Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-02-26
RELIGION OF GHOSTS.
THE REV. DR.. TALMAGE DENOuNCES
SPlRITUALlSM.
Indignantly Protests Against All
such Beliefs ns Nccromnncy aud
DeIusiOn Their Disciples Are
Doomed--Cause Insanity.

copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-In this dis
course DIR. Talmage discusses a theme
never more under exploration than at
this time and warns people against
what he calls religion of ghosts;
text, Samuel xviii, Z: Behold there
is n 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 n spiritual medium
or witch or anything that you please
to call her-a woman who had COM
munlcation with the spirits of the eter-
nal world. 1t was n very difficult thing
to do, for Saul had eithee slain all the
witches OF compelled them to stop
business. A servant one day said to
King Saul, II know Of spiritual me-
dium down at the village of En-dor."
"Do youW said the king. Night falls.
Saul, putting off bis kingly robes and
putting Oh the dress Of plain citizen,
with two servants, goes out tc hunt up
this medium.
Saul and his servants after awhile
renchcd the village. and they say, Il
wonder II this is the house." and they
| look in, anJ they see the haggard,
weird and shriyeled 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 tie place" One loud rap brings
the woman to the door, and as she
stands there, holding the candle or
lamp above her head and peerlng out
! into the darkness, she says, who is
here?" The tall king informs her that
he has come to have his fortune told.
When she henrs that, she trembles and
almost drops the light, for she knows
there is no chance for a fortune teller
or spiritual medium in all the land
But Saul having sworn that no harm
shall come to her, she says, "Well,
who shall I bring up from the dead?"
Saul says, Bring up Samuel" That
was the prophet who had died a little
while before. see her waving n wand,
or stirring UP some poisonous herbs in
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 up 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 ht
says to the dead phophet: "The Lore
Is against me, and have come to yol
for help. What shall do?" The deat
prophet stretched forth his finger t.
King Saul and said: "Dle tomorrow
Come with me into the sepulcher.
am going now. Come, come with me!
And, 10, the floor again opens, and tn,
feet of the dead prophet disappear an,
the arms and the shoulders and TIL,
forehead! The floor closes. Oh, tina
| Was an awful seance!
To unlatch the door between tn
present state and the future state al
the fingers of superstition have beel
busy. We have books entitled Foot
falls on the Boundaries of Othe
Worlds" '"The Debatable Land Be
tween This World and the Next" IRE
searches Into the Phenomena of Spil
itualism" and whole libraries of hocu
pocus, enough to deceive the very elect
/ shall not take time to rehearse tn
1 history Of dlvinatlon, Delphic oracle
\ sibyl or palmistry or the whole Ger
1 turtles of imposture.
/ Modern spirltualism proposes to ope
1 the door between this world and tn
! next and put US into communicable
with the dead. 1t has never yet o
d fered one reasonable credentlal.
% When I find Snul In my text consul
Y ing familiar spirit, | learn that spi
Ie itualism is very old religion.
y Spirltuallsm In America was born
~ The year 1S4T, In Hydesville, Wayr
ID county, N Y, when one night thel
,e was loud rnp heard against the doc
,. Of Michael Weekman; a rap secou
N time, rap n third time, and all thrt
Df times. When the door was opene
IN there was nothing found thore, IL
u knocking having been made secmingl
y by invisible knuckles.
N After awhile Mr.. Fox with his fam
er ly moved into that house, and the
a they had banginge at the door ever
or night. Ono night Mr.. Fox cried on
"Are you spirit?" Two raps-answ,
In the affirmative. "Are you an inju
~, ed sp!rit?" Two raps-answer In Il
affirmative. Then they knew rlgl
W away that 1t was the spirit of peddl
u" who had been murdered In that hou
years before and who had been robb,
=. OF his $780, Whether, the spirit OF h
w " peddler came back to collect his So
~ !. or his bones do not know.
Universal Rumpus.
The excitement spread. There W,
universal rumpus. The Hon. Jud
-, Edmonds declared In book that
had actually seen bell start from Il