Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-04-29
DAILY EVENING STAR.
LOCAL INTELLIGRNCF-

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
sPIrTTuALIsM VS.. Dr.. BUrLER.-I.ast ava
ring the Spirltusiists held meeting AT The
temperance Hall, in E street, to review Dr.
Buffers late sermon on Spiritualism. which
they appear 20 nave taken in great dudgeop.
Ex-senator Tallmadge presided, and the M
ceedings commenced with a speecb from, IN.
Cunningham, who apologized for the monde.
livery OF the address that had been promised
reviewing Ut Buffers sermon, on account Of
the inclemency Of the weather. which nj
doubtless detained many from attendants. O.
peciaily those OF DR.. Buffers Church. for
whose benefit 1t was more esi ecially Intended
ash was not to be expected that his congre.
gauoh "ouiu come out In wet weather to hear
such rubbish" The latter exnress;on 80
repeated ironically. 1t would, therefore. be
delivered at some future time. The sneaker
then commented upon the high sanction that
spiritualism had obtained from such men as
the chairman OF the meeting ex-senator Tai
msdgel who had risen to a rank second onlv
to that of the President of the United States
and whose name was known throughout the
world, having been Governor of a State Tn At
had no superior, if any equal. The names of
Judge Edmonds, Professor Hare and DIR. Dex-
ter were likewise given as supporters of the
creed "
The speaker then narrated his own expeyi
ence upon the subject Some time AGO. he
himself had no faith in spiritualism, until his
attention was called to it by certain expert
ments In lifting table, in the room of friend.
whom ne afterwards invited to his house to
meet a company Of others spirit was
called up, whom he soon discovered to be very
Ignorant He asked the name, and the spirit
replied g He'll Devil He then innuired If
he could answer questions which were put
mentally, and the reply was, 6 Yes; but he
would not do so.'' He then asked if there
was any other medium present, Spside the one
VINO was acting, the reply was, ''That his
own daughter was capable He afterwards.
on another occasion, pursued his INQUIRIES fur
ther with other spirits by her instrumentality.
She was writing medium, and wrote out the
most beautiful poetry, (which it was impossible
for mortal to have composed dictated by the
spirits. He repeated two or three specimens,
and dwelt especially upon one, entitled The
National Ensign, !" which he had sent for pub
LEGATION to the Union newspaper in which it
had appeared, and had been afterwards in
serted in others, but stripped of the explana-
tory note that had accompanied it. as we'll as
of the initials.
The speaker stated that he was himself a
drawing medium, and although he was entirely
ignorant of the principles of the art, had pro-
duced some drawings with a common pencil,
which no human artist could equal One of
these was in Taylor & Maury's window. to
which he directed attention; and he challenged
any one to examine it with a double convex
glass, and it would be found still more beau
tiful in the deIicacy of the touch 1t repre-
sented something in the spirit world He then
produced some other specimens of pencil
drawing, which he extolled as master pieces of
art. They were specimens of the leaves and
fruits which grew IN the different spheres of
the spirit world AllusiOn was made to a lady.
who was also drawing medium, and whose
works, although she began only few months
ago, exceeded his. He observed that his draw
ings had been submitted to, and had received
the appreciation of the best artists in the city,
as we'll as Of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science The common belief
that the soul became at once perfect after
death was erroneous, the passage in Scripture
where st. Paul mentions that he had been car.
ried up into the third heaven being quoted az
proof that there were various spheres. These
latter he enumerated seriatiu, and mentioned
in which sphere Sir Francis Bacon was located,
namely the third, the sphere of activity anu
desire to do good to mankind.
Mr.. Talmadge then addressed the meeting.
and said that he did not intend to enter into
refutatiOn of DR.. Buffers sermon, as he would
leave that to his friend on future occasion
but as he had made very free with his name
and that of Judge Edmonds, he should not
scruple to make some remarks. The following
was given as cOrroborative of the truth of
spiritualism, and of which he was an eye-wit-
ness: A lady in Milwaukee, who was a writing
medium, was engaged under the dictation of
spirits in translating the Old Testament from
the English into the tongue in which it was
originally written, one beyond the Hebrew
The spirits observed that it was their inten-
ton to re-translats it from that into the Eng
Hsh, so as to get rid of the numerous errors
that had crept into the version now in use
H. al L..
part Of Genesis, when a gentleman requested
to oe allowed to have a specimen of few of
the characters, that he might examine them
The lady instantly gave him portion of one
of the chapters that she had already written
which he was unwilling to take, from fear of
spelling the work. The lady replied that she
could easily replace it, and accordingly on the
next lime the spirits dictated, it was rewritten
1t extraordinary that she could tran
scribe in the dark with the greatest facility, as
had been done during his presence. He then
read long extract from Judge Edmonds work
which, he said, had been dict lated by the spirit
Of Webster, which, he commended no mortal
not even Webster himself, when alive, could
have composed; and yet Dr. Butler had called
this ''twaddle." ILaughter.l Even although
Dr. Butler stood on as lofty an intellectual
sminence As Burnett, Stillingaeet, or Paley,
yet he could no more compare with the spirit
that had dictated such sublime teaching than
"A Satyr to Hyperion"
Mr.. Talmadge continued at great length to
adduee arguments and proofs in favor of spir
itualism and the meeting broke up at rather
late hour, without, however, having been en-
ightened by any of the more practical proofs
of the truth Of the science.
PIC-Nc.-The first of May, the opening of
Spring, redOlent of flowers and future fruit,
will be celebrated, as it ought to be, by pic
mic, and the most suitable place for enjoying
the pleasure, namely, Mount Vernon. For this
purpose. the George Washington steamer will
leave the wharf at a. m, and to give all An
opportunity of enjoying the pleasure of a rural
excursion on the first of May, the price has
been reduced to rs cents, and children to be
charged half price. This is very liberal offer
on the part Of the proprietors of the steamboat,
and there are very few families who will not
be enabled to enjoy the pleasure of the excur-
sion If the weather should hold up, it will be
a most ightful trip, and the most appropriate
manner of celebrating day which has always
been honered in every age and country, as
especially dedicated to the pleasures of rural
life, and which was dedicated in particular by
the ancients to Flora, the goddess Of flowers.