Spiritualism in New Zealand.
THE article below, sent in by Bro. Cornell, shows what progress "the doctrine of devils" is making among the heathens. The prophecy that these spirits of darkness should "go forth unto the kings of the earth, AND OF THE WHOLE WORLD," Rev. xvi, 14, does not lack for a fulfillment. The next verse says, "Behold, I come as a thief." Who is so blind that he can not discern this "sign" of the impending day of God? G. On sufficient payment, the tohunga will even undertake to call up the spirit of any dead person. We give the story of a young chief who had been killed in battle. He had been very popular, and much respected in his tribe, and at the request of several of his nearest friends the tohungs promised to evoke his spirit, that it might answer certain questions they wished to put. The priest was to come to the village of the relations, and the interview was to take place in a large house common to all the population. The chief was the first of his tribe who could read and write. He kept a register of any remarkable event that occurred in his village. The book containing it could not be found, though his friends had searched unceasingly for it, both for its own interest and its writer's sake. The hour appointed by the tohungs came, and at night all those interested met the priest in the house agreed upon. Fires were lighted, which gave a flickering light. The priest retired to the darkest corner. All was expectation, and the silence was only broken by the sobs of the sisters and other relations of the dead man. They were heart-breaking in their violence, while the grave silence of the men showed that to them it was a serious interview. The brother of the chief now and then wiped his eyes as they filled with tears. About thirty persons were seated on the floor, among whom was the Englishman who relates the scene, and who found his incredulity giving way before the solemnity of the occasion. The fire gradually burned down to mere glowing charcoal, and the light was little better than darkness, when suddenly a voice came out of the gloom: "Salutation! salutation to you all! salutation! Salutation to you, my tribe! Family, I salute you! Friends, I salute you! Friend, my pakeha friend, I salute you!" The feelings of the assembled persons were taken by storm. A cry expressive of affection and despair, such as was not good to hear, came from the sister of the dead chief, a fine, stately, and really handsome woman, of about five-and-twenty. She would have rushed in the direction from whence the voice came, had not her brothers forcibly restrained her. She lay then fainting and moaning on the ground. At the same instant a young girl who was also held back by main force, cried out,—"Is it you? Truly is it you? They hold me, they restrain me, they watch me; but I go to you. The sun shall not rise! The sun shall not rise!" She fell insensible on the rush floor, and, with the other girl, was carried out. Then the spirit was heard again,—"Speak to me, the tribe; speak to me, the family; speak to me, the pakeha!" At last his brother said, "How is it with you? Is it well with you in that country?" The answer came in strange, melancholy accents, like the sound of wind blowing into a hollow vessel. "It is well with me; my place is a good place." The brother asked him if he had seen persons whose names he mentioned. "Yes; they are all with me." There were some more questions and replies, and directions by the spirit as to the disposal of his gun and his large tame pig. Then the pakeha asked where the missing book could be found. Its exact position in the thatch over the door was given. The chief's brother rushed out and found it, and brought the book in his hand. Soon after the spirit said suddenly—"O tribe, farewell! My family, I go." A general cry of farewell arose from all present. "Farewell," again cried the spirit from deep below the ground. "Farewell!" again from high in the air. "Farewell!" once more came moaning through the distant darkness of the night. All the people present dispersed, and quiet had been restored to the village, when the report of a musket broke the silence. The villagers, hastily armed, rushed toward a flame which was springing up, where a shed had been hastily set on fire to make a light. In the verandah of the house next to it an old man supported the dead body of the young girl who had said that she would follow her chief to the other world. She had secretly procured a loaded musket, pulled the trigger with her foot, and leaning on the muzzle, she had destroyed herself.—Cornhill Magazine.