The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-30
MODERN SPIRITUALISM.
THE DISS-DEBAR CASE GIVES tai.
MAGE A TOPIC.


BROOKLYN, April 29.-After the Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage, d. D., had in his we'll
known manner expounded the Scriptures,
the multitude of people who throng the
tabernacle and all the entrances, packing
| every available space of standing and sitting
room, united in singing:
salvation let the echo fly
The spacious earth around,
While all the armies of the sky
Consplre TO raise the sound"
DR.. Talmage announced his subject:
"ModerD Spirituahsm.n He took for his
text: Behold, there is woman that hath
familiar spirit at En-dor And Saul dis
guised 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: pray thee, divine unto me by the
familiar spirit, and bring me him up,
whom shall name unto thee."-I Samuel,
xviii, Z, 8. Following is the sermon in
full
/ have recently become spiritualist. At
least so some of the journals of that belief
declare. This, together with the fact that
''medlums" 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, and trouble
to the left of him, Saul knew not what to
do. AS a last resort, he concluded to seek
out spiritual metium, or a witch, or any
thing That you please to call her--at any
rate woman who had communication with
the spirits of the eternal world. 1t was a
very difficult thing to do, for Saul had
either slain all The witches or compelled
them to stop business. A servant, one day,
said to King Saul: " | know of spiritual
medium down at the village of En-dor " 'tDo
you Z " said the king Night falls. Saul, put
ting off his kingly robes and putting on
the dress Of plain citizen, with two ser.
wants, goes out to hunt up this spiritual
medium. IL was no easy thing for Saul to
disguise himself, for the tallest 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
well proportioned. 1t must have been a
frightful thing to see man walking along
in the night eight or nine feet high l sup
pose, as the people saw him pass, they said:
'Who is that He is as tall as 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 vii
lage, and they say: Il wonder if this is the
house." and they look in and they see the
haggard, weird and shrlvelled-up spiritual
medium sitting by the light, and on the
table sculptured images, and divining rods,
and poisonous herbs, and bottles, and vases.
They say: Yes this must be the
place." One loud rap brings the
woman to the door, and as she
stands there, holding the candle or lamp
above her head and peering out into the
darkness, she says: "Who is herem The
faIl Ii sNafa I.,o,. L
have his fortule told When she hears
that she trembles and almost drops the
light, for she knows there is no chance for
fortune-teller or spiritual medium in all
the land. But Saul, having sworn that no
harm shall como to her, she saws: "WeU
I who shall bring up from the deadP' Saul
says: Bring up Samuel" That was the
prophet who had died little while before
/ see her waving a wand or stirring I'D
some poisonous herbs i'll a cauldlon, or hear
muttering over some incantations, or
stamping with her foot, as she cries out to
the realm of the dead: Samuel! Samuelp
Lo, the freezing holrorl The floor of the
tenement opens, and the gray hairs fioatup,
aud the forehead, the eyes, the lips, the
shoulders, the arms, the feet, the entire
body of dead Samuel, wrapped III sepul-
chral robe, appearing to the astonished
group. who stagger back and
IL.
and shiver with terror. 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 sleepl What do you mean, King
SaulW Saul, trying to control and com
pose himself, makes this stammering and
affrighted utterance, as he says to the dead
prophet: 1.-The Lord is against me, and
have come to you for help. What shall !
dol" The dead prophet stretched forth his
finger to King Saul and said: 'tDie to-
morrowl Come with me into the sepuchre.
am going now. Come, come with mep
And lOl the floor again opens, and the feet
of the dead prophet disappear, and the
arms, and the shoulders, and the forehead.
The floor closes Nothing is left in the
room but Saul and the two servants, and
the spiritual medium, and the sculptured
images, and the divining rods, and the bot
ties, and the vases, and the poisonous
herbs. o, that was an awful seancel
l learn first from this subject that Spirit
ualism is very old religion. 1t is natural
that people should want to know the ori in
and the history of a doctrine which is so
widespread in all the villages, towns and
cities of the civilized world, getting new
converts every day-a doctrine with which
many of you are already tinged.
Spiritualism in America was born in
1S47, in Hydesville, Wayne county, New
York, when one night there was a loud rap
heard against the door of Michael Week
man; q rap a second time, 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 tna5 same house
there was a young woman who had a 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 care you a spiritm Two raps an
swerIng in the affirmative. "Are you an
injured spiritw Two raps, answering in
the affirmative. Aud so they found out,
as they say, that it was the
ghost or spirit of a peddler who
had been murdered in that house, many
years before, for his five hundred dollars
Whether the ghost OF the deed peddler had
come there to co lect his five hundred dol
lars, or his bones, cannot say, not being a
Spiritualist; but there was a great racket
at the door, 50 Mr.. Weekman declared, and
Mrs. Weekman, and Mr.. Fox, and Mrs.
Fox. and all the little Foxes. The excite
ment spread There was a universal
rurnpus. The Hon. Judge Edmonds de-
clared, in book, that he had actually seen
a ell start from the top shelf Of "a closet,
heard it ring over the people that were
standing In tha ciOsat. then gWtnQ by in