  evil  is  upon  our  scientific 
men.  It  will  not  do  for  them  to  scout  the  thing  as  jugglery,  delusion, 
folly.  It  is  not  jugglery,  and  the  world  now  well  enough  knows  it  is 
not;  it  is  not  sheer  delusion — that  the  world  also  understands  well 
enough  j  and  as  for  folly,  that  is  a  vague  term,  which  the  world  cares 
little  about  in  a  matter  of  popular  excitement  like  this.  There  is  some, 
jugglery,  and  some  delusion,  and  much  folly,  mixed  up  with  this  whole 
matter,  doubtless  ;  but  there  is  also,  gentlemen  of  science,  an  undeniable, 
mystery  of  truth,  an  undeniable  scientific  element  in  it.  It  will  not  do 
to  give  it  the  go-by  with  a  learned  sneer.  The  world  demands  some- 
thing else  from  you.  Your  predecessors  so  treated  Harvey's  discovery 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  Jenner's  vaccination,  and  Mesmer's  still 
greater  discovery ;  but  the  world  took  care  that  these  great  facts  should 
not  be  ignored,  in  spite  of  the  Pharisaic  *  professional  dignity '  of  sci- 
ence. Hundreds  of  thousands,  nay  millions  of  candid  observers,  not  a 
few  of  them  cultivated  men  and  women,  have  fully  ascertained  that 
there  is  a  demonstrable  reality  in  these  new  phenomena.  The  want  of 
a  scientific  recognition  and  explication  of  the  mystery  is  now  leaving 
not  only  this  country,  but  most  civilized  countries,  to  all  sorts  of  delu- 
sions respecting  it.  Meanwhile  our  scientific  men,  with  few  exceptions, 
stand  off  in  such  rapt  self-respect,  that  they  cannot  condescend  to 
enlighten  the  honest,  but  erring  convictions  of  the  people." 

In  this  passage,  it  should  be  observed  that  Mr.  Stevens  pro- 
nounces Mesmerism  a  greater  discovery  than  that  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood,  by  Harvey,  or  of  vaccination,  by 
Jenner !  and  fully  endorses  the  "  demonstrable  reality  of  the 
new  phenomena." 

In  the  same  article,  he  gallantly  defends  the  Fishes  and 
F  xes  of  Rochester  (now  the  chief  necromancers  of  this  city), 


210  APPENDIX. 

as  not  only  innocent  sufferers,  but  the  discoverers  of  a  most 
astounding  science. 

"  A  few  obscure  women  first  observed,  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  this  new 
marvel.  Ithey  have  been  laughed  at  all  over  the  land,  as  deluded. 
They  have  been,  perhaps,  in  part ;  but  the  civilized  world  is  now 
experimenting  and  attesting  the  main  fact  at  first  announced  by  them, 
and  unquestionably,  a  new  scientific  agent  of  untold  interest,  and,  it 
may  be,  importance,  has  been  thus  brought  out  and  propounded  to  the 
scientific  inquiries  of  the  age." 

The"  main  fact  at  first  announced,"  was,  that  a  pedlar  had 
been  murdered  in  the  house  where  the  Fox  girls  lived,  and 
that  his  bones  would  be  found  by  digging  in  the  cellar.  But 
on  digging,  the  bones  could  not  be  found,  and  the  "pedlar" 
story,  with  which  the  whole  thing  started,  was  dropped  as 
soon  as  possible.  Now,  the  only  "science"  I  can  possibly  see 
in  this,  is  that  of  demonstrated  falsehood  and  deception.  And 
yet  Br.  Stevens  regards  it  as  the  germ  of  a  stupendous  dis- 
covery !  The  advocacy  of  such  views  by  a  Methodist  editor, 
has  been  a  source  of  profound  regret  to  the  denomination 
generally,  and  especially  the  ministry.  All  the  rappers  want 
to  keep  up  their  nefarious  business,  is  for  such  men  as  Mr. 
Stevens  to  admit  that  the  alleged  "facts"  have  occurred,  and 
attempt  to  explain  them  upon  scientific  principles.  Satisfied 
that  all  such  attempts  must  fail,  and  thus  strengthen  their 
cause,  they  count  all  such  defenders  of  the  pretended  phe- 
nomena, as  the  most  efficient  allies  they  could  possibly  have. 

The  following  very  just  remarks  upon  the  course  of  the 
National,  in  regard  to  this  subject,  are  from  the  editor  of  the 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal. 

"  We  differ  with  the  editor  of  the  'National,'  toto  cado,  in  his  theory  of 
table-movings  and  spirit-rappings.  We  do  not  believe  in  his  '  odic 
force  ' — some  occult  principle  in  nature  not  yet  demonstrated,  but 
which  must  be  assumed  to  exist,  because  necessary  to  explain  the 
wonderful  phenomena  of  '  table-tippings.' 

"  To  admit  such  an  agency,  without  demonstration,  because  it  seems 
to  afford  a  solution  of  something  else  that  we  do  not  understand,  would 
be  unwarrantable,  even  if  ths  facts  to  be  explained  were  admitted;  how 


THE    NATIONAL    MAGAZINE.  211 

much  more  so  when  these  supposed  facts  rest  upon  testimony  which,  so 
far  from  challenging  belief,  is  certainly  not  stronger  than  that  which 
sustained  magic,  and  mesmerism,  and  clairvoyance  in  their  day  !  We 
have  re-ad,  somewhere,  a  decision  of  Judge  Mansfield,  one  of  the  best 
lawyers  and  greatest  men  of  England,  before  whom  a  poor  woman  had 
been  prosecuted  as  a  witch.  A  number  of  witnesses  deposed  that  they 
had  seen  the  woman  walking  or  floating  in  the  air,  with  her  feet 
upward.  His  honor  decided  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact 
charged,  as  so  many  persons  of  unimpeachable  veracity  had  testified  to 
it ;  nevertheless,  the  woman  must  be  discharged,  as  there  was  no  law 
in  England  which  forbids  people  to  walk  with  their  feet  upward  in  the 
air.  And  who  has  not  heard  the  wonders  of  mesmerism  and  clair- 
voyance attested  by  witnesses  as  reliable  and  numerous  as  are  now 
brought  to  the  support  of  '  table-tippings '  and  'spirit-rappings?' 
But  we  have  said  that  if  the  statements  of  the  table-tippers  were  true, 
the  theory  of  an  agent,  which  cannot  be  demonstrated,  could  not  be 
admitted  upon  the  principles  of  rational  philosophy  to  account  for  the 
phenomena.  This  method  of  assuming  the  existence  of  occult 
agencies  to  explain  facts  in  physical  science,  has  been  long  since 
exploded.  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

"Now  we  are  sorry  and  mortified  that  the  Editor  of  the  National 
should  suffer  himself  to  be  imposed  upon  by  such  a  delusion  as  this 
"odic  force,"  or  any  of  its  accompanying  humbugs;  because  he  is  a 
man  of  mark  among  us,  and  his  opinions  must  have  great  weight  and 
influence.  We  know  of  no  pretences  to  occult  science  which  have  been 
so  injurious  to  religion  in  general,  and  Methodism  in  particular,  as 
phrenology,  mesmerism,  and  spirit-rappings ;  yet  he  told  us,  not  long 
since,  that  mesmerism  was  a  greater  discovery  than  Hervey's  discbvery 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  We  have  borne  long  the  burden  which 
these  things  have  pressed  upon  us,  and,  as  a  faithful  watchman,  we  can 
no  longer  forbear  to  notice  what  we  think,  coming  from  such  a  quarter, 
may  do  great  harm  to  the  cause  of  God  and  the  Church.  We  shall 
open  our  columns  to  anything  which  our  friend  may  think  proper  to  say 
in  reply  or  justification." 

But,  as  in  the  case  of  other  strictures  upon  his  course,  Br. 
Stevens  never  thought  best  to  attempt  a  justification.  He 
still  retains  his  faith  in  mesmerism,  and  the  new  science  of 
spirit-rapping  (for  I  know  of  no  other  name  for  it),  and  even 
in  a  recent  number  of  the  National,  publishes  an  account  of 
the  cure  of  inflammatory  rheumatism,  and  even  the  bite  of  the 
deadly  cobra  of  India,  by  the  simple  power  of  mesmeric 
passes !  Verily,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in 
Israel ! 

Now,  though  I  regard  the  course  of  the  National,  in  this 


212  APPENDIX. 

particular,  as  exceedingly  unfortunate,  and  have  dealt  thus 
freely  with  Mr.  Stevens'  opinions,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  say, 
that  I  regard  him  as  one  of  the  first  men  on  the  continent — 
an  intelligent,  warm-hearted,  energetic  Christian  gentleman — 
a  man  of  refined  literary  taste — a  superior  preacher  and 
platform-speaker — a  brilliant  writer— a  utilitarian  in  every- 
thing, and  a  man  that  seldom  misses  his  mark.  But  in  this 
instance,  he  has  certainly  erred ;  and  if  he  will  take  himself 
to  Mr.  Fowler  for  a  phrenological  chart  of  his  faculties,  he 
will  find,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  the  "science,"  that  he  is 
much  better  adapted  to  the  investigation  of  ecclesiastical  and 
literary  subjects,  than  those  of  a  philosophical  or  scientific 
character.  He  has  too  much  faith,  and  too  little  scientific 
knowledge  and  caution,  to  withstand  the  bold  and  oft- 
repeated  assertions  of  the  spirit-rappers.  But  he  is  a  man 
for  the  times  in  other  respects,  and  time  (with  a  little  help 
from  others)  will  set  him  right  in  this  respect  also.  All 
success,  therefore,  to  Abel  Stevens  and  the  National  ! 

REV.  JAMES  PORTER'S  EXPLANATION. 

The  views  of  this  writer  are  set  forth  in  a  pamphlet  of  fifty- 
four  closely-printed  pages,  entitled — "  The  Spirit-rappi?igs, 
Mesmerism,  Clairvoyance,  Visions,  Startling  Phenomena, 
and  Infidelity  of  the  Rapping  Fraternity,  calmly  Considered 
and  Exposed  ;  by  Rev.  James  Porter,  A.  M.,  &c." 

This  title,  it  will  be  seen,  promises  to  "expose  Mesmerism" 
and  "  Clairvoyance,"  as  well  as  "  Spirit-rapping"  itself.  Let 
us  see,  then,  how  this  promise  is  fulfilled,  and  how  the 
"spirit"  phenomena  are  exposed  or  explained. 

In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Porter  virtually  admits  the  alleged 
phenomena  of  spirit-rapping,  without  limitation.  Whether 
he  would  allow  that  men  have  been  carried  through  mid-air 
(which  Mr.  Brittan  says  is  now  a  very  common  occurrence) 


REV.   JAMES    PORTERS    EXPLANATION.  213 

— that  Mr.  Partridge  carried  a  heavy  man  seventy  feet  across 
a  long  hall  and  back,  on  the  ends  of  his  fingers  (as  I  heard 
him  assert  in  Williamsburgh  before  five  hundred  persons) — 
that  a  child  was  carried  by  the  "  spirits "  over  Washington 
Parade-Ground ;  and  that  another  child  in  Astoria,  only 
eighteen  months  old,  wrote  excellent  Latin,  Greek  and 
Hebrew  ; — whether,  I  say,  Mr.  Porter  and  others  who  endorse 
the  "facts,"  are  ready  to  include  these  marvels  among  them, 
we  have  no  means  of  determining.  To  my  mind,  however, 
there  is  no  middle  ground.  If  we  admit  a  part,  we  must- 
admit  the  whole  ;  for  the  same  witnesses  that  testify  to  the 
intelligent  rapping,  <fec,  testify  to  the  carrying  of  men 
through  the  air,  and  all  the  other  wonderful  "  physical 
demonstrations." 

But  if  any  hesitate  about  admitting  the  whole,  we  should 
like  to  have  them  tell  us  where  their  faith  is  to  end  ?  Can 
they  tell  us  where  ? 

2.  In  the  next  place,  Mr.  Porter  takes  the  ground  of 
Professor  Pond,  that  if  there  are  any  spirits  concerned  in  the 
production  of  the  phenomena,  they  must  be  devils.  This,  as 
we  have  already  said,  is  investing  the  subject  with  altogether 
too  much  importance.  I  would  as  soon  say  the  Devil  wrought 
the  tricks  of  any  mountebank  in  the  land,  as  those  of  the 
spirit-rappers.  To  charge  it  to  the  Devil,  is.  to  make  too  much 
of  it  altogether,  and  to  slander  Satan  into  the  bargain.  1 
insist  that  such  allegations  are  not  "  giving  the  Devil  his  due." 

3.  Mr.  Porter  thinks  it  would  neither  be  "inconsistent, 
unphilosophical,  or  irreligious,"  to  suppose  that  the  knockings 
are  produced  "  by  the  mediums  themselves."  This  is 
unquestionably  sound.  But — will  the  reader  believe  it  ? — from 
this  place  onward  in  the  book,  Mr.  Porter  endorses  mesmer- 
ism and  clairvoyance ;  cites  Dr.  Rogers  with  approbation ; 
and  relies  almost  solely  upon  these  "  sciences,"  for  an  expla- 
nation of  the  phenomena  of  spirit-rapping  ! 


214  APPENDIX. 

In  explanation  of  the  alleged  fact  that  the  spirits  told  a 
medium  in  Rochester,  that  the  child  of  one  of  her  customers, 
which  he  had  left  sick  at  Lockport,  was  dead,  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  telegraph  an  hour  afterwards,  Mr.  Porter 
says : 

"Mesmeric  subjects  have  their  congenial  operators,  who  often  have 
such  influence  over  them,  that  they  can  throw  them  into  the  mesmeric 
state  at  will,  however  distant,  and  impress  them  with  such  facts  or 
falsehoods  as  they  please.  This  man  lived  at  Lockport,  and  had  his 
familiar  spirits  there,  with  whom  he  had  been  in  correspondence.  The 
fact  of  his  child's  death  was  undoubtedly  known  to  the  circle.  Why 
might  not  they  have  impressed  this  fact  upon  him  at  that  distance,  as 
well  as  any  other  fact?  We  see  no  more  difficulty  in  one  case  than  in 
the  other.  If  one  can  throw  another  into  the  magnetic  sleep  sixty 
miles  distant,  we  see  no  reason  why  he  may  not  impress  him  with  any 
news  of  the  day."     Page  49. 

In  this  passage,  Mr.  Porter  fully  endorses  mesmerism  and 
clairvoyance ;  and  sufficiently  indicates  his  belief  in  both 
these  humbugs.  He  really  thinks  one  man  may  convey  a 
message  to  another  sixty  miles  distant,  by  mesmerism  and 
clairvoyance !  And  this  is  his  explanation  of  one  class  of 
"  spiritual  phenomena  !" 

Now,  in  opposition  to  this  concession  of  Mr.  Porter,  I 
utterly  deny  that  any  medium  or  clairvoyant,  in  this  world 
or  any  other,  ever  did  or  ever  can  "  mesmerize"  a  person  at  a 
distance,  or  convey  the  first  item  of  intelligence  to  them  at 
the  distance  of  a  single  rod,  much  less  sixty  or  a  thousand 
miles,  without  the  medium  of  sight  or  sound — a  letter  or 
telegram,  or  some  such  medium.  And  that  a  man  of  Mr. 
Porter's  acknowledged  ability  and  caution  should  make  such 
a  concession,  and  endorse  such  pretensions,  is  to  me  unac- 
countable. He  really  thinks,  then,  that  if  the  "mediums" 
only  had  a  "congenial  operator"  in  London,  they  might 
"  impress  "  the  "  news  of  the  day"  in  London,  upon  a  medium 
in  New  York,  without  difficulty  !  Well,  if  I  believed  that,  I 
would  send  over  my  "congenial  operator"  to  London; 
locate  my  medium  in  New  York  ;  and  open  a  news-office  in 


REV.    JAMES    PORTER'S    EXPLANATION.  215 

Wall  street  without  delay.  The  "  associated  press "  would 
pay  $10,000  a  year  to  sustain  such  an  office  ;  and  besides,  a 
fortune  could  be  made  every  few  days,  by  operations  in  flour 
alone.  We  recommend  Mr.  Porter  to  come  on  to  New  York 
at  once,  and  test  his  mesmeric  philosophy  by  a  few  practical 
experiments. 

As  to  the  case,  to  explain  which  Mr.  Porter  resorts  to  mes- 
merism and  clairvoyance,  and  endorses  its  wildest  pretensions ; 
the  following  were  the  facts  : 

A  certain  celebrated  "  medium  "  then  lived  in  Rochester, 
but  her  fame  had  reached  Lockport,  sixty  miles  distant.  A 
believer  residing  there,  whose  child  was  dangerously  ill,  went 
to  Eochester  to  consult  the  medium,  as  to  what  he  should  do 
for  it,  or  whether  it  would  live  or  die.  His  wife  at  Lockport 
knew  he  was  going  ;  whom  he  was  going  to  see  in  Rochester, 
and  where  she  lived. 

While  the  husband  was  at  the  house  of  the  medium,  the 
child  died  ;  and  the  wife  in  Lockport  telegraphed  the  fact  to 
her  husband  in  Rochester.  The  message  was  taken  to  the 
house  of  the  medium,  as  directed,  and  given  to  the  medium 
at  the  door.  Seeing  to  whom  it  was  directed,  and  knowing" 
that  the  child  was  very  sick  when  its  father  left  Lockport,  she 
at  once  inferred  very  naturally  that  it  was  dead ;  and  putting 
the  message  in  her  pocket,  went  in  and  had  the  "spirits"  rap 
out  that  the  child  was  dead  !  The  father  was,  of  course,  in 
great  grief.  In  a  few  hours,  however,  the  door  bell  rang 
again,  and  the  medium  pretended  to  receive  a  dispatch  for 

Mr. ;  and  on  opening  it,  behold,  sure  enough,  his  child 

was  dead  1  This,  of  course,  was  a  clear  case  !  The  "  spirits" 
must  have  brought  the  message,  for  it  came  ahead  of  the 
telegraph  !  And  such  a  transparent  deception  as  this  com- 
pels Rev.  James  Porter,  A.  M.,  of  the  New  England  Con- 
ference, to  admit  that  one  person  can  impress  another  with 
the  news  of  the  day  at  any  distance  ! ! 


216  \PPENDIX. 

On  the  whole,  though  this  work  is  well  written,  and 
contains  many  good  things,  I  must  think  it  will  inculcate 
more  spirit-rapping  than  it  will  cure.  Thousands  who  have 
no  faith  whatever  in  any  of  these  delusions,  will  not  onlv 
embrace  mesmerism  and  clairvoyance  upon  Mr.  Porter's 
endorsement,  but,  having  swallowed  his  theory  of  spirit- 
telegraphing,  will  find  little  difficulty  in  taking  the  remaining 
lessons  of  the  "science."  It  is  just  such  an  "expose7'  as  the 
spirit-rappers  like,  and  can  make  the  most  capital  out  of. 

REV.     CHARLES     BEECHEr's     "REPORT," 

This  is  a  pamphlet  of  seventy-five  pages,  entitled  "A 
Review  of  the  '  Spiritual  Manifestations  f  Read  before  the 
Congregational  Association  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 
By  Charles  Beecher,  Pastor  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  Newark,  N.  J? 

Like  Messrs.  Rogers,  Stevens  and  Porter,  and  some  others, 
Mr.  Beecher  rejects  the  idea  of  collusion,  and  fully  admits  the 
alleged  u  spiritual  "  phenomena.  But  to  this  concession  there 
are  certain  antecedents,  which  ought  to  be  taken  into  the 
account. 

Mr.  Beecher  has  two  sisters — Miss  Catherine  Beecher,  and 
Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.  Some  years  since,  before 
spirit-rapping  was  a  developed,"  the  latter  lady,  while  shaking 
out  her  pinions  for  the  flight  of  fancy  which  she  has  since 
taken,  wrote  an  article  for  the  New  York  Observer,  to  prove 
that  the  "ministering  spirits"  of  the  Bible  were  human 
spirits — the  spirits  of  the  dead.     It  was  headed  by  the  verse, 

"  0  'tis  a  beautiful  belief, 
That  ever  round  our  head, 
Are  hovering  on  viewless  wing, 
The  spirits  of  the  dead." 

I  read  the  article  at  the  time;  and   regarding  it  as  a 


REV.    CHARLES    BEECHEr's    REPORT.  21 7 

heterodox  speculation,  cut  it  out  of  the  paper,  and  kept  it  to 
see  whereunto  it  would  grow.  When  the  "  rappers "  got 
fairly  under  way,  what  should  I  meet  one  day,  but  this  same 
article  in  the  "  Spiritual  Telegraph  /"  And  it  certainly 
seemed  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  theology  of  the 
paper.  Thus  Mrs.  Stowe  was  committed  largely  to  a  cardinal 
point  in  the  spirit-rapping  theology. 

Not  long  after,  Miss  Catherine,  the  other  sister,  comes  out 
in  the  Tribune,  and  declares  that  she  had  "  taken  a  ride 
round  a  room  on  a  table  !"  Thus,  a  second  member  of  the 
family  was  committed  to  the  phenomena  of  spirit-rapping. 

At  length  Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  the  brother,  is  appointed 
a  Committee*  to  investigate  spirit-rapping,  and  presents  the 
Report  under  consideration.  And  what  could  he  do  under 
the  circumstances  ?  His  sisters  had  publicly  endorsed  some 
of  the  main  points  in  the  "spiritual"  creed,  and  as  an 
affectionate  brother,  he  must  endorse  his  sisters.  He  had  no 
alternative,  therefore,  but  to  admit  the  ministry  of  human 
disembodied  spirits,  for  good  or  evil,  according  to  Mrs.  Stowe, 
and  the  "  physical  demonstrations,"  according  to  Miss 
Catherine.  At  the  same  time,  he  must  not  go  unreservedly 
into  rapology. 

These  circumstances,  I  think,  account  for  the  peculiar  and 
seemingly  contradictory  character  of  his  book ;  for  to  my 
view,  it  is  one  of  the  strangest  productions  that  ever  emanated 
from  the  pen  of  a  professed  evangelical  minister.  And  I 
think  the  reader  will  agree  with  me  when  he  shall  come  to 
know  something  of  its  contents. 

Having  admitted  the  phenomena,  and  rejected  collusion,  he 
says  only  two  hypotheses  remain,  viz.,  "Natural  laws  with 


*  I  have  understood,  from  very  good  authority,  that  the  designation 
of  this  subject  for  Mr.  Beecher,  was  rather  a  pleasantry  than  otherwise ; 
but  he  took  it  seriously,  and  went  into  it  con  amore.  There  seemed  to 
be  a  remarkable  degree  of  "  congeniality." 

10 


218  APPENDIX. 

spirits,   and   natural    aws   without   spirits"     He  does  not 
admit  here  that  spirits  alone  might  produce  the  phenomena. 

The  principal  features  of  the  work  are  : 

1st.  The  admission  that  the  alleged  phenomena  do  occur. 
He  then  takes  up  the  "  odic  force  "  theory  of  Dr.  Rogers  aud 
Mr.  Stevens,  and  states  the  principal  arguments  in  its  favor. 
Mr.  Porter's  explanation  is  stated  again,  viz.:  that  "  any  high- 
wrought  cerebral  excitement  may  telegraph  itself  across  the 
globe  upon  any  other  brain  in  due  odylic  rapport,  and  com- 
municate intelligence  of  their  passing  events."  To  illustrate 
this  point,  a  case  is  cited  from  Rogers,  where  a  drummer, 
though  in  jail,  and  his  drum  in  another  building  at  a  distance, 
drummed  upon  it  with  his  mind,  and  "  executed  all  his 
accustomed  points  of  war,"  as  if  the  drum  was  before  him  ! 
This  is  one  of  Dr.  Rogers'  "facts,"  endorsed  by  Mr.  Stevens, 
by  which  spirit-rapping  is  to  be  explained ! 

Having  considered  the  "  odic  force"  theory  at  some  length, 
Mr.  Beecher  proceeds  to  state  what  he  calls  the  "  apneumatic  " 
theory,  viz.,  that  the  "spiritual  phenomena"  are  produced  by 
"  Natural  law  without  spirits."  To  this  theory  (which  is  the 
one  advocated  by  Mr.  Stevens),  he  objects.  (1)  Because  it  is 
equally  valid  against  the  existence  of  the  soul  as  distinct  from 
the  brain.  (2)  It  involves  a  self-contradiction.  (3)  The 
attempt  to  carry  out  the  principle  consistently,  pushes  the 
mind  into  extravagance.  (4)  It  is  unphilosophical.  (5)  It 
is  unscriptural. 

2d.  Under  this  last  head,  Mr.  Beecher  takes  the  ground 
that  the  witches  and  necromancers  of  the  Bible  were  not 
deceivers,  but  really  had  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of  the 
dead.  On  this  point,  he  differs  widely  from  Dr.  Pond,  and, 
indeed,  from  Messrs.  Porter  and  Stevens,  and  most  other 
theologians. 

3d.  He  takes  the  very  remarkable  position  that  the 
"demons"  of  the  New  Testament  (which  word,  he  says,  is 


REV.    CHARLES    BEECHER*S    REPORT.  219 

"falsely  translated  devils'1'')  were  the  souls  of  the  wicked 
dead  !     And  such  a  display  of  Greek  and  Hebrew — 

Like  ocean  into  tempests  tossed, 
To  waft  a  feather,  or  to  drown  a  fly. 

To  establish  his  strange  position,  he  first  assails  Oldfield's  idea 
that  the  Greek  6ai\ioviov  was  nothing  but  the  nervous 
principle ;  and  goes  stoutly  into  the  defence  of  necromancy 
as  a  reality.  He  endorses  the  necromancers,  as  really  having 
intercourse  with  the  dead,  as  fully  as  Rogers  and  Stevens  and 
Porter  endorse  the  "  physical  demonstration  "  of  the  rappers. 
In  this,  I  think  him  the  more  consistent ;  for  if  we  are  to 
believe  these  operators  upon  one  point,  we  should  upon  all. 
If  I  am  to  believe  Mr.  Partridge,  when  he  says  he  carried  a 
heavy  man  on  the  end  of  his  fingers,  why  not  when  he  tells  me 
he  has  talked  with  a  spirit?  Besides,  if  one-half  of  the  alleged 
phenomena  have  really  occurred,  they  can  never  be  accounted 
for  by  science,  or  even  collusion; — there  must  be  some  invisi- 
ble, intelligent  agency — a  spirit  of  some  sort. 

Mr.  Beecher  insists  that  the  term  datfiovtov — demon — is 
never  applied  to  Satan  or  fallen  angels  in  the  New  Testament ; 
but  always  means  the  spirit  of  some  deceased  human  being. 
Such  departed  souls  or  demons,  he  says,  linger  about,  and 
get  into  human  bodies  again,  whenever  they  can,  even  where 
one  soul  already  has  possession  of  a  body.  His  theory  is 
pretty  fully  stated  in  the  following  extract : 

"  Spirits  of  the  departed  [?]  restless  and  miserable,  and  longing  to 
get  back  into  life,  will  thrust  themselves  in  whenever  and  wherever 
odylic  conditions  of  the  organism  will  let  them.  To  this  everything 
said  about  them  in  the  New  Testament  corresponds.  Christ  speaks  of 
them  as  "wandering  through  dry  places,  seeking  rest,  and  finding 
none  ;"  and  at  length,  through  very  weariness,  returning  to  the  victim 
they  had  left.  They  ask  not  to  be  sent  "out  of  that  country,"  as  if 
lingering  about  the  scenes  of  their  earthly  life.  They  dread  the  abyss. 
Rather  than  be  exiled  from  life's  scenes,  they  harbor  in  the  organism 
of  swine.  They  ask  not  to  be  tormented  before  the  time,  as  those  that 
must  appear  at  the  judgment-seat,  to  give  account  of  deeds  done  in  the 
body.     The    presence    of   Christ    agonises    them,    ueaV    they   cry, 


220  APPENDIX. 

cTcijutv  not  doVlrjOOv'Na£ap7iVEf  ('Away!  what  have  we  to  do  with 
thee,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?')  '  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  ?  I  know 
thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God  !'  They  confess  that  there  is 
naught  in  common  between  them  and  their  Judge ;  forlorn,  lost,  they 
seek  connection  with  the  living  to  escape,  not  to  inflict,  suffering. 
Hence  they  seek  impressible  subjects,  those,  namely,  in  whom  the  odylic 
bond  between  soul  and  body  is  less  firmly  fastened,  and  capable  of 
partial  disadjustment.  Having  been  once  incarnate,  they  retain 
vestiges  of  odylic  adaptation.  They  invade,  they  dispossess,  in  part, 
the  rightful  occupant,  and  prey  upon  his  odylic  energy.  Around  such 
'subjects'  they  throng  eagerly.  Out  of  one  went  seven.  Out  of 
another  a  legion."     Pp.  52,  53. 

In  regard  to  this  strange  theory,  it  may  be  observed,  First, 
That  the  fundamental  assumption  is  not  true.  It  is  not  true 
that  datfioviov — demon — is  never  used  in  the  New  Testament 
to  represent  Satan  or  the  Devil.  I  cannot,  of  course,  track 
Mr.  B.  through  his  argument,  and  expose  his  errors  in  detail ; 
but  will  upheave  his  entire  system,  by  producing  one  conclu- 
sive instance  in  which  this  term  is  used  to  signify  Satan,  even 
by  Christ  himself. 

24.  "But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  it,  they  said,  This 
fellow  doth  not  cast  out  devils  [daifiovia — demons]  but  by 
Beelzebub  \BeeX^ej3ovX],  the  prince  of  the  devils  [daifiovicov — 
of  the  demons]. 

25.  "And  Jesus  knowing  their  thoughts,  said  unto  them, 
Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  is  brought  to  desolation  ; 
and  every  city  or  house  divided  against  itself  shall  not  stand : 

26.  "And  if  Satan  \2aravac;]  cast  out  Satan  [laravav], 
he  is  divided  against  himself;  how,  then,  shall  his  kingdom 
stand  ? 

27.  "  And  if  I,  by  Beelzebub  [Beeh&PovX],  cast  out  devils 
[dat/Jbovia],  by  whom  do  your  children  cast  them  out?" 
(Matt,  xii.,  24-27.) 

Here,  it  will  be  seen  that  our  Saviour  uses  three  terms,  viz., 
demon,  Beelzebub,  and  Satan.  Let  us  see,  then,  if  they  are 
not  all  used  to  signify  the  same  class  of  beings,  namely,  fallen 
a  no-els  or  devils. 


REV.    CHARLES    BEECHEr's    REPORT.  221 

(1.)  There  is  nr*  dispute  about  the  term  Satan — that,  Mr. 
Beeeher  admits,  means  the  Devil,  and  not  a  human  spirit. 

(2.)  It  is  equally  clear  that  Beelzebub,  in  the  24th  and  27th 
verses,  is  the  same  as  Satan  in  the  26th  verse.  To  cast  out 
demons,  by  Beelzebub,  was  to  cast  them  out  by  Satan.  Beel- 
zebub and  Satan  then  are  the  same. 

(3.)  But  this  Beelzebub  or  Satan  is  called  "  the  prince  "  of 
the  devils  [dac/iovia]  in  the  24th  verse.  He  must,  there- 
fore, have  been  one  of  the  demons ;  or,  in  other  words,  Beelze- 
bub, or  Satan,  is  called  a  demon  by  Christ.  This  is  still  more 
clear  from  Mark  iii.,  26,  where  it  is  said  that  for  Christ  to 
cast  out  demons  by  Beelzebub,  would  be  for  "  Satan  to  rise  up 
against  himself."  Beelzebub  then  is  Satan,  and  Satan  is  a 
demon. 

(4.)  The  demons  of  verse  24th,  of  which  Beelzebub  is  the 
"prince,"  are  called  Satan  in  the  26th  verse.  Satan  is  a 
demon,  then,  or  the  demons  of  the  New  Testament  are  devils 
or  fallen  angels. 

A  more  perfect  example  of  the  synonymous  or  inter- 
changable  use  of  terms,  could  scarcely  be  found,  than  is 
afforded  by  the  passage  cited.  And  it  is  entirely  sufficient  to 
explode  Mr.  Beechers  wild  and  visionary  assertion  that  the 
term  datjiovtov  never  means  Satan,  or  a  fallen  angel,  in  the 
New  Testament.  So  far  is  this,  from  being  correct,  that  it 
seldom  means  anything  else  ;  and  to  pretend  that  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  used  it  in  the  sense  of  the  ancient  necromancers,  to 
represent  an  unhappy  human  soul,  is  utterly  preposterous. 
And  Mr.  Beeeher  has  reflected  little  credit,  either  upon  his 
learning  or  his  orthodoxy,  by  making  such  an  assertion."* 

*  The  reader  may  find  a  complete  refutation  of  Mr.  Beeeher' s  views 
of  New  Testament  Demonology,  in  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review  for 
1850,  pp.  219-223.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Silas  Confort,  of  the 
Oneida  Conference  of  the  J\i.  E.  Church,  and  is  well  worthy  of  perusal. 
We  commend  it  to  Uev.  Mr.  Beeeher,  as  the  means  of  both  improving 
his  knowledge  of  Greek,  and  correcting  his  errors. 


222  APPENDIX. 

In  the  second  place,  let  us  look  upon  this  theory  in  the  light 
of  philosophy  and  common  sense.  The  souls  of  the  wicked, 
according  to  Mr.  Beecher,  linger  around,  and  crowd  into  the 
bodies  of  living  men  and  women  whenever  they  get  a 
chance — "  whenever  odylic  conditions  of  the  organism  will 
let  them."  This  is  precisely  the  theory  of  the  spirit-rappers, 
described  on  page  66  of  this  work,  with  this  exception ;  that 
Mr.  Beecher's  demons  are  all  the  spirits  of  wicked  men,  and 
his  spirits  do  not  crowd  the  spirits  of  the  mediums  out  of  their 
bodies.  Think  of  it !  The  souls  of  eight  human  beings  in 
Mary  Magdalene !  A  woman  with  eight  souls !  (Where  is 
Barnum  ?)  Will  Mr.  Beecher  please  turn  to  page  78,  and 
look  at  our  pictorial  illustration  of  his  theory,  and  to  page  67 
and  onward,  and  read  our  objections  to  it.  What  facility  for 
transmigration  !  And  then  the  idea  of  a  "  swine  "  with  the 
requisite  a  odylic  conditions,"  and  occupied  by  a  human  soul ! 
Could  Mr.  Beecher  tell  us  whether,  under  the  circumstances, 
it  would  be  a  "  swine "  or  a  man  ?  and  if  a  man,  whether 
alive  or  dead  ? 

But  I  must  devote  no  more  space  to  Mr.  Beecher.  His 
work  is  the  strongest  possible  endorsement  of  the  modern 
necromancers,  and  is  a  monument  of  human  folly,  when  man 
sets  out  in  the  career  of  unbridled  speculation.* 

DR.   DODS'   INVOLUNTARY   THEORY. 

This  theory  is  set  forth  in  a  neat  12mo.  volume  of  250 
pages,  containing  ten  lectures,  and  an  appendix  of  miscella- 

*  The  following  is  Mr.  Brittan's  opinion  of  Mr.  Beecher's  book: 
"Rev.  Charles  Beecher's  Review  of  Spiritualism  is  now  published  in 
a  convenient  and  beautiful  form,  and  we  are  prepared  to  supply  all 
orders  with  the  utmost  promptness.  We  desire  to  assure  our  friends 
that  this  book,  if  generally  circulated,  will  become  a  most  efficient 
instrumentality  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  Spiritual  cause." 
Of  this  we  have  not  a  shadow  of  doubt. 


DR.  DODS'  INVOLUNTARY  THEORY.  223 

neous  articles.     The  following  are  the  leading  characteristics 
of  the  work,  and  of  Dr.  Dods'  theory  : 

1.  He  admits  the  alleged  phenomena  of  "  spiritualism,"  but 
denies  that  they  are  the  work  of  spirits. 

2.  Spirit-rapping  is  no  humbug ;  the  mediums  are  all 
honest ;  the  Fishes  and  Foxes  are  most  amiable  ladies ; 
Ballou,  and  Davis,  and  Brittan,  are  great  and  good  men ;  but 
all  deceived  or  innocently  mistaken. 

3.  The  cause  of  the  phenomena  is  purely  physical,  viz. : 
"  electro-pyschologyP  Not  "  odic  force"  or  "  dia-magnetism  " 
(as  Dr.  Rogers  and  Mr.  Stevens  affirm),  but  a  new  power  of 
the  mind  and  brain,  of  which  Dr.  Dods  claims  to  be  the  dis- 
coverer. 

Like  most  others  who  admit  the  phenomena,  and  assign  a 
scientific  cause,  Mr.  Dods  goes  at  once  to  Phrenology  and  its 
adjuncts,  Mesmerism  and  Clairvoyance,  to  account  for  them; 
not  so  much  by  these  alone,  as  by  " psychology  ;"  or  the  still 
higher  science  of  "  electro-Tpsychology." 

4.  Answerable  to  his  peculiar  theory  of  electro-psychology, 
Mr.  Dods  has  a  peculiar  theory  of  phrenology  and  physiology. 
He  says  we  have  two  brains,  the  "  back  brain  "  and  the  "  front 
brain,"  each  of  which  is  perfect  in  itself,  and  altogether 
distinct  from  the  other.  The  front  brain  is  the  organ  of  ail 
voluntary  motion,  and  the  back  brain  of  all  involuntary 
motion,  such  as  throbbing  the  heart,  &c.  Answering  to  this 
double  brain,  the  mind  also  is  double,  having  its  voluntary 
and  involuntary  powers.  And  the  nerves  going  out  from 
these  brains  over  the  system,  are  like  their  respective  sources, 
voluntary  and  involuntary  nerves.  The  voluntary  powers  of 
the  mind  reside  in  the  front  brain,  and  are  exerted  through 
the  voluntary  nerves  going  out  from  it ;  while  the  involuntary 
powers  of  the  mind  reside  in  the  back  brain,  and  are  exerted 
through  the  involuntary  nerves  going  out  from  it.  When, 
therefore,  the  back  brain  becomes  overcharged  with  "  too 


224  APPENDIX. 

great  a  redundancy  of  electricity  congregated  upon  the 
involuntary  nerves,  through  passivity  of  mind,"  it  acquires 
extraordinary  nervous  force,  of  which  the  front  brain  or  front 
mind  is  not  conscious  ;  and  hence  all  the  rapping,  tipping, 
etc.  It  is  all  done  by  the  mediums  themselves,  involuntarily, 
and  without  their  knowledge.  The  part  of  the  mind  residing 
in  the  front  brain  is  not  aware  of  the  pranks  which  electricity 
is  playing  with  the  nerves  and  muscles  of  its  fellow  brain. 

The  Doctor  further  declares  that  when  the  back  brain  is 
thus  charged,  "  an  electro-magnetic  discharge  from  the  fingers 
or  toes  of  the  medium  may  often  produce  an  audible  snap ;" 
and  that  "this  electro-magnetic  force,  by  endeavoring  to 
equalize  itself  over  the  nervous  system  of  the  medium,  may  oc- 
casion a  snapping  in  the  head.1'  Finally,  his  entire  theory  is 
thus  stated  by  himself  in  italics  :  "  The  entire  passivity  of  the 
voluntary  powers  of  the  mind,  and  of  the  voluntary  nerves,  is 
the  cause  of  unduly  charging  the  involuntary  powers  with  too 
great  an  electro-nervous  force,  and  the  result  is  these  singular 
manifestations,  that  are  so  confidently  attributed  to  the  agency 
of  spirits." 

Now  this  is  quite  a  theory ;  and  whatever  I  may  think  of 
its  truth  or  philosophy,  I  am  ready  to  accord  to  the  "  Doctor  " 
considerable  ingenuity,  or,  in  more  scientific  language,  quite 
a  bump  of  u  construetiveness."  But,  unfortunately  for  it,  as 
for  many  other  castles  built  in  the  air,  it  has  no  foundation  in 
fact.     This  I  propose  to  show  somewhat  at  length. 

(1.)  There  is  no  such  division  of  the  brain  as  this  system 
pre-supposes.  The  brain  is  composed  of  three  parts  instead 
of  two — the  cerebrum,  cerebellum,  and  medulla-oblong  ata. 
The  cerebrum  fills  all  the  upper  part  of  the  skull,  from  front 
to  rear.  This  is  divided,  through  the  centre,  into  the  right  and 
left  lobes.  The  cerebellum  is  situated  in  the  back  of  the 
head,  under  the  posterior  lobe  of  the  cerebrum ;  and  is  only 
about  one-seventh  as  large  as  the  cerebrum.     The  medulla- 


DR.    DODS'    INVOLUNTARY    THEORY.  225 

oblongata,  (or  oblong  brain,)  is  also  under  the  cerebrum,  and 
in  front  of  the  cerebellum.  From  this  issues  the  great  nerve 
that  goes  through  the  vertebra,  or  back  bone;  and  from 
which  all  the  nerves  of  the  system  .  branch  out  and  are  dis- 
tributed. Here,  then,  to  begin  with,  is  a  capital  defect  in  the 
Doctor's  system  ; — there  is  not  a  skull  on  the  globe  that  has 
the  front  and  rear  brains  which  his  system  demands. 

(2.)  If  true,  this  theory  is  at  war  with  phrenology,  which 
the  Doctor  endorses,  and  by  which,  in  part,  he  proposes  to 
explain  the  "  spiritual  phenomena."  Mr.  Fowler  will  tell  him 
that  his  front  and  rear  brains  are  a  myth,  and  that  the  bumps 
in  the  rear  of  the  head  are  anything  but  "  involuntary."  He 
will  by  no  means  allow  of  such  an  unconscious  set  of  faculties 
in  the  back  of  the  head  as  Dr.  Dods  demands.  He  wants 
that  territory  for  the  location  of  "  Amativeness,"  "  Philopro- 
genitiveness,"  "  Combativeness,"  etc., — not  quite  "  involun- 
tary" faculties.  Besides,  Phrenology  recognizes  no  such 
duplexity  of  the  mind  as  Dr.  D.  supposes.  Mr.  Fowler's  sys- 
tem cuts  the  brain  and  mind  up  into  mince-meat,  compared 
with  the  ponderous  division  of  Dr.  Dods.  Even,  then,  upon 
his  own  admitted  principles,  viz.,  those  of  phrenology,  the 
very  foundation  of  his  "  electro-psychological "  system  has  no 
existence. 

(3.)  There  are  no  such  nerves  in  the  system  as  Dr.  Dods' 
theory  supposes.  He  says  the  nerves  are  voluntary  and 
involuntary — the  former  issuing  from  the  front  or  voluntary 
brain,  and  the  latter  from  the  rear,  or  involuntary  brain. 
There  are  three  kinds  of  nerves,  it  is  true,  in  each  bundle,  or 
cord,  whether  it  be  large  or  small :  viz.,  those  of  motion,  sensa- 
tion, and  sympathy .  By  the  first  we  contract  the  muscles 
and  move  the  limbs ;  by  the  second  we  feel  cold  or  heat,  or 
pain  ;  see,  hear,  taste,  etc.  The  sympathetic  nerve  confers 
vitality,  or  animal  life,  on  all  parts  of  the  system.  The  nerves 
of  sensation  and  sympathy  are  involuntary  in  this  sense,  that 

10* 


226  APPENDIX. 

sensation  and  vitality  conveyed  through  them  do  not  depend 
upon  the  will;  but  they  are  not  involuntary  in  Dr.  Dods' 
sense.  And  the  nerves  i.-f  motion,  which  he  calls  voluntary, 
are  actually  involuntary  in  a  still  higher  sense,  in  every 
instance  of  motion  that  we  do  not  will,  and  cannot  help.  So 
distinct  are  these  nerves  that  one  may  be  cut  and  its  functions 
cease,  while  the  others  are  as  active  as  ever.  We  may  have 
feeling  without  motion,  or  motion  without  feeling  ;  or  vitality 
without  either  feeling  or  motion.  Physiology,  therefore, 
refutes  the  Doctor's  nervous  theory  at  the  outset.  We  have 
no  such  voluntary  and  involuntary  nerves  as  Dr.  Dods  sup- 
poses. 

(4.)  All  the  nerves  originate,  not  in  the  cerebrum  or  cerebel- 
lum merely,  but  in  the  medulla-oblong ata  ;  and,  through  that, 
in  the  entire  brain.  Here  originates  the  first  pair,  or  olfac- 
tory nerves  ;  the  second  pair,  or  optic  nerves;  and  so  on  to 
the  twelfth  pair.  They  are  connected  with  the  whole  brain, 
as  the  medulla-oblong  ata  is  thus  connected  ;  but  all  these 
nerves  start  out  from  this  oblong  brain.  And  all  these  pairs 
of  nerves  are  alike  complete  sets,  viz. :  voluntary,  sensitive,  and 
vital.  Else,  how  could  wre  move  the  eye  or  tongue  at  will  ? 
how  see,  feel,  or  taste?  how  have  life  in  the  eye  and  face? 
But  Dr.  D.  makes  the  nerves  of  the  face,  eye,  tongue,  etc.,  to 
originate  in  his  "  involuntary  brain  ;"  so  that,  upon  his  theory, 
all  the  motions  of  the  eye,  face,  mouth,  and  tongue,  must  be 
involuntary ! 

(5.)  The  sets  of  nerves  that  go  down  the  centre  of  the  spinal 
column  from  the  medidla-oblongata,  and  branch  off  from  time 
to  time,  are  also  complete  sets.  Sensation,  motion  and  vitality, 
are  everywhere  distributed.  The  nerves  passing  down  the 
spinal  column  from  the  lower  brain  (which  I  suppose  must  be 
Dr.  Dods'  "back  brain")  are  not  "involuntary  nerves" 
merely,  but  voluntary  as  well ;  so  that  here,  again,  the  Doctor's 
involuntary  brain  and  nerve  theory  are  contradicted  by  fact. 


DR.    DODS'    INVOLUNTARY    THEORY.  227 

^6.)  There  is  no  such,  animal  electricity  in  the  human 
frame  as  his  theory  supposes.  We  may  place  a  person  upon 
an  insulating  stool,  and  charge  him  with  electricity  with  an 
electrical  machine,  till  his  hair  stands  erect.  And  if  he  will 
then  attempt  to  touch  a  person  standing  on  the  floor,  the 
electric  spark  will  snap  from  the  end  of  his  finger.  But  he 
must  be  insulated  and  positively  electrified  by  a  machine  to 
do  this ;  and  when  placed  in  contact  with  another  object,  the 
equilibrium  is  produced  in  an  instant,  even  by  the  first  snap. 
But  there  is  no  such  thing  possible  without  insulation — no 
generating  of  electricity  by  u  passivity  " — no  such  insulation 
between  the  parts  of  the  brain,  that  one  can  be  positively  and 
the  other  negatively  electrified — and  there  can  be  no  such 
long  struggle  for  electrical  equilibrium  as  Dr.  D.  represents, 
even  if  all  the  rest  of  his  philosophy  were  possible.  The 
whole  theory,  therefore,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  a  mere 
dream — a  mythical  speculation,  without  any  foundation  even 
in  phrenology,  upon  which  it  professes  to  rest,  much  less  in 
physiology  and  natural  philosophy.  Neither  Dr.  Dods  nor 
any  other  man  can  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this  "  electro- 
psychological  "  theory ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  its  Utopian 
character  can  be  demonstrated  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Dods, 
whenever  he  may  be  disposed  to  submit  his  philosophy  to  the 
test  of  sober  experiment.* 


*  I  deem  it  due  to  the  cause  of  truth  to  say,  that  whether  Dr.  Dods' 
philosophy  is  influenced  by  his  interest  or  not,  he  has  what  is  some- 
times called  "  an  axe  to  grind  "  in  all  this.  He  is  the  author  of  a  work 
on  the  "  Philosophy  of  Electrical  Psychology"  and  is  getting  up  a 
medical  practice  upon  this  philosophy.  Hence,  if  while  he  is  account- 
ing for  the  rapping  phenomena,  he  can  inculcate  his  "  electro-psycholo- 
gical "  system,  he  is  making  custom  for  himself  as  a  medical  practi- 
tioner.  It  is,  therefore,  quite  natural  for  him  to  say,  as  he  does  on 
page  108,  that  ';  electro-psychology  and  mesmerism,  as  matters  of  sci- 
ence, should  be  kept  in  their  appropriate  domain,  to  detect  and  describe 
diseases,  and  apply  tr*°  healing  remedy."  Observe,  I  do  not  allege  that 
the  Doctor  has  any  pecuniary  object  in  view ;  but,  as  it  has  become  quite 
fashionable  for  fourth-rat*"  ^v-actitioners  of  medicine  to  get  up  a  book 


228  APPENDIX. 

(7.)  Throughout  his  book  Dr.  Dods  confounds  his  "  invo 
luntary  powers "  with  instinct  We  have  powers,  it  is  true, 
that  are  in  one  sense  involuntary.  When  odors  strike  the 
olfactories,  or  colors  the  retina,  or  flavors  the  palate,  or  sounds 
the  tympanum,  we  smell,  or  see,  or  taste,  or  hear,  involuntarily. 
But  is  this  instinct  ?  So  of  the  heart — it  beats  involuntarily, 
but  not  instinctively.  Instinct  is  not  a  mere  absence  of 
volition,  as  Dr.  D.  supposes.  I  have  not  space  to  discuss  this 
point  at  length ;  but  call  attention  to  the  fact  that,  in  this 
respect  also,  Dr.  Dods'  theory  is  erroneous. 

(8.)  Dr.  Dods  ostensibly  vindicates  Christ  and  the  Scrip- 
tures in  this  book,  but  to  me  it  seems  like  "  faint  praise."  He 
endorses  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  the  great  American  vilifier 
of  Christ  and  the  Scriptures,  as  a  man  that  he  "  highly 
esteems,"  and  for  whom  he  entertains  "  a  high  opinion,"  and 
says  "he  is  not  to  be  blamed"  for  his  low  infidelity  and 
sneering  at  Christ  and  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  Doctor's 
theory  of  morals  is,  that  we  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  what  we 
believe  ;  or  in  other  words,  that  the  open  and  avowed  infidel 
is  just  as  innocent  as  the  most  devoted  believer  in  Christianity ! 
Such  sentiments  we  can  but  regard  as  of  the  most  pernicious 
tendency. 

(9.)  The  "Doctor"  is  a  great  admirer  of  Emanuel  Svve- 
denborg— says  "he  was  a  very  extraordinary  man, — superior 
to  any  in  moral  and  intellectual  grandeur  since  the  days  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles  !" 

(10.)  His  views  of  new  revelations  may  be  gathered  from 
the  following  passage : 

"But  as  regards  understanding  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Christ  and 


upon  some  idea,  to  make  their  hobby  known,  and  attract  custom,  it  is 
a  question  that  may  fairly  be  propounded — how  far  Dr.  Dods  lectured 
and  wrote  as  a  disinterested  and  unbiased  philosopher  ?  and  how  far  as 
an  interested  speculating  "  Doctor  ?:' — what  some  people  call  a 
"Quack?" 


DR..  DODS'  INVOLUNTARY  THEORY.  229 

his  inspired  companions — such  as  the  atonement,  or  in  what  sense  he 
died  for  us  as  a  sacrifice  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world — his  being 
the  resurrection  and  the  life  of  the  world — his  immortal  reign — and  in 
what  sense  that  he,  as  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  is  to  reward  and  pun- 
ish all  mankind  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body — and  even  in 
what  sense  he  is  the  Son  of  God,  distinct  from  any  of  the  human  race — 
I  say,  as  regards  understanding  these  and  other  doctrines,  I  am  satisfied 
that  new  revealments,  through  clairvoyance,  or  some  other  source,  are 
to  be  made  to  the  world."     Page  119. 

In  Dr.  Dods'  view,  these  great  cardinal  points  in  the  Chris- 
tian system  are  not  revealed  with  sufficient  clearness  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures  to  be  understood  ;  but  must  be  elucidated 
"  through  clairvoyance  or  some  other  source."  "  And  even 
the  power  invested  in  the  apostles,  to  work  miracles  of  mercy, 
will  be  again  invested  in  man  to  do  the  same."  P.  120. 
From  these  quotations,  the  reader  will  see  to  what  the  Doctor's 
vindication  of  the  Scriptures  amounts ;  and  that  the  bearing 
and  influence  of  his  book  will  inevitably  be  to  weaken  faith 
in  Divine  Revelation,  and  in  experimental  religion. 

(11.)  Finally;  notwithstanding  the  Doctor  sets  out  with 
admitting  all  the  u  phenomena  "  of  "  spiritualism,"  and  en- 
dorsing the  mediums,  and  clairvoyants,  and  mesmerizers,  as 
the  most  sincere,  and  honest,  and  virtuous  of  mortals  ;  when 
he  comes  to  notice  the  alleged  "facts"  of  Judge  Edmunds' 
book,  he  intimates  very  clearly  that  he  does  not  believe  the 
wonders  related  by  the  Judge  ever  occurred !  He  is  full  of 
suspicion ;  asks  a  great  many  impertinent  questions ;  and 
makes  some  most  indelicate  insinuations  about  "  tricks,"  and 
collusion.  His  "  electro-psychology  "  will  not  account  for  bells 
being  carried  through  the  air  and  rung  without  hands ;  and 
other  similar  "facts,"  (?)  and  so  he  politely  tells  the  Judge, 
in  substance,  that  he  does  not  believe  any  such  phenomena 
ever  occurred ! ! 

But  stop,  Doctor  :     It  is  a  foregoing  conclusion.     You  have 
endorsed  all  this,  and  it  is  too  late  now  to  recant.    Nay,  more*, 
you  must  believe,  not  only  all  the  Judge  says,  but  that  heavy  - 
men  have  been  carried  through  the  air  without  hands  by  your 


230  APPENDIX. 

"  electro-psychology."  "  Professor  Brittan,"  whom  you  exalt 
to  the  skies,  as  one  of  the  purest  and  best  of  men,  says  "  this 
is  now  a  very  common  occurrence  "  (see  pretended  Discus- 
sion with  Richmond)  ;  and  your  friend  Partridge  tells  you  he 
carried  a  heavy  man  140  feet  on  the  tips  of  his  ringers  !  Now 
don't  turn  "  skeptic,"  I  beg  of  you,  and  upset  all  your  lectures 
by  admitting  at  last  that  your  theory  does  not  account  for 
the  alleged  phenomena.  This,  in  fact,  is  what  the  "  Doctor  " 
has  done,  by  admitting  only  the  phenomena  that  he  thinks 
his  theory  accounts  for,  and  denying  all  the  rest. 

In  conclusion :  I  regard  Dr.  Dods'  book  as  unsound  in  its 
theology ;  loose  in  its  moral  philosophy ;  wretchedly  at 
variance  with  facts  in  its  natural  philosophy,  and  physiology ;■ 
contradictory  and  inconsistent  with  itself;  and  no  sort  of  an 
explanation  of  the  alleged  "  spiritual  phenomena." 

professor  faraday's  explanation. 

Professor  Faraday,  of  London,  is  one  of  the  highest 
scientific  authorities  on  the  globe,  especially  on  questions  of 
Natural  Philosophy.  Being  requested  to  investigate  the  sub- 
ject, he  prepared  a  suit  of  apparatus,  and  entered  upon  a 
series  of  experiments,  the  result  of  which  was  a  demonstration 
that  the  tables  were,  in  all  cases,  moved  by  the  mediums.  He 
did  not  allege  that  they  were  always  aware  of  it  (and  I  am 
not  sure  that  they  always  are) ;  but  the  fact  itself  he  demon- 
strated before  their  own  eyes,  over  and  over  again,  and  I  had 
done  the  same  thing  in  this  country,  time  after  time,  before, 
and  can  do  it  again,  at  any  and  every  opportunity.  As  sim- 
ple a  thing  as  two  pieces  of  smooth  paste-board  placed  between 
the  hands  of  the  medium  and  the  table  (two  under  each  hand) 
will  block  the  game  of  any  medium  in  the  country. 

The  following  are  some  of  Prof.  Faraday's  remarks  upon 
the  subject : 

"  I  have  been  greatly  startled  by  the  revelation  which  this  purely 
physical  subject  has  made  of  the  condition  of  the  public  mind.     No 


PROFESSOR    FARADxVY's    EXPLANATION.  231 


doubt,  there  are  many  persons  who  have  formed  a  right  judgment,  or 
used  a  cautious  reserve — for  I  know  several  such,  and  public  communi- 
cations have  shown  it  to  be  so ;  but  their  number  is  almost  as  nothing 
to  the  great  body  who  have  believed  and  borne  testimony,  as  I  think, 
in  the  cause  of  error.  I  do  not  here  refer  to  the  distinction  of  those 
who  agree  with  me  and  those  who  differ.  By  the  great  body,  I  mean 
such  as  reject  all  considerations  of  the  equality  of  cause  and  effect — who 
refer  the  results  to  electricity  and  magnetism,  yet  know  nothing  of  the 
laws  of  these  forces — or  to  attraction,  yet  show  no  phenomena  of  pure 
attractive  power — or  to  the  rotation  of  the  earth,  as  if  the  earth  revolved 
round  the  leg  of  a  table — or  to  some  unrecognized  physical  force,  with- 
out inquiring  whether  the  known  forces  are  not  sufficient — or  who  even 
refer  them  to  diabolical  or  supernatural  agency,  rather  than  suspend 
their  judgment,  or  acknowledge  to  themselves  that  they  are  not  learned 
enough  in  these  matters  to  decide  on  the  nature  of  the  action.  I  think 
the  system  of  education  that  could  leave  the  mental  condition  of  the 
public  body  in  the  state  in  which  this  subject  has  found  it,  must  have 
been  greatly  deficient  in  some  very  important  principle." 
*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

"  I  must  bring  this  long  description  to  a  close.  I  am  a  little  ashamed 
of  it,  for  I  think,  in  the  present  age,  and  in  this  part  of  the  world,  it 
ought  not  to  have  been  required.  Nevertheless,  I  hope  it  may  be  use- 
ful. There  are  many  whom  I  do  not  expect  to  convince ;  but  I  may  be 
allowed  to  say  that  I  cannot  undertake  to  answer  such  objections  as 
may  be  made.  I  state  my  own  convictions  as  an  experimental  philoso- 
pher, and  find  it  no  more  necessary  to  enter  into  controversy  on  this 
point  than  on  any  other  in  science,  or  the  nature  of  matter,  or  inertia, 
or  the  magnetization  of  light  on  which  I  may  differ  from  others.  The 
world  will  decide,  sooner  or  later,  in  all  such  cases,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  very  soon  and  correctly  in  the  present  instance." 


Now,  let  the  reader  glance  for  a  moment  at  these  several 
theories,  set  forth  by  persons  admitting  the  phenomena,  with 
a  view  to  explaining  them.  Dr.  Pond  (who,  I  think,  has 
written  more  sensibly  on  the  subject  than  either  of  the  others) 
attributes  the  phenomena  to  imposition,  or  unobserved  natural 
causes,  or  the  Devil.  Dr.  Rogers  explains  them  by  his  "odic 
force "  theory ;  and  Abel  Stevens  endorses  him  in  the 
strongest  possible  manner.  Mr.  Porter,  mentions  collusion 
and  devils,  but  relies  mainly  upon  Mesmerism  and  Clairvoy- 
ance for  a  solution  of  the  mysteries.  He  regards  these  as 
veritable  "  sciences,"  as  much  so  as  astronomy  itself.     Mr. 


232  APPENDIX. 

Beecher  turns  all  the  devils  of  our  Saviour's  time  into  the 
departed  spirits  of  wicked  men ;  and  attributes  the  modern 
"spiritual  phenomena"  to  such  u spirits"  prowling  around 
our  world,  and  crowding  into  the  bodies  of  mediums  when- 
ever the  uodylic  relations"  will  give  them  a  chance;  and 
Prof.  Faraday,  and  many  others,  have  demonstrated  the  whole 
movement  to  be  a  most  transparent  wicked  imposition  and 
delusion.  And  as  such  it  is  fast  dying  away,  and  will  soon 
find  its  proper  level  with  "  Salem  witchcraft,"  and  other  simi- 
lar mental  epidemics. 

But  let  the  world  take  note  of  those  writers  and  u  philoso- 
phers," (?)  who  have  not  only  allowed  themselves  to  be 
deceived,  in  spite  of  abundant  warning,  but  have  made  con- 
cessions that  have  helped  on  the  delusion  ;  and  have  even 
"  beat  their  fellow  servants  "  for  not  being  as  credulous  and 
gullable  as  themselves.  "We  say,  let  the  world  take  note  of 
these  guides  of  public  opinion ;  and,  when  time  has  demon- 
strated their  folly,  let  them  learn  a  lesson  of  modesty  and 
caution,  and  the  world  learn  that  neither  office,  nor  learning, 
nor  piety,  wholly  secures  a  man  against  the  influence  of  impo- 
sition and  delusion. 


CHAPTER    III 


INTERESTIN<       RECENT     DEVELOPMENTS. 

Having  paid  my  respects  to  my  reviewers,  and  noticed 
most  of  the  attempts  to  account  for  the  spirit-rapping  phe- 
nomena, by  those  who  admit  their  occurrence,  I  shall  conclude 
this  appendix  with  a  chapter  of  miscellaneous  articles,  the  first 
of  which  I  will  entitle  : 

THE   CHALLENGE  ACCEPTED. 

On  page  61,  an  offer  of  $500  is  made  for  a  successful  test 
experiment,  proving  the  agency  of  disembodied  spirits.  The 
same  was  made  in  various  public  assemblies,  but  was  never 
accepted  but  in  one  instance.  Some  time  in  August,  1853,  I 
received  the  following  letter  through  the  post-office : 

Honeoye  Falls,  Monroe  County,  N.  Y.,  July  30th,  1853. 
Rev.  H.  Mattison  : 

Dear  Sir, — I  have  just  finished  the  perusal  of  "  Spirit -Rapping 
Unveiled"  in  which  I  find  an  offer  of  "  $500  to  any  card  medium  who 
will  publicly  spell  out  an  intelligent  communication  blindfolded,  your- 
self being  allowed  to  procure  the  card,  and  place  it  before  the  medium 
after  she  is  blinded." 

Now,  sir,  if  this  is  a  bona  fide  offer,  and  you  will  agree  to  reasonable 
conditions,  you  may  consider  the,  challenge  accepted  by  a  magnetic 
clairvoyant  medium  of  this  county. 

The  conditions  required,  will  be  a  committee  of  three,  one  selected 
by  yourself,  one  by  the  medium,  and  the  third  by  those  two  who  shall 
hold  the  money,  and  be  authorized  to  pay  it  over,  when  in  the  judgment 
of  two  of  them  an  "intelligent  communication"  has  been  "spelled." 
By  "publicly,"  we  understand  you  to  mean  in  some  parlor  or  hall, 
before  a  committee  and  yourself,  with  a  few  friends,  the  medium  being 
entitled  to  the  presence  of  an  equal  number.  Please  answer  im- 
mediately. Yours,  truly, 

Wm.  W.  Badger. 


234  APPENDIX. 

To  this  letter  I  immediately  returned  the  following 
answer : 

New  York,  August  3,  1853. 
Mr.  Wm.  W.  Badger  : 

Sir, — Yours  of  the  30th  July  is  received.  I  am  happy  to  learn  that 
some  one  thinks  of  trying  to  get  the  $500  premium  offered  in  my  book, 
for  a  successful  test  experiment,  proving  the  movement  of  a  medium's 
hand  by  foreign  spiritual  agency.  And.  although  the  offer  was  obviously 
designed  for  the  "Professors"  in  this  vicinity,  and  has  not  been  taken 
up  by  any  of  them,  still  it  shall  be  open  to  the  whole  world.  But  the 
feat  must  be  performed  in  the  Metropolitan  Hall  of  this  city ;  and  the 
whole  audience  must  be  the  judges,  and  decide  by  count  vote.  As  you 
have  no  forfeiture  whatever,  and  have  so  fair  a  chance  to  make  $500, 
you  will,  of  course,  bring  your  medium  to  this  citv  without  hesitation. 

The  conditions  upon  which  the  money  will  be  paid,  are  : 

1.  The  medium  shall  be  thoroughly  blindfolded. 

2.  After  being  magnetized  (or  whatever  else  you  please),  all  her 
associates  shall  leave  the  platform,  and  a  stranger  to  all  parties  shall 
be  selected  to  remain  with  me  and  the  medium,  to  see  if  she  succeeds  in 
her  undertaking,  in  pointing  out  the  letters. 

3.  I  will  then  produce  and  place  the  card,  and  the  medium  shall 
point  out  the  letters,  which  shall  be  announced  one  by  one,  and  written 
down.  They  shall  then  be  read  to  the  audience,  and  if  they  decide,  by 
a  majority-vote,  that  it  is  an  "intelligent  communication,"  such 
as  would  indicate  the  presence  of  a  "foreign  spiritual  agency,"  or 
spirit  the  money  shall  be  paid  over  at  once. 

Very  respectfully, 

H.  Mattison. 

P.  S. — Should  the  card  be  printed  in  Hebrew  or  Greek,  to  accom- 
modate the  spirits  of  the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  the  communication 
shall  be  translated  on  the  spot  by  a  competent  linguist,  and  submitted 
to  the  audience  in  its  English  dress.  H.  M. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that,  up  to  the  present  time  (October, 
1854),  we  have  heard  nothing  from  Mr.  Badger  and  his 
"  magnetic  clairvoyant  medium."  To  run  the  risk  of  being 
really  blindfolded,  and  without  an  accomplice  upon  the  stand 
to  help  her  out;  and,  worse  still,  of  having  the  letters  placed 
wrong  side  up,  and  perhaps  Greek  or  Hebrew  at  that,  was  too 
much.  "Spirits"  would  not  want  an  accomplice;  and  could 
read  letters  as  well  one  end  up  as  the  other ;  and  Greek  and 
Hebrew  spirits  won  Id  prefer  Greek  and  Hebrew  letters ;  but 
then,  if  there  were  no  spirits  there  except  those  in  the  bodies 


MRS.    FRENCH A    LIBEL    SUIT,    ALMOST.  235 

of  the  experimenters,  and  the  medium  must  be  alone,  and 
blindfolded,  and  did  not  understand  Greek  and  Hebrew,  she 
might  get  bothered.  And  so  Mr.  Badger  (who,  1  believe,  is 
an  Arian  preacher)  concluded  to  keep  his  "medium"  in 
Monroe  County.  But  she  may  be  studying  the  "  dead  lan- 
guages," and  we  may  hear  from  her  again  when  she  gets  fully 
"developed." 

MRS.      FRENCH A     LIBEL      SUIT,      ALMOST. 

On  page  156-8  is  an  account  of  the  ruin  of  George 
Doughty,  of  Flushing,  Long  Island,  by  a  lady  "  medium,"  by 
the  name  of  French.  The  account  was  taken  from  the 
Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle,  and  is  duly  credited. 

Soon  after  the  book  was  issued,  a  package  went  to  Pitts- 
burgh, where  the  amiable  medium  aforesaid  resided.  Pretty 
soon  a  friend  writes  us  that  Mrs.  French  had  called  at  the 
store,  in  Pittsburgh,  where  the  books  were  sold,  with  a  lawyer, 
and  forbade  their  sale,  at  the  peril  of  heavy  damages.  She 
also  informed  them  that  suits  would  be  commenced  imme- 
diately, against  both  author  and  publishers,  and  that  her  good 
character  was  to  be  vindicated  by  the  severest  penalties  of  the 
law. 

I  heard  nothing  more  of  this  spiritual  injunction,  till, 
returning  home  one  evening,  I  was  informed  that  a  lady 
dressed  like  a  queen  had  called  at  the  door  in  her  carriage, 
inquiring  for  me.  She  declined  to  alight  when  invited  to  do 
so,  and  when  asked  what  name  should  be  reported  to  me,  she 
declined  giving  her  name  and  drove  off.  Before  leaving, 
however,  she  appointed  to  call  again  the  next  day  at  a  given 
hour. 

I  had  no  suspicion  who  it  could  be,  and  having  an  import- 
ant engagement  at  the  hour  appointed,  I  paid  no  attention  to 
the  appointment  of  the  mysterious  lady.     She  came,  however, 


236  APPENDIX. 

but  still  withheld  her  name,  and  left  without  making  a  second 
appointment. 

A  few  days  after,  I  was  in  Mason  Brothers'  store,  and  the 
queenly  lady  came  in.  She  was  dressed  in  the  richest  of 
crimson  silk,  and  loaded  with  heavy  gold  ornaments,  chains, 
bracelets,  rings,  etc.,  etc.  She  was  accompanied  by  another 
lady,  who  looked  as  if  she  was  half  bewildered  by  spirit- 
rapping. 

Lady  No.  1  at  once  introduced  herself  as  "  Mrs.  French,  of 
Pittsburgh ;"  and,  drawing  out  a  soiled  copy  of  "  Spirit-Rap- 
ping  Unveiled"  proceeded  to  state  her  grievances.  She  was 
an  honest  and  virtuous  woman — a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Pittsburgh — Bishop  Simpson  was  a  spe- 
cial friend  of  hers* — she  had  an  excellent  character,  and  had 
never  had  a  dollar  of  Mr.  Dough ty?s  money.  Moreover,  we 
had  libelled  her,  and  she  wanted  satisfaction  from  both  author 
and  publishers. 

Calling  her  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  article  complained 
of  was  copied  and  duly  credited ;  and  that  the  same  thing,  in 
substance,  was  published  in  most  of  the  city  papers,  I 
inquired  why  she  did  not  apply  to  the  original  source  of  the 
alleged  libel  for  redress,  instead  of  holding  those  responsible 
who  had  simply  copied  it  in  good  faith,  believing  it  to  be 
true  ?  To  this  she  replied  that  people  would  not  believe  a 
newspaper  as  they  would  a  book,  and  she  must  have  satisfac- 
tion from  us.  Besides,  she  had  retained  a  lawyer  in  JSTew 
York,  and  a  distinguished  banker  had  offered  her  all  the 
money  she  wanted  to  carry  on  the  suit.  She  also  alleged 
that  I  had  altered  the  article,  and  made  it  more  severe  upon 
her  than  the  original. 

I  told  her  I  had  no  offers  to  make  by  way  of  settlement  or 


*  I  have  since  learned  that  neither  of  these  last  two  statements  are 
correct,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  residue 


MRS.    FRENCH A    LIBEL    SUIT,    ALMOST.  237 

recantation ;  but  if  I  should  have,  by  the  next  day  at  twelve 
o'clock,  I  would  call  upon  her.  (She  was  still  at  the  Irving 
House,  where  she  was  when  she  and  her  accomplice  ruined 
poor  Doughty.) 

On  looking  up  the  "copy"  from  which  the  book  was 
printed,  I  found  that  I  had  made  three  slight  alterations. 
The  first  was  to  print  the  amount  of  which  Mr.  Doughty  was 
robbed  at  $15,000,  instead  of  $13,000,  the  former  being  the 
true  amount,  as  stated  in  other  papers.  The  second  was  to 
omit  the  word  "  hellish  "  from  before  the  word  "  conspiracy," 
in  the  last  paragraph ;  and  the  third  was  to  omit  the  follow- 
ing, near  the  conclusion  :  u  Should  the  medium  be  arrested, 
the  whole  affair  will  undergo  a  judicial  investigation,  which 
will  still  more  fully  elucidate  the  peculiar  features  of  this 
strange  and  melancholy  transaction."  With  these  exceptions, 
the  compositors  had  strictly  followed  the  printed  copy,  cut 
from  the  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

The  first  of  these  alterations  is  a  simple  correction  of  an 
error  as  to  the  amount ;  the  second  is  the  exclusion  of  a  harsh 
word  in  Mrs.  French's  behalf;  and  the  third  is  an  unimport- 
ant sentence,  excluded  merely  to  save  space.  And  yet,  Mrs. 
F.  had  alleged  extensive  alterations,  greatly  to  her  injury. 

After  taking  legal  counsel,  I  concluded  to  let  the  queenly 
"  medium"  take  her  own  course,  and  accordingly  did  not  call 
upon  her.  But  the  hour  had  scarcely  passed  before  she  made 
her  appearance  again  at  Mason  Brothers.  I  then  told  her, 
that,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  I  had  done  her  no  injustice,  and, 
consequently,  that  I  had  no  satisfaction  to  offer.  If  she  had 
funds  offered  her  for  the  undertaking,  and  wished  to  p.  -osecute 
for  damages,  she  had  better  do  so  at  once. 

Finding  that  she  could  get  nothing  whatever  in  the  shape 
of  "  hush  money,"  she  left  the  store  evidently  disappointed, 
and  I  have  not  heard  from  her  since.  She  had,  doubtless, 
come  on  to  New  York,  supposing  she  could  frighten  us  out 


238  APPENDIX. 

of  a  few  hundred  dollars,  rather  than  be  prosecuted,  even 
though  we  knew  she  could  recover  nothing.  But  the  scheme 
did  not  work  like  the  game  practised  upon  Mr.  Doughty.* 

ADDITIONAL      CASES      OF      INSANITY. 

On  page  158-160,  we  gave  some  of  the  first  fruits  of  spirit- 
rapping  in  the  production  of  insanity.  To  the  instances  there 
recorded,  we  may  now  add  the  following  : 

"  Sad  PtESULTS  of  Spirit-Rappings. — We  regret  to  announce  that  a 
lady  of  Northampton — a  lady,  too,  of  beauty,  loveliness,  and  intelli 
gence — the  mother  of  six  children,  the  youngest  of  which  is  an  infant — 
has  become  a  raving  maniac,  through  the  influence  upon  her  mind  of 
the  spiritual  manifestations.  She  was  conveyed  to  the  Brattleboro 
Insane  Hospital,  on  Wednesday,  in  such  a  state  of  excitement  that  it 
took  two  attendants  to  hold  her." — Springfield  Republican. 

"  Another  Victim  of  Spiritual  Manifestations. — The  Harris- 
burg  Union  says  :  We  learn  that  Mr.  Christian  Snavely,  a  very  worthy 
and  industrious  citizen  of  this  borough,  has  become  insane  on  this 
ridiculous  and  absurd  subject.  This  is  the  first  instance  that  has 
occurred  from  this  vile  and  sacrilegious  practice  in  our  borough,  and  has 
caused  considerable  sensation  among  our  people.  He  has  been  convey- 
ed to  the  Pennsylvania  Lunatic  Hospital,  and  is  now  a  raving  maniac. 
We  trust  that  this  sad  result  may  prove  a  salutary  warning  to  all  who 
have  made  a  practice  of  attending  spirit-rapping  meetings  and  giving 
countenance  to  this  base  and  wicked  system  of  imposition." 

"  The  spiritual-rapping  illusion  is  doing  its  work.  We  are  acquainted 
with  an  old  gentleman  in  this  vicinity  whose  intellect  is  of  a  high 
order,  but  whose  mind  is  deranged  from  a  belief  in  this  modern  hum- 
bug. The  spirits  informed  him  that  he  would  live  to  be  113  years  old, 
that  he  was  destined  to  be  President  of  the  United  States,  and  that  he 
would  marry  a  lady  only  17  years  of  age.  He  believes  it  all." — Ex. 
Paper. 

"  Suicide  from  Rappings. — Ebenezer  Pope,  a  respectable  citizen  of 
Milton,  Mass.,  hung  himself  in  his  barn,  on  Thursday,  the  23d  ult.  He 
leaves  a  family.  Insanity,  resulting  from  the  rapping  delusion,  caused 
the  mournful  act.     He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town." 


*  The  case  of  Mr.  D.  has  since  been  adjudicated  in  the  Courts,  and  a 
verdict  of  "lunacy"  obtained;  so  that,  so  much  of  his  property  as  the 
medium  did  not  carry. off  in  money,  goes  back  to  his  family.  He  had 
hypothecated  real  estate  to  the  amount  of  about  $18,000  to  raise 
money  for  his  "medium." 


SPIRITUAL    FREE-LOVE-ISM.  239 

By  the  reports  of  the  various  Lunatic  Asylums  throughout 
the  Union,  it  appears  that  over  600  persons  have  been  made 
insane  by  this  delusion ;  and,  from  other  sources,  it  is  ascer- 
tained that  not  less  than  fifty  have  committed  suicide  from 
the  same  cause. 

SPIRITUAL      F  RE  E-LO  V  E-IS  M. 

On  page  101  to  104,  we  gave  the  u  spiritualist"  creed  upon 
the  subject  of  marriage,  &c,  as  laid  down  by  their  chief 
leaders  and  mediums.  Since  that  was  written,  their  system 
has  been  more  fully  "  developed,"  so  that  even  the  Tribune 
now  says  : 

"  It  is  quite  commonly  taught  by  the  spirits  that  the  union  of  man 
and  woman  ought  not  only  to  be  based  on  spiritual  compatibility,  but 
that  as  the  inner  attraction  varies,  the  outward  relations  should  also  be 
made  to  change,  thus  securing  as  frequent,  if  not  as  religiously  motived, 
a  change  of  partners  as  obtains  among  the  Oneida  Perfectionists." 

This  "  Professor  Brittan"  denies;  and  the  Tribune,  by  the 
following  quotation  from  Adin  Ballou,  one  of  the  spirit  fra- 
ternity : 

"  Comparatively  few  of  the  Spiritualists  have  as  yet  become  aware 
of  this  Free  Love  development ;  but  it  will  soon  be  made  manifest  in 
sundry  quarters.  It  will  have  something  of  a  run,  too.  Mediums  will 
be  seen  exchanging  its  significant  congenialities,  fondlings,  caresses  and 
indescribabilities.  They  will  receive  revelations  from  high  pretending 
spirits,  cautiously  instructing  them  that  the  sexual  communion  of  con- 
ge nials  will  greatly  sanctify  them  for  the  reception  of  angelic  minis- 
trations. Wives  and  husbands  will  be  rendered  miserable,  alienated, 
'parted,  and  their  families  broken  up.  There  will  be  spiritual  matches, 
carnal  degradations,  and  all  the  ultimate  wretchedness  thence  inevi- 
tably resulting.  Yet  the  very  persons  most  active  in  bringing  all  this 
about,  will  protest  their  own  purity,  will  resent  every  suspicion  raised  to 
their  discredit,  will  accuse  all  who  remonstrate  against  their  course  of 
doing  so  because  personally  Ze^-minded  themselves,  and  will  stand 
boldly  out  in  their  real  character,  only  when  it  is  no  longer  possible  to 
disguise  it.  All  this  has  commenced,  and  will  be  fulfilled  in  due 
time.  What  is  to  be  done  about  the  error  deprecated  ?  Shall  it  be 
covered  up,  winked  at,  and  allowed  to  work  its  mischiefs  without  oppo- 
sition, rebuke  or  alarm  ?  No.  Those  who  are  aware  of  these  mis- 
chiefs are  in  duty  bound  to  withstand  them  by  timely  warning,  faithful 
reproof,  and  uncompromising  disfellowship.     Let  the  history  of  spirito- 


240  APPENDIX. 

carnality  admonish  us.  In  every  age  there  has  been  an  outbreak  of  it 
in  connection  with  some  form  of  religious  and  philosophical  spiritual- 
ism, and  always  with  the  same  abominable  results.  Commencing  with 
extraordinary  professions  of  innocence,  sanctity,  and  solemn  disclaim- 
ers of  any  desire  for  indulgence  in  carnal  sensualism,  it  has  invariably 
ended  in  gross  adulteries,  fornications,  and  the  miseries  consequent 
thereupon.  Within  the  last  generation,  our  country  furnished  two 
marked  demonstrations  of  this  nature  ;  that  of  the  Cocranites  in  Maine, 
and  that  of  the  Prophet  Matthias  and  his  adherents  in  New  York. 
Such  cases  are  beacons  on  the  heights  to  warn  us  of  impending  dan- 
gers. Let  us  all  take  heed  betimes,  lest  under  some  specious  pretence, 
deceiving  spirits,  in  the  flesh  or  out  of  it,  seduce  us  into  the  pit-falls  of 
corruption.  I  must  earnestly  deprecate  and  protest  against  this  error 
of  Free-Love-ism,  which  I  have  good  reason  to  fear  is  beginning  to  find 
a  welcome  among  Spiritualists." 

This  earnest  warning  from  Mr.  Ballou  is  certainly  very 
much  to  his  personal  credit ;  but  it  shows  that  the  "  spiritual- 
ists" are  acting  up  to  their  creed  upon  the  subject  of  "  con- 
genial partners,"  "  free  love"  and  divorce. 


end  of  Appendix. 


Mad  9  a  iqca 


«&>  .# 


„    -v<..,\;     / 


°0,   "  '  . 


f1  <3*  .«5 


^o1 


\>v,-«,  %. 


*<:     \# 


V"V 


-  ^  .A 


S?      ^ 


#  % 


\<T  /,/% 


^'   V"-«-  '#*!■     %.     c 


"°,  \.<# 


./  °- 


Q->      ", 


^>-cv*-°  ^*-  ;%:'-^\-,q 


*   ^ 


^  ?\     ^%>  4?£\i 


■4°  >•     ' '  ,  ■  s  '•      Ab  ^>     '• 


>> 


v 


0  <* 


'V, 


0°  '.  ^  0°' 


%  <s> 


<- 


■ 


-*% 


o 


^ 


»      -ay 


^  <3* 


<£><<& 


cc 


e£*  <^ 


Neutralizing  agent:  Magnesium  Oxi 


Deacidified  using  the  Bookkeeper  p 
Neutralizing  agent:  Magnes 
Treatment  Date: 'Nov.  2004 


// 


<* 


<■„,  <- 


PreservatiohTechnolc 

*C       A  WORLD  LEADER  IN  PAPER  PRESEP 

1 1 1  Thomson  Park  Drive 
Cranberry  Township,  PA  160 
(724)779-2111 


->    V 

•y*-  ~                                                                           v— 

I  9* 

■<* 

$    %■ 
'/ 

a 

<3* 

9j  ' 

'%  ^' 

,%■ 

i.tf 

A. 

%- 

•  <3ft 

V    v                                   \> 

=    %   ^ 

°* 

95 

V 

/ 

\^ 

6^ 

^ 

^ 

,<$ 

ol 

%. 

9* 

9* 

%y'' 

l\  \ 

<^ 

<&     "%N 


tf 


■%  A 


0*\ 


-(* 


\*> 


H* 


Ha 


■*£* 

% 


^ 


H 


c# 


% 


^s 


.-*-N 


%u  $  %+.  <$ 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


0  012  902  394  6        *