The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-09-18
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENTS.

h1NNN l~NAAAr7o AeA NAN IoE VI OALEA LulAE-
spondents; but we now resume our reg
ular episolary work.
After our last, which hailed from As
toria, fortnight since, we returned to
Portland, a victim Of rainy weather aud
rheumatism. Once at home, there
were a thousand things to occupy time
and attention, which have broken into
the days and hours, until the time
which we had mentally resolved to de-
vote TO you has ebbed and gone.
The rain In Astoria seemed out Of
place as we'll as out of season. So many
hundreds had fitted from the heated
air of the upper country to the cooler
breezes beside the sounding sea, dispos-
Ing OF themselves in tents aud booths
by night, and spending the days in fish
ing hunting, clam-digging, boating,
aud all the pastimes incident to camp
life, that it seemed pity that Jupiter
Pluvius should have so little mercy as
he displayed when playing havoc with
their best-laid plans by fortuight's
reign Of Intermittent raining. At the
hotels aud bOarding-houses the So
journers Jared better, and, but for chills
aud rheumatism, We should have been
as bodily comfortable as when at home
in midwinter. But, as il was, even the
elegant fare at the Occident was unap-
preciated; and, after week of waiting
for better weather, canvassiug between
showers for the Peoples Paper, receiv-
ing and answering calls under dripping
umbrellas, lecturing two evenings, read
ing Brother Ireland's exchanges, and
climbing over the slippery hills, we
boarded the Bonita End came home,
wearier, lamer, wiser aud wetter woman.
Speaking OF Brother Ireland, reminds US
of the AStOriaR and its library. Upon
the bOok-shelves we noticed all odd ar
ray of matched volumes, il matches
may properly be called odd, and, IL
looking through them, found that the
contents comprised everything In the
literary line, from treatise on molecu-
lar action TO a comic almanac. There
were numerous volumes Of Putnam's,
Harper's, and other magazines, neatly
bound TO match agricultural addresses,
dissertations on tides, land office statis-
tics, vagaTies On Rstrology, medical
journals, maps, music and what not, the
whole forming a valuable acquisition to
an editors library, inexhaustible, even
I Al
brother keeps his scissors out Of them is
a mystery. For the first and only time
in life we felt strong symptoms OF klep-
tomania as we turned their pages. And
we only refrained from pilfering because
il would have been a sin to mutilate The
books.
For q wonder, the sun was shining
when We got back to Portland, and
rheumatics soon took a recess. OF
what has transpired during this fort
nights sojourn at home, there is much
that the public would no doubt be
pleased to hear. But space aud time
are limited, aud we must be brief.
The questions, ar a man die, shall he
live again ?" and its natural aud logical
successor, "Can future state Of exist
ence be demonstrated ?" are questions
which ought to interest every intelli-
gent mind. That tie people, in the
main, believe in a future existence, Is
proven by the churches they build aud
sustain and the efforts that are made
to recruit their numbers are certainly
praiseworthy. But there are many
thinkers, ourself among them, who not
only desire to believe in a future life,
but wish, II possible, that its reality
may be PrOUea, and that not merely by
faith, bat acknowledgements knowledge
as can be demonstrated. We cannot
believe that man has yet mastered all
there is Of proof OF future state-if
there be one. Growing intelligence
needs positive evidence. IL il can be
proven that men ia our own day can Te-
ceive messages upon tablets OF stone, or
slate, il will not be so hard 10 believe
that Moses got them also. To test this
matter, we went, one evening last week,
with our liege, who is thoroughly skep-
teal, To see DIR. Slade, Of whose alleged
powers We had heard aud read much.
We had room for only brief mention in
last weeks paper of the phenomena oc-
curing in his presence on that occasion,
so we went another time, by appoint
ment, aud, after sitting for little
while in his presence, chatting upon
commonplace topics, the Doctor laid a
bit OF pencil between two states and
held them above our shoulder, in the
broad daylight aud in full view, our
hands upon his disengaged hand on the
table. In a very little while we heard
vigorous writing going on inside the
states, and on opening them, discovered
the following message. We do not
know how it got there, but we do know
it was not there when the states were
closed, and that we heard the writing
distinstly as the bit Of pencil was NOV
ing over the slate. But, to the message,
which We transcribe verbatim, leaving
the public TO draw its own conclusions:
MY DEAR SISTER What a glorious work
you are doing for the cause OF womani Go on.
Angels will bless you In your noble work. And
their blessings will bring you the sunshine OF
success. In your work you always draw
around you noble band OF spirits that aid
you in your glorious mission. It is not much
can say 10 you, bqt remember-you always
have the love and sympathy OF your affection
ate SISTER VI sGGIE.
The handwriting WIS not like Sister
Maggie's, who has been gone from the