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diff --git a/43237-0.txt b/43237-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..68019a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/43237-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8092 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43237 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 43237-h.htm or 43237-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43237/43237-h/43237-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43237/43237-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + https://archive.org/details/spiritland00emmo + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + + + + +[Illustration: THE SPIRIT LAND.] + + +THE SPIRIT LAND. + +by + +S. B. EMMONS. + + + + + + + +Philadelphia: +John E. Potter and Company. +Nos. 614 and 617 Sansom Street. + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by +L. P. Crown & Co., +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District +of Massachusetts + + + + +TO THE READER. + + +This volume is intended as an antidote to a species of errors that have +been rife in every age of the Christian church. Notwithstanding the +disclosures the Most High made of himself to his ancient people, they +were yet prone to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to +follow the lying spirits of the prophets of Baal, and other deceivers, +from the days of Moses till the destruction of Jerusalem. So, likewise, +under the Christian dispensation, there has been a succession of +Antichrists, until their name is _legion_, whose teachings have clouded +the understandings and blinded the moral perceptions of men, subverting +the faith of many whose mountains stood strong, and who had been +counted the chosen people of God. + +The present is viewed as an age of _isms_. Men have run mad, and are +chasing phantoms. They are roaming round to find some fulcrum to +overturn the church and the Bible; they are imagining they are +receiving utterances from heaven, when nothing is uttered but the +vain fantasies of their own minds and hearts. It is the grossest +fanaticism--fanaticism in its most frightful form, leading its unhappy +victims, not unfrequently, to flagrant crimes, and to the most horrid +of all--that of self-destruction. + +These pages are submitted to the public with the counsel of the wisest +and best of all ages, that, amid the wily arts of the adversary, we +should cling to the word of God, the Bible of our fathers, as the only +safe and infallible guide of faith and practice. + + + + +NOTE. + + +We would here give credit to the principal works from which valuable +and important matter has been selected for these pages: Whitman's +Popular Superstitions; Upham's Lectures upon Witchcraft; Christian +Freeman and Family Visitor; Abercrombie on the Intellectual Powers; +Influence of the Imagination upon the Nervous System, by Rev. Grant +Powers; Life of Adam Clarke; Hayward's Book of all Religions; Miller +on the Second Coming of Christ; Borrow's Gypsies of Spain; Stone on +False Prophets and Christs; Dickens's Household Words; Capron and +Barron on the Spirit Knockings; Dick on the Improvement of Society; +Revelations of A. J. Davis; The Great Harmonia; Rogers on Human and +Mundane Agents; Miss Crowe's Night Side of Nature; Spiritual +Telegraph, &c. + +As the work embraces a mass of facts of an absorbing and intensely +interesting character, we trust that it will commend itself to an +enlightened and judicious public. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +PART FIRST. + +INTRODUCTION. + +THE OBJECT OF THIS WORK. + + PAGE + +Nursery tales of giants, dwarfs, ghosts, fairies, and witches.-- +Their effect upon juvenile minds.--A belief in ghosts still +prevalent.--The excitability of the public mind.--Ghost reported +as having been seen in Waltham, Massachusetts. 17 + + +CHAPTER I. + +ORIGIN OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + +Ignorance of correct reasoning.--Conclusions from particular +facts.--Water boiled by heat.--Signs.--Breaking a mirror.--Gene +ral conclusions from a few facts.--A victim to superstition in +New Hampshire.--How signs may be multiplied.--The design of +the Creator in endowing us with reason. 19 + + +CHAPTER II. + +INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD. + +Ignorance of it the cause of many superstitions.--Lights seen in +marshy grounds, &c.--Supposed to be supernatural.--Causes of +these lights, and phenomena connected with them.--Shrinking and +swelling of pork in boiling.--Cause.--Supposed influence of the +moon in making soap, grafting trees, cutting timber, &c.--Lunar +influence in matters of wedlock.--Love not to be fed on +moonshine. 22 + + +CHAPTER III. + +IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS. + +Fruitful source of superstitions.--Opinions of ancient divines. +--Dreams related in the Scriptures.--Their object.--Principles +of mental philosophy applied to modern dreams.--Examples of +singular dreams.--Dreams occasioned by sickness.--Fulfilment +of certain dreams.--Causes of the same.--Remarkable case of +a German student.--Case of a member of Congress.--Amusing +case concerning a passage of Scripture.--Necessity of a pure +conscience, and a careful attention to our stomachs. 24 + + +CHAPTER IV. + +EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. + +Ignorance of it has given rise to many superstitions.--Experiments +of Mesmer and Deslon in Paris.--Singular developments.--Trials at +Dr. Franklin's house.--Children uninfluenced by mesmeric operations. +--Magnetizing a tree in Dr. Franklin's garden.--Experiments upon +two females.--Effect produced.--Experiment upon a female by Dr. +Sigault.--Practice among the Chinese.--Girl frightened to death by +a Gypsy.--Practice among the New Zealanders.--Killing others by +incantation.--Intercourse with departed spirits.--An account of +Perkins's metallic tractors.--Their supposed influence in various +diseases.--Suspicions concerning them.--Experiments with wooden +tractors.--Result of these experiments.--Statements of a modern +mesmerizer. 29 + + +CHAPTER V. + +IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. + +This ignorance a cause of many superstitions.--Case of a person +who slept in a bed room supposed to be haunted.--Skeleton seen by +moonlight.--Apparition seen by Dr. Gregory.--Case related by Dr. +Conolly.--Ship's crew frightened by an apparition.--Young lady +supposed to have been murdered by pirates.--Cases of impressions +connected with bodily disease.--Phantasms in febrile diseases.--A +farmer frightened to death by a light in the road.--A figure like +Death striking a lady in her side with a dart.--Illusion of sight +and hearing.--Case of a lady who saw her absent husband standing +by her side.--Countenance of a friend seen in a mirror.--Tunes +heard.--Inverted objects.--Visions of the world of spirits.--Case +of Baron Swedenborg.--Case of a lady in Boston, who saw her +deceased grandmother.--The phantom ship seen in New Haven.--The +science of optics.--Of nauscopy.--Cases of mirage. 38 + + +CHAPTER VI. + +IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION. + +God the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.--The natural world governed +by regular laws.--Sign of the howling of a dog under the window.-- +Lucky and unlucky days.--Sir Matthew Hale's opinion.--Early laws of +Connecticut.--Superstition of sailors.--Timidity of Voltaire.-- +Peace and happiness on all days.--How procured. 50 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. + +A witch as regarded by our fathers.--Compact or agreement with the +devil.--Carried through the air on brooms and spits.--Anointing their +bodies with a magical ointment.--How to prepare the same.--Singular +ceremonies at the meetings of witches.--How they afflicted others. +--The bewitched pins shown to Grace Greenwood.--Mode of examining +and trying witches.--Witch catcher in England.--How he was arrested +and condemned.--Singular record on a church book in Scotland.-- +Notice of the Salem witchcraft.--How such superstitions are to be +done away.--Witches and wizards of modern times. 53 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING. + +Moll Pitcher, the queen of the race.--Her place of abode.--Company +that visited her.--Member of a church sent to consult her.--Casting +out evil spirits in Syria.--Account of Lady Hester Stanhope.--The +astrologer of Hopkinton, Massachusetts.--Chief characteristic of +fortune seekers.--Effects produced upon them. 58 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS, AND GYPSIES. + +Description of fairies, habits, localities, &c.--Subterranean spirits +in Wales, called _Knockers_.--The _Brownies_ in Scotland.--A farmer +in Ireland who was tormented by fairies.--Method taken to appease +their anger.--Spenser's poem of the Fairy Queen.--Gypsies and their +employments.--Casting the evil eye.--Safeguard against it.--Charm of +the Bible and key.--Superstition called the _elf-shot_.--Practice of +poisoning animals, and the cure.--Superstitions concerning the +loadstone.--Translation of St. Luke into the Gypsy tongue.-- +Singular notions of the Gypsies concerning it.--Condemned by the +royal edict at Madrid.--The Gypsy choirs at Moscow.--Anecdote of +Madame Catalini. 61 + + +CHAPTER X. + +OMENS, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION. + +Books published upon these things.--Their injurious tendency.--A +sample of their contents.--Practice of boxers.--Whistling in a +storm at sea.--Setting hens on an _odd_ number of eggs.--Salutes +of an _odd_ number of guns.--Omen concerning the number _thirteen_. +--Methods of ascertaining who will be a future husband.--Crossing +of knives.--Click of insects.--Advent of comets. 76 + + +CHAPTER XI. + +MODERN MIRACLES. + +They partake of superstition.--Instructions of the Savior concerning +them.--Object of Scripture miracles.--Modern miracles not satisfactory. +--Judge Howe's opinion concerning Christianity.--Times of miracles +ceased. 79 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. + +History of the prophet Matthias.--His career in Albany and New York. +--His deceptions upon conspicuous individuals.--His arrest for +alleged crimes.--Account of John of Leyden.--Sketch of Cochrane, +and his impositions. 81 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +MORMON SUPERSTITION. + +Account of the golden plates found by Joseph Smith.--Their +translation and publication in a volume.--Peculiar style of the +writings.--Attempt at imitation.--Mormon preachers speaking with +new tongues.--Increase of the doctrine, and why.--Mormon cities +not to be identified.--Strong indications of fabrication.-- +Fluency and earnestness of their preachers.--Traits of the +Cochranites.--Effects produced upon their hearers.--An account +of the _real_ origin of the Mormon Bible, and its author.--Of +Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet.--His early characteristics. +--Exposure of the indecent ceremonies at Nauvoo; as established +by Smith and others. 96 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +MILLER DELUSION. + +Prophecies of Mr. Miller.--His computation of time.--Management +to suit his own particular views.--Keeping the world standing +thirty years on a simple _if_.--Various blunders and mistakes. +--Confession of his errors.--False information respecting signs. +--Disappearance of stars.--Of the Aurora Borealis.--Shooting +stars.--Sun and moon turning to blood.--Darkness of the sun.-- +Its cause.--Remarkable appearances in various ages of the world. +--Opinion concerning Halley's comet.--Ignorance of the constitution +of comets.--The comet of 1770.--Tests of signs that shall indicate +the end of time.--Scientific men stationed in various parts of the +earth.--No such changes as have been spoken of by the second +advent preachers, observed by them. 102 + + +CHAPTER XV. + +INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. + +Spirits, ghosts, and spectres seen in all ages.--Account of the +magic crystals, or divining glasses.--Seeing spirits in Egypt.-- +Lady Blessington's crystal in England.--Spirit of Lord Nelson +described.--The Latin language commonly used by spirits.--An +account of spirits that live in the SUN.--Spirits conversing +with human beings.--Mode of communication by letters of fire, +or large printed _capitals_.--Interview with the spirit of +_Pharaoh_.--His present dwelling in the planet _Jupiter_.-- +Information gleaned in conversation with him.--Swedenborg's +account of Sir John Franklin.--Describes his situation, blocked +up by _ice_.--Spirits do not understand about _latitude_ and +_longitude_.--Description of the spirit of Socrates, his dress, +&c.--Account of the emperor Alexander in the spirit world.-- +Dickens's account of fashionable dupes in England.--The sciences +of astrology and magic.--Practices of high titled ladies in +London.--Account of famous conjurers, or fortune tellers.-- +Account of the "rappers," or "knocking spirits."--Children +frightened by their noises.--Snapping of fingers, and clapping +of hands, imitated by the spirits.--Mrs. Fox asks questions of a +spirit.--Answers given by a succession of _raps_.--Account of a +ghost that appeared in Waltham, Massachusetts.--Conversation with +the ghost by a gentleman.--Said he had been murdered, and told by +whom.--Tones of the ghost, (unearthly,) its mode of walking, &c. +--Great excitement on account of the ghost.--Mode of communication +with the _rapping_ spirits.--Tables and chairs moved, sounds heard, +&c.--Band of music, beating of the _bass drum_, and roar of artillery. +--Guitar played by unseen hands.--Ladies' hair taken down and +braided by spirits.--People touched by unseen hands.--How spirits +produce the sounds of _music_.--How they make the _rapping_ noises. +--Account of an interview with the spirit of Dr. Franklin.-- +Sounds heard like trying the batteries in the telegraph office.-- +Occupation of Franklin in the spirit world.--Getting up a line of +communication between the two worlds.--Dr. Franklin predicts great +changes in the nineteenth century.--Connection of _magnetism_ with +the _spiritual rappings_.--Clairvoyant interpreters between men +and spirits.--Spiritual postmasters, letter paper, and envelopes. +--Letters received from the spiritual worlds.--The _Spirit Journal_, +in Auburn, New York.--Its pages edited, controlled, and superintended +by _spirits_.--The _prophets_ and _apostles_ its conductors, acting +under the LORD SUPREME.--Blunders and errors of the rapping spirits. +--Ignorant spirits.--Mischief produced by them.--Swedenborg's account +of their stupidity.--How to distinguish the sounds made by an +ignorant or an intelligent spirit.--Wonderful precocity of infant +spirits.--Progression of spirits, both upwards and downwards.-- +The spirit of Dr. Channing _deteriorated_ in the other world.-- +Theological teachings of the rapping spirits.--Prophecy of +Swedenborg concerning the year 1852.--Noises of the _rappers_ +indicative of the approach of his prediction.--Are to be considered +as _omens_ of a new advent.--Compared with the Miller prophecy of +1843.--Miracles, both of the rappers and the Millerites.--A sick +man and his bed taken up by spirits.--The body of a Mr. Gordon +taken up by spiritual hands.--Miracles wrought in favor of +_Millerism_.--Miracles wrought in favor of _witchcraft_.-- +Millerites taken up by spiritual hands.--Strange noises made +by _spirits_ among the Adventists.--Houses shaken, mirrors +shattered to pieces, furniture broken.--Four women carried +through the air on a _pole_.--Testimony under oath respecting +it.--Account of a bewitched _ventriloquist_.--Witches in 1850. +--What the editor of a Boston journal says of them.--Witches, +ghosts, spooks, and hobgoblins, in all ages of the world.-- +Account of a haunted house in Boston.--Every window illuminated +at midnight.--A young man frightened by the scene.--Singular +notion of the Greenlanders respecting the cause of thunder, +and of the Aurora Borealis.--Notion of the ancients concerning +the foundation of the earth.--Of the mathematician Kepler.-- +Performance of Signor Blitz.--Effects produced by _ventriloquism_. +--Singular vibrations of the guitar.--Spirit rappings considered +as a new science.--Noises heard by the Wesley family, in 1716. +--Noises heard by Martin Luther.--Empty barrels and hogsheads +tumbling down stairs.--Information of past, present, and future +events.--The fortune tellers in comparison with the spirit rappers. +--Spirits unwilling or unable to spell their own names.--Spiritual +communications on the decline.--Contrast between the doings of +ancient and modern spirits.--Swedenborg's information concerning +the spirit of Melancthon.--A clairvoyant interview with Tom Paine. +--Account of an interview with Mr. Sunderland.--Dialogue with a +young lady.--Interview with a clairvoyant medium in Lowell.--Facts +respecting mesmeric operations.--People deceived by "sympathetic +spirits."--Judson J. Hutchinson made insane.--Exposure of the +deception practised upon him.--Davis's account of Benjamin +Franklin.--Dr. Phelps concerning the "spirit rappers."--Singular +developments at his house.--How tables, chairs, &c., are moved by +spirits.--Exhibitions of "chin music" in London.--Singular +transactions in England, as related by Dr. Thomas Dick.--Tricks +performed by Joe Collins of Oxford.--Spirits seen by the votaries +of St. Vitus, and the Shakers of later times. 118 + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + +Great waste of time.--Ceremonies among the ancients.--Practices +in Catholic countries.--Injurious practices in Protestant +lands.--Dreams, visions, signs, tricks, omens, &c.--Great waste +of human life.--Account of the trial by _ordeal_.--Murder of +innocent persons.--Belief in dreams and forewarnings.--Modern +miracles, appearances of the dead, &c.--Unfavorable influence of +a belief in dreams.--The death watch, new moon, &c.--Predictions +of Nanny Scott.--Of the good Mrs. Taylor.--Marriages on a stormy +day.--Practice of wedded couples.--Moles on the wrong side of the +body.--Opening books, tricks, fortune telling.--Practice of a +lady in a clergyman's family.--Disadvantageous matrimonial +alliances.--Anticipation of dreadful calamities.--Practice of +Rev. John Wesley.--Temperaments of Melancthon and Luther.--Luck, +chance, fatality, &c.--Saul and the witch of Endor.--Conjurers +and impostors.--Injury done to the cause of medicine.--King's +touch in scrofula.--The _ninth_ son of a _ninth_ son.--The +_seventh_ son of a _seventh_ son.--Cure by the cold hands of +a malefactor.--Plaster on a pitchfork; polishing rusty nails. +--A female heart made into pills for consumption.--Heart taken +out of a female in Maine, and in Waltham, Massachusetts, and +made into pills.--Influence of the imagination.--Account of a +Mr. Austin, in Vermont.--His singular mode of healing the sick. +--Account of the celebrated _rain-water_ doctor.--Sketch of an +_astrological_ physician in New York.--Of Valentine Greataks +and Francisco Bagnone.--Momentary relief obtained, and why.-- +Injury done to the cause of religion.--Account of the Pharisees, +compared to vipers and toads, and their numerous progeny.--How +we may know a Pharisee.--A young man catechized by our Savior. +--St. Paul once a Pharisee.--Proof.--Customs among the Catholics. +--Practices of many Protestants.--Mistaken views upon religion. +--Views concerning Satan.--Satan _versus_ Cotton Mather.--Professor +Stuart's views concerning the devil.--_Periodical_ revivals +of religion; the cause.--How to have a constant revival. 165 + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + +How shall it be effected?--The proper use of our _reasoning +faculties_.--The exercise of our understandings.--Persevering +self-discipline.--Conduct towards believers in ghosts, signs, +&c.--Misconduct in families; trying tricks, &c.--How we should +employ our time.--Belief in an all-wise Providence, as Governor +and Controller of all events.--Importance of a correct education +of youth.--Nursery tales and marvellous stories.--Their baneful +influence.--Correct examples before children.--Superstitious +tales to be avoided.--Attention to the means of education.-- +Immense value and importance of knowledge.--No lack of means +to educate the young.--Money foolishly wasted in various ways. +--Perseverance in laudable exertions.--The blessing of Heaven +to crown our labors. 185 + + +PART SECOND. + +MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. + +Miracle performed by spirits in Springfield, Massachusetts.--Case +of biological deception.--Case of a "writing medium."--Effects +produced by pathetism.--Incident related by Miss Martineau.-- +Travelling to other countries, and to other spheres.--Singular +feat by a boy of Dr. Phelps.--Wonderful case of a lady in New +Jersey.--Advice of Hon. Horace Greely.--Testimony of Rev. Dr. +Phelps. 191 + + +PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER ON MAGNETISM. 199 + + +SCENE AT EAST BOSTON. + +"Circle" at the house of Mr. Hoyt, at East Boston.--Effects of +vital electricity.--Imitating handwritings, writing poetry, music, +&c. 200 + + +EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. + +Facts related by a gentleman of Maine.--Renunciation of a spirit +rapper.--Murder committed at the instigation of "spirits."-- +Conflicting testimony concerning John Thompson.--Experiments +of Mr. Kellogg, the table lifter.--Discovery by Dr. Taylor, +the writing medium.--Renunciation of Mr. Cooley, of Springfield, +Massachusetts.--Attempt to murder a family in Barre, Massachusetts. +--Sacrifice of the innocent in heathen countries.--Great danger +in civilized communities.--Reports concerning the burning of +the Lunatic Asylum in Maine.--Testimony of Professor Stowe.-- +Reply of Bingham to Professor Pond.--Singular confessions of the +reviewer.--Intelligence said to be communicated by "spirits."-- +Vital electricity of embodied and disembodied spirits. 203 + + +EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL. + +Star singers, concerts, parties, and lectures in the other +spheres.--Studies of French, Italian, geology, chemistry, drawing, +&c.--Semi-clergymen, outsiders, or come-outers. 215 + + +FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS. + +Prediction concerning the ship Staffordshire.--General Pierce's +election foretold by Professor Anderson's glass bell.--False +predictions of the "spirits."--Error committed by Professor +Lester.--Suggestion of a lady to a sick friend.--Sentiments of +Alexander Pope. 218 + + +VISIONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS. + +Sights, sounds, signs, miracles, maps, drawings, hieroglyphics. +--Talking cow in Maine.--Her prophecy.--Proposition for _another_ +"NEW CHURCH."--Predictions concerning all other churches.-- +Opinions three hundred years ago.--Fate of Galileo. 220 + + +CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS. + +Prescriptions from the dead.--Power of the imagination.--Wonderful +efficacy of brown bread pills.--Singular cure of palsy, by Sir +Humphrey Davy. 221 + + +STYLE OF "SUPERNAL" COMPOSITIONS. + +Fishbough's new work.--Fancy-captivating publications.--Refined +atheism.--Transcendental nonsense.--False communications relating +to patriots, statesmen, orators, and divines.--Mountebank scenes +of "psychology."--Testimony of A. J. Davis, upon the tricks of +the spirit demonstrators.--Concealments, misstatements, and +exaggerations. 223 + + +MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA, WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. + +Thumping noises in New Jersey.--Door opened as if struck by a +mallet.--Great excitement.--Glass broken, &c.--Knockings heard in +New Hackensack.--Pile of lumber shaken; tables, chairs, stand, +and candlestick thrown about.--Bags of salt, tin ware, and +cooking utensils thrown in a heap.--An English officer haunted by +noises in the night.--Heavy marble top tables poising themselves +on two legs.--Brass door knockers bewitched.--Commotion among +crockery, tin ware, &c.--Firing a gun at noises in the walls. +--Tearing up floor to get at the noises.--Suit brought for +damages.--Bed of a sick girl raised.--Trembling of the house +walls.--Singular pranks in a factory.--Jerking of the frames, +and cylinder thrown at a distance.--Alarm and flight of the +operatives.--A chest with three men, and a man on a tub, taken +up by an invisible power.--A chair broken between two men's +hands.--An image seated on a stool, clad in white.--Visions of +beings like spirits.--Knockings on the walls, and noises in the +air.--A lady suspended by the tips of the fingers, as a magnet +suspends a piece of iron.--Electrical flashes from a lady's +body.--Knockings made to be heard at a distance.--Quotation from +a work by Rev. T. Hill, of Waltham.--Singular developments in New +York.--Freaks of a knob of a door bell.--Fiery flashes, and fiery +smacks, on kissing.--Blows in the mouth from a speaking tube.-- +Account of two girls that could move tables without touching them. +--Effects of storms on raising tables.--Electrical circles in +Cincinnati.--Case of a lady in Strasburg.--Power of giving +electrical shocks to persons at a distance.--Singular effects +of the northern lights on a lady. 224 + + +EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY. + +Chairs, tables, and persons moved.--Biological table-liftings in +East Boston.--"Mediums," as visible human operators.--Resolve of +the "rappers" at Poughkeepsie.--The unseen agent that moves +tables, beds, &c.--Dancing plates, knives and forks, &c. 264 + + +FACULTY OF IMITATION. + +Delivering speeches; imitating orators.--Case related by Walter +Scott.--Case of a man haunted by the devil.--Effects of wine and +heavy eating.--Voice heard by Judge Edmonds.--Lady in Providence +who writes music by "spirits."--Diagram of the spheres, by a lady +in a magnetic state. 268 + + +UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES. + +Imitating unseen letters, signatures, and languages.--Suspicions +concerning Professor Bush.--Singular feat attributed to spirits. +--No difficulty in raising chairs or tables.--Spirits shown by +Egyptian boys.--Unbelief of practising "mediums."--School +children forbidden to move tables, &c. 273 + + +A DANCING LIGHT. + +Dancing light seen in Southboro', Massachusetts.--_Ignis +fatuus_ seen by Dr. Derham.--Corpusants seen by mariners.-- +Dampier's account of them. 274 + + +SAILORS' OMENS. + +Sailors' omens and superstitions.--Devil's power in stirring up +winds.--Losing a cat overboard, a bucket, or a mop. 276 + + +LOVE CHARMS. + +Othello winning Desdemona by conjuration.--Execution of a young +lady for giving a love powder.--Her dying confession.--A charm or +an allay for love. 277 + + +EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST. + +Effects of a belief in the reality of ghosts.--Case at the +University at Cambridge.--A student frightened to death. 279 + + +THE INVISIBLE LADY. + +The invisible lady in Boston.--The invisible girl in London.-- +Joice Heth, the India rubber woman.--Professor Grimes's +discovery among the "rappers."--Mrs. Culver respecting the +Rochester rappers. 280 + + +SORCERERS IN THE EAST. + +Persons killed by the enemy's fires.--Singular custom in Java. 281 + + +SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES. + +Men turned into tigers by eating a certain root, and turned back +again by eating another.--A tiger-man shot in the woods and +recognized, after having devoured some of his neighbors.--Account +of the wolf mania in Egypt and in Brittany.--A husband that lived +and died a wolf. 282 + + +PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH. + +Astrology.--Vegetable oil of swallows, &c.--Cleanliness, diet, +&c.--Ablution.--Ventilation.--Food.--Quality of meats. 284 + + + + +THE SPIRIT LAND. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +The object of this treatise upon some of the various errors of the past +and present ages is to explain their nature--investigate their +origin--describe their injurious effects--and to offer and recommend +the necessary measures for their banishment. Most persons, even those +who have been well educated, can call to mind the avidity with which, +in their days of childhood, they listened to the nursery tales of +giants, dwarfs, ghosts, fairies, and witches. The effects of these +juvenile impressions are not easily effaced from the mind, and the +impressions themselves are but rarely, if ever, forgotten. + +To doubt, in former times, the power of charms, and the veracity of +omens, and ghost stories, was deemed little less than atheism. The +terror caused by them imbittered the lives of persons of all ages. It +either served to shut them out of their own houses, or deterred them +from going abroad after it was dark. The room in which the head of a +family died was for a long time untenanted; particularly if he died +without a will, or was supposed to have entertained any peculiar +religious opinions. If any disconsolate maiden, or love-crossed +bachelor, became the instrument of their own death, the room where the +fatal deed was committed was rendered forever uninhabitable, and not +unfrequently nailed up. If a drunken farmer, returning from market, +fell from his horse, and by the fall broke his own neck, that spot, +ever after, was haunted and impassable. In truth, there was scarcely a +by-lane or cross-way but had its ghost, which appeared in the shape of +a headless cow or horse. Ghosts of a higher degree rode in coaches, +drawn by six headless horses, and driven by a headless coachman. As for +the churchyards, the legitimate habitations of spectres, clothed all in +white, the numbers who swarmed there equalled the living parishioners; +and to pass such a place in the night was more perilous than the +storming of Badajos. + +Confuted and ridiculed as these opinions have been, in later days, the +seeds of them are still widely diffused, and at times attempt to spring +up in all their earlier excess. In the year 1832, crowds of men, women, +and children flocked to the village of Waltham, a few miles from +Boston, to see a ghost which was said to make its appearance towards +midnight, walking to and fro in a turf meadow, declaring itself, in +unearthly tones, to be the spirit of a murdered man, whose bones lay in +a mud hole near by. The excitement spread many miles around, and +hundreds from the city and neighboring towns hied to the spot, with +eyes agape, to behold the solemn visitor from the spirit world. And +such was the credulity inspired in the minds of the people, that a +clergyman in the vicinity declared from his pulpit, on the following +Sabbath, that the awful crime of murder had been revealed by the spirit +which had appeared in Waltham! Such is the _excitability_ of the +mind, and its tendency (notwithstanding the light that has been +scattered abroad) to give credence to all the vagaries and nonsense of +the darker ages. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE ORIGIN OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + + +Ignorance of correct reasoning has undoubtedly given rise to many +superstitions. Inductive reasoning teaches us to infer general +conclusions from particular facts which have come under our +observation. This definition may be illustrated by an example. You know +that water boils on the application of a certain degree of heat. You +have seen this experiment tried many times without a single failure. +You therefore conclude that water will always boil on the application +of this degree of heat, although you have seen it applied but to a +small portion of the water in creation. Thus you draw this _general_ +conclusion from the few _particular_ facts which you have witnessed. +But had you noticed several failures in the trial, your conclusions +would have been doubtful. And if the experiment had failed ninety-nine +cases out of a hundred, you would have adopted an opposite conclusion. +You would have said that the application of the specified degree of +heat would not boil water. In this way, logical reasoning leads to the +discovery of truth. Now, apply this principle of sound reasoning to the +whole mass of pretended _signs_. Let me select one to show you the +absurdity of believing in any. It is commonly reported that the +breaking of a looking glass betokens death to some member of the +family. This sign probably originated in the following manner: A death +happened to follow the breaking of a mirror. Some ignorant person +immediately concluded that the breaking of the glass was a sure sign of +death. The story soon spread among credulous people, and at length was +handed down from generation to generation as an established truth. But +you readily perceive the absurdity of forming this _general_ conclusion +from _one_ or a _few_ particular facts. We all know that death does not +follow the supposed sign oftener than once in a hundred times; and +therefore the breaking of the glass is almost a sure sign that no death +will immediately take place in the family. But as mirrors are always +breaking, and people are always dying, it is not strange that the +latter event should sometimes follow the former. It would be a miracle +if it did not. But the events have no connection whatever with each +other. The coincidence in any case is altogether accidental. We might +with the same reason affirm that the breaking of a teakettle is the +sign of death, or any thing else, as the breaking of a mirror. But the +truth is, there is no sign in the case. It first originated in +ignorance of correct reasoning, and has been perpetuated by the +credulous. It is but a short time ago that a girl in Exeter, N.H., +broke a mirror. She believed that ill luck always followed such an +event and therefore became seriously affected in her mind. Finally, her +strength failed, and she died a victim to her superstition. Hence we +perceive the great importance of a just conception and well-informed +judgment upon such apparently trifling, yet oftentimes serious events, +in their effects upon social and individual happiness. + +We have only to apply this principle of correct reasoning to every sign +in existence, to find them to be superstitious. We shall find, upon +investigation, that they are based upon no rational evidence, and +consequently are not entitled to our belief or confidence. If they +indicate any thing, it is something directly opposite to what is +generally supposed, for they do not come to pass more than once in a +hundred times, and therefore warrant a different conclusion. Not only +so. If you believe in the present pretended signs, you may make a +million more equally good. A man quarrels after drinking a glass of +wine; you may therefore say that taking a glass of wine is the sign of +a quarrel. A man draws a prize in a lottery; you may say therefore that +the purchase of a ticket is the sign of a fortune. A man dies after +supper; you may say therefore that eating supper is the sign of death. +In this you may multiply signs to infinity, and they will prove just as +true as any now in existence. But our Creator has endowed us with +understanding. He has given us reason to regulate our belief by +satisfactory evidence. And if we do this, we cannot believe in +_any_ of the pretended signs. We must conclude that they have all +originated in ignorance of correct reasoning, and are kept in +remembrance by those who will not use their intellectual powers as +their Maker designed. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD. + + +Ignorance of inductive philosophy has given rise to many superstitions. +By the means of inductive philosophy, we are enabled to trace effects +to their true causes. For example: Lights have frequently been seen +dancing over marshy grounds, near tan-yards, and burying-places, and +along the sea shore. Credulous people have believed them to be the +spirits of the uneasy dead. This belief must be considered +superstitious, not having any foundation on rational evidence. +Philosophy teaches that these lights are occasioned by an inflammable +gas, which arises from decayed animal and vegetable substances, and +takes fire on coming in contact with atmospheric air. Thus we may trace +all effects to their true causes. + +Many persons have supposed that pork killed in the increase of the moon +would swell in boiling, while that killed in her wane would shrink. +This opinion probably originated in the following manner: Some person +killed, at different periods of the moon, two hogs which had been born +and fattened together. That killed in her increase swelled in boiling; +while the other, killed in her wane, shrunk. He could conceive of no +way to account for the facts but on the supposition of lunar influence. +This conclusion was accordingly adopted, and at length became an +established truth. Yet there was no philosophy in forming this opinion +from a few such facts. More experiments should have been tried; and +they results would have shown that the real cause of the swelling and +shrinking existed in the constitution of the animals. It would have +been discovered that pork of fine and solid texture would commonly +swell, whenever killed; while that of loose and coarse grain would as +generally shrink. And the person would no more have thought of +attributing the difference in his pork to the moon than to the spirit +of Bonaparte. + +Let this philosophic principle be applied to this whole class of +superstitions, and we shall arrive at similar results. There is the +supposed influence of the moon on making soap, grafting trees, cutting +timber, and also upon the fortunes of love-sick swains and maidens. The +latter are directed to go out in the evening and stand over the bars of +a gate, and, looking on the moon, repeat the following lines:-- + + "All hail to the moon! all hail to thee! + I pray thee, good moon, reveal to me, + This night, who my husband shall be." + +They must then go directly to bed, and will dream of their future +husband. Upon trial of the experiment, they will probably be inclined +to consider it a dreamy notion altogether; for love is of too serious a +nature to be fed upon mere _moonshine_. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS. + + +Ignorance of the causes of our dreams has given rise to many +superstitions. Ancient divines have told us that some of our dreams +proceed from ourselves, others from the Deity, and others again from +the devil. We know, to be sure, from experience, that dreams proceed +from ourselves in _some_, if not in all cases. We admit, however, +that God has spoken to some of his dependent creatures by dreams; for +we learn this from the Holy Scriptures. But such dreams were direct +revelations for the accomplishment of some divine purpose. The volume +of revelation was long since closed, and all that is essential to the +present and eternal happiness of mankind is plainly revealed. There is +therefore no necessity for any further communications from Heaven; and +the gospel does not authorize us to expect any. Dreams may sometimes +strike a conviction upon the mind, which our waking thoughts may fail +to do. And they may sometimes have the appearance of being fulfilled; +and yet there may be no necessity of supposing that God has made us the +special organ of divine communications. Our dreams, in such cases, may +be explained upon the principles of mental philosophy, without +resorting to the miraculous interposition of Deity for an explanation. + +To say that the devil is the author of all our disagreeable dreams that +happen generally when we are in some trouble of body, mind, or estate, +is too absurd to believe. And it is specially unbecoming the followers +of Jesus to harbor an opinion so unbecoming in itself, so pernicious in +its consequences, and so derogatory to the supreme Ruler of the +universe. The true doctrine is, that our dreams originate from +ourselves. Some are influenced by our bodily sensations. A person with +a bottle of hot water at his feet dreams of ascending Ætna; and he +finds the heat of the ground almost insupportable. Another kicks the +bed clothes from his feet, and dreams of walking through snow banks, +even in the summer season. Some dreams are influenced by the state of +our stomach and bowels. The hungry prisoner dreams of well-furnished +tables and the pleasures of eating. The glutton dreams of a surfeit and +its attendant unpleasant sensations. Some dreams are influenced by our +dispositions. The person of amiable temper and cheerful spirits is +frequently refreshed with delightful scenes and visions of bliss; while +those of morose, gloomy, irritable, and melancholy habits are generally +harassed with those of a disagreeable and oppressive character. Some +dreams are influenced by the state of our health. Sickness is usually +productive of those of an unpleasant nature; while health secures those +of an opposite description. A gentleman, mentioned by Locke, was not +sensible of dreaming till he had a fever, at the age of twenty-six or +seven. Some dreams are influenced by our waking thoughts. The +mathematician solves difficult problems. The poet roves in Elysian +groves. The miser makes great bargains. The sensualist riots in the +haunts of dissipation. The criminal sees the dungeon or the gallows. +The awakened sinner beholds the flames of hell, or looks upon the +sceptre of pardon; and the Christian anticipates heavenly joy. + +Strong mental emotions are sometimes embodied into a dream, which, by +some natural coincidence, is fulfilled. A murderer, mentioned by Mr. +Combe, dreamed of committing murder some years before the event took +place. A clergyman on a visit to the city of Edinburgh, from a distance +in the country, was sleeping at an inn, when he dreamed of seeing a +fire, and one of his children in the midst of it. He awoke with the +impression, and instantly started for home. When he arrived within +sight of his house, he found it on fire, and got there in time to +assist in saving one of his children, who, in the alarm and confusion, +had been left in a situation of danger. Without calling in question the +possibility of supernatural communications in such cases, this striking +occurrence may perhaps be accounted for on simple and natural +principles. Let us suppose that the gentleman had a servant who had +shown great carelessness in regard to fire, which had often given rise +in his mind to a strong apprehension that he might set fire to the +house. His anxiety might be increased by being from home, and the same +circumstances might make the servant still more careless. Let us +further suppose that the gentleman, before going to bed, had, in +addition to this anxiety, suddenly recollected that there was on that +day, in the neighborhood of his house, some fair or periodical merry +making, from which the servant was likely to return home in a state of +intoxication. It was most natural that these impressions should be +embodied into a dream of his house being on fire, and that the same +circumstances might lead to the dream being fulfilled. + +The cause of a dream may sometimes be the cause of its fulfilment. A +clergyman dreamed of preaching a sermon on a particular subject. In a +few weeks, he delivered the discourse. His dream was therefore +fulfilled. But his waking thoughts caused the dream, for he had +meditated on this very subject; and they also caused its fulfilment, +for he proceeded to write and deliver the result of his meditations. + +A belief in the supernatural origin of dreams sometimes leads to their +fulfilment. A person dreams of approaching sickness. His fears and his +imagination hasten on the calamity. A general, on the eve of battle, +dreamed of a defeat. His belief in dreams deprived him of courage, and, +of course, the enemy conquered. We have on record the case of a German +student, who dreamed that he was to die at a certain hour on the next +day. His friends found him in the morning making his will and arranging +his affairs. As the time drew near, he had every appearance of a person +near his end. Every argument was used to shake his belief in the +supernatural origin of his dream, but all to no effect. At last, the +physician contrived to place the hands of the clock beyond the +specified hour, and by this means saved the student's life. There are +instances on record where death has actually ensued in consequence of +such a belief. It has been produced by the wonderful power the mind +possesses over the body. And there can be no doubt that believers in +dreams often take the most direct means to hasten their fulfilment. + +The apparent fulfilment of dreams is sometimes merely accidental. The +dream happens, and the event dreamed of soon follows; but the +coincidence is altogether fortuitous. A member of Congress informed a +friend that he frequently dreamed of the death of some one of his +children, while residing at Washington. The whole scene would appear +before him--the sickness, the death, and the burial; and this too +several times the same night, and on successive nights. His anxiety for +his family caused his dreams. Now, it would have been nothing strange +if a member of his family had died. But in this particular instance it +was not the case. In this way, however, we are always dreaming of our +absent relatives, and it would be singular if a death did not sometimes +occur at the time of the dream. So on all other subjects. One event may +follow the other, and yet the coincidence be perfectly accidental. +There are occasionally some amusing cases of this kind. A person +dreamed three times in one night that he must turn to the seventh verse +of the fifth chapter of Ecclesiastes, and he would find important +instruction. He arose in the morning, and, referring to the specified +passage, found these words: "_In the multitude of dreams there are +divers vanities._" + +Finally, the occasion of some dreams seems as yet inexplicable. But as +we can account for so large a portion of them, it is rational to +believe that the causes of the few mysterious ones will be hereafter +satisfactorily explained. We think we are safe in believing that all +our dreams are caused by some principle of our intellectual or animal +nature. Let us then pay no further regard to them than to aim by a pure +conscience before God, and a careful attention to our stomachs and +health, to have them refreshing and agreeable. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. + + +Ignorance of the influence of the imagination upon the nervous system +has given rise to many superstitions. We will give a few statements of +facts to establish and illustrate this position. Some time previous to +1784, a gentleman in Paris, by the name of Mesmer, professed to have +discovered a universal remedy for all diseases; and this remedy +consisted in being _magnetized_ under peculiar forms and circumstances. +M. Mesmer became so noted for his discovery, and he performed such +extraordinary cures, that, in 1784, the French king appointed a +committee, consisting of four physicians and five members of the Royal +Academy of Sciences, to investigate this matter. The committee, as soon +as they had examined the whole apparatus employed in magnetizing, and +taken cognizance of the manoeuvres of Mesmer, and his partner, Deslon, +proceeded to notice the symptoms of the patients while under the +influence of magnetism. These were various in different individuals. +Some were calm and tranquil, and felt nothing; others were affected +with coughing and spitting, with pains, heats, and perspirations; and +some were agitated and tortured with convulsions. These convulsions +were sometimes continued for three hours, accompanied with +expectoration of a viscid phlegm, ejected by violent efforts, and +sometimes streaked with blood. They had involuntary motions of the +limbs, of the whole body, and spasms of the throat. Their eyes wandered +in wild motions; they uttered piercing shrieks, wept, laughed, and +hiccoughed. The commissioners observed that the great majority of those +thus effected were females, and that these exhibitions did not begin +until they had been under the operation of magnetism one or two hours, +and that, when one became affected, the rest were soon seen in the same +situation. In order to give the magnetizer the fairest opportunity to +exhibit the power of his invention, and to give the most satisfactory +evidence to the public, the commissioners all submitted to be operated +upon themselves, and sat under the operation two hours and a half, but +without the least effect upon them, except the fatigue of sitting so +long in one position. They were magnetized three days in succession, +but without any sensible effect being produced. The magnetizing +instruments were then removed to Dr. Franklin's house, away from public +view, parade, and high expectation, and fourteen persons were then +magnetized, all of them invalids. Nine of them experienced nothing, +five appeared slightly affected, and the commissioners were surprised +to learn, in every instance, that the poor and ignorant alone were +affected. After this eight men and two women were magnetized, but +without the least effect. At length a female servant submitted to the +same operation, and she affirmed that she felt a heat in every part +where the magnetized finger was pointed at her; that she experienced a +pain in her head; and, during a continuation of the operation, she +became faint, and swooned. When she had fully recovered, they ordered +her eyes to be bandaged, and the operator was removed at a distance, +when they made her believe that she was still under the operation, and +the effects were the same, although no one operated, either near her or +at a distance. She could tell the very place where she was magnetized; +she felt the same heat in her back and loins, and the same pain in her +eyes and ears. At the end of one quarter of an hour, a sign was made +for her to be magnetized, but she felt nothing. On the following day, a +man and woman were magnetized in a similar manner, and the result was +the same. It was found that to direct the _imagination_ to the parts +where the sensations were to be felt, was all that was necessary to +produce these wonderful effects. But _children_, who had not arrived at +sufficient maturity of age to be excited by these imposing forms, +experienced nothing from the operation. + +Mesmer and Deslon asserted that they could magnetize a tree, and every +person approaching the tree, in a given time, would be magnetized, and +either fall into a swoon or in convulsions, provided the magnetizer was +permitted to stand at a distance and direct his look and his cane +towards the tree. Accordingly, an apricot tree was selected in Dr. +Franklin's garden, at Vassy, for the experiment, and M. Deslon came and +magnetized the tree while the patient was retained in the house. The +patient was then brought out, with a bandage over his eyes, and +successively lead to four trees, which were not magnetized, and was +directed to embrace each tree two minutes, while M. Deslon, at a +distance, stood pointing his cane to the tree actually magnetized. At +the first tree, which was about twenty-seven feet from the magnetized +tree, the patient sweat profusely, coughed, expectorated, and said he +felt a pain in his head. At the second tree, now thirty feet from the +magnetized tree, he found himself giddy, attended with headache, as +before. At the third tree, his giddiness and headache were much +increased, and he said he believed he was approaching the magnetized +tree, although he was still twenty-eight feet from it. At length, when +brought to the fourth tree, _not magnetized_, and at the distance +of twenty-four feet from that which was, the young man fell down in a +state of perfect insensibility; his limbs became rigid, and he was +carried to a grass plot, where M. Deslon went to his assistance and +recovered him. And yet, in no instance had he approached within a less +distance than twenty-four feet of the magnetized tree. + +A similar experiment was soon afterwards made on two poor females, at +Dr. Franklin's house. These women were separated from each other. Three +of the commissioners remained with one of them in one chamber, and two +of them with the other, in an adjoining chamber. The first had a +bandage over her eyes, and was then made to believe that M. Deslon came +in and commenced magnetizing her, although he never entered the room. +In three minutes the woman began to shiver. She felt, in succession, a +pain in her head, and a pricking in her hands. She became stiff, struck +her hands together, got up, stamped, &c., but nothing had been done to +her. The woman in the adjoining chamber was requested to take her seat +by the door, which was shut, with her sight at liberty. She was then +made to believe that M. Deslon would magnetize the door on the opposite +side, while the commissioners would wait to witness the result. She had +scarcely been seated a minute before she began to shiver. Her breathing +became hurried; she stretched out her arms behind her back, writhing +them strongly, and bending her body forwards; a general tremor of the +whole body came on. The chattering of the teeth was so loud as to be +heard out of the room; and she bit her hand so as to leave the marks of +her teeth in it; but M. Deslon was not near the door, nor in either +chamber, nor was either of the women touched, not even their pulse +examined. We perceive, then, that these effects were produced solely by +the imagination, and the above facts exhibit very satisfactorily the +power which the mind has over the body. The symptoms were not feigned, +but, in the peculiar state of mind of these persons, they were +involuntary and irresistible. They believed they should be effected in +this manner; the idea was formed in their imaginations, and the nerves +were acted upon precisely as though what they conceived was real, and +the muscular effects followed. And as the patients themselves could not +explain the causes of these effects, they very naturally attributed the +whole to magnetism. When the commissioners explained the matter, +magnetism ceased to produce these wonderful effects. The minds of +persons were enlightened upon the subject, and they no longer expected +to be influenced in this manner, and accordingly they were not. + +Dr. Sigault, an eminent physician of Paris, professed to be an adept in +the art of Mesmer. Being at a great assembly one day, he caused it to +be announced that he could magnetize. The voice and serious air he +assumed had a very sensible effect upon a lady present, although she +endeavored at first to conceal the fact. But having carried his hand to +the region of the heart, he found it palpitating. She soon experienced +difficulty in respiration. The muscles of her face were affected with +convulsive twitches; her eyes rolled; she shortly fell down in a +fainting fit, vomited her dinner, and experienced incredible weakness +and languor. This seemed to corroborate the remarks of Burton, in his +_Anatomy of Melancholy_, where he says, "If, by some soothsayer, +wise man, fortune teller, or physician, men be told they shall have +such a disease, they will so seriously apprehend it that they will +instantly labor of it--a thing familiar in China, (saith Riccius, the +Jesuit.) If they be told they shall be sick on such a day, when that +day comes they will surely be sick, and will be so terribly affected +that sometimes they die upon it." + +A late English paper states that a young woman, named Winfield, who had +been on a visit to Derby, returned home to Radborn, taking a little dog +with her by a string. On arriving there, she informed her friends she +had seen a gypsy on the road, who told her, that if she led her dog by +the string into the house, she would soon be a corpse. Singular to +relate, the young woman expired on the following morning! It was +thought she died from the effect of imagination, aided by a debilitated +constitution. + +A missionary among the New Zealanders says, "There is a class of people +in New Zealand, called by the natives _Areekee_, and whom we very +improperly call _Priests_. These men pretend to have intercourse with +departed spirits, by which they are able to kill, by incantation, any +person on whom their anger may fall. And it is a fact, that numbers +fall a prey to their confidence in the efficacy of the curses of these +men, and pine under the influence of despair, and die." + +In less than fifteen years after the trial of the pretensions of Mesmer +and his coadjutors, in regard to magnetism, there was originated in +America, by a Mr. Perkins, a cause of delusion of precisely the same +nature. It prevailed in all the United States, in Great Britain, +Scotland, and Ireland, and to considerable extent on the continent of +Europe. Mr. Perkins prepared two small pieces of different kinds of +metal drew them to a point, and polished them. These _Metallic +Tractors_, as they were denominated, were said to have, in their joint +operation, great power over the electric fluid; and by moving these +points gently over the surface of an inflamed part, the heat was +extracted, the swelling subsided, and, in a short time, the patient was +relieved. After a while, thousands and tens of thousands were ready to +certify to the happy influence of these _Tractors_. Mr. Perkins went +to England and obtained the royal letters patent, for the purpose of +securing to him the advantages of his discovery; and it has been +asserted by the best authority, that he returned from England possessed +of ten thousand pounds sterling, which he received for the use of his +Tractors. + +But Dr. Haggarth, an eminent physician and philosopher, recollecting +the development of animal magnetism at Paris, wrote to Dr. Falconer, +surgeon of the General Hospital at Bath, (England,) and stated his +suspicion concerning the Tractors; that their efficacy depended wholly +on the imagination of the patient; and recommended the experiment of +_wooden_ Tractors in the place of the _metallic_. + +Accordingly, five persons were selected for the experiment, who were +laboring under chronic rheumatism in the ankle, knee, wrist, and hip. +Wooden Tractors were prepared and painted in such a manner that the +patients could not discover but that they were metal; and on the 7th of +January, 1799, these _wooden_ Tractors were employed for the first +time. All the patients except one, were relieved. Three were very much +benefited. One felt his knee warmer, and he could walk much better, as +he showed the medical gentlemen present. One was easier for nine hours, +till he went to bed, and then his pain returned. The next day, January +8th, the metallic Tractors were employed with the same effect as that +of the preceding day. This led to further experiments of a similar +kind, and they were continued, until the physicians became fully +satisfied that the wooden Tractors were of the same utility with the +metallic, provided the patients _supposed_ them metallic. Similar +experiments were soon after made at Edinburgh, and the result was the +same. A servant girl, afflicted with a most acute headache, which had +rendered her nights altogether restless for a fortnight, readily +submitted to be pointed at with these _wooden_ Tractors. The operator +moved them about her head, but did not touch her. In four minutes she +felt a chilliness in the head. In a minute or two more, she felt as +though cold water was running down her temples, and the pain was +diminished. In ten minutes more, she declared that the headache was +entirely gone; and the next day she returned to express her thanks to +her benefactors for the good sleep she enjoyed through the night. By +similar experiments, the intelligent citizens in America soon +ascertained the true cause of the deception, and when these facts came +to be developed, the Tractors lost all their influence on the human +system, and have since been spoken of only in derision. + +Here, again, we behold the astonishing power of the imagination over +the human system, and witness the miracles that have been performed on +the ignorant and unsuspecting. Even in the _modern_ practice of the +mesmeric art, a great deal of the success depends upon this tendency of +the mind. A very respectable operator assures us, that he cannot +magnetize persons unless he can first impress them with the belief that +they are actually to become magnetized. They must have _faith_ in order +that the effect may be produced. A public lecturer may hang up his +watch before his auditors, and tell them to look upon that watch, and +they will become magnetized. Those who expect to be affected are thrown +into the magnetic state. Those who have little faith and expectation +are seldom, if ever, influenced by such experiments. We, however, do +not mean to avow a disbelief in the science of magnetism. On the +contrary, we look forward with much interest to its perfection, +unencumbered with the false pretensions of its zealous and mistaken +friends. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. + + +Ignorance of mental philosophy has given rise to many superstitions. +Many persons have believed in the real, visible appearance of ghosts, +spirits, or apparitions. Yet these things are clearly and +satisfactorily explained on the established principles of mental +philosophy. And from this source we learn that they exist alone in +the _mind_, in the same manner as do other ideas and images, except +in the instances recorded in Scripture. They are caused by some +misconception, mental operation, or bodily disorder. We will give a +few examples to substantiate this position. + +Dr. Ferriar relates the case of a gentleman travelling in the Highlands +of Scotland, who was conducted to a bed room which was reported to be +haunted by the spirit of a man who had there committed suicide. In the +night, he awoke under the influence of a frightful dream, and found +himself sitting up in bed with a pistol grasped in his right hand. On +looking around the room, he now discovered, by the moonlight, a corpse, +dressed in a shroud, reared against the wall, close by the window, the +features of the body and every part of the funeral apparel being +distinctly perceived. On recovering from the first impulse of terror, +so far as to investigate the source of the phantom, it was found to be +produced by the moonbeams forming a long, bright image through the +broken window. + +"Two esteemed friends of mine," says Dr. Abercrombie, "while travelling +in the Highlands, had occasion to sleep in separate beds, in one +apartment. One of them, having awoke in the night, saw, by the +moonlight, a skeleton hanging from the head of his friend's bed, every +part of it being perceived in the most distinct manner. He got up to +investigate the source of the appearance, and found it to be produced +by the moonbeams falling back upon the drapery of the bed, which had +been thrown back in some unusual manner, on account of the heat of the +weather. He returned to bed, and soon fell asleep. But having awoke +again some time after, the skeleton was so distinctly before him, that +he could not sleep without again getting up to trace the origin of the +phantom. Determined not to be disturbed a third time, he now brought +down the curtain to its usual state, and the skeleton appeared no +more." + +Dr. Dewar relates the case of a lady who was quite blind, and who never +walked out without seeing a little old woman, with a crutch and a red +cloak, apparently walking before her. She had no illusion when within +doors. Dr. Gregory once took passage in a vessel to a neighboring +country, to visit a lady who was in an advanced stage of consumption. +On his return, he had taken a moderate dose of laudanum, with the view +of preventing seasickness, and was lying on a couch, in the cabin, when +the figure of a lady appeared before him in so distinct a manner, that +her actual presence could not have been more vivid. He was quite awake, +and fully sensible that it was a phantom produced by the opiate, in +connection with his intense mental feeling; but he was unable by any +effort to banish the vision. + +A gentleman, mentioned by Dr. Conolly, when in great danger of being +wrecked in a boat, on the Eddystone rocks, said he actually saw his +family at the moment. In similar circumstances of great danger, others +have described the history of their past lives, being represented to +them in such a vivid manner, that, at a single glance, the whole was +before them, without the power of banishing the impression. We have +read the account of a whole ship's company being thrown into the utmost +consternation by the apparition of a cook, who had died a few days +before. He was distinctly seen walking ahead of the ship, with a +peculiar gait, by which he was distinguished when alive, from having +one leg shorter than the other. On steering the ship towards the +object, it was found to be a piece of floating wreck! + +There is a story on record, of a piratical cruiser having captured a +Spanish vessel, during the seventeenth century, and brought her into +Marblehead harbor, which was then the site of a few humble dwellings. +The male inhabitants were all absent on their fishing voyages. The +pirates brought their prisoners ashore, carried them at the dead of +night into a solitary glen, and there murdered them. Among the captives +was an English female passenger. The women who belonged to the place +heard her dying outcries, as they rose through the midnight air, and +reverberated far and wide along the silent shores. She was heard to +exclaim, "O, mercy, mercy! Lord Jesus Christ, save me! save me!" Her +body was buried by the pirates on the spot. The same piercing voice is +believed to be heard at intervals, more or less often, almost every +year, in the stillness of a calm starlight, or clear moonlight night. +There is something, it is said, so wild, mysterious, and evidently +superhuman in the sound, as to strike a chill of dread into the hearts +of all who listen to it. A writer in the Marblehead Register, of April +3, 1830, declares that "there are not persons wanting at the present +day, persons of unimpeachable veracity and known respectability, who +still continue to believe the tradition, and to assert that they +themselves have been auditors of the sounds described, which they +declare were of such an unearthly nature as to preclude the idea of +imposition or deception." When "the silver moon holds her way," or when +the stars are glistening in the clear, cold sky, and the dark forms of +the moored vessels are at rest upon the sleeping bosom of the +harbor,--when no natural sound comes forth from the animate or +inanimate creation but the dull and melancholy note of the winding +shore, how often, at midnight, is the watcher startled from the +reveries of an excited imagination by the piteous, dismal, and terrific +screams of the unlaid _ghost_ of the murdered lady! + +Erroneous impressions are often connected with some bodily disease, +more especially disease in the brain. Dr. Gregory mentions the case of +a gentleman liable to epileptic fits, in whom the paroxysm was +generally preceded by the appearance of an old woman in a red cloak, +who seemed to come up to him, and strike him on the head with her +crutch. At that instant he fell down in the fit. Another is mentioned +by Dr. Alderston, of a man who kept a dram shop, and who would often +see a soldier endeavoring to force himself into his house in a menacing +manner; and in rushing forward to prevent him, would find it a mere +phantom. This man was cured by bleeding and purgatives; and the source +of this vision was traced to a quarrel which he had had some time +before with a drunken soldier. In _delirium tremens_ such visions +are common, and assume a variety of forms. + +Similar phantasms occur in various forms in febrile diseases. A lady +was attended by Dr. Abercrombie, having an affection of the chest. She +awoke her husband one night, at the commencement of her disorder, and +begged him to get up instantly, saying that she had distinctly seen a +man enter the apartment, pass the foot of her bed, and go into a closet +that entered from the opposite side of the room. She was quite awake, +and fully convinced of the reality of the appearance. But, upon +examining the closet, it was found to be a delusion, although it was +almost impossible to convince the lady it was not a reality. + +A writer in the Christian Observer mentions a lady, who, during a +severe illness, repeatedly saw her father, who resided at the distance +of many hundred miles, come to her bedside, withdraw the curtain, and +talk to her in his usual voice and manner. A farmer, mentioned by the +same writer, on returning from market, was deeply affected by an +extraordinarily brilliant light, which he saw upon the road, and by an +appearance in the light, which he supposed to be our Savior. He was +greatly alarmed, and, spurring his horse, galloped home; remained +agitated during the evening; was seized with typhus fever, then +prevailing in the vicinity, and died in about ten days. It was +afterwards ascertained, that on the morning of the same day, before he +left home, he had complained of headache and languor; and there can be +no doubt, says this writer, that the spectral appearance was connected +with the commencement of the fever. + +Analogous to this is the very striking case related by a physician, of +a relative of his, a lady about fifty. On returning home one evening +from a party, she went into a dark room to lay aside some part of her +dress, when she saw distinctly before her the figure of death, as a +skeleton, with his arm uplifted, and a dart in his hand. He instantly +aimed a blow at her with the dart, which seemed to strike her on the +left side. The same night she was seized with a fever, accompanied with +symptoms of inflammation in the left side, but recovered after a severe +illness. + +We have read the account of a lady who had an illusion affecting both +her sight and hearing. She repeatedly heard her husband's voice calling +to her by name, as if from an adjoining room. On one occasion, she saw +his figure most distinctly, standing before the fire in the drawing +room, when he had left the house half an hour before. She went and sat +down within two feet of the figure, supposing it to be her husband, and +was greatly astonished that he did not answer her when she spoke to +him. The figure continued visible several minutes, then moved towards a +window at the farther end of the room, and there disappeared. On +another occasion, while adjusting her hair before a mirror, late at +night, she saw the countenance of a friend, dressed in a shroud, +reflected from the mirror, as if looking over her shoulder. This lady +had been for some time in bad health, being affected with a lung +complaint, and much nervous debility. + +Another case of an illusion of hearing is reported of a clergyman, who +was accustomed to full living, and was suddenly seized with vomiting, +vertigo, and ringing in his ears, and continued in an alarming +condition for several days. During this time he heard tunes most +distinctly played, and in accurate succession. This patient had, at the +same time, a remarkable condition of vision, all objects appearing to +him inverted. This peculiarity continued about three days, and ceased +gradually; the objects by degrees changing their position, first to the +horizontal, and then to the erect. + +Some profess to have visions or sights relative to the world of +spirits. This was the case with Swedenborg. He relates some of them in +the following language: "I dined very late at my lodgings at London, +and ate with great appetite, till, at the close of my repast, I +perceived a kind of mist about my eyes, and the floor of my chamber was +covered with hideous reptiles. They soon disappeared, the darkness was +dissipated, and I saw clearly, in the midst of a brilliant light, a man +seated in the corner of my chamber, who said to me, in a terrible +voice, _Eat not so much_. At these words, my sight became obscured; +afterwards it became clear by degrees, and I found myself alone. The +night following, the same man, radiant with light, appeared to me, and +said, I am God the Lord, Creator and Redeemer. I have chosen you to +unfold to men the internal and spiritual sense of the sacred writings, +and will dictate to you what you ought to write. At that time, I was +not terrified, and the light, although very brilliant, made no +unpleasant impression upon my eyes. The Lord was clothed in purple, and +the vision lasted a quarter of an hour. The same night, the eyes of my +internal man were opened, and fitted to see things in heaven, in the +world of spirits, and in hell; in which places I have found many +persons of my acquaintance, some of them long since dead, and others +lately deceased." In another place, he observes, "I have conversed with +apostles, departed popes, emperors, and kings; with the late reformers +of the church, Luther, Calvin, and Melancthon, and with others from +different countries." In conversing with Melancthon, he wished to know +his state in the spirit world, but Melancthon did not see fit to inform +him; "wherefore," says Swedenborg, "I was instructed by others +concerning his lot, viz., that he is sometimes in an excavated stone +chamber, and at other times in hell; and that when in the chamber, he +appears to be clothed in a bear's skin by reason of the cold; and that +on account of the filth in his chamber, he does not admit strangers +from the world, who are desirous of visiting him from the reputation of +his name." + +The apparitions of Swedenborg were probably caused by his studies, +habits, and pursuits. They bear the marks of earthly origin, although +he firmly believed they were from heaven. Overloading his stomach at +late meals, no doubt, caused some of them. He was in the habit of +_eating too much_, as he himself admits. Hence his brain may have +been disturbed. We have all heard of the case of an elderly lady, who, +being ill, called upon her physician one day for advice. She told him, +among other things, that on the preceding night her sleep had been +disturbed--that she had seen her grandmother in her dreams. Being +interrogated whether she ate any thing the preceding evening, she told +the doctor she ate half a mince pie just before going to bed. "Well, +madam," said he, "if you had eaten the other half, you might have seen +your grandfather also." + +The slightest examination of the accounts which remain of occurrences +that were deemed supernatural by our ancestors will satisfy any one, at +the present day, that they were brought about by causes entirely +_natural_, although unknown to them. We will close this part of +our investigation by relating the following circumstances, attested by +the Rev. James Pierpont, pastor of a church in New Haven:-- + +"In the year 1647, a new ship of about one hundred and fifty tons, +containing a valuable cargo, and several distinguished persons as +passengers, put to sea from New Haven in the month of January, bound to +England. The vessels that came over the ensuing spring brought no +tidings of her arrival in the mother country. The pious colonists were +earnest and instant in their prayers that intelligence might be +received of the missing vessel. In the course of the following June, a +great thunder storm arose out of the north-west; after which, (the +hemisphere being serene,) about an hour before sunset, a ship of like +dimensions of the aforesaid, with her canvas and colors abroad, +(although the wind was northerly,) appeared in the air, coming up from +the harbor's mouth, which lies southward from the town, seemingly with +her sails filled, under a fresh gale, holding her course north, and +continuing under observation, sailing against the wind, for the space +of half an hour. The phantom ship was borne along, until, to the +excited imaginations of the spectators, she seemed to have approached +so near that they could throw a stone into her. Her main topmast then +disappeared, then her mizzen topmast, then her masts were entirely +carried away, and finally her hull fell off, and vanished from sight, +leaving a dull and smoke-colored cloud, which soon dissolved, and the +whole atmosphere became clear. All affirmed that the airy vision was a +precise copy of the missing vessel, and that it was sent to announce +and describe her fate. They considered it the spectre of the lost ship, +and the Rev. Mr. Davenport declared in public 'that God had +condescended, for the quieting of their afflicted spirits, this +extraordinary account of his sovereign disposal of those for whom so +many fervent prayers were made continually.'" + +The results of modern science enable us to explain the mysterious +appearance. It is probable that some Dutch vessel, proceeding slowly, +quietly, and unconsciously on her voyage from Amsterdam to the New +Netherlands, happened at the time to be passing through the Sound. At +the moment the apparition was seen in the sky, she was so near, that +her image was painted or delineated to the eyes of the observers, on +the clouds, by the laws of optics, now generally well known, before her +actual outlines could be discerned by them on the horizon. As the sun +sunk behind the western hills, and his rays were gradually withdrawn, +the visionary ship slowly disappeared, and the approach of the night, +while it dispelled the vapors from the atmosphere, effectually +concealed the vessel as she continued her course along the Sound. + +The optical illusions that present themselves, on the sea shore, by +which distant objects are raised to view, the opposite islands and +capes made to loom up, lifted above the line of the apparent +circumference of the earth, and thrown into every variety of shape +which the imagination can conceive, are among the most beautiful +phenomena of nature, and they impress the mind with the idea of +enchantment and mystery, more perhaps than any others. But they have +received a complete solution from modern discovery. + +It should be observed that the optical principles that explain these +phenomena have recently afforded a foundation for the science, or +rather the _art_, of _nauscopy_. There are persons, it is said, in some +places in the Isle of France, whose calling and profession it is to +ascertain and predict the approach of vessels by their reflection in +the atmosphere and on the clouds, long before they are visible to the +eye or through the glass. + +Our vision is at all times liable to be disturbed by atmospheric +conditions. So long as the atmosphere between our person and the object +we are looking at is of the same density, we may be said to see in a +straight line to the object. But if, by any cause, a portion of that +atmosphere is rendered less or more dense, the line of vision is bent, +or refracted, from its course. A thorough comprehension of this truth +in science has banished a mass of superstition. It has been found that, +by means of powerful refraction, objects at great distances, and round +the back of a hill, or considerably beneath the horizon, are brought +into sight. In some countries this phenomenon is called _mirage_. The +following is one of the most interesting and best-authenticated cases +of the kind. In a voyage performed by Captain Scoresby, in 1822, he was +able to recognize his father's ship, when below the horizon, from the +inverted image of it which appeared in the air. "It was," says he, "so +well defined, that I could distinguish, by a telescope, every sail, the +general rig of the ship, and its particular character, insomuch that I +confidently pronounced it to be my father's ship, the Fame,--which it +afterwards proved to be--though on comparing notes with my father, I +found that our relative position, at the time, gave our distance from +one another very nearly thirty miles, being about seventeen miles +beyond the horizon, and some leagues beyond the limit of direct +vision!" + +Dr. Vince, an English philosopher, was once looking through a telescope +at a ship which was so far off that he could only see the upper part of +the masts. The hull was entirely hidden by the bending of the water; +but, between himself and the ship, he saw two perfect images of it in +the air. These were of the same form and color as the real ship; but +one of them was turned completely upside down. + +In the sandy plains of Egypt, the mirage is seen to great advantage. +These plains are often interrupted by small eminences, upon which the +inhabitants have built their villages in order to escape the +inundations of the Nile. In the morning and evening, objects are seen +in their natural form and position; but when the surface of the sandy +ground is heated by the sun, the land seems terminated, at a particular +distance, by a general inundation; the villages which are beyond it +appear like so many islands in a great lake; and an inverted image of a +village appears between the hills. + +The Swedish sailors long searched for a supposed magic island, which, +from time to time, could be descried between the Island of Aland and +the coast of Upland. It proved to be a rock, the image of which was +presented in the air by mirage. At one time, the English saw, with +terror, the coast of Calais and Boulogne, in France, rising up on the +opposite side of the Channel, and apparently approaching their island. +But the most celebrated example of mirage is exhibited in the Straits +of Messina. The inhabitants of the Calabrian shore behold images of +palaces, embattled ramparts, houses, and ships, and all the varied +objects of towns and landscapes, in the air--being refracted images +from the Sicilian coast. This wonderful phenomenon is superstitiously +regarded by the common people as the work of fairies. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION. + + +Ignorance of true religion has given rise to many prevailing +superstitions. The Savior has taught us that the Father of spirits +regulates the minutest events of this world, and that he alone is the +Supreme Ruler of the universe. Our experience and observation must +convince us that this infinite work is accomplished by regular laws, +and that Infinite Wisdom sees fit so to govern all events without the +intervention of miracles, or through the agency of any instrumentality +but his own. And by examination, we shall find that these truths are in +direct opposition to the general mass of popular superstitions. + +There are many who believe in signs. They believe that the howling of a +dog under a window betokens death to some member of the family. But how +does the dog obtain this foreknowledge? Who sends him on this solemn +errand? If you say that his appearance at the house is accidental, then +you would have us trust to _chance_ for information upon this most +important subject. If you say that his knowledge of the approaching +event is intuitive, then you would have us believe that the irrational +brute knows more than his intelligent master. If you say that he is +instigated by some wicked spirit, then you would have us admit that an +enemy of mankind is more attentive to their welfare than God; for it +certainly betokens the greatest kindness to notify us of our near +dissolution. If you say the animal is sent by God, how will you explain +the fact that the sign so often fails? not actually taking place +oftener, at most, than once in a hundred times. Certainly we are not to +accuse the omniscient and merciful Jehovah either of ignorance +concerning future events, or of trifling with the feelings of his +dependent creatures. We must therefore consider the sign to be +altogether superstitious, and contrary to all rational evidence. + +Some persons profess to believe in lucky and unlucky days. They say, +for instance, that Friday is an unlucky day. And why so? Does God part +with the reins of his government, and employ wicked spirits to torment +his creatures on this day? Does he make this day more unpropitious to +human affairs than others? Do facts go to show that more disasters +occur on this day than on any other? Paul instructs us that all days +are alike, and that God rules the universe with infinite wisdom and +benevolence. Then why should we account Friday to be an unlucky day? +Whence came such an opinion? From heathenism. The heathen were much +influenced by this superstition; and when converted to Christianity, +they incorporated this among some other absurdities into their +religious belief. Because our Savior was crucified on Friday, they +placed this at the head of their unlucky days. But why they did so, we +cannot conceive; for the death of Christ was absolutely necessary for +the deliverance of mankind from sin and death. And for this reason +alone, Friday was the most propitious day that ever dawned upon a dying +world. But the heathen converts did not consider this circumstance. +They pronounced Sunday, the day of his resurrection, to be the most +fortunate. Later Christians, in a certain sense, have thought +differently. Sir Matthew Hale has remarked, that he never knew any +undertaking to prosper that was commenced on the Sabbath. And the early +laws of Connecticut prohibited any vessel from either leaving a port, +or entering a port, or passing by a village on Sunday. But such +prohibitions are not agreeable to the notions of seamen, who, as a +class, are inclined to be somewhat superstitious. We frequently meet +with dissipated, unbelieving sailors, who could not be induced to put +to sea on Friday on any consideration; but who would rather labor seven +successive nights than not sail on the Sabbath. It is rather singular +that sceptics should be so afraid of the day of our Savior's +crucifixion, and so fond of that of his resurrection. Such +inconsistency, however, is not uncommon. Those who rail most at the +credulity of others are frequently the most superstitious. Those who +lay the greatest claims to bravery are, for the most part, the greatest +cowards. Voltaire could ridicule religion in fair weather, but the +moment a thunder cloud appeared, he was thrown into extreme +consternation, and must have a priest to pray during its continuance +for his preservation. If we would avoid the influence of this heathen +superstition, we must regard _actions_ rather than _days_. If our +engagements are _proper_, we have nothing to fear from the day on which +they are commenced. If we feel the evidence within that God is indeed +_our_ Father, we shall not be prevented, by any belief in lucky or +unlucky days, from doing our duty on every day, and enjoying peace and +happiness on all days. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. + + +A witch was regarded by our fathers as a person who had made an actual, +deliberate, and formal contract with Satan, by which contract it was +agreed that the party should become his faithful subject, and do +whatever should be required in promoting his cause. And in +consideration of this allegiance and service, he, on his part, agreed +to exercise his supernatural powers in the person's behalf. It was +considered as a transfer of allegiance from God to the devil. The +agreement being concluded, Satan bestows some trifling sum of money to +bind the bargain; then, cutting or pricking a finger causes the +individual to sign his or her name, or make the mark of a cross, with +their own blood, on a piece of parchment. In addition to this +signature, in some places, the devil made the witches put one hand to +the crown of their head, and the other to the sole of the foot, +signifying they were entirely his. Before the devil quits his new +subject, he delivers to her or him an imp or familiar, and sometimes +two or three. They are of different shapes and forms, some resembling a +cat, others a mole, a miller fly, spider, or some other insect or +animal. These are to come at bidding, to do such mischief as the witch +may command, and, at stated times of the day, suck the blood of the +witch, through teats, on different parts of the body. Feeding, +suckling, or rewarding these imps was, by law, declared _felony_. + +Sometimes a witch, in company with others of the fraternity, is carried +through the air on brooms or spits, to distant meetings or Sabbaths of +witches. But for this they must anoint themselves with a certain +magical ointment given them by the devil. Lord Bacon, in his +philosophical works, gives a recipe for the manufacture of an ointment +that enabled witches to fly in the air. It was composed of the fat of +children, digged out of their graves, and of the juices of smaltage, +cinquefoil, and wolfsbane, mixed with meal of fine wheat. After +greasing themselves with this preparation, the witches flew up chimney, +and repaired to the spot in some graveyard or dismal forest, where they +were to hold their meetings with the evil one. At these meetings they +have feasting and dancing, the devil himself sometimes condescending to +play on the great fiddle, pipe, or harp. When the meeting breaks up, +they all have the honor of kissing his majesty, who for that ceremony +usually assumes the form of a he goat. + +Witches showed their spite by causing the object of it to waste away in +a long and painful disease, with a sensation of thorns stuck in the +flesh. Sometimes they caused their victims to swallow pins, old nails, +dirt, and trash of all sorts, invisibly conveyed to them by their imps. +Frequently they showed their hate by drying up the milk of cows, or by +killing oxen. For slight offences they would prevent butter from coming +in the churn, or beer from working. Grace Greenwood says, that, on a +visit to Salem in the fall of 1850, she "was shown a vial of the +veritable bewitched pins with which divers persons were sorely pricked +by the wicked spite of certain witches and wizards." + +It was believed that Satan affixed his mark or seal to the bodies of +those in allegiance with him, and that the spot where this mark was +made became callous and dead. In examining a witch upon trial, they +would pierce the body with pins, and if any spot was found insensible +to the torture, it was looked upon as ocular demonstration of guilt. +Another method to detect a witch, was to weigh her against the church +Bible. If she was guilty, the Bible would preponderate. Another was by +making her say the Lord's prayer, which no one actually possessed could +do correctly. A witch could not weep but three tears, and that only out +of the left eye; and this was considered by many an decisive proof of +guilt. But swimming was the most infallible ordeal. They were stripped +naked, and bound the right thumb to the left toe, and the left thumb to +the right toe. Being thus prepared, they were thrown into a pond or +river. If guilty, they could not sink; for having, by their compact +with the devil, renounced the water of baptism, that element renounces +them, and refuses to receive them into its bosom. + +In 1664, a man by the name of Matthew Hopkins, in England, was +permitted to explore the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Huntingdon, +with a commission to discover witches, receiving twenty shillings from +each town he visited. Many persons were pitched upon, and through his +means convicted. At length, some gentlemen, out of indignation at his +barbarity, tied him in the same manner he had bound others, thumbs and +toes together, in which state, putting him in the water, he swam! +Standing condemned on his own principles, the country was rescued from +the power of his malicious imposition. + +The subsequent illustration of the condition of religion less than two +hundred years ago will excite a few humbling thoughts. In the parish +register of Glammis, Scotland, June, 1676, is recorded--"Nae preaching +here this Lord's day, the minister being at Gortachy, burning a witch." +Forty thousand persons, it is said, were put to death for witchcraft in +England during the seventeenth century, and a much greater number in +Scotland, in proportion to its population. + +In 1692, the whole population of Salem and vicinity were under the +influence of a terrible delusion concerning witchcraft. By yielding to +the sway of their credulous fancies, allowing their passions to be +worked up to a tremendous pitch of excitement, and running into +excesses of folly and violence, they have left a dark stain upon their +memory, that will awaken a sense of shame, pity, and amazement in the +minds of their latest posterity. The principal causes that led to their +delusion, and to the proceedings connected with it, were, a proneness +to superstition, owing in a great degree to an ignorance of natural +science, too great a dependence upon the imagination, and the power of +sympathy. In contemplating the errors and sufferings which ignorance of +philosophy and science brought upon our fathers, we should be led to +appreciate more gratefully, and to improve with more faithfulness, our +own opportunities to acquire wisdom and knowledge. But we would not be +understood as saying, that mere intellectual cultivation is sufficient +to banish every superstition. No. For who were ever better educated +than the ancient Greeks and Romans? And yet, who were ever more +influenced by a belief in signs, omens, spectres, and witches? We +believe that, when the gospel, in its purity and simplicity, shall shed +its divine light abroad, and pervade the hearts of men, superstition, +in all its dark and hideous forms, will recede, and vanish from the +world. + +In concluding our remarks under this head, we would add that, in a +dictionary before us, a witch is designated as a woman, and _wizard_ as +a man, that pretends to some power whereby he or she can foretell +future events, cure diseases, call up or drive away spirits. The art +itself is called _witchcraft_. If this is a correct definition, witches +and wizards are quite a numerous class of people in society at the +present day; for there are many among us who presume to practise these +things. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING. + + +Although the belief in witchcraft has nearly passed away, the civilized +world is yet full of necromancers and fortune tellers. The mystic +science of "palmistry" is still practised by many a haggard and +muttering vagrant. + +The most celebrated fortune teller, perhaps, that ever lived, resided +in Lynn, Mass. The character of "Moll Pitcher" is familiarly known in +all parts of the commercial world. She died in 1813. Her place of abode +was beneath the projecting and elevated summit of High Rock, in Lynn, +and commanded a view of the wild and indented coast of Marblehead, of +the extended and resounding beaches of Lynn and Chelsea, of Nahant +Rocks, of the vessels and islands, of Boston's beautiful bay, and of +its remote southern shore. She derived her mysterious gifts by +inheritance, her grandfather having practised them before, in +Marblehead. Sailors, merchants, and adventurers of every kind visited +her residence, and placed great confidence in her predictions. People +came from great distances to learn the fate of missing friends or +recover the possession of lost goods. The young, of both sexes, +impatient at the tardy pace of time, and burning with curiosity to +discern their future lot, especially as it regarded matters of wedlock, +availed themselves of every opportunity to visit her lowly dwelling, +and hear from her prophetic lips the revelations of these most tender +incidents and important events of their coming lives. She read the +future, and traced what, to mere mortal eyes, were the mysteries of the +present or the past, in the arrangement and aspect of the grounds or +settlings of a cup of tea or coffee. Her name has every where become +the generic title of fortune tellers, and occupies a conspicuous place +in the legends and ballads of popular superstition. + +A man was suddenly missed by his friends from a certain town in this +commonwealth. The church immediately sent a member to consult the +far-famed fortune-telling Molly Pitcher. After making the necessary +inquiries, she intimated that the absent person had been murdered by a +family of negroes, and his body sunk in the deep waters behind their +dwelling. Upon this evidence, the accused were forthwith imprisoned, +and the pond raked in vain, from shore to shore. A few days previous to +the trial, the missing man returned to his friends, safe and sound; +thus proving that the fortune teller, instead of having received from +Satan certain information of distant and unknown events, actually +played off a piece of the grossest deception upon her credulous +visitors. + +We are told by travellers that there is scarcely a village in Syria in +which there is not some one who has the credit of being able to cast +out evil spirits. About eight miles from the ancient Sidon, Lady Hester +Stanhope, the granddaughter of the immortal Chatham, and niece of the +equally immortal Pitt, recently lived in a style of Eastern splendor +and magnificence. She spent her time in gazing at the extended canopy +of heaven, as it shed its sparkling light upon the ancient hills and +sacred groves of Palestine--her soul absorbed in the fathomless +mysteries of her loved astrology, and holding fancied communion with +supernatural powers and spirits of the departed. + +There recently died in Hopkinton, Mass., an individual by the name of +Sheffield, who had long followed the art of fortune telling by +astrology. He professed to unfold almost every secret, or mystery, even +to foretelling the precise day and hour any person would die. In case +of lost or stolen goods, it was only necessary to enclose a small fee +in a letter, containing also a statement of your name, age, and place +of residence, and forward the same by mail to his address. In two or +three weeks, the information you sought, as to the person who stole the +property, &c., would be forwarded to you, leaving you to judge of the +case for yourself. He did quite a business in his line, and made +something of a fortune out of a long-exploded science. + +There are many who trust to the declarations of such persons, and are +often made unhappy thereby. In fact, it is doubtful if a more unhappy +class can be found than those who are in the habit of consulting +fortune tellers of any character. It is _discontent_, chiefly, +that leads them to pry into futurity. And after having had their +_fortunes told_, as it is termed, they are no better satisfied +than before; for the best of fortune tellers are famous for their +errors and mistakes, although it would be strange if they did not +blunder upon some facts in the whole routine of their business. But we +pity those who rely upon their prognostications. If told they will die +at such or such a time, or if they are to meet with some dreadful +accident, misfortune, or disappointment, their imaginations will lead +them to anticipate and dread the event, which will be the surest way to +produce its fulfilment. If a husband or wife is told that he or she +will marry again, it will lead them to be dissatisfied with the partner +with whom they are at present associated. And look at this subject as +we will, we shall find it productive of a vast amount of evil, and +therefore deserving of our entire disapprobation. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS. + + +Fairies, says a certain author, are a sort of intermediate beings, +between men and women, having bodies, yet with the power of rendering +them _invisible_, and of passing through all sorts of enclosures. They +are remarkably small of stature, with fair complexions, whence they +derive their name, _fairies_. Both male and female are generally +clothed in green, and frequent mountains, the sunny side of hills, +groves, and green meadows, where they amuse themselves with dancing, +hand in hand, in a circle, by moonlight. The traces of their feet are +said to be visible, next morning, on the grass, and are commonly called +_fairy rings_, or _circles_. + +Fairies have all the passions and wants of men, and are great lovers of +cleanliness and propriety; for the observance of which, they frequently +reward servants, by dropping money in their shoes. They likewise punish +sluts and slovens by pinching them black and blue. They often change +their weak and starveling elves, or children, for the more robust +offspring of men. But this can only be done before baptism; for which +reason it is still the custom, in the Highlands, to watch by the cradle +of infants till they are christened. The word _changeling_, now +applied to one almost an idiot, attests the current belief of these +superstitious mutations. + +Some fairies dwell in mines, and in Wales nothing is more common than +these subterranean spirits, called _knockers_, who very good naturedly +point out where there is a rich vein of lead or silver. In Scotland +there was a sort of domestic fairies, from their sun-burnt complexions, +called _brownies_. These were extremely useful, performing all sorts of +domestic drudgery. + +In the Life of Dr. Adam Clarke, we have the following account of a +circumstance that took place in the town of Freshford, county of +Kilkenny, Ireland, showing the superstition prevailing in that country +concerning the influence of these fairy beings: "A farmer built himself +a house of three apartments, the kitchen in the middle, and a room for +sleeping, &c., on either end. Some time after it was finished, a cow of +his died--then a horse; to these succeeded other smaller animals, and +last of all his _wife_ died. Full of alarm and distress, supposing +himself to be an object of _fairy indignation_, he went to the +_fairy man_, that is, one who pretends to know _fairy_ customs, haunts, +pathways, antipathies, caprices, benevolences, &c., and he asked his +advice and counsel on the subject of his losses. The wise man, after +having considered all things, and cast his eye upon the house, said, +'The fairies, in their night walks from _Knockshegowny_ Hill, in county +_Tipperary_, to the county of _Kilkenny_, were accustomed to pass over +the very spot where one of your rooms is now built; you have blocked up +their way, and they were very angry with you, and have slain your +cattle, and killed your wife, and, if not appeased, may yet do worse +harm to you.' The poor fellow, sadly alarmed, went, and with his own +hands, deliberately pulled down the timbers, demolished the walls, and +left not one stone upon another, but razed the very foundation, and +left the path of these capricious gentry as open and as clear as it was +before. How strong must have been this man's belief in the existence of +these demi-natural and semi-supernatural beings, to have induced him +thus to destroy the work of his own hands!" + +In Spenser's epic poem, called the Fairy Queen, the imagination of the +reader is entertained with the characters of fairies, witches, +magicians, demons, and departed spirits. A kind of pleasing horror is +raised in the mind, and one is amused with the strangeness and novelty +of the persons who are represented in it; but to be affected by such +poetry requires an odd turn of thought, a peculiar cast of fancy, with +an imagination naturally fruitful and superstitious. + +The Gypsies are a class of strolling beggars, cheats, and fortune +tellers. They have been quite numerous in all the older countries, and +are so still in some of them; but in the United States there are but +few, some one or two tribes in the west, and a small party of them in +New York state. They are probably called Gypsies from the ancient +Egyptians, who had the character of great cheats, whence the name might +afterwards pass proverbially into other languages, as it did into the +Greek and Latin; or else the ancient Egyptians being much versed in +astronomy, or rather astrology, the name was afterwards assumed by +these modern fortune tellers. In Latin they are called _Egyptii_; the +Italians called them _Cinari_, or _Cingani_; the Russians, _Zigani_; +the Turks and Persians, _Zingarri_; the Germans, _Ziguenor_; the +Spaniards, _Gitános_; the French, _Bohemians_, from the circumstance +that Bohemia was the first civilized country where they made their +appearance. + +In most countries they live in the woods and forests; but in England, +where every inch of land is cultivated, the covered cart and little +tent are their houses, and they seldom remain more than three days in +the same place. + +Dabbling in sorcery is in some degree the province of the female Gypsy. +She affects to tell the future, and to prepare philters, by means of +which love can be awakened in any individual towards any particular +object; and such is the credulity of the human race, even in the most +enlightened countries, that the profits arising from these practices +are great. The following is a case in point: Two females, neighbors and +friends, were tried, some years since, for the murder of their +husbands. It appeared that they were in love for the same individual, +and had conjointly, at various times, paid sums of money to a Gypsy +woman to work charms to captivate his affections. Whatever little +effect the charms might produce, they were successful in their +principal object, for the person in question carried on for some time a +criminal intercourse with both. The matter came to the knowledge of the +husbands, who, taking means to break off this connection, were both +poisoned by their wives. Till the moment of conviction, these wretched +females betrayed neither emotion nor fear; but at this juncture their +consternation was indescribable. They afterwards confessed that the +Gypsy, who had visited them in prison, had promised to shield them from +conviction by means of her art. It is therefore not surprising that in +the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when a belief in sorcery was +supported by the laws of all Europe, these people were regarded as +practisers of sorcery, and punished as such, when, even in the +nineteenth, they still find people weak enough to place confidence in +their claims to supernatural power. + +In telling fortunes, the first demand of the Gypsy, in England, is +invariably a sixpence, in order that she may cross her hands with +silver; and here the same promises are made, and as easily believed, as +in other countries, leading to the conclusion that mental illumination, +amongst the generality of mankind, has made no progress whatever; as we +observe in the nineteenth century the same gross credulity manifested +as in the seventeenth, and the inhabitants of one of the countries most +celebrated for the arts of civilization imposed upon by the same stale +tricks which served to deceive, two centuries before, in Spain, a +country whose name has long and justly been considered as synonymous +with every species of ignorance and barbarity. + +In telling fortunes, promises are the only capital requisite, and the +whole art consists in properly adapting these promises to the age and +condition of the parties who seek for information. The Gitános are +clever enough in the accomplishment of this, and generally give perfect +satisfaction. Their practice lies chiefly amongst females, the portion +of the human race most given to curiosity and credulity. To the young +maidens they promise lovers, handsome invariably, and oftentimes rich; +to wives, children, and perhaps another husband; for their eyes are so +penetrating, that occasionally they will develop your most secret +thoughts and wishes; to the old, riches, and nothing but riches--for +they have sufficient knowledge of the human heart to be aware that +avarice is the last passion that becomes extinct within it. These +riches are to proceed either from the discovery of hidden treasure, or +from across the water. The Gitános, in the exercise of this practice, +find dupes almost as readily amongst the superior classes, as the +veriest dregs of the population. + +They are also expert in chiromancy, which is the determining, from +certain lines upon the hand, the quality of the physical and +intellectual powers of the possessor, to which lines they give +particular and appropriate names, the principal of which is called the +"line of life." An ancient writer, in speaking of this art, says, "Such +chiromancy is not only reprobated by theologians, but by men of law and +physic, as a foolish, vain, scandalous, futile, superstitious practice, +smelling much of divinery and a pact with the devil." + +The Gitános in the olden time appear to have not unfrequently been +subjected to punishment as sorceresses, and with great justice, as the +abominable trade which they have always driven in philters and +decoctions certainly entitled them to that appellation, and to the +pains and penalties reserved for those who practised what is generally +termed "witchcraft." + +Amongst the crimes laid to their charge, connected with the exercise of +occult powers, there is one of a purely imaginary character, which if +they were ever punished for, they had assuredly but little right to +complain, as the chastisement they met with was fully merited by +practices equally malefic as the one imputed to them, provided that +were possible. _It was the casting the evil eye._ + +In the Gitáno language, casting the evil eye is called _zuerelar +nasula_, which simply means making sick, and which, according to the +common superstition, is accomplished by casting an evil look at people, +especially children, who, from the tenderness of their constitution, +are supposed to be more easily blighted than those of a more mature +age. After receiving the evil glance, they fall sick, and die in a few +hours. + +In Andalusia, a belief in the evil eye is very prevalent among the +lower orders. A stag's horn is considered a good safeguard, and on that +account, a small horn, tipped with silver, is frequently attached to +the children's necks, by means of a cord braided from the hair of a +black mare's tail. Should the evil glance be cast, it is imagined that +the horn receives it, and instantly snaps asunder. Such horns may be +purchased at the silversmiths' shops at Seville. + +The Gypsies sell remedies for the evil eye, which consist of any drugs +which they happen to possess, or are acquainted with. They have been +known to offer to cure the glanders in a horse, (an incurable +disorder,) with the very same powders which they offer as a specific +for the evil eye. + +The same superstition is current among all Oriental people, whether +Turks, Arabs, or Hindoos; but perhaps there is no nation in the world +with whom the belief is so firmly rooted as the Jews; it being a +subject treated of in all the old rabbinical writings, which induces +the conclusion that the superstition of the evil eye is of an antiquity +almost as remote as the origin of the Hebrew race. + +The evil eye is mentioned in Scripture, but not in the false and +superstitious sense we have spoken of. Evil in the eye, which occurs in +Prov. xxiii. 5, 6, merely denotes niggardness and illiberality. The +Hebrew words are _ain ra_, and stand in contradistinction to _ain +toub_, or the benignant in eye, which denotes an inclination to bounty +and liberality. + +The rabbins have said, "For one person who dies of sickness, there are +ten who die by the evil eye." And as the Jews, especially those of the +East, and of Barbary, place implicit confidence in all that the rabbins +have written, we can scarcely wonder if, at the present day, they dread +this visitation more than the cholera or the plague. "The leech," they +say, "can cure those disorders; but who is capable of curing the evil +eye?" + +It is imagined that this blight is most easily inflicted when a person +is enjoying himself, with little or no care for the future, when he is +reclining in the sun before his door, or when he is full of health and +spirits, but principally when he is eating and drinking, on which +account the Jews and Moors are jealous of strangers when they are +taking their meals. + +"I was acquainted," says a late writer, "with a very handsome Jewess, +of Fez; she had but one eye, but that one was particularly brilliant. +On asking her how she lost its fellow, she informed me that she was +once standing in the street, at nightfall, when she was a little girl; +a Moor, that was passing by, suddenly stopped, and said, 'Towac Ullah, +(blessed be God,) how beautiful are your eyes, my child!' Whereupon she +went into the house, but was presently seized with a dreadful pain in +the left eye, which continued during the night, and the next day the +pupil came out of the socket. She added, that she did not believe the +Moor had any intention of hurting her, as he gazed on her so kindly; +but that it was very thoughtless in him to utter words which are sure +to convey evil luck." It is said to be particularly dangerous to eat in +the presence of a woman; for the evil eye, if cast by a woman, is far +more fatal and difficult to cure than if cast by a man. + +When any one falls sick of the evil eye, he must instantly call to his +assistance the man cunning in such cases. The man, on coming, takes +either a girdle or a handkerchief from off his own person, and ties a +knot at either end; then he measures three spans with his left hand, +and at the end of these three he fastens a knot, and folds it three +times round his head, pronouncing this _beraka_, or blessing: "_Ben +porat Josef, ben porat ali ain_," (Joseph is a fruitful bough, a +fruitful bough by a well;) he then recommences measuring the girdle or +handkerchief, and if he finds three spans and a half, instead of the +three which he formerly measured, he is enabled to tell the name of the +person who cast the evil eye, whether male or female. + +The above very much resembles the charm of the Bible and key, by which +many persons in England still pretend to be able to discover the thief, +when an article is missed. A key is placed in a Bible, in the part +called Solomon's Song; the Bible and key are then fastened strongly +together, by means of a ribbon, which is wound round the Bible, and +passed several times through the handle of the key, which projects from +the top of the book. The diviner then causes the person robbed to name +the name of any person or persons whom he may suspect. The two parties, +the robbed and the diviner, then standing up, support the book between +them, the ends of the handle of the key resting on the tips of the fore +fingers of the right hand. The diviner then inquires of the Bible, +whether such a one committed the theft, and commences repeating the +sixth and seventh verses of the eighth chapter of the Song; and if the +Bible and key turn round in the mean time, the person named is +considered guilty. This charm has been, and still is, the source of +infinite mischief, innocent individuals having irretrievably lost their +character among their neighbors from recourse being had to the Bible +and key. The slightest motion of the finger, or rather of the nail, +will cause the key to revolve, so that the people named are quite at +the mercy of the diviner, who is generally a cheat, or professed +conjurer, and not unfrequently a Gypsy. In like manner, the Barbary +cunning man, by a slight contraction of his hand, measures three and a +half spans, where he first measured three, and then pretends to know +the person who has cast the evil eye, having, of course, first +ascertained the names of those with whom his patient has lately been in +company. + +When the person who has cast the evil eye has been discovered, by means +of the magical process already described, the mother, or wife, or +sister of the sufferer walks forth, pronouncing the name of the latter +with a loud voice, and, making the best of her way to the house of the +person guilty, takes a little of the earth from before the door of his +or her sleeping apartment. Some of the saliva of the culprit is then +demanded, which must be given early in the morning, before breakfast; +then the mother, or the wife, or the sister goes to the oven, and takes +from thence seven burning coals, which are slaked in water from the +bath in which the women bathe. The four ingredients, earth, saliva, +coals, and water, are then mixed together in a dish, and the patient is +made to take three sips, and what remains is taken to a private place +and buried, the person who buries it making three paces backward, +exclaiming, "May the evil eye be buried beneath the earth." Many people +carry papers about with them, scrawled with hieroglyphics, which are +prepared by the hacumim, or sages, and sold. These papers, placed in a +little bag and hung about the person, are deemed infallible +preservatives from the "ain ara." + +Like many other superstitions, the above may be founded on a physical +reality. In hot countries, where the sun and moon are particularly +dazzling, the belief in the evil eye is most prevalent. If we turn to +the Scripture, we shall probably come to the solution of the belief. +"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." Ps. cxxi. +5, 6. To those who loiter in the sunshine, before the king of day has +nearly reached his bourn in the west, the sun has an evil eye, and his +glance produces brain fevers; and to those who sleep uncovered, beneath +the smile of the moon, her glance is poisonous, producing insupportable +itching in the eye and not unfrequently total blindness: all the +charms, scrawls, and rabbinical antidotes have no power to avert these +effects. + +The northern nations have a superstition which bears some resemblance +to the evil eye. They have no brilliant sun and moon to addle the brain +and poison the eye, but the gray north has its marshes, and fenny +ground, and fetid mists, which produce agues, low fevers, and moping +madness, and are as fatal to cattle as to man. Such disorders are +attributed to elves and fairies. This superstition still lingers in +some parts of England, under the name of _elf-shot_, whilst, throughout +the north, it is called _elle-skiod_, and _elle-vild_, (fairy wild.) It +is particularly prevalent amongst shepherds and cowherds, who, from +their manner of life, are most exposed to the effects of the so called +elf-shot. + +The Gitános had a venomous preparation called _drao_, or _drow_, which +they were in the habit of flinging into the mangers of the cattle, for +the purpose of causing sickness and death. It was the province of the +women to compound the ingredients of this poison, which answered many +wicked purposes. The stalls and stables were visited secretly, and the +provender of the animals being poisoned, they at once fell sick; +speedily there appeared the Gitános, offering their services on the +condition of no cure no pay, and when these were accepted, the malady +was speedily removed. They used no medicines, or pretended not to, but +charms only, which consisted of small variegated beans, called, in +their language, _bobis_, coming from a Russian word signifying _beans_. +These beans they dropped into the mangers, though they doubtless +administered privately a real and efficacious remedy. By these means +they fostered the idea, already prevalent, that they were people +possessed of supernatural gifts and powers. By means of drao, they +likewise procured themselves food; poisoning swine, as their brethren +in England still do, and then feasting on the flesh, the poison only +affecting the head of the animal, which was abandoned as worthless; +witness one of their own songs:-- + + "By Gypsy drow the porker died; + I saw him stiff at evening tide; + But I saw him not when morning shone, + For the Gypsies ate him, flesh and bone." + +By drao, also, they could avenge themselves on their enemies by +destroying their cattle, without incurring a shadow of suspicion. +Revenge for injuries, real or imaginary, is sweet to all unconverted +minds--to no one more than the Gypsy, who, in all parts of the world, +is, perhaps, the most revengeful of human beings. + +But if the Gitános are addicted to any one superstition above others, +it is in respect to the _loadstone_, to which they attribute all kinds +of miraculous powers. They believe that he who is in possession of it +has nothing to fear from steel or lead, from fire or water, and that +death itself has no power over him. The Gypsy contrabandists are +particularly anxious to procure this stone, which they carry upon their +persons in their expeditions. They say, that in the event of their +being pursued by the revenue officers, whirlwinds of dust will arise +and conceal them from the view of their enemies; the horse stealers say +much the same thing, and assert that they are uniformly successful when +they bear about them the precious stone. But it is said by them to +effect much more. It is extraordinary in exciting the amorous +propensities, and on this account it is in great request among the +Gypsy hags. All these women are procuresses, and find persons of both +sexes weak and wicked enough to make use of their pretended knowledge +in the composition of love draughts and decoctions. + +In the Museum of Natural Curiosities at Madrid, there is a large piece +of loadstone, originally extracted from the American mines. There is +scarcely a Gitána in Madrid who is not acquainted with this +circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a part of +it. Several attempts have been made to steal it, all of which, however, +have been unsuccessful. + +A translation of the Gospel of St. Luke was printed in the Gypsy +language, at Madrid, in 1838. The chapters were read over and explained +to some of these strange people, by the late agent of the British and +Foreign Bible Society, in Spain. They said it was _lacho_, and _jucal_, +and _misto_, all of which words express approval of the quality of +a thing; and they purchased copies of the Gypsy Luke freely. The women +were particularly anxious to obtain copies, though unable to read; but +each wished to have one in her pocket, especially when engaged in +thieving expeditions, for they all looked upon it in the light of a +charm, which would preserve them from all danger and mischance; some +even went so far as to say, that in this respect it was equally as +efficacious as the Bar Lachi, or loadstone, which they are generally so +eager to possess. Of this Gospel, five hundred copies were printed, the +greatest part of which were circulated among the Gypsies; but it was +speedily prohibited by a royal ordinance, which appeared in the Gazette +of Madrid, in August, 1838. + +Before closing, under this head, we will remark that, although the +Gypsies in general are a kind of wandering outcasts, incapable of +appreciating the blessings of a settled and civilized life, yet among +the Gypsies of Moscow there are not a few who inhabit stately houses, +go abroad in elegant equipages, and are not a whit behind the higher +order of Russians in appearance, nor in mental acquirements. To the +female part of the Gypsy colony of Moscow is to be attributed the merit +of this partial rise from abjectness and degradation, having from time +immemorial so successfully cultivated the vocal art, that, though in +the midst of a nation by whom song is more cherished and cultivated, +and its principles better understood, than by any other of the +civilized globe, the Gypsy choirs of Moscow are, by the general voice +of the Russian public, admitted to be unrivalled in that most amiable +of all accomplishments. It is a fact, notorious in Russia, that the +celebrated Catalini was so enchanted with the voice of one of these +Gypsy songsters, who, after the former had displayed her noble Italian +talent before a splendid audience at Moscow, stepped forward, and with +an astonishing burst of almost angelic melody, so enraptured every ear, +that even applause forgot its duty, and the noble Catalini immediately +tore from her own shoulders a shawl of Cashmere, which had been +presented to her by the Father of Rome, and embracing the Gypsy, +insisted on her acceptance of the splendid gift, saying, that it had +been intended for the matchless songster which she now perceived she +herself was not. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +OMENS, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION. + + +Many books have been published, having a tendency to deceive the +credulous, who suffer themselves to be guided by any thing but reason +and experience. Hence the encouragement bestowed on works of +enchantment, dreams, omens, and fate. Mankind have always discovered a +propensity to peep behind the veil of futurity, and have been lavish of +money in consulting persons and books that make a pretension of +unravelling the decrees of Fate, which lie hidden in the labyrinths of +darkness. From these sources have arisen the following superstitions, +as a sample of the many that have disturbed the peace of individuals, +families, and sometimes of whole communities. + +"A coal in the shape of a coffin, flying out of the fire to any +particular person, denotes his death is not far off. A collection of +tallow rising up against the wick of a candle is called a +winding-sheet, and deemed an omen of mortality. If, in eating, you miss +your mouth, and the food falls, it is very unlucky, and denotes +sickness. To dream you are dressed in black is an unlucky omen. Some +quarrel is about to happen between you and a friend or relative. +Sickness is about to attend your family. Death will deprive you of some +friend or relation. Lawsuits will perplex and harass you. If you +undertake a journey, it will be unsuccessful. If you are in love, it +denotes that your sweetheart is very unhappy, and that sickness will +attend her. If you are a farmer, your crops will fail, the murrain will +attack your cattle, and some dreadful accident will happen by the +overturning of one of your wagons. If you are in business, some one +will arrest you, and you will have great difficulty in settling the +matter. To dream of hen and chickens is the forerunner of ill luck. +Your sweetheart will betray you and marry another. If you go to law, +the case will be decided against you. If you go to sea, you will lose +your goods, and narrowly escape shipwreck. To dream of coals denotes +much affliction and trouble. If you are in love, your sweetheart will +prove false, and do every thing to injure you. To dream you see the +coals extinguished, and reduced to cinders, denotes the death of +yourself, or some near friend or relation. It also indicates great +losses, and forewarns you of beggary and a prison. To dream you are +married is ominous of death. It also denotes poverty, a prison, and +misfortunes. To dream of lying with your newly-married husband or wife +denotes danger and sudden misfortunes." + +_Popular charms_ are equally absurd and nonsensical. For example, a +ring made of the hinge of a coffin is good for the cramp. A halter with +which a man has been hanged, if tied about the head, will cure the +headache. A drop of blood of a black cat cures convulsions in children. +If a tree of any kind be split, and weak, rickety, or ruptured children +are drawn through it, and afterwards the tree is bound together, so as +to make it unite--as the tree heals and grows together, so will the +child acquire strength. If in a family the youngest daughter be married +before her older sisters, they must all dance at her wedding without +shoes, to counteract their ill luck, and procure themselves husbands. +And to procure luck when a person goes out to transact business, you +must throw an old shoe after him. To spit on the first money received +for the price of goods sold on any day will procure luck. And that +boxers must spit in their hands before they set to, for luck's sake. + +Seamen have a superstition that if they whistle in a storm, the storm +will be increased. And in time of a calm, they practise whistling to +_call the wind_, as they term it. Among farmers, in setting a hen, it +is deemed lucky to use an odd number of eggs. Among soldiers, salutes +with cannon must be of an odd number. A royal salute is thrice seven, +or twenty-one guns. Healths are drank odd. Yet the number _thirteen_ is +sometimes deemed ominous; it being supposed that when thirteen persons +meet in a room, one of them will die within the year. To know whether a +woman shall have the man she desires, it is directed to get two lemon +peels, and wear them all day, one in each pocket, and at night rub the +four posts of the bedstead with them. If she is to succeed, the person +will appear to her in her sleep, and present her with a couple of +lemons. If not, there is no room for hope. And again the fair ones are +directed to take a piece of wedding cake, draw it thrice through the +wedding ring, lay it under their pillow, and they will certainly dream +of their future husbands. A thousand other equally successful methods +have been proposed to solve the mysteries of future fortune; and yet +the magical stone, that will turn all our schemes into wished-for +realities, remains to be discovered. As time advances, and knowledge +pervades the abodes of darkness and ignorance, all this trumpery of +ghosts, witches, fairies, tricks, and omens will go down to the "tomb +of the Capulets." People will be able to pass through the churchyard, +sleep in an old house, though the wind whistle ever so shrill, without +encountering any supernatural visitations. They will become wise enough +to trace private and public calamities to other causes than the +crossing of knives, the click of an insect, or even the portentous +advent of a comet. Thanks to the illustrious names recorded in the +annals of science and letters, who have contributed towards so happy a +consummation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +MODERN MIRACLES. + + +There are some who profess to believe in modern miracles. But such +belief necessarily partakes of superstition. The Savior gave no +intimation that miracles should continue after the establishment of +Christianity. He promised to be with his apostles even unto the end of +that age. He declared that all who believed their instructions should +also have power to cast out devils, heal diseases, speak with new +tongues, and withstand any deadly thing. But his promise did not extend +beyond the immediate converts of the apostles. And we have no +satisfactory evidence that miracles were wrought by any but these; +while we have abundant testimony that our Savior's promise was +literally fulfilled. In fact, there was no necessity for miracles after +the establishment of Christianity. They were first wrought as so many +testimonies that Jesus was the sent of God; and at the same time, were +so many significant emblems of his designs, so many types and figures, +aptly representing the benefits to be conferred upon the human race. +But they were not designed to be perpetuated; for a history of divine +revelation was committed to writing, and translated into the prevailing +languages of the civilized world. If any could be so obstinate as not +to be convinced of its divine origin by the mass of evidence with which +it was accompanied, neither would they believe, though one should rise +from the dead. + +Pretended modern miracles admit of an easy explanation on natural +principles. Diseases have been suddenly healed; but imagination +effected the cure. Visions, ghosts, and apparitions have been seen; but +they existed only in the minds of the observers, and were caused by +some mental or bodily operation. But nothing of this kind can be said +of the miracles of Christ. His cannot be accounted for on any natural +principles, but must have been caused by divine miraculous agency. + +Modern miracles are not supported by satisfactory evidence. They have +been mostly wrought in secret. No witnesses can be produced but the +most interested. This was not the case with those of our Savior. They +were performed openly, and in the presence of friends and enemies. They +could not be deceptions; for the resurrection of a dead person could be +tested by the evidence of the senses. The remark of Judge Howe may be +appropriately introduced in this connection. He had thoroughly and +impartially studied the evidences of Christianity, and a firm belief in +its divine origin was the result. He observed that no jury could be +found that would give a verdict against Christianity, if the evidences +on both sides could be fairly presented before them, and they were +governed in forming their opinion by the common rules of belief. The +truth of this observation is confirmed by the fact, that candid +inquirers after truth have uniformly risen from an examination of the +evidences of Christianity believers in its divine origin. The same +cannot be said of modern miracles. No jury could be obtained of +disinterested persons, who would give a verdict in their favor. +Therefore we have no satisfactory evidence of their reality. Our safest +course is to admit the conclusion of eminent writers of all +denominations, namely, that miracles ceased with the first converts of +Christianity. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +PRETENDED PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. + + +Many have professed a belief in the divine inspiration of some one of +the many false prophets or Christs that have appeared in different ages +of the church. In the year 1830, there was a man in this country, +calling himself Matthias, who declared that he was the very Christ, and +pretended that he had come to judge the world. And strange as it may +seem, he was attended by some individuals of quite respectable +standing, who worshipped him as God! He appeared in pontifical robes, +with his rule in his right hand, and his two-edged sword in the left. +Underneath a rich olive broadcloth cloak, lined and faced with silk and +velvet, he wore a brown frock coat, with several stars on each breast, +and a splendid golden star on his left breast. His belt was of white +cloth fastened by a golden clasp, surmounted by an eagle. He +occasionally put on a cocked hat, of black beaver, trimmed with green, +the rear angle being surmounted by the golden symbol of glory. + +On being asked where his residence was, and what was his occupation, he +replied, "I am a traveller, and my legal residence is Zion Hill, +Westchester county, New York; I am a Jewish teacher and priest of the +Most High, saying and doing all that I do, under oath, by virtue of my +having subscribed to all the covenants that God hath made with man from +the beginning up to this time. I am chief high priest of the Jews of +the order of Melchizedec, being the last chosen of the twelve apostles, +and the first in the resurrection which is at the end of 2300 years +from the birth of Mahomet, which terminated in 1830, that being the +summit of the power of the false prophets. I am now denouncing judgment +on the Gentiles, and that judgment is to be executed in this age. All +the blood from Zacharias till the death of the last witness is required +of this generation. Before this generation passeth away, this judgment +shall be executed and declared. The hour of God's judgment is come." + +Matthias commenced his public career in Albany; but not making many +converts there, he soon removed to the city of New York. Here he met +with but little success for some time; but it appears that in the +autumn of 1832, he had succeeded in ingratiating himself into the favor +of a number of individuals, among whom were three of the most wealthy +and respectable merchants of Pearl Street. He represented himself to +them to be the Spirit of Truth, which had disappeared from the earth at +the death of Matthias mentioned in the New Testament, and that the +spirit of Jesus Christ entered into that Matthias whom he now +represented, having risen again from the dead. This blasphemous +impostor pretended to possess the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth, and that +he now, at his second appearance of the spirit, was the Father, and had +power to do all things, forgiving sins, and communicating the Holy +Ghost to such as believed on him. And what was most astonishing and +unparalleled, these men, who were before professors of the Christian +religion, were blind enough to believe and confide in all he imposed on +them. + +So completely did he succeed in deluding these men, and in impressing +them with the belief that he was actually a high priest of the order of +the mysterious Melchizedec, upon a divine mission to establish the +kingdom of God upon the earth, that he obtained entire control over +them and their estates. "I know the end of all things," he would +assert, illustrating it by placing a piece of paper in a drawer, +leaving one end upon the outside, and saying, "You can see but one end +of the paper, and so the world sees; but I see the whole length of +it--I see the end." + +Whenever he saw fit to call upon his dupes to contribute of their +substance for his support and the promotion of the kingdom he was about +to establish, he did so; and if they refused to provide him whatever +money he desired, he threatened to visit upon them (which he declared +he had the power to do) the wrath of the Almighty. But if they believed +in him and obeyed him in all things, he promised them that they should +be called into the kingdom, and he would forgive all their sins, and +they should enjoy eternal happiness. Impudent and blasphemous as such +language and pretensions truly were, the intended effect was produced, +and the prophet received new encouragement by the gratification of +pecuniary abundance. This object gained, he was enabled to adorn his +person with costly apparel, and to obtain other appurtenances and +furniture which he thought were necessary, that all things might +correspond to the nature and dignity of the office which he had +assumed. + +In August, 1833, two of his friends and proselytes, Messrs. Pierson and +Folger, were residing at Sing Sing, Westchester county. Thither, about +that time, Matthias repaired, and took up his residence with Mr. Folger +and family. In a week or two, Matthias came to the conclusion that +their dwelling-place did not correspond with his character, and +accordingly suggested to Folger and Pierson that it was their duty to +hire, for his use, a house which he might consecrate wholly to himself. +In this he was accommodated, not only without any hesitation, but with +the acknowledgment that the request was reasonable. Soon after this, it +appeared to Matthias's mind, that his habitation should not be subject +to worldly interests or infidel intrusion; and he accordingly presumed +to require of his two obedient followers the purchase of a house to be +exclusively his own. With this request they agreed to comply. Before it +was accomplished, however, Matthias manifested some new attribute of +his character, and accompanied the revelation by an effort to make +Folger believe that the house in which he then resided at Sing Sing, +and had purchased some time previous for the use of himself and family, +was purchased at the instigation of the Spirit of Truth, for him, +Matthias--Folger having been the instrument under the influence of that +Spirit for that purpose! So complete was Matthias's control, that +Folger believed even this! And having resided with Messrs. Folger and +Pierson about two months, he took _this_ house, thus miraculously +purchased, into his own especial charge. Matthias then required these +gentlemen to give him an account of their property, and having obtained +this statement, which exhibited their easy circumstances, he required +both of them to enter into an agreement to support him, assuring them +they should receive the blessing of God by so doing. This agreement was +accordingly entered into, and Matthias enjoyed the full benefits of it +for several months, when Mr. Folger became bankrupt. His wants were +afterwards supplied by Pierson, until the death of Mr. P., which took +place under very suspicious circumstances. It seems that a short time +previous to this melancholy event, and while Mr. Pierson was yet in +health, Matthias prevailed upon him to assign him his whole estate. And +it seemed, by Matthias's account on his examination, that Messrs. +Folger, Pierson, and Mills frequently declared to him that they +believed him to be the _Father_, and that he was qualified to establish +God's kingdom on earth, and that Zion Hill, which was the place +miraculously purchased at Sing Sing, was transferred to him for that +purpose, together with horses, carriages, and furniture of a house in +Third Street, New York--that it was also agreed that the house and lot +in Third Street should be conveyed to him, and that Mr. Pierson +directed a deed to be made out accordingly, but died before it was +completed. He still considered the property as his own for the original +purpose, and considered it the beginning of the establishment of the +kingdom. It is certain that Mr. Pierson was suddenly taken sick, and it +was believed to be immediately after this contract was made. He fell +under the care of Matthias, who would neither allow his friends to +visit him, nor to call medical aid, declaring himself to "_have power +of life and death_." Mr. Pierson's body having been removed to New +Jersey for interment, a post mortem examination was held by four +respectable physicians, all of whom certified that they found in the +stomach a "_large quantity of an unwholesome and deadly substance_." +Matthias was therefore arrested with the charge of having poisoned Mr. +Pierson, on which he gave bail for appearance at court. + +Soon after this, he went to the city of New York, and entering the +family of Mr. Folger, resided with them for several months; but the +mysterious death of Mr. Pierson, and the attending circumstances, +having shaken the confidence of Mr. Folger and his family, they began +to be conscious of their delusion, and resolved to abandon Matthias and +his principles. On announcing their determination to him, he resorted +to his old practice of threats and promises, and told them they must +not throw him destitute on the world; that, if they did so, the +blessing of God would depart from them, and sickness and perhaps death +would follow; but if they gave him money to support him, the blessing +of God should continue to them. Mr. Folger having become bankrupt, +Matthias perhaps was willing to leave him--not, however, without having +first insisted on a supply of money, which he obtained to the amount of +six hundred and thirty dollars, and immediately left the city. On the +morning of that day, Matthias partook of a very little breakfast, and +scarcely tasted of the coffee, alleging, as an excuse, that he was ill. +Immediately after breakfast, Mr. Folger, his wife, and children were +taken sick. Mr. Folger did not suspect the cause of their illness, +until after Matthias had left the city, when, upon examination, he +learned that the black woman who did the cooking for the family had +also abstained from the use of coffee that morning; and from other +circumstances he became confirmed that the woman was bribed by Matthias +to poison the family. The effort was unsuccessful, the poison producing +but a temporary effect. This nefarious transaction induced Mr. Folger +to procure the arrest of Matthias, firmly convinced, at this melancholy +stage, that he was a _base impostor_. + +The third gentleman named as one of the dupes of Matthias became a +lunatic under the unfortunate delusion. But on a removal to the +country, and from the influence of the "prophet," he recovered, and +became convinced of his lamentable error. + +In the sequel, it appeared that Matthias had received in the aggregate, +from these gentlemen, about ten thousand dollars in money, and +negotiable paper, which he appropriated in furnishing the establishment +at Zion Hill and in Third Street. And by whatever means he obtained +money, it is evident he used it for the wildest and most extravagant +purposes. His wardrobe was most bountifully supplied with new boots, +shoes, and pumps; linen shirts of the most exquisite fineness, the +wristbands fringed with delicate lace; silk stockings, handkerchiefs, +and gloves; coats embroidered with gold; merino morning dresses; and +two caps made of linen cambric, folded in the form of a mitre, richly +embroidered, one with the names of the twelve apostles written around +it, and "Jesus Matthias" adorning the front in prominent characters, +the other surrounded with the names of the twelve tribes, the front +like the other. With his two-edged sword (with gold chain and +mountings) he was to destroy the Gentiles, as Gideon did the +Midianites. With his six feet rule he was to measure the New Jerusalem, +"the gates thereof, and the walls thereof," and divide it into lots for +those who believed on him, and obeyed the Spirit of Truth, as it came +from him, the trumpet. With the golden key which he possessed, he was +to unlock the gates of paradise. + +Somewhat versed in the rites and antiquities of the Jews, this impostor +united with a quick and active mind a considerable cunning, a fluent +speech, and a vast amount of persevering impudence, and endeavored to +impress his dogmas by assuming a sanctified and uncompromising air, and +by invariably fixing upon his victim his remarkably fierce and +penetrating eyes. He reasoned plausibly and ingeniously, and was +exceedingly subtle at evasion. Although he never could have obtained an +extensive and permanent influence, even if his knavery had not been +detected, since his schemes were too wild and incoherent, and his +demands too absurd to produce an effect that would endure beyond his +actual and immediate presence, yet that his blasphemous pretensions +should have gained any credence among intelligent minds is to be +greatly lamented. The whole history of these transactions will form a +dark page in the records of modern fanaticism, and will present an +enduring but melancholy evidence of the weakness of human nature. + +As an excuse for the conduct of Matthias, or Matthews, which was his +real name, he was supposed by some to be laboring under monomania, +partly hereditary and partly superinduced by religious fanaticism and +frenzy. Still, he was not without "method in his madness;" and it seems +evident that, with a tinge of insanity, he was also much of a knave, +and probably a dupe in part to his own imposture. During his +confinement in jail, awaiting his trial for the alleged murder of Mr. +Pierson, Matthias issued a decree, commanding all the farmers to lay +aside their ploughs, declaring, "As I live, there shall be no more +sowing in the earth until I, the twelfth and last of the apostles, am +delivered out of the house of bondage." He also prophesied that if he +were convicted, White Plains should be destroyed by an earthquake, and +not an inhabitant be left to tell the tale of its destruction; and +strange to say, men were not found wanting who believed in his absurd +and blasphemous predictions. On trial, the physicians who had examined +the stomach of the deceased were led to suspect poison, but could not +say positively that poison had been administered; whereupon the +prisoner was discharged, on the ground that no evidence had been +produced to convict him either of murder or manslaughter. In the case +of his arrest at the instigation of Mr. Folger, that gentleman +afterwards wrote to the district attorney, requesting him to dismiss +the case, it not appearing to be an indictable one, and declaring, that +the day--"so far as passing himself for a _pure_ and _upright_ +man--has passed, and there is no danger of his imposing upon any one +here or elsewhere." In a letter written by Mr. Folger, dated New York, +Nov. 8, 1834, and published in the Commercial Advertiser, Mr. Folger +says, "My object is now to rid myself of him and all connected with +him, with as little trouble as possible. Mr. Pierson, myself, and +family have been deeply, very deeply deluded, deceived, and imposed +upon; and I regret exceedingly that the former could not have been +spared to witness the deep deception. We are sensible of our error--we +repent it sincerely; and although we cannot expect to recover, at +present, the situation which we held in society previous to our +acquaintance with this vile creature, yet in time we shall be able to +show that we are enemies to him, and all who undertake to sustain him +in his wickedness and plans to destroy us." + +For closeness of resemblance, in many striking features, to the case of +Matthias, was that of the Anabaptists of Munster, in Germany, which +excited the wonder of Europe during the early part of the seventeenth +century, and of which such strange accounts are to be found in the +histories of that epoch. The similarity between the principal of this +sect, known as John of Leyden, and Matthews, not only in doctrine, but +in worldly observance, in the passion for magnificence of apparel and +luxurious living, and in the rites and ceremonies exacted by each, is +so remarkable as almost to lead to the conclusion that the latter had +formed himself and his creed upon the model of his ancient prototype. +The number of deluded proselytes who blindly followed the dictates of +the Anabaptist leader was at one time so great, and their power so +formidable, that several princes of Germany united against them; and it +was not until after a vigorous siege, and an obstinate resistance, that +the city of Munster, of which the fanatics had obtained complete +possession, was taken and their power broken down. + +This John of Leyden wore upon his head a triple crown of gold, richly +adorned with gems. Around his neck he wore, suspended by a golden +chain, an ornament of gold, representing the terrestrial globe, with a +cross, and two swords, one of gold, the other of silver, with the +inscription, "King of Righteousness over the whole world." He also +assumed the title of "the Father," and he required all his followers to +pledge themselves to do his will, and, if necessary, to suffer death at +his command, or in his defence and service. He enjoined and enforced a +community of goods, a surrender of all possessions, land, money, arms, +and merchandise to him, as the Father and Lord of all, to be employed +by him in the universal establishment of his kingdom; and he denounced +the vengeance of Heaven and eternal damnation on all such as refused to +believe in him and do his will. All churches and convents he commanded +to be destroyed, the priests denounced as children of darkness, and all +sovereigns he would put to death. He proclaimed the nullity of all +marriages, except such as were solemnized by himself or his own +prophets, but enjoined polygamy, himself setting the example. Each of +his principal followers had from six to eight wives, and both men and +women were compelled to marry. He taught that no man understood the +Scriptures but himself, or those whom he enlightened with his spirit, +and all the prophecies in the Old Testament, relating to the Savior, he +applied to himself, and proclaimed their fulfilment in the +establishment of his kingdom. + +In our own country, the most surprising instance of imposture and +delusion, perhaps, that has occurred, was that of the Cochranites, +whose enormities in licentiousness made so much stir in Maine and New +Hampshire a few years since. Cochrane was an officer in the army, +thrown out of commission by the reduction of the military establishment +of the United States, after the conclusion of the last war with +England. Having become poor and penniless, he left Portland, and struck +off into the country, seeking his fortune, and caring not whither he +went. One day, as night drew on, he found himself near a farm house, +weary and hungry, and without a penny to purchase a mouthful of food or +the use of a pillow for the night. The thought struck him suddenly of +throwing himself upon the hospitality of the farmer, for the occasion, +in the character of a minister. Introducing himself as such to the +family, he was cordially received, and as the country was new and +destitute of clergymen, the good people forthwith despatched messengers +to the neighbors, that a minister had come among them, and invited them +in to attend a meeting. The impostor had not anticipated so speedy a +trial of his clerical character; but having assumed it, there was no +escape--he must act the part, for the time being, in the best way he +could. Being neither ignorant nor destitute of talents, he succeeded in +acquitting himself much better than he had anticipated, and gave so +much satisfaction to his audience as to induce him to persevere in the +imposture he had commenced. As he acquired skill and confidence by +practice in his new vocation, his popularity increased, and he soon +found it a profitable occupation. He was followed by multitudes, and it +was not long before he announced himself as some great one, and founded +a new sect of religionists. His command over the audiences which he +addressed is said to have been wonderful, and his influence over his +followers unbounded. It seemed as though he was enabled to hold the +victims of his impostures in a state of enchantment. A professor in an +eastern college having heard of the wonderful sway which Cochrane held +over his disciples, and of the impressions he made upon casual hearers, +determined one evening to go and witness his performances. While +present, although a very cool and grave personage, he said he felt some +strange, undefinable, mysterious influence creeping over him to such a +degree, that he was obliged actually to tear himself away, in +apprehension of the consequences. This gentleman, however, was a +believer in animal magnetism, and was therefore inclined to attribute +it to that cause. It was said that if the impostor did but touch the +hand or neck of a female, his power over her person and reason was +complete. Consequently it led to the most open and loathsome +sensuality. So atrocious was his conduct, that he seduced great numbers +of females, married and unmarried, under the pretext of raising up a +holy race of men. The peace of many families was broken up, and the +village kept an establishment like a seraglio--a disgusting and +melancholy commentary upon the weakness of human nature. His career, +however, was but of short duration. + +A history of religious impostures would form a library of itself. The +human mind, in all ages and countries, and under all forms of +government and religion, seems to have been wonderfully susceptible of +delusion and imposition upon that subject, which, of all others, is the +most important for time and eternity. The court of Egypt was deluded by +the impostors who undertook to contend with Moses. And the chosen +people themselves, notwithstanding the direct disclosures which the +Most High had made of himself, in all their wonderful history, were +prone to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to follow the +lying spirits of the prophets of Baal and other deceivers, from the +days of Moses till the destruction of Jerusalem. So, likewise, under +the Christian dispensation, from the defection of Simon Magus to the +wild delirium of Edward Irving, there have been a succession of +Antichrists, until their name is legion--pretenders to divine missions, +the power of working miracles, the gift of tongues--perverting the +Scriptures, leading astray silly men and women--destroying the peace of +families, throwing communities into confusion, and firebrands into the +church--clouding the understandings, and blinding the moral perceptions +of men, and subverting the faith of these even whose mountains stood +strong, and who had been counted among the chosen people of God. "In +the last days," says the apostle Peter, "there shall come scoffers, +walking after their own lusts,"--"chiefly them which walk after the +flesh, in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government; presumptuous +are they, self-willed; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities; +sporting themselves in their own deceivings, having eyes full of +adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; for +when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the +flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them +who live in error; while they promise them liberty, they themselves are +the servants of corruption." Jude also admonishes us "to remember that +they were foretold as mockers, who should be in the last time, who +should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate +themselves, sensual, not having the Spirit." + +It is wonderful to observe with what precision these prophecies have +been fulfilled by the clouds of impostors who have appeared--"spoken +great swollen words of vanity," and fallen--since the inspired +sentences were uttered. And it may be regarded as one of the evidences +of the truth of inspiration, that, had the long array of apostates and +deceivers actually stood before the sacred penmen, at the time of their +writing, their characters all naked before them, the likenesses, from +the first Christian apostate to the sensual Mormons, could not have +been drawn with greater fidelity. The "TRUTH OF GOD," distinctly +set forth in the book of Revelation, is an infallible criterion +by which to test the true character of any religious opinion or +practice; nor can any radical or fundamental error long escape +detection, when subjected to this plain and unerring standard. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +MORMON SUPERSTITION. + + +A certain Joseph Smith, Jr., pretended, a few years ago, to have been +directed by the Spirit of God to dig, in a hill, in the township of +Manchester, Ontario county, New York, for a set of golden plates which +were there concealed, and upon which were inscribed sacred records by +the hands of Mormon. He obeyed the direction and found the plates. The +inscriptions upon them were in an unknown tongue. But, by the special +power of the Spirit, Smith was enabled to translate them. A volume +containing these writings was soon after published, constituting, in +the whole, fifteen books, purporting to have been written at different +times, and by the different authors whose names they respectively bear. +In these writings there seems to be a bungling attempt to imitate the +style of the sacred Scriptures. But the attempt is manifestly +unsuccessful. Nearly two thirds of the paragraphs are introduced with +the phrase, "And it came to pass." In endeavoring to preserve the +solemn style of the Scriptures, there is great disregard of grammatical +propriety. We read, "The Lord _sayeth_ unto me, and I _sayeth_ unto the +Lord." Perhaps a few extracts, selected at chance, will give the reader +a more correct idea of the general style of the book than any remarks +we might offer. + +"And it came to pass that when they had _arriven_ in the borders of the +land of the Lamanites." + +"And it came to pass that I Nephi did make _bellowses_ wherewith to +blow the fire." + +"And it came to pass that Limhi and many of his people _was_ desirous +to be baptized." + +The Mormon preachers claim for themselves and the members of their +church the power of working miracles, and of speaking with new tongues. +They jabber with some strange sounds, and call this the speaking with +tongues. They assert it as a fact, that among them the dead have been +raised, and the sick healed, as in the days of Christ and his apostles. +From these _facts_, as they call them, they draw the conclusion that +_they_ are the members of the true church of Christ. The doctrine +increases among men; and well it may, for there are circumstances in +the condition and views of those who embrace it which are calculated to +secure its success. In a large portion of the community there is a +great degree of ignorance in regard to the geography of the sacred +Scriptures, the manners and customs of the Jews, and the natural +history of the Bible. There are many who read their Bibles daily, and +with true devotional feelings, it may be, who have no idea that the +places mentioned in sacred history, like those mentioned in any other +history, can be traced on the map, can be found and visited at the +present day, although disguised under modern names. It makes no part of +their study of the Bible to ascertain where the places mentioned are to +be found, and what they are now called. They have no idea that the +allusions to manners and customs, found in the Bible, can be +understood, through an acquaintance with the practices and habits of +the people described; and, consequently, the study of Jewish manners +and customs makes no part of their preparation for understanding the +Scriptures. They have no idea that the allusion in Scripture to facts +in natural history can be verified by an acquaintance with that +science, and therefore they make no exertions to understand the natural +history of the Bible. They do not take up the Bible and read it with +the expectation of being able to understand it, in regard to these +particulars, as they would understand any other book. All such are +prepared, by their ignorance on these subjects, to become the dupes of +the Mormon delusion; or, at least, they are not prepared to withstand +this delusion. They open the Book of Mormon, claiming to be a kind of +appendix to the Bible. The paragraphs begin with the phrase, "And +behold it came to pass." They read of the cities of Zarahemla, Gid, +Mulek, Corianton, and a multitude of others. They read of prophets and +preachers, of faith, repentance, and obedience; and having been +accustomed, in reading the Scriptures, to take all such things just as +they are presented, without careful examination, they can see no reason +why all this is not as much entitled to belief as are the records of +the Old and New Testaments. But if, on the contrary, they were +acquainted with the geography and the natural history of the Bible, and +with the manners and customs of the nations there mentioned, and +especially if, in their reading of the Scriptures, they were accustomed +to examine carefully into these points, they would at once perceive the +utter impossibility of identifying the cities mentioned in the Book of +Mormon with any geographical traces which they can now make. They would +thus perceive the deception, and be put on their guard. And then, too, +upon further examination, they would discover that the manners and +customs of the people, the sentiments and disputes, are not such as +belong to the period of the world in which the people are represented +to have lived; that they take their coloring from modern customs, from +modern opinions and controversies; and, upon these discoveries, they +would be led to reject the whole as a fabrication. + +Many are deceived in consequence of the fluency of the preachers in +warning sinners. They pray with fervor; the people are affected; and +the Spirit of God is declared to be present, owning and blessing the +work. But there is deception here. It is but a few years since the +Cochrane delusion, as it is called, prevailed in and around the village +of Saco, Maine. What gave that delusion so much success? It was because +Cochrane spoke with great fluency, warned sinners with great +earnestness, and poured forth his prayers with zealous fervor. The +people became affected; many were in tears; many sobbed aloud, cried +for mercy, and some became prostrate on the floor. "Surely," it was +remarked, "the doctrines advanced by Cochrane must be true, the +preaching of them being so signally owned and blessed of God." In this +way, men of sound judgment in other respects are carried away by false +views and appearances, and become the dupes of the most extravagant +sentiments and delusions. They become "zealously affected," but it is +not, as the apostle says, "in a good thing." A correct knowledge of the +sacred Scriptures, and of proper principles in regard to the study of +the Bible, with sound and rational views of the nature of religion, and +of the influences of the Holy Spirit, will serve to correct all such +tendencies to error and deception. + +From the best account that has been published respecting the _origin_ +of the Mormon Bible, it appears that it was written by an individual +named Solomon Spaulding, some twenty-five years ago; but without the +least intention, on the part of the author, of framing a system of +delusion for his fellow-men. This Spaulding was a native of Ashford, in +Connecticut, where he was distinguished, at an early age, for his +devotion to study, and for the superiority of his success over that of +his schoolmates. He received an academic education, and commenced the +study of law at Windham; but his mind inclining to religious subjects, +he abandoned the law, went to Dartmouth College, prepared himself for +the ministry, and was regularly ordained. For some reasons unknown he +soon abandoned that profession, and established himself as a merchant +at Cherry Valley, New York. Failing in trade, he removed to Conneaut, +in Ohio, where he built a forge; but again failed, and was reduced to +great poverty. While in this condition, he endeavored to turn his +education to account, by writing a book, the sale of which he hoped +would enable him to pay his debts and support his family. The subject +selected by him was one well suited to his religious education. It was +an historical novel, containing an account of the aborigines of +America, who were supposed by some to have descended from the ten +tribes of Israel. The work was entitled the "Manuscript Found," and the +history commenced with one Lehi, who lived in the reign of Zedekiah, +king of Judea, six hundred years before the Christian era. Lehi, being +warned of Heaven of the dreadful calamities that were impending over +Jerusalem, abandoned his possessions, and fled with his family to the +wilderness. After wandering for some time, they arrived at the Red Sea, +and embarked on board a vessel. In this, after floating about for a +long time, they reached America, and landed at the Isthmus of Darien. +From the different branches of this family were made to spring all the +Indian nations of this continent. From time to time they rose to high +degrees of civilization and refinement; but desolating wars among +themselves scattered and degraded them. The Manuscript was written in +the style of the Bible, the old English style of James the First. When +the work was ready for the press, Spaulding endeavored to obtain the +pecuniary assistance necessary for its publication, but his affairs +were in so low a condition that he could not succeed. He then removed +to Pittsburg, and afterwards to Amity, in Pennsylvania, where he died. +By some means or other, the Manuscript fell into the hands of Joseph +Smith, Jr., who afterwards published it under the name of the "Golden +Bible." Smith was the son of very poor and superstitious parents, and +was for a long time engaged in digging for Kidd's money, and other +feats of like description. Possessing considerable shrewdness, he +became somewhat skilled in feats of necromancy and juggling. He had the +address to collect about him a gang of idle and credulous young men, +whom he employed in digging for hidden treasures. It is pretended that, +in one of the excavations they made, the mysterious plates from which +the Golden Bible was copied were found. Such, briefly is the origin of +the Mormon faith--a humbug to which not a few, otherwise sensible men, +have pinned their hopes of happiness here and hereafter. + +After the death of Joseph Smith, and shortly before the Mormons were +driven out from Illinois, many of the disciples of the great impostor +seceded and refused to acknowledge the leadership of the knowing twelve +who became his successors. Among them were a very pious Mormon named +McGhee Vanduzen, and his wife Maria. They soon gave to the world an +exposition of the shameful manoeuvres attendant upon Mormonism as a +religion; of the absurd and indecent ceremonies which the unprincipled +leaders of that wicked imposture enforced upon their infatuated +disciples. Smith, and his associate leaders at Nauvoo, evidently +established these ceremonies for the base purpose of enticing the more +beautiful females among his disciples to their ruin and disgrace. The +shameful character of the mysteries developed could lead to no other +conclusion. + +Says the Boston Traveller, of April 21, 1852, "The rapid spread of +Mormonism is one of the mysteries of the age. A more barefaced +delusion, except that of the spiritual rappings, was never imposed on +the all-swallowing credulity of mankind. Yet it has gained adherents by +thousands in Europe as well as in the United States." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +MILLER DELUSION. + + +A man by the name of William Miller published a book in the year 1836, +in which he undertook to show that this earth would be destroyed in the +year 1843. His calculation, as to the transpiration of such an event +during the said year, is founded upon the prophecy of Daniel, that the +_sanctuary should be cleansed!_ in two thousand three hundred days. He +took the days to mean years, and began his reckoning from the going +forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem, mentioned in a +subsequent vision. Why did he not begin the reckoning from the date of +the vision itself? Because this would not answer Mr. Miller's turn. To +tell the people that the earth was to be burned up in 1747, would +produce little or no excitement. He must hit upon a time for the +beginning which would make the end yet future, in order to gratify his +love for the marvellous. + +That Mr. Miller intended to manage his reckoning of time to suit his +own scheme, is obvious from his different computations of time, to +_make_ his interpretations of other prophecies comport with his +application of the two thousand three hundred days. Daniel says, "And +from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the +abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two +hundred and ninety days." "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to +the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Taking the +thousand three hundred and thirty-five days to reach from the taking +away of the daily sacrifice, and setting up the abomination that maketh +desolate, to the resurrection, he subtracts the thousand three hundred +and thirty-five from it, and finds the remainder to be five hundred and +eight, which must, to suit his calculation, be the year of our Lord in +which the daily sacrifice should be taken away, &c. Then, to get at the +taking away of a daily sacrifice, and the setting up of an abomination +that maketh desolate, which should come any where in the neighborhood +of this date, he makes the taking away of the daily sacrifice to be the +doing away of the pagan worship in Rome, and the setting up the +abomination spoken of to be the commencement of the Papal authority. +This he sets at A.D. 508, without reference to fact, because his +reckoning of prophetic time brings it so. The truth is, that the pagan +character of Rome ceased soon after the conversion of the Emperor +Constantine to Christianity, which was about A.D. 313. This makes +about 195 years' difference in the age of the world, and brings it to +an end in 1648, over 200 years ago! + +But let us examine a little farther. Having come, as we have shown, at +A.D. 508, which, having taken from the years of Christ's life 33, +leaves 475 from the death of Christ, he proceeds to add up: The 70 +weeks, or 490 years, to the crucifixion of Christ, 490; from the +crucifixion of Christ to the taking away the daily sacrifice, 475. And +here are his time, times, and half, which he takes to be the duration +of the pagan reign, i.e., three years and a half, which, taking a day +for a year, makes 1260. + +Here, then, he has his whole time, down to the end of his second or +Papal transgression of desolation, which he has all along held to be +the end of the world. But these several numbers added amount to but +2225, 75 short of the 2300, reckoning from the going forth of the +decree to rebuild Jerusalem. And what now shall be done? How shall the +75 years be made up to bring the end of the world to 1843? Why, he +succeeds in finding two different numbers in the 12th of Daniel, viz., +1290 and 1335. And nothing is easier, when you have two different +numbers, to substract the less from the greater. This he does in the +present case, and finds the difference to be just 45. Well, what of +that? Why, he says this is the time which was to elapse between the +destruction of the great beast in his second or Papal character, and +the resurrection! He does not pretend that the vision mentions this, +but so he fixes it. He is like a country schoolmaster, who, not always +finding it easy to manage by rules, when a scholar would carry him a +sum which he could not work, he would look at the answer in the book, +and get the difference between that and his own, and then he would slip +in the ascertained difference, somewhere in the operation, to be added +or substracted, as the case might require, to bring the answer as he +wished it. + +But although he succeeded in finding 45 years, he is still minus 30, +for it brings out the end in 1813. And how shall the other 30 years be +found? It must be gotten somehow, for who will believe it as it now +stands? Yet this extraordinary man meets with no difficulty in finding +the 30 years. In his parade of parts, of factors, to make up the great +whole, he sets down for the space between the putting down of the Pagan +power, to the setting up the same power, 30 years! And how he gets this +number there, no mortal can tell. Yes, he tells us himself. + +Considering himself so great a prophet, he seems to think that his own +suppositions will certainly pass among others as good authority. He +therefore unblushingly tells us that he _supposes_ this 30 years. Hear +him, (page 96.) "Therefore, to reconcile these two statements, _we must +conclude_ there were 30 years from A.D. 508, when paganism ceased, +before the image beast, or Papal Rome, would begin her reign. _If_ this +is correct, then," &c. + +Here, then, the foundation on which he keeps the world standing from +1813 to 1843, is a simple _if_. And to get in these supposititious +30 years, between the death of the pagan and the life of the Papal +beast, he involves himself in a maze of absurdity. He makes the taking +away of the daily sacrifice to be the putting an end to the Papal +beast, that did daily sacrifice to idol abominations. The little horn, +by whom the daily sacrifice was taken away, Mr. Miller takes to be the +Papal beast, or Catholic church. This beast takes away the daily +sacrifice, i.e., puts an end to the pagan beast, and yet does not +exist until 30 years after the pagan beast is dead. This is truly an +unheard of strait for a schemer to come to, to be obliged, in order to +bring out his reckoning, to get 30 years between the existence of two +beasts, one of which kills the other. The second beast slays the first, +and performs many wonderful works, 30 years before he has any +existence! No marvel that the man who could see into such mysteries +should imagine that he could see the end of the world in 1843! + +Mr. Miller commits various other errors in his calculations and dates, +as, for instance, he states that pagan Rome commenced 148 years before +Christ, whereas Rome was founded by Romulus, as an independent +government, 752 years before Christ, being pagan from its beginning. He +dates the erection of the Papal authority at A.D. 538. By the Papal +power he means, of course,--not the Papal doctrine, for that existed +much earlier than 538,--but the establishment of the civil authority. +And this was not until about A.D. 750. + +Indeed, Mr. Miller is palpably wrong in nearly all his positions; and +the reason is, he is not looking for facts, but for reckonings to fill +out his own scheme. And even in this, too, he fails. On page 109 of his +Course of Lectures, first published in 1836, speaking of events to +happen in 1839, he holds the following language: "He that is filthy +will be filthy still. Mankind will, for a short season, give loose to +all the corrupt passions of the human heart. No laws, human or divine, +will be regarded; all authority will be trampled under foot; anarchy +will be the order of government, and confusion _fill the world with +horror and despair_. Murder, treason, and crime will be _common law_, +and division and disunion _the only bond of fellowship_. Christians +will be persecuted unto death, and dens and caves of the earth will be +their retreat. _All things_ which are not _eternal_ will be _shaken to +pieces_, that which cannot be shaken may remain. And this, if I am +right in my calculations, will begin _on or before_ A.D. 1839. 'And at +_that time_ (1839) thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall +be found written in the book.' _Now_ is come salvation indeed. The +people of God are _now_ to be delivered from outward foes and inbred +lusts, from the corruptions of the grave and the vileness of the flesh. +Every one, the poor and despised child of God, will _then_ (in 1839) be +delivered when he makes up his jewels.'" + +Mr. Miller, in finding that things did not take place as he prophesied, +put a note in the end of his book, on the last page, stating that he +had made a _mistake of one year_ in some of his computations, and hence +these things which he _supposed_ would take place in 1839, according to +the first computation, will not be realized until the year 1840! And +yet 1840 passed over our heads, and these things did not take place. On +page 296 of his Lectures, he says the sixth vial was poured out in +1822, when the Ottoman power began to be dried up. This he considered +to be a very important sign, indicating that we were on the very brink +of the _judgment day_. Here he introduces Rev. xvi. 12. "And the sixth +angel poured out his vial upon the great River Euphrates; and the +waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of the earth +might be prepared." This preparation, Mr. M. says, is for the last +great battle, which will take place at the pouring out of the seventh +vial, in the year 1839 or 1840. "At the pouring out of the seventh +vial, a voice from the throne will pronounce the words, _It is done_. +The kingdoms of the earth and the governments of the world will be +carried away, and their places be known no more." But these kingdoms +still remain. + +Mr. Miller's last assumption was, that Christ would come in the spring +of 1844, at the date corresponding with the ending of the Jewish year +for 43. Mr. M. says, in his preface to his book, "If I have erred in my +exposition of the prophecies, _the time, being so near at hand_, will +soon expose my folly." He had already seen the folly of some of his +computations, and he seemed to fear lest it might prove the same in the +final result also. And this he soon experienced, as may be seen by +reading his _confession_, made at the Tabernacle in Boston, on the +evening of May 28, 1844. He there stated that what he had preached and +published respecting the coming of the Lord in 1843 was done honestly; +(!) that he fully believed it; but that the time had now _passed_, and +he was _proved to be mistaken_; that when the time arrived and the +event did not take place, he felt bad--felt lonely--thought he should +never have any more to say in public; that he felt worse on the account +of others than he did for himself. He said there was an error somewhere +in his calculations, but he could not tell where. He had now no +definite time--he should wait God's time: it might come in a day, it +might not come in fifty years; he could not say exactly when; he was +waiting. Thus the whole affair exploded--came to nought; although much +evil in regard to Mr. Miller's prophecies may yet be experienced in the +community. Some will yet cling most obstinately to the system, and +still maintain that Christ may be expected every day, hour, or minute, +while others will fix upon some other date within a short period of +time. They will still refer us to certain signs in the starry heavens, +endeavoring to persuade the people to believe that the whole machinery +of nature is out of joint, and that this is a certain precursor to the +speedy dissolution of the world. + +One of the second advent preachers gave the startling intelligence that +"_fifteen hundred_ stars had _recently_ faded from the vault of +heaven." But what are the facts? Not more than _thirteen_ stars are +recorded in the annals of astronomy as having been lost; and so far +from having faded _recently_, some of them disappeared many ages +since. It is not even certain that any stars have been blotted out. +There are nearly one hundred variable stars which have periods of +unusual brilliancy, and then gradually fade till nearly invisible, and +after a time revive again. The thirteen missing stars may be of this +description. These changes were observed many centuries ago. The bright +star which appeared suddenly, with unusual splendor and brilliancy, in +Cassiopeia, in 1572, is supposed to be the same star which suddenly +appeared in the same place, with great lustre, about the year 900, and +also about 600 years before, during the intervals of which it was +invisible. + +The same preacher adduced the Aurora Borealis as another sign of the +last days. "Is it not remarkable," says he, "that no record of them +appears till _quite recently_?" But what are the facts? It was indeed +supposed by many, who had not investigated the subject, that the Aurora +was first seen in England in 1716; but on examination we find it spoken +of in 1560, in a scientific work, entitled A Description of Meteors, +published soon after the invention of printing, subsequent to which, +and before 1716, there are many accounts of the same phenomenon. + +Many have supposed that nothing has ever before appeared, similar to +the remarkable _red Aurora_, which was witnessed on the evening of +January 25, 1837. Yet such spectacles have often been witnessed in the +northern parts of Sweden, Lapland, and Siberia, and in remote and +different periods. The Aurora is a great blessing in those high +northern latitudes, where the sun is absent for many weeks, furnishing +the inhabitants with a splendid light, in the midst of their dreary +winter nights. Gmelin describes the Aurora Borealis of those regions as +differing in color according to the states of the atmosphere, +"sometimes assuming the appearance of blood." He observes that "they +frequently begin with single bright pillars rising in the north, and +almost at the same time in the north-east, which, gradually increasing, +comprehend a large space in the heavens, rush about, with incredible +velocity, from place to place, and finally almost cover the whole sky +to the zenith, producing an appearance as if a vast tent was expanded +in the heavens, glittering with gold, rubies, and sapphire. A more +beautiful spectacle cannot be painted." These lights occasionally come +so far south as to illuminate the sky in our latitude. Sometimes they +have not appeared for many years. In 1716, these lights were seen in +England, though never witnessed before by the oldest inhabitants +living; and, as might be expected, they were alarmed, and actually +supposed the day of judgment had come. From Barber's History of New +England, we learn that the first appearance of the northern lights in +this country, after the period of its first settlement, was on December +11, 1719, "when they were remarkably bright; and, as people in general +had never heard of such a phenomenon, they were extremely alarmed with +the apprehension of the final judgment. All amusements, all business, +and even sleep was interrupted, for want of a little knowledge of +history." We were told by some of the advent preachers that meteors and +shooting stars, falling to the earth, were never seen until 1799. But +this is a great mistake. As early as the year 472, Theophanes relates, +"The sky appeared to be on fire, with the coruscations of flying +meteors." Virgil, in his book of Georgics, speaks as follows:-- + + "And oft, before tempestuous winds arise, + The seeming _stars fall headlong_ from the skies, + And, _shooting_ through the darkness, gild the night + With sweeping glories and _long trails of light_." + +In 553, under the reign of Justinian, were seen showers of falling +stars in extraordinary numbers. In 763, under that of Constantine +Capronymus, the same spectacle was witnessed. In 1099, in the month of +November, it is said, in Vogel's Leipzig Chronicles, that there was +seen an unheard-of number of falling stars, burning torches, and fiery +darts in the sky. In 1464, on the 7th of November, the great meteoric +stone fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. On the 8th of August, 1723, +numerous falling stars appeared in many parts of the heavens, like +fireflies. + +But we are told of the sun and moon appearing like blood, and that this +sign of our Lord's second coming was never witnessed, since the +resurrection, till the year 1780. Yet this is likewise a mistake; for +in the Basle Chronicle of Urtisus, under the year 1566, mention is made +of the fact, that on the 28th and 29th of July, the sun and moon became +_blood red_; and on the 7th of August, this striking phenomenon was +again repeated. And, according to the Frankfort Chronicle of Lersner, +under the year 1575, on the 29th of July, a _remarkable redness of the +sun_ occurred. + +It has been said that the _darkness_ of the sun, that occurred in +1780, was a sign given to portend the speedy destruction of the world. +Why was it not then witnessed simultaneously in all parts of the earth? +It was confined principally to New England and witnessed only by the +generation preceding the present. To be sure, thousands were appalled +by the event, and a feeling that the judgment day had actually come +rested upon many minds. But yet they were in a mistake. This darkness +commenced on the 19th of May, between the hours of 10 and 11 A.M., and +continued until the middle of the next night. Persons were unable to +read common print, determine the time of day by their clocks or +watches, dine, or manage their business, without additional light. +Candles were lighted in their houses. The birds sang their evening +songs, disappeared, and became silent. The fowls retired to roost. The +cocks were crowing all around, as at break of day. Objects could be +distinguished but at a very little distance, and every thing bore the +appearance and gloom of night. The legislature of Connecticut was in +session at this time, in Hartford city. A very general opinion +prevailed that the judgment day was at hand. The House of +Representatives, being unable to transact business, adjourned. A +proposal to adjourn the council was under consideration. When the +opinion of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, "I am against an +adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. +If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose +to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be +brought." + +A similar darkness has sometimes gathered over the city of London, in +consequence of a vast accumulation of smoke, so as to make it necessary +for passengers in the streets to use lighted torches at midday. In +1783, a great part of Europe was for weeks overspread with a haziness +of atmosphere which caused great consternation. The churches were +crowded with supplicants. The astronomer Lalande attempted to allay the +fright by endeavoring to account for the appearance, which he ascribed +to an uncommon exhalation of watery particles from the great rain of +the preceding year. But at last it was ascertained to be owing to +smoke, occasioned by the great eruption of the volcano Hecla, which +covered more than three thousand square miles with burning lava, in +some places to the depth of forty feet. Dr. Franklin was in Europe at +the time, and afterwards gave an account of the circumstances relating +to this uncommon eruption. In fact, immense issues of smoke, from fires +and volcanoes, have, from time immemorial, produced similar effects in +different countries. + +We will subjoin a few remarkable appearances that have taken place in +the heavens, that the reader may at once perceive that in scarcely any +age of the world have its inhabitants been destitute of some _sign_, +that might, to the timid and uninformed, be considered as the +prognostication of some awful catastrophe about to happen. + +In 1574, on the 15th of November, _large and terrific beams of fiery +light_ were seen during the night. And similar appearances are noted in +Vogel's Chronicles, as having occurred in November, 1637, and 1661. In +the old Breslau Collections, there is mention made of a large _moonlike +meteor_, which passed off with an explosion, on the 10th of November, +1721; and of a great _fire-flash_, or _flame-emitting comet_, on the +12th day. According to Vogel's Chronicles, there appeared on the 30th +November, 1663, _a large cross_, and other signs in the skies. On the +11th of August, 1561, there was seen, in the forenoon, _a very +remarkable red meteor_, emitting frequent _flashes of light_. In 1717, +_numerous meteors_ were seen at Fryeburg; and at Utchland, in August, +1715. On the 10th of August, 1717, _a large fire-ball_ was seen in +Lusace, Silesia, Poland, and Hungary. In the Frankfort Chronicle of +July 29, 1694, it is mentioned that _the heavens were full of fiery +flames!_ as also again on the 9th of August. On February 22, 1719, _a +large fire-ball_ was seen in several places. On the 22d, 1720, _an +immense red cross_ was seen at Novogorod and Kiew; and on the 19th, +1722, _a huge fire-ball_! + +What would the Millerites think, if they should now see "an immense red +cross in the heavens," "a remarkable red meteor, emitting flashes of +light during the night," or "a blood-red appearance of the sun and +moon," and "showers of falling stars in extraordinary numbers"? These +things are as likely to happen at the present day as they were a +hundred years ago, and still the world remains as it has remained. + +Just before the last return of Halley's comet, an article was published +in a religious paper in this state, going to show that the world would +probably be struck and set on fire by a comet, and that, most likely, +Halley's would be the one to do it, as it was coming much nearer the +earth than it had ever been before. The editor seemed to be ignorant +that the quantity of matter that enters into the constitution of a +comet is exceedingly small, and that the comet of 1770, which was quite +large and bright, passed through the midst of Jupiter's satellites +without deranging their motions in the least perceptible degree. +Comets, it is believed, consist of exceedingly rare vapor; indeed, so +much so, that some philosophers say that our thinnest clouds are dense +in comparison. And yet this exceedingly thin vapor was to dash the +world to atoms, or set it on fire, it was not fully determined which. + +Whether comets, or any unusual appearances in the sky, are to be +considered as _signs_ prognosticating the final dissolution of all +things, as being near at hand, is for each to determine for himself. +And in forming a judgment upon the subject, we may surely be permitted +to exercise the common sense which God has given us. To lay this aside, +and judge only by _feeling_ or _fancy_, is to criminally reject a light +which we are _sure_ is from God, and follow one which _may_ prove an +_ignis fatuus_, and land us in the quagmire of infidelity. If the +Scripture signs are to receive a _literal_ fulfilment, we may +reasonably expect that they will conform to the four following tests:-- + +1. They will appear _near_ the event of which they are intended as the +harbinger; probably within the generation of those who will be living +at the end of the world. + +2. They will be witnessed in all parts of the earth, because all are +alike interested. + +3. They may _all_ be expected to appear, and not a single class of +phenomena without the other. + +4. They will be such as will impress intelligent minds with their +strangeness and peculiarity. + +The Aurora Borealis conforms not to any of these tests. It has been +seen for centuries, and is confined to the northern portions of the +globe; having rarely, if ever, been seen so far north as the thirtieth +degree of north latitude. And, as we have before remarked, the darkness +of 1780 was confined principally to New England. And from a careful +examination of all the accounts we have been able to collect of +meteoric showers of the last and present century, the whole of them +together have occupied a space on the globe less than one eighth of its +surface. The shower of 1799 was probably the most extensive. Its centre +was near the middle of the Atlantic; its edges touched the northern +parts of South America, the coast of Labrador and Greenland, and the +western shores of Europe and Africa. That of 1833 may be represented on +a six-inch globe by the space occupied by a dollar. Such magnificent +scenes are calculated to impress the mind with awe; yet it is +surprising that many intelligent persons should suppose them to be the +precursors of the final conflagration. If the simple but reasonable +tests we have given be correct, they are disarmed of their character as +ominous of the destruction of the world. + +With regard to any changes in the order or succession of the heavenly +bodies, it is only necessary to observe, that hundreds of scientific +men, in Europe and America, have for many years been employed in +exploring the material heavens with the most powerful telescopes. Many +are employed, by the governments of Europe, in astronomical +observations, scattered over the earth, for the express purpose of +making new discoveries, if possible, and of furthering the interests of +science. No phenomenon escapes their notice; and should any thing +extraordinary occur, it would appear before the public, vouched by +names that would command universal credence. It may be unnecessary to +add, that no such changes in the planets and fixed stars, as have been +proclaimed to the world by some of the second advent preachers, have +been observed by learned astronomers and men of science. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. + + +In no age, says a popular writer, has the world been destitute of those +who professed, by some instrumentality or other, to hold intercourse +with departed spirits. Neither has any age been without its reputed +spectres, ghosts, or apparitions. The high priest of the Buddhist and +Hindoo temples, in former times, when arrayed in the consecrated +garments for the festivals, wore a round knob, about the size of a +large pendent drop of a chandelier, suspended from his neck by a chain +of great value and of dazzling brilliancy. It was through the agency of +this crystal that he was supposed to hold communion with the spirit or +spirits to whom he and his followers accorded devotion and made +intercessions; and the glass, acting as did the famed oracle of Delphi, +gave orders and commands, and settled all great questions that might be +submitted to its spiritual master. The priest, although he might be a +pattern of purity, and the quintessence of all that was good, having, +however, the sin of being in years, and not able, perhaps, to hide from +the spirit inhabiting the crystal all the transactions of his youth, +could not hold a direct communication with it. To arrange this, a +certain number of boys, and sometimes, in some of the temples, young +damsels, were retained, who, having never mixed with the world, could +not be supposed to be in any way contaminated by its vices. These alone +were said to be capable of beholding the spirit when he chose to make +his appearance in the divining glass, and interpreting to and fro the +questions put and answers received. Although it was not every boy or +_seer_ to whom was permitted the gift of spiritual vision, yet in +latter times, when divining crystals multiplied, little ragged boys +would run after the passers in the streets, and offer to _see_ any +thing that might be required of them, for a trifling gift, even a cake +or sweetmeat. In Egypt, the divining glass is superseded by putting a +blot of thick black fluid into the palm of a boy's hand, and commanding +him to see various people and things; of which practice Lane, in his +Modern Egyptians, gives some curious disclosures. + +Divining mirrors were not confined to the East. Dr. Dee was the first +English impostor who vaunted the possession of one of these priceless +treasures. He had for the _seer_ one Keily, an Irishman; and to this, +doubtless, was attributable the impression that prevailed among the +astrologers and amateur spirit hunters, that when the spirits +condescended to speak, they always gave speech with a very strong spice +of the brogue. This "beryl," as it is called, was preserved among the +Strawberry Hill curiosities, and fell under the hammer of George +Robbins at the memorable sale. It proved to be a globe of _cannel +coal_. In Aubrey's Miscellany there is an engraving of another +larger crystal, and there are with it many wonderful stories. Yet, +notwithstanding the magic capabilities of these mirrors, they went out +of fashion until the beginning of the year 1850. + +This revival and its consequences are like a page out of a silly +romance. The story, if told by a disinterested historian, would require +authentication as belonging to 1850. We therefore turn, by way of +voucher, to a publication called Zadkiel's Almanac for 1851. At page +46, after referring to the existence of magic crystals at the present +day, the writer, says, "One of large size was a few years ago brought +over to England by a friend of Lady Blessington, after the sale of +whose effects, it recently fell into the hands of a friend of mine; +and, having tested its powers, I have resolved on giving my readers an +account of this wonderful mode of communicating with the spirits of the +dead. The crystal is spherical, and has been turned from a large mass +of pure rock crystal. I have been shown some few others, but, with the +exception of one shown me by Lord S., they are all much smaller. These +smaller ones are said to be consecrated to angels of the planets, and +are, therefore, far less powerful than Lady Blessington's crystal, +which, being consecrated to the Archangel of the Sun, Michael, may be +consulted during four hours each day, whereas the others can generally +be used only for a very brief space of time; nor can very potent +spirits be called into them, or made to render themselves visible. In +this larger crystal is given most important information of the actual +existence of the soul after death, and of the state in which it exists +and will exist until the judgment." + +"The first intimation we received," says Dickens, in his Household +Words, "of the revival of this notable practice of divination, was +about six months ago, when we were casually informed that the son of a +distinguished officer of the royal navy was, at that time, frequently +engaged in developing, before a few privileged friends, the +extraordinary faculty of being able to hold intercourse with the world +of spirits. It was added that the revelations made through the medium +of this youth were of so wonderful a nature, and carried such +conviction to the minds of those who listened, that they were declared +to be the result of more than human power." + +The conjurer was asked, on one occasion, to describe Lord Nelson. And, +accordingly, the spirit, with an accuracy that was quite astonishing, +considering that no portrait, bust, or statue of Nelson is known to +exist, gave a full, true, and particular account of England's hero, +describing him as a very thin man, in a cocked hat, with only one eye, +one arm, &c.; and the truth of the description was declared to be +something truly marvellous. + +A demand was made that the spirit of a deceased brother of one of the +querists should be summoned to appear. Presently he said, "I see him; +he has curly hair, and stoops a good deal. I can't exactly see his +features, but I think he squints." This account of her late brother's +personal appearance, though not very flattering, satisfied the lady as +far as it went; but being, like Macbeth,-- + + "... bent to know, + By the worst means, the worst," + +she required further proof of his identity. There was a pause for a +minute or two, and then the spirit seer spoke again--"He has got a +scroll in his hand, which he unfolds; there is this inscription on it, +in _letters of fire_:-- + + 'I AM TOM!'" + +This sublime revelation was received with a degree of solemn awe, and +with suppressed throes of well-bred laughter. + +Other cases not a whit less marvellous have been described by the +narrators, who could not be reasoned out of their absurdity, insisting +that there could be no deception in the matter, on account of the means +employed, and the evident sincerity of the _employés_! These means, +they said, required that the person who looked into the crystal should +be perfectly _pure_; that is to say, a child free from sin, and by no +means given to lying, and that the form of adjuration used was, "_In +nomine Domini_," &c.; Latin being, as is well known, the language which +spirits of all denominations are most accustomed to. When interrogated +after this fashion, the spirit, if evil, fled away howling; if good, it +came, when called, unless particularly engaged _in the sun_; for it +appears that it is to that planet almost all spirits go when their term +of purgatory is over. It seems that the spirits would sometimes get out +of breath, travelling so far, and talking so much; and they then had +recourse to the expedient of _letters of fire_, which seemed to be +_written_ in various ways in the crystal; sometimes on flags, which the +spirits hold up, but sometimes they are in _print_. In these letters of +fire, the querist was counselled something like the following: "Be +merry. Quarrel not. Keep your temper, and your children too. You are a +good man, but try to be better. I am wanted. Let me go." + +We subjoin the following as specimens of conversations heard by large +parties of amazed, titled, and believing listeners: "Are you Pharaoh, +that was king of Egypt?" "Yes." "Where do you dwell now?" "In Jupiter." +"How long have you been there?" "About thirty years." "Where did you +dwell till then?" "In the atmosphere, and was undergoing punishment +till then." "Were you king of Egypt when Moses was there?" "Yes, _and +Aaron too_." "Did you build the pyramids?" "_Some._" "Were any built +before your time?" "Yes." "Do you know how long the first was built +before Christ?" "About three hundred years after Adam; it was built +then." "Do you mean that it was built before the flood?" "No, it was +not finished; the flood destroyed them." "What was the principal object +of them?" "To hold the kings of Egypt." "Were there kings of Egypt so +soon after the creation?" "Yes; that was the first country kings were +in." "Were you drowned in the Red Sea?" "_Yes._" + +At one time Swedenborg volunteered to give information about Sir John +Franklin, when the following dialogue took place: "What is the best way +to communicate with him?" "By the natives; they speak to him +sometimes." "Will he be home next summer?" "No." "Why?" "Because he +cannot help himself; he is stopped by ice; but his heart does not fail +him; he wants to explore." "How will he do for provisions?" "He will +find _bears_, _dogs_, and _wolves_." "Will he find the passage?" "No; +there is a continent there." "But there is also a passage." "There is +one, but he will not find it." "What latitude does he lie in chiefly?" +"I do not know: _good by_." It appears strange that Swedenborg, who +knew so much, did not know this. But we learn in another place that +"spirits do not _well_ understand about latitude and longitude." +Socrates's appearance is described as follows: "A tall, middle-aged +man, rather bald, dressed with striped coarse trousers, very loose at +the top, and tight at the bottom; a kind of frock, open in the front, +and without sleeves. He is generally employed in singing praises, but +was not quite happy." Alexander the Great appeared on horseback, in +armor, the horse also in armor; deeply regrets killing Clitus, and all +the murders he perpetrated; amuses himself in fighting his battles over +again. + +To give these things a sort of _éclat_ and popularity with the public, +Zadkiel sums up the whole in the following language: "In concluding +this account, I may remark that _numerous children_ have seen these +visions, some of them the sons and daughters of persons of high rank; +and that _several adults_ have also seen visions, one of them a lady of +title, and another a member of one of the highest families in England. +It will be seen that delicacy prevents my naming individuals; but I can +assure my readers that _above one hundred of the nobility_, and several +hundreds of other highly respectable ladies and gentlemen, have +examined this wonderful phenomenon, and have expressed the highest +gratification and astonishment." + +Dickens declares it to be "the fashion, especially among people of +fashion, to point with pity to a tale of modern witchcraft, to an +advertisement of a child's caul, or to the _bona fide_ certificates of +cases from the takers of quack medicines, and to deplore the ignorance +of their inferiors. Delusions, however, of the grossest kind are not +confined to the illiterate. A cloud of dupes have ever floated about in +the higher regions of society; while it is quite a mistake to suppose +that the refinements and discoveries of the nineteenth century have +dispersed them. The reign of Queen Victoria, like that of Elizabeth and +Anne, has its Dr. Dees, and Lillys, and Partridges, who are as +successful as their precursors in gaining proselytes who can pay +handsomely. Damsels of high degree, fresh from boarding school, with +heads more full of sympathy for the heroes and heroines of fashionable +novels, and ideas more fixed upon love affairs than on any legitimate +studies, can easily find out, through mysteriously-worded +advertisements in the Sunday papers, or through the ready agency of +friends who have already become victims of the 'science' of astrology +and magic, the whereabouts of these awful and wonderful beings. There +are a number of styles and classes of them, all varying in appearance +and mode of operations. There are the old women, who, consoled by the +glories of their art, repine not at inhabiting comfortless garrets in +the purlieus of the New Cut, Lambeth; and hiding their vocation under +the mask of having stay laces or infallible corn plasters to sell, +receive more visitors from the fashionable cream of Belgravia than from +the dross of Bermondsey. Disguises are sometimes resorted to, and +parties of titled ladies have been known to meet, and put on the +habiliments of 'charwomen,' and to pass themselves off as dress-makers. +There is an old man, with unshaven beard and seldom-washed face, who +lives in more comfortable circumstances, with his son, in Southwark, +(the favored district of the conjurers,) who, to keep up appearances, +has 'Engineer' hugely engraved on a great brass plate over the door, +who casts nativities, and foretells events of the future, for three or +five shillings, as the appearance of the visitor will warrant him in +demanding; receives all his votaries sitting at a terribly littered +table of dirty paper, with a well-smoked clay pipe beside him. Passing +to a higher grade, the 'agent,' or arranger of matters, legal, +pecuniary, or domestic, only practises the black art for the love he +bears it, and to oblige his friends, but never refuses a few shillings' +fee, out of respect to the interests of the science. Nearly all his +customers are people of title." + +We now come to speak of events in our own country which seem to be +somewhat akin to those which have so recently transpired in England. We +allude to what are familiarly termed "rappers," or "knocking spirits," +from the _noises_ which they are said to make. + +From a history of these _knockings_, as given in a pamphlet by Capron +and Barron, of Auburn, New York, we learn that they were first heard in +the family of Mr. Michael Weekman, in the town of Arcadia, Wayne +county. He resided in the house where the noises were heard about +eighteen months, and left it some time in the year 1847. He relates +that one evening, about bedtime, he heard a rapping on the outside +door, when he stepped to the door and opened it, but, to his surprise, +found no one there. He went back, and proceeded to undress, when, just +before getting into bed, he heard another rap at the door loud and +distinct. He stepped to the door quickly and opened it, but, as before, +found no one there. He stepped out, and looked around, supposing that +some one was imposing upon him. He could discover no one, and went back +into the house. After a short time he heard the rapping again; he +stepped (it being often repeated) and held on the latch, so that he +might ascertain if any one had taken that means to annoy him. The +rapping was repeated; the door was instantly opened, but no one was to +be seen. He could feel the jar of the door very plainly when the +rapping was heard. As he opened the door, he sprung out, and went +around the house, but no one was in sight. His family were fearful to +have him go out, lest some one intended to harm him. It always remained +a mystery to him; and finally, as the rapping did not at that time +continue, it passed from his mind, till some time afterwards, when, one +night, their little girl, then about eight years of age, was heard to +scream from fright, so that the family were all alarmed by her cries, +and went to her assistance. This was about midnight. She told them that +something like a hand had passed over her face and head; that she had +felt it on the bed and all over her, but did not feel alarmed until it +touched her face. + +It seems that Mr. Weekman soon after moved away from the house, and +nothing more was heard of the rapping, or other manifestations, till it +was occupied by the family of Mr. John D. Fox, who have since become so +conspicuous with "the advent of spirits." In March, 1848, they, for the +first time, heard the "mysterious sounds," which seemed to be like a +slight knocking in one of the bed rooms on the floor. It was in the +evening, just after they had retired. At that time the whole family +occupied one room, and all distinctly heard the rapping. They arose, +and searched with a light, but were unable to find the cause of the +knocking. It continued that night until they all fell asleep, which was +not until nearly or quite midnight. From this time the noise continued +to be heard every night. + +After having been disturbed and broken of their rest for several nights +in a vain attempt to discover from whence the sounds proceeded, they +resolved, on the evening of the 31st of March, that this night they +would not be disturbed by it, whatever it might be. But Mr. Fox had not +yet retired when the usual signs commenced. The girls, who occupied +another bed in the same room, heard the sounds, and endeavored to +imitate them by snapping their fingers. The attempt was made by the +youngest girl, then about twelve years old. When she made the noise +with her fingers, the sounds were repeated just as she made them. When +she stopped snapping her fingers, the sounds stopped for a short time. +One of the other girls then said, in _sport_, (for they were getting to +be more amused than alarmed,) "Now do what I do; count one, two, three, +four, five, six," &c., at the same time striking one hand in the other. +The same number of blows or sounds were repeated as in the former case. +Mrs. Fox then spoke, and said, "Count ten," and there were ten distinct +strokes or sounds. She then said, "Will you tell the age of Cathy?" +(one of her children;) and it was given by the same number of raps that +she was years of age. In like manner the age of her different children +was told correctly by this _unseen visitor_. + +Mrs. Fox then asked, if it was a _human_ being that made the noise, to +manifest it by making the same noise. There was no answer to this +request. She then asked if it was a _spirit_, and if so to manifest it +by making two distinct sounds. Instantly she heard two raps, as she +desired. She then proceeded to know or inquire if it was an injured +spirit, and if so to answer in the same way, and the rapping was +repeated. In this way it answered her until she ascertained that it +purported to be the spirit of a man who was murdered in that house by a +person that had occupied it some years before; that he was a _pedler_, +and that he was murdered for his money. To the question _how old he +was_, there were _thirty-one_ distinct raps. By the same means it was +ascertained that he was a married man, and had left a wife and five +children; that his wife had been dead two years. + +We might relate a little different manoeuvre in the case of the _ghost_ +that appeared in Waltham, Massachusetts, a few years since. A +superstitious old man, by the name of McClarren, a mechanic, purchased +a lot of turf that had been piled up in a meadow about half way between +his workshop and place of residence. Upon returning to his work from +supper, he used to take a basket with him, and fill it at the turf heap +on his return late in the evening. It was on one of these occasions +that the reputed ghost first appeared to him, and caused him some +alarm, when he dare not linger to reconnoitre this strange and +unexpected visitor. He resolved, however, to muster courage the next +evening to accost the figure, should it again appear to him. +Accordingly, he went with a large Bible open in his hands; and as the +ghost appeared, he followed it till it crossed a ditch, when he was +requested by the same to proceed no farther. Thus they stood, facing +each other, on either side of the ditch, when the following +conversation took place between them:-- + +_Ques._ By McClarren. "I demand of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, +our once crucified God, whether you are mortal or immortal?" + +_Ans._ "I am not mortal." + +_Ques._ "What, then, are you?" + +_Ans._ "I am the spirit of a murdered man." + +_Ques._ "By whom were you murdered?" + +_Ans._ "By ----, of Waltham." + +_Ques._ "Where does your body lie?" + +_Ans._ "In yonder pond, behind me." + +It is supposed that this affair was got up in an innocent mood, merely +to test the strength of McClarren's faith in ghosts. But it caused a +wide-spread excitement; and some, who were thought to be concerned in +its projection, were prosecuted and brought before a justice for +examination, although nothing was proved. McClarren testified under +oath, that he believed it to be a real ghost; "_its tones_," he said, +"were so _unearthly_," "and when it moved its motion was not like that +in walking, but it glided along like a swan, or a boat in the water." +He was neither to be reasoned nor laughed out of it. He would believe +it to the day of his death. You might as well tell him he was not a +living being, as to tell him he had not seen a living ghost. + +The advocates of the "influx from the world of spirits into our own" +claim in its behalf many astonishing miracles. Chairs, tables, and beds +are moved up or down, to and fro, &c. At Auburn, New York, on one +occasion, sounds on the wall, bureau, table, floor, and other places +were heard as loud as the striking with a hammer. The table was moved +about the room, and turned over and back. Two men in the company +undertook to hold a chair down, while, at their request, a spirit moved +it; and, notwithstanding they exerted all their strength, the chair +could not be held still by them--a proof that spirits are far more +strong and powerful than men. On another occasion, the sounds proper to +a carpenter's shop were heard, apparently proceeding from the wall and +table. Sawing, planing, and pounding with a mallet were imitated, it is +said, _to the life_. Some gentlemen were at the house of the Fox family +at one time, and were conducted into a _dark room_. They called for the +sounds to be made like a band of martial music. As they requested, the +sounds were produced; the playing of the instruments and the heavy +beating of the bass drum were perfectly imitated, together with the +sound of the roar of distant cannon. Shall we not gather from this, +that in the spirit world they have their bands of music and companies +of artillery, the same as in this world? We are also told of the spirit +or spirits playing on a guitar in a _dark_ room, the guitar being +taken from the hands of those who held it and put in tune, and played +while it passed around the room above their heads. On one occasion, as +it is said, it played an accompaniment, for nearly two hours, to some +persons engaged in singing, being very exact both in time and tune. On +one occasion, while several ladies were present, some of them requested +that the spirits would take their hair down. Accordingly it was done. +One of them had her hair taken down and done up in a twist, and one of +them had hers braided in four strands. Sometimes persons have felt a +hand passing over or touching their arms, head, or face, leaving a +feeling of electricity upon the part touched; and the hand that thus +touches them will, by request, instantly change from a natural warmth +to the coldness of ice. + +In answer to the question, "Why do these spirits require a dark room to +play upon instruments of music, or to take hold of persons," they +answer by saying that "they assume a tangible form in order to do these +things, and we are not yet prepared for such a visitation." + +To the inquiry how it is they make the rapping noises that generally +accompany their visits to this world, they answer, that "they are made +by the will of the spirits causing a concussion of the atmosphere, and +making the sounds appear in whatever place they please." + +A Mrs. Draper, of Rochester, New York, had an interview with Dr. +Franklin, at one time, while she was in a magnetized state. She said he +appeared to be busily employed in establishing a line of communication +between the two worlds by means of these "rappings." On another +occasion, while in a clairvoyant state, at her own house, sounds were +heard in exact imitation of those heard in the telegraph office. These +sounds were so unusual, that Miss Margaretta Fox, who was present, +became alarmed, and said, "What does all this mean?" Mrs. Draper +replied, "_He is trying the batteries_." Soon there was a signal for +the alphabet, and the following communication was spelled out to the +company present. "Now I am ready, my friends. There will be great +changes in the nineteenth century. Things that now look dark and +mysterious to you, will be laid plain before your sight. Mysteries are +going to be revealed. The world will be enlightened. I sign my name, +Benjamin Franklin." + +It seems that, in the early history of these rappings, they used to be +without any limitations as to whether persons were in a magnetized +state or not. The first we learn of magnetism being employed as a +_medium_ of communication is in the case of a daughter of Lyman +Granger, in Rochester, New York. For a long time, answers could be +obtained by any _two_ (why _two_?) of the family standing near each +other. And in the freedom of the answers, no preference seemed to be +manifested towards any particular members of the family. At length, one +of his daughters was placed under the influence of magnetism, and +became clairvoyant. From that time none of the family could get +communications unless the daughter who was magnetized was present. Why +the communications should leave all the family except the magnetized +daughter, after they once had free conversation without her, remains to +be explained. The whole business now seems to be pretty much, if not +wholly, monopolized by the clairvoyants. They seem to be employed as +agents, or mediums of correspondence, between the two worlds, acting as +interpreters between two classes of beings, or beings existing in two +different states, _natural_ and _spiritual_. They act as a kind of +_spiritual postmasters_ between the two countries. We find _spiritual +letter paper_, and _envelopes_ to enclose the same, advertised for +those who wish to avail themselves of an opportunity to write to their +deceased friends in the other spheres. Letters said to have been +written in the spirit world have been transmitted through the +established mediums to friends in this world, and have been published +in some of the papers devoted to these subjects. In the New York Daily +Tribune of February 28, 1851, we find the prospectus of a quarto +journal, to be published in Auburn, "to be dictated by spirits out of +the flesh, and by them edited, superintended, and controlled. Its +object is the disclosure of truth from Heaven, guiding mankind into +open vision of paradise, and open communication with redeemed spirits. +The circle of apostles and prophets are its conductors from the +interior, holding control over its columns, and permitting no article +to find place therein unless originated, dictated, or admitted by them: +they acting under direction of the Lord Supreme." + +We hope the information coming through its columns will be more +reliable than the communications from some of the "rapping spirits." No +dependence whatever can be placed upon them. They are so blundering, +awkward, and uncertain, and even trickish and deceitful, that they +spoil all our notions of the dignify and purity--the _spirituality_, in +fact--of the spiritual world. The advocates of the manifestations +attribute the fault to _ignorant spirits_, who do not know whether the +matter they attempt to speak of be true or not. Swedenborg says, "There +are some spirits so ignorant that they do not know but they are the +ones called for, when another is meant. And the only way to detect +them, in speaking, is by the difference of sound--that made by +intelligent spirits being clear and lively, and that of the ignorant +being low and muffled, like the striking of the hand upon a carpet." + +It is contended by the authors of the pamphlet from which we quote, +that these ignorant spirits will ultimately _progress_ to a state of +_intelligence_. But this idea of _progression_ seems to be at variance +with the observations of a writer in the Boston Post, who was +astonished at the wonderful precocity of little infants in the spirit +world. "I have known," says he, "the spirit of a child, only eighteen +months old when he died, and only three months in the second sphere, +show as much _intelligence_, and as perfect a command of our language, +as Dr. Channing himself seems to possess." On the other hand, when I +find that "the spirit of Dr. Channing cannot express an idea above the +rudimental conception of a mere child, I am forced to the conclusion +that his mental endowments must have greatly deteriorated since he left +us." + +It is said that the theological teachings of these spirits generally +agree with those of Davis, Swedenborg, and others who have claimed to +receive their impressions from spirits. Accordingly, we find them using +the term _higher and lower spheres_, instead of _heaven and hell_. +Swedenborg prophesied that the year 1852 would be the one to decide the +fate of his church or his doctrines; and Capron and Barron tell us that +"the probabilities now seem to be that his general spiritual theory +will, not far from that time, be very generally received." We presume +that the "mysterious rappings" are considered by them as so many omens +of such an event. And we may reasonably conclude that they are as +_decisive_ tests, as _sure_ prognostications, as were the various +celestial signs of the coming of the end of the world in 1843. The +believers in the "harmonial philosophy" have their miracles in +attestation of their theory; and so of the Millerites. On Saturday +evening, January 18, 1851, we are told by La Roy Sunderland, that Mrs. +Cooper (clairvoyant medium) was taken to Cambridge, by Mr. Fernald and +a friend, for the purpose of visiting a gentleman who had been confined +by a spinal difficulty some ten years or more. The spirits gave +beautiful responses for his consolation, and in the sight of all +present, _the sick man and his bed_ were moved by spiritual hands +alone. The sick man and the "bed whereon he lay" were both moved by +attending angels, without any human power. And more recently, a Mr. +Gordon, it is said, has been taken up and his body moved some distance +entirely by spiritual hands. Were such miracles ever wrought in favor +of Millerism? Most assuredly, if we are to believe the Millerites +themselves; and even more in favor of witchcraft also. At a meeting of +the friends of Millerism, held in Waltham, in 1842, a lady was taken +from her seat by some unseen power, and carried up to the ceiling of +the room; and she afterwards declared that it was done without any +effort on her part. More recently, (1851,) another lady of the same +place testifies that she has, in a similar manner, been taken from her +seat in church and carried up above the tops of the pews. And at times, +at the advent meetings, strange noises have been heard, houses also +have been shaken, mirrors shattered to pieces, and furniture broken, +and all have been considered by the Adventists as so many auguries or +signs of the approaching dissolution of all things, to take place in +1843. + +We have already made mention of the fact, in another place, that +bewitched persons used to be carried through the air, on brooms and +spits, to distant meetings, or Sabbaths, of witches. But we will now +give a case to the point. + +On the 8th of September, 1692, Mary Osgood, wife of Captain Osgood, of +Andover, was taken before John Hawthorne, and other of their majesties' +justices, when she confessed that, about two years before, she was +carried through the air, in company with Deacon Fry's wife, Ebenezer +Baker's wife, and Goody Tyler, to Five Mile Pond, where she was +baptized by the devil, and that she was transported back again through +the air, in company with the forenamed persons, in the same manner as +she went, and _believes_ they were carried on a _pole_! She was asked +by one of the justices, how many persons were upon the pole; to which +she answered, As I said before, viz., four persons, and no more, but +whom she had named above. + +Are not these cases to be relied upon as much as those related by Mr. +Sunderland? Could not _four_ respectable ladies tell whether they were +_actually_ carried through the air on a pole or _not_? _Could_ they be +deceived? Possibly, in the days of chloroform, or ether, it might have +been the case; but not at the period in which it actually occurred. + +Some of the bewitched persons, as in the case of Elizabeth Knap, of +Groton, alarmed the people by their _ventriloqual_ powers, in imitating +sounds and languages. And it would be nothing strange if some of our +modern witches were in possession of the same talent. No wonder that +the editor of one of the Boston papers should have ventured the +opinion, that if some of these persons had lived two hundred years ago, +they would have been hanged for witchcraft. + +It appears to us, that if we believe in all that is alleged of the +rapping spirits, and their manifestations, we must be prepared to +indorse all that has been published of witches and ghosts, spooks and +hobgoblins, in every age of the world, which, at present, we are not at +all inclined to do. We do not believe that any of the noises heard, or +any of the information given, has proceeded from beings out of the +normal state. We are rather inclined to adhere to the sentiment +contained in the old couplet:-- + + "Where men _believe_ in witches, witches are; + But where they don't believe, there are none there." + +We once went to stay over night in a house said to be haunted, the +house being empty at the time, the family who had occupied it having +actually been frightened away by the noises they had heard. But, +strange to tell, we did not hear any _noises_, neither did we expect +to. There was a house in Green Street, Boston, formerly occupied by the +celebrated Dr. Conway, which, after his decease, was said to be +haunted. A young man of our acquaintance never passed that house late +at night but every window in it appeared to be illuminated. And +finally, he became so alarmed about it, that as soon as he approached +the vicinity of the house, he would commence running, and continue to +run till it was out of sight. We have frequently known him to cross the +ice on Charles River to avoid passing the house. And still, we often +passed the same house, at late hours of the night, without seeing any +thing unusual. And we know of no reason why, unless it was because we +did not believe in such things, which our friend actually did. _Faith_ +alone made the difference. + +One of the believers in the "spirit rappings" tells us that "_if_ these +things are emanations from the spirit world, we are bound to believe +them." True, _if_ they are; but this little conjunctive _if_ is a word +of very _doubtful_ meaning. We have already shown how Mr. Miller kept +the whole world standing thirty years on this same little _if_; and +then it did not end in 1843, as he supposed it would. We must, +therefore, be cautious how we depend upon a simple _if_. + +But we are told that, as honest persons, we are bound to believe what +we cannot disprove by actual demonstration. But let us examine this for +a moment. The Greenlanders have an idea that thunder is caused by two +old women flapping seal skins in the moon. Now, who has ever been up in +the moon to ascertain whether it is so or not? Again, they say that the +Aurora Borealis is owing to the spirits of their fathers frisking at +football. Who can say it is not so? And yet _we_ reject such belief on +account of its apparent absurdity. Some of the ancients have told us +that the earth stands upon the back of a tortoise, or upon that of an +elephant; and yet, without investigation, a majority of mankind reject +the idea as being perfectly ridiculous. We might here remark, that no +less a scholar than the great mathematician Kepler attempted to prove +that the earth is a vast animal, and that the tides are occasioned by +the heavings of its prodigious lungs. + +Many of the performances of jugglers and ventriloquists puzzle us, and +yet we do not believe there is any thing supernatural in them. Signor +Blitz once called upon the ladies in the hall where he was giving an +exhibition to pass him a handkerchief with their name stamped upon it, +and he would put it into a pistol and fire it off in their presence, +and it should be found in the steeple of a church some quarter of a +mile distant, and yet not a window or a door should be open on the +occasion. A committee of honest and respectable men were despatched +from the hall to the house of the church sexton, the keys procured, +with a lantern, when the belfry was ascended, the handkerchief found +hanging on the tongue of the bell, and returned to the lady, who +instantly recognized it as the identical handkerchief she passed into +the hands of the performer. Now, who could prove that the thing alleged +was not _actually_ done? and yet who will _believe_ that it was? + +We have heard distant sounds of music, and other imitations of men, +birds, and animals, that deceived our sense of hearing, knowing that +they were produced by the power of ventriloquism. We have seen things +moved from place to place by _magnetic attraction_, and we do not think +it at all strange that so light an instrument as a guitar could be thus +attracted to different parts of a room by an _unseen power_, especially +in a _dark_ room, and its tones be imitated by a being as yet in the +_normal_ state. A guitar will give vibrations of its tones to the +concussions of the air, caused by the conversation of persons present; +and a stranger to the fact might possibly interpret these vibrations as +something quite mysterious, and suppose the instrument, as it stood +alone, to be touched by some spirit hand. When people's minds, or their +imaginations, get wrought up to a certain pitch, the most trifling +things are looked upon as wonderful phenomena. Every thing is _new_, +and _strange_, and _appalling_. We hear of the doings of the spirits at +Rochester, and other places, and which are called the "ushering in of a +_new science_." "We know of what we speak," says the pamphlet before +us, "we _know_ they are _facts, strange, new_, and to many +_wonderful_!" (See page 43.) And yet the authors introduce several +pages from a work by Dr. Adam Clarke to show that, as early as 1716, +the Wesley family were troubled by noises made by the "knocking +spirits," and that "the present manifestations have no claim to the +credit of originality." The cracking of hazel nuts upon Martin Luther's +bed posts, and the racket and rumbling upon his chamber stairs, as if +many empty barrels and hogs-heads had been tumbling down, claim still +greater antiquity, and belong to the same category or chapter of +wonderful events. + +It is said to be impossible that any mere human being could inform +persons, with whom they never had any previous knowledge or +acquaintance, of the past, present, and future events of their +lives--whether they are married or single, the number of their children +living and dead, age, health, business, letters expected, the +whereabout of long-absent friends, &c. It is supposed that such +information must indeed emanate from the spirit world. Yet precisely +such things are and always have been told, more or less, by astrologers +and fortune tellers, without any pretensions to being in league with +spirits of the other worlds. We have said that fortune tellers do not +always tell correctly; but, as poor an opinion as we have of them, we +will venture to assert that they are full as correct, if not more so, +in the information they give, as the members of the Fox family, or any +of their contemporaries, of the alleged _spiritual_ manifestations. + +Persons of sane mind, though ever so ignorant of arithmetic or +orthography, can tell at least how many children they have, and are +usually able to spell their own names; but one who has spent a good +deal of time in witnessing the performances of the _spirit rappers_, +says, "They seem to be unwilling or unable to answer purely test +questions, like that of answering their own names. I have never known +them to do this," says he, "though often solicited." He also speaks of +their great deficiency in mathematics, not being able to enumerate the +number of children they have on earth with any thing like accuracy. "I +am aware that such questions have sometimes been correctly answered, +and I have heard them so answered; but I have much more frequently +known them to refuse entirely, or to do it very awkwardly, or to fail +entirely in the attempt. Out of five numbers four were erroneously +selected as the right one. The fifth was right, of course. This goes to +show, at least, that spirits have greatly _deteriorated_, rather than +_improved_, while inhabiting the celestial spheres." But this is not +all. The facility of communication between the two classes of beings is +also on the decline. The time was when ghosts or spirits held free +conversation with those they visited, without calling in the aid of +clairvoyancy or electricity. Neither did they resort, like modern +spirits, to the slow and clumsy mode of communication, through the +letters of the alphabet. In spelling out a sentence by letters, one of +the ladies commences repeating the alphabet; and when the desired +letter is mentioned, a rap is heard. In this slow and tedious process, +long sentences are communicated. No wonder that the slowness of the +mode of communication should be considered as "perfectly appalling." +And then, too, the substance of these communications is too absurd and +ridiculous to be believed. We might here refer to the information given +by the prophet Swedenborg himself, in relation to the condition of the +pious Melancthon in the future state, that he was sometimes in an +excavated stone chamber, and at other times in hell; and when in the +chamber, he was covered with bear skins to protect him from the cold; +and that he refuses to see visitors from this world on account of the +filthiness of his apartment. This is about as probable and interesting +as the account given by a female clairvoyant in Cleveland, Ohio, who +says that she has (just) had an interview with Tom Paine, "who recants +his errors, and is at present stopping with General Washington and +Ethan Allen, at a hotel kept by John Bunyan." + +We here introduce the following from one of the Boston papers:-- + +"_The 'Spiritual Rappings' exploded._--There is a good article under +this head, on the first page, to which we invite attention. The +writer is an accomplished scholar, an able physician, and one of the +first and best magnetizers in this country. He has investigated the +'rappings'--tested them theoretically and practically, and 'exploded' +them, if our readers have not already done so for themselves. His +communication is entitled to weight, and if circulated, as it should +be, among the credulous and unsuspecting, might save some from the +pitiful effects of a mischievous, absurd, and contemptible +superstitious delusion." + +The article is as follows:-- + +"About the 16th of December last, I called on Mr. Sunderland, in good +faith, in order to hear and see manifestations from the spirit world. +He received me in a friendly manner, and, with a young lady who was +with me, seated me in the spirit room. We had to wait an hour or more, +and while seated we devoutly invoked the spirits. Finding them silent, +I put on them some of my most powerful mesmeric electric formula. They +persevered, however, in preserving profound silence. + +"When, however, the medium, Mrs. Cooper, had arrived, and seven of us, +four gentlemen and three ladies, were seated round a square centre +table, the responses were made, and came freely. The young lady with +me, willing to believe, but wishing to know with absolute certainty, +before she assented to the truth of the proposition, that the rappings +were made by spirits, and not by the persons engaged in the business, +had seated herself about three feet from the table, so that she could +see under it. The following dialogue then ensued between Mrs. Cooper, +her adopted sister, and the young lady:-- + +"'Will you sit close to the table, miss?' + +"'If they are spirits, they can rap just as well where I am. I am +willing to be convinced, and where I am I can hear perfectly well.' + +"'The rule is, to sit close to the table.' + +"'I will not disturb, but choose to sit where I am.' + +"'If you will not comply with the regulation, you had better go into +the other room.' + +"'I came to know, and I shall sit where I am.' + +"She was inflexible, and the work proceeded. When my turn came, I could +put no test question, and was so told. I saw and felt that there was +collusion, and, ashamed of myself as being the dupe of supposed and +known imposition, after enduring the hour's sitting, I arose with the +full conviction that all was the effect of bones and muscles, and of +mesmeric action and reaction on the subjects themselves. While we were +examining a piano which was used on such occasions, and our backs were +turned towards the table, standing partly sidewise, I caught a glimpse +of Mrs. Cooper's foot in the very position and act of commencing a +spirit somerset on the table. She looked confused. I appeared not to +have fully recognized any thing wrong, thanked them for their father's +kindness and their attention, and left the domicil of the 'spiritual +philosopher' under a full, stern, and abiding conviction that _there_ +was not the abiding place of invisible beings--that all was mechanical +which we heard, and all that any one had heard or seen was mechanical +or mesmeric. + +"The second opportunity I had of testing the truth or falsity of these +spirit communications was in the city of Lowell. Every thing was +favorable as to place, time, and company. My eyes were every where, and +raps came seldom and solitary. The medium dropped from between his +fingers a small black pencil, about two inches long, with which I +believe he made the raps. After it fell, we heard no more. He looked +despairingly disappointed, soon went into a trance, arose, locked us +into the room, and when the hour had transpired, came out voluntarily. + +"Invited by a friend who was anxious to convince me more fully, and +especially to convert the young lady who was with me at Mr. +Sunderland's, he called at my house with the medium, and was received +into my office. The young lady requested that we should stand around +the table, and no one touch it. We did so. On the first response, she +exclaimed, indignantly, addressing the medium, 'That, sir, was from +your foot; I heard it distinctly!' He looked guilty, and his eyes +flashed with anger. He asked the spirits if it was not 'nonsense,' and +received the response from the foot, 'yes,' and left, evidently highly +incensed. + +"I determined to give one more trial to the spirits. In this latter +case, there were the three raps, clear and strong, and the answers +highly satisfactory, as far as they went. But the difficulty was, that +the spirits were capricious, and would respond only to just such as +they saw fit; and the medium was pretty well acquainted with me. The +perfect regularity of the knocks, and the sound, convinced me that, in +this instance, it was purely mechanical. I endeavored to get the secret +from the medium, and the answer was, 'If I should tell you, you would +be as wise as myself.' She evidently knew how it was done. + +"I will now state a few facts, and conclude. 1. Wood is an excellent +conductor of sounds. A small worm, called at the south a sawyer, and +sought for angling, can be heard three yards, as it gnaws between the +wood and bark of a fallen pine; and the slightest scratch of a pin, on +the end of an isolated mast, sixty feet long, can be heard distinctly. + +"2. In mesmeric operations, we well know that individuals _can be +made to hear and see things that never occurred or existed_, and yet +the subjects remain unconscious that they have been made the +_subjects of mesmeric hallucination_! + +"3. Persons highly observant and susceptible can, by their eye and +feeling, when they put themselves into a semi-abnormal condition, tell, +in many instances nine times out of ten, who is and who is not a +believer, _and what is in the mind of the inquirer_. + +"4. Mediums are invariably of this character. + +"5. In matters of faith, friendship, love, or the spirit world, many +are willing to be deceived; and when they fall into the hands of the +shrewd and designing, who can appear the impersonation of truth, +virtue, honesty, and even piety itself, they are emphatically +_humbugged_, and give their money and their testimony to confirm +the fraud. + +"Lastly. Many are so sincere and honest in their intentions, that it is +not in their hearts to believe that some of our most respectable men, +even clergymen, would lend their names to sustain any thing but what +they had believed and tested as a reality, and therefore themselves +believe. + +"Now, Mr. Editor, from all that I have seen and know of these spiritual +communications, as 'rappings,' and from all these facts, I am free to +declare, that I believe them an arrant humbug, and one, too, of the +most pernicious tendency. They can all be traced to a human agency, as +either mechanical or mesmeric, alone or combined; and I will give my +right hand to any medium whose operation and device I cannot fully +discover, trace, and demonstrate, as deducible from either the one or +both of these sources, _and from no other_." + +A correspondent of the Boston Traveller, in a communication dated New +York, January 22, 1852, says, "I look upon the delusion as I do upon a +contagious disease. It is a moral epidemic. Any man of peculiar +diathesis may be its victim. It spreads by sympathy and by moral +infection. Men of standing and intellect gravely and seriously affirm +that they have seen a man rise and float about the room like a feather, +till some unbelieving wretch approaches and breaks the spell, when the +aerial swimmer falls suddenly to the floor. Franklin, Washington, and +all the signers of the Declaration of Independence, have visited them, +and these departed worthies sanction any doctrine which the uninitiated +may happen to entertain before consulting them." A. J. Davis says, +"There is a class of spirits who dwell in divine love more than in +divine wisdom, and who are easily influenced to _feel_ precisely what +the majority of those who consult them _feel_ and think, and under +peculiar circumstances will say _precisely_ what the questioning minds +of the circle may _ardently_ and _positively_ desire. Affectionate +spirits--those dwelling in the _love circles_--are readily influenced +to approve the desires of the hearts of those with whom they commune on +earth; as in our homes, the infant, by virtue of its cries and positive +entreaties, captivates the affectionate, and perhaps intelligent, +mother, who, consequently, forthwith coincides with her child's +desires, submitting her judgment to its powerful appeals. Thus it is, +through the power of sympathy, spirits of the other world gratify all +our thoughts and desires." This is the _opinion_ of Mr. Davis, which +may pass for what it is worth. We never indorse his spiritual notions. + +To give an idea of the conduct exhibited at the circles, or meetings, +of the "harmonials," we submit the following from the Springfield +Republican of January, 1852:-- + +"When we entered the hall, the meeting had not commenced, and all +parties were engaged in a lively chat. Soon there was a spontaneous +coming to order, and the ladies formed a circle around a table. The +gentlemen then formed a larger circle, entirely surrounding the ladies. +A good hymn was given out and sung. During the singing, we noticed one +lady growing excessively pale and cadaverous. Then her hands began to +twitch, and she commenced pounding upon the table. Directly opposite +her, a young woman was undergoing the process of being magnetized by +the spirits, while she, as we were informed, was resisting them. Her +hands were drawn under the table by sudden and powerful jerks, and +every muscle in her body seemed to be agitated with the most powerful +commotion, as if she were acted upon in every part by shocks of +electricity. This continued for ten or fifteen minutes, until she was, +at last, in a state apparently resembling the magnetic sleep. + +"Another lady, with a fine eye and an intellectual cast of countenance, +was then moved to write, which she did, while her eyes stared and +rolled as if in a state of frenzy, and every muscle seemed strained to +its utmost tension. She wrote absolutely furiously, but no one but the +spirits could read it, and it was passed over to another medium, who +announced it a message of such utter unimportance that we have +forgotten it. A brawny blacksmith was among the mediums, but he did +nothing but pound on the table, and write the word 'sing.' The famous +medium Gordon was there, too, and he went through various +contortions--got down upon his knees, stood upon his seat, and +stretched up his arms and fingers, trembling all the while, as if in +the highest state of nervous excitement. Once he was twitched bodily +under the table, uttering a scream as he went. At times, the different +mediums would rise, spread their arms, slap the table, and throw their +hands into motions almost inconceivably rapid. + +"One of the mediums, a young woman, arose by the dictation and powerful +urging of the spirits, and delivered a rambling sermon. It abounded in +quotations from the Bible and the doctrines of Universalism. + +"But it was when the singing was in progress that the spirits and the +mediums were in the highest ecstasy. Then the latter would pound, and +throw their arms around, and point upwards, in the most fantastic +manner possible. And thus, with singing, and pounding, and reading the +Bible, and writing, and preaching, the evening passed away; and while +Old Hundred was being sung, the spirits gave their good night to the +circle. + +"We can give but a faint idea of this scene. It is one we shall never +forget, and we only wish that the respectable men we saw there, the men +of age and experience, the young men and young women, could understand +the pity with which a man without the circle of their sympathy regarded +them. With the light of reason within them, with minds not untaught by +education, and with the full and perfect revelation of God's will in +their very hands, it was indeed most pitiable to see them swallowing +these fantastic mummeries, and mingling them, in all their wild, +furious, and unmeaning features, with the worship of Him who manifests +himself in the 'still small voice.' + +"Of the sincerity of the majority of those present we have no doubt; +but that there are rank impostors in this town, who are leading astray +the credulous, we have as little doubt. The most that we saw on +Saturday night was mesmerism, and the rest a very transparent attempt +at deception. At any rate, if it was any thing else, we should +attribute it to any thing but good spirits. Were we a devil, and should +we wish to see how foolish we could make people appear, we should +choose this way. O men and women, do have done with such outrageous +nonsense." + +Some have been most grossly deceived, and even made insane, by being +made to believe that they were magnetized by spirits. This was the case +with one of the celebrated Hutchinson singers--Judson J. Hutchinson. +Mr. Sunderland, in the fourth number of the Spiritual Philosopher, +observes as follows: "We shall hear of communications from 'prophets,' +'apostles,' 'kings,' and 'statesmen,' and of divers 'revelations,' said +to be made by them. We shall hear of human beings said to be magnetized +by spirits. But the _good_ and the _true_ will know and understand how +easy it is for some to become 'magnetized' by their own _ideas_, and to +take for 'revelations' _the fancies of their own brains_. The notion +about mortals being magnetized by spirits is a mistake, an _error_; and +it was this error which was the principal cause of all the real +difficulty in the case of Judson J. Hutchinson. Mr. H. was made to +believe that he was in company with his deceased brother, and that his +own deceased children came and sat upon his knees, and put their arms +about his neck. When he found himself sinking into an _abnormal state_, +he was told to believe that it was _the spirits_, and that there was +nothing _human_ about it. This, of course, Mr. H. was ready to believe. +He had heard of others being magnetized by spirits, and they were +happy, very happy. And as this seemed to promise him _approximation_ to +the spirit world, for which he was earnestly longing, he readily gave +himself entirely to that idea." The operator, Mr. Hazard, of Rochester, +New York, suggested that Mr. Hutchinson should ask the spirits to move +his (Mr. H.'s) hand to the top of his own head, that then he (Mr. H.) +might know it was they. "But the operator should have known," says Mr. +Sunderland, "that his _suggesting_ it to the mind of Mr. Hutchinson, in +the manner he did, or, if Mr. Hutchinson's own mind was _directed_ to +the movement of his own hand, _that_ was sufficient to cause his hand +to move, _even if there had been no spirits in existence_. And so, when +Mr. H. went to Cleveland, the difficulty was increased by a repetition +of the cause. He fell into the same state again, of course, when +similar _associations_ brought it up before his mind; and there he was +again told by a clairvoyant lady, that she 'saw the spirits' (his +brother Benjamin and Swedenborg) operating upon him. The effect was, to +render him _insane_." His brother Jesse says, that "the shock was too +great for Judson, on account of his bodily weakness, and that his +feeble nature was too fine strung to bear up against the severe +attacks, and it was with great difficulty he was brought back to +Milford, New Hampshire." While in this state, Mr. Sunderland was sent +for, and staid with him three days and three nights, to render him +assistance. Mr. S. says, "He was unfortunate in being told that he was +magnetized by spirits, and still more so, perhaps, in the treatment he +met with from some _uncongenial spirits_ in Syracuse and in Worcester." +From this, as well as from some other unfortunate cases, persons are +admonished to be careful to refrain from visiting such impostors. + +Some have been told that St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Luke, and Timothy, +were present, and answered questions put to them; but Mr. Davis and +Mr. Sunderland declare it to be false. Mr. Davis says, "This point +I have been led to investigate carefully; and at no one of the +_circles_ referred to do I discover, upon the most critical interior +retrospection, a _single_ communication from the veritable St. Paul, +nor from any one of his glorious compeers." + +So of Benjamin Franklin, who, it is said, has never condescended to +converse but a very few times with earthly beings, though his name is +often quoted in connection with clairvoyancy. The reason he is said to +assign to Mr. Davis is, that he cannot "prevent the almost exact human +imitations of his vibrations; and that they produce so much confusion +and contradiction, that, he thinks it best to wait until some further +improvement can be made in the mode of communication between the two +worlds." Yet how many are told that they have been put in communication +with Franklin! + +Mr. Sunderland says, "We need the same conditions, or guaranties, for +believing _spirits_, that we do for believing _human_ testimony." +Speaking of those clairvoyants who are supposed to be exalted into +the spirit sphere, so as to see and converse with spirits, he says, +"Whether they do, really, see the spirits, whom they think they do, +must be determined by other things besides their own testimony. We are +not obliged to take their own mere _ipse dixit_ upon this, any more +than upon any other subject." And as yet, as has been remarked by Dr. +Phelps, _there is no proof that what purports to be a revelation from +spirits is the work of spirits at all_. Mr. Sunderland, for all we can +see, is liable to be in an error, as well as others; and all the +evidence he gives us that he has had interviews and holds conversations +with spirits is that of his own testimony alone. And so of Mr. Davis. + +We have said that no dependence whatever can be placed upon the rapping +spirits. Dr. Phelps, of Stratford, Connecticut, once heard a very loud +rapping under the table while at his breakfast. "I asked if it was my +sister. The answer was, 'Yes.' 'Well,' said I, 'if you are the spirit +of my sister, you can tell me how many children you have in this +world.' So the spirit commenced counting, and counted up to +twenty-five, when I pronounced it a _lying_ spirit. I asked it, +'Are you unhappy?' It answered, 'Yes.' 'Can I do you any good?' 'Yes.' +'How?' The spirit then called for the alphabet, and spelled out, 'Give +me a glass of fresh gin.' 'What will you do with it,' said I. '_Put +it to my mouth._' I asked, 'Where is your mouth?' No answer." + +Letters, and lines written upon scraps of paper, have, it is said, been +sent from the other world. The following was dropped from the ceiling +of Mrs. Phelps's parlor when she and others were present. + +"Sir,--Sir Sambo's compliments, and begs the ladies to accept as a +token of his esteem." Other papers have been similarly written upon, +and signed "Sam Slick," "The Devil," "Beelzebub," "Lorenzo Dow," &c. + +On the 15th of March, 1850, a large turnip was thrown against Dr. +Phelps's parlor window, having several characters carved out upon it, +somewhat resembling the Chinese characters. A _fac-simile_ of them +may be found in Davis's explanation of Modern Mysteries, page 55. + +Some may receive such things as emanations from the spirit world; but +to us they seem too simple and puerile to be considered as having any +thing to do with the higher spheres. + +Dr. Phelps, who has been witness to every species of manoeuvre of the +alleged spirit rappers, says that he has become fully satisfied that no +reliance whatever is to be placed on their communications, either as a +source of valuable information, or as a means of acquiring truth. "I am +satisfied," says he, "that their communications are _wholly worthless_. +They are often contradictory, often prove false, frequently trifling +and nonsensical, and more in character with what might be expected of a +company of loafers on a spree than from spirits returned from a world +of retribution to 'tell the secrets of their prison house.'" + +With regard to moving tables, chairs, beds, &c., Mr. Davis says that, +"at a circle of friends in Bridgeport, Connecticut, there was a large +congregation of spirits, who, from a distance of eighty miles, or +thirty above the atmosphere of our earth, directed a mighty column of +vital electricity and magnetism, which column or current, penetrating +all intermediate substances, and by a process of infiltration, entered +the fine particles of matter which composed the table, and raised it, +several successive times, three or four feet from the floor!" This we +are to receive upon his authority, or upon the testimony of those who +may say they saw the table moved. But if the operator can _make things +appear_ that _never occurred or existed_, and can _imagine_ a thing, +and have that _imagination transferred to others_, then what evidence +have we that _spirits_ are concerned in the transaction? Just none +at all. A while ago, we heard of an Italian, at the Massachusetts +Hospital, who could raise tables from the floor without touching them; +and the art of so doing, he said, he learned in Italy. And how are we +to account for the Millerites and others being so raised, as they +believed? Are they not as much to be credited as those who profess a +belief in the miracles of the "harmonial philosophers"? For ourselves, +we are satisfied that such things, for the most part, are but a +delusion, whether they are alleged to take place among those supposed +to be bewitched, the Adventists, or the harmonials. + +As to the _rapping noises_, we are inclined to think they may have +something to do with the knee and toe joints, and that the two +performers usually sit together, in order the better to alternate with, +and _spell_ or relieve each other. Upon a fair trial, it certainly has +been proved that the noises cannot be produced when the joints are +grasped firmly by another. But it may be doubted by some whether the +joints can be made to produce the distinct rappings that are sometimes +heard. We think they can. A few years ago, a boy in London gave +exhibitions of what was termed "_chin music_." It was done by striking +the fists upon the lower jaw. By this practice he was able to produce +quite loud and distinct sounds, and play a variety of tunes, to the +amusement of the public. The sounds were made by the finger joints, it +was supposed; and perhaps the jaw bone may have contributed its share +in the performance. The sounds given by the "rapping spirits" are by no +means so remarkable as many suppose. They are often quite indistinct, +and nearly inaudible. Unless a person was possessed of a large share of +credulity, he would never consider them as the responses of an +intelligent spirit. This is the decided conviction of hundreds who have +witnessed their performances in various parts of the country. Yet many +have been, and others will be, deceived. And, doubtless, many tender +and sensitive minds may be made insane by the wicked trifling of these +unprincipled impostors. Certainly we have not the least desire to set +at nought any thing of a _truly serious_ character. Yet we are +constrained to believe that the things of which we have spoken are too +ridiculous and nonsensical, if not actually _sinful_, to be entitled to +the least favor from the public. The learned Thomas Dick, in his Essay +on the Improvement of Society, gives an account of far more singular +and wonderful _phenomena_ produced by _mechanical_ agency, than any +that has as yet been attributed to the agency of _spirits_, as affirmed +by A. J. Davis, or La Roy Sunderland. And we here subjoin the facts of +the case, for the benefit of the public:-- + +"Soon after the murder of King Charles I., a commission was appointed +to survey the king's house at Woodstock, with the manor, park, and +other demesnes belonging to that manor. One _Collins_, under a feigned +name, hired himself as secretary to the commissioners, who, upon the +13th October, 1649, met, and took up their residence in the king's own +rooms. His majesty's bed chamber they made their kitchen, the council +hall their pantry, and the presence chamber was the place where they +met for the despatch of business. Things being thus prepared, they met +on the 16th for business; and in the midst of their first debate, there +entered a large _black dog_ (as they thought,) which made a dreadful +howling, overturned two or three of their chairs, and then crept under +a bed and vanished. This gave them the greater surprise, as the doors +were kept constantly locked, so that no real dog could get in or out. +The next day their surprise was increased, when, sitting at dinner in a +lower room, they heard plainly the noise of persons walking over their +heads, though they well knew the doors were all locked, and there could +be nobody there. Presently after, they heard, also, all the wood of the +King's Oak brought by parcels from the dining room, and thrown with +great violence into the presence chamber, as also all the chairs, +stools, tables, and other furniture forcibly hurled about the room; +their papers, containing the minutes of their transactions, were torn, +and the ink glass broken. When all this noise had ceased, Giles Sharp, +their secretary, proposed first to enter into these rooms; and in +presence of the commissioners, from whom he received the key, he opened +the doors, and found the wood spread about the room, the chairs tossed +about and broken, the papers torn, but not the least track of any human +creature, nor the least reason to suspect one, as the doors were all +fast, and the keys in the custody of the commissioners. It was +therefore unanimously agreed that the power that did this mischief must +have entered at the key-hole. The night following, Sharp, with two of +the commissioners' servants, as they were in bed in the same room, +which room was contiguous to that where the commissioners lay, had +their beds' feet lifted up so much higher than their heads, that they +expected to have their necks broken, and then they were let fall at +once with so much violence as shook the whole house, and more than ever +terrified the commissioners. On the night of the 19th, as they were all +in bed in the same room, for greater safety, and lights burning by +them, the candles in an instant went out, with a sulphurous smell; and +that moment many trenchers of wood were hurled about the room, which +next morning were found to be the same their honors had eaten out of +the day before, which were all removed from the pantry, though not a +lock was found opened in the whole house. The next night they fared +still worse; the candles went out, as before; the curtains of their +honors' beds were rattled to and fro with great violence; they received +many cruel blows and bruises by eight great pewter dishes and a number +of wooden trenchers being thrown on their beds, which, being heaved +off, were heard rolling about the room, though in the morning none of +these were to be seen. + +"The next night the keeper of the king's house and his dog lay in the +commissioners' room, and then they had no disturbance. But on the night +of the 22d, though the dog lay in the room as before, yet the candles +went out, a number of brickbats fell from the chimney into the room, +the dog howled piteously, their bed clothes were all stripped off, and +their terror increased. On the 24th, they thought all the wood of the +King's Oak was violently thrown down by their bedsides; they counted +sixty-four billets that fell, and some hit and shook the beds in which +they lay; but in the morning none was found there, nor had the door +been opened where the billet wood was kept. The next night the candles +were put out, the curtains rattled, and a dreadful crack, like thunder, +was heard; and one of the servants, running in haste, thinking his +master was killed, found three dozen of trenchers laid smoothly under +the quilt by him. But all this was nothing to what succeeded +afterwards. The 29th, about midnight, the candles went out; something +walked majestically through the room, and opened and shut the windows; +great stones were thrown violently into the room, some of which fell on +the beds, others on the floor; and at about a quarter after one, a +noise was heard as of forty cannon discharged together, and again +repeated at about eight minutes' intervals. This alarmed and raised all +the neighborhood, who, coming into their honors' room, gathered up the +great stones, fourscore in number, and laid them by in the corner of a +field, where they were afterwards to be seen. This noise, like the +discharge of cannon, was heard for several miles round. During these +noises, the commissioners and their servants gave one another over for +lost, and cried out for help; and Giles Sharp, snatching up a sword, +had well nigh killed one of their honors, mistaking him for the spirit, +as he came in his shirt from his own room to theirs. While they were +together, the noise was continued, and part of the tiling of the house +was stripped off, and all the windows of an upper room were taken away +with it. On the 30th, at midnight, something walked into the chamber, +treading like a bear; it walked many times about, then threw the +warming pan violently on the floor; at the same time, a large quantity +of broken glass, accompanied with great stones and horse bones, came +pouring into the room with uncommon force. On the 1st of November, the +most dreadful scene of all ensued. Candles in every part of the room +were lighted up, and a great fire made; at midnight, the candles all +yet burning, a noise like the bursting of a cannon was heard in the +room, and the burning billets were tossed about by it even into their +honors' beds, who called Giles and his companions to their relief, +otherwise the house had been burned to the ground; about an hour after, +the candles went out as usual, the crack as of many cannon was heard, +and many pailfuls of green stinking water were thrown upon their +honors' beds; great stones were also thrown in as before, the bed +curtains and bedsteads torn and broken, the windows shattered, and the +whole neighborhood alarmed with the most dreadful noises; nay, the very +rabbit stealers, that were abroad that night in the warren, were so +terrified, that they fled for fear, and left their ferrets behind them. +One of their honors this night spoke, and, _in the name of God, asked +what it was, and why it disturbed them so_. No answer was given to +this; but the noise ceased for a while, when the spirit came again; and +as they all agreed, _brought with it seven devils worse than itself_. +One of the servants now lighted a large candle, and set it in the +doorway between the two chambers, to see what passed; and as he watched +it, he plainly saw a hoof striking the candle and candlestick into the +middle of the room, and afterwards, making three scrapes over the +snuff, scraped it out. Upon this the same person was so bold as to +draw a sword; but he had scarcely got it out, when he felt another +invisible hand holding it too, and pulling it from him, and at length, +prevailing, struck him so violently on the head with the pommel, that +he fell down for dead with the blow. At this instant was heard another +burst, like the discharge of the broadside of a ship of war, and at the +interval of a minute or two between each, no less than nineteen such +discharges. These shook the house so violently that they expected every +moment it would fall upon their heads. The neighbors, being all +alarmed, flocked to the house in great numbers, and all joined in +prayer and psalm singing; during which the noise continued in the other +rooms, and the discharge of cannons was heard as from without, though +no visible agent was seen to discharge them. But what was the most +alarming of all, and put an end to their proceedings effectually, +happened the next day, as they were all at dinner, when a paper, in +which they had signed a mutual agreement to reserve a part of the +premises out of the general survey, and afterwards to share it equally +among themselves, (which paper they had hid for the present under the +earth, in a pot in one corner of the room, and in which an orange tree +grew,) was consumed in a wonderful manner by the earth's taking fire, +with which the pot was filled, and burning violently with a blue flame +and an intolerable stench, so that they were all driven out of the +house, to which they could never be again prevailed upon to return." + +This story has been somewhat abridged from the Encyclopædia Britannica, +where it is quoted from Dr. Plot's History of Oxfordshire, in which +these extraordinary occurrences are ascribed to satanic influence. +At the time they happened, they were viewed as the effects of +_supernatural powers_; and even Dr. Plot seems disposed to ascribe them +to this cause. "Though many tricks," says the doctor, "have often been +played in affairs of this kind, yet many of the things above related +are not reconcilable with juggling; such as the loud noises beyond the +powers of man to make without such instruments as were not there; the +tearing and breaking the beds; the throwing about the fire; the hoof +treading out the candle; and the striving for the sword; and the blow +the man received from the pommel of it." It was at length ascertained, +however, that this wonderful contrivance was all the invention of the +memorable Joseph Collins, of Oxford, otherwise called _Funny Joe_, who, +having hired himself as secretary under the name of _Giles Sharp_, by +knowing the private traps belonging to the house, and by the help of +_pulvis fulminans_, and other chemical preparations, and letting his +fellow-servants into the scheme, carried on the deceit without +discovery, to the very last. + +The occurrences which are said to have taken place at the house of the +Rev. Dr. Phelps, in Stratford, Connecticut, are not to be compared in +their marvellousness to those we have quoted from Dr. Dick, and which +things were the results of the _ingenuity of Joe Collins_. Therefore, +when we hear of such like occurrences in our day, there will be no +necessity for us to attribute them to any supernatural influence, +either good or bad; for it is a well-received maxim, that "_what man +has done man can do_." To suppose that the merciful _Father_ of +_spirits_ would harass and frighten mankind by haunting their houses +with strange noises and rappings, ghosts and hobgoblins, and spirits of +the uneasy dead, would be derogatory to his paternal character. And +who, for a moment, could believe that he would torment little children +in this way, when our Savior took them in his arms, and blessed them, +and said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven"? No, we must attribute +such things to any other source than as proceeding from the throne of +God. + +Up to the present time it may be that many will profess to the world +that they have actually seen the spirits of the departed. Yet this is +no new profession, for the votaries of St. Vitus, and the +spiritually-minded Shakers of later times, have declared to us that +they have seen their departed friends and acquaintances. But even Mr. +Davis is led to consider a large majority of these cases to be the +results of cerebral agitation. "I can truthfully affirm," says he, +"that the objects, localities, scenery, and personages, seen by those +laboring under monomania, delirium tremens, &c., are of the same class +of mental delusion, and are absolutely nothing more than the +unconscious elaborations of the surcharged brain." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + + +The following are some of the evils that result from a belief in +popular superstitions:-- + +1. They have caused a great waste of time. Look at the practice of +heathen nations. Their religious ceremonies are altogether +superstitious. All the time devoted to false gods must be considered as +wasted. Take a survey, too, of Catholic countries. During the dark +ages, their priests were engaged in nonsensical disputes. Treatise +after treatise was composed on such subjects as the following: How many +angels can stand on the point of a needle? Have spirits any navels? Is +the Virgin Mary the mother of God? and a thousand others equally +senseless and unprofitable. In their monasteries, multitudes passed +their days in repeating unintelligible prayers, poring over the legends +of their saints, cutting figures in paper, and tormenting their bodies +for the good of their souls. Turn our attention to Protestant lands, +and here we find, also, that many a folio has been written on foolish +and unintelligible subjects; that many a day has been occupied in +trying and burning witches and heretics; that many a pharasaic custom +has been scrupulously observed, and many an absurd opinion advanced and +defended. Even in our own times, many hours are occupied in discoursing +about dreams and visions, signs and tricks, spectres and apparitions; +in consulting charms and lots, and fortune tellers; in prying into +future events and occurrences; in borrowing trouble on account of some +supposed unfavorable omen; or in various other practices equally vain +and superstitious. Now, all this is wrong. Time is given for no such +purposes. We have but a short period allotted to us to remain in this +world, and a great work to accomplish. Let us then be always engaged in +something useful and virtuous. + +2. Popular superstitions have caused a great waste of human life. Cast +your eye over the page of history. You there notice an account of the +trial by ordeal. The accused person was required either to hold red-hot +iron balls in his naked hands, or to walk over red-hot plates of iron +with bare feet. If he escaped unburned, he was considered innocent; but +if he was scorched, sentence of death was pronounced. Or he was +compelled either to thrust his arm into a caldron of boiling water, or +be thrown into a deep pond. If he was either unscalded or drowned, his +innocence was proved; but if he was scalded or could swim, the sentence +of condemnation was passed. In neither case could life be saved, except +by the interposition of a miracle; and this was not expected on such +occasions. And through this superstition, thousands perished in the +most cruel and unrighteous manner. A distinguished writer computes that +more than one hundred thousand persons, of all ages, have suffered +death for witchcraft alone. Only think! one hundred thousand persons +murdered for a crime of which no human person was ever guilty! + +There are others who bring upon themselves sickness, and even death, by +their belief in signs, dreams, and forewarnings. But as the gospel +sheds abroad its divine light, these things are found to recede, and to +give place to more rational views of divine wisdom and goodness, in the +control and arrangement of events having a relation to our being and +happiness. The author of the Family Encyclopædia says, that "the +superstitious notions of ghosts, spirits, &c., are rapidly declining; +and notwithstanding all the solemn tales which have been propagated, +there is no reason to believe that any real spirits or celestial agents +have held intercourse with man since the establishment of +Christianity;" and that "the history of modern miracles, appearances of +the dead, &c., will be always found, when thoroughly examined, merely +the phantoms of a disordered imagination." + +3. Popular superstitions have caused great and unnecessary misery. We +need not refer to history for an illustration of this assertion. We +have sufficient examples around us. Look into society, and we shall +find one class who pay particular attention to all signs and dreams. If +any thing unfavorable is indicated, their feelings are greatly +depressed; and if the contrary, they are as much elated. If a little +insect, called the death watch, knocks for its mate on the wall, +sleepless nights are sure to follow. If they notice the new moon over +the wrong shoulder, their comfort is destroyed for a whole month. Nanny +Scott, the old washerwoman, is sure that another death will happen in +the family this year, because, when her sister-in-law was taken out to +be buried, somebody shut the door before the corpse was under ground, +and so shut death into the house. And her neighbor, the good Mrs. +Taylor, suffers the baby to scratch and disfigure its face, because it +is said to be unlucky to cut the nails of a child under a year old. +Another neighbor has seen a single raven fly over the house, or heard a +cricket chirping upon the hearth, and is greatly alarmed, because such +things are said to be a sign of death to some member of the family +within the year. And thus many are found who are silly enough to +imbitter their own lives and the lives of others by such foolish +superstitions. + +There may be noticed another class, whose belief in the supernatural +origin of signs, omens, and warnings leads them to adopt measures for +their speedy fulfilment. Many a wedded couple seem to think they must +quarrel because it happened to storm on the day they were married; and +when some dispute arises between them, they fall to fighting, to prove, +if possible, the truth of the prediction. And for all this interruption +of domestic harmony, they blame, not their own tempers and passions, +but the decrees of fate. Many a person has concluded he must live in +poverty all his days, because a few moles have appeared on the wrong +side of his body. And hence he neglects all industry and economy, and +dissipates his time, his privileges, and his talents. + +We may notice a third class, who give themselves to tricks, fortune +telling, and opening books, to discover the events of futurity. Their +spirits vary with the supposed indications of good or evil occurrences. +"A lady, who moved in the first circles, was once visiting in a +clergyman's family of my acquaintance," says the late Rev. Bernard +Whitman, "and it was her regular morning custom to toss up a little box +of pins, and make her happiness for the day depend upon their +accidental variation in falling. If they came down more heads than +points, she was cheerful and happy; but if more points than heads, she +was gloomy and wretched. It seemed she valued her comfort, worth at +least a brass pin." Many a worthy Christian has not only been deprived +of his happiness, but betrayed into wild, extravagant, and even sinful +acts, by attempting to follow the suggestion of the passage which first +meets his eye on opening the Bible. Many a poor wight has formed a +disadvantageous matrimonial alliance, because some old hag has +described black eyes and rosy cheeks as the characteristics of his +future bride. + +We may notice, moreover, a fourth class, who are forever anticipating +some dreadful calamity. Let any fool solemnly proclaim that war, +famine, or pestilence is approaching, and they will give more heed to +it than to that holy word which assures us that our heavenly Father +will never leave nor forsake us. All uncommon appearances in the +heavens they look upon as indications of the threatened judgments of an +angry God. Even the beautiful Aurora Borealis, which spans the blue +concave above us, was so interpreted. To permit such fears to disturb +and destroy our happiness is a sin against Heaven. Our heavenly Father +created us for enjoyment. He has furnished us with capacities and means +of felicity. He has even commanded us to rejoice in the Lord always. He +has given us a religion to effect this desirable object. It is as much +a part of this religion to be always cheerful, contented, and happy, as +to be always temperate, just, and virtuous. And if people would take +one tenth part of the pains to make themselves happy that they do to +render themselves miserable, there would be ten times the present +amount of happiness. "By the grace of God," says the Rev. John Wesley, +"I never fret. I repine at nothing; I am discontented at nothing. And +to have persons at my ear fretting and murmuring at every thing is like +tearing the flesh from off my bones. I see God sitting upon his throne, +and ruling all things well." A companion of Mr. Wesley says that he +never saw him low-spirited in his life, nor could he endure to be with +an unhappy, melancholic person. "Every believer," he often remarked, +"should enjoy life." "I dare no more fret," said he, "than curse or +swear." Would that all Christians were as cheerful and consistent as +Mr. Wesley. There would be less of dark and dismal forebodings; less of +distrust, and more of solid peace and comfort, in the soul. It seems +that Melancthon was somewhat of a melancholic turn of mind, and, when +gloomy and dejected, would call upon Luther, and relate to him his +troubles and afflictions. Luther, being of a more lively and hopeful +turn, after listening to him a short time, would jump upon his feet, +and say, "Come, come, let us sing the forty-sixth psalm;" and when they +had sung that, all was peaceful and happy again. + +As to what is commonly termed good or ill luck, we may be assured that +they have no other existence but in the imagination. Luck means chance; +but every thing, great and small, is under the wise and gracious +direction of God. Nothing can happen without his permission, and he +permits nothing but what, in his wonderful plans, he designs to work +for our good. We are kept in ignorance of the particular events that +are to befall us, in order to keep alive within us an abiding sense of +our dependence on God, and a constant obedience to the directions of +his word, by which alone we can be prepared to meet the dispensations +of his providence. The Bible tells us quite enough of futurity to teach +us to prepare for it, as far as it rests with us to prepare. And it is +both vain and wicked to endeavor to obtain any further information from +any other source, or for any one to pretend that they possess it. Had +it been necessary for our good that we should know every thing +beforehand, the information would have been given us in the Bible, or +it would have been left so that we could have gathered it from general +instruction and observation, as is the case with every kind of +knowledge that is essential to our present as well as everlasting good. +It certainly would not have been left to creaking doors, croaking +ravens, or ill-made tallow candles. Neither would God reveal to weak +and wicked men or women the designs of his providence, which no human +wisdom is able to foresee. To consult these false oracles is not only +foolish, but sinful. It is foolish, because they themselves are as +ignorant as those whom they pretend to teach; and it is sinful, because +it is prying into that futurity which God, in mercy, as well as in +wisdom, hides from man. God indeed orders all things; but when you have +a mind to do a foolish thing, do not fancy that you are _fated_ to +do it; this is tempting Providence, not trusting God. It is charging +him with folly. Prudence is his gift, and you obey him better when you +make use of prudence, under the direction of prayer, than when you +heedlessly rash into ruin, and think you are only submitting to your +fate. Fancy never that you are compelled to undo yourself, or to rush +upon your own destruction, in compliance with any supposed fatality. +Believe never that God conceals his will from a sober Christian, who +obeys his laws, and reveals it to a vagabond, who goes from place to +place, breaking the laws both of God and man. King Saul never consulted +the witch until he left off serving God. The Bible will direct us best. +Conjurers are impostors; and there are no days unlucky but those we +make so by our vanity, folly, and sin. + +4. Popular superstitions have greatly injured the cause of medicine. +That superstition which leads people to believe in the efficacy of +charms is very injurious. We will enumerate a few cases by way of +example. The scrofula, for instance, is frequently called the _king's +evil_. It received this name because it was generally believed that +the touch of a king would cure the disorder. For centuries this belief +was so prevalent, that any one who should call it in question would +have been considered no less than an infidel, and an enemy to his king +and country. And so great was the demand for the king's touch, from +invalids, that one day in seven was set apart for the king to bestow +healing mercies on his subjects. Vast numbers flocked to him, from +Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and many parts of the continent. An exact +register was kept of the number of persons who came to Charles the +Second for relief, from 1660 to 1664, and they amounted to twenty-three +thousand six hundred and one. From May, 1667, to 1684, the number of +persons touched amounted to sixty-eight thousand five hundred and six. +Total, ninety-two thousand one hundred and seven. The practice was +begun in the year 1051, and continued until the reign of the present +royal family, who were possessed of too much sense to encourage such an +idle superstition. But notwithstanding this belief and practice were +abandoned by the royal family, yet, with some individuals, a belief +still prevails that certain persons are endowed with healing power. + +In 1807, a farmer in Devonshire, England, who was the ninth son of a +ninth son, officiated in the cure of the king's evil, and multitudes +believed that they received healing from his touch. In this country, a +_seventh_ son of a seventh son has officiated in similar cases, and +performed incredible cures, as we are told by those who think they have +received signal blessings through his instrumentality. + +Not many years since, the cold hands of a convict, who had terminated +his life on the gallows, in Liverpool, were drawn over several wens a +number of times to effect a cure. A person in one of our western states +ran a pitchfork into his hand, and he applied a plaster to the cold +iron as well as to the fresh wound. When people run a nail into their +foot, they frequently save and polish the rusty iron to facilitate the +recovery. Some time since, in the State of Maine, the body of a female +was taken from the grave, her heart taken out, dried, and pulverized, +and given to another member of the family, as a specific against the +consumption. And the same thing has more recently been done in the town +of Waltham, Massachusetts. The heart was reduced to a powder, and made +into pills, but they did not cure the patient; while the person who +took up the remains from the grave, and removed the heart, came very +near losing his life, from the putrefactive state of the corpse at the +time. + +We could relate many other cases, equally foolish and disgusting. All +such things should be classed under the general name of charms, and be +looked upon as relics of the grossest superstitions. Why not as well +have the touch of a slave as a king? Why not as well apply your plaster +to a tree as to a pitchfork? Why not as well drink the heart of a lamb +as a woman? You may say that God has determined certain cures shall +follow certain applications. No such determination is published in his +word, and no such conclusions can be inferred from facts. You may +pretend that a special miracle is wrought in such cases. But this is +incredible; for the object is not compatible with the miraculous +interposition of Deity. And the few cures which are reputed to have +taken place can be satisfactorily accounted for, on the influence of +the imagination, and other natural causes. So that such a belief is not +only superstitious, but calculated to lead people to neglect the proper +means of recovery, and thus injure themselves and the medical +profession. + +In the years 1808, '9, and '10, a Mr. Austin of Colchester, Vermont, +gave out that he was a gifted person in the art of healing; and if the +patient would describe to him, by word of mouth, or by letter, the true +symptoms of his malady, he would receive healing at his word, if indeed +his disease was curable. In a very little time the obscure retreat of +Austin was thronged with invalids, coming from almost every section of +the country; and Colchester was scarcely less in favor than Ballston or +Saratoga. The mail carriers groaned under the burden of maladies +described. Bar rooms at public inns, on roads leading to Colchester, +were decorated with letters directed to the "Prophet of Colchester;" +and vagrants were found travelling over the country, collecting of +invalids their evil symptoms, to be truly and faithfully delivered to +the prophet in a given time, at the moderate price of fifty cents per +letter. We were soon referred to cases wherein the most inveterate +deafness was removed; the blind saw; dropsies and consumptions, in the +last stages of them, were cured; and the patient, it is said, in many +instances, would tell the day and the hour when their letters were +received by the prophet, although they might be some hundred miles +distant from the deliverer, because, at such an hour, they began to +mend. The prophet, however, did not long enjoy his far-famed celebrity. +His house, after a while, was deserted of invalids. The people +discovered their folly, and permitted him to sink into his former +merited obscurity. It was just the same with the celebrated +_rain-water_ doctor, as he was called, who established himself at +one time in Providence, and at another time in the vicinity of Boston. +Many of those now living can recollect the accounts of marvellous +cures, and the flocking of invalids of all descriptions to his temple +of health. But the community at length discovered the imposition of his +practice, and left him to the undisturbed enjoyment of his rain water +and his gruel. + +The most recent case of medical imposition practised upon the public, +that has come to our knowledge, is that of a practitioner in New York +city, who, by receiving a letter from sick or diseased persons, giving +the year, day, and hour of their birth, immediately forwards them a +package of medicine suited to their case. It seems to be a matter of +astonishment to many how he arrives at a knowledge of their state of +health, so as to be able to adapt his remedies to their several +conditions. But it is probably done on the principles of astrology--by +finding the planet under which the patient is born, the diseases +appertaining to that planet, and the _plants_ belonging to the same, +which are supposed to have a special effect upon the relative +_planetary_ diseases. Culpepper, in his English Herbal, if we mistake +not, arranges or classifies all plants and diseases in this way, and +contends that astrology is the only true key to medical science. +Fortune telling is practised upon a similar plan, through the agency of +_astrology_. But the whole is a deception, entirely unworthy the age in +which we live. The fortune teller may hit upon an incident which is +correct, once in a while, and it would be strange if he did not. And +the _astrological physician_ may prescribe some little tonic, or +stimulant, that will raise the drooping spirits for a time, and +actually lead the hopeful patient to believe that he or she is fast +recovering from their long-afflictive maladies. But the sequel too +often teaches them the lesson of their sad mistake. + +The history of Valentine Greataks, the son of an Irish gentleman, who +lived in the time of Cromwell, is very similar to what we have related +of the prophet of Colchester. And about the same time, Francisco +Bagnone, a Capuchin friar, was famous in Italy, having a gift of +healing, principally by his hands only. Multitudes of sick people +attended him wherever he went, to obtain healing mercy. And here, +perhaps, we may find the true principle on which all the impositions of +Popery have been maintained for centuries gone by. It cannot be a +matter of surprise that, if men, of more information than they, can be +made to believe that they are delivered from disease by experiments of +magnetism, tractors, or the mere touch of the hand, these should +believe that they are healed by visiting the tombs of saints; by +standing before their statues; being touched by nails from their +coffins, rings from their fingers, or by the bones of the fingers +themselves. + +We are by no means authorized to say that none of these persons were +relieved of pains and diseases by seeking relief in this way. So great +is the influence of the imagination on the nervous, vascular, and +muscular systems, as has already been shown, that it would be no more +than probable that obstructions, causing pain and sickness, should in +some instances be removed, and lay a foundation for recovery. And, +moreover, that in a still greater number of instances the power of the +imagination on the origin of the nerves within the brain should +counteract the motion to the brain by disease acting upon the +extremities of the nerves; and thus the patient for a season might +experience relief from pain, and even feel pleasure, as was the case +with an artist upon the Pont Royal, mentioned by Dr. Sigault, and in +the gambols of the rheumatic patient, as mentioned by Dr. Haygarth. But +in all these cases, experiment and illustration, like those of the +commissioners at Paris, and like that of Dr. Haygarth in England, would +disclose the real ground of these effects. The patients would no longer +attribute them to a supernatural influence. They would learn why, in +most cases, the relief supposed to be obtained was only momentary, and +why all those gifted persons, both in Europe and America, have had no +more than an ephemeral celebrity, and, in most instances, lived to see +themselves neglected, and their pretensions become the subjects of just +satire and reproof. + +5. Popular superstitions have greatly injured the cause of religion. +That superstition which allows any substitute for personal holiness is +very pernicious. The Pharisees considered themselves holy, because they +were the descendants of faithful Abraham. They fasted twice a week; +paid tithes of all they possessed; made long prayers in public places; +and were strict observers of all sacred days and religious ceremonies. +At the same time, they neglected the weightier matters of the +law--justice, mercy, faithfulness; devoured widows' houses; were proud, +bigoted, and self-righteous. + +Some people think they lived only in the times of the apostles. "But we +should recollect," says the Rev. George Whitefield, "that vipers and +toads have the most eggs, and most numerous progeny. If you were to +look at the eggs of a toad through a microscope, you would be surprised +at the innumerable multitude; and the Pharisees are an increasing +generation of vipers, which hatch and spread all over the world. If +you would know a Pharisee, he is one who pretends to endeavor, and +talks about keeping the law of God, and does not know its spirituality. +There are some of them very great men, in their own estimation, and +frequently make the greatest figure in the church. One of them, a +gentleman's son, because he had not broken the letter of the law, +thought he was right and without sin. "O," says he, "if I have nothing +to do but to keep the commandments, I am safe. I have honored my father +and mother; I never stole; what need he to steal who has so good an +estate? I never committed adultery." No, no! he loved his character +too well for that: but our Lord opens to him the law--_This one thing +thou lackest; go, sell all thou hast, and give to the poor_: he loved +his money more than his God; Christ brought him back to the first +commandment, though he catechized him first in the fifth. So Paul was a +Pharisee. He says, '_I was alive without the law, once; I was, touching +the law, blameless_." How can that be? Can a man be without the law, +and yet, touching the law, be blameless? Says he, "I was without the +law; that is, I was not brought to see its spirituality. I thought +myself a very good man." No man could say of Paul, Black is his eye. +"But," says he, "when God brought the commandment with power upon my +soul, then I saw my specks, and beheld my lack of true righteousness." + +Some Roman Catholics perform tedious pilgrimages; lacerate their own +bodies; abstain from meats on certain days; and some have paid the pope +or priests for the pardon of their sins, or purchased indulgences for +the commission of wickedness. Some Protestants, too, attend punctually +upon all religious meetings, subscribe liberally to the charities of +the day, observe all gospel ordinances, and profess great attachment to +the cause of Christ; and yet are fretful, unkind, and disobliging in +their families; censorious in their conversation; uncharitable in their +judgment; grasping in their dealings, and unhappy in their +dispositions. Some have thought that, because Christ died for the sins +of the whole world they could commit sin with impunity; or, if they +were elected, they could do what they pleased, and be sure of heaven at +last. But all these things have no foundation in reason, experience, or +revelation, and may therefore be considered superstitious. A belief in +them is exceedingly injurious to the cause of piety and holiness, +because it leads to the neglect of the one thing needful--a uniformly +sober, righteous, and godly life. God will certainly render unto every +man according to his deeds. Be he Pharisee or Sadducee, Catholic or +Protestant, elect or non-elect, he can escape the punishment of no sin +but by repentance and reformation. And no sin is ever removed, no +virtue is ever given, by miracle. Our iniquities must be forsaken, and +our goodness acquired, by our own exertions, aided by the promised +influence of the Holy Spirit. And, until we have accomplished these +ends, we cannot rationally expect pure and permanent happiness. + +There have been opinions respecting the devil, tinctured somewhat with +superstition, that have contributed to bring reproach upon the +Scriptures, which were supposed to teach the existence of just such a +being as many believed him to be. Martin Luther, in speaking of his +confinement in the castle of Wartburg, says, "The people brought me, +among other things, some hazel nuts, which I put into a box, and +sometimes I used to crack and eat of them. In the night time, my +gentleman, the devil, came and got the nuts out of the box, and cracked +them against one of the bed posts, making a very great noise and +rumbling about my bed; but I regarded him nothing at all: when +afterwards I began to slumber, then he kept such a racket and rumbling +upon the chamber stairs, as if many empty barrels and hogsheads had +been tumbling down." + +Dr. Cotton Mather, in the time of New England witchcraft, took home one +of the possessed damsels, to learn the ways and works of Satan. When +the doctor called the family to prayers, she would whistle, and sing, +and yell, to drown his voice, would strike at him with her fist, and +try to kick him. But her hand or foot would always recoil when within +an inch or two of his body; thus giving the idea that there was a sort +of invisible coat of mail, of heavenly temper, and proof against the +assaults of the devil, around his sacred person. She seemed to be +greatly displeased at the thought of his making public the doings of +her master, the evil one; and when he attempted to write a sermon +against him, she would disturb and interrupt him all manner of ways. +For instance, she once knocked at his study door, and said that there +was somebody down stairs that would be glad to see him; he dropped his +pen, and went down: upon entering the room he found no one there but +his own family. He afterwards undertook to chide her for having told a +falsehood. She denied that she told a falsehood. "Did not you say that +there was somebody down stairs that would be glad to see me?" "Well," +she replied, with great pertness, "is not Mrs. Mather always glad to +see you?" She even went much further than this in persecuting the good +man while he was writing his sermon: she threw large books at his head. +But he struggled manfully at these buffetings of Satan, as he +considered them to be, finished the sermon, related all these and other +kindred circumstances in it, preached and published it. Richard Baxter +wrote the preface to an edition printed in London, in which he declares +that "he who will not be convinced, by the evidence Dr. Mather +presents, that the child was bewitched, must be a very obdurate +Sadducee." + +A few years since, a house in Maine was said to be haunted. The +building and furniture were shaken, dreadful noises were heard, dismal +sights were seen, and heavy blows were received. The occupant of the +house had lately left a Calvinistic theological seminary. He afterwards +became a settled Universalist preacher. "A neighboring family informed +me," says the late Bernard Whitman, "that he now considered it the +Spirit of God, haunting him to forsake Calvinism, and proclaim +universal salvation." His explanation, though satisfactory to himself, +may not be equally so to our readers. + +The devil should never be made a packhorse for our sins, nor should our +thoughts be turned from within, causing us to neglect a watch upon our +own lusts and passions, in looking for the assaults of some outward +tempter. The effect sometimes produced upon the minds of children has a +very unfavorable influence. A pious mother, not finding it convenient +to attend her little son to rest, told him to omit his prayers for one +night. "Mother," said the child, "will the devil forgive me if I +neglect my prayers?" + +"What shall we say," says the late Professor Stuart, "of the excessive +use that has been made of the passages that speak of his influence and +dominion? Because, in reference to the wide-spread influence of Satan, +he is called the 'prince of this world,' and even the 'god of this +world,' are we _literally_ to interpret passages of this nature, and +thus in a clandestine manner introduce effectually the old dualism of +Zoroaster and the Persians? This, indeed, has often, very often, been +substantially done; done, I acknowledge, for the most part without any +direct intention of such a nature. Still there is an impression, wide +spread among the lower classes of people, even in our own country, that +Satan is a kind of omnipotent being; and he is often represented as the +successful, or rather the invincible, rival of the great Redeemer. + +"Yet the New Testament is full enough of instruction relative to this +subject to correct any erroneous views in relation to it, if it be duly +examined. I need only appeal to the large class of passages which +represent Satan as a conquered enemy; as 'falling like lightning from +heaven;' as being reduced to a state of impotence in respect to that +deadly power which he exercises, (Heb. ii. 14;) and all the evil +principalities, and powers, and magistrates (1 Cor. xv. 24, Eph. vi. +12, Col. ii. 15) as being subdued, or to be subdued and utterly +discomfited, by Christ; for 'the prince of this world is cast out,' +(John xii. 31;) 'the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy +the works of the devil,' (1 John iii. 8;) and Christians are every +where spoken of as being liberated from his dominion and power, (1 John +v. 18-44.) When the apostle, therefore, calls Satan 'the god of this +world,' and the Savior calls him 'the prince of this world,' it is the +world of the wicked which is meant; for such is the usual idiom of the +Scriptures. And as to the power of Satan over the wicked, it is every +where presented in the New Testament as something that will wholly +cease after a time, and the reign of the Prince of Peace become +universal. + +"How deeply these considerations intrench upon the long-practised +methods of exhibiting Satan as omnipotent and omnipresent every +thinking mind will easily perceive. Especially has the Romish church +erred here beyond all bounds of reason or moderation. According to +the doctrines which they sedulously inculcate, Satan has not only +irresistible power over the world of the wicked, but, next to such a +power, even over Christians. Nothing but exorcisms, and holy chrisms, +and lustrations with holy water, and incantations, and the like, can +keep off evil spirits, or disarm them of their fatal power. And as the +consummation and chief end of all the doctrine, nothing short of the +interposition of the priesthood can secure any one against destruction, +either in this world or the next--an interposition, however, which is +not _freely given_, as the Savior commanded the disciples to impart the +blessings of the gospel, but to be purchased at whatever price the +church may fix upon it."--_Bibliotheca Sacra_, February, 1843. + +Language sometimes used in times of excitement is prejudicial to the +cause of religion. It is sometimes said that the Almighty is visiting +such a town; that he is coming this way; that he has taken up his abode +in a certain village; that he will remain but a few days; that he has +been driven away by unbelievers, and that he cannot be expected again +for some months or years. Now, it should be remembered that God is +every where present, and that his spirit is always striving within the +soul; and its voice is drowned only by the strife and tumult of our own +discordant passions. The Spirit is ever ready to assist us, whenever we +resolve to use our own efforts in hearty coöperation. And if revivals +of religion seem to be of a _periodical_ nature, it is because our own +zeal or engagedness is too fitful. The church can enjoy a constant +season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, only let its +members be ever active, ever diligent, ever devoted and persevering. +God works not by miracle, but through the agency of common means or +efforts. We must not, therefore, defer attention to the duties of +religion, in expectation of some special interposition of Heaven. We +should remember that a sober, righteous, and godly life is the best +evidence of true conversion; and that we are called upon _to work out +our own salvation_ with fear and trembling, God himself having +vouchsafed to work within us both to will and to do of his good +pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + + +Seeing the evils of popular superstitions, what course shall we adopt +for their banishment? Or, in other words, how shall we best lend a +helping hand to hasten the downfall of ignorance, error, and sin? + +1. We must deliver ourselves from their domination; for we are all more +or less under their influence. When any of the common signs of good or +evil fortune appear before us, our thoughts involuntarily recur to the +thing supposed to be signified. Sometimes a momentary shudder is +communicated to the whole system; unpleasant sensations are often +excited; and frequently a depression of spirits is produced. And how +can we free ourselves from this thraldom? By the exercise of our +reason. A proper use of our reasoning faculties will enable us to +accomplish this undertaking. We must endeavor to convince ourselves +that all these things are the offspring of ignorance; that they have no +foundation in reason, philosophy, or religion; and that they are +exceedingly pernicious in their consequences. When fully persuaded of +these truths, we must strive to make our feelings coincide with the +dictates of our understandings. And this we can effect by persevering +self-discipline. Such exertions, with the blessing of Heaven, will +eventually deliver us from the inconvenience, vexation, and slavery of +popular superstitions. And as such a consummation is most ardently to +be desired, we must enter upon the duty with a zeal and earnestness +commensurate with its importance. + +2. We must also assist our fellow-men in the performance of this great +and good work. When we meet with those who believe in ghosts, in signs, +enchantments, and divination, we must try to persuade them that no +dependence whatever can be placed on any of these vanities--that they +are all fictions, absurdities, and abominations. And perhaps, in some +cases, if we cannot produce conviction by sober sense and sound +argument, we may be justified in resorting to ridicule. + +It is a lamentable consideration that so much time should be criminally +wasted in many families in explaining tricks, relating and expounding +dreams, telling fortunes, and in detailing stories of haunted houses, +hobgoblins, and spirits of the supposed uneasy dead. In this way, the +evil is cherished, and transmitted from generation to generation. But +if we can succeed in giving an opposite direction to conversation; if +we can induce people to reason upon these things, and inquire into +their origin, causes, and effects, and investigate the evidence on +which they are imagined to rest, and adopt rational conclusions, we +shall be usefully employed. A course like this would eventually lead to +the banishment of popular superstitions, with their baneful effects +upon our peace and happiness; especially if we labor to impress upon +the minds of others the existence of an all-wise Providence, that +controls and governs all things for the highest good of all, calling +upon us to place our trust in Him, without whose notice not even a +sparrow falleth to the ground. + +3. We must likewise attend to the early education of our children. It +is during infancy and childhood that our heads are filled with "nursery +tales" and marvellous stories. They are told us by those to whose care +we are early intrusted, either to frighten us into obedience, to +gratify our thirst for the new and wonderful, or to while away a +tedious evening. They sink into our confiding hearts, and leave +impressions the most pernicious and the most lasting. Could a child be +educated without any knowledge of such things, he would never be +troubled with their baneful influence. Our duty is therefore plain. In +taking the principal care of our children at home, we should not permit +them to learn any such things from our own lips; and we should evince, +too, by our daily conduct, that they exert no influence on our own +feelings, character, or happiness. In intrusting our offspring in early +life to the care of other persons, we must charge them, as faithful +guardians of the young, to conceal every thing of the kind from their +knowledge. And after our children become of sufficient age to associate +with others, we must caution them to avoid believing or relating any +superstitious tales as they would shun known falsehoods. By persevering +in this course, we shall save them from the degrading influence of +popular superstitions. + +4. We must, moreover, endeavor to increase the means of public +education. We generally find that the most enlightened are the most +free from superstition; and it therefore follows that a high degree of +mental cultivation will effect a general deliverance. And how shall +this great object be accomplished? We must reason with them upon the +immense value and importance of knowledge. We must show them, by an +appeal to facts, that all our civil, social, domestic, and religious +blessings depend on the intelligence and virtue of the people. But +perhaps many will complain of the scarcity of money and the want of +means. If so, we must also show them, by an appeal to incontrovertible +facts, that more money is annually wasted, in all our towns, in +extravagant living, dress, furniture, and equipage; squandered in +shows, amusements, balls, and parties; in gaming, dissipation, public +parades, and intoxicating liquors, than is expended for the +instruction of the rising generation. No, there is not a lack of +funds. Where there is a will there is also a way. The value and +importance of the subject is not generally understood; or, if +understood, is not properly appreciated. Almost every thing else seems +of more consequence than learning and wisdom. Yet this will never +answer. The world is growing wiser. Those who will not employ the +requisite means must rest contented with comparative ignorance. Let +_us_ not be of this unworthy number. If we feel the importance of the +change in these respects, let us persevere in our laudable exertions, +leaving no objections unanswered, no measures untried, until we +succeed in giving our children a high degree of education. And if the +Father of spirits shall see fit to prolong our lives to witness the +results, we shall look upon the almost universal banishment of popular +superstitions. + +5. Finally, we must labor for the diffusion of pure and undefiled +religion, adhering alone to the teachings of Jesus. We shall then +believe in one perfect, all-pervading Spirit, who regulates all the +events of this world which are above our control, and that all his +various dispensations originate in perfect wisdom and goodness. We +shall believe that we have no worse enemies than our own sinful lusts +and passions, and that power is given us through faith to conquer +these, even in this state of existence. We shall believe that it is as +much our duty to be always happy as it is to be always honest and +virtuous. We shall have the assurance that our heavenly Father has +commissioned no fate nor chance, spectres nor devils, to torment us. +And if we live up to this belief, we shall secure a large share of +temporal enjoyment, and be prepared for the increased and increasing +felicity of the spiritual world. If we produce this state of faith and +practice in ourselves and in those around us, we shall have done much +for the banishment of popular superstitions and the downfall of +ignorance, error, and sin. + + + + +PART SECOND. + + + + +MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. + + +Four gentlemen in Springfield, not long since, publicly attested to a +"miracle," performed, as they believed, by spirits, at a "circle" where +they were present. It consisted in moving a table, and a number of +chairs in the room, and in shocks, resembling distant thunder, or +cannon at a distance, causing the persons and the chairs and tables to +tremble in such a manner that the effects were both seen and felt, the +room being well lighted at the time, and an opportunity afforded for +the closest inspection, so that the company unitedly declare that +_they know they were not imposed upon nor deceived_. + +Now, there is nothing very remarkable in this affair, for all might +have been done by the medium himself, by first pathetizing the persons +present, as it might be done without their knowledge, and while in +that state could be made to see and hear any thing imagined by the +operator. We are assured, by one who knows, that it is impossible for +those who are fit subjects to be present at a circle without being +more or less under the mesmeric influence. And, in such cases, they +can be _willed_ to remember or forget what they have seen or heard. We +do not consider such persons as competent witnesses in such a case as +they have testified to. It may all have been induced, or it may all +have been real. And if real, there was no need to refer it to the +agency of spirits, since such things have been done without spirits, +as in the case of Joe Collins, or others which we shall refer to, in +this part of our volume. But here we may be told, that a thousand +dollars has been offered to any one who will prove that such things +are produced by any other power than that of _spirits_. But the same +sum has been offered to any one who will prove that _spirits_ move +tables, chairs, and the like, or that _spirits_ produce the noises and +other manifestations ascribed to them. + +We have heard the case of a person who went to a medium and wished to +know if he could be put in communication with his father, who had died +several years before. He was answered in the affirmative. But the +inquirer desired, as proof that it would actually be the spirit of his +father that would be introduced to him, that a pencil and paper should +be laid upon a table, and that the spirit of the father should come and +write his own name upon the paper, the son feeling assured that, if +this were done, he should at once recognize both the name and the +writing. Accordingly, the spirit in question came, and did as was +desired, and the son declared it to be the real name and handwriting of +his father. Now, the philosophy of the case is this: The inquirer was +first pathetized, although ignorant of the fact at the time--a thing +very common, though not generally understood. Thus the medium became +acquainted with the name of the father as it existed in the mind of the +son; but did the pencil actually write the name upon the paper? No. It +was only made to _appear_ so to the mind of the inquirer. As to the +handwriting, the inquirer's mind was directed to a piece of paper, and +to look at the writing. Of course, he saw his father's name, and the +handwriting, for he could see nothing else for the time being, his +mind being impressed with that one idea or object, and closed to every +thing else. It was in fact, to him, his father's name and chirography, +and no one's else. It could not be otherwise while his mind was under +the control of the operator. + +We have been told of a lady, who, in a magnetized state, sits at a +table and writes down information that is imparted to her, as is said, +from the world of spirits. Her hand and pen glide over the paper with +astonishing speed and velocity, far more rapid than the most expert +penman in a normal state. And what astonishes many is, that she cannot +stop writing when she wishes to, and sometimes becomes so exceedingly +fatigued as to beg of the spirit or spirits to grant her a little +repose from the wearisome task. But the whole matter is easily +accounted for, without referring it to the supposed agency of spirits. +The lady's arm is first paralyzed--deprived of motion by the will of +the medium or operator, so that her own mind or will has not the least +control over it. She thus becomes a mere machine, under the will and +control of another, whose will directs the movements of the arm and +pen, and dictates what is written in answer to inquiries made of things +appertaining to the spirit world, just as Miss Martineau declares, in +her letters on magnetism, that "the volitions of the mesmerist may +actuate the movements of the patient's limbs, and suggest the material +of his ideas." Many singular effects are produced upon the minds and +feelings of subjects in a sleep-waking state, by Professor Williams, +Dr. Cutter, and others, such as being made drunk with water, eating +cayenne as sugar, exercising complete control over their mental as well +as physical condition. + +We have been assured by a pathetist, who is a thorough adept in the +profession, that he _can_ and often _has_ put persons in communication +_apparently_ with a deceased father, mother, brother, sister, or +friend. The individual is first _pathetized_ (another name for +mesmerism) by him in a wakeful state, though unconscious, it may be, +that he is under such an influence. His mind being in the possession +and under the control of the operator, a person is now either actually +or mentally (for it makes no difference) presented before him, and he +is told of the fact, and asked, _Do you not see your father?_ The idea +of _father_ is so presented to the mind, through the organ of _form_, +that the organ can take cognizance of none other than the father. The +_person_, if an actual person is employed for the occasion, is then +shifted or changed for another person; yet the subject perceives no +difference, even if changed successively for a dozen others; it is all +the same; it is _father_, and no one else, through the whole +exhibition. The father speaks, the son recognizes his voice, and they +converse together. The subject can be willed to hear any sound, as +that of music, artillery, thunder, and the like, though no sounds +whatever are in reality made. A niece of ours was operated on in this +way, and she was told to look abroad and behold the majestic waves of +the ocean, the pageantry of a military procession; and she saw and was +delighted with the scenes that were _willed_ to pass before her. +Apples were oranges to her, and she sucked their juice with a +delightful zest. An apple paring held before her was a beautiful bird, +then a squirrel, a rabbit, or whatever the operator _willed_ it to +become. The mind of the operator and the subject, in such cases, +become as one, and they then hear, see, taste, and feel the same thing +at the same moment. Miss Martineau says that, while in a mesmeric +state, she saw "things out of other worlds--not the things themselves, +but _impressions_ of them." "They come," says she, "from my brain. The +influence does not separate soul and body, but it sets the body at +rest, while it exalts and elevates the thinking powers." + +"A striking incident," says Miss M., "occurred in one of my earliest +walks after recovery from a protracted illness. My mesmerist and I had +reached a headland nearly half a mile from home, and were resting +there, when she proposed to mesmerize me a little--partly to refresh me +for our return, and partly to see if any effect would be produced in a +new place, and while a fresh breeze was blowing. She merely laid her +hand upon my forehead, and in a minute or two the usual appearances +came, assuming a strange air of novelty from the scene in which I was. +After the blurring of the outlines, which made all objects more dim +than the dull gray day had already made them, the phosphoric lights +appeared, glorifying every rock and headland, the horizon, and all the +vessels in sight. One of the dirtiest and meanest of the steam tugs in +the port was passing at the time, and it was all dressed in heavenly +radiance--the last object that my imagination would select as an +element of a vision. Then, and often before and since, did it occur to +me, that if I had been a pious and very ignorant Catholic, I could not +have escaped the persuasion that I had seen heavenly visions. Every +glorified object before my eyes would have been a revelation; and my +mesmerist, with the white halo around her head, and the illumined +profile, would have been a saint or an angel." + +We know not whether, in this instance, the mesmerist _willed_ her +subject to behold things as she did, yet as to the general truth _that +the will of the operator can produce in the subject mesmerized those +states of mind and body which he wills him or her to experience_, +there is abundant evidence. O. S. Fowler, editor of the Phrenological +Journal, says he "can bear ample testimony to the fact, as he has +seen, experienced, and _induced_ similar states by the thousand." And +many others testify to the same effect. + +Persons can be made to travel to other countries, and even to other +spheres, and come back and tell what they have seen. And as persons +vary in the talent of description and observation, in the normal +state, so do they vary in a semi-abnormal condition. Some are found +to be _better travellers_, and will see more than others, and in +spiritual things will differ in their descriptions as they differ in +religious creeds and sentiments. Thus a Swedenborg, or a Fishbough, +sees a hell in the future state, where sinners suffer the penalty of +their earthly sins; while an Ambler, or a Davis, discovers that all +men are alike joyful and happy. Mr. Davis has seen fit to caution +the public not to believe too quickly or too fully the things +excitable persons relate; "because some minds are naturally inclined +to exaggerate or enlarge upon every thing which they may feel, see, +or hear." The _state_ alluded to is merely _induced_. It is not +real. + +Persons are frequently made to do what they believe is done by others, +as in the case of a son of Dr. Phelps, of Stratford, Connecticut. The +boy, on one occasion, was found (with a rope passed under his arms) +suspended to the limb of a tree, having been taken, as was supposed, +from his bed in the evening by spirits, and thus treated by them. The +boy declared that when it was done, he "screamed at the top of his +voice;" but it was ascertained that he made no noise at all, for if he +had, the domestics, who were in the kitchen when he passed through it, +must have heard him, which they did not. We have the testimony of A. J. +Davis, himself, that the boy "really supposed that he had called aloud; +and so far from having been tied to the tree _by spirits, he had been +made unconsciously instrumental in tying himself to the tree_!" "I +have heard," says Mr. Davis, "instances of mischief cited, as occurring +in Dr. Phelps's house, in evidence of _satanic agency_, which I now +discover to have been caused or accomplished by one of the children in +sport, sometimes by electrical discharges and magnetic attractions, +and sometimes by the almost unpardonable mischievousness of persons +unknown to the family. The wanton destruction of property alleged to +have taken place on this gentleman's premises is referable, in most +cases, to emanations of vital electricity, seeking its equilibrium in +the atmosphere. In this manner window panes were broken and furniture +injured. In Woodbridge, New York, some few years ago, a young lady +was affected with a disease which gave rise to similar phenomena. +Mysterious sounds were heard in her presence; window panes were +frequently broken in her vicinity; and, in like manner, door panels +were burst out, sometimes falling _towards_ her, sometimes _from_ her, +and quick, concussive, and very loud sounds were heard under her feet +as she ascended a flight of stairs. Ultimately, the mysterious +phenomena frightened her into an illness which cured the malady." + +"People cannot be too cautious how they receive the doings of those who +profess to be in connection with spirits of the other spheres; and to +those who wish to inquire into the matter, we would say, Go and hear, +but try to keep your wits about you, and not swallow bodily either the +preachers or their strange affirmations."--_Horace Greely._ + +"Under an impression that whatever is communicated by a spirit must, of +course, be true, many persons are receiving these communications as the +truth of God--as a new revelation from the spirit world. But if these +communications are from spirits, we have no proof that they are good +spirits. The presumption is, that they are bad spirits--lying spirits. +At my house they often accused each other of lying--contradicted at one +time what they affirmed at another; inflicted injury upon property in +the most wanton manner; and have given conclusive evidence throughout +that the discipline of hell, which they profess to have experienced +for several years, has not been wholly effectual in improving their +characters, and qualifying them for the 'higher spheres' for which +many suppose that the discipline after death is a preparation."--_Dr. +Phelps._ + +"Many of the doings of the rapping spirits are too nonsensical and +absurd to be believed. They spoil all our notions of the dignity, the +_spirituality_, of the spiritual world. That a messenger should come +from the spirit land to tell an old woman that her black cat did eat +another old woman's white rabbit, is not in accordance with the ideas +most people have of the doings and missions of beings in the enjoyment +of an immortal state."--_Puritan Recorder._ + + + + +PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER. + + +We have been informed, by a certain mesmerizer, that a distinguished +lecturer upon magnetism frequently trains persons to enact certain +parts in his public exhibitions. He first puts them under mesmeric +influence, and while in that state they are instructed to say certain +things, or to perform certain acts, which he wishes to exhibit at some +subsequent lecture. To this they severally agree, and thus a regular +programme, or series of performances, is made out. They are then +brought out of the mesmeric state, having been previously willed by the +operator to forget all that has passed while in that state. At the next +meeting appointed, these persons are present, and are again put into +the same state as before, when they immediately perceive, and are ready +to perform, the several parts assigned to them. In fact, they are so +completely under the will and control of the lecturer, that they +_must_ do or say _what he wills them to do or say_, and they cannot +help it, neither can they have the least recollection of what has +transpired, after being restored to the normal state. + + + + +SCENE AT EAST BOSTON. + + +We were present at a "circle," at the house of a _medium_ in East +Boston, on the 30th of April, 1852. Instead of that decorum and +seriousness that might be expected while holding intercourse with +departed spirits, we were surprised at the levity and sport indulged +on the occasion. The spirits were laughed at, and scolded, because +they made so many blunders in spelling out names, and were urged and +coaxed to do better. A lady, who had buried a friend, was told that +the name of the deceased was _Hannah_. But she informed the medium +that it was a _brother_ she had buried, and that she had never lost a +_sister_. But the medium said it made no difference, as the spirits +often gave the name of a sister for a brother, and sometimes a cousin +for either, as they were all in the family connection, and all such +dwelt together in the Love Circles. + +In spelling out the name of any deceased friend, you are presented with +a card containing the alphabet, and are required to commence with the +letter A, and go through the alphabet some one, two, or three times, +touching each letter with a pencil as you pass over it. On touching +some particular letter, a rap is given, indicating that it is the first +letter of the name of your departed friend. And so of the other letters +comprising the name. The spirits often made mistakes in rapping at the +wrong letter, and were required to try again till they got the spelling +right. We were very particular to observe that the spirit was sure to +rap whenever the inquirer stopped or hesitated in passing over any +letter. Five or six would be eagerly watching the movement of your +hand, and the least possible hesitation upon any one letter was sure to +be accompanied with simultaneous raps. And as the inquirer was +frequently cautioned to proceed slow, it was natural enough to hesitate +on those letters comprising the name as it was spelled in their own +mind. In this way the alphabet became an interpreter to the supposed +spirits. + +We requested that some demonstrations should be given in the art of +table lifting, but were told that the gentleman through whose agency +the feat is performed was not present this evening. We inquired if it +was necessary that any particular gentleman should be present that +tables or chairs might be raised, and were told it was, and that the +gentleman in question seemed to carry a large amount of electricity in +a circle about his person. + +We have been informed by another person, who says he has, and often +does, raise tables and other articles, by request of others, that he +does it by controlling the vital electricity of individuals present +at the time. He says he "_steals_" their vital electricity, and +appropriates it to his own use, although those from whom he thus takes +it are not conscious of the fact. The more persons there are in the +room, the larger the amount of electricity obtained, and the greater +the effects produced by it. There is nothing as yet performed by those +alleged to be in connection with spirits but what he can successfully +imitate, such as producing effects upon persons at a distance, +imitating the handwriting of absent or deceased persons unknown to him +causing persons to write music, poetry, &c., who, in a normal state, +are incapable of doing either, as well as many other exploits, at the +option or desire of those who are present; inquirers, oftentimes, +in such cases, becoming the operators, transferring their own +impressions, ideas, sentiments, and knowledge to the acting medium, +and yet entirely ignorant of the fact, and astonished at the results +produced. The gentleman referred to discards the agency of spirits in +these transactions, and declares that the whole is done by the power +of his own will in using and controlling the amount of electricity +present at the time; thus proving that the mind or spirit in the body +has as much power and control over electricity as the mind or spirit +has _out_ of, or separate from, the body. And he is of the opinion +that if scientific men would investigate the powers of electricity, +and the laws by which it is controlled, they would no more think of +attributing the phenomena of the times to the agency of _spirits_, +than to the Pope of Rome. Many engaged in producing these phenomena +are themselves ignorant of the power or means by which they are +produced, and therefore attribute them to _spiritual_ agency, which +is, in fact, transferring the whole matter to a point beyond human +investigation, where no mortal being can possibly explore. + +Some seem to think that these modern developments must be the work of +spirits, because, amid all the opposition arraigned against them, they +still continue to progress, and are becoming more and more wonderful +every day. Yet the same argument is as conclusive and convincing in +favor of Mormonism, and other foolish and wicked extravagances, as it +is in favor of the alleged spiritual manifestations. But while +hundreds, and perhaps thousands, are marvelling at the strangeness of +these developments, we find that several who have been engaged in them +for months or years, and believed them to be emanations from the spirit +world, now declare their convictions to the contrary, as will be seen +by the following account from the pen of a distinguished writer, +Professor Pond, of Maine. + + + + +EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. + + +"The feats of the ancient jugglers were many of them mere acts of +deception. They were known to be such by those who performed them. And +the same is true of many who practise the like things now. Their +rappings and writings, and other strange performances, are secretly, +artfully got up by themselves. I do not say that this is true in all +cases; but in some cases we _know_ it is true; because the matter +has been fully investigated, and public confession has been made. For +example: A young woman, who had been instructed by the Rochester +rappers, and practised the art with them for a time, afterwards +renounced it, and exposed the delusion to the world. 'All who saw her +and heard her,' says my informant, 'were entirely satisfied of the +truth of her statements, and that she had revealed the actual method in +which the deception was effected and the deluded were blinded. Another +young woman in Providence, Almira Beazely, who was noted for her +rappings and revelations, and who murdered her brother to accomplish +one of her own predictions, confessed, on her trial, that she made the +noises herself, and explained the manner in which they were produced. +She also confessed to the removal of certain articles in the house +which had strangely disappeared, and which she pretended had been +_taken away by spirits_. Drs. Lee and Flint, of Buffalo, assisted +by two gentlemen by the name of Burr, have very thoroughly investigated +the matter, and explained the manner in which the mysterious noises are +made. Mr. Burr has himself made the rappings, and made them so loud as +to be heard by a congregation of fifteen hundred people. + +"These instances are sufficient to prove that the spiritual +manifestations of our times, like those of ancient times, are in many +instances a sheer deception--a vile trick, palmed off upon a wondering +and credulous community, for the sake of money, or for other sinister +and selfish ends. If there is any thing more than trick in these +spiritual manifestations,--and I am inclined to think that, in some +instances, there may be,--I should refer it, as in case of the ancient +wizards, to the influence of _occult natural causes_--perhaps +electricity, or animal magnetism, or something else, operating upon a +nervous system of peculiar sensibility. I incline to this opinion for +several reasons. + +"In the first place, if the noises and other manifestations were really +the work of spirits, why should they not be made through one person, as +well as another? Why should not all mediums be alike? Whereas it is +confessed that only persons of a peculiar nervous temperament are +capable of becoming mediums. + +"Again: if the disclosures which are made are really from the spirit +world, it might be expected that they would, at least, be _consistent +with themselves_. Whereas it is well known that they vary endlessly. +In numerous instances, they are directly self-contradictory. 'Some of +the communications,' says one who had been a medium, 'were orthodox; +others were infidel. Some would acknowledge the truth of the Bible; +others would condemn it. Some would be in favor of virtue; others would +encourage the grossest crimes.' + +"Another man, who had been a noted medium, but who was beginning to get +his eyes opened as to the character of the proceedings, told his +audience one night, 'Now, any one present ask a series of questions, +and I pledge myself that the answer shall be, every time, yes.' Some +one in the company asked, 'Is John Thompson alive?' The answer was, +'Yes.' 'Is John Thompson dead?' 'Yes.' 'Does John Thompson live in +Vermont?' 'Yes.' 'Does he live in Massachusetts?' 'Yes.' And so the +spirits went on contradicting themselves times without number. After +this, a like series of questions were answered in the negative, +exhibiting the most glaring contradictions, just as the operator +pleased. + +"But this brings me to another reason for supposing that the answers +are not from departed spirits, but rather from the _mind of the +operator_, or from _some other mind in communication with his_, under +the influence of an electric or magnetic cause. It is an admitted fact +that these answers coincide very generally with the opinions or wishes +of the medium, or of some one present in consultation with him. I knew +a very respectable man, who discovered that he was a medium, and who +practised various experiments upon himself. Upon being asked what he +thought of it, he replied, 'If the answers are from the spirits, they +must be _very silly spirits_; for they always answer just as I wish to +have them.' Another medium informs us that he can obtain any answer he +pleases, by fixing his mind strongly upon it at the time. Now, does +this look as though the answer came from spirits? If the spirits of +the dead spoke, they would be likely to speak out independently; to +speak just what _they_ thought, and not what those thought with whom +they were consulting. + +"There is another circumstance to be noted in this connection. When the +requisite preparation is made, there is no need of consulting the +spirits at all, in order to secure answers. You may consult with the +chairs or the table just as well. This experiment was tried, not long +since, at Wilmington, Vermont. A Mr. Kellogg was the medium, and he had +succeeded in consulting the spirits to the satisfaction of all +concerned. At length he remarked that he was about to let the company +into an important secret. 'We will interrogate the _table_,' said +he, 'and have nothing more to do with spirits.' He did so; and the +_table talked and answered, just as the spirits had done before_. +At the same time the table was made to stand on one leg, and to move +about, as is usual in such cases. This experiment demonstrated, to the +satisfaction of all present, that the strange appearances could be +produced just as well without the spirits as with them. 'The calling +for spirits,' to use the language of my informant, 'is mere garnish and +fog, by which the real agency in the case is concealed.' + +"On the point now under consideration, viz., the possibly _electric_ +character of these manifestations, I am happy to introduce the +testimony of Dr. Samuel Taylor, a respectable physician of Petersham, +Massachusetts, whose article on the subject may be found in a late +number of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Dr. Taylor +discovered accidentally that he was a medium, and he proceeded to make +experiments upon himself. The manifestation, in his case, was not by +rapping, but by writing--a much more convenient mode of communicating +with the spirit world. On taking his pen, and holding himself in a +peculiar attitude, and proposing mentally some question to the +spirits, his pen would begin to oscillate in his fingers, and very +soon would write out an answer; and this without any voluntary effort +of his own. And what is particularly to be noticed is, the pen would +always write an answer which accorded with his own opinion or wishes, +that is, if he had any wish on the subject. For example: Dr. Taylor +inquired of one of the spirits about the different forms of religion. +'I asked which was the best religion, at the same time fixing my mind +sternly on the word _Protestant_. My hand immediately wrote +_Protestant_. In the same manner, and _by direction of the same +spirit_, my hand wrote successively, _Methodist_, _Unitarian_, and I +believe one or two others. While in this state,' Dr. Taylor says, '_I +felt a sensation like that of a light galvanic current passing through +me_. Sometimes it appeared to be a steady thrill, and sometimes it was +intermittent, resembling light shocks of electricity.' + +"After numerous experiments, Dr. Taylor comes to the conclusion, that +the strange phenomena of which he was the subject were not tricks of +his own, neither did they come from the spirit world, but were the +result of what he calls _detached vitalized electricity_. When this +conclusion had been formed in his own mind, it occurred to him that he +would put it to the test of the spirits themselves. 'Accordingly I +asked them,' says he, 'if this was the work of departed spirits. The +answer was, "No." I asked if it was the work of the devil. Again the +answer was, "No." I asked if it was the effect of _detached vitalized +electricity_. The answer was, "Yes."' So the spirits _confirmed_ the +conclusion to which the doctor had come, as they did, in fact, all his +conclusions. + +"We have the testimony of another medium, of the same import with that +of Dr. Taylor. Mr. Benjamin F. Cooley, who had long been a believer and +operator in the spiritual rappings, states that his mind is now +entirely changed. This change was brought about in consequence of 'a +deep and earnest study of the nature, power, and application of +electricity, and of the susceptibility of the mind to electrical or +psychological changes.' These things, he says, will produce the same +mysterious and startling phenomena which have been produced throughout +the country, and attributed to the operations of departed spirits. (Mr. +Cooley has recently published a work entitled An Exposition of +Spiritual Manifestations, to which we would refer the reader.) + +"A part of what is done by those who claim to have familiar spirits, +may be the result of unknown _natural causes_. This is the most +plausible and excusable view which can possibly be taken of these +practices; and yet, even in this view, they are frightfully evil. The +persons who alone are susceptible to the influence of these natural +causes are generally those of a diseased or delicate nervous +temperament; and the effect of experimenting upon their nervous system +is usually to shatter it the more. They become excitable, fantastic, +and often insane. Diseases are engendered, both of body and mind, which +lead on to the most fearful consequences. But a short time ago, the +papers gave an account of a man in Barre, Massachusetts, who had been +much given to the rappings and other spiritual manifestations, who +became, in consequence, a raving maniac, threatening the life of his +family, and was committed to the Lunatic Asylum at Worcester. Other +like instances are occurring frequently, from the same cause. Almira +Beazely, the Providence rapper, who murdered her brother in fulfilment +of one of her own predictions, was cleared on the ground of her +insanity. + +"But this is not the only evil of the practices in question, when +viewed as the result of natural causes. For the truth is, that, in +most cases, they are _not so viewed_ by those who engage in them. +_They_ regard them as the work of spirits. They are, therefore, +deceived; and those who follow them are deceived. Both suppose they +are receiving utterances from the other world, when nothing is uttered +but vain fantasies from their own minds and hearts. Such a deception +is, manifestly, a hurtful one. It is full of danger to all concerned. +To mistake one's own fancies for divine revelation, and feel +conscience-bound to obey them as such, is the very essence of +_fanaticism_. It is fanaticism in its most frightful form. Under the +influence of such an impression, persons may be led to perpetrate the +greatest cruelties, and the most horrid crimes, and vainly think that +they are doing God service. The wretched man in Barre was led to +attempt the life of his family, in obedience to a supposed revelation +from the spirit world. + +"The practices which have been considered are of heathen origin. They +originated with the ancient heathen; they were spread over a greater +part of the heathen world; and they continue to pervade and curse it to +the present time. Among numerous heathen tribes at the present day, +scarcely a calamity occurs--a death, a flood, a fit of sickness, or an +instance of death--but some poor creature (and often more than one) is +accused and put to death, as being the cause of it. 'The sick man is +bewitched: who has bewitched him? His death (if he chance to die) has +been brought about by evil spirits: who has sent the spirits upon him?' +To get an answer to these questions, some old hag or conjurer is +consulted; the cause of the mischief is quickly discovered, and an +innocent person is put to death. Probably hundreds die every year after +this manner, among the heathen, _even in this nineteenth century_! +And the case would soon be no better among ourselves, if we were to go, +extensively and _confidently_, into the practice of consulting with +familiar spirits. The spirits would unravel all mysteries for us; they +would reveal all secrets; and not a man, woman, or child would long be +safe from their malicious accusations. + +"Something more than a year ago, the Lunatic Asylum in Maine took fire, +and a portion of its inmates were smothered and consumed. And there are +hundreds of persons now in the state, who affirm that the building was +set on fire by the keepers, with a view to cover up and conceal their +own wickedness. These persons _know_ it was so; they have not the +shadow of a doubt on the subject. Why? Not that they have a particle of +evidence to this effect from our world, but because the spirits have so +informed them. Now, let these utterances become common, and be commonly +received, and in three months' time those keepers might every one of +them be dragged to the gallows, or the stake, while they were as +innocent of the charge laid against them as a child unborn. + +"I refer to this instance just to show the sin, the evil, the exceeding +peril, of indulging in those practices which have been exposed. Let all +those who read these things, then, beware of them and shun them. If any +of us are capable of becoming _mediums_, as they are called, we had +better not know it; or, if we know it, we had better refrain from all +experiments. To tamper with such a power is to tamper with an already +shattered nervous system, the only effect of which will be to shatter +it the more. + +"There is nothing more striking than the difference between those +representations of the future world which are made known in the Bible, +and which we know are true, and those which are put forth by the +revealers of our own times. The former are solemn, exciting, +impressive, some of them awfully so, others gloriously. While the +latter, as Professor Stowe says, are 'so uniformly and monotonously +silly, that we are compelled to think, if these are really the spirits +of the dead, in dying they must have lost what little of common sense +they ever possessed. If these are actual specimens of the spiritual +world, then this world, hard and imperfect as it is, is altogether the +most respectable part of God's creation.' + +"In the Bible, we have frequent accounts of persons who were raised +from the dead--who actually returned from the spirit world to this. But +they returned uniformly with sealed lips. In not a single instance did +they make any disclosures. But our modern revealers pursue a very +different course. They practise no reserve. They go into the minutest +particulars,--sometimes into the most disgusting details,--and publish, +as one expresses it, 'a penny magazine of the spiritual world.'" + +In the language of the Puritan Recorder, "The worst of the evil is the +soul-hardening familiarity they produce with the most awful subjects +ever offered for human contemplation. We know of nothing in human +experience so fatally destructive of all that reverence for the +spiritual, that awe of the unseen, that tender emotion, as well as +solemn interest, which connect themselves with the idea of the other +life. Who, that has a Christian heart, would not prefer the silence of +the grave to the thought of the dear departed one in the midst of such +imaginings, and such scenic associations as are usually connected with +the performances of the spirit rappers? 'They are not dead, but +_sleep_.' 'They enter into _peace_,' says the prophet. And then the +precious and consoling addition--'They sleep in Jesus;' meaning, +beyond all doubt, a state of rest, of calmness, of security, of +undisturbed and beatific vision--far removed from all resemblance to +this bustling life--a state in all respects the opposite of that +which fancy pictures as belonging to the scenes presented in the +manifestations of spiritual rappings, and spiritual table liftings and +all those spiritual pantomimes, which seem to be becoming more and +more extravagant and grotesque in proportion to the infidel credulity +with which they are received." + +Should any think, by reading what we have offered upon this subject in +the preceding pages, that we have imputed guilt and deception to +mediums, who are believed to be, many of them, above such trickery, we +would merely refer such to page 29 of the Reply of Veriphilos Credens +to the communications supposed to have been written by Dr. Enoch Pond, +professor in the Bangor Seminary, as published in the columns of the +Puritan Recorder. The reviewer says, "To suppose that mediums could +practise deception on men of shrewdness and caution implies a greater +credulity than does a faith in the most startling of their +performances." "There is not the slightest degree of evidence," says +this writer, "that such a case has ever occurred;" and yet on the +selfsame page he says, "_There is no doubt that some mediums, when +the sounds and motions have failed to come in the usual mysterious way, +have counterfeited them by some sly motions of their feet and hands. I +have seen such things done, in some instances!_" + +The same author says, page 63, "I have not attempted to justify any +reliance on disclosures made to us in the way of rappings. I think it +_altogether_ unsafe to do so, for the declaration has already come +to us, from what purports to be the spirits themselves, that _all +these manifestations are of a low order_, and are produced by the +_lowest grade of spirits_." + +As to the plea that "spirits _must_ make the sounds," to account for +the _intelligence_ communicated, it being impossible for mere +"_electricity_ to originate facts," we reply by affirming that there is +no intelligence given beyond a certain limit; i.e., the mind of some +one or ones in connection, either present or absent, for it makes no +difference. For available purposes, a person a thousand or ten thousand +miles distant may yield all the amount of intelligence required in a +given case. Distance is no obstacle whatever. Electricity counts +neither time nor space. For instance, the transmission of electricity +through a conducting substance is instantaneous. A wire, or other +conductor, may have motion communicated to its whole length at the +same moment, whatever that length may be; and it is stated that an +electro-magnetic impulse may be transmitted at the rate of one hundred +and eighty thousand miles in a second, thus outstripping the sun in its +march! + +A large number of intelligent individuals, who, for a year or two +past, have instituted a series of experiments upon this matter of +"intelligence," have found that in no case has information been +imparted beyond what existed in their own minds or that of some kindred +or friend. Finding this to be the case, they have wisely come to the +conclusion that spirits have never originated a solitary idea; that is, +_disembodied spirits_; and as to the spirit within a man, in his +corporeal state, why cannot it command as much influence over vital +electricity as in its disembodied existence? Since both parties claim +to perform by the same agent, and both claim this agent to be that of +_vital electricity_, we have also come to the same conclusion, with +a host of others, that the "calling for spirits is mere garnish and +fog, by which the real agency in the case is concealed." + + + + +EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL. + + +"A considerable heap of books, pamphlets, and periodicals, some +against, but most of them for, the 'spiritual phenomena,' has been +accumulating upon our table, and now looms up large before us, +demanding notice. That departed spirits have any thing to do with them +is an explanation that we have never been able to accept for one +moment. We should as soon think of asserting that an apple, rolling +suddenly at our feet, must necessarily have fallen out of heaven, +because we could not see the tree it had blown from. To bring such an +astounding theory to explain such trivial phenomena is like sending a +frigate to pick up a champagne bottle that might be floating down the +bay. + +"By some of the works before us we are informed, among many other +things, that in the other world every man has his name upon his front +door; that Swedenborg is a great man, delivers lectures, and _has a +street named after him_; that in heaven parties, concerts, and +_converzationes_ are frequent; that at some of the concerts, star +singers of great celebrity perform, attracting inconceivable multitudes +of spirits to hear them; that children take lessons in French and +Italian every morning; that the space allotted to some of the spirits +is as large as New York; that the 'seventh sphere' (the highest heaven) +is about five thousand miles from the earth; that the beds are of +roses, and when the spirits recline upon them, the birds sing joyfully +around, and mingle their music with the perfume of the flowers; that +the celestials (not the Chinese) wear white robes, edged with pink; +that a man generally attends his own funeral; that spirits, on their +arrival in heaven, are set to studying geology, chemistry, and other +dull subjects, which they soon begin to like, and say their daily +lessons with an excellent grace; that parchment is in extensive use; +that spirits are allowed to visit 'earth' once a day only, and have the +privilege of staying one hour; that they have books, rings, newspapers, +robin redbreasts, fruit, lakes, streams, diamonds, and drawing masters +in the next world. 'Dora's dress,' says one of the revelations, 'was of +blue satin, with a white sash; half sleeves, full; a pink velvet ribbon +round her throat, fastened by a cameo. Her hair was in curls each side +of her face, and fastened in a knot behind.' Dora, be it observed, is a +departed _spirit_. + +"If it could be shown that all these things were really revealed, as +they are said to be, we should still think them unworthy of notice. The +greater part of the 'supernal theology' is utterly frivolous; and +whether frivolous or not, it bears very plainly the impress of the +medium's own mind, or of the unknown desires of those by whom he is +surrounded. If we were called upon to minister to a mind diseased, or +to find pabulum for a soul hungering after moral excellence, we should +as soon think of offering a copy of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments +as a book of the 'supernal theology.' For the practical guidance of +life, there is more help in any two maxims of the Sermon on the Mount, +than in the whole literature of supernaturalism. + +"The manifestation mania would have died away long since but for one +unfortunate circumstance. We have in our land a large number of men who +may be termed semi-clergymen, or, as they are frequently called, +'outsiders,' or 'come-outers.' These are they who, either because they +know too much or because they know too little, or from superfluity of +naughtiness or redundancy of virtue, find it difficult to obtain a +'settlement.' These are the men who foster delusions; who, because they +cannot find a way to _serve_ the public, are reduced to _prey_ upon it. +They embrace the new light--whatever it may be--with a degree of +sincerity, and commit themselves to it; then they push it, stimulate +it, make a business of it, and live by it. O the multitude of spiritual +delusions that in every age of the world have originated and derived +their strength solely from the fact that the bodily necessities of +certain individuals depended upon their perpetuity! That, at this +moment, there are men most diligently engaged in the new spiritual +line, for the purpose of securing by it a reprieve from starvation, (or +work,) is a fact which we do not merely believe, but _know_." + + + + +FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS. + + +Many devices have been resorted to in order to foretell the events of +the future. Some pretend to do it by cards; some by the settlings of a +tea or coffee cup; some by astrology; some by tables of letters and +figures; some by the lines of the hand; and some by spirits of the +dead. Strenuous advocates of these various modes are found, who recount +the wonderful predictions that have taken place. Some spirit hunter +recently prognosticated that the ship Staffordshire (reported to be +lost) would arrive safe at San Francisco on a certain day, as she did. +Professor Anderson had a glass bell at the Melodeon, in Boston, in +September, 1852, that answered questions pertaining to future events. +In deciding upon who would be the next president, it gave six distinct +taps for Pierce--the number agreed upon if he was to be the successful +competitor. This was done without any aid from spirits. We very much +doubt whether Robach or Lester would refuse a challenge from A. J. +Davis himself, to test their respective claims to correct predictions. +Yet we do not believe that any reliance can be placed upon the +prophecies of either party. Events may sometimes transpire in +accordance with their predictions; and it would be strange if they did +not, as they are always predicting, and events are ever occurring. But +they never think of naming the multiplicity of failures that take +place. Not long since, the spirits said that a distant friend would +never live to reach home; but he soon after arrived, safe and well. Mr. +Lester told a young man of Woburn that in two years he would marry a +certain young lady; but in two months he was a corpse. Hundreds of such +failures are constantly occurring, but are kept out of sight. If +generally known, they would spoil the trade. We are surprised that men +professing to high attainments, as A. J. Davis and some of his +coadjutors, should fall back and plant themselves upon such stale +trash. Some two years since, while lying apparently near our end, a +lady suggested to us that, if we desired, she would consult Mr. Lester +upon the probability of our recovery. We declined the offer, choosing +to leave all with the Sovereign Disposer of events, believing that he +would permit nothing to take place but what would be for our best good, +and that of all concerned. + + "Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate, + All but the page prescribed--their _present state_; + From brutes what men, from men what angels know; + Or who could suffer being here below? + The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day, + Had he thy reason, would he skip and play? + Pleased to the last, he crops the flowery food, + And licks the hand just raised to shed his blood. + O, blindness to the future! kindly given, + That each may fill the circle marked by Heaven. + _Hope humbly then_; with trembling pinions soar; + Wait the great teacher death, and God adore! + What future bliss he gives not thee to know, + But gives _that hope_ to be thy _blessing now_."--POPE. + + + + +VISIONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS. + + +The writings of the spirit rappers abound with accounts of sights, +sounds, visions, and wonders. We are forcibly reminded of a similar +display in the writings of the Adventists, previous to the predicted +end of the world in 1843--an overwhelming array of facts, calculations, +signs, visions, wonders, miracles, maps, pictures, drawings, and +hieroglyphics, all going to show, in the most positive manner, that in +that year the world would be annihilated. And still it remains; and the +works containing the omens and facts to substantiate the prediction are +called to share the fate of a Farmer's Almanac quite out of date. Some +few still hold on to a semblance of the theory, like him who, in the +spring of 1851, declared that a talking cow, somewhere in Maine, had +prophesied that the world would be burned up the following June. How +lamentable to view the numbers of men and women who have given heed to +such things, when assured that the day and the hour is not known even +by the Son himself. (Matt. xxiv. 36.) Many of these persons were once +active in the church, and exerted an influence for good; but by +remaining in their present position, their influence in the cause of +Christ is palsied, and their, talents buried in the earth. And yet we +have propounded to us another "NEW CHURCH," which, according to the +predictions of its adherents, is destined to destroy all other +churches, as it _was to be_, according to the predictions of Miller, +Fitch, Himes, and others. + +In conclusion upon these things, we would add, that it has been our +belief from the first, that there is nothing supernatural in the +so-called _spiritual manifestations_. They all bear the marks of +_earthly_ origin. The public not knowing how to explain them, the +first rappings were attributed to the "spirits;" and the idea having +been set afloat, it has been adopted without investigation, being the +easiest way of accounting for it. + +To the common mind, three hundred years ago, it was plain and easy, +that the world was _flat_, and rested on something--on the _back +of Atlas_, and he stood on a _tortoise_, and the tortoise again +on _something_; and the fact that nobody could tell what, was not +allowed to stumble any one; it rested on a _foundation_, and that +was enough for any one to know or believe. Motion, space, attraction, +and repulsion were not understood, and Galileo came near losing his +life, and did lose his personal liberty and character, for +intelligence. When the world is as fully instructed in certain +principles connected with our existence as it is in the laws of the +physical universe, the "rappings," we think, will cease to be a wonder. + + + + +CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS. + + +Persons in a clairvoyant state, by being put in connection with a +diseased person, feel, by sympathy, the pain and disease of the +patient. But to be qualified to describe the locality of the disease, +or be able to tell what organ or part is affected, the practitioner +must first have studied anatomy and physiology. The more perfect they +are in these branches, the more accurately can they describe the seat +of the disease. Their remedies are mostly botanical, and are generally +safe in their operation. The _regular_ "clairvoyant physician," so to +speak, does not pretend to be in league with "spirits;" but there _are_ +those who profess that their prescriptions come from the other +world--from those who, though dead, rest _not_ from their labors. +Notwithstanding the extreme simplicity of their remedies, such as any +common nurse would advise, yet such is the profound sanctity and +mystery thrown around them by an _unseen spirit_, that some profess to +have received "wonderful healing mercies." To _believe_ that a medicine +(however simple) is prescribed by a _spirit_ from above, is enough to +perform a cure in any case. Imagination alone is equal to the task. A +very eminent allopathic physician informs us that he often rolls up +brown bread pills, which, in certain cases, perform unmistakable cures. +In fact, history is full of recoveries wrought out by aid of the +imagination. We will subjoin a case by way of illustration. + +"Sir Humphrey Davy, on one occasion in early life, was assisting Dr. +Beddoes in his experiments on the inhalation of nitrous oxide. Dr. +Beddoes having inferred that this agent must be a specific for palsy, a +patient was selected for trial, and placed under the care of Davy. +Previously to administering the gas, Davy inserted a small thermometer +under the tongue of the patient, to ascertain the temperature. The +paralytic man, wholly ignorant of the process to which he was to +submit, but deeply impressed by Dr. Beddoes with the certainty of its +success, no sooner felt the thermometer between his teeth, than he +concluded the talisman was in operation, and in a burst of enthusiasm +declared that he had already experienced the effects of its benign +influence throughout his whole body. The opportunity was too tempting +to be lost. Davy did nothing more, but desired his patient to return on +the following day. The same ceremony was repeated, the same result +followed; and at _the end of a fortnight he was dismissed wholly +cured_; no remedy of any kind, except the thermometer, having ever +been used." + + + + +STYLE OF "SUPERNAL" COMPOSITIONS. + + +In the "supernal" productions we are presented with a pedantic +display of high-sounding words and phrases. To use the language +of inspiration, "they speak great swelling words of vanity." A +work has recently been announced with this imposing title: +"MACROCOSM and MICROCOSM," containing, among other things, "_The +Potential Media_," "_The Diastole and Systole of Nature_." A writer +in the Spiritual Telegraph, of October 9, says, "There are very many +fancy-captivating, and depravity-flattering publications--some of +them filled with indications, the most specious and subtle, of a +refined _atheism_. And I have seen a copy or two of a certain 'Journal,' +ostensibly advocating the great truths (?) of spiritual manifestations, +but containing some articles in which there was a congregation of words +_superlatively unmeaning and transcendentally ridiculous_." The same +writer says, "I do not believe one half the communications which are +said to come from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Clay, +John C. Calhoun, John Wesley, and a host of other great names. What +affinity can these spirits have with many of the thoughtless, light, +and trifling circles, formed to pass off an hour, and perhaps ending +with foolish mountebank scenes of psychology, falsely so called?" + +Davis, in his Great Harmonia, page 206, exposes a class of "mercenary +practitioners, who claim extraordinary or supernatural powers for their +subjects, _who give public and vulgar exhibitions, who employ chicanery +and ignorant plans, who trifle with and play fantastic tricks with +their subjects_." He speaks of a class of "doctrinal practitioners, who +prevert and misinterpret principles and results; who labor to make the +phenomena subservient to, and illustrative of, the theological dogmas; +who receive, modify, or reject, as a sectarian education and prejudice +may sanction; who conceal, misstate, and magnify disclosures." Enough, +in all conscience, to condemn the whole farce. + + + + +MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA, WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. + + +A work has recently been issued in Boston, by E. C. Rogers, containing +an exposition of mysterious agents, and dynamic laws, or science of +moving powers. It is a very valuable work, and, with his consent, we +shall take the liberty of introducing some of the principal facts +adduced; and at the same time would advise every inquirer to purchase +the work for himself, which he will never have cause to regret. + +On page 22, the author says, "Light and heat have always been known as +agents by the common sensation of their more palpable phenomena. But +electricity and magnetism were not known until their phenomena were +specially observed. Many of the facts of these agents, before the +latter had become known, were referred to spiritual agencies. It is the +tendency of ignorance, in every age, to do the same thing. Reason +demands an agent adequate to the production of every phenomenon. If she +has not been furnished with sufficient data by which to arrive at a +correct conclusion, imagination, influenced by a blind marvellousness, +will refer the phenomena to some supernatural cause. Hence the early +superstitions about chemical operations, the appearance of comets, +eclipses, meteors, the 'bog lights,' and a thousand other phenomena. +But as the agencies of nature have become known, and their laws and +conditions of action discovered, the domination of superstition has +given place to the triumph of reason and the reign of truth." + +"Reason determines that, for every phenomenon, there is an agent; but +never, without sufficient data, does she determine what that agent is. +The imagination often assumes this prerogative, and gives conclusions +without _facts_, or furnishes the false data from which the logical +faculty draws false principles. We mention these things to show how +easy it is to be deceived, by our imaginations, with regard to the +causes of outward phenomena, and that the only legitimate and +trustworthy process in arriving at a solution of the mysteries of +nature is, to furnish the reason with _facts_, and exclude the +influence of imagination. A blind precipitation of faith is also a +fatal influence to all correct reasoning; for it rouses the action of +the imagination, and long before the reason can possibly give a correct +deduction, credulity and imagination have conjured one up; and this +will be the more insisted upon as the only correct conclusion, as it is +the least possessed of the real truth and the action of reason. Hence +it is that those persons who are most ignorant of the principles of +nature are the more positive and precipitate in their decisions upon +any question of mystery. They _know_ that there is no natural +explanation, and the man is a fool who _attempts_ to find one." (Page +34.) + +The first case we shall quote from the above work occurred in +Woodbridge, New Jersey, and was published at the time in the Newark +Daily Advertiser. The phenomena made their appearance in the family of +Mr. J. Barron, consisting, for the most part, of unusual sounds +accompanying a servant girl. + +"The first sounds were those of a _loud thumping_, apparently +against the side of the house, which commenced one evening, when the +family had retired, and continued at short intervals until daylight, +when it ceased. + +"The next evening it commenced at nightfall, when it was ascertained to +be mysteriously connected with the movements of a servant girl in the +family--a white girl, about fourteen years of age. While passing a +window, on the stairs, for example, a _sudden jar_, accompanied with an +_explosive sound, broke a pane of glass_, the girl at the same time +being seized with a violent spasm. This, of course, very much alarmed +her; and the physician, Dr. Drake, was sent for, who came and bled her. +The bleeding, however, produced no apparent effect. The noise still +continued, as before, at intervals, wherever the girl went, each sound +producing more or less of a spasm; and the physician, with all the +family, remained up during the night. At daylight the _thumping_ ceased +again. In the evening the same thing was repeated, commencing a little +earlier than before; and so every evening since, continuing each night +until morning, and commencing each night a little earlier than before, +until yesterday, when the thumping began about twelve o'clock at noon. +The circumstances were soon generally spread through the neighborhood, +and produced so much excitement that the house was filled, and +surrounded from sunrise to sunset, for nearly a week. Every imaginable +means were resorted to, in order to unravel the phenomenon. At one time +the girl would be removed from one apartment to another, but without +effect. Wherever she was placed, at certain intervals, the thumping +would be heard in the room. She was taken to a neighboring house. The +same result followed. When carried out of doors, however, no noise was +heard. Dr. Drake, who was constant in his attendance during the whole +period, occasionally aided by other scientific observers, was with us +last evening for two hours, when we were politely allowed a variety of +experiments with the girl, in addition to those heretofore tried, to +satisfy ourselves that there is no imposition in the case, and, if +possible, to discover the secret agent of the mystery. The girl was in +an upper room, with a part of the family, when we reached the house. +The noise then resembled that which would be produced by a person +violently thumping the upper floor with the head of an axe, five or six +times in succession, jarring the house, ceasing a few minutes, and then +resuming as before. We were soon introduced into the apartment, and +permitted to observe for ourselves. The girl appeared to be in perfect +health, cheerful, and free from the spasms felt at first, and entirely +relieved from every thing like the fear or apprehension which she +manifested for some days. The invisible noise, however, continued to +occur as before, though somewhat diminished in frequency, while we were +in the room. In order to ascertain more satisfactorily that she did not +produce it voluntarily, among other experiments we placed her on a +chair on a blanket in the centre of the room, bandaged the chair with a +cloth, fastening her feet on the front round, and confining her hands +together on her lap. No change, however, was produced. The thumping +continued as before, excepting that it was not quite so loud. The noise +resembled that which would be produced by stamping on the floor with a +heavy heel; yet she did not move a limb or muscle, that we could +discover. She remained in this position long enough to satisfy all in +the room that the girl exercised, voluntarily, no sort of agency in +producing the noise. It was observed that the noise became greater the +farther she was removed from any other person. We placed her in the +doorway of a closet in the room, the door being ajar, to allow her to +stand in the passage. In less than one minute the door flew open, as if +violently struck with a mallet, accompanied with precisely such a noise +as such a thump would produce. This was repeated several times, with +the same effect. In short, in whatever position she was placed, whether +in or out of the room, similar results, varied a little perhaps by +circumstances, were produced. There is certainly no deception in the +case. The noise was heard at least one hundred yards from the house." + +"In this case, no suspicions were entertained by the investigators that +there was any supernatural or spiritual power manifested, as there was +no manifestations of intelligence. They were purely physical +phenomena." + +The next case we shall notice we copy from the Spiritual Telegraph of +July 3, 1852, taken from an old New York paper, dated March 10, 1789. +The extract is as follows:-- + +"Sir: Were I to relate the many extraordinary, though not less true +accounts I have heard concerning that unfortunate girl at New +Hackensack, your belief might perhaps be staggered and patience tired. +I shall therefore only inform you of what I have been an eye-witness +to. Last Sunday afternoon my wife and myself went to Dr. Thorn's, and +after sitting for some time, we heard a knocking under the feet of a +young woman that lives in the family; I asked the doctor what +occasioned the noise: he could not tell, but replied, that he, together +with several others, had examined the house, but were unable to +discover the cause. I then took a candle and went with the girl into +the cellar: there the knocking also continued; but as we were ascending +the stairs to return, I heard a _prodigious rapping_ on each side, +which alarmed me very much. I stood still some time, looking around +with amazement, when I beheld some lumber, which lay at the head of the +stairs, shake considerably. About eight or ten days after, we visited +the girl again: the knocking was again heard, but much louder than +before. Our curiosity induced us to pay the third visit, when the +phenomena were still more alarming. _I then saw the chairs move; a +large dining table was thrown against me, and a small stand, on which +stood a candle, was tossed up and thrown into my wife's lap_; after +which we left the house, much surprised at what we had seen." + +"Catharine Crowe, in her Night Side of Nature, mentions several +well-authenticated cases of this character, and other writers have +noticed the same phenomena. A case is given on the 410th page of Miss +Crowe's work--that of a young officer in the English army, who, +wherever he went, whether in camp or at home, or among strangers, was +liable to be tormented with these _noises at night_. Although they +gave no particular marks of intelligence, yet they were regarded by his +relatives with an abundance of superstition. They considered him +"haunted." + +"When these sounds commenced, he would sit up in bed, and express his +anger in strong execrations. If a cage bird was in his room, it was +certain to be found dead in the morning; or if he kept a dog in the +apartment, it would make away from him as soon as released, and never +come near him again." + +"The phenomena in Dr. Phelps's case, already mentioned in this volume, +consisted in the moving of articles of furniture in a manner that could +not be accounted for. Knives, forks, spoons, nails, blocks of wood, +&c., were thrown in different directions about the house, when there +appeared no visible power by which the motion could have been produced. +A writer in the New Haven Journal and Courier testifies, that while he +was present, "the contents of the pantry were emptied into the kitchen, +and bags of salt, tin ware, and heavy cooking utensils were thrown in a +promiscuous heap upon the floor, with a loud and startling noise. +Loaves of delicious cake were scattered about the house. The large +knocker of the outside door would thunder its fearful tones through the +loud-resounding hall, chairs would deliberately move across the room, +heavy marble-top tables would poise themselves upon two legs, and then +fall with their contents to the floor--no person being within six feet +of them." + +"On the 1st of October, 1850, Mrs. Phelps and her two children left +home for Pennsylvania: with this the phenomena ceased. The doctor +remained at his house five weeks after, without disturbance. It was +ascertained that these and other manifestations were less frequent and +feebler when but one of the children was in the house; and that they +were more frequent in connection with the lad, (one of the above +children,) eleven years of age. + +These children had frequently been mesmerized into the trance state by +their father; and one of them was subject to spontaneous trance, and at +one time was found in the barn in a cataleptic state. Since the return +of the doctor's family, in the spring of 1851, he has kept the two +children separate, the boy being away, lest his presence would occasion +a recurrence of the same phenomena. Simultaneous with the phenomena, +the boy would frequently start while asleep in bed. + +Analogous to the above are the wonderful occurrences which took place +at Stockwell, England, in January, 1772, as related in the work +entitled Night Side of Nature, page 370. We shall only give the most +important particulars of the case, leaving the reader to consult the +work itself." + +"On Monday, January 6, 1772, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, as Mrs. +Golding (the hostess) was in the parlor, she heard the china and +glasses in the kitchen tumble down and break; her maid came to her, and +told her the stone plates were falling from the shelf; Mrs. Golding +went into the kitchen, and saw them broken. Presently after, a row of +plates from the next shelf fell down likewise, while she was there, and +nobody near them: this astonished her much, and while she was thinking +about it, other things in different places began to tumble about, some +of them breaking, attended with violent noises all over the house; a +clock tumbled down, and the case broke." The destruction increased with +the wonder and terror of Mrs. Golding. Wherever she went, accompanied +by the servant girl, this dreadful waste of property followed. + +Mrs. Golding, in her terror, fled to a neighbor's, where she +immediately fainted. A surgeon was called, and she was bled. The blood, +which had hardly congested, was seen all at once to spring out of the +basin upon the floor, and presently after, the basin burst to pieces, +and a bottle of rum, that stood by it, broke at the same time. + +Mrs. Golding went to a second neighbor's, as the articles she had +conveyed to the first were being destroyed. And while the maid remained +at the first neighbor's, Mrs. Golding was not disturbed; but when +putting up what few things remained unbroken of her mistress's in a +back apartment, a jar of pickles, that stood upon a table, turned +upside down, and other things were broken to pieces. + +Meantime the disturbances had ceased at Mrs. Golding's house, and but +little occurred at the neighbors', while Mrs. Golding and her servant +remained apart. But as soon as they came into each other's company, the +disturbance would begin again. + +About five o'clock on Tuesday morning, Mrs. Golding went to the chamber +of her niece, and desired her to get up, as the noises and destruction +were so great she could continue in the house no longer: at this time, +all the tables, chairs, drawers, &c., were tumbling about. In +consequence of this resolution, Mrs. Golding and her maid went over the +way to Richard Fowler's. The maid returned to Mrs. Pain's, to help this +lady dress her children. At this time all was quiet. They then repaired +to Fowler's, and then began the same scenes as had happened at the +other places. It must be remarked that all was quiet here as well as +elsewhere, till the maid returned. + +When they reached Mr. Fowler's, he began to light a fire in his back +room. When done, he put the candlestick upon the table in the fore +room. This apartment Mrs. Golding and her maid had just passed through. +This candlestick, and another with a tin lamp in it, that stood by it, +were dashed together, and fell to the ground. A lantern, with which +Mrs. Golding had been lighted across the road, sprang from a hook to +the ground. A basket of coals tumbled over, and the coals rolled about +the room. + +Mrs. Golding and her servant now returned home, when similar scenes +were repeated. Mr. Pain then desired Mrs. Golding to send her maid for +his wife to come to them. When she was gone all was quiet. When she +returned she was immediately discharged, and no disturbances happened +afterwards." + +"The account gives us the following particulars, namely: that the +phenomena always depended upon the presence of the servant maid, and +that they always occurred with the greatest energy when the mistress +was in the company of the maid; also that, when the maid passed through +a room alone, there would be little or no disturbance of its contents, +but if she was soon after followed by Mrs. Golding, various articles +would begin to play the most singular pranks. Very often one article +would be attracted by another, or they would fly towards each other, +and striking together, fall upon the floor as if both had been charged +with some physical agent which made them act like opposite poles. Then, +also, they would fly _from_ one another, as by _repulsive_ forces. +Every thing which Mrs. Golding had touched seems to have been in some +way affected, so that afterwards, on the approach of the maid, it would +be broken to atoms, sometimes, even, without her touch. The blood of +Mrs. Golding was highly susceptible under the same circumstances, and +the bowl in which it was contained and the glass ware standing by it +burst to pieces." + +"In the year 1835, a suit was brought before the sheriff of Edinburgh, +Scotland, for the recovery of damages suffered in a certain house owned +by a Mr. Webster. Captain Molesworth was the defendant at the trial." +(See Night Side of Nature, page 400.) The following facts were +developed: Mr. Molesworth had seriously damaged the house both as to +substance and reputation. + +_First._ By sundry holes which he cut in the walls, tearing up the +floors, &c., to discover the cause of certain noises which tormented +himself and family. + +_Second._ By the bad name he had given the house, stating that it +was haunted. Witnesses for the defendant were sheriff's officers, +justices of the peace, and officers of the regiment quartered near; all +of whom had been at the said house sundry times to aid Captain +Molesworth detect the invisible cause of so much disturbance. + +The disturbance consisted in certain noises, such as knockings, +pounding, scratching sounds, rustlings in different parts of a +particular room; sometimes, however, in other parts of the house. +Certain boards of the floor would seem to be at times infected with the +noises; then certain points in the walls, at which Mr. Molesworth would +point his gun, or cut into with an axe, all to no purpose. + +The bed on which a young girl, aged thirteen years, had been confined +by disease, would very often be raised above the floor, as if a sudden +force was applied beneath it, which would greatly alarm her and the +whole family, and cause the greatest perplexity. The concussions which +were often produced on the walls would cause them visibly to tremble. +The force that produced these results was soon discovered to be in some +strange way connected with this invalid, and wherever the young invalid +was moved this force accompanied her." + +"It is plainly exhibited, in the cases just given, that no +characteristics of spiritual agency are exhibited, but those, on the +contrary, of a mere physical power, associated with the organism of +certain persons. "We have not," says Mr. Rogers, "the least possible +evidence that any spirit, demoniacal or angelic, had any hand in +performing the wild antics among crockery and furniture which we have +seen performed in the accounts given. For it is admitted that a +spiritual agent is an intelligent agent. Its characteristics are those +of intelligence, as every one admits. Wherever, therefore, these +characteristics are wanting in a class of phenomena, it is blindly +absurd, greatly superstitious, even to draw the inference that they are +spiritual phenomena. But what shall be said when it is asserted as a +veritable certainty, and the crowd is made to stretch their throats and +swallow the absurdity without a moment's examination?" "Is it possible +we are to be driven to the conclusion that the ground of faith in +spirituality is identical with that of ignorance, superstition, +fanaticism, bigotry?" + +We shall now proceed to give the case of Angelique Cottin, as reported +in the Night Side of Nature, and in the _Courrier des Etats Unis_, +and the investigations of the case as reported by M. Arago, before the +Paris Academy of Sciences, 16th of February, 1846. + +"Angelique Cottin was a native of La Perriere, aged fourteen, when, on +the 15th of January, 1846, at eight o'clock in the evening, while +weaving silk gloves at an oaken frame, in company with other girls, the +frame began to jerk, and they could not by any efforts keep it steady. +It seemed as if it were alive; and becoming alarmed, they called in the +neighbors, who would not believe them, but desired them to sit down and +go on with their work. Being timid, they went one by one, and the frame +remained still till Angelique approached, when it recommenced its +movements, while she was also attracted by the frame. Thinking she was +bewitched or possessed, her parents took her to the presbytery, that +the spirit might be exorcised, or cast out. The curate, being a +sensible man, objected, but set himself to work to observe the +phenomenon, and being satisfied of the facts of the case, he bade them +take her to a physician. + +"Meanwhile, the intensity of the influence, whatever it was, augmented; +not only articles made of oak, but all sorts of things, were acted upon +by it, and reacted upon her, while persons who were near her, even +without contact, frequently felt _electric_ shocks. The effects, which +were diminished when she was on a carpet or a waxed cloth, were most +remarkable when she _was on the bare earth_. They sometimes entirely +ceased for three days, and then recommenced. Metals were not affected. +Any thing touching her apron or dress would fly off, although a person +held it; and Monsieur Herbert, while seated on a heavy tub or trough, +was raised up with it. In short, the only place she could repose on was +a stone covered with cork. They also kept her still by isolating her. +When she was fatigued the effects diminished. A needle, suspended +horizontally, oscillated rapidly with the motion of her arm, without +contact; or remained fixed while deviating from the magnetic direction. +Great numbers of enlightened medical and scientific men witnessed these +phenomena, and investigated them with every precaution to prevent +imposition. She was often hurt by the violent involuntary movements she +was thrown into, and was evidently afflicted by chorea, or St. Vitus's +dance."--_Night Side of Nature_, page 382. + +"The French paper mentions the circumstance that while Angelique was at +work in the factory, "the cylinder she was turning was suddenly thrown +a considerable distance without any visible cause; that this was +repeated several times; that all the young girls in the factory fled, +and ran to the curate to have him exorcise the young girl, believing +she had a devil." After the priest had consigned her to the physician's +care, the physician, with the father and mother, brought Angelique to +Paris. M. Arago received her, and took her to the observatory, and in +the presence of MM. Laugier and Goujon made the following observations, +which were reported to the Paris Academy of Sciences:-- + +"_First._ It is the left side of the body which appears to acquire +this sometimes attractive, but more frequently repulsive, property. A +sheet of paper, a pen, or any other light body, being placed upon a +table, if the young girl approaches her left hand, even before she +touches it, the object is driven to a distance as by a gust of wind. +The table itself is overthrown the moment it is touched by her hand, or +even by a thread which she may hold in it. + +"_Second._ This causes instantaneously a strong commotion in her side, +which draws her towards the table; but it is in the region of the +pelvis that this singular repulsive force appears to concentrate +itself. + +"_Third._ As had been observed the first day, if she attempted to sit, +the seat was thrown far from her, with such force that any other person +occupying it was carried away with it. + +"_Fourth._ One day a chest upon which three men were seated was moved +in the same manner. Another day, although the chair was held by two +very strong men, it was broken between their hands. + +"_Fifth._ These phenomena are not produced in a continued manner. They +manifest themselves in a greater or less degree, and from time to time +during the day; but they show themselves in their intensity in the +evening, from seven to nine o'clock. + +"_Sixth._ Then the girl is obliged to continue standing, and is in +great agitation. + +"_Seventh._ She can touch no object without breaking it or throwing it +upon the ground. + +"_Eighth._ All the articles of furniture which her garments touch are +displaced and overthrown. + +"_Ninth._ At that moment many persons have felt, by coming in contact +with her, a true electrical shock. + +"_Tenth._ During the entire duration of the paroxysms, the left side of +the body is warmer than the right side. + +"_Eleventh._ It is affected by jerks, unusual movements, and a kind of +trembling which seems to communicate itself to the hand which touches +it. + +"_Twelfth._ This young person presents, moreover, a peculiar +sensibility to the action of the magnet. When she approaches the north +pole of the magnet she feels a violent shock, while the south pole +produces no effect; so that if the experimenter changes the poles, but +without her knowledge, she always discovers it by the difference of +sensations which she experiences. + +"_Thirteenth._ The general health of Angelique is very good. The +extraordinary movements, however, and the paroxysms observed every +evening, resemble what one observes in some nervous maladies." + +"The great fact demonstrated in this case," says E. C. Rogers, "is, +that, under _peculiar conditions_, the human organism gives forth +a physical power which, _without visible instruments_, lifts heavy +bodies, attracts or repels them according to a law of polarity, +overturns them, and produces the phenomena of sound. So far as the mere +movement of objects, even of great weight, in connection with certain +persons, is concerned, whether in the phenomena of the so called +'spiritual manifestations,' or out of them, the immediate agent is a +physical one, and is identical throughout. None but the most ignorant +can deny this." For a further delineation of the facts in this case, +and deductions therefrom, we refer the reader to the work of Mr. +Rogers, on the Dynamic Laws and Relations of Man. + +"The next case we shall refer to is that of Frederica Hauffe, of the +town of Prevorst, in the mountainous parts of Germany. It was found +that in her hands, at a very early age, the hazel wand pointed out +metals and water. It was also found that, in certain localities, the +influences from the earth had a very powerful effect upon her +susceptible nerves. It was frequently observed by the one she often +accompanied in his walks through solitary places, that though she was +skipping ever so gayly by his side, at certain spots a kind of +seriousness and shuddering came over her, which for a long time he +could not comprehend. He also observed that she experienced the same +sensations in churchyards, and in churches where there were graves; and +that, in such churches, she never could remain below, but was obliged +to repair to the galleries. Superstition, it is true, has always +claimed such facts as parts of her ghostly superstructure; but they are +too material for this. + +Frederica was almost constantly in a magnetic state, and in this +condition frequently communicated what was taking place at a distance, +and was aware of producing sounds in space, and some ways off; but this +being found to materially injure her, the habit was abandoned. She had +a very high degree of susceptibility to mundane influences, and the +effect was, that mineral loads and subterranean currents acted through +her upon a simple stick held in her hand. + +At one time she was attacked with nervous fever, which continued +fourteen days with great violence. This was followed by _seven years +of_ MAGNETIC LIFE, interrupted only by very short and merely apparent +intervals. After the fever, she was attacked with spasms in the breast, +which continued three days. On the second day, a peasant's wife came +from the village, and seating herself beside her, said, "She needs no +physicians; they cannot help her;" and laid her hands on her forehead. +Immediately she was seized with the most direful spasms, and her +forehead was as cold as if she was dead. During the whole night she +cried deliriously that the woman had exercised a demoniacal influence +upon her; and whenever the woman returned she was always attacked with +spasms. On the third day they sent for a physician; and being then in a +magnetic condition, she cried to him when he entered, although she had +never seen him, "If you are a physician, you must help me!" He, well +understanding her malady, laid his hands on her head; and it was +remarked that, as long as he remained in the room, she saw and heard +him alone, and was insensible to the presence of all other persons. The +same kind of exclusive attachment has been seen in cases of persons who +have fallen under the peculiar influence of the magnet or a crystal, +thus showing the relation of mundane agencies to the psychological +nerve centres, as well as to the nerve centres in the spine, and among +the viscera. + +After her physician had laid his hands on her she became calm, and +slept for some hours. Some internal remedies and a bath were prescribed +for her; but the spasms returned in the night, and for eighteen weeks +she was attacked by them from twice to five or six times a day. All the +remedies prescribed proving inefficacious, recourse was had to +"magnetic passes," which, for a time, relieved the spasms. It was amid +such sufferings and such influences that, in the month of February, +1823, after extreme tortures, she gave birth to her first child. This +event was followed, for some time, by additional ills. The following is +a somewhat curious circumstance, and goes to show the influence which +one organization will have upon another, when a certain relation is +established between them. It is this: The woman who, on a former +occasion, had exerted so unhappy an influence upon the mother, produced +precisely the same effects upon the child. Her contact with it threw it +into spasms, and the convulsions became periodical until its death. + +About a year after the birth of her child, being laughed at for her +superstition, she was thrown into a state of rigid spasm, and became as +cold and stiff as a corpse. For a long time no respiration was visible. +She lay as in a dream. In this peculiar condition she spoke for three +days entirely in verse and at another, she saw, for the same period, +nothing but a ball of fire, that ran through her whole body as if on +thin bright threads. And then, for three days, she felt as if water was +falling upon her head, drop by drop; and it was at this time that she +saw her own image. She saw it clad in white, seated on a stool, whilst +she was lying in bed. She contemplated the vision for some time, and +would have cried out, but could not; at length she made herself heard, +and her husband entering, it disappeared. Her susceptibility was now so +great that she _heard and felt what happened at a distance_, and +was so sensible to external agencies, _that the nails in the walls +affected her_, which obliged her friends to remove them. The least +light had a powerful influence upon her nervous system, and could not +be endured. + +She was now induced to take a medicine which made her more calm, but +threw her into a deeper trance. Still she could not endure the +sunlight. She was taken in a darkened carriage to her home on the +mountains. "Here she existed," says her physician, "only through the +nervous emanation of others, and it became necessary that some one +should always hold her hand; and if the person was weak, it increased +her debility. The physician prescribed magnetic passes and medicines, +but she fell into a magnetic sleep, _and then prescribed for herself_. +Her greatest suffering arose from the sensation of having a stone in +her head. It seemed as if her brain was compressed, and at every breath +she drew, the motion pained her. At this time a large magnet was +applied to her forehead; immediately her head and face were turned +round, and her mouth distorted as by a stroke of palsy. On the 28th of +December she gave birth to her second child, which was followed, as +before, by a long and severe illness. She continued constantly in a +magnetic state. Persons of various tempers now became her magnetizers. +The effects of these different nervous temperaments upon hers were very +serious. It brought her into special relation to so many persons, that, +even _at a distance, they affected her, visions of whom would appear to +her like visions of spirits_. This, moveover, brought her into a deeper +magnetic condition, and rendered her more _dependent on the nervous +energy of others_. Another physician was employed from a distance. He +gave her an amulet to wear, composed of certain substances, and a small +magnet, all arranged together. Occasionally this amulet, untouched by +any one, would run about her head, breast, and bed covering, like a +live thing." + +"It has already been remarked, that, in the earlier stage of her +magnetic state, she was aware of _making sounds at a distance_. +This she repeatedly performed, so that her friends at a distance, as +they lay in bed, _heard distinctly the sounds_. This fact being +communicated to her physician, Dr. Kerner, he, by actual experiment and +observation, confirmed it. This was not performed by her will, which +was inactive in her somnambulic or cataleptic state, as well as her +consciousness. Every nerve centre was in a most intimate _rapport_ +or relation with the mundane agencies, especially that which acts in +conjunction with the nervous force, and holds every animal in a certain +connection with every thing out of the organism. + +The father of this unfortunate woman inhabited a house which formed a +part of an old cathedral, where, it had been reported by former +tenants, _strange sights had been seen, and strange sounds heard_. It +was in this house, at the time of her somnambulic state, already spoken +of, that there were heard _unusual knockings on the walls, noises in +the air_, and other sounds, which, as Dr. Kerner remarks, "can be +testified to by more than twenty credible witnesses." _There was a +trampling up and down stairs by day and by night to be heard, but no +one to be seen, as well as knockings on the walls and in the cellars; +but, however suddenly a person flew to the place to try to detect +whence the noise proceeded, they could see nothing. If they went +outside, the knocking was immediately heard inside, and vice versa._ +The noises at length became so perplexing, that her father declared +that he could live in the house no longer. They were not only audible +to every body in the house, but to the passengers in the street, who +stopped to listen to them as they passed. Whenever there was playing on +the piano, and singing, sounds would commence on the walls." + +We have not room to mention all the facts in her case; but will add a +few of the most remarkable. "She was very susceptible to _electrical +influences_, and, what is almost incredible, _she had a preternatural +feeling_ or _consciousness of human writing_. Various minerals seemed +to have a specific effect, when brought in contact with her. _Glass and +rock crystal_ had a powerful effect in waking her from the somnambulic +state, or in exciting the force within her organism. This fact, and +others of this character in abundance, point to the peculiar tendency +of this force, in some cases of disease, to act outwardly from the +nerve centres upon glass ware, window glass, &c. "We have known a +child, eight years old," says Mr. Rogers, "who seldom, at one period, +took hold of a glass dish without its soon bursting to pieces." In the +case of Frederica, a rock crystal, placed on the pit of her stomach, +and allowed to remain there for some time, would produce a deep state +of catalepsy. She was affected in the same manner by silicious sand and +gravel, or even by standing some time near a glass window. If she +chanced to seat herself on a sandstone beach, she was apt to become +cataleptic; and once, having been for some time missed, she was at +length found at the top of the house, seated on a heap of sand, so +rigid, that she was unable to move away from it. Whenever she was +placed in a bath by her medical attendants, it was with a great deal of +labor they could immerse her body beneath the surface. Her specific +gravity seemed to be more like cork, or a bladder of air, than that of +muscle, nerve, and bone. Something seemed to pervade her body, or to +act upon it, so entirely opposite to the centripetal action of the +earth, as to counteract this law of force in the most marked manner. +This fact suggested to Dr. Kerner a curious experiment, which resulted +in the development of another important phenomenon. He had concluded, +that as all these phenomena had taken place more or less in conjunction +with those usually termed _magnetic_ or _mesmeric_, there might be some +relation of the forces in both, or indeed they might be identical. To +test this matter, he at one time placed his fingers against hers, when +he found at once there existed a mutual attraction, as between two +magnets; and now, by extending his hand upward, _he raised her clear +from the ground; thus she was suspended, as a magnet suspends a piece +of iron_, or _another magnet, simply by a polar force_. This was +repeated several times, and afterwards his wife did quite the same +thing." + +"We have already spoken of the action which the sun's light had upon +her in producing physical effects. Among others it was observed that +the different colored rays produced each a specific effect. The light +of the moon, also, when she looked at it, produced coldness and +shivering, with melancholy." The effects of these agents on the human +organism are clearly explained, in the numbers of an astronomical +paper, by Mr. Chapman, of Philadelphia. + +"On touching Frederica with a finger, during an electrical state of the +atmosphere, she saw small flashes, which ascended to the ceiling; from +men these were colorless, from women blue; and she perceived emanations +of the same kind, and of the same variation of color, from people's +eyes." + +Concerning the power possessed in the nerve centres of this woman, to +produce sounds at a distance, Dr. Kerner remarks as follows: "As I had +been told by her parents, before her father's death, that, at the +period of her early magnetic state, she was able to make herself heard +by her friends, as they lay in bed at night, in the same village, in +other houses, by a knocking,--as is said of the dead,--I asked her, in +her sleep, whether she was able to do so now, and at what distance. She +answered that she could sometimes do it. Soon after this, as we were +going to bed, (my children and servants being already asleep,) we heard +a knocking, as if in the air over our heads; There were six knocks, at +intervals of half a minute. It was a hollow, yet clear sound, soft, but +distinct. We were certain there was no one near us, nor over us, from +whom it could proceed; and our house stands by itself. On the following +evening, when she was asleep, (we had mentioned the knocking to nobody +whatever,) she asked me whether she should soon knock to us again; +which, as she said it was hurtful to her, I declined." And yet, not +long after this, Kerner relates the following, as having taken place at +his house: "On the morning of the 23d of March, 1837, at one o'clock, I +suddenly awoke, and heard seven knocks, one after another, at short +intervals, seeming to proceed from the middle of my chamber: my wife +was awakened also; and we could not compare this knocking to any +ordinary sound. Mrs. Hauffe lived several houses distant from us." + +"On the 30th of the same month, Rev. Mr. Hermann came into _rapport_ or +special relation with Mrs. H., through the medium of psychological +sympathy, as well as through the physical influence. Previous to this +he had not been troubled with strange sounds at his house, but after +that period he was awakened every night, at a particular hour, by a +knocking in his room,--sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on the +walls,--which his wife heard as well as himself. In a great part of her +magnetic state, Mrs. H. was under a strong state of religious feeling, +and was often engaged in prayer. Rev. Mr. Hermann sympathized with her +in this, and with the commencement of the rapping in his room, he +experienced an involuntary disposition to pray." (See Mr. Rogers's +work, where many such cases are given.) + +In elucidation of the effect of glass, sand, gravel, &c., upon her +organism, we will state an additional fact, as related by her +physician: "On the 21st of April, Dr. K. was at the house of Mrs. H. +The window being open, he saw a quantity of gravel come in the window, +which he not only saw, as he says, 'but picked it up!' To be certain +that no one threw it in, he immediately looked out. On comparing it, he +found it to be such gravel as lay in the front of the house." + +"Now, let the phenomena we have related be put side by side with those +which occurred at the house of Rufus Elmer, in Springfield, +Massachusetts, on the 5th of April, 1852, as witnessed by Professor +Wells, of Cambridge, and others, and alleged to be the work of spirits. + +_First._ The table was moved in every possible direction, and with +great force, when no cause of motion could be perceived. + +_Second._ The table was forced against each one present so powerfully +as to move them from their positions, together with the chairs they +occupied, in all several feet. + +_Third._ Mr. Wells and Mr. Edwards took hold of the table in such a +manner as to exert their strength to the best advantage, but found the +invisible power, exercised in the opposite direction, to be quite equal +to their utmost efforts. + +_Fourth_. In two instances, at least, while the hands of all the +members of the circle were placed on the top of the table, and while no +visible power was employed to raise the table, or otherwise to move it +from its position, it was seen to rise clear of the floor, and to float +in the atmosphere for several seconds, as if sustained by a denser +medium than the air. + +_Fifth._ Mr. Wells was rocked to and fro with great violence, and +at length it poised itself on two legs, and remained in this position +for some thirty seconds, when no other person was in contact with the +table. + +_Sixth._ Three persons, Messrs. Wells, Bliss, and Edwards, assumed +positions on the table at the same time, and while thus seated, the +table was moved in various directions. + +_Seventh._ Occasionally we were made conscious of the occurrence +of a powerful shock, which produced a vibratory motion of the floor of +the apartment. It seemed like the motion occasioned by distant thunder, +or the firing of ordnance far away, causing the tables, chairs, and +other inanimate objects, and all of us, to tremble in such a manner +that the effect was both seen and felt. + +In conclusion, it was observed that D. D. Hume, the medium, frequently +urged the company to hold his feet and hands. The room was well +lighted, and a lamp was placed on and under the table, and every +possible opportunity afforded for the closest inspection. They were +therefore positive that there was no deception in the case. The +conclusion was, _that it must be the work of spirits_--a singular +conclusion, indeed, for men of such standing and acquirements. It might +all have been accomplished, _biologically_; but admitting the whole +to be literally and substantially true, they fall far short of +well-attested phenomena, where it was not so much as _conjectured_ even +to be _at all supernatural_." + +The fact is incontrovertibly evident, that physical agents, subtile and +unseen, are every where at work. "Force shows itself," as the elegant +Somerville remarks, in his Connection of the Physical Sciences, "in +every thing that exists in the heavens or on the earth." There is a +physical power which not only binds satellites to their planet, and +planets with suns, and sun with sun throughout the wide extent of +creation, which is the cause of the disturbances, as well as the order +of nature, but it physically binds man to man, and man to nature. And +as every tremor it excites in one planet is immediately transmitted to +the farthest limits of the system, in oscillations, which correspond in +their periods with the cause producing them, like sympathetic notes in +music, or vibrations from the deep tones of an organ, so every +vibration, thus excited, is transmissible to the delicate centres of +every organic being, provided the repulsive agent of those beings is +changed in its relative condition so as to admit its influx. (See +Geometry and Faith, by Rev. T. Hill, of Waltham.) + +"It is well known to every chemist, that wherever there is chemical +action going on, there is a constant evolution of some force. Now, that +there is a constant chemical action taking place is certain, and the +sources of this action are very numerous. Among others, we have that of +water, (often holding in solution saline ingredients, thus increasing +its action upon metallic substances,) which, percolating through the +surface, acts upon all those surfaces whose materials have a strong +chemical affinity for the oxygen or hydrogen of the water. + +Wherever there is a mineral load the development of force is in some +instances very great. For instance, Mr. R. W. Fox was able, by +connecting two lodes with copper wires, and conducting the latter to +the surface of the earth, and immersing them in a cell which contained +a solution of sulphate of copper, to obtain an electrotype copy of an +engraved copperplate. + +Thus "the earth itself may be made a _battery_," as Robert Hunt says. +"We know," he repeats, "that, through the superficial strata of the +earth, electric currents circulate freely, whether they are composed of +clay, sand, or any mixture of these with decomposed organic matter; +indeed, that with any substance in a moist state, electric currents +suffer no interruption." The electricity of mineral veins has attracted +the attention of some of the first philosophers of Europe, and has led +to some highly-interesting experiments with regard to the action of +this important agent in the formation, disposition, and direction of +rocks and mineral veins. M. Becqueral and others have made use of these +currents successfully in imitating Nature in her processes of making +crystals and other mineral formations." + +"It is not, however, necessary to suppose that the agent of which we +are treating particularly requires a chemical action to develop it, or +the action of the electric force. Experiments have proved that it is +developed in every form of material action--that even the substances of +the earth, without sensible alteration, exert this force. To this agent +the sensitive nerve centres are extremely susceptible. The celebrated +Ritter, of Germany, devoted much time to an investigation of this +subject, and, in 1809, published Supplementary Treatises upon it, +together with Amoretti's celebrated work on the same subject--Physical +and Historical Inquiries into Rhabdomancy, &c., in Germany. (See Dr. +Ashburner's Translation of Rheinbach, first American edition; +Redfield.) Schubert, in his work on Natural History, says, "It seems +clear, from many observations, that the whole mineral (and much of the +vegetable) kingdom _has a profound and mysterious relation with the +organism of man_." "_This_ relation," says Rogers, "is that of +matter with matter connected by an imponderable agent." "The phenomena +which betray this, as a fact of nature, have been observable from the +earliest ages. It is certain, however, that local causes often give +developments to such strange phenomena, _that it requires all the +science that can be mustered to keep back the tide of superstition +which will be thus aroused in the breasts of those unacquainted with +the action of these agents_." + +Some will ask the question, "If these things be true, why have we not +heard of them before?" We confess that we know of no other possible +reason than that such inquiries are not "_posted up_," as they should +be, in matters of history and science. But, before closing this part of +our subject, we propose to relate a few more incidents, by way of +illustration. + +"In the year 1849-50, certain highly-respectable houses in the city of +New York seem to have been all at once unaccountably beset with a +strange power, which seized upon particular parts, and would not allow +any one, not even the members of the families, to touch those seemingly +consecrated things. Whenever this was attempted, a loud, sharp sound +would be instantly given, accompanied with a sharp and spiteful flash +of light, as if the agent was determined to protect that which it had +seized upon. But this was not all; it would smartly shock the intruder +with a blow, as if with an unseen fist, or the like. It even seized +upon the members of these families at times, and would--so to +speak--make them apparently strike one another, in an unseen manner, +simultaneously. It was often the case that a stranger could not call at +the door without being instantly struck on the wrist or elbow, on +touching the knob of the door bell; and he would see, at the same +instant, an angry flash of light, as if from some demon's eye. The +ladies were not allowed to kiss each other without each receiving, on +the approach of their lips, a fiery smack, as from a spirit's lips. The +dear little ones of these families were prevented from giving their +mothers the parting salutation on retiring for the night." + +"There _seemed_ to be a great deal of cunning shown by this agency. If +the lady of the house did not think to pay all due deference to its +rules, when she wished to give orders to the servants below through the +metallic speaking tube, she was sure to receive an unseen blow in the +mouth, almost sufficient to stagger her: at the same instant she would +see the flash of what might have been taken for a 'fiery,' if not for +an 'evil eye.'" + +"Professor Loomis visited these dwellings, (see Annual of Scientific +Discovery, 1851, page 129,) and observed these phenomena. He perceived +the flash whenever the hand was brought near to the knob of the door, +also to the gilded frame of a mirror, the gas pipes, or any metallic +body, especially when this body communicated freely with the earth. "In +one house," says this scientific gentleman, in his description before +the American Scientific Association, at New Haven, "in one house, which +I have had the opportunity to examine, a child, in taking hold of the +knob of a door, received so severe a shock that it ran off in great +fright. In passing from one parlor to the other, if the lady of the +house chanced to step upon the brass plate which served as a slide for +the folding doors, she received an unpleasant shock in the foot. When +she touched her finger to the chandelier, there appeared a brilliant +spark, and a snap." After a careful examination of several cases of +this kind, Professor Loomis came to the conclusion "that the +electricity is created (excited) by the friction of the shoes of the +inmates upon the carpets of the house." "If the professor is correct in +his conjecture, it would follow that every house," says Mr. Rogers, +"with similar carpets, should become electrized, and exhibit similar +phenomena, in which case we should have observed their appearance at a +much earlier period, and the occurrence would have been presented much +more frequently and extensively. Yet the phenomena is every whit +electrical; hence we are led by them to see, that when local +circumstances are favorable, an agent may be developed in our midst, +which may play the most singular pranks, which, it is more than +probable, may be attributed to _supernatural_, and even to SPIRITUAL +_powers_, if the witnesses should be ignorant of those characteristics +which identify them with a well-known agent. Had the characteristics in +the above been contrary to those of any known agent, although the +phenomena had been entirely physical, how many would have leaped to the +conclusion, without a moment's thought or investigation, that the force +was a power of the invisible spirit world? With regard to the phenomena +of the present day, reason has been entirely set aside; hence the +precipitate conclusion concerning them, even by many who lay great +claim to its use and application to all other subjects. We have been +truly astonished at the course of such persons." + +"We shall now present a few cases that bear a closer analogy to +electricity, perhaps, than those we have been considering. The first we +shall speak of is that of the two Smyrna girls, who visited France in +1839, and exhibited what was called _their electrical powers, in +moving tables without contact_. The account was published in the +Boston Weekly Magazine, of December 28, 1839. The two girls landed at +Marseilles, about the first of November, 1839. In hopes of realizing a +splendid fortune, they intended to exhibit themselves in France, and +other parts of the continent. Immediately on their arrival, several +persons, including several men of science and professors, visited them, +and ascertained the following phenomena:-- + +_First._ "The girls stationed themselves, facing each other, at the +ends of a large _table_, keeping at a distance from it of one or two +feet, according to their electrical dispositions. + +_Second._ "When a few minutes had elapsed, a _crackling_, like that of +electric fluid spreading over gilt paper, was heard, when,-- + +_Third._ "The table received a strong shake, which always made it +_advance from_ the ELDER to the younger sister. + +_Fourth._ "A _key_, _nails_, or any piece of _iron_ placed on the table +_instantaneously stopped_ the phenomena. + +_Fifth._ "When the iron was adapted to the _under part_ of the table, +it produced no effect upon the experiment. + +_Sixth._ "Saving this singularity, the facts observed constantly +followed the known laws of electricity, whether glass insulators were +used, or whether one of the girls wore silk garments. In the latter +case, the electric properties of both were neutralized." Such was the +state of matters for some days after the arrival of the young Greeks; +but,-- + +_Seventh._ "The temperature having become cooled, and the atmosphere +having loaded itself with _humidity_, all perceptible electric +virtue seemed to have deserted them. One may conceive the melancholy of +these girls," the writer continues, "and the disappointment of the two +Greeks, their relations, who came with them to share their anticipated +wealth." + +"In this case we have the "manifestation" of a force greatly analogous +to that often witnessed at the present day. In one important respect it +acted differently from electricity, in that it was broken by simply +laying a _key_ or a small piece of _iron_ on the object the agent had +acted upon, &c. "It must be admitted, however," says Mr. Rogers, "that +the fact of the influence of glass insulators and the silk dress, +causing a cessation of the phenomena, shows that the agent that acted +upon the table was, in some way, a form of electricity, though greatly +varying, in its laws of action, from that usually known to science. We +have," says Mr. R., "some curious facts relating to this _modified +agent_, to present from Matucci and others," (in the second number of +our work.) + +"From the effects of the humidity of the atmosphere, some may conclude +that the agent must have been _electricity_, inasmuch as the same state +of the atmosphere produces a like effect upon the action of friction +electricity. Let us allow this, and turn to precisely the same +phenomenon, as it has been manifested in the cases of numerous +'mediums' for the so-called '_spiritual manifestations_.'" + +"We will not state it upon our authority alone, but also upon that of a +large number of intelligent believers in the spiritual origin of these +phenomena, that the electrical condition of the atmosphere enters into +the circumstances of their evolution; that in a humid state of the +weather it is not only difficult, in many instances, but sometimes it +is absolutely impossible, to obtain them under such a condition." We +know that many of the less informed "mediums" attribute these failures +to the _capriciousness of the spirits_, and frequently scold them +soundly for their misdemeanors, though at other times they seem to pity +them because they get so weary and fatigued in answering so many +inquiries, and being so long "_on duty_." + +"It was thought by some who witnessed the case of Angelique Cottin, +that the agent which acted so powerfully from her organism, +overthrowing tables, twisting chairs out of stout men's hands, raising +a man in a heavy tub, was electricity. C. Crowe says it did cause the +deviation of the magnetic needle; but M. Arago, who knows more about +this abused agent than a nation of theorizers, could not detect the +least signs of it by the nicest tests. And yet it would give the person +who touched her or her dress a powerful shock, as if it _were_ +electricity. Still, it may be the same agent that is ground out of +plate glass, that propagates news from city to city on iron wires, and +that thunders in the material heavens." + +"It has been supposed that because, in many instances, 'mediums' have +given shocks like those given by electrized bodies, the two agents must +be identical. Not long since, a young lady, about sixteen years of age, +Miss Harriett Bebee, was placed in a magnetic state, in company with +Mrs. Tamlin, both being of a clairvoyant character. The sounds were +heard while they were in that state. Every time these occurred a very +sensible jar, like an electric shock, was experienced by Miss Bebee. In +answer to a question, she stated that at each sound she felt as if +there was electricity passing over her. Several of the persons, in +whose presence these sounds are heard, always receive a slight shock, +so that there is a slight jar, which has sometimes been so plain as to +lead persons, ignorant of the facts and the phenomenon, to accuse them +of making it themselves." Says a writer upon this subject, "This +feeling of electricity seems to pervade nearly every thing connected +with these phenomena. When the rapping is heard, the peculiar jar is +felt, differing from the jar produced by a blow; and in various other +ways we are reminded of the use of this subtile agent. We often see, in +a dark room, bright electric flashes on the wall and other places." + +The same writer observes, "Persons sometimes feel a sensation of +electricity passing over their limbs when they stand in the vicinity of +those who get the sounds most freely, although the particular persons +who seem to be the mediums feel no sensation at all. In one or two +instances we have seen a perceptible shock, as if caused by a galvanic +battery, especially when the persons were under the influence of +magnetism." + +"In a work published in Cincinnati, by "William T. Coggshall, the +author says, "We have felt positive electrical influences from +clairvoyants. At the present time," he continues, "what is termed +'electrical circles' are being formed every week in Cincinnati, for the +benefit of persons whose systems require additional electrical power. +We have seen several women so powerfully electrized in these circles, +that the same effects were produced upon them which would have been had +they been isolated in connection with a galvanic battery." So it has +been seen that, on touching Angelique Cottin, a person would receive a +"true electric shock." This kind of shock was experienced by Campeti +and Bleton, in passing over mineral veins and subterraneous streams, as +mentioned by Dr. Ashburner. "Many somnambulic persons," says C. Crowe, +"are capable of giving an electric shock; and I have met with one +person, not somnambulic, who informed me that he has frequently been +able to do it by an effort of the will." + +"When an iron plate was brought near to one of Reichenbach's patients, +and a crystal brought in contact with it, the effect upon it was like +an electric shock, which even ascended from the elbow to the shoulder." +Many other cases might be cited to the same purpose. The magnet and +iron have a specific action upon the nervous system; and the same agent +acts also from crystals, vegetable substances, and the human hand, nay, +from the earth itself." The second number of Mr. Rogers's work contains +some interesting facts of this character. + +"Vitality," says Dr. W. E. Channing, in his Notes on Electricity, "is +dependent on physical conditions, and performs its functions by the +agency of physical forces." The Rev. Thomas Hill, in his Fragmentary +Supplement to the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, observes that "all bodies +are moved through the agency of other bodies, and we see nowhere a +motion which is not dependent upon _physical causes_, that is, which is +not produced by _physical agents_. Our will employs, unconsciously, the +aid of nerve and muscle; the supreme will employs, with wise designs, +the intervention of the laws of _impulse_, _attraction_, and +_repulsion_." "When, in the course of ages, the comparative easy +problems of astronomy were solved, problems of more difficulty were +brought to view. Phenomena which were not _obvious_, not _pictured +alphabet_, but the _fine print of creation_, _electrical_, _optical_, +and _chemical phenomena_, led men into more _hidden_ knowledge." + +"The agents employed by the animal organization," says Dr. Channing, +"are principles found UNIVERSALLY IN NATURE, and, in addition to these, +a force which is peculiar to living structures--the special agent of +vitality." "Now, it might reasonably be expected, that if electricity, +among other agents found "universally in nature," is also associated +with the agent of the animal economy, it might, under favorable +conditions, exhibit its characteristic phenomena. These conditions +would, of course, be owing to a variation of the organism from its +normal standard. The following case, given by Dr. Ennemoser, of +Germany, exhibits some of these characteristics:-- + +The case was that of a young woman, sister of a professor at Strasburg. +Immediately on a sudden fright, she was seized with a nervous malady, +which continued for a long period, and finally terminated in her death. +Among the remarkable symptoms in her case were the following:-- + +_First._ Those of _somnambulism_, with more or less lucidity. + +_Second._ Her body became so highly charged with electricity that +it was necessary to conduct it away by a regular process of conduction. + +_Third._ Her body would impart powerful shocks to those who came +in contact, and even when they did not touch her. + +_Fourth._ She controlled its action so as to give her brother (the +professor) a "smart shock when he was several rooms off." (The account +states, that when the professor received the shock, "he started up and +rushed into her chamber, where she was in bed; and as soon as she saw +him, she said, laughing, 'Ah, you felt it, did you?'") + +_Fifth._ She was subject, also, to spasms and paroxysms of rigor +and trembling. + +Some of the phenomena, in this case, resemble those we see exhibited by +the electric fish. The case is an important one in considering the +command which the nerve centres possess over the general agents +associated with them." + +We shall now present another singular case, which occurred in this +country, in the month of January, 1839, an account of which was given +in Silliman's Journal, by a correspondent:-- + +_First._ That "on the evening of January 28, 1839, during a somewhat +extraordinary display of the northern lights, a respectable lady became +so highly charged with electricity, as to give out vivid electrical +sparks from the end of each finger, to the face of each of the company +present." + +_Second._ That this did not cease with the heavenly phenomena, but +continued several months, during which time she was constantly charged +and giving off electrical sparks to every conductor she approached. +This was extremely vexatious, as she could not touch the stove, or any +metallic utensil, without giving off an electrical spark, with the +consequent twinge. + +_Third._ That "the state most favorable to _this phenomena_ was an +atmosphere of about eighty degrees Fahrenheit, moderate exercise, and +social enjoyment. It disappeared in an atmosphere approaching zero, and +under the debilitating effects of fear." + +_Fourth._ That, "when seated by the stove, reading, with her feet upon +the fender, she gave sparks at the rate of three or four a minute; and +under the most favorable circumstances, a spark that could be seen, +heard, or felt, passed every moment." + +_Fifth._ That "she could charge others in the same way, when insulated, +who could then give sparks to others." + +_Sixth._ "To make it satisfactory that her dress did not produce it, it +was changed to cotton, and woollen, without altering the phenomenon. +The lady is about thirty, of sedentary pursuits, and delicate state of +health, having, for two years previously, suffered from acute +rheumatism and neuralgic affections." + +For further investigation into the cause of singular phenomena evolved +from secret agents, and the true philosophy of biology, magnetism, +trance, &c., we would again refer to the numbers of a work by Mr. +Rogers, now in process of publication. His principles and deductions +challenge successful contradiction. + + + + +EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY. + + +Biology, so called, is one peculiar feature, or form, of mesmerism. +"These experiments," says Dr. Richmond, "attracted much attention some +three years since, in Ohio, and other places, and such was the intense +excitement of the public mind that, in some places, parents and the +public were obliged to interfere and stop children from biologizing +each other." It was found that not only muscular motion, but the +exercise of the senses, could be destroyed by the will of the operator. +Taste was obliterated, or changed, memory destroyed, and any picture +presented to the mind of the subject would be seen. Tell him he saw +snakes, and he would become frightened, and rush with violence over the +seats and benches. Tell him he was sleigh riding, and he would +instantly seize the reins, and drive the horses with great glee. Tell +him he was a witch--an old woman in rags--and he would own the +character, and confess all the crimes with which you had charged him. +Tell him he was a gay young lady, and another subject was about to +court him, and a love scene would commence. Tell him he was cold, and +he would shiver, his teeth chatter; he would stamp, and thresh his +hands to keep them warm. Tell him it was summer--very hot, and he would +begin fanning himself, fling off his coat, and, unless prevented, would +divest himself of all garments tell him that a tree of fruit was before +him, and he would begin to fill his pockets. Sweep the room before him, +and open the sky, and say that the river of life and a white throne +were before him, that the judgment was set, and instantly he would +assume the attitude of devotion; he would gaze with burning eye and +rapt delight into the scene of glory. Take him to a lake side, tell him +a child was drowning in the water, and he would wade in, take it in his +arms, and lay it carefully down, and weep over it in deep pity. Bring +before him the lightning's flash, the thunder's roll, or proclaim a God +in grandeur, and a world on fire, and, as once actually took place in +Covington, Kentucky, a dozen subjects fell in intense fright: some on +to the floor, some on benches, others sought to fly, and all declared +to the audience that a shower of fire seemed to be around them. Any +image the operator sees fit to plant in the subject's mind is readily +done; any passion readily assumed; reverence, revenge, vanity, love, +hate, fear, mirth, joy, grief, or ecstasy, are all _imitated_ at his +bidding, and safely dispersed and reproduced with the rapidity of +thought, changing in an instant both the actions and motions of the +subject. Tell the person he is suffocating in water, and he _will_ +suffocate, unless you prevent him. Tell him he is struck on the head, +and he falls, as if stricken down with a hammer. No doubt a subject +might be killed by a mental impression--by saying to him he was shot +through the heart, or was struggling in water. This is the opinion +of all operators in the art. The subject at the time is, to all +appearance, in a perfectly _normal state_; his mental, moral, and +physical powers seem unchanged, and he thinks at the time he can resist +your power over him; he but gives you his eye, and you lead him captive +by mental impressions. The only perceptible variation from the normal +state is, that the _eye_, in most subjects, is clear and glassy, the +same eye that is observed in some maniacs, and in consumptive +patients--clear, sharp, and fearful to look at. The hidden fires of the +soul seem to burn through it, with intense force. I have watched it for +months, and years, in consumptives, under the wasting of vitality; and +the eye kindles and sparkles with more intensity as they near their +end. All impressible subjects have this eye, to a greater or less +extent; all consumptives have it, as well as those who in early life +are inclined to consumption. + +The facts and incidents under the effects of biology are truly singular +and wonderful; and yet the advocates of the "spirit mania" admit there +is nothing supernatural in them. For aught we can see, the phenomena +put forth by the "rappers" differ not materially from the biologic +developments. They seem to be identical with each other. + +I know it is affirmed that the developments of electro-biology do not +cover the whole ground in dispute, inasmuch as _men and women only_ are +found to yield to its impressions, while _chairs, tables_, and other +inanimate objects remain unimpressed. But if chairs and tables are not +moved by one form of magnetism, they are by another, as we have +abundantly shown. And any one with half an eye cannot but see that it +would require less effort to move a table, or other inanimate object, +than living, intelligent beings, capable of exerting their will in +opposition to the effort. Dr. Richmond says he has "seen an operator +draw a dozen persons from their seats, by the magnetic force of his +hand, at the distance of many feet. The first move of the hand would +bring the head forward, then the body, and by adding his voice, 'You +will stand up,' they would, _while resisting with the will, in spite of +themselves_, stand up, and follow his hand around the room." If +biologists have not usually exerted their power upon inanimate things, +it has probably been because they did not deem it of sufficient +importance. We have seen, however, a biologist raise a table to the +ceiling of a room, kindly permitting it to stick there a while, to the +no small amusement of the spectators! And it can be done again. By the +way, we would inquire what biologist is it that has sometimes lent his +aid in the raising of tables, at a "circle" in East Boston, himself an +unbeliever in "_spirit table-liftings_?" + +The editor of the Spiritual Telegraph says, that "in the biological +experiments there is a _visible human operator_," but, "in the +spiritual manifestations, no human operator can be found, or +demonstrated to exist." But, pray, what is the "medium," in these +manifestations, but _a visible human operator_? Sometimes it takes +three or four persons to produce a single demonstration. And sometimes +they cannot muster _force_ enough to do this, especially if the weather +be rainy. And this is probably the reason why the rappers at +Poughkeepsie have resolved not to admit unbelievers, nor at any time +more than two or three new-comers, at a "circle," making, with the +believers, ten or twelve in all--successful results never being +guarantied to those invited to attend. + +Mr. Brittan himself asserts that it is "the same power that moves the +_human medium_ that also moves the _wooden table_," &c. Here we have a +_human medium_ that is _moved to do something_, and _wooden tables_, +also; and if we can discover the secret agent in the one case, we shall +likewise in the other, for there is a perfect sameness or coincidence +in their operations. It is the same _unseen_ power, in both cases, +moving chairs, tables, tubs, troughs, bedsteads, and piles of lumber, +besides other gross, ponderable bodies--cutting up an infinite variety +of pranks to the _consternation_ of some, and the _amusement_ of +others, as A. J. Davis says of the dancing plates, knives and forks, +shovel, tongs, and poker, moved by "electrical discharges and magnetic +attractions," or emanations of vital electricity seeking its +equilibrium in the atmosphere. + + + + +FACULTY OF IMITATION. + + +The faculty of imitating signatures, of writing music, poetry, +specimens of foreign tongues, &c., is no more strange than imitating +the voice and gestures of those we never heard nor saw. Persons of +scarcely any education or talents, while under biological influence, +have been made to imitate the voice of Webster, Everett, Fillmore, and +others, delivering off-hand speeches of most impassioned diction and +eloquence; while, in their _normal_ state, they could scarcely frame a +paragraph in the king's English, much more deliver a formal address, +embellished with a profusion of metaphors, tropes, and figures, +accompanied with the finished attitudes and movements of a Choate, a +Sumner, or a Banks! These mesmeric imitations refer also to mechanical +and artistic power, and every talent that characterizes us as +intelligent beings. Some assert that mediums are in a _perfectly normal +state_ during the exhibitions of the "spirit" phenomena; and yet, to +the practical mesmerizer, nothing is plainer than that they are most +absolutely mesmeric persons. + +The power of _imitation_ among mediums is various, but distinct. Some +draw _maps_, purporting to come from a deceased schoolmate. Others draw +_likenesses_; others speak in voices imitating the dead--but they can +imitate the living just as well; others hear sounds--the voice of a +wife, or child, or friend. Walter Scott relates the case of an English +gentleman who was ill, and was told by his physician that he had lived +in London too long, and _lived too fast_; and advised him to retire to +the country and ruralize. One of his troubles was, that a set of +_green_ dressed dancers would enter his drawing room, go through their +evolutions, and retire. He knew it was an illusion, but could not +resist the annoyance, or the impressions made on him. He returned to +his country seat, and, in a few weeks, got rid of his visitors. He +concluded to remain out of town, and sent to London for the furniture +of his old parlor, to be placed in his country house; but when it came, +and was arranged in the room, the _corps de ballet_, dressed in +_green_, all rushed into the room, _exclaiming_, "Here we are all +again!" He had associated in his mind the furniture and the dancing +apparitions, and when it returned, they came with it, and, as he +thought, _spoke with voices_. We recollect of reading in a medical +paper, published in Boston, an account of a man who believed his house +to be haunted by the devil, in consequence of which he resolved to +vacate it and remove into the country. His goods were packed into a +wagon, and he was just upon the point of starting with his load, when +to his surprise he heard a voice, seemingly among the goods, crying +out, "We are all going together." "If that is the case," said the man, +"I will unload again; for if I am _to have_ the devil's company, it may +as well be in one place as another." + +The excessive use of wine will induce a state of the brain, in which +the person thinks he hears voices and sees spirits; but on close +examination it will be found that it is the work of the abnormal +powers, developed in the brain by stimulating agents or intense +thinking. It will be recollected that Swedenborg, after eating a late, +heavy supper, heard a voice crying out to him in terrible accents, "Eat +not so much." (See chap. 5.) Such phenomena may unravel the voice Judge +Edwards heard. His long-continued meditation on death, with night, +solitude, loneliness, and grief, had so impressed him that he thought +he heard a sound in exact imitation of the voice of his wife. In the +case related by Scott, hearing was not only affected, but the organ of +color was involved in the hallucination, and the _green figures_ +were as plain before him as real persons. This is always one of the +phenomena of ghost-seeing that the seer associates with the spectre, +namely, _form_ and _color_, _voice_ and _action_. + +The cases of imitation referred to, and others of the same class, are +the results of the _imitative mechanic power_ of the individual, +brought out by the abnormal magnetic state existing at the time. For +instance, if the individual has time and tune--the faculty of music +within lying undeveloped--it may be brought out, and made to act, by +the effects of magnetism. Last winter we listened to a lecture +delivered in Newark, New Jersey, by the Rev. Mr. Harris, from New York +city. He stated that there was a lady in Providence, who, by the agency +of spirits, produced musical compositions equal to the productions of +the best masters, as Haydn, Beethoven, and others, and that a volume of +these pieces were soon to be issued from the press. And although the +said work has not been heard of as yet, still we doubt not that a +person in a magnetic state might write very good music, even if totally +ignorant of its rules, as this young lady was said to be. + +Phrenologists often tell persons that they would make excellent +tailors, dressmakers, poets, painters, musicians, &c.--persons who +never attempted to operate in these callings. "All they need," it is +said, "is an opportunity for the development of their powers." Now, +magnetism tends to develop or rouse these _dormant_ faculties into +action. It also gives a far-reaching, a far-seeing grasp and perception +of things, as in the case of Miss Martineau, who, be it remembered, was +too intelligent to attribute such effects to the agency of spirits. + +A marked case of the increase of the _imitative power_ of persons +in the magnetic condition, is found in the case of Frederica Hauffe. In +one of her magnetic moods she informed Dr. Kerner that she would make a +diagram of the spheres. "The sun sphere," as she called it, is very +complex; but "she spun out the complicated web with unerring +precision," and a pair of compasses given her to facilitate her labor +only embarrassed her. It is made up of circles within circles, and +sections and points, amounting to thousands, related and connected; and +yet the "whole was executed," says Dr. K., "in an incredible short +space of time." An engraving was made of this sphere, and a year after +she was shown the engraving, and said it was not correct; a point on +one of the lines was wanting. On referring to the original, they found +she was right. This diagram contained many curious things, and in some +parts related to the highest departments of mathematics. This +_faculty_ she only possessed in the magnetic state, being wholly +incompetent to the task when not clairvoyant. No living artist can +execute that diagram with a pen, with a fac-simile before him, with the +rapidity with which that ignorant, unlettered child of nature did it. +"I have, in many cases," says Dr. Richmond, "witnessed this imitative +power of mediums with the pen, dashing off figures and images with a +rashness and rapidity almost inconceivable." As far as we can see, +there is no more proof of the agency of spirits in one case than in the +other; and we are sure no such claim was ever set up in the case of +Mrs. Hauffe, though living in a less enlightened region, perhaps, than +these United States. We might multiply cases of this kind, but space +will not permit. + + + + +UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES. + + +The operator in biology or magnetism often lays hold of the inquiring +spectator, and uses him or her to imitate unseen letters, signatures, +and sentences, in foreign languages. And no doubt but what Professor +Bush has been made unconsciously instrumental in executing a few +specimens of languages, his eyes wide open, it may be, all the while. +It can be no more strange than that the son of Dr. Phelps should have +been made unconsciously instrumental in tying himself to the limb of a +tree in his father's yard, _supposing_ it to have been done by +_spirits_. (See the version of the affair by A. J. Davis.) + +A biological mesmerist assures us that he finds no difficulty in +raising beds, chairs, and tables; and in the case of Mr. Kellogg it is +shown that such things are easily done without any aid from +_spirits_. In the case of Dr. Taylor, the writing medium, it is +shown, by the testimony of the spirits themselves, if their word is to +be relied on, that the phenomena in his case were not done by spirits, +but were the results of vital electricity. Such things are getting to +be so common that we may expect soon to see the time when little ragged +boys even (like those in Egypt, who went through the streets offering +to show the spirit of any deceased friend for a penny or a piece of +cake) will offer to lift tables, or imitate handwritings, at a penny a +sight. We know of several "mediums," now engaged in these things, who +confess they do not understand by what power it is they raise tables, +or write sentences, &c., yet they do not believe it to be done by the +agency of disembodied spirits. In many schools, the children have been +forbidden by their teachers to indulge in these foolish practices. This +power may be electricity, in some of its forms, or some other agent +that has some relation or affinity to it, as in the cases related by +Mr. Rogers. + + + + +A DANCING LIGHT. + + +A few years since the inhabitants of Southboro', Massachusetts, were +excited and alarmed at the appearance of a _light_, about the size of a +star, which for several successive nights was seen moving over a spot +of land in the westerly part of the town. Upon examining the premises +by daylight, it was found that a quantity of bones that had been buried +in the earth had been thrown upon the surface by the roots of a tree, +the trunk of which had recently been prostrated by a gale of wind. By +many, these bones were supposed to belong to some human being, who, it +was conjectured, had been murdered, and buried beneath the spot. And +the light seen hovering near was considered indicative of such an +event. But if the reader will turn to the second chapter of this work, +he will learn that these _dancing lights_, so called, arise from an +inflammable gas, evolved from decayed animal and vegetable substances, +which take fire on coming in contact with atmospheric air. This _ignis +fatuus_, _Jack-with-a-lantern_, or _Will-with-a-wisp_ appearance is +generally seen in dark nights, over boggy and marshy ground, and +generally in motion, at the height of five or six feet, skipping from +place to place, and frequently changing in magnitude and form. On some +occasions, it is observed to be suddenly extinguished, and then to +reappear at a distance from its former position. Those persons who have +endeavored to examine it closely have found that it moves away from +them with a velocity proportioned to that of their advance--a +circumstance which has had no small influence on the fears of the +ignorant and superstitious. Dr. Denham once saw an _ignis fatuus_ in a +boggy place, between two rocky hills, in a dark and calm night. He +approached by degrees within two or three yards of it, and thereby had +an opportunity of viewing it to the best advantage. It kept skipping +about a dead thistle, till a slight motion of the air--occasioned, as +he supposed, by his near approach--caused it to jump to another place; +and as he advanced it kept flying before him. He observed it to be a +uniform body of light, and concluded it must consist of _ignited +vapor_. These appearances are common on the plains of Boulogne, in +Italy, where they sometimes flit before the traveller on the road, +saving him the expense of a torch on dark nights. Sometimes they spread +very wide, and then contract themselves; and sometimes they float like +waves, and appear to drop sparks of fire. They shine more strongly in +rainy than in dry weather. + +An appearance of the same kind is sometimes met with at sea, during +gales of wind, and, of course, has become connected with many +superstitious notions of sailors, who call it a _corpusant_. There +are sometimes two together, and these are named Castor and Pollux. The +following is a description of one, given by the voyager Dampier: "After +four o'clock the thunder and the rain abated, and then we saw a +corpusant, at our maintopmast head. This sight rejoiced our men +exceedingly, for the height of the storm is commonly over when the +corpusant is seen aloft; but when they are seen lying on the deck, it +is generally accounted a bad sign. A corpusant is a certain small, +glittering light; when it appears, as this did, on the very top of a +mainmast, or at a yardarm, it is like a star; but when it appears on +the deck, it resembles a great glowworm. I have been told that when the +Spanish or Portuguese see them they go to prayers, and bless themselves +for the happy sight. I have heard some ignorant seamen discoursing how +they have seen them creep, or, as they say, travel about, in the +scuppers, telling many dismal stories that happened at such times; but +I did never see any one stir out of the place where it was first fixed, +except on deck, where every sea washeth it about. Neither did I ever +see any but when we had rain as well as wind, and, therefore, do +believe it is some jelly." + +The origin and nature of the lights above described have not yet been +satisfactorily explained. More accurate observations than have been +made are required to furnish the basis of a correct theory respecting +them. + + + + +SAILORS' OMENS. + + +Sailors, usually the boldest men alive, are yet not unfrequently the +very abject slaves of superstitious fear. Nothing is more common than +to hear them talk of noises, flashes, shadows, echoes, and other +visible appearances, nightly seen and heard upon the waters. Andrews, +in his Anecdotes, says, "Superstition and profaneness, those extremes +of human conduct, are too often found united in the sailor; and the man +who dreads the stormy effects of drowning a cat, of whistling a contra +dance while he leans over the gunwale, will, too often, wantonly defy +his Creator by the most daring execrations and licentious behavior." +Dr. Pegge says that "sailors have a strange opinion of the devil's +power and agency in stirring up winds, which notion seems to have been +handed down from Zoroaster, who imagined that there was an evil spirit, +called _Vato_, that could excite violent storms of wind." To lose a cat +overboard, or to drown one, or to lose a bucket or a mop, is, at the +present day, a very unlucky omen with common sailors. + + + + +LOVE CHARMS. + + +Theocritus and Virgil both introduce women into their pastorals, using +charms and incantations to recover the affections of their sweethearts. +Shakspeare represents Othello as accused of winning Desdemona "by +conjuration and mighty magic." + + "Thou hast practised on her with foul charms; + Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals + That waken motion. + She is abused, stolen from me, and corrupted, + By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks." + +In Gay's Shepherd's Week, these are represented as country practices:-- + + "Straight to the 'pothecary's shop I went, + And in love powders all my money spent. + Behap what will, next Sunday after prayers, + When to the alehouse Lubberkin repairs, + These golden flies into his mug I'll throw, + And soon the swain with fervent love shall glow." + +In Love Melancholy, by Dr. Ferrand, it is said, "We have sometimes +among us our silly wenches, some that, out of a foolish curiosity they +have, must needs be putting in practice some of those feats that they +have received by tradition from their mother perhaps, or nurse; and so, +not thinking forsooth to do any harm, as they hope to paganize it to +their own damnation. For it is most certain that _botanomancy_, which +is done by the noise, or crackling, that box or bay leaves make when +they are crushed between one's hands, or cast into the fire, was of old +in use among the pagans, who were wont to bruise poppy flowers betwixt +their hands, by this means thinking to know their loves." Speaking of +the ancient love charms, characters, amulets, or such like periapses, +Dr. F. says, "They are such as no Christian physician ought to use, +notwithstanding that the common people do to this day too +superstitiously believe and put in practice many of these paganish +devices." + +Miss Blandy, who was executed many years ago for poisoning her father, +persisted in affirming that she thought the powder given her by her +villanous lover, Cranston, to administer to him, was a "love powder," +which was to conciliate her father's affection to her lover. She met +her death with this asseveration; and her dying request, to be buried +close to her father, seems a corroborating proof, that though she was +certainly the cause of his premature death, yet she was not, in the +blackest sense of the word, his wilful murderer. + +We quote the following lines from Herrick's Hesperides:-- + + + A CHARM OR AN ALLAY FOR LOVE. + + "If so be a toad be laid + In a sheepskin newly flayed, + And that tied to a man, 'twill sever + Him and his affections ever" + + + + +EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST. + + +Whenever a real ghost appears,--by which we mean some man or woman +dressed up to frighten another,--if the supernatural character of the +apparition has been for a moment believed, the effects on the spectator +have always been injurious--sometimes producing convulsions, idiocy, +madness, or even instantaneous death. The celebrated Allston, the +painter, when in England, related the following incident to his friend +Coleridge, the poet: "It was, I think," said he, "in the University of +Cambridge, near Boston, that a certain youth took it into his wise head +to convert a Tom Paine-ish companion of his by appearing as a ghost +before him. He accordingly dressed himself up in the usual way, having +previously extracted the ball from the pistol which always lay near the +head of his friend's bed. Upon first awakening, and seeing the +apparition, the youth that was to be frightened very coolly looked his +companion, the ghost, in the face, and said, 'I know you; this is a +good joke; but you see I am not frightened. Now you may vanish.' The +ghost stood still. 'Come,' said the youth, 'that is enough. I shall get +angry; away!' Still the ghost moved not. 'By heavens!' ejaculated the +young man, 'if you do not, in three minutes, go away, I'll shoot you.' +He waited the time, deliberately levelled his pistol, fired, and with a +scream at the immovability of the figure, became convulsed, and soon +afterwards died. The very instant he believed it to be a ghost, his +human nature fell before it." + + + + +THE INVISIBLE LADY. + + +In the year 1804, an invisible lady and acoustic temple were exhibited +in Boston, as an "Extraordinary Aerial Phenomenon." Its body was made +of glass It gave answers to questions asked by visitors. In London, a +few years ago, there was shown an apparatus consisting of a four-footed +stand, and several trumpet-mouthed tubes, from any one of which +spectators received ready answers to questions. The answers were said +to come from the "invisible girl;" but the true explanation of the +puzzle was, that a secret tube, in the legs of the apparatus, +communicated the sounds to a girl in a neighboring apartment. Probably +something similar was arranged in the glass body exhibited in Boston; +and if we mistake not, during the sojourn of Joice Heth, of more recent +notoriety, at the Albany Museum, a shrewd Albanian, after a minute and +diligent examination, made the wonderful discovery that the old lady, +or _nurse of Washington_, was composed of _India rubber_, and was made +to breathe, speak, cry, sing, &c., by the aid of _ventriloquism_! + +In a case of spirit rappings, Professor Grimes discovered that the +party had contrived to have some levers concealed beneath the floor, +and by means of certain little pegs coming through where the rappers +sat, connecting with the levers, all nicely poised on a balance, they +placed their feet upon them, and produced the raps at pleasure. And in +the case of the Rochester rappers, when their ankles were firmly held +by the committee of investigation, it is said a servant girl rapped +with her knuckles under the floor. Mrs. Culver, who had been instructed +by the Fox family, and had practised with them a while, afterwards +renounced the craft, and exposed this among other deceptions to the +world. "The girl," she says, "was instructed to rap whenever she heard +their voices calling for spirits." + + + + +SORCERERS IN THE EAST. + + +The operations of the men sorcerers in India are quite scientific. They +set about their work in a business-like manner, and in sight of the +house of their intended victim the mystic caldron begins to boil and +bubble. The victim, however, is not to be terrified out of his senses. +What are his enemy's fires and incantations to him? He takes no notice, +and continues to live on as though there was not a sorcerer in the +world. But that _smoke_: it meets his eye the first object every +morning. That ruddy glare: it is the last thing he sees at night. That +measured but inarticulate sound: it is never out of his ear. His +thoughts dwell on the mystical business. He is preoccupied, even in +company. He wonders what they are putting into the pot, and if it has +any connection with the spasm that has just shot through him. He +becomes nervous; he feels sick; he cannot sleep from thinking; he +cannot eat for that horrid broth that bubbles forever in his mind. He +gets worse and worse, and dies! But this empire of the imagination is +beaten in Java, where it is supposed that a housebreaker, by throwing a +handful of earth upon the beds of the inmates, completely incapacitates +them from moving to save their property. The man who is to be robbed, +on feeling the earth fall upon him, lies as motionless as if bound hand +and foot. He is under a spell, which he feels unable to break. + + + + +SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES. + + +In the East, men are believed to be frequently metamorphosed--sometimes +voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily--into tigers. The voluntary +transformation is effected merely by eating a certain root, whereupon +the person is instantly changed into a tiger; and when tired of this +character, he has only to eat another, when, as quick as thought, he +subsides from a tiger into a man. But sometimes mistakes happen. An +individual of an inquiring disposition once felt a strong curiosity to +know the sensations attendant on transformation; but, being a prudent +man, he set about the transformation with all necessary precaution. +Having provided himself with + + "the insane root + That takes the reason prisoner," + +he gave one also to his wife, desiring her to stand by and watch the +event, and as soon as she saw him fairly turned into a tiger, to thrust +it into his mouth. She promised, but her nerves were not equal to the +performance. As soon as she saw her husband fixed in his new form, she +took to flight, carrying in her hand, in the confusion of her mind, the +root that would have restored him to her faithful arms. And so it +befell that the poor tiger-man was obliged to take to the woods, and +for many a day he dined on his old neighbors of the village, but was at +last shot, and _recognized_! + +In this superstition will be seen the prototype of the wolf mania of +mediæval Europe. In Brittany, men betook themselves to the forests in +the shape of wolves, out of a morbid passion for the amusement of +howling and ravening; but if they left in some secure place the clothes +they had thrown off to prepare for the metamorphosis, they had but to +reassume them to regain their natural forms. But sometimes a +catastrophe, like that above related, took place: the wife discovered +the hidden clothes, and carrying them home, in the innocent carefulness +of her heart, the poor husband lived and died a _wolf_! + + + + +PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH. + + +In a former part of this volume, we have spoken of several impositions +upon the credulity of the public, in matters appertaining to health. +The astrologists have told us that "some plants are only to be plucked +at the rising of the _dogstar_, when neither sun nor moon shine, while +others are to be cut with a golden knife, when the moon is just six +days old." To some particular plants "a string must be fastened, a +hungry dog tied thereto, who, being allured by the smell of roasted +flesh set before him, may pluck it up by the roots." At one time, the +vegetable oil of swallows was considered a potent remedy. It was +prepared "by compounding twenty different herbs with _twenty live +swallows_, well beaten together in a mortar." Another medicine was +prepared from _the raspings of a human skull_; another from the _moss, +growing on the head of a thief_, who had been gibbeted and left to hang +in the air. In addition to these, we have had "_the powder of a mummy; +the liver of frogs; the blood of weasels; an ointment made of sucking +whelps; the marrow of a stag; and the thigh bone of an ox_." And we +have numerous modern nostrums scarcely better than these, by which the +gullible public are often sorely victimized. + +There are many opinions among the people, which prove highly +deleterious in being carried into practice. For instance, that we must +"stuff a cold to cure it," when the reverse of the case is the only +safe mode of procedure. In a cold, the lungs are already loaded and +congested with accumulations of muco-purulent matter, which is +increased by taking large quantities of food. + +Erroneous views, in regard to cleanliness, often lead to great +mischief. There is a notion with some that dirt is really healthy, +especially for children. This idea probably originated from the fact, +that those children who are allowed to play in the dirt are often more +healthy than those who are confined in the nursery or parlor. But it +should be remembered that it is not _dirt_ which promotes their +health, but active exercise in the open air. This more than compensates +for the injury sustained by the dirt. There is, however, something +deceitful, after all, in the ruddy appearance of these children, who, +like some four-footed animals, are allowed to wallow in mire and dirt; +for they actually suffer more, not only from chronic, but from acute +diseases, than children whose parents are in better circumstances. The +pores of the skin, as we have shown in the Family Physician, published +by us a few years since, cannot be closed with filth for any length of +time, and the subject remain uninjured. It is true, some years may pass +away before the bad effects appear; but in after life, scrofula, +rheumatism, jaundice, and even consumption, often arise after the cause +which first gave rise to them is forgotten, if indeed it were ever +suspected. It is our candid opinion, that a larger part of the deaths +that occur among children by typhoid, scarlet fever, and other baleful +diseases, is owing to some defect in management, as to diet, air, +dress, or exercise, which we will briefly show in this connection. + +There are some, in adult life, who abstain wholly from external +ablutions, and never think of washing their bodies from one year to +another. Now, such persons must be considered, to say the least, to be +of an uncleanly habit; and such a habit is not only unfavorable to +health, but to morality. Mr. Wesley reckons cleanliness to be second +only to godliness. We venture to affirm that he who is most guilty of +personal neglect will generally be found the most ignorant and vicious. +I am well acquainted with a whole family who neglect their persons +_from principle_. They are a sort of _new lights_ in religious things, +and hold that the true Christian should "slight the hovel, as beneath +his care." But there is a want of intelligence, and even of common +refinement, in the family, that certainly does not, and _cannot_, add +much to their own happiness or comfort, aside from the fact that it +greatly annoys their neighbors. + +We do not pretend to say but that there are some great and good persons +who are slovenly in their general appearance; but these are only +exceptions to a general rule. On the contrary, common observation +teaches us that it is a distinguishing mark of low-bred rowdyism, and +of vicious and intemperate habits, to see young men dressed in the most +loose and careless manner. A person of refinement and cultivation would +feel ashamed to appear in such a manner before the public gaze. + +Neglect of proper ventilation leads to incomparable mischief. There are +many persons who live through the day in closely confined and +excessively heated apartments, and also sleep in small contracted bed +rooms, without the least opportunity for a current of fresh air. Who +can wonder that they rise in the morning with wearied limbs, languid +and listless, with a furred tongue, parched mouth, and headache? They +are continually subjected to inhaling, over and over, the poison, the +miasma, of their own bodies, which cannot but result, in the end, to +the great detriment of health. We are perfectly astonished, oftentimes, +to see to what an extent such a thing is carried. Take this, in +connection with eating improper and badly-cooked food, fat meats, +gravies, and pastries, the want of suitable protection against +atmospheric changes, and active exercise in the open air, and who can +marvel at the prevalence of deadly fevers, consumption, or cholera +even? It is only a matter of surprise that there are not ten deaths +where there is now one. + +Look at the quality of the meats purchased for use. It is now a common +practice with farmers (in order to save the milk) to sell their calves +for market as soon as born; and people eagerly purchase this immatured +meat because afforded at a low price. Then look at the enormous +quantities of _pork_ consumed. Go past the sausage factories, in +the cities of Jersey, and you behold it heaped in piles, ready for the +work of the hundreds of "choppers," driven by steam. Then look into the +groceries, see the array of pound sausage meat, and cheese heads, so +called. A grocer in Newark city informed us, last winter, that sausage +meat and buckwheat cakes formed three quarters of the aliment of the +citizens. And in Paterson, New Jersey, in the hottest of the season, +calves were lying upon the pavements, ready to be slaughtered, and +almost as momentarily devoured, as occasion demanded. Even the poor +fowls, their legs swollen with inflammation from the cords with which +they were bound, and half famished for water and food, and fevered by +fright and exposure, were readily purchased by men and women, to +satisfy the cravings of a perverted appetite. When we behold such +practices, we cannot think it strange that mortality should be so rife +as it is at times, especially when the atmosphere is in a condition to +affect the body in a predisposed state, favorable to the development of +diseases, such as that of small-pox, cholera, fever and ague, scarlet +and typhoid, (i.e., decomposing fever,) which is the concentration of +all others. The food we eat may convey the disease within, and unless +the state of our system is healthy and harmonious, the resisting power +will not be equal to the force and action of the external elements, and +consequently we shall become a prey to the contagion, whatever type or +form it assumes. We are somewhat inclined to think that A. J. Davis +(who is a physician by profession) is correct, when he says, "The +atmosphere has had the cholera, more or less, for thirty years, and +will continue to have it until there occurs a geological change in many +portions of the earth; and from the atmosphere the disease has been, +and is, communicated epidemically to the predisposed potato plant, and +also to the human system." A late English writer remarks, that "certain +diseases prevail at the approach of the equinoxes." + + + + + * * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. + +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as +printed. Unmatched double quotation marks occur in numerous places, +particularly near the end of the text. No attempt was made to open +or close these quotations unless the location of the missing +double quotation mark was apparent. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43237 *** |