Massachusetts spy and Worcester advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1823-1825, 1825-05-25
For the Massachusetts Spy.]
THE BLUE STOCKING CLUB.
No. IS.
Myriads of unseen spirits walk the air,
Both when we wake and when we sleep.n

Both when we wake and when we sleep.n
The belief in the existence of supernatural
beings is common to every age and every ma
ton. 1t is not confined to periods of igno-
rance or barbarism, neither in state of socie-
ty, the most refined, is it to be found amongst
the weaker individuals alone. The Indian,
when he trembles at the signing of the breeze,
or at some uncommon phenomenon in nature,
IS operated upon by the same principle, the eff
tects OF which the more civilized man has ex-
pericnCed, when, in the stiffness of night, he
has passed by the lonely church-y yard, or watch
ed the liteless corpse Of some departed friend.
And yet, perhaps, there is no subject more
topen to ridicule. Men laugh at one another
for their superstitious fears; they ascribe
them to weakness Of intellect, or an over
whelming ignorance, and the nursery tale is
the only fountain from which this impure
! stream is said to flow. 1t is not my object at
present to dispute this fact. 1t is enough for
my purpose that such a belief exists, without
inquiring into its cause. Whatever, then, is
its origin, believe it to be wisely directed by
Providence, to add TO the sum of our
enjoyment. 1 believe it to be one link in
that mysterious chain, which connects man
with his Maker, and reminds him of his own
immortality.
Who is there that has visited the mansions
of the dead, and gazed upon the decaying
state of all around him, and did not start
with horror at the idea, that this was all that
| remained of humanity-that there was no
future state of e.istence-that, when the
bright fame which now Eliminates this tene-
ment Of clay, is once extingushed by the
dissolution of its habtation, it shall burn no
more forever? Who, that has leaned over
the cold remains of beloved friend, could
for a moment believe, that this was all of
that dear object? No; even then we are
fain to believe that the spirit is lowering near
us, and smiling to behold the last offices of
kindness, paid to its cold companion. And
yet, into what will such an opinion resolve
itself, but that there is an Infinite order of
spirits, commencing with the Great First Cau:e,
the Author of our being, and thence extend
ing, in infinite progression, through every
variety, until you arrive at those which once
inhabited our dwellings of earth. There is
nothing imaginary in the idea, that our spirit,
when once loosed from these shackles which
confne them, should be permitted to wander
unseen amongst us. If it be an error, who
| would not love to cherish the illusion Are
you child, and have you mourned over the
tomb OF beloved parent? Are you moving
onward in that path of virtue, which he had
NAKED out; and have you not, thousands of
times, after performing some praise-worthy
deed, silently exclaimed, ''Were my parent
living, that deed would have met with an ap-
proving smle?'' And did not you imagine
some spirit whispering near ii auas right 2 Yes,
in such moment, you have fancied that spir-
it, ever watchlul over its offspring, now bend
ing in silent rapture from its invisible residence,
now encircling you with arms of more than
mortal affection. On the other hand, what
preventive of vice, if we supposed that our
dearest friends, though here no more upon
earth, were still witnesses of every action.
The charge of being an enthusiast has been
SO often applied to me, that dare not specu-
late farther. Yet it is we'll to speculate
when the result must be useful. Whether,
as some heather nations suppose, the spirit,
| when free, returns again to the one grand
| source from whence it sprung, as its centre,
like drop to its native ocean, or whether it
is left to wander through infinite space, re-
sardless of the being with whom it was once
| associated; Of one thing we are certain, that
there is one great Eternal Spirit, invisible,
an ever present, .unerring witness Of every
! action. And, if the fear of offending the
spirits of our deceased friends would give us
pain, and if the Consciousness of pleasing
them would afford us pleasure, how much
more should it affect US, when we reflect, that
this all-perfect Being is not only displeased
with, but has the power of Furnishing our vices,
and of rewarding our virtues with a crown of
glory. B.