Litchfield enquirer., 1850-07-11

lisc0nsolaie lover az the funeral 70 peTtec-
ion-and few days after, when there oc-
'urred night of uncommon tarkness, he
and his beloved entered boat, and floating 1
!Own the Nile, landed on small island,
where they spent the remainder Of their
days In peace and quielnesSn
10 the Editors Of the .NesO York Observer.
The StratfOrd Mysteries and Knock
iRgS i'm General Rev. DR.. Phelps.
MEssRs. ED:ToRs Public attention
has been called of late to certain strange
which have been denomi-
mated Mysterious Knockings." They
first began to attract attention in the
City of Rochester, between two and three
years ago. Since that time, similar
have been in the cities Of
Syracuse, and in other places
in Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut and
Massachusetts. For several weeks past,
Of the same character has been
Witnessed at my house. II commenced
on the 10th Of March last, and continued
with slight interruptions, from two to
three months. For the FIRST five or six
weeks, no Communications were made
that we could understand; bet the phe-
nomena consisted in the moving OF artl-
cles 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. Fhcy were seen to move from
places and in directions which made il
certain that no visible power existed by
which the motion could be produced
For days and weeks together, I watched
these strange movements with all the
care and caution and close attention
which l could bestow. l witnessed
them hundreds and hundreds of times,
and l know that in hundreds Of instances
they took place when there was NO yisi-
BILE power by which the motion could
have been produced. Scores Of persons
Of the first standing in the community,
whose education, general intelligence.
candor, veracity and sound judgement,
none will question, were requested t.
witness the phenomena. and. ii possible,
help US to solution of the mystery
But as yet no solution has been obtained.
The idea that the whole was Il trick Of
the children an idea which some of
the papers have endeavoled with great
zeal to promulgate. is to every one who
is acquainted with the facts. as stupid as
it is false and injurious. The statement
too. which some Of the papers have reit-
Grated 50 often that !" the mystery was
found out, is. I regret to say, untrue.
With the most thorough Investigations |
which / have been able 10 bestow upon |
it, aided by gentlemen Of the best talents,
intelligence and sound judgement. in this
and in many neighboring towns, the
cause Of this strange phenomena remains
yet undiscovered.
About the middle of April, a gcntle>
man who was spending the night at my
house. proposed to try the method ofin-
terrogation which hid been adopted in
Western New York, and to our utter
a series Of responses were
returned, from which the inference was
irresistible. that they must have been
produced by a being which possessed
intelligence. For several weeks COM
nunicltions were made in this way rela-
ting almost wholly to a matter in which
certain members of the family are sup
posed to have an interest; at the same
time the other manifestations continued,
and very great annoyance was experience
ed. The mode OF communication was
made by some persons repeating the al
phabet, and the letters of the word TO be
uttered were Indicated by rap from
some invisible agent. | tried BY all
means / could devise, TO find Whist the
power was by which the rapping was
produced. have heard it hundreds Of
times and have done my best to ascer--
tain the cause; but as yet i have not
succeeded. have been often asked IT,
believed it was the work Of spirits. I
have q, often replied that did not know
what it is. | have never seen spirit,
and / do not know what spirit could do
il it would. or what It would do if it
could. The facts, however, are Of such
a nature, and have transpired under such
circumstances as to render the idea Of
trick or designed deception wholly mad
missable. Still however, have become
fully satisfied that no reliance whatever
is to be placed on these communications,
either as source Of valuble information
or as means Of acquiring truth. ]
speak of what has transpired at my house.
and | have the futile. confderc, that If
/. is the work of spirits. il Is the work Of
wicksd spirits. JUDGED. they lrefess TO |
be wicked spirits in state Of torment.
seeking a mitigation Of their tormen's .. by |
redressing the wrongs Of which they |
were guilty in life. / have watched the |
progress Of this matter with great care.
and have done the best in my power 70 |
learn weat these strange things mean; |
and although have not been able 70 as-
certain the cause, ! am satisfied that
their communications are wholly worth