deliberations. The verses we quote are the concluding words of And thus ye'll find, round heart will cling, A spirit earth-a spirit land— Houses and trees, yon moaning strand In concluding this notice of a work which we cannot forbear to call remarkable in its construction, and luminous in many of the truths it advances, and which we think highly opportune in its appearance, we must indulge in one more quotation to display the quiet earnest tone in which it is written. We are very simple earnest men, I say, and think of Father God as of a Father indeed. This is a great word, a word of mighty meaning-a Father! Well, then, he talks to us somehow. He does not leave us without guidance; He talks to us every way He can, we may be sure. Talks! Yes, talks! We heard Him in the telegraphic wires just now, through the hands of his servants -the breeze. He hears our answer too, and knows we understand. He sees our face brighten, as He meant it should-our face lighted up, as it is, by the setting sun glancing across the heath, and tipping the furze bushes and the heather. Being, then, simple minded, we have brought our troubles to His knees, and told Him of them-aye, every one, little by little, word by word. He is our Father; we believe in Him, and we will trust Him; and He has heard us with unwearied patience. He has listened to our foolish, childlike tongue, to our words tasting of distrustfulness, and shown no anger; has encouraged us to speak, and given many a plain answer-answers without end, which we feel are full of a satisfaction-perfect, were we not so infantile; had we not a childish distrust not to be calmed away. He has never repulsed us by a tone or sigh; His words, when we have hungered to address Him, have always been"Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be eaten by the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it." And I call these gentle words-very gentle and very strong, the words to encourage and strengthen us; for we have every desire not to rebel; we would be one with Jehovah for ever. The wooing words we feel, are addressed to us -the words of repulsion, to the Satan that torments us-would tear us from the grasp of God: the Sun of heaven we see in the gentle words, the Shield of heaven in the angry." In reviewing a book professing to give an account of creation which shews evil and sin not to be abnormal and hateful, but appointments of Deity essential to creation, and which, in the logical unfolding of its theory, embraces all Christian dogma, two courses were open to us; to give an independent account of the book, or to illustrate its general spirit and tenor by free quotation. We have chosen the latter, and in now leaving the book in the hands of our reader, we hope the course we have followed will have excited his desire to seek in its pages and form his own judgment as to the author's success, and the truth, or untruth, of our remarks. If thus tempted, he should not find in its pages a new and all embracing development of religion more than shadowed forth, he will at least-we are assured-find many luminous truths and a spirit which will give him strength, comfort, and courage an walking the chequered path of life. Correspondence. To the Editor of the "Spiritual Magazine." SIR,-I am sorry that you have thought it worth while to reproduce that rather stale but playful jest of my old friend Jerrold, as, from the line so strangely omitted in Human Nature, but now supplied, you must see that the joke does not really apply to me in the least. I merely protest as Bacon protested, and as almost all our eminent thinkers do still protest, against anthropomorphism, or the pretence of understanding the nature of "that Great First Cause least understood;" that great fundamental principle from which all must flow, but which must in the very nature and essence of things be "incomprehensible." And I must request you, sir, as a man of honour-and as you expect to be fairly dealt with yourself to print this note in your next number. As to Dr. Chance, I repeat that I shall be most happy to furnish him with the explanation, or rather the information, he requires, if I am permitted to do so; but Mr. Burns refuses me that permission, and I think Dr. Chance should know this; and that it is not I who am treating his very able article with neglect. I may add that I have never asserted or attempted to dictate to the Spiritualists, though strongly objecting to Mr. Jackson doing so. suggestion of the thread in place of rope was at the request of the Davenports themselves, to see if any more convincing tests could be devised. I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, 61, Upper Gloucester-place, N.W. HENRY G. ATKINSON. P.S.-Mr. Howitt is mistaken in regard to my influence in the production of the manifestations. My Sub-Committee of the Committee of the Dialectical Society has obtained by far the most positive results, and I am pronounced by Mrs. Hardinge and others of the spiritually enlightened to be a good medium. "To the Editor of the Spiritual Magazine." The SIR,-A press of business has hitherto prevented me from sending you the following extract, from a letter in reply to my communication published in the March number of your Magazine. It will be remembered that I gave certain remarkable statements (professedly from George Fox), reflecting upon the Society of Friends as hard, exclusive, and barren. I had at the time no means of ascertaining either the truthfulness or falsity of the remarks. Indeed, from my reading, I had formed a favourable judgment of the Quakers, who have done what no large sect in this country has done, viz., borne a consistent testimony against the wickedness of war. They have always, moreover, protested against the unchristian character and the brutalising effects of punishments by means of death, which are nothing else than murder according to law. Yet a Quaker, who gives his name and permits me to make whatever use I like of his letter, says, "As a Quaker myself, I most cordially sympathise with the spirit of your remarks, and I believe we have entirely departed from the intentions and spirit of our founder,' by constituting ourselves into a sect, and building up boundaries of forms and doctrines like all the other churches. The unity and simplicity of the 'spiritual' teaching, coming as it does through such diversified channels, is one of its most extraordinary characteristics." I would here make two observations: first, that whenever any human being is set up as an authority, be he Luther, Wesley, Swedenborg, Fox, or any one else, however eminent he may have been for piety, learning, &c., those who set him up and repeat his words necessarily fall beneath their idol; they never can attain to his standard, which they exalt into a power that rules over them; and by the subjugation of their minds to their "Author"-their one human "Author"-they contract their sympathies and dwarf their intellects, and do other serious mischief to their whole being. Secondly, that sectarianism of every kind should be utterly eschewed; it should be broken up and utterly dispersed; no one should bow down his soul to this (or any other) degrading yoke; but, free from all fetters, and all hindrances to the fullest development, every human being should stand upright in the presence of God; take his constantly revealed will as the rule of life, and obey this ever-righteous will cheerfully, thoroughly, and fearlessly, resting assured that nothing but good can ever come to such an independent, wise, and useful life. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, WM. HUME-ROTHERY, Clerk. 3, Richmond-terrace, Middleton, Manchester, 31st March, 1869. A MEDIUM'S EXPERIENCES. "To the Editor of the Spiritual Magazine." London, 3rd April, 1869. SIR,-I wish to relate some of my experiences of the use of spirit intercourse, stating only enough to indicate their character. I sat at circles in Texas for five years, and then was developed into an impressional writing medium; at first I wrote many pieces on political, moral, and social subjects, some of which were readily published by newspaper editors without their knowing how I wrote them-the style was not mine, and the ideas new to me. Soon afterwards, I had occasion to go to Hockley, a railroad terminus, to collect some small debts; staying at a house 18 miles from there, the spirit indicated to me in the morning by a slight trembling of the hand that he wished to write, so I wrote that I must go to Hockley. "Why?" I asked. "Because there is a man there who wishes to see you," said the spirit. "The weather is too blustry and windy," I replied. "No weather ought to hinder you from going," was the answer; but I then thought spirits had no business to interfere in material business, and would not go. Next day I went to Hockley, and found that a man had arrived there, whose note for 200 dollars I had in my pocket, and had waited for me all day to lift his note, and had gone off leaving word that he had to go to Ohio, and I have never seen him since. I was so annoyed at this, that having to ride across the country to the Sabine River, I paid particular attention to the spirit directions, which urged me six or seven miles every day farther than I wished to go. On arriving at the Trinity, I accepted the invitation of an old friend to stay with him a week, but next morning I proceeded on my journey by the advice of the spirit, and as before, he urged me as far as I could go every day. Two hours after I arrived at the Orange on the Sabine, it commenced raining heavily, and it continued for several weeks; the whole of that low country, where there are no bridges was flooded; had I delayed on the road, I would have been detained somewhere at a heavy expense for five or six weeks. I had taken an interest in a business at the Sabine; I was advised at a spirit circle not to have anything to do with it, but I hooted at the idea of spirits interfering in my business. Ultimately the partner who had charge of the business there, sold it out and ran off, leaving me minus 4,000 dollars, whilst I was absent attending to other matters. Some time after that, I undertook to travel through Texas in order to collect debts for various parties, and organize a new business on a large scale. Several times I was lost in the woods or prairies, puzzled by the numerous cow trails, and had to depend on spirit impression, which invariably led me correctly where there was no path. One time I ran the risk of crossing 14 miles of prairie to the very house I wanted to, without any means to guide me but the spirit impression, and did not see it until I was close to it, as it was at the bottom of a hill which I had to ride over. I was saved a day's ride once by the spirit informing me I would find the man I wanted to see at Brenham, and not at home, which I accordingly did. My experience was that whenever I was in real and immediate need, I was never deceived; but in unimportant or future matters, or questions of mere curiosity, no dependance could be placed on spirit communications. Yet, when I had got through that business my old scepticism returned. Coming home, after riding hard for a week, drenched to the skin with rain, I began to arrange papers to start again next day. The spirit advised me to wait five days. "No," says I, "I must get through Washington County in four weeks." "If you go before five days, you will be no farther advanced in four weeks than now." "I don't care," said I; "I will risk it. "You will do us a particular favour to rest to-morrow," said the spirit. Why ?" I asked. "Because you are too much exhausted to ride." I agreed to this, and rested next day. I then started the day after, and was only able to get to the house of a friend 12 miles off, when I lay down there in a burning fever, and could not get up for ten days, and it was just four weeks ere I was able to go again. Laying on a sick bed I determined never again to despise spirit warnings; and several times during the war must have lost my life but for those warnings, particularly at Matamoras, in Mexico; but I shall only mention the last circumstance which brought me to London. At Brownsville, on the Rio Grande, the year before last, I had determined to go to the upper part of that river, to trade for hides, skins, &c. I was so bent on it that the spirits could not impress me otherwise, so they sent old Ben Prime to me, an old botanic physician, who sometimes spoke under spirit influence. Said he, "You must leave here for London before the 1st July, and as an evidence that this communication is true, you will receive money to-morrow per mail." The mail brought me two drafts next day, which I had no expectation of; and soon after Ben Prime came again. Says he, "Arrange all your business next week to leave, as you will receive by next mail (being a weekly mail) an urgent letter from your sister in London to pay her a visit. The letter came as advised; I was all ready, and left; and some time after I arrived here I was astonished to learn that the three gentlemen whom I left in the house where I lived, died soon after. They were all younger and stronger men than myself, and not in bad health. My spirit impressions were that they were poisoned by the Mexican servants. I would have been another victim had I remained. During the war when we were blockaded, all the medicine being sent to the troops, I wrote by impression for a physician the medical virtues of many of the wild herbs with which Texas abounds. On trial he told me the impressions were perfectly correct. The German philosopher stated at the Conference that all Spiritualism was merely a deception or sleight-of-hand; and I suppose he is only one of a large class. My experiences, and much greater than mine, can be corroborated by that of thousands in every part of the United States, for I am a very imperfect medium compared to many. For instance, in 1856, before I could write from spirit impressions, I sat beside a lady in Texas, who wrote communications from old acquaintances of mine, some of whom had died in the West Indies, and whom I had forgotten. They had to recall themselves to my mind by circumstances which had passed between us: one was from my father, of two pages, and a perfect fac-simile of his handwriting. The lady could see spirits, and saw him, described his personal appearance and the manner of his death. He had died in Scotland before she was born. Part of his communication stated that in due time I would be in London with a relative of mine, and that certain matters would be adjusted between him and me. It appeared so improbable at the time, that I started up and said it was impossible; nevertheless, within the last week-12 years afterwards the whole has been accomplished. Now, if those impressions either of sight, or hearing and guidance, are not spirit impressions, what are and whence do they proceed? R. B. HANNAY. THE Spiritual Magazine. JUNE, 1869. SPIRITUAL PHOTOGRAPHS. TRIAL OF MR. MUMLER IN NEW YORK. By the kind attention of Judge Edmonds we have received copies of the New York Tribune and other papers containing reports of the trial which has taken place, ending in the acquittal of Mr. Mumler. The case occupied four days and appears to have excited great interest. We make full extracts from the Tribune and the World, of the case as presented in those papers. In all the annals of criminal jurisprudence-and they comprise an array of crimes of almost every description-there has seldom, if ever, been recorded a case analagous to that now pending before Justice Dowling, in the Tombs Police Court, in which the People are the prosecutors, and Wm. H. Mumler of No. 630, Broadway, is the defendant. The specific charge brought against Mumler is that by means of what he termed spiritual photographs, he has swindled many credulous persons, his representations leading the victims to believe that by means of communication with the spirit land, it was possible not only to bring back the departed spirit, but to photograph their immaterial forms, thus for ever perpetuating the memory of their spiritual presence. How many have been induced to speculate on the features of departed relatives and friends it is hard to say, but that the number was large, the prosperity of Mr. Mumler's establishment seems to have proven beyond controversy, and, at the same time, that many were duped, and seemed to appreciate the fact. A few, predisposed to seize with N.S.-IV. |