The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-05-14

the physical forms The prevalence of
spiritual feebleness and disease, has
brought out a, swarm of imposters to-
take advantage, by differing the victims
of the general readiness for infatua-
lions. There never was a more favor
able time for cunning ignorance and
for applied hypocrisy.
THE world of the spirit again" says
the New York "Observer" (Pres), is
not simply the spirit-world, which
forms to a certain class of minds so
mysteriously attractive and SO upset
ting a theme. We are not spiritualists
nor the dupes of spiritualists. Even IL
communication with the dead were
possible, such toying with unknown
disembodied parties for whose trans
terrestrial standing no commercial
agency, ecclesiastical court, or lunacy
commission can vouch, would be at
tended with serious Inconvenience II
not positive perils There are dark
things which lie back in history, Whlcn
seem to hint at strange and disastrous
alliances between unstable souls on
earth and evil spirits from no one
knows where, masquerading under
forms which in .malign way appeal
to human consciousness, but Wnlcn
eventually subvert human judgment
and even character itself. A spirit m
another world is not necessarily a good
spirit, simply because it has left the
body behind it. nor have we any suf1l-
cient reason for believing that virtuous
souls who have departed to higher
scenes are permitted to afford inter-
views to their inquiring friends on
earth"
while at present the hats of women
are an embarrassment in church sefV-
ices, the fashion is simply a recrudes-
cence of another age says the New
York Christian Advocate" (Meth.).
In the early Methodist discipline these
words can be found. relating to admis-
sion to the love feast, which was then
by ticket: Give no tickets to those
who wear high heads or enormous bon
nets The movement to suppress them,
however, belongs to a class of restric-
.tions that cannot be enforced without
some bitterness of feeling and mani
festations that are ludicrous. We read
of a church where the ushers are to be
instructed to request any woman dis
Obeying the order to remove her hat.
When this is applied to strangers, it
will have a decidedly repellent effect.
We doubt if those who are attempting
such things have paused to reflect what
would happen should a movement for
the removal of bonnets in style be sue
cessful. The fashions in hairdressing
are SO elaborate that there would soon
appear rivalry in coiffures, and the
necessary switches, curls, puffs, fronts
would cause an expense far beyond
that now necessary for the purchase
of snowy millinery. This has been the
case already in certain theaters, SO
that a lady in this city was heard TO
say that it cost her three times as
much to get her head ready fer exhi-
bition as it did to buy any bonnet she
ever wore in her life. In one Western
theater a most deplorable exhibition
of vanity has been seen, and if that
spirit should get into a Christian con-
gregatiOn it would be more detrimental
to the legitimate work of the church
than is the thoughtless Haunting of hat
or bonnet finery. How much better it
would be if women would wear simple
head-coverings in the house of the
Lord.