The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-05-03
salvation let the echo fly
The spacious earth around,
While all the armies of the sky
COnspire to raise the sound.n

@N@S
"Modern Spiritulism." He took for his
text: Behold, there is a woman that
hath familiar spirit at En-dor. And
Saul disguised himself, and put on other
raiment, and he went, and two men with
him, and they came to the woman by
night and he said, divine unto me by
the familiar spirit, and bring me him up,
whom shall name unto thee" ."-I. Sam
muel, xviii, 7-S. Following is the ser
mon in full
have recently become a Spirtulist
At least so some of the journals OF that
belief declare. This together with the
fact that mediums" are now being tried
in the criminal courts, setting millions OF
people to make inquiry in regard to
communication between this world and
the next leads me to preach this sermon.
Trouble to the right of him, trouble to
the left of him, Saul knew not what to
do. AS a last resort he concluded to
seek out spiritual medium, or a witch,
anything that you please to call her-at
any rate, woman who had communi-
cation with the spirits of the eternal
world. 1t was very difficult thing to
do, for Saul had either slain all the
witches or compelled them to stop bust
ness. A servant one day said to King
Saul: 81 know of a spiritual medium
down at the village of En-dor." "Do
you ?" said the king Night falls. Saul,
putting off his kingy robes and putting
on the dress of plain citizen, with two
servants, goes out to hunt for this spirit
ual medium. 1t was no easy thing for
Saul TO disguise himself for the talest
people in the country only came up to
his shoulder and | think from the
himself he must have been well propor-
toned. 1t must have been a frightful
thing to see a man walking along in the
night eight or nine feet nigh. l suppose,
as the people saw him pass they said
who is that ? He is as tall as the king"
having no idea that in such plain dress
there was really passing the king. Saul
and his servants after awhile reach the
village, and tn say: "I wonder if this
is the house - and they look in and they
see the haggarl, weird and shrivelled up
spiritual medium sitting hy the light,
ard on the table sculptured i'm and
dyi ing rods, and poisonous herbs and
ot;les, and vas s. They say "ies,
tbs must be the place" One LOUD rap
Lri IS the woman to the door, an as
she stands there, holding the can lie or
la above her hea an peeling out
into the darkness, she says: "N no is
here ?" The tall king informs her that
he has come to have his fortune told.
When she hears that, she trembles and
almost drops the light, for sha knows
there is no chance for iortune-tpler or
spiritual medium in all the land. But
Saul having sworn that no harm shall
come to her, she says: "Well, who shall
l bring up from the dead p Saul says:
Bring up Samuel" That was the pro-
phet who had died little while before.
/ see her waving wand, or stirring up
some poisonous herbs in a caldron, or
hear her muttering over some incanta-
tions, or stamping with her foot, and she
cries out to the realm OF the dead
Samuel, Samuel !" Lo, the freezing
horror The floor OF the tenement opens,
and the gray hairs float up, and the lore
head, the eyes, the lips, the shoulders,
the arms, the feet, the entire body OF
dead Samuel, wrapped in sepulchrAl
robe, appearing to the astonshed group
who stagger back and hold fast, and
catch their breath, and shiver with ter
ror. The dead prophet, white and awful
from the tomb, begins to move his ashen
lips and he 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 stammering and afrighted
utterance, as he says to the dead pro-
phet: "The Lord is against me, and 1
have come to you for help. What shall
/ do ?" The dead prophet stretched
forth his finger to King Saul and said
"Die to morrow! Come with me into
the sepulcher. | am going now. Come,
come with me and 10 the floor again
opens and the feet OF the dead prophet
disappear, and the arms, and the should
ers, and the forehead. The floor closes.
Nothing is lett in the room but saul and
the two servants and the spiritual me-
dium, and the sculptured images and
the divining rods, and the bottles, and
the vases, and the poisonous herbs. 0,
that was an awful seance
l learn first from this subject that
Spiritualism is very old religion. 1t is
natural that people should want to know
the origin and the history of q doctrine
which is so widespread in all the villages,
towns, and cities of the civilized world,
getting new converts every day-a doc
trine with which many of you are already
tinged.
Spiritualism in America was born in
1S47, in Hydesville, Wayne county N. Y,
when one night there was a oud rap
heard against the door of Michael Week
man; rap a second time a rap 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 a youn9
woman " no had cold hand passed over
her face, and there being seemingly no
arm attached to it, ghostly suspicious
were excited. After awhile Mr.. Fox and
his family moved into that house, and
then. every night there was banging at
the door; and one night Mr.. Fox said
Are you spirit?" Two raps, answer
ing in the affirmative care YOU an in
iured spirit2" Two raps, answering in
the affirmative. And so they found out,
as they say, that it was the ghost or
spirit Of peddlar who had been muir
dered in that house, many years before,
for his $500 Whether the ghost OF the
dead peddlar had come ther5 to collect
his FIVE hundred dollars, or his bones, |
cannot say, not being Spiritualist; but
there was great racket at the door, 20
Mr.. Weekman declared, and Mrs. Week