New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-27
JUDGE EDMOHDS on SPIRITUALISM
No *
SPEAKING AND WRITING MEDIUas.

senterces letter by eer Hence il wa thst as soon
a. tie fact q spiritual Intercourse vas established
speskug sfi writing mediums began 70 BE- developed,
tai thought might be more rapidly conveyed.
Thu KIND Of mediunship, ike al TIE Others, Is
rGked VITA great variety q feature en3, Ike tie
others, j. capable Cf Improvement by proper cC.ys-
ton. 10 ,bls c'on can speak OILY CT tte gen
eral clsracterisics, aid chiefly Of tie med.umship
after i has gore somewhat through tAe process Of
cultivation.
Those general Characteristics are that words and
sentence written spoken and thoughts altered
which are not the product Of either the mind OF the
will Of tie medium.
Il is BOT Away easy TO ascertain that this is 20.
meoium ia in your preseuce writing with ease or
speaking with auency, and the natural inference i5
tibet is OF lis mind that he doing go and the
evidence must OF necessity be strong 10 establish that
it is otherwise Thst evidence will, however be fur
rsbcd 20 any one who viii patiently invest gate 20
the end. have endeavOred to DO so, and will men
ton some Of the prominent evidences to show that it
IL other mind thai the me6 um- that is at work.
|. One is that Of the mediums speaking in lar
guage unknown to him, in which, however, be con-
veys distinct thought and utters proper sentences
which understood by those who are acqua inted
with the LAM uage.
,. Another is that sometimes the medium knows
and sometimes he does lot know the thought be is
thus utterng in strange language ana that not at
all at lis option or under his control.
3. The medium frequently refers TO event. and re-
lstes incideIts unknown TO him. but recognized by
others present at the tine a. the truth.
t. He not unfrequertly speaks Of events aud Incl
dents unknown alike to him ard 70 those present bit
which are afterward scertained TO be facts.
D. He prcphosies events which are TO happen, and
which do happen, and that sometimes in regard to
matters with which he hes no connection, aud Of
which be has DO knowledge.
g. He often describes persons, gives names, and
delinta'es characteristics, which are recognized by
others as correct bat Of which he is previously gno
raLt.
:. lie u;ters thoughts in conflict with his own sen-
timents, which he does not receive aud which he
repu6istes.
8 lie writes aud utters things Of which he is igno
rant at the time Of their uttersnce. Such is the case
with all the trance mediums. They do not know
what they write say. and had the services Of
writing medium who was not entrsnced, but who
frequently wrote matters of which kEor he is even
to this day, ignorant.
Q. lie displays knowledge of science aud arts,
ami uses words and technical terms, the meaning Of
which be does not know.
10. lie delivers DISCOURSE, marked by close ar.
eunent and profound thought far beyond his espa-
city. have, for instance, witnessed little girl OF
some 10 years old, founding, with scarcely
knowledge Of her alphabet. discourse with gentle
Of advanced age and Of accomplished education,
on topics, and in a manner, that COMPOUNDED them,
realizing the account Of Jesus at IL years old, In
the temple sitting in the midst Of the doctors both
hearing them AID asking them questions, and all
that heard i'm sstonished at his understand
ing and answers
IL. And to add to it all the medium is unable TO d.
this at Lis pleasure, but only when under the influence
Of this unseen intelligence. have often seen mediums
Try in vain TO recall the power under circumstances
when they lad every iIducement TO successi and l
have known tie exhibition arrested midway, when
the medium was mortified at the failure.
These and suudry other evidence, which have not
now the space to enumerste, but which the car did
investigator can readily observe for himself, will
enable him TO be certain that there are times and
occasions when the medium is writing and speaking
thoughts not his oUp but flowing from mind and q
will outside of and beyond himself.
This is no impossbilty, though it may seem 80 to
some. The power is recognized by the learned indie
pendent Of Sprituasm. Wilkinson, in his treatise,
The Human Body, and its Connection with Man,
speaks thus of If: And so, TOO, if the soul or spirit
or any other spirit influence, can make the mag
legations or the thought movements in the cerebral
substance, these will as much our own
thoughts as though no such influence had been ex-
erted But in both oases, be il remembered, there
els an Object out Of the faculty excited: though in
IN the one case the object is ont of the organism
externally in the other case, out OF it Internally
There are, however, some considerations affecting
each Of these kinds Of mediumship.
|. Asto Writing MediumshiD: Sometimes the witt
pg is merely mechanical, the ofthe medium being
moved by some other aid than his sometimes he is
unconscious even that he Is writing; sometimes be 8
as a. that he ia writing, but l. unconscious OF what
letters OF words he IS forming and sometimes he Is
conscious of al he is doing, but is aware of the extra
neous impulse Sometimes he writes by impression the
thoughts being given to him. but the language used
beirg his own Sometimes he is aware OF each word
a. he writes H. but il unconscious o. Whist Is the sen
fence that he FORMS Sometimes he Is conscious OF the
sentence but is not aware Of lis connection with what
has gone before or Of what is 70 follow. Sometimes lac
writes in lis native language sometimes IN iorelsn
ore known 10 him. Sometimes be writes IN chaFac-
tors appsenty unmearing, and seemingly mere pot
look~and.hargers" Ike child learning to write,
AID sometimes in welcomed hieroslyphcs, when
sre ;ntern1eted and understood Sometimes the dls-
tnc,iye handwriting Of the medium Is preserved
tbrouobout at other times through the same medium,
different handwriting is carefully preserved fer each
snirit rcmu,uning: and sometimes the handwriting OF
the comuunirg spirit, which dstin uished him in life,
is closely initiated.
IL. is 10 Speaking MsfiuMshLP' Here, too there
i great variety in Tue manifestation, and It Is only OF
general featurts Ii / can speak.
The principal difference intae kinds being when the
medium is entranced or in normal condition. Be