The Portland daily press., 1867-12-20
Miscellany.

Prof Cunning upon Spiritual Evidences.
Benjamin Coleman, ESQ.,, contributes an
article to the London Spiritual Magazine for
November, in which he introduces the follow
ing letter written by Prot. Cunning of Har-
ward College. 1t is very interesting:
MY DEAR SIR Allow me to thank YOU
for the pleasure and the profit have gained
from tie few numbers Of the Spiritual Mag
azines which have reached me. do not be-
heye you can serve your race and your age
more nobly than by laboring as you do to
bring the doctrine OF immortality from the
realm of faith into that of knowledge. like
your method. We need facts. l do not see
how we can learn any thing of an after life
except as that life reports itself. At best cur
faith assures us only of the fact that Lie
modes of spirit-lite. Many minds trained in
scientific methods, know nothing of faith,
take nothing on trust. To such, the facts
you have to report come like sunlight on the
clouds. l would give up everything I have
except faith in God and hope for men, rather
than the treasured words which have come
to me from the higher life. You want facts.
Has it never occurred to our skeptical friends
that the greatest fact of all is the belief of
some ten million OF men and women? Are
these men demented? Many of them on my
own side of the water, ] know well. They
are men who know how to weigh evidence.
They are in the Senate chamber, on the
bench, in the universities, on scientific sur
veys. One of them is poet, whose books
are the delight OF every cultivated mind in
England. Another is a bishop, whose elo-
quence was surpassed by no preacher who
met with him in the Pan-Anglican SYNOD.
Is it not safe to assume that facts which have
convinced such men deserve at least decent
hearing? tra Hls sl,t hq5t4o "a on Z
Let us take fact: Mr.. Simmons, member
of the United States Senate, from Rhode
Island, grave and careful man, pub lished to
the world over his own name, statement
like this: He was in the presence of woman
who called herself "a medium On the table
before him lay a pencil and sheet of paper.
The pencil moved-no visible hand touching
it-and wrote p. T. Simmons After writing
the name, it moved back and dotted the T.
The handwriting, the Senator says, was that
OF his son, living then, rs he thought, in Cali
fornia. The agent that moved the pencil
went on to write communication, claiming
to be Young Simonds, and giving an account
OF his death in San Francisco few DAYS be-
fore. Now, the Senator atfirms that the next
California mail brought tidings of his sons
death. eorroborating in all respects the ac-
count he had received in the presence of the
medium. What shall we say? That the
grave Senator uttered falsehood? Who
will say that? A lady, we'll known in liter
airy circles, was present at the sitting and
puts herself in print re-affirming the Senator's
statement. Did they both faisffy? No one
who knows them will say that. Were thew
mistaken? The case does not admit OF mis-
take. Either these things are true, or
no truth outside the dull routine of life
can be established by testimony. viii
the writers who finish the Zouaye Jacob and
put down Spiritualism in the daily press of
London, sheer at men just as intelligent as
they, for believing that young Simmons was
still living, consciousn being-a man whose
love and memory did OF die with the
body-and that under certain conditions he
was able to lift the veil, and make his pres
ence known to his father? Then let them at
least treat the facts with common decency,
and give us a more rational conclusion
Meantime they may do well to remember
that thirty years ago these same papers sneer-
ing at the British Association for the Adj
vancement of Science. Thirty years hence
it may not be pleasant for editors to look |
over their files of '67. - ges--ss--l X |
Facts similar to these are of everyday occur |
renee. Take one OF a different type. Very
wonderful things, am told, were done in
the presence Of a lady, who lives in Charles
town, Mass. Mrs. Cushman, of whom you
have made mention,) is not before the pub
lie as a medium, but she gives settings occa- |
sionally to those who wish to investigate. I |
''s'esN ~ Aos~ IL SoinPauy Will d OOStOu
clergyman. A guitar was laid on nv knees. |
and after few minutes lifted up, and PLAYED |
on by unseen hands. This was in full day-
light. The concert lasted an hour 1t was |
utterly impossible for the lady to touch the |
strings No mortal, under the circumstances, |
could have made the music. OF this we were |
both satisfied. We did not decide hastily
but only after the fullest investigation. Now
the agent that played the guitar, whatever it
was, acted wonderfully like human being
We requested particular tune-it was play
ed; then another, that was also PLAYED, and
so on for an hour. How could we resist the
conviction that here, unseen by us, was a
spiritual being, a man or woman, knowing
the music that we knew, hearing our words |
OF reading our thoughts. and able, under con-
ditlons we may not understand, to move ma
terial thir gs? we are comprised about |
with cloud of witnesses We need to re-
turn to the early faith, the faith of the found
ers OF Christianity, the faith of all great poets
OF all ages. This age is stepped in material
ism, but re action has begun. Men are cry-
ing out for the knowledge of Eternal Life.
With the eloquent Bishop of Rhode Island,
hail the influx from the spirit world as
gift OF the Father, sent in his own good time
to His children to wean them from doubt. to
confine them in faith, to take away the sting
OF death by the knowledge that Immortality
life. w n, GINNISm
b. Coleman. Esq, London.