The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-10-25
Origin OF sPIRIrUALusm.

The Mscitemspt THAT Followed its Ap-
psarsnos In . Little Tsvz in Nsw
York.
Spiritualism in America was born in
ls47, in Hydesvills, Wayne county, New
York, whore one night there was rap
ping at the door Of Michael Weekmsn,
and second rappiDg at the door, and
third rapping al the door, and every
time the door was opened there was no
one there. Proof positive that they were
invisible knuckles that raped at the
door In that same house there was
man who felt cold hand pass over his
forehead and there was no arm attached
TO the hand. Proof positive it was spir-
ltualistis influence After awhile, Mr..
Fox, with his family, moved into that
house, and they had bangings OF the
door every night. One night Mr.. Fox
cried out, care you a spirit7" Two
raps, answer in the affirmative. care
you an. injured spirit?" I've
rAps, answer in the Affirmative.
Then they knew right away that il was
the spirit of peddler who had beea
! murdered in that house years before,
and who had been robbed of $500.
whether the spirit Of the peddler came
back to collect his $500 or his bones | do
not know But from that time on there
was constant excitement around the
promises, and excitement spread all
over tho land, and Judge Edmunds had
his head turned by the excitement, and
he sayH that he saw bel. start from the
top of shelf in the closet and heard il
ring over the neads OF the people who
were in tho closet, then swing TO the
! back parlOr and ring over the heads OF
| a n
swing to the front parlor and ring over
the heads of the people in the front par
Tor, and then drop on the floor, A
young man was said to have been lifted
rom the earth and carried through the
air by an Invisible power, and giving an
account of it he saVs he went so rapidly
he could not count tho posts ofthe fence;
and he Reid in his hand . saw-buck
and square, and he says while
he went they ratified together and made
most delightful music. All these nre
matters of history. People SAID: "Well,
now We have now religion" But in
all ages there have been necromancers--
those who consulted the spirits OF the
departed harmers who threw people
into mesmeric state, sOrcerers who, by
eatlng POISONOUS herbs, can see every
thing, hear everything, and tell every
| thing; astrologers who found out a new
dispensation Of the stars, experts in pal
mistry, who can tell bv the lines in the
palm of your hand your origin, your his
tory, and your destiny. From the cav
ern on Mount Parnassus, il IL said, there
came up an air, an atmosphere, that in
toxicated tho sheep and the goats that
came near by. and under it's influence
the shepherds were lifted into e1ulta-
tation, no that they could forctell future
events and consult with familiar spirits.
Long before the time OF Christ the Brah-
MINIS had all the table-rocking
and the tabe-qnaking. Yon
want to know whar God thinks Of all
these things. He says in one place: al
will be swift witness against the
sorcerors." lie says in another place:
"Ihou shalt not suffer q witch TO live;"
ana lest you should make too wide a
margin between spiritualism and witch
craft, He groups them together and
SAYS; "There shall not be found among
you n consulter with familiar spirits, or
wizard, or nocromancor, for all that
DO these things are an abOmination unto
the lord" and then the still more re-
markable passage which says: "The
soul that turneth after such as have
familiar spirits and after wizards, to 90
whoring after them, will even act Nv
face again that soul, and will cut him
| of from among his people," and q score
of passages showing that God never
| speaAsof those evils in any other way
than with livid thunders Of Indignation,
After all that, be spiritualist IL YOU
dare. DR.. Talmago in Frank Lesiie's
Sunday Magazine