Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-03-03
RELIGION OF GHOSTS.
THE REV. DR.. TALMAGE DENOUNCES
SPlRlTUALiSM.
Indignantly Protests Against All
Such Beliefs as NecrOmancy and
DeIusion Their Disciples Are
Doomed-Cause Insanity.

copyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-In this dis
course DR.. Talmage discusses a theme
never more under exploration than at
this time and warns people against
what he calls a religion or ghosts;
text, | Samuel xviii, Z: Behold, there
is a woman that hath familiar spirit
at En-dor. And Saul disguised him
self and put ON other raiment, and he
went, and two men with him, and they
came to the woman by night"
Trouble to the right of him and trou-
BILE to the left of him, Saul knew not
what to do AS last resort he con-
cluded to seek out spiritual medium
or a witch or anything that you please
to call her-a woman who had com
municatlon with the spirits Of the eter-
nal world. II was very difficult thing
to do, for Saul had either slain all the
witches or compelled them to stop
business. \ servant one day said to
King Saul, IL know Of spiritual me-
dium down at the village of En-dor"
"Do your" said the king. Night falls.
Saul, putting off his kingly robes and
putting on the dress Of plain citizen,
with two servants, goes out to hunt up
this medium.
Saul and his servants after awhile
reached the village, and they say, Il
wonder II this is the house." and they
look in. and they see the haggard,
weird and shriveled up spiritual me-
dium sitting by the light and on the
table sculptured images and diyining
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 ont
into the darkness. she sayS. who Is
here?" The tall king informs her that
he has come to have his fortune told.
When she hears that she trcmblcs ana
almost drops the light. for she knows
there Is no chance for a fortune teller
or spiritual mediums In all the land.
| But Saul having sworn that no harm
shall come to her, she says. well
who shall | bring up from the deauT
| Saul says, Bring up Samuel That
was the prophet who had died little
while before. see her waving wand.
or stirring up some poisonous herbs IN
q caldron. or hear her muttering over
some incantations. or stamping with
her foot as she cries out to the realm
of the dead: Samuel, Samuel" Lo,
the freezing horror The floor Of the
tenement opens. and the gray hairs
| float I'D and the forehead. the eyes, the
lips. the shoulders. the arms the feet
the entire body of the dead Samuel
wrapped In sepulchral robe, appearing
to the astonished group, who stagger
back and hold fast and catch their
breath and shiver with terror.
An Awful seance.
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? What do you mean,
King Saul?" Saul, trying to compose
and control himself, makes this STAN
mering and affrighted utterance as he
SAYS to the dead phophet: THE Lord
| is against me, and | have come to you
for help. What shall | doT The dead
prophet stretched forth his finger to
King Saul and said: "Die tomorrow!
Come with me into the sepulcher.
am going now. Come, come with me-!
And, 10, the floor again opens, and the
feet of the dead prophet disappear and
the arms and the shoulders and the
forehead, The floor closes. Oh. that
was an awful seance!
To unlatch the door between the
present state and the future state all
the fingers of superstition have been
busy. We have books entitled Foot
falls on the Boundaries Of Other
Worlds" "The Debatable Land Be-
tween This World and the Next" RE
searches Into the Phenomena Of Spir-
| Ituallsm" and whole libraries of hOcus
pocus, enough to deceive the very elect
shall not take time to rehcarsc the
history Of dvinatiOn. Delphic oracle.
sibyl or palmistry or the whole cen
! turies Of imposture.
Modern spiritualism proposes to open
| the door between this world and the
next and put us into communication
with the dead. 1t has never yet Of
| fered one reasonable credential.
When find Saul In my text consult
ing a familiar spm.,. learn that spir-
| Itualism Is n very old religion.
Spirtualsm in America was born In
the year 1S47. In Hydesvlle. Wayne
county, \. Y. when one night there
was loud rap heard against the door
| of Michael Weekman; a rap a second
time, a rap a 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.
After awhile Mr.. Fox with his fami-
| " moved into that house, and then
they had bangings at the door every
night. One night Mr.. Fox cried out,
"A-e you spirit?' Two raps-answer
| In the affirmative. "Are you an injur-
ed spirit?" Two raps-answer In the
affirmative. Then they knew right
away that It was the spirit Of peddler
who had been murdered in that house
years before and who had been robbed
of his $500 Whether the spirit OF the
ppddler came back to collect his $500
or his homes do not know.
Universal Rumpus.
The excitement spread. There was
universal rumpus. The Hon. Judge
Edlnonds declared in book that he
had actually seen a bell start from the
top shelf of a closet heard 1t ring over
the people that were standing in the
closet: then. swung by invisible hands.
It rang over the people In the back par
lor and foated through the folding