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BELA MARSH, No. 25 CORNHIII, Huh fur sale a cumploto astj^l'tiuont of Books and Periodicals devoted to the facta, pliiloBOpliy, and advocacy of JSi'iritualism, which ho will supply in any quantity, on the most favorable terms; a part of wliich are included in the I'ollowing list, with the prices annexed, together with the rates of postage. RevelationSj &-€., by A. J. Davia, the Cliiirvoyant The Ortat Harmonia, Vol. I.— The Physician, by saniu .... The Great Harmonia, Vol. II.— The Teacher The Great Harmonia, Vol. III.— The Seer The Philosophy of Spiritual In- tercourse. A. .). 1) Sequel to do The Philosophy of Special Prov- idences — A Vision. A. .1. 1). . . The Harmouial Kan, by "'ivis The Approaching Crisis: bcin;; a lleview of Dr. Bushuull's recent Lectures ou Supeniaturalisin. by Davis Light from the Spirit World. Kev. Cliark'S Ilammond, Mcdiuiu . The Pilgrimage of Thos. Paine, written tlirougli C. llaimniml, Me- dium. Muslii), 'u^'., I'Jc. postage ; I'-'PL>- • • Elements of Spiritual Philoso- phy. It. •'• Aiuliltv, Mediuui . . Reicheubach's Dynamics of Mesmerism Fueumatology, by StillinR. Kdited by Uev. liuoi','e Itusli Celestial Telegraph, by L. a. Calia^'iiiu' Voices from the Spirit World. Isaac I'nsl, Mcdiuiu Night Side of Nature -- Ghosts and Ghost Seers. Hy fi'tliariue Crowe • Gregory's Lectures on Animal Magnetism, The Clairvoyant Family Phy- sician, "y Mrs. TiUtle Sorcery and Magic, by Wright . Priuo. 'oatuge $-.:oo 4oc. 1 J3 20 1 00 10 1 00 1» 50 it 1 00 22 15 .3 30 5 50 i;3 VJ lo M •2'> 1 liO 75 1 00 ,')!) 1 li> 1 00 "5 100 4 ■J) 10 I'J 10 10 19 The Philosophy of Creation : an- folding the laws of the progressire Development of Nature, &o., . . • Philosophy of the Spirit World, Hammond, The Spirit Minstrel ; •>■ collection of Hymns and Music, for the use of Spiritualists, in their Circles and Public Meetings. I!y .1. B. Pack- ard and J. ?. Lc.veland The Religion of Manhood, by Dr. Kobinson, Spirit Manifestations : being an Kxposition of Facts, Principles, etc., by Kov. Adin Uallou Spiritual Instructor : cmtaiuina; Facts and tlie Philosoj.liy of Spirit- ual Intercourse The Spiritual Teacher, by spnits of the Si.\tli Circle. 11. V. Ambler, Medium The Macrocosm and Microcosm, or the Universe Without and tlie Universe Within, by William Fish- bough. Pajier lidund, 50c.; nmslin The Philosophy of Mysterious Agents, Human and Mun- dane, or tlie Dynamic Laws and Relations of Man, liy K. 0. Rogers Mesmerism in India. Messages from the Superior State, comniunieated by John Murray, tlirou;;!i .loliii M. Spear . Spirit Voices. Oiles dictated by Spirits for llie use of llarmimial Circles. K. C. Uencli, Medium. Plain I'ounil, 'J8c.: extra liound . . Familiar Spirits and Spiritual Manifestations, by Ur. E. Pond, Professor in the Itangor Tlieological Seminary, together with a reply by .Mliert I'lin^liam PriM. PoeMM. S3 62 11 25 60 VI 60 10 3S ■ft IJ 1 00 75 60 50 15 •-•0 i:j The ISiiKKiNAii, iv monthly Magazine, edited Iiy S. 1>. Hrittan. Terms, $.3.00 JUT UIlllUlll. Till'; Si'iRiTLAL TELE -'i 4 PRELECTION. V I Havinq become deeply interested in spiritualism, af);er twelve years' investigation of reform ideas, I was gradually developed as a writing medium (principally in St. John, N. B., and in Halifax, N. S.), under such circumstances as could leave no doubt in my own mind as to the nature of the agency employed. Repeated solicitations from spirit and other friends have induced me to com- mence the public advocacy of Spiritualism, but I find no one book that would answer as a text-book from which to lecture, or that would present a connected idea of the subject to new inquirers. I do not find, either, that the scriptural aspect has ever been presented in a collected and systematic form. The literature of Spiritualism (like that of some other reform movements) is defi- cient in compactness and condensation. New movements must necessarily be so. Those who wish to get a connected idea of such have to rummage among heaps of papers and books at an outlay of time and means few can afibrd. Spiritualism, too, has been so much misrepresented by.the press and pulpit that many candid minds hesitate to bestow $20 or $30 in investigating what, with their limited light, they justly conceive to be a delusion. Find- ing it absolutely necessary to lay out, in this way, considerable labor, time and means, in order to collect and arrange matter for lecturing, I concluded the result might be useful to others simi- larly circumstanced, and also serve to introduce the subject in new localities, — that the " glad tidings of great joy " may be pro- claimed " to all people " — that " all may be gathered together in one " — that there may be but " one faith," faith in love — " one God," a God of love — " one baptism," when the inmost elements of our being shall be bathed in universal charity, when all will be permeated by the love which is God's essence, incarnated in the individual life and social organisation. INDEX. i CHAPTER I. SCRIPTURAL ASPECT. i^uoh expressions as '■ Tho Lord saith," '■ The Lord commanded," denote epirit agency, p. 5 — 10. Are angels departed spirits 1 11. Explanation Deut. 18 : 11 ; Isaiah ti : 10, 20, p. 12. Fishbuugh on familiar spirits, 13 — 15. Demoniao pos- sessions and modern spiritualism, lU. Biblical history of spirit intercourse, 17—28. CHAPTER II. SPIRIT INTERCOURSB AMONG TUB ANCIENT HEATHENS, 29. CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF SPIRIT INTERCOURSE AMONG THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS, 30-36. CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF SPIRIT INTERCOURSE FROM THE FIFTH TO THE NINETEENTH CEN- TURY. Wesley, Clarke, and the rnrly Methodists, vertut Modern Methodism. The founder of the American Bible bucioty a spirit medium, 37 — 48. CHAPTER V. ' BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF MODERN MANIFESTATIONS IN AMERICA, 48-61. CHAPTER VI. y. <-.' FACTS PROVING SUPERHUMAN IN-TELLIGENCB. Instruments played on without human hands, 63. Spirits versus holy water, 54. Persons and things moved by spirits, 54. Wrestling with a spirit, 55. Spirits versus fire, poison, etc., 59, GU. Speaking in unknown tongues, Gl. Gift of dis- cerning spirits, 62. Spirit voices, (13. CHAPTER VII. FACTS PROVING UTILITY OF SPIRIT INTERCOURSE. Gift of healing — Money recovered, Gt, C6. Family reunion through spirit agency, 66. Spirit intercourse versus infidelity — necessity of a new dispensation — -twe hundred thousand infidels converted through spiritualism, 07 — 70. CHAPTER VIII. FACTS TENDING TO PROVE IDENTITY — CASE OF SIR JOHN FRANKUN, 70—78. CHAPTER IX. SPIRITUALISM NOT A CAUSE OF INSANITY — A FEW CASES OF ORTHODOX IN- SANITY, 76—86. CHAPTER X. SUNDRY OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED — SPIRIT INTERCOURSE CATHOLIC, NOT SBC- TAUIAN, 86—92. CHAPTER XI. PHILOSOPHY OF MIRACLES — WHAT USE IS IT? — INCARNATION OF I/)VE IK LIFE-IIARMONIAL COMMUNlTlliS — CAUTION TO NEW CONVERTS — WHO ARE INFIDELS? 92—105, APPENDIX. COMMUNICATION FROM REV. WM. WISHART, OF ST. JOHN, N. B. - VELOP MEDIUMS — POETRY. ■ HOW TO M- 1 *fc. <'fc vV ...'t yk^ CHAPTER I. SCRIPTURAL ASPECT. Such expressions as ** The Lord saidj'* ** The Lord commanded," etc., cannot be susceptible of a literal inter- pretation, because, - ■ 1st. On this principle actions must be attributed to Jehovah contrary to sound morality ; a character as- signed to him contrary to that given in the New Testa- ment, and other portions of the Old ; and statements made, which, on the supposition of a literal interpretation, are contradictory. • ^ ^ v. vyfe- # j ,; • Compare Matt. 5 : 44 with Deut. 7 : 1 — 5 ; Luke 6 : 37 with Deut. 25 : 17—19 ; 1 John 4 with 1 Sam. 15 : 3 ; Ps. 109 with Luke 6 : 27—38 ; 2 Sam. 24 with 1 Chron. 21 : 1, and both with James 1 : 18 ; Gen. 6 : 6, 1 Sam. 2 : 30, with Numbers 23 : 19; James 1 : 17, Gen. 11 : 5—7, 18 : 20, 21, with Ps. 139 : 7—10. See 2 Sam. 12 : 11, Numbers 31 : 15, 18. " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My o^ering and my bread for sacrifices made by fire, a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season." Numbers 28 : 12. Compare with Jeri 7 : 21 —23, " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts * * * * / spake not unto your fathers * * * concerning burnt 1* M /* ) J \ sacrifices." Compare, on same subject, Lev. 17 : 6, with Isaiah 1 : 11, Micah offerings and Gen. 8: 21, 6: 7. The only way to reconcile these apparent contradic- tions is to adopt the theory of the spiritualists, that the phraseology above alluded to merely implies a communi- cation from the spirit world. 2d. Sceptics, on literal principles, are armed with most powerful weapons against revelation and the Bible. See Barker and Berg's discussion. The theory of a pro- gressive revelation through spirits renders pointless all their attacks and harmonizes all truth. 3d. Contrary to the positive statements in Ex. 33 : 23, Isaiah 6 : 1, John (the disciple whom Jesus "loved") says that "no man hath seen God at any time," John 1 : 18; and Paul, that no man has or can see him, 1 Tim. 6 : 16 ; from which it is evident that it was an angel that was seen by Moses and Isaiah, though described as Jehovah. Hence, the inference is obvious that, as used by the Old Testament writers, the expres- sions " Thus saith the Lord," &c., mean only that they were so impressed from the spirit world. Affirmative reasons for adopting the latter idea are as follows : • ■ : 1st. Effects resulting from influences attributed to direct Deific agency are elsewhere in the Bible ascribed to angels and departed spirits, and in the present day are known to emanate from superhuman intelligent agents, claiming to be the spirits of the departed. From identity of phenomena we may reasonably infer simi- larity of cause. Samuel to Saul. "And the spirit of the Lord will come ^ upon theo, and thou shalt prophesy (speak by spirit im- pression or control. See p. 30) with them, and shall be turned into another man." 1 Sam. 10. This is what takes place in thousands of mediums now. A lady me- dium in New York is sometimes turned " into another " being when possessed, in a trance state, by the spirit of an Irishman ; though in her ordinary state she is en- tirely different. When so possessed she exhibits to the life all the peculiarities of the Irish character. Mediums, not noted for commanding intellect or oratorical talent, under these influences deliver extempore orations replete with profound thought. Corresponding phenomena are exhibited by writing mediums. Subsequently *' The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul," and *' an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." 1 Sam. 16 : 13. The phenomenon of a change of pos- session is one with which modern mediums are quite familiar. From 1 Kings 18 : 12, and 2 Kings 2 : 16, it ap- pears that prophets, in those days, were carried bodily by " the spirit of the Lord." It is also related, in Acts 8 : 39, that after Philip had baptized the eunuch, *' The spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more, * * * but Philip was found at Azotus," thirty miles distant. Ezekiel had similar expe- rience, but in his case it was simply "the spirit." Ezek. 3 : 12, 14 ; 8 : 1, 2, 3. Precisely similar demonstra- tions have taken place at the present day, purporting to be from departed spirits. See Chapter vi., experience of Hume, Gordon, and Mrs. Ide. The Lord is said to have spoken to Samuel in an audi- ble voice. 1 Sam. 3. Elijah also was addressed by " a still small voice." "A voice from heaven" addressed ^ IIIIIIIIW 8 li'' Nebuchadnezzar. (Dan. 4.) See also Matt. 3 : 87, 17 : 5, John 12 : 28, Acts 9 : 7. The particular source ia not stated except in the first and last texts. Pythagoras was crossing the Nessus with a large company of friends when a loud voice was heard by the entire company, apparently proceeding from the bosom of the waters, say- ing, *' Hail, Pythagoras! " Josephus says that before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and while the priests were performing the rites of the temple worship, there were heard voices, as of an invisible multitude, saying, " Let us go hence." For similar occurrences in modern times see Chapter vi. No impartial reasoner can fail to infer that in all these cases (except, perhaps, that of Pythagoras), the phenomena took place under one uniform law. By 1 Chron. 28 : 19, it appears that David was a writing and drawing medium. Chapter v. In reference to plans of the temple, it is recorded in the nineteenth verse, "All the Lord made me understand in writing by hand upon me all the works of this pattern." (Leave out supplied words.) It appears, then, that- the temple was built by spirit direction ; probably for the purpose of ren- dering practicable spiritual manifestations, on a more extensive scale than before. Thousands of mediums in the present day have their hands controlled in a similar manner. Affirmative reason 2d. The expressions, Jehovah and the angel of Jehovah, God and the angel of God, are used as synonymous terms. Gen. 18. "And Jehovah appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, and he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and three men stood by him." In the conversation that fol- J I'T i 'TilOi il l- ***-« iPPf^~— ''"^■^PBPIW ^immmm 9 lowed, commenced by the men (angels, or spirits of men), Jehovah is represented as continuing it ; evidently implying Jehovah and the men, angels (or messengers of Jehovah), are identical. Two angels subsequently appear to Lot in Sodom, who are, evidently, two of the three that appeared to Abram, as they then expressed the intention of going to Sodom. One appears to have remained behind for the purpose of conversing with Abram ; from which conversation it is evident that, as an ambassador is considered to represent his country or king, God and the angel of God are considered synony- mous terms ; which inference is placed beyond doubt scripturally by John 1 : 18, and Timothy 6 : IG. Gen. 32 : 24. " And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled with him a man until daybreak. 28. And he (the angel) said. Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 80. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face." Compare Hosea 12 : 34. * * * "by his strength he had power with God. Yea, he had power over the angel" (parallelism). In reference to the wres- tling, a similar case is narrated, that took place a year or two ago, in Chapter vi. But in the latter case the spirit conquered. Rev. 1:1. " The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass : and he sent and signi- fied it by his angel unto his servant John." Here ** God" and "his angel" are undeniably synonymous. Why were such expressions used ? Some say that the Bible writers did not, in all cases, 10 % know the nature of their inspiration ; they only knew the/fljc^, not the source. I do not affirm this, but it is certain that John the Revelator did not know the nature of the angels, who showed him the visions recorded in Revelation, until near the close of the book. Rev. 19 : 10 ; 22 : 8 — 10. There is also a difference of state- ment as to who moved David to number the people. In 2 Sam. 24 : 1, it is said Jehovah ; in 1 Chron. 21 : 1, it is said Satan tempted him. James 1 : 13, appears to differ from both. Another hypothesis is, that low spirits having sent evil communications, in which those who received them placed implicit confidence, the higher class of spirits perceiving, did not give names, but spoke in the name of Jehovah, as his messengers, believing their communi- cations were in accordance with his wishes and designs. A third hypothesis (perhaps the most probable) is, that from one or all the following causes, namely, imper- fection of the language, want of precision of thought, and predominance of the devotional religious element in the prophets or mediums, all communications from the spirit Avorki, except from spirits called " familiar," were considered as directly or indirectly from Jehovah, and were thus spoken of to save tautology, without regard to critical nicety of expression, which is justly considered a minor matter by Bible writers generally ; in accordance with which idea, and of the inadequacy of mere words to convey meaning, Paul says that " the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." In Daniel 1 : 17, God is said to have given wisdom and skill to Daniel and his three companions. In Job 37, various natural phenomena are attributed to the direct agency of the Deity, yet no personal or special iifiiSti 11 act of Deity is supposed or needed. Devout men in modem times frequently make use of similar forms of expression, without intending to imply Deific or even superhuman agency. Why then should the expression "Thus saith the Lord" be interpreted as signifying a personal interposition of the Deity, when reason, anal- ogy, scripture and fact are against such an idea ? 1 ARE ANGELS DEPARTED SPIRITS OF MEN 1 A merchant had important business to transact by dep- uty in a foreign country. He has two clerks, equal in business capacity, &c., but one of them has never been in the country, and is almos^ unacquainted with the lan- guage, manner, customs and habits of thought of its inhabitants. The other has not only been in it, but was born and brought up there, and is consequently thor- oughly acquainted with all necessary to know in that way : which of them will the merchant send if he is sane ? Then, by parity of reasoning, if God sends messengers to this world, would he be likely to send spirits who have no experimental knowledge of the wants and weak- nesses of humanity, when numbers of spirits, having large experience of the earth life, were not only willing but anxious to assist in elevating their fellow-men on earth by displaying evidence of superhuman power ? If angels are a distinct order of beings, when were they created ? We have no record, though we have of the creation of man, the inferior animals, and even of inanimate things. "He make th his angels spirits," — that is, his messengers are the spirits of departed human beings. 12 "If this passage, Deut. 18: 11, proves anything, it proves that there were spirits who could be consulted, * * * For the same reason (perversion) were many other of those laws given. Such as the command not to ' wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.' Deut. 22. The mere wearing of the garment was not objectionable, but the nations from whom they were to come out and be forever separate, made such garments signs and symbols of the idolatrous worship." — Adams^ Seventeen OhjectioTis Answei'ed, p. 73. EXPLANATION OF ISAIAH 8 : 19, 20, ABRIDGED FROM SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPH, MAY 27, 1854. " And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter : should not a people seek unto their God ? for the living to the dead ( To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." 1. This passage proves that men in those days did hold intercourse with invisible spiritual beings. 2. A wizard merely means a wise man — one who is familiar with mysterious arts. Incantation and enchantment, &c., merely mean singing. The first word is of Latin derivation, the latter French. Con- juration, to summon by a sacred name and in a solemn manner. Con- sequently, these terms may be applied both to good and evil practices. 3. The prophet counsels them to avoid only that class of wizards who " peep and mutter," or deliver unintelligible communications in an indistinct tone. It would, of course, be unprofitable to waste time in consulting any such media. 4. The fact that the people were required to test these spirits and wizards, also to subject them to a rigid trial by the law and the prophets, implied the necessity of a somewhat intimate acquaintance with their physical operations, and especially with their mental and moral powers and inculcations. In fact, this was absolutely necessary to enable the Jews to institute such a comparison, for no man, surely, could judge whether the spirits did or did not speak " according to the law and the testimony," unless he first listened to what they had to say. Moreover, the words " z/they speak not according to this word" etc., distinctly imply that some of the spirits referred to might be ex- pected to speak truly, and thus prove themselves to be spirits of light; V w ^5 h 13 otherwise the proposed ordeal would have been a work of supereroga- tion. 5. The ancient oracles were frequently delivered in an indistinct tone. Modern speaking mediums usually enunciate with more dis- tinctness under spirit influence than in their ordinary state. EXTRACT FEOM FISIIBOUGH ON FAMILIAR SPIRITS. " There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a con- suiter with familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer." Deut. 18: 9—11. 1 Sam, 28 : 3. Saul himself, however, was subsequently tempted to consult one of these proscribed personages, and, according to the account, obtained an interview with the veritable spirit of the prophet Samuel. 2 Kings 23 : 24. These biblical records clearly prove that intercourse with invisible intelligences existed among the heathen, as well as Jews, of the ancient times. They render it extremely probable that, according to the same spiritual laws, and under similar conditions, a similar intercourse be- tween men and spirits may exist even at the present day ; and they thus remove every a 2}riori objection to the spiritual claims of the thousands of phenomena of our own times, which cannot be accounted for on any hypothesis of material science. As the various families, tribes, and nations, which sprang up and spread over the earth after the general deluge, were in the lowest state of mental development, their theological conceptions were also correspondingly low. They were inclined to the conception of a plu- ralitij of divinities as presiding over different departments, and to these divinities they attributed difterent degrees of dignity and power. In- dividuals, families, tribes, and nations, were thus supposed to have their re^^ tlvo tutelar gods ; and tiiese, frequently differing very materially in their natures, were supposed often to sustain those same hostile rela- tions towara each other which existed between tlieir human proteges. A large proportion of these divinities were conceived to be nothing more than the spirits of deceased men ; * and it was to the most insignificant * Farmer, in his treatise on liwrnons and the worship of human spirits, has proved this puiut beyond a doubt. i i '.1 H 14 of these — to sufli as were attached to the interests of individuals or faniiliesi, and held open converse with them — that the Old Testament writers appropriated the name of ^^ familiar spirits." These gave their oracles and mandates cither through such persons as would in these times be called " mediums," or by visible action upon an imago or statue, or other physical machinery, which, by being con- trived and solemnly dedicated for the purpose, became the point of magnetic contact between beings in this world and in the other. They were froijuontly consulted, and their responses implicitly followed, regardless of any higher spiritual source of instruction. Wc can now perceive clearly why habitual dealings with " familiar spirits " were divinely prohibited in the Mosaic law. It was simply because those spirits, when consulted in those days, were uniformly consulted as petty divinities. Ilud the Jews been permitted they would, undoubtedly, have remained heathens. But wore the Jews prohibited unqxialificdhj from holding com- munication with spirits ? I answer emphatically, no . and will proceed to prove that that class of beings called angels, with whom their patri- archs and prophets fre([uently held interviews, were not only spirits (as they are acknowledged to have been), but even human spirits. But wo have room for only a brief summary of the existing proofs of this point. Thus the three angels who visited Abraham, while dwelling upon the plains of Mamre, were expressly called " men." (ien. 18:2. The 8uperumndane intelligences, who visited Lot previous to the de- struction of 8odom, were called both ''angels " and " men." Gion. 19 : 1, 12. The prophet Zechariah speaks of a celestial apparition which appeared " among the myrtle trees," and which he expressly calls both a " man "' and an " angel " (Zech. 1 : 8—11 ; 2 : 1—3) ; and the prophet Daniel applies the same cognomen interchangeably to the celestial visitants who appeared to him on several occasions. The la;it chapter of 2 Maccabees contains an account of an appearance of the spirit of Jeremiah the prophet to Onias the high priest, in a ibnn and office belonging only to angels ; and much in the same form appeared Moses and Elias to Jesus at the time of his transfiguration. But what is, if possible, still more conclusive upon the point, is the following : after St. John had seen the wonderful visions, and heard the sayings, which are recorded in the Apocalypse, he says that he fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed him these things. Then said the angel, " See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, AND OF Tiiv miETiiKEN TiiK Plioi'HETS, and of them which kcci) the say- 15 als or amcut crsons 1 upon ig con- iut of They llowed, aniillar dimply itbnnly id tlicy lor com- proceed ;ir patri- )irits (as But we i of this dwelling . IS : '2. 3 tlic dc- Gon. 19: on which calls both 11 nd the y 1o the The hist ice of the bnn and 1 appeared But what following : e f-ayings, dl down to 2he things, jw-^crvant, ep the say- ings of this hook : worship Ciod." Rev. 22 : 8, 9. If, as is hero dis- tinctly asserted, this angel was the spirit of one of the old prophets, then there is nothing to exclude the presumption, favored by the na- ture of things as well as by numerous other passages, that all angels are in like manner but the ascended and purified spirits of men, which, as the term " angel " implies, are sent as messengers to this world. In holding communication with anijels, therefore, the Jewish patri- archs and prophets held communication with human spirits ; and this was considered perfectly legitimate, simply because those angels, unlike the "familiar" or ''pythonic spirits," did not, as petty divinities, come in Iheir oirn name, but in the name of God, and with messages encouraging the worship and obedience of him alone as the Dispenser of good, and the Source of truth. The bearing of the Mosaic law upon the permissibility of spiritual intercourse at this day, will now be perfectly obvious. The practice of consulting with " familiar " or " pythonic spirits," for selfish and ambitious purposes, or of seeking their instructions as ultimate and absolute authorities, without any reverent regard to the will of God, is just as heathenish as ever. There can be no possible objection, how- ever, even according to the Mosaic law, to our conversing with the spirits of our departed friends, or with aiiy spirit, however high or low, so long as wc regard them as mere faUihle men, not receiving their data for ultimate authority, or, in any degree giving them, in our minds, the phue of Ciod. Nay, as high and pure spirits may as easily approach us as low ones, provided we render ourselves worthy of their visitations, this new spiritual unfolding may be made to us the vehicle of the most high and holy instructions and influences ; and, considered in this light, it is our duly to study and conform to its laws, and develop its resources. The woman of Endor, so much vituperated bytlioological blackguards, was evidently truthful, kind-hearted and for- giving. 8hc returned Saul good for evil, and strove to help him in his distress. It is likely that the higher class of mediums in Saul's time knew more altout his misdeeds than he thought advisable. He, therefore, plann(!d their destruction, under pretence of their being consulters of familiar spirits. ]>eing himself a medium 4 } ^ 10 for the low spirits, he became envious of their superiority, and concluded it best to remove them from the earth sphere that he might be unrestrained by influences which " proclaim on the house-tops what is done in the closet." Luke 12 : 3. RELATION OP DEMONIC POSSESSIONS TO MODERN SPIRITUALISM. The word " demons," improperly translated "devils " in the New Testament, was usually applied to departed spirits of all grades. " The Jews before Christ, and the fathers after, believed that these departed spirits lurked in images, spoke in oracles, controlled omens, and in various ways encouraged men to worship them." — Beechcr on Spiritualism. Those spoken of in the New Testament were mostly low spirits, controllable by medi- ums for the higher manifestations, and were consequently readily "cast out" by those under the influence of Christ's teachings. The ability to do this was one of the " signs that followed them that believe." Mark 16 : 17. Accordingly, this power is possessed to a great extent by modern mediums for the higher phases of spirit inter- course, though unknown to most popular religionists. Similar cases of possession occur now, but the low spirits at present are seldom violent. The worst case of the kind is particularized in Judge Edmonds' book. See, also, Newton's "Ministry of Angels Kealized." If evil spirits communicate, why not good ones ? " What means the passage, ' Are they not all minister- ing spirits ? ' Do you suppose these alluded to are evil ones ? "In the seventh and ninth of Mark, we are told of * evil spirits' and of ' dumb spirits,' implying there are 1^ i: other spirits. Else why say "evil," and why "dumb"? Why not say "« spirit," if, indeed, all spirits were evil? Christ told his disciples, " this kind comcth forth only by prayer and fasting," and, by the words " this kind," most plainly showing that there were other kinds — we may reasonably believe good spirits — who would leave without the effort of prayer and fasting. What is the sense of the apostolic injunction to "try the spirits," if they are all of one kind, — if they are all evil ? Inspiration from the spirit world is thus alluded to in various parts of the Bible: 1. Keh. 9: 30. 2. Isaiah 32: 15. 3. Isaiah CI: 1. Luke 4: 18. 4. Ezek. 2: 2. 5. Dan. 4: 8; 9: 18; 5: 11, 14. G. Matt. 22: 7. Luke 1 : 17. 8. Acts 1:2. 9. Rev. 1 : 10. Rev. 17:3; 21: 10. 11. Rev. 2:7. 32 2. 43 10 All these expressions evidently refer to the same thing. In examples 1, 2, 3, C, it is used in reference to the in- spiration of the Old Testament prophets, who usually preceded their communications by " Thus saith the Lord," and other expressions of similar import. In Nos. 7, 10, 11, it refers to communications from the spirits of departed prophets. It seems, then, evident that ill all cases this inspiration proceeded directly from the spirits of departed men. To place the matter beyond doubt, liow^ever, John the Revelator uses, as denoting the same thing, the expressions, "God gave unto me," and "He sent and signified it by his angel." 1:1. In Rev. 19: 10 ; 22: 8—10, we find this angel to be the spirit of a departed prophet. Hence we infer, 1st. That God communicates to men (apart from the physical operations of nature) only through angels. "He maketh his angals spirits:' Ps. 103: 4. 2* 18 ' I ft 2d. Angels are the spirits of departed human beings. 3d. Hence the Bible, so far as regards its superhuman element, is a continuous record of spiritual manifesta- tions. To further sustain this last position, a sketch of the more remarkable scriptural facts relative to spirit inter- course is subjoined : Angels appeared ilrst to Ilagar, then to Abraham and Jacob. Elijah was remarkably sustained by them. Dan- iel, by angelic influence, was delivered from the lions, and speaks frequently of the man, or angel, Gabriel. In Numbers 22, we have a remarkable account of an angelic visit to Balaam. Ilis presence was indicated by his wonderful control over the organs of the beast, it being compelled to speak in an audible and intelligent manner. The greater includes the lesser. If a spirit could, several thousand years ago, control a dumb animal to speak, Avhy is it impossible or unlikely that they can control men and women now ? By what law of evidence is the testimony of one writer, several thousand years ago, to be received, and that of thousands of contempo- rary witnesses rejected, whose oaths would hang a man in any court of justice ? Elijah acted mainly under spirit control during his earth life, and, for some centuries after his translation to the spirit Avorld, operated considerably through me- diums on earth. 2 Chron. 21: 12, "And there came a writing to him (Jehoram) from Elijah the prophet, say- ing, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father," &c. " Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehosh- aphat thy f\ither, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah," &c. It is unanimously admitted that Elijah was translated i S. 19 ig his ilation h me- came say- " &c. hosh- islated some years before Jchoram began to reign — probably about thirteen. The tense precludes the idea of its hav- ing been written before his translation. We are not informed whether the writing came with or without a medium. In modern times writings come both ways. But if we admit the truth of the record, it is certain that it came. This text has completely puzzled all the com- mentators (see Clarke, in loc), but to a modern spirit- ualist it presents no difficulty. It is a simple statement of facts. Malachi 4: 5, G. The last two verses of the Old Testament contain a prediction of the re-appearance of Elijah, who, accordingly, about four centuries after- wards, obtained control of a suitable medium in the per- son of John the Baptist, whose purity of life eminently qualified him for a medium of a high order. A general and well-founded expectation prevailed among the Jews that Elijah woul^ re-appear as a precursor of the JNIes- eiah ; but they, in their grossness, mistook the manner in which both Elijah and the Messiah would show them- selves. From various causes the manifestation:? between Malachi and John the Baptist were of a very low order ; and the Jews in general seem to have had no idea of spirit control except in cases analogous to the demoniac possessions, mostly related in the New Testament ; there- fore they expected a personal appearance of Elias or Elijah, which not taking place, they rejected the Mes- siah. One end attained by his coming was the expulsion of low spirits from the bodies of men, and the reestab- lishment of spirit-intercourse on a higher footing ; its perversion being suppressed, first, by preventing low spirits from controlling people ; secondly, by elevating them, — by preaching to them after his entry into the spirit world (1 Peter 3: 19). Their being "in prison" 20 tif i denotes the low, confined condition in which they were hold in ih(.' Sj;)ii'it world by their selfish character. Truth makes free (John 8: 32); then its opposite constitutes bondage ; and therefore spirits whoso lives on eartli were steeped in falsoliood and wrong, were said to b ■ "in prison." Christ, by bringing truth to their minds, ele- vated thorn above their previous position (mentally), and hence the in frequency and less violent character of pos- session by low spirits since his time. The following texts prove that John the Baptist was possessed by Elijah : Matt. 11: 14, 15. "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John ; but if ye will receive it, this (John the Bjiptist) is Eli as which was for to come." Luke 1: 13, IT. "And the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife I']lizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, '*' * *' and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias," &c. Matt. 17: 10 — 12. "And his disciples asked him, saying, Why, then, say the scribes that Elias must first come?" And Jesus, "Elias truly shall first come and restore all things ; but I say unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew him not" (from their ignorance of the laws of spirit intercourse), "but did unto him whatsoever they listed ; then the disciples understood that he spake of John the Baptist." Moses and Elias appeared personally to Christ and three of his disciples at the Trnnsfiguration ; the disci- ples, being in a trance state, became seeing mediums. Calmness was as necessary then as now to such man- ifestations ; therefore, a retired place was chosen, and no uncongenial persons present. A believer in modern man- II 'W 21 him, first anil s come orance him d that ifcstations finds no stumbling-block in the Transfigura- tion. Seeing mediums are now numbered by hundreds, and soon will bo by tli >usands. See subsequent pages. Had Dr. Rogers and J. IJ. Dods been there, they would probably have attributed the appearances witnessed to " odic onianations," " mundane influences," and " psy- chology." In Job 4, is a sublime description of an interview with a si)irit. In Ezekiel 2, is another; 2: 2. "And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set mo on my feet, and I heard him that spake unto me." This experience of an ancient medium is quite similar to that of a modern one in Nova Scotia. 3 : 12. "Then the spirit took me up." 14. " So the spirit lifted me up and took me aivai/.*' This is precisely similar to the experience of Philip the apostle, and some modern mediums. Yet our pscudo-scicntific opponents, assisted by the clerical ones — all professing to believe the Bible — demj that spir- its have any power over physical substances. See late article in Putnam's Magazine, and Chapter vi. of this work. Ezek. 8 : 3. "And he (the spirit) put forth the/on?i o/' a hand, and took mo by a lock of my head, and the spirit iifted me up between the earth and the heaven." Elijah and Elisha were healing mediums of considera- ble power. 1 Kings 18 ; 2 Kings 4. There are thou- sands of living witnesses in our day to the healing power of spirits. Daniel, Shadrach, M^shceh, and Al)cdnego, were me- diums of a high order. They defiled not the temple of the spirit, their body, by flush-eating, wine- drinking, and other filthy habits, and thus prepared reception of higher influences. An themselves for the ! interposition (T iH ri 22 saved Dmiiel from the lions, and the three latter from the fiery fumacc in which they were cast for refusing to stifle their convictions, and conform to the orthodox creed of that day (Chapter vi.). Ncbuchadnezzjir became a me- dium, first for n, dream which he had forgotten in detail, and then for a remarkable physical demonstration (Dan. 4), wherein an audible but invisible voice came to him. From wliat is rclate" s ,t ■, t i'.' , t. tli ; ;• f ■ ' . I ; li ^ 24 believe, do follow the opponents of spiritualism, but all of them (but one) follow its advocates, though some of them tire rare. The gift of tongues (Mark IG : 16, 17 ; Acts 2 ; and 1 Cor. 12), another of the signs that "follow them that believe," was also frequently manifested by the primitive Christians, and is by modern mediums. A description of various kinds of mediums is given in 1 Cor. 12 : 1 — 10 ; 13 : ]. Paul places the gift of prophecy at the head of the list, 1 Cor. 14: 1 — "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy." 13 : 2 — " And though I have prophecy, an^i understand all mysteries and all knowledge " &c. This plainly implies that the possession of the gift enabled one to understand more than he could attain to in his ordinary state, and is what is experienced by several mediums in modern times, who may have had their capacities for understanding spirit- ual truths much enlarged, and what was once mysterious becomes plain. What appears inconsistent is thus harmon- ized. 1 Cor. 14 : 24, 2-5. "But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believethnot, or one unlearned, he is con- vinced of all, he is judged of all, and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted ; for the spirit of the prophets is sut)ject to the prophets." The executioner, of Jesus, having blindfolded him, said, " Prophesy unto us who is he that smote thee." In this case, prophecy evidently is not used as referring to the future, but to the past. From the preceding pas- sages, it is evident that proi)hecy does not necessarily refer to furetelling future events, as doing so in the case of an unbeliever, as mentioned in 1 Cor. 14 : 24, 25, could not result in his immediate conversion, nor " niidio the I 25 , but all some of i 2 ; and hem that »rimitivc scription 1—10; head of itv, and 'ophcsi/.*' idcrstand 'f implies derstand , and is 11 times, ig spirit- y'sterious harmon- nd there c is con- e secrets >rophesy ifortcd ; ophets." ed him, h thee." efeiTing iig pas- :cssarily :hc case 5, could ake the secrets of his heart manifest ; " time would be required for the fulfilment of the prediction ; but if those who had the gift were what are now called speaking mediums, who could be impressed mentally or physically by spirits, and thus know the thoughts of another, as some modern mediums can, it is easily conceivable that the result spoken of by the apostle, namely, sudden conversion of a sceptic, would be produced. Such results have been pro- duced by the modern manifestations repeatedly. That " the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets," evidently implies that those who had the gift of proph- ecy in Paul's time were in communication with the spir- its of the prophets of the Old Testament, and conclu- sively establishes the reality of such communications, especially if taken in connection with Rev. 19 : 10, 22 : 8 — 10, where the fact of a communication from the spirit of a prophet is distinctly stated, said communica- tion consisting of twenty-two chapters. " Subject to " would merely imply a mutual attraction between individ- uals of corresponding mental organization in different states of existence. Another extraordinary physical demonstration was in the release of the apostle from prison twice by spirit power. If they cannot control gross matter, us is atfirmed by pseudo-scientifics, how could they open the gates of Peter's prison ? Acts 5 : 19, 20 ; 12 : 1 — 11. In an- other case, an earth* juake opened the prison doors, 17 : 2G. We are told not to " despise prophesyings " and that " the manifestation of the spirit — that is, all influ- ences from the spirit world — is given unto every man to profit withal." Paul directs us to "try the spir- its ;" a conclusive proof that all that communicate are not bad, as Rev. Charles Bceeacr .and Dr. Phelps conclude. 3 26 Ileb. 1 : 14. " Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits, sent unto them who shall be heirs of salvation?" In the case of the baptism of the eunuch, these expressions, "The spirit," "The (or an) angel of the Lord," " The spirit of the Lord," are all used as synon- ymous, denoting an individualized spirit ; hence the expression, " The spirit," as generally used, must de- note the spiritual operations of the Deity generally, whether performed through the medium of individual spirits or influences of a general nature from the spirit world. Cornelius, Acts 10, " saw in a vision evidently an angel of God coming to him." CornGlius and two others, by spirit direction, found Peter, who, by the same means, was informed of their arrival. The pur- pose of these visits by spirits was similar to what is stated to be the end of spirit intercourse now. Then it was to break down the barrier between the Jews and Gentiles ; ?iotv it is " to draw mankind together into harmony," and to " unite mankind." (Messages from Calhoun's and Channing's spirits.) This was done then, by demonstrating that spirit influences were com- mon to both Jews and Gentiles, Acts 10 : 45 ; now, by proving thiit it is not conflned to those entertaining particular views on certain points, ])ut comes to candid minds of all sects, and of no sect, thereby uiidorniin- ing the spirit of sectarianism, disunity, discord, — the opposite principle to Christianity, whose niitare and essence is love. Do modern opponents of spirit intercourse believe the New Testament ? FACT NO. 4, BY KUFU3 ELMER. A man -with whose cliaractor I am somewhat acquaiiiterl, a well meaning individual of peculiar tomporamont and impulsive nature, 27 these becoming interested in spiritualism, exhibited unusual zeal, and finally commenced lecturing on the subject. This occasioned great excitement iu his ncigliborhood, and made such havoc with the established forms of religion in the place, that the civil authorities, in obedience to pub- lic opinion, felt called upon to have him arrested. Having accom- plished this purpose, he was thnist into jail, and put in irons ! But so many strange storiea were in circulation concerning the alleged spiritual phenomena, that the warden, no^,vithstunding the pris- oner seemed doubly secure, employed two military gentlemen to watch him during the night. The prisoner, conscious of his entire innocence, and believing enthu- siastically in the guardianship of spirits, was enjoying his accustomed repose, when, all at once, the electrical or odic lights, so frecjuently scon in the circles, filled the cell where the prisoner was confined, and the presence of the spirits magnetized not only the prisoner, but his keepers. The prisoner was now relieved from his irons, the doors of the jail seemed to open by iheir own effort, as various ponderable ob- jects have recently been seen to move in presence of thousands. The prisoner was the medium in this case, and, being in the superior condi- tion, saiv the spirit who had affected him and produced the physical manifestations. The influence was irresistible, and the medium fol- lowed the spirit out of doors into the second street from the jail, when he awoke, and, on coming out of the state, was disposed to doubt — as most persons do who witness similar manifestations — for some time what had occurred, thinking it might be a dream or hallucination. Becoming convinced, at length, that he was really at liberty, he went directly to the house of a certain spiritualist — where a number of person?!, who were supposed to bo deluded, were "holding a circle' — and rapped at the gate. The maid wont out to see what occasioned the rapping, and, on her return, told the circle that it was the pris- oner. But the members were incredulous, thinking, perhaps, that the girl might be crazy, or otherwise non compos mentis. When they found that the domestic was of sound mind, they supposed that the prisoner was dead, and that it was Ms spirit which rappi I, — it being a counnon thing for spirits, after the death of the body, to numifest themselves to men. Still the members of the circle were strongly in- clined to suspect that there might be something wrong, since they were not yet sulliciently developed to accredit the more wonderful manifes- tations ; but they were soon convinced of their mistake, and, I pre- sume, have not doubted since. — Spir. Tel., No. 9. 28 i f! RUFU3 ELMER'S EXPLANATION. Those viho have requested the particulars of the instance of spir- itual manifostations recorded in the fourth number of my facts, should bear in mind that I did not say that every member of the twelve churches of Springfield realhj believed the story, but only that, without an exception, they professed to. And, moreover, they profess to believe in far more wonderful spiritual manifestations said to have occurred eighteen hundred years ago. They only deny such as ap- proximate our own time, and are susceptible of demonstration. " Behold ! ye despisers, who wonder and perish ! for I work a work in your day, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man " — or any number of men — " declare it unto you." The facts contained in the article referred to have already been " placed before the public, sustained by evidence, and sanctioned by authority," which spiritualists think should silence all cavils, and re- move all doubts, except among those whose professed piety is only exceeded by their practical infidelity. Be it known to all men that the required authority may be found in the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. — Spir. Tel., No. 20. M CHAPTER 11. SPIUIT INTERCOURSE AMONG THE HEATHEN NATIONS. Spirit intercourse among the heathen nations was com- mon, but gross in its nature and objects. As then prac- tised, it was superseded by the superior order of commu- nications received under the Christian dispensation ; con- sequently the oracles ceased about the time of Christ. Their genuineness, however, was generally allowed by the priuutive Christians, who cultivated spiritual inter- course in accordance with apostolic instructions. Jam- blichus, an ancient writer, says, in reference to the efTccfc of spirit intercourse on the mediums : ^ m *m3! 29 " Some are agitalt-d throughout the whole body ; oth- ers ill some of their members ; others again are entirely quiet. * * Again, the body either appears better, or larger, or is borne aloft through the air." As to the cause, he says, it *« is no other than illumination emanat- ing from the very gods themselves, and spirits coming forth from them, and an obsession by which they hold us fidly and absolutely, absorbing all our faculties even, and exterminating all human motions and operations, even to consciousness itself ; bringing discourses which they Avho utter them do not understand, but pronounce with furious lip, so that our whole being becomes secondary and sub- servient to the sole power of the occupying God." — Jam- blichus lie. Myst. sec. 3, c. 5, quoted in Beecher's Re- port. Several curious details respecting ancient spirit man- ifestations will be found in " The Apocatastasis, a Tract for the Times." The author condemns modern spirit- ualism because of its antiquity ; other writers because ol' its supposed novelty. The opponents of spiritualism seem likely, after a while, to actualize the story of the Kilkenny cats. The last tail has probably appeared in the form of a book by John B. Dods. One objects that infidels are made Christians by it; another, that Christians will be made infidels. But " wisdom is justi- fied of her children." Simonides of Cheos, a poet, arriving at the sea-shore, intending to embark the ensuing day, found an unburied body which he had decently interred. That night, this deceased person appeared to him, and bade him by no means go to sea, as he had proposed. Simonides obeyed tlie injunction, and beheld the vessel founder as he stood on the shore. — Night Side Nature, p. 92. 3* 80 CIIArTER III. SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. SELECTED FROM ARTICLE BY WM. FISHBOUGH. SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPH PAPERS, VOL. III. P. 45. Jesus and his apostles scorn to have considered a perpetuity of the spiritual intercourse during the after ages of the tnie Church as a 77iatter of course, and show by several implications that they expected its continuance so long as Christians remained faithful. Thus Jesus promised the Holy Spirit indiscriminately to those who would sincerely and devoutly ask it of the Father (Luke 11 : 13), and Paul distinctly characterized the Christian dispensation as one which brought those who received it " to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made per- feet." Ileb. 12 : 22, 23. It appears that during the age of the apos- tles, proj^hets, seers, discerners of spirits, speakers with divers tongues, workers of miracles, and other " mediums " for divine and spiritual influences, existed and were multiplied in the Church everywhere ; and there is no evidence, either in reason or history, to show that the gifts of these were all taken away, and the lamp of heaven forever ceased its direct shinings, as the last of the apostles sank into his grave. The learned Dr. Mosheim, in treating the history of the Church during the second century, says, " It is easier to conceive than to ex- press how much the miraculofiis poiccrs and the extraordinary divine gifts which the Christians exercised on various occasions contributed to extend ihe limits of the Church. The gift of foreign tongues ap- pears to have gradually ceased as soon as many nations became enlightened with the truth, and numerous churches of Christians were every where established, for it became less necc -sary than it was at first. But the other gifts with which God favored tlio rising Church of Christ were, as we learn from numerous testimonies of the ancients, still con- ferred upon particular persons here and there."* Dr. Murdock, the * Moshoim, Eccl. Hist., B. I., Cent. II., Part 1., Chap. I., § 8. ..,^ ^m 81 translator of Moshcini, sanctions these statements with emphasis, add- ing a long note, in which ho argues the point, and refers to numerous passages in the ancients to establish it. The epistles of St. Barnabas, St. Clement, St. Ignatius, St. Polj' carp, and the Shepherd of Ilermas, written immediately after the apostolic age, or perhaps one or two of them a little before the death of St. John, distinctly recognized the existence of miraculous, prophetic, and other extraordinary spiritual gifts in the Christian Church during the lives of their authors ; and these epistles were for a long time afterward publicly read in the Christian churches as possessing an au- thority little inferior to that of the apostolic writings thonisclvcs. St. Clement is supposed to be the Clement spoken of by Paul in Phil. 4 : 3. St. Ilermas was a brother of a bishop of Home, and wrote his tract in his old age, about the middle of the second ce i-y. The revelation which it contains purports to have been given him by an an'^ol who appeared in the habit of a shepherd ; and hence the book is entitled " The Shepherd of Hermas." The account which Ilermas gave of his experience will be recog- nized as bearing a close resemblance to some experiences of modern mediums. In the beginning of his revelations he fell into an ecstasy, and he was carried away in spirit, when an angel, in the form of a young woman, appeared to him, and convinced him of some particular sin to which ho was addicted. At another time an angol, i;i the form of an aged and venerable woman, appeared to him while on his knees in prayer, and took him by the hand and raised him up, and made some revelation to him respecting (he Church. When, at a subsc([ucnt time, ho was walking through the fields and praying tlntt. this revela- tion might be confirmed, ho heard something like a human voice saying to him, " Doubt not, Ilermas." The Shcplierd Spirit, from whom ho received his principal visions and revelations, appeared to him af\cr this, and was for a long time his froqueut companion. Finally, after he had written his book, he says, "The angel which had delivered me to that shepherd came into the house and sat upon the bed, and that shepherd stood at his right hand : then he called me and said, ' I delivered thee and thy house to this shepherd that thou mightest be protected by him.' And I said, ' Yes, Lord ;' and he added, ' Who- soever shall do according to the commands of this shepherd, who is a prince of great authority, and in great honor with God, he shall live ; but they that shall not keep his commands shall deliver themselves unto death, and shall be every one guilty of his own blood. But I M /^' '' ■ ('■' 5 , 'l li- fA' ■ ^ - w '».; P' i:.. ■'. ■h' 'V i : 1 1, 11 I'l say unto thee, keep these commandments, and thou shnlt find a euro for all thy sins.' " St. I0NATIU8 was an iramediato disciple and personal associate of the beloved St. John, and was by the latter appointed bishop of Antioch. lie was said to be " a man in all things like unto tho apostles." lie was summoned from his bishopric to Rome in the year 127, where ho suffered martyrdom by being exposed to tho fury of wild beasts in the theatre. He was accompanied to Rome by some of the members of his church, who wrote an account of his journey and arrival there, and testify to the existence of visions and spiritual apparitions at that age in the following passages : " The night after his (Ignatius') suffer- ings," say they, " we were together watching in prayer, that God would vouchsafe us (weak men) some assurance of what had passed ; whereupon several of the company fell into a slumber (ecstatical, be- cause ivatchimj in prayer), and therein saw visions in which Ignatius was represented ; which, when we had conferred togef liei , we glorified God, being thereby assured of his blessedness." St. Polycakp also, in the earlier part of his life, was a personal disciple and associate of St. John, and was by that apostle appointed bishop of Smyrna. This holy man suffered martyrdom for the Chris- tian cause in the year 147, when at an advanced age. An account of his last suffering, with what preceded and followed, was written in a circular letter by some members of his church at Smyrna, and directed to all other churches; and some particulars of the history arc entirely conclusive as to the manifestation of spiritual presence and in- fluence in those days. Speaking of several others who suffered mar- tyrdom at the same time, they say, " While they were under torments they were absent from the body (probably under the ecstatical impres- sions), or, rather, the Lord Christ stood by them, and conversed with them, and revealed things to them inconceivable by man, as if they were no longer men, but already become angels. As to Poly carp, he saw a vision three days before ho was taken ; and behold, the pillow under his head he saw all in a flame ; whereupon, turning to those about him, he said, prophetically, ' I shall be burnt alive.' After his apprehension, and while he was going unto the place of execution, there came a voice from heaven, saying, ' Be strong, and quit thyself like a man, I'olycarp.' Now no one saw who spoke to him, but many of our brethren heard the voice." After describing the scenes of the execution, the writers say, " Such was the end of Polycarp, who, in our times, was a truly apostolical and prophetical teacher ; for every 9 33 word that wont out of his mouth either has been already fulfilled or will be." The writer of the copy of this account, from which the fore- going is extracted, adds, " This cpistlo was transcribed from the copy of IrenicuH, the disciple of 1 'olycarp, by Cuius ; after which I, Pio- nius, wrote it from tho same copy, which I found, hij a revelation, xohcrein Pubjcarp appeared, and directed me to it, as I have and do declare in a most solemn manner." Justin IMartyr, an eminent apologist and defender of Christianity, who flourished about the raiddc of the second century, affirmed, accord- ing to Eusebius, that the gift of prophecy shone brightly in the Church in his time. About the year 180, Athenagoras, in an apology which he was commissioned by his Christian brethren to carry to the Em- peror of Home, describes in it what in our phrase would be called " speaking meditims," and which seem to have abounded in the Church at those times under the names of prophets and prophetesses. " I call them prophets," says he, " who being out of themselves and their mcii thoughts, did utter forth whatsoever by tho impelling power of the Spirit he wrought in them ; while the Divine Operator served himself of them, or their orgam, even as men do of a trumpet. Hewing through it. Thus have wo prophets for witnesses and affirmers of our faith ; and is it not equal and worthy of human reason, ye emperors, to yield up our faith to the Divine Spirit who moves the moutJis of the jyrophets as his instruments ? " Ammonius Saccas, a Christian philosopher, who opened a school at Alexandria, in the latter part of the second century (which school was for a long time in great repute), taught the art of procuring com- munion with spirits, or demons, as he called them. During the fore part of the third century (spiritual gifts in the Church still continuing as general as before), Eusebius relates, that while a persecution raged at Alexandria, there was among the mar- tyrs a young woman named Potomiana, whose courage and fortitude under her last sufferings excited the astonishment of the spectators. Three days after the execution of her body, this .same Potomiana ap- peared in spirit by night, " to one Basilides, a Roman soldier, and, covering his head with a crown, said he must shortly be taken away. The vision wrought effectually to convert Basilides," and who, for his confession of faith in Christ, was loaded with chains, and shortly afterward rewarded with the crown of martyrdom. " Many others, also, at the same time, in Alexandria, were wrought upon to the open '\ 34 u confession of their faith in Clirist by visions of Potomlana, who in JrcaniH lugod them to do so." TortuHiiin, ill his tract conocrning tho soul, chap, ix., says : " Wo had a right, after St. John, to expect prophcsyings, und wc do now ucknowlcdgo tho same spiritual gifts ; for there is at this day living among us a sister who is partaker of the gift of revelations, which she receives under ecstasy in the spirit in tho public congregation ; wherein sho converses with angels, sometimes also with tho Lord, and sceth and heareth divine mysteries, and discovcreth the hearts of somo persons, and does minister succor to such as desire it ; and while tho Scriiitures arc read, or psalms are singing, or they arc preaching, or prayers are oflcred up, subjects from thence are ministered in her visions. We had once some discourse touching the soul lohile this sis- ter was in the spirit ; after tho public services were over, and most of the people gone, she acrpuiinted us with what sho saw, as the custom was ; for these things are heedfu.j digested, that they may be duly proved. Among other things, she told us that a material soul was be- fore licr, and the Spirit ivas beheld by hcr^ beiny of a qnalitij not void and eriipiy, hut of the color of the sky, and of a thin brightness, pre- servinrj the form throiujhout of the human body." What well-informed spiritualist can fail to be struck with the similarity of this description given by TcrtuUian nnd many occurrences which aro witnessed at tho present day ? The description which tho prophetess, mentioned in this extract, gave of tho soul, will be recognized as perfectly accordant with the revelations which Swedenborg and subscciueut " mediums " have given on tho same subject. Notwithstanding there appears to have been a gradual decline and final cessation of heathen oracles after the establishment of the Chris- tian Church (and wc might show strong reasons for believing that these oracles were actual spiritual conni .i.iications, as both heathens and Christians believed them to bc\ ihc.e seem to have still been among the heathens some mediums for s';^ irits (or the alleged gods) for a long time after the apostolic age. Between these spirits and their incJium.s on the one hand, and the Christian prophets on the other, there was generally an open hostility ; but wherever a trial of powers occurred, the heathen spirit was forced to give way, showing the exist- ence still in the Church of that power conferred by Jesus upon his disciples to "cast out devils." Hence wo iind Tertullian, in his "Apol- ogy foi- the Christian llcligion," boldly challenging all heathendom to a trial of the powers of their patr(. i s[)irils and divinities, who were ;.^ ! i 35 accuHioiiit'd to posscps and spcuk through tlie bodies of certain men. "Hitherto," fiu}'s he, "wo have used words ; wo will now conio to u domon.Htration oi^ the very thing, that your (Jontilc gods are no one of them f^roatcr than another. For a deciHJon of the point, let any one that in judged to ho posfsessed by a devil be brought into open eourt l.'cfuro your tribunals ; when that spirit shall be eoniuiandcd by a Christian to Hpcak, he shall as truly eonless himself u devil there, aa ehsewhorc ho falsely claims to bo a god. Or let one equally bo pro- duced who is among you Gentiles judged to be inspired of God, who waits at your altars, and is esteemed a saerod por^on by you ; nayi though he bo acted by one of your most venerated deities, be it Diunu, the heavenly virgin, or Esculapius, that proscribes your ineilicines, and who pretends to relievo the dying, yet these, oi .,nj .: .,:>, when they nrc sunnnoned, if they dare to lie unto the Christian summoning, and if they do not confess themselves openly to be devils, then let that rc- proaehi'ul Christian's blood be spilt by you on the spot." Tertullian died about the year 231. 3Iosheim informs us that in the third century the office of exorcist, as a special olliee, was created in the churches, it being tho duty of the one holding it to east out these subtile and unchristian spirits from tho bodies of such as were infested by thorn, and which they did by a process similar to that em- ployed by the apostles. Thus, employing a collection from the ancient Fathers now before us, as well as the testimony of Moshel^, Eiuebius, and others, wc might go on to cite numerous passages to prove that spiritual mani- festations, in tho form of prophetic dreams, visions, impressions, speak- ing impulses, power to cast out devils, etc., continued mure or less in the (!hristian Church, and were universally recognized by its members, until the Church, owing to outer prosperitj', grew so corrupt and worldly as to render tho free and general access and operation of spir- itual influences any longer impossible. These influemes were oper- ative upon simple-hearted and devout men and women in all classes of Christian society, and even simple and unsophisticated little children often uttered tho words of supernal wisdom while under tho divine afflatus ; and by the revelations tints given forth the Church was prin- cipally governed, and opposing religions were triumphantly vanquished for more than two centuries. ImK ed, no Christian ever thought of denying the existence of these spiritual influences in the Church until near the age of Constantino. According to Mosheim, so firm and gen- eral was the belief in spiritual communications in the fourth century, B ' I'' ■ it ' U i I i ^ ii I J 30 that St. Ambrose publicly cited the tcsUniony of spirits, called dajmoiis, who spoke through the vocal organs of men {an spirits 7iow do) in proof of the falsity of the doctrines of Arius ; and the testi- mony was rebutted by the followers of Arius, not by denying the reality of those spiritual communications, but by saying that Ambrose had dr/ded the spirits to give such testimony. It is provci'i, :.s positively as any point can possibly bo proved by historioal cvidonco, that the manifestations of spiritual power and in- fluence (^id not cease with the apostolic ago, the assertion of modern theologians to the contrary notwithstanding, but that they continued in uninterrupted succession, though somewhat declining in degree, for at least two hundred and fifty years afterward ! I5ut, in proving this, we prove at ihe same time that spiritual communion is the normal privi' lege cj the true and faiUifid Christian Church, irrespective of the age of the v-orld in ichich if may exist, and that that Church which denies the po.':.sibility, and scouts even the thought of intercourse with spirits and angels, must necessarily have experienced a mournful defection from the estate of that true and primitive Church, whose members, by an express Divine dispensation, were brought "to an innumerable company of angels, to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to God the judge of all." 0, professed Church of Christ ! how art thou miserably fallen from the heavenly connections in which thou wast placed in thine earlier days ! AVe feai that all exhortation to the Church as a dody is vain, and that the sentence is far more applicable to her conmiunicants, " He that is unjust, let him bo unjust still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still, FOR TUE TIME IS AT HAND ! " And "he that hath ears to hear" niny now, we think, distinctly hear the angel trumpet sounding through the earth, saying to all who are willing " to follow the Lamb wiirniiiusoEVER iik goeth," " Come out of her, my people, that ye bo not partakers of he sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." But this spiritual defection of the Church — this '■'falliiig away " — was distinctly predicted by the apostle Paul, that the " man of sin " might be revealed. (2 Thess. 2 : 3—12.) By the "man of sin "I understand the mature state of ungodliness in general, and the lust of spiritual power and dominion in particular, whether rippjying to Catholics or Protestants — to men in this world or spirits in the other. Whoever denies its possibility in the nature oi existing things, by tLxat denial acknowledges his own destitution of its graces and privi- r*i. 87 testi- rr the O iibrose /c(l by nd in- uodcrn lucd in I, for at Lhis, wc I privi- the age 1 denies 1 spirits defection iiorabers, amerable d to God art thou bou wast vain, and luts, " He et him be \ cars to ouiiding the Lamb that ye be iig away " an of sin'' of sin" I lid the lust • applying lits in the : things, by .- iind privi- lege.?, and thus utters his ovrn condemnation, as judged by the standard of the ear'y Church. Whoever indiscriininatchj denounces the modem spiritual communications, as docmonism, utters a sentence equally severe against the existing Church, for, had not the latter tadly degen- erated, as to her spiritual powers, since the days of Tertullian, she might now easily exorcise and check the diumons, as Tertullian and his confrvres exorcised and silenced the spirits which personated the heathen gods. Here, then, wc rest the argument, insisting upon the proof from the teachings of Christ and his apostles, and the experiences of the ancient church, that any true and realhj failhfid Church of Christ will enjoy communion with good spirits, with angels, and with God, as its normal and divinely appointed pririlcge, and will possess the God-giveu power of withstanding and checking all irruptions of evil from the lower spir- itual spheres CIL.PTER R'. SKETCHES OF SPIIllT INTERCOURSE FR0:M THE riFTII TO THE NINETEENTH CENT i • RIES . A CONNECTED liistoiy of miinifcstations, (liiiiug this period, would be too voluminous, and somewhat monoto- nous ; a few specimens only can be selected. In Mrs. Crowe's " Night-side of Nature," a var^t number of cases are related, thou^uli she was burdened with materials, and the arrangement is not systematic. It is said that Peter of Alcantara, a religious enthusiast, who sub- jected himself to severe mortidcations, was often surrounded with a strong light, and was raided in the air, and sustained without any visible support. St. Theresa, also, seems to have been subject to similar experiences. It is related that, on one occasion, and in presence of a groat number of witnesses, she was raised, by some invisible power, and ivas carried bodily " onr the grate of the door" 4 YV- 11 i'l 38 11 •. 1 1 W y Those who deem it wiser to dcubt than to believe, have been accus- tomed to reject these, and all similar facts, as monkish fables, and even now they are regarded bj many as the dreams of enthusiasts. How- ever, they do not appear, in the light of the present, as at all improb- able. Indeed, separation from the world, and the severe discipline of a monastic life, was by no means unlikely to render the individual eminently susceptible to spiritual influence. The lives of the saints and martyrs furnish many similar phenomena, and C'lat they were often media for various forms of spiritual manifestation, is demonstrated by the undeniable facts of their experience. " Andrew Mollers mentions a woman, who lived in 1G20, who, being in a magnetic state, rose suddenly from the bed into the air, in the presence of many persons, and hovered several yards above it, as if she would have flown out of the window. The assistants called upon God, and forced her down again. Privy Councillor Ilorst speaks of a man in the same condition, who, in the presence of many respectable wit- nesses, ascended into the air and hovered over the heads of the people present, so that they ran underneath bira, in order to defend him from injury should he fall." In the account of the strange phenomena observed at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, hi 17-4, it is alleged that not less than tiocniij persons, whose united weight could not have been less than one ion, were per- mitted to stand on ."„ plank which was resting on the body of a sick person ; "md that some mysterious power was es(M'tcd in the opposite direction, to such a degree that the parties who were subjected to il.is severe experiment experienced no pain or injury from the pressure. The lifo of Ilarvcy (the discoverer of the circulation of the l)loo(l) was saved by the governor of Dover refusing to allow him to embark for the continent with his friends. The vessel was lost with all on board ; and the governor confessed to him that he had detained him in conse- r[ucnce of an injunction he had received, in a dream, to do so. i 1 , MANIFESTATIONS IN THE WESLEY FAMiLY. These occurred principally in the house of John Wes- ley's father, in 1710, " beginning with a groaning, and, 39 , Imforihle ,' «>k1 they, „al'he came. 'The «™»V'"f ■, le" lie per»i*J. ■"«> """'' "™' th re are no pla.fc oo the ^^ " ; J^M^ „Uh him next morrr- :! :2; rX cod of «>» brago a„ » uo^-;^; „„ I„ l «lJ,-»ni'y and v™«-'y «;° ,,^4 „a„i„ed the correspond- :„sidcaoverthcu,stinetof the h -. ^^^^ ^,.^,, ^,„^ ^.^ , „„d once of tho« wheels tv.th """■"/,„. Was that power fate or eth not. neither i^-^'J .„ aemanded, reference ma, he had to the .. It authority lor the alJO%e » o ,. , ^f Bcavcrmyele, H. J-. f J , particularly to Jte. ^ -»» ^"^^c „^,^h she received the !" ! reiat^.e of Judge Boudmot R m »ho ^^^ ^^,^_^^ j, ^ ^.^, --■ Tf :;::-ti:tt::y :f her own famHy, mustrat-n. her account ol a passao'- our pol..t." contended that the B.MU,KS.-Our religious "=»*!_';;„„;„„„ left without any a,, fo,: „,eh wonders was over, »* ' \*;,,^„ eonse,uences of therr L^ .llvl.- 0' ^P-''--' rr: : n :«1 or physical laws Bu o\,n action., as determraed »•? F™5 « Bcmder and the W« ^o'* Tare happy to find that *» ^ J ;,,„„, views and a mor J„„at 0/ C«»"--«^rirr .;" Ihat •• I creator of the ends of living i'l ,7ii,.„„cnc are inclining .0 ;;;« X'-;^,^, „f Ure ends of ■ir. Atlenglhtheyconelmlcthat 47 tho earth faiiitotli not, neither is weary " of working his wontlorh among men. IJuiuIinot's friends thought tho good num cither lied or was iivuiic, until thoy took tho trouble to track hhn ; and .^o the Eccordc? iind the Journal think of tho:sc who are now, every day, sub- ject to exp(!rieuees ei(ually extraordinary, whieh, we doubt not, tho editor.-; of the next generation will quote as gospel. Our cotempo- rarics, however, dift'er from those of Judge Boudlnnt in questioning the sanity and veracity of tho present media without being willing to so much as ho/i- at their tracks. Ye who insist that tho age of mira- cles, so-ealled, is ended, answer this question: Was it not aliotit as difficult for Boudinot's beast to walk that sleeper, and keep tiie carriage wheels on two other sleepers, as it was for Balaam's beast to eonvcn^c in intelligi')lo Hebrew ? — Spiritual Telegraph. A remarkable spirit-manifestation took ])laco in Odessa, in 1842. A young girl, the protege of a blind beggar, was imprisoned on a false charge of theft. The same night her protector was murdered. His mysterious dis- appearance caused him to be also suspected. She was interrogated as to his probable place of concealment. She stated that she had seen him murdered, though she was closely confined in the prison. She also said that, subse- quently, he had appeared to her and stated further par- ticulars. The information so received being acted on, the body was discovered in the place mentioned, and all the minutest particulars found to be exactly Jis she had stated. The next night, " without allowing her to suspect their intention, they watched her ; she never lay down, but sat upon the bed, in a lethargic slumber, ller body was quite motionless, except at intervals, when this repose was interrupted by violent nervous shocks, which seemed to pervade the whole frame." The next day she told the name of the assassin, and mentioned circumstances which led to her (the assassin) confessing, not only the murder, but that her paramour, at her instigation, had. 4' V 48 eightoou years before, put out his eyes ; this hist fact was also stated hy the girl ; and the whole details of both transactions, circumstantially detailed by the girl, through communications received from the spirit of the blind man. — Night-side of Nature. CHAPTER V. I >'' li ^^1 We arc now arrived at the era of the modern spirit manifestations in our midst. For the first time, in the history of the world, spirit intercourse has become a sci- ence, and is followed systematically and fearlessly. In March, 1848, rappings, unaccountable by human agency, were heard among the Fox family. It was found that questions could be asked and answered by an invis- ible intelligence through knocks which were of a peculiar sound, imitable only, if at all, by complicated machinery. Nothing of the kind could be detected after the most rigid examinations by persons accustomed to sifting and testing in every possible way. Some Buffalo doctors, however, pretended to discover that they were produced by the toe and knee joints. This theory was considered untenable by other members of the profession, and only served to bring its authors into ridicule. The num- ber of " rapping mediums " (as those persons were called whose presence was necessary to the phenomena) in- creased. New phases of the manifestations were brought to light, the animating intelligence in all cases claiming to bo the spirits of the departed. Tables, etc. , were tipped ( \ I 49 and moved ; articles of fuvnituro tlirown about by what purported to be dei)artcd s})lrits ; but this natural sup- position was vehemently attacked by hosts of savans and theologians, and a number of theories devised to account for them on physical grounds, and successively rejected as new phases of the phenomena occurred. First it was trickery and too joints ; but tables were moved, and per- sons of un([uestionable integrity and capacity were medi- ums ; involuntary nmscular pressure, or will force, were assumed adecpiate to exert a pressure on a table e(|ual to the muscular capacity of a strong man. Electricity and od force were magically endowed with superhuman intel- ligence, in order to explode the idea that those we loved when they were on earth still actively and perceptibly ministered among us. Htill the manifestations progressed so rapidly as to elude all attempts to explain them unlcs«? by the supposition of superhuman agency. Mediums' hands were moved by invisible intelligences to write arti- cles wherein opinions often diireririg from those held by the medium were expressed. Others found their organs of speech controlled by an invisible power ; and " they spake as they were moved." Others saw spirits, their internal eyes ])eing opened ; manifestations of a more tangible character were correspondingly increased in vari- ety and power. Persons unskilled in musical instru- ments played difficult tunes ; a post-horn was played on without a visible operator ; other musical instruments upheld as well as played on by an invisible power ; full- grown men carried sixty feet through the air without touching the ground ; tables suspended three feet from the floor without visible hands ; or in like manner broken to pieces. Sick persons consiilered incurable restored to health by passes made involuntarily by healing mediums ; 50 I* '1 ^ " pencils wirtiout hands wrote fac-similes of the signatures of departed ones. Writing appeared on walls made by invisible hands, and in like manner erased. ;So varied and irregular are they that no classification can embrace all the facts ; no amount of experience pred- icate success or failure in any given case. Theory after theory, pretending to account for these things by the laws of inanimate matter or human raentalit} , has been proved false and inadequate ; denial of the facts is equally unavailing. Now, as in the time of Paul, " the oppositions of science falsely so called "are brought to mystify and confuse the earnest truth-seeker. Now, as then, deeds of love and wisdom are ascribed to dia- bolical agency (see Rogers' Philosophy Myst. Agents, Beecher's Spiritualism); but, spite of know-nothing savans, raving priests, and canting Pharisees, the great facts and the greater philosophy of spirit intercourse are rap- idly being acknowledged and experienced by men and women second to none in the community for integrity, culture or capacity. Men, whom all the arguments, spec- ulations and threats of orthodox religionists have failed to convince of the reality of a future life, are compelled, by irresistible evidence, to realize, in their inmost souls, that there is no death. CLASSIFICATION OF MEDIUMS. 1. Rapping mediums. If conditions are favorable, raps will sometimes be heard when certain persons ap- proach tables, etc., appearing to be produced by some- thing invisible striking it. 2. Tipping mediums. In similar circumstances, arti- cles of furniture are tipped or carried, raised in the air. 51 V.1- etc, sometimes without touching, in all cases without muscular pressure. 3. Writing mediums. Their hand? are controlled by an invisible intelligence, and words which may c" may not correspond with the ideas of the medium, written with- out his volition, frequently in different handwriting, some- times in languages he does not know. In a few cases, they were unable to write naturally.* 4. Speaking mediums have their vocal organs con- trolled by spirits. 5. Another class can be operated on in various bodily organs. Musical mediums belong to this class. G. Impressional mediums. Some of these have the ivords as well as the ideas presented to their minds by spir- its — others only the ideas — in the latter case, the mun- dane and strictly spiritual phenomena intermix. 7. Drawing mediums dilFer from writing mediums only in the purpose, not in the nature of the operation, 8. Seeing mediums. These have "the gift of dis- cerning spirits." 9. Mediums for spiritual dreams, visions, etc. Daniel, Ezekiel, Jacob, Paul, Peter, John, and several others, were of this class, combining with it more or less of classes G, 5, 4, 8. It is well, however, not to confound dreams pro- duced by disease or mundane influences with dreams properly spiritual. A life strictly in harmony with natural laws is the best preparation for such mediumship — a life which few can or would live. * Mr. Ramsilell, of the Invalid's Home, Woburn, is in this way coiiti-ollcd to write intelligible sentences (diagnoses of disease, prescriptions, &c.), while he is looliing another waj , and engaged in conversation. r** 52 f CHAPTER VI. FACTS PROVING SUPERHUMAN INTELLIGENCE. WONDERFUL WRITING MEDIUM. Mr. N. B. Laird, writing from Monroe Centre, Ashtabula County, Ohio, sajs : " There is a medium in Conneaut township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, a son of Mr. Aaron Brooks, some ten years of age, who, in his normal state, can neither write nor read writing, whom I have frequently seen write the ordinary way, and frequently in the inverted manner when some one was sitting opposite to him, so that those oppo- site to him might read the communication that was written." EXTRACT FROM THE " NEW ERA." — MANIFESTATIONS AT J. KOON'S SPIRIT ROOMS, ATHENS CO., OHIO, FEBRUARY, 1854. f' On the following evening, they beat a march on the drum, and car- ried the tambourine all around over our heads, playing on it the while. They then dropped it on the table, took the triangle from the wall, and car- ried it all around, as they did the other instruments, for some time. We could only hear the dull sound of the steel ; then would peal forth the full ring of the instrument. They let this fall on the table also. After this, they spoke through the trumpet to all, stating that they were glad to see them. Then they went to a gentleman who was playing on the violin, and took it out of his hand up into the air, all around, thrum- ming the strings, and playing as well as mortals can do, sounding very sweetly. They now played most sweetly on the trumpet ; then took the harp, and played on both instruments, and, at the same time, sung with four voices, sounding like female voices, which made the room swell with melody. After this, they made their hands visible again, took paper, brought it out on the other table, and commenced writing slowly, when one of the visitors asked them if they could not write faster ; the hand then moved so fast we could hardly see it go, but all could h. ur the pencil move over the paper for some five minutes or so. When done, the spirit took up the trumpet and spoke, saying the communication waa for friend Pierce ; and, at the same time, the hand came up to him, and gave the paper into his hand. Now the spirit said, if friend 53 Pierce would put his hand on the tabic, they would shake hands with him for a testimony to the world, as he could do much good with such a fact while on his spiritual naission. He then put his hand on the table by their request ; the hand came up to him, took his fingers, and shook them. Then it went away, but soon came back, patted his hand some miautes, then left again. Now it came back the third time, and, takini his whole hand for some five minutes, he examinad it all over, and found it as natural as a human hand, even to the nails on the fin- gers. He traced the hand up as far as the wrist, and found nothing any further than that point. D. Hasteller, Pittsburg. Lewis Dugdale, Farmer, Ohio. A. P. Pierce, Philadelphia. Ciias. C. Stillman, Marion, Ohio. H. F. Partridge, Wheeling, Va. .JPT' )rcuglit one of ad then e pencil one, the lion was to him, f friend UNRULY ELECTRICITY. Wc have just been authentically informed of a certain clergyman, residing not a thousand miles from Brooklyn, who one evening got to amusing himself with the singular powers of " electricity," as exhibited in the movement of various articles of furniture, as it flowed through a young lady, who placed her fingers lightly on the tops of them. After witnessing for some time the astonishing phenomena of chairs, tables, piano, etc., following the ladyaround the room, whithersoever she