The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-05-16

among his people, The Lord Almighty, In
score Of passages. which | have not now
time to quote, utters his indignation against
all this great family Of delusions. After that
be Spiritualist il 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 to find relief. After
awnlle ne resolved 20 go ana see the wltcn or
En-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 bankrupt, the sick, the
bereft You lose your watch. and you go TO
the fortune teller to find where it Is: You
lose friend. you want the spiritual world
opened so that you may have communication
and diseased state of mind, you 60 and put
yourself in that communication. That IS
why hate Spiritualism. 1t takes adVan-
tage of one in moment OF weakness
which NAV come upon us at any tlme.
We lose friend The trial is keen, sharp,
suffocating, almost maddening. II we couid
marshal host and storm the eternal worla;
and recapture our owed one, the host would
soon be marshaled. The house is so lonely.
insufferable.
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 minutes. No mo-
ton Of the table No response from the
future world Twenty minutes; Thirty
increasing. Forty minutes The table shiv-
.rs. Two raps from the future world. Inc
letters Of the alphabet are called over: The
departed friends name is John. At the pro-
nunciation of the letter 81, q" two RAGS. At
the pronunciation of the letter "O," two
raps. At the pronunciation OF the letter
''H," two raps. At the pronunciation OF the
letter ''N," two raps There you have the
whole name spelled out. John, John.
S1T the pb 6spT Fssn we raps sGa vs an
affirmative answer Pretty soon the hand of
the medium begins to twitch and toss: and
begins to write out after paper and ink are
furnished, message from the eternal world.
What is remarkable, the departed spirit, al
though it has been amid the illuminations OF
heaven, cannot spell as we'll as itused to. 1t
has lost all grammatical accuracy and can
not write as distinctly. I received a
back. said: "Just please tell those
ghosts they had better go to school and get
improved in their orthography" Now, just
think of spirits, that the Bible represents as
snthroned in glory, coming down to crawl
under the table, and break crockery, and rap
the window shutter on gusty night. Is
there any consolation in such poor, miserable
work compared with the thought that our
departed Christian friends, got rid OF pain
and Ianguishing, are in the radiant society
OF heaven. and that we shall join them there,
not in stihed and mysterious half utterance,
which makes the hair stand on end and the
cold chills creep the back, but in an unhin-
dered and illinitable delight.
And none shall murmur 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. Inc
vast majority Of those who have gone to
spiritual mediums have been sent the re
through their misfortunes.
learn still further from this subject that
Spiritualism and necromancy are affairs or
the darkness. Why did not Saul go in the
day He was ashamed to CO. Besides that.
he knew that this spiritual medium, like all
her successors, performed her exploits in the
night. The Davenports, the Fowlers, the
Foxes, the spiritual mediums Of all ages,
have chosen the night or darkened room.
Why! The majcvity Of their wonders have
been swindles, and deception prospers best III
the night.
Some of the performances of spiritual me-
diums are not to be ascribed to fraud, but 10
some occult law that after awhile may be
demonstrated. But believe that now wy
out Of every 1910 achievements on the part
of spiritual mediums are arrant and un-
mitigated humbug. The mysterious red let
ters that used to come out on the mediums
arm were found to have been made by an
iron pencil that went heavily over the flesh,
not tearing it, but so disturbing the blood
that it came UP in great round letters. The
door, put the key in their, pocket,
arrested the operator, and found
out, by searching the room, that hid;
den levers moved the tables. The sealed
letters that were mysteriously read witho ut
opening have been found to have been cut at
the side, and then afterward slyly put to-
gether with gum arabic; and the medium
who, with heavy blanket over his head,
could read a book, has been found to have
which everybody can read book; and ven:
triloouism, and legerdemain, and s,eight OF
hand. and optical delusion, account for
everything. Deception being the main staple
of Spiritualism, no wonder it chooses the
darkness.
You have all seen strange and unaccount-
able things in the night. Almost every man
has at some time had a touch OF hallucina-
tion. Some time ago, after had been over
retiring at night after retiring I saw the
president Of one of the prominent colleges
astride the foot OF the bed, while he de-
manded of ma loan Of five cents! When
awakened I had no idea it was anything
supernatural. And have to advise you, il
you hear and see strange things at night. to
stop eating hot mince pie and take dose OF
organization, enough to deceive the very elect
after sundown. and does nearly all its work
in the night. The witch Of En- dor held her
seances at night: 80 do all the witches. Away
with this religion Of spooks!
Still further, I learn from my text that
Spiritualisra is doom and death to its disci-
pies. King Saul thought that he would get
help from the medium" but the first thing
that he sees makes him swoon away. and no
sooner was he resuscitated than he is told he
must die. Spiritualism is doom and death to
every one that yields to it. 1t ruins the body.
Look in upon an audience Of Splritualists.
Cadaverous. Weak. Nervous. Exhausted.
Hands clammy and cold. Nothing prospers
but long hair-soft marshes yielding rank
grass. Spiritualism destroys the physical
health. It's disciples are ever hearing start
ling news from the other world. Strange
beings cross the room IN white. Table
fidgety, wanting to get its feet loose as If to
dance Voices sepulchral and ominous. Be
wildered with raps. I never knew con-
frmed Spiritualist who had a healthy nervous
system. 1t is incipient epilepsy and cata-
lepsy. Destroy your nervous system and you
might as we'll be dead I have noticed
that people who are hearing raps from the
future world have but little strength left to
bear the hard raps Of this world. 1t is an
awful thing to trifie with ones nervous
system 1t is so delicate-it is so far reach
ing-!ts arrangements are so terrible. Get
the nervous system jangle, and so far as
your body and soul are concerned, the whole