Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-05-09

the back parlor; and floated through the
folding doors to the front parlor, rung over
the people there, and then dropped on the
floor. N. P. Tslmage, Senator of the Uni
ted States, afterwards Governor of Wis
consin, had his head completely turned with
spiritualistic demonstrations. A man as he
was passing along the road, said that he was
lifted up bodily and carried toward his
home through the air at such great speed
he could not count the posts on the fence as
he passed; and as he had handsaw and a
square in his hand, they beat, as he passed
through the air, most delightful music. And
the tables tipped, and the stools tilted, and
the bedsteads raised, and the chairs upset,
and it seemed as if the spirits everywhere
had gone into the furniture business Well,
the people said: "We have got something
new in this country; it is new religion
Oh no, my friends; thousands of years age
we find in our text spiritualistic seance.
Nothing in the spiritualistic circles of oul
day has been more strange, mysterious and
wonderful than things which have been
seen iu the past centuries of the world. In
all the ages there have been necromancers,
those who consult with the spirits of the de-
parted; charmers, those who put their sub
jects in mesmeric state; sorcerers, those
who by taking poisonous drugs see every
thing and hear everything and tell every
thing; dreamers, people who in their sleep
ing moments can see the future world and
hold consultation With spirits; astrologers,
who could read new dispensation in the
stars; experts 10 palmistry, who can tell by
the lines in the palm of your hand your
origin and your history. From cave on
Mount Parnassus, we are told, there was an
exhalation that intoxicated the sheep and
the goats that came anywhere near it. and
a shepherd approaching it was thrown by
that exhalation into an excitement in which
he could foretell future events anc hold con-
sultation with the spiritual world. Yes,
before the time of Christ the Brahmius went
through all the table moving, all the furni-
plotted in our day; precisely the same thing
over and over again, under the manipula,
tions of the Brahmins. Now do you say
that spirltualism is different from these? /
answer, all these delusions l have mention
ed belong to the same family. They are
exhumations from the unseen world. What
does God think of all these delusions? He
thinks so severely of them that He never
speaks of them but with livid thunders of
indignation. He says: 81 will be swift
witness against the sorcerer." He says:
"Thou shalt not suffer witch to live. y
And lest you might make some important
distinction between Spiritualism and witch
craft, God says, in 30 many words: "There
shall not be among you eonsulter of famil-
lar spirits, or wizard, or necromancer; for
they that do these things are an abomina-
ton unto the Lord" And He says again ::
s'The soul of those who seek after such as
have familiar spirits, and who go whoring
after them, will set myself against them,
and he shall be cut off from among his peo-
ple." The Lord Almighty, in a score of
passages, which I 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 Spiritual
ism. Saul had enough trouble to kill ten
men. He did not know where to go for re-
lief. After awhile he resolved to go and
see the witch of E a dor. He expected that
somehow she would afford him relief. 1t
was his trouble that drove him there. And
I have to, tell you now that Spiritualism
finds its victims in the troubled. the bank
rupt, the sick, the bereft. You lose your
watch, and you 60 to the forbune teller to
find where it is, You lose q friend, you
want the spiritual world opened, so that
you may have communication with him.
In highly-wrought, nervous, and and dis
eased state of mind, you go and put your
self in that communication. That is why
hate Spiritualism. 1t takes advantage of
one in moment of weakness, which may
come upon US at any time. We lose a
friend. The trial is keen, sharp, suffocat-
ing, almost maddening. If we could mar
CHI tIo
re-capture our loved one, the host would
ly. The world is so dark. The separation
is SO insufsrable.
But Spiritualism says: "We will 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 hand. So. clear the table. Sit
down. Put your hands on the table. Be
very quiet. Five minutes gone. Ten min
utes. No motiou of the table. No response
from the future world. Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes. Nervous excitement all
the time increasing. Forty minutes. The
table shivers. Two raps from the future
world. Ths letters of the alphabet are
called over. The departed friends name
is John. AT the pronunciation of the let
tar 80, +" two raps. At the pronunciation
Of the letter CO." two raps. AT the prom
unciation of the letter "H," two rapse AT
the pronunciation of the letter an, !" two
raps. There you have the whole name
spelled out. John, John. Now. the
spirit being present, you say, "Jshn, are
you happy?" Two raps give an affirmative
answer. Pretty soon the hand of the medi,
um begins to twitoh and toss, and begins
to write out, after paper and ink are fur
nished, message from the eternal world
What is remarkable, the departed spirit,
although it has been amid the Examinations
of heaven, cannot spell as well as it used
to. 1t has lost all grammatical accuracy
and cannot write as distinctly. received
a letter through a medium once. I sent it
back. said: "Just please to tell those
ghosts they had better go to school and get
improved in their photography" Now,
just think of spirits, that the Bible repre-
sents as enthronsd in glory, coming down
to crawl under the table, and break crock
cry, and ring tea bells before supper is
ready, and rap the window shutter on
grsty night. Is there any consolation in
such poor, miserable work compared with
The thought that our departed Christian
friends. got rid of pain and languishiug,
arc in the radiant society of heaven, and
that we shall join them there, not in sti-
fed and mysterious half.utterance, which
makes the hair stand on end ard the cold
chills creep up the back but in an unhinder-
ed and illimitable delight.
"And none shall nnurmur or misdoubt
When Gods 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 En- dor.
The vast majority of those who have gone
to spiritual mediums have been sent there
through their misfortunes.
I learn still further from this subject that
Spiritualism and necromancy are affairs of
the darkness. Why did not Saul 60 in the
day? He was ashamed to go. Besides
that he knew that this spiritual medium,
like all her successors, performed her ex-
ploits in the night. The Davenports, the
Fowlers, the Foxes, the spiritual mediums
of all ages, have chosen the night or
darkened room. Why? The majority OF
their wonders have been swindles, and de-
ception prospers best in the night
Some of the performances of spiritual me-
diums are not to be ascribed to fraud, but
to some occult law that after awhile may
be demonstrated. But believe that now
nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every
thousand achievements on the part of spirit
ual mediums are arrant and unmitigated
Thn ,,,uctorious rod lpttarg that