Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 Tine Library of Congress 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/battlegroundofspOObrit 
 
..-y 
 
 
THE 
 
 BATTLE-GROUND 
 
 Spiritual Reformation, 
 
 S. B. BRITTAN, M.D., 
 
 Editor- at-Large. 
 
 A- 
 
 Truth is the naked sword of the Spirit. — Author. 
 
 ' Take the bright sword that flashes from the skies, 
 O Man, and smite the hosts of Despotism." — Spirit of Shelley, 
 
 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just : 
 
 But his neighbor cometh and searcheth \\\m..— Solomon. 
 
 
 NEW YORKN^/;-^ ••"••/•OO./X,^ 
 
 Published for the AuT^«c^;;^?i^'N3-^^■"^ 
 By COLBY & RICH, ^ 
 
 9 Montgomery Place, Boston, Mass., 
 1882. 
 
K 
 
 •t^^ 
 
 t>^> 
 
 Copyright, 1882, 
 By S. B. BRITTAN. 
 
 </ 
 
TO 
 
 MR. LUTHER COLBY, 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN SPIRITUALISM IN AMERICA; 
 
 FOR HIS 
 
 LONG SERVICE AND UNWAVERING FIDELITY 
 
 TO 
 
 A NOBLE, BUT UNPOPULAR CAUSE ; 
 
 AND, 
 
 ESPECIALLY, FOR HIS CONSTANT ENDEAVORS 
 
 TO 
 
 RENDER THE WRITER'S RECENT LABORS 
 MORE EFFECTUAL FOR GOOD; 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
BATTLE-GROUND 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE history of the development of religious ideas fur- 
 nishes no parallel to the progress of Modern Spirit- 
 ualism, whether we consider its essential nature, the means 
 employed in its advancement, or the rapidity of its triumphs. 
 It is true that different systems of religion have been widely 
 propagated, and it may almost literally be said that nations 
 have been converted in a day. We cannot search the ar- 
 chives of remote ages for historical illustrations, but will limit 
 our survey to the Christian era. Constantine at once em- 
 braced the religion of Jesus when he saw its burning ensign 
 above the horizon. Under his authority the faith so impres- 
 sively symbolized consecrated splendid temples where the 
 manger and the cross had stood ; the Goth was subjugated, 
 and altars to the new religion were reared arr^ong the ruins of 
 Byzantium. But the arm of imperial power and the sword 
 of the conqueror were the instruments of its propagation, 
 and the blood-stained banners of victorious armies waved 
 over the shrines of the Crucified. 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The religion of >^ the Koran was very speedily established 
 throughout Arabia. It carried its conquests into Syria, and 
 its progress was only arrested by the death of the Prophet. 
 Mohammed, also, achieved his success by no very gentle 
 means. He inculcated the idea that his disciples were to 
 employ the sword in vindicating the claims of his religion. A 
 paradise of sensual pleasures, and the fellowship of angelic 
 heroes were promised to all who should be victorious in the 
 cause of God and his Prophet. Such were the means and 
 instruments whereby the Arabian Chief made the conquest of 
 his country, and produced the greatest revolution in human 
 affairs that has occurred since the beginning of the Christian 
 era. But he violated the principles of justice, and trampled 
 on the rights of human nature. Liberty of conscience was 
 granted to the Jew and the Christian only on the condition 
 that they would pay for it, while for idolaters there was no 
 alternative but conversion or the sword. AVhen the Prophet, 
 after being exiled for seven years, returned to his native city, 
 three hundred and fifty idols which defiled its famous Pan- 
 theon were cast down and broken in pieces, while their wor- 
 shipers only escaped destruction by a timely conversion. 
 
 The means whereby the Roman Emperor and the Arabian 
 Prophet achieved their conquests were not essentially dissim- 
 ilar. The divinely beautiful spirit of Jesus was crucified in 
 the very midst of the outward triumphs of Christianity. Con- 
 stantine was neither a greater nor a better man than Moham- 
 med. If the strong hand of the Arabian iconoclast rudely 
 demolished the idols in the famous kaaba, it was that he 
 might suppress the idolatrous worship of his people, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. y 
 
 make Mecca the holy city of the Moslem.* It was prob- 
 ably from motives of piety rather than policy that the Prophet 
 established the rite and enforced the obligation of pilgrimage. 
 The ambition of the Roman Emperor was perhaps more 
 selfish, while it was scarcely more consonant with the pre- 
 cepts of Jesus than that of the Arab prince. The crowned 
 Christian was not more conspicuous for fidelity to his own 
 faith, nor was his authority more cheerfully acknowledged. 
 The most powerful monarchies in the world witnessed the 
 progress of Mohammed with extreme apprehension, and the 
 influence of the religion of the Koran was felt in Asia, Africa, 
 and Europe. 
 
 The Prophet professed to have entered the heavens, and to 
 have intercourse with exalted spirits. It is true that in every 
 circumstance of trial and danger he inspired his followers 
 with the greatest enthusiasm by promising them the assist- 
 ance of Gabriel, and by his descriptions of the angelic hosts 
 which peopled all the air, and stood by his followers to nerve 
 their arms in battle, or to bear those who might fall in his 
 service to the enchanted realm of immortal forms of beauty 
 and pleasures for ever new. The last hours of the Arab 
 Chief were poisoned by the memory of unrighteous deeds ; 
 but no believer in the Christian religion was ever more truly 
 penitent. When at last he stood face to face with death he 
 
 * "Had it not been for Mohammed, the East, at this moment, in all 
 probability, would have been wholly given up to idolatrous practices. 
 His mission prevented this, and established an absolute theological idea 
 which would otherwise have found no political home on the face of the 
 globe." — Divine Drama of History and Civilization, p. 259. 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 directed his disciples to support him in the Mosque while he 
 celebrated the praise of God. Reviewing the record of his 
 life, he said : " If any one complaineth that I have stricken 
 him unjustly, lo ! here is my back ; let him return the blows. 
 If I have injured the reputation of anyone, let him treat me in 
 the same manner. If I have taken money from any one, I am 
 here ready to restore it." No Christian prince ever exhibited 
 deeper humility or more sincere repentance. Thus died the 
 Prophet of Allah, and his last words were a prayer for the 
 pardon of his sins. 
 
 The spirit that animates the soldier, and the nature of the 
 weapons employed in his warfare, must determine the moral 
 character of the contest and of the chief actors in the drama 
 of human history. Tried by this standard, what preeminence 
 has the historical Christianity over Islamism ? If we go to the 
 battle-field at the suggestion of an unworthy ambition, we 
 had better follow the standard of the Infidel, or any other 
 image sacred or profane, than presume to unfurl the ensign of 
 the Cross. Christians deny and defame their acknowledged 
 Master when they put away his spirit ; they renounce his 
 religion as often as they violate his plainest precepts, and 
 they crucify him whenever they thus dishonor the symbols of 
 his faith and worship. The crucifixion, in the most vital 
 sense, should not be regarded as a solitary event in ecclesias- 
 tical annals. It is rather a fact of universal observation and 
 constant repetition. Christians have never ceased to pervert 
 the pure faith and spiritual worship of their illustrious Teacher. 
 The lessons of the manger, the mountain, and the cross, were 
 peace on earth, forgiveness of offenders, and good will toward 
 
INTRODUCTION. VII 
 
 all men. But the vision of the sacred symbol in the heavens 
 at noonday did not make a peaceful conqueror of the Chris- 
 tian Emperor. The heavenly mandate did not stay the sword. 
 Ill such an example there was no spiritual health, but a mortal 
 contagion. Authentic history demonstrates the fact. Others 
 followed fast in his bloody footsteps. A war of two hundred 
 years was inaugurated in the eleventh century by the enthusi- 
 asts instigated by Peter the Hermit. They fought desperately 
 for the Holy Sepulcher, and they used such profane weapons 
 as were employed by the infidel Saracens. 
 
 In the twelfth century St. Dominic and Pope Innocent III., 
 professed followers of Jesus, and ministers of his religion, or- 
 ganized in Spain, for the trial and destruction of heretics, a 
 bloody tribunal, with whips, dungeons, wheels, racks, and all 
 the infernal machinery of torture. Jesus was crucified anew, 
 and put to an open shame in the person of every poor victim 
 of the Inquisition. Hell is immment in the hearts and lives 
 of the men who thus contrive to exhaust the powers of inven- 
 tion in the arts of cruelty. Notwithstanding Ignatius Loyola 
 took the prescribed vows of poverty, chastity, monastic obe- 
 dience, and abject submission, the Jesuits became the wealth- 
 iest and most powerful religious order in the world. Politi- 
 cally and morally this so-called Society of Jesus (?) proved to be 
 so utterly unscrupulous and oppressive, that its very name has 
 become a synonym for cunning intrigue, systematic deception, 
 and absolute despotism. What a prostitution of eminent learn- 
 ing and great opportunities ! And what a desecration of a 
 revered name ! 
 
 The Church, established by the power of the sword and up- 
 
VUl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 held by a policy fatal to individual liberty, was at best a merely 
 human institution. The remarkable gifts possessed by the 
 primitive disciples were gradually withdrawn, and the spiritual 
 element, which was the divine life in the Church, languished 
 and nearly expired at its own altars. Gorgeous temples, con- 
 secrated and enriched by imperial authority and munificence, 
 were its sepulchers. The crucifixion, in a most vital sense, 
 occurred when the Christian religion was married to the tem- 
 poral power. Then it was that its indwelling spirit departed. 
 That spirit was known to be present by the mysterious powers 
 which it conferred on all true believers. At length, when the 
 manifestation of the spiritual presence was no more or but 
 rarely witnessed, it was evident that the Powei itself which 
 bestowed such gifts had deserted the shrines which men had 
 reared and profaned. Since that day the true spirit ot the 
 religion of the Nazarine has been in the tombs, and a great 
 stone — the whole system of material theology and ritualistic 
 worship— has barred the door of the sepulcher The clergy 
 resist every effort to roll the stone away. When the spirit 
 which characterized the primitive Church has manifested a 
 disposition to return with all its ancient gifts and divine ener- 
 gies, far more widely diffused, they have madly resisted its 
 power, as if they would have the spiritual death of the Church 
 eternal. To-day only a poor effigy of the Crucified looks out 
 of the stained windows of temples which are but garnished 
 crypts of the slain Jesus. 
 
 What has Christianity been since it was thus corrupted, but 
 the religious form of popular materialism— an earthly institu- 
 tion holding fellowship with every great wrong which pride, 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 fashion, and avarice have contributed to establish, and depend- 
 ing on civil authority or the mailed arm for protection and 
 the means of extending its empire ? Christian propagandists 
 have, it is true, carried the Bible into every heathen land, but 
 they have also carried along with it alcohol, the sword, the 
 gibbet, and all the vices of a corrupt civilization. The Church 
 militant has countenanced polygamy, slavery, vindictive pun- 
 ishments and aggressive war, and lived in open and adulter- 
 ous union with numerous forms of corruption and oppression. 
 The autocrat still grasps the ensign of irresponsible power, 
 and the same despotic hand holds the sword and the cross. 
 
 The Protestant Reformation, under the leadership of Lu- 
 ther, Melancthon, and Calvin, in the sixteenth century, was lit- 
 tle more than a bold protest against the gross corruptions of 
 the Church and most unscrupulous abuses of ecclesiastical 
 power. These manifold evils were shamefully conspicuous in 
 scandalous sales of indulgences, at low prices, by which the 
 papal revenues were vastly increased, and in the cruel perse- 
 cutions of heretics, whose lives were counted worthless by the 
 recognized authorities of the Christian world. Nor were these 
 evils all confined to the Church of Rome. They did not ter- 
 minate with the advent of Luther, nor in the lifetime of his 
 contemporaries. In a degree that is unpleasant to contemplate, 
 .they were transmitted by the scarlet woman of the Apocalypse, 
 whose matrix gave form to the monstrous conception 
 " Of Calvinism — born from out the sea 
 Of the Dark Ages and their tyranny — 
 From whose womb all hideous shapes have birth. 
 Of dogma, creed, and mind-oppressing rite." 
 
 The work of the reformers was incomplete. They rendered 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 an important service to mankind in tlieir day, and we honor 
 them ; but the Church is not yet freed from the corruptions 
 of those Mediaeval Ages. The ordinary moral disinfectants 
 have no pow^er to cleanse its record. It is not made white, 
 in fact, by the blood of the Lamb, and at last it must be " pu- 
 rified by fire." 
 
 I emphasize the statement that tJie Refori?iaiion is 7iot fin- 
 ished. On the contrary, its deeper meaning is just beginning 
 to be apprehended. In our time it is something far more sig- 
 nificant than a resolute protest against the corruptions of the 
 prevailing religion and the arbitrary dogmata of ecclesiasti- 
 cal councils. It is not in the highest sense a rude conflict 
 with hoary errors and gigantic wrongs ; it is not a mere tilt 
 with the agents of despotic authority. It takes form in a new 
 psychological science and more profound philosophy of human 
 nature, covering the entire realm of our relations to all things 
 visible and invisible. The Battle-Ground of this Spiritual 
 Reformation is not limited by geograpliical and national boun- 
 daries. It does not stop at the lines which separate the races 
 of men, and is not confined to the large area of modern civili- 
 zation. It is a silent but irresistible power in the Church and 
 the world. It humbles the proud and exalts the lowly ; it 
 strengthens the weak and rebukes the unworthy ; it defies the 
 Pope and his cardinals ; the schools of science are dumb with 
 astonishment ; it oversteps all real and imaginary limitations, 
 and promises to make the conquest of the world. 
 
 The Spiritual Reformation is not now especially indebted to 
 earthly agents and human cooperation for its rapid progress 
 in our time and its present commanding influence. An invis- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 ible and spiritual power — operating far and wide among the 
 forms of the material universe — reveals itself in the diversified 
 and startling physical and mental phenomena which have of 
 late confounded the science and skepticism of the world. A 
 mysterious power — everywhere bearing the stamp of human 
 intelligence — immensely superior to the force of gravitation 
 and the laws of molecular attraction and chemical affinity, is 
 revealed among the subtle forces and ponderable elements of 
 Nature. Inanimate objects are seemingly endowed with the 
 powers of life, sensation, and volition. The ignorant aston- 
 ish the wise by speaking in unknown tongues, and by reveal- 
 ing the secrets of Nature and the human mind. The masters 
 of Art, who left their carved memorials and pictured thoughts 
 for our contemplation, come back to inspire the souls of the 
 living, and to guide the hands of those who shall yet fashion 
 immortal creations. A new fire kindles in the eye and burns 
 on the lips of the orator ; sweet voices speak out of the depths 
 in the solemn night, and divine instruction comes with the 
 rays of the morning. " Day unto day uttereth speech, and 
 night unto night sheweth knowledge." The strings of the lyre 
 are now swept by invisible fingers to notes of inspiration ; the 
 heavenly harmonies descend into the poet's brain as soft per- 
 fumes, and gentle sounds steal along the avenues of sense ; 
 they take form and clothe themselves in the cerebral cham- 
 bers, and great thoughts issue in harmonic numbers to charm 
 the listening nations. 
 
 A cause that is rendered all-powerful by such means ; the 
 Reformation that derives the chief elements of its existence 
 and its progress from unseen sources of fathomless ability — 
 
Xll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the movement which in one-third of a century has attracted 
 the attention of the whole civiUzed world — will not be likely 
 to require the assistance of either legislation, fashion, or even 
 mammon to secure its future triumph. The springs of its 
 immortal life and the eternal laws of its development all have 
 their archetypal forms in the Heavens. Such a cause needs 
 no carnal weapons for its defense. The world is welcome to 
 its arms and the heroes it so blindly worships. The warrior 
 shall carry his scarred helm and glittering spear with him to 
 the scene of his last repose ; the gold-worshiper may build 
 his gilded cenotaph, and crown and scepter rust and decay in 
 common earth with the regal arm ar.d the kingly brow. It is 
 fit that the sepulcher of unsanctified ambition should inclose 
 its weapons and its trophies. Spiritualism accepts no aid 
 from these, for by the powers that reside in heavenly places 
 it is triumphant and immortal. 
 
 As multitudes were still ignorant of the real facts of Spirit- 
 ualism, while comparatively few had any clear comprehension 
 of its profound philosophy, it was proposed, in the year 1879, to 
 employ the secular press of the United States for the purpose 
 of such a statement of its facts and illustration of its princi- 
 ciples as might be necessary to correct the popular miscon- 
 ception of its character, and to properly vindicate its claims 
 before the world. No one who supported the movement 
 ever thought of discounting the proper claims of our spiritual 
 papers, or of suspending the free use of any other means pre- 
 viously employed for the wide diffusion of spiritual knowledge. 
 No friend of the measure ever conceived the crazy idea of 
 imposing the slightest restraint upon the individual freedom 
 
INTRODUCTION. XUl 
 
 of the humblest disciple of the truth ; or of otherwise inter- 
 fering with the peculiar views, personal prerogatives, or any 
 conceivable interest of a single human being. Of course, it 
 was not anticipated that the proposal to thus utilize the news- 
 paper press of the country in the elucidation of the accepted 
 facts and general principles of Spiritualism would meet with 
 the slightest opposition from a single professed friend of the 
 truth. Indeed, the nature of the case seemed to preclude the 
 possibility of any determined resistance of such a measure. 
 Only those who favored the plan were called upon to furnish 
 the necessary means for its execution. No one else ever did 
 or was expected to subscribe to the fund. Yet, strange to say, 
 before the author had fairly entered upon his labors as the 
 Editor-at-Large, an unfriendly feeling was engendered, by the 
 conjunction of what adverse influences we will not attempt 
 to explain. Indeed, the writer was never able to discover any 
 rational cause for the opposition ; nevertheless a portion of 
 the spiritualistic press of the United States both felt and 
 manifested a bitter hostility to the enterprise, as will plainly 
 appear from a perusal of the Appendix to this volume. 
 
 A few of the scribes thought they saw in the Secular 
 Press Bureau an engine of fathomless mischief, and they 
 did what they could to make others see it in the same lurid 
 hght. To the observation of certain spiritual journals, whose 
 apprehensions were perhaps the natural offspring of conscious 
 weakness, the Editor-at-Large appeared to be a journalistic 
 autocrat in his sanctum, surrounded by unscrupulous confed- 
 erates, whose principal object was a censorship of the whole 
 spiritual press of the country. No figment of the disordered 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION, 
 
 imagination was too absurd to find a place in the brains of 
 certain spiritualistic "cranks." They saw the Bureau in 
 various aspects according to their several proclivities, all of 
 which seemed to such observers to be pregnant with only 
 evil. Viewed from the meridian of Chicago, it was apparently 
 an " eleemosynary device " to make a certain old spiritual 
 mendicant undeservedly rich on some twelve hundred a year. 
 In other words, ignoring the fact of any concurrent service 
 to be rendered, it was presumed to be the intention of those 
 engaged in the " scheme," to pension at least one superannu- 
 ated pioneer, at the expense of a long-suffering spiritual people, 
 and, at the same time — by means of a popular subscription — 
 to furnish free a regular contributor to the Banner of Light. 
 This " eleemosynary scheme " — as observed from the " City 
 of Brotherly Love," through the murky atmosphere of the 
 spiritual pandemonium — was Satan's own embodiment of all 
 the elements of cunning deception, hypocrisy, and Jesuitical 
 despotism. At the same time, in a poetic observation of the 
 " scheme " — as seen from the Cincinnati spiritual observatory 
 by a dramatic art interpreter of the Bard of Avon, through 
 his pair of judicial spectacles — the Bureau was discovered to 
 be the box of Pandora, with such improvements as modern 
 discovery has contributed to the arts of infernal mischief. 
 
 Some of our people were tired of empty words and hollow 
 pretensions to an interest in the cause, and many more were 
 heartily sick of personal and aimless disputations in our own 
 ranks ; and they felt that they might very properly engage in 
 some /'r^r//r^/7£/^r/^, without giving offense to any one, and 
 with a view to a much wider diffusion of spiritual knowledge 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 among the people. It did not occur to the earnest and 
 liberal friends of the movement, that we had any petty dic- 
 tators in this free country whom they must first consult and 
 conciliate, before daring to support a measure of such public 
 importance as the subsidiary employment of the secular press 
 in the interest of Spiritualism. Accordingly, they went about 
 their own business in no ostentatious manner, but in a quiet, 
 rational way ; regardless alike of personal jealousies and the 
 explosive passions of little souls who are accustomed to shout 
 freedom until they are hoarse, and practice intolerance until 
 they disgust the rest of mankind. 
 
 The true objects and manifest aims of the Editor-at-Large 
 and his friends were grossly misrepresented, and many honest 
 people led astray to a false conclusion. In the hope of dis- 
 abusing the public mind, in the equal interest of truth and 
 justice, and yet in the true spirit of conciliation, the author, 
 at an early opportunity, prepared a friendly epistle, especially 
 addressed to the Editor of the Banner of Light, and intended 
 to disarm unreasoning suspicion and opposition. This circu- 
 lar letter merits a place in the Introduction to this Book. It 
 will serve to illustrate the independent and liberal, yet unob- 
 trusive spirit in which the good work of the Secular Press 
 Bureau was undertaken. It is not the fault of the author 
 if it be found to involve a clearer revelation of the ungra- 
 cious animus of those who could discern nothing but evil in 
 the honest purpose and the earnest labors of its friends and 
 supporters. Compared with the dogmatic and unreasoning 
 spirit of the opposition, it will appear to involve a striking and 
 vivid contrast. 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE LETTER TO MR. LUTHER COLBY. 
 
 PUBLISHED IN TH-E "BANNER OF LIGHT," FEB. 14, 1880. 
 
 In order to save valuable time, which must be faithfully 
 devoted to more important public interests, I may here, once 
 for all, respond briefly to the suggestions of several personal 
 friends, private correspondents, and all others who would have 
 me participate in personal controversies which at best are 
 always unprofitable. Life is so short, and its duties and obli- 
 gations of so sacred a nature, that we cannot for a moment 
 entertain the idea of such a departure from the established 
 habit of a lifetime. There are so many great questions which 
 really concern the general and lasting interests of mankind, 
 that any extended presentation of personal grievances would 
 be out of place, and unbecoming the character of a spiritual 
 reformer. The questions referred to demand so much, seri- 
 ous thought and practical illustration, that we have neither 
 time nor inclination to engage in any petty warfare which may 
 have its origin in private interests and personal ambition, I 
 have little disposition to censure the conduct of others, much 
 less would I presume to pass judgment upon their motives. I 
 cannot, however, conscientiously suspend my appropriate work 
 to engage in unfriendly disputations, which seldom fail to gen- 
 erate acrimonious feeling and the bitterness which produces 
 lasting alienation among those who should dwell together in 
 unity and peace. 
 
 Should one come to us having a commission to throw dust 
 in the eyes of the rest of mankind, we might very properly 
 question the utility of his mission, and conclude that it might 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 be safe to abolish his office. If there are persons so employed 
 who seem to love their occupation, we do not propose to act 
 in the capacity of sharp detectives in bringing such people to 
 the bar of retributive justice. Just how far they are morally 
 responsible for their conduct we may never infallibly know. 
 When a proper example fails to exercise a salutary restraint, 
 we may leave them to run the length of their tether, and to 
 measure the consequences of their folly by the line of a pain- 
 ful experience. 
 
 We are reminded that history has recorded the names and 
 deeds of men who seem to have been born to illustrate the great 
 diversities of human character, and the extreme possibihties 
 of individual destinies. Jesus and Judas, George Washington 
 and Benedict Arnold, performed their parts respectively in the 
 world, and who shall say that such opposite characters were 
 not necessary to the completeness of the divine drama of 
 republican Liberty and Christian civilization ? If one has an 
 unpleasant and thankless part to perform, and his- peculiar 
 work inspires a feeling of displeasure and disgust in others, it 
 may possibly be only a misfortune, for which he is deserving 
 of commiseration. Let us, as far as possible, draw over all 
 such the broad mantle of that charity which recognizes the 
 rational limit to individual responsibility, while it mercifully 
 sheathes the sword of Justice in a velvet wrapper. 
 
 No man, however commanding his talents and ambitious in 
 his aims, may aspire to the office of sole manager in this great 
 theater of human events. It is not our purpose to take up 
 another man's rdle ; to divide public attention by any super- 
 ficial device or by-play with parties behind the scenes ; nor 
 
XVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 are we disposed to crowd the other actors off the stage by 
 any real or imaginary skill in fencing. The supernumerary who 
 performs his humble part with an honest purpose is entitled 
 to receive our right hand of fellowship. Personally, we only 
 demand space for earnest action and the measure of freedom 
 which is our birthright. But we cannot be expected to ask 
 permission to play our own part in this performance. There 
 is no spiritual hierarchy to determine what we may or may not 
 do in the exercise of our personal right to labor in the com- 
 mon vineyard. Happily, in the absence of such an institu- 
 tion, the individual may be wisely allowed to pursue his own 
 course, and in the performance of his work to hold in supreme 
 respect the sober dictates of reason and conscience. 
 
 We have strong desires, an earnest purpose, and modest 
 expectations. All we imperatively demand is necessary room 
 for some healthful exercise, liberty to do our work in our own 
 way, and to accept of such aid as may be freely given. For 
 these privileges we shall of course offer no supplication. The 
 American type of manhood does not descend so low. If it is 
 proper to render thanks on this occasion, let the offering be 
 made to the Father of our spirits, and the fathers of the Re- 
 public, from whom we derived the priceless inheritance of civil 
 and religious liberty. Most men who have labored long for 
 the defense of unpopular truths, and in the interest of uni- 
 versal humanity, have had various restraints imposed upon 
 them, and many obstacles thrown in their way. Something of 
 this kind has been, and may still continue to be, an element in 
 our personal experience ; and yet it is worthy of observation 
 that the avowed enemies of Spiritualism have neither disputed 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 our natural right to find our place under the laws of mental 
 and moral gravitation, nor the propriety of performing our 
 legitimate work after the manner of our choice. The despotic 
 assumption of this high prerogative was left to certain pro- 
 fessed Spiritualists, whose chronic dissatisfaction in respect to 
 our course seems incurable. On the whole, we have, perhaps, 
 been fortunate in our experience, since other men may have 
 rendered better service and fared worse at the hands of the 
 evil spirits of jealousy and personal ambition. We know that 
 many worthy men have been tempted by worldly considera- 
 tions, and otherwise sorely tried to test their devotion to truth 
 and righteous living, and withal to place the fair record of their 
 fidelity beyond dispute. St. Paul was not the only spiritual 
 reformer who may have discovered " a thorn in his flesh, the 
 messenger of an adversary to buffet him." (ii. Cor. xii. 7.) 
 
 In entering upon the work assigned me, I have not consci- 
 ously given offence to any man. While I have never solicited 
 the special fellowship of any clique or party, I have ever de- 
 sired to preserve the most cordial and fraternal relations with 
 all men, especially with those who belong to the household of 
 a living faith and the modern Gospel. I accept iio authority 
 but Truth fitly expressed; I would wield no influence hit that 
 which necessarily accompanies its proclamation. I am fiot here to 
 dogmatize on any subject; I do ?iot propose to meddle with any 
 other mans affairs; I will not limit his independence of mind by 
 doing his thinking for him; nor do I contemplate the smallest 
 supervision of the work of the spiritual press, beyond the reading 
 0/ the papers and the right of private judgment of the character 
 and value of their cotitents. My labors will be performed in 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 another and a broader field. In bearing the white flag of a 
 rational SpirituaHsm into the camp of its enemies, I am happy 
 to know that I cannot possibly get in the way of those who 
 may not be pleased to accompany the expedition. 
 
 Every day brings me new evidence that the work under- 
 taken is positively demanded by the exigency of the times. 
 Papers are being forwarded from every quarter of the country, 
 with marked articles which the Editor-at-Large is expected to 
 review in the interest of truth and as necessary vindications of 
 its friends. I am also in receipt of letters from eminent per- 
 sons in England and France, assuring me that they regard the 
 proposed work as of the greatest practical importance. If the 
 determined efforts of the spirits, the earnest cooperation of the 
 Banner of Light, and the present contributors to the Fund 
 are properly sustained by others, we shall doubtless be able to 
 present some rational views of Spiritualism to at least a million 
 of people before the termination of the present year — people 
 who never read our papers, and before whom the only exhibi- 
 tions of the subject hitherto may have consisted of the basest 
 caricatures. 
 
 Let personal and acrimonious disputations cease forever. 
 Among those who recognize one divine Father of all, and all 
 men as one common Brotherhood, such controversies are 
 manifestly out of place. Let us give our attention to essential 
 principles, to spiritual ideas, and to practical measures. For 
 the honor of a great cause, which has been so long defamed 
 abroad and much abused at home, let us give more time to 
 devout meditation and earnest work. S. B. B. 
 
 80 West Eleventh street, New York, February (), 1S80. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 One might have supposed that such a statement of reasons 
 for choosing to quietly pursue our work — without stopping to 
 reply to those who not only assailed the Bureau, but attrib- 
 uted most unworthy motives to the Editor-at-Large and the 
 principal supporters of his work — might have been sufficient 
 to disarm opposition. But the malcontents were not to be ap- 
 peased ; and for two years we pursued our peaceful labors — 
 in the interest of the common cause — under the running fire 
 of an enemy bearing a white flag and claiming shelter in the 
 very citadel of the Spiritual Revolution. How far the hostile 
 spirit of detraction and animadversion may find any possible 
 justification or excuse in the facts and circumstances of the 
 case, is a question which is confidently left to the candid judg- 
 ment of all who may faithfully peruse the following pages. 
 
 It was more especially during the first year of its existence 
 that the opposition to the Bureau displayed the least reason 
 and the greatest intensity. In the bitterness of their hostility 
 its enemies did not hesitate to publicly defame the more prom- 
 inent persons engaged in the work, and always without the 
 slightest cause or provocation. For the credit of the common 
 humanity let the fact be plainly stated that this peculiar class 
 was never numerous, though often offensively obtrusive and 
 noisy. Perhaps in the course they resolved to pursue they saw 
 the main chance of gaining distinction in this world. We know 
 that some noble natures are rendered memorable by their ^<?^- 
 fulness of their fellow-men, and for important services in the 
 interest of truth, justice and humanity ; while others only es- 
 cape oblivion, achieving an unenviable immortality, by reason 
 of their offenses. It is not the province of the writer to de- 
 
XXU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 termine the motives of those misguided persons who placed 
 what obstacles they could in our path, and also in the way of 
 many enlightened men and women who have been engaged in 
 this conscientious effort to disseminate the truth. So much — 
 it has seemed to the author — justice to all parties imperatively 
 demands. 
 
 We lament the existence in our midst of an unlovely spirit, 
 which so blinds the mind and blunts the moral sensibilities, 
 that the impoverished soul no longer finds it convenient to at- 
 tribute worthy and honorable motives to his fellow-men. It 
 certainly was not expected that the labors of any one connected 
 with the movement would be attributed to a mercenary spirit. 
 How have we been enriched while in this service ? Certainly 
 not in any way that has a relation to our worldly fortunes, 
 humble and uncertain as these may have been in the past. 
 Those accustomed to estimate the value of skilled labor will 
 be slow to discover any worldly speculation, and they will 
 be able to judge how far the writer can have become affluent 
 in circumstances and luxurious in his manner of living, from 
 the small fund of the Secular Press Bureau. 
 
 Let us here inquire what private aim or selfish purpose can 
 the proprietors of the Banner have promoted by their earnest 
 and constant devotion to this work ? They contributed all 
 necessary space for a complete exposition of the objects and 
 claims of the Bureau ; they devoted much valuable time to 
 this service ; they also performed the duties of treasurers ; kept 
 the accounts and published a current record of the subscrip- 
 tions received, and for all these services they never made the 
 smallest charge. Nor is this all. From the beginning, Luther 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXIU 
 
 Colby and Isaac B. Rich were among the generous contribu- 
 tors to the fund. And yet they never so much as once inti- 
 mated that they would even accept the smallest return of any 
 description for any service they ever rendered. The facts in 
 the case utterly preclude the possible intrusion of any selfish 
 consideration as an incentive to action. The role of Luther 
 Colby in this performance should forever shield his name and 
 memory against even the most distant intimation of interested 
 motives. 
 
 Our experience has demonstrated that there is but one way 
 to reach the multitudes who make war upon Spiritualism : // is 
 to be done alone by an intelUgetit propagandism conducted through 
 the mediumship of the press of the country. By this means the 
 clouds which envelop the common mind, and thus mislead the 
 judgment, may be most effectually dissipated. Precisely where 
 the darkness exists^ the light must be permitted to shine. In a 
 most comprehensive sense, the secular press is the lever with 
 which the world may be moved. We only require a place to 
 stand, and a solid fulcrum, in the form of material support. 
 Our limited experience has satisfied us that the plan for using 
 the newspaper and literary press, as the medium for the dis- 
 semination of the most important facts, principles, and ideas, 
 and for the wide diffusion of all spiritual knowledge, is alto- 
 gether feasible. The accomplishment of this purpose is no 
 longer a problem of doubtful solution. That industry and 
 liberality combined will insure complete success, is a fact suf- 
 ficiently demonstrated to furnish a rational basis for the pub- 
 lic faith. It is only necessary to place the requisite means at 
 the disposal of the Bureau, as now constituted, and a wide. 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 powerful, and most beneficent influence may be exerted among 
 the millions who seldom or never read a spiritual paper.* 
 
 We entertain the hope that the work which has proved suc- 
 cessful on a small scale, may be greatly enlarged in the future. 
 What we most need — and may readily have, if the people are 
 so disposed — is a complete working Bureau of Correspondence, 
 with the necessary Assistants, and such facilities for extensive work 
 as would enable zis to occupy more or less space in all important 
 journals in every part of the country. Indeed, this work can 
 be made as extensive as the people will, and need only be 
 limited by the means emyloyed in its prosecution. When we 
 are reminded that these papers are numbered by thousands ; 
 that some of them print from one to two hundred thousand 
 copies of each succeeding issue ; and that their aggregate cir- 
 culation may be fitly symbolized by the leaves of the forest, 
 the rational Spiritualist must perceive that here is the great en- 
 gine of power whereby we may — if so determined — reach, in- 
 spire, move, and illuminate the universal mind. 
 
 * Our limited space will not permit of the multiplication of examples il- 
 lustrative of the influence of the Secular Press Correspondence, but a single 
 fact may be more satisfactory than a long argument. The author had oc- 
 casion to address a letter to the Editor of an influential paper in the Brit- 
 ish Provinces. Before it was otherwise ascertained that it had been pub- 
 lished, we received a most earnest letter from Canada, in which the writer 
 — a gentleman of intelligence and an entire stranger — stated in substance 
 that he had read our correspondence in the Government Organ at Toronto ; 
 that it had inspired him with an intense desire to know more of a subject 
 which, so far as he had been previously informed, was everywhere treated 
 with unmeasured contempt and ridicule. Some time after we received a 
 second letter from this gentleman, inclosing money for spiritual books, 
 which were forwarded to his address, and he is now believed to be pro- 
 foundly interested in the whole subject. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 But while the importance of the enterprise and the acknowl- 
 edged success of the experiment have been clearly demon- 
 strated, it became necessary — at the close of the second year 
 of service — to announce the fact that, for the present and the 
 immediate future, we could no longer devote our time exclu- 
 sively to the prosecution of this work. We have not aban- 
 doned the Bureau,which has been re-organized under the direc- 
 tion of the American Spiritualist Alliance, with the author 
 as President. In following the lead of the Spirit World, sup. 
 ported by the friendly counsel and the material aid of many 
 friends, and enforced by inclination and judgment, the writer 
 earnestly engaged in the work at the beginning, hoping to be 
 useful in such public capacity, at the same time having little 
 regard to personal considerations and private interests. The 
 undersigned would still be devoting his time mainly to the 
 same service, but a voice too solemn and imperative to be dis- 
 regarded called him to another field of labor. That voice is 
 mild and persuasive, but its speech is significant and impres- 
 sive. From within the vail it speaks out audibly, and I here 
 report some of its words : 
 
 " In the gray twilight of the early morning, a sower went out to 
 sow, and we were with him in his labors. The seed scattered 
 broadcast germinated, and has now taken root all over the earth. 
 Warmed by the vital heat of spiritual influence, all 
 ' Nature multiplies her fertile growth.' 
 To-day the fields prophesy of the harvest that is near. Their 
 ripening treasures, waving in the spiritual sunlight, are beautiful 
 to look upon. We come now, in the afternoon of this golden 
 autumn, to admonish you to bi^td up your sheaves, before the 
 night Cometh when your day's work in this field will be done." 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The import of this somewhat figurative language may be so 
 apparent already as to require no further elucidation. The 
 spirits have given a revelation of their intelligence, and also of 
 their power to produce results within the sphere of our practi- 
 cal affairs, by making our acquiescence even possible in the 
 nature of things. The reader will, perhaps, have inferred that 
 the particular work the writer is expected to perform is the 
 preparation of several volumes /or the press, the first of which 
 is here submitted to the public. How long we may be so em- 
 ployed it is quite impossible to conjecture. The extent of the 
 work may very much depend on the writer's physical health, 
 and on other matters, of which we can now have, at best, only 
 a dini and uncertain perception in coming events and circum- 
 stances which already forecast their shadows on the prescient 
 mind. 
 
 While the revelations of To-day are to thousands the source 
 of new hope and undying consolation, it is not denied that, in 
 some instances, they may awaken unpleasant apprehensions. 
 Spiritualism often excuses the mistakes and weaknesses of 
 poor humanity, but it offers no concealment for the enthroned 
 errors and consecrated wrongs of the world. With unsparing 
 hand it strikes off the mask from the face of the hypocrite and 
 rends the mantle of the self-righteous Pharisee. In its mys- 
 terious light and before its unearthly vision the darkest secrets 
 of the mind and heart may be disclosed. Men and women of 
 depraved habits may tremble when the subject is mentioned, 
 fearing that their deeds of darkness may be comprehended in 
 its revelations, but the just have nothing to fear. The pure 
 in heart love to recline by the fountains of its inspiration ; in- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVU 
 
 nocent maidens and little children slumber while its oracles 
 speak, and waking apprehend no evil. 
 
 We cannot attempt to explain all the mental perturbation 
 witnessed among men. Precisely how certain minds are un- 
 hinged we may not infallibly know. It may be by the mem- 
 ory of unworthy deeds, or by impressions derived from a false 
 education. The loss of the mental equipoise may be owing to 
 the magnitude and weight of a dominant idea, or otherwise 
 result from extreme nervous susceptibiUty and intense cerebral 
 excitement. How many have gone mad from a too intense 
 and constant application to business ? How many have for- 
 ever lost their balance in the depths of their religious devo- 
 tions ? And how many more, alas, from " loving not wisely 
 but too well ? " Let those who condemn Spiritualism because 
 a few persons have been temporarily deranged, whether in 
 body, mind, or morals, think of the fearful sacrifices which at- 
 tended the great religious movements of past ages. It is pre- 
 posterous to denounce the present revolution in the world's 
 faith, and yet profess to venerate the names and deeds re- 
 corded in sacred history. Moses, Joshua, and David, Con- 
 stantine, Peter the Hermit, and Simon de Montfort, offered 
 whole hecatombs of human victims on the altars of their re- 
 ligion , while the mortal remains of two millions fertilized the 
 battle-fields of the Crusaders ! 
 
 But Spiritualism, as taught in the first and the nineteenth 
 centuries, abhors the bloody sacrifice ! It requires its faith- 
 ful disciples to leave the polluted shrines and " worship the 
 Father in spirit and in truth." In the light of a rational 
 Spiritualism, the laws of Nature are the oracles of God ; each 
 
XXVIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 form of beauty and use is a revelation ; every curious process 
 is a sermon ; the enlightened spirit is the temple and altar of 
 the Divine : a sincere aspiration or grateful emotion is a de- 
 vout prayer, a true prophecy or a solemn psalm, and all chari- 
 table deeds are appropriate benedictions. The enlightened 
 and true friends of this reverent and rational Spiritualism hope 
 and trust that it will gloriously triumph by loving words, in- 
 spired thoughts, and Godlike deeds, and tliat its white banner 
 — already unfurled in the golden morning of Freedom and 
 Immortality — may yet become the ensign of the World I 
 
 The Author. 
 I Sherman Avenue, 
 Newark, N. J , June 28, 1882. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF THE INSPIRATIONS OF GENIUS. 
 
 FROM THE HARTFORD (CONN.) DAILY TIMES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Relations of the Human Mind to the Spirit- World — The Inspirations of Genius — 
 The Spiritual Element in Poetry — Illustrative Examples — Virgil and the 
 ^neid — Shakespeare's Recognition of the Spirits — Milton on the Heavenly 
 Messengers— Testimony of Dr. Samuel Johnson — Coleridge and Christabel— 
 Shelley and Adonais — Wordsworth on Spiritual Insight — Campbell on 
 Prophetic Visions — The Cloud of Immortal Witnesses — The Spirits in 
 Bailey's Festus — Irving's "Midnight Musings" on Spiritualism — Conclu- 
 sion 3 
 
 • RELIGION OF FAITH AND FASHION. 
 
 REV. DR. JOHN HALL AND THE LOGIC OF THE PULPIT. 
 
 FROM TRUTH, JANUARY 20, 1880. 
 
 Millions in one Christian Temple— Suiferers from Cold, Hunger, and Nakedness 
 in its Shadow — Who will save the Neglected Ones ? — The Doctor discourses 
 on " Faith and Science " — A Theologian answers Huxley — Who will answer 
 the Cry of the Poor?— Does the Bible lead Modern Science? — Aromatic Airs 
 and bad Logic at $20,000 a Year — Relations of the Serpent to Popular Theol- 
 ogy — Ireland's War on Snakes— St. Patrick slays the last in the Lake of Kil- 
 larney— A Doctor of Divinity against Science and History — The Office of 
 Science is to Formulate the Truth 18 
 
 SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 WANDERING AND CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 FROM THE ROCHESTER (n. Y.) DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, FEB. 22, 1880. 
 
 Rambler on Spiritualism — The Great Question of the Ages — Disputing the Evi- 
 dence of the Senses — Assumed Premises and Illogical Reasoning — Illusions 
 and Hallucinations — Sensorial Evidence the Bases of Science and Jurispru- 
 dence — Rambler Losing both Sense and Reason, Strikes at the Foundation 
 — Important Facts in Illustration— Amazing Power of the Spirits— A Sudden 
 Conversion — Cogent Appeal to the Understanding 23 
 
 xxix 
 
XXX CONTENTS. 
 
 MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 REVIEW OF REV. JOSEPH COOK's LECTURES. 
 
 FROM THE BOSTON HERALD, FEB. 28, 1880. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Religion of Jesus rests on Spiritual Facts— What Spiritualism Comprehends 
 — Author of the Monday Lectures not a Spiritual Man— Crude Classification 
 of Spiritualists— Religion of the Future— Mr. Cook lost in the fog of Super- 
 naturalism— Man belongs to the Natural Sphere — Another call for a Scientific 
 Investigation— Scientists answer, but the Clergy do not hear— The Quality of 
 Charity 34 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 
 
 A MODERN SAMSON PULLING AT THE PILLARS. 
 FROM THE CINCINNATI (OHIO) DAILY ENQUIRER, MARCH 22, 1880. 
 
 Independence of the Enquirer— Judge and Mrs. A. G. W. Carter— Hon. Nelson 
 Cross— The E.x-President of Columbia University— Charmed Life of Spiritual- 
 ism — Cicero on Divination— A Distinction without a Difference— Philological 
 and Theological Exposition— Looking into the dead Past for Wisdom— More 
 Syntax than Sense— Has Divinity lost the Power of Speech ?— Fox Sisters, 
 ■' Professor Morse and the Scientists— Dr. Samson's Explanation of the Rap- 
 pings — Explosive Discharges of Nerve Force ! — Science and the Experimen- 
 iurn Criuis—T\\e. Doctor's Unphilosophical Classification— Demonstration 
 versus Dogmatism — The Living Oracles are never Dumb 4i 
 
 RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. 
 
 PROF. HENRY KIDDLE AND HIS CRITICS. 
 FROM THE NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE. 
 
 Following the Example of Judge Edmonds— Free Thought and Moral Courage- 
 Resignation of the Superintendent of Schools Suggested— A Blow at Relig- 
 ious Liberty — Hypocrisy Strains at the Gnat— Gross Injustice of the Opposi- 
 tion — Mr. Kiddle Defends his Book— Experience Matures the Judgment 
 — Views of the Ancient Philosophers— Important Ground of Argument- 
 Necessary Imperfections of Mediumship — Intelligence Limited to the 
 Measure ot its Instruments — The Law of Universal Expression— Cavilers 
 Wrangle while Philosophers Reason 51 
 
 OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 
 
 " STRIKE, BUT HEAR ! " 
 FROM THE TORONTO (cANADA) MAIL, MARCH 29, 1880. 
 
 Freedom of Speech and an Honest Judgment— Sergeant Cox — Mr. William 
 Crookes, F.R.S.— Alfred R. Walace, F.R.S.— Testimony of Eminent Authors 
 and Distinguished Scientists — William Howitt — Professor Varley — W. 
 Stainton Moses, M.A., of the University College, London — George Sex- 
 ton, LL.D.— The German Professors— Fechner, Fichte, Zollner, and Ulrici— 
 
CONTENTS. XXXI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Men who are Treated as Lunatics— The Jugglers and Counterfeiters— Mis- 
 representations of the Press- Spirit of an English Poet— The Horoscope of 
 his Country— The Prophetic Problem— The Question of the Ages— Southey's 
 Death on Earth and Birth in Spirit-Life— Highly Poetic Description— Con- 
 clusion • 56 
 
 SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 
 
 REVIEW OF PROF. WUNDT's LETTER. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 Progress of Spiritualism in Germany — Amour propre of American Scientists — 
 Prof. Wundt's Apprehensions— What Constitutes a Scientific Authority— Dis- 
 qualified by his own Standard— Youmans on Scientific Ignorance— Where 
 are the Magnets ? — The Sleeve-gammon Hypothesis — Comparison of the 
 Facts with the Law — Wundt Waging War on his Principles — Limits of the 
 Leipzig Professor — Comprehensive Views of Nature — Supernatural ism a 
 Solecism — Natural Laws never Suspended — Illustrations from Nature- 
 Diversity of Forms and Phenomena — Foundations of Natural Science— The 
 Everlasting Drift— Perpetual Change of Conditions— Law of the Rock, the 
 Tree and the Fish— The Wild goose Higher Law— Voluntary Powers of Man 
 —Power of Mind over Matter — Attitude of Spiritualism Misrepresented— Ar- 
 rogance of Modern Scientists Rebuked — The Fields of Observation— The 
 Psychology of the Future 65 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 
 
 REV. JOSEPH cook's MONDAY LECTURES REVIEWED. 
 
 FROM THE BOSTON TRANSCRIPT, MARCH 12, 1880. 
 
 Prof. Edwin D. Mead— Rev. Joseph Cook's Lectures— Visions of a Church 
 Minister — Mild Reproofs and Pious Lamentation — How Jesus Passed 
 Through Closed Doors — An Angel's Autograph — Regenerating Tide of 
 Spiritualism— Veneration of Sacred Relics— Prof. Austin Phelps, and Rev. 
 Charles Beecher— Prof. W. Wundt, of Leipzig— Dr. Robert Hare as a Scient- 
 ist—Lights of the American Association— Professors Agassiz, Mitchel and 
 Rogers — Pierce, Davies and Winslow— Unworthy Conduct of the Scientific 
 Association — An Eminent Professor of Natural Philosophy— Makes no Dis- 
 tinction Between Superstition and Spiritualism — In the Coils of a " Mon- 
 strous Hydra "— Shades of Hercules and St. Patrick— Beatification of 
 Ignorance 80 
 
 THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 POLITICS, FASHION AND SPORTING AT THE FRONT. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE. 
 
 Note from Mr. Whitelaw Reid— Vindication of Spiritualism Declined — Unwrit- 
 ten Law of the Press — Fashionable and Vicious Topics Preferred — Subjects 
 which secure instant Attention— Angry Divinity and depraved Humanity — 
 Spiritualism hospitable to New Ideas — It Rationalizes Philosophy and Spirit- 
 
XXXll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ualizes Religion— The Ghosts from Hades— Spiritual Lig^ht and Liberty- 
 Related as Cause and Effect— The Tree by the Crystal River— Where Spirit- 
 ualism most Prevails— Observations on the Old World— England, France and 
 Germany — Vievi's of Heaven — Sensuous Conception of the Nevvr Jerusalem- 
 Materialists demand the Evidence of the Senses — Wrestling with an Angel.. 89 
 
 SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 A CALIFORNIA JACK-WITH-A-LANTERN. 
 WRITTEN FOR THE ARGONAUT OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 A Critic's Views of Science — Relations of Facts to Scientific Systems— Horology 
 and Instruments for Measuring Time — Mistaken Views of the Argoiiatit— 
 Friendly Criticism — Hypothesis of Fraud and Jugglery — Theory of Involun- 
 tary Cerebral Action— A Harvard Professor with the Spirits — Science on and 
 Dignity under the Table — An Epic Poem from the Spirits — Remarkable Im- 
 provisation — The Solar Harp — Doctrine of Chances Illustrated— Is Meteorol- 
 ogy a Science ?— Comparison of Physical and Spiritual Phenomena — Facts in 
 Science which Centuries may not Repeat 98 
 
 MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. 
 
 IS THE ADVANCE GOING BACKWARD ? 
 FROM THE HULMEVILLE (PA.) DELAWARE VALLEY ADVANCE, AUG. ig, 1881. 
 
 " Little is the wisdom, when the flight 
 So runs against all reason." — Shak. 
 The War on Religious Freedom — Hulmeville proposes Limits — Striking at the 
 Protestant Reformation — Ignoring the Declaration of Independence— Science 
 opposed to Religious Despotism — The Throne and the Tribune — Case of 
 William Twining — Derangement and Death from Disease — From the Uni- 
 versity to Bedlam — How too much Love kills People — Shall we stop Loving? 
 — Religious Lunatics— Shall we turn Infidel ?—Neshaminy Falls Mass-Meet- 
 ing — Christians die suddenly— Shall we suppress the Christian Religion? — 
 Black Sheep in the Fold— Bishop Onderdonk and the Episcopacy— Infallible 
 Signs of Dissolution — Where Carelessness is Crime 112 
 
 TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 
 
 ANSWER TO THE AUTHOR OF A SPIRITUALISTIC TRAGEDY. 
 WRITTEN FOR THE PHILADELPHIA SUNDAY PRESS AND MIRROR. 
 
 " Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn." — Shakespeare. 
 Misrepresentations of the Press — Mr. Twining's Case again — Time-Serving 
 Patrons of Error — Vulgar Ignorance and Prejudice — Opposition to New 
 Ideas of Religion — Wise Sayings of a Spiritual Reformer — Death by Disease 
 no Tragedy— Assumed Responsibility of J. W. Colville— The Patriarch's 
 Ladder — Insanity and Orthodoxy — The Lunatic Demands a Vicarious Sacri- 
 fice — A real Tragedy in the Freeman Family — Critic's Opposition to Dancing 
 — Examples from Sacred History— David Beats the Scotch in his Lively Reel 
 — He Selects Another Man's Partner — Blunders in the Figure and Breaks 
 
CONTENTS. " XXXIU 
 
 PAGE 
 
 one of the Commandments— Customs of the Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, 
 and Romans— Solomon Sanctions Dancing-Celebrating^ the Prodigal Son's 
 Return— Shallow Views of the Press and Mirror— This Critic Rivals the 
 Teutonic Nursery Legends— A Christian Strives with " Faithful Abraham " 
 —He Wins the Bloody Championship— Infamous Appeal to the Authorities- 
 Editor of the Press and Mirror Disloyal to the Constitution 121 
 
 SPIRITUALISM AND ITS CRITICS. 
 
 AN UNJUST CRITICISM OF MR. HENRY KIDDLE REVIEWED. 
 FROM THE GATE CITY, KEOKUK, IOWA. 
 
 The late Superintendent of Schools— A Critic's offensive Misrepresentations- 
 Mr. Kiddle was never Crazy — He was not Removed — A most efficient Man 
 Resigned an Important Place— The Question of Scholarship— An Editor's 
 Distress about Syntax— The Untitled Journalist versusa Master of Arts— JVIen 
 who are paid to write bad English— The Josh Billings School— Ho;w Charity 
 is illustrated at Gate City 131 
 
 DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. 
 
 MAGNETISM, CLAIRVOYANCE, AND DEMONISM. 
 FROM THE VAN BUREN (aRK.) PRESS, OCT. l6, 1880. 
 
 Dr. Graves Visits Charles Foster— Dr. Samuel Watson's Lectures— Moving of 
 the Waters— Ithunel and Zephon— Commission from Gabriel— Satan in Mis- 
 chief—Arrested by the Heavenly Detectives— Resurrection at Memphis- 
 Mistakes of the Spirits— Mr. Greeley's Chirography— Heterodox Spirits— 
 What Dr. Graves does not Know— Mesmer at the Court of Louis XVI.— Pro- 
 fessorship of Animal Magnetism at Berlin— Cuvier, Laplace, Humboldt, 
 Coleridge, Dugald Stewart, and Galvani— Relations of Vital Magnetism to 
 Psycho-physiology— Power of Will over Magnetic Sensitives— Limitations 
 of the Wonder-working Agent— Clairvoyance Explained— Invisible Psycho- 
 logical Operators— Dr. Graves on " Demonism "— " Hark, from the Tombs ! " 
 — Demonology of the Ancient Greeks and Modern Spiritualists 136 
 
 THE DEATH PENALTY. 
 
 ARGUMENT FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY. 
 FROM THE DAILY TIMES, HARTFORD, CONN., OCT. 13, 1880. 
 
 The Herald a.n& the Death Penalty— Criminal Code and the Law-making Power 
 —The Dangerous Classes— Capital Punishment Unchristian— Is Moses our 
 Law-giver?— Revenge is not Justice— Relations of the Individual to the 
 State— Philosophy of Democratic Government— Assumed and Dangerous 
 Prerogatives— The State has no Right to take Life— Law makes the Public 
 a Cowardly Assassin — Logic of the Duello — The Homicide's Defense— 
 Sacredness of Human Life— Society's False Plea of Self-preservation— Naked 
 Fallacy Exposed— Same Moral Law Applies to the Citizen and the Republic 
 —Solemn Mockery of a Religion of Love— Behold the Sacrilegious Incon- 
 
 B* 
 
XXXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 gruities ! — Praying for our Enemies in the Insulted Name of Jesus— Growing 
 Hemp and Building Gibbets— The Sacrament and the Execution — Grim, 
 Ghastly, and Terrible Spectacle ! 147 
 
 MEETING THE ENEMY. 
 
 CHARGES OF THE TABERNACLE PASTOR EXAMINED. 
 FROM THE BROOKLYN (n. Y.) DAILY EAGLE, NOV. 21, 1880. 
 
 Boanerges of the Modern Pulpit — Nuptials in Paradise — Dr. Talmage on Mono- 
 gamy — He Charges Spiritualists with Free Love— Unfortunate Choice of a 
 Theme— Is the Old Testament Opposed to Polygamy ?— Scriptural Illustra- 
 tions—Household of the Hebrew Prince, Abraham— Sarah, Hagar, and 
 Keturah — The Poet-Minstrel of Israel — Seventeen Wives and Concubines — 
 Royal Harem of Solomon — Worshiping the Gods of his Mistresses— Divine 
 Certificate of his Moral Health — Humble Imitators at Salt Lake — Seraglio on 
 the Bosphorus — A Gospel Shepherd in the Shades of the Cyprians — What 
 Spiritualism Demands— Subordination of the Animal Appetites and Passions— 
 What and Where are the " Carrion Crows ?" — Beauties of the Turkish Harem 
 — A Clergyman Testifies that they are the Daughters of Christian Parents — 
 Orthodoxy and the Penitentiary — Falling from Grace— Prison Standard of 
 Faith and Morals — Loose Screws in the Social Platform — Attempts to Iden- 
 tify Free Love and Spiritualism — Unclean Birds of Modern Babylon — Fowls 
 that came to Roost but found no Rest — Presbyterianism and the Oneida 
 Community — Saints Bankrupt in Righteousness — Spiritualism, the Angel 
 Standing in the Sun — Consecration of the Home Life by a Layman — A 
 Modest Spiritualist the most Effective Preacher — John Howard Payne, 
 Author of " Sweet Home." 157 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 HARMONY OF FAITH AND PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 
 
 THE ACTIVE FORCE IN THE MORAL WORLD. 
 FROM THE (nEWBURYPORT) MERRIMAC VALLEY VISITOR. 
 
 The Andover Professor on Spiritualism — The Spirits at Stratford — Rev. Eliakim 
 Phelps, D.D.— Irreverent Handling of the Sacred Canon — Fantoccini by the 
 Invisibles in the Wardrobe — Demons Suspected of Arson — Waiting for the 
 Savants- -V^XXxri^ back on Demonology — Science in Despair and Theology 
 Desperate — Where are the angels of Mercy ?— Tartarean Jail Delivery — 
 Power of Spirits over the Elements — Views of the Ancient Greeks— Testi- 
 mony of Philosophers, Apostles, Pagan Historians and Christian Fathers — 
 Truth about Demons — Visions of a Theological Professor — How he Views 
 Modern Spiritualism— Disorderly Manifestations Among the Ancients— Sig- 
 nificant Examples from the Scriptures — Lying under a Divine Commission — 
 Unclean and Dumb Spirits— Swinish Affinities— Paul's Indictment of the 
 Early Christians — Infidels at the Baptism and the Communion — Low 
 Mediums of Sacred History— Contest between Science and Theology— En- 
 larging the Domain of Science— The Great Reformation 171 
 
CONTENTS. XXXV 
 
 ANOTHER WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. 
 
 DAYLIGHT APPARITION OF A DEPARTED SPIRIT. 
 
 FROM THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE OF FEBRUARY 6, 1881. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Vision of a Prominent Merchant— Sensation on Brooklyn Heights — An unex- 
 pected Visitor from the Spirit-World— A Son returns to his Father's House 
 in Daylight— Acknowledged Integrity of the Witness— Value of his Testi- 
 mony—Spiritual Facts and Sensorial Phantoms— Positive Recognition — Shall 
 we See and not Believe ? — Philosophy of Mental Phantasmagoria — Coming 
 when not thought of by the Observer — The Apparition suddenly Vanishes — 
 Not the result of Diseased Organic Action — Phenomenon irreconcilable with 
 the Laws of Physics— The Fact due to Spiritual Presence and Agency— A 
 Conviction that rests on Evidence of the Sense of Sight— A Christian Gentle- 
 man and shrewd Business Man— Truth regardless of Popularity 194 
 
 THE WATCHMAN ON SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 FALLACY OF POPULAR OBJECTIONS EXPOSED. 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, FEB. 12, 1881. 
 
 Theory of Jugglery Abandoned — New Testament Demonology — Conquest of the 
 World by the Spirits— Looking at Truth Through a Cloud— Has God Re- 
 signed his Scepter ? — False Views and Unreasonable Demands— Imperfection 
 of all Human Instruments — A Stupid Devotion to what is Old — Blind Faith 
 in Sacred Fictions — Closing the eyes to Present Facts — Reasoning with the 
 Watchman — Will he Open his Shutters ? 199 
 
 SHAKING THE ANCIENT TOWERS. 
 
 "watchman, what of THE NIGHT?" 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, MARCH 5, l88r. 
 
 A Baptist's View of the German Professors — A Watchman Blinded by Lightning 
 — Important Admissions— Cold Comfort for the Enemy — Mushroom Specula- 
 tions — Indignation of Saints— Policy of Priestcraft — Falling back on the 
 Dark Ages — Hymn of the Battle — Verdict of Christian Investigators — 
 Asleep on the Watch-Towers of Zion — Humiliation of the Church— Fox Lake 
 Representative — Reign of the Arch-fiend — Superstition yields to Science — 
 Symbol of long Suffering — Crown of our Rejoicing 207 
 
 SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 
 
 DR. BRITTAN REVIEWS REV. DR. liOSTWICK HAWLEY. 
 
 FROM THE SARATOGA (n. Y.) EAGLE, FEB. 26, 1881. 
 
 Dr. Hawley on Spiritualism— Great Learning and Little Logic— Motion without 
 Progress — The Doctor's Faith in Solomon — Opposition to Liberalism in Re-- 
 ligion— Quoting from the Apocatastasis—AXring the Greek and Latin Classics 
 —Ancient Sibyls and Priestesses— Death of the Old— The Paid Mourners- 
 Paganism and Christianity— Polytheism and Spiritualism— Plurality of Gods 
 reduced to a Divinity of Three Persons— Truth the only Authority— Careful 
 
XXXVl CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Review of the Scripture Argfument— The Signs do not follow the Clergy- 
 Weighed and found Wanting— Spiritualism of the New Testament— Corre- 
 spondence with the Spirit-World— One Hundred Thousand Letters Answered 
 through one Medium — Heaven and Hell within Speaking Distance— Discus- 
 sion between Abraham and Dives— Shall we insult the Angelic Visitors ? — 
 Blindness of Theological Dogmatism— Shameless and unnatural Cruelty— 
 The Living taught to Dishonor their Immortal Kindred, Spurn their Loved 
 Ones, and Defame the Angels of Mercy— Crisis in the History of the Church 
 — The Sacrilege of the Priesthood 213 
 
 THE MYSTERY REVEALED. 
 
 A NEW CLERICAL RATTLE FOR JUVENILE MINDS. 
 FROM THE DAILY ADVERTISER, AUBURN, N. Y., MARCH 23, 1881. 
 
 The Last Theory of the Rappings— Original if not True— The Mystery Unveiled 
 by a Presbyterian Minister — Excitement at Hydesville — What Burgess 
 Knows about a Bedstead — The Cunning of the Foxes— Pilgrims at the Mecca 
 of Spiritualism— £jr/o^e of the Trick — A Divine Uncovers the Mystery of 
 Iniquity — "The Most Gigantic Sell" — The Rickety Old Bedstead never 
 Moved— Testimony of a Pious Witness— He says it " has Doubtless Returned 
 to Dust " — In a more Vital Sense it still Lives— Like John Brown's Soul, the 
 Spirit of that Bedstead " is Marching On"— The Rappings are all over the 
 World — Burgess " Would not Disparage Spiritualism " — He only Offers 
 "this Little Scrap of History "—Legend of the Seven Sleepers— The Last 
 One Wakes from a Nightmare 237 
 
 THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 
 
 UNFRIENDLY ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN PULPIT. 
 WRITTEN FOR THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN. 
 
 Rev. Joel T. Rossiter on Spiritualism — The Seance at Endor — The Medium 
 Vindicated— A Royal dead-head Investigator — Mistakes of the Preacher — A 
 Divine treats Samuel coldly — He is not sure the Prophet put in an Appearance 
 — Bold stand of Rev. Dr. Butler— How he Exorcised the Spirits- The Soul- 
 less Body at Endor — Puppet-show at the Transfiguration— How the Lord is 
 supposed to have deceived Jesus, Peter, James and John— The Platitudes of 
 the Pulpit— Character of the Religious Opposition to Spiritualism — A Grave 
 Divine quotes a Vulgar Jester 243 
 
 THE WAY SPIRITUALISM IS EXPOSED. 
 
 HOW THEY PLAY THE FARCE IN DUBLIN. 
 WRITTEN FOR THE SHAUGHRAUN, IRELAND. 
 
 A Bogus Medium on the Rampage— The Pious Mountebanks— Serving the Lord 
 and the Jugglers — The Farce of Exposure — Saints pay for the Exhibition — 
 Mysterious personal Disappearance — The fine Art of Deception — How a 
 Rogue pursued his Occupation— The Secret let out in Ireland Fools practic- 
 ing their Folly— Madmen rave while the Stars shine and Heaven is Serene- 
 Lights on the Headlands of Time— An Angel standing in the Sun 255 
 
CONTENTS. ■ XXXVll 
 
 SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 
 
 ANOTHER BOLD ASSAILANT SHIVERS HIS LANCE. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Spiritual Phenomena, Subjective and Objective— The Seer of Stocicholm— Rev. 
 John Wesley— Father Bjerring and the Oriental Church Magazine— "iAodern 
 Spiritualism— Battle with Materialism— Infidelity giving up the Ghost— The 
 Masters of Modern Science and Philosophy— The Owens Discover their Im- 
 mortality— Dr. Hare's Spiritoscope Leads to his Conversion— Prof . James J. 
 Mapes, LL.D., Surrenders at discretion— English Scientists and German 
 Philosophers— Hiding the Truth and Falsification of History—" The Evil 
 Eye"— Fox Family Fictions by an unknown Writer— Is the Shade of Mun- 
 chausen here?— The Tangled Web— Dr. Kane, the Arctic Explorer— His Af- 
 fection for Margaretta— Love Surrenders to Personal Ambition— Conclusion. 260 
 
 JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. | 
 
 OPPOSITION OF THE NEW YORK DAILY TIMES. 
 FROM THE HARTFORD (cONN.) DAILY TIMES, SEPT. 8, 1881. 
 
 Justice and Liberality of the Hartford Tzjnes— The Moral Courage that respects 
 the Truth— The New York Times—A Striking Contrast— An Expert without 
 Experience— Dr. Beard as a Psychological Authority— Testimony of George 
 Ripley and Horace Greeley— Hollow pretensions of Doctors Beard and Ham- 
 mond— What they Discover was long since Known to Thousands — The Times' 
 Ignorance of the History of Psycho-magnetic Phenomena— Blind Faith in its 
 solitary Witness— A Metaphysical Question— Dogmatism of the New York 
 Ti»ies—Ana\ysis and Criticism of the Editor's Views— Illustrative Examples 
 and Explanation of Principles— Disposition of Jugglery and the Jugglers- 
 Sciolists Discounting the Claims of Eminent Scientists— Calling the wrong 
 Witness— Testimony of Clairvoyance to the Truth of Spiritualism 273 
 
 DECLINING THE RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 IMMUNITY FOR OLD FALSEHOODS. 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 Policy of the Newspaper Press- False Charge against Spiritualists— John A. 
 Lansing's pious Speculation— " Devouring Widows' Houses "— Religious 
 Fanatics with an Eye to Business— How Mrs. Upham was made a Victim- 
 Fraud under the Cloak of Religion— Drawing the Papers in the Lord- 
 Lunacy or Hypocrisy— Ashiry Park Joternars Testimony— A Fair Con- 
 federate - Mary at the Ocean Grove Meetings— Parties all Members of Ortho- 
 dox Churches 285 
 
 GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 
 
 AN EDITOR DEFENDS SATAN AND DEFAMES SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE " HERALD AND GLOBE," RUTLAND,. VERMONT. 
 
 Spiritualists Dishonored and the Devil Defended— Important Concessions by 
 
XXXVm CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Prof. Phelps— Great Extremity of the Theologians— The Congregationalist 
 as a City of Refuge — Poisoned Arrows from a Bomb-proof Retreat — 
 Ignorance and Supernaturalism — Exploded by a Philosophical Explanation 
 —Angels Imprisoned and Devils Emancipated— Blasphemy against the Holy 
 Spirit — Bold Assumptions and Rotten Logic— Evidence Worthless when the 
 Witness knows nothing— Impatience and Intolerance — Real Facts Rejected 
 and the true Witnesses Defamed— Power of the Spirits— Counterfeits are 
 Evidence of Something Genuine— Theory of Jugglery — Hermann and Heller 
 — Are only feeble natures Inspired.'- Sick People of Biblical History— Modern 
 Illustrations— Visit from the Author of the Raven — Experience of Death and 
 Reception in the Spirit-World— Song of the Angel Lenore — A Spirit-Maiden's 
 Song of Shelley —Coleridge Wakes the Chords of his Orphic Lyre . 290 
 
 LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 
 
 SHADOWS UPON THE GREEN MOUNTAINS. 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 One-sided Freedom of Discussion — A practical Commentary on Justice — Will 
 Hindostan send a Missionary to Rutland ? — Editor Bigelow's ex parte Con- 
 troversy — He Rejects our Reply and writes a Letter — He gives Illustrations 
 in Rhetoric — Taking his Cue from Professor Phelps — Senses and their Func- 
 tions—Thomas L. Harris and the English Bards— Distinguished Converts to 
 Spiritualism — Bigelow on Nervous Exaltation — Shakespeare and Milton — 
 Spirits in Hamlet and Macbeth— " Midsummer Night's Dream "—Bard of 
 Avon on Spirits and Angels — Milton's Spiritual Drama — Michael and Gabriel 
 — Obfuscation in the Sanctum— An Editor's habitual Craze— Fraud and De- 
 lusion the Materialist's Credenda~'E,A\\.ox\a\ Gasconade — Appeal to the Pas- 
 sions of the Populace — Midnight views of Journalistic Responsibility — Retir- 
 ing under a Cloud 309 
 
 SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 
 
 HOW SPIRITUALISM IS TREATED IN MINNEAPOLIS. 
 WRITTEN FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS (mINN.) EVENING JOURNAL. 
 
 A Man of Business Testifies— He Sees the Facts under Test Conditions— Decep- 
 tion said to be Impossible — Jumping at a Conclusion — Nature Preserves her 
 Method— Men who Voice their Ignorance— Illustrations of Natural Law — 
 Intellectual Juvenility- Jesus more Natural because Spiritual— The Investi- 
 gator Theorizes — Hypothesis of a Distinct Order of Beings — Believing 
 against Evidence — Ignorance and Dogmatism— Spirits as Educators and 
 Physicians— Their Deeds of Charity— Saving the Life of Hon. N. P. Tal- 
 madge— Bursting of Commodore Stockton's Gun — Reformed by a Spirit — 
 Lives saved by Spirit-warnings — Emancipation Proclamation — Lincoln 
 Inspired to Break the Chains of Slavery — Immortality Demonstrated 
 — Powers of the Spirits— Laws of Spiritual Attraction— Baiting with Decep- 
 tion and Catching Lies — The Subject in its True Light — Waiting for 
 Heavenly Interpreters of Spiritual Mysteries 325 
 
CONTENTS. XXXIX 
 
 OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 
 
 HOW THEY BECOME VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE. 
 
 BY S. B. BRITTAN. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory Observations— Order of Natural Development Illustrated— The 
 Noblest Work Unfinished— The Spirit Visitors of All Ages— Absolute Reality 
 of the Phenomena— Citation of Facts— Testimony of History and Experience 
 —Startling Illustrations— Ben Jonson Entertains his Guests— Stance of the 
 " Miracle Circle "—Zalphi, the Greek Girl— A Being of Unearthly Beauty— 
 A Retired Merchant Announces his own Death— Classification of the Phe- 
 nomena—Opening the Interior Avenues of Sensation— Psychological Pictures 
 —Spiritual Transfigurations— The Question of Materialization- Philosophical 
 Exposition— Critical Review of the Facts— Extremes of Skepticism and 
 Credulity— How Spirits Operate on our Senses— Illustrations from Cicero 
 and Virgil— Weighing a Spirit in Vermont— How the Indian Maid may Turn 
 the Scale — A Conundrum for the Philosophers — One Law governs all 
 Corporeal Bodies— Apparitions of the Living Explained— Superstition re- 
 tires to Congenial Night— Daylight Comes with Spiritual Science— Affiliation 
 of Congenial Souls 339 
 
 THE MATERIALIZATION QUESTION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JULY 3, 1880 . 379 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 REPLY TO HON. THOMAS R. HAZARD. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE CRITICS AND THE SITUATION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JULY lO, 1880 383 
 
 REJOINDER TO THOMAS R. HAZARD. 
 
 OUR FINAL ANSWER TO OUR REVIEWER. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, OCT. 16, 1880 '. 390 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 THE WESTERN SPIRITUAL PRESS 410 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 PLEADING TO THE INDICTMENT. 
 
 FROM THE RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, MAY 29, 1880 424 
 
 THE GRAND ARMY OF STRAW ! 
 
 MY ANSWER TO HUDSON TUTTLE 430 
 
xl CONTENTS. 
 
 THE OFFERED EXPLANATION. 
 
 A POET CLAIMS HIS LICENSE IN HIS LOGIC. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MY ANSWER TO J. O. BARRETT 436 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 BEFORE THE NEW YORK CONFERENCE. 
 
 EDITOR- AT LARGE WORK UNDER DISCUSSION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JAN. 8, 1881 44° 
 
 DR. BRITTAN'S ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS, 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW YORK, 1881. 
 
 CLAIMS OF THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU 444 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED SPIRITUALISTS---- 453 
 
 VOICES OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 POPULAR ESTIMATE OF THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU 466 
 
 VIEWS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 DR. BRITTAN AND THE "TIMES." 477 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 VOICES FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD. 
 
 THE PRESS AND THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE 488 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 FRATERNAL SALUTATION. 
 
 TO LUTHER COLBY, NESTOR OF THE SPIRITUAL PRESS 499 
 
 THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE FUND 502 
 
BATTLE-GROUND 
 
 Spiritual Reformation 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF THE INSPIRATIONS OF GENIUS. 
 
 FROM THE HARTFORD (CONN.) DAILY TIMES. 
 
 Relations of the Human Mind to the Spirit- World — The Inspirations of Genius — The 
 Spiritual Element in Poetry — Illustrative Examples — Virgil and the iiEneid — Shake- 
 speare's Recognition of the Spirits — Milton on the Heavenly Messengers — Testi- 
 mony of Dr. Samuel Johnson — Coleridge and Christabel — Shelley and Adonais — 
 Wordsworth on Spiritual Insight — ^Campbell on Prophetic Visions — The Cloud of 
 Immortal Witnesses — The Spirits in Bailey's Festus — Irving's "Midnight Musings" 
 on Spiritualism — Conclusion. 
 
 'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter, 
 
 And intimates eternity to man. — Addison. 
 
 To the Editor of the Daily Times : 
 
 THE ordinary or more familiar operations of the human 
 mind are generally accepted as the measure and stand- 
 ard of its normal activity and capacity. Accordingly, when- 
 ever the faculties exhibit unusual intensity and power, or are 
 exercised on subjects which far transcend the range of popu- 
 lar thought, even the noblest efforts are liable to be regarded 
 as abnormal eccentricities. It was long since proved — if the 
 vote of the majority can settle a question of this nature — that 
 the multitudes who occupy the plane of the common mind 
 are preeminently compos mentis. Having no decided mental 
 and moral qualities to distinguish them one from another, 
 they conclude that they are free from angularities, and are 
 most symmetrically developed. Being self-constituted judges 
 of others, as well as of themselves, they assume the right to 
 
-4 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 decide who is crazy and who is devilish. They seldom or 
 never question the senses nor the judgment of those who are 
 free from new ideas ; but the man who dreamed last night of 
 the next grand discovery, whether it be a new continent, 
 another planet, or an additional motive power, is treated as a 
 visionary this morning, though the day may realize all that 
 his dream foreshadowed. 
 
 The world regards its own with especial favor. In every 
 age the man who has approved the existing government, how- 
 ever oppressive ; who has served the established religion, how- 
 ever corrupt ; and defended the prevailing philosophies and 
 customs, however superficial and absurd, has been the ac- 
 credited example of human consistency, and perhaps the or- 
 acle of the people. The most devout worshiper in the tem- 
 ple of Art ; the wisest philosopher of his time ; the founders 
 of new sciences and the advocates of the latest and noblest 
 reforms, are often treated as mere enthusiasts, and accused at 
 once of profaning the altars of the living and dishonoring the 
 memory of the dead. Men of sense are weary of the repeti- 
 tion of this solemn, senseless farce ; but it furnishes knaves 
 with congenial employment and fools with agreeable entertain- 
 ment, and so the play goes on. The inspired teachers of every 
 age and nation — in whose souls the thoughts of archetypal 
 worlds and the revolutions of earth and time are born — have 
 been derided and condemned ; and yet the thoughtless world, 
 in its rude and sensual delirium, scourges, incarcerates, and 
 crucifies its benefactors and its saviors ! 
 
 The idea appears to be widely entertained that the world is 
 chiefly indebted to a diseased action of the human mind for 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 5 
 
 the results which have contributed most essentially to its own 
 illumination and the advancement of modern civilization. 
 The proudest monuments of art ; the discoveries in physical 
 science ; and the progress in moral, metaphysical and spiritual 
 philosophy ; no less than the airy visions and ideal concep- 
 tions of the poet, have been the legitimate offspring of those 
 who were denominated dreamers — until the great thoughts 
 which eluded the grasp of cotemporaneous millions were sim- 
 plified and systematized for the instruction of the common 
 mind. Those who give birth to original ideas are often 
 anathematized, while those who subsequently determine their 
 practical application in material forms of use are honored as 
 the benefactors of mankind. The world is alike unjust in its 
 judgment and blind in its idolatry. The miserable hypothe- 
 sis by which a scientific materialism attempts to solve the 
 problem before us lies in our way, but it may be speedily dis- 
 sected and removed. It is conjectured that a morbid irri- 
 tability of certain portions of the brain occasions great func- 
 tional intensity and power ; hence the convergence of mental 
 forces as exhibited in the production of the mind's most 
 brilliant and enduring memorials. 
 
 Thus it is virtually assumed, that only those who— in re- 
 spect to their intellectual progress — creep on the earth ex- 
 hibit a healthy activity and a normal development. If one 
 has a disposition to soar as well — to ascend into the ethereal 
 realms — or is gifted with a power to unlock the secrets of Na- 
 ture and unveil the mysteries of the Heavens, he is at once 
 presumed to be physically and mentally diseased. If he dares 
 to make new discoveries in unfrequented realms ; to exercise 
 
6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 any spiritual faculty of his nature ; or once ventures to pass 
 through 
 
 " That intermediate door 
 Betwixt the different planes of sensuous fonn 
 And form insensuous," 
 
 — he is at once suspected of being unsound in body and 
 mind, and without ceremony included in the sick list ! This 
 is not an exaggerated statement. It is a fact, that not only 
 the medical faculty — more especially of the allopathic school 
 — ^but the representatives of physical science and popular the- 
 ology have been wont to regard the vision of the seer, or clair- 
 voyant, whether naturally developed or induced by artificial 
 processes, as the result of existing nervous derangement or 
 abnormal cerebral excitement. Thus the clearest proofs of 
 the divine origin, spiritual nature, and immortal destiny of the 
 human mind are ascribed to disease ! In attempting to dis- 
 pose of all modern spiritual experiences in this manner, they 
 boldly strike at all revelations, ancient and modern, and at 
 the common faith of the world. 
 
 But is the mind most potent when the whole man is sick ? 
 Are its highest objects obtained when its laws are infringed 
 by the misdirected action of the will ? Must it become de- 
 lirious to solve the problems which mock the calm and or- 
 derly exercise of its powers ? Is it the prerogative of the 
 mind to dive and not to soar ? And are only madmen com- 
 missioned to unfold celestial harmonies and to bring the 
 kingdom of peace on earth ? No ; it is not so. Indeed, only 
 a negative answer can be given to these questions. It re- 
 quires no argument to satisfy the rational mind that the high- 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 7 
 
 est achievements of which mans nature is capable will be realized 
 when he acts consistently with the laws of his being. Surely the 
 mind can only exhibit its greatest power when left to its 
 normal action, for then there is little or no resistance, while 
 all its energies cooperate and tend to the same result. A 
 strict observance of the laws of Nature, and the proper con- 
 servation of all physical, mental, and moral forces, greatly 
 diminish the friction in all the activities of life. The ordi- 
 nary operations of mind, as illustrated in the common pur- 
 suits of men, are of course most familiar to our daily observa- 
 tion ; but this fact does not warrant the conclusion that they 
 are altogether consistent with the laws of its constitution. 
 Such a conclusion from such premises would only foster our 
 self-love at the expense of the truth. Now, if we cannot 
 rationally accept the familiar operations of the mind, as indi- 
 cating the measure and the mode of its legitimate exercise 
 and normal capabilities, away goes the stupid and degrading 
 assumption that its noblest gifts are dependent on some cor- 
 poreal derangement, rather than on God, his ministering 
 Angels, and its own immortal faculties as naturally exercised 
 in the realm of our spiritual relations. 
 
 The powers of mind, as developed in men of accredited 
 genius, or otherwise displayed by the seers and prophets of 
 all ages, may be rationally referred to a kind of natural inspi- 
 ration and a susceptibility of spiritual influence of which the 
 mind may be, and, indeed, must be, receptive in the higher 
 planes of its exercise and development. We naturally, and 
 necessarily, derive our impressions from the principles, forces, 
 and objects with which we sustain intimate relations. When, 
 
8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 therefore, the mind is profoundly engrossed with interior 
 reaHties, it is proportionably withdrawn from the external 
 objects which appeal to the senses, and as naturally receives 
 influxes from the realms of the Invisible, as at other times it 
 perceives the presence and distinguishes the forms and quali- 
 ties of more material creations. Not only may this idea of 
 inspiration be entertained consistently with the laws and 
 relations of the human mind, but we can only reject it by 
 disregarding the analogies of the Universe, and a vast amount 
 of evidence derived from the actual experience of mankind. 
 All original ideas, and every creation of beauty and use, may 
 be supposed to emanate from that ideal realm — the world of 
 Spiritual Realities. If not, why are they born in moments of 
 profound abstraction, when, by intense mental concentration, 
 the sensori^-l perceptions are deadened and the soul is quick- 
 ened ? Will the materialist tell us, if he can, why the spir- 
 itual element enters so largely into the writings of nearly all 
 men of acknowledged genius, if it is not because they are 
 inspired from spheres of supra-mortal intelligence ? The 
 man of genius surely does not draw his inspiration from com- 
 mon earth, nor from baser minds ; and no man rises above 
 himself in the absence of a power which is able to lift him up 
 to some higher plane of thought and action. Why does the 
 spiritual element predominate in the works of Dante, Shake- 
 speare, Milton, and all true poets, if not for the obvious rea- 
 son that, in seasons of the greatest mental exaltation, they 
 are essentially removed from the sphere of grosser life, and 
 sublimated in thought and feeling by association with the hid- 
 den principles of Nature and Spirits of the immortal world ? 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 9 
 
 The spiritual idea is not only fundamental in the principal 
 religious systems of the world, but it finds a place in the best 
 literature of all ages and countries. These views entirely ac- 
 cord with the actual experience and personal claims of the 
 most exalted natures. Scarcely a great poet, painter, sculptor 
 or musician, has ever lived who was not conscious of drawing 
 his inspiration from some invisible source, while many have 
 professed to be directly assisted by the agency of spirits. The 
 great poets of both ancient and modern times have recognized, 
 not merely the essential principles of the Spiritual Philosophy, 
 but also various phenomenal illustrations of the subject. If 
 the critics had power to take all the spiritual elements out of 
 Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Cole- 
 ridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Campbell, Bulwer, Bailey and 
 others, they would rob these authors of their earthly immor- 
 tality. In the effort to grasp the spiritual idea they reach their 
 loftiest flights. Among the ancient poets Virgil ascends to the 
 heaven of his imagination when, in the sixth book of the 
 ^neid, he thus describes the spirits of the wicked in the 
 ordeals of purification : 
 
 Others are hung up, 
 Suspended to the empty winds ; under a vast abyss, 
 The unwrought wickedness is washed from others, or is burnt up by fire. 
 
 When the great dramatic poet ascribes motion and speech 
 to stones and trees, we must not interpret the author too lit- 
 erally. He could not have believed that inanimate objects are 
 ever endowed with the power of voluntary motion and the 
 gift of human language. When he affirmed that 
 
 " Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak," 
 I* 
 
lO THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 he did but recognize the invisible powers, which give shape to 
 matter and motion to Hfeless things. The spiritual element in 
 Shakespeare's works is further manifest, not only in the won- 
 derful insight which detects the subtile principles and motives 
 which are the springs of human action ; but he summons the 
 shades of departed human beings in " Hamlet " and " Mac- 
 beth," and often depends on realms which lie beyond the 
 confines of sensuous life for the characters in his wonderful 
 dramatic creations. 
 
 Milton was not indebted to the external world and the 
 mediation of the senses for his grand conceptions. Many of 
 the characters and much of the imagery of his great poem 
 were derived from spheres which mortal eye hath not seen. 
 The essential elements of his faith were something more real 
 than the mere phantoms of a distempered brain. He believed 
 
 that 
 
 " Bright aerial spirits live insphered 
 
 In regions mild of calm and serene air ; " 
 
 but he did not entertain the materiaHstic notion now so 
 prevalent, even in the church, that the blessed spirits are all 
 shut up in some local heaven far away, and forever incapable 
 of coming to our assistance. On the contrary, he thus ex- 
 presses his faith in the perpetual intercourse between the 
 Physical and Spiritual Worlds : 
 
 " God will deign 
 To visit oft the dwellings of just men. 
 Delighted ; and with frequent intercourse 
 Thither will send his wi^igJd messengers 
 On erra?ids of super^ial grace." 
 
 The poet, whose mortal blindness shut out all the objects of 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. II 
 
 the material world, had his spiritual vision illuminated. The 
 fact is recognized even by those who have no faith in Spirit- 
 ualism. Dr. Johnson, in a critical review of Milton, thus ex- 
 pressed his idea of the exalted state of the poet's mind and 
 his spiritual relations in his inspired moments : 
 
 "God and the angels seemed to approach nearer and the World of 
 Spirits to open 7>tore aizd more as the Poet retired deeper within his own' 
 soul. Earth could no longer attract or distract his spirit, through sense ; 
 and, chastened by meditation and faith, he saw that higher world to 
 which imagination points, but which the pure, enlightened, and rapt 
 spirit only can behold. And he saw there the drama of Paradise Lost 
 and Regained, and his tongue was inspired to utter what the eye of his 
 soul beheld."* 
 
 It is in the masterly drawing of the character of a Spirit 
 that Milton reaches the highest point to which the genius of 
 the poet may aspire. It was vSatan — the impersonation of 
 unqualified selfishness and the love of despotic power — who 
 '' would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven." In re- 
 ferring to the chief of the apostate angels, who still, in spite 
 of his fall, so grandly 
 
 " Eminent stood like a tower " — 
 
 Another inspired poet, Coleridge, says : " Around this char- 
 acter he has thrown a singularity of daring, a grandeur of 
 sufferance, and a ruined splendor, which constitute the very 
 height of poetic sublimity.'' 
 
 The spiritual idea, and the overshadowing presence and 
 
 * Samuel Johnson, LL D , — one of the most distinguished literary 
 men of the last century, — was not only a devout believer in the existence 
 of Spirits, but also in their capacity to visit their mortal kindred. The 
 subject of Boswell's amusing biography was often ridiculed by people of 
 shallow minds for his belief in ghosts. 
 
112 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 influence of celestial visitants, gave Coleridge his inspiration; 
 
 and in the light of his faith and philosophy, 
 
 " The massive gates of Paradise are thrown 
 Wide open, and forth come in fragments wild 
 Sweet echoes of unearthly melody, 
 And odors snatch'd from beds of amaranth." 
 
 The poet attributed his " ChristabeV to a vision.* He awoke 
 with its recital seemingly ringing in his ear, and immediately 
 wrote out so much as his memory retained. The close of the 
 poem is abrupt, showing that but part of the vision was rec- 
 ollected ; nor was the poet ever able to extend and complete 
 it in the manner which characterizes this fragment from the 
 interior temple of the Muses. " Christabel" is remarkable 
 enough to have had a spiritual origin — and Coleridge firmly 
 believed in intercourse with spirits. Kubla Khan, by the 
 same author, was a dream. 
 
 While the mere intellect of Shelley exhibited a strong tend- 
 ency toward a material philosophy, which recognizes neither 
 God nor his angelic messengers, it is no less true that in mo- 
 ments of great spiritual exaltation his inspiring agents com- 
 pelled the recognition of their presence. The following is a 
 reference to his friend Keats : 
 
 " He lives, he wakes — 'tis Death is dead, not he ; 
 Mourn not for Adonais. Thou young Dawn, 
 Turn all thy dew to splendor, iox from thee 
 The spirit thou lainentest is not gone. " 
 
 While his speculative philosophy was at war with the spirit- 
 
 * " But as, in my very first conception of the tale, I had the whole pres- 
 ent to my mind, with the wholeness, no less than with the loveliness of a 
 vision, I trust that I shall yet be able to embody in verse the three parts 
 yet to come." Attthors Preface to the English Edition of 1816. 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 1 3 
 
 ual idea, he could not stifle the instinctive yearnings of 
 his higher nature after the reahties of another and a better 
 life and world. 
 
 A deceased American poet and a most intimate friend of 
 the writer — Mr. Carlos D. Stuart — expressed the same idea in 
 the following extract : 
 
 " Shelley's own soul had need of a God, a heaven, angels and minister- 
 ing spirits — of communion with intelligence higher than unfolds on earth, 
 in the mortal state ; and if he was too proud to confess it directly, he did 
 it indirectly, uttering his inmost faith through the lips and longings of his 
 Prometheus, Adonais and Alastor. What he bids Asia utter to Panthea, 
 in ' Prometheus Unbound,' is his own utterance, 
 
 " ' My soul is an enchanted boat, 
 
 Whicb, like a sleeping swan, doth float 
 Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing ; 
 A7id thine doth like an angel sit 
 Beside the helm conducting it? ' " 
 
 Wordsworth evidently believed that the spirit of prophecy 
 is imparted to men in all ages and countries, and that the 
 spiritual senses may be quickened on Earth by super-terres- 
 trial influence. In the preface to the "Excursion" he thus 
 invokes the presence of that spirit : 
 
 " Descend, prophetic Spirit ! that inspirest 
 The human soul of universal earth. 
 Dreaming on things to come ; and dost possess 
 A metropolitan temple in the hearts 
 Of mighty poets ; upon me bestow 
 A gift of genuine insight." 
 
 Campbell employs the spiritual element in his poems, of 
 which we have an example in the interview between the Seer 
 and the warlike chief of the Camerons. The latter is on his 
 
14 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 way to join the standard of Charles Stuart, when he is met 
 by the Seer, who predicts his overthrow. Lochiel denounces 
 him as a vile wizard, and the Seer, insisting that he cannot 
 hide the terrible vision, is made to say : 
 
 " For dark and despairing, my sight I may seal, 
 But man cannot cover what God would reveal ; 
 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore, 
 And coming events cast their shadows before." 
 
 The Seer proceeds to give a graphic description of the 
 catastrophe. The field and the conflict are before him ; and 
 as the Pretender and his legions fly in vision from the bloody 
 scenes of Culloden, the prophet invokes the " wild tempest " 
 — as though the elements themselves were governed by spirit- 
 ual powers — to rise and " cover his flight." * 
 
 Philip James Bailey includes numerous Spirits and Angels 
 in the dramatis personce of his remarkable poem, which — 
 judging from the internal evidence — was probably a genuine 
 inspiration from the Spirit-World. Festus thus describes the 
 manner in which the celestial visitors appear : 
 
 " Light as a leaf they step, or arrowy 
 Floating of breeze upon a waveless pool ; 
 Sudden and soft, too, like a waft of light, 
 The beautiful immortals come to me." 
 
 * Paul refers " to the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. ii. 2) ; and 
 to the "great cloud of witnesses" (Heb. xii. l), meaning the early Pa- 
 triarchs, Moses, the Prophets, and others, who, by faith, are said to have 
 vanquished their enemies, etc., setting an example of fidelity to their 
 convictions, and departing this life in solemn trust, " of whom the world 
 was not worthy." The living are said to be "compassed about" by 
 these immortal witnesses. 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 1 5 
 
 Festus is interrogated respecting the general subjects upon 
 which the Angels are accustomed to discourse, and he thus 
 proceeds to answer the fair questioner : 
 
 " Some say most 
 About the future ; others of the gone — 
 The dim traditions of Eternity, 
 Or Time's first golden moments. One there was, 
 From whose sweet lips elapsed as from a well. 
 Continuously, truths which made my soul, 
 As they sank into it, fertile with rich thoughts — 
 Spoke to me oft of Heaven, and our talk 
 Was of Divine things alway — Angels, Heaven, 
 Salvation, immortality, and God ; 
 The different states of Spirits, and the kinds 
 Of being in all orbs, or physical. 
 Or intellectual. I never tired 
 Preferring questions, but at each response 
 My soul drew back, sea-like, into its depths, 
 To urge another charge on him. This Spirit 
 Came to me daily for a long, long time. 
 Whene'er I prayed his presence. Many a world 
 He knew right well, which man's eye never yet 
 Hath marked, nor ever may mark while on earth ; 
 Yet grew his knowledge every time he came. 
 
 He was to me an all-explaining Spirit, 
 Teaching Divine things by analogy 
 With mortal and material." 
 
 Having already filled the space allotted to this article, I 
 cannot here introduce examples from our American poets. 
 At another time the writer may, perhaps, consider the rela- 
 tions of the human mind to the spiritual sources of inspira- 
 tion as further illustrated in literature, and in the works of 
 the more celebrated painters and musical composers. In all 
 
l6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 eras and dispensations the natural and human have sustained 
 intimate and unbroken relations to the spiritual and divine. 
 It is not strange, therefore, as civiHzation advances, and the 
 human mind develops its higher faculties, that the relations 
 of living thoughts and noble deeds to the realms of super- 
 terrestrial influence and spiritual causation are daily becoming 
 more apparent. Similar illustrations of the general subject 
 are scattered throughout the history of all the Fine Arts. 
 The cardinal facts and ideas of the Spiritual Philosophy are 
 now rapidly finding a place in the best of our current litera- 
 ture and likewise in the minds of English scientists and Ger- 
 man philosophers. Indeed, there never was a time when they 
 did not occupy a place in the writings of men of genius. 
 
 The author of " Midnight Musings " — who certainly was 
 never an eminently spiritual man — is rather disposed to ac- 
 cept the idea that spiritual beings 
 
 " walk the earth 
 
 Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep. " 
 
 The man who has no conception of spiritual things himself 
 reveals the groveling nature of his life. The truth comes 
 naturally to every one when the mind reaches the required 
 moral and spiritual elevation. 
 
 " While we yet have on 
 Our gross investiture of mortal weeds," 
 
 most men naturally cling to all earthly things. Although the 
 mind of Washington Irving was of the sensuous type, the 
 following brief extract is a significant expression of his rever- 
 ential views on the general subject of this essay : 
 
THE POETS AND THE SPIRITS. 1 7 
 
 " Is then this space between us and the Deity filled up with innumera- 
 ble orders of spiritual beings, forming the same gradations between the 
 human soul and divine perfection, that we see prevailing from humanity 
 down to the meanest insect ? It is a sublime and beautiful doctrine, 
 inculcated by the fathers, that there are guardian Angels appointed 
 to watch over cities and nations, to take care of good men, and to 
 guard and guide the steps of helpless infancy. Even the doctrine of 
 departed spirits returning to visit the scenes and beings which were 
 dear to them during the body's existence, though it has been debased 
 by the absurd superstitions of the vulgar, in itself is awfully solemn and 
 sublime. " 
 
 This testimony, from one of the most distinguished Ameri- 
 can authors, should humble the pride and rebuke the igno- 
 rant self-conceit of that numerous class of inferior writers, 
 who arrogantly denounce the very idea as a wicked impos- 
 ture, and its realization as impossible in the nature of 
 things. Few authors of commanding ability and reputation, 
 who have made contributions to our literature which give 
 promise of imperishable vitality, have ever manifested a dis- 
 position to deride the just claims of Spiritualism. If they 
 have not been prepared to accept the truth with becoming 
 reverence and unspeakable joy, they have, at least, been dis- 
 posed to honor human nature by treating the whole subject 
 with profound respect. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, Warren County, N. J, 
 
RELIGION OF FAITH AND FASHION. 
 
 REV. DR. JOHN HALL AND THE LOGIC OF THE PULPIT. 
 
 FROM TRUTH, JANUARY 20TH, 1880. 
 
 Millions in one Christian Temple — Suilerers from Cold, Hunger, and Nakedness in 
 its Shadow — Who will save the Neglected Ones ? — The Doctor discourses on 
 " Faith and Science " — A Theologian answers Huxley — Who will answer the Cry 
 of the Poor ? — Does the Bible lead Modern Science ? — Aromatic Airs and bad 
 Logic at $20,000 a Year — Relations of the Serpent to Popular Theology — Ire- 
 land's War on Snakes — St. Patrick slays the last in the Lake of Killarney — A 
 Doctor of Divinity against Science and History — The Office of Science is to 
 Formulate the Truth. 
 
 To the Editor of Truth : 
 
 IN your recent editorials referring to Rev. John Hall, 
 D.D., and his church, you naturally enough associate 
 Religion and Fashion. In the estimation of our pious aris- 
 tocracy the Doctor's views and ideas derive a fictitious 
 importance for the reasons that his church edifice is on Fifth 
 avenue, and that he worships God for himself and his congre- 
 gation in a temple that cost ^2,000,000 ! It is a fact that 
 within five miles of that imposing symbol of the popular faith, 
 there are 50,000 people who are neither half fed nor clothed ; 
 who shiver in these January days with little or no fire, and 
 nightly go, hungry and cold, to a bed of straw in some place 
 comfortless and desolate as a kennel. 
 
 Every Sabbath the prayers of the dite of the elect — the 
 bejeweled saints, like Dives, so gorgeously arrayed '' in pur- 
 ple and fine linen " — ascend and blend with the elements of 
 
 18 
 
RELIGION OF FAITH AND FASHION. 1 9 
 
 common air — the fine odor of sanctification and the delicate 
 aromas of Lubin's Extracts mingling together. How high 
 the prayers ascend we may or may not conjecture. And 
 then the piping voices of many little children, hungry and 
 half naked, who have no homes ; the feeble accents of deli- 
 cate, sick, and destitute women in the next street, and the 
 tremulous words of old men, stricken by many years and the 
 shafts of a cruel fortune — all come up in remembrance before 
 God, while they seem to be neglected and forgotten by this 
 saintly aristocracy of the Church. 
 
 What intimate and endearing relation Dr. Hall sustains to 
 Jesus and the Poor, we may not know. By what divine 
 authority he was called at $20,000 (?) a year to preach the 
 Gospel of a poor Man '' who had not where to lay his head," 
 we have not yet discovered ; but he is certainly a very falli- 
 ble human teacher. Some time ago he delivered a discourse 
 on " Faith and Science " — ^it was ehcted by Professor Hux- 
 ley's lectures — which was at least remarkable for bold, dog- 
 matic assumptions, unsupported by any citation of facts or 
 a single logical reason. Dr. Hall assumed that the essential 
 elements of matter were acted upon and the worlds fashioned 
 by the Divine Volition, and furthermore that the creation of 
 matter, per se, ''is an article of faith." In his blind zeal for a 
 book he transcended the letter of the Mosaic record, which 
 nowhere assumes so much. The Doctor imposes a more 
 onerous tax on our credulity than Moses did ; and this 
 appears to be both unnecessary and unwise in the present 
 state of the human mind. To demand faith in an increased 
 number of improbabilities, in this age of rational inquiry and 
 
20 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 scientific demonstration, will surely prompt many minds to 
 unload, and leave the remaining lumber of old theories and 
 superstitions to those who keep the antiquarian museums of a 
 Saurian theology. 
 
 In his contest with Huxley and the philosophy of evolution, 
 Dr. Hall distinctly intimated that we are liable to misread the 
 fossiliferous formations, as well as the Jewish Scriptures. This 
 is a shrewd suggestion. Such mistakes are quite possible ; 
 and it must be acknowledged that the professed scientist is 
 often quite as dogmatic as the average teacher of biblical the- 
 ology. We need not look for infallibility in either, and it may 
 soon become our appropriate business to put both on their 
 trial by a higher standard. When that time comes we may 
 fearlessly sift their respective pretensions to superior light and 
 supreme authority. 
 
 The distinguished expounder of the faith of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church referred to the fact that St. Augustin, a man of 
 "scientific attainments, suggested the theory that the world 
 was created during periods as distinguished from days ; " and 
 from such hypothetical premises he advanced per saltum to 
 the following conclusion : 
 
 " We find that the Bible has been the leader of scientific thought ; that 
 imperfect science has caused misunderstanding of its statements, and that 
 upon further progress of science its perfect truth has been established." 
 
 The imperfection of the Doctor's logic will be readily per- 
 ceived in the fact that his premises have a strictly personal re- 
 lation to St. Augustin, while his conclusion is divorced from 
 any such relation, either to the English apostle or any other 
 man, and has no reference or application whatever, save to a 
 
RELIGION OF FAITH AND FASHION. 21 
 
 book. If Dr. Hall eats mufifins for breakfast, he may just as 
 well argue from this fact that the Westminster Catechism has 
 been the leader of thought in the science of agricultural chem- 
 istry. It would be far more logical — reasoning from the 
 fact— to infer that St. Patrick was opposed to the Church 
 which makes the serpent an indispensable factor in its whole 
 system of theology. Did not the good Saint make war on 
 snakes ? Did he not drive them all out of Ireland, and de- 
 stroy the last one in the Lake of Killarney ? And yet who 
 does not know that the integrity of the entire system of popu- 
 lar theology is made to depend on our saving one serpent at 
 least.'' Without one snake the Doctor's theological super- 
 structure, embracing the primitive innocence, the temptation, 
 the fall, vicarious atonement, and salvation through the merits 
 of some one else, would fall to the ground and leave no sign of 
 life for our contemplation, save the trail of the serpent among 
 the ruins of the system. 
 
 It was not so much as a saint as a scientist, that Augustin 
 offered his suggestion. It was because he saw the necessity 
 of accommodating his interpretation of the Scriptures to the 
 existing and prospective discoveries of science. The idea 
 that the Bible has been the leader of scientific thought is an 
 assumption that rests on no possible foundation. It finds no 
 confirmation in the records of astronomy, geology, or other 
 branches of natural science. We put in evidence against the 
 Doctor the history of scientific investigation and discovery ; 
 the personal experiences of many noble disciples of truth ; 
 the ostracisms of the lovers of Nature by the mitred represen- 
 tatives of Faith, and the present infidel tendencies of most 
 
22 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 of the leading scientists throughout the world. If any further 
 refutation were required, we might offer the case of Hall ver- 
 sus Huxley, which clearly enough illustrates the fact that 
 " the defenders of the faith " are not the leaders of science. 
 
 Dr. Hall reveals his unreasoning adherence to a narrow 
 creed, at the same time he betrays a very limited knowledge 
 of science in his false definition of the latter. He boldly 
 declares that the proper business of " science is to confirm the 
 word of God ! " The man who now teaches such a doctrine 
 is far behind the age in which he lives. For this reason he 
 ought to " step down and out," and leave some one baptized 
 into the living spirit of the times to occupy his place. We 
 undertake to say that science has no such questionable busi- 
 ness on hand as is described by this expounder of modern 
 theology. On the contrary, the legitimate office of science 
 is to so formulate the truth, on all subjects, that it may be 
 clearly expressed and systematically taught. We have quite 
 too much reverence for God's word, wherever that may be 
 found, to presume for a moment that it needs any confirma- 
 
 ^^°^- Yours for truth, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 New York, Jan. i8, 1880. 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 WANDERING AND CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 FROM THE ROCHESTER (n. Y.) DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, FEB. 22, 1880. 
 
 Rambler on Spiritualism— The Great Question of the Ages— Disputing the Evidence 
 of the Senses — Assumed Premises and Illogical Reasoning — Illusions and Hallu- 
 cinations — Sensorial Evidence the Bases of Science and Jurisprudence^Rambler 
 Losing both Sense and Reason, Strikes at the Foundation — Important Facts in 
 Illustration — Amazing Power of the Spirits— A Sudden Conversion — Cogent 
 Appeal to the Understanding. 
 
 To the Editor of the Dei?iocrat and Chronicle : 
 
 SIR : I find on your editorial page, in the issue of the 
 31st of January, an article — in the special department 
 of the Rambler — which is mainly devoted to Modern Spirit- 
 ualism. The writer is supposed to belong to the staff, though 
 himself disclaiming editorial responsibility for what he writes. 
 As the subject has come to occupy a large share of public at- 
 tention among all civilized peoples, it is eminently proper that 
 its facts and philosophy should be freely discussed, always in 
 the fair and liberal spirit which should characterize all scien- 
 tific and religious controversies. I have no fault to find with 
 the general spirit in which Rambler is pleased to express his 
 thoughts and opinions on the most important question of the 
 ages, though I take the liberty to dissent from his limited 
 views and illogical conclusions. I copy the following from 
 his introduction, which certainly gives promise of a candid 
 
 23 
 
24 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 examination and considerate treatment of whatever may be 
 said, in a similar spirit, on the opposite side of a very grave 
 question : 
 
 " The Rambler is in a serious mood to-day, and desires to talk seri- 
 ously and wholly upon one subject, with many friends, whom he respects 
 thoroughly, and that without holding the journal for which he writes in 
 any way responsible for his views. It has fallen lately to his lot to see 
 something of the manifestations of so-called Spiritualism, and he con- 
 fesses himself to be a skeptic in regard to their validity, although he 
 hopes that he is not so obstinate as to refuse to be convinced upon evi- 
 dence that is indisputable. He permits himself to note certain objec- 
 tions to these manifestations, with entire respect towards those who 
 credit them, and more with the idea of elucidating truth, than in a spirit 
 of captious criticism." 
 
 I respect every honest skeptic, while I honor the man who 
 only yields to conviction under the force of evidence. The 
 present writer has trained in that company for more than forty 
 years, and looks for no promotion from the ranks that Avill 
 interrupt his existing relations. In speaking of a case of 
 slate-writing in which neither the medium nor any one else 
 touched the slate, on which occasion two senses, hearing and 
 sight, gave concurrent testimony to the reality of the fact, the 
 party receiving the communication desired to know how 
 Rambler would account for the phenomenon. We. copy the 
 answer from the article under review : 
 
 " My dear sir, I distrust the evidence of your senses, as you should 
 yourself distrust. You think you saw what you say you saw. I do not 
 believe you saw any such thing. Such language may seem harsh, but it 
 is amply justified by the facts which confront us every day, in regard to 
 the imperfection of the senses. ' Can't I trust my eyes ; can't I trust 
 my ears ; can't I trust my sense of touch ? ' indignantly asked the gentle- 
 man. No, sir ; that is precisely what you cannot do." 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 2 5 
 
 Here Rambler boldly takes his stand on a question that is 
 fundamentally important ; and this must be settled before we 
 can offer any illustrative facts or personal testimony in sup- 
 port of the claims of Spiritualism. The question is, Can we 
 ordinarily depend on the five senses as organic instruments of 
 the human mind, and channels of reliable information re- 
 specting the forms of Nature and Art ; the relations of these 
 to each other and to the observer ; the natural and mechani- 
 cal movements of ponderable bodies ; chemical changes and 
 organic developments ; in the inspection of natural phenom- 
 ena within the limits of sensorial observation ; and for the 
 essential facts and more important details of every day's 
 experience ? 
 
 I have no disposition to dodge the main question ; I can 
 not treat it lightly ; but I will meet it fairly. We can not 
 admit that the purpose of the Creator, in bestowing the five 
 senses on mankind, was to deceive his creatures. Such an 
 assumption, however disguised, would not only be a blasphe- 
 mous attempt to impeach the creative wisdom, but it would 
 be ascribing a most diabolical character and purpose to the 
 Father of our spirits. I am sure we can not reject such a 
 monstrous conception with too much emphasis to meet the 
 views of Rambler. If, however, whilst admitting that the 
 senses and their organs were primarily bestowed on man for 
 wise and beneficent purposes,- it should be maintained that 
 they have become so impaired and perverted by disease and 
 abuse as to be generally unreliable, I need only say that this 
 position is equally untenable. Indeed, it is boldly disputed 
 by the most eminent physiologists and practitioners of the 
 
26 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 healing art ; by the science of man and our medical juris- 
 prudence ; by the principles and tribunals of the law, and by 
 the common sense of mankind. 
 
 That the organic instruments of sensation do sometimes 
 become diseased is readily admitted. We know that when 
 they are greatly impaired by time and use, or seriously de- 
 ranged by disease or accident, they are liable to convey false 
 information to the mind. But it is not true as a rule that 
 men and women hear voices when no one speaks ; or that 
 they see objective forms where none exist. Because the crys- 
 talline lens in one man in ten thousand is opaque, can Ram- 
 bler show us a cataract in every man's eye ? If one man has 
 ossification of his tympanum, shall we infer that all the world 
 is deaf ? No ! These cases are only the occasional excep- 
 tions to the rule that holds good in all ages and countries, 
 and among all races and nations. 
 
 The instances in which the senses may be said to deceive 
 us are comparatively very few, and depend on physical dis- 
 ease or some derangement of the organic instruments of sen- 
 sation. It is proper to observe that the cases .in which the 
 imagination plays an important part in shaping and distorting 
 our sensorial impressions are more numerous. When the 
 timid mind is filled with apprehension of some fearful pres- 
 ence or impending evil, it unconsciously to the individual 
 transforms inanimate objects into wild beasts, and spectral 
 forms — born of our childish fears — start into seeming objec- 
 tivity with every semblance of a terrible reality. But these 
 are not cases in which we are deceived by the sense of vision. 
 They are not optical illusions. The metaphysical philosopher 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 2/ 
 
 knows very well that these are hallucinations of the mind ; and 
 if the examples were a thousand times more numerous than 
 they really are, they would by no means justify this attempt 
 to impeach the testimony of the physical senses, on which the 
 natural man must inevitably rely for all his knowledge of the 
 external world. 
 
 The cases in which two or more of the senses give false in- 
 formation, whilst reason is unimpaired and the mind other- 
 wise in a normal state, are probably not one in one hundred 
 thousand. It is well known that our observations of the phe- 
 nomena of the physical Universe must be conducted largely 
 through the instrumentality of a single sense. The revela- 
 tions of the whole astral system ; the eclipses of the sun and 
 moon ; the transits of the heavenly bodies ; the visits of com- 
 ets, which, after an absence of centuries, come back to us 
 
 " From the dread immensity of space," 
 
 together with the larger part of all meteoric phenomena, are 
 only revealed to the mind through the eye. In all these vast 
 fields of observation we have to depend on the testimony of a 
 single sense ; and yet our astronomers regard this alOne as 
 sufficient in attestation of the facts that come within the field 
 of the telescope. 
 
 The assumption of Rambler that we cannot depend on the 
 integrity of the senses, is utterly indefensible from the scien- 
 tific point of view. Indeed, all modern science rests securely 
 on this basis and no other. If we presume to offer evidence 
 derived from our spiritual perceptions and inward conscious- 
 ness, your materialistic scientists regard the act as something 
 
28: THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 like discourtesy. If some gifted soul, in a state of magnetic 
 or spiritual entrancement, sees anything without the use of 
 the eye, we are told that the alleged fact is an idle dream or 
 distempered fancy. If facts are disclosed, or information 
 given, a knowledge of which could not, in the nature of the 
 case, have been obtained through any external channel of 
 communication, we are thereupon gravely entertained with a 
 disquisition on popularized frauds and professional jugglery. 
 Nevertheless, science is everywhere on record as depending 
 on the physical senses as means of reliable information. Its 
 accredited teachers unwisely reject all other sources of evi- 
 dence, and, to be consistent with themselves, must discard 
 the claims of revealed religion. Facts observed through the 
 organic avenues of sensation are the foundation stones of its 
 temple, and the solid materials of the whole superstructure. 
 To depend on any other foundation is — in the judgment of 
 our scientific philosophers — to build upon the shifting sands 
 of the idler's speculation. 
 
 " The theories, that scale Empyrean heights 
 Should rest on granite ledges, solid truths. 
 Touched, seen, felt, comprehended by the race. 
 Who builds a pyramid on winter ice ? 
 Who spans an arch from buttresses of sand? 
 The obelisk that cleaves the flying clouds, 
 Rises from bases massive as the world ! " 
 
 So far as Rambler presumes to reason at all, he rests his 
 argument and conclusion on a mere assumption which has no 
 possible foundation in either fact, law, or reason. It will be 
 perceived that his premises can never be reconciled with sci- 
 entific principles and methods, nor do they find any sanction 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 2g 
 
 in the common experience of mankind. Surely, Rambler 
 caii never have weighed the momentous corisequences which 
 must inevitably follow the adoption of such premises. Every 
 novice knows that the Spiritual Phenomena are observed 
 through the same organic instruments of sensorial perception 
 which the scientist employs in all his investigations. The 
 civil and criminal codes, and the lex non scripta of all nations, 
 accept such evidence. Facts, as thus observed, determine 
 the application of the law in each particular case. Every 
 witness placed on the stand is an open proclamation by the 
 court that the human senses, exercised through the physical 
 organs, not only may be, but must be depended upon as the 
 only means and instruments whereby reliable information can 
 be obtained, and upon such evidence alone the tribunal must 
 rest its judgment. 
 
 Now when Rambler disputes the evidence of the senses, he 
 boldly strikes at the very foundations of the temple of sci- 
 ence ; of our civil and criminal jurisprudence, and of all the 
 institutions of social life and civil government. If one is not 
 competent to testify that a table, or other ponderable body, 
 moved in his presence without any visible cause of motion, 
 how can he swear that A committed an assault on B, or af- 
 firm that any fact in physical science ever really occurred ? 
 The acceptance of Rambler's premises — could they be dem- 
 onstrated to be true — would leave the temple of science in 
 ruins, the majesty of the law dethroned, and our deepest con- 
 victions unsettled forever. It would render all history and 
 experimental philosophy valueless ; and institutions which 
 have braved the revolutionary conflicts of centuries, and sur- 
 
30 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 vived the downfall of empires, would be overthrown to be 
 reconstructed no more. 
 
 In finding the unsubstantial ground of his main position, 
 Rambler seems to have wandered as far from the realm of 
 reason as from the principles and methods of accredited sci- 
 ence. Many opposers of Spiritualism are pleased to associate 
 the idea of hisanity with the acceptance of its demonstrated 
 facts and sublime philosophy. But if one may seriously 
 propose to reject the evidence of his own senses, and yet 
 escape the suspicion of being insane, surely no medico-legal 
 commission in lunacy should ever think of searching among 
 Spiritualists for examples. 
 
 The enlightened observer will have already discovered that 
 the hypotheses of optical illusions and psychological halluci- 
 nations are wholly insufficient to cover the facts, as may be 
 more clearly shown by illustrative examples. The writer has 
 a friend, a distinguished legislator and journalist, who, on 
 one occasion, had a small but intelligent assembly at his resi- 
 dence, including D. D. Home, the medium. In the course 
 of the evening the conversation turned on a question involv- 
 ing the nature of the subtile agents employed in moving 
 ponderable bodies, and the measure of power which spirits 
 may be capable of exercising over the elements and forms of 
 matter. The invisibles improved the occasion to illustrate 
 the subject, by completely demolishing a firmly constructed 
 table. Some time after, the gentleman, at whose house this 
 manifestation occurred, had occasion to mention the fact in 
 an interview with some friends, when one of the company 
 observed that the speaker must have been deceived by some 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 3 1 
 
 psychological spell or other illusion ; to which my friend 
 replied: ''Psychologized! A psychological spell never broke a 
 table. You had better go and look in my garret j we were care- 
 ful to save the pieces. You will find them all there j but it will 
 require the skill of a mechanic to put them together." 
 
 The writer was once present at a se'ance where there were 
 some thirty ladies and gentlemen — including distinguished 
 members of the press and the literati of Boston — at the resi- 
 dence of the late Alvin Adams, whose name, as the founder 
 of the great Express Company, is a household word through- 
 out the civiHzed world. The principal medium on that occa- 
 sion was a young divinity student, in very delicate health, 
 who for some time had been suffering from pulmonary hem- 
 orrhage. Kneeling on a rug before a grand piano, he ran his 
 fingers over the keys and played a medley, when the front of 
 the instrument — rising as if deprived of all gravity — marked 
 the measure of the music with the utmost precision, making 
 all the changes of time in the fragmentary passages of the dif- 
 ferent compositions. Subsequently, in the course of the even- 
 ing, three heavy men, whose aggregate weight was over six 
 hundred pounds, seated themselves on the front of the piano, 
 at the right and left of the key-board, when the same remark- 
 able phenomena were repeated, the instrument, with its super- 
 incumbent burden, moving with the same apparent ease, free- 
 dom and precision as before. I must not omit to mention in 
 this connection that the parlors were brilliantly illuminated 
 during the entire performance. 
 
 In the company present there was at least one honest be- 
 liever in the hallucination hypothesis. Looking on with an 
 
32 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 expression of great astonishment, he occasionally rubbed his 
 eyes, and at length said to the writer : " It really appears to 
 move ; but I don't believe it does. I must be hallucinated 
 like the rest of the company." Responding to the gentleman, 
 I said in a low voice, yes, it certainly does seem to move, and 
 in a manner that impressively suggests the presence of some 
 invisible intelligence possessing amazing power. 1 then added, 
 in a serio-facetious manner, the suggestion that there was one 
 way in which he might, perhaps, settle the question to his 
 entire satisfaction. When the grand piano appeared to rise 
 he had only to make the attempt to put his foot under that of 
 the instrument. The man did not look like a lunatic, and 
 the thought never entered the mind, that he was so crazy in 
 his skepticism as to act on my suggestion. To my utter as- 
 tonishment he demonstrated his verdant simplicity by making 
 the experiment, thus showing how 
 
 " Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread." 
 
 Just then he felt — as down came the instrument, with the 
 other " heavy weights " — something like the tread of an ele- 
 phant on his toes. The result was. Spiritualism made another 
 convert. It will be remembered that the spirits made short 
 work of converting Saul of Tarsus ; they met him in the way 
 and knocked him down, when he suddenly saw " a great 
 light." This man fell in a similar manner, and the depth of 
 his conviction was only equaled by the unusual weight of the 
 evidence on his understanding ! 
 
 Trusting to your love of justice, and your respect for a nu- 
 merous class of people in every community — whom, at least in 
 
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 33 
 
 some important sense, I have the honor to serve — I respect- 
 fully solicit the publication of this letter. Believe me, Gen- 
 tlemen — for the fair and equal representation of all classes in 
 society and their views, respectively — on the great question of 
 a demonstrated immortality, 
 
 I am yours sincerely, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 WtisT Elevent 
 New York 
 
 ENTH Street, ) 
 , Feb. 16, 1880. [ 
 
 " The Irrepressible Conflict." — The approaching con- 
 flict may not be altogether confined to the realm of thought, 
 and the arena of intellectual and moral controversy. When 
 special legislation is evoked, not only to arrest the progress 
 of ideas, but to arbitrarily uphold the dying institutions that 
 have already outHved their usefulness, we are not likely to 
 be invited to a parlor entertainment. The enemy is sure to 
 hit us with something harder than a battledoor, and we shall 
 require to be armed with something better than a shuttle- 
 cock. A soft flesh-brush, or a soup-ladle, will never answer 
 the purpose. We need the sharpest and most pointed weap- 
 ons, and, I am happy to say, they are within our reach. 
 " The sword of the spirit " — the naked Trtcth — driven home 
 to the brain and the heart, is keener far than a Damascus 
 blade ; and it only remains for us to organize our forces and 
 prepare for the impending battle. 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 REVIEW OF REV. JOSEPH COOK's LECTURES. 
 
 FROM THE BOSTON HERALD, FEB. 28, 1880. 
 
 The Relipfion of Jesus rests on Spiritual Facts — What Spiritualism Comprehends — 
 Author of the Monday Lectures not a Spiritual IMan — Crude Classification of 
 Spiritualists — Religion of the Future — Mr. Cook lost in the fog of Supernatural- 
 ism— Man belongs to the Natural Sphere— Another call for a Scientific Investiga- 
 tion — Scientists answer, but the Clergy do not hear — The Quality of Charity. 
 
 To the Editor of the Herald : 
 
 IN the popular lectures now in course of delivery by Rev. 
 Joseph Cook of your city, Spiritualism furnishes the 
 principal theme. From the reports of the first and second 
 lectures, it clearly appears that the reverend gentleman is not 
 inclined to view the subject with any considerable degree of 
 favor. And yet such a gracious treatment would seem to be 
 most becoming the ministerial representative of a Religion 
 which rests all demands upon our faith and reverence on 
 Spiritual Phenomena — on the facts which at once emphasized 
 the claims of its Founder, and signalized the ministry of his 
 earliest disciples. It is also made to appear that Mr. Cook is 
 not naturally inclined to spiritual things from any special 
 adaptation of his mind and general constitution to the supe- 
 rior field of thought and investigation which he essays to 
 explore in his present lectures. It is no fault of the lecturer 
 that he does not bring to the consideration of this subject the 
 
 34 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 35 
 
 peculiar type of mind that readily apprehends and assimilates 
 metaphysical principles and spiritual truths. This may be 
 regarded as a defect in the organization of a Christian minis- 
 ter, and it is quite sufficient to account for many crude con- 
 ceptions, and a confused state of mind which may naturally 
 suggest the chaos of Moses, which is represented to have 
 been "without form and void." 
 
 Any attempt to follow Rev. Mr. Cook in the details of his 
 desultory observations would oblige the writer to far tran- 
 scend the prescribed limits of this letter. For this reason 
 the reviewer must adopt a brief and comprehensive method, 
 by considering only such questions as are fundamental in the 
 present controversy. 
 
 Speaking of the believers in Spiritualism, Mr. Cook ob- 
 serves that they are divided into the two classes of Christian 
 and infidel SpirituaHsts ; that the last mentioned class is by 
 far the more numerous ; and he continues by saying : " An 
 infidel Spiritualist is evidently the most inconsistent of infi- 
 dels. The modern Spiritualist is the last man who can con- 
 sistently dispute the fact of the supernatural." That many 
 persons, who accept the cardinal fact of actual intercourse 
 with spirits, are infidel in some of the relations of life, we 
 have no reason to doubt, and we shall not attempt to stay the 
 hand of any man who may be pleased to chastise them in 
 the spirit of Christian charity. But we object to Mr. Cook's 
 most remarkable generalization, as illustrated in the indis- 
 criminate application of his free gospel lash. The great body 
 of the people here described as infidel, numbering some 
 millions, in every rank and condition of life, are not traitors 
 
36 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to their country ; they are not false to the civil and political 
 institutions under which they live ; nor are they hostile to any 
 great interest of humanity. It is true that the more numer- 
 ous class of believers in the facts and philosophy of Spirit- 
 ualism have not thought it wise to prefix the word Christian 
 to the name which, in their minds, comprehends all the ele- 
 ments required to formulate a profound and comprehensive 
 science ; the essential principles of a far-reaching philosophy, 
 whose sublime induction extends to other worlds, material 
 and spiritual, and embraces all the forms of matter, life, and 
 mind ; together with those moral forces and diviner agents 
 which represent all that is most sacred in the great Eclectic 
 Religion of the future, which is to comprehend whatever is 
 pure, wise, and ennobHng in the systems of all ages and 
 countries. A people entertaining such views cannot be in- 
 fidel, in any sense that implies their rejection of aught that is 
 essentially good and true ; and to stigmatize them as such is 
 to foolishly misrepresent their principles and their character 
 before the world. On the question that relates to the super- 
 natural, Mr. Cook seems to be lost in the same fog which has 
 obscured the mental vision of nearly all who have hitherto 
 participated in this controversy. To the discussion of this 
 subject, especially, we may — without injustice to the theolo- 
 gians — apply the following lines of the poet : 
 
 " The tree of knowledge, blasted by disputes, 
 Yields only sapless leaves, instead of fruits." 
 
 Mr. Cook's discourses on the supernatural thus far discover 
 no clearly defined ideas. He does not attempt to tell us how 
 much is really embraced in the wide domain of Nature. He 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 37 
 
 draws no lines and indicates no limit beyond which we are 
 to regard all objects as supernatural creations, and all 
 phenomena as produced by supernatural means and agents. 
 So far from explaining any principle in the natural world, or 
 indicating a recognition of any law of the Spiritual Universe 
 that may be supposed to govern the occurrences which are 
 presumed to transcend the sublime possibilities of Nature, he 
 does not so much as offer us a single lucid definition of the 
 smallest thing, either in heaven or on earth. At this rate the 
 discussion might go on until the final judgment, and nothing 
 would be settled. Now if we can only find some solid, cen- 
 tral ground where all the contending parties in this contro- 
 versy may stand, we shall be obliged to see the subject from 
 the same point of observation. This is all that is required to 
 terminate the discussion about the natural and supernatural, 
 which has agitated the church so long. If we can agree to 
 accept one and the same definition of Nature, this " holy ( ?)' 
 war" will inevitably cease, and Bro. Cook will see Spirit- 
 ualism from a new standpoint, and in a clearer light. 
 
 Here let me inquire, How much does Nature embrace ? 
 That it includes everything which belongs to the mineral, 
 vegetable and animal kingdoms, there can be no doubt. But 
 does Man belong to nature ? All will agree that the human 
 body is a part of the natural creation. When it is decom- 
 posed, all its chemical constituents go back into the great 
 laboratory of Nature where they belong. In like manner all 
 the imponderable elements and forces, which determine the 
 organic functions of the living body, go out to mingle with 
 the similar elements of earth and air and water. If man — in 
 
38 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 respect to his objectivity and' personality — is a part of Nature, 
 we must logically infer that all his faculties, affections, pas- 
 sions, susceptibilities and aspirations are properly included in 
 the grand economy of the natural world. But if the human 
 mind, per se, is not really a part of the natural creation, then 
 we must logically conclude that its functions, even in this 
 life, are all supernaturally performed. We may not conjec- 
 ture what a theologian might do, if rendered desperate by 
 being confined to " the ragged edge " of an unanswerable 
 argument, but we are sure that no man, in a normal state of 
 mind, will assume this extraordinary ground. The human 
 rhind being a part, and the crowning glory of the natural 
 creation, it follows that the exercise of its faculties, in what- 
 ever state of being, and the expression of its thoughts and 
 ideas, through whatever medium or channel of communica- 
 tion, is altogether natural. The final conclusion is, therefore, 
 inevitable : Inasmuch as the modern phenomena are but the 
 diversified exhibitions of human intelligence, we can arrive at 
 no other judgment but that they are strictly natural and in 
 harmony with the discovered laws and relations of mind and 
 matter. 
 
 The reader will now be able to see the reason why enlight- 
 ened and philosophical Spiritualists do not believe in super- 
 naturalism. It is because Nature — in their view of the sub- 
 ject — is an institution so vast as to embrace the whole field 
 of human observation. The Church does believe it (it always 
 clings to its own dogmas), for the obvious reason that its 
 conception of the subject is limited by its own contracted 
 and ignoble views of the extent and resources of this divine 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM, 39 
 
 natural economy of the world. The rational Spiritualist may 
 not deny the very facts which the Church regards as miracu- 
 lous ; but his broader view of the possibilities of Nature, and 
 his deeper comprehension of essential principles, enable him 
 to ascribe the same to causes and agents, which are at once 
 both spiritual and natural. We respectfully suggest that the 
 reason why Bro. Cook believes in supernaturalism, may be 
 found in the fact that his own beggarly idea of Nature only 
 includes the few things he can either see, taste, smell, han- 
 dle, weigh, dissect, or put in a crucible. We must assure 
 him that we are no representative of infidelity in any sense 
 in which an intelligent and fair-minded man is likely to use 
 the word ; but must candidly admit that our conception 
 of Nature is so large that we have no room for the super- 
 natural within the vast realm of human research and scien- 
 tific discovery. 
 
 Mr. Cook assumes that Spiritualism is little if anything 
 more than a series of hypothetical propositions, which, so far 
 as they have not been already exploded, remain to be dem- 
 onstrated. He insists that the facts have not yet been scien- 
 tifically investigated, notwithstanding it is well known that 
 since the conversion of our own Dr. Robert Hare — more than 
 a quarter of a century ago — scores of scientists and philoso- 
 phers, in every part of the civilized world, have not only 
 recognized the facts, but have authenticated their spiritual 
 claims. If it shall finally appear that the manifestations have 
 a spiritual origin — even though they be found to be the work 
 of devils — Mr. Cook may, possibly, with some show of reluc- 
 tance, accept them, because he can turn the facts to practical 
 
40 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 account in his warfare against infidelity and in defence of 
 his theological supernaturalism. 
 
 Whoever would reach the high plane of true charity, must 
 rise above the narrow views of noisy sectarists ; forget his 
 private aims and selfish loves, in deference to his kind. 
 Charity looks with lenient eye on different peoples, parties, 
 and religions, and judges all in righteousness. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, ) 
 New York, Feb. 30, 1880. j 
 
 The Waster and the Builder. — We have reviewed the 
 lawless army of the Iconoclasts, and the implements of de- 
 struction in their hands. In their madness they hurled the 
 ancient idols from their pedestals, demolished the temples, 
 and extinguished the fires on the old altars. The very 
 ground beneath the feet of the invaders is covered with the 
 fragments of sacred images. With a fine sense of propriety 
 the Iscariots went out early — probably to hang themselves, as 
 they have not returned. The Waster has had his day. He 
 came in the morning ; and, lo ! at the evening his work was 
 done. Many were sorrowful while they gazed on the ruins. 
 
 " Gray-bearded Use, who, deaf and blind. 
 Groped for his old accustomed stone, 
 Leaned on his staff, and wept, to find 
 His seat o'erthrown." 
 
 Now let the Waster go his way and give place to the Builder. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 
 
 A MODERN SAMSON PULLING AT THE PILLARS. 
 
 FROM THE CINCINNATI (OHIO) DAILY ENQUIRER, MARCH 22, l8So. 
 
 Independence of the Enquirer — Judge and Mrs. A. G. W. Carter — Hon. Nelson 
 Cross — The E.x-President of Columbia University — Charmed Life of Spiritual ■ 
 ism — Cicero on Divination — A Distinction without a Difference — Philological 
 and Theological E.xposition — Looking into the dead Past for Wisdom — More 
 Syntax than Sense— Has Divinity lost the power of Speech ? — Fox Sisters, Pro- 
 fessor Morse and the Scientists — Dr. Samson's Explanation of the Rappings^ 
 E.xplosive Discharges of Nerve Force ! — Science and the Experhnenttim Crucis — 
 The Doctor's Unphilosophical Classification — Demonstration versus Dogmatism 
 — The Living Oracles ar^ never Dumb. 
 
 To the Editor of the Enquirer : 
 
 THE tolerant and liberal spirit of your excellent journal 
 in permitting, within reasonable limits, a discussion 
 of the facts, philosophy and claims of Modern Spiritualism, 
 is a subject of observation far beyond the limits of your own 
 State. The papers contributed by Judge A. G. W. Carter 
 have attracted considerable attention, and furnished matters 
 of frequent comment in the circle of his friends in this city. 
 Among the more intellectual class of Spiritualists in New 
 York the Judge and Mrs. Carter have many friends, includ- 
 ing Hon. Nelson Cross, who will be remembered as formerly 
 belonging to the Bar and Bench of your city. It having been 
 suggested to me that a letter on any of the living issues or 
 current topics connected with Spiritualism might meet with 
 favor at your hands, I have concluded to act on the sugges- 
 
 41 
 
42 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 tion, and will improve this occasion by a brief commentary 
 on the recent labors of " Rev. Dr. Samson, Ex-President 
 of Columbia University." This eminent divine and teacher 
 very recently delivered a discourse against Spiritualism, in 
 Trinity Baptist Church of this city, which was not especially 
 remarkable for originality of thought, or, indeed, for any- 
 thing new in the argumentum ad ho7ninem of the opposition. 
 
 Many theological Samsons have employed similar means 
 and instruments in their futile attempts to annihilate Spirit- 
 ualism. But, for some reason not clearly understood by those 
 who oppose it, this thing possesses a charmed life, and oppo- 
 sition only seems to stimulate its growth. That some of the 
 spirits, especially in the cabinet exhibitions, are incarnated in 
 " too solid flesh," I have no doubt ; and yet it is impossible 
 to conceal the fact that the spirits are often so intangible that 
 the famous weapon employed by the original Samson never 
 hits these ethereal beings a fatal blow. And so these spirits 
 enjoy an immunity that provokes the saints to anger, while it 
 excites the special wonder of the rest of mankind. I copy 
 the following from the report of Dr. Samson's lecture : 
 
 " Dr. Samson said divination was as old as history, and among heathen 
 people it took the place of revelation. Cicero vi'rote an extensive book 
 on divination, and those vi^ho vi^ould take the trouble to read it vpould be 
 surprised to learn how little there is in modern Spiritualism that is new. 
 The ancient magicians knew more about such things than any one can 
 understand at the present day." 
 
 Here a distinction is made which can only produce a con- 
 fusion of ideas, since it is calculated to mislead the common 
 mind. If there was really any essential difference between 
 the revelations of Jewish prophets and the results of divina- 
 
THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 43 
 
 tion as practiced by Pagan nations, would it not have been 
 well for the venerable ex-President to have explained that dif- 
 ference in a manner that could have been understood by his 
 hearers ? The truth is, there was never any such difference 
 as warrants the Reverend Doctor's distinction. Divination 
 is thus defined by Webster : " Foretelling future events, or 
 discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior 
 beings, or by other than human means. Among the ancient 
 heathen philosophers natural divination was supposed to be 
 effected by a divine afflatus." Now, what is Revelation, /ar 
 excellence, more than is embraced in the definition already 
 given ? It is essentially the same thing — the unveiling, un- 
 covering, or otherwise disclosing by other than merely human 
 means things before concealed or unknown. In a specific 
 sense, as defined by theological expositors, a revelation is a 
 " communication of that which could not be known or discov- 
 ered without divine or supernatural instruction." 
 
 In referring this question to the arbitration of philologists 
 and theologians, we discover that there is really no essential 
 difference between divination and revelation. Both are said 
 to uncover what was hidden ; to expose to view something 
 that was concealed ; to make known things which were before 
 unknown ; and to employ supra-mortal intelligences in mak- 
 ing such disclosures. The superficial differences of national- 
 ity, forms of religion and worship, historic periods and degrees 
 of civihzation, in no way change the fundamental principles 
 of the subject. If it is to be viewed from a scientific stand- 
 point, we must fearlessly analyze the facts, and the intrinsic 
 nature of the same must determine their proper classification, 
 
44 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 regardless of all extrinsic circumstances and the superficial 
 aspects derived from the time and place of their occurrence. 
 The methods in what are called divination and revelation are 
 similar, if not identical. Both contemplate the use of " other 
 than human means "■ — the agency of invisible powers or supc 
 rior beings ; and, as the ultimate source of their inspiration, 
 the inbreathing of the Divine Spirit. If the Jew and Chris- 
 tian, in their search for ultimate causes — in the last analysis — 
 refer the most refined and exalted super-sensuous influences 
 to God, so did the heathen philosophers ascribe their highest 
 inspiration to " a Divine afflatus." Every scholar knows all 
 this, not even excepting those who make a virtue of using 
 words to conceal the truth. 
 
 The declaration that "the ancient magicians knew more 
 about such things than any one can understand at the present 
 day," involves the incredible announcement that the race has 
 degenerated and lost in a measure the capacity which distin- 
 guished the earlier nations. We can not accept the assump- 
 tion of this mental retroversion which looks with averted eyes 
 into the dead past for the greatest light and the highest wis- 
 dom. Only such souls as yet linger in the retreating shadows 
 of the old night, whose " holy of holies " is an antiquarian 
 museum — the worshipers of mere forms and lifeless relics in- 
 stead of vital principles and living ideas — find that, to such 
 a degree, 
 
 " Distance lends enchantment to the view," 
 
 that they are only too happy to discount the intelligence of 
 their own times. That the ancient Magi did know much 
 
THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 45 
 
 more about divination and revelation than our people are 
 likely to learn from the modern pulpit, there can be no doubt 
 in the minds of inteUigent readers. But Dr. Samson is not 
 authorized to estimate the acquired knowledge and to measure 
 the innate capacity of all his contemporaries by the limits of 
 his own individual standard. I do not lose sight of the fact 
 that the learned Doctor has been at the head of the Univer- 
 sity ; but I am also reminded that there have been many emi- 
 nent schoolmasters who never had an idea beyond what was 
 printed in the accepted class-books. If Cowper's description 
 is severe, we can scarcely question the justice of its applica- 
 tion to such teachers of learned ignorance : 
 
 " For such is all the mental food purveyed 
 By public hackneys in the schooling trade ; 
 Who feed a pupil's intellect with store 
 Of syntax, truly, but with little more." 
 
 Men whose minds are of common mold generally tumble 
 into a rut in youth or during their college days. If it is a 
 theological groove, they seldom get out of it ; but, as a rule, 
 continue to run round and round in their own small circle to 
 the end of time. When such men venture to pass judgment 
 on subjects outside of the limits of their little periphery, they 
 are sure to expose their ignorance. This is a matter of very 
 common observation whenever they meddle with metaphys- 
 ical and spiritual questions. Men of this class generally be- 
 lieve in a God who has lost the power of speech, or for other 
 reasons has determined to say nothing more to mankind in 
 this world — the sacred canon having been filled up and closed 
 eighteen hundred years ago — otherwise they might hear from 
 
46 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 him as " the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind," saying, 
 " Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowl- 
 edge ? " Is it to be supposed that God and his angels (mes- 
 sengers), after having freely spoken to the Jews for centuries, 
 have declared non-intercourse forever with the rest of man- 
 kind ? This is the dogmatic assumption of the Evangelical 
 Churches ; and for this reason, especially, they declare all 
 the alleged spiritual revelations of modern times, and all com- 
 munications made to the heathen world in all ages, as vile 
 impostures, or, at best, the result of an unlawful intercourse 
 with the invisible world. 
 
 Strange to say, the Rev. Dr. Samson really exalts the Fox 
 Sisters to a very high place in scientific annals. Those ladies 
 will be surprised to learn, for the first time, that they are per- 
 mitted to take rank with such men as Professor Morse and 
 his associates. This appears from the following extract from 
 the report of the Doctor's lecture : 
 
 "All phenomena came from natural causes and were governed by 
 natural law. While Morse was making electricity carry living words over 
 dead substances, the Fox Sisters, by the nervous forces of their bodies, 
 were rapping answers to questions which their visitors already knew. In 
 neither case was there anything supernaturally performed." 
 
 Of course there was nothing supernatural to the mind that 
 has an extended view and a rational judgment of the vast ex- 
 tent and immeasurable resources of Nature. But it is to be 
 observed that while Professor Morse, as the practical expo- 
 nent of science, was sending his messages over the wires, the 
 three Sisters and many others were doing what no physical 
 scientist or material philosopher has yet been able to do, 
 namely, they were rapping out communications — often on the 
 
THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 47 
 
 walls and ceilings far above their own heads — without either 
 battery or any of the instrumentaHties of the telegraphic art. 
 With no knowledge of the laws which govern the subtle 
 agents ; without scholastic training of any kind, they puzzled 
 all the scientists by producing — without electrical, mechani- 
 cal or other instruments — results more remarkable than they 
 were able to accomplish with all their professional aids and 
 scientific accessories, of zinc and copper-plates, acids in many 
 cups, long poles with glass insulators, galvanized wires and 
 other telegraphic instruments. 
 
 Now the Fox Sisters knew no more about the dynamics 
 of vital and spiritual forces than they did of the Sanskrit lan- 
 guage. Yet, according to this learned Doctor of the Modern 
 School of Divinity, they were able to produce explosive dis- 
 charges of nerve force in regular succession, and in such a 
 manner as to embody and express the thoughts of some for- 
 eign intelligence to the Doctor unknown. If the rappings and 
 moving of ponderable bodies are all produced by a disruptive 
 discharge of vital electricity, or " the nervous forces " of the 
 human body, why may not Dr. Samson and the School of 
 Modern Scientists give us at once the demonstration of their 
 theory ? Have Doctors of Divinity no " nervous forces " at 
 their command, or do the scientists lack the ability to use the 
 small artillery of their masked batteries ? And why do the 
 electricians neglect to employ their discharging instruments, 
 when they might touch themselves off, and thus explode the 
 magazines of " nervous forces " in the rest of mankind .'* 
 What weak women and little children are doing daily, these 
 scientists ought to perform without difficulty. Gentlemen, if 
 
48 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 all the elements, agents and forces required in the production 
 of these phenomena reside in the human body, and are at the 
 disposal of every frail medium, surely those who adopt this 
 view have no rational excuse for neglecting the demonstration 
 of their hypothesis for a single hour. Such an experimentum 
 crucis might be of no little consequence in some of our fossil- 
 ized institutions, where the revelation of even a galvanic 
 semblance of the true spiritual life of man would afford some 
 relief, especially to those who have been waiting long and 
 anxiously for something to revive their dying hopes. 
 
 I will extract another brief passage from the Herald's re- 
 port, and this will sufficiently indicate the only remaining 
 point in Dr. Samson's discourse which is worthy of comment 
 in this connection : 
 
 " In closing, the speaker said there are three classes of manifestations 
 belonging to modern Spiritualism. First, table rapping ; second, me- 
 dium writing ; third, mind reading. It was established beyond all doubt 
 that a ' subject ' never told what the medium did not know, or vice versa. 
 Nothing came to a man's mind that he did not know before. He merely 
 reported what was before known." 
 
 It needs no long acquaintance with spiritual phenomena, or 
 any attainments beyond the most superficial knowledge of the 
 subject, to enable one to make the discovery that Rev. Dr. 
 Samson's classification of the phenomena is not only wholly 
 incomplete, but that it is destitute of the slightest aspect of a 
 scientific method of mind, philosophical discrimination, or 
 even a capacity for something like precision of statement. 
 The bold assumption that the Spirits never communicate any 
 fact, occurrence or information not previously known to either 
 the medium or the investigator flatly contradicts the actual 
 
THE SPIRITUAL CONTROVERSY. 49 
 
 experience of thousands. The people are neither so ignorant 
 as their teachers imagine, nor so bUnd to the new evidences 
 of their immortahty. They are no longer governed by the 
 priesthood. The press is now the chief instrumentality in 
 fashioning popular thought, and few to-day, in Protestant 
 Christendom, are disposed to accept any dogma that contra- 
 dicts their personal experience. 
 
 The new age means freedom of thought on all the great 
 questions which involve the present and future interests of 
 mankind. The world is quick with spiritual life, and divine 
 ministers touch the sensitive souls of the living. The poet 
 had the ancients in view when he said, 
 
 " The oracles are dumb, 
 No voice or hideous hum 
 Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving." 
 
 This may be true of the oracles of Greece and Rome, but 
 living souls never die, nor have they lost the power of speech. 
 Paralysis is not epidemic in heaven. The deathless oracles 
 that come to quicken our faith and inspire new and diviner 
 hopes in this material age, do not speak here and there from 
 some temple dedicated to the gods, but in a million house- 
 holds all over the civilized world ! The assertion that they 
 never tell us any thing we did not know before, is not true. 
 In charity, however, we must presume that Dr. Samson hon- 
 estly entertains the opinion he expressed. And yet the present 
 writer could easily fill twenty-five columns with demonstrative 
 proofs to the contrary, all so clearly authenticated as to satisfy 
 any candid and rational inquirer. This constant effort on 
 
 the part of many saints and savants to conceal the real facts, 
 3 
 
50 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to dispute the magnitude of the movement, and to belittle the 
 whole subject, does not appear to check the progress of Spirit- 
 ualism. The truth is, it only shakes the confidence of the 
 people in the assumed infallibility of their blind guides. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, 
 New York, March, 1880. 
 
 Historic Paper. — In 1853 — some twenty-nine years ago 
 — the writer prepared a Memorial addressed to the United 
 States Senate, asking for the appointment of a Scientific Com- 
 missioner to investigate the Spiritual Manifestations. This 
 document was signed by 13,000 American citizens. With the 
 names attached, it was two hundred feet long. For con- 
 venience in handling, it was backed with muslin, handsomely 
 bound, and mounted on a cylinder. In April, 1854, the Me- 
 morial was presented to the Senate by Hon. James Shields, of 
 Illinois, in a characteristic speech of considerable length, and 
 in which the General said : 
 
 " I have now given a faithful synopsis of this petition, which, however 
 unprecedented in itself, has been prepared with singular ability, present- 
 ing the subject with great delicacy and moderation." 
 
 After some discussion respecting its reference to a special 
 committee, the Memorial was, on motion of Senator Mason, 
 ordered to lie on the table ; and it now remains in the archives 
 at Washington. 
 
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. 
 
 PROF. HENRY KIDDLE AND HIS CRITICS. 
 
 FROM THE NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE.* 
 
 Following the Example of Judge Edmonds— Free Thought and Moral Courage— 
 Resignation of the Superintendent of Schools Suggested— A Blow at Religious 
 Liberty— Hypocrisy Strains at the Gnat— Gross Injustice of the Opposition— Mr. 
 Kiddle Defends his Book— Experience Matures the Judgment— Views of the 
 Ancient Philosophers— Important Ground of Argument— Necessary Imperfec- 
 tions of Mediumship— Intelligence Limited to the Measure of its Instruments— 
 The Law of Universal Expression— Cavilers Wrangle while Philosophers Reason. 
 
 To the Editor of the Tribune : 
 
 SIR : Since the announcement of the conversion of the 
 late Hon. John W. Edmonds to SpirituaHsm in 1852 
 startled the religious community, and so alarmed the Judici- 
 ary Convention that his just claims to the Supreme Court 
 Judgeship were sacrificed to the popular prejudice, no new- 
 convert has so deeply stirred the public mind as Mr. Henry 
 Kiddle, Superintendent of the Department of Pubhc Instruc- 
 tion in this city. Following the example of Judge Edmonds, 
 Mr. Kiddle has published a book, in which he has fearlessly 
 related his personal experience and the results of his investi- 
 gation, without any attempt to make the facts acceptable to 
 those who prefer their own preconceived opinions to the un- 
 
 * This letter was published just before the work of the Editor-at-Large 
 was formally inaugurated ; but it may very properly have a place in this 
 connection, since — in every essential sense — it belongs to the Secular Press 
 Bureau Correspondence. 
 
 SI 
 
52 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 popular truth. Mr. Kiddle enters into no league with the 
 enemies of Spiritualism. His manly independence is emi- 
 nently worthy of imitation ; and this, at least, should command 
 universal respect. 
 
 The question of the necessity or propriety of Mr. Kiddle's 
 resignation or removal has been raised, and that question has 
 been sustained in certain quarters, when it should have been 
 denounced as an outrage against the most sacred rights and 
 privileges of the individual. Why should Mr. Kiddle be re- 
 quired to resign the office he has filled with so much ability ? 
 What has he ever done, or left undone, that he should be re- 
 moved from a position in which all agree that he has served 
 the public with the utmost fidelity ? It is impossible to dis- 
 guise the animus which prompts all similar suggestions. It 
 being settled, on evidence that will not be disputed, that he 
 is still perfectly able rightly to discharge his duties, how is the 
 Superintendent disquaUfied ? In the names of Reason, Lib- 
 erty and Justice, I respectfully demand a statement of the 
 reasons why this gross injustice is practiced toward Spiritual- 
 ists ? How long shall this unmeasured insolence be tolerated 
 by a great people, that probably to-day outnumbers any re- 
 Hgious community in the country ? It is to be observed that 
 a man may believe almost anything else, however absurd and 
 monstrous, and yet saintly hypocrites and journalistic time- 
 servers will never intimate that his views unfit him for situa- 
 tions of public responsibility. He may make Milton's majes- 
 tic devil a corner stone of his religious faith ; he may embrace 
 legions of Httle devils whose function it is to torture the souls 
 of men, women, and little children forever; he may even 
 
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. 53 
 
 worship a God who, from the foundation of the world, pre- 
 ordained the eternal damnation of the larger part of his own 
 offspring ! 
 
 All this, and other nameless abominations, one is at liberty 
 to believe, and not a Scribe or Pharisee who profits by " the 
 mammon of unrighteousness," or otherwise sells his soul to 
 Satan, will ever suspect that his mind is enfeebled, or that his 
 religious opinions can disqualify him for any official position, 
 either in Church or State ! Nor is this all ; he is quite likely 
 to be regarded as preeminently qualified to superintend the 
 education of our children ! O, ye hypocrites ! ye strain at a 
 gnat and swallow a nest of scorpions ! 
 
 Mr. Kiddle endeavors to justify the claims of his book from 
 internal and other evidence. In the enthusiasm of his first 
 love he does not question the reputed authorship of the com- 
 munications he has received. The method by which he essays 
 to excuse the logical, rhetorical and other defects, shows at 
 once remarkable sincerity of purpose, little knowledge of the 
 laws governing spiritual phenomena, and a want of that ma- 
 ture judgment which is developed by long experience and a 
 profound study of the facts and principles of psychological 
 science. The present writer is not prepared to entertain the 
 idea that the next life is a state of vacuity and retrogression ; 
 or that the other world is a mere asylum for dreamers, drivel- 
 ers and dotards. Nor do the facts of Spiritualism, or Mr. 
 Kiddle's experience, afford any warrant for such a conclusion. 
 
 " The great intelligences fair, 
 
 That range above our mortal state — 
 In circle round the blessed gate," 
 
54 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 have neither lost their power of thought nor expression. The 
 greatest philosophers of antiquity viewed death as an honor- 
 able promotion. The apotheosis elevated the mortal to the 
 sphere and society of the gods. While this is not presumed 
 to be the absolute fact, the idea is true in some qualified 
 sense. All the faculties and affections are refined and exalted 
 by contact with more subtle principles, nobler natures, and 
 the inspiring atmosphere of the immortal life and world. 
 
 I have not yet had an opportunity to look into Mr. Kiddle's 
 book beyond the perusal of the extracts which have appeared 
 in the city papers, and for this reason am not prepared to ex- 
 press a confident judgment of its merits. One need not be 
 greatly surprised, however, to find that he has over-estimated 
 the intrinsic value of its contents. As a rule the new convert, 
 however intelligent, has more heat than light. Fervent feeling 
 is hable to render him less critical in the observation of facts 
 and the analysis of evidence ; at the same time intense desire, 
 like every passion of the mind, is liable to obscure reason and 
 warp the judgment. 
 
 Mr. Kiddle touches one of the grounds of argument which 
 he has not sufficiently turned to his own account in dealing 
 with his critics. I refer to the obvious limitations imposed by 
 the laws of mediumship. So long as the individualized inteU 
 ligence — either in this world or any other — must find expres- 
 sion through mediums of whatsoever nature or kind, the results 
 will not and cannot depend alone on the intelligence of the 
 speaker or actor ; but always — in a greater or less degree— on 
 the innate capacity and proper adaptation of the instruments 
 employed. A gallon measure will under no circumstances 
 
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. 55 
 
 hold over four quarts. Filling it from the ocean instead of a 
 bucket does not increase its capacity in the smallest degree. 
 Minds are receptacles of human knowledge and inspired ideas ; 
 but they all have their limits, and no human power or divine 
 agency, ever experimentally illustrated in our presence, can 
 cram the mind beyond the utmost limit of its capacity. What 
 if God be the infinite source of our inspiration ; humanity 
 is still subject to its own limitations. You may as well at- 
 tempt to pour the whole Hudson River through a ten-inch 
 stovepipe as undertake to force the profound ideas of Soc- 
 rates, Plato, Shakespeare, Webster, and other great minds, to 
 an adequate expression through the feeble brain of a weak 
 woman or a little child. It is immaterial who blows, and no 
 matter how hard, you can never wake a bugle-blast with a 
 penny trumpet. The enemies of Spiritualism are not dis- 
 posed to recognize this necessary dependence of the opera- 
 tor on his instruments, and yet the truth is self-evident. All 
 men, even in this world, are obliged to depend on appropriate 
 instruments for the adequate expression of what they feel, and 
 think, and knoAv. The mere disputant doubts and wrangles ; 
 but it is the province of the philosopher to reason. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, New York. 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 
 
 " Strike, but hear ! " * 
 
 FROM THE TORONTO (cANADA) MAIL, MARCH 29, 1880. 
 
 Freedom of Speech and an Honest Judgment — Sergeant Cox — Mr. William Crookes, 
 F.R.S.— Alfred R. Wallace, F.R.S.— Testimony of Eminent Authors and Distin- 
 guished Scientists — William Howitt — Professor Varley—W. Stainton Moses, 
 M.A.,of the University College, London — George Sexton, LL.D. — The German 
 Professors — Fechner, Fichte, ZOUner, and Ulrici — Men who are Treated as Luna- 
 tics — The Jugglers and Counterfeiters — Misrepresentations of the Press — Spirit 
 of an English Poet — The Horoscope of his Country — The Prophetic Problem — 
 The Question of the Ages— Southey's Death on Earth and Birth in Spirit-Life 
 — Highly Poetic Description — Conclusion. 
 
 To the Editor of the Mail : 
 
 SIR : I am in receipt of a marked copy of your paper of 
 the 13th ultimo, in which my attention is called to 
 your editorial on " Modern Spiritualism." Your liberal motto 
 from the eloquent Burke, encourages the presumption that 
 you may be willing that all classes of people and every phase 
 
 * The publication of this letter in the Toronto Mail was accompanied 
 by a very lengthy editorial in a modified and thoroughly respectful tone. 
 In this case we had incidental evidence of the utility of the Secular Press 
 Bureau. The first intimation the writer received that his article had 
 appeared, was a letter from an intelligent gentleman in Canada, who 
 stated in substance that he had read our correspondence in the Govern- 
 ment Organ ; that until then he had supposed Modern Spiritualism to be 
 unworthy of serious consideration ; but that the perusal of this single 
 letter had changed his mind. This correspondent further solicited advice 
 as to the particular books he should read to obtain a general knowledge 
 of the subject, and subsequently sent us his order for the same. 
 
 56 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 57 
 
 of public thought and opinion should be fairly represented 
 in your columns. That you can have any possible interest in 
 suppressing the views now so widely entertained among all 
 civilized nations, I am not authorized to infer ; nor am I 
 prepared to believe — in the absence of decisive evidence — 
 that you are disposed to arraign many of the ablest men in 
 England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, and the 
 United States, on a charge of being deficient in either ordi- 
 nary discrimination, intelligence, or integrity, without admit- 
 ting them to a hearing. I therefore respectfully invite your 
 attention to the contents of this letter, and trust you will be 
 kind enough to submit to the readers of The Mail the obser- 
 vations elicited by your strictures on the subject. 
 
 You are pleased to .characterize Modern Spiritualism as 
 " the most pretentious fraud of the time," and express sur- 
 prise that " Sergeant Cox — a man with legal training and oc- 
 cupying a judicial position — could have been led astray." 
 You find another " similar conundrum " in the case of Pro- 
 fessor William Crookes, F.R.S., the veteran editor of the Lon- 
 don J oitrnal of Science. When you speak of Spiritualism as 
 " a fraud," you implicate many honest people. Distinguished 
 lords and ladies, many members of the English aristocracy, 
 eminent authors and scientists of world-wide reputation, all 
 fall under this sweeping judgment. Where is the evidence, 
 allow me to ask, that Edward William Cox, Professors Crookes, 
 Wallace and Varley, the late William Howitt, W. Stainton 
 Moses, M.A., of the University College, London, George Sex- 
 ton, LL.D., also of England, and a host of the literati among 
 English speaking peoples, have all been engaged in a stu- 
 3* 
 
58 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 pendous and heartless fraud ? I know of no such evidence ; 
 and I desire to make my record of views which seem to me 
 to be, not only more honorable to those gentlemen, but to 
 human nature. Again, what proof is there that such hon- 
 ored names as Fechner, Fichte, Zollner and Ulrici, of Ger- 
 many, have come down from their high places in the temple 
 of Science to practice as common jugglers for the amusement 
 of idlers, and to torture the sorrowing hearts of bereaved 
 humanity ? Does any reasonable man believe that they are 
 capable of this shameless mockery of our purest loves ; this 
 infamous desecration of the most sacred memories of the 
 departed ; this wicked crucifixion of our immortal hopes ? 
 No ; never ! This assumption is far more incredible than 
 any facts which Spiritualism offers for our contemplation. 
 Assume anything within the wide realm of probabilities, and 
 we will try to entertain the hypothesis ; but this aimless 
 sacrifice of noble reputations, personal honor, the supremacy 
 of reason, and this unprovoked trampling on bleeding hearts 
 — this is too much ; it is manifestly impossible ! 
 
 You admit that the persons you have been pleased to name 
 are intellectual men ; that they are " shrewd and acute in 
 power of observation," and that "no exposure seems to shake 
 their faith " in the essential facts and fundamental principles 
 of Spiritualism. And is there nothing in all this to suggest 
 the probability that you may be mistaken in your judgment ? 
 Few daily journalists find time to make so careful an examin- 
 ation of the subject as Sergeant Cox, Professors Crookes, 
 Wallace, Varley and many other scientists and philosophers 
 have done. If you have not been able to command similar 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 59 
 
 opportunities, may I respectfully inquire if you are prepared to 
 pronounce an adverse judgment, regardless of the significant 
 facts they have observed, and the conclusions to which they 
 have arrived by a long and patient course of investigation ? 
 
 The fact that cunning jugglers are able to so imitate the 
 spiritual phenomena, that only sharp experts may detect the 
 difference, does nothing to unsettle the faith of the rational 
 believer in their actual occurrence. The counterfeit does 
 not disprove the reality of the thing imitated ; but, on the 
 contrary, it furnishes prima facie evidence of its existence. 
 Nor does the inability to detect a forgery ever warrant the 
 conclusion that those who thus fail as detectives are either to 
 be regarded as accomplices of the criminal, or as wanting in a 
 fair share of ordinary intelligence. 
 
 Permit me to add, in this connection, that you make a 
 great mistake when you represent the manifestations by the 
 Spirits as being of no possible value, and " their communi- 
 cations as trivial and useless." This indicates — pardon my 
 frankness — that your observations have been chiefly confined 
 to fraudulent imitations, and that the more important of the 
 real facts and communications have not yet come within the 
 sphere of your limited observation. The secular papers often 
 select specimens of doggerel, which they publish to illustrate 
 the intellectual degeneracy of the communicating spirits, and 
 seemingly with a view to prejudice their readers against the 
 whole subject. This course of misrepresentation fosters an 
 unhealthy public sentiment ; and I can in no way more 
 effectually dispose of the assumption that the communica- 
 tions are either all meaningless or otherwise worthless, than 
 
60 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 by offering some illustrative examples. The following are 
 fragments from prophetic utterances — given in 1856 — by the 
 spirit of an English poet, who thus ostensibly shows us the 
 horoscope of his country : 
 
 The huge fierce serpent Bankruptcy devours 
 
 The nation's wealth ; when commerce flies the Thames 
 
 And the great steamers crowd the docks no more ; 
 
 And Parliament breaks up, while anarchy 
 
 Bursts like a conflagration from the deep 
 
 Fire damps of squalid want ; when harvests fail, 
 
 And three cold summers rot the standing corn ; 
 
 When Manchester and Birmingham consume 
 
 First wealth, then credit, and then close their doors, 
 
 While like an inundation pour the streams 
 
 Of hungry operatives through the streets; 
 
 Let those fly to the mountains — where on high 
 
 Throned Independence waves her flag of stars — 
 
 Who prize home quiet, peace and blessed love ; 
 
 For, surely as the living God endures. 
 
 The day of England's ruin draweth nigh ; 
 
 These signs her desolation go before. 
 
 Alas, Napoleon thought himself most wise. 
 
 When, taking to his arms an Austrian wife. 
 
 He plunged his armies in the Russian snows. 
 
 The Angel of the North, who sits above 
 
 The hyperborean realm, with wintry smile. 
 
 Gazed on that host : they slept, they woke no more. 
 
 'Tis thus with England — she has dug her grave ; 
 
 The blood of all her martyrs unavenged. 
 
 All patriots murdered by the Second Charles, 
 
 All freemen slaughtered in America, 
 
 And slain like sheep through trampled Hindostan, 
 
 All wrongs against all people she has wronged, 
 
 Like the returning tide, arise and dash 
 
 Against her shivering, creaking, rotten State ; — 
 
 America shall be her sole defense. 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 6l 
 
 O England, I have loved thee, as a babe 
 
 The breast it sucks, and love thee still ; thou art 
 
 A double Empire— huge and terrible, 
 
 Yet sweet as Indian airs from citron groves, 
 
 Blown o'er by amorous winds — a double State. 
 
 Millions of rotting hearts, corrupt and foul 
 
 With every sin that brutalizes man ; 
 
 Millions of sterling hearts, good loyal souls, 
 
 True to the right, though ignorant, are thine. 
 
 ■K- * * # * * « 
 
 O England, rise. 
 And purge from off thy soul the clotted stains ; 
 Thy sins against Humanity abjure, 
 While yet delivering mercy pleads for thee. 
 
 He who sows nettles reaps a crop of stings. 
 Hatch serpents and they bite. Trust fools with fire 
 And palaces are tinder. Every wrong 
 Brings its own vengeance. Every right makes right. 
 Had Bonaparte not plunged in Russian snows 
 He would not have gone down at Waterloo. 
 Crises occur in every nation's fate — 
 Two pathways open to as different ends 
 As death from life, and gladness from despair, 
 Or fame from infamy. Now England stands 
 At the dividing of the roads. Her last 
 Redeeming opportunity has come. 
 God will arouse her starved and beaten serfs. 
 And through them revolutionize the State, 
 And a new Freedom build above the tomb 
 Of her existing order, huge and old. 
 Which has a name to live, yet lives no more." 
 ******* 
 
 The foregoing extracts are passages of only average merit 
 from the composite utterance of several deceased EngHsh 
 bards, in a work extending to ten thousand lines. In all some 
 thirty thousand lines have been given through the same me- 
 dium, and with a rapidity only limited by the capacity of the 
 
62 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 reporter to follow the inspired speaker. It is not my purpose 
 to subject the lines quoted to trial by the accepted rules of 
 poetic art ; I do not propose to analyze the prophetic elements 
 which here find such emphatic expression ; nor shall I inquire 
 whether it is probable that the prophecies of the Spirits will 
 ever be verified by the national experience, and thus become 
 a part of the history of a great people. We can wait for the 
 stern logic of events to furnish the solution of the prophetic 
 problem. But it will never do to characterize this as mere 
 twaddle or senseless verbiage. The words of the immortal- 
 ized poet are not meaningless. On the contrary, the spirit ex- 
 presses his view of coming events with such clearness and 
 force that it is quite impossible to misapprehend or disguise 
 his meaning. 
 
 The great question of all ages has been, " If a man die, shall 
 he live again ? " Surely spiritual communications are never 
 *' trivial and useless," if in the light of the same this great 
 problem finds a solution in evidence which amounts to demon- 
 stration. As a further illustration of the injustice of those 
 secular papers which assume to discover nothing but " stale 
 platitudes " and " spiritual drivel," I will offer Robert South- 
 ey's description of his departure from the sphere of mortal life 
 and his entrance into the Spirit- World. It will be remem- 
 bered that the light of the poet's genius was obscured some 
 time before his death. The gloom in which his mind wan- 
 dered in his last years ; the confused sensations, broken and 
 uncertain consciousness, while the spirit's mortal instrument 
 was unstrung, are all expressed with great delicacy and poetic 
 effect in the following poem : 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 63 
 
 THE SPIRIT-BORN. 
 
 " Night overtook me ere my race was run, 
 
 And Mind, which is the chariot of the Soul, 
 Whose wheels revolve in radiance like the sun, 
 
 And utter glorious music, as they roll 
 To the eternal goal, 
 "With sudden shock stood still. I heard the boom 
 
 Of thunders ; many cataracts seemed to pour 
 From the invisible mountains ; through the gloom 
 
 Flowed the great waters ; then I knew no more 
 But this, that Thought was o'er. 
 
 " As one who, drowning, feels his anguish cease, 
 
 And clasps his doom, a pale but gentle bride, 
 And gives his soul to slumber and sweet peace. 
 
 Yet thrills when living shapes the waves divide, 
 And nioveth with the tide. 
 So sinking deep beneath the unknown sea 
 
 Of intellectual sleep, I rested there ; 
 I knew I was not dead, though soon to be, 
 
 But still alive to love, to loving care. 
 To sunshine and to prayer. 
 
 " And Life, and Death, and Immortality, 
 
 Each of my being held a separate part ; 
 Life there as sap within an o'erblown tree ; 
 
 Death there as frost, with intermitting smart ; 
 But in the secret heart 
 The sense of immortality, the breath 
 
 Of being indestructible, the trust 
 In Christ, of final triumph over death. 
 
 And spiritual blossoming from dust. 
 And Heaven with all the just. 
 
 " The Soul, like some sweet flower-bud yet unblown, 
 
 Lay tranced in beauty in its silent cell ; 
 The Spirit slept, but dreamed of worlds unknown. 
 
 As dreams the chrysalis within its shell. 
 Ere Summer breathes her spell. 
 
64 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 But slumber grew more deep till morning broke, 
 
 The Sabbath morning of the holy skies, 
 An Angel touched my eyelids and I woke, 
 
 A voice of tenderest love said, ' Spirit, rise ' — 
 I lifted up mine eyes, 
 
 "And lo ! I was in Paradise. The beams 
 
 Of morning shone o'er landscapes green and gold. 
 O'er trees with star-like clusters, o'er the streams 
 
 Of crystal, and o'er many a tented fold. 
 A Patriarch — as of old 
 Melchisedec might have approached a guest — 
 
 Drew near me, as in reverent awe I bent, 
 And bade me welcome to the Land of Rest, 
 
 And led me upward, wondering but content, 
 Into his milk-white tent." 
 
 The writer of this letter has no merely personal object to 
 achieve or private interest to serve. Surely, the simple truth, 
 in respect to so grave a subject, is important to all who would 
 comprehend the higher faculties and relations of the human 
 mind, and the sublime possibilities of the future life. Trust- 
 ing that you will cordially submit what I have written to the 
 judgment of your readers, I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, ) 
 
 New York, March 23, 1880. j 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 
 
 REVIEW OF PROF. WUNDT's LETTER. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 Progress of Spiritualism in Germany — Amour propreoi American Scientists — Prof. 
 Wundt's Apprehensions— What Constitutes a Scientific Authority— Disqualified 
 by his own Standard— Youmans on Scientific Ignorance— Where are the Magnets ? 
 — The Sleeve-gammon Hypothesis — Comparison of the Facts with the Law — 
 Wundt Waging War on his Principles— Limits of the Leipzig Professor— Compre- 
 hensive Views of Nature— Supernaturalism a Solecism— Natural Laws never 
 Suspended— Illustrations from Nature— Diversity of Forms and Phenomena- 
 Foundations of Natural Science— The Everlasting Drift— Perpetual Change of 
 Conditions— Law of the Rock, the Tree and the Fish— The Wild-goose Higher 
 Law— Voluntary Powers of Man— Power of Mind over Matter— Attitude of Spirit- 
 ualism Misrepresented— Arrogance of Modern Scientists Rebuked— The Fields of 
 Observation— The Psychology of the Future. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 YOUR readers have already been informed that those 
 eminent Professors, Fichte and Ulrici, of Germany, 
 having investigated the phenomena of Spirituahsm in the 
 presence and through the mediumship of Mr. Henry Slade 
 and others, at length cordially accepted the theory which as- 
 cribes the genuine facts to the presence and agency of de- 
 parted human beings. The announcement of the conversion 
 of these venerable scientific philosophers has occasioned no 
 little interest and discussion in the educated circles of Europe 
 and America. Among the German philosophical leaders of 
 the opposition is Prof. W. Wundt, chief lecturer on Natural 
 Philosophy in the University of Leipzig. I am reminded 
 
 65 
 
66 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 that his recent letter to Ulrici, the philosopher of Halle, has 
 already received appropriate treatment at your hands, but it 
 may not be out of place for me to make some further ob- 
 servations on the views expressed by the German Professor. 
 
 In the treatment of Spiritualism our American scientists, 
 as a rule, have betrayed a certain ai7ioiir propre which is far 
 more conspicuous than their love of truth and fair dealing. 
 Among the scientific and literary classes of England, and be- 
 fore the professors in European Universities, the subject has 
 occasionally been treated in a more rational and scientific 
 spirit. Of the large class who are still unable to discover 
 anything in Spiritualism but jugglery and delusion, perhaps 
 Prof. Wundt may be regarded as one of the most considerate 
 and respectful representatives. He admits that the phe- 
 nomena are objective in the ordinary sense of the word ; and 
 he agrees with Prof. Ulrici, that if we presuppose the reality 
 of the facts, "the consequences which follow them for our 
 general view of the world," are of paramount importance. 
 He entertains the notion that the lifting of tables and other 
 ponderable bodies, in the manner described, would indicate 
 an infringement of the laws of physical nature ; and that 
 such alleged facts, if we admit their reality, suggest at least 
 the unpleasant possibility of some "deeper disturbance of 
 general natural laws." The mind of the learned professor 
 seems to be haunted by a startling apprehension of " the philo- 
 sophical consequences to which the reality of the Spiritualistic 
 phenomena would force us." All such apprehensions are 
 mere phantoms of the imagination, born of either childish 
 ignorance or popular skepticism ; and we may reasonably 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 6"] 
 
 conclude that they are never Hkely to disturb the mind of the 
 profound philosopher. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the criteria set up by Prof. 
 Wundt, and the personal qualifications which he declares to be 
 requisite to constitute a man an authority in science, are fatal 
 to the empty pretensions of all those scientists who assume the 
 right to express the most confident opinions respecting the 
 Spiritual Phenomena. In the beginning of his article the Pro- 
 fessor determines his own incompetency as a judge of spiritual 
 things in explicit terms as follows : 
 
 " But the highest degree of credibility is not sufficient to make any man 
 a scientific authority ; there is requisite to this a special professional, and 
 in most cases indeed a technical training, which must have approved it- 
 self by superior accomplishments in the province concerned. He who has 
 not acquired this professional and technical culture by long years of severe 
 labor is neither capable of achieving anything himself nor of judging the 
 works of others." 
 
 As all this is strictly true, it follows, by necessary sequence, 
 that Prof. Wundt is not qualified to express an opinion re- 
 specting the essential nature and proper significance of Spirit- 
 ual Phenomena, nor is he the authority to fix arbitrary limits 
 to the broad field of scientific research. We may put his own 
 confession in evidence that he has had no " special professional 
 and .... technical training " in this department. True, 
 his translator affirms that " He is ... . perhaps the most 
 eminent psychologist in Germany." Impossible ! Psychology 
 is the formulated knowledge of the faculties, susceptibilities 
 and functions of the human spirit. How then can a man be 
 eminent in the science which comprehends the inherent pow- 
 ers of the soul, its higher relations and immeasurable capabil- 
 
68 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ities, when he does not even know that man has any possible 
 existence separate from the corporeal body ? Why, he cannot 
 distinguish the functions of an invisible spiritual being from 
 the tricks of a mere juggler. To assume that such a man is 
 an eminent psychologist is to disregard the meaning of terms 
 and to trifle with a grave subject. 
 
 Prof. Wundt further maintains that the men whose observa- 
 tions have been confined to the phenomena of the physical 
 world, " whatever department of natural science they may 
 have been engaged in," are incompetent to grapple with the 
 more subtle principles and intricate problems of Spiritualism. 
 Had this judgment governed his conduct he would never have 
 meddled with the subject, and the present writer would have 
 found no occasion to review the unphilosophical assumptions 
 of a man whose ignorance of the more important facts and es- 
 sential principles of Spiritualism is at once self-confessed and 
 self-evident. 
 
 But this incapacity to deal with the subject intelligently did 
 not deter Prof. Wundt from committing the same blunder 
 which other scientists had made before him, each in turn hav- 
 ing put on record what he did not knoiv about the one subject 
 of highest importance to mankind. The self-conceit of such 
 men and the dogmatic spirit which strives with desperate en- 
 ergy to maintain its hold upon the common mind, prevents 
 their remaining silent until they are better informed ; and so, 
 one after another, they advertise their ignorance before the 
 world, in the leading foreign and American journals, includ- 
 ing the Popular Science Monthly, whose editor dignifies such a 
 display of ignorance and incompetency by calling it science ! 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 69 
 
 The crudest cogitations of almost any materialistic writer 
 against Spiritualism will command recognition in the presence 
 of Professor Youmans, while no man, however competent to 
 enlighten the public mind, can be heard in its defense. In his 
 opinion the only scientific view of the subject is that which 
 ascribes all the facts to the jugglery of the so-called mediums, 
 and the growing faith of multitudes in every part of the world 
 who yield to the contagion of popular delusions. 
 
 It is well known that among the phases of spiritual phe- 
 nomena ponderable bodies are often raised and supported in 
 the air when it is impossible to discover the cause of motion 
 within the domain of physics. In such cases the exponents 
 of scientific materialism insist that there must be concealed 
 physical causes. Professor Wundt presumes that Dr. Slade 
 had prepared himself for experiments on the magnetic needle 
 by having concealed magnets about his person. The absurd- 
 ity of this presumption must be sufficiently apparent to any 
 ordinary observer. Undoubtedly the same power that moved 
 the needle in his presence also moved the table, chairs, and 
 other objects. Let us see how this scientific (?) hypothesis 
 will appear in its application to the moving of ponderable 
 bodies. The magnet draws such other bodies to itself, in a 
 right line, as are subject to the law of its attraction ; but it 
 does not, at the same time, send them spinning in an opposite 
 direction. It never gives to the objects moved either a rotary 
 motion around the centripetal point of attraction, an uiidula- 
 tory, zigzag or other eccentric movement. But in the spirit- 
 ual circle ponderable objects as readily move from as toward 
 the medium ; indeed, they move in all possible directions. 
 
70 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 The Utter absurdity of the hypothetical assumption of mag- 
 nets concealed in " the coat-sleeves of the medium," or else- 
 where, will be still more manifest if we consider the fact that 
 the body attracted by a magnet can only move in a direct 
 line along the plane between the central point of attraction 
 and the body thus acted upon. In the circle the objects 
 moved do not obey this law. On the contrary, they con- 
 stantly deviate from that line, and often rise from that plane 
 several feet above the head of the medium. And pray where 
 is the magnetic center of attraction — in what does it inhere — 
 when the medium himself, with everything upon his person, 
 becomes an object of such levitation ? 
 
 It will be perceived that Prof. Wundt does not even re- 
 spect the physical laws in his lame attempt to dispose of the 
 Spiritual Phenomena. While he contends for the supremacy 
 of the laws of matter he yet disregards the essential principles 
 of the system of Natural Philosophy, the chair of which he 
 occupies in the Leipzig University. While he has only the 
 most unworthy and false conceptions of the nature and claims 
 of Spiritualism, his views of physical nature seem to be lim- 
 ited to the narrow field of his own observations. He has no 
 idea that Spiritualism is compatible with the laws of Nature ; 
 and he evidently imagines that if our more important facts 
 were demonstrated to be true we could no longer depend 
 upon the sublime natural order of the Universe. I copy a 
 passage to show the wild drift and shallow speculation of this 
 material philosopher : 
 
 " All the methods of natural science rest upon the presupposition of an 
 unchangeable order of occurrence, which presupposition involves the 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. /I 
 
 other, that everywhere, where the same conditions are given, the results 
 must also agree. The naturalist, therefore, proceeds in his observations 
 with unshakable confidence in the positiveness of his objects. Nature 
 cannot deceive him : there rules in nature neither freak nor accident. 
 You will admit that we cannot speak of a regularity of this sort in the 
 domain of spiritualistic phenomena ; on the contrary, the most con- 
 spicuous characteristic of these lies precisely in the fact that in their 
 presence the laws of nature seem to be abrogated." ..." The laws of 
 gravitation, of electricity, of light and of heat, are altogether, as we are 
 assured, of a purely hypothetical validity ; they have authority as long as 
 the inexplicable spiritualistic something does not cross them. . . . An 
 authority which asserts this demands more than a scientific authority has 
 ever demanded ; it demands that natural Science shall abandon the pre- 
 supposition of a universal causality." ... 
 
 This is a total misrepresentation of the attitude which a 
 rational Spiritualism assumes in respect to the laws of physi- 
 cal nature and the proper claims of modern Science. We 
 cordially accept the idea of the " unchangeable order of oc- 
 currence " throughout the natural world. We insist upon it 
 as a fundamental principle of our philosophy, which embraces 
 the nature and relations of all things material and spiritual. 
 We can see nothing in the phenomena of Spiritualism at war 
 with this undeviating action of law and this uniform " order 
 of occurrence " on which Prof. Wundt rests his faith, and 
 Science rears her superstructure. But the Leipzig Professor's 
 observations, in his own little field, cannot be supposed to 
 determine the utmost limits of Nature. While the reality of 
 the Spiritual Phenomena is no more a question of faith with 
 the writer, but one long ago settled by the possession of posi- 
 tive knowledge, I have still no idea that any law of Nature 
 was ever suspended for a moment. The alleged events which 
 in popular parlance, have been characterized as '77iiraculoiis, 
 
'J2 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 even so far as they are real, involve no such infringement of 
 the laws of the natural world. Our modern scientists, includ- 
 ing Prof. W. Wundt, entertain an opposite opinion, and are 
 hence obliged to dispute the occurrence of the facts and to 
 reject all affirmative human testimony. 
 
 In our attempts to reason with these scientific opposers of 
 Spiritualism, a mutual understanding, as to the sense in which 
 terms are to be employed, seems to be prerequisite. In the 
 judgment of the enlightened Spiritualist, Nature is not limited 
 to the recognized elements and forms of matter. It includes 
 the soiU as well as the body of things. The invisible fo7'ces and 
 lazus which operate in the production of sejitient beings, with all 
 the faculties of organic formation, life, sensation and thought, 
 belong to Nature. Hence the voluntary functions of animal and 
 human existence ; the powers of the mind in its loftiest moods, 
 and whatever else belongs to the comtitution and relations of the 
 soul, are clearly embraced in this grand economy of Nature. 
 Granting that not only all the elements and forms of matter, 
 however ponderable or imponderable, but also all the grada- 
 tions of intelligent existence on the earth, however exalted in 
 character and Godlike in power, really belong to Nature, it 
 will at once appear that the most extraordinary phenomena, 
 depending upon the relations of mind and matter, cease to be 
 supernatural. It is only to accommodate our ignorance of 
 the superior departments of Nature that such a word has 
 found a temporary place in our vocabulary. Certain occur- 
 rences may be said to \)Q preternatural in the sense of being 
 out of the regular course of events, or beyond the scope of 
 the ordinary operations of Nature ; but no event that ever 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 73 
 
 transpired on earth can be properly said to be supernatural or 
 miraculous, in the sense that involves a suspension of the 
 natural laws. By using such terms in their theological ac- 
 ceptation our scientists disclose the fact that their philosophy 
 of Nature — if they have any — has not yet displaced in their 
 minds the dogmatic assumptions of early religious teachers. 
 
 Professor Wundt assumes that in the ordinary fields of 
 scientific research with which he is familiar, the same results 
 may be reproduced as often as the same natural principles, 
 conditions and agents are combined for their production ; 
 and he further affirms that no such uniform results can be 
 obtained in the investigation of Spiritual Phenomena. This 
 mistake results from the Professor's too limited observation 
 and superficial thought. It is certain that like causes pro- 
 duce like effects in every department of Nature, from the 
 highest to the lowest. The world of mind is subject to this 
 law, and our sphere of moral observation offers no exception 
 to this rule. The student of spiritual science may find it 
 more difficult to reproduce the precise conditions, visible and 
 invisible, which, on a previous occasion, resulted in the de- 
 velopment of a given fact, and for the obvious reason that, 
 some of those conditions belong to another sphere and de- 
 pend on the voluntary agency of beings whose presence and 
 cooperation we may not always command. Every scientist 
 knows that, as a rule, the more subtile and intangible the 
 agents are with which we have to deal, the more difficult it 
 is to exactly repeat an experiment under precisely the original 
 conditions. 
 
 But the terms which Prof. Wundt employs in the expres- 
 4- 
 
74 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 sion of his views indicate a far greater uniformity in the re- 
 sults obtained in ordinary scientific investigations than the 
 facts are believed to warrant. It has been said that Nature 
 never exactly repeats herself. The same natural forces and 
 organic laws are constantly operative in the vegetable king- 
 dom, but the results of their operation present infinite variety. 
 Go into the forest, and examine a thousand trees, and you will 
 find no two alike. More than this, though the leaves on the 
 same tree are of one general type, yet they all vary, more or 
 less, one from another. The same is true in respect to the 
 animal creation and man. The children of the same family 
 are so unlike their parents and one another that each admits 
 of instant recognition ; and even among the hundreds of mill- 
 ions of human beings who occupy the earth we readily • dis- 
 tinguish the separate individualities. The same meteorologi- 
 cal laws are in constant operation, but the effects are endlessly 
 diversified. We never have two storms in all respects alike. 
 The white cumuli of a summer day, through which the Sun 
 pours a flood of light that bathes the heavens in golden and 
 purple glories, are never the same two days in the year. Their 
 momentary aspects are fleeting as the shadow of a dream — so 
 evanescent that while we yet gaze at their aerial forms they 
 vanish never to return. 
 
 As physical science is founded on natural objects, their re- 
 lations to time, space and each other, and the ever-varying 
 phenomena of their existence, it follows of necessity that out- 
 side of the several branches of mathematics the scientist must 
 inevitably meet with a similar variety of objects, phenomena 
 and results in all his investigations. Exactly the same results 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 75 
 
 may not be obtained in any two experiments, for the reason 
 that it may be out of our power to reproduce precisely the 
 same conditions. To obtain the more difficult results in chem- 
 istry requires at once a profound knowledge of its principles, 
 the utmost care in their application, and the most skillful man- 
 ipulation. The same person may occupy, as nearly as possi- 
 ble, the same position before the camera while he has one 
 hundred photographic negatives taken, and yet no two pic- 
 tures will be precisely alike. The truth is, conditions which 
 may not be cognizable by the careless observer are changing 
 momentarily. The passing emotions of the mind continually 
 modify the expression of the countenance, while invisible at- 
 mospheric and molecular changes produce their electro-chem- 
 ical effects on the sensitive surface that receives the image. 
 No man can be in the same state any two days in his whole 
 life. The conditions of the great globe itself, of all orbs in 
 space, and all forms of being on their surfaces, are changing 
 every moment, and it is not in the power of science to restore 
 to us the conditions of yesterday. The falling sands in the 
 glass ; the beating of the human heart ; the restless flow of 
 thought and feeling, and the changing aspects of every earthly 
 object — all remind us that we are irresistibly carried along 
 with the everlasting drift of events and circumstances. And 
 thus with the fleeting moments, existing conditions pass away 
 to return no more in their entirety through the endless cycles 
 of eternity ! 
 
 Let us examine the grounds on which Prof. Wundt assumes 
 that if the spiritual phenomena are admitted to be real he 
 must conclude that "the laws of Nature seem to be abro- 
 
76 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 gated." Ponderable bodies are moved without any visible 
 cause of motion, and are mysteriously upheld while they have 
 nothing more tangible than common air to rest upon. If this 
 is really true, the Leipzig Professor of Natural Philosophy pre- 
 sumes that gravitation must be suspended ! In the presence 
 of enhghtened reason this is neither an inevitable nor a pos- 
 sible conclusion. The learned Professor does not appear to 
 recognize the fact that all forms of matter are not equally 
 subject to the action of the same laws, and that as we ascend 
 from the lower to the higher gradations of being, matter be- 
 comes subject to superior laws which only operate in those 
 higher departments of the natural world. I will offer illustra- 
 tions of this point. 
 
 By a law of nature the granite rocks remain imbedded in 
 the everlasting hills, but water finds its way to the surface, 
 and the principal rivers rise among the highest mountains. The 
 old oak on the hillside stretches out its brawny arms to the 
 elements and defies the boreal tempests, while it silently obeys 
 the law of its nature by standing still in the same place while 
 the century comes and goes. The granite and the oak may 
 be removed by human agency, but this does not subvert the 
 recognized principle in statics, and the law of the rock and 
 the tree is never suspended. But the moment we step above 
 the organic plane of vegetable life into the animal kingdom, 
 we discover a power of voluntary motion that is superior to the 
 statical law. The beasts of the field and the forest, and all 
 the monsters of the deep, move from place to place as incli- 
 nation and the necessities of their being may determine. The 
 dead fish floats upon the surface of the stream, indicating at 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 7/ 
 
 once the direction and rapidity of the current ; but the Hve 
 salmon not only swims against the strongest current, but, fol- 
 lowing the sheet of water, will go up over a fall of twenty 
 feet. Does the genus sabno abrogate the laws of Nature ? 
 The duck that naturally swims on the surface of the water as 
 naturally — by voluntary effort — dives to the bottom of the 
 stream in search of the means of subsistence. The specific 
 gravity of a wild goose is much greater than that of atmos- 
 pheric air ; but by a voluntary power the goose resists the 
 terrestrial gravitation, and ascends into the higher strata of 
 the atmosphere. Is any one goose enough to suppose that 
 his flight involves a suspension of the universal force of gravi- 
 tation ? 
 
 The voluntary powers of man are more numerous and of 
 wider scope than those of the inferior creation. The con- 
 trolling influence of mind over matter is so self-evident that 
 a formal argument to prove it Avould be a work of superero- 
 gation. It is manifest in all the voluntary functions of human 
 nature. The individualized spirit carries around with it in 
 this world a body composed of the same primordial elements 
 which, in a greater or less degree, enter into the chemical 
 composition of all forms of organized being on earth. The 
 power of the human spirit over matter is further manifested 
 in all the forms of beauty and use. A thousand cities teeming 
 with life ; the great navies, commercial marine, and practi- 
 cal industries of all nations, with the innumerable creations of 
 genius in the factories and galleries of the world — all these 
 illustrate the power of mind over matter. This power be- 
 longs to the constitution of the human spirit, and upon its 
 
^8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 preservation our identity depends. The Spiritual Phenom- 
 ena clearly prove that none of the natural powers of the soul 
 are lost by the transition to another and more spiritual state 
 of being. 
 
 Now if the spirit carries along with it to the supramundane 
 state its capacity to act on and through the elements and 
 forms of matter, by disturbing the imponderables which per- 
 vade them or otherwise— and this is clearly demonstrated by 
 the facts — it follows that, under suitable conditions, the invis- 
 ible spirits of men may raise ponderable bodies, and when they 
 do so, they no more interfere with natural gravitation than 
 the grocer does when he lifts a weight from his counter. The 
 object rises because the spiritual force applied in lifting it is 
 greater than the earth's attraction of the same object. In 
 either case a ponderable body is raised by the application of 
 an intelligent force — spiritual yet natural — which is superior 
 to and hence capable of resisting the physical law of gravita- 
 tion, which, however, continues to act on that body precisely 
 as before. That is exactly what happens in spiritual circles 
 when heavy bodies cease to obey the earth's attraction. In 
 all this there is nothing either unnatural or miraculous. The 
 laws of physical nature are merely directed or supplemented 
 by the faculties of the human mind. And when venerable 
 professors in European Universities solemnly intimate the 
 abrogation of natural laws as the only way of accounting for 
 such facts, we need not be surprised if the spiritual philoso- 
 pher loses his gravity with the tables. It can not be true that 
 '' the laws of gravitation, of electricity, of light, and of heat 
 are altogether, as we are assured, of a purely hypothetical 
 
SCIENCE VERSUS DOGMATISM. 79 
 
 character ; " nor did any well-informed Spiritualist ever en- 
 tertain such a crazy hypothesis over night. 
 
 The age is bound to disregard the shallow assumption that 
 all scientific investigation must be restricted to the elements, 
 forms and phenomena of the physical world. We shall make 
 it a part of our business to pull up the stakes which mere 
 physicists have driven down to mark the narrow limits of their 
 conception of the legitimate domain of scientific inquiry. The 
 true friends of science require no dictator to fence in the 
 field, and they will have no arbitrary masters to direct their 
 studies. The irrepressible spirit of the age will override the 
 narrow range of dogmatists, and break down the old land- 
 marks. The arbitrary dicta of the bigots in science and the- 
 ology will be powerless to arrest the world's progress. The 
 new fields which Spiritualism is opening to our observation 
 will be fearlessly explored by those who combine the requisite 
 intellectual ability and moral courage. In this way we shall 
 yet extend the limits of accredited science so far as to em- 
 brace the formulated knowledge of the spiritual nature, rela- 
 tions and life of man, here and hereafter. When we shall 
 have realized this result of our labors we may reasonably ex- 
 pect that Psychology — the science of the soul — in the best 
 Universities will be something more and better than a name 
 and a chair. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, New York, 
 
THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 
 
 REV, JOSEPH cook's MONDAY LECTURES REVIEWED, 
 
 FROM THE BOSTON TRANSCRIPT, MAR. 12, 1880. 
 
 Prof. Edwin D. Mead — Rev. Joseph Cook's Lectures — Visions of a Church Minister — 
 Mild Reproofs and Pious Lamentation — How Jesus Passed Through Closed Doors 
 — An Ang-el's Autograph — Regenerating Tide of Spiritualism — Veneration of 
 Sacred Relics — Prof. Austin Phelps, and Rev. Charles Beecher — Prof. W. Wundt, 
 of Leipzig — Dr. Robert Hare as a Scientist — Lights of the American Association — • 
 Professors Agassiz, Mitchel and Rogers — Pierce, Daviesand Winslow — Unw^orthy 
 Conduct of the Scientific Association— An Eminent Professor of Natural Philoso- 
 phy — Makes no Distinction Between Superstition and Spiritualism — In the Coils 
 of a "Monstrous Hydra "^ — Shades of Hercules and St. Patrick — Beatification of 
 Ignorance. 
 
 To the Editor of the Transcript : 
 
 IN his letter on the " Leipzig Phenomena," your Cambridge 
 correspondent, Professor Edwin D. Mead, appears to be 
 deeply exercised in view of the fact that just at present half 
 of the sermons preached in New England " get their tone 
 from Mr. Cook's Monday lectures." In his mind the discus- 
 sion assumes a melancholy character that is very depressing 
 to the souls of unbelievers. After referring to the " remarka. 
 ble visions " of a church minister in '' Quebec, over which all 
 Canada is excited," and to " astounding messages " from 
 Spirits, reported in the Greek language, he indulges in the 
 following strain of mild reproof and pious lamentation : 
 
 " What may we not expect among ourselves when our clergy come 
 up to Boston, week by week, to be encouraged to believe that conch- 
 shells slip untroubled through the chair-seats, and that Spirit-hands im- 
 print themselves in flour ? The conch-shell slips through the chair-seat ; 
 
 80 
 
THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 8 1 
 
 how easy, then, forsooth, to see how the risen Jesus passed through the 
 closed doors, to and from the circle of disciples. Spirit-hands, psychic 
 hands, or what not, are in the air ; how luminous the story of the ghostly 
 fingers which wrote ' Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,' upon Belshazzar's 
 walls ! " 
 
 Your correspondent seems to be in a state of solemn expec- 
 tation, naturally looking for further and more startling rev- 
 elations. It is true that the facts are multipHed in all direc- 
 tions, and the invisible powers present new illustrations and 
 aspects of the truth often enough to utterly explode the ma- 
 terialistic speculations of each succeeding day. The truth is 
 finding its way through many hard shells which may not be 
 classified with the strombus mollusks ; and those who are re- 
 solved to resist it will hereafter require a triplicate theological 
 sconce and the shield of scientific materialism as a defensive 
 armor. " How the risen Jesus passed through closed doors," 
 on entering and leaving "the circle of his disciples," is now 
 forcibly illustrated, not by the learned exegesis of the pro- 
 fessed ministers of his Gospel, but by the luminous commen- 
 tary of the world's experience. 
 
 That multitudes now see " the handwriting on the wall," is 
 a fact no longer to be questioned. Those who know how to 
 interpret the mystical message, read in it the significant proc- 
 lamation that the power of a Church which makes war on 
 such essential facts and principles as constitute the only solid 
 foundation of its claims, must be greatly modified, or it is 
 lestined to pass away from the earth, like the empire of the 
 liaughty ruler who desecrated the sacred vessels employed in 
 the temple service. We need not be surprised that " the 
 signs of the times " excite alarm among the " chief priests 
 4* 
 
82 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 and elders of the people." They recognize the imminent 
 peril of a Church that has lost the vital principle of its spirit- 
 uality. This Church is so much in love with stereotyped au- 
 thorities and ancient relics, and has so little confidence in 
 any " spiritual gifts " as a possible inheritance from its found- 
 ers, that it boldly derides the faith of the sincere believer as 
 a cheat and a delusion. It would not hesitate to send repre- 
 sentatives all the way to Troas to procure St. Paul's old 
 cloak, and it has great respect for " the parchments " he left 
 behind ; at the same time it will scoff at the suggestion of 
 the possible presence of the ascended Apostle himself, as if 
 faith in his immortality were a dream or a fiction. 
 
 But the evidence which has been rapidly accumulating 
 for more than thirty years will soon sweep away the popular 
 skepticism of the times and recast the faiths and philosophies 
 of the world. Like a regenerating tide, Spiritualism is fast 
 unsettling and upheaving the old foundations. All the lifeless 
 creeds and dogmatic authorities ; great wrongs baptized in 
 the name of Jesus ; all hollow pretensions and pious shams, 
 are only drift-wood upon the stream — carried away as shifting 
 sands by the ocean currents, and as the resistless waves bear 
 the empty shells on to the shore. Multitudes like Belshazzar 
 have been made to tremble when they saw the handwriting on 
 the wall ! 
 
 " And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray," 
 
 shrinking, with child-like apprehension, from the grasp of in- 
 visible " spirit-hands ... in the air," and vainly trying 
 to hide the vision of those " ghostly fingers." But still the 
 
THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 83 
 
 luminous hand is visible. // is the ittdex from eternity that 
 points to destiny ! To-day the hand writes on the walls of a 
 thousand temples. Those who are not blinded by ignorance 
 and prejudice may see what is writtten. We need no inspired 
 prophet to interpret the impressive lesson. The message may 
 vary in form, but the significance is the same — " Mene, Mene, 
 Tekel, Upharsin ! " 
 
 The fact that Rev. Joseph Cook's popular lectures deter- 
 mine the tone of half the sermons of the New England clergy 
 is profoundly significant. That gentleman has been obliged 
 to recognize many facts for which he has no satisfactory ex- 
 planation. The accredited masters in science have never 
 yet solved the complex problem which the subject involves. 
 Like Prof. Phelps, of Andover, and several other divines, Mr. 
 Cook is inclined to look to the demonology of the Bible for a 
 solution. This is a concession of the spiritual origin of the phe- 
 nomena. The assumption that the Spirit-authors of the mod- 
 ern manifestations are all evil, may shield those gentlemen 
 from ecclesiastical condemnation ; but it can have little or no 
 weight in the mind of the honest investigator, who is sure, 
 in the end, to form his opinion of the character of the Spirits 
 from the results of his own observation and experience. Such 
 men as Rev. Charles Beecher and Rev. Joseph Cook have the 
 sagacity to apprehend what is coming, and the boldness to 
 lead the way in which the clergy of all denominations must 
 follow. These men will soon be recognized as the conserva- 
 tors of the Church. In thus preparing the way for the ulti- 
 mate acceptance of Spiritualism, they are pursuing the only 
 course that will save the outward form from ruin. Spiritual- 
 
84 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ism is God's great mill for pulverizing old superstitions, life- 
 less theologies, and the soulless systems of scientific material- 
 ism. It palsies the arms and shivers the weapons of its 
 enemies ; and any institution that attempts to stand in its 
 way will be ground to powder, since the wheels of progress 
 never rotate backward. 
 
 Your correspondent refers to the spiritual controversy in 
 Germany ; and, while unduly emphasizing the importance of 
 Prof. Wundt's materialistic views, he takes occasion to dis- 
 parage the just claims of Fechner, Fichte, Zollner and Ulrici, 
 in a most unrighteous manner. In his judgment the opinion 
 of Prof. Wundt is worth twelve times as much as that of either 
 Zollner or Ulrici. Mr. Mead's opinion of the other German 
 philosophers above named may be inferred from the follow- 
 ing brief extract from his letter : 
 
 " Of Fechner and Fichte, in relation to the present controversy, it 
 should be said that, however great their abilities once were, they were 
 quite superannuated men, eighty years old and more, before launching 
 upon the rickety theories with which their names have been lately iden- 
 tified." 
 
 It is worthy of observation that just so long as those distin- 
 guished scientists were presumed to be as blind as bats and 
 ground-moles in respect to all spiritual things, they were re- 
 garded as eminent philosophers, whose many years and long 
 experience had only added to their knowledge and ripened 
 their judgment. But as soon as those illustrious teachers 
 recognized the fact that Spirits of the immortal world were 
 standing within their doors, every flippant scribbler against 
 the facts and philosophy of Spiritualism made haste to dis- 
 count their claims to public confidence. At an earlier period 
 
THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 85 
 
 the late venerable Dr. Robert Hare, who, some eighty years 
 ago, invented the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, was treated with 
 still greater indignity. The name of the man who produced a 
 flame so intense that it consumes the diamond and vaporizes 
 most of the known solid substances, acquired such a reputa- 
 tion that, in his time, it was said that Philadelphia was chiefly 
 known among European philosophers as the residence of Dr. 
 Hare. No scientist ever questioned the soundness of his mind 
 while he was inventing his instruments designed to detect and 
 expose the assumed fraud of mediumship. At last when the 
 Spirits made use of the Doctor's own invention to overthrow 
 his chronic unbeHef, and he was thus convinced of the truth 
 of immortality, he straightway lost his standing among Amer- 
 ican scientists. Then they had no doubt he was either mad 
 or in his dotage. 
 
 At the annual session of the American Association in 1856, 
 Dr. Hare asked for one hour for a brief statement of the scien- 
 tific methods and unexpected results of his experimental in- 
 vestigations ; but the Association refused to hear him. Even 
 the overshadowing presence and influence of Professors Agas- 
 siz, Mitchel and Rogers failed to secure the privilege. Prof. 
 Pierce maintained that such a subject could not properly be 
 brought before a scientific association; and Prof. Davies, while 
 expressing " profound respect for the gentleman from Phila- 
 delphia," was, nevertheless, wilUng to stop his mouth. A lesser 
 and more lurid light in science. Dr. Winslow,— chiefly known 
 for his investigations of subterraneous combustion or volcanic 
 fires,— had the effrontery to suggest that, if the subject was to 
 come before that body, he would move to convene a " special 
 
86 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 session of the Association in the nearest lunatic asylum ! " It 
 is not among the more agreeable of the writer's reminiscences 
 of the time, that the offender escaped reproof for this shame- 
 ful breach of decorum. 
 
 In referring to Spiritualism, Mr. Mead quotes what Prof. 
 Wundt has to say about superstitioUy from which I extract the 
 following passage '• 
 
 " It were almost chimerical to hope that science will ever completely 
 root it out. Nothing could darken such a hope more than the appearance 
 of superstition in scientific circles themselves. Science, striking off one 
 head from the monstrous hydra, is obliged to see a new one start out in 
 another place — a head which soon enough assumes her own face." 
 
 The fact is susceptible of the clearest demonstration, that a 
 rational Spiritualism is far removed from everything that may 
 be properly characterized as superstition. It has none of that 
 excessive reverence which degrades the divinity in man ; it 
 fosters no slavish fear of God or the devil ; its worship is 
 never idolatrous nor otherwise inconsistent with reason ; it 
 neither believes in celibacy nor polygamy ; it insists on no 
 rigorous observance of religious rites ; its beautiful faith em- 
 braces no moral or mathematical impossibilities ; it neither 
 accepts the infallibility of the letter of its own revelations, 
 nor wastes time in pompous ceremonies which have no spirit- 
 ual vitality ; it recognizes the Divinity in all things, and de- 
 mands no emasculation of human nature in the interest of 
 the soul. And yet Professor Wundt, who occupies the chair 
 of Natural Philosophy in the University of Leipzig, and is re- 
 puted to be one of the most eminent psychologists in Ger- 
 many, makes no distinction between Spiritualism and super- 
 stition ! The youth of fifteen who could not exercise more 
 
THE SPIRITUAL AGITATION. 8/ 
 
 discrimination should be sent to the field rather than the 
 University. 
 
 Science is in despair, and this German professor is now 
 struggling in the coils of what appears to his vision to be a 
 " monstrous hydra." As often as he strikes off one head, he 
 says " a new one starts out," and in mockery of his preten- 
 sions assumes the express image of Science herself. What is 
 to be done ? The process of actual cautery is powerless to 
 extinguish the Spirits. Moreover, if they are all of the class 
 usually recognized by the priesthood, they must have learned 
 to stand fire. At present there is every indication that the 
 monster will triumph at last. We know that Hercules is dead 
 and his great labors are finished. St. Patrick, too, has gone 
 to his rest in heaven ; and the Leipzig professor is unequal to 
 the herculean task of slaying this hydra. Non omnia possu- 
 vius omnes. 
 
 In conclusion your correspondent admonishes us, by all 
 means, to remain in ignorance of the dangers to which we are 
 exposed. So solemn a warning may bear to be repeated in 
 the interest of all heedless people ; and so I beg to repro- 
 duce this last impressive exhortation which Mr. Mead has 
 addressed to your readers : 
 
 " There are many things of which a man might wish to be ignorant, 
 and these are such. Shun them as you would the secrets of the under- 
 taker and the butcher. The best are never demoniacal or magnetic ; 
 leave this limbo to the prince of the power of the air." 
 
 Now when your correspondent says '' the best are never 
 demoniacal or magnetic," we are not sure whether he means 
 " things " of the highest value, the most desirable " secrets," 
 
06 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 or " the best undertakers and butchers." Without attempt- 
 ing to settle this question, we may respectfully inquire if there 
 may not be some danger in closing our eyes to evils which 
 may chance to lie in our path ? Shall we be sure to escape 
 from the wolf that is on our track because we never look for 
 him, and have managed to remain in ignorance of the natural 
 history of the brute ? * How the poor cravens who may 
 be pleased to follow your correspondent's advice can guard 
 against the peculiar dangers of which they know nothing does 
 not clearly appear, and this may appropriately be made the 
 subject of another letter of admonition from the classical 
 shades of Cambridge. 
 
 Yours cordially. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, 
 
 Warren Co., N. J., March, 1880. 
 
 * Since " ignorance is bliss," and Professor Mead is known to depend 
 on the same for the security of the brethren, let us add one to the Beati- 
 tudes. Write henceforth : Blessed are they who know nothing at all of 
 the dangers to which they are exposed, for they are presumed to be safe. 
 
THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 POLITICS FASHION AND SPORTING AT THE FRONT. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE. 
 
 Note from Mr. Whitelaw Reid — Vindication of Spiritualism Declined — Unwritten 
 Law of the Press — Fashionable and Vicious Topics Preferred — Subjects which 
 secure instant Attention — Angry Divinity and depraved Humanity — Spiritualism 
 hospitable to New Ideas — It Rationalizes Philosophy and Spiritualizes Religion 
 — The Ghosts from Hades — Spiritual Light and Liberty — Related as Cause and 
 Effect — The Tree by the Crystal River — Where Spiritualism most Prevails — Ob- 
 servations on the Old World — England, France and Germany — Views of Heaven 
 — Sensuous Conception of the New Jerusalem — Materialists demand the Evi- 
 dence of the Senses — Wrestling with an Angel. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 THE subjoined communication was elicited by an edito- 
 rial in the New York Tribune of the 23d of July, and 
 was addressed, as will be perceived, to the Editor of that 
 journal, who declined it in a polite note which is herewith 
 submitted : 
 
 "This is returned, with thanks for the courtesy of the offer, and re- 
 grets that, with the pressure on our columns, we have not been able to 
 make it exactly available for the uses of the THbime. — Whitelaw Reid." 
 
 Of course a daily newspaper which is necessarily so much 
 occupied with the discussion of the issues involved in the 
 present political campaign, will have little room until after the 
 Presidential election for the treatment of spiritual and moral 
 questions, however important in their nature and bearing on 
 the higher interests of society. We will not be so ungra- 
 
 89 
 
90 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 cious as to question the sufficiency of the Editor's reasons for 
 thus decUning to publish our vindication of SpirituaUsm. Nor 
 need we be surprised should even more space — than the same 
 would require — be devoted to other matters of either doubtful 
 or demoralizing tendency. The press has its own lex non 
 scripta which no power may reverse. There are certain things 
 which must be published, you know, even if it be necessary to 
 issue an Extra. If there should be either a contest in the 
 prize-ring, a cock-fight, or some other disgusting exhibition of 
 brutality, it would be necessary to make some place in the 
 crowded columns of the daily press for a particular descrip- 
 tion of the same, because that would be "live matter," and 
 our muscular and sporting sovereigns must have the news. 
 
 But we may discover more agreeable illustrations in many 
 places, especially at Saratoga, Newport, and other summer re- 
 sorts. For example, should some person give a fashionable 
 party, it would be necessary to send special reporters commis- 
 sioned to relate all that delicacy may permit about the per- 
 sons and costumes of the reigning belles — describe to what 
 extent the floor was carpeted with satin trains, so gracefully 
 drawn behind willowy creatures, whose " tantalizing shapes " 
 — according to Festus — " bring up the devil and the ten com- 
 mandments." And then proper respect must be paid, not so 
 much to the wealth of years as to the affluence of fine laces, 
 diamond jewelry and costly equipage. It would be a most 
 ungracious neglect on the part of the newspapers to disregard 
 all these gentle people and their superfine wampum. Now 
 and then it seems to be necessary to heed the demand of the 
 best society for a complete list of — 
 
THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 9I 
 
 "The gaudy dames of fashion, who have driven 
 Up the broad carriage-road to Fancy's heaven." 
 
 SPIRITUALISM VINDICATED. 
 
 " Laugh where we must, be candid where we can, 
 But vindicate the ways of God to man." — Pope. 
 
 To the Editor of the Tribune : 
 
 Your editorial in the Tribune of the 23d inst., eUcited by 
 the present Camp-Meeting near Philadelphia, is in rather 
 pleasant contrast with the old-time commentaries of the news- 
 paper press. A semi-facetious manner of treating the whole 
 subject is certainly a great improvement on the intolerant and 
 acrimonious spirit which characterized the earlier treatment 
 of Spiritualism. But you will pardon the suggestion that you 
 may possibly make a mistake, in respect to the popular judg- 
 ment, when you presume that, as a rule, the believers are 
 "publicly regarded as a gloomy and uncanny band." If I am 
 qualified to form an inteUigent opinion on the subject, the views 
 of all rational Spiritualists are eminently calculated to lift the 
 cloud with which a false theology has obscured the future life, 
 and remarkably effective in dissipating the terrible gloom which 
 has made not a few men mad and millions melancholy. 
 
 But can any man regret the existence of the power which 
 
 demonstrates his own immortality while it breaks the shackles 
 
 which have fettered the freedom of the universal mind ? And 
 
 is there aught to inspire gloom in the announcement that' 
 
 " Man no more shall vail 
 His free-born thought, or bow with visage pale, 
 And knees that knock together, when the Priest 
 Of Rome or Oxford dictates ? " 
 
92 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Only priestly authorities and a scientific materialism have 
 reason to shrink from the present ordeal. Who that is in love 
 with truth cares how soon the consumer's brand is applied to 
 " the wood, hay and stubble " of all human devices ? Who 
 weeps when the destroying fires that waste the meadows and 
 the fields go out and the morning-glories spring up out of the 
 ashes, and deserts blossom ? Who sorrows for the waning 
 night, or grieves because the Orient is ablaze with morning 
 light ? Spiritualism comes to solve the greatest of all prob- 
 lems — '''' If a .man die shall he live again 2 '' It is sure to ex- 
 tract whatever elements of truth there may be in the ancient 
 superstitions. It is rapidly pulverizing the old creeds, born 
 of the weak faith which recognizes an angry Divinity and a 
 totally depraved humanity. It is time that the reign of the 
 woman of the Apocalypse — whom the Seer of Patmos de- 
 scribed as '' sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of 
 blasphemy " — with her legitimate daughters, and the whole 
 brood of dogmatic creeds and soul-oppressing rites, should 
 give place to rational liberty and a scientific philosophy. 
 
 It should be observed that, unlike the systems which pre- 
 ceded its advent, Spiritualism cordially accepts all demon- 
 strated facts in every field of investigation ; it is everywhere 
 hospitable to new ideas ; it encourages the most fearless exer- 
 cise of reason on all subjects, not excepting religion ; it lov- 
 ingly embraces every principle of true science, and a^s freely 
 assimilates all sound philosophy. By its agency faith and 
 reason are harmoniously united ; and while religion is ration- 
 alized, philosophy is spiritualized. It gives us a view of the 
 Spirit-world and the future life which is far more honorable 
 
THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 93 
 
 to the Creator, and every way more congenial with all human 
 instincts, desires, affections and aspirations, than the lurid 
 pictures of heathen poets, and the pulpit delineations of a 
 merciless retribution. It casts out the Prince of Darkness 
 from the world's theology, and the fires of hell are extin- 
 guished. In the growing light of a rational Spiritualism— 
 which the Church and the world appear to despise — 
 
 ' ' The great beast 
 Of Calvinism, born from out the sea 
 Of the Dark Ages and their tyranny, 
 Shall shrink into a spectral cloud, and pass 
 From earth like vapor from a burning-glass." 
 
 You observe : " It seems a little hard on the ghosts of the 
 departed to summon them back to earth just now out of their 
 retreats in Hades." But how or why is it so "hard on the 
 ghosts ? " And in the light of this suggestion how will the 
 Tribime's orthodoxy escape suspicion ? I believe the Greek 
 Hades is uniformly rendered hell by the translators of the 
 New Testament ; and if hell is as warm a region as the evan- 
 gelical pulpit represents it to be, it must be a great relief to 
 the poor ghosts to have an occasional excursion to this green 
 earth, and a day of recreation in the sylvan shades of Nesha- 
 miny Falls or Onset Bay Grove. If Spiritualism really brings 
 with it a general jail-deHvery of the poor imprisoned souls in 
 Hades, who knows but the world may be about to realize the 
 end for which an early and most eminent Spiritual Teacher, 
 long ago, "went and preached unto the spirits in prison." — 
 (I. Peter iii. 19). 
 
 You state a significant fact when you say, that in " the West 
 belief in Spiritualism is more widely spread than in any other 
 
94 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 * 
 
 quarter except New England." It has made the greatest ad- 
 vances where the hght of intelHgence has been most thoroughly- 
 diffused. The great tree of our Spiritual Liberty was first 
 rooted in this country of liberal institutions ; and now, after 
 a lapse of only one-third of a century, it spreads its grateful 
 shade over the world. It is true that some foul birds come 
 to roost in its branches ; and where do they not perch them- 
 selves outside of the kingdom of heaven ? It may be pre- 
 sumed that buzzards, owls and bats, not less than swallows, 
 sky-larks and birds of paradise, love to sit in pleasant places. 
 Nevertheless, Spiritualism is " the tree of life " that flour- 
 ishes close by the crystal river, bearing immortal fruits, " and 
 the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." It 
 finds the most suitable soil and congenial atmosphere where 
 the light is strongest and the culture of mind and morals is 
 most general. Hence it is that Spiritualism has made the 
 greatest progress in the Eastern States where the standard 
 of education is highest, and the humane sentiments exert the 
 strongest influence on the popular mind and heart. Then the 
 great West is pointed to as the scene of its triumphs. Spirit- 
 ualism is strong in the Western States, because in that quar- 
 ter the arbitrary restraints of dogmatic theology are feeblest, 
 and for the reason that we there find the most independent 
 thought among the people. In the Middle States its victories 
 are less conspicuous ; while in the South, Spiritualism has the 
 weakest hold upon the minds and affections of the masses. 
 
 The same rule is equally true in its application to the Old 
 World. Spiritualism has obtained the strongest foot-hold 
 among the most enlightened nations of Europe — in England, 
 
THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 95 
 
 France, and Germany. Naturally enough in foreign coun- 
 tries it has made the greatest progress among the most intel- 
 lectual classes ; numbering in the long list of its adherents 
 many of the nobility ; a large proportion of the literati, and 
 eminent artists of different countries ; distinguished scientists 
 of England and profound philosophers of the German schools. 
 A full list of the names of eminent men and women, from 
 among all nations and every rank in society, who now accept 
 the cardinal facts and fundamental principles of the Spiritual 
 Philosophy, would astonish even those who are best informed 
 on the subject. 
 
 We hardly think that Spiritualists, as a body, would accept 
 the parties you name, or any others, as chief among the proph- 
 ets of the New Dispensation. But while this is a subject in 
 which the writer feels no special interest, I will ask your fur- 
 ther indulgence while I briefly refer to the subject of heaven, 
 as viewed respectively by Christians and Spiritualists. You 
 seem to think that the heaven of the latter is a very materi- 
 alistic establishment,* while the heaven of Christians is emi- 
 nently intangible and spiritual in its nature. Here permit 
 me to introduce a brief passage from your editorial : 
 
 ' ' The heaven revealed to St. John was too intangible for solid beef- 
 eating men and vs^omen to grasp ; but a heaven filled by spirits who rap 
 on your table and pinch your legs is appreciable to the most downright in- 
 tellect." 
 
 Now if language, in this case as in the other, is to be inter- 
 preted literally, it would be difficult to conceive of a more ma- 
 
 * It is readily acknowledged that this inference may be fairly drawn 
 from the writings of a number of professed Spiritualists. 
 
96 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 terial heaven than the one described in the Apocalyptic vision. 
 It is a city laid out in a square, surrounded by high walls, 
 with " twelve gates," in honor of " the twelve tribes." It is 
 said that " the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And 
 the foundations of the walls of the city were garnished with 
 all manner of precious stones " (Rev. xxi. 18, 19). We can- 
 not say what may be the judgment of the " solid beef-eating 
 men and women," but we may possibly apprehend the reason 
 why Wall Street and Fifth Avenue prefer the New Jerusalem 
 view of the subject. Among a people whose chief trust is in 
 " gilt-edged securities," a city composed of gold and precious 
 stones will always possess unequalled attractions. 
 
 As to the " spirits who rap on your table and pinch your 
 legs," we may as well admit, in respect to their deportment, 
 that they do not " put on the airs " which characterize the con- 
 duct of the highest dignitaries in Church and State. But very 
 worthy spirits may and do let themselves down for a laudable 
 purpose — // Pia-y be to give a tangible manifestation to some un- 
 reasoning skeptic who can only be convinced by hard knocks. All 
 instruction must be adapted to the necessities of the ignorant 
 and undeveloped mind. The sage does not stoop too low 
 when he teaches the lisping child the alphabet of his language. 
 The conduct of the spirits who come to us may be neither un- 
 reasonable, unnecessary, nor without eminent examples. The 
 Materialist demands the evidence of the senses ; he will be 
 satisfied with no other ; and it may be necessary to strike hard 
 to produce deep and lasting conviction. Saul of Tarsus had 
 to be knocked down by a Spirit before he would believe that 
 one was present. The persecuting Pharisee was struck with 
 
THE TRIBUNE ON SPIRITUALISTS. 97 
 
 such force as to occasion a temporary paralysis of the optic 
 nerves ; and, according to the report of the sacred canon, one 
 of the Lord's angels wrestled all night with, the patriarch 
 Jacob ; and when the Angel relinquished his hold in the 
 morning, it is said that " Jacob's thigh was out of joint .i'" (Gen. 
 xxxii. 24, 25.) Spiritualists can wait for the future to verify 
 the proverb of the Latins — '' Vincit omnia Veritas." 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere, N. J., 
 July 26, 1880. 
 
 Possibilities of Spiritualism. — The old systems of the- 
 ology are smitten with dry rot. The antiseptic properties of 
 oral praise and prayer will not save them, for they are dying. 
 Something better must soon occupy their places ; and here — 
 let me observe— is our great opportunity. Spiritualism only 
 needs to be placed in a true light and on a proper basis, with 
 means and methods adapted to its divine uses and deathless 
 issues, and it will speedily become the philosophy and reHg- 
 ion of the civilized world. Bound by no creed ; pledged to 
 the support of no sect or party ; hospitable to every newly 
 discovered truth ; cordially accepting the results of philo- 
 sophical inquiry and scientific investigation ; truly reverent 
 in spirit, but independent in the exercise of reason, why may 
 it not realize the wants of every loving heart and the aspira- 
 tions of all enlightened minds ? 
 S 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 A CALIFORNIA JACK-WITH-A-LANTERN. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE ARGONAUT OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 A Critic's Views of Science — Relations of Facts to Scientific Systems — Horology and 
 Instruments for Measuring Time — Mistaken Views of the Argonaut — Friendly 
 Criticism — Hypothesis of Fraud and Jugglery — Theory of Involuntary Cerebral 
 Action — A Harvard Professor with the Spirits — Science on and Dignity under 
 the Table — An Epic Poem from the Spirits — Remarkable Improvisation — The 
 Solar Harp — Doctrine of Chances Illustrated — Is Meteorology a Science ? — Com- 
 parison of Physical and Spiritual Phenomena — Facts in Science which Centuries 
 may not Repeat. 
 
 " Thy own importance know, 
 Nor bound thy narrow views to things below. " — Pope, 
 
 To the Editor of the Argonaut : 
 
 SOME one has sent me your paper of the date of May 
 2 2d, in which I find a marked article entitled " Spirit- 
 ualistic Blunders." I am much pleased with the general ap- 
 pearance of your journal, and recognize the ability displayed 
 in the treatment of such topics as come within the range of 
 ordinary thought and familiar observation. But will you per- 
 mit me to remark, /^r contra, that some one — whom I sup- 
 pose to be on your editorial staff — is equally unfortunate in 
 what he writes about Science and Spiritualism ? After asking 
 the question, " What is Science ? " he answers — without hesi- 
 tation, and in a manner which is at least admirable for its 
 directness, however widely his definition may be found to di- 
 verge from all the recognized principles and approved methods 
 
 98 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 99 
 
 of the schools. From this lucid but very questionable expo- 
 sition of what constitutes science — in the opinion of the writer 
 — I extract the following passage : 
 
 " Established facts ; logical conclusions; systems that work; that 
 never fail, that never disappoint. Three and two are five. ... A 
 clock that keeps time; an engine that will run; a steamship that sweeps 
 the ocean; a telegraph wire; laws of nature discovered; complications in- 
 vented; systems of mechanism, chemistry or thought that never fail— that 
 repeat, or illustrate, or demonstrate whenever you choose to test them ; 
 contrivances and processes that know no failure and no disappointment 
 — these are science." 
 
 It seems evident that the author of the foreging definitions 
 could never have familiarized his mind with either the princi- 
 ples or terminology of the sciences. The relation of " estab- 
 lished facts " to science is often so remote and obscure as to 
 be quite imperceptible. Viewed alone and without reference 
 to any rules of classification, or to the discovery of the laws 
 which govern their occurrence, they never constitute a science 
 in any comprehensive sense of the term. The writer in the 
 Argonaut does not hmit his statement to facts of any particu- 
 lar class, or to any one department of human observation. Let 
 us therefore take a few examples at random, and leave the 
 writer under review to dispute the facts or show their relations 
 to science. The following will be sufficient for the present 
 illustration. Mr. Gladstone succeeded Lord Beaconsfield as 
 the responsible head of the British cabinet ; Gen. Garfield is 
 the Republican candidate for the Presidency ; Charles A. 
 Dana is editor-in-chief of the New York Sun j roosters are 
 most disposed to crow in the morning ; there are men base 
 enough to admire the heroism of the prize ring ; the papers 
 still pubhsh the details of cock-fights ; the State continues to 
 
lOO THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 break the necks of capital offenders, even when they are young 
 converts to the Christian rehgion ! These are all well " estab- 
 lished facts ; " but what have they to do with science ? Noth- 
 ing in particular, so far as we are able to discover. 
 
 It is true that facts are quite indispensable in the formulated 
 knowledge which we denominate science. But these are not 
 all that we require to constitute a scientific system. The facts 
 niicst be classified agreeably to the recognized principles involved 
 in the subject of our observations. They must be so disposed 
 that the mind may comprehend their relations to the essential 
 principles and immutable laws which determine and regulate 
 their occurrence. Facts, then, are only some of the materials 
 from which different sciences may be and are constituted. It 
 is well known that bricks are necessary in the construction of 
 a suitable dwelling ; but a brick is not a house, and it must be 
 equally evident that a fact is not a science. 
 
 Again, we are informed that " A clock that keeps time " is 
 " science ; " but we fail to see it in that light. A clock is an 
 instrument which illustrates Horology — the science of measur- 
 ing time. Science explains the principles and laws involved in 
 the construction of instruments for this purpose. A clock is 
 one form of an instrument for measuring time ; but it is not 
 the science of Horology. The presumption that it is, over- 
 looks the necessary distinction between the mere instrument 
 and the branch of science it is designed to illustrate. We de- 
 pend on the barometer to indicate the existing atmospheric 
 pressure, and the probable changes in the weather ; but he 
 would be a crazy scientist who should so utterly confound the 
 mercury and the barometrical scale with the variations of the 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. lOI 
 
 atmosphere as to recognize no possible distinction between an 
 object which properly belongs to the department of construc- 
 tive art and the science of atmospheric phenomena. There is 
 substantially the same difference between the clock and the 
 science of measuring time, that exists between the barometer 
 and the science of the weather. 
 
 Your article suggests that sciences must be very numerous 
 v/hen one can be found in almost any inanimate object, even 
 in " a telegraph wire," which is also said to be *' science." It 
 is true that wires are employed in the science of Telegraphy ; 
 but the wires are only one part of the apparatus used in the 
 practical application of this science. Here we note the same 
 want of discrimination in the use of terms, and a total indif- 
 ference to that precision of statement which characterizes all 
 true science. Agriculture, especially in its superior relations 
 to chemistry, is a profound and most important science. Plows 
 and hoes are agricultural implements ; but must we have all 
 our ideas of scientific principles and the proprieties of speech 
 harrowed up by being told that shovels, hoes and pitch-forks 
 are sciences ! 
 
 I need not traverse all the terms and forms of expression 
 under which the writer, who elucidates Science and Spiritual- 
 ism for your journal, claims to have discovered the former. If 
 his questionable judgment is to be accepted, then the essen- 
 tial elements of science are also to be found in " complications 
 invented." This conception has every appearance of original- 
 ity ; but is it true .? We must confess we had not dreamed of 
 it, and should never have thought of looking there for those 
 elements. The subject may be obscure, but Webster comes 
 
I02 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to our aid with the following plain definitions of " complica- 
 tion : " " Intricate or confused blending of parts j entanglement; 
 the act or the state of being involved." From this view of the 
 subject we might reasonably expect that great scientific at- 
 tainments need not be so rare. If " complication," or a " con- 
 fused blending of parts," constitutes science, it follows that 
 the greater the complication or confusion, the more profound 
 the knowledge it involves, and the ancient Babel must forever 
 stand forth at the head of all scientific institutions. If '* en- 
 tanglement " is science, the miserable fellow who is lost in a 
 bramble-jungle, and cannot find his way out, is in a fair way 
 to graduate with all the honors. 
 
 " The act or state of being involved " is thus defined by the 
 same philological authority : " To envelope in anything which 
 exists tipon all sides ; as, to involve in darkness a7id obscurity.'' 
 Now, when we look for science in the "complications in- 
 vented ; " — and when we find it, in " confusion," " entangle- 
 ment " and " darkness " — it is astonishing how scientists are 
 multiplied. The motley crowd not only embraces all those 
 well-dressed aspirants who are striving to reach the temple of 
 fame, but 
 
 " The gathering number, as it moves along. 
 Involves a vast, involuntary throng." 
 
 Since science is made to consist in "complications" — 
 " confusion and entanglement,''' as the term is explained by Web- 
 ster — we need not seek the shadow of the University, unbar 
 the doors of classic halls, or search in the groves of Acade- 
 mus for wise men. When confusion is science, mere wran- 
 glers O'Ught to be sages, and madmen supremely happy ; at 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. IO3 
 
 the same time the lawless rabble must be on the royal high- 
 way to knowledge and power. 
 
 While respectfully submitting these brief observations re- 
 specting your views of science — which are offered in no un- 
 friendly spirit — I trust I may be permitted to notice your 
 summary three-ply method of disposing of Spiritualism. And 
 first you observe — respecting the spiritual phenomena — "we 
 must aver that a large portion undoubtedly " belong to " the 
 imposture part." But I beg to say that ^/le cases of ^' impos- 
 ture " are in no sense a part of Spiritiialistn, but, on the con- 
 trary, the work of its enemies. If the Editor, in assaying a 
 specimen of ore from any one of the mines, should find four 
 ounces of gold and three of other metallic substances, would 
 the assayer be likely to state in his report that the ore tested 
 gave seven ounces of gold, but that " a large portion " of the 
 same was some baser metal ? Should your agricultural Edi- 
 tor, or the statistician in your office, be required to estimate 
 the wheat crop of this country, would he represent that the 
 United States annually produces about 450,000,000 bushels of 
 wheat, but that one-twentieth part, more or less, of the whole 
 is beans, and " a large portion " of the remainder " is undoubt- 
 edly " tares? Of course no sane man would make such a 
 report. It is only on the abused subject of Spiritualism (pos- 
 sibly on science) that the newspapers expect to be excused 
 for publishing such nonsense. When the Secretary of the 
 Treasury figures up the amount of the national currency he 
 never includes the counterfeits. For a similar reason we insist 
 that all impostors and jugglers be excluded in estimating the 
 numbers of Spiritualists and mediums, and that all the tricks 
 
104 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 and frauds be left out of the record and analysis of Spiritual 
 Phenomena. 
 
 Your next method of disposing of the facts of Spiritualism 
 is by referring them to the involuntary action of the brain and 
 nervous system. But pray, Sir, what possible relation can the 
 involuntary action of the brain have to one in a hundred of 
 these facts ? Will you ascribe phenomena to unconscious 
 cerebration which the individual is forever incapable of pro- 
 ducing by the concentrated action of his faculties and the 
 utmost effort of the will ? Yet your assumption involves this 
 manifest absurdity. It is a fact established beyond all ra- 
 tional controversy that ponderable bodies— sometimes weigh- 
 ing several hundred pounds — are moved with irresistible force, 
 and yet in such a manner as to clearly demonstrate the fact 
 that this surprising power is guided by an invisible intellir 
 gence, human in all its essential characteristics. If, indeed, 
 the involuntary action of the brain so far transcends the ut- 
 most exertion of its voluntary powers, let the fact be demon- 
 strated. If the agents and forces are all in this world, the 
 scientists ought to be able to prove the fact and find the 
 agents. If there is any substantial evidence to support any 
 one of the thousand materialistic theories and speculations, 
 we are quite ready to receive and digest it ; but the mind be- 
 comes flatulent that feeds forever on hollow assumptions. 
 
 I was once present at a seance when a Harvard University 
 Professor, with a friend weighing over two hundred pounds 
 avoirdupois, rode about the room on a table ; and then both 
 were hurled headlong on the floor by this invisible agency ; 
 and I have an explicit statement of the facts, to which the 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. . I05 
 
 Professor referred to subscribed his own proper name. Is it 
 to be supposed that the involuntary and unconscious action 
 of either his cerebellum or cerebrum moved the vehicle on 
 which he rode, together with the superincumbent weight of 
 some four hundred pounds ? Did this silent cerebration, in 
 spite of the man himself, send him and his companion sprawl- 
 ing on the floor ? If a single brain-power can develop such 
 amazing force without the least effort to do so, every sluggard 
 ought to be able to plant, hoe, and grind his corn by his own 
 cerebral motive power. If there is any truth in the assump- 
 tion it would appear that the way to accomplish the greatest 
 possible results is to make no effort whatever. This is a fair 
 sample of the reasoning employed by the opposition to Spirit- 
 ualism. If there is anything in this theory, the philosophers 
 of the Micawber school must be right, and the power of a 
 dozen loafers might be utilized to run a line of stages ; fash- 
 ionable idlers and all vulgar drones might become useful 
 members of society, and hereafter make some show at the 
 farmers' and mechanics' fair. 
 
 I have before me an Epic Poem of some five thousand 
 lines. It is a grand conception ; the imagery is equally bold 
 and beautiful, while it is entitled to a high rank as a metrical 
 composition. It is believed that no living poet, unaided by 
 special inspiration or direct spiritual agency, could produce 
 such a work in six weeks ; and yet it was improvised through a 
 medium in just twenty-six hours and sixteen minutes ! I know 
 it is the fashion with the secular press to assume that all the 
 poetry emanating from the Spirits is mere doggerel and utterly 
 worthless. For this reason I may be permitted to extract — 
 5* 
 
lOD THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 almost at random and not on account of the exceptional merit 
 of the passage — a few lines as an illustrative example of the 
 quality of the poem to which reference is here made. The 
 heavenly muse contemplates our planetary system as a grand 
 musical instrument — the Solar Harp. One chord in the 
 stellar lyre (the Spirit's reference is to the Earth) is repre- 
 sented as unstrung. But the angels — the invisible ministers 
 of the divine harmonies — touch the Earth with immortal fire 
 and it is renewed. The chord which had lost its tone is re- 
 stored and becomes responsive ; and Earth, with radiant face 
 — coming up out of the darkness and discord with the un- 
 broken symbols of her power — joins in the Solar Anthem. 
 
 THE SOLAR HARP. 
 
 " There are twelve great chords in the Solar Harp — 
 One chord alone unstrung ; 
 That chord is touched with a living spark, 
 And again it finds a tongue. 
 Joy ! joy ! joy ! 
 That chord is touched with a living spark, 
 And the Earth grows fair and young. 
 
 " There are twelve great Angels above the stars, 
 And they sit on their thrones of gold ; 
 But the throne of one, by Death's iron bars, 
 Was crushed in the ages old. 
 Joy ! joy ! joy ! 
 For Earth's throne again is among the stars. 
 And she sits in the Angel-fold. 
 
 " There are twelve great Nations in solar space, 
 But one of them sat in the gloom ; 
 The sun of its glory veiled its face 
 In the darkness of the tomb. 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. lO/ 
 
 Joy ! joy ! joy ! 
 For the twelfth great Nation lifts its face, 
 1 And glows with immortal bloom." * 
 
 — Epic of the Starry Heaven. 
 
 The third and last hypothetical method by which you pro- 
 pose to explain the facts of Spiritualism— to borrow and em- 
 phasize your own words — is " the doctrine of chances, the slip- 
 pef-y foundation on which all this superstructure of superstition 
 and imposture rests." Here you obviously abandon the first 
 and second hypotheses, and now rest " all " on what you are 
 pleased to term the "slippery foundation." Everyone who 
 has made the phenomena a subject of serious observation 
 knows very well that the claims of Spiritualism rest on no 
 such uncertain foundation. Let me frankly tell you that such 
 hypothetical facts as you are pleased to use in your peculiar 
 method of illustration, are not such as any rational believer is 
 accustomed to depend upon. May 1 ask why you do not 
 look at the real facts in the case, instead of trifling with a 
 grave subject by the use of bogus examples ? 
 
 Now suppose you make an appHcation of your doctrine of 
 chances to the composition of the Epic, and tell us how by 
 chance such a work was accomplished in twenty-six hours 
 and a quarter, when there exists not even a shadoAv of proba- 
 bility that the combined powers of the medium and all the 
 witnesses could ever have produced it at all. The idea that it 
 IS possible to execute such a work by accident— in other words, 
 in the absence of any design and withoitt efort—wi\] not be en- 
 
 * These lines have been set to appropriate music, composed by Prof. 
 George Harrison, the eminent English artist and teacher of vocal music. 
 
I08 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 tertained for a moment by any rational mind. To illustrate 
 your doctrine of chances — which Dr. Adam Clark defines to 
 be " men's ignorance of the real and immediate cause "—em- 
 ploy a man to throw paint all day at canvas ; let him continue 
 the experiment as long as he lives ; then let another succeed 
 him in the exercise of the same function ; and so on for cen- 
 turies in unbroken succession. If in one thousand years you 
 chance to get, by this means, a faithful copy of Raphael's 
 "Madonna," or of Michael Angelo's "Last Judgment," you 
 may possibly find some one disposed to listen to the doctrine 
 of chances as an explanation of the Spiritual Phenomena. 
 
 You object that " Spiritualism will not be put to work — will 
 not subserve any human purpose — will not come when wanted, 
 . it will not repeat itself" or, in other words, the phe- 
 nomena can not be reproduced ad libitum. That Spiritualism 
 has been most effectually "put to work" to overthrow the 
 scientific materialism of the age, and to revise the religious 
 beliefs of all Christendom, is obvious enough to all who are 
 pleased to look at the evidence. That in this way it sub- 
 serves a divine purpose by quickening the spiritual faculties 
 in human nature, and by furnishing scientific confirmation of 
 our faith in immortality — is already demonstrated to the entire 
 satisfaction of several millions of the human race. When 
 you object that, in respect to positive evidence, it is alto- 
 gether unlike science, because its phenomena cannot always 
 be repeated, or reproduced at pleasure, you assume too much. 
 This is no less true of a very large portion of accredited sci- 
 ence. I have not time to survey the whole circle of the sci- 
 ences with a view to an analytical and exhaustive expos^ of the 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. IO9 
 
 fallacy of your reasoning, and hence a more summary method 
 must be adopted. The barometer may indicate the same 
 general atmospheric conditions, but the nimbus and cumulo- 
 stratus clouds never assume precisely the same forms any two 
 days in the whole year. The laws of Nature are ever the 
 same, but her method produces endless variety, and never an 
 exact reproduction of the same phases and aspects. And 
 because this is the truth, which no one may dispute, will you 
 assume that meteorology is no science ? 
 
 If we may not exactly duplicate the same fact in Spiritualism 
 at will, it is nevertheless true that facts of a similar character 
 may be obtained at almost any time under suitable conditions. 
 But in science there are many facts which may never be re- 
 peated at our solicitation. This does not warrant our disput- 
 ing their actual occurrence. Should you chance to observe, 
 on some clear night, one of those small cosmical bodies which, 
 for a moment, become incandescent by their motion through 
 the Earth's atmosphere — a shooting-star or luminous meteor 
 — and you were to make the same the subject of a paragraph 
 in the Argonaut, you would not expect your readers to dis- 
 pute your statement, and obstinately refuse to believe unless 
 you would make a definite appointment, bring forward your 
 meteor, and so continue to repeat the exhibition at stated 
 periods, or as often as the caprice of some caviling skeptic 
 might dictate. There may be creatures in human shape so 
 enslaved that they hug the chains they wear ; 
 
 " As the pipes of some carved organ move 
 The gilded puppets' dance." 
 
 But Nature is not at fault in such servility ; nor is science 
 
no THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 the servant of petty dictators. On the contrary, Nature pur- 
 sues her majestic course regardless of our vain conceits ; nor 
 can the administration of her perfect laws be stayed to save 
 an empire. 
 
 " Such is the world's great harmony that springs 
 From union, order, and consent of things." 
 
 Astronomers tell us that there is a pale pilgrim of the sky, 
 whose flaming hair trails through one hundred millions of miles 
 of ether ; that this celestial traveler has made but a single cir- 
 cuit or revolution since Noah's flood ; and we are disposed to 
 believe what they say. Science presumes that this mysterious 
 apparition will come round again in the far-away future. Now 
 here is another heavenly body (we know not how many such 
 exist) that will not reappear at our bidding ; it will not come 
 and stop and pose for your artist ; and so you may, if you will, 
 ridicule the pretensions of the astronomers. In this case you 
 will nurse your unbelief a long time if you wait for a personal 
 introduction to this missionary of light from heaven. Before 
 you may hope to realize the visible presence of this strange 
 traveler, the last of the Argonauts may founder in the great 
 sea of popular skepticism, realizing at last that " the golden 
 fleece " is not for the faithless. 
 
 We shall finish our own brief commentary on passing events 
 and the drift of the world's thought ; but cosmos will remain. 
 The procession of the seasons will move along ; nations will 
 rise and fall, and the centuries come and go. But when that 
 pale wanderer comes back from his long pilgrimage to the 
 frontiers of the astral system, we shall watch his progress 
 from observatories in the heavens, and how will this world 
 
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. ' III 
 
 be changed ! It is more than probable that the foremost 
 nations of Europe will have finished their career and live only 
 in history. Even the model Republic of the Nineteenth Cen- 
 tury may only exist in story, because among the more endur- 
 ing monuments of great Peoples their languages may prove to 
 be immortal. 
 
 Permit me to suggest that your science needs a thoughtful 
 revision and important amendments to secure its acceptance 
 by scholarly minds. Should you be pleased to enter upon 
 the work of revision, in the true spirit of philosophical in- 
 quiry, you may find occasion to extend your researches into 
 a realm you have not yet explored. It is the self-love which 
 is satisfied with its present attainments that vainly strives to 
 fix limits to scientific investigation and discovery. The rising 
 tide of independent thought and universal progress will sweep 
 away all such arbitrary barriers, and with them those scientific 
 pigmies whose low ambition would fix the final limit of all 
 possible achievement within the sphere of our mundane life 
 and sensorial perceptions. 
 
 In the true spirit of freedom and universal Progress, and in 
 the hope that the boundaries of Science will soon be so far 
 enlarged as to embrace our formulated knowledge of spiritual 
 things, I am, my dear sir, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 S. B. Brittan, 
 
 Belvidere, Warren Co. , N. J. , 
 
 July 28 
 
 r.J., ) 
 
 , 1880. j 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. 
 
 IS THE ADVANCE GOING BACKWARD ? 
 
 FROM THE HULMEVILLE (pA.) DELAWARE VALLEY ADVANCE, AUG. I9, 1881. 
 
 " Little is the wisdom, when the flight 
 So runs against all reason." — Shak. 
 
 The War on Religious Freedom — Hulmeville proposes Limits— Striking at the Pro- 
 testant Reformation — Ignoring the Declaration of Independence — Science opposed 
 to Religious Despotism — The Throne and the Tribune — Case of William Twin- 
 ing — Derangement and Death from Disease — From the University to Bedlam — 
 How too much Love kills People — Shall we stop Loving ? — Religious Lunatics — 
 Shall we turn Infidel ? — Neshaminy Falls Mass-Meeting — Christians die suddenly 
 — Shall we suppress the Christian Religion ? — Black Sheep in the Fold — Bishop 
 Onderdonk and the Episcopacy — Infallible Signs of Dissolution — Where Care- 
 lessness is Crime. 
 
 To the Editor of the Advance : 
 
 SIR : Some one has sent me your paper of the fifth in- 
 stant, containing your double-leaded editorial leader on 
 " Spiritualism and its Influence." In this article you appeal 
 to the community to "join together and devise means by 
 which its further development and growth may be prevented." 
 You appear to have arrived at no final conclusion as to the de- 
 gree of religious liberty which may be tolerated with safety to 
 society ; but, in respect to the exercise and enjoyment of this 
 freedom by Spiritualists, you would impose some arbitrary re- 
 straints. No other conclusion is warranted by the terms of 
 the following extract from your editorial : 
 
 " It is a very difficult matter for private opinion to decide how far a 
 
 112 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. II 3 
 
 license may be given to advocacy and teaching of things which bring ruin 
 and death in their train. That there must be a limit somewhere every one 
 will admit. But to set bounds to the limitation is the matter which must 
 yet be decided ; and decided it will be, etc." 
 
 Let me respectfully remind you that when you undertake to 
 stifle free thought on moral and religious questions, and to 
 subvert the right of private judgment, you gravely propose to 
 strike at the fundamental principles of the Protestant Refor- 
 mation, at the Declaration of American Independence, and the 
 inalienable rights of man. Men of great ability, large oppor- 
 tunities and commanding influence shrink from the responsi- 
 bility of such a contract. The Nineteenth Century is too far 
 advanced, the light of science is too widely diffused, and the 
 people are too much in love with our free institutions to war- 
 rant the expectation of success in such an experiment. A re- 
 ligious despotism has no chance in republican America. De- 
 mocracy irreverently takes the Pope's bull by the horns and 
 leads him captive into the wilderness. We have no more re- 
 spect for the crozier and miter than for crowns and scepters. 
 We cut down the throne and whittle it into a tribune for the 
 use of our representatives, or, what may be better still, a free 
 platform for the people. Inspired by the love of Justice and 
 Liberty, we break all the symbols of arbitrary power and scat- 
 ter the fragments to the winds. 
 
 The pretext for the publication of your article is found in the 
 case of the unfortunate William Twining. I have no knowl- 
 edge of this case except what I derive from your report, and 
 I certainly have no disposition to question the general correct- 
 ness of your statement. The facts, as made public in your 
 paper, plainly show that Mr. Twining was a victim of some 
 
I 14 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 fatal disease which was accompanied, from its incipiency, by 
 cerebral derangement, and followed by ungovernable delirium 
 and sudden dissolution. In several different forms of vital 
 derangement the attack is often accompanied by intense cere- 
 bration, and delirium is a frequent concomitant of acute dis- 
 eases. In such cases it is quite natural for the patient to rave 
 about the subject that last occupied the mind. This fact 
 furnishes no evidence that the subject of thought had any- 
 thing whatever to do in causing the patient's illness. That 
 may have wholly depended tipon physical causes, as every well 
 informed and candid physician will readily admit. That Mr. 
 Twining's Spiritualism was not the real cause of his disease 
 and death, is rendered more than probable from your own 
 statement of the facts. When people become deranged from 
 constantly dwelling upon some all-engrossing subject they do 
 not, as a rule, expire suddenly. Indeed, insane people are 
 scarcely more likely to die prematurely than others. The 
 asylums have scores of inmates who have been there for many 
 years, and these poor unfortunates often live to be old. On 
 the contrary, it appears from your statement of the facts in 
 the particular case of Mr. Twining, that 07ily three days inter- 
 vened between the first symptoms of mental derangejnent and the 
 death of the patient. 
 
 But, if it should be made to appear that Spiritualism sus- 
 tained some doubtful relation to the loss of this man's mental 
 equilibrium, his case would only furnish another illustration 
 of the fact, that a too concentrated and protracted applica- 
 tion of the mind to any one subject is liable to derange the 
 mental functions. Thousands of imperfectly balanced people 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. II5 
 
 have lost their mental equipoise in this way, but very few of 
 them, however, were Spiritualists. In such cases the mind 
 is deranged, not because tliere is necessarily anything in the 
 subject of its meditations to disturb the harmonic action of 
 the faculties, but for the obvious reason that this intense and 
 prolonged strain upon the mind is forever incompatible with 
 the laws of physical and mental harmony. 
 
 I have known more than one merchant who went from his 
 counting-room to the lunatic asylum. The incidental cause 
 of the mental derangement was, too constant application to 
 business, and the mercenary spirit that would not employ a 
 book-keeper. But would you put an embargo on commerce, 
 and have the store-houses of other men shut up on that ac- 
 count ? Students, with unbalanced brains and feeble minds, 
 have been sent from the University to Bedlam, but the faculty 
 did not resign ; many others went to the same institution — I 
 mean to the University — and no one ever suspected that a 
 proper education was a dangerous thing. 
 
 The present writer was well acquainted with a man in Mas- 
 sachusetts — the foremost farmer in all the region — whose real 
 estate and personal property made him the wealthiest man in 
 the township to which he belonged. So strong was this man's 
 love of mammon that it produced a morbid apprehension that 
 he was about to lose his large possessions. This false con- 
 ception gained strength until it preyed upon him day and 
 night. Fearing that he might, after his almost life-long labor, 
 end his days in the almshouse, he terminated his unhappy 
 life by hanging himself on his own broad domain. It was 
 with a cheerful submission to " the mysterious ways of Provi- 
 
Il6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 dence," that the heirs of that man took possession of their 
 own lawful inheritance ; at the same time the neighboring 
 farmers never for a moment suspected that there was any 
 natural relation of cause and effect between agricultural pur- 
 suits and suicide. 
 
 Love has unmoored the minds of multitudes and left them 
 to drift over the sea of life in darkness and despair. Among 
 the most hopeless wrecks of our poor humanity are many who 
 have " loved, not wisely," but with a fatal intensity. And 
 still every normally constituted young man is sure to find his 
 sweetheart, and every blushing maiden accepts her lover. No 
 one proposes to disregard the divine injunction to " love one 
 another " because the vital fire sometimes consumes the altar 
 on which the flame is kindled. 
 
 It is also true that the lunatic asylums contain many per- 
 sons whose mournful record, as will appear from the books 
 kept by those institutions, is, that they became insane from 
 mental and nervous excitement occasioned by their religioits 
 experience. The history of revivals is illustrated by hundreds 
 of such melancholy examples. Only the other day a woman 
 who was a member of the congregation at the Brooklyn Tab- 
 ernacle, Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt Talmage, pastor, is said to have 
 lost her reason from the force of a solemn conviction and the 
 intensity of her religious emotions. Will the Editor of the 
 Advance tell us who is to be held accountable for this case, 
 and where is the graceless iconoclast, who, on such a poor 
 pretext, is ready to madly rush into Atheism, and sacrile- 
 giously pull down the temples consecrated to the Christian 
 Pv.eligion over the devoted heads of the worshipers ? 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. 117 
 
 In a local paragraph you state the fact, on the authority of 
 the New York Herald, that the " crowd in attendance at the 
 SpirituaHst Camp, on Sunday, the first instant, at Neshaminy 
 Falls, numbered over ten thousand persons." Yet in your at- 
 tempt to illustrate the influence of Spiritualism you select the 
 one unfortunate individual whose recent illness and sudden 
 death furnished the occasion for your appeal to the public. 
 Mr. Twining is said to have died a Spiritualist. Be it so ; 
 but that fact does not explain the cause of his death. Chris- 
 tians also die — sometimes in a state of the wildest delirium ; 
 but no discreet journalist appeals to the public to suppress 
 the religion of the Cross. From a solitary example of a man 
 who, probably, died from inflammation of the brain, you jump 
 to the conclusion that the influence of Spiritualism is of so 
 dangerous a nature that something must be done to suppress 
 this pernicious heresy. Your offense. Sir, consists of a propo- 
 sition to engage — with others who may be like-minded — in a 
 conspiracy to deprive a large class of American citizens of 
 their rights. On this grave subject you converse as coolly, 
 and with as little apparent regard to the world's faith and 
 philosophy, and the constitutional rights of milhons, as a city 
 Alderman would exhibit in discussing the propriety of a mu- 
 nicipal ordinance for muzzling dogs ! Why not undertake to 
 suppress the Christian Religion because church members 
 sometimes have cerebrospinal meningitis j or, otherwise, be- 
 cause all Christians are liable to die— some quite suddenly 
 and others from wasting disease— die holding on at the last 
 to the expressive symbol of their faith ? 
 
 Now, my dear Sir, may I be permitted to inquire why you 
 
Il8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 select William Twining's case as the one and only illustrative 
 example of the influence of Spiritualism ? Have you forgotten 
 the Jiine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nme other people who 
 atte tided the meeting at the Spiritualists Camp on the same day, 
 not one of ivhom — as far as the writer is informed — was either 
 sick or has exhibited any symptoms of tnental derangement 1 What 
 sort of logic is that which draws a general and most sweeping 
 conclusion from a solitary exceptional case in ten thousand? If 
 you should discover a dwarf in Hulmeville, only thirty inches 
 high, would you straightway seize upon him as the only proper 
 illustration of the average stature of the citizens of Bucks 
 County ? Of course you would not ; and yet in your vain 
 attempt to determine the character and influence of Spiritual- 
 ism your assumption seems to the rational mind no less illogi- 
 cal and absurd. 
 
 But this lame logic and manifest injustice to Spiritualists 
 does not terminate here. The moral sense and philosophy of 
 some opposers is as defective as their logic. The enemies of 
 the great Truth, which has already filled the world with its 
 presence, are also accustomed to search diligently for a pro- 
 fane and reckless brother in the faith, or some morally slip- 
 shod sister ; and when they have found one, they make haste 
 to determine the moral character of the whole Spiritual 
 Brotherhood, by one such individual example. If one finds a 
 horse thief in town, is he to be taken as an infallible index to 
 the moral status of the whole community ? The Episcopal 
 Church is believed to be made up of very respectable people. 
 Of course, we may reasonably look for occasional exceptions 
 to all general rules ; but one black sheep does not determine 
 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM DEFENDED. 
 
 119 
 
 the complexion of the whole flock. When it became neces- 
 sary—some years ago— to depose Bishop Onderdonk for im- 
 moral conduct, no faithful disciple once thought of relinquish- 
 ing his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or deemed it 
 necessary to inquire into the moral character and influence of 
 the Episcopacy. 
 
 You seem to be shocked at the conduct of the Spiritualists 
 in having the body of Mr. Twining removed from the ice, with 
 a view of determining beyond a doubt whether his spirit had, 
 or had not, finally departed. This was a very proper thing to 
 do under the circumstances ; and the public authorities, every- 
 where, shoidd forbid the burial of any and of all persons who die 
 suddenly until there are signs of decomposition which cannot be 
 mistaken. For the same reason the remains in such cases 
 should never be subjected to a very low or freezing tempera- 
 ture. Enlightened Spiritualists have some knowledge of the 
 states resembling death, and it is natural that they should ex- 
 ercise more than ordinary caution. They are better informed 
 on this subject than any other large class of our citizens. They 
 know that the sudden interruption of sensation and voluntary 
 motion is no certain indication of death ; and that a state of 
 suspended animation for several days has been followed— in 
 many well authenticated examples— by complete restoration of 
 all vital and voluntary powers. With this positive knowledge 
 to awaken caution against premature burials, and *o encour- 
 age hope in the possibility of a restoration, carelessness would 
 be crime. 
 
 When will the press discontinue its passionate appeals to 
 the prejudices of the ignorant, and calmly address the un- 
 
120 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 derstanding of the more enlightened classes ? This time- 
 serving policy, which floats every great public question on 
 the tide of popular impulses libels the truth, and is a dis- 
 grace to the civilization of the age. Let the old Error die 
 and be buried out of sight, and let the new Truth stand un- 
 disguised in the unclouded sunshine and majesty of its own 
 merits. It is only in this way that we may rationally expect 
 to advance the real interests of the human race ; and, believe 
 me, Sir, sincere devotion to Humanity is the true service of 
 God. 
 
 Trusting that you will permit me to address your readers, 
 in behalf of a people numbering many millions in all civilized 
 countries, whose independent thought and liberty of speech 
 you gravely propose to abridge, I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Yours respectfully. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, 
 Warren County, N. J., Aug. 12, 1880. 
 
TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 
 
 ANSWER TO THE AUTHOR OF A SPIRITUALISTIC TRAGEDY, 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE PHILADELPHIA SUNDAY PRESS AND MIRROR.* 
 
 "Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn." — Shakespeare. 
 
 Misrepresentations of the Press— Mr. Twining' s Case Again— Time-Serving Patrons 
 of Error — Vulgar Ignorance and Prejudice— Opposition to New Ideas of Religion 
 Wise Sayings of a Spiritual Reformer — Death by Disease no Tragedy — As- 
 sumed Responsibility of J. W. Colville — The Patriarch's Ladder— Insanity and 
 Orthodoxy— The Lunatic Demands a Vicarious Sacrifice — A real Tragedy in the 
 Freeman Family — Critic's Opposition to Dancing — Examples from Sacred His- 
 tory—David Beats the Scotch in his Lively Reel— He Selects Another Man's 
 Partner— Blunders in the Figure and Breaks one of the Commandments — Cus- 
 toms of the Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans — Solomon Sanctions 
 Dancing— Celebrating the Prodigal Son's Return— Shallow Views of the Press 
 and Mirror -This Critic Rivals the Teutonic Nursery Legends — A Christian 
 Strives with "Faithful Abraham"— He Wins the Bloody Championship— In- 
 famous Appeal to the Authorities— Editor of the Press and Mirror Disloyal to the 
 Constitution. 
 
 To the Editor of the Press and Mirror : 
 
 1FIND a sensational article— credited to your paper and 
 bearing the inappropriate title of " A Spiritualistic Trag- 
 edy " — floating through the channels of the press. It pur- 
 ports to be a narration of the facts in the case of the late 
 William Twining — alleged to have been a believer in Spirit- 
 ualism—who recently died at the Norristown Insane Asylum. 
 
 * This letter was sent to the Sunday Press and Mirror of Philadel- 
 phia, in September, iS8o, butdt did not appear in that paper. The pro- 
 prietors claimed that the manuscript never reached its destination, and we 
 cannot dispute the statement. It is here made public for the first time. 
 6 121 
 
122 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 It is represented that Mr. Twining " began to show signs of 
 delirium " on the evening of July 27th, and that on the morn- 
 ing of the 30th, less than three days thereafter, he expired. 
 This article is a mischievous attempt to excite public preju- 
 dice against Spiritualism and a very numerous class of our 
 citizens, and it is therefore calculated to generate and pro- 
 mote an unhealthy popular feeling and sentiment. In be- 
 half of the very numerous people whose general character 
 and principles are therein misrepresented and aspersed, I 
 respectfully ask to be heard, and will occupy no more space 
 in your columns than the case seems to require. 
 
 The fact that Mr. Twining's death occurred in less than 
 three days after he first exhibited signs of mental derange- 
 ment, certainly affords strong presumptive evidence that he 
 died of some disease of the brain, which may have sustained 
 no relation whatever to his belief in Spiritualism. Cerebrospi- 
 nal meningitis and other diseases, accompanied by irregular ce- 
 rebration, frenzy, and madness are not confined to Spiritualists. 
 The same forms of organic derangement occur in the experi- 
 ence of Pagans, Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, and Infidels; 
 and no sane man who is not a bigot ever thinks of referring 
 the cases to the peculiar religious or philosophical beliefs of 
 such people. And then it is to be observed, that sudden deaths 
 do not result from lunacy. A man may become a hopeless lu- 
 natic and not die for a quarter of a century, as the records of 
 the asylums all over the world abundantly prove. No ra- 
 tional view or scientific diagnosis of the present case would be 
 likely to attribute Mr. Twining's death to his acceptance of 
 the facts and philosophy of Spiritualism. Had he either 
 
TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 1 23 
 
 died in communion with the Catholic Church, in full belief 
 of the Thirty-nine Articles, or lost his balance of mind on 
 the cardinal points of Calvinism, no one would have attrib- 
 uted his death to the influence of his faith. But he is said to 
 have been a SpirituaHst, and hence several impulsive scrib- 
 blers rush into print with their railing accusations against the 
 doctrine and the whole body of believers.* 
 
 Many people seem to imagine that they are serving the 
 Lord by misrepresenting such of his children as entertain 
 unpopular views on rehgious subjects. It is no part of their 
 business to expose the pious frauds which flourish under the 
 shadow of the Church, since powerful religious organizations, 
 great wealth, and eminent learning have rendered these fash- 
 ionable. What if the new views embrace an ever-living Gos- 
 pel, which comes " in demonstration of the spirit " and with 
 power to settle, and on a scientific basis, the great questions 
 of our immortahty and the endless progress of the soul ? All 
 this is insufficient to command the attention and respect of 
 some men. The truth is spurned and trodden under foot as 
 an unclean thing ; and its inspired ministers may be despised, 
 traduced and buffeted with impunity. On this subject an 
 illustrious Spiritual Reformer, whom the Christian world long 
 since deified, left his eloquent testimony as follows : " Give 
 not that which is holy unto the dogs ; neither cast ye your 
 pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, 
 and turn again and rend you." (Matt. vii. 6.) 
 
 * We have already answered a similar though less malignant article, 
 which appeared in the editorial columns of the Delaware Valley Advance 
 — published at Hulmeville — of the date of the 5th of August, 1880. 
 
124 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 The article credited to your journal misrepresents the case 
 from the title to the last line. To characterize the death of 
 Mr. Twining as " A Spiritualistic Tragedy," is to falsify the 
 facts. Webster defines the word tragedy, as used in this con- 
 nection, to be " any event in ivhich human lives are lost by himian 
 viole?ice, more especially by unauthorized violence." Mr. Twining 
 did not die in this manner. The mournful event was not, in 
 any sense, the result of violence at the hands of any man. I 
 speak as a physician when I say that the facts warrant the 
 conclusion that Mr. Twining died of a physical disease. The 
 writer in the Press and Mirror gives a loose rein to his imag- 
 ination, when he assumes that an unpleasant responsibility 
 attaches to Mr. Colville and others who are accused of as- 
 suring the unfortunate Mr. Twining that " he was Christ, and 
 one day, not far distant, he would become the leader of all 
 Spiritualists." That either Mr. Colville, or any other real 
 medium, or any rational believer in Spiritualism, ever gave 
 such assurance to any man, will not be credited for a mo- 
 ment by any person who has any just claims to ordinary 
 candor and intelligence. Here we again encounter the same 
 " lying spirit " of exaggeration, which assumes a case of in- 
 flammation of the brain to be a " tragedy," and calls the ten or 
 fifteen thousand respectable people assembled at Neshaminy 
 Falls, "a tramping band !" 
 
 The bigoted author of this article would never have char- 
 acterized the attendants upon a Methodist camp-meeting in 
 this manner. He knows that it will not pay to dip his pen 
 in gall to abuse a large denomination of Christians ; and he 
 will perhaps live long enough to learn that the Spiritualists 
 
TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 125 
 
 outnumber any Protestant sect in Christendom. The time 
 may not be far off when this unnumbered people will possess 
 the moral power to command respect at the hands of the un- 
 scrupulous scribes who now so grossly misrepresent their real 
 character, and the essential principles of that divine philoso- 
 phy, which not only covers all our present relations and in- 
 terests, but is 
 
 " the Patriarch's ladder, reaching heaven, 
 
 And bright with beckoning Angels." 
 
 It was only recently that Mr. Twining became interested 
 in Spiritualism, and his mind seems to have been still under 
 the dominating influence of the dogmas of the Church. This 
 plainly appears from the following statement which I extract 
 from your correspondent's letter : 
 
 " He made known to his family his belief that he was Christ himself. 
 As this spell took a more firm hold of the unfortunate man, he said : ' I 
 must shed somebody's blood in order to prepai'e myself for the work I 
 have to perform.' He made an attempt on his brother, and came near 
 choking him before his hold could be broken." 
 
 Here it is evident that the disordered mind of the patient 
 was chiefly influenced by the " Evangehcal doctrine " of the 
 " vicarious atonement," which, I may venture to say, is not 
 believed by one Spiritualist in a thousand. This -popular the- 
 ological notion of the " vicarious sacrifice " of an innocent 
 person, being uppermost in his mind, governed his determina- 
 tion, and hence he conceived the shedding of blood to be an 
 indispensable preliminary to the accompHshment of his mis- 
 sion. Why then may we not ascribe his violent conduct and 
 destructive propensity to the fatal influence of the cardinal 
 
126 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 doctrine of the popular theology ? Had he actually killed 
 his brother, it would not have been the first instance of a 
 Christian lunatic offering a bloody sacrifice on the altar of his 
 religion. There have been many such examples ; * but faith 
 in the doctrine is still insisted on as essential to the salvation 
 of the soul. 
 
 The writer in your paper further characterizes the daily 
 exercises at the Neshaminy Grove meeting as " these objection- 
 able goings on," and then concludes his vituperative epistle 
 in the following paragraph : 
 
 ' ' The inconsistency of the delusion is the fact that the entire proceed- 
 ings are a mockery. After the preaching is over, dancing is indulged in 
 twice a week in one of the pavilions erected for the purpose. All their 
 quotations are taken from the Bible, and during the delivery of a sermon 
 they have flowers arranged in the trees, held in place by wires or invisi- 
 ble strings, which are represented to the crowd as having fallen from 
 heaven. Of course this is all trickery, and should be easily seen through. 
 As these people are doing much evil, it behooves the authorities to dis- 
 band them at once, otherwise more innocent farmers may die in a strait 
 jacket." 
 
 This daily sermonizing and the " dancing twice a week " — 
 
 always after the preaching is over — is, we may suppose, what 
 
 constitutes the " inconsistency " and mockery of " the delu- 
 
 * The public mind has scarcely recovered from the terrible shock occa- 
 sioned by that most revolting example in the Freeman family, of Massa- 
 chusetts. It was not suspected that any " spiritualistic " idea or teaching 
 led to this real tragedy. No, it was the influence of the dogmatic theol- 
 ogy of the so-called Evangelical Religion. Freeman had a supreme re- 
 spect for the " infallible authority " of the Bible, and believed in an ortho- 
 dox creed. To show his reverence for that authority, and to make his 
 peace with the God of Abraham, he determined to emulate the Patriarch, 
 who is said to have offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord ; and so 
 the crazy father actually slaughtered his own little daughter with the con- 
 sent and approbation of the mother who bore her. 
 
TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 12/ 
 
 sion." If this is really an incongruous association of ideas 
 and exercises, it must be admitted that the dancing part of 
 the performance, at least, has been indulged in for a very long 
 time. It has an ancient history, inwrought with the religious 
 ideas and festivals of all the earlier nations. In the one hun- 
 dred and forty-ninth Psalm the pious Hebrew minstrel calls 
 upon '' the congregation of the saints " to " sing unto the Lord 
 a new song," and he adds, " Let them praise his name i7i the 
 danced It is also related in sacred history that when the ark 
 of the covenant was brought into the holy city, ^^ David danced 
 before the Lord with all his 7?iight." (II Sam. vi. 14.) It is 
 true that David made some mistakes in balancing to another 
 man's partner, crossing over and going " down the outside '' 
 of the Ten Commandments ! But the Lord — unlike your hy- 
 percritical correspondent — does not appear to have taken seri- 
 ous offense at David's style of dancing. Indeed, this formed an 
 important part in the religious rites and worship of both the 
 Hebrews and Egyptians. The polished Greeks followed their 
 example, refining the festal and religious ceremonies of the 
 people, and the Romans profited by imitating the Greeks. 
 That dancing was included in the religious exercises of the 
 Christian Church, for more than one thousand years, is a fact 
 proved by authentic history, while it is not so evident that 
 the modern Church has improved upon the customs of the 
 fathers. I copy the following passage from a learned author : 
 
 "If we may believe Scaliger, the early bishops of the Church were 
 styled prasules, because (as the word literally implies) they led off the 
 dance at their solemn festivals ; and this practice continued in the 
 Church till the twelfth century."— (W. T. Brande, F. R. S. L.) 
 
 Where, then, is the " inconsistency " in dancing as well as 
 
128 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 preaching, at the proper time, and " in one of the pavilions 
 erected for the purpose ? " "A mockery " of reHgion to 
 dance ! Why, this secular scribe makes war on the Bible, 
 and he complains that Spiritualists quote altogether too much 
 Scripture ! Is the man who says this wiser than the wisest ? O 
 dishonored shade of Solomon ! Do we not read in thy divinely 
 inspired word that for " everything there is a season, and a time 
 to every purpose under the heavens," including " a time to 
 laugh, . . . a.nd a ^ime ^0 dance ?" {F,cc\esia.stes iii. T,-8_) 
 
 When the prodigal returned to his father's house his envious 
 and ill-tempered brother was at work in the field, and was not 
 consulted as to the propriety of killing " the fatted calf." This 
 excited his displeasure, " and as he came and drew nigh to the 
 house he heard mtisic and dancing. " That was too much for 
 his equanimity, and — like the petulant scribe in the Press and 
 Mirror — he was angry and would not go in. (Luke chap, xv.) 
 Is there not something about your correspondent to remind 
 one of the irascible brother of the Prodigal Son ? There may 
 be no resemblance in either form, feature, or complexion. 
 The fancied likeness may be confined to what the French call 
 the esprit^ which is so powerful alike in determining both the 
 momentary expression and the general demeanor. Instead of 
 going in to the great Spiritual entertainment, where he might 
 possibly find something to live on, and a remedy for his lean- 
 ness and meanness of soul, he is angry and stays outside to 
 nurse his displeasure. The thousands at the feast are rejoic- 
 ing in the great liberty and the new life of a present inspira- 
 tion, while he directs the finger of scorn at the guests and de- 
 fames the faithful disciples of the truth. 
 
TRUTH AGAINST ITS ENEMIES. 1 29 
 
 The man who is credulous enough to believe that the shal- 
 low devices described by the writer in the Mirror — the " flow- 
 ers arranged in the trees," and the wire-pulling to produce a 
 shower of floral offerings "from heaven "—were practiced 
 from day to day and for weeks, before thousands of intelligent 
 ladies and gentlemen, all of whom were either deceived or de- 
 ceiving, must be the very man to supplement the Teutonic 
 legends of " Jack and the Beanstalk," and that other adven- 
 turous John of giant-killing fame — all by the amazing power 
 of his own fertile imagination. To such a juvenile mind a 
 nursery tale of fiction may have more weight than the demon- 
 strative facts of Spiritualism. 
 
 The author of " A Spiritualistic Tragedy " closes his work 
 by an appeal to the local authorities to disband the Spiritual- 
 ists at once, and for no other reason but that a man, not half 
 converted to their views, died suddenly from some physical 
 disease which affected his brain and deranged his mind. 
 Where was this writer of fiction when poor Freeman — striving 
 with Abraham for the championship in the bloody demonstra- 
 tion of his faith — butchered his innocent little child ? We did 
 not hear from him at that time. True, it was a case to excite 
 the compassion of the hardest heart. He may have been 
 shocked, for aught we know, by the terrible tragedy ; but as 
 the perpetrator was known to be orthodox in his faith, your 
 correspondent was silent and made no sign. Nor did any 
 other lunatic propose to " disband " the Christian Church ! 
 Now, however, he calls aloud for prompt and decisive action 
 on the part of the public *' authorities." He would have a 
 
 people numbering millions deprived of their religious liberty ! 
 6* 
 
130 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 He insists that Spiritualists and their pubhc proceedings — 
 described in his elegant phraseology as "these objectionable 
 goings on " — should be squelched immediately and forever ; 
 " otherwise more innocent farmers may die in a strait jacket." 
 But the authorities did not respond to this importunate ap- 
 peal. They have learned, no doubt — what this man has evi- 
 dently failed to discover — that they live in a free country and 
 under a government that tolerates independent thought and 
 all systems of religion. 
 
 We close by congratulating the man who libels us, on his 
 being privileged to enjoy the priceless blessings of our liberal 
 institutions. It is fortunate indeed for those who are thus 
 disloyal to the Constitution and laws of their country, that 
 they live under a government which is so much better than 
 they really deserve. 
 
 " Who shames a scribbler, breaks a cobweb through." 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, 
 
 Warren County, N. J., Sept. 25, 1880, 
 
 ..[ 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS CRITICS. 
 
 AN UNJUST CRITICISM OF MR. HENRY KIDDLE REVIEWED. 
 
 FROM THE GATE CITY, KEOKUK, IOWA.* 
 
 The late Superintendent of Schools — A Critic's offensive Misrepresentations — Mr. 
 Kiddle was never Crazy — He vi^as not Removed — A most efficient Man Resigned 
 an Important Place — The Question of Scholarship — An Editor's Distress about 
 Syntax — The Untitled Journalist versus a Master of Arts — Men who are Paid to 
 write bad English — The Josh Billings School— How Charity is illustrated at Gate 
 City. 
 
 To the Editor of The Gate City : 
 
 SIR : Having accepted the appointment — in the special 
 interest of liberal principles — of Corresponding Editor- 
 at-large, I take the liberty, in the discharge of the duties as- 
 signed to me, to address you in reference to the following 
 paragraph, which appeared in the editorial department of 
 your paper, under date of the 9th instant : 
 
 " Mr. Henry Kiddle was Superintendent of the public schools of New 
 York. He became a crazy Spiritualist last year and lost his position, and 
 is very angry about it. He presided at a meeting of Spiritualists last 
 week, and made a furious speech of abuse of everybody and all papers and 
 preachers that won't see heaven's truth in the twaddle and bad grammar 
 driveled upon a suffering world by professed spirits at seances. Mr. Kid- 
 dle really needs to be judged very charitably. There is something the 
 matter with his head and he doesn't know it." 
 
 * This letter was published in The Gate City, Jan. 28, 1880. In the 
 order of time it would have found its proper place among the earlier con- 
 tents of this volume, had it not been overlooked. The particular place 
 assigned to it is, however, a matter of little consequence. 
 
 i3i 
 
132 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 I do not allow myself to presume for a moment that you 
 have any wish to use your columns to the injury of any indi- 
 vidual, much less that you would intentionally mislead the 
 public mind. In the absence of any conclusive evidence to 
 the contrary, I am bound to presume that you intend to con- 
 duct your paper with a view to the dissemination of correct 
 intelligence on all subjects that come within the range of 
 modern journalism. Trusting that you would wish to be cor- 
 rectly informed on all matters that fall within the scope of 
 your daily commentary on current ideas and passing events, 
 I take the liberty to forward this communication for publica- 
 tion in your columns. 
 
 Permit me to say that you were never more mistaken in 
 your life than in what you are pleased to affirm in respect to 
 the late Superintendent of the public schools of this City. Of 
 this fact it would be no diihcult task to satisfy any man who 
 — with a mind open to conviction — has the capacity to reason 
 and the discrimination to measure the force of evidence. In 
 a further and more analytical reference to your paragraph I 
 remark : 
 
 I. Mr. Henry Kiddle did not become crazy last year. His 
 faculties never have been thus deranged at any time. That 
 he Avas not adjudged by our Board of Education to be crazy, 
 is evident from the fact that he continued to discharge all 
 the duties of his most important position to the last hour of 
 his term of ofhce. No fair minded person here pretends to 
 dispute the fact that he exhibited the same mental and moral 
 equipoise to the last ; nor was he less efficient in the consci- 
 entious discharge of every duty to his subordinates and every 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS CRITICS. 1 33 
 
 obligation to the public. It may fairly be questioned if any 
 man ever resigned an important office in this City who car- 
 ried with him into his retirement a larger measure of public 
 respect and confidence ; nor can we point to one who was 
 more beloved by the large, intelligent, and influential class of 
 people who were at once subject to his authority and gov- 
 erned by his wisdom. 
 
 2. Mr. Kiddle did not " lose his position," and was never 
 " very angry about it." On the contrary, in the most dispas- 
 sionate manner he resigned his office, and he has never, to 
 this day, exhibited the slightest ill feeling toward those who 
 favored his removal, so far as the facts are known to the 
 present writer. There was no little discussion about request- 
 ing Mr. Kiddle to recall his resignation, in the course of 
 which a number of the more influential members of the Board 
 of Education emphatically expressed their undiminished con- 
 fidence in his unequaled ability for the place, and his un- 
 wavering fidelity to the sacred trust reposed in him. The 
 opinion found expression long ago, and is still widely enter- 
 tained, that if the late Superintendent had not resigned he 
 would have been in the same office to-day. 
 
 3. Mr. Kiddle never made " a furious speech ; " on the 
 contrary, he always speaks with calmness and deliberation. 
 He did not " abuse everybody ; " more especially editors and 
 preachers who " won't see heaven's truth in twaddle and bad 
 grammar." Mr. Kiddle's grammar will compare favorably 
 with that of the most distinguished of his assailants. He has 
 received the degree of Master of Arts, and well understands 
 the principles which determine the relations of thought to 
 
134 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 speech, or the art of philological expression. We can assure 
 you that he is far more familiar with the rules of syntax, or 
 the principles of grammatical construction, than the average 
 journalist. We cannot discount the just claims of this gen- 
 tleman to scholarship, because he may choose — like a faithful 
 amanuensis — to correctly report the language of parties who 
 may be pleased to converse with him on some important sub- 
 ject. Our most popular authors and men of acknowledged 
 genius do this ; and what is more, they put ungrammatical 
 and frequently very bad language into the mouths of fictitious 
 characters of their own creation. We have some authors who 
 have reduced the business of writing bad English to a system. 
 Josh Billings, for example, actually receives not less than two 
 or three thousand dollars per annum for a weekly contribu- 
 tion of half a column to a single New York journal. And 
 what have the hypocritical opposers of Spiritualism to say 
 about it ? Not a word to justify the inference that they re- 
 gard this business as at all reprehensible. They seem to ap- 
 prove of " twaddle and bad grammar," when these things 
 command a high price. Indeed, some newspaper men value 
 these baser elements in our journalistic literature so highly 
 that they are quite willing to steal them, and the papers far 
 and near appropriate what Josh writes without one word of 
 objection to his systematic prostitution of the language. 
 
 4. You are pleased to say that " Mr. Kiddle really needs 
 to be judged very charitably." But where shall he go to 
 obtain such a righteous judgment ? It will hardly do to 
 travel toward Keokuk where so many oblique statements to 
 his disparagement can be crowded through the Gate City 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS CRITICS. 1 35 
 
 in a single editorial paragraph. Now here are some of the 
 more essential characteristics of charity, as defined by a Chris- 
 tian Apostle : '' Charity suffereth long and is kind j * * * 
 charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave 
 itself unseemly, * * * is not easily provoked, thinketh 
 no evil." Where shall we look for a conspicuous illustration 
 of this charity, the exercise of which, in your opinion, is so 
 much needed in behalf of our late Superintendent ? When is 
 that heavenly guest expected out West ? True, we know of 
 nothing in the case of Mr. Kiddle that calls for any special 
 exhibition of charity ? No one need rend the white mantle 
 the angels let down out of heaven, by any spasmodic attempts 
 to cover this new and worthy disciple of a living inspiration 
 and an everlasting gospel. If we can but find this mantle 
 somewhere under the sun, we know that its ample folds are 
 sufficiently broad to encircle all of us — and still, we may 
 hope, leave enough to cover the Gate City. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, ] 
 New York, Jan., 1880. [ 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. 
 
 MAGNETISM, CLAIRVOYANCE, AND DEMONISM. 
 
 FROM THE VAN BUREN (aRK.) PRESS, OCT. l6, 1880. 
 
 Dr. Graves Visits Charles Foster— Dr. Samuel Watson's Lectures— Moving of the 
 Waters — Ithuriel and Zephon — Commission from Gabriel — Satan in Mischief — 
 Arrested by the Heavenly Detectives — Resurrection at Memphis — Mistakes of 
 the Spirits— Mr. Greeley's Chirography— Heterodox Spirits— What Dr. Graves 
 does not Know — Mesmer at the Court of Louis XVI. — Professorship of Animal 
 Magnetism at Berlin — Cuvier, Laplace, Humboldt, Coleridge, Dugald Stewart, 
 and Galvani — Relations of Vital Magnetism to Psycho-physiology — Power of 
 Will over Magnetic Sensitives — Limitations of the Wonder-working Agent — 
 Clairvoyance Explained — Invisible Psychological Operators — Dr. Graves on 
 " Demonism "— " Hark, from the Tombs ! " — Demonology of the Ancient Greeks 
 and Modern Spiritualists. 
 
 " How commentators each dark passage shun, 
 And hold their farthing candle to the sun." 
 
 — Young. 
 
 Editor of the Van Buren Press : 
 
 1AM indebted to one of your citizens for a copy of your 
 journal, containing a letter from Rev. Dr. G. R. Graves, 
 descriptive of the method and results of his investigation at a 
 single seance with Mr. Foster, the well-known test-medium. 
 This occurred long ago, and the letter was originally pub- 
 lished in the Memphis Appeal, in January, 1873. The Press 
 compliments Mr. Graves, by saying that he is "one of the 
 most distinguished divines in the United States." 
 
 It appears that our venerable brother, Rev. Dr. Samuel 
 Watson, has been giving lectures in the Southwest on the one 
 
 136 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. 1 37 
 
 universal gospel of Spiritualism, and that his demonstrative 
 facts and cogent reasonings have stirred the elements of the 
 effete theologies, and deeply moved the souls of their defend- 
 ers. It seemed to be necessary that some one should meet 
 the Southern champion of the New Dispensation, who had so 
 deeply wounded the adversary. The presence of one so thor- 
 oughly imbued with the spirit of truth as Dr. Watson is known 
 to be, could scarcely fail to discover the enemy, and leave 
 him naked for the world's observation. According to Mil- 
 ton, Ithuriel and Zephon, two bright and heavenly detectives, 
 were sent— under a celestial commission from Gabriel— to 
 search all Paradise for Satan (the adversary), and they found 
 him ; precisely how and where is thus described in the lan- 
 guage of the poet : 
 
 " Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve, 
 Assaying by his devilish art to reach 
 The organs of her fancy, and with them forge 
 Illusions as he list, phantasms and dreams ; 
 Or if, inspiring venom, he might taint 
 The animal spirits. . . . 
 Him thus intent, Ithuriel with his spear 
 Touched lightly, for no falsehood can endure 
 Touch of celestial temper, but returns. 
 Of force, to its own likeness." 
 
 Some one was wanted to break the spear of Ithuriel ; but 
 there was no valiant spirit incarnate at Van Buren, in Ar- 
 kansas, who could give assurance of his abiHty to resist the 
 " touch of celestial-tempered " weapons. And when no one 
 was found worthy of Bro. Watson's steel, it came to pass that 
 they explored Memphis, and resurrected this dead letter of 
 Graves ! This might suffice to dull the weapons of all ordi- 
 
138 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 nary warfare, but it is powerless to either blunt that celestial 
 spear, or turn the edge of " the sword of the spirit." 
 
 Seriously, while Mr. Graves's letter is no doubt a conscien- 
 tious statement of the details of his very limited experience, 
 it is mainly devoid of interest. There is nothing offensive in 
 its spirit ; and there is nothing in it to shake the confidence of 
 the feeblest disciple in a single fact or principle of Spiritualism. 
 Indeed, the opposition is so weak and shaky that if it had a 
 soul to feel, it would certainly move us to compassion. It is 
 proper to observe that Mr. Graves was not satisfied with the 
 results of his interview. The spirits made several mistakes in 
 respect to matters of fact, names, etc. George Snider claimed 
 to be in the Spirit- world an hour after the doctor had dined 
 with him. A spirit assuming to be his wife stumbled on her 
 middle name ; and it is said that her chirography '' looked as 
 if it might have been written by Horace Greeley ; " and, he 
 adds — by way of explanation — '' was written backward and 
 bottom tipwardT The most remarkable thing in this connec- 
 tion is, if the spirit's chirography so much resembled Horace 
 Greeley's, that he, Dr. Graves, should be able to determine 
 whether it was really inverted or right side up. 
 
 Another grave objection is found in the fact of his dis- 
 covery that spirits are not orthodox, but favor — to use his own 
 language — " the doctrine of the universal salvation of all." 
 This may be slightly tautological ; and we are left to infer 
 that if the Spirits will consent to compromise on the universal 
 salvation of a very limited number, their doctrine will be more 
 acceptable to " this most distinguished divine." If they will 
 only join the church, take a slip and pay for it, and liberally 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. 1 39 
 
 " Deal damnation 'round the land " 
 
 on all whom they judge to be the enemies of God, they will 
 soon get a fair hearing before our religious society, and their 
 teachings may come to be respected as the precious revela- 
 tions of infinite love and heavenly wisdom. 
 
 There is nothing further in Mr. Graves's letter to either ar- 
 rest attention or invite comment, except what is embraced in 
 his concluding paragraph, which I copy as follows : 
 
 " I wish to say to your readers that this test interview confirmed me in 
 the positions I have heretofore presented to the public, that animal mes- 
 merism has much to do with Mr. Forster's performances, clairvoyance 
 some, and demonism will account for the rest. He performs some unac- 
 countable things, I must confess.* The bloody writing on the back of 
 his hand is by far the greatest ; but much connected with Spiritualism 
 that was deemed miraculous a few years ago is now explained, since mag- 
 netism and mesmerism have come to be understood, and so the blood- 
 writing may be in years to come. " 
 
 Rev. J. R. Graves, D.D., of the Baptist Church, aspires to 
 something like originality when he attempts to treat of " ani- 
 mal mesmerism. " True, a little more than a century ago, F. 
 Antoine Mesmer, of the Medical faculty of Vienna, attracted 
 considerable attention to the phenomena of animal or human 
 magnetism, which he used as an auxiliary in his practice of 
 medicine. Ten years later the French Academy appointed a 
 committee to inquire into the subject ; but failing to feel, see, 
 taste, smell, measure or weigh the subtle and wonder-working 
 
 * After assuming to account for all the facts by attributing some to 
 mesmerism, others to clairvoyance, and the rest (this comprehends all that 
 remains) to demonism, he is obliged to " confess" that there are " some 
 unaccountable things." To evade the force of these he takes a leap into 
 the darkness of conjecture and expects others to follow him. 
 
140 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 fluid which Mesmer supposed to exist, the committee reported 
 that there was no such thing as " Animal Magnetism." But 
 the facts continued to multiply and command attention in 
 different parts of Europe. Cuvier, Laplace, Humboldt, Cole- 
 ridge, Dugald Stewart, and many other distinguished names 
 became identified with the new science. In 1831 its claims 
 to a place among the accredited sciences were duly acknowl- 
 edged in the report of the scientific commission, appointed, 
 if I mistake not, in 1825. Skepticism reluctantly gave up the 
 ghost. The invisible, pain-destroying agent was at length 
 admitted into the hospitals of Paris and London, and a Pro- 
 fessorship of Animal Magnetism was established in the Medi- 
 cal College of Berlin.* 
 
 But there is no proper reason for giving names of persons 
 to the great principles of Nature. I recall but one other 
 notable example in which this is done. The electricity gener- 
 ated or disengaged by chemical action, is called Galvanism, 
 in honor of the Bologna anatomist and physiologist, Galvani. 
 But we might as well call electricity in another form, F7'ank- 
 linism — because the American philosopher experimented in 
 the science, and is credited with demonstrating the identity 
 of lightning and electricity — as apply the name of the Vienna 
 Doctor to the subtle electro-magnetism of animal and human 
 bodies. We do not name Gravitation after either Kepler or 
 
 * The discoveries of Mesmer and his dexterous use of the power, gave 
 him an enviable position and a commanding influence. He had many 
 distinguished pupils in Paris, received large sums for his course of in- 
 struction, and was professionally employed by the principal nobles at the 
 court of Louis XVI. — See the author's Philosophical Treatise entitled 
 Man and his Relations, Chap. II. 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. I4I 
 
 Newton. We never speak of Geology as Lyellism, nor is as- 
 tronomy made to bear the name of some Chaldean shepherd, 
 an Egyptian priest, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, or any mod- 
 ern scientist. For want of a better name, we may call the 
 agent referred to by Rev. Dr. Graves, Vital Magnetism, to 
 indicate that the subtle principle belongs essentially to life, 
 and is peculiar to the forms of animated nature. 
 
 And what does Mr. Graves know about vital, animal, or hu- 
 man magnetism ? Evidently very little ; not enough to either 
 enable him to give us a proper definition of the words, or to 
 characterize the principle, by the use of appropriate terms. 
 Now, what are the powers of Vital Magnetism ? Under the 
 direction of human intelligence it is capable of producing a 
 great variety of physiological and psychological phenomena, 
 on and through the bodies and minds of susceptible persons. 
 It may exercise supreme control over sensation and voluntary 
 motion ; influence all the involuntary functions and processes 
 of the living body — by accelerating or retarding molecular, 
 chemical, arterial and cerebral action — so as to arrest disease 
 and restore the vital equilibrium, when, from any cause, it may 
 have been temporarily interrupted. This command of the 
 nervous circulation enables the operator to govern the distri- 
 bution of the animal fluids ; to excite and subdue all the pas- 
 sions of human nature ; and to determine the specific charac- 
 ter of the impressions made upon the brain and the mind of 
 the subject through the nerves of general and special sensa- 
 tion. In many cases the skillful exercise of this power is suf- 
 ficient to chain the strongest man ; to greatly intensify and 
 wholly suspend sensibility in the subject ; to allay nervous 
 
14^ THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 irritability, to remove pain and induce sleep ; to stimulate 
 thought, and to inspire dreams and visions ; while, here and 
 there, it lifts the veil of our mortality and reveals the invisi- 
 ble world to the conscious soul. 
 
 What are the natural and inevitable limitations of this pecu- 
 liar power ? On this question all thoughtful observers must 
 agree. The first or cardinal fact which arrests the attention 
 of every scientific investigator is that the several phases of the 
 phenomena a?'e restricted to the forms of human and animal ex- 
 istence. The unorganized elements of matter, the forms and 
 substances of the vegetable and mineral kingdoms — in short, 
 all the objects of the inanimate creation, are beyond the reach 
 of this agent. Vital magnetism can not read and spell ; it 
 can not teach the ignorant ; it can not rap on a table ; it will 
 not move a bowlder ; it rings no bells beyond our reach ; it 
 never lifts any ponderable body ; it does not unlock doors, 
 either with or without keys ; it is n,ot able to play on musical 
 instruments ; it is neither a poet, an orator, nor a metaphysi- 
 cian ; it does not draw portraits, and never quotes Scripture. 
 Vital Magnetism is dumb, and will not account for the myste- 
 rious voices ; Magnetism is destitute of sensibility, and can- 
 not be insulted ; Magnetism is blind, and can no more see 
 what is in our minds than electricity, hydrogen gas, or com- 
 mon air can be expected to exercise this function of sentient 
 being. 
 
 Can Clairvoyance perform any of the things embraced in 
 the foregoing specification ? I answer, // enables its possessor 
 to clearly perceive what is passing in the huma?i mi?id. Beyond 
 this it is utterly powerless to produce any one of the results 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. 1 43 
 
 or effects above specified. The term is compounded of two 
 French words, dalr, clear, and voyant, to see. The faculty- 
 being subjective and passive, can exert no possible influence on 
 outward objects. If is the gift of spiritual perreption~ox Xho. 
 power of imvard sight— hy which we clearly discern things 
 beyond the range of ordinary vision ; creatures too minute to 
 be perceived through these mortal instruments of sight ; and 
 the beings who are rendered invisible on account of the ex- 
 treme sublimation of the elements which enter into their com- 
 position and structure — the forms of the Spirit- World. Of 
 course Clairvoyance can no more move an object, or produce 
 a sound, than the faculty of natural vision exercised through 
 the physical organs. Every child knows that he may gaze all 
 day at the natural and artificial objects outside of the school- 
 room, and never move one of them a hair's breadth. 
 
 It is true that the human mind, acting through the delicate 
 and powerful agency of animal electricity or vital magnetism, 
 may produce very remarkable effects on the constitutions of 
 men and animals ; but that power is forever restricted to crea- 
 tures endowed with sensatiofi and vohmtary motion. Made po- 
 tent as possible by the utmost effort of the human will, it is 
 still powerless to influence the inanimate creation. It could 
 never bend a blade of grass, stir a single leaf in the forest, 
 ripple the waters of a waveless pool, nor check the movement 
 of the most delicate chronometer. The psychological phe- 
 nomena which depend on the executive power of the mind — 
 concentrated on the sensitive subject, and acting through the 
 subtle magnetism of the living body — may be produced agree- 
 ably to the same psychological laws, by minds in the flesh and 
 
144 ' THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 in the spirit. Other things being equal, the mind that is no 
 longer subject to mortal limitations may be able to produce 
 the more remarkable effects, and for the reason that the un- 
 fettered spirit may more completely interpenetrate the whole body 
 and mind of the subject. 
 
 Here let me observe that whether the operator be visible 
 or invisible, the phenomena depend on the same general laws 
 of mind and matter, and the effects are by no means dissimi- 
 lar, either in their essential nature or their superficial aspects. 
 Whether in or out of the body, the human mind is possessed 
 of the same faculties, affections and susceptibilities, and the 
 effects it is capable of producing on kindred natures in this 
 world have, therefore, not only a common origin, but a mut- 
 ual likeness. Let it be remembered that wherever we wit- 
 ness the illustrations of this power, we have the evidence 
 that there exists an inspiring mind somewhere ; and rational 
 Spiritualists are not accustomed to refer the phenomena to 
 invisible agents, when a visible operator can be discovered. 
 
 Every enlightened Spiritualist knows there are numberless 
 examples in which it is not only impossible to find the psy- 
 cho-magnetic operator within the sphere of visible existence, 
 but the conditions and circumstances are such as to preclude 
 the hypothesis of a mundane origin. In all such cases, the 
 rational mind has no alternative but to look within the veil for 
 the intelligent actors who direct the shifting scenes in the 
 divine drama of our mortal, and spiritual existence. 
 
 There is nothing remaining of this writer's assumptions but 
 the demonology to whichx he refers all the manifestations which 
 are not produced by what he calls " animal mesmerism " and 
 
DEAD LETTER OF DOCTOR GRAVES. I45 
 
 clairvoyance. We have already illustrated the nature and 
 scope of these alleged sources of the phenomena, showing by 
 reference to their limitations that they can only by a possibil- 
 ity be made to cover a small part of the facts of Spiritualism. 
 All that remain are attributed to " demonism." If by demons 
 the gentleman has reference to an assumed separate order of 
 intelligent beings — neither men nor gods, but devoted to the 
 work of infernal mischief — I deny the existence of any such 
 beings in' either heaven, earth or hell. If this is the accepted 
 hypothesis, the Rev. Dr. Graves cannot decline the onus pj-o- 
 bandi ; and we know very well that no evidence can be de- 
 rived from either fact, law, or reason to support such an as- 
 sumption. 
 
 But if the gentleman accepts the alternative idea or concep' 
 tion of the nature of demons, as entertained by the ancient 
 Greeks, namely, that they luere the spirits of departed human 
 beings, and that the word does not express or otherwise indicate 
 the inherent qualities and moral character of the beings to whom it 
 was applied, then there can be no further controversy. This 
 is indeed the only view which can be triumphantly defended, 
 and it involves a concession to the Spiritualists of the whole 
 ground of this controversy. The Greeks believed in both 
 celestial and terrestrial demons, or pure and impure souls of 
 men, and their continued influence in human affairs ; and the 
 Spirits of our time exhibit all degrees of human intelligence 
 and moral elevation which we find among men. 
 
 It is commonly assumed by the' clergy that the word demon 
 necessarily represents an evil spirit, when every classical 
 scholar should know that the sense in which the original word 
 7 
 
146 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 was used by the Greeks furnishes no warrant for such an as- 
 sumption. This appears to be one of the devices of modern 
 theologians for upholding the dogmas of the Church. Every 
 well educated clergyman knows that the word d(zmo7i was orig- 
 inally applied to the saints and heroes who were deified by the 
 ancient Greeks. They were spirits of men who were thus 
 honored by being elevated to the rank of the gods. The 
 apotheosis conferred divine rights on those who were distin- 
 guished for superior wisdom, heroic achievement, and the 
 eminent virtues which exalt and glorify human life. To such 
 an extent were they supposed to exert a beneficent influence 
 in advancing the interests of mankind that they were regarded 
 as objects of adoration. Homer seems to have viewed them 
 as belonging to the divine societies, and Hesiod represents 
 their influence as " peaceful and favorable to man." The 
 great souls of the golden age were represented as dcemom of 
 the most exalted rank. 
 
 In attempting to enlighten the cold skepticism of the relig- 
 ious world on the subject of Spiritualism — if I may be per- 
 mitted to slightly modify the words of the poet — Mr. Graves 
 is about 
 
 " As much at issue with the summer day 
 As if he brought his taper out of doors." 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, | 
 
 Warren Co., N. J., &//. 30, 1880. ) 
 
THE DEATH PENALTY. 
 
 ARGUMENT FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY. 
 
 FROM THE DAILY TIMES. HARTFORD, CONN., OCT. 13, 18S0. 
 
 The Herald and the Death Penalty — Criminal Code and the Law-making Power-^ 
 The Dangerous Classes— Capital Punishment Unchristian— Is Moses our Law- 
 giver ?— Revenge is not Justice— Relations of the Individual to the State— Phi- 
 losophy of Democratic Government— Assumed and Dangerous Prerogatives — 
 The State has no Right to take Life— Law makes the Public a Cowardly Assassin 
 —Logic of the Duello— The Homicide's Defense— Sacredness of Human Life- 
 Society's False Plea of Self-preservation— Naked Fallacy Exposed— Same Moral 
 Law Applies to the Citizen and the Republic— Solemn Mockery of a Religion of 
 Love— Behold the Sacrilegious Incongruities !— Praying for our Enemies in the 
 Insulted Name of Jesus— Growing Hemp and Building Gibbets— The Sacrament 
 and the Execution— Grim, Ghastly, and Terrible Spectacle ! 
 
 The Lex Scripta is the collective -will of the People. — Brittan. 
 To the Editor of the Times : 
 
 FROM an editorial article in the New York Herald, 
 under the title of *' Balbo and the Governor " — pub- 
 lished just after the execution of the former — I am led to 
 conclude that the editors of that journal are among the great 
 number of humane and thoughtful people who, while they 
 feel bound to respect the law as the formulated expression of 
 the popular will, do not approve of the Death Penalty. This 
 conclusion may be fairly drawn from the following passage : 
 
 "The Herald believes, with thousands of thoughtful people, that a 
 criminal can be used to better purpose than is possible after he has been 
 strangled with a rope ; but the majority of our law-makers do not, other- 
 wise the law allowing sentence of death would be changed." 
 
 Comparing this significant statement with its earlier treat- 
 
 147 
 
148 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ment of the same general topic, more especially with the 
 views expressed in an article on the " Methods of Capital 
 Punishment," in the Herald oi July 31, 1874 — which lies be- 
 fore me — I am pleased to witness the change which appears 
 to have resulted from the additional experience and observa- 
 tion of the last six years. This pleasure is augmented by the 
 reflection that the Herald is regarded as a model newspaper, 
 and generally accepted as a reliable interpreter of the popular 
 feeling and thought. The extract contains the suggestion 
 that our crimmal code does 7iot reflect the most enlightened views 
 of hiifnan nature and the just prerogatives of the law-making 
 poiver. It is, indeed, quite too general to regard the unequal 
 measure of individual responsibility ; while it plainly over- 
 rides the solemn obligation of the State to respect the inter- 
 ests of all the people — not excepting those unfortunate classes 
 whose freedom the laiv must restrain. These considerations 
 do not appear to exert any high moral influence over the 
 minds of legislators. Our law-makers are mostly taken from 
 the legal profession and the ranks of successful politicians ; 
 and we may well question whether they fairly represent the 
 average public sentiment on moral questions of such gravity 
 as the present. Perhaps lawyers are not more distinguished 
 than other people for a nice sense of reciprocal justice and 
 religious obligation, and it is certain that politicians are rarely 
 moral philosophers, who have either a clear perception of the 
 secret springs of human conduct or a conscientious regard for 
 the poor victims of our imperfect civilization. 
 
 The pubHc authorities of New York recently put two men 
 to death, under the forms of law and with the utmost deliber- 
 
THE DEATH PENALTY. I49 
 
 ation ; at the same time the ministers of rehgion commended 
 their souls to the mercy of God in the insulted name of Jesus 
 of Nazareth. To comprehend the full measure of this mon- 
 strous inconsistency it is necessary to recall the fact that this 
 illustrious Teacher — whom the Church long since deified — 
 while referring to the death penalty under the code of Moses, 
 condemned the whole letter and spirit of the ancient judicial 
 law, and declared that " he came not to destroy mens lives, but 
 to save them.'' This grim and ghastly association of irrecon- 
 cilable ideas and moral contradictions would present the most 
 ridiculous farce in the world, if it did not unhappily involve 
 the deepest of tragedies. 
 
 The law may have been strictly complied with in the exe- 
 cution of the two criminals referred to ; yet it was made to 
 appear from the evidence that the criminal in the one case 
 was a murderer by accident rather than by design — that his 
 victim probably died from fright and asphyxia. In the other 
 case, it would appear that the perpetrator of the deed was en- 
 raged to frenzy by the real or imaginary discovery that he 
 had suffered a great wrong in his domestic relations. In such 
 cases the injured party may unhappily be the victim of emo- 
 tional insanity ; the public mind is often too much excited to 
 reason calmly, and revenge is liable to usurp the throne of 
 Justice. To restrain the wayward impulses of the people, the 
 law invests the Governor of the State with the power to com- 
 mute the punishment — to substitute a milder penalty — or to 
 even pardon the offender, if he can find a justification for 
 such an act of executive clemency. In conferring this dis- 
 cretionary power upon the chief magistrate, the authors of the 
 
150 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 criminal code have presumed him to be too dispassionate in 
 his nature, too wise in his judgment and firm in his supreme 
 devotion to the right, to be deeply influenced by popular im- 
 pulses. Unfortunately, few men, even among our superior 
 magistrates, ever reach this moral elevation. Too many of 
 them are swayed by the views of the common mind and the 
 unreasoning passions of the hour ; and hence many men have 
 suffered death because the power to temper justice by the 
 exercise of mercy was lodged in the hands of some one who 
 had not the moral strength to resist the popular clamor, and 
 the honesty to imperil his own personal and political pros- 
 pects by acting on his convictions. The threatened loss of 
 
 power is 
 
 "A scarecrow set to frighten fools away." 
 
 Is it not time for an intelligent people to inquire into the 
 assumed natural right to sacrifice the lives of capital offenders 
 against the peace of civilized society, and to discover a moral 
 basis for the law, if any such exists ? It is the too common 
 habit of the newspaper press to treat every man who lifts his 
 voice against this relic of barbarian wickedness as if he were 
 a sickly sentimentalist, whose morbid philanthropy takes no 
 account of the principles of justice or the righteous demands 
 of society. Nothing can be further from the truth than this 
 characterization of the very numerous class of refined and cul- 
 tivated people whose moral sense and religious convictions 
 are shockingly outraged by every execution of a criminal. 
 
 I propose to deal with ■ principles whilst I examine the ar- 
 gument for the Death Penalty, which is presumed to have a 
 solid foundation in the constitution of society. I shall here 
 
THE DEATH PENALTY. I5I 
 
 consider the question with especial reference to the relations 
 of the individual to the State under our representative forms 
 of government. It is confidently assumed. that the right to 
 sacrifice life belongs to the community, and is derived from 
 the very nature of the social compact. But this has never 
 been made to appear from any logical course of reasoning. 
 In the first place the relation existing between the individual 
 and the civil government is not, strictly speaking, a compact. 
 In a general sense a compact is a covenant, containing expressed 
 stipulations, established by mutual consent of individuals or na- 
 tions. It is not, however, by any voluntary arrangement (we 
 except naturaUzed citizens in this statement), but rather by 
 the accident of birth, that the relation of the individual to the 
 State is determined. Should the nature of that relation not 
 accord with his wishes, he must submit. True, it may be in 
 his power to resist ; but opposition to the government may 
 be regarded as treason. Some men possess the intellectual 
 and physical ability to oppose for a time the execution of the 
 laws ; but in the end — as it was in the days of Nero — " they 
 that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." (Rom. 
 xiii. 2.) As, therefore, a compact is properly an association 
 of two or more parties — that is not involuntary or otherwise 
 the result of accident, but the product of mutual conference 
 and deliberate choice — it follows that the term does not cor- 
 rectly represent the nature of the relation existing between 
 the individual and the nation. 
 
 Blackstone says : " It is clear that the right of punishing 
 crimes against the law of Nature, as murder and the like, is, 
 in a state of nature, vested in every individual, since all are 
 
152 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 by nature equal."* To assume that this right extends so far 
 as to justify a second violation of the same law, is to abandon 
 a sacred principle by adopting a kind of logic which may be 
 best appreciated by the friends of the Death Penalty. Let us 
 examine the foundation on which the State rests its claim. 
 By what authority does it usurp Heaven's high prerogative in 
 fixing arbitrary limits to human life ? 
 
 It is admitted that representative governments are indebted 
 for their rightful authority to the people who institute them ; 
 and that so far from possessing any absolute or independent 
 powers, they derive all their just prerogatives from a surrender 
 of certain rights and privileges before possessed by the indi- 
 viduals who compose the body politic. The rights of the 
 nation are, therefore, only the rights of the citizens who to- 
 gether constitute the State. This is preeminently the case 
 under a democratic government. Now, as no citizen can sur- 
 render to the civil authorities what he does not possess — and 
 as no one is authorized to take his own life or that of his 
 neighbor — the conclusion is inevitable that this is not the pre- 
 rogative of the civil government, but of that Being who is the 
 source of all life, and in whose hands are its issues forever. 
 
 I may further expose the fallacy of the reasoning by which 
 it is attempted to justify the Death Penalty by a simple trans- 
 position in the form of the argument. It will be universally 
 conceded that the Republic derives all its legitimate powers 
 from the people ; and hence if the government has the right 
 to destroy men's lives, the people must possess the same in- 
 
 * See the Author's Commentaries, tenth London edition, vol. iv. , p. 7. 
 
THE DEATH PENALTY. I 53 
 
 herent right in their individual capacity. This would furnish 
 something like a logical apology for crime, and at the same 
 time confer an air of respectability on the midnight assassin. 
 On this ground the felonious homicide may take his stand and 
 make a vigorous defense. If the right of the State to take 
 life is admitted, and the democratic doctrine is maintained, 
 that all its rights are derived from or conferred by the people, 
 then it is only logical to conclude that man possesses this 
 right as an individual.. From these premises the duello can 
 readily be justified, and any man who has murder in his heart 
 may reason thus : " I am one of the people, and hence — un- 
 der the laws of Nature — have the right to take life ; and, 
 since the State does not regard my wishes, I choose to exer- 
 cise my natural right in person." And is not this reasoning 
 quite as good as that by which nations vindicate their bloody 
 deeds ? You may easily impeach the morality of such a man, 
 but can you dispute his logic ? 
 
 If any one is illogical enough to assume that men as indi- 
 viduals have not the right to take life, but that the people in 
 their collective capacity have, I desire to know how many 
 men must be associated before they acquire the authority to 
 hang a man or cut off his head ? If it is a wicked outrage 
 against the laws of Nature and of God for one man to put 
 another man to death, the question to be answered is : How 
 many men must be engaged in the transaction to render killing at 
 once a morally lawful pmtishment, and a legal, natural, and 
 Divine institution ? Will the advocates of strangulation and 
 decapitation answer ? 
 
 The truth is, man as an individual has no such right. So- 
 7* 
 
154 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ciety, being composed of individual members, cannot possess 
 a right that is not integral in its constituent elements. Our 
 executive, legislative, and judiciary powers have no such 
 authority, for the plain and obvious reason that the sovereign 
 people, whose creatures and servants they are, never possessed 
 the right themselves. If, then^ we attempt to defend this in- 
 human penalty, we may well consider whether our influence 
 will not strengthen the hands of violent and lawless men. 
 Any system of law and logic whereby the State may ostensi- 
 bly justify its sanguinary deeds, will furnish an apology for 
 the duelist, the suicide, and the homicide. 
 
 The law, which has for its object the preservation of human 
 life, is founded on immutable principles. Murder has ever 
 been regarded as the greatest outrage against the laws of 
 Nature. The crime consists in the sacrifice of life, while the 
 criminality is not materially increased or diminished by the moral 
 characteristics of the victim. Much less does murder cease to 
 be murder, intrinsically, because the killing is done under the 
 forms of law. " Thou shall not kill" is a law that is not merely 
 recorded in one ancient Book, but it is indelibly inscribed in 
 the moral economy of the world. It is a law of universal and 
 perpetual obligation. To reconcile this law with the manner 
 in which capital offenders are punished, it is only necessary to 
 demonstrate that hanging a man until he is dead is not kill- 
 ing him ! That law stands forever unrepealed on the statute 
 book of the Almighty. No artificial circumstances, created 
 by the social relations and political institutions of men, can 
 suspend the everlasting obligation. No power of the Repub- 
 lic can repeal that law ; no principles underlying the structure 
 
THE DEATH PENALTY. I 55 
 
 of human governments can warrant this profane attempt to 
 wrest from the Creator the issues of Hfe. On the contrary, 
 Nature and Deity everywhere speak in tones deep, solemn 
 and impressive, to remind us of the everlasting inviolability 
 of human life. 
 
 But I may be told that " Self-preservation is the first law of 
 Nature," and that this applies to communities as well as indi- 
 viduals. This is cordially granted, but the fact furnishes no 
 justification of the atrocious crimes of the State, which are 
 defended alike by politicians, statesmen and divines, under 
 the shallow assumption that society requires the bloody sacri- 
 fice for its protection. Are they less criminal who skulk be- 
 hind the forms of law, 
 
 "And with necessity, 
 The tyrant's plea, excuse their devilish deeds ? " 
 
 Let us strip this fallacy of its frail disguise. When a citi- 
 zen is maliciously assailed and in imminent danger of losing his 
 life, he may resist unto death, and, in the common judgment 
 of men, be held blameless. But his right to 7nake such resist- 
 ance springs from the urgent necessity of the case, and it termi- 
 nates the instant he is delivered from his peril. If he fortunately 
 disarms his assailant ; if he succeeds in binding him, or other- 
 wise in restraining his violence, there would remain — even 
 under our imperfect laws — no justification for the infliction 
 of personal injury. The right of the State must be measured 
 by the same rule and restricted by the same rational limita- 
 tions, since all the legitimate powers of a democratic govern- 
 ment are derived from the people. When the lawless man is 
 arrested in his mad career — fairly secured, so that he can do 
 
156 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 no further mischief— the State has no reasonable excuse for 
 deadly violence. Civilized society can restrain and control 
 the dangerous classes without a resort to this savage policy. 
 There is iron and granite enough in our everlasting hills to 
 cover the Empire State with prisons and still leave enough 
 to fence in the whole continent. 
 
 In the dishonored names of virtue and religion we abuse 
 humanity. We profess to worship God, and yet disfigure and 
 mutilate his image. In the interest of morality we grow hemp 
 and build gibbets. We pray to the common Father of us all 
 to '' forgive us our trespasses," while we have no mercy on his 
 disobedient children. In the name of Justice we strangle 
 penitent sinners whom God is said to have forgiven ! With 
 our poor conceptions of its righteous demands we do well to 
 represent Justice as blind. When ignorance of human nature 
 determines the terms of the law, as is the case in this country, 
 and a perverted sense of justice governs its administration, 
 who can see clearly ? When the accredited teachers of moral- 
 ity and religion make a county sheriff, with a halter in his 
 hand, a minister ordained of God, and the gallows a divine 
 institution, who among the rank and file of mystified saints 
 and sinners can be expected to exercise a cool and rational 
 discrimination ? 
 
 The higher law imperatively demands a modification of the 
 lex scripta loci. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Belvidere Seminary, 
 Warren Co., N. J., October, 
 
 ", 1880. ) 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 
 
 CHARGES" OF THE TABERNACLE PASTOR EXAMINED, 
 
 FROM THE BROOKLYN (n. Y.) DAILY EAGLE, NOV. 21, 1880. 
 
 Boanerges of the Modern Pulpit— Nuptials in Paradise— Dr. Talmage on Monogamy 
 —He Charges Spiritualists with Free Love— Unfortunate Choice of a Theme— Is 
 the Old Testament Opposed to Polygamy ?— Scriptural Illustrations— Household 
 of the Hebrew Prince, Abraham— Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah— The Poet-Minstrel 
 of Israel— Seventeen Wives and Concubines— Royal Harem of Solomon— Wor- 
 shiping the Gods of his Mistresses — Divine Certfficate of his Moral Health- 
 Humble Imitators at Salt Lake— Seraglio on the Bosphorus— A Gospel Shepherd 
 in the Shades of the Cyprians— What Spiritualism Demands— Subordination of 
 the Animal Appetites and Passions— What and Where are the " Carrion Crows? " 
 —Beauties of the Turkish Harem— A Clergyman Testifies that they are the 
 Daughters of Christian Parents— Orthodoxy and the Penitentiary— Falling from 
 Grace— Prison Standard of Faith and Morals— Loose Screws in the Social Plat- 
 form—Attempts to Identify Free Love and Spiritualism— Unclean Birds of Mod- 
 ern Babylon— Fowls that came to Roost but found no Rest— Presbyterianism 
 and the Oneida Community— Saints Bankrupt in Righteousness— Spiritualism, 
 the Angel Standing in the Sun— Consecration of the Home Life by a Layman— 
 A Modest Spiritualist the most Effective Preacher— John Howard Payne, Author 
 of " Sweet Home." 
 
 " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." — Bible. 
 
 To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle : 
 
 Y attention was recently called to the report of a 
 discourse by Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, delivered in 
 the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the first Sunday in October. 
 The main object of the eccentric teacher seems to have been 
 to arraign and denounce the enemies of the divine institution 
 of monogamous marriage ; and so far it may be presumed 
 that he fairly represents the general sentiments of all civilized 
 nations. But there are several things in this loose harangue 
 
158 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 which would invite severe criticism if they Avere only pre- 
 sented with some show of reason, or otherwise supported by 
 the evidence of a single fact. It will be obvious to every log- 
 ical mind that the giddy brain of this sensational preacher 
 imposes no restraints upon a lawless tongue. Two things, 
 however, lend a fictitious importance to what he may say. 
 First, is the fact that he is the accepted religious instructor 
 of a large society and congregation of people who profess the 
 Christian religion ; and, Second, that his utterances obtain a 
 much wider and more enduring expression through influential 
 public journals. It is chiefly for these reasons that I am in- 
 duced to notice this discourse, and these considerations alone 
 must serve as my apology for asking space in your columns 
 for this letter. 
 
 The preacher's exordium — describing the nuptials of Adam 
 and Eve in Paradise — most resembles a rhapsodical prolusion 
 by a mad poetaster, who mistakes the small pyrotechnics of 
 his own disordered brains for a heavy rain of Promethean 
 fire. The whole picture is worked up in what may be, for 
 aught we know, a pre-raphaelite style. The wild beasts oc- 
 cupy the back room in Eden, and are on their best behavior 
 before the new lord of creation, while the birds perform the 
 grand epithalainmm or nuptial song in proper time. (No cards.) 
 
 After this poetic rhapsody the preacher enters at once 
 upon the solid work of his argument to prove that the Old 
 Testament is at war with the practice of polygamy, and that 
 the sacred writings of the Jews consistently support the sa- 
 credness of the divinely ordained institution of monogamy, or 
 the marriage to only one wife. In attempting to prove this 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 1 59 
 
 from the book itself, and to defend some of its authors from 
 the suspicion of being tainted with free love, the speaker is 
 more earnest than convincing. Indeed, it must be admitted 
 that our modern Boanerges, in popular parlance, undertakes 
 a very heavy contract, but he evidently thinks he is equal to 
 the task, and the real facts in the case do not appear to sub- 
 ject him to the least possible embarrassment. On this point 
 his reasoning and complacency remind us of the peculiar logic 
 and self-satisfaction of the Hibernian, who, having stated his 
 theory of a certain subject, ■\(y^as told that the facts in the case 
 proved the contrary, when he replied, " Bad luck to the facts, 
 then." Dr. Talmage attaches a similar importance to his own 
 naked assumptions, and never suspects that facts susceptible 
 of the clearest demonstration as effectually explode his hol- 
 low pretensions as a shot from a columbiad would demolish a 
 chicken-coop. 
 
 . It is true that the most illustrious of the Hebrew patriarchal 
 princes, faithful Abraham, had not only Sarah for his wife, 
 but two concubines, namely, Hagar and Keturah — wives of 
 inferior rank, whose offspring could claim no lawful inher- 
 itance in the father's estate. Not to speak of the inferior per- 
 sonages, whose lives are a subject of record in the Jewish 
 Scriptures, we may mention the fact that David had seven 
 wives and ten concubines. The latter he left as mistresses of 
 the royal palace when, during the conspiracy of his son Absa- 
 lom, he fled, with bare feet, from the Holy City, over Mount 
 Ohvet, the king and his attendants, with bowed and covered 
 heads, " weeping as they went " their way. (II. Sam., chap. 
 XV.) And yet " the Lord God of Israel " is represented as 
 
l6o • THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 speaking of him after his death as " my servant David, who 
 kept my commandments and who followed me with all his 
 heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes." (I. 
 Kings, xiv. 8.) Then Solomon — according to the catechism, 
 the wisest of men — had no less than " seven hundred wives," 
 princesses who, the pious Alexander Cruden — author of the 
 "Complete Concordance of the Holy Scriptures " — tells us, 
 " all lived in the quaHty of queens," and " three hundred con- 
 cubines " — one thousand in all. 
 
 It is written in the First Book of Kings that this wise man 
 " loved many strange women ; " also, that " it came to pass, 
 when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart 
 after other gods." The history shows that he erected altars 
 in high places and worshiped the gods of his mistresses, in- 
 cluding the bloody Moloch, chief divinity of the Ammonites, 
 to whom human sacrifices were offered in the valley of Hin- 
 nom or Tophet. Perhaps we ought not to be surprised that 
 Solomon went after and supported the grossest abominations 
 of the surrounding heathen tribes. A man with so many 
 queens and women of inferior rank to keep his house would 
 be more than human if he did not do something desperate to 
 entertain the court and divert his own mind from the miseries 
 of his situation. In his senile imbecility we might naturally 
 expect that he would be as likely to worship one god as an- 
 other. Yet the Lord is represented as bearing testimony to 
 the unimpeachable wisdom of Solomon in these words : " Lo, 
 I have given thee a wise and understanding heart ; so that 
 there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall 
 any arise like unto thee." (I. Kings, chap, iii.) 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. l6l 
 
 In respect to his free love proclivities and the number of 
 his wives, Solomon has certainly had his peers in these lattei 
 days. True, our own Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are 
 only vulgar imitators of a regal prototype, following at a re- 
 spectable distance, and subject to the embarrassing conditiona 
 and circumstances of our own improved civilization. But the 
 Grand Turk at Constantinople has sometimes had more wives 
 than even "Solomon in all his glory." In the reign of several 
 of the sultans — within the present century — the imperial harem 
 has included from fifteen hundred to two thousand beautiful 
 young women, all slaves, and sacrificed to the lawless passion 
 of one unscrupulous master. These are mainly contributions 
 from Turkish provinces and the Greek islands, while a large 
 proportion of them are said to be the daughters of Christian 
 parents.* We have no means of knowing how many such veiled 
 beauties now occupy the summer seraglio on the Bosphorus. 
 
 Dr. Talmage has a convenient faculty of seeing only what 
 suits him, while to everything else he is happily blind. He 
 hustles the records of history, the facts of science and every 
 day's experience out of his way, as readily as a bustling house- 
 wife sweeps down cobwebs. Regardless of premises and all 
 rules of ratiocination, he vaults with a reckless daring to 
 such surprising results that one almost fancies the shepherd's 
 crook has become a magician's wand. It is not strange that 
 such a man should announce the astounding discovery that 
 Modern Spiritualism originated the " free-love " doctrine, and 
 
 * The reader is referred to the Encyclopedia of " Useful Knowledge 
 and General Literature," by Rev. J. L. Blake, A. M., page 831. 
 
l62 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 that those who practice it " are ahnost all Spiritualists." It 
 would, however, surprise us to know that any sensible man is 
 disposed to credit this assumption. That no one may either 
 misapprehend the Oracle of the Tabernacle, or suspect the 
 present writer of misrepresenting his views, I here reproduce 
 what he says on this particular topic : 
 
 " Another mighty foe of the family relation is the prevalent doctrine 
 of free love. Newspapers in advocacy of these doctrines fill the land. 
 The greatest argument against it is that the advocates of it, without any 
 exception, turn out libertines. Having broken up their own homes, they 
 go about to destroy the homes of others. This obscene flock of carrion 
 crows caw, caw, caw on their way to and from the moral carcasses. They 
 are almost all Spiritualists, and they get the people of this world and the 
 next so mixed up that they don't know who belong to them and who be- 
 long to the others. Free love and Spiritualism are twin sisters, and their 
 morals are so bankrupt that they cannot pay one per cent, of righteous- 
 ness. I can tell the spirits of the next world that if they cannot find any 
 better company than they are said to pick out on earth, they had better 
 stay where they are if they have any regard for their reputation. When 
 those who are united in holy marriage have a special afiSnity for some one 
 outside that bond, they had better go to studying the ten Commandments. 
 Such persons are on the edge of a fall about ten thousand feet down. 
 But at that distance they only strike once on the rocks and then bound 
 off into the unfathomable." 
 
 Spiritualists do not concern themselves about the manner 
 in which this Shepherd of souls may choose to pursue the 
 game of which he speaks, namely, " this obscene flock of 
 carrion crows ; " and as little do they care to know whether 
 the chase is for exercise, profit or amusement. Being a lively 
 representative of the Brooklyn pulpit we can but realize that 
 the Messenger of the Tabernacle knows — from observation of 
 course — a thing or two about the average phases of free love, 
 also of its accidental relations to the church and the ministe- 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 1 63 
 
 rial office ; likewise concerning its liability to produce great 
 trials and social discords, in which the family relations may 
 be ruptured for all time. Moreover, having in his ministerial 
 capacity " for righteousness' sake " — to the end that he might 
 see and comprehend the naked truth, however shocking to 
 his moral sensibilities — made the circuit of the gin mills and 
 gambHng hells of New York ; and having, also, under the 
 protection of Providence and the Metropolitan police — whose 
 ways are mysterious and past finding out — repeatedly visited 
 the haunted shades of the Cyprians, it is quite possible he 
 may have found the roosting places of the " unclean birds " 
 of our modern Babylon. If he did, he must know that when 
 he made this discovery he was neither in the illuminated 
 courts of the great Spiritual Temple nor yet in the dwelling 
 places of its recognized worshipers. Let us respectfully ad- 
 monish this clerical sportsman that in this field his instinct is 
 more unerring than his reason. If he is careful to keep the 
 trail and not allow himself to double in the dark, and so re- 
 turn to the starting-point, he will find the game at last. Nor 
 is this all ; he will not incur the least danger of poaching on 
 any consecrated ground, or of being held for trespass on the 
 complaint of any Spiritualist. 
 
 When a public religious teacher, whose office is supposed 
 to insure something like the practice of righteousness in his 
 treatment of others, using both pulpit and press in the dis- 
 semination of his views, boldly charges that Spiritualism is 
 responsible for the free love doctrine, for the breaking up of 
 so many homes and the utter desecration of the most impor- 
 tant of all human relations, the Spiritualists claim the right to 
 
164 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 meet the man on his own chosen ground who thus defames 
 their character and dishonors their most hallowed convictions. 
 That Modern Spiritualism can sustain any natural relation 
 whatever to illicit love and licentiousness is an assumption 
 which cannot be supported by a single substantial reason. 
 These things never had any such relation ; indeed, they 
 never can have, since, in their very nature, they are es- 
 sentially and forever incompatible. The principles of Spirit- 
 ualism and the unrestrained indulgence of the animal pas- 
 sions are so irreconcilable as to be incapable of permanent 
 coexistence. 
 
 But I shall be told that a number of professed Spiritualists 
 have actually broken up their homes, established other rela- 
 tions, or allowed themselves to drift at random, following one 
 attraction or another, as determined by temporary conven- 
 ience or the passion of the hour. This is, unhappily, too true ; 
 but it is no less susceptible of the clearest demonstration that, 
 outside of the ranks of Spiritualists, there are numberless ex- 
 amples, including many church members and several clergy- 
 men, who, through the triple power of " the world, the flesh, 
 and the devil," have "fallen from grace" — from places as 
 high and to depths as low as any Spiritualist is likely to find. 
 Every one knows that there were many cases of alienation, 
 desertion, and divorce before the advent of Modern Spirit- 
 ualism. Men and women have often been unequally yoked 
 together in all ages, principally by the clergy, and domestic un- 
 happiness is no new thing under the sun. We have never yet 
 met with a single spirit, in all our intercourse with the invisi- 
 ble intelligences, who either recommended or sanctioned the 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 165 
 
 looseness of life which is charged to the account of the great 
 body of Spiritualists. It finds no countenance in the princi- 
 ples of the Spiritual Philosophy. On the contrary, if I have 
 any knowledge of this subject, this pure and sublime phi- 
 losophy demands of every man that he shall subordinate 
 the appetites, impulses, and passions of his lower nature to 
 reason and to the laws of the higher or spiritual life. It is 
 in this respect, especially, that Spiritualism, in its most com- 
 prehensive sense, rises heavenward above all other systems 
 in its supreme demands for the purification of human nature, 
 the consecration of all our powers to beneficent uses, and 
 the highest moral elevation of our ideal of the divine life on 
 earth. 
 
 Now, what would become of the existing religious institu- 
 tions if they were judged by the character of such of their 
 supporters as fall below the standard of morals they set up ? 
 It is a notorious fact that most of the criminals who fill the 
 State prisons all over this country are firm believers in the 
 cardinal doctrines of the evangelical churches. In some of 
 the prisons investigations have been made into the religious 
 faith of the convicts without discovering a single Quaker, 
 Swedenborgian, Unitarian, or Spiritualist. Scarcely a capital 
 offender against the laws swings out of time into eternity at 
 the end of a halter who does not express his belief in the doc- 
 trines of original sin, total depravity, vicarious atonement, a 
 personal devil, and a merciless retribution for all the impeni- 
 tent. Multitudes of these people live and die in the Cal- 
 vinistic faith. Now is Mr. Talmage willing to have the min- 
 isters of his faith, the people of his charge, and his system 
 
1 66 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 of religion, all judged by the State prison standard of char- 
 acter ? If he is not, it may be well for him to take warning 
 from the Scripture which reads : ''''For with the same measure 
 that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 
 vi. 38.) 
 
 Not only is it represented that the free lovers *' are almost 
 all Spiritualists," but it is affirmed that '' newspapers in advo- 
 cacy of these doctrines fill the land." One would be author- 
 ized to infer from this that such papers are more numerous 
 about here than were the frogs which came out of the waters 
 in the days of the Egyptian plagues. Also that, with few ex- 
 ceptions — not worth mentioning — they are all supported by 
 Spiritualists. But what are the facts ? Why, that there is not 
 a single spiritual paper, either in this country or Europe, that 
 has any recognition as an exponent of the facts and philoso- 
 phy of Spiritualism, which advocates free love on the plane 
 of our animal life. 
 
 Two conspicuous attempts have been made, from first to last, 
 to establish such papers on the patronage of Spiritualists ; but 
 they received so little encouragement that they very soon died, 
 not alone from the sad infirmities of their projectors, but of a 
 moral and material marasmus and their own pestilential at- 
 mosphere. The first and most notable attempt of this kind 
 occurred a quarter of a century ago, and was the enterprise of 
 a certain well-known doctor and his wife, aided by a conspic- 
 uous author of books on sociology, and one Lazarus, an un- 
 clean writer on love and the marriage relation. In this par- 
 ticular instance the disappointed editors and publishers so 
 utterly failed in their illegitimate enterprise that, in the excite- 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 16/ 
 
 ment of penitence or desperation, they' were suddenly con- 
 verted to Roman Catholicism ! It was a pleasant relief to be 
 assured that reHgion, or something else, had cooled the hot 
 blood, and that the feverish souls of those free lovers had at 
 last found rest in the bosom of the mother Church. 
 
 The next most demonstrative attempt of the free lovers to 
 affiliate with Spiritualism was scarcely more successful, and it 
 finally resulted in a similar failure. When the free dispensa- 
 tion of love, that was 7iot altogether Platonic, ceased to bring 
 the visible means of support, the paper was suspended. Then 
 the fair proprietors — leaving the disconsolate brokers who de- 
 pended on them for occult information in their stock-gambling 
 operations — went abroad to manipulate the verdant scions of 
 the English aristocracy for their personal delectation and in 
 the interest of their cause. The two or three small sheets — 
 unwashed rags of papers — printed monthly or semi-occasion- 
 ally, in little country towns, have no more influence on the 
 great body and mind of Spiritualists than so many outside 
 cabbage leaves. 
 
 The Spiritualists have no virtue and religion to boast of, nor 
 are they accustomed to advertise their piety from the pulpit 
 and in the papers. Indeed, the Divine Messenger at the Tab- 
 ernacle boldly affirms that we " cannot pay one per cent, of 
 righteousness." If this is so, the failure is complete ; and it 
 is all the more to be lamented for the reason that we may not 
 hope to borrow any small surplus of righteousness from those 
 who accuse us falsely. Such people are sure to have enough 
 to do to attend to their own obligations. And here we are 
 reminded that they have another advantage over Spiritualists 
 
1 68 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 which is a great thing for those who most need it — they have 
 a moral and theological bankrupt law by which any rascal — 
 even the vilest sinner — may have the righteousness of a just 
 man imputed to him. Under this peculiar arrangement those 
 who wickedly revile their neighbors may continue to do so — 
 may grossly misrepresent their characters, views and conduct 
 as long as they are so disposed, and at last escape by taking 
 the benefit of that law. 
 
 The man whose business it is to dispense Calvinism and 
 his own crude ideas at the Tabernacle is ignorant of one sub- 
 ject on which he presumes to speak with oracular authority. 
 Spiritualism is not the insignificant and slipshod creature of 
 his imagination. No ! it is a mighty Angel, descended from 
 Heaven and radiant with the morning light of a New Dispen- 
 sation. It comes to roll the stone away from the sepulchre 
 of universal humanity, and to demonstrate our immortality. 
 In the presence of men and angels it breaks the seals of the 
 invisible arcana, and reveals the sources of the world's inspira- 
 tion. It is the living interpreter of the sacred books of all 
 ages and nations. Spiritualism has no flesh and blood rela- 
 tions. It never had a " twin sister," and hence can not have 
 had one of easy virtue. The man who thus boldly defames 
 many noble men, not excepting their mothers, wives, and 
 daughters — women of pure minds and blameless lives — does 
 not appear to be familiar with biblical history. He evideatly 
 does not know how many orthodox clergymen are in the 
 State Prisons of the country ; and he quite overlooks the fact 
 that one of his brethren — a Presbyterian divinity student — 
 founded the Oneida Community, so long an offense in the 
 
MEETING THE ENEMY. 1 69 
 
 nostrils of Christians and Infidels. On the contrary, Spirit- 
 ualism sustains about the same relation to passional " free 
 love " that the uncorrupted Gospel of Jesus did to the scarlet 
 woman of the Apocalypse. 
 
 The charge that Spiritualists, as a people, have less respect 
 for the relations of home than others has no better foundation 
 than ignorance of the real facts and the heedlessness which is 
 governed by the most superficial appearances. In referring 
 to this subject we are reminded of a man who, many years 
 ago, was a frequent and most welcome visitor at the residence 
 of the writer. He was a gentleman of rare intelligence and 
 unusual refinement, with the feeling and taste of a true poet 
 and the delicate sensibihties of a pure woman. Though a 
 wanderer for long years, in many countries and among rude 
 peoples, yet the domestic circle— the sanctuary where faith is 
 mutual and all the chaste affections bud and blossom in the 
 unclouded sunshine of love — was the ideal of his life. No 
 saint ever sought a holy shrine with a more sincere devotion ; 
 yet the heaven of his imagination eluded his grasp. He was 
 a wanderer to the end. While engaged in the service of his 
 country he died far away in a foreign land. His ashes mingle 
 with the sterile sands of Algiers, but his spirit has gone home 
 to rest in heaven. This modest layman did more to conse- 
 crate the domestic relations and affections in the universal 
 mind and heart than all the dogmatic theologians and homi- 
 lists of the present century. Our gentle friend was the author 
 of " Home, Sweet Home^" His name is yet green in the 
 world's memory, and his song ^vill continue to be sung in 
 every land and in all living tongues. John Howard Payne 
 
170 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 gave US that deathless song, and he was a Spiritualist ! Rest, 
 
 spirit of blessed memory ! * 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 Belvidere Seminary, ) 
 
 Warren Co., N. J., October, 1880. ) 
 
 Home, Sweet Home. — At the close of the letter from the 
 Brooklyn Eagle the reader will have noticed the writer's inci- 
 dental allusion to his friend, John Howard Payne, and the 
 song which, more than any other in the world's minstrelsy, 
 has consecrated the sacred relations of domestic life. It may 
 not be out of place here to offer a suggestion for the con- 
 sideration of Spiritualists. I have felt it to be my duty to 
 repel the vile charge brought against this people by a pro- 
 fessed minister of Jesus, whose extreme poverty — in respect 
 to the amenities of polite discussion and the charity which 
 " thinketh no evil " of the neighbor — is painfully conspicuous. 
 But I am forcibly reminded, that the people whom he has so 
 coarsely abused have it in their power to furnish a refutation 
 — more emphatic than any language I can command — of this 
 wholesale calumny. Let them erect, in Central Park, a monu- 
 ment to the memory of the distinguished disciple of their faith, 
 who, though his gentle voice is audible no more, still speaks 
 in his undying song to millions in all the tongues of the civil- 
 ized world. S. B. B. 
 
 * Mr. Wilson, a most enterprising citizen of Brooklyn, incurred the 
 expense of ten thousand copies of the foregoing Letter, which were 
 printed under his direction in pamphlet form, for gratuitous circulation. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 HARMONY OF FAITH AND PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 
 THE ACTIVE FORCE IN THE MORAL WORLD. 
 
 FROM THE (nEWBURYPORT) MERRIMAC VALLEY VISITOR. 
 
 The Andover Professor on Spiritualism — The Spirits at Stratford — Rev. Eliakim 
 Phelps, D.D. — Irreverent Handling of the Sacred Canon — Fantoccini by the In- 
 visibles in the Wardrobe — Demons Suspected of Arson — Waiting for the Sava7tts 
 — Falling back on Demonology — Science in Despair and Theology Desperate — 
 Where are the Angels of Mercy? — Tartarean Jail Delivery — Power of Spirits 
 over the Elements— Views of the Ancient Greeks — Testimony of Philosophers, 
 Apostles, Pagan Historians and Christian Fathers — Truth about Demons — Visions 
 of a Theological Professor — How he Views Modern Spiritualism — Disorderly 
 Manifestations Among the Ancients — Significant Examples from the Scriptures 
 — Lying under a Divine Commission — Unclean and Dumb Spirits — Swinish Affin- 
 ities—Paul's Indictment of the Early Christians— Infidels at the Baptism and the 
 Communion — Low Mediums of Sacred History — Contest between Science and 
 Theology — Enlarging the Domain of Science — The Great Reformation. 
 
 WHEN the general at the head of an army finds himself 
 in an exposed position, and harassed by constant as- 
 saults from without — with a prospect of soon being obliged to 
 surrender to the wily and powerful enemy that is thundering 
 along his lines — he may not stop to discuss the morality of the 
 measures to be adopted in this emergency. Under such cir- 
 cumstances saints and sinners look and behave so much alike 
 that one may not recognize a difference so marked as to admit 
 of a logical distinction. Each holds his ground as long as pos- 
 sible, repelling the assailants with such weapons as he may be 
 able to find, only capitulating when further resistance is in 
 vain. The individual in the battle of life acts from similar 
 
 171 
 
1^2 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 motives ; and even the religious teacher, instead of bearing 
 about him the shield of righteousness and the sword of the 
 spirit, may perhaps be tempted to depend on some infernal 
 magazine for his armor. Even doctors of divinity do not wait 
 for the gods to place consecrated weapons in their hands. On 
 the contrary, they strike back with a will, often in a spirit of 
 unholy hostility, and with such implements as may enable them 
 to serve the purpose of the hour by the circumvention of the 
 enemy. The peculiar strategy exhibited of late in the war 
 against Spiritualism, is a suggestive text which, in the mind of 
 the reader, may justify some special application of the fore- 
 going observations ; at the same time the subject requires 
 further elucidation. 
 
 We cannot pause in the midst of more important labors to 
 notice the many frivolous objections to Spiritualism that daily 
 fall from the lips of the unthinking multitude. But we are 
 remmded that there are men of experience who long since had 
 opportunities for personal observation, and are admitted to 
 possess a certain reputation for scholastic acquirements and 
 intellectual ability. When, for example, such a man as Prof. 
 Austin Phelps, of Andover, expresses his views on a subject 
 which carries along with it the strongest evidences of our im- 
 mortality, and is so closely allied to the fundamental princi- 
 ples and essential interests of all revealed religion, we can 
 only treat him with proper respect by weighing his words, 
 which I propose to do in this communication. 
 
 As early as 1850, remarkable spiritual phenomena occurred 
 in the family mansion of Rev. Eliakim Phelps, D.D., of Strat- 
 ford, Conn., father of the Andover professor, who was then 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1/3 
 
 about commencing his theological studies. At first he was 
 supposed to entertain the suspicion that the manifestations 
 were the mischievous tricks of the children of Mrs. Phelps by 
 her former husband. At the solicitation of the venerable doc- 
 tor, Mr. Austin Phelps went home, on a visit, expecting to 
 speedily explain the mystery and put an end to the disorderly 
 proceedings at the old homestead. He soon satisfied himself, 
 however, that the children had no voluntary or conscious 
 agency in the matter. He pursued his investigation with a 
 pious determination to stop the noisy demonstrations of the 
 Spirits ; but they never recognized his authority. They did 
 not even respect the wishes of the venerable master of the 
 house. While he was engaged in prayer for deliverance from 
 his infernal visitors the Spirits would hurl the Bible at him. 
 Sometimes the sacred canon would pass close enough to his 
 head to brush his whiskers, but never doing him the slightest 
 personal injury. We have no conclusive evidence that the 
 invisible powers undervalued the truths contained in the book. 
 One of the spirits declared " There was a good deal of truth 
 in the Bible, but a good deal of nonsense, too." While they 
 did not regard it as a fetich to be worshiped, they took oc- 
 casion to show that they had no special reverence for the 
 chemical elements of paper, printer's ink, and the sheep, goat, 
 or calf-skin with which it was bound. Neither prayers, en- 
 treaties, nor denunciations imposed the slightest check upon 
 the daily and nightly serio-comic performances, all of which 
 the good doctor regarded as nothing less than the most dia- 
 bolical infestation. 
 
 The assumption that the spirits at Stratford were all of an 
 
174 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 infernal type or degenerate character — diabolical in disposi- 
 tion and malicious in deed — is not supported by a rational 
 analysis of the facts. The present writer lived at Bridgeport 
 — within the distance of four miles — during the exciting period, 
 and repeatedly visited the residence of Dr. Phelps. The facts 
 plainly indicated that the Spirits were determined to command 
 attention. They had something which they deemed it impor- 
 tant to communicate, and evidently resolved to be heard for 
 the sake of their cause. Courtly people are accustomed to 
 gracefully bow their intrusive visitors out of their presence ; 
 but when the Doctor attempted to exorcise his unwelcome 
 guests by prayer and speeches referring to their characters 
 in terms more orthodox than complimentary, they only mani- 
 fested a still stronger determination to remain until the object 
 of their mission should be fairly accomplished. When at length 
 candid inquiry succeeded dogmatism and denunciation, the 
 apparent violence ceased, and the manifestations assumed a 
 more quiet and orderly character. 
 
 The phenomena at the Phelps mansion continued during a 
 period of some seven months, and it is believed that a candid 
 review of the fa^ts would fail to discover any positive evi- 
 dence that the Spirits had the least disposition to inflict per- 
 sonal injury on any member of the family. They only empha- 
 sized the demonstrations of their presence in the degree nec- 
 essary to secure respectful attention. If the silver spoons 
 were " bent double by no visible agency," they were all made 
 "■ straight as before, with no dent or crease, or sign of having 
 been bent " at all. When the family wardrobe was mysteriously 
 entered and emptied of its contents, and the garments so dis- 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1 75 
 
 posed as to represent the effigies of a number of human 
 beings, the clothes were neither destroyed nor damaged. The 
 doors were not materially injured by the " tremendous ham- 
 mering," which always appeared to be on the opposite side 
 from the observer. On one occasion, when the whole family 
 went to church, leaving the house locked up, they returned 
 finding the front door wide open, which suggested the idea 
 that a robbery had been committed ; but not an article of 
 personal property was missing. It is true that the doctor's 
 barn was one day destroyed by fire, and that the invisible 
 powers fell under suspicion of being the authors of the mis- 
 chief. I was never able to discover any reliable evidence 
 that the Spirits were guilty of arson ; but as they were pre- 
 sumed to have come in hot haste from that realm of intense 
 incandescence so glowingly described in the Calvinistic the- 
 ology, it was but natural that those who were sound in the 
 faith should look to hell for the incendiaries.* 
 
 For a solution of the problem involved in the modern 
 spiritual mysteries, Prof. Phelps, having waited long and in 
 vain for science to explain the facts, reluctantly rests for the 
 present on the demonology of the Bible, as will be perceived 
 on perusal of his recent letter to the Congregatiojialist. The 
 Professor occupies his present position from necessity rather 
 than choice. He does not seriously object to the historical 
 evil demons of the Jews and Greeks, but timidly shrinks from 
 those whose incursions cross the orbit of his life. He still 
 
 * For Professor Phelps' own narrative of his observations at his father's 
 residence, the reader is referred to "Spiritual Manifestations," by the 
 Rev. Chai-les Beecher. 
 
1/6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 indulges a lingering hope that the savants may yet ''give us 
 something better " — vain hope, since the scientists who hon- 
 estly investigate are converted. In the mean time the " de- 
 spair of science " is the desperation of theology. I extract 
 the following paragraph from the Professor's letter : 
 
 " I do not hold to the hypothesis that Spiritualism is of Satanic origin, 
 without qualification. I hold it as a hypothesis, the probability of which 
 must depend on the degree of mastery which science obtains over the 
 whole subject. It is only under the conditions that, before some of the 
 phenomena in question, science is dumb, that I resort to the supernatural 
 theory at all. In common with the rest of the world, I am waiting for 
 science to recover from its ' despair,' and to give us some explanation of 
 the facts which shall deserve respect. It is not wise to find more of the 
 demoniacal in the universe than we are compelled to find. But so long 
 as science gives us nothing better, my mind falls back upon the Biblical 
 demonology, as being the most probable thing we have, within the range 
 of human knowledge, in explanation of the mystery." 
 
 It may seem a little singular that a man who sincerely ac- 
 cepts a religious system for which he claims a supernatural 
 origin, should question physical science for over thirty years 
 for an explanation of similar mysteries, and that we should 
 still find him patiently " waiting for science to recover from 
 its despair ! " Is there not something anomalous in the Pro- 
 fessor's attitude ? Why should a man who really beheves in 
 the power and disposition of God and his invisible ministers, 
 and of the devil and his angels, to work in opposition to 
 natural laws and all ordinary methods, manifest such extreme 
 reluctance in accepting the present application of his theory ? 
 
 It will be observed that Prof. Phelps, Rev. Charles Beecher, 
 Rev. Joseph Cook and others, in accepting the demonological 
 theory, admit the spiritual origin of the modern phenomena. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1 7/ 
 
 This is a most important concession to Spiritualism, and these 
 men are on record as leading the way for its final acceptance 
 by the Church. They seem to have discovered that this is the 
 only way in which they may hope to successfully defend the 
 claims of revealed religion against the scientific materialism 
 of the age. Forced to retreat from a field that is lost, and to 
 reluctantly fall back on the demonology of the Bible, as the 
 fortress from which alone they may hope to vindicate its own 
 claims, these gentlemen appear to derive a melancholy satis- 
 faction from the reflection that the Spirits in these days are 
 all evil, and therefore proper subjects of our pious displeasure 
 and of the Divine reprobation. 
 
 But how is it possible for the rational mind to have a pref- 
 erence for this view of the subject ? Can it afford any sane 
 man or woman — any creature in human shape — pleasure to 
 believe that while there has been a general jail delivery in the 
 infernal regions, to the imminent peril of this world, still the 
 celestial angels are all either cooped up in some orthodox 
 heaven, or off on an everlasting pleasure excursion to other 
 worlds? Are there indeed no angels of mercy who enjoy 
 their freedom, and will come at our call to shield the helpless, 
 and lead earth's poor wanderers home ? 
 
 Perhaps the ostensible motive of some of our modern di- 
 vines is not the one that really determines their action. I cer- 
 tainly have no disposition to judge them uncharitably. It 
 would seem, however, to an unregenerate observer, that the 
 chief purpose in accepting the phenomena of modern Spirit- 
 ualism as illustrations of ancient demonology, is to turn the 
 essential facts to practical account in the clerical war against 
 8* 
 
178 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 the materialism of science. That these facts furnish the clergy 
 with powerful weapons which may be used with great force in 
 that particular direction, there can be no doubt. And as 
 nothing can have been made or permitted to exist in vain, our 
 religious people may finally be able to utilize hell and modern 
 Spiritualism by converting the whole into an armory, from 
 which the soldiers of the cross may be able to draw their im- 
 plements and means of defense in their war against the most 
 formidable enemy of the Church. 
 
 I trust I shall not make the mistake of treating the super- 
 ficial views of even the enemies of Spiritualism with either un- 
 due levity or severity. The truth I am called to defend is 
 one of grave importance and far-reaching in its relations to 
 the highest human interests. A subject of such solemn mo- 
 ment ; so profound in its principles ; so subtile, irresistible 
 and universal in its influence, should inspire a just sense of 
 personal responsibility in the public teacher, and it should be 
 treated in a manner becoming its high quality. I do not pro- 
 pose to temporize, nor to diminish the force of a great truth 
 by unnecessary qualifications. If this truth is the sword of 
 the Spirit, who shall venture to blunt its edge, or permit it to 
 be tarnished by unworthy hands ? 
 
 In the history of the early nations, especially in their sacred 
 literature and monumental remains, we discover many evi- 
 dences of the occult mysteries which appear to have been 
 everywhere indentified with the origin of religious ideas. In- 
 deed, it may be safely affirmed that every religious system 
 which has exerted any strong and lasting influence on the 
 human mind and character, has been founded on certain 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION, 1 79 
 
 spiritual facts, or phenomena illustrating the intimate relations 
 of the physical world and the realms of incorporeal life and 
 intelligence. The ancient nations not only believed in the 
 existence and presence of invisible intelligent beings, but 
 they recognized their power over the elements and forms of 
 the physical world, their capacity to influence human feeling, 
 thought and action, and to direct the current of public affairs. 
 The religious ceremonies of ancient Greece ; her sesthetic 
 revelations, dramatic creations, and every form of commem- 
 orative art, history and poetry — all abound with evidences of 
 the recognition of Spirits from another world. Hesiod, one 
 of the earliest Greek writers believed that Spirits presided 
 over the destinies of men. His views concerning their exist- 
 ence, presence and influence within the sphere of human life 
 on earth are expressed in the following lines : 
 
 Aerial Spirits by great Jove designed 
 
 To be on earth the guardians of mankind ; 
 
 Invisible to mortal eyes they go, 
 
 And mark our actions, good or bad, below ; 
 
 The immortal spies vi'ith watchful care preside, 
 
 And thrice ten thousand round their charges glide ; 
 
 They can reward with glory or with gold, 
 
 Such power divine permission bids them hold." 
 
 The most gifted minds, in all countries and in every period 
 of the world's history, have entertained the spiritual idea, and 
 given it various forms of expression. The Hebrews, Greeks 
 and Romans ascribed important facts in their experience, 
 and many events of national im.portance, to the interposition 
 of invisible intelligences. The sacred books of the Hindoos 
 and other Pagan nations recognize the powers of the unseen 
 
l80 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 world in the management of human affairs. The Jewish, 
 Christian and Moslem Scriptures are filled with allusions to 
 Spirits, their positive existence, the revelation of their pres- 
 ence among men, and all the diversified exhibitions of their 
 power. St. Paul speaks of " the prince of the power of the 
 air," and St. Jerome assures us that in his time the doctors 
 of the Church entertained the opinion that the air was peo- 
 pled by Spirits. Such references are often met with -in the 
 writings of the apostolic fathers and early historians of the 
 Church, who believed that the more impure spirits did not 
 occupy the higher or more ethereal regions of the atmosphere, 
 but were disposed to dwell below in intimate relations with 
 the earth. The fundamental fact of the constant interpene- 
 tration of the mundane realm of existence by the inspiring 
 influences and moral forces of the Spiritual Spheres, was so 
 generally accredited among the ancients that their eminent 
 authors do not appear to have thought it necessary to mar- 
 shal proofs in support of a proposition which no competent 
 authority was likely to dispute. 
 
 And here I must mention the fact that one very common 
 theological assumption has been the means at once of leading 
 multitudes of sincere believers into a mischievous error, and 
 of libeling millions of saints in heaven. It is boldly assumed 
 that all demons must necessarily be evil spirits. Prof. Phelps, 
 being a Greek scholar, is of course better informed, and might 
 readily correct this error if so disposed. And yet he falls 
 back on the demonology of the Bible, without so much as a 
 single intimation that a demon may be a pure and good spirit 
 in spite of the bad name given him by the translators. The 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION, I5l 
 
 truth is, the Greek word is altogether neutral as to any moral 
 suggestions respecting the character of the intelhgences to 
 which it was appHed. The Platonists recognized the presence 
 of invisible genii, and believed that men were incited to both 
 good and evil deeds by their influence. Socrates was visited 
 by spirits of opposite characters, and a good demon was his 
 counsellor. Lactantius accepted the idea that there are two 
 general classes of demons, celestial and terrestrial, and he re- 
 garded the latter as primarily the authors of all the wrongs 
 perpetrated on earth. The original word is very improperly 
 rendered devil in the English version of the New Testament. 
 The demons of the Greeks were evidently spirits of men who 
 had previously existed on earth. To say the least, they were 
 individualized intelligences of the human stamp. The word 
 signified nothing more. It certainly did not determine the 
 moral character of these intelligences, since there were both 
 celestial and terrestrial demons, or good and evil Spirits. 
 
 The false idea I have attempted to expose has no better 
 foundation than a dogmatic assumption without proof and 
 against reason. It has been long and tenderly cultivated by 
 those who know how sadly this thorn in the world's path has 
 scratched and lacerated our poor humanity. Let it now be 
 plucked up by the roots and destroyed by the consuming fire 
 which is the most expressive symbol of the Truth. We can- 
 not exhaust the evidence in support of our position. Accord- 
 ing to Hesiod, when men of the Golden Age died and became 
 demons, the change was viewed as an ''honorable promotion." 
 Rev. Charles Beecher, in his " Review of the Spiritual Mani- 
 festations," published in 1853, quo^s the words of Plato to 
 
1 82 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 show that, in the opinion of that illustrious philosopher, " when 
 good men die they attain honor and become demons ; " also 
 the testimony of Philo to prove that " soul and demon are dif- 
 ferent names for the same thing." In this sense the word was 
 used in the Greek Scriptures. Hence when we read that cer- 
 tain persons were ''possessed of devils," we are not necessarily 
 to infer that they were under the dominion of evil spirits, since 
 the shades of noble men, celestial demons, or (if we must fol- 
 low the translators) very good devils, might exercise a con- 
 trolling influence over mortals. 
 
 It was the privilege of the clergy to '' fall back upon the 
 Biblical demonology " for a probable solution of the modern 
 mysteries. The time had come when they felt obliged to do 
 something ; and, because science could suggest nothing better, 
 they have, alas, fallen back to perdition ! In the words of the 
 eloquent Roman — spoken at a funeral — " What a fall was there, 
 my countrymen ! " 
 
 But will they be able to rest any more comfortably in the 
 present fallen state by longer cherishing the falsehood that the 
 Spirits are all unclean ? Have they such an unreasoning pref- 
 erence for foul demons that they must have such to the utter 
 exclusion of all others ? And must they continue to defame 
 the characters of all the inhabitants of the Spirit-World of 
 whose existence they have any positive knowledge ? If they 
 are going to depend on demons to arm them against the sub- 
 tle materialism which, in the name of science and positive 
 philosophy, now threatens the interests of the Church, they 
 ought at least to have the grace and magnanimity to refrain 
 from bearing false witness against their spiritual neighbors. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1 83 
 
 Let them tell the whole truth about the demons, that their 
 misguided followers may know there are some pure and wise 
 Spirits still sent to this world on errands of angelic protection, 
 of sweet fellowship and heavenly mercy, 
 
 " When the dark Ethiop learns to change his skin ; 
 When the fierce leopard takes away his spots ; 
 When wolves turn shepherds, and protect the sheep ; 
 When frosts grow kind, and kiss to life the flowers ; 
 When tyrants fall in love with Liberty, 
 Sectarian creeds will cease to stab the soul." * 
 
 It is with profound regret that I am obliged, under this in- 
 dictment, to convict Prof. Phelps of a want of fidelity to the 
 facts, and to impartial testimony. If this is important in sec- 
 ular affairs, it can not be less so in the treatment of those 
 grave questions which relate to religion and the immortal re- 
 alities of the life hereafter. And here I must cite the follow- 
 ing passage from his letter in the Congregationalist : 
 
 " That instructive faith in the supernatural, which the Bible feeds with 
 dignity and purity, if denied such food, we might naturally expect to find 
 rotting in some such putrescent heap as modern Spiritualism. " 
 
 I accept the issue made by this learned theologian who 
 brings his little taper to warm the sunshine, and to light the 
 summer day. To determine with what degree of " dignity 
 and purity " our " instinctive faith in the supernatural " is fed 
 by the Bible, it will be necessary to look at that particular 
 side of the subject which the Professor just now keeps in 
 
 * These lines are from the spirit of the author of the " Course of Time," 
 whose theology, the reader will observe, has been radically reformed by 
 his residence in the spiritual heavens. 
 
184 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 shadow. To this end I will refer to several significant pas- 
 sages in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. I will not, 
 however, offend the refined moral sense of your readers by 
 reciting the vile proposition of Lot in respect to his virgin 
 daughters — made to the populace of Sodom while he yet en- 
 tertained " two angels " at a feast. Though a believer in an- 
 gelic visitors he was a very weak man, as appears from the 
 further history of his life ; and the religious world should 
 make haste to forget a bad example, which does not " feed 
 the instinctive faith in the supernatural — with dignity and 
 purity." * 
 
 Among the ancient prophets — true and false — was Balaam, 
 who, according to the account given in the twenty- second 
 chapter of the book of Numbers, was instructed on a certain 
 occasion to accompany the princes of Moab. The prophet 
 may have had some private aim or object in view in obeying 
 the Divine command, since the record represents that, not- 
 withstanding he had been divinely directed to go, yet " God's 
 anger was kindled because he went." This led to one of the 
 most remarkable illustrations of Spirit Mediumship on record. 
 Balaam, as it appears, rode on a beast, the common English 
 name of which has become a synonym for obstinacy and stu- 
 pidity. The prophet was brutal in his treatment of the beast ; 
 and the angel of the Lord, using the dumb animal as both a 
 seeing and speaking medium, sharply rebuked Balaam, and 
 then reasoned the case with him in mild and persuasive He- 
 
 * See the Biblical account in Genesis, chapter xix., from which it would 
 appear that the antiseptic properties in Lot's constitution were not suffi- 
 ciently pronounced to enable him to share the fate of his wife. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1 85 
 
 brew. We may naturally presume that there was at least an 
 appearance of awful gravity in the demeanor of the animal — • 
 this is characteristic of the class — and, as we cannot impeach 
 the morals of the species, we may as well frankly admit that, 
 in this case, the " instinctive faith in the supernatural " was 
 fed "with dignity and purity." 
 
 But there were cases in which the " dignity and purity " 
 were not so clearly illustrated. Isaiah (chapter xix. 14), in 
 referring to the calamities which were to come upon Egypt, 
 says, " The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst 
 thereof ; and they have caused Egypt to err in every work 
 thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit." The 
 same prophet (Isa. viii. 19-20) reproved the people of his day 
 for running after certain " familiar spirits," who had nothing 
 of consequence to communicate, and the class of " wizards 
 that peep and that mutter." To " peep " may mean to cry 
 like a chicken, while to "mutter" is to utter with inaudible 
 or otherwise imperfect articulations. Such stupid pretenders 
 to mystical lore and spiritual insight were of no possible ser- 
 vice to the people, and hence it was unwise to seek after 
 them. Every rational Spiritualist is somewhat disposed to 
 believe in Isaiah, and we often have occasion to advise nov- 
 ices not to waste much time with spirits and mediums who 
 at their best can only " peep " like chickens and mutter some 
 unintelligible jargon to no profit. 
 
 As a further illustration of the alleged superior " dignity 
 and purity " of the manner in which some of the Scripture 
 writers minister to our "instinctive faith in the supernatural," 
 I respectfully submit the following : 
 
1 86 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and 
 fall at Ramothgilead ? And one said on this manner, and another said 
 on that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the 
 Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, 
 Wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in 
 the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, . 
 and prevail also ; go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold the Lord 
 hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets." (I. Kings, 
 xxii. 20-23). 
 
 Let the reader observe that it is not the spirit of some wan- 
 derer from this dim orb, deceived, benighted and lost ; nor a 
 poor demon whose rudimental life was blackened and blasted 
 by fatal hereditary predispositions and the world's scorn, who 
 is made to sanction this iniquity ; but it is the Hebrew Jeho- 
 vah, whom Christians worship as the Creator of the universe 
 and the loving Father of the spirits of all flesh ! Had the 
 commission to engage in this foul business of systematic lying 
 for the questionable purpose of leading even a bad man to 
 ruin, emanated from Spirits who use our modern mediums, 
 the fact would have been cited by every evangelical minister 
 in the country as evidence of the fathomless depravity of the 
 whole system and the diabolical character of all its invisible 
 agents. And does it follow of necessity that our " instinctive 
 faith in the supernatural " must be fed in this way alone ? 
 No ! There is no divine afflatus here, teaching celestial truths 
 with " dignity and purity." It is no breath of God coming 
 down out of heaven ; but rather a foul Euroclydon, sweep- 
 ing up from the nether depths of fathomless perdition, filling 
 our sphere with a moral miasm and blighting the morning- 
 glories of this world. 
 
 The phenomena illustrating the presence and the power of 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 1 8/ 
 
 Spirits were of frequent occurrence in the first century, and the 
 constant references to the same in the New Testament clearly 
 show that a large proportion of them were of a disorderly char- 
 acter. One of the biographers of Jesus states that the Master 
 was " led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of 
 the devil." (Matt. iv. i.) Another says, "the spirit driveth 
 him into the Wilderness." (Mark i. 12.) When he was in the 
 region of -Tyre and Sidon a Syrophenician Greek woman came 
 to him in behalf of her daughter who " had an unclean spirit," 
 and she "besought him that he would cast forth the devil out 
 of her daughter." Jesus complied with her request. (Mark 
 vii. 25, 26.) After his transfiguration he was one day sur- 
 rounded by a great crowd, when one of the multitude said : 
 " Master, I have brought my son which hath a dumb spirit, 
 and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him, and he foam- 
 eth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away." This 
 dumb spirit was cast out, the medium being thrown so vio- 
 lently to the ground that he appeared to be dead. (Mark ix. 
 17-26.) In the Synagogue at Capernaum "there was a man 
 which had a spirit of an unclean devil," and he was very noisy. 
 In the exorcism of this spirit the medium was prostrated but 
 not injured. (Luke iv. 33-35.) Among the "women which 
 had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities " was one " Mary 
 called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils." (Luke 
 viii. 2.) It is recorded that while Philip was preaching in 
 Samaria, " unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of 
 many." (Acts viii. 7.) When Paul and Silas were at Philippi, 
 in Macedonia, they were met by " a certain damsel possessed 
 with a spirit of divination, which brought her masters much 
 
1 56 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 gain by soothsaying " — fortune-telling under spirit influence. 
 (Acts xvi. 1 6-1 8.) 
 
 In closing this summary of the New Testament illustrations, 
 a more complete description of a single example, as presented 
 in Mark's record of the Gospel, will afford a clearer concep- 
 tion of the more desperate phases of the spiritual phenomena 
 of those times. Jesus had just crossed the sea of Galilee with 
 his disciples and was in " the country of the Gadarenes." 
 
 "And when he was come out of the ship immediately there met him 
 out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling 
 among the tombs ; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains ; be- 
 cause that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains 
 had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces ; neither 
 could any man tame him. . . . But when he saw Jesus afar off, he 
 ran and worshiped him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, ' What 
 have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God ? I adjure 
 thee by God, that thou torment me not.' For he said unto him, Come 
 out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, ' What is thy 
 name ?' And he answered, saying, ' My name is Legion, for we are many.' 
 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the 
 country. 
 
 Now there was nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 
 And all the devils besought him, saying, 'Send us into the swine, that 
 we may enter into them.' And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And 
 the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine : and the herd 
 ran violently down a steep place into the sea (they were about two thou- 
 sand), and were choked in the sea." (Mark v. 2-13.) 
 
 The critical reader will not omit to observe that these dis- 
 orderly spirits, endowed with such preternatural powers for 
 mischief, were most orthodox in faith according to the ap- 
 proved standard of the modern Church. The spirit who 
 spoke for the Legion declared with singular emphasis their 
 faith in the divinity of Jesus ; at the same time among them 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION, 1 89 
 
 all there does not appear to have been one benighted soul 
 who cared to hide the dismal aspects of a perverted nature 
 and a wasted life. In view of all this, and much more of a 
 similar character, it is still arrogantly assumed that our " in- 
 stinctive faith in the supernatural " must derive all the means 
 of its support from the Bible, to the exclusion of personal ex- 
 perience and a living inspiration. The Church may as well 
 understand that if all modern mysteries are to be explained 
 without reference to another world, and the agency of spirit- 
 ual beings in their production, then the Bible and the sacred 
 books of all heathen nations must share the same fate.* 
 
 I am. pleased to know that ordinary infidels are not so illog- 
 ical as to reject what is really good and true for the reason 
 that the treasure my be surrounded by grosser elements in 
 which no one may discover intrinsic value. We accept the 
 exquisite poetry of the Psalmist as cordially as we condemn 
 the gross sensuality and villainy that blackened the character 
 of the inspired author. We never quarrel with the poet's 
 lyre, even when it is tuned to the unhappy strains of a peni- 
 tent adulterer. The epistles of Paul are none the less instruc- 
 tive and forcible because some of the best ones were written 
 
 * Rev. Charles Beecher saw this twenty-seven years ago (April, 1853), 
 when he submitted his " Review of the Spiritual Manifestations" to the 
 Congregational Association of New York and Brooklyn. The following 
 brief extract will show how vividly the truth was impressed on his mind : 
 
 " If a theory be adopted everywhere else but in the Bible, excluding 
 spiritual intervention, in toto, and accounting for everything physically, 
 then will the covers of the Bible prove but pasteboard barriers. Such a 
 theory will sweep its way through the Bible and its authority ; its plenary 
 inspiration will be annihilated." 
 
190 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to Christians who made a Bacchanalian entertainment of the 
 Lord's supper, getting drunk, eating and drinking damnation 
 to themselves ; and — Paul being the witness — indulging in 
 other crimes of so gross a nature that they " were not so much 
 as named among the Gentiles." The impassioned eloquence 
 of Peter was not less inspired because there were " dumb spir- 
 its " in Judea. The conduct of the Good Samaritan was al- 
 together Godlike, in spite of the heartlessness of the priest 
 and the Levite, who in conjunction represented the interests 
 of religion and ceremonies of the Temple-service. The life of 
 Jesus of Nazareth was not less a transcendent revelation of 
 moral excellence and spiritual beauty because one of his earli- 
 est disciples delivered him into the hands of the enemies who 
 led him to crucifixion. 
 
 The time has come when the moral sense and intelligence 
 of the age will hold its religious teachers to more rigid rules 
 of consistency. We have reached the limit of the period when 
 fooling with a serious subject is likely to be tolerated. If the 
 Church is full of baptized infidels, who uphold the ancient 
 historical supernaturalism(?) while they yet wait for science to 
 explain all modern mysteries on the principles of physics, they 
 may as well understand that we fully comprehend their equiv- 
 ocal position and their shallow policy of evasion. They must 
 either discard their religion, because through all the early his- 
 tory of its development it was mixed up with disorderly mani- 
 festations from Spirits, or they must cease to make such disor- 
 derly phenomena a ground of objection to the just claims of 
 Modern Spiritualism. This is the issue which must be met 
 here and now. Our clerical opposers have grown old and gray 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. IQI 
 
 in superserviceable efforts to assist the Lord by annihilating 
 SpirituaUsm. Thus far the result only shows that 
 
 " Folly in fools bears not so strong a note 
 As folly in the wise when wit doth dote." 
 
 If it were not a matter of daily observation, we should be 
 amazed at the stupidity of the opposition. The stale objec- 
 tion that the communications from Spirits are either utterly 
 worthless or manifestly unimportant, is constantly repeated by 
 people who do not appear to have heard of the " dumb spirits " 
 of the New Testament. While insisting that the Spirits should 
 always be able to give learned tests to ambitious scholars, like 
 " the gift of tongues," and demanding withal more " dignity 
 and purity " on the part of our mediums, they still neglect to 
 tell the truth about them, while they pay their respects to Ba- 
 laam's ass. If there are undeveloped spirits and mediums now 
 whose words are without wisdom — who give us nothing new — 
 so there were peeping and muttering wizards in the days of 
 the prophets. The masters and students of popular divinity 
 talk about the superior truth and dignity of the Biblical 
 methods of feeding the love of the supernatural, while they 
 keep out of sight the amazing fact that a single spirit, under 
 a contract sanctioned by the Lord — without even the poor 
 motive of self-interest in justification — agreed to become a very 
 common liar in the mouth of an indefinite number of Jewish 
 prophets. It is said that our modern mediums are mostly igno- 
 rant and perverse, low in the scale of intellectual and moral 
 development (this is not true) ; that they lack the fine quality 
 of respectability, and the eclat of social recognition in the 
 
192 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 gilded salons of our polite society. And yet the people who 
 make these disparaging observations forget that the religion 
 they have made fashionable had its ancient demoniacs from 
 the catacombs of the Holy City ; its Christian Magdalenes 
 who imbosomed a community of devils ; and the two thousand 
 hogs, which — under the Christian dispensation — were devel- 
 oped as mediums for unclean spirits in a single day ! How 
 long, oh Lord, will our pious censors continue to " strain at 
 a gnat and swallow a camel ? " 
 
 Professor Phelps, with unequaled offensiveness of speech, 
 characterizes Spiritualism as a ''''putrescent heap" and he pro- 
 fesses to find our "instinctive faith in the supernatural" 
 buried and '' rotting " in this huge pile of infernal compost. 
 His poor conception of its character, and this attempt to 
 excite a feeling of disgust and hostility in the public mind, 
 are so far beneath the dignity of the subject and the proper 
 office of the religious teacher, that his words will have little 
 weight with those who reach their conclusions by honest in- 
 quiry and logical reasoning. Unfortunately there are many 
 whose views are determined by their own ignorance and the 
 force of popular prejudice ; but it is not a hopeful case which 
 prompts a man of letters to make such an appeal in the name 
 of Religion. 
 
 I am happy to know that the attitude of Professor Phelps 
 will neither prevent nor postpone the inevitable result. Ma- 
 terial science will soon drive theology to the wall unless the 
 Church makes a virtue of necessity by accepting Spiritualism. 
 The doctors may speculate as they will ; this is the only alter- 
 native. The essential facts and principles of Spiritualism are 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 103 
 
 not mere fancies ; they are not " profane, and old wives' fa- 
 bles ; " they are not flimsy trappings and the cheap tinsel of 
 theatrical exhibition. On the contrary, they are everywhere 
 and irresistible — substantial as solid spheres, and will remain 
 when the last mournful wreck of the old theologies goes to 
 pieces and is swallowed up in the dead sea of the past. 
 
 The poor time-servers, who balance truth and popularity, 
 have nearly had their day ; they will finish their little work 
 and go away to be forgotten ; but the truth of a demonstrated 
 immortality will endure forever to inspire the hopes of all the 
 living by pouring the golden splendors of the immortal Morn- 
 ing over and through the portals of the grave ! In the com- 
 ing century. Spiritualism will extend the boundaries of science 
 into other worlds ; and the little child shall hold the un- 
 broken chain of that sublime induction which, like the patri- 
 arch's ladder, leads up from earth to heaven. Then will the 
 truth appear in all the majesty of its power, and Modern 
 Spiritualism be recognized as the great Reformation of all the 
 ages. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, 165 East 49TH St. ) 
 
 New York, Jafi. 1881. j 
 
ANOTHER WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. 
 
 DAYLIGHT APPARITION OF A DEPARTED SPIRIT. 
 
 FROM THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE OF FEBRUARY 6, 1881. 
 
 Vision of a Prominent Merchant — Sensation on Brooklyn Heights — An unexpected 
 Visitor from the Spirit- World — A Son returns to his Father's House in Daylight — 
 Acknowledged Integrity of the Witness — Value of his Testimony — Spiritual Facts 
 and Sensorial Phantoms — Positive Recognition — Shall we See and not Believe ? — 
 Philosophy of Mental Phantasmagoria — Coming when not thought of by the Ob- 
 server— The Apparition suddenly Vanishes— Not the result of Diseased Organic 
 Action — Phenomenon irreconcilable with the Laws of Physics — The Fact due to 
 Spiritual Presence and Agency— A Conviction that rests on Evidence of the 
 Sense of Sight— A Christian Gentleman and shrewd Business Man — Truth re- 
 gardless of Popularity. 
 
 To the Editor of the Tribune : 
 
 SIR — The account of the recent spiritual experiences of 
 a prominent merchant, as given by a reporter in The 
 Tribune of the 25th instant, adds the testimony of another 
 honest witness to the demonstrative proofs, not only of the 
 immortality of man, but also of the intimate relations of the 
 visible and invisible spheres of human existence, and the pres- 
 ent intercourse between the two states of being. It will grat- 
 ify many readers of The Tribune to know that the integrity 
 of the witness to this remarkable fact is beyond dispute. 
 Scarcely less important is the evidence that the gentleman 
 who saw his departed son *' in broad daylight," one year after 
 his funeral, is a competent observer, being " a shrewd, prac- 
 tical business man," not credulous, but naturally inclined to 
 
 194 
 
ANOTHER WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. I95 
 
 skepticism. Thus admitted to possess all the requisite quali- 
 fications of a close observer and reliable witness, is there any 
 probability that he was deceived ? 
 
 But you are pleased to suggest that the strength of the evi- 
 dence " will be impaired, in the minds of many, by the fact 
 that the gentleman is an earnest Spiritualist." If this obser- 
 vation should be justified by the fact, the fault will not be in 
 the witness, but "in the minds of many other men." I well 
 remember the time when it was boldly maintained that an 
 atheist could never be depended on to speak the truth ; that 
 while Christians might be allowed to swear whenever they 
 pleased, infidels should not be permitted to take the judicial 
 oath and give testimony in the courts. If those pious people 
 are not all dead yet, they have been greatly liberalized by the 
 freedom of the press, and the more tolerant and benign spirit 
 of the present age. The fact that our latest witness can dis- 
 tinguish his own son from any and every other person in the 
 world, and that he continues to accept the evidence of his 
 senses, can by no means either invalidate his testimony or in 
 any degree weaken the force of the evidence he has furnished. 
 On the contrary, if it could be made to appear that, from any 
 cause whatever, he either lacked the capacity to recognize his 
 owm child, or that he was so obstinate in his unbelief that he 
 would not credit the evidence of his own senses, then, indeed, 
 his testimony would be utterly worthless. 
 
 What evidence is there that the form recognized as the 
 merchant's son was a mere phantom, born of a disordered 
 brain ? Accepting your reporter's account as the ground 
 from which we reason, there is none whatever. All the forms 
 
196 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 of the phantom creation spring from preexisting derangements 
 of the organs of sensation, or from the abnormally exercised 
 faculties of the mind. Sensations and thoughts assume what 
 appear to be outstanding forms. But in the case under dis- 
 cussion // was not an antecedent thought that made way for and 
 produced the visible image, for no thought of his son was cog- 
 nizable by the father. It will be observed that the image pre- 
 sented to the vision takes precedence in time and determines 
 the fashion of the thought it inspires. Had the mind of the 
 witness been preoccupied at the time by the memory of his 
 son, there might have been some possible ground for the in- 
 ference that the image was merely su.bjective ; in other words, 
 an ideal conception taking, apparently, objective form by the 
 preternatural force of cerebral action. In delirium tremens, 
 fevers and other forms of disease accompanied by intense 
 cerebration, abnormal sensations and false conceptions of the 
 mind assume the semblance of reality in many grotesque and 
 hideous shapes, which, by a reflex action of the sensories, be- 
 come psycho-physiological pictures, and are to all appearance 
 objective as the images formed in the camera. In order to 
 attribute the merchant's vision to anything peculiar in the 
 momentary condition of his mind, with any show of reason, // 
 must be made to appear that the psychical fact was the visible 
 tra?iscript of an antecedent mental impression or conception. On 
 this point the gentleman himself is the only person competent 
 to testify, and he had no thought or consciousness of any 
 such preoccupation of his mind. Moreover, if some imagin- 
 ary latent impression in the mind will enable us to account 
 for the sensorial image, why was it — when the mind of the 
 
ANOTHER WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. I97 
 
 observer had been still further preoccupied by what he was 
 obliged to regard as the visible presence of his son — that the 
 apparition mysteriously disappeared ? These facts show that 
 when the father had no thought of his son, the latter suddenly 
 appeared, and that when his thoughts were all centered on him, 
 and the life-like image was before his vision, the apparitio7t as 
 suddenly vanished ! 
 
 An honorable merchant, distinguished for his intelligence, 
 undoubted sincerity, a disposition to " try the spirits '.' and 
 "prove ail things," and for a level head in his business re- 
 lations, becomes a Spiritualist from witnessing phenomena 
 which, in his judgment, can not be accounted for by refer- 
 rence to the laws of physics, at the same time they admit of 
 no explanation on any theory that rejects spiritual agency in 
 their production. Evidently there is nothing in such a con- 
 viction — the natural result of such evidence on an honest 
 mind — which can either blunt his powers of perception or 
 weaken his judgment. Neither the capacity to see clearly, 
 nor the ability to exercise a logical discrimination, can have 
 been injured by the occurrence of a phenomenon which calls 
 these faculties into normal activity. No one pretends to 
 think that human testimony is impaired because the witness 
 is either an earnest Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episco- 
 palian, or Catholic. Nor is such evidence of any greater 
 value because of the religious professions and associations 
 of the witnesses. As the world goes, there are many very 
 pious people who are very poor witnesses. Would it not be 
 a graceful thing on the part of the press to admit Spiritualists 
 to an equality with other people ? Now that so many of the 
 
198 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 scientists, philosophers, artists and principal literati of Europe 
 accept the facts of Spiritualism, it is a little too late in the 
 nineteenth century to discount the testimony of an honest 
 merchant, who is also a Christian gentleman and clear-headed 
 witness to the truth of Spiritualism, because he will neither 
 reject the evidence of his senses, nor balance his personal 
 popularity against the truth,* 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 The Lexington, ) 
 
 New York, ^an. 26, 1881. ) 
 
 * The timely letter from the Editor-at-Large to the Editor of the A^ew 
 Yoj'k Tribune appeared in the last Sunday edition of that paper — date of 
 the 6th instant — and through that medium will probably reach not much 
 less than a quarter of a million of readers in every part of the world. 
 The gentleman referred to — whose son recently appeared to him in his 
 own house, in Brooklyn — if rumor may be credited, is a pillar in Mr. 
 Beecher's church and one of the chief merchant princes of New York. 
 
 Ed. Banner of Light. 
 
THE WATCHMAN ON SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 FALLACY OF POPULAR OBJECTIONS EXPOSED. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, FEB. 12, 1881. 
 
 Theory of Jugglery Abandoned — New Testament Demonology— Conquest of the 
 World by the Spirits— Looking at Truth Through a Cloud— Has God Resigned 
 his Scepter ? — False Views and Unreasonable Demands— Imperfection of all 
 Human Instruments— A Stupid Devotion to what is Old— Blind Faith in Sacred 
 Fictions— Closing the eyes to Present Facts— Reasoning with the Watchman- 
 Will he Open his Shutters ? 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 IN The Watchman of Jan. 13th, I find an article which 
 appears to carry with it the authority of the editorial 
 sanction. The writer refers to some of the recently published 
 books in illustration of the modern mysteries, especially to the 
 " Scientific Basis of Spiritualism ; " Mr. Allen Putnam's spir- 
 itual exposition of the Salem Witchcraft ; Joseph Cook's lec- 
 tures ; the papers from the Leipzig professors ; also to the 
 new edition of Dr. Samson's treatise, and Dr. Lorimer on 
 Isms, both of which are said to ascribe the facts of Spiritual- 
 ism to inherent forces of human nature not yet comprehended. 
 The writer seems to think that the hypothesis which refers all 
 the facts to deception and jugglery is scarcely admissible, 
 and for the reason that lue have " the testimony ofprofessional 
 conjurers of eminence that the effects produced lie ejttirely otctside 
 the domain of their art to explain or to imitate." 
 
 It is evident that the writer in The Watchman gives some- 
 
 199 
 
200 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 thing like a quasi indorsement of the spiritual origin of the 
 facts. He does not know what else to do with them ; and 
 so, like Prof. Austin Phelps, D.D., of Andover, he falls back 
 to the perdition of ungodly men in the Spirit- world, and there 
 finds the only adequate explanation. It is " in the demon- 
 ology of the New Testament." The following extract clearly 
 indicates the anxious and unsettled state of the writer's mind 
 on the subject of his article : 
 
 " The greatest marvels of Spiritualism cannot be imitated on the stage 
 by conjurers any longer. We are confronted with marvels which cannot 
 be explained very well upon the hypothesis of sleight-of-hand. And we 
 doubt very much that the explanation of Dr. Samson will be accepted as 
 adequate. We find it hard to believe that we ourselves have power to 
 produce such things as are reported by the German professors. At the 
 same time the hypothesis of the Spiritualists is equally inadequate. The 
 mental and moral imbecility of the messages is a fact which all admit, and 
 which can hardly be reconciled with the supposition that these messages 
 come from the dead whose names they bear. Almost always they are far 
 beneath the intellectual and moral attainments of those who profess to 
 sign them. The only adequate explanation that has been proposed, it 
 seems to us, is to be found in the demonology of the New Testament. 
 Grant that the so-called spirits of this day do not manifest all the marks 
 of the demons with whom Christ and the Apostles were confronted, what 
 difference does this make ? The policy of the kingdom of darkness may 
 be expected to change in its details in eighteen centuries." 
 
 It is here frankly admitted that the more important facts of 
 Spiritualism cannot be imitated by conjurers ; that the sleight- 
 of-hand hypothesis will not cover them ; that the theory of 
 some mysterious force in the human body is uncertain and 
 inadequate ; that it is difficult to credit the assumption that 
 men in the flesh " have power to produce such things as are 
 reported by the German professors." All this is candid and 
 commendable. It is gratifying to witness this improvement 
 
THE WATCHMAN ON SPIRITUALISM. 20I 
 
 on the old spirit of dogmatic denial and unmeasured denun- 
 ciation, which, for many years, characterized the religious op- 
 position to Spiritualism. It shows that the millions who 
 
 " Walk the earth 
 
 Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep," 
 
 are fast gaining power, not only over the elements and forces 
 of matter, but over the human mind and heart. The agents 
 employed in the spiritual advancement of this world are far 
 too numerous and powerful to be resisted. With them it is 
 not a mere question of logic ; they have the power to force 
 convictio7i, even when and where it is most unwelcome. That 
 the Spirits will continue to exercise their power in all lands, 
 modifying the religious systems and political institutions of 
 the people, we have no doubt ; and this great peaceful revo- 
 lution is destined to proceed without stop or pause until they 
 shall have made the conquest of the world ! 
 
 And here I am reminded that there are many pious people 
 who would be sad indeed if they shared this conviction. All 
 who conscientiously believe that the unseen agents are all evil 
 can only contemplate the possibility of such a triumph with a 
 feehng of dismay. That those who seriously entertain this 
 unwelcome view of the subject should show an unwillingness 
 to accept the spiritual theory of the phenomena, is natural, 
 and need occasion no surprise. They are startled when con- 
 fronted by the facts, because they utterly demolish all their 
 preconceived opinions and the speculations of a materialistic 
 philosophy. When for the first time they are made to reahze 
 the truth that 
 
202 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " Powers there are 
 That touch each other to the quick, in modes 
 Which the gross world no sense hath to perceive, 
 No soul to dream of " 
 
 they naturally yield to a feeling of profound concern. The 
 timid mind is agitated by the questions which relate to its 
 own security. If these invisible agents possess supra-mortal 
 powers and immeasurable resources for mischief, what may 
 they not do to mislead us to o jr ruin ? If bolts and bars are 
 useless, and closed doors no protection ; if they travel with 
 the celerity of thought ; if they can paralyze our bodies by a 
 touch ; and breathe into our very souls their infernal inspira- 
 tion and the foul atmosphere of the pit ; what shall we do to 
 escape from their presence, and how shall we be saved ? We 
 are touched with a feeling of compassion for the people whose 
 weak faith in God leads them to the terrible conclusion that 
 he is turning over the affairs of the natural universe and of 
 his moral government on earth into the hands of diabolical 
 agents. We have no such painful apprehensions to disturb 
 digestion and to give us the nightmare. Those poor souls 
 whose fears are their counsellors will be relieved so soon 
 as they shall have wiser grown by some spiritual experience 
 of their own. 
 
 The great stumbling block in the way of the writer in The 
 Watchman seems to be in the alleged fact that the communi- 
 cations are " almost always far beneath the intellectual and 
 moral attainments" of the persons who are announced by 
 name as the authors of the same. The writer appears to be 
 lacking a proper comprehension of the subject, and precisely 
 here is the foundation of his objection. Perhaps we may be 
 
THE WATCHMAN ON SPIRITUALISM. 2O3 
 
 able to relieve his embarrassment. His first mistake consists 
 in presuming that every spirit must be required to do his best 
 as often as he presumes to break the silence. He must illus- 
 trate his highest thought ; his every effort must develop the 
 most accomplished art ; and the greatest power of expression 
 must be revealed every time he speaks. It does not require a 
 philosopher to perceive that this demand is both unnatural 
 and unreasonable. We do not require the mundane author, 
 however distinguished for his dignity and ability, to distill 
 the elements of his thought and speech when we meet him 
 by the wayside and indulge in easy converse for five minutes. 
 We never look to the caucus or a public reception for science 
 and philosophy ; nor do we expect to extract the quintessence 
 of all wisdom from one tea party. Some of the guests may 
 have genius and learning ; but the poet does not generally 
 talk in hexameters, and the scientist never carries his appa- 
 ratus in his dress-coat pocket. 
 
 Now if the writer in The Watchman can rid himself of the 
 false notion that a spirit is a creature essentially different from 
 a man or woman ; if he can accept the fact that much the 
 larger part of what is reported in the papers as coming from 
 the invisible world consists of familiar conversations between 
 personal friends — spirits in and spirits out of the body ; and, 
 especially, if he will exercise his reason on the subject, he will 
 be much less exacting in his demands. There are people so 
 unreasonable as to expect every spirit to flatter their pride by 
 acting on every capricious suggestion they may be pleased to 
 offer. We do not expect the chemist to put his whole labor- 
 atory on a handcart and drive it round town to satisfy the 
 
204 ■ THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 people who have no faith in the laws of molecular attraction 
 and chemical affinity. The man who studies the stars must 
 not be expected to build his observatory in every man's gar- 
 ret. The minister does not preach his best sermon in his 
 neighbor's nursery ; and we may not require the scientist to 
 demonstrate his last discovery at every railroad station. No 
 more may we expect that every spirit will make a fool of him- 
 self by getting up on very high stilts to gratify the empty am- 
 bition of fools and pedants. 
 
 There is another difficulty in the way of a perfectly literal 
 transmission of thought from the Spirit-world. This is found 
 in the fact that the communicating intelligence must always 
 depend on the use of some mortal instrument, which, it must 
 be admitted, is seldom entirely suited to his purpose. The 
 one used may be the best the Spirit can command, and yet 
 quite imperfect. Then it is often the case that the Spirit him- 
 self, having had no preliminary discipline in this direction 
 while on earth, finds it necessary to learn the elementary prin- 
 ciples of psychological science before he can handle his mor- 
 tal instruments with any great, success. Indeed, we have no 
 more right to presume that he will show himself an expert on 
 the first trial than that the man who has never had his hand 
 on a telegraphic instrument can, at once and without mistake, 
 send a message over the wires. No matter how much general ' 
 knowledge one may possess, he must have instruction and ex- 
 perience in this business before he can become an adept and 
 take rank with the most rapid and skillful operator. So far 
 from forming a proper estimate of the difficulties in the way 
 of a perfect intercommunication between the two spheres of 
 
THE WATCHMAN ON SPIRITUALISM. 20$ 
 
 being, the writer in The WatcJiman does not so much as rec- 
 ognize their possible existence. He has no way of accounting 
 for errors and imperfections hit by referring all such messages 
 to wicked demons or lying spirits. True, he no doubt accepts, 
 with unquestioning faith, the whole Bible, just as it is, not as a 
 composite utterance of finite spirits of the other world, but as 
 the infallible word of God, in spite of the many direct contra- 
 dictions it contains ; its numerous errors of science, philoso- 
 phy and morals, and its twenty-seven thousand, more or less, 
 mistranslations of the original text. 
 
 So long as mankind, whether in this sphere or any other, 
 are obliged to depend on human of other instruments, as me- 
 diums of intelligence or avenues of expression, so long will the 
 results be measured by the capacity of the means and instru- 
 ments so employed. This principle must command the in- 
 stant recognition of every philosophical mind. If any man 
 is disposed to question the truth of our proposition, let him 
 attempt to do any one of the impossible things here specified. 
 Let him try to weave a fine fabric out of coarse materials ; or 
 — if I may use the old but expressive proverb — " make a silk 
 purse out of a sow's ear ; " produce perfect harmony on a 
 musical instrument that is out of tune ; cut a marble statue, 
 beautiful as Powers' Greek Slave, with a coal-chisel ; or imi- 
 tate the gold and crimson hues of morning in a charcoal draw- 
 ing. If he fails in these attempts, he may possibly compre- 
 hend this absolute necessity for a complete adaptation of 
 means and instruments to any important purpose which even 
 the highest human intelligence may aim to accomplish. When 
 the writer in The Watchman has fairly mastered this lesson in 
 
206 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 spiritual science, the main ground of his principal objection 
 to Spiritualism will have vanished forever. 
 
 The Watchman admits that conjurers can never solve the 
 problems in the modern mysteries ; he has no idea " the expla- 
 nation of Dr. Samson will be accepted ; " and he adds : " At 
 the same time the hypothesis of the Spiritualists is equally in- 
 adequate." This is a grave mistake. W.e only accept what the 
 invisible powers say for themselves, and for the sufficient reason 
 that they have demonstrated their own claims. The hypothetical 
 speculations are all the work of the opposition. They assume 
 that the Spiritual Philosophy does not cover all the facts. On 
 the contrary, it is the only theory that does this, and it alone 
 treats the subject with becoming dignity. We can wait for 
 others to take a wider view of the facts, and give them time 
 to develop the acumen required to comprehend the sublime 
 philosophy of Spiritualism. 
 
 I have but few words to add in conclusion. If The Watch- 
 man really believes that the communications from Spirits are 
 " almost always far beneath the intellectual and moral attain- 
 ments " of the reputed authors, it will give us pleasure to dis- 
 prove this erroneous assumption whenever the Editor may 
 signify a disposition to open his columns to the evidence. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, 165 East 49TH Street, ) 
 New York, fan. 29, 1881. f 
 
SHAKING THE ANCIENT TOWERS. 
 
 " WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT ? " 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, MARCH S, 1881. 
 
 A Baptist's View of tlie German Professors — A Watchman Blinded by Lightning — 
 Important Admissions — Cold Comfort for the Enemy — Mushroom Speculations — 
 Indignation of Saints — Policy of Priestcraft — Falling back on the Dark Ages — 
 Hymn of the Battle — Verdict of Christian Investigators — Asleep on the Watch- 
 Towers of Zion- -Humiliation of the Church — Fox Lake Representative — Reign 
 of the Arch-fiend — Superstition yields to Science — Symbol of long Suffering — 
 Crown of our Rejoicing. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 YOU may have observed that, since the date of my last 
 letter, the secular and religious journals have been ex- 
 tracting portions of the article that recently appeared in The 
 Watchman of your city, and was reviewed in my communica- 
 tion of the twelfth instant. The writer, in the interest of our 
 Baptist contemporary, mentioned the fact that " the German 
 professors have become vehement Spiritualists." Their un- 
 equivocal testimony seemed to stagger his skepticism. Dazed 
 by the vivid lightning with which the Spiritual Powers are 
 rapidly illuminating the intellectual firmament of all Europe, 
 he made admissions which are fatal to the claims of all heroic 
 unbelievers. Acting under the strong impulse of the hour, 
 he cast overboard the tools and stock in trade of the enemy — 
 the worthless trumpery of those people who have put their 
 trust in cunning tricksters, popular delusions, and general ras- 
 cality, as fiirnishing a satisfactory solution of the modern mys- 
 
 207 
 
208 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 teries. He finds it hard to believe the facts ; harder to get 
 rid of them ; and hardest of all things to swallow the prepos- 
 terous theories and shallow speculations which grow out of the 
 decaying faith of the Church as naturally as toad-stools spring 
 up from the mold of an old farmyard. 
 
 The only consolation left to the writer in the Watchman is 
 found in reflections upon " the mental and moral imbecility of 
 the messages " from the other world. If there are Spirits from 
 another world who will show themselves in spite of the Church, 
 and fraternize with sinners in such a scandalous manner as to 
 excite the pious indignation of the saints, it seems to afford 
 him some satisfaction to know that the minds of such intrusive 
 spirits are fast fading out in the after-life, and that their morals 
 are so low as to warrant the conclusion that they must of ne- 
 cessity be essentially damned already. The man who can de- 
 rive consolation from such questionable sources may look for 
 sunbeams in cucumbers and not be disappointed. 
 
 Seeing that the scientific philosophers of Leipzig are com- 
 pelled to accept the facts, and that the professional jugglers 
 can not master the alphabet of Spiritualism, he begins to look 
 seriously at the subject. His present attitude is clearly enough 
 indicated in the following brief extract from the article in the 
 Watchman : 
 
 "We would discourage in the strongest manner the dabbling with' 
 Spiritualism on the part of most people. But we think the time has ccme 
 when Christian men with the necessary trainittg of 7nind should investigate 
 it seriously, and reach some conclusion which will be accepted as the ver- 
 dict rendered necessary by the facts." 
 
 Here the old device of priestcraft crops out in the Protes- 
 tant church. The writer thinks it will never do for the people 
 
SHAKING THE ANCIENT TOWERS. 2O9 
 
 generally to be " dabbling with Spiritualism." He would keep 
 the masses in ignorance of the facts which establish their im- 
 mortality upon a scientific basis. He would bring back the 
 darker ages when the common people accepted with unques- 
 tioning faith the views and doctrines prescribed for them by 
 their arbitrary masters. The world is too far advanced, and 
 this feeble attempt to reinthrone the powers of darkness will 
 not succeed. From an immortalized Spirit of the New Dis- 
 pensation — speaking through the mediumship of Thomas L. 
 Harris, in his stirring " Hymn of the Battle " — such men 
 may learn the truth, apprehend what the Future will reveal, 
 and perhaps be made to realize how futile are all such efforts 
 to extinguish the light and arrest the progress of the world. 
 
 HYMN OF THE BATTLE. 
 
 " Can ye lengthen the hours of the dying Night, 
 Or chain the wings of the Morning Light ? 
 Can ye seal the springs of the Ocean Deep, 
 Or bind the Tempests in silent sleep ? 
 
 The Sun that rises, the Seas that flow, 
 
 The Thunders of Heaven, all answer, ' No ! ' 
 
 " Can ye drive young Spring from the blossomed Earth? 
 
 The Earthquake still in its awful birth ? 
 
 Will the hand on Time's dial backward flee, 
 
 Or the pulse of the Universe pause for thee ? 
 
 The shaken mountains, the flowers that blow. 
 The pulse of the Universe, answer, ' No ! ' 
 
 " Can ye burn a Truth in the Martyr's fire. 
 Or chain a Thought in the dungeon dire ? 
 Or stay the Soul, when it soars away 
 In glorious life from the moldering clay ? 
 
 The truth that liveth, the Thoughts that go. 
 The Spirit ascending, all answer, ' No ! ' 
 
210 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " Oh, Priest ! Oh, Despot ! your doom they speak, 
 
 For God is mighty as ye are weak ; 
 
 Your Night and your Winter from earth must roll ; 
 
 Your chains shall melt from the limb and soul. 
 
 Ye have wrought us wrong, ye have brought us woe- 
 Shall ye triumph longer ? We answer, ' No ! ' 
 
 "Ye have builded your temples with gems impearled, 
 On the broken heart of a famished world ; 
 Ye have crushed its heroes in desert graves ; 
 Ye have made its children a race of slaves. 
 
 O'er the Future Age shall the ruin go ? 
 
 We gathe'r against ye, and answer, ' No ! ' 
 
 " Ye laugh in scorn from your shrines and towers, 
 But weak are ye, for the Truth is ours ; 
 In arms, in gold, and in pride ye move. 
 But we are stronger — OUR Strength is Love. 
 
 Slay Truth and Love with the Curse and Blow ? 
 
 The beautiful Heavens ! they answer, ' No ! ' 
 
 " The winter Night of the World is past ; 
 The Day of Humanity dawns at last ; 
 The veil is rent from the Soul's calm eyes. 
 And Prophets and Heroes and Seers arise ; 
 
 Their words and deeds like the thunders go : 
 Can ye stifle their Voices ? They answer, ' No ! ' " 
 
 But the writer we are reviewing thinks it is now time that 
 " Christian men with the necessary training of mind should in- 
 vestigate it seriously and reach some, conclusion." It is a little 
 strange that it should be necessary at this late day to inform 
 the writer in the Watchman that a million of trained Chris- 
 tians have already investigated. They have been taking testi- 
 mony for thirty years ; they have weighed the evidence ; they 
 have arrived at a conclusion, and rendered their verdict while 
 
SHAKING THE ANCIENT TOWERS. 211 
 
 this poor watchman on the walls of the old Zion must have 
 been fast asleep. 
 
 The enlightened minds connected with the secular press 
 clearly perceive the fact that Spiritualism is advancing in all 
 directions with a rapidity before unknown in the progress of. 
 religious ideas and philosophical views. Even now it gives 
 promise of a speedy and universal triumph among all civilized 
 nations. They also recognize the fact that the Church has 
 lost its vitality ; that in its attitude toward Spiritualism it is 
 humiliated before the world, and that its position is weak and 
 defenseless. This may be illustrated by a paragraph from ' 
 the Fox Lake ( Wis-) Representative. The editor prefixes the 
 following note to portions of the Watchman s article : 
 
 "The New Phase of Spiritualism. — The extracts which we copy 
 from an article in the Watchman, a leading Baptist paper of Boston, are 
 significant as evidencing the wonderful progress toward general recogni- 
 tion which Spiritualism is making in the world. Ten years ago, it is 
 safe to say, the Watchmatt would not have dared to publish such an arti- 
 cle, even though easing its conscience, as by implication it does now, by 
 attributing the phenomena to the Devil bugaboo." 
 
 The writer of the above paragraph comprehends the situa- 
 tion. The truth is, since the press took the place of the pul- 
 pit as the chief agent in forming public opinion, the aforesaid 
 ''bugaboo" has been rapidly losing his influence over the 
 human mind, while common sense, popular science, and spir- 
 itual philosophy have been coming to the front. At last the 
 old theological scare-crows have lost their power, and can no 
 longer, be depended on to frighten the children. 
 
 Thus ends the reign of the Arch-fiend of darkness. At 
 last the head of the old Serpent is bruised, and hissing basi- 
 
212 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 lisks of Error crawl to their dens to die. Man's slavish fears 
 of angry gods and death's unnatural terrors all depart. Cruel 
 superstitions and painful rites, barbarous laws and all imagi- 
 nary " goblins damned " — a foul brood hatched in the hell of 
 ignorance and nursed by pious lunatics — all vanish under the 
 retreating shadows of the old Night. We exchange the sym- 
 bol of the world's crucifixion for the crown of our rejoicing ! 
 Earth is redeemed from the bitter agony of her great sorrows, 
 and the morning stars sing together. Science comes to illus- 
 trate Truth and to illuminate the World, while the old teach- 
 ers — wrapped in threadbare mantles — steal through twilight 
 shadows to their open graves. 
 
 " Tradition, like the Moon 
 Waning before the splendors of the morrow, 
 Yet shining with wan light o'er crypt and tomb ; 
 In whose pale ray serenest night-flowers bloom. 
 In whose dim luster living men repose ; 
 Gilder of ruins, though dark Evil's gloom 
 Casting reflected beams, thine eye-lids close ; 
 The Sun his golden veil above thy setting throws." 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, 165 E. 49TH St., 
 
 New York, Feb, 22, 1881. 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 
 
 DR. BRITTAN REVIEWS REV. DR. BOSTWICK HAWLEY. 
 
 FROM THE SARATOGA (n. Y.) EAGLE, FEB. 26, 1881. 
 
 Dr. Hawley on Spiritualism— Great Learning and Little Logic— Motion without Prog- 
 ress—The Doctor's Faith in Solomon — Opposition to Liberalism in Religion — 
 Quoting from the Apocatastasis— Airing the Greek and Latin Classics— Ancient 
 Sibyls and Priestesses— Death of the Old— The Paid Mourners— Paganism and 
 Christianity— Poly theism and Spiritualism— Plurality of Gods reduced to a Divin- 
 ity of Three Persons — Truth the only Authority — Careful Review of the Scrip- 
 ture Argument— The Signs do not follow the Clergy— Weighed and found Want- 
 ing—Spiritualism of the New Testament— Correspondence with the Spirit-World 
 
 One Hundred Thousand Letters Answered through one Mediurc — Heaven and 
 
 Hell within Speaking Distance — Discussion between Abraham and Dives — Shall 
 we insult the Angelic Visitors ?— Blindness of Theological Dogmatism — Shame- 
 less and unnatural Cruelty— The Living taught to Dishonor their Immortal 
 Kindred, Spurn their Loved Ones and Defame the Angels of Mercy— Crisis in 
 the History of the Church— The Sacrilege of the Priesthood. 
 
 " He that is first in his own cause seemeth just ; but his neighbor 
 Cometh and searcheth him." — Solomon. 
 
 To the Editor of the Saratoga Eagle : 
 
 IN the Eagle of the 8th ultimo I find an elaborate paper 
 from Rev. Bostwick Hawley, D.D., bearing the some- 
 what ambiguous title of " Oscillations of Human Opinion." 
 These terms rather conceal than suggest the general drift of 
 thought and the main purpose of the writer. However, the 
 reader of only ordinary intelhgence will soon discover that the 
 author's object in the preparation of his essay was to discredit 
 the just claims of Spiritualism. How signally he failed to ac- 
 complish this object will more clearly appear hereafter. 
 
 213 
 
214 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 The introductory portions of Dr. Hawley's article consist of 
 general observations on the idle vagaries of benighted and dis- 
 ordered minds ; the speculations of heathen philosophers and 
 poets ; the " loose theorists " in science, philosophy and relig- 
 ion ; those unsettled souls who " swing forward into the regions 
 of Christian emotion/' wherever that country may be ; and the 
 mere peddlers of " pseudo-scientific and semi-religious novel- 
 ties." In all this the attentive reader may perhaps discover 
 the dim outlines of a single idea struggling for evolution. This 
 one imperfect conception of the mind, so obscurely revealed in 
 the first part of the paper under review may be thus clearly 
 expressed : This human world — all the elements of feeling, 
 thought, purpose and action, forever move in cycles and epi- 
 cycles — which the learned Doctor does not attempt to measure 
 or otherwise define — and we are really making no progress to- 
 ward the realization of a higher destiny for man. The writer 
 appears to recognize the fact that in religion, not less than in 
 the profane philosophies of this world, "there is scarcely a 
 vagary or an error, however absurd, but has had its adher- 
 ents." Through all this commingling and agitation of incon- 
 gruous elements, he discovers no upward tendency or ascend- 
 ing spiral motion by which lower natures may hope to go up 
 higher. He quotes the words of the ancient wise (?) man to 
 prove that there is no progress in human affairs. 
 
 Where is the Infinite Intelligence and the Fathomless Love ? 
 Did God improvise the creation merely for his own amuse- 
 ment ? According to Solomon and Dr. Hawley he manages 
 to keep the vast machinery of the universe in perpetual mo- 
 tion, but really to no practical purpose. If any important end 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 21 5 
 
 was contemplated in the divine economy of the creation, they 
 as yet perceive no specific adaptation of means to that pur- 
 pose, nor do they discover that any progress is being made in 
 that direction. Solomon has probably changed his mind on 
 this subject before now, but we have not heard from him, and 
 cannot, therefore, say this on any authority. They give us no 
 promise that any great and beneficent purpose, commensurate 
 with our necessities and our aspirations, will ever be realized. 
 On the contrary, they belittle the God they worship, by rep- 
 resenting him as going round and round on the same level 
 like one in a tread-mill, traveling forever on the periphery of 
 a horizontal wheel — moving without advancing and ever com- 
 ing back to or finding himself at the starting point. This is a 
 poor automatical conception of the divine nature and govern- 
 ment. It is true that Dr. Hawley disclaims a strictly literal 
 construction of Solomon's declaration ; still he is pleased to 
 illustrate his general idea by quoting his words as follows : 
 " The thing that hath been is that which shall be ; and that 
 which is done is that which shall be done ; and there is no 
 new thing under the sun." * 
 
 * In presuming that there is no progress in this world ; that the Su- 
 preme Mind really stands still forever, it appears that Solomon finds ready 
 indorsers of his views among eminent Christian divines. They have bap- 
 tized the dead body of his materialism in the name of Jesus- We confront 
 those lifeless remains with the living inspiration of the German poet, 
 Goethe, who makes a great advance toward the absolute truth when he 
 says : '' Nature is eternally producing new forms ; that which is, never 
 was before, and what once was, never returns. She is the only artist ; 
 bringing forth the inost striking contrasts from the simplest materials, 
 and leading up to the greatest perfection. She changes herself eternally, 
 and with her there is no standing still. " 
 
2l6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 It will be observed that while your honored contributor 
 cordially accepts the authority of Solomon with an undefined 
 qualification of the meaning of his language, we are made to 
 understand that he has no respect whatever for liberal Chris- 
 tianity. This application of such a qualifying term as liberal 
 seems to imply the possibility of progress in the Christian re- 
 ligion, and he cannot entertain such an idea and at the same 
 time preserve a proper respect for King Solomon. He uses 
 terms of animadversion when he says that '' What is called 
 ' liberal Christianity,' * the new theology,' ' new ethics,' is only 
 a restatement of an effete philosophy in Christian forms of 
 expression." Thus at his word we are shut up to the unpleas- 
 ant conclusion that Dr. Hawley's religion and theology are of 
 the illiberal stamp. True liberality implies the largeness of 
 conception, the expansion of mind, and the beneficence of 
 purpose, which ennoble all feeling, thought, and action ; but 
 these great elements do not enter into this writer's conception 
 of the nature and mission of his religion. To this acknowl- 
 edged lack of the liberal element in his Christianity we may, 
 therefore, ascribe whatever of unfairness, dogmatism, and big- 
 otry may be found to characterize the gentleman's treatment 
 of Spiritualism. 
 
 Not only the one idea already noticed as foreshadowed in 
 Dr. Hawley's disquisition, but all the more important materials 
 employed in the same, are derived from the " Apocatastasis^^ 
 a work which really seems to have been composed for the 
 purpose of airing the author's learning. We took an early 
 opportunity, many years ago, to become acquainted with the 
 contents of that book. It does not appear to have been 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 217 
 
 written with any serious purpose to disprove the facts and 
 philosophy of Spiritualism. The author records many well 
 authenticated illustrations of spiritual intercourse, chiefly de- 
 rived from the Greek and Latin classics, without making so 
 much as the feeblest attempt to dispute either their actual 
 occurrence or their spiritual origin. Two features especially 
 characterize this work : a pedantic display of the author's 
 classical acquirements, and his utter inability to make any 
 logical use of his abundant materials. If his book was ever 
 intended to demolish the honest claims of Spirituahsm, the 
 author's failure is signal and complete. It has probably never 
 disturbed the living faith of one soul, nor so much as ruffled 
 the plumage of the dove which symbolizes the beautiful relig- 
 ion of the Spirits. With an honest desire to preserve the dig- 
 nity of the prof ession— of which the writer was once a member 
 —we must respectfully inform our clerical critic that he is 
 working that battery at too long range, and without once seeing 
 
 the mark ! 
 
 Let us look at the peculiar method by which Dr. Hawley 
 seeks to discredit the facts and principles of Spiritualism. He 
 refers to the philosophers of the Pythagorean and Platonic 
 schools in ancient Greece, and tells so much truth about 
 ancient Spiritualism as to quite demolish the disjointed and 
 slender fabric of his argument against the Modern Manifesta- 
 tions. The following passages will illustrate the manner of 
 his treatment, in which he follows the example of the learned 
 author of Apocatastasis. That book is the evangelical maga- 
 zine and clerical armory from which he draws the weapons of 
 his warfare against the Spirits. But we proposed to illuminate 
 
2l8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 the subject by some extracts from the essay, and the passages 
 selected here follow: 
 
 " It was then the almost universal opinion of the populace that ' the 
 souls of the dead had much power and influence in human affairs, and 
 that they could communicate with the living in various ways.' Their 
 household divinities, which were the spirits of their dead ancestors, pre- 
 sided, as they thought, over the fortunes of the family, and could be con- 
 sulted in cases of doubt or difficulty. In Egypt, as now in China, all 
 sorts of spirits were evoked, and consulted at the pleasure of the ques- 
 tioner. . . . It is paganism revived. It is an outgrowth of polythe- 
 ism, against which the central thought of both Hebraism and Christianity 
 direct themselves. Even ' Plato the divine,' as he was called because of 
 some advanced ideas held by him in reference to the unity, spirituality 
 and personality of God, in opposition to the atheism of the few and the 
 polytheism of the many, taught that the daemons {daimones) inhabit the 
 air, are always near us, and know our thoughts — sentiments which he and 
 Socrates gathered from the Jews who resided in Grecian cities." 
 
 Still drawing on the author of Apocatastasis at sight, he 
 quotes from Pliny to show how eager the scholarly Greeks 
 were to accept the facts of Spiritualism. He reminds us that 
 " the Sibyls were professional mediums ; " so also were the 
 Priestesses in the temples of the ancient oracles, and that 
 "they were consulted by imperial personages on the great 
 questions of governmental poHcy." He observes that some 
 of the mediums were clairvoyants, others were inspirational 
 speakers ; some were accustomed to write, and in many the 
 bodily organs — subject to the action of the will — were con- 
 trolled. In this connection he offers Tacitus as a witness ; 
 cites the testimony of Hermes to show that departed "souls 
 or dsemons were caused to visibly enter images, " and Pesellus 
 to prove that " celestial fire was made to appear, images to 
 laugh, and lamps to spontaneously burn." 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 2I9 
 
 Now, if we have sense enough to comprehend the Import of 
 all this, it is so much unimpeachable testimony to the truth of 
 Spiritualism. The Doctor's witnesses are chiefly selected 
 from the most enlightened and renowned people among all 
 the ancient nationalities. The earlier Greek philosophers, 
 poets, orators, historians and artists inspire mankind to-day. 
 Though dead, in the apprehension of the sensuous world, their 
 influence is still felt in every walk of life. Living or dead, 
 the Greeks have done more to develop the aesthetic sense 
 among the most advanced nations, and to promote our highest 
 culture, than any other people, ancient or modern. I thank 
 the Doctor for the recitation of the evidence of his witnesses. 
 It is well suited to my purpose. Knowing how vain and inef- 
 fectual the effort must be, he makes no attempt to impeach 
 their testimony. He makes no bold denial of the facts, nor 
 does he seriously question their relation to spiritual causes. 
 Spiritualism has no controversy with the witnesses to its truth. 
 I am not here to dispute one word of the clear record of 
 authentic history; but I come to admonish the gentleman 
 that, having admitted this testimony, he can neither set it 
 aside by supercilious indifference nor a pious ejaculation ! 
 
 Dr. Hawley does not qualify his afifirmation that Liberal 
 Christianity is at best only the resurrection of a wasted body, 
 or, to use his own words, it is the " re-statement of an effete 
 philosophy " in a frail Christian disguise ; while Spiritualism 
 is boldly declared to be " Paganism revived." On the con- 
 trary, a Christianity that is not liberal is wholly unsuited to 
 the spirit of the present age ; and the future, instead of at- 
 tempting to galvanize the lifeless forms of past ages into an 
 
220 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 unnatural semblance of real life, will only see that the dead 
 are decently buried. There are solemn people who always 
 grieve over the death of the Old — hired mourners at such 
 funerals — in whose minds every new birth in the realm of 
 ideas is a revelation of diabolical mischief. Such souls must 
 be allowed to afflict themselves, if they will, while we discover 
 in the dying forms of stereotyped thought and the popular 
 faith, the " shadows of coming events," and ih.e postulata which 
 prophesy of the New Creation, wherein Truth shall be king 
 and Righteousness be magnified among men. 
 
 But how does the author of the ""Oscillations of Human 
 Opinion " proceed to prove that Spiritualism is " Paganism 
 revived ? " Why, he shows us that the ancient nations, in- 
 cluding their sages and philosophers — the chief lights which 
 rendered their civilization glorious — believed in the existence 
 of Spirits ; in their power over the material elements and 
 forces of this world ; and that they exercised a constant and 
 powerful influence in human affairs. Because they believed 
 all this he presumes there is ground for a railing accusa- 
 tion against all modern believers, and hence the public is in- 
 formed that Spiritualism is only the reanimation of Paganism. 
 But this belief in Spirits was never confined to the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans, nor to Paganism. It has been enter- 
 tained by every nation and people under the sun, and will 
 never cease to be the vital principle in all systems of religion. 
 
 Now if we hold Dr. Hawley to the logical deductions from 
 his premises, he will probably find that he is proving too much ' 
 to suit the average taste of the Christian ministry. Let us 
 furnish an example of his own method of reasoning. The 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 221 
 
 ethics of the illustrious Chinese philosopher, Confucius, em- 
 braced a clear affirmation of the Golden Rule. Pythagoras— 
 the great philosophical seer of Samos — instructed his disciples 
 to forgive their enemies. lamblichus regarded the soul of Py- 
 thagoras as a revelation from the God of Wisdom ; in other 
 words, as a special incarnation of the Supreme Divinity ! Hence 
 a poet sings of him — 
 
 " Pythias, fairest of the Samian race, 
 Bore from the embraces of the God of day 
 Renozv7ied Pythagoras. " 
 
 It will never be denied that the Golden Rule and the in- 
 struction to forgive our enemies, embrace the divinest princi- 
 ples ever inculcated by Jesus of Nazareth. But as these great 
 lessons of divine wisdom were taught by Pagan philosophers, 
 respectively five and six hundred years before Christ, what 
 follows as the logical sequence ? The reader will please take 
 notice, that this is precisely what follows according to our critic s 
 method of reasoniiig : The Sermo7i on the Mount was of heathen 
 extraction, and the Doctor s Christianity, having the same origin, 
 is only " Paganism revived." 
 
 In the concluding part of his essay Dr. Hawley cites many 
 passages of Scripture — all of which are familiar to every intel- 
 ligent Spiritualist — to show us that the Bible is opposed to 
 our doctrine and practice, and that it is a very wicked thing 
 to have social and intellectual intercourse with Spirits of the 
 other world. And here the learned gentleman unconsciously 
 comes over to aid us by so much biblical knowledge as he has 
 acquired. But slinging texts at the Spiritualists — without dis- 
 crimination as to their import — is not likely to convince any 
 
222 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 one that he is in error. Not one of the Doctor's quotations 
 contains anything to disprove the real facts and fundamental 
 principles of Spiritualism. Quite the contrary ; each passage 
 cited assumes that the intercommunication between the two 
 worlds is a fixed fact that no biblicist or other man with a 
 personal experience may dispute. If the spirits are not insen- 
 sible to the ludicrous aspects of the case, they must be amused 
 at this illustration of The Apocatastasis — Progress Backward — 
 in which a venerable Doctor of Divinity labors to prove the 
 truth it is his purpose to deny. 
 
 I hardly need add anything further to disprove the assump- 
 tion that Spiritualism " is an outgrowth of polytheism." It is 
 impossible to trace any likeness of one to the other, and there 
 is no historical or other evidence to support such a statement. 
 PolytJieisjn is the recognition and worship of a phtrality of gods. 
 The writer has a large acquaintance among Spiritualists, but 
 does not happen to know of a single person among the thou- 
 sands who is disposed to recognize more than one God. There 
 are, however, several professed believers in the facts of spirit- 
 ual intercourse who have no God at all. They had none be- 
 fore they witnessed the facts of Spiritualism, and they still 
 hold on with unyielding pertinacity to their cheerless Athe- 
 ism.* But there does appear to be a trace of the polytheistic 
 faith and worship of the ancients in the creeds of orthodox 
 
 * Among the atheistical Spiritualists will be found, here and there, one 
 of the leaders of radical thought. Among the more prominent persons of 
 this class is Mr. Hudson Tuttle, who thus expresses his conviction : 
 " Spiritualism should be the grand eclecticism which takes from all the 
 best, the true, and carves over the portals of its temple the name of no 
 worshiped God or priestly system." 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 223 
 
 Christianity, which demand our equal reveretice of three several 
 persons, each of whom is said to possess all the attj-ibutes of the 
 Supreme Divinity. 
 
 Very naturally this brings us to consider the reason why 
 several Hebrew writers condemned the intercourse with the 
 Spirit-world as it was practiced by the early heathen nations. 
 It was not the mere recognition of the presence of Spirits by 
 the people of this world, or the simple interchange of thought 
 between human beings in different spheres of existence — as 
 this would always happen under suitable conditions — which 
 formed the ground and furnished the occasion for denouncing 
 the practice. // was for the reason that finite Spirits of men, 
 and even imagi^iary beings, were — in the popular conception — ele- 
 vated to the rank of gods and worshiped as divine authorities by 
 the superstitious multitudes. The polytheistic features and as- 
 pects of the system rendered that intercourse pernicious ; and 
 it" was this recognition of all these inferior divinities, to the 
 neglect of the Hebrew Jehovah, that called down the stern de- 
 nunciations of Moses and the Prophets. Among all men the 
 Spiritualists would be the last religious body in the world to 
 entertain the idea of reviving the polytheistic faith and wor- 
 ship of the ancient pagan nations. They are not hero-wor- 
 shipers. They have not the excessive reverence which would 
 render the apotheosis of any man a possibility in their history. 
 As a people they have no agency in the business of fashioning 
 and multiplying gods, either for themselves or others ; and 
 those who have made much progress accept no authority, visible or 
 invisible, but Truth demonstrated. 
 
 Referring to the demons of the first century, Dr. Hawley 
 
224 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 tells us that "' Instead of considting the?n, Christ a7id his Apostles 
 cast them ozit." But I must be allowed to remind the learned 
 doctor that, according to the record — which is said to be in- 
 fallibly true — Jesus did not hesitate to converse one day with 
 a legion of devils through their spokesman ; and what is more, 
 he graciously granted their petition that they might be allowed 
 to enter into " a great herd of swine feeding " in " the country 
 of the Gadarenes." (See Mark v. 2-13.) Now, if it was a 
 wicked abomination in the sight of God to have intercourse 
 with any Spirits of another world, why did Jesus allow him- 
 self to be interviewed by the chief speaker of a band of Spirits 
 of so low a character that they found congenial mediums in 
 the swine ? 
 
 But if Jesus and his early Apostles made it their special 
 business to cast out the evil spirits, what are their successors in 
 the sacred office about that they neglect to follow the example 
 of their Master and his primitive ministers ? They profess to 
 be authorized to preach under the same apostolic commission, 
 which may be found in St. Mark's record of the Gospel, chap- 
 ter xvi. The evangelist clearly defines the valid evidence 
 of true discipleship, and the appropriate seals for official con- 
 firmation of the claims of a living minister of Jesus. The 
 following extract from the original commission, the sanction 
 of which is claimed by the Christian clergy of the present day, 
 is as significant in fact as it is apparently meaningless in their 
 apprehension of its import : 
 
 "And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall 
 they cast out demons ; they shall speak with new tongues ; they shall take 
 up serpents ; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them ; 
 they shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover." 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 225 
 
 It will be observed that the very first evidence required of a 
 preacher of the Gospel, that he was duly called to the work of 
 the ministry, was his ability to cast out devils. Some one, at 
 least, of the signs enumerated was expected to follow as an 
 authentication of his claims. As the "spiritual gifts" be- 
 stowed on the early believers were not in all cases the same, 
 but as now were varied according to the innate capacity of 
 the individual and the pecuHar circumstances and require- 
 ments of the case, we may not insist on the trial hy poison, 
 since it may not be the specific function of any minister of 
 our acquaintance to overcome the action of deleterious drugs. 
 But every true Christian ambassador should submit his cre- 
 dentials, and he should, at least, be able to exhibit the power 
 in some one of its several aspects. Those who can not — it 
 must be obvious from the letter and the spirit of the commis- 
 sion listVi—mtist be classed among the unbelievers ; and it should 
 henceforth be no heresy to question the validity of their ap- 
 pointment until the signs are forthcoming. But do the signs 
 folloii) as the only confirmation of the claims of the Christian 
 clero-y ? No ; seldom or never. If there are any disorderly 
 Spirits to be cast out in these days, the friends of the demo- 
 niac straightway send for a spiritual doctor, and for the reason 
 that the Christian clergy by great occasions tried are found to 
 be impotent. They beUeve in the regular professional reme- 
 dies for demoniacs — chloroform and a straightfacket ! If we 
 conclude to be generous and wait for these successors of the 
 Apostles to vindicate their commission in the appointed way, 
 some time will probably elapse before we shall be required to 
 indorse their claims. 
 
226 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 The assumption that Jesus and his prime ministers ever dis- 
 approved of the acquisition of spiritual knowledge, and that 
 they condemned all intercourse with the Spirit-world, is with- 
 out the smallest foundation in the New Testament. As the 
 Christian ministers profess to be especially interested in the 
 question, " What saith the Scriptures ?" I propose to answer 
 this inquiry by reading a few passages from their own " infal- 
 lible (?) revelation." At the annunciation it is stated that 
 "the angel Gabriel was sent " to Mary, his mother, to prepare 
 her mind for the impending event. (Luke i. 26-31.) Again 
 the angehc messenger appeared at his birth : " And suddenly 
 there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host 
 praising God." (Luke ii. 9-13.) We have already cited an 
 instance in which Jesus held a conference with one of the 
 devils he had cast out, and condescended to gratify the desire 
 of the " unclean spirit," who said, " My name is Legion." At 
 his transfiguration the spirits of " Moses and Elias " came 
 visibly and conversed with him in the presence of three mor- 
 tal witnesses — Peter, James and John. During the agony in 
 the garden of Gethsemane, it is recorded, " There appeared 
 an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." (Luke 
 xvii. 43.) When the multitude came out to arrest Jesus at 
 the instigation of Judas, the Master informed the disciple who 
 smote a servant of the high priest, that he could at will sum- 
 mon " more than twelve legions of angels," and that they 
 would come to his assistance should he invoke their presence. 
 (Matt. xxvi. 53.) According to the evangelical account, not 
 merely " the veil of the temple was rent in twain " at the 
 crucifixion, but " the saints which slept arose, and came out 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 22/ 
 
 of the graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy 
 city and appeared unto many." (Matt, xxvii. 51-53-) Nor 
 is this all ; other spiritual phenomena are on record as having 
 occurred at his sepulchre, including the moving of a large 
 ponderable body by the agency of a Spirit. It is affirmed 
 that " The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and 
 came and rolled back the stone and sat upon it. His counte- 
 nance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." 
 (Matt, xxviii. 2-3.) 
 
 If we can credit the biographers of Jesus every important 
 event in his career, from the conception to the crucifixion, 
 was illustrated by some revelation of spiritual presence and 
 power. His remarkable natural inspiration and the simple elo- 
 quence which was the highest reason set on fire by love ; his 
 abihty to see objects outside of the field of ordinary observa- 
 tion and beyond the utmost limit of earthly vision ; the power 
 to discern what was in the minds and hearts of men ; his mas- 
 terly influence over disorderly spirits, and the heaUng efficacy 
 of his touch, were all illustrative facts which belong to Spirit- 
 uaHsm. The spirit at the annunciation, said to have been 
 Gabriel ; the angel at Bethlehem and the heavenly host that 
 celebrated the nativity ; the devil who is said to have placed 
 Jesus " on a pinnacle of the temple ; " the dove that de- 
 scended at the baptism ; the Master's colloquy with the legion 
 through their own representative speaker ; the appearance of 
 Moses and EHas ; the angel in the garden ; the " more than 
 twelve legions of angels " ready to respond to the call of Jesus ; 
 every instance in which a spirit was cast out of a mortal ; 
 every case of healing under his hand ; the rending of " the 
 
228 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 veil of the temple " and the rocks ; the angel rolling the stone 
 from the door of the sepulcher, and the visible return of de- 
 parted saints to Jerusalem — these, if they ever occurred, are 
 all so many facts in Spiritualism — personal experiences in the 
 life of a man whose very existence seems to have been such a 
 spiritual phenomenon that he was long since deified by his dis- 
 ciples. That a part of his mysterious visitors were spirits of 
 men is plainly stated. Such, at least, were Moses and Elias, 
 and the saints who, though dead according to the mortuary 
 record, were still alive in fact and visibly walked the streets of 
 the Holy City. 
 
 Now, strange as it may seem, after the preaching of a relig- 
 ion supported by these facts, and with such a founder, for 
 nearly nineteen centuries, we are summoned to a recitation of 
 these phenomena in his history and a vindication of the truth 
 by the repeated assaults of professed ministers of Jesus who 
 have never yet been able to emphasize their claims to a true 
 discipleship by a single evidence of their spiritual power. On 
 the contrary, they insist that the living demonstrations of the 
 Spirit-world all died out with the early Apostles ; and this, too, 
 against the facts of authentic history, which prove that the 
 original " spiritual gifts " remained in the primitive Church 
 for more than three hundred years, and that they have often 
 reappeared in all ages and countries, in and out of the eccle- 
 siastical state. Alas for the Church when the doctors of its 
 sickly divinity — giving no signs of spiritual life — are as dead 
 men, and the people are taught to regard the facts of Spirit- 
 ualism as a stench in the nostrils of the saints and an abomi- 
 nation in the sight of God ! 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 229 
 
 So much respecting the Master. That his early ministers 
 were all Spiritualists and mediums is rendered evident by so 
 much as we have of their history in the book entitled " The 
 Acts of the Apostles." Peter was inspired, and while preach- 
 ing his impressive sermon on the day of Pentecost a spiritual 
 inspiration was also imparted to the multitude, and then the 
 spiritual afflatus came with a sound resembling " a rushing 
 mighty wind ; " and there followed tongues of fire, the speak- 
 ing of many mediums in languages they had never learned, 
 and the conversion of thousands. Peter was likewise a trance 
 medium, and subject to visions. While at Joppa he went up 
 one morning on the house-top to pray ; there he fell into a 
 trance, and had a significant vision which greatly liberalized 
 his views and enlarged the scope of his conception of the gos- 
 pel of Jesus. Peter and John were such mediums that the 
 spirits were able to move the bolts and bars of prison doors, 
 and let them out. Saul of Tarsus — the St. Paul of the New 
 Testament — was knocked down while on his way to Damas- 
 cus by a good spirit, purporting to be the Crucified. The proud 
 Pharisee saw at midday a great light that paled the sun, and 
 heard himself addressed by an audible voice, speaking out of 
 the illuminated air, and in the Hebrew tongue. So powerful 
 was the shock to the nervous system that Saul was blind for 
 three days, while his interior vision was being opened that he 
 might discern spiritual things. When Paul and Silas were in- 
 carcerated at Philippi, the spirits shook the foundations of the 
 prison and frightened the jailer; "and immediately all the 
 doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." (Acts 
 xvi. 25-30.) Of such a nature were the illustrations of in- 
 
230 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 visible intelligence in the first century, by which the minds 
 of men were inspired, and ponderable bodies moved with irre- 
 sistible power. 
 
 In John the Revelator we recognize a trance medium of a 
 remarkable type. He was in the solitude of one of the Gre- 
 cian islands when " suddenly " he was borne away in the spirit, 
 and the grand succession of the Apocalyptical Visions passed 
 in review before him. The whole of this last book o'^ the sa- 
 cred canon consists of significant allegorical pictures presented 
 to the vision of a medium whVe he was entj-anced by the Spirit 
 of some one of the elder prophets. To a doctor of divinity I feel 
 bound to submit the authority on which this is claimed. Here 
 it is, and it shows how easily John — from excessive reverence 
 and deficient reason — might have been led into the polytheis- 
 tic worship of the ancient heathen nations : " And I, John, 
 saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard 
 and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel 
 which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me. See 
 thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-se7'vant, and of thy brethren 
 the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book : 
 Worship God.''' (Rev. xxii. 8, 9.) 
 
 These are some of the many facts, derived from Christian 
 sources, which essentially belong to Spiritualism. Similar 
 facts are now far too numerous for record. They are the tan- 
 gible evidences of another life, and experimental illustrations 
 of our intercourse with the Invisible World. And yet the 
 troubled ghost of a dead theology, and the priestly guardians 
 of a Church that has lost all evidence of its spiritual vitality — 
 whose history is blackened by the sad record of a thousand 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 23 1 
 
 crimes — still howl at us through the midnight darkness of their 
 disappointment and woe — " Spiritualism is an unholy thing, 
 and an abomination before God ! " 
 
 Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, gives a descrip- 
 tive enumeration of the various " spiritual gifts " of his time, 
 marked examples of all of which have come within the sphere 
 of our own observation. Of all these he says : " Brethren, / 
 would not have you ignorant ; " and again, "covet earnestly the 
 best gifts." The apostoHc injunction to "try the Spirits" 
 should be a sufficient warrant for every Christian to engage in 
 a fearless investigation. This exhortation is profoundly sig- 
 nificant. The idea of a trial of the Spirits not only implies 
 that they are not all of the same class, or of similar character, 
 and hence we must exercise a just discrimination ; but it also 
 calls for a searching and exhaustive inquiry into all the facts. 
 When a man is put upon his trial we summon all the wit- 
 nesses ; all parties listen to them patiently ; the counsel scru- 
 tinize, sift, and weigh the testimony ; and then the tribunal 
 is expected to render an impartial judgment. When will the 
 Church thus " try the Spirits ? " Instead of manifesting the 
 least disposition to do this at present, the Rev. Dr. Hawley — 
 who represents the Church in this particular instance— lifts 
 up his hands in holy horror and exclaims, " Oh, my soul, come 
 not thou into their secret ! " 
 
 Now suppose a man should undertake to teach chemistry 
 who had never been inside of a laboratory ; or to lecture us 
 on astronomy who had never looked through a telescope, and 
 had not the first idea about the laws of planetary motion ; 
 what would the world say of such a man ? It would not be 
 
232 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 polite for me to conjecture the answer. But let us most re- 
 spectfully admonish the gentleman and all of his class that 
 they must get into t/ie spiritual arcana ahd discover the secrets of 
 this inner world and life before they will ever be qualified to write 
 on the subject to the edification of the piiblic. So long as they do 
 nothing but stand outside of this realm of mystery, and pray 
 to remain in ignorance of all it contains, other and wiser peo- 
 ple may be excused for declining to join in the solemn farce 
 of their devotions. 
 
 There is no longer any plausible excuse for so much clerical 
 ignorance on this important subject, now that the open chan- 
 nels of communication with the Spirit-world are so numer- 
 ous. When a single medium — Dr. J. V. Mansfield, corner 
 of Sixth Avenue and Forty-second Street, New York — has re- 
 ceived answers, during the period he has been acting as the 
 amanuensis of the Spirits, to more than one hundred thousand 
 sealed letters, not less than ninety thousand of which have been 
 vehicles of convincing evidence that they were dictated by 
 Spirits of the invisible world, no one need be wholly unin- 
 formed on the most important question of the living age. If, 
 however, they are determined to keep up their shutters and 
 forever exclude the light ; if they will close their ears against 
 the testimony of contemporaneous millions ; if they will run 
 away from all knowledge as if a legion of devils were after 
 them ; if they continue to pray aloud that their righteous souls 
 may never witness these demonstrative proofs of their own 
 immortality, they should at least cease to shock the common 
 sense of modesty by opposing their ignorance to the knowl- 
 edge of other people. 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 233 
 
 Free social intercourse with congenial natures is both pleas- 
 ant and profitable. The reciprocal expression of feeling, of 
 thought and sentiment, is not necessarily demoralizing, while 
 by the commerce of ideas we meet so many phases of mind 
 that our views of men and of things are constantly enlarged. 
 Nor is there aught in the simple fact that two minds occupy 
 separate spheres of being that can render such intercourse 
 either criminal or unnatural. If the existence of higher and 
 lower conditions of conscious being interposes impassable bar- 
 riers, then age may not minister to youth nor wisdom com- 
 municate with ignorance. Those who maintain that all such 
 intercourse between spirits and mortals— /2//ot^/? minds in two 
 separate states of /^m;^— involves a violation of some imaginary 
 divine law, show their incapacity to expound their own sacred 
 books. Indeed, the very men who profess to regard every 
 example of such intercourse as a heaven-daring sin against 
 God, explain the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as if it 
 were an authentic history of events. The common evangeHcal 
 exegesis makes it apear that Abraham in heaven argued an 
 important question with Dives in hell. (Luke xvi. 19-31-) 
 It is worthy of remark that both parties to the discussion rec- 
 ognized the important fact that a spirit might be sent either 
 from heaven or hell to this world for a purpose. But if a free 
 conversation between spirits in two distinct states or spheres 
 of being is such a foul abomination, why was not " faithful 
 Abraham " made to follow the other fallen angels which we 
 read of in " Paradise Lost ? " 
 
 With a few words respecting the abnormal and monstrous 
 position assumed by the dogmatic ecclesiastics of Protestant 
 
234 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Christendom, I shall leave the whole subject to the considera- 
 tion of the reader. The attitude of the Church is at war alike 
 with the divine economy in the natural world, the laws and 
 relations of the human mind and heart, and the Providence 
 which regulates the development of religious ideas. If you have 
 kindred and friends in heaven who are pleased to come and 
 watch over your wayward fortunes in this world, the Church 
 insists that you must not encourage their approaches, since to 
 commune with them in any literal sense, even as friend with 
 friend, is an abomination in the sight of God. If the departed 
 wife comes to visit her lonely companion and the home made 
 desolate by her absence — comes to prove that death has not 
 extinguished the sacred flame that burned on the altar when 
 life and love were new — the solitary one is required to spurn 
 the loving presence as a minister of evil. If the faithful hus- 
 band returns to the widow in her weeds because true love is 
 more enduring than the Church contract of marriage, she is ex- 
 pected to crucify her woman's heart, and, in fear of God and 
 her minister, to banish the triie guardian of her life. Should 
 the sainted mother come to her wayward boy, baptized in the 
 fire of a love that many waters cannot quench — come to win 
 him from scenes of dissipation and the selfishness of an un- 
 worthy ambition, he is admonished to disregard the sacred 
 obligation of filial affection and to turn his back on the mother 
 who bore him, for the reason that " the Spirits are all evil ! " 
 It matters not if they bring health to the sick, comfort to the 
 sorrowing, and hope to the aged pilgrim on the brink of the 
 silent river. All these manifestations must be regarded as the 
 deceptive arts of the adversary of souls, who is thus " trans- 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND ITS FOES ON TRIAL. 235 
 
 formed into an angel of light," only that he may make his dia- 
 bolical purpose sure. If this is so, where, oh where is God ? 
 and how are his angels employed ? Can ignorance, blind in- 
 fatuation and sectarian bigotry further go and have immunity 
 in the reverend name of Jesus of Nazareth ! 
 
 When the young mother, grieving for her first-born, goes 
 out beneath the soft moonlight of summer skies and the love- 
 lighted eyes of Angel-watchers to weep over the little mound 
 where the early hopes of maternal affection lie buried, she 
 must never cherish the thought that the little spirit may still 
 nestle in her own bosom, and even lay its gentle hand upon 
 the throbbing heart to still the wild tumult of her grief ! All 
 this is Spiritualism ; and these are the unspeakable consola- 
 tions it brings to the bereaved and sorrowing heart. And 
 yet we are solemnly admonished by grave divines that Spirit- 
 ualism is not only destitute of any moral force — any humaniz- 
 ing and redeeming power ; but that it is only a " putrescent 
 heap " and the unholy ghost of an " effete paganism. " 
 
 If the Protestant sects resolve to maintain this attitude to- 
 ward Spiritualism, their days are numbered. The next cen- 
 tury will complete the history of the Church militant and 
 write its epitaph. A fire is kindled which will consume every 
 unclean thing, and all the institutions which have outlived the 
 period of their usefulness. Temples long desecrated by bap- 
 tized infidels ; altars polluted by unholy sacrifices ; and not a 
 single refuge of lies — however consecrated by time and the sa- 
 cred traditions of men — will be spared in the coming ordeal. 
 The hummt soul is the earthly temple of the Infinite P7'esence. 
 The indwelling divinity will not desert the holy shrine. The 
 
236 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 religious principle can never die ; and the true worshipers — 
 such as ivorship " m spi7'it and in truth " — will be multiplied in 
 the coming time. In great plainness of speech, and in all kind- 
 ness of spirit, let us admonish the clergy that their zeal is not 
 inspired by spiritual knowledge and the wisdom which is from 
 above. Let them pause in their ruthless efforts to crush out 
 the purest and noblest human attributes and bury them in the 
 grave. Deathless, forever, as the soul, are the affections which 
 bind us to the living and the dead. The effort to extinguish 
 them, or to limit their exercise to this life, is sacrilege ! Let no 
 man dare to desecrate the spiritual temple of the living God ! 
 The Spirit of the Times speaks as with the trumpet of an 
 Archangel. It is the mighty voice that broke the deep silence 
 in the young morning of Creation : Let there be Light ! 
 Dark ages, like phantom shapes of ill, vanish in the distance. 
 The Liberating Eras come to redeem Humanity, and Liberty 
 now clothes herself with the majesty of Law. Here end the 
 hierarchal despotisms that so long have enslaved the souls of 
 men. Even now 
 
 " The thunders of the Vatican fall dead, 
 Geneva, Augsburg, Westminster, no more 
 Shall pour their dread artillery of wrath 
 On the sweet flower-fields where the children play, 
 Or the glad homes where wedded lovers dwell. 
 Break forth into thanksgiving, all ye saints 
 And martyrs of humanity, who wear 
 In Heaven's pure light the palm-branch and the crown : 
 The day of Freedom dawns upon the World ! " 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, 165 E. 49TH 
 New York, Feb. 
 
 [ St., I 
 ., 1881. ) 
 
THE MYSTERY REVEALED. 
 
 A NEW CLERICAL RATTLE FOR JUVENILE MINDS. 
 
 FROM THE DAILY ADVERTISER, AUBURN, N. Y., MARCH 23, 1881. 
 
 The Last Theory of the Rappings — Orig-inal if not True— The Mystery Unveiled by 
 a Presbyterian Minister — Excitement at Hydesville — What Burgess Knows 
 about a Bedstead — The Cunning of the Foxes — Pilgrims at the Mecca of Spirit- 
 ualism — Expose of the Trick — A Divine Uncovers the Mystery of Iniquity — 
 " The Most Gigantic Sell " — The Rickety Old Bedstead Never Moved — Testimony 
 of a Pious Witness — He says it " has Doubtless Returned to Dust" — In a more 
 Vital Sense it still Lives — Like John Brown's Soul, the Spirit of that Bedstead 
 " is Marching On" — The Rappings are all over the World — Burgess "Would 
 not Disparage Spiritualism " — He only Offers " this Little Scrap of History " — 
 Legend of the Seven Sleepers — The Last One Wakes from a Nightmare, 
 
 Editor of the Daily Advertiser : 
 
 Y attention has been called to the fact that an article, 
 written by Rev. A. Park Burgess, and entitled " Man- 
 ifestations," is just now performing the circuit of the press. 
 It appears to have been originally contributed to the Mexico, 
 New York, Independent. It reappeared in your paper of the 
 date of the yth ultimo, bearing the editorial indorsement that 
 " The writer is one of the most popular and talented clergy- 
 men in the Presbyterian Church" of the region where he 
 belongs ; that he is '' a man of large experience, earnest 
 thought, and high culture," whose testimony is presumed to 
 have weight. This information is important, for the reason 
 that without it we might have reached a different conclusion. 
 It may surprise some people to know that a man appointed 
 
 237 
 
238 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to a sacred office, and possessing the qualifications specified 
 above, should trifle with his claims to honorable distinction 
 by giving such a letter to the press. 
 
 The writer begins by characterizing Spiritualism as nothing 
 else but " a strange delusion," and he proceeds to treat the 
 subject seemingly under the misapprehension that it has no 
 possible foundation but the " Rochester rappings." After 
 referring briefly to Hydesville, and to the gentleman from 
 whom the village derived its name, he describes the former 
 residence of the Fox family — the scene of the early rappings 
 — as " an old shell, dilapidated and gloomy, looking as though 
 another term at Rochester rappings would knock it into kin- 
 dling wood." In his characterization of the mediums— which 
 I take the liberty to condense — he is pleased to say : " The 
 girls were wide awake, ingenious and daring young misses, 
 determined to ' raise a breeze ' in one way or another." Then 
 follows this remarkable explanation of the rappings, which is 
 about as luminous as several hypotheses which have emanated 
 from the pulpit : 
 
 " A certain old bedstead in a comer bed-room could be made with reli- 
 able certainty — by a little imperceptible motion of a person sitting on the 
 edge of it — to produce a sound resembling a light rap. The girls discov- 
 ered this fact and utilized it. They started the exciting cry that Spirits 
 were there — the house was haunted — a person had been foully murdered 
 in the cellar. The Spirit pointed out these facts with startling certainty. 
 The excitement rapidly spread. Neighbors were called in, and in all 
 their investigations they left the strange noises still shrouded in mystery. 
 The poor old father and mother were ' dumbfounded ' and partly con- 
 vinced." 
 
 The reverend gentleman then portrays in his hyperbolical 
 speech the increasing excitement among the people, and tells 
 
THE MYSTERY REVEALED. 239 
 
 how " thousands in a day " came to this " Mecca — the his- 
 toric headquarters of their marvelous faith " — like pilgrims to 
 a holy shrine, so that the fence-posts " for a mile became 
 hitching places for teams. The whole town was in an up- 
 roar." How long this state of things continued does not 
 appear from the testimony of this veracious historian of Spir- 
 itualism. But the crisis came at last, and the manner of its 
 coming is thus described : 
 
 " A committee to investigate was chosen, of which Bailey D. Foster, 
 one of my elders, and not yet a very old man, was a member. He with 
 others, after the most ridiculous humbugging and excitement, detected 
 the trick and exposed it. The crowd at once fell off ; the public felt a 
 deep disgust and indignation ; the girls went away to Rochester, and did 
 not live here any more ; and everybody gave up the ' big thing ' as one of 
 the most gigantic sells and swindles recorded in modern history." 
 
 It would be quite impossible to enumerate the explanations 
 which, from time to time, have been given of the rappings 
 and other mysterious phenomena since the beginning of the 
 spiritual movement. Few of these have recognized the laws 
 and relations of mind and matter, or discovered so much as 
 the smallest element of probability in their composition. But 
 among these preposterous theories and groundless specula- 
 tions, I can hardly recall one thing that seems to me more 
 absurd and ridiculous than this bed-room exposition by Rev. 
 Mr. Burgess. According to this grave divine^ the rapping 
 sounds were in the beginning, and they are now, dependent 
 upon the instrumentality of that little, rickety " old bedstead 
 in a corner" of the cottage at Hydesville. To say the least, 
 he does not so much as intimate that they were ever produced 
 elsewhere or in any other way. It was only necessary for 
 
240 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 one of the girls to make " a little imperceptible motion " while 
 " sitting on the edge of it," and thus the raps came with all 
 the collateral evidences of an invisible intelligence. Mirabile 
 dictu ! No spiritual or other extra influence was either re- 
 quired by the nature of the facts or admitted to exist. This 
 is the last solution of the spiritual mystery on the authority 
 of a popular divine. 
 
 Let us cross-examine the witness. Is Mr. Burgess informed 
 of the fact that, at a very early period in the history of these 
 phenomena, the rappings were produced, with no less distinct- 
 ness, before a public assembly convened in a large hall at 
 Rochester ? Was the little " old bedstead " taken from its 
 place in the corner at Hydesville to Corinthian Hall, in order 
 to supply the requisite material conditions for the production 
 of the sounds ? Is the gentleman who proposes to furnish 
 facts for the future historian aware that when the Fox family 
 first came to this city and held their seances at the old Howard 
 House, there was no bedstead in the room ? Does he know 
 that the sounds came alike on table, floors, doors, and that 
 they often occurred on the ceilings at least six feet above the 
 heads of the mediums ? 
 
 If Mr. Burgess, personally, has no knowledge of this fact, 
 has he not at least good reasons for believing that the same 
 sounds have occurred in the homes of millions in every part of 
 the civilized world ? Is he ignorant of the fact that the mys- 
 terious rappings have been heard in many public assembly 
 rooms in both hemispheres ; in the palaces of London, Paris, 
 and St. Petersburg ; in the temples of religion ; in the halls of 
 science ; beneath the shadows of the Vatican ; on the pyra- 
 
THE MYSTERY REVEALED. 24I 
 
 mids of Egypt ; among the ruins of buried empires and in the 
 silent mausolea of the illustrious dead ? 
 
 We are left to conclude that he has no knowledge of these 
 facts, and that for this reason he is led to presume, that the 
 personal presence of one of the Fox sisters and the interven- 
 tion of that same "old bedstead," are still necessary to the 
 production of the sounds. In the closing part of his letter 
 to the press, Mr. Burgess says : " The old bedstead has doubt- 
 less returned to dust." 
 
 Alas ! that being the case the conditions are destroyed, and 
 how can any more mysterious rappings possibly occur ? Shade 
 of Solon ! grant us Avisdom equal to the emergency. We are 
 sure that this avant-courier of the coming historian of Spirit- 
 ualism will have nothing to do with " the most gigantic sells 
 and swindles " but to expose the same and denounce their 
 authors. He says : " I would not disparage Spiritualism by 
 this little scrap of history — of course not, by any means ! " 
 This will be a comfort to people of weak faith. We realize 
 just how he is assisting us to exalt the truth in public estima- 
 tion. At the same time it seems to us that his theory requires 
 revision. Since the old bedstead is pulverized, does not the 
 fact that the sounds still continue disprove the Burgess hy- 
 pothesis and make it necessary for us to look elsewhere if we 
 would discover the cause of the rappings ? 
 
 Here is a man reputed to be " one of the most popular and 
 talented clergymen " of his denomination. He has been es- 
 pecially set apart and consecrated by the solemnity of his 
 ordination for the work of explaining the mysteries of a Re- 
 ligion that claims a spiritual origin. He should himself pos- 
 n 
 
242 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 sess and exercise the very gifts he refuses to recognize. On 
 the contrary, he derides the legitimate powers and appropriate 
 functions of the office which he professes to hold as a sacred 
 trust, while he treats the whole subject in a manner at once 
 so undignified and frivolous that he scarcely merits serious 
 attention. 
 
 We are glad to be assured that the author of this theory is a 
 man of influence ; that he enjoys the reputation of being a 
 thinker and a gentleman of culture ; that there is a certain 
 potency in what he has to say, owing to the fact that he is 
 favorably reported for piety, stands well and is popular with 
 his brethren. We have thought of all this with a serene satis- 
 faction ; but after all it really seems to the observation of the 
 writer, that Rev. Mr. Burgess is just now speaking out of a 
 restless and broken slumber of thirty years or more ! 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, 165 E. 49TH St., 1 
 New York, March 20, 1881. i 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 
 
 UNFRIENDLY ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN PULPIT. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN. 
 
 Rev. Joel T. Rossiter on Spiritualism— The Seance at Endor— The Medium Vindi- 
 cated—A Royal dead-head Investigator— Mistakes of the Preacher— A Divine 
 treats Samuel coldly — He is not sure the Prophet put in an Appearance— Bold 
 stand of Rev. Dr. Butler— How he E.xorcised the Spirits— The Soulless Body at 
 Endor— Puppet-show at the Transfiguration— How the Lord is supposed to have 
 deceived Jesus, Peter, James and John— The Platitudes of the Pulpit— Character 
 of the Religious Opposition to Spiritualism— A grave Divine quotes a Vulgar 
 Jester. 
 
 To the Editor of the Baltimore American : 
 
 SOME one has sent me your paper of the thirty-first ultimo, 
 in which I find a synopsis of a sermon on Spiritualism, by 
 Rev. Joel T. Rossiter, whose mind appears to be in a con- 
 fused state in relation to the general subject of spiritual phe- 
 nomena, and their relations to a Divine purpose in the moral 
 government of this world. The text is t'aken from the inter- 
 view between Saul and the woman of Endor, during which 
 Samuel appeared ; the spirit was impressively described by 
 the medium, and from that description was recognized by the 
 royal visitor as the prophet. Saul had cruelly persecuted the 
 Spirit-mediums of his time, and in order to avoid recognition 
 " he disguised himself," and went to his stance in the night. 
 But the moment the venerable form of the prophet appeared to 
 the woman's vision she comprehended the fact that her visitor 
 was the king. Knowing the fierce hostility of her royal mas- 
 
 243 
 
244 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ter to all of her class, she was naturally alarmed for her safety, 
 but was assured that no harm should come to her. I extract 
 the following passage from the report of Mr. Rossiter's dis- 
 course as published in your paper : 
 
 " Saul went to the witches. There is something remarkable in the 
 fact that he should have recourse to those whom he had endeavored to 
 turn out of the land. The good Spirits having deserted him, he goes to 
 the evil spirits. Wlien the spirit of Samuel arises before him, he tries in 
 vain to quiet himself. What an awful seance was this ! and it should 
 teach us not to quench the Spirit." 
 
 Let me here perform a simple act of justice in behalf of a 
 respectable and noble woinan — an ancient medium who has 
 been remorselessly slandered by the Christian clergy for many 
 centuries. She was a kind-hearted woman while she resided 
 at Endor, and she must be a forgiving and peaceable spirit in 
 heaven, or she would have haunted the Church that has so 
 long defamed her before the world. Perhaps I can best vin- 
 dicate her character and do some slight justice to her memory 
 by showing the striking contrast in the moral characteristics 
 of Saul and the medium of Endor. I am not in the habit of 
 wasting many words on the average king, and a brief charac- 
 terization will suffice for the present occasion. Saul was a 
 proud and unscrupulous dissembler — a royal hypocrite, and 
 in many ways a bad man. He appears to have occupied the 
 good woman's time through the afternoon, for which he never 
 gave her one shekel ; and then, to cap the climax of the royal 
 meanness, he allowed the generous hostess to have the only 
 "fat calf" she possessed butchered, and he and his attend- 
 ants accepted her cordial invitation to supper. And this very 
 selfish man and cowardly tyrant did not hesitate to hunt inno- 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 245 
 
 cent people out of his kingdom for doing precisely what he 
 practiced himself at Endor. 
 
 Modern divines are accustomed to speak of the medium of 
 Endor as "^ witch j" but she is not so characterized in the 
 Scriptures. On the contrary, she is referred to in respectful 
 terms as " a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor." 
 (I. Samuel xxviii. 7.) There is not a single word in the rec- 
 ord to show that she was not in all respects a most reputable 
 person. The narrative of her interview with the king renders 
 it evident that while he had exercised his royal prerogative in 
 banishing mediums from home and their country, he was quite 
 willing, in a great emergency, to avail himself of the services 
 of one of their number. It also proves— if anything can be 
 proved by the Bible — that the medium was not only strictly 
 honest, but that she was also a most unselfish and hospitable 
 woman, by whose personal acquaintance and kind attentions 
 even the king was honored. And yet strange and irrational 
 as such conduct seems and is, this royal oppressor and hypo- 
 crite — this very cowardly dead-head investigator of Spiritualism, 
 who went to a medium under cover of congenial darkness, 
 because he was sorely distressed, for information which he 
 could obtain in no other way — is represented as coming to us 
 with all the majesty of infinite authority for his cruel persecu- 
 tion of mediums ! This was the way " he served the Lord as 
 if the devil was in him ! " And this iniquitous business did 
 not end with king Saul. No ; we have yet to see the end of 
 it. This worthy woman, in whose presence his unwelcome 
 destiny was made known, has been defamed for centuries. 
 Though honest beyond suspicion and generous far above re- 
 
246 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 proach ; and, withal, possessed of rare *' Spiritual gifts," as 
 the record plainly shows, she still continues to be stigmatized 
 by every Orthodox divine as an old hag, who, through " ways 
 that were dark," was in league with the devil. 
 
 Mr. Rossiter is pleased to say that " Said went to the witches ; " 
 but the record, which he professes to regard as a divinely in- 
 spired revelation, contains no warrant for the statement. Can 
 it be necessary for him to " add to the words of the book,'' or to 
 at?iend an infallible record? The inedimn at Endor is nowhere 
 called " a witch," and it used to be quite orthodox to never 
 assume to be " wise above what is written." In the opinion 
 of the preacher it is " something remarkable that he (Saul) 
 should have recourse to those whom he had endeavored to turn 
 out of the land." Surely this is nothing remarkable in these 
 days. There are many clergymen — we know some of them — 
 who boldly denounce the Spirits before their congregations 
 while, like King Saul, they "put on other raiment," or adopt 
 some cheap method by which they expect to escape recogni- 
 tion when they go to consult Spirits of the other world. Dr. 
 J. V. Mansfield, who resides at the corner of Sixth avenue 
 and Forty-second street, New York — he is the writing medium 
 through whose hand the Spirits answer sealed letters — assures 
 me that much the larger part of his patrons come from the 
 churches, and that many of them are ministers. During the 
 anniversaries he is crowded with clerical visitors, who express 
 astonishment and satisfaction at what they received from the 
 Spirits, and then some of them go home and dishonor the 
 claims of Spiritualism before their congregations. 
 
 Mr. Rossiter does not appear to be fortunate in his elucida- 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 24/ 
 
 tions. One has only to take a single brief sentence from the 
 passage already quoted to show the maximum of dogmatic as- 
 sumption and the minimum of truth. Here is an illustrative 
 example, which we emphasize : " The good Spirits having de- 
 serted him, he goes to the evil spirits!' The truth is, Saul did 
 nothing of the kind, nor had the good Spirits entirely deserted 
 him. This two-fold statement derives no support whatever 
 from the biblical history. On the contrary, if the gentleman's 
 infallible authority has any weight, it completely demolishes 
 his assumption. When Saul went to the medium, instead of 
 soliciting an audience with evil demons, he expressly said to 
 the woman, ''''Bring me up Samuel^ (I. Sam. xxviii. ii.) 
 The fact that Saul called for Samuel, and for no one else, 
 proves that he was not seeking intercourse with evil spirits ; 
 and the additional fact that Samuel came promptly when his 
 presence was invoked, proves that the good Spirits had not 
 entirely forsaken the king. Perhaps the whole Jewish history, 
 from Moses to Jesus, does not furnish an example of a better 
 character than that of the prophet Samuel. But he now falls 
 under condemnation because he ventured to show himself one 
 day after " all Israel lamented him " as dead, and his friends 
 had made sure that he was decently buried in his native city 
 of Ramah. The Christian clergy appear to have taken offense 
 because he came back after death ; and, more especially, for 
 the reason that in so doing he confirmed the pretensions of an 
 old woman who is presumed to have served the devil by her 
 mediumship. 
 
 It appears from the report of the discourse in your paper, 
 that Mr. Rossiter does not like to believe that the immortal 
 
248 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 spirit of the good prophet really came from the other world 
 and gave convincing evidence to sinners of his actual pres- 
 ence. Unhappily this would be a verification of the claims 
 of the person whom, by way of reproach, he calls " the witch 
 of Endor." He comprehends the fact that such an admission 
 would wholly unsettle his premises in the argument against 
 Spiritualism. Mark with what caution he attempts to evade 
 the force of the significant fact which he has not the temerity 
 to dispute. This is the way he balances himself for a mo- 
 ment on several implied possibilities, and then takes a leap 
 into the darkness of uncertainty and that imaginary paradise 
 where " ignorance is bliss : " 
 
 " This mysterious appearance is not explained up to the present day. 
 Saint Augustine says, by some mysterious dispensation of the Divine will, 
 the witch was allowed to call up Samuel himself. Others hold to the 
 belief that God allowed the spirit of Samuel to appear to the discomfiture 
 and astonishment of the witch, and sent his own prophet from the grave 
 to accuse Saul. In the book of Ecclesiastes, it is said, Samuel prophesied 
 after his death and told the king his end. But we will leave this matter 
 as one unknown and uncertain, remembering that curiosity to know the 
 difference between good and evil was the commencement of sin." 
 
 It will be observed that the preacher does not like to credit 
 the fact of the actual appearance of Samuel. He is not sure 
 that the prophet was there. Indeed, he affirms that " this 
 mysterious appearance is not explained to the present day." 
 And then, with more deliberation, he dispj-oves his own state- 
 ment by citing the explanations of Saint Augustine and others. 
 He deprecates investigation, and thinks the curiosity which 
 prompts it is incipient "sin." The undeveloped condition in 
 which man is utterly unable to distinguish " the difference . 
 between good and evil" is, in his judgment, the safest for all 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 249 
 
 men. This condition of mind is infantile to the last degree. 
 He finally concludes to " leave this matter as one unknown 
 and uncertain." 
 
 In his citations of the opinions of eminent men, respecting 
 that spiritual visitation at Endor, Mr. Rossiter might have 
 added that of the Rev. C. M. Butler, D.D., published twenty- 
 seven years ago, when that popular divine was the rector of 
 Trinity Church, Washington, D. C, and also Chaplain of the 
 United States Senate. Perhaps this occurred before the rev- 
 erend gentleman entered upon his ministry, or for some other 
 reason it may have escaped his observation. I will therefore 
 ask his attention to it in this connection : 
 
 " It is to be remarked, moreover, that among all the strange and mi- 
 raculous events of both dispensations, i/iere is not one instance on record of 
 the manifestation of a disembodied human spirit to the minds of men. 
 Samuel appeared to Saul under the incantations of the Witch of Endor as 
 much to the surprise of the sorceress as to the terror of the impious king. 
 But it was not the disembodied spirit of the prophet vs^hich manifested 
 itself to Saul. It vi^as his body, or a visible representation of his body, 
 which God miraculously summoned for his own wise purposes." 
 
 Here the learned Doctor, being " wise above what is written," 
 affirms that " there is not one instance on record of the mani- 
 festation of a disembodied spirit." Samuel was not at Endor 
 at all ; he was somewhere else ; Dr. Butler and Mr. Rossiter 
 do not know exactly where, probably because Samuel does 
 not report his movements to the ministers' association. Only 
 the pi'ophefs " body " appeared, " or a visible represerdation of 
 his body which God ??iij^aculously summoned." That is to say, 
 the All-v/ise Creator of the Universe is presumed to have vin- 
 dicated the claims of that ^^ old witch " by a special miracle, in 
 II* 
 
250 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 which he created an automaton figu-e to deceive Saul, and 
 then caused it to move Hke a Uving man by a special applica- 
 tion of the Divine Will ! Here the Supreme Being is repre- 
 sented as the manager of a mere puppet- shoiv ! If this is not 
 blasphemy under the canon-law, would it not be well to em- 
 ploy a committee of respectable Infidels to revise the Church 
 definition ? 
 
 Judging from your report of Rev. Mr. Rossiter's sermon, he 
 does not appear to be so confident of his authority under the 
 apostolic commission as some of his brethren. Dr. Butler did 
 not hesitate, but swept the whole spiritual field with his besom. 
 He disposed of Moses and Elias in the same summary man- 
 ner that he dismissed Samuel ; and all the other Spirits of 
 men who have ever dared to revisit the earth were instructed 
 to leave in the same shadowy train. His summary method of 
 exorcism was the clerical ipse dixit, and behold their immortal 
 spirits were not permitted to show themselves anywhere about 
 this terrestrial ball ! Instead of a number of deathless spirits 
 appearing to men in the flesh, we have only so many soulless 
 bodies, made up of common earth, water, and air, all for the 
 purpose of a spectacular and deceptive exhibition ! Jesus, 
 Peter, James, and John, indeed, appear to have believed that 
 the Master was really honored by the spiritual presence of 
 Moses and Elias at his transfiguration. But no ; we are ad- 
 monished that instead of such illustrious witnesses, the Lord 
 determined to have no such devilish proceedings, and hence 
 only set up in the mountain two hollow shams for inspection, 
 merely to illustrate his power over the elements of matter, 
 and to astonish Jesus and his disciples ! 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 25 1 
 
 It is not in the power of Mr. Rossiter to damage Spiritualism 
 by stooping to the low level of the stale and unprofitable plati- 
 tudes which he repeats in the middle and concluding portions 
 of his desultory discourse. He puts into his sermon the same 
 old threadbare objections, which — though they have been an- 
 swered a thousand times — never had any force among intelli- 
 gent people. He draws on his imagination and the vulgar jests 
 of poor wit-snappers for his facts. Here are some examples, 
 taken at random, of his undignified and trifling treatment of a 
 grave subject : 
 
 1. " After a spirit has been enthroned in heaven it can't write as well or 
 as grammatically." 
 
 This statement is a misrepresentation ; but as the preacher 
 is evidently not at all acquainted with the real facts, we must 
 wink at his want of correct information, and forgive his unwise 
 and uncharitable assumption. Further knowledge will en- 
 lighten his mind and enable him to revise his judgment. 
 
 2. " The followers of Spiritualism are constantly in a nervous condi- 
 tion, which brings about a ruined mind." 
 
 The circle of our acquaintance among Spiritualists is rather 
 extensive, and embraces thousands of persons in all ranks of 
 society, from the humblest people up to the most eminent au- 
 thors, inventors, artists, merchant-princes and scientific phi- 
 losophers in the civilized world ; United States Senators, dis- 
 tinguished jurists. Generals in the Army, and Bishops in the 
 Church. But we have never observed that these people are 
 more nervous than other men and women. Instead of their 
 minds being ruined, they are not only, as a rule, calm, thought- 
 ful and self-possessed, but they are, in some important sense, 
 
252 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 even now engaged in shaping the more liberal faith, the more 
 comprehensive science, and the deeper and more spiritual phi- 
 losophy of the better time coming. 
 
 3. "It (Spiritualism) has shorn down hosts of the brightest and most 
 intellectual minds in the world." 
 
 This involves the admission that the finest intellects have 
 embraced Spiritualism. Our own observation confirms the 
 truth of what is here distinctly implied, but we were not look- 
 ing in this direction for a recognition of the fact. We know 
 of many persons whose minds have been greatly exalted and 
 illuminated by Spiritualism. The angel of a new dispensation 
 has placed in their hands the keys which unlock the spiritual 
 mysteries of the beautiful Hereafter. On one point, however, 
 we are much in need of further light. Will it be convenient 
 for Rev. Mr. Rossiter to introduce us to the " hosts it has shorn 
 down " among " the brightest and most intellectual minds in 
 the world ? " " Shorn down " we suppose means, clipped from 
 the surface ; abridged with respect to space ; or curtailed — 
 which, how, and to what extent ? " 
 
 4. " When the steamer Atlantic was missing, the witch was called on, 
 and numerous instances are known where the news she gave, that the ves- 
 sel went down with all on board, drove the heai-ers to a lunatic asylum." 
 
 It so happens that the present writer was familiarly ac- 
 quainted with the medium and the material facts connected 
 with the case of the steamer Atlantic. We respectfully ask 
 the preacher to give the public the name of " the witch . . . 
 called on ; " also a list of the " numerous instances known," 
 the number and the names of " the hearers " who went to '' a 
 lunatic asylum " as a consequence of her revelations. 
 
THE OPPOSITION IN BALTIMORE. 253 
 
 5. "You cannot hold the Bible in one hand and Spiritualism in the 
 other." 
 
 Holding the Bible in one hand need not prevent any one 
 from holding on to Spiritualism with both hands, and taking it 
 into the mind and heart. All that is most vital in the book 
 consists of the facts which belong to the Spiritualism of all 
 ages. The truth is, if the Church insists on rejecting the 
 demonstrated spiritual facts of the present, positive science 
 and a materialistic philosophy, like a resistless tide, will sweep 
 away the claims of all its sacred books and traditions as the 
 deh'is of earlier times. 
 
 6. "Spiritualism calls up Tom Paine to testify that he is stopping in 
 the same place in heaven as St. Paul. They that do these things are an 
 abomination to the Lord." 
 
 This is not the product of a spiritual mind. While we see 
 no particular reason why St. Paul and Thomas Paine may not 
 meet on friendly terms in the Spirit-world, we do see very 
 clearly that this is the shallow invention of a profane jester 7vho 
 S07ne time ago set up for a wit, but never achieved any great dis- 
 tinction. This vulgar attempt to be facetious at the expense of 
 the Spiritualists had its origin in a newspaper office in this 
 city. Its author was opposed to Spiritualism, as his poor 
 effort to ridicule the whole subject should have rendered ap- 
 parent to any mind of ordinary intelligence and refinement. 
 But the preacher quotes the words of an irreverent jester as 
 coming from the Spirit-world because, we may suppose, it 
 suits his taste and furthers his purpose to do so. If Mr. Ros- 
 siter is right in saying, " They that do these things are an abom- 
 ination to the Lord," it is time for all such enemies of the 
 
254 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 truth of Spiritualism to take warning from their own preach- 
 ing, and make haste to cleanse themselves of this abomination. 
 They close their eyes to the light ; they shut their ears to all 
 human testimony, and then judge and denounce, ex cathedra, 
 the truth they will not understand. 
 
 Only our adversaries can possibly suffer from the course 
 they have adopted. Happily the progress of science and the 
 practical assertion of the inalienable rights of man, and the 
 essential principles of free government in our political institu- 
 tions, have placed the governing power in the hands of the 
 people. The trembHng mortal no longer pales before the 
 terrors of the Inquisition. Democracy does not respect the 
 claims of tyrants, in either Church or State, but makes it con- 
 venient for them to go into retirement. If in some enlight- 
 ened countries, crowns are still inherited like other chattels, 
 they are chiefly worn as ornamental insignia by those whom 
 the people are pleased to honor, rather than as symbols of 
 irresponsible power. The philosophical Spiritualist represents 
 this advanced state of society. In the free championship of his 
 doctrines he uses no weapon but "the sword of the Spirit." 
 With a profound sense of composure he can afford to work 
 and wait for the triumph of Truth which is sure to come. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 The Lexington, ) 
 New York, March, 1881. ) 
 
THE WAY SPIRITUALISM IS EXPOSED. 
 
 HOW THEY PLAY THE FARCE IN DUBLIN. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE SHAUGHRAUN, IRELAND. 
 
 A Bogus Medium on the Rampage — The pious Mountebanks — Serving the Lord and 
 the Jugglers — The Farce of Exposure — Saints pay for the Exhibition — Mysterious 
 personal Disappearance — The fine Art of Deception — How a Rogue pursued his 
 Occupation — The Secret let out in Ireland — Fools practicing their Folly — Mad- 
 men rave while the Stars shine and Heaven is Serene — Lights on the Headlands 
 of Time — An Angel standing in the Sun. 
 
 To the Editor of the Shaiighraim : 
 
 IN a late issue of your paper I notice an article entitled 
 " Second Sight Exposed, by an Ex-Medium," in which 
 the writer professes to uncover the mystery of iniquity known 
 as Modern Spiritualism, and to reveal the naked deformity of 
 its disciples. In the following extract we are favored with 
 the writer's estimate of the whole spiritual fraternity, which is 
 not more complimentary than the published opinions of many 
 of his class. I quote from his introductory paragraph : 
 
 " I must confess that I have never met any class of men so utterly de- 
 praved, so entirely wanting in respect to mankind or reverence to God, as 
 those outrageous and blasphemous rascals yiWo vs^ork the Spiritualistic 
 business. The spirit-circle and the animated furniture share places with 
 the dark seance and second-sight. The first two are carried out in a quasi- 
 private manner ; the latter were, at the start, entrusted to certain presti- 
 digitateurs who traveled from town to town, giving, under the name of 
 jugglery, an extraordinary entertainment, which public ignorance con- 
 nected with the spiritualistic — a belief not at all discouraged by the nim- 
 ble-fingered gentleman who owned the ' show.' " 
 
 There have been many so-called exposures of Spiritualism 
 
 255 
 
256 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 in this country and in Europe. Several poor jugglers and a 
 multitude of pious mountebanks have engaged in the business, 
 and it may be that some found it profitable. The scientists 
 are quite willing to have it exposed, because they would be 
 pleased to get rid of all such obstinate facts as are likely to 
 upset the whole materialistic formula of the schools of science 
 and philosophy. Then the miracle-mongers, curiosity-seekers 
 and common idlers enjoy the exhibition. In our religious 
 circles there has also been a lively demand for the services of 
 the exposers. The experts in this line have had a good time ; 
 and the saints — who so love to have " spiritual wickedness " 
 exposed in "high places " and low places too — have sold tick- 
 ets, advertised the performances, occupied chief seats at the 
 bogus seance ; and at last, when the slippery performers have 
 suddenly disappeared — like " the little joker which now you 
 see and now you don't " — they have purchased a valuable 
 experience by paying for the use of halls, carburetted hydro- 
 gen consumed, janitor's services, and other expenses. 
 
 This happened not long ago (we are credibly informed) in 
 New York, to a learned doctor of divinity and several of his 
 people. Some one was leaky, and the fact escaped the cus- 
 tody of the faithful. They had employed the cunning trick- 
 ster to expose Spiritualism. The men of God could not do it 
 effectually, and so they went after a juggler ! His last trick 
 was a mysterious personal disappearance between two days, with 
 the aggregate receipts of the exhibition. Having served the 
 pious purpose of his godly employers, he left, presto ! "for 
 parts unknown." Each saw his little ill-fortune in the unpaid 
 bills of his lively and accomplished coadjutor. 
 
THE WAY SPIRITUALISM IS EXPOSED, 2$^ 
 
 The juggler vanished while he turned the wheel, 
 But never a saint thought it best to squeal. 
 
 Let us see how Spiritualism is exposed in T/ie Shaughraun. 
 In his preUminary observations the writer assures us that " the 
 animated furniture " is moved by '' natural laws ; " that " the 
 dark seance is now thoroughly known," and that the only re- 
 maining mystery is " Second-Sight." Having made a special 
 study and practice of this particular phase of the " outrageous and 
 Uaspheifious spiritual rascality,'' he can presume to speak with 
 authority. He declares that it is all a trick, and he proceeds 
 to elucidate his own peculiar method of performing the same. 
 His exposition is contained in four columns of as melancholy 
 reading as one may ever find elsewhere outside of a grave- 
 yard. He gives us a little sketch of his life, showing how he 
 came to practice as an ^^ outrageous and blasphemous rascal,'' in 
 the ''''spiritualistic business.'' At an early age he became a pu- 
 pil of a prestidigitateur, and he worked with a lively zeal for 
 his master at the jugglery occupation. According to his own 
 showing, he was a promising scholar and made very gratifying 
 progress in the fine arts of deception. It would seem that the 
 one characteristic feature of all his tuork for years consisted i7i 
 making things appear to be what they were not. His exposure 
 of Spiritualism shows that he is still engaged in the same gen- 
 eral line of business, notwithstanding he now- boldly professes 
 to have abandoned " the horrid trade " some years since. 
 
 We are rarely enlightened and we long since ceased to be 
 amused by the exposure farce ; but still, though there is noth- 
 ing new, the play goes on and the groundlings are pleased. 
 Every few days some new discoverer turns up who is anxious 
 
258 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to divulge the whole secret for a price, or for nothing. We 
 sometimes wonder if it be possible that these harmless lunatics 
 seriously believe they are exposing anything of consequence. 
 Showing us either a mere trick, or the everlasting brass of an 
 unblushing countenance, is surely no exposure of Spiritualism. 
 This is really a very childish occupation. The ambitious little 
 boy may aim his pop-gun at either the Greater or the Lesser 
 Bear ; but Arcturus will remain and the pole-star shine on. If 
 there were less of this wild and random shooting on the part of 
 the enemies of Spiritualism, we should be disposed to think that 
 this Hibernian journalist was attempting to perpetrate a huge 
 joke at the expense of his readers. To elucidate the phenom- 
 ena of Spiritualism — which are immeasurably diversified in 
 form and world-wide in their occurrence — he tells us how he 
 contrived to deceive the good people of Ireland for such small 
 wages as he was able to command. If we accept his testi- 
 mony and believe that he really sold himself to the adversary 
 for what he was worth, more or less, pray what has that fact 
 in an ignoble personal history to do with Spiritualism ? Noth- 
 ing whatever. The subjects are as opposite as light and dark- 
 ness. All his shallow tricks, performed for a few pence, throw 
 no possible light on the great question of the ages. We are 
 happy to know that no possible measure of deception can an- 
 nihilate a single fact in the soul's experience. Clouds can not 
 veil the' immortal Illuminati, nor can selfish passions and popu- 
 lar skepticism avert the destines of men. 
 
 The truth of Spirituahsm is the light of the world ! It will 
 shine and grow brighter to the perfect day. It will be a bless- 
 ing even to the most benighted, abandoned and hopeless of 
 
THE WAY SPIRITUALISM IS EXPOSED, 259 
 
 its enemies, whose futile efforts and unworthy devices might 
 excite contempt in honest minds if they did not make a still 
 stronger appeal to our compassion. In vain are all such at- 
 tempts to hide the light. The writer in your paper might as 
 well be employed in stirring up a mud-puddle with a view of 
 extinguishing the Pleiades. At last invisible hands have placed 
 strong hghts upon the headlands of Time, where the adverse 
 powers of eartb and hell can reach them no more. Darkness 
 is no concealment. The constellations shine with the greatest 
 brilliancy at midnight. So shine the truths of our sublime 
 philosophy. Its morning glories like a flaming scarf already 
 wave far above the horizon, while a mighty Angel, standing 
 in the sun, proceeds to unroll the illuminated scroll of the 
 Spiritual Heavens ! ~ 
 
 S. B. BPvIttan. 
 Secular Press Bureau, 
 Newark, N. J., June, 
 
 le, 1881. ) 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 
 
 ANOTHER BOLD ASSAILANT SHIVERS HIS LANCE. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 Spiritual Phenomena, Subjective and Objective— The Seer of Stockholm — Rev. 
 John Wesley— Father Bjerring and the Oriental Church Magazine— ^oAertx 
 Spiritualism — Battle with Materialism — Infidelity giving up the Ghost— The 
 Masters of Modern Science and Philosophy— The Owens Discover their Immor- 
 tality — Dr. Hare's Spiritoscope Leads to his Conversion— Prof. James J. Mapes, 
 LL.D., Surrenders at discretion— English Scientists and German Philosophers 
 —Hiding the Truth and Falsification of History—" The Evil Eye "— Fo.x Fam- 
 ily Fictions by an unknown Writer — Is the Shade of Munchausen here ? — The 
 Tangled Web— Dr. Kane, the Arctic Explorer— His Affection for Margaretta— 
 Love Surrenders to Personal Ambition — Conclusion. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 THE Phenomena of Spiritualism, subjective and object- 
 ive, are at least as old as authentic history and co-ex- 
 tensive with the development of the religious idea, as illus- 
 trated in the experience of all ages and countries. People 
 who imagine that the subject belongs exclusively to the pres- 
 ent generation are utterly ignorant of the basis of the great 
 religious systems of the world. The phenomena resulting from 
 the near relation and intercommunication of the two spheres 
 of being — visible and invisible — are at the foundation of all 
 religion; and the man who does not perceive and comprehend 
 this fact is not qualified to become a teacher in the highest 
 department of human knowledge. Physical science regards 
 the elements, forms and phenomena of this world and the 
 present life. Religion and worship, rising above the low level 
 
 260 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 26 1 
 
 of corporeal existence and sensuous perception, manifest the 
 spiritual nature in man and recognize his supra-mundane con- 
 stitution and relations. The soul reaches out after the ulti- 
 mate sources of life and the springs of universal causation. 
 Thus Religion takes hold of the objects of the invisible crea- 
 tion and the sublime realities of the future and eternal life of 
 the spirit. It is for these reasons, especially, that Religion, in 
 a comprehensive sense, embraces the highest department of 
 human knowledge. Hereafter it will be made to appear that 
 the proper domain of science comprehends the universal field of 
 investigation — every human discovery and all formulated knowl- 
 edge of both the mxtei-ial and the spiritual spheres of being — the 
 fleeting aspects of " the life that now is " and the immortal 
 realities " of that which is to come." 
 
 The history of Modern Spiritualism properly dates from the 
 advent of Baron Emanuel Swedenborg and Rev. John Wes- 
 ley. The former was the most accomplished scholar of his 
 age, at the same time he was endowed with the most remarka- 
 ble " spiritual gifts ; " whilst the latter— living at the same 
 time — was the founder of one of the principal branches of the 
 Protestant Church. The experience of Swedenborg illustrated 
 the subjective forms of the Spiritual phenomena, or those which 
 relate to individual consciousness rather than to external ob- 
 servation. These include the opening of the interior chan- 
 nels of perception, visions and revelations of the Spirit-world, 
 and direct inspiration from the heavens, or superior spheres of 
 intelligence. Contemporaneous with these experiences of the 
 Seer of Stockholm were the objective or external phases of the 
 Spiritual phenomena — addressed to the physical organs of 
 
262 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 perception — illustrated in a most wonderful manner at Lin- 
 colnshire, England, in the house of the celebrated founder of 
 Methodism. The essential facts in the Spiritual experience 
 of those distinguished men belong to the world's religious 
 history. The powers of darkness cannot obscure so great a 
 truth. This is indeed the source of the soul's illumination — 
 " the dayspring from on high." According to an Evangelist, 
 " The light shineth in darkness," while the ages have not 
 comprehended its significance ; and yet neither ignorance nor 
 falsehood can extinguish its glory. 
 
 Notwithstanding Spiritualism rests on the general experi- 
 ence of mankind in all ages, and is fundamental in every sys- 
 tem of religion that has exerted any considerable influence on 
 the general character and moral development of the human 
 race, yet here comes a modern Solomon in the person of a 
 contributor to the Oriental Church Magazine,* who solemnly 
 assures us that the whole system rests — with its acknowledged 
 millions of believers — on no more substantial foundation than 
 a mere trick, originated " a little over thirty years ago," by two 
 little girls in Wayne County, New York. Nothing could sur- 
 pass the utter absurdity of this story, and yet we are not pre- 
 
 * The Oriental Church Magazine is conducted by Rev. Nicholas Bjer- 
 ring of the Russian Chapel on Second Avenue, New York City. It is a 
 Quarterly, and designed to elucidate the essential principles and ritualism 
 of some eighty-five millions of Christians, and otherwise to further the 
 interests of the Greek Church in America. The present writer has no 
 knowledge of " R. W.,"the contributor whose assumptions it is proposed 
 to briefly review, except such information as may be derived from his 
 essay, and this justifies the inference that he is quite ignorant of the sub- 
 ject on which he essays to enlighten Father Bjerring and the good people 
 of his communion. 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 263 
 
 pared to say that the author is crazy. Perhaps he does not 
 beheve it himself, but finds a pleasant pastime in thus playing 
 on human creduHty. If he does not believe what he says, he 
 deserves to be sharply rebuked for this attempt to mislead 
 others. If, on the contrary, he really has faith in the truth of 
 his own statement, it may be useless to attempt to reason with 
 him, and it were wiser, perhaps, to leave such a man to the 
 tender care of those ministers of mercy who preside over the 
 state of such as have taken leave of reason and their senses. 
 The gentleman who kindly undertakes to illuminate the 
 Greek Church starts off with the assumption that an unrea- 
 soning credulity is the corner-stone of Spiritualism, and that 
 people are prone to believe it, not because of the existence of 
 any important facts illustrative of its claims, nor yet for the 
 reason that the laws and relations of the human mind render 
 spiritual intercourse both natural and inevitable, but especially 
 because so many people have this perverse disposition to believe 
 what they want to have true. I will, as far as convenient, give 
 " R. W." the benefit of putting his peculiar views in his own 
 forms of expression, which — as the reader will observe from 
 the examples which follow — are seldom remarkable for either 
 elegance or force : 
 
 " What we want to believe we do readily believe. This truth is the 
 corner-stone of Modern Spiritualism, and on it has grown a vast structure 
 of delusion and charlatanism. . . . The weak and credulous believe 
 in the end what they want to believe. " 
 
 This writer would have his readers accept of the implied 
 assumption that the millions who this day acknowledge the 
 just claims of Spiritualism, were not only all waiting impa- 
 
264 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 tiently for its advent, but were so anxious to believe, with or 
 without evidence, that the trick of any juvenile juggler was 
 accepted as the demonstration of a divine reality. Could 
 anything be further from the real facts of the case than this 
 reckless misrepresentation ? The truth is everywhere revealed, 
 and, at this late day, should be known by all men, that there 
 are thousands of eminent persons in the spiritual ranks who 
 fought against the truth with all their powers, and until abso- 
 lutely forced to yield in the unequal contest. Robert Owen, 
 the most noted infidel of the last generation, may be taken as 
 a representative of many who have exhausted every device 
 which a cunning skepticism could invent, and after all have 
 been obliged to surrender to the Spirits. Robert Dale Owen, 
 who inherited his father's stubborn unbelief, followed in the 
 footsteps of his sire, and died a devout believer in Spiritualism. 
 Prof. Robert Hare, M. D., of world-wide reputation as a 
 scientist, determined to save certain of his credulous friends 
 from disgrace and insanity ; and with this object in view he 
 invented the sptri'oscope, and other apparatus, in the confident 
 expectation of utterly exploding the pretensions of Spiritual- 
 ism upon scientific principles. The use of his own instrument 
 led to his speedy conversion. So far from wanting to be con- 
 vinced of the truth of spiritual intercourse, his mind rested in 
 the foregone conclusion, that the whole system was a stupend- 
 ous falsehood. Intent upon exposing the fraud, he placed 
 the medium in such a relation to the instrument that she 
 could not possibly see the face of the revolving disk of the 
 spiritoscope. With such fraud-proof conditions the index 
 was made to point to the letters of the alphabet, one by one, 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 265 
 
 when, to his utter amazement, his father said to him, " Oh, 
 my son, listen to reason ! " On another occasion the spirits, ad- 
 dressing an eminent lawyer in the presence of Dr. Hare, said : 
 
 " Light is dawniiig on the mind of your friejid ; soott he will speak truin- 
 pet-to7igued to the scientific world j and add a new link to that chain of evi- 
 dence on which our hope of maii^s salvation is founded." 
 
 At length the stubborn skepticism of a lifetime gave way 
 before the overwhelming proofs of spiritual presence, and re- 
 peated demonstrations of the power of invisible beings to act 
 on the subtile elements of the physical universe ; to produce 
 a variety of sounds, and to move ponderable bodies by a force 
 far superior to the laws of matter. The late Prof. James J. 
 Mapes, LL.D., the eminent agricultural chemist, was another 
 of our material philosophers who was reluctantly forced by ir- 
 resistible evidence to surrender the weapons of his warfare, 
 and to accept the truth, which, while it humbled his pride as 
 a scientist, assured him of his immortality.* 
 
 Some of the more distinguished English scientists and Ger- 
 man philosophers have been convinced in a similar manner, 
 by evidence obtained under test conditions. The writer un- 
 der review unwittingly admits that there is no unbelief suffi- 
 ciently ironclad to resist the force of the evidence in favor of 
 the spiritual origin of £he manifestations. After finding the 
 corner-stone of Spiritualism in the excessive credulity of the be- 
 lievers he says : 
 
 * The present writer was intimately acquainted with Doctor Robert 
 Hare and Prof. James J. Mapes, and had every opportunity to become 
 familiar with their views on scientific and spiritual questions. 
 12 
 
266 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " Another class which eagerly embrace Modem Spiritualism are relig- 
 ious skeptics. . . . They substitute for Christianity a belief which 
 places no moral restraint upon them. . . . It is infidelity run wild 
 into credulity." 
 
 There is evidently something anomalous in the fact that the 
 most credulous and, at the same time, even the most skepti- 
 cal classes embrace Spiritualism ; and the phenomenon which 
 this writer notes should have convinced him that there is 
 something more in the subject than a clever piece of jugglery. 
 But there are some people who never learn anything from ob- 
 servation, and to whom childish fancies, shallow sophistries, 
 profound principles, and the most significant facts, are all of 
 equal importance. This Oriental Church representative ap- 
 pears to belong to this class, since he attaches more impor- 
 tance to his own whimsical notions than he does to the essen- 
 tial principles and demonstrated facts which are now rapidly 
 revolutionizing the faiths and philosophies of the whole civil- 
 ized world. 
 
 But what does this man mean when he tells the disciples of 
 the Greek Church that those who embrace Spiritualism " sub- 
 stitute for Christianity a belief which places no moral restraint 
 upon them ? " If " R. W." does not know that this is utterly 
 /a/se, he is too ignorant to assume a leading 7'S/e among relig- 
 ious teachers. If he does know that this statement is forever 
 at war with the facts in the case, what can he ever hope to 
 gain by such shameless misrepresentation ? Spiritualism re- 
 leases no man from any '''moral restraint" or obligation. The 
 writer under review had better go and learn of Moses, or some 
 other teacher, the meaning of that provision of the moral law 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 26/ 
 
 which reads thus : " Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
 thy neighbor!' By giving such testimony he must ultimately 
 lose his hold upon the confidence of the public. Earlier or 
 later the fraud is discovered, and the unscrupulous witness is 
 impeached who attempts to mislead the people. We fear that 
 " R. W." has not the moral stamina required to enable him to 
 tell the exact truth ; nor has he the mental illumination neces- 
 sary to a clear perception of a great spiritual subject. If his 
 "eye were only single," and honestly directed to the discov- 
 ery of the truth of Spiritualism, his whole nature would " be 
 full of light." It is the " evil eye " that fills the man with dark- 
 ness.* If it were possible to clear his inward vision, 
 
 " Then would be closed the restless, oblique eye, 
 That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy." 
 
 After representing that thousands of keen observers visited 
 the Fox Sisters in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and 
 elsewhere, without being able to penetrate the mystery of the 
 Rappings and other phenomena, he still insists, with dogmatic 
 pertinacity, that it was all a cunning artifice to deceive the 
 people ; and that the fraud succeeded on a scale so gigantic 
 that it put all Munchausen story-tellers to shame. Those 
 little girls kept their secret so well, and they managed their 
 exhibition so skillfully, that gray-bearded philosophers were 
 filled with amazement. The scientists were nonplused ; theolo- 
 gians were sure the devil was in the poor little girls ; while 
 the astute of every name and genus were humiliated because 
 they could not see through the trick of the " two Uttle peas- 
 
 * See the Sermon on the Mount, by the Nazarene. 
 
268 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ant girls," aged respectively twelve and fifteen years. The 
 honest blacksmith of Hydesville could not see it by the light 
 of his forge ; and the watchful mother — herself a pious mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church — never once suspected 
 when she put the children to bed at night that she was tuck- 
 ing up the devil with the little girls. According to this apoc- 
 ryphal chronicler the little Foxes deceived the Old Folks for 
 years, and " were too cunning for anything." Mark what the 
 Greek Church historian of Spiritualism says : 
 
 " The probability is that the simple-minded mother and father of these 
 girls never knew the secret of the Rappings. Margaret has said her 
 mother died believing in Spiritualism." 
 
 Here it will be observed the writer presumes that the chil- 
 dren were the inventors of a species of fathomless deviltry, 
 while their parents were simple-minded and truthful people 
 who, living and dying, were sincere in the belief that the mys- 
 terious phenomena were produced by the Spirits of another 
 world. The reader is requested to notice how all this com- 
 ports with the following statement which is extracted from the 
 next succeeding paragraph : 
 
 ' ' The fact remains that two little peasant girls were made, by older and 
 cunning persons, the instruments of this delusion atid fraud. These poor 
 children — tinder the managemettt of crafty adults who exercised stem con- 
 trol over them* — were the real founders of Modern Spiritualism. . . . 
 The whole of this monstrous superstructure . . . arose from ' that girl- 
 ish trick,' at Hydesville." 
 
 Here " R. W. " virtually assumes that those poor children 
 were helpless innocents, who were forced to rap and be tricky 
 
 * The reviewer is responsible for the emphasis. 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 269 
 
 for a consideration, while the Old Folks, the adults of this 
 family — simple-minded as they were just now represented — 
 had become unprincipled knaves and entered into a league 
 with Satan to carry on this infernal mischief. (It was espe- 
 cially the mother and Leah, the oldest daughter, who man- 
 aged the mediums.) It is represented that the girls had at 
 last grown weary of " the life of deception they were leading," 
 and were disposed to reform ; that one of them (Margaretta) 
 " abjured .... Spiritualism " and resolved on a life of devo- 
 tion to the church ; all of which reminds me of just these two 
 lines in the Hymn Book, which I may not quote literally : 
 
 " Mark what a tangled web we weave. 
 When once we practice to deceive." 
 
 The author of this last attempt to write down Spiritualism 
 has not advanced above the nether extremities of the subject. 
 It will surprise the reader to know that he still holds on to 
 f/ie toe-snapping theory, which we supposed all sane people had 
 abandoned long ago. Indeed its author never believed his 
 own hypothesis. It was the worthless invention of a trifler 
 who was only qualified to burlesque a grave subject. But it 
 answers the purpose of " R. W.," who in speaking of the girls 
 says, " It is well known .... that they could make the same 
 rapping noise with their toes ; " at the same time he discredits 
 the idea that the sounds were produced in any other way. 
 He never once mentions the fact that, in the presence of the 
 Misses Fox, the rappings often came on the doors and walls, 
 and even on the ceilings far above the heads of the mediums. 
 To presume that two young ladies of modest demeanor man- 
 aged to rap with their toes on the high ceilings of our hotel 
 
270 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 parlors would stagger our faith more than anything we have 
 observed in Spiritualism. 
 
 That the sounds did frequently occur under such conditions 
 as I have named is confirmed by the observation of thousands. 
 In the presence of the family we personally witnessed a more 
 startling exhibition. At the funeral of Calvin R. Brown — 
 former husband of Leah, the eldest of the Fox Sisters — the 
 Rappings were heard on the casket containing the remains, 
 and were so distinct as to attract the attention of an assembly 
 that filled the parlors of a large house. While the present 
 writer was delivering the funeral oration, the spirit took occa- 
 sion to express his approval of what was said by rapping with 
 great emphasis, and frequently, on his coffin. During this 
 surprising performance there was not a single soul — in the 
 body — within six feet of the casket ! 
 
 The writer under review represents that the late Dr. Kane, 
 the. Arctic explorer — who was the accepted lover of Marga- 
 'retta— was for unexplained reasons extremely apprehensive of 
 some possible impending evil, and that he did not conceal his 
 fears in writing to the girl to whom he had engaged himself. 
 " R. W." quotes the following passage from what purports to 
 be one of the Doctor's love letters :• 
 
 "You know I am nervous about the Rappings. I believe the only- 
 thing I ever was afraid of was this confounded thing being fou7id out. I 
 would not know it myself for ten thousand dollars." 
 
 The present writer was sufficiently acquainted with Dr. 
 Kane to know that he had too much nerve to tremble before 
 either mortals or spirits. He was not afraid of the shades of 
 departed men. No foul " demon of the waste " or " goblin 
 
SPIRITUALISM AND THE GREEK CHURCH. 27 1 
 
 damned " ever shook his nerves. No ! But Dr. Kane be- 
 longed to an aristocratic family, and he was an ambitious 
 man. What he feared was the odium that might attach to his 
 name on account of his intimate association with a Spirit-rapping 
 medium I It was the apprehension of that " confounded thing 
 being found out.'' This involves the reason why Margaretta 
 " abjured Spiritualism," and for a season sought refuge — from 
 '^ the old fools " who pursued the Spirits through her — in the 
 bosom of the Mother Church. For this reason she was taken 
 away from her family and sent to school during the absence 
 of her eminent lover while on his last expedition to the Arctic 
 regions. 
 
 And here we may learn how a change of circumstances 
 may modify the views and conduct of some men. When Dr. 
 Kane returned from that expedition he went to the Astor 
 House, and on waking the next morning the city papers in- 
 formed him that he was famous. It was then that he con- 
 ceived the idea that a marriage alliance with a Spirit-medium 
 was beneath the dignity of his family and unworthy of the 
 fame he had achieved. It was his personal ambition, superior 
 culture, pride of name and social distinction, rather than a 
 lack of courage, in the ordinary sense, that interrupted the 
 engagement, and left a confiding young woman to loneliness 
 and widowhood. 
 
 But I have already devoted more time and space to this re- 
 view than the paper in The Oriental Church Magazine really 
 deserves. R. W.'s claims to our attention, such as they are, 
 do not depend on any merit in what he has published. His 
 essay is exceedingly superficial, and reveals nothing else so 
 
2/2 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 clearly as his ignorance of the whole subject. He offers no 
 important facts in illustration of his shallow views, and he as- 
 signs no substantial reasons in support of his dogmatic affir- 
 mations. He refers to Animal Magnetism, Clairvoyance, Po- 
 larity, the Odic Force, etc. ; but we search in vain for the 
 least evidence that he has any knowledge of these agents, 
 faculties and forces. In his hands the terms appear to be 
 cabalistic words with a veiled significance he has no power to 
 comprehend. His feeble attempt to belittle a great subject 
 has given us the intellectual caliber and moral status of the 
 man. He alone will have occasion to regret the ultimate re- 
 sults of his futile effort to obscure the light of the Spiritual 
 Reformation, which he can no more hide than he can extin- 
 guish the sun. 
 
 If Father Bjerring desires to correct the errors of " R. W.,' 
 and, at the same time, to enlighten the Greek Church on the 
 subject of Spiritualism, perhaps he may allow his readers to 
 peruse this review. 
 
 ''■ S. B. Brittan. 
 
 80 West Eleventh Street, \ 
 New York City. j 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 OPPOSITION OF THE NEW YORK DAILY TIMES. 
 
 FROM THE HARTFORD (CONN.) DAILY TIMES, SEPT. 8, 1881. 
 
 Justice and Liberality of the Hartford Times— 1\y& Moral Courage that respects the 
 Truth— The New York Times— K Striking Contrast— An Expert without Expe- 
 rience— Dr. Beard as a Psychological Authority— Testimony of George Ripley 
 and Horace Greeley— Hollow pretensions of Doctors Beard and Hammond— 
 What they Discover was long since Known to Thousands— The Times' Igno- 
 rance of the History of Psycho-magnetic Phenomena— Blind Faith in its soli- 
 tary Witness— A Metaphysical Question— Dogmatism of the New York Times— 
 Analysis and Criticism of the Editor's Views— Illustrative Examples and Expla- 
 nation of Principles— Disposition of Jugglery and the Jugglers— Sciolists Dis- 
 counting the Claims of Eminent Scientists— Calling the wrong Witness— Testi- 
 mony of Clairvoyance to the Truth of Spiritualism. 
 
 New York, August 30, 1881. 
 To the Editor of the Hartford Times : 
 
 YOUR metropolitan namesake quite recently published 
 a lengthy editorial on the subject of Clairvoyance, in 
 which the writer lampooned mediums in general and charac- 
 terized Spiritualism as "■ a demoralizing and degrading super- 
 stition." He also paraded Dr. George M. Beard as the only 
 credible witness to the truth of Clairvoyance as either a real 
 or possible psychological fact in human experience, and the 
 reaHty of which the Editor accepted on the personal testimony 
 alone of the one man to whom the Times attributes unerring 
 judgment and oracular authority. 
 
 The subjoined answer was prepared for and forwarded to 
 the New York Times, but it was declined on the plea of in- 
 12* 273 
 
2/4 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 sufficient space in its columns. That journal always has room 
 enough to discuss the adverse side of the spiritual question, 
 and in so doing it often shows the extreme poverty of its In- 
 formation, and its utter inability to recognize either the plain- 
 est principles of reciprocal justice, or the most obvious dis- 
 tinctions in metaphysical philosophy. 
 
 Knowing that the morality of journalism, as practiced in 
 your office, accords to all honorable parties equal freedom in 
 the discussion of great public questions, I take the liberty to 
 forward this correspondence to you for publication, and have 
 the honor to remain, Yours truly, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 CLAIRVOYANCE AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 IS DR. BEARD A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERT ? 
 
 To the Editor of the New York Times : 
 
 IN your article on Clairvoyance, published in the edition 
 of the 7th instant, you express the opinion that the "ex- 
 periments recently made by Dr. George M. Beard do not ap- 
 pear to have attracted the attention which they deserved." 
 A summary disposition is then made of the long line of previ- 
 ous experimenters, who, as you suggest, have appeared in un- 
 interrupted succession "for the last thirty years." You observe 
 that these have very frequently been "persons who have not, 
 to put it mildly, commanded the confidence of thinking men." 
 On the contrary, you are pleased to add the following erro- 
 neous statement : 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 2/5 
 
 "These persons have been for the most part professed fortune-tellers 
 or traveling showmen, and when they pretended that they or their ' sub- 
 jects ' could read, when blindfolded, letters placed on their foreheads, it 
 was not necessary to regard these pretensions seriously. The verdict of 
 all scientific men has been that ' Clairvoyance ' was simply an imposture." 
 
 This disparaging estimate of the character and claims of all 
 the earher experimenters in this department of psychological 
 science is exceedingly unjust, as I have the means of proving 
 to the entire satisfaction of every candid inquirer. Some thirty 
 years ago the public witnessed, at old Clinton Hall in this 
 city, nightly for several consecutive weeks, such experiments 
 as Dr. Beard has but recently repeated, and many others of a 
 far more extraordinary character, which he has not yet produced. 
 The Tribune, Evening Post, Sun, Brooklyn Eagle, and other 
 daily and weekly journals of that period, contained frequent 
 and lengthy descriptive notices of many startling experiments 
 performed then and there before thousands of our most intel" 
 ligent citizens, and with demonstrative proofs of their genuine- 
 ness. The late George Ripley, LL.D., frequently took occa- 
 sion to notice with particular favor the experiments performed 
 by the writer, and a lengthy statement of some of those illus- 
 trations of psycho-physiological power appeared in the Tribune 
 with Horace Greeley's unqualified indorsement of their reality 
 and importance. 
 
 At this late day Dr. Beard and Dr. Hammond come before 
 the public, not to formulate from demonstrated facts and rec- 
 ognized principles a new and still more important branch of 
 science ; not to explain the laws that determine the occur- 
 rence of the facts ; nor yet to present us any phenomena es- 
 
2/6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 sentially new ; but merely to repeat some of the ruder and 
 less attractive experiments, already — for more than a quarter 
 of a century — familiar to the observation of thousands of well- 
 informed people. Anything like " a flourish of trumpets " on 
 this particular occasion may be regarded as in questionable 
 taste if not out of order. True, these doctors appear to en- 
 tertain the notion that by their own tardy recognition of cer- 
 tain well-known facts, they have placed the public under some 
 obligation for services in the cause of science. But they have 
 made no scientific discovery. They are most welcome to all 
 the laurels they may have fairly won ; but, really, in this con- 
 nection, they have discovered-nothing — if 7ve except the dogmatic 
 skepticism and ignorance which so long delayed their recognition of 
 the truth. 
 
 The fact is mentioned that " Dr. Beard has been known as 
 an earnest hater of what is called Spiritualism ;" also that he 
 has found that there is " something in Clairvoyance." Then 
 follows this cordial indorsement of his claims as a discoverer 
 and demonstrator : 
 
 " He has proved by experiments that there are persons who in certain 
 circumstances can read writing — or for that matter print — merely by bring- 
 ing it in contact with the skin of the forehead. There is not the slightest 
 reason to doubt his report. When a chemist of character and ability tells 
 us that he has made an experiment and has obtained certain results, we 
 accept his assertion, and the experiments made by Dr. Beard are entitled 
 to a like reception. We may consider that it has been fully established 
 that a young woman, whose eyes Dr. Beard had carefully bandaged, was 
 able to read a page of writing that was laid on her forehead." 
 
 Why is Dr. Beard regarded as the ?nan who has established 
 the fact of Clairvoyance on a scientific basis ? Why should 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 2// 
 
 he be credited with the demonstration of the truth that some 
 persons have a faculty of vision which does not depend on the 
 sensibihty of the optic nerve, or in any way on the organic in- 
 struments of sight ; and that this faculty is wholly independ- 
 ent of natural light and every form of artificial illumination ? 
 If the man who, so long ago, from the standpoint of physical 
 science, decided that no such faculty belongs to our human 
 nature, and that the reported instances involve physiological, 
 optical and other impossibilities, why is he just now pushed 
 into such prominence as the first reliable witness to the truth 
 he has so long disputed ? If years ago, and without investiga- 
 tion, he put forward his arbitrary assumption that clear sight, 
 without the use of the organic instruments of vision, was and 
 is an impossible function of human nature, what possible con- 
 sequence can we attach to his more recent spasmodic conclu- 
 sion to the contrary ? What superior qualifications does Dr. 
 Beard possess that insures his cordial recognition as the only 
 infallible witness to the truth of Clairvoyance ? 
 
 I do not press these questions because I have any disposi- 
 tion to be hypercritical ; but you will pardon me for suggest- 
 ing, that many of your readers may infer that Dr. Beard de- 
 rives his unequaled distinction in this connection from the fact 
 that he is the ''''earnest hater of what is called Spiritualism ^ 
 But must a man hate Spiritualism to be able to tell the truth 
 about Clairvoyance ? On the contrary, he can not be a com- 
 petent investigator of any phenomena of cognate character so 
 long as his prejudice against Spiritualism amounts to hatred. 
 Indeed, the man who hates anything in the Universe, or any 
 phenomena which may possibly occur under the divine econ- 
 
2/8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 omy of the natural world, can never be a philosopher in any 
 worthy sense. Moreover, in the nature of the case, such a 
 man must make a very poor scientist. 
 
 In this department of scientific research Dr. Beard has not 
 left his foot-prints. He has made no discovery, and he is not 
 likely to acquire any such distinction. All that can be said 
 is, that a great truth has at length overcome his determined 
 opposition and gained an unwilling recognition. He is not a 
 true lover of Nature, who, while engaged in profound studies, 
 never loses sight of himself and the narrow aims of personal 
 ambition. He only seeks for confirmation of a foregone con- 
 clusion, and strives to bend the facts and laws of Nature to 
 his selfish purpose. The prejudice of such a man will always 
 fetter his reason, color and cloud his observations, warp his 
 judgment, and thus disfigure and obscure the truth. 
 
 The conservation of our self-love is not always compatible 
 with truth and the highest human interests, and it is well if we 
 are made to realize that the essential facts, in any possible case, 
 by no means depend upon our reluctant recognition of their 
 existence. Dr. Beard has of late been taught this wholesome 
 lesson. In spite of his determined efforts to maintain his old 
 position, he has been cast down from the tall pedestal of his 
 proud unbelief and made to see " something in Clairvoyance." 
 He does not yet see anything in Spiritualism, but he will here- 
 after. At present he is in the condition of that school-boy 
 who believed in the multiplication table, but had no faith in 
 the rule of three. The little boy had never ciphered so far, 
 and hence it remained for him to have his faith established in 
 the rule of arithmetical proportion. If Dr. Beard lives long, 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 2/9 
 
 he will have a larger experience and a riper judgment. Time 
 will humble the scientist by rebuking his arrogant pretensions, 
 and enable him at last to cipher out the grand problems of 
 the Spiritual Philosophy. 
 
 The condition of mind which you ascribe to Dr. Beard, in 
 his relation to Spirituahsm, is not only abnormal, but it is one 
 that renders him an unsuitable witness, and a questionable 
 judge of any phenomena depending on the spiritual constitu- 
 tion of man. Fortunately we are not left without some light 
 on this question and guidance to a rational conclusion. The 
 common sense of mankind and the jurisprudence of all civil- 
 ized nations have settled the question on a foundation that is 
 not likely to be disturbed. The man who has prejudged a 
 case, civil or criminal, can not be accepted as a juror ; and 
 should it be made to appear that a witness in a felony had a 
 personal hatred of the prisoner at the bar, he would either not 
 be allowed to testify, or the court would charge the jury not 
 to convict on such evidence. Such, however, are the most 
 conspicuous witnesses against Spiritualism, and of this class 
 are the self-constituted judges of its claims, among whom are 
 many eminent doctors of medicine and divinity. 
 
 You apprehend that certain important consequences will 
 follow the labors of the latest experimenter in psychological 
 science. Permit me to make a further- reference to your 
 article, from which I extract the following : 
 
 " There are two results which follow Dr. Beard's experiments. One is 
 the establishment of the fact that the mind can act upon matter without 
 the aid of the senses. The person who reads words written on a sheet of 
 paper, folded up and laid on the forehead, does not perceive those words 
 with the sense of sight or that of touch." 
 
280 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Pardon me if I suggest that the mind never acts on matter 
 through the senses. It is the opposite of this proposition that 
 expresses the exact truth. The mind is constantly acted up- 
 on through the organic instruments of sensation by all the ele- 
 ments, forms and forces of the external world. All the simple 
 and complex sensorial impressions of which the nervous sys- 
 tem is capable are thus produced. On more mature reflection 
 I feel quite sure you will agree with me, that the senses and 
 their corporeal instruments are merely receptive. They receive 
 impressions and convey them to the mind as the visible images 
 of material objects are reflected in a mirror. These are the 
 open channels through which we derive all our information 
 respecting the outward creation ; while the human mind acts 
 on the tangible substances and organic fo7'ms of the world through 
 the imll and the muscles of voluntary motion. We may see, hear, 
 smell, taste and touch, without changing the elements and 
 forms which produce these impressions in any appreciable 
 degree. On the contrary, these sensations do perpetually 
 modify the conditions and functions of mind, and through 
 the reflex action of its faculties, the phenomena of life and 
 all the conditions of our moral and physical existence. 
 
 When you affirm that " the person who reads words written 
 on a sheet of paper folded up and laid on the forehead does 
 not perceive those words with the sense of sight," you appear 
 to confound sight, which is a faculty of the spirit, with the 
 organic instruments of vision, which perish with the body. 
 This is the common mistake of all philosophers who take the 
 materialistic view of human nature. They fail to discover the 
 human spirit by their material instruments and methods, and 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 28 1 
 
 hence conclude that it has no existence. The surgeon can- 
 not find it with his scalpel, and the chemist never sees it in his 
 retort ; ergo, there is no spirit. But Clairvoyance is none the 
 less actual sight because the subject is able to dispense with 
 the physical instruments of vision. 
 
 You express the confident opinion that Clairvoyance " fur- 
 nishes an intelligible and sufficient explanation of the so-called 
 phenomena of Spiritualism." Will you permit me to suggest 
 that such a conclusion can only rest on careless or otherwise 
 insufficient observation, since undoubtedly nine-tenths of the 
 phenomena of Spiritualism are intrinsically of such a nature 
 as to admit of no such explanation. A vast variety of sounds 
 are produced by the invisible powers, and it must be admitted 
 that sounds do not appeal to the sense of sight, whether exer- 
 cised through the physical organs or otherwise. For this suf- 
 ficient reason we cannot refer any of the mysterious sounds to 
 Clairvoyance. Then very heavy bodies are often moved with 
 great force. We have orthodox authority for saying that the 
 family Bible was repeatedly thrown by invisible hands at the 
 venerable head of the Rev. Eliakim Phelps, D.D., at Strat- 
 ford, while the good Doctor was praying for deliverance from 
 what he regarded as an infernal infestation. But as Clairvoy- 
 ance {clear sight ) is neither a subtile electro-chemical nor a 
 mechanical force, it has no power to move a ponderable body; 
 hence it follows that this passive faculty of vision, physical 
 and spiritual, will not enable us to account for any one of the 
 phenomena of this class. This course of reasoning could be 
 further illustrated and enforced by the citation of a thousand 
 examples, and by an array of witnesses from all the learned 
 
282 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 professions, whose presence alone would silence skepticism, if 
 they failed to convince the skeptics. 
 
 You are pleased to say that "nine-tenths of SpirituaHsm 
 are trickery." On the contrary, permit me to remark that 
 the trickery, whether much or little, is no part of Spiritualisrn. 
 We might as well affirm that New York State annually produces 
 1,000,000 bushels of wheat, but that 900,000 bushels of the 
 same are tares ! As, therefore, the tricks of unprincipled jug- 
 glers form no part of the phenomena of Spiritualism, I re- 
 spectfully suggest that they be left out of your estimate. If 
 the assayer should- be so fortunate as to find forty pounds of 
 the precious metals in a ton of ore, he would never think of 
 including the 2,200 pounds of dross in his statement. Leave 
 out the bogus mediums and also the tricks of the jugglers. 
 When the Secretary of the Treasury figures up the amount 
 of the national currency he never includes the counterfeits. 
 
 In the following passage you still further dignify the name 
 and exaggerate the services of Dr. Beard as much as you dis- 
 honor the claims of each of his predecessors, and all of his 
 contemporaries who have made a careful study of the whole 
 subject for a much longer period than he has been before the 
 public : 
 
 " Dr. Beard's experiments certainly give us reason to believe that he 
 has found the clew to the mystery which is the stock in trade of spiritual 
 mediums, and if he has really done this, he has done an immense service 
 in overthrowing what has proved to be a demoralizing and degrading 
 superstition. It is hoped that Dr. Beard and other scientific men will 
 continue to investigate the field which has hitherto been abandoned to 
 charlatans." 
 
 I shall, perhaps, be pardoned for saying that *' the clew to 
 
JOURNALISTIC IGNORANCE ILLUSTRATED. 283 
 
 the mystery " was discovered some time before Dr. Beard was 
 born, and that his life and labors have done nothing to illumi- 
 nate the subject. Nor has he discovered anything else of con- 
 sequence except the fact that neither the Spirits nor the laws 
 of Nature respect the haughty presumption of mere sciolists. 
 In presence of the real facts as they are known to thousands, 
 his eminent services (?) disappear like the dissolving views, 
 without leaving to the doctor's disciples so much as a grateful 
 memory of his imaginary achievements. Moreover, Spiritual- 
 ism was never " a demoralizing and degrading superstition," 
 unless the noblest philosophy and the most vital facts of all 
 systems of religion are to be so classified. Nevertheless, Dr. 
 Beard is not only recognized as a scientific psychological ex- 
 pert, but hailed as a public benefactor ; at the same time such 
 men as Dr. Robert Hare, inventor of the oxyhydrogen blow- 
 pipe, and Professor James J. Mapes, of this country ; Crookes, 
 of the London Journal of Science, Wallace, Varley, and Cox, 
 of England, the wisest philosophers of Germany, and many 
 others scarcely less distinguished, in every part of Continental 
 Europe, are by implication, characterized as " charlatans !" 
 
 In conclusion, I observe that you have summoned a most 
 important witness in this trial of Spiritualism versus Material- 
 ism. It is Clairvoyance that just now occupies the stand, and 
 may it please the court we are ready to listen to the testimony. 
 When a witness is summoned by the prosecution it is not the 
 privilege of the counsel for the same to hustle him out and 
 away from the tribunal without first giving the defense an 
 opportunity for a proper cross-examination. Now, what has 
 Clairvoyance to say about Spiritualism ? Why, it is not at all 
 
284 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 likely that a single man, woman or child can be found on 
 earth, whose case affords the clearest evidence of the posses- 
 sion of this gift, that does not at the same time affirm — there 
 is a Spirit-world and a corresponding life for man j that they see 
 the Spirits and recognize their kindred ; witness their coming 
 and going, and discover what they are doing; and it is everywhere 
 the unequivocal testimony of this witness that the clairvoyant can 
 and does act as a familiar messotger between Spirits and mortals. 
 There are occasional exceptions in which the vision is limited 
 to mundane affairs ; but the concurrent testimony of all natu- 
 ral seers and magnetic clairvoyants is that they see spiritual as 
 well as material things. Now what will the " earnest haters 
 of Spiritualism " do with this fact ? Will the Times and Dr. 
 Beard accept this testimony of Clairvoyance, or will they im- 
 peach the credibility of their own witness ? 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 New York, yuly, 1881. 
 
 Dr. Brittan's reply to the editorial position of the New York Times, 
 concerning Dr. Beard and his assumptions in relation to Clairvoyance as 
 a proved reality, will be found to be as keen and effective as it is logical 
 and courteous. The Times, not liking the attitude in which it found it- 
 self left by Dr. Brittan, refused to publish his reply. 
 
 Hartford Daily Times. 
 
DECLINING THE RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 IMMUNITY FOR OLD FALSEHOODS. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 Policy of the Newspaper Press— False Charge against Spiritualists-John A. Lan- 
 sing's pious Speculation—" Devouring Widows' Houses "—Religious Fanatics 
 with an Eye to Business— How Mrs. Upham was made a Victim— Fraud under the 
 Cloak of Religion— Drawing the Papers in the Lord— Lunacy or Hypocrisy— 
 Asbury Park Journars Testimony— A Fair Confederate— Mary at the Ocean 
 Grove Meetings— Parties all Members of Orthodox Churches. 
 
 Lies have many legs, and error is seldom tongue-tied. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 LET us presume that, in respect to the reparation of in- 
 juries, " better late than never " is a sound maxim in 
 morals ; but in the conduct of a pubHc journal it seems to be 
 obsolescent. When a lie is ten or fifteen days old, and has 
 obtained certain currency, it is presumed to have a right of way 
 which may not be disputed. The subjoined letter was re- 
 spectfully declined for the reason that too much time had 
 elapsed since this long-legged tarantula started on its journey. 
 Thus, in the policy of the press, there comes a time when it 
 is too late to right a wrong, because it is not accounted good 
 journalism to revive old things. As defined by the present in- 
 stance, that time is about two weeks, beyond which all lies 
 that have contrived to run fast and escape detection must 
 continue to have the freedom of the press. We acknowledge 
 the right of the several professions to be governed by their 
 
 285 
 
286 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 own laws, whether the same be wise or otherwise/ and we are 
 pleased to acknowledge that the Tribune has of late been very 
 fair in its treatment of Spiritualism. 
 
 S E. B. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM NOT RESPONSIBLE. 
 
 THE CASE OF REV. JOHN A. LANSING. 
 
 To the Editor of the Tribune : 
 
 IN a recent issue of your paper it was reported that " A 
 Spiritualist and his confederate " had managed to swindle 
 the widow of the late Prof. Thomas C. Upham out of the sum 
 of $14,000. The persons named in this business are all repre- 
 sented to be Spiritualists, when the truth is, not one of them 
 can, with any show of propriety, be so classified. Mrs. Upham 
 is a well-known lady of great moral worth and religious influ- 
 ence ; but for years she has opposed Spiritualism with a deter- 
 mination that did not permit a spiritual paper to find a place 
 in her household. And where is the evidence that either Rev. 
 John A. Lansing or his fair confederate believed in Spiritual- 
 ism ? In your report the Rev. John is said to be a Methodist, 
 but I am informed on excellent authority that he is a Baptist. 
 This is, however, quite unimportant. That he is regularly 
 commissioned as a minister of the Christian church is not dis- 
 puted ; but it does not appear from any evidence I have been 
 able to obtain that he either called himself a Spiritualist or 
 was willing to be so designated. 
 
 Let me remind you that the assumed identification of this 
 
DECLINING THE RESPONSIBILITY. 28/ 
 
 person with Spiritualists is certainly not supported by the 
 annunciation of his own peculiar views, as the same find ex- 
 pression in the extract which you published from one of his 
 letters to Mrs. Upham. To vindicate this opinion I will here 
 introduce the extract, from which it must be sufficiently evi- 
 dent that he was never a Spiritualist in any sense likely to 
 command the recognition of rational believers : 
 
 " I cannot meet with your demands to-night. The plans and arrange- 
 ments were all made in God, and I can only move as he commands. Can 
 you not follow the word of God as it came to you first ? You know the 
 word to be of God now as you did then. Follow it as you did then. The 
 papers are all drawn in God and are at his disposal. 
 
 " Yours in Christ Jesus, the Lord God. Amen. 
 
 "J. A. Lansing." 
 
 Now this godly gabble may not prove that the author was 
 and is an arrant hypocrite and mercenary deceiver ; but if not, 
 it is at least evidence that he is the victim of a religious fanat- 
 icism amounting to lunacy. In neither case is SpirituaHsm in 
 any way responsible for his irrational views and apparently 
 criminal conduct. He does not so much as recognize the 
 possible agency of a single departed human soul in the affairs 
 of this world. On the contrary, he attributes everything — 
 all his own " plans and arrangements " — to the Supreme Being, 
 not merely as the first cause, but as the proximate agent in 
 every human action. This priestly pretender and ex officio 
 minister of Christ says, *' I can only move as he [the Lord] 
 commands." In his opinion God does everything by a direct 
 and miraculous intervention in human affairs. He entertains 
 the theocratic view of the divine government, and insists that 
 his own business papers are no less God-given than the Mosaic 
 
288 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 tablets. To use his own wild, fanatical language, they are " all 
 drawn in God !" 
 
 To say that this pious mountebank is a Spiritualist is to ut- 
 terly disregard his own testimony and all the evidence in the 
 case. This man does not appear to have any views in com- 
 mon with one sane Spiritualist on earth. I write this after 
 thirty-five years of uninterrupted intercourse with this people. 
 In this long experience the undersigned has not met with one 
 who entertained the notion that our ordinary human arrange- 
 ments, volitions and movements, motives and methods of ac- 
 tion, are all subject to the constant and direct interposition of 
 a divine personality. Moreover, Spiritualists neither find nor 
 look for " the word of God " in the several parts of speech ; 
 it can not be shut up in nouns, verbs and adjectives ; nor have 
 we any idea that Deity has anything especially to do with the 
 business of drawing legal and illegal papers for either dishonest 
 or deluded clergymen, who may be striving by unlawful means 
 to possess the property of some pure-minded, unsuspicious 
 widow of an honest and eminent Spiritualist. 
 
 The Asbury Park Journal, whose editor is quite likely to 
 be well informed, says this is a case of '' religious fanaticism " 
 with a special adaptation to " business." I also learn — from a 
 very intelligent professional gentleman acquainted with the 
 family, that Miss Mary C. Ward is a pious maiden lady of 
 mature years ; that she received her early religious instruction 
 in the Presbyterian church, of which her father has been an 
 official member ; that she trusts in God, believes in a personal 
 devil, and has no faith in other Spirits ; that she has been 
 conspicuous at the Union Church meetings at Ocean Grove, 
 
DECLINING THE RESPONSIBILITY. 289 
 
 which would not have been permitted had she been known 
 to be a SpirituaHst. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Lansing finishes his pious cant by subscrib- 
 ing himself, "Yours in Christ Jesus, the Lord God, Amen !" 
 The Spiritualists who believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the 
 Supreme Deity are few and far between ; but the pious indi- 
 vidual who is characterized in your report as a swindler, is 
 strictly orthodox in the prominence he gives to the common 
 faith of the Church. The truth appears to be that a lady, of 
 spotless character and reputation, has been deprived of the es- 
 tate left her by her excellent husband, who was an eminent Spirit- 
 ualist, and this has been accomplished through the agency of an 
 ordained minister of the ChiHstian Church ! 
 
 Let us be just to the accused parties. We can neither meas- 
 ure the wrong that has been done, nor intelligently estimate 
 the moral delinquency of the principal in this transaction, 
 until the case has been fairly adjudicated. But if other peo- 
 ple are to be held responsible for the conduct of this man, 
 justice will be promoted by allowing the grave responsibility 
 to rest precisely where it legitimately belongs. All attempts to 
 dishonor the truth of Spiritualism and its just claims to the 
 world's faith are worse than vain. The disciples of the Spirit- 
 ual Philosophy are. everywhere firm, always in principia, non 
 homines. 
 
 In the love of Truth and Justice, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 29 Broad Street, Newark 
 Oct. 21, 1881. 
 
 13 
 
 , N.J., r 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 
 
 AN EDITOR DEFENDS SATAN AND DEFAMES SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE " HERALD AND GLOBE," RUTLAND, VERMONT. 
 
 Spiritualists Dishonored and the Devil Defended — Important Concessions by Prof- 
 Phelps — Great Extremity of the Theologians — The Congregationalist as a City of 
 Refuge — Poisoned Arrows from a Bomb-proof Retreat — Ignorance and Super- 
 naturalism — Exploded by a Philosophical Explanation — Angels Imprisoned and 
 ' Devils Emancipated— Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit— Bold Assumptions 
 and Rotten Logic— Evidence Worthless when the Witness knows nothing — Im- 
 patience and Intolerance — Real Facts Rejected and the true Witnesses Defamed 
 — Power of the Spirits— Counterfeits are Evidence of Something Genuine— Theory 
 of Jugglery — Hermann and Heller — Are only feeble natures Inspired — Sick Peo- 
 ple of Biblicai History — Modern Illustrations — Visit from the Author of the 
 Raven— Experience of Death and Reception in the Spirit-World — Song of the 
 Angel Lenore— A Spirit-Maiden's Song of Shelley— Coleridge Wakes the Chords 
 of his Orphic Lyre. 
 
 To the Editor of the Herald and Globe : 
 
 A NUMBER of parties who do not approve of the spirit 
 manifested in the editorial leader which appeared in 
 your issue of the 9th instant — under the title of '* Injustice 
 to the Devil " — have forwarded copies of the paper to my ad- 
 dress, and letters urging me to reply to your article. They 
 seeem to think the spirit that inspired your editorial has not 
 made much progress, and really needs to be enlightened. The 
 offensive terms employed in your characterization of Spiritual- 
 ism and this unscrupulous attempt to defame a great people, 
 numbering millions in every part of the civilized world, really 
 place you without the, pale of civil and rational controversy 
 on this particular subject. For this reason your article would, 
 
 290 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT, 29 1 
 
 under other circumstances, have elicited no response from me; 
 but I yield to the earnest solicitation of a number of your 
 readers in respectfully offering the following answer for publi- 
 cation in your columns. 
 
 What does the title of your editorial imply ? Evidently, 
 neither more nor less than this : That the Devil himself is dis- 
 honored in having the Spiritual Ma^iifestations referred to his 
 agency. For aught we know to the contrary, your knowledge 
 of the personage whose claims to justice and respectability 
 you seem disposed to vindicate, may be full and comprehen- 
 sive ; but your article will clearly prove to the minds of all 
 thoughtful observers, that so far as you have been informed 
 at all upon the subject of Spiritualism, you have been misin- 
 formed. That you may have no cause to complain of injus- 
 tice at my hands, I will not restate the substance of your 
 views in my own language, but will now and hereafter repro- 
 duce portions of your article : 
 
 "Prof. Phelps is presumably both a learned and able man, but his arti- 
 cle is a melancholy proof that a man may be both able and learned in a 
 scholastic sense, and yet be a very credulous person. Prof. Phelps con- 
 cedes the genuine supernatural origin of the so-called modern ' spirit 
 manifestations ' when he pronounces them altogether diabolical. Prof. 
 Phelps is quoted as urging all Christians to combat it to the extent of 
 their power, and. in order to do so, advises them to induce their congre- 
 gations to have firm faith in the existence of a devil, who is the rival and 
 enemy of God. Prof. Phelps clearly believes that God allows evil spirits 
 to communicate, but affords no opportunities to good ones. Prof. Phelps 
 concedes altogether too much to the modern mummery of spiritism when 
 he accepts it as of supernatural origin." 
 
 It is true that Prof. Austin Phelps accepts at least a portion 
 of the essential facts of Spiritualism ; it is also true that he 
 
292 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 <:oncedes the still more important fact of their spiritual origin; 
 but you are greatly mistaken in presuming that these admis- 
 sions are the result of excessive credulity. On the contrary, 
 no more reluctant and ungracious witness was ever found on 
 the stand in the interest of truth. His unwilling testimony is 
 given because he can no longer resist the conviction that 
 fastens upon every faculty of his mind. He assures us, in 
 substance, that only at last when the hypothesis of jugglery 
 must be forever abandoned ; when all the material theories 
 have, one after another, exploded like so many rockets in the 
 air ; when the spirit of popular inquiry besieges the pulpit, 
 boldly questions the divine authority of its mission, and can 
 no longer be resisted ; and science, alas, is dumb as a pagan 
 idol— only in this great extremity has a half-confession of the 
 truth been wrung from the intellect and conscience of the man. 
 Fearing the storm that might follow the recitation of his testi- 
 mony he takes shelter under the theological casemates, or the 
 bomb-proof chambers of the Cojtgregationalist, within which 
 no Spiritualist is ever permitted to appear. This brave cham- 
 pion warns his brethren to be industrious in fulminating 
 the necessary anathemas and in hurling their rusty and point- 
 less javelins, not only at old Satan himself and his ancient 
 fallen angels, but at all his new recruits, every little demon, 
 in and out of hell, and all the modern devices of the Evil 
 One. 
 
 From the secure retreat before mentioned Professor Phelps 
 aims his envenomed shafts at the spiritual hosts of two worlds, 
 who mind them about as much as a grand army in its tri- 
 umphal march would heed the ephemera whose little hum lasts 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 293 
 
 for a day and is no more. This eminent teacher in the or- 
 thodox school of modern divinity — who knows more about this 
 subject than the writer in your paper— makes his admissions 
 because he can not help it; and for this he stands credited by 
 the Herald and Globe with being a learned simpleton who, 
 for lack of either reason or nerve, surrenders the citadel of the 
 argument to the Spiritualists. 
 
 You appear to entertain the common notion that the Spirit- 
 ualists, not less than Dr. Phelps, claim a supernatural origin 
 for the modern phenomena, when, in fact, they set up no such 
 claim. We can not remember how many times we have ex- 
 ploded this false assumption, in each case pursuing a different 
 line of argument. Let us dispose of it once more, in this case 
 reasoning from premises not before employed ; and this may 
 suffice until the next man, who knows little or nothing of Spir- 
 itualism, shall attempt to write it down. 
 
 Now be it known that we claim a spiritual, but not a super- 
 natural origin for these Majiifestations. Nature has several 
 general departments or kingdoms, and these admit of many 
 subdivisions. The mineral kingdom may be regarded as the 
 foundation at least of so much of the cosmical superstructure 
 of this world as comes within the field of our mortal observa- 
 tion. Vegetation does not belong to the mineral kingdom ; 
 but it is no less natural on that account. The realm of ani- 
 mated nature rises still above, but is quite as natural as the 
 mineral and vegetable kingdoms. Man, the last and crowning 
 work of the Love and Wisdom which conceive and fashion all, 
 is every way as natural as any of the inferior developments of 
 the physical world. Cosmos comprehends the vast temple of 
 
294 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 universal being from the foundation in subterranean darkness 
 to the illuminated dome where the human mind, clothed with 
 the majesty of divinity, occupies its throne " but a little lower 
 than the angels." 
 
 And here I must especially emphasize this fact, namely, the 
 kufnan mind, not less than the body, is a part of the Diviiie nat- 
 tiral economy of imiversal being. Mind being a compo?zent part 
 of Nature, it follows that its faculties, affections and f mictions 
 are absolutely natural. The power of mental impregnation and 
 the generation of thought ; the ability to clothe ideas with ap- 
 propriate forms of expression, whether by the use of articulate 
 sounds, written characters, or the more primitive language of 
 a universal symbolism, are always and everywhere but natural 
 faculties and functions of human intelligence. 
 
 Nor are these powers any less natural when the mind leaves 
 the corporeal frame, and enters on its higher and more com- 
 plete existence in the Spirit-worid. The butterfly that spreads 
 its iridescent wings in the clear morning air, and sparkles in 
 the sunshine, is " a thing of beauty," but not less natural than 
 the poor grub that but yesterday crawled in the dust. As the 
 normal exercise of the mental and moral faculties of man, in 
 any and every sphere of his existence, must be altogether nat- 
 ural, it follows of necessity that such manifestations of intelli- 
 gence from departed souls can never be stiper-na.tura\ in the 
 sense implied in your article, and virtually accepted by Prof. 
 Phelps. It is only necessary to open the eyes of the under- 
 standing to a perception of the spiritual side of man and the 
 natural world, and the narrow walls that limit our recognition 
 of Nature to the mere objects of sensuous observation will 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 295 
 
 suddenly melt and vanish like dissolving views in the clear 
 light of the Spiritual Morning. 
 
 You very properly point out the fundamental absurdity in 
 the position of Prof. Phelps, in his assumption that ** God al- 
 lows evil spirits to communicate, but affords no opportunities 
 to good ones." This must even shock the reverence of the 
 heathen, and all our Christian infidels who care to preserve a 
 decent seeming. In the homiletics of orthodox pulpits we are 
 often lectured on irreverence and the sin of blasphemy, one 
 form of which it is said can never be forgiven, here or else- 
 where, now or hereafter. But will some one be kind enough 
 to define the particular form of blasphemy that is more shock- 
 ing and shameless than the peculiar phase that bears the sign- 
 manual of Prof. Phelps and the indorsement of the Andover 
 school of popular divinity ? They represent that the All- wise 
 and loving Father transports all the pure spirits and holy an- 
 gels (messengers) to some far-away heaven, where their free- 
 dom is so restrained that they are not permitted to go out on 
 errands of mercy ; that we poor mortals are so far beneath 
 and beyond the utmost reach of their loving sympathies that 
 no one of them may ever come to us, even in the seasons of 
 our greatest peril. 
 
 And then it is further maintained that the Supreme Being — 
 this wise and merciful Father of all souls — has permitted a 
 great upheaval in the infernal regions, and allowed Satan, the 
 chief sheriff of the under world, to make a general jail- deliv- 
 ery of the prisoners in hell ! If we may credit these religious 
 teachers, the armies of Satan are thus mercilessly let loose 
 upon the God-forsaken inhabitants of this poor world, to the 
 
296 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 end that we may be cruelly deceived by their subtle sophis- 
 tries, blinded and stupefied by their diabolical arts, and so 
 fatally led astray as to render our everlasting damnation sure ! 
 (It may be pertinent to inquire if such religious literature is fit 
 to be circulated in the mails ?) Oh, if this is not " the unpar- 
 donable sin," so long preached at us with such terrible vehe- 
 mence — the blasphet7iy against the Holy Spirit of the divine Loi^e 
 and Wisdom — surely, the grim multitude of vulgar blasphem- 
 ers ; all men who profane sacred things, and the hoary infi- 
 dels who commit sacrilege in the temples of Liberty and Re- 
 ligion, may take courage ; even while sharp detectives are 
 looking among sinners outside of the Church for one suitable 
 illustration of the subject. 
 
 Here is another specimen of your dogmatism which claims 
 a passing notice in this connection. It is in your own words, 
 and it ought to be apparent to every mind that has any basis in 
 the first principles of a scientific philosophy, that it can neither 
 be reconciled with reason nor the facts : 
 
 " Everybody knows more than anybody, as Lincoln said — and the vast 
 mass of intelligent human testimony is overwhelmingly against the truth 
 of the proposition that spirits, evil or good, have ever returned to this 
 earth and held any sort of communication with mortals." 
 
 Allow me to say that your position is unsound, and your 
 statement can not be defended upon any recognized principles 
 of logical reasoning. It is an easy task to expose the shallow 
 sophistry that lurks under the specious covering of your words. 
 We never accept as a witness — however willing he may be to 
 testify — the man lijho knows nothing of the case that is on trial. 
 Should a number of men who never met James A. Garfield, 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 29/ 
 
 and were never in Washington, go there this week and insist 
 on giving testimony to the facts in the great case now before 
 the criminal court in that City, they would be instantly ad- 
 monished to go about their business. If they were persistent 
 in demanding recognition, they would be lodged in prison for 
 contempt, or sent to the nearest lunatic asylum. Before we 
 can accept any man as a witness, for or against our cause, he 
 must know something about it. Only the enemies of Spiritualism 
 are crazy enough to give positive testimony without being 
 qualified by the smallest knowledge of the subject. I intend 
 no special or personal application of my words when I say, 
 in general terms, that upon the hollow claims of all conceited 
 pretenders to knowledge we may write the significant word 
 which the grand juries used to indorse on the forms of indict- 
 ment when the evidence was insufficient to warrant the finding 
 of a true bill. That single expressive word was — ignoramus. 
 On this subject as truly as on every question of language, 
 science, art, political economy and jurisprudence, those who 
 really know nothing can surely have nothing to say worthy of 
 public attention. 
 
 Taking my stand on the self-evident proposition that those 
 who are utterly destitute of a knowledge of Spiritualism can 
 have nothing to communicate to others, I rule out the great 
 multitude who, having no experience of their own, have never 
 investigated this subject. Of the millions, who through all 
 the historic ages, have had some views, more or less clearly 
 defined, of spiritual things, it will be found, on careful inquiry, 
 that the preponderance of evidence is altogether in our favor. 
 The question, " What is truth ? " is not likely to be finally 
 13* 
 
298 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 settled by a popular vote, at least in our day; but there can 
 be no doubt that, among all those who have possessed some 
 knowledge of the subject, an immense majority have believed 
 that Spirits, high and low, of many degrees of intellectual cul- 
 ture and moral development, have visited the earth and, in 
 one way or another, revealed their presence to the senses and 
 the souls of men. 
 
 You talk at random about the impostures and exposures of 
 ** the most famous mediums ; " of their " arbitrary conditions 
 of darkness," and gravely suggest the necessity for *' weighing 
 the evidence" which, by the way, you never do. On the con- 
 trary, you boldly dispute the possible existence of any real 
 facts ; you libel the mediums, many of whom are pious old 
 souls who daily pray for divine guidance ; not a few are fair 
 ladies of blameless lives ; and many more are young (some are 
 in the cradle), innocent and spotless as the sweet messengers 
 of morning whose footprints scintillate upon the mountains. 
 You show that Pope was right in saying : 
 
 " Some wicked wits have libeled all the fair." 
 
 Are you not one of the objects of the poet's impeachment, 
 since you question the integrity of all the witnesses, and pub- 
 licly denounce the whole subject as false and devilish " in the 
 sense that all deceit is diabolical ? " You go on with the un- 
 qualified expression of your earnest and immeasurable con- 
 tempt, in your own peculiar style, as will appear from the sub- 
 joined extract, and are duly credited with that supreme fidelity 
 which sacrifices nothing of conviction to the amenities of polite 
 discussion : 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 299 
 
 " Of course these exposures are of no effect upon those deluded and il- 
 logical beings who are willing to accept the astounding assumption of 
 Spirit manifestations on evidence too cheap and threadbare to hang a dog 
 with a half-witted jury ; but such exposures and the absurd system of 
 checks and conditions which enable any mediocre mountebank to perform 
 miracles, ought to carry weight enough with an able man of large learn- 
 ing, like Prof. Phelps, and save him from so stupid a concession to Spirit 
 manifestations." 
 
 And this is the way you dispose of evidence. You make no 
 attempt to analyze the phenomena. Instead of looking at the 
 facts in a candid and dispassionate manner, you shut up your 
 eyes and give vent to your impatience and intolerance. You 
 stop your ears when the witnesses speak, and all the while 
 keep on piping the same old story of fraud, jugglery and delu- 
 sion. The attempt to mislead the people, by assuring them 
 that Spiritualists rest the claims of the whole subject on " evi- 
 dence too cheap and threadbare to hang a dog with a half- 
 witted jury," will not succeed, either in or out of Rutland, for 
 the obvious reason that the public is too well informed to ac- 
 cept your statement. You make haste to deny the power of 
 human Spirits to come to this world, when there is no evidence 
 to prove that they ever went away. As you have raised the 
 question of the capacity of the immortals to travel, a gifted 
 Spirit shall answer you from the other world in the following 
 suggestive lines : 
 
 ' This is the power immortal Spirits have 
 In their serene pavilion of delight :• 
 The winged mind outstrips the laggard sun ; 
 The heart flies swift as lightning from a star ; 
 Attraction is the soul's impelling force ; 
 Desire, the charioteer of Destiny." 
 
 The evidence in the case seems to establish the fact that 
 
30O THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 the lives or all human spirits begin on the earth, and as there 
 is no evidence to show that they necessarily go away when 
 they leave their mortal bodies, the logical presumption is that 
 they are still here, or may be at pleasure. The fact that we 
 cannot see them proves nothing to the point. There are many 
 forms of attenuated matter, or sublimated substance, which 
 escape the observation of the man whose powers of perception 
 are limited to the capacity of the physical organs of sensation. 
 We can not even see the air we breathe, but we never doubt 
 its existence. But if it may be supposed that the Spirits are 
 here, you still, somewhat arrogantly, dispute their capacity to 
 give any intelligent communication, or to otherwise make a 
 revelation of their presence. It is evident that Justice never 
 held the scales in which you are accustomed to weigh the evi- 
 dences of Spiritualism. Will you not be persuaded, my dear 
 Sir, to stop dogmatizing from the know-nothing standpoint, 
 give your attention to the witnesses, and respectfully weigh 
 their testimony ? Here again you reason blindly as usual : 
 
 " It is no answer that thousands of worthy people believe in the 'mani- 
 festations,' for thousands of worthy people are full of delusions that sci- 
 ence scouts and philosophy derides. Thousands of worthy people have 
 been imposed upon by counterfeit notes, have accepted forgeries as genu- 
 ine signatures, and thousands of worthy people would be very dangerous 
 persons to place on the judge's bench to try any case that demanded 
 sound, discriminating judgment, the capacity to sift and weigh evidence." 
 
 Weighed in your own balance you are found wanting. So 
 far you have neither exhibited a " sound, discriminating judg- 
 ment " in this case, nor *' the capacity to sift and weigh evi- 
 dence." Indeed, you have shown no disposition to perform 
 these functions of a rational mind, and hence you must be an 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 3OI 
 
 unsafe judge in such matters. But when you thus speak of 
 "counterfeit notes " you imply the existence of genuine notes. 
 Without the true ones the counterfeits could have no possible 
 existence. And then it seems to have escaped your observa- 
 tion that there can be no " forgeries " unless there are some 
 ''genuine signatures." Now will you be kind enough to jus- 
 tify your extraordinary use of terms by either admitting the 
 reality of the Spiritual Phenomena, or otherwise by showing that 
 we can counterfeit things which have no objective existence ? Here 
 follows a conundrum and your answer to the same : 
 
 ' ' Now what is the difference between Hermann or Heller's miracles 
 and the miracles of Modern Spiritism ? The difference is, first, that Her- 
 mann's 'miracles' are self-confessed tricks which, nevertheless, completely 
 impose on the senses and defy popular explanation ; they are beautifully 
 executed, are diverting, and are wrought in daylight, leaving to the audi- 
 ence the full exercise of their sight. The ' miracles ' of Spiritism are very 
 clumsy, cheap tricks, wrought in the darkness, or else wrought under . . . 
 conditions of investigation that are a tacit confession of deceit." 
 
 Neither Hermann, Heller, nor the Spirituahsts ever pro- 
 fessed to perform miracles ; nor is it in evidence that they have 
 hitherto or do now believe in the possible exercise of any such 
 power. You are, therefore, merely improvising a man of straw, 
 and surely no one will question your right to knock him down 
 just as often as you may be pleased to set him up. The writ- 
 er was not acquainted with Hermann, but Heller was famil- 
 iarly known by many Spiritualists. In not a few of his more 
 extraordinary experiments Heller was supposed to have the 
 aid of clairvoyance and the cooperation of invisible beings. 
 He was generally reported to be a believer in at least a por- 
 tion of the facts of Spiritualism. It is, moreover, on record 
 
302 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 that some of the most celebrated jugglers in Europe have ad- 
 mitted that certain spiritual phenomena are quite beyond the 
 utmost power of their art. Now to presume that the facts and 
 experiences which are pulverizing the very bones of the old 
 Materialism, and have already convinced millions of people in 
 America, in all European countries, and everywhere through- 
 out the civilized world, are merely juggling tricks, is to madly 
 jump at a conclusion a thousand-fold more incredible than the 
 spiritual theory and philosophy of the Manifestations. 
 
 "And to these cheap mummeries and onion-tainted eructations of un- 
 grammatical frauds Prof. Phelps seriously applies the name of diabolic su- 
 pernaturalism. The grammar is supernatural, the spelling diabolic, but 
 all else is either the careful imposture of cunning cheats, or the abnormal 
 pranks and utterances of persons who sincerely think themselves inspired 
 when they are only hysterical. Healthy men and women of sound minds 
 in sound bodies never see any spirits, never become inspirational speak- 
 ers, singers or preachers : morbidly nervous men and hysterical women 
 can always see anything they desire, from a tomcat to a camelopard, and 
 can spout sentimental nonsense by the hour," etc. 
 
 Here Spiritualism — this world's highest conception of the 
 philosophy of Nature and the religion of Humanity — is treated 
 as 2^ farcical show ! The writer can see nothing whatever in 
 the truth that has convinced millions but a mere exhibition of 
 buffoonery. The first sentence of the foregoing extract is in 
 a style which throws the " Sacred Rhetoric " of Andover into 
 the shade. " Cheap mummeries arid onion-tainted eructations of 
 ungram7?tatical frauds,'^ is such an illustration of rhetorical ele- 
 gance and powerful characterization of an offending party as 
 seldom comes to our notice in the literature we are accustomed 
 to read. In this case you are not only your own witness in 
 supporting your charges, but prosecuting attorney and supreme 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 3O3 
 
 judge. After giving your own testimony and ruling out all 
 the witnesses for the defense, you render judgment with the 
 authority that admits of no revision or appeal. You decide 
 that all inspired pe7' sons, and such as see Spirits, are " ^norbidly 
 nervous men and hysterical wo7nen." We do not care to demur, 
 but would thank you to answer a few questions for the satis- 
 faction of the pious Christian people of New England. 
 
 Was Elisha, the Hebrew prophet, suffering from nervous 
 debility when he beheld the spiritual hosts encamped about 
 Israel ? Daniel, who was " cast into the lion's den," seemed at 
 one time to have been a man of considerable nerve. Did 
 Daniel " weaken " at last, and was his nervous system relaxed 
 and his mind in a morbid state when he saw and interpreted 
 the hand-writing of a Spirit on the wall of the king's palace ? 
 Did Ezekiel have a night-cap on his head, or in his stomach, 
 when he had the vision of dry bones ? Did Peter have cerebro- 
 spinal meningitis on the house-top when the " great sheet '' was 
 let down containing all manner of four-footed beasts (" tom- 
 cat" and " camelopard " not specified) ? According to this 
 theory, Saul had an attack of epilepsia, or falling sickness, 
 when, according to the Evangelical narrative, he was knocked 
 down by a Spirit and was sure he heard a mysterious voice 
 speaking to him in Hebrew. John must have suffered from a 
 succession of nervous spasms, accompanied by great prostra- 
 tion, while the grand visions of the Apocalypse were passing 
 before him in the little island of Patmos ! Did Jesus have a 
 brain fever, or only some temporary derangement of the optic 
 nerve, when he saw Moses and Elias ? Your hypothesis pre- 
 sumes that those ancient worthies, and all inspired souls in 
 
304 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 every age, have been sick people ! On the other hand, we are 
 left to infer that the only really normal men and women in 
 the world are those who are spiritually blind as bats, on whose 
 low plane of life they only 
 
 " Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave." 
 
 Now let a Spirit refute — it may be for the one thousandth 
 time — the stereotyped declaration that everything which comes 
 from the other world, that is inspired, is "spiritual fustian," 
 " mere twaddle," " senseless verbiage," or, to use your own 
 terms, '''' sentimental nonsense!^ From among the distinguished 
 authors who have made communications to the present writer, 
 since they left the mundane sphere of existence, I will here 
 introduce Edgar A. Poe. On occasion of the annual Thanks- 
 giving in 1854 — it was a dark, bleak November day — he came 
 to me and related his experience while passing through the 
 change called death, and his entrance into the other world. 
 His thrilling story was told in sixty-two lilies, and the improvi- 
 sation occupied just fifteen minutes, T. L. Harris being the 
 medium. The abrupt termination of Mr. Poe's mortal life, 
 the birth of the Spirit surrounded by unearthly terrors, and 
 the opening of the spiritual avenues of sensation amidst the 
 glories of the immortal world, are thus graphically and beauti- 
 fully described in the first part of the Poem : 
 
 " A lurid mantle wrapped my Spirit-form, 
 Cradled in lightnings and in whirlwinds bom, 
 Tom from the body, terribly downcast. 
 Plunged headlong through red fumaces in blast ; 
 Those seething torrents maddened me ; I fell — 
 But woke in Paradise instead of Hell. 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 3O5 
 
 Like song-waves circling in a golden bell, 
 
 Like fragrant odors in a woodbine dell, 
 
 Like glowing pistils in a rose unblown. 
 
 Like all sweet dreams to Saints in slumber shown, 
 
 Like Heaven itself, like joy incarnate given ; 
 
 And as a ship through wintry whirlwinds driven 
 
 Finds land-locked port in Araby the blest, 
 
 So I, through terror, entered into rest." 
 
 A lovely maiden, whose angelic beauty is revealed in the 
 transcendant light that emanates "from her full bosom," then 
 comes to the poet, who is filled with rapture while she sings : 
 
 " ' I have waited, I have waited. 
 As the Evening Star belated, 
 
 "When it lingers pale and lonely by the purple sunset door ; 
 I have found thee, I have found thee. 
 And with heart-spells fast have bound thee : ' 
 
 So from out the glowing halo sang the Angel-Maid Lenore." 
 
 The Poet then rehearses, with remarkable power of expres- 
 sion, the unhappy scenes of his mortal life — the poverty, des- 
 olation, despair and madness — 
 
 "All Earth's undivided sorrow," 
 which so deeply wounded his sensitive heart and veiled his 
 troubled spirit in the darkness of a tempestuous night. The 
 feeling of absolute desperation which possessed his soul, and 
 buried in his brain like an unquenchable fire, and the bliss- 
 ful repose of the liberated Spirit in the home of the angels, are 
 vividly contrasted in the closing stanzas : 
 
 " And I fled Life's outer portal. 
 
 Deeming anguish was immortal. 
 Crying, ' Launch thy heavy thunders, tell me never to adore ! 
 
 Hate for hate and curse for curses, 
 
 Through abysmal universes, 
 Plunge me down as lost Archangels fell despairingly of yore.' 
 
306 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " So the whirlwind bore my Spirit, 
 
 But to lands that Saints inherit, 
 And it seems my heart forever like a ruby cup runs o'er. 
 
 I am blest beyond all blessing, 
 
 And an angel's pure caressing 
 Flows around my soul forever like a stream around its shore." 
 
 The coming of the Spirit was not anticipated at the time. 
 He came suddenly, and the medium was entranced in an in- 
 stant. During the delivery of the poem from which the ex- 
 tracts are taken, the manner of the speaker was highly dra- 
 matic ; at the same time the countenance and his intonations 
 were expressive of all the tender and terrible emotions so im- 
 pressively indicated in this remarkable improvisation. The 
 internal evidence that it was inspired by the author of the 
 "Raven" is so strong that no unprejudiced mind, at all fa- 
 miliar with the circumstances of its production and the style 
 of the reputed author, will be likely to question its claims. 
 The late Mr. Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield (Mass.) 
 Republican, who formerly manifested an inveterate hostility to 
 Spiritualism, published a commendatory notice of this poem, 
 in which — in spite of his prejudices — he thus expressed his 
 judgment of its merits : ^'' It has all the ' fine frenzy'' of that wild 
 son of genius, and some of the stanzas are quite equal, in our 
 view, to his best efforts T • 
 
 Percy Bysshe Shelley descends to the mortal sphere, out of 
 " The Morning Land " of unfading beauty and harmonic life, 
 to sing for us this Fairy's *' Song of the Violet : " 
 
 " There came a fairy blue, and sang : 
 O, maiden dear, attend, attend ! 
 When first on earth the violet sprang, 
 Each earthly maid had fairy friend, 
 
GREAT DARKNESS IN VERMONT. 30/ 
 
 *' Who whispered in her ear by night — 
 Sing, heart, my heart the mellow lay ; 
 And so the violet grew more bright 
 Within her eyes from day to day. 
 
 " Wake, fairies, wake from field and glen ; 
 Wake, fairies, on your azure steep ; 
 For ye shall throng to earth again, 
 And sing to maidens in their sleep." 
 
 On another occasion a Spirit-maiden came to sing her sweet 
 song in honor of the immortal Shelley, from which I extract 
 the following lines : 
 
 " Our darling is not dead ; he lieth here. 
 Where the blind, groping earth-worm finds him not. 
 As water-lilies mourn the fading year, 
 Fond hearts deplore him on the earth. No spot. 
 Defiles the crystal pureness of his fame. 
 The efflorescence of his being blooms 
 On Earth, blooms splendidly. Like May he came, 
 Sowing rich beauty over dens and tombs 
 And rocky peaks and solitudes. He sped 
 Like a clear streamlet o'er its jagged bed. 
 That by no torture can be hushed asleep, 
 But pours in music hastening to the deep. 
 Peace, peace, bewail him not with garlands sere, 
 Ye Autumn Months, his is no funeral bier, 
 No pale dissolving Eidolon is he 
 Of that which was, but never more shall be ; 
 Shelley, the Spirit, lives eternally." 
 
 I will ask space for one additional illustration from the 
 records of modern inspired thought — only a single stanza. In 
 this instance it is Coleridge who lifts his Orphic Lyre under 
 the very shadow of the Cherubim, and thus discourses — in 
 the " Lyric of the Golden Age " — of the true Church in Man : 
 
308 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 " The Minster is a marble psalm, 
 Where Druid oak and Syrian palm 
 Lift the groined roof, and seem to wave 
 O'er isle and chancel, crypt and grave. 
 The Church of God in Man below 
 Methinks should like the Minster grow ; 
 All truths His three-fold voice inspires, 
 Should build its buttresses and spires ; 
 Each holy deed that memory sings. 
 Should gleam with cherub face and wings 
 O'er the high altar's mystic shrine. 
 And Love make all the place divine." 
 
 Now, Mr. Editor, you and your readers are at liberty to 
 judge of the merits of the examples here furnished in elucida- 
 tion of my subject. How far the individual characteristics of 
 the reputed authors are made manifest in the style of each, is 
 left to the decision of competent judges everywhere. For a 
 suitable consideration I might supply perhaps thirty to fifty 
 thousand lines of poetry from Spirits, as far above the stand- 
 ard of ordinary newspaper verse as electric lights are superior 
 to glow-worms and fire-flies. I am quite serious in saying this, 
 though it is not my purpose to advertise for a contract. 
 
 I venture to look for the early publication of this letter. I 
 am all the more confident in this expectation since you have 
 already entered a formal protest against even '* Injustice to the 
 Devil." Can you not afford to be equally fair in your treat- 
 ment of Spiritualists ? If in this case you decide to be no less 
 magnanimous, I am sure you will be forgiven by the great 
 People whom you have treated with unmerited indignity. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 S. B, Brittan. 
 Secular Press Bureau, 29 Broad St., 
 
 Newark, N. J., Nov. 
 
 DAD St., ) 
 . 24, 1881. f 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 
 
 SHADOWS ON THE GREEN MOUNTAINS. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 One-sided Freedom of Discussion — A practical Commentary on Justice — Will Hindo- 
 stan send a Missionary to Rutland? — Editor Bigelow's ex parte Controversy — 
 He Rejects our Reply and writes a Letter — He gives Illustrations in Rhetoric — 
 Taking his Cue from Professor Phelps — Senses and their Functions — Thomas L. 
 Harris and the English Bards — Distinguished Converts to Spiritualism — Bigelow 
 on Nervous Exaltation — Shakespeare and Milton — Spirits in Hamlet and Macbeth 
 — " Midsummer Night's Dream "—Bard of Avon on Spirits and Angels — Milton's 
 Spiritual Drama — Michael and Gabriel — Obfuscation in the Sanctum — An Editor's 
 habitual Craze— Fraud and Delusion the Materialist's Credenda — Editorial Gas- 
 conade — Appeal to the passions of the Populace — Midnight views of Journalistic 
 Responsibility — Retiring under a Cloud. 
 
 To the Editor of the Herald and Globe : 
 
 THE foregoing review of an editorial article which ap- 
 peared in the Rutland Herald and Globe was forwarded 
 to that journal for publication. The affectation of such a love 
 of justice on the part of the Editor as would even '' give the 
 devil his due," furnished some justification for the inference 
 that he might possibly be manly enough to grant a hearing to 
 the people whom he had so unjustly assailed. But the man 
 who deliberately misrepresents the views, aims and purposes 
 of others, and does not hesitate to defame the character of 
 millions of respectable people, rarely has the magnanimity to 
 listen to either witnesses or counsel in their defense. The 
 ignoble instinct of fear, so common among all such people, 
 prompts them to shun a fair trial, and to hide their offenses 
 
 309 
 
3IO THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 by any shallow device, while they flee from a righteous retri- 
 bution. Instead of publishing our just and temperate review, 
 Mr. Bigelow returned the manuscript with the following letter : 
 
 Dr. S. B. Brittan : 
 
 1. Your letter reached me this morning. I prefer to accept your cour- 
 teous description of me, as a writer, whose unscrupulous and defamatory 
 language has fairly placed me outside of any decent field of controversy. 
 [This is a perversion. Our words were, without the pale of civil and 
 rational controversy on this particular subject.^ Free discussion has its 
 limitations, and under its name and sign I shall not meekly present my 
 body as a target for the rotten eggs of your rhetoric. Your communica- 
 tion belongs to the Banner of Light, or some other paper equally redolent 
 of that intellectual hysteria called Modern Spiritualism. 
 
 2. Of your ability, of your sincerity, of your literary culture, I am 
 thoroughly persuaded, as thoroughly as I am of your impertinence in ask- 
 ing me to publish a personal libel on myself and my motives under the 
 name of free discussion. Under no circumstances would I do this, save 
 one, viz., if you could not obtain a much wider and more effective field 
 for your opinions in your own spiritistic press. Dr. Brittan can always 
 get a hearing, for I know very well who you are, and am familiar with 
 your excellent literary quality ; but that fact does not blind me to the fact 
 of your delusion any more than the genius of Wendell Phillips for oratory 
 and literary art blinds me to his crazy theory of finance. Because you 
 are in all lines probably my intellectual superior, is no assurance that you 
 may not be the subject of delusion in some directions. 
 
 3. I remember you many years ago, when you lectured in Burlington, 
 Vt. My father was deeply interested in the so-called philosophy and phe- 
 nomena of Spiritualism, and I went with him to hear you, and if my mem- 
 ory is not at fault you were a very welcome guest at his table. You im- 
 pressed me then as the only man of real ability and culture that I ever 
 heard speak on the subject. My father, who had all his life been a " The 
 odore Parker " infidel, as he was termed in those days, was a man of bold, 
 fearless, independent spirit, ready to investigate, ready to give any cause 
 a fair hearing. I trust that his son has too much respect for his memory 
 to judge Spiritism without a fair inquiry into the facts. My father con- 
 tinued his investigations for twelve years. His house was always open to 
 the spirit lecturers and mediums ; in his frequent visits to Boston and 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO, 3II 
 
 New York he always attended the seances of the most famous mediums. 
 I necessarily was with him much of the time ; I have patiently sat for 
 hours with him at circles ; have listened to all kinds of mediums, some fa- 
 mous, others obscure ; I was the confidant of all my father's experiences 
 and of his conclusions. During the first years of his inquiry I think he 
 .was a believer ; but further investigation firmly convinced him that the 
 whole thing was a delusion, mixed with a good deal of imposture. That 
 is, he utterly rejected all performances that depended on conditions which 
 denied the exercise of the test senses of sight and touch. 
 
 4. He saw no proof of spirit-life in the remarkable utterances of Mr. 
 Thomas L. Harris, whose epic of " The Starry Heaven " I found among 
 his books. He saw what I see, that Mr. Thomas L. Harris is a true poet, 
 but he did not see that his melodious utterances were any proof of spirit- 
 communication. He did not impugn the sincerity nor the ability of Dr. 
 Brittan or Judge Edmonds, who came to different conclusions than he 
 reached himself; but he felt that he could no more accept them as perfect 
 guides than he could follow Webster submissively in politics, because of 
 his towering intellect, which instructed him that it was right to remand 
 fugitive slaves to bondage. My father died, after all his candid and cour- 
 ageous investigation, in the belief that Modern Spiritualism had added 
 nothing to the proofs of a conscious spirit-life, which he had always 
 doubted from boyhood. He did not believe in Hebrew inspiration, in the 
 divinity of Christ, or in the so-called miracles of the Bible ; he deemed 
 them a mixture of honest delusion and clever imposture, and considered 
 them neither better nor worse than the so-called inexplicable wonders of 
 Modem Spiritism. 
 
 5. My own experience, since his death in 1867, has brought me to the 
 same conclusion, that Spiritism, whether within the Bible or out of it, will 
 not bear intelligent investigation that does not approach its task crippled 
 by natural credulity, or paralyzed by that prepossession which starts with 
 belief and advances to investigation, instead of starting with skepticism 
 and reaching belief through inquiry. The number of believers in Modern 
 Spiritism is no more proof of its truth than the number of believers in the 
 Spiritism of the Scriptures is proof of its genuine character. I reject both 
 as having no foundation of fact that will bear the examination of reason. 
 The Ledger is a very cheap paper, but its subscribers are a multitude. 
 The so-called phenomena are only mysterious when wrought under condi- 
 tions that ZX& prima facie evidence of fraud ; all else is the cheapest sort 
 of jugglery or nervous exaltation. 
 
 - 6. I do think that all these inspired "visions" and "wonders," 
 
312 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 whether of Hebrew history or our own, have exactly the same origin ; that 
 Harris differs from Ezekiel and the rest of them only as one devolional 
 poet may differ in degree from another. Show me a poet or writer of the 
 nervous exaltation sort, and I will show you a sick man, sick in mind or 
 body. Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Dante, Massey, De Quincey, Poe, all 
 men of genius, but a lack of robust physical and mental health showing 
 itself m their morbidity. If we look for health in literature, we find it in 
 Shakespeare, in Burns, in Milton, Bacon, Emerson, Montaigne, Goethe ; 
 defective some of them in personal morals, but free from a certain morbid 
 twist that runs througli the men of genius who rise to the mood of that 
 nervous exaltation which is the sign of an unhealthy physical organi- 
 zation. 
 
 7. But I must stop here ; you are easily my superior in rhetoric, in 
 learning and literary ability, but I can not see any justification for your 
 faith in the alleged facts upon which it rests. With these facts I have 
 been familiar all my life ; they seem to me as inconclusive and absurd a 
 foundation as that upon which rests the belief in the so-called miracles of 
 the Scriptures. The belief in either ought to be confined to the feather- 
 headed Irish peasant that fills every bog with fairies, and every bush with 
 a bugaboo ; it belongs to the ignorant negro, who believes that every 
 swamp is full of phantoms ; it deserves no place on the evidence in the 
 belief of men of thought and discrimination. I neither affirm nor deny 
 Spiritualism ; that as a mere speculative belief I do not deride or deny, 
 for it may be true, but modern Spiritism I do deride and deny on the al- 
 leged facts, which do not to my mind constitute decent proof of an extra- 
 ordinary conclusion. I think belief in the so-called "miracles "of the 
 Bible has done harm, and I think belief in " the modern miracles " does 
 little good and much harm. It simply exchanges one stupid superstition 
 for another, and the world gains nothing by the exchange. 
 
 8. I do not publish your letter, because it has no proper place in a paper 
 of the sort I publish. I do not feel under any obligation to print a long 
 screed in reply to my own opinions on every subject ; if I did I should be 
 obliged to print nothing else. Every Democrat who found his party faith 
 assaulted would be forwarding me two or three columns, and no small 
 country paper could afford to publish a long, elaborate reply like yours in 
 justice to its subscribers. The publication would not harm me nor help you, 
 for the reason that we have both looked at the same set of facts with equally 
 honest eyes, and have reached equally honest, but different conclusions ; 
 but as 2i purely business matter no little country paper can publish a reply 
 of such length as yours. Such a discussion is useless, and diverting to 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 3I3 
 
 nobody, save those who think as little of my conclusions as I do of theirs. 
 I comment on matters of current interest in my own way, but I cannot of 
 course make my paper a vehicle of mere warring opinions. Spiritists 
 must defend their faith in their own journals just as Democrats are obliged 
 to do. If I say anything of Dr. Brittan personally that is false I will 
 do him justice, but I owe Dr. Erittan's faith a defense no more than I owe 
 Mormonism if I denounce it. 
 
 L. BlGELOW^. 
 
 Rutland, Vt., Dec. i, 1881. 
 
 9. P. S. — I used the word supernatural in its well understood popular 
 meaning ; quibbling on this point is only' chopping straw under the name 
 of logic. L. B. 
 
 I. After a gross perversion of the language we employed in 
 the introductory paragraph of our review (as will appear from 
 the explanation in brackets in the first paragraph of Mr. Bige- 
 low's letter) he makes haste to admonish us that '' free discus- 
 sion has its limitations." We apprehended as much, and now 
 think we have discovered the limits up in Vermont. On this 
 point our correspondent's views are very clearly illustrated by 
 his acts. His idea of the free discussion of Spiritualism is 
 that he shall have full liberty to say just what he pleases — to 
 misrepresent the whole subject and defame its disciples, never 
 excepting the most worthy — and the right to put a gag in the 
 mouth of any and every one who may attempt to answer him 
 before the same audience. This is " free discussion " with the 
 dogmatic vengeance that recognizes no rights of Spiritualists 
 which he is bound to respect. After this amazing effluence of 
 illogical stuff we are not at all surprised that he characterizes 
 Spiritualism as " intellectual hysteria," and compares our rhet- 
 oric to " rotten eggs ! " Elsewhere he professes to discover 
 our " superior rhetoric, learning and literary ability ; " but he 
 14 
 
314 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 nowhere offers any atonement for the glaring inconsistency of 
 his statements. Now we may respectfully suggest to Mr. Big- 
 elow that the writer who indulges in the above unseemly com- 
 parison and — referring to Spiritualists — talks about " Onion- 
 tainted eructations of ungrammatical frauds," is probably the 
 only party in the present controversy who, in his boldest rhet- 
 orical flights, is likely to leave a bad aroma behind. Profes- 
 sor Phelps, we may suppose, knows some things, since he has 
 
 " Worn 
 Gowns in the university, tossed logic, 
 Sucked philosophy," 
 
 and is somewhat wiser grown, at least in the world's estima- 
 tion. Mr. Bigelow took his cue from the Professor — from the 
 man who, after showing to his own satisfaction that the mod- 
 ern phenomena are all of the devil, made a strongly aromatic 
 comparison in the declaration that Spiritualism is a ^^putres- 
 cent heap J " in other words, Satan's huge pile of infernal com- 
 post. The Editor of the Herald and Globe may have made 
 creditable progress in the sacred rhetoric of Andover, but we 
 are convinced that this is not his stronghold. If he could be 
 persuaded to drop his windy tropes and descend to the simple 
 language of common sense, he would be more generally un- 
 derstood and appreciated. 
 
 2. " Impertinence " may mean either want of adaptation to 
 the time, place, circumstances or occasion ; personal incivility 
 or rudeness of deportment before other persons, chiefly in pres- 
 ence of one's equals or superiors. In neither of these senses 
 can our review be regarded as an " impertinence." It cer- 
 tainly aims with sufficient directness to the point, and it does 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 3I5 
 
 not contain a single sentence that is uncivil, either in the let- 
 ter or the spirit. To intimate that there is anything libelous 
 in our language shows the need of the schoolmaster in Rut- 
 land and of Webster's unabridged in the Editor's sanctum. 
 
 3. That the father of our correspondent honestly investi- 
 gated the Spiritual Phenomena we can readily believe ; nor is 
 it incredible that he may have arrived at a conclusion adverse 
 to its claims. That the son honors the memory and imitates 
 the example of his father rather appears from his own decla- 
 ration than from his flippant manner of treating a grave ques- 
 tion, his too impetuous judgment and sweeping denunciation 
 of the whole subject. But if the elder Bigelow " utterly re- 
 jected " all the facts except such as may be perceived by " the 
 exercise of the test senses of sight and touch," he certainly 
 made a grave mistake. By these senses one could never dis- 
 tinguish the perfume of roses and violets from the fetid eman- 
 ations of skunks, stramonium and asafoetida. Moreover, a large 
 class of the spiritual phenomena consists of a great variety of 
 soujids which, we know, are not cognizable by sight and touch. 
 
 4. Mr. Bigelow, following the judgment of his father, " sees 
 that Mr. Thomas L. Harris is a true poet, but he does not 
 see that his melodious utterances are any proof of " Spirit-com- 
 munication." The fact he states is his misfortune. It is not 
 given to all men to see everything. Some people are color- 
 blind ; others can no more discern a moral principle or a meta- 
 physical distinction than an ordinary blind man can see a hole 
 in a wall ; and we know that the vision of the great multitude 
 is sealed for the present to all spiritual realities. 
 
 But our correspondent does not account for the wonderful 
 
3l6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 improvisations referred to when he says that Mr. Harris is a 
 true poet. No one could have enjoyed better opportunities 
 for observation of the personal characteristics of the man and 
 the peculiarities of his inspiration than the present writer had 
 for a period of several years. Mr. Harris has not only a 
 small brain, but his head is especially narrow through the re- 
 gion where the phrenologists locate ideality and sublimity, 
 the two faculties most marvelously displayed in his poems. 
 Upon the supposition that he is himself the sole author of the 
 ideal creations that bear his name, his case is forever irrecon- 
 cilable with the claims of phrenology, and it is a problem that 
 admits of no satisfactory solution on the principles of psycho- 
 physiological science. The fact that any one of the leading 
 English Bards was able to write in his own peculiar style, at 
 the expense of much painstaking effort, was sufficient to es- 
 tablish for him a lasting reputation among men. But in Mr, 
 Harris Spiritualism has ftirnished the man who is entranced or 
 goes to sleep, and without conscious effort reproduces the individ- 
 ual mental characteristics, with the personal and poetic idiosyn- 
 crasies of more than half a dozen of the greatest modern poets ! 
 To maintain that Mr. Harris, or any other man, can produce 
 such astonishing results — can rise so far above himself and 
 without apparent effort — by a process of unconscious cerebra- 
 tion, is as preposterous as to assume that he can lift himself 
 up to the seventh heaven by gently pulling at his shirt-collar. 
 
 5. You assume that the believers in Spiritualism were and 
 are all weak and credulous people, whose minds were first 
 " paralyzed by that prepossession which starts with belief and 
 advances to investigation." Here you imagine you perceive a 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 317 
 
 state of things which really has no existence in fact. No fe- 
 verish dreamer under the influence of a strong narcotic, or the 
 delirious spell of nitrous oxide gas, was ever further away from 
 sober reason and the facts. Every one who has any reliable 
 information on this subject knows that Spiritualism has made 
 its way against the scientific materialism of the schools, the 
 dogmatic theology of the Church, and almost universal unbe- 
 lief. An immense majority of the investigators were deter- 
 mined in the beginning to explode its claims, but they did not 
 succeed. A multitude of the saints concealed their convic- 
 tions ; fashionable people amused themselves with the new il- 
 lustrations of the soul's immortality ; pious ministers, like Dr. 
 Eliakim Phelps, prayed for deliverance, while the Spirits fas- 
 tened conviction on the mind and heart. Among the unwill- 
 ing converts have been many sharp-sighted scientists like Dr. 
 Robert Hare, Prof. J. J. Mapes and Prof. David A. Wells, of 
 this country ; Crookes, Wallace, Varley and Cox, of England, 
 and the scientific philosophers of Germany. It was the orig- 
 inal purpose of these men, and of many others scarcely less 
 distinguished, to expose the deception they expected to dis- 
 cover. They kept firmly to their resolution until the demon- 
 strations of Spiritual presence, intelligence and power became 
 so numerous and convincing that there was no escape from an 
 unwelcome conclusion, when bold resistance and unreasoning 
 skepticism at last reluctantly gave up the ghost. 
 
 6. You express the opinion that " all the inspired visions 
 and wonders ." of ancient and modern times must be referred to 
 one common origin ; but you do not tell us how, where, or under 
 what specific conditions they originate. You do not attempt 
 
3l8 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 to show US the relations of subtile forces and natural law to 
 our spiritual faculties and susceptibilities. True, the inquiring 
 mind calls for a logical explanation ; but you explain nothing. 
 We would know the source of this inspiration, the invisible 
 agents employed in the process, if any exist, and what are the 
 laws which govern the generation and expression of inspired 
 ideas. On all questions demanding profound consideration, 
 the recognition of metaphysical principles, or any knowledge 
 of spiritual things, your extreme reticence is suggestive. Nor 
 are we informed what your conception is like when you refer 
 to ''''apod or writer of the nervous exaltation sort." You are only 
 explicit on one point, namely, that all such people are ''''sick in 
 mind or body." We often hear it said that the nervous systems 
 of sick people are relaxed, enfeebled or unstrung. But this 
 can hardly have been the condition of the poets to whom you 
 refer. The terms employed rather indicate that in those cases 
 the "harp of a thousand strings " was above concert-pitch. 
 
 You give us the mystical number of seven sick geniuses, and 
 then you. mention the names of seven others who are said to 
 have been healthy. In the last-mentioned class I find the 
 names of William Shakespeare and John Milton. Perhaps 
 these two great poets excelled all others in the elements of 
 philosophy and sublimity which characterized their writings 
 respectively. But how you may consistently include these 
 great spiritualistic geniuses in your list of normally constituted 
 minds, I fail to comprehend. Shakespeare, in his skeptical 
 mood, makes reference to — 
 
 " The undiscovered country, from whose bourne 
 No traveler returns." 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 3I9 
 
 Yet his own genius rolls the stone from the door of the sep- 
 ulcher and brings back the spirits of the departed in Hamlet 
 and Macbeth. He empties the graves of the dead in " Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream," and makes church-yards populous 
 with Spirits. When the ghost of the murdered king appears to 
 Hamlet, the inspiration of the great poet thus finds expression 
 in the language of invocation : 
 
 " Angels and ministers of grace defend us ! " 
 
 Did the Bard of Avon believe in angels and in the power of 
 Spirits to defend their mortal kindred ? If he did, was he 
 really in a normal state of mind ? If he did not believe in 
 their ability to come, and in their power to shield the defense- 
 less ones, can he be said to have been engaged in a healthy 
 exercise of his faculties in thus giving the weight of his im- 
 mortal testimony to the support of the world's sacred tradi- 
 tions and the popular superstitions of his age and country ? 
 Did the world's great author — the most philosophical mind in 
 the long list of ancient and modern poets — believe that when 
 a man has lost his cerebrum he has no power to feel, think 
 and act ? And are we to suppose that in his opinion brains 
 are forever indispensable to the man ? No ! Higher wisdom 
 came from the source of his inspiration. In his more exalted 
 moods he knew better, and he makes Macbeth say : 
 
 " The times have been, 
 That when the brains were out, the man was dead, . 
 And there an end ; but jiow they rise again ! " 
 
 When Shakespeare talks thus and makes the restless spirits of 
 men play important parts in the dramatis personce of his in- 
 spired creations, does he really mean anything ? Or are we to 
 
320 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 take the materialistic view of the subject and presume that all 
 this is only so much spiritual buncombe ? 
 
 Milton, too, is furnished with a clean certificate of health at 
 your hands. True, the principal dramatic characters in " Par- 
 adise Lost," the theater of the spiritual drama, the shifting 
 scenes and unearthly imagery, are chiefly derived from worlds 
 which no mortal eye ever looked upon. Milton's vision of 
 the celestial rebellion represents Michael and Gabriel warring 
 against Satan — the poet's impersonation of selfish ambition — 
 who was hurled with all his apostate angels from the battle- 
 ments of heaven down to fathomless perdition. Of course 
 this powerful drama never had any substantial foundation in 
 fact, nor so much as a shadow in the realm of probabilities. 
 Why, then, is it not as good evidence that the author was 
 "sick in body or mind," as Mr. Bigelow finds in the narcotic 
 dreams of De Quincey ? 
 
 7. If extreme credulity and blind faith be regarded as a 
 mild form of insanity, so there is a lunacy of obstinate skepti- 
 cism that paralyzes all the spiritual faculties and so entombs 
 the man in the grave of a soulless materialism. Of this last 
 phase, you, my dear Sir, furnish a most striking illustration. 
 There are thousands of believers in Spiritualism, all over the 
 world, who fairly represent the higher degrees of intellectual 
 and moral development. Among them are not a few trained 
 scientists, many bold and independent thinkers and wise phi- 
 losophers ; but the Editor of the Herald a?id Globe imagines 
 that if these men are not all fools naturally, they have become 
 such by the excessive credulity " which starts with belief and 
 advances to investigation." 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 321 
 
 He is a critic of doubtful capacity who makes no distinction 
 between the ripe scholarship of German Universities and the 
 ignorance of the poor negroes who live about the Southern 
 lagoons and people every fen with phantoms. The greatest 
 thinkers of the time : distinguished statesmen and able jurists, 
 eminent poets, sculptors and musical composers, and a con- 
 stellation of the brightest stars in ancient and modern litera- 
 ture, are all — in your judgment only — to be classed with " the 
 feather-headed Irish peasant," who finds a bugaboo in every 
 bush and bog. Of course you can have little or no respect for 
 exalted genius and profound erudition so long as they escape 
 your recognition and are utterly confounded with stolid igno- 
 rance and the grossest superstitions. 
 
 And yet. Sir, with a mere jumble of the incongruities of 
 superficial thought which most resembles the chaos of Moses — 
 being '' without form and void " — you come to lecture us on 
 the principles of logic, which, according to Sir William Ham- 
 ilton's terse definition, "is the science of the laws of thought." 
 We like to be respectful always and serious whenever the oc- 
 casion admits of gravity ; but really, Mr. Bigelow, your at- 
 tempt to determine by the Rutland standard the intellectual 
 caliber and moral specific gravity of such men as the Editor 
 of the London Journal of Science and the Leipzig Professors, 
 is such a grotesque exhibition of presumption that one hardly 
 knows what to anticipate next as an illustration of the lunacy 
 of chronic skepticism. After this we are prepared for almost 
 any Quixotic extravagance, and the public will hardly be sur- 
 prised should you take an early opportunity to weigh Jupiter's 
 
 satellites at the corner grocery J 
 14* 
 
322 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 8. Here we learn the reason why our letter was declined. 
 The editor says, because " it has no proper place in a paper 
 of the sort I publish." If the subiect/^r j^ was unsuited to his 
 columns, why did he drag it in and make Spiritualism the 
 theme of his editorial gasconade ? And if it was proper to 
 discuss one side of the question, what impropriety could there 
 have been in giving place to the other ? We were disposed to 
 impart some moral vitality to his columns by telling his readers 
 the honest truth about Spiritualism ; but he utterly defeated 
 our good intentions. To justify his course he literally assures 
 us that the truth on this subject would be out of its " proper 
 place " in his paper, and on this point he is probably right. 
 We acquiesce with regrets, and the suggestion that Mr. Bige- 
 low might make a small place for the truth in his paper by 
 issuing a large supplement. J^iaf Lux. 
 
 A screed, in the sense that Mr. Bigelow employs the word, 
 is an harangue, or vehement appeal to the passions of the pop- 
 ulace ; in other words, it is a noisy tirade, or violent declama- 
 tion, especially one replete with censure or invective. In our 
 forty years of journalistic work we have never yet published a 
 single paragraph that would warrant such a characterization. 
 When the editor of the Herald and Globe designates a dispas- 
 sionate and philosophical review of his unrighteous assaults 
 upon Spiritualism and its friends as a ^^ lo?ig screed," he em- 
 ploys terms without the least regard to their real significance. 
 
 Mr. Bigelow assures us that if he libeled a single individual 
 he would "do him justice ;" but having unjustly assaulted a 
 large community composed of some millions of individuals, he 
 not only disclaims all moral accountability therefor, but pro- 
 
LATEST BIGELOW MANIFESTO. 
 
 323 
 
 ceeds to justify the deed by a reference to the base custom 
 and bad habits of unscrupulous poHticians. Stripped of its 
 flimsy disguise, this is the hideous immorality that claims im- 
 munity for its lax Hberty, not for the reason that its acts have 
 any possible merit, nor yet that they even admit of justifica- 
 tion, but on the poor plea that these manifold offenses have 
 been committed on a large scale ! It is on this shaky ground 
 that our Vermont correspondent rests the pleading of not 
 guilty of any wrong. 
 
 How shall we characterize the very questionable morality 
 that rests its defense on the magnitude of the wrongs it has 
 committed ? Is this plea for justification valid because not 
 one but many have been injured ? The world has full long 
 enough been cursed by this false logic which, through all the 
 historic periods, has been made to cover the most gigantic in- 
 iquities. The man who commits the larceny of taking a cheap 
 jackknife is called a thief ; but one may impoverish a peace- 
 able and defenseless people, by the cunning of a devilish di- 
 plomacy, and still be honored as a distinguished citizen ; or 
 he may pillage a State, and call his ignoble act by the proud 
 name of conquest. If, in a moment of ungovernable passion 
 one aims a fatal blow at his fellow, he is described as a " mis- 
 erable assassin ;" but the man of lawless ambition may ride 
 through rivers of blood, over the prostrate forms of thousands 
 of his fellow-men, and be hailed as a conqueror ! It is time 
 that this infidel standard of morality was utterly demolished. 
 Too long already have we been dazzled and deceived by the 
 splendid glamour of worldly circumstance and the magnitude 
 of human actions. Let honest men apply the scourge to every 
 
324 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 specious form of falsehood, and hereafter let all men and their 
 deeds be judged in righteousness. 
 
 9. P. S. — In the pursuit of knowledge on philosophical sub- 
 jects it will never do to thus heedlessly follow the unreasoning 
 crowd. It is only by earnest thought and a precise use of lan- 
 guage that we can hope to so convey our ideas as to illuminate 
 the subject and inform the common mind. Bulls bellow and 
 raise a dust by pawing the earth, but bulls are not endowed 
 with reason. It is said that domesticated goats will live upon 
 filthy rags and old shoes ; but goats are never afflicted by del- 
 icate appetites and imperfect digestion. The ass is satisfied 
 when he feeds on thistles. He never was a creature of nice 
 discrimination, but will kick at his own shadow hard enough 
 to kill a wise philosopher. It is evident that to escape your 
 animadversion one must be like him — with proverbial obsti- 
 nacy stick fast in his old tracks, bray aloud, and never trouble 
 himself about definitions. 
 
 With the compliments of the season to the Editor of the 
 Herald and Globe, from the Editor-at-Large, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 Secular Press Bureau, 29 Broad St., 
 Newark, N. J., Dec. 24, 1881. 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. , 
 
 HOW SPIRITUALISM IS TREATED IN MINNEAPOLIS. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS (mINN.) EVENING JOURNAL.* 
 
 A Man of Business Testifies— He Sees the Facts under Test Conditions— Deception 
 said to be Impossible— Jumping at a Conclusion— Nature Preser\'es her Method 
 —Men who Voice their Ignorance— Illustrations of Natural Law— Intellectual 
 Juvenility— Jesus more Natural because Spiritual— The Investigator Theorizes— 
 Hypothesis of a Distinct Order of Beings— Believing against Evidence— Igno- 
 rance and Dogmatism — Spirits as Educators and Physicians — Their Deeds of 
 Charity— Saving the Life of Hon. n! P. Tallmadge— Bursting of Commodore 
 Stockton's Gun— Reformed by a Spirit— Lives Saved by Spirit-warnings- Eman- 
 cipation Proclamation— Lincoln Inspired to Break the Chains of Slavery— Immor- 
 tality Demonstrated— Powers of the Spirits— Laws of Spiritual Attraction— Bait- 
 ing with Deception and Catching Lies— The Subject in its True Light— Waiting 
 for Heavenly Interpreters of Spiritual Mj^steries. 
 
 Sechlak Press Bureau, 
 
 New York, Jan. 26, 1S82. 
 
 Editor of the Minneapolis Evening Journal : 
 
 MY attention was recently called to an article which 
 appeared in your paper, giving in brief the experience 
 of one of your citizens in his investigation of Spiritual Phe- 
 
 * The Journal, to whose editor this letter is addressed, recently pub- 
 lished a portion of the same, embracing especially our citation of facts in 
 illustration of the benevolent offices of the Spirits. Reference being had 
 to these facts, he observed — we think with questionable grace — that ''Mr. 
 Btittans statements may be said to be important, if true." He, however, 
 appears to be too well satisfied of their truth already to invite either a 
 further authentication of our statements or additional examples of the 
 same class. The reason is readily apprehended. The facts illustrative of 
 
326 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 nomena. The subject to which your editorial refers is not less 
 interesting because some time has elapsed since its publica- 
 tion. You mention the fact that " one of the shrewdest and 
 most successful business men in Minneapolis " had just visited 
 New York (for business purposes, we infer), and that he im- 
 proved the occasion " to thoroughly investigate the alleged 
 phenomena of Spiritualism." In judging of what constitutes 
 a thorough investigation, all men are necessarily limited by 
 their knowledge, respectively, of the particular subject of in- 
 quiry. The leisure hours a Western merchant, or other busi- 
 ness man, might find while pursuing his temporal interests for 
 a few days in the commercial Metropolis, would scarcely suf- 
 fice for anything like a thorough investigation of a subject so 
 profound in its principles, so widely diversified in its phenom- 
 enal illustrations, and so far-reaching and revolutionary in its 
 prospective results. 
 
 The facts witnessed were of such a nature that the gentle- 
 man from your city was perfectly satisfied " they could not 
 have been performed by any human or other known physical 
 agency." He heard the writing "between slates" and read 
 the messages Avhere " the slates a moment before had presented 
 a clear surface." This shrewd observer " saw Spirit-forms 
 clearly ;" he also " felt the touch of spirit-hands distinctly." 
 These phenomena he is said to have observed " under condi- 
 tions where there could not possibly be any collusion or trick." 
 
 the beneficent objects and uses of this intercourse with our Spiritual Visit- 
 ors, utterly demolish the theory of his "clear-headed" fellow-citizen, 
 and with it the bold, dogmatic and unfounded assumption " that Spiritual 
 communications never lead to any good." 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 32/ 
 
 It appears that he did not entertain a single doubt of the trans- 
 mundane origin of the illustrations of intelligence and power 
 which occurred under his critical inspection. So far his pre- 
 vious skepticism appears to have yielded to evidence about as 
 readily as wax melts in the flame, and we are ready to question 
 the judgment of the man whose faith is so easily established. 
 Indeed, it would seem to be a peculiarity of this man's faith 
 that he can believe just as well without evidence and even 
 against evidence. That I may avoid even the appearance of 
 injustice in my treatment of your fellow-citizen's case, allow 
 me to here reproduce so much of the article under review as 
 follows in this connection : 
 
 " The conclusion lie arrived at was, that there are supernatural agencies 
 controlled by the medium or controlling the medium ; that there are veri- 
 table ' spirits ' which visit the earth and perform these tricks ; but that 
 these spirits are not the souls of departed human beings. They belong, 
 he thinks, to an inferior order of beings. They are mischievous, false, 
 malicious, trifling, insincere, and often devilish. Communication with 
 them never leads to any good. The whole influence is bad and demoral- 
 izing. They are, he thinks very likely, the familiar spirits and devils 
 alluded to so often in the Scriptures. While these spirits evidently be- 
 long to an inferior creation, they yet possess some powers unknown to us. 
 They can, for instance, project one solid through another without break- 
 ing either. They appear to be able to resolve substances into their origi- 
 nal elements, and then put the elements together again in their original 
 form. In this way flower and other materialization may be accounted for. 
 But in other respects their powers are very limited. They might see a 
 thief rob a house, but would be unable to inform the victim ot the robbery, 
 or to communicate any information on any subject. If they could there 
 would be no such thing as privacy, and. the habits of the human race would 
 be revolutionized. It is possible, he thinks, that the souls of the departed 
 may sometimes communicate with mortals through these familiar spirits ; 
 but if they do the spirits are so given to lying that no reliance can be 
 placed upon what they say. 
 
 " The Evening Journal gives some space to these speculations, because 
 
328 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 they are the views of a gentleman who is regarded by his acquaintances 
 as remarkably clear-headed. His judgment is sound on all business mat- 
 ters ; he never ' slops over ' or goes off on a tangent, or accepts theories 
 without careful consideration. Nor has he ever been supposed to be in the 
 least bit superstitious. His explanation of spiritual phenomena opens up 
 wide fields of thought and curious speculation, but it does not add materi- 
 ally to the attractiveness of Spiritualism as a form of religious faith." 
 
 I. Your friend concludes that ''''there are supernatural agen- 
 cies either controlled by the medium or co?iir oiling the medium ; " 
 that these agencies " are veritable spirits which visit the earth 
 and perform these tricks.^' 
 
 Here the old supernaturalism crops out, which has its origin 
 and end in the popular ignorance of the extent and capacities 
 of Nature. It stands in the way of rational thought and all 
 progressive ideas. Let us make a slight effort to blot it out, 
 here and now. Nature is a vastly greater institution than has 
 been conceived of even in the mind of the profoundest philoso- 
 pher of the time. Let it be remembered that Nature is never 
 limited by the narrow scope of our information. It is the in- 
 evitable tendency of the ignorant mind to assign to super- 
 natural causes all effects which it cannot explain by reference 
 to some physical cause within the narrow limits of its own 
 comprehension. A man living under the equator, without any 
 knowledge of other parts of the world, would naturally con- 
 clude that, without a miracle, water could never become solid ; 
 and yet it is perfectly natural for water to freeze at the proper 
 temperature. The people in polar regions may never sweat 
 when the mercury is freezing, but the application of a warm 
 vapor-bath and plenty of capsicum tea would convince an Ice- 
 lander that it is perfectly natural for men to perspire freely 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 329 
 
 under suitable conditions. Tell an ignorant person that the 
 water contained in one gallon measure may be made to fill the 
 measure of eighteen hundred gallons, and he would never be- 
 lieve ; but we have only to convert the gallon of water into 
 steam, and the fact is demonstrated. 
 
 Thousands of illustrations might be drawn from Nature and 
 science to show that when we talk about Supernaturalism we 
 only babble or voice our ignorance. There is nothing super- 
 natural which is likely to come under our observation in this 
 world. All the phenomena of matter and mind are natural, 
 and whatever we call supernatural may serve to define the 
 limit of our information. The light of Aldebaran is as natural 
 as that of a glow-worm or a fire- fly. We are prone to think 
 that small things, and the circumstances of daily experience, 
 are all strictly natural, whilst great events — phenomena of rare 
 occurrence and characters which only once shed their superior 
 light on the darkness of ages — may be supernatural. This is 
 the very common misapprehension of our intellectual juvenility. 
 The truth is, the rose that blossoms every month under the 
 cottage window is no more natural than the century plant, that 
 only sends up its great stalk and displays its magnificent corolla 
 to the sun once in one hundred years. 
 
 J^K similar course of illustration is no less applicable to the 
 Highest types of mankind. Jesus of Nazareth was even more 
 natural than ordinary men, for the reason that his beautiful 
 life was more in harmony with the laws of Nature. The in- 
 telligence of the highest archangel is neither unnatural nor 
 supernatural, because in our low estate we have no rule by 
 which we may measure his sublime capacity. In proportion 
 
330 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 as our knowledge of Nature is enlarged the realm that em- 
 braces what we regard as supernatural is diminished in our 
 apprehension, until at length, from some moral eminence in 
 the Universe, the soul, with unclouded vision, looks over the 
 vast spheres of organic life and all human relations, and dis- 
 covers that all things are natural. 
 
 Your friend was perfectly satisfied that what he is pleased 
 to characterize as " these tricks " were performed by " verita- 
 ble spirits which visit the earth " from some other sphere of 
 existence ; and yet the terms you employ show that his inves- 
 tigation did not so much as enable him to determine whether 
 the so-called " supernatural agents controlled the medium," 
 or, on the contrary, were subject to his own arbitrary exercise 
 of power. This is a preliminary question of no little conse- 
 quence, and it is not to be presumed that an investigation was 
 at all thorough which left it wholly unsettled in the judgment 
 of the inquirer. Moreover, until this fundamental question is 
 effectually disposed of, how can your friend logically conclude 
 that the facts are to be referred to a superterrestrial or spirit- 
 ual agency ? If it shall hereafter appear that this intelligent 
 controlling power — exhibited in the production of the essen- 
 tial facts — is in the medittm, where shall we look for the evi- 
 dence of any foreign spiritual agency whatever ? If the gov- 
 erning power, as illustrated in the development of the mys- 
 terious phenomena, really belongs to and is exercised by the 
 medium, we may perhaps dismiss the Spirits altogether, since, 
 in this case, their agency would seem to be quite unnecessary 
 as a factor in the solution of this problem. 
 
 2. " But these spirits are not the souls of departed human be- 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 33 1 
 
 ings. They belong, he thinks, to an infe^-ior order of beings. 
 They are mischievous, false, malicious, trifling, insincere and of- 
 ten devilish" 
 
 Should we admit the truth of what he here affirms respect- 
 ing the character of his own spiritual visitors, the assumption 
 that they are not human would find no possible confirmation 
 in such an admission. It would still be no less manifest that 
 this '' remarkably clear-headed " citizen shows his capacity to 
 believe not only without evidence, but against evidence. What 
 does he know of a separate order of spiritual beings, inferior 
 to men ? Nothing, whatever ; and the rest of mankind know 
 no more. Outside of heathen myths and fables, the fanciful 
 conceptions of pious priests and inspired poets, the nursery 
 tales of ignorant old women, and the realm of popular super- 
 stitions of the Dark Ages, there is not the smallest vestige of 
 evidence to support such an assumption. 
 
 In the investigation of phenomena it is regarded as unphilo- 
 sophical to assume the existence of hypothetical causes or un- 
 known agents, when those already demonstrated to exist will 
 enable us to account for all of the facts. Now, the gentleman 
 whose opinions you represent violates this admitted principle 
 of a scientific philosophy. In the case under discussion, the 
 facts all plainly show that the intelligence displayed is most essen- 
 tially human. The facts that some spirits are inclined to trifle 
 with grave subjects, that others evince a mischievous dispo- 
 sition whilst, here and there, some malicious spirit stands re- 
 vealed, neither prove that these intelligences belong to a dis- 
 crete order of beings, nor that they are inferior to the human 
 species. The facts furnish no evidence to support either of 
 
332 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 the foregoing propositions. There are multitudes of mischiev- 
 ous people in this world, and they are constantly going over to 
 the other country. They carry with them all of their inborn 
 and acquired characteristics, and of course many continue to 
 practice mischief so long as they are thus disposed. The en- 
 trance to the other world no more changes either a mischiev- 
 ous or malicious man than the act of entering the Queen's palace 
 converts an ignorant clown into a polished courtier. 
 
 Now what if some of the Spirits are devilish in the worst 
 sense implied by your fellow-citizen ? The Church maintains 
 that much the larger part of the human race are sent to hell 
 forever, where they are beyond the possible inclination to re- 
 form, and are thus forced to an everlasting life of willful dis- 
 obedience, insane opposition to natural law, and hatred of all 
 that is essentially beautiful, supremely good, and absolutely 
 true. We by no means sanction such views when we refer to 
 them ; but if there is so much as the faintest shadow of truth 
 in the fundamental doctrines of the Church, why object to the 
 human spiritual origin of the facts on the ground that some 
 of them reveal a wicked disposition toward man and a rebell- 
 ious spirit against God ! 
 
 3. ^^ Co7nmumcation with them [the Spirits] never leads to any 
 good. The whole i7ifiuence is bad attd dejuoralizingy 
 
 As a revelation of egotistical presumption and entire igno- 
 rance of the real facts of Spiritualism, nothing could exceed 
 this brief statement. After a few hours' investigation a busi- 
 ness man decides that no good has ever resulted from inter- 
 course with Spirits. The arbitrary dictum of this man involves 
 an assumption of all knowledge on this subject. Let me re- 
 
 r 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 333 
 
 spectfully inform him that hundreds of millions of communi- 
 cations have come from Spirits within the last thirty years, 
 covering many tons of paper. In his dogmatic confidence he 
 assumes to know the contents and character of all these mes- 
 sages from the Spirit-world and also the effects they have pro- 
 duced on mankind. In view of this assumption it appears that a 
 man may exercise " sound judgment" in business, and yet be 
 wholly incompetent to deal with a subject of this nature. It 
 is precisely here that your friend betrays his great weakness. 
 His accredited shrewdness does not transcend the mundane 
 sphere of his business relations. The soundness of his judg- 
 ment would have been more conspicuously revealed had he 
 suppressed the spasmodic conclusions of his obvious ignorance 
 and the intense self-consciousness which finds the sole object 
 of respect and v/orship in the jEgo. 
 
 Now what has any one to gain by a wild extravagance of 
 statement in the attempt to conceal or disguise the truth ? I 
 take no risk in saying that every man and woman in the coun- 
 try who is not morally blind, may— if thus disposed— find the 
 means at hand to disprove this man's assertion. The writer 
 could cite a thousand facts, giving names and dates if neces- 
 sary, any one of which would suffice to completely upset the 
 shallow assumption that no good ever comes from communi- 
 cation with Spirits. You have not the space for an extended 
 statement, and I will, therefore, confine myself to the following 
 summary of a few of the good deeds known to have been per- 
 formed by Spirits, or at their instigation : 
 
 Many ignorant people have been very well educated under 
 spiritual influence and direction, and without the aid of mor- 
 
334 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 tal teachers or masters. Spirits have restored many persons 
 to health who were dangerously ill, by sending prescriptions 
 to them, often unsolicited, and otherwise, by direct spiritual 
 influence exerted on the mediumistic patient. Persons have 
 been sent by Spirits to the starving and freezing inmates of 
 lonely garrets and damp cellars with food, fuel and clothing, 
 even late at night, by which means the sufferers have been 
 preserved and made comfortable. Many valuable lives have 
 been saved by Spirit-warnings of impending danger. The late 
 Hon. N. p. Tallmadge, ex-United States Senator from New 
 York, and ex-Governor of Wisconsin, was thus saved from 
 instant death when Commodore Stockton's great gun burst, 
 killing two cabinet ministers and other gentlemen. I recall 
 the case of a young man who treated his aged parents with 
 great cruelty. A Spirit came visibly before him, while he was 
 at work in the field, and told him, in so many words, to mend 
 his ways, or he might look for a sudden second coming of the 
 Spirit as a messenger of judgment. This spiritual visitation 
 was the means of a complete reformation. The maddening 
 bowl has been dashed from more than one man's lips by a 
 Spirit who suddenly controlled the nerves and muscles of vol- 
 untary motion in the impressible subject. Several persons 
 have been admonished not to take passage on certain vessels 
 and particular trains which were wrecked while on their way 
 with great loss of life. Such cases occurred in connection 
 with the ocean steamer Pacific and the Norwalk Railroad dis- 
 aster. Spirits have opened the way to pleasant homes for 
 many destitute children. At their instigation the venerated 
 Lincoln was inspired to perform the grandest act of his life 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 335 
 
 in raising no less than three milhons of down-trodden human 
 beings up to the dignity of individual freedom and citizen- 
 ship. The Spirits have nerved many a poor mortal to bear 
 his heavy cross up the rugged steep to a higher life. They 
 have demonstrated the truth of immortality to millions whose 
 uncertain faith and hope demanded this confirmation. Thus 
 have they poured the light of the everlasting Morning through 
 the dark ''valley and shadow of death," rendering the "king 
 of terrors " powerless, and the final surrender of the expiring 
 mortal the grandest earthly victory ! 
 
 In the light of such illustrations, what becomes of the reck- 
 less assertion that the whole influence of the Spirits is corrupt 
 and demoralizing ? When men will thus theorize without the 
 slightest regard to essential principles, or the least reference 
 to the facts in the case ; and error, in its blind blundering, 
 spills the unclean contents of its old bottle over our heads, we 
 are not thankful for the foul baptism, though, as a mere mat- 
 ter of courtesy, we may listen to the pleasant assurance, that 
 these people ''''never ''slop over,' go off in a tangent, or accept theo- 
 ries without careful consideration ! ' ' 
 
 4. " These spirits . . . can, for insta7ice, project one solid throicgh 
 another without breaking either. They appear to be able to re- 
 solve substances into their oi'iginal elements and then put the ele- 
 ments together again in the original fortfi. In this way flower 
 and other materializations may be accounted for. But in other 
 respects their powers are very limited. They might see a thief 
 rob a house, but would be unable to inform the victim of the rob- 
 bery, or to commu7iicate any information on a?iy subject." 
 
 Here the most amazing power over matter is attributed to 
 
336 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Spirits. They are credited with the abiHty to pass one soHd 
 body through another, without any apparent disturbance of 
 the molecular contents of either. They are presumed to pos- 
 sess such a subtile knowledge of the laws of chemistry, that 
 they can decompose compound substances at will ; disorgan- 
 ize and reorganize bodies by the simple act of volition ; and 
 yet it is positively affirmed that they do not know enough to 
 expose a thief if they had the inclination ; in short, that they 
 are incapable of imparting " any information on any subject." 
 It seems to me that no man outside of a lunatic asylum ever 
 entertained a more irrational hypothesis. Of course it is only 
 logical to infer, that the capacity of an intelligent being to im- 
 part information must bear some relative proportion to the 
 measure of his attainments. And yet the gentleman whose 
 views you represent attributes the noblest faculties of mind, 
 and seemingly miraculous powers of will, to beings who are 
 said to be too stupid to serve as witnesses in a police court ! 
 Here is the amazing credulity that believes against evidence, 
 and the unreasoning faith that rests on anything and every- 
 thing but recognized principles and demonstrated facts. 
 
 It is not the fault of SpirituaHsm that its enemies often at- 
 tract unclean spirits when they go to investigate. As a rule 
 we draw to our presence natures of similar tastes and incHna- 
 tions, and we may not hope to subvert the moral laws which 
 regulate this intercourse. It is well known that such people 
 often go to the medium under a cloak of fraudulent represen- 
 tation. In their inquiries they often attempt to deceive, and it 
 comes to pass that " a fool " is sometimes answered " accord- 
 ing to his folly." In angling among Spirits, if one baits with 
 
SUPERFICIAL INVESTIGATION. 337 
 
 deception he will be sure to catch a lie ; and who will presume to 
 say that he is not justly served ? 
 
 Mr. Editor, there is a significant truth and pecuHar force in 
 the present apphcation of the concluding words of your edi- 
 torial under review. The pecuUar " field of thought and cu- 
 rious speculation," opened by the class of investigators whom 
 you represent, surely " does not add materially to the attrac- 
 tions of Spiritualism as a form of religious faith." Here you 
 are quite right, and it gives me pleasure to be able to indorse 
 your final conclusion. Spiritualism, as painted under the hand 
 of your friend, certainly has no attractions worth mentioning. 
 To see this great subject in a true light ; to comprehend the 
 Spiritual Philosophy in its relations to the possible achieve- 
 ments of Science and the future glory of Religion ; to appre- 
 ciate the essential divinity of its principles and the amazing 
 grandeur of its far-reaching aims and issues, we must seek for 
 some clearer and more heavenly-minded interpreter. 
 I have the honor to vindicate, Sir, 
 
 " The Truth against the World." 
 
 15 S. B. Brittan. 
 
338 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 SOARING AND SINGING. 
 
 BY S. B. BRITTAN. 
 
 THE SKY-LARK. 
 
 " Over the rxh ripe corn 
 The lark her tremulous voice has raised, 
 
 And out in the early dawn. 
 The earth at her melody stands amazed." 
 
 Christmas Card. 
 
 List, while the song, so rich and rare, 
 Descends along the sky-light stair 
 
 Of the upper air ; 
 It comes to me in early June, 
 When life and all things are in tune — 
 
 Like a poet's rune. 
 
 Oh, sing and soar — sing at the dawn ! 
 If I've no fields of rip'ning corn. 
 
 Still sing in the morn. 
 Above my neighbor's waving maize, 
 I hear thee in the summer days, 
 
 And heavenward gaze. 
 
 Sweet bird of the aspiring wing, . 
 As ever in the morning sing — 
 
 Make the welkin ring, 
 With music from thy silver horn, 
 Above the wealth of golden corn, 
 
 While the fields are shorn. 
 
 Thy morning song my hopes inspire , 
 Now quickened, as with vital fire, 
 
 I may go higher ! 
 After the bird that soars and sings. 
 Above all low and meaner things — 
 
 On her tireless wings. 
 
 Oh, happy bird ! thy cheerful lays 
 Awake my heart to joy and praise ! 
 
 Through the frost and haze — 
 And storm of this autumnal night — 
 We look for Wisdom's ways of right, 
 
 And heavenly Light. 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 
 
 HOW THEY BECOME VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE. 
 
 BY S. B. BRITTAN. 
 
 Introductory Observations-Order of Natural Development Illustrated-The Noblest 
 Work Unfinished-The Spirit Visitors of All Ages-Absolute Reality of the 
 Phenomena-Citation of Facts-Testimony of History and Experience-Startlmg 
 Illustrations -Ben Jonson Entertains his Guests - Seance of the "Miracle 
 Circle "-Zalphi, the Greek Girl-A Being of Unearthly Beauty-A Retired 
 Merchant Announces his own Death-Classification of the Phenomena-Opening 
 the Interior Avenues of Sensation— Psychological Pictures— Spiritual Transfigur- 
 ations—The Question of Materialization— Philosophical Exposition— Critical Re- 
 view of the Facts— Extremes of Skepticism and Credulity— How Spirits Operate on 
 our Senses— Illustrations from Cicero and Virgil— Weighing a Spirit in Vermont- 
 How the Indian Maid may Turn the Scale— A Conundrum for the Philosophers- 
 One Law governs all Corporeal Bodies— Apparitions of the Living Explained— 
 Superstition retires to Congenial Night— Daylight Comes with Spiritual Science 
 — Affiliation of Congenial Souls. 
 
 Mother of Science !. Let me feel thy power 
 Within me clear, not only to discern 
 Things in their causes, but to trace the ways 
 Of higher agents. 
 
 — Milton. 
 
 IN the production of all physical forms the Supreme Intelli- 
 gence works through material elements and natural laws. 
 This appears to be the universal order of Nature. By the 
 slow processes of aggregation and crystalhzation the rocks are 
 formed, and Nature deposits her vast mineral wealth. By a 
 power of molecular attraction the atoms congregate, and one 
 by one silently gravitate to their places. Nature converts the 
 rayless carbon into precious gems that scintillate from delicate 
 
 339 
 
340 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 fingers or flash their iridescent light over the forms of beauty. 
 In her hands even charcoal assumes a pure, crystaUine form, 
 and is thus made to illuminate true and false bosoms and to 
 sparkle like stars in every royal tiara. In all this we have a 
 grand chapter in the cosmological history of prehistoric periods. 
 By the laws of accretion and organic formation, universal 
 vegetation germinates, and all things in this great kingdom are 
 formed. Thus plants grow and the primitive forests are made 
 to cover the rugged hills. It is always by a slow process that 
 
 "Tall oaks from little acorns grow." 
 
 By degrees, as the years come and go, they grasp the solid 
 earth with their roots, and stretch out their brawny arms tow- 
 ard the spirits of the storm, while the winds sweep the chords 
 and wake the music of the sylvan lyre. Trees of any con- 
 siderable magnitude require from twenty to three hundred years 
 for their complete development. In speaking of the great ce- 
 dars of California, we may use the figure which Napoleon 
 applied to the pyramids — Centuries look down from their tops ! 
 In the order of Nature there is one general method whereby 
 she repeoples the animal kingdom and the human world. Nature 
 invariably works through the laws of procreation, organic de- 
 velopment and the subtile chemistry of digestion and assimila- 
 tion. In this way, by gradual processes, from which there is 
 no departure, she constructs and repairs the tissues and the 
 bones of all animal and human bodies. We know of no other 
 method by which they may be produced. While it is possible 
 for human intelligence, on earth and in the higher spheres — 
 by the concentrated application of subtile forces — to greatly 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 34 1 
 
 accelerate the processes of the physical universe, we may not 
 generate the simplest organic form by any means or methods 
 outside of the established order of the natural world. 
 
 It will be perceived that the creative energy or formative 
 power works by general laws, and never by special enactments, 
 spasmodic efforts, or miraculous means. After everything is 
 ready it takes full fifty years to fairly block out a respectable 
 specimen of the human race ; and then, as a rule, the animal 
 so far predominates that it is difficult to find the man. For 
 thousands of years — how many I cannot say — God has been 
 employed on man ; and thus far we have his " last and noblest 
 work " only in the rough. Let no one say that my words are 
 irreverent until he has fairly weighed the language of the pul- 
 pit. The doctors of divinity assure us that they are doing 
 much to assist the Lord in his work of perfecting human na- 
 ture ; but that man, after all, and at this late day, is such a 
 miserable failure that the best of us deserve to be eternally 
 damned ! Indeed, we are obliged to admit that man is very 
 far from being completed. He is still full of imperfections, 
 and it will require centuries to finish him ; but in the end the 
 divine faculties and pure affections, with all spiritual gifts and 
 graces, may be so combined and illustrated in his nature and 
 life that the living God shall set his seal upon him, 
 
 " To give the world assurance of a Man." 
 
 In the vast realms of unorganized matter and organic life, 
 we have never witnessed a single departure from the estab- 
 lished laws and material processes of the physical universe, 
 except so far as the application of those laws may have been 
 
342 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 especially directed, and those processes modified by some in- 
 tervention of human intelligence. One such departure, clearly 
 demonstrated, would forever unsettle our confidence in Nature. 
 We could no longer depend on the certain execution of her 
 laws. Being in doubt in respect to what might happen in our 
 experience, we should be disturbed by the perpetual appre- 
 hension of impending calamities. Such a departure from the 
 natural economy of the world would answer to the vulgar con- 
 ception of a miracle, and that is something we seldom read of 
 except in theological disquisitions, while we wait to behold a 
 single actual illustration. 
 
 With these general observations on the laws and processes 
 of the physical world, as revealed in the whole external crea-. 
 tion, I pass to a consideration of those phenomenal illustrations 
 of spiritual presence and power now commonly designated and 
 known as the materialization of Spirits, or the demonstrative 
 proofs that departed human beings have power to temporarily 
 clothe themselves with real material bodies, chemically com- 
 pounded and completely organized from the ponderable ele- 
 ments of this world. Apparitions of the living and the dead 
 have been frequent in all ages and countries ; but the skepti- 
 cal world has ever regarded them as either psychological hal- 
 lucinations or optical illusions. Shakespeare makes one of 
 his characters say, 
 
 " I think it is the weakness of mine eyes 
 That shapes this monstrous apparition." 
 
 In earlier times these preternatural visitors were wont to 
 appear in great emergencies. They were dark or luminous, 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 343 
 
 according to their several degrees of moral elevation, the par- 
 ticular objects of their mission, and the character of those to 
 whom they appeared. They came as solemn heralds of mourn- 
 ful events, when death or some fearful ordeal was impending ; 
 — after long fasting and devout exercises ; in seasons of great 
 darkness, of deep sorrow and humiliation of spirit. They re- 
 vealed their presence when conscience, "like another self," 
 mysteriously invaded the silent chambers of the guilty soul ; 
 and they were visible in hours of great spiritual exaltation and 
 heroic achievement. In the long centuries, old and dim, these 
 shadowy figures frequented the solitary places ; they stood by 
 the altars of the old prophets ; they walked with the Druidical 
 priesthood through the lofty aisles of the solemn woods ; their 
 spectral forms were seen on the desolate moors ; they appeared 
 in graveyards and near the scenes of fearful tragedies ; they 
 visited the ruins of old castles and monasteries, and were vis- 
 ible in the moonlight. 
 
 In these days our Spiritual Visitors assume a more natural 
 appearance, and are disposed to cultivate a closer acquaint- 
 ance. They not only walk in darkness and haunt the silent 
 dwelling-places of men at midnight, but they come at all hours 
 and into many places. They come to the student in his med- 
 itation ; to the vacant chair by the lonely hearthstone ; to 
 the couch of expiring mortality, and to the sorrowing heart 
 that supplicates their inspiring presence and their loving minis- 
 try. With strange or familiar faces they meet us in the charm- 
 ed circle of our home-life, or may peer at us from the windows 
 of the cabinet. They give us, through many voices, the hom- 
 iletics of another world ; and they puzzle the professors of art 
 
344 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 magic by keeping their machinery and confederates all out of 
 sight, while they improvise new fabrics of something like wool 
 which they pull over our eyes from bare boards and solid walls. 
 They tax the gratitude of the unbeliever by bringing him fresh 
 flowers, ripe fruits and singing birds. One of the later ex- 
 pounders of the occult sciences was present when a material- 
 ized spirit was weighed and not found wanting in respect to her 
 avoirdupois. Then she danced a hornpipe in a style peculiarly 
 human and altogether earthly. This was a fact in materializa- 
 tion that the Persian priests of Zoroaster never witnessed. Let 
 us see how history is repeating itself. The magicians of an- 
 cient Egypt were obliged to yield the palm to Moses at last, 
 the Jewish historian being the witness ; and so our most con- 
 spicuous and lively champions of their arts are obliged to ac- 
 knowledge that there is a considerable margin of genuine spir- 
 itual facts which the soiled and ragged mantle of the magicians 
 of all ages will never cover. 
 
 The numerous facts now recognized as examples of the ma- 
 terialization of spirits have been quite frequent in different ages 
 and countries. The seers and prophets of all the past were 
 familiar with the apparitions of departed human beings. The 
 sacred literature of the ancient nations is illuminated by their 
 presence, while profane history offers many examples. The 
 cases have been so frequent in the experience of all the races 
 of men that it is quite impossible to account for them by the 
 convenient hypotheses of optical illusions and mental halluci- 
 nation. The forms which are presented to the vision and the 
 touch seem at least to possess, in a greater or less degree, all 
 the physical attributes, qualities and functions of form, size, 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 345 
 
 apparent weight, color, tangibility and locomotion, with the 
 occasional superaddition of oral speech. In spite of popular 
 skepticism, the sensuous habits of men, and all the cunning 
 devices of the modern schools of scientific materiahsm, the 
 mere forces and laws of matter offer no solution of the mys- 
 terious problem. The reality and frequency of such phenom- 
 ena are clearly enough established if we may respect human 
 testimony and credit authentic history. The facts are now 
 more numerous than ever before, and the rational mind has 
 no alternative but to accept them as demonstrative proofs of 
 the actual presence of Spirits. This is our only choice, in 
 respect to the real facts, whatever may be the particular the- 
 ory or philosophy adopted in their explanation. 
 
 Having admitted the reality of the phenomena and also the 
 agency of Spirits in their production (which we have never 
 doubted), we are now to institute a philosophical inquiry into 
 the essential nature of the facts and the particular modes of 
 manifestation. Do Spirits so clothe themselves with the ele- 
 ments of matter as to be perceived through the ordinary ave- 
 nues of sensation ? Do they really extemporize bodies pos- 
 sessing all the chemical constituents and organic parts belong- 
 ing to the corporeal forms which they occupied during their 
 rudimental life on the earth ? Or, by what other means and 
 methods do they show themselves to mortals ? 
 
 And here I can not omit the observation that many persons 
 who set out in their investigation of Spiritualism by disputing 
 all former revelations, especially the marvels recorded in Jew- 
 ish and Christian histories, frequently run wild, in their ex- 
 travagant assumptions, to the opposite extreme of unreasoning 
 15* 
 
346 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATIDN. 
 
 credulity. It is quite common for such people to express 
 their contempt for the elder prophets and seers, and to ridicule 
 the just claims of inspired Apostles ; at the same time they are 
 ready to swear to the infallibility of their own chosen medium. 
 These novices talk of freedom and liberality while they take 
 their place 
 
 " With bigots, who but one way see, 
 Through blinkers of authority." 
 
 The most improbable views are often accepted with the utmost 
 favor. Theories of the phenomena under discussion obtain 
 currency which are believed to be at once inconsistent with 
 the laws of Nature, the decisions of enlightened reason, and 
 the discoveries of science. 
 
 At present I have neither time nor space to meddle with 
 those elementary Spirits which I can only regard as the mon- 
 strous creations of rudimental natures, begotten in the night 
 of superstition and born of the human mind in its far distant 
 wanderings from Nature and Reason. I can not here attempt 
 an argument in refutation of the Pythagorean dogma of metem- 
 psychosis, as revived in the philosophy of Allan Kardec and 
 in the minds of his French, Spanish and American disciples. 
 For the present I must confine myself to a discussion of the 
 essential facts illustrating the visible presence of Spirits, the 
 vaguely defined theory of materialization, and an imperfect 
 exposition of what I conceive to be a rational philosophy of 
 the subject. 
 
 It is especially worthy of observation that, through all past 
 ages, the facts of this particular class have never appeared to 
 depend, in any considerable degree, on any particular combina- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 347 
 
 tion of material elements and surrounding objects ; not much 
 on a prearrangement of physical instruments, mental states and 
 moral qualities ; nor especially on any nice adjustment of con- 
 ditions depending on the cooperation of mortals. At the same 
 time it may be conceded that certain conditions are doubtless 
 required, and also that a proper knowledge and observance of 
 these cannot fail to render the results more certain and satis- 
 factory. I will here briefly refer to such illustrative examples 
 as may serve to exhibit the real character and general aspects 
 of the phenomena. The statement and analysis of a few repre- 
 sentative examples will be all that the case imperatively de- 
 mands. In the hope of adapting my summary treatment of 
 the subject to different classes of minds, these facts shall be 
 selected from both sacred and profane history and from the 
 personal experiences of living witnesses. 
 
 When Saul went to the Seeress of Endor he disguised him- 
 self, but was unable to preserve his incognito after Samuel 
 appeared. From that moment the woman recognized her vis- 
 itor, and said, " Why hast thou deceived me ? for thou art 
 Saul." It does not appear that the king really saw the spirit 
 at all ; for, addressing the medium, he inquired, " What sawest 
 thou ? " . . . " What form is he of ? " *' And she said : 
 ' An old man cometh up ; and he is covered with a mantle.* 
 And Saul perceived or inferred [evidently from the descrip- 
 tion] that it was Samuel " (i Sam. isjxviii. chapter). 
 
 In the sixth chapter of the Second Book of Kings will be 
 found the record of a remarkable illustration of the subject. 
 The Jews were at war with the Syrians, who came by night 
 and surrounded the place that contained the king and the 
 
348 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION, 
 
 prophet Elislia. In the morning the prophet's servant was 
 greatly alarmed when he saw that the Syrian hosts encom- 
 passed the city. But the prophet was not dismayed. He 
 recognized the presence of a much more numerous host all 
 invisible to his servant. At length — in answer to the pro- 
 phet's prayer — the inward vision of his servant appears to have 
 been opened, for suddenly he, too, beheld the vast multitude 
 of celestial warriors filling the air ; they were gathered for the 
 defense of their mortal kindred. Then there followed what 
 really appears to have been the grandest conceivable display 
 of psychological power. The whole Syrian army — if we may 
 credit the account— was smitten with temporary blindness by 
 the power of the Spirit-world ! Placing himself at the head 
 of the Syrian legions, Elisha then bade them follow him, and 
 he led them into the walled city, Samaria, where they were all 
 captured without the loss of a single life. 
 
 In that remarkable dramatic poem entitled the Book of Job, 
 we have this sublime description of the appearance of a Spirit : 
 " In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep 
 falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made 
 all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face ; 
 the hair of my flesh stood up. It [the spirit] stood still, but 
 I could not discern the form thereof : an image was before 
 mine eyes ; there was silence, and I heard a voice saying, 
 Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a man be 
 more pure than his Maker ? " (Job, chap. iv. 13-17.) 
 
 In the prophecy of Daniel we have an account of a great 
 feast, given by Belshazzar, the king, to '' a thousand of his 
 lords " and a numerous company of his wives and concubines. 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 349 
 
 Having desecrated the vessels stolen from the temple at Jeru- 
 salem, the whole assembly was engaged in drunken revelry, 
 praising " the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of 
 wood and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a 
 man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick, upon the 
 plaster of the wall of the king's palace ; and the king saw the 
 part of the hand that wrote." (Daniel, chap. v. 1-5.) 
 
 Moses and Elias made their appearance on the solemn oc- 
 casion of the transfiguration of a great spiritual prophet and 
 Friend of the People. According to the Evangelist, Jesus, 
 after his crucifixion, first appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of 
 whom he had cast seven disorderly spirits. He next appeared, 
 it is said " in another form " to two friends who were out for a 
 walk in the country ; subsequently to the eleven apostles while 
 they were at supper, whom he severely reprimanded for their 
 skepticism as to his continued existence and ability to make 
 his presence known ; and, finally — according to Paul — to more 
 than five hundred persons at once. 
 
 John was in exile by the imperial edict of the last of the 
 Caesars, on Patmos, one of the Grecian Islands. It was near 
 the close of the first century, when he was visited by the spirit 
 of one of the elder prophets, who inspired him, and presented 
 — while the medium was in a state of spiritual entrancement — 
 a series of psychological pictures on the grandest conceivable 
 scale, terminating with the vision of the New Jerusalem com- 
 ing down out of heaven. The Revelator was so completely 
 awed by the presence of the heavenly messenger ; so pro- 
 foundly impressed by his teachings ; so deeply entranced by 
 the splendor of the celestial city and the spiritual significance 
 
350 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 of its imagery, that he " fell down to worship before the feet 
 of the angel." But this ancient prophet declined to receive 
 divine honors, saying, " See thou do it not ; for I am thy fel- 
 low-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them 
 which keep the sayings of this book : Worship God." 
 
 Before the battle of Philippi it is said that a spirit appeared 
 to Marcus Junius Brutus and warned him of his impending 
 fate. The great Prophet-warrior who made the conquest of 
 Arabia indulged in frequent communion with invisible spirits, 
 and especially with one whom he believed to be the Angel 
 Gabriel. Cromwell was visited while a youth by a mysterious 
 female, who informed him that the child, at one time so near 
 being destroyed by an ape, was born to rule the State. The 
 beautiful Maid of Orleans, while walking in the garden, was 
 addressed by a Spirit in an audible voice. From that time she 
 had frequent interviews with her celestial visitor, whom she 
 believed to be St. Michael. Others came to her who were 
 said to be St. Catherine and St. Margaret. They told her 
 where she would find a consecrated sword in the crypt of an 
 old cavalier in the church of St. Catherine ; and with that 
 sword — inspired by the shades of departed heroes — she led 
 the armies of France to victory and Charles VII. to his throne. 
 
 The great seer of Stockholm was fifty-five years old when 
 he first saw a Spirit. Swedenborg was dining at an inn in 
 London. Having at the time an unusual appetite he was eat- 
 ing very rapidly, when he distinctly saw a little man in the 
 corner of the room, surrounded by a great light. The illu- 
 minated personage addressed him in a terrible voice, saying : 
 " Do not eat so fast ! " From that time Spirits were his famil- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 35 1 
 
 iar companions. One day as he was walking along Cheapside 
 with a friend, the Baron suddenly bowed very low, assigning 
 as a reason his recognition of the presence of Moses. At an- 
 other time a widow lady requested him to seek an interview 
 with her deceased husband, for the purpose of obtaining some 
 information of great consequence. Swedenborg complied, saw 
 the man, obtained the required information, and at once in- 
 formed her where she would find a missing paper, the absence 
 of which had prevented the settlement of her husband's estate. 
 
 Frederica Hauffe, the Seeress of Prevorst — a pure child of 
 Nature, born and reared among the rugged summits of Wir- 
 temberg — saw Spirits on various occasions. Her first experi- 
 ence was on her wedding day. For some time she had suffered 
 from deep mental depression. The funeral of her minister 
 occurred on the very day of her marriage. She was standing 
 by the open grave, when his spirit appeared to her in a form 
 of light, and from that moment every feeling of despondency 
 was dissipated. She continued to converse freely with Spirits, 
 and often learned from them the history of their lives on earth. 
 The departure of Frederica from the checkered scenes of her 
 mortal existence was signalized by their manifest presence. A 
 bright figure appeared in the room ; it was visible to the sister 
 who watched by the bedside of the patient. Suddenly the 
 Seeress uttered a loud cry, expressive of the most ecstatic joy, 
 and two spirits vanished together. 
 
 I here close the citation of historical examples, and will now 
 offer some illustrative facts on my own authority, leaving my 
 readers to recall others from the current literature and the 
 records of their private experience. 
 
352 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 One night, in 1852, I attended a spiritual stance at a private 
 house in Bridgeport, Conn. A large number of friends had 
 assembled ; the manifestations were highly diversified and 
 every way extraordinary. In the course of the evening the 
 company was informed by the Spirits that the present writer 
 was to be ordained anew, and to a more spiritual ministry. I 
 had once been ordained by the imposition of the hands of a 
 priesthood which never had any faith in the vital importance 
 of the ceremony. Of course no gift of the Holy Ghost nor 
 any other spirit came to me from those ministerial palms. 
 They conferred no new powers. The Spirits seeing that this 
 was but a hollow sham proposed a new ordination which was 
 not all an unmeaning ceremony. Immediately after their pur- 
 pose was announced, I felt a large hand placed upon the cor- 
 onal and frontal portions of the head. It remained there for 
 some minutes with an apparent pressure of several pounds, 
 and was accompanied by a thrilling sensation which left no 
 part of the body uninfluenced. The presence of the palm and 
 every separate finger was distinctly impressed upon the sen- 
 sorium. This was so real, that I instinctively attempted to 
 seize the arm, which, it really seemed to me, must be there in 
 connection with that hand. As often as I made the attempt. 
 I closed my hand on vacancy. I only clutched the air. That 
 muscular hand remained, and I essayed to grasp it in my own. 
 There was nothing there that could be perceived through the 
 sensory nerves of my right arm. 
 
 In 1854, while present — by invitation from the spirit of Ben 
 Jonson — at a stance in New York, of what was known as the 
 "Miracle Circle," the whole company had the positive evi- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 353 
 
 dence of one sense, that a huge animal — apparently a dog of 
 the largest size— was present and endowed with life and loco- 
 motion. He came in sensible contact with the lower limbs of 
 the persons present. At length the animal, starting from be- 
 neath the table, forced his way out between myself and the 
 person at my left, separating our limbs so as to leave a space 
 of a foot or more between us. No form, living or dead, could 
 have been more tangible ; yet, at the same time, the interven- 
 ing space was vacant to the sense of vision. 
 
 Among the immortals whose presence has been most dis- 
 tinctly revealed to me are two female spirits. One calls her- 
 self the Enchantress. This spirit came to me many years 
 ago, for the purpose — as she then declared — of increasing the 
 magnetic and psychological powers which I have so long exer- 
 cised in my experimental investigations, and for the relief of 
 suffering humanity. The other, whose name on earth — so the 
 spirit informs me — was Zalphi, says she was a Greek girl, 
 and lived in ancient Athens. She affirms that the object of 
 her mission to the writer is to develop the perception and love 
 of the Beautiful ; to aid in all aesthetic studies, and to quicken 
 aspiration toward the absolute Perfection. The finest types 
 of earthly beauty, and the love-life of the poet's dreams, af- 
 ford only faint suggestions of such transcendent loveliness ! 
 Beautiful in form and feature, and more radiant in expression 
 than Rafael's Virgin, is this fair-haired maiden of the land of 
 Solon and Sappho. All powers of description utterly fail ; art 
 can never transfer the radiant image to canvas ; even Genius 
 would be dumb before the illuminated presence of the pure 
 being, from whose inner life is diffused a soft, rosy light — 
 
354 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 flowing through fleecy robes of spotless purity — more glorious 
 to behold than 
 
 " The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn." 
 
 The late Stephen Dudley, a wealthy retired merchant of 
 Buffalo, N. Y., died suddenly in that city more than twenty 
 years since. It was his last request that the writer should be 
 sent for to speak at his funeral. His sons telegraphed to my 
 address in New Jersey ; but I was absent in Maine at that 
 time, and did not receive the slightest intimation of his depart- 
 ure until I reached Hartford, Conn., on my way home. While 
 there, at the house of a friend, in the full light of midday, he 
 suddenly appeared, standing before me between two windows 
 opening toward the east. A strong but mellow light, illumi- 
 nating the coronal portion of the head, and the upper part 
 of the face, gave him a transfigured appearance, as if the ris- 
 ing sun was pouring a flood of golden rays through the win- 
 dow upon the brow of one of the noblest looking men the 
 sun had ever shone upon. Perfect in form, feature and ex- 
 pression, he continued to be visible not much less than ten 
 n^nutes. He made no communication, but from that very 
 moment I felt assured that his mortal life was finished. There 
 were five other persons present, one of whom saw my spiri- 
 tual visitor distinctly ; and without any intimation from me, 
 or previous knowledge of the man, described his personality 
 in every detail, including attitude and position, all with the 
 strictest fidelity to nature and the facts. The next day he 
 came to me again, and said : " My dear Brittan, I am with 
 you still, but in the spirit!' Up to this hour I had not re- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 355 
 
 ceived the slightest intimation of the departure of my friend 
 from this world through any external or mundane channel of 
 communication. 
 
 These examples, selected from various sources, ancient and 
 modern, are sufficient for my present purpose, since they rep- 
 resent the several phases of the phenomena now so generally 
 named " the materialization of Spirit forms. " The physical and 
 spiritual conditions under which the facts occurred seem to 
 have been quite as diversified as the wide range of human 
 characters, pursuits and circumstances. In no one instance 
 does there appear to have been any previous arrangement of 
 persons or other objects ; no regard was had to the state of 
 the atmosphere, the electrical and magnetic forces and rela- 
 tions of human bodies, or the moral qualities of the persons 
 present. It is often objected that the screen of the cabinet 
 affords an opportunity for the practice of deception. But 
 the illustrative examples here furnished do not admit of this 
 objection. No cabinets with curtains or screens were re- 
 quired ; no paraphernalia of dinner-bells, tambourines, tin 
 trumpets and old fiddles to divert attention ; no lights sub- 
 dued to the exact measure which renders all figures specter- 
 like ; no "dim, religious hght" that may veil the features 
 to indistinctness and obscure the ever-varying expressions of 
 the human face ; no motion of the magician's wand ; no spells 
 of enchantment ; nor magical arts and monotonous incanta- 
 tions were employed in the process of producing visible Spirit- 
 forms, either to harmonize the circle or to mystify the specta- 
 tors ; and yet the Spirits were able to " put in an appearance " 
 and to command recognition. 
 
35^ THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Let no one infer that I am disposed to question the gen- 
 uineness of many of the phenomena which occur in connection 
 with the cabinet. Spirits certainly have power to show them- 
 selves there as elsewhere ; but in resting the claims of Spirit- 
 ualism on any class of facts, I deem it best to select exam- 
 ples which offer to the skeptical mind the least ground of 
 objection. In respect to the cabinet manifestations, it seems 
 proper that each particular example should be examined and 
 judged on its own intrinsic merits ; and if, in the end, there 
 remains a question concerning the reality of such facts, it is / 
 only just to give the medium the benefit of the doubt. 
 
 Let us now subject the facts to such an examination as may 
 enable us to take some rational view of their real nature. In 
 seeking the solution of a most difficult problem in spiritual 
 science, anything like dogmatism would be essentially incom- 
 patible with the nature of the inquiry. The wisest, not less 
 than the weakest observer, should approach a subject of this 
 quality with all becoming modesty, remembering that while 
 
 " Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much, 
 Wisdom is humble that he knows no more." 
 
 A few critical observations may suffice to give our minds the 
 right direction. In contributing my suggestions toward a phi- 
 losophical exposition of the facts, I only presume to speak for 
 myself and so many of my readers as may find their own ideas 
 voiced in what I have yet to communicate. 
 
 As a further preliminary to the proposed analytical and 
 philosophical exegesis of the facts under review, a brief state- 
 ment of several methods whereby Spirits may and do reveal 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 357 
 
 their forms to our senses, will be of consequence in a more 
 particular classification of the phenomena. One of the Spirits 
 of " The Golden Age " defines philosophy to be " facts seen in 
 their right relations." This is the way we would look at the 
 facts in this case. How, then, do Spirits reveal their forms to 
 us ; and how do we perceive them ? I apprehend by at 
 least four several methods, which I will endeavor to briefly 
 explain. 
 
 I. The conscious Spirit in the body has its external and 
 internal channels of communication. The senses open out- 
 wardly through all the physical organs to the whole realm of 
 external nature ; and inwardly to the immeasurable sphere of 
 all spiritual realities. As a rule, during the life on earth, the 
 interior avenues of perception are closed, and men are blind 
 on this spiritual side of their natures. But when — by the 
 normal process of our spiritual growth or by other means — 
 the dark curtains are removed from those windows of the soul 
 which open toward the heavens, our interior being is illumi- 
 nated. Then we see Spirits as they really exist in their own 
 sphere ; we see them as they see one another, and as natu- 
 rally as we behold the objects of the material creation. The 
 cases which answer to this description are ne.er numerous. 
 Society, whether savage or civilized, is too sensuous to dis- 
 cern spiritual things. The common life and thought of the 
 people are too external to admit of the frequent development 
 of such examples. When, however, these interior avenues of 
 perception are thus opened in a human being in this world. Spirits 
 require no clothing of material elements to make their presence 
 visible. When the forms of Spirits are distinctly revealed to 
 
358 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 US in this way, they appear to be in all respects as real as the 
 most tangible bodies in this world ; and still there is no 
 material substance in such a visible form that would arrest 
 the motion of the most delicate chronometer. Spirits whose 
 natures are refined, readily pass through closed doors ; and 
 whenever they offer no voluntary resistance, very ponderable 
 bodies may pass through them as through shadows, illumi- 
 nated clouds, or the vapor from a steam-pipe. It will be 
 perceived that when the senses are opened on the spiritual 
 side of human nature, the appearance of Spirits in visible 
 forms does not, to say the least, necessarily depend on any 
 materializing process. If such examples are scarcely more 
 numerous than summer flowers in wintry weather, they are 
 not so rare as Christian charity. 
 
 2. It is to be observed that the mind — whether in or out of 
 its earthly tabernacle — has power to present an endless suc- 
 cession of psycho-electrotypes, or psycho-physiological pictures, 
 which have every appearance of outstanding realities. This 
 is done by acting on the subtile agent that pervades the sen- 
 sory nerves of the subject in such a way as to reflect an image 
 upon the sensorium ; the process resembling that by which' 
 light throws up an image or picture of the object from which 
 the rays are reflected on the sensitive plate in the camera. 
 Doubtless all ordinary sensations result from a disturbance or 
 excitation of the electrical aura of the nerves of general and 
 special sensation, which is the vital motive power of animal 
 and human bodies. It is a great mistake to suppose that 
 these sensorial impressions can only be produced by material 
 means, or the presence of the objective forms of the physical 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 359 
 
 world. This is ascribing to the elements of matter a preemi- 
 nence over the faculties of the mind which I am not willing to 
 concede. On the contrary, // has been experimentally demon- 
 strated that the various impressions — occasioned hy the ordinary 
 objects and agents of Nature — on and through the organs of sen- 
 sorial perception, can be produced with similar precision and with 
 equal force by the action of a positive mind on a sensitive subject. 
 A strong imagination and vigorous will may thus multiply the 
 mental images of everything in Nature of which we may be 
 able to form a definite conception. Every form that passes 
 before the vision ; every sound that breaks the silence ; the 
 aromatic flavors treasured up in the autumn fruits ; and every 
 precious perfume that is borne on the " wings of the wind," 
 may all be made to come to us in the absence of the natural 
 objects which contain these essential qualities — and all through 
 the agency of the human mind, acting agreeably to psycho- 
 physiological laws on the subtile forces of the nervous system. 
 All these effects have been produced in this way thousands of 
 times, and they are daily repeated by minds in the body and 
 in the spirit. Many cases of the alleged *' materialization of 
 Spirits " are obviously phenomena of this class. Under this 
 psycho-sensorial operation what really appears to be a solid 
 body may be merely a se7isation, this impression of tangibility 
 being made through the nerves on the sensorium. 
 
 3. This classification of the facts calls for specific mention 
 of the examples of transfiguration. In these cases the Spirit 
 takes such possession of the medium, as to change all the facial 
 lines and the expression of every feature so completely that 
 the medium seems to have disappeared and the spirit alone is 
 
360 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 recognized.* In such examples the powers of the spirit are 
 sometimes so great that with the transfiguration the subject 
 is partially transformed. Daniel D. Home and several other 
 mediums have — it is confidently affirmed — been made, at least 
 apparently, much larger or smaller, and, by actual measure- 
 ment, several inches shorter or taller, by this effort of the 
 Spirit to represent its own earthly proportions. The facts of 
 this class have often been the means of exposing honest me- 
 diums to unjust suspicions, from which they should be con- 
 scientiously defended. When the Spirit withdraws and the 
 phenomena of transfiguration disappear, leaving the form, fea- 
 tures and expression peculiar to the medium, the observer who 
 is mainly watching for some deception is liable to deceive himself 
 and wrong the innocent object of his suspicion. How much the 
 indwelling spirit may change the form is suggested by these 
 lines of the poet : 
 
 " For of the soul the body form doth take, 
 For soul is form, and doth the body make." 
 
 4. There is still another method by which a Spirit may be- 
 come visible, regardless alike of all psychological powers and 
 susceptibilities, and of the opening of the interior avenues of 
 sensation. He may attract to himself and condense about the 
 spiritual body certain sublimated elements frotn the medium, from 
 other human bodies and from the eartlis atmosphere, so as to 
 form a visible material covering, tJms revealing the outlines of 
 
 * The reader will find this class of spiritual phenomena freely and beau- 
 tifully illustrated in the charming story from the German of Heinrich 
 Zschokke, entitled "The Transfigurations." 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 361 
 
 the Spiritual presence to the natural senses of the observer. Pre- 
 cisely how much matter may be required in the production 
 of such forms is a question we will not undertake to settle. 
 It may be more or less, according to the measure of the 
 Spirit's power, the proper materials at his command, and the 
 results intended to be produced. But even the small sub- 
 stance of a summer cloud would be quite sufficient to render 
 the Spirit visible to all observers. While such forms may be 
 more substantial than the momentary spell of the psycholo- 
 gist, their superficial aspects do not enable us to determine 
 either their chemical composition or their specific gravity. We 
 know that at the pleasure of the Spirit such a form may be 
 made to resist the contact of ponderable bodies and the ac- 
 tion of physical forces ; otherwise it may admit of being so 
 penetrated that an arrow may pass through it as freely as it 
 would make its way through the morning mist that hides the 
 mountains. 
 
 Now would it be proper to say of an example belonging 
 to this class that the Spirit is materialized 2 If the term is 
 not apphcable in this case it would seem to be out of place 
 in any other. It must be obvious, I think, that when the 
 Spirit becomes visible by the opening of the senses on the 
 interior plane of perception ; or the phenomena are produced 
 by the Spirit acting on the sensory nerves of mortals, the case 
 is never, in any philosophical sense, one of materialization. 
 Does the term properly represent the facts which belong to 
 the fourth division of this classification ? the cases in which 
 the Spirit is enrobed with material vestments ? Let us see. 
 According to Webster, to materialize is " to reduce to a state 
 i6 
 
362 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 of matter ; " " to regard as matter ; " " to consider or explain 
 by the laws or principles of matter ; " "to cause to assume a 
 character appropriate to material things." Does the Spirit, 
 J>er se, undergo any such change as is indicated by this com- 
 prehensive definition ? No. Is the Spirit reduced to a ma- 
 terial state ? No. Is it to be regarded as matter ? No. Are 
 its voluntary powers subordinated to the laws of matter ? No. 
 Is it in a condition that its nature and functions must be ex- 
 plained on the principles of physics ? No. Is the character 
 of the Spirit changed in any important particular, or are its 
 attributes essentially naodified ? I apprehend not. If, on the 
 contrary, the change is in matter — if the Spirits develop the 
 facts by their own subtile and powerful agency in directing 
 the faculties of mind and the forces of the physical world, 
 why should we infer that the Spirit is materialized ? This as- 
 sumption is a significant indication of the tendency of the 
 popular mind. It does not distinctly recognize Spirit as the 
 active and controlling agent in this business. It is a virtual 
 affirmation that the potencies of the Universe belong in a 
 most essential sense to matter ; and that the Spirit is brought 
 down from its own high estate to the lower level of material 
 things. If the active forces employed in the production of 
 the phenomena under discussion really belong to the Spirit- 
 World, it would better accord with the intrinsic nature of the 
 facts to say that matter is spiritualized. 
 
 But the facts carry along with them internal evidence that 
 may aid us to settle the question. That they do not all belong 
 to the same division of the foregoing classification must be 
 obvious to the critical observer. Take the first example in 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 363 
 
 our statement of illustrative facts. The woman of Endor was 
 a seeress. Either her spiritual vision was open, or a psycho- 
 logical image was presented. She distinctly saw and described 
 the prophet. But Samuel was not visible to Saul. There 
 was no image before the eyes of the king ; hence his inquiries, 
 " What sawest thou ? " and " What form is he of ? " Had the 
 Spirit extemporized a body from the elements it would have 
 been equally manifest to Saul. But the king saw nothing, for 
 the obvious reason that in this case there was no materialized 
 body present. It was probably but a psycho-photograph of the 
 prophet's likeness, made on the sensorium of the medium. It 
 is worthy of observation that a residence in the Spirit-world 
 had not diminished the respectful condescension of Samuel. 
 He came promptly at the solicitation of a wicked king, and, as 
 it would seem, to confirm the pretensions of an old woman 
 whom the Church declares was in league with the devil. 
 
 The amazing revelation of the vast cloud of witnesses whose 
 presence overshadowed the Hebrews in their contest with the 
 Syrians, might, in these days, be regarded as a stupendous 
 case of the " materialization of Spirits," at least by the earthly 
 witnesses of their presence. And yet where is the evidence 
 that a single Spirit of that innumerable host took on a material 
 body to secure recognition, or for any other purpose. The 
 analysis of the facts, however searching, will fail to discover any 
 proof that the forms of those celestial warriors were fashioned 
 from the grosser elements of this mundane sphere. At first 
 only the prophet saw the Spirits. His sensitive soul appears 
 to have been qualified to recognize the most sublimated forms 
 and delicate influences. Through the open avenues of his 
 
364 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Spiritual being all was revealed. To him the spiritual hosts 
 which filled the aerial regions, and were present to champion 
 his cause, were quite as real as the besieging army of the king 
 of Syria. At length, in answer to the earnest prayer of the 
 prophet, and in obedience to the cooperative influence of the 
 Spirits, the prophet's servant had his inward vision opened, 
 and then he, too, saw the same as his master. But it does 
 not appear that the Syrians observed anything unusual. On 
 the contrary, the evidence from the record is that they saw 
 nothing J and so, in their blindness, were readily captured. 
 Now if we suppose that the transmundane warriors extem- 
 porized material bodies for the occasion ; each containing as 
 much matter as Colonel Olcott says the materialized form of 
 the Indian maiden, Honto, represented at Chittenden, when he 
 weighed her on the platform scale ; and estimating the su- 
 perterrestrial army at say fifteen thousand, the materializing 
 process would have required — in ponderable vaditi&x— over five 
 hundred and sixty-nine tons avoirdupois ! These figures dam- 
 age if they do not demolish the materializing hypothesis, in 
 its application to the facts of this particular class. In this 
 grand exhibition of the powers of the other world — in which 
 multitudes of Spirits are said to have been visible — we look in 
 vain for any evidence of materialization, in any sense that 
 corresponds to the common conception of our time. 
 
 The graphic description of the appearance of a Spirit — cited 
 from the book of Job — though perhaps not the record of an 
 actual occurrence (the book of Job is a fine dramatic poem), 
 represents the experience of one partially entranced by the 
 influence of a Spirit while in a natural sleep, and the conse- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 365 
 
 quent imperfect development of his powers as a clear seeing 
 medium. The nerves of general and special sensation are 
 strongly exercised ; but the object presented to the vision is 
 so obscure that the form of the Spirit is not clearly discerned. 
 At the same time the Spirit's action on the auricular nerves is 
 shown to be distinct and satisfactory, as appears from the im- 
 pressive communication, which seems, at least, to find audible 
 expression.* 
 
 When a Spirit wrote with a visible hand on the wall of Bel- 
 shazzar's palace a prophecy of the division of his empire, it is 
 said that the king saw the hand, and he also appears to have 
 witnessed the execution of the writing. It does not appear that 
 any other person in that large company saw the hand, though it 
 may be fairly inferred that many of the wise men at his court 
 had an opportunity to study the Spirit's chirograph. This is 
 often referred to as a case of materialization. Had the phe- 
 nomenon been of this class the hand would have been equally 
 visible to every one of the thousand lords assembled at the 
 royal banquet. 
 
 * The ancients seem to have comprehended the fact, that what appears 
 to be an audible voice may really be only a sensation produced by a noise- 
 less action of some invisible intelligence on the auditory nerves. When 
 Croesus, king of Lydia, determined to test the powers of the oracle of 
 Apollo, he sent messengers to Delphi with explicit instructions concern- 
 ing the questions to be submitted. The oracular responses through the 
 Priestess — revealing with singular precision what the king was doing on a 
 certain day — were uttered in hexameter verse, beginning in the following 
 significant language : 
 
 " I know the number of the sands, and the measure of the sea ; I know 
 what the dumb would say ; / hear him who speaks not." Cicero De Divi- 
 natione. Lib. I., xviii. 
 
366 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 Jesus and his disciples who saw Moses and EUas were sus- 
 ceptible of spiritual influence, and they were evidently highly 
 mediumistic. It was, therefore, possible for them to discern 
 Spirits without the aid of any such reincorporate process. So 
 Jesus, after his crucifixion, might have readily reappeared to 
 the familiar friends who had been so long and constantly 
 under his influence. John the Revelator alone saw that elder 
 prophet who inspired his visions, and whose visible presence 
 the pious enthusiast was already to worship. Mohammed, 
 Marcus Junius Brutus, Oliver Cromwell, Joan of Arc, and 
 many others alone recognized their spiritual visitors. No one 
 but the Seer himself saw the Spirit at the inn who reproved 
 Swedenborg for rapid eating and overloading his stomach ; 
 and the friend who walked with the Baron at Cheapside dis- 
 covered no image of Moses. When the devout Seeress of 
 Prevorst beheld the illuminated Spirit of her minister, stand- 
 ing by the open grave, the other bystanders only saw his 
 mortal remains. The huge animal form at the " Miracle Cir- 
 cle " was visible to no one, while — to the last degree — it was 
 tangible to all. The Greek girl, though luminous as a star, 
 never unveiled her immortal charms to the crowd. Stephen 
 Dudley made himself visible to the writer and to one other 
 observer ; the four remaining individuals in the room at the 
 time did not perceive the presence of this spiritual visitor. 
 Perhaps the rule is that only one or two in a circle, or at most 
 a limited number, have any such perception. The mass may 
 neither see anything above the material sphere, nor otherwise 
 perceive what is beyond the reach of ordinary sensation. In 
 the phenomena I have thus briefly reviewed, and in all sim- 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 367 
 
 ilar examples, the internal evidence must determine the proper 
 classification. 
 
 If it shall hereafter appear that the Spirits are not wholly or 
 mainly dependent on gross matter as the means of demon- 
 strating the fact of their existence, still, their presence in our 
 midst, and their power over the elements of matter and the 
 faculties of mind, will be none the less real. The facts are 
 not less important if we acjopt a philosophy which takes them 
 out of the category of impossible miracles. / neither dispute 
 these facts 7ior question their value when I undertake to explain 
 them with a due regard to the laws of both mind and matter, and 
 in the light of a rational philosophy of our spiritual existence. 
 Many people presume because they see a form, or feel one, 
 that for the time being impresses their senses as both visible 
 and tangible, that there must be a complete human frame 
 there, with all the natural organs and chemical constituents — 
 flesh, blood, muscles, nerves, brains, bones, thoracic and abdom- 
 inal viscera, tooth and nail, with all the animal secretions ! 
 " Oh Caesar, these things are beyond all use ! " 
 
 If it takes God twenty-five years to make such a human 
 body, who will believe that the spirit of a North" American 
 Indian can do it in the twinkling of an eye ? Those who 
 are credulous enough to really accept a theory that presumes 
 human bodies to be so organized in an instant, ought not to 
 stagger at Joshua's alleged successful interference with the 
 movements of the heavenly bodies. Such people may accept 
 the tricks of the juggler for what they seem ; and they ought 
 to be prepared to listen with solemn faith and servile rever- 
 ence to the apocryphal stories of all the pious enthusiasts who 
 
368 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ever lived. They have more confidence in the cunning and 
 capacity of a mere magician than in the power and wisdom of 
 Almighty God ! These people deem it a waste of time to 
 reason. They grapple with imaginary monsters, and swallow 
 them whole. They feed on miracles with an omnivorous ap- 
 petite until they lose all relish for probabilities, and at last 
 come to believe chiefly in the impossible. 
 
 The Spirits seldom or never injpress all the senses at the 
 same time. Sometimes only the sense of feeling is appealed 
 to, as when the writer was ordained by the imposition of in- 
 visible Spirit-hands. We often feel the presence of unseen 
 human hands in our hands, on the head, face and different 
 parts of the body, while nothing of the kind is visible. At 
 other times the optical and auditory nerves, and the whole 
 mechanism of the visual and auricular organs, are acted upon. 
 Then Spirits become visible, and there are either voices in 
 the air, or corresponding impressions on the sensorium. The 
 immortals stand before us like other objective realities. They 
 seem not only to have distinct outlines, personality and ex- 
 pression, but also to be ponderable, and to occupy space. It 
 perhaps never occurs to us that the image is in the mind. In- 
 deed, in all the phenomena of ordinary vision the images are 
 always subjective ; in other words, they are on the brain and 
 in the mind. The only question to be settled in any case is, 
 how are they produced — whether by the actual presence of 
 physical forms, or by the action of the controlling intelligence 
 on the subtile agent and organic instruments of sensation ? 
 
 If when a Spirit appears there is really a complete corporeal 
 body formed, as there seems to be, it would be equally visible 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 369 
 
 to all observers. When there is a rock, a log, a horse or a 
 man in the highway, every traveler who has eyes may behold 
 the object in the road — in the same form and with the con- 
 current circumstances of time and place. Moreover, when 
 we see a material object before us, its presence may be still 
 further demonstrated by the sense of touch in every indivi- 
 dual. But in respect to the ocular perception of Spirits, this 
 is neither always nor generally the fact, as we all know. In 
 the ceremony of the new ordination the hand that pressed so 
 heavily on the head was invisible. Nor were all the nerves of 
 feeling subjected to the Spirit's action. The sensories of the 
 right arm were not influenced in the least. When I attempted 
 to seize the wrist, the hand closed on vacancy. When I at- 
 tempted to grasp the invisible hand itself, I clutched my own 
 hair. And still the heavy pressure remained on the cranixim. 
 I saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing, except the steady 
 pressure of that muscular hand covering the coronal and the 
 frontal portions of the brain. This seems to be demonstra- 
 tive evidence that the operation on the part of that Spirit 
 was confined in this case to the cerebrum, and without mak- 
 ing the slightest impression elsewhere on any of the single or 
 double sensory nerves. By the simple act of volition God's 
 spiritual ministers come and go at pleasure. They touch me 
 when and where they will ; they play upon these nerves as 
 on " a harp of a thousand strings ; " I see them, and anon 
 they are invisible ; at one moment their presence is tangible, 
 and, suddenly — they are gone, I know not whither ; nor have 
 I power to retain the offered hand 
 
 " When his fair Angels would salute my palm." 
 16* 
 
370 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 If- the reader will recall and carefully analyze the experi- 
 ences of the circles in which the presence of Spirits may have 
 been seen and felt, he will be surprised to discover how large 
 a proportion of them are of such a nature as to preclude the 
 acceptance of any materialistic hypothesis. All such exam- 
 ples as do not admit of confirmation by the concurrent testi- 
 mony of at least two senses — feeling and sight — must be ruled 
 out of the category of materializations. Every form or sub- 
 stance that is dense enough to be felt, may also be seen ; and 
 whenever either the visible or tangible form can not be both 
 seen and felt at the same time, the observer may safely con- 
 clude that the matter must be all in his eye or imagination, 
 and would not turn the scales of the apothecary against one 
 grain of mustard seed. 
 
 The history and poetry of the early nations furnish impress- 
 ive illustrations of the subject. The Spirits which appeared 
 to mortals more than three thousand years ago do not appear 
 to have been reincarnated. The classic reader may recall the 
 experience of the hero of the ^neid. After betraying the- cause 
 of the Trojans, and deserting their city — leaving his companion 
 behind in his flight — he returns once more, under cover of dark- 
 ness, to inspect the melancholy scene, and to search among 
 the ruins of Troy for his beloved Creusa.* He seeks the gates, 
 and threads his way, ''by the light of the flames." He visits 
 the citadel, and wanders among the wasted treasures of temples 
 
 * The traditional history of ^neas leaves the reader in doubt about 
 many things. The poets do not entertain the idea that he betrayed the 
 Trojans, but they maintain that the Greeks became masters of the city 
 by stratagem. 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 3/1 
 
 and palaces. The voice of his lamentation breaks the silence ; 
 and the Poet makes ^neas say ; 
 
 " I have filled the streets with my cry ! " 
 
 At length the shade of his lost Creusa appears to him, and en- 
 deavors to soothe his immoderate grief. Thrice ^neas at- 
 tempts to embrace the visible form that stands before him ; 
 but his arms encircle no tangible object. Every time he essays 
 to fold her to his bosom she eludes his grasp, even as " light 
 winds " and " fleeting dreams " escape. * 
 
 But I may be told that I am reasoning against some of the 
 more important illustrations of materialization. Did not Col. 
 Olcott deliberately — more than once — weigh the materiaUzed 
 body of the Indian maiden Honto, at Chittenden, and thus 
 establish the fact of the specific gravity of her body ? Did he 
 not thus demonstrate the truth, beyond rational controversy, 
 that the visible form did actually weigh from fifty-eight to 
 eighty-eight pounds— according to the varying degrees of ma- 
 terialization, or the condensation of the earthly substances 
 employed in the process ? Are we to dishonor the testimony 
 of Mr. Olcott ; or did the scales lie ? We are not left to either 
 alternative as a final conclusion. I accept the testimony of 
 the Colonel to the facts, hut not his infer eiices ; and I shall by 
 no means impeach the scales. The question concerning the 
 weight of the Indian girl's body can not be finally decided on 
 such evidence. The Spirit might have turned the balance at 
 the same figures, and just as easily, without stepping on the 
 platform of the scales at all. This has virtually been done 
 
 * The reader is referred to the Second Book of Virgil's ^neid. 
 
372 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 thousands of times. There is not a fact in SpirituaHsm more 
 clearly demonstrated than the power of Spirits to apparently 
 increase or diminish the specific gravity of animate and in- 
 animate objects. If a grand piano can be lifted by Spirits, it 
 may also be held down by the same agency, and with an equal 
 force in addition to the full weight of the instrument. Small 
 tables are held down with a force and firmness so irresistible 
 that a strong man can not lift them ; and many tables have 
 been pulled in pieces in the vain attempt to raise them from 
 the floor in opposition to the voluntary action of the Spirits. 
 
 But the table per se, really weighs no more when some spirit 
 or mortal is holding it down. There are no visible or tangible 
 materialized bodies on the tables to hold them down ; and no 
 such forms under them to hold them up. In the one case — 
 when they rise — the Spirits do not take the ponderable sub- 
 stance out of such objects ; and in the other — -when they are 
 held down — they do not put any additional material elements 
 into them to increase their weight. They simply exert a volun- 
 tary force against the operation of the physical law. These effects 
 may be just as well produced on a platform scale as on a table. 
 What, then, becomes of the assumed gravity of the whole 7nat- 
 ter in the case of the Indian maid ? It is not necessary for the 
 Spirit to stand on the platform to turn the scale. She may be 
 somewhere else, and do it quite as well, and vary her apparent 
 weight at will, as the facts prove. What, then, is the truth of the 
 matter in respect to the weight of Honto ? Why, there may be 
 no matter, in or about her, more ponderable than common air. 
 
 The same power may be exerted on the medium. Charles 
 W. Lawrence, with whom the writer experimented for several 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 373 
 
 months, many years ago, afforded a very striking illustration 
 of the subject. His normal weight was only about one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five pounds ; but when the Spirits held him 
 down the united strength of two of the most powerful athletes 
 could not lift him. He seemed to be riveted to the floor. The 
 influence of the Spirits on Lawrence appeared to affect him as 
 anger did a certain man who swore that when he was mad he 
 weighed a ton ! * 
 
 In the cabinet manifestations the conditions imposed upon 
 the spectator are generally such as to admit of the possible 
 practice of some deception. At Chittenden the freedom of 
 the investigator had its limitations. These are shown, by 
 "People from Another World," to have been of such a nature 
 as to excuse a rational skepticism. Honto has Colonel Olcott's 
 certificate that she is a genuine spirit from another world ; 
 and we know nothing to the contrary. But if while she is 
 materialized the Indian girl can dance a hornpipe, permit a 
 mortal to hold her hand, feel her pulse, listen to the beating 
 of her heart ; and still noi lose her hold on the elements of 
 the improvised body ; it will of course puzzle both our physi- 
 cal and metaphysical philosophers to conceive of a rational 
 reason why the same spirit may not conduct the entire proc- 
 
 * Among all the persons whom I have ever known Mr. Lawrence had 
 acquired the greatest voluntary power over sensation in himself and the 
 involuntary organic functions of his body. By an effort of his will he 
 could produce a temporary paralysis of the sensory nerves in his limbs, so 
 that piercing him with pins and needles did not occasion the slightest 
 pain. He could also retard and accelerate his pulse at pleasure, and en- 
 tirely suspend the heart's action by the force of his will. This he did re- 
 peatedly in the presence of many physicians, who certified to the fact be- 
 fore large public assemblies. 
 
374 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 ess of materialization in the immediate presence of the spec- 
 tators in some other part of the room, and without the screen 
 of the cabinet. The writer has no disposition to be hyper- 
 critical, or to indulge in unjust suspicions of persons when 
 the evidence is inconclusive. It was Bacon who observed 
 that " Suspicions among thoughts are like bats among birds, 
 which ever fly by twilight." When more light is wanted, let 
 us be generous and give the medium the benefit of every 
 doubt. Whenever the phenomena are real (as no doubt they 
 are in many cases), and the forms are both visible and tangible 
 at the same time, and alike to all observers, it must be evident 
 that the Spirit is clothed with material vestments. 
 
 Many Spiritualists who ridicule the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the physical body still believe that almost any Spirit 
 may at will be temporarily reincarnated in a most literal sense. 
 It is all the process of one minute ! Such a lively and all- 
 embracing faith is rather calculated to put the believers in 
 biblical miracles to shame. Such amazing faith was never 
 found in the old Israel, nor anywhere else, unless it be among 
 the willing disciples of Art Magic. I am little disposed to 
 dogmatize about what the Spirits may, or may not, be able to 
 do ; but in any case which involves the exercise of extraordi- 
 nary powers, I think it wise to wait for demonstrative evi- 
 dence. If such corporeal bodies as the writer and his readers 
 possess to-day were really formed and suddenly vacated, there 
 is every reason to presume that they would remain, like any 
 other human form, and be subject to the laws which govern 
 the natural chemistry of decay. A sudden disturbance of the 
 circle would cause a Spirit to leave abruptly. The Spirit is 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 3/5 
 
 human, and in such a case would no more stand on the order 
 of his going than we should do under like circumstances. If 
 determined to leave on the instant, is it hkely that he would 
 ever trouble himself about his cast-off garments ? No ; never ! 
 If anything like a corporeal body had been formed, it would 
 surely be left behind. But we are told that the Spirits disor- 
 ganize and dissipate their bodies ! Is it possible ? And when 
 was a human Spirit ever known to vaporize his earthly taber- 
 nacle when he moved out ? If Spirits can do this for them- 
 selves, we can see no reason why they may not do it for their 
 mortal kindred. This would at once dispose of the cremation 
 question, and save the enormous expense of fashionable fune- 
 rals. I assume nothing, but I have an abiding conviction that 
 no Spirit of a man ever left his organization without some one 
 discovering a corpse. 
 
 . Samuel did not leave so much as a thread of his mantle at 
 Endor, when he vanished from the royal presence of Saul. 
 Moses and Elias disappeared from Mount Tabor just after the 
 transfiguration, but they appear to have left no perishable re- 
 mains to speak of. The last time Jesus appeared to his dis- 
 ciples after his resurrection, it is said that having led them 
 out to Bethany, he was in the act of invoking a blessing 
 upon his followers, when he "was parted from them," and 
 they saw him no more. Another biographer, of more imag- 
 inative mind, says " a cloud received him out of their sight." 
 We read of no funeral at Bethany about that time, probably 
 for the reason that Jesus' resurrected and materialized body 
 was nowhere to be found. And those departed saints who 
 reappeared in considerable numbers at the crucifixion, and 
 
3/6 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 were observed walking about Jerusalem — not one of them re- 
 quired an undertaker. * And yet it is reasonable to suppose 
 that if their own material bodies had been reconstructed, or 
 others made like them, they would have inevitably followed 
 the universal law in their decomposition. But the Spirits who 
 come to us, and cause their presence to be seen and felt, 
 leave no such bodies when they go. When the volition of 
 the Spirit so determines, he is not here — -he goes elsewhere, 
 and his body is noiuhere. They come when they will ; they 
 remain as long as they are disposed to keep our company ; 
 they leave at pleasure, without opening material doors ; but 
 they never leave a subject for the dissecting table, nor the 
 aroma of the charnel houses to remind us that a human soul 
 has departed. 
 
 Here I must take leave of the subject, though it opens into 
 other and wider fields. In conclusion, I may be permitted 
 to add that phenomena presenting all the superficial aspects 
 of those which I have reviewed may be and frequently are 
 produced by Spirits in the body. Apparitions of the living 
 are numerous, and they may be multiplied at will. Spirits 
 in the flesh may not only make their presence felt at great dis- 
 tances ; but they may also act on the nerves of special sensation, 
 so as to appear to clothe themselves with visible forms. This is 
 demonstrated by numerous facts and experiments, and these 
 effects may be, and often are, psychologically produced. The 
 forms may be either larger or smaller than natural, agreeably to 
 the conception and desire of the controlling intelHgence. In 
 the language of the poet : 
 
 * See Matthew's record of the Gospel, chap, xxvii. 52, 53. 
 
OUR SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 377 
 
 " Thus incorporeal Spirits to smaller forms 
 Reduce their shapes immense." 
 
 The method of producing these effects may be clearly ex- 
 plained, and the power acquired by proper instruction and 
 practice. All this can be done in the absence of elementary 
 spirits ; the magic wand of the sorcerer is not required ; with- 
 out invoking theshade of Cornelius Agrippa, and without either 
 celestial magic or the black art. This is not the appropriate 
 field for the growth of foul superstitions, but rather for the 
 golden fruits of the grandest science. There are earnest and 
 aspiring souls whose common law is progress. Emerging 
 from the darkness of the past, they look with prescient vision 
 into the Future for light. These have a taste for diviner 
 things to which we would reverently minister. And so we 
 abandon the ancient superstitions and turn our backs on the 
 buried past. We leave the ruined fanes of polytheistic worship, 
 the polluted shrines of fallen gods, and the society of all the 
 puny godlings born of the diseased imagination. Those who 
 prefer such society may 
 
 " mingle in the clamorous fray 
 
 Of squabbling imps." 
 
 The modem magicians, the black art professors, and all the 
 little jugglers who clothe their personations of Spirits with 
 false faces and robes of York Mills muslin, are left to pursue 
 their work of deception. We have only the most distant fel- 
 lowship with such people. When knaves and fools behind 
 the visor hide, we need not go to the masquerade. Let us 
 dispense with the witches' cauldron and its deadly contents. 
 We leave the bubbling hell-broth, described in Macbeth, to 
 
278 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 those who have an appetite for such infernal compounds, 
 whilst we study the principles of a purer faith and worship ; a 
 science that admits of no unholy alliance with superstition, 
 and that divine philosophy which is 
 
 "the Patriarch's ladder, reaching Heaven, 
 
 And bright with beckoning Angels." 
 
 Time and distance can not separate souls. It is only "lack 
 of affinity that constitutes distance. The conditions of time 
 and space belong in no essential sense to the Spirit -world. 
 Mortal restraints and limitations have no place in the higher 
 life. Such is the certain and irresistible gravitation in that 
 world that no earthly bars can ever separate kindred spirits. 
 Though on opposite sides of the globe, or far away in distant 
 Spheres, they may meet and embrace one another. Oceans 
 and mountains, long ages and immeasurable spaces may inter- 
 vene, and yet each be conscious of the essential presence of 
 the other. There may be sensible contact and a real inter- 
 communication of human faculties, affections, emotions and 
 aspirations. Whether in or out of the body, the wilHng and 
 loving spirit may come to us in answer to our silent prayer, 
 and we be made to realize its presence through all the quick- 
 ened senses of the soul. 
 
 " Far off their home may be, 
 Beneath the glory of some Eastern sky, 
 Or where bright isles amid blue waters lie ; 
 
 And thou may'st no more see 
 The forms which were their Spirits' earthly shrine, 
 But, oh ! if thou wilt have them, THEY ARE thine ! " 
 
 Belvidere, Warren Co., N. J., 
 June i6, iS8o, 
 
THE MATERIALIZATION QUESTION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JULY 3, 1880. 
 
 THE article entitled " Our Spiritual Guests " contains the 
 text of a discourse delivered before the Conference in 
 Brooklyn. It has been employed as a pretext for much un- 
 friendly criticism and hostility to the work of the Editor-at- 
 Large and his friends. It has thus become so intimately identi- 
 fied with the history of this enterprise that it seemed necessary 
 to give it a place in this volume. The spirit of the opposition 
 excited by its delivery and, more especially, by the author's 
 acceptance of the office of Chief of the Secular Press Bureau 
 will be readily apprehended by the reader of the Appendix to 
 this volume. I have introduced two or three additional illus- 
 trative facts and references, and have also been a little more 
 explicit in the statement of the points which were liable to be 
 misunderstood. 
 
 It is necessary to mention the fact that several passages con- 
 tained in the original manuscript were omitted in the delivery 
 of the lecture, for want of time and for other reasons. Here 
 and there the phraseology has been modified to adapt it to the 
 press ; but the essential principles all remain ; nor has ajty specific 
 view, doctrine or illustration inculcated from the platform been 
 changed by this revision. The intelligent reader will at once 
 perceive that the particular observations which have so of- 
 
 379 
 
380 THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. 
 
 fended the scribes were made in reference to three of the four 
 classes of facts comprehended 171 our specification, and which the 
 writer has shown, not only by his analysis and classification, but 
 by internal evidence derived from the facts themselves, were not 
 examples of materialization, though they are so regarded by 
 ordinary observers. 
 
 The views entertained are my own, and the freedom of their 
 expression is no occasion for apology. They were not at first 
 given to the pubHc in my capacity of Editor-at-Large ; and 
 no one is expected to share the responsibiHty of their utter- 
 ance. That they will be cordially accepted by all minds I 
 have perhaps no reason to expect. No favor is asked except 
 a careful reading and a candid judgment. I neither claim 
 infallibility in anything, nor immunity from just criticism. It 
 is further proper to observe that my convictions may be modi- 
 fied by future experience and further reflection. I am not 
 uneasy about the acceptance of any views peculiar to myself. 
 If I am right in the main, the opinions expressed will obtain 
 confirmation ; if I am in error — on any questions of conse- 
 quence involved in the general subject — I shall doubtless be 
 corrected in due time ; but never by those impetuous and 
 imperious critics who chiefly arrest public attention by their 
 readiness to throttle other investigators at the very threshold 
 qf this inquiry. Whether these people can or can not agree 
 with the writer, is of no possible consequence to any one. In- 
 deed complete unanimity of opinion, on this or any other sub- 
 ject, is neither possible nor desirable. Whoever wants to stifle 
 independent thought would render the utterances of all men 
 but empty echoes of a single voice ! 
 
A TWILIGHT MEDITATION. 38I 
 
 But it is very evident that we are much in need of the 
 oneness described by Paul — " the unity of the spirit in 
 THE bond of peace." This is of the most vital importance 
 to us all. Let us, therefore, practice a becoming moderation, 
 and learn to tolerate the honest convictions of all men in the 
 genuine spirit of charity. The true philosopher will treat the 
 views of all other men with becoming consideration. He is 
 always sparing of censure and he seldom engages in partisan 
 strifes. There is a divinity in Peace, to which all pure souls 
 are responsive ; 
 
 " And, when LovE speaks, the voice of all the gods 
 Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony. " 
 
 S. B. B. 
 
 A TWILIGHT MEDITATION. 
 
 BY S. B. BRITTAN. 
 
 I TARRY long and joy to hear, 
 From happy voices, far and near. 
 That darkest shadows of the Night, 
 Like shapeless phantoms, take their flight 
 In the fair Morning light. 
 
 The way was dark, and rugged too, 
 Up mountain heights from which to view 
 The Star-land of the Wise, who must 
 While living love, and work, and trust, 
 With gentle souls and just. 
 
 I travel on my lonely way, 
 And, musing at the close of day. 
 Recall the scenes when life was new, 
 And dearest forms now lost to view, 
 Where life and love are true. 
 
382 A TWILIGHT MEDITATION, 
 
 The sylvan aisles are silent where 
 Soft music voiced the vibrant air ; 
 The falling leaves are brown and sere, 
 And autumn days of life are here, 
 
 With raem'ries sad and dear. 
 
 The early Summer birds have flown 
 To fair and sunny lands unknown ; 
 While music from some higher sphere 
 Comes softly to the souls that hear, 
 When Angels hover near. 
 
 The singing birds in woodland bowers, 
 Returning with the early flow'rs, 
 
 Will cheer the passing hours — 
 While ministries of Sun and Rain 
 Bring to the valley and the plain 
 
 The perished life again. 
 
 I linger where the shadows fall, 
 Beneath a cypress-shaded wall 
 
 Of a deserted hall; 
 And voices of the loved once more 
 Recall the happy days of yore — 
 
 From their immortal shore. 
 
 In looking through the veil of Time, 
 To fairer skies in worlds sublime, 
 
 I hear the pleasant chime 
 Of joy-bells where there is no Night, 
 And happy faces, calm and bright. 
 
 Shine in the blessed light. 
 
 29 Broad Street, Newark 
 March, 1882. 
 
 ,N.J.,) 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 REPLY TO HON. THOMAS R. HAZARD. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE CRITICS AND THE SITUATION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JULY lO, 1880. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 IN the Ba7i}ier of Light of the date of the 26th inst. I find a let- 
 ter from Thomas R. Hazard, in which that gentleman refers 
 to the report of" my Brooklyn lecture on " Form Materialization," 
 and respectfully calls upon me to "lay before the readers of the 
 Banner a true statement of the views" which I do entertain and 
 did express — very imperfectly no doubt — in my lecture before the 
 "Spiritual Fraternity." In respect to the chief purpose of your 
 correspondent's letter, I have anticipated the request of this invin- 
 cible champion of Spiritualism, by having already placed in your 
 hands for publication the complete text of my lecture, with such 
 further illustrative facts and explanatory observations as the nature 
 of the case seemed to demand. I trust that I have been sufficiently 
 explicit to guard against future misunderstanding, and that the 
 spirit of the whole may further realize the wishes of the distin- 
 guished friend who has been pleased to call me to account for 
 " evasive language and unbecoming personalities." It will be per- 
 ceived by all who will take the time to peruse my exposition, that my 
 method of handling a diffictilt question is anything but " evasive"; 
 
 383 
 
384 APPENDIX A. 
 
 and that / have not — to borrow the terms of less friendly critics — 
 "dodged the question.'''' 
 
 I see no reason why equal and exact justice should not be meted 
 out to all men ; and whatever I claim for myself I demand with 
 no less emphasis in behalf of the humblest disciple in our ranks. 
 Your correspondent is, I must suppose, aware of the fact that I am 
 arraigned without ceremony before the bar of public opinion, and 
 directly accused of several offenses against the truth and the integ- 
 rity of my relations to the Spiritual Brotherhood. Let us briefly 
 recall some of the counts in this indictment. Here are the princi- 
 pal charges : 
 
 1. That I am trying to organize another sectarian institution 
 which may retard the genuine progress and damage the future 
 prospects of Spiritualism. 
 
 2. That I do not really believe in the most important facts of 
 Spiritualism ; that I have publicly denied the reality of the same, 
 and especially the power of the Spirits to compel the recognition of 
 their presence by the manifestation of visible and tangible forms. 
 
 3. That I am trying to hold on to the name and form of Chris- 
 tianity from selfish motives ; and that in this respect my preten- 
 sions are a hollow " sham . . . that deceives nobody." 
 
 4. That my "Spiritualism is blighted, dead with the dry-rot of 
 aping respectability." 
 
 5. It is charged that I " dogmatically dictate to Spiritualists what 
 they are to believe and disbelieve." 
 
 6. It is presumed that I may have stigmatized — at least by impli- 
 cation — all who do not adopt my views on the materialization ques- 
 tion as either knaves or fools. 
 
 Now if the accused may be supposed to have any rights in this 
 case, I may be permitted to say that / have iiever, at any time, 
 eve7i attempted to do any one of the things here specified. It is 
 to be regretted that many people are disposed to infer that personal 
 
APPENDIX A. 385 
 
 charges, when not contradicted, may be presumed to be true. 
 While in the interest of truth, and for the sake of my friends, I am 
 constrained to dispute each and every one of the foregoing- charges, 
 it gives me great pleasure to pardon the authors of this unseemly 
 exhibition of childish feeling and unprovoked hostility. So long as 
 we mind our own business, conscientiously perform the appointed 
 duty of the hour, and never meddle v^ith the affairs of others, we 
 need not be angered because some uneasy and contentious spirit 
 drops a sheep-skin gauntlet in our path. Such people can not 
 greatly ruffle the even current of our life. 
 
 " The blood more stirs 
 To rouse a lion, than to start a hare." ' 
 
 Not knowing how many turbulent spirits were waiting for an op- 
 portunity to bring a railing accusation against me, I did not think 
 it necessary to publicly refer — in any unfavorable manner — to the 
 report of my Brooklyn lecture. Omitting to do this, it is presumed 
 that I accept the exact terms of that report as my own. The facts 
 justify no such inference. Every one at all familiar with journal- 
 ism will readily perceive that in making a brief synopsis of a dis- 
 course which occupies at least an hour in the delivery, it is utterly 
 impossible to give the speaker's language. On this point no evi- 
 dence is required except such as the nature of the case affords. If 
 the facts are that the lecture, printed in exte7iso, would fill a page 
 of this paper, and yet the report is to be compressed into much less 
 than a single column, it ought to be self-evident to the dullest com- 
 prehension, that the reporter can not record the exact language 
 of the speaker. If the critic can do this, he may next time put his 
 bushel of small potatoes into a peck measure and have space to 
 spare for other purposes. Nothing can be more preposterous than 
 the proposition to hold the speaker responsible for the precise terms 
 of such a report. Mr. Hazard had the sagacity to see this, and the 
 
386 APPENDIX A. 
 
 politeness to qualify his own critical observations by the implied 
 admission that the report may not clearly and fully represent the 
 views expressed in the Brooklyn lecture. The most that any re- 
 porter — however qualified for his appropriate work — can be ex- 
 pected to do in such a case, is to give the public some intelligible 
 idea of the drift of the speaker's thought, with perhaps an incom- 
 plete representation of the method of his argument, the general 
 course of illustration, and the ultimate conclusion. This is what 
 Mr. S. B. Nichols attempted to do with a conscientious regard for 
 the truth; and he succeeded about as well as those who make re- 
 porting a profession. 
 
 My inquisitorial censors, intent upon convicting me of some mis- 
 demeanor, seized on certain passages in the report with the mani- 
 fest purpose of making it appear that I do not believe Spirits have 
 the power of making their forms visible and tangible to mortals. 
 Yet, in that same report, I am credited with saying: " Spirits have 
 covie to me in broad daylight, spoken to me, taken me by the hand, 
 and manifested theinselves in comttless ways; history^ sacred 
 and profane, is full of similar examples." Now while I did not 
 employ the exact terms attributed to me in this case, I certainly 
 did say much to the same purpose. If this passage has any signi- 
 ficance whatever, it certainly means that I did affirm^ most posi- 
 tively , my faith in the ability of Spirits to reveal themselves to 
 both sight attd touch. My lecture v/as written out; and are my 
 thoughts so loosely conceived and carelessly expressed as to war- 
 rant the presumption that I contradicted myself in the same lec- 
 ture ? Why, then, was the passage I have emphasized not used by 
 those conscientious critics to qualify the apprehended meaning of 
 the other ? Plainly because such a gtialifi cation was jtoi wanted. 
 It would have defeated the obvious intention of the censors, who, 
 per snltum^ had reached the only conclusion which favored the de- 
 termination to limit my personal influence and destroy my public 
 
APPENDIX A. 387 
 
 usefulness in the capacity of Editor-at-Large. It was a foregone 
 conclusion that I must be found guilty at least of some breach of 
 decorum. Several parties — all of whom shall be nameless in this 
 connection — have assisted in this unrighteous crusade by unworthy 
 appeals to popular prejudices. Indeed, after I had disclaimed the 
 views and purposes attributed to me, in public statements over my 
 own proper signature, these hypercritical censors were not satis- 
 fied, but with a shameless pertinacity still insisted that I did ex- 
 press the views and doctrines I have repudiated.'^ I forbear to 
 characterize this audacious spirit as it deserves. Among well-bred 
 gentlemen of course each is allowed to define his own position, on 
 any and every controverted question, and no one presumes to dis- 
 pute the truth of his statements. 
 
 Several correspondents of certain Spiritual papers, and some of 
 the editorial writers for the same, complain of my excessive egotism, 
 exhibited in the unwarrantable assumption of power in presuming, 
 as Editor-at-Large, to represent the ideas and interests of any 
 other Spiritualist in the world. The truth is we have assumed 
 nothing, except the right to labor peaceably, and without molesta- 
 tion, in the field to which we have been called by the Spirit-world 
 and the expressed desire of many of the most enlightened Spiritual- 
 ists in the country. If we have managed to devote, here and there, 
 one, two, or more columns of some influential secular paper, to a 
 just representation of the righteous claims of Spiritualism and its 
 friends, are our labors in this direction to be considered an offense 
 against those who not only contribute nothing to the work, but are 
 most industrious in throwing obstacles in its way ? Are the en- 
 lightened and noble men and women, who have generously con- 
 tributed a small fund to enable the writer to labor for a season in 
 
 * It will be observed that my amiable critics were not present when the lecture 
 was delivered, and not one of them ever saw a single paragraph of its contents before 
 venturing on a free expression of his views of the whole matter. 
 
388 APPENDIX A. 
 
 this important field, to be periodically and forever told that they 
 have made a grave mistake in wasting their means on an unworthy 
 person and a useless enterprise ? Are these shallow pretenders to 
 a love of truth and to freedom of thought the only people who have 
 any rights which others are bound to respect ? And is there to be 
 no end to this unmeasured insolence ? If in the contributions to 
 the secular press there is an unwarrantable assumption of power, 
 on the part of the present writer, are those gentlemen less pre- 
 sumptuous who once a week fill a whole paper ostensibly for the 
 same object ? Yet the public is expected to infer that the delicate 
 sensibilities and supreme modesty of certain correspondents and 
 other journalistic writers have been fearfully shocked by our amaz- 
 ing self-assertion. Those gentlemen have lectured us on delicacy 
 and propriety until we have been ready to exclaim : 
 
 " Did ever raven sing so like a lark ! " 
 
 After all this we may be fairly authorized to infer that our self- 
 appointed censors do not presume to speak for any one but them- 
 selves. No ; not for their patrons. That would be a violation of 
 their principles, and they are too modest to be guilty of the small- 
 est usurpation or improper exercise of power. How they shrink 
 from prerogatives is a conundrum we cannot guess. But there is 
 something very lovely in humility ! Dickens has drawn and im- 
 mortalized the character in his David Copperfield. Some of the 
 recent actors may be overdoing the role; but that is small cause 
 for censorious criticism when humility is constitutional. Verily, 
 your journalistic Uriah must be "the humblest person going." 
 
 But if these humble people, who put their superior modesty in the 
 papers, do not presume to speak for any one but themselves, what 
 interest can the people be expected to have in their public labors ? 
 If it is indeed true that they shrink from the responsibility of repre- 
 senting anybody else, the fact should be known, that the Spiritual 
 
APPENDIX A. 389 
 
 public may understand and sufficiently admire these modest writers 
 on the great themes of phenomenal Spiritualism and journalistic 
 propriety. They labor early and late ; they go to their work in the 
 morning ; and they consume the midnight petroleum before they 
 retire. They keep on talking all the while, not because they have 
 any ambitious desire to voice the current thought of the people, or 
 ever expect to illustrate the ideas of the living age. They are too 
 humble to indulge in such aspirations. Not for these ignoble ends 
 do they live, and move, and have their being— speak and write, 
 print and sell their papers — no, never ; hut for the supreme pleas- 
 ure of hearing themselves converse. What amazing diffidence 
 and self-abnegation ! 
 
 That the charges herein reviewed are not only thorougniy per- 
 sonal and absolutely unfounded, but characterized by a feeling that 
 is hostile to every principle of reciprocal justice and spiritual fra- 
 ternity, must be evident to every honest mind. It is no less a self- 
 evident fact, that an answer to these, or any similar charges, to be 
 at all pertinent, must also, ex necessitate, assume a personal char- 
 acter. At the same time, I am not prepared to plead guilty to the 
 charge of using " unbecoming personalities.'''' To fairly decide 
 the question of what is, and what is not, becoming in any given 
 case, all of the facts and circumstances must be fairly weighed. 
 When one is arraigned for any crime or misdemeanor, he is not 
 expected to weaken his defense to save the sensibilities of his ac- 
 cusers. He is never required to look after their reputation for fair 
 and honorable dealing, if the case breaks down for want of evi- 
 dence to sustain the charge. Your honorable correspondent — if I 
 am not mistaken — has had experience as a legislator. I am sure 
 he respects the truth, and I have faith in his own high sense of 
 justice. If he will carefully examine all the facts, I will have no 
 hesitation in resting this particular question — with a wise reference 
 to the merits of the case — on his own final judgment. I am greatly 
 
390 APPENDIX A. 
 
 mistaken, or it will be found, on a searching- and candid revision of 
 the whole matter, that I have used no terms which, if employed in 
 debate, would have subjected me to a call to order before any de- 
 liberative assembly in the world. Shall we have peace, and when ? 
 With a profound respect for your correspondent and every hon- 
 est seeker after truth, I have the honor to remain. 
 
 Yours faithfully, S. B. BrittaN. 
 
 Belvidere, Warren Co., N. J., 
 Jmie 24, 1880. 
 
 REJOINDER TO THOMAS R. HAZARD. 
 
 OUR FINAL ANSWER TO OUR REVIEWER. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, OCT. 16, 1880. 
 
 " Never came Reformation in a flood 
 
 With such a heady current, scouring faults." 
 
 — Shakespeare. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banjier of Light : 
 
 IT was on the i6th of June last that I forwarded to your office 
 for publication my analysis and exposition of several classes 
 of facts, all of which are now indiscriminately regarded by many 
 persons as examples of " the materialization of Spirit-forms." My 
 views had been perversely misrepresented ; and with a persistency 
 for which I could recall no precedent from my early experience in 
 a sectarian church. My object in thus publishing the views which 
 had already been embodied in a written lecture — originally de- 
 livered in Republican Hall, New York, and subsequently in Brook- 
 lyn — was to satisfy the honest inquiries of many friends, and to 
 place myself before the public in my own proper position. My 
 
APPENDIX A. 391 
 
 article, entitled " Our Spiritual Guests," had not appeared, but the 
 complete manuscript of the same was in your office, when — in your 
 issue of June 26th — you published a letter from Mr/Thomas R. 
 Hazard, which seemed, at least, to have been intended to provoke 
 an unpleasant, personal controversy with the undersigned. In 
 that letter the gentleman from Rhode Island indulged in a spirit 
 of unjust animadversion in commenting on my answer to a cor- 
 respondent whose captious criticism had been published in the 
 Chicago paper. 
 
 ■ In Mr. Hazard's letter, now under review, he insists that he is 
 one of many whom " Dr. B., if correctly reported, . . . charges 
 by implication as being either a fool or a knave ; " and he also 
 affirms that I have "stigmatized as tricksters" "scores of the in- 
 struments of the angels." It is with a feeling of sorrow that I am 
 constrained — in the interest of truth, and in simple justice to my 
 self — to say that these statements were then, and they are now, 
 utterly destitute of the smallest fou7idation in anything I have 
 either written or otherwise expressed in my intercourse with 
 the public. It is no fault of mine that I am summoned here to 
 impeach the testimony of a too anxious witness for the prosecu- 
 tion, whose many years should have taught him to weigh his own 
 words, and to preserve a decent respect for those who may hon- 
 estly dissent from his dogmatic conclusions on a question — not of 
 fact, but of philosophy. In that letter your correspondent called 
 upon me in a rather peremptory manner to " lay before the readers 
 o{ the Banjter of Light 3i true statement of the views he [I] did 
 express in the lecture before the Brooklyn Spiritual Frater- 
 nity." The dictatorial spirit of the writer was rendered still more 
 apparent and offensive by his admonishing me to " abstain as far 
 as possible from the use of evasive language and unbecoming 
 personalities ; " and further, by his directing me — as one might 
 instruct his own servant— to " use the language only suitable to 
 
392 APPENDIX A. 
 
 the dignity of his [my] new and responsible position of Editor-at- 
 Large. " 
 
 As already observed, before this letter was published, or I had 
 received any intimation of the explicit instructions which were then 
 ready to be made public — for no apparent purpose but my individ- 
 ual guidance, except to preoccupy and prejudice the public mind 
 — I had achcally finished the work assigned me, and it was in 
 your possession. This will enable the reader to perceive that the 
 entire freedom from "evasive language" and the absence of" un- 
 becoming personalities" in my exposition are facts which can not 
 be attributed to the influence of instructions I had not then re- 
 ceived, and in which, it will be observed, Mr. Hazard's language 
 is scarcely less imperious than the short method of a sight draft or 
 the terms of a military order. 
 
 To this most unbecoming epistle I answered — in the Banner of 
 Light of July loth — and in a manner which I am sure every can- 
 did person must regard as exceedingly temperate and conciliatory, 
 passing over the writer's offensive speech and supercilious tone in the 
 interest of peace and fraternity. Both the temper and terms of my 
 reply were altogether friendly to Mr. Hazard. But the respectful 
 language in which I reasoned the case, and appealed to his own 
 sense of justice, made no impression on the mind of the man who 
 had called for the publication of my lecture, not because he wanted 
 information on that subject^ or had any disposition to treat my 
 opinions with respect ; but for the obvious reason that he had 
 determined to find a pretext for a long^ aimless and useless dis- 
 cussion. My views had been somewhat elaborately set forth in 
 the article on "Our Spiritual Guests,'' and there I had determined 
 to let the whole matter rest. With all due respect — and remem- 
 bering that time is valuable and life is short— I had never for one 
 moment contemplated anything so fruitless, dreary and prospect- 
 ively interminable as a controversy with Mr. Hazard on the subject 
 
APPENDIX A. 393 
 
 of his choice. I have never invited him to any such discussion, 
 and am obliged to respectfully decline his own most persuasive in- 
 vitations. Should he resolve to go on with his battle, I shall be 
 most happy to give him the whole field for the display of his 
 prowess, and leave him all the glory which a Quixotic ambition may 
 hope to achieve. 
 
 That Mr. Hazard was impatient for such a contest was rendered 
 still more apparent frorh his letter which appeared in the succeed- 
 ing number of the Banner of Light (date of July 17th). Referring 
 to two of my articles, which he proposed to criticise in due time, 
 he thus continued : 
 
 " I would feel obliged if Dr. Brittan would favor me (through the post- 
 office) with the original manuscript in which he intimates in his last 
 article his 'lecture was written out,' pledging myself to return it to him 
 in a short time after I receive it. I am impressed that with the aid of 
 this document I could obtain sufficient light to greatly simplify the mat- 
 ters in controversy. I would also be greatly obliged to Dr. Brittan if he 
 would write out in a condensed form (as I suggested in my previous 
 letter) the names of the materializing mediums through whose instru- 
 mentality he has obtained his knowledge of the great and advanced phe- 
 nomena of Form Materialization, together with a succinct narrative of 
 some of the manifestations that have occurred in his presence." 
 
 To the letter from which the preceding paragraph is copied I 
 have hitherto made no reply. I may here observe that the animus 
 of this passage is too manifest to admit of any disguise. The first 
 part contains a sly but deliberate intimation that my views, as pub- 
 lished \xv\k\?i Banner of Light, on the subject of materialization, 
 are not really my views at all ; that they are very different from the 
 doctrines expressed in my lecture. In other words, that as a 
 writer for the press I take occasion to contradict the views and 
 opinions which I inculcate from the platform. Perhaps your cor- 
 respondent did not know that this insinuation not only lacks the 
 grace of common politeness, but that it is too absurd to require 
 
394 APPENDIX A. 
 
 serious notice. In the absence of any motive for so doing no man 
 who is not a lunatic could be made to believe that I am at work to 
 disprove my own convictions. 
 
 In the same connection Mr. Hazard proceeds " as one having 
 authority'' to assign me my task. He would have "the names of 
 all the materializing mediums" in whose presence I have pursued 
 my investigations, " together with a succinct narrative of some of 
 the manifestations." Of course, in so far as the facts chanced to 
 deviate from the line of the gentleman's experience he would natu- 
 rally demand corroborative evidence. To authenticate everything 
 to the satisfaction of one who believes in the infallibility of the 
 vision of unlimited faith — while he has little knowledge of the laws 
 of mind, and, apparently, less respect for the reason of the race — it 
 might be necessary to send abroad for witnesses, and to collect and 
 publish extensive memoranda ; and, after all, it is not likely that the 
 views of your venerable correspondent would be modified in the 
 smallest degree. 
 
 Here let me say that my experience in the observation of Spirit- 
 forms covers a period of thir ty -four years ^ and to do any kind of 
 justice to the work which the gentleman calls on me to perform — 
 for the small purpose of his own personal gratification — would oc- 
 cupy all my time for two or three months. Now I can not regard 
 this call from South Portsmouth, R. I., imperative as it is, as the 
 voice of divine Providence which every minister of the everlasting 
 Gospel should reverently obey. Nor is this the vox pop^lli on 
 which time-servers wait with earnest attention. No ; it is only 
 one ma7i who speaks. Solitary and alone, of his own free will 
 and pleasure, Brother Hazard summons me to this work, to fur- 
 ther his own private aims ; and it is hardly creditable to his. 
 sense of justice that he does not propose to make any provision for 
 my mortal necessities while engaged in his service. As I am just 
 now employed, and can not leave my duties to be discharged by 
 
APPENDIX A. 395 
 
 another, let those bid for the contract who enjoy the fellowship of 
 the "Scribes and Pharisees"; of whom it was said by a noble 
 Spiritual Reformer — they ^'•compass sea and land to make one 
 PROSELYTE." (Matt, xxiii. 15.) 
 
 The gentleman from Rhode Island assigned the following as his 
 reason for demanding my original manuscript : " I a7n impressed 
 that with the aid of this documetit J could obtain sufficient light 
 to greatly simplify the matters in cojitroversy." Bearing in mind 
 the fact that I was not engaged in a discussion with Mr. Hazard, 
 and did not propose to have any controversy with him, either on 
 materialization or any other subject, the reader will recognize the 
 inverted sense of modesty that prompted the offer of his services in 
 so simplifying my obscure utterances that they may be understood 
 by ordinary mortals. It may be proper to observe, in this connec- • 
 tion, that I had never before been admonished that I was in need 
 of the benevolent offices of any one in this capacity. Moreover, if 
 it was indeed necessary — in order to dissipate the fog that is pre- 
 sumed to envelop the expression of my ideas — that some one should 
 be employed to simplify the method of their statement ; to explain 
 the " true inwardness " of the letter and the form ; or perhaps to 
 put some new meaning into the same which the author never 
 dreamed of, it may still occur to the mind of the considerate reader 
 that even eminent authorities lose nothing by graceful condescen- 
 sion, and that the writer's privilege should have been recognized 
 in the choice of the party to fill this place. But he was neither in- 
 terviewed on the subject, nor permitted to have any voice in the 
 matter. Mr. Hazard — waiving all unnecessary ceremony — offered 
 himself for the office, and the same party, with great unanimity, 
 elected the candidate. While we failed to discover the necessity 
 for his services, and omitted to entertain him in his new capacity, 
 he, nevertheless, made haste to enter upon the work set before 
 him. In his own peculiar analysis and interpretation of the writer's 
 
3g6 APPENDIX A. 
 
 article on Our Spiritual Guests, your readers will have witnessed 
 the surprising result of his first effort in the simplification of our 
 ideas. 
 
 Now I do not propose to go meandering after Mr. Hazard all the 
 way over his tortuous course. I should as soon think of following 
 the shade of Moses along the crooked line of his march through 
 the Egyptian wilderness. On the contrary, I only design to glance 
 at him, here and there, to illustrate the amazing method by which 
 he simplifies my views' on the materialization question. Perhaps I 
 may be expected, in transitu, to express my thanks for such im- 
 mense publicity as your correspondent has been pleased to give me. 
 He devotes nearly twelve columns of your space to his review, or 
 almost double the room required by Our Spiritual Guests. I find in 
 addition to twenty-two references to the " Professor, " Doctor," 
 and " Editor-at-Large," that the gentleman from Rhode Island re- 
 peats my name — or uses the initial with one title or another, one 
 hundred and twenty-four times. Verily — if never before — now, 
 surely, our name must be " a household word," far and wide as 
 your illuminated Banner is unfurled. If I am not greatly elated 
 on this occasion, it may be for the reason that I am not easily 
 deceived. Beneath the superficial aspects of this unusual distinc- 
 tion I recognize the purpose of the writer. My cognomen is chiefiy 
 used by Mr. Hazard in connection with most disparaging estimates 
 of my intelligence, the sincerity of my professions and the value of 
 my public labors. The case is not altogether peculiar. Every 
 earnest man who goes straight forward in the prosecution of any 
 good work, must take his chances of being scratched in the jungles 
 of this world and harassed by adversaries in the rear. He is fortu- 
 nate who only now and then finds a small thorn in his flesh. Even 
 the man who spends his time in play must incur some risk, and he 
 gives form to his resolution when he says : 
 
 " / will stand the hazara of the die." 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 397 
 
 Whoever will wage an uncompromising war with error, by fol- 
 lowing Truth, Reason, and his deepest convictions, wherever they 
 may lead, will find that life is not a mere holiday entertainment. 
 Now and then he will feel the sting of the scorpion ; and some- 
 where the cold, dark shadow of the cross will fall athwart his 
 strait and narrow way. But he is a poor soldier who turns back 
 to seek the flowery walks and those peaceful scenes where indiffer- 
 ence inspires the sluggard's dreams. If we would be worthy of the 
 great Liberty wherewith "the truth shall make us free," we must 
 follow our highest light faithfully, fearlessly and to the end, though 
 
 ' ' At our heels all hell should rise 
 With blackest insurrection ! " 
 
 If further evidence should be required to satisfy the reader that 
 Mr. Hazard neither sought for nor cared to have an honest expres- 
 sion of the writer's real views on the subject of materialization, that 
 evidence may be found at the beginning of his long-winded appeal 
 to popular ignorance and the prejudices of a class of persons whom 
 we have never consciously injured by v/ord or deed. That I may 
 do him no injustice I quote his words literally as follows : 
 
 " If Dr. Brittan will read my letter a little more carefully than he ap- 
 pears to have done, he will perceive that / do not ask him to state his pri- 
 vate views in regard to Form Materialization, that being, a matter which I 
 have no right to interfere with in any way, as long as his views are not pub- 
 licly proclaimed. "* 
 
 Here it is distinctly implied that I entertain views in private 
 which are at war with my written and published opinions. Yet, 
 strange as it may seem, there is not, in this connection, a single 
 word to indicate that there is anything in this kind of deception to 
 offend the moral sense of a critic whose cacoethes carpendi moves 
 
 * I emphasize the significant portions of this extract. 
 
398 APPENDIX A. 
 
 him, with several other careless writers, to assume the office of 
 public censor. 
 
 " Poor man ! poor critics ! He and they 
 The same impulsive force obey." 
 
 It would seem that a man may be a Janus-faced hypocrite and 
 live a lie — false, of necessity, in heart and at home — and yet we are 
 left to infer that this does not justify one in meddling with his 
 affairs. Our captious critic does not hesitate to meddle with and 
 arraign us for our honest convictions ; nor does he scruple to mis- 
 represent our views and conduct ; but — overcome by a sudden 
 paroxysm of modesty — he claims "no right to interfere with" this 
 soulless masquerade, " so long as his [my] views are not pxiblicly 
 proclaimed." In other words, so lon^ as the priiicipal actor is 
 prudejitly reticent and careful to wear a becoming mask while 
 he is on exhibition ! 
 
 Now I need not remind your readers that, so far from disguising 
 my convictions on any important question, they have for more than 
 forty years — on all proper occasions — found a free and fearless ex- 
 pression, all temporal interests being held in subordination to the 
 truth. The gentleman from Rhode Island not only overrates his 
 personal influence, but he may possibly hazard his reputation for 
 veracity, by telling people who have known me long and well 
 that for more than a third of a century I have been masquerading 
 before them like a fool, with nothing to conceal my real character 
 but the false face and rent mantle of the hypocrite ! 
 
 Mr. Hazard reports that he finds my paper on Our Spiritual 
 Guests to be " couched in fifty-five paragraphs." In respect to one- 
 quarter of all these he is content to garble and re-state the sub- 
 stance of the same after his own peculiar fashion, without com- 
 ment, and with as much self-complacency as if his own superior 
 style involved a discovery likely to mark an epoch in polemical 
 literature. He seems to indulge in the childish fancy that in thus 
 
APPENDIX A. 300 
 
 mutilating the original he has made an improvement upon the 
 writer's method of expressing his ideas, and incidentally given the 
 rest of mankind a new and important lesson in belles-lettres. All 
 through his stilted harangue he, here and there, breaks the un- 
 even and knotted thread of his disputatious discourse, to keep up 
 the by-play of the schoolmaster, by lecturing me on the proprieties 
 of speech. He has a mortal dread of " personalities," and pro- 
 fesses to regard them as " unbecoming " the character of a gentle- 
 man and a scholar. True, he uses offensive terms with remark- 
 able freedom in his published correspondence, but he is careful at 
 the same time to instruct the Editor-at-Large— to whom they are 
 chiefly applied— to " use the language only suitable to the dignity 
 of his new and responsible position.'' With what degree of sin- 
 cerity Mr. Hazard preaches to me upon the impropriety of " per- 
 sonalities," which I have not used, may be inferred from the illus- 
 trations furnished by himself for the delectation of his readers. 
 Examples like the following are numerous as potato-bugs in his 
 recent exegetical writings.* [The reader is requested to peruse 
 the subjoined note.] 
 
 * Only a few choice specimens are necessary to give the reader an idea of their 
 general quality ; also of our critic's conscientiousness as a reviewer, and of the ample 
 resources of his magazine of small arms. It will be observed that he is eminently free 
 from all restraints in the use of vituperative speech. In his untruthful characteriza- 
 tion of the Editor-at-Large and his labors he speaks of his " characteristic flings ; " of 
 his " condemnatory dictum of the whole fraternity ; " of his " having freed his bosom of 
 the ' perilous stuff ' " that v/as in it ; of '" a laughing devil in his sneer ; ' " of the " re- 
 ceptacle of bigotry, malice and suspicion ;" of the " untold amount of self-conceit ;" 
 of his " crude and worn-out puerilities ;" of the Doctor's " fiftieth covert fling at the 
 materializing manifestations ; " of his " educated self-sufBciency ;" and again and re- 
 peatedly of his " flings " and "intolerable puerilities." This is quite sufficient to en- 
 able the reader to recognize the impersonal character and elegance of the reviewer's 
 diction. If he seems to be wanting in several amiable qualities of mind and heart, 
 and a certain heavenly disposition toward his fellow-men, i^must at least be con- 
 ceded that this epithetic epistolizer has a remarkable style. 
 
 And then it may not be forgotten that the Spirit of the ancient pharisee came at this 
 juncture and materialized through our critic. And it came to pass when that Spirit 
 had taken possession of our brother, and had the medium under complete control, he 
 lifted up his hands in holy indignation, and cried with a loud voice, saying, " / thank 
 
400 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Allow me to observe in passing that when Mr. Hazard pretends to 
 quote my words, he does it so heedlessly that my language is, here 
 and there, corrupted, and the meaning utterly obscured. By his 
 blundering I am made to dishonor the venerable shade of Lindley 
 Murray, and to show my contempt for the rules of English gram- 
 mar. For an example, see a paragraph near the middle of the 
 second column of the last division of his so-called revievv of Our 
 Spiritual Guests, where he makes me say. History, sacred and 
 profane, " are " full of such examples. Let us hope to make our 
 peace with the offended ghosts of the grammarians by saying that 
 this is not our work. The critic himself is the author of " his- 
 tory . . are full.'''' 
 
 This same gentleman is liable to substitute words of his own for 
 those of the author he is reviewing. An example of this class 
 will be found in the upper portion of the same column, near the 
 close of a long extract, where — in his office of simplifier — he man- 
 ages to confuse your readers by destroying the sense of the author's 
 language. There, without authority or reason, he makes me 
 responsible for this passage : They feed on miracles with an 
 " oniniferoiis " appetite ! This word is derived from the Latin, 
 
 God I have no belief in so ghastly a doctrine ! " What " doctrine ? " It may be nec- 
 essary to explain here the nature of this terrible " doctrine," which is qualified by an 
 adjective meaning, according to Webster, ^'' J>alc, death-like, ghost-like, and hor- 
 rible ! " Now the reader will be surprised to know that by " ghastly doctrine " the 
 Pharisaical Spirit, speaking through Bro. Hazard, merely refers to our suggestion 
 concerning the probable manner in which Honto turned the scales at Chittenden 
 when Colonel Olcott weighed her. This frightful, so-called "doctrine" which so 
 shocked the materialized Spirit of the pharisee, and thrilled the nerves of his chosen 
 medium, is all embraced in the simple intimation that the Indian Maiden may have 
 turned the scale without stepping on the platform ! Would you believe it possible 
 that it was 
 
 " Merely this, and nothing more " ? 
 
 But the croaking of the raven is an omen dire ! What a monstrous doctrine, to 
 be sure ! And how can an Editor-at-Large atone for such atrocious wickedness ? 
 " The mountain labored " in Rhode Island, and no less a personage than Jehovah is 
 summoned to behold the outcome ! 
 
APPENDIX A. 401 
 
 and means all-bearing j or productive of all kinds. Hence I am 
 made to say, They feed on miracles with an all-bearing appetite — 
 an appetite that produces all kinds. [Thus, according to our 
 simplifier, appetite is the producing cause of all miracles !] In- 
 stead of this unintelligible jargon, the word the writer used was 
 07nnivorous, which, is defined by Webster to mean all-devouring j 
 eating everything indiscriininately . It will be perceived that the 
 term we really employed is significant, and that it has a manifest 
 relation Xo feeding and to appetite. The extreme gullibility of some 
 people — who do little or nothing in this world but hunt for and 
 exhibit whatever most excites our wonder — ^justifies the observa- 
 tion that they feed on miracles with an omnivorous or all-devouring 
 appetite. 
 
 We have always cherished a profound faith in the veracity of 
 figures ; but our confidence would be shaken, just now, if we did 
 not reflect that it is no fault of the figures if Bro. Hazard changes 
 the numbers. This is one phase of his exuberant liberty, and of 
 his new process of simplification, of which we have an example in 
 the fourth column of the last instalment of his review, where he 
 deliberately takes twenty-five po^lnds from the normal weight of 
 Charles Lawrence, thus making it an even hundred. It is true 
 that this quarter of a hundred once had something to do with the 
 physical perfection and manly proportions of our friend ; but it is 
 not of much consequence now, since in the parlance of this world 
 Lawrence, I believe, is dead ; and while living he always seemed 
 to care so little for the material clothing of his spirit, that I am 
 sure he will never pursue the party who has contrived to make 
 way with so much of his old wardrobe. He was not the man 
 to quarrel about trifles. And of what possible use was so much 
 common dust to the spirit ? There is no occasion to indemnify 
 Lawrence for his loss. 
 
 But all this is quite harmless compared with the venomous mat- 
 
402 APPENDIX A. 
 
 ter which proceeds from the same source. The perversity of our 
 critic is revealed in a most surprising manner in the third column 
 of the first part of his review. Assuming, in his own peculiar style 
 ofoffensive dogmatism, that I not only entertain but have expressed 
 just such views as he chooses to attribute to me, he goes on in the 
 following strain, employing the language which he had previously 
 used in one of his own letters : 
 
 " As I have remarked in my letter, it would seem to follow most con- 
 clusively that ' every materializing medium on either continent, in whose 
 presence tangible Spirit-forms have been presented, must have been a 
 trickster ; and every investigator and witness who have given credence to 
 the actuality of the phenomena as genuine, tangible materialized forms, 
 have been either dupes or knaves.' " 
 
 It will be observed that while Mr. Hazard incidentally admits 
 that this language is all his own, he includes the same, beginning 
 with the word "every" in the second line, in quotation marks^ as 
 if it were borrowed from some other author ; and to the end, as 
 it would seem, that the reader, losing sight of his verbal admission 
 at the beginning, may hold the present writer responsible for such 
 language. I am pained to think that any man, who either claims 
 to represent the higher phases of Spiritualism or to have a decent 
 respect for human nature and fair dealing, could possibly descend 
 so low as to resort to such a device. I do not affirm that this was 
 the design of the gentleman who assumes to be my teacher. On 
 the contrary, I should be pleased to know that it was not. But 
 what is the evidence of the succeeding context t Here it is, and 
 the reader will form his own judgment. The extract is a part of 
 the same paragraph from which the foregoing passage not ex- 
 cepting the writer's defective grammar — is taken, and it directly 
 follows the preceding extract in unbroken connection : 
 
 " It seems almost impossible that any man professing to be a Spiritual- 
 ist, however gifted by nature with talents or endowed by education with 
 
APPENDIX A. 403 
 
 learning, should venture to bring such astounding charges against the 
 scores of materializing mediums and thousands of investigators and be- 
 lievers in that phase of the phenomena, without being prepared to sustain 
 them by facts derived from long-continued investigations and observations 
 of the subject in the presence of materializing mediums: and it was with the 
 object, in part, of learning from whom Dr. Brittan had derived the knowl- 
 edge that warranted him in making his sweeping denunciations, that I 
 asked him in the letter to which I have before referred to give the names, 
 &c., of the materializing mediums in the presence of whom he had 
 reached his unfavorable conclusions." 
 
 Here I am boldly accused of having made "astounding charges 
 against scores of materializing mediums and thousands of investi- 
 gators and believers," and of " making sweeping denunciations " 
 of the same, when the truth is I have never done anything of the 
 kind. Every word of this spiteful splurge was generated in the 
 critic s own mind, and is evidence of splenitis or of some dis- 
 order of the brain. 
 
 Mr. Hazard seems to lose sight of the fact that he is in the pres- 
 ence of his peers (and is expected to demean himself accordingly), 
 when he repeatedly intimates, in no ambiguous terms, that I have 
 no knowledge of the higher phenomena, the only ground of his 
 implied assumption being the fact that I can not be dragooned into 
 leaving my appropriate business to write out a long history of my 
 observations and experience for him to carp at.* It is true I was 
 the first person in this country to give public lectures on Spiritual 
 Phenomena and Mediumship ;■ that I edited the first distinctively 
 spiritual paper in the world (so far as appears from the evidence); 
 and that from 1847 to the present hour I have been almost con- 
 tinuously, in one way or another, employed as an investigator of 
 
 * Mr. Hazard would have me neglect my obvious duty and utterly disregard my 
 obligations to the public. He knows that I am under a positive engagement to write 
 for the secular press in the interest of Spiritualism and liberal ideas. The unworthy 
 and irrational attempts to strangle this important project at its birth having failed, 
 he is now doing what he can, with such assistance as is offered, to divert the Editor- 
 at-Large from his appointed work. 
 
404 APPENDIX A. 
 
 the facts and a journalistic writer in the interest of Spiritualism. 
 But all this sig"nifies nothing in the estimation of the man who has 
 the vanity to presume that his innuendo will disprove authentic 
 history, and demonstrate the writer's utter ignorance of the higher 
 manifestations. 
 
 After several times charging me with " repeatedly and dogmati- 
 cally " denouncing respectable citizens, and demanding that I should 
 furnish the proofs of the " rascality, . . . folly and knavery" 
 of honest and sensible people, he again — toward the close of his 
 turgid manifesto — returns to the charge. The ebullition of bad 
 feeling is not subdued or diminished by the previous unlimited free- 
 dom of the same elements. The unquenchable fire still burns with 
 the old intensity, and the eruption continues in the usual style, as 
 will appear from an additional sample of the matter ejected. Here 
 is the last specimen to be offered : 
 
 "I again respectfully but determinedly demand of him, in the name of 
 our scores of injured materializing mediums, and thousands of their ad- 
 vocates and friends, whom Dr. B. has so grossly traduced, that he pro- 
 ceed to publish in some form the ' demonstrative evidence ' he has ob- 
 tained that warrants him in scattering abroad such wholesale accusations." 
 
 Here it is again alleged that I have "grossly traduced" and 
 "injured scores of materializing mediums, and thousands of their 
 advocates and friends." To show that all this splenetic stuff is ut- 
 terly and forever at war with the facts in the case, I beg to repro- 
 duce two brief passages yrc/// the very article which Mr. Hazard is 
 reviewing. Here they are, verbatim., and a righteous public will 
 judge whether or not I have " traduced," or otherwise " injured," 
 any medium in the world : 
 
 EXTRACT FROM OUK SPIRITUAL GUESTS. 
 
 Let no one infer that I am disposed to question the genuineness 
 of many phenomena which occur in connection with the cabinet. 
 Spirits certainly have power to show themselves there as elsewhere ; 
 
APPENDIX A. 405 
 
 but in resting the claims of Spiritualism on any class of facts, I 
 deem it best to select examples which offer to the skeptical mind 
 the least ground of objection. In respect to the cabinet manifesta- 
 tions, it seems proper that each particular case should be examined 
 and judged on its own intrinsic merits ; and if, in the end, there 
 reinains a question concerning the reality of the facts, it is only 
 just to give the medium the benefit of the doubt 
 
 The writer has no disposition to be hypercritical, or to indulge 
 in unjust suspicions of persons when the evidence is inconclusive. 
 It was Bacon who observed that "Suspicions among thoughts are lil<e 
 bats among birds, which ever fly by twilight." When more light 
 is wanted, let us be generous and give the medium the benefit of 
 every doubt. Whenever the phenomena are real (as no doubt they 
 are in many cases), and the forms are both visible and tangible at 
 the same time, and alike to all observers, it must be evident that 
 the Spirit is clothed with material vestments. 
 
 Here is the demonstrative evidence that I was careful to con- 
 scientiously respect the rights and to tenderly shield the reputation 
 of every true medium. And yet how am I misrepresented ! This 
 conduct is a loud protest indeed against the Golden Rule. There 
 is a reason why I should not indulge in any comments here. The 
 only terms which fitly characterize this conduct do not belong to 
 the vocabulary employed in gentlemanly discussion, and I will use 
 no other terms. But if this is not infidelity to truth, justice, and 
 every principle of fraternal fellowship, pray what is it ? 
 
 " His composure must be rare indeed, 
 Whom these things can not blemish." 
 
 If I have, at any time, denounced a single genuine medium as a 
 trickster, let the particular person be named ; if I have ever called 
 any respectable citizen a knave, show us the man, and let the specific 
 charges be rendered in my own words. I will not allow any one 
 
406 APPENDIX A. 
 
 — except lunatics and outlaws — to attempt to cram me with his own 
 impure English, malevolent passions and offensive epithets. I am 
 not to be mistaken for a mere blunderbuss that may be charged to 
 the muzzle with foul explosives and fired off into a crowd of re- 
 spectable people for whom I have not one feeling of unkindness. 
 I have denounced no honest man ; there is not one who can say I 
 have called him a knave or otherwise treated him in an ungentle- 
 manly manner. It I have, as occasion demanded, used censorious 
 words, they have not had the remotest reference to any real medi- 
 um or sincere believer in Spiritualism. My accuser knows, if he is 
 not hopelessly blind and willfully ignorant, that / have beeti careful 
 to limit the application of all such terms to persons guilty of 
 false pretenses in claiming to exercise the gift of mediumship, 
 when they are only experimenting on human credulity frojn 
 mercenary motives. In savagely assailing me for this, my reviewer 
 comes — with whatever weight of character and influence he may 
 possess — to make gross deception and fraud respectable, and to the 
 defense of every hypocritical vagabond who thus steals 
 
 " the livery of the court of heaven 
 
 To serve the devil in." 
 
 What any man can possibly gain — which a good man Vv^ould wish 
 to possess — by inspiring among mediums a feeling of resentment 
 against one who has never injured them, I do not know. If we 
 could be sure that he is fully responsible for this unworthy attempt 
 to excite the prejudices of a large class of persons, whom the writer 
 has often served by shielding them from public reprobation, we 
 should be obliged to infer the existence of a malicious purpose. 
 But we should not hastily accept this most unwelcome conclusion. 
 We must, after all, judge Mr. Hazard dispassionately and in charity. 
 It is perhaps rather to be inferred that his mind — from the influence 
 of many painful experiences — has been led to dwell so long, and 
 
APPENDIX A. 407 
 
 with such intensity, on one subject, that he has come to regard 
 any man who may venture to express an honest opinion at variance 
 with his own as a personal enemy, and a very Judas Iscariot to 
 the cause. If he will direct the current of his thoughts into some 
 other channel for a time, we may hope that he will recover from 
 this mania. 
 
 A review, however searching and severe, by a candid and com- 
 petent critic, would be regarded as a compliment by any sensible 
 man. It would certainly give us pleasure, and might afford in- 
 struction. But there is nothing inspiring in the scenery and as- 
 sociations of a mere chop-house. If one had a special aptitude for 
 carving, we might consent to be subdivided within reasonable 
 limits — never beyond the possible identification of our remains — 
 but from purely sesthetic considerations we object to being ground 
 up in a sausage-mill ! 
 
 The article on Our Spiritual Guests was called for, and we freely 
 gave it to the public. We did not therein assume to express the 
 views of other people. No ; it was the legitimate offspring of our 
 own mind. Will the reader pardon our vanity ? we thought it, on 
 the whole, rather comely in shape and by no means offensive in 
 spirit. But alas ! its original outlines and principal features are 
 now fearfully broken and disfigured. In the mutilated remains 
 which the cleaver has left and Mr. Hazard has scattered over so 
 much unconsecrated ground, we can no more recognize the form 
 and image of our child. No, never ! This seems like unnecessary 
 cruelty. Instead of a fair creation, warmed by a living spirit and 
 endowed with voice and expression, he gives us back only these 
 poor relics. The iconoclast prefers only scattered fragments of 
 things instead of their complete forms ; and so it suits his taste to 
 demolish our household gods with an unsparing hand. De gusti- 
 bus non est disputandum. 
 
 If any one is inclined to think that this communication is unnec- 
 
408 APPENDIX A. 
 
 essarily severe, I beg to remind him that I have neither sought nor 
 provoked a personal controversy with any man in the ranks of Spir- 
 itualism, from first to last. From the beginning I have made it 
 my business to battle with the common enemy. When of late I 
 have occasionally been obliged to pause in this steady resistance 
 of the outside opposition, it has been because 1 found it necessary 
 to lift a shield over myself, and to parry the blows of pretended 
 friends of our common cause. J never made the most distant 
 allusion to any one of my assailants ujitil I was myself the sub- 
 ject of a personal assault j and not one among this little but noisy 
 company of fault-finders — numbering altogether less than a baker's 
 dozen — can assign any reason for his hostility that Reason would 
 not blush to own. My acceptance of the office of Editor-at-Large 
 was my offense. For more than thirty years no Spiritualist had 
 publicly censured me, but thenceforth I was to be the target for 
 dogmatic believers and unsatisfied aspirants for place and power. 
 
 Human nature is capable of great endurance when the necessity 
 exists. We chiefly shrink from the unnecessary ills of this present 
 world. The evils which might be averted subject our patience to 
 the severest trial. We could listen with a kind of satisfaction to a 
 trip-hammer, so long as some utilitarian purpose justified the noise. 
 But if one should carry round an old saw under his arm, and insist 
 on filing it at all hours, merely for his own amusement and to rasp 
 the nerves of the by-standers, we should exercise our privilege, 
 and get out of his way. So we would shun the spirit that begets 
 suspicion, bitterness and strife ; that fills the world with distrust, 
 detraction and discord. The spirit that poisons the very springs 
 of fraternal feeling and social life is no angel of light, but an ugly 
 old hag whose nearest approach to the divine harmonies 
 
 " is a perpetual jar." 
 
 People who love " Peace and pursue it," get away — as far as 
 
APPENDIX A, 409 
 
 possible without shunning- the responsibilities of life — from all dog- 
 matic babblers and common scolds. The reverent mind becomes 
 sick of ceaseless and causeless strife. It is Burke who says : 
 
 " Men have no right to what is not reasonable." 
 
 Where is the reason or justification for this bitter warfare ? And 
 what warrant has any man for attempting- to hound even the hum- 
 blest disciple of the Truth from the chosen field of any honorable 
 and useful labor ? Surrounded by the elements of this unnecessary 
 and profitless strife, the weary soul longs for the sweet solace of 
 silence and solitude ; praying in spirit, as did the Hebrew min- 
 strel, " Oh, that I had wings like a dove ! for then would I fly away 
 and be at rest." 
 
 Here my part in this unwelcome controversy ends. Regretting 
 the necessity which called for this communication, and trusting 
 that your readers will pardon me for once occupying so much space 
 in my own defense, I now take leave of Mr. Hazard with sincere 
 wishes for his physical health and spiritual welfare. 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 Belvidere, Warren Co., N. J., | 
 Sept. 20, 1880, \ 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 THE WESTERN SPIRITUAL PRESS. 
 
 AT an early day the enterprise which proposed to employ the 
 Secular Press in the elucidation and defense of Spiritualism, 
 met with most determined opposition ; not, however, from the 
 avowed enemies of the truth, as might have been expected ; but — 
 strange as the fact may seem — from a certain class of professed 
 friends ! The principal facts in the case seem to be essential ele- 
 ments in the true history of the work of the Secular Press Bureau. 
 The truth can not be dishonored, nor can any man be wronged by a 
 candid and dispassionate record of the simple truth in this matter. 
 We have no valuable time to waste in personal disputations, and 
 we have no taste for such occupation. As far as possible — in every 
 controversy — we desire to deal with principles, not men, and will 
 not go beyond our self-imposed limit in the freedom of discussion. 
 My readers will remember that conspicuous among the phases of 
 the opposition to the Editor-at-Large and the method adopted by 
 the Secular Press Bureau, was the unfriendly attitude of the Religio- 
 Philosophical yournal. Even while the preliminary arrangements 
 were in progress, and before the public had witnessed the actual 
 inauguration of the work, the following appeared as an editorial 
 leader in the Journal oi the date of December 20, 1879 • 
 
 THE " EDITOR- AT-LARGE " SCHEME. 
 
 There was inaugurated several months since through the columns of our 
 esteemed Boston contemporary, a scheme to raise a fund wherewith to 
 
APPENDIX B. 41 I 
 
 retain Prof. S. B. Brittan to defend Spiritualism through the columns 
 of the scientific, religious and secular journals of this country. The 
 plan does not appear to have been received w^ith much enthusiasm, for 
 after obtaining the strongest editorial indorsement from our contempo- 
 rary in successive issues, the fund has now only reached $260, and of this 
 amount the sum of $200 is given by three contributors. We have lately 
 been solicited by one who thinks favorably of the attempt to " say some 
 earnest words for this enterprise " in the Jouriial. We had hoped to 
 escape the necessity of defining our position on this matter; and owing 
 to a sincere friendship for Prof. Brittan, it is with profound regret we 
 feel obliged, after mature deliberation, to wholly dissent to the proposed 
 scheme atid for the following among other reasons : 
 
 1. There does not appear to have been any agreement entered into on 
 the part of a single scientific, religious or secular journal to publish articles 
 which Prof. Brittan may offer; and furthermore, there is no probability 
 that any such agreement can be made. It is a notorious fact that on 
 many occasions when' Spiritualism has been most grossly maligned and 
 misrepresented in the columns of scientific magazines and leading secu- 
 lar papers, some of our ablest writers have without price proffered re- 
 plies and been refused space, and this, too, when by every principle of 
 right and justice the adherents of Spiritualism were entitled to a hearing. 
 
 2. Leading periodicals and secular papers are governed wholly by the 
 demand; they cater to the general public or to special classes, and are 
 quick to note what their readers want, and are able and ready to buy at 
 fair prices such matter as is required. The mere fact that an article can 
 be had free of cost is, of itself, no inducement to influential papers to 
 give it space. That they do not buy articles on Spiritualism, is an evi- 
 dence that their customers do not demand that commodity. Horace 
 Greeley once remarked to an enthusiastic and able editorial writer who 
 desired to illustrate certain truths in a series of editorials, and who de- 
 fended his plan on the ground that the articles would tend to enlighten 
 and benefit the people: "I am not offering goods that won't sell, it 
 is not alone a question of merit ; the main question is. Are they salable ?" 
 That answer settled the publication of the editorials and the young man too. 
 
 3. Having raised a sufficient fund (how much ?) to retain Prof. Brittan 
 for the " defense," it will then become necessary to raise another fund 
 large enough to pay from fifty cents to one dollar per line for the space 
 used in such leading periodicals and papers as will be of any service to 
 Spiritualism; thus the quixotic, chimerical aspect of the enterprise is at 
 once apparent. 
 
412 APPENDIX B. 
 
 4. Supposing a sufficient fund were raised and the publishers of the 
 leading scientific, religious and secular papers were to generously unite in 
 establishing the office of Spiritualist Superintendency of Editors- (for that 
 is what the proposed plan amounts to), and were to throw open the 
 columns of their respective publications to Dr. Brittan, what would be 
 the immediate result ? How long would it be before the accommodating 
 editors of such papers would have a hornet's nest about their ears in the 
 shape of articles from other Spiritualists, dissenting vigorously from one 
 or more of Dr. Brittan's statements and declaring that what they respect- 
 ively offered was the real bona fide thing, and that Spiritualism would 
 suffer in the eyes of the world unless at once set right ? 
 
 This is no overdrawn picture of the probabilities, and brings us back 
 to the realization that after all, the Spiritualist press must be relied on to 
 promulgate and expound the truths of Spiritualism ; and it will do the 
 work in due time and in its own way. In the various Spiritualist papers 
 there is room for all the learning, talent, culture and inspiration to be 
 found in the ranks of Spiritualism. Let Spiritualists support their own 
 papers with that alacrity and zeal which duty to mankind demands, and 
 the Spiritualist press will then be able to pay liberally such able men as 
 Prof. Brittan and hundreds of others for their labor, and will assume a 
 place in the current literature of the age second in power and influence 
 to none. 
 
 We are always highly interested in whatever Prof. Brittan writes, and 
 agree therewith in the main ; we should be most happy to have a way 
 open so that he could devote his whole time to writing for the Spiritualist 
 press. He is now a regular contributor for the Banner of Light, and if 
 that paper will throw its columns open to him without placing any restric- 
 tions on what he shall write about, and he will freely and frankly give 
 his views on the various important questions of vital interest constantly 
 arising in our ranks, we will not object to the raising of a permanent fund 
 to pay him for his services, and we will subscribe to the same $50.00, 
 which is the amount Messrs. Colby & Rich give to the " Editor-at-Large " 
 enterprise. This offer we make as a sort of compromise, and do not 
 thereby mean to be understood as favoring the " Editor-at-Large " scheme, 
 however modified; for at best the plan will be looked upon by the gen- 
 eral Spiritualist public as but another eleemosynary device. And the de- 
 mand will be made, that the scope of the work be sufficiently enlarged to 
 
 * No superintendency of the spiritual journalism of the country was ever dreamed 
 of by any one interested in the Bureau. Not even the remotest suggestion of the 
 kind emanated from any one except those whose aim was to defeat the enterprise. 
 
APPEiN'DIX B. 413 
 
 bring within its field dozens of men and women, who as mediums and 
 lecturers, have unselfishly labored in the cause from ten to thirty years, 
 and who now in their declining days find themselves in poverty, unable to 
 alleviate their most pressing wants. 
 
 The reader will have observed that in the foregoing article it is 
 confidently assumed that it would be quite impossible to obtain 
 space for the proposed Secular Press Correspondence without pay- 
 ing for it at the regular advertising rzX&s— " fro7n fifty cents to one 
 dollar per line "—as therein specified. This appears to have been 
 the chief ground of objection at the date of the Editor's first mis- 
 sive. Referring to the question of the possible chances of our ob- 
 taining access to the columns of important journals he uses this 
 language : — " There is no probability that any such agreement can 
 be made." And yet, according to the estimate of Mr. Charles D. 
 Lakey, Editor and proprietor of the American Builder, the Edi- 
 tor-at-Large — during the first year of his service — actually oc- 
 cupied the space of 15,000 lines in illustration and defetise of 
 Spiritualism, for which not a single dime was ever paid. 
 
 FROM THE RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, JANUARY lO, 1880. 
 ' ' THE ' EDITOR- AT-LARGE ' SCHEME AGAIN. 
 
 " We exceedingly regret that the reasons we gave for not advocating 
 Prof. Brittan's editor-at-large scheme, should seem to bring us in antag- 
 onism with that worthy gentleman. We endeavored to be as considerate 
 as possible, and we think our readers will say that our bill of exceptions, 
 taken as a whole, is good and capable of being in the main sustained, 
 and yet that it is kindly and appreciative toward Dr. Brittan. In the 
 last issue of the Banner of Light, Dr. Brittan has an article over his own 
 name on the subject, in which, after stating that he has in the past had 
 articles published in the Tribune and Times of New York, etc., he adds : " 
 
 [As the JournaVs method of dismembering our paragraphs is 
 not at all suited to our taste, we may here do ourself justice by the 
 insertion of a more extended extract than that paper was pleased 
 to give to its readers.] 
 
414 APPENDIX B. 
 
 As I am writing this for the information of Spiritualists who are 
 presumed to be well informed, it is hardly necessary to remind 
 them that, for many years, the present writer has been a frequent 
 contributor to the columns of the secular press, and that his own 
 articles in defense of Spiritualism have reached hundreds of thou- 
 sands of readers through the New York Herald, Tribntte, and 
 other widely circulated papers. Some of these contributions have 
 been direct replies to the most virulent assaults of our enemies ; 
 and it gives me pleasure to record the fact — as an evidence of hon- 
 orable improvement in the character of American journalism — that 
 they have been conspicuously published, under displayed lines, and 
 without a single word of editorial detraction or qualification. In 
 view of these facts it will be perceived that the mere speculators in 
 the chances of our obtaining such recognition, and the captious 
 critics who imagine it will be necessary to raise a separate fund to 
 pay for the insertion of such contributions as advertisements, have 
 a no more substantial foundation for their opinions than the idle 
 vagaries of the unwilling mind, and a manifest lack of knowledge 
 of what has already been accomplished. 
 
 Articles forwarded to the press from the Editor-at-Large Bureau, 
 if finally declined, will probably be published in the Banner of 
 Light^ together with such reasons as may be assigned for their re- 
 jection. The results of this experiment will enable us to deter- 
 mine who among our secular, scientific and religious journalists 
 believe in justice, and do not fear the result when truth and error 
 meet in an open field. We shall also be able to give all merited 
 distinction to those who insist on nothing but ex-parte testimony, 
 and the discussion of only one side of this great question of the 
 ages. S. B. B. 
 
 " We deplore the effect that our well-intentioned article seems to have 
 produced on our most excellent brother. We submit that it is mere 
 speculation as to whether leading papers will publish his articles, hence 
 
APPENDIX B. 415 
 
 the covert sarcasm in the phrase ' mere speculators ' grieves us. Again, 
 we appeal to the spiritualistic public to know, if our article warranted 
 Prof. Brittan's use of the term ' captious critics ? ' True, he has so 
 worded his letter that the readers of the Bamter who do not see the 
 Journal will not know that he refers to us, yet it is apparent what he 
 means, though it is discreet not to let the mass of his readers know from 
 whence the objections to his scheme come — when we speak of the scheme 
 as one of Dr. Bri:tan's own conception we speak advisedly and from per- 
 sonal knowledge. Furthermore, we did not speak from ' lack of knowl- 
 edge of what has already been accomplished,' but, on the contrary, with 
 a full knowledge thereof. 
 
 The kernel of this nut is laid bare in the second paragraph quoted from 
 Dr. Brittan. So after all Brother Brittan is to be paid by the general 
 public for writing articles which ' will probably be published in the Ban- 
 ner of Light.' That is good ! Verj^ good ! The probability is so near a 
 certainty that it is safe to say a very large proportion of the articles will 
 certainly be published in the Banner.'^ 
 
 To this we have no objection; v/hat we do object to is the attempt to 
 foist an eleemosynary scheme upon the public in this way; and, too, there 
 are very grave doubts as to whether some of the subscriptions as pub- 
 lished are bona fide. We do not say they are not; far be it from us to 
 make such a grave and damning assertion, but we simply state a fact 
 when we say there is a wide-spread doubt on the subject. 
 
 IVe are authorized to and do hereby offer to the editor of the Banner of 
 Light, $25 toward the fund if he will produce the evidence on demand of 
 our attorney, which shall prove that the purported donation of $500 was 
 bona fide. It is not essential that the name of the donor be made pub- 
 lic. If the proposition is accepted we will name our attorney, place the 
 money in his hands, and on receipt of his report will publish the same, 
 and thus either allay or confirm the suspicions now held by many, includ- 
 ing representative people who are perfectly friendly toward both Dr. 
 Brittan and our Boston contemporary." 
 
 In the first of the two preceding articles the editor of the Jourtial 
 incidentally refers to an "eleemosynary device," and in the second, 
 having become assured that his ungracious suspicion was well- 
 
 * Time has verified the truth of this prophecy, but it remains to be stated that they 
 mainly appeared in the Banner after they had been widely published in influential 
 secular journals, which fact it suits the policy of the Journal to suppress. 
 
4l6 APPENDIX B. 
 
 founded, he boldly assumes, as a matter of fact, "the attempt to 
 foist an eleemosynary scheme upon the public in this way." Let 
 us briefly analyze his language. To foist is to introduce without 
 authority, and surreptitiously, fraudulently, or by the practice of 
 some deception. Eleemosynary is a term that has a special rela- 
 tion to charity or alms-giving. It is also applied to persons v/ho 
 are dependent, or can only subsist at the expense of others. A 
 pauper is aji eleemosynary individual. A scheme is a particular 
 plan or practical method by which some purpose, object or end is 
 to be accomplished. 
 
 Now if the Editor of the Journal really comprehended the sig- 
 nificance of the terms he employed — and we suppose he did — he 
 must have intended to say, in substance at least, that the Editor- at- 
 Large, Luther Colby, Isaac B. Rich and other prominent friends 
 of the Secular Press Bureau, were engaged in an attempt, by 
 fraudulent representations, to force the present writer upon an 
 unwilling public as an object of charity. By what authority did he 
 assume that the friends and promoters of this enterprise were all 
 enlisted in a conspiracy to mislead and defraud the public, and 
 wliy was the present writer thus unceremoniously dragooned be- 
 fore his readers as a miserable and unworthy dependent on public 
 charity ? He takes me for a medicant; but I have never asked alms 
 at the hands of any person on earth. The man who may — at least 
 for the present, and so long as health and the exercise of his facul- 
 ties remain — obtain, by honest labor, a respectable subsistence in 
 any one of a half dozen different ways, is by no means reduced to the 
 dire necessity which the yoicrnaPs language most distinctly implies. 
 If other parties choose to employ such a man in any capacity, and 
 he^finding the proposed work congenial to his taste and the habit 
 of his life — elects to perform skilled labor for the small wages of an 
 ordinary mechanic, he can scarcely be regarded as less honorably 
 self-supporting on that account. Why, then, did the editor of the 
 
APPENDIX B. 417 
 
 yournal employ such lang-uage in referring to the present writer 
 if not to dishonor him before the public ? What motive inspired 
 the cool aiTront thus offered to the several gentlemen and ladies 
 associated with him in the same work, if it was not a disposition to 
 degrade them in the estimation of his readers ? 
 
 It can not have escaped the observation of the reader that the 
 proprietor of the Journal fills his whole paper, from week to week, 
 with matter ostensibly prepared and published in the interest of 
 Spiritualism. But lie docs not give his paper away j nor does he 
 propose to work for nothing and Jind himself. It is fair to pre- 
 sume that he depends on the subscriptions of his four thousand 
 patrons to defray the necessary expenses in the prosecution of this 
 journalistic work. He has also been accustomed to depend on 
 several writers for free contributions to his columns. But seeing 
 this dependence upon others for the support of his enterprise — 
 through all its history — no one has yet been so ungracious as to 
 even suggest that the publication of his paper is an " attempt to 
 foist an eleemosynary scheme upon the public." 
 
 In the concluding portion of the Joiirnal's article of January 10, 
 1880, it is distinctly intimated that the subscription of $500 by one 
 man to the Editor-at-Large fund was not bona fide. To be sure, 
 this involved the inference that several honorable gentlemen were 
 guilty of false pretenses, and were wickedly conspiring to defraud 
 the public. But the sower who went forth to scatter the seeds of 
 suspicion and discord in many minds and hearts, did not hesitate 
 to act on his own conclusion. On this point he was so confident 
 as to offer twenty-five dollars, to be paid into the treasury of the 
 fund, on the one single condition that the Editor of the Banner of 
 Light would first prove to the Journal's attorney that the $500 
 was really subscribed in good faith and actually paid. The further 
 pledge was given that the facts developed by the investigation 
 would be published in the Western organ of Spiritualism, This 
 
41 8 APPENDIX B. 
 
 offer was promptly accepted; the attorney presented himself in due 
 time and pursued his inquiries at headquarters; the facts relating 
 to the subscription and payment of the money were all proved, by 
 evidence that would be accepted as decisive in any court for the 
 trial of civil causes in this country. But no public report was ever 
 made of the result ; to the best of our knowledge and belief the 
 Western spiritual paper did not ptiblish the facts elicited by its 
 chosen attorney ; and we have authority for adding that the Jour- 
 naPs subscription to the Editor-at-Large fund remains unpaid. 
 
 TAKING UP A NEW POSITION. 
 
 It soon became evident that the Secular Press Correspondence of 
 the Editor-at-Large was finding its way into the best papers in city 
 and country, and the good results were also beginning to be appar- 
 ent. The original ground occupied by the spiritualistic opposition 
 was powerfully shaken ; it threatened to cave in or otherwise slip 
 from beneath the feet of the besieging forces. One may possibly 
 exhibit something like strategy, even when he goes forth to en- 
 gage alone in a war of words. A sudden change of base became 
 a necessity, and this was happily accomplished by a most skillful 
 manoeuver, the Colonel commanding. We find the following 
 "order of the day" in the Religio-Philosophical Journal of 
 January 31, 1880: 
 
 TO spiritualists! 
 
 "You will all readily admit the need of an organized and sustained ag- 
 gressive policy on the part of Spiritualists in dealing with the world of 
 opposition and ignorance with which we have to contend in advancing a 
 knowledge of Spiritual Truth. The desirability of meeting misstate- 
 ments, ignorant criticisms and unjust attacks through the same channels 
 in which they are given to the pubUc, is patent to all and needs no argu- 
 ment. To overcome the obstacles in the way and secure this desirable 
 object is to some extent possible now, provided united and persistent 
 
APPENDIX B. 419 
 
 effort is made, and the sooner we begin and the longer we persist in such 
 united and aggressive action, the easier will become the task. 
 
 While there is a general agreement as to the advisability of such action, 
 there arise differences as to the best method of initiating and carrying on 
 the work. There appear grave objections and dangers, in the minds of 
 many, to clothing any single individual with authority to represent the 
 millions of Spiritualists, and the certainty of division on this point will 
 tend to seriously affect the desired object.* 
 
 Further, the difficulty of raising a fund from year to year sufficient to 
 pay an adequate salary for such purpose is broached, and with great force, 
 we admit, in view of the unorganized condition of Spiritualists and the 
 comparatively limited support given even to spiritual publications and 
 lecturers. It seems to us that these difficulties, and others nearly as 
 serious, can be overcome, in a great measure, and the work rendered 
 feasible, by dividing the duties and responsibilities of the work among a 
 goodly number, who shall perform it without pecuniary consideration. 
 We are all co-workers, brothers and sisters in this glorious labor of love, 
 and it matters not Avho does any particular task, so that it is well and 
 promptly done. 
 
 Therefore we, the undersigned, pledge ourselves to gratuitously do this 
 work ; and ask each and every Spiritualist, respectively, to write their 
 names as members of our corps of advisers and helpers. Let all keep 
 watch and guard, and whenever one sees occasion for action, let him 
 either devote himself to the task, or refer it, with the proper data, to the 
 one on this list whom he thinks best qualified for that particular case or 
 the special work in view. 
 
 The time demands our united action, and, united in a common cause, 
 we will zealously and persistently work together for the achievement of a 
 common purpose. 
 
 J. M. Peebles, Hammonton, N. J. 
 Hudson Tuttle, Berlin Heights, Ohio. 
 Samuel Watson, Memphis, Tenn. 
 Samuel Bigelow, Alliance, Ohio. 
 
 D. P Kayner, Chicago, 111. 
 
 E. S. HoLBROOK, Chicago, 111. 
 
 * The Editor~at-Large no more claimed " authority to represent the millions of 
 Spiritualists " than does the Editor of the Journal, who fills his whole paper with 
 his views and those of his correspondents, on the same general subject. The Jour- 
 naFs man of straw has leave to retire from our presence. 
 
420 , APPENDIX B. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Wilson, Lembard, 111. 
 
 E. W. Bond, Willoughby, Ohio. 
 
 J. Murray Case, Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 Lyman C. Howe, Fredonia, N. Y, 
 
 A. B. Spinney, Detroit, Mich. 
 
 Bronson Murray, New York City. 
 
 Mrs. Emma Tuttle, Berlin Heights, Ohio. 
 
 J. G. Jackson, Hockessin, Del. 
 
 Giles B. Stebbins, Washington, D. C. 
 
 E. V. Wilson, Lombard, 111. 
 
 A. B. French, Clyde, Ohio. 
 
 H. H. Brown, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Mrs. Maria M. King, Hammonton, N. J. 
 
 Wm. E. Coleman, Fort Sill, I. T. 
 
 Wm. Fishbough, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 C. Fanny Allyn, Stoneham, Mass. 
 
 John A. Hoover, Philadelphia, Pa." 
 
 In this Manifesto the importance of the work we had undertaken 
 to perform is freely admitted, and the necessity for the prosecution 
 of the same is urged upon the public as highly important. It is 
 also acknowledged that if " the obstacles in the way" had not yet 
 been "overcome," they might be by proper effort, and the friends 
 of Spiritualism are exhorted to "persist in such united and aggres- 
 sive action." Only one essential modification of the plan seems to 
 have been thought necessary at that time to secure for the move- 
 ment a certain and grand success. The new feature to be intro- 
 duced was to abolish the fund, and thus not only conserve the 
 priceless virtue of economy among our people, but, at the same 
 time, furnish many conspicuous and memorable examples of disin- 
 terested devotion and cheerful self-sacrifice in the cause of truth. 
 
 To illustrate the reprehensible prodigality of the subscribers to 
 the fund, and to convince others that there was no sense in this 
 useless waste of money, the names and residences of tivejity -three 
 Editors-ai-Large were furnished, all of whom are represented as 
 volunteering to perform the same or similar labors without any 
 
APPENDIX B. 421 
 
 material recompense for their services. There are some excellent 
 names in this list ; minds whose ability we are pleased to recog- 
 nize, more especially since they are credited with disinterested 
 labors in the past. One of the most distinguished among them 
 called on the writer, only a few days after the article addressed' 
 To Spiritualists appeared, and apologized for the presence of 
 his name in that connection. He declared that he had been de- 
 ceived j that he had been asked to merely allow his name to be 
 used in connection with an article on missionary labor; and that 
 not even the most distant intimation was given him that the pro- 
 posed article would make any reference whatever to the Editor-at- 
 Large work. Such were the representations — as stated by the 
 gentleman himself — that induced him to consent to the use of his 
 name. This is suggestive of what may have been the facts in some 
 other cases, but comment is unnecessary. 
 
 Of course the JournaFs final appeal produced the effect the 
 author intended on the minds of Western Spiritualists who read 
 that paper. They did not generally subscribe to the Secular Press 
 Bureau fund. It may have seemed a little singular to the uniniti- 
 ated that the twenty-three did not immediately rush to the field 
 and engage in the service to which they had been assigned. We 
 are not informed that any one of the volunteer (?) Editors-at-Large 
 made any particular move in that direction. If they acted at all, it 
 must have been with so much reserve and secrecy that their move- 
 ments did not arrest public attention. But we are not authorized 
 to arraign any one for a neglect of duty on this account. If the 
 volunteer editorial corps, recruited by Colonel Bundy, did not do 
 anything to speak of, and at the same time no one expressed sur- 
 prise, it was probably for the reason that no one ever expected 
 them to enter the service as proposed. 
 
422 APPENDIX B, 
 
 PLACED IN A FALSE POSITION. 
 
 Soon after the publication of the paper on Our Spiritual Guests, 
 a lengthy editorial leader appeared in the Religio-Philosophical 
 Journal, purporting to be a review of the same. It was respectful 
 in terms, and otherwise calculated to leave the impression on the 
 mind of the reader that the purpose of the writer was friendly, and 
 the spirit which inspired it altogether catholic. But this appar- 
 ently friendly review totally misrepresented our position on the 
 question of Materialization. It left the reader to infer that we at- 
 tributed all the phenomena ordinarily embraced under this head 
 to the magnetic influence and psychological action of Spirits, ex- 
 erted through the sensory nerves upon the human mind in the 
 body. We had carefully analyzed and classified the facts, com- 
 monly described as " the materialization of spirits," dividing them 
 \n\.o four separate classes, each of which was clearly defined. Only 
 one of the four classes was attributed to the psychological powers 
 of the Spirits and their influence over the senses and the minds of 
 mortals.* 
 
 Now it seemed to be eminently proper to correct this misrepre- 
 sentation, that we might not be placed in a false position before 
 the readers of the Journal^ and we took the least offensive way of 
 making this correction. Having no inclination to encourage per- 
 sonal and acrimonious disputations, already too prevalent among 
 professed Spiritualists, we waived our moral right to openly con- 
 trovert the statements and representations of the editor in his own 
 columns. In a few lines, couched in civil and polite terms, we 
 called his attention to the subject. To such a brief reference — as 
 an introduction — we attached a printed slip containing the four 
 paragraphs embracing our complete classification, requesting, as 
 
 * The four paragraphs here referred to as embracing our complete classification 
 may be found on pages 357 — 361 of this volume. 
 
APPENDIX B. 423 
 
 an act of simple justice to ourself, that the same might be copied 
 into the Jour7ial. Our petition was neither granted nor otherwise 
 recognized, and no attention was ever given to our very reasonable 
 request. 
 
 The articles which we have reproduced entire, and in which the 
 present writer is represented as engaged with his friends in "an 
 eleemosynary scheme " to " foist" himself upon Spiritualists as an 
 unworthy pensioner upon their bounty, are otherwise almost profuse 
 in expressions of personal respect and friendship for the writer. 
 In the last one — we mean the "indorsed paper" — the great im- 
 portance of the Secular Press Bureau work, and its feasibility, by 
 the adoption of the method therein proposed, is acknowledged. 
 The reader will scarcely fail to observe, however, that the personal 
 friendship for the Editor-at-Large, and the real measure of interest 
 in the work, find only mute illustration in our Western Spiritual 
 journalism. It is true that the Banner did reproduce most of the 
 articles originally published by the secular press ; also that impor- 
 tant portions of the Bureau Correspondence were republished in 
 foreign countries and highly commended ; but the earnest and 
 faithful labor of two years never elicited so much as one line of ap- 
 proval in the columns of the Jourttal. 
 
 Among the correspondents who have made the Joiir7ial the ve- 
 hicle of offensive personalities and covert attempts to defeat the 
 work of the Editor-at-Large, is one who, in his former extreme 
 poverty, had unlimited freedom at our table, and came, with or 
 without invitation, at all times, until by the death of a relative he 
 suddenly became wealthy, since which auspicious event his shadow 
 has never fallen on our humble threshold. There are several 
 others — obsessed individuals or perhaps otherwise rendered irre- 
 sponsible, whom we can not compliment by a special notice in this 
 connection, inasmuch as this would be little short of giving gravity 
 to smoke, or undue importance to trifles. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 PLEADING TO THE INDICTMENT. 
 
 FROM THE RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, MAY 29, 1880. 
 
 IN the Journal of April 24th, I find a letter from Mr. A. J. 
 Davis, containing a paragraph which has proved to be of a 
 somewhat sensational character as may be inferred from the com- 
 ments- it has already elicited. My reference is to the following 
 passage : 
 
 "Leading minds in Spiritualism in New York and elsewhere seem 
 deeply impressed that it is time to give ' form ' to that which for so long 
 has been ' void.' Who these leading gentlemen are, has not fully come 
 to my knowledge. But I learn, definitely, that Prof. S. B. Brittan, Prof. 
 Kiddle, Prof. Buchanan, Judge Cross, Charles Partridge, Henry J. New- 
 ton, and others, moved by kindred convictions, have been and are now at 
 work perfecting a 'Constitution, By-Laws,' etc., which may possibly 
 serve to bring order out of chaos. You remember that, some two years 
 ago, I called attention in your columns to the desirableness of an organ- 
 ization, with more than one phase, over each form of which a certain 
 named well-qualified gentleman might with great propriety be called upon 
 to preside. For I doubt, when they once begin to organize, whether one 
 common name and one lationalistic purpose will satisfy the large majority 
 of non-progressives which begin to enter under the wings of Christian 
 Spiritualism. The drift of all thoughtful Spiritualists — especially the 
 influential leaders before mentioned — is undisguisedly toward existing 
 sentimental Christianism. How all this is to subserve the greater spirit- 
 ualization and liberalization of mankind, is more than I can comprehend. 
 You will, therefore, now and always find me 'outside ' of the party lines." 
 
 That the persons above named, and others, have been discussing 
 424 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 425 
 
 the subject of organization, and that they have actually framed a 
 Constitution and By-Laws— which may or may not become the 
 organic law of a de facto Association— is substantially true. That 
 there is anything particularly ." .y^w/Zw^w/a/ " in this movement— 
 anything of a romantic nature, or involving — as the term may be 
 understood to imply — an excessive exercise, or morbid develop- 
 ment of the sensibilities of human nature, is nowhere else apparent 
 save in the foregoing paragraph. In reaching his conclusions our 
 friend rests on the testimony of some one who is not introduced to 
 the reader. It is well ; the witness may preserve his incognito. 
 Let us be gracious and waive the cross-examination, while we 
 learn from experience that scientific philosophers and apostles of 
 Nature, as well as other people, may profitably scrutinize the 
 sources of their information. 
 
 The assumption that the movement proves and illustrates the 
 fact that "The drift of all thoughtful Spiritualists— especially the 
 influential leaders before mentioned — is undisguisedly toward ex- 
 isting sentimental Christianism," will derive no possible support 
 from a critical examination of the facts. We never for a moment 
 suspected that any one, even with the duplex lens of microscopic 
 clairvoyance, aided by the double reflectors of a lively imagination, 
 would ever discover a vestige of " Christianism " in the work of 
 the organizers. Christ is neither named nor remotely referred to 
 in their Constitution. Let no hysterical brother be alarmed because 
 the new Society has one Cross. To allay all unnecessary appre- 
 hension we are ready to affirm that he has nothing whatever to do 
 with the atonement, and that no one is expected to be crucified ! 
 
 In all that has been put on paper by the Committee on Organiza- 
 tion there is not so much as a most distant allusion to the Church; 
 to the necessity for its continued existence, or for the observance of 
 any religious rite or ceremony. No one is required to accept the 
 peculiar views and dogmatic opinions of another. Not even by 
 
426 APPENDIX C. 
 
 implication does the proposed Constitution limit the freedom of the 
 individual, nor in any way interfere with either his faith, philosophy 
 or worship. It offers no thirty-nine articles, nor any other num- 
 ber, expressive of the religious convictions of its members. It will, 
 therefore, be found to tolerate a larger liberty than is enjoyed 
 within the Episcopal jurisdiction, of which an irreverent member 
 once said he preferred it to any other Church because it never med- 
 dled with either politics or religion ! 
 
 But the sources of consolation, to be derived from the freedom 
 of the Constitution of the new Society, are not yet exhausted. The 
 candidate for admission to membership may be Pagan, Jew, Chris- 
 tian, or Mussulman. He may have one thousand gods or not even 
 one, as may be determined by the inclination of his mind. His 
 theology may embrace seven heavens or seventy thousand ; all the 
 hells of Dante, Milton and Swedenborg, or none at all beyond the 
 present life. Moreover, he may believe in Mr. Kersey Graves' 
 " Sixteen Crucified Saviors," multiplied by as many more as he may 
 be able to find in history or evolve from his own brains. Who- 
 ever wants a larger liberty than this will not be expected to join 
 the Association. It would be a pity to have any soul of great 
 latent powers and lofty aims cramped and belittled to all eternity 
 for lack of space in which to exercise and grow up to the heavenly 
 standard of his possibilities. Genius must have room for the proper 
 inflation of its ideas if we unroof the world. At the same time it 
 must be confessed, that arbitrary restraints are often inspiring to 
 those who have the power of adequate resistance. Trumbull ob- 
 served this fact and put the idea thus in two lines of his McFingal : 
 
 " For genius swells more strong and clear 
 When close confined — like bottled beer." 
 
 Let us be serious when we may. The qualifications for member- 
 ship in the new organization, which are really required, may be 
 
APPENDIX C. 427 
 
 thus briefly expressed : An honest purpose in seeking admission 
 and fellowship j habits of life and a general deportment which 
 command respect ; and a sincere desire to obtain the truth and 
 promote the welfare of mankind. 
 
 We have some unhappy people among us for whom we are suit- 
 ably sorry. The mention of the religious idea in their hearing in- 
 spires a kind of frenzy or delirium. I scarcely need remind the 
 reader that the Harmonial Philosopher is not one of this class. He 
 believes in the "beautiful religion of Nature," and he is too cool to 
 ever become delirious. Nevertheless, there are several poor vic- 
 tims of the mania that oppose all religion. It may soothe these 
 and relieve other monomaniacs — people tormented by morbid ap- 
 prehensions of the loss of their own precious independence — to be 
 assured that the pri7Jia facie evidence is that the organizers are all 
 Atheists, inasmuch as they have no God in their Constitution. 
 Now we solemnly affirm this to be the fact in respect to the organic 
 law of the new Association. Is not this enough to bring peace to 
 troubled souls ; to allay the nervous irritability of venerable ladies 
 of both sexes, and to insure the safety of our institutions ? We 
 think it is all that can be required, and we here offer the Poet's 
 benediction : 
 
 "Rest, rest, perturbed spirits." 
 
 The paragraph I have had occasion to review, regarded as a 
 criticism, is certainly very mild in terms and gentle enough in 
 spirit. If it has appeared to be of mischievous tendency, it is not 
 from the purpose of the writer, but rather from the use which has 
 already been made of it by others. I am not disposed to attribute 
 any unfriendly intention to Bro. Davis. But the truth is, his words 
 are taken as a text by acrimonious critics ; by brawling scolds, 
 whose disease has become chronic ; and, it may be, by fierce 
 demoniacs. We are rudely assailed as enemies of religious liberty, 
 
428 APPENDIX C. 
 
 guilty of a studied attempt to demoralize Spiritualism by founding 
 a new sect in theology and religion — the very tiling the writer 
 has been cotitending against for forty years. Some of these bel- 
 igerents threaten us with perpetual war. They are determined 
 to give us no peace unless we seek it by personal humiliation and 
 repentance, or purchase the same at the cost of our honest con- 
 victions. What these malignants virtually demand is submission 
 to their authority. We shall probably remain impenitent. We 
 can not accept the guidance of these valiant knights whose chief 
 occupation is battling with wind-mills, and wrestling fearfully with 
 the phantoms evolved from their own disordered brains. 
 
 Some people seem delighted when they can find " a bone to 
 pick;" it enables them to show their teeth. If we have furnished 
 one for the time, let those gnaw the same who like the occupation. 
 This bone is probably larger than some; at the same time it may 
 be as lean and not more nutritious than that imaginary bone for 
 which — on a memorable occasion — 
 
 "Old mother Hubbard 
 Went to the cupboard." 
 
 Yet on such food do envious busybodies, and mischievous med- 
 dlers with other people's affairs, contrive to subsist. It is not 
 strange that they grow lean in spirit and wolfish in disposition. 
 The pit opens in the path of all spiteful souls, and images with 
 glaring eyes and gory locks haunt the presence of the man who 
 " hateth his brother." There are men of perverted minds, whose 
 hearts are full of bitterness ; men of base feeling, vulgar manners, 
 rude speech and malicious purposes, who sow discord and stir up 
 strife. A Christian Apostle refers to them when he says, "Their 
 throat is an open sepulcher ; with their tongues they have used de- 
 ceit ; the poison of asps is under their lips ; whose mouth is full of 
 cursing and bitterness."' (Rom. iii : 13, 14.) Such men are not 
 
APPENDIX C. 429 
 
 only regardless of the social amenities and moral obligations of 
 life, but they are disturbers of the peace of society. A man may 
 be a saint and be stung by a scorpion. Even a gadfly may pester 
 a lion ; while, out of the faithless bosom, a serpent may lift his 
 venomous head and strike,— 
 
 "At everything that glistens fair and white." 
 
 While the divine realities of all the past are reproduced in our 
 time, it is no less true that the unclean phases and distorted feat- 
 ures of the world's moral history and spiritual experience, are being 
 repeated in our presence. The gates of heaven stand ajar while 
 hell yawns at our feet. There is a realm of the infernal that in- 
 terpenetrates our sphere and especially belongs to this world of 
 conflicting interests and selfish passions. Cerberus keeps his ken- 
 nel and barks at every well-behaved traveler. He stretches himself 
 at length before the gates of the Limbus Fatuoricin and demands 
 his bone in the shape of everlasting contention. The disorderly 
 forces of the world are ever recruited from beneath. Uprising 
 from the pit — ghastly and terrible, begrimed with smoke from in- 
 fernal fires — they come ! 
 
 "Contention bold, with iron lungs, 
 And Slander with her hundred tongues." 
 
 Well, let Cerberus the dog growl, and bark, and gnaw the same 
 old bone of contention ; for such, in sooth, is the constitution of 
 the creature and the manner of his life. 
 
 ' ' Evil subsists in ceaseless strife and hate ; 
 
 This is its final fate : 
 Left to itself it shall at last expire 
 Like fire that meeteth fire." 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 New York, May 14, 1880. 
 
430 APPENDIX C. 
 
 THE GRAND ARMY OF STRAW! 
 
 MY ANSWER TO HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 " If reasons were as plenty as blackberries, I would give no man a 
 reason upon compulsion." 
 
 IN his article on "Christian Spiritualism," in the Journal of 
 the fifteenth instant, Mr. Hudson Tuttle is pleased to interro- 
 gate me (other names are included) as to what I " desire to convey 
 by the term Christian Spiritualism." As it is not considered re- 
 spectful to remain silent when one is directly questioned, I cheer- 
 fully answer in such manner and form as the facts and circum- 
 stances seem to require. I have sometimes had occasion to speak 
 of Ratiojial Spiritualism ; but as I have never prefixed the word 
 Christian, nor any other — except the one mentioned — for the pur- 
 pose of qualifying my Spiritualism, it will be perceived that the 
 inquiry — so far as the writer is personally concerned — is wholly 
 impertinent. Brother Tuttle is at liberty to set up this man of 
 straw, for a scarecrow out West, and he has our permission to 
 train the whole army in his own way. Such effigies are not pre- 
 sumed to have any feeling, and so the aforesaid man may be 
 knocked down at any time, and as often as the proprietor may find 
 the occupation either a pleasant pastime or healthful exercise. 
 
 A few passages from Brother Tuttle's article will suffice to illus- 
 trate the haughty and dictatorial spirit of a writer in whom a mod- 
 est confidence would be more becoming. He makes no effort to 
 restrain the expression of his contempt for gentlemen who, to say 
 the least, are not his inferiors, either in intellectual ability, social 
 position, moral integrity, or public influence. The following brief 
 extracts will be quite sufficient for my purpose: 
 
 " It is a pitable spectacle to see men stand before the public and deny 
 
APPENDIX C. 431 
 
 like school-boys. . . . After all these Christian Spiritualists [he 
 only names Prof. Buchanan, Prof. Kiddle, Dr. Peebles, and S. B. Brit- 
 
 tanj are no more Christians than those who reject the term 
 
 They only desire to retain the name as a sham, and it is a sham that 
 deceives nobody. You organize, and it is an organization on paper. It 
 has no substance, no coherence. You have not Christianity, nor even 
 the unen-C'iable reputation of being Christian in the eyes of the churches. 
 You have Spiritualism, dead with the dry-rot of aping respectability." 
 
 If this language is not intended to be offensive to the gentlemen 
 to whom it is more especially addressed, then it would seem that 
 the author expresses himself without any manifest purpose. Who 
 are the persons who present such " a pitiable spectacle ? " Who 
 "stand before the world and deny like school boys .'', " Who are 
 dealing in " shams ? " Who are " aping respectability .'' " It is 
 the only fair inference from his language that he 7neans the inen 
 whom he has named. It is not my object to answer for others, 
 but I may venture to say that not one of the parties referred to has 
 made any such childish denial. No one has either attempted to 
 hide his convictions, or to evade the personal responsibility which 
 accompanies the open expression of his views. Not one of these 
 gentlemen wears the mask of a hypocrite, nor is it necessary to 
 ape the attributes they are known to possess. There is no excuse 
 for representing that the honorable men whom he impolitely cate- 
 chises, after the fashion of a country pedagogue, have done any 
 such thing, or that they are capable of so demeaning themselves 
 under any circumstances. Surely no name can honor such per- 
 version of the truth, and the man who essays to be our teacher in 
 moral philosophy should set a better example. 
 
 I have never presumed to call any man to account for his honest 
 convictions, on any subject. Nor do I think it either necessary or 
 desirable to have entire unanimity of opinion, even on questions of 
 paramount importance. What I have always regarded as indis- 
 
432 APPENDIX C. 
 
 pensable^ is unrestricted freedom of thought, and the inalienable 
 right of private judgment. As we have no recognized authori- 
 ties among SpirituaUsts — and are not htcely to have any such arbi- 
 trary masters — to determine by any dogmatic and sharply defined 
 standard what is, and what is not, orthodox, I still propose to ex- 
 ercise the freedom which is a most essential part of my Spiritual- 
 ism. Hitherto the writer has never been fairly tried and convicted 
 of heresy. It is true that on the groundless assumptions of several 
 persons he has more than once been informally arraigned, con- 
 demned, and " church-mauled," after the peculiar fashion which 
 some call spiritual ! (?) Of late, especially, we have been called 
 to witness a spirit of intolerance, and a species of vituperative 
 criticism, which have rarely been matched in the institutions of 
 sectarian theology — which always have the decency to give a man 
 a formal trial before he is condemned as a heretic. This illiberal 
 conduct on the part of professed Spiritualists is all out of place 
 among Reformers, and incongruous to the last degree. The people 
 who thus cover the ugly visage of their bitter intolerance by using 
 Spiritualism as a mask, should make haste to pick up their Pro- 
 crustean traps, buy a through ticket, and check their baggage to 
 Rome. The manifestation of such a spirit among our people is a 
 source of extreme mortification to those whose Spiritualism has 
 any rational significance. 
 
 If the writer's memory is reliable, this is not the first time Bro. 
 Tuttle has revealed his careless reading of those whom he has 
 been pleased to criticise. It seems eminently proper that a spiritual 
 teacher should keep his eyes open, leaving others, if they will, to 
 " walk by faith." Some authentic information may be of use, even 
 to Bro. Tuttle, or any other man who may aspire to the dignity of 
 leading the Army of Straw. Will our dissatisfied Brother be per- 
 suaded to undertake a course of preliminary reading ? It would 
 be of no little service in qualifying him for the work of just and 
 
APPENDIX C. 433 
 
 intelligent criticism.. If he has a laudable desire to keep the rest 
 of us on the right track, it seems to me that the first thing for him 
 to do is to ascertain — from original sources of information — the 
 real views of his contemporaries. If this communication serves 
 to enlighten him in respect to one of the number, it will not 
 have been in vain that he has questioned me, and that I have 
 answered. 
 
 In speaking of Spiritualism, Bro. Tuttle tells us, boldly, that he 
 would " carve over the portals of its temple the name of no wor- 
 shiped God." He must be poor indeed who has no God at all 
 
 not so much as an African fetich or a Chinese joss. Alas ! Bro. 
 Tuttle is in the desperate condition described as " without God in 
 the world .'" It is only possible that diligent search might reveal 
 the presence of one brazen image. But as temples are usually 
 supposed to be consecrated to the worship of some divinity, we can 
 not see what in the world Bro. Tuttle wants of any temple. If 
 there is no God in that part of Ohio, a place of worship would be 
 useless as a white elephant, or that hypothetical " fiftji wheel " on 
 which, however, his argument against Christian Spiritualism is 
 made to rotate. Perhaps he can sell out his stock in the temple of 
 Spiritualism to some one who can make use of it. A few addi- 
 tional acres at Berlin Heights, or a small interest in a brick-yard, 
 might be worth more than a whole temple to a man who has no 
 God to worship. In granting a quitclaim he can still hold on to 
 the copyright of his motto — " NO worshiped god "—which he 
 may carve in almost any other place, except "over the portals " of 
 the Spiritual Temple, where it would seem to be most essentially 
 out of place. Let it be carved in the night, over the Atheist's 
 grave ! 
 
 We call the reader to witness that we have provoked no unpleas- 
 ant discussion with any man. We have treated no one uncivilly 
 
 on account of his peculiar views ; and only when subjected to un- 
 ig 
 
434 APPENDIX C. 
 
 just criticism have we now and then spoken in our own defense. 
 When Bro. Tuttle and a few others make up their minds to pur- 
 sue their own respective courses, leaving other people to enjoy the 
 same privilege — without the molestation of offensive speech and 
 needless opposition — there will be no more personal controversies 
 to foster the foul spirit of malevolence. To be just to all, we must 
 respect the rights of the individual. Let every man believe as much 
 or little as he will ; have his own God and worship him after the 
 manner which best accords with his religious convictions and per- 
 sonal convenience. Bro. Tuttle has no right to object to this, and 
 we trust that on due reflection he will be reconciled to have it so. 
 Why refuse to others what he claims for himself ? In the inter- 
 est of peace and Brotherhood, we are ready to make all reasonable 
 concessions ; but ive demand the privilege of minding our own 
 business without the impertineiit interference of any one. We 
 shall not engage in any new holy war, unless we are forced into 
 the attitude of a belligerent. While we have no disposition to dog- 
 matize, we will not conceal the fact that we have a choice among 
 the Gods of the modern Pantheon. We should much prefer the 
 Christian's infinitely wise and loving Father to Atheism, or the "no 
 worshiped God " of Bro. Tuttle. We are not inclined to bow be- 
 fore any pantheistic divinity. If compatible with the peace of the 
 Spiritual Zion, grant us the privilege of worshiping some ideal that 
 is not beneath the human conception of the divine. This would do 
 Bro. Tuttle good also, since a rational reverence promotes a be- 
 coming modesty. We must confess that we never did have much 
 respect for the molecular-attraction-hyper-galvanic-principle-physi- 
 cal-and-moral- necessity-Know-Nothing-God, of our would-be phil- 
 osophers, who are supposed by some to be "aping" the "respect- 
 ability " of modern science. Now, Brother, it is of no use to mul- 
 tiply questions in the same captious spirit. Further labor in this 
 direction will probably be fruitless, as 
 
APPENDIX C. 435 
 
 " The toil 
 Of dropping buckets into empty wells." 
 
 In conclusion Bro. Tuttle exhorts Spiritualists to "aiscard edu- 
 cational and religious prejudices." He would not add "another 
 sect to the swarm that have buzzed like bumble bees and June bugs 
 their brief day ! " And yet, for no other reason than an honest dif- 
 ference of opinion, he questions the integrity of gentlemen and 
 treats them with undisguised contempt. Our Western critic seems 
 disposed to do the preaching and leave us to practice. He finds it 
 difficult to follow his own counsel. His advice to " discard. . . .re- 
 ligious prejudices," is good, though it does come from a man who 
 — all through his last sermon — is careful to use a small c for Chris- 
 tian and Christianity, while he as invariably employs capital initial 
 letters for Mohammedan and Buddhistic. Behold, how great are 
 the Heathen ! It is just possible that there is, even here, a trace of 
 something like sectarian prejudice, and a bigoted disposition to be- 
 little the Christian name. 
 
 ' ' How use doth breed a habit in a man. " 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 Belvidere Seminary, Warren Co., N. J., ) 
 
 June 19, 1880. ' 
 
436 APPENDIX C. 
 
 THE OFFERED EXPLANATION. 
 
 A POET CLAIMS HIS LICENSE IN HIS LOGIC. 
 
 MY ANSWER TO J. O. BARRETT. 
 
 To the Editor of the Bajiner of Light : 
 
 IN your paper of the date of the 31st ultimo I find a letter from 
 Bro. J. O. Barrett, who entertains the opinion that in my treat- 
 ment of our Spiritual Guests the undersigned "contradicts much 
 of his historical data." It appears from the title-line of your cor- 
 respondent's letter that he wants me to "explain." To do this 
 understandingly it will be necessary to reproduce the following 
 passage from his letter : 
 
 "If I understand him, he rejects the generally-conceded theory of 
 philosophy of embodied or materialized spiritual entities ; claiming that 
 what so appear as real are only mental pictures, psychic registries or 
 thought as conceived by ruling spirits, acting on the brains of their sub- 
 jects. . . . Mr. Brittan is too candid and too well posted to allow any 
 such sweeping conclusion, and yet his argument certainly covers it." 
 
 It is very evident that Bro. Barrett does not understand me. In 
 the exposition of my philosophy of the facts referred to I made an 
 explicit statement and classification of such facts as are ordinarily 
 embraced under the head of materializations. Let me restate the 
 basis of this classification in the briefest manner possible. 
 
 1. The revelation of spirit forms by the opening of the interior or 
 Spiritual Vision of the observer, in which case we see spirits as 
 they see each other. 
 
 2. The Psycho-Sensoriallmpressions, or cerebro-mental pictures, 
 produced by the direct action of spirits on the human mind agree- 
 ably to psychological laws. 
 
 3. The Transfigurations, or the cases in which the spirit takes 
 possession of the medium and so changes the facial lines as to 
 
APPENDIX C. 437 
 
 represent an image, more or less distinct, of the earthly features 
 and expression of the spirit. 
 
 4. The examples which neither depend on the opening of the 
 inward vision, nor on the physiological power and agency ot 
 spirits, but 071 their admitted ability to clothe themselves with 
 Material Vestments, the elements of which are drawn from the 
 medium, from the bodies of other persons, and from the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 Can anything be made clearer than this recognition oi four dis- 
 tinct classes of facts ? Yet with this explicit statement before him 
 your correspondent gravely informs your readers — in respect to the 
 visible forms of spirits — that I "claim that what so appear as real 
 are only mental pictures, fsycliic registries of thought as con- 
 ceived by ruling spirits, acting on the brains of their subjects." 
 Bro. Barrett calls on me for an explanation, while he is heedless of 
 what I have written. My plain statement that the phenomena re- 
 ferred to are neither all of the same kind, modo et forma, nor' in 
 respect to the philosophy of their causation ; that the essential char- 
 acteristics of the facts, in each and every case, must, in my judg- 
 ment, determine their classification in at least _/i9z^r separate divi- 
 sions, which were clearly enough defined in my lecture — all this is 
 overlooked ; and Mr. Barrett utterly disregards all I have said re- 
 specting three of the four classes of the facts embraced in my speci- 
 fication. Violating all the principles of logic and rules of language, 
 he insists that " his [my] argument certainly covers " the " sweeping 
 conclusion" that all the facts are " only mental pictures." From 
 this it appears that he is not familiar with the contents of my lecture, 
 while he has carefully studied the adverse criticisms, in which my 
 real position is totally misrepresented. 
 
 If the absurdity of Bro. Barretts conclusion is not already suf- 
 ficiently apparent, an illustration or two will suffice to settle the 
 question in the mind of the reader. Suppose a man, in preparing 
 
438 APPENDIX C. 
 
 a schedule of his real and personal estate, should thus make a rec- 
 ord of the same : 
 
 1. United States Government Bonds, 
 
 2. Mining and Petroleum Stocks. 
 
 3. First Mortgages on Real Estate. 
 
 4. Live Stock, Farming Implements and Household Furniture. 
 
 Now, what would be thought of a man who, after carefully look- 
 ing over the foregoing schedule, should gravely assume that this 
 document covered and justified the conclusion that the man's entire 
 property consisted of Mining and Petroleum Interests? 
 
 Again : Suppose Bro. Barrett should write a letter to the Banner 
 of Light concerning the performance of a Quartette, giving a par- 
 ticular description of all the parts — Tenor, Soprano, Alto and Basso 
 — with critical observations on the laws of harmonics. Now what 
 would he think of me if, after perusing his letter, I should take oc- 
 casion to solemnly assure your readers that his description of the 
 Quartette warranted the conclusion that there was but one singer 
 present and but one part performed, and that was the Bass ? Will 
 friend Barrett please take notice tliat in my classification of the 
 phenomena, comprehended under the general title of the Material- 
 ization of Spirits in fottr separate divisions^ all the parts in the 
 quartette are represented ? Now, if J. O. B. can rise from the nar- 
 row and incomplete conception he has formed of my philosophy, 
 and so enlarge his view as to embrace the other three parts, he 
 will be all right, and may at last discover the harmony of the whole. 
 
 More than a third of a century has elapsed since I abandoned 
 the old dogma of the resurrection of the corporeal body — the mortal 
 remains of Jesus included. After the learned treatise of the late 
 Rev. Prof. George Bush, and the luminous contributions of other 
 eminent writers, I did not suppose that any enlightened believer in 
 Spiritualism now really entertained that idea ; but I was probably 
 mistaken. Bro. Barrett still seems to hold on, with a deathless 
 
APPENDIX C. 439 
 
 tenacity, to that same old dogma of the bodily resurrection, at least 
 for one man ; and if for one, why not for all ? Our friend is not 
 staggered by the natural and scientific impossibilities in the way of 
 such a resurrection. In my humble opinion it is too late for Spirit- 
 ual Reformers to waste time in the discussion of such a question. 
 
 An apple-tree was planted long ago by the grave of the venera- 
 ble Roger Williams. It is said to be a fact, established by ocular 
 demonstration, that the tree sent down a tap-root into his coffin, 
 and spreading a fine, fibrous net-work over his mortal remains, 
 literally took up— by the natural process of assimilation — every 
 vestige of his body. His chemical constituents were converted 
 into sweet blossoms and delicious fruits ; and whoever was dis- 
 posed to do so, ate the apples. His very skeleton entered into the 
 living flesh and blood and bones of the community. We will not 
 speculate about his more unsubstantial and volatile elements — gel- 
 atine, albumen, and ammonia ; but in the resurrection how will 
 that righteous old soul ever find his own scattered phosphates and 
 carbonates, since there are so many later proprietors to dispute 
 his claim ? 
 
 S. B. Brittan, 
 Belvidere Seminary, Warren Co. 
 Atig. I, 1880. 
 
 ., N. J., ) 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 BEFORE THE NEW YORK CONFERENCE. 
 
 EDITOR-AT-LARGE WORK UNDER DISCUSSION. 
 
 FROM THE BANNER OF LIGHT, JAN. 8, 1881. 
 
 AT the Harvard Rooms, in New York, on the last Sunday of 
 the old year, the regular session of the Spiritual Conference 
 was one of unusual interest. Mr. Charles D. Lakey, proprietor 
 and publisher of the American Builder, deVivered a ringing speech 
 on the work of the Editor-at-Large. Our special reporter has 
 furnished us with what he is pleased to call the skeleton of Mr. 
 Lakey's eloquent and forcible address. Just now the exhibition of 
 this anatomy should interest all of our readers who may be look- 
 ing about for the opportunity to make a profitable investment. 
 The reader will perceive that this is no very naked skeleton. On 
 the contrary, it displays muscle, mind, and motion, while it is 
 warmed and animated by something like a vital flame. If any one 
 is still cold in his chronic indifference to this important work, he 
 may warm himself by the true fire which an earnest spirit kindles. 
 
 MR. LAKEY'S SPEECH BEFORE THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 I never had but one objection to this Editor-at-Large project, and that 
 was, the name. Knowing Dr. Brittan as an able journalist, and having 
 some knowledge as well of the press of this country, I never for one 
 moment doubted that he would be successful. 
 440 
 
APPENDIX D. 441 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that tlie journalism of to-day is but a reilex 
 of public opinion. That the press is and always has been conservative, I 
 do not deny ; that it likes to be on the popular side of great questions, is 
 apparent to all. But the man who stands at the helm of a great news- 
 paper in these modern times is not at heart a bad man. He is the pro- 
 duct of the civilization of to-day. He is not a religionist. Over him 
 superstition holds no sway. He is broad in his views of men and things. 
 He believes that right is better than might ; truth than falsehood ; and, as 
 
 " Humanity sweeps onward toward the circle of the younger day," 
 
 he from his elevated position gathers inspiration, and grows into sympa- 
 thy with whatever helps lift up the race. A great newspaper has large 
 financial interests to be looked after, and at times its course may seem to 
 antagonize the right ; but give it a chance, and it will show that it is not 
 in sympathy with wrong, and above all, that it does believe in fair play. 
 
 Spiritualism is a great religion, coming down out of the heavens to 
 bless this world. Men do not welcome a new religion. They try to 
 suppress it, to Herod it out of existence. In olden times fire and sword, 
 rack and thumbscrew were brought into requisition to destroy that which 
 the gods had ordained should live. To-day no such means are available; 
 and yet the means employed are ten times more powerful, for they con- 
 sist of appeals to the judgment and to the heart. Spiritualism is a re- 
 ligion of living facts ; facts unanswerable, that are born to it with each 
 new day of its life. From the very first its enemies have sought to break 
 the force of these facts by appeals through the public press. For a quar- 
 ter of a century there was a general denial ; the facts did not exist ; and 
 when the testimony as to the facts became perfectly overwhelming, resort 
 was had to misrepresentation. And I undertake to say that no system 
 of religion or philosophy has ever been so vilely slandered as Spiritualism. 
 The pulpits of the land have rung with the falsest of charges. And what 
 wonder if, amid the falling pillars of a faith on which subsistence de- 
 pended, men everywhere should implore the aid of that great engine, the 
 press. They have been doing this for years with more or less success. 
 Nor should it be thought strange that statements coming from sources of 
 influence, that were a sort of guarantee of their truth, should, however 
 much of falsehood they might contain, often find their way into the daily 
 newspaper. 
 
 It was to help counteract such influences as these that Dr. S. B. Brittan 
 modestly began his work one year ago, in the full belief that the press 
 of this country was in favor of fair play. I need not tell you that he 
 ig* 
 
442 APPENDIX D, 
 
 has been eminently successful ; this you already know. The great daily 
 press has received his contributions and scattered them broadcast. His 
 articles have been timely ; shells from a rifled cannon, falling with un- 
 erring certainty into the camp of the enemy. When " a minister of the 
 gospel " in our neighboring city of Brooklyn slanders us in his pulpit 
 before an audience of two thousand people, our Editor-at-Large smites 
 him before an audience of seventy-five thousand in the Brooklyn Eagle. 
 Almost without exception, where an insidious attack on Spiritualists 
 has been smuggled into the columns of an influential newspaper. Dr. 
 Brittan has been allowed to have his say ; the antidote has followed 
 the poison ; and when he applies such an antidote no man dare suggest 
 that he does not belong to the regulars. 
 
 So efficient have been these services that it has been thought advisable 
 to keep Dr. Brittan in office. Funds are wanted for this purpose. Can 
 any doubt that money thus expended will be put to good use ? Let us see. 
 Suppose a business man found it necessary to correct through the press 
 false statements concerning his affairs, and it required fifteen thousand 
 lines to do the work. Ordinarily the cost of such matter would vary but 
 little from a dollar a line when paid for as an advertisement, to say nothing 
 about the cost of labor in preparing the matter. I have written many 
 columns for weekly papers that were paid for at this rate. The cost, then, 
 to the business man would be in the neighborhood of $15,000. But Dr. 
 Brittan has had printed within the past year, in defense of Spiritualism, 
 matter that would make about fifteen thousand lines if it had been charged 
 for as an advertisement. Not one cent has been paid for its insertion, 
 and all he has received for his services has been about $1,3"°. less some 
 two hundred dollars necessary incidental expenses of the service. 
 
 Look at his work from another point of view— from a more elevated 
 position, where we get a more commanding outlook. The church spends 
 millions of dollars annually for the propagation of the Christian faith. 
 The expenses of a city church, with an average attendance of one thousand 
 people, are seldom, if ever, less than $15,000 in the aggregate. In many 
 instances, of course, the cost is immensely greater. The Rev. John Hall, 
 I believe, gets a salary of $20,000. Now, the pastor of such a church, if 
 he didn't go off yachting or fishing in the summer, would in one year 
 preach one hundred and four sermons. He would speak chiefly to one 
 congregation ; but if he had a new congregation on every occasion, he 
 could say at the end of the year that he had presented his views of the 
 truth to one hundred and four thousand people. 
 
 Now then, I will assume that one of Dr. Brittan's articles is worth as 
 
APPENDIX D. 443 
 
 much in defense of Spiritualism as any single sermon is worth in defense 
 of Orthodoxy. Is this fair ? Yes ? Very well. Then estimate the value 
 of Dr. Brittan's article in the Boston Herald, which is seen and read by 
 more than three hundred thousand people ! on the supposition that one 
 paper is read by three persons. One article, which could hardly have 
 cost Spiritualists, more than forty dollars, is more effective than all the 
 preaching of a city pastor during three years. Where the city pastor, 
 under the most favorable conditions, reaches one hundred thousand people 
 in a year — and this he never can do speaking to the same congregation — 
 your Editor-at-Large in one day speaks to three hundred thousand. 
 
 Such papers as the Boston Herald, Rochester Democrat, Toronto Mail, 
 Cincinnati Enquirer, Boston Transcript, Hartford Times, and many others 
 of large circulation and influence, have opened their columns freely to 
 hear what we have to say in defense of our sublime truths. We can well 
 afford to keep this veteran journalist at his good work. Now that the 
 opportunity comes, let it not be said that Spiritualists were indifferent to 
 the needs of the time. All honor to a press that has shown its independ- 
 ence of a false public sentiment, and that has been willing to hear both 
 sides of a question second in importance to none that has ever stirred the 
 heart of humanity. I say : Let the good work go on. 
 
 " There is a light about to beam, 
 There is a fount about to stream, 
 There is a midnight blackness 
 
 Changing into gray ; 
 Aid the dawning, tongue and pen. 
 Aid it, hopes of honest men, 
 Aid it, paper, aid it, type. 
 Aid it, for the hour is ripe. 
 And our earnest must not slacken 
 
 Into play. 
 Men of thought and men of action. 
 
 Clear the way!" 
 
444 APPENDIX D. 
 
 DR. BRITTAN'S ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW YORK, 1881. 
 
 CLAIMS OF THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM is older than the Egyptian obeUsk, and looks 
 down on us from an eminence above the Pyramids. The evi- 
 dences of its phenomena run back through the shadowy past until 
 they are lost in pre-historic periods. In every age some voice has 
 spoken, vaguely perhaps, out of the darkness, to admonish us that 
 visible forms are not all of life, and that tangible substances do not 
 embrace the more essential and substantial elements of Being. 
 Everywhere a great hand with index finger points back along the 
 line of material causation, until that line fades out in the distance 
 before our imperfect vision. At last, the whole chain of physical 
 causation dissolves in our grasp, and we are left face to face with 
 an Invisible World ! As spiritual phenomena, in some form, neces- 
 sarily accompany all human existence, and, to say the least, have 
 occurred in every period within the limits of authentic history, we 
 can scarcely make a mistake in celebrating the anniversary of 
 Spiritualism on almost any day that may best suit the convenience 
 of our people. Whether there is any special propriety in celebrat- 
 ing its advent to-day, is a question of secondary importance, which 
 I do not propose to discuss. 
 
 I am rather here to consider the methods by which the present 
 interests and final triumphs of our cause may be most effectually 
 advanced and accomplished. It has been suggested that I should 
 occupy the few moments accorded to me by the courtesy of your 
 Committee in making some brief explanatory observations concern- 
 ing the peculiar work of the Secular Press Bureau. Let no 
 one make the mistake of supposing that this is exclusively my work. 
 
APPENDIX D. 445 
 
 No ; I can not justly claim so much honor for myself. This emi- 
 nently practical and important enterprise originated in the Spirit- 
 World. In the most essential sense it is the work of all spirits and 
 mortals who have thus far contributed either words of encourage- 
 ment, spiritual influence, or material means for its advancement. 
 The most I can claim for myself is that I have the honor to be the 
 servant of this noble company. In this broad view of the subject, 
 I trust I may speak to you freely, without the restraint which a 
 person of ordinary modesty naturally feels in referring to himself 
 and his labors. 
 
 From the beginning of the present movement Spiritualism has 
 been obliged to contend with an unscrupulous opposition. The 
 enemy has employed every available means to mislead the public 
 mind in respect to its real merits and the amazing magnitude of its 
 proportions. For more than thirty years that opposition — inspired 
 at once by the dogmatic theology of the church, the scientific ma- 
 terialism of the schools, and the popular skepticism of the times- 
 has used the secular press to dispute and misinterpret the facts; to 
 misrepresent our principles and practices before the world; to con- 
 ceal and pervert the truth; to caricature innocent persons and pub- 
 lic assemblies; to excite'a feeling of disgust at the mere mention of 
 the name and of contempt for our most sacred convictions ; to de- 
 nounce all mediums as unprincipled tricksters, and to defame the 
 honest disciples of a great but unpopular truth. No systematic at- 
 tempt was made to roll back this foul tide of misrepresentation of 
 the noblest principles and malicious abuse of unoffending people. "*= 
 It was left to set like a spring freshet through all the principal 
 channels of popular thought and general intelligence. Only here 
 
 * In this remark we must be understood as making honorable exception of the im- 
 portant labors of the spiritualistic press and platform which, to a great extent, have 
 been characterized by an earnest spirit and admirable method. 
 
44^ APPENDIX D. 
 
 and there some man of unusual personal influence was able to ob- 
 tain^a respectful hearing in any public journal of wide circulation 
 and commanding influence. So few were the exceptions to the 
 rule, that, so recently as 1879 — when the question of the Secular 
 Press Bureau began to be agitated — it was confidently predicted 
 by influential Spiritualists that the experiment would end in failure;'" 
 that the space necessary for a proper statement and defense of our 
 views could not be had in the secular papers, especially in those of 
 large circulation. It was boldly declared that we should be forced 
 to purchase the requisite space at "advertising rates." Those 
 people believed, we must presume, that the spirit of prophecy was 
 upon them, and that their words would be verified. But they were 
 mistaken. I am not here to question their sincerity, to cast sus- 
 picion upon their motives, or to say a single unkind word of any 
 one who may have honestly entertained this conviction. 
 
 But I am reminded that the occasion calls for some acknowledg- 
 ment to the Secular Press. It is doubtless our fault, as a people, 
 tliat we did not receive more respectful attention at an earlier 
 period. What had we done to command recognition ? We had 
 never placed any declaration of principles before the world. We 
 were not wanting in the visible elements necessary to constitute a 
 great body; but there was no common law of cohesive attraction 
 to bind them together. We were so intensely individualized that 
 there was neither unity of purpose nor concert of action among the 
 people. If we were agreed on any one thing, it was that each 
 should have his own way every time, and without any embarrassing 
 reference to the common welfare. In the public apprehension, and 
 in fact, we were not a united people, but only a very harmless and 
 well-behaved mob. For almost a third of a century we had failed 
 to make any concerted, intelligent and determined attempt to show 
 through the press of the country that we were in earnest in our de- 
 mand to be heard for the sake of our Cause, 
 
APPENDIX D. 447 
 
 When at last the experiment was made, we soon discovered that 
 there was more real manhood in the sanctum than the editorial 
 chair was credited with by some of our prominent SpirituaHsts. 
 Justice demands the acknowledgment that, personally, and as a 
 representative of Spiritualism, I have met with many evidences of 
 respectful consideration, and often with a high sense of honor, that 
 does not alway characterize the papers ostensibly devoted to the 
 religious and spirittialxnt&Y&sXs of mankind. For a period of over 
 thirty years — in spite of the common prejudice against Spiritualism 
 and all my reputed heresies — I have been treated with uniform hos- 
 pitality by the journalists of the secular press in every part of the 
 United States, and, indeed, wherever the English language is 
 spoken. I trust I shall not be suspected of personal vanity in say- 
 ing, to the honor of the press, so much as is demanded by the moral 
 law of reciprocal justice. 
 
 It was in 1879 ^'^^^^ ^^'^ resolution was formed — at the instigation 
 of the Spirit-World — to make a determined effort to use the secular 
 press for the purpose of more fully informing the public mind re- 
 specting the facts and philosophy of Spiritualism. The correspond- 
 ence of the Editor-at-Large was almost everywhere kindly received, 
 promptly published, and otherwise treated with the utmost respect. 
 Of the entire series of letters contributed by the Bureau to the 
 Secular Press, in the year 1880, there are only three that have not 
 been published in some irtfluential secular paper. In several in- 
 stances the editors have relinquished much of the space in the edi- 
 torial department to make room for this correspondence. The 
 letters have very rarely occupied less than a column — often two or 
 three times that space, and in some instances have extended to 
 seven or eight columns. My good friend, Mr. Charles D La- 
 key — well known as an experienced journalist and as the Editor 
 and Proprietor of the American Builder — estimates that, at the 
 proper advertising rates, the columns which this correspondence 
 
448 APPENDIX D. 
 
 occupied the first year have a commercial value of $15,000 ; and 
 yet not the first dime has been paid for this space ! 
 
 In this correspondence the enemies of Spiritualism have been 
 fearlessly arraigned ; error, hypocrisy and falsehood have been un- 
 masked, and the general subject freely discussed ; always, I believe, 
 in respectful language, and with a just regard to the essential dig- 
 nity of the subject. To-day Spiritualism meets its enemies in 
 the largest intellectual and moral arena on earth — the newspaper 
 press of the United States ! Thus a great door has been opened, 
 wide enough to admit the boldest champion of the Future — opened 
 — if you will have it so — to be closed no more ! 
 
 Friends : this is a more significant victory than many people 
 may imagine. That beautiful Spiritualist who came out of Naza- 
 reth was something more than thirty years old v^-hen he was 
 crucified. Modern Spiritualism — according to your record of its 
 birth— is about the same age. Spiritualism has also been derided, 
 despised and spit upon; even its most blameless disciples have 
 been viewed with suspicion, and punished with social ostracism 
 for their honest convictions. Many a sensitive medium has found 
 his or her way leading up the rugged steep of some moral Calvary. 
 Not a few of the early champions of this cause have tasted the 
 "wormwood and gall ;" and the " crown of thorns "' is quite too 
 real to belong to sacred history alone. But the long impending 
 crisis is here. Once more " the veil of the temple is rent." The 
 great truth— always strong in latent forces, and enduring forever- 
 is mightier now than ever before. Its final triumph is assured. 
 Even now, without giving up the ghost, Spirituahsm descends 
 from the cross ! The white flag of the Immortals, already un- 
 furled above the Spiritual Battle-ground, is emblazoned with the 
 symbols of victory ! 
 
 When people are invited to contribute money for any purpose, 
 they naturally desire to clearly comprehend the object, and to be 
 
APPENDIX D. 449 
 
 satisfied that the apprehended results will warrant the proposed 
 expenditure. A single illustration will enable you to settle this 
 question, in its relation to the different methods employed in the 
 diffusion of spiritual knowledge. Let us presume that we have one 
 hundred public assemblies convened to-day, and on each succeed- 
 ing Sunday, to listen to the teachings from the Spiritual platform. 
 Suppose that these assemblies average two hundred and fifty per- 
 sons (this is probably a large estimate) ; this would give us a total 
 of twenty-five thousand people convened to listen to the Sunday 
 lecture in one hundred different places. Now should you publish 
 the lecture in a paper with the circulation which the Boston Herald 
 is known to possess ; and if an average of three persons should 
 read each copy, or hear it read, the message would reach no less 
 than three hundred and ten thousand persons. This number is 
 ■more than twelve times as many as would listen to its ittterance 
 frojn the one hundred platforms. 
 
 The comparative expense of the two methods is a no less sug- 
 gestive feature of the subject. In our large cities it probably costs 
 some fifty dollars a Sunday to keep up the meetings — to compen- 
 sate the speaker, pay rent, advertising and other incidental ex- 
 penses. But let us make the modest estimate that the one hundred 
 public meetings only involve an entire average expense of $20 
 for each and every Sunday. This would give $2,000 as the aggre- 
 gate cost of the one hundred platform services for a single day. 
 The man who should prepare the same matter for the Herald 
 might be satisfied if he received one-fortieth part of that sum ; 
 and yet instead of his labors being limited to an audience of say 
 25,000, he would probably reach and influence more than a quarter 
 of a million ! But if we assume that not more than an average of 
 one person will read each copy of the paper, he would still de- 
 liver his message to over 103,000 souls, or 7nore than four times as 
 many as would listen to the one htttidred speakers j and all this 
 
450 APPENDIX D. 
 
 additional publicity for one-fortieth part of the actical cost of the 
 platform method of teaching. The facts confirmed by our limited 
 experience would perhaps warrant a stronger statement. It is 
 estimated that during the first year of our work, the Secular Press 
 Bureau Correspondence reached 2,000,000 of people at the very 
 small cost to the subscribers of $1,300, which is less than three 
 per centum on the actual expense of the other principal method 
 employed for the diffusion of spiritual knowledge. 
 
 I have not presented this striking contrast in respect to the rela- 
 tive efficiency and economy of our principal methods of teaching 
 because I would dispense with the spiritual platform. By no means. 
 A great cause, so much misunderstood, cannot afford to abandon 
 the platform where its just claims may be elucidated, and the mag- 
 netic presence accompany the spoken word with the " demonstra- 
 tions of the spirit and power." Nevertheless, in the light of the 
 facts submitted, we shall be able to understand why it is that the 
 pulpit has lost its prestige. The time was, within the memory of 
 some of my hearers, when the human mind was under the guidance 
 of the pulpit ; when the minister of the parish set the fashion of 
 popular sentiment ; but that time has gone, nevermore to return 
 in the history of this people. Now the press is the great educator. 
 
 The real facts in the case are so remarkable that they should 
 command instant and thoughtful attention. It is only through the 
 secular press that we can hope to reach the skeptical classes, who 
 most especially need to be enlightened on the great questions of 
 the Spiritual Reformation. The secular press is already firmly 
 established on a capital of many millions. It possesses the public 
 confidence and commands immense facilities for the wide diffusion 
 of all desirable information. It reaches the whole community as 
 no other human instrumentality ever can. Shall we turn this 
 powerful engine to account for Truth's sake ? Shall we open its 
 manifold channels and pour a flood of spiritual light through them 
 
APPENDIX D. 451 
 
 to illuminate the nations ? If we are so disposed, there is no power 
 in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, that will hinder the execu- 
 tion of our purpose. 
 
 Now, friends, what do you propose to do about it ? We should 
 do something worthy of our great opportunity, and not leave the 
 spirits to perform all the labor. The man who is able to do the 
 most for this cause — most to elevate and illuminate the world — is 
 the most fortunate of men. His unselfish work for humanity must 
 lift him up into loving fellowship with the purest and noblest natures. 
 Nor will he be obliged to wait until he goes to another world for 
 his reward. The blessing comes ijt the generous deed. And then, 
 there is a kind of poetic justice in this world, that will not permit a 
 truly noble nature, like Peter Cooper, for example, to be lost to 
 the world's remembrance. Always those who labor the most un- 
 selfishly for mankind are revered while living, and at last they find 
 an imperishable mausoleum in the affections of those whom their 
 wisdom may have exalted and their heavenly charities uplifted and 
 redeemed. The world soon forgets its merchant princes who 
 devote long lives to unworthy schemes of personal aggrandizement ; 
 but the names and memories of the world's benefactors and redeem- 
 ers are tenderly cherished, and their bays are green when oblivion 
 mercifully draws her veil over the record of the sordid soul. 
 
 Finally, in your efforts to enlighten mankind by extending a 
 knowledge of the truth, I venture to expre s the hope that you will 
 not lose sight of the claims of the Secular Press Bureau. Believe 
 me, friends, the grandest of all instruments is ready at our hands, 
 and it may be used for the noblest of all human purposes. The 
 Secular Press is a gigantic telephone that speaks with numberless 
 tongues all over the world. It has a voice in every household in 
 the land. Its polyglot embraces all languages. Its printed leaves 
 are numerous as the leaves of the forest. They rustle in the air 
 around us ; they scintillate in ever)' dark place, and their light — 
 
452 APPENDIX D. 
 
 like the rays of a vertical sun — falls everywhere. If we are suf- 
 ficiently awake to the necessities of the times ; if we are really 
 worthy of such a glorious inheritance of spiritual freedom and 
 knowledge; then the Angel of the New Dispensation — through an 
 inspired and living discipleship — shall lay his mighty hand on this 
 great Engine of Light, Liberty and Progress. This done, and we 
 shall have moved the lever that moves the world ! 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 HAVING accorded the adverse witnesses a fair and patient 
 hearing — and more space in this volume than the nature 
 of their opposition really seems to -merit — it is eminently proper 
 that the friends of the Secular Press Bureau should be heard 
 in its behalf. Accordingly we give place to the following testimony 
 of several eminent friends : 
 
 ■ From Hon. Nelson Cross to the Editor of the Bamier of Light. 
 
 It was with great unanimity that Dr. S. B. Brittan was chosen to dis- 
 charge the duties of an office or occupation which for the want of a better 
 title was denominated as '' Editor-at-Large. ... It would seem that a 
 good share of the opposition to the new enterprise, which manifested it- 
 self at an early day, proceeded from a misconception of what was to be 
 implied from the use of a cognomen which naturally suggested some 
 supervisory control over the press, or of the writings of others designed 
 for publication ; whereas, in fact, the name was restricted to its most 
 limited sense — to wit, to -write and to publish, without regard to any par- 
 ticular vehicle of communication, except as it might be suggested by its 
 appropriateness to the particular subject under review ; the object being, 
 so far as the liberality of publishers would allow, to answer the defamers 
 of Spiritualism in their own columns. 
 
 That there should have been any serious opposition on the part of pro- 
 fessed Spiritualists to the plan of providing a means of refuting in some 
 fit and convincing manner the slanderous misstatements of the opposition, 
 concerning the religion and philosophy of Spiritualism, was not a little 
 surprising to those of us who were instrumental in bringing it about. It 
 certainly could do the cause no harm, and there was ground for belief 
 that it might be productive of great good. And so long as those only who 
 favored the project were called upon to contribute to its success, it was 
 
 453 
 
454 APPENDIX E. 
 
 thought that others who differed with them in opinion would be satisfied 
 to observe its effects upon the spiritual cause, advantageous or otherwise, 
 before arraying themselves in hostility to it. 
 
 The eminent qualifications of Prof. Brittan to discharge in the best way 
 the manifold duties of Editorat-Large, have never been called in question. 
 Had not his self-sacrifice and devotion to the cause, first, of liberal Chris- 
 tianity, and afterward of Spiritualism, left him in his declining years com- 
 paratively poor, he too might offer (as some, for reasons best known to 
 themselves, have already done), to do the work gratuitously , for which his 
 thirty-four years of constant labor in the same field have preeminently 
 qualified him. But while others, whose achievements have been no 
 greater, have received gratuities made up of voluntary contributions, that 
 they should not want, is it indeed so unreasonable that the Editor-at- 
 Large should be paid for his work a sum which is really insufficient, after 
 all, to supply his daily wants ? 
 
 The exhaustive articles of Prof. Brittan, put forth in his new capacity, 
 whether in advocacy of the spiritual belief or in refutation of many of the 
 virulent attacks upon it through miscellaneous publications, religious. and 
 secular, have been numerous and widespread. Nor have these articles 
 been mainly promulgated through spiritualistic organs. On the contrary, 
 they have, in almost every instance, been admitted to the columns of 
 leading opposition papers, and to such an extent that it is not too much 
 to affirm that they have already been laid before upwards of a million of 
 readers, few of whom could have been reached in any other way. 
 
 I do not gather from anything that has been said that there was any dis- 
 agreement as to the qualifications of Dr. Brittan to perform in the best 
 manner the duties to which he was assigned. It is not too much to affirm 
 in this connection that the summary of literary work performed by the 
 Editor-at-Large in the first twelve months of his engagement is alike 
 creditable to him and to the cause which for upwards of thirty years he 
 has so ably sustained. There can be no division of sentiment upon this 
 point, and the value of his work once conceded, it is incumbent on the 
 friends of the cause to put forth every effort that may be practical for its 
 support and continuance. Nelson Cross. 
 
 194 Broadway, New York City. 
 
 From Prof. William Denton, the Eminent Scientist and Spiritualist. 
 
 Wellesley, Mass., Oct. 26th, 1880. 
 To the Editor-at-Large Committee : 
 Gentlemen, — The appointment of our friend, S. B. Brittan, to the 
 
APPENDIX E. 455 
 
 position of Editor-at-Large, was one of the best means ever employed for' 
 the promulgation of spiritual ideas among the body of the people. In 
 no other way can we as readily reach the thinkers of our country. I have 
 seen abundant evidence of the great value of his correspondence to the 
 secular press — as I felt sure it would be when I first read of the proposi- 
 tion that he should become Editor-al-Large. 
 
 Mr. Brittan's long editorial experience ; his superior mental culture, 
 combined with a knowledge of Spiritualism second to that of no living 
 man, render him a preeminently proper person for the work, which has 
 thus far been carried on in a way most eminently to further the ends de- 
 sired. I trust that his valuable services will be secured for his further 
 continuance in one of the most important fields in which a man can be 
 employed. Yours for progress, 
 
 William Denton. 
 
 Fro7ii Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten to the Editor of the Banner of Light. 
 
 " It has long seemed to me a reproach on the Spiritualists of America 
 that Prof. Brittan, one of the earliest and most indefatigable pioneers 
 of the movement, one of its most brilliant writers and philosophic thinkers, 
 should have so long been permitted to remain in comparative obscurity, 
 and to waste his splendid talents on fugitive and ill-sustained efforts to 
 promote the great work of progress. If faithful service and an unstained 
 life, too, can add prestige to his high literary attainments, Prof. Brittan's 
 reentree to his legitimate sphere of editorial labor should be hailed by all 
 true Spiritualists, as it is by me, with a cordial all-hail of welcome ! " 
 
 From Hon. J. L. C Sullivan, formerly American Minister to Porttigal. 
 
 THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU. 
 To the Editor of the Baniter of Light : 
 
 We claim our millions of Spiritualists ; and Spiritualists are all think- 
 ing men, most of them earnest ones. We all desire the spread of our 
 grand and glorious faith, which is freighted with blessing for life and for 
 eternity to every new recipient of it. We are astonished at the ignorant 
 blindness of those who will not open their eyes to the celestial light of its 
 evidences, and indignant at the scornful ostracism of which Spiritualism is 
 the object on the part of the vast majority, composed of mere routine 
 religionists, sense-bound materialists, and thoughtless indifferentists, living 
 
456 APPENDIX E. 
 
 for the interests and concerns of this short span of life alone. We all 
 look forward with confidence to the corning time, when the light now only 
 a rising dawn on the horizon of our modern civilization, shall illumine 
 and regenerate the world, differing from the sun in that it will then know 
 no setting. 
 
 . We know that our Spiritualist papers, precious and dear as they may be 
 to ourselves, reach but few occasional readers beyond the circle of those 
 who need no convincing. I have heard no estimate beyond forty or fifty 
 thousand subscribers for the whole of them together. Yet here we have 
 the mortification of reading in the last Bajiiier of Light your article on the 
 fourth page, headed "Trial of Spiritualism and its Enemies," referring 
 to Prof. Brittan's splendid reply to Dr. Hawleyin the Saratoga Eagle, en- 
 titled " Trial of Spiritualism and its Enemies," and on the eighth page 
 the beggarly account of subscriptions for the support of the " Secular Press 
 Bureau " under Prof Brittan's zealous and masterly direction, amounting 
 thus far for this year only to about $Soo (for the wliole of last year it 
 reached only that of about $1,300), while his cash outlay cannot be less 
 than $300. And in each of these twc) years the noble contribution from 
 some anonymous donor (only one, but a Spiritualist indeed), was $500. 
 These subscriptions ought not in any year to fall short of at least $5 coo. 
 
 Estimating an average of three readers per number issued by the secular ' 
 papers which published his articles last year. Prof. Erittan brought the de- 
 fense of our Spiritualism before probably not less than two millions of 
 readers, few of whom would otherwise have ever read a word of our evi- 
 dences and arguments. He addresses the secular editors only when they 
 have written or admitted to their columns articles of hostility against us 
 which furnish a fair ground for appeal to their justice for the privilege of a 
 reply. And his tone is always so courteous,his style so elegant, his knowl- 
 edge of the subject so broad and thorough, and his reasoning so lucid and 
 logical, that no small number of them feel that they are gracing their col- 
 umns while honoring themselves by the act of fair play in publishing his 
 masterly answers in our behalf His work is incomparably the most im- 
 portant and valuable that is now being carried on through this potent en- 
 gine for moving worlds — the Press. Every true Spirituali-t ought to 
 "hold up the hands" of such a worker engaged in such a service, and 
 thus to take his own part in helping the doing of it. There are many 
 thousands among our own number, to whom it would be a small matter to 
 economize a dollar a year to support, encourage and extend the operation of 
 this " Secular Press Bureau," which I am glad to see you substitute as a title 
 for that of " Editor-at-Large." This Bureau ought to have a couple of 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 457 
 
 good rooms, a good short-hand writer to receive dictation, and two or 
 three assistants for copying and other collaboration, under Prof. Brittan's 
 direction. He could then do, I am sure, tenfold the large amount of 
 work now accomplished, and vvilh a mind so relieved from care and me- 
 chanical labor, that it would be even improved in quality. Surely the ap- 
 peal which speaks in this mere suggestion of the facts which experience has 
 now established, cannot be in vain. 
 
 Very respectfully, J. L. O'SULLIVAN. 
 
 59 Lexington Avenue, New York, March \ith. 
 
 THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE." 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 lam glad to see that the " Editor-at-Large " project is meeting with 
 substantial approval on the part of Spiritualists. I wish I were able to 
 contribute largely to the fund required to carry it forward ; but lacking the 
 material means, perhaps you will permit me to say an earnest word or two 
 to such as are more fortunate in that respect. 
 
 It has seemed to me a very happy thought on the part of the originators 
 of this project, whether in this sphere or a higher, to thus attempt to carry 
 the war more vigorously into the enemy's lines, and at the same time to 
 secure to the cause a more full measure of the services of one who has 
 proved himself eminently fitted for this special work. 
 
 Surely no one acquainted with the labors of Dr. Brittan in behalf of 
 Modern Spiritualism, antedating even the period usually assigned as the 
 origin of the movement, can doubt his especial qualifications for the ser- 
 vice for which he has been nominated. Nor can there be any question — 
 m view of the facts that he early sacrificed the emoluments of a prominent 
 position in an ecclesiastical body in order to advocate an unpopular truth, 
 and has received no adequate pecuniary return for an ordinary lifetime of 
 arduous toil— that in undertaking this service he should receive a suitable 
 remuneration, such as will enable him to lay aside other avocations and 
 devote his energies to this. 
 
 Of course no one is expected to contribute to this movement except 
 those who see the desirableness of the work proposed, and who feel that 
 Ero. Brittan is fully competent to its acceptable performance. Probably 
 most Spiritualists, who are not professional writers or speakers, will feel 
 that he is able to do the work far more satisfactorily than they them- 
 selves could do, even could they command the time. Certainly all such 
 20* 
 
458 APPENDIX E. 
 
 have an undoubted right to employ him to act in their own behalf, if they 
 see fit, and to compensate him for it if they choose. 
 
 It is difficult, then, to perceive the reasonableness of objections that 
 have been raised against this proposal in certain quarters. I cannot but 
 think its purpose and animus have been strangely misconceived by those 
 brethren in the household who have imagined it to be a step toward 
 popery, or a scheme to betray Spiritualism into the hands of its enemies, or 
 even an eleemosynary project, contrived to give one Spiritualistic journal 
 some advantage over others. Since the " Editor-at-Large " is invested 
 with no control over anybody's opinions, or over any portion of the press, 
 Spiritualistic or other, and since Bro. Brittan's veteran services in the 
 cause give a guarantee of his future faithfulness at least as secure as we have 
 on the part of any new-fledged advocate, and since, moreover, his produc- 
 tions are to be given to the public, when possible, through the channels of 
 the opposition, it is not apparent how the project can result in any of the 
 evils prognosticated. True, that journal (the Banner of Light) which has 
 had the good judgment to encourage and aid this plan, is entitled to what- 
 ever credit for enterprise and generous public spirit may be justly due in 
 the case ; and this will doubtless be accorded by all right minded people, 
 who, I am confident, will see no occasion for evil surmisings or petty 
 jealousy in the matter. 
 
 Let, then, the good v/ork go on. Let Dr. Brittan be supplied, by those 
 who have the will and the means, with sufficient funds to relieve him from 
 all pecuniary anxieties. Those who aid in this work will be sure of an 
 abundant reward in the approval of their own consciences, and of that 
 better world which rejoices in all unselfish effort. A. E. Newton. 
 
 Ancora, N. J. 
 
 EDITOR-AT-LARGE FUND. 
 
 It gives us great pleasure to present the following letter to our 
 readers. The noble response of the writer to our call for funds to 
 place Prof. Brittan in a proper condition to carry into full effect 
 the plan proposed, does honor to his head and heart. Although 
 not written for publication, we feel that he has said what should be 
 known, hence we hope he will excuse us for the liberty we have 
 taken. If others respond sufficiently to warrant PROF. Brittan 
 accepting the Call to Duty, at precisely the time when his services 
 
APPENDIX E. 459 
 
 are needed in the peculiar field mapped out for him by the Spirit 
 World, and which he of all men in our ranks is most competent to 
 fill, we shall feel that we have done our duty in the premises. 
 
 Ed. B. of L. 
 
 Springfield, Ohio, A'ov. i, 1879. 
 Messrs. Colby &s^ Rich, Boston, Mass. : 
 
 Gentlemen — In the noble effort to secure the services of Prof S. B. 
 Brittan, of New York, as a worker in the labor of love and the uplifting 
 of humanity, I subscribe and hereby place in your hands one hundred dol- 
 lars, for the proposed undertaking to raise a proper amount as salary, and 
 so secure his aid in the field of the coming universal religion. There is no 
 man more able, more willing to use his pen for the benefit of his kind than 
 Dr. Brittan. May the lovelight from above warm up the hearts of those 
 who are able to contribute to this much needed work at this time. We 
 must not fail in this. Very truly yours, Jerome Fassler, Sr. 
 
 ENCOURAGING WORDS. 
 
 The following extracts are from letters received from a man ot 
 wealth engaged in extensive business. Not long ago he felt that 
 the responsibilities of this life were too much for human nature to 
 bear. Harnessed by the necessities of business to a multitude of 
 cares and constant labors, his yoke was not easy and his burden 
 was not light. He was impatient, and felt a strong inclination to 
 retire from the scene of conflict. He did not feel equal to the battle 
 of life, and would fain have been " mustered out of service." But 
 Spiritualism has made a moral hero of this man, and invested his 
 character with the attributes of the noblest type of manhood. He 
 is still devoted to business, but with such higher aims and ends 
 as are above all selfish considerations. While Spiritualism has 
 given him manly strength, and made him resolute in his purpose 
 to work unselfishly for humanity, it has also softened his nature, 
 ennobled his life, and developed out of the depths of his interior be- 
 
460 APPENDIX E. 
 
 ing those loving affections which are the immortal bloom and glory 
 of the spirit : 
 
 " Brother, I am aware of some of your trials, sacrifices and sufferings ; 
 but new work awaits you on the earth, which you must do before your 
 passport will be given you. This I learn from those who know. . 
 There are many workers, and the work is for all humankind, in and out 
 of the body. Look upward and v/ait a little ; you will do your work be- 
 fore you go home. You will certainly be released from ' the committee of 
 ways and means.' Dearest Brother, I have been in the crucible. No 
 man could survive the trials I have passed through without help from 
 above. In reaching upward I have clasped hands with my leaders. Bear 
 up, my brother ; tenderly are you guarded by those who know you better 
 than the world knows you. They will not fail you, but will help to do 
 your work here. Cheer up, be strong, and fear nothing. All is well I" 
 
 " ' Many are called, but few are chosen,' because only the few do stand 
 the fiery test. The weak ones are left behind. They must have more 
 time to gi'ow strong ; but the Father's love is over all. In memory of 
 one whose coming is celebrated, I enclose you a little present. He is 
 near and dear to me, and the blessing comes in his name. While I have 
 not forgotten you, neither are you forgotten by those that live in the spheres 
 of Love and Truth. You are the object of tender affection, for the true 
 heart that is within you is known to them. In their name do I speak to 
 you and bid you to be strong. Keep your face to the sunlight. I know 
 the watchful care that is over you. Go on, my brother, fearing nothing. 
 We will do our work in defiance of all forms of evil. I have conquered 
 many, and shall overcome all in the name of the God of my people. I 
 shall bless the day when I can take your hand, and behold the face of the 
 man who bears the scars of many battles. Go on — fight on — the army of 
 Truth is with you. With tender blessing, I remain your brother, ever 
 and ever. J. F. S." 
 
 From Mi's. Nettie C. Maynard. 
 
 " Dr. Brittan's beautiful letter in the last Banner shonld he read daily 
 by certain ignorant, would-be critics, were we not expressly forbidden to 
 'cast our pearls before swine.' Fearlessly do your grand work. O Worker! 
 The world has need of every stroke from your inspired pen. I/ere I know 
 you have one true, sympathetic brother, who feels an anxiety for your suc- 
 cess, and will help hold up your hands while you fight the battles of our 
 Spiritual Zion." 
 
APPENDIX E. 461 
 
 A STRONG WITNESS. 
 
 An intelligent gentleman whose residence is near Boston — a 
 man of classical education, a lawyer, and an earnest reformer, who, 
 at the beginning, took little or no interest in the Secular Press 
 Bureau — writes, under a recent date, in a manner which indicates 
 the greatest interest in the work. We make the following extracts 
 from this gentleman's correspondence ; 
 
 " Yes ! The popular press publication of the truths and evidences of 
 Modern Spiritualism is a good movement. At its start I was a little shy 
 of it, not seeing clearly the purpose, nor comprehending the efficiency 
 and value of it. But its now nearly two years' trial demonstrates its prac- 
 ticability and exceeding usefulness in diffusing spiritual light and knowl- 
 edge amid the theologic works of Orthodoxy. 
 
 ■' Professor Brittan, in the management of the enterprise, is the right man 
 in the right place. He is familiar with the history and philosophy of 
 Spirituahsm ; he has been a minister, and knows the ignorance and pre- 
 judice which environ the clerical mind. He himself has arisen above 
 the unreasonable folly and darkness into light and liberty, and can there- 
 fore assist, and does assist, both shepherds and their flocks who are yet 
 floundering in the spiritual marshes and lowlands. Capital ! Excellent ! 
 Good ! Superlatively good ! is the review of Dr. Hawley, in a late issue of 
 the Banner of Light. Both in its matter (i. ^., powder and shot), its exact 
 aim, and its complete and artistic demolition of the bull's-eye, it is all that 
 could be asked for or desired. Chevaliers may boast of the recent vic- 
 tories of American racers in England and France. But I rejoice in the 
 coming dominion of Christ over Satan ; and as a foregleam of that good 
 time coming I hail with loving sympathy and thanks Dr. Brittan's elegant 
 and masterly exposition and refutation of the errors of the doctors of the 
 church. 
 
 " Glad ! very glad am I that his pen is not idle, inasmuch as it accom- 
 plishes such magnificent achievements in behalf of Truth in Modern 
 Spiritualism as the American Secular Press from time to time gives to the 
 reading public. 
 
 " That his days may be long in the land and his efforts for the diffusion 
 of spiritual light and liberty to the masses be followed by abundant suc- 
 cess, is the earnest wish of Yours gratefully, A. E. G." 
 
462 APPENDIX E. 
 
 Letter f: om General Edwards. 
 Tn the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 It is highly gratifying to the friends of our cause to observe the favorable 
 manner in which the " Editor-at-Large " project of the Banner of Light 
 is received everywhere. The name of the veteran editor himself is as 
 familiar as a household word in every spiritual family throughout the 
 land. The movement was doubtless inaugurated in the higher life. We, 
 therefore, look forward with pleasing anticipations to the grand results in 
 the enterprise. * * 
 
 I have never known such an interest before in this city to learn the 
 heaven-born truths of Spiritualism as now. When the wind blows, and 
 the floods sweep away the sands and froths that float down the tide of 
 time, the impregnable old Banner will stand in the hearts and memories 
 of its thousands of readers. 
 
 Yours for the light, J. Edwards. 
 
 Washington, D. C, Jan. 31st, 1880. 
 
 SYMPATHY FROM THE GRANITE STATE. 
 
 The Secular Press Bureau correspondence has greatly enlarged 
 the author's circle of friends, and thus widened the sphere of his 
 usefulness. Among the people v.'ho have recently become interested 
 in his work is a lady of foreign birth, of rare intelligence and cul- 
 ture, who writes from New Hampshire to the Editor-at-Large to 
 communicate portions of a deeply interesting spiritual experience. 
 In one of her letters she gives a brief history of her family, and 
 expresses a strong interest in Dr. Brittan's present work, as will 
 appear from the following extract : 
 
 "Prof. Brittan — I am not an American, but a subject of her Gracious 
 Majesty, Queen Victoria — a good woman, a model mother, and also, I am 
 told, a Spiritualist. My father came from Berwick on the Tweed, and 
 my mother was a descendant of a famous Scotch ancestry, Angus Mac- 
 Donald, Lord of the Isles — Highlanders. You know their character and 
 history — stern and true to the death. My ancestors fought at Bannock- 
 burn. When a school girl I visited Sterling Castle, and looked on that 
 famous and historic field, but I did not then love and reverence as I now 
 do my noble Scotch ancestry. 
 
APPENDIX E. 463 
 
 " But I would be most unwilling to add to the pressure of duties now de- 
 manding your whole time, by trespassing for even a single half hour. 
 Let me close this letter by wishing most sincerely that the success of your 
 mission will be beyond your present anticipations ; that the angels will 
 touch both brain and pen, with deeper and keener power from day to day ; 
 that the indeed ' glad tidings ' may reach those now sitting in darkness 
 and sorrow, and be welcomed by thousands as the light penetrates their 
 spirits, and the blessings of countless hosts fall as refreshing dew on your 
 own soul." 
 
 TESTIMONY OF A CLERGYMAN. 
 
 A well-known clergyman residing in Hartford, Conn., who has 
 recently embraced Spiritualism, writes an earnest letter to Dr. 
 Brittan, involving a cordial indorsement of his argument in reply 
 to the most scholarly assault that has recently been made upon 
 Spiritualism. We extract the following passage from the rev- 
 erend gentleman's letter : * 
 
 " Not till to-day have I seen your reply to Rev. Dr. Hawley, and I 
 hasten to congratulate you on so forcible and useful an article. I say 
 useful, because it seems to me to be extremely well fitted for a wide popu- 
 lar circulation. The common prejudice against Spiritualism as essentially 
 irreligious, and the equally common notion that communion through its 
 channels with our departed friends is sinful and prohibited by the Bible, 
 have long seemed to me to stand foremost among the obstacles to the 
 general reception among good people of the truth on the subject. Both 
 these points, especially the latter, you have ably met. 
 
 " Dr. H.'s article I have not seen, and so I cannot express an opinion on 
 the conclusiveness of yours as a reply on the whole. But I will presume 
 it to be so satisfactory as to suggest, as among the good works our 
 new Alliance may be expected to do, the publication in tract form of 
 both articles side by side. Each party might be given, if desirous of it, 
 the privilege of a previous revision, so as to make the discussion as con- 
 clusive as possible. "• 
 
 From the Principals of the Belvidere Seminary, Misses Belle and Lizzie Bush. 
 We have read with great pleasure Dr. Brittan's article in the Banner of 
 
464 APPENDIX E. 
 
 Light. It is beautiful and Christlike in spirit, breathing the purest and 
 truest charity, born of Love and Wisdom. God bless him for writing such 
 high thoughts, for, like the breath of heaven, they sweeten and refine the 
 moral atmosphere of a cold and sordid world." 
 
 A VOICE FROM OVER THE SEA. 
 
 4 EsLiNGTON Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne, ) 
 England, July 2^, 188 1. ) 
 
 Messrs. Colby and Rich : 
 
 Having read in the issue of the Banner of Light of June i8th Professor 
 Brittan's masterly reply to Dr. Hawley, and which has called forth my 
 highest encomiums, I write to ask you for your permission to republish it 
 in this country in pamphlet form, as I believe it is calculated to do a 
 vast amount of good if well circulated by Spiritualists amongst our oppo- 
 nents. // is a most crushing reply, and completely turns the tables upon them. 
 It is not only just and fair, but appeals to our higher nature by its earnest- 
 ness and eloquence. If he can write like that he is indeed the right man 
 in the right place, in spite of what carping critics may say, and must be- 
 come a power in our movement in bringing its claims to the attention of 
 the religious world. 
 
 I care not to make a profit by publishing it, but rather seek to aid in 
 spreading the good cause. I shall be glad to know your definite reply as 
 early as possible, as there is to be a Church of England Congress to be 
 held in this town in August next, and one of the subjects for their discus- 
 sion is the relation of Spiritualism to the Church. I would like to have it 
 out beforehand, and supply the clergy with our friend's cogent reasonings. 
 If necessary to obtain Dr. Brittan's sanction to this scheme, shall be greatly 
 obliged if you would kindly obtain it for me, as I do not like to go con- 
 trary to his wishes. . . . Yours truly, H. A. K. 
 
 A prominent Spiritualist in London writes us as follows under a recent 
 date : " The Editor-at-Large project is a most praiseworthy effort to place 
 one of the brightest lights in connection with American Spiritualism before 
 the people, and in a way that will enable them to know him better. Prof. 
 S. B. Brittan is the one man capable of filling suchan important position." 
 — Banner of Light, 
 
 In a very interesting letter, which may be found elsewhere, from the 
 
APPENDIX E. 465 
 
 pen of Edwin D. Babbitt, D. M., of New York City, he calls timely 
 attention to the importance of the Editor-at- Large department, saying that 
 it should certainly be sustained if we have any public-spiritedness about 
 us; and adds: "Shall we helplessly let the periodical press slander us, 
 and pervert what is most dear to us, when we can have an accomplished 
 writer like Prof. Brittan to hurl back their assaults and enlighten their 
 readers with reference to something higher and better than they yet conceive 
 of? It is plausible to say that all Spiritualists should undertake this work, 
 and tliat without pay ; but this is not practicable, for people must earn a 
 livelihood, and the cares of daily life absorb the time so that if those 
 should be found who are as able as Prof. Brittan, they find it difficult to 
 give time and attention to the matter." — Banner of Light. 
 
 THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE. 
 
 Let me congratulate our friend and brother, Prof. Brittan, upon the 
 able and successful completion of his first year of missionary work in this 
 new field, and to express the hope that the seed thus sown may bring forth 
 an hundred fold in the near future ; and as one of the earnest, practical 
 laymen in the spiritual vineyard, let me urge upon the thousands of Spir- 
 itualists all over the land, who have not as yet contributed, and who have 
 found joy and peace in believing, to send according to the blessings they 
 , have received, a small contribution to this work, for it is through the sec- 
 ular press largely that we^are to reach the great struggling heart of human- 
 ity. I send my $5 for the work. I would it were an hundred times 
 more. May this appeal reach a thousand hearts, and bring forth a thou- 
 sand responses. This work of Bro. Brittan's must be strengthened, and 
 placed upon a firm basis. Friends, act, and act now. S. B. Nichols. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., Jan., 1881. 
 
 Cor. of Dr. J. M. Peebles, from The Banner of Light, Dec. 6, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Brittan as Editor-at-Large.— Sincerely do I hope that wealthy 
 Spiritualists will respond quickly and liberally to the " Editor-at-Large 
 fund." Dr. Brittan is ''worthy and well qualified" — to use a Masonic 
 term — to fill this station. He is thoughtful, scholarly, and wields a 
 Damascus blade. Come to the rescue. There are several rich Spiritual- 
 ists right in New York City, that would find sweet peace to their souls by 
 handing over to him a thousand dollars each. I pray God and the good 
 30 
 
466 APPENDIX E. 
 
 angels to impress them to so do. Such men as Dr. Brittan, Dr. Bu- 
 chanan, and other royal-souled reformers who have devoted their lives to 
 the mental, moral, and spiritual development of humanity, should not be 
 permitted the least annoyance from financial depression. 
 
 A learned Professor in a foreign University, Master of Arts and 
 Member of the Royal Society of Literature, in a private letter, 
 recently received, thus refers to Dr. S. B. Brittan : 
 
 " I have seen from time to time in the Banner of Light proposals for 
 securing his services as Editor-at-Large. I earnestly hope that means 
 will be found to this end. I know of nothing more calculated to serve 
 the wide cause of Spiritualism than so enlisting his services. I read all 
 that comes from his prolific pen with interest and profit," 
 
 VOICES OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 POPULAR ESTIMATE OF THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU. 
 
 IN these days the people are so well informed that they cannot 
 be deceived in respect to the general drift of thought and the 
 progress of ideas. They readily interpret the spirit of the times, and 
 are entitled to be heard on all questions of public interest. The 
 use of the Secular Press for the universal diffusion of spiritual light 
 and knowledge — now that the plan is fairly understood — is ap- 
 proved with great unanimity and enthusiasm. Many of the voices 
 are especially significant, since they are known to come from 
 personal sources of high character and liberal culture. We may 
 not suppress, altogether, the emphatic testimony of these friends, 
 since words of encouragement are incentives to further effort in 
 the right direction. 
 
 We may not always accept the Latin proverb, " Vox populi vox- 
 Dei; " but we may rationally question the wisdom of suppressing 
 
APPENDIX E. 467 
 
 the spontaneous expression of the popular feeling and judgment 
 concerning any of the important objects and interests of life, and 
 the measures by which it may be proposed to carry the same for- 
 ward to a beneficent consummation. In the letters relating to the 
 Editor-at-Large, are many earnest words which are both encour- 
 aging and instructive. As these are disinterested testimonies — 
 quite unlooked for and unsought — which may possibly cheer and 
 strengthen others in their warfare against error and injustice, we 
 do not feel at liberty to stifle these Voices. Whether they speak to 
 encourage the desponding, to strengthen the weak, or to reprove 
 the unworthy, let them be heard. The explanatory notes are 
 chiefly by the Editor of the Banner of Light. 
 
 W. S. writes from New Orleans to assure us of his deep interest 
 in the Editor-at-Large movement. From his earnest letter we 
 extract the following : 
 
 " It does not seem possible that among the 3,000,000 Spiritualists in 
 the United States, five hundred cannot be found who would willingly 
 subscribe ten dollars each per annum for so meritorious an object. . . . 
 I am afraid that the old adage, that ' What's everybody's business is no- 
 body's business,' holds good in this case. I think and feel that every 
 society or association of Spiritualists throughout the whole land should 
 each get up a subscription paper, and appoint a committee whose duty it 
 should be to see each and every member and invite — nay, urge — them to 
 subscribe according to their several means and ability; not only- to pay 
 this year, but every year as long as they live, if they are able and the 
 occasion exists. Better say that the sum of $5,000 per annum is needed." 
 
 A friend writes from Baltimore to a member of the Editor-at- 
 Large Committee inclosing his subscription. The following pas- 
 sage from his letter is emphatic arfd rather instructive : 
 
 " I see that you are one of the committee on the Editor-at-Large enter- 
 prise. I inclose five dollars for that fund. I am induced to do this by 
 reading the attacks which the other papers make upon the project. I see 
 
468 APPENDIX E. 
 
 so much 'dog in the manger' in the articles written against it, that I con 
 elude it is my duty to help it ; and I only regret that I cannot give more 
 to sustain the man, gentleman and scholar. Brittan — in his efforts to 
 defend our cause — there is no doubt wields his pen more potently than the 
 whole host of scribblers, who write little else than ghost stories." 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 Your suggestion in several late issues of your paper concerning the em- 
 ployment of an Editor-at-Large, on the part of the Spiritualists of this 
 country, ought, I think, to strike every true believer in our beautiful 
 philosophy as just what is needed at this period ; and if the friends of the 
 cause will, so far as able, lend a helping hand, a generous salary can be 
 raised, a splendid work begun, and an endless amount of good be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 A better man could not be found in all the ranks of Spiritualism for the 
 work proposed than Prof. S. B. Brittaii. 
 
 Should an arrangement of this kind be entered into, please put my 
 name on the list of subscribers, for I do not believe I can appropriate ten 
 dollars to a better cause. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Mrs. Silvia B. Cabell. 
 
 No. 22 Third street, N. E., Washington, D. C. 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 I have observed that the suggestion contained in my former letter pub- 
 lished in the Baujier of Light of Aug. gth, has received attention from a 
 number of your correspondents, and has been made the subject of highly 
 appreciative editorial comments. The friends of the proposal, whose let- 
 ters have appeared in your paper, all concur at once in their estimate of 
 the importance of the measure, and the peculiar adaptation of Dr. S. 
 B. Brittan to the place and the duties required of the Editor-at-Large. 
 His recent and vigorous handling of Prof. W. Wundt, of the Leipsic Uni- 
 versity, together with many other examples, illustrate the breadth of his 
 views, the clearness of his statement, and the admirable method of his argu- 
 ment ; the ease with which he parries each blow and disarms every assail- 
 ant ; and the nez'er-surrender spirit of his long war for unpopular truth — 
 all these services, and his constant labors for thirty -three years, assure us 
 
APPENDIX E. 469 
 
 of what he is still capable of doing in the rational defense of that noble 
 cause which is the common interest and inheritance of us all. 
 
 But how shall we best promote that interest? No matter how complete 
 and convincing these replies to the enemies of Spiritualism may be, they 
 measurably fail of their object so long as their publication is confined to 
 our spiritual papers, which are comparatively few in number, and restricted 
 in circulation. They do not reach the larger audience, in whose minds the 
 enemy is all the while industriously sowing his tares, and in whose pres- 
 ence our vindication should be calmly but boldly made. Let the shot be 
 sent straight into the enemy's camp. The plan projected provides for this, 
 inasmuch as it would be the special business of the Editor-at-Large to con- 
 front the enemies of the Liberal cause on any ground they may choose to 
 occupy. 
 
 Yours for the truth, J. B. LOOMIS. 
 
 LABORS OF MR. S. B. BRITTAN. 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 I feel impressed to say a few words to you, not to advise, but simply to 
 make a practical suggestion relative to the important labor he has under- 
 taken. When I call his labor important I desire to be understood as 
 meaning all the language can imply ; for I deem that the work he is to do 
 will, OT^ may, result in extending a correct knowledge of our soul-cheering 
 faith into circles now darkened by the smoky fogs of theology, to a much 
 greater extent than the labors of any other one man — ay, or of any half- 
 dozen men. His work is to meet our foes on their own ground ; to go 
 behind their entrenchments — so to speak — and deal with them at hand-to- 
 hand encounters. 
 
 But to the suggestion I hinted at. It is this : That nothing of Mr. 
 Brittan's labors be lost, after it may have done its immediate work of re- 
 demption from error ; but that every blow he strikes — and he will strike 
 some incisive ones — be made a record of ; that every untruth which he has 
 caught in its stealthy travels, and strangled ; every misrepresentation he 
 has shown to be such ; in short, all his work, every step he takes in the 
 direction of demolishing error and upbuilding truth, be made a record of, 
 and all gathered and published in book form at the close of his first cam- 
 paign, or as soon thereafter as may be. Such a compilation of proofs and 
 arguments would make one of the best books to be found among spiritual 
 literature. 
 Northfeld, Vt. D. T. Averill. 
 
470 APPENDIX E. 
 
 A VOICE FROM THE SOUTH. 
 
 A lady, writing from Fernandina, Fla. , whose subscription to the 
 Bureau Fund was recently credited, has an enlightened apprecia- 
 tion of the work, as will appear from the following extract from her 
 letter under date of June 20th : 
 
 " A thousand thanks for Prof. S. B. Brittan's noble defense of Spiritual- 
 ism in his reply to Rev. Dr. Hawley, which I have just perused in the 
 Banner of Light. I have never read anything I liked better, or that did 
 me more good ; not even his discussion with Dr. Hanson, of Hartford, 
 which I read many years ago and enjoyed very much. I thought it the 
 best possible thing. I have since tried to obtain a copy, but have never 
 been able. I hope the present correspondence will be published in book 
 form and widely circulated. 
 
 "Again thanking him with all my heart, and wishing God and the good 
 spirits to bless him forever, I remain a sinceie friend. A. C. F^ ' 
 
 ANOTHER DISINTERESTED WITNESS. 
 
 The author of the following letter is well known among the in- 
 dependent people who have broken away from the creeds that 
 bound them, and now exercise the right to think for themselves. 
 He is an accepted and fearless representative of the laboring classes, 
 among whom his opinions have weight. His added testimony to 
 the importance of the work assigned to the Editor-at-Large, and 
 the peculiar fitness of Mr. Brittan for the place, is direct and un- 
 qualified by any private aim or personal ambition : 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 I see by the papers and circulars that you have established an Editor- 
 at-Large, whose business it is to eliminate from the great volume of spirit 
 phenomena the true and reliable philosophy of human possibilities, and 
 that you have selected for that most responsible duty Dr. Samuel B. Brit- 
 tan, than whom I know of none so capable, with a mind so clear, ana- 
 lytical, philosophical, and qualified by nature as well as by many years of 
 earnest observation and investigation, for this high position. 
 
 The bushel of chaff has followed the grain of wheat in the whirling 
 
APPENDIX E. 471 
 
 course of this great spiritual truth, blinding and obfuscating the super- 
 ficial observer, filling the moral atmosphere with a denser darkness than 
 arose from the old creeds and faiths. It is Dr. Brittan's business to dis- 
 tinguish the chaff from the wheat, and to burn up with the unquenchable 
 fire of truth and sciento-philosophic demonstrations those shells and fungi 
 that accompany all great evolutions. Therefore I predict a new era for 
 Spiritualism, which shall establish itself among the late discoveries in the 
 invisible forces of Nature. 
 
 I thank you for this correct step. Go on ! Let the light shine. 
 
 G. W. Madox. 
 
 New York, Feb. id, 1880. 
 
 C. W. Kellogg writes us from Brooklyn in indorsement of the Editor- 
 at-Large project. In the course of his letter (which unites business with 
 words of cheer) he hopes that such Spiritualists as are blessed with the 
 means will come forward and insure the success of the enterprise. " I 
 cannot say ' Give me neither poverty nor riches.' I would that I were 
 able of myself to so firmly seat Prof. Brittan in the position of Editor-at- 
 Large that poverty could never displace him. He of all men, to my mind, 
 is best suited by intellect, education, temperament, and experience to 
 advocate and defend successfully the cause in the secular prints," 
 
 A prominent Spiritualist in Rochester, N. Y., writes : 
 " The dignity and ability with which the Banner of Light is conducted 
 meet the hearty approbation of the Spiritualists of this city. It pursues the 
 even tenor of its way without displaying personal animosities or mixing in 
 factional controversies. I rejoice that there is such a spiritual paper. I 
 have read the Banner from its first issue, and a hundred times have had 
 occasion to speak of the wisdom of its course. We approve the ' Editor- 
 at-Large ' arrangement, and are deeply mortified at the unjust attacks on 
 Dr. Brittan and the Banner." 
 
 John L. Moore, writing from Artemisia, Canada, says : 
 
 " The Secular Press Bureau is doing a grand work. I recollect Prof. 
 Brittan well, when in the early days of the cause he spoke from the plat- 
 form, in that easy, fluent style that made it a pleasure to listen to him. 
 Prof. Brittan, being well known as a magazine and newspaper writer, has 
 
4/2 APPENDIX E. 
 
 opportunities of reaching the press which no other writer in the Spiritual- 
 istic ranks has in the same degree." 
 
 M. Larkin, Downington, Pa., writes: 
 
 "In selecting S. B. Brittan for ' Ediior-at-Large,' I cannot see how a 
 wiser choice could have been made. I feel under lasting obligations to 
 him and Charles Partridge for having given us, in the Spintual Telegraph, 
 the grandest truths ever made known to mortals. It was their paper that 
 first drew my attention to Spiritualism — a subject I would not have re- 
 mained ignorant of for all the wealth in our Keystone State." 
 
 B. F. Blackiston, of Dover, Del., informs us in the course of a recent 
 business letter, that the communications by Prof. S. B. Brittan which we 
 have from time to time copied from the secular journals, and which arti- 
 cles have aimed to reply to objections made against Spiritualism, its teach- 
 ings and its media, have caused much interest in the subject in that place, 
 and bid fair to produce correspondingly good results for the cause. 
 
 Extract from Published Correspondence ^Z" Edwin D. Babbitt, D.M., 
 froiH '''The Bamier of Light^' Dec. 27. 
 
 The suggestion of such a man as Prof. S. B. Brittan for the position is 
 one of the best ever made. . . . The type of his mind is both histor- 
 ical and philosophical, his style graceful, and his sarcasm against evil, 
 vi^hen his righteous indignation is aroused, is very scathing. 'He has been 
 in the midst of wars and controversies in this divine cause for so many 
 years that it has made him quick to repel assaults from the enemy, and 
 yet his kindness and balance of mind render him courteous and fair iti his 
 language. . . . Being one of our representative men, and fairly 
 known even in the secular world for his literary ability, he would be able 
 to gain admittance to many papers which would otherwise be closed 
 against him. Men of financial power, men of grand souls, will you let 
 the opportunity pass ? Then will Heaven let the opportunity of blessing 
 your own souls and the souls of others pass away also. 
 
 A lady of profound religious convictions, of rare intelligence, 
 and a most efficient member of the Episcopal Church, who resides 
 
APPENDIX E. 473 
 
 in Newark, N. J., sends ten dollars to the Editor-at-Large. We 
 extract the following from her excellent letter : 
 
 " I am very much interested that all mankind may become more fully 
 acquauUed with our Father in heaven. If this is one of the means that 
 he would u-e to bring them in closer communion with himself — by 
 bringing the spiritual world nearer to us — and he would use yon as a 
 medium in calling the attention of many to this mode of manifesting him- 
 self, I shall be glad that I have added my mite." 
 
 ** STRIKE, BUT HEAR ! " 
 
 The editor of the Banner 0/ Li^/U S2iys, "Prof. Wundt is 'unhorsed' 
 by Prof Brittan." The man with " the sword of the spirit" not only 
 seems to have broken the lance of the scientific assailant, but to have un- 
 settled the very ground beneath his feet. Wundt being /lors de combdt, 
 we predict that, in his next tilt at the truth, he won't ride so boldly to the 
 front without first measuring the defensive arm that strikes for Spiritual- 
 ism. — Exchange. 
 
 THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE PROPOSITION. 
 To the Editor of the Baiiner of Light : 
 
 The suggestion that a spiritual " Editor-at-Large " be engaged to do 
 certain needed labor among the secular papers, I heartily approve. Dr. 
 S. B. Brittan possesses the requisite literary ability and scientific knowl- 
 edge to fill the responsible position, and has had great experience in all 
 the phases of the spiritual phenomena. If Dr. Brittan is engaged as such 
 editor, as soon as I am notified I will forward five dollars to aid the un- 
 dertaking, which I regard of much importance. 
 
 Yours truly, William Luther. 
 
 ig Alexander St., Rochester., N. V., Oct. 6, 1879. 
 
 Oakfield, Wis. — Isaac Orvis writes : " I have been much pleased in 
 perusing Dr. S. B. Brittan's criticism on Prof Wundt's letter to Prof. 
 Ulrici, in a recent Baniter. Is it not strange that scientists should claim 
 for Spiritualism what the most unscientific Spiritualist never claimed for 
 it, namely, the abrogation of natural law in the movement of ponderable 
 bodies by spirit-force? This manifestation is perfectly in accordance with 
 
474 APPENDIX E. 
 
 the law of gravity, but superior to it for the time being ; otherwise Prof. 
 Wundt could never have lifted one of the smallest specimens in his cabinet. 
 Go on, Bro. Brittan — pull up the stakes, tear down the landmarks of false 
 philosophy, bigotry and superstition, and let the world have the truth in a 
 clearer light. " 
 
 New York, March 26th, 1881. 
 Messrs. Colby & Rich : 
 
 Enclosed find my check, which you will please apply to the Editor-at- 
 Large Fund. Prof. S. B. Brittan is an able champion of Spiritualism. 
 Let me herein say, that, to my mind, this is the most complete and fertile 
 method of cultivating the growth of this magnificent truth. It reaches 
 millions of minds. I deem it one of the broadest and grandest move- 
 ments since the birth of Spiritualism. Respectfully, 
 
 J. A. Cazino. 
 
 Christian, Texas.— Mrs. S. Crawford sends $5 for the Editor-at-Large 
 Fund (which sum has been previously acknowledged), and says : " Being a 
 practical Spiritualist and subscriber to your excellent paper, I desire to 
 present my small mite in aid of the interests of truth. I think Bro. S. B. 
 Brittan is a great and noble champion in the cause of progress and eternal 
 justice." 
 
 " T. K. Austin," of New York City, writes us on the subject of 
 the Editor-at-Large movement under a recent date and in the fol- 
 lowing forcible manner : 
 
 "The proposition to institute a commission as ' Editor-at-Large ' — as 
 announced in the Banner of Light — strikes me as a matter of serious im- 
 portance and of timely consideration, and it engages my most cordial 
 sympathy and approval ; especially in view of the exalted character of the 
 proposed incumbent of that office, Prof. S. B. Brittan. 
 
 " It has been my highly valued privilege to enjoy a close acquaintance 
 with Dr. Brittan, consequently some opportunity has been afforded me for 
 an opinion in the matter. And it occurs as one of the very few occasions 
 of my life when I would willingly divest myself of a natural diffidence and 
 disrelish for publicity, could I thereby obtain a sufficiently potent influ- 
 ence to induce my brother Spiritualists to seize the opportunity with 
 avidity while yet it is theirs to grasp. 
 
APPENDIX E. 475 
 
 " Who will take up the gauntlet of the opposition ? To whom shall we 
 look for a refutation of the charges against Spiritualism? It seems to this 
 writer that if any one can ' fill the bill,' the author of ' Man and His Rela- 
 tions' is that one. His unswerving fidelity to principle, his rich endow- 
 ment, with superior natural abilities, his ripe scholarship, the '■stiaviter in 
 niodo et fo7-titer in re ' -wYnch goYerns him throughout, both mentally and 
 morally — ail these, combined with a natural dignity and refinement of the 
 best type, and developed by lifelong culture, constitute a character rare 
 if not unique, and especially fitted to the delicate, discriminating, yet 
 unflinching duty involved in the office of Editor-at-Large as I under- 
 stand it." 
 
 We are in receipt of the following letter from a lady who does 
 not profess to believe in Spiritualism, and whose communication is 
 another incidental evidence that Prof. Brittan's reputation as a 
 writer is not confined to the spiritual public : 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 I am not a Spiritualist, for, while I do not doubt that the phenomena 
 occur, I am not yet satisfied of their spiritual origin ; but I will gladly 
 contribute ten dollars towards carrying out your suggestion in regard to 
 Dr. S. B. Brittan of this city. He is, perhaps, the best fitted for such a 
 position of any man in the country. Hoping you may succeed in effect- 
 ing an arrangement with him very soon, and that the necessary amount of 
 money may be raised before the new year begins, I am, 
 
 Very respectfully, Mrs. E. Bruce, 
 
 Neiv York, Oct. J2th, i879- 
 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 Inclosed please find the " widow's mite " again for the Brittan Fund. 
 It is most strange that every reader of the Banner of Light cannot plainly 
 see that the Editor-at-Large movement is the grandest plan ever adopted 
 for the defense of our cause ; for by it the skeptical world will soon see 
 and know the true soul and body of much-abused Spiritualism. Ever the 
 trouble has been to get the facts before the people in the papers in which 
 the abuse has appeared, and in a manner to insure that they will be read ; 
 and to my mind Dr. S. B. Brittan has proved himself to be just the man 
 to command respect from the press and the people, and thus compass the 
 ends sought. His sound logic, high culture, and his wise balance of 
 
476 APPENDIX E. 
 
 temper, force me to believe, almost, that he was " raised up " for this very 
 purpose. H. Hayes. 
 
 Muir, Mich. 
 
 THE CRUSADE AGAINST ISRAEL. 
 
 Dr. S. B. Brittan's vindication of the Jews has been published in 
 pamphlet form at the request of many persons, as will be perceived 
 by reference to our advertising columns. In his defense of this 
 people he has administered a severe but wholesome reproof to cer- 
 tain Christians who need reformation. Indeed, for forty years no 
 form of political iniquity, religious ostracism, or social injustice 
 among men has escaped his searching observation. Nor have the 
 enemies of freedom and the equal rights of all men found shield or 
 shelter from deserved chastisement at his hands. If he is fearless 
 and unsparing in his handling of the enemies of truth and justice, 
 his severity in controversy never degenerates into harshness. Per- 
 sonal resentment and acrimonious feeling seldom or never obscure 
 the principles for which he contends. While smarting under the 
 lash of his criticism, not a few have been made to feel the justice 
 of their punishment.* 
 
 A gentleman at Muir, Ionia County, Mich., in a letter received 
 some days since, in referring to our special correspondent says : 
 
 " I have pe used many articles from S. B. Brittan, my stranger friend 
 and brother, but none with so much interest and pleasure as the ' Plea for 
 the Jews ' in a late number of the Banner of Light. ... I am only a 
 citizen, loving all the freedom and justice the Lord — the true God — has 
 granted us. 
 
 " Church regalia admitted free of duty is a new revealment to me, and is 
 another proof that our government is not secular. He has done up the 
 clergy without gloves, and we want some similar pen to write things 
 three hundred and sixty-five days in each year. ... I shall long 
 remember the noble reformer who lives for the right under all circum- 
 stances. Heaven and the good angels guide him that he may not spare 
 those who, for opinion's sake, would burn us all if they could. I hope 
 he may yet be installed ' Editor-at-Large.' " — Bamier of Light. 
 
APPENDIX E. 477 
 
 VIEWS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 DR. BRITTAN AND THE TIMES. 
 
 ON our fifth page will be found a masterly argument and a tren- 
 chant and searching analysis — both bearing on the ignorant 
 criticisms of the editor of the New York Times as leveled at Spirit- 
 ualism and its work in our day and generation. The Editor-at -Large 
 speaks both from the head and the heart in this reply, and we are 
 sure our readers will agree with us that the tone of each is sound, 
 trustworthy, and calculated to be of "good cheer '' to every friend 
 of the Modern Dispensation. The editor of the Hartford (Ct.) 
 Daily Times — to the columns of which paper [for Sept. 8th] we 
 are indebted for this able rejoinder on the part of Dr. B. — thus 
 calls the attention of his readers to the matter in hand : 
 
 "Dr. Britlan's reply to the editorial position of the New York Times, 
 concerning Dr. Beard and his assumptions in relation to clairvoyance, as 
 a proved reality, will be found to be as keen and effective as it is logical 
 and courteous. The Times, not liking the attitude in which it found it- 
 self left by Dr. Brittan, refused to publish his reply. "^j5a««^r of Light. 
 
 From the Banner of Light of Aug. 23 and Sept. 13, 1849. 
 
 We have hinted at the importance of the Spiritualists of the United 
 States employing Professor S. B, Brittan, of New York, as an " Editor- 
 at- Large," to write for the secular press in defense of Spiritualism. Pro- 
 fessor Brittan possesses the requisite capacity for such an undertaking in a 
 degree superior to any other individual in our ranks, and could do much and 
 valuable work for the cause by meeting the frequent assaults of our enemies 
 on their own ground, and also through their channels of communication. 
 There is no reason why the Spiritualists should not employ an agent to 
 perform such services just as any theological body may engage a missionary 
 to look after its interests among the people. A strong man is needed to 
 
4/8 APPENDIX E. 
 
 smite with his truth-revealing pen, and on their own ground, those journal- 
 istic Philistines, and either show up the fallacies indulged in by these 
 papers or their representatives, and in the very columns in which such 
 fallacies appear — or, failing of getting a hearing for his articles forwarded 
 freely in reply, to at least demonstrate to lovers of fair play everywhere 
 the want of a proper sentiment of common justice in the sanctums of the 
 daily or weekly issues refusing to print his communications. 
 
 Why should notihe Spiritualists of the United States perceive the truth 
 of what we affirm? and, perceiving, why should they not further employ at 
 least one man at a living salary to watch the daily and weekly secular 
 papers, detect such "snap-judgment" articles as may from time to time 
 appear, and reply to them in a manner that shall defend the honor of the 
 cause before the world? We have in the main asked this question in sev- 
 eral previous issues, and have given publicity to divers letters from cor- 
 respondents hearing on the project, and all agreeing that the nomination of 
 Professor S. B. Brittan of New York, to fill the post of Spiritualist Editor- 
 at-Large, was the best that could be made ; and we at present desire to 
 emphasize all we have before said regarding the practicability of the crea- 
 tion of the office, and the peculiar fitness of Professor Brittan to fill it after 
 it has been so created. It is our opinion that he could do most effective 
 work in advocating the claims of the Spiritual Dispensation, and could ere 
 long — when the truly classical character of his writings came to be under- 
 stood—either command equal space in the secular papers as that accord- 
 ed to the enemies of Spiritualism, or could at least close these popular 
 channels of communication against those who now so fearlessly (because 
 they do not expect to be criticised) misrepresent the facts of Spiritualism, 
 disfigure its revealments, and belie its defenders. 
 
 SECULAR PRESS BUREAU. 
 From the Two Worlds. 
 
 " It is, doubtless, largely owing to the labors of Dr. Brittan in this 
 capacity, for which he possesses distinguished qualifications, that the tone 
 of the press in general has greatly altered of late toward Spiritualism ; 
 and we venture to opine that our dignified neighbor, the New York Times, 
 will not be in haste to make another exhibit of its conspicuous want of 
 information and of correct thinking on the topics it has so confidently 
 essayed to discuss. 
 
 " In this connection it is not out of place to invite the attention of our 
 readers to that department of effort in behalf of spiritual enlightenment, 
 over which our able and scholarly co-laborer, Dr. Brittan, presides. 
 
APPENDIX E. 479 
 
 And we do this simply from a sense of duty, and without the slightest hint 
 from him that such a service on our part would be agreeable. We have no 
 question that the field of labor in which he is engaged was marked out for 
 him by higher intelligences, nor that he is most worthily and efficiently 
 performing the work to which he has been assigned. It seems but right, 
 then, that those who are interested in the advancement of the truth, and 
 have been gifted with the capacity for accumulating means, should con- 
 tribute the funds necessary to enable him to devote his best energies to 
 the work. 
 
 " We have reason to believe that his needs for this work thus far have not 
 been over-well supplied, and we gladly accede to the suggestion of a valued 
 correspondent, in offering to receive and faithfully transmit any contribu- 
 tions for the Secular Press Bureau that may be entrusted to our care." 
 
 The American Editor-at-La.rge, Prof. Brittan, one of the ablest 
 and most experienced writers on Spiritualism, is wisely retained by the 
 Spiritualists of America, to write- attractive and instructive articles on 
 Spiritualism in the leading newspapers of the country. By this means 
 excellent articles on our cause are perused by thousands of intelligent 
 readers, who would otherwise remain in ignorance of teachings thus given. 
 —Medium and Daybreak, London, Eng. 
 
 Our esteemed contemporary, the Harbinger of Light, published 
 in far-off Melbourne, Australia, has expressed the whole sum and 
 substance of the plan of the Secular Press Bureau in the following 
 paragraph, which we recommend to the attention of all our readers : 
 
 " We are glad to observe from the Banner of Light that the ' Editor at- 
 Large ' project is succeeding, and that Prof. S. B. Brittan has entered upon 
 his duties in this direction. The principal duty of this official is to reply 
 to letters and articles against Spiritualism which appear in the secular 
 papers, and to contribute, to such papers as will publish them, articles on 
 Spiritualism. A better man for this duty than the veteran Spiritualist and 
 journalist referred to could scarcely be found." 
 
 OPENING THE GATES. 
 
 The Gate City, a live daily paper published at Keokuk, Iowa, recently 
 contained an article against Mr. Kiddle in his relations to Spiritualism, in 
 
4^0 APPENDIX E. 
 
 which this new and worthy disciple was severely assailed. The same paper, 
 in its issue of the 28th ultimo, contains a polite but analytical and search- 
 ing review of the same by Prof. Brittan, accompanied by an apologetic 
 statement in which the editor of that paper explains the grounds on which 
 he based his former strictures, and from which we extract the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 " We publish a bright and spirited letter from Dr. Brittan of New York, 
 in reply to a paragraph of ours about Mr. Henry Kiddle. We have 
 neither space nor disposition to discuss Spiritualism." . . . 
 
 The review by the Editor-at-Large, entitled " Spiritualism and its 
 Critics," follows the editor's introduction of his new correspondent, in 
 the first editorial column, in large type, and leaded. It gives us pleasure 
 to record the fact as a credit to The Gate City, whose editor thus opens 
 another gate to admit Mr. Brittan and Spiritualism into the wide field of 
 journalism. — Ba^mer of Light. 
 
 POPULAR OPINION. 
 
 A Connecticut correspondent, who has been a constant patron 
 of the Popular Sciettce Afonthly since the date of its first issue, 
 writes thus respecting that journal, and of Dr. Brittan's review of 
 Prof ssor Wundt's letter to Ulrici which appeared in our issue of 
 Oct. 4th : 
 
 " I have just finished the perusal of Dr. Brittan's review of Professor 
 Wundt's assailment of Spiritualism, and congratulate him on the posses- 
 sion of unimpaired faculties and a very fortunate refutation of the points 
 considered strong by the Leipsic Professor. It seems to me very strange 
 that the Popular Science Monthly takes the position it has all along against 
 Spiritualism, when, by its very name and the assertion of its purposes, it 
 should be thorough in its investigation of all facts relating to the subject. 
 I have taken that magazine ever since its first publication, and should 
 vote for a new editor, had I the chance — one who would be impartial and 
 not prejudge cases before they are tried, as Youmans and his clique have 
 done." 
 
 The reader will have noticed that Prof. Youmans often copies a 
 large part of the contents oi h\s Monthly Worn the foreign scientific 
 journals, and not always with the discrimination which indicates 
 
APPENDIX E. 481 
 
 that the Editor is abreast with the leading men of the times. He 
 has copied Prof. Wundt's letter against Spiritualism with every in- 
 dication of cordial approval. Nov/, why should he not also copy 
 Dr. Brittan's reply, that his readers may have both sides of the 
 question as presented by two scientific philosophers ? To assume 
 that Brittan's answer is not equally worthy of public attention is a 
 hollow assumption which will not be accepted by any one compe- 
 tent to form an intelligent opinion. So long as the spiritual side 
 of the question is fairly represented by a man whose metaphysical 
 research and ability appear to be as broad and comprehensive as 
 the philosophy of the average University professor, the assumption 
 that all the science is opposed to Spiritualism is irreconcilable with 
 reason and the facts. In the name of science the public demand 
 that the journal, ostensibly established in its interest, shall give both 
 sides a candid hearing. If such an exhibition of fidelity to truth 
 and justice is too much for the public to expect, the Editor should 
 at least have the manliness to shut out all further ex parte disqui- 
 sitions on a subject which he has only meddled with to obscure. 
 If unwilling to either hear both sides or exclude both, the alterna- 
 tive remains of continuing his own beggarly course, which will 
 neither increase his circulation nor improve a doubtful reputation 
 for intelligence and fair dealing. — Banner of Light. 
 
 THE ANSWER TO ANDOVER. 
 
 On our first page will be found S. B. Brittan's admirable reply 
 to the animadversions urged by Prof. Austin Phelps, D.D., against 
 the philosophy and phenomena of Spiritualism. 
 
 The editor of the Mcrrimac Valley Visitor has indeed set an ex- 
 ample of manly fairness and unimpeachable justice which strongly 
 illustrates the improved tone of the Press, and is worthy of all imi- 
 tation. Regarding Spiritualism as a subject of such importance as 
 31 
 
482 APPENDIX E. 
 
 to merit a candid and fearless consideration of its claims, he pre- 
 sents to his readers one of the most elaborate papers from the pen 
 of the Editor-at-Large, filling nearly eight columns in that journal. 
 Nor does he hesitate to express his estimate of its quality. The 
 answer to Prof. Austin Phelps, D.D., of the Andover Theological 
 Seminary, and indirectly to the Orthodox clergy of New England, 
 is one that may furnish them much food for reflection. Andover's 
 assault upon Spiritualism was published in the Congregationalist. 
 The editor of the Visitor informs his readers of this fact, and in 
 further reference to the subject he says : 
 
 "An answer to Prof. Phelps was first sent to that paper (Congregation- 
 alist), but as religious papers have less liberality and a lower standard of 
 justice than the secular press, it was rejected. . . , We give place to 
 the reply to the Andover Professor. . . . All interested in Spiritual- 
 ism will be pleased with this paper. ... It deals with the subject with 
 a strong and fearless hand. ... It is written by a learned gentle- 
 man who has given years to the study of Spiritual Philosophy, and is 
 known by his writings and addresses upon that subject in every State of 
 this Union, if not in every civilized nation on the globe. . . . We 
 know it will interest thousands of people in this country who are not 
 habitual readers of the Visitor" 
 
 The attention of those who have accustomed themselves to think 
 that Dr. Brittan's labors as Editor-at-Large are not productive of 
 adequate results, is respectively called to the conclusiveness of this 
 reply, and the signal advantage gained for the cause by its publica- 
 tion in a paper printed in the immediate vicinity of Professor 
 Phelps' field of labor. — Banner of Light. 
 
 PROGRESS OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 " • The agitation of thought ' which ' is the beginning of wisdom,' 
 reached Saratoga early in the present year. A great wave from 
 the ' river of life' appears to have passed over the town, and the 
 o-ood people have become deeply interested in Spiritualism. The 
 
APPENDIX E. 4^3 
 
 subject had been discussed for some time in the local papers, and 
 Rev. Bostwick Hawley, D.D., had represented the enemies of 
 Spiritualism in a lengthy and elaborate paper which appeared in 
 the Saratoga Eagle. The doctor's display of classical and theo- 
 logical learning was truly remarkable, and apparently intended to 
 stupefy and silence the Spiritualists ; but it had no such effect. 
 On the contrary, it was but a bugle-blast which summoned the 
 champion of the Secular Press Bureau to the field and the battle. 
 Our readers will perceive, by reference to our first page, how 
 thoroughly in earnest was the champion of Spiritualism, and how 
 effectually he overthrew the churchial Goliah. 
 
 "Truly the messenger from the spirit-world stepped in when the 
 tide of public interest was rising ; the waters were deeply moved 
 by his presence ; a new fountain was opened — the ' well of water 
 springing up into everlasting life.' The people are bound to 
 patronize 'the new spring.' Already the spiritually lame give 
 promise of going alone at an early day, the mourners rejoice, and 
 the blind begin to see. Honor to the ' Editor-at-Large ' for his 
 goo'd work in this regard, and honor also to the editor of the Sara- 
 toga Eagle, who displays his manly independence, even-handed 
 justice and also his eminent good sense in the following editorial 
 announcement : 
 
 '"Prof, Brittan's Defense of Spiritualism. — It gives us unfeigned 
 pleasure to announce that we shall be able to present to our readers next 
 week an extended and elaborate reply to Dr. Bostwick Hawley's able 
 article in the Eagle of Jan. 8th, entided, "Oscillations of Human Opin- 
 ion." Perhaps few, if any, orthodox thinkers, and certainly none in this 
 locality, have more learnedly and logically assaulted the doctrines of 
 modern Spiritualism than Dr. Hawley. By the cumulative evidence of 
 sacred and profane history, together with painstaking ratiocination, Dr. 
 Hawley has sought to prove that professed mediums are either dupes or 
 deceivers ; that Spiritualism, so called, is full of sophistry ; that its teach- 
 ings are mischievous in the extreme, and that the phenomena upon which 
 
484 APPENDIX E. 
 
 it is based are accountable upon other theories than that of communica- 
 tion with disembodied spirits. 
 
 " ' The response is from the gifted pen of Prof. S. B. Brittan,of New York, 
 who is reputed to be one of the very ablest exponents of the spiritualistic 
 philosophy in the United States. We understand that the answer to Dr. 
 Hawley's paper is designed to be masterly, exhaustive and conclusive, 
 and that the several objections to Spiritualism raised by our local con- 
 tributor will be fairly, fully and squarely met. But this point must be de- 
 cided by the reader rather than by the claims of the author or his friends. 
 At any rate, the arguments of gentlemen of the caliber and character of 
 Dr. Hawley and Prof. Brittan relative to this phase of belief will dignify 
 a discussion which just now enjoys large local prominence, both in the 
 village papers and among our people.' 
 
 " In the issue containing Dr. Brittan's article, the Editor of the 
 Eagle gives further expression to his views in the following para- 
 graph : 
 
 " ' The contribution on the subject of Spiritualism, from the pen of Prof. 
 S. B. Brittan, occupies a large space in this issue ; but the ability, vigor 
 and interest of the production justify the prominence we have accorded it. 
 Whether Spiritualism is a true or a false philosophy, or a mixture of truth 
 and error, a perusal of this paper cannot but give a more enlightened 
 conception of its scope, character and pretensions. Although occupying 
 antagonistic positions. Prof. Brittan and Dr. Hawley both seek to fortify 
 their arguments by liberal quotations from the Bible. Without undertak- 
 ing to review this lengthy and labored article, we commend it, as we did 
 Dr. Hawley's paper, to the painstaking perusal and thoughtful delibera- 
 tion of every intelligent reader.'" 
 
 Dr. Brittan is doing valuable work which is not sufficiently appreciated in 
 the Secular Press Bureau. It is no small benefit to have at hand a man of 
 his caliber, versatile power and varied information, whose pen is devoted 
 to exposing mistakes and answering objections in the secular press. A 
 letter of his on Dr. Beard as a " Psychological Expert," addressed to the 
 New York Times, is excellent ; and it is but a sample of many that find 
 their way into the public press. — Psychological Review (London, Y,n^^ for 
 A'ovember, iSSl. 
 
APPENDIX E. 485 
 
 THE DELAWARE VALLEY ADVANCE. 
 
 The editor of the Delaware Valley (Pa.) Advance, thought he 
 saw a chance, too, to join the " Tray, Blanche, and Sweetheart " 
 combination ; but he has, it seems, been led, after the first dash, 
 to retire most confusedly to cover — the cause of his precipitate re- 
 treat being an unexpected forward movement on the part of Prof. 
 S. B. Brittan. Prof. B., having received information from parties 
 resident in the vicinity, at once replied to the Advance manager, 
 and not only gained admission to the columns of that paper, but 
 also called out an editorial from that individual, wherein he stated 
 that he had " no criticisms to make," and did not want " a contro- 
 versy" with Dr. Brittan ; he nevertheless tried to send his readers 
 off on a false scent by saying that the Professor had " advanced 
 no arguments in support of the docfri7ie o( i\\e. people he defends,'' 
 when he (the editor) knew very well that the object of the latter 
 was not to discuss the doctrines of Spiritualism, but to meet his 
 charges, and to rebuke the bigoted spirit of their author. Desirous 
 of covering his ignominous retreat, the Advance editor, like the 
 ostrich when pursued, forced his little head into the sand, leaving 
 liis more ponderous body in plain view. His appeal to the com- 
 munity, to devise means to limit the rights of Spiritualists, was 
 atrocious, and deserved the earnest protest and unqualified condem- 
 nation to which Professor Brittan has given expression. 
 
 Banner' of Light. 
 
 THE CHANGED TONE. 
 
 Some months since. Rev. Prof. Austin Phelps, D.D., contributed 
 an article to the Congregationalist, in which he characterized 
 Spiritualism as " a putrescent heap." In his treatment of its 
 principles and claims he made no effort to disguise his supreme 
 contempt of the whole subject, and generally of its disciples. That 
 article was reviewed at length by the Editor-at-Large in his Secu- 
 lar Press Correspondence. The reply was a searching analysis 
 
486 APPENDIX E. 
 
 and complete refutation of the Andover Professor's dogmatic as- 
 sumptions ; at the same time it was a timely and salutary caution 
 to all similar offenders against the dignity of truth and the propri- 
 eties of religious controversy. How far Dr. Brittan's polite but 
 scathing review may have been influential in modifying the offen- 
 sive tone of the " Sacred Rhetoric " illustrated at Andover, we may 
 not absolutely determine ; but some power has accomplished a 
 most decided reformation or change of opinion in Rev. Dr. Phelps' 
 mind as to the importance of questions involved in the subject, as 
 was to be seen in the article we republished from a more recent 
 number of the Congregatio7ialist z. short time since, and which is 
 alluded to as follows in the Neiv York Tribune of the 24th ultimo: 
 
 " The Rev. Dr. Austin Phelps, professor emeritus of Sacred Rhetoric 
 at Andover Theological Seminary, believes that the pulpit ought not to 
 ignore Spiritualism. In an article in the Congregationalist he says : 
 ' When people find their inherited faith in miracles and in inspiration 
 muddled by the modern necromantic marvels, it is natural, it is reason- 
 able that they should ask : " What do these things mean ? " And so long 
 as popular science says never a word, who shall give to the people the 
 necessary satisfaction, if the pulpit does not? Has not this thing been 
 let alone long enough? Is it not time that the clergy should have opin- 
 ions about it which, as theologians, they are willing to Vie responsible for, 
 and opinions which shall commend themselves to the good sense and the 
 biblical faith of their hearers? It can never be beneath the dignity of 
 the pulpit to answer any inquiries, touching religious faith, which an 
 honest and sensible people are moved to ask. ' " 
 
 It is with evident satisfaction that we record the important fact 
 that Professor Phelps has at last reached the rational conclusion 
 that the clergy have "long enough " neglected their obvious duty 
 in respect to Spiritualism. He reminds them in plain terms that 
 they " should have opinions about it which, as theologians, they are 
 willing to be responsible for." This is sensible, and substantially 
 what the advocates of Spiritualism have been trying to impress 
 upon them for the last thirty years. We are pleased to learn that 
 
APPENDIX E. 487 
 
 the dense fog which so long clouded the theological mind is being 
 dissipated. Andover begins to see the subject in a better light. 
 We hope the clergy generally will follow the example and advice 
 of Professor Phelps ; step down from the church steeple-chase 
 stilts to the level of those " honest and sensible people" who de- 
 mand light and are waiting to receive instruction. 
 
 Ba7i7ter 0/ Light. 
 
 THE SECULAR PRESS BUREAU. 
 
 The reader will find a trenchant article from Prof. S. B. Brittan, 
 in and with which he, as chairman of the new Bureau to be con- 
 ducted under the auspices of the American Spiritualist Alliance, oi 
 New York City, for another year, moves to the front in excellent 
 order, and with, we think, conclusive results. 
 
 It ought to give a thrill of pride to any one who loves the Spirit- 
 ualist cause inherently, and for itself, to peruse such articles as this 
 one by Prof. Brittan, and to feel that such talented men as himself 
 and others are now united to continue the work of refuting the 
 libelous attacks on Spiritualism, placing its defense firmly upon 
 moral and philosophical grounds, in terms incapable of being mis- 
 understood. We have been made glad at seeing that this Bureau 
 has wrought much and good work toward answering the various ob- 
 jections which have been published by secular newspapers regarding 
 the Spiritual Phenomena, and their teachings, and trust that under 
 the new arrangement it may add to its already abundant laurels. 
 
 In order to do so — with strict fair-dealing toward the gentlemen 
 who propose to utilize their valuable powers in the work above 
 named— material support, by way of pecuniary subscriptions, is 
 necessary. The purpose is eminently worthy the attention of the 
 friends of Spiritualism everywhere. Donations to the BUREAU 
 Fund, forwai-ded to this office, will be promptly acknowledged and 
 placed to the credit of the Bureau Committee, subject to its order. 
 
 Banner of Light. 
 
APPENDIX F. 
 
 VOICES FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD. 
 
 THE PRESS AND THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE. 
 
 THE following extracts are from a communication given at 
 the Banner Free Circle Room, Nov. 22, 1880. The Spirit- 
 Author claimed to be the late Henry J. Raymond, founder of the 
 
 New York Daily Times : 
 
 " I would refer to the Editor-at-Large Project, which has been before 
 the public during the last year. Many months ago, certain spirits who 
 have the interests of humanity ever before them, organized themselves 
 into a band for the further advancement of Spiritualism on earth, and to 
 perform more effective labor in its behalf. It had long been apparent 
 that the truths of Spiritualism reach the masses only in a diluted and disr 
 torted form, under the misrepresentations frequently given to the subject 
 through the columns of many theological and secular publications. Vior 
 lent and scurrilous attacks upon Spiritualism and its followers are made 
 with impunity by writers and speakers who know nothing of the subject 
 they condemn, but whose only object is to cast ridicule and odium upon 
 our cause. This is done, from time to time, in the pulpits, from the ros- 
 trum, and in the columns of daily and weekly newspapers ; also in those 
 periodicals and magazines where one has a right to look for truthful state- 
 ments and scientific asseverations ; while we have not had one pen to 
 take up these false representations of Spiritualism and refute them by the 
 statement of honest facts, and to demand a hearing from our side in the 
 columns of these same publications. 
 
 Some time ago, the question was mooted of employing some able, com- 
 
 488 
 
APPENDIX F. 489 
 
 petent Spiritualist to keep himself informed concerning the attitude of the 
 religious and secular press of the country towards Spiritualism, and to hold 
 himself in readiness at all times to wield his pen in behalf of truth, by 
 refuting the false representations of our opponents concerning our cause, 
 and setting its true merits before the public in their proper light. For 
 this purpose, and for this only, was the Editor-at-Large office created, 
 which Prof. S. B. Brittan, of New York city, was called upon to fill, en- 
 tirely independent of the Spiritual press, and I dare to say that he has 
 filled the position assigned him in a manner highly creditable to himself 
 and to the Spiritual cause. Those people who are unbiased and candid, 
 who are familiar with the career and labors of Prof. Brittan during the last 
 thirty years in the fields of Spiritualism, will not question his ability to 
 fill this office. Let those self-opinionated, prejudiced people who appre- 
 ciate the ideas of others only when they harmonize with their own, cavil 
 as they will. 
 
 Those who look only upon the surface of things may imagine this is a 
 pleasant position to fill and an easy labor to perform ; but you have no 
 idea of the stupendous task it is to read up most of the publications of 
 the day, and to keep watch over the columns of the press of this country, 
 in order to be in readiness to refute charges made against Spiritualism and 
 its followers, and send the arrow of Truth home to the heart of Error, by 
 revealing to the outside world the true status of this mighty philosophy, 
 which numbers among its followers millions of respectable people. I ven- 
 ture to say, not one of our writers or lecturers would care to undertake 
 this work, unaided and alone, notwithstanding the cries which have been 
 raised to the contrary, while indeed many of the publications demanding 
 the attention of such an officer are unread and unheeded by these same 
 busy writers and speakers. 
 
 The office of Editor-at-Large was discussed and planned in the Spirit- 
 ual World long before a committee of mortals was formed to further its 
 advancement, and I affirm that its mission is an important one. It takes 
 no work from the hands of any one ; there is labor enough for all to per- 
 form ; it does not set one man over all Spiritualists as their censor, or 
 otherwise limit the freedom of individual thought and opinion. There 
 is much opposition and some ill-will among Spiritualists concerning this 
 office, owing to a misunderstanding of its mission. It is not for the ex- 
 pression of individual idiosyncrasies, but it is designed to represent clearly 
 the truths of Spiritualism to humanity ; its field of usefulness is out in 
 the theological and secular world, where bigotry and error hold sway, and 
 it works for the material interest of no Spiritualist and no spiritual jour- 
 
490 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 nal under the sun. That the office of Editor-at-Large was created in 
 the interest of the publishers of the Banner of Light, those who have 
 watched the course of those gentlemen, and that of their paper during 
 the last twenty years, do not need my voice in refutation of such an as- 
 sertion. 
 
 The only articles from the pen of the Editor-at-Large, written in the 
 interests of that office which are published in the columns of the Ban7ter, 
 are such as — having been respectfully declined by those publications for 
 which they were penned — would reach the public in no other way, and 
 such as the Spiritual World have deemed it important to republish in its 
 columns for the instruction and benefit of its readers. But I need not 
 enlarge. All that I can say on this important subject has been well and 
 aptly said by Judge Nelson Cross, in a recent issue of the Banner of Light. 
 His opinion I indorse, in iota. 
 
 Prof. Brittan, in his capacity of Editor-at-Large, has written many arti- 
 cles, and replied to many criticisms. We are so well satisfied with the 
 result of this year's doings that we desire to extend the experiment another 
 year, and we call upon all our friends who favor this work to assist us in its 
 advancement by contributing whatever sums of money they can afford to 
 the Editor-at-Large fund. As there are those who look upon this project 
 with disfavor, they are not called upon to contribute one penny for its 
 support ; and I may say that, while our friends who have contributed to 
 this work, and who feel its importance, are satisfied with its expenditure 
 of their money, with the result of the labors performed by the Editor-at- 
 Large, we consider it no concern of those who look upon it sneeringly, 
 whether or not the result is as favorable as was expected. 
 
 We have given this method of employing one pen and one mind in the 
 field of secularism a trial, and we are satisfied with the result. Error and 
 opposition have been rebuked ; the truths and beauties of our Spiritual 
 Philosophy clearly placed before the eyes of thousands who would have 
 met them in no other way and through no other channel, and I am pleased 
 to believe that the labor is well worth the expense and trouble it has cost." 
 
 FROM THE SPIRIT OF THE LATE DR. H. F, GARDNER, OF BOSTON. 
 
 " I observe that there is a project started to raise a fund to support an 
 Editor-at-Large, who will undertake to defend Spiritualism and other 
 liberal views. This is one of the most important movements of the age. 
 The secular press is teeming with petty slurs and misrepresentations of 
 Spiritualism and its friends. Spiritualists now have become such a body in 
 the United States that the time has arrived to make themselves heard and 
 
APPENDIX F. 491 
 
 felt among the people. In order to do this they must have one well versed 
 in liberal ideas, fully competent to reply to whatever comes, and who will 
 use his time and talents in defense of our philosophy and in illustration of 
 reformatory measures. Certainly to do this we need a fund to begin with, 
 because it will take the whole time and strength of such a person to be 
 devoted to this purpose. I do hope that the Spiritualists of America will 
 see to it that this project is not allowed to rest, but let it go on, for the 
 Spirit-world has really started it, and we do not mean that it shall fall 
 through. Spiritualism is of great importance ; it is spreading far and 
 wide ; it is not a thing to be crushed or to be shunned, but really an Angel 
 of Light, who comes with glad tidings of peace and good will to all men." 
 
 TRANSMUNDANE CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 HORACE GREELEY TO THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE. 
 To the Editor of the Banner of Light : 
 
 After reading the message of one of the master-spirits of our 
 Metropolitan journalism — Henry J. Raymond, former Editor-in- 
 Chief of the New York daily Times — on the office and the work of 
 the Editor-at-Large — which spirit-communication appeared in your 
 editorial columns on the nth instant — I was disposed to query 
 whether the eminent and honored founder of the Tribune would 
 be likely to take a similar interest in this method of informing the 
 universal mind on the important subject of Spiritualism. While in 
 doubt on this point I received your private note of the 14th instant, 
 as if in response to my silent questioning. I may possibly have 
 somewhere merely mentioned his name in this connection, since of 
 late I have often been reminded of him and have felt a vague sense 
 of his presence. You will recall the fact that reference was made 
 in your note to an interview with the Spirits, which occurred on 
 Sunday evening, the 12th; also that you enclosed and forwarded to 
 me the following spiritual telegram. Dr. W.E. Channing being the 
 communicating spirit at the time : 
 
 MESSAGE FROM THE SPIRIT. 
 
 " Mr. Greeley says he is in entire sympathy with the Editor-at-Large 
 
492 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 project, and will lend his strength to promote the object in view. He 
 cannot at present control this medium, but hopes to at a future day, and 
 will communicate directly with the gentleman in New York." 
 
 On Motiday, the 20th instant, six days after the above was re- 
 ceived by me, I called to see Dr. J. V. Mansfield on an errand of 
 business. While seated in his room and in conversation on the 
 subject matter which had prompted me to seek the interview, I was 
 suddenly impressed that the great journalist was present, and 
 would then and there make his communication. I mentioned to 
 Mr. M. that I had received assurance from Boston that a message 
 would be given to me at New York by a certain spirit whom I 
 would not name. It chanced that only a few moments before the 
 Doctor had occasion to express himself with great plainness on a 
 subject which excited strong mental emotions, and on this account 
 he thought the time inopportune. I, however, determined to make 
 a single experimental trial, feeling all the while that I should not 
 fail to elicit a response. Seating myself in an opposite corner of 
 the room, quite removed from the medium's observation, I hastily 
 wrote with a pencil the following note : 
 
 " Hon. Horace Greeley : I have been informed by our mutual friend, 
 Rev. Dr. Channing, that you will come to me in this city and make a 
 communication of your views at a convenient opportunity. Is it your 
 pleasure to speak to me here and now ? S. B. Brittan." 
 
 This note was carefully concealed by a six-fold covering of 
 white paper, handed to Mr. Mansfield and sealed with mucilage. 
 In one minute the hand of the medium moved and the following 
 was written : 
 
 " Dear Brittan : Thanks for heeding the request — made through the 
 representative of that paper of papers — to come and talk with one who, 
 while in mortal life, was an admirer of your writings, whatever the sub- 
 ject you grappled with. In fact your works or books were more frequently 
 before me than all others on the subject of Spiritualism. 
 
 " I have watched your career touching these things closely since my de- 
 
APPENDIX F. 493 
 
 parture from yout city. I have been more than gratified to linow you have 
 met with such signal success in bi-inging spiritual matters befoj'e the world 
 through the secular press. I ought to have been more liberal than I seemed 
 to be, in admitting facts of a spiritual nature into the Tribune. But / 
 was not all of that paper, you must know. . 
 
 "Well, what I have to say in particular, about the matter of Editor-at- 
 Large, is : Do not falter in your exertions to keep the interest alive ; your 
 course is the right one, and THE o.NLY one to reach the masses. If I 
 can inspire you with a deeper interest than that already manifest on your 
 part, I shall be but too happy to do so. So work on, dear Brittan. 
 
 " H. Greeley." 
 
 FROM HON. JOHN WORTH EDMONDS. 
 
 About the holiday season Dr. Brittan called one day on J. V. 
 Mansfield to inquire after the health of himself and family, and to 
 congratulate him on the surprising progress of the spiritual cause 
 throughout the civilized world. During the interview the spirits 
 signaled their presence, when the following communication from 
 the Judge was given : 
 
 " Dear Brittan — I rejoice exceedingly to take you by the hand again. 
 I have not absented myself from you since my advent in the spirit-world. 
 While I lived in the body we seldom disagreed on any important matter. 
 I have often had the pleasure of looking over your remarks in the papers 
 since my arrival here. Your fearless manner of dealing with the subject 
 of spirit-intercourse I always admired, and not less so since I became a 
 spirit. I consider the move to make you Editor-at-Large was in a great 
 measure brought about by my influence, and somewhat that of N. P. Tall- 
 madge. The step is one in the right direction, and it must succeed ; 
 you need have no fears. Our mutual friends, Dr. R. T. Hallock and 
 Robert Dale Owen, are exerting themselves in this behalf. Again I say, 
 Bro. Brittan, fear not, we are with you. John W. Edmonds." 
 
 LETTERS FROM EMINENT LITERARY PERSONS. 
 The writer had several interesting conversations with the spirits 
 through the mediumship of MiSS M. T. Shelhamer, known to all 
 Spiritualists as the worthy successor of the late Mrs. Conant and 
 
494 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 the late Mrs. Rudd. At the opening pubhc seance for the season 
 — at the Banner Pubhc Circle-room, on the 6th of September, 1881, 
 Judge Edmonds made an address through the medium, concerning 
 the importance of the Secular Press Bureau, which appeared in 
 the first number of the enlarged Baimer. Many intelligent spirits 
 who were influential while on earth came unsolicited to the writer 
 in private at every convenient opportunity. Among these we may 
 record the honored names of Dr. W. E. Channing, Rev. John Pier- 
 pont, Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, Judge John W. Edmonds, Horace 
 Greeley, Henry J. Raymond, Dr. H. F. Gardner, William Berry, 
 Mrs. Frances H. Green McDougal, George Ripley and N. P. Wil- 
 lis. The general drift of these communications is clearly enough 
 indicated by the subjoined examples : 
 
 FROM GEORGE RIPLEY LL. D., 
 The late eminent literary critic of the New York Tribune. 
 
 " My Good Friend : I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without 
 availing myself of it for the purpose of this message. I wish you to know 
 that I am interested in the good work inaugurated by the Spiritual World 
 through your instrumentality. I refer to the Secular Press Bureau- It is 
 an important service that will not soon terminate. With an organized 
 staff under your general direction, a great work may be accomplished that 
 will spiritualize the people. The world needs to be awakened and stimu- 
 lated in the intellectual region as well as spiritualized, and this end may 
 be achieved by yourself and your band of helpers. Go on, in God's name, 
 go on ; not to your own detriment, but to your own honor and the glory 
 of the cause you represent. 
 
 " Intelligent and wise spirits have watched your career and your work in 
 the spiritual cause. They desire to place you in circumstances where you 
 will not need to be troubled concerning your daily bread. You have been 
 called to the duties of the Secular Press Office, and the way is about to be 
 opened for you to receive aid from another source, giving you the power 
 to outwork or embody in more consecutive form your abilities and the 
 labors of your life. You may still direct the Secular Press Bureau move- 
 ment to the further advancement of Truth and the lasting benefit of Hu- 
 manity, 
 
APPENDIX F. 495 
 
 "As one of your private band I come to-day, expressing myself but 
 feebly, and am, Yours truly, 
 
 " George Ripley." 
 
 from mrs. frances h. green mcdougal. 
 The immortal author of the following communication was for 
 several years a member of the writer's household, and she was 
 greatly beloved by every member of the family. Her life was that of 
 an earnest and true reformer, whose love of truth and humanity was 
 so strong that she seldom gave a thought to any personal or selfish 
 interest. Mrs. McDougal was a person of deep feeling, great in- 
 tellectual capacity, and remarkable purity of life. She was familiar 
 with popular science and English literature, and a vigorous prose 
 writer. Her gift of poesy revealed such a power of constructive 
 ideality as fairly entitled her to a place in the front rank of our 
 American poets : 
 
 " My Dear Friend : I approach you with a feeling that I shall be 
 welcome, while I rejoice in the assurance of your presence. I know that 
 we are kind^-ed as well as friends. Your dear companion is present, and 
 desires me to waft her love and blessing to you, and to assure you that all 
 your dear ones are happy, safe in the beautiful Spirit-World. 
 
 " My dear friend, I deeply sympathize with you in your late affliction ; 
 but I feel that you know that your beloved son still lives, is safe and happy 
 in the Eternal World. He is no more subject to pain ; his languor and 
 weariness have passed away, and health and joy are his portion forever. 
 Knowing this it is your privilege to rejoice, even in suffering, in the blessed 
 assurance that you will meet each loved one in the By-and-by. 
 
 " Dear friend, I am more than glad in view of the great and good work 
 that has opened to you since my departure from the body. I am happy 
 to find you still in the harness, and to know that whatever you may do, 
 will be done well. I do not flatter you ; I have always felt this, and only 
 speak the truth in love. 
 
 " I know that I have influenced you in the past. I shall delight to do so 
 in the future, assisting in your work, and blessing you, whenever possible, 
 with a new influx of spiritual power. 
 
 " I remain, my dear friend, as ever, bound to you by ties of tenderest 
 affection. 
 
 " Frances H. Green McDougal." 
 
496 APPENDIX F. 
 
 FROM NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS, THE AMERICAN POET. 
 
 One of the founders of the A" ew York Home Journal. 
 
 - "I rejoice at this meeting, and especially that I am able to commune 
 with you, however imperfectly. I would cooperate in your work. Not 
 a few, but many spirits are interested in you and your present sphere of 
 action. I would have you know that I, for one, take an abiding interest 
 in your labors. I have watched your progress for years ; have observed 
 the good accomplished, and have felt that your powers should be utilized 
 in sending the truth through channels of wider circulation. I have en- 
 deavored to impress you with a sense of my presence within the last 
 twelve months.* 
 
 " I desire to have you understand that I most heartily endorse the Edi- 
 tor-at-Large and his work. I speak for others as well as myself. It is otir 
 most earnest desire to see this -work go on. It is needed. Truth deserves 
 to have a wide hearing. 
 
 "The golden rays of morning stream upon an awakened world ! The 
 early risers behold the glorious light and are glad ; but many yet slumber. 
 We want heralds to arouse the people. You have been first selected, and 
 are foremost in this work. Through the agency of the secular press you 
 
 * This refers to a remarkable experience in New York. One night in the month of 
 January last, while the Editor-at-Large solus was at his work, he was honored by a 
 large number of visitors. This reception was unexpected and otherv/ise extraordi- 
 nary. The company was chiefly composed of distinguished journalists and literary 
 people, whose presence in our sanctum was accompanied by the recognition of elec- 
 tric forces in the air and over the body, and a feeling of unusual mental exaltation. 
 We recognized several of the spirits at sight ; among the number were M. M. Noah, 
 Carlos D. Stuart, Horace Greeley, George P. Morris, N. P. Willis, Alice and Phoebe 
 Cary. These were followed by a shadowy host, whose imperfect outlines did not 
 admit of identification. 
 
 So real was this visitation that we at once wrote a private letter to Luther Colby, 
 making particular mention of the above names, at the same time assuring him that 
 •we shotild soon receive communications from those spirits. Without special solicitation 
 the anticipated messages followed in the order in which the authors appeared, and are 
 herein mentioned, most of them through the mediumship of Dr. Mansfield and Miss 
 Shelhamer. From Mr. Noah, C. D. Stuart and Horace Greeley, messages were made 
 directly to the writer. One from the author of " Woodman, Spare that Tree," first, 
 appeared in the message Department of the Banner 0/ Light., and contained a dis- 
 tinct reference to the author's presence at the spiritual reception in New York, of 
 which the medium, Miss Shelhamer, had no knowledge. The present communication 
 from N. P. Willis, author of " Rural Letters," " Sacred Poems," etc., came sponta.. 
 neously in our presence, through the same medium, and we see no reason to ques- 
 tion its authenticity. 
 
APPENDIX F. 497 
 
 may reach and awaken the drowsy millions to the realities and glories of 
 the Day ! 
 
 We will do all in our power to sustain and strengthen you, and we trust 
 that mortals will second our purposes that we may be strengthened in re- 
 turn. More help is needed — more material aid, and we shall send out 
 our messengers, here and there, to impress the people to render the re- 
 quired assistance. 
 
 "Yours in fraternal love, 
 
 " N. P. Willis." 
 
 Wherever we go — in the darkness and the light, which are alike 
 to the spirit's vision — our footsteps are followed by watchful guar- 
 dians of our lives. Those who discern spiritual things have with- 
 in themselves the demonstration of tlieir constant presence and 
 solicitude for human welfare. When the veil is rendered thin and 
 shadowy by a growing spirituality of feeling, thought and life; 
 when it is suddenly rent by some mortal shock ; or otherwise by 
 the opening — through spiritual agency — of the inner avenues of 
 perception, the luminous cloud appears in the heavens and the im- 
 mortal witnesses stand revealed to the conscious soul. Under the 
 spell of a divine enchantment we rise to a highgr life and a nobler 
 fellowship in the heavens. Well might the great Poet-philosopher 
 of all the ages — while from his illuminated brain and over his re- 
 sponsive nerves were transmitted sublime monitions from the 
 Spirit-World — make a poor mortal say, 
 
 " I bear a charmed life." 
 
 It was ever thus since the sensitive soul first recognized a spirit- 
 ual presence, and this experience will be repeated so long as time 
 endures. In all things we discover the evidences of a divine pres- 
 ence — "the Father of the spirits of all flesh" — and blessed forever 
 be his loving angels, who come and go and minister to the lives 
 and loves of poor tempest-tossed mortals on the sea of life. Happy 
 is that man whose hopes are anchored in Heaven. 
 
498 APPENDIX F. 
 
 Our angels come and go at will 
 
 On errands of celestial love, 
 Our hungry souls on earth to fill, 
 
 With manna from the realms above. 
 
 Now come what will, we should not fear, but feel secure under 
 the brooding presence of his love. Should sudden darkness fall 
 on our humble pathway, and the gathering storm of adverse for- 
 tune sweep away every mortal support, as it already has the last 
 vestige of our temporal jjossessions, leaving only the ruin of all 
 earthly hopes and a wide scene of mortal desolation, ive may still 
 trust in the Love and Wisdotn that preside over all. At best all 
 temporal possessions depend on the limits of our lease of life. 
 And what is death but a mere circumstance in the endless cycles 
 of being ? We knovv^ that this ephemeral existence is not all of life. 
 Let us rejoice that there are other and more beautiful spheres 
 where needy souls find a suitable inheritance, congenial compan- 
 ionship and occupation, and a sweet Home forever— 
 
 " Where storms are Summer flaws compared with mine." 
 
 It is enough if wg but know that in the fierce tempest that rends 
 the sails of our frail bark, that shivers the tall mast and sends the 
 trembling mortal to his resting-place in coral caves, the trium- 
 phant spirit finds happy release and its passport to the peaceful 
 lands of the blessed. As supreme Power, infinite Love, and omnis- 
 cient Wisdom govern the Universe, all must be well AT LAST. 
 
 " Blow, winds of night ! your force combine. 
 Without His high behest. 
 Ye cannot in the mountain pine 
 Disturb the sparrow's nest." 
 
 S. B. B. 
 
APPENDIX G. 
 
 FRATERNAL SALUTATION. 
 
 TO LUTHER COLBY, NESTOR OF THE SPIRITUAL PRESS. 
 
 I AM just now reminded that the issue of the Banner for the 
 current week completes the twenty-fifth year of its publication, 
 and that during this long and eventful period you have been Chief 
 of its Editorial Staff. A quarter of a century of constant service in 
 this particular relation is a fact worthy of special recognition as 
 something which has never before occurred, and is not likely to 
 happen again in the experience of any other man among the faith- 
 ful recorders of the facts and the honored exponents of the philos- 
 ophy of Spiritualism. When we think of the vicissitudes incident 
 to all human affairs, and especially of the uncertain tenure of new 
 enterprises, founded upon ideas which have yet to win their way 
 to general acceptance, we may well be surprised, that you have 
 found it possible to honor the profession by the constant occupa- 
 tion of your chair for so long a period. 
 
 No one but a journalist of real ability and large experience can 
 form any just estimate of the extent of the labors you have per- 
 formed in the quarter of a century now closed. The editorial task 
 of a journalist devoted to a Reformation which must encounter the 
 strong prejudices of the world, is no holiday amusement. Mere 
 idlers in the drama of life may conduct the by-play, but his role 
 calls for clearly-defined ideas, a resolute purpose and earnest work. 
 
 499 
 
500 APPENDIX G. 
 
 Only a man who has had a similar experience can form any intel- 
 ligent conception of the difficulties you must have been obliged to 
 encounter and to overcome. How often you have checked the 
 natural impulse to administer stern reproofs to thoughtless and 
 insolent faultfinders; how many days of anxious care and nights 
 of restless thought and painful deliberation have been caused by 
 the unreasonable demands, personal interests and conflicting opin- 
 ions of others ; and how much of forbearance you may have been 
 called upon to exercise under strong provocation, no one will ever 
 know. 
 
 Of course I cannot presume that you have avoided all asperity 
 of feeling, and all errors of thought, judgment, purpose and action, 
 since you possess all the elements of our imperfect human nature. 
 The earnest, impetuous spirit that is in you may have been chafed 
 to exasperation by the rude conflict of the world ; but I am pleased 
 to know, and to bear emphatic testimony to the fact, that in all 
 your journalistic labors and trials you have — with scarcely an ex- 
 ception — preserved a uniform respect for the proprieties of speech, 
 the amenities of polite discussion and the true dignity of the pro- 
 fession, alike honorable to yourself and gratifying to the better class 
 of your contemporaries. 
 
 Permit me to say that your publishing-house has well earned its 
 good name and honorable position by the force of a strong convic- 
 tion ; by fidelity to a settled purpose, and by steady and earnest 
 labor. You have not been turned aside by the most formidable 
 obstacles in your way.. Your constant aim has never been inter- 
 rupted by opposition, or the alluring promises of more lucrative 
 enterprises. In the midst of thick clouds and sudden disaster you 
 have cheerfully kept the even tenor of your way. When destruc- 
 tion came like a thief in the night, your assets fed the devouring 
 element : the forked tongues of conflagration licked up the life-blood 
 of years of successful business; but you were neither cast down 
 
Appendix g. 501 
 
 nor greatly depressed. Inspired by a lively sense of the impor- 
 tance of your work, and the faith that man is greater than the sum 
 of his accidents — while standing in the deep shadow of what seemed 
 a great misfortune — you achieved a new conquest over the force of 
 circumstances, and a nobler establishment rose, phoenix-like, from 
 the ashes of the old. 
 
 To-day, Sir, I supplement my words of friendly greeting with 
 All hail ! The times favor the success of your enterprise. It is a 
 privilege to live now which never fell to the lot of mortals in earlier 
 times when nations were subject to despotic masters. We ought 
 to rejoice in the light, and make the most of our opportunities. 
 Our love of democratic principles must have expression now, while 
 the political and spiritual despotisms of the world are in the last 
 throes of dissolution. It is our pride and the glory of the Age, that 
 we have lived to see the Printing-Press the great engine of power 
 in America and elsewhere among the most enlightened nations of 
 the earth. 
 
 And here I am painfully reminded that the power of the press is 
 sometimes exercised for base purposes. Some men use it to secure 
 the ends of an unworthy ambition ; to excite political animosity, 
 sectarian warfare and social discord ; to hold back those who are 
 likely to distance them in the life-race for honorable distinction ; 
 and to defame innocent people who, by rising above the low plane 
 of their self-love, may have won the championship of beneficent 
 purpose and manly achievement. These evils force themselves 
 upon our recognition. Still the Press is our prime minister of 
 Light, Liberty and Law. What we most need to secure all the 
 rights of mankind ; to purify the ultimate sources of political power ; 
 to cleanse and regulate the machinery of government ; to rational- 
 ize theology and religion ; and, withal, to secure the most sacred 
 interests of the social state and our highest spiritual aspirations — 
 is an honest man in every editorial sanctum, and a steady hand 
 
502 APPENDIX G. 
 
 at the throttle-valve of physical force applied to the moral pur- 
 poses of life. 
 
 With us imperial prerogatives, hereditary honors and court dec- 
 orations, must always remain at a heavy discount. We look to 
 Nattirefor our titles of nobility. In a nation of freemen, the man 
 who would be truly honored must first, fairly win for himself the 
 high plaudit of " Well done, good and faithful servant.''^ I ac- 
 cept the responsibility of the present application of these words ; 
 and I am sure you have many readers v/ho will warmly re^jpond to 
 my closing sentiment — inspired by the nature of this occasion : 
 Let those wear crowns who have earned them, and leave the 
 scepters of influence iit the hands of such as have the justice 
 to wield them with becoming moderation. 
 
 With cordial appreciation of your labors, I remain, in the frater- 
 nity of the Spirit, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 S. B. Brittan. 
 
 29 Broad Street, Newark N. J., 
 March 18, 1882. 
 
 THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE FUND. 
 
 LIST OF NAMES AND RESIDENCES OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 FOR THE YEARS 1880 AND 1881. 
 
 A Friend of the Banner of Light $1000 00 
 
 Colby & Rich, Boston, Mass 100 00 
 
 Jerome Fassler, Sr., Springfield, Ohio 100 00 
 
 Henry J. Newton, 128 West 430! St., New York 200 00 
 
 Luther Colby 72 00 
 
 L. Downing, Jr., Concord, N. H 20 00 
 
 Mrs. Flora B. Cabell, Washington, D. C 10 00 
 
 P. Pollock, Virginia City, Nev 5 50 
 
 Carried forward. . , $I507 5° 
 
APPEl^DIX G. 503 
 
 Brought forward $1507 50 
 
 E. P. Upton, Derry, N. H 10 00 
 
 Mrs. Almira P. Thayer, Vernon, Vt 2 00 
 
 P. S. Briggs, Charlestown, Mass 10 cx) 
 
 Mrs. E. W. Guilford, Cincinnati, 5 00 
 
 Daniel Baldwin, Montpelier, Vt i 00 
 
 D. T. Averill, Northfield, Vt i 00 
 
 Almeida A. Fordtram, Industry, Texas 5 60 
 
 Friend, Islington, Mass i 00 
 
 Gad Norton, Bristol, Conn 2 00 
 
 George A. Bacon, Boston, Mass 2 00 
 
 Augustus Day, Detroit, Mich 6 00 
 
 M. V. Lincoln, Boston, Mass i 00 
 
 A.P.Webber, " " 200 
 
 William Luther, Rochester, N. Y. 5 00 
 
 W. H. Crocker, Port Allen, Iowa 2 00 
 
 E. C. Hart, Oberlin, 5 00 
 
 B. C. T. Morgan, St. Louis, Mo i 85 
 
 H 5 00 
 
 " An Old Subscriber," Brooklyn, N. Y 10 00 
 
 Mrs. E. Bruce. (C. D. L.) New York 10 00 
 
 Amos Kent, Rock Island Arsenal, 111 2 00 
 
 Nathan Johnson, New Bedford, Mass 2 00 
 
 M. W. Comstock, Niantic, Conn I 00 
 
 M. Larkin, Downingtown, Penn 5 00 
 
 Mrs. L. A. Mason, Richmond, Va i 00 
 
 Jacob Booth, Maquon, 111 i 00 
 
 Paul Fisher, Brooklyn, N. Y 3 50 
 
 C. H. Stimpson, Brockton, Mass 4 00 
 
 E. R. Kirk, New York City 5 00 
 
 Miss N. R. Batchelder, Mt. Vernon, N. H 2 00 
 
 Mrs. C. M. E., Baltimore, Md 10 00 
 
 Mrs. H, J. Severance, Tunbridge, Vt 3 00 
 
 C. Snyder, Baltimore, Md 4 00 
 
 Dansville, N. Y i 00 
 
 Yarmouth, N. S • . • 4 <^o 
 
 Mary S. Lloyd, Waterford, N. Y 2 00 
 
 Lester Woodward, Orange, N. J 2 00 
 
 Carried forward $1647 45 
 
504 APPENDIX G. 
 
 Brought forward $1647 45 
 
 James Shackleton, Lawrence, Mass 5 00 
 
 William Hickok, 26 West 52d Street, N. Y 5 00 
 
 W. B. Johnson, Hartford, Conn 4 00 
 
 Mary Griffith, Salem, 2 75 
 
 Josiah Adams, Quincy, Mass 2 00 
 
 D. Higbie, M.D., Burton, Mich i 00 
 
 Isaac Sharp, Fremont, 5 00 
 
 Wm. B. Allen, Keene, N. H 5 00 
 
 George H. Woodis, W^orcester, Mass 5 00 
 
 Friend, Providence, R. 1 4 00 
 
 W. M. Haskell, Marblehead, Mass 4 00 
 
 A Lady, (M. D.) Newark, N.J 10 00 
 
 A Friend, Baltimore, Md 5 00 
 
 Mrs. Ada Foye, San Francisco, Cal i 00 
 
 Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten, San Fra.ncisco, Cal i 00 
 
 A. W. Bancroft, Peabody, Mass 2 00 
 
 William Tebb, Esq., London, Eng 5 0° 
 
 Hon. Nelson Cross, New York City 10 00 
 
 William F. Nye, New Bedford, Mass 10 00 
 
 G. Sweet, New York City 2 00 
 
 George H. Booth, Lowell, Mass i 00 
 
 Mrs. Nettie C. Maynard, White Plains, New York 10 00 
 
 Mrs. A. Glover, 114 West 28th St., New York 15 00 
 
 J. Burroughs, Stevensville, Pa i 00 
 
 Mrs. Rebecca Bowker, Boston Highlands, Mass 2 00 
 
 H. F. Bungardt, Kansas City, Mo i 00 
 
 E. W. Parker, Philo, 111 i 00 
 
 W. D. Shuart, Rochester, N. Y 10 00 
 
 Mrs. S. Crawford, Christian, Texas 5 00 
 
 S. D. Slayton, Lebanon, N. H 2 00 
 
 J. R. Jewett, Lyons, Mich 50 
 
 Widow's Mite i 00 
 
 Mrs. H., New York City 2 00 
 
 W. Sizer. Mossy Creek, E. Tenn - 15 00 
 
 L. Fisk, Alabama, N. Y i 00 
 
 Mrs. Mary F. Warden, Keosauqua, Iowa i 00 
 
 Mrs. Luke C. Langley, Exeter, N. H 5 00 
 
 Carried forward $1809 70 
 
APPENDIX G. 505 
 
 Brouglit forward $1809 70 
 
 Mrs. C. H. S., Waltham, Mass i 00 
 
 Samuel Russell, Cleveland, O i 00 
 
 Caroline R. Morton, Boston, Mass i 00 
 
 R. S M., Boston, Mass 4 50 
 
 James Wilson, Bridgeport, Conn 20 00 
 
 William Clapperton, Amsterdam, N. Y i 00 
 
 Orin Greeley, Stevensville, Wis 4 00 
 
 Frederick Robinson, Marblehead, Mass 2 00 
 
 W. F. Stevens, North Leominster, Mass i 00 
 
 H. G. Pitkin, Memphis, Mo 5 00 
 
 Mrs. Lydia E. Pinkham, Lynn, Mass 30 00 
 
 Matilda Goddard, Boston, Mass 2 00 
 
 A. B. French, Clyde, 2 00 
 
 Mr. Goodnough 2 50 
 
 Mrs. Wm. Carrington, San Francisco, Cal 5 00 
 
 Anna Bright, Wirt, Ind 2 OO 
 
 E. Samson, Ypsilanti, Mich 10 00 
 
 Edward S. Varney, Lowell, Mass 2 00 
 
 Laura M. De Lano, St. Peter, Minn 10 00 
 
 CD., New Britain, Conn i 00 
 
 Emil, Cincinnati, 30 
 
 E. J. Durant, Lebanon, N. H 10 00 
 
 H. A. Crosby, Newton, Mass i 00 
 
 Friend, Corfu, N. Y i 00 
 
 A. J. Van Duzer, Philadelphia, Pa 50 
 
 A Friend, Connecticut, (L. B. S.) 20 00 
 
 Mrs. Jennie Lord Webb 10 00 
 
 E. S. Calkins, E. Portland, Oregon i 00 
 
 E. Whelpley, Hampshire, 111 5 00 
 
 T. P. Benjamin, Bath, Me 2 00 
 
 Mrs. M. A. Bateman, Morgan City, La i 00 
 
 Mrs. Daniel, " " " I 00 
 
 Wiltie Scott, Stephenville, Texas i 00 
 
 Mrs. Louisa Hart, Santa Barbara, Cal 25 
 
 Mrs. E. V. B. Stryker, Newark, N. J 5 00 
 
 J. A. Cazino, New York City 20 00 
 
 C. W. Cotton, Portsmouth, 10 00 
 
 Carried forward. $2005 75 
 
 22 
 
506 APPENDIX G. 
 
 Brought forward $2,005 75 
 
 II, C. Whitney, Cedar Dale, Ontario 2 80 
 
 A. P. Andrew, Jr., La Porte, Ind 50 00 
 
 H. Van Gelder, New York City 25 00 
 
 Charles Partridge," " " 5000 
 
 C. D. James, Danielsonville, Conn 5 00 
 
 Hon. M. C. Smith, New York City 50 00 
 
 A. Miltenberger, St. Louis, Mo i 00 
 
 J., N. Y., William Street, New York 25 00 
 
 M. V. Miller, New Lyme, 2 00 
 
 Memphis, Tenn i 80 
 
 Eugene Crowell, M.D., Brooklyn, N. Y. 10 00 
 
 H. G. C, St. Louis, Mo 20 00 
 
 Moses Sibley, N. Springfield, Mo. 2 00 
 
 Hugh R. Williams, Somersville, Cal i 00 
 
 Four Score and Three 5 00 
 
 Joseph Wood, Marietta, O 2 85 
 
 E. M. J., Vermont i 00 
 
 Jacob Booth, Eureka Springs, Ark 2 00 
 
 Mrs. James Faulkes, Belleville, Wis i 00 
 
 A. E. Giles, Hyde Park, Mass 10 00 
 
 H. N. Graves, Providence, R. I ..... .: i co 
 
 Francis Howard, Northfield, Minn 5 00 
 
 James Colbath, Alton, N. H 4 00 
 
 Mary A. Giles, Charlton Depot, Mass 3 00 
 
 Daniel Buxton, Jr., Peabody, Mass 2 00 
 
 Gen. J. Edwards, Washington, D. C 5 00 
 
 Daniel Davidson, Salt Lake City, Utah 5 00 
 
 A. B. Gaston, Atlantic, Pa 2 00 
 
 A Friend to the Cause 2 00 
 
 Mrs E. Heath, Daleville, Conn 14 05 
 
 John J. French, Beaumont, Texas 5 00 
 
 J. A. D I GO 
 
 E. Chase, Hamlin, Kan 10 00 
 
 George F. Westover, Chicago, lU. 5 00 
 
 S. R. Dusen, Woburn, Mass i 00 
 
 J. W. Taft, New England Village, Mass i 00 
 
 Joseph Cauldwell, Southington, Conn ... i 00 
 
 Baltimore 5 00 
 
 Carried forward $2,345 25 
 
APPENDIX G. 507 
 
 Brought forward $2,345 25 
 
 A Subscriber, Topsham, Me i 00 
 
 Jos. P. Willcock, Bradford, Out 2 00 
 
 Mrs. A. C. Langdon, St. Louis, Mo. i 00 
 
 Mr. Sweet, San Francisco, Cal 5 00 
 
 Thyra Majeska, 1 $40. 
 
 Joseph Marmeon, }- (Jerome), Europe, 30. 
 
 Euane Akeron, j 30- 1°° 00 
 
 M. Rathbun, New York City 25 00 
 
 H. Hayes, Muir, Mich i 00 
 
 M. Hubbard, Waterville, N. Y I 00 
 
 Mary V. Griffith, Guthrie, Iowa i 00 
 
 L. Newcomb, No. Scituate, Mass I 00 
 
 Ladies' Sociable, Portland, Me 635 
 
 C. T. Crosby, Ft. Dodge, Iowa 2 00 
 
 Otis Bentley, Saratoga Springs i 00 
 
 Moses Hunt, Charlestown District, Boston, Mass 20 00 
 
 T., Lowell, Mass I 00 
 
 William Thayer, Corfu, N. Y i 00 
 
 Orville Daniels, North Hammond, N. Y 2 00 
 
 Elizabeth Mason, New York City 4 00 
 
 William P. Maynard, Englewood, 111 2 00 
 
 Daniel H. Hale, Chicago, 111 5 00 
 
 Martin Hiscox, Providence, R. I • - 2 50 
 
 Harlan Tillotson, San Jose, Cal - 50 
 
 Sylvester Sawyer, Gardner, Mass i 00 
 
 A Friend in Alabama • 5 00 
 
 A Reader, Charleston, S. C > 25 
 
 Samuel Heuston, M.D., Cunningham, Mo 12 00 
 
 A Woman who is not Rich i 00 
 
 M. W. Waitt, Victoria, B. C 5 00 
 
 A Brother Man 2 00 
 
 Friend 5 00 
 
 G. S 50 
 
 William Thayer, Portland, Me i 00 
 
 Dr. Joseph Beals, Greenfield, Mass 5 00 
 
 Spiritualist Association, Saratoga, N. Y 10 00 
 
 John L. Moore, Artemesia, Can 2 00 
 
 Thomas R. Hazard, South Portsmouth 25 00 
 
 Carried forward - $2,605 35 
 
508 APPENDIX G. 
 
 Brought forward $2,605 35 
 
 Mrs. A. C. Fisher, Fernandina, Fla 2 00 
 
 S. B. Nichols, Brooklyn, N. Y 5 00 
 
 Caroline Dodge, Corfu, N. Y 40 
 
 A. M. Richards, New York 5 00 
 
 Edwin P. Miller, Hartford, Conn 5 00 
 
 J. G. Griswold, Amsterdam, N. Y 50 
 
 E. P. Goodsell, Lyme, Conn 3 80 
 
 Mordecai Larkin, Downington, Pa 2 00 
 
 Friend, Perry Center, N. Y i 00 
 
 G. Wright, Dean's Corners, N. Y i 00 
 
 A Friend i 00 
 
 Dr. E. S. Walker, Cincinnati, O 5 00 
 
 E. B. Parson i 00 
 
 One of Many 3 00 
 
 Mrs. A. E. Morrill, Philadelphia, Pa 3 00 
 
 S A. Morse, " " 3 00 
 
 Louis Horton, Somerville i 00 
 
 Friend, Reading, Mass i 00 
 
 Charles D. Prindle, Charlotte, Vt 2 00 
 
 C. E. T., Concord, N, H i 00 
 
 Andrew Thorm, Fort Reno, I. T i 75 
 
 Mcses Hunt, Charlestown, Mass 20 00 
 
 G. B. Crane, St. Helena, Cal., Agency Tivo Worlds 10 00 
 
 Henry Train, Morgan City, La 5 00 
 
 Mrs. C. B. Marsh, East Calais, Vt 2 00 
 
 Jacob Peter, Louisville, Ky 4 00 
 
 Andrew Thorm, Santa Fe, N. M 2 00 
 
 E. Spaulding, Forest City, Cal 10 00 
 
 Mrs. Mary J. Evans, Canonsburg, Pa i 00 
 
 Prof. Joseph Rodes Buchanan, M.D., New York 20 00 
 
 Mrs. M. C. Woodward, Orsborn, 2 00 
 
 Mrs. Eliza J. Staples, Old Orchard, Me 2 40 
 
 M. V. Miller, New Lyme, O i 50 
 
 A. Farnsworth, M.D., East Saginaw, Mich i 40 
 
 Alfred G. Badger, 179 Broadway, New York 10 00 
 
 M. E. Congar, Chicago, 111 2 00 
 
 B. F. Close, Columbia, Cal 3 00 
 
 Charles Partridge, N. Y. City (to be paid in books), $50 op 
 
 Total $2,750 ID 
 
APPENDIX G. 509 
 
 THE MANSFIELD CONTRIBUTION TO THE S. P. B. FUND. 
 
 The result of Dr. J. V. Mansfield's most generous proposition 
 to aid the Secular Press Bureau Fund by the contribution of his ser- 
 vices in answering sealed letters, resulted in. the addition of the 
 liberal sum of oite hundred and sixty dollars and fifteen cents to 
 that Fund, as will appear from the subjoined reports. The follow- 
 ing subscriptions were forwarded directly to the Editor-at-large, 
 the figures representing the net amounts received by the Secular 
 Press Bureau : 
 
 Eben Snow, Cambridge, Mass $3 00 
 
 F. W. Smith, Rockland, Me 3 00 
 
 B. B. Marshall, Minneapolis, Minn 3 00 
 
 George S. Salsbury, Holly, N. Y 3 00 
 
 Mrs. Sarah S. Halland, Southboro', Mass 3 00 
 
 David Bugbee, Bangor, Me 4 75 
 
 Mrs. G. S. Williams, 73 West 12th Street, New York 3 00 
 
 Mrs. M. Buchanan, Barton Landing, Vt 3 00 
 
 Jesse Turner, Van Buren, Ark 3 00 
 
 E. D. Ashley, Crossville, Cumberland Co., Tenn 4 75 
 
 J. R. Jackson, Sandusky, Ohio 6 00 
 
 Mrs. E. Mann, Litchfield, Hillsdale Co., Mich ,. . . 5 00 
 
 W. R. Hinckley, Dallas, Tex 3 00 
 
 T. J. Carter, Fayette, Iowa. 3 00 
 
 Augustus Johnson, Ambleside, England 3 15 
 
 Agency of B. B. Marshall, Minneapolis, Minn 2525 
 
 $78 90 
 MRS. MARY A. NEWTON'S REPORT. 
 
 Letters were received by Mrs. Newton from the following named 
 persons containing the several sums indicated, and the aggregate 
 amount ($81.25) was— in pursuance of the Mansfield proposal- 
 added to the Editor-at-Large Fund, 
 
 Dr. Bedortha, Saratoga Springs $3 00 
 
 Mrs, Truman P. Allen, Gowanda, N. Y 3 00 
 
 J. W. Butler, Fullon, N. Y 3 00 
 
 Carried forward l9 OO 
 
5IO APPENDIX G. 
 
 Brought forward , $9 oo 
 
 John Lasselle, Waterville, Me 3 00 
 
 Edward Green, Lacon, 111. 3 75 
 
 B. T. C. Morgan, St. Louis, Mo 3 00 
 
 Mary J. King, Albany, N. Y 3 00 
 
 James Bell, Ontario, Canada 3 00 
 
 E. Chase, Hamlin, Kansas 3 00 
 
 H. P. Talmadge, Worcester, Mass. . 3 00 
 
 Mrs. E. M. Mclntyre, Pensacola, Fla 75 
 
 W. S. Throop, Pultneyville, N. Y 3 00 
 
 Mary E. Carter, Cambridgeport, Mass 3 00 
 
 C. R. Starkweather, St. Paul, Neb 3 00 
 
 T. E. Bridge, Orange, Mass 3 00 
 
 J. V. Carr, Waymart, Pa , 3 00 
 
 H. O. Bigelovv, Churchville, N. Y 3 00 
 
 A Friend, Glens Falls, N. Y 3 00 
 
 Daniel Field, Brockton, Mass .' 3 00 
 
 T. C. Gaston, Atlantic, Penn 3 00 
 
 Wm. Parsons, Denmark, N. Y 3 00 
 
 H. C. Chapman, Taylorville, 111 4 75 
 
 B., Box 5152, Boston, Mass 3 00 
 
 L. A. Cummings, Dubuque, Iowa. 3 00 
 
 Samuel F. .Hickox, Portage, Ohio 3 00 
 
 D. E. Blood, Greenville, N. H 3 00 
 
 p. D. Willis, Hartford, Conn 3 00 
 
 Total $81 25 
 
 Very sincerely, Mary A. Newton. 
 
 Received by Dr. Brittan $78 90 
 
 Amount forwarded to Mrs. Newton 81 25 
 
 Total .sum of the Mansfield contribution $160 15 
 
 Brought forward from page 508 2,750 10 
 
 Total amount contributed to the Editor-at-Large Fund. .$2, 910 25 
 
LIBRARY OF