Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-18

| perfenees--A Man Inaagfnes Himself
| GOD, with q Mission 60 XIII hls WIFE
| and Chf7d.~ -
The, Adrian Mich }, Times and -E.r'
posit0T, Of . recent date, says: We
have already briefly alluded to the case
efMr. james Van Heusen, who is do
ranged apparently. from religious excite.
n,ent. ION q recent visit We found him
Iaboring under apparently great excite
usent, and maifesting a great repugnance
to the presence of those who had former
" been his most cherished friends, ae-
cnsing them of being demons, evil spirits,
AID deadly enemies Of his. The sup
posed dereliction of his friends appeared
to cause him great grief and his eyes
were rarely free from tears, which some-
times streamed down his cheeks in tor
rents. In his apparently calmer mo-
ments he stated that he was God, that
his voice was the voice of God, and he
warned those of his friends that he per-
mitted to approach him to repent OF their
sins. He also asserted that he; was Q
medium; that he could see spirits aall
around the bystanders, good spirits
around some and evil ones around others.
This morning he announced his determin-
alton to wash himself, and stripped him
self and washed in large tub Of water.
He claims to have mental and oral con-
versations with God, that all he does is
done by Gods expressed command, and
that God reveals to him the minds Of
those in company with him. His con-
versation is . strange mixture Of sense
and nonsense, intermixed with passages
Of Scripture, and at short intervals he
bows his head in prayer. He is still i'm.
bued with the idea that he has been COM
mssded to kill his wife and child, calls
tnem his lambs, and says they will soon
be with him in glory. His wife cannot
go near him, and he sometimes goes
through the house in search of her, say
ing that he must kill her.
Mrs. Van Housen gives very strange
history of the sfair. She says that for
some time Mr. Van Housen has been
paying considerable attention to spirit
ualism, and reading a number Of spiritual
papers. A man named Corysll, who has
recently lived a neighbor to him, and
who is a spiritualIst, had acquired con-
siderable influence over him. Coryell
had told Van Housen that he was foolish
to paint in the railroad shops, for he
would tell him how he could paint fine
portraits, in dark cellar, of persons who
had been dead ten or twenty years. He
also promised to make medium of him.
All these things appeared to have some
influence on the mind of Van Housen.
Mrs Van Housen said that on Tuesday
evening last Coryell came to their house,
and sitting by her husband. placed one
hand on the back Of his (V.'s) neck, and
with the other made passes before his
face. She says this seemed to have
great effect ON her husband, that he
trembled violently and was in 8 profuse
perspiration. About aR hour after they
had retired to bed on Tuesday night,
she awoke with suffocsting feeling in
her chest, and found she was unable to
speak. On opening her eyes she saw her
husband making passes over her face as
she had seen CoryelI do. On seeing her
evident distress he desisted, and asked
her what was the matter. She respond
ed by asking him what he was doing,
when he asked her how she knew he
was doing anything. She said she knew
he was and it troubled her. He then
said there were eight spirits in the room
four good and four evil, that the latter
were about leaving, and then she
could go to sleep again. Mrs. Van Hou-
sen was, of course, much frightened, but
she says that almost unaccOuntably she
went to sleep, and remained asleep till
morning. In the morning Van Housen
appeared very sorry and ashamed OF
what had happened; promised it should
never occur again, and went to his work.
At noon he appeared to be perfectly
sane, and still sorry for what had occurred
About four O'Clock in the afternoon he
came home and soon became violent,
saying it had been revealed to him that
he must kill his wife and child, and his
mind has not recovered its balance since
then. f.t .I#at III +. q
Mr.. Van HouSen's parents reside in
Chatauqus county, New York. They
have been sent for and are expected to-
day. On their arrival steps will proba~
bly, be taken to secure the unfortunate
man. Certainly he shonld be secured
and at once, .. ...H raa