The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-15 00:00:00

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SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

THE "LONDON REVIEW" ON MODERN DEVIL
WORSHIP.—It is not comfortable to think that there
exists among us a British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Spirits. Things nowadays have indeed
a tendency to run into societies, but that Mr. Tidd
Pratt should be likely to be called on to register a
company for encouraging ghost manifestations gives
rise to some unpleasant reflections. We have now
before us the proc edings of the third " Convention
of Progressive Spiritualists," and the account of the
meeting and its business is set out with all the pomp
and seriousness of a church synod. As yet the pro --
poets of the concern look rather gloomy. It exhibits
as unhealthy a desire for postage s'aiiips as the
philanthropic advertis,rs who are prepared to lend
money without security. The meeting commenced
by the president, Mr. John Hodge, introducing his
" excellent and poetic friend, Mr. J. 11. Powell,"
who thereupon favoured the company with a per-
formance in the shape of a poem, a motto, and art
invocation. 1)r. M'Lod, the secretary, was then
invited to read his report, but he had none to read.
As he pathetically observed, " he had not received
anything in the shape of help' of any kind from
those whom he might term brothers and sisters, with
very rare, very few exceptions. That, however, was a
matter belonging entirely to the financial depart-
ment." Dr. M'Leod had abandoned his practice at
the instance of a medium, and " the lecture he had
given on 'Human Love' had been almost enough to
lead to a man being locked up for six months accord-
ing to the popular notions of that delightful and divine
thing." Further on he spoke of Epictetus, Robert
Owen, and Andrew Jackson Davis, with other dis-
tinguished spiritualists in North and South Ame-
rica, as being interested in the movement. The
chairman gave a cheerful testimony to the pleasure
he had experienced in shaking hands with several
dead relatives, who did it with the same look, the
smile, and the words, as when they lived. A paper
was read by a Mr. Etchclls, in which sewage was
utilised for spiritualism, and in which the following
curious circumstance was given :—" I may say that
more than one of our mediums have seen the spirit
of Tetzel (who on earth sold the Pope's indulgences)
hover around the bedside of the dying Catholic, or
of a soul just about to pass away, clothe himself in
the form of Jesus Christ with the crown of thorns
—the bleeding hands and the pierced side. They
have seen him, as it were, calling the spirits away,
and coiling around it, in order that he might carry
it away to the Purgatorial prison-house, a belief in
which had been instilled into it by false education
on earth. And while he with his legions have been
thus engaged, power for a time has been given to
the Double to dissolve the unholy covering by
which this bad spirit has been surrounded, and
thus, in time, to clear the mists from the eyes of
those about him who were ripe and ready for the
change." The Convention was then adjourned
until Wednesday, June 12, when a communication
was received from Mr. Peebles, of America. Mr.
Peebles, of America, was interpreted by Mr. Robert
Cooper, the showman who exhibited the Davenport
Brothers some few years since in London. Baron do
Guldenstubbe next appeared on the platform, and
produced "several interesting and wonderful pho-
tographs of spirits," including " the photograph of
the spirit of an old gentleman, a family relative."
But Miss Alstono, a medium from Manchester, out-
shone all the previous lights of the assembly. Miss
Alstone was once enjoying herself with her friends,
and entertained them characteristically by falling
into " a trance state, the spirit in possession proving
his identity by addressing the company in broad
Yorkshire, the dialect he used when on earth."
Miss Alstone continued, " The friends were de-
lighted, for they knew, however I tried, it would
be impossible for me to imitate the messen-
ger." However, we are told that, " shortly after
the reading of her paper the departed York-
shireman manifested through Miss Alstone, and
spoke for some five minutes in that dialect," from
which it would seem that both Miss Alstone and her
Yorkshireman practise often enough to enable the
former to express the sentiments of the latter in his
native tongue, which he is now deprived of using
from circumstances over which he has no control.
Another Lady, Miss Chapman, was present, who,
on hearing the deceased Yorkshireman, became as it
were competitively entranced, "and sang for about
10 minutes." Mr. Harper announced that from pre-
vious acquaintance with Miss Chapman he was able
to say that the spirit so inanifesting itself was that
of Madame Malibran. More than that, at a re-
cent seance, Madame Malibran had conversed with
Mr. Harper and Miss Chapman, and detailed
to them the particulars of her death. Baron do
Guldenstubbe came forward once more. The
Baron has had several letters from Napoleon I.
since the return of that Emperor from St. Helena,
the only difficulty about the correspoudenee (pro-
duppa by tha foot of tho Emperor's being
coffined) consisting in the Imperial replies turning
up in the vaults of the invalides, where the
Baron called for them as at a poste restante. He
had also a great many papers written in St. Denis,
under the church, from the old kings and queens
up to Louis XVIII. The Baron is an insatiable
autograph collector, and managed to procure a note
from Julius Caesar, and another "in the handwrit-
ing of the Greek general Pausanias, who lived 500
n.c." A peculiarity in the upholstery of the house
of this distinguished foreigner is that the tables and
chairs follow him "like dogs," to use his own graphic
phrase, and this entirely of their own freewill and
pleasure. What was Orpheus to this wonderful
baron, and who shall say he is not greater than
that other baron known as Baron Munchausen ?
An explanation of the manner in which spiritual
photographs wore taken was then volunteered by
Dr. M'Leod, and a Mr. Tiffin "mentioned the cir-
cumstance of his having taken the spirit-portrait of
a brother of Miss Houghton on the occasion of his
(Tiffin) being in company with Miss Houghton in
a greenhouse." Conservatories are not gene-
rally used by ladies and gentlemen for this purpose,
but couples retiring into them to renew an ac.
quaintanco with the features of a defunct grand-
mother will perhaps be a custom of the future
when the world sends more subscriptions to the
spiritualists. The remaining days of the convene
tion were spent in talking about human nature, and
the necessity of members puffing and buying the
works of each other ; while, as a wind-up, a picnic
to the Crystal Palace brought the proceedings to a
close. The directors ought to be made acquainted
with the fact that there are crowds of spirits in the
Egyptian Court, and " that, were the conditions
only suitable, the spirits would show themselves to
view before more than one of the present company."
If the spirits could be induced to show themselves
they would form attractions of a higher order than
Coxwell's balloon or the Beni-zoug-zougs ; but,
then, if we accept Miss M'Leod's description of
them, only wear clothes at times, and fro-
ue.m
lyassume the form of vapour, " somewhat of
-
nt, they
the appearance of steam."

BRADFORD ELECTION.—The nomination of a
member of Parliament for Bradford was made yesterday, in
presence of a crowd of from 15,000 to 20,000 persons. Mr.
Robert Kell proposed Mr. E. Miall, of London, and was
seconded by Mr. Alderman West; Mr. Isaac Wright pro-
posed Mr. Mathew William Thompson, and was seconded
by Mr. Councillor Storey. Mr. Miall then addressed the
meeting, but such was the noise made by the crowd that
his speech could only be heard by the reporters. Mr.
Thompson was not present in consequence of the illness of
his son. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Thomp-
son. The poll will be taken to-day.
BEQUEST OF £BO,OOO FOR A CIIRITCH OF ENGLAND
COLLEGE IN DEVONSHIRE.—The late Admiral Benodictus
Marwood Kelly, who died at Saltford House, near Bath,
Sept. 26, and was buried at Kelly, Devon, on the Bth inst.,
has bequeathed nearly the whole of his property, which
will probably realise little abort of £BO,OOO, to trustees in
trust, to apply the dividends to the education and main-
tenance of boys, sons and members of the Church of Eng-
land:-Ist. Lineal descendants of Mr. Arthur Kelly (the
paternal grandfather of the testator), who was buried at
Kelly, March 7, 1762. 2d. Sons of officers of the Royal
Navy, of specified ranks, killed in the service. 3d. Sons of
other deceased officers of the Royal Navy. 4th. Such
other boys as the trustees may in their discretion appoint.
The trustees are to provide a school-house in Devonshire
at some point west of a line drawn north and south through
the parish'ehurch of North Tawton, under special restric-
tions as to the am, nut to be expended on building. The
institution is to be called "The Kelly College." The
trustees named in the will are—The Right Hon. William
Reginald, Earl of Devon; Mr. Thomas Dyke Acland, M.P.,
Mr. Arthur Kelly, Mr. Reginald Kelly, the Rev. John
Barlow, and Dr. William Marwood Doll y.—Exeter Gazette
Daily 7 ekgram.
PRACTICAL JOKING. —A very serious cage of prac-
tical joking was brought unler the notice of the magistrateo
at the Brigham (South Devon) Petty Sessions on Friday.
George Hooper, an apprentice to a local smack owner, waS
charged with having thrown a quantity of naphtha over a
fellow apprentice, named John Brusey, and then setting fire
to it. The lads wore employed on board the fishing smack
Commodore. According to complainant's statement, which
was not denied, Brusey, was asleep on deck early iA the
morning of the 26th of September, when naphtha wail
thrown on him and ignited. He suddenly awoke, and then
discovered that his head was on fire. His sufferings had
since been very severe. He had been under the care of Dr.
Brooking, whose testimony was to the effect that the lad
would suffer from contraction of the muscles of the neck
as the result of the injuries. The defence was that the
affair was " simply a lark," and that it was done as a set-
off against an attempt of the complainant on Hooper's head
the day before. The defendant was committed for trial at
the next assizes.