The morning times., 1896-01-19
SPIRITUALISTS' COLUMN.

The Times undertakes no responsi-
| Dility for any views expressed In these
colu n~.
| About forty years ago, possibly not
more than thirty-fivr, Lord HrouGham said
in England: "A little cloud has appeared
| in the west not larger than n mans hand.
which will ovcrspread the entire earth;
| that little cloud is spiritualism.'
| Modern Spiritualism, that little cloud.
| was almost unhccd~. Many OF Lord
| BroughamS 5 Contcmporarie ries sneercd mt what
! they supposed To he infatuation, or the
vagary of a diseased mind, AMI turn.
away from watching that little cloud in
! its rising.
II has gone forward oversprrading the
! earth. Its manifestations appeared al
| most simultaneously III many parts of
| this country and later in Australia, and
even i'll the east. II spread to England,
France, Russia and Germany; touching
crowned heads, and peasants alike; touching
| men OF science and philosophy.
| Its Indications have always been the
| same. its mlnifcstat ions and announcements
! have been similar. 1t has hrcn heard In the
| form OF small raps. and frOm these iv the
I lugdCSt trurnpct-toneucd voices uf music; II
! has been witnessed in appearances That
! correspond TO the visions OF ancient Sccrs.
I II has revealed Itself in the familiar faces.
! forms. voices and minds of the loved ones
! OF the household; ~ has spoken ioJhe world
! with no uncertain sound, III the mime OF
! wife. husband, father. mother. brother,
sister, child and friend; IL has taken the
ndne or philosophers, II has given the
Identity Of statesmen, IT has tnciTCIcd ana
overSprcld the earth with it~ light Like
all periods of human rcv"jlmeut. II is the
announcement of something greater and
better for the human race.
II is not subject any longer that re-
quircS 10 give the proofs Of its existence,
the cloud In the west has enlarged to
in,lUGc such portion Of human interest and
attention, sUuh various, and in E.Iny ways
complex, phases Of human thought that he
whole world of science and philosophy is
at thiS moment, affected 10y II. while the
realm of religious Thought j. steadily hriHg
nodded 10y it 10 the theme OF inspiration.
This little CIoudr has presented new
proposition 10 scisiICa.
When substanCcSG Supposed to lac solid,
or as solid as sub>tlHres can hc. that
adhere together 10y tie law Of ooh"nsion
innate In the nature Of those substances.
whether Of wood or stone, or wien manu-
faCtured fabrics, supposed To he held to-
gcthcr hy cohesion are instantly separated
aud reunited without any visible ar PAL
pablc violence or any adcquIt" phySicHl
or dynamICal change IN those Substances,
it compClS a new statement about matter.
When forms, apparently s"l.d, possess
Ing all the properties Of solid bodies. as
solid as any human Body, appear out of
the apparently empsv air. '>sing. seem
inEly, vital funCtiOnsN The appearance. Uf
flesh, and all the attributes OF the human
form, aud then disappear, q they have in
hundreds of well attestcd cases, leaving
out ali That ar. CaU.-l fraudulent, pr that
are even doubtful. in this statement, AMI
sFlfi I'M l..A,.y
messed without the shadow of a doubt,
10y minds qualified 10 judEc-whcn these
forms appear, give every evidence uf cX-
lstancc and disappear as mystcriously as
they came, 1t Compcls rcstatcmcnt Of
science.
1t has made n statement OF philosophy
so broad and deep and high that il cannot
he cvaded nor geinsaid in any system of
human thought. That statement is pen
ctratinG more and more into the mind OF
the age.
The thinking world at the present mo-
ncnt has more thought concerning these
philosophical propositions that relate to
spiritualism than to any other system or
phase or thought. 1t is true that il has |
come, in many cases, recently in the form
of what is called thcosophy, and lately in
the form Of That which is called meta |
physics" Christian science" spiritual
science" "mind cure faith cure" and |
the like, hut every human mind OF any |
degree OF intelligence knows that there |
never was q thought upon these subjects |
in Western nations, either in Europe OF |
America. Gntil after TIE advent of spirit |
ualiSm.
This little cloud" has not only over |
spread the literature n nj the art of this day, |
but it has taken its place i'll the pulpit. II |
mas caused a rcStatcment of life and death; |
il has taken away the terrorS and horrors |
of that change called dCa tn.
II il had not been for the advent of |
spiritual>m nearly fifty years ago, n |
parliament of religions in 1898 In Chicago |
would have been impossible. Many say |
it was the result of liberal thought" |
Let me correct their language. II was the |
result OF spiritual thought, brought into
the world by the message OF modern spirit
ualiSm which has forbidden the statement |
that inspiration began with the book of |
Genesis or the TalmUd. and ceased on |
the Isle of PatmGS; which has compelled the
world to extend its vision backward to all |
the nations Of the earth and perceive those
ancient themes, when di>robcd of their
forms and eternal ceremonies, are primal
trathS, and it shows where Christianity |
itself, the latest revealmcnt of religious
thought until the present time, when robbed
of its eternal fctterS and shadows. becomes
the statement of pure, perfect, spiritual |
proposition.
If spiritualism was taken utterly and |
absolutely from the thought of the world
It would be like turning out all the upper
lights and everybody would know that
great calamity had happened. II is the
vital spiritual sunshine of today. the essence
of the philosophical thought of today. tbs
vital observation-disclosures oftoday is found
in the phenomena of spiritualiSm.
Was he not true prophet who said that
"This little cloud, not larger than mans |
tt,n .t,tfr |
1t is doing this today; not in the statement
of the multitude of its believers, not in
the external hands OF material power, not
even in the organization Gifts forces, though
that is an expression of its strength, but
in the mighty dominating spirit OF the
upper world that moves like cloud of
Witnesses upon The Garth.
MRS. CORA L. V. RICHMOND.
State of Ohio, City of Toledo, Lucas County,