The New York herald., 1850-05-22
The Rochester Knoeklngs.
New YORK, INvENTU-PLAcE, May IL, 1850.

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, ESQ
DEAR SR-In an hundred, aye, even in thou
sand, and ten thousand respects, i admire you in
the admirable columns of your admirable paper.
There is no doubt that the establishment of the
Liverpool, London and Havre packets, and the
French revolution of $780, which sent to shores
such large number of the haut ton-the elite in
manners, science politics and literature of that and
other countries-inthat commencement ofthe Tohu-
bohu of the old monarches-have had great inhu-
ence in giving TO our population the exterior, and
much of the fopds, of the refined people of Europe
Still, persuaded that the disappearance ofhose
very many wrong notions OF men and things, and
of that outandish way of thinking, speaking and
acting, which, twenty or twenty-five years ago,
struck strangely the European traveller amongst
us, is mostly due TO that great mover of human in
tellect, the prcss-especally that Of our Atlantic
cities, and more especially that great engine,
over the furnace and safety valve of which you so
distinguishiDgly preside.
However, even you are not without your faults !;
and and then the Herald exhibits for or against
doubtful or acknowledged facts-doubtful or ac-
knowledged nuths-Prejudices cosdamnables and
an obsnacy de col rode, in maintaining to the last
its often wrongly based opinions, which really de
serve, if not our blame, ia0epatiOnem nostraa, at
least, some occasional remarks. Please, then, with
your usual bOnh0nlnte,to allow me to offer few of
10 that very creditable subject in my opinion, the
Rochester knocking"
Now, sir, you will not deny, venture to say,
that If please the Almighty Ruler of the Universe
TO permit or order that spirits released from their
mortal coil. (Which he created and continually
preserves) should leave the unknown abodes where
they rest, or suffer, Qor though do not believe
that there is Purgatory, still there may be one }
and revisit the through which, for the good
or the misfortune of their fellow creatures they
travelled upon earth-or, that some of the evil
powers of the air, (who, speaking merely philoso-
phcally, may exist; and, in company with your
dnge gdrdieu, may, al this very moment be look
ing over your shoulders and laughing, while you
are hastily deciphering these lnes) should be un-
chained and let loose amongst US, that he can do
Certainly You would not make him less powerful
than the laundering Joye Of the pagan fable (an
old bronze statue)-whch, by the by, hansnaogrife
TO represent Peter, is STILL with its kiss-eaten toe
the sacred object of worship to the faithful in the
new Cathedral at Rome, to the disgust and horror
of obstinate, confounded and ever to be confound-
ed heretics like poor me-red culpd med cilyd, med
marind cupid sincerely say, ideo, precor beatan,
Marian stmper rirgiaom, bedfum Michaelem
drthdngelnm oIare pro me! :!
There is nothing in the above supposition which
implies contradiction. any more than in our belief
that matter Contingent by its nature,) was created
thing more wonderful than in the temperance, at
this season of buds and flowers upon trees, which,
few months ago, were shrinking under sky
heavy with the SHOWS Of winter, like the bones of
dead men, under the marble slabs that cover their
graves.
II does not follow Of necessity--and am willing
10 admit it-from these undenable premises, that
all that which we conceive and clearly under
stand that the Almighty can, he has done, here
after will do. II may be, (as is reported in ST. Au-
gustines City of God, lib. xxi, chap. yiii } that
Lucianus, priest in a small borough near Jerusa-
lem, dreamed heaven-sent dream, in which he
saw DR. Gamaliel, who told him where the body of
st. Stephen had been buried and ordered him to
search for it, untomb it, and carry il TO John.
Bishop Of jerusalem; and that the opening of the
coffin, the earth actually shook, and the said holy
bones having been carried TO the city of David and
inches in the church Of Sion, Immediately heavy
rain fell down from heaven, after a long period of
extreme drought. II may be that the Madona of
Loretta, quietly seated in her snug caJanon (Santa
casa) came over the sea from Palestine, on the
shores of the beautiful Adratc to the wonder of the
shepherds and borkoloi of the march of Ancona-
nirabie risuN All this il is certainly possible that
the almighty power of God could have done: But,
that he has pleased so to order and do, ccst une
aufre agdrc. Credat episcopun dficum, madonae
Qus ier X. X Don Prssy II is possible that
might 60 and play at marbles with the young
urchins round the Jet dcau in the park of our mag
nifcent Hotel de Vile, or trundie hoop down
Broadway; but that it is probableah, ah ZEN doute;
unless, indeed, (Which is again possible, however
mprobable,) should chance to discover the long
lost Fontaine dc Joarencs. Living eighteen hun
dred years ego in the Prorincd Romano of ancient
Gaul-if God had pleased, he might have
made =. Joseph, then alive. (thongh cannot
SouScNt uoW ulls Coulu nave Detn cIected
under the ordinary laws Of acoustics, without
changing the fimbre Of my voice, or Joe's tvp-
Tuninr, or the nature OF the couche dair between
us,) and now, he dead, and ! still aive-Dd Jo-
seph, n,orifu, sideTd scdnderc ora pro ao6is -
hear, with his own ears, these my prayers, sup
pcations, and requests. But, would he have done
so and does he please to do sol leave it to you
TO decide.
see your displeasure- hear your cor,plaint.
my dear sir" on roe rous rs,.tr!' on exclaim
=" w hat has all this fudge TO do with the Ro-
chester knockingsl' Cn pcudc p1iience g. pp-
which, being interpreted, means, " II you please {"
What IL has TO do here is simply this-that since
God has the power OF allowing or commanding
spirits TO revisit this earth, for motives ncompre-
htnsible TO us, The only question to decide is, he
.migi or might not have lately pleased to do so
And why should he not have done so at Ro-
chester, or In any other part OF the country for the
advancement OF some good purpose-such as, for
instance, TO show 10 us hereics the great value of
holy water, or the mighty power of the service of
your church IN exercising, as contained in the
Eoman missal, when u was permitted in the old
world, for just as important reasons as the history
OF the Pagans and our Catholic forefahers, clearly
show
Did not the former tcach (and of course the sub
iect Of ghosts must have been inquired into) iapes
sum- mo'fnoirr dnuao. nanss sunf mofuoru1
onin0-and that both attach themselves equally
10 the living and the deadl Did not Macrobius
Tin the recital of the dream Of Scpio,) affirm that
those Moon, man (Chald.) anmae, those psuoh6 of
Plato, Il presume he had seen thcm) descend upon
earth from the Crabfsh, and return TO heaven from
the Capricornl Did not Numa with Egeria, and
Socrates with his damon, freely converse, and
daily consult Why, the whole history of anti
guilty is full Of proofs Of such apparions mysterious
doings. noisy ffnfamarrcs, and tricks Of rerenants,
How, ask yeu, could Alexander have been the
son Of The love OF the deserts. (Iamman) Of The
bee, Il the soul Of that pioneer Of the wilderness
Brightly defed after deaih,) had not returned and
knocked az the domifortpm Of Olympias, the
fcrdre q fdae spouse Of King Phillipi Or, how
could 1elemnchus have seen again his dear
Ithaca and Penelope, IL the daimom of Athens,
(who was nothing more than the departed
psucht Of some sensible girl Of old Cecropia, or
come Jednns d dArc-trst in war, fret in peace,
the. city Of the nine boroughs), had not
withdrawn him, by the knockings Of old Mentor.
from the lsscvous embraces Of Ia confcsse Ia mar,
qvise, Ia taronne, ca Ia duclesse-just as you
please-EVoAaris vor. Ogvgia'
And TO come at last 10 proofs as clear, as strong
nndeniahl q fhosc Mill Il L.-.I IL,