The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1858-03-04

IL was nfst calieu or splfituallsn, as IL II now
ca led, has tended itself with rapidity and
maintained itself with tenacity that is aston.
ishing. In America II has been no mere pas.
time Of society--n0 mere evening diversion Of
elegant Know Nothings or Do.Nothings--no
welcome resource Of people, having pretty well
exhausted the pleasures Of this world, have u
strong interes in getting any amusement they
can out Of any other world. There, among the
busy, busting classes Of the most active work
shop in the world-among its proyerbialy
sharp, keen, wide.awakc citizens the new
movement computes its believers, not by hun
dreds or thousands, but by millions, There il
numbers among It's advocates and practical L.
Illustrators men who have filed honorable pub.
lie Offices, professional men Of character, scien.
tiflc men, lawyers physicians, cergymen Of
various denominations. aud q considerable por.
ton 0f the newspaper press We Had sach men
as Judge Edmonds-a Judge Of the Supreme
Court OF the State of New York. and lawyer
of high reputation and Professor Hare, highly
esteemed among his countrymen ~ man Of
science--n0t only giving in their adhesion TO
the asserted truth OF the new phenomenon, but
coming before the public with elaborate expo
siti0ns Of their new faith. and with large
body Of evidence derived from their own expe.
| rience.
This movement has also its own peculiar lite.
rature, histories Of its progress, controversies
rs to its nature, phiiosophic developments Of
| its views, and periodical records OF its manies-
tations. A list OF no less than sixty works,
published in New York and Boston alone, lies
before us, including such periodicals as the
Shekinah, monthly journal, and tho Spiritual
Telegraph a weekly publication. OF these
works, some, like the revelations Of Davis, the
famous Ponghkeepsie seer, profess to have
been dictated by spirits TO persons In magne-
tic sleep, and by them communicated orally to
scribes-the fact Of the person heing in such a
sleep, and utterng the matter which IL pub
| Il hain lv tfuc
whose names are given, and whom we must
believe to be persons entitled 10 be believed.
Not less remarkable than all this, and what
seems justiicatory OF the faith which 50 eSten
sively prevails, is the very striking crcum'
stance that some of the principal persons who
oppose the m0vemnnt, either regarding II ~
dangerous, or denying its high spiritual preteD.
sions such as DIR. Mahan, the Resident OF
Cleveland College; DR.. Butler, the Rev. Mr..
| Beecher, or the seyerest Of its critics, Dr.
Richmond-all admit the truth Of the phenom'
ens, some a.tributing them either to Od force.
or the devil. Even the North Amotoan Rsritr,
OF April, 1850, apologies for It's tardy notice OF
the movement, and IN an article entitled :" MO
dern Nocromancy," accepts the facts, bears
witness to the intelligence and social standing
Of those who accept them, and endorses the
statement made by its advocates, that they
number nearly two millions in the Siates. It's
of opinion that the phenomena are Sufficiently
curious to demand profound investigation
from scientific men. With such a conviction IT
is much to be lamented that 1t did not itself in
stitute more critical inquiry.
We must remark that the commence
ment of the above quotation is entirely in
correct. and that belief that three years
ago numbered amongst its professors Il
score or so, has now in its ranks thousands.
and that amongst the most civilized aud
aorllyactiye persons in Europe. We
! have Witnessed such fact in India, China
England, and 10 this country, that to deny
them would have ben TO deny our own ex-
! istence and identity. and 10 dlsclaim forever
| the uso OF the common organs whereby we are
! determining the existence and nature facts,
those of the five senses The table turner's
in Eastern China, the faquir. OF India, and
more especially, some Of the so-callei be-
cromancers Of that country, and thDet who
have experienced spiritual manifestation. in
t.uFopa and THIS country, all seem to have
! been acted upon by a similar influence. but
what that ia ~e do no, pretend 10 .'y, nor
have any oi the thousand dogma OF .pirlt
ualists satisfied IL ~ tO their nature. All
We know is that the ply seal facts connected
with this curious and interesting -atjett
are not new they have b.cn described and
investigated two thousand years ago. abd
10 our sham. IL. il SAID. ia th,s year Of
grace in a spirit that We recognize a. far
more philo-ophic and really christian than
is 10 IT, found in thc work Of disputants Il
the present day.
Whilst writing this article, we by chance,
stumbled upon an article in The L/r'dcn Spse-
t0ior, a frst cla-s hebdonadal and celebrated
amongst literary men for lts able and 'ar
criticisms On a work written by one whom
We are proud 20 call friend Df. Nuxis
sos, the first Homo Jpa,hic physician IN
london, and one of the frs, metaphysical
writers q ibe present day. Thr Spectator
uses no sneer nor dos il resort 10 the
arrogant assumption Of many special
journal. 10 reviewing a work called WlLE-
rxaoxs Spirit Drawings" which recoun,s
variety Of revelations made 10 tbe Doctor,
oxp family by the upcon-c'oas hand Of
writer and draugb,m4n. From the work ~e
earn ,ba, there /. couA,ion in which pr
900. hands are gui1esi by -oDe nfanee which
II no, spar, from himself s Certainly not
the ae, Of yolition and writes or depicts
subjects that the oxna thereof has no
snowIssige Of in wha, W shOod cal his
pataral state The sollo~ing sccoani OF the