Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-03-01

actually seen n 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 ii rang
over the people in the back parlor and
fontcd through the folding doors to the
front parlor. rang over the people there
and then dropped on the floor soma
tor OF the United States afterward gov
crnor of Wisconsin, had his head quite
turned with spiritualstic demonstrations
The tables tipped, and the stools tilted,
and the bedstcads raised, and the chairs
upset and it seemed as if the spirits ev-
erywhcre had gone into the furniture
business. Well, the people said: I'VE
have got something new in this country.
II is a new religion" Oh. no, my friend,
thousands of years ago, we find in our
text, n sprtualistc scancc.
strange. Mysterious Things.
Nothing in the spiritualistic circles OF
our day has been more strange, mystcri-
Gus and wonderful than things which
have been seen in past centuries of the
world. In all ages there have been nee
romanccrs. those who consult with the
spirits of the departed: chnrmcrs, those
who put their subjects in mcsmcric
poisonous drugs see everything and hear
everything and tell everything; drcamcrs,
people who in their sleeping moments
can see the future world and hold con-
sultatou with spirits. Yes, before the
time of Christ. the Brahmans went
through nil the table moving, all the fur
niture excitement, which the spirits have
exploited in our day, precisely the same
thing over and over again, under the
manipulation of the Brahmans. Now, do
you say that spiritualism is different
from these! | answer. all these decisions
| have mentioned belong to the same
family. They are examinations from the
unseen world.
What does God think of all these de-
lusions? He thinks SO severely of them
that he never speaks of them but Vi,h
livid thunders of indignation. He says
81 will be swift witness against the
sorcercr." He says, Thou shalt not
suffer a witch to live And lest you
might make some important distinction
between spiritualism and witchcraft
God says in so many words, There shall
not be among you q consulter of familiar
spirits or wizard, or necromancer. for
they that do these things are an abomi
nation unto the Lord" The Lord God
Almighty in a score Of passages which
! have not now time TO quote uttcrs his
mdiguatioz against all this great family
Of decisions. After that be a spiritualst
if you dare,
Still further. we learn from this text
how il is that people come to fall into
spiritualism. Saul had enough trouble
to kill ten men. He did not know where
to go for relief. After awhile he resolved
to go aud see the witch of En-dor. He
expected that somehow she would afford
him relief 1t was his trouble drove
him there. And | have to tell you now
that sprtualism finds its victims in the
troubled, the bankrupt, the sick, the be-
reft. You lose your watch. and you go
to the fortune teller to find where it is.
You lose a friend; you want the spirit
ua world opened so that you may have
communication with him. In a highly
wrought, nervous and diseased state of
mind you go and put yourself in that
communication. That is why | hate
spiritaalsm. 1t takes advantage of one
in a moment of weakness, which may
come upon us at any time. We lose a
friend. The trial is keen, sharp, suffo-
eating. almost maddening. II we could
marshal host and storm the eternal
world and recapture our loved one, the
host would soon be marshaled. The
house is so lonely. The world is so dark.
The separation is so nsufferable. But
Spirituaism says, I'VE will open the
future world, and your loved one can
come back and talk to you" Though
we may not hear his voice, we may hear
the rap of his hand. So, clear the table.
Sit down. Put your hands on the table.
BE very quiet. Five minutes gone Ten
minutes. No motion Of the table. No
response from the future world. Twenty
minutes. Thirty minutes. Nervous OK
element all the time increasing Forty
minutes. The table shivers. Two raps
from the future world The letters Of
the alphabet are called over. The de-
parted friends name is John. At the
pronunciation of the letter J two raps.
At the pronunciation of the letter o two
raps. At the pronunciation of the letter
III two raps. At the pronunciation Of
the letter \ two raps, There You have
the whole name spelled out - John,
John. Now, the spirit being present
you say, "John, are you happy" Two
raps give an affirmative answer.
Spirits of Darkness.
Pretty soon the hand of the medium be-
gins to witch and toss and begins to
write out. after paper and ink are fur
niShcd. n message from the eternal world
What is remarkable the departed spirit,
although il has been amid the illumina-
lions of the heaven, cannot spell as well
rs it used to. 1t has lost all grammatical
accuracy and cannot write as distinctly.
| received a letter through n medium
once | sent it back. | said. "Just please
to tell those ghosts they had better go to
school and get improved in their orthog
raphy." Now. just think of spirits, that
! the Bible represents as enthroned in glo-
ry, coming down to crawl under the table
and break crockery and ring tea bells be-
fore supper is ready and rap the window
shutter on a gusty night! What consola-
tOn in such miserable stuff as compared
with the consolation of our departed
friends free from toll and sin and pain
are forever happy and that we will join
them, not in mysterious and half utter
nnce which makes the hair stand on end
and makes cold chils creep the back, but
in a reunion most blessed and happy and
glorious,
And none shall murmur or misdoubt
When Gods great sunrise finds us out
! learn still further from this subject
that spiritualism and necromancy are af'
fairs Of darkness. Why did not Saul so
in the day? He was ashamed to go. Be
| sides that, he knew that this spiritual me-
| dunn, like all her successors, performed
her exploits in the night The Daven-
| norris. the Fowlers the Foxes the spirit