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 ILIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 
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 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 
 
Tifft, 
 
 
NATTY, A SPIRIT: 
 
 HIS PORTRAIT AND HIS LIFE. 
 
 ALLEN PUTNAM. 
 
 
 " There are more guests at table than the hosts 
 Invited." II. W. Longfellow. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 BELA MARSH, 15, FRANKLIN STREET. 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 PARTRIDGE AND BRITTAN, 342, BROADWAY. 
 
 1856. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1.8-56, by 
 
 ALLEN PUTNAM, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, 
 22, School Street. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 • MYRIADS OF BEINGS WALK THE EARTH UNSEEN, BOTE WHEN WE 
 WAKE AND WHEN WE SLEEP." 
 
 TO THOSE IN THAT SLEEPLESS HOST WHO GUARD US BY 
 
 NIGHT AND BY DAY, AND WHOSE CHARGE IT IS 
 
 TO BEAR US UP, LEST WE DASH OUR 
 
 FEET AGAINST STONES, 
 
 2To our CSuatoiau ^ntjels, 
 
 WE MAKE THIS NEW YEAR'S PRESENT. 
 
 ALLEN PUTNAM. 
 Roxbury, Jan. 1, 1856. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Eater of letters! — this little loaf, which you 
 now pick up from off the ocean of literature, is 
 not exactly common bread. In looks and flavor 
 both, it may be somewhat strange ; for flour from 
 a new wheat — a wheat but recently imported 
 from foreign climes — is freely used in its com- 
 position. Taste it, however, without fear ; for the 
 baker and many customers have used the same 
 kind for months, and find it sweeter and more nu- 
 tritious than most old varieties. Help yourself; 
 and take no bridescake crum, but a generous 
 mouthful, a hearty meal, — the whole loaf; and, 
 if you like it, more can be had of the same 
 sort. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Chapter. . Page. 
 
 I. Introduction 1 
 
 II. The Origin of the Picture, and the 
 
 Selection of the Artist . . 8 
 
 III. The Artist's Statement . . .32 
 
 IV. Subsequent Disclosures ... 60 
 
 PART II. 
 
 I. 
 
 Natty' s Earth -Life 
 
 . 75 
 
 II. 
 
 Spirit-Life. — Introductory 
 
 77 
 
 III. 
 
 First and Second Interviews 
 
 . 80 
 
 IV. 
 
 A Digression 
 
 86 
 
 V. 
 
 Play blossoms into Piety 
 
 . 96 
 
 VI. 
 
 Natty' s Prattlings .... 
 
 103 
 
 VII. 
 
 His Doings and Sayings 
 
 . 116 
 
 mi. 
 
 Pat's Testimony 
 
 125 
 
 IX. 
 
 Procuring Medicine 
 
 . 130 
 
 X. 
 
 Spirits in Prison .... 
 
 143 
 
 XI. 
 
 The Child flashes into Manhood 
 
 . 162 
 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 173 
 
PART FIRST. 
 THE PORTRAIT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr. C. L. Fenton, artist, No. 4, Howard 
 Street, Boston, has recently executed a 
 painting, which calls forth these pages. 
 The history of the picture, and its possible 
 prophecy, not its merits as a work of art, are 
 its points of deepest interest. 
 
 Some explanation is due to the artist. 
 This work is no fancy-piece of his. The 
 leading figures and the colors were mostly 
 prescribed. 
 
 Natty, a spirit, and chief subject of the 
 picture, himself asked for this painting, and 
 
2 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 required that "Uncle Charles's favorite 
 dog " should be on the canvas. That dog 
 is now living at the mansion of my father- 
 in-law, where he is respected for his intel- 
 ligence, and fondled for his affection. Of 
 medium size, long glossy black hair, large 
 forehead, and a very fine eye, " Leo " is a 
 pet with us all ; and it was a pleasure to 
 gratify Natty, if possible, by getting the 
 dog's likeness in the picture. 
 
 The taste and judgment of the artist re- 
 volted at the thought of attempting to make 
 harmony between a black dog and a bright 
 spirit. Success was more than he dared 
 anticipate. Natty would not let him follow 
 his first impulse, which was to make the 
 dog a mere film ; nor would he yield to the 
 second wish, and let' the pet be brown. 
 Nothing but Leo as he is would do ; and 
 Leo is black. 
 
 Submission to the decided but playful 
 child has been yielded by the artist. Em- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 6 
 
 barrassments, growing out of this submis- 
 sion, have attended every step of his pro- 
 gress ; but he has struggled through them 
 patiently and manfully, till the work is 
 finished in a manner which gives much 
 pleasure to those most interested in its 
 subject. Good judges of art will doubt- 
 less find faults in this work : the artist sees 
 them, or some of them ; and yet he leaves 
 them there, because his sense of obedience 
 to high behests is stronger than his dread 
 of criticism. There is always power and a 
 charm in that spirit which overcomes, or 
 lifts one above, the world. 
 
 This painting obviously fails to harmonize 
 with the world's prevailing conceptions of 
 spiritual scenes; for no part of it suggests 
 "ghosts and airy nothings." Deathly palor 
 and the winding-sheet enter into man's con- 
 ceptions of those who have passed beyond 
 the grave. The world, therefore, will find 
 nothing spiritual in our painting. But what 
 
4 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 of that ? — yes, what of that ? For who 
 was it that asked for firm and healthful 
 muscle, for rosy cheek and rose-colored 
 tunic, in the picture of a spirit-child 1 It 
 was spirits : it was, perhaps, the famous 
 artists of olden times, whose works have 
 commanded the world's admiration for ages, 
 — it was "these, whose notions of fitness the 
 artist strove to portray upon the canvas. 
 Who of us knows whether spirits, as seen 
 by spirit-eyes, are not as substantial as man 
 is to man ? Do men, or do angels, best 
 know the actual appearance of spirits and 
 spirit-scenes ? Angels, most surely ; and 
 if angels undertake to help man paint, 
 who will be ready to say that their concep- 
 tions of an angel's expression, complexion, 
 and robes are all wrong ? 
 
 This child is but little more than an 
 attempted copy of limbs and features and 
 robes that have been made to pass before 
 the vision of the artist and other mediums. 
 
INTRODUCTION. O 
 
 The brushes and paints, and the working 
 head and hand, belong to earth. It is less 
 a painting by spirits than a painting for 
 spirits ; they suggesting what was wanted, 
 but measurably leaving man to do the work. 
 This is no masterpiece, but only the im- 
 perfect result of a first experiment. One 
 little spirit, Walter Hall, says " he does not 
 think much of this picture ; that it does not 
 look ne.ir as pretty as Natty himself; but 
 that it will do well enough for mortals to 
 look at." No doubt the real designers of 
 the portrait think the same; and yet they 
 may be much rejoiced that they have been 
 able to disclose to earth's mourners the 
 possibility of getting their departed ones to 
 sit for likenesses before some of our clair- 
 voyant artists, and thus secure most valuable 
 mementoes of those who are gone. Also 
 they may rejoice at the thought of being 
 able to show somewhat of heaven's scenery 
 and heaven's inhabitants to man, and thus 
 
6 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 teach him that no ghostlike forms or sha- 
 dowy scenes will appall or mock him when 
 he soars to spirit-homes. " Grave ! where 
 is thy victory ? " The spiritual subduing 
 the natural, heaven and earth are to blend 
 on the canvas, not alone as human artists 
 would portray them, but also as heaven's 
 painters shall direct. In this view is con- 
 tained the possible prophecy of Natty and 
 the pet. A new era in the art of painting, 
 which shall help the bereaved to obtain 
 likenesses of the departed, and sketches of 
 scenes amid which the ascended dwell, and 
 which shall let the ascended one write his 
 messages of love upon man's canvas, and 
 portray the scenes of the upper world as 
 they appear to him, — such an era may be 
 harbingered by the work which prompts my 
 pen. This picture is no more than the faint 
 glimmer of earliest dawn : the day yet lin- 
 gers in the folds of night. 
 
 Mrs. Sisson, Mrs. Newton, Mrs. Leeds, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 Miss Bugbee, and Miss Burbank, all well- 
 known clairvoyant mediums, whose eyes 
 are familiar with, the features and form of 
 Natty, call the child in the picture an ap- 
 proach at least to a likeness of him as he 
 appears in his moments of repose, and yet 
 as lacking most essentially the heavenly 
 brilliancy which mantles his gleeful face in 
 all times of action. Such lack must ever 
 be, they think, on man's canvas. The dog 
 could not be much better. The fllling-up 
 of the picture, its scenery and general color- 
 ing, — symbolical, perhaps, in all its minu- 
 tiae, because birds, waterfalls, trees, flowers, 
 fruits, the mirage, and haloes of varied co- 
 lors, may all speak in definite language to 
 spirit-eyes, — disclose the efforts and skill 
 of the artists to drape the incongruity of the 
 black material dog with the light ethereal 
 child, and to give as soft and pleasing an 
 expression as possible to this incongruous 
 combination. The success has been more 
 than was anticipated. 
 
NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TIIE ORIGIN OF THE PICTURE, AND THE SELEC- 
 TION OF THE ARTIST. 
 
 A story now to be told simply and truth- 
 fully possesses charms for us, who are fami- 
 liar with its minute details ; and we judge 
 that it may interest very many others. To 
 our eyes, the story seems full of a simple 
 beauty that can hardly be the covering of 
 harm to any one, and that may envelop 
 some tiny seeds of hope, faith, or heavenly 
 aspiration, which, sown upon earth's soil, 
 shall germinate, and yield a harvest of golden 
 grain. 
 
 Therefore, though the facts which brought 
 the painting into being are veiled in an at- 
 mosphere of pleasing strangeness, which 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. y 
 
 may make the reader deem tliem products 
 from the world of fiction, they are put forth 
 as veritable facts. 
 
 At one of my calls upon Miss Fanny 
 Bugbee, medium, in the autumn of 1854, 
 there were shown to me some drawings, 
 executed by her hand, though she denied 
 all consciousness of mental action when the 
 work was going on. While we were in 
 conversation about the merits of the work, 
 and the process by which it was produced, 
 " Little Natty " displaced her from her 
 own organism, and, taking hold of it him- 
 self, commenced a playful chat with me. 
 Among other things, I said to him, " Who 
 moves and guides this medium's hand while 
 it forms these flowers ? " — " Ben West," 
 he answered. — " Good, Natty, good ! " 
 said I ; " for if that famous painter is at 
 work here, he can sketch for me your like- 
 ness" — "You shall have it, father" was 
 his quick rejoinder. 
 
10 * NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 Afterwards, when he presented himself, 
 some playful allusions to his promise were 
 made ; but no answer came which led us to 
 suppose that he had ever designed a fulfil- 
 ment. All through the winter and early- 
 spring, this matter was forgotten ; but, 
 some time in May, 1855, Mrs. Putnam met 
 Mrs. Sisson, of Somerville, at the house of 
 a friend in Tremont Place, Boston. Tak- 
 ing possession of Mrs. Sisson as medium, 
 Natty asked his mother — mother by his 
 own adoption — for permission to take the 
 medium out to the shops, and spend some 
 money. " Spend money, Natty ! " said she ; 
 " what can you want of money ? " — "I 
 want," he said, — " I want to buy a likeness 
 of myself." He pleaded somewhat earnest- 
 ly for this permission, and also for more 
 discretion as to price than she was ready to 
 grant ; but, after some fruitless attempts on 
 her part to limit the liability to draft upon 
 the family treasury, and a promise on his 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 11 
 
 part not to make it very heavy, permission 
 was given for him to spend at his discretion. 
 Returning home, she made known the lia- 
 bility to which we were exposed ; and we 
 had a pleasant laugh at the insolvency which 
 our new disburser might bring upon us. 
 No sleep, however, was lost from any ap- 
 prehension of extravagance on Natty's part, 
 and no faith was had that he would use his 
 privilege. Mrs. Sisson was left entirely 
 ignorant of what had been said through 
 her, and the matter was a secret in our own 
 family. 
 
 About one week after the scene described 
 above, I made a call at the same house, in 
 Tremont Place, and had been in the parlor 
 only a few minutes when the same medium 
 from Somerville rang the bell, and entered, 
 bringing a roll in her hand. She seemed 
 very much pleased at the unexpected meet- 
 ing with me there, and accounted for her 
 excess of pleasure by saying that Natty 
 
12 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 had told her the night before that she 
 should meet me in Boston that day. She 
 also said, that, late on the evening before, 
 this little spirit had taken control of her, 
 and, through her, had told her husband that 
 on the morrow she must go to Boston, and 
 buy a picture which he wanted to give to 
 his parents. There was a little laugh be- 
 tween husband and wife at the strangeness 
 of the requisition, and at the trifling of this 
 spirit with them. Supposing it but the 
 frolic of the moment, they went to their 
 night's sleep. Morning came ; and Mrs. 
 Sisson told her husband that she must go 
 over to Boston and buy the pictures. He 
 tried to dissuade her ; saying that it was 
 folly, if not wrong, to go and expend money 
 on Mr. Putnam's account, with no excuse 
 to give for it but that a spirit had asked her 
 to do so. i( Mr. Putnam will not like it," 
 he said. " He may pay you the money, and 
 find no fault; but he cannot be satisfied 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. lo 
 
 with such doings." " I must buy," she re- 
 sponded ; " and, if Mr. Putnam does not 
 like it, I will pay for and keep the pictures 
 myself." Here her whole air and manner, 
 which was that of inquiry, reminded me of 
 a fact which I had overlooked, — viz., that, 
 when Natty had asked Mrs. Putnam for 
 permission to make a purchase, the medium 
 was unconscious ; and that she had not 
 learned that she already had our permission 
 for all that had been done. Under such 
 circumstances, no wonder that the husband 
 did not like the aspect of the matter, and 
 no wonder that she herself bent upon me 
 the inquiring gaze. At once I relieved her 
 embarrassment by describing what had pre- 
 viously occurred. Taking heart from my 
 words, she then told how, guided by 
 Natty, she had gone from print-shop to 
 print-shop, through Hanover, Court, and 
 far up Washington Streets, overhauling the 
 assortments, getting the salesmen out of 
 
14 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 patience, and leaving one after another with- 
 out seeing any thing like what was wanted. 
 At length, wearied by the long tramp and 
 almost discouraged, she reached No. 328 of 
 the last-named street. There, after examin- 
 ing such prints as were opened, she said to 
 the man at the counter, " You have more ? " 
 " Yes," he said, " we have a fresh package, 
 just in from New York, which I will open 
 for you/' The cover was removed, and 
 the second picture in the box was " Natty 
 to the life, and the third was Abby." She 
 bought the two, paying for them both one 
 dollar sixty-two and a half cents, and brought 
 them to where she met me. At a subse- 
 quent interview, Natty said he took her all 
 around town in order to satisfy her that 
 there was no other print in Boston like the 
 one she was made to buy. Unrolling her 
 parcel, I found colored French lithographs, 
 one of them being a beautiful boy, holding 
 an orange in the left hand ; the other a 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 15 
 
 beautiful female head, emblematic of sum- 
 mer, wreathed with flowers, and bearing a 
 sheaf of golden grain upon her shoulder. 
 The boy, she said, was " the very picture of 
 Natty as she had seen him " in her clair- 
 voyant state ; the other, she told me, was 
 like a female spirit -friend whom she often 
 saw around me. This likeness, in the upper 
 part of the face, was obvious to myself. 
 
 Learning from her that Natty was present, 
 I asked the friend at whose house the inter- 
 view occurred for a private room. As soon 
 as the medium and myself were alone, Natty 
 disposed of her, and entered at once into 
 conversation. After stating that he had at 
 last fulfilled the promise to furnish his like- 
 ness, and declaring that it was truly a like- 
 ness, he said to me, very earnestly, — 
 
 " Now, father, I ask one favor : will you 
 grant it ? " 
 
 "You know, Natty, that I am chary of 
 promises. I must know what you want 
 before I answer." 
 
16 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 " I want these put upon canvas, and 
 Uncle Charles's favorite dog in the picture 
 with me." 
 
 " I will do it upon one condition." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 li That you and Uncle Charles will select 
 the artist." 
 
 " Give us time ? " 
 
 " Yes, Natty, as much time as you wish." 
 
 Upon resuming consciousness, the me- 
 dium declared ignorance of any part of the 
 conversation ; and I kept it from her, and 
 from all others outside of my own family. 
 
 This matter of the likeness now became 
 intensely interesting. My purpose was firm 
 to follow it up, and also to work with all 
 possible secrecy and caution. The resolve 
 was at once formed that I would not, any- 
 where or in any way, reveal my expectation 
 that some artist might be named through a 
 medium. 
 
 Taking the pictures, I went alone and di- 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. IT 
 
 rectly from Tremont Place to Mrs. Leeds's, 
 in Carver Street. Opening the roll, and 
 drawing' her attention to the prints, but 
 without the slightest hint that they were 
 any thing more than pretty things that had 
 caught the eye as I walked the streets, she 
 instantly said, " One of them is Natty, and 
 the other is like a friend that I have often 
 seen around you." Struck forcibly by her 
 recognition of them, and incited to a farther 
 test, I bent my steps directly to Tyler 
 Street ; and, opening my treasure in the 
 presence of Mrs. Newton, her eyes sparkled 
 in an instant, and she exclaimed, " Why ! 
 you have your ' little Natty ' there ! " and, 
 seeing the other, she said, "Here is Abby 
 too ! " Interest deepened, as a matter of 
 course. Three clairvoyant mediums, all on 
 the same morning, separately, and without 
 the slightest intimation from me or any 
 other imaginable source, saw alike. Here 
 was evidence that spiritual vision was in 
 
 2 
 
18 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 harmony with external vision ; that Natty, 
 the spirit, presented the same features to 
 three different sets of internal eyes, and that 
 the outward eyes of all the three recognized 
 him in the picture. 
 
 There was also another striking fact. 
 My little friend had often been described to 
 me as a bright, curly-haired boy, and my 
 mind had formed a distinct conception of his 
 appearance. To me, his forehead was very 
 broad and high, while the lower part of the 
 face was narrow ; the whole face was pale, 
 and his curling hair hung in long ringlets 
 upon his shoulders : such was my mental 
 image. But in the lithograph the cheeks 
 are plump and rosy, and the hair curls tight 
 from its very roots, and does not reach the 
 shoulders. There is danger of being for- 
 getful on a point like this ; but I have seen 
 the danger, and striven to present the exact 
 truth. If I have been successful here, 
 every one can see that the contrast between 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 19 
 
 the Natty in my mind and the Natty on the 
 paper was to me proof positive that these 
 several mediums were not seeing with my 
 eyes, — were not mesmerized by me. 
 
 At evening of the next following day, 
 and before my possession of the picture was 
 known in the neighborhood, I called upon 
 Miss Bugbee, who lives near my home in 
 Roxbury. While I was unfolding my 
 scroll, the boy being bottom up to her, and 
 scarcely more than half the head visible, 
 she exclaimed, " Why, Natty ! " and laid 
 hold of the picture with all the gleesome 
 earnestness of strong affection. She saw, 
 too, in the accompanying picture, the same 
 likeness that the other mediums had named. 
 
 After the joy and excitement of her re- 
 cognition had subsided, Natty took control 
 in her organism, and I asked him to explain 
 his recent doings. 
 
 " You remember, father, my promise that 
 Ben West should sketch me through the 
 hand of this medium." 
 
£0 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 " Yes ; but I thought it mere words." 
 
 "No, not mere words; I meant it; and 
 we tried : but we could not get a distinct 
 impression on her brain. Then we looked 
 about for some one more impressible ; and, 
 in the south of France, we found one that 
 answered our purpose." 
 
 Here came a vision. The medium said, 
 " I see, on the banks of a beautiful river, 
 under a large tree, a man, small in stature, 
 light complexion, blue eyes, and large fore- 
 head. There, stretched at length upon the 
 ground, resting upon one elbow, with pencil 
 and sketch-book beside him, the spirit of 
 Ben West is making .passes over his tem- 
 ples ; and Natty hovers above, so that the 
 features of Natty may be distinctly daguer- 
 • reotyped on the artist's brain." Such was 
 the vision. At a later day, Natty told me 
 that this was a representation of what had 
 occurred about two years before. 
 
 After the vision, Natty resumed : " He 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 21 
 
 put me in his sketch-book ; and, when the 
 sketch had been lithographed, I superin- 
 tended the coloring of this impression, so 
 that it might be made to look like me. 
 Then, when a e canvasser ' was selecting 
 prints for New York, I was by, and made 
 him take this one. At New York, I made 
 them forward it to Boston ; and, as soon as 
 it reached there, I made the medium go 
 with me and buy it. There is no other like 
 it in the city." 
 
 To test the accuracy of the last assertion, 
 I called at the place where the purchase had 
 been made, described the " orange-boy," 
 ascertained that the seller remembered it, 
 and asked if he had more of the same kind. 
 "Yes," was his reply ; -and he led me to 
 the package last received from New York ; 
 and we overhauled it thoroughly, without 
 finding what he had no doubt was there. 
 He expressed some surprise that but one 
 copy had been sent, and remarked that such 
 
22 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 a thing was unusual. From him I learned 
 that the " orange-boy " was not new in the 
 market. Two or three months later, I found 
 a shop-worn copy of it in Court Street, and 
 paid for that the full price of a clean one. 
 Upon comparison of the two, there were 
 found marked differences in the expression 
 of the eyes, and in the general coloring. 
 We are not at liberty, therefore, to infer 
 that Natty was impressed on the French 
 artist's brain subsequent to, and for the pur- 
 pose of, fulfilling his promise to me, but that 
 he only availed himself of what had pre- 
 viously been done in the way of outline, and 
 undertook superintendence of coloring and 
 transmission, after failing with Miss Bugbee. 
 His statements above, however, led me to a 
 different inference at first, and will do the 
 same to others. 
 
 Within a day or two of the visit to Miss 
 Bugbee, we received a call from Miss E. J. 
 Brown. When my wife drew her attention 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE AUTIST. 23 
 
 to the " orange-boy," I watched her face, 
 and soon saw it lighted up with a bright 
 smile ; and she said, " Natty ! " The fea- 
 tures on the other seemed to her quite fa- 
 miliar. 
 
 Evidence of likeness — indications that 
 we had a copy of Natty's features — had 
 now become very strong. More than two 
 or three witnesses testified, independently, 
 to the same. I was willing that an artist 
 should be named, and yet was careful to give 
 no hint that such a thing was expected. 
 
 Ten days, more or less, after Natty ob- 
 tained my promise to foot the bills, if he 
 and Uncle Charles would select the artist, 
 Mrs. Sisson sent from Somerville to Hox- 
 bury the following words, written in pencil : 
 " Mr. Fenton, head of Hanover Street, art- 
 ist." A verbal message, at the same time, 
 was to this effect : " I do not know what it 
 means, nor why it is sent ; neither do I 
 know any thing of the man ; but I follow a 
 
24 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 strong impression." To me, as every reader 
 will suppose, it was not only intelligible, 
 but intensely gratifying. I knew why it 
 came. But the artist, even by name, was a 
 stranger to me and to my family. 
 
 When Mr. Fenton's name was furnished, 
 Mrs. Putnam, to whom the paper was 
 handed, obtained a more full account than 
 is given above of the occurrences at Somer- 
 ville, on the night when Natty asked for 
 help to effect his purchase. As she under- 
 stood the account, the facts are, that, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sisson having retired for the 
 night, both of them much fatigued by the 
 day's labor, some spirit took possession of 
 her, and insisted that the husband should 
 get out of bed, and write down what should 
 be dictated. The husband's fatigue made 
 him protest against this with much firmness ; 
 and yet the importunity was so earnest and 
 persevering, that he at last yielded reluctant- 
 ly, got up, struck a light, and pencilled 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 25 
 
 down the following, which I copy from the 
 original manuscript : — 
 
 " Dear Friend, — I come to you this night to ask 
 a favor. My name is Natty. I have come to gratify 
 the one I love in earth, — my mother; I come to 
 impress the medium to get the paintings representing 
 myself and a female spirit, whom I will procure for my 
 father ; and as this is the request of one I love, and 
 whom I now call mother, tell my father these are to be 
 taken on canvas by an artist who shall execute the 
 work well. With me shall be taken the favorite pet 
 dog of Uncle Charles. After these are completed on 
 canvas, give the original prints on paper to the medium 
 for gratifying my request. The medium must go to- 
 morrow, without fail, so as to have them ready when 
 she meets my father. The female spirit represents my 
 father's good works. He has sowed the seed, and 
 reapers are gathering the grain. The seeds he hath 
 sown are called good. This is from your guardian 
 spirit, Natty. 
 
 " May 22, 1855." 
 
 Such was the written part of his commu- 
 nication that night. Many other things 
 were spoken by him in explanation, and in 
 the way of urging compliance with his 
 
26 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 wishes. The Uncle Charles referred to was 
 Mr. Charles B., a brother of Mrs. Putnam, 
 who passed away from earth about three 
 years ago. At times, the female, whose like- 
 ness he procured for me, is called by Natty 
 his mother in the spheres ; and possibly his 
 letter alludes to compliance with the wishes 
 of both my present and my former wife. 
 Nothing has yet been done in the way of 
 arrangements for putting the female upon 
 canvas. She has been seen by the artist ; 
 but he will wait for further developments 
 and promptings before he undertakes to give 
 her portrait. 
 
 The question arose, whether to publish 
 or to suppress Natty's account of what the 
 female represented. It was retained, be- 
 cause experience of the influences of Spirit- 
 ualism has been sweet ; and there is a hope 
 of winning others to taste its manna, by 
 exhibiting glimpses as to whence and how 
 co-workers with good spirits obtain some 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE AETIST. 27 
 
 courage, strength, and compensation, which 
 the world knows but little of. 
 
 " Mr. Fenton, head of Hanover Street, 
 artist," was now to be looked up. The 
 " Boston Directory " of last year did not 
 embrace the name. An old " Boston Alma- 
 nac " did, but located on Court, near Brattle 
 Street. An hour's bootless search was made 
 for him one morning j and how sublime the 
 ludicrous of my position, could the many 
 passers of the thronged street have looked 
 upon me as I was, — the puzzled agent of a 
 spirit ! But they did not see through the 
 walls of clay. 
 
 The following day, " C. L. Fenton " was 
 found on a sign, at No. 4, Howard Street, 
 near the " head of Hanover." Working 
 my way up to the fourth story, and into the 
 sanctum of a stranger, I asked for Mr. Fen- 
 ton. The gentleman present said, "That 
 is my name." And now, what could I 
 say, what do ? Fancy a gray-haired man 
 
28 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 acting the messenger of a spirit-boy to a 
 mortal artist, bearing a request that that art- 
 ist shall portray the impalpable spirit upon 
 canvas ! Such was I. Taking the liberty 
 to. look at the paintings around the studio, 
 and to make a few remarks that meant no- 
 thing, I managed soon to edge my way up 
 in sight of Spiritualism. Feeling, perhaps, 
 that more was meant by me than met his 
 ear, Mr. Fenton said, "You may speak 
 freely upon that subject ; for, though not ex- 
 actly a believer in modern Spiritualism, yet 
 I am a semi-Swedenborgian, have at seve- 
 ral times been favored with visions, and have 
 an interest in spiritual matters." Thus the 
 way was cleared. Natty had read his man, 
 and had not fooled me. 
 
 The specimens of art in this studio were 
 not such as would have highly commended 
 this artist to me, as being well suited to 
 execute the delicate work I had in view. I 
 do not learn that he has achieved much dis- 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 29 
 
 tinction. But it was not now my province 
 to judge of his fitness for the work. He 
 was the man already selected by my em- 
 ployer ; and my sole business was to learn 
 whether he would accept of his appoint- 
 ment. The principal points of the preced- 
 ing story were stated by me ; and he readily 
 consented to do the best he could to gratify 
 Natty. 
 
 His soul has been in this work ; and his 
 hand has been more successful here than in 
 any previous efforts. Should there be no 
 other benefit, it is not a small thing to have 
 enkindled in one modest and shrinking 
 mind so much new energy and hope and 
 joy and aspiration after an excellence in art, 
 which shall be useful and elevating to man, 
 as have grown up in this retiring artist 
 within the last six months. He may, or 
 he may not, be eminent, in future years, 
 in portraying the lineaments of angels ; he 
 may improve, or he may not, as a painter : 
 
30 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 but, in either case, he will count it a glory 
 and a joy that he was the chosen instrument 
 in the hands of ascended artists, by which 
 they made an early, if not their first, attempt 
 to teach the world that individual spirits 
 can have their true likenesses put upon 
 canvas by human artists. Though his own 
 success should not be great, yet his name 
 may long be intimately blended with the 
 incipient movements of a new and beneficent 
 achievement in the art of painting. 
 
 The leading facts in this narrative have 
 already been given to the public in the co- 
 lumns of the " New-England Spiritualist ; " 
 not, however, in connected order. A repro- 
 duction of them, in new form, seemed de- 
 sirable. What follows will be new. The 
 artist has been asked to tell his own story, 
 which he does in the next chapter. His 
 minute statement will here be given; and, 
 though not very intelligible in some parts 
 to those who cannot have access to the 
 
THE PICTURE AND THE ARTIST. 81 
 
 painting, it deserves to go on record, if the 
 picture is, in any essential respects, a har- 
 binger of the day when our artists shall look 
 beyond the veil which hides the spirits of 
 loved ones, and record their clear visions 
 with the brush. 
 
32 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT. 
 
 Being called on to give a statement of facts, 
 as they have occurred to me, connected with 
 the picture of Natty, since the time the 
 lithograph of what purported and proved to 
 be a likeness of Angel Natty was put into 
 my hands, I will endeavor to do so ; but, 
 as the use and arrangement of words have 
 never occupied any portion of my attention, 
 I fear my attempt to describe the little items 
 or glimpses into the spirit-world, by which 
 I have been instructed in the composition, 
 and in some degree in color, of the picture, 
 will be unsatisfactory. Running, as the 
 items do, over more than six months of 
 time, without diary or dates, I fear it will 
 
the artist's statement. 33 
 
 be a congress of items not understood by 
 many, or not at all by any but those that 
 have experienced the manner in which ob- 
 jects in the spirit-world are discerned. But 
 I will do my best to explain. 
 
 Some time in the latter half of June (I 
 think it was), a stranger called at my room, 
 and introduced himself as Mr. Putnam, of 
 Roxbury, and showed me a lithograph head 
 in colors. I was immediately struck with 
 the remarkable intelligence which it ex- 
 pressed, or, as I then expressed it, the in- 
 nocence of wisdom. After a few remarks 
 made by each to the other, we both knew 
 that each had perception of the spiritual; 
 and he immediately entered on the incidents 
 connected with the procuring of the picture 
 which he held in his hand, also stating 
 that I was selected by the spirit himself to 
 put it on canvas ; that " Uncle Charles's 
 favorite dog " should be in the picture ; and 
 that I was not limited as to means or time, 
 3 
 
34 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 but that I should do as I was impressed ; 
 that he had nothing to say as regards the 
 picture, farther than that he wished me to 
 procure the best materials ; when I wanted 
 money, to be so kind as to let him know, at 
 the same time proffering some in advance ; 
 and then left the room. 
 
 My thoughts immediately pictured Natty 
 in the spirit-world ; but the dog, the black 
 dog, — how should I dispose of him ? The 
 material black dog and the Angel Natty 
 both in the spirit-world ! The thought was 
 repulsive. My first idea was to make the 
 dog a film, a mere shadow. I consulted 
 Natty, through his favorite writing instru- 
 ment, Mrs. Little ; and his language was 
 very emphatic, that the dog was to be no 
 more nor less than his Uncle Charles's black 
 dog. At the same time, he said, " Give me 
 some feet ; and don't make the dog prettier 
 than I." 
 
 Shortly after this, but before I had re- 
 
the artist's statement. 35 
 
 ceived any vision or extra impression, I made 
 a small sketch, in colors, of the whole sub- 
 ject. 
 
 I must try to describe that sketch, in or- 
 der to give an understanding of how much 
 I have received from spirit-vision towards 
 the finished picture. 
 
 The sketch represents him whole length ; 
 the position of the head, body, and lower 
 limbs, the same as in the finished picture. 
 . The right hand is raised to the height of 
 the shoulder, the fore-finger pointing upward, 
 and the others grasping the end of some 
 drapery which descends to the knees : the 
 left hand holds on its palm a small glitter- 
 ing globe. The dog reposes on dense clouds, 
 his nose turned up so as to bring the back 
 of the head towards the spectator. The im- 
 mediate foreground shows three bunches of 
 grapes : on the right of the figure, two 
 bunches, the gold and the blood, the gold 
 next to the feet ; on the left, one cluster, the 
 
36 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 silver : on the right; above the grapes, roses 
 in profusion ; on the left, high in the pic- 
 ture and in the distance, a temple of large 
 proportions, over the pinnacle of which glit- 
 ters a golden star, radiating light. From 
 near the temple descends water, falling from 
 rock to rock, then disappearing, and finally 
 gushing up through artificial works. From 
 behind the figure commences a broad flight 
 of steps, overarched with Hving verdure and 
 rainbows of flowers. At the lower edge of 
 the canvas spans a segment of a circle, re- 
 presenting the world, on which drip the 
 juices of the fruit, representing the celestial 
 (gold), spiritual (silver), and natural (blood). 
 Around, and immediately in contact with, 
 the earth, is a clear golden atmosphere, 
 above which dense clouds are formed, yet 
 below the feet of the child, and, as they 
 ascend, gradually become attenuated, until 
 all is lost in mist, out of which the whole 
 seems to glow. Directly over his head are 
 
the artist's statement. 37 
 
 streams of brilliant light, in the form of a 
 reversed cone, the apex of which rests on 
 his head. 
 
 I have described the sketch thus minutely 
 that the observer may see how the changes 
 were suggested, and thereby know what 
 portion of the finished picture I have pro- 
 duced without vision. 
 
 Shortly after having made the above- 
 described sketch, being in an assembly of a 
 hundred or more persons, I was introduced 
 to Mrs. Newton, who immediately became 
 entranced. A spirit, speaking with her or- 
 gans, desired to take my hand, that he might 
 establish a communication with me that 
 should not be broken. I complied ; and the 
 spirit addressed a few words of encourage- 
 ment to me, and ended with requesting me, 
 on the following day, to eat a light dinner, 
 and, soon after, to lie down, and he would 
 be with me. Not having ever seen any per- 
 son entranced, and all bein°; entire strangers 
 
38 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 to each other, I did not give that attention 
 to the momentary address which I otherwise 
 should, and only remembered the last sen- 
 tence. At noon, on the following day, I 
 complied with the request of my spirit- 
 friend ; but, it being washing-day at home, 
 I went direct to my little upper room in 
 Howard Street (my painting-room), and 
 attempted to repose myself on my throne (a 
 deal box, three by four feet), with my feet 
 in one chair, and the cushion of another for 
 a pillow. Bookbinders hammering, print- 
 ing-presses going, and two doors slamming 
 close to my head, the repose that I was in 
 was not very enviable. However, my spirit- 
 friend was soon at work. I seemed to be a 
 little changed from a natural or wide-awake 
 state as to the body, but had all my thought, 
 reflection, and comparison, doubly wide- 
 awake. It was a repose of nothing but the 
 material matter. The senses had slipped 
 off, and were in entire freedom, and lost 
 
the artist's statement. 39 
 
 sight of natural objects. I had been in this 
 condition a few minutes, when before my 
 face came the lower end of a picture, about 
 twelve inches wide. At first, I did not 
 think what it was ; but, after looking at it 
 steadily a minute or so, I saw the grapes ; 
 and these brought to memory the sketch I 
 had made for the picture of Natty. But 
 here it was enlarged to twenty times the 
 size of my sketch ; and the grapes, instead 
 of being distributed as in my design, were 
 all on one side. The arrangement of colors 
 also was changed : the golden, instead of 
 being nearest the centre, were farthest from 
 it ; the massive dark clouds, that seemed to 
 support the whole superstructure in said 
 sketch, had disappeared ; and immediately 
 the vision was gone. 
 
 After a few moments of vacancy, the 
 centre of a canvas (I did not see the edges 
 either way) was presented to my view ; and 
 on it were sketched, in colors, the body and 
 
40 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 left arm of a child, together with a dog, 
 and the child's arm lay over and around the 
 dog's neck. I had been in a quandary as 
 to the position of the dog, and had actually 
 colored it in three different positions in my 
 sketch, and at last left it somewhat unde- 
 fined. 
 
 I have strictly followed these suggestions. 
 There was an attempt afterwards to produce 
 the picture as a whole ; but it was small, 
 about the size of my sketch, and so far off that 
 I could not define it. Perhaps the distance 
 corresponded to the time that was to elapse 
 before the painting would be all arranged 
 and marked out, which has been over six 
 months ; and, lastly, the spirit-artist who 
 was operating for my instruction was seen 
 by me for a moment, and then my senses 
 became entangled with their material over- 
 coat. I arose, I must confess, very much 
 disappointed ; for I had expected something 
 wonderful ; thought the whole picture would 
 
THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT. 41 
 
 blaze out in all the glow of spirit-life, or 
 perhaps dear little Natty would show him- 
 self to me in person. All that I had seen 
 were but sketches of parts of a picture, 
 works of art, not the real reality. This be- 
 ing the first time that the spirit-world had 
 given me sight of any thing but the things 
 themselves, the singularity made a strong 
 impression on me. 
 
 Shortly after this, I visited Mrs. Leeds, a 
 medium who had been somewhat familiar 
 with little Natty. She soon became en- 
 tranced ; and the spirit commenced speaking 
 to me in these words : " If thee will sit 
 nearer the instrument, and take her hand, I 
 will speak to thee." And, for a few minutes, 
 there was poured forth a flood of burning 
 beauty, in the artless simplicity of a child, 
 touching all the thoughts and feelings that 
 I had passed through during the past five 
 years, and soothing my spirit with predic- 
 tions of use for the future. He ended by 
 
4^ NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 saying, after having spoken of the picture 
 of the spirit-child which I was to paint, 
 " Do not proceed with the work immediate- 
 ly, as all the influences are not brought to 
 bear yet. Thee shall go over a bridge, or 
 bridges, on to high ground ; and there, in 
 the twilight of the evening, the whole shall 
 pass before thee as a panorama." 
 
 This was in the morning ; and I expected 
 the promise would be fulfilled on the even- 
 ing of that day, although the spirit said 
 nothing about time. At twilight, I disposed 
 myself (but not at a window, for the idea of 
 seeing the panorama in external nature had 
 not entered my thoughts), somewhat expect- 
 ing to be blessed with the vision of the whole 
 subject; but the evening hours passed away, 
 and so did those of the next, the next, and 
 the next, and so on for four or five weeks, 
 and nothing of the -subject was shown me. 
 Hope was almost gone ; and I began to think 
 that the promises of some spirits were not 
 fulfilled. 
 
THE ARTIST S STATEMENT. 4q 
 
 I reside near the top of old Bunker Hill, 
 in Charlestown. From my front windows, 
 where I generally am during twilight, was 
 then a broad free opening, taking into view 
 many miles in extent of hills. During the 
 four or five weeks succeeding the promise 
 of the spirit, there had been erected, on the 
 vacant lots in front of my dwelling, three - 
 houses. The frames were up and boarded, 
 which left a small opening between these and 
 the next building, — a sort of proscenium 
 for the panorama, as I afterwards thought. 
 
 One evening, I was sitting at a window 
 which I very seldom sit near, having been 
 induced to leave my favorite seat by a sen- 
 sation as if small insects were crawling all 
 over my body and hands, which I experi- 
 enced at that favorite window, and nowhere 
 else. Had I remained at that place, I could 
 not have seen the opening across which the 
 imagery passed. The panorama was not 
 thought of at the time, although not forgot- 
 
44 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 ten. I was watching the motions of the 
 beautiful summer vapor, when a particular 
 light attracted my attention. I examined it 
 closely, and behold, it was the image of Natty ! 
 but the dog was not there. All the scenery 
 which I had designed and arranged for the 
 picture was missing ; and instead were fleecy 
 ' vapors on his right, amid which I dimly saw 
 an opening, indicating a way of ascent. Be- 
 low the figure, and on which it stood, were 
 dense clouds, thence rolling up more attenu- 
 ated, but dark on the left hand of the figure. 
 Close to his left side was the darkest, densest 
 vapor, over which his arm seemed to rest ; 
 but no appearance of the dog. There was 
 no color, simply light and shade, or the 
 general effect of the whole picture indis- 
 tinctly made out. It moved on slowly for 
 three or four minutes, when it reached a 
 position directly over the eaves of the build- 
 ing towards which it was passing (although 
 apparently two miles in the distance), when 
 
the artist's statement. 45 
 
 it became stationary, and gradually dimi- 
 nished in size till it wholly disappeared. I 
 exclaimed, " I wish I had seen it more 
 distinctly ! " when immediately the same ar- 
 rangement came in sight in precisely the 
 same spot, moved across the same path to 
 the same place, and disappeared in the same 
 manner, but this time more indistinctly. 
 During the whole time it was in sight, I 
 distinctly saw an emanation of light from 
 the eaves to the ridgepole of the building 
 over which the arrangement vanished. The 
 third evening after this, I was sitting at 
 the same window, sipping in the tidbits 
 of a glowing summer's sunset, when my 
 attention was attracted to a small black 
 cloud, in form like a balloon. It moved 
 over the same place as the figure three 
 evenings before, disappeared at the same 
 spot in the same manner, re-appeared in the 
 same way, passed over the same space, 
 and gradually disappeared as before. This 
 
46 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 passing a second time, and disappearing in 
 the same singular manner as the imagery, 
 led me to surmise there was some connec- 
 tion between the two. Here was something 
 new in my experience. These were seen 
 by the material eyes, absolutely floating in 
 earth's atmosphere. 
 
 Time wore on, without any thing more 
 being suggested, till August 3, when I 
 visited, with Mr. Putnam, Mrs. Little, for 
 the purpose of communicating with Natty 
 in regard to the picture. Here he repeated, 
 " Give me some feet ; " also he said, " Throw 
 one arm gracefully over the dog ; put a 
 wreath in the hand, ready to be thrown over 
 the dog's neck ; let the dog be black ; give 
 depth to his eyes almost human ; but don't 
 make the dog prettier than I ; dispense with 
 scenery in the background. West tells me 
 ' flowers will not harmonize in the back- 
 ground.' I prefer rose-color for dress ; but, if 
 mother likes white best, I give up to her taste. 
 
the artist's statement. 47 
 
 I like your sketch : don't destroy it." I re- 
 plied, " I have already/' — thinking of one 
 I had that morning rubbed out, the second I 
 had made ; the first — the one above described 
 — not entering my thoughts at the time, 
 nor since with any regard to Natty or the 
 picture in progress, until I commenced 
 writing out all the little incidents connected 
 with the subject. The reader can see why 
 he wished it preserved. Natty was asked 
 if he was instrumental in producing the 
 panorama. "No," was his reply: " it was 
 produced by your familiar spirit, and was 
 not to be strictly followed. This answer 
 brought to memory the black cloud I saw 
 pass and repass three days after the figure ; 
 and the same seemed explained 
 
 From these written instructions, and the 
 glimpses of spirit-vision that had been given 
 me, I commenced the picture, and laid in 
 the figure and dog ; but as Natty said, 
 " Leave out the scenery in the background," 
 
48 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 what should I substitute ? The ideas 
 gleaned from the panorama were not re- 
 garded, as Natty said they were not to be 
 followed, and it had passed out of my me- 
 mory as connected w r ith the picture, and 
 never had been associated with it up to the 
 time when I was describing it in the present 
 writing ; and yet all the general effect of that 
 has been worked in without my once think- 
 ing of the original. 
 
 The picture did not progress for some 
 days, while I was constantly meditating for 
 the background, till one day, while passing 
 through a small anteroom in my house, 
 the room appeared full of soft rolling va- 
 pors, of a color approaching the rose. It 
 immediately occurred to me that that was 
 the color of the light for the general effect 
 in the painting. 
 
 A day or two after this, the same light 
 and color were presented to my vision 
 in the same place. This strengthened my 
 
the artist's statement. 49 
 
 former impression. But it seems as if the 
 spirit was fearful that I would not adopt it ; 
 and, for the third time, the same effects of 
 color and light surrounded me in the attic 
 over my painting-room. I wanted no fur- 
 ther suggestion for my background, and 
 proceeded to paint it in ; and such it now 
 remains. 
 
 The background was painted in solid, and 
 all at once, except a few minutes' work tic- 
 kling or glittering it ; the figure and dog 
 sketched in ; the foliage and waterfall indicat- 
 ed ; the ground on which the child and dog 
 stand painted, but without objects ; the fruit 
 laid in ; and a few brush-marks near the bot- 
 tom of the canvas, to denote water. Here the 
 work rested for some days ; when one even- 
 ing, after retiring to bed, the lower end of 
 the same picture that I had seen some days 
 before was presented to my vision : but now 
 the flowers were added, and reflected below, 
 4 
 
50 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 as were the grapes, and the legs of the figure ; 
 but the dog was not seen in reflection. 
 
 On the following day, I proceeded to 
 paint in the lower part of the picture, sup- 
 posing the reflections were intended to be 
 on water. I represented the reversed image 
 of every object, including the dark mass of 
 the dog, as reflected on water. This dark 
 mass of black at the bottom of the picture 
 hove the whole composition out of balance, 
 and it lost all its airiness. 
 
 It stood in this condition some days, 
 when the idea entered my mind, that the 
 vision which had been given me (where all 
 objects were not reflected) was intended for 
 the mirage, or reflection on the atmosphere. 
 I erased what I had painted in this part of 
 the picture, and have endeavored to depict 
 the mirage. 
 
 Daring the progress of the work, Mrs. 
 Little ( Natty 's favorite writing instrument) 
 called at my room ; and Natty seized her 
 
 
THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT. 51 
 
 hand, and wrote, " That's me in my bower. 
 I have a dress like that. I impressed you 
 to make it so." Although the dress was 
 not finished at that time, I have carried out 
 all the ideas I had then indicated. 
 
 Time and paint had enabled me to bring 
 the work nearly to the condition in which it 
 now is. Some dispute having arisen about 
 the size of the legs, and in particular the 
 joints of the feet, I was induced to examine 
 the works of various artists at the Athe- 
 naeum for authority. I was returning, con- 
 vinced that I was nearer right than my 
 critics, when, turning the key in the door 
 of my painting-room, my inner sight was 
 opened, and before me, on a virgin canvas, 
 without ground or background, was the left 
 leg of a child, in the position of the one in 
 my picture ; but the calf of the leg was 
 fuller and lower, the instep higher, and the 
 entire length of the foot a little less, while 
 the whole had more reddish-brown in its 
 
52 
 
 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 color. I have tried to work mine to corre- 
 spond to that. 
 
 Thus had the picture been worked out in 
 all its parts up to the 8th of November, 
 and I considered it about done. On the 
 evening of that day, I went to bed later 
 than usual. As soon as I had laid down, I 
 became very wakeful. I could not sleep. 
 I got out of bed, went to the window, 
 rubbed myself all over, and then lay down 
 again ; but no sleep followed. About mid- 
 night, a light seemed to melt gradually out 
 of the darkness of the room, till within it 
 I could discern grain in the ear ; then hair 
 of a golden hue, with faint appearance of a 
 face, neck, and shoulders of a female, when 
 I recognized the general features of the 
 
 portrait of Mrs. P (a spirit) ; but the 
 
 whole was dimly seen. In a few seconds, 
 a little cherub-child appeared in front, the 
 back towards me. The top of his head came 
 in sight first, and he seemed to be climbing 
 
the artist's statement. 53 
 
 from her lap till his breast met hers, when 
 he tossed his beautiful dimpled arms around 
 her neck with the most touchiug affection. 
 I recognized him at once as Natty. The 
 back of the head was towards me ; and I was 
 impressed with wonder at the remarkable 
 fulness in every region, more so than I was 
 led to expect from the appearance of the 
 front as seen in the lithograph. The hair 
 was a little more free than in the print, and 
 more golden than I had represented it in 
 my painting. The child disappeared for a 
 moment, and then came back over the left 
 
 shoulder of Mrs. P , put his breast on 
 
 hers as before, while his body seemed to float 
 in the atmosphere horizontally, his back 
 being towards me as at first. As soon as he 
 reached this position, he turned his head 
 back till his eyes met mine, and, with a 
 bewitching expression of arch innocence, 
 disappeared. 
 
 In the second view of him, my attention 
 
54 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 was attracted to the arms : they hung down 
 freely from and over the breast of the female, 
 and seemed the centre of light, as the hair 
 and arms had in the first view. I saw at 
 once that the arm which I had drawn and 
 painted in the picture was not like these. 
 Mine was too full below the elbow, — not full 
 enough at the wrist ; and at the wrist was 
 a deep crease, which I had not indicated in 
 the least. I have since made alterations to 
 meet these true forms. 
 
 The jewel-clasp on his shoulder was 
 shown me in vision. Oh, how beautiful it 
 was ! It seemed a living object. Each 
 precious stone in it seemed of the finest 
 particles, and each particle in motion, and 
 the whole setting radiating the most bril- 
 liant light, which seemed to flash and spar- 
 kle as if given off from an ever-emanating 
 source. Indeed, it was the most gorgeous 
 object that I ever beheld. Reader, do not 
 look at my attempt to imitate that, after 
 reading this. 
 
the artist's statement. 55 
 
 The wreath was shown me one very dark 
 night, while sitting at that window gazing 
 on vacancy. It appeared suspended directly 
 over the spot where the image or panorama 
 of Natty first made its appearance. It had 
 no leaves, but flowers of the most intense 
 blue. There were no minutiae, but simply 
 the general. This gave me license to in- 
 troduce what small parts I saw fit. I have 
 improved that liberty, and have attempted, 
 in the wreath, somewhat of the language of 
 flowers. Lily-of-the-valley, — return of hap- 
 piness ; blue-bell, — constancy ; myrtle, — 
 love in absence ; with some odylized flowers. 
 
 Time continued to slip by his days and 
 weeks, and I considered the picture finished ; 
 but Natty continued to say, " No, it is 
 not; I have an important chapter to make 
 known when Mrs. Newton returns from 
 Europe." But still I considered it done. 
 Thus it stood still till January 7, on which 
 day Mrs. Newton called at my room, 
 
56 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 and saw the picture for the first time. She 
 soon became entranced. Natty became pre- 
 sent as the picture ; but to it was added a 
 white dove and white lily. In a vision which 
 had been given me of this part of the work, 
 months before, I had noticed some object, 
 very white and bright, but could not make 
 out the form or individuality of it. 
 
 These are the principal items, glimpses, 
 written instructions, and verbal information, 
 from which I have composed and worked 
 out this somewhat singular picture. 
 
 The painting is on canvas, thirty-eight by 
 forty-eight inches. Natty is represented as a 
 child, his size as that of one between two and 
 three years old ; but the head is very fully 
 developed, and the expression of the face 
 and position of the whole body are indicative 
 of more wisdom than belongs to childhood. 
 At his left side is Uncle Charles's favorite 
 black dog Leo, slightly inclined against 
 
the artist's statement. 57 
 
 Natty, as Natty is against the dog, each 
 contributing to the repose of the other. 
 The left arm of Natty rests with perfect 
 repose over the neck of the dog, the hand 
 being seen on the breast, holding one end 
 of a wreath of flowers ; while the other 
 end is supported by his right hand, which 
 is raised nearly to his waist. The under- 
 garment of Natty, of which a small portion 
 is seen, is rose-color, bordered with blue, 
 from which emanates slightly a faint light, 
 — odyle, if you please. The outer-gar- 
 ment, which is full and flowing, is white 
 (illumined in the shadows with rosy pearl), 
 and bordered with gold, from which is sus- 
 pended a row of drop-pearls. On the right 
 shoulder, this garment, and the drapery 
 which forms the covering for the arm, are 
 united by a gem-star radiating light. His 
 breast, left shoulder, legs below the knees, 
 and feet, are bare. Surrounding the figure, 
 from the hips upwards, is an emanation 
 
58 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 of white light. His hair is golden. The 
 figures stand on greensward bordered with 
 flowers. On Natty's right ascend vines, sup- 
 porting grapes, — the golden, the crimson, 
 and the silver. Still farther back, and on the 
 left, in the middle-ground, is falling water, 
 backed by foliage, amid which are seen 
 other falls. On the right of Natty, be- 
 tween him and the vines, is slightly indi- 
 cated, by steps of a golden hue, a way of 
 ascent, which is lost in fleecy vapor of a rosy, 
 amber color, deepening into dark on the left 
 of the head of Natty, and, there, is united 
 by light, with a broad, simple wash of deli- 
 cate rose-hue, which forms the upper corner 
 of the picture on his left. The opposite 
 corner, on the right, is of azure. The lower 
 end of the painting, below the objects, repre- 
 sents the natural atmosphere, on which many 
 of the objects are seen reflected, and is a 
 deep blue. The composition is egg-form, 
 with the small end up ; and on the upper 
 
the artist's statement. 59 
 
 end can be seen the indication of the shell. 
 The shell, as such, was unintentional in me, 
 being put there without authority, and in- 
 tended for another purpose. That it is an 
 eggshell was a subsequent observation ; yet 
 it has not been touched since the first paint- 
 ing. All the objects in the picture seem to 
 be enclosed in the egg, and that seems to be 
 floating in the atmosphere. 
 
 Charles L. Fenton. 
 Jan. 22, 1856. 
 
60 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 
 
 Late in October, 1855, Mrs. Leeds, Mrs. 
 Little (formerly Miss Ellis), Miss Burbank, 
 and Miss Bugbee, with three or four others, 
 met us at the artist's room. The picture was 
 then thought to be nearly finished ; and we 
 met to criticize and suggest. While the 
 others were busily talking and comparing 
 impressions and opinions about the work 
 before us, Miss Burbank was dumb ; but, as 
 soon as we formed a circle and became quiet, 
 she was impressed. Then, rising quietly 
 and modestly from her seat, she was the 
 instrument of a polished, simple, chaste ad- 
 dress upon art and its influences. In soft 
 and feeling tones, and in a smoothness of 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 61 
 
 style that would not mar the pages of Irving, 
 the speaker, touching upon and comparing 
 the influences of poetry, music, and paint- 
 ing, melted the hearts and enchained , the 
 thoughts of us all for fifteen or twenty 
 minutes. After the obvious point of the 
 address — viz., the softening influences of 
 painting — had been beautifully stated, there 
 came melting thanks to the artist for his 
 patient toil, in behalf of " a circle of de- 
 parted artists and lovers of the beautiful ; " 
 and not thanks alone, but seeds of hope that 
 future and lasting joy would well up within 
 him, because of his obedient and faithful 
 course in this dawning hour of new tri- 
 umphs in the art of painting. 
 
 An impressive and holy tone flowed over 
 the little band, making us all feel that it was 
 good for us to be there, and giving, for the 
 time, a feeling that that upper room was 
 then a tabernacle for pure and holy spirits. 
 Not the artist alone, but all spirits and mor- 
 
6:2 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 tals who had been used in procuring this 
 picture, came in for a share of thanks and 
 for blessings. Little Natty was distinctly, 
 yet delicately and touchingly, commended 
 for his playful, but adroit and persevering, 
 labors in behalf of the ancient artists, — the . 
 true projectors of the work. Here — and 
 now for the first time — were we told that 
 Raphael, Michael Angelo, and Ben West, 
 with other kindred spirits, had "for years " 
 been wishing and striving to get their pre- 
 sent conceptions of the beautiful on to man's 
 canvas ; had been wishing to have their 
 present influences upon the world's arts 
 recognized by man. And now, first, did 
 they tell us that our little Natty was their 
 co-worker, and that in all his winning ways 
 and childish fascinations, by which he had 
 won our love and made us willing to incur 
 expense for his gratification, he had been 
 but the willing, cheerful, untiring agent of 
 the painter-angels. It has been no unwel- 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 68 
 
 come thing for us to learn, that, in requital 
 of such services, Rubens has taken for him 
 the likenesses of those the child loves most 
 on earth, and that clairvoyants see those- 
 familiar earth-faces, adorned with haloes, 
 garnishing the walls of Natty's exquisite 
 bower in the bright spheres. 
 
 How far there is explanation now of the 
 only point of conflict in the second chapter, 
 each reader may judge.' It was in the sum- 
 mer or autumn of 1854 that the likeness was 
 was first promised me. The promise seemed 
 to come in compliance with my request; and 
 yet the "orange-boy" — the lithograph by 
 Dollet, from Jules Laure, an impression of 
 which reached us so strangely — came into 
 the market, we are told, two or three years 
 ago. It was not, therefore, in fulfilment of 
 the promise to me that Ben West, as in 
 the vision of Miss Bugbee, daguerreotyped 
 Natty on the artist's brain. And can it be, 
 that, prior to that promise, the artists above, 
 
64 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 in furtherance of their design to make them- 
 selves once more recognized workers in 
 earth's studios, had made the hand of Laure 
 sketch unconsciously the head of an existing 
 spirit, then hovering immediately over his ac- 
 tive brain ? "When questions point to possi- 
 bilities in spirit-land, we feel no competency 
 to make answers ; yet, if the inquiry can get 
 an affirmative answer, Natty's prompt and 
 unqualified promise of his likeness the in- 
 stant it was asked for, as also the age of the 
 lithograph, come into harmony with truth- 
 fulness. Complete darkness hung over this 
 point till the picture was nearly finished, 
 when the unseen artists told us that Natty 
 had been their assistant, "for years " .in 
 arranging for the present results. A sha- 
 dowy explanation may be admissible where 
 shadows are chief actors. 
 
 Our picture is not, in any proper sense, 
 the work of spirits, for the execution is by 
 our artist ; yet he may have been so far 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 65 
 
 -controlled as to show traces in trie different 
 parts of the peculiarities of several of those 
 departed artists who exhibited to him the 
 models, and infused their influences. We 
 doubt whether the world is ready to see any 
 thing of Ben "West in the child's figure, of 
 Raphael in the halo around the boy, or of 
 Michael Angelo in the bolder and darker 
 parts of the picture. There is no pretence 
 or suspicion that those painters handled the 
 brush; and, if their distinguishing concep- 
 tions were impressed upon Mr. Fenton, he 
 may have failed to give them such embodi- 
 ment as to make any observer detect resem- 
 blances of their peculiar styles. Yet they 
 tell us that they have been much with him, 
 bringing to bear such limited power as they 
 could. That power may grow, does grow ; 
 and the imperfections of this first attempt 
 through him may be gradually surmounted 
 in their future efforts. Opportunities will 
 5 
 
bb NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 now come without effort. Abby shows her- 
 self to the artist now ; and so do others. 
 
 Already one bereaved lady has" asked for 
 a portrait of her deceased husband ; and the 
 spirit of that husband has been seen by the 
 artist in different costumes. This spirit has 
 expressed a wish that choice of costume 
 should be made by the survivors ; also that 
 his face shall be as in life, so as to be recog- 
 nised by friends, but that the robes shall 
 be suggestive of his present condition. 
 Others are ready to give employment to the 
 artist in the same line, provided the spirits 
 are able and willing to show their forms and 
 features. When more practice has been had 
 in this line, and facility of execution under 
 these circumstances been acquired, this art- 
 ist, and others, may be able to furnish more 
 finished pictures. The one already executed 
 will be hung upon the wall of our parlor, 
 138, Eustis Street, Roxbury ; where all will 
 be welcome who desire to see it. 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 67 
 
 The persistence of the boy in requiring 
 the dog may have been much more than a 
 childish whim. Within a few days, the 
 distinguished naturalist, Audubon, has said 
 that there is a spirit-emanation from every 
 animal, which ascends, and is immortal, and 
 that spiritualized animals surround the spi- 
 rits of those who love the animal creation ; 
 that birds and beasts are caged by love ; and 
 that the naturalist may pursue his studies 
 under better circumstances above than on 
 earth. No picture of spirit-scenery would 
 be satisfactory to such as Audubon, unless 
 it presented the contents of Peter's sheet, 
 and taught that no living thing is common 
 or unclean. All are cleansed by God ; and 
 man's highest purity need fear no pollution. 
 Referring specifically to this painting, the 
 great naturalist found it conforming to na- 
 ture, in its blending the earthy and the spirit- 
 ual ; also man and the brute. If the purpose 
 of the real authors of the picture is cor- 
 
68 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 rectly seen, they were willing to shock our 
 notions, and show us heaven as it looks to 
 them, and not as we fancy it, — show it as 
 only earth-refined, and yet as substantial to 
 their eyes as rocks and trees and dogs and 
 human flesh and bones are to ours. 
 
 Men little skilled in art and in natural 
 history — men and women "unknown to 
 fame " — are the selected agents. And why ? 
 Because, says Audubon, " can you teach the 
 theologian theology 1" 
 
 We are credulous ; we do believe ; and 
 we thank God that we can be and do thus. 
 We shall be arraigned ; and yet the world 
 is not a bad one. Men do not generally 
 criticize and carp and ridicule because of 
 festering malice. Such things are with them 
 the play of the brain, rather than the work 
 of the heart. Such sport tends to keep the 
 world in order. Sometimes, indeed, a poor 
 frog perishes, and others learn to hide in 
 their native element : but the urchins gain 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 69 
 
 strength from exercise ; and, though they do 
 debar God's creatures from full enjoyment 
 of his sunlight and from free hoppings upon 
 his footstool, they do it with no unkind 
 intent. Effects may seem bad ; the instru- 
 ments of order may and do become some- 
 times enslaving chains, do inspire awe, do 
 dwarf the growth of freedom, do make a 
 man more the slave of society, and less the 
 free child of God, than is apparently for his 
 highest good ; and yet who knows even 
 this ? There is broader and deeper truth in 
 the poet's declaration, " Whatever is, is 
 right" than we are apt to comprehend. 
 God's presence and power are in the cen- 
 sor's brain as much as in the most confiding 
 heart. Beyond limits which he prescribes, 
 no erratic comet can rove, no tornado spread 
 desolation. The comet shall come back to 
 its starting-point, the tornado shall hush it- 
 self to gentle breezes. Among men, as 
 among the stars and the elements, God says, 
 
70 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 " Hitherto, but no further." We work by 
 his permission ; critics and readers will do 
 the same ; and from the evil, be it on the 
 one side or on the other, he will in time 
 educe some good. Should these pages be 
 no more than a monument to our delusion 
 and weak credulity, perchance the inscrip- 
 tion we here make may guide some future 
 wanderers in safer paths. But if we mark 
 the spot where angels came, and lead men 
 thither to gaze at the bright-robed visitants, 
 and to listen to their words of wisdom and 
 of cheer, then our records, though foolish, 
 may be as potent for good as the wisdom of 
 the wise 
 
 We meant to have published before the 
 holidays ; but our unseen advisers said no, 
 and added, that, when Mrs. Newton should 
 return from Europe, there was more work 
 to be done on the picture, and a few more 
 statements to be furnished. That lady has 
 now come back, and finds in the picture no 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 71 
 
 bird, no white dove, the constant attendant 
 and the signal of Natty; neither does she 
 find that emblem of purity, the white lily. 
 These must go on, and a few changes be 
 made. 
 
 On the night of the old year, through this 
 lady, Natty gave permission to publish now 
 what has come, and stated that we may do 
 as we shall judge best with what will be 
 disclosed hereafter. " One thing more," he 
 says, " I must state, in reference to that pic- 
 ture, now. Its true significance you have 
 not yet seen. I have insisted on having the 
 dog, you know, and also upon having Natty 
 as a child. The dog is a representative of 
 man's animal passions. The child represents 
 man redeemed : ' of such is the kingdom of 
 heaven.' The dog in the picture, with his 
 subdued look, standing with patient neck 
 under the arm of the child, represents the 
 animal passions curbed and in subjection. 
 The child there speaks of innocence, purity, 
 
72 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 cheerfulness, and confiding faith, as sub- 
 duing the animal, and giving heavenly mas- 
 tery to the spiritual. This child should be 
 born in each one. In some persons, we see 
 scarce any thing but the dog ; in others, the 
 child is partly formed, and in others more 
 fully shaped. This child must be born in 
 the medium before she can see it elsewhere, 
 must be in the artist before he can paint it, 
 and in each one before it can be seen on the 
 canvas in its beauty and power. Oh ! there 
 is much to tell you ; but I must do it when 
 the medium is stronger." 
 
 Such were his last words in the old year. 
 Here first came out the reason why he had 
 asked and required a dog, and that a black 
 one, — a reason why he was painted as a 
 child. Black dog, to image forth animal 
 passions ; a child, to show these passions 
 curbed by that spirit which fits for the king- 
 dom of heaven. The ascendency of the 
 childlike spiritual over the animal in man ; 
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES. 7o 
 
 human redemption from the power of animal 
 lusts ; human redemption from all the harsh- 
 er passions ; the enthronement of childhood, 
 and therefore of heaven, within the soul, — 
 is the sermon of this picture. We thought 
 we were simply playing with the playful 
 child ; and he makes the play preach over 
 again one of the sweetest lessons that fell 
 from the lips of Jesus. 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 NATTY'S EARTH-LIFE. 
 
 Nathaniel Young was born and died. 
 This is nearly the whole story. 
 
 The off-hand statement from his own flip- 
 pant use of the medium's pencil gives him 
 five days of life, and that about thirty-nine 
 or forty years ago. Here ends his auto-bio- 
 graphy. He claims no knowledge, and little 
 accuracy as to dates or spaces of time, con- 
 nected with his life here. 
 
 Mr. Timothy Young and wife, an aged 
 couple in Chelsea, Mass., have just been 
 seen ; and they speak of being present at 
 
76 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 the death and burial of a nephew, Natha- 
 niel, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Young, 
 who was born and died at Dover, N.H. 
 This child lived, as they think, a few weeks 
 in the autumn of 1815. My informants are 
 the parents of Oliver Young, now in Cali- 
 fornia, who is mentioned in the following 
 pages, and in whose presence our acquaint- 
 ance with Natty commenced. At the first 
 interview, Natty claimed to be brother of 
 Oliver ; but the information from the other 
 source makes him cousin, though cousin of 
 peculiar nearness, because Oliver spent six 
 years or more in his uncle Nathaniel's fa- 
 mily, where he was treated as son and bro- 
 ther by Natty's parents, brothers, and sisters. 
 Neither he nor any of his relatives were ever 
 known to us till he came as a spirit in 
 1852 ; and Oliver alone among them was 
 seen by us, and he only once, until January, 
 1856. No more can be said of his earth- 
 life. 
 
SPIRIT-LIFE. 77 
 
 •CHAPTER II. 
 
 SPIRIT-LIFE. — INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Ours is a strange work, — the biography of 
 a spirit ! Who can write it ? What more 
 can it be than moonshine ? Perhaps it will 
 be no more, perhaps it will be even less, 
 than moonshine ; for moonbeams are reali- 
 ties, which sometimes gladden the heart, 
 invite the eye to rest upon the orb from 
 whence they come, and lift the thoughts to 
 Him whose brightness makes the light of 
 every natural ray. Shrubs or flowers 
 brought from spirit-gardens will have grown 
 within the domains of Nature's God. Such, 
 however new, will yet be natural; and if 
 perchance they have verily the look and 
 smell of earth, they may, for that very rea- 
 
<0 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 son, be all the better suited to refresh and 
 gratify mortals. 
 
 Glimpses of an ethereal visitant ; words 
 from lips thinner than air; smiles from a 
 face rarer than a sunbeam ; movements of a 
 form more airy than morning mist ; the life 
 of a cherub, who adopts us as father and 
 mother ; the life of a gleesome spirit, whose 
 constant worship of the heavenly Father, 
 whose deep rills of wisdom, and whose 
 ever-flowing streams of love and charity, 
 often robe themselves in mirth, frolic, and 
 dance, — these things are not easy for the 
 pen to catch and portray : yet, if caught and 
 dressed, they may give heart-food, bread of 
 life, to some souls that grow lean at the 
 tables which common theology and science 
 and literature are wont to spread. 
 
 Whether these stranger-visitants, these 
 new facts, are pilgrim fathers, before whom 
 the aborigines within the reader will dwindle 
 and retire; or whether, landing, like Cook, 
 
SPIRIT-LIFE. 79 
 
 upon strange shores, they are to be, like him, 
 the victims of ignorance and superstition, — 
 time will tell. They go forth in no hostile 
 spirit : yet they do seek and demand a home 
 on earth; and their smiles, their benefi- 
 cence, their truthfulness and power, should 
 some day win for them a welcome and 
 peaceful abode in the hearts of men. 
 
 Proofs of spiritualism, that is, of the fact 
 that departed spirits do communicate with 
 man, belong to other works. To us, that 
 fact has been proved beyond a question, and 
 will be assumed in the following pages. 
 The purpose here is to exhibit, truthfully, a 
 few of the sayings and doings of one, and he 
 apparently a little one, of our ethereal visi- 
 tants ; also to weave into the web of narra- 
 tive a few threads from the many skeins of 
 thought and feeling which he has wound 
 upon our reels. 
 
80 N^TTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST AND SECOND INTERVIEWS. 
 
 " Spirit-works, — real, but not miraculous," 
 is the title of a lecture published by me 
 about two years ago. In that work, I said, 
 " Entering a medium's room one morning 
 in early autumn of 1852, I saw a gentle- 
 manly, intelligent man, apparently about 
 thirty, sitting at the table, and putting ques- 
 tions. Soon a tiny rap was heard, and the 
 name Natty was spelled out. ' Who are 
 you ? ' said the man. ' I am your brother,'' 
 was the answer. * No,' said the man : i I 
 had no such brother.' ' You had,' said the 
 rapper. ' No,' said the man. ' Yes,' said 
 the other. ' Well, let us see,' added the man. 
 e How old was you, Natty, when you died ? ' 
 
 
FIRST AND SECOND INTERVIEWS. 81 
 
 ' Five clays,' was the answer. i How 
 long since you died?' ( Thirty-five years.' 
 The gentleman here bit his lip in thought, 
 and said, c I believe there was an infant • 
 brother who died before I was born ; but I 
 thought they called him Oliver.' < No,' 
 was the response : ' they called him Natty ; 
 and I am he.' c Natty,' said the man, 
 1 how do you know that I am your brother ? ' 
 f By love,' he answered. ' By love ? ' said 
 the questioner. e But don't you love others, 
 as well as relatives ? ' Ans. c We like 
 others, and love relatives.' c What,' it was 
 then asked, — ' what is the difference between 
 love and like ? ' The word ' LOYE ' was 
 immediately written in large letters, two or 
 three inches long, and ' like ' was traced 
 under it in very small letters. ' Natty,' con- 
 tinued the man, f you are not my brother, 
 but are some one else attempting to impose 
 upon me.' e I am your brother,' was the 
 earnest rejoinder. ( Then will you tell me 
 6 
 
82 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 what sphere you are in ? ' * The fourth,' he 
 said. ' The fourth, ah ? Now I've caught 
 you ; for, as you died in infancy, you was 
 fitted for the seventh sphere when you left 
 the earth.' i I have been there,' was the 
 response. ' Have been there, and yet are 
 now in the fourth ? How is that ? Are you 
 moving backwards, — coming down ? ' e No : 
 I am an adviser in the fourth.' ' Adviser ! 
 What is that ? a sort of superintendent ? ' 
 ' Yes.' 'Oh! you are in office, then?' 
 ' Yes.' ' Do you get any pay ? We pay 
 well for such things here.' 'Yes, I get 
 pay.' ' What pay ? ' ' The pleasure of see- 
 ing those under me progress.' I then said 
 to the gentleman stranger, e Sir, you have 
 found your match, if not your brother : I 
 think I would own the relationship.' And, 
 in continuance, I remarked that this seemed 
 to be a very bright, cheerful spirit ; when 
 there was written, ( I am always laughing.' 
 My next remark was, ' Natty, I should like 
 
FIRST AND SECOND INTERVIEWS. OO 
 
 to make your acquaintance.' f Hand out 
 your card/ was the instant response. Find- 
 ing no card in my pocket, I wrote, secretly, 
 on a slip of paper, ( Mr. Allen Putnam, Eus- 
 tis Street, Roxbury,' turned the paper over, 
 placing the writing down upon the table, 
 kept my hand over the paper, and asked 
 Natty to make a copy. Instantly the me- 
 dium's hand wrote, ( Mr. A. P., U. St., Rox.' 
 The writing on my paper had been seen by 
 me alone ; and I was looking for a copy in 
 full, yet received only abbreviations, Eustis 
 being reduced to the simple letter U." 
 
 Here closed my first interview with him. 
 Of course, my knowledge of his existence 
 dates back only about three years. The 
 name of the gentleman then present was 
 Oliver Young. 
 
 The occurrences related above were plea- 
 sant, and for a time led to many speculations 
 and conjectures about the condition, occupa- 
 tions, education, attractions, &c, of those 
 
84 NATTY, A STIRIT. 
 
 who left this life in very early infancy. But 
 when a few weeks had passed, and other 
 marvels were claiming attention, these scenes 
 became nearly, if not quite, forgotten. Yet 
 in February, 1853, Miss Ellis's hand, as 
 soon as a seat was taken by me at her table, 
 wrote, "Mr. A. P., U. St., Rox., I have 
 used your card." " How ? " I asked. Ans. 
 " By showing it to Moses and Job, who will 
 fight that old Chinaman, and come right in 
 and take a chair." "Is Job a fighter ?" 
 said I. " Yes," said he, " a sort of one : 
 ha ! ha ! ha ! " " Will you describe that 
 old Chinaman, Natty ? " " Yes : in the first 
 place, he has on his perhaps holy head a 
 monstrous brass crown ; in his venerable 
 ears and nose, large hoops, made in the year 
 one ; a great long gown covers his valuable 
 suit beneath ; his moccasons turn up in 
 utter contempt ; and he handles a long pole, 
 with which he keeps me off: but I am going 
 to tickle his toes." 
 
FIRST AND SECOND INTERVIEWS. 85 
 
 Such was the second interview; and, 
 though mirth-provoking, it promised little 
 in the way of awakening any abiding interest 
 in Natty. He seemed but a lively play- 
 thing. 
 
86 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 
 A DIGRESSION. 
 
 Mention of the " old Chinaman " induces a 
 digression. In August, 1852, Miss Hoyt, 
 now Mrs. Coan, came by invitation to my 
 own dwelling, to sit as medium. This was 
 the first effort to get manifestations at that 
 place. Miss Hoyt, though a good medium 
 both then and now, failed on that occasion 
 entirely : not a rap, or response of any kind, 
 was elicited. 
 
 One or two weeks later, Miss Ellis was 
 invited out ; but her success was next to 
 nothing. Naturally, therefore, the questions 
 occurred, whether the mediums ever did 
 any thing more than practise tricks, and 
 
A DIGRESSION. bi 
 
 whether the scrutiny was not too close for 
 them in my parlor. 
 
 The matter was puzzling. Rumor soon 
 told me that each of those mediums had 
 come to my house under protest from their 
 guardian spirits, and were forewarned of 
 failure. Such statements only excited curi- 
 osity. To gratify that, I went to Miss El- 
 lis's own room, where I seemed to be met 
 by a remote ancestor. In the course of con- 
 versation, I said to him, "Are certain locali- 
 ties more favorable than others for these 
 communings ? " " Yes," was the answer. 
 " Is it more difficult," I inquired, " to com- 
 municate out at my house than it is here ? " 
 "Yes," was his answer. "Because that 
 house is more damp than this ? " I asked. 
 "Partly that," said he. "What other 
 cause ? " said I. " Do you wish to know ? " 
 he asked, in return ; and there was unusual 
 seriousness and earnestness in the tone. 
 After thinking a moment, I said yes, and 
 
88 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 said also, that if there was any thing in my 
 character, or that of the members of my 
 family, which repelled good spirits, it were 
 well to know it, however severe or humiliat- 
 ing the lesson might prove. Then he an- 
 swered, " There is a bad spirit hovering over 
 your house." " Who is he ? " asked I. " An 
 old Chinaman," he responded. " In what 
 respects is he bad ? " I asked. " He is not 
 entirely bad, but very miserly ," was the re- 
 sponse. My next question was, "Are you 
 unable to come where he is ? " " Can 
 come," said he ; " but he makes it very un- 
 pleasant." "Was his presence," I con- 
 tinued, "the reason why the spirit-friends 
 protested against the medium's coming to 
 my house ? " " Yes," said he. 
 
 Now I could breathe freely again. The 
 edge of the sharp question was blunted. 
 Obviously I was in bad company ; but this 
 did not necessarily imply personal enormi- 
 ties. At a somewhat later day, it was told 
 
A DIGRESSION. 89 
 
 me in my own house, through Col. Asa 
 Wyman, of Roxbury, medium, " that an old 
 heathen hermit miser's bones lie buried deep 
 under the house ; and that his spirit hovers 
 over the spot much of the time, though 
 occasionally it lingers over some treasures in 
 Townsend ; " also, "that, when that spirit is 
 here, good spirits do not find it pleasant to 
 approach." 
 
 Feb. 23, 1853, at Miss Ellis's, in Boston, 
 I asked for the name of the spirit who was 
 rapping, and received for answer, " Carnilo 
 Hootnaw." "Who or what are you?" said 
 I. Ans. " I am one that watches over his 
 bones, under your house." Natty 's "old 
 Chinaman," and the description of him, 
 flashed up before the mental vision, and 
 excited more of pleasure than of awe. Un- 
 derstanding that either Hootnaw was my 
 host, or that I was his, and that we must 
 nightly make our bed near each other, my 
 wish was to be friends with him, and to be 
 
90 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 his benefactor, if such could be my privilege. 
 Even he received a kind greeting ; any spirit 
 whatsoever should : for kindness — the ge- 
 nuine article — kindness is more potent 
 with these visitants, who read the heart, 
 than it is with man. And there has yet 
 come to me no one, among all the many self- 
 ish, malicious, haughty, infidel spirits that 
 have accosted me through the mediums, — 
 there has yet come no one whom kind words 
 and kind wishes have not softened ; though, 
 in soma cases, weeks, and even months, 
 elapsed before the melting mood came on. 
 The worst who come to us can all be sof- 
 tened by cups of simple cold water, given in 
 the name 'and spirit of charity. Let them 
 come, — the blackest of them all, — and, 
 God helping, one may safely strive to help 
 them first believe, then tremble, then hope, 
 then aspire. The " spirits in prison " were 
 preached to of old ; and the earnest soul can 
 reach them now, and bear to them the terms 
 
A DIGRESSION. 91 
 
 of deliverance, — glad tidings of peace to 
 the troubled, hope to the desponding, joy 
 to the wretched. 
 
 A band of Indians, too, with an old 
 Black Hawk as sachem, claim a few acres 
 under and around our dwelling, as once the 
 site of their wigwams, and title to which 
 they have never quitclaimed. The lofty 
 chieftain still maintains possession. Spirit- 
 visitors here seem intruders, unless invited 
 or permitted by him. Three years ago, and 
 pale-faced spirits found little welcome at 
 his council-fire ; but now the springs of gra- 
 titude in that deep, capacious soul have been 
 reached and opened, and the waters thence 
 flow unstinted, furnish us refreshing drinks, 
 and bear to us many gifts from spirit -land. 
 
 A mother's love, — how inventive, how 
 untiring, how potent ! Some children of 
 this red man's tribe, murdered by the 
 whites, went prematurely to the spirit hunt- 
 ing-grounds, and have suffered loss from 
 
\)% NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 being shoved aside from Nature's course, 
 which is always best. The Christian spirit- 
 mother, whose child lives beneath our roof, 
 finds those little children of the red man 
 whom her own race had murdered, becomes 
 to them mother, teacher, helper, in the 
 spheres, till the wrong her fathers did has 
 been measurably repaired ; and, for that, 
 Indian gratitude bids her welcome to the 
 chieftain's wigwam, and gives her access to 
 her own loved one. 
 
 A patient listening to his tale of wrongs, 
 a hearty welcome to the lofty chief when- 
 ever he has been disposed to make his pre- 
 sence known, have won his favor to me and 
 mine. Clairvoyants generally see the stately 
 and bright sachem, attended by a small band 
 of his followers, escort to our parlor any 
 band of our kindred or teachers who visit 
 us from the spheres, when we take mediums 
 to our fireside. The red men seem to be 
 the hosts : our friends conform to their 
 
A DIGRESSION. \)d 
 
 wishes ; but the hospitality is genuine. 
 These Indians are a noble band, robed in 
 richest costume, and radiating a light before 
 which many a white spirit's halo pales and 
 darkens. They are fit recipients of the 
 pure, the refined, the glorified. Kind and 
 hospitable entertainers of all whom we love, 
 and of all who seek us in kindness, these 
 lovers of hills over which they once roamed 
 in freedom, — lovers of the graves of their 
 fathers, and of the spot where their own 
 bones repose, — these are our doorkeepers 
 and our watchmen. We are guarded by all 
 the fidelity and keen-sightedness of the no- 
 blest and truest Indian friendship. So read 
 many visions. 
 
 Helped by these worshippers in Nature's 
 spacious temple, Abby, the mother (my first 
 wife), has disarmed the Chinaman of his 
 hostility, loosened the chain which bound 
 him to his corrupting treasures, and lured 
 him up to the fourth sphere. " Father," 
 
94 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 said Natty, in reference to this, "you know- 
 not half the good she does." No, Natty, I 
 do not know; yet, remembering what she 
 teas, I can fancy her pathway in the spheres 
 to be illuminated with Heaven's most win- 
 ning smiles, and fenced in by continuous 
 monuments of beneficence. Rare powers to 
 win love and do good, when cramped in the 
 earthly form, must make a loved and an effi- 
 cient angel in the skies. Not the noble red 
 men alone, but Carnilo Hootnaw the miser, 
 have softened, expanded, refined, and beauti- 
 fied, in the copious and genial rays of a mo- 
 ther's love, mingled with those of a charity 
 which knows no race, color, or condition. 
 Such the lesson taught. Can mortals get 
 any sweet and strengthening news concern- 
 ing their loved ones in the spirit-land ? Is 
 Spiritualism barren of sweet fruits ? 
 
 A full account of all the scenes connected 
 with the pitiable and suspicious miser, and 
 with the proud, reserved, but noble sachem, 
 
A DIGRESSION. 95 
 
 and of the processes by which the one has 
 been disarmed of selfishness and offence, and 
 taught to unfold and refine, and by which 
 the confidence and friendliness of the other 
 have been gained, would make a volume, 
 which would contain some chapters of thrill- 
 ing interest ; but more has been told than 
 will find ready credence, and more apparent- 
 ly than belongs to our present subject. Yet, 
 by "tickling the old Chinaman's toes," or, 
 in other words, by his potent smile, winning 
 ways, and kind acts, Natty has promoted 
 good-humor, and been an efficient helper ; 
 and thus the digression is not all aside from 
 his history. 
 
96 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PLAY BLOSSOMS INTO PIETY. 
 
 We return to Natty. At a single sitting, 
 two of our female spirit-friends described 
 their separate modes of working for man's 
 elevation. Then Natty said, " Let my 
 mamma come?" — "Certainly." And she 
 wrote, — 
 
 " My Friend, — You must not be angry with my 
 darling boy. It ofttimes grieves me to have him, so 
 pure, use such wild phrases. 
 
 " I am your friend, as a soldier in the cause, 
 
 "Elizabeth Young." 
 
 Next Natty took the pen and wrote, — 
 
 "lama little fellow ; yet I feel that I can do some 
 good in this great world. Only a few short hours did 
 I breathe the tainted air of sin. My tiny spirit, like a 
 
PLAY BLOSSOMS INTO PIETY. 97 
 
 small bird, rose above its earthly parents' wings to 
 heaven. I found that I did not spring up spontaneous- 
 ly ; therefore I sought to find out from whence I did 
 come. So, following a troop of angels, I found out 
 there was another planet, inhabited by such odd and 
 grotesque beings. [' Don't slander us poor mortals, 
 Natty,' I said. i Oh, no ! ' he replied ; ' good folks, 
 good folks.'] I could not bear to see them clustered 
 around a board, and in fear asking for tests. I wanted 
 to see a seraphic smile on their countenances ; so I just 
 commenced to make them smile, and I found I had lots 
 to do. I am happy ; always laughing ; and* as the 
 other angel says, I will help to bring about the same 
 end." 
 
 Finding him the companion of the pure 
 and good, and getting the avowal, that, in 
 exciting to laughter, his purpose was to raise 
 us above gloom, superstition, and dread of 
 "ghosts;" finding him helping to bring 
 about the same good end which bright 
 angels had at heart, — finding all this, the 
 mirth-provoking boy began to loom up as 
 an angel of glad-heartedness and of smiling 
 piety. Not many days after, when, in the 
 7 
 
98 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 presence of a clairvoyant, I unfolded this 
 view of him, and expressed myself his 
 debtor for the cheerfulness he was throwing 
 over the subject of Spiritualism, and the 
 gladness with which every thought of him 
 filled my heart, she instantly saw him, as 
 she said, " lift his brow to heaven, and in a 
 most gladsome dance, while every feature and 
 limb emitted the softest and brightest halo, 
 express, in most graceful attitudes and mo- 
 tions, his thanks to God that he was under- 
 stood, and that I was conscious of benefits 
 from him. It seemed to be with him," she 
 said, " a moment of ecstatic joy, finding hea- 
 venward expression through every particle 
 of his ethereal form." 
 
 Learning by observation that abundance 
 of kind and devout feelings flowed along the 
 same channels in which his mirth was ever 
 running, the playful boy became a welcome 
 visitant. 
 
 He was also found to be a willing, fleet, 
 
PLAY BLOSSOMS INTO PIETY. 99 
 
 and trusty errand-boy to our spirit-friends. 
 Usefulness was his element, though wit and 
 mirth would now through all his reports. 
 He was more than welcome : we loved him. 
 Seeing or feeling this, he said, " Now that 
 you own relationship, what shall I call 
 you?" — "As you please, Natty : call me 
 uncle or father." He answered, " Uncle, I 
 think ; yes, uncle and aunty." In a few 
 months, however, he took most frequently 
 the nearer relationship, and gratified us by 
 using the terms father and mother. 
 
 The reader will notice an unusual inter- 
 change of the words J and we in this com- 
 position. There is a reason for this. Hap- 
 pily my present companion harmonizes with 
 me in faith, and in affection for Natty. In 
 many of the scenes described, she has been 
 present, and is essentially joint author. The 
 " we" therefore, in many cases, is used to 
 designate our joint authority or approbation. 
 
 While yet a nephew, Natty said, — 
 
100 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 " I have to wander about considerable in 
 these parts, and occasionally want a home. 
 Now', as you own the relationship, I would 
 like to have some one room in the house 
 that I may call mine." — " Yes, Natty, take 
 your choice." — "Thank you. I will take 
 the one where aunty keeps her flowers. 
 I will be a rose, shedding the divine fra- 
 grance among the green leaves." To this 
 all agreed ; and, though the statement will 
 have credence with but a small part of the 
 world, Natty shows to us, through mediums 
 who seldom enter our doors, that he takes 
 notice of the growth and blossoming and 
 position of the flowers there ; also that he 
 notes changes in the position of furniture in 
 all parts of the house. He is one of the 
 family. 
 
 Though we are little impressible, yet 
 perhaps sometimes he makes his presence 
 actually felt. But let that be all fancy. 
 Even then mind brightens under thoughts of 
 
PLAY BLOSSOMS INTO PIETY. 101 
 
 him, and heart grows cheerful ; the influence 
 is sunny, and we gladly cherish it : it seems 
 to come from above, and it tends to carry us 
 upward. 
 
 His declaration, often made, that he loves 
 the meeting at the family altar, and daily 
 makes one in the group of worshippers 
 there, has an elevating power, the like of 
 which, if felt in every house, would help lift 
 mortals up and bring angels down to happy 
 and elevating communion. Among all the 
 influences of spirits and Spiritualism, none 
 other in our experience is so holy and puri- 
 fying as that which makes attendant angels 
 listeners and co-supplicants with us in the 
 hour of prayer. This service becomes affec- 
 tionate, earnest, and cheerful ; and it brings, 
 more than formerly, courage, self-control, and 
 a charity reaching, or willing, wishing to 
 reach, wide as the realms of humanity, and 
 make its possessor more like Him whose 
 gentle rains fall as freely upon the unjust as 
 upon others. 
 
102 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 "Who would wish to cut us off from the 
 joy aud help we get in the hour of prayer 
 from the presence of such a child, even if he 
 were but the creature of our fancies ? Do 
 not that, good friends, but rather let your 
 own fancies call around yourselves bright 
 cherubs to join with you in acts of prayer ; 
 for even fancied ones, if you deem ours 
 such, — yes, fancied ones, — may fan the 
 flames of daily and hourly devotions, and 
 become helpers heavenward. When I read 
 this last passage in the presence of a medium, 
 the Indian chief lied Jacket said through 
 her, — 
 
 ' And "< hover round when the hour of prayer 
 Cornea on at the close of • 
 'Midst the hallowed family band we're, there, 
 And w bear those prayers to heaven.'''' 
 
 The chief said these lines were not origi- 
 nal with him, but they flowed out he knew 
 not why. The fact is eloquent and touch- 
 ing, whoever, above or below, may utter it. 
 Spirits bear our prayers to heaven. 
 
natty's prattlxngs. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NATTY'S PRATTLINGS. 
 
 Some of the sayings of our little companion 
 have been pencilled clown ; but the most of 
 them have never been recorded. A few that 
 were noted down, and others that are well 
 remembered, will be given to the reader. 
 And what will they be ? — specimens of 
 angelic wisdom ? Perhaps so ; and the tone 
 and manner will come in direct conflict with 
 the solemn air and voice which our common 
 education leads most minds to expect from 
 spirits. A new lesson is being learned ; 
 heaven is a happier place than our teachers 
 have told us ; there is more playfulness, 
 more naturalness, more fun and frolic, more 
 mingling of the gay with the grave, where 
 
104 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 the departed dwell, and in the hearts of 
 good spirits above, than we had been 
 trained to believe. 
 
 It is Natty's mission, in part, to help 
 make the world better by making it laugh. 
 There would be little fidelity to the heavenly 
 purpose in trying to make the angel's words 
 conform to the expectations of those who 
 know nothing about the characteristics of 
 heaven's inhabitants. What an angel should 
 do can best be learned by observing what he 
 docs. Seeing us timid, long-faced, and 
 afraid of ghosts, Natty wanted to draw out 
 " a seraphic smile upon men's faces ; and he 
 found he had lots to rfo," before the smile 
 would come and stay. Let him take his 
 own course, and talk in his own way. It 
 were unwise to hinder his beneficent design ; 
 therefore his words will not be pruned to 
 meet the sober taste of common faith. 
 
 The prattlings of childhood become stale 
 and lifeless when put in print. But have a 
 
 
natty's prattlings. 105 
 
 little patience ; for the mouths of babes are 
 sometimes channels of greater naturalness, 
 and more perfect praise, than often come 
 through the lips or pens of learning and 
 eloquence. 
 
 Natty says, " My friend, you must not 
 put on a long face when you come to talk 
 with supposed ghosts. You must not be- 
 lieve all they tell you to." 
 
 Good advice, though from young lips. 
 Spiritualists, many of them, need it much. 
 We are too prone to drop the chin, to be- 
 come grave and solemn, to be awed, at the 
 thought of spirit-presence ; too prone also 
 to take what comes through mediums as 
 unerring and authoritative. " Prove all 
 things ;" "try the spirits." 
 
 To others also, to "rulers and phari- 
 sees," the spirit of his advice will be very 
 useful, provided they should be waylaid or 
 entrapped by a modern ghost. Let such 
 laugh rather than shrink and fear ; for little 
 
106 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 Natty, and such as lie, are very harmless, 
 playful ghosts, whom smiles entice. Smile 
 and he cordial when they come ; for per- 
 chance you may commune with angels of 
 G!od, who bring heavenly messages for all 
 " that have ears to hear." 
 
 Natty. " We do not become free at twenty- 
 one ; for I am a child at more than thirty." 
 
 True, a child in earth's matters ; scarcely 
 more than three years old as a talker and 
 actor and learner among men. What more 
 than a child can we look for ? In the spheres, 
 he is an angel of near forty ; on earth, of 
 less than four. He comes to learn as well 
 as to teach ; and childhood gives the truest 
 expression of his relation to us. Ponder 
 this ; think of your own kindred who left 
 earth in infancy. What features and what 
 stature does the mind give to them ? Does 
 Natty clash with your spontaneous, unstu- 
 died mental pictures of your own spirit- 
 infants ? And, should they come to you, 
 
 
natty's pbattlings. 107 
 
 would you know them if they were other 
 than little children ? We are taught that 
 spirits grow, and yet " have power to assume 
 any form which the occasion requires." To 
 the form assumed, whatever that may be, 
 they will most likely fit both word and ac- 
 tion. Childish words and ways befit a 
 child's form. 
 
 Natty. " Please set a plate and chair for 
 me, pa, at your Thanksgiving dinner. I 
 won't eat much, nor take up much room." 
 
 Hospitality gets sweet reward, cheerful- 
 ness feels new life, sense of bereavement or 
 of loneliness parts with its chill, when kissed 
 by the rays of a faith that — 
 
 " There are more guests at table than the hosts 
 Invited." 
 
 Mrs. Putnam asked our messenger to call 
 her spirit-mother. Off he went in a flash, 
 but soon returned, saying, " I forgot to ask 
 her name. Only fancy me running about 
 
108 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 through the spheres, all out of breath, and 
 asking all the spirits if they know Mrs. A. 
 
 P.'s mother ! " — " Sarah B ," was the 
 
 response. He vanished, but soon came back, 
 
 exclaiming, " Here she is, — Sally B ." 
 
 The mother had come. Friends always 
 called her Sally. Header, swift and willing 
 messengers stand waiting to bear your invi- 
 tation up to loved ones in the spheres. 
 
 Once, while he was using a medium, a 
 hand-organ began to grind its grist under 
 the window. Natty was missing, but soon 
 came back, saying, " I've been out on the 
 organ, playing monkey. I can go it grandly, 
 all but the tail. Father, when you come to 
 see me, you w 11 find that Natty and music 
 mean the same thing." More of fun comes 
 from above than is dreamed of in some phi- 
 losophies. 
 
 When he was gazing at a stranger, through 
 medium-eyes, the stranger was introduced 
 to him as Mrs. Branch. " Think I'll hop 
 
natty's puattlings. 109 
 
 on to that branch, and pay toll with a song." 
 Afterwards, being asked to flit to that branch, 
 he said, "When the cherries are ripe." She 
 was a medium, but not then well suited to 
 his powers. Not all spirits can use the 
 same instruments. 
 
 While at our table, the medium wrote, 
 " Call that little man Natty." — " What little 
 man ? " we asked. " The one over the fire- 
 place," was the reply. Looking toward the 
 mantle-piece, we saw there a toy of the 
 house, — a gutta-percha image, — a little 
 consequential man of ludicrous or rueful 
 visage according to the pressure applied. 
 Think of a spirit with such a form and face, 
 think of such a form and face as being the 
 likeness of a laughing cherub, and you may 
 fancy that the ludicrous produced in us con- 
 vulsions of laughter. Soon he wrote, " Give 
 me a clean cravat ; mine is dirty." Taking 
 the image to the table, we found its neck 
 bound in a dirty white tape. Pink ribbon 
 
110 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 was soon substituted. Afterwards he often 
 asked for change of raiment ; and, especially 
 when I met stranger-mediums abroad, he 
 would send some directions to " mother " or 
 " aunty " about his dress. Once he said, 
 " Aunty, I want a new coat : it is not be- 
 coming a gentleman's son to appear in com- 
 pany out at the elbows." Finding me less 
 cheerful than usual one morning, he broke 
 the spell by the following allusion to the 
 colors he had worn : " 1" never had the blues 
 in my life, excepting when I had my blue 
 coat on." The gutta-percha started up be- 
 fore me in a twinkle, and laugh I must. 
 
 Coming one evening as the herald of 
 higher spirits, and putting us in fit trim to 
 receive them cheerfully, he withdrew for an 
 hour, but then popped back, saying, " I 
 have been out playing with the spirit-boys 
 this moonlight night." "What was your 
 sport, Natty ? " " Chasing the steamboat, 
 and playing with the dancing lights upon 
 
natty's peattlings. Ill 
 
 her wake. 5 ' Mother, can your lost infant 
 find innocent sports with playmates in the 
 spheres ? 
 
 Dec. 23. — My spirit-wife, beckoning 
 with the medium's hand to something above, 
 said, " Come, little messenger-bird, — come 
 and scatter thy sweet flowers. Natty is our 
 fleet messenger, known through all the 
 spheres. His winning smile gains him ad- 
 mission everywhere. He is in high glee 
 to-night." 
 
 Instantly seizing the instrument, he said, 
 " Uncle Put, hang up my stocking ; but don't 
 put a switch in it. I've been round among 
 the boys, about these times, to see what they 
 are up to ; and now, who shall we have for 
 Santa Claus ? I think I'll have aunty." 
 
 Meeting a sedate lady for the first and 
 only time in my life, her hand was moved 
 to write something which she refused to read 
 aloud, or to show, because it was silly. Sus- 
 pecting ivho the wag might be, I asked him 
 
112 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 to write my name. " Uncle Toby," came 
 through the relucting hand. " What," my 
 next question was, — "what do you call my 
 wife ? " — " Aunty Prim," came from the 
 pencil. " Now," said I, " write your own 
 true name ; " and " Ding-dong-bell " was 
 written. Never was modest medium more 
 ashamed of words that would be written, 
 nolens volcns. 
 
 A clairvoyant saw the boy ride into the 
 midst of a large circle on the back of an 
 intruding clog. Coming near to her, he 
 whispered, " I thought you were getting too 
 much of the spiritual, so I have brought a 
 little animal. 
 
 Tush ! nonsense ! you say. Why print 
 such stuff? Mainly, good reader, to furnish 
 a little of the evidence there is that human 
 nature, soaring to the spheres above, remains 
 human nature still ; that the laughing, frolic- 
 some child may at times laugh and frolic on, 
 though taken to another home. God is good. 
 
natty's prattiings. 113 
 
 The lesson admits of wider application. 
 What we have been makes us what we are : 
 the present is, and ever will be, the natural 
 outgrowth from the past. Now and for ever, 
 "whatsoever one sows, that shall he also 
 reap." "When he shall sow good seed, and 
 till well the crop to maturity, then, and 
 not till then, shall he be admitted to the 
 feast upon good things. But how know 
 what seed will give good fruits ? Of little 
 children, and such as they, is the kingdom 
 of heaven ; and Natty, . coming from there, 
 full to running oyer of fun and frolic, shows 
 us, that, in the soil and climate of the upper 
 fields, the seeds of laughter and merriment 
 germinate and thrive, and bear fruit fit to 
 lay upon the altar of thanksgiving to Him 
 who laughs in the merry song of the bird, 
 and smiles through the petals of the daisy 
 or the rose. And when sown among other 
 seeds, upon the soil we are now cultivating, 
 why may not the stalks from them tower 
 
114 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 as high into the heavens, and ripen their 
 pleasant fruits as well in upper regions, as 
 those from aught else that we can sow? 
 The sports and frolics and loud laughs of a 
 Thanksgiving or Christmas evening may be 
 not merely more congenial to the tastes of 
 little children, but also more fitted to fur- 
 nish the food they will relish at the festive 
 board in the land to which such go, than are 
 the long, solemn prayers and the protracted 
 services of the church on those days. 
 
 Possibly it has been judged in other 
 regions that it would be better for men to 
 become like their own little children, than 
 for them to try to teach those little children 
 to become such men as they themselves now 
 are ; better that our teachers and pupils 
 should exchange positions ; better that the 
 little ones should be left to lure us, by 
 example, to follow the higher law published 
 on their spontaneous words and acts, 
 than that we should school them to obey 
 the dwarfing rules of custom and sombre 
 
natty's pbattlings. 115 
 
 view of God's government. In the form of 
 a playful child, Natty may be better suited 
 to our truest wants, and our existing condi- 
 tion, than he would be as a grave and wise 
 spirit of twoscore. True, we may think 
 ourselves prepared to enter any college, — 
 nay, that we might start at once sophomores 
 in spiritual love ; but the A B C of Spiritual- 
 ism has been mastered by few as yet. Who 
 is old enough to even attend the infant 
 school ? Better for most of us to play with 
 infants a while longer, to find some Nat- 
 ty to prattle nature with, and get vigor 
 •enough to climb out of the cradle, the stand- 
 ing-stool, — ay, down the steps and out of 
 doors, — and then learn to walk alone on 
 Nature's carpet, before we choose our teach- 
 ers or select our school. The teachers should 
 be better judges of modes and matter of in- 
 struction wanted than their pupils. When 
 angels come, though as children, let them 
 give true angelic lessons, and not be forced 
 to meet the demands of our wise ignorance. 
 
116 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HIS DOINGS AND SAYINGS. 
 
 The child does not always move on the 
 same plane. We give a few more of his 
 sayings and doings, which differ somewhat 
 from the preceding. 
 
 On a cloudy morning, we failed for a long 
 time to get any thing through our medium, 
 though she was usually a very facile one. 
 At length her pencil began, and wrote, — 
 
 " 23, 5, 3, 1, 14, 14, 15, 20, 3, 15, 13, 13, 21, 14, 9, 3, 1, 20, 
 5,20,15,4,1,25. "Natty." 
 
 A puzzle, this. After spending several 
 minutes in attempts at solution, it occurred 
 to one present that these figures might be 
 substitutes for letters. No sooner was this 
 
HIS DOINGS AND SAYINGS. 117 
 
 mental question distinctly raised, though 
 not uttered, than, the medium pointed to 
 that person, saying, " He has guessed it." 
 Then, calling 1 A, 2 B, &c, we put W in 
 place of 23, and E in place of 5. The sen- 
 tence, thus deciphered, read, — 
 
 " We cannot communicate to-day." 
 
 " Then, Natty," said I, " how did you 
 make those figures ? " Am. " I am a ge- 
 nius." — "True," was my rejoinder ; and I 
 added, "We would like another product of 
 your genius." Instantly, and rapidly as 
 sight could follow, we had — 
 
 " 15, 4, 20, 21, 16, 5, 13, 14, 9, 1, 19, 19, 1, 12, 7, 5, 19, 1, 
 3, 4, 14, 1, 4, 14, 5, 19, 3, 13, 15, 20, 5, 8, 20, 18, 9, 1, 6." 
 
 Then, trying the former process, we found, 
 o, d, t, u, p, e, m, &c. When the medium 
 and all of us had tried several minutes to 
 find a solution, her hand caught the pencil, 
 and wrote, " Stupid folks ! can't you read 
 
118 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 backwards ? " Taking the hint, we found 
 that od (significant word), with the letters 
 changed in position, made do, and that tup 
 made put, and that the whole read, " Do put 
 me in a glass case, and send me to the Fair." 
 This happened just before the Spiritualist 
 Fair of the autumn (October, 1854), and I 
 have regarded it as one of the most singular 
 productions of odyle that has come under 
 my notice. Such an agent would require a 
 full course of education at President Ma- 
 han's college before it could come up to 
 such facility of execution as it here dis- 
 played. 
 
 This was furnished some time in early 
 autumn of 1854 ; and it contains an obvious 
 allusion to the picture, though at that time 
 there was not, and never had been, a thought 
 in the mind of any person in the body, so 
 far as I can judge, that his likeness was to 
 be taken at any time. 
 
 This case gives intelligence singularly 
 
HIS DOINGS AND SAYINGS. 119 
 
 displayed; and it involves, whether such 
 was the design or not, a prophecy which has 
 been substantially fulfilled. 
 
 Again he said, "Your little daughter (a 
 child of mine that never breathed earth's 
 air) — your little daughter often comes, or 
 is sent, to you, as all little spirits are to their 
 parents, so that they may learn who are their 
 parents, and not be left to wander about 
 through the spheres, and call anybody whom 
 they meet father and mother, because they 
 don't know who the right ones are." It 
 does the parental heart no harm to learn 
 that the child which fled before perception 
 and conscious love unfolded is yet brought 
 back to fan the parent's brows, to kiss pa- 
 rental lips, and nestle on its earthly father's 
 breast ; to learn who the father or mother is, 
 and thus be prepared to discern relationship, 
 and rush to give us the filial embrace, when 
 our spirits shall leave the form, and long to 
 meet our kindred in the skies. 
 
120 NATTY, A SPIRIT, 
 
 At a house where spiritualists congregate, 
 and where the manifestations are frequent 
 and distinct, he said to me, on Christmas 
 Day, " Wish you a merry Christmas. Why 
 don't you bring all the folks here, — my 
 cousin, and those at the other house ? It 
 would do them all good." — " No, Natty : it 
 would do them no good while their hearts 
 are closed against you." — " They are not 
 closed always. I have a way of peeking 
 into their thoughts, and can tell what they 
 want. They are sensitive plants. When 
 they sit down alone, the leaves open, and 
 seek our sunlight and the dewdrops we 
 sprinkle. I can look in then ; but, when 
 you and mother come near, they close up, 
 for fear you will look in too. Sensitive 
 plants, and century plants also, — slow in 
 maturing, but valuable when they come to 
 blossom. Bring them here, and they will 
 believe at least that Natty comes ; and that 
 will please you, Uncle Put." From the 
 
HIS DOINGS AND SAYINGS. l£l 
 
 child's lips, there slip out many tidbits of 
 information, which, help us to judge of the 
 time and way to hold the cup of knowledge 
 to the lips of those whom we love. Until 
 they thirst for the rills that flow from above, 
 the waters, if borne to them, would stand 
 untasted. Our monitor will see the signs of 
 thirst when it comes on ; and, at his prompt- 
 ings, we will hand them the goblet with 
 pleasure. 
 
 In this connection may come in the follow- 
 ing burst from his lips : — 
 
 " O pa ! the great sun of truth, that now 
 gilds the eastern horizon, will yet shine upon 
 all those whom I love. The hidden diamond 
 of love will be sought for more patiently. 
 Some truth-seeking mortal will pluck it 
 from its resting-place, and distribute it 
 among mortals. It will fall as valued seed 
 in many uncultivated gardens ; and passing 
 gardeners will transplant the shoots into 
 
122 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 pearly pots, and generously offer to morta- 
 lity. Going to dine with you to-day." 
 
 From such an interview, one must needs 
 sit down at the Christmas-board believing 
 that invisible guests throng his table, filled 
 with a love like His whose nativity was he- 
 ralded by the angelic song, " Peace on earth, 
 good-will to man." Faith sings it anew, 
 both for Him of old, and for all who now 
 descend in his Father's name. 
 
 One lovely morning in May, Natty gave 
 us, — 
 
 il Each flower, each plant, each stem, that grows, 
 But to the heart perfection flirom; 
 And each doth BOme sweet anthem sing, 
 In honor of these days of spring, — 
 The spring of truth we mean, 
 That sends warm rays of wisdom, 
 While it blends harmonious chords 
 From Nature's bower, 
 On hearts to paint the purest flower." 
 
 A gathering of spiritualists in a grove 
 was to come off in a few days. I had given 
 the question of attendance no particular 
 
HIS DOINGS AND SAYINGS. 123 
 
 thought ; when he said, " Go to the temple 
 of Nature, father, on Wednesday next, to 
 recreate. Tell mother to go, too, to the 
 nicpic, Wednesday the 20th, if the sky don't 
 leak ; and, if it does, then the first day that 
 God smiles. Those gatherings (Spiritual 
 picnics) do good, if we can rule." In this 
 case, as in all others, he wished me to exercise 
 my own judgment. I did so, and remained 
 at home. But the little if put in by him, 
 stands doorkeeper to a great matter. Spirits 
 are not always more powerful than man. 
 Because of unbelief, Jesus did not, on one 
 occasion, do many mighty works. 
 
 " Did you ever go a-fishing, father ? " — 
 " Yes, Natty ; but why ask that ? " Am. 
 " Because of the way in which you bait your 
 hook." — " Explain ; for I don't understand." 
 — " Why didn't you hook that preacher by 
 the gills with one hand, and sweep a net 
 around the congregation with the other? 
 
124 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 They are all in ; there is terrible splashing 
 in the water : but they can't get out." 
 
 One more word from him, and he shall be 
 dismissed from the stand till others have 
 spoken. But he will not be idle: he says, 
 " I must hie me away to the fair sunny hills 
 of the spirit-land, and study my Latin les- 
 son. Good-by!" 
 
 "Tarry with us/' — says Abby to him, 
 — " tarry with us, bright messenger-bird ! 
 Thy brow was never touched by the finger 
 of Care. There is much wisdom in thee. 
 Thy voyage over the ocean of life was but 
 a span. Thou partedst from the friends 
 of earth to cheer them unseen. Come, touch 
 thy sweet harp to cheer the lone traveller. 
 Many have been touched by thy magic 
 wand. Much good hast thou done, little 
 fairy-bird ! Float, float on thy way." 
 
pat's testimony. 125 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAT'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 Pat Magtjire, who touchingly thanks Natty 
 and others for help to rise out of purgatory, 
 may tell his story now. We copy our ac- 
 count and' comments from the "New-Eng- 
 land Spiritualist " of May 5, and June 
 23: — 
 
 " Sitting one day by the side of a medium, she was 
 influenced by a spirit calling himself ' Pat,' who offers 
 pretty good evidence that he was my acquaintance 
 while in the form. Instead of speaking about himself, 
 he volunteered to speak about my little spirit-friend 
 Natty. He first asked, — 
 
 " ' And what do you suppose I saw the boy about 
 the other day ? ' 
 
 " ' I can't guess,' was my answer : 'just tell me.' 
 
 " ' "Well, you know, he was passing along through 
 the strate, and he saw a poor, feeble old man sawing 
 
126 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 slow at the log of wood ; and, without so much as stop- 
 ping to ax a question to see whether the old man had 
 the brogue or not, the little boy jumped upon his back, 
 and pushed at his elbows ; and the saw it jumped and 
 it new ; and the old man he thought it must have got 
 graced, it run so ; and he looked, and he couldn't find 
 the grace ; and he looked round to see if it wasn't the 
 elbow grace, and he couldn't find that. And the boy 
 he kept pushing and pulling; and he helped the old 
 man saw all the sticks, and get his few coppers the 
 sooner to get the bread for his childers. And, when it 
 was done, the little boy was all out of breath, and all 
 of a sweat ; but he jumped up, and, faith, he was a half 
 a foot taller for that same.' 
 
 " So much from one spirit concerning the kindness 
 and beneficence of another. 
 
 " Be the above spiritual or not in origin, it contains 
 a pleasant moral or two. Cheerfulness and energy, 
 imparted by any of us to the mind of the desponding 
 and weak, will give vigor to the laborer, and facilitate 
 the accomplishment of his tasks. Also the aid we give 
 to others will promote our own upward growth. For 
 each kindly act, any soul may perhaps become ' a half 
 a foot taller for that same.' " 
 
 Again : — 
 
 " ' Come, Natty, come ! ' says Pat, beckoning at 
 vacancy with the medium's hand. ' Come, Natty, 
 
pat's testimony. 127 
 
 come ! ' Then, turning to me, he said, ' Bad luck to 
 yer 'onor, iv yer think to have the boy the blessed 
 day! ' 
 
 " ' Why don't he come, Pat ? What is he about ? ' 
 
 " 'Aboot, is it ? He's got a wee bit of a baby in a 
 basket of fluers [flowers], an' is showing it the nosegay, 
 an' making it laugh.' 
 
 " < How came he by a baby ? ' 
 
 « t Why, yer 'onor, ye see, as Natty was passing 
 along the strate down yonder, he went mto a poor 
 house, an' there he found a wee bit of a baby, an' it 
 was sickly an' fable an' cold an' hungry. And Natty 
 he went till it, an' he brathed into it, an' on to it, an' 
 around it, an' he made the wee bit thing think it had 
 had its supper, an' was comfortable like ; an' it went off 
 to slape, an' it slept the night. He came the next 
 day to see it, an' the wee thing was no better ; an' so 
 Natty he went up to consult the big spirits aboot it, an' 
 they concluded it was diaper to take the wee thing up 
 there. So Natty he come back to fetch it, an' he's put 
 it in a basket of bright Jluers, an' he is tending an' 
 showing it the fluers, an' making it smile, an' taking it 
 round to find its godfather an' its godmother. Indade, 
 when I was with you, I thought it was them that stood 
 at the font that was to be the godfathers an' godmothers 
 always ; but, now I have come here, I see it is them that 
 loves 'em best. The boy can't come to ye till he has 
 found 'em.' 
 
128 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 " Such were the reasons Pat gave why my little 
 friend could not come then. He was finding for an 
 infant spirit its spirit-parents. Duties elsewhere may 
 often detain the spirit-friends upon whom we call. 
 
 " Does the infant, while in the body, receive soothing 
 influences from attendant spirits ? and, when the em- 
 bryo soul leaves the earth, is it taken in charge by some 
 kind and attentive inhabitant of the ethereal realms ? 
 Have wise spirits above any power to determine whe- 
 ther it is best to take a spirit out of its sickly body, or 
 to leave it where it is? Are they, under God, his 
 trusted reapers, set to gather in when in their judg- 
 ment it is best so to do? Pat's statement suggests 
 such inquiries ; but we know too little yet to give the 
 proper answers. 
 
 " Every reader will smile at the quaint remark, that 
 ' the big spirits concluded it would be chaper to take 
 the wee thing up there.' Many may think that the 
 words border upon irreverence. Not necessarily so. 
 If spirits are allowed to advise for us with the same 
 freedom in which we advise each other, why may they 
 not consider whether, on the whole, they can best pro- 
 mote the good of a sickly infant by releasing it from 
 its body? Should they conclude that such a course 
 was best, Pat would very naturally say ' chapesV 
 
 " That Spiritualism admits of cheerfulness, or even 
 playfulness, when speaking of the future life and of 
 that event which constitutes birth into the spheres 
 
pat's testimony. 129 
 
 above, is obviously true ; and, if Pat were in this case 
 moved by genuine mirthfulness, there might be no 
 more impropriety in it than there is in the smiles and 
 playful remarks with which we welcome the new-born 
 child to our domestic circle. God forbid ! — yes, that 
 God who causes that the first workings of intelligence 
 within shall mantle the infant's face with smiles, and 
 thus shows that mirthfulness is the soul's first condition, 
 — may He forbid us to argue that any thing is wrong, 
 on the sole ground that it removes gloom from the 
 bereaved, and lets them robe their own faces in the hues 
 of bright hope and cheerful faith." 
 
130 
 
 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PROCURING MEDICINE. 
 
 A case in which Natty worked jointly with 
 the spirits of our blood-relations to bring us 
 the means of health, though published be- 
 fore, must have a place in this biography. 
 We take once more from a " New-England 
 Spiritualist " of 1855 : — 
 
 " Mr. Newton, — During the latter part of Decem- 
 ber last, and through most of the month of January, 
 I was troubled with an unusual cough, and with irrita- 
 tion of the surface of the throat. My wife had ailings 
 which would be named the same as mine, though they 
 were not as unusual with her as with me. Common, 
 simple remedies were used by us, and were perhaps all 
 that our cases required. We certainly did not think it 
 very needful to seek for any prescriptions, other than 
 our own experience and knowledge would suggest; 
 and yet some medicines were furnished us which we 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 131 
 
 did not solicit. The story which attaches to them is in- 
 teresting to us, and possibly may prove so to some of 
 your readers. 
 
 " One evening about the middle of January, Mrs. 
 Sisson, of Somerville, being at home, with no one pre- 
 sent but her husband, was impressed, and, in the state, 
 told her husband to take pen and write. She then 
 gave the ingredients and proportions for six different 
 medicines, and stated that she herself must procure the 
 articles and prepare the compounds. The husband 
 asked what spirit was making the prescriptions. Ans. 
 ' Natty Putnam. You may call it Putnam, though that 
 is not the true name.' 1 Mr. Sisson then asked, ' Who 
 do you want the medicines for ? ' Ans. * For my father 
 and mother ; that is, J call them so, though they are 
 
 not.' (This ' Natty ' often comes to Mrs. P and 
 
 myself, and manifests much attachment to us both, 
 though in no way related to either. His true name 
 was Young. He lived only five days on earth, but 
 would now be, if living in the form, between thirty-five 
 and forty years old. It is his pleasure to present him- 
 self as an infant in size, though he gives evidence of 
 having an old head on his young shoulders.) 
 
 " Mrs. Sisson procured the materials, and complied 
 with all the directions for boiling and mixing. While 
 doing this, she supposed that her preparations were for 
 the use of a couple by the name of Putnam ; but as to 
 where they lived, what were their Christian names, 
 
13:2 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 what was their state of body or of mind, she had no 
 knowledge and no definite thought. Shortly after the 
 medicines had been prepared, she met a friend of ours 
 in Boston, to whom she told her story. This friend, 
 hearing the names ■ Natty ' and ' Putnam ' in connec- 
 tion, said at once, ' Why, Mr. Putnam, of Roxbury, is 
 meant ; for he has a spirit by the name of Natty, who 
 often comes to him.' — 'Well,' said Mrs. Sisson, 'it 
 may be so; but I shall not send the medicines to him, 
 for he is an entire stranger to me.' Two or three days 
 later, J met this Boston friend, who told me what Mrs. 
 Sisson had said and done, and who advised me to find 
 her. '.Vo,' was my answer : ' she is a stranger, and I 
 shall not intrude.' On the following Monday evening, 
 I met a circle at Mrs. Leeds's, 45, Carver Street, Bos- 
 ton, Mrs. Leeds being the medium. While at the table, 
 my little friend Natty made known his presence; when 
 I at once asked him if he had been preparing any medi- 
 cines for us. ' Yes,' he answered, ' Charles and I have.' 
 — ' How shall we obtain them ? ' was my next question. 
 He said, • I will make her bring them over to you.' — 
 ' "When ? ' I asked. ' Wednesday, perhaps,' he replied. 
 My wife said, ' No, not "Wednesday, Natty ; for 1 am 
 engaged that day.' I then said, 'Natty, bring her 
 over to dine with us to-mon'ow.'' — ' I'll try,' he said; 
 and he was gone. 
 
 " The next day, at about five minutes before our 
 dining-hour, the door-bell of my house on Eustis Street, 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 133 
 
 Roxbury, was rung. Going to the door myself, I met 
 there a stranger-lady, with bottles in her hands. ' Mrs. 
 Sisson, I presume,' was my salutation. ' Yes ; and is 
 this Mr. Putnam ? ' she replied. After a few minutes, 
 when seated in the parlor, I said to Mrs. Sisson, ' How 
 happened you to come here, and to come to-day ? ' She 
 answered, ' Last evening? I was impressed that I must 
 leave my work to-day, and take those medicines over 
 to a Mr. Putnam, in Roxbury. This morning, it being 
 ironing-day, — and I do my own work, — I decided that 
 I would go about my work at home, and not come over 
 to-day ; but, when I tried, I could not do my work, 
 for something within said, You must go over to-day. 
 So I started, — came over into Washington Street, 
 Boston, and saw omnibus after omnibus pass me, let- 
 tered " Roxbury ; " but something said, " Not that one, 
 not that one ; " till, as the fifth or sixth came along, the 
 voice said, "Get in." I obeyed; and, after riding a 
 mile or more, I asked the driver if he could tell me 
 where Mr. Putnam, of Roxbury, lived. " Which Mr. 
 Putnam," he asked ; " the minister, or the coal-dealer ? " 
 " I don't know," I said. " I can't tell you, then ; for 
 they are a mile apart, on different routes." So said the 
 driver. While riding on, in uncertainty as to where I 
 should bring up, my inward monitor said, " Get out." 
 I left the omnibus directly in front of your house, and 
 came on to your doorstep without direction from any 
 
134 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 outward source.' She had come in the only line of 
 Roxbury coaches that passes my door. 
 
 " After we had dined, Mrs. Putnam took a daguer- 
 reotype likeness of her brother Charles, and laid it, 
 without comment, upon a table, at which we invited 
 Mrs. Sisson to sit with us. Instantly upon coming to 
 the table, her eye fell upon the daguerreotype ; and, 
 taking it up, she said, ' Why, 1 have seen that person 
 before ! Oh, yes ! that is the very face, glasses and all, 
 that was with Natty that night at my house when he 
 made the prescriptions ; and (turning to Mrs. Putnam) 
 that is your brother.' 
 
 " Three kinds of medicines were left for each of us ; 
 and we soon commenced taking them for our lungs and 
 throats. A week later, more or less, Mrs. Sisson in- 
 formed me that one of mj/rmedicines was for ' that scro- 
 fula,' and that one of Mrs. Putnam's was for an heredi- 
 tary difficulty, which the medium named and described 
 correctly. In my own case, it is true that scrofula has 
 always been in my system to such an extent as to 
 discharge at one of my ears about as often as once a 
 month, through my whole life, and yet has occasioned 
 so little acute suffering that only a very few of my 
 nearest friends have ever known that it was in my 
 system. The predisposition of Mrs. Putnam to a de- 
 finite disease is scarcely more known. Here medi- 
 cines were prepared for our separate chronic difficulties, 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 135 
 
 by Mrs. Sisson, an entire week before she had seen either 
 of us. 
 
 " And now may I ask, Whose mind worked through 
 Mrs. Sisson's organism, over at Somerville, five miles 
 from our home, while she was an entire stranger to us, 
 and yet so worked as to disclose those physical weak- 
 nesses, which were scarcely known beyond the walls of 
 our own house ? Whose mind did this ? This is the 
 chief question. Whose mind was at work ? ' Natty ' 
 and ' Charles,' spirits, profess to have done the work, 
 Will some doubter of the power of spirits to come to 
 earth tell me how either my mind could thus have 
 worked in a stranger, five miles from me, or how hers 
 could have become acquainted with those facts which 
 were not known to our friends and neighbors ? 
 
 "This case is described much less for the purpose 
 of showing the value of the medicines, than for furnish- 
 ing evidence of the fact that there was an invisible 
 physician." 
 
 The efficacy of some of these medicines, 
 and their fitness to produce any thing like 
 eradication of hereditary disease, cannot well 
 be known until after long periods of trial. 
 Years might be too short for digging out 
 and removing the unhealthy particles which 
 
136 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 fifty years have been embedding and cement- 
 ing through all parts of the system. An 
 agent that should detach them all suddenly 
 would most likely shatter the whole system. 
 Thorough work, in a case like this, must 
 be slow, and even then will probably bring 
 some debility and suffering as the necessary 
 conditions of the way to health. One of us 
 was early taught to look for little perceptible 
 benefit until the summer of 1856, and not for 
 full results until the winter following. The 
 processes by which our spirit-friends reached 
 us, and the evidence of their continued in- 
 terest in our health, are the points of inte- 
 rest. Proofs of the presence and affection 
 of the departed, and not of their wisdom or 
 skill as doctors or nurses, are what man pro- 
 perly seeks first. When those proofs have 
 become sufficient, when one believes that 
 spirits can prescribe, then is it early enough 
 to ask whether they will do it wisely or not. 
 If it was faith that saved in olden times, the 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 137 
 
 same faith, deposited in the cup for medi- 
 cine, will have efficacy now. Its attractive 
 power is little understood. It draws health- 
 ful currents from the very doctor, so that 
 he perceives that "virtue has gone out of 
 him ; " and it is only when his virtues min- 
 gle in the cup that best results follow. True 
 this of doctors, both in the flesh and out of 
 it. Faith that there is a doctor precedes 
 inquiry as to his skill ; faith in his skill 
 gives efficacy to his prescriptions. 
 
 We believe that we have invisible doc- 
 tors ; not Natty, not our brothers and sis- 
 ters, but students of Nature, whose optics 
 can discern the minutest particles and the 
 smallest life-rills in every organ of the sys- 
 tem ; and who, — some of them, — from the 
 days of Galen down to now, have been 
 learning what plants contain the properties 
 best suited to remedy the difficulties that 
 may be existing in each organ of the body ; 
 and who, before prescribing, examine all 
 
138 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 parts, and, in the prescription, blend things 
 suited to each fundamental difficulty. The 
 prescription is not from the playful boy ; 
 but he and our kindred call upon more skil- 
 ful doctors, and arrange for their visits to us. 
 There, as here, many an old nurse, be she 
 wife, widow, or maid, thinks that she knows 
 better than the doctor, and will herself pre- 
 scribe. Many, too, in the upper spheres, 
 still ride their old hobbies, whether they 
 were M.D.'s or quacks ; and you can, with 
 some mediums, have Allopathic, Homoeopa- 
 thic, Hydropathic, or almost any other pathic 
 you choose, provided you yourself are wedded 
 to that, and, by your faith and will, attract 
 your like, and repel those who differ. Prove 
 all things, even spirit-doctors. Many, very 
 many, wonderful cures have been effected 
 by them ; and yet prescriptions may come 
 through mediums, which, speaking for my- 
 self alone, seem worse than useless. 
 
 In our own case, we have been favored 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 139 
 
 with the history written upon the interiors 
 of our organism from before birth up to the 
 present time. The condition of each princi- 
 pal organ has been described, its wants stated, 
 and the plant named which abounds in the 
 properties in which the organ is deficient. 
 "We have been treated as rational patients, 
 left to judge for ourselves ; and yet the de- 
 scription of our condition gives very minute 
 intelligence, harmonizing well with our sen- 
 sations in the past, and thus giving evidence 
 of its accuracy. 
 
 Filial affection, surviving in the spheres, 
 sought Natty's aid to bring belief to a suf- 
 fering father. First the spirit of the me- 
 dium leaves her body, and flitting, in com- 
 pany with Natty and the spirit-relatives, 
 five miles from her Jiome, enters the little 
 sitting-room where the aged sire and a lady 
 sit. Clairvoyant, she sees the malady, and 
 sees the mental state of each in regard to 
 
140 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 Spiritualism. A medicine is agreed upon, 
 and she is directed to prepare it. 
 
 Her singular vision she relates in com- 
 pany, describing minutely the room, the 
 old gentleman, and the lady, and wonders 
 where the place and who the people can be. 
 JVc could not fail in applying the descrip- 
 tion. The room and people, and their dress, 
 were familiar ; but we gave no hint to any 
 one, at any time or anywhere, that we recog- 
 nized the objects. 
 
 Soon after this, the medium, taking the 
 prepared medicine, was obliged to leave her 
 home, and go, she knew not whither, to offer 
 the gift of filial love. Following impressions 
 as to points of compass, and what omnibus 
 to take, she rode on blindly till there came 
 a prompting to pull the strap. Getting out 
 in front of a large house, she made her 
 way timidly up the yard ; was fawned upon, 
 cordially greeted, and attended up the steps, 
 by the watch-dog ; entered the house, and 
 
PROCURING MEDICINE. 141 
 
 saw there upon the walls a likeness of the 
 spirit who was seeking to relieve his father. 
 A stranger thus coming among strangers, 
 and to those who have no faith in the power 
 or wish of spirits to help those who still 
 remain in the form, had no right to ex- 
 pect a cordial greeting or thanks. The dog, 
 gifted with some keener sense than man, 
 seems to have seen or felt the presence of 
 his former friend ; and he, to the utmost of 
 his power, made the call pleasant. 
 
 Leaving the house, and wandering she 
 knew not whither, this medium, after an 
 half-hour's walk or more, found herself in 
 front of our dwelling, came in, and told the 
 whole story. Then, from Natty and his at- 
 tendants, we learned that her entrance within 
 those walls carried an atmosphere in which 
 the loving spirits could attend her, and thus 
 gain an entrance to their former house. 
 Joyous event to them ! Once entering, they 
 had faith that (by some process unexplained 
 
142 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 to us) they could ever after keep it open, 
 and have free access to father and sisters. 
 
 In all this, our little messenger-bird was 
 a prompt and vigilant, and yet a laughing, 
 marshal of the spirit-band. He finds his 
 bliss in seeing others blessed. 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 143 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SPIRITS IN PRISON. 
 
 The finest lessons of Spiritualism, — soul- 
 permeating, sinking to one's deepest inner 
 wells of charity, and drawing thence waters 
 of life for himself and others, — these les- 
 sons or experiences are seldom named upon 
 the house-tops or at the corners of streets. 
 Like communings with the pure and holy- 
 One, they feel most at home in the closet, 
 with its door shut. Yet our present task 
 would fail of fair performance, were we to 
 leave this door unopened. Natty's biogra- 
 phy might lack its most instructive page, 
 were we here remiss. 
 
 Known throughout the spheres, and ad- 
 mitted everywhere because of his winning 
 
144 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 smile, and his passport written in glowing 
 letters upon his brow, Natty becomes a fre- 
 quent actor in scenes and labors that seem 
 strange, — yes, stranger than strangest fic- 
 tion. To the child lost in pathless and sun- 
 less woods, to the benighted and lone wan- 
 derer in the swamps and deserts of spirit-land, 
 he is sent, a carrier-dove, with hope on his 
 scroll, and guidance in his course of flight. 
 
 A loving mother in the brighter spheres 
 looks down and sees her own erring, but 
 yet her darling, child, dwelling in the cheer- 
 less spheres below, wandering in darkness, 
 and yet longing for light, for guidance, and 
 for help. That mother's yearning to bridge 
 the parting gulf, and be herself the guide 
 and comforter, is commission enough for 
 Natty, and such as he, swift of wing and 
 true of sight, to pass the gulf, lure the wan- 
 derer round it to where, on solid earth, 
 some window lets forth the hospitable ray 
 that may guide the wanderer's steps to shel- 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 145 
 
 ter and repose, to where the wretched may 
 come up, to where the compassionate may 
 come down, to where the lost shall be found, 
 to where the dead shall breathe anew the 
 breath of life. The philosophy belongs to 
 other pages. Our task is only a statement 
 of the facts, that bright spirits in the upper 
 spheres are invisible and inaudible by the 
 dark ones in lower spheres, and that direct 
 communion between them is as rare as in- 
 tercourse between men and angels. " Yet 
 messenger-birds," — mediums in the spirit- 
 world, — luring the dark spirit up and into a 
 medium in the body, and inviting the bright 
 spirit down, can bring the two where, by help 
 of earthly affinities which both can feel, they 
 may become sensible of each other's pre- 
 sence, may commingle their feelings and 
 prayers, may sometimes start the scales from 
 the dimmed eye of the fallen one, and re- 
 veal to him or her the presence and form of 
 a glorified mother or father or friend, who 
 10 
 
14 6 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 is, and ever will be, near 'to help undo the 
 heavy burdens, break the chains of sin, and 
 tread the ascending paths that lead to peace 
 and joy. 
 
 Where such work goes on, mortal help is 
 often asked, and is perhaps essential. Our 
 medium gives only a body, a tool, by which 
 the interview may be brought about. And 
 the shrinking, trembling, darkened soul 
 often needs kind and encouraging words, 
 lessons upon Spiritualism, hints of the joys 
 that lie immediately before the sorrowful 
 listener, — needs the magnetic strength 
 Which a firm will and feeling soul, yet in 
 the flesh, can infuse into that weak and 
 timid one, — before he can bear the words 
 or the sight of the revered parent that 
 hovers over and near, and is longing to be 
 recognized and confided in. Responsible, 
 delicate, solemn task ! to take by the hand a 
 soul that has just come up from the pit, and 
 stands trembling upon its brink ; to hold 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 147 
 
 that soul up, and give it courage and 
 strength ; to speak the right word, to feel 
 the right emotion, to offer the right prayer ; 
 to help it grasp an angel's hand, trust the 
 angel's words of. love and cheer, and thus 
 take such hold of heavenly things that the 
 powers below shall not drag it back to its 
 dungeon. This is no part to be heedlessly 
 acted or hastily declined. A life more 
 varied in its occupations and duties than the 
 average, has experienced no other labors that 
 equal these in depth and breadth of action 
 upon my own mental and moral constitution. 
 If aught in life's labors or experiences has 
 opened or developed any thing heavenly in 
 the inward man, it has been these labors to 
 liberate " the spirits in prison." These 
 have been real, earnest labors ; and the per- 
 sonages, the souls, have been as palpable, as 
 truly immortal spirits, as any ever addressed 
 when speaking from pulpit or around the 
 open grave. The privilege of such high 
 
148 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 work seems to have come through Natty. 
 As guide to the wanderers, it has been his 
 duty to lead to the nearest or the best place 
 for refreshment and repose. Few, as yet, 
 will receive such guests. Firm faith in 
 spirit-presence, combined with steady nerve 
 and will, are not common enough to be met 
 with, excepting at here and there a point; 
 and only at such points can the wanderers 
 find a resting-place, where the friends from 
 higher spheres can make them willing to 
 grasp cords of affection let down from above, 
 and willing to take the hand that draws up- 
 ward. 
 
 Lured on by our child, and coaxed into 
 the medium by him, Charlotte, sighing, 
 looks sorrowful and heart-broken. Timid 
 and distrustful, scarce a word dare she 
 utter. Only piecemeal, and slowly, can we 
 learn, that, a few years ago, she was a loved 
 and happy maiden, dwelling in the suburbs 
 of our city, receiving all the blessings that 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 149 
 
 wealth and education, and the love of kind 
 parents for their only child, and she most 
 fair and loving, could bestow. Many sought 
 her hand in marriage. Her own favorite 
 among them was not welcome to the pa- 
 rents. Trusting where she loved, a secret 
 marriage, and a hasty abandonment of her 
 father's house, resulted. A few short weeks, 
 and how changed the blooming bride ! For 
 he whom she had chosen proved a gambler, 
 a libertine, a brute ; and, ere a year had 
 passed, she learned that the marriage was a 
 sham, that her boy was illegitimate, and that 
 she was deserted. The parental door was 
 closed against her. No road but that of 
 prostitution offered so much as shelter and 
 bread to her and the babe. Intemperance and 
 shame early brought both her and her child 
 to the grave. For a few years, her Jemmy 
 was the only loved one she could fondle ; 
 and he loved his mother alone, because none . 
 else had any love for him. In death they 
 
150 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 were not divided. In the spheres they were 
 united, because neither had opportunity to 
 exercise love towards any one but the 
 other. 
 
 An angel mother and grandmother, happy 
 in her own bright home, could yet find in- 
 crease of bliss in the magnetic rills of ma-* 
 ternal love and Christian charity which her 
 own heart could pour forth, and direct along 
 such channels as lead down to the dwelling 
 of her loved ones, — her Charlotte and 
 Jemmy, — and, gathering there, give moist- 
 ure that should swell the buried seeds of 
 hope and good resolve. When suffering, 
 sorrow, and penitence had brought the pro- 
 digal to herself; when she might be wish- 
 ing, and yet afraid, to rise and go to her mo- 
 ther, — then Natty guides her to the spot 
 which he calls home, and to the hospitalities 
 of those whom he regards as parents. Sad- 
 w ness sits upon her every feature ; distrust 
 reveals itself in every motion. Our fair, 
 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 151 
 
 cheerful medium at our side becomes the 
 very embodiment of despair. Kind words 
 touch that sore heart ; but she dare not trust : 
 so often, so sadly, had she been deceived, so 
 often and so fatally had villany come to her 
 under the outward garb of friendship, that 
 she dare not give way to confidence. An 
 hour of well-meant instruction, — pointing 
 to the compassion of the common Father, to 
 the germs of strength and immortal life 
 planted in her own soul, to the readiness of 
 men and good angels to take her and the 
 little one by the hand, and lead and help 
 them on and up to the aspirations and the 
 deeds which shall bring peace to the trou- 
 bled soul, — an entire hour of such in- 
 struction passes by. But, though chained 
 by tones of kindness, so unwonted now, 
 though loath to leave, she fears to trust. At 
 length, we ask that she shall watch us 
 through all the acts and motives of a week 
 or month, that her spirit-eye shall read us 
 
152 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 patiently and well, and then repeat her visit. 
 Two weeks elapse ; and again she comes, 
 timid, fearful, and yet not without hope. 
 Aided and encouraged by the ever-cheerful, 
 ever-kind messenger-bird, she thinks she 
 will try to trust once more. And soon that 
 very faith, through medium-optics, — smoked 
 glass for spirits' use, — brings the loving 
 mother within her range of vision. Far up, 
 and amid radiance that almost blinds, hovers 
 that yearning, loving heart, and sends down 
 its seen and felt, its soothing and strength- 
 ening, its encouraging and uplifting, its 
 forgiving and its beckoning, emanations. 
 Joy, though dumb, now brings the smile 
 and the repose, that often rest upon the hu- 
 man form when life has fled. But soon she 
 feels the arms that clasped her infant form, 
 and once again she pillows her throbbing 
 brows upon a mother's breast. The wan- 
 derer has come home, the famishing one 
 finds bread enough and to spare, the lost is 
 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 153 
 
 found, the dead lives. In her mother's 
 arms we may let her rest, thankful that we 
 were called upon to • help her reach that 
 saving resting-place, that point where good 
 instructions and good influences will again 
 surround her, where new development will 
 come on, where the stains of the past will 
 bleach out, and where the silk and the flax 
 may be grown from which to weave the 
 bright robes of righteousness. Where she 
 is, there goes her Jemmy too ; for their 
 love, thus far, has drawn in only one 
 direction : the mother has been his only 
 magnet. 
 
 Oh that bright change ! — our medium's 
 face, upturned to heaven, is radiant with 
 thanksgiving and joy. The lips move. 
 Another spirit uses her form. That angel- 
 mother, from the upper spheres, now pours 
 forth her thanks to every helper in heaven 
 or on earth. And how fervent her prayer 
 to God for each and all of them ! It is good 
 
154: NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 to be there ; for now we learn what the 
 Teacher meant by the joy in heaven over 
 a sinner that repenteth. It is a mothers 
 joy at finding her long-lost child; it is an 
 angel's joy that a wandering soul has found 
 the road to a blissful home. ' Not she alone, 
 but many join her in the rejoicing over the 
 piece which had been lost. 
 
 Little Jemmy, too, rises to the land of 
 love. Kind looks, kind words, kind acts, are 
 dew and sun, that swell the seeds and start 
 the shoots of confidence in his compressed 
 and timid soul. Hand in hand with him, 
 our little boy goes to the play-grounds of 
 spirit-land, draws him gently in to join the 
 children in their sports, teaches him that the 
 beds of flowers are but carpets for spirit- 
 feet, that he may tread and roll himself upon 
 the fairest and most fragrant of them all, 
 and not a stem will break, not a petal will 
 be crushed ; and, from the play-ground, 
 they draw near the spacious mansion of the 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 155 
 
 bright-robed teachers and lovers of little 
 ones, and peep in upon the happy and well- 
 clad children there. Natty would go in ; 
 but Jemmy fears there will be no welcome 
 for such as he. Natty 's declaration that the 
 teachers there are kind to all, can scarce find 
 credence with him whose life has been but 
 an experience of rebuffs and kicks. More 
 than that, his ragged and soiled robes would 
 be unfitting to the place. True ; but Natty 
 tells him these shall be exchanged for new 
 ones. Thus, by degrees, the dwarfed soul 
 of the ill-used child of a fallen mother takes 
 root in a soil, and feels the breezes which 
 shall give its germs development, and nou- 
 rish its growth till it shall bear good fruit. 
 The report of our messenger says that 
 " Jemmy Carlton is a real good boy." 
 
 " If I make my bed in hell, thou art 
 there." "I cannot be where God is not." 
 Can Christendom believe this fact ? If it do, 
 why fear that knowledge of the wanderings 
 
156 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 and sufferings of the bad in spirit-land must 
 mar the happiness of the good above ? What 
 God knows, why, how, can that harm good 
 spirits ? Reader, please stop, and answer 
 how. There may be truth and fact in the 
 words of my spirit-brother, that the errors 
 and faults of friends whom he has left be- 
 hind disturb him less than we suppose. He 
 says, " It does not give us quite as much 
 pain as some think to know what they are 
 doing ; for we have risen to where our views 
 of designs and results are more distinct and 
 accurate than when in the form. We in the 
 spirit-world are made more happy by con- 
 versing with our loved ones on earth. We 
 praise God for his goodness in allowing us 
 to do so." Such, condensed, is the state- 
 ment of A. H. P., my brother, who left for 
 the spirit-land fifteen years ago, leaving wi- 
 dow and children here, and taking with him 
 a faith, orthodox according to common no- 
 menclature, but a charity and a life which 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 157 
 
 put him among those who fear God and 
 work righteousness. 
 
 Who, on the whole, is made most unhappy 
 by earth's prisons and dungeons ? Are they 
 the Howards, the Dixes, the Peases, who 
 take the " gauge and dimensions " of human 
 misery there, and thus learn when and where 
 and how to bring relief, and who, because 
 they see and know and feel, are roused to 
 put forth the whole energies of vigorous 
 life in meliorating the condition of the 
 wretched ? Is it these noble souls, that, on 
 the whole, are greatest losers by earth's 
 scenes of misery ? No, — oh, no ! Those 
 very scenes become their pathways to man- 
 sions high up on heaven's hills. And the 
 sympathetic searchings of Charlotte's mo- 
 ther, and her use of means to lift the fallen 
 one from her den of loneliness and want and 
 gloom, may have given higher zest to hea- 
 venly joys, and raised her nearer to the 
 
158 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 Father, than could the heartiest songs of 
 praise. 
 
 " Oh, gratitude, gratitude ! no language can describe 
 it. I teas in darkness and despair ; but now the ex- 
 cess of joy is great. It is by your instrumentality that 
 I ascend, — that I, once a dark, unhappy child of 
 earth, am now wrapped in the blessed influences that 
 breathe hope and peace and elevation. 
 
 " Charlotte." 
 
 Such is one of her letters to us. 
 
 Other spirits have come. Walter Gran- 
 ville, of New York, Fifth Avenue, a young 
 blacksmith, — a doubter of the being of a 
 God, doubter of a future life, doubter of 
 spirit-existence, doubter of spirit-power to 
 speak to mortals, ridiculer of spirit-rappings 
 
 as d humbug, and all this two years after 
 
 death, — yet finds himself in our medium, 
 he knows not why or how. Cased "in a 
 woman, — the thing he always hated," — 
 and locked in there by other agency, the 
 fact of spirit-power to speak through me- 
 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 159 
 
 dium-lips, the genuineness of spirit-rap- 
 pings, the reality of a spiritual existence, are 
 here taught him from the facts of his own 
 experience. 
 
 And his mother says, " Kind friend of 
 earth, oh, help the child! Long have I 
 sought to reach him." 
 
 Ashamed to meet that fond mother's gaze, 
 his eye drops, and he whispers, "That does 
 look like her ; but do not tell her so." He 
 wished to slink away ; but his prison was 
 too strong, his jailers too faithful. Stay he 
 must in the woman walls, till maternal love 
 found access to his better nature, and the 
 gladdened mother wept for joy. A skilful 
 fowler, with snare well laid and strong, 
 Natty caught the proud eagle. 
 
 A Spanish beauty of eighteen, gifted with 
 noble form, high powers of thought, and 
 capacity for deep and good emotions, is de- 
 ceived, betrayed, and becomes a hater of her 
 race. Misanthropy, deep and bitter, flows 
 
160 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 out in every word and gesture and look. 
 Devilish indeed, haughty, scornful, imperi- 
 ous, talented, the conflict in argument was 
 no child's play, no momentary brush. In- 
 deed, her intellectual blade was too keen 
 and too well handled for any common anta- 
 gonist to meet. But, even in her, the woman 
 was not dead. Love, though buried, was 
 not extinguished. Touched by kind and 
 sympathetic tones, the ice melted, and from 
 beneath it there sprung up hope. Long 
 days and nights of doubt and anguish fol- 
 lowed ; but the kind words and deeds of 
 Abby, whose spirit-eye, glancing down from 
 her high sphere into the den of hatred where 
 the beauty raved, had seen the gems con- 
 cealed in her locked casket, and, with 
 Natty's help, had fastened there magnetic 
 cords, by which she might be brought to 
 me, and thus within the sphere of good 
 spirits. Helped by Abby, who saw her ca- 
 pacities to become one of Heaven's brightest 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 161 
 
 angels, she has emerged from her dark es- 
 tate, and rises on rapid wing towards the 
 realms of light and joy. 
 
 These, and others like and unlike them, 
 are the trophies of Spiritualism, — of a 
 union of spirit and mortal power, — of co- 
 operation between those yet in the flesh and 
 those who have passed the grave. Where 
 neither could succeed alone, conjointly they 
 can save many a soul from death, and hide a 
 multitude of sins. 
 
 The fact that such progressing ones make 
 themselves our pupils, and range themselves 
 together on one side the room near us when 
 it is our lot to speak the wisest and kindest 
 words we know to such spirits as can be bet- 
 ter reached by mortal than immortal lips, — 
 this fact, if it do not break us down, must 
 • teach us to guard well both lip and thought 
 and heart. Much is given, much required. 
 Our merry boy is most active and efficient in 
 works high and holy as this. 
 11 
 
162 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 
 
 Tims far, we have seen only boyish ways ; 
 yet results have often indicated a man, and 
 that a whole one. But, boy no longer, he 
 seizes my hand, and speaks thus (as before 
 published in the " New-England Spiritual- 
 ist ") : — 
 
 " ' Dear Father, — Do let me call you thus ; for you 
 are indeed my spirit-father. Towards you first did my 
 spirit experience the filial feelings. My stay in the body 
 was too short for me to learn, while on earth, what 
 those feelings were. I never knew an earthly father. 
 When first we met at the medium's table, your words ' 
 and tones aw r akened in me some feelings that I had 
 never known before. Upon describing those feelings 
 to spirits of more experience than myself, they told me 
 that such were filial feelings, — the feelings which the 
 
 
THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 163 
 
 affectionate child on earth cherishes towards its earthly- 
 parents. Towards you first did J experience those feel- 
 ings ; so that you are my father more truly than you have 
 supposed. I have come to you as the laughing, playful 
 child, while, in fact, I am a full-grown spirit. In earth's 
 matters, I am but a child : the child's form has become 
 me best, and was needful to your recognition of my 
 true state, and to my accomplishment of the purpose 
 for which I come to earth. As a spirit, I am full-grown ; 
 as a child of earth, I am but a child, ignorant of earth's 
 experiences and trials. In these, you can be my teach- 
 er; while, in spiritual matters, I can help you. Let 
 us then, dear father, commune together as mutual 
 counsellors and helpers. I need much aid which you 
 can give. Strange it may seem, but it is true, that 
 those who leave the form in very early life must come 
 back, and come into close alliance with your world, be- 
 fore they can learn some lessons which are essential to 
 highest elevation in the spheres. None of us can lay 
 the foundation of a hroad and all-embracing charity, 
 unless we learn, by close contact with man on earth, his 
 weaknesses, his temptations, his sorrows, and his trials. 
 And we cannot come into such contact with you as to 
 learn those lessons readily and well, unless your affec- 
 tions draw us to you, and unless your interest in us 
 shall help to hold us to the places and scenes in which 
 you move. Thus, dear father, your interest in me holds 
 me where I can better learn true charity than I could 
 
164 NATTY, A SriRIT. 
 
 without your aid. You are of more service to me than 
 I can be to you. By your example and help, and 
 through connection with you, I can best learn that cha- 
 rity for all without which I cannot ascend with steady 
 flight nearer and ever nearer to the common Father of 
 all. 
 
 " ' Spirits, in the spheres, do not usually learn their 
 need of accurate knowledge of earth-life until they are 
 thirty years old or more. Sympathy or childish curi- 
 osity may bring the infant spirit often back to its earthly 
 friends. But seldom, before the age of thirty, does it 
 come back for the purpose of studying thoroughly man's 
 condition, and thus learning some lessons of deepest 
 wisdom which are essential to the soul's own most beau- 
 tiful and bliss-giving development. I now come for such 
 a purpose ; I come to get that knowledge of earth-life 
 which is essentia] to our highest good, and which cannot 
 be learned in the spheres above. In the close connec- 
 tion which you permit between myself and you, I am, 
 as it were, experiencing earth-life; I am living your 
 life, feeling your internal and your external struggles, 
 sorrowing somewhat in your sorrows, rejoicing in your 
 joys. Measurably, my progress is linked with yours. 
 Whatever is for your good helps me. Your harm is 
 mine also. And now, dear father, though I come not 
 as the mere child, but as the full-grown, manly spirit, 
 do continue to love, and thus to help, me. In every 
 struggle after clearer light, deeper devotion, broader 
 
THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 165 
 
 charity, your success is measurably mine. Father, I 
 love to meet you at the morning devotions, and listen 
 there while mother reads and while you pray : every 
 word and act and feeling which does you good helps me 
 also. Tell mother that I love to come and nestle in her 
 calm bosom, where all is so quiet and peaceful. Also 
 tell, that medium, through whom I first met you, to go 
 on in her course of helping us to get access to friends 
 in the form. Tell Rachael to bind her temples with 
 truth, to be a loving child of God ; and then, when her 
 labors in the form are over, I will be one in the band 
 ready and waiting to welcome her with gratitude and 
 joy to the new life above. And now good-by.' 
 
 " Such, substantially, was the touching address of the 
 little child, springing forth, Minerva-like, in the full 
 armor of spirit-manhood. He came to do battle side 
 by side with me in life's warfare ; he explained our 
 relations ; he sought my help, and proffered his to me, — 
 I the man, and he the child, in earth-life ; he the man, 
 and I the child, in spirit-life, — to move forward hence- 
 forth hand in hand in our journey up towards brighter 
 mansions in the Father's house. 
 
 " Such a relation and mutual dependence as this, be- 
 tween the dweller on earth and the freed rover of the 
 spheres above, came upon me as something not com- 
 mon in man's knowledge or his imaginings. This, 
 indeed, may be deemed the work of imagination; but, 
 even as such, it seems to possess vast moral power. 
 
166 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 The thought — be it fact or be it fancy — the thought 
 that one of the departed is trained by our precepts 
 and example as essentially as are our earthly children, 
 carries with it the inference that tens and scores and 
 hundreds and thousands of those witnesses around, who 
 1 hold us in full survey,' may have their condition im- 
 proved or marred by every act, every word, every 
 thought, of each one of us. Such a thought hiiits to 
 man the possibility that his sphere of influence may be 
 wide as his imagination can wing her flight, — may be 
 high as heaven, dee]) as hell ; and, if this be possible, 
 thanks are due to any being or any faculty, be it spirit 
 or be it imagination, which tends to awaken us to any 
 realization of our vast possible duties to the whole race 
 of man. There is deeper meaning hi these spirit-utter- 
 ances than the world sees ; there is more meaning in 
 the mother's prattle with her child than the world sees. 
 The prattle is meant for the child ; and the child feels 
 its power and sees its beauty. Spiritualism, in its 
 higher and purer forms, is meant for the childlike in 
 heart : to such tins gospel is preached. These feel its 
 power and see its beauty. It opens deep springs of 
 feeling, which send up the waters of faith and gladness ; 
 and it gives \isions bright and real as that which he of 
 Patmos saw when in the spirit on the Lord's day.. 
 
 " There seems to be little wisdom in closing our eyes 
 against light, in whatever way the Lord may please to 
 send it. If babes and sucklings can utter words of 
 
 
THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 167 
 
 highest wisdom, he does wisely who can overlook the 
 humbleness of their source, and think only of their 
 intrinsic worth." 
 
 On the last evening of ( the year, our 
 friend came, in the fulness of his angel- 
 heart, and communed with us. Among 
 many other things, he said, " Natty, as a 
 child, has a work to do ; Natty, as a man, 
 has a work to do. As a child, for of such, 
 Jesus says, is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Many a time have I wished to come and 
 speak as a man. But Natty has been taught, 
 that, m whatever form he could be most use- 
 ful, in that he should be willing to come." 
 
 There being a pause, I, a little in advance, 
 wished him " a happy New Year," with the 
 prayer that it might be one of greater use- 
 fulness with both him and me than any one 
 in the past. 
 
 " Oh," said he, — " oh, could you hear 
 how the accompanying spirits take up that 
 wish, and echo and re-echo it upon their 
 
168 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 harps, — oh, how beautifully ! Shall I tell 
 you of a figure we have here? The angels 
 have made a harp. The strings are com- 
 posed of persons whom you have aided to 
 speak to the world. The one who speaks 
 the loudest is the long string ; the next 
 loudest speaker is the second string ; and so 
 on.^ The delicate ones are equally neces- 
 sary : they are the female mediums. Now 
 a bright spirit sweeps the strings ; and oh, 
 what music ! Would that I could describe 
 it to you ! But that is impossible. It goes 
 to the heart. Now she touches again, and 
 the music overwhelms me. So it is — it is 
 a reality. You (father and mother are both 
 one), — you have been privileged to construct 
 a harp for the highest spirits to touch, and 
 make music that gladdens the highest angel. 
 You have felt sometimes that there were dis- 
 cordant notes, — thought that this and that 
 effort has been wasted ; but, could you see 
 as we see, you would know that discord is 
 
THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 169 
 
 as necessary as accord. All have their 
 place and their use. Oh, never forget this 
 harp ! " 
 
 No, Natty, those who are pleased that 
 you call them parents are not likely to for- 
 get the deep impressions of your vivid but 
 simple description of the harp on which spi- 
 rits played for us at the going out of the 
 year. There is compensation in your cheer- 
 ing words for much more of toil than has 
 come to us yet. There is also encourage- 
 ment and strength in the thought that labors 
 to convince man that angels can visit him 
 awaken strains of thanks and joy upon an- 
 gel-harps. We shall not forget ; but we 
 will labor and pray that our kindred in the 
 flesh, and all other mortals, may have the 
 faith and feelings which shall throw wide 
 their doors for the free admission of angel- 
 hosts, and that the melodies of harps on 
 high may be heard in all earthly dwellings. 
 
 And now, my little friend, my pupil in 
 
170 NATTY, A SPIRIT. 
 
 earth's matters, my teacher in spiritual 
 things, borrowing wings from the press, you 
 go forth, a strange bird in man's fields and 
 meadows and forests. The sportsman will 
 bag you, if he can, whatever your note or 
 your plumage j but some lovers of Nature 
 may find melody in your song, and beauty in 
 your colors. Go forth to bless others as 
 you have blessed us ; go forth to give plea- 
 sure, and to lure man heavenward ; go as an 
 angel of glad-heariedness and of smiling 
 piety ; go in the spirit and power of the 
 universal Father ; and may his blessings be 
 upon you ! 
 
 Again we quote the words of Spirit 
 Abby : — 
 
 " Tarry with us, bright messenger-bird ! 
 Thy brow was never touched by the finger 
 of Care. There is much wisdom in thee. 
 Thy voyage over the ocean of life was but 
 a span. Thou partedst from the friends of 
 earth to cheer them unseen. Come, touch 
 
THE CHILD FLASHES INTO MANHOOD. 171 
 
 thy sweet harp to cheer the lone traveller. 
 Many have been touched by thy magic 
 wand. Much good hast thou done, little 
 fairy-bird! Float, float on thy way." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. William W. Young, of Chelsea, — a brother of 
 Oliver, and cousin of Natty, — has just sent to Dover, 
 N.H., and obtained a copy of records there. We now 
 learn that Natty was born Sept. 1, 1815 ; but the time 
 of his death, and consequently his days or weeks of life, 
 are not furnished us. His mother passed to the spirit- 
 land in 1830, and his father about two years ago. One 
 brother and two sisters are now living in New Hamp- 
 shire ; while two brothers and one sister have followed 
 him to the home of spirits. His uncle and aunt at 
 Chelsea state that the mother had a light and fair 
 complexion, and golden-colored hair; also that her 
 children, and especially her son Jefferson, when a boy, 
 had thick golden hair, that curled all over the head. 
 Such facts are first learned by us now, after the picture 
 was painted, and the body of this book written. 
 
 And how near has the sprightly boy kept to the facts ? 
 In 1852, Oliver says to him, " How old were you when 
 you died ? " Ans. " Five days." — " How long since ? " 
 Ans. "Thirty-five years." In June, 1855, he delibe- 
 
17-i APPENDIX. 
 
 rately told me that it was thirty-nine years since he 
 was born. It was, in fact, a few months more than 
 thirty-nine, you will see, yet not quite forty. 
 
 His mother's name, which she wrote through the 
 medium when I knew not whether she was living or 
 dead, and when no one present knew, proves to be 
 Elizabeth, as she then gave it. Nothing had ever been 
 known by me, or by the painter, or by either of the 
 mediums, as to the complexion and hair of the mother 
 or of her children ; yet, after the picture is finished, we 
 find our Natty is like his family in these particulars. 
 Had we copied from Oliver, whom we supposed to be 
 brother, we should have given much darker hair and 
 complexion, if I remember correctly. 
 
 Let me repeat, that neither the artist, nor any of the 
 mediums, nor myself, had ever heard of or seen any one 
 of Natty's relatives, excepting at the single meeting 
 which I had with Oliver more than three years ago. 
 I supposed him a brother until our work was done; 
 and he is darker, much, than Natty. How happens it 
 that our five or six mediums and our artist have seen 
 complexion and hah- so well suited to the child that 
 was born and buried in Dover, N.H., forty years ago, 
 and of whom they had never heard till he came per- 
 sonally and was seen ? 
 
 A little incident of recent occurrence is worth record- 
 ing. Shortly after my hunt for the Youngs in Chelsea, 
 which was late in January, 1856, Mr. William W. 
 Young, for the first time, entered Mr. Fenton's studio. 
 There was no one in the room : he took a seat by the 
 stove ; and soon a lady entered. They were strangers, 
 
APPENDIX. 175 
 
 and did not speak. After a few minutes, Natty said to 
 the lady (Mrs. Newton), "That is my cousin; and I 
 want you to talk to him." Though reluctant to address 
 a stranger under the circumstances, Natty u#ged so 
 earnestly that she ventured to say, " Natty tells me 
 that your name is Young, and that you are, his cousin." 
 This salutation, we trust, put no obstacle in the gen- 
 tleman's progress towards faith that departed ones can 
 come and talk with men. 
 
 Our book is neither argumentative nor demonstra- 
 tive ; and we have taken but little pains to give promi- 
 nence to such facts as might do most towards proving the 
 agency of spirits. Some apparent discrepancies may 
 show on the surface ; and at many points the reader will 
 start questions which are not answered in these pages. 
 The origin and history of the picture were the parts we 
 wished to make public, and the life of Natty was but 
 an incident to the First Part. Our purpose is accom- 
 plished if we have given a distinct idea as to who and 
 what he is, even though we leave much unsaid which 
 the curious might be glad to learn. 
 
 Koxbury, Feb. 12, 1856.