The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1855-08-17
VOLUME N.-NUMBER 50.

knowing whai-while he was 10 ask tho
spirit" what was done al the instant, uni
form failure occurred. He proved, too,
lha, the theory Of he'"spiri,ualisis" 10
meet such difficulties, viz that evil OF
,riaing spirits interfered at their end OF tho
ielegraph-was no, ,ensble. For the re-
sponces jus, before and aher these gross
failures had been emiuen,ly and wonder
fully accurate, and the "'pirits" no. only
declared ths, they saw with perfect clear
ness what was going on at his house, but
denied that there had been any interruption
or in,erisrencer.
DR.. Bell also gave examples where tess
question involving replies urknorn 70 the
inlerrosator had been desiguedly intsrmixed
with those which were known. The result
uniformly was that tie known responses,
however curious and far remote, were cor
recty reproduced the unknown were set
Of perfectly wild and laundering errors, tho
responses often being obviously formed oct
Of the phraseolosy Of the question, as
stuck school-boy guesses out reply!
The result Of the inquiries Of DR.. Bell
and his friends-for several gentlemen Of
eminontly fitting talents pursued tho invca.
tigation with him-was briefly this: that
uhot the qusstiontr knotr,, III. spirits knopj
,rhat n: questionr does not knor, the 'piriis
are entirely ignorant Of. In other words;
that there ore really no superhuman agen.
cies In the matter at all-no connection
with another state Of cIistance; but that is
bears certain strong anslosies to some OF
the experiences OF elairvoyanee, In that mys-
terious science Of animal magnetism, as Il
has been protruding and reccding for tho
last hundred years. DR.. Bell thought thore
was some reason to believe that tho matter
reproduced may como not only from tho
questioner, but if in the mind Of any ono at
the circle, that II might be evolved. He
made some observations upon the evidences
of spirit existence, drawn from the charae-
ter Of the matter communicated by the me-
diums in state Of impression when, as Is
believed, spirits express themselves through
the human agent. OF course, the quality
Of such composition Is more or less qucs-
ton of taste. Much Of II is elevated, indi.
eating high intellectual and moral capaci-
ties In the mind to which II owes its origin.
Much more is absurd, puerile and disgusting,
infinitely below the grade Of the human pro-
ductions Of the same persons from whom It
professcdly comes. Ye, the spiritual reve-
la,ion has given us nothing Of such extraor-
dinary value or novelty as to stamp II, in
the judgment Of unprsjadiced pinais, "a si,r Sf
ed to treatise which had been put into his
hands by an earnest spiritualist, purporting
to be the work Of Thomas Paine. the au-
thor of Tho Age Of Reason" &C., which
was thought would carry conviction to any.
body, as !; purported to be full explanation
Of the formation and changes Of this earth
by one who, from bis siiis, must know all
about It. Tho truth was that the work was
the production Of some mind, celestial or
mundane, ignorant Of the very FIRST rudi.
ments Of chemical philosophy, in which tho
most ri iiculous blundes were made on ev-
cry page in matters which are as demonstra-
bic as mathematics, and where, Of course,
the answer cannot be made that the revela.
lion was too high for common readers. Nor
does DR.. Bell believe, from his observations,
that the waters from this fountain ever
reach higher level than their source. Tho
most elevated specimen Of the spiritual liz.
crature would no doubt bc found in the con.
muuications from Swsdenborg and Lord
Bacon, in Judge Edmond's and DR.. DeI'er's
6rst and second volumes. Yet whoever
reads tho very clegan; and powerful prclimi-
nary treatise, Of these gentlemen, which
n. nnIl thn,, 1tt wnuh favOFQhlV
"a. ~. ~,;,;n,. n ,bo hind svo, nnbl;.bsd
would not be able to feel that Swedenbors
mn,. uus , ,hs, ,wo ssn,ur;o,, residence rc,pcc.
,;,",v om;d ,hs cul,o,o and refined sense,
Of the superior spheres, had moro than
.,r,I,.d ,h.;, u,n,e,end;nc ,manuep,cs still
- q, -. or ,..r.,
n. nj, Ia . ,,ow;,, t,;h,,o N tb,
.,....,.. .f -. sJmonS. uo Ala No.
bel;,,o That modern history could furnish an
s,,mnl. If a moro noble, cbivalrou,, self.
.,.,;s.;,, d.vo,;o, 70 what bo believe. 10 bo
~ :. - 80. .... ,n,, .,,,,.m,n had
''' a''a' ,.,..,,.,sI " w >. ....;e,.
ev'nced. ~ ,, nsu wv Wv, ",'. - ~ e '".
the l0'ne'' p0,,a." M aS no,iion or a w,II.S..
pec's, as s,. ,,n - - - -. .a..;,,;o,.
serVeu sociA '"n"0"SS' W "''