The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-05-10
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Homily on the Widespread Curse
of Modern Spiritualism.
The birth and Progress Of the Heresy In
America aud the Bancful Influence 1t
Has ENcrtcd In Many Homes
A Christian Seancs.

mOuer1 SplfltuallS10' was inc SuUIeCl
chosen by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage for a
recent sermon at tie Brooklyn Tab
ernacle. His text was;
DIR. Talmage announced his subject:
"Modern Spiritualism." He took for his
text:
Behold. there is woman that hath familiar
spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself
and put on other raimcn;, and he went, and
TWO men with him, and they came to the
woman by night; and he said. pray thee, dt-
vine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring
me him up whom ! shall name unto thee
J. Samuel, xviii, IS
have recently become a Spiritualist.
At least SO some of the journals of that
belief declare. This, together with the
fact that "mediums" are now being tried
I'm the criminal courts, setting millions
of people to make inquiry in regard to
communications between this world and
the next, leads me to preach this sermon.
Trouble to the right of him and trouble
10 the left of him, Saul knew net what to
do. AS a last resort, he concluded to
seek ont n spiritual medium, or a witch,
or any thing Tint you please to cali its-at
any rate, woman who had coinmunica-
ton with the spirits Of the eternal world.
1t was n very difficult thing to do, for Saul
had either slain all the witches or COM
peeled them to stop business. servant
one dry said to King Saul:
so know of q spiritual medium down at
the village of ErdOr."
"Do you?" said the King. Night falls.
Saul, putting off his kingly robes and put
ting on the dress of Il plain citizen, with
two servants. goes out to hunt up this
spiritual medium. Ii was no easy thing
for Saul TO disguise himself for the tall
est people IN the country only came up to
his shoulder, and think from the strength
of The man and the way he bore himself,
he must have been we'll proportional. 1t
must have been a frightful thing TO see a
man walking along in the night eight or
nine feet high. | suppose, as the people
saw him pass. they said: "Who is that?
He is rs tall rs the King"-having no idea
that in such a plain dress there really was
passing the King.
Saul and his servants after awhile reach
the village, and they say; Il wonder If
This is the house," and they look in c.iti
they sec the haegard weird and shriyeled
spiritual medium sitting by the light, and
IN the table sculptn.ed images, and divin-
ing rods, and poisonous herbs, and bot
ties, and vases. They say: eyes, this
must be the place" One loud rap brings
the woman to the door, aud as she stands
There, holding the candle or lamp above
her head, and pcering ont into the dark
ness, she says; "Who is hcre:o The tall
King informs her that he has come 70
gave his fortune told. When she hears
Mat she tremb}cs and almost drops the
light, for She knows there is no chance for
a fortuuC-tellcr or spiritual medium in all
the land, But Saul having sworn that no
harm shall come to her, she says;
"Well, who shall bring up from the
dead?"
Saul says Bring up Samuel"
That was the prophet who had died q
little while before. | see her waving a
wand, or stirring up some poisonous
herbs in a.cauldron, or hear her mutter>
ing over some lamentations, or stamping
with her foot, as she cries Dut to the realm
of the dead; Samuel! Samuelw Lo, the
freezing horror, The floor of the tene.
ment opens, and the gray hairs foat up
and the forehead, the eyCs, the lips, the
shoulders, the arms, the feet, the entire
body of dead Samuel, wrapped in sepul-
chral robe, appear tO the aStonished group,
who stapCCr back atd hold fast, and catch
their breath, and shivCr with terror. The
dead prophet, white and awful from the
tomb begins to move his ashen lips, and
be glares upon King Saul and cries out:
"What did you bring me up for? Why
did you break my long sleep? What do
you mean, King SAUL"
Saul, trying to compose and control
himself, makes this stammcring and af-
frightened uttcrancc as he says to the
dead prophet:
1.-The Lord is against me, and I have
come to you for help. What shall dos"
The dead prophet stretched forth his
finger to King Saul and said;
die tomorrow Come with me into
the scpulchre. am going now. Come,
come with me.'
Spiritualism in America was born in
1871 in Hydcsyille. Wayne County, N. Y,
when one night there was a loud rap
heard against the door of Michael Week
man; rap a second time, rap q third
time; and all three times, when the door
was opened, there was nothing found
there, the knocking having been made
seemingly by invisible knuckles. In that
same house there was Il young woman
who Lad cold hand passed over her face,
and, there being seemingly no arm at
tached to it, ghOstly suspicious were ex-
cited. After awhile Mr.. Fox and his
family moved into that house, and then
every night there was a banging at the
door, and one night Nj. Fox said:
care you spirit" Two raps, answer
Ing in the affirmative.
care you an injured spirit?" Two raps,
answering in the Affirmative. And so they
found out, as :hry say, that it was the
ghost or spirit of peddler who had been
murdered in that house, many years
before, for his five hundred dollars.
Whether the ghost of the dead peddler
had come there to collect his five hundred
dollars or his bones | can not say, not
being Spiritualst, but there was great
racket at the door, so Mr.. Weekman de-
clared, and Mrs. We man and Mr.. Fox
and Mrs. Fox, and all the little Foxes.
The excitement spread. There was an
universal rumpus. The Hon. Judge Ed
wards declared in book that he had
actually seen bell start from the top
shelf of a closet heard it ring over the
people that were standing in the closet;
then, swung by invisible hands, it rang
over the people in the back parlor; and
floated through the folding doors to the
fl ont parlor, rung over the people there
and then dropped to the floor.
N. P. Talmage, Senator of the United
States, afterwards Governor of Wiscon-
sin. 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 a hand
saw and square in his hand, they beat
as he passed through the air, most de-