Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-08-18

~ " Wv ~oN'it'iy5 anu Va
curse he would pplcti9e no decep-
ton. Ills audience we're all honest
men, and they wouldn't llie about it.
And certainly the editors had no
motive for mixing SUCH assertions,
and consequently it ii ust Be 50. And
the farther it gets iromI home the
less chance of exp osule, and the
greatest probability of belief. But
some will say, take individuals you
Know to be honest yourself and try
it. There will be dGception then
Paradoxical as it may seem. there
will be deception among honest men.
They Will deceive themselves inyol-
UNFAIRLY. ! have Sc en- it done, and
have deceived myself. They move
the table jur0lanta,fy with their
hands Now ! do NOT deny that the
table does more, only deny the
spiritual agency; | deny that the Ia
bic can give an ineligible answer to
any question whate1e but do not
deny4that it will walk across the floor,
for i have seen that done. The
whols Of the matter is just this
The fable is putin motion by, as yet,
somelunknown agency, and while it
is in motion, questions are PROFOUND
ed, and some one at the table who
KNOWS or thinks he knows, makes an
involuntary pressure OH the table,
which causes the raps: l have had
my hands on table when running
furiodsly in CERTAIN direction, when
some 5ne would order it in the oppo-
site; the table would turn immediate
ly, and go in the opposite direction.
This seemed very mysterious indeed.
But By a little obael vation ! soon
found out that it WI S the work of
imagination. | imagined and hoped
that it would go back when ordered,
and pushed it involuntlrily. And l
firmly believe that the other operi-
tors did the same, but hneonsciously. |
| have moved it sonnet times purpose
~, not in order to Deceive any enc,
but merely TO find out whether de {
eeplion could be pract iced without
DETECTION, and | found out that it
could be done re,y easily. have
llso seen individuals VIII d did not be-
ieve in ''Spirit-Rappihgs, become
thoroughly CONVINCED of
spiritual agency during an operation
which | was almost absol utely eertain
yas performed by an inv oIuntary mo-
ion Of the ha nds, for ! caught my
elf moving it involunthriIy. once ori
vice, and was told BY one of the other
perators that he had detected him
elf moving it involuntarily also; and
wass impossible to make them be-
eve otherwise afterwards. | have !,
lso, without any trouble on my part, !
lade many individuals believe that l
ED comm unications With the depart ,
d dead. When people ARE SO cred Ii
lous what in the world " i'll they not Ii
elieve? / was astountled to find
nat the citizens of Lincoln county
ould be so easily gulledl How en- :
erly did IL ley swallow down the q pm [
unication from Astynax in the last b
sue Of the Observer And How y
AS it written pray? Did it us8a1 9
lything? Did he assert a single !,
Union; in hi is long preface, and'pre- j
ninary rem arks'? But one, a sol
lry one. ! believe that mind is i'm
easurtb!e aud beyond c3mprehen- >.
IN, is all he asserted A man may
'inuate a great deal but assert but n
tie. Did be assert anything about 6,
e "maniles tations''? No Did he pc
scrt that Joe Smith talkell to him? &c
}. He said experiments bad been u
ed to prove it was not Magnetism Il
Electricity, but did he say where, pa
Ell, on how he gained his 'inlorma- wi
n? No. But still many Of you DO
ieved it to be true, every word Of fol
Did he rove it was spirits who gli
we'd the table? No. He pre- de
ded to nothing of the sort, or at
st he brought forward no argu-
nts of str NV S weight And yet WI
n and uop,d,, of lincoln won heI ,h.