The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-08-06
SPIRITUAL MANlF ESTATlONS.


Jssgs EdnAsnas.
TO TIE PUBLIC.
On nv recent return from an excursien into the
euuntxy. / found that during NY absence decision
lnasy pronounced by me I'D ban seized upoa . m
sscasiOD for an attack a several quarters on NJ re
Hgious belief. was faly awsrsthat that Judgment
would subject my asasn : severe criticism; bat
confess did not anticipate that thence would How
IN assault upon my religious opinions Were .
private sitizen should content myself win merely
claiming the right which belongs 70 every enc IN
ths country Of entertaining sash faitA on thss-the
mOst impostant Of all topiasNa NY conscience might
aioAats. And q ia, might perhaps rsss satisfied
VA sasnsng those we , assam a ne q point out
nan exalted private worth and pnhlic virtue. Bat
= the position which l occupy renders the sound
nss a. well a the integrity Of my judgment mat
hr Of public interest, | am bound 70 acknowledge
% right Of others to question my faith, and my own
po3igsti0n TO defend il.
sokno~ledge still further Obligation. And in
sannch ~ accepted my present position under ne
inpned understanding, ut least, that believed in
ns OhrhtiaA religion, and would administer our
sfvil law according TO the principles OF the Divine
nv - u had been revealed to H. on wnicn o.! 0ur
utcn, were based 70 an i.S S0a me q s,,
Du4e Of administering justice ameng men, snas my
DsveFenes for that revelation has net been shaken
NOR my obedience 10 that moral law impaired.
have not however, waited for these assaults 10
- Impressed with these obligations but have already
% far felt them that have prepared 10 publish
volume on the subject, which, bat for nay ether vo
.sions, would ere this have been u ne p.nter's
banda To that must refer for much in elusidation
and proof Of my belief which the limits OF this com
municahon will not allow me 10 dwell upon, and con-
tent myself this occasion with sueh general stats
ments as may tend to give correct idea Of what il
= that believe or have DONE Even this would not
have been necessary, If those who assal ne had but
done me the justice themselves to have publ shed any
hing have sAid or written ON the subject But
Hitherto have been able to rsaah the publis only
AsOugh publications Of very limited circulation, and
NE widest and most erroneous notions have there
FIRE been imbibed as to: my belief, and the mischief
has been increased by the recklsssness with which
erroneous statements have been Fabricated by those
who could not know them to be true, but who could
sasly have sseertained them to be false.
Thus one writer with want OF feeling not per.
haps SUI prising, speaks OF my consulting my dead
vie in making up my decisions. Another says that
Il Is "ramored' that have consulted spirit mani
festatons in regard to my decisions Another, that
NY belief is "at rreooncable variance with all
divine revelation, and 1t for no other system than
devil worship;" and still another, that lit consul
iutes an abandonment of all selfcontrol, and sur
lender OF the supremacy of reason as informed and
enlightened by the senses, to the most nonsensica
Jugglery."
An these statements are as wide as they can be Of
truth, and I might with some justice complain at
being subjected to such grevous imputations, mere
~ because / had made . decision which was unac-
ceptable to portion of the community. But it is
not for the purpose of complaining that sit down to
write am aware that It is not SO much me- as it
Is the faith which | profess, which is the object Of
attack. It is "the mighty theme, and not the inc0n
siderable advocate, " which ofends. am also aware
why it is that so much error exists in the public
mind on that subject, and my whole purpose is, 50
far as an concerned to correct that error; to state
truly, as far as can in this connection, what it is
that | do believa, and generally the grounds on
which my belief is founded, that all who take in
terest eno9gh in the matter to read what may say,
may have the means Of judging for themselves to
what really do believe, rather than what others err
yuneOusy impute to me as q belief.
! am sincerely grateful to my assailaats for not
mputing to me any unworthy or selfish motives, for
concedng that as private citizen | "stand exempt
from public criticism and that am mot fool,r
and for combining themselves to the mere imputaton
that ! am laboring under delusion 1t is there
Fore to that point ! shall confns myself in what
have now to say.
1t was in January, 1851, that nv attention was
first called to the subject OF Spiritual Intercourse
/ was at the time Withdrawn from general society
vas laboring under great depression of spirits. |
was occupying all my leisure in reading on the sub
ject of death, and mans existence afterward. had
in the course Of my life read and heard from the
pulpit 80 many contradictory and conflicting doc
trnes on the subject that hardly knew what to be-
Heve- l could not, il would, believe what did
mot understand, and was anxously seeking to know,
after death we should again meet with those
whom we had loved here, and under what crcum-
stances. was invited by friend to witness the
Rochester Klockingsn / complied. more to
oblige her and TO while away tedious hour. |
thought good deal on what witnessed. ana de-
1efned 10 investigate the matter and find out what
II was IL IT was deception or a delusion, thought
mat could detect 1t. Fer about four months de-
voted at least two evenings in . week, and some
times more, to witnessing the phenomenon in all its
phases kept careful records of all witnessed,
I'd from time TO time compared them with each
other 10 detect Inconsistencies and contradictions
I read all could lay my hands on the subject,
and especially all the proiessed exposures OF the
humbug." went from place to place, seeing differ
emit mediums, meeting with different parties OF per-
hafrrx-
and sometimes where was myself entirssr ths i;~ht
sometimes in the dark nTa and more fre
.,asnsiy With jealous believers. In fine, avaed
mysef Of every opportunity that was Afforded tho
roughly to sft the matter to the bottom. was all
this time unbeliever, and tried the patience OF be-
hevers sorely by my skepticism, my captiousness,
and my obdurate refusal to yield my belief. ] saw
around me some who yielded ready faith on one or
two sittings only others again, under the same cir
cumstances, ayowing a determined unbeief: and
some who refused to witness it at ALL and yet were
confirmed unbeevers. j could not initiate either OF
these parties and refused to yield unless upon most
irrefragable testimony. At length the evidence
came, and in such force that no sane man could
withhold his faith.
Thus far, the question was investigating was,
whether what saw was produced by mere mortal
means, or by some invisible, unknown agency in
other words, whether il was deception, an impos
ton what it professed tObe, the product Of some
unknown, unseen cause To detail what witnessed
would far exceed the limits Of this communication,
for my records of it for those four months alone ILL.,
ut least hundred and thirty closely written pages
! will, however, mention few things, which will
give general idea of that which characterized inter
views, now numbering several hundred. Most Of
them have occurred in the presence Of others besides
myself. have preserved their names in my records,
hut do not give them to the world, because do not
desire to subject them to the oboquy which seems,
most strangely, to be visited upon all who look into
the matter with any other feeling than resoute and
obstinate ncredulty, whatever the evidence. But
these considerations grow out of this factlst that
I have thus very many witnesses whom ! can invoke
20 establish the truth of my statements; and, I'd,
that if ] have been deluded and have not seen and
shared by many as shrewd, as Intelligent, as honest,
and as enlightened people as are to be found any
where among us.
NY attention was first drawn to the intercourse by
the rappings then the most common but now the
most inconsiderable, mode Of communing. OF course
was on the look out for deception and at first re-
lied upon my senses and the conclusions which my