The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-07
sPIRITUALIsM A SCIENCE.

The Wonderful Tests That Resulted In the
Conversion of a New York Man.
Charles Dawburn. in Louisville Times.
81 am naturally inclined to be skeptical. and
it was only after / had gone through crucial
tests that | was converted. I sat alone an hour
each night in the darkness of my room for
eighteen months, and experienced wonderful
things. but still | was not convinced. My right
arm would grow cold at times, and move invo1-
UNFAIRLY, until I became frightened and thought
l was about to be paralyzed. 4 was at that time
a broker near Wall street, in New York, and do
in the Office one day, writing. Suddenly that
peculiar sense of numbness came over my arm,
and my hand moved the pen across the paper,
and had no power of resistance. | wrote in
large, bold letters: You are being robbed; count
your cash. / had not dreamed of such a thing,
and was completely dumfounded. A
friend of mine came in at that moment,
and l got him to count the cash over for me. /
made a note OF the amount and carefully locked
the drawer. We then went to lunch, and were
gone several hours. Upon returning we counted
the cash again, and found IL $l1. so short. /
was unable to discover who the thief was. The
spirits will not tell us that so long as we have
the system of Furnishing instead Of trying to re-
form criminals.
II think that was a sufficient test to convince
any man. Afterward l went into the lumber
business in connection with a house in Liver
pooL\ We bought quantities of lumber in Can
ada, and shipped it over in cargoes. The system
of regulating the business there is this: The
lumber is graded into three classes. one, two and
three. The first is free from knots. the second
has a certain number. and the third more. The
government employs men to brand this lumber
and grade it as it comes from the saw. and each
class is stamped one, two or three. You can see
what amount of damage these branders could
do, were they bribed by the mill owners.
Zone winter | received a number of COM
plants from the firm in Liverpool as to the
quality of the material. One night | was in my
office at Quebec writing, and again the old feel
ing CAM over my arm, and my hand travelled
across the paper. The pen traced the words,
Go to Montreal. You are wanted at once I
had but fifteen minutes il which to go a mile
and catch the boat, but / got there. On arriv-
ing in Montreal / went straight to the dock,
where we had a cargo about to start. I went
on deck and declared there had been fraud in
the branding of the lumber, and demanding
that the work be done over again. Under
the law, when such a demand is properly
made, the court must order the work
done Immediately by three government men.
In the meanwhile. / was mourning an enormous
risk. There had to be paid to the s~hip-owners
$4O0 for every day the ship was held beyond the
sailing time, and $50 a day in addition for every
barge In case the relanding of the cargo did
not alter the amount 10 per cent, then this ex-
pense fell on me. The three examiners were APP
pointed, and ir took them eight days to get to
work. They then discovered that all the second
az OOOh LII as " Il Ii II tulEu
grade as No. 2. In this way 500, 900 was saved to
the firm in the single cargo, and all the expenses
had to be paid by the bondsmen of the govern
ment employee who had been bribed by the mill
owners. Had / failed, | would have been laughed
at and called a fool but I was willing to incur
the risk on the strength Of the spirit writing.
Another mistake which is made is in con-
founding the faculty of being able to see and
know things by means Of q touch of the hands.
This discovery was first made by Prof. Blu
chanan. formerly of Kentucky. He was princi-
pal of a college in Ohio, and an Episcopal bishop
went to consult him as a physician. The Bishop
said he was wonderfully constructed, and could
tell by feeling a piece of metal, without seeing
it, whether 1t WAS iron. brass copper or some
thing else. Prof. Buchanan placed the Bishops
hand behind him and applied a number of tests,
all OF which were answered Immediately. The
Professor thought there was something In it,
and began making tests with the boys
about 100 who were more or less gifted
that way. He extended his researches further,
and began experimenting with drugs. There
were about twenty of the boys he could influence
by placing a drug in the palm of their hands,
and could even cause some to vomit by putting
ipecac in their lunch without their knowing
what 1t was. He continued the work, and one
day went to the Bishop mentioned above, and,
placing a sealed letter in his hand, said: I want
to know If you can divine the contents of that
letter by the sensation It's touch causes The
Bishop laughed. and said: L feel a sensation as
of a great soldier, who was very angry You
are right replied Professor Buchanan. THAT
letter was one written by George Washington
the night h learned of Benedict Arnold's treason,
And thus it was that the science was DIS
covered. It has since been developed wonder.
fully, but should not be COMPOUNDED with spirit
ualism."
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