Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-20


Of varying duration and sweep certain
unprcpared onlookers Of their feet.
BY "unprcpared' | mean persons
that are unaware of the long history
Of such beliefs and are ignorant that
the occurrences that lie back of those
beliefs belong TO the earliest traditions
Of the race.
LIVERY race practiced the art Of
~ questioning of the dead AS part Of
Its religious rites. except the Israel.
ties. Many of the lsrac,tos practiccd
Y In secret. but it was forbidden in
ofcnse by civil law. The law forbid
ding 1t characterized the spirits that
were "callcd up" through the medium
OF necromanccrs. wizards. witches. -
evil. The only questioning of the un-
seen and the spiritual or of the seen
and spiritual that was permitted as
legitimate part of thr faith of the
Israelites was directed toward God.
either through II priest or seer. or
through notably sct.Apart person, or
by the individual himself speaking in
prayer. And tn" only commands which
were regarded by the lnw-abid"rS ~
safe to listen 10 and TO believe and to
obey were those Of God or of His sptr-
ttual messengers. called angels, never
those of departed human beings.
This strict rule was enough. II ther"
had been no other. to difrrcntiatc III"
religion OF the Jews in all the cen
turies from the days OF Moses to the
days of Christ from every other re-
ngion existing i'll the world
Communication with the dead through
the living. even what is known ass
scaling up of ,hc dead was believed
in. and was practccd with tho help
Of mediums by individuals many times
no doubt before the days OF saul ana
Z after. but his visit to the witch OF
(, Endor stands for a typical example
OF all such dealings from his day to
our own.
TT YOU change the word witch and
\ call the woman who acted a. a
medium. a spiritualist. YOU have onI!
10 think of the Kings consultation as
q sennce, and there is nothing very
different in what occurred then from
what Is purported to occur now, onIE
in the case OF the Medium of Endor
and of the King. who demanded a
seance. the law of the land: both ciVi!
and religious. was broken BY the de-
mand and the fultillmcnt of it. There.
fore, TO the ordinary mystery ana
strnngeneSS that surround modern
- ~eeance there was added the secrecy and
fear that surround an Illegal and for
hidden act.
So much has been said lately Of th"
danger of following the road 10
Endor' that We rather take 1t ior
granted that every one knows the tale
Of that road. But quite evidently the
novelty of the present vogue OF Conan
Doyle would not have been so great II
: the tale Of that road had been ns
familiar to us as it was. let us say.
to our parents.
I have been rereading the tale. an!
nothing that SIR Oliver Lodge has writ :
ten of his experiences or that poyl"
has preached concerning his Is more
circumstantial or as actually arresting
as the tale of Saul calling up the dead
for advice.
CAMUEL the great Seer was dead,
~ and all Israel gathered to d" him
honor. His burial was like the burial
Of a king. He had lived 80 long that
generations of his race had made pill
grfmagps 10 his dwelling at Ramah ana
knelt before him TO ask his counsel.
His life had been a holy one from ms
childhood austere and set apart. ana
the white fame of his spirit had burned
touched him with greater majesty. But
now he was dead. and the prophets
whose teacher he had beer bore him
for the last time out OF the great coun-
Gil chamber to his last resting place.
s questioning what must become Of a
land when he who has been its seer
: departs to return no more.
The break between the King and
Samuel on account Of Saul's hrtraynl
Of q trust had never been mcndcd. The
seer had died refusing 10 see the King
or to lift the ban placed upon him: the
king on his part had murdered the
priests serving at the sanctuary and
had attempted more than once to muir.
der his son law. David, and had
driven him into exile. He was ncreas-
ingly unpopular with his subjects and
was of late threatened by AchiSh. the
neighboring king of Gath. the overlord
of the princes Of Philistia.
A SUCCESSFUL war would un-
i "A dOubtcdly rcinstato Saul in the
favor OF his countrymen, however. and
as war had always been his winning
card and his fighting men AMI th"i'
fighting gear his strong point. it is n,
10 be supposed that he made any dip
lomatic effort TO avoid it, The Phiiis
tines had been 'over the border be-
fore, and had been driven out. leaving
behind considerable baggage It i more
than likely that Saul on This occasion
opened the trap rather wide in order
that the enemy should walk too far in I,
get out with case and rr,ority. Bur il
his desire to have n spectacular vie.
tory over Achish he had npparentlj
opened it too wide. FOR the phlistIr'
marauders swept through Ephraim
4, al