Chapter XI: Part 11

952. Having taken a seat at some distance from the table, and placed himself in such a position that no one could see the letters but himself, he proceeded to take down those indicated by the sounds as he passed a pencil slowly over the alphabet.

953. The sounds having at length ceased to respond, he tried to read the communication, but found it impossible to do so until he had first arranged what was written into words and sentences. This having been accomplished, he read, to his utter amazement, as follows: “My dear son, your parent rejoices in this opportunity to communicate with you. Let me advise you to investigate this most important subject; it will benefit you in time and eternity. Your spirit father, W. G.”

954. On reading this communication, my husband said he felt “riveted to the spot;” that he had realized the presence of a long-lost parent, and that language failed to convey his feelings. It is perhaps needless to say that he was from that moment a believer in the truth of Spiritualism.

955. Months rolled on, and we continued to receive and enjoy the delightful intercourse of our spirit friends. One day, while engaged in sewing, the needle dropped suddenly from my fingers. At the same instant I experienced a sensation in my right hand and arm analogous to a slight electric shock. My husband, seeing me start, inquired the cause. Perceiving the temperature of my hand diminished, he became somewhat alarmed, and commenced rubbing it. In a few moments we heard sounds on the workstand at which I was seated. I inquired if the spirits wished to communicate, which was responded to by three raps. Taking the card and passing a pencil over it, the following words were given:

956. “My child, be not afraid! we are trying to develope you as a writing medium.” I experienced the next day a similar feeling in the same arm, and was influenced to write the following impressive words:

957. “_My dear Child_: Your mother would impart to you a few thoughts relative to an event which is generally regarded with unspeakable horror. I mean the dissolution of the material body. Death should present no terror to the mind, since it is but a transition of the spirit to a more exalted and perfected state of being; a disunion of the imperishable and eternal principles of the soul and spirit from their temporary home in the physical form. It is but the door at whose threshhold the spirit lays aside its worn-out garment, to appear clothed in its much more beautiful habiliments in the spiritual realm—the entrance to “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

958. “To the mind that views this change in the condition of the spirit in its true light, it will appear a necessary preliminary step in the development of the immortal germ to a higher and much more glorious existence. With the gross earthly body, the spirit could not inhabit the celestial spheres, nor rove the elysian fields of eternal progression. You have a rosebud in your keeping, which must expand to an immortal flower in heaven. Earth has given it birth, but its vitality is feeble. It needs transplanting into a more genial soil in the garden of our Father and our God, where it will ultimately unfold its fair and beautiful proportions. In other words, your little infant, Emily, will soon join me; for I perceive that disease is deep seated in her system—a disease that no remedy can reach. Be prepared, then, my dear child, for the change which is soon to take place. Prepare for the messenger Death! Be calm, be firm! Your mother, LYDIA.”

959. This was a manifestation to me of a spirit mother’s love and watchful care. She foresaw that the inevitable event was at hand. She perceived that our darling child was incurably diseased. Although I trembled at the thought of parting with my treasure, still I was much calmer and more resigned in consequence of this parental warning, when the dread summons came.

960. Three weeks passed, and still there was no apparent change in our little one from her usual seemingly healthy condition. My husband had business which called him to Philadelphia. At his urgent request I accompanied him. We left our little ones in charge of a female friend and a faithful nurse, intending to be absent about two weeks. Ten days subsequent to the time of our departure from home, I received a strong impression to return, and that my presence would soon be required there. My husband objected, on the ground that his business was unfinished. I proposed returning alone, but he was unwilling, and we started for home the next morning. We found our children all well. I was joked about my _spiritual_ impression, and was told it was the result of imagination. On the day succeeding our return, however, our dear child was taken sick, and after an illness of three days her enfranchised spirit passed from earth to heaven.

961. Notwithstanding the ridicule heaped, at that time, by its opposers upon the believers in Spiritualism, and the affected contempt in which the votaries of this much-abused doctrine were then held, we pursued the investigation of the subject, and became daily more imbued with a sense of the truth and harmony of its divine teachings. We had the pleasure of seeing many persons, who had once denounced it as an idle dream, as a humbug, and a delusion, now converted to a full faith in its glorious realities. A change came over the spirit of their dream, and they are now blessed in the enjoyment of the richest feast for mind and soul ever bestowed by a munificent God upon his grateful children. And many do not hesitate to proclaim the fact to the world; for, thank heaven, the days of the Inquisition are numbered, and a brighter and more glorious day is dawning on benighted humanity.

962. The following extracts from a letter of my brother, Dr. North, of Waterville, Maine, in reply to my husband, may serve to show the mind of one of the skeptics referred to, in regard to the subject of Spiritualism, both before and after investigation. As they may not be uninteresting to your readers, I give them to you, as follows:

963. “_Dear Doctor_:—Your letter of the 17th instant is before me, and its _remarkable_ contents noticed. Had a great man or men, for instance, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, or Millard Fillmore, advised a friend to a certain course, if I thought that course improper, I should have felt at liberty to dissent from him or them; but when the adviser is the _spirit of my departed mother, or the soul of your departed brother_, I cannot dissent, or give an opinion that would conflict with them. It seems to me, dear doctor, that you cannot have better advisers unless you call the spirit of Gabriel to your assistance, and you can do no less than consult the dictates of the rappers.

964. “To be serious, I am surprised at your easy conversion to Spiritualism. I had supposed you spirit-proof, the greatest skeptic in the land; but I find you are completely _taken in and done for_! I do not place the least reliance on your superhuman communications, and would advise you to look upon them as phenomena of Mesmerism or mind-reading. The medium is in a mesmeric state, and consequently is capable of reading the thoughts of the inquirer, and answering questions correctly. The sounds are easily accounted for. The subject is _alarmed_ and _superstitious_, and therefore easily imposed upon. The creaking of a boot is often taken by such persons in this state of mind as a spiritual rap. Do not be imposed upon by such superstition, but choose rather to be guided by good sound sense.

965. “You might consult the spirit of Lorenzo Dow. He was a good old soul, and one that always safely advised his friends.

966. “Give my love to Martin Luther, and William Penn, and the Wandering Jew. If you should hear any thing of M. B-—-, you may let me know. He died three or four years since in my debt.”

967. The subjoined was received some time after the foregoing from the same hand, but was dictated, it seems, by a _more elevated spirit_:

968. “In relation to Spiritualism, I am deeply convinced of its truthfulness. God grant that the grand and glorious realities which it reveals may so influence me that my progress in goodness and holiness will never end! Do I believe in it? Yes! yes! It is my daily hope and happiness; the bread of life; and it will be my consolation in death. I have read much, but have seen little of the manifestations. I should be very happy to spend a fortnight with you and meet your circle.

969. “My wife is reading and approximating toward belief. We have read the following works:—Davis’s Harmonia; Davis’s Present Age and Inner Life; Edmonds’s and Dexter’s work on Spiritualism; Beecher’s Report, and Brittan’s Reply to the same; Stilling’s Pneumatology; Riechenbach’s Dynamics; Cahagnet’s Celestial Telegraph, and the Spiritual Telegraph, weekly. I am so deeply interested in spiritual literature that other reading is insipid to me. I am rejoiced that people in the higher walks of life are engaged in the subject. It will give popularity to it, and the weak and fearful souls will be encouraged and strengthened in well-doing.” The following was addressed to me last February:

970. “_My Dear Sister_: You say it is _too late_ to wish us a happy New Year. It is never too late to wish our friends happiness, and strive to make them happy. This is a new year indeed; a new era to be made memorable through time and eternity; one in which the spirits of our friends are striving for our happiness. Then let us not only make each other happy, but by purifying our thoughts and conversation, strive to progress in this rudimental world, so that when we find ourselves disrobed of these bodies, and in the sphere of eternal progression, we may be with and make the spirits of our friends happy. This is a glorious happy new year. The old ark of theology and superstition is passing away. The life-blood of the popular theology is drying up. The lens of the spiritual philosophy is concentrating upon it the powerful and burning rays of truth. Already a dense and fetid smoke is issuing from its decaying portals. Its priests and votaries already are crying, Fire! fire! God grant, that from its ashes no phœnix may arise to propagate anew its senseless dogmas. Then will this be a happy year for all mankind.” On a subsequent occasion he writes—

971. “The spiritual doctrine is gaining ground here. Many of our influential citizens are believers. Some that were _infidels_ have become hopeful Christians. Public opinion is softening, and it is not now esteemed a disgrace, as it was some time since, to believe. The acquisition of such men as Professor Hare, Edmonds, Talmadge, Chase, Simmons, Dexter, and Brittan to our ranks, has given respectability to it, and wrought a revolution in opinion.”

972. Thus much I have said respecting my spiritual experience anterior to leaving Maine. Concerning my experience since then, much more might be said, but as you are already familiar with the most of it, it remains for me to present you with a few of the best and most unequivocal demonstrations of spiritual communion that I have witnessed, but which have not come under your personal observation. Among which the following touching incidents cannot fail to interest those whose hearts and minds are not closed by the iron bars of prejudice and superstition:

973. While spending the evening of January the 21st, 1854, at the house of a friend, it was proposed by the lady and her husband that we should form a circle. We had not been long seated at the table when three ladies, two of whom I had never seen, favoured us with their company, and took their seats at some distance from the circle. They had been in the room but two or three minutes, when the following was given through the table:

974. “My dear mother! In love I meet you this evening. Oh, mother, why do you mourn my death? I have just begun to live. Grieve not for me!

975. “I wish my husband to investigate Spiritualism. I will communicate to him.

976. “Why should you erect a monumental slab to my memory? Let me live in the hearts of friends. SARAH NORTH.”

977. When the gentleman who took down the communication read it, I was surprised at hearing the name of North, that being my maiden name. As there was no Sarah in our family, I asked the spirits, Who is Sarah North? Before they had time to reply, one of the ladies referred to (Mrs. Wightman) approached the table in tears. She said, “That is from my daughter Sarah. I have been engaged to-day in the solemn duty of selecting a tombstone to her memory.”

978. On Nov. 25th, 1854, I sat by appointment with Mrs. Wightman for spirit intercourse. Mrs. W. put the question, “Is Elizabeth Adams present?” “Yes.” “Will she communicate?” “Yes.” “My dear aunt,” was immediately spelt out. Interrupting the communication at that point, I asked Mrs. W. if Elizabeth Adams was her niece. No, she replied; it must be a mistake. Thinking it probable that there was something wrong in the conditions, I removed my hand for a few moments. On replacing it, to our surprise, the words, “My dear aunt,” were repeated. “Well!” we exclaimed, simultaneously, “that is strange. Let us see what may come;” and we received the following:

979. “_My dear Aunt_: This is the first time that I have communicated. When I left the rudimental sphere, I was so young I did not know what it meant to die; I now know. It was the beginning of life! I will come again soon and talk with you. Your niece, ALMIRA BARNES.”

980. It was some moments before Mrs. W. could recall to mind the fact that her sister had lost a child, of the above name, about twenty-three years since, aged three months. Here is intelligence so clearly independent of our minds, that it is, in my opinion, entirely fatal to the theory of “_mental reflection_” so often adduced by the unbelievers in Spiritualism. At the close of this communication the following was received:

981. “_Dear Mother_: I am happy to have this opportunity to send you a kind message. Although I am often with you, I cannot speak to you through your own mediumship. Oh mother! what delight it would give me could I make myself visible to you. What would you say if you should see me sitting in the chair I so long occupied when an invalid? I often sit in that chair, but you cannot yet see me. Have you not heard me rap to you? I have tried in various ways to make myself manifest. I think you had better go South this winter. I think father’s health would be better there. I will visit you, if you go. The climate where you now live is too bracing for father’s lungs. When the warm weather returns, you can bid farewell to the sunny South and seek your Northern home. I wish I could speak to you through your own dear hand, but that I cannot yet do.

982. “_Dear mother_, you will become a medium; then we shall have good times. Good-by, blessed mother! I look forward to a happy reunion with all your loved ones here. ELIZABETH ADAMS.”

983. The above, as may be seen, was from the spirit that Mrs. W. called for, and the communication was designed for the spirit’s mother, who lived in the State of New York. The message was subsequently forwarded to her address. E. A., Mrs. Wightman, informed me, died after a lingering illness of consumption. She occupied the arm-chair alluded to during the greater part of her sickness, and she promised her mother she would come back and sit in it after her death, if she could. Her step-father, whose indisposition she refers to, is affected with a chronic disease of the lungs. The loved ones are Elizabeth’s brothers and sisters, all of whom, five or six, are in the spirit world. These facts were unknown to me at the time.

984. Last January, my friend Mrs. Wightman brought two ladies to witness, for the first time, some of the phenomena of our beautiful philosophy. Their names were suppressed, to be disclosed by the communications that might come from their spirit friends, in order to strengthen the evidences of spiritual intercourse. My hand being applied to the disk, the index spelled out the following:

985. “_Dear Mother_: I am not dead, but living in the love sphere of my Father in heaven. When you laid my little body in the ground, it caused you many tears. Kind friends wept. I see one here who was a faithful friend to you in that hour of anguish. Cherish her, for she was a friend in need. Oh! mother, I wish you to believe that your little child is indeed with you. I can come to earth when I wish to see you and father. It only causes me to feel a little sad that you and father cannot see me. F. H. W.”

986. One of the ladies rose from her seat and accepted the communication as from her darling boy, who had been put in his grave two years before. The name was all right: “Franklin Henry Wilcox.” The friend referred to was Mrs. Wightman, who had been a true friend in the trying hour of a mother’s sorrow, and had performed the solemn duty of preparing her dear child for the depository of his earthly remains, and to pour balm on the heart of a bereaved and stricken mother.

987. About two months since, two of the professors of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, one of whom, Dr. Harvey, is favourably known to you, called to see me in relation to the subject of Spiritualism. I had never seen either of these gentlemen. After a few minutes’ conversation on the topic in question, Dr. H. observed—“We should like, madam, if you will be kind enough to favour us with a sitting, to communicate with our spirit friends.” Complying with the doctor’s request, I placed my hand on the disk, and the subjoined was rapidly communicated:

988. “My brothers in the glorious profession of medicine! I greet you this afternoon with unabated affection and respect. It seems like a dream that I have passed from your midst; but passing away is written on all things of a perishable nature. Not so with the spirit, which is an emanation from God.

989. “My earthly career is closed, and a brighter one is now in view. Oh, the inexpressible delight which fills my soul when I behold the wondrous works of Omnipotence! Here I can pursue, untrammelled, those subjects which were so delightful to me when an inhabitant of the mundane sphere. Oh! that I had prepared my mind in some measure, by proper investigation, for this transcendent world of living beauties! but the love of my profession filled my mind, to the exclusion of the more important one of spiritual progression. I would that I could converse with my beloved wife, that I might console her for her early loss! Tell her that I am happy; this will speak volumes. JOHNSON.”

990. The foregoing was accepted by the doctors, as coming from their colleague, the late Dr. Johnson; and they said that he was the spirit they had wished to hear from.

991. The same spirit has since communicated with Dr. H. and has given him abundant evidence of his identity.

992. Many more incidents in my experience, giving proof of the truth of spirit intercourse, might be adduced; but as time and space admonish me to bring my narrative to a close, I reserve them for a future period.

993. I have thus, my dear friend, given you a very hasty and imperfect sketch of my experience in Spiritualism, and my development as a medium. Little need here be said to prove, to reflecting minds, the value of this heaven-descended philosophy. It is a theme that all may study with pleasure and profit, when so disposed.

994. Whatever may be thought of modern Spiritualism, and however opposed it may be to many of the preconceived notions and opinions of mankind, it is certain that there is nothing in its fundamental doctrines and teachings, which may not be reconciled with the laws of God, so far as these are known to man.

995. It matters not, I should think, whether this movement is sanctioned or not by a former revelation, as that would neither add to nor detract from its intrinsic merit. Spiritualism is endeared to the heart of thousands by its fond associations, and mementoes of love and affection from those dear friends who have passed from their sight, though still united to them by kindred ties. It has gone on in triumph, overspreading every State in our glorious republic, and, passing over the broad sea, has reached the shores of other lands, binding together the brotherhood of man in the sacred bonds of love, and dispelling the discordant elements of strife and sectism which have hung over the world, and like a dark pall, imparted their sombre hue to the minds of men. Progress is its name, and love its mission. It has no affinity with vice. It makes no war with right, but inculcates the highest standard of morality. It is noiselessly accomplishing its divine mission. Many a widow’s heart is made to leap with joy by its benign influence, and many an orphan feels its silent ministration. Many a prodigal son has been reclaimed at the brink of ruin by the voice of a spirit mother! It is not only a few individuals who are to receive the blessings which flow from this new dispensation—the masses are to be benefited. It inculcates principles which will strengthen the foundations of society, promote harmony in the social system, and ultimately unite all mankind under its broad standard of peace. That Spiritualism is rapidly extending its bounds, and gaining hundreds of thousands of converts, admits not of a doubt; and that it has the elements within it to elevate, reform, and redeem the race, it were folly, nay, madness, to deny.

996. Eighteen months have scarcely elapsed, my dear friend, since our first acquaintance, and you are aware of the circumstances which afforded me this highly-esteemed pleasure. The event, I am happy to say, has proved an era in my own life that I shall always revert to with pleasurable and heartfelt emotion; for its results have not only proved a blessing and solace to you, but a source of much joy and happiness to myself. Though you have encountered much opposition, and even abuse, from the ignorant and illiterate as well as from the professed votaries of science, in defending the cause of spiritual philosophy, you have fearlessly and faithfully battled against error, and planted your standard on the high pinnacle of truth. And as David of old, with the smooth stones of Kedron, slew the Gathean giant, and was met with songs of triumph and dances of joy by the daughters of Israel; so you, armed with the panoply of truth, have gone forth with the weapons of philosophy and reason to prostrate the hydra-headed monster; and will, I trust, receive in your turn the acknowledgments and love of your grateful friends.

997. “There is a nobler strife than clashing spears,
A nobler peril than the battle-field;
‘Tis when, with trust in God, worn as a shield,
‘Midst universal hisses, scoffs, and sneers,
The man of truth with brow serene appears
And stands forth singly, for the right appealed
To the Eternal Umpire; nor will yield
One backward step, from policy or fears.
The savage, bandit, nay, the brute, is steeled
‘Gainst bristling danger—e’en the worm uprears
Beneath the foot his tiny sting, to crave
A venomed vengeance; but immortal years
Are full of glory for the Christ-like brave,
Who dare to suffer wrong, that they from wrong may save.”

Very truly yours,
MARGARET B. GOURLAY.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRACTICAL BENEFIT OF SPIRITUALISM, IN THE
HAPPINESS IMPARTED BY THE CONVERSION OF AN UNBELIEVER TO A BELIEF IN
IMMORTALITY.

998. Certainly, in one conclusion all zealous religious sectarians will coincide. I allude to that which makes belief in a future state of existence of the highest importance to the happiness of reasoning mortals.

999. Those who, for faith in immortality, have been satisfied to rely on the creed which they may have chanced to derive from their ancestors through education, and have consequently felt the comfort of a belief in immortality thence arising, may readily conceive of the benefit which must ensue to those of their fellow-creatures upon whom such a creed has not been impressed, but who are quite sensible of the immense value of any facts tending to create such a belief in life to come. It is to be lamented, however, that persons who have this impression contingently from a peculiar education, are irritated at having analogous impressions created in a different way.

1000. But in obedience to any dissatisfaction thus arising, to assail those who may acquire a knowledge of futurity by a new route, is manifestly inconsistent with the golden rule. As an exemplification of the benefit which the new evidences of another and a better world may produce in the minds of those who are not satisfied with that of revelation, I will subjoin the account of his conversion indited by one of my esteemed friends, Doctor W. Geib, who preceded me in spiritual investigation, and has longer enjoyed the influence which Spiritualism exercises over its votaries.

1001. The author was a member of the circle under whose auspices my experimental tests were for the most part applied, and was present on the very occasion when _my own apparatus, which had been contrived to disprove spiritual agency_, demonstrated its existence.

1002. “The verdure and warblings of fifty springs had elevated the souls of the writer of the present sketch in wonder, admiration, and gratitude, to the great Omnipotent Father of the Universe, without opening to his longing view a world beyond the grave.

1003. “There was pain in the thought, that scenes so enchanting, feelings so susceptible to their charms, a mind constituted to appreciate their miraculous wonders and pervading fascinations, and to do homage to the great Intelligence which gave them existence, should in a few short years be destined, like the foliage of the forest, to death and decay.

1004. “Still, to his mind there was arrogance in the thought that man could ever be the recipient of joys beyond those provided for him in common with all animal creation; and he chased from his mind the sombre thought of death, as a dreaded incubus upon life and the enemy of his few remaining joys.

1005. “But how changed the scene! Death, once so disturbing to his peace, so discordant with the moral attributes of his nature, which ‘puzzles the will,’ and leads the mind to seek in wonder and discouragement the motive for human life, is now but a ‘consummation devoutly to be wished,’ when this race of earthly life shall have been duly run; when we may have filled the measure of our destined usefulness, and secured by our moral affinities a joyful reception in the spheres above.

1006. “And why this change in thought and feeling? How are the horrors of the grave, the dread of dissolution into the primordial elements of creation, exchanged for the blissful assurance of immortal life for the soul of man, in all its associate identity, after it shall have departed from its earthly tenement of flesh?

1007. “The answer to this all-absorbing question, which sheds light into the gloomy recesses of the skeptic’s mind, and gives joy to his despairing heart—which supplied evidence where none had been sought, conviction where it had been sought in vain, and imparts to the accepted hope and faith of the professional believer, the confirmation of a demonstrated fact—is to be found in the irrefutable evidence of _Spiritual Philosophy_.

1008. “How invaluable is this dispensation of an Almighty Providence, which has made his despairing creature, a believer in the immortality of the soul of man; has cleared from his mental vision the clouds of doubt and disbelief, and has opened to his rejoicing mind the irrefragable evidence of a future life beyond the grave!

1009 ‘Hail now on earth the glorious day,
When infidels have learnt to pray;
When heaven’s laws by reason blessed,
Are all with fondest love confessed!

When man in bliss can look above,
And see a God in all his love;
Can own with joy the mighty King,
And loud his hallelujahs sing.

Throw back the gates, ye heavenly band,
To loved ones show the spirit land;
Hang out the beacon lights to see
A home _for all_, the bond and free.

And now the dreams of former days
Behold in those celestial ways;
Where sorrow’s eye is never seen,
Where love and hope are ever green.’—W. G.

1010. “The exhibition of so-called spiritual agency in New York City by the Misses Fox and their mother, was the first incident that claimed my notice, and excited my laughter and ridicule, in this apparent new phase in the science of legerdemain.

1011. Blitz and his wonders crossed my mental vision, and seemed outdone by the results of this feminine exhibition, in which the spirits of another world were invoked, and aided in the performance.

1012. This happened when psychology had been developed to a wondering world, as the climax of magnetic phenomena in the wonderful attributes of man, and was regarded by myself among many as the culmination of human research in the science of animal life.

1013. Meeting an intelligent friend who had bestowed much pains in the investigation of this department of science, and inquiring of him as to the progress of magnetism, I was answered, that something much more wonderful than magnetism engaged his attention and occupied his mind at that time.

1014. Asking what the subject might be, and being asked in return, if I had not heard of the wonders of Spiritualism, a painful impression was made on my mind and feelings that, where all had been regarded as sound and straight, there must be some latent obliquity of thought; that my friend, as the Spaniards say, was a little _tonto_, or that he was likely soon to become so, was quite apparent.

1015. However, my strictest scrutiny could detect no decline of his intelligent and ingenuous mind, and his well-digested remarks addressed to my incredulous ears, gave proof enough that this might be another demand for the investigation of science, and a step forward in the progressive development of nature’s laws.

1016. Being the leading member of a circle that held its meetings at his house, and kindly acquiescing in my request to be present and witness the phenomena, I found myself shortly afterward seated at a table, on a Sabbath evening, with about twenty ladies and gentlemen, whose every appearance was fatal to my preconceived prejudices against the understanding of those with whom I expected to be associated.

1017. It was evidently a meeting for religious devotion. Sacred songs took the lead, and my own voice, as if impelled by a foreign influence, was raised for the first time by the impulse of feeling to participation in this vocal prayer of gratitude and praise, sung to the great, almighty Founder of the universe.

1018. Indeed it would be well for the cause of spiritual philosophy if all exhibitions of its wonderful and sacred phenomena were made under circumstances calculated to impress the mind with the greatness and dignity of its source. To feel protected from the nefarious cupidity of the world is an important first step for the successful investigation of a subject so sacred in its character, and so absorbing, in contemplating the prospective existence of man.

1019. Seeing my associates place their hands flat on the table, I followed their example, and was soon made sensible of the reason, by feeling what was recognised as electric concussion, made by spirits to denote their presence.

1020. And ever will my mind recur with delight and gratitude to the influence on my moral nature of this mission of love and salvation to an invulnerable heart! It flashed like electricity across the mind; the clouds of skepticism were ruptured, and shed a grateful and refreshing shower of hopeful joy on the feverish doubts of an unbelieving soul. This beginning led to progressive investigation, and that, as is uniformly the case, to a confirmed conviction of _the communion of spirits with their friends on earth_.

1021. Hearing much of physical demonstrations, but having witnessed only the concussions, vulgarly called the raps, the question was put to my friend, the gentleman already referred to, if a demonstration could be had to gratify my curiosity, and strengthen my assurance, when the following dialogue occurred:

1022. ‘Will the spirits be so obliging as to make a physical demonstration?’ Answered by three raps on the table, which were responded to by an affirmative expression from the whole circle. My seat was at the side of the medium, a married lady of considerably more than ordinary weight. _Question._ Will the spirits move Mrs. D. in her chair? _Ans._ Yes.

1023. As this demonstration was intended for my special benefit, and our invisible friends were fully committed for its performance, my attention was riveted on the lady who was to be the subject of it. ‘Madam, will you please put your feet on the spar of the chair?’ This being fully accomplished—‘and your hands in your lap,’ was added. As her hands dropped, _the lady left my side_, passed about two feet backward, and immediately returned to her former position at the table.

1024. My astonishment was naturally raised to the highest pitch, demanding of Dr. P., who sat on her opposite side, if I could believe my own eyes, and that Mrs. D. had really been moved from my side. ‘Oh, certainly,’ he replied; ‘that is nothing. I have seen far more wonderful manifestations than that.’

1025. The idea of collusion was too ridiculous to be entertained for a moment; every consideration condemned it. The carpet on which the chair stood on its slender legs, with at least one hundred and fifty pounds added to its gravity, must have been extensively injured had the chair remained in contact with it. But not even a sound was audible, and my mind was left to contemplate _an invisible power that had effected the movement of a ponderous body in mid air_.

1026. Showing the interest of my own dear invisible guardian friends, it was spelt out by the card, the primitive mode of communication at that time, that I should change my seat to the side of the medium; and it was only after this change had been made that my mind was impressed to ask for a demonstration.

1027. By this demonstration of supernal agency I was delighted, humbled, and convinced. As the octogenarian Robert Owen, of London, proclaimed to the world in a published letter, in relating his own case, I became a convert to _spiritual life_ and _intercourse_ by the force of this evidence, because I should have considered any man a fool, who, with a mind free from the curse of a bigoted education, and whose thoughts and feelings were not mortgaged to the world, could reject such palpable and convincing proof, and entertain a different conclusion.

1028. Being subsequently in the city of New York, I visited the public circles of Mrs. C., a medium for automatic writing and the sounds. Being requested, as the rest had been, but without response, to ask if any of my spirit friends were present, my interrogation was answered by three distinct raps on the table. ‘Now ask who it is; a father, mother, and so on;’ and I was informed it was a son. ‘Is your sister with you?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Will you spell her name?’ ‘Yes;’ and it was correctly given. ‘Is her little son with her?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Will you spell his name?’ ‘Yes;’ and a name of seventeen letters was correctly spelt out by the card, the letters being indicated, when pointed to, by three raps.

1029. My spirit son also informed me when he had died and of what disease. I asked if they were happy. It will be observed that my son’s name had not been mentioned, reserving it for a test. Three raps had replied in the affirmative to my question, when the medium spasmodically seized a pencil, extended a sheet of paper toward me, and wrote upside down, so that I might read it as written: ‘We are looking forward for you to join us, when we shall be more so;’ and to my perfect delight and astonishment, signed my son’s name to the communication, asking whether the name was correct.

1030. On a subsequent occasion, when a large and respectable company was present, I remarked to Mrs. C. that she had reported the fact that foreign languages had been written by her hand. ‘All kinds of language; but I don’t know any thing about them,’ was the reply. ‘If you have no objection, I should like to get a communication from my son, in a foreign language.’ ‘Oh, not the least; if he knew it in this world, he will know it in the next.’ ‘My son, will you give me a communication in a foreign language?’ Answer, three raps. The company were all intent on this striking and convincing test of spiritual intercourse. In French? no; one rap. In Spanish? three raps. The medium’s hand, as before, seized the pencil, and wrote upside down a communication to me _in correct Spanish_, though we all accepted her declaration, that she was not acquainted with one word of the Spanish language.

1031. As it is said of our beneficent almighty Father, that when two or three are gathered together in his name, he is with them, so it is with the spirits of our dear departed relatives and friends. When a few congenial, harmonious spirits of earth are associated in virtuous love, and their affinity for their supermundane spirit friends is strong enough to draw them here, they come on missions of friendship, and pour happiness into our hearts, provided the presence of a medium, possessing the required conditions, affords them an opportunity.

1032. It has been my good fortune to be a member of such an association, called a spirit circle; and the communications which have come to me from my dear departed children, and others who are dear to me, filled with love and interest for my welfare in the world, have given a value to life which it never had before, supplying a stimulus to the heart and mind which has guarded them from the influence of surrounding excitements, and strewed that path with many sweets which was too apt, with less humility and resignation, to be regarded with doubt and pursued with remorse.

1033. Let it not be said that spiritual philosophy imparts no benefit to man. It need not be asked if opening heaven to the mind of the skeptic is not a boon: it is too manifest an axiom to be made a question. Is it no advantage to mankind to know that this life is a prelude to one in the skies? no incentive to virtue to be taught that the beginning of our spirit life will correspond with the termination of our mundane existence, and that our position there will be governed by our affinities here? Operating on spiritual, as gravity does on physical, matter, and giving to crime a weight which holds the criminal back in the career of immortal happiness; and that this must be first disposed of by the redeeming laws of nature before the soul can begin its progressive flight to spheres of celestial bliss.

1034. At one of those family harmonious associations at which spirits are wont to come, I received a first communication from a much-loved daughter, whose devoted affection in this world caused her untimely death to leave a large blank in my happiness, till spiritual philosophy gave to my mind the assurance of her exalted bliss and unaltered love.

1035. To hear, as it were, the voice of one who had been resolved, agreeably to my belief, into the primitive elements of her physical nature, proclaiming her existence and transcendent happiness in scenes of surpassing beauty and fascination, was well calculated to soften the heart, however hard before, and make it for the future a more ready recipient of happy impressions; to open the floodgates of feeling, waken up the latent sympathies of our nature, and make us participants of those fountains of joy, which flow from the blessings of pure religion.

_Letter from a Spirit Daughter._

1036. “‘_Father Dear_: I will give you some idea of my beautiful home. Think of all the flowers ever seen on earth blended in one, all the heavenly strains of music blended in one strain, all beauty combined, and you will have a slight conception of the heavenly kingdom.

1037. Poets have sung of heavenly joys, but fancy cannot paint, nor artist sketch, the wondrous beauties of the spirit home. Darling father, how glad I am to see you have begun to live for heaven! I shall be one to welcome you when life’s journey is over. Oh, mother dear, will you, for the love you bear to us, listen to the voice of your children? We will give you all the proof you ask. MARIA.”

1038. This was all got by pointing to the letters on a card, and taken down by a third person. All in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of the least participation of any one in its production.

1039. A beautiful and much-loved son, who left this world at three years of age, came to me, at the end of twenty-seven years, from the seventh supernal sphere, with words of love, consolation, and advice. Such events, to a believer in the spiritual doctrine, are well calculated to arouse the strongest energies of the soul and inspire the best feelings of the heart!

1040. The regular progress of maturity of the spirit, uninterrupted by the grave, is made evident to our astonished minds by an event like this. We are also admonished by the same source that decline is not an attribute of spirit life; that old age recedes, and infancy advances, to the same point of maturity, with entire immunity from all physical infirmity.

1041. On last Christmas-day, being convalescent from a rather doubtful illness, and musing alone on the wonders and blessings of spiritual intercourse, I was induced to write the following letter to my much-loved spirit daughter, from whom had come the preceding and many other communications:

1042. ‘_Dear angel Child_: The untiring affinity of your cherished love, which, unobstructed by time and space, makes you so often the companion of my mind and heart, and the dear partner of my thoughts and feelings, would seem to render the present object of addressing a letter to you and your dear brothers in heaven a superfluous task.

1043. But, my dear Maria, my ever dear and cherished child, with my growing faith in the blessed reality of spiritual existence, I am becoming daily more anxious to preserve the history of my happy experience, and also my correspondence with my beloved relations of this world, who have preceded me in the progressive destiny of the human race. Beside which, my beloved daughter, it will assimilate, revive, and perpetuate that mundane correspondence, the dear mementoes of which had their beginning seventeen summers since in your sick chamber on the banks of the Hudson, while an ambitious and youthful votary of Minerva, and ended on the Alabama, ever sacred to my memory, with the termination of your worldly career, a wife and a mother.

1044. The considerations which engage my mind and elicit my solicitude, in this contemplated correspondence with my spirit relatives and friends, are the mode of conducting it, that may make them acquainted with its contents, the fear of transcending the limits of propriety in the subject-matter of my letters, and my solicitude to make all my thoughts, feelings, and acts as conformable to the high behests of spirit life as may be within the reach of my weak and earthly nature.

1045. The communications I have received from you and your dear brothers, and from your Uncle John and Aunt Rebecca, are a perpetual source of happiness to my mind, and nothing, while I am in this world, can reflect so much joy on my heart as the continued correspondence of all the loved ones who have gone before me.

1046. Your angel visits, and those of my dear William, during my recent bodily affliction, have exercised that joyful influence on my heart and mind so essential in diseases of a dangerous nature and of doubtful termination.

1047. The assurance which you and your dear brother have given me, that my sickness has had the happy effect to spiritualize my mental and physical nature, has been already made manifest to my grateful mind by strengthened resolution for the future, and a more exalted sense of the demands of that true spiritual philosophy which felicitates our life in this, and secures for us a desirable position in the spheres above.

1048. Flowing from my warm aspirations for the increased happiness of my fellow-creatures in this mundane sphere, by the dissemination and growth of the spiritual doctrine, I cherish a wish that this letter may be made to subserve that divine object, by exhibiting to the world an irrefutable test of spiritual intercourse.

1049. For this purpose, my dear angel child, in your next interview through our much-respected medium, allow me to request the favour of you to make my letter so far the subject of your communication, as may exhibit the reality of your spiritual existence, intelligence, and clairvoyance, and your continued correspondence of heart and mind with your happy father.

“_Christmas_, 1854.

1050. Shortly after writing this letter, at the circle of which I am a member, the following communication was spelled out on the spiritoscope or disc.

1051. ‘_Darling Father_: I wish to say something to you about William’s communication. He has impressed you since you were sick more than myself. You are rapidly developing as an impressional medium.

1052. ‘We have been constantly with you. Having wished to give a communication the evening our friend (a lady who is a very superior medium) was with you and mother, but the mode was too tedious. It was an era in mother’s life. Her opposition tends in some measure to repulse us; not that we love her less, but our loving natures must meet reciprocal tenderness.

1053. ‘Love begets love in the heavenly spheres, as well as on earth. I cannot say more at present, but I think William will speak more at length about the letter. MARIA.’

1054. ‘What letter?’ ‘Father knows,’ was the reply. The next communication for me on the same evening was the following:

1055. ‘Father, I wish you to read the letter which you have in your pocket-book before you go home; it will dispel all doubts in your mind relative to its spiritual origin. W. G.’

1056. On the next evening, finding myself incidentally one of a happy meeting of spiritual friends, the following came for me through the spiritoscope from my brother, referring to my letter:

1057. ‘_Brother William_: We are still with and around you. During your sickness it was the province of Maria to watch you daily. Other friends were near; among these were father and mother, with your sons Jacob, William, and Henry, Rebecca, and many others bound to you by the ties of consanguinity. On Christmas-day we held a levee in your room. If you could have seen us, I think it might have disturbed your placidity, but you sat as composed as if you were entirely alone. I think if you will recall the circumstances, you will confess that a power foreign to your own was exerting an influence to give forth spiritual monitions.

1058. ‘I am anxious that Maria should make a communication _in regard to the letter_, and she will do so when an opportunity offers.’

1059. On the next meeting of our circle, the following beautiful letter was put in my hand by our intelligent and highly-developed medium, Mrs. Gourlay, written by her under spiritual impression:

1060. ‘_Dear Father_: I mentioned to you briefly at the circle that brother William impressed you to write the letter which you addressed to me on Christmas-day. I perceive with pleasure that my friend Mrs. G. is now sufficiently under my control to answer your affectionate epistle. The proposed correspondence between us affords me much pleasure, and causes me to feel as if I were really to live over again the days of my earthly existence, when I was blessed with the oft-repeated manifestations of your parental love and affection. I flatter myself, my dear father, that this revival of loving association will tend much to your happiness as well as mine. I will be a friendly star to guide you in your course over the troubled sea of life, that you may not become submerged in its surging billows, but arrive safely at the haven of eternal joy and felicity. I will lift your soul by degrees to the source of love and wisdom, and cause you to feel sensations of pleasure such as you have never before experienced. You have a mind which delights in the beauties of nature and art. Let me tell you, then, that no scene of earthly grandeur which you have ever witnessed, nor the sublimest flight of fancy of the wildest enthusiast in the cause of Spiritualism, can compare with the beauties and joys of the spirit home.

1061. ‘I regret that the members of my loved family are so much blinded by prejudice, as to debar themselves the holy privilege of spiritual intercourse—a communion which would serve to connect them indissolubly with us, and teach them of a world beyond death and the grave. Oh! father, how my heart rejoices that I can come to you with cheering words, and pour into your willing ear the tidings of the gospel of peace, which will prove a balm of consolation to your drooping spirit! The ordinary trials of life are but as dew on the eagle’s wing, when the proud bird soars aloft to court the rays of the rising sun. Father, I have already presented you with a view of the beautiful realities of my spirit home. The picture I have drawn is no ideal one, but a real and substantial scene of enduring pleasures. Now let me ask, How will your joys compare with ours? Oh! that the minds of my darling children might become imbued with an understanding of this most holy religion, for I am conscious that it would add largely to their present and future bliss!

1062. Dear father, I perceive the emotions of your inmost heart, and if the love of a devoted child can in any wise conduce to your happiness, it is most freely thine. Oh! that dear mother could feel as you do, how happy her declining years on earth might become! When she is disposed to listen to the voices of her spirit children, it will be our pleasure to come to her “with glad tidings of great joy.” Wishing you both, my dear parents, all the happiness which earth can afford, I subscribe myself your ever loving daughter. MARIA.’”

1063. The following letter was placed in a sealed envelope, addressed and handed to Mrs. Gourlay for an impressional reply. A few days afterward the answer to it, here annexed, was handed to me by my esteemed friend, the lady named, with the original letter still in the sealed envelope as it had been handed to her. This has to be regarded as a beautiful specimen of psychometric mediumship.

PHILADELPHIA, March 23, 1855.

1064. _My dear Brother John_: Your communication last evening at our circle of “progress” afforded me much gratification, as you are doubtless aware from your pervading perception. I regret that circumstances do not allow of a more frequent intercourse with my beloved friends of the spirit land. It is also my ardent desire to hold communion with all my spirit relatives, and would wish with you, my dear brother, to bring about this delightful consummation.