The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-12-05
TgSSYsON A sPIRITUALIST.
A Letter Comes to Light which Tells his
Strange Experiences.

CHICAGO, Dec. 4.-The following is
published here: 1t is well known that
among the higher scientific circles oi
England, spiritualism made a few years
ago rapid and remarkable progress.
Wallace, the co-discoverer with Darwin,
of the principles Of natural selection;
Prof. Crookes, the eminent chemist on
whom the French Academy OF Sciences
conferred gold medal with an honora-
rum OF 5000 francs for his discoveries
in molecular physics; Sergeant Cox, the
noted physist, and Prof. Huxley, him
self skeptic OF skeptics, were. con-
cerned in series OF experiments, chiefly
with the medium Thane, which attracted
attention at the time. None OF the sci
entists could explain the phenomenon
produced by the medium, and the re-
port made by Prof. Crookes is held by
the professors Of the Spiritualist belief
an overwhelming testimony.to It's gem
uineness. The name Of the poet Tenny.
son has never before been connected
with Spiritualism. A letter written by
him has come into the possession OF the
TribunS, which shows that he holds the
conviction that consciousness may pass
from the body and hold communication
with tho dead. This is essentially
Spiritualism, but in Tennyson's case, at
least SO far as the letter indicates he is
his own medium. The statement he
makes is curious. The letter is in the
poets handwriting. 1t is dated Far.
ringford Freshwater, Isle Of Wight, May
7, 1874. 1t was written to gentleman
who communicated to him certain
strange experiences he had when pass
ing from under tie effect ofan anesthetic.
Tennyson writes!
~ have never had any revelations
through an anesthetic, but kind oil
waking trauce this for lack OF q better
name) l have frequently had, quite
up from boyhood when / have been
alone. This has often come upon me
through repeating my own name to
myself silently, till all at once, as itwere,
out OF the intensity OF the consciousness
OF individuality, the individuality itself
seemed to dissolve and fall away into
boundless being; and this not Il con-
fused state but the clearest OF the clear,
the surest OF the sure, utterly beyond
words, where death was an almost laugh
able impossibility; the loss OF person
ality iii SO it wcre) seeming loss OF ex:
istence, but the only true life" AS II
conscious OF the incredible insignitl-
canoe OF the statement thus compiled,
he adds:
81 am ashamed of my feeble descrip-
tion-have not said the state is utterly
beyond word?"
This is not vulgar table.tippingsp spirit
ualism. It's the most emphatic declara-
ton that the spirit OF the writer is capl-
BILE OF transferring itself into another ex-
istence. 1t is not only real, clear, sim.
pie, but 1t is'also infinite in vision and
eternal in duration. For, he continues,
that when he comes back TO SANITY" he
is "ready to fight for the truth" OF his
experience and that he holds 1.-THE
spirit. whose separate existence he thus
repeatedly tests-"will lust for cons and
cons" II is pointed ont by Professor
Thomas Davidson, who has seen the
letter, that the same conviction is de-
scribed in ain Memorium" NCV. The
stanzas are generally passed over as re-
ferring to mere poetic fancy Of grief.
But reading them in the light OF the
calmly penned prose puts an entirely
different aspect on the incident contain
ed in the lines:
And in the house, light after light
Went out and NFRS allntone,
bo .u.r
A hunger seized my heart; read
OF that glad bQur which once had been,