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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 17, 1859

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 13, No. 13.

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SPIRITUALISM.

By James White

"AND 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? 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.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some should depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Tim. iv, 1.
"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 the great day of God Almighty." Rev. xvi, 13, 14.
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Rev. xviii, 1, 2.
"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do," &c. Rev. xiii, 13, 14. See also 2 Thess. ii, 9–11; Matt. xxiv, 23, 24.
We give the above texts as a portion of those scriptures which distinctly foretell the strong delusion of the last days, called Spiritualism. For the benefit of those who have not had an opportunity to become acquainted with the rise and progress of this ism, a brief history is here given. The following is from a candidly written pamphlet, published by D. M. Dewey, Rochester, 1850, entitled, History of the Mysterious Voices, &c.
"The sounds were first heard in a small village named Hydesville, in the town of Arcadia, Wayne county, New York. The house where they were heard was occupied during a part of the years 1846 and 1847, by Mr. Michael Weekman. During this time Mr. W. states that one evening about nine o'clock as he was preparing to retire for the night he heard a rapping on the outside door. He opened it, but saw no one. In a few moments the rapping on the door was repeated, and was louder than at first. He immediately stepped to the door and opened it; no person was to be seen. He went into the street and looked about the house, and returned without seeing any one. Soon the noise was repeated, and, failing to see any person, he placed his hand on the latch of the door, in order to open it immediately, should the annoyance be continued. Again the rapping was heard—he felt the door jar, and sprang into the street. No person was to be seen anywhere in the vicinity. Excepting a manifestation to the daughter of Mr. W., then some eight years old, nothing unusual is reported to have been seen or heard by him, while he occupied the premises.
"The family of Mr. John D. Fox moved into the house on the 11th of December, 1847. Their former residence was Rochester. They heard the rapping first, the latter part of March, 1848, one evening after they had retired for the night. It seemed to be in one of the bed rooms, and sounded as though some one was knocking on the floor, moving chairs, &c. Four or five members of the family were at home, and they all got up to ascertain the cause of the noise. Every part of the house was searched, yet nothing could be discovered. A perceptible jar was felt by putting their hands on the bedsteads and chairs; a jar was also experienced while standing on the floor. The noise was continued that night as long as any one was awake in the house. The following evening they were heard as before, and on the evening of the 31st of March, the neighbors were called in for the first time.
"The following is an extract from Mrs. Fox's statement, made soon after the occurrences narrated took place:—'Friday night we concluded to go to bed early, and not let it disturb us; if it came, we thought we would not mind it, but try and get a good night's rest; My husband was here on all these occasions, heard the noise and helped search. It was very early when we went to bed on this night; hardly dark. We went to bed so early, because we had been broken so much of our rest that I was almost sick.
"My husband had not gone to bed when we first heard the noise on this evening. I had just laid down. It commenced as usual. I knew it from all other noises I had ever heard in the house. The girls, who slept in the other bed in the room, heard the noise, and tried to make a similar noise by snapping their fingers. The youngest girl is about twelve years old; she is the one who made her hand go. As fast as she made the noise with her hands or fingers, the sound was followed up in the room. It did not sound any different at that time, only it made the same number of noises that the girl did. When she stopped, the sound itself stopped for a short time.
"The other girl, who is in her 15th year, then spoke in sport and said, 'Now do just as I do. Count one, two, three, four, &c., striking one hand in the other at the same time. The blows which she made were repeated as before. It appeared to answer her by repeating every blow that she made. She only did so once. She then began to be startled; and then I spoke and said to the noise, 'Count ten,' and it made ten strokes or noises. Then I asked the ages of my different children successively, and it gave a number of raps, corresponding to the ages of my children.
"I then asked if it was a human being that was making the noise, and if it was, to manifest it by the same noise. There was no noise. I then asked if it was a spirit, and if it was, to manifest it by two sounds. I heard the two sounds as soon as the words were spoken.'
"Mrs. Fox asked if the noises would continue if she called in the neighbors that they might hear it. There was rapping the same as when it was supposed affirmative answers were given. Mrs. Redfield, the nearest neighbor, was first called. The children had informed her previously that strange noises were heard in the house, and she went, thinking to have some sport with the family. She found the girls very much agitated. Mrs. Fox said, 'Mrs. Redfield, what shall we do? We have heard the noise for some time, and now it answers all our questions, and we cannot account for it.'
"Mrs. R. heard the sounds, and commenced asking questions, which were answered correctly, greatly to her astonishment. She says the girls continued to be much frightened, and she told them not to be afraid; if it was a revelation from the spirit world, it was not to injure them. One of the girls said with much feeling—'We are innocent—how good it is to have a clear conscience.'
"Messrs. Redfield, Duesler, Hyde, Jewell, and their wives were subsequently called, during the same evening. They asked many questions and received answers. Questions relating to the age, number of children, &c., of the persons present, are said to have been answered correctly. Mr. Fox and Mr. Redfield remained in the house through the night. Mrs. Fox and her daughters spent the night at the house of one of the neighbors.
"A report of the strange noises heard in the house of Mr. Fox, spread throughout that part of the town the next (Saturday) morning, and a large number of persons assembled and remained at the house during the day. No noises were heard until evening, when the sounds commenced as before. A committee was appointed to investigate the matter and a great variety of questions were asked and answered.
"On Sunday morning, Apr. 2d, the sounds were heard, and they continued to be made throughout the day. This is the first instance in which they are reported to have been heard in the day time. Sunday evening and throughout that night no noises were heard.
"In a pamphlet published at Canandaigua in 1848, by E. E. Lewis, certificates corroborating the foregoing statements are given, and signed by the following persons: 'John D. Fox, Walter Scotten, Elizabeth Jewell, Loren Tenney, James Bridger, Chauncey P. Loser, Benjamin F. Clarke, Elizabeth Fox, Vernelia Culver, William D. Storer, Marvin P. Loser, David S. Fox, and Mary Redfield.'
"At one time, when those investigating wished to ascertain a certain name, the spirit was asked if it would rap for the initial letters when they were named. The reply was in the affirmative: and when the alphabet was called over there was rapping at particular letters. Soon the experiment was carried still further, and by request entire names and sentences of considerable length were spelled out. A signal for the alphabet is made when the spirit desires to communicate in this way. This signal is five raps in quick succession."
It is stated by Mr. Dewey that soon after the occurrence of these events, a part of the Fox family moved to Rochester, and that the rappings were then heard in both places. The next place where they were heard was in Auburn.
"After nearly a year had been spent by a few individuals in Rochester and vicinity, in investigating the mystery, the following communication was spelled out in the presence of several persons who had assembled for the purpose of prosecuting their investigations: 'You all have a duty to perform. We want you to make this matter more public.' Every individual to whom the message was addressed objected to having any agency in bringing the subject before the public. They knew the odium that would attach to any person who should attempt to prove, in the presence of a public assembly, that the sounds they heard were made by spirits. While speaking of the opposition they would incur, and the difficulties in the way, the alphabet was called for and the following communication spelled out: 'That will be so much the better—your triumph will be the greater.' This occurrence took place in November, 1849.
"Several of the persons designated to assist in bringing the matter before the community, continued strongly to object, until the most positive assurances were given that the rapping should be heard in the hall, by the audience, in response to the lecturer, and that the result would tend essentially to the better understanding of the whole subject. The lectures were finally delivered by Mr. E. W. Capron, of Auburn. The following account of the investigations had at that time, appeared in the New York Weekly Tribune, of Dec. 8th, 1849.
"Some two weeks since, we were in company with some persons who were getting communications from this invisible communicator, when a message was spelled out to us to the import that the matter should be made more public—that the time had arrived for the people to investigate the whole affair—that it was a thing which would ultimately become known to all men, and that we should immediately take measures to have it investigated. The directions were then minutely given by these spirits, as they purport to be, and which we are willing to believe are, until we have as much proof to the contrary as it required to bring us to that conclusion. These directions will appear in the following history as they were fully and strictly followed. The great object was to start investigation and clear those who had been hearing of it for the last two years from the imputation of fraud and deception.
"Accordingly on the evening of November 14th, a lecture was delivered in Corinthian hall, in the city of Rochester, and a full history of the rise and progress of these manifestations given. During the relation of these facts the sounds were distinctly heard by the persons in the hall.
"After the lecture, a committee was chosen by the audience, composed of the following persons:—A. J. COMBS, DANIEL MARSH, NATHANIEL CLARK ESQ., A. JUDSON, and EDWIN JONES.
"On the following evening the committee reported in substance as follows: That without the knowledge of the persons in whose presence the manifestations are made, the committee selected the hall of the Sons of Temperance for investigation—that the sound on the floor near where the two ladies stood was heard as distinctly as at other places, and that part of the committee heard the rapping on the wall behind them. . . . The ladies seemed to give every opportunity to the committee to investigate the cause fully, and would submit to a thorough investigation by a committee of ladies, if desired. They all agreed that the sounds were heard, but they entirely failed to discover any means by which it could be done.
"After this report, and some discussion on the subject, the audience selected another committee, composed of the following persons: Dr. H. H. Langworthy, Hon. Frederick Whittlesey, D. C. McCallum, Wm. Fisher, of Rochester, and Hon. A. P. Hascall, of LeRoy. At the next lecture this committee reported that they went into the investigation at the office of Chancellor Whittlesey, and they heard the sound on the floor, on the wall, and door—that the ladies were placed in different positions, and, like the other committee, they were wholly unable to tell from what the sound proceeded, or how it was made; that Dr. Langworthy made observations with a stethoscope to ascertain whether there was any movement with the lungs, and found not the least difference when the sounds were made; and there was no kind of probability or possibility of their being made by ventriloquism, as some had supposed—and they could not have been made by machinery.
"This committee was composed of Dr. E. P. Langworthy, Dr. J. Gates, Wm. Fitzhugh, W. L. Burtis and L. Kenyon. This committee met at the rooms of Dr. Gates, at the Rochester house, and appointed a committee of ladies, who took the young women into a room and examined their persons and clothing, to be sure that there were no fixtures about them that could produce the sounds. When satisfied on this point, the committee of ladies tried some other experiments, and gave the young ladies the following certificate: 'When they were standing on pillows, with a handkerchief tied around the bottom of their dresses, tight to the ankles, we all heard the rapping on the wall and on the floor distinctly.' Signed—Mrs. STONE, Mrs. J. GATES, Miss M. P. LAWRENCE.
"In the evening the committee, through their chairman, Dr. Langworthy, made a full report of their examinations during the day. They reported they excluded all friends of the two ladies from the committee room, and had the examination only in presence of the committee of gentlemen, and ladies chosen by them. Notwithstanding all this precaution, these sounds were heard when the ladies stood on large feather pillows, without shoes, and in other various positions, both on the floor and on the wall—that a number of questions were asked, which, when answered, were generally correct. Each member of the committee reported separately, agreeing with and corroborating the first statements.
"Thus by three days of the strictest scrutiny, by means of intelligence, candor and science, were the persons in whose presence these sounds were heard, acquitted of all fraud.
"On Friday evening, after the lecture, three of the committee, viz., Hon. A. P. Hascall, D. C. McCallum, and William Fisher, repaired to the house of a citizen, and pursued their investigations still further. There were nearly a score of persons present. The members of the committee wrote many questions on paper, which no person present knew the purport of, and they were answered correctly. At times they would ask mentally, and receive the answers with equal correctness, and they were fully satisfied that there was something present manifesting intelligence beyond the persons visible."
We will not weary the reader with further testimonies relative to the rise of what is called Spiritualism, though they might be given to almost any length. What we have presented is sufficient to show the small beginning of what is now agitating the civilized world. J. W.