The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-05-08
Abraham in the Nineteenth century.


"And it came to pass after these things
that COP did tempt ABRAHAM, and said unto
him. ABRAHAM, and he said, Behold, here
| am And he said, Take now thy son,
thine only son ISAAC, whom thou lowest, and
get thee into the land Of Morah, and offer
him there for n burnt offering upon one Of
the mountains which will tell thee Of
If Elder DRowN preached from this text to
the little Second Adventist congregation OF
Pooasset, the fact is not yet in evidence.
Probably he did. At any rate, CHARLES +.
FREEMAN, the young shoemaker from Lynn,
pored over this passage in the Hebrew
Scriptures until the thought got full pos
session Of him that he also was called upon
to Offer n similar sacrifice. 1t was revealed
to him, as he fully believed in his mad
fanaticism, that the victim whom GOD re-
qured at his hands was his little daughter,
the idol of his heart. His obedience was as
prompt as ABRAuAM's. Ho communicated
the revelation to his wifo. At first she
pleaded with him for the life Of her child,
but In short time tho fanatics dclusion
got the better OF the mothers heart. She took
their other child from the side OF its sister,
carried her into another room and went
the little one his darling, to the heart.
There can bo no question that, in commit
ting this atrocious deed, FREEMAN firmly
believed that he was obeying the divine
command, and that his daughter would
either be restored to life or visibly trans
lated to heaven, TO the confusion OF the un-
believers and TO their conversion 10 the
true religion as preached by Elder Brown.
There can be no question that his wife fully
shared this belief. There can be no question
that IL was fully and honestly shared by
some at least Of his co-religionists OF Pocas-
set-notably by Undertaken DAVIS, who,
standing over the grave that was to receive
the small body. avowed his purpose to offer
up one OF his own children in the same way
1t is reassuring to know that Undertaken
DAVIS is in close custody, and that the Cape
doctors have been invited to pass upon his
mental condition.
ABRAHAM's faith, we are told, was counted
TO him for righteousness. FREEMAN's faith
is likely 10 land him In n Massachusetts,
| State Prison or a Massachusetts, Insane
| Asylum for life.
We take it for granted that no jury will
bring him in guilty OF murder in the first
degree and thus consign him to the gallows.
Murder in the first degree is the premedi-
| tatcd, deliberate taking of human life. FREE
MAN did, indeed, take the life Of his daughter; ;
| but he did il in the belief that she would
be miraculously restored to life by the COP
who, as he in his horrible delusion believed,
had commanded the deed for His own glory
and the eternal good OF mankind. Murder
in the first degree involves tho murderous
| int nj In fbic pnangaat tho IN
derous intent is wanting.
But in mercy to themselves, their chill
dren, and their ncighbcrs, these POcasset
fanatics or maniacs should be put under
lock and key. Society cannot afford 10 toll
crate the ABRAHAM business at this day OF
the world or to leave the would-bo ABRA-
HAMS at large.
Some OF our esteemed contemporaries
seem disposed TO try TO fix upon Second Adj
ventism the responsibility for the shedding
Of this innocent blood. That is as foolish as
it would be 10 hold all those who preach and
believe Calyinism responsible for the many
weak-brained persons Of both sexes whom
too much bordering on the mysteries OF the
divine DEGREES has brought to the madhouse
A sensible comment on the affair is that OF
the Springfield Republican:
what Pocas-ot needed In Its winter desoauon was moi
Elder BnowS anu his Internal turning OF mems brains
with Signs revelations, and second advcnts. or khcI
ssrn and his grdron and birthstone, steady diet Oh
the Bible as it stands but little more healthy con
with each other and the rest of this cked world
Social impetus ami elevation what dee adent eommu
mites need much more than they do revival or DoK
ClARKEs cacchsm II the people OF sandwich. who arr
sh ockcd by this crime had had warmer social lite
ami assembled not for what r,ereauye purpose
to know each other fully the spell VI this horrible
hallucinauon would have been broken"
Only those who know how frigid, dull, ant
barren life is in such New England seacoas
hamlets as Pocasset, how lacking in whole
some neghborhood intercourse and bank
rupt in innocent social recreation, will ap
preciate the force Of our contemporary
suggestions.
One Good Result of the Past TOugl