The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1888-05-10

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| istic seance.
Nothing in the spiritualistic circles of
Our day has been more strange, mys-
terious and wonderful than things which
have been seen in the past centuries OF
the world. In all the ages there have been
necromancers, those who consult with the
spirits of the departed charmers; those
who put their subjects in mesmerio
state; sorcerers, those who, by taking
poisonous drugs, see every thing and hear
every thing and tell every thing ;dreamers,
people who in their sleeping moments can
see the future world and hold consultation
with spirits; astrologers, who could read
| a new dispensation in the stars; experts
| in palmistry, who can tell by the lines in
the palm of your hand your origin and
! history. From a cave ON Mount Patnas-
| sus, we are told, there was an exhalation
| that intoxicated the sheep and the goats
| that came anywhere near il, and shep-
! herd approaching it was thrown by that
| exhalation iuto an excitement in which he
could foretell future events and hold con-
| sultation with the spiritual world. Yea,
! before the time OF Christ the Brahmins
went through all the table moving, all the
/ furniture excitement, which the spirits
have exploited in our day; precisely the
same thing over and over again, under
the manipulations of the Brahmins. Now
! do you say that Spiritualism is different
| from these? | answer, all these delusions
/ have mentioned belong to the same fam
| lily. They are exhumations from the un-
| seen world
What does God think Of all these delu-
sions? He thinks so severely Of them that
he never speaks of them but with livid
thunders of indignation. He says:
| 1 will be a swift witness against the sorcerer.
| He says:
| Thou shalt not suffer a witch TO live.
! And lest you might make some impor-
tant distinction between Spiritualism and
! witchcraft, God says, in so many words
There shall not be among you a consulter of
familiar spirits, or wizard, or necremancer; for
they that do these things are an abomination
| unto The Lord.
The Lord Almighty in a score of pas
| sages, which have not now time to quote
utters his indignation against all this
great family of delusions. After that be
Spiritualist if you dare!
Still further, we learn from this text
how it is that people come to fall into
Spiritualism. Saul had enough trouble to
kill ten men. He did not know where to
go for relief. After awhile he resolved to
go and see the Witch of Endor. He ex-
pected that somehow she would afford
him relief. 1t was his trouble that drove
him there. And l have to tell you now
that Spiritualism finds its victims in the
troubled, the bankrupt, the sick, the be-
reft. You lose your watch, and you go to
the fortune teller to find where it is. You
lose a friend, you want the spiritual world
opened, so that you may have commune
cation with him. In highly wrought,
nervous and diseased state of mind you
go and put yourself in that communica-
ton. That il why hate Spiritualism. 1t
| takes advantage of one in moment of
weakness, which may come upon us at
any time. We lose friend. The trial is
keen, sharp, suffocating, almost madden
ing. If we could marshal a host and
storm the eternal world and recapture our
loved one the host would soon be mar
shaled. The house is so lonely. The
world is so dark. The separation is so in
sufferable.
But Spiritualism says:
'We win open the future world, and
your loved one can come back and talk TO
you"
Though we may not hear his voice, we
may hear the rap OF his hands on the ta-
Bile. So, clear the table. Sit down. Put
your hands on the table. Be very quiet.
Five minutes gone. Ten minutes gone.
No motion of the table. No response from
the future world. Twenty minutes. Thir-
ty minutes. Nervous excitement all the
time increasing. Forty minutes. The table
shivers. Two raps from the future world.
The letters of the alphabet are called
over. The departed friends name is John.
At the pronunciation of the letter 81"
two raps. AT the pronunciation of the let
ter CO." two raps. AT the pronunciation
of the letter ''H," two raps. At the pro-
nunciation of the letter IN" two raps.
There you have the whole name spelled
out. john, John. Now, the spirit be-
ing present, you say:
"John, are you happy"
Two raps give an affirmative answer.
Pretty soon the hand of the medium be-
gins TO twitch and toss and begins to write
out, after paper and ink are furnished, a
message from the eternal world. What is
remarkable, the deported spirit, although
il has bccA amid the illuminations of
Heaven, can not spell as well as it used TO.
It ms lost all grammatical accuracy and
can not write as distinctly. Ireceived a
letter through medium once. / sent it
back, l said:
"Just please to tel those ghosts they
had better 20 to school and get improved
IN their orthogtaphy."
NOW, just think of spirits, that the Bible
represents as enthroned in glory, coming
down TO crawl under the table, and break
crockery, and ring tea-bells before supper
is ready, and rap the window shutter on a
gusty night. Is there any consolation in
such poor, miserable work compared
with the thought that our departed Chris
tran friends, got rid of pain and languish-
ing, are in the radiant society of Heaven,
and that we shall Join them there, not in
stified and mysterious half utterance,
which makes the hair stand on end and
the cold chills creep the back, but in an
unhindered and illimitable delight
And none shall murmur or misdoubt,
When God great sunrise finds us out.
Yes, my friends, Spiritualism comes to
those who are in trouble and sweeps them
into its delusions. Saul, in the midst of
his disaster, went TO the Witch Of Endor.
The vast majority Of those who have gone
to spiritual mediums have been sent there
through their misfortunes
l learn still farther from this subject
that Spirituahsm and necromaucy are af-
fairs Of the darkness. why did not Saul
go in the day? He was ashamed to go.
Besides that, he knew that this spiritual
medium, like all her successors, per-
formed her exploits in the night, The
Davenports, fhe Fowlers the Foxes, the
spiritual mediums OF all ages, have chosen
the night or darkeued room. Why?
The majority OF their wonders have been
swindles, and deception prospers best in
the night.
Some OF the performances OF spiritual
mediums are not 20 be ascribed TO fraud,
but 20 some occult law that after a while
may be demonstrated. But believe that
now nine hundred and ninety-nine out Of
every one thousand achievements on the
part OF spiritual mediums are arrant and
unmitigated humbug. The mysterious
red letters that used 10 come out on the