to 
 o 
 
THE 
 
 SPIEITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 ^ OPPOSITION LINE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 SCIENCE AND DIVINE REVELATION 
 
 AGAINST 
 
 SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ELD. Z. CAMPBELL, 
 
 FORMERLY A LECTURER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SrBJTECT J AN 
 
 EXPERIENCED PATHETIZER AND SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTER 
 
 IN THESE OCCULT MYSTERIES 
 
 I 
 
 " And I lav three unclean ipirits, like froga, com& oat of the mouth of the dragon, and out of 
 the mouth of the beast, and out of the month of the false prophet. For they are the spiritB of 
 devils working miraclee, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to 
 gather them to the battle of that great day of Grod Almighty. Behold I come as a thief." 
 Bev. xvi. 13, 14. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY H. S. TAYLOR. 
 
 1853. 
 
C AH 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the jear 1353, hj 
 
 ELD. Z. CAMPBELL. 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of ttie District Court of the District of Massachuaetts. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 " Pilate saith unto him, What ia truth ? " — John xviiL 38. 
 
 This great question is now agitating the world, and 
 on its decision depends the fate of mankind at the £^p- 
 proaching great day of judgment. And since the ever- 
 lasting welfare of man rests on its decision, too great 
 an interest in it cannot be taken, nor can it be too 
 seriously contemplated. The question is not, What I 
 believe, or what you believe ; but. What is truth ? It 
 is an abuse of the noble faculties of man to believe this 
 or that is truth, without being able to give a reason 
 for his belief ; for we are not saved by believing in a 
 lie, but "by grace, through faith ;" that is, faith in the 
 truth. It will, however, be readily seen that this plan 
 of salvation rests on the truth of the Bible. 
 
 It becomes, therefore, of the utmost consequence that 
 we know whether it is true or false. Ter this point, 
 then, the inquiry should be directed ; for it would 
 certainly be unjust to expect people to believe without 
 some evidence. It is not to be expected that any thing 
 will convince a man who will not be convinced, for 
 
 (8) 
 
PEEPACK. 
 
 there^are none so blind as those who will not see. 
 Now, setting aside all the conflicting interpretations 
 which men have given to it, how can it be expected, 
 if true, that it may be made to ajJpear so ? or what 
 evidence of the truth of it can the greatest sceptic ask 
 for ? Let him ask the strongest and most reasonable 
 evidence he can think of, and, with a little candor, he 
 will be sure to find it. 
 
 Though volumes have been written, and various ar- 
 guments raised, to prove the divine authenticity of the 
 Bible, yet there is but one way in which it can be done, 
 and but one in which it can reasonably be expected ; 
 and that is, in the fulfilment of its prophecies. The 
 opinions of men may differ on the interpretation of 
 certain words and phrases, and a seeming want of har- 
 mony in the word thereby be produced : it is the im- 
 perfections of men, and not of the word, which must 
 stand or fall on its own fulfilment. But it should not 
 be expected that any people should witness the truth 
 of any more of the word than what belongs to the age 
 in which they live. This is a peculiar feature in the 
 sacred Scriptures. Every age has witnessed some por- 
 tion of its fulfilment, enough to convince all who were 
 willing to be convinced. 
 
 We might mention the flood, and the length of time 
 the living witnesses remained on earth, as monuments 
 to the truth of God's word. These were evidence to 
 that age. 
 
^PREFACE. 
 
 Later, we find a promis^ to Abraham that his seed 
 should be a stranger four jundred years in a land that 
 is not theirs ; the fulfilment of which was evidence to 
 all such as were willing to believe. And yet later, we 
 might refer to the Jewish captivity, and many other 
 things, the fulfilment of which answered the same pur- 
 pose to a later age. i$ 
 
 Frther down the stream of time we find the fulfil- 
 ment of prophecy of a Messiah, to be born of a virgin, 
 in Bethlehem of Judea, to be called a Nazarene, to be 
 called out of Egypt, to be sold for thir-ty pieces of 
 silver, to be brought as a lamb dumb before his shear- 
 ers, &c. ; all of which proved, to the age which saw it 
 fulfilled, the truth of divine revelation ; at least, it was 
 proof to all, whether it was so received or not. 
 
 Still later, the future pathway of the church was 
 marked out, from the first to the second advent of 
 Messiah, and the bloody persecution she would pass 
 through ; all of which has been fulfilled up to our time. 
 
 Nor has God left this people without sufficient evi- 
 dence of the truth of his word. It is the design of 
 this work to show that the mysteries of rapping spirit- 
 ualism is a literal fulfilment of the word of God, " the 
 strong delusion " which is to be sent in the last days ; 
 and that the falling away, spoken of by Paul, that is, 
 the remarkable disregard for religion the thing is pro- 
 ducing, is as clearly marked out in that word ; and 
 further, that it should be a science, " falsely so called." 
 
6 PBEFACB. 
 
 So there is no other way to consider it but in the light 
 of true science and divine revelation. Therefore, th© 
 only appropriate answer to the question, What is truth? 
 is found in the language of Him to whom the question 
 itself was put, " Thy word is truth ; " that is, the word 
 of the Father, to whom he prayed that his disciples 
 might be sanctified through the truth; and by this 
 truth we shall endeavor to judge of the subject under 
 consideration. Having practised in these mysteries 
 for years, a total sceptic to all revealed religion, the 
 author became convinced, by his own experience, that 
 they are not performed by any scientific principle, but? 
 in part, by the agency of evil spirits. It afterwards 
 pleased God, in the order of his providence, to lead 
 him to a knowledge of the truth of divine revelation, 
 and give him a hope in Christ. 
 
 On further reflection, he became convinced that the 
 whole affair is but a revival of those abominations in 
 the sight of God formerly practised by the heathen. 
 From these circumstances, and by the earnest solicita- 
 tion of friends, he has been induced to mount the car 
 of sacred truth, and run " The Opposition Line " to the 
 most fatal delusion that ever insnared our fallen race, 
 humbly trusting in the Lord of hosts that his feeble 
 effort may be an instrument in the hand of God in 
 taking a few passengers on the old road to glory, 
 which has often been travelled, but never found to lead ' 
 astray. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Pi.OS 
 
 INTBODUCTION, . . 9 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCIENT SOKCERY. — MODERN MESMERISM. — ITS ORIGIN, . 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR, ........ 28 
 
 CHAPTER ni. 
 
 PHENOMENA OP MESMERISM, . . 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CLAIRVOYANCE CONl'INUED, 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FURTHER EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. — NO ELECTRIC- 
 AL ACTION IN MESMERISM. — EVIL EFFECTS OF SPIRIT- 
 UAL MANIFESTATIONS. — THE TRANSFIGURATION. — AN 
 ANGEL APPEARED TO JOHN THE REVELATOB, ... 56 
 
 M 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM EXPLAINED ON THE SUPPO- 
 SITION THAT ELECTRICITY IS THE AGENT CALLED INTO 
 ACTION. — THE REV. J. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY, ... 66 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT CONTAINED IN THE PRECEDING 
 CHAPTER.— THE REV. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY REFUTED, 82 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEH YIII. 
 
 GENEEAL REMARKS, 101 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF MESMERISM CONSID- 
 ERED. — AN IMPROVED MODE OF GOING TO HEAVEN, . 129 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 GOOD AND BAD SPIRITS. — TABLE TIPPING. — THEIR REAL 
 •TIPPING DOUBTED. — RAPID PROGRESS OF SPIRITUAL 
 MANIFESTATIONS. — REFLECTIONS. — DOUBLE LIFE IN 
 • MAN, J46 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL SPIRITS PROVED BY MESMERIC 
 
 DISCLOSURES. — THE EASIEST WAY TO ACCOUNT FOE IT, 170 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ORIGIN OF MESMERISM. — MEDIUMS AMONG THE NORTH 
 AMERICAN INDIANS. — MESMERISM KNOWN TO NAA- 
 MAN, 184 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE NEW AGENT. — OD FORCE, OR MUNDANE AGENCY. — 
 
 DEDUCTIONS, 195 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 MESMEEISM CONSIDEEED IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE REVE- 
 LATION, £20 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY A SUBJECT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. — THE 
 
 ' MAN OF SIN. — THE DEVIL. — CONCLUSIONS, .... 242 
 
 APPENDIX, .263 
 
 INDEX, 273 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because 
 many false propheta (or ' lying spirits ') are gone out into the world." — 1 John iv. 1. 
 
 *• A consulter with familiar spirits shall not be found among you." — Dxut. xviii. 
 10, 11. 
 
 A MUCH- VALUED friend of the author, and brother 
 in Christ, (H. Jones,) upon the above texts speaks 
 thus : — 
 
 " Probably no question publicly agitated has been more 
 generally embarrassing and difficult to settle than that of 
 modern spiritual manifestations, so called. The friends of 
 these wonders maintain that they are caused by spirits of the 
 dead, returned from the spirit world to enlighten mankind, as 
 the Spirit of God, Christ, and angels did it formerly, on 
 coming from heaven to earth. Yet a large class of their 
 opponents consider the whole as a mere human imposture ; 
 while a third class, admitting their being done rather by 
 spirits of some kind, consider them not spirits of the dead 
 at all, but ' unclean,' ' lying spirits,' such as, besetting men, 
 have made them tormented maniacs, and were often cast out 
 by divine power. And as proof that the thing is not a mere 
 human sleight of hand performance, but something much 
 
 (9; 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 worse and beyond that, large committees of opponents 
 most suitable for the purpose have often thoroughly exam- 
 ined the rapping phenomena, and reported publicly that they 
 were not a human, deceptive performance, but an absolute 
 mystery of some kind, so far as they could ascertain. These 
 reports may be seen in the Auburn ' history ' of them, and 
 other such publications now common. And should not the 
 manifold evidence of trusty eye and ear witnesses of the 
 same, now in our midst, be also regarded ? And let us who 
 oppose the rappers not join sides with them, by denying 
 their being spirits at all, which naturally acquits them, and 
 as they wish, of the charge now against them, that they are 
 indeed the worst and most to be punished of all spirits con- 
 demned in holy writ. 
 
 " In a very limited, humble attempt now to assign reasons 
 for not regarding the rapping spirits as spirits of the dead, 
 sent back, as they say, but rather such as are of the most 
 evil character, formerly tormenting and bewitching both 
 human beings and swine, the following considerations are 
 respectfully submitted : — 
 
 1. " It is well known by many who have looked most at 
 this subject that there is no admissible conclusive evidence 
 yet before us that the spirits of the dead are the real 
 authors of these phenomena. And, indeed, there is no 
 evidence at all from witnesses positively knowing who they 
 are, on this side of the question, except from the rappers 
 themselves. But while this testimony is wholly ex parte., 
 and in their own defence, as they are now accused by many, 
 we are naturally forbidden to receive it here, whatever their 
 character, on further trial, may prove to bo. Men on trial 
 for alleged offences expect no acquittal merely on their own 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 testimony. Neither does any tribunal think of acquitting 
 the arrested, however innocent, except on other testimony 
 than that of their own pleading — ' Not Guilty.'' And 
 even the Lord Jesus Christ, on coming from heaven to 
 earth, on his great mission from God Almighty, declined 
 having his own mere testimony taken as proof in the case. 
 He rather urged the testimony of his Father, and the ex- 
 traordinary works done through himself, as admissible proof 
 on the occasion. 
 
 " Then, why should the mere testimony of these rapping 
 spirits be now further urged upon us as proof that they are 
 not ' unclean,' ' lying spirits,' but rather the spirits of the 
 ancient prophets, apostles, Washington, Franklin, Tom Paine, 
 &c., &c., together with the more immediate dead relatives 
 of those who consult these spirits ? For such, indeed, they 
 have most abundantly declared themselves to be, within the 
 last two years or so, since beginning in the Fox family in 
 western New York. And yet they are no new thing in the 
 world, as histories of all ages and countries have shown; 
 though in outward forms and particulars the manifestations 
 have varied, as apparently found needful, to cause the great- 
 est seduction and ruin of mankind. 
 
 " And as to the alleged good works of these spirits, as proof 
 for them, viz., that they heal the sick, and otherwise greatly 
 promote men's temporal interests, besides their extraordinary 
 efforts in religion, as though expecting to secure the univer- 
 sal salvation of men and spirits in the regeneration of the 
 world without a judgment day, or resurrection of the dead 
 through Christ, as appears from their revelations now pub- 
 lished, — we .have not yet known of their performing any 
 better apparent works in such things than what ' foul spirits ' 
 
IS USTEODUCriON. 
 
 WQ^ld naturally do in their grossest deceptions, thus ' trans-^ 
 forming themselves ' into angels of light, as foretold of such 
 spirits. 
 
 2. " The public defenders of these spirits (let it be said 
 kindly) are naturally understood as furnishing us some proof 
 that the spirits are practising foul play, in claiming to be 
 from God, and sent from the dead, as they do. Because 
 much proof has been publicly brought against them that 
 they are demon spirits rather than what they claim to be ; 
 which proof has come before their mediums, clairvoyants, 
 and other public advocates. But instead of their attempting 
 publicly and fairly to answer it, they have seemed to re- 
 njiain as silent in regard to it as though neither the public 
 nor themselves ever heard of such proof. Particulars of 
 this will not be withheld when demanded. And yet their 
 professed full ' investigation ' of the subject, in the late 
 increase of their pamphlets, books, periodicals, circles, con- 
 ferences, mass meetings, general conventions, &c., &c., 
 appear rather as a flood about to deluge the community with 
 this spiritualism. Still, in all these operations, so far, they 
 have seemingly confined themselves to this one point, or 
 position, viz., that ' spirits ' have caused the manifestations, 
 and inferred from such proof that they are indeed from the 
 dead. 
 
 " If, then, these spirits are honestly what they claim to be, 
 and if their disciples or followers are positively satisfied with 
 the proof they have of it, it is not seen why they should so 
 long and so rigidly stand back, or refuse to come forward 
 into die open light, when called, as they often have been, to 
 look full in the face the proofs before them, that these man- 
 ifestations are performed by such foul spirits as those pos- 
 sessing the swine, as already mentioned. 
 
INTRODUCTION. I3 
 
 3. " These spirits are much in the habit of misrepresen- 
 tation and falsehood, in making communications through 
 their mediums. And this is admitted publicly by the me- 
 diums themselves, and other advocates, who, in such cases, 
 apologize for their being ' no more reliable,' generally im- 
 puting it to the ' mistakes ' of spirits ' not yet fully devel- 
 oped,' or to the ' scepticism ' of some present, ' provoking ' 
 the spirits to do no better. And these failures or falsehoods 
 of the spirits appear as often to come from the pretended 
 spirits of the pious dead as from others ; and, indeed, they 
 all profess religion now. So long, then, as even the mediums 
 admit these frequent untruths of their ' guardian spirits,' and 
 that they are ' no more reliable,' how can others, yet sus- 
 picious of them, safely rely upon such selfish and ex parte 
 testimony, that they are, indeed, the true spirits of the 
 dead } 
 
 4. " These spirits, or their mediums for them, are in some 
 instances witnessing against each other publicly, as being 
 * evil, damned spirits, willing instruments of the devil,' &c. 
 In now showing this to be a fact, the following extract is 
 quoted verbatim from a pamphlet just out, entitled, 'J. De- 
 fence of Spiritual Manifestations. By Rev. C. H. Harvey, 
 Pastor of the M. E. Church, of Kingston, Pa. 1852.' 
 The author says, — 
 
 " ' I have not the slightest doubt that evil spirits com- 
 municate with the living, through mediums, in many in- 
 stances. I believe that there are mediums so wicked that 
 good spirits will not communicate with them. I believe this 
 to be the case with the famous Auburn Circle. That raps 
 are made there, and that communications are received con- 
 taining extra human intelligence, I do not question ; but that 
 2 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the devil presides over the circle, and evil, damned spirits, 
 the willing instruments of the devil, the only ones that com- 
 municate through it, I am fully satisfied. And that many 
 other communications which have been spread abroad as 
 coming from the spirit spheres are from the same source, or 
 are wicked fabrications, got up by their authors for the pur- 
 pose of deception, I am just as fully satisfied. To this class 
 I believe the works of A. J. Davis, and much contained 
 in the paper called the ' Spirit World,' edited by Rev. La 
 Roy Sunderland, on spiritual manifestations, belong. Nay, 
 I know it to be so. I know it, because they contradict the 
 Bible.' — pp. 36,37. 
 
 " And much more this spirit author says, eq^ually de- 
 nouncing these heretofore most publicly held up as pioneers 
 and champions, if not bishops, in this spiritualism. And can 
 they and their communicating spirits now, in return, con- 
 sistently testify any more favorably of this fraternal author 
 and his communicating spirits } Should a company of the 
 arrested thus testify against each other, their character, as a 
 body, would naturally appear the more suspicious on that 
 account. Then how can this company of accused rappers 
 be properly acquitted, on their own testimony, thus alter- 
 nately condemning themselves or each other ? 
 
 5. " Many of the rapping spirits, if not all, teach infidel 
 doctrines, and virtually urge them on the world as a substi- 
 tute for the gospel of Christ. This is considered as much 
 done in the voluminous spirit revelations of Mr. Andrew J. 
 Davis, now regarded as understood first in rank among clair- 
 voyants and mediums. But present limits will only admit a 
 word of this spirit infidelity from 'J History of Develop- 
 ments in Spiritual Manifestations in the city of Fhiladel- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 phia.'' This author, from spirit communications, teaches that 
 this ' spiritual era of the nineteenth century ' is full as ' im- 
 portant and glorious' as that of the ' Christian era.' — p. 8. 
 And that God never ' enabled ' men, by revelations, ' to em- 
 brace the grand idea of a certain hereafter' till now, by 
 ' guardian angels,' (p. 9,) meaning rapping spirits ; as though 
 these rappers have now done more in divine revelations than 
 was ever before done by God himself, Christ, his Son, or 
 through angels, prophets, and apostles. Does not this spirit 
 assumption, at least, border on blasphemy ? 
 
 " These Philadelphia spirit rappers also teach that ' it is 
 impossible for a spirit to be bad,' (p. 12,) and that ' there can 
 be no bad spirits,' (p. 13 ;) as though Satan himself, and his 
 whole * generation of vipers,' are all good in the spirit world. 
 Those spirits also teach, unanimously, that ' all spirits are 
 happy ' ' in the spirit world,' ' much happier than they were 
 on earth ; ' that ' none of God's creatures are doomed to be 
 miserable, but to enjoy all the happiness they are capable of 
 doing,' &c., &c. — pp. 62, 64-66, 72, 80. This is the 
 same as saying, that not only all who die in sin, but all 
 devils also, if there be any, shall be saved in heaven. If 
 these spirit doctrines are not included among the apostle's 
 foretold ' doctrines of devils,' to be taught by ' seducing 
 spirits,' what others can be so ? 
 
 " Finally, in view of these things, may we not respectfully 
 invite (not challenge) the supporters of rapping spirits, clair- 
 voyance, &c., now to present publicly their strongest sup- 
 posed proof that these manifestations are not identical with 
 evil spiritual ' manifestations ' of old ? And will they not 
 labor to show wherein they spiritually differ from those in 
 Eden, which caused man's fall, such as strangely afflicted 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Job and vexed King Saul? And let it be shown, if It can, 
 that these spirits are not such as was in ' Balaam,' who sought 
 to ' curse Israel ; ' such as were in ' Baal's prophets ; ' and 
 also lied to ' King Ahab ; ' such as made persons ' wizards,' 
 * soothsayers,' and ' maniacs,' and to break ' fetters and 
 chains ; ' and such as were in swine, and were * cast out ' of 
 persons by divine power. Should this be effectually done, 
 then let it be further urged upon us, and not before, that 
 ' spirits of the dead ' now perform these manifestations." 
 
THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCIENT SORCEKY. — MODERN MESMERISM. — ITS 
 
 ORIGIN. 
 
 From time immemorial, there have been individ- 
 uals apparently endowed with superhuman power to 
 do certain things contrary to the ordinary course of 
 Viiature. That the holy prophets, Jesus Christ, and 
 Jliis apostles wrought miracles by the immediate 
 power of God, I firmly believe, as may be abun- 
 dantly proved by the sacred Scriptures. But there 
 was, anciently, another very different class, who did 
 many marvellous things by some other power. 
 
 Among the former we find Moses and Aaron ; and 
 among the latter, the sorcerers or magicians of Egypt. 
 Ex. vii. 10-12, " And Moses and Aaron went in 
 unto Pharaoh ; and Aaron cast down his rod before 
 Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a 
 serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men 
 and the sorcerers : now the magicians of Egypt, they 
 also did in like manner with their enchantments. 
 For they cast down every man his rod, and they 
 became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their 
 2* (17) 
 
18 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 rods." Now, Moses and Aaron were called of God 
 to do these things, and were acting under a divine 
 power given them for this great and good purpose; 
 while the sorcerers, doing the same thing for an evil 
 purpose, and by an evil power, were by divine dis- 
 pleasure condemned. 
 
 This appears from the following, among many 
 other texts, which show the abomination of the prac- 
 tice : (Rev. xxi. 8; xxii. 15. Is. xlvii. 9.) These 
 practices have been known by different names, in 
 different ages, and among different nations : besides 
 those already given, we may add necromancy, witch- 
 craft, &c. It was one of the abominations in the 
 sight of God for which he drove the ancient Ca- 
 naanites out of the land. (Deut. xviii. 9--14.) 
 
 We shall proceed to show that the same abom- 
 ination, with most if not all its ancient forms, exists 
 among us at the present day. And although it ha 
 not been practised in this country, to any considerab :; 
 extent, till within aboat fifteen years, it has four • 
 time to change its name several times — a circum 
 stance which alone is better calculated to excite sus- 
 picion than to reflect any credit on the thing itself. 
 Good things are not apt to change their names quite 
 so often. Righteousness is still known by the same 
 name by which it was in the days of David ; and the 
 name Christian remains the same that it was when 
 first given at Antioch, eighteen hundred years ago. 
 (Acts xi. 26.) But the evil we speak of seems soon 
 to get ashamed of one name ; to drop it and take 
 another. 
 
 Just so it was in old times : when it had, under one 
 aame, received the righteous frowns and just indig- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 19 
 
 nation of God, it would drop that name and take 
 another. 
 
 In this country it was first called animal mag^ 
 netism, by which we were given to understand that 
 certain manipulations made by one individual on 
 another produced an effect in some respects similar 
 to the natural magnet or loadstone. 
 
 At an early period of its notoriety in this country, 
 the author became acquainted with its modus operandi^ 
 and entered into it with a zeal and ardor that might 
 have been honorable in a better cause. 
 
 This was in the summer of 1841 ; but no regular 
 series of experiments were entered into until the 
 year following. 
 
 After the novelty of the thing had a little worn off, 
 
 and the fact established that such mysteries were 
 
 practicable, with such unremitted energy I perused 
 
 'ie subject, that I soon found myself among the most 
 
 ccessful experimenters of the day ; and for a long 
 ne I verily thought I discovered in it the germ of a 
 ^ence yet to be developed to bless mankind, not 
 only in easing the load of human woe and misery, but 
 also in obtaining a correct knowledge of the manners 
 and customs of the various beings that people the 
 distant stars, and in getting a peep occasionally into 
 the cabinet of secret as well as future events. And 
 firom the apparent complete success of my exper- 
 iments, I entertained high hopes that I should at 
 length succeed in intwining around my temples the 
 garlands of a deathless fame, as the founder of a 
 science that was destined to put to the blush all 
 others found on the pages of the Encyclopaedia. 
 
 Such were my hopes. But God has since shown 
 me that it is more noble to aim to be a good man 
 
20 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 than what the world calls a great one. And I think 
 if men w^ould. exert themselves as much to be good as 
 to be great, we should have more good men among 
 us, and less mesmerism and spirit rapping. 
 
 Believing 'it was a natural agent I had to deal 
 with, I could not fail to see that, when its principles 
 were well understood, it would amount to the most 
 wonderful and glorious discovery ever made by man ; 
 and that it was within the power of man, to a great 
 extent, to investigate the laws of Nature, and from 
 effects to learn causes, and trace her through her 
 secret labyrinths up to Nature's God, and thus, by a 
 kind of philosophical crucible, reduce the crudest ores 
 to the purest metals. With these views I was im- 
 pelled to action, and buoyant with hope. But God 
 had otherwise decreed. A cup of disappointment 
 was preparing, which, on tasting, I found of all things 
 the most bitter. 
 
 Before proceeding farther, it is necessary to state, 
 that, for a long time after engaging in the thing, my 
 whole object was to investigate it, and learn, if pos- 
 sible, by what laws it was governed. Consequently, 
 I made no public exhibition of it until I was per- 
 suaded that I had arrived at a sufficient amount of 
 facts to establish its claims to a science ; and since it 
 bore the name of animal magnetism^ my first ex- 
 periments w^ere designed to ascertain whether it bore 
 any resemblance to natural magnetism. For this 
 purpose, I entered into a series of experiments too 
 numerous and varied to be enumerated here, the 
 result of which seemed to establish the propriety of 
 the name. 
 
 Before entering upon my own experiments, it is 
 proper to give the reader a brief account of the origin 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 21 
 
 of the thing itself. For this purpose, I here give an 
 extract from a late English work on this subject. 
 
 " Anton Mesmer was born in 1734, at Mersburg, 
 on the shores of Lake Constance, and died in his 
 native place in 1815, at the advanced age of eighty- 
 one. At the age of forty-two he took the degree of 
 doctor of medicine, in the University of Vienna. He 
 appears to have been a man of imaginative cast of 
 mind ; for the inaugural thesis he published on ob- 
 taining his degree was, ' On the influence of the 
 planets on the human body.' Such a mind, if likely 
 to fall into many errors, was still open for the recep- 
 tion of any new ideas which might present them- 
 selves, and was not prone, as men of a more scep- 
 tical cast, to reject any new truth, because it did not 
 harmonize with preconceived opinions. The then 
 professor of astronomy at Vienna believed in the 
 efiicacy of the loadstone as a remedy in human dis- 
 eases, and he had invented a peculiar form of mag- 
 netized steel plates, which, it is said, he applied to 
 the cure of disease with much success. 
 
 " Mesmer obtained from the astronomer, who was 
 his personal friend, these magnets, and applied them 
 in his own way ; and, it is said, with such striking 
 results, that he communicated them to 'the astron- 
 omer, who published an account of them, but attrib- 
 uted the cures performed to the form of the plates, 
 and merely represented Mesmer as a physician em- 
 ployed by him to use them. Mesmer, who had dis- 
 covered the peculiEir mode of using them to insure 
 success, — that was, in fact, by manipulations, now 
 called. PASSES, — was indignant at this, and accused 
 his friend of a violation of the confidence placed in 
 him. The result was a controversy between the 
 
22 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 parties, each accusing the other. Notwithstanding 
 this quarrel, Mesmer proceeded in his own way, and 
 acquired considerable popularity ; but whether from 
 indiscretion on his part, or jealousy on the part of 
 others, he was opposed by the scientific authorities 
 of Vienna, and was ultimately obliged to quit that 
 city. 
 
 ^' In the year 1778, two years after obtaining his 
 degree, he arrived in Paris, whither his popularity 
 appears to have preceded him ; for we are told, even 
 by his enemies, that, upon opening public apartments 
 in that gay metropolis for the reception of patients, 
 they were speedily crowded by the numbers who 
 daily resorted to them, including all classes, from the 
 peer to the peasant, and that hundreds were ready 
 to testify to the cures wrought upon their own per- 
 sons by the great magnetizer. Now, making every 
 allowance for imagination or fancy^ striking results 
 must have followed his treatment, or no such enthu- 
 siasm could have been raised in his behalf. 
 
 " A French physician became a disciple of Mes- 
 mer, and is said speedily to have acquired the best 
 practice in Paris. So great, in fact, was MesmerV 
 success, that the French government took up the 
 matter, and* offered him a large annual income, if he 
 would communicate his secret; and they appear to 
 have thought so highly of the use to which this new 
 agent might be applied, that they actually proposed 
 to guaranty him a large sum, even if a commission 
 appointed to examine the subject should make an 
 unfavorable report! Mesmer, however, did not ac- 
 cede to the government proposal. After some time 
 and divers vicissitudes, the sum of «£ 14,000 was 
 raised by his disciples, whom he had instructed in his 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 23 
 
 art, but whom he did not consider entitled to practise 
 . it publicly — a right which they considered them- 
 selves to possess. 
 
 " Mesmer then returned to his native place ; and 
 this has been represented as ' running away from his 
 dupes ; ' but it appears that he retained faith in his 
 views, and in his last illness sought relief in his own 
 discoveries. As Mesmer's discoveries arose out of 
 the use of magnets, it is not surprising that he should 
 consider magnetism as the agent by which the effects 
 he witnessed were produced. He therefore taught 
 that there was a fluid, or gas, universally diffused, 
 which influenced the earth and planets, and all an- 
 imated bodies ; and this fluid he called ' animal mag- 
 netism.' " 
 
 He considered that it was capable of healing dis- 
 eases of the nerves immediately, and other diseases 
 mediately ; that it perfected the action of medicines, 
 and tended to promote a favorable crisis in disease ; 
 and that in animal magnetism nature presented a 
 universal method of healing the diseases, and pre- 
 serving the health of mankind. 
 
 The great end of his proceedings appears to have 
 been use — the application of a remedy for human 
 suffering ; and he does not appear to have been aware 
 of the more curious and distinctly psychical phenom- 
 ena elicited by later inquirers. To the Marquis de 
 Puysegur, a French nobleman, one of Mesmer's dis- 
 ciples, is attributed the discovery of the faculty called 
 clairvoyance, in the year 1784. 
 
 For the sake of brevity, I omit describing Mes- 
 mer's mode of operating, save that, among other 
 means for acting on his patients, be had a sort of box, 
 filled with iron filings and pounded glass, placed in 
 
24 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the centre of the room where they assembled; and 
 that they each were placed in connection with it by 
 means of polished metal rods, which they held in their 
 hands ; and the patients were further united and con- 
 nected by means of a chain encircling them. 
 
 When the French commissioners applied to this 
 box the usual tests for terrestrial magnetism, and 
 found no indication of ordinary magnetic influence, 
 they reported the whole was the work of imagination^ 
 — meaning /flwc^, — yet admitting that cures were 
 effected. This commission seems to have been both 
 a prejudiced and unfair one. The name of Dr. 
 Franklin occurs among the commissioners; but he 
 was at that time unwell, and incapable of attending 
 to the inquiry ; and while the public report con- 
 demned Mesmer and his proceedings, one of the 
 commissioners, who had paid the greatest attention 
 to the proceedings, published a private or individual 
 report favorable to him. But in the year 1826, the 
 French government appointed a second commission; 
 and their report, published in 1831, fully admits the 
 truth of all the phenomena usually ascribed to animal 
 magnetism. 
 
 However, our business is not so much with the 
 opinions of Mesmer, or that of his friends or enemies, 
 as with the facts and phenomena associated with his 
 name. It was soon discovered that the steel rods 
 had but little, if any thing, to do with the phenomena 
 produced ; but the name of animal magnetism con- 
 tinued to be used, and is still used on the continent, 
 and by this name the practice was introduced into 
 England a few years ago. But the English inquirers 
 into this remarkable human faculty, finding that the 
 use of a name which implied the existence of a fluid 
 
t)I>POSITION LINE. 
 
 25 
 
 which could not be demonstrated to the senses was 
 frequently turned into an argument against facts 
 which admitted of complete demonstration, adopted, 
 out of respect to the memory of Mesmer, and to 
 avoid the appearance of the adoption of any theory 
 of their own, that of mesmerism; just as magnetism 
 is applied to the properties of the loadstone, from 
 Magnes, the ancient reputed discoverer of its powers, 
 or galvanism to the discoveries of Galvani. 
 
 Here let us pause a moment for reflection. If \Ye 
 wish to understand the subject, we must begin at the 
 root of the matter. It appears that the professor of 
 astronomy at Vienna, believing in the efficacy of the 
 loadstone as a remedy in human disease, invented a 
 peculiar form of magnetized steel plates, which he 
 used for that purpose with success. But Mesmer 
 discovered what he thought was an improved mode 
 of using them ; that is, by manipulations^ or passes. 
 
 Some who read this will readily recollect what were 
 called Perkins's tractors, which were used for the same 
 purpose. They consisted of two parts, each of 
 pointed and polished metal, one of brass, and the 
 other of magnetized steel. They were held in the 
 hands of the operator, and drawn over the parts of 
 the patient affected. In some cases, the effect was 
 said to be wonderful; but when mesmerism was in- 
 troduced by manipulations, it was generally admitted 
 that it was the passes, and not the metallic points, 
 which did the work. Even the author himself, who 
 is a believer in the natural agency of mesmerism, and 
 whose language we have just quoted, acknowledges 
 that " it was soon discovered that the steel rods [used 
 by Mesmer] had but little if any thing to do with the 
 phenomena produced." And since these rods were 
 3 
 
26 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 evidently designed to establish connection with the 
 patient and box of iron filings and pounded glass, 
 if the rods were useless, the box and contents were. 
 And that the plates which he received from his friend 
 at Vienna were also useless in the performance, is 
 abundantly proved, at present, by the fact that the 
 same effects are now produced, and in a more won- 
 derful degree, without them. 
 
 So it seems evident that Mesmer's experiments, 
 and also those of the astronomer of Vienna, furnish 
 us no evidence of the germ of a science in the whole 
 affair. It is evident they were impressed with the 
 idea that magnetism was an agent that might be 
 employed in the cure of disease ; and under this im- 
 pression they used such means as they supposed 
 would convey this influence to their patients, each 
 one in his own way. Now, if magnetism was really 
 the agent employed, some such apparatus was abso- 
 lutely necessary, and the learned professor's philos- 
 ophy was strictly according to the laws of nature. 
 But every instance we have that these things have 
 since been done without apparatus is evidence that 
 Mesmer knew not the agent called into action. And 
 here we cannot pass over in silence the discovery of a 
 general feature, that seems to run through mesmer- 
 ism, in all its various forms, from beginning to end ; 
 that is, the results in mesmerism correspond to the 
 expectations of the parties concerned. In other words, 
 the experiments of the operator prove his theory. It 
 matters but little what that theory is, or how different 
 the theory of one individual may be from that of 
 another ; let each resort to mesmeric experiments, and 
 each will find in it the proof of his own. 
 
 Let this general feature of the thing be borne in 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 27 
 
 mind by the reader. We will first examine the ex- 
 periments of the professor of astronomy at Vienna. 
 He believed in the efficacy of the loadstone as a 
 remedy in human disease. This was his theory. He 
 undoubtedly expected that, if he could apply it to the 
 patient, he should succeed in effecting a cure. He 
 made the attempt, and succeeded just as he ex- 
 pected. But subsequent experiments have long since 
 proved that his plates were entirely useless in his 
 experiments : but no matter ; he thought the effect 
 could not be produced without them, and, of course, 
 he could not do without them. Mesmer thought if 
 the plates were used in a different manner, by being 
 passed over the patient in the manner now called 
 passes, the effect would still be greater. He tried the 
 experiment, and the result was as he anticipated. He 
 outdid the old professor at once. But subsequent 
 experiments have long since proved that his improved 
 use of them, together with his box and polished rods, 
 have no more to do with the phenomena in question 
 than Perkins's tractors had in curing the toothache. 
 But no matter ; he thought they had, and that an- 
 swered his purpose. 
 
 Much has been said by the advocates of mesmer- 
 ism, as a science, concerning the report of the com- 
 missioners chosen by the French government to ex- 
 amine the thing. But it does not appear that either 
 of these commissions acknowledged that the thing 
 had any claims to a science. The first reported that 
 the whole Vv^as the work of imagination ; the second, 
 that of 1826, and published in 1831, admit the truth 
 of the phenomena. This was certainly the least that 
 any commissioners could admit. So far, therefore, as 
 any thing can be made of these reports, they are 
 against mesmerism, 
 
28 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGltAPHI0 
 
 CHAPTER It. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 It has already been noticed, that, as the subject 
 was introduced into this country under the name of 
 animal magnetism, my first experiments were to as- 
 certain whether it bore any resemblance to the nat- 
 ural magnet. For this purpose, an artificial magnet 
 was first used, (the common horseshoe magnet,) 
 which seemed to have a powerful effect on persons 
 ill the magnetic state, by which they could be drawn 
 all over the room. It also further appeared, equally 
 evident that one side of a magnetized person, called 
 a subject, was attracted by one pole of the magnet, 
 and repelled by the opposite ; so that one in that 
 state was a complete magnet of himself, having the 
 two poles as a common magnet. This led me to, 
 reflect that, if one person had magnetic polarity, 
 another had ; and if there was any law of nature 
 about it, it was the same in all individuals, and the 
 visible polarity exhibited m the magnetic state might 
 be superinduced by the latent polarity of the operator 
 through his manipulations ; and if so, it depended on 
 this circumstance, viz., that, in the usual way of 
 magnetizing, the right hand of the operator came in 
 contact with the left side of the subject, and his left 
 hand in contact with the subject's right ; and the 
 effect depended on the opposite poles being brought 
 together. Hence it was easily conjectured that, if the 
 process was so changed as to bring the two right and 
 
^ OPPOSITION LINE, 29 
 
 left sides of the parties together, a contrary effect 
 would be produced. So, taking an easy subject, I 
 performed the manipulations with my arms crossed, 
 as Jacob's were when he blessed the two sons of 
 Joseph. The result was as I anticipated. The po- 
 larity of my subject seemed changed, so that the 
 side which, in the usual way of mesmerizing, was 
 attracted by the north pole of the magnet, was now 
 repelled by it. This is certainly the most illusory 
 thin Of I ever met with. 
 
 What philosopher^ while he supposed himself in- 
 vestigating a natural agent^ and treating it according 
 to certain known laws of nature, and finding it, to all 
 appearance, obedient to those laws, would ever dream 
 that his own preferred opinions were affecting the 
 result of his experiments ? But so it is. I was not 
 the first one so deceived. Mesmer himself was caught 
 in the same trap, and thousands, to-day, are locked 
 up fast in the jaws of the same. 
 
 As magnetism and electricity are supposed, by 
 some, to be but modifications of the same -agent or 
 power, I naturally concluded that the agent I sup- 
 posed myself dealing with might be nearer allied 
 to the latter. Accordingly, I instituted another set 
 of experiments, in which electrical apparatus was 
 substituted for the artificial magnet. I first tried a 
 Leyden jar, charged in the usual way, and found its 
 effects still more evident than that of the magnet. It 
 seemed to attract and repel alternate sides of my 
 subject, as the positive or negative sides of the jar 
 were presented. The experiments in mesmerism are 
 every way calculated to deceive the wary. I had a 
 theory which I supposed was a philosophical one. It 
 was predicated upon the known principles of elec- 
 3* 
 
30 THE Spiritual telegraphic 
 
 tricity and magnetism. If two bodies, both pos- 
 itively or negatively excited, be brought near each 
 other, they repel ; but if one is positively excited, and 
 the other negatively, they will attract. I had already 
 satisfied myself, that, with respect to magnetism, one 
 side of ray subjects possessed north polarity, and the 
 other south. Now, when I substituted electricity for 
 magnetism, I obtained additional proof. A stick of 
 sealing wax, excited, would attract one side of my 
 subjects, while an excited glass rod, or tube, would 
 repel the same. Now, could any thing, apparentlyy 
 be more positively and plainly demonstrated ? 
 
 I next used a delicate, gold-leaf electrometer ; and 
 at first I fancied it was affected by contact with one 
 in the mesmeric state; but when I began to doubt 
 iriy premises and review my former experiments, 1 
 reflected that my experiments VN^ith the electrometer 
 were mostly made in the same room where my elec- 
 trical apparatus was kept and frequently used ; so 
 that the effect might have been owing to that, and 
 not affected at all by the subject. And my later 
 experiments prove this conjecture to be true ; else, 
 like most other experiments in mesmerism, the instru- 
 ment was affected by my preferred opinion. But I 
 have never yet learned that any experimenter, let his 
 opinion be what it may, has ever been able to detect 
 electricity in mesmerism, in any of its varied forms, 
 by the use of an electrometer. With my own pres- 
 ent opinion on this subject, I do not believe that any 
 mesmeric experiment can be so conducted as to effect 
 a gold-leaf electrometer held in my hand. 
 
 My conviction that electricity was the agent called 
 into action led me to a further examination, with a 
 view to ascertain, if possible, whether a fluid, or 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 31 
 
 something similar, was drawn from^ or imparted to, 
 the subject. The result was, apparently, that one 
 was drawn from him, and I supposed it was the 
 positive. 
 
 In these experiments I labored diligently to ascer- 
 tain in what manner the outside of a Leyden jar is 
 said to be charged by induction. It is well known 
 that, if either side or coating of a jar be charged 
 either positively or negatively, the other side or coat- 
 ing will become oppositely charged by induction, as 
 it is called. Now, the question with me was. Where 
 does the charge, by induction, come from ? It does 
 not come from the same machine while but one side 
 of the jar is connected wilfi it. For instance : the 
 outside of a jar is not merely and necessarily in the 
 negative state because it is attached to a machine, 
 and the inside charged positively. If it is, an insu- 
 lated jar might be charged as well as one that was 
 not ; which is not the case. But since positive and 
 negative electricities, or vitreous and resinous, as 
 they are called, attract each other, it seems this mu- 
 tual attraction reaches through the glass, a non- 
 electric, and holds the two forces to its coatings. 
 That this is the case, is pretty evident from the fol- 
 lowing experiment : I took a small iron rod, and, 
 having attached a ball to each end of it, suspended 
 it on its centre of gravity by a silk cord. It was then 
 insulated. I then charged a jar, and holding a large 
 pane of glass under one end of the rod, and bringing 
 the knob of the jar up to it, it was attracted so as to 
 decline at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees ; and 
 on removing the glass, and charging the rod, and re- 
 peating the operation, the rod was as much repelled. 
 This fact seemed to account for some of the greater 
 
S2 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 mysteries in mesmerism, of which we shall speak 
 hereafter. 
 
 On one occasion, while magnetizing a subject 
 seated by the side of another, both easy subjects, I 
 observed that they both seemed affected in nearly the 
 same degree. I immediately concluded they were 
 both within the sphere of mesmeric influence, and 
 only needed a little closer union to be equally affected. 
 Therefore I joined their hands together, and contin- 
 uing the manipulations on the one I commenced, 
 put them both into the magnetic state at nearly the 
 same time. This is the first I ever knew or heard of 
 more than one person's being mesmerized at once 
 by manipulations. At that time I knew nothing of 
 Mesmer's process of producing this state. It was 
 more difficult to get books on the subject then than 
 at present. But as the circvumstance was in harmony 
 with my views of the nature of the thing, I tried the 
 experiment still further. I seated two subjects at 
 considerable distance from each other, and made a 
 connection between them with a brass wire held in 
 the hand of each ; and in mesmerizing one in the 
 usual way, both fell into the mesmeric or abnormal 
 state. 
 
 My next step was, after the manner of Gray and 
 Wheeler's experiments in electricity, to see if, at a 
 greater distance, the same effect would be pro- 
 duced. 
 
 In my next experiment I seated my subjects about 
 thirty feet apart, and run a wire between them as 
 before. Still the effect was the same — both were 
 mesmerized at once. Extending the experiment still 
 further, I took eight persons, and formed them into 
 a circle by joining their hands; and being within 
 
Opposition lineI. 33 
 
 tiiyself, made the usual passes on one, and five out of 
 the eight became mesmerized. 
 
 This was probably the first circle mesmerizing 
 known in this country. It appears that Mesmer ar- 
 ranged his subjects in a circle round a box of iron 
 filings, each holding in the hand a polished metallic 
 rod communicating with the contents of the box, 
 while they were further " united by a chain encircling 
 them." This he supposed was necessary, on the sup- 
 position that magnetism was the agent called into 
 action. I supposed it was electricity, and formed a 
 circle in harmony with the laws which govern that 
 agent, while Mesmer formed his in harmony with 
 what he thought to be the laws of magnetism. Yet 
 the probability is, we both produced the same effect 
 because we both expected the same. This appears 
 to be the most mysterious part of the mystery, and 
 one that forbids every idea of there being a natural 
 agent on any known law of nature concerned in the 
 whole affair. Whether this was the first circle of the 
 kind or not, is not easy to determine ; but I have not 
 yet learned that any one else formed a mesmeric 
 circle in this manner until after my published account 
 of this, which, I think, was in the winter of 1842-3. 
 But it is now claimed that such circles have become 
 the connecting link between heaven and earth ; or, to 
 speak more psychologically, a kind of spiritual tel- 
 egraph line from earth to the spirit land, through 
 which the most wonderful disclosures are made by 
 the spirits of the dead. 
 
 At the tim.e this discovery was made, I regarded it 
 highly interesting, not so much from what I supposed 
 would be its future usefulness, as from its novelty, 
 and the wonderful phenomena it presented ; neither 
 
34 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 did I dream of the evil which has since grown out 
 of it. Some of the most striking features presented 
 by the circle we proceed to notice. There were eight 
 in it, and five were mesmerized. These were formed 
 into a smaller circle after throwing out the three. It 
 then appeared that this reduced circle was as one 
 individual. Any thing which affected one, affected, 
 in like manner, the whole. What one tasted or felt, 
 was tasted or felt by all. If a phrenological organ 
 was excited in the head of one, the faculty of that 
 organ was manifested in them all. Many other 
 amusing phenomena were witnessed at this time ; 
 but as we shall have occasion to refer to this part of 
 the subject again, we pass it by for the present. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE!. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM. 
 
 We now proceed to give some account of the 
 phenomenon of the mesmeric state, or, as it is by late 
 writers sometimes called, the psychic state. This 
 state really consists of a variety of states, all having 
 one common character or generic resemblance, yet 
 presenting widely diflf'erent phenomena. 
 
 1. The simple mesmeric drowsiness^ or sleep. 
 
 2. Coma, a more profound sleep. 
 
 3. Insensibility to pain. 
 
 4. Phantasy, the state in which the subject takes 
 the mere suggestions of the mind of the operator to 
 be realities. 
 
 5. Phreno-mesmerism is when a phrenological organ 
 of the subject is excited by the operator, the faculty 
 of that organ is aroused to action. 
 
 6. Clairvoyance, the faculty of seeing without the 
 aid of either light or natural eyes, called, also, cerebral 
 lucidity, inner vision, internal or spiritual sight. Of 
 this state there appear to be several degrees, to be 
 treated of hereafter, the last and most perfect of 
 which is death. 
 
 7. Catalepsy, a rigidity of the muscles, and inabil- 
 ity of the subject to move. 
 
 8. Transfer of state and feeling, in which the sub- 
 ject feels what is done to the inesmerizer as if it 
 were done to himself 
 
 9. Attraction and repulsion, an apparent magnetic 
 
86 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 drawing or repelling the person of the subject, ap- 
 parently contrary to his inclinations. 
 
 10. Unity, in which the subject seems to take him- 
 self to be the same individual as the operator. 
 
 Different writers have used different names for 
 these states, but they mean nearly the same. Besides 
 these, there is another feature of the thing, which I 
 do not recollect its ever having a name ; that is, as a 
 general thing, subjects readily hear and answer their 
 operators, but seem incapable of hearing or answer- 
 ing others, or being conscious of their presence. To 
 this there are, however, many exceptions. Another 
 is, a subject may be transferred from the power and 
 influence of his mesmerizer into the hands of another 
 person, who has all the control over him that his 
 mesmerizer had, though the second person may not 
 be able to mesmerize. But it must not be supposed 
 that any one subject may be made to exhibit all 
 these states. I have known many who seemed to- 
 tally incapable of exhibiting more than the first or 
 second; and some who seemed susceptible of the 
 influence sufficient to produce the state of drowsi- 
 ness only, which would also show some symptoms 
 of a higher state. 
 
 The second state, at the first appearance, is a pro- 
 found sleep, from which the subject is not easil}'' 
 aroused but by his mesmerizer. In this -state it is 
 common to find subjects more or less insensible to 
 feeling ; and when they have the least of their own, 
 they most readily receive the feelings of their op- 
 erator. I have seen some as apparently insensible to 
 pain as a corpse ; yet the least scratch of a pin on 
 my hand would be sensibly and acutely felt by the 
 subject. And what was very singular, if the scratch 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 37 
 
 was made on my right hand, the subject felt it on his 
 left, and vice versa. It is also common, in this state, 
 for the subject to smell and taste what the operator 
 does. The reader will understand the state here 
 spoken of is what is called coma, or sound sleep ; and 
 when a subject is sensible to the feelings of his 
 operator, he is still sound asleep, but in what is called 
 transfer of state and feeling. 
 
 We will next consider the state called fantasy. 
 Experiments in this state are interesting to one who 
 believes he is using a natural agent, and often very 
 amusing. My own method was to hold a stick in 
 my hands, and, after the manner of the magicians of 
 Egypt, cause it to become a serpent. This was done 
 by closing my eyes and fixing my mind intensely on 
 a writhing serpent, which I fancied I held in my 
 hands, then place it in the lap of my subject, in 
 whose mind it became a serpent in reality. Some- 
 times a glove or handkerchief was rolled up, and in 
 the same manner made to become a chicken, a kitten, 
 an orange, or a toad, just as fancy dictated. 
 
 Phreno-mesmerism will next claim attention. It 
 was generally produced by exciting the phrenological 
 organs of the brain of the subject, by making a few 
 passes over them for that purpose. This seemed to 
 call the faculty of the organ into powerful action ; 
 and to suspend the action of the faculty so excited, 
 the passes were reversed. 
 
 It was amusing in some cases to witness this 
 effect. Excite the organs of time and tune, and get 
 the subject to singing, and immediately reverse the 
 passes, that is, to suspend the action of these facul- 
 ties, and the subject would stop singing, often in the 
 middle of a word. Excite the organs again, and he 
 4 
 
38^ THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 would commence just where he left off, and never 
 seemed to forget either the note or syllable he left off 
 at. In this manner, the sensations of hunger or 
 thi7'st, soIem7iity or mirthfulness^ anger, love, or fear, 
 may all be made to succeed each other in rapid suc- 
 cession. 
 
 As we wish to be brief in these descriptions, we 
 next consider the more wonderful state called clair- 
 voyance, in v/hich the subject at first has a faculty of 
 seeing things not within the range of natural vision. 
 Such objects as may be in the room, but not in sight 
 of the subject, — objects held behind the head, for in- 
 stance, — are distinctly seen, and even when the eyes 
 are bandaged. By degrees this faculty seems to be 
 e^^tended, so that things at any distance may be seen. 
 Most operators used to talk of two states of this 
 faculty — one called the dependent clairvoyance, in 
 which it was supposed nothing could be seen or 
 described by the subject, except what was seen by 
 the operator, or present in his mind at the time. But 
 it was ^ long time an unsettled question whether 
 such a thing as independent clairvoyance existed or 
 not ; that is^ whether a subject could, in any case, see 
 or know things of which the operator himself was en- 
 tirely ignorant. But a multitude of facts have abun- 
 dantly proved that it is even so. Some of my clair- 
 voyants have described things accurately, of which I 
 knew nothing at the time, and such as they could not 
 have known by the ordinary means of knowledge. 
 More recently, mesmerizers enumerate two or three 
 other and still higher states of clairvoyance. The 
 first is called induced mesmeric extasis or trance ; 
 the second, spontaneous extasis ; the third is death. 
 The first of these is the state induced by mesmerism, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 39 
 
 in which visions are had, and intercourse held with 
 the spirits of the dead. The second, as its name 
 indicates, is nearly the same as the first, but in a 
 higher degree, and entered into spontaneously, or 
 without the aid of mesmerism. The difference be- 
 tween the two seems to be this : Whatever occurs to, 
 or is seen by, one in the induced extasis, is forgotten 
 upon the return of the normal state ; while one in 
 the spontaneous extasis, or, as it is sometimes called, 
 the SUPERIOR state^ recollects all on returning to the 
 normal state. The third is the perfect state of ex- 
 tasis. As a fair specimen of the clairvoyant faculty, 
 we subjoin the following, from the pen of Dr. Had- 
 dock, an English operator : — 
 
 " Besides the power of seeing by an internal sight 
 such things as were put into her hands, or to which 
 her attention was directed, Emma would sometimes 
 manifest a sort of apparently omnipresent vision. 
 Thus she has frequently been asked to find missing 
 or lost articles. After a few minutes' consideration, 
 she has said where they might be found ; or, in other 
 cases, got up and pointed out the place where they 
 lay concealed. And this she has repeatedly done 
 when there was the most undoubted evidence that 
 neither herself in the normal condition, nor the mes- 
 merizer, nor any other individual, knew the situation 
 of the articles she was desired to look for. This 
 power has been, on most occasions, called into exer- 
 cise chiefly for the sake of experiment, and to test 
 its reality ; but it has also been applied to purposes 
 of use. The following is a remarkable instance, and 
 also valuable, as placing the reality and powers of 
 clairvoyance or internal sight beyond the reach of 
 cavil or contradiction : — 
 
40 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 " ' On Wednesday evening, Dec. 20, 1848, Mr. 
 Wood, grocer, of Cheapside, Bolton, had bis cash 
 box, witli its contents, stolen from his counting house. 
 x\fter applying to the police, and taking other pre- 
 cautionary steps, and having no clew to the thief, 
 though he suspected what proved to be an innocent 
 party, and having heard of Emma's powers as a 
 clairvoyant, he applied to me, to ascertain whether, by 
 her means, he could discover the party who had taken 
 it, or recover his property. I felt considerable hes- 
 itation in employing Emma's powers for such a pur- 
 pose, fearing that both the motive and agency might 
 be grossly misrepresented. But the amount at stake, 
 the opportunity of experiment, and Mr. Wood being 
 a neighbor, induced me to comply with his request ; 
 and nine o'clock, next morning, was appointed for 
 the trial. At that hour Mr. Wood came to my res- 
 idence, and I then put Emma, by mesmerism, into 
 the internal state, and then told her that Mr. Wood 
 (whom I put en rapport^ as it is called, with her) had 
 lost his cash box, and I wished her to tell us, if she 
 could, where the box was taken from, what was in it, 
 and who took it. She remained silent a few minutes, 
 evidently mentally seeking for what she had been 
 requested to discover. Presently she began to talk 
 with an imaginary person, as if present in the room 
 with us ; but as it subsequently proved, although in- 
 visible and imaginary to us, he was both real and vis- 
 ihle to her; for she had discovered the thief, and was 
 conversing with his mind on the robbery. She de- 
 scribed, in the course of this apparent conversation, 
 and afterwards to us, where the box was placed, 
 what the general nature of its contents was, partic- 
 ularizing some documents it contained, how he took 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 41 
 
 it, and that he did not take it away to his residence 
 at once, but hid it up an entry ; and her description 
 of his person, dress, associations, &c., was so vivid, 
 that Mr. Wood immediately recognized the purloiner 
 of his property in a person the last to be suspected. 
 Feeling satisfied, from the general accuracy of her 
 descriptions, and also from her describing the contents 
 of the box, that she had really pointed out the delin- 
 quent, Mr. Wood went directly to the house where he 
 resided, and which she had pointed out, even to the 
 letters on the doorplate, and insisted on his accom- 
 panying him to my house, or, in case of refusal, to 
 the police office. 
 
 " ' When brought and placed in connection with 
 Emma, she started back from him as if he had been 
 .^ serpent, telling him that he was a bad man, and 
 observing also that he had not the same clothes on as 
 yjrhen he took the box, which was the fact. He 
 xlftnied strenuously all knowledge of the robbery then 
 ^d up to a late hour in the afternoon ; but as he 
 .\yas not permitted to go at large, and thus had no op- 
 portunity for destroying or effectually concealing the 
 box, and as Mr. Wood had promised, for the sake of 
 his connections, not to prosecute, if confession was 
 made and the box and contents recovered, he at last 
 admitted that he had taken it in the manner described 
 by Emma ; and the box and contents were found in 
 the place where he had secreted them, broken open, 
 but the property safe. It should be observed that 
 Emma had pointed out the place where the box was 
 concealed ; but we could not be certain of the place 
 she meant, without permitting her, while in the inter- 
 nal state, to lead us to it. This the confession ren- 
 dered unnecessary.' " 
 4* 
 
42 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Such is clairvoyance. A greater mystery, perhaps, 
 was never known. The circumstance just related is 
 one among many that are less successful. Some of 
 our American clairvoyants have sometimes been as 
 successful as Emma, and again and again have 
 proved a total failure. 
 
 To assign a reason for this is very difficult. It is 
 evident there can be no philosophical reason given 
 for their frequent failures, until there can be such a 
 reason given why they should sometimes be successful. 
 This has never been done. About the time clair- 
 voyants began to be multiplied in this country, 
 (1843-4,) there was considerable excitement on the 
 subject, and many were the shrewd guesses to what 
 it would finally amount. But none guessed its pres- 
 ent claims ; that is, being a medium through which 
 to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Those 
 who were most intent on extending the sphere of 
 human knowledge, and whose expectations were 
 highly raised, sent clairvoyants into every part of 
 the universe of God, not excepting heaven and 
 hell. 
 
 On finding myself in possession of one, my first 
 object was to penetrate creation's utmost bound, and 
 with one bold stroke to rend the veil of the curtained 
 heavens, and steal a critic's view of distant worlds ; 
 and, with one enormous leap, to pass the immeas- 
 urable space between us and those planets that 
 circle the utmost distant stars, and bring to light 
 the record of worlds beyond the reach of eye or 
 glass. 
 
 This may seem too great a work for a sane mind 
 to anticipate. But take the position that must be 
 taken by a believer in the independent clairvoyant 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 43 
 
 faculty, and to this faculty space is annihilated, and 
 all this may be expected. For by such a faculty, one 
 might as well describe a scene on Canis Major as in 
 an adjoining room. The next state to be considered 
 is catalepsy. By this is understood a rigidity of the 
 muscles of the subject. The first complete state that 
 ever fell under my observation was that of a lady 
 whom I undertook to mesmerize, and who also de- 
 sired it, but dreaded the idea of losing her conscious- 
 ness, and insisted on being mesmerized awake. To 
 this I consented, telling her, jestingly, she might do 
 as she pleased about going to sleep. And indeed she 
 did, for she successfully resisted every effort I could 
 make to close her eyes or produce the first symptoms 
 of drowsiness ; but being determined to succeed in 
 some respect, I finally produced the most singular 
 case of catalepsy that I ever witnessed. There sat 
 my subject, to all appearance, in a perfectly normal 
 state, conversing with her friends as usual. She had 
 the power also to turn her head as usual; but every 
 joint and muscle below the neck was fixed as in a 
 frost, as immovable as a block of marble. The ob- 
 servation I made at the time, was, " she was all mes- 
 merized but her head." The state is, however, fre- 
 quently produced upon a limb, a hand, or even a 
 finger, and not on the whole person at once. It is 
 generally produced by making passes over the part 
 designed to be made cataleptic. On this subject, Dr. 
 Haddock uses the following language : — 
 
 " In a majority of cases, manipulations, actual con- 
 tact, or audibly spoken words are necessary to pro- 
 duce the desired result ; but in some cases, the mere 
 volition of the operator is sufficient." 
 
 The reader will notice, as he passes along, that 
 
44 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 whatever means are usually resorted to, to produce 
 mesmeric phenomena, in the end they may be pro- 
 duced without any other than the effort of the will. 
 And it has not yet been proved that a master op- 
 erator need depend on any thing hut his wilL 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CLAIRVOYANCE CONTINUED. 
 
 We have already noticed the excitement this fac- 
 ulty produced when the existence of it was fairly 
 demonstrated. Fancy painted to herself that it might 
 be made to subserve almost any purpose. Men of 
 every grade, from the tinker and cobbler to the judge 
 and divine, thought they saw in it the master key to 
 their respective professions. The surgeon and dentist 
 had only to mesmerize their afflicted patients to per- 
 form their hitherto torturing operations; while pain, 
 that cruel spoiler of human happiness, was allowed 
 no part or lot in the matter. 
 
 The physician, too, saw in it the secret of his art. 
 He had only to send his clairvoyant inside of his 
 patient to learn the secret cause of the malady and 
 the appropriate remedy for the same. As the artist 
 who undertakes to repair the deranged machinery of 
 a A\^atch opens it, and, with a microscopic eye, crit- 
 ically surveys its inmost parts, by which he is enabled 
 so to adjust them as to keep measured pace with 
 Father Time in his rapid and unreturning flight, 
 so the physician, by the aid of this wonderful faculty, 
 fancies he is no longer doomed to deal his nostrums 
 at the symptoms of disease, like an unskilful sports- 
 man, who fires a random shot at a bird or, for aught 
 he knows, the shadow of one, which, if he hits, 'tis 
 well ; if not, he consoles himself with having made a 
 learned shot ; but now, through clairvoyance, pos- 
 
'46 THE SPIRITUAL TEL'EG'RAPHIC 
 
 sesses the certain means of scattering his death shot 
 with unerring aim at the mortal pestilence of man, 
 and forcing the king of terrors to retire, with modest 
 step, far beyond the shades of threescore and ten. 
 (See a notice at the close of this chapter.) 
 
 So also the sufferer of lost or stolen property saw 
 in it the ready means of restoration. For this purpose, 
 clairvoyants were sent in pursuit -of the thief, who, 
 like the sagacious hound, would pursue him step by 
 •step through his midnight rambles to his secret den, 
 and there describe the pilfered gain. 
 
 Again : the mineralogist saw in it the means of en- 
 riching bimself with the precious ores hid in the 
 womb iof Mother Earth. Clairvoyants were sent 
 through the base of Alpine rocks in search of the 
 precious ores, and barren mountains were made to 
 groan with the weight of gold contained in their cav- 
 erns, shut up for ages, and hitherto concealed from 
 humaji view by superincumbent strata, which now, 
 as transparent glass, readily admit the all-seeing eye 
 of this mysterious agent to view their golden store. 
 The moralist, too, saw in it the elements of a com- 
 plete mora.1 reform ; for by it the secret deeds of mid- 
 night villany .may be as manifest as the noonday acts 
 of an honest man ,; and w^here villany has no veil to 
 hide it, it were an easy matter to chase it out of the 
 world. 
 
 But I have never yet learned that crime has been 
 any the less for this faculty, from which it is said 
 nothing can be hid. But such were the anticipations 
 of many. The thing was considered in its infancy, 
 and men but little acquainted with its principles. 
 But it was thought the time would soon arrive when 
 it would be more perfectly understood, and a new 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 47 
 
 science added to the sum of human knowledge, 
 which, like a star of the first magnitude, would out- 
 shine every other in the firmament of human wisdom. 
 
 But this is in very bad keeping with the present 
 rapid march of human wisdom. It is now seventy- 
 five years since Mesmer introduced it into France. 
 Since that time, it has more or less attracted the 
 attention of the literati in various enlightened nations. 
 Let the reader step back seventy-five years, and take 
 a survey of chemistry, natural philosophy, geology, 
 mineralogy, electricity, and galvanism, with the arts 
 and inventions of that day, and compare the same 
 with those of the present time, and say, Why is it 
 that man seems to have perfected his knowledge of 
 every thing else ? — still, mesmerism, as then, remains 
 involved in the shades of mystery. 
 
 But we hasten to notice still further what seems to 
 be a general feature of the thing. The reader will 
 recollect that, in my own experiments, the results 
 seemed to be just according to my prepossessed opin- 
 ion, and, as far as my knowledge of the thing extends, 
 it is more or less so with the experiments of others. 
 This is one of the great mysteries of the thing. A 
 person investigating it, and confining his observations 
 to his own experiments alone, is in a school where 
 not even the alphabet of the mystery is known or 
 taught ; nor can he ever learn it until he diligently 
 compares the experiments and results of many op- 
 erators of different minds and different theories. We 
 will take, for instance, the clairvoyant faculty. My 
 first use of it was to gain a knowledge of the distant 
 heavenly bodies ; and for this purpose, I sent my 
 clairvoyant to the moon, to begin with, and the intel- 
 ligence I obtained was just what I had for years 
 
48 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 before been in the habit of giving in my public lec- 
 tures on astronomy. So that neither myself nor the 
 world were any wiser than before ; for my clairvoyants 
 only reflected my own opinion. Others, whose phil- 
 osophical views of that secondary differ materially 
 from mine, sent their subjects to it, and obtained 
 descriptions of it corresponding to their theories. As 
 it was supposed nothing can exist beyond the reach 
 of this faculty, I thought we were in possession of 
 the means of settling the great question relative to a 
 future state of existence ; so I sent clairvoyants to 
 heaven and hell ; at least, I requested them to explore 
 those places. But they always had some excuse ; 
 either they could not be persuaded to go, or they 
 could not find such places. The fact was, I was 
 totally infidel with regard to revealed religion, and, of 
 course, did not believe in the existence of such places. 
 Some of my brother mesmerizers, of religious faith, 
 had better success. They sent their clairvoyants to 
 these places, and obtained such descriptions of them 
 as corresponded precisely to their creeds. The clair- 
 voyant of a Universalist described heaven as the hap- 
 py rendezvous of the human race, but could find no 
 hell. Some of more orthodox faith sent clairvoyants 
 to "the spirit world," who, after describing the joys of 
 the blessed, looked from the confines of heaven, doivn, 
 down, where Milton's devil fell " nine days and nights," 
 into the horrid pit, where lay the spirits of the damned, 
 writhing on liquid billows of fire and brimstone, and 
 sending forth unceasing shrieks of eternal woe and 
 agony. 
 
 We have given the reader some account of Emma, 
 the clairvoyant and medium of Dr. Haddock of Eng- 
 land. The doctor says, " Her ideas of religion 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 49 
 
 J 
 
 were principally derived from the teachings of a vil- 
 lage schoolmistress, in connection with the church 
 of England, and from occasional attendance at pub- 
 lic services of the church." 
 
 Again, the doctor says, speaking of the revelations 
 she has made while in the state of spontaneous ex- 
 tasis or trance, " All that she has said tends to con- 
 firm the distinction between moral good and moral 
 evil, and the impossibility of those who depart this 
 life in a state of moral evil attaining hereafter to a 
 state of moral goodness ; in this respect being strik- 
 ingly dissimilar to the statements of Davis, the Amer- 
 ican clairvoyant, but who, according to his own 
 subsequent statements, had never been in the state 
 of true spiritual extasis when he delivered his lec- 
 tures in the mesmeric state." This turns the box 
 and lets out the mouse. Emma's ideas of religion 
 were derived, directly or indirectly, from the church 
 of England ; and her spiritual disclosures " confirm 
 the distinction between moral good and moral evil, 
 and the impossibility of those who depart this life in 
 a state of moral evil attaining hereafter to a state 
 of moral goodness." Now, from Emma's disclosures, 
 we know just as much about the future state as 
 the church of England does, and no more ; and from 
 disclosures made by my clairvoyants, we know just 
 as much about the inhabitants of the distant planets 
 as I believed about them before I sent them, and no 
 more. From whence the doctor derived his ideas of 
 religion, he does not inform us ; but from some of 
 Emma's disclosures, I should think he was a little 
 tinged with German neology. 
 
 So also from the disclosures of Davis. The world 
 knows just as much about the future state of the 
 o 
 
 ^ 
 
50 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 dead as Davis himself knows when in the normal 
 state, and no more. 
 
 As Emma seems to be somewhat a noted English 
 clairvoyant, w^e must give the reader an account of 
 her visit to the moon, and her lunar description of 
 that planet, as it comes to us in the language of her 
 mesmerizer : — 
 
 " Her statements were to the effect that the moon 
 is inhabited ; that the inhabitants she saw were very 
 small — dwarfs — not larger than children on our 
 earth. Their heads were large in proportion to their 
 bodies, and the mouth vertical rather than horizontal ; 
 their voices harsh and rough, and resembling the 
 sound of distant thunder ; and when they spoke, the 
 speech seemed to come up from the bowels. Their 
 insides were not quite like ours — their lungs, espe- 
 cially, were different. She saw food — something 
 that looked somewha.t like bread, but they did not 
 call it by that name. She saw only one animal, 
 something like a small pig. Their dwellings were 
 constructed of pieces of rocks, covered over with 
 green stuff resembling, gorse. They were very low, 
 for she could put her hand to the top. The place did 
 not look like what she conceived the moon to be ; 
 but a large place, and very rocky, with immense 
 precipices and lofty mountains. The ' little folks,' 
 as she called the inhabitants, could clamber up these 
 rocks with their hands and feet, so fast that she could 
 not catch them. ' Is there any water there ? ' ' Yes ; 
 but it does not look like our water, but more like 
 milk and water, and yet is clear. (Meaning, probably, 
 that it is of greater density than our water.) It lies 
 in the bottom of hollows, and down the steep preci- 
 pices. The " little folks " can walk on this water, and 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 51 
 
 not sink. They are very light. They wear clothes, 
 but they are very simple, and all alike. They seem 
 good sort of people. They have a curious way of 
 jumping on the back of each other. A very little 
 baby was seen in a sort of cradle. It died. They 
 said, What signified that ? it had gone to sleep ; but 
 they did not mean sleep, but that it was dead. " 
 
 As the attention of the world is so much turned to 
 the clairvoyant faculty, or spiritual disclosures, there 
 are some points in this lunar description which claim 
 particular attention. And first, we shall notice that 
 Emma is not a scholar. Her mesmerizer says she 
 can neither read nor write ; hence it is not probable 
 that she knows much of astronomy as a science. 
 Yet a part of her descriptions of the moon is certainly 
 scientific, while other parts of it are certainly the 
 mere effect of fancy. It is evident, therefore, that the 
 philosophical knowledge of her mesmerizer might 
 have tinged her description. She describes the moon 
 as being rocky, abounding in immense precipices and 
 lofty mountains. Every one familiar with the discov- 
 eries made by astronomers, with the best telescopes, 
 know this to be universally admitted. Her mountain 
 scenery is, by astronomers, often beautifully and 
 sublimely portrayed. Her circular ranges of precip- 
 itous mountains, enclosing a plain with a single 
 conical mountain in the centre, has been the wonder 
 and admiration of astronomers of modern' times. 
 They are described as being higher in proportion 
 than terrestrial mountains, having immense quan- 
 tities of debris piled up, or scattered in wild con- 
 fusion at their base, which is overhung with immense 
 projecting crags, threatening to fall below to increase 
 the quantity already there. 
 
 k 
 
52 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Again: her description of the "little folks" is, in 
 part, too scientific to be wholly the work of imagi- 
 nation. She describes them as very light, and en- 
 dowed with extreme agility to clamber up the steep 
 rocks. Now, the magnitude of the moon is about 
 one forty-seventh part that of the earth, and its 
 density about equal to glass; while that of the earth 
 is nearly equal to cast iron ; and from the known 
 principles of gravitation, a body weighing one hun- 
 dred pounds on the earth would weigh but about 
 sixteen on the moon. So that, if a full-grown person 
 should be carried there, he would weigh but about 
 twenty-six pounds; and, possessing but a terrestrial 
 degree of agility, he could jump upon another's back 
 as well as Emma's "little folks." So it may appear, 
 at first, that her ignorance of these facts is in favor 
 of the clairvoyant faculty. This might be reasonably 
 inferred, provided they are as unknown to her mes- 
 merizer as they probably are to her, which we pre- 
 sume is not the case. But she says their voices were 
 " harsh and rough," resembling " distant thunder." 
 This is one of the common errors of clairvoyants. 
 From repeated and critical observations made on the 
 moon when passing Jupiter and some of the larger 
 fixed stars, it has been ascertained that her atmos- 
 phere cannot exceed half a mile in height, and ex- 
 ceedingly rare at that. Such an atmosphere would 
 scarcely transmit sound. On the top of Mont Blanc, 
 which is only 15,668 feet high, the voice, in speaking, 
 is heard comparatively but a short distance, and the 
 report of a pistol is proportionally diminished, owing 
 to the great rarity of the atmosphere ; yet our at- 
 mosphere is known to reflect light forty-five miles 
 above the earth's surface, and the report of a burst- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 53 
 
 ing or exploding meteor has been heard from the 
 distance of above seventy miles above the earth. 
 Our atmosphere must, therefore, be at least one hun- 
 dred and forty times denser than that of the moon. 
 Yet Emma's "little folks" had voices like distant 
 thunder. They must be a strong-lunged race of 
 beings ; for the loudest thunder known to us could 
 not be heard at the usual speaking distance in such 
 an atmosphere as that of the moon. This spoils the 
 whole story, and proves that clairvoyance must be 
 accounted for in some other way than by things being 
 actually seen. Now, why will people suffer them- 
 selves to be led into the mire by this ignis fatuus, 
 rather than follow the dictates of sober reason and 
 common sense ? 
 
 My own clairvoyant described the moon very dif- 
 ferently. She said it was not inhabited ; that there 
 was no water there, and so little air, she could 
 scarcely breathe ; and that there was no vegetation 
 there, and scarcely any tking that resembled earth, 
 but all was barren rock. Her description of the 
 mountains was similar to that of Emma's. We 
 could offer many philosophical reasons for there being 
 neither animals nor plants on the moon like those on 
 the earth. By our best telescopes, a spot on the 
 moon, less than two hundred feet in diameter, may 
 be distinctly seen. There is no water of that extent ; 
 and if there is an^, it would not evaporate in so thin 
 an atmosphere. Therefore, there is no rain or dew 
 there. No clouds have ever been seen there. Emma 
 represents the " little folks " as subject to death. 
 They are sinners, then, and in a fallen state. I 
 wonder if they have any plan of salvation. 
 5* 
 
54 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 The following appeared in " The Hartford Daily 
 Times," June 3, 1853 : — 
 
 "Clairvoyant Examinations. -—Pnce established 
 for Examination of Disease and Prescription per- 
 sonally^ One Dollar. — Dr. Sivan and Madame John- 
 son, of New York City. — These well-known cel- 
 ebrated mesmeric and botanic physicians have ar- 
 rived in town, and taken rooms at the Revere House, 
 Main Street, Hartford, Conn., for a short time, where 
 they will be happy to wait upon all those who may 
 favor them with a call. Through the solicitations of 
 their patients, the doctor has concluded to remain 
 here for a time longer, to accommodate the sick. 
 Other engagements will compel him to be absent for 
 a short time ; but he will soon return and locate him- 
 self permanently in this city, where he will endeavor 
 to exert his best abilities in relieving the afflicted. 
 He would say to those who may wish their advice, 
 either mesmerically or otherwise, that no one need 
 hesitate a moment in hawng an examination made 
 of their system, if diseased ; if not satisfied, no pay 
 will be taken. 
 
 " Madame Johnson, while in the clairvoyant sleep, 
 will describe to the patient, point out the symptoms, 
 locate the disease, and prescribe the remedy that will 
 make a speedy cure. She has successfully examined, 
 within the last eight years, over twenty-four thousand 
 patients, and has not, as yet, been known to make a 
 failure. Her examinations are all warranted to be 
 correct ; thousands are ready to testify to this fact ; 
 no other clairvoyant dare make this assertion ; she 
 can confidently be depended upon on all matters of 
 importance. 
 
 " Dr. Swan and Madame Johnson have superior 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 55 
 
 advantages over many other clairvoyants. They pre- 
 pare their own medicines ; they have been very suc- 
 cessful in the treatment of all old chronic or acute dis- 
 eases, and invite the attention of the public to the 
 following, viz., scrofula, erysipelas, white swellings, 
 lumbago, neuralgia, tic douloureux, rheumatism, can- 
 cers, lung complaints, bronchial affections, dropsy of 
 the heart or blood, and female complaints, all of 
 which are scientifically treated. 
 
 " N. B. — To those who wish, Madame Johnson 
 will give the psychometrical or phrenological delin- 
 eations of character, without having any letter from 
 the unknown party. All that is necessary for her to 
 know is, when the person was last heard from. She 
 will also give a correct account of absent friends, 
 describe places and persons, — whether in prosperity 
 or adversity, sickness, death, or health, — lawsuits, 
 lost or stolen property, and all kinds of business trans- 
 actions. 
 
56 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 C H A P T E R V. 
 
 FURTHER EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. — NO ELEC- 
 TRICAL ACTION IN MESMERISM. — EVIL EFFECTS OF 
 SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. — THE TRANSFIGURA- 
 TION. — AN ANGEL APPEARED TO JOHN THE REVE- 
 LATOR. 
 
 While my attention was directed to my own 
 experiments, it appeared evident that mesmerism was 
 a science, the agent of which is electricity. Having 
 tried various experiments to detect the operation of 
 it, all with apparent success, I reflected that, if elec- 
 tricity was drawn from a subject, that subject could 
 not be mesmerized, provided he had the means of 
 keeping up the equilibrium of that fluid in his system ; 
 and if he was immediately connected with the earth 
 by a good conductor, he would have the means, and 
 could not be affected by the passes. 
 
 Accordingly, experiments were tried by seating sub- 
 jects, holding one end of a chain in the hand, while 
 the. other was buried in the moist earth ; when I found 
 myself unable to produce the mesmeric effect in the 
 least degree, yet had no difficulty in putting the same 
 subjects into that state in the usual way. 
 
 This seemed to demonstrate the position, that if 
 electricity was drawn from the subject, the deficiency 
 would be supplied from the earth ; and if it was 
 imparted to him, it would pass off" to the earth ; and 
 in either case, the state of the subject would remain 
 the same. 
 
 But as I became acquainted more extensively with 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 57 
 
 the subject, and began to witness the experiments of 
 others in various parts of the country, I soon learned 
 that there was no electricity about it. 
 
 Some of my experiments were published in a- peri- 
 odical called " The Magnet," and soon repeated by 
 others, many of whom obtained the same results — 
 some by the same means, others by a liiere effort of 
 the will. To change the polarity of a subject, some 
 found it unnecessary to mesmerize with the arms 
 crossed ; but simply will it to be done, and it vjas 
 done. In exciting a phrenological organ to action, I 
 was always careful to hit the right one ; but there 
 were others, not knowing where these organs were 
 located, who would often mistake and excite one for 
 another. But it was all just as well. If the operator 
 intended to excite combativeness, but made a mistake 
 and excited philoprogenitiveness, it was just as well ; 
 combativeness was aroused, and neither he nor the 
 subject knew the difference. 
 
 And, finally, I perceived it made no difference what 
 means were employed to produce an effect: it was 
 only a determination in the mind of the operator to 
 produce it, and it was done. Mesmer sometimes 
 magnetized his subjects through a door, he being in 
 one room, and his subject in another. 
 
 But when the commissioners came to test the mag- 
 netic influence, they placed the subject at the door, 
 pretending that Mesmer v/as on the other side, when, 
 in reality, he was not ; but it made no difference ; the 
 subject was magnetized just the same as though there 
 had been a Mesmer the other side of the door. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that the mind only is affected 
 primarily, and the body but secondarily, if at all. 
 
 There are some cases where many a long mile 
 
58 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 intervenes between the operator and his subject, and 
 yet the effect is the same as when the passes are made 
 over the person. 
 
 It was generally understood, that, when manipula- 
 tions were made, the subject should also be enveloped 
 in the will of the operator to produce the effect ; and 
 the more frequently it is produced, the less need there 
 is of means, save the will alone. Another fact should 
 also be noticed. The subjects of different operators 
 exhibit different phenornena, the subjects of one being 
 different, in some respects, from those of every other. 
 
 To illustrate this still further : my own subjects 
 appeared in a profound sleep, and entirely insensible 
 to every thing around them ; yet most of them in what 
 is called the state of transfer. 
 
 Some operators are unable to close an eye, or give 
 their subjects the least appearance of sleep, yet, in 
 other respects, produce the usual phenomena. The 
 subjects of others seem sensible of every thing 
 around them, conversing with one as well as another 
 without being put en. rapport. The clairvoyants of 
 some, when they pretend to go to a place by riding in 
 a carriage, exhibit such a jostling motion as a carriage 
 gives a person actually riding; others, under the same 
 circumstances, exhibit no motion at all. 
 
 The clairvoyants of some, in examining the sick, 
 place their hands on their own persons : for instance, 
 if to examine the head of a patient, lay their hand on 
 their own heads. Others examine without moving a 
 hand. 
 
 So in spiritual disclosures. Some are rapping 
 mediums, and some are writing mediums, while others 
 are table-tipping mediums. Some remain in the body, 
 and receive the visits of departed spirits ; others leave 
 the body, and go to the spirit land. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 59 
 
 Now, why this difference ? Suppose A becomes a 
 mesmerizer, and gets up a dozen or twenty subjects. 
 They all exhibit the same phenomena. Now, B comes 
 from a distance to make him a visit. He sees A 
 mesmerize a few of his subjects, and for the first time 
 witnesses the mysterious effect. He goes home and 
 becomes a mesmerizer himself; but his subjects are 
 all just like A's. 
 
 Again : suppose B had fallen in where he would 
 have witnessed the table tippings ; he would have 
 gone home and told the wonderful story, and he and 
 his neighbors would have got up an harmonial circle, 
 and some of them, the most credulous, would have 
 been mediums. 
 
 And now for the cause. When I first began to 
 hear about mesmerism, and before I ever saw any 
 thing of it, I made up my mind how a person would 
 look and act in that state ; and the first one I mes- 
 merized was the first I ever saw in that state, and 
 she looked and acted just as I expected. And had I 
 expected she would set a table to tipping, or have 
 written a communication from the dead, or have 
 delivered an oral one, she would have done it. 
 
 This is generally the case with others : before they 
 become mesmerizers, they either see something of it, 
 or hear enough to enable them to form an opinion 
 concerning the appearance of a person in that state ; 
 and when they come to practise, their subjects look 
 and act just as they expected, or as they have seen 
 others. 
 
 The cause of the difference, therefore, appears to be 
 this : all operators beforehand do not happen to think 
 alike with regard to the appearance of a mesmerized 
 person. Hence, results in mesmerism, clairvoyance, 
 
60 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 spiritual disclosures, &c., are such as are anticipated 
 by the parties concerned, and are in harmony with 
 their theories, creeds, or prepossessed opinion. 
 
 Those who believe electricity is the agent employed 
 prove it by their experiments. Those who believe the 
 will alone does the work prove it by their experiments. 
 Those who believe in a future state of rewards and 
 punishment prove, by their clairvoyants, the existence 
 of heaven and hell in the popular sense of these words ; 
 while he who believes in the universal salvation of all 
 men proves it also by his clairvoyants ; and at the 
 same time, the infidel, by his clairvoyants, proves all 
 beyond the grave an entire blank, and that there is 
 neither angels nor spirits. Those who believe the moon 
 is inhabited prove it in the same way; and those, 
 also, who believe it is not inhabited. 
 
 Now, how much wiser is the world on these sub- 
 jects than it was before any of these wonderful dis- 
 closures were made ? Wonderful indeed ; but the 
 greatest wonder is, why so many are so completely 
 deceived. 
 
 One thing is certain : whether the thing is a science 
 or not, or whether any of the phenomena can be 
 accounted for or not, to one who takes a general 
 survey of it, it is evident that no reliance can be placed 
 on any of its disclosures. Yet there are men among 
 us at the present time, and not a few occupying emi- 
 nent positions in society, who are trying to maintain 
 its claims to a science, and thus giving an unholy 
 sanction to the practice of it. We shall have occasion 
 hereafter to give the names of some who ought to 
 blush to be found in such a position. 
 
 To these reflections we subjoin the following from 
 the " Western Watchman," headed " Spirit Rap- 
 pers : " — 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 61 
 
 ••^ Keep away from them. Keep your children away 
 from them. Do you ask why ? Because, — 
 
 " 1. They certainly do no good. They teach nothing 
 that is worth knowing, they relieve no pain, they 
 sanctify no heart, they save no soul. If they rap on 
 t^ables, they do not supply them with food ; if they 
 shake and lift them, they do no servant's, hire in 
 moving them nor washing dishes. A man might 
 have forty thousand such spirits in his house, yet be 
 no better off, either in soul, body, or estate. 
 
 " 2. They have done much mischief. Many have 
 become insane by running after these spirit rappers. 
 The young have been led to trifle with serious and 
 sacred things. The Bible has been brought into con- 
 tempt. Some who professed to be disciples of Christ 
 have avowed infidel sentiments by the influence of 
 these rappings. Their tendency is to turn the mind 
 from God, the concerns of the soul, and eternity. 
 
 " 3. Let them alone, because it is wicked and dan- 
 gerous to meddle with them. God has forbidden us to 
 ' seek unto familiar spirits that peep and mutter,' or 
 to have any thing to do with witches, necromancers, 
 and devils. He has, in all ages, allowed devils to do 
 some strange and wonderful things, to try and prove 
 men. He has forewarned us of this. If he has given 
 * lying spirits' leave to tempt this generation, will you 
 run into the temptation ? No. Let all who value 
 their own peace and safety keep away. Do not invite 
 the devil to ruin you." 
 
 Much is said by the advocates of mesmerism con- 
 cerning the fact that angels formerly visited men of 
 old, as a proof that the spirits of the dead now visit 
 the'living. Bat, although men in this life were some- 
 times called angels, there is a higher order of beings 
 6 
 
62 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 above men that are called angels. This is evident 
 from the circumstance that Christ was made a little 
 lower than the angels. (Heb. xi. 7, 9, 16.) 
 
 That such superior beings appeared to men of old 
 is no proof of the present pretended spiritual disclo- 
 sures. First, because they appeared to holy men, 
 with, perhaps, but few exceptions, as in the case of 
 Balaam. While clairvoyants, mediums, &c., as a 
 general thing, make no pretension to holiness of heart, 
 but, according to their general theory, it is of little 
 consequence: the vicious are as sure to attain to per- 
 fect happiness hereafter as the virtuous, only not in 
 quite so short a time. Second, there is no proof in 
 the Scriptures that the spirits of dead men, who ever 
 had an existence on the earth, ever did appear to 
 living men in the flesh. 
 
 It is generally believed that Moses appeared on the 
 mount of transfiguration long centuries after he was 
 dead. But the Scriptures do not so inform us. Christ 
 first admonished his disciples to beware of the leaven 
 (doctrine)' of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and 
 then immediately, in refutation of the doctrine of the 
 Sadducees, went on to preach the astonishing doctrine 
 of a resurrection from the dead, and finally, in demon- 
 stration of it, he gave Peter, James, and John a vision 
 of his coming "in the glory of his Father," and of the 
 resurrection of the dead. 
 
 Now, unless Christ's second coming and resuiTCc- 
 tion of the dead took place then, Moses and Elias, in 
 person or spirit, were not there. But as it was a 
 vision of the future, it shows what will be in the future^ 
 when the vision shall be fulfilled; when Moses and 
 Elias, " at the resurrection, at the last day," will be in 
 the kingdom ; when Christ comes in the glory of his 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 63 
 
 Father, to reward every man as his works shall be. 
 Then Moses will be rewarded with eternal life, by a 
 resurrection which our Savior was aiming to prove, 
 in opposition to the Sadducees. (See " The Chris- 
 tian's Only Hope," by the author, pp. 26-28.) 
 
 Again : it is said that John saw and conversed with 
 the spirit of one of the old prophets. Rev. xxii. 9, 
 " For I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren 
 the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of 
 this book : worship God." 
 
 The personage that John attempted to worship is 
 not declared to be one of the prophets, but John's /<?/- 
 low-servant ; that is, one that served the sa7ne God, 
 and one who also was a fellow-servant of John's 
 brethren the prophets ; that is, one that had served 
 the prophets, and was then serving John, and at the 
 same time was serving God. Moreover, in the sixth 
 verse he is expressly called an a72gel; also in the 
 sixteenth verse. It appears further that the whole 
 book of Revelation was given to John by an angel. 
 (See Rev. i. 1.) 
 
 But suppose we take the position that the personage 
 John attempted to worship was one of the old proph- 
 ets : it could not have been one of the dead ones, 
 because " the dead know not any thing, neither have 
 they any more a reward ; for the memory of them is 
 forgotten." (Ec. ix. 5.) The dead lose their memory ; 
 but the angel seen by John remembered he had served 
 the prophets, or had been one himself, therefore he 
 was one that was not dead; and if he luas one of the 
 prophets, he was Enoch or Elijah. 
 
 Again : it is said the spirits of the dead have often 
 been seen by the living, which is proof that they do 
 return to the earth occasionally. But a little attention 
 
64 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 to this subject, and a few grains of common sense, 
 will convince the candid that these appearances do 
 not so much as prove the existence of such spirits. It 
 is generally believed that death is a separation of the 
 spirit from the body. If so, the spirit of a living per- 
 son cannot be seen out of the body. But there are 
 innumerable cases in which the apparitions (as it is 
 called) of living persons have been seen, which is 
 generally considered as an omen of the immediate 
 death of the persons. . 
 
 Now, what can the apparition of a living person be ? 
 It is not the real person, neither is it the real soul, 
 spirit, or ghost of the person ; for the person is not 
 dead ; the soul and body have not separated. 
 
 Even if we take for granted the existence of the 
 disembodied spirit, in such cases it must be admitted 
 that the spirit is seen where none is really present. 
 And since it is so, why may not the spirit of the dead 
 be seen where none is really present? One would 
 not be a greater phantasm than the other, and neither 
 would prove the existence of the spirits of the dead or 
 living. But this is not all : such appearances, if they 
 prove any thing relating to the spirit, prove too much ; 
 for they prove that inanimate objects and brutes have 
 spirits as well as men. 
 
 Who ever saw or heard of a spirit, apparition, or 
 ghost of a dead or living person making its appear- 
 ance entirely naked ? They always appear clothed, 
 or in a winding sheet or coffin. 
 
 Take, for instance, the spirit of Captain Mcintosh, 
 which appeared in England not long since, who also 
 had died in India. He appeared dressed in the full 
 uniform of an English captain, every article on him of 
 which must have had a spirit as well as himself. Or, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 65 
 
 if the spirit of the uniform was not present, then his 
 spirit (if he had any) was not. 
 
 The spirits, glwsts, or apparitions of horses, dogs, 
 and other animals have all been seen in a multitude 
 of cases. Yet it is- not pretended these things have 
 spirits. The most, therefore, that can be said in such 
 cases is, that such appearances prove the wonderful 
 power of imagination. 
 
 Let us reason on this subject like men, and we shall 
 see no more proof of disclosures being made by the 
 spirits of the dead than we have of those that seem 
 to be the spirits of dogs, horses, old clothes, coffins, 
 and winding sheets. 
 6* 
 
66 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER VI„ 
 
 PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM EXPLAINED ON THE SUP- 
 POSITION THAT ELECTRICITY IS THE AGENT CALLED 
 INTO ACTION. — THE REV. J. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY. 
 
 We should say but little on this subject, were it 
 not that, of late, a fresh and vigorous attempt is 
 making to account for table tipping, furniture moving, 
 and spiritual rapping, by referring them to electrical 
 phenomena. In the abstractedly moral sense of the 
 thing, it matters not by what means the thing is 
 broLia:ht about. All a moralist needs to know about it 
 is, that it is a great evil. We have described the usual 
 phenomena of mesmerism in its various states, pro- 
 gressively rising one above another, until it reaches 
 the climacteric state of spontaneous extasis or trance, 
 through which, it is said, the purest disclosures are 
 made by the spirits of the departed dead. These 
 disclosures are more or less repugnant to the gospel 
 of Jesus Christ. This we shall endeavor to show in 
 another chapter. 
 
 Now, it is certainly wrong to practise any thing that 
 in the end has an evil tendency. Suppose, therefore, 
 electricity is the agent employed in the mystery; it 
 no more justifies the practice of mesmerism than 
 drunkenness is justified by our knowledge of the 
 agent employed in producing it. But, as yet, it must 
 be allowed that it is an unsettled question whether 
 electricity is the agent or not. K it is not, it may be 
 something more unhallowed, unholy, and unclean. 
 Before we call it electricity, we should have the most 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 67 
 
 positive demonstration of the fact, otherwise we may 
 be doing a great injury to mankind ; for it* will be 
 diiEcult, at the present day, to persuade people there 
 is any harm in investigating the operations of a nat- 
 ural agent. We shall, therefore, endeavor to give the 
 sum of evidence and argument in favor of the elec- 
 trical agency of the mystery, that the reader may the 
 better judge of the matter. 
 
 That electricity is drawn /rom, or communicated to, 
 a subject, I know of no more plausible evidence than 
 that which appears from my own experiments. We 
 will admit it, and see to what extent we can explain 
 the different phenomena on that admission. But we 
 can scarcely proceed another step without assuming 
 another improved principle or position. We will 
 therefore suppose that sensation, in the normal state, 
 is produced by the vibrations of electricity, forced 
 into action by the energy of the will acting on, and 
 similarly vibrating, the nervous system. So, to smell, 
 the effluvia entering the nose comes in contact with, 
 and vibrates certain nerves which communicate with, 
 the brain, the storehouse of sensation. And, to hear, 
 the sonorous body first gives vibrations to the atmos- 
 phere through which they are conveyed to the audi- 
 tory nerve, w^hich further conveys them to the brain. 
 Yet in neither case is the effluvia or atmospheric 
 vibrations conveyed to the brain, but the electrical 
 vibrations produced by them. So, in every sensation, 
 a vibratory current of electricity is sent through the 
 nervous system, and thence escapes into the circum- 
 ambient air, or other medium. 
 
 Now, when an operator has mesmerized his sub- 
 ject, they hold the same relation to each other that 
 the two coatings of a Leyden jar do when charged; 
 
68 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 and every sensation of the operator is a partial dis- 
 charge, as it were, of the jar : the flnid escaping from 
 him is received by the subject, with its accompanying 
 vibrations, which are the sensations of the operator. 
 To illustrate this still further : suppose A mesmerizes 
 B. A draws a fluid from him, say the positive. A 
 becomes positive, and B negative by induction, or 
 minus his positive fluid, which is now in the person 
 of A. A now feels the scratch of a pin on his right 
 hand. This vibrates, and sets at liberty a portion of 
 his positive fluid which he took from B. The escape 
 of this fluid is the sensation of pain to A, in the same 
 manner that the escape of caloric from the hand is 
 the sensation of cold. This fluid, so escaping from 
 A's ri^ht hand, is received in B's left. And why in 
 his left ? Because, when A mesmerized him, his 
 right hand came in contact with B's left side, and 
 took the positive fluid from it; and it has now gone 
 back where it came from, and carried A's pain along 
 with it. But when I mesmerized a subject with my 
 arms crossed, so as not to change the polarity, a pain 
 in my right hand went into the right hand of the 
 subject. So far, the electro theory seems to be de- 
 monstrated. But we have shown that the mere effort 
 of the will of the operator has been known to pro- 
 duce the whole effect ; indeed, it remains to be proved 
 whether any of the various modes of operation, or 
 any of the means used, have any effect further than 
 to establish the faith of the parties, and give a greater 
 determination to the will of the operator. 
 
 It is a fact that, in my own experiments, (with few 
 exceptions,) I anticipated their results. And since 
 they resulted as I expected, it follows that I willed 
 my subjects, and the effect of the will alone produced 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. G9 
 
 the result, and the means made use of served only to 
 lead to such conclusions. It follows, therefore, if the 
 agent in the affair is electricity, the effort of the will 
 is an evolution of it in the system. This is the posi- 
 tion I took and endeavored to maintain in my pub- 
 lic lectures, and is the position some are taking at 
 present. 
 
 The Rev. John Bovee Dods, in his public lectures 
 delivered in Boston, says, in his first, " Before I pro- 
 ceed any further, I would remark, that I consider 
 ' ANIMAL. MAGNETISM ' a vcry inappropriate name. 
 It should be called spiritualism, or mental elec- 
 TPticiTY, because it is the direct impulse of the mind 
 upon the mind and bodies of others. As it is the 
 science of mind and its powers, so it is the highest 
 and most sublime science in the whole realm of 
 nature, and as far transcends all others as godlike 
 mind transcends matter. . . . (Note 1.) Once 
 more : there is, in the nervous system, no blood. 
 By the nervous system, I mean the brain and all its 
 ramifications. The blood belongs exclusively to the 
 circulating system, which embraces the veins and 
 arteries. I grant that the blood vessels pass round 
 the convolutions of the brain ; but in the nerve itself 
 there is no blood, and the whole mass of the brain is 
 but a congeries of nerves. These are charged with a 
 nervo-vital fluid, which is manufactured from elec- 
 tricity. Hence the circulating system containing the 
 blood, and the nervous system containing the mag- 
 netic fluid, are not to be blended, but distinctly con- 
 sidered. Now, as a human being may lack the 
 proper quantity of blood in his circulating system, so 
 he may lack the proper quantum of the nervo-vital 
 fluid in his nervous system. Now, let a person whose 
 
70 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 brain is fully charged come in contact with one whose 
 brain is greatly wanting in its due measure of this 
 fluid, and let the person possessing the full brain 
 gently and unchangeably hold his mind upon the 
 other, and by the action of his will the fluid w41l 
 pass from the full brain to the other, until the equi- 
 librium between the fluids in the two brains is at- 
 tained. The sudden change in the receiving brain 
 produces a coolness and a singular state of insen- 
 .sibility. (Note 2.) 
 
 " This is MAGNETISM ; and it is in perfect accordance 
 with all the principles of philosophy in the known 
 realms of nature. If any one denies the operation 
 of the law of equilibrium in this case, then he here 
 makes a charm amidst the immensity of God's works, 
 which he can nowhere else discover." (Note 3.) 
 
 After the introduction of his second lecture, he 
 says, — 
 
 " Having made these remarks, which the occasion 
 seems to demand, I will now proceed to a direct consid- 
 eration of tne nervo-vital fluid in the human brain. 
 It is admitted, the air we breathe is composed of two 
 substances — namely, oxygen and nitrogen. Their 
 relative qualities are about one fifth oxygen and four 
 fifths nitrogen. But these are not all. It is evident 
 that hydrogen and electricity are also component 
 parts of air. Oxygen and electricity are the prin- 
 ciples of flame and of animal life, while nitrogen 
 extinguishes both. The air in its compound state is 
 drawn into the lungs. The oxygen and electricity 
 are communicated to the blood, which is charged 
 with iron, while the nitrogen is disengaged and ex 
 pired. This iron, which gives color to the blood, i^ 
 instantly rendered magnetic under the influence 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 71 
 
 of electricity, analogous to the needles in the gal- 
 vanic battery, which becon:ie magnets by induction. 
 (Note 4.) The blood is at the same time oxydized 
 by the oxygen of the air, and instantly becomes 
 cherry red. Thus oxygen generates an acidity in the 
 blood, in some degree answering to the solution of 
 the sulphate of copper in the galvanic battery. The 
 blood thus magnetically prepared at the lungs is 
 thrown upon the heart, and forced into the arteries. 
 Hence arterial blood is red. It is propelled to the 
 extremities, driven into every possible ramification, 
 and is collected and carried back in the veins, through 
 the other ventricle of the heart to the lungs, for a 
 fresh supply of the electro-magnetic power. Hence 
 venous blood is dark, and is unfit to be thrown into 
 the arterial system a second time till it has again 
 come in contact with the oxygen and electricity of 
 the air. The blood thus discharged is- propelled 
 through its living channels, and this friction causes 
 the electro-magnetic power to escape from the circu- 
 lating system into the nervous system, for which it 
 has a strong affinity, and, being secreted by the brain, 
 it becomes the nervo-vital fluid, or animal galvanism. 
 It is important here to remark that the blood, in its 
 friction through the arteries, has given off its electro- 
 magnetic power into the nervous system. The blood 
 thus freed assumes a dark appearance in the veins, 
 and becomes entirely negative. The lungs being 
 charged with a fresh supply of electricity, become 
 POSITIVE. Hence the blood is drawn from the veins 
 to the lungs, on the same principle that the negative 
 and the positive, in electricity, rush together. (Note 5.) 
 " From the above observations, it will be perceived 
 that every muscle of the human body, every organ 
 
72 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 and gland, is polar, and by the negative and positive 
 principles, as above noticed, animal life is sustained 
 and perpetuated through the action of the lungs and 
 blood. (Note 6.) 
 
 " We thus perceive that the nervo-vital fluid is 
 manufactured out of electricity, taken into the lungs 
 at every inspiration. It completely charges the whole 
 brain when that organ is in a healthy state. The 
 nerves composing the brain are of three kinds, namely, 
 the nerves of sensation, the nerves of voluntary 
 motion, and the nerves of involuntary motion. I 
 make these three divisions, so that I may be the more 
 readily understood when speaking of nervous action. 
 I desire you to bear in mind that these three classes 
 of nerves are all charged with the nervo-vital fluid, 
 which is exactly prepared to come in contact with 
 mind. 
 
 " W^put forth a will. That will stirs the nervo- 
 vital fluid in thq voluntary nerves. This fluid causes 
 the voluntary nerves to vibrate. The galvanic vibra- 
 tion of these nerves contracts the muscles. The 
 muscles contracting, raises the arm, and that arm 
 raises foreign matter. So, we see, it is through this 
 concatenation or chain that the mind comes in 
 contact with the grossest matter in the universe. 
 (Note 7.) 
 
 " It is evident that there is no direct contact between i 
 mind and gross matter. There is no direct contact 
 between the length of a thought and the breadth of 
 that door. Nor is there anv more direct contact I 
 between my mind and hand than there is between 
 my mind and the stage on which I stand. Thoughti 
 cannot touch my hand; yet it must be true that mind 
 can come in contact with matter, otherwise I could 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 73 
 
 not raise my hand at all by the energies of my will. 
 Hence it must be true that the highest and most sub- 
 tile of inert matter in the universe, being the next step 
 to spirit, can come in contact with the mind. And 
 electricity, changed into nervo-vital fluid, (which is 
 living galvanism,) is certainly the highest and most 
 ethereal inert substance of which we can form any 
 conception. Hence, as before remarked, it must be 
 true that we put forth a will. By the energies of that 
 will this galvanic substance, or nervous fluid, is proudly 
 stirred ; that stirring vibrates the nerves ; this vibrates 
 and contracts the muscles ; the muscles raise the arm ; 
 and the arm moves dead matter. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the plausibility of this argument, 
 it will yet be said that, as physiologists contend that 
 no one can explain through what medium the mind 
 comes in contact w^ith matter, or even how a muscle 
 is made to contract and raise the arm, and as the 
 lecturer has undertaken to explain it, we have a right 
 to demand positive proof. This demand being 
 rational, I will endeavor to meet it. I am, then, to 
 prove that the nervo-vital fluid (which is perfect gal- 
 vanism) is indeed the agent by which we contract 
 the muscles and raise the arm. This being done, my 
 point is gained, and the medium through which mind 
 comes in contact with matter is established. 
 
 " I would first remark, that it is common when 
 criminals are executed that their bodies are delivered 
 over to medical men for dissection. Now, take a 
 human body, and let it be conveyed from the gallows 
 to the charnel house, and laid upon the dissecting 
 table. Let a continuous shock from a strong galvanic 
 battery be given, and the muscles of the dead man 
 will contract, and exhibit many frightful contortions. 
 7 
 
74 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Many interesting experiments of this character have 
 been published. The dead man has been known to 
 spring upon his knees, jolt them upon the floor, make 
 violent gesticulations with his hands, move his head, 
 roll his eyes, and chatter his teeth. The student, 
 unused to such ghastly exhibitions, has left the room, 
 or fainted away ; and even the experienced physician 
 has started back with horror at the frightful contor- 
 tions which he himself had made. Now, what was it 
 that contracted the muscles of this dead man ? There 
 is but one answer to the question. It was galvanism. 
 And what is galvanism but electricity in a changed 
 form? so that, instead of giving the system a sudden 
 shock like electricity, it merely produces a singular 
 vibrating sensation upon the nerves, which causes the 
 muscles to contract. It is nothing else. Electricity, 
 galvanism, magnetism, or attraction and repulsion are 
 but different positions of the same common fluid. 
 Now, as galvanism contracts the muscles of a dead 
 man, and is the only power known that, when arti- 
 ficially applied, can contract the muscles of the living, 
 so it must be the agent employed by the will to con- 
 tract the muscles, and enable us to perform all the 
 voluntary motions of life. Whatever may be the 
 opinions of others, I consider this argument irresistible, 
 and shall hold it as such until it is fairly refuted." 
 (Note 8.) 
 
 Again : in his third lecture, he says, — 
 " The question now comes up in proper order before 
 us : Is there any power in mind to produce a result by 
 simply WILLING it? I contend that there is, while the 
 opposers of mesmerism contend that there is not. 
 Mesmerism, then, must stand or fall on the existence 
 or non-existence of such a power. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 75 
 
 " And, first, let me appeal to you as Christians. If 
 you deny that mind or spirit has any power to produce 
 a physicial result, then how does the Creator govern 
 the universe? How can his Spirit come in contact 
 with matter so as to produce any physicial results? 
 The creation and government of the world are repre- 
 sented in Scripture as the result of the divine will. 
 ' He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, 
 and among the inhabitants of the earth.' The creation 
 of the world and all its appendages is represented as 
 the effect of his will. ' He said, Let there be light, and 
 there was light.' 'He spake, and it was done; he 
 commanded, and it stood fast.** If, then, the Infinite 
 Spirit, by holding his will unchangeably upon all the 
 multifarious objects of creation, moves unnumbered 
 worlds, and governs the universe, then there is also an 
 energy and power in the human spirit proportionate 
 to its greatness. If you grant that the Infinite Spirit, 
 by putting forth an infinite will, can produce infinite 
 results, then surely a feeble, finite spirit, by putting 
 forth a feeble, finite will, can produce a feeble, finite 
 result. I only ask you, as Christian philosophers, the 
 admission that the same cause shall produce the same 
 EFFECT. (Note 9.) If, however, you deny the cor- 
 rectness of this conclusion, then I have only to say, 
 that you furnish the atheist with a weapon by which 
 he is sure to defeat you. Argue as long as you please, 
 and even drive the honest atheist from any other 
 ground, and he will at last say, ' Well, admit there is 
 a God ; yet he can do nothing.' 
 
 " Your Bible says, ' God is a spirit.' Hence he has 
 no hands, feet, nor physical body as we have. He 
 may, therefore, will and will to all eternity; yet he 
 can do nothing, because spirit, by its mere mental 
 
76 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 action, cannot come in contact with, nor in the least 
 affect, matter. (Note 10.) ' We know this,' says the 
 atheist, ' from observation and experience. And what 
 can we reason but from what we know ? ' A human 
 being, for instance, may sit down and exercise all his 
 mental energies. He may will and will to endless 
 ages ; yet he can do nothing, cannot produce the 
 least physical result, unless he uses his hands or comes 
 in bodily contact. I now ask those Christians who 
 deny that the mind has such power as we are con- 
 tending for, How can they answer this argument of the 
 atheist ? I contend that they are not able to meet it. 
 There is no human ingenuity beneath these heavens 
 that the Christian opposers of the mesmeric power can 
 summon to their aid adequate to the task. Indeed, it 
 implies a contradiction in terms, and involves them in 
 the following compound dilemma : If the Infinite 
 Spirit, by the energies of his will, can produce infinite 
 results, then a finite spirit, by its will, can produce a 
 finite result. But a finite spirit, by its will, cannot 
 produce any result ; so an infinite spirit, by its will, 
 cannot produce any result. Of this dilemma they 
 may take either horn. I arti willing to meet any 
 intelligent clergyman in controversy who denies the 
 truth of mesmerism ; and before this enlightened con- 
 gregation, who shall be our jurors, I will either make 
 bim acknowledge the mesmeric power, or drive him 
 to atheism. I will leave him no other alternative. 
 (Note 11.) 
 
 " As the subject of mesmerism is directly connected 
 with the powers of the mind, and as this is the pivot 
 on which the question between its advocates and 
 opposers must eventually turn, you will permit me to 
 take a wider range in this extensive field. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 77 
 
 " There must be some medium through which the 
 eternal Mind comes in contact with gross matter, 
 moves unnumbered worlds according to nature's law, 
 and sustains and governs the unbounded universe. 
 That medium mu"st be the finest, the most rarefied, 
 and subtile of inert matter in being. It must be the 
 last link in the material chain of inert substances that 
 fastens on the mind. This is electricity. Hence it 
 is through electricity that the Great Spirit comes in 
 contact with his universe. This is evident, because it 
 is electricity as it exists in the human system, through 
 which our spirits come in contact with matter. We 
 are but an epitome of God's universe, and in us is 
 contained every variety of matter and substance in 
 being. (Note 12.) 
 
 " It may now be asked, if electricity is the substance 
 through which the Creator comes in contact with 
 matter, how, then, could he act when that splendid 
 substance had no existence? or, in other words, how 
 could he create 'all things out of nothing' ? I deny 
 the assertion that God created all things out of 
 nothing, and challenge the proof. Space and du- 
 ration exist of necessity, and that space was filled 
 with primal matter, which I contend was electricity. 
 (Note 13.) 
 
 " Though it is the commonly received opinion that 
 ail things were created out of nothing, yet in all ages 
 of the Christian church there have been some eminent 
 men of all denominations who have rejected this idea, 
 and contended that all things were created out of 
 some substance. A more orthodox man than John 
 Milton never lived, as all know who have ever read 
 that astonishing production of human intellect, his 
 ' Paradise Lost.' " Here follows an extract from Milton, 
 
78 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 proving the eternity of matter. (Note 14.) The lec- 
 turer then proceeds : " If something were created 
 out of NOTHING, it could Hot, ill the nature of things, 
 have been done progressively or gradually, because 
 the instant it became the least possible remove from 
 nothing, it would be something. It must, in the very 
 nature of things, remain nothing till it becomes some- 
 thing, because there is no possible process by which 
 it can be gradually brought forward into something, 
 for there is no existing medium between something 
 and nothing. Now, if nothing were created into 
 something, it must have been done instantly ; and if 
 instantly, then it must have been something and 
 nothing at the same instant, which is the climax of 
 absurdity. It is just as absurd as to contend that the 
 piece of wood before mentioned was severed at the 
 bottom at the same time that it was at the top, or 
 that a ray of light could be seen at the sun and the 
 earth at the same instant. I shall hold this argument 
 sound until some one is able to refute it. Hence I 
 contend for the eternal existence of primal matter, 
 which is electricity. But even this primal matter 
 does not exist independent of Deity. (Note 15.) 
 
 " It will now be said that, on this principle of rea- 
 soning, the speaker will make it out that spirit itself 
 is matter. If by spirit you mean that which has 
 neither length, breadth, or thickness, nor occupies any 
 space, then I have only to say that it is a mere 
 chimera of the human brain, a nonentity, a nothing. 
 Does Deity fill all space ? Then he is of course a 
 substance ; a real, living, acting, and thinking Being ; 
 otherwise, as Christians, we use words without knowl- 
 edge, when we say that he fills immensity with his 
 presence. But it may be said that mind is thought, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 79 
 
 REASON, and understanding, and then be asked 
 whether thought, reason, understanding, &e., occupy 
 any space. 
 
 " But I deny that these are mind. Thought, reason, 
 and understanding are not mind, but the effects of 
 mind. Mind is something supremely higher than all 
 these. I yet ask. What is that which thinks, reasons, 
 and understands ? It is the mind. Then mind is 
 something distinct from those effects by which it is 
 made manifest. What, then, it may be asked, is 
 mind ? I answer, It is that substance which has 
 innate or living motion ; and the result of that mo- 
 tion is thought, reason, understanding, and, therefore, 
 power. As electricity is the highest and most subtile 
 of inert substances, as it fastens on mind, and is, 
 therefore, more easily moved than any other inert 
 substance in being, so mind is the next step above 
 electricity, is the crowning perfection of all other sub- 
 stances in immensity — is living motion ; and the 
 result of that motion is thought and power. It is 
 the living Spirit from whom emanates electricity, and 
 who, out of that electricity, has created all worlds. 
 Hence the Creator is a real substance or being, pos- 
 sessing personal identity, and is infinite in every per- 
 fection of his adorable character. (Note 16.) 
 
 " Electricity, which is an atmospheric emanation 
 from God, and which is moved by his will, is that 
 substance out of which all worlds and their splendid 
 appendages were made. Hence it will be perceived 
 that electricity contains all the original properties of 
 all the various substances in being. All the varieties 
 of the universe around us — all the beauties and 
 glories of creation upon which we look with so many 
 thrilling emotions of delight — were produced from 
 
80 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 electricity, which is the inexhaustible fountain of 
 primal matter. By the living energies of the divine 
 mind, electricity was condensed into globes — not 
 instantly, but gradually. The heaviest particles took 
 the lowest point, or common centre, of our globe, and 
 so on, step by step, lighter and lighter, till we reach 
 the surface, which is a vegetable mould. On this we 
 find water, a substance still lighter than earth ; next 
 air, which is lighter than matter ; and so on till we 
 reach the sun, which is the highest point in relation 
 to our system, because it is the common centre. The 
 sun is therefore pure electricity ; hence the twenty- 
 nine globes belonging to our system are electrically, 
 geologically, and magnetically made. They are but 
 twenty-nine magnets revolving around our sun as a 
 common centre. (Note 17.) The sun, being pure 
 electricity or primal matter, is but an emanation from 
 the Deity. It is consequently in a positive state. 
 It is impossible that there can be any inherent attrac- 
 tion and repulsion in matter. Attraction and repul- 
 sion are but different dispositions of electricity. God 
 is, therefore, connected with his universe, and super- 
 intends all its multifarious operations. Though he is 
 intimately united to inert matter, yet he is distinct 
 from the whole." (Note 18.) 
 
 From the fourth lecture I shall make but a single 
 extract : — 
 
 " On this principle, if the subject be charged too 
 much or too little, he cannot see clearly. Or if the 
 night be rainy, or even damp and unfavorable to 
 electricity, then experiments in clairvoyance must fail, 
 or be very imperfect." (Note 19.) 
 
 The fifth lecture is introduced as follows : " We 
 are again assembled to take into consideration the 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 81 
 
 subject of mesmerism. Its growing interest in the 
 public mind is manifest by the increasing throngs 
 that assemble in this chapel to investigate its claims 
 to truth and science, and the multitudes that are 
 obliged to retire, unable to gain admittance." (Note 
 20.) 
 
82 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 4r ,,. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT CONTAINED IN THE PRE- 
 CEDING CHAPTER.— THE REY. BOVEE DODS'S THE- 
 ORY REPUTED. 
 
 " Beware lest any man spoil you through, philosophy and vain 
 deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, 
 and not after Christ." — Col. ii. 8. 
 
 " O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding 
 profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so 
 called, which some professing, have erred concerning the faith. Grace 
 be with thee. Amen." — 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21. 
 
 Admitting electricity to be the agent employed in 
 mesmerism, we have shown in what manner the sub- 
 ject receives the sensations of his operator, and how 
 the will of the latter becomes the will of the former. 
 This accounts for most of the phenomena up to and 
 including dependent clairvoyance. But in mdepend- 
 ent clairvoyance the subject sees, hears, and knows 
 things which are not seen, heard, or known by the 
 operator. The best reason I have ever known to be 
 offered for this is, it is through currents of electricity 
 emanating from the things seen and described by the 
 subject, independent of the will of the operator. 
 For instance : if a clairvoyant should be sent to 
 a distant city, and should there describe a fire in 
 a certain street, the emanation of electricity from 
 that scene is the medium through which he obtained 
 a knowledge of the fact. But we know that clairvoy- 
 ants describe scenes long after they are acted ; and 
 in some cases they have been known to describe them 
 long before they are acted. The latter case, especially, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 83 
 
 no electrical theory can account for. It is, therefore, 
 evident that it is through some other agent that a knowl- 
 edge of the past and future is obtained by the subject. 
 
 Now, it is not pretended that there is more than 
 one agent in the whole affair. But if there is not, it 
 cannot be electricity. The ingenuity of the advocates 
 of the electrical theory has been severely taxed in 
 making electricity the sole agent. To account for 
 clairvoyants seeing things past, it has been supposed 
 that a passing event stirs a current or vibration of 
 electricity which never ceases. These are made per- 
 ceptible to the clairvoyant, and give a sensation of 
 objects and events in the same manner that rays of 
 light, emanating from a luminous body, and entering 
 the eye, give us an idea of that body. 
 
 But this would fill all space so full of such an 
 infinity of currents or vibrations as to surpass the 
 power of the human faculty to distinguish. Upon 
 this principle the currents of electricity stirred by our 
 first parents in Eden are still going the rounds, mingled 
 with the millions of millions which have since joined 
 them down to our time. 
 
 But suppose this is the case, still it does not account 
 for the fact that clairvoyants see and describe scenes 
 which are future. 
 
 We now proceed to examine the " Philosophy of 
 Mesmerism," as given by the Rev. J. B. Dods, and 
 quoted in the last chapter. To avoid a recapitulation, 
 the reader will have the goodness to observe the 
 language used above the notes in parenthesis in the 
 preceding chapter, and turn to the corresponding notes 
 in this. 
 
 (Note 1.) Spiritualism has long since been both 
 
84 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the lever and the prop to raise and support every false 
 theory or dogma w^hich theorizing mortals can invent. 
 "Who can name a false doctrine of religion that is not 
 sustained by spiritualism ? It is made a subterfuge to 
 hide any thing preposterous and absurd. It, in the 
 popular sense of the word, proves both sides of any 
 question. The popular use of the term is, to make 
 obscurity more obscure, and is very unhappily chosen 
 in the explanation of a science. Now, to throw the 
 whole grand drama of mysterious mesmerism under 
 such an ^^wraeaning and all-meaning term, looks a little 
 suspicious. 
 
 (Note 2.) The reader will recollect that my own 
 opinion of the phenomena of mesmerism was, that 
 the operator drew the positive electric fluid from his 
 subject, and that the operator and subject- bore the 
 same relation to each other that the two sides of a 
 Leyden jar do when charged, and that every sensa- 
 tion of the operator was a partial discharge as it were 
 of the jar; and any effect produced on the operator 
 (the positive side of the jar) must be felt by the sub- 
 ject by induction, who here represents the negative 
 side of the jar. 
 
 This is perfectly philosophical, and in accordance 
 with the laws that govern electricity. For when a 
 subject is so mesmerized, he has not his usual or 
 natural share of the positive fluid, and must be in an 
 abnormal state. This state /called mesmerism. 
 
 But the author referred to in this note says, when 
 a person lacks the proper quantum of what he calls 
 nervo-vital fluid, it is supplied to him by the operator, 
 until there is an equilibrium between the two ; and this 
 
 is MAGNETISM. 
 
 Now, this is not possible ; for the person lacking 
 
 .m- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 85 
 
 the proper quantum must be in the abnormal state, 
 and having his proper quantum imparted to him from 
 a full brain, would put him back into the njrmal state, 
 and he would be 6/e-mesmerized instead of being mes- 
 merized. 
 
 No truth can be more plain. If electricity has any 
 thing at all to do in the animal economy, he who has 
 his proper quantum or natural share must be in a 
 natural state, and he who has not his natural share or 
 proper quantum must be in an w/znatural state. So, in- 
 stead of the operator's equalizing the electrical fluid 
 between himself and subject, he must destroy that 
 equilibrium to produce an unnatural or mesmeric state. 
 
 (Note 3.) We do not deny "the operation of the 
 law of equilibrium," but contend that, " in perfect 
 accordance with all the principles of philosophy in the 
 known realms of nature," such an equilibrium must 
 produce the natural state of the subject; and to pro- 
 duce the mesmeric state, is to destroy nature's equi- 
 librium, not restore it. 
 
 (Note 4.) That the iron of the blood is magnetic, 
 needs the best of proof. The fact, if it is a fact, is one 
 of the strong pillars in the proud temple of electro- 
 mesmerism ; and if it is not a fact, that temple must 
 totter to its fall. We shall deny the fact, and call for 
 a demonstration of it. 
 
 (Note 5.) That venous blood is negative, and 
 arterial is positive, needs also demonstration. 
 
 (Note 6.) I once thought so too, but subsequent 
 experiments convinced me that the polarity of the 
 subject was just what the operator's fancy happened 
 to make it. 
 
 (Note 7.) '' We thus perceive that the nervo-vital 
 8 
 
86 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 fluid is manufactured out of electricity taken into the 
 lungs at every inspiration." 
 
 How do we perceive it? Not by any demonstra- 
 tion which is given of the fact, but by the use of a few 
 terms manufactured for the purpose of carrying out a 
 theory. Now, what do we know by the term '' nervo- 
 vital fluid,^^ man ufactured out of electricity ? Suppose 
 we assume that oxygen or hydrogen is the agent in 
 mesmerism. Then we should have the nervo-vital 
 fluid manufactured out of oxygen or hydrogen, and 
 the term oxy-vital fluid or hydro-vital fluid would 
 answer the purpose in explanation of the phenomena 
 just as well. And if we were called upon to prove 
 the existence of either of these principles in the vital 
 fluid, we would just turn upon our opponents and 
 challenge them, first, to prove the existence of a " ner- 
 vo-vital fluid," and then prove the presence of elec- 
 tricity in that fluid. If this would not be proving our 
 position, still we should not be deeper in the mud than 
 our opponents are in the mire. 
 
 Again : it is said in this note, " We put forth a will. 
 That WILL stirs the nervo-vital fluid in the voluntary 
 nerves." And again ; it is said that this nervo- 
 vital fluid is " living galvanism," " perfect galvanism." 
 And in demonstration of the manner in which mind 
 comes in contact with matter, so as to enable us to 
 move our limbs, &c., we are referred to galvanic 
 experiments on a dead criminal. 
 
 (Note 8.) And how is the fact demonstrated ? 
 First : we are informed that " we put forth a will, 
 and that will proudly stirs the nervous fluid, that 
 stirring vibrates the voluntary nerves, this contracts 
 the muscles, the muscles raise the arm, and the arm 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 87 
 
 « 
 
 moves dead matter." Very well : now, where are we 
 to find positive proof of all this ? Why, in the in- 
 stance given of the dead criminal. But it so happens 
 that the dead criminal has no will to put forth; yet 
 his voluntary nerves are " proudly stirred," his limbs 
 move, and his violent gesticulations move dead matter. 
 
 Now, if this proves any thing, it proves too much. 
 For it proves this: "living galvanism" makes the first 
 move, and moves the living mind to " put forth a will." 
 But in a dead man, where there is no mind to move 
 or will to put forth, it becomes dead galvanism, and 
 yet moves the voluntary nerves ; and hence these wild 
 gesticulations and horrid grimaces are the effect of the 
 living mind of the galvanic battery^ which here put the 
 jimbs of a dead man into action. 
 
 (Note 9.) " Is there any power in mind to produce 
 a result by simply willing it? " " Mesmerism, then, 
 must stand or fall on the existence or non-existence of 
 such a power." The question is totally irrelevant to 
 the case. The proper question is, Is there any power 
 in man to produce a result by simply willing it ? I 
 contend there is not; and mesmerism must fall on 
 the non-existence of such a power. 
 
 That there is such a power in the Deity, no Christian 
 can doubt ; but until man can, by simply willing, 
 " make one hair white or black," or, " by taking 
 thought, can add one cubit unto his stature," it cannot 
 be proved that he possesses such a power. Tables 
 may tip, and demons may rap, and the devil may run 
 swine into the sea and drown them ; but I challenge 
 the world to prove that man^ by the mere effort of his 
 will^ can do either. 
 
 (Note 10.) " Canst thou by searching find out 
 God ? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfee- 
 
88 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 tion ? For vain man would be wise, though man be 
 born like a wild ass's colt." 
 
 Admitting the conclusion drawn in the preceding 
 notes, we do, indeed, put into the hands of the 
 atheist a weapon by which he is sure to defeat us ; 
 for, according to this conclusion, if we admit that 
 there is a God, we admit, also, that electricity is the 
 god of God ; for it is evident, from said conclusion, 
 that he can, indeed, do nothing without electricity, to 
 which he is indebted for all his power. 
 
 (Note 11.) " Remember the former things of old : 
 for I am God, and there is none else ; I am God, 
 and there is none like me." 
 
 The compound dilemma found in this note is im- 
 properly stated, and is therefore irrelevant. It should 
 be. If an infinite God, by the energies of his will, can 
 produce infinite results, then a finite god, by his will, 
 can produce a finite result ; but a finite god, by his 
 will, cannot produce any result, so an infinite God, 
 by his will, cannot produce any result I Of this di- 
 lemma, either horn may be taken. 
 
 And now for the consistency of the argument. If 
 it prove that the will of man can produce any result, 
 then, by the same kind of sapient logic, I will prove 
 that the quills of a porcupine will make a tolerable 
 hat, by the same process that the hatter makes a good 
 hat out of the fur of the beaver. If the fur of a 
 beaver, by the skill of the hatter, will make a good 
 hat, then the quills of a porcupine, by the skill of the 
 hatter, will make a tolerable hat. But the quills of a 
 porcupine, by the skill of the hatter, will not make a 
 hat; so the fur of the beaver, by the skill of the hat- 
 ter, will not make a hat. Of this dilemma, either 
 horn may be taken. Now, I am willing to meet any 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. " 89 
 
 intelligent clergyman in controversy who uses such 
 logic, and I will either make him acknowledge that 
 porcupine quills will make hats, or drive him to deny 
 that one may be made of the fur of beavers. " I 
 will leave him no other alternative." 
 
 Now, before any thing definite can be proved by 
 such logic, the respective qualities and properties of 
 the things must be proved to be similar, though dif- 
 fering in degrees only. I have proved by Scripture 
 that there is bat one God, and that there is none like 
 him. His divine avill, therefore, may and does pro- 
 duce effect. But man, not being like him, may have 
 a human will, not able to produce effect. There may 
 not be any more similarity in the two than there is 
 between the quill and fur just alluded to. And be- 
 cause man can build a steamship, it does not prove 
 that an oyster can make a hod or wheelbarrow. 
 
 (Note 12.) The object of this note is to prove that 
 the Great Spirit comes in contact with matter through 
 the medium of electricity. But in the instance of 
 the dead criminal, electricity comes in contact with 
 matter without the effort of a will. This involves 
 the advocates of the electrical theory in something 
 like " a compound dilemma." If electricity comes in 
 contact with matter without the agency of will, 
 WILL may come in contact with matter without the 
 agency of electricity. But will cannot come in con- 
 tact with matter without the aid of electricity ; so 
 electricity cannot come in contact with matter with- 
 out the aid of will. Of this dilemma, they may 
 take either horn ; or, for their better accommodation, 
 we will give them another. If a finite quantity of 
 electricity can move a finite quantity of dead matter, 
 as the limbs of a dead criminal, without the agency 
 8* 
 
90 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 of human will, then an infinite quantity of electricity 
 can move an infinite quantity of matter, as the whole 
 universe of God, without the agency of divine will. 
 But an infinite quantity of electricity cannot move 
 and govern the universe of God, without the agency 
 of divine will ; so a finite quantity of it cannot 
 move the limbs of a dead man, without the agency 
 of human will. Of this dilemma they may take 
 either horn. 
 
 (Note 18.) " Through faith we understand that the 
 worlds were framed by the word of God, so that 
 things which are seen were not made of things which 
 do appear." (Heb. xi. 3.) The world could not have 
 been made of electricity, which we are told is the 
 only primal matter ; because that is a thing that 
 appears, or is seen^ felt., heard^ tasted^ and smelt. 
 And another inspired apostle gives, as infajlible proof, 
 seeing' and hearing. (Acts i. 3.) So the world must 
 either have been made of nothing, or of a material 
 wholly unknown to man ; and that has never come 
 within the reach of his senses. 
 
 (Note 14.) We wonder if Milton was as orthodox 
 in his views of the devil as he was on the eternity of 
 matter. If he w^as, we shall not be at a loss to 
 account for the phenomena of mesmerism. 
 
 (Note 15.) The argument in this note is that noth- 
 ings even by divine agency, could not have been created 
 into something ; if it were so, then it must have been 
 done instantly ; and if instantly, then it must have 
 been something and nothing at the same instant, 
 which is the climax of absurdity. This is illustrated 
 as follows : " We raise an axe, and, at a single blow, 
 cut in two a piece of wood one inch in diameter. 
 Now, it is certain that this wood was not severed 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 91 
 
 instantly in all its parts. If it were, then the lower 
 part would have been cut at the same instant that 
 the upper part was ; which is perfectly absurd, and 
 therefore impossible." Now, if this proves the im- 
 possibility of nothing being formed into something, 
 because it cannot be nothing and something at the 
 same instant, then we shall be able to prove that a 
 stick, one inch in diameter, cannot, by any number of 
 blows with an axe, be cut in two at all. We will 
 first suppose the diameter of the stick to be divided 
 into two equal halves. It is evident the first half 
 must be cut before the second ; and now the second 
 half consists also of two equal parts, the first of 
 which must be cut before the second, and so on, ad 
 infinitum; the axe may cut and cut, to all eternity; 
 and before the stick can be severed, there will be still 
 a subdivision, the first half of which must be severed 
 before the second can be ; so the stick never can be 
 cut quite in two, until the last half of the remotest 
 subdivision is cut at the same instant that the first is. 
 This, we are told, is perfectly absurd, and therefore 
 impossible. So, by this process, the cutting of the 
 stick in two resembles those mathematical lines 
 which approximate each other forever, without a pos- 
 sibility of touching. So, since we cannot understand 
 how nothing can be nothing and something at the 
 same instant, we deny the ability of God to create 
 something out of nothing. Yet we allow the pos- 
 sibility of cutting an inch of wood in two ; while we 
 cannot comprehend how the last particle remains cut 
 and uncut at the same instant, or how the last re- 
 maining portion of it is cut at the same instant that 
 the next preceding one is. 
 
 (Note 16.) In this note it is stated that mind is 
 
92 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 that substance which has innate or living motion, &c. ; 
 and in the fourth lecture it is stated that electricity 
 " is that eternal, primal matter out of which all other 
 substances were made." It follows that mind, being 
 a substance, is electricity. It is also admitted that 
 the Deity possesses a mind, and that his mind is 
 infinite. Now, it is self-evident that there cannot be 
 but one material mind in existence, for that one, being 
 infinite, leaves no room for another. Then it follows 
 that man has no electro-mentality, or God has none ; 
 for the moment we admit one substance fills all space, 
 that moment we deny the possibility of there being 
 another substance in that space. It is an intuitive 
 axiom, that two substances cannot occupy the same 
 space at the same time. But it may be said, in this 
 case, two substances do not occupy the same space : 
 the mind of God is electricity, and the mind of man 
 also, and they are both one substance. Well, then, 
 the mind of God is not infinite ; it does not fill all 
 space, but leaves room to be occupied by finite minds. 
 This involves us in some kind of a dilemma, either 
 simple or compound. If the mind of God is elec- 
 tricity and infinite, and hence capable of moving 
 dead matter, the mind of man must be immaterial 
 and finite, and hence incapable of moving dead mat- 
 ter ; but if the mind of man is immaterial, and yet 
 capable of moving dead matter, the mind of God, 
 being electricity, is incapable of doing it. So, be- 
 tween the two levers, it is impossible for dead matter 
 to be moved. Of this dilemma either horn may be 
 taken. 
 
 (Note 17.) In this note we have a brief history of 
 the creation of all things out of electricity — "the 
 inexhaustible fountain of primal matter." The sun 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 93 
 
 is pure electricity, emanating from the Deity, who 
 also, himself, is the inexhaustible Source of that 
 subtile agent. We must here notice some peculiar- 
 ities in mesmeric logic. Electricity is said to be the 
 only primal matter in existence, out of which every 
 thing is m^ade, and God himself is material — of 
 course he is electricity. Well, next we are told that 
 the sun is ^^pure electricity." Now, as there is but 
 one primal substance, how can that substance, in any 
 of its forms, be impure ? There is no other ingredient 
 in nature to be commingled with it to make it im- 
 pure. But this is not all. The Deity himself is 
 electricity, the fountain head of primal miatter ; and 
 the sun is ^''pure electricity." Then the sun is a pwe 
 Gfod, and those heathen who worship the sun are 
 the iTiOst scientific andjowre worshippers of God; and 
 instead of our sending missionaries among them to 
 enlighten them, they ought to send their missionaries 
 here to enlighten us. 
 
 Again : according to the electro-mesmeric econ- 
 omy of nature, in the creation of all things out of 
 electricity, the heaviest forms of it took the lowest 
 point. First the more ponderous portions of our 
 globe, and then those which are lighter ; and last and 
 lightest of all, the sun was proudly enthroned upon 
 the highest pinnacle of our system. This upsets the 
 Newtonian philosophy. Astronomers have hitherto 
 considered the sun as occupying the lowest point in 
 the solar system, about which other bodies revolve. 
 And instead of his being of less density than those 
 which he enlightens, it is not true in every instance. 
 It is found that a cubic foot of his substance weighs 
 about 1150 ounces ; a cubic foot of Mercury, about 
 9166 ; of Venus, about 5733 ; of the earth, 4500 ; 
 
94 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC! 
 
 Mars and the moon, a little more than 3000 ; of Ju- 
 piter, 1042. The weight of water being 1000, Ju- 
 piter would but just sink in that liquid ; while Saturn 
 and Herschel, especially the last, would swim lightly 
 on it, and Neptune would rise in such an atmosphere 
 as ours like a balloon, and float on its surface as 
 smoke and vapor. So, to maintain the position that 
 the will of man is capable alone of moving dead 
 matter, a total shipwreck is made of all former prin- 
 ciples of philosophy, and the sublime science of 
 astronomy is made to turn a gi'and somerset to 
 complete the hallucination. 
 
 (Note 18.) This admission oversets the " com- 
 pound dilemma" found in Note 11. If God is dis- 
 tinct from matter, man is not. Now, if the will of a 
 Being who is distinct from matter can move dead 
 matter, how does it prove that the will of a being 
 who is not distinct from matter can do it ? 
 
 (Note 19.) This is a great mistake. I have fre- 
 quently witnessed as successful experiments in rainy 
 evenings as at any other times when the weather ,, 
 was the most favorable to electrical experiments. 
 Besides, the same author, in his fourth lecture, gives 
 a circumstance, related to him by Dr. Patterson, of 
 Lynchburg, Yirginia, of a young lady who was taken 
 sick, and was attended by a physician residing some 
 eight or ten miles distant, who prescribed and left, 
 promising to be there again the next evening. That 
 evening was attended with a tremendous storm of 
 rain and high winds. Yet the patient being catalep- 
 tic, and in a state of clairvoyance, saw through rain 
 and darkness her physician riding on horseback, and 
 drenched with rain, even when he was miles from 
 her, and watched his approach till he hitched his 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 96 
 
 horse and stepped to the door and rapped. In this 
 case, neither rain nor darkness intercepted the clair- 
 voyant faculty. 
 
 (Note 20.) The object of introducing this note into 
 this work is merely to show the amount of interest 
 this thing is capable of creating in the public mind. 
 The lectures from which we make these quotations 
 were delivered in Boston to a people who are known 
 to be intelligent and highly respectable. It is not 
 the low and ignorant that are the most liable to 
 be deceived by this electro-illusion ; it is well calcu- 
 lated to deceive, if possible, the very elect. It is, 
 therefore, the more formidable, and demands the great- 
 er exertions to counteract its evil effects. 
 
 It is spiritual wickedness (or wicked spirits) in high 
 places which we have to contend against; and we 
 ought to come out against it with a high hand. 
 
 Before we close this part of the subject, we will 
 briefly notice another popular method of explaining 
 the phenomenon of clairvoyance. It is said that there 
 is a light so much finer than atmospheric light, and of 
 that peculiar property, that it can penetrate and pass 
 through all substances in existence. This light pro- 
 duces in the brain what is called cerebral lucidity^ and 
 is that by which clairvoyants are enabled to see things 
 otherwise invisible. This finer light is called magnetic 
 or GALVANIC light. Concerning it, we need to say but 
 little more than that the proof of its existence is found 
 only in the electro-mesmeric theory. Even if its 
 existence could be demonstrated, we have already 
 shown that it would not account for the fact, that 
 clairvoyants do sometimes see and describe things 
 before they come to pass. This light is also said to 
 exist in the brain. But it is readily seen that a light 
 
96 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 in the brain will not enable one to see things out of 
 it. Go into a room in a dark night, and light up from 
 one to a hundred lamps ; and the lighter the room is, 
 the less visible things become seen through the window 
 at a distance without. 
 
 Before we close this account, we will compare the 
 clairvoyant faculty of seeing with natural vision, and 
 see if there is that analogy between them which is 
 pretended by the advocates of the electro-mesmeric 
 theory. We will first examine the philosophy of 
 natural vision, and the properties of light which 
 produce it. Roemer, an eminent Danish astronomer, 
 in attempting to ascertain the exact time of the revo- 
 lution of one of Jupiter's satellites, by observing its 
 successive eclipses, discovered that light has a progres- 
 sive motion, but at the inconceivable rate of two hun- 
 dred thousand miles per second. This appeared evident 
 from the following circumstances : — 
 
 When the earth and Jupiter were both on one 'side 
 of the sun at the same time, and the three bodies, the 
 earth, the sun, and Jupiter, made a straight line, the 
 eclipses of the satellite of Jupiter took place sixteen 
 minutes sooner than when the earth was on one side 
 of the sun, and Jupiter on the opposite ; in which case 
 the earth was farther from Jupiter in the latter in- 
 stance, by the diameter of her orbit, than she was in 
 the former ; and the Tight, in passing over this space, 
 the diameter of the earth's orbit, occupied about six- 
 teen minutes, or eight minutes in coming from the sun 
 to the earth. 
 
 Now, with regard to light itself, there are two theo- 
 ries. One is called the corpuscular theory, and the other 
 the undulatory theory. The corpuscular theory sup- 
 poses particles of matter flying off from the luminous 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 97 
 
 body to the eye, and, inpinging upon the nervous 
 mernbrane, (the retina,) affects it so as to produce 
 vision, by producing an inverted image of the object 
 seen. The undulatory theory supposes there is an 
 excessively rare, subtile, and highly elastic medium, 
 which pervades all space, and is put into undulations 
 by the luminous body; and these undulations, pene- 
 trating the eye, and falling on the retina, communicate 
 to it similar undulations, the effect of which is to pro- 
 duce vision. And further: it has been shown by Sir 
 Isaac Newton, by a refined problem in the analysis of 
 light, that those beautiful colors seen in the rainbow 
 are produced by different undulations of the elastic 
 medium by which light is transmitted ; that is, when 
 this medium vibrates at a certain rate, a certain col- 
 ored light is the result; and if at another certain rate, 
 another colored light is the result; and when this 
 medium does not vibrate at all, or when one vibration 
 is cancelled by another, the result is total darkness. 
 
 From the following table, it may be seen what num- 
 ber of vibrations in an inch, and in a second of time, 
 are made in producing all the primary colors ; — 
 
 S 
 
 o 
 
 f— « 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 Extreme Red 
 
 Red 
 
 Orange 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Green. 
 
 Blue 
 
 Indigo 
 
 Violet 
 
 Extreme Violet 
 
 9 
 
 .-J ^ 
 
 O p; •■-( 
 
 0,000,261 
 0,000,256 
 0,000.240 
 0,000,227 
 0,000,211 
 0,000,196 
 0,000,185 
 0,000,174 
 0,000, lo7 
 
 o o'3 
 
 37,640 
 39,180 
 41,610 
 44,000 
 47,460 
 51,110 
 54,070 
 57,490 
 59,750 
 
 ^ 2 rt 
 
 o *j o 
 
 458,000, 
 477,000, 
 506,000, 
 535,000, 
 577,000, 
 022,000, 
 658,000. 
 699,000, 
 727,000, 
 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 000,000,000 
 
 % 
 
98 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Well might Isaiah exclaim, " O Lord, thou art my 
 God ; I will exalt thy name ; for thou hast done won- 
 derful things I " It is wonderful. When we look at 
 the beautiful petals of a rose, this medium is vibrating 
 in the eye at the inconceivable rate of four hundred 
 and fifty-eight billions of times in a second, and the 
 result is, to our senses, the petals are red ; whereas, if 
 the vibrations had been five hundred and seventy-seven 
 billions, we should have called them green. 
 
 By inspecting the table, it will be seen that, to pro- 
 duce the violet color, the vibrations are quickest ; and 
 to produce the red, they are the slowest. Now, when 
 a beam of light is let into a darkened room, and suf- 
 fered to pass through a prism, it forms an oblong 
 figure on the opposite wall, called a spectrum, having 
 in it all the colors in the above table, in their inversed 
 order, — the red being at the bottom, and the violet at 
 the top, — according to the different refrangibilities of 
 the difierent colored rays. But there appears to be 
 other rays that are invisible, or not colored at all ; 
 these are called calorific, or heat-making rays, and they 
 fall next below the red rays. What, then, must be 
 the number of vibrations of this medium to produce 
 heat? As they are invisible, their undulations cannot 
 be determined by the same process that those of the 
 colored rays are ; but an approximation to their num- 
 ber may be found by a mathematical problem, and is 
 in the neighborhood of four hundred and forty-seven 
 billions. Now, this astonishingly subtile substance 
 passes through nothing freely, so as to produce dis- 
 tinct vision, except thin, transparent substances. But 
 that medium through which clairvoyant vision is 
 transmitted must be infinitely finer and more subtile 
 than this, as much so as the waves of solar light are 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 99 
 
 less than the waves of the ocean. Now, what theory 
 can stand, built on the supposition of the existence 
 of such a medium, until its existence has some better 
 demonstration than the clairvoyant faculty ? Besides, 
 if it is obedient to the laws of solar light, which it 
 must be to produce vision, a clairvoyant could very 
 seldom tell what color objects were of, or which way 
 they are from the place of observation ; both of which 
 they do. For it is a law in optics, that objects are. 
 always seen in the direction the rays of light have 
 last on entering the eye. Now, the apparent direction 
 of an object seen by the solar light does not so much 
 depend on its real direction as it does on the number 
 and densities of the media the visual rays have passed 
 through, and their angle of incidence to those media, 
 and also the reflections these rays have made before 
 they reach the eye. But the clairvoyant faculty pays 
 no respect to these immutable laws, but sees things in 
 their true colors, and always straight ahead, no matter 
 if the electro-mesmeric light has passed through hun- 
 dreds of brick or stone walls, or through miles of the 
 base of some adamantine mountain : the clairvoyant 
 knows nothing of its refraction : though his light may 
 have passed through these substances at all possible 
 angles of incidence, and made all possible degrees of 
 refraction, it is all the same to him. Besides, objects 
 seen in ordinary vision partake more or less of the 
 color of the medium through which they are seen. 
 For instance : objects seen through green glass ap- 
 pear green ; if seen through blue glass, they are blue. 
 But it is not so in clairvoyance. It is evident, there- 
 fore, that clairvoyant vision is not produced by any 
 of the laws that govern natural vision : and every 
 
100 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 attempt to make the former in any way analogous to 
 the latter must, in the end, prove a failure. 
 
 Even if we admit the existence of this electro- 
 mesmeric light, it will not account for the fact that 
 clairvoyants see and describe scenes before they are 
 acted ; and it is but a poor horse that will carry a 
 man safely only a part of his journey, and then leave 
 him sticking fast in the mud, to get along the best 
 way he can. It is altogether too late in the day to 
 admit as proof the existence of things because we 
 are enabled by them to explain a phenomena. Time 
 was when it was supposed that this earth was in the 
 common centre of several crystalline spheres which 
 revolved about it, one of which it was supposed the 
 moon was fastened to, and another the sun, and on 
 others the several planets, and the fixed stars on 
 another ; and by the revolution of these spheres was 
 explained the apparent revolution of the heavenly 
 bodies. But it did not demonstrate the existence of 
 the spheres. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 101 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 It is said that mediums through which spiritual 
 disclosures are made are not under the influence of 
 mesmerism. This depends on what mesmerism is 
 considered to be. We have shown it is a diseased or 
 deranged play of the faculties of the mind, by what- 
 ever means it may be brought about, whether by the 
 application of steel plates to any part of the body, 
 or by passing them over the body, or the fingers with- 
 out the plates ; cr whether it be by disease of body, 
 or by the action of medicine ; or by fear or excite- 
 ment ; by the wonderful and the marvellous : by 
 whatever means the effect is produced, it is the same 
 when produced. In the case referred to in a former 
 chapter, subjects were mesmerized standing against 
 a door, and supposing Mesmer to be on the other side 
 of it magnetizing them. This did the work just as 
 well as though he had really been there. 
 
 In some cases, a glove or kerchief is mesmerized 
 and sent to a subject, who, on receiving it, goes into 
 the mesmeric state ; but when these articles are 
 changed, unknown to the subject, and one pre- 
 sented which was not mesmerized, it has the same 
 effect. So in the use of Perkins's tractors : when 
 wooden ones were used, they had the same effect in 
 alleviating pain when the afflicted thoug-ht they were 
 the real, mysterious, and metallic ones. 
 
 So in psychology : looking at a piece of silver and 
 9* 
 
102 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 zinc has no more effect or galvanic action on the 
 beholder than an old brass button, only as he believes. 
 An operator in England psychologizes by directing 
 his subject to look at the teeth of a comb. This 
 answers every purpose, and so would any thing else 
 which the parties might have faith in. There is, 
 therefore, evidently no virtue in these means or modes 
 of operation, only as they serve to call into action the 
 faith of the parties. And " as a man thinketh, so 
 is he." Any man can be mesmerized, psychologized, 
 or bewitched by any of these means, if he only thinks 
 so. But there are many who are ready to say they 
 have been mesmerized or psychologized, and did not 
 believe beforehand that they could be. This is only 
 acknowledging they have changed their mind. Now, 
 the question is. Did the effect produce a change of 
 mind, or the change of mind produce the effect ? It 
 is evidently the latter ; for no such effect can be pro- 
 duced on a mind unprepared to receive it. No mat- 
 ter how much unbelief a man may have in the first 
 place; before he gets into the abnormal state, his 
 unbelief imperceptibly slides into doubting, his doubt- 
 ing as imperceptibly into belief, and his belief as im- 
 perceptibly slides him into the abnormal state, while 
 he verily thinks his being in this state is the cause of 
 his change of mind ; while the fact is, his change of 
 mind is the cause of his being in this state. So a 
 person who does not believe in ghosts never sees one 
 till he sees something to shake his unbelief and set 
 him to doubting ; and that very instant he is sure he 
 sees a ghost. But if he knows it is physically and 
 morally impossible for a ghost to be seen, he may^ 
 nevertheless, see one under a peculiar hallucination of 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 103 
 
 the mind, which at all times he cannot control. (See 
 Chapter X., near the close.) 
 
 Besides, this kind of hallucination produced . by- 
 excitement is sometimes, to some persons, irresistibly- 
 contagious. An instance which occurred to the au- 
 thor we will relate : — 
 
 Some five or six years ago, a half dozen or more 
 young gentlemen and ladies returning home from a 
 singing school in the evening, very unceremoniously 
 rushed into my room in great excitement, saying they 
 had seen a new and very large star in the heavens, 
 which was continually "jumping" about, first in one 
 direction and then in another ; and all at once, calling 
 me out to see it. After reasoning with them a while 
 to no purpose, and scolding them smartly for their 
 folly, I thought it might possibly be something like 
 an ig-nis fatuus, and went out to see it. But as soon 
 as it was pointed out to me, I told them it was not a 
 new star, but was known to Job, and was called 
 Arcturus, (in the knee of Bootes ;) " and now, when 
 you see it 'jump,' as you say, you may expect the 
 universe to come to an end." These words had 
 scarcely died on the air before it really leaped, as if 
 in mockery of my incredulity, about thirty feet, in 
 spite of my senses. " There ! there ! " they all ex- 
 claimed at once ; " did'nt you see it ? " " See it," said 
 I, (not willing to own the fact ;) " the stars donH move, 
 I tell you." Although it did appear to move, my 
 judgment was not affected ; but to convince them, I 
 put a straight stick on a post, and ranged it to the 
 star, as a sportsman does the barrel of his gun to the 
 target ; and after they had all seen the star by looking 
 along the stick, at rest, it ceased its giddy leaps, and 
 behaved as steadily as ever. This broke the hallu- 
 
104 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 cination, and put a stop to the boyish play of that 
 old and respectable gem of heaven. 
 
 Such is the peculiar nature of the mind : the laws 
 that govern it are as yet but little understood. We 
 should be aware of these deceptive appearances, and 
 be governed by the sober dictates of reason. I knew 
 it was impossible for that star to move, and my 
 reason finally overpowered the evidence of my senses. 
 So, if a man knows it is as utterly impossible for the 
 dead to communicate with the living, to him " dead 
 men tell no tales." His judgment will overpower 
 the evidence of his senses. He can be no medium, 
 neither can he hear the raps, unless he is so far off" 
 his guard as to catch the hallucination. 
 
 But there are those who do hear them, yet know 
 the dead do not make them ; nor can they tell how 
 they are made, or whether they are made at all. Be- 
 cause they aite heard, it is no proof that they are 
 made. The juggler breaks a sound egg, and takes 
 out a live rabbit, or a full-grown dove ; but that does 
 not prove that either of these creatures were in the 
 egg. The evidence of our senses is not to be taken 
 when contrary to the irrevocable laws of nature. If 
 we have nothing to go by but the evidence of our 
 senses, in what are we above the brutes ? As well 
 might we say the sun travels round the earth every 
 twenty-four hours, because it appears so to our senses ; 
 and that is as much as the brutes can know about it. 
 
 Appearances are often very deceitful. This is a 
 well-known fact ; yet people are so easily deceived by 
 them, that almost every man is striving to make a 
 good appearance in the world, and to pass himself 
 off" for a little more than he is worth. 
 
 This is emphatically an age of deception. But 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 105 
 
 few articles can find a sale in market that are not 
 dressed up in some deceptive appearance ; and he is 
 but a dull salesman who is not well skilled in the art 
 of deception, and will meet with but few customers. 
 We have a law to punish a man for counterfeiting 
 money; but if he does not counterfeit every thing 
 else, we set him down for a fool — a stupid block- 
 head — far behind the times. The world knows these 
 facts, and yet it loves the deception ; and the greater 
 the deception, the more easily it is palmed olF. 
 
 No wonder, then, that the world should run into 
 spiritual manifestations — the climax of deception. 
 It is just the right age to introduce it. It is up even 
 with the times, or a little ahead ; just enough to be 
 sought after, like a new fashion just coming into use. 
 But the devil is making capital out of it, and is pretty 
 sure to turn it to his advantage. 
 
 But after all, it is mesmerism ; that is, a perverted 
 play of the mental faculties. This leads . people to 
 believe they converse with the spirits of the dead with 
 the same facility as they formerly believed rods were 
 turned into serpents, as done by the Egyptians, and 
 is now done by mesmerizers, and has been done by 
 the author. But if these things only appear to be 
 done, and are not done, what proof have we of the 
 visits of the spirits of the dead ? May not their ap- 
 pearance be as great a deception ? Besides, they do 
 not appear in person with visible forms, though it 
 may be expected they yet will^ the more completely to 
 deceive ; for I apprehend the rage for witchcraft 
 mania is nearly sufficient to produce such a result. 
 But, says one, there is the mysterious intelligence 
 manifested in these disclosures : how can it be ac- 
 counted for ? Suppose it cannot be accounted for at 
 
THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 all. Are we obliged to swallow a thing because we 
 know not what it is ? We ought rather to spew it 
 out of the mouth, because we do not know what it is. 
 But the intelligence manifested in spiritual disclo- 
 sures is not more mysterious than that manifested by 
 clairvoyants, Avhich was known years before any one 
 pretended that the spirits of the dead had any thing 
 to do in it. Both clairvoyants and mediums come 
 into their respective states alike — sometimes by mes- 
 meric passes, in which cases they are said to be in- 
 duced, and sometimes the states are spontaneous. 
 
 Now, what is the difference between a medium and 
 a clairvoyant ? Both make mysterious disclosures ; 
 one professes to make them from the dead, the other 
 does not. It was first found that good subjects of 
 mesmerism made clairvoyants ; now good clairvoy- 
 ants make mediums. So, the real difference between 
 
 a subject of mesmerism and a medium is the same as 
 that between a pig and a hog. With proper care and 
 feeding, the pig becomes a hog ; so the mesmeric 
 subject, properly fed with the witchcraft mania, be- 
 comes a medium. 
 
 When the spirit rappings were first heard, in some 
 respects they were nothing new. Frequendy strange 
 noises and sights have been heard and seen in houses 
 said to be haunted, which, by the credulous, have 
 always been supposed to be done by the spirits of the 
 dead. It is, therefore, not strange these raps should 
 be said to be made by spirits, — it is the usual way of 
 accounting for these things, — and, as might be ex- 
 pected, spirits that can rap must possess intelligence ; 
 and on trial, it was found they did. This is mesmer- 
 ism in the real sense of the word. What mesmerizer 
 ever failed to prove his theory by his experiments ? 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 107 
 
 We have shown this to be a general thing through- 
 out the whole. The mystery of the thing has since 
 kept up the excitement, and thousands of addled 
 brains are experimenting with the spirits of the dead 
 with complete success, as they fondly think. One 
 class, the firm believers, strengthens the minds of me- 
 diums, which enables them to be mediums ; these, in 
 tarn, rivet conviction on the mind of believers. Now, 
 let believers stop publishing heir faith, and mediums 
 would stop confirming it. 
 
 It will readily be perceived that, whether spiritual 
 
 . manifestations stand or fall, must depend, in some 
 degree, on whether they are connected with mesmer- 
 
 \ ism or not. That they are, we think we have suffi- 
 ciently shown. There is no proof that either is any 
 thing more than the effect of imagination. This has 
 often been known to perform as great wonders where 
 neither mesmerism nor the spirits of the dead were 
 suspected. And whether mesmerism stands or falls, 
 must depend on whether it is a science or not ; and 
 if it is, electricity, or something allied to it, is called 
 into action. This also, we have shown, is not a fact, 
 and many scientific men are beginning to give it up. 
 Dr. Haddock, speaking on this subject, says, — 
 
 " It has been said that phreno-mesmerism is the 
 result of electric action, and that, in fact, all mesmeric 
 action is but electrical phenomena — the operator 
 being positively electrified, the patient negatively so. 
 For this, I believe there is no evidence w^hatever. It 
 is true, electricity may be made to stimulate certain 
 vital actions; but it is admitted by the best physiol- 
 ogists that there is no identity between them. I have 
 carefully examined, and cannot find that there is any 
 perceptible difference between the electrical and mag- 
 
108 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 netic state of the mesmerized subject and that of the 
 operator, where, according to electrical theory, the 
 greatest difference ought to be manifested." 
 
 It has enriched no science, nor added one item to 
 the sum of human wisdom. We have, in the two 
 preceding chapters, followed the electrical theory 
 through its labyrinthian routine, beginning with gross 
 matter, and proceeding, step by step, till we arrived at 
 the great eternal Mind of all, diligently looking 
 " through nature up to nature's God." Yet, after all 
 this toil, we have the mortification of finding our- 
 selves as ignorant concerning the connecting link 
 between mind and matter as when we set out. The 
 amount of it all is, nothing cannot effect something, 
 and something is effected ; therefore, there must be 
 another something to do it. This is the will, which 
 is an evolution of electricity, nervo-vital fluid, living 
 galvanism, &c. So, before gross matter can be moved, 
 there is a material will to be set in motion. This is 
 moved by a material mind, which again is moved by 
 electricity. But this does not discover the motive 
 power. Here are four things moved, viz., mind, will, 
 electricity, and matter, each of which is something, 
 and cannot be a self-moving principle. So, to say 
 that God moves and governs the universe through the 
 agency of electricity, thus putting a lever into his 
 hand to move matter, presupposes another behind 
 him to move him. 
 
 But further : it is evident that the electro-mesmeric 
 sophistry, carried out, must annihilate every principle 
 of divine revelation. According to it, will is an 
 evolution of electricity, which is original, primal mat- 
 ter, out of which all things are made, and of which 
 God himself is the grand nucleus. Then there is no 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 109 
 
 other god but the God of nature. In other words, 
 God and matter are one and the same thing, primarily 
 endowed with consciousness and power, so that it can 
 assume any form ; and in one grand centre this con- 
 scious power chose to reside and send forth its potent 
 will, to mould itself into other forms, some of which 
 are conscious and endowed with reason, some with 
 animal instinct, and some with vegetable; others, un- 
 organized, are unconscious in any degree. It follows 
 that men are but so many satellitic nuclei emanating 
 from and revolving about their primary, to which they 
 are sure to return when dissolved in death : — 
 
 " Like bubbles on the sea of matter borne, 
 They rise, they break, and to that sea return." 
 
 Hence we cannot fail to recognize a fair foundation 
 laid for the most refined, but falsely scientific, system 
 of atheism. For, if electricity is the only primal mat- 
 ter, and some condition of it is vnll^ emanating from a 
 conscious mind, then there is no primal matter except 
 mind itself. And whether we consider mind to be 
 material or immaterial, it is just the same. Every 
 object and every phenomenon would be the same, 
 whether matter existed or not — every creation or 
 formation would be an emanation of the one great 
 Mind ; and there is not the least necessity of consid- 
 ering man as a material being. If he imagines he is 
 made of ^es/i, bloody and bones, it is so to him, for 
 his mind is all there is of him, and he must be just 
 what that takes him to be ; and if he imagines there 
 is an earth under his feet, and a beautiful starry 
 heaven over his head, it is just the same to him, 
 whether these things really and materially exist or 
 not. In this way, every phenomenon in mesmerism 
 10 
 
110 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 and spiritual manifestations might be accounted for. 
 For instance : tables are said to move in obedience 
 to the human will ; and the reason is, there is no 
 table there — only the ghost of one, which exists in 
 the minds of men ; and all that is necessary to move 
 that ghost is, to make the requisite move in the mind, 
 and the work is done. 
 
 The effect of the mind is sometimes very wonder- 
 ful. Physicians are aware that disease is sometimes 
 occasioned by an unhappy state of it ; and violent 
 and sudden mental excitement has, in some cases, 
 produced death. These circumstances might, to good 
 advantage, be wove into the electro-mesmeric theory. 
 Now, whatever the reader may think of all this, it is 
 certainly no more nor less than graduating in the 
 school of electro-mesmerism. Admit electricity to be 
 the agent, and you admit the human will is capable of 
 moving inert bodies ; and, finally, it must be admitted 
 that mind is a feature of electricity, and, ultimately, 
 that there is nothing but mind. And now, perhaps 
 some of my readers may say. Why may not all these 
 things be so? It seems to be the only rational way of 
 accounting for the wonders of mesmerism. 
 
 The first reason I would give is, it does not ex- 
 plain the root of the matter ; that is, the mystery of 
 thinking. The second is, it drives us to the con- 
 clusion that the great first Cause is a deceiver, and 
 has been playing a double game of deception with us 
 from the beginning, in making objects- appear to be 
 material which are not so, and representing to us that 
 we are accountable to our Maker, while we are but 
 emanations from him, and reflections of his mind. 
 The third is, it throw^s off that moral restraint which 
 is necessary to our well being here, to say nothing of 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. Ill 
 
 hereafter. And the fourth is, it overthrows and makes 
 void the teachings of divine revelation, and would 
 tend to fasten the " strong delusion " upon the world. 
 
 But the electro theory involves us in another diffi- 
 culty ; that is, how to consider the brute creation. In 
 Note 16, Chapter VI., we have the electrical philos- 
 ophy of mind, in which it is said that thought, reason, 
 ivill, and understanding', are not mind, but the effects 
 of mind ; that is, the mind reasons, wills, thinks, &c. 
 Now, w^hether brutes reason or not, they certainly 
 think and understand, and exercise a will ; and if 
 they have but one attribute of mind, it proves they 
 have a mind ; and since " mind is that substance 
 which has innate and living motion," it is the same in 
 the brute as in man ; and if it is primal, uncreated 
 matter, it must be as imperishable, that is, as exempt 
 from death, as the mind of man or of God ; therefore, 
 they must be subjects of happiness and progressive 
 attainments in the harmonial spheres, or the harmony 
 of the spheres must be broken. 
 
 So, we are bound to acknowledge the immortality 
 of brutes, or deny the electrical philosophy of the 
 mind. But if we deny the latter, the whole electro- 
 mesmeric theory, with all its proud temples and air- 
 bubble castles, must go by the board. 
 
 Mesmerism is, indeed, a strange delusion. Nothing 
 can appear more harmless, at first, than lightly pass- 
 ing the fingers over a patient for the benevolent pur- 
 pose of alleviating pain. It does not seem possible 
 that any great amount of evil should grow out of 
 such a simple process. None could suppose this is 
 paving the way to spiritual manifestations. But so 
 it is. " Behold, how great a matter a little fire kin- 
 dleth!" Who could suppose that teaching a child the 
 
112 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 names of a few characters, called an alphabet, is 
 paving the way to that mighty difference between 
 savage and enlightened nations ? Who could expect 
 such astonishing results could grow out of the use of 
 these simple characters ? 
 
 But just so certain as effects follow causes, just so 
 certain mesmerism leads to spiritual manifestations, 
 and these to atheism, which is but the legitimate off- 
 spring of mesmerism. The " man of sin " is conceived 
 in it, and must be born; for the time of travail has 
 come; the last blow is about to be struck at divine 
 revelation ; and the last struggle between Christ and 
 Antichrist is about to ensue. The great day of his 
 wrath is about to come ; and who will be able to stand? 
 
 As a fair specimen of the evil tendency of " spiritual 
 disclosures," we give the following, cut from " The 
 Hartford Daily Courant," Tuesday morning, June 7, 
 1853: — 
 
 "ANTI-BIBLE CONVENTION. 
 
 " This infidel assemblage broke up on Sunday even- 
 ing in a general row, without passing any of the reso- 
 lutions which had been presented. Its object has been 
 manifest from the beginning. It was concocted by 
 infidelity as an attack upon the Bible, with no inten- 
 tion of allowing fair and free discussion, or deliberate 
 investigation. It was an assembly of abolitionists, 
 women's rights believers, spiritual rappers, and athe- 
 ists, gathered for the purpose of spitting out their 
 venom against all that this community hold sacred — 
 against the Bible, which is the foundation of our belief 
 — against Christ, the Savior from sin — against God, 
 the Creator of our being. Each fanatic took his own 
 view of the subject, and assailed the Bible from his 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 113 
 
 own stand point. The infidel repeated the stale and 
 worn-out puerilities of Voltaire and Tom Paine, and 
 called them arguments. The followers of that arrant 
 deceiver, Andrew Jackson Davis, elevated the crude 
 and undigested plagiarisms of his obscure philosophy 
 above the teachings of Christ and his apostles, and 
 held them as the gospel of the spiritualists. The ultra 
 anti-slavery men, with Garrison at their head, denied 
 the Bible for other reasons. With them, the abolition 
 of slavery in this country is of more importance than 
 the light of Christianity, or the salvation of souls 
 through Jesus Christ. Rather than not accomplish 
 their object, they would tear down the fabric that 
 religion and morality have erected in New England 
 — they would abolish the hopes of an hereafter, blot 
 out the light which Christ has shed over the world, 
 and extinguish the joys and comforts v/hich piety 
 creates. The advocates of woman's rights would 
 drive the Bible from its place in civilized society, be- 
 cause it does not allow woman's equality with man 
 in all things, but marks out for her a different sphere 
 of action. 
 
 " Throughout the discussion, the opponents of the 
 Bible filled the ears of the audience with the most 
 revolting blasphemies, and made the convention a 
 miniature hell, with demons spitting out the concen- 
 trated malice of their hearts in terms of ' condensed 
 damnation.' The most revolting scene was when a 
 specimen of the ' fair sex ' pronounced her tirades 
 against the Deity and the Scriptures — said to be the 
 most blasphemous stuff uttered in the convention. 
 Nothing but Christianity has rescued woman from the 
 degradation to which the tyranny of brute force had 
 subjected her, in all savage nations — nothing but 
 10* 
 
114 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Christianity has bestowed upon her all that ennobles 
 and purifies her character, and softens and dignifies 
 her condition. Shame, then, to the woman who will 
 so far unsex herself as to be engaged, amid an assem- 
 bly of male infidels and scoffers, in attacking that in- 
 stitution which has rescued her from bondage. 
 
 " This woman, forsooth, spurns the Bible because it 
 declares, at its commencement, that God created 
 woman as the companion of man ! She refuses the 
 Christianity of the New Testament because women 
 were not allowed to speak in the churches I She 
 boldly impugns the Almighty for the station in which 
 he has placed her, and belches out her blasphemies 
 against him for her physical inferiority, and for his 
 declaration, in his holy word, that he had given woman 
 to man as his 'helpmeet' — to support his infancy 
 
 — to educate his young and tender mind — •- to build 
 up the rising generations in the softening influences 
 of early piety — to wean man, as a sister, from vice 
 
 — to soothe him in that dearest of all relations, as a 
 wife, amid the toils, and cares, and labors of the rough 
 life through which he travels. Yes ; from the cradle 
 to the grave, woman is the ' companion ' of man, the 
 solace of his life hours, the supporter of Kis dying 
 moments. God so ordered — the Bible so proclaims 
 
 — Nature so ordains — and shame to that woman 
 who loudly asserts in a public assembly that such a 
 God is unfit for her worship, and is not hers. Shame 
 to the piebald assemblage of atheists, and abolitionists, 
 and misguided fanatics that would encourage the 
 declaration. 
 
 " Though we disliked the idea of any interference 
 with the progress of their blasphemy, yet we must do 
 justice to the two Second Advent preachers, Messrs. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 115 
 
 Storrs, of New York, and Turner, of this place, who 
 manfully battled for the truth and authority of the 
 Bible. Their arguments were unanswered and un- 
 answerable. 
 
 "Honest, well-meaning men, men who have hither- 
 to been deluded by this spirit-rapping mania, with ail 
 its absurdity and folly, can now see whither it tends. 
 It leads to the destruction of Christianity, to the rejec- 
 tion of the Bible, to the blotting out of God from the 
 soul. Are they ready to go to these lengths ? Just 
 as assuredly as they embrace ' the gospel according 
 to Andrew Jackson Davis ' will they be led to the 
 rejection of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and to the 
 abolition of God from their creeds. Are they prepared 
 for it ? 
 
 " As long as this spiritual rapping was the mere 
 child of fatuity and imposture, we chose to let it 
 alone. But it has now assumed a position in which 
 the lover of all that is holy, and upright, and just in the 
 universe must meet it with tones of indignation and 
 notes of warning. We have nojiesitation in saying, 
 as viewed in the light of this convention, that a belief 
 in spiritual visitations, as at present exhibited, will 
 lead directly and fatally to the grossest infidelity and 
 atheism. 
 
 " The chairman announced, at the adjournment of 
 the meeting, that it would be called together again at 
 some other city of New England. We trust that the 
 soil of Connecticut will never be desecrated again, 
 and her laws set at defiance, by such an assemblage, 
 or the air of Connecticut polluted again by such 
 blasphemy." 
 
 It is proper here to state the fact, that this chapter 
 was written several weeks before this convention was 
 
116 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRiVPHIG 
 
 called. The article from the Conrant was just in time 
 to show what effect spiritual manifestations have 
 already had, and what may be expected of them in 
 future. 
 
 But if psychology and spiritual manifestations are 
 the effects of an aberration of mind, it may be asked 
 what the devil has to do with it. Almost every 
 thing ; for it is, perhaps, his whole field of action. He 
 is the prince of jugglers, but not a creator: he cannot 
 make a field to work in, but works in one already 
 made, and opened by our proneness to evil. It is his 
 business to deceive, and ours to be aware of his de- 
 ception. If man acts according to the impulse of his 
 mind, then his mind must be first acted upon to do 
 evil or to do good; and to do evil, there must be an 
 evil influence to actuate it. And if we yield to this 
 infTuence, we yield ourselves instruments of evil through 
 an evil operation of the mind. It behooves us, there- 
 fore, to know" by w^hat principle the mind is actuated. 
 For this purpose our reason was given, which, with 
 " the law and the testimony," will direct us aright in 
 all things. 
 
 But if we follow the impulse of the carnal mind 
 alone. Reason herself soon becomes perverted, and 
 mental intoxication is the consequence. Look at the 
 inebriate; hear his logic, his plea for a dram. His 
 reasoning appears perfectly philosophical to him; and 
 he wonders why the " Sons of Temperance " cannot 
 see the weight of his argument in the same clear light 
 that he does. Now, why is this ? He is- in error ; and 
 error, persisted in, is monomania. No matter on what 
 subject a man errs; the nature of error is the same — 
 to pervert the understanding and poison the judg- 
 ment. But in all mental intoxication, there is none 
 
OPPOtiilTION LINE. 
 
 117 
 
 greater than in the advocates of false religion. And 
 why? Because the devil hates nothing so much as 
 true religion. Hence his principal object seems to be 
 to turn every thing of a truly religious nature into a 
 wrong channel; and what he cannot entirely over- 
 throw^, as a w^hole, split up and divide. 
 
 But, since error perverts the reasoning faculties, it 
 may be asked how those in error are to be reclaimed, 
 since their reason cannot be appealed to. We find it, 
 indeed, often very difficult to reclaim them ; but this 
 does not justify them in error, more than the inebriate 
 is justified in the use of his intoxicating cup. He 
 errs, and his error is ruining him ; but the difficulty is 
 to make him see it, and inspire him with zeal enough 
 to cause him to abandon his evil course. 
 
 We are truly living in " the perilous times " spoken 
 of by Paul to Timothy, in which men are " ever learn- 
 ing, and never able to come to the knowledge of the 
 truth." 
 
 But, because of the late improvements in literature 
 and the arts, it is argued that the intellect of man is 
 rapidly advancing; consequently, he is better able to 
 judge of the things of religion than in any former age. 
 And, to keep pace with the rapid march of intellect, 
 the religion of A. J. Davis is preferred to that of Jesus 
 of Nazareth, as more in harmony with the present 
 state of progression. Those who reason thus may 
 think they are using the most profound philosophy. 
 And to prove that this is not insanity on this subject, 
 we are referred to the sanity of mind exhibited in 
 mechanical arts, inventions, and improvements of the 
 day. But such seem to forget that the wiser a man 
 is, the greater he may err. It is true that great minds 
 are capable of grasping great truths ; but it is equally 
 
118 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 true, that they are also capable of embracing great 
 error. The scholar of the most brilliant intellect who 
 does happen to err, errs as much more egregiously 
 than a dunce as his intellect is greater. So, if men 
 are wiser now than formerly, it proves that they are 
 capable of erring more than formerly. For human 
 wisdom alone is not sufficient to shield a man from 
 the hallucinating influence of religious error, else all 
 great and wise men would be Christians. But the 
 heathen philosophers, with all their wisdom, worshipped 
 almost every thing but the true and living God. In 
 no age has the wisdom of man kept him from religious 
 error. Neither is it a fact, that the most ignorant 
 have erred the most in this respect. Why, then, should 
 the wisdom of this age keep it from the same error? 
 
 It should be borne in mind, that, with all the dis- 
 coveries man has ever made, and in all he has ever 
 learned, he has not yet arrived at one principle of 
 nature that did not exist from the beginning. Then, 
 by parity of reasoning, and in perfect harmony with 
 tbe present rapid march of intellect, there is no new 
 principle of religion that did not exist from the begin- 
 ning in the eternal purpose of God. And it follows 
 that the religion said to be revealed by the spirits of 
 the dead is false, or that revealed by Jesus Christ is; 
 for one contains principles diametrically opposed to 
 the other; and both could not exist from the begin- 
 ning. And if a man believes the latter is false, he 
 gives evidence to the world that he labors under a 
 religious monomania, though his mind may be gigan- 
 tic, and sane enough in other respects to determine 
 the elements of the orbits of the distant comets, and 
 calculate their return; convert water into fuel; navi- 
 gate the atmosphere ; and invent the long-sought 
 "perpetual motion." 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 119 
 
 We here introduce an extract from the lectures of 
 Mr. William E. Blakeney, refuting the position some 
 are taking, that these things are not of the devil, be- 
 cause there is good in them : — 
 
 " We have already admitted the power of mesmer- 
 ism to the treatment of diseases. Hence, say they, it 
 does good; and as Satan has not the disposition to 
 effect the ' good ' of mankind, this power is not from 
 him. 
 
 " And farther, they argue that his ' satanic majes- 
 ty ' was never known to do good. Now, I wish to 
 call your attention to a few thoughts on the term good, 
 as connected with this prominent and only argument. 
 "First: God is the Author of all good, for in him 
 'we live, move, and have our being.' Hence, to the 
 successful attainment of any philanthropic object, the 
 Christian relies on the interposition of a divine Provi- 
 dence, and the special cooperation of his aid. A 
 man's general conduct may be such as to call for the 
 severe chastisement of the law, and the reproach of all 
 his J ellow -citizens, and, at the same time, there may 
 be periods in the history of his life when he was 
 known to benefit others ; for he did them good. 
 HeiKje a person, under the garb of religion, may 
 assume a dignified character ; he may manifest an 
 ardent zeal for the best interest of his fellow-man, and, 
 at the same time, have a malevolent desire at heart. 
 You may trace the outlines or general character of 
 ^ Satan's history, from the time he tempted our first 
 . parents up to the time he placed Christ on the pinna- 
 . cle of the temple, and you will find that, under all of 
 1 his peculiar administrations, under all the peculiar 
 . features he has assumed, — every temptation, every 
 It suggestion, every action, — he aims to promote the 
 
120 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 apparent good of his victim. ^ Partake of this fruit in 
 countcrdistinction to the command of the Eternal, 
 and thou shalt become as gods, knowing good from 
 evil. Eat of this tree of the garden, and your eyes 
 shall be opened,' was his infatuating address to our 
 first parents. 
 
 " Again : there are certain advantages, certain po- 
 sitions, which, if gained, facilitate his operations much. 
 
 " Now, it is well known that the success of a battle 
 not only depends on tlie skill ol" the general and the 
 subordinate ofTicers, but also upon the position the 
 army occupies. And hence his ' majesty,' for the more 
 successful triutnph of his ' arms,' selects not only well- 
 disciplined officers, but also as favorable a position as 
 possible. But not only are good officers and a good 
 position necessary for the successful attack of an 
 enemy or a foe, but a great deal depends on having 
 the minds of the privates impressed with the justice 
 of their cause. Hence, as an incentive to persever- 
 ance, the commanding general, while addressing his 
 soldiers, presents to their minds the sacred character 
 of the cause they have so nobly pledged themselves to 
 sustain, by referring to the everlasting interests at 
 stake. Their firesides, their altars, their children, the 
 institutions of their beloved country, and every thing 
 they hold most sacred and dear. Now, this is precise- 
 ly the plan adopted by the enemy of man for the I 
 attainment of his object. First, his strong positionH 
 is in the Church. Here he wields a powerful and' 
 decided influence. First, by introducing error into 
 her creeds, and giving it the appearance of something 
 useful and worthy of respect. 
 
 '* It is here that he transforms himself into an ' angel 
 of light,' converts the ministers over to his principles, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 121 
 
 and through them appeals to the members for a per- 
 petuation of those principles. 
 
 " For a remarkable proof of this position, I cannot 
 forbear relating some of the extraordinary develop- 
 ments of mesmerism in the great ' Kentucky revival * 
 of 1802. 
 
 " Having already noticed the difference between the 
 phenomena of 'animal excitement' and that resulting 
 from a religious one, — with the indubitable test by 
 which you may detect the one from the other, — we 
 shall introduce the subject of the ' revival ' without 
 any introductory remarks. 
 
 " We would observe, however, that, previous to its 
 introduction, the different churches throughout the 
 state simultaneously complained of the ' great spirit- 
 ual dearth ' which seemed to prevail. Deism had 
 already reared its deformed head, and began to spread 
 like wildfire in the different towns and villages, until 
 a crisis had evidently arrived. An effort to introduce 
 a higher state of religious feeling was put forth in the 
 county of Madison, (upper part of Kentucky,) in the 
 spring of 1801, by a few ministers of the gospel. 
 Meetings were soon well attended, and signs of a high 
 state of religious feeling were evidently developed. 
 
 " The altar was soon crowded with ' anxious souls,' 
 who, after loudly bewailing their sins, would swoon 
 away, and lay apparently lifeless for a long time, when 
 suddenly a burst of ecstasy would issue from their 
 lips, foWowed by long and powerful appeals to the 
 congregation in behalf of the religion of Christ. The 
 excitement increased, which drew multitudes out to 
 witness its wonders. And, strange as it may appear, 
 children who could hardly speak audibly, when in- 
 fluenced by this infection, and after a state of apparent 
 11 
 
122 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 lifelessness for some time, would revive, and, with an 
 eloquence which would defy competition, warn the 
 multitude to escape the wrath to come. 
 
 " The meetings frequently continued during the 
 whole night, when scenes of consternation and horror, 
 which would beggar description, followed. Some 
 trembled, like one in a fit of the ague. Others, with- 
 out respect to time or order, were praying loudly for 
 their relatives, while hundreds lay prostrate on the 
 floor. The influences, like electricity, spread, when it 
 was found necessary to encamp on the ground, and to 
 continue the meetings day and night. To this en- 
 campment the people flocked in hundreds and thou- 
 sands. There were also meetings held in Caneridge, 
 Bourbon county, where it was estimated that twenty 
 thousand people, from different quarters, collected on 
 the ground at once. Here, also, the exercises were 
 indescribable. 
 
 " Rev. James Crawford, one of the oldest ministers 
 of the state, after keeping as accurate account as 
 possible, computed the number who fell on the occa- 
 sion at about three thousand. Men came breathing 
 severe threatenings against the work, and were fre- 
 quently struck down while uttering horrid oaths. 
 Others, to escape the infection, mounted their horses, 
 and, with quick pace, rode off"; but before advancing 
 far would be precipitated to the ground, and thus lay 
 as dead men until revived. Some writers, in de- 
 scribing the scene, have remarked that they would 
 fall like men shot on the field of battle. 
 
 " But the work was not confined to the State of 
 Kentucky. It broke out in Ohio and North Carolina, 
 where the influences resembled those experienced in 
 Kentucky. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 123 
 
 ^' Without consuming time and space with a further 
 description of the phenomena, as witnessed in these 
 places, we shall proceed to notice some of the most 
 distinguishing traits which characterized the leaders 
 of this ' new theology.' 
 
 " First : They professed a new and distinct rev- 
 elation — ' a new light.' All distinguishing names 
 were laid aside ; and persons, without respect to age, 
 sex, or color, were allowed to officiate as the light in 
 them might suggest. They also professed the power 
 of ' exorcism,' casting out of evil spirits, and of per- 
 forming other astonishing miracles, such as were 
 performed in the days of Christ and the apostles. 
 They also professed perfection, and supposed them- 
 selves to be ' entirely free from sin, dead to the world, 
 and risen with Christ.' 
 
 " Now, the peculiar circumstances under which this 
 revival commenced, its unexplained progress, together 
 with the extraordinary influences attending it, fixes 
 our conclusion irresistibly, viz., that it was not of 
 God. Look at the influence exerted on children. The 
 great strength imparted to them, both physically and 
 mentally, as in the clairvoyants of mesmerism ; also, 
 at the controlling power as exerted on the great num- 
 bers whp were struck down while engaged in the act 
 of blasphemy — their limbs being paralyzed, as in 
 mesmerism, while the general appearance of the body 
 bore all the marks as witnessed in the 'phenomena 
 of mesmerism ' now. 
 
 " Another evidence that the influence was mesmer- 
 ism, is the remarkable manner in which their leading 
 men would be handled while in meetings, and some- 
 times along the street — twitching and jerking, roll- 
 ing and barking, in imitation of the dog. (See quo- 
 
124 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 tation in ' Thoughts on Mesmerism,' No. 3, from La 
 Roy Sunderland's work on ' Pathetism.') 
 
 " Now, as history, philosophy, and revelation teach 
 of but two predominating powers, — the one from 
 heaven, and the other satanic, — we are bound to as- 
 cribe these influences to the one or the other. That 
 they were not of God, is evident from the indubitable 
 text, as given in the Scriptures: ' A tree is known by 
 its fruits ; ' and that they were mesmeric, is also 
 evident from the perfect parallel of the phenomena, 
 as in mesmerism*, and also from the excitement which 
 follows the exhibition of said phenomena. It is well 
 known that whole cities, towns, and villages have 
 been thrown into one grand scene of confusion, and 
 almost paroxysm, from the exhibitions of this myste- 
 rious power. Some, doubting their senses, would 
 denounce the experiments as human 'impositions,' 
 or ' humbuggery.' Others, attributing tlie power to a 
 ' diabolical source,' would denounce its agents and 
 lecturers as being 'leagued with the devil;' while 
 another class supposed it to be the result of a ' science 
 but partially understood.' Its first introduction into 
 the United States was marked particularly with these 
 conjectures ; and in whatever place the phenomena 
 were successfully exhibited, multitudes have, turned 
 out to witness them. Men have frequently been 
 known to neglect their business, and become bank- 
 rupts, by the infatuation ; while females have dis- 
 missed their domestic duties, to take a peep into the 
 mysteries of this mysterious power. Indeed, the ex- 
 citement has carried with it whole villages, so that, in 
 the language of inspired testimony, they have ac- 
 knowledged, from the least to the greatest, that this 
 is the great power of God. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 125 
 
 " Hence the deception and the character under 
 which it was imposed. Now, as in the Kentucky 
 revival, Satan imitated the influences of the Chris- 
 tian religion, to more successfully deceive mankind, 
 so, in the phenomena of mesmerism, its resem- 
 blance of the ' great power of God,' developed 
 through its assumed ability and disposition to do 
 good. 
 
 " In the Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, we 
 have another demonstration of this power, as exhib- 
 ited by ' Simon,' the ' sorcerer,' who gave himself out 
 to ' be some great one ; ' and it (the phenomenon as in 
 mesmerism) is the great power of God." 
 
 In this account it is not difficult to recognize mes- 
 meric phenomena. The reader will recollect what 
 has been said in this work (pp. 58, 59) concerning 
 the difference of the phenomena exhibited by the sub- 
 jects of different mesmerizers ; and the reason as- 
 signed was, they expected different results, each op- 
 erator thinking beforehand his subjects would be like 
 those he had seen or heard of. In the above quota- 
 tion, the writer says, " But the work was not con- 
 fined to the State of Kentucky. It broke out in Ohio 
 and North Carolina, where the influences resembled 
 those experienced in Kentucky." Undoubtedly, those 
 who got up the revival in Ohio and Carolina had 
 been to the Kentucky revival, from which they took a 
 pattern of the work. But before it commenced in 
 these places, the people must have heard of the in- 
 fluence attending the Kentucky meeting, which would 
 also account for the similarity. But one thing is 
 generally true, with some exceptions — converts made 
 at such revivals need converting again, often in a 
 short time. 
 
 11* 
 
1'96 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 If the Holy Spirit, by its operation on the mind, is 
 productive of true religion, there must be an opposite 
 spirit operating on it to produce a counterfeit. Such 
 ia spirit does exist, and has power to deceive, but 
 none to compel, those who resist it. It is singular 
 that such a spirit should be denied physical power by 
 those who grant that the spirits of the dead possess 
 it. They say the devil cannot tip tables ; but the 
 spirits of the dead can and do. The pith of their 
 argument seems to be this : A living devil cannot, by 
 unseen hands, move a table ; but a dead one can. 
 Now, if tables really move in these experiments, it 
 proves the devil exerts a physical power; if they do 
 not, it proves, like other mesmeric wonders, a hallu- 
 cination of mind. Notwithstanding the thousands 
 of witnesses who are ready to testify to their loco- 
 motion, it yet remains to be proved that their motion 
 is real, and not apparent. 
 
 The attention hitherto called to this subject has 
 been chiefly directed to detect some jugglery in the 
 affair. Hereafter it will probably come to light that 
 they do not move only in the imagination of the 
 beholders, as it is admitted that all present must be in 
 harmony; that is to say, be drawn into the hallu- 
 cination ; and in this case, they might appear to 
 move, whether they do or not. The thing needs 
 further testing, particularly on this point. (See chap- 
 ter X., " table tipping.") 
 
 But, says one, it is not possible that so many 
 thousands of intelligent people are so grossly deceived. 
 But we ask, Which is the more probable — that the 
 whole world should be deceived, or that nature should 
 err or deviate from her wonted course ? For she 
 either does so deviate, or these things are imagin^iry. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 127 
 
 Again : it may be said no one has a right to say 
 these things are contrary to the laws of nature till he 
 gives evidence that he is acquainted with all her 
 laws. Then our opponents have no right to say they 
 are done by a law of nature until they show by lohat 
 law it is. This they have not done, but failed in 
 every attempt. To say it is electricity, amounts to 
 nothing, until it is proved to be so. In the table-tip- 
 ping experiment, we acknowledge a law of nature, 
 acting on the mind, but not on the table ; for we have 
 shown that similar wonders have been witnessed by a 
 law of aberration of mind : now, let our opponents 
 show a similar law of aberration of matter. 
 
 Again : we prove our position by numerous prece- 
 dents drawn from nature at work in her own unin- 
 duced way. This our opponents have not done. 
 Strange things are done, either apparently or really. 
 They say they are really done by the spirits of the 
 dead ; as well might they say it is by the heathen 
 gods. We deny the fact ; and, until it is proved, shall 
 hold it self-evident, that the only ghosts which have 
 ever been raised by modern mediums are the ghosts 
 of ancient \vitchcraft and sorcery. 
 
 Between mind and matter there is no connecting 
 link beyond that of the living, organized, animal 
 body. And what that link is, we may know when 
 we know what life is, and not before. How the 
 mind of Deity acts on matter, is another thing. We 
 do not profess wisdom enough to scan the Almighty. 
 But we demand proof that there is any connection 
 between the mind of man and inanimate matter, or 
 that there is one between the living and the dead, 
 either between their bodies or minds. There cannot 
 be one, unless there are two Gods ; for the great 
 
128 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Teacher has declared that the one God is not the 
 God of the dead, but of the living. This completely 
 dissolves the link between the living and the dead, 
 until the resurrection, as shown to Moses at the bush, 
 when the dead will live again, and God will be their 
 God. 
 
 But if the spirits of the dead manifest themselves 
 to the living, God is their God, and they are not 
 dead ; which is the climax of absurdity. If we say 
 God is the God of the spirits of dead bodies, then 
 there is no class of men, dead or alive, which he is 
 not the God of; for he mast be the God of the spirits 
 of living men, to be the God of the living ; else liv- 
 ing men have not living spirits. But there is a class 
 of men he is not the God of ; and who are they ? If 
 we say they are the bodies of dead men, we virtually 
 say he is not the God of dead matter, and could not 
 have made man of the dust; and the material uni- 
 verse is without a God to govern it. 
 
 But as God is not the God of the dead, but of the 
 living, there must be one class which cannot manifest 
 itself to the living ; and this must be the dead, or 
 there is no class that are dead. Then, of all decep- 
 tions and mental hallucinations ever played off upon 
 man by mesmerism, death is the greatest. 
 
 Man is truly a strange creature. He believes that 
 spirits of the dead rap on tables, because it appears 
 so to his senses; but senses or no senses, he does not 
 believe that dead men are dead and cannot rap. 
 This is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. 
 Why is not the evidence of the senses proof in one 
 case as well as in the other ? 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 129 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF MESMERISM CON- 
 SIDERED. — AN IMPROVED MODE OF GOING TO 
 HEAYEN. 
 
 This theory, in its principal features, does not differ 
 materially from the electro-magnetic theory already 
 considered. It is, apparently, less clear and philo- 
 sophical, and is, therefore, less liable to be generally 
 received and to do injury. It will only be necessary, 
 therefore, to give it a passing notice, as it is not my 
 object to refute a theory merely for the sake of refu- 
 tation. 
 
 I shall speak of it as I find it taught by Dr. Had- 
 dock, an English writer, in his " Psychology, or the 
 Science of the Soul." On page 10 he says, " Met- 
 aphysicians have studied mind, irrespective of form 
 or matter ; and some philosophers would resolve all 
 things into material operation, irrespective of mind. 
 I believe that fact and demonstrative evidence will 
 prove both classes of philosophers to be wrong. From 
 divine revelation we know that there is both spirit, 
 or mind and matter — both a spiritual body and a 
 natural body. These cardinal truths will be found to 
 lie at the bottom of all mesmeric experience ; and 
 from that experience, the a priori statements of the 
 Scriptures will be abundantly confirmed." 
 
 According to this theory, then, mesmerism rests on 
 the two great pillars — - mind and matter ; a spiritual 
 body and a natural body. Now, if we can find out 
 what a spiritual body is, and what a natural body is, 
 
130 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 we shall find out what lies at the bottom of mes- 
 merism. 
 
 Again : on pp. 45 and 6 he says, " I have reason 
 to believe, as I shall point out in the sequel, that 
 mind is the grand agent in all really mesmeric phe- 
 nomena, and the manipulations are merely so many 
 means of fixing mental action." The lever in this 
 theory, therefore, is the mind, the same as .in the 
 electro theory. Again : on pp. 63 and 4, we find the 
 following : " It is usual to represent man as composed 
 of mind and matter — soul and body. This is cor- 
 rect. And as we find the body is not a simple, un- 
 compounded substance, but a collection of innumer- 
 able parts and organs, so, by parity of reasoning, 
 we may conclude that the mind or spiritual, as the 
 parent and director of the natural body, cannot be 
 that simple entity, that abstract nothing-ness, so gen- 
 erally represented by metaphysical writers ; but rather 
 that the controller of the animal organism must be 
 itself organized according to the laws of its own 
 peculiar nature, and capable of manifesting those 
 laws, under certain circumstances, through those or- 
 gans of the body ; that is, of the brain and nervous 
 system, which are united with it by the laws of cor- 
 respondent activity and connection. St. Paul, there- 
 fore, spoke the language of the profoundest philos- 
 ophy, when he declared that there were spiritual 
 bodies and natural bodies, and that the natural body 
 was the first in its development, and afterivards the 
 spiritual body ; and when, on another occasion, he 
 defended the entire human organism, as existing here, 
 to be a compound of ' spirit, soul, and body ' — in 
 this respect, giving his apostolic sanction to the doc- 
 trine of the ancient sages of Greece." 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 131 
 
 Now, there is a doubt in my mind whether Paul 
 spoke the profoundest philosophy of mesmerism, or 
 some philosophy of a much higher grade. It is cer- 
 tain that he did not speak the philosophy of the 
 ancient sages of Greece. If he did, he did not speak 
 the philosophy of his heavenly Master ; for he spake 
 on this subject " as never man spake." This could 
 not have been said of him had he spoken the doc- 
 trine of the ancient sages of Greece. Our author, 
 therefore, must misunderstand Paul's language. We 
 will examine it more closely, and see if Paul taught 
 the organization of an inner man, denominated the 
 spiritual body. Paul, in using this language, does 
 not appear to be giving his apostolic sanction to the 
 doctrine of heathen sages ; but, so far from it, he was 
 declaring a doctrine which the heathen knew nothing 
 of — the resurrection of the body. See 1 Cor. xv., 
 beginning at verse forty-two : " So also in the resur- 
 rection of the dead.. It is sown in corruption, it is 
 raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonor, it is 
 raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
 power ; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spir- 
 itual body. There is a natural body, and there is a 
 spiritual body." The reader will notice that, in each 
 of the above cases, the same it was raised that was 
 sown. " It was sown in corruption, it (the same it) 
 was raised in incorruption," &c. Again : " It was 
 sown a natural body, it (the same it) was raised a 
 spiritual body." There is certainly no evidence here 
 of two organized bodies ; but it may be argued that 
 the evidence lies in the affirmation, " There is a nat- 
 ural body, and there is a spiritual body." But Paul 
 has just said this natural body is sown a natural body, 
 but is raised a spiritual body. It is certainly one and 
 
1Z2 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the saaie body undergoing a change in being sown 
 and raised. The first change alluded to by the apostle 
 is from corruption to incorruption : " It is sown in 
 corruption, it is raised in incorruption." The next 
 change is from dishonor to honor, and, lastly, from 
 natural to spiritual. It still may be asked, "What did 
 Paul mean by these terms — natural and spiritual ? 
 Let him speak for himself: " Howbeit, that was not 
 first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and 
 afterwards that which is spiritual." The only con- 
 clusion is, the body, at first, is a natural body ; but 
 being born again at the resurrection of eternal life 
 and glory, it becomes a spiritual body. For the 
 apostle adds, " The first man is of the earth, earthy ; 
 the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the 
 earthy, such are they also that are earthy ; and as is 
 the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 
 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we 
 shall also bear the image of the heavenly." 
 
 Now, the natural body (the natural man) first bears 
 the image of the first man earthy, (in other words, 
 wicked ;) but when he bears the image of the second 
 man, " the Lord from heaven," he will be heavenly ; 
 that is, holy. And this image the righteous will bear 
 in the resurrected state. They will not then be nat- 
 ural bodies, that is, wicked, but holy, or spiritual. So 
 Paul's language does not imply two bodies to one 
 individual, unless it can be proved that the true 
 Christian has not the same body that he had before 
 he became a Christian and while a sinner. 
 
 But many people make a very singular and unwar- 
 ranted use of the word spiritual, as though it had 
 some mystical meaning. But it is not so. The word 
 is an adjective ; and, like others of that class, is used 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 133 
 
 to denote some property or quality of the thing it is 
 joined to. Paul uses the word in the above texts in 
 the same sense that he does the word heavenly and 
 the word natural., in the same sense he does the word 
 earthy^ and both in the same sense he does first man 
 and second man. He also uses the term flesh and 
 hlood in the same sense as he does earthy., which is 
 nearly that of carnal nature, in the common accep- 
 tation of the phrase. 
 
 " Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood 
 cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth 
 corruption inherit incorruption." Here flesh and blood 
 evidently means carnal nature ; otherwise the learned 
 apostle was guilty of gross tautology ; for flesh and 
 blood, in the literal use of the words abstractedly, is, 
 verily, corruption itself. But when he says corrup- 
 tion doth not inherit incorruption, he must mean 
 something different from flesh and blood ; for he just 
 told us that cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 
 " Behold, I show you a mystery ; we shall not all 
 sleep., but we shall all be changed." How shall we 
 be changed ? " For this corruptible must put on in- 
 corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 
 That is as he said before : " It is sown in corrup- 
 tion, it is raised in incorrup4;ion." He further says, 
 " This mortal must put on immortality." Now, flesh 
 and blood, in the literal sense of the separate words, 
 are both mortal and corruptible — the very thing Paul 
 says must be changed, but still be flesh and blood in 
 the literal sense, but with imperishable qualities. 
 
 That this is the use of the term flesh and blood, is 
 
 equally certain in Matt. xvi. 17. Here Christ tells 
 
 Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed to him 
 
 that he was the Christ, the son of the living God, 
 
 12 
 
134 THE SPIEITUAL TELEORAPHIC 
 
 " but my Father which is in heaven ; " that is, Peter's 
 carnal nature did not reveal this, but the Spirit of the 
 Father did. 
 
 So it is evident that PauPs language touching the 
 resurrection of the dead cannot consistently be so 
 construed as to imply two organized bodies to one 
 living individual. Where, then, are those " cardinal 
 truths " that are found to lie at the bottom of scien- 
 tific mesmerism ? They cannot be found in the 
 language of Paul, the only place we have been di- 
 rected to look for them. And if they are not there, 
 psychology is left without a prop. But I pass to 
 another quotation. 
 
 " When death severs the connection between mind 
 and body, the ultimate of the immortal man is the 
 psyche or animus, and to it is transferred all conscious 
 perceptions and sensations. It is from this dispersing 
 seat of conscious perceptions that, in our ordinary 
 state, we have no sensational knowledge of the spirit 
 world or of its laws. But psycheism, or the higher 
 state of mesmerism, may aptly be compared to par- 
 tial death ; for it is a closing of the common external 
 of our being, a transfer of the sensational perceptions 
 from the ultimate of the body to the ultimate of the 
 spirit; and hence, and • simply from this transfer of 
 ultimates, arises an awakening of the conscious sen- 
 sational perception of the inner man or spirit. All 
 these apparently miraculous powers, which we some- 
 times see displayed by good mesmeric subjects, are, 
 in fact, but the result of the psyche or animus being 
 so far set free from the bodily ultimate as to enable 
 the spiritual body to act nearly, if not quite, independ- 
 ently of the sensual organs, and by perception, and 
 in the light from an inner world. But the connection 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 135 
 
 of mind and body is yet sufficient to enable the soul's 
 sight and feeling to be manifested to our physical 
 senses, by and through the natural organization of a 
 clairvoyant." 
 
 The author from whom we make the above quota- 
 tion cannot, after all, think that Paul's philosophy 
 was very profound. Paul's philosophy is — "This 
 mortal must put on immortality ; this corruption must 
 put on incorruption ; " and " then shall be brought to 
 pass the saying that is written, Death is sw^allowed 
 up in victory. O death, where is thy sting ? O 
 grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is 
 sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks 
 be to God, which giveth us the victory through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 But, according to the philosophy of psychology, 
 "when death severs the connection between mind and 
 body, the ultimate of the immortal man is the psyche," 
 &c. If this is the last of him, he certainly cannot 
 have a resurrection ; and the saying that is written, 
 " Death is swallowed up in victory," will never come 
 to pass. Again : according to Paul's philosophy, 
 " the sting of death is sin ; " but, according to the 
 philosophy of psycheism, the sting of death is a dis- 
 solution of the connecting link between mind and 
 body, and a " transfer of all the conscious perceptions 
 and sensations " to the former. This, finally, is no 
 death at all ; it is only a transfer of the living func- 
 tions of the duplicate man to the unit, or inner man, 
 and this is the last of him ; that is, the last change 
 he undergoes. But Paul says, " We shall all be 
 changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
 the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the 
 dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
 
136 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHANGED." But in the psychological philosophy, there 
 is no place left for us to thank God, who " giveth 
 us the victory (over death) through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Again : psycheism represents the clairvoyant state 
 as a state of partial death ; for our author says the 
 phenomena of clairvoyance are " the result of the 
 psyche or animus being so far set free from the bodily 
 ultimate as to enable the spiritual body to act nearly, 
 if not quite, independently of the sensual organs, and 
 by perception, and in light from an inner world." 
 
 It follows, therefore, as clairvoyance is partial death, 
 total or perfect death must be a state of perfect 
 clairvoyance. Indeed, this appears conclusive, as we 
 shall show hereafter. 
 
 Then Paul was still more unphilosophic ; for he 
 says, " The sting of death is sin ; and the strength 
 of sin is the law." To have been psychologically 
 philosophic, he should have said, " The sting of 
 death is clairvoyance, and the strength of clairvoy- 
 ance is mesmerism." This would have been in per- 
 fect good keeping with psychological death. Paul 
 was a learned man ; and if he knew any thing about 
 psychology, he certainly meant to condemn it ; for 
 the fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corin- 
 thians is a dead shot, to psychological philosophy. 
 
 Perhaps no doctrine ever taught has met with more 
 opposition than that of the resurrection, as taught by 
 Christ and his apostles. Christ preached his own 
 death and resurrection, and Peter rebuked him for it. 
 (Matt. xvi. 21, 22.) The Jews would not believe it, 
 even after the watch declared that Christ had actu- 
 ally arisen from the dead. Paul preached it, and for 
 so doing he was dragged before the rulers, and ac' 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 187 
 
 cused of being a pestilent fellow. (Acts xxiii. 6 ; 
 xxiv. 5.) The Sadducees did not believe it ; and if 
 psychology prevails, nobody will believe it much 
 longer. It is impossible to reconcile the doctrine of 
 psychology with the doctrine which Paul taught of a 
 resurrection. So if divine revelation is allowed to 
 weigh any thing against the wisdom of men, or, 
 rather, against the follies of men, the question is set- 
 tled at once, without further argument, and the doc- 
 trine of psychology is false. " Let God be true, but 
 every man a liar." (Rom. iii. 4.) 
 
 It is very singular, in my opinion, that operators in 
 mesmerism cannot see that, according to their own 
 confessions, they give evidence that no theory can be 
 proved by mesmeric phenomena. This author, as we 
 have already quoted, says " that the mind is the grand 
 agent in all really mesmeric phenomena." Now, 
 what can be proved by all mesmeric phenomena? 
 Why, just what happens to be in the mind of the 
 operator or his subject. Yet they will build theories, 
 one electro-mesmeric, and another nervo-vital ; another 
 magnetic, another galvanic, and another a psycho 
 theory ; yet all acknowledge that the mind, either 
 alone or combined with some agent, is the primum 
 mobile of the whole affair. Now, according to this 
 admission, what is the foundation of all these mes- 
 meric theories ? Why, the imagination of the mind, 
 and this only ; and is virtually admitted by these 
 theorists themselves. 
 
 But it may still be said, this does not explain the 
 mystery. Very true, because it does not explain the 
 mystery of thinking. 
 
 But it disproves all mesmeric theory ; for, as soon 
 as we admit what mesmerizers admit, that is, that 
 12* 
 
138 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 mind is the grand agent in all mesnieric phenomena, 
 and if mesmeric phenomena are affected by the laws 
 of nature, then every phenomena or occurrence in 
 which mind is concerned would be an effect of men- 
 tal operation. So if the farmer had a mind to have a 
 great crop of corn, he would have it, whether he used 
 the necessary means for it or not ; and if he had a 
 mind the cattle should not destroy it, there would be 
 no need of a fence around it. 
 
 But it so happens that the mind of man alone, in 
 ordinary cases, has no effect, only as it moves him to 
 action. We stand around the death bed of a friend, 
 and the effort of our united will alone does not ease 
 one pang, or prolong the life of the sufferer one mo- 
 ment. Now, why is not the will here as efficient as 
 in mesmerism ? Here the will is often called into its 
 most powerful action, yet it effects nothing. 
 
 That psychology makes the state of death and the 
 perfect clairvoyant state, or extasis, one and the 
 same thing, may be seen in the following quotation 
 from " The Celestial Telegraph," a French work, by 
 Cahagnet. And if we introduce the subject somewhat 
 abruptly, the reader will excuse us. We will, how- 
 ever, briefly notice that Cahagnet appears to have two 
 clairvoyants or mediums on hand — Bruno and Adele. 
 We commence with a conversation between the oper- 
 ator and Adele : — 
 
 " Once more, allow me to make an observation on 
 the last sitting. My reason for doubting that your 
 soul was out of your body is, that scarcely have I 
 spoken than you answer me ; and I do not perceive 
 your body making any movement when you say that 
 you are receiving the caresses of your relatives. 
 
 " It is, however, this want of movement in my body 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 139 
 
 in my grand, ecstatic movements, which ought to 
 prove to you that I am no longer in it : when my rela- 
 tives, on the contrary, come on earth to see me, you 
 perceive my spiritual pressing theirs, my body gesti- 
 culating, because they are really there present, and I 
 also ; but when I am in heaven, my body can no 
 longer make the same gestures, since there is no longer 
 a soul within it. If I answer you immediately, it is 
 because I still cling to my body by sympathetic 
 threads, which you seem to me to hold like cords, forcing 
 me, when you draw them, to descend to the power of 
 your will. 
 
 " I perceive that Adele purposes entering into the 
 ecstatic state. I make up my mind to try a decisive 
 experiment, and leave her to her will. I forthwith 
 send Bruno to sleep, put him en rapport with her, 
 and beg him to follow her as far as possible; recom- 
 mending him not to be alarmed, and to warn me only 
 if he should see danger. I wished to be assured by 
 myself of the pretended dangers of ecstasy. Frequent- 
 ly had Adele told me that she had been on the point 
 of not coming back to reenter her body ; and as I 
 thought she only wanted to alarm me, I wished to 
 know what opinion to come to. At the lapse of a 
 quarter of an hour, Bruno exclaims, in great alarm, 
 ' I have lost sight of her ! ' 
 
 " I had relied upon him, and paid but little attention 
 to Adele, whose body, in the mean time, had grown 
 icy cold : there was no longer any pulse or respiration : 
 her face was of a sallow green, her lips blue, her heart 
 gave no sign of life. I placed before her lips a mirror, 
 but it was by no means tarnished by them. I magnet- 
 ized her powerfully, in order to bring back her soul 
 into her body ; but for five minutes my labor was vain. 
 
140 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Bruno, alarmed at my want of success, as well as the 
 persons present at this sitting, tended greatly to dis- 
 turb me. I thought for a moment that the work was 
 consummated, and that I had an indubitable proof 
 that the soul had departed from her body. 
 
 '' I was obliged to request the persons present to pass 
 into another room, in order that I might recover by 
 myself a little energy. At the lapse of a few moments 
 I entertained the hope that I should not have such a 
 misfortune to deplore ; but, physically speaking, I was 
 utterly powerless. Falling on my knees, I asked back 
 of God, in my prayer, the soul that I had, in my 
 doubts, suffered to depart. I seemed, by an effect of 
 intuition, to know that my prayer was heard. After 
 a minute's further anguish, I obtained these words : 
 ' Why have you called me back ? It was all over 
 with me ; but God, moved at your prayer, sent me 
 back to you. No more shall I be permitted to return 
 to heaven ; I am punished.' ' Of what punishment 
 do you speak ? ' ' Raphael has forbidden my mother 
 and all my relations, except Alphonse, to come and 
 see me again until further orders ; and it is to you 
 that I am indebted for this privation. I shall no 
 longer be able to ascend to heaven ; but had it not 
 been for you, I should have been there now and for- 
 ever.' 
 
 " It may be naturally supposed that I paid but little 
 attention to her complaints and reproaches. I was 
 only too happy to hear her speak to me ; and promised 
 myself, as my readers may imagine, never to recom- 
 mence such experiments. I advise those who should 
 be so disposed to imitate me never to make such a 
 trial, for no spectacle can be more alarming; and the 
 issue of such experiments might terminate fatally. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 141 
 
 " It was all over with her ecstasies, just as she had 
 predicted ; no one came any more to see her. Her 
 brother often instructed her in what was agreeable to 
 her ; but the self-will of Adele, and her little regard 
 for his complaisance, drove him away. It was more 
 than six months before she recovered this kind of 
 clairvoyance. I was not sorry for it, as I was deter- 
 mined not to magnetize her again. There was a con- 
 tinual combat of subtlety between us two. If I lost 
 sight of her for an instant, she had ever the same 
 intention — suicide in ecstasy ! 
 
 " Several times since she sought to reenter this 
 state, but she invariably felt a hand which pushed her 
 head forward ; sometimes she heard boisterous music, 
 which diverted her from her purpose; and once a 
 voice exclaimed in her ear, ' That is forbidden you.' 
 It w^as her brother Alphonse who worked all these 
 miracles. He never came to see her without diverting 
 her by an air on a flute, although before his death he 
 knew not how to play that instrument ; he often ren- 
 dered perceptible to her a divine music, which she 
 could hear, though wide awake, by a secret she had 
 taught me to employ to this effect. She equally saw 
 all her relations after she awoke — a circumstance that 
 excited her astonishment, and made her believe in 
 magic. She could not comprehend, be it understood, 
 these kinds of visions, which made me pass in her 
 eyes for a sorcerer. We are bound to conclude from 
 all these experiments, which lasted whole months, and 
 which I compress into one sitting, that it would be 
 more than ridiculous that a woman so firm should not 
 perceive at will the freaks of her imagination, if such 
 they were ; but, on the contrary, that all these facts 
 presented such a variety, only the better to dispose 
 me to believe in their merits." 
 
142 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 From the above account it is certain that the per- 
 fect state of mesmeric ecstasy is death, protracted at 
 the will of the operator. But, in the case just related, 
 the operator gave his subject up to the care of another, 
 Bruno. But the w^ily Adele so managed as to give 
 him the slip, and put off, like a colt untied, so far into 
 th» regions of celestial bliss as to bid defiance to the 
 electric flight of mesmeric power to overtake her, or 
 drag her back to her frail body, the-ultimate of which 
 she left in the hands of her astonished operator, as a 
 sure demonstration of the identity of the states of 
 death and clairvoyance. But it appears that in 
 Adele's resurrection no credit is due to mesmerism. 
 Cahagnet, her operator, exhausted the powers of mes- 
 merism upon her corpse to no purpose. He then tried 
 the efficacy of prayer to God for the return of that 
 truant soul v/hich he had so carelessly let slip through 
 his fingers into the abode of eternal bliss. In this he 
 was more successful, but he forgot to give God the 
 glory. 
 
 So, where proud mesmerism failed, 
 The fervent prayer to God prevailed. 
 Trust then the magic povrer who durst ; 
 I'll trust the mighty Father first. 
 And when, O Lord, " thy kingdom come," 
 If I, by faith, be Abra'm.'s son. 
 Nor grace, nor faith, nor virtue lack, 
 Prom thence no power will caU me back. 
 
 It is not at all strange that Adele should be dissat- 
 isfied, and reproach her operator for calling her back. 
 She had lived long enough in this world to experience 
 its countless woes, and had frequently, in the mes- 
 meric state, been in heaven, and tasted its never-ending 
 joys. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE 143 
 
 But how does this account stand in the light of 
 divine revelation ? God has from the beginning pre- 
 sented mankind with a plan of salvation. But that 
 plan has never suited the wicked. They have ever 
 been seeking out one of their own. The ancient 
 Babylonians undertook to build their way up to heaven 
 with brick and mortar. The modern Babylonians are 
 now undertaking it by psychology. And, in the case 
 of Adele, it appears their plan works admirably. She 
 actually got there in safety, and had it not been for 
 the unwillingness of her operator, she would have 
 remained there forever, according to her own confes- 
 sion. 
 
 Now, it is abundantly revealed in Scripture that 
 there is but one plan of salvation : " This is the stone 
 which was set at nought of you builders, which is 
 become the head of the corner. Neither is there sal- 
 vation in any other : for there is none other name 
 under heaven given among men, whereby we must 
 be saved." (Acts iv. 11, 12.) In the psychological 
 tower this stone is left out — set at nought by its 
 builders. 
 
 Yet mesmerism pretends to offer us indubitable 
 evidence that the " psyche," " the ultimate of the 
 spiritual body, the inner man^^ is set at liberty by 
 mesmerism, and sent into the eternal abode of happi- 
 ness, and may be retained there at the will of the 
 parties forever. This appears evident from the caution 
 Cahagnet gives to mesmerizers, not to let their sub- 
 jects give them the slip as Adele did, and hide them- 
 selves perhaps in some amaranthine grove till all is 
 over on earth with the body. Like some poor trem- 
 bling slave, being permitted by his master to make a 
 short visit to a land of liberty, watches his opportunity 
 
144 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 to hide himself in the thicket of some wood till the 
 search of his master is over. 
 
 The reader will recollect that Cahagnet tried this 
 experiment for the express purpose of ascertaining 
 whether a clairvoyant, once in heaven by mesmerism, 
 could remain there if he chose. And the result was, 
 he ascertained, that if the clairvoyant was any way 
 stubborn about coming back, there was not power 
 enough in mesmerism to bring him back. Hence his 
 caution to operators not to let their subjects slip away 
 from them. 
 
 Now, in the light of common sense and divine 
 revelation, the whole affair is so ridiculous as almost 
 to make an iron pen blush to write it ; yet, such is 
 the rage of mesmeric mania, that it seems to threaten 
 to carry all before it. Men whose powers of mind* are 
 such as would seem sufficient to shield them from the 
 illusion, are often the first to run into it. 
 
 But there has always been a tendency in man to 
 seek some opportunity to throw off those moral re- 
 straints which a kind Providence has laid us under 
 for our good and his glory, and to find some other way 
 to get along which is more congenial to the feelings 
 of depraved nature. And nothing seems better calcu- 
 lated to effect this purpose than the so called science 
 of mesmerism. It is, in its general features, well cal- 
 culated to meet the approbation of a wicked world. 
 Nothing can be more repugnant to the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. One affirms, the other denies. If either one 
 is true, the other is false. Christ and Antichrist are 
 not more antagonistic than Christianity and Mesmer- 
 ism. 
 
 Christ said to the wicked and unbelieving Jews, 
 "Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 145 
 
 him, that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not 
 find me : and where I am, thither ye cannot come." 
 (John vii. 33, 34.) But it appears from the m-science 
 of mesmerism, that they might, with all their sins and 
 unbelief, have found him in heaven had they been well 
 mesmerized. It is evident that it requires no Daniel 
 to teach us that, in proportion as mesmerism ad- 
 vances, the Bible must recede ; and when the truth 
 of one is fairly established, the other is as fairly over- 
 thrown. 
 
 13 
 
146 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 GOOD AND BAD SPIRITS. — TABLE TIPPING. — THEIR 
 REAL TIPPING DOUBTED. — RAPID PROGRESS OF 
 SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. —REFLECTIONS. —DOU- 
 BLE LIFE IN MAN. 
 
 But suppose disclosures are actually made by the 
 spirits of the dead, there is no safety in relying on 
 them ; for it is generally admitted by spiritualists 
 themselves that both good and bad spirits do influence 
 mediums, and through them make revelations. One 
 describes its heavenly joys, and tells how long it has 
 been dead, &c., while the person whose spirit it pro- 
 fesses to be is still living. Another was called up who 
 appeared to be very correct till he came to speak of 
 his death, which he said was of consumption ; while 
 the fact was, he was blown up in a steamboat. But 
 a still greater mistake occurred in the case of Dr. 
 Franklin. Three individuals, by preconcerted agree- 
 ment, went to three places at a distance from each 
 other on the same evening, where the rapping spirits 
 held sessions, and at eight o'clock, or as near as pos- 
 sible, each one called up the spirit of Dr. Franklin, and 
 held a conversation with him nearly an hour. So hiss 
 spirit was present at the same time in three places,, 
 remote from each other. This was not all — one of 
 the visitors engaged the doctor in conversation on hisi 
 favorite topic — electricity. But after a long time, 
 finding him very ignorant of his own theory, he said 
 to him, " Why, doctor, we thought when you was alive 
 you did know something ; but now you seem almosti 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 14'? 
 
 a fooV Done, rapped the spirit indignantly ; and 
 away went the doctor. When the spirits get drawn 
 into a bad fix, they generally get out by rapping, done. 
 The one purporting himself to be Dr. Franklin, and 
 finding himself unable to play off" the old philosopher, 
 rapped out done^ and cleared out. 
 
 But his mortification must have been still greater 
 when he came to learn that he had, at the same time, 
 been in two other neighborhoods talking with others, 
 and had but one spirit. The tipping of tables and 
 moving of furniture has, by some, been considered a 
 stronger demonstration of the presence of spirits than 
 the raps ; while others attribute the former to electrical 
 action, independently of spiritual agency, as may be 
 seen by the following, which appeared in the " New 
 York Courier and Enquirer : " — 
 
 "HOW TABLES ARE MADE MEDIUMS. 
 
 " In the family of a friend of ours, several attempts 
 have been made to divine the secret of table moving, 
 chair dancing, and other freaks of household furniture, 
 which form part of the spirit-rapping exhibitions. 
 Last evening they succeeded perfectly. 
 
 " Standing around a small table, five or six members 
 of the family kept their hands upon its surface for a 
 considerable time, until the magnetic current between 
 themselves and the table was established. 
 -^' " They then found that, by holding the hand a short 
 distance from the table, attraction remained in full 
 force. The table, without being touched, was thus 
 lifted, or made to lean over at an angle of forty-five 
 degrees, and subsequently followed the operators to 
 some distance. 
 
148 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 " The table on which these young people experi- 
 mented was a very small one. We presume that, 
 when the experiment has been a few times repeated, 
 the table will yield to the attractive force with more 
 ready and wonderful agility. There can be little 
 doubt that it is magnetized ; and if so, each trial, we 
 believe, will increase the power of attraction. This, 
 we take it, solves the whole seeming mystery of the 
 spiritual imposition which has been practised so long 
 upon the credulous and superstitious. The moving 
 of tables by an unseen power has always been ac- 
 counted a greater feat than the producing of sound. 
 We have no doubt that the same agent can produce 
 both effects. 
 
 " The imposture consisted in the pretence to be 
 supernatural intercommunications. We hope soon to 
 hear that, the key being discovered, the whole impo- 
 sition has come to an end. 
 
 " Of the boldness of the imposture we have had, 
 and have given, illustrations ; and probably the rappers 
 will find some dupes, even in spite of evidence of their 
 fraud." 
 
 The " Courier " seems to be of opinion that the 
 hitherto pretended spiritual agency in table tipping 
 is an imposition upon the credulous and superstitious. 
 But with^all due regard to the opinion of that respect- 
 able paper, we ask, Which requires the more credu- 
 lity — to believe the table tips by the agency of unseen 
 spirits, or by unseen and undemonstrated magnetism ? 
 There is certainly no more proof of the one than there 
 is of the other. It is mere theory in either case. 
 Notice the following expression : " We presume that, 
 when the experiment has been a few times repeated, 
 the table will yield to the attractive force with more 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 149 
 
 ready and wonderful agility. There can be little 
 doubt that it is magnetized; and if so, each trial, we 
 believe, will increase the power of attraction. This, 
 we take it, solves the whole seeming mystery," &c. 
 This is certainly contrary to any known laws of mag- 
 netism. We take it the table was a wooden one ; and 
 by what laws of that agent can wood be magnetized ? 
 Again : even if the table was of either of the metals 
 susceptible of receiving the magnetic property, by 
 what law of magnetism would repeated trials render 
 it more susceptible of magnetic attraction ? If this 
 solves the " mystery of spiritual imposition," it does 
 so only by involving us in a still greater mystery or 
 scientific imposition. 
 
 So the discovery of the key to unlock the mystery 
 is the discovery of a greater mystery than that which 
 is under the lock. So, on the whole, we are no wiser, 
 no less, credulous, or less imposed upon than before. 
 If there is any magnetic attraction between the hand 
 and the table, it is certain that they would be in oppo- 
 site states ; and nothing would be more easy than to 
 detect these opposite states by the usual tests of mag- 
 netism. This never has been done, and never can be. 
 We ask, then, how the mystery is solved ? Let it be 
 scientifically solved, and not by the arbitrary use of 
 terms, and we are ready to admit the solution ; but 
 not till then. But the mystery stops not here. It is 
 said that tables move in any direction, according to 
 the will of a person or persons in the room. Now, 
 how does magnetism obey the will of a mortal ? or 
 what power has the will to control that agent without 
 the use of means ? 
 
 A correspondent of the " Tribune " lately asserted 
 that, after taking a ride on the table herself, it moved 
 13* 
 
150 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 in a certain direction by the will of a person who was 
 directed to will it that way. She attributed the cause 
 to electricity instead of magnetism, which accounts 
 for the phenomenon just as well ; and had she said 
 the motive power was the moon, or Jupiter, it would 
 still explain the phenomenon just as well. For there 
 can be no philosophical reason given why the primary 
 or secondary planets should not obey the will of man 
 as well as electricity or magnetism ; and that they 
 have as much power to give the ladies a ride on tables, 
 cannot be doubted. Now, one of two opinions mast 
 be adopted, or the electrical or magnetical theory of 
 table tipping must be abandoned. And that is — 
 electricity controls the will, or the will controls elec- 
 tricity. And if electricity controls the will, we are 
 not free agents, and are not accountable to our Maker. 
 But if the will controls electricity, that is not a free 
 agent, or one that is subject to the laws of nature. 
 
 But it appears that the advocates of table tipping 
 do not agree concerning the agency in the case. We 
 give the following from the " Spiritual Telegraph." 
 published at New York, March 26, 1853 : — 
 
 "TABLES PKEACHING. 
 
 " It seems there are not only ' sermons in stones,' but 
 sermons in tables ; and they are doing a work for 
 spiritual truth, or are the visible instruments of produ- 
 cing conviction that a less sensuous form of preaching 
 would never have accomplished. People amuse them- 
 selves with what is called the ' table experiment,' and 
 when they imagine they have made a great electric 
 discovery, they find all at once that they have obtained ^ 
 more than they have bargained for. They do not 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 151 
 
 always succeed in stopping the table at will, and 
 sometimes they ask questions 'just for fun,' and are 
 struck with amazement at the wonderful intelligence 
 of ' electricity.' Nothing could be more exactly adapt- 
 ed to our materialist brethren than this table experi- 
 ment. Every fashionable circle that plays with it is 
 convinced that the table moves ; that they do not 
 move it ; and they know that some power must do 
 it. Every man of science, or the merest casual reader 
 of any work on electricity, scouts the idea of the phe- 
 nomenon being produced by that agent. The absurd- 
 ity of charging a table, standing on the floor, often 
 with metallic casters, with electricity, is sheer non- 
 sense." 
 
 The editor then gives an extract from a letter, dated 
 Morrisville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, February 25, 
 1853, in which we notice the following : — 
 
 " The general introduction of the ' table experiment ' 
 contributed to spread the matter beyond all calcula- 
 tion ; the notion that the tables were moved by simple 
 electricity became almost general ; and nobody had 
 any scruples against amusing themselves with so 
 harmless a plaything. The consequence was, every 
 one tried it with various success ; and the curiosity of 
 some led them to extend their experiments, and ask 
 the tables to answer questions, by certain affirmative 
 and negative motions agreed on, which succeeded to 
 the astonishment of almost every body, and is likely 
 to establish a very important fact, viz., that electricity 
 is possessed of intelligence far surpassing that of many 
 of the experimenters." 
 
 Thus we see the evil tendency of ascribing electrical 
 agency to the " table experiments." It first emboldens 
 people to experiment ; and finally, making them 
 
152 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 ashamed to attribute such intelligence to electricity, it 
 leaves them no other alternative but to impute the 
 whole to spiritual agency. We are sorry to find some 
 who pretend to oppose spiritual disclosures, and yet 
 maintain the electrical agency in table tipping. We 
 have always contended that such, in the end, would 
 do more towards advancing the fatal delusion than 
 the advocates of spiritual disclosures themselves. 
 Among them we find the editor of the " Watchman," 
 published at Hartford. No one appears to be more 
 violently opposed to spiritual disclosures than he, and 
 yet none are more sanguine in the opinion that elec- 
 tricity is the agent employed in table tipping. And 
 what is more singular, he does not believe in a con- 
 scious, personal devil, or in the conscious state of the 
 dead. It follows, then, that neither the devil, nor the 
 spirits of the dead, have any thing to do in the phe- 
 nomenon. He says, " We have also witnessed the 
 tippings; and but a few evenings since we had the 
 privilege of scanning the phenomenon for near two 
 hours, and we think all present were perfectly satis- 
 fied that the power employed by the actors was elec- 
 tricity, coupled with nervous sympathy." He thinks 
 that to charge the agency home upon the devil would 
 have a tendency " to induce a faith that there are 
 spirits of the dead, or begetting a settled spirit of scep- 
 ticism in divine revelation, and especially in the mira- 
 cles of the gospel." According to the theory that 
 there are no devils but wicked men, to say the unseen 
 devil moves tables, would be to say there are conscious 
 spirits of the dead. But with all due respect to his 
 opinion, we kindly ask. Which is the more dangerous 
 error — that dead men have living, conscious spirits, or 
 that electricity has such a spirit? That the phenom- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 153 
 
 ena are produced by a conscious agent is evident from 
 his own observation ; for he says, to produce the phe- 
 nomena there must be a little company to make the 
 trial, say half a dozen, all wishing to- see the tippings, 
 and then they will get such testimony as is congenial 
 to the wish of the company. Now, one of three things 
 grant the wish of such a company, viz., the devil, the 
 spirits of the dead, or electricity. But what do we 
 gain by denying the existence of the devil, and grant- 
 ing Satanic power to electricity ? It is only substitut- 
 ing the name electricity for that of devil. He thinks 
 the time is not far distant when this agent will per- 
 form greater wonders than has ever been witnessed. 
 This is more than the believers in a devil believe him 
 capable of doing, and makes electricity able to out- 
 devil the devil himself. Perhaps he thinks that, in- 
 stead of taking a ride round a room on a table, they 
 will yet be so highly charged as to be able to take 
 passengers and baggage over the country, to the exclu- 
 sion of railroad cars and steamboats. 
 
 In his article, a quotation from which we have 
 given, he has shown to the world that he is as grossly 
 ignorant of the first principles of electricity as he is of 
 the alphabet of mesmerism. By what law of electricity 
 can a table be so charged as to raise it from the floor, 
 with a man or two on it, and by the same charge be 
 so riveted to the floor that two or three cannot raise 
 it? Or by what kind of electrical action can a table 
 be made to walk off" on all fours at an editorial nod ? 
 
 We have often heard of "the editor's devil," but 
 always thought he was one of the homo g-enus, 
 endowed with the faculty of giving the power of 
 speech to type metal. But this editor seems possessed 
 of one, sui generis, which professes to be unlike any 
 
154 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 of the black fraternity, disclaiming all relationship to 
 the Satanic family, but claiming kindred to the light- 
 ning of heaven ; and whose throne is the clouds, and 
 whose sceptre is the thunderbolt. Now, with all due 
 regard to the rapid march of table-tipping intellect, 
 we candidly ask. Which is the less sin in a Christian 
 editor — to be led astray by the old devil, or the neio 
 one? 
 
 As his paper professes to be perfectly free for the 
 investigation of both sides of a question, I thought to 
 avail myself of the opportunity to defend my position, 
 especially as the attack was made upon me and my 
 views. But he found it more convenient to curtail the 
 professed freedom of his paper than to defend himself 
 upon sound principles of philosophy, common sense, 
 or divine revelation ; and so I was refused a hearing. 
 It was undoubtedly thought imprudent to trust the 
 public with both sides of the question. 
 
 While we see such a fearful shrinking from a can- 
 did investigation of the subject, even by those who 
 profess to combat the fatal delusion, v\^e cannot won- 
 der at the complete success those meet with who 
 really do advocate it. Now, what is being done to 
 prevent the wide spread of the God-forbidden prac- 
 tice ? Nothing cfTectual. Many who pretend to 
 oppose it seem afraid to meet it in its true light. One 
 is afraid to call it satanic influence, because a belief 
 in his majesty's personality is not as popular in these 
 knowing times as it was in the days of our Savior. 
 Another fears to be thought behind the times with 
 regard to the rapid march of science ; and so the devil 
 is left to take the field with little or no opposition. 
 
 But, after all, it remains to be proved that tables 
 move or tip in what is called table-tipping experi- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 155 
 
 ments. They are inaiiiaiate and inert bodies. And 
 a body at rest will remain at rest forever, or until a 
 sufficient force is applied to move it. This force does 
 not reside in the human will, neither can the will 
 alone call a force into action. 
 
 But it may be asked how they appear to move, if 
 they really do not. The fact is, they never do move 
 in the eyes of those who know that the whole is a 
 hallucination of the mind. No matter how many 
 persons are ready to testify to their locomotion, no 
 human testimony is to be allowed in the case. It is 
 contrary to ail known and immutable laws of nature, 
 but is in harmony with a certain kind of phantasm 
 known in all ages. Under certain circumstances, 
 people have, from time immemorial, seen things 
 which did not exist. But these things never happen 
 in the normal play of the faculties of the mind. To 
 produce them, the equilibrium of the mind must be 
 destroyed by some exciting cause. This cause is 
 sometimes sickness — exhaustion from fatigue — the 
 action of certain medicines, and sometimes fear ; but 
 more frequently by something being presented to the 
 mind of a wonderful or marvellous nature. As man 
 seems to have an innate propensity for something of 
 a stimulous nature, such as distilled spirits, tobacco, 
 tea, &c., so the mind has an innate tendency to swal- 
 low whatever is marvellous or mysterious ; and hence 
 children are all ears to a ghost story, a witch feat, or 
 a fairy dance ; indeed, we are all children in that 
 respect. Thousands of men may be easily got to- 
 gether to see a man walking about dressed in a wind- 
 ing sheet, and Vvdthout a head on ; while it would be 
 difficult to find one willing to put himself to much 
 trouble to see a man walking ivith a head on. 
 
156 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 In the former case, there is a banquet spread to 
 feast the marvellous, the appetite of which, by nature 
 keen, is more so on approaching the object of its 
 desire. Like a hungry wolf, whose appetite for mut- 
 ton is naturally sharp, is doubly so on approaching 
 the quiet fold. 
 
 But, as feeding the desire for distilled spirits results 
 in intoxication, so feeding the desire for the marvel- 
 lous results in hallucination, or intoxication of the 
 mind. Under such circumstances, a man's testimony 
 is not to be taken, any more than when he is drunk. 
 The deranged play of the senses presents things to the 
 mind, in strength, according to the degree of excite- 
 ment, but not at all according to facts ; and, as we 
 are by nature creatures of sympathy, it is often very 
 difficult for us to avoid sympathizing with our fellow- 
 creatures, and often as difficult to avoid partaking of 
 their excitement and consequent frenzy. 
 
 Through this channel the monomania seems con- 
 tagious. For instance : let a person report that at a 
 certain place he saw a ghost walking about w^ith his 
 throat cut ; a mystery is involved, and an excitement 
 raised, and the next person passing that way will be 
 very likely to see it, and the next, and so on till it is 
 seen by hundreds : and the more the excitement is 
 raised, the more people will see it. In this way the 
 most marvellous things were witnessed in the " Salem 
 witchcraft," as long as the excitement was kept up ; 
 and execution followed execution, till the excitement 
 gave way to the fear of individual safety, which put 
 an end to the shameful tragedy. 
 
 Just so in mesmerism. It is mystery and excite- 
 ment. Indeed, it is nothing else, and its wonders are 
 as unreal as the feats of the Salem witches; and 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 157 
 
 when viewed in the light of sober reason, as quickly 
 vanish. 
 
 Now, a person to see a table walk off on all fours, 
 or a witch ride a broomstick through the air, must 
 yield himself to the excitement of the marvellous, 
 and catch the mania, — be in the hallucinating har- 
 mony, — and these things may be seen now, as well as 
 formerly at Salem. No new principle of action has 
 sprung into being since the days of Adam. Talk 
 about the electrical philosophy of riding on a table! 
 The same cause that effects it will carry an old wo- 
 man through the air on a broomstick. Only get up an 
 " harraonial " excitement to that effect, and one mtiy 
 be done as well as the other. It costs no more to 
 charge a broomstick- than a table. The same prin- 
 ciples that explain one, explain the other. 
 
 But before a person can see any of these things, he 
 must drink in the witchcraft mania; but if he knoivs 
 them to be "lying wonders," he can never see them. 
 Let him keep himself aloof from excitement, retain- 
 ing his presence of mind, and, if necessary, look 
 through a tube or a keyhole at the table, or a part of 
 it, and all the mediums, Avitches, and devils cannot 
 make it budge an inch without hands. But in cases 
 where there is a pact all in " harmony," wishing and 
 expecting to witness the wonder, these things may be 
 seen. 
 
 Let it be remembered that marvellousness produces 
 excitement, and excitement is but another name for 
 monomania ; that is, insanity on the subject of the 
 excitement. This is the true secret of witchcraft, 
 mesmerism, psychology, circle disclosures, rapping 
 spirits, table tipping, ghost seeing, haunted houses, 
 &c., whenever any one of these becomes the rally- 
 14 
 
158 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 ing point of excitement. Tliese things may not exist 
 only in the diseased action of an inflamed imagi- 
 nation, — a perversion of the senses, — none of which 
 are more perverted than that wisdom which attempts 
 to account for them scientifically. Every such at- 
 tempt is virtually an attempt to mathematize witch- 
 craft. 
 
 The power of imagination is truly wonderful, and 
 but little behind it ; and not less mysterious is the 
 power of excitement, and both are often irresistibly 
 contagious. The various phenomena of mesmerism 
 and spiritual disclosures have every where excited the 
 wonderful and the marvellous, the very elements of 
 which compose the mystery, which, in its progress, 
 has gathered force from the nature of its own action. 
 Like a stone torn from the brow of some precipitous 
 mountain, in its descent, at first slow, acquires in- 
 creased momentum from its own motion, which again 
 is accelerated by its own momentum. So the mys- 
 tery of mesmerism and spiritual disclosures has 
 created its own wonder, and its own wonder has 
 created its own mystery. 
 
 To solve this mystery, men have hitherto looked 
 the wrong way, and applied the wrong tests. Some, 
 as we have shown, in vain have attempted to solve it 
 scientifically. This cannot be done till the mystery 
 of imagination can be so solved. Others have at- 
 tempted it by the art of jugglery; but this too has 
 failed ; while another class refer a part of it to the 
 agency, of spirits. This comes the nearest to it; for 
 the devil plays a very conspicuous part in it. Now,, 
 we venture a prediction, that the thing will never be 
 solved by any test applied to the apparent mysteries' 
 themselves ; for the more the thing is so tested, the : 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 159 
 
 greater the mysteries will seem. But if they cannot 
 be solved, there is a way to make them vanish ; that 
 is, try the strength of Imagination, and it will be 
 found she is capable of producing all these wonders ; 
 and this being found, the wonders disperse. Like a 
 cabal of fairies who revel out the night in the hall of 
 some old deserted castle, as the cock begins to crow, 
 and the day to usher in, with hasty steps retire ; so 
 he who knows these things to be imagination cannot 
 investigate them, for he can find nothing to inves- 
 tigate. To him no tables tip ; no communications are 
 made ; no spirits appear. The cock has crowed, day- 
 light has appeared, and the ghosts are gone. The 
 phantom car has passed his platform, and left him to 
 wonder after its rapid flight. 
 
 To investigate a fairy dance, one must go in the 
 night; for he cannot find one to investigate by day. 
 So, to investigate the mysteries of modern spiritual- 
 ism, one must go while the night of mysticism rests 
 on his mind. The secret of the great mystery lies in 
 the mind of the beholder ; and when he knows it is 
 there he no longer sees it, and is no longer " in har- 
 mony," but is called, by those that are, " an evil spirit." 
 Besides the effective power of the mind, it has 
 another property not generally understood; that is, 
 the rapidity with which it passes over imaginary 
 events. To clothe our ideas with words, takes up 
 time ; but ideas often pass in the mind without that 
 order of time. There are many instances known in 
 which persons have been known to dream as much in 
 a few minutes as takes them hours to relate — the 
 whole passing in the mind instantly. For instance : 
 a man throws himself upon a couch, and dreams of 
 seeing something about to produce a great noise, as 
 
160 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the discharge of a gun, or the fall of a heavy body ; 
 and, at the instant he expects the report or the crash, 
 a door is slammed to, and wakes him. In such cases, 
 it is evident his dream did not begin till he supposed 
 it ended ; that is, his first waking impression is taken 
 for what seemed to precede the noise, when, in reality, 
 it is what passed instantly in the mind after the 
 noise, nothing having been dreamed before the noise. 
 These things sometimes occur in the waking state, 
 as well as in sleep, especially when anything wonder- 
 ful is up in the mind, or when the body is exhausted 
 'with fatigue or sickness. A volume of such cases 
 might be given ; but the reader will bring to mind 
 circumstances in which living perscflis have appar- 
 ently been seen when absent, and even when dead. 
 It was formerly supposed that dreams only occurred 
 in sleep ; but it is now generally admitted that they 
 never occur in perfectly sound sleep, and they may<^ 
 and certainly do^ occur in the waking state. We will 
 relate one instance : • I was once standing on the 
 bank of the Hoosic River, just below the village of 
 Hoosic Falls, wondering what had become of a cow 
 I had turned into a field by the river, when, looking on 
 the opposite side, some thirty or forty rods above, I 
 saw a lady walking down on the sand, between high 
 and low-water mark. The circumstance excited no 
 interest at all till she came nearly opposite, to a high 
 brush fence, called by the farmers a water fence, as it 
 extends from the common fence from high-water 
 mark into the river. This she mounted with extreme 
 agility and buoyancy ; but, in setting her feet upon it, 
 she settled into it with a crash of dry limbs ; and, as 
 if exerting herself a few moments to get free, she 
 presently became a large yellow dog ; .still exerting 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 161 
 
 himself to get out of the old fence, which was all the 
 time crackling. But soon the dog underwent another 
 metamorphosis, and became a red fox, still struggling 
 to get out, the fence still crackling, until he seemed 
 to lose himself in the fence, and all was still. I then 
 went immediately up the river, crossed the bridge, and 
 down on the other side, critically surveying the ground 
 passed over by the spectre. There were no tracks 
 left by the lady on the sand she walked over, and 
 when I came to the fence seen from the other side, 
 behold, there was no fence there ! 
 
 The whole scene was a hallucination, a waking 
 vision, which grew out of the little excitement raised 
 upon the mysterious disappearance of the creature I 
 was in pursuit of. I take this to be a fair specimen 
 of a ghost or ghosts, for there were at least four — the 
 ghost of a lady, the ghost of a dog and fox, and the 
 ghost of an old brush fence. I never in all my life 
 witnessed any thing more real to all appearance. 
 The whole time the scene was passing was about 
 ten minutes ; at the same time, perhaps, the impres- 
 sions were all conceived in the mind in the twinkling 
 of an eye ; nor is it at all certain that my eyes were at 
 any time directed to the opposite side of the river, 
 for it is not by ordinary vision that these things are 
 seen. 
 
 Such supernatural appearances have been known 
 in all ages. Multitudes are said to follow ^olus, 
 the god of wind, to a mountain, and see him hurl his 
 great spear into it, and let out the wind in a tornado. 
 Again : the ancient Greeks and Romans were in the 
 habit of seeing some deceased general or nobleman 
 riding in his carriage through the streets of their 
 cities, the horses snorting, the thongs cracking, the 
 14* 
 
162 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 dust flying, the postilion and boxman all as real as 
 the lady, the dog, and the fence — just about. 
 
 So people may see tables tip, and ladies ride on 
 them as on a broomstick through the air, while stands 
 and chairs are dancing the polka. But in such cases, 
 ;io human testimony is to be taken ; the mind's dis- 
 ease — excited imagination— is at the bottom of it 
 all. It is, nevertheless, the strong delusion which we 
 are forbidden to run into, and which leads to infidel- 
 ity and dishonoring God; and is spreading at so 
 rapid a rate, that it is time for the lovers of truth and 
 holiness to wake up and defend the religion of Christ. 
 Let us look back a few years, and see the rapid 
 march of this anti- Christian monster, and say how 
 long it will be before Christianity will be numbered 
 among the things that were. " It will be five years 
 on Thursday next (March 31) since the Fox family 
 were first alarmed by the ' rappings ' to such a de- 
 gree as to make it known to their neighbors, and ask 
 their assistance in solving the mystery. Then it pro- 
 duced a great excitement in the vicinity, but was 
 soon expected to pass away, and the family prayed to 
 be rid of the annoyance. 
 
 " No\v, every state in the Union, Canada, and all 
 parts of the civilized world have been made acquainted 
 with the spiritual manifestations. The mediums of 
 the TJiiited States embrace every class of society, and 
 number their ten thousands, and the firm believers 
 are not less than half a million. The Fox family 
 have visited many of the principal cities, and have 
 carried convincing proofs of spiritual manifestations 
 wherever they have been." — Spiritual Telegraph. 
 
 Such is the rage of mesmeric mania. What Chris- 
 tian, without the deepest emotions of horror, can 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 163 
 
 contemplate its progress for five years to come ? It 
 is not doing its work among the obscm'e, the igno- 
 rant, and the vulgar alone. Its advocates are among 
 the influential, the popular, and such as stand on an 
 eminence in society. Even professors of the religion 
 of the Holy One of God are abandoning the cause of 
 their heavenly Master, and betaking themselves to 
 the rapping spirits. Even the very watchmen on the 
 walls of Zion, instead of giving the alarm, have de- 
 serted their posts, and have gone over to the enemy. 
 The latter cases, it is true, are not many, as yet ; but 
 they are sufficient to show what must be expected as 
 the thing becomes more popular. And its popularity 
 is having a rapid growth ; and, unchecked, must soon 
 drive religion from the land. Its touch is like that of 
 the torpedo. Its advocates have only to come within 
 its influence, and, quick as magic, all reverence for 
 the word of God and holy things is paralyzed. The 
 " circle disclosures " are now law and gospel. The 
 age of faith has gone by, and a new era has com- 
 menced, in which men are to walk by facts, and not 
 by faith. And holy men of old, instead of being in- 
 spired of God, were good mediums, and, among them 
 all, Christ was the most perfect medium. 
 
 Now, brethren, far and near, of whatever denom? 
 ination, what is to be done ? You see this is the last, 
 the most powerful, and boldest attempt of the devil to 
 tread out the last remaining sparks of faith in God 
 and his holy word. Shall we tamely submit and give 
 up the holy cause, after having so long defended the 
 faith ? or shall we rise en masse, in the strength of 
 Israel's God, and boldly face the magic foe ? 
 
 Think not the thing will, by and by,Mie out of its 
 own accord. It is a matter of prophecy, and we 
 
164 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 must meet it in its general deluge-like form. It 
 will be much easier to meet it to-day than to-morrow. 
 Every day it is growing stronger and stronger, spread- 
 ing wider and wider, and taking deeper and deeper 
 hold of the minds of the people. I repeat it, we 
 must meet it ; and shall we meet it with the boldness 
 of a Paul? or, with the tiraorousness of a Peter, keep 
 back in the porch, and deny that we ever knew the 
 man ? I know there are many who are not aware that 
 there is any danger to be apprehended from it. But 
 there is danger. The evil ivill come like a flood, but 
 let it not find us asleep ; for the more we fancy our- 
 selves secure, the sooner it will overtake us. Some- 
 thing should be done immediately. It is easier to 
 keep ten out of it who are not in it, than to get one 
 out after he gets in ; and if all could be kept out who 
 are out, it would soon die. But if we fail to keep all 
 out, let us not fail to keep out all we can. A learned 
 divine has said it was worth the united prayers of all 
 Christendom to save one sinner ; if so, it is certainly 
 worth its united efforts to save the Church from obliv- 
 ion. Let us then make a bold and noble effort ; and 
 if it has no other effect, it will tell in our favor at the 
 day of judgment, when our skirts will be clear, and 
 we shall hear the happy plaudit, " Well done, thou 
 good and faithful servant." 
 
 I would therefore recommend to every clergyman in 
 the United States and through the world, not to wait 
 until the evil gets into his flock, but begin now, and 
 show up rapology, mesmerism, necromancy, &c., in 
 their true light, and sufficiently warn the people of 
 the approaching danger, and create in them, as far as 
 possible, a dread of its deluding influence ; and, with 
 the blessings of God, I believe such efforts would' be 
 attended with much good. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 165 
 
 We cannot do better than to close this chapter by- 
 introducing a few remarks by J. S. White, a respect- 
 able preacher of the gospel of Christ at Worcester, 
 Mass. : — 
 
 " The spirit communications are spoken of as 
 something new under the sun. It is said that the 
 race is so far advanced in progression, that this mode 
 of revelation or communication may be properly and 
 successfully introduced. It is contended that the race 
 is to be enlightened and essentially benefited by this 
 mode of intelligence ; that heaven and earth are to 
 be brought together, and a new era is now to appear 
 upon the world. 
 
 " That this is new in the history of the world is 
 contrary to fact, though it may be new in our day ; 
 for, since the history of man, we find this pretended 
 intercourse with the spirits of the dead was practised 
 by the heathen, before the days of Moses. (See 
 Deut. xviii. 9-14.) 
 
 " In the catalogue of names here given, we have 
 that of necromancy. Webster defines necromancy 
 thus : ' The art of revealing future events by means 
 of a pretended communication with the dead ; ' and 
 necromancer, ' One who pretends to foretell future 
 events by holding converse with departed spirits.' 
 This is just what the spirit mediums are now pre- 
 tending to do. They have their familiar spirits, guar- 
 dian angels, and they pretend to consult them in 
 relation to the affairs of the living. In so doing, they 
 do the very thing that was practised by the heathen 
 nations some four thousand years ago. Instead, there- 
 fore, of this being a step forward in progression, it is 
 a long step backward to ancient heathenism. The 
 
166 THE SPIRITUAL TELEORAPHIC 
 
 Lord said that this was one of the abominations for 
 which he drove the heathen out of Canaan. 
 
 " The pretended spirits deny the Bible. And why ? 
 Because the Bible condemns them, and because the 
 Bible affirms the opposite of what they claim. 
 
 "Take one example: Job xiv. 21, speaking of the 
 man who dies, it is said, ' His sons come to honor, 
 and he knoweth it not ; they are brought low, but he 
 perceiveth it not of them.' But the pretended spirits 
 say they do know. They affirm — the Bible denies. 
 Who is right? Inasmuch, then, as the Bible both 
 condemns and contradicts them, they are compelled 
 to deny some part of it, at least, in order to have 
 success with the living. 
 
 " ' When they shall say unto you. Seek unto them 
 that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, 
 and that mutter : should not a people seek unto their 
 God ? for the living to the dead ? [That is, should 
 a people seek unto the dead for the benefit of the 
 living ?] To the law and to the testimony : if they 
 speak not according to this word, it is because there 
 is no light in them.' (Isa. viii. 19, 20.) These spirits 
 do not speak according to the law and testimony; 
 hence, if they are spirits, they are spirits of darkness. 
 But it is said they do sometimes tell the truth, and, 
 therefore, they cannot be spirits of darkness. No 
 marvel ; for Satan himself is transformed into an 
 angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his 
 ministers, (or agents,) also, be transformed as the 
 ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be ac- 
 cording to their works. (2 Cor. xi. 14-18.) ' Now 
 the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times 
 some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se- 
 ducing spirits and the doctrines of devils;' or spirits 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 167 
 
 that teach doctrines of devils. (1 Tim. iv. 1.) Now, 
 a devil is an adversary ; is one, or is something, that 
 opposes the truth. These spirits, as they are called, 
 do oppose the law and the testimony by their teach- 
 ing ; therefore, they teach the doctrines of the devil. 
 * He was a liar from the beginning.' ' The serpent 
 said unto the woman. Ye shall not surely die ; for 
 God doth know that, in the day ye eat thereof, then 
 your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, 
 knowing good from evil.' (Gen. iii. 4, 5.) That is, 
 you will change your sphere of life from a lower to a 
 higher. In like manner do those spirits now teach, 
 that man does not die, but only changes his mode of 
 existence ; passes from this state of life to another, 
 from a lower to a higher, where he will know far 
 more than he can in this sphere, where he will be as 
 gods, knoiving good and evil ; where he will be so far 
 advanced in knowledge, that he can teach those who 
 are in this sphere. Thus these spirits are teaching 
 but the old doctrine of the serpent, which, by be- 
 lieving, brought death and all its train of evil upon 
 our race. Though some have departed from the faith, 
 let others be on their guard, taking heed to the sure 
 word of prophecy, lest they also be carried away by 
 the devices of Satan." 
 
 "DOUBLE LITE IN MAN." 
 
 Dr. Newman, in his "Philosophy of Charming," 
 which is but another name for mesmerism, says, " The 
 body is the house of the soul. In an upper story, 
 confined to an inner chamber, closely imprisoned, and 
 having no communication with the exterior world 
 except through the medium of the life principle, re- 
 
168 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 sides our immortal being." And for proof of the 
 double life in man, he quotes Gen. ii. 7 : " And the 
 Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and 
 man became a living soul." He then adds, " The 
 Hebrew word in that passage for life is used in the 
 plural. It should read, ' breathed into his nostrils the 
 breath of lives.' " And further, he says he believes 
 the life principle " is as immortal as the soul, but only 
 in consequence of its connection with the soul, to 
 which it is subservient." 
 
 This complete double being of man is a strong- 
 hold of mesmerism. But how does the text prove 
 the position it was quoted for ? " It should read, 
 ' breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives ; ' " that 
 is, at least, two lives, one of the body, and one of the 
 soul. But this makes the soul as absolutely depend- 
 ent on the breath for its life as it does the body. 
 And when the body stops breathing, these lives must 
 cease. Besides, this mode of reasoning gives a 
 double life to brutes as well as to man ; for they all 
 had this same breath of life, or lives. And in the 
 flood, all creatures that had the same breath or spirit 
 of life died, except those in the ark. (Gen. vii. 2.2.) 
 Yet he says he believes the life principle is as immor-t 
 tal as the soul ; and there is the same evidence that 
 brutes have the same life principle indicated by the 
 same Hebrew. 
 
 Again : the text quoted presents another difficulty] 
 as understood by the doctor. He says the sorJ isi 
 " closely imprisoned " in the body. We would like to( 
 know why Adam's soul was '-'- closely imprisoned'''^' 
 before it was guilty, and let out in consequence of 
 becoming guilty ; for, according to psychologists, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 169 
 
 death is letting the soul out of the body ; and Adam's 
 death was in consequence of his sin. So, who can 
 blame the poor man for sinning? God left him no 
 other way to get his innocent soul out of its close 
 prison but to sin it out. And who can blame the 
 devil for tempting our first parents to sin ? He did no 
 more than kindly to present them with the only key 
 to unlock the door of their prison. But mesmerized 
 logic is difficult to be understood. 
 15 
 
170 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL SPIRITS PROVED BY MES- 
 MERIC DISCLOSURES. — THE EASIEST WAY TO AC- 
 COUNT FOR IT. 
 
 The best mediums in the most perfect state of 
 extasis, or mesmeric trance, admit, yea, absolutely 
 teach, the existence of evil spirits, which do influence 
 men to evil actions. This is a truth which may be 
 relied on with the utmost confidence; not because it 
 is taught by mesmerism, but because it is taught in 
 the word of God. It appears that, when, through 
 wickedness, the Spirit of God is withdrawn, from a 
 man, the Lord suffers evil spirits to possess him. See 
 1 Sam. xvi. 14 : " But the spirit of the Lord departed 
 from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled 
 him." It was not until after the spirit of the Lord 
 forsook him that he sought unto a woman that had a 
 familiar spirit. Those who possess the Spirit of God 
 have no need of ''rapping spirits," and never will 
 resort to them ; for the Spirit of God expressly forbids 
 it. We here give a few of the many texts that 
 abundantly prove the existence of such spirits. Luke 
 vii. 21; viii. 2. Acts xix. 12, 15. Matt. xii. 43. Mark 
 i. 23 ; v. 2, 8 ; vii. 25. Luke ix. 42. 
 
 We shall proceed to show from mesmeric disclo- 
 sures that these spirits do indeed act a very conspicu- 
 ous part in the grand drama of fallen man. For this 
 purpose we shall appeal to the mediums of that coun- 
 try which is noted, not only as being the cradle of 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 171 
 
 mesmerism, but that in which it is most refined, and 
 brought into the highest state of perfection* 
 
 Cahagnet, to whom reference has already been 
 made, put the following questions to his ecstatic, whom 
 he calls Bruno, and received the following answers. 
 (" Spiritual Telegraph," pp. 8, 9 :) — 
 
 " What are the other properties of the soul ? Is it 
 free to do whatever it will ? " " No, the soul is influ- 
 enced by other souls ; it is the latter that guide it in 
 magnetism, as in all its other actions." " They are, 
 then, guides similar to yours? Have we all any?" 
 " Yes, a good and a bad one." " Where are they 
 placed? " " My good angel is before me, hovering on 
 the road to virtue, which he points out to me, and the 
 bad is on my left." " Is there any means to withdraw 
 one's self from the influence of the bad one ? " " They 
 are there to fulfil their mission; it is ordained so; 
 man can scarcely avoid one more than the other." 
 
 It is very natural for depraved mortals to seek some 
 excuse for sinning. This disclosure is very congenial 
 to carnal nature. The influence of the bad spirit is 
 unavoidable. He has a mission to fulfil ; and it must 
 be fulfilled, or the plan of the Almighty would be 
 frustrated. Then sin is absolutely unavoidable. This 
 is the only natural and reasonable conclusion. But 
 how widely different is the teachings of the Holy 
 Spirit! 
 
 " Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the 
 devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God,^ 
 and he will draw nigh to you." (James iv. 7, 8.) This 
 leaves no excuse for sinning. If we wish to withdraw 
 ourselves from the influence of evil spirits, James tells 
 us, by the Holy Spirit, how to do it without difficulty. 
 Draw nigh to God, and resist the devil. Bat this is 
 at war with the doctrine of mesmerism. 
 
172 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 On pages 12, 13, Bruno says to his operator, Caha- 
 gnet, " I should b? more lucid were you not possessed 
 by an evil spirit." " What do you mean by that ? " 
 *' I mean that a person with whom you have no longer 
 friendly relations is the cause of your being beset by 
 an evil spirit." " What power can this spirit have over 
 me ? I in no wise dread him. I have never experi- 
 enced any effect from him." " Ah ! such are men who 
 dread nothing; but know, once for all, that your 
 power is a complete nullity before the spirit; and God 
 only knows what force a spirit can display." This, if 
 true, is rather a hard case. A man in the flesh, an 
 enemy to Cahagnet, has sent him an evil spirit whose 
 influence he is unable to resist. The question is. How 
 came the man who sent this spirit into Cahagnet to 
 have more power to keep him there than Cahagnet 
 had to send him back to the man he came from, unless 
 the man who sent him had entered into a league with 
 the devil to keep him there ? It is evident there must 
 be a superior devil somewhere ; for, in this case, one 
 devil was under the control of another. 
 
 But we proceed : " Who, pray, thus awakens you 
 at the moment I least expected it ? " " Gabriel." 
 " For what reason ? " " Because he foresees that the 
 evil genius could answer me in his place; and, in order 
 to thwart his designs, he will awake me thus when- 
 ever he deems it not fit, for the moment, to answer 
 your questions." It appears, then, that even the 
 heavenly angels are under the necessity of resorting 
 to cunning stratagem to thwart the designs of evil 
 spirits. But Christ, while on earth, had no recourse 
 to stratagem ; he rebuked them, and commanded them 
 to come out of the possessed ; and they obeyed, 
 (Mark i. 23-26.) 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 173 
 
 Page 21 : " You told me yesterday that spirits, in 
 some form or other, introduce themselves into our 
 bodies, to torment us at their pleasure, under the 
 mark of disease ; we are, then, the veriest slaves of 
 the universe ; it is by no means to be presumed that 
 we are the sport of such or such a spirit, according to 
 his caprice." " What I told you yesterday is the 
 fruit of my knowledge in the state I am. It is my 
 conviction. I speak of what I behold with my own 
 eyes ; and I defy any somnambulist, having the light I 
 have, to belie me." Pages 33, 34 : " Since a spirit can 
 introduce itself into our bodies, and make us speak 
 despite ourselves, can it make us act also? " " Yes ; 
 this question I put to you has reference to posses- 
 sions: the possessed have always affirmed what you 
 advance." 
 
 The Scriptures do not justify the assertion. In the 
 first place, the devil has no power to impel us to 
 action, but is permitted to tempts persuade^ or entice ; 
 while we have the power to resist, and, by drawing 
 near to God, may always resist him. Our Savior did 
 so, and he was tempted as men are, but always re- 
 sisted ; and had it been possible for the devil to have 
 compelled him to fall down and worship him, no 
 doubt but he would have done it, instead of trying to 
 hire him to do it. The habitual drunkard might just 
 as well say he cannot avoid his bowl ; but it were 
 easy to have avoided the first intoxicating draught. 
 So it is comparatively easy to avoid first evil temp- 
 tations ; and the more we avoid them, the more easily 
 we may avoid them. 
 
 On page 66, from another subject or medium, 
 he obtained the following: "My broth er-in -la v\^ is 
 exasperated at my rancor towards him ; but he io- 
 15* 
 
174 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 demnifiecl himself for it last night, by suggesting bad 
 dreanns. I dreamed T was cutting the throat of his 
 daughter, my niece, who is in heaven, and comes to 
 see me habitually. I concealed her, thus assassinated, 
 under my bed. Good Heavens, how I suffered ! 
 It was my brother-in-law who represented to me 
 those horrid images." "But the good angel beside 
 us ; can he not protect us under such circumstances ? " 
 " Not always ; our souls stand in need of his coun- 
 sels for a multitude of other actions, of which it has 
 no recollection ; for the spirit sleeps not, and our 
 angel cannot always prevent by night, any more than 
 by day, the power of evil spirits." 
 
 It appears, then, that we have so many calls upon 
 our guardian angel, by night and by day, that he can- 
 not attend to them all, and hence he is unable always 
 to protect us from evil. But there is a God who is 
 always able ; had we not better trust in him than in 
 the spirits of the dead ? 
 
 On page 88 : " Still, proof exists that some spirits 
 see matter, since they upset articles of furniture, 
 vases, &c., convey messages and objects. Those are 
 evil spirits that are in the circle surrounding the earth, 
 that still hover over it and do these things." I have 
 long since thought the devil was a table tipper. Give 
 the spiritual mediums rope enough, and I do not 
 know but they will all hang themselves yet. This 
 begins to look like it ; and this also, which we find on 
 page 102 : " Can evil spirits derange our intellect on 
 earth ? " " No." " Can they hallucinate us by appa- 
 ritions, removal of furniture, noises, (raps, or knocks,) 
 and a thousand other things of this kind ? " " They 
 can do so only in the condition wherein you find 
 yourself impressible; but most frequently these hal- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 175 
 
 lucinatioiis are attributed to material persons of a 
 very evil influence, who, by their property, or those 
 which they obtain through pacts formed with spirits 
 that possess this affection, take delight in deranging 
 our ideas and tormenting us : the influence of poison 
 has much to do with it." " I did not believe in such 
 pacts." " They exist, but nought is more displeasing 
 to God." 
 
 We have a proverb — " Set a rogue to catch a 
 rogue." And why not set a devil to catch a devil ? 
 The French mediums pretend to be further advanced 
 in spiritual disclosures than the American, and to 
 have passed beyond the medium state to the ecstatic, 
 by which they enter and leave heaven with about the 
 same ease and facility that • a gentleman enters and 
 leaves his parlor. And from their superior facilities 
 of obtaining spiritual manifestations, they have ascer- 
 tained that the spiritual rappings, table tippings, &c., 
 together with the disclosures made through these 
 means, are all the work of evil spirits, got up by men 
 forming pacts or leagues with devils. And these 
 communications are made by '• persons of a very evil 
 influence," through such pacts. Cahagnet thus con- 
 tinues : " What do you think of talismans ? " " There 
 are very good ones, but we must deserve them ; it is 
 the gift of God." " Could you give me the design of 
 a good one ? " "I cannot ; but there is one worth 
 them all — placing ourselves under the divine protec- 
 tion, with purity of heart ; no other is equal to this." 
 
 We ought to be willing to receive truth, let it come 
 from whatever source it may, especially when it har- 
 monizes with the word of God. The devil himself 
 confessed Jesus Christ to be the Holy One of God. 
 That is the truth, but none the more so for his 
 
176 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 confession ; but it proves that a liar can speak the 
 truth occasionally. 
 
 So of spiritual disclosures : provided they are made 
 by wicked spirits, we might expect as a matter of 
 policy, now and then, some glimmerings of truth ; 
 and here is one concerning talismans : " There is one 
 worth them all — placing ourselves under the divine 
 protection, with purity of heart ; no other is equal to 
 this." Let the reader try it. We will warrant him 
 it will never fail. Every word of God is pure. He 
 is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 
 (Prov. XXX. 0.) " Trust in the Lord and do good ; so 
 shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
 fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall 
 give thee the desires of thine heart." (Ps. xxxvii. 3, 4.) 
 
 Further evidence of the existence and remarkable 
 power of evil spirits is given in the second volume of 
 the " Celestial Telegraph," page 151 : — 
 
 " We borrow from the journal La Republique, of 
 February 3, 1849, a recital of this nature, extracted 
 from the Gazette des Tribunaux : — 
 
 " ' One of the most singular facts, a fact repro- 
 ducing itself every night for the last three weeks, and 
 baffling all imaginable plans that have been adopted 
 to discover the cause of it, sets in commotion the 
 whole of the populous quarter of the Montagne 
 Sainte Genevieve, the Sorbonne, and the Place Saint 
 Michel. The double inquiry, judicious and adminis- 
 trative, which has been going on for some days past, 
 verifies, in accordance with public clamor, the follow- 
 ing statement : — 
 
 " ' In the work of demolition commenced for the 
 opening of a new street which is to join the Sorbonne 
 to the Pantheon, and the Ecole de Droit, traversing 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 177 
 
 the Rue des Ores up to the old church which has 
 successively been used as a school and barracks, at 
 the extremity of a piece of ground where once stood 
 a public ball room, is a wood and charcoal yard, 
 bounded by a dwelling house, one story high, with 
 lofts. It is this house, standing at a certain distance 
 from the street, and separated from the adjoining 
 buildings now in course of demolition by the large 
 excavations of the old enclosure wall of Paris con- 
 structed under Philippe Auguste, laid open by the 
 works, which every evening and all night is assailed 
 by a shower of projectiles, which, from their size, and 
 the violence with which they are hurled, produce such 
 havoc, that the windows are smashed, the doors 
 broken open, altogether presenting the appearance of 
 a place that has been attacked by the catapula, or 
 grape shot. 
 
 " ' Whence come these projectiles, consisting of 
 paving stones, fragments of ruins, huge blocks, which, 
 considering their weight and the distance they come 
 from, evidently could not be hurled by the hand of 
 man? This is what it has been impossible to find 
 out. In vain has been exercised, under the personal 
 direction of the commissary of police and able agents, 
 a surveillance, by day and night. In vain have been 
 let loose every night, in the surrounding enclosures, 
 watch dogs. Nothing has been able to explain the 
 phenomenon, which, in their credulity, the people at- 
 tribute to mysterious causes. The projectiles have 
 continued showering down with a crash on the house, 
 hurled at a great height above the heads of those 
 placed on the lookout, even on the roofs of the neigh- 
 boring houses, apparently coming from a great dis- 
 tance, and reaching their object with a precision in 
 
178 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 some sort mathematical, not one appearing to deviate 
 in its parabolic course from the object invariably 
 aimed at. 
 
 " * We will not go into more ample details respect- 
 ing these facts, which, no doubt-, (thanks to the solici- 
 tude it has awakened,) will soon be accounted for. 
 Already the inquiry extends over whatsoever could 
 attach, in this object, to. the explanation of the adage, 
 Cui prodest is auctor. Nevertheless, we wnli remark 
 that, in circumstances somewhat analogous, and 
 which equally created a certain sensation in Paris, 
 when, for instance, a shower of small pieces of money 
 attracted every evening the simpletons of Paris to 
 the Rue de Montesquieu, or when all the bells of a 
 house in Rue de Malte were set going by an invisible 
 hand, it was impossible to succeed in any discovery 
 — r to find an explanation, a first cause, whatever it 
 might be. Let us hope that, this time, we shall arrive 
 at a more precise result.* 
 
 " The Repnblique of the 4th of February con- 
 tinues: 'The Gazette des Tribunaux still speaks of 
 the famous war machine, so formidable, and above 
 all so mysterious^ which sets in commotion the in- 
 habitants of the quarter Saint Jaques.' 
 
 " To-day this paper says, ' The singular fact of 
 throwing projectiles against the house of a dealer in 
 wood and charcoal, Rue Nueva de Cluny, near the 
 Place du Pantheon, has continued being reproduced 
 up to this very day, despite the incessant surveillance 
 exercised on the very spot. 
 
 " ' At eleven o'clock, although agents were stationed 
 at all the adjacent points, an enormous stone struck 
 against the door (barricaded) of the house. At three 
 o'clock, the chief, ad interim^ of the safety service, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 179 
 
 and five or six of his principal subordinates, being 
 busily engaged in making inquiries concerning differ- 
 ent circumstances of the occupiers of the house, an 
 immense rough stone fell shivering at their feet, like 
 the bursting^ of a bomb.' 
 
 " Without commenting on this singular affair, we 
 hasten to an extract of a letter from Colonel Roger to 
 Cahagnet : ' Before returning to Paris, and while I 
 was still residing at Nantes, those who received me 
 at a later period into the bosom of their society, 
 
 which was presided over by M. Pi , a gentleman 
 
 of extraordinary scientific attainments, (it was he who 
 
 magnetized Ad- ,) assembled one evening at M. 
 
 Pi 's to take part in a ceremony relative to occult 
 
 pursuits. M. Pi—- — sent Ad to sleep, and each 
 
 member sat down on the floor, each having at his 
 feet, and right in front of him, a lamp, the wick of 
 
 which was burning in alcohol. M. Pi having 
 
 first called down the blessing of God on those present, 
 the ceremony commenced. Scarcely, however, had it 
 begun, than shrill cries, immoderate laughter, and hor- 
 rible hissing resounded in the room. The lamps were 
 quickly extinguished, and, on all sides, fell pieces of 
 old iron, ba,rs of iron, &c. ; but all these projectiles 
 lodged on the edge of the circle, without striking any 
 
 one. Forthwith M. Pi , armed with his talisman, 
 
 drove out, in the name of God, these evil spirits, who 
 decamped, leaving us their projectiles. This fact 
 responds in the affirmative to the question you ad- 
 dress to Swede nborg, to inquire whether evil spirits 
 could create disorder in a room by displacing and up- 
 setting the furniture. Swedenborg affirmed that they 
 could do so ; and I have just given you a proof of the 
 truth of this assertion.' " 
 
180 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 It is remarkable that, in France, mediums all agree 
 that the spirits which tip tables and move furniture, 
 are all evil spirits; while here, in the United States, 
 they are by medium disclosures said to be good spirits. 
 " When doctors disagree, who shall decide " ? 
 
 It appears that the best American spirits are noth- 
 ing but French devils, such as stone buildings to 
 pieces, and hurl old iron and iron bars at people's 
 heads, tip tables, and set chairs to dancing. Now, 
 since these spirits pretending to be good are con- 
 demning one another, it is certain we stand in need 
 of one of a higher order to teach us which is right. 
 Such a Spirit has taught us, in the word of God, that 
 it is a great sin to seek unto those who pretend to 
 have intercourse with the spirits of the dead. 
 
 We give an extract from the same writer of a more 
 
 accommodatijig spirit therein described : " M. Rev , 
 
 Sen., and myself, were taking a walk on the high 
 road of a town in Brittany. On entering the hotel, 
 M. Rev — — perceived that he had lost his gold seal, 
 which was of great value. After dinner, he sent 
 
 Ad to sleep, saying to her, ' Call such a spirit ; 
 
 beg him, and order him, if need be, to go and look 
 for my seal among a heap of stones by the seaside, 
 at a league's distance from here.' The command 
 was scarcely given, when the spirit delivered the seal 
 
 to Ad -, who said to M. Rev , ' Thank the 
 
 spirit, and dismiss him.' " This is doing the thing in 
 a business manner. It w^ould save the expense of 
 board and wages to employ such spirits for waiters, 
 servants, &c., instead of those visible forms of ilesh 
 and blood. We give the contents of another letter 
 to Cahagnet, which still shows how much further the 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 181 
 
 French mesmerizers are advanced than the Amer- 
 ican : — 
 
 Monsieur: From the appeal you make in your 
 first volume of the " Secrets of the Life to come re- 
 vealed " to persons who may have any facts to com- 
 municate to you for insertion in the second volume 
 you intend publishing, I beg to respond to this invi- 
 tation in the interest, be it understood, of the occult 
 sciences, and in order to prove to you that I have 
 been in no wise astonished at the contents of your 
 boolf, which I have read with great pleasure. For- 
 merly a theatrical artist, I devoted myself passion- 
 ately to the study of cabalism, as offering, by its 
 Studious meditations, a counterpoise to the lighter 
 studies of the theatre. I made acquaintance with a 
 society, (of madmen, the world says ; of savans, I 
 reply,) into which I was admitted, not wnthout some 
 difficulty. To tell you all that took place in this so- 
 ciety all the time I was a member of it, would be to 
 undertake a work in three volumes. I will cite one 
 fact out of a thousand similar ones, which corresponds 
 with what your somnambulist (Binet) says relative to 
 . the strength and power of spirits: — 
 
 The chief of our circle possessed a small, strong 
 box, about a foot long, and ten inches wide, and six 
 In depth, in which he secured very valuable articles. 
 One day it was stolen from him. He was in great 
 distress, when he sent to sleep a young man vi'hom 
 we ordinarily employed at our sittings. He ques^ 
 tioned him as to the disappearance of the box, and 
 begged him to find it. He went further; he ordered 
 the spirit who habitually came at our call to bring 
 16 
 
182 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 back to him the box. The somnambulist was lying 
 on the bed, which was at the farther end of the apart- 
 ment, in a complete state of catalepsy. I was in the 
 middle of the room with this gentleman, and two 
 other gentlemen of the name of Revole — father and 
 son. The clairvoyant issued a command — told us 
 to open the window, which I did instantly, and M. 
 Picolet beheld arriving the precious box, which he 
 received in his hands at the moment I was going to 
 take it myself. We saw nothing else, and were no 
 more surprised at this conveyance than we were at all 
 that took place daily before our eyes. Yes, Monsieur, 
 a spirit can convey objects. Write this in my name ; 
 say, moreover, that I am seventy-eight years old, and 
 that I should not, at such an age, wish to be a mad- 
 man, or to impose on my fellow-men. I assure you 
 of this in the presence of the divine Power, whom I 
 should dread ofliending, if I fabricated such a false- 
 hood. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Monsieurs, &c,, 
 
 BORDE. 
 
 24 RxJE Saint Lauuent, Belleville. 
 
 This is mesmerism worth talking about, and which 
 leaves American mesmerism so far in the rear that 
 it is scarcely worth mentiofiing. W^hy, our Yankee 
 mesmerizers have scarcely learned their alphabet. 
 When they get so as to produce such cases by the 
 thousand, and think no more of them than of any 
 ordinary daily occurrences, they will be ashamed of a 
 little rapping, table tipping, &c., and will then see 
 that they are now led by a bungling set of clownish 
 spirits. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 183 
 
 "THE EASIEST WAY TO ACCOUNT FOR IT." 
 
 It is said that the so called spiritual phenomenon is 
 the work of the devil; it is tauntingly replied by the 
 advocates of spiritualism that it is through ignorance 
 and superstition, and saves the trouble of thinking, 
 and is the easiest way for the ignorant to account for 
 it; and that it is the usual charge brought against 
 any thing wonderful and not generally understood, 
 such as the facility with which Faust multiplied 
 books by type was by the aid of the devil. And 
 this mode of accounting for the wonderful tends to 
 envelop in mystery and check the progress of sci- 
 ence. But it is evident this charge lies with equal 
 weight against those who prefer it. They say it is 
 the work of spirits ; and those against whom it is 
 preferred say it is the work of evil spirits, or devils. 
 Now, which is the easier way of accounting for it? 
 or which betrays the more ignorance or credulity, or 
 which requires the less thinking ? There are many 
 ways by which it is said that spirits do these things; 
 and why not the devil do them in the same way ? If 
 the existence of the devil be denied, the existence of 
 the spirits of the dead must be ; for nought can be 
 appealed to, to prove the existence of departed spirits, 
 that will not abundantly prove the existence of the 
 devil. For every evidence that can be given of the 
 existence of departed spirits, (aside from the pretended 
 spirits themselves,) the author holds himself in read- 
 iness to give ten of the existence of a devil or devils. 
 
184 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OKIGIN OF MESMERISM. — MEDIUMS AMONG THE NORTH 
 AMERICAN INDIANS.— MESMERISM KNOWN TO NAA- 
 
 MAN. 
 
 Dr. Newman, in his " Philosophy of Charming," 
 says, " Adam was perfectly aware of the power of 
 fascination, together with clairvoyance and those 
 other mysteries that astonish so much the people of 
 the present day." His argument in support of it 
 appears to be drawm from the eccentric flights of John 
 Banyan in describing his city of Mansoul; that 
 while our first parents remained obedient to their 
 Maker they held familiar converse with superior 
 beings, through mesmerism, clairvoyance, &c., and 
 that they lost that faculty by swearing allegiance to 
 Diabolus, after whicli the faculty was unknown, ex- 
 cept upon extraordinary occasions, by which it is 
 evident he means the subsequent prophets. Admit 
 this, and it follows that man was created in a clair- 
 voyant state, or, in the Scripture term, the prophetic 
 state ; and as he held this state as long as he was 
 obedient to God, and lost it in consequence of dis- 
 obedience, it follows that he can regain it only by 
 returning to his former primal, obedient state. But 
 this is not a fact with regard to our present clairvoy- 
 ants and mediums. It is not pretended that holiness 
 of heart is requisite to become a medium ; on the 
 contrary, the wicked are good mediums. 
 
 Again : the same author admits that the serpent 
 practises the same art or power in charming his prey. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 185 
 
 Now, what did he do to our first parents, to induce 
 them to " swear allegiance to Diabolus," but to mes- 
 merize or charm them. If he mesmerized them, they 
 were not in a mesmeric state before; and if they were 
 created in a mesmeric state, the serpent de-mesmer- 
 ized them. Yet the same author tells us, on page 28, 
 that Satan discovered the mode of mesmerism, or 
 rather disclosed to man the fact that such a power 
 existed. "We give his own words, as follows : " I 
 think the requisite knowledge was imparted by Satan 
 himself, either in a direct manner, or by prompting 
 the mind to a series of experiments that led to the 
 discovery. He did this to increase his influence, so 
 that a chosen few, on whom he could depend, might 
 guide the many in the ways of destruction. Proof 
 of this, I think, can be found in the fact naturally 
 abhorrent to humanity, (for man has been defined to 
 be a religious animal,) that all barbarous nations pay 
 more homage to the spirit of evil than they do to the 
 spirit of good ; and, as a matter of course, their rites 
 of worship are of the most revolting and bloodthirsty 
 descriptions — extreme licentiousness characterizing 
 their devotions, as well as suspension by hooks, &c., 
 and murder of infants and adults." 
 
 If Satan imparted the knowledge of its existence, 
 Adam could have had no knowledge of it until his 
 interview with the serpent ; and the prophets of old, 
 being mediums, owed their prophetic faculty to the 
 discovery of Satan himself. This is the most un- 
 lucky game he ever played ; for the old prophets 
 every where condemn him, and those who have any 
 thing to do with him or his discoveries. We presume 
 he has seen the evil of it, and has become convinced 
 of his own folly, and has since withheld the discovery 
 16* 
 
186 THE SPrRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 from good and honest men, and imparted it to 
 men of another sort, who never upbraid him for his 
 wickedness. 
 
 This appears ahiiost the unavoidable conclusion, 
 since the advocates of mesmerism contend that the 
 prophets were under the influence of mesmerism ; but 
 it is evident they were not under it when not obedi- 
 ent to God. This appears evident in the case of 
 Saul : though not called a prophet, yet, while he w^as 
 doing the will of God, the Lord answered him when 
 he inquired of him. But when he became so wicked 
 that the Lord answered him not, " neither by dreams, 
 nor by Urim, nor by the prophets," he had recourse to 
 mesmerism ™ to the medium of Endor. Now, noth- 
 ing can be more evident than that the prophets were 
 not under the same influence that the witch was ; for, 
 had they been, they would have answered Saul as 
 well as she. But Samuel said to Saul, " Why hast 
 thou disquieted me to bring me up ? And Saul 
 answered, I am sore distressed ; for the Philistines 
 make war against me, and God is departed from me, 
 and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor 
 by dreams ; therefore I have called thee, that thou 
 mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then 
 said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, 
 seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become 
 thine enemy ? " (1 Sam. xxviii. 15, 16.) 
 
 Here it is evident Samuel intended to represent to 
 Saul it was wrong for him even to seek unto a 
 prophet through a medium, because God had de- 
 parted from him, which, had it not been so, the 
 prophet might have answered him. Now, in what- 
 ever light we consider this account, whether Samuel 
 really appeared to the witch or not. one thing is clear: 
 
^ OPPOSITION LINE. 187 
 
 it shows the popular opinion of that age ; that is, that 
 it was a wicked thing to resort to a medium, and only 
 necessary as a last resort, when the Spirit of God is 
 withdrawn from one who is abandoned to wickedness 
 and on the eve of destruction. In either case, it 
 plainly proves that, at that age, the prophets and 
 mediums, as they are now called, were two very 
 different characters. One was approved of God, and 
 the other condemned. 
 
 Dr. Newman further remarks, " It may be well to 
 mention, in this connection, the fact that savage 
 nations, generally, practise fascination. They rub or 
 pat one another when fatigued, and it refreshes. The 
 wife of one of the Sandwich Island missionaries, on 
 a visit to this country some years ago, exclaimed, on 
 returning from a long and tiresome walk which had 
 completely exhausted her strength, ' If I was home, 
 the native women, by patting me, would soon give me 
 complete relief from this weariness, and make me feel 
 ^*^s lively as ever.' The rites and gestures of savage 
 magicians, the medicine men of the wilds, over their 
 patients, which so much alarm travellers, are nothing 
 more than fascinating passes to cure disease — a 
 method, too, that very generally succeeds." John W. 
 Jewett represents this practice as being common 
 among the Indians of Nootka Sound. It was also 
 known to the Sacs and Foxes, among which there 
 were some excellent clairvoyants. It must have been 
 known, too, to the Indians farther south. Many 
 years since, a company of fur traders proceeded far 
 up the country of the Red River, when, to facilitate 
 business, two of them parted from their companions, 
 and arrived at the head of a lake to await the arrival 
 of those behind, who were expected to come up the 
 
188 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 lake in a canoe. But day after day passed,, and they 
 heard nothing from them. Growing alarmed for their 
 safety, the chief of the tribe told them he had a man 
 who would tell them all abouttheir companions. The 
 man was at length sent for, and, being laid upon a 
 buffalo skin, was rubbed from head to foot, and then 
 rolled up in the skin. After a while he seemed to 
 revive, and, being unrolled, said he had not been in- 
 formed w^hen the other traders would arrive ; but 
 to-morrow, about this time, a canoe would be seen 
 coming up the lake, with two Indians in it, and they 
 would tell all about the other traders. This proved 
 to be true, upon which the traders were utterly aston- 
 ished. But at the present time, no one can doubt 
 this being a fair specimen of mesmerism, attended 
 with clairvoyance. Speaking of the heathen magi. 
 Dr. Newman remarks, " Some of them possessed this 
 power in so extraordinary a degree, and had their fame 
 so widely extended, as to be deified after death ; having 
 idol statues shaped in their likeness, to which divine 
 honors were paid, the qualities for which they were 
 thus honored being symbolized by additional arms. 
 Proofs of this may be seen at the present day in the 
 images of the gods of India. Vichenow, Chivan, 
 Parchivan, Ravenna, and many others, have four, six, 
 and twelve arms, all presenting the hands open, with 
 the palms inclining downwards, the fingers being in 
 the most approved fascinating positions of the present 
 day." 
 
 Antony Pluche thus describes the process of ancient 
 Egyptian magnetism, as practised upwards of three 
 thousand years ago : " A patient is stretched upon a 
 couch, while a large anubis is painted, in the act of 
 making passes over him, with one hand raised above 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 189 
 
 his head, and the other placed upon his breast. And 
 Celsus, a philosopher who lived in the first century 
 after Christ, speaks of a physician of ancient Chaldea, 
 who soothed the ravings of the insane by manipula- 
 1;ipns ; and adds, that, when continued for a long time, 
 produced sleep." 
 
 That mesmerism w^as known to the ancients, appears 
 also from the Scriptures. We refer the reader to the 
 case of Naaman, the leper. (2 Kings v.) 
 
 When Elisha, the man of God, commanded him to 
 go and wash seven times in the River Jordan, he was 
 wroth, and said, " Behold, I thought he will surely 
 come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of 
 the Lord his God, and strike his hands (move his 
 hands up and down, margin) over the place, and 
 recover the leper." 
 
 Naaman was certainly acquainted with the practice 
 of curing diseases by manipulations (moving the 
 hands up and down) as then practised by the hea- 
 then, and took Elisha to be some great manipulator, 
 or, as w^e should say at the present time, a great mes-* 
 merizer. But when he saw the prophet did not work 
 by such means as he expected, neither even come out 
 to meet him, he felt that his dignity was wounded, and 
 he turned away in a rage. But being persuaded by 
 his servant, he went and washed, and was cleansed of 
 his leprosy, and returned to the man of God, and 
 acknowledged the God of Israel, and offered to pay 
 the prophet. This the prophet refused, for those who 
 work a miracle by the power of the God of Israel 
 never charge any thing for it, but ascribe the honor 
 and the power unto God, and not to electricity or 
 mesmerism. There is no want of evidence that this 
 
190 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 pKOwer was known in former times. We give the fol- 
 lowing from William E. Blakeney : — 
 
 " We have also more exhibitions of this power de- 
 veloped under the character of an angel of light. It 
 will be recollected that, in the year 1688, there were 
 many persons who assumed the name of ' French 
 prophets,' and professed a divine inspiration ; and, 
 like all of their predecessors, as well as successors, 
 they claimed the power or gift of healing, of speaking 
 with tongues, of the discerning of spirits, which was 
 administered by the laying on of hands and willing 
 it to be done. These prophets not only had power 
 over demons, but also of casting out evil spirits. 
 They also had their ' clairvoyance,' although called 
 by a different name. Hence the ' clairvoyant ' state 
 with them was called ' the trance,' in which condition 
 the mind was said to expand and take its flight to 
 the 'celestial regions;' then, if put in communi- 
 cation with another person, would describe precisely 
 as in mesmerism. In the year 1706, a number of 
 these prophets sailed to England, and commenced 
 their mysterious exhibitions there. The influence 
 which they exerted became irresistible, and the 
 ' magic charm ' soon won over some three or four 
 hundred in and about London." 
 
 We have also another demonstration of this power 
 under the character of divinity. I refer to the cel- 
 ebrated Ann Lee, the last false Christ who has flour- 
 ished. She succeeded in deluding thousands, and 
 supported her claims to Messiahship by performing 
 astonishing miracles, and speaking in unknown 
 tongues. 
 
 Now, that these different characters did perform 
 feats of a precise similar nature to those of mesmer- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 191 
 
 ism, is an admitted fact. Their claims were similar, 
 and, indeed, perfectly parallel ; and the same power 
 which sustained and gave life to the one, also pre- 
 sided over the other. And if their phenomena were 
 the result of " science," the advocates of mesmerism 
 will in justice claim the same ; but if they were, in 
 fact, " false Christs," laboring under a satanic influ- 
 ence, the doctrine of mesmerism should be accounted 
 for on the same principles. To the same influence 
 may be referred " the visions of Ellen White." She 
 represents herself as going into the state of trance, 
 nearly in the same manner as the French mediums, in 
 what is called, in mesmerism, the state of ecstasy. 
 Both pretend to make disclosures through spiritual 
 and angelic agencies. The mediums call these "guar- 
 dian spirits," and Ellen calls them her "attending 
 angels." In one of her clairvoyant excursions, she 
 saw Enoch on a social visit to the planet Saturn. 
 
 Notwithstanding her visions are in many respects 
 discordant to the word of God, yet, like the French 
 prophets and those of Ann Lee, she is drawing hun- 
 dreds into her mesmeric delusions. But since her 
 religion does not admit of but one hundred and forty- 
 four thousand disciples, she will not be the founder of 
 a very numerous and popular sect. 
 
 In another vision, she was admitted into the " holy 
 of holies," (where it is not lawful for any man to 
 enter but the high priest,) and there saw the two 
 tables of stone, on which were written the ten com- 
 mandments, the fourth of which shone w^ith more 
 glory than all the others. 
 
 Let us try this vision by the word of God. Matt, 
 xxii. 37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 
192 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
 great conimandment. And the second is like unto it, 
 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these 
 two hang all the law and the prophets." Our Savior 
 attaches the most glory and importance to the first 
 and second commandments instead of the fourth. 
 The followers of Ellen make the keeping of the 
 seventh day the end of the law and seal of the living 
 God ; while the word of God makes the end of the 
 commandment "charity out of a pure heart;" and 
 the seal of the living God the Holy Spirit of promise, 
 or Holy Spirit of God. • (Eph. i. 13 ; iv. 30. 1 Tim. 
 i. 5—7.) Now, the end of the commandment is char- 
 ity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, 
 and of faith unfeigned, from which some, having 
 swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, de- 
 siring to be teachers of the law ; understanding 
 neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 
 
 A remarkable instance of the fulfilment of Scrip- 
 ture is found in tins text, in the believers of these 
 visions. They are vain janglers, and set themselves 
 up as teachers of the law, understanding neither 
 what they say, nor whereof they affirm ; preaching a 
 new gospel, said to be given to the third angel, but un- 
 known to Paul, who says, " But though we, or an angel 
 from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than 
 that ye have received, let him be accursed." The end 
 of all mesmeric revelation appears to be " a new doc- 
 trine ; " "a new light ; " some other way to be saved 
 than by that revealed in the Scriptures. Those who 
 have but little regard for the holy religion of Christ 
 are, by mesmeric disclosures, easily persuaded to 
 abajidon all forms of godliness ; while others, having 
 more regard for it, are as easily persuaded to adopt 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 193 
 
 that form of godliness which most denies the power 
 thereof. 
 
 Mesmerism, as we have seen, is a strange delusion. 
 It accommodates itself to every one's preferred opin- 
 ions, and proves every one's theory. So the man who 
 is irreligious is easily deceived by the most flagrant 
 irreligious disclosures; while he who is religious is as 
 easily deceived by a false religion. So, in one or 
 two ways, the devil is very successful in leading peo- 
 ple away from truth and God, either directly in lead- 
 ing them to discard all religion, or zealously to em- 
 brace a false one ; either answ^ers his purpose as well 
 as the other, and both are effected by the almighty 
 lever of mesmerism or spiritual disclosures. 
 
 But since we are so easily led into the delusion, the 
 question may be asked. How are we to avoid it? 
 " Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the 
 devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, 
 and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, 
 ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded." 
 (James iv. 7, 8.) We do not sufficiently resist the 
 devil. But, says one. How are we to know what is 
 of the devil ? " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw 
 nigh to you." Our error lies in not living near to 
 God. "We first withdraw ourselves from him ; he 
 then forsakes us, as he did Saul, and we arc left, 
 through evil influences, to seek a ne%o revelation, a 
 new doctrine, a new " seal of the living God," and, 
 finally, a new plan of salvation. The moment a man 
 gives heed to any revelation except tiie Scriptures, 
 that moment he gives evidence of having fallen from 
 grace, (if he ever had any to fall from,) and is on the 
 road to ruin. Paul says to Timothy, " All Scripture 
 is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 17 
 
194 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
 righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, 
 thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 
 iii. 16, 17.) 
 
 To listen to any other revelation is saying, in the 
 heart, the Scripture is not sufficient to furnish us unto 
 all good works, and with a forbidden double minded- 
 ness to seek unto both God and man " for doctrine, 
 for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 It is not for any good work that we need a rev- 
 elation of J. Davis or Ellen White ; for the Scripture 
 is a sufficient furniture for the man of God, that he 
 may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good 
 works. But it may be asked, Shall we not listen to 
 the spirit as well as to the word ? The word and the 
 spirit can no more be divided than the " living child; " 
 they are inseparably united. But, " Beloved, believe 
 not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are 
 of God ; because many false prophets (lying spirits) 
 have gone out into the world." (1 John iv. 1.) " To 
 the law and to the testimony : if they speak not 
 according to this word, it is because there is no light 
 in them." 
 
 The root of most false doctrines is rejecting the 
 word of God, and cleaving to the spirit alone ; thus 
 putting asunder what God has joined together, where- 
 by we insult God, and provoke him to withdraw his 
 Holy Spirit, and leave us to follow the lying spirits 
 which have gone out into the world. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 195 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE NEW AGENT.— 0X> FORCE, OR MUNDANE AGEN- 
 CY. — DEDUCTIONS. 
 
 We shall speak of this agent as we find it in " The 
 Philosophy of Mysterious Rappings." Not intending 
 a formal review of that interesting work, we shall 
 merely glance at the underpinning of the author's 
 superstructure, regretting, at the same time, that an 
 opportunity does not present itself for a more extended 
 investigation, as that work did not come to hand 
 until this had gone to the Stereotype Foundry. 
 
 Dr. Rogers, the author of the work referred to, 
 seems to have departed a little from the popular 
 opinion concerning the real difference between man 
 and the lower order of animals. A still further de- 
 parture would be in greater harmony with facts — the 
 true principles of sound philosophy and divine rev- 
 elation. He seems to admit that the latter have a 
 kind of spirituality in common with the former. If 
 so, we question whether he has found the true differ- 
 ence in their spiritualities ; or rather, whether he has 
 found what true spiritualism is. (See pp. 131-133.) 
 
 Volumes have been written, pretending to show the 
 nature of man and his spiritual relation to God, by 
 writers who either know but little of the subject, or 
 else have become wise above what is written ; and 
 since this seems to be a chief corner stone in almost 
 every mesmeric building, we cannot do better than to 
 give in *this place the language of the wise man 
 
1^6 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 concerning the difference between man and beast. 
 Eccl. iii. 18-21, " I said in mine heart concerning the 
 estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest 
 them, and that they might see that they themselves 
 are beasts." Or, as the original is, " I said in my 
 heart concerning the sons of (anosheem) mortals, that 
 God would (borah) search them, and show to them 
 that they are like the beasts." 
 
 " For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth 
 beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one 
 dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one 
 {ruah, spirit) breath ; so that a man hath no preem- 
 inence above a beast ; for all is vanity. All go unto 
 one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust 
 again. Who knoweth the (ruah) spirit of man that 
 goeth upward, and the (ruah) spirit of the beast that 
 goeth downward to the earth ? " Notice that man 
 and beast both possess the same ruah; and Solomon 
 says, " That which befalleth the sons of men befall- 
 eth beasts ; " and the author referred to, in his in- 
 troduction (forty-seventh paragraph) says, " That cer- 
 tain animals below man have been known to be 
 clairvoyant." So far he agrees with the wise man. 
 But the question is, Is clairvoyance and divine rev- 
 elation one and the same thing ? If so, beasts have 
 their prophets among them as well as men. If they 
 have not, revelation is from one source, and clairvoy- 
 ance from another; and if divine revelation is a gen- 
 uine coin from the mint of heaven, clairvoyance must 
 be a counterfeit ; or, in other words, if one is from a 
 holy being, the other is from an unholy being. We 
 see no way to avoid this conclusion ; but as we shall 
 have occasion, before closing this chapter, to refer to 
 this part of the subject again, we here introduce his 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 197 
 
 own language, commencing on page 26 of his 
 work : — 
 
 " 40. We have now arrived at a point of grand 
 importance to be recognized throughout this work, 
 namely, that whatever external physical agent can 
 be made to act upon the, internal human organism^ will 
 
 MODIFY THE ACTION, CONSEQUENTLY THE PHENOMENA, 
 OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AGENT. 
 
 " This proposition, startling as it may appear at 
 first view, is, nevertheless, susceptible of the strongest 
 demonstration. The case of every invalid exemplifies 
 it. The pathogenetic action of nearly every drug in 
 nature proves it. 
 
 " 41. It follows, therefore, from what has already 
 been shown, that, whenever the normal condition of 
 the organism is changed, so as to allow of the influx 
 of agencies from the external world, the psychological 
 agent will become more or less modified in its action, 
 and removed from its normal standard. 
 
 " For example : innumerable invalids are hopeful 
 or sad, irascible or kindly affectioned, according to the 
 dynamic condition of external bodies and the sur- 
 rounding atmosphere. This susceptibility of the 
 psychological agent to modifying influences is not 
 only seen with regard to the action of the general 
 dynamics of the earth, but w^ith regard to the specific 
 psychological influence of surrounding persons. 
 
 " 42. Nay, this influence or agency on the one 
 hand, and susceptible passiveness on the other, are so 
 great, in some instances, as to produce a total change 
 in the sense of personal identity ; so that individ- 
 uals have been known to identify themselves with the 
 Deity, with Christ, a toad, a stone. 
 
 " 43. It is a serious question here, if that is an 
 17* 
 
1^8 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 immortal nature which is so susceptible of vital change, 
 which can lose so readily its own sense of identity for 
 that of another. 
 
 "We have now arrived at that question which, of 
 all others, is the most important to man, and which 
 will frequently be brought to view in the body of this 
 work. 
 
 " 44. Man presents to himself two classes of phe- 
 nomena : firsts those which he determines as a self- 
 conscious, self-reasoning, self-governing agent; sec- 
 ond^ those which he does not determine, and are 
 without his own control ; w^hich, moreover, he finds 
 himself, under certain circumstances, forced to develop 
 even against his will and the dictates of his reason. 
 
 " Now, here are either two distinct agencies at 
 work, totally unlike one another, and in direct oppo- 
 sition, or the two opposite classes of phenomena are 
 the action of the same agent in direct opposition to 
 itself To assume the latter, may serve to sustain the 
 false philosophy which has obtained for centuries ; 
 but this w^ill make us no wiser in regard to ourselves. 
 
 "45. It is not to be wondered at that man has 
 always been regarded as an anomalous being, — the 
 only enigma of nature, — with regard to whom more 
 theories have been written than of all the rest of 
 creation beside, but without the addition of scarcely a 
 ray of light in a century. 
 
 "46. Man has always confounded his animal with 
 his highest nature ; while, at the same time, he has 
 looked upon the animal as entirely destitute of a 
 spirituality. Some persons, however, have found 
 themselves forced to regard sotne animals as possess- 
 ing immortal spirits, inasmuch as they find them 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 190 
 
 possessed of certain powers which they regard in 
 themselves as spiritual. Thus they reason : — 
 
 " All thinking beings are spiritual beings. 
 
 " Certain animals, in common with man, are think- 
 ing beings ; such animals are, then, spiritual, in com- 
 mon with man. Again: — 
 
 " 47. All beings who possess the powers of clair- 
 voyance must be spiritual beings ; for clairvoyant power 
 is, beyond all doubt, spiritual. 
 
 " Now, certain animals below man have been 
 known to be clairvoyant. The evidence of this is 
 indubitable. 
 
 " Such, therefore, must be spiritual animals. Once 
 again let us add, — 
 
 " 48. " All beings that have affection must be spir- 
 itual, because affection is a spiritual power. 
 
 " All animals have more or less affection ; therefore, 
 all animals are more or less spiritual. Finally, — 
 
 "49. The psychological nature is spiritual and 
 immortal. It is in itself indestructible. All animals 
 have psychological natures in common with man; 
 therefore, all the souls of animals, in common with 
 the souls of men, are spiritual and immortal. 
 
 " 50. Now, if the major premises in these syllogisms 
 are just, the minors and conclusions are not to be 
 denied, however much they may offend our pride or 
 taste. Bears and bugs, lions and lizards, wolves and 
 weevils, sea monsters and land serpents, all have 
 psychological natures, or sympathetic susceptibilities. 
 To escape these absurdities, flight is made to theory 
 again, and it is supposed that the psychological na- 
 ture which man possesses in common with the animal 
 is, in 56>»ie z/jaz/, made spiritual and immortal; while 
 that of the animal is left to perish with the death of 
 
200 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the body. But we say at once, Aivay with the whole 
 of this miserable theorizing upon imaginary differ- 
 ences, and come unhesitatingly, confidingly, to the 
 interrogation of nature. 
 
 "51. Ask yourself wherein you are different from a 
 mere animal. To see the grand difference, notice that 
 the psychological nature of the animal is controlled by 
 outward objects acting upon internal senses and pro- 
 pensities ; that it has no self-judging, self-deciding, 
 self-governing, self-conscious personal identity. But 
 be cautious how you confound this with the psy- 
 chological. Man has both; the animal has but one. 
 The former* makes man man; the latter f makes him 
 an animal. The former makes him a governor of 
 himself; the latter makes him an automaton — the 
 tool of any sensuous influence that may preponderate 
 at the time. The former makes man a self-conscious, 
 accountable being; the latter, an irresponsible ma- 
 chine. When the former is suspended in its action 
 by an abnormal condition of the brain, the latter may 
 be made to assume any sense of identity, from that 
 of the supreme Divinity to that of a toad ; from that 
 of the archangel Gabriel to that of a shilling bit ; 
 whereas, the former can never be made to change its 
 own sense of personal identity for that of another. It 
 may be suspended in its action, as in insanity, sleep, 
 mesmeric trance, pathetism, &c. ; but it can never be 
 made to feel that it is other than itself 
 
 " It is, indeed, the active agent in man, and gives 
 
 the consciousness of power ; whereas the latter is the 
 
 » 
 
 * That is, the self-judging, self- deciding, self-conscious, personal 
 identity. 
 
 t That is, the psychological, controllable by outward mundane 
 influences. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. SCtl 
 
 passive instrument of the dictates of the higher nature, 
 or of the unnumbered influences of the outer sensuous 
 world. 
 
 " By the former he is to claim conscious alliance with 
 the Divinity ; for it is an image, nay, a child, of the 
 all-controlling Spirit. For as the ever-blessed God is 
 the ever-active, ever-developing energy of the universe, 
 so is the self-conscious will and reason of man the only 
 lawful governor of the human sphere. 
 
 " Hence it is the centre of highest agency on earth 
 under Deity. From this go forth the mandates that 
 control the wild forces of nature and subdue the earth ; 
 whereas the latter is a medium of communication be- 
 tiveen the former and the vast world. It is, therefore, 
 that the latter is susceptible to influences even from the 
 stars. It is, therefore, that ivith the latter are associ- 
 ated all the agents of this munda^ie sphere. To unfold 
 these principles is the object of the following chapters." 
 
 We first call attention to the forty-sixth paragraph. 
 
 " Man has always confounded his animal with his 
 highest nature ; while, at the same time, he has looked 
 upon the animal as entirely destitute of spirituality." 
 
 The distinction here made between man's hisrher 
 nature and animal nature is not recognized by Solo- 
 mon, or by Nature herself; and if we mistake not, 
 what the author calls man's animal nature is his 
 highest nature. 
 
 Again, at 50, he says, " To escape these absurdities, 
 flight is made to theory again, and it is supposed that 
 the psychological nature which man possesses in com- 
 mon with the animal is, in some vjay^ made spiritual 
 and immortal, while that of the animal is left to 
 peri:^h with that of the body." 
 
 The author here seems to be guilty of the selfsame 
 
202 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 error he is charging upon others. It is this " psycho- 
 logical nature which man possesses in common with 
 the animal" which is the child of theory, and not the 
 ^^ some way'''' in which man himself may become both 
 spiritual and immortal. 
 
 We have already shown from Paul that man is 
 first natural, then spiritual ; bearing first the image 
 of the first Adam, who is of the earth, earthy ; then 
 the image of the second, which is the Lord from 
 heaven, and is spiritual. (See page 132 ) 
 
 And Christ, speaking of the resurrection, at the last 
 day, said, he that liveth at that day, and believeth in 
 him, shall never die. " Believest thou this ? " Those 
 who do will not call it theorizing to talk of man's 
 becoming immortal at that day, while beasts are left 
 to perish bodily. 
 
 Paul, speaking of such as our Savior referred to, 
 says, they shall be changed; and that change be 
 defines to be from mortal to immortality. (See 1 
 Cor. XV.) 
 
 " 51. Man has both ; the animal has but one. The 
 former (" that is, the self-judging, self-deciding, self- 
 conscious, personal identity ") makes man man. The 
 latter (" that is, the psychological, controllable by out- 
 ward mundane influences ") makes him an animal. 
 
 " The former makes him a governor of himselfi, 
 The latter makes him an automaton — the tool of 
 any sensuous influence that may preponderate at the 
 time. The former makes man a self-conscious, ac- 
 countable being ; the latter, an irresponsible machine." 
 But some beasts possess, to a certain degree, all which 
 he says makes man man; and many of them are bettei 
 governors of themselves than the greater part of man- 
 kind. They not only govern themselves individually 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 203 
 
 but many tribes of them have a general governor. 
 Thus, the gregarious, both beast and bird, the ant and 
 bee, have each a governor which rules, each in their 
 respective realms, with a majestic dignity that would 
 do honor to an Alexander or a Caesar. 
 
 " The latter makes him (man) an automaton." 
 But an automaton cannot act without a conscious 
 something, somewhere, possessing all the powers and 
 faculties of mind and brain, which constitute man 
 man, in contradistinction to a brute. 
 
 Now, what is this conscious agent ? Is it od force, or 
 mundane action ? If so, we have, indeed, discovered 
 a neio agent, one that has greater claims to od force 
 than its advocates would be willing to allow. It is an 
 intuitive axiom, that a thing cannot impart what it 
 does not possess. How, then, can " outward mundane 
 influences" impart to the animal the animal faculties 
 and propensities ? He says, the latter (the outward 
 mundane influences) "is the passive instrument of 
 the dictates of the higher nature, or of the unnum- 
 bered influences of the outer sensuous world." He 
 cannot mean by this the world of mankind ; for he adds, 
 " It is, therefore, that the latter is susceptible to the 
 influence of the stars." May not, then, some evil- 
 disposed star have influenced him to err a little in 
 laying the foundation of his " Philosophy of Mysteri- 
 ous Rappings ? " According to the positions here 
 assumed, man, in his normal state, is far inferior to 
 what he is in the mesmeric ; indeed, the latter is often 
 called the superior state., and this author makes it the 
 animal state. In the former, he is dependent on his 
 normal senses for his wisdom ; in the latter, on the 
 " outward mundane influences." In the former, his 
 sensations are limited to a small sphere ; in the latter, 
 
204 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 they are bounded only by the stars. Or, in other 
 words, as a nian, his sensations are very limited ; but, , 
 as an animal, they are limited only by the universe. 
 In the former, or, as a maw, he possesses but a moder- 
 ate share of wisdom ; but in the latter, as an animal, 
 his wisdom approximates to that of godlike. If 
 this is the only real difference there is between man 
 and the mere animal, better had he been a mere 
 animal ; for, by what has hitherto been called instinct, 
 they are endowed with a superior knowledge of many 
 things than man, and often with a foreknowledge 
 that man does not possess. Some display a mechan- 
 ical knowledge, others a chemical, and others a 
 medicinal, that man cannot equal, or scarcely imitate. 
 In case of disease, the animal goes into the field, 
 (Nature's apothecary shop,) selects the remedy, deals 
 out the potion, takes or administers it, and always 
 with success ; or, at least, is never known to lose a 
 patient ; v^hile man, after long years of plodding 
 through his volumes, preparatory to practice, often 
 kills \en patients to curing one. 
 
 The learned astronomer, after proudly contemplat- 
 ing the heavenly bodies and investigating the physical 
 laws which govern them, is more ignorant of the se- • 
 verity or mildness of an approaching winter than the ! 
 dormouse. He may, indeed, be able to foretell the i 
 time oi high water ; but the beaver and muskrat will 
 do more ; they will tell the time and height of a future : 
 freshet, and prepare to meet the evenrtr And further, it t 
 is added,- — 
 
 " By the former he is to claim conscious alliance 
 with the Divinity ; for it is au image, nay, a child, of the 
 all-controlling Spirit. For as the ever-blessed God is 
 the ever-active, ever-developing einergy of the univ^rsei 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 205 
 
 SO is the self-conscious will and reason of man the only 
 lawful governor of the human sphere. Hence it is the 
 highest agency on earth under Deity." 
 
 If this, in man, is " a child of the all-controlling 
 Spirit," what is that a child of which gives an intui- 
 tive* knowledge of these things to animals? Again: 
 is not the agency which controls the animal sphere as 
 lawful a governor as that which controls the human? 
 So we think. But there is a more '-lawful Governor" 
 of the human sphere, if men would but be governed 
 by him rather than by their own vain philosophy; one 
 that " will reprove (convince) the world of sin, and of 
 righteousness, and of judgment." (John xvi. 8.) 
 
 Again : how does the former bring man more in alli- 
 ance with Divinity than the latter does the animal ? 
 and how is the former a ^^ centre of higher agency" 
 than the latter? We do not see. We have shown 
 that the animal instinct leads to higher attainments 
 than man's erring reason. The latter takes the longer 
 and more circuitous route, and arrives at decisions with 
 the less certainty. For instance : man, by a laborious, 
 mathematical calculation, may ascertain nearly how 
 much food will serve him and his family through a 
 winter; but the ant ascertains it intuitively, and has 
 no need of mathematics. In fact, the animal, as far 
 as utility is concerned, possesses the end of every 
 science, by intuition, to a greater degree of accuracy 
 than man by a long course of study. Humiliating as 
 it may appear, it is even so. What proud philosopher, 
 with all his acquired wisdom, would ever suspect that 
 a bird might be produced from an ^^gg^ had not the 
 bird first taught him the fact and the process ? But 
 who first taught the bird these things ? Why, says 
 one, she was not taught it at all; it is a matter of intu- 
 18 
 
206 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 ition. Well, then, the untaught bird knows more than 
 the learned philosopher; and the question forces itself 
 upon us. From whence did she derive this intuitive 
 knowledge ? Is it from od force ? If so, od force has 
 conferred greater and more wonderful faculties upon 
 the animaliban the Deity has upon man ; and od force 
 must be the greater deity. This is, indeed, od, and 
 odd enough ; the odds are tremendous. 
 
 From the above positions, it is evident that, in the 
 mesmeric state, man puts off what constitutes him 
 man, and puts on what constitutes him merely animal. 
 In this latter state, he is certainly endow^ed with finer 
 perceptions and a higher intellect. Now, the question 
 is. Are there two primal sources of intelligence, from one 
 of which the mind receives impressions, and from the 
 other the brain ? And are there two separate and 
 distinct things in man, each of which, without the 
 other, is susceptible of receiving conscious impressions ? 
 It would seem so ; for the author of the work we speak 
 of says, on page 319, — 
 
 " Now, it will make not the least difference, as to the 
 sension of the brain, whether the mind takes cogni- 
 zance of it or not; as the former stands as a fact in 
 nature, independent of the latter. Hence a man may 
 have represented in his brain an infinite number of 
 things which his mind never knew. Hence, also, it is, 
 that, while the 'medium's' brain has the sension of 
 the so called clairvoyant, the mind does not know of the 
 action of the hrainP We have before heard of an " in- 
 ner man^^ which some have erroneously supposed to 
 be an immaterial, conscious man, inside of a material 
 and unconscious body ; but here are really tiuo inner 
 men to one body, a brain independent "of mind, and 
 capable of receiving impressions and communicating 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 207 
 
 them to its fellow-brain in another individual : and 
 still within this brain is another seat or centre of a 
 higher intelligence, capable also of communicating 
 with kindred minds ; and perhaps, on further mesmeric 
 analysis, it may be found, that within this mind there 
 is another centre of still higher intellect, and another 
 within that, and so on, like a stack of juggler's tum- 
 blers ; so that a man should be called " legionSj^ for he 
 is many. 
 
 In the quotation just given, it is affirmed that the 
 mind and the brain act independently of each other. 
 According to that author's mode of reasoning, the fact, 
 if it is one, can be proved by analogous and well- 
 known cases. Now, is there a single case known, (ex- 
 cept such as he supposes,) in which the mitid of man 
 has ever been known to act independent of a living, 
 organized brain? There is not; an instance of the 
 kind cannot be produced. Again : if the brain is so 
 acted upon by mundane force as to produce sension, 
 independent of living mind, the same mundane force 
 may also so act on the brain of the dead, and produce 
 the same effect. So, after all, the raps and communi- 
 cations may be from the spirits, or rather from the 
 brains, of the dead. 
 
 There is no way to avoid the conclusion. It is 
 matter acting on matter, that is, mundane agency 
 acting on a material brain, so as to produce sension, 
 which again is communicated to either another brain 
 or mind, or both, to which it becomes intelligence. 
 In this way the mundane agency may act on a dead 
 man's brain to impress it with sension, which again 
 is impressed upon the brain of a living medium, 
 through which it is communicated to a mind in the 
 normal state, 
 
208 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 So, after all, the theory is admirably calculated to 
 build up that which it is designed to pull down. If a 
 force can come from any part of the mundane whole, 
 and knock on a table or kick over a chair, it may as 
 well come from the brain of a dead man as any 
 thing else. 
 
 Therefore, the od force theory must be abandoned, 
 or the spiritual theory admitted ; for it makes but little 
 difference whether the raps are made by the brains or 
 spirits of the dead. We here give the " Deductions'^ 
 found on pages 318-20 of the " Philosophy of Myste- 
 rious Rappings." 
 
 '* DEDUCTIONS. — MORAL ARGUMENT. — CONCLUSION. 
 
 ^'651. In the preceding pages we have presented 
 facts, showing, — 
 
 " First. The influence of pathetism in producing that 
 condition of the nervous system which throws it into 
 relation to the mundane agent. Hence, when the local 
 relations are favorable, the ' rappings ' and ' table 
 movings ' are developed by pathetism in a manner to 
 represent intelligence. . 
 
 " Second. That the condition of brain in which the 
 phenomenon of clairvoyance is developed is that in 
 which also the higher forms of intelligence in the rap- 
 pings are obtained. And here it should be remem- 
 bered, what has previously been shown, that clairvoy- 
 ance is first the sension of the brain of what exists in 
 time and space, without the ordinary use of the senses, 
 and results from a susceptible condition of the brain, 
 in which it stands in a general relation to the whole 
 outward material world, or in the midst of, and subject 
 to, the influence of the new imponderable ; conse- 
 
OPPOSITION LIN^. 209 
 
 quently, that the brain in this relation is like a tele- 
 graphic central point, from which radiate and extend 
 an infinity of connecting wires to every surrounding 
 point, so that a touch at any one of those in relation 
 to the centre (the sensitive brain) conveys to it at once 
 the exact representative impression. So also the 
 brain, standing as a centre in time, is related to the 
 events that have transpired, and which are to transpire, 
 as the outer point is related to the centre in the order 
 and relation of sequence. Hence in the brain is repre- 
 sented any point of time or space by specific action. 
 If, then, as must be admitted, the knowledge which the 
 mind obtains of the external world is by the external 
 world representing itself first upon the brain, it must 
 necessarily follow that the mind has no knoiuledge of 
 these representations when its action is suspended in 
 the brain, as is seen in the so called unconscious clair- 
 voyance. The representation in the brain of the 
 external world, then, is not knowledge, but simply 
 sension. But, when the mind takes cognizance of the 
 brain's sension, the cognizance is knowledge. Hence 
 conscious clairvoyance, so called, is the cognizance 
 which the mind takes of the sension of the brain, with- 
 out the ordinary five senses. 
 
 " Now, it will make not the least difference, as to the 
 sension of the brain, whether the mind takes cogni- 
 zance of it or not, as the former stands as a fact in 
 nature independent of the latter. Hence a man may 
 have represented in his brain an infinite number of 
 things which his mind never knew. Hence also it is, 
 that, while the ' medium's' brain has the same sension 
 of the so called clairvoyant, the mind does not know of 
 the action of the brain. Its representations being 
 unconsciously exhibited in the 'rappings,' his mind, 
 18* 
 
210 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 therefore, knows not how to refer them, except to some 
 other being, sojr^e spirit. He rightly denies that he, 
 as 2i person, — as a conscious, knowing, responsible 
 agent, — has any thing to do with the intelligent repre- 
 sentations in the rappings ; and yet there is not one of 
 the ' communications ' made, throughout the whole 
 body of the present phenomena, but falls within the 
 legitimate province of the brain's sension. This ap- 
 plies whether to the 'rappings' or to the involuntary 
 movements of the medium's muscles. For we have 
 shown, — 
 
 " Third. That when the organism stands in the power 
 of a mundane emanation, so that the earthly agent, in 
 its action upon and through the organism, shall cause 
 the movement of objects or concussive sounds, the ac- 
 tion of the brain, in specific relation, loill have a control- 
 ling influence. Hence, as the brain acts in reference 
 to mundane results, so will the mundane agent repre- 
 sent the results ; and thus the action of the mundane 
 agent represents the action of the brain. For the brain 
 itself -—indeed, the whole nervous system- — stands 
 specifically related to the mundane agent, and is kept 
 from its powerful influence only by the health of the 
 body and the supreme control of the mind. But it has 
 been shown, — 
 
 '"^Fourthly. That, in order to become a ' medium,' the 
 mind must not control the functions ; that it is a uni- 
 versal requisition, among the so called spiritualists,, 
 that a person, in order to be a 'medium,' must be 
 passive, — must resign himself to be controlled, — that 
 he must have no will ; in short, that he must resign 
 all his controlling power over his body, and leave his 
 brain and general organism, and their various func- 
 tions, to be controlled by a foreign agent. Conse- 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 211 
 
 quently, he who, as a responsible agent, has usually 
 the least control over the organism, is the most readily 
 inducted into ' mediumship.' And such a man most 
 readily falls under the control of material influences. 
 For, as we have shown, when the mind does not control 
 the organs^ the poivers of the world will. It is impos- 
 sible that this should be otherwise, since the organism 
 belongs to the world of matter, and is subject to the 
 forces of matter ; and that only by the forces of his own 
 mind — namely, by his will and his reason — can man 
 save his automatic nature from the dominion of mat- 
 ter. Even then he will fail, if the vitality of the 
 organism becomes weakened. The perfect man, then, 
 is a perfect mind, controlling, for the divinest of pur- 
 poses, a perfect body. 
 
 " Now, as the mind supremely active over the organ- 
 ism constitutes the man, it follows that to resign this 
 and to become passive is to resign our manhood. 
 
 ^'•Finally, As the mind only can be the free, thinking, 
 responsible agent, the organism is only a machine. 
 To resign, therefore, the mind, — to become passive, as 
 is required of those who would be 'mediums,' — is to 
 become an unthinking, irresponsible machine. In so 
 far as persons become ' mediums,' they are mere 
 automatons.'^ 
 
 We first call attention to the following sentence : — 
 
 "And here it should be remembered, what has pre- 
 viously been shown, that clairvoyance is first the sen- 
 §ion of the brain of what exists in time and space^ 
 ivithoui the ordinary use of the senses. 
 
 First, it will be noticed that pathetism throws the 
 nervous system into a condition which brings it into 
 relation to the mundane agent, by which clairvoyance 
 is the " sension of the brain of what exists in time and 
 
^12 THE SPiRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 space ;" and further on it is said this is "not knowl- 
 edge, but simply sension. But, when the mind takes 
 cognizance of the brain^s sension, the cognizance is 
 knoivledgeP 
 
 Now, as nothing can exist except what is in time and 
 space, it follows that the brain first has an omnia sen- 
 sion, which is knowledge where the mind takes cogni- 
 zance of it, and must be as unlimited as the sension, 
 which makes it amount, in the end, to omniscience. 
 This is rather more than the serpent told our first 
 parents — " Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and 
 evil." Pathetism has a little m.ore than made his 
 words true. 
 
 But, suppose we admit all this, still the theory is a 
 rotten one. For things do not exist before they exist ; 
 but clairvoyants tell of them before ; so they are pos- 
 sessed with a sension underived from mundane agen- 
 cies. The author whom we quote speaks of a man 
 who was in the habit of telling beforehand when a 
 funeral in his neighborhood would take place. 
 
 Further on it is said that the brain in this relation 
 (to the whole outward material world) " is like a tele- 
 graphic central point, from which radiate and extend 
 an infinity of connecting wires to every surrounding 
 point, so that a touch at any one of those in relation 
 to the centre (the sensitive brain) conveys to it at 
 once the exact representative expression. So also the 
 brain, standing as a centre in time, is related to the 
 events that have transpired, and which are to transpire, 
 as the outer point is related to the centre in the order 
 of sequence." 
 
 But the telegraphic wire is useless without an intel- 
 ligent agent at each end of it to make the " touch,^^ 
 Now, when a clairvoyant tells of a thing before it exists, 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 213 
 
 who makes the " touch " at the other end of the wire 
 where as yet there is no event ? For instance : in the 
 case of the man who foretold funerals ; his brain was 
 at ons end of the wire, and a funeral must have been 
 at the other end for him to have told of a funeral ; but 
 the fact is, he told it before it existed at the other end. 
 
 But it is said, •' the brain, standing as a centre in 
 time^ is related to the events that have transpired, and 
 which are to transpire." So, in such cases, future time, 
 burdened with the future event, gives the " touch " at 
 the other end of the wire. But, philosophically, there 
 is no such thing as future time or future events. Time, 
 like a gentle stream, is constantly rolling onward ; it 
 fills the channel of the stream behind, but not ahead 
 at any given point until it arrives at that point. And 
 an event cannot be an event until' it transpires, any 
 more than a child can be a child before it is begotten. 
 We speak of future time and future events as a mere 
 matter of convenience, to avoid a circumlocution. The 
 moment a point of time or an event exists, it is past; 
 so an existing future point of time, or an existing future 
 event, must be in the past tense ; which is an absurdity 
 none will admit. So it is equally as absurd to talk of 
 any existing relation of the brain to future time or 
 events, as it is to talk of an existing relation between 
 a father and son before either is born. But, absurd 
 as it is, it is one of the strong pillars in the " Philoso- 
 phy of Mysterious Rappings." 
 
 It is generally admitted that a stream cannot rise 
 higher than its head. We have followed the stream 
 to what is called the head, but find the stream rises 
 above it. 
 
 In pathetism, there is a knowledge obtained which 
 theory does not account for. And we ask, From whence 
 
314 THE SPIRITUAI4 TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 is it? We do not ask through what channel or con- 
 catenation of means it comes to the brain ; whether 
 by an electrical telegraphic line, or a mundane line of 
 packets, or an od force postboy ; but we ask, Where 
 and ivhat is the fountain head of this mesmeric sension 
 or knowledge ? It does not reside in mundane things ; 
 where is it, then, we ask again ? But echo answers. 
 Where ? 
 
 The nearest thing in nature allied to it is animal 
 instinct : and in this, as Pope says, " God directs." 
 
 If God directs clairvoyants, they are really his proph- 
 ets. This cannot be, for they generally tell ten lies to 
 one truth, while his prophets always tell the truth ; and 
 even animal instinct is never knowm to err, so that 
 clairvoyants cannot be under that influence. But they 
 must be under some intelligent influence ; and we have 
 shown it is not of a mundane nature, and that it is not 
 of God ; consequently, as a dernier resort^ it must be of 
 the devil. 
 
 We are aware this is an unpopular idea in this pres- 
 ent age of moral philosophism, in which men have 
 become so vastly " wise above what is written." But 
 the fact that there is a devil is revealed from a higher 
 source than the wisdom of men, and that he has done 
 just what is being done through what is usually called 
 mesmerism, pathetism, &c. 
 
 That there is a mysterious intelligence manifested in 
 clairvoyants, mediums, &c., all agree. Many writers 
 tell us a great deal about philosophical channels 
 through which the intelligence comes, but little or 
 nothing about the source from whence it comes. The 
 postboy who brings us the news is not the news him- 
 self, but the means of conveying it. 
 
 Here is the grand point on which the writers of 
 
OPPOSITION LINE, 215 
 
 philosophical theories of mesmerism have failed; and 
 these failures the modern spiritualists are making 
 capital out of. They say it is from the spirits of the 
 dead, and that there is no devil ; and having, as they 
 think, found the source of the intelligence, little do 
 they care by what physical or philosophical channel 
 their opponents bring it to the living ; if they only 
 get it there, it answers their purpose. If a man has 
 important news which he wishes to send his friend in 
 Europe, he can contrive sorne way to get it to him ; 
 and when received, if of a mysterious nature, his 
 friend will not so much wonder through what channel 
 it was conveyed to him as how his friend happened to 
 have it to convey. He would not suspect that the 
 wonderful news originated in the mode of convey- 
 ance, or in the peculiar state he was in to receive it. 
 
 DEDUCTIONS. 
 
 Having briefly examined several theories opposed 
 to that of the agency of departed spirits, we are irre- 
 sistibly led by them, if admitted, to the following 
 conclusions : — 
 
 1. That the influence of magnetism throws the 
 nervous system into a condition to be influenced by 
 some external agent, in a manner to represent intel- 
 ligence surpassing that of the normal state. 
 j 2. That this intelligence must originate in, and 
 proceed from, that external agent. 
 
 3. That the external agent, whatever it may be 
 called, is but a part, or the whole, of the' grand mun- 
 dane universe. 
 
 4. That as a thing cannot impart what it does not 
 possess, the material universe possesses a sension 
 
216 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 of things, past, present, ^nd future, which it impresses 
 on the brain, and in which, in connection with the 
 mind, becomes knowledge. 
 
 5. That, as the brain is associated with mind, and 
 stands related to the whole universe, of which it is a 
 miniature representation, so also the whole universe, 
 as a whole, must have a mind as well as sension. 
 
 6. That the innate sension of the mundane uni- 
 verse is unlimited ; consequently, it possesses an 
 omniscient mind, susceptible of being impressed upon 
 the brain, and through that, under favorable circum- 
 stances, to the mind of man, in a greater or less 
 degree. 
 
 7. As God is omniscient, he must be the omni- 
 science of the universe. 
 
 8. That the material universe is God, as matter 
 endowed with sension, and whose mind is omniscient. 
 And as man is made in the image of God, he is a 
 miniature representation of the universe, having a 
 material brain, susceptible, under the influence of 
 pathetism, of receiving the sension of the material 
 universe, and reflecting it upon his mind, which is 
 knowledge. 
 
 9. That there are but two principles in nature — 
 God and matter, or mind and matter. 
 
 10. That the body of man is a part of one, and 
 his soul is a part of the other ; and at death, the 
 former returns to the great sea of matter, and thcf 
 latter to the great sea of intellect, in which the iden 
 tity and personality of both are forever lost in thef 
 universal whole. 
 
 It will be seen that the mundane, like the electro, 
 theory already examined, leads, also, to the conclu- 
 sion that, as the great Mind of all is identified withi 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 217 
 
 the universe, every phenomenon would be the same, 
 whether matter existed or not ; so that pantheism, or 
 idealism, must finally be the result of all such theories. 
 And such, also, is finally the result of the doctrine 
 disclosed by the pretended spirits. The former leads 
 us to this conclusion by a little shorter route than the 
 latter ; it is, therefore, a little shorter way to infidel- 
 ity. Now, if a belief in spiritual agency in these 
 things is an evil, it is only so from its evil tendency. 
 Admit it is an evil, and how shall we oppose it? 
 Not by presenting a theory which has for its very 
 elements the selfsame evil ; for it is a poor physician 
 who cures the malady of his patient by plunging him 
 into another, which the sooner produces the same 
 fatal end, like cutting off a man's head to save him 
 from death by cholera. Find a science or natural 
 agent by which a medium can foretell with precision 
 a future event, and we have found one by which 
 might have come that prophecy of old, which alone is 
 calculated to mould the savage nature of man into 
 an angelic form, and teach him his accountability to 
 God, and the way to eternal life and happiness here- 
 after. 
 
 No doubt but many Christians, believing in these 
 so called philosophical modes of accounting for the 
 ^^ mysteri/,^^ will rejoice in what they think the over- 
 throw of rapping' spiritualism ; but they ought rather 
 to mourn ; for the victory (if such it be) has been too 
 dearly purchased by finishing up what rapology has 
 begun. 
 
 Now, what great difference does it make in the 
 
 end whether these things are done by the spirits of 
 
 the dead, or by mundane agency, or electricity ; either 
 
 way of accounting for them is fatal to divine rev- 
 
 19 
 
218 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 elation and the religion of Jesus Christ, and alike 
 has a tendency to throw off that moral restraint so 
 essential to our well being here and eternal life here- 
 after. 
 
 To find out some philosophical way to throw off 
 this restraint, seems to be the present grand object of 
 the world ; and what the pretended spirits of the dead 
 are not able to do, is likely to be done by the philos- 
 ophism of the age. These are truly the perilous 
 times which the apostle Paul said should come in 
 " the last days ; " in which he says men will be " ever 
 learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of 
 the truth." Men have gone on building theory upon 
 theory, and throwing darkness upon darkness, by 
 reason of not being wiJling to " give the devil his 
 due." The doctrine of the new agent identifies the 
 Deity with matter ; and to be consistent with itself 
 and popular opinion, it must identify the devil with 
 man. Here lies the difficulty : the real agent being 
 kept out of sight, the more theory we have, the more 
 obscurity. The world has always hated the truth, 
 which of late is become very unpopular; so much so, 
 that few writers dare to meddle with it. But nothing 
 else will save ns. Popular theory may make us 
 popular, that is, " high esteemed among men," but 
 " an abomination in the sight of God." Our Savior 
 prayed that his disciples might be sanctified by the 
 truth, (not by popular opinion.) " Thy word is truth." 
 Let us take it, then, instead of od force, and we shall 
 find out the agent in pathetism at once. 
 
 Though we have devoted a chapter to prove, by 
 the word of God, the identity and personality of the 
 adversary of man, it may be proper here to give the 
 reader some evidence of it in this place, that he may 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 219 
 
 the better judge what is the agent in these mysteries. 
 Matt. XXV. 41, " Then shall he say also to them on 
 the left hand, Depart from me, ye cm'sed, into ever- 
 lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
 
 Here the Savior certainly recognizes two orders of 
 wicked beings, viz,, wicked men, who at the judgment 
 day will depart into a place prepared for the devil and 
 his angels. Now, if the angels of the devil are 
 wicked men, as some think they are, who is the devil ? 
 He cannot be a man. fSee chapter fifteen.) 
 
220 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MESMERISM CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE 
 
 REVELATION. 
 
 " When thou art come into the land which the 
 Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do 
 after the abominations of those nations. There shall 
 not be found among you any one that maketh his son 
 or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth 
 divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, 
 or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar 
 spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do 
 these things are an abomination unto the Lord : and 
 because of these abominations the Lord thy God 
 doth drive them out from before thee." (Deut. xviii. 
 9-12.) 
 
 " These words were delivered by Moses, in the 
 name of Jehovah, to the people of Israel, when they 
 were about to pass over Jordan into their promised 
 land, and just before the great lawgiver ascended 
 Mount Nebo to die. In them he gives a comprehen- 
 sive catalogue of almost all the arts and practices of 
 divination that have ever been known in the world ; 
 and solemnly prohibits them, as heathen abominations, 
 which are sure to bring the curse of God upon their 
 victims. When thou art come into the land ivhich the 
 Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do 
 after the abominations of those nations. 
 
 " 1. There shalt not he found among you any that 
 maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. S21 
 
 This expression, to pass throvgh the Jire^ describes a 
 rite of the idolatrous worshippers of Moloch, which, 
 as it would seem, did not always destroy the lives of 
 the children. For King Ahaz, among his other abom- 
 inations, made his son to pass through the fire ; and 
 this son seems to have been the same with Hezekiah, 
 who reigned after his father. It is probable that this 
 was a form of divination in which the children were 
 in some way exposed to the action of fire, and by 
 which a prosperous and happy life was divined for 
 those who escaped. 
 
 " 2. Or that useth divination. This specification 
 seems to refer to particular kinds of divination, as by 
 the idolatrous use of the lot ; by the divining rod ; by 
 arrows, upon which were written directions to do or 
 not to do any given thing, and which, were drawn at 
 random from the quiver; by the voices and the flight 
 of birds, and from the entrails of victims, w^hether 
 animal or human, -which were slain for sacrifices. 
 
 " 3. Or an observer of times. One who pretended 
 to foretell future events from the motions of the 
 clouds, and perhaps from those of the heavenly bodies. 
 The prophet Isaiah thus speaks to those who were 
 deluded by these arts in his day : Let noio the astrol- 
 ogers^ the star gazers^ the monthly prognosticators, 
 stand vp and save thee from all these things that shall 
 come upon thee. Behold.) they shall be as stubble ; the 
 fire shall burn them. They shall not deliver them- 
 selves from the power of the fiame. 
 
 " 4, 6. Or an enchanter*^ or a charmer. Those who 
 sought to confirm their pretensions to magical pow- 
 ers by charming venomous serpents, by prescribing 
 charms, and by muttering spells to cure diseases and 
 to avert other calamities. 
 19* 
 
222 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 " 5, 8. Or a witch, or a ivizard. These words, both 
 in the Hebrew and English, are applied to those, 
 whether male or female, who pretend to superior 
 knowledge or wisdom derived from magical arts. 
 Thou sha/t not suffer a witch to live. 
 
 " 7. Or a consiilter loith familiar spirits. Literally, 
 one who consults with the bottle or wine skin. There 
 is not a doubt but that those Avho practised this form 
 of divination were ventriloquists. Either they caused 
 their stomachs to protrude like a wine skin blown up, 
 as was so frequently noticed in the Salem witchcraft, 
 and by speaking in a strange voice, as out of their 
 stomachs, persuaded the ignorant people that they 
 had a demon inside of them, by which they could 
 divine, or they carried a wine skin about with them, 
 and gave their oracles as if from a spirit confined in 
 it by magic. Hence, in the Septuagint, the Greek 
 version of the Scriptures which was made by the 
 Jews themselves, this phrase is translated by a word 
 which exactly corresponds in form and meaning to 
 our ventriloquist. This kind of divination, in spite of 
 the curses pronounced upon it in a great number of 
 places and in a great variety of forms, seems to have 
 been a favorite superstition with the people of Israel. 
 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out 
 of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the 
 dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a 
 familiar spirit, and thy speech shall whisper (in the 
 margin, joge/?, or chirp, i. e., make a sound like that of 
 callow birds) out of the dusi. Regard not them that 
 have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be 
 defiled by them. The soul that turneth after such as 
 have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a- 
 wboring after them, I will set my face against that 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 223 
 
 sou], and will cut him off from his people. The same 
 thing is spoken of also in the New Testament, in 
 the case of a certain damsel possessed with a spirit 
 of divination, literally a spirit of Python, which 
 brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. 
 From the use of the word Python here, it would seem 
 that this form of divination was identical with one 
 that prevailed extensively among the Greeks and 
 Romans. Those who practised this art are frequently 
 called ivitches and wizards in the Scriptures ; and 
 they pretended also to consultation with the spirits of 
 the dead. 
 
 " 9. Oi' a necromancer. Literally, an interrogator of 
 the dead, whether by means of familiar spirits or 
 otherwise. And when they shall say unto you, Seek 
 unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards 
 that peep (or chirp) and mutter, then ye shall answer, 
 Should not a people seek unto their God ? Should 
 they seek for the living unto the dead ? To the law 
 and to the testimony : if they speak not according to 
 this word, it is because there is no light in them. 
 Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, and he that 
 formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that 
 maketh all things ; that stretcheth forth the heavens 
 above; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 
 that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh 
 diviners mad. And Manasseth did evil in the sight 
 of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, 
 whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. 
 For he made his son to pass through the fire, and 
 observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt 
 with familiar spirits and wizards. Wherefore the 
 Lord brought upon him the captains of the host of 
 the King of Assyria, which took him among the 
 
224 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIO 
 
 thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him 
 captive to Babylon. It was of one of these necro- 
 mancers that Saul asked counsel after he was aban- 
 doned of God, and just before his mournful suicide. 
 And Saul said unto his servants. Seek me a woman that 
 hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire 
 of her. And he said unto her. Divine unto me by 
 the familiar spirit, and bring me up from the dead 
 him whom I shall name unto thee ? So Saul died for 
 his transgression which he had committed — for asking 
 counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire 
 of it." 
 
 It is true, we do not find the word mesmerism, 
 clairvoyance, or medium in the Bible ; but the name 
 of a thing does not alter the thing itself. 
 
 That the witch of Endor was what is now called a 
 medium., cannot be doubted. Hear the language ad- 
 dressed to her by Saul : " Divine unto me by the 
 familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall 
 name unto thee." (1 Sam. xxviii. 8.) And for this 
 sin Saul died. (1 Chron. x. 13.) At the present 
 time, people are going to persons called mediums, and 
 saying, " Bring me up those I shall name." And the 
 spirits of such are said to be brought up. No matter 
 by what agency it is said to be done, whether by 
 witchcraft, electricit}^, odyle, necromancy, or mesmer- 
 ism, it is the same thing. 
 
 It is said the holy prophets were under the same 
 influence. But this cannot be. We never hear of 
 their pretending to consult with the spirits of the 
 dead ; but, on the contrary, they every where con- 
 demn the practice. Moreover, it is evident that the 
 prophets and wizards of old were not considered as 
 both one, otherwise Samuel would not have be^^n 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 225 
 
 called a prophet, and the medium of Endor a witch. 
 Neither would one have been approved of God, and 
 the other condemned, had they both been of one sect 
 or class. We never read that God ever manifested 
 his displeasure to those who sought unto his prophets ; 
 but he has every where manifested it to those who 
 seek unto a ivitcli, medium, or necromancer. 
 
 Neither is it less displeasing in the sight of God 
 now than in the days 'of Saul ; and unless nature has 
 changed since that time, it is now done by the same 
 agency. No matter by what name or by what power 
 this agency is called into action ; when in action, it 
 is the same. 
 
 That holy men of old did not make their disclosures 
 through the spirits of the dead, is evident from some 
 of their disclosures themselves. For instance : Job 
 says, (Job xiv.,) " Who can bring a clean thing out of 
 an unclean ? not one. Seeing his days are deter- 
 mined, the number of his months are with thee, thou 
 hast appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass ; 
 turn from him, that he may rest till he shall accom- 
 plish, as an hireling, his day. For there is hope of a 
 tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and 
 that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though 
 the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock 
 thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of 
 water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. 
 But man dieth, and wasteth away ; yea, man giveth 
 up the ghost, and where is he ? As the waters fail 
 from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up ; 
 so man lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens be 
 no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of 
 their sleep. If a man die, shall he live again ? All the 
 
22B THE SPIRITUAL TELE&RAPHIC 
 
 days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change 
 come." 
 
 And again, speaking of the dead, he says, " His 
 sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not ; and they 
 are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." 
 Let us, for a moment, contemplate Job in the charac- 
 ter of a medium. A spirit comes to him, perhaps that 
 of his deceased father, and thus addresses him : "Job, 
 my son, I am before you to' make an important 
 revelation." 
 
 '• Well, father, what is it?" 
 
 •' Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and 
 full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower, and is 
 cut down ; not like a tree to sprout up again immedi- 
 ately, but he lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens 
 be no more, he does not awake, nor is he raised out 
 of his sleep ; neither does he know what befalls the 
 living : for when you, my son, were in your palmy days 
 of prosperity, you came to honor, but I, being dead, 
 knew it not; and now, in your present afflictions, 
 you are brought low, even in dust and ashes ; but I do 
 not perceive it of you." 
 
 " But you say you are the spirit of my father, and 
 that you are dead, and are not to rise again, or wake 
 up, till the heavens be no more ; and that you know 
 not what befalls the living; how, then, do you reveal 
 these things ? " 
 
 " Done ! " rapped the spirit, and so ended the dis- 
 closure. 
 
 Nor can we, with more propriety, contemplate Sol- 
 omon in the same character. It could not have been 
 the spirit of the dead that disclosed to him the fact 
 that " there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
 wisdom in sheol, (the state of the dead,) whither thou 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 227 
 
 goest ; " because such a disclosure, made by the dead, 
 would carry its own condemnation on the face of it. 
 (Eccl. ix. 10.) 
 
 But whatever may be said of " circle disclosures," 
 it is certain the secrets of God can never be revealed 
 through WICKED men. " The secret of the Lord is 
 with them that fear him ; and he will show them his 
 covenant." (Ps. xxv. 14.) " Surely the Lord God 
 will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his 
 servants the prophets." (Amos iii. 7. Prov. iii. 32. 
 John vii. 17 ; xv. 15.) The secret of the Lord is 
 with them that fear him ; the wicked cannot reveal 
 it; they have often tried, but always failed. A 
 few instances will here be given. Through Moses 
 and Aaron was revealed the power of God. The 
 attempt that the Egyptian magicians made to prove 
 the same power in their god, or to disprove the power 
 of Moses' God, proved, in the end, a total failure. 
 
 We next call attention to the dream of Pharaoh. 
 Gen. xli. 8, " And it came to pass in the morning, 
 that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent and called 
 for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men 
 thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream, but there 
 was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 
 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And Joseph 
 answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me : God 
 shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." Joseph had 
 before stated to his fellow-prisoner that interpretations 
 belong to God. In this case, God had a secret to 
 reveal ; a wicked Pharaoh could dream it, but neither 
 psychologists nor magicians could interpret it ; for that 
 purpose there must be a Joseph, a man of God. 
 
 So in the case of Nebuchadnezzar ; he also dreamed 
 a dream wherewith his spirit was troubled. Dan. ii., 
 
228 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 " Then the king commanded to call the magicians, 
 and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, 
 for to show the king his dreams." How common it is 
 for the wicked to look every way for instruction before 
 they do to God ! He has given us every necessary in- 
 struction concerning the future in his word ; yet people 
 are more prone to consult mediums or necromancers 
 than they are the word of God. Thus Pharaoh and 
 Nebuchadnezzar first called upon their magicians; but 
 when they saw their utter inability to reveal the truth, 
 they sought unto men inspired of God. In the latter 
 case, the Chaldeans said, " There is not a man upon 
 the earth that can show the king's matter." They un- 
 doubtedly thought there was no greater power of 
 divination than theirs ; and had there been none greater 
 than psychology or mesmerism, " the king's matter " 
 never would have been revealed, for the secrets of God 
 are not revealed by or through these means. 
 
 But the question may be asked. How shall we dis- 
 tinguish between the revelation of modern mediums 
 and that of the holy prophets of God ? The rule we 
 have already given from the counterfeit detector — 
 " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." 
 Those who fear God, and who reveal his secrets, never 
 fail to give him the glory; they do not give it to the 
 spirits of the dead, or to God through departed spirits, 
 but directly to God. 
 
 There are, then, at least two sources from whence 
 disclosures are made — a good and an evil source ; and 
 two characters through which they are made — the 
 righteous and the wicked. Through the righteous 
 only are revealed the secrets of God ; and through the 
 wicked, lying wonders and the mystery of iniquity. 
 These revelations are as antithetical to each other as 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 229 
 
 light and darkness, or as the two characters through 
 which they are revealed. If either one is true, the 
 other must be false. The revelations made by the 
 holy prophets and apostles can never be made to har- 
 monize with those made by modern mediums. Yet 
 there are a few zealous advocates of the latter who pre- 
 tend to believe in the former. But it is said truth is 
 revealed ; and it must be from a good source, for truth 
 cannot proceed from an evil fountain. This is sheer 
 assumption. The devil himself has been known to 
 tell a most sacred truth. He said to our Savior, " I 
 know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." A 
 more sacred truth was never uttered. Again : " And 
 the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and 
 Paul I know 5 but who are ye?" 
 
 Moreover, he has frequently quoted the Scriptures 
 of divine truth. If he does not intend to inculcate 
 some truth, the better to carry out his purposes, he 
 would not refer us to the word of truth. 
 
 He is the great deceiver ; yet he does not, generally, 
 teach in plain terms a disregard for truth ; but on the 
 contrary, when occasion calls, pretends to have a 
 sacred esteem for it, and often uses it to subserve his 
 own wicked ends. 
 
 But it is said, also, that this work cannot be of the 
 devil ; for if so, he must be an omnipresent being. 
 This is equivalent to saying there is no devil, which 
 he who says gives very good evidence that he is be- 
 ginning, unawares, to train under his influence. For 
 if he can do nothing now, because he is not omnipre*s- 
 ent, there never was a time when he could. So the 
 conclusion must be, that he never had any thing to do 
 in the acts of men, and hence he never existed. But 
 the Scriptaire informs us that he has existed ; and until 
 20 
 
230 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 a record of his death can be found, we have no au- 
 thority to deny his beings or his present power to do 
 evil. 
 
 But it is often said, If this is of the devil, by what 
 agency does he do these things ? that is, how does he 
 make the raps, tip tables, &c. ? But if they are done 
 by the spirits of the dead, it is as great a mystery by 
 what agency they do it. If it is by the invisible and 
 personal presence of the spirits of the dead by any 
 agency, it may, by the same agency, also be done by 
 the invisible and personal presence of evil spirits, or 
 devils. 
 
 We have no proof that the former exist, but abun- 
 dant proof that the latter do. Satan " smote Job with 
 sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." 
 The fact is revealed, and if we attempt to be wise 
 above what is written, we put ourselves in a position 
 to trifle with the word, and to be led away by the 
 tem pter. 
 
 Again : it is said, if this is of the devil, why is he suf- 
 fered to work so complete a deception ? God, being 
 of infinite power and goodness, would not suffer him 
 to deceive the whole world ; therefore it cannot be a de- 
 ception. It might as well be said that a God of infinite 
 power and goodness would not suffer the whole world 
 to be wicked ; and, therefore, the world is not wicked. 
 The fact is, the great delusion is the legitimate off"- 
 spring of the great wicked. It is just what has fol- 
 lowed as a consequence of wickedness in every age of 
 the world, and, in the Scriptures, is every where con- 
 sidered as an evidence of a departure from God and 
 holiness. 
 
 We shall here notice what the advocates of spiritual 
 manifestations seem to rely upon as their strongest 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 231 
 
 argument ; that is, " God is unchangeable ; therefore 
 what he has formerly done he is now doing ; and if he 
 ever gave revelations to men, he is now giving them 
 through modern mediums." But this argument, to 
 those who use it, is worse than useless. For, in the 
 first place, how do they know that God is unchangeable ? 
 They certainly have no means of knowing it but by the 
 Scriptures ; and these their spiritual manifestations 
 lead them to believe are false. But admit that God is 
 unchangeable, and what he has done he is now doing, 
 and it involves them in a difficulty from which it is 
 impossible to extricate themselves ; that is, to prove 
 that he has formerly manifested himself to the living 
 through the dead. This they cannot do ; therefore their 
 argument fails them, and more than fails them, because 
 the Scriptures do prove that his former mode of giving 
 revelations was by his Holy Spirit, or by angelic agen- 
 cies ; and more, unless he has changed his modus 
 operandi^ he cannot give them through the spirits of the 
 dead. Again : we have shown that the principles 
 brought to view in divine revelations are repugnant to 
 those brought to view in spiritual manifestations ; and 
 if those are of God, these are not, unless God has 
 changed. Again : I deny their right in toto to base an 
 argument on any thing revealed in Scripture until they 
 acknowledge its divine and sacred truth. 
 
 But an argument founded on the immutability of 
 God may be used to advantage against rapping spirit- 
 ualism. It is this : God is unchangeable, (which is 
 admitted ;) therefore what he has done he is now doing ; 
 and if he suffered the devil formerly to deceive men, he 
 is now suffering him to deceive them in the same way ; 
 and if necromancy, or pretending to deal with the spirits 
 of the dead, was formerly an evil in his sight, it is now.. 
 
232 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Again : without the least necessity of spiritual man- 
 ifestations, God is doing in this age just what he has 
 done in all ages ; that is, confirming the truth of his 
 word, either by a fulfilment of it or by miracles. This 
 age is peculiarly prolific in the fulfilment of sacred 
 prophecy ; so much so as to leave no room for the can- 
 did to doubt the truth of it. 
 
 But the advocates of spiritual disclosures are hard 
 pressed for sound argument every way. They claim 
 at this time the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy in their 
 manifestations. (See Joel xi. 28, 29.) But it is evi- 
 dent their claim is premature. The prophecy is not to 
 be fulfilled in this state of things, but, "And it shall 
 come to pass afterwards ; " that is, after the things 
 spoken of above ; that is, the restitution of all things, 
 which has not yet come to pass. 
 
 The}^ have reason to fear that their manifestations 
 are a fulfilment of prophecies which they would not 
 relish quite as well, such as the following : " Now the 
 Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some 
 shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing 
 spirits and doctrines of devils." (1 Tim. iii. 13.) " But 
 evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, de- 
 ceiving and being deceived." (2 Tim. iii. 13.) " But 
 there were false prophets also among the people, even 
 as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily 
 shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the 
 Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves 
 swift destruction. And many shall follow their perni- 
 cious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall 
 be evil spoken of." (2 Peter ii. 1, 2.) " For the 
 devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, be- 
 cause he knoweth that he hath but a short time." 
 (Rev. xii. 12.) 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 Now, when are these prophecies to be fulfilled ? 
 Not in the millennium, when all will know the Lord, 
 from the least to the greatest ; but ^Hn the latter times^^'' or 
 close of this dispensation. But if spiritual disclosures 
 are destined to bring the w^orld to the knowledge of 
 ihe truth, they must have been fulfilled prior to spiritual 
 manifestations; and we ask what "doctrine of devils " 
 was embraced just before rapping spiritualism ? If it 
 be replied, the doctrine of the Bible, then I ask what 
 faith the spiritualists have departed from ? It must 
 be faith in the word of God. But this makes the 
 prophecy find a fulfilment in spiritualists themselves- 
 
 As far as we are able to learn, they do not deny 
 departing from the apostolic faith ; that is, those that 
 ever had it to depart from ; and this alone is a com- 
 plete fulfilment of that part of the prophecy. And yet 
 they tell us the Bible is not true, and demand of us the 
 proof of it, while they are fulfilling it to the very letter. 
 
 After all that has been said concerning the wonderful 
 mesmeric disclosures that have been made, of sucli a 
 nature as to forbid the possibility of a delusion, those 
 very disclosures are a proof of the enormous deception, 
 in a remarkable fulfilment of the word of God. This 
 can be proved by Scripture, and ought to put the thing 
 forever at rest. We call attention to Ezek. xiv. 3, 4. 
 " Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their 
 heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity 
 before their face; should I be inquired of at all by 
 ihein ? Every man of the house of Israel that setteth 
 up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling 
 block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the 
 prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh ac- 
 cording to the multitude of his idols." 
 
 Several points in this text claim attention. And 
 20* 
 
234 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 first, it is not God who puts the stumbling block before 
 the people, but the people theraselve:^, by setting up 
 idols of divination in their hearts. And yet they are 
 saying. If " spiritual disclosures" are of the devil, why 
 does God put such a great stumbling block before our 
 faces ? Why, rather, do we put them before our own 
 faces? If people would seek unto God rather than 
 unto the dead, as they are commanded, the stumbling 
 block would be out of the way at once. But through 
 our own iniquity we put it before our eyes, and then 
 foolishly charge it upon God, and wonder how spirit- 
 ual disclosures can appear so real and afford us such 
 consolation, and yet be of the devil. No wonder at 
 all. God says, in the text, he will answer us according^ 
 to the multitude of our idols which we set up in our 
 hearts. If we make divining by the dead an idol in 
 the heart, we shall be answered according to our expec- 
 tations ; for such is the import of the text. And we 
 have abundantly proved that a general feature in mes- 
 merism is, that experiments in it prove the anticipations, 
 creeds, and theories of its experimenters. 
 
 "But some man will say," It is not so with me; I 
 did not set it up in my heart or believe it ; I only went 
 to investigate it, and found it true. 
 
 That is the fatal error ; you should have sought unto 
 God, and not " the living unto the dead." It v/as 
 there you departed from the commandment of God, 
 and took the stumbling block along with you; and the 
 devil was ready to help you set it up, and you are 
 perfectly satisfied with it. Had you obeyed God in the 
 first place, you never would have been deceived by 
 what God has forbidden you to approach. 
 
 " And the soul that turneth after such as have 
 familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 236 
 
 after them, 1 will even set my face against that soul, 
 and will cut him off from among his people." (Lev. 
 XX. 6.) 
 
 This going to investigate the spiritual disclosures 
 has ruined many a one, and is likely to ruin many 
 more. Strange infatuation! What! throw yourself 
 awav to the devil, to see if there is a devil to receive 
 you? 
 
 If a man has no doubts about vjhat it is, he would 
 never investigate it to learn what it is ; and if he has 
 doubts, they grow out of his want of faith in the word 
 of God, which informs us that it is an abomination in 
 his sight, and that he Vvdll set his face against such as 
 turn after it ; and when God sets his face against us, 
 we are prepared to fall in with the spiritual manifesta- 
 tions with but little investigation. Reader, if you are 
 of this class, let me admonish you, in the love and 
 fear of God, to investigate it once more, not by the 
 RAPS or by the tipping of tables, but by " the law 
 and the testimony, " as God has commanded. 
 
 " And when they shall say unto you. Seek unto them 
 that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep 
 and mutter : should not a people seek unto their 
 God ? for the living to the dead ? To the law and to 
 the testimony : if they speak not according to this 
 word, it is because there is no light in them." (Is. 
 viii. 19, 20.) 
 
 WITCHCRAFT FORBIDDEN. 
 
 " And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; 
 and thou shalt have no more soothsayers." (Mic. 
 V. 12.) 
 
 Fearful are the judgments of God threatened of 
 
236 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 those who practise this sin. " Thou shalt not suffer a 
 witch to live." (Ex. xxii. 18.) " A man or a woman 
 that hath a familiar spirit shall surely be put to death: 
 they shall stone them with stones : their blood shall be 
 upon them." (Lev. xx. 27.) 
 
 "But these two things shall come upon thee in a 
 moment, in one day — the loss of children and widow- 
 hood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection, 
 for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great 
 abundance of thy enchantments." (Is. xlvii. 9-13.) 
 Paul thus addresses Elymus the sorcerer : " O full 
 of all subtil ty and ixiischief, thou child of the de- 
 vil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not 
 cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? " (Acts 
 xiii. 10.) 
 
 The charge alleged against sorcerers, especially in 
 the New Testament, is, they resist the Holy Ghost, 
 and seek to turn people away from the faith. This is 
 just what is now done by people called mediums. 
 
 Their end is declared in Rev. xxi. 8. They " shall 
 have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and 
 brimstone ; which is the second death." 
 
 Nowhere has effect ever been known to follow cause 
 more manifestly than in psychology. We appeal to 
 every one acquainted with it, and risk nothing in 
 saying, that, in proportion as it is believed, true Chris- 
 tian faith is w^anting. The very nature of the thing is 
 to turn people away from the faith, without which 
 it is impossible to please God. And those who do 
 this are called, in Scripture, children of the devil, and 
 are said to be full of all subtilty and mischief. Now, 
 there need be no quibbling whether psychology and 
 sorcery are one and the same thing; they have the 
 same effect; both turn away from the faith. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 237 
 
 MODERN DIVINATION. 
 
 Divination is one of the sins which the people of 
 Israel were forbidden to practise, and of which we 
 have spoken at the commencement of this chapter. We 
 proceed to detail the various ways in which it is prac- 
 tised at present. 
 
 To the various methods of divining practised by the 
 ancients, the moderns have added several new ones; 
 among which is the practice of telling fortunes by 
 the dregs of a teacup, or by a pack of playing cards ; 
 by observing the moon for the first time after the change, 
 and by its place in the ecliptic, called signs. 
 
 To these may be added the first robin, swallow, 
 snake, &c., seen in the spring. 
 
 Now, to tell fortunes by the teacup or cards, nothing 
 is necessary but confidence in the mode and a determi- 
 nation to succeed. With these prerequisites one may 
 begin, and, for the first time, tell just what he happens 
 to think of first : some of it may be true, and some may 
 not ; but continue to make repeated trials, and proclaim 
 yourself ^fortune teller^ and it will not be long before 
 you will be surprised at your own success ; and as 
 your faith increases, your reputation will increase also, 
 and you will soon become renoivned. But if your con- 
 science should happen to sting you, and you should 
 perceive that your success is a fulfilment of that Scrip- 
 ture which says God will answer according to the 
 multitude of our idols by which we divine, and set up 
 in our hearts, and you should seek unto the Lord for 
 wisdom, your fortune telling would be at an end. It 
 is with that as with mesmerism : the author has tried 
 them both, and has found that, to be successful 
 in any of these things, it is not necessary that 
 
238 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 a person should be the seventh son, or be born 
 with a veil over the face, or under any particular 
 planet ; for there are 7ione born above the planets. 
 Neither is it necessary that a person should be of a 
 peculiar temperament to be a good mesmerizer or 
 medium. Any one can be a good mesmerizer, me- 
 dium, witch, wizard, or fortune teller, by abandoning 
 himself entirely to the influence, fearless of all con- 
 sequences. 
 
 But it may be asked, Why does a seventh son, or 
 one born with a veil over the face, succeed better in 
 these things than others ? Because they are sought 
 unto as diviners, and have been taught that they are 
 such by nature ; and, believing that they are, they 
 abandon themselves to the influence and to the prac- 
 tice with more confidence than others ; therefore, they 
 generally succeed better. This is only being an- 
 swered according to their idols — their pretended 
 birthright faculty being the stumbling block which 
 they set up before their faces. 
 
 It is strictly in accordance to the general feature in 
 mesmerism, in all its forms ; that is, as we have all 
 along shown, experiments in it prove the theory of 
 the parties concerned. We have shown that every 
 thing in it depends on the will of the operator. So 
 in telling fortunes, looking through a blue stone, &c. 
 A seventh son, or one born with a veil over the face, 
 has been taught to believe he can do it; and he wills 
 to do it, and does do it ; and so coidd any one else 
 with the S'dme faith and ivillj and the same disregard 
 to the commands of God. 
 
 Some people seem to think, because a table tips 
 towards them, indicating them to be a medium, that 
 they are highly favored of Heaven, being born with 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 239 
 
 some peculiar privileges that others have not. Proud 
 of this (as they think) natural advantage, they are 
 unqualified to resist this first temptation of the devil, 
 but yield implicitly, a willing instrument in his hands, 
 to perform the blackest deeds of sorcery and witch- 
 craft, under the popular and fascinating term, medium ; 
 as though there was something in its modern name 
 capable of averting the indignation and judgments 
 of God threatened on those who practised it under 
 its ancient names. 
 
 Idolatrous divinations are common at the present 
 day. Many very zealously believe that the new 
 moon, seen for the first time over the right or left 
 shoulder, is ominous of good or ill fortune until the 
 next change. This generally proves true in proportion 
 to the faith in the omen. The ancients divined by 
 it, and by the stars and planets ; as also by the clouds, 
 &c. But God has forbidden it. Others consult the 
 moon's place, or signs, so called, in sowing or plant- 
 ing, weaning calves, &c. These are the relics of 
 heathen divination, and is a God-forbidden practice. 
 In the light of science, nothing is more ridiculous. 
 Since astronomers first gave the present names to the 
 constellations of the zodiac, by the annual precession 
 of the equinoxes, every sign has retrograded more 
 than thirty degrees, or a whole sign, from its former 
 position in the heavens ; and since, in the order of the 
 signs, Aries (the head) precedes Pisces, (the feet,) the, 
 sign Aries is now in the constellation of Pisces, (the 
 feet.) So, when we say the sign is in the head, if it 
 is really any where, it is in the feet. 
 
 So also of Leo, (the heart.) The sign is said to 
 be in the heart when the moon is in the constellation 
 of Cancer, (the breast ;) and the astronomer knows 
 
mo 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 this difference ; but as the farmer does not always 
 know it, his calves never find it out; so, if he turns 
 them out to wean when he thinks the sign is in the 
 heart, they will bleat just as well as though it was 
 there. 
 
 Again : the influence, if there is any, must come 
 from the stars in the constellations ; and they are 
 known to be one hundred thousand times farther off 
 than the diameter of the earth's orbit — a distance 
 which chain lightning, darting round the equator of 
 our earth eight times in a second, would be three 
 years in passing over. Since it is admitted that light- 
 ning has the most rapid motion of any thing in 
 nature, the bleating influence coming from, a star to a 
 calf would not affect him in less than three years 
 after he was first turned out to wean. 
 
 But it is often said, as the moon affects the ocean, 
 why not our crops, and the different parts of the 
 animal body ? It might as well be said, as the moon 
 affects the ocean, why not the water in our springs 
 and wells ? The fact is, her attraction affects the 
 earth as a whole, and no more the water than the 
 land. Plants and animals, as parts of the same 
 great whole, are equally attracted according to their 
 weight, twice alike in twenty-five hours ; and since 
 her special influence cannot be detected on so large 
 an area as Lake Superior, it cannot be perceived on a 
 bed of onions, a few acres of flax, or so small a thing 
 as a calf. But if these things are so, it may be 
 asked why astronomers still perpetuate the error, by 
 giving in their almanacs the moon's place, first in the 
 head, and so on to the feet. It should be understood 
 that almanacs, like Peter Pindar's razors, are made to 
 selL Many people consult thern as much to learn 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 241 
 
 where the sign is as for any thing else. The almanac 
 maker knows better ; but he must sell his work, or he 
 would not publish it ; and to make it a business 
 matter, it must meet the whims of the public. If 
 the people did not believe in these things, they would 
 no longer be found in almanacs. They are found 
 there because many people believe them ; and the 
 same believe them because they are found there. 
 Just like many false doctrines of religion ; none can 
 be so false but that somebody will preach it ; and 
 because it is preached, somebody will believe it, an|i 
 that because iiis preached; while the only reason that 
 it is preached is, because some people believe it. 
 
 Such is the way of the world — " deceiving and 
 being deceived." For instance : a man believing in 
 error will not read a book, or hear a man preach, that 
 does not sustain his views; so he virtually offers a 
 reward to any one who will deceive him or confirm 
 him in his error ; and in this money-loving world, 
 somebody will do it. And now, as we value a thing 
 in proportion to what it costs us, we are not apt to 
 pay a large price for a thing, and then give it away. 
 So a man who pays the greatest price for being 
 deceived is less likely to give up his error, even if he 
 can get the truth gratis. 
 21 
 
242 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY A SUBJECT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. — 
 THE MAN OF SIN. — THE DEVIL. — CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
 of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of 
 the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 
 For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, 
 which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the 
 whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great 
 day of God Almighty." (Rev. xvi. 13, 14.) 
 
 What the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet 
 symbolize in this text is a matter of much speculation, 
 and one that has given rise to many conflicting theo- 
 ries. Bat as we intend to present facts in preference 
 to creeds, it is sufficient for our purpose to consider 
 them as three principal powers opposed to the pure 
 gospel of Christ — viz., pagan power, false religious 
 power, and false prophetic power. Now, call these 
 what we may in theory, they are in effect symbol- 
 ically the same. 
 
 John saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, out of the 
 mouth of these symbols. A frog is an unclean crea- 
 ture. It is among the unclean things forbidden the 
 Israelites to eat. (Lev. xi. 10. Deut. xiv. 10.) It lives 
 in two elements, or spheres — air and mud. The frog- 
 like doctrine of psychology teaches that the psyche is 
 capable of living in the body and in the upper harmo- 
 nial spheres. This we have shown in the ninth chap- 
 ter of this work and elsewhere. It is also maintained 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 243 
 
 by the advocates of psychology, that under its influence 
 the psyche ascends to heaven, and yet without death. 
 So, like the frog, it lives in the body, (the mud,) and in 
 air, (the spirit world,) and does not suffer death in pass- 
 ing from one sphere to the other. 
 
 As to the doctrine of rapping spiritualism^ it is a 
 medley of paganism^ anti- Christianity^ and false proph- 
 ecy. That it is a retrogradation to heathenism we have 
 abundantly shown, both from its ancient origin and 
 principles, and that it is the greatest of all false proph- 
 ecy. (See Chapter IV.) 
 
 Its advocates themselves are not bashful in saying 
 it is destined to usher in a new era far more glorious 
 than any thing which has ever gone before it. As these 
 things have been sufficiently shown in this work, we 
 pass to the second part of the text. 
 
 " For they are the spirits of devils working mira- 
 cles,'' &c. 
 
 We have shown that they are the spirits of devils, — 
 
 1st. By their mysterious deceptions, false pretensions 
 to science, and consulting with the dead, &c. 
 
 2d. By their tendency, which is evil, and only evil ; and 
 
 3d. By the plain word of God. 
 
 They are, therefore, emphatically, " the spirits of 
 devils." 
 
 The miracles they are working are the wonder and 
 astonishment of the world. The going forth unto the 
 KINGS of the earth and the whole world is having a 
 remarkably rapid fulfilment.* 
 
 * The following is from an Amherst (Mass.) paper, dated Friday 
 morning, April 25, 1851 : — 
 
 " Destiny carefully calculated and set on paper. Astrology. The 
 celebrated Dr. C. W. E-oback, professor of astrology, astronomy, 
 thronology, and geomancy, combined with conjuration, from Sweden, 
 
244 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 " To GATHER THEM TO THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT 
 
 DAY OF God Almighty." 
 
 This is the end of the " strong delusion^ 
 " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that 
 watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk 
 naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them 
 together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar- 
 mageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his 
 vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of 
 heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." 
 
 The revelator has marked out the future pathway of 
 the church of God from the first to the second advent 
 of our Lord, the Alpha and Omega of the church in its 
 seven states or conditions, represented by the seven 
 
 office No. 71 Locust Street, Philadelphia, offers his services to the 
 citizens of Amherst. He has been consulted by all the crowned heads 
 of Europe, and enjoys a higher reputation as an astrologer than any 
 one living. Nativities calculated according to geomancy — ladies 
 $3, gentlemen $5. Persons at a distance can have t]\eir nativities 
 drawn by sending the date of the day of their birth. All letters 
 containing the above fee vt^ill receive immediate attention, and nativ- 
 ities sent to any part of the w^orld written on durable paper ; and he is 
 prepared to make use of his power by conjuration on any of the fol- 
 lowing topics : Courtship, advice given for the successful accomplish- 
 ment of a wealthy marriage ; he has the power to redeem such as are 
 given to the free use of the bottle ; and for all cases of hazard, and 
 for the recovery of stolen or lost property, and the purchasing of lot- 
 tery tickets. Thousands of the above-named cases have been done in 
 this city and its vicinity, and in the United States, to the full satisfac- 
 tion of all. Ten thousand nativities or horoscopes have been cast 
 during the last four years while here. Letters will answer every pur- 
 pose, and will do as well as to call in person ; and the mail is now so 
 safe that persons need not fear to trust money through the post 
 office. Dr. Roback receives from five hundred to one thousand 
 letters monthly, and has never missed one. All letters will be reli- 
 giously attended to if prepaid. For more particulars, call at the office 
 of the Express, and get an astrological almanac gratis. 
 
 C. W. ROBACK, 
 
OPPOSITION LINfi. S45 
 
 churches of Asia, with an express message to the angel 
 (or minister) of each ; and what he saw he was com- 
 manded to write in a book, and send to the seven 
 churches in Asia, that each church might know her 
 whereabouts on the page of history, and also the pecu- 
 liar trials and afflictions she would be called to pass 
 through. And we cannot doubt but we are now in 
 the Laodicean state ; lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, 
 saying, " I am rich, and increased in goods, and have 
 need of nothing ; " yet " wretched, and miserable, and 
 poor, and blind, and naked." 
 
 As this is the state of the church militant, it must 
 witness the pouring out of the seventh vial ; for there 
 are seven, and in them is filled up the wrath of God. 
 In this state of things will be seen three unclean spirits 
 (the word coming is not in the original) out of the 
 mouth of the dragon, &c., and working miracles, which 
 the w^orld is now witnessing, and which will gather the 
 kings of the earth and the whole world to the battle 
 of that great day of God Almighty, which will be the 
 last and most terrible conflict between Christ and Anti- 
 christ, to be decided in favor of the former, by the 
 pouring out of the seventh vial, which will destroy the 
 power symbolized by the woman sitting on the scarlet- 
 colored beast,* and all her attendant train ; when the 
 final, victorious shout will be heard, " as the voice of a 
 great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and 
 as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying. Alleluia ; 
 for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 Some are expecting the great battle is soon to com- 
 mence, and that the present unsettled state of Europe 
 is the precursor of that event. But in the text it is 
 
 * Out of the mouth of which came one of the firog-like spirits. 
 
 21* 
 
246 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 denominated the " battle of that great day of God Al- 
 mighty," not the battle of that great day of Europe. 
 
 Though the European powers, and even the whole 
 world, should join in one general conflict, it could not 
 be the battle referred to in the text. For it must be 
 fought in that " great day of the Lord ; " and he must 
 be here to fight it. (See Rev. xix. 19.) Neither is 
 the belligerent aspect of the nations a precursor of 
 the immediate ushering in of that day. For the 
 Savior, speaking of these things, said, " And ye shall 
 hear of wars and rumors of wars : see that ye be not 
 troubled ; for all these things must come to pass, but 
 the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against 
 nation, and kingdom against kingdom, &c. All these 
 things are the beginning of sorrows," not the end 
 of them. The expected outbreak in Europe may take 
 place soon ; but " see that ye are not troubled, for the 
 end is not yet." There is a greater battle to be fought 
 at the end than which wicked nations alone are able 
 to fight. Indeed, they cannot fight the battle of Ar- 
 mageddon, for they are all on one side, and none left 
 for them to fight against ; for it should be borne in 
 mind that the battle of Armageddon is the Lord's 
 battle, in which the two great armies will be, one for 
 Christ, and the other for Antichrist, the man of sin. 
 
 There is a prevalent opinion that in the " day of 
 the Lord " there will be no fighting. But we appeal 
 to the word : Zech. xiv., " Behold, the day of the 
 Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the 
 midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against 
 Jerusalem to battle, &c. Then shall the Lord go 
 forth, and fight against those nations, as when he 
 fought in the day of battle." Now, as he fought in 
 the day of battle, so he will fight again in the great 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 24*^ 
 
 day of the Lord, when his feet shall stand upon 
 Mount Olives, which shall cleave asunder. 
 
 When he led his people, under Joshua, into the 
 land of promise, he fought and overthrew the wicked 
 nations, and divided " the spoil in the midst of them." 
 In like manner, it is affirmed in the text that he will 
 fight again in the day of the Lord. His army, again, 
 will be his holy people, and his enemies, as before, 
 the wicked nation, practising the same sins for which 
 he drove out the Canaanites, viz., sorcery, witchcraft, 
 necromancy, and kindred evils, just w^hat is now fill- 
 ing up the cup of the iniquity of the world. As is 
 the type, so is the antitype. 
 
 The children of Israel were a warlike people, 
 trained to the use of arms in the wilderness ; fought 
 their way into the land, and their greatest battles in 
 the land. So the church of God is, and is called, a 
 militant (fighting) church, and like the ancient Israel- 
 ites, trusting in the Lord of hosts, will never lose a 
 battle. 
 
 The millions who are now sleeping in the dust, and 
 who have " all died in faith, not having received the 
 promise," will " stand upon their feet, an exceeding 
 great army," and be brought into " the land of Is- 
 rael," to Jerusalem ; against which, Zechariah says, all 
 nations will be gathered to the battle, where the man 
 of sin will be destroyed ; that is, taken alive and cast 
 into the burning lake, together with the false prophet,* 
 and a clean sweep be made of wicked nations. 
 
 It is not difficult to see that the three prominent 
 features so distinctly marked in the doctrine of rap- 
 
 • Out of the mouth of which came another of the £rog-like 
 apirits. 
 
248 THE SPlRITtTAL tELEGllAPHiC 
 
 ping spiritualism, viz., paganism^ anti- Christianity^ and 
 false prophecy^ are hastening the world to one gen- 
 eral decision against the Holy One of God. Already 
 do we hear the Pharaoic question from almost all 
 classes : " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 
 voice ? " The Deity is being analyzed both by rapping 
 spiritualism and electro and mundane philosophism, 
 and is found by the analysis of both to be nothing 
 but the material universe ; and, sure enough, " Who 
 is the Lord that I should obey his voice?" He can- 
 not prove himself to be " the God of the Hebrews " by 
 • his miracles ; for mundane agency, electricity, or some 
 such thing can work all these miracles as well as he. 
 
 The devil, too, has been put through the same crazy 
 crucible, and found to be nothing but the necessary 
 animal propensities of our natures. 
 
 This is the greatest and most enchanting lullaby 
 that Satan ever sung. It is quieting the consciences 
 of men into a nap that nothing but the din of the 
 great battle of God Almighty will arouse them from. 
 Let those who can discern the face of the sky discern 
 the signs of the times ; for it is not too late to talk 
 of the divine authenticity of the Bible, while the very 
 elements put in requisition to overthrow it are literally 
 fulfilling it. 
 
 While rapping spiritualism is pushing a little against 
 it with infidel horns, menacing the world with Egyp- 
 tian darkness, electro and mundane agency have come 
 against it like a battering ram, threatening to carry all 
 before them, and to reduce the universe, with its Cre- 
 ator, to a heap of chaos "worse confounded." And 
 while the former has taken the open field, and com- 
 menced the seige, the latter have retired behind a 
 fortification of science, (falsely so called,) and opened 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 249 
 
 a heavier and more deadly fire upon the same object, 
 under pretence of repulsing the open-field besieger. 
 
 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 " Now, we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together 
 unto bim, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be 
 troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter 
 as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 
 
 " Let no man deceive you by any means ; for that 
 day shall not come^ except there come a falling away 
 first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of per- 
 dition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
 that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as 
 God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
 that he is God. 
 
 " Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, 
 I told you these things ? And now ye know what 
 withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
 
 " For the mystery of iniquity doth already work ; 
 only he who now letteth ivill let, until he be taken out 
 of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, 
 whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his 
 mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his 
 coming : even him, whose coming is after the work- 
 ing of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying 
 wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
 ness in them that perish ; because they receive not the 
 love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
 
 " And for this cause God shall send them strong 
 delusion, that they should believe a lie : that they all 
 might be damned who believe not the truth, but had 
 pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. ii. 1-12.) 
 
250 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Protestants have said this man of sin is Papacy, 
 the little horn of Daniel ; whilst Papists say it is 
 Protestantism. But it cannot be either, for several 
 reasons. His revelation is to be preceded by, or ac- 
 companied with, a falling' away. Now, at the rise of 
 Papacy or Protestantism, there was no remarkable 
 falling away more than when a hundred false systems 
 or creeds arose. The church has always had her 
 declensions and revivals to a certain degree ; but 
 there must, somewhere, be emphatically a falling 
 away — one that must be more distinctly marked than 
 any other, else it could not be recognized by the 
 church as the one the apostle referred to ; and he 
 evidently spoke of it as one which they would recog- 
 nize when it should come. In the present Laodicean, 
 lukewarm state there is a decided falling away, and 
 one that is rapidly progressing, and without a parallel. 
 Not only the church is cold, but her power seems 
 paralyzed. Though revivals are not unfrequent, yet 
 she seems, by going with her flocks and herds (her 
 pride and riches) to the Lord, to have dealt treach- 
 erously with him, and to have begotten strange chil- 
 dren, which a month seems to devour with their 
 portions; while many need reconverting before the 
 end of a month. Nor does the church seem doing as 
 much towards converting the world as the world is 
 doing towards converting the church, in which it has 
 so far succeeded as to bring her down nearly or quite 
 to a level with the world. The almost total want of 
 faith in the word of ©od is peculiar to the present 
 age, both in the church and in the world, the effect of 
 which is seen in every direction — in the general dis- 
 regard to moral principles, in the insubordination to 
 government, in the disobedience of children to parents. 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 251 
 
 and want cf reverence to the aged — the want of 
 confidence between man and man, in all classes, from 
 the highest to the lowest. Every thing in a religious 
 or moral point of view seems to be at loose ends. 
 Many who most pretend to faith in the word of God 
 have spiritualized every truth out of it, in order to 
 make it bend to certain creeds, and thereby made it a 
 laughingstock to infidels. The man of sin cannot be 
 Papacy for another reason. When revealed, it is to 
 be a man — not a boy or child. If Papacy is the 
 man of sin, when was it the child of sin ? for it must 
 he a child before it is a man. 
 
 If Paul alluded to Papacy at all, we can consider 
 it the child of sin, as it introduced those false doc- 
 trines which are the foundation of psychology, and, 
 when matured, will make the man. 
 
 But Papacy is not yet the man^ for another reason. 
 In the person of its head, the pope, he never exalted 
 himself above all that is called God, but says he is a 
 servant of servants ; neither did he ever sit in the 
 temple of God. His seat has always been at Rome; 
 while the temple of God has been, and will ever be, at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxii. 13-18 : " For the Lord hath chosen 
 Zion ; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is 
 my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have desired 
 it," &c. And that Jerusalem is represented, is evident 
 from Ps. cxlvii. 12, 13. And that Christ will yet 
 take David's throne and kingdom, is evidently a mat- 
 ter of prophecy. (See Is. ix. 6, 7. Luke i. 31-33. 
 Ezek. xxi. 25-27.) The literal throne of David is 
 the one Christ will yet take. David's spiritual throne 
 (if he ever had one) was never " overturned, and over- 
 turned, and overturned ; " but hi» literal throne has 
 
252 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 been, and Christ will take it. But when he comes 
 there will be two claimants to it, himself and the man 
 of sin, who will be on it, in the temple of God, ex- 
 alting himself above all that is called God. His 
 coming " is after the w^orking of Satan, with all 
 power ^ and signs, and It/ing' ivonders, and with all 
 deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, 
 because they receive not the love of the truth, that 
 they might be saved. And for this cause God shall 
 send them strong delusion, that they should believe a 
 lie : that they all might be damned who believe not 
 the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." This 
 is the man of sin — the full-grown Antichrist. There 
 can be no second revelation of Christ till there is a 
 revelation of Antichrist. One is as much a matter 
 of prophecy as the other ; and although heaven and 
 earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of the 
 word will fail. 
 
 Now, we need no Daniel to tell us that psychology 
 is paving the way to the man of sin, " whose coming 
 is after the working of Satan, with all power, and 
 signs, and lying wonders." It is to be expected he 
 will deceive, if possible, the very elect ; as it is said 
 he will all whose names are not w^ritten in the book 
 of life. 
 
 The strong delusion is rapidly driving men into the 
 valley of decision, where they are taking sides — the 
 great mass for Antichrist, the few for Christ. 
 
 The advocates of rapping spiritualism pretend that 
 no one has yet arrived at perfection in these things. 
 What, then, may we expect of one perfected in these 
 mysteries? Nothing less than one qualified to work 
 Christ-like miracles, as far as miracle is concerned. 
 Now, in the preseift rapid tendency of the world to 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 253 
 
 pantheism and infidelity, such a one might success- 
 fully proclaim himself to be God, that is, the Lord 
 Grod, saying he is all the God there is, and setting 
 himself in the temple of God, and saying, also, " I will 
 be their God, and they shall be my people," and that 
 those who will not have him to rule over them he will 
 destroy. It is unerring prophecy that such a personage 
 will yet arise, and continue forty and two months, 
 when he will be destroyed by the rightful heir of the 
 throne. 
 
 Rapping spiritualism and philosophical pantheism 
 are fast ripening the world to worship just such an im- 
 postor, whose character will be the exact opposite to 
 that of Jesus Christ. And as the fulness of the Godhead 
 dwells in the one, so will the fulness of the devil dwell 
 in the other. One is God incarnate, the other is the 
 devil incarnate. And before the former can take the 
 throne of his father David, it must be occupied by 
 the latter. 
 
 THE DEVIL. 
 
 " Be sober, be vigilant ; because your adversary the 
 devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom 
 he may devour." (1 Pet. v. 8.) 
 
 There seems to be a growing tendency among men 
 to doubt every thing that cannot be scientifically de- 
 monstrated, leaving little or no room for the exercise 
 of faith, which "is the evidence of things not seen," 
 and without which "it is impossible to please God." 
 The miraculous birth of our Savior, the atonement, 
 the resurrection of the dead, &c., are often doubted 
 because they cannot be demonstrated by science. So 
 also, because the grappling irons of human wisdom 
 cannot be fastened upon his satanic majesty, and hia 
 22 
 
254: THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 origin, his maker, and use be discovered, his existence 
 is often doubted. 
 
 Now, it is written, " The just shall live by faith." If 
 we believe nothing except what we can demonstrate, 
 we have no spiritual life, and shall not have life in the 
 world to come. " Who is the devil ? " is often asked. 
 Peter says he is " your adversary." But popular opin- 
 ion is saying he is our " evil propensities," given us 
 for some wise purpose. 
 
 But who can demonstrate this g-ood and wise pur- 
 pose ? There is no better evidence of it than there is 
 of a devil. 
 
 It is said God did not create him, because he cannot 
 be the author of evil. Yet it is admitted that man has 
 evil in his heart; and it may be asked. Who created it? 
 It cannot be God, as, in the former argument, he is not 
 the author of evil ; and it cannot be man, for he cannot 
 create any part of his own nature. But still it exists; 
 and the same sophistry which proves there is no devil, 
 proves there is no evil : the same which proves there is 
 no devil but evil, proves there is no God but goodness. 
 
 But what idea could Peter have of a man's evil pro- 
 pensities " as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking 
 whom they may devour " ? 
 
 To deny the existence of an evil in some mode of 
 being, is to deny the evidence of our sober senses. 
 
 Even rapping spiritualists admit there are wicked 
 spirits^ and that their mediums are often deceived by 
 them ; but they say they are the spirits of dead men. 
 But there is no more proof that they are such than 
 there is that they are devils, only as one is believed to 
 exist, and the other is not. 
 
 Now, there is nothing gained by denying the exist- 
 ence of the ancient devil and substituting a modern 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 255 
 
 one, endowed with all the powers and attributes of the 
 old one. But, " to the law and to the testimony : " these 
 will settle the question w^hether there is a devil or not, 
 and whether he is electricity^ ocl force, wicked spirits 
 of men, or old Satan himself. 
 
 Let the reader take his Bible and read the following 
 texts, substituting " the evil propensities of man " for 
 the words devil^ Satan, serpent, &c., and see if the 
 Scriptures, so read, would give the popular idea of a 
 devil. We will begin with Gen. iii. 1 : " Now the 
 evil propensities of man were more subtile than any 
 beast of the field which the Lord God had made." 
 "And they said unto the woman. Ye shall not surely 
 die." "And the woman said, My evil propensities 
 beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said 
 unto her evil propensities, Because ye have done this, 
 ye are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast 
 of the field ; and your evil propensities shall go upon 
 their bellies, and eat dust all the days of their lives." 
 
 Now, here were three active, intelligent agents, viz., 
 the man, the woman, and the serpent ; each of which 
 was guilty, and so considered. And that the devil is 
 sometimes called " the serpent," may be seen by read- 
 in<T Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2. Again, (Matt, i v. 1:) "Then 
 as Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be 
 tempted of his evil propensities.^'' "And when his evil 
 propensities came unto him, they said, If thou be the 
 son of God, command these stones to be made bread." 
 " Then his evil propensities taketh him up into the 
 holy city." " Jesus said unto them. It is written again. 
 Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 
 
 Matt. ix. 32 : "And as they went out, behold, they 
 brought to him a dumb man possessed with his evil 
 propefisities. And when they were cast out, the dumb 
 
256 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 Bpake. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out evil 
 propensities through the prince of evil propensities.*^ 
 Matt. XXV. 41 : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
 lasting fire, prepared lor pour evil propensities and their 
 angels." 
 
 Luke iv. 33 : "And in the synagogue there was a 
 man which had a spirit of an unclean evil propensity-'' 
 Matt. viii. 31 : " So the evil propensities of the man be- 
 sought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go 
 away into the herd of swine." John vi. 70 : "Jesus an- 
 swered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of 
 you is man's evil propensity?" Heb. ii. 14: "That 
 through death he might destroy him that hath the power 
 of death, which is, the evil propensities of men.** (See 
 also Jude. ix. and Job i. 6.) The account of Satan, in 
 The first chapter of Job, does not seem much like an 
 evil, but more like an evil being. How is it in .Luke x. 
 18 ? — "I beheld the evil propensities of men as lightning 
 fall from heaven." 2 Cor. xi. 15 : "And no marvel ; 
 for the evil propensities of men are transformed into 
 angels of light. Therefore it is no great thing if (their) 
 ministers also be transformed as the ministers of right- 
 eousness." Rev. xii. 7 : "And there was war in heaven : 
 Michael and his angels fought against the evil propen- 
 sities of men; and they fought and their angels, and 
 prevailed not ; neither was their place found any more 
 in heaven. And they were cast out (of heaven,) that 
 old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which de- 
 ceiveth the whole world : they were cast out into the 
 earth, and their angels were cast out with them." 
 
 Verse 12 : " Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and 
 the sea ! for the evil propensities of men are come down 
 unto you, having great wrath, because they know they 
 have but a short time." Zech. iii, 1 : "And he 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 257 
 
 showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the 
 angel of the Lord, and the evil propensities of men 
 standing at his right hand to resist him." 
 
 How is this ? Mediums tell us that good spirits 
 come up on the right hand, and evil ones on the left. 
 But Zechariah saw Satan standing at the right hand. 
 Mediums should look into this, for what they call good 
 spirits may be devils, after all. 
 
 In the same manner the reader may read Rev. xvi. 
 13, 14. Rom. xvi. 20. Rev. xx. 10. Luke viii. 2. 
 James ii. 19. Rev. xviii. 2. Ps. cix. 6, " Set thou 
 a wicked man over him ; and let Satan stand at his 
 right hand." 
 
 Here Satan again is at the right hand ; which seems 
 to be his place. He cannot, therefore, be the spirit of 
 a dead man, or his place would be on the left. 
 
 But we forbear : further quotations are unnecessary. 
 Those who deny the existence of the devil should be 
 aware that very few, if any, serve him who do believe 
 in his existence. 
 
 In taking a general view of the subject, the follow- 
 ing difficulties naturally present themselves. If there 
 is no devil but wickedness in men, who are the angels 
 of this wickedness ? and who is the prince of it ? A 
 prince implies subordinates; and angels are ministers 
 unto something that can be ministered unto. Now, if 
 it be replied that man has one ruling passion to which 
 the others are subordinate, then what inflames that 
 ruling passion ? It must be the angels that minister 
 unto it; and if these are the evil propensities of men, 
 we have not found the origin of evil yet. Again : 
 the devil was^ or is to be, cast out of heaven. If he is 
 the evil propensities of men, how came he in heaven? 
 But it may be said that heaven, in the text, means 
 22* 
 
258 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 the church. It is then evident the devil is not cast 
 out, nor has the war yet comraenced which is to cast 
 him out. But when he is cast out, the warfare of the 
 church is forever ended ; for John says, when he saw 
 him cast out, his place was found no more in heaven. 
 But when this takes place, the church will be no more 
 a militant church, but triumphant; and at the same 
 time, twelve hundred and sixty days, or, as some say, 
 years, the devil will be in the earth ; which must mean 
 the unconverted, if heaven means the church. 
 
 It will readily be seen that such a view of the devil 
 would be very difficult to harmonize with the doctrine 
 of the millenium, past or future. If it is future, and the 
 devil is the wickedness of men, there will be one thou- 
 sand two hundred and sixty years, instead of a thousand, 
 during which there will be the wicked remaining on 
 earth. It would seem, then, that the heaven in the 
 text is not the church, but the heaven of the church, 
 in which there is no evil propensities of men, but a 
 devil to be cast out in the last days, and to come down 
 to the earth with great wrath, knowing he has but a 
 short time — one thousand two hundred and sixty lit- 
 eral days. 
 
 But it is not intended in this work to give an ex- 
 planation of the symbolic language used by the reve- 
 lator, further than to show, that, to be consistent with 
 itself, the devil cannot be the evil propensities of men, 
 notwithstanding the popular idea to the contrary. 
 Holy men of old believed in his existence as a being; 
 their prophets taught them so, and Christ confirmed it 
 But through psychology, table tipping, mundane agen- 
 cy, &c., it has been discovered that there is none. 
 Wise, indeed, must be that race of men whose very 
 tables know who is the best medium in a room. I 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 259 
 
 wonder if Daniel's old table knew as much ? But 
 suppose this is all science, and no devil ; what has 
 science been about ever since creation, that she has not 
 revealed these things before? 
 
 Moses and the prophets, we are told by spiritualists, 
 were good mediums ; and the former carried his rod in 
 his hand, and we never hear of its being charged, or of 
 his taking a ride on it. As it is admitted there were 
 good mediums of old, if there is any law of nature 
 about these things, it would have shown itself occa- 
 sionally through them. They were constantly coming 
 in contact with wooden tables, stools, or seats, sandals, 
 &c. Why did they not charge them so that the}' 
 would walk off without hands, as at the present day ? 
 But no ; men were not able to give torpid shocks to 
 wooden things, until they discovered that there was no 
 
 DEVIL. 
 
 CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 We come now to take a general view of the whole 
 subject, and from its principal features draw our con- 
 clusions ; and, — 
 
 1st. It is evident that mesmerism, psychology, clair- 
 voyance, ecstasy, spiritual manifestations, rapping, and 
 table tipping are but different phases of the same thing, 
 which must all stand or fall together. 
 
 2d. That it is the mysterious power of Imagination, 
 and that it does not present any stronger evidence to 
 the senses than she has frequently been known to do. 
 
 3d. That its tendency is to infidelity, pantheism, and 
 finally to atheism. 
 
 4th. That it is a direct attempt of the devil to ex- 
 tinguish the few remaining sparks of faith in the word 
 of God, and to confirm his first falsehood — " Ye shall 
 not surely die." 
 
260 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
 
 5th. That it is a direct and literal fulfilment ot divme 
 revelation. 
 
 6th. That it is an abomination in the sight of God, 
 and a manifest result of the moral depravity of human 
 nature. 
 
 7th. That it is paving the way to the " man of sin," 
 and greater wonders may yet be expected of it. 
 
 8th. That it is " the spirits of devils working mira- 
 cles, and going forth unto the kings of the earth, and 
 to the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that 
 great day of God Almighty." 
 
 9th. That it is an evidence of the proximity of that 
 great day. 
 
 10th. That it is emphatically the '' strong delusion " 
 which is to deceive all whose names are not " written 
 in the book of life." 
 
 But it may be said that these conclusions are pre- 
 maturely drawn, and that the thing has already passed 
 its meridian, and is beginning to decline. We are 
 aware there is not as much public show made of it at 
 present as a few months since. But how has it declined ? 
 Have any of its advocates renounced it and gone back 
 and embraced the religion of Jesus Christ ? No ; nor 
 does it appear that their faith in it, as a general thing, 
 is in the least shaken ; and while they have relaxed a 
 little in the public display of it, they are gaining strength 
 in their private cabals. To their evening sittings there 
 is less public admission ; but still a few friendly ones are 
 admitted, and the number of believers is still increas- 
 ing. The thing has only retired a little from the public 
 to gather strength in private. We trust the facts pre- 
 sented in this work will commend themselves to the 
 candid, and that the reader will weish them, and, by the 
 
OPPOSITION LINE. 261 
 
 word of God and his grace, be enabled to draw his 
 own conclusions. 
 
 In arriving at a just decision on this subject, much 
 depends on whether there is a devil or not ; as imagi- 
 nation, without Satanic agency, cannot do all that is 
 said to be done by spiritual agency. Take, for in- 
 stance, the stones thrown at a house in Paris, described 
 on page 177. 
 
 Now, the argument of spiritualists on this subject is 
 this : If an angel, which is spirit, could roll away the 
 stone from the sepulchre, the spirits of the dead can 
 throw one through the air, tip tables, &c. 
 
 But, in the first place, there is no proof that the angel 
 referred to was the spirit of a dead man. 
 
 Now, it is admitted that the stones thrown in Paris 
 were by evil spirits. And according to their own logic, 
 if they cannot prove that the angel that rolled away 
 the stone from the sepulchre was the spirit of a dead 
 man, they cannot prove that the spirits that threw the 
 stones are spirits of dead men. 
 
 It is admitted that God is supreme ; and we have 
 shown that there is an order of beings intermediate 
 between him and man ; for Christ was made a little 
 lower than the angels. Now, since God is God, and 
 there is none like him, (Is. xlvi. 9,) of every grade of 
 rational beings beneath him, some must be good, and 
 some bad. Then there must be bad angels as well as 
 good ones. This is no greater mystery than that there 
 should be good and bad men ; and unless there can be 
 bad angels, there can be no bad men. 
 
 From the nature of the case, it is therefore very poS' 
 sihle that there is a devil ; and from divine revelation 
 it is very certain there is one, yea, many. 
 
 Now, since there are wicked angels or devdls, and 
 
2^2 
 
 SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC OPPOSITION LINE. 
 
 since a good aogel can roil a stone, bad ones, or devils, 
 may throw them. The reader has the account of the 
 stones being thrown in Paris, the tipping of tables, &c., 
 as cheap as the author. What, therefore, is not done 
 by an aberration of mind, ^if done at all,) is done by 
 the devil, who is as able to do it as the angel of the 
 Lord was to roll away the stone from his sepulchre. 
 
 That the reader may keep that which is committed 
 to his trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and 
 oppositions of science falsely so called, which some 
 professing have erred concerning the faith, is the prayer 
 of the author. x\nd seeing ye know these things, be- 
 \vare l^st you, also, being led away with the error of 
 the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But 
 grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Savior Jesu» Christ, to whose abundant mercy we 
 commend you, beseeching you to abide in his word 
 Shun every appearance of evil, and watch unto prayer, 
 that you may escape the strong delusion of these 
 last days, and stand at the right hand of the Son of 
 man when he shall come in his glory, and receive the 
 welcome invitation — " Come, ye blessed of my Fa- 
 ther, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 . It is a strongly-marked characteristic of man, that 
 though he may make never a more candid decision on 
 passing events, yet, v^^ien passed, and he takes a retro- 
 spective view of them, they frequently wear an entirely 
 different aspect. There are, no doubt, several causes 
 for this ; one of which, and not the least, is, present 
 j)opuiar opinion, which more or less influences almost 
 every individual. Indeed, a man, associated with his 
 fellow-man,' can scarcely possess human attributes 
 without being more or less under this influence. 
 Again : passing events seldom produce that cool de- 
 liberation of mind necessary to a just decision that 
 the contemplation of them in the past does. 
 
 From these and like considerations, I have thought 
 it best to present the reader with a specimen of mes- 
 merism, or something allied to it, in the past. I refer 
 to "the Salem witchcraft," many features of which 
 have a striking resemblance to what is now passing 
 under the appellation of mesmerism, table tipping, &c., 
 a specimen of v^dlich may be found in " Mather's 
 History of New England," Book vi., page 68, as 
 follows : — 
 
 " In the year 1679, the house of William Morse, at 
 Newbury, was infested with demons in a most horrid 
 
 (263) 
 
264 APPENDIX. 
 
 manner^ not altogether unlike the demons of Ted- 
 worth. It would fill many pages to relate all the in- 
 festations, but the chief of them were such as these : 
 Bricks, sticks, and stones were often by some invisible 
 hand thrown at the house, as were many pieces of 
 wood. A cat wa tl rc'vi* al ihi woman of the house, 
 and a long staff' danced up and down in the chimney, 
 and afterwards was hung by a line, and swung to and 
 fro ; and when two persons laid it on the lire to burn 
 it, it was as much as they were able to do with their 
 joint strength to hold it there. An iron crook was 
 violently, by an invisible hand, hurled about; and ai 
 chair flew about the room, until at last it lit upon the 
 table, where the meat stood ready to be eaten, and had 
 spoiled all if the people had not, with much ado, saved : 
 a little. A chest was by an invisible hand carried from 
 one place to another, and the doors barricaded, and the 
 keys of the family taken, some of them from the 
 bunch where they were tied, and the rest flying about 
 with a loud noise of their knocking against each other. 
 For a while the folks of the house could not sup 
 quietly, but ashes would be thrown into their suppers, 
 and on their heads and clothes; and the shoes of a> 
 man being left below, one of them was filled with 
 ashes and sent up after him. When they were in bed,, 
 a stone weighing above three pounds was divers times 
 thrown upon them. A box and a board were likewise 
 thrown upon them ; and a bag of hops was taken outt 
 of the chest by the invisible hand, and they were beaten i 
 with it, till some of the hops were scattered on the 
 floor, where the bag was then laid and left. The mani 
 was often struck by that hand with several instru- 
 ments ; and the same had cast their good things into 
 the fire. While the man was at prayer with hia 
 
APPENDIX. 265 
 
 household, a broom gave him a blow on his head be- 
 hind, and then fell down before his face. When they 
 were winnowing their barley, dirt was thrown at them ; 
 and essaying to fill their half bushel with corn, the 
 foul corn would be thrown in with the clean, so irre- 
 sistibly that they were forced thereby to give over what 
 they were about. While the man was writing, his 
 inkhorn was, by the invisible hand, snatched from him, 
 and being able nowhere to find it, he at length saw it 
 drop out of the air down by the fire. A shoe was laid 
 upon his shoulder; but when he would have caught it, 
 it was snatched from him and laid upon his head, 
 where he held it so fast that the unseen fury pulled 
 him with it backwards on the floor. He had his cap 
 torn off his head, and in the night he was pulled by 
 the hair, and pinched, and scratched : the invisible hand 
 pricked him with some of his awls, and with needles 
 and bodkins; and blows that fetched blood were some- 
 times given him. When he was writing, another time, 
 a dish went and leaped into a pail, and cast water on 
 him, and on all the concerns before him, so as to defeat 
 what he was then doing. His cap jumped off his head 
 and on again, and the pot lid went off the pot into the 
 kettle, then over the fire together." 
 
 Speaking of a boy belonging to the family, it is 
 said, — 
 
 " All the knives belonging to the house were one 
 after another stuck into his back, which the spectators 
 pulled out ; only one of which seemed to them to come 
 out of his mouth." 
 
 Farther on a few pages, we find an account of sev- 
 eral accused of witchcraft, who made the following 
 confessions before the magistrates in court: — 
 
 " Goody F. said that she, with two others, (one of 
 23 
 
266 APPENDIX. 
 
 whom acknowledged the same,) rode from Andover to 
 the same village (Salem) witch meeting on a stick, above 
 the ground, and that in the way the stick broke and 
 gave her a fall, by which she was hurt, and still sore." 
 " I happened," said Mather, " to be present in prison 
 when this F. owned again her former confession to the 
 magistrates. I asked her if she rode to the meeting on 
 a stick. She said, " Yes." It was not long before M. L., 
 daughter of the said F., confessed that she rode with 
 her mother to the witch meeting, and confirmed her 
 mother's confession. At another time, M. L., junior, 
 the granddaughter, aged about seventeen years, con- 
 fessed what her grandmother and mother had related ; 
 and when they, with E. C, rode on a stick or pole in 
 the air, she, (the granddaughter,) with B. C, rode upon' 
 another ; and the said B. C. acknowledged the same." 
 Such are but a few of many similar occurrences 
 which took place in this memorable time of wonders, 
 which prevailed to such an extent that nineteen were 
 executed. And besides many who were imprisoned, 
 more were accused, while the numbers afflicted were 
 still increasing. But it was finally seen that every 
 legal effprt made to arrest the evil only increased the 
 number of victims, till, perhaps, profiting by the expe- 
 rience of several European nations, public sentiment 
 began to call for a different mode of procedure ; and 
 William Phips, then governor, granted a pardon to 
 such as were condemned, and a release to those in 
 prison, which soon put an end to the singular affair. 
 But it was not confined to New England alone : about 
 that time, in Sufiield, in England, in the year 1645, it 
 prevailed, and was followed up by prosecutions, until 
 they saw that, unless they put a stop to them, "it 
 would bring all into blood and confusion." It also 
 
APPENDIX. 267 
 
 prevailed in France until nine hundred were put 
 to death. In looking back upon this subject, it is 
 difficult to find people, at the present time, who are 
 willing to believe that all these strange things really 
 took place. But when we speak of the present mys- 
 terious movement of tables and chairs for proof, we 
 are referred to the evidence of our senses. But had 
 not the people who lived at Salem and vicinity, nearly 
 two hundred years ago, senses as well as those now 
 living ? 
 
 Shall we presume to say that the people who pulled 
 the knives from the boy's back did not know whether 
 they were in it or not, or whether they drew them out 
 of it or not ? Why are such things to be doubted 
 because they are said to have taken place yesterday 
 rather than if they are said to take place to-day ? No 
 good reason can be given ; yet every man insists on 
 believing his own senses, though he takes the liberty 
 to doubt those of every man but his own. The peo- 
 ple who lived two hundred years ago might as well 
 trust their senses as the people who now live. Yet it 
 is generally admitted that Imagination played a very 
 conspicuous part in the Salem witchcraft. Then cer- 
 tainly we ought not to deny her agency in nrcsmerism, 
 the mysteries of which bear so near a resemblance to 
 those of the times we speak of. It is said a few indi- 
 viduals in our day have taken a ride on a table moved 
 with unseen hands; and the proof is, the evidence of 
 our senses. 
 
 But there were several of the accused, as just re- 
 lated, who confessed that they rode from Andover to 
 Salem through the air on a stick or pole. And what 
 is still more singular, these confessions were made in 
 court before which they were tried, and for which they 
 
268 APPENDIX. 
 
 were condemned to suffer death.* Now, if the evi- 
 dence of the senses cannot bear false witness, these 
 individuals would not have been condemned. In this 
 instance, we must either admit the evidence of the 
 senses to be false and absurd, or that these women did 
 actually ride miles through the air on a stick. 
 
 I have witnessed a multitude of cases equally as 
 singular, in which clairvoyants have imagined them- 
 selves riding, flying, or sailing through the air with 
 more than railroad speed ; and in that state would so 
 affirm, I have no doubt, at the expense of their lives. 
 There is a still further striking resemblance between 
 clairvoyants and those who made this confession ; that 
 is, the former, on returning to the normal state, lose 
 all knowledge of what they say or do in the abnormal ; 
 while the latter, after being pardoned, and the excite- 
 ment over, nearly all denied all knowledge of what 
 they confessed, or of ever making a confession of any 
 kind, or of ever going to a witch meeting. A few only 
 said they had belied themselves and others ; but it 
 does not appear that even these were conscious at the 
 time of what they were doing. They were all, un- 
 doubtedly, mesmerized, not by the present passes, but 
 by the excitement created by the marvellous times in 
 which they lived. 
 
 It is remarkable that those who were executed 
 seemed to be the least under the influence of the gen- 
 eral aberration of mind. All of them persisted in their 
 innocence even to their death. 
 
 It is truly melancholy to reflect on these circum- 
 stances, inasmuch as we see the disastrous effects Im- 
 agination produced in those by-gone days ; and not 
 
 * They were condemned principally on tiieir own confessions ; 
 however, they were not executed, but pardoned by Governor Phips. 
 
APPENDIX. 269 
 
 much the less so to reflect that in this enlightened age 
 as little is known or realized of her illusive power ; 
 especially while we see the learned and the wise build- 
 ing psychological towers to her everlasting fame, or 
 erecting electro and odyle monuments to her glory, 
 with all the zeal and ardor of a Buddha devotee. 
 
 But w^e are told that the progress of science is " on- 
 ward and upward ; " and since even the Deity himself 
 cannot be encircled in its philosophical folds, he must 
 be counted among the things which belong only to the 
 darker ages of the world. People are not generally 
 aware of the liability of being deceived by external 
 appearances, which, if illusive, produce a correspond- 
 ing internal sensation. For instance, a train of cars 
 arrives at a depot and gi'adually stops, while another 
 is moving by in the opposite direction. This calls the 
 attention of the passenger to that side, to the train 
 in motion, which he verily thinks is at rest, and his 
 own is passing by it. In this case he is not only de- 
 ceived by outward appearances, but he feels also an 
 internal evidence of an onward motion while he is 
 perfectly at rest. But on casting his eye out on the 
 other side on objects at rest, his judgment is instantly 
 corrected, and his internal sense of motion as instantly 
 ceases. This is but one of the many very common 
 cases of the illusory play of imagination, in which are 
 engaged the senses of seeing and feeling. 
 
 Now, the motion of the table is said to be felt as well 
 as seen in what is called the " tipping experiment." 
 But Professor Farraday has of late, by several ingenious 
 experiments, demonstrated that they do not move by 
 an unseen agent. The length of his article is such 
 that it cannot be given here ; but it may be found in 
 the " London Athenaeum," of Saturday, July 2, 1853. 
 23* 
 
270 APPENDIX. 
 
 It appears that among other things used by the pro- 
 fessor in his experiments was an index, designed to 
 show "whether the table moved first, or the hand 
 moved before the table, or both moved or remained at 
 •rest together." In this case, he says, " The eifect was 
 never carried far enough to move the tables ; for the 
 motion of the index corrected the judgment of the 
 experimenter, who became aware that inadvertently a 
 side force had been exerted." 
 
 I have never doubted the real motion of a table loith 
 hands on it. It was common to one or two of my 
 clairvoyants to move a table by placing the hand on, 
 by which they said they charged or electrified it so as 
 to produce a mighfy attraction between it and the 
 hand. But after repeated experiments, I ascertained 
 that it was not so. For, after a little practice, I found 
 I could move a small stand, by placing one finger on 
 it, as well as my clairvoyants, and that it was not 
 necessary to be in the abnormal state to perform 
 the feat. 
 
 To insure success, a tall but light stand should be 
 chosen, having, by the position of its legs, a small base 
 in proportion to its height to stand on ; and by placing: 
 a finger on the top, nearly over its centre of gravity, 
 pressing downward and laterally, it will be thrown out 
 of balance, as it were, and stand on one or two legs,, 
 and by suddenly bringing back the lateral pressure, its 5 
 centre of gravity will again be thrown on to one orr 
 two of the other legs ; and so may be made to walk 
 all over the room, and appear to follow the hand. Butt 
 when one can be made to start off and go without 
 hands, I shall believe those ladies did actually ride 
 from Andover to Sedem on a stick through the air. 
 
 And next, if it can be proved that a natural agent is 
 
APPENDIX. 271 
 
 employed in such cases, I shall believe that the time 
 is not far distant when the air will be filled with aerial 
 cars, transporting passengers, freight, and baggage 
 from and to every place on the globe, and to the neigh- 
 boring planets. 
 
 Though it be admitted that the people of this age 
 are a scientific people, yet they are beside themselves; 
 much learning has made them mad. Give me a 
 knowledge of a law of nature by which these things 
 are (said to be) done, and I hold myself in readiness 
 immediately to build and run such a car from here to 
 the moon to begin with. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 FAQE 
 
 Aberration of mind, 116 
 
 Ancient Egyptian mesmerism, 188 
 
 Ancient sorcery, 17 
 
 Angel seen by John the revelator, 63 
 
 Animal instinct, 204 
 
 Answered according to divinations, 233 
 
 Anti-Bible convention at Hartford, 112 
 
 Anton Mesmer, memoirs of, 21 
 
 Apparent polarity of subjects, 28 
 
 Apparitions always appear clothed, 64 
 
 Apparitions of living persons, 64 
 
 Appearances deceitful,. 104 
 
 Appendix, 263 
 
 Arcturus, apparent motion of, 103 
 
 Armageddon, battle of, 246 
 
 Box brought by a spirit, 181 
 
 Bruno, disclosui'es by, I7l 
 
 Captain Mcintosh, spirit of, 64 
 
 Catalepsy, • 43 
 
 Cerebral lucidity, 95 
 
 Clairvoyance, 38, 48 
 
 Clairvoyance, anticipations of, 45 
 
 Conclusions, 259 
 
 Deductions. Moral argument. Conclusion, 208 
 
 Different phenomena of mesmerism, 35 
 
 Divination 221 
 
 Dods's theory, 69 
 
 (273) 
 
274 INDEX. 
 
 Dods's theory refuted, 83 
 
 Double life in man, 167 
 
 Dr. Franklin, spirit of, 146 
 
 Dr. Roback, 243 
 
 Ellen White's visions, 191 
 
 Emma, an English clairvoya t, 39 
 
 Emma detects a thief, 40 
 
 Emma describes the moon, 50 
 
 Enchanter, 221 
 
 Evil spirits, proof of, 170 
 
 Extasis or trance, 38 
 
 Fantasy, 37 
 
 First mesmeric circle, 32 
 
 French commissioners examine Mesmer's experiments, 24 
 
 French prophets, 190 
 
 God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, 128 
 
 God's displeasure with those who go after familiar spirits, 234 
 
 Gold-leaf electrometer, 30 
 
 Gold seal brought by a spirit, 180 
 
 Haunted house in Newbury, 263 
 
 How to become a medium, witch, fortune teller, &c., 237 
 
 Imagination, power of, 65 
 
 Improved mode of going to heaven, 139 
 
 Indian clairvoyants, 187 
 
 Iron missiles thrown by spirits, 179 
 
 "Kentucky revival," 121 
 
 Magicians of Egypt 17 
 
 Man and beast, difference between, 196 
 
 Mesmer's arrival in Paris, 22 
 
 Modern divination, ; 237 
 
 Moon, influence and signs of, 239 
 
 Naaman the leper, 189 
 
 Natural and spiritual body, what ? 131 
 
 Opinion of Elder J. S.White, 165 
 
 Optical properties of light, 96 
 
 Pacts, 175 
 
 Papacy not the man of sin, 251 
 
 Perkins's tractors, 25 
 
INDEX. 275 
 
 Philadelphia spirit rappers, 15 
 
 Philosophy of charming, 184 
 
 PossessionB, 173 
 
 Professor Faixaday's experiments on table tipping, 269 
 
 Projectiles mysteriously thro-wn at a house in Paris, 177 
 
 Rapid spread of spiritual manifestations, 162 
 
 Review of the mundane theory, 195 
 
 Salem witchcraft, 263 
 
 Soul, properties of, 171 
 
 Spectre seen at Hoosic Falls, 160 
 
 Spirit a consulter with a familiar, , 222 
 
 Spirit rapping common to haunted houses, 106 
 
 Steel plates magnetized, 21 
 
 Table preaching, 150 
 
 Tables, how made mediums, 147 
 
 Table of prismatic colors, 97 
 
 Talismans, 175 
 
 The author's first acquaintance with mesmerism, 19 
 
 The author's further experiments, 56 
 
 The body a prison of the soul, 167 
 
 The devil, 253 
 
 The easiest way to account for it, 183 
 
 The man of sin, 249 
 
 The secret of God is with them that fear him, 227 
 
 The transfiguration, 62 
 
 " The Watchman, " his opinion of table tipping, 152 
 
 Three unclean spiiits like frogs, 242 
 
 Times, an observer of, 221 
 
 Unity, 36 
 
 Witchcraft forbidden, 235 
 
 Witchcraft in Europe, 166 
 
 Witches, execution of, in Salem, 166 
 
 Witches riding through the air on a stick, 265 
 
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