The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-21
SOME OF FER BELIEFS.
Topics AND MYSTICISAS UN-
y -->.Ou-N TO COMMON PEOPLE.

....d and Wonderful Theories of the
"r,asonhists and Other "Ists"-The
! Who is the Re-embodied Spirit
Of Napoleon l.
Fran, the New York Press
.....;o,s beIiefs abound in this city just
The big. busy, commercial part of
~" York would be completely taken off
fost did it know of the startling thought
w. is ee.hing underneath an apparently
'p'' t;,oI surface. One must be a little
p,hod with some of the extraordinary
'O1 ,s ora's self to be able to learn about all
~. .,tbors. for the people who are up to the
81. in mysteries and mysticisms do not go
III IA king about their works or their
a;.b 70 nubelevers. That phase of conduct
,.lanrs 70 vulgar wonder-mongers, who
''-,-,'. at what in the vernacular Of the in
llli ,i+otors are called physical manifesto
- on the contrary, secrecy is not only
sassorv to advancement III occult science,
~, u impressive as well. The man who
y inst entering the doors of occult learning
deeplv impressed by the ar OF mystery
"a sa,,ecy which is assumed by the other
fellow VINO HaS l. ONNNA' ~ ~ ' "
rossas of the temple.
;rl,o men and women who fairly reek with
,-no,lnlre of the unknown are not found
ar,onp the common people. They are not
81 tbe clammy and long-haired variety so
sfa in New York years ago, and who be-
i lar,o known over. the whole country as
ling TO do with tables and spirits. No,
ICED They tread Administer carpets;
.one Of them are clad i'll fine raiment,
e,5ers in plain attire, but all + ain in what
arc considered II, 'ptellectual rank. Some
of them are perch q on judicial benches;
sor1e are officers of literary or educational
s.sooiations: some are writers; some are
ION scientists. although science and the
,rnernatllral are supposed 10 be mortal
enemies.
They fraternize, but find it difficult to or
.ani7e Societies devoted to these things
are in existence. but divisions viii come.
Two theosophical societies exist, one whose
beadeuarters are known to the public and
whose literature is put before the public
somewhat ostentatiously, the other whose
members mo fellow can find out" and
whose meetings are as secret as the mys-
teries Of the universe.
ii the mention of theosophy everybody
mite naturally thinks of Nine. Blavatsky,
suthor and founder of this phase of belief,
and presumably lone of the greatest and
most successful impostors of all times. "
Thirteen veors ago she founded the Theo-
sophical 5 ciety here. It's headquarters
we're afterward transferred to India, and
even from that remote point this renarka-
bic woman spread her new religion all over
Ills country and Europe, and by this means
derived handsome income, since eachnew
member must send a handsome initiation
fee before he could receive his certificate of
membership from Madras, and if he did not
Re. Give his certificate he had not ''regis-
tered, as they call it, and could not receive
the Illustrations of 1.-THE brotherhood
otherwise Mahatmas, tabled beings who had
N .sterei the secrets of life and time, and
could live 800 years as easily as they could
live day.
These weird and wonderful brothers are
believed in by various theOsophistS of this
city even unto this day. There are pictures
Of two of them in the possession of mighty
believers. They are regarded as more
sacred than life itself, and are kept secure
from profane and skeptical eyes under
formidable locks The favored ones who
have seen them report them as representing
dark-skIned ong-haired HinduS, thin and
emac ated to cOnsumption's extreme point.
An uldevout or untaught spectator ven
tured TO remark that he saw no good in a
wisdom which did not enable them to keep
more flesh on their bones. He was reproved,
and told that to Mahatmas "the flesh pro-
ftetn nothing" that in fact they preferred
for tie most part TO go about In astral
bodies, leaving their old earthly flesh and
bones lying around inaninIate in caves and
mountains for months at a time.
There are two or three persons here who
claim to have helped the late Bulwer do
some wonder working, such as is described
in "Zanoni, the Strange Story" and "The
coming Race These wiseacreS assert that
Bulwer believed the things he describedand
tempered with demons. As he is dead and
cannot defend himself, their DRY goes I'M
contradicted. All grosser forms of commu-
nlcating with supernatural beings have
gwen place to higher orders Of the work.
Some OF the investigators really believe
that they are hand in glove with the most
WondrouS powers. II some of their talk
could be overheard by those in authority,
III all probability measures would be taken
to shut them up, since wild utteranceS on
any subject generally occasion alarm among
the multitude
The reincarnationists. or believers in
numerous re-embodiments of the soul, are
perhaps the most amusing and least danger
GUS OF these mystic cranks. In all serious
ness they trace themselves back to great
eras and powerful figures of history, and
actually believe the curious stuff they talk.
Inc re-embodiment theory fosters the
natural egOtiSm of the soul For aught it
Knows, 1t may have been king as well as a
toeggar. Anyway, it pleases it to think OF
Itself as something extraordinary in the
past. And as that sort of recreation does
no harm to society beyond occasionally
adding an inmate to madhouse, nobody
contests the reincarnationists' claims.
Know one man who goes about believing
III MS lnnermOst soul that he is the re-
embodied spirit of the First Napoleon. He
only tells this to the faithful few who will
Got laugh him to scorn, even if they do
LINK he IS a little astray. He commands
respect for his intellectual ability, but there
Is no more similarity between his and Ma
poleons character than between a horse
Snoe and hornet. He has not as much
force as the little Corsican's little finger.
among his friends of the faith he found a
taQllne Bonaparte, and an Isabel of CASTLE,
G 4 Marcus Aurellus Antonlnus. But
SS%ephlne, be says, is still without body,
oIS quite near to him in spirit.
Inc very modest individual writes pom
uSrouS documents" to his friends, instead
~ letters. Though suffering many defeats
III Ihe ordinary affairs of life, he is contin-
tuIaIly buoyed up in spirit by the belief that
tne DAY Will come when he can cast off the
Sneu Oh his apparent personality which en-
leon. Nf ava -
. y. Then all will be surprised at their former
SSl al and will rush up to beg his par
oDt Far-fetched as this story seems, it is
ssnClrely true. That man is moving about
ainohg US looking upon the most of us with
9lOy ana contempt, resting securely as he
Of in