The herald., 1896-03-31
UPON THE RECENT SEANCE
A SKEPTIC IS ANSWERED KINDLY AND
CONSIDERABLY
A Man May Be Wise In Physical Science
and Earthly Lore and Yet Know Nothing
Of the Silent Forces and Hidden, Though
Existing, Laws OF Nature

A communication in the form of an open
letter to Edward Hutchison, the kicker.
and signed Ella Lucy Merriam, of 1923
West Second street, has been sent to The
HERALD. 1t reads as follows:
l have just read your allusior to a recent
seance, given by Elsie Reynolds in Music
hall, in this mornings (Monday) HERALD.
l often see your name appended to articles
on the side of reform, as you see it, All of
us who love truth, law and order, ETC.,
cannot but be moved by the inharmony
and inequality now holding high carnival
in every department of our world, and feel
impelled to speak our aggrieved feelings to
the public, whenever kind editor permits
us. But when we approach the domain of
the occult-the invisible, many of us, be-
ing as those "who have ears, hear not; and
having eyes, see not" need to have care,
lest we be "wise only in our own conceit."
l was once, dear sir, as skeptcai as your.
self, concerning the phenomena of spirit
ualism. Possibly more SO. In fact, was
SO bigoted, that fed from any contact
with it, or its defenders. What 1 then
termed an accident brought me face to
face with evidences of nter-communion,
which, after carefully weighing and sitting
would have been to lay aside
my senses. For eleven years /
have carefully pursued these phenomena. l
have endeavored to avoid too much enthu-
siasm either way. A home circle of inves-
tigators. privately and honestly conducted.
has led me to my present attitude, which
is, in the first place, to Judge not" Sec
ond, man may be very wise in physical
science and earthly lore and yet know
nothing of these silent forces-these hid
den laws that move and unite and supply
the necessary conditions OF communicate
ing with those who are thus proven inn
mortal. witnessed this same seance with
n n dvryni 10 sit fiyNr thAr fhnc
misguided people," feeling their skepti-
cism all about me, | thought how differ
emily the same affair appears to those of
differing moods. Once would have been
able to perceive only fraud or suspicious of
fraud, while now perceive the grandeur
OF the possibilities of such seauce. Eleven
years ago | would have inwardly hooted at
and possibly outwardIy condemned, as you
have done, that of which personally knew
nothing, my changed IDEAS being the out
come of an experience lnterwoven with as
little prejudice as possible, desiring only
the truth.
Do you know, my friend, what it must be
to present yourself for public mediuinship,
to place yourself before all their mercless
shafts of suspicion, keen, satiricai criti-
clsm and contempt. not only for the me-
dunn, but for the cause she represents?
When even many inward!y cry, "crucify
him, cruelty him!" A medium is a SEN
SltlVo ana MS or HeT Drain SenSlll2eu
plate, in directf tfco1tact with all the vulgar
curiosity, cold scrutiny ana rude influences
brought to bear upon it. How can we en-
pect them to become passive and kind
enough in their own minds and souls as to
rise to their possibilities as instruments of
the highest, the grandest philosophy on
record!
When the public learns that "many
things. hidden from the wise and prudent
are revealed unto babes''-that today we
are sitting in the partly open door of
new and brighter revelation than earth has
yet received and that that revelation can
only come through certain laws, only as
yet dimly perceived but not understood
even by its votaries, then we will attend
those places whers its students do the best
they can under all conditions, seen and un-
seen, within and without, soberly and be-
comingly. We will go in the spirit of
truth, and desire to learn,and to assist, and
because We cannot explain or
peer into the intricacies of the phenomena
ourselves. we will not go away laden with
opprobriuns for the medium, nor slurs at
mediumship. Mediumship has it's own
laws, and mediums have hard enough
time. those who conscentously try to set
forth this truth, without reaping njust
criticisms. | believe we cannot be too
careful about what we send to newspaper
in the way of condemnation, lest we I'M
consciously wound and wrong some one
who may be just as honest as we are our
selves. The great Beecher said: 1.-THE
only door to true knowledge is the sim
plcity of childhood.'