"Exorcism by Holy Water a Failure."
By Spiritus
"MR. EDITOR:—In your paper of the 17th inst. I notice you intimate that the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Albany intends to exorcise Spirits, or, in other words, cast out devils. It may be of interest to the Rev. gentleman and the balance of the Catholic clergy to know that the thing has been tried and can not be done. The Catholic clergyman of St. Louis tried it last spring, and failed; they could effect nothing. "The case was as follows: Four silly, sadly-educated girls, of ages ranging from fifteen to twenty, having gathered together at a friend's house (in the name of somebody, I know not who,) to "have a time with the Spirits," or in other words, to trifle with Spirit Manifestations, having seated themselves around a table, and after asking all manner of foolish questions, they requested the Spirits to take hold of them. The Spirits complied at once, and seized them, treating them in the roughest manner imaginable—shaking their bodies, causing them to saw the air, and use the most outrageous language, etc. One of the dignitaries of the mother church was sent for—some say it was Archbishop Kendrick who officiated, but I guess it was only an ordinary priest—one of those they keep for "casting out devils." Had it been for the invocation of an angel, I suppose the Bishop would have attended to it himself; but as it was exorcising a few demons, any of the ordinary priests could perform the service. "Well, after the priest had arrived at the scene of disorder that so much required his services, (!) he put on his robes, got ready the holy water, and100approached the possessed girls with all the dignity of Pio Nono himself. After a few sallies of the fluid and sundry motions, without effect, the mediums charged on him with their finger-nails. He, like a sensible animal, was not long in finding the door, much to the amusement of the spectators, many of whom had come to view the miraculous flight of devils. "The padre has not been seen in the vicinity since. The girls were used roughly by these discordant Spirits for some hours afterward, when, by the direction of some Spiritualists they were relieved. "The Boston Pilot said, some time ago, 'that a few hearty prayers and a plentiful supply of holy water,' would keep down the humbug. Now, I will produce a medium that the whole Catholic Church cannot affect. They may collect oceans of holy water, and any thing else that will make their orgies imposing; and if they can stop the manifestations through the medium, I will agree to raise enough money to build at least one small-sized church. "Yours, etc., SPIRITUS.
"New York, Sept. 13th, 1853."