New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-07-10
Old Nick i'm RnSiness,

The Shepherd Of the VdEtey, the able
Catholic paper at ST. Louis, has a long and labored
article on Spiritual Manifestations caused by
the presence of the Fox family in st. Louis. The
Shepherd believes the 'rappings the work of the
old fellow himself, and closes as follows;
To conclude in sober, serious earnest What Is it
that we seei One of two things-you may take your
choice-but certainly the Catholic can have bu! two
opinions the question in hand Either multitude OF
our fellow citizens holding diIsc communication
with the devil or an equal number of them turned
absolute FOOLS and hypOcrites and cheats TO boot We
incline strongly 10 the frat opinion Proestantism Is
relapsirg into gross Pagansm II has been remarked
that this age Is already far more Pagan than those which
preceded the Christian era aud this OF the out
ward and visible signs thereof There Is no difficulty In
supposing that these raps the work OF evil spirits
The devils have direct interest In deceving the world
and may be supposed to be ready to do so at present
and by such these history tells US that they
have already far been. For Christians there can
be no doubt of this We warned by those who
have taken pains examine the subject that there Is
more of witchcraft than Of uggery, more OF black ma
eic than of white magic about these raps. me sin
which this supposes possible OF course for God and
the Church do not prohibit impossible Sins, and wnle
the Church communicates wizards End ther dupes,
God Himself warns His people to avoid sins such as
those OF which speak Beware, says de, lest
thou have a mind Initiate the denominations OF these
Gen,iles Let therenot be among you any enc that
conuteth soothsay ers obseryetn and omens
neither let there be any wizard charmer, nor any
one that consueth pythonic spirits, nor that seek ne
truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these
things" (Deat xvii 'll)-lDouay version
r. We hold this conclusion to be rather
too ndiscrimnate and sweeping, though crcum-
stances are reported which would justify it if they
stood alone. For instance-we are credibly in
formed that a woman in Ohio las already stated
has repudiated her California husband and taken
to herself a partner, under what she alleges
to be spiritual direction. OF course, if there is
any spirit but her own operative in the premises,
the probability is very strong that it is the Ancient
Nicholas or some of his satellites for the other
sort would give no such counsel as that
On the other hand, we are told of a case in
Western Pennsy lyania where the rappngs broke
out in the family of an unsophsticated backwoods-
man, his little daughter of twelve years being the
medium The father, though fair man in other
respects, had the bad habit of selling whisky keep
ing barrel in his cabin to be dealt out in pints
and quarts to his thirsty neghbors. The spirits
promptly informed him that he must stop that
give it up promptly and entirely-which he did.
Now, we are morally certain that these Spirits,
whether tabemacled in flesh or elsewhere, are
good spirits, and relation of Old Nick or any of
his sooty family. I'd take the ghosts word for
q thousrnd pounds IEd