Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-03-08


favor can be satisfied through obt
dience to its precepts; sand the Low
of God which passeth all understand
ingp will take up its abode in it, an
lead ON the souls to its immorta
: home.
The foundation on which this beau
tiful philosophy rests, is in the high
er spiritual manifestations, as giver
through mediums at various periods
in the past, and in the phenomena a,
developed at the present time. These
manifestations are all significant
and are appearing wherever the con.
ditions are such as to admit of them;
among all peoples in every part Of
the civilized world. The evidence,
through them, of the "life beyond ~
of the immortality of the soul, ofthe
glories of the hereafter to those who
steadfastly walk in the paths of truth
and love, is conclusive to our mind
and we must believe them to be true
under the lights in which we now
view them, until it can be proven,
beyond reasonable doubt, that they
are false.
We can cite many instances, irre-
sistable in the force of evidence,
proving that they are true proof as
strong as human testimony can make
any fact before a tribunal of Justice.
Is it reasonable to suppose that the
thousands of enlightened people, liv-
ing in every part of the civilized
world, who have investigated this
spiritual phenomena, should, all have
been deceived: that there should have
been no encouragement given
them to pursue their investigations !:
that the revelations made to them
through various mediums should
have been only series of impostions
successfully practised {? We think
assuredly not and that the most in
credulous man would, at least admit,
there must be something in it.
We have before us book written
by the Hon. Robert Dale Owen;
man distinguished alike for his tai
ents and his attainments: from this
book (The Detachable Land we
make few extracts and leave the
subject with the reader:
"a JUDIcIoUs man of science, ex-
perimenting in his laboratory, seeks,
before giving to the world the result
of an important experiment, to re-
peat that experiment more than
once; 8 seeing that a
fallible observer may readily mis-
take or misinterpret, when his obser-
walton is limited to single example.
> =
" Among the superstitious a belief
has sometimes prevailed that the
dead may be recalled by mystic and
unlawful rites, as Samuel by the So
called " witch of Endor.u But such
superstition finds few believers in
modern times. All that there is of
truth underlying it consists of this,
that, under favorable conditions, of
rare and difficult combinations, we
may occasionally obtain apparations;
and may even be favored so as
to witness these again and again:
not during weeks or months only
but Throughout years."
" / am fortunate enough to be able
to lay before the reader one of
the most remarkable-perhaps the
most markable-eXamplc of this
that has ever occurred; or, at least,
that is to be found on record with per-
mission, from the witness, to give his
name in attestation. 1t is a name
well known in the commercial and
social circles of New York, Mr.. G.
F. Livermore."
"This gentleman, eleven years ago,
lost near and dear relative: let us
call her Estelle. On her death-bed, |
perceiving the poignant grief that |
overwhelmed her relative at the pros
pect ofhis approaching loss, she earn
estly expressed the desire that it |
might be possible for her, after death,
still to assure him of her continued |
existence"
He attached little Importance to
this except as evidence of her affec-
ton; having himself, up to that
time, found no proof satisfactory to |
his reason touching Hereafter
Neither he nor Estelle had any faith
whatever in spiritual phenomena;
and both had been wont to regard the
whole subject with repugnance.
give, what Mr.. Owen terms,
THE CRUCIAL TEST; as copied from
the record of Mr.. Livermore. In
letter to Mr.. Owen, dated July 26,
1871, this gentleman says. "You
may rely on these records as being
free from exaggeration, in each and
every particularly
"Session No. 43-April Is, lS61-
Wind southwest, weather fair
absolutely secured doors and
we sat in perfect quiet for
half an hour, my faith becoming
weak. Then we were startled by tre-
mendiousra on the heavy mahogany
centre table which, at the same time,
rose and fell. The door was violent
ly shaken, the windows opened and
shut: in fact, everything movable
in the room seemed in motion. QIes-
tions were answered by loud knocks
on the doors, on the glass of the win
dows on the ceiling-everywhere.
"Then an illuminated substance
like gauze rose from the floor behind
US, moved about the room and final
ly came in front of us. Vigorous
electrical sounds We're heard. The
substance assumed the
form of a human head covered, the
drawn close around the neck.
lttouched me; then receded and again
| recognized an oblong
concave on the side that
was presented to Us, and in this cavity
the light was brilliant. Into this |
looked intently for a face, but none
Again it receded and
again approached: this time per-