MODERN SPIRITUALISM: 
 
 FACTS AND FANATICISMS, 
 
 CONSISTENCIES AND CONTRADICTIONS. 
 
 AN APPENDIX 
 
 BY 
 
 E. ¥. CAPRON 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY BELA MARSH, 15 FRANKLIN ST. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 PARTRIDGE AND BRITTAN. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 SOLD. BY FOWLERS, WELLS & CO., 231 ARCH ST. 
 
 18 5 5. 
 
A 
 
 <fc 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
 
 E. W. CAPRON, 
 
 In thp Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Stereotyped t>y 
 HOBART & ROEBIXS, 
 
 Nf-w England Type and Sterr -.type Founds 
 E S T X - 
 
■ , /: / 
 
 So m£ JFrCenfc, 
 O E O R O E WILLETS, 
 
 ONE OF THE PIONEERS IN RATIONAL SPIRITUALISM, WHO STOOD CALM AND FIRM 
 
 IN THE FRONT RANKS OF TRUTH'S DEFENDERS WHEN OTHERS FALTERED ; WHO HAS BRAVED 
 
 THE SCORN AND CONTUMELY OF FRIENDS AND KINDRED, AND WHO HAS BEEN, IN MANY 
 
 WAYS THE WORLD KNOWS NOT OF, A MARTYR TO THK CAUSE OF TRUTH, 
 
 o 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 We find "the world turned upside-down" by a new and 
 strange class of manifestations called spiritual. Like most 
 new thoughts of modern times, America gave it birth : but 
 it has since spread all over the globe, and awakened new and 
 novel inquiries wherever man understands the means of 
 communicating to his fellows the discoveries he has made. 
 
 When, how, and by whom, did it begin ? How has it been 
 conducted ? What are its just claims to respect ? To answer 
 these questions is the object of this work. 
 
 An attentive observer of its commencement and progress, 
 the author has endeavored to be an impartial witness ; and, 
 having enjoyed the personal acquaintance of its chief sup- 
 porters, feels qualified to present the favorable and adverse 
 facts relating to these strange phenomena. The advocates and 
 opponents of the new doctrine could hardly differ more than 
 they do, and it is not expected that a faithful history will, 
 in all respects, please either party; but let the truth be 
 
 boldly spoken, even though it offend both. 
 
 E. W. C. 
 Philadelphia, October, 1854. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION MANIFESTATIONS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES THE 
 
 WESLEY FAMILY, &C. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE EVENTS PREVIOUS TO THE SOUNDS 
 
 BEING HEARD WITH THE FOX FAMILY TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES 
 
 FIRST MEDIUMS, &C. &C, 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER, N. Y. ALARM OF THE FAMILY — 
 
 OPPOSITION OF MR. CALVIN R. BROWN VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS 
 
 ENTHUSIASTIC AND FANATICAL BELIEVERS ABSURD DIRECTIONS FOL- 
 LOWED DISAPPOINTMENT AND UNBELIEF PROOFS AND CASES STATED 
 
 FIRST CASE OF TELEGRAPHING, 57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SUSPENSION OF THE MANIFESTATIONS IN THE FOX FAMILY RETURN OF 
 
 THE SPIRITS DIRECTIONS FOR PUBLIC INVESTIGATION THE FIRST 
 
 MEETINGS EXCITEMENT ON THE REPORT OF COMMITTEES RIOTOUS 
 
 DEMONSTRATIONS — INCREASE OF MEDIA FOR RAPPING, WRITING, &C. &C, 
 
 88 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN AUBURN, N. Y. VISIT OF CATHARINE FOX — REMARK- 
 ABLE TESTS AND PROOFS OF SPIRIT POWER SLANDERS OF THE PRESS — 
 
 STRANGE DEMONSTRATIONS — A NEW MEDIUM, MRS. SARAH A. TAMLIN — 
 SPIRIT MUSIC, 101 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBURN — THE "APOSTOLIC CIRCLE 5 ' — 
 THE MOUNTAIN COVE MOVEMENT ITS FORMATION, PROGRESS, AND DIS- 
 SOLUTION — ASSUMPTION, FANATICISM AND FOLLY, 113 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN., IN THE HOUSE OF REV. ELIAKIM 
 PHELPS, D. D. REMARKABLE EXHIBITIONS OF POWER SINGULAR OC- 
 CURRENCES IMAGE-MAKING DESTRUCTION OF FURNITURE INCEN- 
 DIARY SPIRITS — THE SPIRITS IDENTIFIED UNHAPPY SPIRITS, FROM 
 
 THE REMEMBRANCE OF WRONG DONE IN THIS WORLD WRONG-DOING 
 
 REVEALED — DIRECTIONS GIVEN FOR RESTORING ILL-GOTTEN GAINS 
 
 DISCONTINUANCE OF THE MANIFESTATIONS, 132 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY — VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY — MEET- 
 ING OF LITERATI THEIR REPORT OPPONENTS THE PRESS OF THE 
 
 CITY — HORACE GREELEY — RETURN OF THE FAMILY TO ROCHESTER — FORM- 
 ATION OF CIRCLES IN NEW YORK — CREDULITY — MR. CHARLES PAR- 
 TRIDGE — OCCURRENCES AT HIS HOUSE — EDWARD P. FOWLER — CONFER- 
 ENCE MEETING MRS. BROWN — JUDGE EDMONDS, &C, &C, . . . .172 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON THE FIRST MEDIUM — SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHER 
 
 POSITION OF THE PRESS ■ — LA ROY SUNDERLAND CREDULITY SHA- 
 
 DRACH BARNES AND PHEBE NEWELL — REACTION — STATEMENT OF RUFUS 
 
 ELMER — REV. WM. M. FERNALD JOHN M. SPEAR — THE NEW MOTIVE 
 
 POWER, &C, 204 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. — EARLY MANIFESTATIONS — IMPOR- 
 TANT PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS IN PRESENCE OF MRS. WILBUR, MEDIUM — 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 STATEMENT OF " D. B. H." — FANATICISM — LETTERS OF MRS. SARAH 
 HELEN WHITMAN, 226 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA — FIRST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN RESPONSES 
 REMARKABLE PERSEVERANCE AND PATIENCE DETAILS OF THE PRO- 
 CEEDINGS IN THE FIRST CIRCLES — ORGANIZATION AND PROGRESS OF 
 THE CAUSE — PUBLIC MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 251 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS AT TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. EXCITEMENT AND 
 
 VIOLENCE AT TROY ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE LIFE OF THE MEDIUM 
 
 — INCREASE OF THE MANIFESTATIONS REMARKABLE CASES, &C, . . 270 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI VISIT OF MRS. BUSHNELL, THE MEDIUM 
 
 FIRST INVESTIGATIONS VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY INCREASE OF BE- 
 LIEVERS, 288 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. THE EXPOSE OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 PROFESSORS COUNTER STATEMENTS MRS. FISH'S LETTER DR. LEE TO 
 
 THE TRIBUNE, AND THE EDITOR'S REMARKS EFFECTS OF THE EXPOSE, 
 
 309 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. CONGRESSIONAL MEDIUMS WRIT- 
 ING MEDIUMS — VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY' — GOV. TALLMADGE SINGU- 
 LAR MANIFESTATIONS IN DRAWING — MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS — DEBATE 
 IN THE SENATE, &C, 335 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THE 
 PROGRESS OF SPIRITUALISM, 376 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 COMMENTS OF THE PRESS AT AUBURN, N. Y., 383 
 
 COMMENTS OF THE PRESS AT ROCHESTER, 386 
 
 JOHN W. HURN, ROCHESTER, 392 
 
 REV. DR. POTTS, 393 
 
 ROCHESTER AMERICAN, 393 
 
 N. Y. COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, 394 
 
 THE NORTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE, 396 
 
 MAJOR M. M. NOAH, 396 
 
 REV. A. H. JERVIS, 398 
 
 REV. JOHN M. AUSTIN, STATEMENT OF, 401 
 
 NEW YORK TRIBUNE, 402 
 
 J. STANLEY GRIMES, STATEMENT OF, 403 
 
 REPLY BY H. D. BARRON, 406 
 
 THE NEW YORK EXPRESS, -407 
 
 T. S. ARTHUR AND HIS HOME GAZETTE, 403 
 
 THE BOSTON INVESTIGATOR, 409 
 
 C. C. BURR AND HIS BROTHER HEMAN, 41G 
 
 PROF. HARE, OF PHILADELPHIA, 4^-J 
 
 HON. N. P. TALLMADGE AND THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER, 427 
 
 LETTER OF HON. JOHN W. EDMONDS, 427 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 * In searching out the history of Spiritual Manifestations, or 
 occurrences analogous to what is now known as the modern mani- 
 festations, the discovery is at once made that they date back to a 
 period so remote that the history of no age or country is exempt 
 from accounts of them. Histories dating back further than any- 
 thing known or recorded in the Bible, are proof of their being 
 known at a period beyond the compilation or writing of that book ; 
 while the book itself contains so many evidences of precisely simi- 
 lar occurrences, that the attentive reader cannot resist the convic- 
 tion that the occurrences were the same in fact, whatever the 
 people of that age may have thought of them, or however exag- 
 gerated they made their importance in the record. By comparing 
 the story of the Witch of Endor with any ordinary case of spirit- 
 seeing clairvoyance of the present time, its wonder, mystery and 
 sacredness, beyond that sacredness that truth should always com- 
 mand, at once disappear. The spirit that passed before the face of 
 Job, " in thoughts of the visions of night, when deep sleep falleth 
 upon man," is no uncommon occurrence at the present day ; while 
 the handwriting on the walls- of Belshazzar's palace has its anal- 
 ogy in hundreds of instances of modern spiritual manifestations. 
 To come down to the more modern occurrences, which, however, 
 reach still far enough back to be one of the numerous connecting 
 links in the chain of events which bind the past to the present, 
 it is only necessary to record the occurrences in the Wesley family 
 in England, in the year 1716, which contain many features devel- 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 oped in modern times, as a specimen of thousands of others. In 
 compiling this whole history I entirely disclaim any desire to feed 
 the popular credulity, or to excite the wonder-loving faculties of 
 the ignorant and superstitious. They have already been made 
 the prey of artful and designing men too long ; and I am more 
 desirous of stripping nature of the super natural ism which has 
 been thrown around her by the crafty plunderers of the ignorant, 
 than to have their superstitions wrought up to a still higher state 
 of excitement. It is for this reason that I deem it important 
 that a full explanation of the facts embodied in this work should 
 be made, and a reasonable and natural explanation given of these 
 phenomena, which shall satisfy all that those who have inves- 
 tigated the most thoroughly have really the least fear and super- 
 stitious feeling in regard to the matter. While they have thus, 
 by investigation, divested themselves of all feeling of superstition, 
 they have become fully satisfied of the importance of the mani- 
 festations, as teaching the proximity of spirits, and their power 
 to make themselves known to persons who still remain in the 
 visible body. I disclaim, at the outset, all intentions of advocat- 
 ing swj9e?*naturalisrn. I place too high an estimate on the perfect 
 workings of the laws of nature, as set in motion by the " Great 
 Spirit " which pervades, encompasses and governs all things, to 
 attribute the beautiful and fast-spreading facts, proving a direct 
 influx of spiritual influences into the world, to anything more or 
 less than another link in the great chain of nature's law which is 
 but just developing itself to man. The why of its appearance 
 just at this time, or the reason why it has not become more exten- 
 sively known before, it would be as impossible to tell as it would 
 be to tell why all the great discoveries in science were not made 
 known to man at once, instead of waiting the slow development 
 of the intellect, and thus preparing him for the gradual reception 
 of the mighty changes which have taken place from the early 
 stages of human development to the present time. As the earth 
 was not formed in a few short years in its present state of geolog- 
 ical development, so man has not all at once sprung to his pres- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 ent state of refinement and knowledge. Gradual growth in the 
 refining process seems to be the universal law of nature. 
 
 The entire separation, made by the old philosophy and theology, 
 between spirit and matter, has led thousands of philosophical 
 minds to reject all idea of any existence of persons beyond the 
 tangible form which men now occupy. They have failed entirely 
 of obtaining, from old traditions, proof which looked rational to 
 them of any such existence. The great difficulty in the way of 
 such minds, as before intimated, is the great break in the chain 
 between tangible and (to us) intangible substance. The fact that 
 men could not, in a normal state, see the more refined substance 
 to which we give the name spirit, has led theologians to declare 
 that there was an existence, not only intangible, but absolutely 
 something beyond, and entirely separate from, matter. 
 
 Men of philosophical minds, not having positive proof of spirit- 
 ual existence, have discovered this glaring inconsistency, and 
 rejected every theory offered in favor of any existence beyond the 
 decay of the visible body. But the developments of the last few 
 years in clairvoyance and psychology have convinced many of the 
 sceptics in regard to future existence that there is a positive 
 identity of spirits of persons who have passed on beyond this 
 state of existence. 
 
 As long ago as the year 1716, the "Wesley family (father of 
 John Wesley) were disturbed by sounds and rappings, with other 
 occurrences, which in some respects equal, and in many resemble, 
 the modern manifestations. Nine of that family testify to the 
 truth of the statements, as well as others. This narrative may 
 be found in a book called " Memoirs of the Wesley Family,' 3 by 
 Adam Clark, LL. D., F. A. S., second edition, 1846. 
 
 NARRATIVE DRAWN UP BY MR. JOHN WESLEY, AND PUBLISHED BY 
 HIM IN THE ARMINIAN MAGAZINE. 
 
 " When I was very young, I heard several letters read, wrote 
 to my elder brother by my father, giving an account of strange 
 disturbances, which were in his house at Epworth, Lincolnshire. 
 
 9 
 
11 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 11 When I went down thither, in the year 1720, I carefully in- 
 quired into the particulars. I spoke to each of the persons who 
 were then in the house, and took down what each could testify, 
 of his or her own knowledge, the sum of which was this : — 
 
 " On December 2nd, 1716, while Robert Brown, my father's 
 servant, was sitting with one of the maids, a little before ten at 
 night, in the dining-room which opened into the garden, they 
 both heard one knocking at the door. Quickly it knocked again, 
 and groaned. ' It is Mr. Turpine,' said Robert ; ' he has the 
 stone, and used to groan so.' He opened the door again twice or 
 thrice, the knocking being twice or thrice repeated ; but still see- 
 ing nothing, and being a little startled, they rose and went up to 
 bed. When Robert came to the top of the garret stairs, he saw 
 a hand-mill, which was at a little distance, whirled about very 
 swiftly. The next day he and the maid related these things to the 
 other maid, who laughed heartily, and said, ' What a couple of 
 fools you are ! I defy anything to frighten me.' After churning 
 in the evening, she put the butter in the tray, and had no sooner 
 carried it into the dairy, than she heard a knocking on the shelf 
 where several puncheons of milk stood, first above the shelf, then 
 below. She took the candle, and searched both above and below ; 
 but being able to find nothing, threw down butter, tray and all, and 
 ran away for life. The next evening, between five and six o'clock, 
 my sister Molly, then about twenty years of age, sitting in the din- 
 ing-room reading, heard as if it were the door that led into the 
 hall open, and a person walking in, that seemed to have on a silk 
 night-gown, rustling and trailing along. It seemed to walk round 
 her, then to the door, then round again ; but she could see nothing. 
 She thought, ' It signifies nothing to run away ; for, whatever it 
 is, it can run faster than me.' So she rose, put her book under 
 her arm, and walked slowly away. After supper, she was sitting 
 with my sister Sukey (about a year older than her), in one of 
 the chambers, and telling her what had happened. She made 
 quite light of it, telling her, ' I wonder you are so easily fright- 
 ened ; I would fain see what would frighten me.' Presently a 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 knocking began under the table. She took the candle and looked, 
 but could find nothing. Then the iron casement began to clatter, 
 and the lid of a warming-pan. Next the latch of the door moved 
 up and down without ceasing. She started up, leaped into the 
 bed without undressing, pulled the bed-clothes over her head, and 
 never ventured to look up till next morning. A night or two after, 
 my sister Hetty, a year younger than my sister Molly, was waiting 
 as usual, between nine and ten, to take away my father's candle, 
 when she heard one coming down the garret stairs, walking slowly 
 by her, then going down the best stairs,. then up the back stairs, and 
 up the garret stairs ;• at every step it seemed as if the house shook 
 from top to bottom. Just then my father knocked. She went 
 in, took his candle, and got to bed as soon as possible. In the 
 morning she told this to my eldest sister, who told her, ' You 
 know I believe none of these things ; pray let me take away the 
 candle to-night, and I will find out the trick.' She accordingly 
 took my sister Hetty's place, and had no sooner taken away the 
 candle than she heard a noise below. She hastened down stairs 
 to the hall, where the noise was ; but it was then in the kitchen. 
 She ran into the kitchen, where it was drumming on the inside 
 of the screen. "When she went round, it was dramming on the 
 outside ; and so always on the side opposite to her. Then she 
 heard a knocking at the back kitchen door. She ran to it, un- 
 locked it softty, and, when the knocking was repeated, suddenly 
 opened it ; but nothing was to be seen. As soon as she had shut 
 it, the knocking began again. She opened it again, but could 
 see nothing. When she went to shut the door, it was violently 
 thrust against her ; she let it fly open, but nothing appeared. 
 She went again to shut it, and it was again thrust against her ; 
 but she set her knee and her shoulder to the door, forced it to, 
 and turned the key. Then the knocking began again ; but she 
 let it go on, and went up to bed. However, from that time she 
 was thoroughly convinced that there was no imposture in the 
 affair. 
 
 " The next morning, my sister telling my mother what had 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 happened, she said, ' If I hear anything myself, I shall know 
 how to judge.' Soon after, she begged her to come into the nur- 
 sery. She did, and heard in the corner of the room, as it were, 
 the violent rocking of a cradle ; but no cradle had been there for 
 some years. She was convinced it was preternatural, and earnestly 
 prayed it might not disturb her in her own chamber in the hours 
 of retirement ; and it never did. She now thought it was proper 
 to tell my father. But he was extremely angry, and said, ' Su- 
 key, I am ashamed of you ; these boys and girls frighten one an- 
 other ; but you arc a woman of sense, and should know better. 
 Let me hear of it no more.' 
 
 " At six in the evening he had family prayers as usual. When 
 he began the prayer for the king, a knocking began all around 
 the room ; and a thundering knock attended the amen. The 
 same was heard from this time every morning and evening while 
 the prayer for the king was repeated. 
 
 "Being informed that Mr. Hoole, the vicar of Haxey (an 
 eminently pious and sensible man), could give me some further in- 
 formation, I walked over to him. He said, ' Robert Brown came 
 over to me, and told me your father desired my company. "When 
 I came, he gave me an account of all that had happened ; par- 
 ticularly the knocking during family prayer. But that evening 
 (to my great satisfaction) we had no knocking at all. But be- 
 tween nine and ten a servant came in, and said, ' Old Jeffrey is 
 coming (that was the name of one that died in the house), for I 
 hear the signal.' This, they informed me, was heard every night 
 about a quarter before ten. It was toward the top of the house, 
 on the outside, at the north-east corner, resembling the loud 
 creaking of a saw ; or rather that of a windmill, when the body 
 of it is turned about, in order to shift the sails to the wind. We 
 then*heard a knocking over our heads ; and Mr. Wesley, catch- 
 ing up a candle, said, ' Come, sir, now you shall hear for your- 
 self." We went up stairs ; he with much hope, and I, to say 
 the truth, with much fear. When we came into the nursery, it 
 was knocking in the next room; when we were there, it was 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 knocking in the nursery. And there it continued to knock, 
 though we came in, particularly at the head of the bed (which 
 was of wood), in which Hetty and two of her younger sisters lay. 
 Mr. Wesley, observing that they were much affected, though 
 asleep, sweating and trembling exceedingly, was very angry ; and, 
 pulling out a pistol, was going to fire at the place from whence 
 the sound came. But I catched him by the arm, and said, ' Sir, 
 you are convinced this is something preternatural. If so, you 
 cannot hurt it ; but you give it power to hurt you.' He then went 
 close to the place, and said sternly, ' Thou deaf and dumb devil, 
 why dost thou fright these children, that cannot answer for them- 
 selves ? Come to me, in my study, that am a man.' Instantly it 
 knocked his knock (the particular knock which he always used 
 at the gate), as if it would shiver the board in pieces, and we 
 heard nothing more that night.' Till this time, my father had 
 never heard the least disturbances in his study. But the next 
 evening, as he attempted to go into his study (of which none had 
 any key but himself), when he opened the door, it was thrust 
 back with such violence as had like to have thrown him down. 
 However, he thrust the door open, and went in. Presently there 
 was knocking, first on one side, then on the other ; and, after a 
 time, in the next room, wherein my sister Nancy was. He went 
 into that room, and (the noise continuing) adjured it to speak ; 
 but in vain. He then said, ' These spirits love darkness ; put cut 
 the candle, and perhaps it will speak.' She did so, and he re- 
 peated his adjuration; but still there was only knocking, and no 
 articulate sound. Upon this he said, l Nancy, two Christians are 
 an overmatch for the devil. Go all of you down stairs ; it may 
 be, when I am alone, he will have courage to speak.' When she 
 was gone, a thought came in, and he said, ' If thou art the spirit 
 of my son Samuel, I pray knock three knocks, and no more.' 
 Immediately all was silence ; and there was no more knocking at 
 all that night. I asked my sister Nancy (then about fifteen years 
 old) whether she was not afraid when my father used that ad- 
 juration. She answered, she was sadly afraid it would speak 
 9=£ ^ 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 when she put out the candle; but she was not at all afraid in the 
 daytime, when it walked after her, as she swept the chambers, as 
 it constantly did, and seemed to sweep after her ; only she thought 
 he might have done it for her, and saved her the trouble. By 
 this time all my sisters were so accustomed to these noises that 
 they gave them little disturbance. A gentle tapping at their 
 bed-head usually began between nine and ten at night. They 
 then commonly said to each other, ' Jeffrey is coming : it is time 
 to go to sleep.' And if they heard a noise in the day, and said 
 to my youngest sister, ' Hark, Kezzy, Jeffrey is knocking above,' 
 she would run up stairs, and pursue it from room to room, saying 
 she desired no better diversion. 
 
 " A few nights after, my father and mother were just gone to 
 bed, and the candle was not taken away, when they heard three 
 blows, and a second, and a third three, as it were with a large 
 oaken staff, struck upon a chest that stood by the bed-side. My 
 father immediately arose, put on his night-gown, and, hearing 
 great noises below, took the candle and went down ; my mother 
 walked by his side. As they went down the broad stairs, they 
 heard as if a vessel full of silver was poured upon my mother's 
 breast, and ran jingling down to her feet. Quickly after, there 
 was a sound as if a large iron ball was thrown among many bot- 
 tles under the stairs ; but nothing was hurt. Soon after, our 
 large mastiff dog came and ran to shelter himself between them. 
 While the disturbances continued, he used to bark and leap, and 
 snap on one side and the other, and that frequently before any 
 person in the room heard any noise at all. But after two or 
 three days, he used to tremble and creep away before the noise 
 began ; and by this the family knew it was at hand ; nor did 
 the observation ever fail. A little before my father and mother 
 came into the hall, it seemed as if a very large coal was violently 
 thrown upon the floor, and dashed all in pieces ; but nothing was 
 seen. My father then cried out, ' Sukey, do you not hear? All 
 the pewter is thrown about the kitchen.' But when they looked, 
 ail the pewter stood in its place. There then was a loud knock- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 ing at the back door. My father opened it, but saw nothing. It 
 was then at the fore door. He opened that, but it was still lost 
 labor. After opening first the one, then the other, several times, 
 he turned and went to bed. But the noises were so violent all 
 over the house, that they could not sleep till four in the morning. 
 " Several gentlemen and clergymen now earnestly advised my 
 father to quit the house ; but he constantly answered, ' No ; let 
 the devil flee from me ; I will never flee from the devil.' But he 
 wrote to my eldest brother, at London, to come down. He was 
 preparing so to do, when another letter came, informing him that 
 the disturbances were over, after they had continued, the latter 
 part of the time day and night, from the second of January to 
 the end of January." 
 
 The following are copied from the same work, which contains 
 some twelve or fifteen letters that passed between different mem- 
 bers of the family on the subject of these disturbances. 
 
 LETTER III. FROM MR. S. WESLEY TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 "Dear Mother: Those who are so wise as not to believe 
 any supernatural occurrences, though ever so well attested, could 
 find a hundred questions to ask about those strange noises you 
 wrote me an account of; but, for my part, I know not what ques- 
 tion to put which, if answered, would confirm me more in the 
 belief of what you tell me. Two or three I have heard from 
 others. Was there never a new maid or man in the house, that 
 might play tricks? Was there nobody above, in the garrets, 
 when the walking was there ? Bid all the family hear it together 
 when they were in one room, or at one time ? Bid it seem all to 
 be in the same place, at the same time ? Could not cats, or rats, 
 or dogs, be the sprites ? Was the whole family asleep when my 
 father and you went down stairs ? Such doubts as these being 
 replied to, though they could not, as God himself assures us, con- 
 vince them who believe not Moses and the prophets, yet would 
 strengthen such as do believe. As to my particular opinion con- 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cerning the events foreboded by these noises, I cannot, 1 must 
 confess, form any. I think, since it was not permitted to speak, 
 all guesses must be in vain. The end of spirits' action is yet 
 more hidden than that of men, and even this latter puzzles the 
 most subtle politicians. That we may be struck so as to prepare 
 for any ill, may, it is possible, be one design of Providence. It 
 is surely our duty and wisdom to do so. 
 
 " Dear mother, I beg your blessing on your dutiful and affec- 
 tionate son. S. Wesley. 
 
 "Jan. 19, 1716-17, Saturday, Dean's Yard, Westminster." 
 
 LETTER IV. FROM MRS. WESLEY TO HER SON SAMUEL. 
 
 " January 25 or 27, 1716-17. 
 
 "Dear Sam. : Though I am not one of those that will believe 
 nothing supernatural, but am rather inclined to think there would 
 be frequent intercourse between good spirits and us, did not our 
 deep lapse into sensuality prevent it ; yet I was a great while ere 
 I could credit anything of what the children and servants re- 
 ported concerning the noises they heard in several parts of our 
 house. Nay, after I had heard them myself, I was willing to 
 persuade myself and them that it was only rats or weasels that 
 disturbed us ; and having been formerly troubled with rats, which 
 were frighted away by sounding a horn, I caused a horn t6 be 
 procured, and made them blow it all over the house. But from 
 that night they began to blow, the noises were more loud and dis- 
 tinct, both day and night, than before ; and that night we rose 
 and went down, I was entirely convinced that it was beyond 
 the power of any human creature to make such strange and 
 various noises. 
 
 " As to your questions, I will answer them particularly ; but 
 withal, I desire my answers may satisfy none but yourself; for I 
 Would not have the matter imparted to any. We had both man 
 and maid new this last Martimas, yet I do not believe either of 
 them occasioned the disturbance, both for the reason above-men- 
 tioned, and because they were more frighted than anybody else. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 Besides, we have often heard the noise when they were in the 
 room by us ; and the maid, particularly, was in such a panic that 
 she was almost incapable of all business, nor durst ever go from 
 one room to another, or stay by herself a minute, after it began 
 to be dark. 
 
 " The man, Kobert Brown, whom you well know, was most 
 visited by it, lying in the garret, and has been often frighted down 
 barefoot, and almost naked, not daring to stay alone to put on his 
 clothes ; nor do I think, if he had power, he would be guilty of 
 such villany. When the walking was heard in the garret, 
 Bobert was in bed, in the next room, in sleep so sound that he 
 never heard your father and me walk up and down, though he 
 walked not softly I am sure. All the family has heard it 
 together, in the same room, at the same time, particularly at 
 family prayers. It always seemed to all present at the same place 
 at the same time ; though often, before any could say it is here, 
 it would remove to another place. 
 
 " All the family, as well as Bobin, were asleep when your 
 father and I went down stairs, nor did they wake in the nursery 
 when we held the candle close by them ; only we observed that 
 Hetty trembled exceedingly in her sleep, as she always did before 
 the noise awaked her. It commonly was nearer her than the rest, 
 which she took notice of, and was much frightened, because she 
 thought it had a particular spite at her. I could multiply par- 
 ticular instances, but I forbear. I believe your father will write 
 to you about it shortly. Whatever may be the design of Prov- 
 idence in permitting these things, I cannot say. ' Secret things 
 belong to God.' But I entirely agree with you that it is our duty 
 to prepare seriously for all events. S. Wesley." 
 
 The following is an extract from an account of one of the sis- 
 ters (Nancy) to her brother Jack. It is testimony which goes to 
 show that other things herein related were not entirely unknown 
 to the « Wesley family." 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " When five or six were sitting in the nursery together, a cradle 
 would seem to be rocked in the room overhead, though no cradle 
 had ever been there. One night she was sitting on the press bed, 
 playing at cards with some of my sisters, when my sisters Molly, 
 Hetty, Patty and Kezzy, were in the room, and Robert Brown. 
 The bed on which my sister Nancy sat was lifted up with her on 
 it. She leaped down, and said, ' Surely, old Jeffrey would not 
 run away with her.' However, they persuaded her to sit down 
 again, which she had scarce done when it was again lifted up, 
 several times successively, to a considerable height; upon which 
 she left her seat, and would not be prevailed upon to sit there 
 any more. 
 
 " Whenever they began to mention Mr. S. it presently began 
 to knock, and continued to do so until they changed the discourse. 
 •All the time my sister Sukey was writing her last letter to him 
 it made a very great noise all round the room ; and the night 
 after she set out for London it knocked till morning, with scarce 
 any intermission. 
 
 " Mr. Hoole read prayers once, but it knocked as usual at the 
 prayers for the king and prince. The knockings at those prayers 
 were only towards the beginning of the disturbances, for a week 
 or thereabouts." 
 
 Although the disturbances generally ceased after a few weeks 
 at the house of the Wesleys, we have good evidence that it was 
 manifested frequently in the presence of one of the daughters for 
 thirty-four years, and how much longer the history does not in- 
 form us. The following is a further extract on this subject : 
 
 "But there is a fact of which all Mr. Wesley's biographers 
 are ignorant ; namely, that Jeffrey, as the spirit was called, con- 
 tinued to molest some branches of the family lor many years. 
 We have seen that Miss Emily Wesley was the first who gave it 
 the name Jeffrey, from an old man of that name who had died 
 there ; and that she was more disturbed by it than any of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 family. I have an original letter of hers to her brother John, 
 dated February 16, 1750, thirty-four years after the time, as is 
 generally supposed, that Jeffrey had discontinued his operations, 
 in which he is named. Emily was now Mrs. Harper, having 
 married a person of that name, an apothecary, who first lived in 
 Ep worth, and afterwards in London, or near it ; and the letter is 
 addressed to the Rev. Mr. John Wesley, Foundry. 
 
 " 'Dear Brother: I want most sadly to see you, and talk' 
 some hours with you, as in times past. Some things are too hard 
 for me ; these I want you to solve. One doctrine of yours, and 
 of many more, namely, no happiness can be found in any or all 
 things in this world ; that, as I have sixteen years of my own 
 experience which lie flatly against it, I want to talk with you 
 about. Another thing is that wonderful thing called by us 
 Jeffrey. You won't laugh at me for being superstitious, if I tell 
 you how certainly that something calls on me against any extraor- 
 dinary new affliction ; but so little is known of the invisible world 
 that I, at least, am not able to judge whether it be a friendly or 
 an evil spirit. * * * * ^ Emily Harper.' 
 
 5 J> 
 
 The following remarks of Dr. Clark are so appropriate to this 
 time and this subject that we give them in this place : 
 
 " The story of the disturbances at the parsonage house in 
 Epworth is not unique. I myself, and several others of my par- 
 ticular acquaintance, were eye and ear witnesses of transactions 
 of a similar kind, which could never be traced to any source of 
 trick or imposture, and appeared to be the forerunners of two very 
 tragical events in the disturbed family ; after which no noise or 
 disturbance ever took place. In the history of my own life I 
 have related the matter in sufficient detail. 
 
 " Dr. Priestly, who first published the preceding papers, says 
 of the whole story, that ' it is, perhaps, the best-authenticated and 
 best-told story of the kind that is anywhere extant ; on which 
 account, and to exercise the ingenuity of some speculative persons, 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 he thought it not undeserving of being published.' — Preface, p. 
 xi. After this concession, he then enters into a train of arguing, 
 to show that there could be nothing supernatural in it ; for Dr. 
 P., as a materialist, could give no credit to any account of angels, 
 spirits, &c, the existence of which he did not credit ; and because 
 he could see no good end to be answered by it, therefore he thinks 
 he may safely conclude no miracle was wrought. Such argument- 
 ation can justify no man is disbelieving a story of this kind, told so 
 circumstantially, and witnessed by such a number of persons, whose 
 veracity was beyond doubt, and whose capability to judge between 
 fact and fiction, trick and genuine operation, was beyond that of 
 most persons, who, in any country or age, have come forward to 
 give testimony on a subject of this nature. He at last gets rid of 
 the whole matter thus : ' What appears most probable, at this 
 distance of time, in the present case, is that it was a trick of the 
 servants, assisted by some of their neighbors ; and that nothing 
 was meant by it besides puzzling the family and amusing them- 
 selves ; and that such a secret should be kept, so that the matter 
 was never discovered, is not at all to be wondered at.' We can 
 scarcely suppose that this mode of reasoning satisfied the mind of 
 Dr. Priestly, else he must have been satisfied much more easily 
 on a subject which struck at the vitals of his own system, than he 
 would have been on any doctrine relative to philosophy and chem- 
 istry. He had Mrs. Wesley's letter before him, which stated that 
 the servants could not be employed in the work, for reasons which 
 she there adduces; and especially because those very servants 
 were often in the room with themselves when the disturbances 
 were most rife. But all suppositions of this kind are completely 
 nullified by the preceding letter of Mrs. Harper, formerly Emily 
 Wesley, which states that even to thirty-four years afterward 
 Jeffrey continued to molest her. Did her father's servants and 
 the Epworth neighbors pursue her for thirty-four years through 
 her various settlements from 1716 to 1750, and were even at that 
 time playing their pranks against her in London ? How ridicu- 
 lous and absurd ! Aud this is the very best solution of these facts 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 that Dr. Priestly could arrive at in deference to his system of 
 materialism ! The letter of Mrs. Harper I consider of vast im- 
 portance, as it removes the last subterfuge of determinate incre- 
 dulity and false philosophy on this subject. 
 
 " A philosopher should not be satisfied with the reasons 
 advanced by Dr. Priestly. He who will maintain his creed in 
 opposition to his senses, and the most undisguised testimony of the 
 most respectable witnesses, had better at once, for his own credit's 
 sake, throw the whole story into the region of doubt, where all such 
 relations, no matter how authenticated, 
 
 ' Up whirled aloft, 
 Fly o'er the back side of the world far off, 
 Into a limbus large and broad ! ' 
 
 And instead of -its being called the paradise of fools, it may be 
 styled the limbus of philosophic materialists, into which they 
 hurl whatever they cannot comprehend, choose not to believe, or 
 please to call superstitious and absurd. And they treat such 
 matters so, because they quadrate not with principles unfounded 
 on the divine testimony, feebly supported by true philosophy, and 
 contradictory to the plain, unbiased, good common sense of nine- 
 teen-twentieths of mankind. 
 
 " But my business is to relate facts, of which the reader must 
 make what use he chooses." 
 
 Precisely similar occurrences took place in Winesburg, Ger- 
 many, and other places, from the year 1825 to 1828, the authen- 
 tic accounts of which are given in a work by Justinus Kerner, 
 called "The Seeress of Provorst." 
 
 The " Seeress " was a clairvoyant, and both saw and heard the 
 spirits of various persons. 
 
 Prom Mrs. Crowe's translation I make the following extract. 
 On page 63 the account says : 
 
 " ' These spirits were audible to many and various people, but 
 3 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 only accidentally ; never when they were watched for. The 
 sounds they made chiefly resembled slight knockings, as on the 
 wall, table, bedstead, and sometimes in the air ; rustling as of 
 paper, rolling of balls, and pattering of feet.' On page 72, in 
 speaking of a particular spirit, he says : * His appearance was 
 always preceded by knockings on the walls, noises in the air, and 
 other sounds, which were heard by many different people, as can 
 be testified to by more than twenty credible witnesses ; ' and on 
 page 86 : ' Yv T e went to bed about ten, and remained awake until 
 eleven, when I fell asleep. About twelve, Mrs. H. (the Seeress) 
 asked for some broth, and I was awakened by her sister getting 
 out of bed to give it to her. She was scarcely in bed again when 
 we heard a strange crackling and shuttling on the floor ; then 
 there was a knocking on the walls and Mrs. H.'s bed as with 
 hammers. I watched Mrs. H. all the time. She lay quite quiet, 
 with her hands on the coverlet ; presently she began to speak, but 
 without sitting up. Her conversation seemed to be addressed to 
 something near her bed, which I could not see. By and by, she 
 said, " The spectre is gone, but will return anon ; " and then we 
 again heard the sounds, and she spoke as before. Then I heard 
 her say " Open it yourself; " and I saw, with an awe which I had 
 not before felt, the cover of the book move as it lay on her bed, 
 and it was opened by an unseen hand. I could not perceive the 
 slightest motion on the part of Mrs. H. nor her bed.' " 
 
 Many similar accounts are related in this work, and some very 
 singular transactions are testified to by Councillor Hahn, as 
 having taken place in the Castle of Slawensick, in Silesia, of which 
 he was an eye and ear witness. 
 
 Another incident, still later, was published in the Newark 
 (N. J.) Daily Advertiser, in November, 1834, under the head of 
 " Tale of the Marvel." It is as follows : 
 
 " Eumor with one of her ten thousand tongues brought us a 
 mysterious story, yesterday, of a ' mysterious lady,' which so far 
 
INTRODUCTION. Z i 
 
 challenged credit, that we were induced to send a competent wit- 
 ness in the afternoon to procure more particular information. Our 
 agent, after the fullest opportunity of observation, has returned 
 this morning, and communicates the following facts, which we give 
 without embellishment as he relates them. On Monday night of 
 last week the family of Mr. Joseph Barron, living in the town- 
 ship of Woodbridge, about three miles from Rahway, in this 
 county, were alarmed, after they had retired, by a loud thumping 
 against the house. Mr. B.'s first impression was that some 
 person was trying to break in ; but further observation soon unde- 
 ceived him. The thumping, however, continued at short intervals, 
 until the family became so alarmed that Mr. B. called in some 
 of his neighbors, who remained up with the family until daylight, 
 when the thumping ceased. The next evening, after nightfall, the 
 noise recommenced, when it was ascertained to be mysteriously 
 connected with the movements of a servant girl in the family, — a 
 white girl, about fourteen years of age. While passing a window 
 on the stairs, for example, a sudden jar, accompanied with an 
 explosive sound, broke a pane of glass, the girl at the same time 
 being seized with a violent spasm. This, of course, very much 
 alarmed her ; and the physician, Dr. Drake, was sent for, came, 
 and bled her (of course). The bleeding, however, produced no 
 apparent effect. The noise still continued as before, at intervals, 
 wherever the girl went, each sound producing more or less of a 
 spasm, and the physician, with all the family, remained up during 
 the night. At daylight the thumping ceased again. In the 
 evening the same thing was repeated, commencing a little earlier 
 than before ; and so every evening since, continuing each night 
 until morning, and commencing each night a little earlier than 
 before, until yesterday, when the thumping began about twelve 
 o'clock at noon. The circumstances were soon generally spread 
 through the neighborhood, and have produced so much excite- 
 ment that the house has been filled and surrounded from sunrise 
 to sunset for nearly a week. Every imaginable means have been 
 resorted to, in order to unravel the phenomenon. At one time 
 
28 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the girl would be removed from one apartment to another, but 
 without effect. "Wherever she was placed, at certain intervals, the 
 thumping noise would be heard in the room. She was taken to a 
 neighboring house. The same result followed. When carried out 
 of doors, however, no noise is heard. Dr. Drake, who has been 
 constant in his attendance during the whole period, occasionally 
 aided by other scientific observers, was with us last evening for 
 two hours, when we were politely allowed a variety of experi- 
 ments with the girl, in addition to those heretofore tried, to satisfy 
 ourselves that there is no imposition in the case, and, if possible, 
 to discover the secret agent of the mystery. The girl was in an 
 upper room with a part of the family when we reached the house. 
 The noise then resembled that which would be produced by a 
 person violently thumping the upper floor with the head of an axe 
 five or six times in succession, jarring the house, ceasing a few 
 minutes, and then resuming as before. We were soon introduced 
 into the apartment and permitted to observe for ourselves. The 
 girl appeared to be in perfect health, cheerful and free from the 
 spasms felt at first, and entirely relieved from everything like the 
 fear or apprehension which she manifested for some days. The 
 invisible noise, however, continued to occur as before, though 
 somewhat diminished in frequency, while we were in the room. 
 In order to ascertain more satisfactorily that she did not produce 
 it voluntarily, among other experiments we placed her on a chair 
 on a blanket in the centre of the room, bandaged the chair with a 
 cloth, fastening her feet on the front round, and confining her 
 hands together on her lap. No change, however, was produced. 
 The thumping continued as before, except that it was not quite so 
 loud — the noise resembling that which would be produced by 
 stamping on the floor with a heavy heel ; yet she did not move a 
 limb or muscle that we could discover. She remained in this 
 position long enough to satisfy all in the room that the girl exer- 
 cised, voluntarily, no sort of agency in producing the noise. It 
 was observed that the noise became "greater the further she was 
 removed from any other person. We placed her in the doorway 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 of a closet in the room, the door being ajar to allow her to stand 
 in the passage. In less than one minute the door flew open, as if 
 violently struck with a mallet, accompanied by precisely such a 
 noise as such a thump would produce. This was repeated several 
 times with the same effect. In short, in whatever position she was 
 placed, whether in or out of the room, similar results, varied a 
 little perhaps by circumstances, were produced. There is cer- 
 tainly no deception in the case. And now for conjecture. For 
 ourselves we offer none ; but among other conjectures, which have 
 been suggested by Dr. D. and others, is that the phenom- 
 enon is electrical. ^ ^ ^ * * The noise was heard at 
 least one hundred yards from the house." 
 
 How long these sounds continued I am not informed, but it is 
 stated that the family became so much annoyed that they were 
 obliged to give notice that they would receive no more company 
 unless they were professional men introduced by their physician. 
 
 These accounts come down to us sustained by the most positive 
 testimony, and are beyond dispute, to say nothing of the well- 
 authenticated cases which are related by those whom we know, 
 but who have been ashamed to let the world know what they have 
 themselves experienced, and so keep their secret until others, more 
 daring, shall lay before the world similar facts, when they will 
 step forward and add their mite to the testimony. 
 
 There must certainly exist some natural cause, by which these 
 sounds are made. By natural causes I do not mean that the 
 cause is positively known to man at the present time, or that it is 
 produced by machinery or collusion of any kind. I know this is 
 not the case. But, as nothing can exist without a cause, and as 
 the laws of nature are the most perfect of anything we can have 
 any conception of; and as nothing of which man or any other 
 production of these laws can conceive or recognize can be supe- 
 rior or above these laws (unless it be the source from whence 
 they originated), I speak of the laws which govern this commu- 
 nication between inferior and superior intelligences as perfectly 
 
30 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 katural. I ask to be pointed to nothing superior to this in the 
 investigation of the subject. 
 
 Neither would I make the separation that some do between 
 spirit and matter. I am convinced that no such separation exists. 
 It is at the same time to assert that it is something and nothing. 
 If it is not matter, it is nothing. It is the height of absurdity to 
 assert that there is an absolute existence, and yet it is not matter, 
 — it is nothing, yet to be talked of, to, and about. That there 
 exists matter too refined, subtile and sublimated, for our vision in 
 a normal state to observe, is undoubted ; and I have as little 
 doubt of there being intelligent beings who, beyond our vision, 
 still have an influence upon us, and are entirely capable of com- 
 municating with us through sounds, impressions and various other 
 means. It is no more proof that they are not thus about us, 
 because not seen, than that electricity, or the numerous animalculse 
 which we are constantly eating, drinking and breathing, although 
 unseen, do not exist for the same reason. It may not be unprof- 
 itable to go into the examination of the connection between spirits 
 and other matter, in this connection, in order that the reader's 
 mind may be prepared for the development of facts which may 
 look still more strange than those already related. 
 
 In regard to the rapping sounds, and other phenomena and their 
 existence, there is no longer room for doubt. The tens of thou- 
 sands of individuals who have heard them, and who have been in 
 full possession of their senses, and not easily to be deceived, are 
 abundant testimony on this point. 
 
 The connection between spirit and other matter, or between the 
 visible and invisible world of human beings, is at present little un- 
 derstood. I am of the opinion that the connection is far more inti- 
 mate than is generally believed. Of this fact there is the most pos- 
 itive and convincing proof. Many may be so averse to receiving new 
 truths, which set aside all their preconceived opinions, as to disre- 
 gard the positive evidence of their senses. But most men are not 
 willing to admit that they are so easily imposed upon, as many 
 think, or pretend to think, they are themselves. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 31 
 
 If men would acquaint themselves with the process of the form- 
 ation of the earth ; if they would observe how it gradually grew, 
 through countless ages, to its present form and state of perfection ; 
 if they would reflect that, instead of its always having been what 
 it now is in size, shape and substance, it was once a liquid mass, 
 which gradually, by the action of natural causes, became solid in 
 its essential parts and foundations ; that at one time vegetable life 
 could not be found " on the face of the earth ; " if they would 
 remember that at first the mineral productions were of the grossest 
 kind, which have been constantly changing and refining ; that in 
 the course of ages vegetable productions of the rankest kind ap- 
 peared, and that, as the earth perfected, the more refined were the 
 productions, and finally animal life appeared ; that these animals, 
 like the vegetable productions, were of "the most imperfect nature ; 
 and at last, after ages had rolled away, the earth was prepared for 
 the production of man, the superior of all these as an intelligent, 
 thinking beings that he at first was a mere infant to what after 
 ages developed him to be ; that he is still progressing onward and 
 upward in knowledge and refinement, and exhibits a perfection of 
 organization which is beyond the power of annihilation ; they would 
 begin to form some idea of the great chain of progression which 
 not only applies to things visible, but with equal force throughout 
 the universe and to all stages of existence. 
 
 Would it be reasonable to stop short at the decay of man's visi- 
 ble organization, and deny the existence of any remaining intelli- 
 gence that pertained to him, merely because we cannot see that 
 existence ? No man will assert this to be a valid reason. In 
 fact, from various proofs, or from the authority of others, the idea 
 of a future existence has become almost universal ; and, whether 
 these ideas have been philosophically formed or not, it would be 
 useless in this place for us to inquire. 
 
 It is said, and we think never disputed by men of science, that 
 all space is filled with solid, fluid and imponderable substances, 
 and that all objects, or any two, in space, let them be far off or 
 near to each other, are necessarily connected by the various forms 
 
32 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 or substances existing in the space which separates them. It is a 
 matter, which has long been settled by men of philosophy and edu- 
 cation, that all particles of matter, wherever situated, act upon 
 and influence each other ; that each has an influence upon the 
 other ; and that none exist or act without an absolute dependence 
 upon the whole ; in a word, there is no such thing as absolute 
 individual independence in the universe. 
 
 The highest form of organization of which we have any concep- 
 tion, and which probably is the highest, is that which manifests 
 intelligence. The forms of intelligence, or their manifestations, 
 are various, defined by some as instinct and reason. It is use- 
 less to undertake the task of tracing them, through their different 
 gradations, up to the highest developments of reason. There is in 
 this, as in tracing the various forms of vegetable and animal life, 
 a connection so intimate and perfect, that it is impossible to tell 
 where the lower ends and the higher begins, so closely interwoven 
 are the links of the great chain of which each is a part. 
 
 May we not, then, safely calculate that man continues to pro- 
 gress beyond his present state of existence, and that the change 
 which takes place at what is called death is not so vast and so 
 sudden as the world has generally supposed ? — and that the day 
 is not far distant when the whole phenomena recorded in the fol- 
 lowing pages shall be looked upon as only the incidents in the 
 development of a free and continued intercourse between the visible 
 and invisible worlds ? 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE — EVENTS PREVIOUS TO THE SOUNDS 
 
 BEING HEARD WITH THE TON FAMILY TESTIMONY OP WITNESSES 
 
 FIRST MEDIUMS, ETC. ETC. 
 
 The house at which the manifestations first commenced, that 
 have turned the eyes of the people of this generation to a more 
 minute and careful investigation of spiritual phenomena than 
 has characterized any preceding age, stands among a cluster of 
 houses known by the name of Hydesville, in the town of Arcadia, 
 county of Wayne and state of New York. It is a small framed 
 building, one and a half stories high, and, at the time of the occur- 
 rences which have made it a matter of interest and curiosity to so 
 many thousands, bore unmistakable evidences of age ; and had 
 been the humble shelter of many a family previous to that of 
 Mr. Fox. 
 
 It has generally been supposed, and so published, in most of 
 the accounts of the commencement of these phenomena, that the 
 sounds were first heard when the house was occupied by a Mr. 
 Weekman. This seems to be an error, as there are, at least, two 
 witnesses, whose testimony is recorded in a small pamphlet, pub- 
 lished by E. E. Lewis, Esq., at Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1848, 
 who testify to the sounds being heard by a family who occupied 
 the same house in 1844. These witnesses are Mrs. Ann Pulver 
 and Miss Lucretia Pulver. The former testifies as follows : 
 
 " I was acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. (who occupied the 
 
 house in 1844). I used to call on them frequently. My warping 
 bars were in their chamber, and I used to go there to do my 
 work. One morning when I went there Mrs. — told me that 
 
84 FI11ST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 she felt very bad ; that she had not slept much if any the night 
 before. When I asked her what the matter was, she said she 
 did n't know but what it was the fidgets ; but she thought she 
 heard somebody walking about from one room to another, and 
 
 that she had Mr. get up and fasten down all the windows. 
 
 She said she felt more safe after that. I asked her what she 
 thought it was. She said it might be rats. I heard her speak 
 about hearing noises after that which she could not account for." 
 
 Miss Lucretia Pulver, in her testimony, says : "I lived in this 
 
 house all one winter, in the family of Mr. . I worked for 
 
 them part of the time, and part of the time I boarded and went 
 to school. I lived there about three months. During the latter 
 part of the time that I was there I heard this knocking fre- 
 quently, in the bedroom, under the foot of the bed. I heard it 
 a number of nights, as I slept in the bedroom all the time that 
 I staid there. One night I thought I heard a man walking in 
 the buttery. This buttery is near the bedroom, with a stairway 
 between. Miss Aurelia Lozey staid with me on that night ; she 
 also heard the noise, and we were both much frightened, and got 
 up, and fastened down the windows and fastened the door. It 
 sounded as if a person walked through the buttery, down cellar, 
 and part way across the cellar bottom, and there the noise would 
 cease. There was no one else in the house at this time, except 
 my little brother, who was asleep in the same room with us. 
 This was about twelve o'clock, I should think. "We did not go 
 to bed until after eleven, and had not been asleep when we heard 
 
 the noise. Mr. and Mrs. had gone to Loch Berlin, to be 
 
 gone until the next day." 
 
 It seems, then, that these noises had been common to the house 
 for some years before the Fox family occupied it. In the year 
 1847, it was occupied by Mr. Michael Weekman. Mr. Week- 
 man and his family are not to be numbered among the supersti- 
 tious and credulous ; at least, their neighbors never thought them 
 so before they made their statements in regard to the occur- 
 rences at their house. As it may be of importance, hereafter, to 
 
STATEMENT OF MKS. HANNAH WEEKMAN. 35 
 
 have all the proofs in regard to the first introduction of the mod- 
 ern manifestations, I will here introduce the testimony of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Weekman. The certificates are those originally given 
 to E. E. Lewis, Esq., and published as before stated. 
 
 STATEMENT OE MRS. HANNAH WEEKMAN. 
 
 " "We have lived in this place about five months. I have heard 
 about the mysterious noises that have been heard in the house 
 now occupied by Mr. Fox. We used to live in the same house ; 
 we lived there about a year and a half, and moved from there to 
 the house we now occupy. About a year ago, while we were liv- 
 ing there, we heard some one, as we supposed, rapping on the 
 outside door. I had just got into bed, but my husband had not. 
 He went and opened it, and said that there was no one there. 
 He came back, and was about getting into bed, when we heard 
 the rapping on the door again. He then went to the door and 
 opened it, and said that he could see no one, although he stepped 
 out a little way. He then came back and got into bed. He was 
 quite angry ; he thought 't was some of the neighboring boys try- 
 ing to disturb us, and said that ' they might knock away, but 
 they would not fool him,' or something of that kind. The knock- 
 ing was heard again ; and after a while he got up, and went to the 
 door and went out. I told him not to go out doors, for perhaps 
 somebody wanted to get him out and hurt him. He came back, 
 and said he could see nothing. We heard a good deal of noise 
 during the night ; we could hardly tell where it was : it sounded, 
 sometimes, as if some one was walking in the cellar. But the house 
 was old, and we thought it might be the rattling of loose boards, 
 or something of that kind. 
 
 " A few nights afterwards, one of our little girls, who slept in 
 the bedroom where the noises are now heard, woke us all up by 
 screaming very loud. My husband and I, and our hired girl, got 
 up immediately to see what was the matter. She sat up in bed, 
 crying and screaming, and it was some time before we could find 
 out what the matter was. She said that something had been 
 
36 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 moving about, over her head and face — that it was cold, and she 
 did not know what it was. She said that she feit it all over her, 
 but she was most alarmed at feeling it on her face. She was 
 very much frightened. This was between twelve and one o'clock 
 at night. She got up and got into bed with us, and it was a 
 long time before she could go to sleep. It was several days 
 before we could get her to sleep in that room again. She was 
 eight years old at that time. 
 
 "Nothing else happened to me during the time that we lived 
 there ; but my husband told me that one night he heard some one 
 call him by name, somewhere in the house, — he did not know 
 where, — but could never find out where or what it was. I was 
 not at home that night. I was sitting up with a sick person. 
 We did not think the house was haunted at that time. 
 
 "I do not believe in spooks, or anything of that kind; but I 
 hardly know what to say about it now ; so many have heard the 
 noises that it seemed as if something was the matter. 
 
 " (Signed,) Hannah Weekman. 
 
 " Tuesday, April 11, 1848." 
 
 STATEMENT OF MICHAEL WEEKMAN. 
 
 " I am the husband of Hannah Weekman. We used to live in 
 the house now occupied by Mr. Fox, in which they say strange 
 noises are heard. We lived there about a year and a half. One 
 evening, about bed-time, I heard the rapping. I supposed it was 
 some one knocking at the door, who wanted to come in. ' I did 
 not bid him ' come in ' as I usually do, but went to the door. I 
 did not find any one there ; but went back, and just as I was get- 
 ting into bed, I heard the rapping again, and opened the door 
 quick, but could see no one there. I stepped out a step or two, 
 but could see no one about there. I then went back and got into 
 bed. I thought some one was making game of me. After a few 
 minutes I heard the knocking again, and after waiting a few 
 minutes, and still hearing it, I got up and went to the door. This 
 time I went clear out and looked around the house, but cou 1 ^ 
 
STATEMENT OF JANE C. LArE. 37 
 
 find no one. I then stepped back and shut the door, and held on 
 to the latch, thinking that if there was any one there I would 
 catch them at it. In a minute or two I heard the rapping again. 
 My hand was on the door, and the knocking appeared to be on 
 the door. I could feel it jar with the raps. I instantly opened 
 the door, and sprang out ; but there was no one in sight. I then 
 went round the house again, but could find no one, as before. My 
 wife told me I had better not go out of doors, as it might be some 
 one that wanted to hurt me. I did not know what to think of it, it 
 seemed so strange and unaccountable." (He here relates the case 
 of the little girl being frightened, as given above.) 
 
 " One night after this, about midnight, I was awake, and heard 
 my name called. It sounded as if it was on the south side of the 
 room. I sat up in bed and listened, but did not hear it again. I 
 did not get out of bed, but waited to see if it would be repeated. 
 My wife was not at home that night. I told her of it afterwards, 
 and she said she guessed I had been dreaming. My wife used to 
 be frightened quite often by hearing strange noises in and about 
 the house. 
 
 " I have heard so much from men in whom I place confidence 
 about these noises that are now hea'rd, that, taken in connection 
 with what I heard, I cannot account for it, unless it is a super- 
 natural appearance. I am willing to make affidavit to the above 
 facts, if necessary. (Signed,) Michael "Weekman. 
 
 "11th April, 1848." 
 
 Mrs. Jane C. Lape testified as follows : "I am the wife of 
 Henry Lape, and am nineteen years of age. I lived with Mr. 
 Weekman's folks, about a year and a half ago, when he occupied 
 the house where Mr. Fox now lives. I staid there until the 
 spring of 1847. One day, about two o'clock, p. m., while I was 
 doing my work in the kitchen, I saw a man in the bedroom 
 adjoining the kitchen. The bedroom door was open and I saw 
 the man distinctly. I was much frightened. I had been in the 
 kitchen some time, at work, and knew no one had gone into that 
 4 
 
38 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESYILLE. 
 
 room. There was only one door to the bedroom joining the 
 kitchen. The man stood facing me when I saw him. He did not 
 speak, nor did I hear any noise at the time like a person walking 
 or moving about the room. He had on gray pants, black frock- 
 coat, and black cap. He was about middling size, I should think. 
 I knew of no person in that vicinity who wore a similar dress. 
 Mrs. Weekman was in another part of the house at the time. I 
 was very much frightened, and left the room, and when I returned 
 with Mrs. Weekman there was no one there. She thought it was 
 some one who had been trying to frighten me ; but we were never 
 able to ascertain who or what it was. I have always thought, 
 and still do think, that it was a supernatural appearance. I never 
 had been a believer in such things until I saw this. I am 
 willing to testify to the above statement. 
 
 " (Signed,) Jaxe C. Lape." 
 
 We hear nothing more of Mr. "Weekman being disturbed by 
 the rapping or other manifestations, or there being anything of 
 the kind, with that exception, until after the house was occupied 
 by the family of Mr. John D. Fox. It was reserved to that family 
 to be the instruments of communicating to the world, or to this part 
 of it, this most singular affair. They were the ones who first, as 
 if by accident, found out that there was an intelligence manifested 
 even in this rapping, which at first appeared nothing more than an 
 annoying and unaccountable noise. 
 
 The family of Mr. Fox were well known in the neighborhood 
 where they resided. Mr. and Mrs. Fox were connected with the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, of which they had for many years 
 been exemplary members, and had sustained a character unim- 
 peachable for truth and veracity. No one who knew them had 
 the least suspicion of their honesty or truthfulness. At the time 
 these occurrences first took place in the family there were living 
 with the parents three daughters, the youngest about twelve years 
 of age. 
 
 There are, probably, few families in which such an occurrence 
 
STATEMENT OE MRS. MARGARET EOX. 39 
 
 could have taken place, where it would have created a greater 
 degree of surprise and fear than in this one. They were entirely 
 unacquainted with the history of any similar occurrence in the 
 world ; and, brought up in the common routine of religious belief, 
 they were, as, in fact, most of the world really was, and still is, 
 entirely unprepared for such a development of the power of 
 spirits to make themselves known to us by sounds, or other tangi- 
 ble means. 
 
 The following statements, condensed from the pamphlet before 
 alluded to,. will give the account of the first disturbances at the 
 house of Mr. Fox, in their own language. 
 
 STATEMENT OE MRS. MARGARET EOX. 
 
 "lam the wife of John D. Fox. We moved into this house on 
 the 11th of December, 1847, and have resided here ever since. 
 We first heard this noise about a fortnight ago. It sounded like 
 some one knocking in the east bedroom, on the floor. Sometimes 
 it sounded as if a chair moved on the floor ; we could hardly tell 
 where it was. This was in the evening, just after we had gone 
 to bea The whole family slept in the room together, and 
 all heard the noise. There were four of our family, and some- 
 times five. The first night we heard the rapping we all got up, 
 lit a candle, and searched all over the house. The noise continued 
 while we were hunting, and was heard near the same place all the 
 time. It was not very loud, yet it produced a jar of the bed- 
 steads and chairs, that could be felt by placing our hands on the 
 chairs, or while we were in bed. It was a feeling of tremulous 
 motion, more than a sudden jar. It seemed if we could hear it 
 jar while we were standing on the floor. It continued this night 
 until we went to sleep. I did not go to sleep until nearly twelve 
 o'clock. The noise continued to be heard every night. On Friday 
 night, March 31st, it was heard as usual, and we then, for the 
 first time, called in the neighbors. Up to this time we had never 
 heard it in the daytime, or, at least, we did not notice it at all 
 during the day. 
 
40 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYBESYILLE. 
 
 " On Friday night we concluded to go to bed early, and not let 
 it disturb us ; if it came we thought we would not mind it, but 
 try to get a good night's rest. My husband was here on all these 
 occasions, heard the noise, and helped search. It was very early 
 when we went to bed this night ; hardly dark. We went to bed 
 early, because we had been broken so much of our rest that I was 
 almost sick. 
 
 " My husband had gone to bed when we first heard the noise this 
 evening. I had just laid down when it commenced, as usual. I 
 knew it from all other noises I had ever heard in the house. The 
 girls, who slept in the other bed in the room, heard the noise, and 
 tried to make a similar noise by snapping their fingers. The 
 youngest girl is about twelve years old. She is the one who made 
 her hand go. As fast as she made the noises with her hands or 
 fingers, the sounds followed up in the room. It did not sound 
 different at that time ; but it made the same number of raps the 
 girl did. When she stopped the sounds would stop for a short 
 time. The other girl, who is in her fifteenth year, then spoke, in 
 sport, and said, ' Now do just as I do. Count one, two, three, 
 four,' etc., at the same time striking one hand in the other. The 
 blows which she made were repeated, as before. It appeared to 
 answer her by repeating every blow she made. She only did so 
 once. She then began to be startled, and I said to the noise 
 ' Count ten,' and it made ten strokes or noises. Then I asked 
 the ages of my different children successively, and it gave the 
 number of raps corresponding to the ages of each of my children. 
 
 " I then asked if it was a human being making the noise, and, 
 if so, to manifest it by the same noise. There was no noise. I 
 then asked if it was a spirit ? — if it was, to manifest it by two 
 sounds. I heard two sounds as soon as the words were spoken. I 
 then asked if it was an injured spirit, and, if so, to give me the 
 sound ; and I heard the rapping distinctly. I then asked if it 
 was injured in this house, and the sounds were immediately made, 
 distinctly ; — if the person was living that injured it, and got the 
 same answer. I then ascertained, by the same method, that its 
 
STATEMENT OF MRS. MARGARET FOX. 41 
 
 remains were buried under the dwelling, and how old it was. 
 When I asked how many years old it was it rapped thirty-one 
 times ; that it was a male ; that it had left a family of five chil- 
 dren ; that it had two sons and three daughters, all living. I 
 asked if it left a wife, and it rapped ; — if its wife was then 
 living, and there was no rapping ; — if she was dead, and the rap- 
 ping was distinctly heard ; — how long she had been dead, and it 
 rapped twice. 
 
 "About this time I asked, 'Will the noise continue if I call in 
 some of the neighbors, that they may hear it too ?' It answered, 
 as usual, by rapping. My husband went and called Mrs. Red- 
 field, our next door neighbor. She is a very candid woman. 
 The girls were then sitting up in bed, somewhat terrified, and 
 clinging to each other. I was as calm, I think, as I am now. 
 Mrs. lledfield came immediately. This was about half-past seven 
 o'clock. She came in thinking to joke and laugh at the children ; 
 but when she came she saw that we were all amazed like, and 
 that there was something in it. I then asked a few questions, 
 and they were answered as before ; and she was satisfied that 
 there was something strange about it. It told her age exactly. 
 She would then call her husband, and he came, and the same 
 questions were asked over again, and the answers were the same 
 as before. It was then asked how long it had been injured, and 
 the sound was repeated four times, at regular intervals, and then, 
 after a short pause, once more ; the same being repeated every 
 time the same question was asked. 
 
 " Then Mr. Eedfield called in Mr. Duesler and wife, and several 
 others. A great many questions were asked over, and the same 
 answers given as before. Mr. Duesler then called in Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hyde ; they came, and also Mr. and Mrs. Jewell. Mr. Duesler 
 asked many questions, and got the answers. I then named over 
 all the neighbors I could think of, and asked if any of them had 
 injured it, and got no answer. Then Mr. Duesler asked it some 
 questions, the same as I had, and got the same answers. He 
 asked if it was murdered, and it answered in the usual way ; — if 
 4*- 
 
42 MUST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 the murderer could be brought to justice, and there was no sound ; 
 and then if he could be punished by law, and there was no rapping. 
 He then asked, ' If this murderer cannot be punished by law, man- 
 ifest it by the noise ? ' and the noise was repeated. In the same 
 way Mr. Duesler ascertained that it was murdered in the bed- 
 room about five years ago, and that the murder was committed by 
 
 Mr. , on one Tuesday night, at twelve o'clock ; that it was 
 
 murdered by having its throat cut with a butcher knife ; that the 
 body did not remain in the room next day, but was taken down 
 cellar, and that it was not buried until the next night ; that it was 
 not taken down through an outside door, but through the buttery, 
 down the stairway ; that it was buried ten feet below the surface 
 of the ground. It was then asked if money was the object of the 
 murderer ; and the rapping commenced. How much money was 
 obtained? Was it one hundred dollars? two hundred? three 
 hundred ? four hundred ? No noise. Five hundred ? The usual 
 rapping was heard. We were all in the bedroom at the time. 
 
 " Many called in that night, who were out fishing in the creek, 
 and they all heard the same noise. The same questions were fre- 
 quently repeated as others came in, and the same answers were ob- 
 tained. Some of them staid here all night. I and my family all 
 left the house but my husband. I went to Mrs. Hedfield's and staid 
 all night ; my children staid at some of the other neighbors. My 
 husband and Mr. Redfield staid in the house all night. 
 
 " On the next day the house was filled to overflowing all day. 
 This was on Saturday. There was no sound heard during the 
 day ; but in the evening the sound commenced again. Some said 
 that there were three hundred people present at this time. They 
 appointed a committee, and many questions were asked. I did 
 not know much what was done that night, only by hearsay, as I 
 went to Mr. Duesler 's to stay all night. 
 
 " On Sunday morning, the second of April, the noise com- 
 menced again, and was heard throughout the clay by all who came 
 there. On Saturday night they commenced digging the cellar, 
 and dug until they came to water, and then gave it up. The 
 
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM DUESLER. 43 
 
 noise was not heard on Sunday evening, nor during the night. 
 Stephen B. Smith and wife, and David S. Fox and wife, slept in 
 the room this night. I have heard nothing since that time until 
 yesterday. In the forenoon of yesterday there were several ques- 
 tions answered in the usual way by rapping. I have heard the 
 noise several times to-day. 
 
 "I am not a believer in haunted houses or supernatural appear- 
 ances. I am very sorry there has been so much excitement about 
 it. It has been a great deal of trouble to us. It was our mis- 
 fortune to live here at this time ; but I am willing and anxious 
 that the truth should be known, and that a true statement should 
 be made. I cannot account for these noises ; all that I know is, 
 that they have been heard repeatedly, as I have stated. I have 
 heard this rapping again this (Tuesday) morning, April 4th. My 
 children also heard it. 
 
 . " I certify that the above statement has been read to me, and 
 that the same is true ; and I am willing to make oath to it if 
 necessary. (Signed,) Margaret Fox. 
 
 " April 11th, 1848." 
 
 Mr. John D. Fox gives a certificate corroborating his wife's 
 statement in everv particular, and says : " I do not know in what 
 way to account for these noises, as being caused by natural means. 
 We have searched in every nook and corner in and about the 
 house, at different times, to ascertain, if possible, whether 
 anything or anybody was secreted there that could make the 
 noise ; and have never been able to find anything that explained 
 the mystery. It has caused us a great deal of trouble and 
 anxiety. Hundreds have visited the house, so that it is impossi- 
 ble to attend to our daily occupations ; and I hope, whether it be 
 natural or supernatural, the means will be found out soon." 
 
 STATEMENT OE WILLIAM DUESLER. 
 
 " I live in this place. I moved from Cayuga county here last 
 October. I live within a few rods of the house in which these 
 noises have been heard. The first I heard anything about them 
 
44 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT IIYDES VILLI;. 
 
 was one week ago last Friday evening (31st day of March). 
 Mrs. Redfield came over to my house to get my wife to go over to 
 Mr. Fox's. Mrs. Redfield appeared to be very much agitated. 
 My wife wanted I should go with them, and I accordingly went. 
 When she told us what she wanted us to go over there for, I 
 laughed at her, and ridiculed the idea that there was anything 
 mysterious in it. I told her it was all nonsense, and that it could 
 easily be accounted for. This was about nine o'clock in the even- 
 ing. There were some twelve or fourteen persons there when I 
 got there. Some were so frightened that they did not want to go 
 into the room. I went into the room and sat down on the bed. 
 Mr. Fox asked questions, and I heard the rapping, which they had 
 spoken of, distinctly. I felt the bedstead jar when the sound was 
 produced. 
 
 " Mrs. Fox then asked if it would answer my questions if I 
 asked any, and if so, rap. It then rapped three times. I then 
 asked if it was an injured spirit, and it rapped. I asked if it had 
 come to hurt any one who was present, and it did not rap. I then 
 reversed this question, and it rapped. I asked if I or my father 
 had injured it (as we had formerly lived in the house) ; there was 
 no noise. Upon asking the negative of these questions, the rap- 
 ping was heard. I then asked if Mr. (naming a person 
 
 who had formerly lived in the house) had injured it, and if so, to 
 manifest it by rapping ; and it made three knocks louder than 
 common, and at the same time the bedstead jarred more than it 
 had done before. I then inquired if it was murdered for money, 
 and the knocking was heard. I then requested it to rap when I 
 mentioned the sum of money for which it was murdered. I then 
 asked if it was one hundred, two, three, or four, and when I came 
 to five hundred the rapping was heard. All in the room said they 
 heard it distinctly. I then asked the question if it was five hun- 
 dred dollars, and the rapping was heard. 
 
 " After this, I went over and got Artemas W. Hyde to come 
 over. He came over. I then asked over nearly the same ques- 
 tions as before, and got the same answers. Mr. Redfield went 
 
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM DUESLER. 45 
 
 after David Jewell and wife, and Mrs. Hyde also came. After 
 they came in, I asked the same questions over again, and got 
 the same answers. 
 
 " Then I asked the question how it was murdered. I asked 
 if it was murdered by being struck on the head, and there was no 
 rap. I then reversed the question, and the rapping was heard. 
 Then I asked if it was stabbed in the side, and there was no 
 answer ; upon asking the negative of this, the rapping was heard. 
 It usually rapped three times in answer to my questions. I then 
 asked if it had its throat cut, and it rapped as usual. Then, if it 
 was with a butcher-knife, and the rapping was heard. In the 
 same way it was ascertained that it was asleep at the time, but 
 was awakened when the knife entered the throat ; that it strug- 
 gled and made some resistance and noise. Then I asked if there 
 was any one in the house at the time but him, and it did not rap ; 
 then, if they two were alone, and the rapping was heard. I then 
 asked if Lucretia Pulver worked there at the time, and it answered 
 
 by rapping ; if she and Mrs. were gone away that night, and 
 
 the rapping was renewed. 
 
 "There was rapping heard only when we asked questions. 
 I asked if any one in Hydesville knew of the murder, except 
 
 , and it rapped. Then I asked about a number of persons, 
 
 if they knew it, and there was no rap until I came to Mrs. , 
 
 and then the rapping was heard ; then, if any one but and 
 
 wife knew it, and I got no rap ; then, if they were all that knew 
 of the murder, and I got the rap. I asked if the body was put 
 in the cellar, and it rapped. I then asked if it was buried in the 
 different parts of the cellar, and to all my questions there was no 
 rapping until I asked if it was near the centre, and the rapping 
 was heard. 
 
 " Charles Redfield then went down cellar with a candle. I told 
 him to place himself in different parts of the cellar ; and, as he 
 did so, I asked the question, if the person was over the place 
 where it was buried, and I got no answer until he got over a cer- 
 tain place in the cellar, when it rapped. He then stepped one 
 
46 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 side, and when I asked the question, there was no noise. This was 
 repeated several times ; and we found that, whenever he stood over 
 this one place, the rapping was heard, and whenever he moved 
 away from that place there was no answer to my questions. Mr. 
 Redfield said he could hear the noise himself. I then asked which 
 way it was carried down cellar; if round through the outside 
 door, and there was no rapping ; then, if it was down through the 
 buttery, by the inside stairway, and the rapping was heard. I 
 then asked it to rap my age — the number of years of my age. 
 It rapped thirty times. This is my age, and I do not think any 
 one about here knew my age except myself and family. I then 
 told it to rap my wife's age, and it rapped thirty times, which is 
 her exact age ; several of us counted it at the time. I then 
 asked it to rap A. W. Hyde's age, and it rapped thirty-two, which 
 he says is his age ; he was there at the time, and counted it with 
 the rest of us. Then Mrs. A. "W. Hyde's age, and it rapped 
 thirty-one, which she said was her age ; she was also there at the 
 time. I then continued to ask it to rap the age of different per- 
 sons (naming them) in the room, and it did so correctly, as they 
 all said. 
 
 "I then asked the number of children in the different families in 
 the neighborhood, and it told them correctly in the usual way by 
 rapping. Also the number of deaths that had taken place in the 
 families, and it told correctly. I then asked it to rap its own age, 
 and it rapped thirty-one times distinctly. I then asked it if it 
 left a family, and it rapped. I asked it to rap the number of 
 children it left, and it rapped five times ; then the number of girls, 
 and it rapped three; then the number of boys, and it rapped 
 
 twice. Before this, I had asked if it was a man, and it answered 
 
 *. . 
 
 by rapping it was ; if it was a pedler, and it rapped. 
 
 " I then asked in regard to the time it was murdered, and in 
 
 the usual way, by asking the different days of the week, and the 
 
 different hours of the day ; that it was murdered on a Tuesday 
 
 night, about twelve o'clock. The rapping was heard only when 
 
 this particular time was mentioned. When it was asked if it was 
 
STATEMENT OP WILLIAM DTJESLER. 47 
 
 murdered, on a Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday night, &c, 
 there was no rapping. I asked if it carried any trunk, and it 
 rapped that it did. Then how many, and it rapped once. In the 
 same way we ascertained that it had goods in the trunk, and that 
 
 took them when he murdered him ; and that he had a 
 
 pack of goods besides. 
 
 "I asked if its wife was living, and it did not rap ; if she was 
 dead, and it rapped. I then asked it to rap the number of years 
 the wife had been dead, and it rapped twice. In the same way I 
 ascertained that its children were now living, — that they lived in 
 this state ; and, after asking if in such and such county (naming 
 over the different counties), at last, when I asked if they lived in 
 Orleans county, the rapping was heard, and at no other time. 
 This was tried over several times, and the result was always 
 the same. I then tried to ascertain the first letters of its name 
 by calling over the different letters of the alphabet. I commenced 
 with A, and asked if that was the initial of its first name ; there 
 was no rapping. When I came to C, the rapping was heard, and 
 at no other letter in the alphabet. I then asked, in the same way, 
 in regard to the initials of its surname ; and when I asked if it 
 was R, the rapping commenced. We then tried all the other let- 
 ters, but could get no answer by the usual rapping. I then asked 
 if we could find out the whole name by reading over all the letters 
 of the alphabet, and there was no rapping. I then reversed the 
 question, and the rapping was heard. ^ * ^ ^ There were a 
 good many more questions asked on that night, by myself and 
 others, which I do not now remember. They were all answered 
 readily in the same way. I stayed in the house until about twelve 
 o'clock, and then came home. Mr. Redfield and Mr. Fox stayed 
 in the house that night. 
 
 " Saturday night I went over again, about seven o'clock. The 
 house was full of people when I got there. They said it had been 
 rapping some time. I went into the room. It was rapping in 
 answer to questions when I went in. I went to asking questions, 
 and asked over some of the same ones that I did the mgr-% before, 
 
48 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT IIYDESVILLE. 
 
 and it answered me the same as it did then. I also asked differ- 
 ent questions, and it answered them. Some of those in the room 
 wanted me to go out, and let some one else ask the questions. I 
 did so, and came home. There were as many as three hundred 
 people in and around the house at this time, I should think. 
 Hiram Soverhill, Esq., and Yolney Brown, asked it questions 
 while I was there, and it rapped in answer to them. 
 
 " I went over again on Sunday, between one and two o'clock, 
 p. m. I went into the cellar with several others, and had them all 
 leave the house over our heads ; and then I asked if there had 
 been a man buried in the cellar, to manifest it by rapping, or any 
 other noise or sign. The moment I asked the question, there was 
 a sound like the falling of a stick, about a foot long and half an 
 inch through, on the floor in the bedroom over our heads. It did 
 not seem to bound at all ; there was but one sound. I then told 
 Stephen Smith to go right up and examine the room, and see if 
 he could discover the cause of the noise. He came back, and said 
 he could discover nothing, — that there was no one in the room or 
 in that part of the house. I then asked two more questions, and 
 it rapped in the usual way. We all went up stairs and made 
 a thorough search, but could find nothing. 
 
 " I then got a knife and fork, and tried to see if I could make 
 the same noise by dropping them ; but I could not. This was all 
 I heard on Sunday. There is only one floor, or partition, or 
 thickness, between the bedroom and the cellar ; no place where 
 anything could.be secreted to make the noise. When this noise 
 was heard in the bedroom, I could hear a slight tremulous motion 
 or jar. 
 
 " There was some digging in the cellar on Saturday night. They 
 dug until they came to water, and then gave it up. The question 
 had been previously asked whether it was right that they should 
 dig on that night, and there was no rapping. Then, whether it 
 was wrong, and the rapping was heard. Whether they should dig 
 on Sunday ; no rapping. On Monday ; rapping commenced again. 
 
TESTIMONY OP WALTER SCOTTEN. 49 
 
 However, some insisted on digging at this time, and dug accord- 
 ingly ; but without success. 
 
 " On Monday night, I heard this noise again, and asked the same 
 questions I did before, and got the same answers. This is the last 
 time I have heard any rapping. I can in no way account for this 
 singular noise which I and others have heard. It is a mystery to 
 me which I am wholly unable to solve. I am willing to testify 
 under oath that I did not make the noises or rapping which I and 
 others heard ; that I do not know of any person who did or could 
 have made them; that I have spent considerable time, since then, 
 in order to satisfy myself as to the cause of it, but cannot account 
 for it on any other ground than that it is supernatural. I lived 
 in the same house about seven years ago, and at that time never 
 heard any noises of the kind in and about the premises. I have 
 understood from Johnson and others, who have lived there before 
 
 moved there, that there were no such sounds heard 
 
 there while they occupied the house. I never believed in haunted 
 houses, or heard or saw anything but what I could account for 
 before ; but this I cannot account for, 
 
 " (Signed,) Wm. Duesler. 
 
 " April 19, 18-18." 
 
 Mr. Walter Scotten, in his testimony, which speaks of his 
 acquaintance with the Fox family, and commends them for honesty 
 and integrity, corroborates the above statements, and adds : " The 
 noise appeared, when we were in the cellar, to come irom the 
 ground. Some thought it was on one side, and some on the other. 
 We could hardly tell what direction it came from. It did not 
 sound like any noise that could be made by rapping or striking, 
 either on the floor, or on the ground. I have since tried to make 
 the same noise in various ways, but have never succeeded in 
 imitating it. Stephen Smith, my wife, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Losey, Mr. 
 Wm. D. Storer and two girls, were down in the cellar with me at 
 the time of which I have spoken. I was in the house but about 
 half an hour, and then came right home. I have never heard 
 5 
 
50 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 noises there any other time than this. There had been digging in 
 the cellar at the time I was there. They had dug about two feet 
 and a half, I should think. There was a good deal of water in 
 the hole, which, they said, had prevented them from digging any 
 more." 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Jewel, in her testimony, says :. ' s I never saw 
 anything before which I could not account for in some way or 
 other. This I am wholly at a loss to account for, unless it be a 
 supernatural appearance. I have been acquainted with Mr. Fox and 
 family some time, and cheerfully certify that I never saw anything 
 in their conduct, or heard anything about them, that would lead 
 me to suppose that they would be guilty of carrying on a trickery 
 in order to deceive the public ; on the contrary, I have always 
 looked upon them as honest, upright people, and good neighbors." 
 
 Lorren Tenney says : — "I have heard Mr. Duesler's state- 
 ment about what took place on that evening (31st of March), and 
 the same is correct, so far as I know. I have no doubt but what 
 Mr. Fox and family are honest, and will tell the truth about this 
 matter. It makes a great deal of trouble for Mr. Fox and his 
 family. They are thronged with visitors, and broken of their 
 rest. The house has been searched from top to bottom, and 
 nothing found that could make the noise. I did not go there 
 believing that there was anything in it ; but supposed it was some 
 trickery or deception." 
 
 Mr. James Bridges, who was there on the same night, says :. — 
 " I cannot in any way imagine how these noises can be made by 
 any human means. If it had been heard but on one or two occa- 
 sions, I should not think it such a mystery, but should be satisfied 
 that some one was cutting up a caper, in order to alarm Mr. Fox's 
 people. But now 1 think that is impossible." 
 
 Mr. David S. Fox gives a statement confirming the others 
 heretofore recorded, and says, furthermore, that " There is no 
 place about the house in which any person could be secreted so as 
 to produce these sounds. There is only one floor between this 
 bedroom and the cellar. ^ ^ * I was here (at the house) on 
 
CHAKACTEH OF THE TESTIMONY. 51 
 
 Monday, the 3rd of April, and we commenced digging again in 
 the cellar, and bailing out the water ; but we found it impossible 
 to make much headway. On Tuesday evening they began digging 
 again. I got a pump, and we took up the floor, and put it into 
 the hole, and began to pump and bail out the water at the same 
 time. We could not lower the water much, and had to give it up. 
 The water is now in the hole, although it is lowering gradually." 
 Such is the testimony — unimpeachable and conclusive — of 
 the first occurrences at Hydesville. The witnesses establish, 
 beyond the possibility of a doubt, the presence of some unseen 
 and intelligent agency in producing these sounds. But this was 
 not the only kind of evidence by which the invisible presence was 
 to be proved. As the family and their friends became more 
 familiar with the mysterious visitants, and could converse without 
 alarm, other manifestations began to be made, exhibiting, in a more 
 astonishing manner, the command of the communicators over the 
 elements, by which was created at will any sound that might be 
 desired. Thus, the intelligence claiming to be the spirit of the 
 murdered man would produce a sound like the death struggle, the 
 gurgling in the throat, &c, of a man whose throat was cut ; then 
 the sound of dragging a lifeless body across the room, down the 
 stairs, the feet striking on each step ; then a sound as if shoveling 
 dirt in the cellar, the nailing of boards, and the filling up of the 
 hastily-made grave, — all sounding as perfectly natural as if you 
 had stood in the grave-yard, and heard the clods descend upon the 
 last resting-place of the body of a friend. I have myself heard 
 the same, and it was hard, indeed, to convince one's self that it 
 was not a reality instead of a mere representation. Another 
 sound was produced like that of pouring a quantity of clotted 
 blood from a pail on to the floor. This sound would come suddenly, 
 when the family, or some portion of it, sat in a room, not thinking 
 of the manifestations; and the first thought would be that 
 some one had poured down a whole pailful of something, that 
 would fall like so much blood, or, as the family expressed it, 
 " lobbered milk." 
 
52 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 It was some time before the spirits exhibited any preference for 
 any one of the family, or seemed to require the presence of one 
 more than the other, in order to produce the various sounds and 
 movements. At length they discovered that Catharine, the young- 
 est girl, seemed to be required in order to obtain the communica- 
 tions. She was then in the twelfth year of her age. This was 
 the first discovery of mediumship in that family. Indeed, it is 
 the first case of acknowledged mediumship for sounds, so far as I 
 am able to discover, that the world has been made acquainted with. 
 There have been those who were undoubted mediums, and were 
 attended by similar demonstrations ; but they have not been char- 
 acterized by the intelligence that has uniformly attended this 
 family. The exhibition of intelligence heretofore has been only in 
 rare cases, and for a short time, to disappear and remain a 
 wonder to the recipients of the strange visitations. But here they 
 have remained to explain themselves, and silence forever all doubts 
 in regard to the power of unseen intelligences to communicate with 
 the inhabitants of this visible world. 
 
 It should be observed that the discovery of the intelligence in 
 these sounds, or the source of them, was entirely accidental. Mrs. 
 Fox asked the sounds to tell her the age of her children, after she 
 had noticed the imitations of the number of sounds made by the 
 girl's hands, and because she was confused, and did not know what 
 else to say. They had tried all expedients to discover what the 
 source or cause of the mystery was, but had thus far failed 
 entirely. 
 
 No family in the country could have been more amazed at the 
 discovery of such a visitation, than were each and all the mem- 
 bers of this one. They were not superstitious, and had never 
 heard that the house in which they lived had been known as a 
 " haunted house," or that any strange occurrences had taken place 
 there. The families who had heretofore been disturbed had care- 
 fully concealed the facts from the public and from all their neigh- 
 bors. They were not, then, looking for any such manifestations. 
 The facts in regard to the commencement of the sounds and the 
 
CHARACTER OF THE TESTIMONY. 53 
 
 first discovery of intelligence most unmistakably indicate the 
 surprise of the family, and the entirely accidental discovery of 
 intelligence. 
 
 The same will be noticed by reference to the manner in which 
 the communication by alphabet was discovered. They were 
 desirous of getting the name of the man purporting to have been 
 murdered. After trying various expedients, David S. Fox asked 
 if it would answer to the initial letter of the name if they would 
 call the alphabet. This was answered in the affirmative, and the 
 letters were accordingly given. It is important that this fact 
 be kept in view, that the reader may not be led to suppose that 
 the whole was a preconcerted scheme, with all the details arranged 
 beforehand. Another fact is, that, at that time, they had no idea 
 of getting communications by alphabet, and it was not used for a 
 long time after. They supposed that the name was all they could 
 get by that means. 
 
 There are many circumstances going to make up a case of cir- 
 cumstantial proof that there was, at some time, a murder committed 
 in the house. To this effect, so far as spiritual manifestations are 
 concerned, is the testimony of Miss and Mrs. Pulver. There is, 
 aside from this, enough to establish very reasonable suspicions in 
 regard to the transactions of a certain family who formerly occupied 
 the house. 
 
 In addition to this, it is a fact not generally known, that, in the 
 summer of 1848, Henry Bush and Lyman Granger, of Rochester, 
 and David S. Fox, and others, of Arcadia, recommenced digging 
 in the cellar of the house ; and, after digging about five feet, came 
 to a plank, through which they bored with an auger, which, on 
 boring through (the auger being loose in the handle), fell through, 
 out of sight. On digging further they found several human teeth, 
 and a few bones, and some hair, which evidently came from a 
 human head, although no connected bones or skull were found. 
 They also found a quantity of charcoal at the same depth. This 
 shows, most incontestably, that the ground, at some time, had been 
 disturbed, and these things deposited. This, taken with the 
 5# 
 
54 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 evidence of the family, on whom suspicion fell, having sundry 
 articles, in a very mysterious way, about the time the murder was 
 said to have been committed, is enough, at least, to give a shade 
 of circumstantial evidence in favor of the truth of the allegation 
 of the spirit in regard to the murder. 
 
 Another curious feature in the early manifestations should not 
 be lost sight of. All the family, except Mr. Fox (who never was 
 a medium), left the house, as appears by the testimony, during one 
 night, and still the sounds were heard as usual. In their absence 
 questions were answered as freely as when they were all present. 
 It was not until after the confusion and excitement had subsided 
 that the spirits seemed to select the two youngest girls, Catharine 
 and Margaretta, and from that time they have continued 
 "mediums;" and, so far as we are acquainted, they, with their 
 sister, Mrs. Brown, formerly Mrs. Fish (who has since become a 
 medium), have been the best mediums for sounds yet known to the 
 public. I do not wish to be understood that they are superior 
 in reliability to many others ; but, for a promiscuous company, 
 the sounds are louder and more certain with them than any 
 mediums I have ever known. There are several families, in the 
 neighborhood of the old house at Hydesville, that now have occa- 
 sional demonstrations ; and the family, whoever it may be, that 
 occupies the house formerly occupied by the Fox family, is sure 
 to be disturbed by occasional manifestations. 
 
 Soon after the discovery that Kate was the medium, the family 
 having become weary of the annoyance they had been subject to, 
 sent her to Rochester, to reside with her sister, Mrs. Fish ; think- 
 ing that by changing the locality she would avoid the dis- 
 agreeable annoyance herself, and also prevent the demonstrations 
 to the family. In this, however, they were mistaken ; for, as 
 soon as Kate left the family, the sounds commenced in the presence 
 of Margaretta, the next older sister. She was at the house of her 
 brother, Mr. David S. Fox, who lived about three miles from 
 Hydesville, where the sounds originally commenced. Thus, it 
 will be seen, spirits were not to be baffled in their efforts to estab- 
 
CHARACTER OP THE TESTIMONY. 00 
 
 lish an actual and convincing mode of communication with the 
 inhabitants of this mundane sphere. 
 
 During the six years that have elapsed since the commencement 
 of the manifestations at Hydesville, there have been few more 
 singular, and no more convincing, proofs of the agency of spirits, 
 than were given to the family of Mr. Fox. Almost every variety 
 of the phenomena that have startled the world, since that time, were 
 known to them, long before the public were made aware of the 
 existence of such strange occurrences. They have had all the 
 variety of sounds mentioned above ; had speaking in an audible 
 voice, moving of furniture, touching, and writing by the spirits. 
 Blocks of wood were thrown into the windows, when they were 
 opened, with important directions written upon. Information was 
 given to the family, which was of essential benefit, by writing on 
 the floor of a room where it was known that no living, visible 
 person had been. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, they sought to keep it from the public. 
 They shrank from notoriety, and from having their names con- 
 nected with such a strange and unpopular affair. Their efforts 
 were rather to get rid of the trouble than to make themselves 
 notorious by it. But in this they did not succeed. The unseen 
 visitors were so entirely beyond their control, that the demonstra- 
 tions would be made, and sounds be heard by all who visited them. 
 Of course, under such circumstances, it soon became known 
 throughout the neighborhood. 
 
 As soon as this fact became established, persecutions com- 
 menced, and they were denounced by the bigoted and superstitious 
 as impostors ; or, if they could not dispute the facts, they were 
 charged with being in league with the devil. Among other 
 modes of persecution, the church, of which they were members, 
 began its annoyance. 
 
 A young student of material " divinity," a mere boy, was sent 
 to. lecture Mrs. Fox, whose years, at least, entitled her to be 
 treated with due respect. Instead of this, however, impudence 
 and arrogance were the chief arguments of this young man. Mrs. 
 
56 FIRST DISTURBANCES AT HYDESVILLE. 
 
 Fox was required to give up that over which, she had no control ; 
 and, instead of fairly undertaking the investigation, to see what 
 they might discover, they steadily refused ; but persevered in their 
 annoyance, and insisted that the family should be condemned for 
 hearing what was thrust upon them without their knowledge, and 
 against their express wi snes - Pursued by the relentless slanders 
 of the minister and the church, who could find no point to make 
 a charge against them, Mr. and Mrs. Fox withdrew from the con- 
 nection, as they could not cling to a body that denied all tangible 
 evidence of spiritualism, and openly avowed its adherence to a 
 materialism, as full of mystery and dogmatism as the most blindly 
 enthusiastic reveries of the veriest dreamer that ever imposed his 
 dreams upon the world as a living reality. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIKST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER, N. T. — ALARM OF THE FAMILY 
 
 OPPOSITION OF MR. CALVIN R. BROWN VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS — 
 
 ENTHUSIASTIC AND FANATICAL BELIEVEKS ABSURD DIRECTIONS FOL- 
 LOWED — DISAPPOINTMENT AND UNBELIEF — PROOFS AND CASES STATED 
 — FIRST CASE OF TELEGRAPHING. 
 
 It was mentioned, in the second chapter, that the youngest 
 daughter of Mr. Fox — Kate — was taken to Rochester to live with 
 Mrs. Fish, in the hope that this would terminate the disturbances. 
 Kate alleged to Mrs. Fish that she heard the sounds on board the 
 canal packet, while they were going from Newark to Rochester ; 
 but her sister having never heard much of them, and being quite 
 incredulous, disputed it, accounting for the sounds in some other 
 way. But little was said on the subject, and their great anxiety 
 was to be entirely rid of the matter. 
 
 On their arrival at Rochester they rented a new house on 
 Prospect-street. Mrs. Fish very innocently told the landlord that 
 she wanted a house that had never been occupied ; giving him the 
 reason, which was, that her sister and the family had been dis- 
 turbed by strange occurrences. Into this house they moved in 
 the month of April, 1848. Before all their furniture was moved 
 into the house, Kate and another girl, being together, heard the 
 sounds, and received answers to many questions. While they 
 were getting sounds out of the house, Mrs. Fish sat alone inside ; 
 when, suddenly, she was aroused by that terrible sound of the 
 pouring of a pail of coagulated blood upon the floor. It was 
 repeated, in quick succession, three times. Frightened terribly, 
 and hardly knowing what she did, she rushed from the room to 
 
58 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 find the girls. She met them in the yard, and, in their turn, they 
 were horrified at the ashy paleness of Mrs. F., and inquired the 
 cause before she had spoken. Her answer was, " 0, that dread- 
 ful sound ! What is it ? What is it ? " After becoming more 
 calm, they returned to the house, but did not hear anything more 
 until after they had retired for the night. Then the demonstra- 
 tions commenced with more violence than usual. The goods, 
 which were below the room in which they slept, and not yet 
 arranged, were moved and tumbled violently about the room, to 
 the great alarm and discouragement of the family. Previous, 
 however, to the moving of furniture, or any other demonstration, 
 about twelve o'clock at night, a heavy knock was heard at the 
 outer door. There was a high flight of steps to ascend to get to 
 the door, and, although they were all awake, they heard no one 
 come up. The knocking ceased, and they waited to hear it 
 repeated, or to hear some one go down the steps. They heard 
 neither ; but soon a loud knocking commenced on the roof of the 
 house. It came on at one end, advanced along the whole length 
 of the roof, and finally was in the room where they slept. The 
 sounds were loud and boisterous, and all of the family very much 
 frightened. Calvin R. Brown, who had lived in Mr. Fox's family 
 for many years, was with them. He had not before heard the 
 disturbances, having been in Rochester while they were in the 
 excitement at Hydesville. He had no faith in their being spiritual, 
 although he knew they were not produced by the family. He 
 was much perplexed to know what it was. Kate and Elizabeth, 
 the latter Mrs. Fish's daughter, then about twelve years old, slept 
 together. Soon, they cried out that they were being touched — 
 that a cold hand was laid on them, &c. Mrs. Fish had seen but 
 little of the strange affair, and told the girls to keep still, for she 
 did not believe it. The repeated screams and fright of the girls, 
 however, convinced her that something was there which prevented 
 them from sleeping, and at the same time frightened them terribly. 
 Finally, she took them both into bed with her, one on each side, 
 hoping thereby to put an end to the noise ; but the touching con- 
 
ALARM OF THE FISH FAMILY. 
 
 59 
 
 tinued. Elizabeth had long been suffering from a spinal com- 
 plaint, and had nearly lost the use of her limb, when these demon- 
 strations commenced. The touches were invariably on the spot 
 most tender and diseased. This caused her to jump and exercise 
 herself, and finally worked an entire cure. At that time it was 
 looked upon as very wonderful, but such cases of healing are now 
 quite common. The night spoken of, — the first they had spent 
 in the house, — they were not permitted to rest until three or 
 four o'clock in the morning ; and they were obliged to make all 
 their beds on the floor, as they were constantly raised up and 
 shook about when they were on a bedstead. 
 
 At this time Mrs. Fish was teaching music, and her only means 
 of living was the pay from her pupils. She greatly feared that 
 the disturbances would drive them away, either by fright or dis- 
 gust at so strange and, to them, scandalous an affair. In a day 
 or two the sounds commenced in the daytime, and so greatly were 
 they annoyed that, for all one day at least, they went without pre- 
 paring or eating a meal. In great confidence Mrs. Fish finally 
 told Mrs. Granger, one of her neighbors, of the terrible annoyances 
 they were subject to. Mr. Granger and his family were Metho- 
 dists, and looked upon it in a miraculous light. Mrs. Fish, at 
 times when she was so disturbed, knelt down and prayed that this 
 afiliction might pass from them. During their praying the sounds 
 would be more loud and boisterous than ever. It was impossible 
 to conceal the facts, and soon several of the neighbors were ad- 
 mitted to hear. They had meetings almost nightly ; and they 
 were characterized by praying on the part of some of the visitors, 
 and by most boisterous demonstrations by the spirits. Books, 
 shells and other articles, were thrown with great violence about 
 the room ; but although entirely in the dark, no shell or book 
 that could injure would ever strike a person, while pamphlets and 
 such articles as would do no harm would strike square in the 
 face. These meetings were characterized by the wildest fanati- 
 cism at times, and just in proportion to the ranting of the individ- 
 uals would be the violence of the manifestations. Thus, by fright 
 
60 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 and fanaticism, were the first spiritual communications received in 
 Rochester. Several persons, composed mostly of " Christian Per- 
 fectionists" and Methodists, concluded that it was a special mes- 
 sage from the Lord, calling for speedy repentance. In all this 
 wild excitement the Fox family did not join. They only prayed 
 earnestly to be delivered from the, to them, terrible annoyance. 
 But this was denied them. Time passed on, and the manifesta- 
 tions continued. Fanaticism subsided, and the spirits were less 
 boisterous, or, rather, a less boisterous class of spirits were attracted. 
 With the mediums, the whole phenomena became more orderly and 
 more willing to grant their requests, in all but leaving them entirely. 
 This they refused to do. 
 
 At an early day the family were visited by a Methodist minis- 
 ter, who proposed to exorcise the spirits. He said that, if the 
 family would allow him to perform his incantations, they would 
 hear no more of the disturbance, which he, of course, attributed 
 to the devil. They gladly allowed him to make the attempt. He 
 walked around the room, used certain formula supposed to be 
 potently orthodox for the casting out of unclean spirits ; but, to 
 his astonishment, all his mummery availed nothing, and the spirits 
 did not obey his commands. He was much disappointed at the 
 failure of his power over unseen intelligences. 
 
 As a specimen of the credulity with which some persons received 
 the phenomena, it may be well to relate, without giving the names, 
 an occurrence which caused considerable excitement in Rochester 
 and vicinity. In the month of July or August, 1848, a young 
 man — a tobacco pedler — came into the city with his horses, 
 put them up at the stable of a hotel, and very suddenly disap- 
 peared. He was known to have had several hundred dollars with 
 him, and his friends and the public were satisfied that he was 
 murdered for sake of the money. Days and weeks elapsed, and 
 no tidings of the missing man could be obtained. The authorities 
 offered a large reward for the discovery of the body and detection 
 of the murderers. The canal, the mill-races and by-places were 
 searched to no purpose. In the midst of the excitement, one of 
 
SPECIMEN OF CREDULITY. 61 
 
 the most enthusiastic spiritualists took up the subject, with the 
 double hope of obtaining the reward and establishing the infalli- 
 bility of spiritual communication. First a clairvoyant made a 
 revelation of the murder, and where the body was deposited. It 
 was said to be in the canal, and the place was pointed out. Of 
 course, so positive a man as the one engaged in this hunt could 
 get spirits enough to confirm his already settled convictions, and 
 it was accordingly confirmed by the rappings. Then commenced 
 the search. The canal was dragged at the places pointed out, 
 but no body found. The oracles were again consulted, and 
 now . they were informed that the body had been removed to 
 another place. That was searched with like results ; and, after 
 a fruitless search, they were informed that it was again removed. 
 The superintendent of canal repairs gave notice that, on a certain 
 day, the water would be drawn out of the canal from near the 
 Genesee Valley canal junction, in that city, to the Brighton lock. 
 Immediately on this announcement being made, it was revealed 
 that the body had been removed to a point below the Brighton 
 lock ; and that the wife of the gentleman engaged in the search 
 should go into the water, and also a little girl about twelve years 
 old. It was said that they would be sure and find the body. The 
 confiding man and wife, with the girl, repaired to the spot, and 
 commenced the search in the water. The lady had a rope tied 
 around her waist, and the husband held the other end, standing 
 on a canal bridge. Once or twice the lady got beyond her depth, 
 and was only saved from drowning by the precaution of having 
 the rope around her, — which, by the way, the spirits had forbid- 
 den her to use, — and the little girl cut her foot severely by a 
 stone or shell on the bottom of the canal. After a long trial, the 
 search was abandoned, and the body was not found. Probably 
 the mystery would never have been revealed to this day, had not 
 the supposed murdered man himself made the revelation. He was 
 anxious to retain what money he had in his possession, and being 
 willing to be thought murdered, after leaving his team, had sud- 
 denly departed for Canada. Thus ended this credulous reliance 
 6 
 
62 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 on the infallibility of clairvoyance and spiritual revelations. The 
 effect was to produce an entire reaction in the minds of those most 
 concerned in the transaction, and they repudiated, the whole affair, 
 for a year or two, as the work of Satan, although they are now 
 believers again, having " learned wisdom from the things they 
 have suffered," and become more cool and rational. The tried 
 friends of spiritualism have witnessed much of this kind of " back- 
 sliding " among persons who rushed into the belief with blind 
 enthusiasm at the commencement, and were not grounded on rea- 
 sonable investigation. With very few exceptions, they have, 
 instead of looking calmly for the causes of false and unreliable 
 directions, repudiated the whole as some deception beyond their 
 knowledge to explain, or as emanating from the devil. 
 
 Notwithstanding the facts were concealed from the public, it is 
 worthy to be noted that, during the early part of the manifesta- 
 tions at Rochester, many demonstrations were made which looked 
 like a disposition to create disturbance, without any other appar- 
 ent object than mischief. Mr. Calvin It. Brown, before spoken 
 of, was not, at first, particularly friendly to the spirits, and they 
 seemed to reciprocate the feeling by constantly annoying him. 
 The spirits would come to his bed, lift it up, shake it, seize his 
 bed-clothes and carry them away, or whip him with them. At 
 times he would seize the clothes, as they were going off, deter- 
 mined to dispute the right of possession with the spirits. He 
 would brace himself and- pull with all his might ; and, when 
 exerting himself to the utmost, the spirit would mischievously let 
 go suddenly, and Mr. Brown, of course, would be thrown over 
 backwards. Sometimes Mr. Brown would suddenly let go, under 
 like circumstances, and the clothes would fly to the other side of 
 the room. At times a sheet would come up to his bed, as if held 
 up by a person, and then drop down. 
 
 One night the spirits came to his bed with a cane, and com- 
 menced striking tremendous blows on the wall at the head of his 
 bed, just missing his head and face. He seized the cane, and got 
 possession of it. Soon they came with a broom-handle, to which 
 
OPPOSITION OF MR. BROWN." Oo 
 
 was attached the worn-out stump of the broom. With this they 
 commenced striking, as before, until he seized that also. With 
 these two sticks he made a kind of fender for his face, by placing 
 one end of them on his head-board and the other on his breast. 
 Then the spirit came with a strip of lath, and commenced beating 
 the sticks directly over his face. He finally took this stick away 
 and kept all of them where he could keep his hand upon them. 
 The next salutation was an old iron candle-stick, thrown violently, 
 and just grazing his upper lip so as to break the skin. At inter- 
 vals, during all the time they were whipping him with the sticks, 
 they would spell out, " Kneel down and ask our forgiveness." He 
 had nothing to ask such favors for, and told them he would not 
 do it if they strung him up between the heavens and earth. They 
 would then renew hostilities. After cutting his lip all was silent, 
 as though they felt that they had gone too far, or made a mistake. 
 They never told him to ask forgiveness again. After a short time 
 they began to throw balls of carpet-rags, from a basket in the 
 room, some dozen or more of which hit him every one on the fore- 
 head, in precisely the same spot. Some sixty in all were thrown. 
 Many were the kinds of disturbance that Mr. Brown was sub- 
 jected to before he became fully convinced that they were caused 
 by spirits. 
 
 The confusion became so great that, as was anticipated, Mrs. 
 Fish's class in music was entirely broken up, and it was impossible 
 to attend to the ordinary business of the household with any regu- 
 larity. At the table the spirits were often boisterous in the ex- 
 treme. By this time several neighboring families had been made 
 acquainted with the strange occurrences. Wearied with the con- 
 tinual annoyance, Mrs. Fish called on Isaac Post, an old friend 
 of the family, to see if he could not solve the mystery. He went 
 to her house, and, with the family, sat around the table and asked 
 questions. Up to this time there never had been any communi- 
 cations by alphabet, the only mode being by asking questions and 
 getting, generally, three raps for an affirmative, and none for a 
 negative. Thus the question would be asked, " Are you the spirit 
 
64 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 of a brother?" — no raps would be a negative. The question 
 then being reversed thus, "Are you not ? " — three raps would be 
 given to affirm the negative. During this visit of Mr. Post's, the 
 rapping was very loud and continuous, as if constantly anxious to 
 make something known. After trying various expedients, it was 
 mentioned, incidentally, by Mrs. Fish, that her brother David had 
 a name spelled out by the alphabet, at Hydesville, but that noth- 
 ing had ever been obtained by that means, since, either at Hydes- 
 ville or anywhere else. Mr. Post immediately asked if they had 
 ever tried. Mrs. Fish answered that they never had thought of 
 trying it, and asked if they wanted her to call the alphabet as 
 her brother had done at Hydesville. Immediately there came a 
 shower of heavy raps, and each person was touched on the feet 
 and legs ; and the sounds died away to a light, pleasant rap ; 
 they seemed really to evince joy at the suggestion, as much as to 
 say, " Yes, yes, that is what we want, — call it." Mrs. Fish 
 then very slowly called the alphabet. The spirits rapped prompt- 
 ly, and spelled oiit the following message : "We are all your dear 
 friends and relatives." Then the name of " Jacob Smith " was 
 spelled out. This was the grandfather of Mrs. Fish. The whole 
 family were overwhelmed with surprise at this message. ' It was 
 a new and important discovery, and one which was made, as it 
 were, by accident. It was, as they fully believed, a veritable 
 telegraphic despatch from their departed friends, as it purported 
 to be. The little message was copied and circulated amoug friends 
 and neighbors, and a copy sent to the family at Hydesville. Not- 
 withstanding the family had been familiar with the demonstrations 
 there for several months, they had never received a message, or 
 used the alphabet, since the spirit of the supposed murdered ped- 
 ler had rapped to the letters of his name, nor had they, for a 
 moment, supposed that any communication could be obtained in 
 that way. On hearing what had happened, the family all started 
 immediately for Rochester, to see the wonder for themselves, not- 
 withstanding they had the manifestations constantly with them at 
 Hydesville. without spelling messages. Such was the almost 
 
OPPOSITION OP MR. BROWN. 65 
 
 accidental manner in which the mode of getting messages spelled 
 out was made. It was as accidental here as at Hydesville, where it 
 had never been used, on any occasion, except for spelling the name. 
 
 After discovering the use of the alphabet, they were almost 
 constantly beset by the spirits to call it and. communicate. Espe- 
 cially were they very clamorous for communications at the table. 
 Mr. Brown was still annoyed by them, and desirous of being rid 
 of their presence. At the table he would, at times, persuade the 
 family to keep still and not call the alphabet. A constant and 
 loud rapping would be heard, calling for the alphabet, growing 
 louder the longer they delayed. When Mr. Brown asked them 
 not to call it, the table would start from him, and he would be 
 left with his knife and fork in his hands, but the table entirely 
 out of his reach. He would seize it, and draw it back to its 
 place, when it would either move away again, or tip up on one 
 edge, so that whatever of liquid there was on the table would slop 
 over. Such demonstrations would continue until Mr. Brown 
 would take his plate and go to another table, and Mrs. Fish, or 
 some of the family, would call the alphabet, when all would be 
 quiet again. Yv T hen they could communicate they were satisfied. 
 They would often tell them that, if they would only yield to 
 their direction, they should be protected from harm and the dis- 
 arrangement of their business, and all their excitement would 
 eventuate in good for them. On the contrary, it was stated by 
 them that, if they were continually repulsed, they would be under 
 the necessity of abandoning their attempts to communicate through 
 them. Often did the whole family implore them to leave them ; 
 but they persevered in using them, and the result has shown that 
 the promises of protection and guidance have been fulfilled to the 
 family, even under the most discouraging circumstances. 
 
 As in everything else, practice in this mode of telegraphing 
 suggested improvements. At one time Mrs. Fish asked if the 
 spirits would give her a short signal which should always be un- 
 derstood as a call for the alphabet. Five quick successive raps 
 were given as that signal, It was a year or two after this that 
 
66 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 Mrs. Fish ascertained that a circle in New York city had arranged 
 to get one rap for no, three for yes, and two for an indefinite an- 
 swer, or to signify that the spirits could not answer at that time. 
 This has greatly facilitated the mode of communicating. 
 
 During the early part of the excitement, the family were much 
 persecuted by persons who would not investigate, but " knew " it 
 must all be a humbug. They were even threatened with violence, 
 and went out of the house in the evening with fear. The spirits 
 gave them a signal whereby they might know when danger was near, 
 and promised them protection. Demonstrations were often made 
 to them in the streets, and, on their asking if there was danger, 
 the spirits would reply, "No; we only wanted to let you know 
 that we were with you." Hundreds and hundreds of evidences 
 were presented to them of the fact that they were attended by 
 unseen protectors. 
 
 Hundreds now nocked to the house to see the wonders, and 
 the family was overrun with visitors. Often they were prevented 
 from taking their meals from the time they ate their breakfast 
 till after midnight. Day after day, week after week, and month 
 after month, for two years from the commencement, did this con- 
 stant calling continue without a charge of one cent for the time 
 spent by the family ; and for the first year, or more, Mrs. Fish 
 refused absolutely to take the compensation often volunteered 
 by strangers, and it was not until necessity compelled her that 
 she yielded to receive even voluntary contributions. 
 
 Although the Fox family were the only ones known to the 
 public, it is a fact worthy of note that about the time the sounds 
 commenced with them in Rochester, they commenced in the family 
 of Mr. Lyman Granger, a wealthy member of the Methodist 
 church, residing in that place. As with the Fox family, so in 
 Mr. G.'s, they at first displayed no partiality for any particular 
 member of the family. They would rap to Mr. Granger in the 
 field, when entirely alone, and to most of the members of the 
 family ; but finally they selected his daughter Elizabeth as a 
 medium, and refused to manifest themselves to other members of 
 
CASE OF TELEGRAPHING. 67 
 
 the family unless she was present. It was in the month of Octo- 
 ber, 1848, that the spirits, through the medium, spelled out a 
 message to Mr. Granger, wherein it was stated that within one 
 year from that time public meetings would be held in the city of 
 Rochester, for the investigation of this subject, and that it would 
 there and then be proved to be of spiritual origin. This was 
 written on a slip of paper, and, being thrown by at the time, was 
 forgotten. After the investigations at Rochester, Mr. Granger 
 accidentally came across the paper, and, on looking at it, found 
 that the investigations were held just one month less than a year 
 from the date. 
 
 About this time very powerful physical manifestations com- 
 menced in the family of Deacon Hale, of Greece, a town adjoin- 
 ing the city of Rochester. In this case the spirits evinced a 
 remarkable degree of physical power, such as moving heavy stoves 
 and other articles of furniture. 
 
 The vibratory sounds were also produced in the family of Rev. 
 A. H. Jarvis, a Methodist clergyman, residing in Rochester, soon 
 after their commencement with the Fox family. Substantially 
 the same phenomena were observed in the other cases. Many 
 very beautiful communications were given, containing in them- 
 selves overwhelming testimony of spiritual power and foresight. 
 
 The following letter from that gentleman to the author will 
 give a strong case of telegraphing, at a very early period of the 
 modern manifestations. 
 
 " There are many facts which have come under my observation 
 equally convincing of the intelligence and utility of the com- 
 munications from these unseen agents, who, I now believe, are 
 continually about us, and more perfectly acquainted with all our 
 ways, and even our thoughts, than we are with each other. 
 But the fact, in reference to my friend Pickard, is what you 
 desire. He was at my house on Friday afternoon, April 6th, 
 1849. None of the Fox family were present. While at the tea- 
 table we had free communications on different subjects. Pickard 
 
68 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 was requested to ask questions. Pie desired to know who it was 
 that would answer questions. The answer was. ' I am your 
 mother, Mary Pickard.' Her name or the fact of her death was 
 not known to any of us. The next Monday evening he (Pickard) 
 was at Mr. G- — 's and tarried there over night. He there received 
 a communication, purporting to be from his mother, saying, ' Your 
 child is dead.' He came immediately to my place, and said he 
 should take the stage for home (Lockport, sixty miles distant). 
 He left in the stage at 8 or 9 a. m. At 12 m. I returned to 
 my house, my wife meeting me with a telegraph envelope. I 
 broke the seal and read mentally, first, as follows : 
 
 ' Rochester, April 10, 1849. 
 ' By telegraph from Lockport to Rev. A. H. Jarvis, No. 4 
 West-street. Tell Mr. Pickard — if you can find him — his 
 child died this morni?ig. Answer ' R. Mallory.' 
 
 " I then read it to my wife, and said ' This is one of the best 
 and most convincing evidences of the intelligence of those in- 
 visible agents ; ' and then I added ' God's telegraph has outdone 
 Morse's altogether.' Yours truly, 
 
 " To E. W. C apron, Auburn. A. H. Jarvis." 
 
 Mr. Jarvis also related the following to a company which was 
 convened at his house, one of whom was Prof. Jones, a gentleman 
 who was then delivering a course of scientific lectures at Roches- 
 ter. He was of the " New Church," or Swedenborgian faith : — 
 " At one time we were getting communications from what pur- 
 ported to be our son, who had been dead some ten years. He 
 requested us to sing a hymn with the title ' Advice to seek the Lord.'' 
 I took a hymn-book, and was proceeding to look for the hymn, 
 when the alphabet was called for, and he spelled ' Not that.' An- 
 other was taken. Still it spelled ' Not that.' We had four 
 hymn-books in the room that we knew of, and were told that it 
 was not in any of them. I was about going up to my library, when 
 ho spelled, l It is in this room — get the little book with a red 
 
STATEMENT 0E GEORGE WILLETS. 69 
 
 cover.' After much search, the book was found behind some 
 ornaments on the mantel-piece, which was seldom used. A hymn 
 was found with very near the title given, and we thought it must 
 be the one ; when we were again told « Not that.' On looking fur- 
 ther we found a hymn with exactly the title na?ned, and sang it 
 while the sounds beat time." This is a most remarkable proof of 
 the retention of memory in spirits after they escape from the body, 
 and it was while this very fact was under discussion; that Mr. 
 Jarvis related these facts. 
 
 One of the most remarkable cases of a display of foresight, on 
 the part of the spirits, is the case of George Willets, now resident 
 of the city of Rochester. He has furnished the following statement 
 of the case : 
 
 " Dear Friend, E. W. C apron : It is with some reluctance 
 that I furnish you with the following statement, — not that I am 
 afraid to tell the truth, but that the world, as I conceive, is not 
 ready to receive such truths yet. Ridicule probably will be 
 heaped upon me ; but when I consider that it is the ignorant only 
 who use that weapon, perhaps I can afford to stand up and say, 
 ' Let the storm come.' All who know me can say whether I have 
 been truthful from my youth up, yea, or nay ; and the strongest 
 language that I can use, is to say that the following statement is 
 strictly and entirely true. 
 
 "In the summer of 1848, I had concluded, from the best judg- 
 ment that I could bring to my aid, that it was best for my family 
 to remove somewhere among the wilds of the West. Accordingly 
 I took a tour of observation, and finding some land in Michigan, 
 that suited me better than any other, belonging to a gentleman 
 living in Rochester, I stopped, on my return, in order, if possible, 
 to negotiate for it. I staid with my friend and relative, Isaac 
 Post, and while there he told me of certain sounds being heard in 
 the city ; and that they displayed intelligence, and purported to 
 be made by ' spirits,' or persons invisible to us. I was really 
 sceptical about any such things, but at his solicitation went to 
 
70 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 examine it. The persons with whom those sounds seemed to be, I 
 never had heard of or seen before, and my friend was careful not 
 to tell them who I was, or where I had been. It seems that the 
 question was asked whether there was any communication for me, 
 and the direction from the sounds was, that three persons be mag- 
 netized, two of whom were present, and one was sent for from a 
 neighboring family. I did not know the name of any person 
 present ; and I was also certain that no one knew me. After the 
 three persons were put in the clairvoyant state, one of them said, 
 ' We have got to go to Michigan.' They all agreed that they had 
 to go there, and on my account. They did seem all to go there, 
 and began to describe places and things which I had seen, and at 
 length came to a piece of land which they said was the place they 
 came to look at. They then described the land so accurately, 
 which I had stopped in Rochester to buy, that I began to wonder 
 who had told them. They all with one accord then said, ' But 
 he must not go there. His father says that he had better not go.' 
 As they said this, there came a loud sound close to my chair, and 
 I sat some distance from any other 'person. They spoke much of 
 my father, and what his mind was, and at each time that same 
 sound was heard, and the jar distinctly felt close by myself. 
 They then said 'His mother thinks it not best.' As they spoke this 
 a different sound, not quite so loud, was heard still close by me. 
 Then that my sister said it was not best. Another and different 
 sound still was heard. Up to this time I had not spoken a word, 
 but found the big drops of perspiration starting from my face. I 
 gathered courage, and thought I would dispel that illusion directly. 
 I said, ' As you assume to know my father, and what his mind is 
 concerning me, perhaps you can tell his name.' They all seemed 
 to look steadily for some time, then commenced and spoke slowly and 
 deliberately these letters : * W-i-l-l-i-a-m W-i-l-l-e-t-s.' At each 
 letter the loud sound that I first heard was again heard and felt 
 immediately under my feet. I never was so astonished in my life, 
 and involuntarily said, ' What does all this mean ? ' The sounds 
 then said, by the alphabet being called over, that they had better be 
 
STATEMENT OP GEORGE WILLETS. 71 
 
 awakened, and the first loud sound said, « I will talk with George, 
 and tell him all about it.' The direction was for Mr. Post, 
 myself and a little girl, thirteen years old, to go by ourselves. 
 And here I wish it distinctly understood, that all which I shall 
 relate as obtained from those sounds, was in the presence only of 
 my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Post, myself and the little girl spoken 
 of. As what follows all purported to be from my father, I will 
 say that his name was William Willets, a member of the Society 
 of Friends, widely known at Westbury, Lond Island, where he 
 lived until near sixty years of age, and subsequently at Skene- 
 ateles, Onondaga county, where he died in 1841. The communi- 
 cation by sounds then went on to say, that it was my father that 
 was present and talking with me ; and three hours were consumed 
 at the first interview. In saying to me what his counsel was, it 
 always assumed to counsel and advise, but never to dictate. He 
 said that it was not best for us to go to Michigan, and gave vari- 
 ous reasons, among which were, that we should not enjoy ourselves 
 in a new country, and that my health would not be competent for 
 the task of clearing up new land ; and that he foresaw, if we did 
 go, that we should come back again, and would be less in number 
 than when we went. I then asked what was best to do. The 
 answer then was, ' Come to Rochester.' I replied that I knew of 
 no business that I could do in Rochester. The sounds said, ' I 
 will tell thee when thee comes.' I asked if I might know now. 
 The answer was, ' No. I did not need any business until I came, 
 and then he would tell me.' The sounds then said, that after a 
 time it would be best for me to buy some land. I asked where. 
 The sounds then spelled out the name of a man whom neither one 
 present knew, and said that he owned fifty acres of land on such a 
 street adjoining the city, and such a distance from the centre of 
 the city ; that he would sell any part. I asked the price that 
 would be asked. The sounds were heard and counted by three of 
 us, — one hundred and fifty times in succession, — to tell us the 
 number of dollars per acre that would be asked. The sounds said 
 that we had better go the next day and see if this was so, and said 
 
72 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 that we should not see the man until ten o'clock, though we might 
 look for him as early as we pleased. 
 
 " In the morning I looked in the Directory and there found the 
 name spelled out to us, and went to his residence at seven o'clock, 
 and was informed that he was gone to a distant part of the city, 
 and would not be home until twelve o'clock. "We then went to 
 find him, and had some difficulty to do so, but after talking with 
 him five or six minutes, looked at the time, and it was seven 
 minutes past ten ! This person said that he owned fifty acres on 
 the street told us by the sounds, and that he would sell any part. 
 When I asked him the price, he showed me a map with the price 
 of each lot marked, and taking the number of acres, said, by the 
 sounds, to be best to buy, and averaging the price, it was the price 
 told us within six one-hundredths of a dollar per acre. I then went 
 home to my family and pondered over these strange things. 
 Many were the^onflicts in my own mind, and I heard the cry 
 from all quarters of ' humbug,' 'deception,' ' fraud; ' but I could 
 not believe that I wanted to deceive myself. Three months I 
 thought. of these things deeply, and i" could not go to Michigan. 
 I concluded, if it was deception, it would do the world some good 
 to find it out. The first of December, 1848, I moved from 
 Waterloo to Rochester. A few days after getting here, the little 
 girl spoken of came round to our house, and said that the ' spirit ' 
 had directed her to come ; for what purpose she did not know ; we 
 inquired what it was, and this was the communication : ' I told 
 thee if thee would come to Rochester I would tell thee where thee 
 could find employment ; in four days from this time I will tell 
 thee. In the mean time the anti-slavery folks are going to hold 
 their fair ; would it not be well for thee to help them ? ' No one 
 was present at this time except my wife, the little girl and myself. 
 The four days went by, and again, without solicitation, and with- 
 out thinking the time was up, the little girl came again, ^he 
 communication was, ' Aj^ply to William Wiley, Superintendent of 
 the Auburn and Rochester Railroad, to-morrow, at two o'clock, at 
 his office, for a situation, and thee will have one before this weel 
 
STATEMENT OF GEORGE WILLETS. 73 
 
 is out.' This was Thursday. I was a stranger to Mr. Wiley, and 
 I called on Mr. Post, and told him the direction, and asked him 
 if the next day he would go with me. That evening he, happening 
 to be at the depot, inquired if Mr. Wiley was at home, and was 
 told that he was in Boston, and, by a letter just received, would 
 not be at home till Friday night. I was told by the souuds on 
 Wednesday to apply on Thursday at two o'clock. Thursday, at 
 half-past one, instead of going to the railroad office, I went round 
 where these sounds were heard, and said, 'How is this? — I am told 
 to apply to William Wiley, and he is in Boston.' The sounds 
 said, ' Go to his office, — now he is there.'' I called for Mr. Post 
 and walked immediately there, vxAfoiun/L Mr. Wiley in his office. 
 He said that he had returned sooner than he expected to when he 
 wrote the letter. Mr. Post said that I was a relative of his, and 
 wished employment ; and Mr. Wiley replied that they were all 
 full, with abundant applications, and could give no encouragement 
 whatever. We walked back, thinking deeply, and I went where 
 the sounds were heard again. I inquired, 'How is this — Mr. Wiley 
 has no place for me ? ' The answer was, ' Thee will have a place 
 o)i the cars, and ivill know it before the week is out.'' 
 
 " On Saturday night, at dark, I met Mr. Post, and he asked if 
 I had heard anything from Mr. Wiley. I replied, ' Not a word.' 
 At eight o'clock on that same evening Mr. Post called at my 
 house, and said that Mr. Wiley had just been at his store, and said 
 that he had a place for me, and wished me to call at his office on 
 Monday morning. As Mr. Wiley did not tell what place I was 
 to fill, I again asked the sounds what it was; and they said it 
 was to go as baggage-master between this place and Auburn. On 
 Sunday morning I wrote to my friend, James Truman, of 
 Waterloo, stating that I should pass through that place on Mon- 
 day following, in the capacity above stated, before I knew from 
 Mr. Wiley what place he wanted me to fill ; and he can probably 
 testify to that fact. One month after I had been running on the 
 cars, I learned that the person whose place I took had done things 
 worthy of a dismissal, previous to my being directed to make, ap- 
 
 7 r~ 
 
74 FIRST MANIFESTATION? IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 plication, and which did not come to Mr, Wiley's notice till the 
 day on which, I received the appointment. These things have only 
 been known to a few friends; you and the world now have them. 
 I have many communications, penned down at the time they were 
 received, purporting to be from my father, all of the most elevat- 
 ing character, citing me to goodness, purity and honesty of heart, 
 and ever pointing to the endless progression of man. In conclu- 
 sion, I may say that I have examined the matter attentively for 
 one year and a half, and have had abundant opportunities to do so, 
 and am prepared to say, although the sounds may cease to-day, 
 and never be heard again, ' They have displayed a remarkable 
 degree of intelligence, and were not made by any person visible to 
 us.' George Willets." 
 
 Mr. Willets had other important directions, at that time, equally 
 truthful and correct. No case in all the spiritual manifestations 
 up to this day has been more remarkably fulfilled, and none more 
 thoroughly fortified on all sides. It baffles all scepticism, let it 
 turn which way it will. 
 
 On the 23d of November, 1848, the author went from Auburn, 
 where he then resided, to Rochester. He had previously heard of 
 the " mysterious rapping," and concluded it to be a trick which 
 would soon be found out and exposed, and made up his mind to 
 attempt its solution, whenever an opportunity should oifer ; like 
 many others, supposing that he had shrewdness enough to detect 
 the trick, if allowed an opportunity. The following is an extract 
 from his memorandum made at the time, or soon after : — 
 
 " A friend of mine, John Kedzie, of E-ochester, whom I had long 
 known as a sceptic in regard to any such wonders, invited me to 
 go with him to hear it. I accepted the invitation with a feeling 
 that was far from serious apprehension of communicating with 
 anything beyond my power to discover. 
 
 " Before I heard the sound, we seated ourselves around a table. 
 As soon as we got quiet, I heard a slight but distinct rapping on 
 the floor, apparently on the under side. Although I concluded 
 
THE author's statement. 75 
 
 that such a sound might be made by machinery, I could see no 
 possible motive in the family taking so much pains to deceive 
 people, as they received nothing but annoyance and trouble in 
 return for their pains. I proceeded to ask some questions, and 
 they were answered very freely and correctly. I asked if it would 
 rap my age. It was done correctly. I then took my memoran- 
 dum-book from my pocket, and wrote my questions, so that no 
 person could know the nature of the questions. I would write, 
 * rap four times ; rap one ; rap seven ; ' and to each and every 
 question I got a correct answer. I then laid aside my book, and 
 proceeded to ask similar test questions mentally ; and, as before, 
 received correct answers. 
 
 " I could not believe that persons present had Vae power to dis- 
 cern my thoughts, and make these sounds in answer, for the sounds 
 have a peculiarity not easily imitated. To suppose this to be the 
 case, would make the matter a still greater mystery. I knew they 
 could not give those answers, for there were questions answered 
 which they could not know anything about. 
 
 " At another time, being present with Isaac Post, of Rochester, 
 I tried the experiment of counting in the following manner. I 
 took several shells from a card-basket on the table (small lake 
 shells), closed my hand, and placed it entirely out of sight, and 
 requested as many raps as there were shells. It was done cor- 
 rectly. As I knew how many shells there were in my hand, I 
 resolved to test it another way, to see if there was a possibility 
 of my mind having any influence in the matter. I took a hand- 
 ful of shells, without knowing how many I took myself. Still the 
 answers, were correct. I then requested Mr. Post, who sat by the 
 table, to put his hand in the basket, take out some shells without 
 knowing the number, and pass them into my hand, which I imme- 
 diately closed and placed in a position where none could see it. 
 The number was told as correctly as before. We continued this 
 class of experiments for a long time, without the least failure in 
 getting correct answers." 
 
 There could be no mistaking these tests. They could not be 
 
76 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 influenced by our minds, for we did not ourselves know what the 
 answers should be. This places a quietus on its being anything 
 governed by the minds of those asking questions, or those who 
 hear it most freely. The proof of getting answers, and correct 
 ones, to mental questions, and to thoughts where questions are 
 not asked, is as plain as even the rapping itself. 
 
 On the 12th of January, 1849, H. D. Barron, then of Auburn, 
 N. Y., called at the house of the Fox family, in Bochester, in 
 company with James J. Owen, of that city. They were seated 
 around the table in the day-time, and it moved about the distance 
 of one foot. They then moved away from it, and it moved back 
 and forth when no one touched it, and in full view, several times. 
 No one was present except the persons named, and Mrs. Fox and 
 her three daughters. Mr. Owen then put down a number of fig- 
 ures where none of the company could see them, and when he 
 came to the ones which were the number of years of his age, there 
 was rapping. Mr. Owen remarked that there was no one present 
 who knew his age, and that the answer was correct. In the same 
 way it told the number of months over the years. These were 
 done at the request of one of the persons present. 
 
 The next day (Sunday), H. D. Barron called at the house of 
 the Fox family. After several questions had been answered, a 
 spirit, purporting to be that of a relative, called for the alphabet, 
 and spelled the following sentence : — "Henry, when you get home, 
 
 B. will hand you a letter- from ." On the following Tuesday 
 
 morning he arrived in Auburn, and was handed a letter by B , 
 
 mailed at New York, and received at Auburn on the Sunday that 
 the communication was given in Bochester. The persons present 
 at the time this communication was received were Mrs. Fox, her 
 youngest daughter, Isaac Post, of Bochester, and the one to whom 
 the communication was addressed. 
 
 Judge Hascall, of LeBoy, related to the author a fact that 
 came under his notice while examining into these phenomena in 
 company with Mr. Summerfield, a lawyer of the same place, which 
 strongly illustrates the power of spirits to produce any sound by 
 
THE author's statement. 77 
 
 their will. He (Judge H.) stated that they were at the house of 
 the Fox family, and went into a dark room. They called for the 
 sounds to be made like a band of martial music. As they re- 
 quested, the sounds were produced in a most beautiful and thrill- 
 ing manner. The playing of the instruments and the heavy 
 beating of the bass drum were perfectly imitated, together with the 
 sound of the roar of distant cannon. Both Mr. Summerfield and 
 Judge Hascall agreed in saying that the whole thing was so truth- 
 fully and exactly imitated that the effect produced on the hearers 
 was of the most thrilling character. 
 
 In the month of November, 1849, Elias J. Doty, of Macedon, 
 Wayne county, was at the house of Mr. Pierpont, of Bochester, 
 where two sisters who were mediums were present. They had 
 seen the table move, and had other demonstrations while the young 
 ladies were in the room. After they had left the room, Mr. Doty 
 was standing a few feet from the table, and the other person still 
 further from it, when he remarked that it would be a still greater 
 proof to him if it would move without the presence of the young 
 ladies. As he said this, the table moved some distance, and only 
 the three persons in the room, and those not near the table. "We 
 state this on the authority of Mr. Doty, and none who know him 
 need better evidence. 
 
 The author has known several persons to be sitting around a 
 table in conversation, and when they ceased the signal for the 
 alphabet would be called for, and a sentence would be spelt like 
 this : (naming one of the company), thinks so and so (men- 
 tioning exactly what their thoughts were). At one time, several 
 persons were present ; one wrote on a piece of paper to another 
 something about two other members of the company, which, 
 although unimportant, they did not wish the others to know ; but, 
 as if to convince all of their power to tell their thoughts, the sig- 
 nal was given for the alphabet, and the same spelled out that they 
 had written. This has so often been the case, or similar occur- 
 rences, that it is placed beyond dispute by those who have tried 
 the experiment of getting answers to mental questions. The fol- 
 7# *~ 
 
78 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 lowing is an extract from the original memorandum made by the 
 author after many opportunities for investigation : — 
 
 " At one of the first opportunities I had of investigating, I had 
 the following proof, which appeared to be anything but evil to me, 
 although the direction was about ' worldly matters.' 
 
 " Myself and wife and a female friend of ours had been inves- 
 tigating until a late hour, — nearly twelve o'clock at night, — and 
 a violent storm had sprung up. It was necessary for us to go to 
 another part of the city, and it was so late that the public convey- 
 ances had all left their usual stand, and we were at a loss how to 
 get a conveyance for the females. The direction was, ' Go to the 
 corner of the street, and there you will find a conveyance.' I 
 went as directed, but saw no carriage, and began to think I had 
 been misdirected ; but, just as I was turning to go back, a sleigh 
 came up the street, and, without my speaking, the driver hailed 
 me, and inquired if I wanted a conveyance. I of course took it, 
 and carried the females home. 
 
 " On one occasion a gentleman of Rochester was indebted to a 
 woman who was in great need of the money. The spirits directed 
 her little sister to go at such a place in the street, at a certain hour 
 in the day, and she would meet the man, who would pay her three 
 dollars for her sister. The little girl did not know the man who 
 owed the money, but went as directed. At the appointed time she 
 met a man who said to her, ' Are you the girl that lives with 
 
 Mrs. ? ' She replied in the affirmative. * Here are three 
 
 dollars I wish you would take to her,' said the man, handing her 
 a bill ; and passed on." 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter to the author, received 
 from Mrs. Sarah D. Fish, a lady well known in Rochester. It 
 was published at the time of the transaction, about four years 
 ago : 
 
 " I watched with a sick friend about two years ago, and when 
 all was still, and no one awake but myself, — at least, no one in 
 the room except my sick friend, — I sat by the stove, and there 
 
LETTER FROM JUDGE HASCALL. 79 
 
 was a sudden loud rapping on the wood-work at my left hand. 
 Coming in the stillness of the night, I was at first quite terrified, 
 and stepped immediately to the bed where the sick person lay. 
 My friend had heard it, and said, ' What rapping was that ? ' and 
 asked for some drink. After I waited on her, I went to the 
 watch, and found it to be just two o'clock. I had become ex- 
 hausted for the want of sleep ; I leaned my head back in my 
 chair, and fell into a sweet sleep, from which I was awakened by 
 a sudden rapping at my right hand (apparently) on the carpet. 
 I stepped immediately to the watch, and it was precisely half-past 
 two, — just the time at which she was to take her medicine." 
 
 The following letter is from Judge Hascall, of Le Roy (since 
 a member of Congress), who was one of the committee of investi- 
 gation at Corinthian Hall, and who has taken abundant opportu- 
 nity for investigation since that time, and whose honesty and 
 powers for calm investigation will not be called in question by 
 those who have any knowledge of the man. He is extensively 
 known as a man eminent in his profession, and an upright and 
 
 candid citizen. 
 
 « Le Roy, 13th February, 1850. 
 
 " Mr. E. W. Capron, — Dear Sir : Yours of the 12th instant 
 is just received, in which you requested me to send you a state- 
 ment of what I have witnessed of the phenomenon known as the 
 ' Mysterious Rappings.' I should be pleased to give you a par- 
 ticular account of my investigations in endeavoring to discover 
 the cause of the mysterious sounds, but other engagements pre- 
 vent, and you must be content with a very imperfect sketch of 
 them. As the committees appointed at public meetings at Co- 
 rinthian Hall, to investigate and, if possible, detect and expose 
 what was generally believed to be some ingenious device, had 
 failed to ascertain the cause, and the persons who must be present 
 when the rappings were made challenged further investigation, I 
 concluded to inquire into this singular problem, and solve it if 
 possible. Accordingly I visited the house where these young 
 ladies reside, in company with several persons, and our efforts 
 
80 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 were attended with no better success than were those of the com- 
 mittees whose investigations at other places had preceded ours. 
 The experiment was repeated at the residences of several highly 
 respectable families in the city of Rochester, to which the young 
 ladies were invited, and the same rappings were heard, appar- 
 ently at different places in the room at the same time, and our 
 efforts to detect the cause at these places were fruitless. Among 
 the persons who were present with me on this occasion were 
 members of the legal and medical profession, — men of science 
 and skill, — and we entirely failed to discover any art or 
 machinery, philosophical apparatus or means whatever, by which 
 the sounds and other manifestations were produced. 
 
 " I will not go into the particulars of the whole I witnessed 
 during the investigations before referred to, but will state, gen- 
 erally, that I have witnessed much of the phenomena which you 
 have mentioned in the pamphlet recently published by you at 
 Auburn. " Yours respectfully, 
 
 "A. P. Hascall." 
 
 The following statement we are allowed to publish from John 
 S. Clackner, of Ravenna, Ohio : 
 
 "At your request I will write a few instances of the myste- 
 rious agencies, alias spirits, in western New York, with which I 
 was familiar previous to my removal to this place, and to which 
 I am willing to testify, if necessary. Dates, or times of occur- 
 rences, I shall omit for brevity sake. I also wish it understood 
 that in the following communications, when I say the spirits 
 answered, that it was done by rapping and the use of the alphabet. 
 This course I adopt in order to avoid a useless repetition of the 
 words ' rapping ' and ' alphabet.' 
 
 "My first interview' with Mrs. Fish was at her residence, on 
 Prospect-street, in Rochester. We were total strangers to each 
 other, she supposing me from the country. After I got into the 
 house, I remarked, it would be a gratification to me if the spirit 
 would reveal my name to her, as I had been informed it had in 
 
STATEMENT OE JOHN S. CLACKXER. 81 
 
 other cases. She said, ' Spirit, do you know this gentleman ? ' 
 As quick as thought she was answered by loud raps, when she 
 again said, ' Will you tell his name by the alphabet ? ' She was 
 answered in the affirmative. She then commenced calling the 
 alphabet, and was stopped by the spirit rapping at every letter in 
 my name. Then she pronounced it audibly, and was confirmed by 
 the raps. Subsequently, one evening, it would not allow me to 
 stay in the room, alleging as a reason that I had not fulfilled my 
 engagement to bring with me my wife and son. Mrs. F. urged it 
 to permit me to stay; but it continued to spell out, 'He must go.' 
 After some further expostulation, she said, ' You may stay.' It 
 immediately called out for the alphabet, and spelled, ' Leah has 
 done wrong — he must go.' At other times it was free to con- 
 verse with me, but this evening it would say nothing to me. At 
 another time the spirit commenced rapping voluntarily for the 
 alphabet, and spelled out, < M. has done wrong.' M. answered, 
 ' Why, spirit, what have I done now that is wrong ? ' to which it 
 answered, by the alphabet, ' You said I rapped this morning, at 
 Andrew's; I only gave you a sound.'' f * 
 
 " At another time the young ladies came to my house for 
 advice upon domestic affairs. I proposed calling a meeting of 
 friends on the subject. They consented, on condition that the 
 spirits agreed thereto. They made several unsuccessful attempts 
 in various places in that room for an answer from the spirits, 
 until at length, at the front part of the house, it answered, and 
 told them the reason of its silence in other places ; it was, that 
 ' there were eaves-droppers and enemies listening, and could hear.' 
 It encouraged our project, and success crowned our efforts. * ^ 
 
 " At one time it requested one man present to set a sum in 
 addition, and let no man see his figures but himself. He then 
 pointed to any figure he chose, and asked the spirit to give as 
 many distinct single raps as it amounted to, which was promptly 
 and correctly done ; also, the whole sum added up and proved, in 
 the same way as learners in school do, with this difference only 
 that it would instantly and deliberately rap the amount contained 
 
82 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 in each perpendicular row of figures, allowing no time for first 
 enumerating. I could relate many circumstances relative to this 
 mysterious agency. Let one more suffice, where it had a direct 
 moral influence on a young man that I introduced to the family 
 where these sounds are heard. His name was not mentioned at 
 the time, until the spirit desired to communicate with him. He 
 asked who wished to communicate with him. The answer was, 
 1 George Fox, the first Quaker.' ' What do you want to say to 
 me ? ' said the youngster ; and was answered by the spirit, ' I want 
 you to stay after the others go away.' The evening passed in 
 getting answers, beating time with music, &c, until the spirit 
 spelled ' Done.' When the company-began to disperse, each bid- 
 ding the spirit * good-night,' the young man was proceeding to go, 
 when the spirit rapped for the alphabet, and spelled out his name 
 and ' stay,' upon which I remarked that I supposed I must leave 
 him. It then told me to stay. The young man asked who 
 wanted to communicate with him, and it answered, ' Your sister.' 
 She had been dead some eighteen years. He was much affected, 
 and asked if she would answer him mental questions, and was 
 answered in the affirmative. He asked many ; we could hear the 
 raps in answer, but did not know the nature of his questions. 
 From that time a manifest change was perceptible in his conduct ; 
 whether the same continues, I am unable to tell. 
 " Respectfully yours, 
 
 " John S. Clackner. 
 " Ravenna, Portage Co., 0., Feb. 13, 1850." 
 
 The following is the first case of spiritual telegraphing on 
 record. They are at this time quite common. 
 
 " The Rochester Daily Magnet of February 26, 1850, has the 
 following new development. In alluding to it, the editor says, 
 ' The matter is one well worthy of investigation. The gentlemen 
 whose names are attached to the marvellous statement, are not 
 wont to engage in tricks or impositions, and the developments 
 made arc worthy of that credence which should be given to all 
 
SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHING. 83 
 
 new doctrines when well authenticated. Read them calmly and 
 dispassionately.' 
 
 " To Messrs. Jervis, Willets, Jones , and others : 
 " Gentlemen : As we are required by authority, that we think 
 we have no right to disregard, to make public the extraordinary 
 communications recently witnessed at my dwelling, it becomes 
 necessary to give you, and through you to the public, the facts 
 which gave rise to the first interview, on Friday, the 16th inst. 
 The novelty of the subject, and the state of the public mind, are 
 such, that I feel prompted to do this, not only correctly, but as 
 minutely as possible. Circumstances had placed me in a way to 
 witness those remarkable communications called the ' mysterious 
 rappings,' from the time of their origin in this city in the sum- 
 mer of 1848. After the severest tests, under a variety of cir- 
 cumstances, and at various places, for about one year, incontesta- 
 ble evidence addressed to my senses baffled my scepticism, and 
 tally convinced me that they were the production of no human 
 agencies. And as they profess to emanate from invisible intelli- 
 gences called spirits, I had not allowed myself the liberty to 
 attribute them to any other source, at least until some other 
 origin could be detected. In hope of eliciting some further light 
 on the notorious subject, I proposed to a member of my family, 
 who is susceptible to magnetic influence, to be put into a clair- 
 voyant state, and see what might be presented in relation to it. 
 She complied, and for this purpose was magnetized on the. evening 
 of the 12th inst., and in the presence of no other persons. The 
 questions and answers were as follows : Q. Do you see anything ? 
 Ans. I see a stranger that I never saw before. He is not pre- 
 possessing in appearance, but is very elevated in his position, in 
 a reflecting attitude, and is busily employed. Q. What is he 
 doing ? A. He is preparing work for you. Q. What is the 
 nature of the work? A. He is establishing a line of communi- 
 cation. Q. Ask him, ' Is it practicable to get communications 
 between two distant points by means of these rappings ? ' A. 
 
84 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 ' To be sure,' lie says. Q. Can you ascertain who this stranger 
 is ? A. Benjamin (after a pause) Franklin. Q. Will you ask 
 him to give you some signal by which we may know it is really 
 Benjamin Franklin?. After a silence of one or two minutes, a 
 violent shock of her person induced me hastily to say, ' "What is 
 the matter — are you waking up? ' A. jKo; you wanted a sig- 
 nal, and I told him, if it was Dr. Franklin, he might electrize 
 me, and he did it. B. Has it injured you ? A. No, I feel bet- 
 ter ; my head is clearer — I can see plainer. Q. Will you ask 
 him where communications between distant points at the same 
 time can be tested. A. He says at your own house. Q. Is 
 there anything required of us in the matter ? A. He says, ' Get 
 two of those young ladies about whom there is so much excite- 
 ment in your city, place them in extreme parts of two rooms, and 
 you (meaning herself) be put in the same state in which you now 
 are, and I will communicate with you.' Q. Who else may be in 
 attendance? A. Mr. Jervis, and a few others who have been 
 acquainted with this subject. Q. Will he direct as to time ? A. 
 He says, ' Consult the convenience of those concerned, and I shall 
 be advertised of it. ' Q. Are there any further directions to be 
 given at this time ? A. That is the end of the chapter. 
 
 " In compliance with the above, the interview on Friday the 
 fifteenth was called, you and others notified, and the attendance 
 of the two young ladies, Margaretta and Catharine Fox, secured, 
 from whom, for prudential reasons, the above facts and prelimi- 
 naries were withheld. 
 
 "Respectfully yours, 
 
 "N. Draper. 
 
 " Pursuant to the notice, as above stated, we, the undersigned 
 met at the house of Mr. Draper, on Friday, the 15th inst., about 
 four o'clock, p. m. We inquired for directions, and were answered 
 by alphabet, ' Let Mrs. Draper be magnetized.' Through her 
 the two young ladies were directed to retire to another room. 
 The directions then were for Mr. Jervis, Mrs. Fox and Catharine 
 
SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHING. 85 
 
 Fox, to be placed in a room at the opposite end of the house, and 
 for Mr. Jervis to take notes. Margaretta Fox should be with 
 the company in the parlor, and Mr. Draper take notes. This 
 was done. The sounds were then heard in both rooms, by either 
 company, exactly similar to the sounds heard in the telegraph 
 office. 
 
 " Question to the Clairvoyant. What does that rapping mean, 
 unlike any other sounds before heard by rapping ? Ans. He is 
 trying the batteries. The signal for the alphabet was heard, 
 and on calling the letters, was spelled, ' She must be waked in ten 
 minutes.' A watch was placed on the table, after noting the 
 time, and covered up, and the question asked, if we could have a 
 signal by sounds at the exact time, and was answered affirma- 
 tively. At the pi'ecise time the signal was heard. The question 
 was then asked, ' Who shall wake her ? ' and she was instantly 
 awoke with an apparent electric shock. 
 
 "At this point there was much interruption by persons coming 
 into both rooms. The question was asked for further directions, 
 and the answer was by alphabet, ' Things are not as I directed, 
 therefore you cannot proceed at this time. There should be but 
 four in each room.' Mr. Jervis and company came into the par- 
 lor, and his notes read as follows : ' Things are not as I directed 
 them, therefore you cannot proceed at this time.' Ques. Can we 
 have another opportunity ? Ans. If I set the time and name the 
 company, there shall be no fail. Q. Shall the appointment be 
 now made ? Answered affirmatively. The following persons 
 were then named by the alphabet : Mr. Jervis, Mr. Jones, Mr. 
 Draper, Mr. Willets, Mrs. Jervis, Mrs. Draper, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. 
 Fox, Margaretta Fox and Catharine Fox. Q. May we know the 
 time? A. Wednesday next, at four o'clock, p. m. Q. The 
 place? A. Here. 
 
 " On the day appointed, Feb. 20th, the abovenamed persons 
 
 eonvened ; some of the company were late, and as soon as order 
 
 was observed, this question was asked: 'What are the directions 
 
 of Benjamin Franklin?'^ A. Hurry; first magnetize Mrs. Dra- 
 
 8 
 
86 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN ROCHESTER. 
 
 per. This was done, she immediately saying, ' He says we are 
 behind the time, but he will forgive us this time ; we must do 
 better in future.' The company were divided as follows : Mr. 
 Jervis, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Brown and Catharine Fox, in 
 a retired room, with two doors closed between them. Mrs. Dra- 
 per, Mrs. Jervis, Mr. Draper, Mr. Willets and Margaretta Fox, 
 remained in the parlor. Sounds unusually loud were heard in 
 each room by either company, as before, resembling the telegraph 
 sounds. They were so unusual that Miss Fox became alarmed, 
 and said, « What does all this mean ? ' Mrs. Draper, while her 
 countenance was irradiated with animation, replied, ' He is try- 
 ing the batteries.' Soon there was the signal for the alphabet, 
 and the following communication was spelled to the company in 
 the parlor : « Now I am ready, my friends. There will be great 
 changes in the nineteenth century. Things that now look dark 
 and mysterious to you will be laid plain before your sight. Mys- 
 teries are going to be revealed. The world will be enlightened. 
 I sign my name Benjamin Franklin. Do not go into the other 
 room.' 
 
 " After waiting a few minutes, Mr. Jervis came into the par- 
 lor, saying that he was directed by the sounds to come and com- 
 pare notes. They read as follows : Q. Are we all right ? A. 
 Affirmatively, signal for alphabet, and the following was spelled : 
 ' There will be great changes in the nineteenth century. Things 
 that now look dark and mysterious to you will be laid plain be- 
 fore your sight. Mysteries are going to be revealed. The world 
 will be enlightened. I sign my name Benjamin Franklin. Go 
 in the parlor and compare notes.' Mr. Jervis returned to his 
 company, and by alphabet was spelled, ' Now all go into the par- 
 lor.' The notes were then compared in presence of the whole 
 company. Q. Is there anything more from Dr. Franklin ? A. 
 I think I have given tests enough for this day. Q. Will it not 
 be better to keep this matter private ? A. No; they should be 
 published. Q. In what paper. A. In the Democrat or Magnet. 
 Q. Who shall prepare it for publication ? A. George Willets. 
 
SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHING. 87 
 
 Time and place were then designated for the same company to 
 meet again, with two other persons added to the number. 
 
 " We sign our names as no parties, but as witnesses. If our 
 testimony is incredible, impeach and reject it. If admissible, 
 hand it over to the judge and jurors, — the public, — and charge 
 them that we claim no interest aside from their own in their 
 verdict. 
 
 Rev. Asahel Jervis, Nathaniel Draper, 
 Edward Jones, George Willets, 
 
 Rachel Draper, Mary Jervis, 
 
 Mary Brown, Margaret Fox. 
 
 "Rochester, Feb. 23, 1850." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SUSPENSION OP THE MANIFESTATIONS IN THE FOX FAMILY RETURN OF 
 
 THE SPIRITS DIRECTIONS FOR PUBLIC INVESTIGATION THE FIRST 
 
 MEETINGS EXCITEMENT ON THE REPORT OF COMMITTEES RIOTOUS 
 
 DEMONSTRATIONS INCREASE OF MEDIA FOR RAPPING, WRITING, &C. &C. 
 
 The spirits had long been urging the mediums to allow the 
 utmost facilities, for investigating this subject; but the aversion 
 of the Fox family to the notoriety consequent upon such pub- 
 licity was not easily overcome. Indeed, they resisted to the 
 utmost all directions of that nature as much as possible. Direc- 
 tions were often given, which the mediums obstinately refused to 
 follow. Long-continued resistance against the wishes and direc- 
 tion of the spirits came near stopping the communications 
 altogether. The family were often urged on, and told that, if they 
 refused to go forward and let the world hear, the matter would 
 die with them, and be left for another generation to bring before 
 the world. 
 
 In the month of November, 1848, the spirits informed the 
 family that they could not always strive with them ; that such 
 was the mediums' continual disobedience to the spirits' requests, 
 that they must leave them. To this the mediums made no objec- 
 tion, but declared that nothing could please them more, and 
 they hoped they would leave. Accordingly, while a few friends 
 were present, among whom were George Willets, and Isaac Post, 
 of Rochester, and Milton Arnold, of Scipio, N. Y., the spirits 
 announced that in twenty minutes they would bid them fare- 
 
SUSPENSION OF THE MANIFESTATIONS. 89 
 
 well and discontinue their manifestations, as they were unwilling 
 longer to contend with such continued ' opposition. The friends 
 conversed freely till the appointed time, when they spelled " We 
 will now bid you all farewell." There were previously several 
 messages of an affectionate character, and the whole scene was 
 remarkably solemn and impressive. It was in vain that the 
 friends urged them to give them some more proofs of their pres- 
 ence. They had departed, and silence prevailed. The mediums 
 stoically declared that they were glad to be rid of them. They 
 did not realize the fact, and had been so annoyed that they con- 
 sidered it a relief. Some of their friends called each day to see 
 if the sounds had not recommenced ; but the answer was " No." 
 For the first three or four days the mediums continued their 
 stoicism; but they soon began to realize their loss, and were 
 affected even to tears when their friends called. They learned 
 that they had lost friends that were exercising a constant guar- 
 dianship over them, and ever ready to answer their inquiries. 
 
 On the twelfth day after the discontinuance of the sounds, the 
 author happened to be in Rochester on business, and went with 
 G-eorge Willets to call on Mrs. Fish and her sister Margaretta, 
 who was with her ; Catharine being then on a visit to Auburn. 
 On our opening the gate, they came to the door, and with sorrow- 
 ful faces told us that the spirits had left them and they could get 
 no rapping. We answered that perhaps they would rap for us, if 
 not for them. We stepped into the hall of the house and asked 
 if the spirits would rap for us ? Immediately we were greeted 
 with a perfect shower of raps on the floor, the walls and the ceil- 
 ing. Had a long-lost jriend suddenly returned, the two sisters 
 could not have been more rejoiced. For twelve days they had 
 been made lonely by their absence, and they could now appre- 
 ciate them as they had returned. From the looks of sadness, their 
 faces were turned to smiles and rejoicing. 
 
 It was at this time that the first intimation was given us in 
 regard to bringing the matter prominently before the public. They 
 then proceeded to give their plan of the whole proceedings in 
 8* 
 
90 FIRST PUBLIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 minute detail. The persons designated to bring fhe subject before 
 the people were George Willets and E. W. Capron. This proposi- 
 tion was met with an absolute refusal. We had no wish to expose 
 ourselves to public ridicule, and had never sought any notoriety in 
 the matter, — never had been conspicuous as its advocates, and 
 never expected to be. It was a " call " which we had no disposi- 
 tion to accept. On hearing of our refusal, an ambitious young 
 man came forward and offered his services, urging his superior 
 powers as an orator over the ones selected by the spirits ; but, for 
 some reason, the invisible intelligences refused to accept his prof- 
 fered services, and, soon after the investigations had taken place, 
 he became a very violent opponent of that spiritualism of which 
 he had urged himself as a most fitting advocate. 
 
 The first message on this subject was given through the alpha- 
 bet thus : " You all have a duty to perform. We want }~ou to 
 make this matter more public." We urged the awkwardness of 
 the position we should be placed in, the ridicule that would be 
 heaped upon us or any one who should attempt to lecture on this 
 subject. The answer to this was: " That will be so much the 
 better, — your triumph will be so much the greater." 
 
 The plan proposed by the spirits was as follows : Corinthian 
 Hall should be hired ; Mrs. Fish and Margaretta should go there ; 
 E. W. Capron should deliver the lecture, explaining the commence- 
 ment of the sounds at Hydesville, and their progress up to that 
 time, and George Willets should act as the business man, door- 
 keeper, &c. At each meeting there must be a committee of five 
 persons, appointed by the audience, to investigate the matter and 
 report at the next meeting. The spirits promised to make sounds 
 so loud as to be heard in all parts of the hall. The names of 
 several persons were given to accompany Mrs. Fish and her sister 
 on the platform. Among these were Amy Post, and one or two 
 other ladies, Rev. A. H. Jervis, N. Draper, Esq., Lyman Gran- 
 ger, and other well-known citizens. The charge for admission was 
 to be twenty-five cents. Ail these directions were given by using 
 the alphabet, without a suggestion on our parts. To this plan we 
 
FIRST MEETINGS. 91 
 
 objected that Corinthian Hall, being the largest in the city, was 
 larger than necessary, and too expensive ; that people would not 
 attend in numbers sufficient to pay expenses, and that we were not 
 able to pay the bill ourselves. We were assured that we should 
 have enough to pay expenses, and the end would be a complete 
 triumph for all concerned. We were assured that it was the best 
 course in order to silence all slanders and establish the truth ; and 
 they declared that this would prepare the way for a more general 
 development of spiritual communication which would take place at 
 no distant day. 
 
 After receiving so much of the directions, and still declining to 
 go forward, the writer returned to Auburn. Catharine Fox was 
 there with us, and through her the spirits urged us to do as we 
 had been directed at Rochester. Finally, the spirits proposed that 
 meetings should take place at private houses, where large parlors 
 could be had, in order to test the ability of the spirits to make 
 the sounds in the presence of a promiscuous assembly. My friends 
 wrote me, urging the trial, at least, of that test. After much 
 deliberation, we consented to make the trial, not without many 
 misgivings as to the result. My friends at Auburn predicted a 
 failure and disgrace for being engaged in so unpopular a cause ; 
 but I had made up my mind to make the trial, testing every inch 
 of ground to see whether the promises would be fulfilled. I went 
 to Rochester and commenced the meetings in private houses. 
 They were often crowded to a jam, but the spirits made their 
 promise good. The rapping was loud and distinct in every 
 instance. 
 
 After testing the matter in this way for several nights, and 
 receiving more minute directions and constant encouragement, we 
 gave notice of a meeting to be held in Corinthian Hall, on the 
 evening of the 14th of November, 1848. 
 
 At the appointed time, an audience of some four hundred 
 persons assembled to hear what might be said, and also to hear 
 the sounds, as the spirits had promised that they would produce 
 the sounds sufficiently loud^o be heard in all parts of the hall. 
 
92 FIRST PUBLIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 The lecture consisted of a simple and plain explanation of the 
 whole matter, from its commencement to that time, carefully 
 avoiding any assertion as to what it was ; but merely stating, 
 from well proved facts, what it was not. The audience listened 
 with respectful attention, and at the close of the lecture appointed 
 the following gentlemen as a committee of investigation, namely, 
 A. J. Combs, Daniel Marsh, Nathaniel Clark, Esq., A. Judson and 
 Edwin Jones. 
 
 This was the first great step towards laying the whole matter 
 before the world in a way that should either settle its falsity or 
 establish its truth. The fact that the audience appointed an intel- 
 ligent committee to investigate the subject was very freely com- 
 mented upon in a tone of assurance that now a " fraud would be 
 exposed." So sure were the editors of the Rochester Democrat, 
 that this was the last of the rappings, that they wrote an article, 
 and had it in type, saying that the whole thing was exploded. 
 When the committee reported, they had the article suppressed. 
 They were disappointed in a very important and interesting item. 
 The committee reported, in substance, as follows : 
 
 "That, without the knowledge of the persons in whose presence 
 the manifestations are made, the committee selected the hall of 
 the Sons of Temperance for investigation ; that the sound on the 
 floor, near where the two ladies stood, was heard as distinctly as 
 at other places, and that part of the committee heard the rapping 
 on the wall behind them ; that a number of questions were asked, 
 which were answered, not altogether right nor altogether wrong ; 
 that in the afternoon they went to the house of a private citizen, 
 and while there the sounds were heard on the outside (apparently) 
 of the front door, after they had entered, and on the door of a 
 closet. By placing the hand upon the door, there was a sensible 
 jar felt when the rapping was heard. One of the committee placed 
 one of his hands upon the feet of the ladies and the other on the 
 floor, and though the feet were not moved, there was a distinct jar 
 on the floor. On the pavement and on the ground the same sound 
 
REPOltTS Off COMMITTEES. 93 
 
 was heard, — a kind of double rap, as a stroke and a rebound, 
 were distinguishable. When the ladies were separated at a dis- 
 tance, no sound was heard ; but when a third person was inter- 
 posed between them, the sounds were heard. The ladies seemed 
 to give every opportunity to the committee to investigate the cause 
 fully, and would submit to a thorough investigation by a commit- 
 tee of ladies, if desired. They all agreed that the sounds were 
 heard, but they entirely failed to discover any means by which it 
 could be done" 
 
 Each one of the committee spoke for themselves, and they were 
 well agreed as to the facts as stated. 
 
 After this report, and some discussion on the subject, the audi- 
 ence selected another committee, composed of the following per- 
 sons :■ Dr. XL H. Langworthy, Hon. Frederick Whittlesey, D. C. 
 McCollum, William Fisher, of Rochester, and Hon. A. P. Has- 
 call (late member of Congress), of Le Hoy. At the next lecture 
 this committee reported that they went into the investigation at 
 the office of Chancellor Whittlesey, and they heard the sound on 
 the floor, on the wall and door ; that the ladies were placed in 
 different positions, and, like the other committee, they were wholly 
 unable to tell from what the sound proceeded, or how it was made ; 
 that Dr. Langworthy made observations with a stethoscope to ascer- 
 tain whether there was any movement with the lungs, and found 
 not the least difference when the sounds were made ; and there 
 was no kind of probability or possibility of their being made by 
 ventriloquism, as some had supposed ; and they coidd not have 
 been made by machinery. 
 
 Much excitement was manifested by the audience at the an- 
 nouncement of the second committee's failure to account for the 
 sounds. Just in proportion as the honesty of the mediums were 
 proved did the wrath of a portion of the community enkindle 
 against them. The very fact that it was not a cheat seemed to 
 annoy them. 
 
 On the third evening, a much larger number were present, and 
 
94 FIRST PUBLIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 a portion seemed determined that it should be found out. Mr. 
 W. L. Burtis declared that those girls would not have him on the 
 committee for a hundred dollars, intimating that he was known to 
 possess unusual facilities for the detection of such a fraud. He 
 was immediately voted on to the committee, and then declared 
 that, if he could not find it out, he would forfeit a new beaver hat. 
 Mr. L. Kenyon declared that if he could not find out the trick, he 
 would throw himself over Genesee Falls ; and he was straightway 
 voted on to the committee. The other members of the committee 
 were no more favorably disposed. The whole committee was com- 
 posed of Dr. E. P. Langworthy, Dr. J. Gates, Wm. Fitzhugh, 
 Esq., W. L. Burtis and L. Kenyon. This committee met at the 
 rooms of Dr. Gates, at the Rochester House, and appointed a 
 committee of ladies, who took the young women into a room, dis- 
 robed them, and examined their persons and clothing, to be sure 
 there were no fixtures about them that could produce the sounds. 
 When satisfied on this point, the committee of ladies tried some 
 other experiments, and gave the young ladies the following cer- 
 tificate : 
 
 " When they were standing on pillows with a handkerchief tied 
 around the bottom of their dresses, tight to the ankles, we all 
 heard the rapping on the wall and floor distinctly. 
 " (Signed,) Mrs. Stone, 
 
 Mrs. J. Gates, 
 
 Miss M. P. Lawrence." 
 
 In the evening the committee, through their chairman, Dr. 
 Langworthy, made a very full report of their examinations during 
 the day. They reported that they excluded all friends of the two 
 ladies from the committee room, and had the examination only in 
 presence of the committee of gentlemen, and ladies chosen by 
 them. Notwithstanding all this precaution, these sounds were 
 heard when the ladies stood on large feather pillows, without shoes, 
 and in other various positions, both on the floor and on the wall ; 
 
RIOTOUS PROCEEDINGS. 95 
 
 that a, number of questions were asked, which, when answered, 
 were generally correct. Each member of the committee reported 
 separately, agreeing with and corroborating the first statements. 
 
 None but those who were present can tell the inquisitorial trials 
 that Mrs. Fish and Margaretta were forced to undergo during 
 these three days of trial. Never were two persons more thor- 
 oughly scrutinized, and never was triumph more complete. 
 
 The report of the last committee was more full and complete 
 than any of the former ones. Mr. Burtis, who was so sure that 
 he could find out the whole thing, was honest enough to report 
 fully and frankly in the ladies' favor ; and Mr. Kenyon did not 
 throw himself over Genesee Falls, or explain how the sounds were 
 made. 
 
 The report seemed to work the rowdy portion of the audience, 
 who evidently came there to make disturbance, into a perfect 
 furor. Josiah Bissel, Esq., soon after the audience had assem- 
 bled, passed out, and soon returned with his hands full of " tor- 
 pedoes," which he distributed among the boys, old and young, to 
 throw upon the floor, explode and make a noise. This gentle- 
 man (?) was soon appointed " chairman of the meeting," by this 
 gang of' riotous men and boys, although others had hired the hall 
 and paid for it, not for the purpose of a riotous meeting, but to 
 investigate this strange phenomenon according to certain rules. 
 The prominent and leading men, in all this noisy and indecent con- 
 duct, were, besides Mr. Bissel, ex-alderman Seeley and a couple 
 of men by the name of Jerome, part proprietors or employees in 
 the Daily American office, and a Major Packard, cabinet-ware 
 dealer. The latter made a speech, in which he pretended that 
 the sounds were made by leaden balls fastened to the ladies' 
 dresses ! Finding that all attempts to explain the matter further 
 were useless, we left the hall in possession of the rowdies and the 
 police, the chief of whom informed J. Bissel, Esq., that if any one 
 was taken into custody it would be him. 
 
 Thus ended the public meetings ; but they had done their work, 
 and set a ball in motion which has already rolled over the whole 
 
yb FIRST PUBLIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 Union, and much of the civilized world besides. The attention of 
 the public was called to it. The press commenced its comments, 
 generally in ridicule, but still in a way that aroused the curiosity 
 of people to know what it was. 
 
 During the investigation, the comments made by the press were 
 various and conflicting. The Daily Democrat said, " There is some 
 curiosity excited in this community, in regard to this thing, and it 
 was decided (after the first committee's report) not to give it up 
 so. These young women will have to be pretty smart, if they 
 deceive everybody." 
 
 The Rochester Daily News, edited by John W. Hum, said, " If 
 the parties concerned refused to submit to any investigation, we 
 would be the first to scout them as humbugs ; but while they 
 challenge scrutiny no man has a right to make any such charge. 
 Even the vilest criminals are considered innocent until they are 
 proved guilty, and surely an equal amount of charity (or justice) 
 is due to persons who are, for aught that is known, among the most 
 worthy and honest of our citizens." 
 
 The Democrat suggested that the mayor or chief of police would 
 be a very proper person to be at the head of an investigating com- 
 mittee; whereupon the abovenamed Daily Neivs says, "If any one 
 can prove this affair is an imposition, got up to defraud the public, 
 we shall fully agree with the Democrat ; but we consider one proof 
 of more importance than ten thousand assertions, and until such 
 proof is adduced, we do not see the propriety of making indis- 
 criminate charges of fraud and deception. The parties who bring 
 this matter before the community offer every facility for investi- 
 gation, and challenge the most searching scrutiny of which the 
 keenest intellect is capable. Nothing more than this can be rea- 
 sonably asked." 
 
 During the first lecture, a second advent preacher arose, and 
 advocated the punishment of the medium, as he had no doubt but 
 these were familiar spirits, such as we are forbidden by Scripture 
 to consult. He was well satisfied that it was one of the devil's 
 
 
 
INVESTIGATIONS OF COMMITTEES. 97 
 
 old tricks " in these latter days." He warned the people to have 
 nothing to do with it. 
 
 On Friday evening, after the lecture, three of the committee, 
 namely, Hon. A. P. Hascall, D. C. McCollum and "Wm. Fisher, 
 repaired to the house of a citizen, and pursued their investigations 
 still further. There were nearly a score of persons present. The 
 members of the committee wrote many questions on paper, which 
 no person present knew the purport of, and they were answered 
 correctly. At times they would ask mentally, and would receive 
 the answers with equal correctness, and they were fully satisfied 
 that there was something present manifesting intelligence beyond 
 the persons visible. 
 
 One of the committee tried the experiment of standing the 
 ladies on glass, and failed to get any sounds ; but the same was 
 subsequently tried in presence of a large number of persons, 
 and the sounds were as loud and distinct as before, on the floor, 
 as usual. 
 
 One member of the first committee stated that he asked the 
 question, "Who is it that wishes to communicate with me?" The 
 answer was, " Your wife will talk." He evaded the answer, and 
 gave the persons present to understand that he never had a wife. 
 To use his own expression, when he gave his public report, he 
 " brow-beat it down" He would not admit there was any truth 
 in it until he reported in the evening — then he stated it correctly 
 — lie had lost his loife some time before. 
 
 The committees were composed of men who, on any other sub- 
 ject, would be trusted to investigate where life or property were 
 at stake. No citizen of Monroe county would refuse to submit 
 the justness of his cause, even were he tried for life, to such men 
 as those who composed the committees daring the three days they 
 were engaged in trying every mode to ferret out the cause of these 
 sounds ; and yet many persons persist in denouncing those, who 
 even go to hear for themselves, as fools or knaves ! 
 
 I insist upon it that those who were present at Corinthian Hall, 
 and had a voice in the appointment of those committees, selected 
 9 
 
98. FIRST TUELIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 from the best and most reliable men of the city of Rochester, 
 
 should of all men be the last to cry humbug or collusion. They 
 must be aware that, in doing this, they impeach their committees, 
 and indirectly accuse them of being ignoramuses and incapable of 
 impartial investigation, or of being accessory to one of the most 
 successful, wide-spread and long-continued impositions ever palmed 
 off on that or any other community. 
 
 When we take into consideration the facts that this matter had 
 then been spreading for two years ; that every means had been 
 tried, in private circles and committees appointed by public meet- 
 ings ; that all had failed to discover anything like collusion ; we 
 may safely assert that, in regard to the sounds merely, the follow- 
 ing facts were established beyond dispute, namely: That the 
 sounds are heard in various places and at various times; that 
 they are not produced by or under the control of any person or 
 persons ; and that they evinced a remarkable degree of intelligence. 
 From the day the public investigations ended, the excitement in- 
 creased. It spread, by the press, from one end of the Union to 
 the other, and was soon reechoed back from the other side of the 
 Atlantic. The great majority of newspapers ridiculed it as a 
 delusion, or denounced the mediums as impostors. But the ball 
 was in motion, and opposition and slander could not stay its 
 progress. The promises and predictions of the spirits in regard 
 to the effect of such an investigation were fulfilled to the letter. 
 
 While these investigations were going on, the spirits would give 
 information at night what kind of men were on the committee. 
 They would say, " Such a man " — telling his name — "is a can- 
 did man ; such a one is very sceptical, and hard to convince," 
 &c. When the investigation came on, we would find that we had 
 been told correctly about the character of the different individuals 
 composing the committee. 
 
 At one time, during the investigations, we were talking over 
 the subject, telling how much ridicule would be heaped upon us 
 for attempting to lay this subject before the world, and have it 
 fairly investigated, and we had this sentence spelled to us, by 
 
WRITING MEDIUMS. 99 
 
 what purported to be the spirit of William Willets, father of 
 George Willets : " Now don't get discouraged ; though the path 
 may look foggy, there is a bright cloud a little beyond. Soon the 
 firmament will brighten, and those people, who now insult and 
 scandalize this work of the Almighty, will walk off, hangiDg their 
 heads, and saying, ' Well, we have investigated and proved naught 
 against those insulted people ; here we stand, just as ignorant as 
 when we first heard it. You know that in all new sciences there 
 is always something to contend with, and when things take a turn, 
 and you know you have conquered, ' thou wilt feel thou art tread- 
 ing on holy ground.' " We at first thought it strange that there 
 should be so sudden a change from you to thou, and it was ex- 
 plained thus : " I made it ' holy,' instead of ' haunted.' " We 
 then knew it to be a quotation from a song called, " The Haunted 
 Ground." 
 
 From time to time other mediums have made their appearance, 
 not only for vibratory sounds, but for writing and other exercises 
 supposed to be induced by spirits. Among the most remarkable 
 cases of writing mediums in that city, may be mentioned Charles 
 Hammond, formerly a clergyman of the Universalist denomina- 
 tion, and Isaac Post, a well-known and highly-esteemed citizen, 
 for many years, and until his practical goodness outgrew them, a 
 member of the Society of Friends. From an acquaintance of some 
 years with Mr. Post, I can testify to his honesty and integrity. He 
 is a man who would not knowingly deceive, and is not generally 
 supposed to have an over-abundance of credulity. By his hand a 
 book of some two hundred and fifty pages has been written, which 
 he supposes to be entirely without any action of his mind. It con- 
 sists of communications from the spirits of many distinguished 
 statesmen and philanthropists ; many of the articles being charac- 
 teristic in style of the alleged authors, beyond Mr. Post's power to 
 indicate. Yet it cannot be denied that there is a very striking 
 similiarity of sentiment in all the incongruous characters in the 
 book, and all assimilate to Mr. Post's particular views. I 
 should rejoice to know that all of the spirits making those communi- 
 
100 FIRST PUBLIC INVESTIGATION. 
 
 cations are as really correct in their general views as Isaac 
 Post. 
 
 Mr. Hammond has produced three books in the same way. He 
 also claims to be empowered or assisted by spirits to heal diseases, 
 talk in unknown tongues, dance and perform various gymnastic 
 exercises, such as shaking the arms and hands, perform Indian 
 dances, whooping, &c. There are others of this kind of mediums 
 in Rochester, as well as other places. How much is spiritual, and 
 how much to be ascribed to other causes, is only to be determined 
 by a careful examination of the facts. 
 
 It will be found, without doubt, that there is much, not only in 
 Rochester but in every place where these phenomena have pre- 
 vailed to any great extent, that is the result rather of a peculiar 
 nervous sensibility and susceptibility, than of any intelligent agency 
 operating out of, or independent of, the individuals exercised in 
 various ways, which a too credulous class of individuals have 
 attributed to the influence of spirits. The scenes enacted in 
 Rochester, which are narrated in this chapter, are sufficient to 
 show that great care should be exercised in the investigation of 
 this subject, and, while all due weight is given to the claims and 
 influences of superior intelligences, we should be cautious about 
 adopting every singular exercise of the nerves or body as an 
 emanation from spirits. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN AUBURN, N. Y. — VISIT OF CATHARINE FOX — REMARK- 
 ABLE TESTS AND PROOFS OF SPIRIT POWER SLANDERS OF THE PRESS 
 
 STRANGE DEMONSTRATIONS A NEW MEDIUM, MRS. SARAH A. TAMLIN 
 
 SPIRIT MUSIC. 
 
 After my investigations in Rochester, I was anxious to unravel 
 the mystery, if possible, and obtain some rational solution of what, 
 in the first instance, I was very reluctant to believe anything of 
 spiritual origin. With a view to satisfy myself in this respect, I 
 induced the parents of Catharine Fox, then about twelve years 
 old, to allow her to come to Auburn, and spend several weeks in 
 our family. 
 
 It was here that we had the best opportunity of seeing and 
 hearing the manifestations in all their different phases. The 
 medium was tested in every conceivable way. She slept with the 
 ladies in the house, — different ones, — and was tested by them, 
 as well without a dress as with. No kind of device was left 
 untried to discover if there could be any trick, or any way of 
 accounting for the strange occurrences on any known laws, applica- 
 ble to mundane phenomena. It was at this time that the matter 
 was forever settled, in my mind, in regard to the spiritual origin 
 of the sounds. I, with all the family (the family of Capt. Gr. B. 
 Bennet, with whom we boarded), had proofs that placed it beyond 
 our power to doubt, if we wished to. Conviction from actual 
 facts was forced upon us, and we could not resist. It was impos- 
 sible to conceal the fact that such occurrences were taking place 
 at our residence ; and the applications soon became very numer- 
 ous to see and hear. In a few days, the only daily paper printed 
 9# 
 
102 
 
 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN AUIiUilN, N. Y. 
 
 in the city commenced its scurrilous attacks on all who would not 
 shut their eyes and ears to the whole matter. Of course this in- 
 creased the curiosity and anxiety to hear. One of the first of 
 these articles had the following remarkably sensible slander in it : 
 " It will be recollected that its operations at Hydesville were 
 carried on with much skill and success for several weeks, exciting 
 a vast commotion in the region round about. But it was finally 
 ascertained, by some prying individual, that Mr. Fox himself, at 
 whose house the miracles were performed, had contrived the whole 
 matter, and by an ingenious arrangement of springs, wires, &c, 
 was enabled to make a great variety of supernatural sounds, and 
 to get up many wonderful sights, such as the locomotion of chairs, 
 tables, books and other household fixtures. As soon as its opera- 
 tions were discovered, it departed in disgust, and has remained in 
 retirement until its present visit to Auburn." 
 
 It is due to the present editor of the Auburn Daily Advertiser 
 to state that Henry Montgomery was the editor when this false 
 and stupid paragraph appeared. But such things awakened 
 inquiry, and had an effect directly opposite to that intended by 
 the author of the slander. This was not the only persecution to 
 which the friends of an impartial investigation were subjected. 
 Religious bigotry and rank scepticism united in their opposition, as 
 if it were a crime to learn anything new. 
 
 The manifestations were various and astonishing during this 
 visit, and have scarcely ever been excelled. They consisted of 
 rappings, touchings, moving various articles, and playing on musi- 
 cal instruments. I give a few extracts from my private journal, 
 as written down at the time of the occurrences. 
 
 At one time we had been discussing the subject of how much or 
 how little reliance could be placed upon the directions received 
 through this source, and we were directed to sit by the table to 
 receive a message. We did so, and received the following, which, 
 as usual, was received by using the alphabet : 
 
 " Now all listen to what we say. We want you to be better. 
 
REMARKABLE DEMONSTRATIONS. 
 
 103 
 
 You have doubted our words ; you will see the time when you 
 will be ashamed when you look back to the time when you said, 
 'I don't know what to think — they are evil spirits — I doubt 
 the truthfulness of it.' Now doubt no more, but all have sisterly 
 and brotherly feelings ; this is a message from God." 
 
 The conversation above alluded to was carried on while the me- 
 dium, through which we received the communications, was out of 
 the house visiting her friends, so that she had no knowledge of 
 our conversation until this message was given us. I (and all who 
 have taken pains to get at the facts of all these demonstrations) 
 have frequently had a hand laid on my arms, shoulders or head, 
 when no person would or could do it, having all their hands 
 held by each other. These demonstrations, like the others, gen- 
 erally leave a feeling of electricity where they touch. The hand 
 feels much like one of a person who is in a magnetic sleep, being 
 colder (generally) than the hand of persons in a normal state, and 
 having a moisture like a cold perspiration upon it. There is not, 
 usually, any feeling like that of a hard hand, or one made up 
 with the usual amount of bones in it. It is generally soft and 
 smooth, although, at our request, it will change both its tempera- 
 ture and texture. It will in one instant feel as cold as ice and as 
 warm as a common hand of flesh. 
 
 So perfectly natural is the touch, when an arm is taken hold of 
 by this invisible hand, or it touches in any other way, that, 
 although you hold every hand in the room, you can hardly believe 
 it to be other than some of them. But the proof is positive and 
 the witnesses are numerous. Then, too, just request a change 
 from natural warmth to the coldness of ice, and you feel the 
 change without the hand being removed. It is past the art of 
 man thus to change the temperature of his body. 
 
 AYe have taken a common pocket Bible, and have laid it on the 
 table with the strap put through the loop, and have awaited in 
 silence the result. Soon we would hear the leaves begin to turn, 
 and finally it would spell " Get the light," and we would find the 
 
IOtL first manifestations in auburn, n. y. 
 
 book laying open at some particular chapter, which generally had 
 something to say about spirits. Other books have been opened, 
 and appropriate poetry been pointed out. The phenomena of pull- 
 ing the clothing, handling, moving tables, etc., often take place 
 when none present are thinking of them, so that their wills do not 
 influence the matter. 
 
 "Sunday Evening, October 7th. This evening we were directed 
 to go into the hall, and take the guitar. We went, and while 
 there the guitar was played by unseen hands, and played so exquis- 
 itely, too, that it seemed more like far-distant music to one just 
 aroused from midnight slumbers, than the music of an instrument 
 a few feet from us. Several tunes were thus played, while not a 
 person in the room knew how to play a tune on that or any other 
 instrument. Witnesses present this evening at the house of Mr. 
 Bennet, Mrs. Burton Straight, of Troy, Bradford County, Penn., 
 Mrs. G-. B. Bennet, B. M. C. Capron, E. W. Capron, and H. D. 
 Barron, of Auburn." 
 
 " Tuesday Evening, October 16th. Several persons present at 
 the house of D. C. Miller. We were directed to take the guitar 
 into a dark room, and it would be played. We accordingly did 
 so, and many tunes were played, and in such positions that we 
 knew no one could do it if there had been any one present who 
 knew how ; but there was not. There were none there who could 
 play a tune in the light, much less in the dark, the owner not 
 being there. Besides this, they (the spirits) moved books and 
 other articles to different parts of the room. A paper box was 
 taken from the table, the contents were emptied into the cover and 
 placed in the hands of H. B. Barron. After this a small book 
 was taken from the same table and placed in the hands of the 
 same individual. One of the company accidentally touched the 
 hand of another, when he asked, ' Did anybody touch my hand?' 
 The alphabet was called for and the question answered, 'Yes, 
 Capron touched your hand.' So it will be seen that, although it 
 may be dark, there is something present that can tell if any one 
 
REMARKABLE DEMONSTRATIONS. 105 
 
 attempts a trick. One of the company was told to take off her 
 ring. She did so, laid it in her hand, and it was taken away. 
 "We all sat still until directed to get the light ; when, upon look- 
 ing a little, we found the ring with a girl's hair-band put through 
 and pinned to the apron of the person who sat next to her, in such 
 a manner that they were pinned together. This was done while 
 we had hold of hands, and no possibility of its being done by the 
 individuals present. The witnesses present were Justin Sturte- 
 vant and wife, H. jST. Thompson, Mrs. Mary Miller, E. W. 
 Capron, Mrs. S. A. Tamlin, Miss Amanda Hoskins, Henry D. 
 Barron, Mrs. R. M. C. Capron, and Miss Catharine Fox. 
 
 ''Saturday Evening, October 20th. This evening we had asked 
 for some different demonstrations, and our request was complied 
 with. We heard the sounds on the wall, bureau, table, floor, and 
 other places, as loud as the striking with a hammer. The table 
 was moved about the room, and turned over and turned back. 
 Two men in the company undertook to hold a chair down, while, 
 at their request, a spirit moved it, and, notwithstanding they 
 exerted all their strength, the chair could not be held still by 
 them. As we sat by the table the cloth was removed to a different 
 part of the room. The combs of several ladies were taken from 
 their heads and put into the heads of others, and afterwards the 
 combs returned to their owners, and placed in the hair as before. 
 There was a person present this evening who had been suspicious 
 that the guitar was played a few nights before by some of the 
 persons present. The first thing, when we came together was, for 
 the alphabet to be called for by the spirits, who spelled, ' A. thinks 
 E. and C. played the guitar ! ' Thus were her thoughts revealed 
 before the company. At another meeting another person was 
 told the same thing, although she had never expressed to any one 
 her thoughts. Witnesses the same as the evening previous, except 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sturtevant." 
 
 During one of these evenings a wish was expressed that we 
 might see the hand that touched us. On looking towards the 
 
106 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN AUBURN, N. Y. 
 
 window (the moon shining through the curtain), we saw a hand 
 waved to and fro before, and near the top of it. We could dis- 
 cover no other part of a form. This we have witnessed many 
 times ourselves, and several have discovered distinctly the features 
 of persons whom they knew, and who had been dead for years. 
 
 On one occasion, when several persons were present, the guitar 
 was taken from the hands of those who held it (they taking hold 
 of hands), and put in tune and commenced playing while it passed 
 around the room above their heads. It was also taken from one 
 person and passed to others in the room. In this way for nearly 
 two hours it continued to play and keep time with the singing, 
 and the guitar taken by this unseen power to different parts of 
 the room while playing. The witnesses present at this time were 
 James H. Bostwick, Esq., Police Justice, Miss Sarah Bostwick, 
 Mrs. F. Smith, H. D. Barron, and R. M. C. Capron. 
 
 One evening, while several ladies were present, some of them 
 requested that the spirits would take their hair down. Accord- 
 ingly it was done. One of them had her hair taken down and 
 done up in a twist, and one of them had hers braided in four 
 strands. 
 
 On one occasion we were getting the guitar played by these unseen 
 musicians, and were directed to sing several different tunes, among 
 which 'were " Get off the Track," and " The Old Granite State." 
 The guitar was played, as the song went on, in company with the 
 voices. While it was playing Dr. H. Robinson passed his hand 
 over the whole length of the strings several times, within half an 
 inch of them, to see if it was possible that any one present was 
 playing it and trying to deceive. There was no difference when 
 he passed his hand over. The following persons were present on 
 this occasion : Dr. H. Robinson, M. A. Hilman, Mr. Henry Shef- 
 field, Westerly, R. L, 0. V. Woodward, Mary M. Bennet, E. W. 
 Capron, E. A. Warden, P. M., Mrs. E. A. Warden, Lucie Gard- 
 ner, R. M. C. Capron, and Gr. S. Wilson. 
 
 After the first visit of Catharine Fox, Mrs. Sarah A. Tamiin, 
 a lady about thirty-six years of age, and a respected member of 
 
A NEW MEDIUM MRS. TAMLIN. 107 
 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, became a medium ; and through 
 her there have been some of the most remarkable manifestations 
 on record. She was also one of the most reliable mediums I have 
 ever met with. The sounds were not, generally, as loud with her 
 as with the Fox family, although they were as fully reliable. Mrs. 
 Tamlin had, for some time, been a most excellent clairvoyant. 
 
 The first knowledge we had of Mrs. Tamlin's mediumship was 
 in this wise : several persons were occupying one room in the 
 house of D. C. Miller, Mrs. Tamlin being among them. I, 
 in company with two or three others, was with a clairvoyant — 
 Miss Amanda Hoskins — in another room, witnessing her clair- 
 voyant powers, when she suddenly exclaimed, " The spirits have 
 rapped to Mrs. Tamlin ! " and ran to that room. We all followed, 
 and, as we entered, they exclaimed, " The spirits have rapped to 
 us ! " We then sat down and heard the sounds, but so low that 
 they could only be heard by an effort. From that time they con- 
 tinued, and increased in volume, as did all other kinds of mani- 
 festations. 
 
 On one or two occasions spirits have made themselves visible to 
 persons in the circle at Auburn. We were at one time divided 
 into two parties, in different rooms, as above related. In one 
 room we were urging Miss Mary M. Bennet to be magnetized, as 
 she was one of the most reliable and spiritual clairvoyants ever 
 developed. For some reason she felt an aversion to it that even- 
 ing, but was about to yield, when the face of her grandfather 
 appeared before her, and whispered, " No, no, sweet one ! " and 
 disappeared. She had not been thinking of her grandfather, and 
 had never before seen a spirit in her normal state. She did not 
 inform the company of this occurrence, but Mrs. Tamlin, being 
 in a clairvoyant state, in the other room, told their company that 
 Mary had seen a spirit. After this was told to us Mary informed 
 the company of the circumstance. 
 
 The demonstrations I shall hereafter mention will be mostly 
 when she was present. 
 
108 
 
 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS IN AUBURN, N. Y. 
 
 " Wednesday Evening, June 20th. Present six persons, and 
 none of the family of Mr. Fox in town. The rapping was heard 
 very freely by all. The table moved on the floor with no person 
 touching it — moved to the distance of a foot or more and back, 
 in various directions. At our request, the table (which was a 
 very light one) was held down to the floor so that it required the 
 whole strength of a man to move it from its position. We also 
 held one side, and requested, if there was power to do it, that it 
 would be drawn away from us ; this was done, and our strength 
 was not sufficient to hold it. On the light being taken out of the 
 room (the persons in the room placing themselves in a position 
 where each would know if any others moved), the table-cloth was 
 taken from the table and very compactly stowed away under it, 
 near one corner. A hat which was on the table was turned over 
 the table-cloth, in a manner that nearly hid it from view. The 
 table was then raised from the floor on one side, and there stood, 
 although we used considerable strength to push it down. While 
 the table stood in that position, by placing our hands upon it we 
 would feel a quick, tremulous motion, like the action of a galvanic 
 battery. The witnesses present at this time were Miss Mary M. 
 Bennet, H. D. Barron, Mrs. Mary Miller, Miss Amanda Hos- 
 kins, Mrs. Sarah A. Tamlin, and E. W. Capron." 
 
 Mrs. Capron and Mrs. Tamlin were in Mr. Tamlin's house 
 alone, when a rapping commenced and gave the signal for the 
 alphabet. On repeating it over, the following sentence was spelled 
 out : " Sarah (Mrs. Tamlin) is going to he sick" As she was 
 then apparently as well as usual, they were somewhat surprised, 
 and Mrs. Tamlin said, "Why! not very sick, am I?" The 
 answer was, " Yes, very sick, and Kebecca had better not stay 
 alone with you this afternoon." This was some time in the fore- 
 noon. Mrs. C. went home at noon and returned about one o'clock 
 and found Mrs. Tamlin vomiting severely. She soon fainted, and 
 continued to have fainting fits of very long duration all the after- 
 noon and through the night. Every time she was about to faint 
 
MRS. TAMLIN. 109 
 
 we were told by the sound, which would sometimes spell out, 
 u Watch her." The same faithful guardian told us what medicine 
 to administer — what to do — told when it would be safe for a 
 part of the watchers to leave — told them (two hours before the 
 time of leaving) just how many fits she would have during the 
 night — when she would begin to recover, and when she would be 
 well ; and all was fulfilled to the letter. The persons present 
 during part or all of the time that these directions were being 
 given, were Mrs. E. M. C. Capron, E. W. Capron, Mrs. Mary 
 Miller, Miss S. A. Bennet, of Auburn, and Miss Mary H. Cooper, 
 of Williamson, N. Y. Directions have been given in numerous 
 cases to the sick by this unseen agency. In this instance it pur- 
 ported to be the spirit of Mrs. Tamlin's mother. 
 
 On another occasion Mr. Tamlin arose before light in the morn- 
 ing and went to the barn, where his team was kept, leaving a 
 candle burning on the stand near the bed. Mrs. Tamlin was 
 awakened from sleep by a loud rapping on the stand. She looked 
 at the stand, and found that a spark from the wick of the candle 
 had fallen down and caught to a paper which was on the stand, 
 and was just about to communicate to the curtains of the bed. 
 The timely warning saved the house, and, very probably, Mrs. 
 Tamlin, from being consumed by the flames. 
 
 At one time Mrs. Tamlin was at the house of Mr. Gr. B. Ben- 
 net. They were told to go in the dark and take the guitar. They 
 did so, and the strings vibrated two or three times, when they 
 stopped, and the signal for the alphabet was given ; and, on calling 
 over the letters, the following was spelled out : " Sarah (Mi:s. 
 Tamlin) is going to faint.'''' It was totally dark in the room, and 
 there was no means of any person's knowing the fact. A li-ht 
 was brought, but Mrs. T. had fainted before it arrived. "The 
 following persons were in the room, and can testify to the above 
 statement. K. M. C. Capron, Miss Mary M. Bennet, Mrs. S. A. 
 Tamlin, S. N. Smith, dentist, Charles W. Bennet, G. S. Wilson, 
 and A. L. Dibble. 
 
 Mrs. Tamlin was, so far as I have been able to learn, the first 
 10 
 
110 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBURN, N. Y. 
 
 medium in whose presence the guitar, or other musical instrument, 
 was ever played, without visible contact, so as to recognize tunes. 
 In her presence, it was played with all the exactness of an expe- 
 rienced musician, although she is not acquainted with music, or 
 able to play on any instrument. The tones varied from the most 
 loud and vigorous, to the most refined touches of the strings that 
 could be imagined. 
 
 The most beautiful manifestation I have ever seen recorded, 
 was also first noticed in the presence of this same medium. A 
 circle, consisting of H. D. Barron, Mary M. Bennet, R. M. C. 
 Capron, Mrs. Tamlin, and perhaps one or two others beside 
 myself, was sitting at Mrs. Tamlin's house. I had magnetized 
 the medium, and, after various manifestations by the spirits, she 
 said that they were about to do something new, which she did 
 not understand. After sitting a few minutes we heard a low 
 sound like the most distant sound of a locomotive whistle. I 
 remarked that I thought it was the car whistle. Soon, however, 
 the sound grew louder, and softened into the most exquisite music. 
 One of the company was requested to sing, and, as she did so, the 
 beautiful music accompanied. The sound was that of the most 
 exquisite notes of an .ZEolian harp. An attempt at description 
 would be useless, for it exceeded in beauty the highest ideal of 
 heavenly harps, so often sung from the hymn-books, and preached 
 from the pulpits, in seasons of religious excitement. After this 
 we frequently had the same music in presence of Mrs. Tamlin and 
 the same circle ; at times it would resemble the finest conceivable 
 music of the human voice, and almost be recognized as divided 
 into words. 
 
 Another phase of this musical manifestation was the imitation 
 of " Fabyan's horn." This was first manifested when Henry C. 
 Wright, a well-known philanthropist, was at Rochester, N. Y., 
 where Mrs. Tamlin was present. He called for the spirit of N. 
 P. Rogers, and asked him to sound the horn ; when immediately 
 a sound came like the winding of a horn, and its reverberation 
 among the distant hills, echoing and reechoing for a long time. 
 
THE "AUBURN CIRCLE." Ill 
 
 Mr. Wright had visited the "White Mountains in company with 
 N. P. Rogers and others, some years before, and heard Fabyan, 
 the hotel-keeper, wind his horn, and admired the wonderful echoing 
 among the Granite Hills of New Hampshire. It was this that 
 was so exactly imitated, and a description of which was published 
 by Mr. Wright in a pamphlet. 
 
 Soon after Mrs. Tamlin became a medium, the sounds com- 
 menced in the family of Mr. D. D. T. Benedict, then visiting about 
 a mile north of the city. The sounds were at first very low, but 
 gradually increased in volume until they became as loud as those 
 with Mrs. Tamlin. It was through her, as a medium, that the 
 somewhat widely known " Auburn Circle," or " The Apostolic 
 Circle," had its origin. 
 
 As this has been a very singular movement, I occupy some 
 space in giving the particulars of its origin. The nucleus around 
 which it was formed was that of two or three men, who were 
 strongly imbued with the second advent faith, and who first sought, 
 by spiritual communications, to confirm their interpretation of 
 certain portions of the Bible, supposed to be expressions in favor 
 of the speedy termination of all mundane affairs by a general con- 
 flagration. So determined was one of the first of these men, in 
 his sectarianism, that he declared, on his first visit to Catharine 
 Fox, that unless the spirits answered in accordance with his views, 
 he knew they were evil spirits, or no spirits at all. At this inter- 
 view he obtained no satisfaction, and no confirmation of his theory. 
 Soon after, he became acquainted with Mrs. Benedict, and adding 
 one or two others of like faith, he commenced a circle. The com- 
 munications obtained all partook of the nature of their minds. 
 The peculiar phraseology of the second advent advocates pervaded 
 the whole of them. It was not long after the formation of the 
 circle before it was proclaimed that they received communications 
 directly from the Apostles and Prophets, and, generally, no one- 
 else. They were directed to commence the publication of a series 
 of " Scripture Expositions," which were to be given directly from 
 the original authors of the different books. The persons named 
 
112 FIRST MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBURN, N. Y. 
 
 by the apostolic spirits as the publishers were Daniel I). T. 
 Benedict, Ann Benedict, Edward H. Baxter, Moses Brown, 
 Charles Coventry, and one or two others. The orthography of 
 the apostles was sadly at fault; while the "interpretations" 
 were remarkable for nothing but their weak and puerile contents. 
 They were directed to be published in numbers, and the members 
 of the circle were told that they would produce a great convulsion 
 in the theological world, meet with an immense sale, and be no 
 pecuniary loss, but a large profit to the publishers ; all of which 
 proved to be a mistake ; for the theology of the world withstood 
 the shock, the sales were very limited, the publishers lost nearly all 
 the money invested ; and, finally, the publication was discontinued 
 before a tithe of the work, at first laid out, was accomplished. 
 Notwithstanding the failure in one enterprise, the apostolic circle 
 continued to meet and have plans developed for them to follow, 
 and were firm in the " apostolic " faith, until the migration of the 
 faithful to Mountain Cove, in Virginia, of which a minute account 
 will be found in a succeding chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBURN — THE "APOSTOLIC CIRCLE" — 
 THE MOUNTAIN COVE MOVEMENT ITS FORMATION, PROGRESS, AND DIS- 
 SOLUTION — ASSUMPTION, FANATICISM AND FOLLY. 
 
 The number of mediums in Auburn, during the summer of 1850, 
 increased very rapidly, until there were from fifty to one hundred 
 in different stages of development. There were not as many 
 developed as mediums for the rappings as for other varieties of the 
 manifestation. In general, they would become possessed by the 
 spirits, who would communicate their ideas by causing the feet 
 or hands to rap on the floor or table ; or by using their organs 
 of speech — the words coming from the mouth with a convulsive 
 force ; or by writing with the hand. Many also became clair- 
 voyants. ±>y any of these means excellent tests were frequently 
 obtained, as well as much discordance. 
 
 It is necessary to say — in order to represent the manifesta- 
 tions at Auburn in their true light, and that they may be compare 1 
 with those of other localities — that a great majority of the com- 
 munications were narrowed down to the mental capacity of the 
 mediums through whom they were received. In most instances — 
 no difference who the spirit purported to be, or how high his 
 literary character — the communication, when produced, was of 
 no higher order, in points of orthography, or style of expression, 
 than was that of the medium. To illustrate this a fact will be 
 related, as follows : There was a young lady, named Laura Clau- 
 dius, who was a clairvoyant medium, and through whom, also, 
 the " sounds " were produced with remarkable freedom* and force. 
 Many bona fide tests were given through her, both by means of 
 
 10* r- 
 
11-4 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBUHN. 
 
 lior clairvoyant powers, and by the rappings ; yet no communica- 
 tion was ever spelled through, her by the sounds, or written by 
 her hands — the only reason for which appearing from her own 
 ignorance of spelling. Through other mediums, also, the spelling 
 was in precise accordance with their orthographical attainments. 
 Yet, by all of these mediums, remarkable tests, and occasionally 
 high degrees of intelligence, were received. 
 
 Many were made to speak in what were called "unknown 
 tongues," among which, it was claimed, were Hebrew, French, 
 Italian, Chinese, German, Indian, and others. And it was said by 
 some respectable people that some of these languages were proved 
 to be Hebrew, French, etc., but I am not personally acquainted 
 with such a case. 
 
 One use to which conversations in "unknown tongues" by 
 mediums were put, was claimed to be for the benefit of degraded 
 spirits. It was said that multitudes of spirits, who had been for 
 years, and even ages, in darkness, had now been granted the 
 privilege of returning to the earth plane, where, by the aid of 
 enlightened ones, who met them there, they were enabled to pro- 
 gress in goodness. And, in this belief, many meetings were held 
 by believers, at which it was claimed that innumerable spirits 
 congregated, and were prayed for and addressed by some more 
 elevated spirits, through the earthly mediums present. In this 
 way spirits claimed that very many were redeemed from dark 
 and unhappy conditions. 
 
 Among the varieties of manifestations, purporting to be spirit- 
 ual in this locality, there were often indications of pure diabol- 
 ism ; one of the most remarkable instances of which was as fol- 
 lows : In the spring of 1849, an individual by the name of Bahani 
 was hung at Auburn for the murder of a pedler named Adler. 
 [Ie was clearly proved guilty of the crime, but persisted to the 
 lust in asserting his innocence. During the last days of his 
 earthly existence he manifested a very wicked spirit, cursing all 
 who were instrumental in demonstrating his guilt — of whom was 
 one of his brothers who was connected with him in the criminal 
 
INSTANCE OF DIABOUSxU. 115 
 
 affair ; and finally upon the scaffold, his last words were qualified 
 by an oath. At the time of his execution, a seeing medium — 
 a young lady — was rendered clairvoyant, that she might witness 
 the operation, and, if possible, observe the separation of body 
 and spirit, and the manifestation of the latter. The medium 
 claimed to have witnessed the execution; and described the 
 occurrences from stage to stage, until the final scene when the 
 drop fell, which was so revolting and terrible in its appearance, 
 that she fainted. From this time what purported to be the spirit 
 of the executed man very often communicated through her. On 
 these occasions the spirit uttered passionate maledictions against 
 those whom he considered his enemies — declaring repeatedly that 
 he would have revenge, and that he would ere long take the life of 
 some of the Auburn people, all of whom he considered respon- 
 sible in a degree for his unpleasant removal to the world of 
 spirits. Thus matters went on, the spirit continually evincing 
 the most fiendish and vindictive feelings, until in April, 1850, 
 when he gained an opportunity of wreaking, to a considerable 
 extent, his vengeance. The medium, above spoken of, one after- 
 noon, used much freedom with this spirit, and received many 
 manifestations from him by the violent movements of her arms. 
 At length the spirit acquired so much control over her person 
 that she was unable to guide her own movements, or to repel him ; 
 and he continued, for a long time, to strike her arms back against 
 her chair, until both arms from the elbows upward were bruised 
 black, and ultimately almost into a pumice. This operation 
 finally was superseded by others of a more serious nature, in 
 proportion as the spirit gained increased control over her organ- 
 ism. After various persecutions and tortures inflicted by the 
 spirit upon the medium, he finally commenced strangling her, or 
 at least so operated upon her as to produce the same effects that 
 would be produced by a rope drawn tightly around her- neck, — 
 declaring, at the same time, that he would strangle her to death. 
 His declarations were made through her mediumship and that of 
 others who were present ; and it was asserted by other spirits 
 
110 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBUKN. 
 
 through other mediums who were in attendance, that Bahain was 
 fully determined, if possible, to carry his threat into execution, 
 and that it was not in their power, with the attending conditions, 
 to prevent him, because he had previously secured so much 
 possession of her person. The strangulation increased until the 
 subject was unable to speak, or even to breathe without the utmost 
 difficulty — making severe exertions, such as throwing up her 
 hands, struggling, and uttering a peculiarly distressing noise in 
 her efforts at inspiration. This state of the case continued for 
 about thirty-six hours ; during which time the house was thronged 
 by visitors and friends, and every attempt possible was made to 
 deliver her from her situation. Several strong and skilful mag- 
 netizers used their utmost exertions to dispossess her of the in- 
 fluence, whatever it might be, but did not at all succeed ; physi- 
 cians were called, both of the sceptical and the believing in spirit- 
 ual matters, none of whom could aid her, or discover evidence of 
 any bodily disease. In the mean time the body was suffering the 
 severest agony, being entirely speechless, and her limbs and whole 
 body were violently moved contrary to her own will and strenuous 
 exertions ; and fears were continually entertained that her breath- 
 ing would be entirely prevented, and death ensue. 
 
 But now we come to the mode of her deliverance, which will 
 introduce a manifestation of a decidedly opposite spiritual nature. 
 As has been remarked, all the means which could be suggested 
 by physicians, spiritual and anti-spiritual, friends and spectators 
 of equally diverse opinions, the efforts of magnetizers and the 
 various kinds of medicines which were administered — all and each 
 produced no perceptible effect. But the manner of her relief was 
 this : After she had been tortured for about a day and a half, an- 
 other medium was sent to the house by spiritual direction. This 
 medium, also a young lady, was a clairvoyant, rapping and writing 
 medium ; and upon her arrival a spirit, purporting to be that of 
 the apostle Paul, threw her into the clairvoyant state, and caused 
 her to take hold of the hands of the afflicted person ; when with- 
 in the space of five minutes she was entirely relieved of the per- 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 117 
 
 nicious influence. And after keeping both mediums in the clair- 
 voyant condition for a few minutes longer — during which time 
 they were exceedingly happy, that which claimed to be the spirit 
 of Paul brought them both into their normal states, perfectly 
 well. And thus ended what was considered by many intelligent 
 witnesses to be a case of pure diabolism.* 
 
 It is to be remarked that, with the increase of mediums in 1850, 
 in Auburn, there was apparently a decrease in reliability. And, 
 although new investigators pretty generally received satisfactory 
 evidence of spirituality in the manifestations, there was less con- 
 fidence reposed in the communications by those who were of more 
 experience, except by those who were of the belief that apostles 
 and prophets were manifesting themselves. And this brings us 
 to a notice of the movement in its more public aspect. 
 
 In the fall of 1849, Mrs. Benedict, above referred to, was used 
 as a medium, through whom spiritual directions were given to 
 James L. Scott, a Seventh-day Baptist minister of Brooklyn, 
 for his removal to Auburn, to preach and otherwise operate as he 
 might be called upon by the spiritual powers. The leader of the 
 movement from the interior professed to be the apostle Paul, with 
 the cooperation of the other apostles, the prophets, martyrs and 
 many of Christian renown. Mr. Scott removed to Auburn, and 
 there commenced preaching and devoting his energies to the suc- 
 cess and spread of the Auburn circle, which assumed the title of 
 " the Apostolic Movement." 
 
 * It may be proper here to state that whatever may be the facts in regard 
 to the wicked intent of any spirits, there is danger of great annoyance, and 
 even injury, resulting from free communications with spirits of a coarse 
 and undeveloped character. Either ignorantly or wilfully — I am hardly 
 able to decide which — they seek to get and keep control of the medium, 
 making angular, discordant, and even vulgar and obscene communica- 
 tions. "When, therefore, such spirits seek to make manifestations, unless 
 they are seeking for information, and manifest due respect to the medium 
 and those conversing, they should be repulsed with calm, kind firmness, 
 and not allowed to get possession of those over whom they may exercise an 
 injurious influence. 
 
118 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBUHN. 
 
 Succeeding the removal of Mr. Scott to Auburn, Rev. T, L. 
 Harris, of New York city, visited that place in accordance with 
 the directions of the spiritual agents of the circle. From this 
 time forward, Messrs. Scott and Harris were the external leaders 
 of the movement. 
 
 In February, 1850, a publication was established, entitled 
 " Disclosures from the Interior and Superior Care for Mortals" 
 It claimed to be " edited, superintended and controlled," by spirits 
 out of the flesh, and to have for its object " the disclosure of truth 
 from Heaven, guiding mankind into open vision of Paradise, open 
 communication with spirits redeemed, and proper and progressive 
 understanding of the Holy Scriptures, and of the merits of Jesus 
 Christ, from whom they originated in inspiration absolute, and of 
 whom they teach as the only Saviour of a dissevered and bewil- 
 dered race." It asserted that " the circle of apostles and prophets 
 are its conductors in the interior, holding control over its columns, 
 and permitting no article to find place therein, unless originated, 
 dictated or admitted by them, — they acting under the direction 
 of the Lord Supreme." 
 
 The matter contained in this publication was written by the 
 hands of Mr. Harris and Mr. Scott, both of whom were declared 
 by the " Paul " of the movement, through the mediumship of Mrs. 
 Benedict, to be impressible writing mediums. The " conductors in 
 the interior " by the rappings communicated that, by means of 
 impressing the minds of these gentlemen, and then revising and 
 confirming, through the rappings, what was thus written, they 
 were able to present their spiritual messages to the world as per- 
 fect as though they were themselves in the flesh to deliver them ; 
 and that they were qualified by God to reveal the divine will in 
 its plenitude ; thus claiming to give the world a full and perfect 
 expression of the mind of the Deity, as it relates to the affairs 
 of men. 
 
 After the establishment of this paper, Mr. Harris returned to 
 New York, and held public meetings and circles, in which he 
 officiated as a preacher, laboring for the success of the spiritual 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 119 
 
 movement whose centre was in Auburn. He also continued to 
 furnish those communications for the Disclosures, which appeared 
 under the names of "John the Divine," "Daniel the Prophet," 
 and all of the poetry claiming to be from " Coleridge," " Shel- 
 ley," " Wadsworth," and others. 
 
 Mr. Scott remained in Auburn, where the paper was printed, 
 preaching two or three times a week under the inspiration of 
 spirits, as was said. He also presided at most of the circles and 
 evening meetings, and maintained a full control over the spiritual 
 affairs of the whole circle of believers as a body. No advice, 
 command, or doctrine, which was delivered to any individual 
 through different mediums, was recognized by Seott as entitled to 
 any regard until the same was confirmed, in his presence, through 
 Mrs. Benedict, by the "Paul " of the movement, — any decision 
 given under these auspices being considered final; for it was 
 asserted that, by these means, no mistaken or evil communications 
 were received, Mr. Scott professing to have a secret sign by which 
 he knew " Paul " from any other spirit. In this and other simi- 
 lar ways the whole authority of the movement was centred in 
 one external agent, and everything which conflicted with this was 
 promptly disowned and forbidden. 
 
 The number of adherents to the cause during the year 1850 be- 
 came quite numerous, several hundreds attending regularly upon the 
 public meetings, and as many as two or three hundred openly iden- 
 tifying themselves as supporters of the cause, among whom were 
 some of the most respectable and intelligent people of Auburn. 
 Indeed, the movement was in a very prosperous condition, and 
 bid fair to become the largest of any of the religious denomina- 
 tions in that place. And thus affairs continued until intimations 
 of a change of location were manifested, which resulted in a 
 removal to Mountain Cove, Va. 
 
 In July of that year Mr. Scott related a vision or dream 
 which he received during the hours of night, which he interpreted 
 as indicating a design on the part of the spiritual directors of 
 the movement to change the location from Auburn to some 
 
120 CONTINUED MANIFESTATIONS AT AUBURN. 
 
 other place. This interpretation was confirmed by subsequent 
 visions, and by the rappings ; and about the first of October, Mr. 
 Scott and Mrs. Benedict, in company with several others, set out, 
 under spiritual direction, in search of the locality — it being un- 
 derstood to be somewhere in Western Virginia. 
 
 The company stopped at Mountain Gove, Fayette Co., Va., 
 upon being informed by the rappings that they were on the des- 
 ignated spot. Here farms were purchased, the printing-press 
 located, and plans formed for extensive operations. The place 
 was called the "holy mountain," and was claimed to be then 
 occupied as was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. 
 
 Other believers were then invited to the new location, and in 
 the course of the succeeding winter there were nearly one hun- 
 dred persons present. 
 
 Here the spiritual aspect of affairs became changed. Instead 
 of Mrs. Benedict being considered, as before, the medium through 
 whom, under the guardianship of Mr. Scott, " Paul " and other 
 human spirits were consulted, Mrs. Benedict's services were dis- 
 pensed with, and Mr. Scott asserted that he was divinely inspired 
 and especially chosen of Grod as the instrument to reveal His 
 plenary will, whether relating to moral, intellectual, social or 
 temporal affairs. This claim was set forth by Mr. Scott, in what 
 appeared to be an abnormal state, and will be more clearly shown 
 by the following extract from his own words, spoken in his claimed 
 inspired condition, and reported, verbatim, by two scribes : 
 
 " Know, man, G-od purposeth to redeem, and proceecleth to 
 the ultimation ; nor hath error power to overcome; for Heaven 
 directeth redeeming energy upon the lost race, before which the 
 powers of darkness, though they struggle hard — in their season 
 appear to triumph — shall flee away. And know thou, that since 
 Heaven hath chosen an external agent, especial [James L. Scott], 
 for the Disclosures, thence ultimating in direct inspiration, that 
 from Him who controlleth all things issueth that law which pro- 
 hibited spiritual influx being concentrated from the interior, to 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 121 
 
 affect unto interior impression and spiritual vision, upon James 
 the chosen medium, without, in each case, direct permission from 
 Him who ordereth this movement. Therefore, over him a holy 
 angel hath been appointed, not especially for his sake, but for the 
 harmony, truth and consummation perfect of the development. 
 This law effecteth in the beings of the interior : and the angel 
 defending opposeth the power of darkness, or designing spirits, 
 nor suflereth the spirits of the just to control unto utterance 
 through him of their thoughts, save by permission. He it is de- 
 creed — thus uttered — is the chosen medium for inspiration, and 
 Grod protecteth and proceedeth to defend, as also Heaven pur- 
 poseth to defend, all who shall be called unto like stations. "Whoso 
 seeketh the destruction of this medium, appointed of Heaven, 
 opposeth direct the entire manifestation ; thence wareth with God, 
 and not the medium." 
 
 Parallel with the above is the following, spoken by Mr. Scott 
 to a circle of believers, and the words taken down by a scribe, 
 precisely as they were uttered. 
 
 " I read, written in letters of fire : Dost thou believe ? And 
 what dost thou believe ? Who, thinkest thou, called thee here ? 
 Who, believest thou, appeareth to control ? Who inspireth ? 
 Not an angel, for he is led ; not a seraph, for he is controlled ; 
 not created existence, for that is inspired. Who, then, thinkest 
 thou, called thee to the mountain ? Who but a God inspireth ? 
 Believest thou the indication of these questions ? Who is. pre- 
 pared for the coming of the Son of man ? Who is it that hath 
 consecrated and yielded themselves, severing therefrom every 
 attachment to earth ? Who have submitted their dictation and 
 design entirely to Him who ordereth this manifestation from the 
 regions of intelligence perfected ? WTio does not exercise exter- 
 nal judgment, will and design ? Who doth not violate that law 
 by which perfect redemption shall be accomplished in fallen man ? 
 I am that I am inauireth now of thee I And prepare to answer 
 thou me ! * * • * None other than Grod, thy Redeemer, call- 
 11 . 
 
122 THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 
 
 eth for thee. None other than He who hath the keys of death 
 and hell addresseth you through one of your number ! " 
 
 This claim, as clearly set forth, was tacitly acknowledged, or 
 enthusiastically supported, by most of the members of the circle ; 
 and there was no opposition, for a time, to the decrees, directions 
 and advices, which were given by means of Mr. Scott, as the rules 
 of action by the circle. And very soon requisitions were made 
 which were well calculated to try the faith of the members. 
 They were no less than demands upon the believers to relinquish 
 their possession and control of all pecuniary means to the direc- 
 tion of what claimed to be God, through Mr. Scott. The follow- 
 ing is a verbatim extract from the oracle which issued, through 
 Mr. Scott, the above-noticed requirement, and which was ad- 
 dressed to believers in spiritualism everywhere : 
 
 » =& # B u t while spirits operate from the interior, man in 
 clay demandeth external benefit ; and God supplieth by laws 
 operating externally, and external means conducted by external 
 stewards, chosen- for external purposes. He hath, therefore, 
 aforetime, committed to your charge, as His stewards, the means 
 designed to be employed while conducting the external in the 
 manifestation unto its consummation. And lo, now he cometh 
 and calleth upon you, and requireth the charge committed, with 
 its improvement. Whoso hath, and now consecrateth to this 
 great work, to him shall be given, and he shall have more in 
 abundance ; to him who holdeth in his hands the gifts of God, 
 and hath not occupied for His glory, and is wanting in disposition 
 to render back to the Author of all blessing, from him the spirit 
 departeth, and shall be taken even that which he hath ; for the 
 earth and the substance thereof is the Lord's, and in the redemp- 
 tion He establishes thereon His kingdom. Hence, His will shall 
 be done on earth as by angels in heaven. Come, then, to the 
 mountain with thy substance. Give it to the Lord, who calleth 
 thee ; for He now provideth a feast of fat things, which shall be 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 123 
 
 unto all people, and proceedeth to remove, by the immortalizing 
 procedure, the veil of mortality, cast, through sin, over all na- 
 tions." 
 
 In addition to this general requirement, there were several 
 epistles to the same effect, issued especially to individuals in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, who were known by Mr. Scott to be 
 favorable to the movement. And it was generally taught and 
 understood that all who should become members of the commu- 
 nity were to resign their stewardship into the hands of Deity, to 
 be disposed of as should be dictated through Mr. Scott. 
 
 While the claimed inspiration continued apparently consistent 
 with itself, and maintained a character similar to that of the old 
 prophets in the Bible, which it endeavored assiduously to imitate, 
 believers in that place were pretty generally disposed to accede 
 to its demands. But inconsistencies began to appear to a few, 
 before the lapse of many weeks ; and, although a majority per- 
 sisted in their faith, several individuals soon became firmly con- 
 vinced of the falsity of the principal claims, and in about three 
 months a number of families withdrew from the circle. One of 
 the wealthiest of those who abandoned the cause had purchased 
 a farm of six hundred acres, in pursuance of the directions given 
 through Mr. Scott ; but when he discovered that he had been fol- 
 lowing the dictation of an intelligence far from being divine, not 
 yet having come into possession of the estate, he refused to com- 
 plete the contract, and paid a large forfeit to be released from 
 the engagement. Another individual, of more limited means, 
 actually purchased and came into the possession of a farm before 
 he became convinced that he had acted for a character undivine ; 
 and, as the locality under its existing circumstances was very dis- 
 tasteful, he determined to dispose of the property, — which he 
 finally succeeded in doing at a large sacrifice, — the new pur- 
 chaser being a believer in Mr. Scott's inspiration, and acting 
 according to its dictation. Other members, at this period, hav- 
 ing become fully conscious that they had been deceived by the 
 
124 THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 
 
 intelligence (from whatever source) which guided the movement, 
 withdrew from the locality, all of them with more or less pecuniary 
 loss. Among those who removed was Mrs. Benedict. 
 
 Mr. Scott, with some half a dozen families, still remained ; and 
 in the spring of 1851 the community was augmented by a few 
 families from different localities, among whom were Mr. Harris 
 and lady. 
 
 The following epistle was issued by Scott and Harris at Moun- 
 tain Cove, and sent to the circle in Auburn, N. Y. It will be 
 seen that it sets up the claim of infallibility in pretty plain terms. 
 
 " The Circle of Apostles and Prophets to the Auburn Circle of 
 Disciples. 
 
 " Dear Brethren : The especially appointed and commissioned 
 spirits, through whom superior wisdom has approached and in- 
 structed mortals, dictate unto you the present epistle in the light 
 of understanding, in the purpose of counsel, and in the desire of 
 harmonious interprocedure of love. They review their works, 
 declare their directed purposes, and seek to guide your feet in the 
 way of peace. 
 
 " In the ninth month of the year 1850, common diurnal time, 
 Ann, the medium for audible vibrations, journeyed from Auburn 
 to Brooklyn, in obedience to our urgent and repeated directions, 
 and was sent by us to the abode of James L. Scott. The pur- 
 posed result of this mission was not permitted to be revealed to 
 mortals, being hidden from all until disclosed by the fulfilment 
 thereof. 
 
 " Having conducted the medium to her appointed destination, 
 and having given unto the mortals whom we were specially ap- 
 pointed to approach — namely, to James L. Scott and Thomas L. 
 Harris — satisfactory evidence of our identity and appointment, 
 we proceeded as messengers of the supreme spirit to communicate 
 His will and purpose unto them, and this was a command requir- 
 ing their consecration to the work of proclaiming divine truth as 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 125 
 
 disclosed in the Holy Scriptures, and novv r reaffirmed by the spirits 
 of the redeemed in this their special reappearing. 
 
 " This command was vouchsafed uuto them in a two-fold form ; 
 internally by an especial revelation and preparation of mind, and 
 externally by communications given through the medium for 
 audible vibrations. This command was issued conjointly to them, 
 and not separately ; for they were called and prepared to act as 
 instruments of light in continuous unity of one mind and heart. 
 
 " Thus the Circle of Apostles and Prophets instrumentally gave 
 to these their first commission, empowering them verbally to unfold 
 the Word ; and the spirit who called, assisted them in their infirm- 
 ities, and in infinite mercy and condescension was pleased to 
 accept their efforts to proclaim His will. 
 
 " In the twelfth month of the aforesaid year the Circle of 
 Apostles and Prophets were commanded by Superior Wisdom to 
 direct the minds aforesaid, together with the medium for vibra- 
 tions, to a place of assemblage in Brooklyn. 
 
 " Prompt obedience being rendered to their direction, these all 
 met together at the place appointed, and when the Lord Creator 
 proceeded to order those events which are written first in the Book 
 of Records then directed to be made, and which were afterwards 
 read to those chosen from the Auburn Circle, and confirmed in 
 their hearing by the Prophetic and Apostolic circles through the 
 Apostolic Messenger, and finally published in part by command in 
 the introductory article to Disclosures from the Interior, beginning 
 at the ninth paragraph thereof. 
 
 " In these our dictated and recognized records, James L. Scott 
 and Thomas L. Harris are styled vehicles of inspiration, provided 
 for the transmission of truth from heaven to the external world. 
 It is also written therein that these vehicles were specially pro- 
 vided and prepared for this end ; that the apostles, martyrs and 
 confessors, together with prophets, patriarchs and seers, lifted sup- 
 plication for inspiration to pervade the chosen vehicles ; that their 
 prayers received response loud from the angelic messengers; that 
 the glory of God filled the sanctuary, and that the voice of the 
 11* 
 
126 THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 
 
 Lord Creator was audible therein, and gave answer favoring the 
 supplication. 
 
 " Thus, be it known, a further commission was given unto the 
 mortals aforesaid, constituting them in unity as the organ of in- 
 spired communication from the celestial sphere. In order that 
 this their work might be accomplished, their minds were blended 
 by supernatural influence, and thus made one adapted vehicle for 
 transmission of truth absolute, and light, in confirmation and ex- 
 position of truth previously revealed from heaven to man. 
 
 " Through these mediums, by a process which no mind uninspired 
 can analyze, ' Disclosures from the Interior ' have begun, unfolded 
 in ' Superior care for mortals,' and transmitted to the external 
 world. So perfect has been the established union of the vehicles 
 thus constituted, that external distance, however great, has never 
 been sufficient to prevent their harmonious movement and coopera- 
 tion. 
 
 " Moreover, the Circle of Apostles and Prophets have had charge 
 concerning them, and have instrumental ly defended them against 
 the influence of evil interior since the beginning of their labor to 
 the present time. 
 
 " All elements of truth published in said Disclosures have 
 therefore been received from our minds by these appointed vehicles 
 of inspiration ; the Circle of Apostles and Prophets having made 
 use of the medium for vibratory sounds as an instrument of exter- 
 nal aid and confirmation, and, as we from the beginning indicated, 
 aid from vibrations decreased with the increase of inspiration, 
 until vibratory sounds were used only for confirmation of wisdom 
 revealed through the superior form. Thus the disclosures were 
 given through chosen mediums by inspiration, even as the divine 
 counsel was received of old. 
 
 " The Circle of Apostles and Prophets do finally declare that in 
 the eighth month of the year 1851, common diurnal time, the 
 word of the Lord came unto them, commanding disclosure of his 
 most holy will concerning the establishment of terrestrial centre 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 127 
 
 for the unfolding of his heavenly kingdom, and a refuge for his 
 obedient people. 
 
 " This disclosure was given by direction absolute from the 
 interior through the appointed vehicles therefor, and is embraced 
 in the ' Call to the Mountain,' addressing first all of the obedient, 
 and, second, the two united vehicles of inspiration, as the especially 
 chosen, unto whom was given increase of direction, guiding them 
 to the boundaries of the Land where the Lord established the 
 reign of peace. 
 
 " In obedience to our instructions, we guided James, the me- 
 dium, unto the place appointed, and have established upon this 
 mountain the standard of the cross, as a sign for the gathering of 
 the obedient people. 
 
 " In further fulfilment of our charge we have guided Thomas 
 the medium, to the appointed place, and have disclosed unto his 
 mind full evidence of his associate medium's faithfulness in all the 
 work given unto him to do ; and also that all discord within the 
 boundaries of the place appointed is caused by the presence of the 
 unsanctified, and subsides with their removal therefrom. 
 
 " Having thus guided the vehicles of communication to the 
 place directed by His most holy will, and united them thereupon 
 the Spirit, who deviseth and establisheth the Redeeming Procedure, 
 issueth commandment unto us His messengers to resume the dis- 
 closure of His truth without delay, that His name may thereby 
 be glorified, His people instructed and comforted, and His compas- 
 sionate and loving kindness, in accordance with the purpose in the 
 consummation of His procedure, be manifest unto the earth and the 
 inhabitants thereof. 
 
 "Dictated at Mountain Cove, Fifth Month, 1852." 
 
 I have endeavored, from every source, to obtain accurate infor- 
 mation and give an impartial history of this singular movement. 
 From an acquaintance, who was induced to join the movement, and 
 spent a long time at the Cove, I have received a statement, of 
 which the following is the substance : 
 
128 THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 
 
 Mr. Scott and others arrived in Fayette county, Virginia, in 
 the month of October, 1851, for the purpose of establishing the 
 community of true believers in Spiritualism, with Scott at the 
 head. It was stated and understood before any of the company 
 left Auburn that the land, when purchased, would be sold in small 
 quantities to all who wished to settle with them, and those unable 
 to purchase house and land would be furnished by the association. 
 They also were promised business, such as each was able and will- 
 ing to perform, each family to be their own household governor 
 and regulator as fully as out of the association. The labor per- 
 formed was to be paid for at a fair remuneration. Schools were 
 to be established, and different branches of business instituted, so 
 that the company might manufacture and produce all that is neces- 
 sary for their subsistence, comfort and happiness. It was also 
 understood that there was to be no dictator in the movement ; but 
 the whole was to be under direction of the spirits, and that all 
 things should be governed on the principles of brotherhood, unity 
 and equality. On the second day of December, 1851, — the day 
 on which my informant arrived at Mountain Cove, Mr. Scott 
 and some sixty others were on the ground. The information he 
 received was that all was peace and harmony in the chosen moun- 
 tain. He was told by Scott, who had somehow taken or been 
 given the title of " doctor," that he was then receiving communi- 
 cations direct from the Deity. Scott declared that he received 
 these communications standing face to face with God ! and, strange 
 as it may appear, most of the people there convened believed the 
 story. Soon after this, Scott informed the people that he had 
 been appointed by high spiritual power medium absolute, and that 
 nothing but truth would or could be given through him ; and that 
 whatever was given through him must not be doubted, all doubt- 
 ing being rank heresy. Soon after this, Scott informed Mr. H. 
 (my informant) that there had been a serious quarrel among them 
 before he (Mr. H.) arrived. To the question as to what was the 
 cause of the quarrel, he replied that a certain individual had 
 slandered his character in saying that he (Scott) was guilty of 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 129 
 
 licentiousness and adultery. Mr. H. replied that the matter 
 ought at once to be investigated. A meeting was accordingly 
 called, professedly for that purpose. There were but few persons 
 at the meeting, and, as soon as it was organized, Scott professed 
 to pass into the " superior " or clairvoyant state, and said : " We 
 (himself and his particular friends) must stand firm, and say noth- 
 ing, unless the enemy makes the attack." And this ended the 
 investigation into the charges of licentiousness against Rev. Mr. 
 Scott. Those who had first made the charge continued it ; but 
 no other " investigation " was ever instituted. Strife and conten- 
 tion continued from this time to distract the " harmonious " 
 mount. 
 
 In February, 1852, the plantation originally purchased was 
 returned to the person from whom it was bought, as the payments 
 on it could not be met. At this time several families left the 
 place on account of the contention and want of confidence in the 
 movement. In this emergency a meeting was called, and Scott 
 passed into the "superior" state, and received the following 
 spiritual communication : " James must go to New York, to seek 
 new minds to carry on the Lord's work." The " James," of 
 course, was himself. In accordance with his own direction — 
 claiming to be spiritual — he went to the city of New York and 
 Brooklyn, and, with the aid of Rev. Thomas L. Harris, suc- 
 ceeded in inducing several persons of property to engage in the 
 enterprise. Being thus provided with funds, and empowered so 
 to do, Scott returned and repurchased the Cove property, which 
 they had surrendered in February. About the first of May, 1852, 
 T. L. Harris and family, and several other families, arrived at the 
 new Jerusalem. It should be mentioned, in this place, that, as soon 
 as Scott returned from his mission to New York, he assumed a 
 tone of authority, and was very arbitrary in his orders, declaring 
 that the people should work to the line and plummet ; and that 
 those who were there and did not sympathize with his views 
 should leave the place. This latter command was carried out, 
 and the persons obnoxious to him were sent away — banished ! 
 
130 THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 
 
 On the arrival of Mr. Harris a new era in the spiritual affairs 
 of the community commenced. It was announced that Harris 
 and Scott were the chosen mediums through which the Lord would 
 communicate to man on earth, and that all other mediums would be 
 silenced, or would become the channels of communication for 
 deceptive and lying spirits, claiming for themselves infallibility 
 and " truth absolute " direct from heaven. (See letter of Harris 
 and Scott to Auburn circle.) 
 
 Harris declared that the house occupied by them (Harris and 
 Scott) was "the house of Grod;" and that Mountain Cove was 
 the " gate to heaven," and that there the redemption of man on 
 earth would commence, and that all who opposed them — the two 
 perfect prophets — would be driven from the mountain, from which 
 there would be no redemption. 
 
 Some time during the summer of 1852 it was declared that 
 the spirits, through Harris and Scott, had announced to the faith- 
 ful that a certain piece of land, within a certain boundary, con- 
 taining the Cove buildings, must be "leased to the Lord as his 
 heritage." Accordingly, the " faithful " assembled, and the 
 spirits (through Harris and Scott) directed the lease to be made 
 in the name of J. L. Scott and T. L. Harris, as the Lord's chosen, 
 and the lease was accordingly executed in their illustrious 
 names. 
 
 The "Lord and his chosen people" being secured in the lease, 
 a series of persecutions were commenced against all who did not 
 agree with the assumed " perfect mediums." Slander, discord and 
 contention, were rife, and harmony was unknown among the 
 " chosen " people. 
 
 In the fall of 1852 Scott and Harris proclaimed that they 
 were the two witnesses spoken of in the eleventh chapter of Rev- 
 elation, and that they possessed the power, in its fullest extent, 
 as described in that chapter. 
 
 Strange as it may appear, they found adherents and firm be- 
 lievers in this declaration. The believers were kept in awe of 
 these self-appointed " anointed of the Lord " by the constant 
 
THE APOSTOLIC MOVEMENT. 131 
 
 awful power. In one of his prayers, Mr. Harris 
 says : " 0, Lord, thou knowest that we do not wish to destroy 
 man with fire from our mouths I " 
 
 This state of discord continued, until one after another, becom- 
 ing disgusted with the arbitrary assumption of power and holiness 
 on the part of the dictators, left the Cove to the few fanatical and 
 credulous dupes of designing men, until the final dispersion of the 
 whole community a few months after. It adds another to the 
 numerous wild schemes conceived in the spirit of religious fanat- 
 icism, and born of the spiritual excitement which was made a 
 convenient hobby for men who had graduated through the old 
 forms of theological mysticism, until there was nothing new in 
 that field to feed their love of leadership and pretence to special 
 calls and inspiration. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS "AT STRATFORD, CONN., IN THE HOUSE OF REV. ELIAKIM 
 PHELPS, D. D. REMARKABLE EXHIBITIONS OF POWER SINGULAR OC- 
 CURRENCES IMAGE-MAKING DESTRUCTION OF FURNITURE INCEN- 
 DIARY SPIRITS — THE SPIRITS IDENTIFIED UNHAPPY SPIRITS, FROM 
 
 THE REMEMBRANCE OF WRONG DONE IN THIS WORLD WRONG-DOING 
 
 REVEALED — DIRECTIONS GIVEN FOR RESTORING ILL-GOTTEN GAINS — 
 DISCONTINUANCE OF THE MANIFESTATIONS. 
 
 While these strange occurrences were taking place at Roches- 
 ter and Auburn, and the press and people were busy in trying to 
 account for them on strictly mundane principles, making all man- 
 ner of insinuations against the character and motives of those who 
 even dared to investigate for themselves, some manifestations took 
 place at Stratford, Conn., which attracted attention to that quar- 
 ter, as well on account of the character and standing of the gen- 
 tleman at whose house they occurred, as the very strange, 
 boisterous, and violent character of the manifestations. I have 
 been allowed to examine all the records kept of the occurrences 
 by Dr. Phelps, and shall be able, therefore, to present the history 
 with more minuteness and accuracy than has ever before ap- 
 peared. 
 
 The first disturbances took place on the tenth day of March, 
 1850, at the house of Rev. Eliakim Phelps, D. D. The house 
 had been occupied by him from the 22d of February, 1848. It is 
 a large and genteel country mansion, separated from the street by 
 a fence forty -five feet in front of the house ; which is thirty-two 
 feet in front, and, including the piazza, seventy feet deep, with a 
 hall thirteen feet wide, running through the whole depth of the 
 building. Adjoining, and opening from this hall are two parlors 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS 5 HOUSE. 133 
 
 and a dining-room. On the second floor are five sleeping-rooms, 
 and on the third floor two. The kitchen is in the basement. The 
 house was built about the year 1829 or 30 by a Captain Dondall, 
 who for several years commanded a vessel in the China trade, and 
 who died in the bay of Canton within two or three years after his 
 family had taken up their residence in the house. The property 
 then passed into the hands of another sea-captain, by the name 
 of Purcell, who, with his family, occupied it for several years. 
 Capt. Purcell dying suddenly in New York, the family removed, 
 and the house was occupied by an Episcopal clergyman for a 
 
 school a year or more, and afterwards by a Mr. , also as 
 
 a school for boys. 
 
 None of the families who had thus far occupied the house had 
 ever been disturbed, or witnessed anything aside from ordinary 
 events. At the death of Capt. Purcell it became the property of 
 the two daughters, of whom Dr. Phelps purchased it during the 
 month of November, 1847. For two years previous to this it had 
 been unoccupied. Dr. Phelps and family commenced t-heir resi- 
 dence therein on the 22d of February, 1848. Nothing occurred 
 to excite the attention of the family out of the ordinary course 
 of events until the tenth of March, 1850 ; and, as before stated, 
 nothing can be learned of any strange or unusual events occurring 
 there previous to that time. It will be observed by the dates 
 given that Dr. Phelps had occupied the house more than two 
 years, had found it an agreeable and quiet place of residence — 
 having never himself or any member of the family been disturbed 
 or alarmed by unusual occurrences. On the tenth of March, as 
 above stated, it being the Sabbath, Dr. Phelps and family, con- 
 sisting of Mrs. Phelps, two daughters and two sons, the eldest a 
 daughter aged sixteen, a son of twelve years, and a second 
 daughter of six years, children of Mrs. Phelps by a former 
 marriage, and another son of Dr. Phelps by the present marriage, 
 not then three years old, all attended church; and an Irish servant 
 girl, who had been employed in the family some six months, and had 
 shown herself to be honest and trustworthy, had gone on that day 
 12 _ 
 
134 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 to Bridgeport, to attend the Catholic Church. On leaving the 
 house in the morning it appears that the doctor had secured the 
 chamber doors, and put the keys in his pocket ; those which could 
 be were locked inside and the keys left in them. The only door 
 by which the chambers could be entered was locked, and the key 
 taken by Dr. Phelps. He also locked the front door inside, left 
 the key in the lock, and, passing out at the back door, locked that 
 and placed the key in his pocket. On returning from church at 
 noon the front door was found standing open; the chamber doors, 
 which were left fastened, were now open; and in the nurs- 
 ery the furniture was thrown about in disorder ; chairs on the 
 bed, and thrown down upon the floor ; the shovel, tongs and 
 poker, with other things, were in unusual positions and places, 
 everything showing unmistakable signs of the work of some rude 
 hand making mischief in their absence. Upon discovering the 
 disorder here Dr. Phelps passed into other rooms on the same 
 floor, but could see no further evidence of intrusion. The first 
 supposition was, very naturally, that some person or persons had 
 entered and robbed the house. Search was immediately made in 
 the closets where silver plate, spoons, forks, etc., were kept. All 
 were found safe and undisturbed. A gold watch, left in an exposed 
 place, remained there as left. The impression still remained that 
 burglars had been in ; and, on examination of the windows, one 
 was found that could be raised from the outside, and though there 
 was no evidence of entrance having been made there, no doubt 
 existed that this was the place of access. Thinking they might 
 return during the afternoon, Dr. Phelps remained at home, the 
 other members of the family going again to church. Being left 
 alone the doctor armed himself, and, selecting a secluded position, 
 awaited the return of the burglars. There was no disturbance 
 during the afternoon ; no sound of footfall ; all remained quiet. 
 On the return of the family, after the service, usually closing at 
 three o'clock, several other articles were found out of place, but 
 not in a way to make it certain that they were not moved in the 
 morning. Articles of kitchen furniture were changed about. A 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 135 
 
 teakettle, which had been used at dinner-time, was found hidden 
 behind some boxes in the cellar. The bread, sugar-bowl, eggs, 
 and numerous other things kept in the kitchen, were found where 
 they did not belong, and where they had evidently been, placed in 
 some way which the family could not account for. Upon enter- 
 ing the middle chamber, occupied as a sleeping-room, a sheet was 
 found spread over the bed outside the counterpane, and beneath 
 which was a nightgown and chemise laid out with the arms folded 
 across the breast, with stockings placed in a position to represent, 
 as it seemed, a corpse disposed as is usual before placing it in the 
 coffin. On the wall were written characters resembling those said 
 by certain clairvoyants to belong to a spiritual language, but 
 which none of the family were able to decipher. Whether they 
 had any significance, or how they came there, was alike an 
 unanswerable question by the family; they had not observed them 
 before. Occurrences ceased for that day and night, yet, no one 
 thinking of any mystery in the matter, they imputed it to roguish 
 boys, or others, who had effected entrance with false keys, for 
 mischief, rather than for robbery, and that the culprits would soon 
 be detected. The next morning, March 11th, when the family 
 went up stairs, after breakfast, the middle chamber had again been 
 visited, exhibiting much the same scene of disorder presented 
 the previous day. A sheet was spread out upon the floor, the 
 wash-stand laid upon its back upon the sheet, a candle-stick set 
 upon the stand, the wash-bowl placed upon one side, and the 
 pitcher on the other. The nightgown and chemise, used on the 
 previous occasion to represent a dead body, were found one in the 
 bowl, the other in the pitcher. It appears that these articles of 
 clothing were not then in use ; they had been placed in a trunk 
 which stood in a closet adjoining that room. They were replaced 
 in the trunk when removed from the bed the day before. As 
 they were conversing in relation to the disposition of the things 
 as above stated, Mrs. Phelps looked under the bed, and discovered 
 articles there, partially concealed by the bed, resembling those in 
 question. They were taken out and pronounced to be the same. 
 
136 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 Dr. Phelps had not before examined them, but then took them, 
 noted the name and number on each, as they were marked, folded 
 and placed them again in the trunk, remarking that he would put 
 them where they would stay; did not lock the trunk, not having a 
 key, but locked the closet and placed the key about his own per- 
 son ; then requesting the family to all leave the room first, which 
 they did, the doctor, following, locked the door of the room, and 
 kept the key. Having observed that Mrs. Phelps seemed a little 
 troubled as to the mystery, he thought to convince her that there 
 was no mystery in the matter, and, having secured the closet and 
 room, he descended to the rooms below, following them all. After 
 the lapse of some fifteen minutes, some person spoke to the doctor, 
 upon which he went up to the chambers. At the head of the 
 stairs, out in the hall, he found the same articles which he had 
 left as before stated. He examined them, and was positive they 
 were the same. He went to the door; found it locked; entered by 
 applying the key from his pocket ; went to the closet ; found it 
 locked ; took the key. from his pocket ; opened the door ; looked 
 in the trunk ; and the articles were gone ! Dr. Phelps states 
 that he was confident there was no deception in the case, and that 
 he then, for the first, felt that there was a mystery about the 
 affair. He had never believed in the appearing of ghosts, or 
 departed spirits, warnings, or anything of that nature, and, at the 
 age of three-score, had never seen or heard anything connected 
 with that class of phenomena. The evidence upon which such 
 superstitions, as he termed them, rest, he had never examined, and 
 while he had no proof positive that they were impossible, and 
 never did occur, he had no evidence to found a belief upon that 
 they ever had. His idea of spiritual manifestations seems to 
 have been that most, if not all, followed by a strict scrutiny, 
 might be accounted for on natural or known principles, or some 
 physical means, which would disrobe them of the mysterious alto- 
 gether. But it was not to rest here. On the same day (March 
 11th) the moving and throwing of furniture commenced. An um- 
 brella, standing at the end of the hall, leaped, without visible 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. TIIELPS' HOUSE. 137 
 
 assistance, a distance of, at least, twenty-five feet. Dr. Phelps 
 saw the movement, and knows there was no perceptible agency by 
 which the motion was produced. A bucket, standing at the head 
 of the stairs, was thrown into the entry below. Smaller articles, 
 such as nails, forks, knives, spoons, bits of tin, iron and keys, 
 were thrown from different directions about the house. He says, 
 "There were times when they came from such directions that they 
 might have been thrown by some person in the house," — at least, 
 that may be admitted, — but in very many cases the motion and 
 point of starting were such as to preclude all possibility of decep- 
 tion on the part of persons in the rooms. During the afternoon 
 Dr. and Mrs. Phelps had occasion to go to Bridgeport ; a distance 
 of some three miles. Daring their absence the shovel and tongs, 
 standing in the dining-room, were thrown violently down the base- 
 ment stairs ; a piece of mourning crape fastened to the knocker 
 of the back door, and the mirrors in the front chambers covered 
 with sheets and table-cloths, as is the custom in some parts of the 
 country while a person lies dead in the house. The crape on the 
 door Dr. Phelps did not see, but the covering on the mirrors he 
 removed with his own hands. The position of the mirrors in one 
 room was such that the coverings could not, without great diffi- 
 culty, have been placed there by any person about the house. 
 Various articles were said to have been thrown about the room — 
 the phenomena continuing in his absence about the same as when 
 he was present in the fore part of the day. Soon after sundown 
 all was again quiet, and so continued through the night. 
 
 The next morning (March 12th) soon after the family were up, 
 the same phenomena began again ; knives, forks, spoons, blocks of 
 wood, nails, etc. etc., were thrown from different directions, and with 
 increased frequency, attended by still stranger circumstances, and 
 those of a still moie mysterious character. Mrs. Phelps expressed 
 some alarm, and a wish that some of the neighbors might be 
 called in. Dr, Phelps called on a retired clergyman of Stratford, 
 a man of extensive information, much experience and sound judg- 
 ment, who was universally admitted to be capable of rendering 
 12* 
 
138 MANIFESTATIONS AT STIlATi'Oim, CONN. 
 
 c n-rect judgment and good advice in such a case. He requested 
 him to call and spend an hour at the house, to -which he cheerfully 
 consented. Dr. P. told him that his family had been a little 
 excited by some occurrences in the house, but did not state any 
 of the details of the matter, but desired that he would sit with 
 them for a short time and witness for himself. He remained all 
 clay, but was, at first, firmly of the opinion that the occurrences 
 were produced, in some way, through the agency of the girl, or 
 some other person about the house, and his main attention was 
 directed to the girl in the kitchen, or the children, in the expec- 
 tation that he should detect them in doing it. 
 
 The door leading from the parlors to the kitchen was, by his 
 request, locked, and all communication between it and the other 
 parts of the house cut off; still, the throwing of articles went on 
 as before. The children were sent out of the room, and the doors 
 locked ; but this made no difference. He stayed through most of 
 the day on Thursday, and returned, soon after breakfast next 
 morning, and remained most of the time for nearly three weeks. 
 He became satisfied, before the close of the second clay, that 
 neither the girl in the kitchen nor the children had any agency 
 in producing the strange movements. During the day (March 
 12th) some of the neighbors were in the house, and small blocks 
 of wood were seen to fall in different places in their presence ; 
 but only one person noticed them in a way to excite inquiry, and 
 that person was requested not to mention what she had seen. 
 
 On Wednesday, March 13th, the manifestations commenced 
 early in the morning, in the middle chamber, the room in which 
 two children slept, and began while they were both asleep. A 
 book, standing in the library, ten or twelve feet from the bed, 
 leaped from the shelf into the middle of the room. The blower, 
 which was in the grate, leaped out on the floor, a distance of at 
 least six feet, the noise of which first awakened the children. At 
 the breakfast-table several articles were thrown ; among them a 
 large potato, which had been sent from Pennsylvania, and laid 
 up in a closet in the east chamber, fell on the table directly by 
 
OCCURRENCES AT Dll. PHELPS' HOUSE. 139 
 
 the side of Dr. P.'s plate, in a manner that no person could have 
 done it without instant detection. The doctor's curiosity was 
 much excited, and he watched, with all the scrutiny he was capa- 
 ble, every person in the room. He took up the potato and let it 
 fall from different heights, in order to determine how far it must 
 have fallen to have made the concussion that it did ; and it was 
 adjudged by all that the distance could not have been more than 
 twelve or fifteen inches. 
 
 Rev. Mr. came in soon after breakfast, and remained 
 
 during the day. Several Bibles were opened at different passages, 
 which seemed to be selected with a great deal of care, and indi- 
 cated either by placing small pieces of paper on them or turning 
 down a leaf. These things first occurred in the middle chamber 
 where the library stood. While the family were at dinner similar 
 things were done in the parlor adjoining the dining-room. Two 
 Bibles and an Episcopal prayer-book were opened at different 
 passages, chairs turned forward on the floor, two solar lamps 
 placed on the floor, a hat and man's cap put one on each; nearly 
 everything in the room had been moved, and in so short a time, 
 that it seems wholly inadmissible that any person about the house 
 could have done it; besides, the whole household were in the 
 dining-room, all seated at the table, except the servant, and she 
 was employed waiting on the table. 
 
 In the afternoon the demonstrations were confined to the middle 
 
 parlor. Dr. and Mrs. Phelps, and Mr. , and a part of the 
 
 time the eldest daughter, being present; in the absence of the 
 daughter the doors were locked, and the three first named only 
 were present. 
 
 The throwing of various things occupied the afternoon. The 
 articles thrown were picked up and placed upon the mantle, and 
 between the hours of one and four o'clock, the number amounted 
 to forty -six ; among which were nails, bits of tin, iron, keys, and 
 small blocks, all of which were gathered from different parts of 
 the house ; most of them from closets on the second floor, and the 
 chambers. At one time, while Mr. M was standing near the 
 
140 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 centre of the room, a padlock, which was known to have been in 
 the closet of the middle chamber, fell at his feet. He took it in 
 his hand, letting it fall from different hights, to discover the 
 probable distance it must have fallen to produce the concussion. 
 After various trials it was judged to have fallen not more than 
 two or two and a half feet. As Dr. P. was sitting, perhaps 
 ten feet from the piano-forte, he saw a small toy-mouse, which 
 was on the piano, arise as if tossed, and, describing a parabola as 
 it came, fall at his side, so near that he took it from the floor 
 without leaving his chair. This he speaks of seeing as distinctly 
 as he ever saw anything, the whole being perfectly in his view. 
 He also saw, in the same way, among other things, a nail, cotton- 
 spool and key, arise from behind the sofa, which stood diagonally 
 across the corner of the room. He arose, went to the sofa, look- 
 ing behind and under it, but could discover nothing which might 
 give impulse to the articles. While examining the carpet about 
 the sofa to find if any other things were there, without success, as 
 his eyes were directed to one spot, there arose from that very 
 point a piece of cheese-rind, perhaps eight inches from the floor ; 
 when he saw it first, it arose four or five feet, passed over the sofa, 
 and fell on the floor. He is positive it was not there when he was 
 looking at the carpet, and knows there were no visible means of its 
 moving. 
 
 Mr. M suggested, as he was about to leave on Wednesday 
 
 night, that if the strange phenomena should return, he would like 
 to have some other persons called in. Early the next morning, 
 Thursday the 14th, the manifestations commenced about as they 
 had on the j>revious day. Soon after breakfast a sheet was found 
 spread upon the floor, several Bibles were opened at different 
 places, the candlesticks, in a row, the highest in the middle, and 
 covered with a sheet; other articles changed about the room, 
 without any seeming design, more than to attract attention. Mr. 
 
 M proposed that notes be despatched to Rev. Mr. W , 
 
 congregational minister, and Mr. Plant, a lawyer of high standing 
 and respectability, which was accordingly done. It was at this 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 141 
 
 time that they first began to hear rappings and heavy poundings. 
 A loud sound, like some person striking the floor with some heavy 
 substance, was heard, generally in the middle chamber. This was 
 usually done when no one was in the chamber, and on any one 
 entering all was still. In one instance a chair was seen to rise 
 from the floor and beat down again, five or six times, with a vio- 
 lence which caused the house to tremble so as to be felt in all the 
 adjoining apartments. A large plated candlestick, standing on 
 the mantle, was moved by some unseen power to the floor, and 
 then rose up and down, beating the floor, until the candlestick was 
 broken. This was the first article that was damaged about the 
 house. Several times, during the day, loud noises, like some one 
 pounding with an axe, or some heavy substance, on the floor, were 
 heard in different parts of the house, and several times the loud 
 poundings terminated with a frightful scream ; it was not a cry 
 of distress, or anything that could be easily imitated, seeming 
 like something between the cry of a cat and the bleating of a 
 calf, but louder than either. These sounds occurred, in all, 
 probably twenty times while the manifestations were going on. 
 Sometimes the screams seemed to be in the third story, sometimes 
 in the front-hall chamber, several times out in the yard, and occa- 
 sionally in other places. There was, at no time, any audible 
 expression of words. The sounds consisted of poundings, knock- 
 ings, and screamings. On this day the first images were found, 
 which will be spoken of more fully hereafter. 
 
 In the evening of this day, just after some young ladies had 
 called, Dr. P.'s daughter returned to the parlor, it being between 
 nine and ten o'clock. After seeing the young ladies to the door, 
 an iron stand, in which stood the fire-shovel, tongs and poker, 
 leaped from the hearth, where it stood, into the middle of the floor, 
 and rose up and beat the floor with a force that made a jar that 
 could be felt, and the sound heard, in any part of the house. 
 This was seen only by the daughter, but Dr. P. and wife heard 
 the noise. The daughter ran through the dining-room to get up 
 stairs, and, as she passed, a large table was standing, with the 
 
142 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 other furniture, arranged for breakfast the next morning. The 
 table was three feet nine inches wide, and five feet three inches 
 long, made of solid mahogany ; and when she entered the room it 
 rose up and beat five or six times against the floor with a force which 
 made the house jar. The noise was heard by many persons in 
 the house. Mrs. P. was alarmed, and screamed out, " 0, take 
 me from this place ! " This happened between nine and ten 
 o'clock, p. m. Previous to this time, all manifestations had 
 ceased by sundown, or a little after. 
 
 Soon after daylight on Friday, March 15th, movements similar 
 to those on previous days commenced. Henry, a lad then eleven 
 and a half years of age, attended the academy, and nothing had, 
 thus far, ever occurred to connect these strange phenomena with 
 his presence. Dr. P. had never heard or thought of particular 
 persons being " mediums." But on this day the remarkable 
 occurrences seemed to be connected more or less with this boy. 
 His cap was torn on his head, so as to be entirely destroyed. 
 Another one which he put on was taken in the same way. First 
 a small hole opened in the crown ; this gradually extended, and 
 in a short time it was torn into many pieces. On another cap 
 characters were made, apparently with chalk. They resembled 
 those sometimes made by persons in the higher mesmeric state, 
 describing them as characters of a spiritual language. 
 
 Five or six of these characters were, at one time, made on the 
 boy's cap. Others, supposed to constitute a sentence, were written 
 on a red pocket-handkerchief; others on his pantaloons and coat, 
 and on the inside of his sack-coat. Copies of these characters 
 were taken with great care, and were preserved till September 
 following, when they were mysteriously destroyed. From this 
 time it became evident that some of the phenomena had some kind 
 of connection with this boy. 
 
 An umbrella, which he was carrying, was, in a mysterious man- 
 ner, torn in several pieces. His pantaloons were torn from the 
 bottom upwards, as high as the knee, and sometimes higher, and 
 were literally torn to ribbons, an inch or more wide. This occurred 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 143 
 
 several times under the immediate inspection of Rev. Mr. M., 
 which seems to fix the fact that, in those instances at least, no 
 power visible did it. Thus it continued for several weeks, cloth- 
 ing to the amount of twenty dollars being destroyed. At one 
 time, while he was riding in a carriage with Dr. P., his cap on 
 his head was torn in a mysterious manner, and his pants torn from 
 the waistband to the bottom, in a way that no human power could 
 have done. Dr. P. heard them torn, but could see nothing doing 
 it, and knows the boy could not have done it himself. It was on 
 this day, March 15th, that images, dressed in articles of clothing, 
 were again seen ; only two or three appeared on that day. The 
 most extraordinary occurrences of this kind took place on Satur- 
 day, the 16th. Soon after breakfast two or three images appeared 
 in the middle chamber ; soon again another, followed by others 
 still, numbering in all eleven or twelve. They were formed of 
 articles of clothing, found about the house, stuffed to resemble the 
 human figure. A lady's dress would be stuffed in some cases with 
 a muff; again with a pillow, and sometimes with other dresses; a 
 bonnet and shoes were aptly placed to complete the figure. These, 
 on this occasion, all but one, represented females in the attitude 
 of devotion, some having Bibles or prayer-books placed before 
 them. One, formed of Mrs. P.'s dress, so much resembled the 
 real, that the little boy, scarce three years old, coming into the 
 room with his sister, older, whispered, " Be still, ma is saying 
 prayers." 
 
 A portable writing-desk, usually standing on the secretary in 
 the room, was taken and placed upon the floor, a towel spread 
 over it, and the image of a child kneeling beside it. A Yankee 
 clock was taken from the mantle in the nursery, and placed upon 
 the floor in the middle room, a distance of twenty feet, and so 
 carefully done that the clock was still going when discovered in 
 its new place, though it stopped some time after. It does not 
 appear that any of these images were seen in the process of con- 
 struction, or that the clothing, which was gathered from different 
 localities, was seen in the act of moving. When persons entered 
 
144 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 the room everything was still, the clothing about the floor, which, 
 upon going again within a few minutes, were found wrought into 
 forms. The marked rapidity of their construction, and the life- 
 like appearance of them, seems to have been truly wonderful. 
 During this day several others than members of the family were 
 present. In several instances, when the rooms were closed and 
 the doors guarded, so that no person could enter, the images 
 were constructed. To one reading or listening to the relation of 
 these facts, the mischief and cunning evinced will seem amusing as 
 well as most wonderful ; but to the family who bore the annoyance 
 and witnessed the terrifying demonstrations, it was a serious and 
 trying affair. 
 
 The reader will keep in mind that this was on Saturday of the 
 first week of these strange proceedings, and many persons were 
 still believing that they must be produced by some one in the 
 house ; every member of the family therefore was subjected to the 
 most rigid scrutiny, which makes it morally certain that no member 
 of the household could have had any agency in the matter without 
 being at once detected. Besides the neatness and despatch with 
 which they were formed, the natural appearance of most of them 
 must have required taste and skill beyond the conception of ordi- 
 nary persons in the flesh. Mr. M. remained there throughout the 
 day, Mr. \Y., Governor Plant and Captain S., a part of the day. 
 During the day and evening various things were thrown in dif- 
 ferent parts of the house. A brick-bat, which lay on the stairs 
 leading to the third story, was thrown violently down stairs, pass- 
 ing very near the head of the- eldest daughter as she was descend- 
 ing the stairs. A fire-shovel was also thrown near her, which she 
 first saw high above her in a position to fall upon her head. She 
 was several times constrained to cry out from fear, so much as to 
 cause apprehension on her account. 
 
 [I omit, in this place, at the request of Dr. Phelps, a minute 
 account of occurrences in which the medium seemed to be one 
 who has now grown to be a young woman, and would feel 
 a repugnance at having her name mentioned in connection with 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 145 
 
 the subject. At one time a ribbon was tied around her neck, 
 while she was sleeping, so tight as to cause a serious affection of 
 the brain. Dr. Phelps was sitting in the room when it was done. 
 Several other remarkable occurrences are omitted, on account of 
 her connection with them. In the main they do not differ materi- 
 ally in their nature from the occurrences herein related.] 
 
 The hiding of hats, caps, clothing, &c, seems at this time to 
 have become of common occurrence. On several occasions a hat 
 was seen to go up stairs — not thrown, but seemed to be carried 
 rapidly by unseen hands. For several days Dr. P. was forced to 
 keep his hat under lock and key to prevent its disappearance, if 
 left out as usual. Coats, hats and canes of gentlemen, who were 
 strangers in the house, were spirited away; the only object seem- 
 ing to be the gratification of mischievous desires, with the excep- 
 tion of a few instances. They were found sometimes in the chim- 
 ney, under the bed, and in the bottom of trunks. The design 
 seeme'd to be to detain the owners to witness further demonstra- 
 tions. Two gentlemen from an adjoining town called, one of whom 
 had expressed an earnest desire to witness the phenomena ; but 
 having passed several hours, and seen nothing, they were about to 
 leave, when the person who expressed the wish found himself 
 minus a hat. A thorough searching followed, but no hat could be 
 found, consequently the gentleman decided to remain until the 
 next day. During the evening and night, phenomena transpired 
 sufficient to gratify his most abundant desire. Similar cases, 
 with like results, afterwards occurred. 
 
 On the nineteenth and twentieth, little occurred to cause alarm. 
 Some of the family heard loud and frightful screams in an 
 adjacent out-house, which must have been torturing to the feelings, 
 much more so than the silent images. Small articles were also 
 thrown about the house. Reports had now got abroad, and some 
 excitement was being produced, as is always the case in country 
 towns, where each person knows their neighbor's private business 
 quite as well, and sometimes better, than those most interested. 
 And in a matter of this kind all efforts to prevent publicity would 
 13 - 
 
146 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 prove unavailing. Curiosity and staring wonder would overstep 
 all bounds of propriety and respect for the private rights and feel- 
 ings of the family, forgetting that it is no slight thing for the 
 harmony and quiet of a household to be invaded, each member 
 being subjected to suspicion, ill-natured scrutiny, or careless 
 reproach. On this subject I can speak from experience, having 
 myself passed the ordeal. To persons of refined sensibility it is 
 a trial indeed. In this case, Dr. P. adopted the rule of giving all 
 who called an opportunity to investigate for themselves, and to 
 this rule he adhered, notwithstanding the annoyance such a con- 
 stant visitation must have occasioned. In one instance, while a 
 rabble was gathered outside, a stranger, who came unintroduced 
 by letter or otherwise, asked to spend the night, and was refused 
 for obvious reasons. 
 
 On Friday and Saturday, March 23d and 24th, the dis- 
 turbances increased, and became still more annoying. Loud 
 poundings and screams were heard in different places, and on 
 Saturday evening, between sunset and dark, Harry was passing 
 through the dining-room, and thought himself suddenly caught 
 up by some unseen power from the floor, and supposed that 
 he was about to be carried off through the ceiling. He was very 
 much frightened, and screamed so as to alarm the family, and 
 remained in a state of great nervous excitement for two or three 
 hours, and the effects did not wholly wear off for more than a 
 week. At times he was in such a state as to require two men to 
 hold him. For several days after this, he spent a portion of his 
 time with one of the neighbors during the day ; but the disturb- 
 ances continued the same at the house, although he appeared to 
 be more or less the medium as long as the phenomena continued. 
 At one time he was thrown into a cistern of water ; at another he 
 was tied up and suspended from a tree, and several times was 
 thrown into a state of apparent insensibility, in which he would 
 remain from ten to fifty minutes, and for which no human cause 
 could be assigned. 
 
 Somewhere about the 20th or 22d of March, Dr.P.'s attention 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 147 
 
 was called to a pamphlet (Capron and Barron's), giving a history 
 of the " mysterious noises " at Rochester and Auburn. Several 
 persons who had read the same proposed to question the agents of 
 these disturbances in the manner there recorded, and see if they 
 could get answers to questions. To this the doctor objected, for 
 reasons known to himself, but which may readily be imagined by 
 those knowing his position in life, and his general opinions of such 
 phenomena. 
 
 On the 26th of March Anna left Stratford, and on the third of 
 April Harry also left. No manifestations took place while both 
 were away. Harry was absent a week, and Anna three weeks ; 
 but the very day that Harry returned, the manifestations com- 
 menced with greater power than ever. Even before he arrived at 
 the house, a paper with some mysterious characters was dropped 
 near the front door. These characters were interpreted by a 
 clairvoyant * to read as follows : 
 
 " Fear not when he returns ; all danger is o'er. 
 We came, we disturbed thy house ; but shall no more. 
 Believe us not evil or good till we prove 
 Our speech to humanity, our language of love." 
 
 This was supposed to indicate that no further disturbance would 
 be made ; but in the course of two or three hours another paper 
 was found in the boy's hat in these words : 
 
 " The good ones say that all is done, 
 But the wicked ones say it has just begun." 
 
 The " wicked ones," in this case, seemed to come nearer the 
 truth than the " good ones," for, on the afternoon of the eighth 
 of April, the breaking of glass commenced for the first time 
 by the breaking of a pane in a mysterious manner. In the 
 evening of the same day another was broken during family 
 prayers, some of the pieces falling inside and some outside. 
 There were no indications of anything being thrown against it, 
 
 * Andrew Jackson Davis . 
 
148 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 From this time forward for several weeks glass was broken almost 
 daily, until the whole number of panes broken amounted to 
 seventy-one in the house and out-buildings. Most of them were 
 broken by something being thrown against them; among the 
 articles were a brush, a shoe, a poker, a fire-shovel, a candlestick, 
 a pair of snuffers, books, and numerous other things ; occasionally 
 a stone or piece of brick, thrown from the outside. 
 
 Dr. P. thinks it would have been possible, but not probable, 
 that, in some of these cases, they might have been broken by 
 human agency, but he was an eye-witness in some twenty or thirty 
 cases, and knows that they could not have been so done. He saw 
 a brush, which he knew to have been on a certain shelf but a 
 moment before, and no person near the shelf, fly to the window, 
 break out a glass, and fall down between the shutter and sash, 
 where he knew, from the position, that no one could have thrown 
 it. He saw a tumbler, which was standing on a bureau, rise from 
 its place, fly to the window, and dash out the only pane remaining 
 whole in the window, when no person was within twenty feet of it, 
 and the only persons in the room were himself and Harry, the 
 latter standing by the doctor's side in the doorway of the room — 
 a position in which it was utterly impossible for him to have done 
 it without detection. 
 
 The mysterious visitors, whoever they were, seemed at times to 
 be actuated by a spirit of sheer mischief in the destruction of 
 property, particularly glass and crockery. Even the glass in the 
 carriage-top was broken out. Pitchers of water were, on two or 
 three occasions, poured into the beds, and the pitchers and other 
 vessels thrown about the room and broken. The damage to fur- 
 niture during the whole time was nearly two hundred dollars. 
 Sometimes there was a cessation of " hostilities " for two or three 
 days ; but they would then return with additional violence ; in fact 
 they increased gradually in violence from the beginning to the 
 middle of April. On the evening of that day, and during the night, 
 they were more violent and destructive than ever before. On the 
 ni^ht of the thirteenth of April, loud pounding and beating, as with 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS* HOUSE. 149 
 
 some hard substance, were frequent in the room adjoining that in 
 which Dr. P. slept; so loud and continued were they, that at 
 one o'clock no person in the house had been able to sleep. Soon 
 after, a small drawer was taken from a dressing-table, and beaten 
 so violently against the bedstead as to break it into fragments, 
 some of which were thrown against the windows, breaking two 
 panes of glass. The knockings were now transferred to Mrs. P.'s 
 room. She was pinched, pricked with pins, and otherwise annoyed 
 in a manner beyond explanation, " on any known laws of matter 
 or mind." Mr. W. C. was staying in the house that night. He 
 went to the room by request, and proposed to interrogate them, as 
 they were then doing at Rochester and other places in western 
 New York. Being left to act his pleasure, he queried, and was 
 replied to as follows : " Who are you? If a spirit, knock." Imme- 
 diately there were heard on the head of the bed distinct knocks. 
 Question. — "Are you a good or bad spirit? If good, knock." 
 To this there was no answering sound. " If a bad spirit, knock." 
 At once the same sounds as before were heard. Question. — "Will 
 you spell your name if the alphabet is called?" Answer. — 
 Knock. It was done ; and a name was spelled out, and a com- 
 munication made of a most extraordinary character, detailing the 
 particulars of a transaction in which a portion of the family were 
 said to have been defrauded out of a large property. As this 
 whole communication relates to a matter which may yet coine 
 before the tribunals of our country for adjudication, I am ex- 
 pressly prohibited from making any extracts from this part of the 
 journal. I regret this more, as the facts in this case form one of 
 the most wonderful and unaccountable cases on record. 
 
 The family concluded that, after these important disclosures 
 were made, the disturbances would cease ; but they were doomed 
 to be disappointed. The following night no communications 
 were made, but the throwing of articles and breaking of windows, 
 crockery, etc., were renewed with greater violence than before. 
 Four or five panes of glass were broken in one room in the space 
 of half an hour. While the family were together in the east 
 13* 
 
150 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 chamber, a small sauce-dish, with an iron handle, rose from the 
 floor, under the wash-stand, and beat against the bedstead with 
 such violence as to break the handle off, and was then thrown back 
 from whence it started. It beat seven or eight times against the 
 bedstead, producing a noise that could easily be heard twenty rods. 
 A round of a chair was beaten against the bedstead, in the same 
 manner, when there was no person within seven or eight feet of 
 it. A lamp that was on the mantel leaped into the middle of the 
 floor, and was extinguished. Being left thus suddenly in the 
 dark, produced no little agitation, and Mrs. Phelps proposed that 
 they should take the children and go into the street, rather than 
 stay in the house that night. In a few minutes two gentlemen, 
 who had appointed to spend the night with them, arrived, and 
 the more violent of the manifestations ceased. 
 
 About this time, Dr. P.'s attention was called to the fact that 
 the demonstrations were much more violent in the presence of 
 some persons than of others. While some were present they 
 would cease entirely, and commence as soon as they left with 
 great vehemence. 
 
 On the 17th the communications were renewed, and from that 
 time they had frequent communications, mainly respecting the 
 property affair. At one time they asked how they should know 
 that this was really from the spirit it purported to be, and re- 
 quested his signature ; when in less than four minutes a small 
 piece of paper having on it an exact fac simile of his handwrit- 
 ing was seen sticking to the wall — the writing apparently done 
 with a pencil. Dr. Phelps still preserves the original paper with 
 the name inked over. It was stuck to the wall by being made 
 damp. 
 
 It was now discovered that, in order to get the rapping, the 
 presence of Henry was necessary. At one time a request was 
 made by the rapping to send him to New York, and a threat 
 that all the windows in the house would be broken, if they did not, 
 was made ; but in a few minutes after, a small piece of paper 
 was seen to fall, apparently from the ceiling, and on it written, 
 
OCCURRED CJ 3 AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 151 
 
 " Send him not to N. Y. — evil will befall him." It was evident 
 that there were two or more contending agencies engaged in the 
 manifestations. It was not easy to define or imagine what their 
 objects were. At times, when one was making a communication 
 the other would rap, seemingly to make confusion. At other 
 times, when a communication was being made by alphabet, a paper 
 would be dropped down, and on it written, " It is all a lie; don't 
 believe what he says." Sometimes language the most profane, 
 and occasionally, but rarely, obscene, would be written out in this 
 way. Inquiry was made as to how these contradictory com- 
 munications were to be accounted for, and the answer was that 
 an opposing spirit was attempting to defeat the object of the first ; 
 that this spirit was now one of his tormentors ; that both were 
 in a state of misery, and his suffering would be mitigated if the 
 object of the first could be accomplished, although he would never 
 go to a state of happiness. 
 
 Among the spirits who communicated were two, who professed 
 to be in a state of happiness, and three in a state of misery. One 
 of the good spirits claimed to be a sister of him who made the 
 first communication ; she communicated frequently, and constantly 
 manifested herself in the morning and evening devotions of the 
 family, and always gave two distinct knocks at the utterance of 
 "Amen." Upon inquiry as to the meaning of these two knocks, 
 the answer was given that it was a response, after the manner of 
 the Episcopal service, signifying that she joined in the devotions. 
 
 Much that was communicated after the first few days was of 
 a trifling and childish character ; some, more like what would be 
 received from street rowdies than anything else. To the question 
 why they destroyed property, they replied, " For fun." It was 
 asked of the opposing spirit what could be done to afford him 
 relief; he answered that " The best thing they could do would be 
 to give him a piece of pie." Sometimes letters would come, pur- 
 porting to be from ministers of Philadelphia, giving accounts of 
 conversions in their congregations and additions to their churches. 
 These were addressed to the Dr. and indicated a knowledge of 
 
152 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 things in Philadelphia to an astonishing degree. Some of the 
 letters were addressed to Mrs. Phelps, signed, or rather purport- 
 ing to be signed, by departed spirits of persons who had lived in 
 Philadelphia, and all, or nearly all, who had lived in a single 
 square, and were the acquaintances of Mrs. Phelps, during a resi- 
 dence in that city, in the time of her former marriage. Senti- 
 mental notes were also addressed to the daughter. These letters 
 and billets were frequent, amounting in all to nearly one hundred, 
 and were all written in one hand, though purporting to come from 
 different persons. The fact was at one time referred to, and an 
 explanation desired, to which the following was given : " We do 
 not write with the hand, — do not touch the pencil ; we write 
 with the will." At one time a paper was thrown down to Mrs. 
 Phelps, while in the parlor with a number of ladies, having written 
 on it, with a pencil, as follows : 
 
 " Sir : Sir Sambo's compliments, and begs the laddyes to 
 accept as a token of esteem." 
 
 A lady in the family of Dr. Phelps had, in a humorous way, 
 requested the spirits to write her a letter that she might send to 
 a friend in Philadelphia. The spirit complied with the request 
 by sending down the following : 
 
 " Dear Mary : I have just time to write and tell you I am 
 well. Give my love to Miss K. and her uncle. Also to Mrs. 
 and Mr. D. Also to Sarah. Good-bye. H. P. Devil." 
 
 The initials of the lady's name, who asked for the letter, 
 were H. P. 
 
 Papers were also thrown down, signed " Beelzebub," and " Sam 
 Slick." Sometimes names of persons, whom the family had known 
 in Philadelphia, but who had been dead several years, were signed 
 to these papers. 
 
 The following was in pencil, and seems to be written in the same 
 hand as the other. It was superscribed " E. Phelps " : 
 
 " If you promise not to write that I told you, I will not throw 
 anything all this week." 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 153 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1850, two singular letters were thrown 
 down, addressed to Dr. Phelps. They were both in one hand- 
 writing, but were signed by two different orthodox clergymen of 
 Philadelphia. Their interest in religious movements, and their 
 acquaintance with the phraseology of " revival " correspondence, 
 are seen at a glance. " St. Peter's," in the second letter, is a 
 Puseyite church. 
 
 " Dear Brother : The Lord is dealing bountifully with his 
 chosen people. Brother Barnes admitted to the church forty- 
 nine last Sunday, and Brother Parker thirty -four to-day. Broth- 
 er Converse has had the cholera, and Brother Fairchild has grown 
 so fleshy as scarcely to be recognized. Our friend Mr. Tarr has 
 buried his wife. She died of consumption. E. Tarr is married. 
 Brother Mahu, being suddenly inspired last Sunday, spoke so elo- 
 quently and so loud, and used such majestic action, as to be quite 
 done up for a while. He broke a blood-vessel. Old Tiers has 
 gone crazy, and is shut up in a mad-house, or, rather, a hospital. 
 
 The H 's have gone into the country to spend some time. 
 
 That 's all the news. 
 
 " Your faithful brother in Christ, 
 • " B. A." 
 
 " Dear Brother : The millennium truly is coming. The day 
 of the Lord is at hand. We are adding countless numbers to 
 the altar of the Lord. Brother A became inspired last Sun- 
 day, to such a degree, that his soul took its flight to the regions 
 above, and has not yet returned. The Catholic churches, St. Jo- 
 seph's and St. Mary's, were burned down; St. Peter's, also — I 
 believe that is a Catholic church. Brother Mahu was preaching 
 from the text, c Besist the devil,' &c, when he was suddenly 
 overturned by an invisible power, which frightened him so that 
 his hair turned white in five minutes. 
 
 " Brother Barnes, to render his church more attractive, is going 
 to have opera singing and dancing, every Sunday p. m. Mrs. 
 Alexander Tower, old Mr. Tiers, Brother Fairchild, and Mrs, 
 
154 MANIFESTATIONS AT STItATFOUD, CONN. 
 
 Somerville, are going to dance. I think they will find it a very 
 lucrative employment. Jane and Martha still progress in 
 Hebrew. " Your affectionate brother, 
 
 « M. R." 
 
 On Sunday, April 27th, 1851, on returning from church, the 
 family found the following characters written on the last leaf of a 
 writing-book, lying on the hall floor, although it was known to be 
 in the nursery previous to their going away. None of the family 
 had any knowledge of how the book got into the hall. 
 
 SPIRITUAL. 
 
 ~C |/Y-=<//LJ)27j/=< P - S - 95 - lst -2d- 
 3ed ^|/£<Dj).<e=Yi/(6th) 
 
 cjgz 
 
 cy 
 
 v—-CD 
 
 SELAH 
 
 H. C. Gordon, a clairvoyant, interpreted the characters as fol- 
 lows : The first line, 95th Psalm, 2d verse ; second line, 3d and 
 6th verse ; and the third line, the 10th verse. 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 155 
 
 The following characters were found on the wall in the east 
 chamber, on Sunday morning, May 4th, 1851. They were made 
 with a candle on the wall near the south window. 
 
 X LT G D 
 
 This was translated to be, " Spirits of a higher order desire to 
 communicate with you soon." 
 
 Spirit-writing, without visible human agency, has never been a 
 common mode of communicating, although it was among the early 
 occurrences at Hydesville, Rochester and Auburn.^ N 
 
 Sometimes these missives were enclosed in a book, and thrown 
 down stairs or into the room ; sometimes wrapped about a key or 
 nail, or anything that would give a momentum, and thrown into the 
 room. Often they were seen to fall from above ; this occurring 
 frequently when the doors were closed, and it was not possible for 
 any visible agent to have been the cause. Writing would appear 
 on the wall at times, made, as it appeared, with a pencil. On 
 one occasion, Dr. Phelps was writing at his desk, and, turning his 
 back for a few moments, without leaving his chair, turned again 
 to his paper, where he found written in large letters, " Yery nice 
 paper and very nice ink for the devil." The ink was not yet dry, 
 the desk was not two feet from him as he sat, and he was entirely 
 alone in the room. 
 
 About the first of May, Dr. Phelps, of Boston, brother of the 
 Rev. Doctor, and Prof. Phelps, of Andover, a son of the Rev. 
 Doctor, went to Stratford to " expose the humbug ;" and with a 
 full belief that it was a trick of evil-minded persons, and that they 
 should be able to detect and expose it without trouble ; and they 
 were disappointed, as hundreds have been under like circum- 
 stances. On Tuesday evening a loud rap was heard on the back 
 
 * Mr. Sunderland, in his "Book of Human Nature," p. 280, says this was 
 the first of the spirit-writing, but he is in error. The author of this work was 
 acquainted with cases of this kind long before the disturbances at Stratford. 
 
156 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFOKD, CONN. 
 
 door, seeming to be made by the knocker, loud enough to be heard 
 twenty rods distant. The servant went to the door, but no person 
 was there. After the lapse of five or eight minutes, the rap was 
 repeated. It was then supposed that some one had done it mis- 
 chievously; but, on looking about, no person was discovered. It 
 was in the shades of evening, but not dark enough to prevent any 
 person being seen, who might have done it, as easily as at mid- 
 day. The knocking came the third time, when Dr. Phelps — the 
 visitor — placed himself in the hall, perhaps four feet from the 
 door, and the Professor, of Andover, took a position on the steps 
 without, each having full view of the door. The same loud raps 
 were repeated on the door between them. The knocker did not 
 move, nor could the eye detect any cause for what met the esfr. 
 The noise was heard throughout the house, and both the gentle- 
 men were positive that no visible agent was employed to produce- 
 it. About bed-time, a loud pounding was heard on the chamber 
 door. The gentlemen, each with a candle in hand, stood on either 
 side of the door, as the pounding, as though done with a heavy 
 boot, was continued. The noise appeared to each to be on the 
 side of the door opposite to him. On the following morning, as 
 Dr. Phelps, of Stratford, was standing at the foot of the stairs 
 leading to the third story, a noise as loud and much resembling 
 the report of a pistol occurred apparently close to his ear. These 
 boisterous sounds occurred at intervals during a great part of the 
 time that the disturbance was continued. Sometimes for weeks 
 they would not be heard ; and again for days they were heard 
 every day. 
 
 It would seem, from various occurrences, that the agents of 
 these sounds, whoever they were, must have been human beings, 
 or, at least, possessed of all the leading characteristics of human- 
 ity. They' were evidently influenced by kindness or unkindness, 
 by respect and confidence, as persons generally are in this life. 
 Some instances, illustrating this, are given. One morning, during 
 the breakfast hour, they would push the table suddenly, raise up 
 one side and shake it in such a manner as to spill the coffee, and 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE, 157 
 
 otherwise occasion serious inconvenience. A person at the table 
 spoke to them in a tone of authority, commanding them to desist ; 
 but the act was at once repeated. Again they were commanded 
 to cease, but increased violence followed this command. This was 
 five or six times repeated, and the shaking was each time renewed. 
 At length another person at the table said, " I request you kindly 
 to cease this annoyance, and allow us to take our breakfast qui- 
 etly," and they ceased at once, without a repetition. It was found, 
 from this time, that kindness had about the same effect upon them 
 that it produces upon mankind at large. A lady, the wife of a 
 clergyman, spent a few weeks in the family during the summer, 
 who received many communications from them, would often, when 
 the scissors, thimble, or things of that kind, were mislaid, say, " I 
 will thank the spirits to return my thimble, scissors," or whatever 
 was missing, and the article named would drop at her side, or in 
 her lap, within a minute. Things of this kind occurred very 
 many times in course of the time that these phenomena were con- 
 tinued. If a key or knife, or anything of the kind, was mislaid , 
 and any person was looking for it, frequently it would be thrown 
 to them as though their wants were anticipated. Dr. Phelps was 
 once with Harry in the stable, when the currycomb could not be 
 found, and he asked Harry where it was ; to which Harry replied 
 that he did not know. At that moment, the doctor saw it rise, 
 as if thrown, from a point ten feet distant from them, and, describ- 
 ing a parabola, fall within a short distance of the spot where they 
 both were standing. 
 
 About the middle of May, Dr. Phelps and Harry were riding 
 to Huntington, a distance of seven miles. When they had pro- 
 ceeded about one mile on the way, a stone, about the size of a 
 hen's egg, was thrown into the carriage, and lodged on Dr. Phelps' 
 hat. Soon another and another were thrown in. The carriage 
 was a covered one, and the back curtain was down, and there was 
 no way a stone could have been thrown in by ordinary means. 
 At one house where they stopped, the moment the front door was 
 opened, two stones were thrown, one of which entered the door as 
 14 
 
158 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 it stood partly open, and the other hit one of the lights of glass, 
 and broke it. Harry was standing on the door-steps at the time, 
 and there was no one inj:he street who could have thrown them. 
 Two stones were also thrown against another house where they 
 stopped of an errand. Sixteen stones were thrown into the car- 
 riage on the doctor's return, and, including those thrown against 
 the two houses, twenty, in driving three or four hours. 
 
 As it was now apparent that these strange things were in some 
 way connected with Harry as a medium, it was thought best to 
 separate him from the family. Accordingly board was obtained 
 for him in a family some two miles distant. One day, when he 
 came home, he told his mother, in great secrecy, that on the night 
 previous he had been awakened from his sleep by some person 
 dressed in white, whom he saw standing by his bedside. He was 
 frightened, and was about to scream, when the person spoke and 
 said, " Be not afraid, my son ; I am your father ; " and then 
 placed in the boy's hand a silver watch, and told him to wear it 
 for his sake. The boy affirms that he had the watch in his hand ; 
 that it was not a dream ; and that he was entirely awake ; and 
 that his father told him to tell no one of it but his mother and 
 Dr. P. His mother told him it was nothing but a dream, and 
 turned it off as a light affair. 
 
 It seems that a valuable silver watch had been left the boy by 
 his father, which was not in use, but had been kept locked up in a 
 drawer of a dressing-table, to which he (Harry) had no access. 
 A member of the family, having occasion to look into the drawer, 
 saw the watch, and knows it was there, and that the drawer was 
 locked, and the key given to Mrs. P. A few minutes after the 
 conversation with his mother about the apparition and the watch, 
 the night previous, he came in from the yard with the watch in 
 his hand ! He said his father had again appeared to him, and 
 put the watch into his hand again, and said, " Wear this for my 
 sake." He brought the watch into the house, and showed it to his 
 mother, and said that his father said, " Tell your mother to look at 
 the second-hand.' 5 The hand was off, and lay on the face of the 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. rilELPS* HOUSE. 159 
 
 watch under the crystal. A credible person will make oath, if 
 called upon, that she saw the watch in the drawer, where it was 
 usually kept, not more than six or eight minutes before, and that 
 she locked the drawer and gave the key to Mrs. Phelps. The 
 key had been in possession of no other person, and Harry had not 
 been in the room during the time. The watch was taken to Dr. 
 P., and he tried to replace the second-hand, but could not succeed. 
 He closed it, leaving the hand loose on the face, and passed it 
 back to Harry, saying that he must take it to the watch-maker. 
 When he took it in his hand, he exclaimed " Why, it 's on ! " 
 They looked, and it was on and going. In a few minutes it was 
 off again, and was put on a second time, all within a minute or 
 two. The doctor affirms that it was not out of his sight a mo- 
 ment ; that he knows the watch was not opened, and that no 
 visible power was employed in doing it. 
 
 On one occasion the piano-forte was played while it is known 
 that no person was in the room ; and, at another time, it was turned 
 around, the front towards the wall, and so far removed from the 
 side of the room as to allow the player room to sit next to the 
 wall ; the stool was also appropriately placed. 
 
 On several occasions, about this time, certain members of the 
 family saw, or thought they did, visible appearances. Dr. P. did 
 not give entire credit to these statements ; not but what he had 
 full confidence in the honesty of the family, but the excited state 
 in which some of them had been for a long time led him to think 
 that they might imagine they saw what had no existence in fact. 
 Towards the last of May, it was signified that one of the spirits 
 who had communicated would appear visibly, — first to the 
 daughter, then to Mrs. P., and then to the doctor himself. They 
 asked in what manner he would appear, and the answer was, " In 
 a sheet." Between ten and eleven o'clock the same night, soon 
 after the family had retired, Anna, who occupied the east bedroom, 
 the door between her room and that where the doctor and his wife 
 slept being open, and a lamp burning on a stand so placed as to 
 light both rooms, called to her mother, and said, " There it is, in 
 
160 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 a sheet." Dr. P. asked where ; when she said it was in the door 
 between the two rooms, coming from the room the doctor occu- 
 pied , but the doctor saw nothing. The daughter was frightened, 
 and covered up her head, and in a few minutes looked up and saw 
 nothing. He was represented as moving slowly from one room to 
 the other. 
 
 In about two minutes Mrs. Phelps exclaimed, " There it is," 
 and drew the clothes over her head. Both the daughter and 
 mother saw it at this time, but still the doctor saw nothing, al- 
 though in as favorable position as either of the others. 
 
 After two or three minutes had elapsed, the doctor also saw it. 
 It appeared to him to move slowly from the hall chamber into his, 
 and turn and move slowly back. It had the appearance of a very 
 tall person with a sheet thrown around it ; he saw only the sheet. 
 In about one minute, something was thrown on to the bed, which 
 proved to be a sheet which had been taken from the wardrobe in 
 the hall. Dr. Phelps declares that he was not frightened in the 
 least, and could not have been mistaken in the appearance. Some 
 two or three weeks subsequent to this a similar appearance was 
 seen, and Dr. P. sprang out of bed, determined to seize hold of it 
 if possible. It came part way into his room, and then moved 
 slowly back. The daughter affirmed that the doctor was within 
 two or three feet of it when it disappeared, and a sheet dropped 
 into a chair. These were the only instances in which the doctor 
 saw anything himself. Others of the family saw persons in a 
 mysterious way several times. 
 
 At one time, while Anna was in the dining-room, and a cousin 
 of hers and some of the children in the front yard, her attention 
 was arrested by some one entering the front parlor. She went in, 
 and saw three gentlemen, — two of them sitting on the sofa, and 
 one on a chair by the table, — all having their hats on, and drawn 
 down over their eyes more than usual ; the one by the table had 
 his feet upon the table, and was reading a paper. She was sur- 
 prised that neither of them rose up, or looked at her as she entered 
 the room : and when she was within five or six feet of the one 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 161 
 
 nearest her, he leaned over on one side and fell, chair and all, on 
 the floor, and instantly all disappeared ! She was frightened, and 
 ran to her cousin, who was near the front door. She came in ; but 
 no persons were there, neither could they have entered without her 
 seeing them. The chair was thrown down, but no person near 
 who could have done it. 
 
 A few other instances occurred in which appearances were sup- 
 posed to have been seen ; but the circumstances were not of a 
 character to put the matter beyond a doubt, therefore no record 
 was kept of them. About the middle of May, Dr. Phelps spent 
 some time with the Fox family in New York. He soon decided 
 that the manifestations were essentially the same as those at his 
 house, with a few points of difference. With them property was 
 not destroyed, and they were not painfully annoyed. The sounds 
 were different, it being with them a double or rolling sound, and 
 at his house a single knock. They could call upon and receive 
 auswers from different spirits, or what claimed to be different ones. 
 This could be done at his house. During the months of June and 
 July the same general occurrences continued at Stratford. Some- 
 times for two or three days there would seem to be an entire ces- 
 sation of " hostilities." Then they would commence again with 
 redoubled force. People from all parts of the country were visit- 
 ing the house, to whom every facility was afforded to search into 
 the cause. Newspaper discussions were going on, casting the most 
 unjust and painful reflections, subjecting the family to suffering 
 little short of martyrdom, while numberless other persons had as 
 good an opportunity of explaining the matter as the persecuted 
 family. In this affliction I can sympathize somewhat with Dr. 
 Phelps and family. In the first days of these phenomena in west- 
 ern New York, all persons who were involved with or interested 
 in them were looked upon and treated at once as void of all com- 
 mon feeling or sensibility, both privately and publicly ; their names 
 passed about, coupled with opprobrious epithets ; their houses were 
 entered without ceremony, and even in the face of direct request 
 to the contrary ; their right to quiet and repose invaded, their 
 14* 
 
162 MANIFESTATIONS AT STilATl'OKD, CONN. 
 
 houses often being crowded with visitors, prompted by idle curios- 
 ity and a malicious desire to torture, beyond the midnight hour ; 
 still insisting to remain, and adding insult to injury by declaring 
 in your ears that it was an arrant cheat, — a grand humbug, — 
 being carried on ; and all for — what ? And at the same time 
 those whose ill-fortune it then seemed to be to have an identity 
 with it were weeping and praying for the scourge to be removed 
 from them ; for scourge it seemed, indeed, under such circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Phelps concluded, in August, as the demonstrations 
 were then less frequent, on taking a short journey of three weeks. 
 The disturbances were still more annoying in their absence than 
 before ; and it was decided as best to close the house for the win- 
 ter, and remain away. Accordingly, en the 11th of September, 
 Harry left for Pennsylvania, and it was arranged that the other 
 members of the family should follow within three weeks. It 
 seems that, although the manifestations were connected more inti- 
 mately with Harry, his presence was not all-important, as they did 
 not cease altogether when he left ; but communications were still 
 made, though with less force and violence. The knockings were 
 not as loud, and the communications less free or frequent. At one 
 time a note was thrown into the room, while Dr. P. was writing 
 at the desk, which contained the following : — " How soon do the 
 family expect to go to Penns}'lvania ? I wish to make some 
 arrangements before they go. Please answer in writing." The 
 doctor replied as desired, as follows, " About the first of Octo- 
 ber," and placed the paper in a position where he had before 
 put writings of the kind, and heard nothing further. 
 
 Two or three days after this, a communication was given by 
 use of the alphabet, saying that Root, a gentleman who had been 
 in the house, had destroyed the doctor's book. He inquired 
 " What book? " and was answered " The big book." Yet he did 
 not know what book was designated, and repeated the question, 
 and received the answer, " The big book in the secretary." Still 
 it was not understood. Again was spelled " Look and see ! " Dr. 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. THELPS' HOUSE. 163 
 
 Phelps had in the secretary two blank books ; in the larger one 
 he had written a full account of the mysterious manifestations, in 
 the form of a diary, and, having noted them as they occurred 
 from day to day, they were recorded with more minuteness than 
 could afterwards be done. Upon looking, it was discovered that 
 every page that had been written upon was torn from the book 
 and gone ! After a long search, the fragments of the leaves were 
 found in the vault. Copies of the characters which the doctor 
 had carefully taken, and felt anxious to preserve, were every scrap 
 gone. There were, in a dressing-table drawer in the chamber, a 
 great number of the notes sent. These were set on fire with a 
 match and burned in the drawer. The fire was discovered by the 
 smoke, but not until the papers were so far charred as to injure 
 them beyond preservation. A few of these writings only are 
 retained, which were in other places. The last of the annoyances 
 was on the 25th of September, and was that of throwing ink 
 upon the daughter's dress. She was standing on the piazza, near 
 the front door ; the window of the front chamber was open, from 
 which was thrown a small bottle of ink. The ink went over her 
 dress in a way to entirely unfit it for further use. There was no 
 person in the chamber who would have done such a thing for mis- 
 chief; and, indeed, no person in the house who would have been 
 guilty of it. 
 
 The young lady was just setting out for a visit at New Haven, 
 from which she was anticipating much pleasure, and I cannot 
 conceive of any feeling, short of sheer malevolence, that would 
 prompt such an act. 
 
 On the second day of October the family, with the exception 
 of Dr. Phelps and the cook, left Stratford to go to Pennsylvania. 
 During their absence all demonstrations ceased, with what may 
 be termed one exception. A letter, addressed by Dr. Phelps to 
 Mrs. Phelps, contained, when it reached her, some of the spirit- 
 writing in pencil, saying that ■' her husband was sick and wished 
 her to return if she expected to see him alive." He was then in 
 good health ; but the next week was sick and confined to his bed 
 
164 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 two or three days. There may or may not have been some con- 
 nection between the two occurrences. It was the design of Dr. 
 Phelps to separate the family for a time, in order, if possible, to 
 get rid of the annoyance ; and for the five weeks he remained at 
 Stratford, after the family had left, no disturbances took place. 
 Harry stayed in Bucks county (Pa.) all winter, and the other 
 members of the family lived in Philadelphia. 
 
 In the month of March the family returned to Stratford. The 
 house had been closed and under the charge of a neighbor, and 
 no sign of any disturbance was visible, as every article of furni- 
 ture was found just as they left it. About the fourth or fifth 
 day after their return slight rapping was heard as they sat at 
 the tea-table. They affected not to notice it, and the next day it 
 was repeated more distinctly, but no response was made. Soon 
 after, certain characters were found about the house, which were 
 known, from the circumstances, to be of recent origin. Two or 
 three days after, distinct communications were made by a spirit 
 purporting to be Dr. Phelps' daughter, who died at the age of 
 twelve years. On being questioned, this spirit could not give any 
 evidence of identity. 
 
 About the first of May several communications of a trifling 
 character were given. On one occasion the doctor asked if they 
 would be troubled any more as they had been, when they answered 
 by rapping the following : 
 
 " Be not afraid that they will trouble you more, 
 Though we have not quitted Connecticut shore." 
 
 At another time certain characters were given, which were 
 interpreted by the rapping as follows : " Evil one has gone, and 
 better one has come." No communications were made after the 
 early part of May, but some things occurred indicating their 
 presence and desire for mischief. 
 
 At one time, on cutting a loaf of bread, there were found in it 
 nails, pen-holders, small sticks and tin, under circumstances which 
 showed that they must have been placed there after it was put 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. NIELPS' HOUSE. 165 
 
 on the table and before the family were ready for tea. At one 
 time Harry's hat was hid away, and then his cap, and then 
 another hat. He took his brother's cap to use, and that was also 
 taken away. On the evening of the 18th of July they set fire to 
 some papers in the doctor's secretary, and some twenty papers 
 and letters were burned before they were discovered. Fire was 
 set at the same time to the papers in both the closets, under the 
 stairs in the hall. They were discovered by the smoke. Two or 
 three days after this, when some friends who had visited them 
 were about to leave, their bonnets and some other articles could 
 not be found, although search was made in every part of the 
 house, until the train by which they were to go to New York had 
 passed. They were at last found, locked into an enclosed wash- 
 stand, in a way that made it morally certain that they could not 
 have been placed there by human hands. 
 
 On the 29th of July Harry left to spend some time at New 
 Lebanon, N. Y.; and during his absence no manifestations were 
 noticed, although they were constantly on the look-out for some- 
 thing of the kind. Anna and her mother left for Philadelphia on 
 the 25th of September, and they had been so long exempt from 
 annoyances that they hoped they had ceased altogether. But 
 Harry had the manifestations at New Lebanon, and there was first 
 operated on, by invisible agency, to produce a magnetic sleep, into 
 w£ich he passed with a sudden shock. He had never been mag- 
 netized before, although frequent attempts had been made to do 
 so. In this state he evinced all the phenomena common to good 
 clairvoyance. On his return to Stratford, on the 9th of October, 
 the sounds accompanied him almost constantly ; but they seemed 
 less inclined to mischief than formerly, because, as they said, 
 " Harry had passed to a higher state, where the low and ignorant 
 spirits could not communicate with him." 
 
 On several occasions characters of a unique description were 
 made. The following were written early in April, 1851 : 
 
 31 
 
166 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATfORD, CONN. 
 
 This Harry interpreted to read : " We are to take our leave of 
 you soon." 
 
 The following were .traced out with chalk on the piazza of the 
 house, on the 31st of March, 1850 : 
 
 EX = ® 
 
 These Harry interpreted to mean : " You may expect good 
 spirits to come by and by." The same characters had been said, 
 by A. J. Davis, to read : " Our society desires through various 
 mediums to impart thoughts." The spirit that seemed to be most 
 prominent in all these communications claimed to be Harry's 
 father, and sometimes a sister of Dr. Phelps, who died about 
 three years previous to this ; also a child of Dr. Phelps, who 
 died more than twenty-two years before. The communications 
 seemed generally to come from the boy's father. On the 12th 
 of October he passed into a mesmeric state, and wrote in these 
 characters, 
 
 which he translated as follows : 
 
 " My dear children : I love you, and try to do everything that 
 will do you good. Obey dear Mr. Phelps in everything, for he 
 knows what is right and what is wrong. This is the advice of 
 your spirit-father." 
 
 On the same paper were written as follows : 
 
 it C =i£ 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 167 
 
 Translation — " You were troubled once with evil spirits; but 
 now they are no more. They have bid adieu, and good spirits 
 have come and are with you all the time." 
 
 Again, occur the following : 
 
 / « X — 3> ^ 9 
 
 Translation — "You must not fear, brother, that you will be 
 troubled with evil spirits any more. No, brother ; no more. 
 
 (SigDed,) " Your spirit-sister, Bliss." 
 
 The person here supposed to communicate is a sister of Dr. 
 Phelps, a widow, who left the earth-sphere in 1848, and by whom 
 several of the previous communications are said to have been made . 
 Other characters, of the same general formation, were made at the 
 same time, but were not then translated. 
 
 On the evening of the 12th, Dr. Phelps, Harry and two 
 younger children, were seated at a table ; responses were frequently 
 given by raps under the table. Dr. Phelps inquired if it would 
 accommodate them at all to have some substance to rap with ; to 
 which they replied affirmatively. He threw down a table-knife ; 
 the raps seemed immediately to be made by striking the knife 
 against the table-leaf, and soon it was tossed up on to the table. 
 A small tea-bell was then placed under the table ; it was rung 
 several times, and tossed on to the table as the knife had been. 
 It was again put down, and returned as before ; the same being 
 repeated several times in succession. The light was then extin- 
 guished, and the candle put under the table with a match-box 
 containing matches, and the spirits requested to light it. They 
 distinctly heard the match drawn upon the bottom of the box, 
 which was prepared with sand-paper for that use. All saw the 
 light ; but the first match went out. Again the scratching of the 
 match was heard ; it ignited, the candle lighted, and was placed 
 
168 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 upon the table ! The experiment was repeated several times, with 
 the same result ; every precaution being taken to prevent col- 
 lusion in the matter. 
 
 On a subsequent occasion a chair was placed upon the table 
 by invisible power, and the two children, Harry and Hannah, 
 raised up and placed upon it ; they could neither of them tell 
 how it was done. The sensation was that of some person plac- 
 ing a hand under them and raising them up. Many of these 
 things occurred when the room was darkened, as has been the 
 case in numerous other places, and for which explanations have 
 been recorded, as given by the spirits. On the evening of the 
 20th of October, the light being put out of the room, the bell was 
 placed under the table, with a request that it should be rung, and 
 placed in the doctor's hand. He was sitting by the table with 
 both his hands lying on his lap open, with the palms upward. 
 The bell rang several times with some violence, and then was 
 placed in his left hand. This was repeated four or five times in 
 succession. Dr. P. sat beyond the reach of any one, and the room 
 was sufficiently light for him to have detected any movement on 
 the part of persons present. He requested them to let him feel 
 the hand that placed the bell in his. Very soon a hand came in 
 contact with his, took hold of his fingers, shaking his hand, passed 
 slowly over the back of his hand, then over the palm again, took 
 hold of his fingers, and he felt what he is sure to have been a 
 human hand. He describes it as being cold and moist, which 
 accords with my own experience repeatedly, and that of my 
 friends. They then took hold of his foot, shook it with much 
 force, loosened the string, took off the shoe, and placed it upon the 
 table before him. At his request the shoe was replaced, the heel 
 adjusted, and the strings drawn up, but not tied. 
 
 On a subsequent occasion a large-sized tea-bell was rung under 
 the table, then rose up, passed round the room, ringing violently 
 all the way, and fell upon the table. The candle was in the 
 closet, but the room was sufficiently light to make it certain that 
 no person left the table to convey it. It was manifest that from 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DR. PHELPS' HOUSE. 
 
 169 
 
 the time Harry returned from New Lebanon the manifestations 
 began gradually to subside. They were less frequent and less 
 marked. It was arranged that he should accompany the family 
 to Philadelphia, and go to a boarding-school at a town about 
 twenty miles distant from the city. At different times he had 
 been told that if he went there he would again be annoyed by bad 
 spirits. The question was many times put, " "Will you annoy him 
 again if he goes to the school ? " Ansiver. — " We will not, but 
 others will." — " What others ? " Answer. — " Those who were 
 with him last summer." — " Will they disturb him if he stays here 
 and goes to the academy in Stratford?" — " No. They will not 
 disturb him while he is with you." — " What will they do if he 
 goes to Pennsylvania?" Am. — "They will tear his clothes, 
 destroy his books, and break his windows." — " Can you not control 
 those bad spirits, and prevent their doing him any injury?" — 
 "No." — " Will you do all you can ?" — "Yes." At another time 
 Dr. Phelps inquired if they would not leave him, as his mother 
 was so much opposed to the whole thing. " Will you not, to 
 oblige her, leave him, that he may be a medium no longer ? " said 
 the doctor. The reply was, " If we leave him, evil spirits will 
 get possession of him again." These communications were made 
 by what purported to be the boy's father. For two weeks previ- 
 ous to going to Philadelphia the manifestations had almost wholly 
 subsided; perhaps only occurred when requested; and notwith- 
 standing the repeated declarations that when he should leave for 
 the school in Pennsylvania, the bad spirits would come in and 
 make him trouble, it was determined to try the experiment, and 
 on the eleventh of November the family set out for Philadelphia, 
 where they were to spend the winter, while Harry was to go to 
 school. He remained with the family in Philadelphia about a 
 week, where a few communications were given to Dr. Phelps in 
 private. The spirits said they would begin to annoy the boy on 
 the cars, on his way to the school, would pinch him and tear his 
 clothes, so that, when he got there, they would be found torn, and 
 that the troubles would follow him in the school as long as he 
 
 15 r 
 
170 MANIFESTATIONS AT STRATFORD, CONN. 
 
 stayed there. Dr. Phelps, under all the circumstances, thought it 
 best not to send him ; but on consultation it was decided to have 
 him go, and on the nineteenth of November he started for the 
 school. Dr. P. went a mile or two with him, put him under the 
 care of the conductor, and told him to report on his return if any- 
 thing worthy of notice occurred on the way. In two days the 
 doctor was sent for to come and take him away. He said that 
 soon after his father left him on the cars, he was pinched, pricked 
 with pins, and annoyed in various other ways until he reached his 
 destination ; that, on his arrival there, he found that his panta- 
 loons were torn in front, between the waistband and the knees, in 
 two places, several inches in length. He changed them for 
 another pair, which were new, and made of very substantial mate- 
 rial, and these were torn down in front, at least half a yard in 
 length, before the doctor arrived there. The knockings had 
 attended him in school and other places ; his books were torn and 
 damaged to the amount of two dollars, which the doctor paid. 
 The family where he was had become alarmed, and would not 
 keep him, and he was taken away. The boy stated that on one 
 of the evenings, while he was there, he was walking in the street, 
 when his cap was mysteriously taken from his head and thrown 
 upon the sidewalk. As he stooped to pick it up, he saw the flash 
 of a gun at some distance, and a bullet passed over his back and 
 struck a board fence near him. He was afterward informed by 
 the rapping that, had he not stooped down, he would have been 
 killed, and that his friendly spirit took this means to preserve 
 him. 
 
 Dr. P. now concluded to return with Harry to Stratford, and 
 was told that the bad spirits would have no control over hirn there. 
 The family in which they resided in Philadelphia had become 
 alarmed at the strange occurrences, and finally they again returned 
 to Stratford. From that time the disturbances began to subside, 
 and by the fifteenth of December, 1851, they had ceased 
 altogether. The family remained at Stratford till the spring of 
 1852, when they returned to their former residence in the city. 
 
OCCUllllENCES AT DR. PHELPS HOUSE. 
 
 171 
 
 The house at Stratford is occupied by another family, but no dis- 
 turbances have ever occurred with the family which now occupy 
 the house, and none with Dr. P.'s family since the above date. 
 
 Thus ends one of the most remarkable histories in the whole 
 course of modern spiritual manifestations. The authority on 
 which it comes to the world is indisputable, and the characters of 
 all concerned are beyond suspicion. It will be observed that 
 generally the demonstrations, as in case of Mr. Calvin R. Brown, 
 in the Fox family, were less boisterous after the family consented 
 to hold communication with them. It seemed to be the desire of 
 a spirit to communicate and set right a matter which was making 
 him unhappy. This accomplished, the demonstrations ceased. 
 
 From the foregoing narrative it will be seen that these phenom- 
 ena do not attach to places, as some have supposed. It makes 
 the fact equally clear that they do attach to persons, and that 
 without certain media they cannot, to any extent, take place. If 
 there is such a thing as " haunted houses," they must belong to 
 another class of phenomena, or a very different phase of the same, 
 than those always depending on the presence of particular persons, 
 as at the house in Stratford. 
 
 Another fact seems also to be proved by the above narration, 
 namely, that persons may be powerful mediums at one time and 
 afterwards lose the power, for neither of the media of Dr. Phelps' 
 family in Stratford have had any proof of mediumship for years. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY — VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY — MEET- 
 ING OF LITERATI THEIR REPORT OPPONENTS THE PRESS OF THE 
 
 CITY HORACE GREELEY RETURN OF THE FAMILY TO ROCHESTER FORM- 
 ATION OF CIRCLES IN NEW YORK CREDULITY MR. CHARLES PAR- 
 TRIDGE OCCURRENCES AT HIS HOUSE EDWARD P. FOWLER CONFER- 
 ENCE MEETING — MRS. BROWN — JUDGE EDMONDS, &C., &C. 
 
 The advent of the manifestations in the city of New York was 
 in the spring of 1850, when the Fox family went there and took 
 rooms at Barnum's Hotel, where they were visited by hundreds 
 of curious visitors, who had read and heard much of the strange 
 phenomena with which the three sisters were attended. Their 
 presence in the city called forth the criticisms of the press, and 
 the editors were almost universal in their denunciations. One 
 or two allowed both sides a hearing, while others, and far the 
 greatest number, denounced the whole of the alleged phenomena 
 as a deception, the mediums as wicked impostors, and all who 
 believed them to be true to be idiots, lunatics, or knaves. But 
 curiosity had so far obtained the mastery of bigoted opposition as 
 to lead many of the most eminent men of the city to give the sub- 
 ject a fair investigation. The result was, as elsewhere, the mak- 
 ing of many converts, and these were not from among men of 
 inferior intellects or of unbalanced minds. 
 
 Not long after the arrival of the mediums a number of literary 
 gentlemen assembled at the house of Rev. Dr. Griswold, an Epis- 
 copal clergyman, in Broadway. Neither of the sisters Fox had 
 ever been at the house before, and the meeting was called for the 
 purpose of testing, as far as they were able, the validity of these" 
 
MEETING OF LITERATI. 173 
 
 alleged manifestations. Among the company were J. Fennimore 
 Cooper, the novelist, Mr. George Bancroft, the historian, Rev. 
 Dr. Hawks, Dr. J. W. Francis, Dr. Marcy, Mr. N. P. Willis, 
 Mr. William Cullen Bryant, the poet, and Mr. Bigelow, of the 
 Evening Post, Mr. Richard B. Kimball, Mr. H. Tuckerman, and 
 Gen. Lyman. These gentlemen were well known throughout 
 the country, and the report was well calculated to carry much 
 weight with it, let it be on which side it would. The result was 
 highly satisfactory to the mediums and their friends. 
 
 On this occasion Mrs. Fox and her three daughters were pres- 
 ent. Mr. Tuckerman was among the first to interrogate the 
 spirits. Among his questions were the following in regard to an 
 individual whose name he had not spoken, but had simply in his 
 mind. 
 
 " Did he live in New York ? " No answer. " In Baltimore ? 
 in Cambridge ? in Boston ? " — three distinct raps, which is the 
 sign of an affirmative answer. A negative reply is indicated by 
 silence. Mr. T. continued, " Was he a lawyer ? a merchant ? a 
 physician ? a clergyman ? " Knocks. "Was he an Episcopalian ? 
 a Presbyterian ? a Unitarian ? " — going over the names of the 
 principal sects. No answer. At the suggestion of a gentleman, 
 Mr. T. asked, " Was he a Christian ? " Knocks. Mr. T. then 
 asked the age of the person in a series of tens. " Was he 
 twenty years old at the time of his death ? was he thirty ? fifty ? 
 sixty ? " Knocks. " Has he left a family ? " Knocks. " Chil- 
 dren ? " Knocks. "Five? three? two?" Knocks. "Did 
 he die in Boston ? in Philadelphia ? in Albany ? in Northamp- 
 ton ? in Bennington ? " Knocks. " Did he die of consumption ? 
 of fever ? of cholera ? of old age ? " Knocks. 
 
 The person in Mr. Tuckerman's mind was the late Dr. Wil- 
 liam Ellery Channing, the eminent and liberal Unitarian divine. 
 He lived in Boston, and died in Bennington, Vt., while on a 
 journey. 
 
 Dr. John Francis having fixed in his mind the name of an in- 
 dividual, the "rapping^' spelled out B-u-r — when several of the 
 15* 
 
174 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YOKK CITY. 
 
 company exclaimed, spontaneously, " Robert Burns." This was 
 the true answer, and, after an interesting interview with the bard 
 of Scotia, the doctor declined asking any more questions. 
 
 Mr. Jas. Fennimore Cooper then asked, " Is the person I in- 
 quire about a relative ? " — " Yes" was at once indicated by the 
 knocks. — " A near relative ? " — " Yes." — " A man ? " No an- 
 swer. " A woman ? " — "Yes." — " A daughter ? a mother ? a 
 wife ? " No answer. " A sister ? " — " Yes." Mr. C. then asked 
 the number of years since her death. Fifty knocks were given, and 
 the number unanimously so announced by the company. Mr. C. 
 now asked, " Did she die of consumption ? " and naming several dis- 
 eases to which no answer was given. " Did she die by accident? " 
 — " Yes." — " Was she killed by lightning ? was she shot ? was 
 she lost at sea ? did she fall from a carriage ? was she thrown 
 from a horse ? " — " Yes." 
 
 Mr. Cooper here discontinued his investigations, and informed 
 the company that just fifty years ago that present month he had 
 a sister thrown from a horse and killed, and that all the answers 
 in regard to her were strictly correct. 
 
 Mr. Ripley, one of the editors of the Tribune, a man of can- 
 dor and great intelligence, drew up the report of the whole pro- 
 ceedings, of which the above is but a short extract, and in con- 
 clusion he says : 
 
 "The evening was now far advanced, and it was not thought 
 desirable to continue our colloquies any further. At the suggestion 
 of several gentlemen, the ladies removed from the sofa, where 
 they had sat during the evening, and remained standing in 
 another part of the room. The knockings were now heard on the 
 doors, at both ends of the room, producing a vibration on the 
 panels which was felt by every one who touched them. Different 
 gentlemen stood on the outside and inside of the door at the same 
 time, when loud knockings were heard on the side opposite to 
 where they stood. 
 
 " The ladies were at such a distance from the door, in both 
 
OPPONENTS THE PRESS. 175 
 
 cases, as to render no countenance to the idea that the sounds 
 were produced bj any direct communication with them. They 
 now went into a parlor under the room in which the party was 
 held, accompanied by several gentlemen, and the sounds were 
 then produced with great distinctness, causing sensible vibrations 
 in the sofa, and apparently coming from a thick hearth-rug before 
 the fire-place, as well as from other quarters of the room. 
 
 " Such are the most important facts which we can recall of the 
 manifestations of the evening. We believe we have stated them 
 without any coloring whatever, as they appeared to every one 
 present, but, with regard to their origin or their nature, we are 
 as much in the dark as any of our readers." 
 
 Such candid statements, made on the authority of men eminent 
 for their literary attainments and sense of honor, attracted very 
 general attention, and it was hard to conceive how a whole com- 
 pany of them could be deceived by a couple of girls. 
 
 About this time the discussion of the subject by the newspaper 
 press was at its height, and no day passed without some comment 
 on the strange phenomena. As often as once a day some " ex- 
 pose " appeared ; but the great difficulty seemed to be that each 
 expose was contradicted by some other from a different quarter, 
 so that the different exponents were more contradictory than the 
 various communications from discordant spirits. 
 
 x\mong the many persons who figured as the discoverers of 
 fraud were Mr. John "W. Hum, of Rochester, N. Y., John Stan- 
 ley Grimes, a noted lecturer on phrenology, mesmerism, electro- 
 psychology, &c, Rev. John M. Austin, of Auburn, N. Y. (Uni- 
 versalist minister), a clerk in the New York custom-house, who 
 wrote over the signature "Shadrach Barnes," and several other 
 individuals. The most prominent of the newspapers which daily 
 "exposed "the whole affair, were the Neio York Express, the 
 Herald, the Commercial Advertiser, the Journal of Commerce, 
 the Morning Star, the Day-Book, and some others ; and among 
 the weeklies, the Police Gazette, the New York Observer (reli- 
 gious), the Sunday Times (then edited by M. M. Noah, the Jew), 
 
176 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 and all the religious press without exception. In another part of 
 this work, I propose to give the substance of the different objec- 
 tions and pretended exposures, that they may be placed on record 
 for future reference. 
 
 Very frequently persons who visited the family at Barnum's 
 Hotel gave short accounts of their interviews, which were rarely 
 refused, when confined mostly to facts, a place in the Tribune. 
 The following is one of that class : 
 
 u Mr. Editor : Permit me to state briefly my own experience 
 in reference to the phenomena called the Mysterious Knockings. 
 On Saturday last, being at Barnum's Hotel, in company with 
 several others, I called on the celebrated ladies whose names are 
 associated with the knockings. After several partial attempts at 
 communications with spirits on the part of different members of 
 the company, a gentleman present asked permission to question 
 the spirits in his own way, which was granted. He commenced 
 with the question, Will you hold communication with me to- 
 day ? A?is. (Prompt, three loud raps) Yes. Q. Will the spirit 
 of my mother answer me ? A. Yes. Q. Will the spirit answer 
 me when I place my mind on the spot where my mother died ? 
 A. Yes. (Correct.) Q. Will the spirit tell me the spot where her 
 ashes now moulder, when my mind indicates it ? A. Yes. (Cor- 
 rect.) Q. Is my mother happy? Q. Am I happy? A. (One 
 loud rap.) No. Q. Which of the following situations in business 
 will be the most eligible ? The answer here was very prompt, 
 and was the truest answer that could be given. Q. Will 
 either of the names in the following list ever become my wife ? 
 A. Yes. Q. Will the spirit indicate which one ? A. Yes. Q. 
 Will the spirit spell .the lady's name when the letters are called ? 
 A. Yes, — when the name of Miss was spelled for- 
 ward and back, and every question answered in relation to her; 
 but if any other subject was named, the spirit would repeat, 
 1 Done,' and gave no other reply. In this case the questions 
 were put mentally, and none could know their import, and, let 
 the origin be what it may, the answers were correct, in every in- 
 
EXTRACTS PROM THE N. Y. EXPRESS. 177 
 
 stance, when any answer could be given. And. although quite 
 marvellous, I make this statement in good faith, and can only say 
 I admit the existence of the phenomena, but know nothing of the 
 nature of the sounds. S." 
 
 Notwithstanding the violent opposition of the New York Ex- 
 press, one of the reporters of that paper came out in an article 
 at some length, and closed by saying that " those who accuse the 
 ladies of making the rappings, or of being accessory to the mode 
 of producing them, will be satisfied generally, in a short time, 
 that such is not the case, as they are heard at so many different 
 places at the same time, and in such different sounds also, that it 
 would be impossible to produce them by any machinery. There 
 does not • seem to be any set time or place when they appear, as 
 after the public interview was ended, and the ladies had gone into 
 the public parlor, the noise was continued, sometimes under foot, 
 and again upon the parlor door, where there could be no collusion, 
 as both sides of it were watched. I can offer no explanation of 
 these sounds; I believe them to be inexplicable. If any one 
 thinks he can explain them, he had better see for himself before 
 undertaking it. I do know that, when the rapping was heard 
 near me, I felt a distinct jar or vibration, sometimes near my foot, 
 and again over it." 
 
 A correspondent of the same paper wrote as follows: "We 
 have had our hour with the ' spirits,' and a very agreeable hour 
 it was, too, so entirely different from anything we had anticipated, 
 so perfectly free from any ' art or trickery,' that we feel bound 
 to confess that we stood before these innocent, artless girls, over- 
 whelmed with astonishment and utterly confounded. That we 
 were in the presence of spirits willing to commune with us, was 
 hard, very hard to believe. That anything but a spirit could 
 have answered our questions so correctly, we do not believe ; for 
 instance, after going through with the usual preliminaries, and 
 finding that the spirits manifested a willingness to answer our 
 interrogatories, we took from our pocket a card, on which were 
 
178 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW Y0I1K CITY. 
 
 numbers, running from sixty down to thirty, omitting only our 
 correct age, and requesting them to knock when we pointed to our 
 age ; and after running over the card some three or four times 
 we could get no answer. We then took another card, precisely 
 similar, with the exception that our own age was on it, and the 
 moment we pointed to it the answer was correctly given. We 
 then requested that when we pointed to our age again, three dis- 
 tinct raps should be given, and it was done. - We then requested 
 (mentally) that if they were spirits, they would manifest them- 
 selves by rapping on the soles of our feet ; — they did so, and the 
 feeling was as palpable as would be that of a small hammer, and 
 the sound so loud as to be heard by all in the room. Now, is not 
 tj^is, to say the least, very strange ? " 
 
 Many distinguished visitors waited upon the mediums, and a 
 large proportion of them became converts to the spiritual theory. 
 Yet they were very slow to avow their belief while it remained so 
 unpopular, and while the press treated the subject with such uni- 
 versal ridicule. However, there were not wanting men of moral 
 courage, who boldly advocated not only the total absence of all 
 intentional fraud on the part of the ladies, but avowed their belief 
 in the spirituality of the communications. In answer to the 
 attacks of J. Stanly Grimes and others, William Fishbough, of 
 Williamsburgh, wrote a series of able articles in the Tribune, 
 taking the spiritual side. 
 
 During the time of the mediums' visit to the city, circles were 
 formed by a number of individuals, who were determined to inves- 
 tigate the matter to its fullest extent. Other mediums were soon 
 developed, and the investigations could be carried on without the 
 presence of any of the family who had excited so much curiosity 
 and angry newspaper discussion. 
 
 It was after a visit of two months or more that the Fox family 
 left the city to return to their homes in Ptochester. Some time 
 previous to their leaving, they had left the hotel and visited pri- 
 vate families, where better opportunities were afforded for investi- 
 gation. Among the families visited was that of Horace Greeley, 
 
OPINIONS OF HORACE GREELEY. 179 
 
 editor of the Tribune, and, after their departure, he published the 
 following in his paper, over his own initials : 
 
 "THE MYSTERIOUS RAPPINGS. 
 
 " Mrs. Fox and her three daughters left our city yesterday, on 
 their return to Rochester, after a stay here of some weeks ; dur- 
 ing which they have subjected the mysterious influence, by which 
 they seem to be accompanied, to every reasonable test, and to the 
 keen and critical scrutiny of hundreds who have chosen to visit 
 them, or whom they have been invited to visit. The rooms which 
 they occupied at the hotel have been repeatedly searched and 
 scrutinized ; they have been taken without an hour's notice into 
 houses they had never before entered ; they have been all uncon- 
 sciously placed on a glass surface, concealed under the carpet, in 
 order to interrupt electrical vibrations ; they have been disrobed 
 by a committee of ladies, appointed without notice, and insisting 
 that neither of them should leave the room until the investigation 
 had been made, &c. &c. ; yet we believe no one, to this mo- 
 ment, pretends that he has detected either of them in producing 
 or causing the ' rappings,' nor do we think any of their contem- 
 ners has invented a plausible theory to account for the production 
 of these sounds, nor the singular intelligence which (certainly at 
 times) has seemed to be manifested through them. 
 
 " Some ten or twelve days since, they gave up their rooms at the 
 hotel, and devoted the remainder of their sojourn here to visiting 
 several families, to which they had been invited by persons inter- 
 ested in the subject, and subjecting the singular influence to a 
 closer, calmer examination than could be given to it at a hotel, 
 and before casual companies of strangers, drawn together by vague 
 curiosity more than rational interest, or predetermined and invin- 
 cible hostility. Our own dwelling was among those they thus 
 visited ; not only submitting to, but courting, the fullest and 
 keenest inquiry with regard to the alleged ' manifestations ' from" 
 the spirit-world, by which they were attended. We devoted what 
 time we could spare from our duties, out of three days, to this 
 
180 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 subject; and it would be the basest cowardice not to say that we 
 are convinced beyond a doubt, of their perfect integrity and good 
 faith in the premises. Whatever may be the origin or cause of 
 the ' rappings,' the ladies in whose presence they occur do not 
 make them. "We tested this thoroughly and to our entire satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " Their conduct and bearing is as unlike that of deceivers as 
 possible ; and we think no one acquainted with them could believe 
 them at all capable of engaging in so daring, impious and shame- 
 ful a juggle as this would be if they caused the sounds. And it 
 is not possible that such a juggle should have been so long perpe- 
 trated in public. A juggler performs one feat quickly, and hurries 
 on to another ; he does not devote weeks after weeks to the same 
 thing over and over, deliberately, in full view of hundreds who sit 
 beside or confronting him in broad daylight, not to enjoy, but to 
 detect his trick. A deceiver naturally avoids conversation on the 
 subject of his knavery, but these ladies converse freely and fully 
 with regard to the origin of these ' rappings ' in their dwellings, 
 years ago, the various sensations they caused, the neighborhood 
 excitement created, the progress of the developments, — what 
 they have seen, heard and experienced from first to last. If all 
 were false, they could not fail to have involved themselves ere 
 this in a labyrinth of blasting contradictions, as each separately 
 gives accounts of the most astonishing developments at this or that 
 time. Persons foolish enough so to commit themselves without 
 reserve or caution, could not have deferred a thorough self-exposure 
 for a single week. 
 
 " Of course, a variety of opinions of so strange a matter would 
 naturally be formed by the various persons who have visited them, 
 and we presume that those who have merely run into their room 
 for an hour or so, and listened, among a huddle of strangers, to a 
 medley of questions — not all admitting of very profitable an- 
 swers — put to certain invisible intelligences, and answered by 
 ' rappings,' or singular noises on the floor, table, &c, as the alpha- 
 bet was called over, or otherwise, would naturally go away, per- 
 
OPINIONS OP HORACE GREELEY. 181 
 
 haps puzzled, probably disgusted, rarely convinced. It is hardly 
 possible that a matter, ostensibly so grave, could be presented 
 under circumstances less favorable to conviction. But of those 
 who have enjoyed proper opportunities for a full investigation, we 
 believe that fully three fourths are convinced, as we are, that these 
 singular sounds and seeming manifestations are not produced by 
 Mrs. Fox and her daughters, nor by any human being connected 
 with them. 
 
 "How they are caused, and whence they proceed, are questions 
 which open a much wider field of inquiry, with whose way-marks 
 we do not profess to be familiar. He must be well acquainted 
 with the arcana of the universe, who shall presume dogmatically 
 to decide that these manifestations are natural or supernatural. 
 The ladies say that they are informed that this is but the begin- 
 ning of a new era, or economy, in which spirits clothed in the 
 flesh are to be more closely and palpably connected with those 
 who have put on immortality ; that the manifestations have 
 already appeared in many other families, and are destined to be 
 diffused and rendered clearer, until all who will may communicate 
 freely with their friends who have ' shuffled off this mortal coil.' 
 Of all this we know nothing, and shall guess nothing. But if we 
 were simply to print (which we shall not) the questions we asked 
 and answers we received, during a two hours' uninterrupted con- 
 ference with the ' rappers,' we should at once be accused of having 
 done so expressly to sustain the theory which regards these mani- 
 festations as the utterances of departed spirits. 
 
 "H. G." 
 
 This testimony was due to the Fox family, and was honorable 
 to the independent and high-minded editor, who dared to brave 
 public opinion, and utter his convictions, after a candid and patient 
 investigation. Such a course presents a striking contrast to those 
 lesser lights of the editorial profession who condemn without ever 
 having investigated at all. 
 
 On the return of the family from New York to their home in 
 16 
 
182 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 Rochester, their house was thronged, and they found it utterly 
 impossible to fulfil their intentions of remaining at home and 
 retiring from all public observation. The only way left for them 
 seemed to be to make themselves servants of the public, and allow 
 this strange matter to be fully. investigated by all who wished, — 
 the same public, who used their time, paying them for it, so that 
 they might obtain the means of living. Many of their friends 
 advised them to this course, as did also their invisible attend- 
 ants. 
 
 The fact of their taking pay for their time has often been used 
 as an argument to prove that the whole was a mere money-making 
 trick, and as prima facie evidence of fraud. Why the preaching 
 of tangible spiritualism should be subject to such an imputation, 
 more than any other preaching, is not entirely plain, unless it be 
 that the paying of one kind of preachers is an old custom, and 
 those who conform to it do not feel willing to admit a new class 
 of competitors into the field. We have never been able to com- 
 prehend why one person should devote his or her time to the 
 service of the public, — whether as preacher of religion, the de- 
 monstrator of some new truth, or the gratifier of curiosity, — 
 without compensation, more than another ; yet it seemed to be 
 expected of the Fox family that they should give their time with- 
 out compensation, or be accused of trickery — a rule which theo- 
 logical teachers would deem very unjust when applied to them ; 
 — - and it is questionable whether they would make a greater 
 sacrifice than did this same family to sustain their several 
 religions. 
 
 Finding themselves forced into a public position, they abandoned 
 nil ideas of quiet, and made a tour to the west, where they created 
 the same excitement as in other parts of the country ; and in the 
 Autumn of the same year they made a second visit to Isew York. 
 In the mean time, several other persons had become mediums for 
 various manifestations in the city, and many distinguished men 
 had become interested. Among the first concerted movements 
 was the New York Circle, formed on the first of August, 1851, 
 
FANATICISM. 18S 
 
 consisting' of the following members : Hon. J. W. Edmonds, 
 Edward P. Fowler, Miss A. L. Fowler, Dr. J. B. Gray and lady, 
 Dr. Hull, Charles Partridge, Mrs. S. A. Partridge, Dr. Warner, 
 Dr. R. T. Hallock and lady, W. J. Baner and lady, and Robert 
 T. Shannon. Occasionally, Professor George Bush, Hon. J. W. 
 Edmonds, S. B. Brittan, Almon Roff, and others, met with them 
 by invitation.. These were the pioneer investigators of New York 
 city. 
 
 From that time circles were formed and new mediums were 
 developed in rapid succession. In some circles the most ridicu- 
 lous and fanatical scenes were enacted under direction of the 
 invisible agencies, and men who were generally reasonable, when 
 once they became possessed with the idea that they had discov- 
 ered a perfect guide in the new and strange phenomena, seemed 
 willing to merge their common sense in it, and be guided by all 
 that the " spirits " told them, however at variance with sound 
 reason or philosophy. Thus, we have an authenticated account 
 of a circle of intelligent men who were told to " all lie down on 
 the floor " in a dark room, and actually obeyed ! There was no 
 remarkable manifestation in this case except of the resignation of 
 reason to an unknown but supposed superior power. Continued 
 investigation revealed the fact that the spirits were, like mortals, 
 liable to great mistakes in philosophy, facts and reasoning. Some 
 bitter disappointments and mortifying experiences were necessary 
 to stay the tide of fanatical belief in the perfection of all spir- 
 itual communications ; and the experiences were abundant, and 
 generally produced the desired effect. Learning that all was not 
 perfectly reliable, they became prepared to find their true value 
 by more careful investigation. 
 
 While there were a large number of the above stamp, there 
 were calm, sceptical, philosophical persons, who contested every 
 inch of ground, and yielded to the spiritual theory when forced, 
 by the most unmistakable evidence, to do so. The pioneer of this 
 class of investigators was Mr. Charles Partridge, who for some 
 time kept Margaretta and Catharine Fox at his house, for the 
 
184 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 purpose of seeing the manifestations in every conceivable form. 
 He had merely called on them when they were at Barnum's 
 Hotel, during their first visit to New York, but without obtain- 
 ing much satisfaction. On his return from a western journey, he, 
 in company with his wife, called at the house of the Fox family, 
 in Rochester, where he had a manifestation so remarkable as to 
 be worthy of record ; especially as it was the first convincing 
 proof to one who has since become one of the most effectual 
 champions of the spiritual cause in this country. 
 
 When he visited the family at Rochester he was a stranger to 
 them and in the city. Immediately after taking seats around the 
 table the rapping commenced. Mr. Partridge asked if the spirit 
 would rap if he would write the name it bore on earth. Ans. 
 " Yes." He then wrote down the names of some dozen persons, 
 living and deceased, and raps were made while writing the names 
 of his brother, who died in California, in September, 1849. To 
 ascertain the month, he wrote down several months on a paper, 
 and when he came to September there was a rap. In the same 
 way the day of the month on which his spirit left the body was 
 indicated. Many other test questions were answered correctly, 
 and some information spelled out by the alphabet which Mr. Par- 
 tridge supposed was not correct, but which subsequently proved 
 to be true. 
 
 They left for their hotel, and returned about four o'clock, p. m., 
 when, being again in communication, some twenty names were 
 written down, to get the one communicating, about half of them 
 being of persons living. Raps were made at the names of a 
 deceased son, brother and cousin, and while pointing to them, 
 with his arm resting on a heavy dining-table, it moved away from 
 him some eighteen inches. He was somewhat astonished, and 
 drew it back, and it moved away again. He then got up and 
 made a minute examination of the floor and table, till he was 
 convinced that no person touched it, and no machinery was 
 attached to it. Soon after this a terrible creaking noise com- 
 menced, like the laboring and creaking of a ship in a heavy sea, 
 
INVESTIGATIONS OF MR. C. PARTRIDGE. 185 
 
 with an occasional dull, heavy sound, as if a wave had struck her 
 heavily on the side. This was continued ten or twelve minutes. 
 Mrs. Fish remarked that it was an unusual sound, and she did 
 not know what it meant. Mr. Partridge thought it resembled 
 the creaking of the steamer Atlantic before her wreck on Fisher's 
 Island, in November, 1846, when he was on board, and barely 
 escaped with his life ; being the only one that escaped from the 
 stern of the vessel. The representation brought to his mind a 
 young lady who was under his care, and was lost, and on add- 
 ing her name to the list a shower of raps was heard, apparently 
 all over the table. Mrs. Fish asked if he knew what it all 
 meant. He replied that he believed he did, but did not wish to 
 tell her, as it would be an excellent test. He asked if the last 
 name written by him was the one the spirit bore, and was 
 answered by a shower of raps. To the question " How many 
 years since your death ? " it replied by three full and one partial 
 rap, signifying three years and a fraction, which was correct. He 
 then wrote down the months of the year, to ascertain when the 
 occurrence took place, and the rapping came promptly on Novem- 
 ber. He then commenced at one, and made figures denoting the 
 days of the month, and the rapping came on 27 and 28, which 
 was correct. Mrs. Fish thought it was wrong, and said she could 
 not have died on two days, supposing that it was in regard to her 
 death that she was answering ; but Mr. Partridge continued his 
 questions in regard to some other incidents, all of which were 
 answered to his entire satisfaction. 
 
 The extraordinary manifestation of sounds, like that of a ship 
 laboring with a heavy sea, was so far from anything expected, and 
 it was so palpably done without any mechanical means, so apt for 
 the man and the occasion, and brought the whole of that terrible 
 scene of danger and death so vividly before him, that it was not easy 
 for him to escape conviction on the spot. But, strange and unac- 
 countable as it was, his naturally sceptical mind waited for still 
 more ample evidence, which he obtained only by a long course of 
 16* 
 
186 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 rigid investigation, with the medium in his own house, and by 
 attending circles organized for such investigation. 
 
 A curious and convincing manifestation (among numerous 
 others) took place at his house, with Catharine Fox as the me- 
 dium, in presence of two of his neighbors, who had seen some- 
 thing previously, but had expressed the opinion to Mr. Partridge 
 that they were all deceived, and that the medium was an impostor. 
 Mr. Partridge, being anxious to detect any trick, urged them to 
 come again and assist him in proving their suspicions true, if 
 they had any foundation. They finally came, with a confident 
 expectation that they were, at last, to make the whole matter 
 plain. After they were all seated by the table the alphabet was 
 called for, and one of the visitors was asked by the spirits, 
 " What will satisfy you? " His answer was : " I will be satis- 
 fied if I can see that lamp move about on the table without any 
 person touching it." They then spelled to the other visitor, 
 " What will satisfy you ? " He replied : "To see the medium 
 stand up in the chair so that we can see her feet, and then hear 
 the rapping." The spirits then spelled, " Cathy (the medium), 
 stand up in the chair." She stood up. in the chair, and the rap- 
 ping was made in various places, and in great abundance. She 
 was then requested to sit down, which she did, when the lamp on 
 the table was moved about, without any visible means, to the 
 entire satisfaction of the sceptic. But the scene did not end 
 here. The spirits requested the whole company to go and stand 
 by the front window, some dozen feet from the table. They did 
 so, leaving the chairs standing around the table, just as they had 
 occupied them. ' After they had taken their places by the window 
 the chairs at the end of the table moved, one to the right and 
 the other to the left, forming an opening through which the table 
 moved out slowly, and came to the place where they were all 
 standing ! Here was a case so palpable that the two sceptics 
 could not disbelieve, however much they might wish to; for 
 their senses could not be mistaken in such a case. It is need- 
 less to say that they acknowledged themselves ful]y convinced 
 
AUT0G11APHIC MANUSCRIPTS. 187 
 
 that whatever the power was, it was not the medium that caused 
 the extraordinary manifestations. 
 
 One of the most remarkable manifestations on record, since the 
 commencement of modern " miracles," is that which took place 
 with Edward P. Fowler, in the production of autographic manu- 
 scripts by the agency of spirits. At a meeting of the New York 
 Circle (before spoken of), held on the 11th of December, 1851, 
 at the house of Charles Partridge, the subject of Kossuth's mis- 
 sion to this country was incidentally introduced, when the spirits 
 spelled to E. P. Fowler the following : 
 
 " Edward, put a paper on your table, and we will write a sen- 
 timent, and subscribe our names ; then you may all sign it too." 
 
 In giving a precise statement of the occurrences,^ Mr. Fowler 
 states that the original paper containing the autographs was found 
 on his table about three o'clock one afternoon, on his return from 
 business ; the paper being drawing-paper which was incidentally 
 left blank in his room on going away. This was taken to the 
 circle, and the signatures of the members subscribed to it ; but 
 they had omitted the history of the occurrence, and, there being 
 some irregularity in fixing the signatures, the spirits told him 
 (Edward) to " burn that, and we will write upon another." 
 
 In accordance with this direction, a parchment was procured 
 and placed on Edward's table, and the autographs were repro- 
 duced during the night while he was in bed and asleep, and he 
 most solemnly avers that with many of the signatures he was 
 wholly unacquainted. Indeed, it would hardly be supposed that 
 he was acquainted with the signatures of many who were never 
 known in public life, and had passed from existence before he was 
 born. There were also other writings of various oriental lan- 
 guages found in his room, and in regard to all of them he says : 
 " That these writings have not been imposed upon me I know, 
 because I have seen some of them written. I have seen them 
 
 * See Richmond and Brittan's Discussion, Letter I. 
 
188 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW Y011K CITY. 
 
 written in the daytime as well as night ; and that I was in no 
 abnormal condition I infer from the fact that my consciousness 
 of the circumstances of outward life remained unimpaired. The 
 ringing of fire-bells, moving of engines, tolling of the bells at the 
 ferry, the paddling of the boat's wheels, and various other noises 
 common to the city, were no less distinctly heard than at other 
 times." 
 
 Mr. Fowler had never seen any manuscript in the languages in 
 which most of them were written, and there is an authentic chain 
 of evidence to prove his entire innocence of fraud in the matter. 
 On the paper above alluded to was written this sentiment : — 
 " Peace, but not without freedom." To this was affixed the 
 initials " B. F., Dec. 1851." Then followed the following sig- 
 natures, being placed without any particular regard to order, but 
 in exact fac similes of the handwriting of the persons they pur- 
 ported to be : 
 
 E. Franklin, John Hancock, B. West, Phil. Livingston, Jr., 
 Roger Sherman, John Adams, Stephen Hopkins, George Wash- 
 ington, J. , W. Kosuer, Samuel Adams, J. Q. Adams, 
 
 Charles Carroll, Martha Washington, Bowland Ellis, Bobert Mor- 
 ris, Lewis Morris, Bobert Fulton, W. H. Harrison, John Turn- 
 bull, D. P. Madison, James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, John 
 Penn, William Penn, James Madison, H. Bell, John Fitch, 
 Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, T. Knox, Nathl. Green, Alex- 
 ander Hamilton, John K. Paulding, Joseph C. Neal, John Moy- 
 lan, Richard Henry Lee, Benj. Gray, G. Gray, J. Fennimore 
 
 Cooper, Edgar A. Poe, Paul Jones, G. , Wm. Dickinson, 
 
 J. Otis, P. Henry, Y. D. Sanford, Jas. N. Fowler, James Hull, 
 S. Skinner, R. Partridge, J. Harris. 
 
 I have in some instances examined the handwriting of the per- 
 sons whose spirits are alleged to have been present to sign the 
 above sentiment, and they were exact. Others are well known to 
 the public, and they can judge of their correctness by referring to 
 ihefac simile which may be found in Vol. L, No. 22, of the Spir- 
 itual Telegraph, published in the city of New York. The original 
 
WEEKLY CONFERENCES. 189 
 
 parchment, as well as several of the original specimens of the 
 oriental languages, are in possession of Charles Partridge, of the 
 same place. 
 
 At some of the sittings of this circle, Mr. Henry 0. Gordon, a 
 medium, was taken up bodily, and conveyed about the room, with- 
 out any visible power to support him. Sometimes his head and 
 hands came in contact with the ceiling of the room, and he would 
 float about the room in the air for several minutes. At the house 
 of Dr. Gray, in Lafayette-place, he was thus carried through dif- 
 ferent apartments for a distance of more than sixty feet. This is 
 attested by many credible witnesses, among whom are Dr. Gray 
 and Mr. Partridge. 
 
 This is hardly more strange than the case related by Dr. Hal- 
 lock, where the circle was sitting around a smooth mahogany table, 
 which had on it loose papers, a lead pencil, two candles and a 
 glass of water. The table was used by the spirits to make re- 
 sponses, and when it was elevated to an angle of about thirty 
 degrees, all the articles retained their places. The pencil and 
 all other articles remained as if glued to the table. At the re- 
 quest of some one of the circle, the pencil was detached, and 
 rolled off, retaining everything else in its former position. The 
 pencil was replaced, and they were requested to retain everything 
 else but the glass tumbler, and let that slide off, which was done, 
 no other article moving from its place. We have seldom, if ever, 
 known a more astonishing exhibition of the power of these mani- 
 festations than this, although it may at first look very simple. No 
 ordinary and unintelligent power could be made to operate on the 
 articles mentioned without bringing them all under the common 
 laws of gravitation. When its complex character is considered, 
 it will not often be surpassed even in this continual series of mar- 
 vellous occurrences. 
 
 One of the most important means of increasing the knowledge 
 of these manifestations was the weekly conferences held at the 
 house of Mr. Partridge. If we remember rightly, they were kept 
 up for two years or more. Sometimes not less than a hundred 
 
190 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 persons convened to hear what new developments had transpired 
 during the week. 
 
 As we look upon these as model meetings for those who are 
 desirous of investigating similar, or any new subjects, we give a 
 brief account of the way they were carried on. There was no 
 organization other than a common intelligence, and courtesy, and 
 respect for each other's rights, produced naturally and sponta- 
 neously. There was no set form — no opening or closing cere- 
 monies ; but all useless and cumbrous organization machinery 
 was dispensed with. Each was free to speak his or her own 
 thoughts without any dictation or fear of violating some written 
 rule or creed. The common bond of brotherhood and the common 
 wish to learn produced Heaven's first law — order. It was very 
 little given to theories and speculations ; but each one that had 
 learned a new fact, or seen any strange manifestation during the 
 week, here related it for the common good, and to increase the 
 general store of knowledge. Those who were not members of 
 circles came as listeners. At first, perhaps, many came from curi- 
 osity.; but we venture the prediction that no meeting of similar 
 numbers ever made so many converts from among so intelligent a 
 class of people. Mr. Partridge being a man of wealth (though 
 too independent and high-minded to be considered " fashionable "), 
 many wealthy persons came to his house when they would not 
 have subjected themselves to the ridicule consequent upon attending 
 a place of public investigation. The consequence was the con- 
 version of many of the most wealthy families of New York to 
 spiritualism. 
 
 Another great impulse was given to spiritual investigations by 
 Mrs. Brown (formerly Mrs. Fish), who took up her permanent 
 residence in the city, having two or three sittings daily, for the 
 accommodation of the public. During the first year, her house 
 was constantly thronged with visitors. Many of the physicians 
 and scientific men of the city engaged an hour or two in each week 
 to be devoted to their exclusive critical and scientific investigations. 
 Some of these continued their examinations for a whole year, 
 
INVESTIGATIONS AT MRS. BROWN'S. 
 
 191 
 
 universally resulting in conviction of the spirituality of the mani- 
 festations. 
 
 To attempt to record any considerable number of the astonish- 
 ing occurrences at Mrs. Brown's would be useless ; for they were 
 daily occurring. Many most beautiful and true communications 
 I have seen spelled out to entire strangers. The following may 
 serve as a specimen of some of them, which were given in my 
 presence. They are given merely to show the tenor of many of 
 the communications : 
 
 A little girl was present with her father, and her hand was 
 moved without her control, giving signs of becoming a writing- 
 medium, when the following kind and rational advice was spelled 
 out to the father : — "I feel deeply interested in your little 
 daughter. I want you, therefore, to.be led according to your own 
 good judgment and reason in regard to taking her into promiscu- 
 ous parties. She should not always be led by advice which she 
 thinks comes from pure and elevated spirits. My dear David, I 
 will give you a rule by which you and Mary shall always be 
 guided, as you are responsible for the protection and elevation of 
 your children. When a spirit assumes authority, in giving direc- 
 tions, follow not such dictation. God made you a freeman, and 
 he has given you light and liberty to act accordingly. When a 
 spirit speaks unreasonable things, be kind to him, but maintain 
 your own ground, and gently lead him along in the paths of pro- 
 gression." 
 
 In this case, the names of " David " and " Mary " were entirely 
 unknown to the medium, or to any of the company present except 
 the ones to whom the message was delivered. 
 
 One evening, while I was visiting Mrs. Brown, two young men 
 came in, who were from the State of Tennessee. One of them 
 asked if a spirit would communicate with him, and was answered 
 in the affirmative. " What spirit is it ? " — " Your father." The 
 young man then wrote down on a paper the following question : — 
 " By what means did you die ? " Immediately the alphabet was 
 called for, and the word " Poisoned " spelled out. The young man 
 
192 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 started with evident astonishment, for he did not anticipate so 
 prompt and correct a reply. He then asked if his father had 
 anything to communicate to him, and received the following : 
 
 " My son, lift your thoughts to God, and remember your wrongs 
 no more. To dwell upon the past will retard your progress and 
 blight your future prospects. Your path leads on to glory ; then 
 labor to overcome evil with good, and a crown of righteousness 
 will be yours in time and eternity. Your affectionate father, 
 
 " Henry Champion." 
 
 The young man then detailed the facts that his father was mur- 
 dered by poison administered by a brother, who had, as is too often 
 the case in some of the south-western states, escaped the penalty 
 of the law. The son declared that he had for years been deter- 
 mined on revenging his father's death. Unlike Shakspeare's Ham- 
 let, the father advised him to dispel such feelings, and the son 
 declared that from that hour his schemes of revenge would be 
 given up. 
 
 On a subsequent evening, seven young men from Georgia called 
 on Mrs. Brown. They were total strangers. One of them asked 
 if there was a spirit that would communicate with him. Imme- 
 diately the alphabet was called, and the name " Laura " was spelled 
 out. The young man looked confused, and denied all knowledge 
 of her. The spirit then spelled, " What ! don't you remember 
 me ? " The young man became more agitated, but still denied 
 ever having any knowledge of any person by that name. The 
 glances cast from one to the other of his companions told plainly 
 that they knew who Laura was, and that a tender chord had been 
 touched. The spirit then spelled, " You all know who Laura 
 was." Mrs. Brown's curiosity was excited, and she suggested that 
 the young man ask what relation the spirit bore to him. He re- 
 plied, " I never had any relative by that name." The alphabet 
 was called for, and "What constitutes relationship?" spelled. 
 The agitation of the young man was apparently almost beyond 
 
INVESTIGATIONS AT MRS. BROWN'S. 193 
 
 endurance, and Mrs. Brown herself asked, "Was it a mother?" — 
 "No "(by one rap). — "Was it a sister?" — "No." — "Was it an 
 aunt?" — "No." — " Was it a wife?" No sound was heard. The 
 young man could endure it no longer, and left the room, retired to 
 the parlor, and paced the floor in agony of mind. One of his 
 companions followed him out, and remained with him, and they 
 did not return to the circle again. The whole thing was suf- 
 ficiently explained by one of the young men, who remarked that 
 "she ought to have been his wife; and if she had been, she would 
 probably be alive noio." 
 
 On a subsequent occasion, I was present when one of the ladies 
 asked, mentally, if her husband was present. The alphabet was 
 called for, and the following reply given : 
 
 " My dear, I am. I have tried to impress you with my pres- 
 ence when you were alone. It is very delightful to be put in 
 communication with those we love. Ail is well with me, my dear. 
 There are new developments being made to the world, and all, 
 from the least to the greatest, shall know the truth. Jacob." 
 
 The lady was a total stranger, and she had not mentioned her 
 husband, nor did she until his name was spelled out by what pur- 
 ported to be his spirit. 
 
 A gentleman present, an entire stranger, asked if the spirit of 
 his mother-in-law had anything to say to him, and received the 
 following answer through the alphabet : 
 
 " Tell my dear Elizabeth I am her own mother. Tell her I 
 have watched over her, and wept as angels weep over the sorrows 
 of their children on earth. I love and bless you for your kind- 
 ness to her. " Catharine ." 
 
 Her whole name was given, but I am not at liberty to publish 
 it. None present, except the one asking the question, knew of 
 any of the family circumstances, of which this was a correct in- 
 17 
 
194 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 dication. It was stated by the gentleman that unusual sorrow had 
 fallen to the lot of his wife, and the whole message was appro- 
 priate. 
 
 Another gentleman was present, who had previously been prom- 
 ised a communication. He asked for the spirit of his wife, and 
 received, through the alphabet, the following : 
 
 " My dear husband, I am ready to redeem my promise. I 
 have lingered all clay long at your side, and our dear Julia is 
 here to unite with me. May you be happy, my dear husband. 
 When the spirits gather around you at twilight hour, then bend 
 your thoughts to God. When you retire at night, remember we 
 draw near to comfort you; and when trouble assails, retire to 
 your closet, where we can meet and join with you in prayer. 
 
 " Frances." 
 
 He then received the following : 
 
 " My son, you have diligently sought for truth, and those who 
 seek shall find their portion. You have guides who can lead your 
 way, and throw out every block which has hitherto impeded your 
 progress. Your Mother." 
 
 The names " Frances " and " Julia " were not known to any 
 person present except the gentleman to whom they were given. 
 
 These communications show not only a knowledge far beyond 
 the media, but breathe a spirit of goodness and rationality. The 
 communications were not all of this beautiful character ; but 
 under favorable circumstances, where an elevated circle was con- 
 vened, it was far more common to get true than false communica- 
 tions. Whatever may be the faults and errors of Mrs. Brown, — 
 and she has no more than humanity in general, — she has borne 
 herself nobly against persecution and abuse of the most bitter 
 kind, and faithfully maintained what she honestly believes the 
 one great truth, — the spirituality of these communications. If 
 ever this proves a real and permanent blessing to all mankind, the 
 
HON. J. W. EDMONDS. 195 
 
 name of Ana Leah Brown should stand conspicuous as one of 
 the " heroines of history " who fought the battle against -a world 
 of opposition, while her younger sisters were the only media, and 
 after she became so herself. 
 
 On the 8th of May, 1852, Mr. Partridge commenced the pub- 
 lication of the Spiritual Telegraph. It was edited by S. B. 
 Brittan, a man of very critical and correct literary taste, and the 
 most philosophical, cool and discriminating, of all our spiritual 
 writers. The paper has been very successful, and has a great 
 influence on the public mind. 
 
 The number of media in the city for the various kinds of man- 
 ifestations has increased to hundreds, and the believers are num- 
 bered by tens of thousands. An intelligent gentleman, who has 
 kept the run of the matter, estimates the believers in the city, 
 Brooklyn and Williamsburgh, at forty thousand ; and, from what 
 we know, we should say that the estimate was rather below than 
 above the reality. 
 
 Among the distinguished public men of New York who became 
 converts to spiritualism, none elicited more comment than Hon. 
 John "W. Edmonds, one of the judges of the Court of Appeals, the 
 highest tribunal in the State of New York. He had been in 
 public life for many years ; had been a state senator from his 
 district, and distinguished himself there on several important 
 measures. He was known to the whole state and in other states. 
 This fact made his public announcement of belief in spiritual 
 manifestations the more notorious, and it was commented on with 
 great severity by the press throughout the country. Falsehood, 
 ridicule, and the cry of " insanity," were the cheap and ready 
 weapons hurled at his devoted head. 
 
 The first account of his " personal experiences " appeared in 
 April, 1852/& He gives the following account of his first intro- 
 duction to the mysteries of spiritualism : 
 
 " It is now a little over a year since I was afflicted with the 
 
 * Shekinah, vol. i. 3 page 265. 
 
196 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 loss of the one the most near and dear to ine on earth. I was in 
 great distress, yet I never entertained the idea of seeking con- 
 solation in spiritual intercourse. Indeed, I knew not even of its 
 existence. I had been for years a mere man of the world. I 
 knew nothing of animal magnetism. I had once, and only once, 
 — and then as a mere matter of curiosity, — seen a clairvoyant. 
 The ' Rochester knockings ' I had heard of, but never witnessed ; 
 and looked upon the matter, when I thought upon it at all, as one 
 of the fancies of transcendentalism, which, like many others, would 
 have its day and be forgotten. 
 
 " At length, through the solicitation of a friend, and more to 
 gratify her and while away a tedious hour than anything else, I 
 was induced to witness an exhibition of -spiritual intercourse. 
 
 " I saw much to surprise and interest me, and I gave to the 
 subject all the attention I could spare, that I might thoroughly 
 investigate it, and expose the deception, if there was one. I have 
 now continued the investigation for more than a year, and have 
 been careful to keep an accurate record of all I have witnessed. 
 
 " As I have progressed, I have found that I was myself becom- 
 ing, in some measure, a medium ; and when alone by myself, 
 without any medium near me, I was receiving communications 
 that were to me, in an eminent degree, interesting. These come to 
 me in different forms. One is, by seeing pictures painted to my 
 mind's eye, as bright, as vivid, and as distinct, as any that my 
 physical vision can convey to the mind." 
 
 He proceeds to relate one of his earliest visions, which abounds 
 in beauty and significance. They were continued in several of the 
 first numbers of the Shekinah. Most men of generous or even 
 honest minds will commend Judge E. for boldly espousing 
 an unpopular cause, even while disagreeing with him ; and if a 
 man who has attained to so many earthly honors from his fellow- 
 men, by the spontaneous voice of the people, will dare thus to be 
 honest, it is the surest guaranty that he is not the man to yield 
 to blind impulse or party feeling in any of his acts ; yet it is but 
 
SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUALISM. 197 
 
 yesterday, as it were, that his judicial character was called in 
 question by a portion of the press for no other reason than his 
 belief on a matter purely of a religious nature — the manner and 
 facts of future existence — not questioning any decision, but de- 
 claring that a man of such a religious belief could not properly 
 adjudicate a case. 
 
 It would be impossible to state particulars in regard to the 
 spread of spiritualism in New York up to the present time. It 
 has become diffused throughout the city, and has almost ceased 
 to be a curiosity or a wonder to any. Public meetings are regu- 
 larly held, and the investigation is constantly going on ; but the 
 days of excitement on the subject have passed away, and all par- 
 ties look upon it as, at least, something more than a mere trick. 
 It is true that religious bigotry denounces it, but without disputing 
 the occurrences, and occasionally a pretended expose is made for 
 purposes of speculation ; but the fact of spiritual intercourse has 
 become an acknowledged fact in the empire city. 
 
 The first regular organization of a society for the diffusion of 
 Spiritual Knowledge took place in New York on the 10th day 
 of June, 1854. The history of the movement is somewhat pecu- 
 liar. It purported to be a national organization ; but it was a 
 singular fact that the time and place of meeting were kept a 
 profound secret, except to a chosen few, who met and formed the 
 society. Even the editor of the Spiritual Telegraph, a paper that 
 had been a pioneer in the spiritual movement, was not allowed to 
 know of the meeting until the proceedings were published in the 
 New York Herald and other papers of the city. It is not my 
 province to comment on the course taken by a small portion of the 
 spiritualists thus to ursurp the authority to speak for the whole 
 body, but to make a record of the facts. 
 
 In the selection of officers there is a strange absence of names 
 of old and tried friends, — the earliest and most experienced in 
 the investigation, — and quite a display of learned professions 
 and great names. 
 
 17* 
 
198 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 CHARTER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUAL 
 KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 " The undersigned, being of full age, citizens of the United 
 States, and a majority of whom being citizens of the State of New 
 York, and being desirous to associate themselves for benevolent, 
 charitable, and missionary purposes, have made, signed and 
 acknowledged, the following certificate in writing, pursuant to the 
 statute passed April 12, 1848 : 
 
 " The undersigned therefore certify — 
 
 " First. That the name or title by which the Society shall be 
 known in law shall be ' The Society for the Diffusion of Spiritual 
 Knowledge.' 
 
 " Secondly, That the business and objects of the Society shall 
 be — 
 
 "1. The diffusion of the knowledge of the phenomena and 
 principles of Spiritualism. 
 
 "2. The defence and protection of believers and inquirers in 
 the freedom of thought and inquiry against all opposition and 
 oppression. 
 
 " 3. The relief of the suffering, the distressed, and the erring, 
 so far as to enable them to lead pure and upright lives. 
 " Thirdly. The number of Trustees shall be twelve; and 
 Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Horace H. Day, 
 
 Edward F. Bullard, George T. Dexter, 
 
 Joshua F. Laning, Stephen M. Allen, 
 
 Owen G. Warren, John W. Edmonds, 
 
 Charles C. "Woodman, George H. Jones, 
 
 Nathaniel E. Wood, Gilbert Sweet, 
 
 shall be the Trustees for the first year. 
 
 " All which we do hereby certify, pursuant to the statute in such 
 case made and provided. 
 
 N. P. Tallmadge, J. W. Edmonds, 
 
 Nathaniel E. Wood, George T. Dexter. 
 
 E. F. Bullard, 
 " New York, June 10, 1854." 
 
SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUALISM. 199 
 
 ADDRESS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUAL 
 KNOWLEDGE. TO THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 " But a few short years ago, in an obscure locality, and under 
 circumstances which seemed to warrant the belief in an early ter- 
 mination of the so-called dream, Spiritualism, in its present form, 
 was born. Its few advocates, in the early days of its life, were 
 looked upon as lunatic — were despised for their faith ; and men 
 of respectability and standing in society could hardly be found 
 who were willing to examine into the facts connected with the 
 alleged phenomena, for fear of the reproach of the entire unbe- 
 lieving community. Since that period, Spiritualism has extended 
 with a rapidity unprecedented in the annals of the world, until, 
 to-day, it has become a respectable power in society. Men whose 
 education and whose genius have fitted them for occupying the 
 highest stations, either in politics or in the church, have sacrificed 
 all positions of earthly aggrandizement for the sake of what they 
 believe to be the enjoyment of high and holy truth. Connected 
 with that movement to-day are many hundreds and thousands of 
 men who are respected by their neighbors for their integrity and 
 worth, esteemed and loved by their friends for their many amiable 
 qualities. The subject has arrested the attention of the learned 
 all over this land, and in many other lands. It has produced 
 books for and against. Many of the publications on both sides of 
 the question are marked by ability and strength. 
 
 "Within the last two years Spiritualism has increased in 
 strength and stature with a growth unprecedented in the history 
 of mental giants. If it be a lie, there is every prospect of its 
 enveloping this world, and, by its weight, sinking this world one 
 degree lower in the depth of degradation. If it be a lie, it has 
 come in so lovely a garb, that men will seek it unless they be 
 warned by a strong voice ; men will flee to it as though it were 
 an angel sent from heaven, will become enveloped in its false 
 light, and will be borne down to death by the weight of its false 
 glory. If it be a lie, ye men of America, who have one thought 
 toward the good of your fellows, it is your duty to come forward 
 
200 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YOHK CITY. 
 
 as one man to tear the veil from the face of the lie, and expose 
 it in all its hideousness. We challenge you as men — as earnest 
 men, as men desiring the good of your fellows — to come forth 
 and meet us in the fight, expose our errors, draw the shroud away, 
 and enable the world to see us as we are. We challenge you to 
 come and do that thing. 
 
 " We believe that spirituality is a heaven-born truth. We pro- 
 fess to know that angels from heaven — that the spirits of good 
 men progressing toward perfection have come here upon the 
 earth we stand on, and talked with us face to face, and uttered 
 words to us bearing the impress of their divine origin. We sin- 
 cerely believe this. We are respectable men ; we do not believe 
 ourselves to be insane. We ask you to come and meet us, and 
 discuss the question with us ; to examine these facts which we 
 allege, and to prove, if you are able, either that these facts never 
 did occur, or that their origin is other than that which it purports 
 to be. 
 
 " We come before you in this present shape to show you to what 
 a height the giant has attained. We come to you in this present 
 shape to show you who are spiritualists — who are the madmen in 
 this world, who believe themselves to be the really clear-minded 
 and sane men of this world. In this movement which we have 
 commenced we believe we are the humble instruments in the hands 
 of higher powers for the production of great results. We are 
 proud of the posts we occupy. We are not ashamed to present 
 our names for your consideration. We are not ashamed to meet 
 you on an equal platform as men, and talk with you on this sub- 
 ject, v" 
 
 " Citizens of the United States ! we feel authority for saying 
 that the day for raising the cry of humbug, chicanery, delusion, 
 has passed away forever. You know — all of you who have 
 reflective minds — that the application of these terms to this sub- 
 ject can no longer produce results, but rather that these invectives, 
 launched at your supposed enemies, will rebound upon yourselves, 
 and cover you with weakness. Your professed teachers, your men 
 
SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUALISM. 201 
 
 in high places, the learned of your universities, the eloquent of 
 your pulpits, have dealt in them long enough. And what results 
 have they achieved? The theories which the universities sent 
 forth to account for the alleged phenomena, as they were pleased 
 to term them, have not only rendered their authors, but the uni- 
 versities, ridiculous in the minds of intelligent men. All the 
 theories which they reared have crumbled to the dust, and their 
 authors cannot shake that dust from off their clothing. It will 
 cling to them so long as they stand upon this earth, and longer 
 still. 
 
 " Your pulpits — and we speak kindly when we speak of them, 
 for they have a holy office, whether they perform that office or 
 no — your pulpits have launched forth invectives. The cry of 
 delusion and chicanery has been heard all over the land ; but that 
 was some time ago. It produced no effect, except upon the 
 churches themselves; and that course was abandoned. Policy 
 was now adopted ; another plan was accepted as the true one for 
 accounting for the spiritual manifestations, and which has been 
 promulgated, not only from the pulpits, but by the religious press 
 of this country, namely, that evil spirits have visited the earth 
 still further to delude deluded mortals. What pity ! what pity ! 
 They have ascertained that ! Their sermons, their published com- 
 munications, contain that assertion from their high dignitaries. It 
 is very strange, if they believe this thing, — that evil spirits can 
 come to do evil on this earth, — that good spirits will not be per- 
 mitted by the good God also to come upon this earth to effect good 
 purposes ! We profess to believe both these propositions. We 
 leave you to examine the subject for yourselves. And we can 
 tell you, one and all, if you will render your minds receptive to 
 the truth, and will engage in the investigation of this subject, it 
 will appear as clear as light in the noonday that spirits, both good 
 and evil, do come here upon the earth, among their friends, and 
 relatives, and acquaintances, and affinities, and teach them good 
 things and bad ; for this is true. We say, then, reflect, ponder on 
 
202 MANIFESTATIONS IN NEW YOltK CITY. 
 
 these things ; investigate, and, as you shall decide, so shall be your 
 progress here, and your everlasting progress hereafter. 
 
 President. 
 Gov. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Wisconsin. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 Chief Justice Joseph Williams, Iowa. 
 Judge Willie P. Fowler, Kentucky. 
 Judge R. P. Spaulding, Ohio. 
 Judge Charles H. Larrabee, Wisconsin. 
 Horace H. Day, New York. 
 Hon. Warren Chase, Wisconsin. 
 Dr. David Cory, Illinois. 
 Gen. Edward F. Bullard, New York. 
 Hon. Richard D. Davis, New York. 
 Dr. George T. Dexter, New York. 
 Major George W. Raines, U. S. A. 
 E. W. Bailey, Pennsylvania. 
 Phineas E. Gay, Massachusetts. 
 
 Secretaries. 
 Owen G. Warren, Architect, New York. 
 Selah G. Perkins, M. D., Vermont. 
 Charles C. Woodman, Editor, New York. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 Nathaniel E. Wood, Chemist, New York. 
 
 Board of Trustees. 
 Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Counsellor at Law, Wisconsin. 
 John W. Edmonds, Counsellor at Law, New York. 
 Horace H. Day, Merchant, New York. 
 Edward F. Bullard, Counsellor at Law, New York. 
 George T. Dexter, Physician, New York. 
 Joshua F. Laning, Merchant, Pennsylvania. 
 Stephen M. Allen, Merchant, Massachusetts. 
 
SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF SPIRITUALISM. 203 
 
 Owen G. Warren, Architect, New York. 
 Charles C. Woodman, Editor, New York. 
 George H. Jones, Merchant, New York. 
 Nathaniel E. Wood, Chemist, New York. 
 Gilbert Sweet, Merchant, New York. 
 
 Board of Advisers. 
 Harrison Bliss, Merchant, Massachusetts. 
 Lyman L. Curtiss, Merchant, New York. 
 C. C. Bristol, Editor, New York. 
 Thomas G. Young, Editor, New York. 
 E. A. King, Postmaster, Ohio. 
 Benjamin Urner, Merchant, Ohio. 
 Addison Smith, Merchant, Ohio. 
 A. Miltenberger, Merchant, Missouri. 
 P. E. Bland, Counsellor at Law, Missouri. 
 George Haskell, M. D., Illinois. 
 John Howarth, Merchant, Massachusetts. 
 Amos Rogers, Manufacturer, New York. 
 John W. Fowler, Professor, New York. 
 Cranstoun Laurie, City of Washington. 
 John J. Viele, Counsellor at Law, New York. 
 Elisha Waters, Merchant, New York. 
 J. Tanner, Physician, Maryland." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON THE FIRST MEDIUM — SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHER 
 
 POSITION OF THE PRESS LA ROY SUNDERLAND CREDULITY SHA- 
 
 DRACH BARNES AND PHEBE NEWELL REACTION STATEMENT OF RUFUS 
 
 EL3IER REV. WM. M. FERNALD JOHN M. SPEAR THE NEW MOTIVE 
 
 POWER, &C. 
 
 The first we heard of the manifestations in Boston was at the 
 house of a lady by the name of Lysene W. Dickinson, said to be 
 of most excellent character and correct deportment. I learned 
 little of the particular manifestations with her, but I am informed 
 by the Spiritual Philosopher, vol. i., No. 1, published in July, 
 1850, that, the first Mrs. D. knew of it, the rapping commenced 
 in their room, where no one was present but her daughter. They 
 were both exceedingly frightened, and, after searching the room 
 for the cause, Mrs. D. became impressed with the idea that it was 
 spiritual, and entreated them to cease, which request they very 
 kindly complied with. The raps were made on the doors, and on 
 the sides of the room, in different parts of the house, and under 
 circumstances which left no room to doubt but that the noises 
 were caused by superhuman agency. Mr. Sunderland also men- 
 tions that they were heard occasionally at other places in Boston 
 at about the same time. 
 
 The first medium that made any considerable excitement in 
 Boston was a married daughter of Mr. Sunderland, Mrs. Margaretta 
 S. Cooper. At first the sounds were very slight, and it was with 
 considerable difficulty that people could decide when they wefe 
 really spiritual. They soon increased in volume, and many very 
 singular and important manifestations occurred in her presence. 
 
SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHER. MR. SUNDERLAND. 205 
 
 They commenced in June, 1850, and were not confined to rap- 
 pings, but exhibited all the varied phenomena that had attended 
 the other media. 
 
 In the month of July, of the same year, Mr. Sunderland com- 
 menced the publication of a paper called the " Spiritual Philos- 
 opher," which very essentially aided in spreading a knowledge of 
 what was passing on this subject in various parts of the country. 
 The paper was not very well supported, and, after being published, 
 with some interruptions, until December, 1851, its publication 
 was suspended. 
 
 In Boston, as in New York, the press was ready to denounce 
 the whole thing as a vile imposture, and Mr. Sunderland, as well 
 as all who were the friends of even an impartial examination of 
 the subject, were denounced in the most bitter terms. Mr. Sun- 
 derland very soon made arrangements for regular sittings, for the 
 accommodation of all who wished to investigate the mysteries of 
 the " rappings," and other manifestations. For a time he had 
 many visitors, who were generally satisfied that Mrs. Cooper did 
 not produce these phenomena, and many were as well satisfied that 
 they emanated from spirits. 
 
 Mr. Sunderland had long been known as a writer and lecturer 
 on Pathetism and Human Magnetism, and a very successful oper- 
 ator in both. This circumstance produced suspicion in the minds 
 of many that magnetism, clairvoyance, or " pathetism," had some- 
 thing to do, in his case, in producing these mysterious effects ; but 
 time and investigation, as well as the spread of media in Boston 
 and vicinity, soon dissipated such suspicions. That he was an 
 enthusiast, none can doubt who knows his temperament, and has 
 kept an eye on his course for the last twenty years. His ardent 
 temperament would hardly allow him to take a half-way, or even 
 moderate, position on any subject. At first he was quite sure 
 that all communications through his medium were from the true 
 source. Time and experience taught him that they were not all 
 good ; and, if I mistake not, his extreme mind has now vibrated 
 to the other extreme, and he thinks there is nothing good or 
 18 
 
206 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 reliable. If I understand his position, as exhibited hi his " Book 
 of Human Nature/' it is, that they are all insane or idiot, or a 
 coarser and less spiritual grade, and there is no kind of confidence 
 to be placed in any of the communications. In order to give an 
 idea of his position on this subject, I quote from some of his 
 writings and experiences. I would not magnify any individual 
 into importance ; but, for a time, Mr. S. occupied quite a con- 
 spicuous place among the Boston spiritualists, and has written so 
 much as to make his opinions a part of the spiritual history of 
 the times. „ 
 
 In July, 1850, he writes as follows : " In relation to communi- 
 cations from the spirit-world, addressed to man's external senses, 
 it is certain the present age will form an epoch in the history of 
 the race. It is the period to which generations long since passed 
 away had been reaching forward. * Prophets and kings waited 
 long, but died without the sight.' It is nature's approaching ma- 
 turity ; the proximity of the human to the spiritual ; the transi- 
 tion from the angular to the circular, from discord to concord, and' 
 from the spiritual to the celestial ! 0, heavenly thought ! Thus 
 is man attracted from the low and earthly to the high and heaven- 
 ly ; and be this our mission, to assist, as we may, in this great 
 work of human progress. To harmonize the discordant, to inspire 
 love where there is hatred, to give light where there is darkness, 
 to make smooth the rough places, and in man's organic, vital, and 
 spiritual systems perfect that which is wanting, to make his labor 
 light, and supply his mind with that without which his spirit can- 
 not go c on to perfection.' 
 
 " Our columns shall ever be open for communications from the 
 good and the true, of the different sects in religion, from every 
 school in medicine, all parties in politics, and each world in the 
 constitution of the universe. Especially shall they be open for 
 the influx of goodness and truth from the spheres above, between 
 which and our earth audible, tangible, ocular communications 
 have now been commenced. And may we not hope that ' the day 
 has now broken never to close? ' Henceforth, in a sense in which 
 
LA ROY SUNDERLAND. 20T 
 
 it never could be said before, ' the tabernacle of God is with men, 
 and shall dwell with them.' Yes, 0, yes, here in the midst of 
 the spirits of the departed ! The good and the true, having cast 
 off the outer form, the spirits of our brothers, our sisters, our 
 fathers and mothers, our children, mingle in our presence, and 
 attract us to the contemplation of those bright mansions where 
 they exult in their beatific vision. Welcome, thrice welcome, 
 happy, happy spirits ! As you attract us from discord, and, 
 error, and evil, and death, we call on you to come ! As you 
 instruct us into a knowledge of our future selves ; as you aid us 
 in comprehending our true manhood and destiny ; as you unite 
 and harmonize us in the love of goodness and truth ; as you show 
 us the nature of death, which we are not to fear, and the life we 
 are yet to live, both in this sphere and the world above, we dedi- 
 cate these columns to you ! * * * ^ Through these pages, 
 then, shall congenial minds commune, and spirits mingle from the 
 world above with their loved friends in the sphere below. And, 
 beholding the beauty, the justice, the harmony and happiness, of 
 the innumerable societies which make up the spheres above, we 
 shall thus learn how to arrange human society, how to attract all 
 from discord, oppression, evil, error, imperfection, and suffering, 
 to a state on earth resembling that above, where there is suffi- 
 ciency, health, unity, happiness, and heaven."^ 
 
 With so exalted an opinion as this of the manifestations, in 
 their infancy, it would not be wonderful if Mr. Sunderland was 
 somewhat misled, and much disappointed, at finding such a variety 
 in the character and value of the communications ; although, in 
 his paper of the same date, he says he does not believe " that 
 communications from disembodied spirits are truthful per se." 
 
 Some time subsequent to this, in a letter written to the author, 
 from Rochester, N. Y. (dated August 15th, 1850), he says, after 
 speaking of his interview with the spirits at Auburn and Roches- 
 ter, " Gracious God ! if it were for this only that I was born, I 
 
 * Spiritual Philosopher, vol. i., No. 1. 
 
208 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 must bless thee for rny existence ! * * * My heaven will 
 be where such spirits are." It is not that Mr. Sunderland thought, 
 for any great length of time, that all was truth, that I quote him 
 so much, but that his " Book of Human Nature " takes the extreme 
 ground of a total want of reliability and identity. 
 
 In September, 1850, he writes:* "I had frequently had mani- 
 festations when alone, since last June, but no audible answers to 
 questions till each member of my family happened to be present. 
 Then, asking my children to respond, the oldest did so, audibly, for 
 an hour or so, upon the cradle, around which the family circle was 
 formed ! As if the precious spirit of our child, having left the 
 cradle for the grave, would come back and announce his presence 
 by a rap as upon the very place where his fond parents last gazed 
 upon his infantile features, when smitten by the hand of death ! 
 The consolation thus afforded us may be imagined, but described 
 it cannot be." 
 
 I have, I think, sufficiently shown that Mr. Sunderland did 
 then feel satisfied both of the identity and the goodness of the 
 spirits he was in communication with. I might add that he often 
 expressed himself as being surrounded by approving spirits while 
 writing articles on spiritual subjects. The following is a speci- 
 men : " We have been favored with spiritual manifestations, 
 addressed to the sense of hearing and feeling, almost every day 
 since the 14th of June last. ' Raps ' have been made, in our 
 study at home and in our office in Boston, upon the sides of the 
 room, and upon the back of our desk, where we are now writing. 
 We had repeated ' raps ' while writing the article in our last num- 
 ber, 'Historical and Explanatory,' approving of the views we 
 gave of the philosophy of the spiritual communications, now in 
 process of development, to man's external senses. We have had 
 some peculiar manifestations from the spirits of our children, 
 during the night, which have brought us to consciousness from 
 sound sleep. Manifestations have been made in our public lec- 
 tures, though extended indiscriminately to the entire audience. 
 * Spiritual Philosopher, vol. L, No. 4. 
 
LA ROY SUNDERLAND. 209 
 
 " Then again, ' responses ' have been made to us, through our own 
 family circle, not one of which ever saw or heard responses through 
 any other person. All the other mediums, of which we have any 
 knowledge, had the responses promised, by being put in personal 
 communication with the Fox family, or some one who had com- 
 municated with that family."* In his first announcement of Mrs. 
 Cooper's becoming a medium, he says : " And how gratifying, 
 how pleasant, how heavenly, to find our own family thus taken 
 possession of, as it were, by the Heavenly Hosts ! 0, how insig- 
 nificant is all earthly good, when compared to this privilege ! At 
 our table, during meal times, by day and night, thus to be per- 
 mitted to hold open communion with the spirit-world ! " t 
 
 In the same paper, in an article full of high-sounding ecstatic 
 words, under the head of " To my Spiritual Children," he speaks 
 of his spirit being " swelled with emotions of satisfaction when 
 I was told by ' hosts of spirits ' at Auburn (N. Y.), August 9, 
 1850, that they had often been present at my lectures, in Boston, 
 Philadelphia, New York, Providence, and other places; attracted 
 by the approach of those spirits whom I had pathetized into a state 
 of trance. This state of trance (as I was assured by spirits of 
 the upper spheres), that very state of trance, into which I had 
 pathetized thousands who had attended my lectures in different 
 parts of the country, was the nearest possible approach to the spirit- 
 ivorld." X I have also been present when Mr. Sunderland con- 
 tended strongly that there was no kind of danger in being deceived 
 as to identity of spirits, and when he even exhibited considerable 
 vexation at being contradicted on this point. He was at that 
 time trying to convince a lady of Providence that the spirit of 
 her sister was communicating with her, when she could get no 
 proof of such identity. 
 
 At a still later date he gives a specific account of the kind of 
 manifestations at his house as follows : 
 
 "1. The mysterious sounds have been made in nearly all the 
 
 * Spiritual Philosopher, vol. i., p. 58. * f Ibid. % Ibid. p. 59. 
 
 18* 
 
210 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 rooms of our house (some twenty), and have been heard at differ- 
 ent times by different people. 
 
 "2. They have been made, spontaneously, in all parts of the 
 house often, by day and night. 
 
 " 3. Articles of furniture have been moved often, and at times 
 with considerable force. 
 
 " 4. The spirits have made musical sounds, which we have 
 heard, and know were not made by any human power. 
 
 " 5. The members of our family, and strangers present, have 
 been often touched and handled (so to speak) by the spirits. 
 
 "6. Manifestations have been made by spirits to our sense of 
 sight. 
 
 " 7. The responses to questions are made freely, at our table, 
 during meal times, which are thus prolonged often to an hour and 
 a half by conversation with our heavenly visitants. When my 
 family all become seated at our table, at meal times, the spirits 
 1 rap ' spontaneously, without being called upon, to let us know 
 they are present. 
 
 " 8. We have never asked for responses in our Family Circle 
 without receiving them. They come through Mrs. Margaretta S. 
 Cooper generally ; but we have had responses also through our 
 second daughter, Sarah Mercena, and also through our grand- 
 child, Mrs. Cooper's babe, only two months old. Taking the 
 child in my arms, when no one else was near, we have had 
 responses through it, and which the spirits themselves assured us 
 were made through that medium. 
 
 " 9. All the promises ever made to me by spirits (except one at 
 Stratford made in jest), have been fulfilled. 
 
 " 10. Communications have been vouchsafed to us, as we believe, 
 from the higher spheres, giving important information relating 
 more or less to the Spiritual Dispensation now opening to the 
 universe of human beings. 
 
 # # # # # # 
 
 " I can only say my heart is full, and had I ten thousand tongues 
 it seems as if I could use them all in blessing the angelic hosts 
 
CREDULITY. 211 
 
 who have thus taken possession of my earthly sphere ! I now 
 enjoy a heaven far more real than any I had ever been taught to 
 anticipate by the old and discordant theology out of which I am 
 now conscious of being so completely redeemed." * 
 
 Again: "The Spiritual Philosopher was originated in the 
 spirit-world, and is conducted under the direct supervision and 
 advice of hosts of friends in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, 
 sixth and seventh spheres above. It belongs to the spirit-world, 
 and is the first paper ever published, expressly designed for giving 
 ' responses ' from the higher spheres of intelligence above." t 
 
 The consequence of such credulity, was, as might be expected, 
 to lead the person possessing it into many disagreeable and embar- 
 rassing positions, occasioning much ridicule of the whole spiritual 
 theory, and making it even bear the color of design. Take the 
 following as a prominent instance : A writer in the New York 
 Express, calling himself Shadrach Barnes, in February, 1851, 
 undertook the task of " exposing " the mysteries, and for that 
 purpose set a trap into which Mr. Sunderland walked with all the 
 simplicity of an unsophisticated boy. He wrote a letter, of which 
 the following is a copy, verbatim, et literatim, et punctuatim. 
 
 " respected sur I send one dollar if you please ut have some 
 questions respecting of my daughter which departed this lif Jan- 
 uary the 19, 1851 i brot her up from a child she was a daughter 
 too me her name is mary ellen Perkins, and was 19 when she 
 dide my mind is exercised very much in respect of her state of 
 mind in a religious point of view which if you communion with 
 Spirits in the other world she was flitey and out of her head as the 
 poet sais afflictions soar long time she bore physician was in vain 
 send me a letter i want to hear if her state of mind is happy no 
 more at present. Phebe Newell. 
 
 " new Yore sity feb, the 31st 1851. 
 " mr laroy Sunderland " 
 
 * Spiritual Philosopher, vol. i., p. 69, f Ibid. 89. 
 
212 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 In this letter Shadrach enclosed a dollar to pay for the in- 
 formation, and in due course of mail he received the following 
 answer : 
 
 " Eliot-street, Boston, Mass. 
 " Half-past ten o'clock, a. m., Feb. 15, 1851. 
 
 " My Sisteu Dear : I have this moment laid your letter 
 before the spirits, and received the following answer : ' Tell her 
 Mary is happy, and with her dear mother Newell all the time. I 
 watch over her for good ; and I love her now more than ever. I 
 will be near her, and stand by her when she reads your answer. 
 She must not grieve. I will soon make sounds in her presence 
 when she is alone, which she can hear, when she will know it is 
 me.' 
 
 " And I understand the spirits to say that you are not her own 
 mother, but she loved you as her own, and she said she came here 
 to tell what to say to you when I answered your letter. In the 
 sphere where Mary has gone none are miserable, but all are 
 happy as they can be. Yours truly, 
 
 " La Rot Sunderland. 
 
 " P. S. — It is not often that I attempt an answer to letters 
 like yours, but I suppose I was attracted to Mary's sweet spirit 
 to gratify you. She has stood by me while writing, as I believe. 
 
 "L.S." 
 
 The discerning reader will have supposed by this time that 
 " Phebe " was wholly a fictitious person, and the whole done to 
 entrap Sunderland; and it succeeded. The exultation of the 
 opponents of spiritualism was almost beyond bounds; the story was 
 eagerly caught up by the press, and it had a great " run." It 
 was in vain that it was attempted to be explained by the law of 
 affinity, for Shadrach was not with the medium to call discordant 
 spirits around. He was in New York, and Sunderland in Boston. 
 It was a just cause of ridicule by the opponents, and they could 
 not be blamed for the use they made of it. Mr. Sunderland's 
 folly was in keeping the dollar and attempting an answer; and his 
 
MR. LA ROY SUNDERLAND. 213 
 
 error probably was in supposing that he was aided and attended 
 by the sweet spirit of " Mary Ellen Perkins." He did not even 
 pretend that he had a medium present, other than himself, and his 
 anxiety, for some reason, to answer the good pious old lady favor- 
 ably, produced an unfavorable effect on his imagination, leading 
 him to imagine that the sweet spirit was with him, when there 
 was really no such thing. This, at least, is the charitable con- 
 struction, and I feel inclined, even in such a case, to " lean to the 
 side of mercy," as the law expresses it. The reader can weigh 
 the testimony, and judge whether this is a sufficient excuse for the 
 extraordinary affair. 
 
 It must not be inferred, from the above case, that Mr. Sunder- 
 land had no genuine spiritual communications in his family. That 
 he did have, and that some most remarkable proofs of spirit 
 power took place with Mrs. Cooper as medium, I have abundant 
 testimony from numerous and well-known individuals who visited 
 him. This proof comes not only by published letters, but by 
 private ones, which I have received from his visitors. In regard 
 to his own impressions there is some little room to doubt. One of 
 the most erroneous of these impressions was the idea he had fallen 
 into that, with him and his medium, no false answers were ever 
 received. That this was his early impression the extracts abun- 
 dantly show, and he so declared it in my presence and that of 
 others. The above unfortunate affair was the result of such con- 
 fidence. 
 
 Another effect was that he vibrated to the other extreme, and 
 lost confidence in the communications generally. He, however, 
 investigated with much perseverance, even after he came to this 
 conclusion, and gave the result of his opinions in a volume, con- 
 taining much interesting matter on this and various subjects con- 
 nected with the bodily and spiritual development of man.^ I 
 deem this work decidedly the closest criticism of the " spirits " 
 that has yet appeared, characterized by some slight tinge of that 
 bitterness of disappointment which appeared in some of his articles 
 
 * Book of Human Nature. New York. Stearns &, Co., 1853. 
 
214 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 in the "Philosopher," but less of jealousy and personal feeling 
 than there exhibited. ^ 
 
 But as Mr. S. and his family were the pioneers of spiritualism 
 in Boston, I give some of the opinions of disinterested visitors and 
 comments of the press on the occurrences at his house. The fol- 
 lowing is from the Daily Mail of Sept. 20th, 1850 : 
 
 " INTERVIEW WITH SPIRITS. 
 
 " Mr. Editor : Perhaps it will interest your readers if you 
 will allow me to recount to them some of the wonders which I 
 witnessed last week, in a series of interviews with what are 
 claimed to be ' spirits.' On Wednesday evening I very gladly 
 accepted an invitation from my friend, Mr. La Boy Sunderland, to 
 witness the rappings at his office in Boston. After several gentle- 
 men, who, with myself, were thorough unbelievers, had intimately 
 examined every part of the room, furniture, &c, we were re- 
 quested to form a circle round the table. Mr. Sunderland then 
 stated that his daughter, through whom the spirits usually 
 responded, was not present, and he should be obliged to put 
 several of those around the table in a state of trance, and then see 
 if he could get the spirits to communicate through them. This he 
 accomplished, and they commenced calling the spirits of their de- 
 parted friends. They were soon answered by the ' raps,' which I 
 heard distinctly, and which appeared to be produced under the 
 table, at different points. I placed my hands upon the table — 
 being the only person who touched it at all, and felt the vibrations 
 corresponding to the raps. Numerous questions were correctly 
 answered. 
 
 " Mr. Sunderland asked the spirit of his departed son, by my 
 request, if the spirit of my daughter was present, and was answered 
 that it was. This daughter was one at whose death a singular 
 phenomenon was witnessed by several persons, and which I only 
 
 * See an article from Mr. S.'s own pen, signed F., in Spiritual Philoso- 
 pher, v. ii., p. 168. Also p. 170. 
 
INTERVIEW WITH SPIRITS. 215 
 
 allude to to recall it to the memory of those who knew of it at 
 the time. It was some time before I could muster faith and cour- 
 age enough to interrogate somebody who appeared to be nobody. 
 I finally asked if the spirit of my daughter was present, and 
 would respond to me, and was astonished to hear something 
 respond promptly, with a different sound from any I had hitherto 
 heard. I asked her several questions, which I very well knew no 
 one present but myself knew how to answer, and was answered 
 with uniform correctness. What purported to be the spirit of my 
 daughter told me that the halo of light which filled the darkened 
 room at the time of her death was spiritual maifestation. 
 
 "On Thursday evening I visited Mr. Sunderland's house in 
 Charlestown. Mr. S. was not at home, but his excellent family 
 told me that, if I wished to hear the rappings, I could hear them. 
 Mr. Sunderland's daughter, through whom the spirits respond, is a 
 married lady, and was sitting by the cradle with a young child in 
 her arms. 
 
 " After I had examined the cradle, floor, &c, we formed a circle 
 around the cradle. Some one asked if the spirits were present, 
 and was immediately answered by the raps on the cradle, much 
 louder than those I had heard the night before. During the even- 
 ing we had many of the manifestations which have so frequently 
 been described as having occurred at .Rochester, Auburn, New 
 Fork city, &c. 
 
 « On Friday I called on Mr. Sunderland, at his office in 
 Boston, and expressed a desire to test these things in the daytime. 
 He very kindly accompanied me to his house, where he, his 
 daughter and myself, seated ourselves around the cradle. After I 
 had faithfully examined it, and everything about it, as well as 
 everything about the room, the questions and responding com- 
 menced. Mr. S. stated previously, however, that he would go into 
 another room in the house, if it would be any more satisfactory, 
 or to any room in any neighboring house ; but I was satisfied in 
 regard to this. I put questions in every possible way, — ques- 
 
216 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 tions which I had fixed upon as tests, — all of which were promptly 
 and correctly answered. 
 
 " Having been placed in communication with what assumed to 
 be the spirit of my daughter, I asked her to tell me how old she 
 was when she died, and to signify the number when I mentioned 
 it. I commenced and called the numbers above and below the 
 real one, in every variety of manner, until, at last, calling the real 
 one, the answer was made promptly. She also told me how old 
 her brother was when he died. These two facts I knew were 
 known to no one, within a hundred miles, except myself. Then 
 the being who claimed to be the spirit of my daughter, by the 
 use of the alphabet, spelled out, ' My father, Hove you.' I asked 
 her if she had any message to send to her mother. She replied 
 in the same manner, ' Tell mother I am happy? 
 
 " Mr. Sunderland, being partially deaf, requested the spirit of his 
 little son to rap louder. I then saw the cradle move some three 
 inches, although no visible hand touched it. Mr. S. asked if his 
 son would communicate by sight instead of sound, moving the 
 cradle as the means, and was answered that he would. I took up 
 the cradle, examined it and the floor in every possible way, with- 
 out finding any apparent means by which it could be moved. I 
 afterwards saw it move more than fifty times, and once at least 
 six inches. 
 
 "Now, as the preacher says, 'with a few remarks I close.' 
 And, first, allow me to say that, as the fear or the odium of being 
 considered a fanatic will not shock my nerves very much, I do not 
 hesitate to say that there was no deception, fraud or trick, about 
 the ' rappings ' I witnessed. I think I know Mr. Sunderland and 
 his family to be truthful and worthy people ; and I do not believe, 
 under the circumstances, that they could have deceived me, if they 
 had attempted it. I do not know that these mysterious responses 
 were spiritual ; but to believe any explanation I have yet heard 
 would require a larger tax upon my credulity than it would to 
 believe they are what they assume to be, I certainly have no 
 objection to urge against the establishment of a telegraphic com- 
 
REV. WILLIAM M. FERNALD. MRS. HAYDEN. 217 
 
 munication between those in the body and those out of it ; for I 
 have no religious creed, and belong to no party which would be 
 likely to suffer from such a communication. It would clash with 
 no article of my faith, nor would it effect me unpleasantly in any 
 manner. 
 
 "Mr. Sunderland is now perseveringly investigating this subject 
 and giving the result of his investigations in his * Spiritual Philos- 
 opher.' He believes his children are all together, — four in the 
 body and two out, — and that the latter are around him, touching 
 him so that he can feel them, and communicating with him in a 
 variety of ways. He says that he knows they thus communicate. 
 
 " A word more. If what has been heard, seen and felt, be 
 really produced by departed spirits, I see no reason for attempt- 
 ing to build upon it a new system of theology, and for denying the 
 truth of the Bible and everything we have heretofore considered 
 sacred. ' Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, and see 
 whether they be of God.' Rufus Elmer. 
 
 " Springfield, Mass., Sept. 17, 1850." 
 
 During the same month the Boston Pathfinder gave the 
 details of a visit to Mr. Sunderland's, in which he fully sustains 
 the other witnesses in the statement that there was evidently no 
 fraud in the case. Bev. Win. M. Fernald, a Unitarian preacher of 
 some note, became a convert from visiting Mr. Sunderland, and 
 defended it through some of the daily papers of the city. He also 
 wrote a good deal in the " Spiritual Philosopher," and distinguished 
 himself as an advocate of Spiritualism, and for the numerous and 
 very sudden changes of his opinions in regard to the subject of 
 good and evil spirits, &c. 
 
 Like all other places in the country, the number of media 
 increased rapidly in Boston, and the manifestations assumed all 
 the variety that had attended them elsewhere. Mrs. Hayden, 
 wife ofWm. B. Hayden, Esq., editor of the "Star-Spangled Ban- 
 ner," became a medium, and for a long time the meetings held at 
 Mr. Hayden's were by confidential friends, and were not known to 
 19 
 
218 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 the public. I have now in my possession letters from a distin- 
 guished literary man of that city, who used to meet in that circle, 
 and, although he is a full believer, it is not yet publicly known. 
 He is now the editor of a daily political paper. Mr. Hayden and 
 his wife have since made a tour to England, where they made many 
 converts to spiritualism, and elicited much discussion on the subject. 
 
 Still later, Kev. John M. Spear, a distinguished philanthropist 
 and Universalist clergyman, became a medium for writing and im- 
 pressions. Some of his impressions were very remarkable. One 
 case, which has already been published, has scarcely a parallel in 
 modern times. He was impressed to go to a place some twenty 
 miles distant, to see a man who was a total stranger to him. He 
 at first resisted the impression, when his hand moved and wrote 
 the following : 
 
 "You must go to Abington to-morrow night. You will be 
 wanted there. Call on Mr. David Viney. Go with your horse 
 and chaise, and leave Boston at two o'clock precisely. That 
 will bring you where you will be wanted in season. Go by the 
 way of A. Do not fear to do as you are guided. All will be 
 well. Tell sister B. I will watch over you while you are from 
 home. She shall see good come of this direction, and will be 
 satisfied with it when you get home from your journey. I am 
 your friend, and will protect you from all danger, and will lead 
 you safely and pleasantly home. David Yiney lives in Abing- 
 ton. You do not know him. It is not your brother-in-law in H., 
 of whom you have been thinking since you have been impressed 
 to write this communication. He lives near D. H.'s house. I 
 shall impress you again to-morrow to go. Go, — go, — go. 
 
 " Oliver." 
 
 The next day the injunction was repeated, with still more ear- 
 nestness and assurance of being wanted there. He finally complied 
 and started as directed. On arriving at A., and inquiring for 
 Viney, he was told that such a man was living some three miles 
 from there. The next morning he found the man, who was sitting 
 
REV. JOHN M. SPEAR. 219 
 
 up, but suffering extremely, with his head and face bound up. 
 The conversation very naturally turned on the complaint, and 
 while the man was relating how he had suffered with neuralgia, 
 and how he had been deprived of sleep for two weeks, Mr. 
 Spear's hand was slowly and involuntarily raised to the sick man's 
 face, and gently touched him with the tips of his fingers near the 
 ear. The sick man started suddenly, and, raising his leg from the 
 floor with both his hands, exclaimed : " What did you do to my 
 leg, sir ? " 
 
 " Nothing at all. I unconsciously touched your face, but can- 
 not tell why ; but I certainly did not touch your leg," said Mr. 
 Spear. 
 
 " But I am sure you did," replied Mr. Viney, " for I felt it all 
 over me." 
 
 " Well," said Spear, " I guess it is all right, although there is 
 some mystery about it. It is probably all for the best." 
 
 Mr. Viney then demanded of Mr. Spear who he was, and what 
 he came for ; but the only reply was that his name was Spear, 
 but he could not tell what he came for. Another involuntary 
 touch from Mr. S.'s fingers produced another shock in the leg, 
 and drove away all the pain. The family and the sick man him- 
 self became alarmed, and, becoming sleepy, wished Mr. Spear to 
 leave the house, so that he could go to sleep, as he dare not sleep 
 while such a mysterious man was in his house. Mr. Spear, hav- 
 ing nothing more to do, departed, and the man entirely recovered. 
 
 Many other journeys of a like character were made by Mr. 
 Spear with like success, seemingly guided by the healing angels to 
 perform these works of goodness and kindness to his fellow-men. 
 They certainly look like anything but the works of his Satanic 
 Majesty. 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. S. has written some things, claiming to 
 be from the spirit of Dr. Rush, which are of the most puerile 
 character, partaking almost of the ludicrous. Take for instance 
 the following : 
 
220 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 " In speaking of the mortal body, it will be (all things con- 
 sidered) wisest to commence at what (looking at all things) may 
 be considered the most, or, more strictly speaking, the more im- 
 portant part, and that is the head. 
 
 " In the front part, just below the eyes, there is what is gen- 
 erally called by the common people, a nose. And here it will be 
 perceived are two apartments." * 
 
 This is but a specimen of much that was written through this 
 medium, and many other equally honest "media." I do not 
 attempt to account for these puerile communications, coming 
 through intelligent media, and purporting to come from great men. 
 I only state the facts for the reflection of those who study the his- 
 tory of these remarkable phenomena. 
 
 Among some of the hasty conclusions to which many of the 
 over-zealous friends of spiritualism have arrived, none seem to me 
 to present a stronger case than that of what was termed the 
 "new motive power." The reader will get some idea of its origin 
 by the following account which appeared in the Boston " New 
 Era," June 29th, 1854. The story is certainly a very singular 
 one, and should not be varied from the way it was originally told. 
 It is as follows : 
 
 " 1. It was announced to Mrs. , by spiritual intelli- 
 gence, several months since, that she would become a mother in some 
 new sense ; that she would be ' the Mary of a new dispensation.' 
 The announcement was given under circumstances the most im- 
 pressive, and in connection with a most beautiful and instructive 
 vision, in which was strikingly elucidated a most important 
 spiritual lesson, namely, the true significance of the ci'oss, as an 
 emblem of spiritual advancement. All who were present on the 
 occasion were deeply impressed with the superior capacities and 
 exalted moral attainments of the intelligences communicating, as 
 evidenced by the profound and comprehensive character of their 
 teachings. Nevertheless, the prophecy or announcement spoken 
 
 * Lectures. &c. John M. Spear, medium. 
 
221 
 
 of, though declared with marked emphasis, and directed to be put 
 on record, was not believed to have any peculiar meaning. It 
 was thought to refer possibly to the maternal feeling which she 
 had felt toward individuals, who had, through her instrumentality, 
 been instructed in the truths of the new philosophy. Least of all 
 was there the slightest hint that it had any relation whatever to 
 the mechanism then constructing at High Rock. No one con- 
 nected with that enterprise was present, and nothing was known 
 of this declaration by them until it was recalled by the events 
 which subsequently transpired. 
 
 "2. Previously to this, Mrs. ■ had for some time experi- 
 enced certain sensations and agonies similar to those attendant upon 
 gestation. Subsequently these indications gradually increased, 
 until they at length became very marked and inexplicable, and 
 presented some very singular characteristics. They were sup- 
 posed, however, to be at least partially indicative of disease ; but 
 were not imagined to have the remotest connection with either the 
 mechanism at High Rock, or with the prophecy which has been 
 alluded to. As the crisis approached, a variety of singular 
 events, from apparently independent causes (which cannot be nar- 
 rated here), seemed to point to some unusual result, though all 
 failed to give any person cognizant of them the slightest appre- 
 hension of the nature of that result. 
 
 " 3. At length a request came, through the instrumentality of J. 
 M. Spear, that on a certain day she would visit the tower at High 
 Rock. No one in the flesh — herself least of all — had any con- 
 ception of the object of this visit. When there, however (suitable 
 preparations having been carefully made by superior direction, 
 though their purpose was incomprehensible), she began to experi- 
 ence the peculiar and agonizing sensations of parturition, differing 
 somewhat from the ordinary experience, inasmuch as the throes 
 were internal, and of the spirit rather than of the physical nature, 
 but nevertheless quite as uncontrollable, and not less severe than 
 those pertaining to the latter. This extraordinary physical phe- 
 nomenon continued for about the space of two hours. Its purpose 
 19* 
 
222 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 a: id results were wholly incomprehensible to all but herself; but 
 her own perceptions were clear and distinct that in these agonizing 
 throes the most interior and refined elements of her spiritual 
 being were imparted to, and absorbed by, the appropriate portions 
 of the mechanism — its minerals having been made peculiarly recep- 
 tive by previous chemical processes. This seemed no more absurd 
 or unphilosophical than the well-known fact that a gold ring, or 
 any other article worn about the person, becomes impregnated to 
 a degree with spiritual emanations, or that the elements of one's 
 being can be and are imparted to an autograph so fully that the 
 character, capacities, &c, may be psychomtrized therefrom. 
 
 "4. The result of this phenomenon was, that indications of life 
 or pulsation became apparent in the mechanism ; first to her own 
 keenly sensitive touch, and soon after to the eyes of all beholders. 
 These pulsations continued to increase, under a process, which she 
 was impelled to continue for some weeks, precisely analogous to 
 that of nursing (for which preparation had previously been made 
 in her own organization, while she was in utter ignorance of any 
 such design), until at times a very marked and surprising motion 
 resulted. 
 
 "5. At every step in these singular transactions, Mrs. 
 
 has been attended by angelic intelligences (whose presence is per- 
 ceived by her own interior senses), who have from time to time 
 explained the rationale of their proceedings and of her experi- 
 ences, and unfolded, in various departments of science, philosophy, 
 and morals, principles and truths of the highest practical moment 
 to us and to mankind. These teachings have been, to a great ex- 
 tent, based upon, and elucidated by, the various experiences con- 
 nected with that mechanism ; and they have been not only pro- 
 found and comprehensive, intellectually considered, but of the 
 highest, purest, and most elevating moral and * spiritual character. 
 That these intelligences have infused into her spirit a most beauti- 
 ful, harmonizing, celestial influence, has been perceived by all who 
 have enjoyed communication with her, and none of these, I feel 
 
 
"NEW MOTIVE POWER." 223 
 
 assured, will hesitate to indorse the admission that ' she gets a 
 large influx of superior, saving, harmonizing truths.' 
 
 " In order to a proper estimate of the peculiar experiences 
 thus described, a large class of correlative physiological and psy- 
 chological facts, which cannot be even hinted at here, need to be 
 considered by the candid investigator ; but the foregoing state- 
 ments are believed to embrace what is sufficient for the present 
 purpose, namely, the correction of erroneous statements which 
 have gone abroad. 
 
 " With two or three remarks I conclude. 
 
 " 1. As these experiences were wholly unexpected, and unim- 
 agined by the subject of them, until they actually transpired, they 
 could not have been ' psychologically produced.' Her mind did 
 not act either in conjunction with other minds, or independent of 
 them, to bring about these results. Theories must conform to 
 facts. 
 
 " 2. These experiences were not moulded into the peculiar form 
 they took by any previous religious or theological impressions. 
 Because, first, no impressions of this peculiar, character had ever 
 existed ; and whatever notions had once been entertained of the 
 miraculous conception of Jesus, had long ago given place to more 
 philosophical conclusions. Secondly. No idea of such results had 
 ever been formed in the mind, and hence there existed nothing 
 which could mould these results. 
 
 "3. As ' corrupt trees do not bring forth good fruit,' nor ' the 
 same fountain send forth bitter waters and sweet,' it is diffi- 
 cult to believe that an ' influx of superior, saving, harmonizing 
 truths ' will flow from delusive or deceptive sources. 
 
 " 4. Neither Mrs. nor myself can profess to have, as 
 
 yet, any definite conception as to what this ' new-born child,' the 
 so-called 'Electrical Motor,' is to be. However ' enthusiastic ' 
 or ' extravagant ' may be the expectations of others, we do not 
 know that we yet at all comprehend the ultimate designs of the 
 intelligences engaged in it. Time will probably solve that matter, 
 and we willingly abide the decision. But the incalculable benefits 
 
224 MANIFESTATIONS IN BOSTON. 
 
 which have already accrued to us in the uufoldings of the inte- 
 rior principles of physical and human science, and in leading to 
 higher and purer moral and spiritual attainments, have over- 
 whelmingly compensated for all that it has cost us, whether in 
 means or reputation; and this consideration forces upon our 
 minds and hearts a conviction of the probability, at least, that 
 still further benefit may be realized from the same source. 
 
 " Whatever may be the result, therefore, my position is such 
 that neither disappointments nor regrets may ensue ; and the 
 
 friends of Mrs. may be assured that her convictions of 
 
 duty rest upon a basis which neither the opinions nor the ridicule 
 of the uninformed can affect, while her spirit is serenely sustained 
 against the shafts of calumny and detraction." 
 
 Comment on the subject is hardly necessary. Quite a number 
 of persons, of great intelligence, candor and unimpeachable charac- 
 ter, fully believed in this second edition of the miraculous con- 
 ception and birth, and the most unbounded enthusiasm was mani- 
 fested by many. It was denominated " The New Motive Power, 
 Physical Saviour, Heaven's Last Best Gift to Man, New Crea- 
 tion, The Great Spiritual Revelation of the Age, The Philosopher's 
 Stone, The Art of all Arts, The Science of all Sciences," and 
 various other extravagant epithets were applied to this wonderful 
 new birth. Like many other productions of persons whose zeal 
 outstrips their knowledge, the new-born miracle was not quite 
 practical enough to suit this utilitarian age. Notwithstanding the 
 labor and pains of parturition at and before its birth, a slight de- 
 fect was discoverable. The new motor would not move to any 
 purpose I This was the only drawback on its great benefits to 
 mankind. 
 
 The machine itself was constructed at High Rock, Lynn, 
 Mass. ; but several of the prominent accoucheurs were residents 
 of Boston, and the record is entitled to a place in the Boston 
 chapter. 
 
 Like New York and most other places, especially the large 
 
THE SPIRITUAL ERA. 225 
 
 cities, the manifestations soon became too general to attempt any 
 account of each particular medium, or to particularize the differ- 
 ent forms of manifestations. The Spiritual Era, a weekly paper, 
 has thus far proved one of the most efficient publications among 
 the numerous papers that have, from time to time, been started 
 on this subject, and most of which have ceased for want of sup- 
 port. Public meetings are regularly held in Boston, and a read- 
 ing-room is provided for strangers who may visit the city and are 
 interested in the subject. The believers are numbered by thou- 
 sands. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. EARLY MANIFESTATIONS — IMPOR- 
 TANT PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS IN PRESENCE OF MRS. ■WILBUR, MEDIUM 
 
 STATEMENT OF " D. B. H." FANATICISM — LETTERS OF MRS. SARAH 
 
 HELEN WHITMAN. 
 
 The first effort to obtain manifestations in Providence was in 
 September, 1850. It was "at the house of D. B. Harris, and 
 there were present Mrs. Sarah Helen Whitman, Clement Webster 
 (editor of the Daily Post), Rev. Mr. Davis, Mrs. R. M. C. Ca- 
 pron, E. W. Capron, Mr. and Mrs. Harris of Providence, and Wil- 
 liam Fishbough, of Williamsburg, N. Y. The company formed a 
 circle, and endeavored to get the sounds, or sound demonstrations 
 of spiritual presence. This attempt was not successful, or at 
 least no proof of any such influence was presented to the company, 
 although one or two thought they felt the pressure as of hands 
 upon them, as is frequently the case with persons who are in the 
 circle when spirits are communicating. 
 
 Towards the end of October of the same year, Mrs. Johnson, 
 a sister of Mr. Webster, visited Mr. Sunderland in Boston, and 
 had a long and interesting communication spelled out, which the 
 spirits directed to be published in the Providence Post, at the 
 same time promising that they would make demonstrations to Mr. 
 W. while preparing the article for the press. Of this Mr. Web- 
 ster was no way sanguine. The communications purported to 
 come from their father. 
 
 Mr. Webster obeyed the directions in regard to the article, 
 and, while engaged in preparing it, he averred that faint but dis- 
 tinct sounds were heard on his writing-table. They were quite 
 
EARLY MANIFESTATIONS. 227 
 
 loud while his arm rested on the table, but perfectly distinct when 
 his arm did not rest on the table at all. The sounds were re- 
 peated at intervals of a few minutes until the article was finished. 
 
 Mrs. J. (Mr. Webster's sister) soon after returned from Bos- 
 ton, much interested in the subject, and being acquainted with a 
 young girl, who was susceptible of mesmeric influence, and of the 
 temperament most likely to become a medium, she invited her to 
 spend the evening at the house of Mr. Webster, without inform- 
 ing her that she hoped to find her a medium. 
 
 A circle was formed ; the " raps " were soon heard on the table 
 where the girl was seated. Various questions were asked, to 
 which intelligent answers were given. On asking if there was a 
 medium present, a prompt affirmative was received, and, on call- 
 ing the alphabet, " Harriet " was spelled out. The girl was much 
 annoyed at the announcement, and it was with difficulty that she 
 co aid be prevailed upon to remain in the house. After much 
 persuasion, however, she was induced to remain, and became more 
 quiet, and the company continued their investigations till near 
 midnight. This girl's name was Harriet Thorp, who was the first 
 medium known in Providence. 
 
 Mr. Webster was for a long time a partial medium, or was, 
 according to his own account, often visited by the sounds when 
 entirely alone, and they were often heard on his hat as he was 
 walking through the street. After a time they ceased with him, 
 and he became sceptical as to their source, though not as to the 
 facts of the occurrences. 
 
 From this time circles were held almost daily in different fam- 
 ilies, and mediums were rapidly developed. The next medium 
 known to the public was Mrs. Anna A. Wilbur, wife of Mr. A. 
 S. Wilbur, a respectable auctioneer. So far as I have been able 
 to ascertain, she was one of the best and most reliable mediums 
 known in Providence. 
 
 The following communication was published in the Daily Post, 
 and will give an idea of what was going forward in the spiritual 
 
228 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, It. I. 
 
 manifestations. It was written by D. B. Harris, at whose house 
 many of the manifestations occurred. 
 
 " During the last three or four months I have been, as often as 
 three evenings in each week, to witness what are popularly termed 
 the ' spirit rappings.' I have heard these mysterious sounds, and 
 seen articles of furniture moved about the room, in the presence 
 of some six or eight mediums, in various sections of the city. I 
 have witnessed many true and beautiful, and some erroneous and 
 ludicrous, responses to questions propounded by visitors, and once 
 or twice have been startled by some sudden and unexpected, 
 though perfectly harmless, demonstrations. 
 
 " I have never thought it expedient, before, to make a statement 
 through the press of the many unmistakable facts I have observed, 
 or the conclusions I have drawn from them. But having recently 
 been favored with some manifestations which transcended, by a 
 few degrees, the extraordinary, I think your readers will be in- 
 terested in a brief statement of them. 
 
 " The medium through whom the following strange demonstra- 
 tions were received is an intelligent married lady living on the 
 west side of the river.^ She had been obliged, on account of 
 ill-health, to keep her room for the last two or three weeks, and 
 was not able to leave it on Sunday evening last, when I called to 
 see her. She was in a room adjoining that in which three per- 
 sons beside myself were seated, the door communicating with hers 
 being open. Without leaving our seats we requested the spirits 
 to rap ; and they did rap promptly, and so loud that they might 
 have been heard a hundred yards from the foot-board of the bed 
 on which they were made. We then went into the room, closed 
 the door so as to exclude the light, stood with our backs against 
 the foot-board, and asked the spirits to strike or touch us. The 
 raps came heavy and fast on the board against which we leaned, 
 and the bed was pushed strongly against us three or four times. 
 
 * Mrs. Anna A. Wilbur. 
 
PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS. 229 
 
 The rapping then ceased, and we heard a sound resembling the 
 flapping of a small bird's wings upon the white counterpane of 
 the bed. Then the counterpane was drawn, by some invisible 
 agency, entirely off the bed, rolled up into a heap, and laid four 
 feet off upon the floor. We then replaced the counterpane, and 
 requested it to be thrown on a chair at the head of the bed. 
 This was instantly done. We repeated this experiment some six 
 or eight times. A chair-cushion, placed upon the foot of the bed, 
 was repeatedly thrown upon the chair which stood at the head, 
 or upon the floor. We next placed a book upon the bed, and 
 asked the spirits to open it. This was also done on the instant, 
 and was repeated several times, the leaves rustling as if turned 
 by the thumb. The book was then thrown from the bed, and 
 lodged on the bureau, some five feet distant. It was then hurled, 
 at our request, so violently against the door, that, if the lat- 
 ter had been made of plate glass, the book would have gone 
 through it. 
 
 " Our next experiment was with a palm-leaf fan. Y/e placed 
 the fan on the bed, and desired the spirits to fan us. The fan 
 was immediately raised up, brought close to our faces, and moved 
 rapidly up and down, as if moved by a strong arm. This experi- 
 ment we tried twice. A chair, which we laid upon the bed, was 
 twice set down on the floor. We next put a broom in the same 
 place, and asked the spirits to touch or strike us with it. They 
 chose to do the latter. They smote us in right down earnest, 
 striking us over the head and shoulders till we had enough of it. 
 We then desired them to come into immediate contact with us — 
 to touch or strike us with their hands, if they had any. We all 
 sat a few minutes, holding each other by the hands, and then the 
 blows came, much to our gratification and delight. They fell 
 upon our backs and shoulders, and seemed something like those 
 which might be made with an ordinary handkerchief, held by the 
 four corners. This was the crowning experiment. It was more 
 than we expected to get, although the spirits had promised it 
 months before. 
 
 20 
 
230 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 " Now,* Mr. Editor, I solemnly assure your readers that the 
 above is nothing more than a very brief statement of facts, in the 
 order in which the} 7 occurred. Although there was but a dim 
 twilight in the room, yet it was sufficiently light to see the out- 
 lines of material forms. We saw the bed more distinctly than 
 other objects, it being white. We saw each other ; we saw the 
 fan, the broom, the book; and there is not the least possible 
 chance for mistake or deception. And, more than all, the four 
 persons present knew each other to be truthful and sincere, and 
 indisposed to, as well as incapable of, performing any kind of 
 trick in legerdemain. D. B. H." 
 
 The editor of the Post (Mr. Webster), in replying to some 
 strictures on the manifestations made by a correspondent, says : 
 " In the presence of the medium to which we referred in the arti- 
 cle from which he (the correspondent) has quoted, we have seen 
 the table moved, without the medium's hands resting upon it, 
 scores of times, and it has been seen by some of the most critical 
 and sceptical of our citizens — by eminent lawyers, skilful 
 mechanics, shrewd business men, and, indeed, by every class in 
 the community. If ' P.' wants to see it done, why don't he go 
 where we have advised him to, and not cavil about its not being 
 done somewhere else ? " 
 
 Mr. Webster does not assert that he believes them spiritual, 
 but, in this article and others, he defends the mediums, as a class, 
 from the charge of imposition and deception. 
 
 During my residence in Providence, which commenced some 
 time previous to the manifestations being heard there, and con- 
 tinued for two years, I had frequent opportunity to witness the 
 different manifestations. I found them essentially the same as 
 those in western New York. I obtained the same signal, on 
 some occasions, that had been given as my father's, in Rochester, 
 two years before. The first time this occurred was at a sitting 
 where Miss Thorp was the medium. Mrs. Sarah Helen Whit- 
 man, C. Webster and others, were present. I asked for the sig- 
 
ENTHUSIASTIC SPIRITUALISTS. 231 
 
 nal of my father, which no one else in the room had ever heard 
 or had any idea of, as I had been but a short time in Providence 
 and had but a very slight acquaintance with any of the company. 
 The signal was given correctly. Wishing to make a still stronger 
 test, if possible, I asked for the other signal he sometimes gave. 
 Immediately there came a sound as of sawing and planing 
 boards, apparently under the centre of the table and against the 
 top. I had lately been informed of some difficulty in regard to 
 the title to a certain house and lot, which we were interested in, in 
 a distant city, and it had caused me no little uneasiness ; but no 
 other person in Providence knew one word about it, as I had 
 never mentioned it. On this occasion what purported to be the 
 spirit of my father spelled out the following : " You have been 
 much troubled about the lot, but it will all come out right." In 
 some three or four days I received a letter saying that all was 
 right in regard to the matter. This transaction was exactly on a 
 parallel with those witnessed by hundreds in other places. 
 
 In Providence there was an unusual number of fanatics on the 
 subject of spiritualism, and I observed that the fanaticism took 
 mostly a religious turn, and was exhibited by persons who had 
 been over-zealous in religious enthusiasm. 
 
 A friend in that city has kindly furnished me with the notes 
 of a visit he, in company with a well-known literary lady, made 
 to a family of these enthusiastic spiritualists. I insert it as a 
 specimen of the folly of the early fanaticism of spiritualism. 
 
 " Present some dozen persons, with long faces, who spoke in 
 whispers. Joseph, the medium, was blindfolded, a piece of chalk 
 put into his hand, and seated before a table painted black. Soon 
 his hand began to move with great violence, and in a few minutes 
 he wrote with great rapidity on the table. Generally his lines 
 ran into each other, so that, at the conclusion of the sentence or 
 communication, there was nothing distinguishable but a mass of 
 chalk. He would then read or repeat what the spirit had written. 
 Each sentence was taken down by a scribe for future meditation. 
 
232 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 Most of the communications purported to come from the Saviour. 
 The first sentence was as follows, and from the Saviour : 
 ' I see you all — do not start — 
 God from his children never will depart. ' 
 " Then followed a communication in prose, as follows : ' Come 
 to me all, for I am God, the Father Almighty.' 
 " Spirit. ' Yes, the time will come 
 
 When we will be united in one.' 
 " L. {one of the circle.) ' That will be a glorious time, Mr.P.' 
 " Spirit. ' Yes, my son, that will be, 
 
 And stranger things you will see.' 
 " Spirit. ' Raise your thoughts to God on high, 
 
 For he has the power ' — 
 (The rhyme would n't come that time.) 
 " Spirit. ' And if you will come to me, 
 Stranger things you shall see. 
 Then, like an angel, soar on high, 
 To seek your God in heaven.' 
 " Mrs. M. remarked, ' How beautiful ! ' 
 
 " Spirit. ' You must trust in me, for I am the one to guide you.' 
 " Mr. L. ' That 's it.' 
 " Spirit. « Blessed are those that seek me in truth, 
 
 For I have a power to heal all your wounds.' 
 " Mr. H. * I never met where there was such a heavenly influ- 
 ence on me as there is here this evening.' 
 
 " The spirit then drew something like a box, with a cross on 
 the top of it, and wrote beneath, ' The altar of your God.' Then 
 a tree, and wrote beneath, * The tree of life.' These, the medium 
 informed us, were done by Dr. Franklin. 
 " Spirit of the Saviour. 
 
 ' Then call on me, 
 And you shall see, 
 
 That the power of God comes down free.' 
 " Mr. L. ' Without money and without price.' 
 " Spirit. ' Your prayers are registered in the Book of Heaven : 
 You can come in at the hour of eleven.' 
 
ENTHUSIASTIC SPIRITUALISTS. 233 
 
 " Spirit. ' These things you shall see, for I have said in the 
 Bible that strange things should come to pass. But these things 
 are not strange for those who have a mind for God.' 
 
 " Spirit. ' I am Christ, who was crucified, who died and bled 
 
 for you. 
 
 Then in turn give me all your heart, 
 For Christ from goodness never will depart.' 
 " Spirit. ' Then to all that heed, 
 
 Your sorrows shall not make your hearts bleed.' 
 " Spirit of Mr. L.'s father. 
 
 ' My sons, the altar shall be finished, and reveal 
 The wounded hearts which no mortal on earth can heal.' 
 " Same Spirit. ' You wish me to explain — 
 So I will, 
 So be still, 
 And I will 
 In time.' 
 " Spirit of the Saviour. ' Have you ever seen these things as 
 you all do now ? ' 
 
 IC The medium drew a cross with a scratch around it, and wrote 
 beneath, ' The glory of God.' 
 " Spirit of the Saviour. 
 
 1 You can be pure — that will attract 
 The invisible power that will never go back. 
 It continues to rap all over the world, 
 And no being has power to control.' 
 " Spirit. ' To ye poets, who love to hear, 
 
 Give me your hearts, and do not fear. 
 Compose of heaven, not of earth, 
 For there are things will give ye mirth.' 
 " Mrs. M. ' Is n't it beautiful ? ' 
 " Spirit. ' Keep up your hearts, and do not sink, 
 
 For you are on a heavenly brink.' 
 " Mr. H. ' We must be on the verge of time.' 
 20* 
 
234 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, K. I. 
 
 " Spirit. < The stars of heaven do shine like the pure hearts of 
 our poets.' 
 
 " Mr. H. ' Have you not had an impression of a spiritual 
 diamond on Joseph's breast? There is a bright diamond shining 
 there.' 
 
 " Spirit. ' Be ye all prepared in mind, 
 
 For God may appear in a robe of light.' 
 
 " Mrs. M. ' I wish we might see something to-night.' 
 
 " Mr. L. ' We are not all prepared.' 
 
 " Spirit. ' Be ye of open hearts to receive, and I will reveal to 
 you unseen wonders.' 
 
 " Mr. L. l You may be assured, my friends, that this is the 
 second coming of Christ.' " 
 
 Religious cant and fanaticism are exhibited in the whole pro- 
 ceedings so exactly portrayed above. It may be a solution of 
 the poetical turn given to the communications, that two of 
 the spectators were known as poets of some eminence. This cir- 
 cle seldom had any communications from any less source than the 
 " Saviour," or the apostles ; but it was a singular fact that all the 
 communications from this source were of the above puerile char- 
 acter, and unworthy of the talents of a child of half-a-dozen 
 years. What the true solution of such occurrences is, I will not 
 undertake to say, more than to suggest that a circle of fanatical 
 spirits in the flesh would, by the laws of affinity, attract the same 
 class out of the flesh ; hence such folly, of which this is by no 
 means a rare sample. I have never known an instance where a 
 medium or circle claimed to have all the great dignitaries of 
 church and state, and them only, for their instructors, that the 
 communications did not consist of the most senseless twaddle, full 
 of ranting and sheer nonsense. Whereas the mediums having a 
 strong feeling of self-respect and common-sense, making no pre- 
 tensions to being so highly favored, get some of the most beautiful 
 and important demonstrations which have been given to the world. 
 
 Among the friends of the spiritual cause in Providence no one 
 has exhibited more firmness, and none more readiness to defend 
 
MIIS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 235 
 
 in public and in private the spiritual theory of these manifesta- 
 tions, than Mrs. Sarah Helen Whitman, the poetess. We cannot 
 forbear, in this connection, saying a word as to her character, in 
 this respect. It too often happens that a man or woman, who is 
 a genius, a poet, is so tinctured with imagination, and so wholly 
 governed by fancy, that they are not good judges of plain com- 
 mon-sense matters of fact. In. Mrs. Whitman's case it is far 
 different. She is not only a poet, but a sound philosopher and 
 reasoner. Her conversation and her prose writing have a strength 
 and solidity about them, which characterize very few persons, male 
 or female, whether they soar, like her, into the beautiful regions 
 of fancy, or continually plod on in their plain prosy reasoning. 
 She always writes with vigor when reasoning on any subject, and 
 does not forget to fortify herself with a strong array of facts. The 
 following is an extract of one of her letters to Mr. Brittan, editor 
 of the Spiritual Telegraph. It has so much of the historical in it 
 that nothing could be more appropriate to this place : 
 
 " Providence, July 5, 1852. 
 " S. B. Brtttan — Dear Sir: I learn with pleasure through 
 your paper, and from other reliable sources, that manifestations 
 of spiritual force and spiritual influence are attracting increasing 
 attention from intelligent and enlightened observers in various 
 parts of the country. In an able and highly complimentary re- 
 view of Baron Reichenbach's work on Dynamics, published in the 
 American Review for April, it is intimated that the great chemist 
 is about to investigate the phenomena of electrical sounds heard 
 in the presence of spiritual mediums, believing them to be in some 
 way connected with the manifestations of odic light and odic force, 
 in which he has made such important discoveries. In our part 
 of the country public opinion is, I think, greatly changed in rela- 
 tion to the spiritual phenomena within the last year. I meet with 
 comparatively few persons now who are disposed to treat the sub- 
 ject with levity. Much valuable testimony is rendered by persons 
 who do not know what to make of the facts, and who are unwilling 
 to refer them to a spiritual influence. 
 
236 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 " One evening, not long since, I was at a circle formed for 
 investigation, when one of our most eminent physicians, who has 
 long been a candid and dispassionate observer of the new phe- 
 nomena, entered the room accompanied by a distinguished surgeon, 
 who had often remonstrated with his friend for giving heed to this 
 ridiculous imposture, for such he had assumed it to be. Knowing 
 the scepticism of this gentleman, I was surprised to see him seat 
 himself at the table with an air of grave and earnest attention. 
 Presently I heard him inquire for a signal from some anonymous 
 friend, which, after a little delay, was, as he said, correctly given. 
 On expressing my surprise to find him at an inquiry meeting of 
 this character, he remarked that he had as yet arrived at no opin- 
 ion on the subject, but that his attention had been arrested by 
 some recent facts in his experience, which had completely baffled 
 his philosophy. He had a short time before consented to accom- 
 pany his friend, Dr. C ,^ to one of these spiritual reunions, 
 
 in the hope of detecting the imposture, or in some other way solv- 
 ing the mystery without a recourse to the theory of supernatural 
 agency. On this occasion he had received such evidence of the 
 intervention of unknown power and intelligence, as to excite a 
 lively interest in the subject, and induce him to pursue the inves- 
 tigation. J F S , Esq., t the ex-senator, has for 
 
 more than a year been a firm believer and fearless assertor of 
 his belief in these wonderful truths. His experience in the mat- 
 ter equals anything I have yet seen recorded. He is an able 
 politician, and a man of such well-known shrewdness and sagacity 
 in worldly affairs, that his authority, to a certain class of minds, 
 carries with it immense weight. He believes that the moral influ- 
 ence of these new experiences is in the highest degree ennobling 
 and refining. He has made the subject a study, and the assur- 
 ance acquired by a patient and unwearied examination of facts 
 renders him indifferent to any temporary imputation of credulity 
 or infatuation to which he may be subjected. There are few men 
 
 * Dr. George Capron. f Hon. Jas. F. Simmons, Ex. U. S. Senator. 
 
MRS. SARAH II. WHITMAN. 237 
 
 of his class who would have the courage to speak as openly and 
 unreservedly as he has done. Clergymen are, for the most part, 
 rather shy of the subject, as are in general all the more prudential 
 and conventional sort of people. 
 
 " ' The conventional habits of society,' says Dr. Gregory, ' make 
 us all more or less hypocrites. Men cannot yet worship truth as 
 the best knowledge.' One or two distinguished clergymen of my 
 acquaintance do not hesitate to avow their interest in the subject. 
 An evangelical divine — a dignitary of the Episcopal church — 
 came recently to Providence, expressly to attend a circle formed 
 for investigation. He was much perplexed by the occurrences of 
 the evening. Not many days ago I was conversing with a lady 
 of superior intelligence and refinement, the wife of a Unitarian 
 clergyman, then on a visit to our city. In referring to the recent 
 death of a beloved relative, she spoke with such cheerful tranquil- 
 lity, that I was induced to ask her if she was a believer in the fact 
 of spiritual intercourse as indicated in the wonderful manifesta- 
 tions of the day. She did not immediately answer me, and I 
 began to fear, from her silence, that my question was displeasing 
 to her ; when she replied, that although the subject was one on 
 which she had seldom spoken, she had, in her own family circle, 
 received evidences of the truth of these things, so dear and sacred 
 to them, that they had left no room for doubt in the hearts of 
 those to whom they were accorded. She informed me that she 
 had experienced such serenity of soul, so divine a consolation, in 
 the assurance thus obtained of the tender love and sympathy of 
 her departed friends, and of a progressive existence beyond the 
 grave, that, in the midst of many trials, her heart had been filled 
 with devout hope and grateful adoration. 
 
 " I read with much interest the letters on Mesmeric Phenom- 
 ena, published in some late numbers of the Telegraph. * We are,' 
 says Dr. Ashburnham, in his preface to Eeichenbach, ' but at the 
 commencement of the wonders of clairvoyance, and are in no posi- 
 tion to estimate the great fund of new truths that, by means of its 
 cultivated agency, are in store for us. The researches into odic 
 
238 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 light, by the baron, do not yet appear to belong immediately to 
 clairvoyance, and yet the links which connect these inquiries are 
 not far off. Reichenbach's researches are but the commencement 
 of a vast number of researches yet to be made, that will sooner or 
 later establish the relations of light to the phenomena of the human 
 mind,' — I should rather have said to the soul or life-principle. If 
 I am not mistaken, Prof. Bush conceived the idea of this relation 
 before the facts of mesmerism had received much attention in this 
 country. He introduced it, I think, in a course of lectures on the 
 Mosaic records, and sought to illustrate it by reference to certain 
 luminous appearances seen by the seers and clairvoyants of the 
 olden time. I remember that, while he was delivering these lec- 
 tures in our city, I received from Dr. Win. Channing, of New 
 York, a copy of the first English edition of Townshend's ' Facts in 
 Mesmerism.' There were at the time but three copies of the work 
 in the country. 
 
 " Thinking Townshend's work might be interesting to Professor 
 Bush, as reflecting light on the theory which he had advanced in 
 his lectures, I lent him the volume, in which he became deeply 
 interested. I believe this was his first introduction to the subject 
 of mesmerism, which he has since so ably treated in its connection 
 with Swedenborgianism. Some interesting facts on the subject 
 of these luminous appearances, as connected with the human brain, 
 are to be found in a series of articles published in the Dublin 
 University Magazine, under the general head of ' Miscellanae 
 Mystica.' They commenced, I think, in the volume for eighteen 
 hundred forty-five, and were continued at intervals for several 
 years. They contain some of the most remarkable physiological 
 and psychical facts to be met with in any English or American 
 work of the day. They are interesting as preceding by several 
 years and remotely suggesting a philosophy of death and of the 
 soul's transfiguration, similar to that so beautifully developed iu 
 one of Mr. Davis' recent works. The idea of an existing spirit- 
 ual body enshrined within, and veiled by the material, has long 
 attracted my attention. Dr. John Garth "Wilkinson, the author 
 
MRS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 239 
 
 of the life of Swendenborg, and the translator of his scientific 
 works, in his admirable treatise on ' The Human Body in its Con- 
 nection with Man,' rejecting the sceptical theories of the more 
 eminent physiologists of France, has boldly assumed, and most 
 ingeniously illustrated, the idea of a spiritual body, infolded with- 
 in and controlling the material. ' Could we,' he says, ' behold an 
 apparition of the nervous spirit, waving and sweeping through the 
 curves of the body, we should see that there are motions and 
 mechanisms which transcend the mere external likeness and hab- 
 itation of life, and should know, by solemn experience, that our 
 organization is an imperishable truth that derides the grave of 
 the body.' 
 
 "'We also affirm,' says Wilkinson, 'a nerve-spirit of the human 
 race which is not man, but God in man ; a veritable revelation or 
 word, a genuine influx. Man is in the leading-strings of God and 
 Nature, and what is greater than himself, to the end of his career. 
 It is said, in Psalms, that we are God's temples, and therefore the 
 native land of hope, and the arena of miracles. Our pontiffs say 
 that the age of miracles is past, but no New Testament ever told 
 them so. Christianity, as we read it, was the institution of mira- 
 cles as in the order of nature.' The author also hints at a scien- 
 tific theory of the influx of ideas from other men, ' visible and 
 invisible,' as an account of the outward supplies of life. ' It 
 seems,' he says, ' indeed remarkable, that the influence of the veg- 
 etable world upon climate, and of electricity upon the atmosphere, 
 should be universally admitted, and no influence from the human 
 world of a similar, but higher kind, be suspected. But the time 
 is not yet for these and similar questions ; they are, however, as 
 doves which float already in the poetic air, and the dry land of 
 science is about to appear, on which they can alight.' 
 
 " I have just heard of some interesting facts in connection with 
 the strange and beautiful truths which have so enlarged the per- 
 spective of the future, and made the present rich with significance 
 and hope ; perhaps I may communicate them to you in a future 
 letter. « Your friend, 
 
 " Sarah H, Whitman." 
 
240 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, It. I. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter, by the same writer, to 
 Mr. Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune : 
 
 " An eminent clergyman of the Episcopal church said, not many 
 days ago, to one of his communicants, who had unwittingly become 
 a medium, ' "When I talked with you, a year since, in relation to 
 this matter, I was disposed to think that the whole thing might 
 be resolved into a combination of mesmeric influence, imposition, 
 collusion and credulity ; now I am constrained to adopt a very 
 disagreeable alternative, and to believe that it is a device of the 
 arch-enemy.' 
 
 «Asa sign of the times, I received yesterday from our friend 
 Bronson Alcott, the eloquent Platonist of Concord, the prospectus 
 of a course of lectures, the Daemon, — using the word, I trust, in 
 the good old Socratic sense, as a term for spiritual or immortal 
 natures. Is it not Emerson that says, 
 
 « Close, close above our heads 
 The potent plain of Daemons spreads ; 
 Stands to each human soul his own, 
 For watch, and ward, and furtherance. 
 ***** 
 
 e Sometimes the airy synod bends, 
 And the mighty choir descends, 
 And the brains of men thenceforth 
 Teem with unaccustomed thoughts. 
 
 " These lines, or something like them, I think, are in a poem on 
 'The Daemonic and Celestial Loves,' in which the word Daemon 
 is applied to spiritual intelligences intermediate between merely 
 human and purely celestial natures. 
 
 " I learn by a paragraph in a late number of the Tribune, and 
 also through various private sources, that experiments in what is 
 regarded as the operation of- electric forces on matter, are becom- 
 ing quite frequent among the curious. The theory of ' detached, 
 vitalized electricity,' as propounded by Drs. Taylor, Richmond, 
 and others, has many adherents. ' Before we erect an altar to 
 
MRS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 241 
 
 this unknown God,' says one of the ablest writers on the new 
 manifestations, ' it would be well carefully to test the rationality 
 of our theory.' A very erudite and valuable work on 'The 
 Spiritual Medium,' with the Greek title 'To Daimonion,' has 
 been lately published, attributing all the mysterious phenomena 
 of the present day to the abnormal excitement of the nervous 
 principle, an agent intermediate between mind and matter, which 
 may, indeed, be powerfully wrought upon by minds in the body, 
 but which, since the days of the apostles, has been hermetically 
 sealed to the influence of all disembodied and spiritual intelli- 
 gences. He accepts these wonders, because they rest on unim- 
 peachable authority, but ascribes all to 'natural causes,' unmindful 
 that a close and thoughtful study of natural science inevitably 
 introduces the student into the domain of spiritual and occult 
 forces. ' That which God has joined, can no man put asunder.' 
 The author quotes largely from the ancients, and cites many 
 learned authorities, which, however, often prove too much for his 
 theory. He has brought together many valuable facts, but throws 
 no new light on them by his speculations. He admits that the 
 thoughts of absent persons seem often transmitted through the 
 medium, but doubts if they be really so transmitted. He con- 
 fesses to fears and trepidations, and his fears evidently falsify the 
 report of his reason. He assumes that it is ' sinful and danger- 
 ous to transcend the established sources of knowledge (?) granted 
 us by our Creator — to get out of the path in which he has made 
 us to walk.' He says, ' Let us leave these investigations to men 
 trained to the work. Let a Pliny, an Agassiz, press forward to 
 view this agitated Vesuvius, ere we trust our own feet on the 
 quivering crust ! It may be that even they will peril themselves 
 in the attempt. Certainly we shall peril ourselves.' 
 
 " The author's whole argument is a special plea for the authority 
 of the Bible, not only as the great central light, but as the only 
 light that God ever did, or ever will suffer to shine on his 
 children. Forgetting 'that Light that lighteth every man that 
 cometh into the world ' — that influence of the Spirit which 
 21 
 
242 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, It. I. 
 
 shall yet be 'poured out on all nations,' — he assumes that all 
 1 knowledge of the Spiritual "World, of God, and of the prepara- 
 tion we need for a future existence, must be gained, if gained at 
 all, from sources outside of ourselves, from supernatural revela- 
 tion? — by which he means exclusively the revelations recorded 
 in the Bible. ' All our personal knowledge,' he affirms, ' are 
 the observation of material things by the senses, and the intui- 
 tions or deductions of the reason as to spiritual things.' In sup- 
 port of this materialistic philosophy, which would limit the 
 powers of the soul to the observation and the understanding, he 
 cites Plato, as reported in ' Lectures on Theology, by G. C. 
 Knapp, D. D., translated from the German by Rev. Leonard 
 Woods, Jr.' But if we, too, may be permitted to cite Plato, we 
 would quote his beautiful creed, ' The world is good in a state of 
 hecoming? Could we bear in mind this sublime truth, we should 
 not so readily limit the powers of Nature and of the human soul 
 to any fixed or arbitrary standard. 
 
 " I would not undervalue the position of the men who regard 
 these things with distrust and awe. Caution and calm self-pos- 
 session are imperatively called for. Let the timid stand back and 
 wait till the path is made smooth for their feet. For me, I 
 would make many a costly sacrifice — I would peril all but faith 
 in God and ' the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,' to gain a knowl- 
 edge of the life that lies beyond the dark valley ; and this, not so 
 much for the satisfaction of my own soul's thirst, as for the deso- 
 late and doubting hearts that are ' without God and without hope 
 in the world ' — they to whom the soul's future exists only as 
 
 * A wild weird clime, 
 Out of space — out of time.' 
 
 But to me these experiences, so far from exercising a disturbing 
 influence, have been fraught with benignity and beauty; they 
 have taught me the great truth that a life beyond the grave is 
 not merely a life of ecstatic reverie and devout abstraction ; that 
 it is also a life of development, of progress, of tender human 
 
MllS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 243 
 
 charities, of enlarged sympathies, of increasing susceptibilities to 
 beauty and to love ; that it strengthens all inherent affinities, all 
 pure and lofty relations of soul with soul. I have received from 
 them the confirmation of every devout hope, of every heaven- 
 ward aspiration. 
 
 " Minds predisposed to excitement, unaccustomed to reflect on 
 the mysteries of life, and unsettled in their religious faith, will 
 doubtless be thrown into confusion by these new truths. There 
 are victims to every new discovery — every new conquest of the 
 human mind. Hundreds of lives are yearly sacrificed through 
 the application of steam-power to marine and inland transporta- 
 tion. Through the introduction of the various improvements in 
 machinery and the mechanic arts, thousands are thrown out of 
 employment, and die of poverty and starvation. 
 
 " California was not settled without loss and danger. Many vic- 
 tims lie at the foot of her golden mountains, and line the banks 
 of her opulent rivers. The great reformers in science and reli- 
 gion thought life and liberty of little moment when weighed in a 
 balance with the truths they were born to utter. And shall we, 
 to whom the veil is at last lifted — we, to whom the children of 
 another sphere descend with messages of peace and love — shall 
 ive falter because some temporary evil attends the unfolding of 
 this new dispensation ? Shall the pale horse of Death be over- 
 thrown — shall ' the drear white steed ' be quelled without a 
 conflict ? 
 
 "The manifestations of our day are not fortuitous and abnormal. 
 They indicate a law, to which by patient research we shall yet 
 attain. God has not introduced phantasms into his universe to 
 mislead and beguile us. All that exists by his permission is con- 
 trolled by his providence. We must endeavor to distinguish 
 between the use and the abuse of these mysterious agencies. An 
 enlargement of the domain of thought or action always implies 
 new responsibilities, and demands higher virtues from him who 
 would use them wisely and beneficently. 
 
 "New views of Nature are opening to us — wonderful glimpses 
 
244 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 of her modes and methods of process and development. On one 
 hand the marvel and the mystery of matter is inciting to more 
 accurate and curious researches in the department of physical 
 science. On the other, the occult psychical energies that lie 
 folded up within us are pointing to a rich and unexplored domain 
 of our mysterious inner life ; and the knowledge of this winged, 
 expansive nature, that has so long lain dimly dreaming within its 
 chrysalis, is revealed to us pecisely at the epoch when the rapid 
 process of physical science threatened to banish the last faint ves- 
 tiges of our faith in spiritual causation and spiritual influence. 
 
 " The mysterious phenomena of the present day came to us 
 unsought and unlooked for. Immersed in materialism, and in the 
 hurry and tumult of actual life, we are constrained to pause and 
 regard with reverence and attention the evidence of a spiritual 
 existence and an immortal destiny which are accorded to us. No 
 partial result of observation or experience can decide for us the 
 aim and tendency of this marvellous dispensation. We await the 
 unfolding of God's benignant purpose in serenity and hope. 
 
 " You may use, at your own discretion, what I have written. 
 Your friend, Sarah Helen Whitman." 
 
 The following letter from her, or part of a letter, gives some im- 
 portant facts, which have been widely commented upon, from the 
 prominence of the distinguished gentleman who was making the 
 investigations. All who know Mr. Simmons, either as a public 
 or private citizen — as a Senator in Congress, or a quiet business 
 man of Providence — know him as a shrewd and sagacious man, 
 who has keen penetration and sound judgment to aid him in the 
 investigation of any subject, however novel or seemingly mar- 
 vellous. 
 
 " Dear Sir : I have had no conversation with Mr. Simmons 
 on the subject of your note until to-day. I took an early oppor- 
 tunity of acquainting him with its contents, and this morning he| 
 called on me to say that he was perfectly willing to impart tc 
 you the particulars of his experience in relation to the mysterious 
 
PHENOMENON OF SPIRIT-WRITING OBSERVED. 245 
 
 writing performed under his very eyes in broad daylight, by an 
 invisible agent. In the fall of 1850, several messages were tele- 
 graphed to Mrs. Simmons through the electric sounds, purporting 
 to come from her step-son, James D. Simmons, who died some 
 weeks before in California ! 
 
 " The messages were calculated to stimulate curiosity, and lead 
 to an attentive observation of the phenomena. Mrs. S., having 
 heard that messages in the hand-writing of deceased persons were 
 sometimes written through the same medium, asked if her son 
 would give her this evidence. She was informed (through the 
 sounds) that the attempt should be made, and was directed to 
 place a slip of paper in a certain drawer at the house of the me- 
 dium, and to lay beside it her own pencil, which had been given 
 her by the deceased. Weeks passed on, and, although frequent 
 inquiries were made, no writing was found on the paper. 
 
 " Mrs. Simmons, happening to call at the house one day, 
 accompanied by her husband, made the usual inquiry, and received 
 the usual answer. The drawer had been opened not two hours 
 before, and nothing was seen in it but the pencil lying on the 
 blank paper. At the suggestion of Mrs. S., however, another 
 investigation was made, and on the paper were now found a few 
 pencilled lines, resembling the hand-writing of the deceased, but 
 not so closely as to satisfy the mother's doubts. Mrs. Simmons 
 handed the paper to her husband. He thought there was a slight 
 resemblance, but should probably not have remarked it had the 
 writing been casu.Vly presented to him. Had the signature been 
 given him he should at once have decided on the resemblance. 
 He proposed, if the spirit of his son were indeed present, as 
 alphabetical communications, received through the sounds, affirmed 
 him to be, that he should then and there affix his signature to the 
 suspicious document. 
 
 " In order to facilitate the operation, Mr. S. placed the closed 
 points of a pair of scissors in the hands of the medium, and 
 dropped his pencil through one of the rings or bows, the paper 
 being placed beneath. Her hand presently began to tremble, and 
 
 21* r- 
 
240 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, B. I. 
 
 it was with difficulty she could retain her hold of the scissors. 
 Mr. Simmons then took them into his own hand, and again 
 dropped his pencil through the ring. It could not readily be sus* 
 tained in this position. After a few moments, however, it stood 
 as if firmly poised and perfectly still. It then began slowly to 
 move. Mr. Simmons saw the letters traced beneath his eyes — the 
 words J. D. Simmons were distinctly and deliberately ivritten, 
 and the hand-writing was a fac simile of his son's signature. 
 But what Mr. Simmons regards as the most astonishing part of 
 this seeming miracle is yet to be told. 
 
 "Bending down to scrutinize the writing more closely, he 
 observed, just as the last word was finished, that the top of the 
 pencil leaned to the right ; he thought it was about to slip 
 through the ring, but, to his infinite astonishment, he saw the 
 point slide slowly back along the word ' Simmons ' till it rested 
 over the letter i, where it deliberately imprinted a dot. This was 
 a punctilio utterly unthought of by him ; he had not noticed the 
 omission, and was therefore entirely unprepared for the amend- 
 ment. He suggested the experiment, and hitherto it had kept 
 pace only with his will or desire ; but how will those who deny 
 the agency of disembodied spirits in these marvels, ascribing all 
 to the unassisted powers of the human will, or to the blind action 
 of electricity — how will they dispose of this last significant and 
 curious fact ? The only peculiarity observable in the writing was 
 that the lines seemed sometimes slightly broken, as if the pencil 
 had been lifted and then set down again. 
 
 " Another circumstance I am permitted to relate, which is not 
 readily to be accounted for on any other theory than that of spir- 
 itual agency. Mr. Simmons, who had received no particulars of 
 his son's death until several months after his decease, proposing 
 to send for his remains, questioned the spirit as to the manner in 
 which the body had been disposed of, and received a very minute 
 and circumstantial account of the means which had been resorted 
 to for its preservation, it being at the time unburied. 
 
 " Improbable as some of these statements seemed, they were, 
 
SPIRIT-MUSIC, ETC. 247 
 
 after an interval of four months, confirmed as literally true by a 
 gentleman, then recently returned from California, who was with 
 young Simmons at the period of his death. Intending soon to 
 return to San Francisco, he called on Mr. Simmons to learn his 
 wishes in relation to the final disposition of his son's remains. 
 
 " I took down the particulars in writing, by the permission of 
 Mr. S., during his relation of the facts. I have many other nar- 
 ratives of a like character from persons of intelligence and veraci- 
 ty ; but they could add nothing to the weight of that which I have 
 just reported to you. =& # =& # # 
 
 «S. H. W." 
 
 A writer, before alluded to,^ in giving an account to the Daily 
 Post (Providence), gives the following account of occurrences, most 
 of which took place at his house. It is proper to state that I 
 was present at the circle when many of these things took place. 
 The writer says : 
 
 " Four, and sometimes five, persons, besides the medium,! have 
 been seated around a small table, in a darkened room, when the 
 spirits have rapped out to us, ' Join hands and harmonize your 
 minds.' We, of course, obeyed directions. Upon the floor, under 
 the table, we had previously placed a guitar ; and on the table 
 we had placed another guitar and a small house-bell. After sit- 
 ting quietly a few moments, we inquired if the spirits would make 
 music for us on the guitars. The answer came promptly in the 
 affirmative, and the strings of the instrument which lay under the 
 table were struck as if by human fingers. The instrument was 
 then drawn slowly out of its place and deposited near the centre 
 of the room. The guitar which lay on the table was then lifted 
 up and carried off in the direction of the first. Both guitars then 
 commenced playing in harmony, but only for a moment. They 
 stopped suddenly, and one of the instruments flew up over our 
 heads, playing some tune to us unknown. We asked the spirits 
 to play some air familiar to our ears. They immediately struck 
 
 * D. B. Harris, of Providence. t Mrs. Wilbur. 
 
2-48 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 up Yankee Doodle, occasionally knocking the guitar against the 
 ceiling, and then bringing it down close to our heads, and around 
 our ears. The spirits then played the accompaniments to several 
 tunes sung by the company — the instruments moving, and some- 
 times in double quick time, from one end of the room to the other. 
 
 " Sometimes the guitar would fly from one side of the room to 
 the opposite, and from the floor to the ceiling, and then back 
 again ; now tapping on the window, and then on the door ; now 
 glancing athwart our shoulders, and then patting us on our heads 
 in the most familiar and loving manner. All this while our hands 
 were firmly clasped, and our circle was kept unbroken. True we 
 could see nothing ; but all I have stated we both heard and felt. 
 After this had been going on an hour or more, we asked the spirits 
 to ring the bell. The guitar they laid with considerable force upon 
 the table; the bell was seized, almost with rudeness, and furious- 
 ly rung all round the room, sometimes passing over our heads and 
 sometimes near the floor; flying rapidly from one angle of the 
 room to the opposite — one moment behind the chairs, and the 
 next close to our noses. 
 
 "When the spirits had rung the bell sufficiently they placed it 
 on the table, took the guitar again, and recommenced the music, 
 playing several lively and popular airs. To vary the experiments, 
 we asked the spirits to open the backgammon-board, which lay in 
 one corner of the room, and place the men ready for playing. 
 The board opened instantly ; we heard it lifted from the floor and 
 shaken violently, and the men, dice, and boxes, were tossed into 
 the air and fell in a shower around the apartment. Another time, 
 when we asked to hear the tread of feet, we heard, instead, the 
 rustling of silk, as if a lady dressed in that material was gliding 
 about the room. Books, dresses, shawls, fans, and other articles, 
 were brought, or thrown, from distant parts of the room, into the 
 laps of some persons in the company. On one occasion the guitar 
 was taken from the table, and stood, with a remarkable degree of 
 care, upon the floor ; the large end resting against my own hand 
 and arm, and the hand of the medium, which I held in mine. 
 
SPIRIT-MUSIC, ETC. 249 
 
 After considerable fixing of the instrument in this inverted posi- 
 tion the spirit began to entertain us by making sounds upon it. 
 At first the wood part of the instrument was gently knocked by 
 what seemed to us to be a common nail-hammer, growing louder 
 and louder, until it blended into a sound like that of the end of a 
 man's fingers drumming upon the wood. Then the sound changed 
 to that of the knuckles, then of the fist, and back again to the 
 hammer. These were succeeded by imitations, more or less cor- 
 rect, of the sawing of boards, driving of nails, planing, boring, and 
 filing. Then these were followed by imitating the singing of 
 birds, and by sounds that I should suppose would resemble the 
 splitting of guitar strings into innumerable fibres. After this 
 curious demonstration, the instrument was carried by the spirits 
 towards a window, through the upper part of which a dim moon- 
 light shone ; and then we could see the guitar 'perform sundry fan- 
 tastic tricks for our amusement. It would move, sometimes 
 horizontally and then vertically ; it would dance, and then remain 
 at rest, dart back into the darkness, and then push forward into 
 the dim moonlight, until we were perfectly satisfied with its lively 
 performances ; when it was gently laid upon the table, as if the 
 operator wished for further orders. But none being given, the 
 spirits lifted the guitar off the table, turned the latter half way 
 round, and opened and shut the leaves of a book some dozen 
 times ; and this could all be seen, though indistinctly. * * * 
 
 " I have hardly given you a specimen of the occurrences that 
 are taking place nightly in this city. At some future time, if you 
 will permit me, I will tell you something more. Most of the per- 
 sons who have sat in the circle with me have often felt spirits 
 touch them. I have been particularly favored in this way. Many 
 a time a human hand (to all appearance) has pressed my head, 
 my shoulder, my knees, and my feet ; and I know, if I know 
 anything, that it was done by no person (in the flesh) in the room, 
 or in this world. D. B. H." 
 
 I should add to this account the fact that, at one time, when 
 Mrs. Wilbur, the medium in the cases cited above, had been ill 
 
250 MANIFESTATIONS IN PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 for some time, and was confined to her bed, she was, in presence 
 of witnesses, raised up by some invisible power, clear from her 
 bed ! A number of reliable witnesses, who were present at the 
 time, have borne testimony to this fact. 
 
 Another fact in regard to Providence is an unusual number of 
 media in the families of wealthy and influential persons, who are 
 extremely mortified to find themselves the " victims " of such 
 annoyances. They are not so much disturbed at the manifesta- 
 tions themselves, as by the fear that the facts may become public. 
 It has been thus with some families from the early days of the 
 demonstrations in that city. At some future time, if spiritualism 
 should become popular, we may expect to see these persons crowd- 
 ing to the front ranks, and claiming to have been pioneers in the 
 cause ; but now the popular cry of humbug, or infidelity, proves 
 an overmatch for their confidence in truth and an honest avowal 
 of it. Some of the finest, perhaps the finest and most important 
 communications ever given through " mediums," are yet firmly 
 locked in the desks of the class of persons here alluded to, and in 
 different parts of the country. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA — FIRST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN RESPONSES 
 REMARKABLE PERSEVERANCE AND PATIENCE DETAILS OF THE PRO- 
 CEEDINGS IN THE FIRST CIRCLES — ORGANIZATION AND PROGRESS OF 
 THE CAUSE — PUBLIC MEETINGS AND LECTURES. 
 
 The most minute account of the early manifestations in this 
 city I find in a pamphlet published in 1851, and valuable for 
 its historical rather than its philosophical information.^ In his 
 introduction the author says : 
 
 " There are in this city between fifty and sixty circles, com- 
 posed of Presbyterians, Quakers, Unitarians, Baptists, Methodists, 
 Come-out-ers, Infidels, and Atheists, who are candidly and dispas- 
 sionately investigating the subject, to endeavor to ascertain, from 
 facts and phenomena developed, the laws which govern these mani- 
 festations. The progress thus far has satisfied the honest inquirer 
 in these circles that the rappings are produced by an agency in 
 accordance with Nature's laws, hitherto not understood, and they 
 feel confident they have not been deceived by trickery on the part 
 of the mediums, or any one of their number ; and the phenomena 
 attending the communications by the alphabet have been such as 
 to convince them that an agency beyond the control of the medium 
 operates on the finger. The productions, they believe, speak for 
 themselves, and establish their own character ; they further be- 
 lieve this science is but in its infancy, and is calculated, if invest- 
 igated in the right spirit, to perform a great work in society, 
 towards its progress in goodness and happiness." 
 
 * A History of the recent Developments in Spiritual Manifestations, in the 
 city of Philadelphia, by a member of the first circle, instituted in the month 
 of October, 1850. 
 
252 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 The following is the chapter which embraces the historical part 
 of the commencement of circles and their success : 
 
 " It was in an untrammeled state of mind that some ten or 
 twelve individuals of both sexes, in the city of Philadelphia, 
 agreed to enter upon an investigation of those phenomena, of which 
 they had heard from different sources, termed ' Rochester Knock- 
 ings,' ' Spiritual Manifestations,' ' Mysterious Noises,' &c. Only 
 two of the number had ever witnessed any demonstrations ; and, 
 from what they had seen, were convinced that there was enough 
 in the matter to justify an effort at investigation. The rest 
 of the number were all, more or less, sceptical ; and none able 
 fully to appreciate the greatness of the subject upon which they 
 were about to enter, as manifested in the subsequent develop- 
 ments. 
 
 " Most of these individuals were intimate friends, each con- 
 fiding in the other's integrity, — friends that had been before 
 engaged together in other great moral and philosophical enter- 
 prises. Their labors in this field of research were commenced 
 under circumstances where deception, collusion or intrigue, were 
 entirely out of the question. None desired to be deceived, none 
 wished to deceive, but all were anxious to arrive at the truth. 
 
 " Philadelphia was new ground ; neither the much-abused and 
 injured Fox family, nor any other mediums, had ever visited the 
 city in the capacity of mediums, nor had there ever been a single 
 manifestation in the city that had come to the knowledge of 
 one of the individuals concerned. The two gentlemen who had 
 witnessed the phenomena visited the city of New York for that 
 purpose. 
 
 " Their means of acquiring instruction, in reference to the form- 
 ation and management of a circle, were very limited, and many 
 disadvantages arising from this cause were to be overcome by 
 patience and perseverance. No foreign aid was obtained, the 
 counsel of no experienced circle was made available ; but the work 
 was undertaken with sincerity of purpose, and an entire reliance 
 
FIRST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN RESPONSES. 253 
 
 on the honest endeavors of each individual to induce the proper 
 conditions. 
 
 " Under these circumstances the work was commenced by hold- 
 ing the first meeting on the ninth of October, 1850. 
 
 " No regular organization was entered into for some time, but 
 regular meetings were held every Sunday evening, and also during 
 the week, at the houses of those interested. 
 
 " One of the ladies engaged in the work had been for years a 
 good clairvoyant, and when in the third state, condition or degree 
 of mesmerism, — into which state she could often pass volunta- 
 rily, — she would encourage the circle frequently in their labors, 
 and often give important directions in reference to the conduct of 
 the members. When in this third state she appeared to be so far 
 removed from external influences and conditions, and so interior 
 in her perception, as to be wholly unconscious of external cir- 
 cumstances, and highly endowed with interior impressions. 
 While in this state she would inform the circle of the presence 
 of the guardian spirits of those present, and their willingness to 
 communicate, as soon as favorable conditions could be induced, 
 urging them to secure a greater degree of harmony, and encour- 
 aging them to persevere, saying, 'You will get the responses 
 soon.' 
 
 " Thus, for four months, the meetings were held weekly, and 
 often semi and tri weekly, without a single response. At each 
 meeting the clairvoyant, when in the state, would be questioned, 
 ' Shall we have the responses to-night ? ' The answer was invari- 
 ably ' No,' until the evening of February 10th, 1851, when, to 
 the usual question, the answer was ' Not many,' causing a gleam 
 of hope to dart through the minds of all present. Almost imme- 
 diately after this answer was given the clairvoyant became much 
 agitated ; and a lady sitting opposite to her started back in 
 alarm, exclaiming, ' I felt something right under my hands ! ' 
 One of the gentlemen, who had heard the sounds in New York, 
 recognized them here ; they were also heard by all present. The 
 gentleman said, joyfully : ' We have them with us ; calm your 
 22 
 
254 MANIFESTATIONS IX PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 excitement, and we can get responses.' All endeavored to obey 
 the injunction, but with little success ; for, at each response to a 
 question, the various feelings of the members would again rush 
 forth. Each one present received answers to inquiries for guardian 
 spirits, and satisfactory responses were received to a number of 
 test questions. 
 
 " The medium, — for such had the lady now become, — when in 
 the interior condition, had, previously to this, frequently seen the 
 spirits a great way off, and often had had communion with them. 
 They would occasionally impress her with messages to the circle 
 to be of good cheer — that we should have communications as soon 
 as we were prepared for them. She also told them that there was 
 no medium in the circle, but that she would be the first to become 
 one. 
 
 " At the time these first responses were heard the medium was 
 in the interior condition ; after the manifestations had continued 
 a short time she informed the circle that she would wake up, and 
 the responses would continue. This proved to be correct, but the 
 sounds were much lower. The meeting adjourned at a late hour, 
 the members feeling that they had been richly repaid for the four 
 months' preparation. What earthly treasures could have afforded 
 a richer reward? For the first time their ears had been saluted 
 with sounds from the other world ; the dark and impenetrable 
 gulf, hitherto existing between them and the eternal future, had 
 been annihilated as if by magic ; that awful veil, through which 
 their mental vision had never before penetrated, was at once with- 
 drawn, and they were enabled to inhale through their physical 
 senses sweet and soothing intelligence from the celestial spheres. 
 Long absent friends stood in their midst, old associations were re- 
 vived, and interesting conversations were held. Parents met 
 children ; children met parents ; brothers and sisters, husbands 
 and wives, after what they had supposed an eternal separation, 
 greeted each other in sweet and holy communion, and seemed to be 
 locked in long and fond embraces ; tears of joy at these happy 
 meetings gushed freely from many eyes, and all hearts swelled 
 
FIRST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN RESPONSES. 255 
 
 with emotions of gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Uni- 
 verse, for having instituted laws by which these much desired, 
 most desirable developments might be unfolded to his intelligent 
 creation. 
 
 " The sneering sceptic may laugh, the pious sceptic may sigh, 
 at what they may term blind credulity ; but that will not do away 
 with the facts as they existed, and continue to exist, nor oblit- 
 erate the recollections of those delightful emotions that were 
 excited on that memorable occasion. At this meeting an arrange- 
 ment was made with the spirits, that one rap should signify no, 
 three yes, and two a medium between yes and no — as perhaps, 
 partially, &c, &c. 
 
 " After this, the meetings were held nightly for a short time, 
 during which the sounds increased in loudness and frequency ; 
 but no communications by the alphabet had been received, 
 neither had there been any physical demonstrations. The first 
 effort at spelling was made on the evening of the 19th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1851, which consisted of these words: 'You are to have 
 
 the d ' The sentence was left thus unfinished, with a promise 
 
 to complete it at the next meeting, should the conditions be more 
 favorable. 
 
 " On the 22d, the circle again met ; the responses were very 
 good. The question was asked, Can you finish the sentence com- 
 menced at last meeting ? To which a negative answer was obtained. 
 Then the question was asked, Can you impress the medium with 
 what you desired to communicate ? Answer — Yes. Will you 
 please do it? Answer — Yes. The medium, being in the interior 
 condition, presently became somewhat agitated, and in a few minutes 
 observed, ' He was trying to tell you that you are to have the 
 demonstrations more powerfully soon.' 
 
 " On the evening of the 23d, after having had very good and 
 satisfactory responses, the table around which the circle was 
 seated was observed to be in a vibratory motion; this was 
 succeeded by its being raised about one and a half inches 
 from the floor, and moved backwards and forwards, and then 
 
256 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 settling to its place. This phenomenon was not observed to the 
 satisfaction of all present ; a request was made to have it re- 
 peated, which was done, in a minute or two, to the astonishment 
 of all. 
 
 " From this time almost every meeting, for some weeks, was vis- 
 ited by physical demonstrations more or less violent. Sometimes, 
 to the uninitiated and unconfiding, they would have been terrific. 
 Often a shudder of terror would pervade the most of the circle, 
 until they could feel full confidence in the often-repeated assur- 
 ances of the spirits that no personal injury should be sustained by 
 any of the circle. 
 
 " A description of the demonstrations is not deemed advisable, 
 as the public credulity has already been taxed to quite as great 
 an extent as can be borne. If the facts already set forth, or 
 those that are to follow, are doubted, we advise the doubters 
 to form circles amongst their friends, or in their families ; 
 observe the directions hereafter given, and induce the proper 
 conditions, and^ they can have them for themselves ; then there 
 will be no danger of being deceived. Unless they are willing to 
 comply with this requisition, and make an honesty persevering 
 effort (which will certainly be crowned with success), their doubts 
 and objections are of but little value either to themselves or 
 others. 
 
 " The question has many times been asked, "Why do spirits per- 
 form such strange and antic capers ? If they are spirits that do 
 these things, they must be bad spirits, &c. To this question we 
 would answer, these demonstrations are necessary to induce the 
 proper conditions, in the mediums and circles, for a higher order of 
 communications. If the why and wherefore are desired, we again 
 repeat, form circles ; have them for yourselves, and a satisfactory 
 explanation will attend them. 
 
 " Those who first entered upon the investigation, having become 
 so deeply interested in the subject, many of them could not resist 
 the temptation of inviting their friends, occasionally, to visit the 
 circle and witness the doings there ; by this means the meetings 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE FIRST CIRCLES. 257 
 
 would often be so large, that many could not be accommodated 
 satisfactorily, and frequently the harmony of the circle would be 
 disturbed by scurrilous remarks from some sceptical intruders, 
 and the object of the meeting defeated. 
 
 " The meetings having thus become very large, and often in- 
 harmonious, and the conditions necessarily more or less dis- 
 turbed, it was thought best to organize a private circle, which 
 was done on Monday evening, February 24th, 1851. Ten per- 
 sons constituted the first regularly organized circle in this city ; 
 this number was subsequently increased, from time to time, to 
 eighteen. The organization was called ' Philadelphia Harmonial 
 Circle, A.' 
 
 " It was at this meeting of the private circle where the power- 
 ful demonstrations, above alluded to, commenced. The circle held 
 their meetings strictly private, with occasionally rare exceptions, 
 on Saturdaj^, Sunday, and Wednesday evenings, at the houses of 
 the members. After this change in the arrangements, the little 
 gatherings became more and more intensely interesting, new 
 developments were continually being made, and the progression 
 was rapid. It became the policy of the members to say but very 
 little, out of the circle, of what transpired within it. The minds 
 of the people were known not to be prepared for the statements 
 that might be made. No effort whatever was made to influence 
 the public mind in favor of the subject. Strenuous efforts were 
 made to preserve it from the public notice. The charges of self- 
 ishness and exclusiveness were incurred to a great extent. Many 
 minds, however, became honestly and anxiously interested in the 
 matter ; as these were discovered, opportunities were given, at 
 their requests, to be gratified by means of accommodation meet- 
 ings. As the interest increased, these meetings became more and 
 more frequent, sometimes amounting to two or three a week, for 
 the accommodation of different companies. Frequently they were 
 highly interesting, and occasionally favored with convincing ph}\i- 
 cal demonstrations. The circle mostly received kindness and 
 hospitality from those strangers whose invitations they received ; 
 
 99# 
 
258 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 occasionally, however, the treatment towards them was rude and 
 indecorous ; this invariably came from invited guests, who, for 
 once in their lives, had got into society who knew what civility 
 was. 
 
 " The deep and abiding interest, that had taken hold on the 
 minds of many, moved them to action, and, nearly simultaneously, 
 by them were instituted several new circles, some of which being 
 composed of discordant elements soon disorganized and gave up 
 the work, but most of them have persevered and are doing 
 exceedingly well ; some have been favored with various manifest- 
 ations in the way of preparing mediums, &c, and one of the new 
 circles has already received several important communications. 
 
 " Here again was a new field of labor opened for circle A. 
 They were in almost every case, in the formation of a new circle, 
 called upon to visit them, to aid them by their experience, and 
 encourage them onward in their labors of love and goodness. 
 The regular tri-weekly meetings of the circle, the frequent 
 accommodation meetings, and the visiting of new circles, for 
 weeks occupied all their leisure time, and in fact often drew 
 largely on that portion of it devoted to business. Several after- 
 noons were given to the gratification of honest and candid 
 inquirers. Thus commenced and progressed the great work in 
 the city of Philadelphia. 
 
 " Shortly after the formation of circle A, several members com- 
 menced being operated on by the spirits in the manner before 
 described ; sometimes they would begin to be affected immediately 
 upon taking their seats at the table ; at other times they would 
 remain seated some quarter or half an hour before the process 
 commenced ; when this was the case, and conditions favorable, the 
 responses would be free and loud ; but after the operations com- 
 menced with the new or undeveloped mediums, no more answers 
 to questions could be obtained during the continuance of the pro- 
 cess. The first medium was also, at times, made the subject of 
 exercises more or less severe. Upon one occasion, when she was 
 being operated upon, and before the circle had become in a condi- 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE FIRST CIRCLES. 259 
 
 tion to receive instructions in relation to the mediums, strong 
 efforts were made to get responses to questions, but without 
 effect. All this time a succession of raps was heard upon the 
 table ; several questions were asked, with a view of ascertaining 
 what was meant by them, but no answer was given. At length 
 one asked, ' Is the alphabet desired ? ' To this there was an 
 affirmative answer. One of the members commenced repeating 
 it, when the following sentence was spelled out : ' You cannot 
 have responses while we are operating on the mediums.' Shortly 
 after another signal for the alphabet was given, when the follow- 
 ing was communicated : ' Always let the medium repeat the 
 alphabet.' This was the second effort at spelling, and was much 
 more prompt than the first ; the sentences were spelled out by 
 the spirit of the medium's mother. This occurred on the 8th of 
 March, 1851. 
 
 " At the next meeting, held March 9th, the circle, unmindful 
 of what had been told them, were again very solicitous of getting 
 responses while the mediums were being acted on, when the 
 following was spelled out in like manner : ' The medium is 
 not in a condition to have good responses to-night.' Again : 
 ' They are preparing mediums for other circles.' After this 
 efforts were seldom made to get answers to questions while the 
 mediums were under spiritual training. 
 
 " This process of preparation consists of a kind of mesmeric 
 condition, induced entirely by spiritual influence, "which, as it 
 progresses, carries the subject deeper and deeper into insensibil- 
 ity. If it be not resisted or interfered with, it will generally pass 
 off in from one to two hours. 
 
 " Upon two or three occasions private meetings of the circle 
 were held, and continued for two and a half hours, without a 
 single response or manifestation, further than operating on the 
 mediums ; the whole of the evening being consumed in that way." 
 
 In this pamphlet I find the first account of communicating by 
 the card, which is given as follows : 
 
260 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 " This mode of communication consists in the medium taking a 
 card, when a communication is desired, and commencing by vol- 
 untarily passing the hand over it, touching every letter with the 
 fore-finger. Often the hand will be required to pass over it 
 repeatedly before any unnatural sensation is experienced, when 
 a feeling of numbness will begin to be perceived, which will 
 increase, attended by a more or less convulsive motion. As the 
 hand continues its exercises the movement becomes altogether 
 involuntary ; the motion now becomes increased, and the hand is 
 made to pass over the card with almost incredible rapidity, 
 attended with convulsive jerkings more or less severe. Some- 
 times it is very great, causing the hand to strike the card or the 
 table upon which it lies with great violence. This is continued for 
 some time, when the finger will be observed to rest on a certain 
 letter, attended with a shoving or rubbing motion ; instantly it 
 will be seen to fly to another, and then another ; these letters 
 taken down will be found to make words, and these words placed 
 together make sentences. In this way long and highly interest- 
 ing communications are spelled out with a rapidity, requiring a 
 very expert penman to write them down as fast as they are given. 
 The medium, or any other person, watches the finger and gives 
 out the words as they are formed. The violence with which the 
 hand is used becomes abated as the medium becomes more fully 
 developed, and better control is got of its movements. At length 
 no inconvenience is experienced, and words are spelled out with 
 the utmost ease and comfort. This is a much more perfect mode 
 of communication than the former, and is altogether more prefer- 
 able. In this manner spirits are able to converse through 
 mediums long before they can make the sounds. Thus important 
 information is communicated to circles, and encouragement given 
 to them for weeks before responses are heard. After the mediums 
 become sufficiently developed to have the raps, and the conditions 
 being favorable, every word that is pronounced from the card will 
 be responded to ; thereby signifying its correctness. In this 
 way, also, can familiar conversations be held with the spirits, 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE PIRST CIRCLES. 261 
 
 questions answered, and explanations given in every case where 
 they are wished, to the entire satisfaction of those desiring infor- 
 mation, from the higher spheres, upon any subject, however 
 important or trivial." 
 
 The same pamphlet also gives the following brief account of the 
 first writing media in that city : 
 
 "The third mode, though as yet but imperfectly developed, 
 promises to be far superior even to the second. Two mediums 
 belonging to the same circle (E) commenced communicating in 
 this way, within twelve hours of each other, the last to commence 
 not having seen the performance of the first. They had both 
 been communicating by the card for some time previously ; and 
 the only direction they had upon the subject was contained in the 
 following sentence, spelled out by the card : ' Take the pencil in 
 your hand.' This was done in the case of the first one, when the 
 hand commenced violent convulsive motions, which continued for 
 some time, when, by an involuntary motion of the hand over the 
 paper, a short sentence was written, and with a rapidity exceed- 
 ing five times the speed of her ordinary writing. The second 
 medium was impressed to take the pencil, when the same invol- 
 untary convulsive motion seized the hand, and continued for 
 some time, when a short sentence was, in like manner with the 
 first, written on the paper, with equal rapidity. This mode is 
 also being practised by other mediums in this city and other 
 places." 
 
 Some of the communications given to the circles were intended 
 for their instruction as they progressed in their investigation. I 
 have selected a few from a number published in the pamphlet : 
 
 " TWO COMMUNICATIONS, ACCOUNTING- TOR CONTRADICTIONS. 
 
 " 1. Given May 13th, in the afternoon, from a Father to his Son. 
 
 " My dear Son : You were rather sceptical when you entered 
 
 the room, but your mind is more favorably impressed now with 
 
262 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 these manifestations. Thus will it be with every one who inves- 
 tigates them with candor. None shall go away many times 
 unconvinced, if they come in a proper spirit. Those who do not 
 are not generally convinced, for they are not prepared to receive 
 the great truths we would utter. And we take no pains to con- 
 vert them, for their minds would not bear what we would teach 
 them. They must possess an honest, inquiring spirit, if they wish 
 to learn the truth of us. If they do not they will rarely learn 
 the truth of these manifestations, but denounce it as a deception, 
 and one unworthy the attention of any. You have come in a dif- 
 ferent spirit from this. And, therefore, when you hear the con- 
 tradictory accounts given of our communications, think of what 
 we have here been able to tell you, and you will know the cause 
 and come to a correct conclusion. Now, my son, these are the 
 words of your father; believe what he tells you, for he has 
 learned more than it is possible for mortals to find out ; and, 
 therefore, is better able to guide in the way of truth. Done. 
 
 " 2. To a Gentleman from his Sister, May 13th, in the evening. 
 
 " My dear Brother : You were sceptical when you came here, 
 but you have changed your opinions now. No one, who will 
 come and ask us questions honestly and candidly, shall go away 
 unsatisfied, if conditions are favorable for communications. We 
 are anxious for all mankind to be convinced of the truth of spir- 
 itual communications. But if persons come to the investigation 
 of it determined to prove it deception, we will take no pains to 
 satisfy them in their answers ; for a person possessing such a dis- 
 position is not prepared to receive our instruction. He must go 
 through some preparatory process before he can receive our 
 teachings. We want this well understood, so that the friends to 
 the communications will be able to account for the contradictory 
 accounts given of our communications. They will then know the 
 reason, and will not be troubled at it. Keep this before your 
 mind, and when you hear such things said, remember what we 
 have told you, and you will not be confused about it. 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE FIKST CHICLES. 263 
 
 " Circle A made an agreement to meet the spirits at eight 
 o'clock in the evening, and adjourn at half past ten. Sometimes, 
 in the midst of most interesting responses and manifestations, 
 they would rap off ' Done,' precisely at that hour. Under these 
 circumstances an extension of time would be requested, which 
 would sometimes be granted, after the following short communi- 
 cation was received : 
 
 " ' If you want an extension of time, at any meeting, you must 
 apply for it before it is near out. It was your own proposal to 
 close at that time, and now you must abide the result. We were 
 willing to converse with you much longer, but you made 
 objections. G. D. H.' 
 
 "A circumstance occurred in which one of the mediums was 
 concerned. She and some friends had been out one evening, and, 
 on their return home, stopped at the house of another friend. 
 The lady had no sooner taken a seat than she went into the mes- 
 meric state, when raps were heard, giving the signal for the 
 alphabet. It was repeated, when the following important sen- 
 tence was spelled out by raps. This occurred previously to the 
 discovery of any other mode of communicating : — 
 
 " ' You must take care of to-night; she is to fall out 
 
 of the window and kill herself. She must remain where she is 
 to-night.' 
 
 " The spirits were asked if she should be informed of the fact 
 when awake. The answer was, ' No.' 
 
 " She was not informed of the communication, but yielded to the 
 solicitations of her friends, and remained with the family during 
 the night, and was secretly watched. She was observed in the 
 night to get up, dress herself, and go down into the dining-room, 
 in the second story, raise the blinds of a window, and attempt 
 to raise the window, when she was taken hold of by those watch- 
 ing, and prevented from proceeding further. She was in an 
 
!264 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 unusually deep sleep, from which it was difficult to arouse her. 
 This occurred in the presence of several persons of acknowledged 
 veracity, — members of circle A, — who can testify to the facts. 
 
 " The lady, for some years previously, had been subject to attacks 
 of somnambulism, and once before attempted to get out of a sec- 
 ond-story window, but was prevented by a friend, who discovered 
 her in time to avoid accident." 
 
 Hitherto no attempt at organization of effort on the part of 
 spiritualists had taken place, except the mere business of the 
 circle. 
 
 During the winter of 1851 the attention of the public was 
 called by advertisement in the papers to some meetings instituted 
 for the purpose of elucidating these mysterious problems. Those 
 who called the meetings, and took charge of them, seemed, how- 
 ever, to be but little qualified for the purpose they had undertaken ; 
 but as these meetings were attended by some spiritualists it was 
 thought best to continue them. After making some change in the 
 plan of the meetings, and also of some officers, they were so con- 
 tinued, and on March 16th, 1852, a communication, substantially 
 as follows, was received through one of the mediums : 
 
 " The objects of the communications and manifestations now 
 being made to the world by spirits are for the advancement of the 
 human race. All who are so favored as to be enabled to hold 
 communion with spirits are particularly called upon to labor for 
 the temporal and spiritual advancement of those who are dwelling 
 in darkness. Those who receive instruction from us must expect 
 to labor, and seek to alleviate the suffering existing in their midst. 
 It will be well for you to meet once a week to consider what you 
 can best do to accomplish your object. The world now requires 
 your earnest efforts. In your very midst many are enshrouded in 
 spiritual darkness, upon whom you must bestow light. Physical suf- 
 fering has the effect of injuring the spirit, and you must, therefore, 
 seek to alleviate the former. It would be well for you, when you 
 meet, to appoint four or six of your number to inquire into the 
 
ORGANIZATION OP SPIRITUALISTS. 265 
 
 condition of the suffering in your immediate vicinity, and for them 
 to report the result of their labors at the next meeting ; and we 
 will instruct you in the course to pursue to insure their rapid 
 advancement. You should request the cooperation of all who are 
 interested in the subject, as well as of those whom you think 
 would be willing to unite with you in your mission. The command 
 which Jesus gave to his followers, to go into the market-places, 
 and bid all to enter into his vineyard, is still binding upon those 
 who earnestly desire to be followers of him." 
 
 In accordance with this direction, the friends of the spiritual 
 philosophy, which seeks rather to present its claims to the world 
 as an active worker in this busy arena of antagonistic strife, than 
 to fold its arm six days out of seven, at least so far as the ad- 
 vancement of the soul's proper growth is concerned, and spending 
 the other in trying to outdo the ancient mythologies in the vast- 
 ness of its faith, — those friends met, and proceeded to effect an 
 organization by the appointment of a committee to draft a pre- 
 amble and constitution, setting forth the objects of the association, 
 and presenting an outline of the rules by which the body was to 
 be governed in future action. I cannot in any way set forth the 
 nature of the organization better than by a synopsis of the pre- 
 amble and laws as adopted by the meeting, upon the report of the 
 committee, with some amendments. 
 
 " PREAMBLE. 
 
 " Whereas, as all ages of the world and of man have given rise 
 to special demands, meet for the requirements of the necessities 
 of the race, so, too, has this, in which it is our province to move, 
 also its demands. And as the institutions of the past and the 
 present have well-nigh closed their mission, and answered the pur- 
 poses of their creation in the discipline of our minds and hearts, 
 so are we looking for the advent of a diviner life and a better 
 hope. In answer to this demand are the voices from the spirit? 
 land, cheering us on in the work of human elevation and redemp- 
 23 
 
266 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 tion in our spiritual, intellectual and social natures. In obedience 
 to the directions of our spiritual guides do we hereby organize an 
 institution whose object shall be the spiritual cultivation of man, 
 and the alleviation of some of the many woes by which he is so sadly 
 burthened. With no master but God, and no creed but humanity, 
 do we enter the field of our labors, recognizing in man the latent 
 germ of a divine nature, which, when duly cultivated, is the highest 
 rule of right in human action. And we would, furthermore, seek 
 to cultivate the radiant beauty of this faith in our intercourse 
 with our fellow-men, as far as we are able so to do. 
 
 " In the furtherance of these noble purposes do we ordain the 
 following constitution : 
 
 " Art. 1. The title of this association shall be the Harmonial 
 Benevolent Association of Philadelphia. 
 
 " 2. The objects of this association shall be those set forth in 
 the preamble. 
 
 " 3. The officers shall consist of a Circle of Directors, a Presi- 
 dent and Vice-President, Kecording Secretary, Corresponding Sec- 
 retary, Treasurer, Executive Committee and two Ushers ; all of 
 whom shall be elected semi-annually. 
 
 " 4. The duties of the Circle of Directors shall consist in im- 
 parting the principles of motion, life, sensation and intelligence, to 
 the association ; to provide the instrumentalities of intellectual 
 progress by procuring suitable persons to address the public meet- 
 ings of the association ; to propose such means as will best secure 
 pecuniary aid for the relief of the suffering ; to organize and 
 maintain an efficient choir for the meetings ; and to attend to such 
 other affairs as the exigences of the occasion may require. 
 
 " The duties of the President and Vice-President are to see that 
 order and harmony prevail at all meetings of the association. 
 
 " Of the Secretary, to keep the records of the association, and 
 attend to such other duties as may pertain to his office. 
 
 " Of the Treasurer, to receive all moneys of the association, and 
 hold them subject to its regular orders. 
 
 " Of the Executive Committee, to tender the sympathies and 
 
ORGANIZATION OF SPIRITUALISTS. 267 
 
 assistance of the association to those who are sick, in trouble, or 
 distress, and to extend the same to all human society, as far as 
 possible, irrespective of sect, complexion, or country. 
 
 " Of the Ushers, to make such arrangements as shall best con- 
 tribute to the comfort and convenience of the members and visitors 
 of the meeting. 
 
 "5. As it is the design of the association to promote its benign 
 ends through the willing aid and cooperation of such persons as 
 may by affinity be attracted toward us, it shall, therefore, be in 
 order for any persons to become members of the institution by 
 declaring their wish to that effect at a previous meeting to their 
 signing the constitution ; provided that there shall be no objections 
 on the part of a member. Should there be any objection, such 
 objection shall be considered and disposed of by a vote of the mem- 
 bers present, and the applicant admitted or rejected accordingly. 
 
 " 6. All elections shall be by ballot." 
 
 Some other articles follow, specifying the time and place of 
 election, the mode of procedure in case of the alteration of the 
 constitution, &c, not of interest to the general reader, and they 
 are therefore omitted. 
 
 It will now be perceived that the objects of the association are 
 two-fold. First, that of ministering to the physical needs of the 
 down-trodden, the vicious and the diseased ; and, second, the 
 dissemination of the sublime and glorious light unfolded to us, 
 teaching the true purposes of the present life, and- the best means 
 of developing the latent energies of the spirit, by which it shall 
 be unfolded and fitted for the diviner joys of that life which is to 
 come ; and also the nature of that future existence into which a 
 thousand million of human souls will, in a few brief years, have 
 entered, and its sublime realities become part of their experience, 
 and recorded upon the tablets of the inner shrine of the spirit. 
 
 The association adopted the title of the Harmonial Benevolent 
 Association at the suggestion of the spirits, and they have endeav- 
 ored to act in accordance with that title. It is true but little, 
 
268 MANIFESTATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 comparatively, has been done. Nor is it to be expected that a 
 few persons, with but limited resources, could stop the course of 
 that mighty tide of sorrow and death, which sweeps over the land 
 like some destroying angel, and which speaks too plainly of the 
 terrible infractions of those laws of order and harmony, on the 
 observance of which the world's physical redemption depends. 
 Nor is it to be expected that the bitter fruits of transgression can 
 cease to flow while the roots are deeply seated and hourly watered 
 and irrigated by an inverted social order, tending ever to the 
 realization of those fearful harvests which, like some mighty 
 maelstrom, engulf their annual millions, and send them into another 
 sphere to learn those lessons of wisdom and goodness which they 
 should have learned in this. What is done in this way is chiefly 
 palliative, and tends somewhat to temper down the sorrows of 
 life. It is not the purpose to boast of what is done, nor should 
 I at this time mention the fact, were it not for the purpose of 
 stating the nature and objects of the Philadelphia Harmonial 
 Benevolent Association, and, with this brief narration, shall let 
 this part of the subject pass, with the statement that it is the 
 purpose of the association to continue to do the best they can, 
 without parade or noise, or solicitation of foreign resources. 
 
 It has been now nearly three years since the commencement of 
 this movement, and, with but little interruption, there have been 
 kept up in this city regular weekly meetings for the benefit of 
 the public, to which they have been invited, free of expense, to 
 hear lectures explanatory of the spiritual philosophy, so far as 
 that matter was understood, and also public conference meetings, 
 at which an immense amount and variety of phenomena were 
 narrated, which occurred in the experience of individuals them- 
 selves. It is a little more than two years since the public meet- 
 ings have been held on each Sunday morning and evening at 
 Franklin Hall. These meetings have been deemed of sufficient 
 interest to ensure the regular attendance of large and intelligent 
 audiences. Either the morning or evening is occupied by a lec- 
 ture, the other meeting being a conference, where all spiritualists 
 
ORGANIZATION OF SPIRITUALISTS. 269 
 
 have an equal opportunity for the occupancy of the speaker's 
 stand. 
 
 Aside from this association there have been several attempts to 
 effect a general organization of the circles ; but, for some reason, 
 these efforts have not been attended with much success. Indeed, 
 even the circles themselves have no very effectual organization, 
 owing, probably, to the continuous pressure from without of per- 
 sons desirous of witnessing the manifestations, and the disposition 
 of the members to afford all the opportunity in their power to 
 inquirers. 
 
 The history of spiritualism in this city is not, however, without 
 some divisions of sentiment, and may be classed under two gen- 
 eral heads. First, those who still cherish a sanctity for those 
 early loves which, by education, become almost part of our nature, 
 and who, hence, feel that there is a sacredness hovering around 
 the Bible not attaching itself to other books. Also those who 
 still cherish some of their former opinions in reference to the 
 efficacy of prayer, the divinity of Jesus, &c. The second class is 
 composed of those who feel cut loose from all authority of both 
 Bible and church, and who seek to attain to a more perfect 
 knowledge of both Grod and man by a study of the great book of 
 Nature, as transmitted by the Creator to his children. Both these 
 classes are doing an effectual work in the redemption of mind, 
 since both are more liberal than before, and more reasonable in 
 their differences with one another and the world without. JS T or 
 have we anything to fear from a difference of opinion, so long as 
 reason is to be the arbiter. The only enemy spiritualism need 
 have to dread will be the disposition to sectarize it, and to bind 
 the minds of its recipients to some supposed authority or creed. 
 22* 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS AT TROY AND TfATERFORD, N. Y. — EXCITEMENT AND 
 
 VIOLENCE AT TROY ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE LIFE OF THE MEDIUM 
 
 INCREASE OF THE MANIFESTATIONS — REMARKABLE CASES, &C. 
 
 The advent of the spiritual manifestations into Troy was at- 
 tended with some remarkable displays of bigotry and violence, 
 which should be recorded among the attendant circumstances of 
 this new development. The first medium there was Miss Mar- 
 garetta Fox. She went in the month of November, 1850, to 
 the house of Mr. Bouton, where the friends were invited to hear 
 the manifestations. 
 
 From some cause which remains unexplained, a portion of 
 the Irish Catholics became very much incensed against the " new 
 doctrine," and evinced a determination to put it down by violence. 
 They evidently supposed that, by destroying this medium, the 
 whole matter would be put to rest. Accordingly she was watched 
 and followed everywhere, so that it was not considered safe for 
 her to leave the house unattended. Finally they became so de- 
 termined that the house was attacked, but, being well prepared, 
 the assassins were not successful. The following extract from a 
 letter written by the gentleman with whom she was stopping, will 
 throw more light upon the subject. It bears date of West Troy, 
 November 13th, 1850. 
 
 ' ' "We are endeavoring to make an arrangement for her (Mar- 
 garetta) to go to another place. If she has mentioned the name 
 to you, do not mention it to others, as you value her life. A 
 
EXCTTLMENT AND VIOLENCE. 271 
 
 deep plot is laid to destroy her. My house is beset every night 
 by assassins after her, and we guard her every moment. We 
 think, if we can place her where we wish to, she will be safe. I 
 shall defend her and her reputation at the risk of my fortune and 
 my life. I will advise you of our progress. Suppress the name 
 of the place, if you can. I write with difficulty, not having 
 rested for some nights. Five Irishmen, from some motive, are 
 watching Margaretta ; we have seen them all together. She has 
 never left my family without being attended, which has given 
 them no opportunity yet. In returning from Troy, late night 
 before last, with my family and Margaretta, in a coach, we came 
 to the river, and found no boat. Five drunken Irishmen tried to 
 persuade our driver to go to the long ' Troy Bridge,' a glorious 
 place for murder. We did not go, but they followed us home, 
 and, after we had retired, the Irishmen attempted to break into 
 the room occupied by Margaretta and my sister-in-law. They 
 were furious on being foiled, and threw stones against the house. 
 I have prepared means of defence, and cannot sleep much, and 
 my family less. I fear they will return again to-night ; but they 
 will meet with a warm reception. Last night Mrs. B. and Mar- 
 garetta went to the door of a shed together, and a stone was 
 thrown at them. One man on the roof made an angry excla- 
 mation on finding that the two were together, instead of Marga- 
 retta alone. They were large, stout men." 
 
 A postscript to this letter, dated the next day, the 14th, says : 
 
 " As I feared, the Irishmen did return last night, and threw a 
 stone through the window, and broke into the house ; but we were 
 prepared for them, and they did not effect anything. We would 
 like to have you come here immediately, if you can." 
 
 The mob continued to increase on Saturday night, and on Sun- 
 day five telegraphic dispatches were sent to Mrs. Fish, at Roches- 
 ter, to come to Troy. The purport of the messages was that 
 
9.79 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATEEIORD, N. Y. 
 
 Margaretta was alive ; but they could not tell how long she would 
 be. The next morning Mrs. F. started for Troy. After she had 
 changed cars at Schenectady, and taken a seat in the Troy car, a 
 large, animal-looking Irishman came to her, and asked where she 
 was going. She replied to Troy. He then wanted to know if 
 she had relatives there. Her replies gave them no clue to the 
 house she expected to go to, as she had previously received a let- 
 ter putting her on her guard. The man stepped to another part 
 of the car, and held a close consultation with two others, also 
 Irish, and then returned and took a seat by her side, although 
 there were plenty of vacant seats, being only seven passengers in 
 the car. He again commenced his impertinent questions, and 
 finally Mrs. F. left and took another seat. He followed, and 
 took a seat by her side. She then requested him to leave, which 
 he refused to do. The conductor was called, and the Irishman 
 was made to take another seat. 
 
 All this, as might have been expected, aroused her suspicions, 
 and she feared that in some way they had anticipated her arrival, 
 and intended to do her some violence. She was constantly 
 watched by the three men, and they as continually consulted 
 together, evidently about her. It had been arranged by her 
 friends that she should stop at the Troy House, and when they 
 arrived there, she arose with great fear, as it was eight o'clock in 
 the evening and very dark. She stepped out on the platform of 
 the car, and saw, by the lamp-light, a carriage standing in front 
 of the Troy House, and supposed it to be for her, as arranged. 
 Just then a small old gentleman stepped up and looked her in 
 the face, and said, "I am all right. I know it is Leah, by 
 Margaretta's looks — hush ! there 's the carriage ; " and another 
 gentleman stepping to the other side, each with loaded pistols, 
 guarded her to the carriage. As she was shown in, three pistols 
 lay on the seat, the sight of which frightened her nearly as much 
 as the ruffians. Although she had not been to Troy, and was not 
 1 nown there, the whole crowd knew that she had been telegraphed 
 lor, and was expected. The telegraph operator was supposed to 
 
I 
 
 EXCITEMENT AND VIOLENCE. 273 
 
 have betrayed his trust, and communicated the fact to the crowd. 
 A large number followed the carriage, and when they arrived at 
 the house, the mob had collected in front of it to the number of 
 some hundreds- She had been instructed that, when the carriage 
 arrived, two or three chosen men would open the door and sud- 
 denly rush out and carry her in. Accordingly, the instant the 
 carriage stopped, this plan was faithfully put into execution. As 
 she entered, she found Margaretta vomiting severely from the 
 effects of fright and excitement, having part of the time, for the 
 last forty-eight hours, been confined in a small room, for fear the 
 house would be entered by the mob, who were assembling and 
 prowling around the house, in defence of their religion, as they 
 were constantly declaring. After all had arrived safely in the 
 house, several shots were fired through the windows, and stones 
 were thrown. The crowd made all manner of threats, and did 
 what they could to put them into execution. They knew that the 
 men inside were armed, and would meet violence with violence. 
 This appeal to such a mode of defence, in such a cause, is to be 
 regretted; but with such a crowd, urged on by more discreet, 
 cowardly and " respectable " persons, it is doubtful if any other 
 appeal is potent enough to be felt by them. They dispersed after 
 a time, but the family and house were threatened until the " un- 
 holy " guests had left. They were still determined to execute 
 their plans, and, supposing Margaretta had returned to Roches- 
 ter, those same three Irishmen found their way to the house of 
 Mrs. Fish. They were foiled in this attempt, for she and Marga- 
 retta were then staying at the Delevan House, in Albany. 
 
 Such was the advent of the spiritual manifestations in Troy. 
 I give a detailed account of the excitement, as many really fancy 
 that it was a pleasant task, at that time, to go about the country 
 preaching spiritual truth. It is only one of the many trying 
 scenes of persecution that this family have passed through. I 
 would by no means leave the impression that the Catholics were 
 the only ones engaged in this crusade. It was abundantly proved 
 that some of the prominent members of Protestant sects were 
 
274 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 engaged in pushing forward this demonstration of heat without 
 light. 
 
 From this time the demonstrations have continued more or less 
 abundant in East and West Troy, and the neighboring village of 
 Waterford. As these places are near together, and the circles of 
 the two places frequently intermingle, I shall speak of both of 
 them as the facts may present themselves. In both places they 
 have rapping, writing, tipping and pantomimic mediums, — and 
 through them some most wonderful, beautiful and truthful com- 
 munications are made. With the exception of Mr. Boynton, of 
 Waterford, I do not now remember the names of mediums at Troy 
 or Waterford. 
 
 As part of the history of the important events, I give the fol- 
 lowing from the Troy Daily Post, of June, 1851 : 
 
 " On the afternoon of Monday last, June 2d, Mr. N. E. White, 
 a well-known spiritual medium of this city, being somewhat indis- 
 posed, was mesmerized by Mr. E , and while thus paralyzed, 
 
 spirits, purporting to be those of certain deceased friends of Mr. 
 White and the family in which he boards, took that occasion to 
 forewarn his friends that some events were to occur on the even- 
 ing of the following Friday, which were to be imminently fearful, 
 and perhaps fatal to the life of Mr. White ; and that, as a means 
 of preventing the worst consequences, they (the invisibles) were 
 particularly urgent that his friends should guard him with the 
 utmost vigilance, promising at the same time all the aid it was in 
 their power to render for his relief in the case. On the following 
 Wednesday the patient was again put in a state of unconscious- 
 ness, and the spirits communicated as fellows : ' Remember Fri- 
 day night ; watch him close, or you will lose him ; we will do all 
 we can, but can do but little.' Some half dozen of the personal 
 friends of the family were duly notified of these facts, and being 
 of those who are convinced of the verity of modern spiritual man- 
 ifestations, all awaited the issue with apprehensions more or less 
 fearful. 
 
CASE OF MR. N. B. WHITE, 275 
 
 " It inay be well, perhaps, in this connection, to state that Mr. 
 "White has, within a few months past, been several times paialyzed, 
 as we suppose by spiritual influence, in Vvhich case he appears 
 wholly insensible, his limbs fixed, and his muscles rigid and inac- 
 tive ; and whether his condition is produced in this way, or by the 
 ordinary process of mesmerizing, it is morally certain he has not 
 the least recollection of anything which may have taken place 
 during its continuance. His friends were, therefore, enabled to 
 keep him wholly ignorant of the foreboding communications. Up 
 to nine o'clock on Friday evening nothing worthy of note had 
 transpired, except that he complained some that afternoon and 
 evening of headache and dizziness. At about ten o'clock, feeling 
 turns of nausea at the stomach, he retired for the night. Scarcely 
 had he laid down, before he was perceived to be in a paralyzed or 
 magnetic state ; and the spirits announced that ' the crisis is now 
 come ; he will die to-night, or be well to-morrow.' His feet and 
 legs became cold, and his whole physical system was evidently 
 sinking with fearful rapidity. The spirits directed his feet and 
 limbs to be rubbed. 
 
 " Ques. Shall we put them in warm water ? 
 
 " Am. (By the spirits.) No ; it will affect his head. 
 
 "At this time the patient breathed with great irregularity, — 
 indeed, at times his breathing was almost or quite suspended, — 
 his pulse extremely fluttering and fitful, gasping at times, accom- 
 panied with gurgling in the throat, as if death had nearly done its 
 work. 
 
 " Q. What can we do ? 
 
 " A. Rub his limbs thoroughly; we will take care of his throat. 
 
 " At this the patient's hand was moved in mesmeric passes 
 over his throat and breast, which seemed in part to relieve his 
 breathing. 
 
 " Q. Shall we send for a physician ? 
 
 "A. No. 
 
 " Q. But will he not die on our hands ? — the responsibility is 
 more than we are willing to assume. 
 
276 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 " A. If he has a physician he will surely die. 
 
 " Q. Will you be able to carry him through ? 
 
 " A. It is doubtful ; we fear we cannot save him. 
 
 " Soon after this, however, in answer to inquiries, the promises 
 were more encouraging ; and, in a few minutes more, the spirits 
 expressed great confidence in their ability to restore his health, 
 saying they ' must soon wake him up, and if he does not come out 
 clear, we shall be obliged to paralyze him again.' The patient 
 was soon restored to consciousness, but was unable to speak aloud, 
 or to swallow water when put into his mouth with a teaspoon ; 
 breathed with much difficulty, and at several different and difficult 
 efforts raised considerable quantities of blood. In whispers he 
 expressed his belief that he was dying, and asked the opinion of 
 his friends. Two hours had elapsed, in which the witnesses of 
 this appalling scene had suffered with the most intense anxiety, 
 and yet all was shrouded in mysterious and painful uncertainty. 
 
 " After remaining conscious, but exceedingly prostrate, for about 
 half an hour, he became again paralyzed and insensible, and some 
 one put to the spirits the following : 
 
 " Q. Why do you paralyze him when it is attended with such 
 fearful consequences ? 
 
 " A. It is not the sleep that injures him ; — we do it for his 
 good. 
 
 " He remained in this state some twenty or thirty minutes, dur- 
 ing which the paroxysms were more distressing, more terribly 
 frightful, than any that had preceded them ; and, judging from 
 external appearances, the pulseless, breathless, ghastly and sunken 
 aspect of the mortal organism, all present felt sure that it had 
 passed the period of reanimation ; but, while in the bitter agonies 
 of despair, they received the following spiritual communication : 
 
 " ' Do not be frightened, it will do no good ; he is almost gone, 
 but we think we can save him.' 
 
 " In about ten minutes from this time he was restored to a con- 
 scious state, and, though in considerable distress, was soon relieved 
 by magnetic friction ; and after a swoon, which was of short dura- 
 
CASE 0E MR. N. E. WHITE. 277 
 
 tion, appeared more bright and cheerful than at any time for the 
 three hours preceding. From then to the.present time his recov- 
 ery has been regular and rapid. 
 
 " After all that has been said, in the condensed form in this 
 article, it must necessarily be but a meagre outline, an abridg- 
 ment, of the thrilling incidents witnessed, in all their appalling 
 details, by those in whose presence these singular and memorable 
 occurrences took place. 
 
 " Though not present on Friday night, the writer had been pre- 
 viously notified of these spiritual predictions of an impending catas- 
 trophe, the peculiarities of which were only to be developed in the 
 denouement. He has, however, from his familiar acquaintance 
 with most of the witnesses, no doubt of the correctness of their 
 statement of facts, which are but feebly set forth in the above. 
 
 " Welcome Whitaker. 
 " Troy, June 7th, 1851. 
 
 " We, the undersigned, having been present at the house of 
 Wood Babcock, in this city, on Tuesday night last, and then and 
 there witnessing the scenes noted in the above statements, freely 
 declare the same to be substantially correct, though falling far 
 short of a full statement of all that transpired on that occasion. 
 Wood Babcock, Sophia Babcock, 
 
 Mahale Denison, J. H. Rainy, 
 
 Julia F. Sheldon." 
 
 There are other published accounts of the manifestations in 
 Troy, sometime previous to this — as early as the month of No- 
 vember, 1850 ; but they contain no particulars of more interest 
 than the above. 
 
 Mr. D. B. King, who became interested in these manifestations 
 at an early day, writes from Waterford to the Spirit World, un- 
 der date of Feb. 6th, 1851, as follows : 
 
 " I was much gratified and instructed, on Monday evening last, 
 while witnessing a few spiritual manifestations, while stopping at 
 
 I 24 ^ 
 
278 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 Cohoes, N. Y. The medium was Mrs. T , an elderly lady. 
 
 Before we were engaged making inquiries, Mrs. T read to 
 
 us a communication, which was received from the spirit- world, on 
 Monday afternoon, relative to us. The medium was advised that 
 in our presence reliable responses would be made. 
 
 11 About seven o'clock in the evening a company of four, — 
 
 myself, son, Mr. and Mrs. T , — gathered around the table. 
 
 Mrs. T commenced making passes over the table, in order to 
 
 establish a communication. Soon after, various raps were heard on 
 the table. The following questions were offered, and answers 
 received : 
 
 " Ques. Have I a guardian angel present ? 
 
 " Arts. Yes (by three raps). 
 
 " Q. "Will that guardian spirit communicate its name ? 
 
 "A. Yes. 
 
 " I commenced reading over the several names I had prepared, 
 requesting the spirit to give his usual signal when the right name 
 was pronounced. Repeating several names, Seth Y. Young was 
 announced ; immediately three loud and distinct raps on the table 
 saluted our ears, signifying that the last name mentioned was the 
 name of my guardian angel. 
 
 " Q. Have I more than one guardian ? 
 
 "A Yes. 
 
 " Several names being called, Vilo Lena responded to us as the 
 correct name. I had been familiar with these two names, for 
 several years past, as those of my guardian spirits, having obtained 
 this knowledge through previous revelations. 
 
 " Q. Has the society of Shakers, at Watervliet, received 
 responses from the spirit-world in the manner we receive them ? 
 
 "A. Yes. 
 
 11 Q. How many — four times, three times, twice, once ? 
 
 " A. Yes (once). — Correct. 
 
 "After I had received several responses, I called for the spirit 
 of my mother. She was present, and her signal was given. 
 
 " Q. How long have you been dead ? — No answer. 
 
I 
 
 COMMUNICATION FROM "DARIUS JAQUES." 279 
 
 " Q. How long since you left the form ? 
 
 "A prompt answer was given, spirits preferring the expression 
 left the form to that of death. 
 
 " Subsequently I received an incorrect answer to a question pro- 
 posed, when I remarked rather severely as follows : ' I shall 
 receive no communication whatever from any spirit that will tell 
 lies. The spirits must answer me correctly, or not at all.' My 
 guardian spirit then manifested himself, gave his signal, which 
 was recognized by all in the room, and subsequent responses were 
 correct. * * # # * I proposed to the spirits to give us 
 some tests of their power by manifesting some physical force on 
 the table. Instantly raps in rapid succession were made, contin- 
 ually louder and louder, resembling the combined raps of scores 
 of spirits, and so frequently that it was impossible to number 
 them or distinguish their signals. These sounds continued for 
 about one minute, when the table moved about two inches. At 
 the close the spirits spelled out the following : ' Be patient, we 
 will do the best we can.' " 
 
 I give the following, as a specimen of the communications they 
 sometimes receive in that vicinity. It was originally published 
 in the Spiritual Telegraph : 
 
 " ' What spirit so influences me ? ' 
 
 " ' Darius Jaques.' 
 
 " ' What would Darius Jaques please ? ' 
 
 " ' I want to have a talk.' 
 
 " ' "What would Darius Jaques please to talk about ? ' 
 
 " * I want to talk about past things, present things, and 
 things that are not yet. Of things past, I was intimately 
 acquainted with your parents, in Canada, when you were a child ; 
 and before you were a child. I was subsequently acquainted with 
 them in what was then called the Genesee country. I spent 
 much time with them very agreeably. I suppose I saw you, but 
 you were so young I have not much recollection about it. I, 
 many years ago, left my earthly tenement, by a distressing dis- 
 
280 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 ease in the head. Some called it dropsy in the head. I suppose 
 it was caused by snuff-taking and other irregularities — violations 
 of nature's laws — habits contracted in early life — that grew to 
 be my masters, all my philosophy to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 " ' During my earthly sojourn I was an attentive observer of 
 men and things — ■ an investigator of principles. I took an active 
 part in the great political warfare that succeeded the adoption of 
 the Constitution of the United States, so called. # # ^ 
 But soon I had the chagrin to find that good Democrats out of 
 power were soon metamorphosed into Federalists in power. 
 This, as might be expected, was a damper on my party zeal. 
 From thence I became a looker-on, — a not always silent specta- 
 tor of the miserable scrambles for power. The once significant, 
 distinguishing cognomens — Federalist and Democrat — now had 
 become meaningless ; or, if they meant anything, Democrat meant 
 out of power ; Federalist, in power. All were clamorous for 
 rights before election ; but if elected, they all acted very much 
 alike — seeming to consider that power was safe enough in their 
 hands, but not safe in other people's. 
 
 ' ' ' This and other things set me to investigating the principles 
 that govern the world — the springs to human action. I saw that 
 men were monopolizers, — not in politics only, but in everything, 
 — in money ; in land ; in power, — even in religion. 
 
 " 'The Jews, as a nation, had scraped up into their heap the 
 entire of Heaven's regards. Other nations did the same, though 
 not all to the same degree. The Pharisees scraped up an extra 
 heap on top of the national heap, regarding the masses as of no 
 account in the estimation of high Heaven. The disciples of the 
 Nazarene considered their own dear selves the only " Simon 
 Pures," and soon fell into a quarrel as to which of them should be 
 the biggest bug. And this kind of quarrel has existed, more or 
 less, among his professed followers, to this day. 
 
 " ' The Nazarene was a plain practical man ; he was no monop- 
 olizer ; he was strictly and radically, in all his doctrines, in his 
 practices, a Democrat. He was, philosophically and truthfully 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM " DARIUS JAQUES." 281 
 
 speaking, the great apostle of democracy. But no sooner did self- 
 ish and designing men, by feigned humility, reach places of trust 
 among his professed followers, than they commenced a series of 
 operations, or machinations to centralize the powers, — individually 
 to monopolize the rights that belonged to the whole, — to create in 
 themselves a gigantic, irresponsible power, clothed with the dread 
 sovereignty of Heaven. Such has been, and still is, the tendency 
 of what I should call the federal instincts of mortal men, in mat- 
 ters of religion the same as in politics, — they are both one. 
 
 " ' The Congregational platform is the only right principle for 
 religious association; but this cannot succeed well when the 
 bond of integrity is wanting in the people, — hence it behoves 
 all who are desirous of availing themselves of the benefits of 
 religious association to commence the preparatory work by 
 removing, each from his or her own midst, the monopolizing 
 propensity; or, as the Nazarene would say, "Deny self," — 
 squaring themselves by the organic law of democracy. " All 
 things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye 
 even so to them," for this is the cardinal principle of true 
 religion — of the true social state. This is the bond of integrity 
 that binds all heaven together. Consequently, we may put down 
 on the records of eternal ages that whoever makes a requirement 
 of others, save in accordance with this divine principle, is a mo- 
 nopolist — an enemy to the rights of man. 
 
 '"As I have been an attentive observer of national affairs, and 
 of men, I deem it not amiss nor out of place here to say, that of 
 those who have figured largely in national affairs, John C. Cal- 
 houn, aside from his being the personification of that most odious 
 relic of barbarism — the " peculiar institution " of the south- — 
 was as purely and as ably democratic as any man that has 
 graced the halls of national legislation. 
 
 "'In matters of religious and social reform, the present genera- 
 tion of earth's inhabitants has many master minds, — giant advo- 
 cates of the moral, political, social and religious rights of man ; 
 some of them already are known to the world ; some not so much 
 24* 
 
282 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 known, and there are some who have not yet appeared in public. 
 These are invigorated, and miraculously strengthened, by the 
 cooperation of the dwellers in our spheres. For the democratic 
 principle has able and powerful advocates here, who have pledged 
 their sacred all in defence of the " Eternal Right ; " and this 
 struggle between the two great antagonisms, right and wrong, 
 liberty and oppression, is gaining increasing attention here, — 
 and as the right gains the ascendency here, the influence will be 
 felt by the dwellers in the first sphere ; for our interests are one ; 
 our cause is one.' 
 
 " ' Hold on, friend Jaques ! It seems to me you are mixing up 
 things. You override the hitherto-recognized distinctions be- 
 tween sacred and profane — mixing them, all up together.' 
 
 "'They ought to be — must, and will be, overrode, and 
 trampled into fine dust ; and the breath of God, that is now shak- 
 ing the dry bones, will drive it all away, and no more place will 
 be found for it ; for those distinctions are based on false prin- 
 ciples, or rather on no principles. They are based on ignorance, 
 selfishness, and consequent superstition ; and as the living light 
 — the light of life — of intelligent, intellectual and spiritual 
 truth, advances, — and it will advance, — these false distinctions 
 must go down. 
 
 " ' The desiguing and the ignorant being thereunto moved, and 
 seduced by their own lusts for unhallowed power, and mere ani- 
 mal enjoyments, have divided the days — which are in themselves 
 all alike sacred and good — so as to call one sacred and six pro- 
 fane ; leaving to themselves six sevenths of the days, and all of 
 the nights, to act all manner of ways. In other things they have 
 been no less liberal to their dear, unprogressed selves ; making 
 attendance upon the altar sacred — all other concerns of life 
 profane, irresponsible. 
 
 " ' Some of the ancients made to themselves one great God, and 
 a host of little gods — a god to each inclination they wished to 
 gratify. This theology they found quite convenient, for, let them 
 do as they would, they were serving some one of the numerous 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM "DARIUS JAQUES." 283 
 
 train of gods. The modern theologians are, in effect, the same, 
 though less consistent with theory. 
 
 " ' But now, the life and light-giving spirit of God has begun to 
 move on the waters. A separation will be made. The light will 
 be divided from the darkness ; and here, between right and wrong, 
 the party-line will be drawn. This will be the line between 
 sacred and profane. All that is sacred will be on the right side 
 of the line, — all that is profane, on the wrong. 
 
 " 'And woe unto him that seeks again to commingle light and 
 darkness — wrong and right — for, by so doing, he embodies in 
 himself heresy, treason, felony and all sin;- yea, verily I say unto 
 you, woe unto him ; for he has the reward of his iniquity treas- 
 ured up in his own soul ; and how shall he escape it ? None will 
 run after him, to add to his affliction. They need not ; for, like 
 the first Cain, his punishment will be greater than he can bear, 
 and he will repent, or flee from the presence of the Lord, which 
 shall beam forth in the countenances of the people ; for they will 
 be moved with pity for the unfortunate offender — not with 
 revenge. Then, indeed, may the swords be used for trimming 
 trees, and the big guns be melted and come out cast-iron ploughs. 
 The people may dispense with their salaried clergy, and gaudy 
 temples ; with their judges, gallows and prisons ; with their prof- 
 ligate masters, called public servants, and with their quarrelling, 
 rowdying legislators. Great efforts are now in progress, in our 
 sphere, and in the spheres above us, to accomplish this mighty end ; 
 and no power of darkness, nor all the powers of ignorance and 
 error combined, can arrest the car of progress ; for the Lord God 
 omnipotent says, " Let there be light," and it will be so. 
 
 ' Now, my friend, I '11 stop for the present, — for I perceive 
 |you are wearied with the length of my communication, if not with 
 the depth of it. I thank you for the opportunity here afforded 
 ie to communicate some of my views on this, to me, all-engross- 
 ing theme. If anything here communicated will, in any way, 
 contribute to the cause of common good, you will be paid for 
 r our trouble, — I am already paid.' " 
 
284 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 i 
 
 At the present time they have many interesting and remark- 
 able manifestations at the circles in both Troy and Waterford. 
 One of the most remarkable cases is thus recorded by Mr. Elisha 
 Waters, of Troy. He informed me of it soon after the occurrence, 
 and afterward made the statement as follows in the Spiritual 
 Telegraph : 
 
 " Waterford, N. Y., March 27th, 1853. 
 
 " Mr. Brittan, — Dear Sir : At a circle held in this village 
 on the 5th of this month, there were some < manifestations ' which 
 bear so directly on the dispute in regard to the cause of the strange 
 phenomena now so prevalent, that a brief account may not be 
 uninteresting to your readers. 
 
 Several mediums, in various stages of development, were pres- 
 ent, and a great variety of manifestations were made, mainly in 
 the form of ' possession.'' In the course of the evening, Mr. John 
 Prosser, a gentleman residing in Waterford, and subject to this 
 possession in its most thorough form, was under the control of a 
 spirit that announced that no one in the room ever knew or 
 heard of him, but that he was drawn to the circle by strong 
 attraction. He said he was over a hundred years old when he 
 left the form ; was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and had 
 frequently seen Washington, of whom he spoke with great rever- 
 ence. He told us, as the result of his long experience, to do our 
 own thinking, and to read the great Book of Nature for our guid- 
 ance ; but that we should not 'fight ' the church or the clergy, for 
 their struggles would injure themselves more than others, and 
 only help forward their approaching and long fore-written doom. 
 He added, that the truth of spiritualism would now shine out 
 without any aid from iconoclastic zeal. I should, perhaps, to do 
 justice, say that he spoke of the church as having accomplished a 
 work, and as about to die a natural death after its great mis- 
 sion had been fulfilled. 
 
 " I will give his closing remarks verhatim et literatim. 
 
 " ' Now, this is every word true I 'm telling ye. I '11 tell ye, 
 
"UNCLE JOHN CHAMBERLAIN." 285 
 
 so that if you 've a mind to take a little pains, you can find out 
 that this is jest exactly as I tell it ye. I lived at Point Pleas- 
 ant, New Jersey, and if you want to know, you jest ask if old 
 Uncle John Chamberlain did n't speak the truth.' 
 
 " He stopped speaking, and the usual signs of a change of pos- 
 session followed, when some one remarked that it was a pity he 
 had not given more particulars, as it«would have been, under the 
 circumstances, so thorough a test. It soon became evident that 
 Mr. Prosser's grandfather (who is, in a sense, his ' guardian ') had 
 possession. He turned his face good-humoredly around the 
 circle, and remarked, that, as he saw many were anxious to hear 
 more from the ' old man,' he would come back for a little while. 
 After a short interval of quiet, Mr. Prosser's whole manner 
 changed to that which he had while the former speaker had pos- 
 session, and these were his words : 
 
 " ' My friends, I did not expect to speak with you again, but I 
 want to give you this as a test. I died on Friday, the 15th day 
 of January, 1847, and I was the father of eleven children. Now, 
 if you 've a mind to take a little pains, you will find this is all 
 jest as I tell it ye. I don't talk as you do, but if you like to 
 hear an old man, I will come again. Good-by, — I must go.' 
 
 " It would be impossible to give an adequate notion of the 
 plain, unvarnished truthfulness which shone out through every 
 word and gesture of his discourse. Other ' manifestations,' of a 
 similar character, followed, and the circle broke up. 
 
 " On the following evening, a circle was held at another house, 
 but few of the members of the former circle being present, with 
 some other persons. Mr. Prosser was the only medium present. Old 
 Uncle John Chamberlain made his appearance again, and repeated 
 the statistical part of his communication, when it was found that 
 the scribe had written Pleasant Point, instead of Point Pleasant. 
 
 "After finding out that there was such a post-office in New 
 Jersey as - the latter, and that the 15 th of January did fall on 
 
286 MANIFESTATIONS IN TROY AND WATERFORD, N. Y. 
 
 Friday in the year 1847, we wrote to the postmaster, and were 
 informed that the ' old man ' was strictly correct in his account 
 of himself. We send you extracts from the letters received, 
 which will suffice to show the remarkable fidelity of the spirit's 
 statements to the facts of his personal history. 
 
 " ' We, the undersigned, w.ere present at the first circle, men- 
 tioned above, and think the account of it correct. We also affirm 
 that we had never, to the best of our recollection, known or heard 
 aught of John Chamberlain, or any of the facts connected with 
 his life or death ; nor did we know that there was such a place 
 as Point Pleasant in New Jersey. 
 
 John Prosser, E. Waters, 
 
 Sarah S. Prosser, N. F. White, 
 
 Juliet E. Perkins, Mrs. N. D. Eoss, 
 
 A. A. Thurber, N. D. Eoss, 
 
 Letty A. Boyce, J. H. Eainey, 
 
 Albert Kendrick, Mrs. J. H. Eainey.' 
 
 "letter to the postmaster of point pleasant. 
 
 " « Trot, February 23d, 1853. 
 11 ' Dear Sir : Will you be kind enough to inform me if there has 
 died in your town, within a few years, an aged man by the name 
 of Chamberlain? If so, please give me the particulars of the 
 time of his death, age, etc. ; also, give me the name of one of the 
 family with whom I can correspond.^ 
 
 " ' Very truly yours, E. Waters.' 
 
 " the answer. 
 " ' E. Waters, — Friend : I received thy letter, dated 28th ult., 
 requesting some information of John Chamberlain. With pleas- 
 
 ** * Friend Brittan : After receiving the accompanying answer, I wrote 
 again, making inquiry respecting the number of children he had, and re- 
 ceived in reply that he had eleven ; that two died in infancy, and that the 
 remaining nine lived to be of age. Truly yours." 
 
11 UNCLE JOHN CHAMBERLAIN." 287 
 
 ure I will give thee a correct account, for I have known him well 
 for fifty years, and lived a neighbor to him. He deceased Janu- 
 ary 15th, 1847, aged one hundred and four years. He had seven 
 children that lived to be married ; three of them have deceased 
 and left children. He has four daughters living at this time ; 
 three of them are neighbors to me ; the oldest daughter is a 
 widow, seventy-eight years old; three have husbands; one of 
 them lives twenty miles from me. As they have very little learn- 
 ing, they request thee to correspond with me. With pleasure I 
 will give thee every information that lays in my power. 
 " ' Very truly, thine, 
 
 " ' Thomas Cook. 
 " « Point Pleasant, 7th day March, 1853. 
 
 "'P. S. — He was a Revolutionary soldier ; served in the war, 
 and drew a small pension. T. C 
 
 H 5 5> 
 
 It would hardly be possible to state a stronger case than the 
 foregoing, having a tendency to show, not only the fact of spirits 
 communicating, but their absolute identity. But, as my business 
 is to record facts, and not to form opinions, I leave the reader to 
 judge of the legitimate conclusions to be drawn from these facts. 
 Like all other places where the spiritual manifestations have been 
 known, they have continued to spread and attract the attention 
 of the citizens until it has ceased to be a matter of marvel that 
 persons are found to believe in spiritual manifestations. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI VISIT OF MRS. BUSHNELL, THE MEDIUM — 
 
 FIRST INVESTIGATIONS VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY INCREASE OF BE- 
 LIEVERS. 
 
 I avail myself of a pamphlet compiled by Wm. T. Coggshall, 
 of Cincinnati, in 1851, for a history of the first manifestations 
 in that place. He makes the following statement : 
 
 " On the evening of the 26th of September, 1850, we had the 
 pleasure of meeting Mrs. Bushnell with a select party at the house 
 of Prof. J. H. Buchanan, the well-known Neurologist and editor of 
 the Journal of 'Man , published in this city. During the course of 
 the evening, Mrs. B. was impressed by the professor. She made 
 generally accurate phrenological examinations of several gentle- 
 men present, whom she had never seen before that evening, and 
 who sat, during the examination, at the opposite side of the room 
 from her. When Dr. Buchanan was about to awaken her from the 
 clairvoyant state, she bid him stop, and entered upon a description 
 of the appearance and character of the doctor's father, many 
 years deceased. She gave a very correct description of his per- 
 sonal appearance, as compared with a portrait that was afterwards 
 shown the company. After speaking of the doctor's father as 
 spiritually present to her, she entered upon a lecture on spiritual 
 conditions. We requested permission to ask the lady a few ques- 
 tions. It was granted. We inquired if we had recently lost a 
 relative. She said we had, — that it was a person heavier than 
 we are,- — that he was at a distance west, — that he was going 
 further west, — that he resembled us very much, — - that he must 
 
VISIT OF MRS. BUSHNELL, THE MEDIUM. 289 
 
 be a brother, — that he died suddenly of a disease of the stomach. 
 She described his appearance perfectly, gave the peculiarities of 
 his mind, and stated that he was in pursuit of an object by which 
 he hoped to ' shine in the world ; ' that when he died he ex- 
 pressed many regrets ; and she described effects and mementos, 
 which we know he had with him, as perfectly as we could have 
 done it. Her impressions of all the matters in reference to him, 
 of which she spoke, were correct, as near as we can judge. 
 
 " After this interview, we had several opportunities of testing 
 Mrs. B.'s clairvoj^ant powers, and we became convinced that, in 
 many respects, and for many purposes, they were remarkable. 
 During the interviews we had with Mrs. B. for clairvoyant investi- 
 gations, we learned from her that the ' mysterious noises ' had often 
 been made in her presence, and that she had communicated with 
 spirits by means of them. Our curiosity was excited, and we 
 expressed a strong desire to witness the l manifestations.' On two 
 occasions the sounds were heard by Mrs. B. in our company, but 
 were not communicative. The first positive 'manifestations ' were 
 heard on the night of the 14th of October, at the house of a gen- 
 tleman with whom Mrs. Bushnell was boarding. The only intel- 
 ligible communication received at this time was the following : — 
 ' Your battery is not strong enough? 
 
 " The account of this demonstration having spread to some 
 extent, there was much speculation in regard to it, and much 
 interest manifested to call out farther demonstrations. The sup- 
 position that these rappings are ' manifestations ' from the spirit- 
 world, employed for the purpose of communicating messages to 
 mortals, having excited great interest in them, and awakened 
 intense curiosity wherever they have been heard, it is not strange 
 that when it was reported they had been heard in Cincinnati, there 
 was a multitude of people anxious to be among the favored who 
 had opportunities to receive communications from friends that had 
 passed through ' the dark valley and shadow of death.' 
 
 " On Wednesday evening, October 16th, a number of persons 
 had assembled for the purpose of receiving the benefit of Mrs. 
 25 
 
290 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 Buslinell's medical examinations, when the mysterious sounds were 
 again heard. Questions were asked, and correct rapping replies 
 were given to a number of interrogatories, which, we are informed, 
 could not have been correctly answered by any mortal. The 
 report of this meeting awakened intense curiosity, and on the fol- 
 lowing evening, a larger company assembled at the same place. 
 A circle was formed, and the rappings commenced. Among the 
 gentlemen of this circle were Mr. Samuel Goodin, of Goodin's . 
 building, Court-street ; G. W. Ball, stove-founder, of Covington, 
 Ky. ; Dr. J. P. Gatchell, of the Eclectic Medical College ; Mr. 
 Anson Atwood, of Troy, New York ; Mr. Augustus Wattles, of 
 Rural, Ohio ; Dr. William Owens, of the Eclectic College ; Mr. 
 Norton, stove-dealer, on Main-street ; and a number of other gen- 
 tlemen, together with some ladies with whom we were not ac- 
 quainted. 
 
 " The alphabet was called by one of the gentlemen, who under- 
 stood the modus operandi of communication, and the persons in 
 the circle took turns in putting questions. It would not be proper 
 to detail all the questions and answers ; many of them were unim- 
 portant, and many, though, perhaps, important to the persons 
 interested, are not worthy of public narration. When it came 
 Mr. Goodin's turn to interrogate the spirits, he inquired : — 'Is 
 there a spirit present that will communicate with me ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Can I know what spirit answers ? ' Rap. 
 
 "The alphabet was then called, and the following sentence 
 spelled : 
 
 " ' I am your own child .' 
 
 " ' The youngest ? ' inquired Mr. Goodin. No answer. 
 
 '"The second ? ' No sound. 
 
 '"The eldest ? ' Rap. 
 
 " The alphabet was again called, and the following sentence 
 spelled : 
 
 " ' I love you now as well as ever.\ 
 
 " ' Do you love your mother ? ' Rap. 
 
 m * Are you happy ? ' Rap. 
 
 
FIRST INVESTIGATIONS. 291 
 
 " ' Are your sisters with you ? ' Rap. 
 
 " l Are they happy ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Can I do anything to make you more happy ? ' Rap. 
 
 " Again the alphabet was called, and the following sentence 
 spelled : 
 
 " ' Be patient, and don't fret about the calomel? 
 
 " A friend, at this communication, remarked, that ' Mr. Goodin 
 reflected on himself in reference to the child's medical treatment 
 during her sickness.' As if in response to this repeated raps 
 were heard. 
 
 " Mr. Goodin then inquired, — < Did you die in consequence of 
 taking calomel ? ' Rap. 
 
 " After some further questions and replies of a private charac- 
 ter, it came Mr. Augustus Wattles' turn to make interrogatories. 
 He inquired, — ' Is there a spirit present that will converse with 
 me ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Can I know the person ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Will you spell the name ? ' No sound. 
 
 " ' Will you give the initials ? ' Rap. 
 
 " The alphabet was then called, and ' W. W.' was designated. 
 
 " ' Is it the spirit of my brother, William Wattles ?' Rap. 
 
 " ' Do you intend that I should understand that my brother, 
 William Wattles, is dead ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Did he die in California ? ' No sound. 
 
 " c Did he die near California ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Were you well taken care of? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' What disease did you die of? ' Alphabet called for by sev- 
 eral quickly repeated raps, and the word ' Diarrhoea ' spelled. 
 
 " ' When shall I hear of this in the common way ? ' No sound. 
 
 " * Will it be within one year ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Will it be within nine months ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Will it be within six months ? ' No sound. 
 
 " A young man from Kentucky, whose name we did not learn, 
 had now the opportunity of spiritual converse. 
 
 " He inquired, 'Will any spirit converse with me ?' Rap. 
 
292 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 " Alphabet called, and the following sentences spelled : 
 
 " '■I am your mother. Do not oppose him any more. He will 
 be married. ,' 
 
 " This communication excited quite a laugh at the young man's 
 expense, and considerable discussion ensued, during which the rap- 
 pings continued, as if to signify that there were more communica- 
 tions to be made. The alphabet was again called, and the follow- 
 ing sentence spelled : 
 
 " * It will all come out right.' 
 
 " Some one inquired, ' Is there any meaning to this ? ' 
 
 " Mr. Ball answered, ' Yes, there is great meaning in it to us.' 
 
 " Before the company dispersed, some one inquired if all the 
 spirits in the room would rap on the table. In response, there 
 was a great number of sounds made at the same moment upon the 
 table, — some loud, some feeble, some sharp, and some prolonged. 
 
 " During Friday and Saturday of this week most of the per- 
 sons who visited Mrs. Bushnell for medical consultation, heard the 
 mysterious sounds, and many astonishing communications were 
 given, if the testimony of respectable persons is to be credited. 
 
 " On Saturday evening, October 19th, we had an opportunity 
 of hearing the wonderful demonstrations at the house of J. F. 
 Taylor, the gentleman with whose family we make our home, — a 
 man deeply interested in spiritual investigations, and in whose 
 house there would be no deception allowed, under any circum- 
 stances. 
 
 " A company had been invited to hear Mrs. B. lecture on Spirit- 
 ualism. Among the persons present were Major Gano, clerk of 
 the Supreme Court of Cincinnati, Dr. J. S. Garretson, Dr. 
 Wm. Owens, of the Eclectic College, Dr. Childs, of Walnut 
 Hills, Mr. Augustus Wattles, Dr. I. Wilson, Botanic Physician, 
 and many other gentlemen, whose names it is unnecessary to men- 
 tion, together with a large number of ladies. There were three 
 known clairvoyants in the company. While the lecture was pro- 
 ceeding, the sounds were heard, apparently, under the floor, near 
 the speaker. The clairvoyant spoke of the rapping?., calling them 
 
PROCEEDINGS OE CIRCLES. 293 
 
 electrical vibrations, and said communications might be had from 
 the spirit-world if a battery was formed. Inquiry was made how 
 a battery could be formed. The reply was, « By sitting around a 
 table.' 
 
 " The lecturer, with two other persons designated, seated them- 
 selves together at one corner of the table. Sounds were distinctly 
 heard under the floor, directly beneath these persons. The alpha- 
 bet was called, and the word Cornell was spelled, the sounds 
 occurring as the letters were spoken in repeating the alphabet. 
 
 " It was asked if it was the spirit of Mr. Cornell that commu- 
 nicated ? Rap. 
 
 " A few unimportant questions were asked, when a ' manifesta- 
 tion ' that startled the entire company was made ; suddenly the 
 left arm of one 'of the ladies at the table was drawn back with 
 great force, as if it had been grasped between the elbow and the 
 shoulder. Several persons undertook to relieve the arm by mag- 
 netic passes, but without effect. The inquiry was made — ' Is it 
 the spirit of Mr. Cornell that affects the lady ? ' Rap. 
 
 " ' Will the spirit relieve her ? ' No sound ; but suddenly the 
 arm was thrown forward, and the lady was entirely relieved. 
 
 " We had been conversing with the lady during the day, in 
 reference to the manifestations, and we remarked to the company 
 that she had observed that she would not believe the rappings 
 were by spirits unless some spirits should take hold of her. At 
 this there were several raps near the lady, as if to signify that the 
 spirit had made an effort to convince her. 
 
 "The question was put — 'Will the spirit take hold of the 
 lady again ? ' No sound ; but the lady says that her fingers were 
 pressed together, as if a powerful hand had grasped them. She 
 describes the sensation on her arm as if it had been so vigorously 
 grasped between the elbow and shoulder that she was unable to 
 open or shut her hand. 
 
 " We were satisfied at the time that this manifestation was not 
 the effect of magnetism, as generally understood, because the 
 25^ 
 
204 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 nuscles of the arm were not contracted ; the arm was merely 
 drawn, or prilled back, as described. 
 
 " When the alphabet was again called for and repeated, the fol- 
 lowing sentences were spelled : 
 
 " ' I will convince you all. Mrs. Bus/mell ivill be magnetized 
 in one minute.' 
 
 " Several watches were immediately on the table. Mrs. Bushnell 
 said she would not be magnetized, and was ridiculing the commu- 
 nication, when, at the instant the minute expired, with a shock as 
 if a dozen electric batteries had operated upon her, her eyes 
 closed, and she became rigid. In another minute, with another 
 shock, her eyes opened, and the rigidity passed off instantly. 
 
 " Again the alphabet was called for, and the following sentence 
 spelled — ' Go home.' 1 
 
 " After some general conversation, and much speculation on the 
 demonstrations of the evening, the company dispersed — many 
 expressing themselves astonished, others posed, and some convinced 
 that spirits do communicate with mortals. On this occasion the 
 sounds could not have been produced, we are satisfied, by any sort 
 of collusion among any of the company. If any were deceived, 
 all were. The manifestations purported to be from only one 
 spirit, that of John P. Cornell, a lawyer of some distinction, in 
 Cincinnati, who died of cholera in the summer of 1849. 
 
 " In this life, Mr. Cornell had carefully and extensively made 
 clairvoyant investigations ; he was a firm believer in, and public 
 advocate of, the doctrine that spiritual manifestations can be made 
 through clairvoyants, and had been identified with a society organ- 
 ized for the purpose of both physical and spiritual investigations, 
 through clairvoyance. It is consistent, then, that on the occasion 
 referred to, as there were several persons in the company who had 
 been closely identified with him in this world, that his spirit should 
 take advantage of circumstances and make astounding demonstra- 
 tions. 
 
 " On Monday afternoon, October 21st, in company with Mrs. 
 Bushnell, the clairvoyant, and our ' better half,' we paid a visit 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF CIRCLES. 295 
 
 to the family of a well-known, eloquent temperance advocate, 
 residing several miles from the city. At the request of the gen- 
 tleman, Mrs. Bushnell was thrown into the clairvoyant state, 
 under our influence. She examined his head, giving, as far as we 
 know his character, a very correct estimate. She was then 
 requested to describe a lady, whose initials only were given. 
 Neither Mrs. Bushnell, nor ourself, had ever heard of or about, 
 her. 
 
 " According to the gentleman's acknowledgment she described 
 the lady and her husband, and the lady's ailments perfectly. 
 While Mrs. Bushnell was making this examination she began to 
 speak of spiritual matters, as she is always prone to do in her 
 clairvoyant state, and remarked that she saw a spirit which seemed 
 to be the attendant angel of the household. She gave a descrip- 
 tion of this spirit, which answered the description of the gentle- 
 man's first wife, some three or four years deceased, and stated 
 that this spirit wished to communicate with the family. 
 
 " ' Why,' said Mrs. Bushnell, ' she is magnetizing Mrs. .' 
 
 " The lady mentioned had been for several minutes much agitated, 
 and was evidently under magnetic influence, and continued so for 
 nearly half an hour. 
 
 " At the supper-table, Mrs. Bushnell and this lady sat directly 
 opposite each other. The mysterious rappings were heard under 
 the table, very distinctly. A series of questions and rapping 
 replies followed. 
 
 " ' Will the spirit communicate ? ' Rap. 
 
 " < Shall the alphabet be called ? ' Rap. 
 
 " We repeated the letters of the alphabet, and the following sen- 
 tence was spelled : 
 
 " ' I am your friend, Louisa.'' 
 
 " We inquired of the gentleman, who., he supposed, was meant ; 
 and he answered that Louisa was the Christian name of his first 
 wife. No one present but the members of the family was aware 
 of this fact. They were all much astonished at the demonstration, 
 and several were considerably alarmed. 
 
296 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 " The question was put — 'Are there any more communications 
 to be made ? ' Bap. 
 
 " The letters of the alphabet were repeated, and the following 
 sentences spelled : 
 
 " ' I am happy — I am with you here often.' 
 
 " The astonishment of the family was increased, and there was a 
 general conversation in relation to the mysterious sounds, much 
 of which was of a sceptical character, when again the raps were 
 heard. 
 
 " ' Shall the alphabet be called?' said one of the company. 
 Bap. 
 
 " The following sentence was spelled : 
 
 " ' Will you be satisfied ? ' 
 
 " No sounds were heard, after the communication of this sentence, 
 until the ladies had retired from the supper-room and were gath- 
 ered in the parlor. Here repeated raps were distinctly heard, but 
 it was growing late, we had six miles to drive, and business to 
 attend to in the city, and were obliged to forego the pleasure of 
 further spiritual intercourse. 
 
 " This was treating the spiritual communicants quite cavalierly, 
 but our circumstances were such it could not justifiably have been 
 avoided. 
 
 " On Tuesday and Wednesday, the rappings were heard frequent- 
 ly at the house where Mrs. Bushnell was stopping, and a large 
 number of persons held conversations with the rappers. On 
 Wednesday evening, Mrs. Bushnell met a select circle at the 
 house of Professor J. B. Buchanan, and communications were 
 received by raps from the father of Dr. Buchanan, many years 
 deceased, and from Dr. T. V. Morrow, a few months deceased, 
 formerly Dean of the Eclectic Medical College. 
 
 " Circles were subsequently formed in various parts of the city, 
 for the purpose of calling out the ' manifestations,' but no com- 
 munications were received. 
 
 " On Saturday, October 26th, Mrs. Bushnell left Cincinnati, on 
 a visit to her home, in the western part of New York, and did not 
 
OPINIONS RESPECTING TIIE RAPPINGS. 297 
 
 return for nearly four weeks. During her absence there were no 
 rapping ' manifestations ' with which communication was had, 
 although many clairvoyant investigations of deep interest were 
 made, by means of several excellent subjects. 
 
 " The substance of the history we have thus far detailed was 
 published, from day to day, in the Daily Times ; it excited great 
 curiosity, and occasioned a great deal of speculation. 
 
 " It is the nature of the subject. Direct communication with the 
 spirit-world is a matter on which there is so much scepticism — a 
 matter so astonishing, judged by the common teachings on the 
 subject, that it would be strange if articles detailing correspond- 
 ence with spirits did not ' make talk.' Some persons treated 
 the rappings with scorn ; some as a successful humbug-wonder ; 
 some denounced all who had any communication with them as 
 villains ; and some appeared to think that lying spirits do commu- 
 nicate, and very piously affirmed that it is prophesied that in ' these 
 latter days ' there shall be ' signs and wonders,' which, if it 
 were possible, would deceive the ' very elect.'' Many thought 
 that Cincinnati had just been visited by a grand humbug which 
 had ' run out ' at the eastern cities. A few were disposed to 
 treat the mysterious matter candidly, and honestly investigate it. 
 The press of the city generally ridiculed the whole affair, and two 
 or three papers denounced the rappings as a decided and out- 
 rageous humbug. They were alluded to in several sermons, but 
 were only spoken of directly from an orthodox pulpit on one occa- 
 sion. 
 
 " On Sabbath evening, November 3d, Kev. C. B. Boynton, of the 
 Yine-street Congregational church, lectured on spiritualism, with 
 reference to the ' manifestations.' He considered them demon- 
 strations literally. He traced through history many remarkable 
 manifestations, which he ascribed to the same influences as those 
 producing the ' rappings.'' He expressed an opinion that the 
 astrologers and magicians of olden time received their power of 
 magic and divination from spirits — that is to say, wicked spirits ; 
 
298 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 and the influences of the present day he judged to be from the 
 same source. 
 
 " Legions of demons encompass, in his opinion, the atmosphere 
 about us, and have the power to make ' manifestations ' through 
 man. They might enter man and personify other spirits — spirits 
 of friends deceased, or of prophets or apostles. The Prince of 
 Darkness had the power of the air ; and if a spirit should speak to 
 him (Mr. B.), representing itself as the ethereal essence of his 
 dearest departed friend, discrediting, in any particular, the doc- 
 trines and prophecies of the Bible, as now understood, he should 
 believe it a lying spirit, assuming shapes that did not belong to it 
 for evil purposes. We must try the spirits by the teachings of 
 Christ and his apostles. 
 
 " If, from the demonstrations now being made, a sect of spiritu- 
 alists should grow up that discredited established theology, and 
 that sect should ' increase and multiply,' he should consider that 
 the period was commencing, which he conceived to be foretold in 
 the Bible, when the Prince of Darkness shall for a time have 
 dominion, and the wicked shall triumph, prior to the winding up 
 of terrestrial affairs, when the saints shall prevail, and Christ 
 shall come in the clouds with his holy angels to judge the world. 
 
 " A short time subsequent to this discourse, Professor Locke, of 
 Cincinnati, in a lecture, introductory to a course before the Ohio 
 Medical College, took occasion, as many people supposed, to 
 expose the ' knocking humbug,' scientifically. The learned doc- 
 tor declared the whole thing a well-played, juggling scheme, and 
 to his own satisfaction described how magnets and wires might be 
 so disposed upon the person of a woman that she could produce 
 mysterious sounds at pleasure. The lecture was a great relief to 
 a certain class of minds; and, as it did them no harm to be 
 relieved, we are not sorry they found a doctor who could prescribe 
 for their peculiar ailments. 
 
 No further public attention was called to the ' Knockings,' 
 except by us in the Daily Times, until about the middle of Decem- 
 ber, when Professor Gatchell, of the Eclectic College, delivered 
 
OPINIONS RESPECTING THE RAPPING S. 299 
 
 two lectures at the Hall of the Institute. He gave a sketch of 
 spiritual manifestations in various ages of the world, and presented 
 his views upon their philosophy. 
 
 " On Sabbath evening, December 22d, Rev. J. P. Stuart, of 
 the New Jerusalem Society (Swedenborgian), announced a course 
 of lectures on ' the communications between men and spiritual 
 beings in another sphere.' His introductory was reported in full, 
 by J. D. Taylor, editor of the Daily Times. 
 
 " He commenced by referring to early biblical history for the 
 first facts bearing on the subject. At the earliest period, angels 
 and spirits appeared to men, and always excited fear and appre- 
 hension. The presence of a spirit was a token of evil — voices 
 speaking from the invisible world — visions of spiritual things 
 filled the minds even of good men with calamitous forebodings, 
 while the evil would be utterly overwhelmed. Belshazzar, while* 
 drinking wine from the sacred vessels brought from Jerusalem, 
 with his wives and concubines, and praising their gods, witnessed 
 the handwriting on the wall and trembled. When the Lord 
 appeared to Adam in the garden, he was afraid. The usual com- 
 mencement of the message of the angel of the Lord was, ' Fear 
 not.' The word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, say- 
 ing, ' Fear not, I am thy shield,' &c. The angel of the Lord 
 called to Hagar, and said unto her, ' Fear not, for the Lord hath 
 heard the voice of the lad,' &c. The Lord appeared to Isaac and 
 said, * Fear not, for I am with thee,' &c. Moses said, ' Fear not, 
 for God has come nigh to prove you,' &c. The angel of the Lord 
 appeared to Gideon and said, ' Peace be with thee ; fear not, thou 
 shalt not die,' &c. Gabriel appeared to Mary to make the annun- 
 ciation, and said to her, ' Fear not, for thou hast found favor with 
 God,' &c. Other passages, from the New Testament, were quoted, 
 to prove the fact, as announced, that fear was common on the 
 occasion of these communications. John of Patmos was so 
 addressed : ' Fear not, I am the first and the last,' &c. Within 
 the last hundred years this fear had vanished ; the visit of a spirit 
 had now no terrors to any one ; it disturbed neither men, women, 
 
300 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 nor children. All this was well ; it showed at least that we arc 
 not afraid. "Whoever he is that speaks from the ' night-side of 
 nature,' we are not afraid of his voice. Angel, spirit, or demon, 
 let him speak, we neither hide our eyes, nor shudder at his pres- 
 ence ; on the contrary, we seek them out — we say, give us the 
 proof of their presence — let us hear their oracles , if they are 
 divine, let us worship and adore — if they are miraculous, let us 
 adore them — if magical or mesmeric, let us see them — if gal- 
 vanic or electrical, let us demonstrate them. 
 
 " The ambition of bold adventure in spiritual things character- 
 ized the spiritual philosophers and their attendant disciples at the 
 present day. The lecturer acknowledged the universal presence 
 of the spiritual world, and declared his belief that communication 
 with that world was neither impossible nor improbable. The 
 apparitions of angels and spirits, the visions of prophets and apos- 
 tles, and the coming of our Lord, were proofs of this communica- 
 tion, and they were continued when any good and useful end might 
 be gained by them. 
 
 " The attention called to the ' manifestations,' by Mr. Stuart's 
 lectures, led to a discussion at the Franklin rooms, corner of Vine 
 and Centre streets. A large number of persons attended, showing 
 that, with however much ridicule people may treat these subjects, 
 they have deep interest in all that pertains to them. 
 
 " The speakers on this occasion were Mr. J. B. Burns, phono- 
 graphic teacher, and ourself, on the affirmative ; D. Reddington, 
 homoeopathic physician, and Isaac Straub, machinist, on the nega- 
 tive. The discussion was not one that elicited any new views. It 
 was continued for several successive Sunday evenings with interest, 
 and we presume with profit. Mr. Stuart's lectures were all lis- 
 tened to with eager attention by very large audiences. 
 
 " The details of no ' manifestations ' had been made public for 
 some time, and the wise and witty were having rare sport at the 
 expense of the ' humbug that had exploded.' Meantime, Mrs. 
 Bushnell returned to the city. A few days after her arrival, 
 sounds were heard in the house where she was stopping, but no 
 communications were had, till one afternoon, Mr. James Goodin, 
 
FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS. 801 
 
 before referred to, and Dr. A. Curtis, of the Eotanical Medical 
 College, called upon her. Sounds were heard near the doctor's 
 chair. He inquired — 
 
 " ' Is there a spirit present that will communicate with me?' 
 Rap. 
 
 " The alphabet was called for by repeated sounds, and at the 
 calling over of the letters, such were designated by raps as spelled 
 the following words : ' It is your wife, H. A. C. You know you 
 thought I felt hard sometimes. I did not intend any harm. I 
 am happy now, and with you. I am your guardian angel. I 
 have been with you all the time. Good evening.' 
 
 " Mr. Goodin then inquired — 
 
 " ' Will any spirit communicate with me ? ' Rap. 
 
 " The following communication was received by the usual 
 method : 
 
 '"It is your daughter, Anna G . I love my dear father. 
 
 You are most happy with me around the table. I answer for all 
 our family. I am your guardian angel.' 
 
 " On the evening following that on which these ' manifesta- 
 tions ' were given, another party assembled at the same place. A 
 young lady inquired if any spirit would communicate with her. 
 Distinct raps were given, and the following communication made : 
 
 " ' Be content at your present home. I am with you often. It 
 is my pleasure to be with you. Be certain, my sister, we are all 
 happy here. I have done as I agreed.' 
 
 " On the announcement of the last sentence the young lady was 
 startled, and she then told the company that she had been in 
 Rochester with her sister when rapping ' manifestations ' were 
 being made in the family of Mrs. Fish. They did not believe 
 them to be spiritual ' manifestations ; ' and when they parted they 
 mutually agreed that whichever died first should visit the other in 
 spirit, and make raps, if it were possible. The sister went to 
 Wisconsin, and died. She had come to her sister, in Ohio, in 
 spirit, and fulfilled the promise made in the flesh. 
 
 " Mr. Norton, before spoken of, was one of the circle. He 
 26 
 
302 MANIFESTIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 inquired if any spirit would communicate with him ? Rap. The 
 following communication was received : 
 
 " ' I am your brother, David. My mission is to convince you 
 that I exist in spirit. Never make a public demonstration of it, 
 but publish the communications made in private circles. My dear 
 brother, you may consider yourself a favored person, as, with a 
 proper medium, you can communicate with me and others. Use 
 no more means to settle my affairs. All is done that can be done. 
 I am satisfied with the course you adopted, and with the manner 
 my business was closed by George. Be happy and contented — 
 I am with you always. Good-evening.' 
 
 " Other raps were now heard. The alphabet was called, and the 
 following communication given to the same gentleman : 
 
 " ' I am your father. I am here to communicate with you and 
 the rest of the folks, but I am not here often — my care is for 
 your brother, Washington. No more to-night.' 
 
 " These communications were exceedingly gratifying to this gen- 
 tleman. He had been his brother's administrator. His own 
 business had obliged him to give the settlement into a younger 
 brother's hands. It was truly gratifying to learn that all had 
 been arranged satisfactorily. 
 
 " Other communications were had, but they were not of a char- 
 acter proper for publication. At a meeting of a circle, subse- 
 quent to both the above mentioned, a communication was made 
 to a gentleman of our city, which was exceedingly important to 
 him and friends. 
 
 " As the particulars of these spiritual interviews became known 
 the interest in them deepened, and we began to hear of demon- 
 strations in various quarters of the city. Great curiosity was 
 manifested by believers and unbelievers to meet Mrs. Bushnell, 
 and hear the 'mysterious noises;' but, as yet, only a small por- 
 tion of the curious in Cincinnati have been among the privileged. 
 
 " About the first of December we heard of ' rappings ' in sev- 
 eral portions of the city. A Miss B , on Cutter-street, had 
 
 frequently heard them, but had never communicated with them, 
 
FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS. 303 
 
 and her family considered them forerunners of calamity. A Miss 
 
 M had heard the sounds repeatedly before Mrs. Bushnell 
 
 visited the city. A Miss H had often heard them. They 
 
 were first manifested about two years ago. They alarmed her 
 father and mother. They endeavored to ascertain the cause, but 
 without success, and could never understand them until they heard 
 of the ' Rochester Knockings.' Dr. Wm. Owens, of the Eclectic 
 Medical College, had frequently heard them, and had occasionally 
 received answers to mental questions from the spirit of Dr. Mor- 
 row. During the last week of November several persons held 
 communication with the sounds, while consulting Mrs. Bushnell 
 for medical purposes. Prof. B. F. Hill received, by means of 
 raps, what he considers a very important communication in refer- 
 ence to medical science. A lady, whose husband had been some 
 months deceased, received a communication from him, in refer- 
 ence to the settlement of business, and the deception of certain 
 persons who were administering his estate, which has proved of 
 great importance to her. A young man of this city informs us 
 
 that his sister, a Miss J , who died a few months since, told her 
 
 family on her death-bed, that if the ' rappings ' were not a delu- 
 sion she would communicate with them. To her brother-in-law 
 she said, ' I will visit you when I leave the body, if I can, and 
 make a sound that you will recognize.' 
 
 " A few weeks ago, a sister of this lady had an opportunity to 
 hear the raps, and she received communications which convinced 
 her that her sister, who had departed from this sphere, had ful- 
 filled her promise. The brother-in-law has heard sounds for which 
 he cannot account. We give this as told us, in good faith, by a 
 respectable and responsible man — one who would not be likely 
 to jest about the return of a departed sister, to his family, in 
 such a manner that her presence was believed. 
 
 " Dr. Silsbee, a gentleman of Cincinnati, who is much interested 
 in the New-Light Philosophy, was, on one occasion, making clair- 
 voyant examinations, in company with a friend, named Allen, 
 when rapping communications were given him, purporting to come 
 
304 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 from his father. The character of the communications was such 
 that he endeavored, subsequently, on several occasions, to get into 
 a circle through which the sounds could be made. 
 
 " He was, one afternoon, sitting in his office, in company with his 
 brother, a lad about fourteen years of age, when he heard the 
 sounds distinctly. He called his brother to the table at which 
 he was writing, when the ' noises ' were manifested loudly. He 
 requested that, if it were a spirit manifesting, it would make two 
 raps. The sounds came so positively that he felt the vibration. 
 He inquired if his brother was a medium, and if he would 
 receive ' manifestations ' through him, and was answered by raps 
 afnmiatory ; after which he could call out no more sounds. 
 
 " These ' manifestations ' induced the doctor to bring his brother 
 into the company of a clairvoyant. He was told that the lad 
 had often had ' manifestations ' — that he had heard sounds and 
 seen lights, and that he was under the influence of the spirit of a 
 lady who, in this sphere, had been an intimate friend of his 
 family. The lad verified the clairvoyant's impressions by stating 
 that he had often seen lights and heard what were called rap- 
 pings. 
 
 " The names and references of all the persons alluded to in these 
 communications are not given, because it would be improper to 
 connect them or their affairs more intimately with the matter. 
 We have the statements from reliable sources, or we should not 
 refer to them ; and only do so at all to show that the ' mani- 
 festations ' have not been confined to a particular individual in 
 all respects. 
 
 " On account of the ridicule thrown upon all who were in any 
 way identified with the ' rapping manifestations,' and because 
 the curiosity they excited brought so many persons to her house, 
 that her business — making medical examinations — was mate- 
 rially interfered with, Mrs. Bushnell decided, positively, about the 
 first of December, that she would, under no circumstances, place 
 herself in a circle for the purpose of receiving the * manifesta- 
 
VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY. 305 
 
 tions.' With a few exceptions, of a private nature, she has 
 maintained her position." 
 
 From this time the manifestations continued to spread in Cin- 
 cinnati, accompanied by all the various phenomena occurring in 
 other places. There is scarcely a place in the whole country 
 where the manifestations and believers in spiritualism have in- 
 creased with greater rapidity. I do not think any city of equal 
 size contains a greater number of spiritualists. 
 
 In the summer following Mrs. Bushnell's visit the Fox family 
 visited Cincinnati, and during their stay all the various and 
 marked phenomena that have attended them elsewhere were ob- 
 served. They were visited by hundreds of curious and candid 
 inquirers, who were astonished at the power of the manifestations. 
 A writer in one of their city papers gives the following account 
 of the progress of the cause in that vicinity. 
 
 "In the private arteries of our city, coursing with steady but 
 powerful motion, there is an influence which has assumed a most 
 wonderful magnitude. The public mind discusses commercial poli- 
 cies, or agitates questions of the church militant, and heeds not 
 this secret movement. The press has been dumb, save in ridicule, 
 and the great mass of the people little dream of the terrific 
 social and moral volcanic eruption which will necessarily occur, 
 ere long, from causes now fringing the combustible mental world. 
 But a few years ago the subject of spiritual rappings was intro- 
 duced into Cincinnati, and although it met with a cold reception, 
 yet it made a deep impression on a few minds, and the seed has 
 produced an immense yield. The human constitution seems prone 
 to searching after the hidden truths of nature, and that, together 
 with the marvellous curiosity connected with the rappings, has 
 invested the investigation of the phenomena with a never-ceasing 
 anxiety. 
 
 " For some time after the introduction of the matter here, and 
 when Coggshail's ' History of the Rappings in Cincinnati ' was 
 published, there were but few believers in the spiritual theory 
 26* _ 
 
306 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 and when Burr ' showed up the humbug,' many persons supposed 
 that it was exploded. But the popular mind was not satisfied, 
 and a yet greater number commenced inquiries. For a long time 
 the Fox girls were the only persons here in whose presence the 
 raps could be heard. Soon, however, mediums began to be devel- 
 oped in different portions of the city, and spiritual investigations 
 increased. Men and women became insane, but that, instead of 
 allaying the excitement, had quite the contrary effect. People 
 were anxious to learn what this great cause was which had the 
 effect to unbalance mind ; and thousands, putting full confidence in 
 their own mental stability, sought the witnessing of spiritual 
 experiments. 
 
 " The effect of this agitation has been most astonishing. We 
 have taken careful notes of the present state of the movement, and 
 the facts almost stagger belief. It has been quite impossible for 
 us to obtain full information, for many circles we found embosomed 
 in private limits, and learned of their existence by accident only, 
 and many, we have reason to suppose, are of this class. Our list, 
 however, reaches fifty-nine organized circles, and these figures 
 may, at least, be doubled, in arriving at the true number. This 
 however, does not include, perhaps, hundreds of circles which are 
 held occasionally, or by those who have just commenced experi- 
 menting. The number of mediums, whose names we could obtain, 
 is three hundred and ten, which does not include those partially 
 developed. If this class were added, from information we have 
 obtained, the number of mediums in Cincinnati would not be less 
 than twelve hundred. 
 
 " The circles are not confined to any particular class of society, 
 but are formed on every street and square of the city. No par- 
 ticular religious sect is more interested than another, but Christians, 
 Jews and Infidels, are earnest in their inquiries. The number of 
 investigators here can be estimated only by tens of thousands. 
 
 " So great has been the demand for the publications touching 
 this subject, that one book concern, that of F. Bly, the blind phre- 
 nologist, has confined its business almost entirely to this class of 
 
PROGRESS OF THE CAUSE. 307 
 
 books. The number which has been written, referring directly to 
 the spiritual phenomena, is thirty-five, and near a dozen news- 
 papers and periodicals, devoted to the investigation of the subject, 
 are issued in different parts of the Union, all of which find many 
 eager purchasers in our city. 
 
 " In the progress of this movement, the old system of commu- 
 nicating by raps has been superseded by yet stranger processes. 
 In the beginning of the excitement it took a half hour to obtain 
 anything like a complete sentence by the raps ; but then it was 
 said that, in a few years, mediums would be developed who would 
 talk and write under spiritual influence, and that period, it is 
 alleged, has arrived. The raps are seldom heard, but physical 
 demonstrations are frequently witnessed, which seem to indicate 
 that the power of making noises and moving matter has not been 
 abandoned. Numerous unquestionably authenticated occurrences 
 of this character have recently taken place, which have had a ten- 
 dency to draw several distinguished minds within the arena of 
 spiritual investigation. We will mention a few of the most boldly 
 defined cases of this class. 
 
 " At a private circle in the western part of the city the editor 
 of a morning paper was carried, together with a table upon which 
 he sat, several times across the room, without there being any 
 visible moving cause. 
 
 " A lady, residing on Seventh-street, whose daughter — a young 
 lady — was sick with fever, called upon the spirits to cure her 
 child, and desired that, to fully convince her of their power, the 
 fever should leave one side at a time. The lady affirms that the 
 right side of her daughter's face became pale and cold, while the 
 left was burning with a raging fever ; but, after a few moments, 
 it also was relieved. 
 
 " An ex-judge, on Fourth-street, who had been ridiculing his 
 wife for convening circles at their house, was prevailed on one 
 evening to remain in the circle. He had always considered the 
 matter too foolish to investigate, and vauntingly remarked, during 
 the evening, that if spirit-beings existed, he would like to see them 
 try their power on the centre-table, around which the party were 
 
308 MANIFESTATIONS IN CINCINNATI. 
 
 sitting. No sooner had the expression escaped his lips, than the 
 top of the table was twisted from the column and rolled across 
 the floor. 
 
 " This gentleman, in a recent private note from Washington city, 
 where he is now visiting, says that this subject is agitating our 
 representatives. He writes of a circle, which he attended the 
 evening previous, where Senator Chase and Thomas Corwin were 
 present, and also Preston King, of New York, which latter gen- 
 tleman was the medium. 
 
 " But to the communications. These are now generally made by 
 the medium's arm being spiritually magnetized, and becoming 
 obedient to spiritual direction of writing, or in pointing out 
 letters on a large alphabet ; or, as is more frequently the case, 
 after a half-hour's quiet sitting in a circle of eight or a dozen 
 persons, who form a battery by uniting their hands, the medium 
 is magnetized, and, it is affirmed, taken possession of by the spirits, 
 who use her organs of speech in talking to the company. These 
 speeches are frequently of a most extraordinary character, repre- 
 senting, as they do, to come from the spirits of great men who 
 have passed from earth. A blue-eyed girl of seventeen, for instance, 
 rises, and, in a vigorous manner, discusses politics or religion with 
 the logic of Henry Clay, or the pathos of James H. Perkins. A 
 man of forty speaks for John Wesley and Fourier, using accurately 
 the manner of speech of those persons. Or, perhaps, the medium 
 assumes the character of a near relative of some one in the circle, 
 and, although having been dead a great while, yet, by a familiar 
 gesture, or may be an old by-word sentence, the idea of the loved 
 one is brought vividly to mind. 
 
 " The l revelations ' through the mediums vary somewhat, yet all 
 are of a radical character. They teach the overthrow of existing 
 church organizations, and say that vital changes must be made in 
 the social and commercial world. The belief in the spiritual 
 agency of these teachings being quite general, and becoming more 
 bo every day, the effect will be, as we previously stated, to form a 
 great radical party, which will develop itself ere-long, and aston- 
 ish the world by its strength." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. THE EXPOSE OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 PROFESSORS COUNTER STATEMENTS MRS. FISH'S LETTER DR. LEE TO 
 
 THE TRIBUNE, AND THE EDITOR'S REMARKS EFFECTS OF THE EXPOSE. 
 
 On several accounts Buffalo is one of the most noted places in 
 the history of the early manifestations. It has not, so far as I 
 have been able to learn, been remarkable for the number of its 
 local media or manifestations ; but it was the starting-point of a 
 theory in explanation of the sounds that, for a time, was quite 
 popular among the opponents of the spiritual hypothesis and those 
 who had never given it a fair investigation. I allude to the knee- 
 joint theory, which was started by three learned professors of the 
 University of Buffalo ; and as the fame of that institution deserves 
 to be perpetuated for having three such remarkably scientific pro- 
 fessors connected with it, as well as the importance that was 
 attached to it, I give the whole story, as it originated from them- 
 selves and their friends. It took place while the Fox family, or 
 Mrs. Fish and Margaretta, were at the Phelps House in that city, 
 in the month of February, 1851, and after they had received many 
 visitors, and many astonishing accounts had been published. The 
 professors ranked, one as professor of Physiology, one of Materia 
 Medica and one of the Principles and Practice of Medicine and 
 Clinical Medicine. I wish to give them the full credit of all 
 their titles, and put them fairly on record. 
 
 The first announcement of this scientific " expose " appeared in 
 the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser on the 18th of February, 
 1851, and reads as follows : 
 
310 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 '• TO THE EDITOR OF THE COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER. 
 
 " Curiosity having led us to visit the room at the Phelps House 
 in which two females from Rochester (Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox) 
 profess to exhibit striking manifestations of the spiritual world, 
 by means of which communion may be held with deceased 
 friends, &c, and having arrived at a physiological explanation of 
 the phenomena, the correctness of which has been demonstrated in 
 an instance which has since fallen under our observation, we have 
 felt that a public statement is called for, which may, perhaps, 
 serve to prevent a further waste of time, money and credulity (to 
 say nothing of sentiment and philosophy), in connection with this, 
 so long successful imposition. 
 
 " The explanation is reached, almost by a logical necessity, on the 
 application of a method of reasoning much resorted to in the 
 diagnosis of diseases, namely, the reasoning by exclusion. It was 
 reached by this method prior to the demonstration which has sub- 
 sequently occurred. 
 
 " It is to be assumed, first, that the manifestations are not to be 
 regarded as spiritual, provided they can be physically or physio- 
 logically accounted for. Immaterial agencies are not to be in- 
 voked until material agencies fail. "We are thus to exclude spirit- 
 ual causation in this stage of the investigation. 
 
 " Next, it is taken for granted that the rappings are not pro- 
 duced by artificial contrivances about the persons of the females, 
 which may be concealed by the dress. This hypothesis is excluded 
 because it is understood that the females have been repeatedly and 
 carefully examined by lady committees. 
 
 "It is obvious that the rappings are not caused by machinery 
 attached to tables, doors, &c, for they are heard in different 
 rooms, and in different parts of the same room, in which the 
 females are present, but always near the spot where the females 
 are stationed. This mechanical hypothesis is then to be excluded. 
 
 " So much for negative evidence ; and now for what positively 
 relates to the subject. 
 
THE EXPOSE OE UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS. 311 
 
 " On carefully observing the countenances of the two females, it 
 was evident that the sounds were due to the agency of the younger 
 sister, and that they involved an effort of the will. She evidently 
 attempted to conceal any indications of voluntary effort; but in 
 this she did not succeed ; a voluntary effort was manifested, and 
 it was plain that it could not be continued very long without 
 fatigue. 
 
 " Assuming, then, this positive fact, the inquiry arises, how can 
 the will be exerted to produce sounds (rappings) without obvious 
 movements of the body? The voluntary muscles are the only 
 organs (save those which belong to the mind itself) over which 
 volition can exercise any direct control. But the contractions of 
 the muscles do not, in the muscles themselves, occasion obvious 
 sounds. The muscles, therefore, to develop audible vibrations, 
 must act upon parts with which they are connected. Now, it was 
 sufficiently clear that the rappings were not vocal sounds ; these 
 could not be produced without movements of the respiratory 
 muscles, which would at once lead to detection. Hence, excluding 
 vocal sounds, the only possible source of the noises in question, 
 produced, as we have seen they must be, by voluntary muscular 
 contractions, is in one or more of the movable articulations of the 
 skeleton. From the anatomical construction of the voluntary 
 muscles, this explanation remains as the only alternative. 
 
 " By an analysis, prosecuted in this manner, we arrive at the 
 conviction that the rappings, assuming that they are not spiritual, 
 are produced by the action of the will, through voluntary muscles, 
 on the joints. 
 
 " Various facts may be cited to show that the motion of the 
 joints, under certain circumstances, is adequate to produce the 
 phenomena of the rappings ; but we need not now refer to these. 
 By a curious coincidence, after arriving at the above conclusion 
 respecting the source of the sounds, an instance has fallen under 
 our observation, which demonstrates the fact that noises precisely 
 identical with the spiritual rappings may be produced in the knee 
 joints. 
 
812 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 " A highly respectable lady of this city possesses, the ability of 
 developing sounds similar, both in character and degree, to those 
 professedly elicited, by the Rochester impostors, from the spirit- 
 world. We have witnessed the production of the sounds by the 
 lady referred to, and have been permitted to examine the mechan- 
 ism by which they are produced. Witliout entering at this time 
 into a very minute anatomical and 'physiological explanation, it is 
 sufficient to state that the muscles inserted into the upper and 
 inner side of the large bone of the leg (the tibia) hear the knee 
 joint, are brought into action so a$ to move the upper surface of 
 the bone just named laterally upon the lower surface of the thigh- 
 bone (the femur), giving rise, in fact, to a partial lateral disloca- 
 tion* This is effected by an act of the will, without any obvious 
 movement of the limb, occasioning a loud noise, and the return 
 of the bone to its place is attended by a second sound. Most of 
 the Rochester rappings are also double. It is practicable, how- 
 ever, to produce a single sound by moving the bone out of place 
 with the requisite quickness and force, and allowing it to slide 
 slowly back, in which case it is noiseless. 
 
 " The visible vibrations of articles in the room, situated near the 
 operator, occur, if the limb, or any portion of the body, is in con- 
 tact with them at the time the sounds are produced. The force 
 of the semi-dislocation of the bone is sufficient to occasion distinct 
 jarring of the doors, tables, &c, if in contact. The intensity of 
 
 * This article was published in the " Buffalo Medical Journal," for March, 
 1851, with a note saying that the editor had taken the liberty to "correct an 
 error in the account of the displacement of the joint which produces the 
 sounds." That correction was of the sentence we have italicized, and the 
 editorial correction reads as follows : " Without entering, at this time, into 
 minute anatomical and physiological explanation, it is sufficient to state that, 
 owing to relaxation of the ligaments of the knee joint, hy means of muscular 
 action and pressure of the lower extremity against a point of resistance, the 
 large bone of the leg (the tibia) is moved laterally upon the lower sur- 
 face of the thigh bone (the femur), giving rise, in fact, to partial lateral dis- 
 location." By comparing the portion italicized in this note especially, it will 
 be seen that the doctors "disagreed," vei-y materially, making, in fact, two 
 different statements. 
 
 
CARD BY THE MEDIUMS. 313 
 
 the sound may be varied in proportion to the force of the mus- 
 cular contractions, and this will render the apparent source of the 
 rappings more or less distinct. 
 
 " We have witnessed repetitions of experiments, in the case just 
 referred to, sufficient to exhibit to us all the phenomena of the 
 sounds belonging to the Rochester rappings, and, without further 
 explanations at this time, we append our names in testimony of 
 the facts contained in the foregoing hastily-penned exposition. 
 
 Austin Flint, M. D., J University 
 Charles A. Lee, M. J)., \ of 
 
 C. B. Coventry, M. D., ) Buffalo. 
 "Feb. 17th, 1851." 
 
 On the appearance of this manifesto, the ladies implicated 
 caused the following card to be published in all the daily papers of 
 the next day : 
 
 " TO DOCTORS ELINT, COVENTRY AND LEE. 
 
 " Gents : "We observe, by a communication in the Commercial 
 Advertiser, that you have recently made an examination of a 
 ' highly respectable lady of this city,' by which you have dis- 
 covered the secret of the ' Rochester impostors.' As we do not 
 feel willing to rest under the imputation of being impostors, we are 
 very willing to undergo a proper and decent examination, pro- 
 vided we can select three male and three female friends who shall 
 be present on the occasion. 
 
 " We can assure the public that there is no one more anxious 
 than ourselves to discover the origin of these mysterious manifest- 
 ations. If they can be explained on ' anatomical ' and * physio- 
 logical ' principles, it is due to the world that the investigation be 
 made, and that the ' humbug ' be exposed. As there seems to be 
 much interest manifested by the public on that subject, we would 
 suggest that as early an investigation as is convenient would be 
 acceptable to the undersigned. Ann L. Fish. 
 
 Margaretta Fox." 
 27 
 
[>14 MANIFESTATIONS AT BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 The learned professors, being thus challenged, could do no loss 
 than accept, and a meeting was arranged, which took place at the 
 Phelps House. Several experiments were tried, and the result 
 published in all the leading papers. We make the following 
 extracts from the report : 
 
 " The two females were seated upon two chairs placed near 
 together, their heels resting on cushions, their lower limbs 
 extended, with the toes elevated and the feet separated from each 
 other. The object of this experiment was to secure a position in 
 which the ligaments of the knee joint should be made tense, and 
 no opportunity offered to make a pressure with the foot. We 
 were pretty well satisfied that the displacement of the bones 
 requisite for the sounds could not be effected, unless a fulcrum 
 were obtained by resting one foot upon the other, or on some 
 resisting body. The company waited half an hour, but no sounds 
 were heard in this position. 
 
 " The position of the younger sister was then changed to a sit- 
 ting posture, with lower limbs extended on the sofa, the elder 
 sister sitting, in the customary way, at the other extremity of the 
 sofa. The ' spirits ' did not choose to signify their presence under 
 these circumstances, although repeatedly requested so to do. The 
 latter experiment went to confirm the belief that the younger sister 
 alone produced the rapping. These experiments were continued 
 until the females themselves admitted that it was useless to con- 
 tinue any longer at that time, with any expectation of manifesta- 
 tions being made. 
 
 " In resuming the usual position on the sofa, the feet resting on 
 t he floor, the knockings soon began to be heard. It was then sug- 
 gested that some other experiment be made. This was assented 
 to, notwithstanding the first was, to our minds, amply conclusive. 
 The experiment selected was, that the knees of the two females 
 be firmly grasped, with the hands so applied that any lateral 
 movement of the bones would be perceptible to the touch. The 
 pressure was made through the dress. It was not expected to. 
 
REPORT OF THE BUFFALO PROFESSORS. 31f 
 
 prevent the. sounds, but to ascertain if they proceeded from the 
 knee joint. It is obvious that this experiment was far less demon- 
 strative to an observer than the first, because, if the bones were 
 distinctly felt to move, the only evidence of this fact would be the 
 testimony of those whose hands were in contact with them. The 
 hands were kept in apposition for several minutes at a time, and 
 the experiments repeated frequently, for the course of an hour or 
 more, with negative results ; that is to say, there were plenty of 
 raps when the knees were not held, and none when the hands were 
 applied, save once ; as the pressure was intentionally somewhat 
 relaxed (Dr. Lee being the holder), two or three faint single raps 
 were heard, and Dr. Lee immediately averred that the motion of 
 the bone was plainly perceptible to him. The experiment of seiz- 
 ing the knees as quickly as possible, when the knockings first 
 commenced, was tried several times, but always with the effect. of 
 putting an immediate quietus upon the demonstrations. 
 
 " The proposition to bandage the knees was discussed. The 
 experiment was objected to, on the part of the friends of the 
 females, unless we would concede that it should be an exclusive 
 test experiment. We were not prepared with appliances to render 
 the limb immovable, and therefore declined to have it considered 
 such a test. This was the experiment anticipated, and one which, 
 we presume, the females thought would end in their triumph. A 
 bandage applied above and below the patella, admitting of 
 flexion of the limb, will probably prevent the displacement, as 
 we have but little doubt had been ascertained by the Rochester 
 females before an examination was invited. Should it become 
 necessary to repeat experiments, in other places, in furtherance of 
 the explosion of the imposition, we would suggest that the band- 
 age be not relied upon. # # # # Had our experiments, 
 which were first directed to this joint, failed, we should have pro- 
 ceeded to interrogate, experimentally, other articulations. But 
 the conclusion seemed clear that the Rochester knockings emanate 
 from the knee joint." 
 
316 MANIFESTATIONS AT BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 The professors then state that they have heard of several cases 
 of knee-joint, ankle-joint, toe-joint, hip-joint and finger-joint crack- 
 ing to produce these sounds, but have not had time or opportunity 
 to examine any of them, and they very sagely add : " The expo- 
 sure of the imposition opens a new and curious field of physiologi- 
 cal inquiry, and we would commend the subject to those who have 
 leisure and facilities for prosecuting it. Articular as well as 
 articulated sounds seem to claim an investigation which they have 
 not heretofore received. Had the facts which the detection of 
 this trick developed been contained in any anatomical or phys- 
 iological treatise, the progress of the deception would have been 
 arrested long a^o. * # * # ^ # That sounds so loud 
 should originate in the way we have ascertained that they are 
 produced would surprise even the medical listener, and perhaps 
 seem almost incredible. It is readily conceivable how, to other 
 than medical listeners, the phenomena should appear not only in- 
 explicable, but in a high degree mysterious. The remark was 
 made by many, after the explanation was published, that it re- 
 quired almost as much stretch of imagination to believe that such 
 sounds could be produced in joints, as that they involved a super- 
 natural agency. The anatomical formation of the knee joint is 
 evidently the most favorable to the production of loud sounds by 
 displacement. The broad articular surfaces offer considerable 
 space for lateral motion, provided the ligaments are sufficiently 
 relaxed, and the requisite motor force is properly applied. The 
 relative shortness of the outer condyl of the femur favors the out- 
 ward displacement, and true dislocation in this direction would be 
 likely to occur, were it not for the numerous strong ligaments 
 which render this the strongest articulation in the body. * * 
 The displacement occasioning the Jcnockings is sufficient to remove 
 the ridge of bone which divides the two articular surfaces of the 
 upper extremity of the tibia, from its situation in the sulcus 
 between the condyls of the femur, and to carry it, more or less, 
 upon the surface of the outer condyl. This movement gives rise 
 to the first sound; and the return of the bone to its place causes 
 
REPORT OF THE BUFFALO PROFESSORS. 317 
 
 the second sound, which, in the Rochester knockings, generally 
 follows quickly on the first. We are unable to explain fully the 
 precise mechanism by which the displacement is effected. In the 
 case of the lady of this city, who reproduces the spiritual rap- 
 pings, the bone slips outward with very slight voluntary effort, and 
 it is not easy, from her own account, or by manual exploration, to 
 determine the particular muscles that are brought to bear on this 
 joint. In this case the displacement occasionally occurs in bend- 
 ing the limb, when no effort is made to produce it ; but under 
 these circumstances it is not generally attended with much noise. 
 # # # The lady just referred to is now able to produce the 
 sounds in one knee only. In early life she had this power in both 
 knees. From the number and volume of sounds produced, it is 
 evident that both the knees of the Rochester rappers are endowed 
 with sonorous powers. It might be supposed that the frequent 
 repetitions of these displacements would produce, after a time, 
 irritation and disease within the joint. In the case of the lady 
 of this city they are followed by some soreness; but in early life, 
 when she was in the habit of practising them daily, more or less, 
 she experienced no pain, nor any unpleasant consequences, and 
 she was then able to develop louder sounds than she can at present." 
 
 The learned professors then proceed to account for the sounds 
 being heard in different places about the room, and say that " in 
 the first place the sounds do not really come from a distance. It 
 may seem that this is so, but it is a delusion arising from not 
 appreciating correctly some of the laws of acoustics." The whole 
 is summed up to be that the sounds never appear to be at any 
 point unless the foot of the medium is in contact, conducting it 
 to that point, or by imitation of distance in the difference of into- 
 nation or loudness of the sounds. 
 
 I have given all the principal arguments of the Buffalo profes- 
 sors, as I wish them to be committed to impartial history on their 
 own merits, that all the glory of their discovery may rest upon 
 the legitimate authors. Dr. Lee wrote an account of the " dis- 
 27* 
 
318 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 covery " for the New York Tribune, to which the sagacious and 
 candid editor of that paper appended a note, in which he says : 
 " The doctors, as has already appeared in our columns, commenced 
 with the assumption that the origin of the ' rapping ' sounds must 
 be physical, and their primary cause the volition of the ladies 
 aforesaid — in short, that these ladies were ' the Rochester im- 
 postors.' They appear, therefore, in the above statement, as the 
 prosecutors of an impeachment, and ought to have selected other 
 persons as judges and reporters of the trial. Their statements 
 may be ever so true, without carrying with them the force which 
 would have properly belonged to them had others been the pros- 
 ecutors, and they been called in as the umpires. It is quite prob- 
 able that we shall have another version of the matter." 
 
 The opinion of the professors was quoted very extensively, and 
 the press very generally put it down as the " grand finale of the 
 Rochester knockings." It will be noticed by the attentive reader 
 that there are some great defects, not only in the science, but in 
 the logic of the trio, and the whole process of " reasoning by way 
 of exclusion" is well illustrated by the old anecdote of the sports- 
 man who sold a dog as a good hunter of coons, and had him re- 
 turned by the purchaser, who declared that he would not hunt 
 coons at all. "Now," said the former owner, "that does beat 
 all. I tried him for driving sheep, and cows, and hogs, and for 
 hunting rabbits, and foxes, and birds, and rats, and everything but 
 coons, and he was n't worth a cent for any of them, and so I con- 
 cluded he must be good for them,' 1 '' The sportsman had, like the 
 learned doctors, reasoned by exclusion, and thought it perfectly 
 safe to recommend his dog. 
 
 My province, however, is not to argue the case, but to give the 
 facts that have transpired in the progress of these manifestations. 
 The report soon called forth replies and criticisms, and, instead 
 of allaying the excitement in Buffalo and other places, it was 
 greatly increased by the efforts of the professors. The rooms of 
 the ladies were crowded with visitors, many of whom, went to con- 
 firm the theory of the University doctors, and many from a wish 
 
SITTING AT THE PHELPS HOUSE. 319 
 
 to make a candid examination themselves. It is hardly necessary 
 to state that the knee-joint theory was soon exploded in the minds 
 of the investigators. Soon after the appearance of the manifesto, 
 the following was published in one of the Buffalo papers : 
 
 "ANOTHER SITTING AT THE PHELPS HOUSE. 
 
 " A company, consisting of J. L. Reynolds, F. Rumsey, Dr. 
 W. R. Scott, H. Cummings, Dr. Gr. E. Hayes, Capt. A. Walker, 
 C. C. Bristol, James Dunkin and wife, J. S. Chadwick, S. Albro, 
 and J. Stringham, met at the rooms of Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox, 
 at seven-and-a-half o'clock last Monday evening. Two large 
 hand-bells and one small one had been provided for spirits to 
 manifest their presence with, if they should choose to make use 
 of them. The bells were placed under the table, and the com- 
 pany took seats. Rappings immediately commenced, manifesting 
 the presence of the representatives of the spirit-country. We 
 resolved to ask no questions, and wait for voluntary manifesta- 
 tions. Alphabet called, spelling, ' Sit close, and you may see 
 some new manifestations.' All drew near the table, and waited 
 in silence. After waiting some time, the small bell commenced 
 ringing. The mediums' feet had been placed in the custody of 
 two gentlemen who had not been there before, and their hands 
 were continually on the table. The largest bell now commenced 
 ringing, and, whilst ringing, moved round, traversing the whole 
 area under the table. Two bells rang at once. Afterwards, the 
 whole three united in a kind of chime. The largest bell was 
 placed on Dr. Hayes' foot, and bore on it with a pressure of six 
 times its weight. He put his hand down and touched the bell. 
 He received other manifestations of the presence of an active 
 agent. The medium told him to ask if it was a spirit. He did 
 so, and was answered by a pinch of his toe, signifying the affirm- 
 ative. ' Is it the spirit of my brother ? ' Answer. i Yes ' (the 
 same signal). He wrote names of his deceased brothers, and it des- 
 ignated its own name by pinching his toe. ' Does the spirit wish 
 to communicate with me ? ' — 'I will communicate with you at 
 
320 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. T. 
 
 home, when all is calm.' Here silence prevailed for a time. The 
 bells commenced ringing, and occasionally one would fall upon the 
 floor. Alphabet called, spelling, 'Move back a little from the 
 table.' All moved back except Capt. Walker, who made several 
 efforts to obey, but found his chair fast. He looked to see if 
 it was not fast in the carpet, and tried to raise it, but it refused 
 to move upward, backward or forward. Alphabet called, spell- 
 ing, ' Sit close to the table.' All drew their chairs close to the 
 table, and Capt. Walker embraced the opportunity to see if the 
 order had not loosened his chair : but he could not stir it. 
 
 " Now the spirit commenced performances with bells ; some- 
 times ringing them all at once, and sometimes placing them on the 
 feet of one and on the knees of another. Sometimes they would 
 fall on the floor, and sometimes hit the under side of the table. 
 This ceased, the alphabet was called, and the spelling was, 'Look.' 
 We looked, and the three bells stood in a right line, about eighteen 
 inches apart. We resumed our positions, and the operations of 
 ringing, pressing feet and throwing down bells, went on again. 
 Again we were called to ' look,' and the two large bells stood up- 
 right, but the small one was missing, and could not be found. 
 One of the company suggested that we look under the larger 
 bells. The largest bell was lifted, and the missing one was found 
 under it, standing erect. The play then went on, till we were 
 again told to ' look,' and the small bell was found under the large 
 one, lying on its side. So it continued for some time, placing 
 the bells in various positions, and calling on the company to 
 ' look.' 
 
 " In answer to a question asked some days ago, ' What is the 
 use of these demonstrations ? ' the spirits said, ' They are made 
 to prove the mediums have no agency in it.' And the question 
 asked by Mr. Stringham, ' May I leave the table whilst the others 
 remain, that I may look under and see the bells ring ? ' was an- 
 swered, ' What do you think we require you to sit close to the 
 table for? When spirits make these physical demonstrations 
 
SITTING AT THE PHELPS HOUSE. 821 
 
 they are compelled to assume shapes which human eyes must not 
 look upon.' 
 
 "When the above performances were finished, loud concussions 
 were heard and felt on the under side of the table. They became 
 louder and louder, till the brass candlesticks were made to bound 
 up six or eight inches from the table. The candles were repeat- 
 edly thrown out of them, and we were compelled to hold them in 
 our hands. These concussions were equal to those a man could 
 make with a large nail-hammer, lying on his back and striking 
 with all his strength. We expected the bed of the table to be 
 split in pieces, and Mrs. Fish became alarmed, turned pale, and 
 begged us to leave the table. We did not comply, and the con- 
 cussions were continued for full fifteen minutes. At the close of 
 this very noisy exhibition, the alphabet was called for, and the 
 spelling was, ' We are all done for to-night.' They were not im- 
 portuned to continue the performances, and we arose from the 
 table. The table was turned up to see what impressions were 
 made, and a great number of deep indentations, in the hard cherry 
 wood, manifested the force with which the middle-sized bell had 
 been thrust against it. Dr. Hayes took the bell and struck the 
 table with the battered iron point which comes through the 
 wooden handle, and made like indentations, though nothing like 
 so deep as those made by the performers. Any one may examine 
 the table, and find the evidence. One op the Company." 
 
 This, coming as it did from, and being endorsed by, respectable 
 citizens, was a strong opposing argument to the knee-joint theory. 
 Every one could see that either these persons had formed a con- 
 spiracy to deceive the public, or the professors were proved to be 
 the "humbugs" themselves. 
 
 Still another report appeared in a few days, which rendered 
 the explanation of the professors still more ridiculous. It was 
 from the pen of a well-known citizen of Buffalo, who had been 
 appointed by a company to prepare it. I give it as it appeared 
 in one of the Buffalo papers. 
 
322 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 " SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION. 
 
 " Mr. Maynard : Having been deputed by a select company, 
 who visited the two sisters, Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox, at their 
 room in the Phelps House, on Friday evening last, to report what 
 we there saw and heard, it becomes my duty to ask you to give 
 place to this communication in your columns. 
 
 " Permit me, before proceeding to the discharge of this assigned 
 duty, to define my own position in relation to the subject. I am, 
 as is well known to all my intimate acquaintances, constitution- 
 ally sceptical. I never considered a belief of any averred fact 
 an act of volition, but merely the effect of evidence which is satis- 
 factory to the mind. Hence, I never claimed merit for my faith, 
 nor held myself accountable for the want thereof. I had heard 
 and read much of the ' Rochester Knockings,' as those reputed 
 spiritual manifestations were familiarly called; but, whilst I re- 
 frained from applying to them the common epithet of humbug, by 
 which every blockhead hastens to put himself on record as a wise 
 and far-seeing doubter of every newly-developed principle in the 
 arcana of nature, I did not, because I could not, believe a word 
 of it. Hearing much that was wonderful from the mouths of men 
 of mind and integrity, who had visited the ' mediums,' I resolved 
 to go and be satisfied by the test of my own senses. I went on 
 the afternoon of Monday last, and was received with unceremo- 
 nious civility and easy urbanity by the two presiding geniuses. 
 
 " There was a company ready to be entertained, and I took a 
 seat with them — all present, save myself, having been before. I 
 was invited to call upon the spirit of some departed friend, — ask 
 for an interview with it. I called for the spirit of my mother, 
 as the most reliable of all my friends who had emigrated to the 
 spirit-land. Rapping immediately announced her presence, and 
 I inquired if she would converse with me. The response, which 
 I received in the usual manner of spelling out by the alphabet, 
 was as follows : ' Yes, my dear son, I am willing to give you evi- 
 dence of the guardianship of those who cared for you in helpless 
 infancy.' I then asked if it was the spirit of my mother; which 
 
STATEMENT OP MR. ALBHO. 323 
 
 was answered in the affirmative. The next question asked was, 
 ' What year was you born in ? ' Answer. '1745.' This was right. 
 Next, ' How old was you when you died ? ' Answer. ' Sixty-two.' 
 This I disputed, confidently believing her age to have been sixty- 
 one. The discrepancy was not settled. ' How many brothers 
 have I in the spirit-world ? ' Answer. ' Three.' This was true, 
 and it was a truth not known to any person in Buffalo, save my- 
 self and wife. ' What is the name of the one who died first ? ' 
 Answer. ' John.' This no one present but myself could possibly 
 have known. ' How old was he when he died ? ' Answer. ' Seven.' 
 True again. So in relation to the names, ages and deaths, of the 
 other two deceased brothers. I asked the spirit of my father 
 how long ago he died. The answer came in twenty-seven distinct 
 raps, and one which was barely audible. He died some time 
 in the year 1823. ' What year was you born in ? ' I wrote a 
 number of dates before I came to 1750. When I had written 
 
 1749, and before I commenced 1750, the affirmative sounds were 
 given. I then wrote 1750, and asked which was right. ' Is 
 this?' pointing to 1749. No answer. 'Is this?' pointing to 
 
 1750. The answer was affirmative. I asked, ' What month was 
 you born in ? ' adding, ' I will commence at one, and write the 
 numeral characters in their order, and you will please to rap 
 when I come to the number which designates the month.' I com- 
 menced, and when I had got as far as three a confused rapping 
 was heard, which I was told was a command for me to desist. I 
 obeyed, and immediately eleven distinct raps were heard, which 
 indicated November. I am not sure that this is true, as the old 
 family Bible, which contains the record, is in the hands of a dis- 
 tant brother ; but I believe it to be the true answer. I asked 
 many more questions, to which I received correct answers, and 
 never an untrue one, excepting the above-named discrepancies. I 
 detail these circumstances to show why I was one of the com- 
 pany who went there on Friday evening last. 
 
 "The company consisted of Dr. Scott, C. C. Bristol, J. String- 
 ham, F. Bumsey and lady, Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Stevens and my- 
 
324 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 self. When all had assembled, we took seats around the table. 
 Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox, the two ' mediums,' were requested to 
 take seats on a sofa which stood between the table and the wall. 
 Dr. Scott and myself were seated, by arrangement, on the right 
 and left of these two ladies, and they were requested to put their 
 feet on ours, and to keep them there, which they did. The pur- 
 pose of this arrangement will be understood by the reader. 
 When all was still the spirits (I use the term assentingly) com- 
 menced such a clatter of rappings that there seemed to be quite 
 a company of them. This, we were told, was to manifest their 
 presence and their willingness to be consulted. 
 
 " The confusion of sounds ceased, and the alphabet was called 
 for by five distinct raps, which, it appears, is the invariable sig- 
 nal. Mrs. Fish read the alphabet, and the letters designated by 
 the rappings made the following words : ' Get a better supply of 
 paper before you get engaged, and let your minds run in one 
 perfect channel. In that way you will soon be able to get satis- 
 factory demonstrations.' A supply of paper was procured, and 
 all were seated and still again. Two small bells had been placed 
 under the table, one at each end. When all was quiet, the signal 
 for the alphabet was given, and the spelling which followed was, 
 ' All sit close to the table and to each other. Move the bells.' 
 The bells were then moved to near the centre of the table. Al- 
 phabet called again, « Put your hands on the table.' All obeyed 
 the mandate, and immediately the bells commenced ringing. 
 They rang for a few minutes, and again the alphabet was de- 
 manded. The spelling was, ' You will perceive, by what you have 
 already heard, that a great and mighty development is about to be 
 made to mankind.' At this moment a rap was heard at the door, 
 which was made by a gentleman who wished to come in, but who 
 retired on being informed that it was a private party. Some 
 remark was made by the younger of the two mediums, in relation 
 to the interruption, which affected the other to tears. A consid- 
 erable interval of silence followed, and we began to fear that our 
 entertainment would not be resumed ; but the call for the alphabet 
 
STATEMENT OP MR. ALBRO. OZD 
 
 proved that we had not been deserted by our invisible friends. 
 The spelling was : ' We want you to cheer up, dear children. 
 All sit close. Hands on the table.' Now the bells commenced 
 ringing again, moving all round under the table, giving forth tones 
 the most musical, mellow and soothing. The ringing ceased, and 
 the alphabet was called. The spelling was, « This is done to har- 
 monize you all.' Question by the acting medium. ' Do the 
 spirits wish us to be in a happy state of mind ? ' Answer. 
 ' Yes.' Then followed, ' I want you all to reach out your feet, 
 except the four on the sofa.' This was done, and immediately 
 Mrs. Stevens said something had taken hold of her feet. She was 
 directed to ask if it was a spirit, which she did, and received an 
 affirmative answer. ' Is it the spirit of my father ? ' ' Yes ' 
 was replied, and the respondent continued, ' We are glad you 
 came here.' Following this was a harsh, grating sound, not 
 unlike the friction of a saw which is pushed slowly through a 
 board, and drawn back quickly. This was continued but a short 
 time, when the alphabet was called for, and the spelling was, ' I 
 breathed so when I was dying.' Then the same sound of grating 
 heath was heard, and it continued like one laboring in the last 
 moments of life. These breathings became shorter and further 
 between, till a seemingly ineffectual attempt, like a hiccough, closed 
 the drama, and the death-scene was complete. 
 
 " Hereupon the alphabet was called for, and the following address 
 was spelled : — ' Such is the end of man's existence on the earth ; 
 but he suddenly awakes to a glorious immortality. This, my dear 
 friends, is demonstrated to relieve mankind from the dread of 
 changing existence. The appearance of suffering is not real ; 
 therefore I exhort you to look forward with joy for the happy 
 transition from earth to heaven. You have need of great watch- 
 fulness and care that you may be permitted to enter the society 
 of the blest. Done.' 
 
 " What was very remarkable in the delivery of this address, as 
 the medium read the alphabet, the letters were designated some- 
 times by raps, as usual, and sometimes by ringing of a bell. The 
 28 
 
326 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 latter method was used, I think, quite as much as the former. 
 During the whole delivery the feet of the lady-mediums rested 
 entirely on Dr. Scott's feet and mine, and their hands constantly 
 rested on the table. This, as it seems to me, puts to rest any 
 question of their agency in producing the sounds. Mrs. Stevens, 
 during the whole of the communication by * spirits,' felt a pair 
 of large and powerful hands grasping her knees, the pressure of 
 which, she avers, was quite painful. She also felt a weight in her 
 lap, which was equal to her father while living. His name was 
 Asa Hanson. The female portrait which hangs in the Common 
 Council room is that of his daughter, and a sister of Mrs. Stevens. 
 The latter lady says that the death-scene which was enacted in our 
 presence was a perfect representation of the reality which she wit- 
 nessed. 
 
 " At the conclusion of the address, it was asked by the acting 
 medium, ' Are the spirits all done ? ' No reply was made. It 
 was then asked, ' If we put paper under the table, will the 
 spirits write ? ' Answer by the alphabet. ' "We will make 
 marks on paper.' A piece of paper was then taken and passed 
 around, to be examined by the company. All saw that it was 
 without scratch or mark of any kind. A scratching sound was 
 heard under the table, and also the sound that paper makes when 
 it is torn. The alphabet was called, and the spelling was, ' Look.' 
 The paper was taken out, and found to be torn in pieces and 
 scratched as with a nail, or some dull instrument. It was then 
 asked, ' If we put paper and pencil under, will the spirits 
 write ? ' Three raps were given as answer in the affirmative, and 
 the alphabet was called. The spelling was, * Keep your pencil.' 
 Another piece of paper was then handed round. We all examined 
 it closely, and found it all fair and clean, without the least mark 
 whatever. It was put under the table by the last examiner, and the 
 scratching commenced. Directly the alphabet was called for, and 
 ' Look. ' spelled out. The paper was taken out, and found to be 
 scratched as before, and torn a little ; but the spirit had fulfilled 
 its promise. It had written — for the figure 7 in plain pencil-mark 
 
STATEMENT OF MR. ALBRO. 327 
 
 stood on the untorn part of it. The figure was found to be just 
 one inch long, arid seemed as if made by the hand of a farmer, or 
 mechanic, who aimed at plainness rather than elegance in his chi- 
 rographical performances. I have the paper in my possession, and 
 will exhibit it to any one who wishes to see it. 
 
 " I had forgotten to mention that during the communications 
 from Mrs. Stevens' father, she read the alphabet part of the 
 time, and received answers by a rap on her foot. She was too 
 much excited to continue, and the alphabet was read by the 
 medium. 
 
 " When the last paper was brought out from under the table, 
 we all expressed a desire to know what was meant by the 
 character 7. Our deliberations on that subject were soon cut 
 short by a call for the alphabet, and the meaning spelled out as 
 follows : 
 
 " ' Seven of this party will be mediums. Do not ask which. 
 We are done for to-night.' Question. * Will the spirits answer 
 no more questions ? ' Answer. i We are all done for to-night. 
 Move away from the table.' 
 
 " There were many other incidents during the sitting. The 
 lady-medium who sat next to Dr. Scott had her dress pulled and 
 held fast, and she invited the doctor to try and see if he could 
 release it. He made a strong effort, but gave it up for fear of 
 tearing it. Several others had their feet handled and their clothes 
 pulled. I felt a palpable pressure against the inside of my leg, 
 and a pinch of my ankle, whilst a bell was ringing close to my 
 feet — no person being near me but Miss Fox, and she had both 
 her feet on one of mine, and both her hands on the table. 
 
 " This is a faithful statement of facts, for the truth of which, 
 as far as they relate to the sitting on Friday evening, I refer the 
 reader to all the names given above. I refrain from conclusions 
 and comments, and close with the simple declaration that I am 
 much puzzled and astonished. S. Albro." 
 
 On the 14th of March, Mrs. Fish wrote a letter to the editor 
 
328 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 of the Commercial Advertiser, in vindication, which contains some 
 important statements that have never been contradicted, and I 
 deem it important that it should be placed on record as part of 
 the controversy. It is as follows : 
 
 " Buffalo, March 14th, 1851. 
 " To the Editor of the Commercial Advertiser : 
 
 " I gladly avail myself of the privilege you have so courteously 
 extended to me to defend myself through your columns against 
 the aspersions which, if suffered to pass unheeded, might bring 
 temporary disgrace upon the cause in which we are engaged as 
 involuntary though willing instruments of a higher power. 
 
 " Some time since, you gave place in the columns of your paper 
 to a statement, made by Professors Lee, Flint and Coventry, which 
 they put forth to the public as an exposition of the ' Rochester 
 Knockings.' The positions which they assumed we knew to be 
 fallacious and unsupportable, and we at once challenged a fair and 
 impartial investigation, believing that it was not in the nature of 
 these gentlemen to seek out conviction of fraud contrary to evi- 
 dence which I knew must convince every candid mind. It is true 
 that when our feet were placed on cushions stuffed with shavings, 
 and resting on our heels, there were' no sounds heard, and that 
 sounds were heard when our feet were resting on the floor ; and 
 it is just as true that if our friendly spirits retired when they wit- 
 nessed such harsh proceedings on the part of our persecutors, it 
 was not in our power to detain them. 
 
 " Dr. Lee says he heard two sounds when he held Margaretta's 
 knees. I counted five at one time during that operation, two at 
 another, and three at another, — which made ten, instead of two. 
 But I do not consider this circumstance of any importance what- 
 ever. The spirit in which they engaged in the investigation was 
 too palpable to be mistaken, — evincing too great a determination 
 to carry their points to admit of the possibility of a conviction. 
 They had heard sounds made by limber joints, and because one 
 person could produce one kind of sounds, made by knee joints, 
 
LETTER OF MRS. FISH. 
 
 329 
 
 they would have the community believe that all the sounds heard 
 in our presence for the last four years were produced by thumping 
 or snapping the knee joints. As professional men, whose reputa- 
 tion is dear to them, I would like to have them tell your readers 
 what condition our poor joints would be in by this time, after four 
 years' constant service in this almost ceaseless operation. I will 
 not call this quackery, but will be content to leave it to the pub- 
 lic to pass judgment on their professional erudition. Two of the 
 professors made very little or no investigation. They were in our 
 room but a few minutes previous to the appearance of the article 
 in your paper. 
 
 " Professor Lee, however, was in to see us frequently, and, at 
 several times, expressed great surprise, affirming, with great ap- 
 parent candor, that the sounds were truly astonishing. He wit- 
 nessed the answers that were received by Mr. Chase, which were 
 all correct and very astonishing ; yet he did net attempt to account 
 for them. Now, if Dr. Lee can account for the correct answers 
 that are given, as well as how the sounds are produced, it will 
 gratify me very much, and I will try to account for some of the 
 large ones. Mr. Chase called again, a day or two after that, and 
 could get no correct answers ; but this was no matter of surprise 
 to me after his having been in close communion with Dr. Lee ; for 
 we are taught to believe that spirits associate by affinity, and, if 
 that be true, he was no doubt led into a different society of spirits 
 by associating with him. I do not believe the spirits of my dear 
 departed friends could manifest themselves in their presence, and 
 I would not willingly call on them to mingle in such society. The 
 word ' Impostor ' grated very harshly on my ears, and I struggle 
 very hard to overcome the feelings which such a cruel charge will 
 naturally excite in every human bosom where honor finds a lodg- 
 ment ; but, in spite of all my endeavors, I still feel like other 
 mortals; and this feeling prompts me to demand justice at the 
 hands of a discerning public, and especially those who have wit- 
 nessed the entire success of the same experiments which proved a 
 total failure with our Esculapian knee-buckles. 
 28^ 
 
330 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 " The committees, which have frequently met since the affair 
 with the M. D.s, have witnessed all the experiments they at- 
 tempted, and can testify to their entire success. One day, in 
 presence of a number of persons, the same cushions were brought 
 out, and we took seats, elevated, with our feet upon them, resting 
 on our heels, when the sounds were distinctly heard by all present. 
 Capt. Rounds and Judge Burroughs were present on that occa- 
 sion. 
 
 " Our feet were held from the floor by Dr. Gray and Mr. Clark, 
 in presence of the whole committee, on the evening of the investi- 
 gation made by the medical gentlemen (after they left), and the 
 sounds were distinctly heard, which was allowed by the committee 
 to be a far more satisfactory test, as they could distinctly hear the 
 sounds under their feet, and feel the floor jar while our feet were 
 held nearly or quite a foot from the floor. The whole committee 
 consisted of Dr. Gray and lady, Mr. Clark and lady, Mr. Everit 
 and lady, Mr. Stringham, Mr. Bristol, and two gentlemen invited 
 by the professors. 
 
 " Most of this committee were persons we had never seen before, 
 but we are informed they are persons whose testimony can be 
 relied upon. I would like to have Drs. Lee, Flint and Coventry, 
 club their professional lore and perceptive acumen, and inform the 
 public how bells are rung, and gongs made to ring out tunes, un- 
 touched by human hands ; for, if you have any confidence in your 
 own citizens, they can tell you what I now affirm is true. I will not 
 be particular to mention the names of all the persons who have wit- 
 nessed these striking phenomena, but I will refer you to the fol- 
 lowing : C. C. Bristol, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Stringham, Mr. Stephen 
 Dudley, Mr. L. B-amsey, Mr. Tows, Mr. Gould and Mr. Tallmadge, 
 and they can refer you to dozens of other respectable persons, who 
 have witnessed the same. While these manifestations were going 
 on, many of the persons above-named have held us both so fast 
 by the feet that we could not stir without their knowledge. They 
 (the Drs.) have attempted to explain one of the least important 
 points ; and, as we know, have signally failed. Now let them 
 
DR. LEE, AGAIN. 331 
 
 proceed to the more difficult points, or manfully acknowledge their 
 failure and our innocence of fraud. 
 
 " As Dr. Lee is the editor of the Medical Jour?ial which is 
 published in this city, and as he saw fit to publish the injurious 
 report against our moral integrity which was made by the visit- 
 ing committee of M. D.s, we hope he will manifest the sense of 
 honor which his standing in society warrants us in looking for, by 
 publishing the contradiction, which must now be evident to him, 
 and thereby make the reparation as apparent as the injury. This 
 would be just, if not magnanimous. Yours, &c, 
 
 "Ann L. Fish." 
 
 On the 17th, Dr. Lee wrote to the New York Tribune as 
 follows : 
 
 " DR. LEE ON THE KNOCKINGS AGAIN. 
 
 " Brunswick, Maine, Monday, March 17. 
 " To the Editor of the Tribune : Several articles have ap- 
 peared in your paper, purporting to be replies to my communica- 
 tion of Feb. 25th, respecting the ' Rochester Knockers.' Two or 
 more of these are from lecturers, whose pecuniary interest it is to 
 keep up the delusion, and prevent any satisfactory explanation 
 from being believed by the public. Their personalities shield 
 them very effectually from any notice from me ; while, at the same 
 time, they betray a bad temper and a worse cause. The exposi- 
 tion, made by myself, in connection with my colleagues, Drs. Flint 
 and Coventry, of Buffalo, in relation to the causes of these myste- 
 rious 'Tappings,' is true, and will bide the test of any investigation, 
 properly conducted, that may be made, as it has those already 
 made. If there are any individuals so simple as to swallow the 
 other alleged ' phenomena,' of which the same party or others are 
 the 'media,' such as the removal of tables, the wonderful an- 
 swers to questions, etc., after we have satisfactorily demonstrated 
 the principal phenomenon (the ' rappings ') an imposition and 
 fraud, I think it as well to leave such persons in their simplicity ; 
 for, in their anxious search after the marvellous and wonderful, 
 
332 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 I fear they would grasp at something still more absurd and 
 ridiculous. 
 
 "In regard to the 'Providence rappers' and the 'infant me- 
 dia ' of Mr. Bristow, I doubt not they will also be exorcised in 
 due time, as the Rochester, and, as I am informed by Professor 
 Knight, of New Haven, the Stratford rappers have already been. 
 But don't hurry us too fast ; we have other business to attend to 
 besides exposing ' spirit-knockings.' I hope the swindle, however, 
 as it is now exposed, will be taken cognizance of by the local 
 authorities in those places where the imposition may again be 
 attempted. 
 
 "Those who wish to see a full and accurate account of the man- 
 ner in which these ' raps ' are produced, through the ' mediums ' of 
 the different joints of the body, may consult with advantage the 
 able article by Prof. Austin Flint, in the Buffalo Medical Journal 
 (for March), and the same, with additions, published in pamphlet 
 form, by Mr. George H. Derby, of that city. 
 
 " Charles A. Lee." 
 
 On the receipt of this letter, Mr. Greeley, editor of the Trib- 
 une, published the foregoing letter of Mrs. Fish, introducing it 
 with the following remarks : 
 
 " The above letter from Dr. Lee seems to require the publica- 
 tion of the following from Mrs. Fish (the oldest of the three sis- 
 ters) ; this being, so far as we are aware, the first and only com- 
 munication ever addressed by one of them to the public. And 
 we think it but fair to add that we have been present when ' rap- 
 pings ' were made on tables, chairs, etc., not only in the presence 
 of these, but of other alleged ' mediums,' when it was as certain 
 as human eyesight could make it that no person whatever was in 
 contact with the article from which the sounds appeared to come. 
 'Ah!' says a doubter, 'you thought they proceeded from the 
 table because you expected them there.' Well ; a little girl, less 
 than two years old, who had never before paid any attention to 
 
REMARKS OF MR. GREELEY. 333 
 
 this matter, was attracted to the vicinity of the table by the loud- 
 ness of the ' rappings,' and stood near it for some time, looking 
 curiously first upon and then under the table, palpably interested 
 and puzzled by the hearing of sounds proceeding from a place where 
 no known cause for sound existed. The table was a small, slight, 
 plain one, without covering, and no chance for even a mouse to be 
 within some feet of it unobserved. 
 
 " Then the fact stated by Mrs. Fish, that the sounds heard in 
 the presence of the same ' mediums ' are of exceedingly various 
 character, — not merely loud and low at the same time, but imi- 
 tating sawing, planing, creaking, beating time, etc., etc., — and 
 especially the fact that, when but a single ' medium ' is present, 
 there often seemed to be a dozen invisibles ' rapping ' at the same 
 time — loud, low, quick, slower, etc., etc.- — does not seem to be 
 adequately accounted for by Dr. Lee's theory. 
 
 " So much we feel impelled to say, no matter whether our sci- 
 entific and philosophic correspondent is moved thereby to class us 
 with impostors or (more charitably) with dupes. It does seem to 
 us that Dr. Lee has disposed of the whole matter too summarily, 
 and that, after having volunteered to enter the lists as an exposer 
 of what he represents as a gross, impudent, pernicious swindle, he 
 ought to have proceeded at least so far as to obtain a report or 
 decision, by some impartial committee, that he has made good his 
 assertions. " Ed. Trib." 
 
 Such transactions, so well authenticated, had a tendency to 
 shake the confidence of the public in the scientific discovery of 
 the university professors. Indeed, their "report," after going the 
 rounds of the press, was soon looked upon as a desperate attempt 
 to confirm an opinion they had previously formed. The lady of 
 that city, who could make a slight noise with her knee joints, was 
 much surprised at the use made of the fact by the professors. She 
 had an interview with the two sisters, Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox, 
 and declared that there was no resemblance in the sounds. 
 "When it is known that sounds are made on tables and floors, 
 
334 MANIFESTATIONS IN BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 as loud as a strong man could produce with a hammer, the 
 story of their being produced by the knee will not find many 
 believers. 
 
 One fact should be noticed. The gentlemanly professors never 
 speak of the two sisters as ladies, or women, but as " females," 
 leaving the world in ignorance, but for the attending circumstances, 
 whether they were females of the genus Homo, or some other part 
 of animal creation. It was obviously meant as an insult, and was 
 such as branded the authors with a total want of gentlemanly and 
 dignified character. 
 
 I have very little of the history of the manifestations in Buffalo 
 since that exciting time. There are but few mediums there, as 
 far as I can learn. These are mostly writing mediums. If there 
 are others, I have not succeeded in getting the information, but 
 there are undoubtedly some. There are some of the best and most 
 steadfast friends of spiritualism in that city. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. CONGRESSIONAL MEDIUMS WRIT- 
 ING MEDIUMS — VISIT OF THE FOX FAMILY — GOV. TALLMADGE — SINGU- 
 LAR MANIFESTATIONS IN DRAWING — MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS — DEBATE 
 IN THE SENATE, &C. 
 
 In the month of June, 1852, I visited the city of Washington, 
 D. C, for the purpose of attending a convention.'^ During the 
 week I spent there, I ascertained, from members of Congress and 
 others, that frequent meetings or circles were held at different 
 places, for the purpose of investigating the different phenom- 
 ena classed under the head of spiritual manifestations. Their 
 investigations had led to a conviction, in the minds of many, that 
 some intelligence, which had the power of giving them information 
 on a variety of subjects, and telling them occurrences of which they 
 had no previous knowledge or thought, was the originator of these 
 manifestations. 
 
 One member of Congress, at least,! had become a writing me- 
 dium, and, although the fact was known to but few, there was evi- 
 dence, to his acquaintances, that some power beyond or aside 
 from himself was operating upon him. He related one instance 
 of independent writing, that is a most satisfactory evidence that, 
 notwithstanding so many of the communications by writing are in 
 exact accordance with the mind and talents of the medium, there 
 are cases where the mind of the medium has no such control. He 
 had been expecting to make some remarks on a certain subject ; 
 and one evening, when alone in his room, took up a pen, and, for 
 
 * The Industrial Congress. f Hon. A. P. Hascall, of Le Roy, N. Y. 
 
336 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 curiosity, asked the spirits to write a speech for him. He had 
 become so thoroughly satisfied that no certainty existed of get- 
 ting anything correct or important from this source, that he was 
 only prompted by curiosity to try this experiment. 
 
 On taking the pen, his hand immediately began to write with 
 unusual rapidity, in good language and quite logical, arguing 
 from the premises assumed, but every sentiment utterly and 
 entirely opposed to all his ideas on the subject, and directly oppo- 
 site to the remarks he intended to make. He continued to write 
 till a page was written down. His hand moved to turn over the 
 paper; he remarked, " I '11 hear you through, but I don't believe a 
 word you say." His hand only wrote the faster, until two or three 
 pages were written. It was really a very fair speech, but directly 
 opposite to all Mr. H.'s opinions. At the end it was signed 
 " James O'Connor," a name Mr. Hascall had never before heard 
 of. It is unnecessary to add that Judge H. followed his own 
 reason, instead of yielding to an intelligence of which he knew so 
 little; but the occurrence itself is a remarkable one. 
 
 Judge H. also had some very singular experience, while in 
 Washington, in regard to information being given him to the 
 effect that some member of his family was sick or dead, and the 
 most solemn assurance given of its truth ; when, on writing home, 
 he ascertained that all was well, and the pretended information 
 given was totally false. On the other hand, occurrences taking 
 place at a distance, of which he had no knowledge, were told with 
 the greatest accuracy and truth. Why these contradictions in the 
 character of the communications, he could not tell; but both 
 equally proved it to be entirely beyond the workings of his own 
 mind, and that there was intelligence there, whether true or false. 
 The experience of Judge H. has been singular, as that of many 
 others ; but, as I depend entirely upon memory, I cannot state it 
 more minutely. I believe he has never made his experience pub- 
 lic to any great degree. It will be remembered that he was on 
 one of the first investigating committees in Rochester at the time 
 the subject was first brought before the public. 
 
LETTER OF GOV. TALLMADGE. 337 
 
 In the month of February, 1853, Mrs. Fox and her two young- 
 est daughters, Margaretta and Catharine, visited Washington, by 
 the request of a number of eminent men in Congress and out, who 
 wished to see and know more of the manifestations. During their 
 stay in the city they were visited by many eminent American 
 statesmen, and distinguished men from Europe. Among others, 
 Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, ex-governor of Wisconsin, Gen. Waddy 
 Thompson, Gen. Hamilton, Hon. Robert B. Campbell, and many 
 others, I do not now remember, were almost constant in their at- 
 tendance and investigations ; and, like most others, who have fairly 
 tested it, they became satisfied of the intelligence, independent of 
 the media, and all whose names I have mentioned fully believe the 
 intelligence to emanate from spirits. 
 
 Gov. Tallmadge openly and manfully braved public opinion, and 
 has given his opinions to the world as freely as he would on any 
 other subject. I cannot give a better idea of some of the trans- 
 actions at Washington, than by giving a letter or two from his 
 pen. The following, or so much of it as was written to Mr. Sim- 
 mons in relation to the statements of Mrs. Whitman, touching the 
 astonishing proofs of identity presented to Mr. S. (which is given 
 in the chapter on Providence, R. I.), I saw long before it was 
 published. The occasion that called it out is sufficiently explained 
 in the letter of Gov. T. to the editors of the Intelligencer. 
 
 '* COLLAMORE HOUSE, NEW YORK, 
 
 April 30, 1853. 
 " Messes. Gales and Seaton : A friend has just called my 
 attention to an article in the ' National Intelligencer ' of the 25th 
 inst., headed ' Impostures and Delusions.' The article is not 
 under the editorial head ; still, it is not marked as a communica- 
 tion, and was considered by the gentleman who handed it to me, 
 and would be considered by the generality of your readers, as an 
 editorial. Be this, however, as it may, the article is published by 
 you without any dissent from its views, and may therefore be 
 taken by the uninformed as meeting your approbation. 
 29 _ 
 
338 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 "The writer alludes to the ' Salem Hangings,' and says, 'That 
 there may yet arise, at future periods, similar or analogous dis- 
 orders of the popular mind, invading and corrupting the whole 
 body politic, which it may, in like manner, become necessary to 
 suppress by the strong hand of the law. Indeed, we might point, 
 as already coming within this category, the Rochester Knock- 
 ing s, with their kindred train of rascalities and abominations.'' 
 
 " A little further on, the writer adds : ' In like manner, it is 
 the general opinion of well-informed and deep-thinking persons, 
 that it is already high time to call in legislative aid, if the execu- 
 tion of no existing statutes can reach the present evil, for this 
 perilous imposture, or yet more perilous contagion of morbid 
 minds.' 
 
 " This is a sweeping denunciation of all who have investigated 
 these ' spiritual manifestations,' and who have expressed a belief 
 in their truth. And the spirit which pervades the whole article 
 would not only recall the ' Salem Hangings,' but would also in- 
 voke the < fires of Smithfield.' I have no hesitation in saying, I 
 am one ' coming within this category.' And, let me assure you, 
 there are throughout this widely-extended country some of the 
 brightest and most exalted intellects who have, from a thorough 
 investigation of this matter, come to the same conclusion. Yet 
 such men are to be thus denounced by a writer who is so far 
 behind the intelligence of the age, that he includes in his denunci- 
 ations mesmerism and clairvoyance, which are considered by intel- 
 ligent and scientific men as well established as electricity and 
 magnetism. If this were all, he would deserve simply to be 
 laughed at. But, in regard to spiritualism, he probably never 
 condescended to examine the subject, and yet assumes that he 
 knows more about it by mere instinct than others of equal talent, 
 to say the least, do by the most patient research and philosoph- 
 ical investigation. 
 
 " This article, I am persuaded, has been published by you with- 
 out full examination or due reflection. It runs counter to all the 
 principles of ' law and order ' which have been so uniformly 
 
LETTER OP GOV. TALLMADGE. 339 
 
 enforced in the ' National Intelligencer.' And I regret extremely 
 that such disorganizing, such abominable, such flagitious senti- 
 ments should, even indirectly, have the influence of your names. 
 I feel myself as being included in these denunciations; for, 
 although I do not obtrude my opinions or my facts on any one, 
 still I have communicated freely with those who have voluntarily 
 sought information on this subject. During the last winter at 
 Washington, I conferred fully, and on their own solicitation, with 
 some of the most distinguished men in the nation. I gave to 
 them my own opinions, and the exalted communications and facts 
 on which those opinions were founded. 
 
 " Eetired from public life, I have desired in this, as in all other 
 matters, to avoid public observation. At the same time you have 
 been acquainted with me well enough, and long enough, to know 
 that, when I have deliberately formed an opinion on any subject, 
 I have that rare quality, called moral courage, which enables me 
 to avow it either in private or in public. 
 
 " So far as the public are concerned I have as yet endeavored 
 to maintain a profound silence. But, considering myself as one 
 of those so vindictively denounced in the article alluded to, further 
 silence on my part would argue pusillanimity, and cease to be a 
 virtue. I have not language to express my astonishment at the 
 suggestions and doctrines there put forth ; doctrines which subvert 
 the very principles of civil and religious freedom, guaranteed by the 
 constitution under which we live. Who would have conceived 
 that, at this advanced period of the nineteenth century, whilst we 
 are surrounded by the multiplied evidences of the rapid progress 
 in science and the arts, we should witness such evidences of 
 bigotry and superstition, and such a retrogression towards the 
 ' Cimmerian Darkness,' which spread like a pall over the ancient 
 world? If there was ever a monomania on any subject, it is on 
 the part of those who have, without knowledge or investigation, 
 denounced so madly these ' spiritual manifestations.' I find no 
 fault with those who do not believe in them ; but I cannot with- 
 
340 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 hold an expression of my surprise that intelligent minds can be 
 found to denounce those who do investigate them. 
 
 " To vindicate myself, therefore, from these aspersions, I en- 
 close you a copy of a letter which I wrote early last January to 
 the Hon. James F. Simmons, former United States senator from 
 Rhode Island. The letter was written in the confidence of private 
 friendship, and not intended for the public eye. Such as it is, 
 however, I send it to you, and ask, as an act of justice, that you 
 will publish it, together with this letter, in the ' National Intel- 
 ligencer.' 
 
 " You need not be told who James F. Simmons is. He occu- 
 pied a seat for several years with me in the Senate of the United 
 States; and, amongst all the members of that body, you did not 
 number two better friends. We were both deemed capable at that 
 time of examining satisfactorily any question of finance, or of polit- 
 ical economy, on which we might be engaged. But now, because 
 we have thoroughly investigated these ' spiritual manifestations,' 
 and believe in their truth, we are included in the general, and 
 Judge Edmonds in the particular, denunciations of this writer. I 
 have given the character of Judge Edmonds in my letter to Mr. 
 Simmons ; and I will only add here, in reference to the retailed 
 slander and sneering remark of the writer in regard to his decis- 
 ions, that, as a judge, he unites the qualities of two of the bright- 
 est luminaries of the English bench, namely, the profundity of 
 Bacon with the intuition of Mansfield. Yery respectfully, yours, 
 
 " N. P. Tallmadge. 
 
 "LETTER TO MR. SIMMONS. 
 
 " Washington, January 10, 1853. 
 
 " My dear Sir : I was pleased to see, in the January number 
 of c Putnam's Monthly,' a statement of your experience in ' spir- 
 itual manifestations.' In our conversation at Washington, during 
 the last session of Congress, you had stated the same to me. 
 
 " My experience is probably more limited than yours ; but 
 
LETTER TO HON. J. F. SIMMONS. 341 
 
 yours has served, in some measure, to strengthen the impressions 
 made on my own mind by the investigation I have given to this 
 mysterious subject. 
 
 " I had heard, for a long time, of the ' Rochester Knockings,' 
 but had paid no heed to them ; on the contrary, had considered 
 them a delusion, which would soon pass away. I continued under 
 these impressions till some time last spring, when my attention 
 was called to a newspaper attack on Judge Edmonds for being a 
 believer in these ' spiritual manifestations.' I had known Judge 
 Edmonds for thirty years ; had practised law in the same courts; 
 had served in the Senate of New York with him ; had been asso- 
 ciated with him also as a member of the Court for the Correction 
 of Errors, the highest court in the state ; had known him since 
 that time as a justice of the Supreme Court, and more recently 
 as a judge of the Court of Appeals, where he holds a deservedly 
 high and distinguished rank amongst his brethren, the able judges 
 of that court of last resort in the state of New York. I also 
 knew him as a gentleman of finished classical education, and as a 
 lawyer of an acute mind, and a decided talent for investigation. 
 And, above all, I knew him to be a man of unimpeachable in- 
 tegrity. Knowing all these things, I concluded that if he had 
 become a believer in « spiritual manifestations,' it was at least a 
 subject worthy of investigation. 
 
 "Accordingly, I determined to investigate it, as opportunity 
 should present. I thought I could bring to bear on it a pretty 
 good share of common sense, and a reasonable talent for investi- 
 gation. And knowing withal that I had not a great deal of 
 enthusiasm in my composition, I believed I could enter upon the 
 investigation without much danger of being carried away by any 
 delusion. 
 
 " In this frame of mind I commenced the investigation of this 
 subject ; being an entire unbeliever, but entering upon it with a 
 sincere desire to ascertain the truth. I will not trouble you with 
 the facts which were developed in the progress of my investiga- 
 tion. Suffice it to say, they were of the most astounding charae* 
 29* 
 
312 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 tor. I soon became satisfied of two things: first, that the 
 1 medium ' did not know from whence the ' rap ' proceeded ; 
 secondly, that she did not know from whence the communication 
 came. Perhaps I ought in this connection to observe that, in 
 pursuing this investigation, all my questions were propounded 
 mentally. The medium did not and could not know what they 
 were, and of course could not tell what answers to give, or what 
 would be appropriate responses to the questions thus mentally 
 propounded. 
 
 " Objectors cannot deny that these answers come from an intel- 
 ligent source ; but they sometimes say that they are to be found 
 in the mind of the interrogator. It is true that the interrogator 
 oftentimes knows the answer to the question mentally propounded 
 by him ; and it is equally true that he frequently does not know 
 what the appropriate answer should be, but ascertains its truth 
 afterwards. Neither can he in any way anticipate many com- 
 munications which are made without any questions being asked. 
 I have frequently received such communications of an elevated 
 character, and far above the capacity of the medium. I conclude, 
 therefore, they do not come from the medium, nor from the mind 
 of the interrogator. 
 
 " These communications, too, are perfectly characteristic of the 
 individuals from whom they purport to come. I have had fre- 
 quent communications, purporting to come from my old friend, 
 John C. Calhoun, which his intimate friends would pronounce 
 perfectly characteristic of him.; and some of them, both in style 
 and sentiment, worthy of him in his palmiest days in the Senate 
 of the United States. I have had similar ones, purporting to come 
 from Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, of the same elevated order, 
 and peculiarly characteristic of the individual. I can make the 
 same remark of other individuals. 
 
 " I have seen rapping mediums, writing mediums and speaking 
 mediums, and have received communications through all of them. 
 I have witnessed physical manifestations, such as the movement 
 of tables, without any visible agency. These 'physical manifesta- 
 
LETTER TO HON. J. F. SIMMONS. 343 
 
 tions are more satisfactory to the mass of mankind, because they 
 appeal directly to the senses. I am better pleased myself with 
 the moral, if I may so call them, than the physical manifesta- 
 tions. 
 
 " The next question is, from whence do these manifestations, 
 whether physical or moral, proceed ? Judge Edmonds was told 
 that they were all according to natural laws, which would in due 
 time be fully developed ; and he was directed to read Yon Reich- 
 enbach's Dynamics of Magnetism and Electricity (a book he had 
 never heard of before), as a means of enabling him to understand 
 these laws. I have read the book myself. The writer proves 
 conclusively the discovery of a new element, which he calls od, or 
 the odic force. He proves that this element pervades not only 
 the human system, but the material world and the whole universe. 
 He finds it in the rays of the sun, moon and stars. Late English 
 writers of high reputation consider the existence of the odic force 
 as well established as that of magnetism and electricity. It com- 
 bines many of the qualities of the two latter, and is antagonistic 
 to some of them. It may be presumed, therefore, that this 
 newly-discovered element enters, in some sort, into these mani- 
 festations. It is said that this accounts for the physical manifest- 
 ations. But no one can show how this force produces them. And, 
 even if this were proved, it still remains to account for the intelli- 
 gence in the communications which are received. That intel- 
 ligence does not come from tables, or chairs, or other material ob- 
 jects. It must come from mind, or from a spiritual source. This 
 new element may be the medium of conveying it to us. To illus- 
 trate, let me suppose that a friend in New York wishes to com- 
 municate with me in Washington. He sends his communication 
 to me through the electric telegraph. The communication is 
 received and written down here the same as a communication is 
 received and written down through the rapping medium/ I ask 
 how is that communication from my friend conveyed to me ? The 
 answer is, by the electric fluid. But does the electric fluid make 
 the communication ? The answer is no ; the mind of my friend 
 
344 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C 
 
 does that. So in the case of the rapping medium, the communi- 
 cation comes from some source of intelligence. The intelligence, 
 as every one knows who has investigated these matters, does not 
 come from the table that is moved by some invisible power, nor 
 from the medium, nor from any one present. It is, therefore, to 
 be inferred that it comes from a spiritual source ; and more 
 especially when communications are received on subjects exclu- 
 sively known to those communicating. 
 
 " Some have attempted to account for all those things by mes- 
 merism, clairvoyance and psychology. Let it be remembered that 
 twelve or fifteen years ago, mesmerism, clairvoyance, &c, were 
 as much denounced as ' spiritual rappings ' are now. They were 
 called humbugs and jugglery then, as these manifestations are at 
 this day. This prejudice and denunciation continued in England 
 till the publication of the philosophical treatise of the Rev. Mr. 
 Townshend. which changed the whole current of public sentiment. 
 There have been many able publications on these subjects since 
 that time, and they are now considered as well established as 
 magnetism or electricity. Suppose the denunciations had deterred 
 philosophical minds from investigating them, how much light 
 would have been lost to science and the world ! Now, all the 
 magic, the mysteries, the witchcraft, the necromancy of the an- 
 cient world, from the time of the Delphic Oracle, are explained 
 by these modern investigations ; and all popular delusions, how- 
 ever exaggerated, are now shown to have truth for their basis. 
 I have read many of the ablest writers on these subjects; but to 
 my mind not one of them has been able to account for these 
 1 spiritual manifestations.' Hence the greater importance of 
 continuing these investigations. To denounce, therefore, those 
 engaged in them, is as unwise as it is unphilosophical ; and more 
 especially if such denunciation come from those who never wit- 
 nessed any of the facts and manifestations which have convinced 
 the judgments of men equally intelligent, equally honest, and as 
 little likely to be deluded as themselves. 
 
 " But what is the objection to investigating this matter? Is it 
 
LETTER TO HON. J. F. SIMMONS. 345 
 
 feared that there may be some discrepancies between the religious 
 sentiments communicated and the tenets of the different religious 
 denominations amongst us ? Such discrepancies are heard every 
 Sunday from our different pulpits throughout the land ; and still 
 all denominations of Christians, though differing about particular 
 tenets, maintain the great and leading doctrines of Christianity. 
 And from the investigation I have given the subject, I agree with 
 the Rev. Adin Ballou, who has written the most candid and sat- 
 isfactory explanation I have seen, that ' whatever of divine fun- 
 damental principle, absolute truth, and essential righteousness, 
 there is in the Bible, in the popular religion, and in the estab- 
 lished churches will stand. It cannot be done aivay. On the 
 contrary, it will be corroborated and fulfilled by spirit manifest- 
 ations.'' , 
 
 " It has been objected that there have been cases of derange- 
 ment arising from these manifestations. If there be such cases, I 
 apprehend they are less numerous than they have been repre- 
 sented, and may have arisen from other causes than the one to 
 which they have been attributed. But, be that as it may, and 
 be the number great or small, it has no possible bearing on this 
 question. Derangement has often followed from religious excite- 
 ment, and the over-excited passions of the human heart. Still, 
 this is no objection to the investigation of the truths of religion, 
 or of the emotions of our nature. Neither is it an objection to 
 investigating the subject under consideration. Denunciations 
 cannot stop it, but, on the contrary, tend to encourage it. But 
 for the denunciation of Judge Edmonds, an old acquaintance and 
 friend, I doubt whether my attention would have been called to 
 it. If it be true, it should be known ; for great and mighty re- 
 sults must follow. Already we hear of many who have been 
 converted from infidelity, and now proclaim the immortality of 
 the soul, and that ' death is' not 'an eternal sleep.' If it be not 
 true, that can only be ascertained by investigation ; and the 
 sooner it be done the better. In either case, therefore, all good 
 citizens, all intelligent minds, should unite in ascertaining the 
 
346 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON. D. 0. 
 
 truth or falsity of this the greatest phenomenon of the present or 
 any preceding age. 
 
 "It is understood to be a general belief, at this day, amongst all 
 Christian denominations, that spirits visit this earth ; that they 
 impress us, and thereby protect us from accident and danger. 
 Every one's own experience will confirm the truth of this observa- 
 tion. A communication to me, purporting to come from Mr. 
 Calhoun, conveys the same idea, wherein he says, ' We, by our 
 united will acting upon spirits clothed in flesh, influence them to 
 perform duties which benefit mankind.' If, then, such be the 
 general belief, is it any great stretch of that belief, after the as- 
 tounding facts we have seen and heard, to suppose that there 
 may have been discovered a mode by which spirits can now com- 
 municate with us, in addition to attending and impressing us, and 
 that they are permitted so to do ? To my mind, the conclusion 
 is perfectly rational and philosophical. With all the evidences 
 of progress which surround us here, how can we discard such 
 evidences from the spirit-world, which is believed to be one of 
 1 everlasting progression ? ' 
 
 " Many persons, unable to resist the evidence of the spiritual 
 source of these communications, are finally compelled to admit 
 them, and, as a last resort, charge them as emanating from evil 
 spirits. I consider this as giving up the controversy. There 
 may be communications from evil spirits. But that does not 
 conflict with the communications which bear internal evidence of 
 coming from the ' spirits of just men made more perfect.' There 
 is an abundance of communications purporting to come from such 
 a source, and of the purest, most elevated, and most religious 
 character. If the 'evil one' has prompted these, I confess I 
 have heretofore formed a very wrong estimate of his character. 
 
 " On the whole, the result of my investigations thus far is that 
 the weight of evidence is in favor of the truth of these ' spiritual 
 manifestations.' But I shall continue to investigate as oppor- 
 tunity offers. And if, hereafter, the preponderance of evidence 
 
LETTER TO MRS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 347 
 
 shall incline to the other side, I shall as readily announce that 
 result as I have above communicated the other. 
 
 " In the mean time, let us exercise all possible charity for those 
 who do not believe ; and especially those who denounce without 
 investigation, and condemn without knowledge ; for they are those 
 that most need it. 
 
 " Excuse this desultory communication, and accept the assur- 
 ance of the high respect and esteem with which I am, very truly, 
 yours. 
 
 "N. P. Tallmadge. 
 
 " Hon. James F. Simmons." 
 
 LETTER NUMBER TWO. 
 
 "Baltimore, Tuesday, April 12, 1853. 
 
 " Dear Madam : I seize a few moments, while detained here a 
 short time on business, to give you a more extended account -of 
 the ' physical manifestations,' to which I alluded in a former let- 
 ter. In this account I shall confine myself to those which pur- 
 port to come from the spirit of John C. Calhoun. 
 
 " I have received numerous communications from him, from 
 the commencement of my investigation of this subject down to the 
 present time. Those communications have been received through 
 rapping mediums, writing mediums, and speaking mediums. They 
 are of the most extraordinary character. In style and sentiment 
 they would do honor to him in his best days on earth. 
 
 " After the arrival of the Misses Fox in Washington city, in 
 February last, I called on them by appointment, and, at once, 
 received a communication from Calhoun. 
 
 '•'I then wrote down and propounded mentally the following 
 question : 
 
 " ' Can you do anything (meaning physical manifestations) to 
 confirm me in the truth of these revelations, and to remove from 
 my mind the least shadow of unbelief? ' 
 
 " To which I received the following answer : 
 
348 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 " c I will give you a communication on Monday, at seven-and-a- 
 half o'clock. Do not fail to be here. I will then give you an 
 explanation. John G. Calhoun.' 
 
 " It is proper here to remark that all communications, referred 
 to in this letter, were made by Calhoun after a call for the alpha- 
 bet, and rapped out, letter by letter, and taken down by me in 
 the usual way. They were made in the presence of the Misses 
 Fox and their mother. 
 
 " I called on Monday, at the hour appointed, and received the 
 following communication : 
 
 " ' My friend, the question is often put to you, " What good 
 can result from these manifestations ? " I will answer it : 
 
 " l It is to draw mankind together in harmony, and convince 
 sceptics of the immortality of the soul. John C. Calhoun.' 
 
 " This reminds me that, in 1850, at Bridgeport, in the presence 
 of other mediums, among many questions put and answers re- 
 ceived, were the following — the answer purporting to come from 
 "W. E. Channing. 
 
 " Q. TVhat do spirits propose to accomplish by these new man- 
 ifestations? 
 
 "A. To unite mankind, and to convince sceptical minds of the 
 immortality of ' the soul.' 
 
 " The coincidence in sentiment of the answer of J. C. Calhoun 
 and of TV. E. Channing, in regard to the object of these manifesta- 
 tions, is remarkable, and worthy of particular notice. The con- 
 currence of two such great minds, whether in or out of the body, 
 on a subject so engrossing, cannot fail to command the attention 
 of every admirer of exalted intellect and moral purity. 
 
 " During the above communication of Calhoun, the table moved 
 occasionally, perhaps a foot, first one way and then the other. 
 After the communication closed, we all moved back from the 
 table, from two to four feet, so that no one touched the table. 
 
LETTER TO MRS. SARAH H. WHITMAN, 349 
 
 Suddenly the table moved from the position it occupied some three 
 or four feet, rested a few moments, then moved back to its original 
 position. Then it again moved as far the other way, and re- 
 turned to the place it started from. One side of the table was 
 then raised, and stood for a few moments at an angle of about 
 thirty-five degrees, and then again rested on the floor as usual. 
 
 " The table was a large, heavy, round table, at which ten or a 
 dozen persons might be seated at dinner. During all these move- 
 ments no person touched the table, nor was any one near it. 
 After seeing it raised in the manner above mentioned, I had the 
 curiosity to test its weight by raising it myself. I accordingly 
 took my seat by it, placed my hands under the leaf* and exerted 
 as much force as I was capable of in that sitting posture, and 
 I could not raise it a particle from the floor. I then stood up, 
 in the best possible position to exert the greatest force, took hold 
 of the leaf, and still could not raise it with all the strength I 
 could apply. I then requested the three ladies to take hold 
 around the table, and try all together to lift it. We lifted upon it 
 until the leaf and top began to crack, and did not raise it a par- 
 ticle. We then desisted, fearing we should break the table. I 
 then said, ' Will the spirits permit me to raise the table ? ' I 
 took hold alone, and raised it without difficulty ! 
 
 "After this the following conversation ensued: 
 
 " Q. — Can you raise the table entirely from the floor ? A. 
 Yes. 
 
 " Q. — Will you raise me with it ? A. ' Yes ; get me the 
 square table. 
 
 " The square table was of cherry, with four legs, — a large-size 
 tea-table. It was brought out, and substituted for the round one. 
 The leaves being raised, I took my seat on the centre ; the three 
 ladies sat at the sides and end, their hands and arms resting upon 
 it. This, of course, added to the weight to be raised, namely, my 
 own weight and the weight of the table. Two legs of the table 
 were then raised about six inches from the floor ; and then the 
 other two legs were raised to a level of the first, so that the tvhole 
 30 
 
350 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 table was suspended in the air about six inches above the floor. 
 While thus seated on it, I could feel a gentle, vibratory motion, 
 as if floating in the atmosphere. After being thus suspended in 
 the air for a few moments the table was gently let down again to 
 the floor ! 
 
 " Some pretend to say that these physical manifestations are 
 made by electricity ! I should like to know by what laws of elec- 
 tricity known to us a table is at one time riveted, as it were, to the 
 floor, against all the force that could be exerted to raise it, and 
 at another time raised entirely from the floor with more than two 
 hundred pounds' weight upon it ? 
 
 " At a subsequent meeting, Calhoun directed me to bring three 
 bells and a guitar. I brought them accordingly. The bells were 
 of different sizes ; the largest like a small-sized dinner-bell. He 
 directed a drawer to be put under the square table. I put under 
 a bureau-drawer, bottom side up. He directed the bells to be 
 placed on the drawer. The three ladies and myself were seated 
 at the table, with our hands and arms resting on it. The bells 
 commenced ringing in a sort of chime. Numerous raps were 
 made, as if beating time to a march. The bells continued to ring 
 and to chime in with the beating of time. The time of the march 
 was slow and solemn. It was beautiful and perfect. The most 
 fastidious ear could not detect any discrepancy in it. 
 
 " The raps then ceased, and the bells rang violently for several 
 minutes. A bell was then pressed on my foot, my ankle and my 
 knee. This was at different times repeated. Knocks were made 
 most vehemently against the under side of the table, so that a 
 large tin candlestick was, by every blow, raised completely from 
 the table by the concussion ! 
 
 " I afterward examined the under side of the table (which, it 
 will be recollected, was of cherry), and found indentations in the 
 wood, made by the end of the handle of the bell, which was tipped 
 with brass. Could electricity make those violent knocks with the 
 handle of the bell, causing indentations, and raising the candle- 
 stick from the table at every blow ? Or was it done by the same 
 
LETTER TO MRS. SARAH II. WHITMAN. 351 
 
 invisible power that riveted the table to the floor, and again raised 
 it, with all the weight upon it, entirely above the floor ? 
 
 " Here the ringing of the bells ceased, and then I felt sensibly 
 and distinctly the impression of a hand on my foot, ankle and 
 knee. These manifestations were several times repeated. 
 
 " I was then directed to put the guitar on the drawer. We 
 were all seated, as before, with our hands and arms resting on the 
 table. 
 
 11 The guitar was touched softly and gently, and gave forth 
 sweet and delicious sounds, like the accompaniment to a beautiful 
 and exquisite piece of music. It then played a sort of symphony 
 in much louder and bolder tones. And, as it played, these har- 
 monious sounds, becoming soft, and sweet, and low, began to 
 recede, and grew fainter and fainter, till they died away on the 
 ear in the distance. Then they returned, and grew louder and 
 louder and nearer, till they were heard again in full and gushing 
 volume as when they commenced. 
 
 "I am utterly incapable of giving any adequate idea of the 
 beauty and harmony of this music. I have heard the guitar 
 touched by the most delicate and scientific hands, and heard from 
 it, under such guidance, the most splendid performances. But 
 never did I hear anything that fastened upon the soul like those 
 prophet- strains drawn out by an invisible hand from the spirit- 
 world. While listening to it, I was ready to exclaim, in the lan- 
 guage of the Bard of Avon, 
 
 « That strain agaiu, — it had a dying fall; 
 0, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south, 
 That breathes upon a bank of violets, 
 Stealing and giving odor ! ' 
 
 " After the music had ceased, the following communication was 
 received : 
 
 " ' This is my hand that touches you and the guitar. 
 
 " ' John C. Calhoun.' 
 
352 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 " At another time, the following physical manifestation was 
 made in the presence of Gen. Hamilton, Gen. Waddy Thompson, 
 of South Carolina, and myself : — 
 
 " We were directed to place the Bible on a drawer under the 
 table. I placed it there, completely closed. It was a small 
 pocket Bible, with very fine print. Numerous raps were then 
 heard, beating time to ' Hail Columbia,' which had been called 
 for. Soon the sounds began to recede, and grew fainter and 
 fainter, till, like the music of the guitar, they died away in the 
 distance. The alphabet was then called for, and it was spelled 
 out ' Look.' I looked on the drawer, and found the Bible open. 
 I took it up, and carefully kept it open at the place as I found it. 
 On bringing it to the light, I found it open at St. John's gospel, 
 — chapter II. being on the left side, and chapter III. being on 
 the right side. I said, ' Do you wish us to look at chapter II. ? ' 
 Ans. ' No.' « Do you wish us to look at chapter III.? ' Ans. 
 ' Yes.' And it was then said, ' Read.' I commenced reading 
 the chapter, and significant and emphatic raps were given at many 
 verses ; at 8, 11, 19, 34, most vehement raps were given.^ By look- 
 ing at these verses, you will appreciate the significancy and intel- 
 ligence of this emphatic demonstration. This manifestation pur- 
 ported to come from Calhoun, who had previously invited us three 
 gentlemen to be present at a particular hour. 
 
 " In reflecting on the preceding manifestations, one cannot but 
 marvel at the power by which they are made, and the intelligence 
 by which that power is directed. And it would seem impossible 
 for one to doubt the source of that intelligence. If, however, 
 
 * The verses of Scripture here referred to read as follows : — * 
 
 Vs. 8. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest its voice, but 
 knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth ; so is every one that is 
 born of the spirit. 
 
 Vs. 11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak what we know, and testify 
 what we have seen ; and ye receive not our testimony. 
 
 Vs. 19. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, 
 and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. 
 
 Vs. 34. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God ; for God 
 giveth not the spirit by measure. 
 
LETTER TO MRS. SARAH H. WHITMAN. 
 
 353 
 
 doubt should still remain on the mind of any one acquainted with 
 similar manifestations, that doubt must be entirely dispelled by the 
 account of the manifestations which follows : 
 
 " I was present, by Calhoun's appointment, with the Misses 
 Fox and their mother. We were seated at the table as heretofore, 
 and our hands and arms resting upon it. I was directed to put 
 paper and pencil on the drawer. I placed several sheets of un- 
 ruled letter-paper, together with a wood pencil, on it. I soon 
 heard the sound of the pencil on the paper. It was then rapped 
 out, ' Get the pencil and sharpen it.' I looked under the table, 
 but did not see the pencil. At length I found it lying diagonally 
 from me, three or four feet from the table. The lead was broken 
 off within the wood. I sharpened it, and again put it on the 
 drawer. Again I heard the sound of the pencil on the paper. 
 On being directed to look at the paper, I discovered pencil marks 
 on each side of the outer sheet, but no writing. Then was re- 
 ceived the following communication : 
 
 " ' The power is not enough to write a sentence. This will 
 show you that I can write. If you meet on Friday, precisely at 
 seven, I will write a short sentence. John C. Calhoun.' 
 
 " We met pursuant to appointment ; took our seats at the table, 
 our hands and arms resting on it as usual. I placed the paper 
 with my silver-cased pencil on the drawer, and said, 
 
 " ' My friend, I wish the sentence to be in your own hand- 
 writing, so that your friends will recognize it.' He replied, ' You 
 will know the writing.' 
 
 "He then said, 
 
 " < Have your minds on the spirit of John C. Calhoun.' 
 
 " I soon heard a rapid movement of the pencil on the paper, 
 and the rustling of the paper, together with a movement of the 
 drawer. I was then directed to look under the drawer. I looked, 
 and found my pencil outside of the drawer, near my feet, but 
 found no paper on the drawer where I placed it. On raising up 
 30* 
 
354 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 the drawer, I discovered the paper all under it. The sheets were 
 a little deranged, and, on examining, I found on the outside sheet 
 these words : 
 
 " ' I'm with you still.' 
 
 " I afterward showed the ' sentence ' to Gen. James Hamilton, 
 former Governor of South Carolina, Gen. Waddy Thompson, for- 
 mer Minister to Mexico, Gen. Robt. B. Campbell, late Consul at 
 Havana, together with other intimate friends of Calhoun, and 
 also to one of his sons, all of whom are as well acquainted with 
 his hand-writing as their own, and they all pronounced it to be a 
 perfect facsimile of the hand-writing of John C. Calhoun. 
 
 " Gen. Hamilton stated a fact, in connection with this writing, 
 of great significance. He says that Calhoun was in the habit of 
 writing 'I'm' for 'I am,' and that he has numerous letters from 
 him where the abbreviation is thus used. 
 
 " Mrs. Gen. Macomb has stated the snme fact to me. She says 
 that her husband, the late Gen. Macomb, has shown to her Cal- 
 houn's letters to him, where this abbreviation ' I 'm ' was used for 
 ' I am,' and spoke of it as a peculiarity of Calhoun. 
 
 " How significant, then, does this fact become ! We have not 
 only the most unequivocal testimony to the hand-writing itself, 
 but, lest any sceptic should suggest the possibility of an imitation 
 or a counterfeit, this abbreviation, peculiar to himself, and known 
 only to his most intimate friends, and which no imitator or coun- 
 terfeiter could know, is introduced by way of putting such a sug- 
 gestion to flight forever ! 
 
 " This ' sentence ' is perfectly characteristic of Calhoun. It 
 contains his terseness of style and his condensation of thought. 
 It is a text from which volumes might be written. It proves, 
 
 " 1. The immortality of the soul. 
 
 "2. The power of spirits to revisit the earth. 
 
 "3. Their ability to communicate with relatives and friends. 
 
 " 4. The identity of the spirit to all eternity. 
 
 " How one's soul expands with these sublime conceptions ! How 
 resistless is this testimony of their truth ! How surprising that 
 
MANIFESTATIONS IN DRAWING, ETC. 355 
 
 men can doubt, when this flood of living light is poured upon«them 
 by spirits who, in the language of Webster, ' revel in the glory of 
 the eternal light of God.' 
 
 " Yery truly yours, 
 
 "N. P. Tallmadge. 
 " Mrs. Sarah Helen Whitman, Providence, R. I." 
 
 Among the persons who visited the Misses Fox, at Washington, 
 were Prof. Henry and Prof. Page, of the Smithsonian Institute. 
 The former expressed great surprise, on his first visit, that he 
 could not find out the source of the sounds. "It is true ! " he 
 exclaimed with surprise. He tried several experiments ; had the 
 girls stand on a cloak with a silk lining, and, hearing no rapping, 
 concluded it to be electricity, and published in one of the Wash- 
 ington papers a card to that effect. 
 
 Prof. Page has since published a pamphlet " expose," in which 
 he takes the ground that no well-educated man will for a moment 
 suppose the sounds to be electrical ; but that it is all sheer fraud 
 and trickery ! He is even sure that this is the case, although he 
 did not discover the trick. I shall notice this " expose " more 
 fully in the Appendix of this book. 
 
 From the time of the first investigations in Washington, 
 mediums were developed and the manifestations increased, until, 
 at the present time, the number is as large as at any place of the 
 size in the country. Conferences are held weekly, at which the 
 public have an opportunity to hear and to discuss the subjects 
 involved in the spiritual philosophy. These meetings are gen- 
 erally well attended ; often by some of the most eminent men in 
 the country. 
 
 Among the mediums developed in Washington are some of a 
 very extraordinary character. The most interesting, as exhibiting 
 the marvellous and the beautiful, are the mediums for producing a 
 variety of drawings, evincing great skill and unprecedented rapid- 
 ity in their production. The editor of the Spiritual Telegraph, 
 
356 MANIFESTATIONS AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 writing from Washington, under date of March 29th, 1854, givea 
 the following account of some of them : 
 
 " I have conversed with seven mediums of this description, five 
 of whom, if I am rightly informed, had not acquired the slightest 
 skill in the art by any previous discipline ; but they are all at 
 present employed as passive instruments in the execution of some 
 very curious pictures, which, as the spirits distinctly affirm, are 
 intended to represent the flowers, fruits, &c, of the higher spheres. 
 These pictures do not, in all respects, conform to the accredited 
 rules of art ; but it must be conceded that very many of them 
 are well drawn, while the shading is often delicate and beautiful. 
 I am indebted to the persons herein referred to for some interest- 
 ing specimens of these drawings ; and a more explicit reference to 
 particular examples will, I doubt not, interest the numerous 
 readers of the Telegraph. 
 
 " Mrs. Amelia J. Williams, of this city, was first made con- 
 scious of being influenced by spirits on the third day of February 
 last. While sitting in a circle, the spirits informed her that she 
 would become a writing medium ; whereupon she took up a pencil, 
 and a brief communication was written to the effect that she 
 would also be developed as a drawing medium. Mrs. Williams 
 had never received any instruction in the use of the pencil, but 
 the invisible artists proceeded at once to redeem their promise. 
 Her hand was freely moved by a foreign intelligent agency, and 
 the immediate results were such as to greatly astonish herself and 
 her friends. Up to yesterday (March 28) — less than eight 
 weeks from the commencement of this interesting experience — her 
 hand was moved to execute not less than one hundred and twenty 
 pieces, chiefly plants and flowers, supposed to belong to the spirit- 
 world. They are, for the most part, unlike anything I had seen 
 elsewhere, and very few of them appear to admit of a classifica- 
 tion. The style is peculiar, and some of them could only be 
 copied at the cost of much care and labor. The whole of a pic- 
 ture, even when it embodies every variety of shading, is invariably 
 
MANIFESTATIONS IN DRAWING, ETC. 357 
 
 drawn with a single pencil, and so rapidly that the most expe- 
 rienced draughtsman could not equal the facility displayed in the 
 execution. The spirits were requested to give me a drawing of 
 some celestial object; to which they promptly acceded, and in two 
 hours executed the work. The design is quite as curious as the 
 execution was rapid and successful. Mrs. Williams has, more- 
 over, kindly presented me with several additional specimens of 
 her drawings, which I regard as important contributions to my 
 collection. I must not omit to mention in this place that the 
 spirit, who guides the hand of Mrs. Williams, says he was an 
 Italian peasant, and devoted a large portion of his earth-life to 
 the study of botany. 
 
 " Charles F., son of Mr. John S. and Mrs. Amelia J. Wil- 
 liams, aged twelve years, also commenced drawing about two 
 months since, and now executes architectural and other pieces in 
 a rapid and apparently careless manner. But Master Charles is 
 most remarkable as a musical medium. In the month of January 
 last he was first influenced by a spirit claiming to be Paganini. 
 While attempting to perform some simple air on the violin, he 
 was suddenly controlled and went through with the ' Carnival of 
 Venice.' The composition was rendered in a style which required 
 the skill of a master. Since that time he has been impelled to 
 play other difficult pieces, sometimes on a single string, and often 
 with original and exquisite variations. The notes of several 
 birds, and a variety of other sounds, are imitated on the strings 
 of the viol in a most marvellous manner ; but the spirit often finds 
 fault with the instrument — which is one of inferior tone — and in 
 several instances has wrenched it from the boy's hands and hurled 
 it across the room. The invisible teacher strenuously insists that 
 Mr. Williams shall purchase a better instrument ; and Mr. Williams 
 has at length resolved to comply with the demand of Paganini ; 
 which we think is right, especially as the professor gives his. ser- 
 vices in the capacity of teacher. 
 
 "Mr. C. Laurie, of this city, became a speaking medium early 
 in January last, and soon after commenced drawing symbolical 
 
358 MANIFESTATIONS AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 pictures. He is not conscious of any mental impression respect- 
 ing the objects to be represented ; but the hand is moved by a 
 power foreign to himself, and with surprising precision. The 
 spirits, through the hand of Mr. Laurie, furnished me with a 
 remarkable specimen, which was elaborated in about three hours. 
 It represents, on a surface less than the size of an ordinary bank- 
 note, a great number of animal forms, together with a variety 
 of other objects, all distinctly drawn, and curiously combined 
 within very narrow limits, yet without the least appearance of 
 confusion. The piece is unique, and a decided curiosity. 
 
 " On one occasion, Mr. Laurie, who had never before performed 
 the simplest musical exercise on the piano, was impelled to go to 
 the instrument, when, to his surprise and to the astonishment of 
 his friends, he gave Mozart's Requiem, as we are credibly in- 
 formed, in an exquisite and masterly manner. Since that time 
 Mr. Laurie has repeatedly tried to summon the invisible agent of 
 this musical inspiration ; but his efforts in this direction have 
 been unavailing. 
 
 " Mrs. Margaret A. Laurie, wife of the gentleman just referred 
 to, is also a medium for several phases of the spiritual phe- 
 nomena. She has been subject to visions from childhood. Early 
 in January last she was developed as a drawing medium, since 
 which she continues to draw flowers, &c; some of the specimens 
 executed under her hand evidently belong to the temperate lati- 
 tudes of the earth-sphere, while others are not at all familiar, 
 though they appear to have been drawn from objects really exist- 
 ing. I am indebted to Mrs. Laurie for choice specimens, one of 
 which was made visible to her while she was in a trance state, 
 before the drawing was executed. The colors, which were dark 
 green, purple and scarlet, were very brilliant. The piece was 
 commenced and completed in some thirty minutes ; and it is believed 
 that, few persons experienced in pencil-drawing could copy it in 
 three hours. 
 
 " Miss Isabel C. Laurie, daughter of the above-named parties, 
 became a rapping, tipping and writing medium in October last ; 
 
MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS. 359 
 
 subsequently, in the month of March, she commenced drawing 
 celestial landscapes, flowers, and fruits. Miss L. sees spirits 
 when, to all outward appearance, she is in the ordinary state ; at 
 other times she is made to improvise both words and music. 
 
 "A. F. Cunningham, Esq., who was formerly associated with 
 Theophilus Fisk in the proprietorship and management of the Old 
 Dominion, is also numbered among the drawing media. He is 
 by no means one of those passive mortals who do things accident- 
 ally ; his intellect, naturally vigorous, has been sharpened by his 
 pursuits, and his unusual executive power precludes the supposi- 
 tion that he can be easily controlled. Yet, Mr. Cunningham has 
 been made to yield to the influence of the spirits, and is now 
 almost daily exercised in drawing fruits which are said to grow in 
 the immortal spheres." 
 
 I have had the pleasure of examining a large number of these 
 drawings, and can fully endorse all that brother Brittan has stated 
 in regard to their beauty of design and execution. I have also 
 met with Mr. Laurie and his family, and witnessed some of the 
 striking manifestations at his house. 
 
 One of the events in the history of spiritual manifestations 
 was the presentation of the following Memorial to the United 
 States Senate, with thirteen thousand signatures attached. The 
 name of ex-governor Tallmadge, of Wisconsin, was at the head of 
 the list : 
 
 "A MEMORIAL 
 
 "To the Honorable the Members of the Senate and House of Rep- 
 resentatives of the United States, in Congress assembled. 
 
 "Your memorialists, citizens of the Republic of the United 
 States of America, most respectfully beg leave to represent before 
 your honorable body, that certain physical and mental phenomena, 
 of questionable origin and mysterious import, have of late occurred 
 in this country, and in almost all parts of Europe, and that the 
 
860 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 same are now so prevalent, especially in the northern, middle and 
 western sections of the Union, as to engross a large share of the 
 public attention. The peculiar nature of the subject to which the 
 memorialists desire to solicit the attention of your honorable 
 body may be inferred from a partial analysis of its phenomenal 
 aspects, which are imperfectly comprehended in the following brief 
 generalization. 
 
 " 1. An occult force, exhibited in sliding, raising, arresting, 
 holding, suspending and otherwise disturbing, numerous ponderable 
 bodies, apparently in direct opposition to the acknowledged laws 
 of matter, and altogether transcending the accredited powers of 
 the human mind, is manifested to thousands of intelligent and dis- 
 criminating persons, while the human senses have hitherto failed to 
 detect, to the satisfaction of the public, either the primary or 
 proximate causes of these phenomena. 
 
 "2. Lights of various forms and colors, and of different de- 
 grees of intensity, appear in dark rooms, where no substances 
 exist which are liable to develop a chemical action or phospho- 
 rescent illumination, and in the absence of all the means and 
 instruments whereby electricity is generated or combustion pro- 
 duced. 
 
 " 3. Another phase of the phenomena which we desire to bring 
 to the notice of your august body, is presented in the variety of 
 sounds which are now extremely frequent in their occurrence* 
 widely diversified in their character, and more or less significant 
 in their import. These consist in part of certain mysterious rap- 
 pings, which appear to indicate the presence of an invisible intel- 
 ligence ; sounds, such as are occasioned by the prosecution of 
 several mechanical and other occupations, are often heard ; there 
 are others which resemble the hoarse voices of the winds and waves, 
 with which occasionally harsh creaking sounds are mingled, sim- 
 ilar to those produced by the masts and rigging of a ship while 
 it is laboring in a rough sea. At times powerful concussions 
 occur, not unlike distant thunder or the discharge of artillery, 
 accompanied by an oscillatory movement of surrounding objects, 
 
MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS. 361 
 
 and, in some instances, by a vibratory or tremulous motion of the 
 floor of the apartment, or, it may be, of the whole house wherein 
 the phenomena occur. On other occasions, harmonic sounds are 
 heard, as of human voices, but more frequently resembling the 
 tones of various musical instruments, among which those of the 
 fife, drum, trumpet, guitar, harp and piano, have been mysteriously 
 and successfully represented, both with and without the instru- 
 ments, and, in either case, without any apparent human or other 
 visible agency. These phenomena appear to depend, so far as 
 regards the process of their production, on the acknowledged prin- 
 ciples of acoustics. There is obviously a disturbance of the 
 sensational medium of the auditory nerves, occasioned by an modu- 
 latory movement of the air, though by what means these atmos- 
 pheric undulations are produced does not appear to the satisfac- 
 tion of acute observers. 
 
 " 4. All these functions of the human body and mind are often 
 and strangely influenced in what appear to be certain abnormal 
 states of the system, and by causes which are neither adequately 
 defined nor understood. The invisible power frequently inter- 
 rupts what we are accustomed to denominate the normal operation 
 of the faculties, suspending sensation and the capacity for volun- 
 tary motion, checking the circulation of the animal fluids, and re- 
 ducing the temperature of the limbs and portions of the body to a 
 death-like coldness and rigidity. Indeed, in some instances, res- 
 piration is entirely suspended for a season, — it may be for hours 
 or days together, — after which the faculties of the mind and 
 functions of the body are fully restored. It is, moreover, con- 
 fidently asserted, that these phenomena have been succeeded, in 
 numerous cases, by permanent mental and physical derangement; 
 and it is as positively affirmed and believed that many persons, 
 who were suffering from organic defects, or from protracted and 
 apparently incurable diseases, have been suddenly relieved or 
 entirely renovated by the same mysterious agency. 
 
 " It may not be improper to observe, in this connection, that 
 two general hypotheses obtain with respect to the origin of these 
 31 
 
362 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 remarkable phenomena. The one ascribes them to the power and 
 intelligence of departed spirits, operating on and through the sub- 
 tile and imponderable elements which pervade and permeate all 
 material forms ; and this, it should be observed, accords with the 
 ostensible claims and pretensions of the manifestations themselves. 
 Among those who accept this hypothesis will be found a large 
 number of our fellow-citizens, who are alike distinguished for their 
 moral worth, intellectual powers and attainments, as well as for 
 their eminent social position and political influence. Others, not 
 less distinguished in all the relations of life, reject this conclusion, 
 and entertain the opinion that the acknowledged principles of 
 physics and metaphysics will enable scientific inquirers to account 
 for all the facts in a rational and satisfactory manner. While 
 your memorialists cannot agree on this question, but have honestly 
 arrived at widely different conclusions respecting the probable 
 causes of the phenomena herein described, they beg leave most 
 respectfully to assure your honorable body they nevertheless most 
 cordially concur in the opinion that the alleged -phenomena do 
 really occur, and that their mysterious origin, peculiar nature and 
 important bearing on the interests of mankind, demand from them 
 a patient, thorough, and scientific investigation. 
 
 11 It cannot reasonably be denied that the various phenomena to 
 which the memorial refers are likely to produce important and 
 lasting results, permanently affecting the physical condition, 
 mental development and moral character, of a large number of the 
 American people. It is obvious that these occult powers do in- 
 fluence the essential principles of health and life, of thought and 
 action, and hence they may be destined to modify the conditions 
 of our being, the faith and philosophy of the age, and the govern- 
 ment of the world. Moreover, deeming it to be intrinsically 
 proper, and, at the same time, strictly compatible with the 
 cardinal objects and essential spirit of our institutions, to address 
 the representatives of the people concerning any and every subject 
 which may be fairly presumed to involve the discovery of new 
 principles, which must or may issue in momentous consequences 
 
DEBATE ON THE MEMORIAL. 363 
 
 to mankind, we, yonr fellow-citizens, whose names are appended 
 to this memorial, earnestly desire to be heard on this occasion. 
 
 " In pursuance, therefore, of the objects contemplated by the 
 present memorialists, and in view of the facts and reasons herein 
 contained or referred to, your fellow-citizens most respectfully 
 petition your honorable body for the appointment of a Scientific 
 Commission, to which this subject shall be referred, and for such 
 an appropriation as shall enable the commissioners to prosecute 
 their inquiries to a successful termination. Believing that the 
 progress of science and the true interests of mankind will be 
 greatly promoted by the proposed investigation, the undersigned 
 venture to indulge the hope that their requests will be approved 
 and sanctioned by the wisdom of your honorable body. And to 
 this ead the petitioners will ever pray." 
 
 This memorial was presented, by Hon. James Shields, in the 
 month of April, 1854. The following is the reported debate on 
 the occasion : 
 
 " Mr. Shields. — I beg leave to present to the Senate a petition, 
 with some fifteen thousand names appended to it, upon a very sin- 
 gular and novel subject. The petitioners represent that certain 
 physical and mental phenomena of mysterious import have become 
 so prevalent in this country and Europe as to engross a large 
 share of public attention. A partial analysis of these phenomena 
 attests the existence, 
 
 " First. Of an occult force, which is exhibited in sliding, rais- 
 ing, arresting, holding, suspending, and otherwise disturbing, pon- 
 derable bodies, apparently in direct opposition to the acknowl- 
 edged laws of matter and transcending the accredited powers of 
 the human mind. [Laughter.] 
 
 " Secondly. Lights of different degrees of intensity appear in 
 dark rooms, where chemical action or phosphorescent illumina- 
 tion cannot be developed, and where there are no means of gene- 
 rating electricity or of producing combustion. 
 
 " Thirdly. A variety of sounds, frequent in occurrence, and 
 
364 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 diversified in character, and of singular significance and import, 
 consisting of mysterious rapping, indicating the presence of in- 
 visible intelligence. Sounds are often heard like those produced 
 by the prosecutor of mechanical operations, like the hoarse mur- 
 murs of the winds and waves, mingled with the harsh, creaking 
 noise of the masts and rigging of a ship laboring in a sea. Con- 
 cussions also occur resembling distant thunder, producing oscilla- 
 tory movements of surrounding objects, and a tremulous motion of 
 the premises upon which these phenomena occur. Harmonious 
 sounds, as that of human voices, and other sounds, resembling 
 those of the fife, drum, trumpet, &c, have been produced without 
 any visible agency. 
 
 " Fourthly. All the functions of the human body and mind 
 are influenced in what appear to be certain abnormal states of the 
 system by causes not yet adequately understood or accounted for. 
 The occult force or invisible power frequently interrupts the 
 normal operation of the faculties, suspending sensation and volun- 
 tary motion of the body to a deathlike coldness and rigidity, and 
 diseases hitherto considered incurable have been entirely eradi- 
 cated by this mysterious agency. 
 
 " The petitioners proceed to state that two opinions prevail 
 with respect to the origin of these phenomena : one ascribes them 
 to the power and the intelligence of departed spirits operating 
 upon the elements which pervade all material forms ; the other 
 rejects this conclusion, and contends that all these results may be 
 accounted for in a rational and satisfactory manner. The memo- 
 rialists, while thus disagreeing as to the cause, concur in the opin- 
 ion as to the occurrence, of the alleged phenomena, and, in view 
 of their origin, nature, and bearing upon the interests of mankind, 
 demand for them a patient, rigid, scientific investigation, and re- 
 quest the appointment of a scientific commission for that purpose. 
 
 " I have now given a faithful synopsis of this petition, 
 which, however unprecedented in itself, has been prepared with 
 singular ability, presenting the subject with great delicacy and 
 moderation. I make it a rule to present any petition to the Senate 
 
DEBATE ON THE MEMORIAL. 365 
 
 which is respectful in its terms ; but, having discharged this duty, 
 I may be permitted to say, that the prevalence of this delusion at 
 this age of the world, among any considerable portion of our citi- 
 zens, must originate, in my opinion, in a defective system of edu- 
 cation, or in a partial derangement of the mental faculties, pro- 
 duced by a diseased condition of the physical organization. I 
 cannot, therefore, believe that it prevails to the extent indicated 
 in this petition. Different ages of the world have had their 
 peculiar delusions. Alchemy occupied the attention of eminent 
 men for several centuries ; but there was something sublime in 
 alchemy. The philosopher's stone, or the transmutation of base 
 metals into gold, the elixir vitcs, or ' water of life,' which would 
 preserve youth and beauty, and prevent old age, decay and death, 
 were blessings which poor humanity ardently desired, and which 
 alchemy sought to discover by perseverance and piety. Roger 
 Bacon, one of the greatest alchemists and greatest men of the 
 thirteenth century, while searching for the philosopher's stone, 
 discovered the telescope, burning-glasses and gunpowder. The 
 prosecution of that delusion led, therefore, to a number of useful 
 discoveries. In the sixteenth century flourished Cornelius 
 Agrippa, alchemist, astrologer and magician, one of the greatest 
 professors of hermetic philosophy that ever lived. He had all the 
 spirits of the air and demons of the earth under his command. 
 Paulus Jovius says that the devil, in the shape of a large black 
 dog, attended Agrippa wherever he went. Thomas Nash says, at 
 the request of Lord Surry, Erasmus and other learned men, 
 Agrippa called up from the grave several of the great philoso- 
 phers of antiquity — among others, Tully, whom he caused to 
 re-deliver his celebrated oration for Roscius. To please the 
 Emperor, Charles the Fourth, he summoned King David and 
 King Solomon from the tomb, and the emperor conversed with 
 them long upon the science of government. This was a glorious 
 exhibition of spiritual power compared with the insignificant 
 manifestations of the present day. I will pass over the celebrated 
 Paracelsus, for the purpose of making allusion to an Englishman 
 31* 
 
366 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D, C. 
 
 v. ith whose veracious history every one ought to make himself ac- 
 quainted. In the sixteenth century, Dr. Dee made such progress 
 in the talismanic mysteries that he acquired ample power to hold 
 familiar conversation with spirits and angels, and to learn from 
 them all the secrets of the universe. On one occasion the Angel 
 Uriel gave him a black crystal, of a convex form, which he had 
 only to gaze upon intently, and by a strong effort of the will he 
 could summon any spirit he wished to reveal to him the secrets 
 of futurity. Dee, in his veracious diary, says, that one day while 
 he was -sitting with Albertus Laski, a Polish nobleman, there 
 seemed to come out of the oratory a spiritual creature, like a 
 pretty girl of seven or nine years of age, with her hair rolled up 
 before and hanging down behind, with a gown of silk of change- 
 able red and green, and with a train ; she seemed to play up and 
 down, and to go in and out behind the books, and as she seemed 
 to go between them, the books displaced themselves, and made 
 way for her. This I call a spiritual manifestation of the most 
 interesting and fascinating kind. Even the books felt the fasci- 
 nating influence of this spiritual creature, for they displaced 
 themselves and made way for her. Edward Kelley, an Irishman, 
 who was present, and who witnessed this beautiful apparition, 
 verifies the doctor's statement ; therefore it would be unreason- 
 able to doubt a story so well attested, particularly when the wit- 
 ness was an Irishman. [Laughter.] Doctor Dee was the dis- 
 tinguished favorite of kings and queens — a proof that spiritual 
 science was held in high repute in the good old age of Queen 
 Elizabeth. But of all the professors of occult science, hermetic 
 philosophy, or spiritualism, the Rosicrucians were the most ex- 
 alted and refined; with them the possession of the philosopher's 
 stone was to be the means of health and happiness, an instrument 
 by which man could command the services of superior beings, 
 control the elements, defy the abstraction of time and space, and 
 acquire the most intimate knowledge of all the secrets of the uni- 
 verse. These were objects worth struggling for. The refined 
 Rosicrucians were utterly disgusted with the coarse, gross, sensual 
 
DEBATE ON THE MEMORIAL. 367 
 
 spirits who had been in communication with man previous to 
 their day ; so they decreed the annihilation of them all, and sub- 
 stituted in their stead a race of mild, beautiful and beneficent 
 beings. The spirits of the olden time were a malignant race, and 
 took especial delight in doing mischief; but the new generation is 
 mild and benignant. These spirits, as this petition attests, in- 
 dulge in the most innocent amusements and harmless recreations, 
 such as sliding, raising, and tipping tables, producing pleasant 
 sounds and variegated lights, and sometimes curing diseases which 
 were previously considered incurable ; and for the existence of this 
 simple and benignant race, our petitioners are indebted to the 
 brethren of the rosy cross. Among the* modern professors of 
 spiritualism, Cagliostro was the most justly celebrated. In Paris 
 his saloons were thronged with the rich and the noble. To old 
 ladies he sold immortality, and to young ones he sold beauty that 
 would endure for centuries ; and his charming countess gained 
 immense wealth by granting attending sylphs to such ladies as 
 were rich enough to pay for their service. The ' Biographe des 
 Contempores ' — a work which our present mediums ought to con- 
 sult with care — says there was hardly a fine lady in Paris, who 
 would not sup with the shade of Lucretius in the apartments of 
 Cagliostro. There was not a military officer who would not dis- 
 cuss the art of war with Alexander, Hannibal, or Cassar ; or an 
 advocate or counsellor who would not argue legal points with the 
 ghost of Cicero. These were spiritual manifestations worth pay- 
 ing for, and all our degenerate mediums would have to hide their 
 diminished heads in the presence of Cagliostro. It would be a 
 curious ino^iry to follow this occult science through all its phases 
 of mineral magnetism, animal mesmerism, etc., until we reach the 
 present latest and slowest phase of all spiritual manifestations ; 
 but I have said enough to show the truth of Burke's beautiful 
 aphorism : ' The credulity of dupes is as inexhaustible as the in- 
 vention of knaves.' " 
 
 "This speech was listened to with much attention, but frequently 
 interrupted by laughter. 
 
368 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 " Mr. "Welter. — What does the senator propose to do with the 
 petition ? 
 
 " Mr. Pettit. — Let it be referred to the three thousand clergy- 
 men. [Laughter.] 
 
 11 Mr. Welter . — I suggest that it be referred to the committee 
 on foreign relations. [Laughter.] 
 
 " Mr. Shietds. — I am willing to agree to the reference. 
 
 "Mr. Wetter. — It maybe that we may have to enter into for- 
 eign relations with these spirits. [Laughter.] If so, it is a proper 
 subject for the consideration of that committee. It may be neces- 
 sary to ascertain whether or not Americans, when they leave this 
 world, lose their citizenship. It may be expedient that all these 
 grave questions should be considered by the committee on foreign 
 relations, of which I am an humble member. I move its reference 
 to that committee. 
 
 "Mr. Mason. — I really think that it has been made manifest, 
 by the honorable senator who has presented the petition, that he 
 has gone further into the subject than any of us, and that his 
 capacity to elucidate it is greater than that of any other senator. 
 I would therefore suggest to him that it should either go to a 
 select committee on his motion, or be referred to the committee 
 on military affairs, of which he is chairman. Certainly the 
 committee of foreign relations have nothing to do with it. 
 Perhaps it would be better to allow the petition to lie on the 
 table. 
 
 "Mr. Shietds. — This is an important subject, and should not be 
 sneered away in this manner. [Laughter.] I was willing to 
 agree to the motion of the senator from California, but I do not 
 wish to send the petition to the committee on foreign relations, 
 unless the chairman of that committee is perfectly satisfied that 
 he can do the subject justice. I had thought of proposing to 
 refer the matter to the committee on post-offices and post- 
 roads, because there may be a possibility of establishing a spir- 
 itual telegraph between the material and the spiritual world. 
 [Laughter.] 
 
LETTER OP MK. TALL3IADGE. 309 
 
 " Mr. Mason. — I move that the petition lie upon the table. 
 Agreed to." 
 
 The proceedings in the Senate called forth the following letter 
 from ex-Governor Tallmadge, which appeared in the National 
 Intelligencer, on the 18th of April : 
 
 " Messes. Gales and Seaton : My attention has been attracted 
 to the proceedings of the Senate, published in the Intelligencer of 
 this morning, on the presentation of a memorial by Gen. Shields, 
 signed by myself and thirteen thousand citizens of the United 
 States, on the subject of ' Spiritual Manifestations.' The memo- 
 rialists ask Congress to appoint a scientific com mission to investi- 
 gate these extraordinary phenomena. Gen. Shields has given a 
 very good synopsis of the memorial ; and, had he stopped there, I 
 should not have felt myself called upon for any remarks. But, 
 contrary to my expectations, the general has attempted to ridicule 
 a subject which appealed to his better judgment, and which, ac- 
 cording to my understanding, was to receive very different treat- 
 ment at his hands. 
 
 "When I first spoke to Gen. Shields about presenting this 
 memorial to the Senate, he treated it with great courtesy, and ex- 
 pressed his willingness to move its reference to a select committee. 
 Without expressing any opinion in favor of the spiritual theory, 
 he agreed with me that, whether spiritual or philosophical, it was 
 worthy of investigation. After this understanding, I confess my 
 surprise that he should have treated it as he did ; that instead 
 of an investigation by a select committee, of which, by parliament- 
 ary usage, he would have been chairman, and where those who 
 have investigated the subject could have been heard, he should 
 have given in advance a rehash of what has so often been said 
 before by the opponents of spiritualism ! My habitual respect for 
 the honorable body of which he is a member will cause me to fore- 
 go any remarks upon the attempted criticisms of himself and others 
 on this occasion. 
 
370 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 " The general is pleased to characterize these manifestations as 
 a ' delusion.' Now, I do not pretend to any extraordinary power 
 to understand a subject more than other men, whose position in 
 life would indicate a talent equal, if not superior, to my own. 
 Still, I do pretend, that, when I have investigated a subject which 
 they have not, I am better capable than they of judging whether 
 there is any ' delusion ' involved in the conclusion to which I have 
 arrived, and I cannot consent to surrender my reason and the 
 evidence of my own senses to their instinct. I have made it a 
 rule of my life never to write or speak on a subject about which 
 I knew nothing. That rule has saved me from much awkward- 
 ness and embarrassment, as it would also save others were it 
 adopted by them. 
 
 " But if it be a * delusion,' then the greater necessity of inves- 
 tigating it and showing it to be such. I have as great an interest 
 in ascertaining that fact as any other man. If it be ' spiritual,' 
 there is much less necessity for its investigation, because its march 
 will be onward, and no human power can resist it. Do away with 
 the ' delusion,' if it be one, and you do away the insanity which it 
 is sometimes alleged is consequent upon it ; and although the hon- 
 orable gentleman's bill granting lands for insane asylums would 
 still be necessary for the vast numbers rendered such by religious 
 excitement, still they would have fewer inmates by reason of the 
 humane principles adopted by this investigation, namely, of 'pre- 
 venting instead of curing or palliating the disease. 
 
 " I hope, therefore, that the 'lame and impotent conclusion' to 
 which the Senate arrived, of laying the memorial on the table, 
 may be reconsidered, and that it may receive that consideration 
 which its importance demands. 
 
 " Respectfully yours, N. P. Tallmadge. 
 
 " Washington, April 18, 1854." 
 
 On the day following, General Shields responded briefly, as 
 follows : 
 
LETTERS OF MESSRS. SHIELDS AND TALLMADGE. 371 
 
 "SENATOR SHIELDS IN SELF- VINDICATION. 
 
 " Washington, April 19, 1854. 
 " To the Editors of the National Intelligencer — Gentle- 
 men : Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, in his letter in your paper of to-day, 
 does me injustice, which I presume is unintentional. When he 
 requested me to present his petition, I assured him in a few words 
 that I was no believer in « the spiritual theory,' and, in addition, 
 that I could not see upon what principle it could be either referred 
 to or considered by a select committee. His earnestness on the 
 subject was such as might easily have led him to misunderstand 
 rac on this point. I promised to present his petition, and I did so, 
 and then took the liberty of giving my own views upon the sub- 
 ject generally. " Bespectfully yours, 
 
 "James Shields." 
 
 " second letter from mr. tallmadge. 
 
 " Messrs. Gales and Seaton : The note of Gen. Shields, in the 
 Intelligencer of this morning, requires a few remarks from me. 
 He assumes that there was a misunderstanding on my part as to 
 his willingness to move the reference of the memorial to a select 
 committee. Let your readers judge of this from the circumstances 
 in the case. 
 
 " The primary object was to have the memorial presented by a 
 senator who would move a select committee, and who, of course, 
 would be chairman of it, and by the very motion would signify 
 his willingness to take charge of it. The subject was peculiarly 
 one for a select committee, because there was no standing commit- 
 tee to which it could be appropriately referred. There was no 
 difficulty in finding a senator who was willing simply to present 
 the memorial. Probably no senator in that honorable body 
 would, on request, have refused an act of courtesy like that ; 
 especially when the memorial, to use the honorable gentleman's 
 own language, ' had been prepared with singular ability, present- 
 ing the subject with great delicacy and moderation.' The very 
 
372 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 object, therefore, was to place it in the hands of a senator who 
 would cheerfully perform that duty. I had spoken to only one 
 senator on the subject, previous to my call on the honorable gen- 
 tleman. That senator treated the matter with the utmost respect 
 and kindness ; agreed that a select committee was the appropriate 
 reference, but that he could not move it, because he would, of 
 course, be chairman, and his other business was so burdensome 
 that it would be impossible to give the subject that attention 
 which it deserved. He then told me he thought Gen. Shields 
 would be the best man to present the memorial and to move the 
 select committee, and that he would no doubt do it. 
 
 " It was on the suggestion of this senator that I called on Gen. 
 Shields. Impressed with the importance and the necessity of a 
 select committee, can it be for one moment presumed that I could 
 misunderstand the honorable gentleman, and leave the memorial 
 in his charge, when I knew the great object I had in view could 
 not be accomplished ? But the honorable gentleman says he 
 1 could not see upon what principle it could be either referred to 
 or considered by a select committee.' Why, a senator of any 
 experience would, I should suppose, have no doubt or difficulty on 
 that subject. The gentleman, as the proceedings of the Senate 
 show, was willing to have it referred to the committee on foreign 
 relations ; and if it was proper to refer it to a standing committee, 
 was it not equally proper to refer it to a select committee ? When 
 I say equally proper, I mean so far as a mere reference and a con- 
 sideration of the subject were concerned. What are the objects 
 of a select committee ? They are two. First, where the subject, 
 although appropriate to a standing committee, is of that magni- 
 tude and importance to require the more deliberate and thorough 
 investigation of a select committee, which is burdened with no 
 other reference, and in the constitution of which the talent of the 
 body best suited to the investigation may be combined ; secondly, 
 where the subject is not appropriate to a standing committee, but 
 is peculiarly appropriate to a select committee. A memorial, 
 therefore, coming within either of the objects mentioned, can ap- 
 
SECOND LETTER OF ME. TALLMADGE. 373 
 
 propriately be referred to a select committee. The memorial 
 under consideration came within the latter. If, then, it was 
 proper to refer it to a standing committee, to which the honora- 
 ble gentleman very willingly agreed, it was equally proper to 
 refer it to a select committee. From this conclusion there is no 
 escape. Any doubt as to the power of Congress to grant the 
 prayer of the memorialists in any case, is no objection to refer- 
 ring the memorial itself either to a standing or a select commit- 
 tee, because the committee can more deliberately examine and 
 judge of that power than the body itself can on the hasty view 
 taken of it on a mere motion of reference. On the coming in of 
 the report of the committee, then, is the time to discuss the ques- 
 tion of power. 
 
 "The clear understanding, therefore, on my part, was that Gen. 
 Shields would present the memorial and move its reference to a 
 select committee. How could I understand it otherwise, when 
 that was the very object of the application to him ? Any other 
 conclusion would make me stultify myself. Neither can any un- 
 prejudiced mind, in this view of the case, come to any other con- 
 clusion. The honorable gentleman, therefore, must be laboring 
 under some strange hallucination on this subject ; more strange, 
 indeed, than the ' delusion ' under which he, with so much delicacy 
 and self-complacency, supposed these memorialists were laboring, 
 because they had come to a conclusion different from his own on 
 a subject which, from thorough investigation, they were presumed 
 to understand, and which, for want of investigation, he was pre- 
 sumed to know nothing about ! 
 
 " But, again, if the honorable gentleman did not intend to move 
 the select committee, why did he not indicate that intention in a 
 manner that could not be misunderstood ? He knew perfectly 
 well, or ought to have known, that the select committee was the 
 great object I had in view ; and can he suppose that I would 
 have placed the memorial in his hands, if I could have imagined 
 that it was to receive the treatment it did ? Most assuredly not. 
 Some two weeks elapsed between the time of delivering the memo- 
 32 
 
374 MANIFESTATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 rial to him, and its presentation by him to the Senate. During 
 this time I saw him twice ; the last time was on Thursday evening 
 preceding the Monday on which the memorial was presented. If 
 he had made up his mind that he could not move a select com- 
 mittee, but should feel bound to present his views against it, why 
 did he not so inform me, and suggest that I place the memorial in 
 other hands ? That is the course I should have pursued if I had 
 been occupying, as I did for many years, a seat in that honorable 
 body. Was not such a course due to me ? And, above all, was 
 not such a course due to himself? Instead of that, and instead 
 of pondering over these extraordinary phenomena set forth in the 
 memorial, the most extraordinary in the history of the world, and 
 which philosophy and science might have been proud to investi- 
 gate, he seems to have been turning over the pages of some cyclo- 
 paedia to find materials for the luminious exhibition which he made 
 before the Senate ! 
 
 " This is not all. The honorable gentleman was not content to 
 present his views in a grave and serious manner, becoming the 
 subject, but he attempted to ridicule, not only the subject, but 
 those who had memorialized Congress in relation to it. The result 
 will show whether the attempted ridicule will fall on them or react 
 on himself. I will only add, that there are names on that memo- 
 rial which do not shrink in comparison with any member of the 
 honorable Senate, — names that have adorned the bar, the bench 
 and the Senate-chamber ; names of the hardy sons of toil, whose 
 brawny hands and stalwart arms have been thus fashioned by the 
 industrial pursuits of life ; names the representatives of two mil- 
 lions of believers in the United States ; names of those ' who know 
 their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain ' them. These memori- 
 alists, and those whom they represent, are not only entitled to 
 respect, but they will command it. They are not to be put aside 
 by any attempt to minister to a prejudiced public sentiment. This 
 question is to be fairly met. The days of imposture and delusion, 
 in relation to it, have gone by ; the honorable gentleman will no 
 longer be able to protect himself by that senseless cry ; and when 
 
REMARKS ON THE MEMORIAL. 375 
 
 he again has occasion to quote Burke's beautiful aphorism, as he 
 terms it, that ' the credulity of dupes is as inexhaustible as the 
 invention of knaves,' he may find in it a more extended applica- 
 tion than he at first supposed. Respectfully yours, 
 
 "N. P. Tallmadge. 
 "Washington, April 20, 1854." 
 
 Thus ended the first attempt to get a " scientific commission " 
 appointed for the investigation of this subject, and the discussion 
 it called forth. It was not, at that time, popular enough to get 
 an advocate in the Senate, although some of that body knew that 
 there was more in it than Gen. Shields or any of the body could 
 account for. It is not probable that any of the memorialists ex- 
 pected more favorable treatment than they received. The car- 
 penters and fishermen of the world are the ones to investigate 
 new truths, and make senates and crowns believe and respect 
 them. It is in vain to look for the reception or respect of new 
 truths by men in high places. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THE 
 PROGRESS OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 In the foregoing chapters I have made a record of some of the early 
 manifestations of the spirits within the last six years. I have not 
 intended to bring the history down to very recent cases in the 
 several localities treated of in different chapters. To note the rise 
 and progress of spiritualism in all the cities and towns of the 
 United States, with a mere glance at the facts and occurrences, 
 would make, of itself, a library of respectable size. But, in the 
 first struggle to introduce it into the places mentioned, when it 
 was not only a novelty, but a thing " everywhere spoken against," 
 there were occurrences and trials which should be given to the 
 world, to be read by future generations. The struggle has been 
 brief; but the opposition as bitter as any new theory or facts 
 ever encountered. That bitterness has been restrained by the 
 more enlightened and liberal laws growing out of the progress of 
 mankind, which, but a few generations back, would have subjected 
 all engaged in the promulgation of the new truths to cruel torture 
 and to death. That age has gone by, never to return, unless civil- 
 ization relaxes again into barbarism. But there are various 
 ways in which persecution may be carried on without fire and 
 fagot, while its effects are almost as severe. I have seen men's 
 business prospects blighted, and their families made to suffer, be- 
 cause they would not deny facts they had witnessed. I have seen 
 men of high moral worth, sound health, vigorous minds, capable, 
 honest, and trustworthy, refused employment because they were 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 377 
 
 spiritualists, and the avowal made boldly that that was the sole 
 cause of the refusal. I have heard the character of persons, male 
 and female, traduced in the pulpit, the lecture-room, and the draw- 
 ing-room, because they could give a substantial reason for the 
 hope that was in them, and because that reason and hope differed 
 from the majority. More than this ; men have been seized, kid- 
 napped, and conveyed to distant states, and incarcerated in lunatic 
 asylums, and their property as nearly confiscated as grasping 
 relatives could make it, for no other reason than that they believed 
 in spiritualism. Women have been declared insane, and taken 
 from their homes, when their insanity consisted in a knowledge be- 
 yond the majority around them. These are some of the appliances 
 now used to force conformity to the popular belief, and they 
 appear to the enlightened mind as decidedly an outrage on the 
 moral sense of this age, as savage for the present time, as the 
 fagot and the " cat " were for the days in which they were used. 
 This opposition is disappearing before the onward march of all 
 powerful facts, which have so repeatedly occurred that they can- 
 not be disputed. The angry and baffled theological dogmatists 
 have become silent, save an occasional growl at the rapid spread 
 of what they deem to be the great heresy of the age, but which 
 threatens to overwhelm their castles which stand on a sandy foun- 
 dation. In some parts of the country the belief in tangible spirit 
 evidences has become so general that all excitement is past. From 
 this circumstance some of the opponents imagine that it has " died 
 out," mistaking the quiet of conviction for the loss of all interest 
 in the subject. 
 
 It would not be expected that, from the multitude of sects and 
 opinions that have characterized the individuals who have inves- 
 tigated and embraced the truths of spiritualism, they would 
 be perfectly harmonious in their views. Accordingly, they rep- 
 resent a great variety of opinions in theology and philosophy. 
 Every shade of belief that characterized men before they became 
 spiritualists tinges their new faith. They have only added a 
 proof of immortality to their theology, or philosophy, whatever it 
 32* 
 
378 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 
 
 happened to be. The new manifestations cannot be said to have 
 established any new theology, for the reason that no two spirits 
 seem to agree as to what is the truth, any more than two mortals. 
 The only thing, it seems, really learned by the spirits thus far, is, 
 that man is immortal — that spirits can communicate with those 
 left in the flesh, and that, by patient waiting and examination, we 
 may yet be brought into closer communication and approximate 
 nearer the truth. I am aware that persons are not wanting who 
 declare that they have found the truth, and that good and enlight- 
 ened spirits have confirmed all the views they promulgate. Here 
 we are confused by a knowledge that various conflicting views are 
 declared to emanate from the same high authority, even as old 
 theological disputants declare that theirs is the true faith, and 
 that no other has the sanction of the Bible. Already, in many 
 localities, different divisions of spiritualists have exhibited not a 
 little of that bitterness of feeling which has ever disgusted sensi- 
 ble men with the contending religions of all times. 
 
 Two general divisions are already seen among the spiritualists 
 of our day. They may be characterized, in brief, as Bible and 
 anti-Bible. Perhaps these terms do not sufficiently define what 
 they are, but it is certain that one division are quite free to apply 
 to the other anti-Bible, and that too in a way to imply reproach. 
 They apply it to all persons who do not admit that a ray of infal- 
 lible inspiration runs through the Bible, from one end to the other, 
 and illumines every page. To believe that the Bible contains 
 great beauty, truth, inspiration — records of wonderful and beau- 
 tiful manifestations of spiritual power, interference, admonition, 
 and warning — that the sublime precepts therein contained have 
 never been improved upon by all the progress of ages, and may 
 never be, because truth is one and eternal ; and, at the • same 
 time, that many things contained in it are records of vice, corrup- 
 tion, sensuality, and sin, and that the pretended commands of Grod 
 to commit certain acts of abominations, had their origin in the 
 savage and inhuman customs of Jewish kings and patriarchal 
 libertines, rather than in any being possessed of goodness, purity, 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 379 
 
 and wisdom; — to think thus, I say, subjects the ones entertaining 
 such opinions to the charge of infidel and " anti-Bible," from 
 another portion of spiritualists ; while some who entertain these 
 latter views look upon those who, educated from infancy to place 
 unbounded confidence in the authority of the Bible, have not 
 changed their opinions, nor seen any reason to do so on embracing 
 spiritualism, as bigots and extremely anti-progressive. These are 
 the two extremes, between which all intermediate grades may be 
 found which blend into each other so closely as to be hardly dis- 
 tinguishable. As in most other things, this intermediate class 
 forms the liberal and tolerant one in the new doctrine. Doubt- 
 less, spiritualism will modify the theology of the world, and, by 
 degrees, work an entire change in the religious opinions of Chris- 
 tendom and the whole world. It has, undoubtedly, a tendency to 
 liberalize and enlighten, and to bring together all minds on the 
 one point of immortality. Thus united on one subject, so long 
 enveloped in doubt and darkness, it will, almost of necessity, pro- 
 duce, ultimately, more harmony than has heretofore existed in the 
 liberal world. It is probable, too, that spirits will also improve 
 on the mode of communication, which will give us more proofs of 
 identity, and enable us to more clearly understand what they 
 wish to convey to us. Now, as before stated, spirits confirm, or 
 seem to, all the various opinions of individuals, except on some 
 of the more tangible part of spirit existence. On the subject of 
 the existence of a great first cause we have no new proofs or 
 revelations. The probability is that spirits generally know but 
 little, if any, more about how, where, or in what form the Deity 
 . exists, than we mortals. I see nothing in the new revelations 
 that would, of necessity, lead an atheist to change his views. The 
 most confirmed atheist may believe in immortality and be a refined 
 spiritualist. More than this, he can get his views sanctioned by 
 spirits as readily as the most devout believer in any of the thousand 
 forms in which popular theology has clothed the Author of 
 Nature. The anthropomorphism of the Jews, and most professing 
 Christians, and the pantheism of the admirers of nature as God, 
 
380 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 
 
 may all find spirits — good spirits, too — to agree with them. I 
 say good spirits, for I would not sanction the folly of condemning 
 spirits or men either for a difference of opinion, especially where 
 no positive, tangible proof could be produced. Spiritualists, of 
 all others, should avoid this imitation of venerable (by time) and 
 gray-haired bigotry. 
 
 In the fanaticism which follows naturally where a certain class 
 of minds embrace a new truth in morals, religion, or social 
 science, it is not strange that practices, which do not show the 
 good and purifying effects of their new conversion, should be 
 found. In all new social agitations and movements especially, is 
 there a tendency on the part of a class to make it responsible for 
 teaching whatever their former inclination leads them to. Thus 
 we have a class of spiritualists — or, more properly speaking, a 
 few individuals — who seek to make spiritualism responsible for the 
 doctrine and practice of what is known as Free Love — a philosophy 
 originating in religious fanaticism before modern spiritualism was 
 known. The same class of minds have followed in the footsteps 
 of all new and exciting social movements. If any one reads the 
 history of almost any new religious party, they will find the theory 
 of spiritual-wifeism with it. The Second Adventists, Perfection- 
 ists, Mormons and Spiritualists, are not alone followed by them. 
 "With the Mormons they triumphed ; with the others they have 
 fallen into disrepute, and mostly died out or separated from the 
 main body. The action of these few persons should not be allowed 
 to condemn any whole body with whom some of their opinions 
 are identical. They feed on excitement. Religious excitement 
 begets excitements of a different nature, and it follows in the 
 wake of revivals and camp-meetings as readily as in other popular 
 agitations. There are too many examples of this to attempt, at 
 this late day, to fasten it on spiritualism as a common belief or a 
 result of their particular theory. Just now an attempt is being 
 made to identify spiritualism with this theory of religious liber- 
 tinism, and many of the editors of the country are horrified at it ; 
 and some of them, while they meet in social circles, and hail as 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 381 
 
 their friends the great writers in favor of this free-love doctrine, 
 recognizing them as part of the literati of New York, and worthy 
 to associate with their wives, daughters and families. Let such 
 cease to countenance the chiefs of " modern times " and the 
 " Soft-downs," — who publish papers and write books, and, under the 
 name of physiology and philosophy, openly advocate the abroga- 
 tion of marriage ; or, still worse, the violation of the marriage 
 obligation at the pleasure of either of the parties, and for the 
 time being, — before they undertake to condemn a whole body of 
 people — numbering two millions — on account of the theory or 
 practice of a mere handful of the disciples of a Lazarus, a James, 
 an Andrews or a Nichols. 
 
 In the preceding pages I have glanced at the different phases 
 as they came up in different localities. As the remarks apply to 
 a very early period in most of the places, some of the different 
 forms were not noticed at length. Most of the present readers 
 know what they are. They do not vary in different localities. In 
 most of the early cases the first intimations the mediums had 
 were from the sounds and rappings, and moving of furniture 
 without any person being in contact with it. The table-moving, 
 assembling around it and placing the hands upon it, was not 
 known until nearly or quite four years after the first demonstra- 
 tions. Previous to that, all the moving was done without contact ; 
 and it must be admitted that the movements, under such circum- 
 stances, gave much less chance for suspicion. After the rapping 
 and moving, followed pointing out the letters on a card by the 
 involuntary movement of mediums' hand. Then came writing, 
 speaking, drawing, painting, and various other forms. Many ways 
 need the strictest scrutiny, as it is difficult to detect which is 
 spiritual and which an emanation from the mind of the medium. 
 This is particularly the case with writing and speaking. So much 
 can be done by the human mind without the aid of spirits, when 
 in certain peculiar conditions, that it is not safe to say that spirits 
 are writing or speaking, without the most positive proofs. Such 
 proofs have been abundant, and the tests satisfactory to thousands. 
 
382 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, ETC. 
 
 Still, much self-deception exists in regard to mediumship, and 
 through this many have been deceived, and many, seeing no proof 
 of spiritual power, have left the investigations in disgust, unwil- 
 ling to spend their time where assertions were given instead of 
 proof, and where a nervous action was claimed to be the work of 
 spirits out of the flesh. Let none be deceived by mistaken 
 mediums. The more common the belief in spiritualism becomes, 
 the more danger of taking for granted without proof. " Try the 
 spirits " and the mediums too. Let no false delicacy prevent any 
 reasonable test. Let us never have the mortification of being 
 believers on insufficient evidence ; for we are often called upon to 
 state the facts of our experience. Let it be such that it cannot 
 be doubted ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE CONTROVERSY OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 EARLY COMMENTS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 In the previous part of this work I have had occasion, incidentally, 
 to speak of the opposition encountered from the time the spiritual 
 manifestations were first made public. It was very briefly noticed 
 when the rappings first commenced in Hydesville, by The Wayne 
 County Democrat, published at Newark, two miles from the residence of 
 the Fox family. I never saw the notice, and think it was not copied by 
 the press elsewhere. After the removal of the girls to Rochester, there 
 was but little said of it, other than an occasional paragraph by the 
 way of ridiculing the idea of anything spiritual. For many months 
 this was ail the information to be had on that subject through the 
 newspapers. 
 
 During Catharine Fox's visit to Auburn, in the summer of 1849, 
 the Auburn Daily Advertiser attacked, with great virulence, all who 
 had anything to do with investigating the subject. As mentioned ire 
 a former chapter, that paper first attempted to prevent an investiga- 
 tion by publishing the falsehood that old Mr. Fox had been detected 
 in making it by machinery. This charge was answered by Mr. H. D. 
 Barron, who was a boarder in the house where Catharine was visiting, 
 and knew the charges to be false. Considerable discussion was carried 
 on for a few days, but the gross unfairness of the editor disgusted the 
 friends, and all prospect of a fair hearing in that quarter was aban- 
 doned. A small paper, edited by Thurlow W. Brown, called the 
 Daily Bulletin, also had a few paragraphs of attempted wit on the 
 subject, but made no attempt to impeach the honesty of persons en- 
 gaged in the investigation. The Rochester Daily News, edited by John 
 W. Hum, noticed the controversy going on in Auburn, and spoke 
 very fairly on the subject. 
 
884 APPENDIX. 
 
 The first articles, explaining at length the facts, as far as they had 
 then transpired, were written by the author of this work, and pub- 
 lished, in three letters, in the Boston Chronotype, in the month of July, 
 1849. The first letter was introduced by Mr. Wright, the editor, by 
 the following paragraph : 
 
 " The Other "World. — The following letter, from a highly respect- 
 able source, gives the details of an affair which is beginning to get 
 notoriety through the newspapers in Central New York. The writer 
 refers us to a large number of gentlemen, most of whom are well 
 known to us as men of intelligence and void of superstition, as wit- 
 nesses of the singular noises of which he speaks. What theory will 
 finally be confirmed by the facts, — whether that of mesmerism and 
 clairvoyance, or that of Swedenborg, or that of the extreme liability 
 of the senses to illusion, — we cannot distinctly predict. But the pop- 
 ular excitement already existing brings the subject fairly within our 
 newspaper range, and we thank our correspondent for his communica- 
 tion. It is a blessed thought that nobody will be hanged for these 
 noises, and we trust nobody will be seriously frightened." 
 
 The letters briefly set forth the facts and actual occurrences, up to 
 the time they were written, — the commencement with the Fox family ; 
 its progress in Rochester, Auburn, and other places, and quoted largely 
 from the memoirs of the Wesley family, to show that the same occur- 
 rences were known in that family, and that Dr. Adam Clarke endorsed 
 the narrative in that case, and added that he had frequently been cog- 
 nizant of similar facts in other places and different families. They 
 also briefly alluded to the several theories which were thus early ad- 
 vanced to account for the phenomena, such as ventriloquism, machin- 
 ery, electro-magnetism, &c. 
 
 The articles were extensively noticed and commented upon, generally 
 in the spirit of ridicule and derision, unless by some member of the 
 religious press, who gravely pronounced it blasphemy. 
 
 Very little real discussion was called out until the public investiga- 
 tion in Rochester, in November, 1849. The first notice of those meet- 
 ings was as follows : 
 
 " Wonderful Phenomena, at Corinthian Hall, on Wednesday 
 Evening, Nov. 14. — The citizens of Rochester will have an opportu- 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 nity of hearing a full explanation of the nature and history of the 
 ' mysterious noises ' supposed to be supernatural, which have caused 
 so much excitement in this city and other places for the last two years. 
 The whole directions, in regard to bringing it before the public, have 
 been given by these ' mysterious agencies,' and they have promised to 
 give the public an actual demonstration of the sounds, so that they 
 may know that they are neither made nor controlled by human beings. 
 Let the citizens of Rochester embrace this opportunity of investigating 
 the whole matter, and see if those engaged in laying it before the pub- 
 lic are deceived, or are deceiving others, and if neither, account for 
 these truly wonderful manifestations. After the lecture, a committee 
 otfive persons may be chosen by the audience to select any respectable 
 and convenient room in the city, where the next day may be devoted 
 to an examination of these manifestations, and report at the next even- 
 ing's lecture whether there is collusion or deception. Come and inves- 
 tigate." 
 
 The Rochester Daily Advertiser gave the following notice of the call 
 for the meeting : 
 
 " Something New and Mysterious. — It will be seen, by reference 
 to our advertising columns, that Corinthian Hall is this evening to be 
 the theatre of very new and startling developments, or the exposure of 
 one of the most cunningly-devised and long-continued impositions ever 
 practised in this or any other community. 
 
 " There are but few persons in this city who have not heard of the 
 ' mysterious rappings,' although they have given heed to it only as 
 ' an idle tale, such as nurses frighten balbes withal.' Some of the ' be- 
 lievers ' have been ' directed by these agencies ' to expose it to a public 
 audience at Corinthian Hall, and offer very fair chances for giving the 
 matter a candid investigation. "We hope our citizens will embrace the 
 present opportunity of testing it, and exposing the fraud, if it be one, 
 and if not be satisfied what it is. 
 
 " Whatever may be the facts in the case, there is certainly an ap- 
 pearance of candor on the part of those who bring it before the 
 public." 
 
 The proceedings at the meeting, and the comments, to some extent, 
 I have given in the chapter on Rochester, and need not repeat it in this 
 33 
 
386 APPENDIX. 
 
 place. After the committees had failed to detect fraud, and so reported, 
 the press in different parts of the country commenced a discussion — 
 or generally an attack — on the subject. Some of these I propose to 
 put on record for the purpose of showing how the advent of what now 
 appears to be of great importance was received. 
 From the Rochester Evening News : 
 
 " Mr. Editor : — With your permission I would like to say a few 
 words about the ghosts that have so startled our citizens from their 
 propriety for a few nights past In the first place, I would say that I 
 have no faith whatever in the 'spiritual manifestations,' as they are 
 called ; for I believe that those who have played their parts on the 
 stage of mortality have more important offices to perform than rapping ■ 
 on the floor in answer to questions which the inquirers know more 
 about than all the ghosts that people the invisible world. If they be 
 spirits, and have power to move tables and perform other feats in 
 mechanics, and desire that the community should know this, why do 
 they not display said power in the public hall, so as to be seen and 
 heard of all men? This would settle the question forever, and if it 
 can be done I would like to see it. 
 
 " But, whether such things can be performed or not, I have no doubt 
 whatever of the honesty of the parties concerned, and believe that the 
 phenomena is a new fact in natural philosophy that deserves and de- 
 mands the attention of scientific men. This is no common humbug, 
 as the reports of the various committees testify, and I consider the 
 conduct of the well-dressed rowdies who thronged the hall on Satur- 
 day night a disgrace to our city. Men of good standing in society, 
 Majors and minors, acted as if they had never been in a civilized meet- 
 ing before. I should not have been surprised at this if a cheat had 
 been discovered and exposed : but I had no idea that a suspicion of 
 fraud, which if true is of small consequence, would induce men who 
 claim to be respectable to act towards women in an indecent and un- 
 manly manner. T. H. R." 
 
 From the Advent Harbinger (second advent), Nov. 24, 1849 : 
 
 "Our city is all excitement about the mysterious rapping of the 
 professed ghosts of the dead, of which we spoke some months since. 
 But little has been heard of the matter for some time past, until a few 
 
APPENDIX. 387 
 
 days since it was announced that public lectures, in one of the most 
 spacious halls in the city, were to be given on the * wonderful phe- 
 nomena.' 
 
 " Large numbers have attended, — lectures have been given, — the 
 rappings have been heard by all. Committees of men of the highest 
 standing have been appointed by the audience to solve the mystery ; 
 but, as yet, their investigations have been in vain : they cannot tell 
 from whence the noise comes, nor how it is made. And it is no 
 marvel that they cannot, for the Bible is not their guide in this matter. 
 Would they look into that neglected book, the mystery would at once 
 be solved. They would learn that this spirit, which seems principally 
 to be an associate of certain women, is of the same character of the 
 familiar spirits so frequently spoken of and condemned in the Bible. 
 The character and works of those, and of this, or these, are similar ; 
 near enough alike to be of the same origin — viz., of the devil. 
 
 " Should the matter continue to spread, which it doubtless will (for 
 this age of immortal soulism, belief in departed ghosts or spirits of the 
 dead, a want of faith in the plain word of the Lord, and of mysticism, 
 is rife for just such things) , then we may speak more in detail of this 
 matter. 
 
 ' ' "We most sincerely entreat all not to give heed to this ' seducing 
 spirit and ductrine of devils,' which it teaches, but cleave to the word 
 of the Lord, hear his voice, and follow him, and all will be well. But 
 every other way leads down to the dark chambers of death." 
 
 In a very short time communications began to appear from different 
 quarters, giving well-authenticated accounts of rapping and other 
 manifestations, at different periods, which had remained a secret, fear- 
 ing the popular ridicule, until the public meetings and the investiga- 
 tions at Rochester encouraged them to speak out. A great mass of 
 facts soon came to light, by which people were made aware that these 
 were not entirely new manifestations. 
 
 In the following February the first pamphlet history appeared.* 
 The facts contained in this little work gave a new impulse to the dis- 
 cussion. The Tribune (New York) gave it a review of over two col- 
 umns in small type, and a very candid notice, considering the times 
 and the immense minority it was placed in by even allowing such a 
 
 * Capron & Barron, Auburn, N*. Y. 
 
388 APPENDIX. 
 
 matter a fair hearing. Other papers of New York city were most 
 vehement in its denunciation. The same day that the New York 
 Express published a notice of the pamphlet, it also published the fol- 
 lowing " expose :" 
 
 "The Rochester Spirits. — We have referred in our literary 
 notices to various noises heard at Rochester, N. Y., and attributed to 
 supernatural causes. In the New York Scientific American we find 
 the following very plausible, very plain, and very simple explanation : 
 
 " ' Supernatural Knocking. — A " knocking at the door " at nights, 
 which has alarmed the good people of Rochester, who attributed it to 
 spiritual agency, is explained in the American Journal of Science, by 
 Professor Loomis, as the effect of the vibration of a dam over which 
 the water falls. Professor Loomis describes this vibrating as pro- 
 ducing sounds like a loud knocking on the doors and walls of buildings, 
 and gives a particular account of the phenomena as observed at the 
 dams of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio ; East Windsor, Connecticut ; Spring- 
 field, Massachusetts ; Northampton, Massachusetts ; Gardiner, Maine ; 
 and Hartford, Connecticut. He attributes the vibrations to the fric- 
 tion of the running water which falls over the dam, and shows how 
 these sounds are transmitted to a distance by the earth, and produce 
 that sudden and alarming knocking sound in dwellings. Professor 
 Loomis has pointed out very simple and easy methods of checking this 
 vibratory action in the dams ; and the people of Rochester, who have 
 been troubled by an invisible spirit, will find it easily exorcised by 
 mechanical means.' 
 
 " ' philosophy and common sense, ye play the devil with theo- 
 ries !' said one of the snarlers of the days of the Encyclopedia." 
 
 The beauty of this was that Professor Loomis never uttered a word 
 in regard to it. The article in relation to vibrations from water-falls 
 was written years before, and was seized upon by the editors, who 
 thought they could use it for this purpose. The Express was easily 
 misled and hoaxed in regard to this matter. It received every theory 
 that came along, and called it an " Explosion of the Rochester Knock- 
 ings." This was about the first ; then it was taken in by the knee- 
 pan theory ; then the toe-snapping, then electricity, and several other 
 theories, and it endorsed them each as the explanation. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 OPINIONS OF PROFESSOR DEWEY, OF ROCHESTER. 
 
 389 
 
 Professor Dewey, of Rochester, is to be added to the long list of 
 learned men who gravely and quietly annihilated the whole phenomena. 
 He did it, through the columns of the Rochester Advertiser, by taking 
 Professor Loomis' dam theory, and adding his own theory of fraud, 
 and that only as far as the Fox family were concerned. His cool and 
 abusive letter was as follows : 
 
 " Mysterious Kxockixgs. — It is not wonderful that these knocking* 
 attract attention from those at a distance. Here, they are too well 
 understood to interest any but the credulous and the lovers of the 
 marvellous. The three sisters, who perform to the amazement and 
 delight of distant admirers, succeed admirably in keeping up the de- 
 ception and gaining money from their visitors. True, they do not ask 
 anything, but how can they refuse the money of one polite enough to 
 pay for their time employed for their pleasure. 
 
 " In volume 45 of Silliman's Journal, Professor Loomis has given a 
 statement of the effects of vibrating dams on the houses in their vicinity. 
 The facts presented by Prof. L. are very curious, but not very rare, as 
 he gives seven cases, and they are scattered over the country. Many 
 more could be mentioned. He proves that the dams vibrate from the 
 friction of the running water, and that the variations depend upon 
 accidental and obvious causes. At Springfield, Mass., the stone breast- 
 work vibrates. 
 
 "But the hnockings are not dependent on any such cause, but on the 
 voluntary efforts of bodies that are moved by the spirit in them, like 
 all cases of human action. They move about with the three sisters to 
 any part of the city, when the water in the river is high or low. cold 
 or warm, running over the dams and falls or not. The unbelievers pres- 
 ent are often sent out, as the spirit cannot perform in their presence. 
 The gullible find ample satisfaction, and some of them pay handsomely. 
 
 " It might be proper for the respectable papers in New York, Boston, 
 &c, which have excited so much attention over the country, to give 
 the true view of the case, and the general opinion of the intelligent 
 citizens of Rochester in respect to this deception. C. D." 
 
 This was replied to, the next day, by another correspondent, as 
 follows : 
 
 33* 
 
300 APPENDIX. 
 
 " The Mysterious Rappings. — Your correspondent, C. D., admits 
 that the theory of Professor Loomis, viz., ' the vibrations produced by 
 water-falls,' does not explain the mysterious sounds heard in this city 
 and vicinity. Any person -who has heard these sounds must be aware 
 that no such theory can explain them, for the obvious reason that the 
 sounds are controlled by intelligence. There are evidences of intellect 
 governing these sounds too strong to be resisted. How are the 
 sounds made, and by what mind are they controlled ? These are the 
 questions that many ' incredulous ' persons, and who are not ' lovers 
 of the marvellous,' would like to have C. D. answer satisfactorily. 
 True, he asserts that ' the three sisters, who perform to the amusement 
 and delight of distant admirers, succeed admirably in keeping up the 
 deception ;' but this is mere assertion, — let us have the proof. The 
 assertions of ' so learned a Theban' as 0. D. will not pass for proof in 
 this case. If this ' deception' is ' too well understood here to interest 
 any but the credulous,' CD. owes it to the community that have 
 cherished him, sustained him, and painted his portrait, to explain the 
 deception and put a stop to the delusion. 
 
 "CD. says the sounds ' move about to any part of the city with 
 the three sisters. ' The same intelligent sounds have been heard here 
 when the ' three sisters ' were not in the city, and are by no means 
 confined to their presence. I have heard intelligent replies (by sounds) 
 to questions when neither of the ' three sisters ' were present. The 
 general opinion of the intelligent citizens of Rochester may be that 
 these sounds are a ' deception ; ' — so much the greater need that the 
 ignorant and credulous should be enlightened by those by whom the 
 deception is ' well understood.' Many very honest, conscientious and 
 pious people believe these sounds are produced by inhabitants of the 
 spiritual world. Let the learned savans who arrogate exclusive knowl- 
 edge of spiritual affairs, and are too disinterested (of course) to ask or 
 receive money for their spiritual ministrations, show that the spirits 
 they profess to believe in cannot commune with mortals, — exist at too 
 remote a point to know aught of human affairs, — or are too intangi- 
 ble to produce a concussion that may vibrate upon the human ear. 
 
 "A. B." 
 
 DR. LANGWORTHY AMENDS HIS REPORT. 
 
 On one of the committees of investigation at Rochester was a young 
 doctor by the name of Langworthy. He was exceedingly chagrined 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 at being forced to acknowledge his total inability to find out the cause 
 of the sounds, and being obliged to report to the audience that they 
 were satisfied that the sounds were not made by the girls. (See re- 
 port of committees in Chap. IV.) 
 
 Fearing his popularity might be injured, or being ridiculed by some 
 friend who wrote to him, he wrote a letter to an acquaintance in 
 Michigan, which was published in various papers, as follows : 
 
 " ' The committee appointed to inquire into the matter came to the 
 conclusion to test the affair by placing the girls to whom the knocking 
 was always concomitant upon a table, and at the same time placing 
 their hands (the committee's) on the young ladies' feet. Strange to 
 say, whether animal magnetism were the cause or not, the knocking 
 uniformly ceased, or rather, did not begin. A similar effect was pro- 
 duced by tying a band around that portion of the ladies' dresses which 
 corresponds with gentlemen's inexpressibles. There was not the slight- 
 est doubt that if the young women had been examined by ' a jury of 
 matrons,' and sans culottes, all would have been explained in the most 
 satisfactory manner. The committee were, however, all men, and 
 could not administer in extremis. A report to this effect was made to 
 fifteen hundred citizens of Rochester, in public meeting, the result of 
 which was the last public appearance of the supernaturals.' It is 
 however said that there are still persons who have a faith in the mat- 
 ter, and that at a certain domicil in Troup-street, — a rather suspicious 
 neighborhood, if we remember correctly, — the knocking, with various 
 other entertainments, is regularly repeated. Professor Loomis, it will 
 be remembered, accounted for these noises by stating that it seemed to 
 be a vibratory sound produced by the rush of water over a mill-dam ; 
 but Mr. Langworthy is entitled to the palm. If this account be true, 
 sundry of the mysticists of the day should be turned over to the care 
 of Dogberry, or some as sensible custodian of the public morals and 
 peace." 
 
 By turning to the report, the reader will see that there was a com- 
 mittee of ladies who disrobed the two girls, and that this fact alone 
 should be sufficient to answer his statements. Instead of his reporting 
 to an audience of fifteen hundred, there were but two hundred and 
 eighty persons in the hall the night his report were made, — which 
 report was favorable to the girls, he saying, with his own mouth, that 
 
392 APPENDIX. 
 
 " it could not be made by machinery." The real fact was that Dr. L. 
 wrote to his friend, not expecting to be placed in the awkward position 
 he was, by having it published ; but men seldom run a long career in 
 trying to maintain two positions entirely opposite without exposure. 
 
 JOHN W. HURN. 
 
 In the months of January and February, 1850, a number of articles 
 from the pen of John W. Hum (then of Rochester) were published iu 
 the New York Tribune, in which he attacked the character of media, 
 and all persons who had any connection w r ith them. The chief points 
 assumed were, that the sounds were electrical, and under the control 
 of the media ; or that they were in some way connected with animal 
 magnetism and clairvoyance. He averred that none but clairvoyants 
 were mediums ; — that the Fox girls never could get the sounds when 
 they were completely isolated from the floor ; — that the moving of 
 tables, and all phenomena commonly known as physical manifesta- 
 tions, never occurred unless in the dark, and therefrom drew the infer- 
 ence of fraud ; — that the " spirit claimed to know, at all times and 
 seasons, what persons are thinking, writing, or doing, — what their 
 names are, — how many children they have, — how many are dead, 
 — whether they are single or married, — and how old they are." He 
 then declares that nine times out of ten the answers are false, so far 
 as his own experience is concerned ; and concludes thus : 
 
 " In conclusion, I would remark that although there are some cir- 
 cumstances connected with the subject which cannot be explained by 
 any recognized laws of physiology or philosophy, yet the great pre- 
 ponderance goes to prove the whole affair, from beginning to end, the 
 most miserable imposition ever attempted to be palmed off upon a 
 civilized community. 
 
 " There is prima facie evidence of fraud in the fact that when any- 
 thing more than knocking is done, all daylight, or candle-light, is ex- 
 cluded, and even the cracks of doors stuffed with rags." 
 
 In this same letter he affirms that he knew of frauds practised by the 
 media at the very time he was investigating and pretending to believe 
 it. In a subsequent letter he declared that he had entered into a 
 league with the Fox girls to procure some peculiar ink for the girls to 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 write on the wall, and have it appear after a short time. He also 
 etated that he agreed to write for them, under pretence that it was 
 spirits, to hand to some " victim ;" and agreed to hit some persons on 
 the head, to make them believe it was done by spirits. I have been 
 informed by the Fox family that Hum did offer to procure a writing 
 compound, as he described, and that the offer was looked upon as a 
 joke, and never noticed farther, or attempted or expected to be put 
 in execution. 
 
 These letters were answered by the author and by Mr. George Wil- 
 lets, reviewing each point of his statements, and contradicting the un- 
 generous insinuations, or bold charges of fraud, against the Fox family. 
 At that time, all the vague statements of Mr. Hurn were readily re- 
 tailed out by the press, which generally took sides with any rumor or 
 unfounded assertion, if it were only in opposition to the spirituality 
 of the manifestations. 
 
 REV. DR. POTTS CRACKS HIS TOES. 
 
 In the winter of 1850, Rev. Dr. Potts delivered a lecture before a 
 literary association in Rochester, and there broached the toe-joint 
 theory. He stood upon the stage in Corinthian Hall and cracked his 
 toes, to the great delight of his literary audience. This, he gravely 
 contended, was the explanation of the "Rochester Rapping." He 
 was the first one who publicly exhibited that theory, and should not 
 be robbed of the honor by a more noisy ex-Rev. in the person of C. C. 
 Burr, who afterwards caught the idea, and lectured through the coun- 
 try to establish the truth of it. 
 
 THE ROCHESTER DAILY AMERICAN. 
 
 About this time, the Rochester Daily American, edited by Alexander 
 Mann, published an editorial article of two columns' length, the first it 
 had written of any length on the subject. The editor evidently thought 
 it time that he should have a " leader " on the subject, and record his 
 wisdom, before he was in rear of all his brother editors. So he com- 
 mences thus : 
 
 " It is no part of our purpose to show, by argument, that the « mys- 
 terious knocking ' is not a spiritual manifestation. Those who could 
 
394 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 require reasoning upon such a subject are in a state of mind which 
 renders them impregnable to logic. They are best left to the opera- 
 tions of returning common sense. We have not witnessed the knock- 
 ing. We have not visited the house, or any place where it is heard. 
 It was impossible for us to recognize any obligation to ' investigate ' a 
 thing of this sort before pronouncing it an imposture. Any obloquy 
 which we may thus have incurred at the hands of believers is easily 
 borne, in comparison with the reflection that we could, even for a 
 moment, have supposed such preposterous nonsense the result of spirit- 
 ual agency, or a revelation from the unseen world." 
 
 Mr. Mann closed his long and extremely wise article in the following 
 profound manner : 
 
 ' ' We may be asked how it is that so many people believe in the 
 sjriirituality of the ' knocking.' We wish ive could give a satisfactory 
 answer. That so large a portion of the community have suffered 
 themselves to be humbugged, is more wonderful than any of the spirits' 
 pretended performances. Something is due to the fact that some re- 
 spectable gentlemen consented to act as a committee to witness the 
 wonder. True, they did not profess any faith, but the mere connection 
 of their names with the affair gave it a consequence which they neither 
 intended nor expected. Journals at a distance, by treating with a 
 show of respect the absurd pretensions of the ' ghost,' have done still 
 more to mislead the public. But the race of the ghost is nearly 
 run. There must be a limit to credulity, and we think it is almost 
 reached." 
 
 Time has already shown how true a prophet held the place of editor 
 of the American ; but he has the consolation of knowing that he erred 
 with the majority. 
 
 NEW YORK COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER. 
 
 Here is the grave opinion of the editor of the New York Commercial 
 Advertiser : 
 
 " Those Rochester Knockings. — We perceive that a gentleman is 
 in town lecturing on divers matters of inscrutable physiology, and en- 
 
APPENDIX. 395 
 
 deavoring to establish soma connection between them and the ' rap- 
 pings ' of the pretended spirits at Rochester, available for a satisfactory 
 explanation of the latter. We are satisfied that, so far as the rappings 
 are concerned, the gentleman may spare himself the trouble of dis- 
 coursing on the subject. We have had a long and instructive conver- 
 sation with a gentleman of intelligence, from the vicinity of Rochester, 
 who has taken some trouble to acquaint himself with the facts of those 
 mysterious rappings, since they have been so much talked of; and his 
 account makes it perfectly clear to our minds that the mystery is not 
 only an imposture, but a very clumsy one, — indebted for its success, 
 so far, entirely to the credulity of the auditors and spectators who are 
 impressed by it. We say entirely to the credulity, for the clumsiness 
 of the imposture is actually so great, there is so little art in the means 
 adopted to avert detection, that people have literally to shut their eyes to 
 avoid seeing. (//) 
 
 ' ' The only point in which there is any successful trick is the manner 
 by which the rapping is effected. It is easy enough to see, if people 
 do not wilfully shut their eyes, that the girls effect the rapping some- 
 how. For instance, if they are prevented from placing themselves in 
 close proximity to a door, a table, a piano, or some other object to rap 
 on, the rapping very soon ceases ; — ' the spirits will not communicate 
 any longer.' As for the moving of the table, anybody can see how that 
 is done ; in fact, persons have been heard to acknowledge that they did 
 it to carry on the joke. A slight impulse with the foot gives a move- 
 ment to the table, which runs, very easily, on rollers ; and as the spec- 
 tators are required to gather close round the table when it is to be 
 moved, nothing can be easier than for one of them to give it a start 
 with an imperceptible push merely of the toe of his boot. As for the 
 other mysteries, — the hands applied to the faces, the playing of musi- 
 cal instruments, taking combs out of ladies' hair, &c, — these are all 
 done in the dark. Of course it is easy to conceive who are the actors. 
 
 " A sufficient explanation of the whole humbug is supplied by the 
 fact that money is made by it, and that the money is shared by a con- 
 siderable number of persons. The three girls and their mother are be- 
 lieved to be in receipt of from fifty to one hundred dollars per diem from 
 visitors. As they themselves say, the thing works very well. Mr. Ca- 
 pron, who is or was a journeyman printer, sells his pamphlet as fast as 
 it can be supplied. A young man, who officiates in some sort as director 
 or manager of the girls, has talked quite freely about coming to New 
 
396 APPENDIX. 
 
 York with them, and making an engagement with ' Barnum,' saying 
 that they could get fifty dollars each per week, but that they could do 
 better than that, perhaps, by staying at Rochester. 
 
 " In short, we are entirely satisfied, as we were in part by the letter 
 in the Boston Transcript, that the mystery is a mere trick ; and we 
 have no doubt that the girls could easily be induced, by a sufficient 
 offer, to own up the whole story, and tell how they have managed their 
 part of the imposture." 
 
 I immediately wrote to the editor of this journal to contradict the 
 falsehoods. I informed him that I was not a printer, and had never 
 set a line of type in my life ; and that this would probably satisfy the 
 public as to the reliability of his information. This statement he re- 
 fused to publish, and never did contradict the falsehood. Such was 
 the fairness of a journal that claims to be the organ of piety and com- 
 merce in the city of New York. 
 
 MAJOR M. M. NOAH. 
 
 Major M. M. Noah, of the Sunday Times, announced that " the 
 wonder-swallowers must find new food for their credulity, for the 
 Rochester mystery is exploded." The major has passed to the world 
 of spirits, and his name is forgotten by the great mass of those who 
 knew him ; yet that which he pronounced " exploded " has overspread 
 the civilized world, and is daily gaining converts. What a comment 
 on the short-sightedness of man ! 
 
 NORTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. 
 
 The Northern Christian Advocate, published at Auburn, N. Y., one 
 of the organs of the Methodist Episcopal Church, assailed all who had 
 anything to do with the investigation, in the following malicious 
 article : 
 
 " For the information of several friends at a distance, who have 
 written to us to know about the strange noises which are heard in this 
 city, we would say that we know nothing of the matter. Not being 
 overstocked with gullibility, and having very little taste for the low 
 marvels which furnish entertainment to some people, we have left the 
 
APPENDIX. 397 
 
 thing to take care of itself. The class of persons who chiefly deal in 
 these mysteries — we mean the juggling, sight-seeing, and sceptical — 
 makes all inquiry into the subject disgusting to a firm believer in 
 revelation. It has been reported, for a few months past, that there 
 are mysterious rappings at two or three places in town ; but whether 
 these noises are natural or supernatural is unknown, except to the 
 coterie of initiated wonder-workers. These affirm that, through their 
 familiars, they have quite a ready access to the spiritual world, hold- 
 ing converse with Wesley, Swedenborg, Paul, and other great names 
 among the departed ; which is certainly a consolation, as the persons 
 in question have very little intercourse with people of respectability m 
 this world. We are pleased if they keep better company elsewhere. 
 
 " The question, by itself, is one of gravest import. While we repel 
 Mormonism in all its phases, and treat with merited contempt the 
 profane mockeries of vulgar impostors, we acknowledge that a candid 
 examination is due to whatever has any just claims to a supernatural 
 character. The Scriptures are full on the point. No one can deny 
 the possibility of our being visited by inhabitants of the invisible state. 
 The abstract possibility of such a thing, however, does not authorize 
 us to lay aside our senses, and receive, as veritable communications 
 from above or below, all that may be foisted upon us by the arts of 
 deception. Both good and evil spirits have access to this lower world, 
 and doubtless have much to do with the actions of men ; but their 
 influence is ordinarily disguised ; they act upon our being, through 
 the agency of another, as Satan did through the serpent, when he 
 tempted Eve. They may act independently of all such agencies, and 
 in that case we can only judge of their presence by the absence of 
 other known or imaginable causes. We are to ' try the spirits,' — 
 that is, bring their character and pretensions to an unequivocal test, 
 that we may not be the victims of human ignorance or Satanic artifice. 
 If these knockings continue among us long enough to enlist a little 
 more intelligence than has hitherto scanned them, the public will very 
 likely be satisfied of their true character. We have thus far believed 
 it to be sheer imposture, not worth going a rod to see, nor deserving 
 the slightest notice from the press. Our principal reason for this 
 opinion is, the extreme imbecility of everything connected with these 
 revelations, and this, whether we consider the revelations themselves 
 or the persons to whom they are made. The devil is not a fool, and 
 if he is really the author — a fact we are not disposed to question — 
 34 r- 
 
398 APPENDIX. 
 
 of these strange communications, we imagine there is some intervening 
 agency to share with him the guilt of such silly falsehoods. 
 
 " We have now pretty fully declared our sentiments, and shall not 
 further trouble the reader, except it be to assure him that if there is 
 any new light shed upon this mysterious subject, he shall be early 
 apprized of the fact." 
 
 Rev. A. H. Jervis, a Methodist clergyman of Rochester, wrote an 
 answer and sent to this Christian Advocate ; but his brother ministers 
 refused to let him defend himself in their columns. It appeared in 
 the Cayuga Chief, published at the same place. It was as follows : 
 
 " Rochester, February 18th, 1850. 
 
 " Mr. Editor: — In your 46th No., for Feb. 13th, while looking 
 over your valuable paper, I notice a caption, ' The Mysterious Knock- 
 bigs.' On reading the article thereto appended, several points seemed 
 to me to need, and even demand, some further notice, by way of candid 
 reply. Now, Mr. Editor, and brother minister, let me ask, with all 
 due respect, would not that honesty which is always the best policy, 
 when you were inquired of by your distant friends concerning a sub- 
 ject which in your first sentence you say you ' know nothing of,' have 
 prompted you to have directed their anxious inquiries after knowledge 
 and truth to those who do know and are able to satisfy them by in- 
 contestable facts ? By your voluntary and honest assertion of your 
 entire ignorance of the whole matter, perhaps your reflecting ' distant 
 inquiring friends ' will fully appreciate all you have said in your after 
 remarks. But is it honorable to use all your sagacity and strength of 
 mind to prejudice your friends against — you know not what — whether 
 good or evil — and to thus assail the characters of your fellow-citizens 
 and Christian brethren, because they happen to be in possession of pos- 
 itive facts where you are willingly ignorant ? You say those who have 
 investigated this matter are 'juggling and sceptical.' It is easy to 
 ridicule what you have no knowledge of, or argument to meet ; but 
 facts are stubborn things, and we may as well be willing to meet them 
 first as last, for meet them we must. 
 
 " You next affirm that the coterie, or club society, have professed to 
 hold converse with the spirits of those whose names were respected in 
 this world. At this you are pleased, as they are persons who hold no 
 respectable fellowship with society of the living. Now, I shall only 
 
APPENDIX. 399 
 
 speak for one in this matter, as I know for myself, and not another, 
 what have been my principles in choosing my associates. I have 
 chosen, for thirty-three years, to be a member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, and for thirty years have held the relation of a minister in 
 said church ; and when I look at the list of names composing the pub- 
 lishing committee of your paper, I see the first, third, fourth and fifth 
 are among the men with whom I have enjoyed the warmest friendship 
 and Christian sympathy, and I cannot now think they are men of little 
 respectability in the world ; but still they are fallible, and may err in 
 some points, but this does not destroy my regard and love for them. 
 Again, it is stated that none who are engaged in this matter believe in 
 the Scriptures, which are full on the point that the invisible inhabit- 
 ants of the spirit- world have communicated with men on earth. At 
 that I rejoice, for in that connection you enforce the duty to try the 
 spirits. Yes, / say try the spirits, whether in the body or out of the 
 body ; but how can we try them if we would not go a rod to ascertain 
 the fact whether we may enjoy the blessed privilege of holding sweet 
 communion with the saints in light, and our dear departed friends 
 who may be sent forth as ministering spirits, to minister to us, if we 
 are resolved to be heirs of salvation ? 
 
 " Next, the imbecility of those engaged in the investigation of this 
 subject has heretofore been your reason for not employing the press in 
 scattering light on this matter ; but you hesitate not to employ the 
 press, a tremendous engine, to assail character. Now, if the Rev. editor 
 means to call us weak-minded who have examined for ourselves, and 
 know what we have seen, and felt, and heard, and think the evidence 
 of our senses and judgment may be depended upon, I, for one, am will- 
 ing to be considered such by him. If an honest inquiry as to what 
 are my privileges here, and what my destiny hereafter, incur the 
 charge of imbecility, I would ask the clerical gentleman if he considers 
 all weak-minded whom he may have been instrumental in persuading 
 to look into spiritual matters ? 
 
 " In conclusion, I have been enjoying the best opportunity for calmly 
 investigating, for almost two years, in company with judges, lawyers, 
 doctors, and citizens of all professions and callings, as well as ministers 
 and members of different churches, and infidels, of course, — for many 
 of them have seemed to give the matter a more careful investigation 
 than some rigid sectarians, — and the result has been salutary in many 
 
400 APPENDIX. 
 
 instances.* I say, after all this privilege, and the positive knowledge 
 I have, I am far, very far, from calling all ' sheer imposture.'' 
 
 " I do not wish the editor to construe anything I have written as 
 unkind or unfriendly; for even the angel, when conversing with a 
 wrangling spirit, said, ' The Lord rebuke thee.' 
 
 " ASAHEL II . JERVIS." 
 
 In speaking of a slight criticism on the course of that paper, which 
 appeared in the second edition of the first history, this Christian Advo- 
 cate made the following conclusive paragraph : 
 
 " It is a thankless task to meddle with this rickety.supernaturalism, 
 as it seems to imply a sort of temerity. Many no doubt think it as 
 presumptuous to speak freely of these bald impostures as they would 
 to speak thus of the Bible, not remembering that the pretensions of 
 the one are as different from the other as heaven is from hell. The 
 disguises of infidelity are to be torn off, however reluctant those may 
 be who wear them. These spirits have too much corporeity about 
 them, — the spell is not well laid, — the trick is a failure. The authors 
 may sell another thousand of their Revelations, but the work will soon 
 be as dead as the Univercoelum, or mesmeric revelations of A. J. Davis. 
 It has ever been the policy of Satan to disparage the true revelation, 
 by means of his own lying wonders. ' We are not ignorant of his 
 devices.' The game is not new. Infidelity is at the bottom of this 
 matter. Let our friends beware." 
 
 This was written in 1849, and it is presumed that the editor is very 
 much astonished that that which he pronounced a " rickety supernat- 
 uralism" only five years before, should now have over a million of be- 
 lievers, and become a theme of discussion in all the civilized world. 
 It is a curious comment on the want of foresight among those who 
 assume to be the religious guides of the age. 
 
 AUBURN DAILY ADVERTISER. 
 
 About the same time that the above appeared, the Auburn Daily 
 Advertiser declared that " The mystery had pretty much ceased to 
 
 * " I could write a volume of facts, but facts are not what you seem now 
 to desire. You wish to wait until ethers have made it popular for you to 
 fall in the rear and receive them." 
 
APrENDIX. 
 
 401 
 
 excite an interest in the minds of the few who have heretofore inclined 
 to the belief that the noises were produced by a supernatural agency." 
 The editor then announces himself a convert to the science of toe-ology. 
 
 REV. JOHN M. AUSTIN. 
 
 On the 27th of March, 1850, Rev. John M. Austin, a Universalist 
 clergyman of Auburn (now editor of the Christian Ambassador), wrote 
 a letter to the Tribune, which that paper headed " A Settler," putting 
 himself on record, in regard to the matter. He had been three times 
 to hear the sounds, and received no satisfactory answers to his ques- 
 tions, although some of the spirits claimed to be apostles and prophets. 
 On this small experience, it is no marvel that the testimony of so dis- 
 tinguished a man should be taken negatively against all the positive 
 facts that had been or could be stated by those who had investigated 
 for two years nearly every day. Mr. Austin treated the subject very 
 candidly, presenting a strange contrast to his more orthodox brethren 
 of the cloth. Of the believers in the spirituality of the manifestations, 
 he says : " This class is comparatively small in numbers. It is com- 
 posed of persons of the various religious sects, and some who sympa- 
 thize with no denomination. To the extent of my knowledge, they 
 are an intelligent, upright and worthy class of people. I have no 
 doubt of their perfect sincerity ; nor do I believe they would be guilty 
 of deception, or any dishonorable means, to propagate their views." 
 He was about the first, or, so far as I am acquainted, the very first, 
 opponent appearing in the public prints, who gave the friends of the 
 unpopular truths any credit for honesty. He then states the particu- 
 lars of the three interviews, and concludes by stating that he does not 
 pretend to know what produces the sounds, but thinks it quite pos- 
 sible that they may be made by human agency, either through 
 electricity, clairvoyance, or some other manner. He further says : 
 " Faithfulness to the public, however, compels me to add, that I have 
 been repeatedly informed, by those whose veracity I cannot doubt, that 
 there have been, and still are, persons in Auburn, who, without any 
 movement the eye can detect, can make all these knockings with the 
 cracking of the toe joints." He expresses a hope that he may be sat- 
 isfied that spirits of the departed can communicate with mortals, and 
 promises that he will make a frank avowal of it when convinced, xls 
 34* 
 
402 APPENDIX. 
 
 he has not yet made the avowal, it is probable that he still remains in 
 ignorance of the fact. 
 
 His letter was answered by the author of this volume, giving a state- 
 ment of many facts, and naming witnesses to undisputed proofs of 
 intelligence beyond any of the auditors, and showing the impossibility 
 of any such phenomena being produced by clairvoyance or electricity. 
 
 POSITION OF THE TRIBUNE. 
 
 The reader will have observed, in several parts of this work, that 
 the New York Tribune has been noticed as giving more space to the 
 discussion of this subject than any other paper. As Mr. Greeley is one 
 of the best abused men in the country, his enemies were glad to seize 
 upon his exhibition of fairness in this matter, and put him down as a 
 full believer, and an " advocate for the rappers." This was not true 
 at any time during the first two years after the discussion commenced ; 
 nor is it true, so far as I am informed, up to the present time, that he 
 endorses the spirituality of the phenomena. Very soon after its coin* 
 mencement at Auburn, I received a letter from Mr. Greeley, making 
 inquiries in regard to it. From that time, a correspondence was kept 
 up for two years or more, and his opinions were well known to me. 
 He was not, I repeat, a believer in the spiritual theory. He was 
 puzzled by the facts he had witnessed. At times he was staggered by 
 some startling occurrence in his own family (when a medium was 
 present) , and then perplexed by the want of candor and truth he would 
 discover in some medium. Without ever admitting the spiritual hy- 
 pothesis, he was ever willing and anxious to get important facts, and let 
 the public weigh them with himself. I make this statement here be- 
 cause I knew his position at that time, and knew that the charge of a 
 too-ready credence to the claims of a spiritual intercourse was not true. 
 I have never known a man, who had the same amount of evidence, to 
 be so far from admitting what I conceive to be their true origin. His 
 accusers were too anxious to make a case against him, to state his 
 position fairly. 
 
 ANKLE-SNAPPERS. 
 
 From the snapping of toes, in Auburn, in the vain attempt to imitate 
 the "rapping," a clergyman of Rochester, knowing that the toes 
 
APPENDIX. 408 
 
 could not perform all that was claimed and proved of the spirits, 
 elevated the theory to the ankle joints ; and that had its brief run 
 through the press, as the Simon Pure explanation. 
 
 JOHN STANLEY GRIMES. 
 
 The next great champion of material mysticism that appeared in 
 public was John Stanley Grimes, an itinerant lecturer, and exhibiter 
 of phrenology, magnetism, psychology, &c. &c. His communications 
 appeared in the Tribune. He details several interviews with mediums. 
 His first statement was in regard to an interview " in one of the prin- 
 cipal cities of western New York." The gist of his second letter (his 
 first had no point) was the following fabricated story of his visit to the 
 house of a Mr. Benedict, of Auburn : 
 
 " In the course of the conversation one of the company mentioned 
 that the hostess was a clairvoyant subject, and when mesmerized she 
 could look into the spirit- world, and hold converse with its inhabit- 
 ants. I therefore proposed to mesmerize her and try her powers. After 
 some hesitation she consented, and was soon apparently asleep. I 
 asked her if she was asleep. She said Yes. I asked her if she could 
 look into the spirit- world. She said Yes. A great many questions 
 were now put to her, most of which she answered with great ingenuity. 
 But it was evident to me that the whole performance was a deception. 
 I requested the company to leave the room a few moments, to give me 
 an opportunity to make inquiries concerning some important private 
 matters, which I wished to be kept secret. As soon as the company 
 were gone, I said to the pretended sleeper, — ' I did not wish to expose 
 you to the company, nor to injure your feelings ; but mesmerism is a 
 subject that I am familiar with, and of course you cannot deceive me. 
 Now, if you will own up to me frankly, I will not expose you to the 
 company, nor to the citizens ; but if you do not, I shall explain the 
 whole farce, not only in private but in my public lectures. I will 
 admit that you have performed your part with wonderful adroitness 
 and skill, — but don't carry the joke any further.' After a moment's 
 silence, she acknowledged that it was all deception — that she was 
 not susceptible to the mesmeric influence in any degree — that the 
 knockings were made by various mechanical tricks, and by the aid of 
 three confederates, one of whom was a young woman who lived at the 
 
404 APPENDIX. 
 
 next house, and the other two were young men, her cousins. The 
 knocking on the middle of the floor was caused by a board under the 
 floor, poised like a lever, and so arranged that when she stood near the 
 window she could step upon a peg, which was connected with one end 
 of the lever, and cause the other end to rise and knock against the 
 middle of the floor. 
 
 " The knocking on the table was produced in several ways ; some- 
 times by one of the confederates, who had his hand or foot under the 
 table, but in most instances it was done by a deception which is similar 
 to that often practised by ventriloquists, — thus, the company, all sit- 
 ting or standing around the table, expecting a sound to proceed from 
 it, will, most of them, believe that the sound actually does proceed 
 from the table, although, in reality, it is produced by the rapping of 
 a finger against a chair several feet from the table. If the leading 
 persons present were shrewd and sceptical, and manifested a disposi- 
 tion to scrutinize the proceedings too closely, the plan was for the 
 spirits to refuse to answer until they were gone and their places sup- 
 plied by auditors of a more credulous character. I asked the woman 
 what induced her first to attempt such a deception. She said she had 
 become acquainted with the women who practised the same deception 
 in Rochester, and had learned the art from them. On her return 
 home she tried her own skill, and succeeded perfectly. Her success 
 astonished no one as much as herself. She declared that the credulity 
 of so many sensible people was to her a matter of amazement. She 
 had no idea at first of deceiving any one, except her own family circle, 
 and intended, after having amused herself sufficiently, to explain to 
 them how it was done ; but the very first experiment roused the whole 
 neighborhood, and in a few days she found herself in such a position 
 that she could not explain without disgrace, and she was, therefore, 
 obliged to keep up the farce as well as she could." 
 
 His third letter commenced as follows : 
 
 " A neat, well- written pamphlet upon this subject has been pub- 
 lished in this city, the authors of which, Messrs. Capron & Barron, 
 reside in Auburn. According to these statements, it would seem to 
 be impossible for any man of common sense to give the matter a fair 
 investigation without being convinced. 
 
 " A few months ago I happened to be in Auburn, and made the 
 
APPENDIX. 405 
 
 acquaintance of these gentlemen ; and among many other courtesies for 
 which I have to thank them, I enjoyed the privilege of being present 
 with a small and select party, to witness the exhibition of the knock- 
 ings. I asked a number of questions, and tested the spirits in the 
 manner in which I was directed ; but I did not receive a single correct 
 answer, and I was fully convinced that the knockings were made 
 sometimes by one of the ladies, and at others by one of the gentlemen 
 present, whose characters ought to have been a sufficient guarantee 
 against such a miserable artifice. Hundred of intelligent persons in 
 Auburn were, however, converted by the same kind of evidence which 
 seemed to me to be utterly worthless." 
 
 During the whole controversy nothing was ever uttered more mali- 
 ciously false than these extracts. When these letters appeared, I was 
 editing the Providence Daily Mirror, and took immediate occasion to 
 put the seal of falsehood upon so much as is related in the above 
 extracts. In regard to the confession of the sounds being made by 
 " mechanical tricks" by Mrs. Benedict (for he means no other place, 
 she being the only medium besides Mrs. Tamlin, then in Auburn) , with 
 boards under the floor of the house, I know that it was not so, for the 
 floor was repeatedly searched by honest but sceptical men. A more 
 potent fact is one well known by the neighbors, that, let Mrs. B. go to 
 any other house, and the sounds were the same. The story of the board 
 and the peg was nothing more nor less than gross fabrication, — false- 
 hood invented by some one. If any such confession was ever made, 
 
 it was under the influence of that very mesmeric sympathy of which 
 Mr. Grimes says so much. Equally unfortunate was the following 
 falsehood : " She said she had become acquainted with the women 
 who practised the same deception in Rochester, and had learned the 
 art of them." A great " art," truly, to stick a peg in the floor, and 
 place a board so that it could be moved ! The very absurdity of the 
 statement stamped it with falsehood. But I have something still 
 stronger. Up to the time of that visit of Grimes, Mrs. Benedict had 
 never seen one of the Fox family (" the women of Rochester " spoken 
 of) , nor had they any knowledge of her. This I know. I think they 
 never have met even to this day. 
 
 In regard to the insinuation contained in the second extract, I will 
 only give the statement of Mr. Henry D. Barron, then a student in 
 
406 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Law School at Ballston Spa, N. Y. He wrote to the Tribune, 
 under date of July 15, 1850, as follows : 
 
 " In the summer of last year, a friend in Auburn informed me that 
 Professor John Stanley Grimes wished to see me. I accordingly called 
 upon him, when he informed me that I was familiar with a matter 
 with which he would like to become acquainted, and he would like to 
 have me accompany him to the house where ' those mysterious sounds' 
 were heard. This I readily consented to do, being assured by my 
 friend that Mr. Grimes was a man of science, truth and honesty, which 
 I had no reason then to doubt, having never seen or been acquainted 
 with him before. Upon our arrival at the house, we found the lady 
 (Mrs. Tamlin) and Mr. and Mrs. Capron there. "We sat down to a 
 table, as is customary on such occasions, and the sounds first directed 
 me to ' ask questions,' which I accordingly did. The question was 
 then asked if a spirit would converse with Mr. Grimes. The answer 
 was that it would. He then asked several questions, which were an- 
 swered by a rapping purporting to be that of the spirit of his wife, 
 each one of us being ignorant of the fact that he had lost a wife, until 
 he informed us that such was the case. After several times asking 
 the sounds mentally to rap the number he thought of, he informed us 
 that a part of the time the answers were correct. Mr. Capron then 
 proposed that they take several pieces of money from their pockets, in 
 their closed hands, and ask the sounds to rap the number of pieces in 
 their hand. This was done, and several times correctly and several 
 times incorrectly. This I know to be true, as I counted the raps and 
 then the pieces. After these tests, and after some conversation upon 
 various subjects, Mr. Grimes rose to go, said he was much interested, 
 and asked permission to call again. 
 
 ** This is the only interview that Mr. Grimes ever had with these 
 sounds in the presence of 'Messrs. Capron and Barron.' For the 
 truth of my statement, I refer to Mrs. Tamlin, and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Capron, whose characters, where they are known, stand as high as he 
 who has played priest, doctor, lawyer, and lecturer on mesmerism and 
 phrenology, all for something more than i one dollar ^ ,' which seems to 
 be the ' knock-down argument ' against the honesty of the Fox family 
 in his mind. I leave the public to compare the two statements of the 
 matter, and then decide whether the arguments are for or against the 
 truth of these manifestations. 
 
I 
 
 APPENDIX. 407 
 
 " At Auburn Mr. Grimes met Mr. Capron and myself several times 
 before his return, but never frankly told us that he thought one of us 
 made these sounds ; and the only evidence of scepticism that I remem- 
 ber of his evincing was in the assertion he made to an individual while 
 there, which was in about these words : ' I can whip all of the spirits 
 through hell that have ever rapped in Auburn.'' 
 
 " In a previous number of the Daily Tribune, Mr. Grimes gives an 
 account of a visit to another family in Auburn, in whose presence the 
 sounds were heard. I am informed, by a person of truth, that Mr. 
 Grimes did visit another family, for the purpose of hearing the rapping, 
 while in Auburn. Concerning the wonderful discoveries he there 
 made, I shall speak in another letter. 
 
 "Amidst the calumny and foul abuse heaped upon my friends and 
 myself during the investigation of these developments, I have troubled 
 the public with but one defence of the matter, and only then when the 
 character of an absent friend was assailed from a source that demanded 
 the reply. I have wished only for calm, cool investigation, knowing 
 that, if false, time would expose it ; and if true, God would preserve 
 and defend it. Had Mr. Grimes' statement been published in some 
 common Switch or other Herald of falsehood, I should not have con- 
 sidered it my duty to notice it ; but the respectability and influence of 
 the journal in which his letters have appeared have been considered 
 sufficient reason to call forth this true statement of the matter. 
 
 " Your friend, H. D. Barrox." 
 
 The articles of Mr. Grimes were replied to at length by William 
 Fishbough, who stated the chief facts narrated above, and successfully 
 answered the various theories advanced by him. 
 
 THE NEW YORK EXPRESS. 
 
 The New York Express, commenting on the discussions on the sub- 
 ject, profoundly and piously says : 
 
 " That a pretext so preposterous as that the soul of a human being, 
 gone to its account, can be called back to hold communion with the 
 living, should be boldly made and confidently believed in, in these days 
 of intellectual enlightenment, would surprise us more than it does, if it 
 were not that there exists among us a latitudinarian fashion of view- 
 
408 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing things hitherto inculcated and deemed sacred — the crying sin, as 
 we hold, of the times we live in. Socialism in science, laxity in relig- 
 ious belief, easy credence of the marvellous, combine to form a very 
 common class in these latter days ; — men and women, 'with itching 
 ears,' prone to receive every new postulate as an axiom ; and always, 
 like the Athenians in the time of Paul, inquiring, ' Who will show us 
 some new thing ?' * * * * * * * ## 
 " That the exposition of the trick by which the pretenders to com- 
 munion with the other world, now playing their game in this city, 
 continue to delude their dupes will, one day or other, be made as 
 effectually as in the case of a hundred other such attempts at decep- 
 tion, we have not the least doubt." 
 
 All this the editor of the Express writes, to introduce an elaborate 
 treatise on finger-snapping , by an anonymous correspondent, who 
 contends that this is the chief mode of making the " rapping." He 
 also gave a long dissertation on acoustics, to account for the sounds 
 appearing in different parts of the room. 
 
 T. S. ARTHUB. 
 
 T. S. Arthur, in his Home Gazette, puts himself on record, as fel- 
 lows : 
 
 " AYe believe that the ' spiritual rappings,' so fashionable just now, 
 are but consequences growing out of the weak, foolish, and often 
 insane practice of mesmerism, which has so widely prevailed in this 
 country during the last few years. The ' rappings ' are a lower, more 
 sensible and tangible, manifestation of the elements at work in animal 
 magnetism, and they startle and mystify just in proportion as men are 
 ignorant of the laws that govern the spiritual world. As we believe 
 that no positive good can come from the practice of mesmerism in any 
 form, so do we believe that no good can result to any one from inter- 
 course with these rapping spirits. All wise men will let them alone. 
 
 " As to the many things alleged to be done in actual space, we do 
 not believe a word. A spirit cannot infringe upon matter in the least 
 degree. It cannot appear to the natural eye, nor speak to the natural 
 ear, nor touch a natural object. Either the movement of articles said 
 to have occurred, and the sounds heard, were the result of mortal 
 
APPENDIX. 409 
 
 agencies, or the articles did not really move in space, nor did the sounds 
 really vibrate in our natural atmosphere." 
 
 Such is the bold assurance of one of the popular writers of our 
 times, who speaks without any knowledge of the facts whatever. He 
 is as wide of the truth in asserting that animal magnetism has done 
 no good, as when he makes his dogmatical assertion in regard to 
 articles moving and sounds being heard. 
 
 THE BOSTON INVESTIGATOR. 
 
 Among the opposing papers, none in the country were more un- 
 candid than that class known as the religious press, and among these 
 I include the Boston Investigator. True, this is generally called an 
 Infidel paper ; but the religion of annihilation is the great object and 
 purpose of the Investigator. It is in sympathy with the other religious 
 extreme represented by the New York Observer. The great difference 
 between the two is, that while the Observer does not pretend to reason, 
 the Investigator is generally a reasoning paper. The repeated attacks 
 of the Investigator on the spiritualists induced the author to address 
 the following letter to the editors of that paper, which was published, 
 with the comments annexed : 
 
 "Spirits and Spiritual Manifestations. — Mr. Editor: Were it 
 not for the fact that your paper is devoted to the diffusion of universal 
 mental liberty, and that you acknowledge the fact that free discussion 
 is the most powerful means to be employed for such diffusion, I should 
 not write you on a subject upon which you and 1 differ so widely, 
 while agreeing on almost every other. I -will say, however, that I am 
 not what may be properly called a believer ; for you know I bear the 
 reputation, quite extensively, of being a most decided and heretical 
 unbeliever. What I say about the fact of what is commonly called 
 — although very improperly — the mysterious or Rochester knockings, 
 I do not pretend to believe, but I know. It is a matter of just as 
 absolute knowledge as that I now hold a pen in my hand ; and one is 
 no more a psychological effect than the other. 
 
 " I will make all due allowance for the false education and the 
 gross superstition and entire want of good reasoning in all observers 
 who think that because an ancient book, or a set of bigoted book- 
 35 
 
410 APPENDIX. 
 
 worshippers declare that something can be nothing and nothing some- 
 thing, that it therefore must be so. This man of straw, set up by 
 bigots, and believed in by men calling themselves liberal, it is easy to 
 demolish, — much easier than to meet facts candidly and fairly, 
 especially when they clash with some dear and long-cherished super- 
 stition, religious or anti-religious (for there are both). 
 
 " "What, then, do the believers in, or the knowers in, the ' mysterious ' 
 noises mean by the word spirit ? Of course, I cannot speak for all ; 
 but I venture to assert that I speak the sentiments of a vast majority 
 when I say that they are entirely and wholly materialists in their ideas 
 and rationalistic in their opinions. They have come to their present 
 views of the matter by actual facts, and not by any favorable notions 
 of the superstition so long fastened upon mankind by misguided and 
 designing religionists. These persons can well afford to be called hon- 
 est but deluded people by the surface observers who do not wish to 
 penetrate beyond a preconceived opinion. The absolute superior 
 knowledge they have of these things renders them so well established 
 in the facts that no casual observer can move them, however many men 
 of straw he may demolish. The word spirit is used by them to denote 
 an absolute, material existence, and this nine out of ten of the writers 
 in its favor have distinctly declared. They do not contend for an ex- 
 istence that is — nothing ; and the benevolent soul who volunteers to 
 enlighten these ' honest and well-meaning persons ' loses his labor 
 entirely, as many others equally ignorant of what they were talking 
 about have done. I pity this ' gullible ' class, who are so apt to think 
 all persons ignorant and superstitious who differ from them, and that 
 they are just the ones to enlighten them. 
 
 " The whole question turns upon the point of whether there is any 
 part of man which survives his present visible existence. Having 
 satisfied myself on this point by actual demonstration, and by no other 
 means, that some part does survive, I shall not argue that point, but 
 simply say that this part is what I call spirit. Not a nonentity, but 
 an actual living, breathing, thinking being, — more refined in organi- 
 sation, more expanded in intellect, and professing more power than 
 before, both mental and physical. This is what I, and a majority of 
 those who have investigated the ' rappings,' understand by spirit. I 
 ean see no likeness to the nothing and something spirit of the religion- 
 ists in this. Most truly it is intangible to us in our normal state. So 
 are the myriads of animals we eat, drink and breathe. The fact that 
 
APPENDIX. 411 
 
 we cannot see them is no argument against their existence. There is 
 nothing of the supernatural wherewith to dislodge us here. The most 
 that can be done is to ridicule and assert, of which arguments the 
 Investigator has made ample use on this subject, having no clearer 
 weapon to oppose to something that strikes at a cherished dogma. 
 This continued existence of man is governed by the same laws, immu- 
 table in nature, which govern the whole universe. There are no such 
 existences as supernatural ones. Nature produces all things, wherever 
 or however they may exist. None of the senses are destroyed by this 
 refining process. They exist in a more perfect state. They have a 
 superior mental power, and it requires no very great stretch of the 
 imagination to suppose, especially if you have had the positive evidence 
 that some have, that superior mental beings can use the ingredients of 
 the atmosphere to make up forms out of the elements of which our 
 bodies are formed by a little more roundabout process, and to let that 
 combination be felt and heard by man when under certain circum- 
 stances which permit such a communication. The same degree of 
 mentality could produce sounds in various places by the use of the 
 electrical ingredients of the atmosphere by which they are surrounded. 
 We contend for nothing ' mysterious ' in this, and ask no sympathy 
 from casual and ignorant observers. These believers, or rather know- 
 ers, in the facts of the spiritual sounds never did pretend or believe 
 that something can come of nothing ; and I here ask any man or 
 woman, who, through ignorance or prejudice, has made such false 
 assertions, to show where it is done, and whom by. It is false so far as 
 my experience goes, and I claim to have had a good deal of experience 
 on the subject. Nor do I expect to be dislodged from my position by the 
 vain speculation and surmises of those who are entirely ignorant of r -the 
 facts in the case. There is no pretension to anything miraculous in 
 these sounds. Nothing of the kind. It has been the great objection 
 on behalf of our religious brethren that we did not admit it to be 
 miraculous or supernatural, and they have called us stubborn infidels. 
 We are between two fires, both of the firers agreeing most cordially in 
 denouncing us as fools or knaves. Strange to say, the ultra-Christians 
 and the ultra-Infidels are bedfellows in this matter, and both equally 
 candid. Both try to show that spirits are immaterial, and cannot 
 operate on material things. The theology of both is touched in its 
 tenderest points ; the religionists, because it strips the mystery from 
 around the next sphere of existence, and makes priests useless ; and 
 
412 APPENDIX. 
 
 the infidels because many of them had firmly set their stake to the 
 point that man had no kind of existence beyond this visible sphere. 
 Our knowledge that it is all material, but beyond our vision, nettles 
 the annihilationist, for he could get along, and make it appear as 
 ridiculous as he pleased, if we only held to immateriality. 
 
 " When facts too strong to be otherwise disposed of have been 
 brought up, biology, psychology, or some other ology, is thought of to 
 account for them. That will not do. The person has not yet been 
 found that could produce this effect on a miscellaneous audience of 
 four hundred persons, or fifty, or twenty persons ; yet these sounds 
 have been distinctly heard by audiences of all these numbers. Besides, 
 it is a very easy matter for persons to decide whether they are biolo- 
 gized when a table moves against them. Let them try the experiment 
 of moving away from it, and let it follow them, having chalked the 
 floor, and then call in all the persons from another room to see whether 
 the furniture stands in its original place. I am for very material 
 experiments, and have tried them enough to know how utterly and 
 entirely the biological and mesmeric theory fails in accounting for 
 the occurrences. 
 
 " But, some surface- skimming observer will say, ' If there are spirits, 
 they can as well communicate with me as anybody.' Well, sir, that 
 is your assertion, and has no more proof than the rest of your sur- 
 mises. If you will prove yourself to be of precisely the same electri- 
 cal condition of the one or two hundred people in whose presence these 
 things are heard and seen, you can be believed, and not without. It 
 is a very foolish assertion. Spirits use means and natural laws as we 
 do, and can only use such channels of communication as come within 
 the law. You or I may not be in that state. There is a wide differ- 
 ence in the temperament and susceptibility of persons ; and, unless you 
 can prove all to be exactly alike, such claim — that all could have 
 communication if one could — is the height of folly. The fact is (and 
 it may as well be owned), these opposers are obliged to use the weapons 
 of religious superstition to defend themselves with, and they have been 
 falsely educated by the same religion, and to think that if man does 
 exist beyond this sphere, he is necessarily perfect in knowledge and 
 power. This superstition extends to Infidel opponents, and continually 
 misleads them. E. W. C. 
 
 " By the foregoing it will be seen that our correspondent takes us 
 
APPENDIX. 413 
 
 severely to task upon a point wherein we are open to censure, no 
 doubt ; but we will show him, in all frankness, before we close, that 
 there is a wide distinction between the case under discussion and every 
 other case he has so broadly alluded to. 
 
 " There are two classes of facts and of phenomena which fall within 
 the range of man's perception and consciousness. They all, upon 
 their first advent, seem like miracles, or impossibilities, because they 
 precede the discovery of the law under which they exist. But when 
 the law is made apparent, the phenomena become fixed facts, and very 
 common ones. It may be so with this spiritual existence, as our cor- 
 respondent and Dr. Olcott contend ; and if it is demonstrable, why, 
 we shall as frankly confess to our unphilosophical short-coming as we 
 now confess our utter incredulity. There must be a little latitude 
 given to us for the peculiar circumstances and relations under which 
 these spirits have made their advent. Certainly they require the broad- 
 est margin of faith from those who have not had the rapping rapped 
 into their sceptical skulls. 
 
 " All the speculations and doubts, queries and reflections, that arise 
 upon so stupendous and infinitely mysterious a subject, are unanswered, 
 unsatisfied in every way ; and the facts or phenomena that call for 
 credence rest upon a method of introduction so ludicrous, and so at war 
 with all induction upon the conclusions flowing from granting the first 
 fact, a spirit, that we can hardly conceive faith possible even under the 
 ' rappings.' 
 
 " Has ' E. "W. C forgotten that human tradition is full of stories 
 similar to those he has given the public, as well confirmed, as lustily, 
 sworn to, as indignantly defended, as these ? And do not all now-a- 
 days — heretics and believers — agree in regarding these reported 
 phenomena as the cast-off rags of a day of superstition and darkness ? 
 
 " The most singular stories of witchcraft have been confirmed by 
 evidence as strong as any we have seen for the Rochester spirits. The 
 whole bundle of supernatural manifestations in Mrs. Crowe's ' Night 
 Side of Nature ' has confirmation strong as ' Holy Writ,' — yet who 
 believes them ? Only those who believed them all, and more too, even 
 before they occurred. 
 
 "Our correspondent should consider that this case is one beyond all 
 known laws, and is demonstrable only to a few ; and that, having no 
 other basis upon which to rest our credulity than the ground claimed 
 35* 
 
414 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 fur all the ghost stories ever put in circulation, we are compelled to 
 withhold it, much as we should like to have its truth confirmed. 
 
 " The simple fact that a spirit has knocked on a material substance, 
 and that sound has been made real to a material sense, has already 
 grown to a wide field of fancy and dreamy exaggeration, as we believe. 
 In the last number of the Spirit Messenger w r e see that ' H. D. B.' 
 (H. D. Barron, E. W. C.'s copartner in the spirit-pamphlet, probably) 
 gives an account of spirits taking room and extension ; that human 
 faces appeared above them, seemingly shaped of w r hite clouds, that 
 gradually faded away ; and Mr. Sunderland even gives an engraving 
 of some characters written by spirits on a turnip, and thrown against 
 a window in Connecticut, which characters were translated into verses 
 by A. J. Davis ; and it seems some of the spirits in Connecticut write 
 notes in tolerable English upon tangible paper, w T ith a worn-out lead- 
 pencil, and sign them ' H. P. Devil,' the contents being as frivolous as 
 the diplomatic correspondence of a faction of infant scholars. 
 
 " Mr. Sunderland says the spiritual hand of one of his children was 
 placed upon his head, and kept moving about several minutes, to make 
 him certain it was his son's hand. Our believing brethren will easily 
 perceive many thousands of the very stubbornest questions which we 
 could ask, and do not, and they will please give us credit for any given 
 amount of forbearance. Certainly, what bantering we have indulged in 
 is but a drop in the bucket to that which we repress from pure charity. 
 
 " We know, as well as any man knows himself, that we are not 
 stubbornly dogmatic on annihilation of individual consciousness. How 
 should we be, when the idea of spiritual eternity would be as pleasing 
 to us as to any ? We are flesh and blood, endowed with the same love 
 of life as any, and have as earnest a longing for immortality ; and the 
 new dispensation comes in to render that immortality peculiarly pleas- 
 ing, if true, because it assures us we can take an occasional peep at 
 carnal-dom, and see schemes mature which we apprehend we shall have 
 to die and leave in an unfinished state. But we submit it to friend C, 
 if Ave were to change places with him, if he could swallow, without any 
 other evidence than a distant friend's ipse dixit, any of the wonderful 
 stories afloat about the spirits, or even the fact upon which these stories 
 are based ? 
 
 " One of these rumors has just reached our sanctum. A family in 
 Syracuse profess (as we hear) to have had communication with Abner 
 Kneeland, and Abner says he was mistaken about Jesus ! Then if he 
 
APPENDIX. 415 
 
 was mistaken about Jesus, the inference is that we are all mistaken 
 about Jesus ; the New Testament may be true, and if so, Universalism 
 must be false ; the parable of Dives again begins to smell of sulphur, 
 and this earth and its inhabitants are really subject to hell and damna- 
 tion, per se. 
 
 " So the consequences of admitting friend C.'s premises are some- 
 what momentous, and the old Calvinistic argument, that we had bet- 
 ter believe in hell, nolens volens, because faith in it will keep us out 
 of it if true, and keep us out of mischief here if false, begins to 
 assume a very hot significance. 
 
 " But, really, we must ask to be excused for our incredulity until 
 we have some evidence. To us there is none abroad that is not also 
 abroad to prove all the stories in Mrs. Crowe's book. Why are we to 
 be assailed for ridiculing a story upon pretensions exactly of a piece 
 with the pretensions of all other stories universally regarded as the 
 exploded fancies of brain-sick women ? Brother C. says he knows. 
 When we know, there will be an end of ridicule and doubt. And as 
 the spirits do not knock directly through Brother C. (as we have been 
 told) , it is as easy for us to know as for him. 
 
 " Dr. Olcott says he has seen the spirit leave the body at death ; so 
 did A. J. Davis say so just before him. Davis required to be spir- 
 itualized ; Olcott does not pretend to any such normalism. If Davis 
 and Olcott saw this, it is demonstration to them ; but it is overween- 
 ing arrogance in either of them to ask us to take their simple affirma- 
 tion of this thing as true coin. Without meaning to impugn their 
 veracity at all, we ask if they would take our word for it were we to 
 change places (not characters) with them? We know they would not, 
 and we will not, — we cannot if we would. 
 
 ' ' The facts assumed are not demonstrable by any other facts we can 
 be cognizant of, — are not within the reach of any of our faculties but 
 a blind credulity, and to this we are not likely to fall a victim at pres- 
 ent. If this spiritual life be a fact, it is to be demonstrated to the race 
 (as they say it has been to them) , or it is not. If it is to be demon- 
 strated, we shall believe ; if it is not, we shall be pretty tolerably apt 
 to continue in doubt ; and as many really scientific men have believed 
 in ghosts and witches (and seen them after they began to believe), we 
 must continue to regard Sunderland, Barron, Capron and Co., as 
 either deceiving, or as falling within that indefinite category where 
 Boswell has left Dr. Johnson and the Cock Lane Ghost. 
 
416 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " We here close this article, but not our remarks. Spirit being 
 material in itself, it begins to be material to our purpose ; and if it is 
 a fact, it is a material fact, and should furnish material for our 
 columns. If man has a spirit that retains his consciousness -without 
 his flesh, blood, bones and brains, then spirits are subjects that fall 
 within the range of our prospectus by pertaining to human welfare. 
 "We shall see — probably." 
 
 EX-REV. C. C. BURR AXD BROTHER. 
 
 The next great effort that was, in the estimation of many, to be the 
 grand and final explosion of all spiritual manifestations, was that of 
 the Ex-Rev. C. C. Burr and his " brother Heman " In this country 
 and for the present time any record of the facts in their career of 
 itineracy would not be needed ; but this is a record for other times, 
 and it is well that no prominent actor should be left out of the 
 account. 
 
 If I remember correctly, the first announcement of Mr. Burr's 
 astounding discoveries was made in December, 1850. In a letter to 
 the New York Tribune, dated at Philadelphia, Jan. 2d, 1851, he 
 speaks in the following confident manner of his discovery : 
 
 " After a close examination of many ' mediums,' I not only discov- 
 ered how the ' rappings ' are produced, but by much practice at leisure 
 moments I found that I could produce them myself, even louder than 
 I had ever before heard them, and in a manner that no person could 
 detect, if I chose to impose upon his credulity. I have produced the 
 ' rappings ' so loud that they were distinctly heard in every part of a 
 hall that was crowded with an audience of a thousand people. 
 
 " But when it was demonstrated that the sounds could be produced 
 by art, it still remained to be explained how the answers from the 
 pretended spiritual world were, in some cases, so satisfactory and won- 
 derful. And this I had already done in my Lectures on Imagination, 
 Ghost-seeing and the Temperament of Genius. And I had seen my 
 brother, Heman Burr, in his remarkable experiments with mind, pro- 
 duce far more wonderful effects upon the imagination than I had ever 
 witnessed in the phenomena of the ' rappings.' So that art and sci- 
 ence together convinced me that the ' spirits ' belong, in a very mate- 
 r'al way, to the physical world. You may believe it was a comfort for 
 
I 
 
 APPENDIX. 417 
 
 me to understand this matter ; for I was, during some little time, pained 
 by a kind of half belief that my sainted brother Edwin, who, in his 
 lifetime, was a young man of the finest taste and of high poetical 
 genius, had so far forgotten the natural dignity and delicacy of his 
 character as to come back to commune with me by making most vul- 
 gar noises, rattling about under chairs and tables, and kicking over 
 light-stands and bureaus in the dark, to excite my wonder and horror. 
 In the short course of scientific lectures which I shall commence in 
 Hope Chapel, on Monday evening, Jan. 13th, I shall not only show 
 how these noises are produced, and how any one may infallibly detect 
 their origin, and stop the ' spirits,' but the philosophy of the satisfac- 
 tory answers from the ' spiritual world ' will, I think, be made plain to 
 the humblest capacity ; and my brother will give illustrations of the 
 new philosophy by experiments with the imagination of any number 
 of gentlemen who come forward voluntarily out of the audience. 
 These experiments did not, of course, originally belong to my Lectures 
 on Imagination and Ghost-seeing, but they are appended as natural 
 enough illustrations of my philosophy ; and they cannot fail to show 
 any man, who is not already made crazy by the ' spirits,' that the 
 Avhole phenomenon of the ' knockings ' is perfectly explained a good 
 way this side of the other world. C. Chauncey Burr." 
 
 This is a specimen of Mr. B.'s whole career throughout the coun- 
 try. He was always going to show how he could expose the " rapping " 
 when people came to his lectures, which they could do by paying 
 twenty-five cents. This letter was a capital "puff" for his forth- 
 coming lectures. A portion of the New York press was taken with 
 the bait, and the Express, Herald, and other papers, that have always 
 been noted for their easy assent to every passing theory, however 
 ridiculous, that pretended to account for the phenomena, seized upon 
 this, and announced that "the Rochester knockings were now to be 
 exposed to a certainty." 
 
 The time arrived. Mr. Burr and his brother Ileman delivered their 
 lectures, and performed their mountebank tricks, and — made a total 
 failure of it, so far as proving anything in regard to the alleged fraud 
 of the media. The Tribune declared that " the sounds were so far 
 from being identical with the spiritual knockings, that we should be 
 forced to the conclusion that they could not be made by the same 
 means. We should as soon think of referring the notes of a flute and 
 
418 APPENDIX. 
 
 a trumpet to the same instrument. If Mr. Burr's sounds are produced 
 by the toe joints, the Rochester sounds are produced in some other way. 
 There was a peculiar ring to those sounds which Mr. Burr did not pro- 
 duce on the occasion, though he said he would be able to do so here- 
 after." * 
 
 This notice did not exactly satisfy the exhibitors, and " my brother 
 Heman " published an explanatory note in the next day's paper, and 
 with all the gravity of an owl, and about the same amount of wisdom, 
 laid down the following " scientific " propositions : 
 
 " There are at least five circumstances which vary the volume and 
 tone of the sounds, although they are in all mediums produced in the 
 same way. 
 
 " 1. The size and strength of the toe. 
 
 " 2. The tightness of the shoe. 
 
 "3. The thickness and dryness of the sole. 
 
 " 4. The moisture or dryness of the foot. 
 
 " 5. The substance on which the rapper stands." 
 
 The apparent confidence with which this statement was made would 
 seem ludicrous in the extreme, were it not for the fact that it carried 
 more evidence of knavery than folly when taken in connection ay ith 
 men of the Messrs. Burr's intelligence, and of their expressions to sun- 
 dry individuals previously of an entirely different opinion of the origin 
 of these sounds. The papers advertising for the exhibition (except 
 the Tribune) all commended and endorsed Mr. Burr's expose, just as 
 they had swallowed a dozen different exposes before it. The Express 
 declared that they had " pricked the bubble, and it had burst, and 
 gone off in mere vapor." Their lectures, however, grew less and less 
 interesting to the public as the " humbug " of the two mountebanks 
 became more palpable. 
 
 As they ran out in one place they would go to another, and thus 
 they made the tour of the northern, eastern and western states, visit- 
 ing the principal places. At Providence, R. I., they concerted with a 
 man to come upon the stage and have his name spelled out — they and 
 he pretending that they did not know his name until they cracked it 
 
 * This promise Mr. Burr never redeemed. 
 
APPENDIX. 419 
 
 out by their toes. The pretence was that they did it by noticing his 
 change of countenance when they came to the right letter in calling 
 the alphabet. The whole trick was detected, and their dishonesty 
 exposed by the editor of a daily paper in that city. Trickery and dis- 
 honesty, coupled with slander, defamation and bombast, were the 
 chief ingredients that made up these lectures. 
 
 At Cleveland, Ohio, C. C. Burr was prosecuted for slander by Mrs. 
 Fish (of the Fox family), and held to bail to answer to the charge. 
 Joel Tiffany, Esq., a lawyer, challenged him for a discussion, and it 
 was held. The tone of the press of that city was decidedly against 
 Burr. The Plaindealer said he was a blackguard and a slanderer. 
 Indeed, there was no place where he went that he did not excite the 
 contempt of those who knew anything of the subject, and the disgust 
 of those opposed to spiritualism. 
 
 Failing in his attempts to make much money by the " expose," he 
 concluded to make a bold stroke for the utter annihilation of all 
 media in general, and the Fox family in particular. In his peregrina- 
 tions, he visited a Mrs. Culver, who lives in the town of Arcadia, N. 
 Y., and is a distant relative (by marriage) of the Fox family. This 
 woman was, for a long time, a bitter enemy of the part of the family 
 to which the mediums belonged. Moreover, for some time after the 
 Fox girls went to reside at Rochester, she was a medium herself, and 
 had the " rappings " with her. She was a sympathetic clairvoyant, 
 and a very susceptible subject, and, when in this state, could be made 
 to say and do anything the operator pleased. With this woman Mr. 
 Burr agreed, either for a consideration, or from motives of envy, jeal- 
 ousy, or revenge, to make and publish a story which would forever put 
 to rest this question, so far as the Fox family was concerned. Very 
 naturally this piece of villany was first published in the New York 
 Express, — a most fitting organ for such a man, — and its credulity, 
 shown in swallowing all previous exposures, naturally turned Burr's 
 attention to it as a fit subject to be again imposed upon by his unscru- 
 pulous trickery. The statement obtained by this woman was as fol- 
 lows ; and we give the solemn preface of the Express to make it more 
 impressive ! 
 
 "The Spiritual Rapping Imposture. — It is a melancholy com- 
 mentary upon the intelligence of the age that so barefaced and impu- 
 
420 APPENDIX. 
 
 dent an imposition as the so-called spiritual rappings are now shown 
 to be, could ever have imposed upon the minds or perceptions of even 
 the most ignorant or superstitious among us. And what is still more 
 amazing is the fact that the swindle, gross as it was in some degree, 
 has actually had — nay, is now having — the countenance, if not the 
 actual support, of sundry presses whose claim to influence and respect- 
 ability ordinarily is entitled to acknowledgment. But so it is. And 
 such being the discreditable fact, is it any wonder that the foreign 
 press abroad is taunting us as a people credulous and superstitious to 
 an extent it is hard to reconcile with our general improvement and 
 progress in all other respects ? The London Athencmm, for example, 
 names one of our city papers as an advocate and voucher of the 
 ' spirits,' and thereupon proceeds to enlarge upon this beautiful feature 
 of a beautiful specimen of ' the American press.' Now, we do not 
 care a feather about what the London Athenceum, or the London Times, 
 or any other foreign journal, has to say of us ; but we cannot help 
 lamenting the discreditable spectacle journalism is making of itself 
 here at home, when its influence is thus volunteered to strengthen or 
 give encouragement to one of the most superlatively silly, dishonest, 
 immoral, blasphemous impostures ever set up among men. Is it a 
 wonder that we have so many ' wise ' madmen spring up among us, — 
 so many new ' philosophers ' in morals, religion and politics, — when 
 the press is thus prostituted and perverted ? 
 
 " From the time that these ' rappings ' were first ' brought out ' 
 at Rochester down to their exhibitions in this city, and from that time 
 to this, this journal has always maintained that collusion, dishonesty, 
 falsehood, were at the bottom of their so-called manifestations. And 
 we have, time and again, stated at length, and with the utmost pre- 
 cision of detail, the grounds upon which that conviction was predicated. 
 In the face of all this, however, there were still many believers and 
 doubters. As we have now a full admission, from the lips of persons 
 who acted as confederates of the Fox girls, that the whole affair was, 
 as the Express said it was, an imposture of the most dishonest char- 
 acter, we are hoping hereafter to hear that the humbug is repudiated 
 everywhere and by everybody. Let those who have been the willing 
 dupes of the ' rappings ' read the Burr statement we copy below, and 
 be convinced Of the impudent imposture of which they have been 
 made the victims. 
 
APPENDIX. 421 
 
 " ■ THE GHOSTS AT THE CONFESSIONAL. 
 
 " ' Extract from the deposition of Mrs. Norman Culver, taken at Ar- 
 cadia, N. Y., April 17, 1851. 
 
 " ' I am, by marriage, a connection of the Fox girls ; their brother 
 married my husband's sister. The girls have been a great deal at my 
 house, and for about two years I was a very sincere believer in the 
 rappings ; but some things which I saw, when I was visiting the girls 
 at Rochester, made me suspect that they were deceiving. I resolved to 
 satisfy myself in some way, and soon afterwards I made a proposition 
 to Catharine to assist her in producing the manifestations. I had a 
 cousin visiting me from Michigan, who was going to consult the spirits, 
 and I told Catharine that, if they intended to go to Detroit, it would 
 be a great thing for them to convince him. I also told her that if I 
 could do anything to help her, I would do it cheerfully ; that I should 
 probably be able to answer all the questions he would ask, and I would 
 do it if she would show me how to make the raps. She said that, as 
 Margaretta was absent, she wanted somebody to help her, and that if 
 I would become a medium, she would explain it all to me. She said 
 that when my cousin consulted the spirit, I must sit next to her, and 
 touch her arm when the right letter was called. I did so, and was 
 able to answer nearly all the questions correctly. After I had helped 
 her in this way a few times, she revealed to me the secret. The raps 
 are produced with the toes. All the toes are used. After nearly a 
 week's practice, with Catharine showing me how, I could produce them 
 perfectly myself. At first it was very hard work to do it. Catharine 
 told me to warm my feet, or put them in warm water, and it would 
 then be easier work to rap ; she said that she sometimes had to warm 
 her feet three or four times in the course of an evening. I found that 
 heating my feet did enable me to rap a great deal easier. 
 
 " ' Catharine told me how to manage to answer the questions. She 
 said it was generally easy enough to answer right if the one who asked 
 the questions called the alphabet. She said the reason why they asked 
 people to write down several names on paper, and then point to them 
 till the spirit rapped at the right one, was to give them a chance to 
 watch the countenances and motions of the persons, and that in that 
 way they could nearly always guess right. She also explained how 
 they held down and moved tables. [Mrs. Culver gave us some illustra- 
 tions of the tricks.] She told me that all I should have to do to make 
 36 
 
422 APPENDIX. 
 
 the raps heard on the table would be to put my foot against the bottom 
 of the table when I rapped ; and that, when I wished to make the raps 
 sound distant on the wall, I must make them louder, and direct my 
 own eyes earnestly to the spot where I wished them to be heard. She 
 said, if I could put my foot against the bottom of the door, the raps 
 would be heard on the top of the door. Catharine told me that, when 
 the committee held their ankles in Rochester, the Dutch servant-girl 
 rapped with her knuckles under the floor from the cellar. The girl 
 was instructed to rap whenever she heard their voices calling the 
 spirits. Catharine also showed me how they made the sounds of saw- 
 ing and planing boards. [The whole trick was explained to us.] 
 When I was at Rochester, last January, Margaretta told me that when 
 people insisted on seeing her feet and toes, she could produce a few 
 raps with her knees and ankles. 
 
 "' Elizabeth Fish (Mrs. Fish's daughter) , who now lives with her 
 father, was the first one who produced these raps. She accidentally dis- 
 covered the way to make them by playing with her toes against the 
 foot-board while in bed. The whole secret was revealed to me, with 
 the understanding that I should act as a medium when the girls were 
 away. Catharine said that whenever I practised, I had better have my 
 little girl at the table with me, and make folks believe that she was the 
 medium, for she said they would not suspect so young a child of any 
 Irick. When she was instructing me how to be a medium, she told 
 me how frightened they used to get in New York for fear somebody 
 would detect them, and gave me the whole history of all the tricks 
 they played upon the people there. She said that once Margaretta 
 spoke aloud, and the whole party believed it was a spirit. 
 
 " ' Mrs. Norman Culver.' 
 
 " ' We hereby certify that Mrs. Culver is one of the most reputable 
 and intelligent ladies in the town of Arcadia. We were present when 
 she made the disclosures contained in the above paper ; we had heard 
 the same from her before, and we cheerfully bear testimony that there 
 cannot be the slightest doubt of the truth of the whole statement. 
 
 " < C. G. Pomerot, M. D. 
 Rev. D. S. Chase.' 
 
 " ' I have in my possession other depositions from persons residing 
 in Rochester, who have been confederates of the Fox girls in the rap- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 423 
 
 ping business, which, in due time and form, will be made public. The 
 reign of those impostors is nearly at an end ; and the few editors who 
 have been the means of deceiving the public in relation to their real 
 character will, I trust, have their reward in the deep indignation and 
 scorn of those whose credulity has been abused. H. Burr.' 
 
 " ' Pittsburg, May 20, 1851.' " 
 
 The boldness of this statement was its only merit. It was an entire 
 fabrication in all its essential statements. Being perfectly conversant 
 with the investigation at Rochester, and knowing that part of the 
 statement to be false, I sent the following brief reply to the Express, 
 which was published : 
 
 ' ' I notice in the Express of Saturday what pretends to be a state- 
 ment of a confession (in ' extracts ' from an unsworn-to ' deposition ') 
 made by Catharine Fox to Mrs. Norman Culver, of Arcadia, N. Y. 
 Without noticing the loose and indefinite manner of the whole state- 
 ment, I wish to call attention to the following extract : 
 
 " ' Catharine told me that, when the committee held their ankles at 
 Rochester, the Dutch servant-girl rapped with her knuckles under the 
 floor from the cellar. The girl was instructed to rap whenever she 
 heard their voices calling the spirits.' 
 
 " As I was present during the investigations, and had an opportu- 
 nity to know something of the circumstances, I will ask space to 
 state, 
 
 " 1st. That, during that investigation (which lasted three days, and 
 was carried on by three different committees) , not one of the examina- 
 tions' took place in the house of the Fox family ; the first meeting of 
 the committee being in the Hall of the Sons of Temperance, the second 
 at the office of Vice-Chancellor Whittlesey, and the third at the rooms 
 of Doctor Gates at the Rochester House. 
 
 " 2d. There was no previous notice given to the family, and they 
 did not know where they were to go until the committee called for 
 them. 
 
 " 3d. They did not have, and never had, a Dutch or other servant- 
 girl in the family at Rochester up to the time of the investigation. 
 
 " 4th. Catharine Fox was not in Rochester during any part of these 
 investigations, but was at my house in Auburn, seventy miles distant. 
 
424 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Any further comment on the above unsworn * deposition ' would 
 be superfluous, as the above serves to illustrate its character. 
 
 »E. W. Capkox." 
 
 It may be well, in this place, to state some other facts in connection 
 with this singular affair. The two persons — doctor and preacher — 
 who gave the certificate of character to Mrs. Culver, were not neigh- 
 bors, and knew very little about her, living as they did several miles 
 distant. They were, moreover, bitter and unreasonable opponents of 
 the manifestations. It will be observed by the careful reader, who 
 has heard Burr lecture, or seen his position stated, that the " deposi- 
 tion " is made, in every particular, to corroborate his theory. Every- 
 thing was " exactly as he thought it would be," like the old lady 
 who was told that the cow had eaten the grindstone. Her way of 
 producing the sounds, of accounting for them in different places, of the 
 sounds on the wall, all was precisely as he had been stating in his 
 lectures and writings. It was a great misfortune for Mr. Burr that he 
 was not acquainted with the fact that Catharine did not attend the 
 celebrated Rochester investigation, and that Mrs. Fish never had a 
 Dutch servant, or any other, up to that time. Had he known this he 
 would, no doubt, have fixed up a story that would have been more 
 plausible. At it was, the Messrs. Burr and Mrs. Culver sank together, 
 and their notoriety, as the exposers of spiritualism, ceased. 
 
 I have not thought it necessary to follow the Burrs to every place, 
 and give an account of their reception. In Pittsburg they made an 
 indiscriminate attack on Mrs. Fish and the Fox family, Mr. Tiffany 
 (who confronted them at Cleveland, and also acted as counsel for Mrs. 
 Fish in her prosecution of C. C. Burr for slander), and a medium and 
 other citizens of Pittsburg. He was completely answered and silenced 
 by an article published in the Pittsburg Post of that city, in which . 
 S. Fowler and others give certificates, completely overthrowing the 
 slanderous assumptions of Burr. He was defended in character, 
 talents and honesty, by Jane G. Swisshelm, editor of the Saturday 
 Visitor. She has always opposed spiritual manifestations with what 
 ability she had ; but was much more combative and flippant than pro- 
 found. 
 
APPENDIX. 425 
 
 PROFESSORS MATTISON AND PAGE. 
 
 I think I have recorded pretty much all the different kinds of news- 
 paper exposures ; and it is only necessary to mention that, during the 
 winter of 1852-3, a Methodist minister, who calls himself Rev. H. 
 Mattison, Aj0L., delivered many lectures, pretending to expose the 
 " rappings " (for which the press, in different places, accused him of 
 obtaining money under false pretences) , but was so bold in his assert- 
 ing that the things alleged never did happen, that he attracted little 
 notice except as a pretender. He afterward published a book entitled 
 " Spirit Rappings Overthrown," being a very feeble attempt at wit, 
 and perfectly successful as a blackguard. In the summer of the same 
 year one " Professor Charles G. Page," of Washington, D. C, pub- 
 lished a book (or pamphlet of ninety-six pages), in which he said as 
 near nothing as possible. It was truly " full of sound and fury, sig- 
 nifying nothing." The nearest a position he took was, that the 
 sounds were produced by leaden balls tied to the toes ! The tables, &c, 
 never moved as pretended. This, I think, is a fair " table of contents " 
 of these two books. They were both considered as the true " expose " 
 by some newspaper editors, but the notices of them did not appear 
 quite as confident as those of former exposures. The press seemed to 
 be weary of so often endorsing any new pretender to exposures. 
 
 PROFESSOR HARE. 
 
 Professor Hare, one of the best electricians in the world, being called 
 upon for an opinion in regard to electrical agency in table-moving, 
 gave the following opinion in the Philadelphia Inquirer of July 28th, 
 1853 : 
 
 " I am of opinion that it is utterly impossible for six or eight, or 
 any number of persons, seated around a table, to produce an electrical 
 current. Moreover, I am confident that if by any adequate means an 
 electrical current were created, however forcible, it could not be pro- 
 ductive of table-turning. A dry, wooden table is almost a non-con- 
 ductor, but if forming a link necessary to complete a circuit between 
 the sky and earth, it might possibly be shattered by a stroke of light- 
 ning ; but if the power of all the galvanic apparatus ever made were to 
 36* r- 
 
426 APPENDIX. 
 
 be collected in one current, there would be no power to move or other- 
 wise affect such a table. 
 
 " Frictional electricity, such as produced by electrical machines, 
 must first be accumulated and then discharged, in order to produce 
 any striking effect. It is in transitu that its power is seen and felt. 
 
 "Insulated conductors, whether inanimate or in the form of ani- 
 mals, may be electrified by the most powerful meansj^vithout being 
 injured or seriously incommoded. Before a spark of lightning poises, 
 every object on the terrestrial surface, for a great distance around, is 
 subjected to a portion of the requisite previous accumulation. Yet it 
 is only those objects which are made the medium of discharge that are 
 sensibly affected. 
 
 " Powerful galvanic accumulation can only be produced by those 
 appropriate arrangements, which concentrate upon a comparatively 
 small filament of particles their peculiar polarizing power ; but noth- 
 ing. seems to me more inconsistent with experience than to suppose a 
 table moved by any possible form or mode of galvanic reaction. 
 
 " It was ascertained by Gaziot that one of the most powerful gal- 
 vanic batteries ever made could not give a spark before contact to a 
 conductor presented to it at the smallest distance which could be made 
 by a delicate micrometer. 
 
 " More than a month since, at the house of a friend, a number of 
 respectable visitors were observing a charming young lady, who was 
 under the impression that a table caused the movements w T hich actually 
 resulted from her touching it. I then stated that the subject was a 
 physiological mystery, not a purely physical mystery. The only sub- 
 ject for inquiry was, how people could so deceive themselves as to sup- 
 pose that w T hat they really moved, moved them. Putting my hand on 
 the table, it displayed not the slightest tendency to motion. Yet, 
 whatever an admiring youngster might do, who would suppose that a 
 table would move more readily for a young lady than for an old man ? 
 If there is any law * # * it is that inanimate matter cannot per se 
 change its state as respects motion or rest." 
 
 This was given while he was a most determined sceptic, but his 
 knowledge of electricity made the very idea of such an agent, as the 
 moving cause, preposterous to him. It is well known that his subse- 
 quent experiments and investigations resulted in his conviction that 
 the phenomena was the result of spiritual agency. 
 
APPENDIX, 427 
 
 SENATORS, JUDGES, &C. 
 
 Many excellent letters and communications have been written by 
 men eminent for their scientific attainments, their statesmanship, and 
 their distinguished position in society. Among these I have already 
 mentioned ex-senator Simmons, of Rhode Island, Hon. N. P. Tall- 
 maclge, formerly U. S. senator and governor of Wisconsin, and Hon. 
 John W. Edmonds, of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. 
 In May, 1853, Mr. Tallmadge wrote a letter to the National Intelli- 
 gencer, in reply to a communication against the spirituality of the 
 manifestations. It was a bold and most able reply to the several ob- 
 jections, as well as the aspersions on the judgment of some of the dis- 
 tinguished friends of spiritualism. It very naturally attracted much 
 attention, emanating, as it did, from one of our distinguished states- 
 men. 
 
 In the month of August, of the same year, Judge Edmonds made a 
 statement to the public, in explanation of his position, and contradicting 
 some of the slanders which had been circulated against him. His 
 whole letter is eminently worthy of preservation, and contains much 
 that should be carefully treasured up by every lover of truth. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 " TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 " On my return from an excursion into the country, I found that, 
 during my absence, a decision, lately pronounced by me, had been 
 seized upon as an occasion for an attack, in several quarters, on my 
 religious belief. I was fully aware that that judgment, running 
 counter as it would to popular sentiment, would subject my action to 
 severe criticism ; but I confess I did not anticipate that thence would 
 flow an assault upon my religious opinions. "Were I a private citizen 
 I should content myself with merely claiming the right which belongs 
 to every one in this country of entertaining such faith on this — the 
 most important of all topics — as my conscience might dictate. And 
 as it is, I might perhaps rest satisfied with challenging those who 
 assail me to point out a single article in my creed that aims at aught 
 else than exalted private worth and public virtue. But as the position 
 which I occupy renders the soundness as well as the integrity of my 
 judgment a matter of public interest, I am bound to acknowledge the 
 
428 APPENDIX. 
 
 right of others to question my faith, and my own obligation to defend 
 it. 
 
 " I acknowledge a still further obligation. And, inasmuch as I 
 accepted my present position under the implied understanding, at 
 least, that I believed in the Christian religion, and would administer 
 our civil law according to the principles of the divine law, as it had 
 been revealed to us, on which all our institutions were based, so I am 
 bound to certify to those who have intrusted me with the divine attri- 
 bute of administering justice among men, that my reverence for that 
 revelation has not been shaken, nor my obedience to that moral law 
 impaired. 
 
 " I have not, however, waited for these assaults to be impressed with 
 these obligations, but have already so far felt them that I have pre- 
 pared to publish a volume on the subject, which, but for my other 
 vocations, would, ere this, have been in the printer's hands. To that 
 I must refer for much , in elucidation and proof of my belief, which the 
 limits of this communication will not allow me to dwell upon, and con- 
 tent myself on this occasion with such general statements as may tend 
 to give a correct idea of what it is that I believe or have done. Even 
 this would not have been necessary if those who assail me had but 
 done me the justice themselves to have published anything I have said 
 or written on the subject. But hitherto I have been able to reach the 
 public only through publications of very limited circulation, and the 
 wildest and most erroneous notions have therefore been imbibed as to 
 my belief, and the mischief has been increased by the recklessness 
 with which erroneous statements have been fabricated by those who 
 could not know them to be true, but who could easily have ascertained 
 them to be false. 
 
 " Thus one writer,* with a want of feeling not perhaps surprising, 
 speaks of my consulting my dead wife, in making up my decisions. 
 Another says that it is ' rumored ' that I have consulted spirit mani- 
 festations in regard to my decisions. Another, that my belief is ' at 
 irreconcilable variance with all divine revelation, and is fit for no other 
 system than devil-worship ; ' and still another, that * it constitutes an 
 abandonment of all self-control, and a surrender of the supremacy of 
 reason, as informed and enlightened by the senses, to the most nonsen- 
 sical jugglery.' 
 
 * Daily Chronicle, of New London. 
 
APPENDIX. 429 
 
 "All these statements are as wide as they can be of truth, and I 
 might, with some justice, complain at being subjected to such grievous 
 imputations merely because I had made a decision which was unac- 
 ceptable to a portion of the community. But it is not for the purpose 
 of complaining that I sit down to write. I am aware that it is not so 
 much me, as it is the faith which I profess, which is the object of 
 attack. It is ' the mighty theme, and not the inconsiderable advo- 
 cate,' which offends. I am also aware why it is that so much error 
 exists in the public mind on that subject, and my whole purpose is, so 
 far as I am concerned, to correct that error ; to state truly, as far as I 
 can in this connection, what it is that I do believe, and generally the 
 grounds on which my belief is founded, that all who take interest 
 enough in the matter to read what I may say, may have the means of 
 judging for themselves as to what I really do believe, rather than what 
 others erroneously impute to me as a belief. 
 
 " I am sincerely grateful to my assailants for not imputing to me 
 any unworthy or selfish motives ; for conceding that, as a private citi- 
 zen, I 'stand exempt from public criticism,' and that I am 'not a 
 fool ;' and for confining themselves to the mere imputation that 1 am 
 laboring under a delusion. It is, therefore, to that point I shall con- 
 fine myself in what I have now to say. 
 
 " It was January, 1851, that my attention was first called to the 
 subject of ' spiritual intercourse.' I was at the time withdrawn from 
 general society ; I was laboring under great depression of spirits. I 
 was occupying all my leisure in reading on the subject of death, and 
 man's existence afterward. I had, in the course of my life, read and 
 heard from the pulpit so many contradictory and conflicting doctrines 
 on the subject, that I hardly knew what to believe. I could not, if I 
 would, believe what I did not understand, and was anxiously seeking 
 to know, if, after death, we should again meet with those whom we 
 had loved here, and under what circumstances. I was invited by a 
 friend to witness the ' Rochester Knockings.' I complied, more to 
 oblige her, and to while away a tedious hour. I thought a good deal 
 on what I witnessed, and I determined to investigate the matter and 
 find out what it was. If it was a deception, or a delusion, I thought 
 that I could detect it. For about four months I devoted at least two 
 evenings in a week, and sometimes more, to witnessing the phenomena 
 in all its phases. I kept careful records of all I witnessed, and from 
 time to time compared them with each other, to detect inconsistencies 
 
430 APPENDIX. 
 
 and contradictions. I read all I could lay my hands on on the subject, 
 aod especially all the professed ' exposures of the humbug.' I went 
 from place to place, seeing different mediums, meeting with different 
 parties of persons, — often with persons whom I had never seen 
 before, and sometimes where I was myself entirely unknown, — some- 
 times in the dark and sometimes in the light, — often with inveterate 
 unbelievers., and more frequently with zealous believers. In fine, I 
 availed myself of every opportunity that was afforded, thoroughly to 
 sift the matter to the bottom. I was all this time an unbeliever, and 
 tried the patience of believers sorely by my scepticism, my captious- 
 ness, and my obdurate refusal to yield my belief. I saw around me 
 some who yielded a ready faith on one or two sittings only ; others 
 again, under the same circumstances, avowing a determined unbelief; 
 and some who refused to witness it at all, and yet were confirmed un- 
 believers. I could not imitate either of these parties, and refused to 
 yield, unless upon most irrefragable testimony. At length the evi- 
 dence came, and in such force that no sane man could withhold his 
 faith. 
 
 " Thus far, the question I was investigating was, whether what I 
 saw was produced by mere mortal means, or by some invisible, un- 
 known agency ; in other words, whether it was a deception, an imposi- 
 tion, or, what it professed to be, the product ofr-some unknown, unseen 
 cause. To detail what I witnessed, would far exceed the limits of this 
 communication, for my records of it, for those four months alone, fill, 
 at least, one hundred and thirty closely-written pages. I will, how- 
 ever, mention a few things, which will give a general idea of that 
 which characterized interviews now numbering several hundred. 
 Most of them have occurred in the presence of others besides myself. 
 I have preserved their names in my records, but do not give them to 
 the world, because I do not desire to subject them to the obloquy 
 which seems most strangely to be visited upon all who look into the 
 matter with any other feeling than a resolute and obstinate incredu- 
 lity, whatever the evidence. But these considerations grow out of this 
 fact : 1st. That I have thus very many witnesses, whom I can invoke 
 to establish the truth of my statements ; and, 2d. That if I have been 
 deluded, and have not seen and heard what I think I have, my delu- 
 sion has been shared by many as shrewd, as intelligent, as honest and 
 as enlightened people as are to be found anywhere among us. 
 
 " My attention was first drawn to the intercourse by the rappings, 
 
APPENDIX. 431 
 
 then the most common, but now the most inconsiderable, mode of 
 communing. Of course, I was on the look-out for deception, and at 
 first relied upon my senses and the conclusions which my reason might 
 draw from their evidence. But I was at a loss to tell how the 
 mediums could cause what I witnessed under these circumstances. 
 The mediums walking the length of a suite of parlors, forty or fifty 
 feet, and the rappings being distinctly heard five or six feet behind 
 them, the whole distance, backward and forward several times ; being 
 heard near the top of a mahogany door, above where the medium 
 could reach, and as if struck hard with a fist ; being heard on the bot- 
 tom of a car when travelling on a railroad, and on the floor and the 
 table, when seated at lunch, at an eating-house, by the side of the 
 road ; being heard at different parts of the room, sometimes several 
 feet distant from the medium, and where she could not reach ; some- 
 times on the table, and, immediately after, on the floor, and then at 
 different parts of the table, in rapid succession, enabling us to feel the 
 vibration, as well as hear the sounds ; sometimes when the hands and 
 feet of the medium were both firmly and carefully held by some one of 
 the party, and sometimes on a table when no one touched it. 
 
 " After depending upon my senses, as to these various phases of the 
 phenomenon, I invoked the aid of science, and, with the assistance of 
 an accomplished electrician and his machinery, and eight or ten intel- 
 ligent, educated, shrewd persons, examined the matter. We pur- 
 sued our inquiries many days, and established, to our satisfaction, two 
 things ; first, That the sounds were not produced by the agency of any 
 person present or near us ; and, second, That they were not forthcom- 
 ing at our will and pleasure. 
 
 " In the mean time another feature attracted my attention, and that 
 was ' physical manifestations,' as they are termed. Thus, I have 
 known a pine table, with four legs, lifted bodily up from the floor, in 
 the centre of a circle of six or eight persons, turned upside down, and 
 laid upon its top at our feet, then lifted up over our heads, and put 
 leaning against the back of the sofa on which we sat. I have known 
 that same table to be tilted upon two legs, its top at an angle with the 
 floor of forty-five degrees, when it neither fell over of itself, nor could any 
 person present put it back on its four legs. I have seen a mahogany 
 table, having only a centre leg, and with a lamp burning upon it, 
 lifted from the floor at least a foot, in spite of the efforts of those 
 present, and shaken backward and forward as one would shake a gob- 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 let in his hand, and the lamp retain its place, though its glass pend- 
 ants rang again. I have seen the same tahle tipped up with the lamp 
 upon it, so far that the lamp must have fallen off unless retained there 
 by something else than its own gravity ; yet it fell not, moved not. I 
 have known a dinner-bell taken from a high shelf in a closet, rung 
 over the heads of four or five persons in that closet, then rung around 
 the room over the heads of twelve or fifteen persons in the back parlor, 
 and then borne through the folding doors to the further end of the front 
 parlor, and there dropped on the floor. I have frequently known 
 persons pulled about with a force which it was impossible for them to 
 resist, and once, when all my own strength was added in vain to that 
 of the one thus affected. I have known a mahogany chair thrown on 
 its side, and moved swiftly back and forth on the floor, no one touch- 
 ing it, through a room where there were at least a dozen people sit- 
 ting ; yet no one was touched, and it was repeatedly stopped within a 
 few inches of me, when it was coming with a violence, which, if not 
 arrested, must have broken my legs. 
 
 " This is not a tithe, nay, not a hundredth part of what I have 
 witnessed of the same character, but it is enough to show the general 
 nature of what was before me. 
 
 " At the same time, I have heard from others, whose testimony 
 /would be credited in any human transactions, and which I could not 
 permit myself to disregard, accounts of still more extraordinary trans- 
 actions ; for I have been by no means as much favored in this respect 
 as some. 
 
 " While these things were going on, there appeared in the news- 
 papers various explanations and ' exposures of the humbug,' as they 
 were termed. I read them with care, in the expectation of being as- 
 sisted in my researches, and I could not but smile at once at the rash- 
 ness and the futility of the explanations. For instance, while certain 
 learned professors in Buffalo were congratulating themselves on having 
 detected it in the toe and knee joints, the manifestations in this city 
 changed to ringing a bell placed under the table. They were like the 
 solution lately given by a learned professor in England, who attributes 
 the tipping of tables to a force in the hands which are laid upon it, 
 overlooking the material fact that tables quite as frequently move when 
 there is no hand upon them. 
 
 "What I have thus mentioned has happened in the presence of 
 others as well as myself. I have not alluded to any of the things 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 which have occurred to me when I have been alone ; for, as that would 
 depend upon my testimony only, I have preferred not to subject my 
 veracity to the rash and reckless contradictions of those who venture to 
 denounce as an ' atrocious imposture ' that of which they are pro- 
 foundly ignorant, and which has been examined, and is believed in, by 
 thousands and tens of thousands of their fellow-citizens, who are, to 
 say the least, every whit as honest and as intelligent as they are. Nor 
 am I very anxious to submit my faith to the judgment of those who 
 would have persecuted Galileo nigh unto death for discovering our 
 planetary system, and have united in the cry of ' folly ' at the Fulton's 
 steamboat, ' humbug ' at Morse's telegraph, and ' insanity ' at Gray's 
 iron road. 
 
 " Having thus, by a long series of patient inquiries, satisfied myself 
 on this point, my next inquiry was, Whence comes the intelligence 
 there is behind it all ? For that intelligence was a remarkable feature 
 of the phenomenon. 
 
 " Thus I have frequently known mental questions answered, that 
 is, questions merely framed in the mind of the interrogator, and not 
 revealed by him or known to others. Preparatory to meeting a circle, 
 I have sat down alone in my room, and carefully prepared a series of 
 questions to be propounded, and I have been surprised to find my 
 questions answered, and in the precise order in which I wrote them, 
 without my even taking my memorandum out of my pocket, and when 
 I knew that not a person present even knew that I had prepared ques- 
 tions, much less what they were. My most secret thoughts, those 
 which I have never uttered to mortal man or woman, have been freely 
 spoken to as if I had uttered them. Purposes which I have privily 
 entertained have been publicly revealed ; and I have once and again 
 been admonished that my every thought was known to, and could be 
 disclosed by, the intelligence which was thus manifesting itself. 
 
 " I have heard the mediums use Greek, Latin, Spanish and French 
 words, when I knew they had no knowledge of any language but their 
 own ; and it is a fact, that can be attested by many, that often there 
 have been speaking and writing in foreign languages and unknown 
 tongues by those who are unacquainted with either. 
 
 " Still the question occurred, may not all this have been, by some 
 mysterious operation, the mere reflex of the mind of some one present? 
 The answer was, that facts were communicated which were unknown 
 then, but afterward found to be true ; like this, for instance : when I 
 
 37 r- 
 
434 APPENDIX. 
 
 was absent last winter in Central America, my friends in town heard 
 of my whereabouts and of the state of my health seven times ; and, on 
 my return, by comparing their information with the entries in my 
 journal, it was found to be invariably correct. So, in my recent visit 
 to the west, my whereabouts and my condition were told to a medium 
 in this city, while I was travelling on the railroad between Cleveland 
 and Toledo. So thoughts have been uttered on subjects not then in 
 my mind, and utterly at variance with my own notions. This has 
 often happened to mo and to others, so as fully to establish the fact 
 that it was not our mind3 that gave birth to or affected the communi- 
 cation. 
 
 " Kindred to this are two well-authenticated cases of persons who 
 can read the thoughts of others in their minds. One is an artist of 
 this city, of high reputation, and the other the editor of a newspaper 
 in a neighboring city. The latter wrote me, that, in company with 
 three friends, he had tried the experiment, and, for over forty succes- 
 sive attempts, found he could read the secret thoughts of his com- 
 panions as soon as they were formed, and without their being uttered. 
 So, too, there is the instance of two persons, one of them also a resi- 
 dent in this city, who can give a faithful delineation of the character 
 and even the prevailing mood of mind of any person, however un- 
 known to them, upon whom they fix their attention. 
 
 " These are not apocryphal cases. The parties are at hand, and in 
 our very midst, and any person that pleases may make the investiga- 
 tion, as I have, and satisfy himself. 
 
 " But all this, and much, very much more of a cognate nature, went 
 to show me that there was a high order of intelligence involved in this 
 new phenomenon ; an intelligence outside of and beyond mere mortal 
 agency ; for there was no other hypothesis which I could devise or 
 hear of that could at all explain that whose reality is established by 
 the testimony of tens of thousands, and can easily be ascertained by 
 any one who will take the trouble to inquire. 
 
 " If these two points were established, — and there are now in these 
 United States hundreds of thousands of sentient beings who have in- 
 vestigated and believe they are, — then came this important question, 
 cui bono ? To what end is it all ? For what purpose ? With what 
 object ? 
 
 " To that inquiry I have directed my earnest attention, devoting to 
 the task for over two years all the leisure I could command, and in- 
 
APPENDIX. 435 
 
 creasing that leisure as far as I could by -withdrawing myself from all 
 my former recreations. I have gone from circle to circle, from medium 
 to medium, seeking knowledge on the subject wherever I could obtain 
 it, either from books or from observation, and bringing to bear upon 
 it whatever of intelligence I have been gifted with by nature, sharp- 
 ened and improved by over thirty years' practice at the bar, in the 
 legislature and on the bench. 
 
 " I found there were very many ways in which this unseen intelli- 
 gence communed with us, besides the rappings and table-tippings, and 
 that through those other modes there came very many communications 
 distinguished for their eloquence, their high order of intellect, and 
 their ]3ure and lofty usual tone ; at the same time I discovered many 
 inconsistencies and contradictions that were calculated to mislead. I 
 saw many puerile and some very absurd statements, and many that 
 were admirably calculated to make man better and happier ; and I set 
 to work to see if I could not, out of this chaos, gather something that 
 might be valuable. 
 
 " I was satisfied that something more was intended than the grati- 
 fication of an idle curiosity ; something more than pandering to a 
 diseased appetite for the marvellous ; something more than the pro- 
 mulgation of oracular platitudes ; something more than the upsetting 
 material objects to the admiration of the wonder-lover ; something 
 more than telling the age of the living, of the dead, &c. 
 
 " For that something I have industriously searched. I thought that 
 was wiser than to condemn without investigation, and denounce with- 
 out knowledge. What I have discovered in that regard I have in- 
 tended to give to the world, that all may judge for themselves whether 
 there is anything in it worthy the attention of intelligent beings. It 
 would have been done ere this if my leisure would have allowed me 
 time to prepare my manuscript for the press. Now I expect that my 
 book will be published by the first of September, and to that I refer, 
 as I have already said, for particulars. 
 
 " In the mean time, it is due to myself and to others to say, that 
 our faith, as growing out of these researches, is not ' at irreconcilable 
 variance with revelation.' How little do they, who make such 
 charges, know of > this matter! Misled by the credulities which alone 
 are seen in the newspapers of the day, because the graver matters can- 
 not find admission there, the idea is, I am aware, entertained by some 
 that this new philosophy is at variance with the revelation through 
 
436 APPENDIX. 
 
 Christ the Redeemer. This is, indeed, a sad mistake, and one that 
 believers ■would be too happy to correct, if only the opportunity could 
 be afforded them. 
 
 " So, too, is it a grievous error to suppose that it ' constitutes an 
 abandonment of all self-control, and a surrender of the supremacy of 
 reason, as informed and enlightened by the senses.' There was never 
 yet, I venture to say, a religious creed promulgated among men which 
 so entirely eschewed blind faith, and so fully and always demanded 
 the exercise of the judgment and the supremacy of the reason. 
 
 ' ' Hence it is that we are taught that none of these extraordinary 
 things which are witnessed by so many, are miraculous, or flow from 
 any suspension of nature's laws, but are, on the other hand, in con- 
 formity with and in execution of those laws ; that, like the steam engine 
 and the magnetic telegraph, they are marvellous only to those who do 
 not understand them, or are not familiar with them ; that those laws, 
 and the means by which they produce such results, are as capable of 
 being found out by human research ; that the knowledge is not con- 
 fined to a few, but is open to all, rich or poor, high or low, wise or 
 ignorant, who will wisely and patiently search for it ; and that, when 
 it is attained, it cannot but work in the heart ' a closer walk with 
 God,' and an intercourse with our fellow-men of a more elevated 
 character, void of selfishness, and devoted to their absolute advance- 
 ment in all knowledge and goodness, both in this world and in the 
 world to come. 
 
 " This is a part of the something which I have found in my 
 researches. But there is more yet. There is that which comforts the 
 mourner, and binds up the broken-hearted ; that which smooths the 
 passage to the grave, and robs death of its terrors ; that which enlight- 
 ens the atheist, and cannot but reform the vicious ; that which cheers 
 and encourages the virtuous amid all the trials and vicissitudes of life : 
 and that which demonstrates to man his duty and his destiny, leaving 
 it no longer vague and uncertain. "What that is I cannot in the 
 limits of this letter explain, but, in due time, it will be forthcoming, 
 and each one can judge for himself. 
 
 " But now may I not ask if I overrate the importance of the subject 
 of my inquiries ? Scarcely more than four years have elapsed since 
 the ' Rochester Knockings ' were first known among us. Then mediums 
 could be counted by units, but now by thousands ; then believers could 
 be numbered by hundreds, now by tens of thousands. It is believed by 
 
APPENDIX. 437 
 
 the best-informed that the whole number in the United States must 
 be several hundred thousands, and that in this city and its vicinity 
 there must be from twenty-five to thirty thousand. There are ten or 
 twelve newspapers and periodicals devoted to the cause, and the 
 Spiritual Library embraces more than one hundred different publica- 
 tions, some of which have already attained a circulation of more than 
 ten thousand copies. Besides the undistinguished multitude, there are 
 many men of high standing and talent, ranked among them, — doc- 
 tors, lawyers and clergymen in great numbers, a Protestant bishop, 
 the learned and reverend president of a college, judges of our higher 
 courts, members of Congress, foreign ambassadors and ex-members of 
 the United States Senate. 
 
 "That which has thus spread with such marvellous celerity, in 
 spite of the ridicule which has deterred so many from an open avowal, 
 — that which has attracted the attention of so many of the best minds 
 among us, — cannot be unworthy of my investigation, or that of per- 
 sons far wiser and more reliable than I am. 
 
 " It is now more than a year that my peculiar faith has been the 
 subject of public comment. During it all I have been silent as to those 
 attacks, content steadily to pursue my investigations until I could 
 arrive at satisfactory results. Perhaps I have been silent too long, 
 for, in the mean time, very erroneous notions as to that faith have been 
 allowed to spring up. But I was unwilling to speak until I was as sure 
 as I could be that I was right, lest I might utter some crudity, which, 
 by and by, I might regret, or commit some error, which I might find it 
 difficult to correct, or, in fine, unhappily mislead in my ignorance, 
 rather than wisely guide by my knowledge. 
 
 " I went into the investigation, originally thinking it a deception, 
 and intending to make public my exposure of it. Having, from my 
 researches, come to a different conclusion, I feel that the obligation to 
 make known the result is just as strong. Therefore it is, mainly, that 
 I give the result to the world. I say mainly, because there is another 
 consideration which influences me, and that is, the desire to extend to 
 others a knowledge which I am conscious cannot but make them 
 happier and better. 
 
 " If those who doubt this could but spend a few days with me in my 
 
 library, and witness the calls I have from strangers from all parts of 
 
 the country ; if they could but look over my portfolio, and read the 
 
 letters which pour in upon me from all sections, and from persons 
 
 37* 
 
438 
 
 APi'iLNDJLX. 
 
 whom I have never seen and never may gee, they would be able, from 
 the evidence thus furnished of the good that has been done, to form 
 some idea of what may yet be accomplished, and they would not 
 wonder that I find a compensation for the obloquy that is so freely 
 heaped upon me by the ignorant, in the grateful outpourings of hearts 
 which have, by my means, been relieved. One of them says — and it 
 is a fair specimen of the whole — ' You have acted the part of the 
 good Samaritan, and poured oil into the wound of one like to die, and 
 you will have rendered a death-bed, sooner or later, calm and hopeful, 
 which might have been disturbed by doubts.' 
 
 " This, then, is the offence for which I have been arraigned at the 
 bar of the public with so unsparing a condemnation, declared 
 unworthy of my high office, falsely accused of consulting aught else 
 than the law of the land, and my own reason, in the judgments which 
 I officially pronounce, and have had invoked against me l the fires of 
 Smithfield and the hangings of Salem.' From such a condemnation it 
 is that I appeal to the calm, unbiased judgment of my countrymen, 
 with a firm reliance upon its justice. J. "W". Edmonds. 
 
 " New York, August 1, 1853." 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 It would be impossible to follow the subject through its various 
 phases, and give any great portion of the articles for and against the 
 spirituality of the manifestations, up to the present time. The days 
 of angry disputation are passed. The frenzy of disturbed bigotry has 
 subsided. The manifestations have become so common l as to be no 
 longer a wonder. The quiet of a calm conviction has settled upon a 
 million of spiritualists ; and new converts, although daily added, cease 
 to attract attention. The foundation on which belief rests is stub- 
 born facts, and no religion ever spread with such unprecedented 
 rapidity, and none has ever rested on such positive foundation. But 
 six years have passed by since the humble dwelling at Hydesville was 
 made the centre of attraction for a continent, and now the occurrences, 
 then confined to that locality, are known throughout the civilized 
 world. The good it will accomplish, the design of its appearance, and 
 the form in which it will continue, are all subjects for future history. 
 

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