New-York daily tribune., 1859-08-05
cpor FELToN NOT A SPIRIYUALIsT.
Fro, TAe BO,fon Erening CoHrie-, Ass.2
lNll

Pro-s THt B0sion Erenirg CoHvie-, Hug.
NAHAST, Aug. !, 1852
Dy,R Bin. EDITOR: have been informed msuy
4;uA, iihln the lssi few months thu, represented
20 have become only believer the prep osierOns
f,bA, o. the Sprituarls but Red,gn or, ~ the e1
ceer, Mr.. Stiles calls IT, nocjtm | suppose the rd
NOR has been put IL circulation in orfer 20 verify the
prediction made 10y band Of spirits through toe nee
ismss,p OF the aforementioned stiles, that Pot Eel
"top would become a meeidm, though the SpeTT"S
"would have 4 hard tusse With Din first
OF coUne, 40 one believes this-least oi al tue
original Inventor None of the leaders IA toe imPOs-
iuie believe 1t, for they Do not believe In theiI own
yTeiensions. They have succeeded 10 dup0g Others
they have rot succeeded IN duppg the n5elves. Ibe
ac is and they know it, that every one oi their pre-
tensions has been utterly di-pr0ved. The experiments
al the Albion prove1-as the imposiors themselves
knew they would prove-the utter turpitude OF toe
cheat ard tho decision Of the Judges with the bret
bu; most significant warning against the dangerous aud
demorslizng effects the impos;ure aud delasion,
struck d bios at the whole scheme from which It has
not recovered, ard never will recover.
When | speak Of the leaders in Spirtsn a. i'm
posters DO not 10 assert that all Of them are
destitute Of faith in is claims. There are few, who,
having had the misfortune 10 have their belief lu
Christianity undermined by what s called fatona'sn,
but should be called irratOIasm, snatch at the poor
uggleres OF table-pping To supply tbe pisce OF the
lost faith. There others-people OF weak Ju1g
ment and excitable nerves-who have been wrought
upon by the legeIdeman Of such crafty managers as
Mr.. Hayden, Mr.. Mansfield and the rest OF tue de-
ceivng crew, and have really believed these vulgar
tcks;ers chosen by departed spirits to coumuol'
cate with the survivors on earth: Others sal'
astoLished at the yoluollty OF the trance.
speakers open their eyes III wonder aud be-
Ieve that spirits speaking through their or.
gsnisu,s. There wac u young Insn-a MIR. Whiting
who pretended that the spirit OF an ltsan poet
would improvise poetry, on any subject, through ms
organism. His claims were accepted 10 tTenty-One
States Of the Union where bis exhibitions had been
given. When, however, put the ques1on to the
spiIit whether be intended to improvise il bis native
tongue to the utter confusion Of the medium ne was
Obliged to confess that be never gave ha e5t except
in private Mrs Hatcb by far the ablest of toe trance
speakers after having been the great pillar OF spintn
a. they all admitted, completely exposed in Lynn
and Boston. To mathematical question sue gave a
wrong answer, asser log that a thing can be done
which is demonstraby mpossioe but instead OF dong
it, the spirits through her organism promised thi, the
problem should be solved within month, aud the
Of the spirit solving it should be Transmitted
with the document, "or, SAID tue spirits, " we VIII
"ccnfess that we are disgraced forever" That was
two years ago; the problem has not been solved aud
the spirits must accordingly admit that they are dis
graceo forever.
have known one or two cases where, for time,
persons have been caught by the delusion and have
honestly believed themselves rappiDg speaking, and
even writing mediums. These seli-deluslons have,
however lasted but q short time; and the victims to
their own irnaglnatoLs have walked 10 the Truth, like
patients suddenly recovering from dose of ether or
gas have hesit 4tion 10 saying that there have
been such temporary mediums, who began by dendlug
themselves and ended by deludiDg others; and have
dums Of every sort, who are weekly announced in
The Banner of Light and The Spiritual Age, and
who, after the exposures that have taken place. con-
tibue their ncantations are cheats and mposters OF
the won't description, and ought to be brought u0der
the penalties Of the law When, for instance, the pre-
tended clarvo pick the pockets of the ignorant
ard the credulOus of heavy fees for medical prescrp
tons the law should step ia aud protect the feeble
minded it does in other of idlOcy. And when
Stiles publishes octave volume of the most en0r.
nonsence, under the name of John Quincy Adams
forging the handwriting OF the sage OF Qulncy-he
ought 10 be dealt with aoy O her torger. Aud when
Mansfield opens letters aud sells answers to them,
under the pretence that the answers came from de-
parted spirits bLes artist to draw crayOn pOr
traits of the dead from his desert pons, from
dsguereotypes and sells them as portraits taken from
the departed spirits coming TO sit proprld PERSONA he
ought to be dealt with any other rogue who obtains
money by false preences. knew from the beginning
of the discussion that almost every species of fraud and
yillany was practsed under the garb of Spirsm: |
knew that IFS tendencies baDeul ana demoraliz
ing: knew that 1t connected itself with the bases
passions, and justified practices tnat tended to the
overthrow Of social and domestic life. Those who
charged il with those tendencies were bitterly de-
nounC but the recent revelations of those who have
had the best oppOI of knowing ts effects sur
pass tenfod all the that Imputed to it.
The consequence Of the discussion was first to In
duce people who inclined 10 listen To its preen'
eons to examine little more closely; to apply tests; to
see for themselves The moment this was done,
Spirituasm lost all credit with persons OF the least
penetration. Some Of its pretended phenomena have
been witnessed in cultivated circles ano for short
time caused surprise and perplexi,y. At present no
such surprise or perpexity can be excited; the phe-
pomena are through, the tricks exposed aud,
with very few exceptions the only dupes are 10 be
found the haunts O the most Ignorant aud degraded
Its services were no longer announced in the daily pa
per with the regious Intelligence II shunk to con
iemptble dimensious and hides its diminished head
from the light of day. Mr.. Newton no longer justi-
fes the indecences of the mystic mount III Lynn;
John Murry Spear no longer dares 10 form his
secret circles in pWrS RGturdhbus, and the abomna'
tions of free love- though secretly practlsed, are no
longer openly defer ded under the sanction OF spiritual
communications. No one doubts that the incoherent
rayipg of the trance.speakers comes from their own
addeG brains or that the trance-speakers themselves
are ANYTHING more than shallow mpostors, like all the
rest Mediums and others who ind their gain in 1t,
will continue their nefarious work SO long dapes,
with money in their pockets, offer themselves to De
robbed / am afraid my friend, Allen Putnam, one of
the best Of men, st believes in the horrid and bias
phemons cheat but sure he cannot stand IL much
longer Judge Edmonds continues to write his puere
fc;ions in THr NEw.YORK TRIBUNE, but have never
Heard Of man, except myself, who has read them.
Nobody but the Judge believes single word of them;
and since be affected to think that Mansheds s,ro-
cous English doggerels came from the elegant Attic
poet Menander which he could not possibly have be-
teyed cannot suppose he believes in them hnsclt.
Yours in the ,piu c. C. FELTON,
Prof Lieber, of Columbia College, in this city,
L.. Cd 70 A.lvar an sf hp