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 THE 
 
 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM 
 
 FOR 
 
 mi. 
 
 PRESENTING- THE STATUS OF SPIRITUALISM FOR THE CURRENT YEAR 
 THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ; PHILOSOPHICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND RE- 
 LIGIOUS ESSAYS ; REVIEW OF ITS LITERATURE ; HISTORY OF 
 AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS; STATE AND LOCAL SOCIETLES; 
 PROGRESSIVE LYCEUMS ; LECTURERS ; MEDIUMS ; 
 AND OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO 
 THE MOMENTOUS SUBJECT. 
 
 BY 
 
 HUDSON TUTTLE AND J. M. PEEBLES. 
 
 
 BOSTON: 
 WILLIAM WHITE AND COMPANY, 
 
 BANNER OF LIGHT OFFICE, 
 
 158 Washington Street. 
 
 LONDON : JAMES BURNS, 15 SOUTHAMPTON ROW. 
 
 1871. 
 
 
IE? \ooi 
 
 V4- 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, 
 
 By WILLIAM WHITE & CO., 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Boston : 
 William JVhite & Co., Stereotype™ and Printers. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 For several years past, the editors have entertained the idea of preparing 
 a Year-Book, which should represent the status of Spiritualism throughout 
 the world. The present afforded unlooked-for facilities for the inauguration 
 of the enterprise ; and it was undertaken with a full understanding of the 
 vast labor it involved, and the almost insurmountable difficulties in the 
 way of even an approximate realization of its plan. We do not claim that 
 its lists of speakers, media, or societies, are perfect ; but they are by far the 
 most so of any yet issued. We have not attempted even to record the names 
 of all media', as we found this to be impracticable. A friend sent us a list of 
 nearly four hundred names from Michigan alone. These we could not use 
 as a whole, as we knew other States, if fully reported, would have propor- 
 tionate numbers ; and we thought best to equalize by only recording the 
 names of the more public media. 
 
 Our aim is to represent no creed, clique, or party, but Spiritualism in 
 its catholic completeness, and year by year to make the pages of the " Year- 
 Book " a free platform for the utterance of the best thoughts emanating from 
 our ranks. This being our guide, we have admitted a lengthy statement of 
 the doctrine of re-incarnation, not because we indorse it, but because the 
 o-reat mass of French and Italian Spiritualists receive it ; and therefore it is 
 just to allow one of the ablest disciples of its master (Kardec) to present its 
 claims. 
 
 Contributors are responsible only for their own statements ; and editorial 
 indorsement is not to be inferred. Impartial and cosmopolitan in our plan, 
 we desire to have every phase of Spiritualism represented. 
 
 We call special attention to the able essays representing the scientific 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 aspect of Spiritualism. The names of Profs. Wallace and Varley are too 
 well known to require more than their announcement ; and Prof. Gunning 
 extends and completes the statement of the requirements made by science. 
 
 The position of one of the editors as United-States consul, with his ex- 
 tensive travels, enables us to present unexpectedly complete views of Spirit- 
 ualism in all the countries of Europe, as well as Asia Minor. 
 
 To the numberless friends who responded to our Circular asking for 
 information, we return our sincere thanks, and request them, as well as all 
 others who take an interest in the Spiritual movement, to send us, during the 
 year, reports of their respective localities. We hope to be able to make our 
 work more and more complete with each succeeding year, but shall be en- 
 abled to do so only by the hearty co-operation of our friends everywhere. In 
 the language of our Circular, which we indorse for the ensuing year, — 
 
 " We especially request all v media to write us, stating the character of 
 their mediumship, facts, &c. ; all public speakers, and every one who has a 
 suggestion, or a ' wise saying,' beneficial to the divine cause." 
 
 THE EDITORS. 
 Boston, Mass., Oct. 1, 1870. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 Introduction 9 
 
 Asiatic and European Spiritualism 19 
 
 Science and Spiritualism 26 
 
 On the Attitude of Men of Science towards the Investigators of Spiritualism. — By 
 
 Pre/. A. R. Wallace, F. R. G. &, F. R. Z. S., and P res. Eth. Soc., F. E. S., etc. 28 
 Accurate Records of Spiritual Manifestations. — By William H. Harrison, Presi- 
 dent Eth. S., F. R. S., <fc 31 
 
 The New Sciences, — their Bearing on Spiritualism. — By W. D. Gunning . . 32 
 
 The Great Battle. — By J. Stahl Patterson 47 
 
 Spirit- Art. — By Emma Hardinge 50 
 
 A Song and a Truth. — By Augusta Cooper Bristol 55 
 
 Parallelism of Christianity and Spiritualism. — By William Howitt . ... 56 
 
 Review of Recent Progress 60 
 
 The Children's Progressive Lyceum. — By J. 0. Barrett 65 
 
 The Law of Re-Incarnation. — By Anna Blackwell 69 
 
 The Significance of Spiritualism. — By E. S.Wheeler 79 
 
 From the Highlands of Heaven. — By Emma Tuttle 82 
 
 Organization 83 
 
 Permanent Engagement of Speakers 85 
 
 Spirit-Chorus 90 
 
 The Spiritual Movement. — Emancipation. — By G. B. Stebbins .... 90 
 
 Number of Spiritualists in the United States . 94 "* 
 
 Chips. — By Cephas B. Lynn 97 
 
 Culture — By J. H. Powell t 100 
 
 The Life of Faith. — By J . Murray Spear 101 * 
 
 Healing. — By J. R. Newton 103 
 
 Facts. — Spirit-Painting 104 
 
 Fulfillment of Spirit-Prophecy 105 
 
 Answering Sealed Letters 106 
 
 5 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Spirit-Detection ...... 107 
 
 Spirit-Identity 108 
 
 The Ring-Manifestation. — By Wash. A. Danskin . . . . . . 108 
 
 A Fragment. — By George A. Bacon . 112 
 
 The Prophecy. — By Emma Scarr Ledsham 113 
 
 Spirit-Communion. — By George Child 115 
 
 Phases of Mediumship. — By Maria M. King . . . . .' . . . 118 
 
 Mrs. J. H. Conant. — By K. Graves 119 
 
 California, — Its Ways and Workers. — By Mrs. H. F. M. Brown .... 120 
 
 Spiritualism in Washington, D.C. — By Verax 125 
 
 Spiritualism in Philadelphia. — By Henry T. Child, M.D. 127 
 
 Spiritualism in Dublin, Ireland. — By Tver MacDonnell 129 
 
 Spiritualism in Paris 132 
 
 Spiritualism in Smyrna, Asia Minor ... 135 
 
 Spiritualism in Italy. — By G. Damiani ......... 138 
 
 Spiritualism in Sicily . 143 
 
 Spiritualism in Wales, Great Britain 146 
 
 Spiritualism in Russia 147 
 
 Spiritualism in Germany 149 
 
 Spiritualism in Spain 150 
 
 Spiritualism in Turkey 151 
 
 Victor Hugo 153 
 
 Baboo Chunder Sen 155 
 
 Names of Prominent Spiritualists 156 
 
 Mediumship of Mrs. Everitt 156 
 
 Presentiment and Facts. — J. C. Luxmore, Hyde Park, Eng. . , , . . .160 
 
 Mr. James J. Morse of London 161 
 
 C. F. Varley , 163 
 
 Brave Words from a Clergyman 166 
 
 A Suggestive Thought. — By J. S. Loveland . .168 
 
 Gerald Massey * . . . . . i 6 8 
 
 Remarkable Instance of Spirit-Identity 170 
 
 Sir David Brewster and Spiritualism 171 
 
 Lord Brougham's Spiritualism 172 
 
 Manifestations at the Guppys' in Naples 173 
 
 Damiani's Challenge 175 
 
 Crystal-Seeing 176 
 
 Reality of Spirit-Life 177 
 
 The London Dialectic Society and Spiritualism 178 
 
 Summary. — By II. Doherty, M.D 181 
 
 The Good Time Coming. — By A. Cross 182 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 TLOK. 
 
 Spiritualism a Welcome Fact. — By Milo A. Townsend 184 
 
 Physical Manifestations 185 
 
 To Whom shall We Give? 187 
 
 Humboldt. — By A. J. Graham 188 
 
 How to form Spirit-Circles 189 
 
 The Anniversary of the Advent of Modern Spiritualism 190 
 
 Spiritualistic Literature 193 
 
 The Massachusetts Liberal Tract Society 200 
 
 " The White Banner; " Its Purpose, and Brief History. — By William D. fieichner, 200 
 
 History of the National Organization of Spiritualists. — By Henry T. Child, M.D., 202 
 
 The Pennsylvania State Society. — By Henry T. Child, M.D 206 
 
 The Ohio State Association of Spiritualists . 207 
 
 Editorial Notes and Clippings . . . . • 208 
 
 Apotheosis 220 
 
 State Organizations of Spiritualists . 223 
 
 List of Societies of Spiritualists in the United States 223 
 
 List of Lyceums in the United States 226 
 
 List of Lecturers on Spiritualism and Eelating Subjects 228 
 
 List of Media in the United States, with Post-office Address 232 
 
 Spirit-Artists 237 
 
 Journals devoted to Spiritualism 237 
 
 Catalogue of Works on Spiritualism 238 
 
 Catalogue of Liberal Works 241 
 
 Standard Phonographic Works 246 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The origins of the great religious movements of the world 
 are subjects of deepest interest, and, being concealed by 
 tissues of fable, myth, and superstition, are difficult to ex- 
 plore. It is said that Krishna and Buddha were divine 
 incarnations, born of princely lines, but nurtured by shepherds 
 and lowly people. Christ, also incarnate, of royal blood, 
 was cradled in a manger. 
 
 It is not accorded to every generation to witness the inaugu- 
 ration of a new system. Progress is slow, however steady; and 
 its crises are wide asunder. In this the present age is distin- 
 guished and blessed. A new phase of religion has been intro- 
 duced, and has at once extended to gigantic proportions. It 
 may be objected as improper to style it a religion; some prefer 
 the name of philosophy: but this is certain, — call it religion, 
 philosophy, or harmonialism, as you please, Spiritualism ab- 
 sorbs all the religious faculties of man's nature, whatever they 
 may be, and supplies the place of religion and philosophy, 
 Wending both in perfect and indivisible harmony. 
 
 Twenty-two years ago, the first rappings were heard in an 
 humble cottage in an obscure town far away from the great 
 centers of intellectual activity. The raps evinced intelligence. 
 Oh, what a burst of indignation ! Clergymen vied with lay- 
 men ; and these combined to outdo the scoffing materialist in 
 silencing the rappings, which furnished incontestable evidence 
 of immortality. The clergy from their pulpits, and at the 
 
 9 
 
10 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 couch of the dying, had taught hope and trust in future 
 existence, and buoyed the sinking soul with charges of faith. 
 Now was presented the certain knowledge which would 
 prove their doctrines true, and at once destroy the fear of 
 death, rob it of its sting, supplant faith by knowledge, and 
 become the corner-stone of a true religious system. From 
 d-priori reasoning, it would have been inferred that they 
 would have eagerly received such evidence as from God, 
 meeting the requirements of the age. On the contrary, they 
 revolted against it with all the intense scorn of priestly hate. 
 Were they impressible, as were the gold-workers of Ephesus ? 
 Were they influenced by their love of humanity, or of their 
 trade? They cried with one voice, "It is the Devil!" and 
 although that god of evil long since perished, withered and 
 dried up by the sun of knowledge, and blown away by the 
 breeze of the early morning, they knew it not. When one 
 devil failed them, they resorted to many. God had unleashed 
 a myriad host of demons into the world to lead the sons of 
 men astray. But can an all-benevolent God perpetrate such 
 wickedness ? If evil spirits return, they must do so by 
 means of laws which render their communication possible ; 
 and, if evil can obey the requirements of these laws, the good 
 spirits assuredly can obey. 
 
 While some shouted " Devil ! " others raised the cry of 
 " Humbug and delusion ! " Committees investigated, but with- 
 out candor, and in a prejudicial manner. The unkempt mob 
 raved ; and its leaders were stolid and blind. 
 
 When, at the first public investigation, the separate com- 
 mittees reported to the excited crowd that filled Corinthian 
 Hall to overflowing, that, after every method of detection 
 they could devise, they " failed utterly to discover the origin " 
 of the raps, a pale and shrinking girl, and her sister, almost 
 a child, stood before that multitude while the report was read. 
 It was met by howls of disappointed rage, and the explosion 
 of torpedoes, followed by a rush to the platform for the most 
 diabolic purpose, in which the mob Avas only defeated by the 
 activity of. the police ; else these two young girls would have 
 at once set the seal of martyrdom on the cause of 
 Spiritualism. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 11 
 
 Such was the untoward beginning of a movement that has 
 more rapidly culminated than any furnished by history. It has 
 more supporters than Christianity had in the second century 
 of its existence, and exerts a deeper and wider influence. 
 
 Numbers do not prove the truth of the cause ; but the 
 manner in which the new system is received may be taken in 
 evidence. No argument in favor of Moslemism can be drawn 
 from its extension by the sword in the hand of a remorseless 
 leader ; nor from Christianity now, when it is the fashion, and 
 the cross is borne by not being a Christian. But the subtile 
 extension of the new doctrine, without any visible means 
 whatever, evidences its truthfulness. Whoever has attempted 
 to lead has been cast down. No man or body of men has 
 ever stood at its head : many have endeavored to guide for a 
 brief moment ; but they became powerless with the effort. The 
 journals devoted to its exposition have been entirely dependent 
 on the free will of their subscribers. Its public writers have 
 written without money or price, and received naught except it 
 be contumely. Its public speakers have taught its divine 
 philosophy as a labor of love, each independently. Mediums 
 have recognized their gifts in almost every family ; and the 
 home-circle has its tests and associations with the loved on 
 the other side of the dark valley. The influence has extended 
 itself over the whole world like a flood of divine light. The 
 lumberman in the pine-forests of the North hears the tiny rap 
 on the rou^h board which serves him for a table ; the miner 
 on the Pacific slope hears it on his camp-chest, or rocker ; the 
 toiler, after his daily labor, is cheered by its voice ; it vibrates 
 through the halls of wealth and elegant leisure. But herein 
 is it remarkable : Everywhere, from the hut of the lumberman 
 to the throne of the king, the fundamental philosophy enun- 
 ciated is the same. Communications vary, but only as indi- 
 viduality varies. The educated medium enjoying the social 
 amenities of the city, or the boorish backwoodsman unable 
 to spell correctly, — controlled by this influence, each gives 
 his own version, but of the same truths. The conflictions 
 are individual : the general statements are an harmonious 
 unity. 
 
 This fundamental oneness indicates its origin in the spirit- 
 
12 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 world, from which the intelligence that drives the movement 
 forward constantly flows. It is tauntingly said that its origin 
 is obscure. Those who worship as God a child cradled in 
 a manger, whose chosen twelve were half-clad fishermen, 
 whose female followers were outcasts and Magdalenes, should, 
 at least, be modest in their insinuations. Such innovations 
 must necessarily come through the people. The wise ones 
 of earth, its scientists and theologians, have their channels of 
 thought deeply cut ; and they can not be drawn from their 
 accustomed paths. It is said no physician past forty years 
 of age received the theory of the circulation, of the blood, 
 advanced by Harvey. The mind solidifies, as it were, and 
 does not receive the new. Scientists stand on an absolutely 
 material basis : they can not leave it even in appearance. It 
 has become the fashion to ridicule the supernatural ; and 
 spirit-communion is persistently thus styled. The past 
 twenty-two years have witnessed honest investigation by a 
 very Small number of men of scientific training ; and these, 
 invariably, have been convinced, and given their adhesion. 
 Investigations have been undertaken by various committees, 
 which, for the vulgarity and ignorance manifested by them, 
 should be called by any other name than scientific. They have 
 set to work in the same manner that the Academy in France 
 long ago employed in its researches into the novel phenomena 
 of animal magnetism ; and their results have been parallel. 
 What would the chemist say to a brother-chemist, who, in 
 re-testing his experiments, insisted on instituting conditions of 
 his own, and then, if he failed in producing the result, discarded 
 his authority? or the astronomer who discovers a new star with 
 an amazing magnifying power, to another astronomer who 
 rejects his word because he can not see it with a telescope one- 
 half the power ? Yet such is the folly of these scientific men who 
 enter a circle for investigation. They must know that the pro- 
 cesses by which physical matter is moved by spirit-power are of 
 the most delicate character, and the conditions absolutely re- 
 quired equally subtile ; yet they insist on instituting conditions 
 of their own. When they desire certain chemical combinations, 
 they follow in minutest details the known requirements, — 
 weighing, measuring, mixing, in the most careful manner, apply- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 13 
 
 ing the required degree of heat, light, or its negative ; and 
 then, if they fail, they charge their want of success to them- 
 selves. Often, in electric experiments, the dampness of the 
 atmosphere prevents all successful results, and is considered 
 as sufficient explanation. Here, however, they apply a new 
 method. Where the conditions are of the most subtile kind, 
 and almost wholly unknown, they refuse to comply, and insist 
 on instituting such as the whim of the moment dictates : then, 
 should they fail, not theirs is the fault ; but the subject is 
 pronounced false. This was the course of the celebrated 
 Cambridge Investigating Committee ; and there is no excep- 
 tion with those who have followed. Even then, with all 
 their stultification and arrogance, that committee, composed 
 of the creme d la creme of the learning of Modern Athens, was 
 so overwhelmed with the manifestations obtained, that they 
 never have made their report ; and, more, they dare not. 
 
 It is not true that Spiritualism began with the rappings 
 twenty-two years ago. It is as old as history : guardian 
 spirits, and their influence over mortals, form the poetry of 
 the chronicles of the ages. It is only claimed that its modern 
 phase began with the recognition of the raps as manifestations 
 of departed mortals. The way had been prepared by animal 
 magnetism, which demonstrated the subtile influence of mind 
 over mind ; by phrenology, which popularized the knowledge 
 of the structure of man, and his mental organization. 
 
 Many of the popular lecturers became earnest advocates of 
 the new philosophy at an early day ; while the baser class 
 became " professional exposers,' 1 exposing most emphatically 
 their own ignorance and the credulity of the public that ac- 
 cepted them. 
 
 Spiritualism, like a flood, gathered all the floating rubbish 
 on its tide, and by many is judged rather by this accident 
 than by the force of its torrent. This is not exceptional. All 
 countries and all religions have their professional lazzaroni, beg- 
 gars, tramps, hangers-on, leeches, and vampires. The divine 
 philosophy of Spiritualism is no exception. Its pure garments 
 have been dabbled with the slime of selfishness, and polluted 
 by the vampires of " passion." That it has endured all that 
 has been cast upon it, and not only endured, but grown strong, 
 
14 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 indicates its tenacious vitality and the inherent strength of its 
 glorious truth. We believe in " missions," — that our spirit- 
 friends have " a work " for each and every one of us ; but we 
 also believe that they desire us to be individuals, and not to 
 be led at random by any " reform," however exalted. 
 
 That Spiritualism has shaken off these burdens, which at 
 first seemed inevitably crushing it to earth, indicates its inher- 
 ent power. It has also swept by the rocks and shoals of 
 partisan leadership, on which this great boon to humanity 
 would otherwise have been irretrievably lost. There has not 
 been, from the first, a scarcity of men who desired to grasp 
 the immeasurable power it wielded ; nor have they been back- 
 ward in making the attempt. Ruin and disaster pursued them 
 and theirs with swiftest feet, and taught the world that this 
 last great religion must be free from the tyranny of individual 
 rule. The day of supernatural prophets, oracles, and special 
 seers, has passed. All mediums are prophets ; and all inspira- 
 tion must be subjected to reason. Every movement, however 
 lofty the source claimed for its inspiration, which, mediately 
 or remotely, redounds to the promotion of the power of one 
 individual or a select order, is contrary to the genius of 
 Spiritualism, and has no place in its fold. It is thoroughly 
 democratic, seeking the advancement and the good of all. 
 It tolerates no distinction of caste, birth, or talent ; for all 
 mankind perform their parts to the best of their abilities, 
 and are equal in all the rights belonging to human beings. 
 Mental and moral differences there are, growing out of the 
 organization and development of the individual ; but, in the 
 infinite future, these will fade away, and the angels recognize 
 none of the arbitrary barriers which oppress the lower and 
 exalt the higher classes, in mental life. 
 
 That American Spiritualism should differ from European, 
 arises from the fact that each country receives intelligence 
 from its own departed ; and the communications are tinged, 
 not only by the prejudices of the spirits, but by those of the 
 media. There is a likeness in the responses received in Ameri- 
 ca, in the Tuileries, and in the drawing-rooms of the Czar ; but, 
 in America, they possess greater freedom and independence. 
 As the press is free, and every individual is free to receive or 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 15 
 
 reject, Spiritualism has here exerted a tremendous power in 
 elevating the masses from theological bigotry and superstition. 
 It has breathed forth a large and broad spirit of tolerance and 
 prudence, pulverizing creeds and dogmas, and disseminating 
 radical reforms and truths. Even its enemies admit that its 
 power has been incalculable in this direction ; and its journals 
 are marked for their catholic tone and independence. 
 
 Where ever}?" individual receives and determines for himself, 
 and recognizes the same right in others, there can be neither 
 dogmas nor creeds. It becomes exceedingly difficult to deter- 
 mine the beliefs embodied in the term " Spiritualism." In its 
 narrowest sense, that term includes the belief in immortality, 
 and that the departed return, and communicate with mortals. 
 They who adopt this are Spiritualists. But it has a broader 
 and wider meaning ; and perhaps no method is more satisfac- 
 tory in determining what it receives than by presenting the 
 resolutions adopted by various conventions of Spiritualists. 
 These express the opinion of the majority, and often were 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 A convention held at Plymouth, Mass., in 1859, adopted a 
 statement of principles. Its definition of Spiritualism is as 
 follows : — 
 
 "In its modern and restricted sense, Spiritualism may mean nothing 
 more than the mere fact of spirit existence and intercourse. But the 
 term is often applied to a system of philosophy or religion based upon 
 this cardinal fact. When thus applied, we would define it as follows : 
 Spiritualism embraces all truths relative to man's spiritual nature, 
 capacities, relations, duties, welfare, and destiny ; also all that is 
 known, or to be known, relative to other spiritual beings and to 
 the occult forces and laws of the universe. It is thus catholic and 
 all-comprehensive. . . . But, while we undertake not to define 
 Spiritualism in all its details, we yet agree in affirming that its 
 grand practical aim is the quickening and unfolding of the spiritual 
 or divine nature in man, to the end that the animal or selfish nature 
 shall be overcome, and all evil and disorderly affections rooted out ; 
 in other words, that the ' works of the flesh ' may be supplanted in 
 every individual by the ' fruits of the Spirit/ and thus mankind 
 become a brotherhood, and God's will be done on earth as it is done 
 in the heavens. . . . Since man's spiritual welfare in this and the 
 after-life is intimately connected with his conduct, his habits, his 
 occupations, and surroundings, as well as his beliefs, and motives of 
 life, we recognize all questions relating to human improvement and 
 
16 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 v. 
 
 practical reform as legitimately embraced in Spiritualism. . . . While 
 we would carefully abstain from combinations for any improper 
 purpose, — such as limiting individual freedom, controlling each 
 other's opinion, or avoiding personal responsibility — yet we affirm 
 the propriety and desirableness of association on the part of those 
 who agree for proper objects. Among the objects we deem proper 
 are the affording of mutual aid and encouragement in a true life, 
 the promoting of fraternal intercourse and interest in .each other's 
 welfare, and co-operation for the public advocacy of what are deemed 
 important truths and needed reforms. Such associations, in order to 
 be harmonious and effective, should be based on a mutual recogni- 
 tion of vital truths, cautiously avoiding any attempt to set bounds to 
 inquiry, or limits to mental progress." 
 
 It will be seen that thus early the cardinal principles in the 
 Spiritual platform were recognized and clearly expressed. 
 
 The declaration of the Kent-County Michigan Circle is still 
 more pointed. It recognizes a divine Spirit, the universal 
 brotherhood of mankind, and continues : — 
 
 " We* recognize the great commandment, old as the world, and 
 new as the newest dispensation, ' Love one another ; ' and as cardi- 
 nal virtues, truthful speaking, probity in dealing, refinement in lan- 
 guage, temperance in eating and drinking, chastity, strict fidelity to 
 the marriage-vow, and the sacredness of parental relations. We rec- 
 ognize the continual progressive existence of the soul after death, 
 with all its identities as an individuality, and its power to commune 
 with spirits yet in the earthly form." 
 
 The Ohio State Association, at its fourth convention, adopt- 
 ed a platform of which the following are extracts : — 
 
 li The spirit- world holds the same relations to the spirit that the 
 material world holds to the physical man. The spirit, there as here, 
 works out its own salvation ; receiving the reward of well-doing, and 
 suffering for wrongful actions. There is never any arbitrary decree 
 or final judgment, and no atonement for wrong, except through the 
 suffering of the guilty. Salvation is only obtainable through 
 growth. Hell and heaven are not localities, but conditions of mind. 
 All spiritual beings are eliminated from physical bodies. They are 
 often near those they love, and strive to warn, protect, and influence 
 them. This influence is for evil as well as good. Communications 
 from spirits must thus be fallible, partaking of the nature of their 
 source. As law rules supreme in the spiritual as well as physical 
 realm, there can be no miracle. Spiritualism encourages the loftiest 
 spiritual aspirations, energizes the soul by presenting only exalted 
 motives, prompts to highest endeavors, and inculcates noble self-re- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. IT 
 
 liance. It frees man from the bondage of authority of book or creed. 
 Its only authority is truth ; its interpreter, reason. It seeks for the 
 whole and complete cultivation of man, — physically, intellectually, 
 and morally. ... It can have no creed : every individual must be a 
 law unto himself, and draught his own creed, and not seek to force it 
 on others. ... It is not so much the aim of Spiritualism to build up 
 an isolated sect, but to enter into, and vivify by its inspiring truth, 
 all organizations, whether of Church or State, and urge them for- 
 ward." 
 
 The statement of the Fifth National Convention embodied 
 the same principles as do those of the various State societies ; 
 and they need not be further quoted. One thing is notice- 
 able, — that one and all contain clauses recognizing the equal- 
 ity of all, without distinction of race or sex. The rights of 
 woman have everywhere received unqualified affirmation. 
 During the late civil war, her influence was cast on the side 
 of freedom, — just as it is now cast on that of temperance and 
 purest morality. 
 
 There has been, from the first, an abhorrence of organization 
 and creed, often becoming puerile in its fearfulness ; and not 
 until the imperative necessity of an association to avoid the 
 shameful farces of mass conventions was forced upon their 
 attention did Spiritualists consent to the loosest financial 
 restrictions. Even at present, the American Association, with 
 all the State organizations, rests on this foundation of sand : 
 their members pledge themselves to nothing when they sign 
 their constitutions ; and can withdraw, without question, when 
 they desire. So far, they have exerted little influence ; nor can 
 they be expected to do more until other methods are adopted. 
 It does not appear to be the design to have the cause prosper 
 by human means. Man is its object. 
 
 The Lyceum movement, which it was attempted to sever 
 from Spiritualism proper, has again been placed where it 
 should be, — as a part of the one great cause. 
 
 The children of the Lyceum are the Spiritualists and re- 
 formers of the future. It is to be regreted that any division 
 was ever introduced. The term " Progressive Lyceum " 
 should cover the entire spiritual field ; and young and old 
 should rally under its banners. But the future will certainly 
 
 right our past and present blunders. 
 2 
 
18 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 So far as proselytism, and distribution of knowledge, are con- 
 cerned, the spiritual press exerts an incalculably greater in- 
 fluence than the lecturers who devote their lives to instruc- 
 tion. The present method of itinerant lecturers is every way 
 wasteful. No permanent society can be built up by a series 
 of star engagements, — not that settled speakers are advisable ; 
 although, if of the right kind, they may accomplish good. 
 The entire spiritual energy of the Spiritualists of each locality 
 should be concentrated on its Lyceum. It should be made 
 the nucleus of all their thoughts. Each should endeavor by 
 self-development to bring some new thought to its altar. 
 This is the true method of Spiritualism, — internal growth, 
 not foreign accretion. If we are to fall by slow degrees into 
 a fixed routine, a society with its appointments, a settled lec- 
 turer, or a rotation of itinerant lecturers, what is the difference 
 from the old, except in name ? To hear something new is 
 of no consequence to us, except as it evokes something new in 
 ourselves. If Spiritualists would gather together in their or- 
 ganizations, impressed with this view, they would no longer 
 feel the need of " stated service ; " for they would become 
 teachers unto themselves. Then, when lecturers were engaged, 
 they would be more fully appreciated, and their work would be 
 of greater utility. The lecturer should not usurp the vacated 
 pulpit of the priest. The latter has been set apart to do the 
 world's religious thinking, and, well or ill, has been reverenced. 
 Now, the new dispensation differs from the old in just this, 
 — that it demands every one to think for himself. And yet 
 these organizations, so far, give no cognizance of the vast, 
 unfathomable abyss between the two systems. 
 
 The various State organizations and the local societies are 
 all doing an important work ; and, should none of them re- 
 main permanent, it will be because they will prepare the way, 
 and give place to better. At no period since the advent of 
 Spiritualism has it pushed its way more rapidly than at pres- 
 ent. It pervades all ranks of society, and is received with 
 eagerness where least expected. The high estimate of Judge 
 Edmonds, of eleven millions of believers in the United States, 
 is becoming a reality, if it does not already fall short of the 
 truth. It has become a colossal power, and would be yet 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 19 
 
 more so if it were only conscious of its strength : at the proper 
 time, the world shall awake to a knowledge of it. 
 
 A careful review of the field of thought recognizes two 
 tendencies ; one towards positive knowledge, the other towards 
 mysticism. The set of the two currents is of unequal strength ; 
 and at present the latter has the greater numbers. The 
 strange and nrvsterious character of its phenomena has fur- 
 nished attraction to the masses ; and the high order of its 
 truths has invited the research of philosophers. There is 
 this rare quality in Spiritualism, — it furnishes attraction to 
 every order of mind. A dog is startled ; a table moves without 
 physical contact ; and the great truths suggested and advanced 
 call forth and perplex the profoundest thought. 
 
 There can be no question as to the ultimate course of these 
 tendencies. Mysticism is another name for the incomprehen- 
 sible. Spiritualism disclaims mystery, and, as soon as under- 
 stood, takes its rank among the positive sciences. Its pro- 
 fessed object is to make the future life as clear and under- 
 standable as is the present life. Law spreads its infinite aegis 
 over that life as well as this. There is no miracle or arbitrary 
 dictation. 
 
 Mysticism once possessed the entire domain of nature and 
 spirit. Slowly has it been driven from the material world, 
 and taken its stand in the dark shadows of the incomprehen- 
 sible spirit existence. The aim of Spiritualism is to drive it 
 thence, that there may be established as absolute and positive 
 a science of spirit as there is of matter. 
 
 ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 "ARE WE NOT BROTHERS ALL?" 
 
 The Divine Presence infills all being. Life is eternal, 
 motion incessant, and progress a fixed necessity ; while aspi- 
 ration, as though conscious of a better destiny for humanity, 
 continually prophesies of growth and of golden ages in the 
 future. 
 
20 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The spiritual philosophy, divine in origin, and pre-eminent- 
 ly cosmopolitan in tendency, is a natural blossoming and 
 fruiting-out of the divinity implanted in humanity ; or it is 
 a natural converse of soul with soul, and spirit with kindred 
 spirit. As a special movement adapted to the higher wants 
 of the present century, it was conceived in the upper realms 
 of inspiration, inaugurated by parliaments of angels, and 
 transmitted by the law of influx to the more receptive minds 
 of earth, to demonstrate a future existence, quicken the spir- 
 itual nature, and incite to holy living. 
 
 This present wave is by no means a new thing under the 
 sun. The scholarly need not be informed, that under some 
 name, and in some form, Spiritualism, as demonstrated through 
 phenomena, and substantiated by unimpeachable testimony, 
 has constituted the basic foundation, and been the motive- 
 force, of all religions in their incipient stages. The Spiritual- 
 ism of to-day, in England and all enlightened, countries, 
 differs from that of eighteen hundred years since in Judaea, 
 and that of five thousand years ago in India and Egypt, only 
 in the better understanding of its philosophy, the general con- 
 ception of its naturalness, and its wider dissemination through 
 the different grades of society. It has been and is God's 
 visible seal of love and immortality to all climes and ages. 
 
 Rightly interpreted, it harmonizes perfectly with the posi- 
 tive religion of the New-Testament Gospels, and with the 
 Neo-Platonic doctrines of the second century. 
 
 As a general definition of Spiritualism, the following is 
 submitted : — 
 
 " Its fundamental idea is God, the infinite spirit-presence, imma- 
 nent in all things. 
 
 " Its fundamental thought is joyous communion with spirits and 
 angels, and the practical demonstrations of the same through the 
 instrumentality of phenomena. 
 
 " Its fundamental purpose is to rightly generate, educate, and 
 spiritualize all the races and nations of the earth." 
 
 Considered from its philosophical side, it is rationalism ; 
 from its scientific side, naturalism ; and from its religious 
 side, the embodiment of love to God and man ; inciting to 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 21 
 
 purity of intention, holiness of heart, and the highest reli- 
 gious culture. 
 
 It underlies all genuine reform-movements, physiological, 
 educational, social, philanthropic, religious ; and, spanning all 
 human interests with holy aim, it seeks to reconstruct society 
 upon the principles of eternal justice, — the principles of 
 equality, charity, and a universal brotherhood. 
 
 In method, Spiritualism has ever been diverse ; in mani- 
 festation, multiform. Vision, trance, dream, prophecy, clair- 
 audience, physical manifestations, and mental phenomena, 
 have each and all, in turn, united in the persons of sensitives 
 to bring the inhabitants of earth, and those peopling the 
 world of spirits, into conscious communion, and, what is 
 equally vital, a more close and abiding fellowship. Alive to 
 the genius of progress, this age alone fully perceives and 
 comprehends the naturalness of all spiritual manifestations, 
 whether occurring in the prehistoric past, or in the England 
 of to-day. 
 
 Those ancient media, God's inspired witnesses of immor- 
 tality, failed to make themselves understood. Governments 
 were tyrannical, laws despotic, and the multitudes supersti- 
 tious ; accordingly, mystics, delighting in mountainous re- 
 treats, were charged with insanity when entering into psycho- 
 logical states of mental illumination and ecstasy. Like 
 Jesus and Apollonius, like self-sacrificing reformers of 
 all periods, they had not where to lay their heads. Exiled 
 from their countries, they were not unfrequently subjected 
 to the disciplinary fires of persecution, or forced to fearful 
 martyrdoms. Then a legendary ignorance commenced busy- 
 ing itself to weave around their lives the mystic web of mar- 
 vel and mystery. Thus the crucified of the yesterdays 
 become gods in the future ages. 
 
 The student of history readily traces close existing rela- 
 tions between the Aryan gymnosophist, the Brahminical seer, 
 the Egyptian hierophant, the Buddhistic lama, the Grecian 
 thaumaturgist, the Judsean baptist, the Syrian prophet, the 
 Arabian dervis, the Roman sibyl, the British arch-druid, 
 and the modern medium. Spiritualism, proffering the key, 
 unlocks ancient and modern mysteries, and reduces them to 
 
22 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM:. 
 
 the basis of a rational naturalism. To the unthinking masses 
 only do the utterances of the entranced, and the visions of 
 the clairvoyant, partake of either marvel or miracle. 
 
 Human nature is ever the same. Biblical history is bur- 
 dened with oracles. Not only the prophets of old, but the 
 persecuted media of the present, breathe, when in their supe- 
 rior conditions, the catholic spirit of human emancipation, 
 speak the language of a true mental science, lift up the 
 curtain of immortality, and, rightly interpreting these mo- 
 mentous psychological phenomena that relate to the spiritual 
 forces of the moral constitution, they aid in intromiting us 
 into the glories that gladden the upper kingdoms of eter- 
 nity. 
 
 From Asia, mother of .races, came the first recorded fore- 
 gleams of spirit-existence. The Aryan and Semitic book- 
 religions are all ablaze with angel-appearings. This spiritual 
 tide for many cycles of years surged westward. Culminat- 
 ing, it is now returning, freighted with the culture and the 
 philosophy of the Western civilizations. At the present 
 time, Spiritualism, vestured in some form, is quite common in 
 the most intelligent circles of both Europe and Asia. It has 
 been our privilege during the past year to either meet Spir- 
 itualists, or attend seances, in Southern Asia Minor, Smyrna, 
 Scutari, Constantinople, Athens, several of the Mediterra- 
 nean isles, Sicily, Italy, France, England, Ireland, and Scot- 
 land ; and, though the manifestations differ somewhat with 
 various races and nationalities, in spirit and purpose they 
 perfectly harmonize, unitedly teaching, — 
 
 I. That God, or Allah, is the Infinite Spirit, Power, or Pres- 
 ence of the universe. 
 
 II. That all human spirits are inter-related to the Divine 
 Spirit, — something as drops to the fountain. 
 
 III. That, under certain conditions, human intelligences 
 once living upon earth hold conscious intercourse in the pres- 
 ent with mankind ; thus demonstrating a future existence. 
 
 IV. That progress is a law of universal application, and 
 actively operative as a great moral force in the world of 
 spirits. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 23 
 
 V. That obedience to divine law brings peace ; and dis- 
 obedience, suffering ; holiness and happiness being indissolu- 
 bly connected in all states of existence. 
 
 Spiritualists up the Levant and in the more western of the 
 Asian countries agree in the above general principles with 
 those of France and Great Britain. 
 
 In England, Spiritualism, considering the deadening influ- 
 ences of Church and State, is making rapid advancement. 
 The first publication issued in its interest was " The York- 
 shire Spiritual Telegraph." A copy of this journal, August, 
 1356, contains, among other, the following testimony of 
 the celebrated Dr. Ashburner, well known in medical 
 ranks : — 
 
 "I have no hesitation in saying, that much as I have seen of 
 mesmerism and of clairvoyance ; grand as were my anticipations 
 of the vast amount of good to accrue to the human race, in mental 
 and physical improvement, from the expansion given to them by 
 the cultivation of their extensive relations, — all sink into shade 
 and comparative insignificance in the contemplation of those con- 
 sequences which must result from the spirit-manifestations. The 
 spirit-manifestations have, in the last three years, produced mira- 
 cles ; and many more will, ere long, astound the would-be-consid- 
 ered philosophers, who may continue to deny and sneer at the most 
 obvious facts." 
 
 " The Telegraph " was followed by " The Spiritual Maga- 
 zine." At present, there are four periodicals published in 
 London, devoted to the propagation of the spiritual philoso- 
 phy, — " Human Nature," " Spiritual Magazine," " The Spir- 
 itualist," and " The Medium and Daybreak." The principal 
 publishing-house, 15 Southampton Row, Holborn, London, is 
 under the supervision of that able writer and indefatigable 
 worker, James Burns. These journals, as well as those pub- 
 lished in France, Italy, Germany, and other European nations, 
 are exerting a wide and healthful influence, and are all 
 worthy of a better support. 
 
 Though there are societies of Spiritualists in London, Not- 
 tingham, Halifax, Bradford, Glasgow, and other localities, we 
 venture upon no estimate of either the number of media, 
 or avowed Spiritualists, in the kingdom. Mr. Burns, with an 
 
24 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 energy becoming the principles of the spiritual philosophy, 
 sent out printed circulars early in the season, asking for re- 
 ports and statistics relating to numerical strength. Few re- 
 sponded. Such stolid indifference is almost unpardonable. 
 
 Rated according to population, Spiritualists in England are 
 far less numerous than in America. Though solid and endur- 
 ing, the mental soil of the country is not so- quick, nor so 
 magnetically open to the sweet sunshine of inspiration. A 
 Church and State establishment is inimical to spiritual prog- 
 ress. 
 
 There are three phases of Spiritualism in the English-speak- 
 ing kingdom, — independent, scientific, and Christian. The 
 first-named are not only the most numerous, but they consti- 
 tute a very large majority of the real earnest workers. Recog- 
 nizing the unity of the race and the brotherhood of humanity, 
 they accept the best inspirations of all Bibles, the highest 
 teachings of mortals and spirits, as helps, but not as masters. 
 Considering all divine principles sacred, they regard no be- 
 nevolent deed, no good thought, no truth, profane, though 
 uttered by a " heathen ; " and no falsehood holy, though 
 mouthed by Christian priest or pope. Their God is change- 
 less ; their heaven is within ; their prayers are good deeds ; 
 and their great soul-efforts are to be right and do right. 
 
 Among the scientific Spiritualists may be numbered Prof. 
 A. De Morgan, the learned mathematician ; Prof. Wallace, the 
 distinguished naturalist ; Prof. Crooks, celebrated as chemist 
 and author ; Prof. Varley, eminent in the natural sciences, 
 and honored with the position of consulting electrician to the 
 great Atlantic Telegraph Company. These, with other 
 prominent gentlemen connected more or less intimately with 
 the Royal Institution or other scientific and literary associa- 
 tions, are decided believers in the spiritual phenomena ; and, 
 further, they are using all laudable efforts to grasp the forces, 
 or get down to the scientific bases, underlying these well- 
 attested phenomena. 
 
 William Howitt, the scholar, author, and reformer, is by far 
 the ablest of the Christian Spiritualists. He did noble and 
 valiant work for Spiritualism during its incipient struggles for 
 a hearing. His pen is never idle. When invited to furnish 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 25 
 
 a paper for " The Year-Book of Spiritualism," he cheerfully 
 complied. The same invitation extended to S. C. Hall. He 
 responded, — 
 
 " Reverend Sir, — I am a Christian Spiritualist ; and I am 
 informed that you are propagating opinions hostile to Christianity. 
 I am therefore hound to withhold from you aid or countenance in any 
 way. . . . The time is,- 1 think, come, when Christian Spiritualists 
 must make a stand against Spiritualists who are anti-Christian, — 
 their teachings, their meetings, and their books." 
 
 What Mr. Hall means by Christian Spiritualism may be 
 gathered from a paper of his published in 1864 under the 
 caption of " The Use of Spiritualism." Here follows a para- 
 graph : — 
 
 " It (Spiritualism) has made me a Christian. I humbly and fer- 
 vently thank God it has removed all my doubts. I can and do be- 
 lieve all the Bible teaches me, — in the efficacy and indescribable 
 happiness of prayer, in the power of faith to save, in the perpetual 
 superintendence of Providence, in salvation by the sacrifice of the 
 Saviour, in the mediation of the Redeemer : in a word, I am a 
 Christian." 
 
 Standing upon the plane of universal justice, and holding 
 in our right hand the olive-branch of peace, it affords us 
 pleasure to help the Christian Spiritualist of London, the re- 
 incarnation Spiritualist of Paris, the dervis Spiritualist' of 
 Constantinople, to the same impartial hearing that we tender 
 to those scientific and independent Spiritualists, who, under 
 the providence of God, constitute the more zealous working 
 masses of the grand army. Are we not brothers all ? do not 
 God's ministering angels guard all ? do not immortality and 
 progress await us all ? and, if so, how important that we all 
 cherish that broad Christ-spirit of forbearance and ''charity,'' 
 which the Gentile apostle pronounced of more importance 
 than " faith " or hope ! In addition to an increase of co- 
 operation, unity of method, and systematized order, Spiritual- 
 ists need more culture, and a deeper religious baptism. 
 
 Honest differences of opinion upon metaphysical or theo- 
 logical subjects should never interfere with heart-fellowship, 
 or the common amenities of civic life ; neither should they, 
 under any pretense, be allowed to interpose barriers to the 
 
26 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 diffusion of our beautiful principles. It should be with 
 spiritualistic theories and minor dogmas as with the songs of 
 the glorified, — 
 
 " Ten thousand thousand are our themes ; 
 But all our hearts are one." 
 
 Jesus, the gentle Nazarene, said, " By this shall all men 
 know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 
 Purity is the test of heavenly acceptance in all spheres of 
 existence. None are perfect. Made subject to vanity, ex- 
 perimenting while journeying through this world of shadows, 
 all need the staff of prayer and the lamp of divine trust ; 
 need to feel that God is a constant presence, that Christ is 
 the light of truth, and that loving angels are waiting to min- 
 ister to humanity's spiritual wants. Little children — such as 
 Jesus took in his arms — sweetly symbolized the receptivities 
 of the divine life. The humble heart, sheltered away from 
 the storms of passion, and all vestured over with the fragrant 
 blossoms of human affections, is often nearer in spirit to the 
 angels than the cold-hearted theologian. Love inspires ; wis- 
 dom guides ; faith opens the gate ; and self-sacrifice leads the 
 way into the city of peace, — the city of God. Oh ! come, 
 Spiritualists of England and America, Spiritualists of all 
 countries and nationalities, let us fraternally meet and wor- 
 ship in this temple of the eternal religion, — a temple whose 
 foundations are deep and wide as the nature of man, and 
 whose dome, reaching into the heaven of heavens, shall ulti- 
 mately shelter and overhallow the races with millennial glory. 
 
 SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The genius of the age is looking with becoming seriousness 
 and solidity to science as the true philosopher's stone. The 
 three primal objects for human inquiry and contemplation are 
 nature, man, G-od ; or, otherwise expressed, physical matter, 
 spiritual substances with their vital correlations, and essential 
 Spirit, the Undefinable and the Eternal. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRIT CTALTSM. 27 
 
 The human intellect has two methods of working, — analysis 
 and synthesis. It divides into parts, dissects,, observes, ex- 
 amines, and reasons about each, and its adjustment to other 
 portions ; or it intuitively grasps the law that binds and con- 
 trols the parts, and knits them into a whole. All follow one 
 or the other of these methods, from child to philosopher. 
 Children, natural inductionists, early asking the how and ivhy 
 of things, practice analysis by pulling their toy-wagons to 
 pieces to discover the working of the machinery. When 
 older, they perform more splendid generalizations. 
 
 But the philosopher, from experience, as well as intuition and 
 conscious self-determination, directs his eye to every part of 
 the great all. His deductions, though sweeping and often won- 
 derful, are far from being always correct, however, in detail. 
 
 The man of science, adapting himself to observation and 
 experiment, moves cautiously, and enunciates discoveries with 
 becoming modesty. 
 
 The genuine scholar knows no aristocracy ; the acute 
 thinker, no formal priesthood. The more these explore, the 
 more they probe down into the soul of things, the more they 
 become aware of the boundlessness of the universe, the con- 
 fines of which seem to continually retreat before the finite 
 grasp of the most gifted. The truly great are unassuming. 
 
 Science, earnest and aggressive, is, with few exceptions, now 
 ready to open her laboratories, and grapple with those gener- 
 ally-considered new phenomena attending the externals of 
 Spiritualism. That it needs sifting, few dispute ; and none will 
 manifest more readiness to engage in this work than genuine 
 media and worthy public advocates. Truth never shrinks 
 from investigation. Spiritualists, basing their belief upon 
 facts, are anxious to have their claims thoroughly tested. 
 In harmony with this position, we derive pleasure from the 
 following paper, prepared expressly for " The Year-Book" by 
 Prof. Wallace of the British Museum ; than whom few men 
 occupy a more enviable position, either in the world of letters 
 or of science. Of his scientific attainments, Dr. Hooker, in 
 his opening address as President of the British Association 
 at Norwich in 1868, took occasion to make special mention 
 in terms of unqualified praise. 
 
28 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 ON THE ATTITUDE OF MEN OF SCIENCE 
 
 TOWARDS THE INVESTIGATORS OF 
 
 SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 BY PROF. A. R. WALLACE, F.R.G.S., F.R.Z.S., AND PRES. ETH. 
 
 SOC, F.E.S., ETC. 
 
 It is now generally admitted that all original investigation 
 of Nature is useful and honorable ; that the man who devotes 
 himself to the observation of natural phenomena, of however 
 obscure and apparently uninteresting a nature, who conducts 
 experiments calculated to throw light upon their causes, and 
 who fully and accurately records such observations and ex- 
 periments, gains for himself a place in the roll of scientific 
 investigators. But, strange to say, in order to merit this 
 honorable position, he must strictly limit his inquiries within 
 certain bounds. For should he have chanced to meet with 
 any of those singular cases in which an individual exhibits 
 exalted and exceptional mental capacities, appearing like the 
 development of new senses, or those still more extraordinary 
 phenomena which seem to prove the existence of intelligent 
 beings, invisible and intangible to most men, yet capable, under 
 certain conditions, of making their presence known to us ; 
 and if he devote his best energies to the study of these strange 
 and exceptional cases, and, after long-continued inquiry and 
 careful experiment, arrive at the conclusion that they are 
 veritable realities, and, as such, of the highest importance to 
 his fellow-men, — instead of being welcomed as a discoverer, 
 or rewarded as a scientific investigator, he finds himself set 
 down as credulous and superstitious, if not openly accused 
 of falsehood and imposture, and his careful and oft-repeated 
 experiments ignored, as not worth a moment's considera- 
 tion. 
 
 That the public at large should thus deal with new and 
 unpopular inquiries is not to be wondered at ; but that phi- 
 losophers and men of science should act in the same unscien- 
 tific and unphilosophical spirit is truly extraordinary. While 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 20 
 
 proclaiming loudly that the only way to acquire knowledge 
 is by observation of facts, by experiment, and by the forma- 
 tion of provisional hypotheses to serve as the basis for fur- 
 ther experiment and more extended observation, they have 
 yet, for many years, refused to accept any facts or experi- 
 ments which go to prove the existence of recondite powers in 
 the human mind, or the action of minds not in a visible body. 
 They have ridiculed the idea of any effects being produced 
 by the latter cause, and have repudiated as imposture or delu- 
 sion all those which appear due to the former. To show 
 that this is really the case, I have only to quote the names of 
 such men as Dr. Esdaile, Dr. Elliotson, Dr. Lee, Dr. Ash- 
 burner, Dr. Gregory, Dr. Reichenbach, Dr. Herbert Mayo, 
 Dr. Haddock, Mr. H. G. Atkinson, Miss Martineau, Prof. 
 De Morgan, William Howitt, Prof. Hare, Prof. Bush, 
 Judge Edmonds, Robert Dale Owen, and a host of others, 
 who, for more than twent} 7 years, have published detailed 
 observations and experiments, which corroborate each other 
 in a variety of details, and agree with many facts recorded 
 throughout history ; but which observations and experiments 
 are all ignored or denied. There has never yet been a work 
 written in this country, which has fairly grappled with the 
 facts addressed. It has never yet been shown, why, a priori, 
 they may not be true ; it has never yet been explained, how, 
 if not true, we are to account for the vast mass of direct tes- 
 timony to them. The declaration so often made or implied, 
 that facts witnessed thousands of times by honest and intelli- 
 gent men, and thousands of times carefully examined to detect 
 fraud or delusion which has never been discovered, can not 
 exist, because they imply a subversion of the laws of Nature, 
 is a most weak and illogical objection, since all we know 
 of the laws of Nature is derived from the observation of 
 facts. No fact can possibly subvert the laws of Nature ; and 
 to declare that it does so is to declare that we have exhausted 
 Nature, and know all her laws. 
 
 In the history of human progress, we look back in vain for 
 a case parallel to the present one, in which the professed 
 teachers of science have been right. The time-honored names 
 of Galileo, Harvey, and Jenner, are associated with the record 
 
30 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 of a blind opposition to new and important truths. Franklin 
 and Young were laughed and sneered at for discoveries which 
 seemed wild and absurd to their scientific contemporaries. 
 Nearer to our own day, painless operations during mesmeric 
 trance were again and again denounced as imposture ; and 
 the various phenomena of mesmerism, as due to collusion and 
 fraud : yet both are now universally acknowledged to be genu- 
 ine phenomena. Even such a question of pure science as 
 the evidence of the antiquity of man has met with similar 
 treatment till quite recently. Papers by good observers, re- 
 cording facts since verified, were rejected by our scientific 
 societies, as too absurd for publication ; and careful researches 
 now proved to be accurate were ignored, merely because they 
 were opposed to the general belief of geologists. 
 
 It appears, then, that men of science are at least consistent 
 in treating the phenomena of Spiritualism with contempt and 
 derision. They have always done so with new and important 
 discoveries ; and, in every case in which the evidence has been 
 even a tenth part of that now accumulated in favor of the 
 phenomena of Spiritualism, they have always been in the 
 wrong. It is, nevertheless, a curious psychological fact, that 
 they do not learn by experience to detect a truth when it 
 comes before them, or take any heed of the warnings of their 
 greatest men against preconceived opinions as to what may, 
 or may not, be true. Thus Humboldt declares, that " a pre- 
 sumptuous skepticism, which rejects facts without examination 
 of their truth, is, in some respects, more injurious than an 
 unquestioning incredulity." Sir Humphry Davy warns them, 
 that " one good experiment is of more value than the inge- 
 nuity of a brain like Newton's. Facts are more useful when 
 they contradict, than when they support, received theories." 
 And Sir John Herschel says, that " the perfect observer in 
 any department of Nature will have his eyes open for any 
 occurrence, which, according to received theories, ought not to 
 happen ; for these are the facts which serve as clews to new 
 discoveries." Yet in the present day, when so many things 
 deemed absurd and impossible a few years ago have become 
 every -day occurrences, and in direct opposition to the spirit 
 of the advice of their most eminent teachers, a body of new 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 31 
 
 and most remarkable phenomena is ignored or derided with- 
 out examination, merely because, according to received theories, 
 such phenomena ought not to happen. 
 
 The day will assuredly come when this will be quoted as 
 the most striking instance on record of blind prejudice and 
 unreasoning credulity. * 
 
 \ 
 
 " So far as the phenomena go, I readily admit, with Prof. De 
 Morgan, 'that I have both seen and heard, in a manner which would 
 make unhelief impossible, things called spiritual, which can not be 
 taken by a rational being to be capable of explanation by imposture, 
 coincidence, or mistake. So far, 1 feel the ground firm under me ; 
 but, when it comes to what is the cause of these phenomena, I find 
 I can not adopt any explanation which has yet been suggested. . . . 
 The physical explanations which I have seen are easy, but miserably 
 insufficient. The spiritual hypothesis is sufficient, but ponderously 
 difficult.' 
 
 '• I quite agree with this. That certain physical phenomena, such 
 as the translation of material substances, and the production of 
 sounds resembling electric discharges, occur under circumstances 
 in which they can not be explained by any physical law at present 
 known, is a fact of which I am as certain as I am of the most ele- 
 mentary fact in chemistry." — Prof. William Crookes. 
 
 ACCURATE RECORDS OF SPIRITUAL MANIFES- 
 TATIONS. 
 
 BY WILLIAM H. HARRISON, EDITOR "LONDON SPIRITUALIST." 
 
 Those scientific investigators on this side of the Atlantic, 
 who have acquired the knowledge that Spiritualism is true, 
 at once wish to set to work to classify the details of the phe- 
 nomena, so as to establish laws and principles. As Spiritual- 
 ism is only just beginning to get an extended hold in England, 
 the periodicals and literature of America are examined by 
 such inquirers, not so much for the communications given by 
 spirits, as for accurate statements of the earthly conditions 
 under which the messages were obtained. At present, the 
 
32 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 American literature of Spiritualism is very disappointing, be- 
 cause it furnishes such meager information to this class of 
 inquirers. I write to suggest, that if more attention were 
 given in America to the accurate reporting of seances ; that 
 if the thermometer and barometer could be generally intro- 
 duced into rooms where intelligent circles sit, so that readings 
 of these instruments should be taken, — useful information in 
 time would be gained. The direction and force of the wind, 
 and the state of the atmosphere, at each sitting, should also 
 be recorded. Who knows whether those sudden chills and 
 sensations of warmth, which are often felt while powerful 
 physical manifestations are going on, are real changes of 
 temperature, or psychological impressions ? It may be said, 
 " You in England can investigate these matters as well as 
 we." Yes ; and it will be done. But, with the vastly wider 
 range of phenomena passing under observation in the United 
 States, more valuable information could be collected in a 
 shorter space of time with you than with us. At present, 
 taking the reports of physical manifestations in " The Banner 
 of Light " as an example, the writers usually occupy much 
 space in expressing their private opinions on religious and 
 other subjects, instead of keeping to their narratives, and re- 
 cording facts which might prove useful to science. 
 
 THE NEW SCIENCES. — THEIR BEARING ON 
 
 SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 BY W. D. GUNNING. 
 
 Very few intelligent men question now the phenomena of 
 Spiritualism. From Dr. Dewey, explaining the "raps" to 
 public audiences by snapping his toes, to Prof. Phelps, ad- 
 mitting " a certain modicum of fact in the alleged phenom- 
 ena," the time is only twenty years. Dr. Dewey's nonsense 
 satisfied the public twenty years ago. Prof. Phelps is a fair 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 33 
 
 exponent of public opinion to-day when he says that " a man 
 is not to be brow-beaten out of trust in his own eyes." 
 
 Andover has made up its mind that there is " a modicum 
 of fact in the phenomena of Spiritualism." Yale and Har- 
 vard. Oxford and Cambridge, would say the same thing, 
 if they allowed themselves to speak. Those who are capable 
 of forming an opinion concede at least a modicum of fact to 
 the phenomena. But these phenomena must be studied by 
 rigidly scientific methods, errors must be eliminated, truths 
 must be set side by side and organized into a coherent system, 
 if we are to hear from Andover or Cambridge any thing more 
 than vague concessions. Our aim in this paper is to indicate 
 certain lines of investigation and certain methods of study. 
 
 First, The nature of force and the correlation of forces. 
 Science has been working on the intangibles. Heat, light, 
 electricity, magnetism, have taken her to the verge of the 
 spiritual. She has found many beautiful demonstrations 
 that no force is ever lost, and that one mode of force is con- 
 vertible into another. She has found that heat and light and 
 electricity are only modes of motion ; and she has said that all 
 phenomena can be interpreted in terms of matter and motion 
 and force. But matter can not be the cause of the forces 
 which emanate from it, such as attraction and repulsion. 
 Science looks upon matter, then, as only points of force. That 
 term she eliminates. Force and motion remain ; and these 
 must interpret all things, seen and unseen. What, then, is 
 the bearing of this new science on Spiritualism ? Hear the 
 conclusion of the whole matter as it shapes itself in the mind 
 of one of the profoundest thinkers of the age. I quote from 
 the closing paragraph of Herbert Spencer's " First Principles : " 
 " The materialist, seeing it to be a necessary deduction 
 from the law of correlation, that what exists in consciousness, 
 under the form of feeling, is transformable into an equivalent 
 of mechanical motion, and, by consequence, into equivalents 
 of all the other forces which matter exhibits, may consider it 
 therefore demonstrated, that the phenomena of consciousness 
 are material phenomena. But the Spiritualist, setting out 
 with the same data, may argue, that, if the forces displayed by 
 matter are cognizable only under the shape of those equiva- 
 
 3 
 
34 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 lent amounts of consciousness which they produce, it is to be 
 inferred that these forces, when existing out of consciousness, 
 are of the same intrinsic nature as when existing in conscious- 
 ness ; and that so is justified the spiritualistic conception of 
 the external world, as consisting of something essentially 
 identical with what we call mind." 
 
 If this is a fair statement, the philosophy of force throws 
 no light on the ultimate nature of things. And this is a fair 
 statement if science has demonstrated a correlation and equiv- 
 alence between the forces of the outer world and the forces 
 of the inner world ; if " that which is manifested beyond con- 
 sciousness, under the forms of matter and motion, is the same 
 as that which is manifested in consciousness, as feeling and 
 thought." If we can pass from thought to heat or light, 
 from will to gravitation, from the inner world to the outer, 
 and find the thoughts and emotions and aspirations of the 
 one equivalent to the heat, the light, the electricity, of the 
 ottier, we are traveling in a circle ; and we can never know 
 whether, beyond the veil of phenomena, there is spirit, or 
 whether spirit is not itself a mere phenomenon, — an affection 
 of matter coming out of the chemistries of protoplasm, abid- 
 ing for a season, and then flitting back into its equivalent of 
 gelatine. But does such correlation exist ? 
 
 If I weigh out a portion of powder, and find that its' expan- 
 sive force will send a bullet of a given weight a given dis- 
 tance ; and if I find, that, by impact against a hard surface, the 
 motion of the mass, being arrested, becomes motion of the 
 atoms, and that such motion appears under the form of heat, 
 — I will infer a correlation between heat and motion. I can 
 express one in terms of the other. I can say that heat is 
 merely molecular motion. And if I can formulate the force 
 in the portion of powder, and the heat in the arrested bullet, 
 I will find the first = the last + the heat imparted to the 
 gun-barrel -f- that imparted to the cleft air. Nothing is lost. 
 Nothing is gained. % 
 
 Get the weight of the locomotive, the cars, and the passen- 
 gers, get the force locked up in a ton of coal, and you can 
 easily estimate the amount of coal required to take the train 
 to the top of Mt. Washington. In these experiments, you 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 35 
 
 grapple with no unknown factor. So much force applied, so 
 much work done : whatever appears in the result is simply 
 a measure of the force expressed in the cause. Look, now, at 
 another class of experiments. 
 
 Two Swiss physicians have carefully weighed out so much 
 beef, so much bread, so much tea, and estimated the force 
 locked up in each. They fasted, then fed their bodies on the 
 weighed rations, and then climbed the Faulhorn. So much 
 force, in the form of coal, takes the train to the top of Mt. 
 Washington. Here you can form a veiy simple equation. 
 So much force, in the form of beef and bread and tea, takes 
 a man to the top of the Faulhorn ? The learned doctors 
 thought not. If Dr. Wislicenus ascended that Swiss moun- 
 tain one inch higher than the force held in the bread and beef 
 and tea, expressed in its equivalent of coal, would take an 
 engine of the doctor's weight, there was something in the 
 doctor which does not find its equivalent in what we call the 
 forces of Nature. Suppose that Science shall be so delicate in 
 her manipulations as to prove, one of these days, — she has not 
 proved it yet, — that the muscular energy put forth in ascend- 
 ing the Faulhorn was the exact equivalent of the forces 
 transferred, in the form of nutriment, from the material ele- 
 ments to the man, there is still a factor not known or tabulated 
 in physics. What force is that which commanded the forces 
 transferred from beef and bread and tea to the muscles? 
 The movement of the engine is automatic. Put it on the 
 track, set it in order, put in the coal, generate the steam ; and 
 up the mountain it goes. But man is not an automaton. 
 They did not take Dr. Wislicenus, turn his face toward the 
 Faulhorn, feed him with beef, and find, that, when assimila- 
 tion began, it sent him laboring up the mountain. The doc- 
 tor's ivill counted for something. Whence came that ? Out of 
 the beef, the tea, the bread? Then the question of will-power 
 would be reduced to a question of dietetics. Then, if Wel- 
 lington's army had the same rations as he, the Peninsular 
 campaign should have been born in the brain of every soldier. 
 Sherman's magnificent achievement should have been within 
 reach of his humblest " bummer ; " for his table was the same 
 as that of his chief. Larger brain, do you say ? This does 
 
36 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 not appear. The difference between the intellectual power 
 of a savage and that of a civilized man is immense ; and yet, as 
 Alfred Wallace has shown us,* there is no difference between 
 the savage and civilized brain at all commensurate with this. 
 The piano that stands in your parlor is nothing under the 
 touch of a boor ; under the touch, of a Topp or a Thalberg, 
 its harmony is almost divine. The brain of the savage is an 
 instrument too large and too fine for the powers of its owner. 
 The head of a Newton might contain a brain of no greater 
 bulk, of no more convolutions, and of no finer texture, than 
 the brain of Spotted-Tail. The calculus will come from the 
 one, a beaver-trap from the other. 
 
 It is not, then, altogether by the forces assimilated from the 
 food, or by the size or texture of the brain, that we can in- 
 terpret the powers that dwell in a man. You may find 
 an equation between his musoular force and the forces assimi- 
 lated from his beef, his bread, and his tea ; but you can not 
 find in Nature the equivalent of his will-fovce. In all the 
 viands on his table, you can not find an element which is trans- 
 formable into thought or will or consciousness. In the most 
 complicated tissues of his body, you can not find the source of 
 consciousness, or will-force. They do not come into him by 
 conversion of the primary forces of Nature without ; they 
 are not developed in him by molecular changes within. They 
 do not exist in the molecule : they can not exist, then, in 
 any number of molecules ; for nothing can appear in the 
 whole which does not exist, in degree, in the parts. Thought, 
 will consciousness, then, are not the result of organization in 
 tissue, nerve, or brain. They are things separate and distinct 
 from matter. If they exist in matter, that is incidental. As 
 they are separate and distinct from matter, they can exist out- 
 side of matter. We infer the existence of thinking, conscious 
 beings not clothed in material bodies. We accept the demon- 
 stration in its full sweep and significance. As consciousness 
 can not belong in any way to matter, every conscious being is a 
 spirit. The will put forth by a bird in constructing a nest is 
 the same, in kind, as that put forth by a man in building a 
 
 * Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection. A work of surpassing interest 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 37 
 
 house ; and the one has no more correlation with the primary 
 forces than the other. I can draw no line of distinction 
 between a bird's consciousness of pain or pleasure or being 
 and that of a man ; and the one was no more evolved out of 
 molecular chemistries than the other. We do not shrink 
 from the conclusion ; and we say, that as that power which 
 thinks and wills and feels is distinct from the material body, 
 and is only manifested through it, all beings who manifest 
 these spiritual powers can and do exist outside of material 
 organisms. And as the will is a force as real as heat or elec- 
 tricity or gravitation, although, as we have seen, having no 
 correlation with them, our second conclusion is, that beings 
 not manifest to our senses can affect material organisms. 
 
 Herbert Spencer told me once, that he rejected the 
 phenomena of Spiritualism on d-priori grounds. Coming to 
 the phenomena from the study of force, I would accept them 
 on d-priori grounds. 
 
 If Emerson, as a philosopher, will not stand by his words 
 as a poet, I would bring science to his help, and show him 
 that the poet in him is wiser than the philosopher. 
 
 Sometimes the airy synod bends, 
 And the mighty choir descends ; 
 And the brains of men henceforth 
 Teem with unaccustomed thoughts. 
 
 We have only outlined the argument. The science of 
 force is new, especially in its application to spiritual powers. 
 Very much remains to be done ; and if scientists will take up 
 this line of investigation, and tell us what they find, we shall 
 rejoice, not in our protoplasm, but in our spirits. 
 
 But it must be obvious to every observer, if beings who 
 exist outside of material bodies manifest themselves now and 
 then through such bodies, their utterances are often incoher- 
 ent, vague, and worthless. And this brings us to another 
 subject demanding investigation. The astronomers have 
 made us familiar with the phrase, "personal equation." I 
 shall borrow the phrase from them. 
 
 Second, The personal equation of the medium. 
 
 In one sense, the astronomer is a medium between the stel- 
 
38 YEAR-BOOK OP SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 lar worlds and ourselves. Suppose he is taking an observa- 
 tion on the transit of Venus. He stands oefore the telescope 
 (its field is carefully mapped out) ; and when he sees the 
 planet, moving athwart the disk of the sun, touch a given 
 point, he touches a spring, and the time is registered. An- 
 other observer, in another part of the world, does the same 
 thing. Each observer means to report the exact truth ; and, 
 if he does, we> shall know the exact distance of the sun : but, 
 if the observer is mistaken by the fraction of a second, we 
 shall not get the sun's distance by hundreds of thousands of 
 miles. In fact, astronomers have been mistaken by three mil- 
 lions of miles. Where would astronomy be, if every observ- 
 er's report were taken unquestioned ? if no pains were taken 
 to collate observations, balance one against another, eliminate 
 error, and reveal the exact truth ? What should we knoio 
 about the stellar worlds ? 
 
 Now, there is a class of men and women of some peculiarity 
 of "organization which allows them to be used by unseen in- 
 telligences. Such persons have been known among all peo- 
 ples and through all time. They have been called " seers," 
 " prophets," " prophets of the Lord," "sensitives," "medi- 
 ums." Among many peoples, they have been the recognized 
 channels of communication between the invisible world and 
 this. Read what Tylor tells us about tribes in the South-sea 
 Islands. When one tribe is about to make war on another, 
 they call their prophets together, have them fast for a time, 
 then exercise their seership, and report the will of the gods. 
 Turn now to Second Chronicles, eighteenth chapter, and read 
 what was taking place nearly two thousand eight hundred years 
 ago among tribes only a little higher in civilization than the 
 South-sea Islanders. Ahab and Jehoshaphat are contemplat- 
 ing a raid on Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat said to Ahab, " In- 
 quire, I pray thee, of the word of the Lord to-day. There- 
 fore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets foui 
 hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth- 
 Gilead to battle ? or shall I forbear ? And they said unto him, 
 Go up ; for God will deliver it into the king's hand." The 
 seer of a South-sea-Island tribe calls the spirit he sees, or 
 thinks he sees, a god : so did the seers of tribes in Palestine. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 30 
 
 Seers or clairvoyants are consulted to-day to recover lost prop- 
 erty. Turn to'First Samuel, ninth chapter, and you will read 
 that Samuel, a good seer, was consulted about asses which 
 had strayed away from one Kish. And you will read, that 
 " before time in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, 
 thus he spake : Come and let us go to the seer ; for he that 
 is now called a prophet was before time called a seer." You 
 will see that the same class of persons who were inquired 
 of for lost property were supposed to hold converse with the 
 Deity. The Bishop of Rhode Island kept a " medium " in 
 his house, through whom he could hold converse with his son. 
 David kept a "prophet" in his royal household, through 
 whom he could receive communications from Jehovah. Sci- 
 ence must interpret Gad and Hume by the same law. The 
 bishop did not always find the " communications " satisfac- 
 tory. At times, he was led to doubt their identity. I doubt 
 whether the Psalmist found his communications always satis- 
 factory : there are men who even doubt their identity. The 
 fact is, that by far the greater part of that which has come to 
 us through the entranced lips or pens of men and women 
 — ancient prophet or modern medium — is vague, equivocal, 
 worthless. Very much of it is dreary nonsense : very much 
 is utterly false. When the medium " Joseph " is entranced 
 by St. Paul, and made to discourse low doggerel to a circle 
 of Providence fanatics, the spirit — if spirit it be — is an im- 
 pudent liar. When Micaiah, one of the prophets called to- 
 gether by Ahab, declared that he saw God seated on a throne, 
 plotting with a lying spirit to deceive men to their destruc- 
 tion, he uttered that for which, if a modern clairvoyant were 
 to utter, we would have him indicted for blasphemy, or locked 
 up as a maniac. What, then, shall we do ? — dismiss the 
 whole thing as " without the pale of science," and unworthy 
 our attention ? 
 
 Shall we forswear astronomy because the Feejee-Islander 
 yells hideously to frighten of! a dragon which is swallowing 
 the sun, and thus causing an eclipse ? We will do no such 
 thing. We will bring to our aid the telescope and the spec- 
 troscope ; we will see that the observers we are to trust are 
 men of trained powers ; . and even then we will not trust them 
 
40 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 implicitly. We know that only in mathematics we have abso- 
 lute truth ; that something of error mingles with every truth 
 which " comes by observation : " and we apply every test 
 which science can furnish to eliminate the error. The man 
 who stands by the telescope to register the transit of Venus 
 is a medium between that world and us. We must study 
 him ; we must get his " personal equation ; " we must look 
 through his nerves, and see at what speed they will carry a 
 mandate of his will ; we must look through his brain, and 
 see how long it will take him to perceive, how long to think, 
 how lono: to will. Science has found such refinements of 
 method, that she is able almost to strike out the personality 
 of the observer which stands between the far-off world and 
 absolute truth. Let us see. 
 
 Helmholtz or Baxt or Donders will touch a man's forehead 
 with an electric wave, and cause the same wave to register 
 the exact time. When the man feels the shock, he will touch 
 a spring ; and the time of that touch is registered. The time 
 which passes between the two touches is found to be a very 
 appreciable fraction of a second. They will now touch the 
 man's foot. In all else, the experiment is the same as before. 
 The time between the electric touch, and the resjDonsive touch 
 of the subject, is longer now by about ^ of a second. As 
 the mental operations of the subject were the same in each 
 experiment, ^ of a second will represent the time required 
 for the impression to pass up along the nerves from the foot 
 to the head. If the subject is a man of average quickness, an 
 impression, or a motor-impulse, will travel along his nerves at 
 the speed of two hundred feet a second. We want now the 
 speed of his brain-work. We will give him over to Donders. 
 
 Donders will place two men side by side. Before them he 
 will place a phonautograph, — an instrument for registering 
 sound instantaneously. A certain sound is agreed upon. 
 When the first man utters this sound, the second man, the in- 
 stant he perceives it, is to respond by the same sound. The 
 two voices are registered by the phonautograph ; and the time 
 between them is, on an average, y§oo °^ a seconc ^ The 
 mental process of the second man, in this experiment, is sim- 
 ply recognition of the sound, and volition toward an answer. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 41 
 
 The first man will now utter any one of three or more sounds ; 
 and the second will respond by the same sound. In this ex- 
 periment, the mental process is more complicated. Analyze 
 it, and you will find, first, recognition of the sound ; second, 
 deciding which of three or more sounds was uttered ; third, 
 volition toward an answer. The second factor expresses a 
 simple act of thinking. The time, in this experiment, is yj^o 
 of a second. Out of these factors let us form two equations. 
 
 Recognition and volition = T $j^ 
 Recognition, thinking, and volition = toou 
 
 Subtract the first equation from the second, canceling like 
 factors, and we have, — 
 
 Recognition, volition = yf^ 
 
 Recognition, thinking, volition = toou 
 
 thinking, = T $fo — T Jf n = T §foy of a second. 
 
 That is, in rough language, it takes a man ^ of a second 
 to think. Again : by another experiment, we find that de- 
 ciding between two or more sounds, and volition toward an 
 answer, require j%$q of a second. Let us form other equa- 
 tions. 
 
 Thinking and volition = T ^^ 
 
 Thinking = T §f ^ 
 
 Subtract the second from the first, and we have, volition = 
 Y^q- of a second. To think it takes gV anc ^ to w ^ ^ takes 
 y 1 ^, of a second. 
 
 Once more : another class of experiments will show us 
 that it takes a little longer to perceive a sound than a touch, 
 and a little longer to perceive a light than a sound. For the 
 sensation of light we have ^, for that of sound ^, and for 
 that of touch y , of a second. 
 
 These results are general. There would be a slight varia- 
 tion for every man experimented upon. 
 
 Suppose the observer stationed now before the telescope, 
 waiting to record the transit of Venus. Science has gone 
 through and through this man as if he were only an intricate 
 machine. He reports the planet touching a given point at a 
 
42 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 given time, — say 10 o'clock, 5 minutes, 8 J seconds; for he 
 is very precise. In astronomy, much depends on perfect 
 accuracy. How much of error has his report ? It took -J- of 
 a second for the sensuous impression to reach his brain through 
 the optic nerve ; it took -j-q of a second for him to think the 
 simplest thought about it ; it took yL of a second for him to 
 frame a volition ; and for the mandate of his will to pass from 
 his brain to his hand, and touch a spring to register the time, 
 it took about g 1 ^ of a second. The result will stand thus : 
 6 + 2V ~WV ~f~ 5V — flit' — n °t quite half a second. This is the 
 equation of personal error. Correct the observer's report by 
 this fraction, and you will get very near to the truth. Such 
 delicate methods must we employ if we would get a truthful 
 revelation of the material worlds around us : surely not less 
 scrutinizing must be our search, not less delicate our manipu- 
 lations, if we would have any revelation, worthy of trust, 
 from the world of invisible beings about us. In spite of all 
 the* nonsense that floods the world in the name of inspiration, 
 we must accept the fact of mediumship. Now, the moment 
 we admit that there are persons of a peculiar organization, 
 who are open to . influx from the spirit-world, if we are to 
 give any heed to their revelations, we should see the neces- 
 sity for a careful study of their character, physical, men- 
 tal, moral, — every thing in them and about them. We must 
 get their equation of error. 
 
 Here is one of Reichenbach's sensitives. I would have 
 some Helmholtz or Baxt or Donders, of the new philosophy, 
 manipulate him. How does his own spirit fit his body ? How 
 pliant is the body to its uses ? Try him by your table of 
 forces. How much force, latent in beef and bread, enters his 
 organism from the sphere of Nature ? How much force is 
 manifested through his organism ? How much of this is mus- 
 cular? and in what relation does it stand to the forces assimi- 
 lated from Nature without ? How much will-force is in the 
 man ? Having no correlation with forces in the outer world, 
 it will give you a measure of his spirit. Try him by jout 
 utmost refinement of method. Find what is the speed of his 
 thought, what its power, and what its quality. Try him 
 when his brain is clearest, and when his spirit is stimulated 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 43 
 
 to its utmost effort. Try him, now, when in the trance. Test 
 the power of his thought then, and its quality. Does it 
 transcend the highest reach of his faculties in their normal 
 condition ? Does it differ in kind from his normal thought ? 
 Then, unless you can show that some physical stimulant has 
 acted on his brain, and unless you can show a correlation 
 between this force and the abnormal manifestations, you will 
 say that another intelligence is using his organs ; and, what- 
 ever quality of his own mind blends with the inspiration, you 
 will put that down for his " personal equation," and correct 
 the inspiration by it : so great a refraction, you will say, 
 does the revelation from the unseen intelligence suffer from 
 the straight line of truth. Let us be more explicit. 
 
 Every one who has studied drawings or paintings done 
 through an entranced medium has learned to distinguish 
 them at once from all other works of art. It would be im- 
 possible to deceive a man who has attended to this subject. 
 Whether the drawing be that of a flower, a landscape, or a 
 human face, it has in it that which stamps it as a work of 
 inspiration. There is a family-likeness in all such drawings ; 
 but there is, in a work done by any medium, a differentiation 
 from the family type. 
 
 Let Starr go into a dark room, and suspend the functions 
 of his will. Another will is soon dominant over his muscles, 
 and his hand is guided to paint a portrait. Let Anderson do 
 the same. The portraits they Avill give you will be very dif- 
 ferent from any drawn by an artist in his normal condition. 
 They will have a certain family -likeness : but that drawn by 
 Anderson will have something of Anderson's features ; it 
 may be a mere turn of the eye, a curl of the lip, or a pose of 
 the chin. That drawn by Starr will, in like manner, have 
 something of Starr in it. Will you trust them as faithful 
 portraits of anybody in either world ? 
 
 Those who have studied the raps (after all, the most inter- 
 esting of all the phenomena) have found in them a certain 
 family-likeness, and yet a certain individuality. These tele- 
 graphic clicks on a table or wall — we can not counterfeit 
 them. They do not sound at all like the snap of Dr. Dewey's 
 toes. And they, too, have their specialities. Those heard in 
 
44 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 the presence of Mrs. Fox Kane differ greatly from those 
 heard in the presence of Mrs. Currier or Knox or Foster ; 
 and the " communications " telegraphed through them, in 
 the presence of different mediums, differ from each other as 
 much as the personality of one medium differs from that 
 of another. Will you trust these communications as the un- 
 alloyed thoughts of spiritual beings ? 
 
 Clairvoyance, is a phase of mediumship more difficult to 
 study. I have talked with a great many clairvoyants, — some 
 who were very ignorant, and a few who were eminent in 
 science and literature. Those who were thoughtful enough 
 to have given any attention to their physiological states agree 
 substantially with the account given by Swedenborg. Notably, 
 this is the case with an eminent New-England doctor of 
 divinity, who speaks of the "tacit breathing" which accom- 
 panies his seeing of visions in language almost the same as 
 that of Swedenborg. I am to infer a family-likeness among 
 the Clairvoyants. But how different the reports they bring 
 from the world invisible to us ! I have talked with those who 
 tell me they see spirits as clearly as they can see me, — see 
 them from head to foot ; see them as such realities, they can 
 hardly persuade themselves they are not persons of flesh and 
 blood, till they look at their feet, and see them standing, not 
 on the earth, but the air. I have talked with others, who tell 
 me they see only a hand ; with others, who see only a bust ; 
 and with others, who see only a face. A lady, well known 
 for her philanthropic and literary labors, tells me that she 
 sees heads, — only heads, — heads little and big, — and talks 
 with them. Do you believe, that, in the spirit-world, men 
 and women live in fragments ? — that one person is a limb ; 
 another, a hand ; another, a head ? Will you take the revela- 
 tion of the clairvoyant unquestioned, uncorrected ? As well 
 might the astronomer try to build up his science on the astro- 
 nomical observation of Burns : — 
 
 " The rising moon began to glower 
 The distant Cumnock hills out-owre : 
 To count her horns wi' a' my power 
 
 I set mysel ; 
 But, whether she had three or four, 
 
 I could na tell." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 45 
 
 We know too well what clouded the vision of poor Burns ; 
 and we know, or should know, that the veil of sense must 
 cloud eveiv vision which mortals may have of the better 
 world. 
 
 We have seen, in the first part of our argument, that, as 
 consciousness and will-force have no equivalent among the 
 forces associated with matter, their connection with material 
 bodies is incidental, and, therefore, that they must exist in 
 forms independent of material organisms. 
 
 In the second part of our argument, we have seen, that, 
 when immaterial beings manifest themselves through organ- 
 isms not their own, their thoughts must be tinged and clouded 
 by the medium through which they pass. We have seen, 
 that however the manifestations may come, whether in vis- 
 ion, in telegraphic raps, or in works of art, they are blended 
 with the personnel of the medium. The truth we have evolved 
 must be obvious. To give these revelations from the unseen 
 world any scientific value, we must, as in the revelations from 
 material ivorlds through the astronomer, get the personal equa- 
 tion of the medium, and correct the manifestation by it. 
 
 In the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible to 
 get the exact value of this equation. It is impossible to get 
 all the factors, and, consequently, impossible to eliminate from 
 any communication, with perfect accuracy, the forms of 
 thought or expression which come of the medium. Some 
 of the factors can be determined approximately. As the fac- 
 tors in the personal equation of the astronomer involve the 
 element of time, so the chief factors in the equation of the 
 medium involve the quality of purity. 
 
 So long as we live in these bodies of flesh, so long shall we 
 remain, more or less, under the domain of passions and appe- 
 tites born of the flesh. " I see another law in my members, 
 warring against the law of my mind." No man is always and 
 wholly victorious. Something of the animal lurks even in 
 the saint. His highest and purest thought is not immaculate ; 
 and if even he, the saint, were open to influx from the realm 
 of spirits, his inspirations would have some stain of sensuous- 
 ness ; I would not trust them implicitly. I would eliminate 
 from them every thing sensuous, carnal, material: for spirit 
 
46 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 is that which thinks, loves, aspires ; and its joys are not sensu- 
 ous, not carnal, not material. This equation of error will 
 vary with the personnel of every prophet, sensitive, seer, or 
 medium. Go to a pure, delicate entranced woman. The 
 inspirations which come through her may need but little cor- 
 rection. Go to a man who is coarse and gross. The " raps " 
 you hear in his presence attest his mediumship. If you have 
 attended much to this subject, you would know him at once 
 to be a medium by a peculiar expression of the eye. But he 
 is gross. He will not talk five minutes without dropping a 
 word of profanity or obscenity. The pipe is his companion. 
 He sits enveloped in pipe-breath. His cheeks and limbs 
 stand out with fatness ; and his fatness is all saturated with 
 strong drink, and fumes of tobacco. A beautiful conduit is 
 he between the unseen world and this ! What a great pity 
 the spirits who obsessed the swine didn't speak ! What high 
 and noble inspirations we have lost ! The spirit who obsesses 
 this 4nan-animal does speak. Hear him. " Hello, old fellow ! 
 How are you ? Tom Ploxley Jam. Was banged out of my 
 body at Bull Run. Give us your hand, old fellow, and a 
 cigar ! " I protest : this is an offense. I would correct it 
 thus: All this from the animalism of the medium. There 
 remains " Ploxley ; " and I am not quite sure of that. I be- 
 believe that a spirit was there ; but I am not sure of his iden- 
 tity. " Who are you ? " said a policeman to Sheridan when 
 he pulled him drunk out of a gutter. " Wilberforce," said 
 Sheridan. The controlling spirit may give the name of Wil- 
 berforce or Webster, or any other ; and, unless you have all 
 the factors in the intricate problem of mediumship, you can 
 not find him out.* 
 
 * The charge is often made, that Spiritualism re-affirms the sensuous Mohammedan 
 heaven under the name of " Summer-Land." The revelations from mediums in general 
 are unquestionably too materialistic and sensuous. Our Christian conceptions are no 
 better. In our hymns and sermons, we image forth the better world under symbols 
 which suggest even Wall Street. What has gold to do with heaven? And yet we have 
 " golden crowns " and " golden harps," and we are to dwell in a city whose streets are 
 paved with gold. The imagery of our most popular sabbath-school hymns is materialis- 
 tic. Here is one, the most popular of all. What does it mean V 
 
 " Shall we gather at the river 
 
 Where bright angel-feet have trod, 
 With its crystal tide for ever 
 
 Flowing by the throne of God ? 
 Yes, we'll gather at the river, — 
 The beautiful, the beautiful river." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 47 
 
 Prof. Phelps complains that Spiritualism is not science. 
 No, not yet. But when a coming Tyndall or Grove shall 
 explore the realm of spiritual forces as laboriously as the 
 Tyndalls and Groves have explored the realm of mechanical 
 forces ; and when a coming Helmboltz or Donders or Baxt 
 shall manipulate the spirit-medium, go through him and 
 through him, — brain and nerve, thought and passion, — weigh 
 him, measure him, time him, and, by their refinements of 
 method, deduce the law of mediumship, and formulate his 
 "personal equation," — Spiritualism will be a science of 
 transcendent value to the race. 
 
 THE GREAT BATTLE. 
 
 BY I. STAHL PATTERSON.* 
 
 It began with the history of the earth, even before there 
 was a sentient form to witness the war of forces ; it continued 
 through the development of the entire scale of life, from the 
 nomad up to man. The newer and more fitting forms invaded 
 the domain of the older and less fitting forms ; tha weaker 
 perished, the stronger survived. Universal war is a condition 
 of the principle of natural selection. There could have been 
 no progress without war ; nor was peace declared with the 
 advent of man. Only greater complication was given to the 
 strategy of the contending forces. 
 
 As in the organic world there is conflict of the new forms 
 with the old, so in history. As in mechanics there are forces 
 used to overcome resistance, so in history. 
 
 The great struggle in Europe, these hundreds of years, for 
 the larger enjoyment of rights, is the effort of liberty to over- 
 come the resistance of tyranny ; is the struggle of more fitting 
 forms to take the place of those which are losing their fitness 
 through the increasing intelligence of the people. The war 
 
 * The author does not claim to believe in Spiritualism, but sympathizes with its 
 liberalizing tendencies. 
 
48 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 of Luther with Leo was a part of this movement. In our 
 own day, a central point of interest is the conflict between 
 the animus of science and the animus of dogma. In Ger- 
 many, the Avar between the scientists and the evangelists is 
 waged openly ; and nowhere else is the cultivation of science, 
 in its higher departments, advancing with such rapidity. In 
 the English-speaking coud tries, dogmatists pat scientists on 
 the back, and scientists reciprocate the admiration of the dog- 
 matists ; in consequence of all which, science does not move 
 forward with such bold and conquering pace as in Germany. 
 There are good indications, however, in England. Huxley, 
 Tyndall, and their co-laborers, give unmistakable signs of a 
 manly effort to shake off the incubus. Science can not ad- 
 vance with freedom into its higher departments until the 
 theological clog is thrown off ; and we bid God speed to the 
 brave men who are openl} r at work for " a consummation " so 
 " devoutly to be wished." 
 
 Tlje systematic resistance to change is no trivial or epheme- 
 ral thing : it is inherent in the relation of forces ; and it only 
 leaves one form to assume another. Prejudice does not lie on 
 the surface merely: it strikes its roots down, and fixes them 
 in some of the best elements of the human character. It is 
 not merely the result of an individual's education : it may 
 have been bred in the very bone for generations, and born 
 with the individual as inevitably as the plainest feature of his 
 face. Prejudice may be organic. 
 
 A striking fact of hereditary descent is, that a physical fea- 
 ture may lie dormant for a generation or more, and then crop 
 out unexpectedly. It is just so with a peculiar bent of mind. 
 This may be called moral atavism, as the other is physiologi- 
 cal. Evangelism may be born in a family where it has been 
 apparently dead for a generation. Hence one cause of the 
 tenacity of prejudice, and of religious re-actions which coun- 
 tries like France and Germany have experienced. Hence, 
 too, a cause of that singular contradiction of mind, so often 
 observed, — of thorough scientific discipline in every thing that 
 relates to physical inquiry in juxtaposition with the blindest 
 prejudice in whatever relates to dogma. It is common for 
 the old inherited notion or feeling to subsist in the same mind 
 
YEATl-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 49 
 
 along with the newly-acquired idea, though the two may be 
 utterly incompatible. There is a sort of double mentality, 
 the distinct parts acting as if they never came together to 
 compare notes. 
 
 What should we learn from all this ? 1. To be very pa- 
 tient with what appears to be logical inconsistency : it is not 
 voluntary ; it is not merely superficial ; it may be constitu- 
 tional. He is not wholly a philosopher who suffers himself 
 to become impatient with people for not falling into his way 
 of thinking, however plain it may seem to him. 2. The impor- 
 tance of strengthening the work of scientific instruction. The 
 old theological method of thinking, having become inwrought 
 into the very texture of the mental constitution from imme- 
 morial habit, can only be eliminated by steady and persistent 
 discipline in the methods of science from generation to gener- 
 ation. It is an immense work, requiring every possible re- 
 source for its consummation. 3. The urgent need of begin- 
 ning with the young. The Catholics understand this ; the 
 Protestants understand it : hence the zeal with which they 
 support their sectarian and sabbath schools. What is being 
 done, on the other hand, to counteract this baleful influence ? 
 The more liberal Unitarians, Universalists, and Spiritualists 
 have their Sunday schools and lyceums, in which good work 
 is being done ; but this is only a drop in the bucket. The 
 sectarian institutions absorb the children even of the liberal. 
 In almost every intelligent neighborhood, there are many who 
 support no organization, or system of faith, and whose sym- 
 pathies are with liberal thought, but who lift not a hand, 
 and spend not a penny, to promote rational Sunday education 
 for the young. Organization, a little capital, and earnest 
 labor, are the urgent requirements of this work. The cry 
 comes up from the young generation for help, for the culture 
 which the ever-renewing conditions of life demand ; and only 
 too little help comes. 
 
 An old issue of the great battle was between uniform law 
 and special providence. Spiritualists may have to guard 
 against infusing the old spirit into the new education. If the 
 spirits may play on the keys of causation, and, by some super- 
 nal power, make the laws of Nature subserve the whims, de- 
 
50 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 sires, invocations, or faiths of those on whose side the spirits 
 are, we have special providence still, though the manner of it 
 may be changed. Belief in spirit-intercourse does not neces- 
 sarily lead to this ; but there is liability with many to fall 
 into the delusion, that spirits are next to omnipotent, simply 
 because they are beings of mystery. Only the very small child 
 cries to play with the moon, thinking its wonderful elders 
 capable of complying with its wishes ; and, if we get a notion 
 that spirits may control the natural laws in some superhuman 
 manner for our especial benefit, we are remanded back to 
 primitive babyhood. This is a habit of mind which it is the 
 business of a better education to eradicate. 
 
 The forces pitted against each other in the great battle are 
 as unlike as possible. On the one side are hereditary preju- 
 dice, combined capital, positions of honor, good pay, organized 
 and interested resistance ; on the other side, evolving truth and 
 progress in the conditions of life, poor pay and posthumous 
 honors, little organization, and little concert of action. Yet 
 the battle-forces on this side are gaining ground little by lit- 
 tle ; that is inevitable : but with more zeal, and concert of ac- 
 tion, with better discipline in our army, we should achieve 
 greater results for liberalism. 
 
 SPIRIT-ART. 
 
 BY EMMA HARDINGE. 
 
 One of the most remarkable phases of spiritual influence 
 upon mortals is exhibited in the strange, and often incompre- 
 hensible, drawings which are produced through media, with- 
 out (as they allege) any design or volition of their own. 
 When the influence to draw takes the form of floral groups, 
 landscapes, figures, or the still more significant shape of spirit- 
 portraits, it is not difficult to appreciate the work that is ac- 
 complished. Geological charts of rare exactitude have thus 
 been produced through unlearned media, proving the amount 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 51 
 
 of invisible intelligence that was directing the performance. 
 The likenesses of deceased persons sketched through the 
 hands of total strangers are amongst the most conclusive 
 evidences that the controlling intelligence must have found 
 the originals in the spheres of immortality. The flowers and 
 landscapes executed in this way, although, as it is affirmed 
 by the sneering critic, often deficient in the conventionalities 
 of ordinary routine art, are nevertheless, in most instances, 
 interwrought with a delicacy, precision, and correctness of 
 outline, which prove their supramundane origin. Circles 
 have been drawn, and exquisite lines and figures dashed 
 off, with a single stroke of the pencil, which would have 
 required the most careful adjustment of measuring-instru- 
 ments to perform by an uninspired artist. It is not uncom- 
 mon for some of those artistic media to execute their work 
 with eyes so closely bandaged as to render the hypothesis of 
 the medium-agency in the production of the drawing wholly 
 untenable. In the cases of Messrs. George Wolcutt of 
 Columbus, O., and the late Mr. Rogers of the same city, — 
 both spirit-artists, — the experiment was frequently tried 
 of cutting a hole through a screen or partition, putting the 
 arm of the medium through the aperture in such a position 
 as to come in contact with a prepared canvas, palette, 
 brushes, and paints, &c. ; when portraits of exquisite finish, 
 and correct semblance to some deceased person, would be 
 produced. Setting aside any especially abnormal methods 
 for the production of spirit-pictures, as works of art they are 
 so essentially different from every other description of draw- 
 ing or painting, that they at once disclose the supramundane 
 idea that is incarnated in their design. No spirit-pictures 
 seem to bear a more remarkable stamp of this supramundane 
 origin than the drawings of Mr. Cranstoun Laurie of 
 Washington. The whole of Mr. Laurie'^ highly-gifted 
 family display medium is tic powers in the direction of spirit- 
 art ; and the immense maps or charts, so to speak, of floral 
 luxuriance, executed under control by Mrs. Laurie, have, for 
 years, excited the admiration and astonishment of all behold- 
 ers. Still they represent flowers, fruits, and other objects, 
 which, despite their singular groupings, and the wonderfully- 
 
52 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 abnormal character of their execution, might be the work of 
 some highly-gifted artist endowed with an erratic and exuber- 
 ant fancy. But the drawings of Mr. Laurie can not possibly 
 be the suggestion of any merely human ideality. They consist 
 of groups of figures, large, small, perfect, and broken, made 
 up from the vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms, frag- 
 ments or entire forms of which are massed together in the 
 most singular .and heterogeneous variety and abundance. 
 
 There are now before the writer two groups of these mar- 
 velous "vestiges," — the one in the shape of a drinking-cup ; 
 the other, of a huge formless mass, whose irregular outline 
 and indefinite proportion seem to belong to no known element 
 or object, and yet might represent a fantastic picture daguerre- 
 otyped upon the atmosphere. The surface of these drawings 
 consists of groups, in which there is the figure of a lady 
 unveiling a demi-human statue ; a pig playing on a musi- 
 cal instrument ; a small man scooping out the flesh from the 
 arm of a half-defined huge figure, of which the little being 
 seems to be an atom. Heads of children and grown people 
 appear in all varieties of position, — some imperfect ; others 
 finely outwrought, and very beautiful. Heads, horns, hoofs 
 (large and small) of different animals are interspersed with 
 musical instruments, plants, trees, broken furniture, pieces of 
 machinery, ships, barrels, fishes, birds, and beasts. 
 
 In these two drawing salone are hundreds of figures, and 
 scores of various objects. Although they are all massed 
 together most inartificially, there are, occasionally, evidences of 
 design such as would suggest that the picture is a consecutive 
 whole, and intended to represent some particular scene or 
 history. Generally speaking, however, Mr. Laurie's pictures 
 are a marvelous, incongruous, and incomprehensible mass of 
 objects, the proximity or relation of which with each other 
 would tax the ideality of the most fertile brain to discover. 
 Mr. Laurie has, for nearly forty years, been an honored vete- 
 ran employee in the postal department at Washington ; hence 
 he is often called upon to inscribe names, titles, and dates in 
 the books which are essential to his calling. 
 
 It is a noticeable fact, that, whilst the beautifully-imagina- 
 tive way in which he designs letters and figures for this 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 53 
 
 purpose present only the appearance of highly-elaborate 
 penmanship, a close scrutiny Avill reveal the fact, that every 
 curve and line is full of the same marvelous and often 
 grotesque little images as the drawings described above. A 
 visiting-card, a direction, whatever is inscribed by the hand 
 of this ever-fertile medium, contains the same evidences of 
 unceasing control of a similar character. For many years past, 
 Mr. Laurie has almost involuntarily jdelded his hand to this 
 perpetual tide of influence, without the satisfaction of learn- 
 ing what occult meaning, if any, was hidden away under these . 
 strange hieroglyphics. 
 
 A promise has frequently been made, that, in due time, a 
 medium should visit Washington, through whom a complete 
 explanation should be afforded. How far this promise has 
 been redeemed the reader may judge in the communication 
 which follows. Suffice it to say, on the recent visit of the 
 writer to Washington in her capacity of spiritual lecturer, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Laurie generously presented her with several 
 interesting specimens of their mediumistic work ; shortly 
 after which the writer was controlled by an irresistible in- 
 fluence to pen the subjoined communication, and present it 
 to Mr. Laurie, who at once indorsed it as a complete and 
 satisfactory explanation, to his mind, of the mysterious dia- 
 grams that he had for years been the medium of automati- 
 cally executing. 
 
 COMMUNICATION 
 
 Given through Mrs. Emma Hardinge, at Washington, D.C., February, 1870. 
 THE SPIRIT-DRAWINGS OF MR. C. LAURIE. 
 
 / 
 
 " 
 
 There are four distinct kingdoms in creation; namely, mineral, v 
 vegetable, animal, and human. Each of these includes two states ; 
 namely, the inorganic and the organic. Every atom of matter is per- 
 meated by the restless principle of life, which exhibits itself in the 
 force of motion. By the unceasing action of life, inorganic matter 
 struggles forward into organized forms ; and these, through the prin- 
 ciple of growth, decay, and death, liberate the life-essences which 
 have been shaped into forms by the mold of matter. The atoms 
 disintegrate, and are taken up again in other organisms. The liv- 
 ing, essential forms remain imperishable, entities in the spirit-world ; 
 
54 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 but the aura which they give off enters into the composition of high- 
 er material, impressing them with the image of its previous exist- 
 ence. 
 
 Thus, though the gems, crystals, &c, of the mineral world, as ma- 
 terial forms, perish, their life-essences remain entities of the spirit- 
 world ; and their images are impressed in the next highest stage of 
 being, — namely, the vegetable world. The seeds, stems, blossoms, and 
 fruitage of the vegetable world, shed their atoms ; their life-essences 
 remaining for ever in the invisible realm of spiritual forms, whilst 
 their images and aura enter into the composition of the animal 
 kingdom : this again impresses its aura into the human family, and 
 its image upon the human forms. Every grade of human life re- 
 flects an image which- impresses every other grade above itself; and 
 thus upon the highest forms of humanity, both in spiritual and ma- 
 terial life, the images or types of all that ever has been in the lower 
 kingdoms may be found. 
 
 One phase of spirit-art is to draw representations of forms, together 
 with all the images which have been impressed upon their atoms 
 during the various ascending grades of progression through which 
 they have passed. Every object and every element teems with these 
 images, — some in full organic development, some in their rudimental 
 or embryotic state only. The atmospheres, both of the spiritual and 
 natural worlds, abound with clusters of images grouped together in 
 heterogeneous masses, just as their impress was given off. Some- 
 times fragments of the four various kingdoms are fused together, 
 broken and rent in the process of transition through which life is 
 passing. Cups, vases, domestic implements and instruments, plants, 
 animals, and organic remains, — all teem with the images which the 
 atoms that compose them have received and stereotyped ; and, to the 
 eye of certain spirits, these multitudinous images become plainly 
 visible, forming a vast hieroglyph ical record, of which spirit-artists 
 make diagrams and pictures for the instruction of other spirits. 
 
 Sometimes they represent the teeming imagery of earthly things 
 and scenes, and sometimes the more mystic, inner, elemental nature 
 of spiritual existences. The phase of art which is engaged in the 
 draughting of these diagrams is but one out of the many tens of thou- 
 sands that employ the artistic mind of the spheres. 
 
 Sometimes artists of this character find kindred spirits amongst 
 earth's inhabitants ; and, when the mortal subject combines with his 
 task mediumistic endowments, the spirit-artist delights to employ 
 his pencil for the elaboration of his own peculiar ideas. Such a 
 medium is Mr. Cranstoun Laurie ; such a controlling mind is " AU- 
 ston," an artist of the spheres, who dictates their writing, and hereby 
 desires to express his gratitude to his willing earth-friend for the 
 many opportunities he has afforded him of representing these spirit- 
 ual diagrams. 
 
 The brief and most imperfect explanation tendered above applies 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 55 
 
 even to the formation of letters, lines, circles, &c. The pencil and 
 its woody fiber, the metal of the pen, the fluid of the ink, — all are 
 reservoirs of life-images which have been impressed on the atoms 
 that compose them, and, under the afflatus of Spiritual influence, are 
 represented by the medium as they are perceived by the spirit. 
 
 As the advanced minds of the spheres understand and can appre- 
 ciate these eternal hieroglyphics of the past, so, in future generations, 
 will earth's people become familiar with them ; and then all that re- 
 mains of Cranstoun Laurie's works will be reverently gathered up, 
 preserved as the prophetic foregleams of the coming day of Spiritual 
 unfoldment, and become to future ages the testamentary evidence 
 that nothing in art or nature is lost, or performed in vain. 
 
 Allston. 
 
 A SONG AND A TRUTH. 
 
 BY AUGUSTA COOPER BRISTOL. 
 
 A song grew out of my unfolding soul, — 
 
 A miracle of sweetness and of strength. 
 
 It held the rhythm of the universe ! 
 
 I sang it to the never-failing stars ; 
 
 I murmured it in leafy solitudes ; 
 
 I woke the thunders of the caverned hills 
 
 With its completeness. All elate with joy, 
 
 And glad to generosity, I placed 
 
 My perfect song into the lips of men ; 
 
 And lo ! instead of harmony, I heard 
 
 The wild notes of confusion, the harsh tones 
 
 Of discord and disorder, the fierce swell 
 
 And dissonance of Passion's hateful voice. 
 
 A sacred truth was born within my soul : 
 
 Divinely fed, it was the life of life, 
 
 And made my earthly state a paradise. 
 
 Out of my heaven into the worldly hell 
 
 I dropped that pure white truth ; and it became 
 
 The father of all license, — the foul sire 
 
 Of lust, with all its heritage of lies ! 
 
 And was my perfect song for ever lost ? 
 Can death or change annihilate a truth ? 
 
 I can not grieve or doubt ; for I have seen 
 By spirit-vision waiting angels bend 
 Above the seeming ruin I have wrought, 
 Their faces glorious with the smile of faith. 
 
56 
 
 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 PARALLELISM OF CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRIT- 
 UALISM, SHOWN IN CONTEMPORARY 
 ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 BY WILLIAM HOWITT. 
 
 " Spiritualism," say the soi- 
 disant wise of to-day, " is a delu- 
 sion, an hallucination, a humbug." 
 
 " Spiritualism," say they,, " is a 
 trivial, low, and contemptible ab- 
 surdity ; tli at it is not likely that 
 spirits will leave their heaven to 
 rap on tables, or lift them into the 
 air.' f 
 
 " Spiritualism," say the Rev. 
 Naugle and a host of the old re- 
 ligious stereotypes, " is of the 
 Devil." 
 
 " Spiritualism," say to-day's 
 preachers and teachers, "is wholly 
 unnecessary. Christianity was 
 attested by miracles; and they 
 suffice for all time." 
 
 " Spiritualism," say those of 
 our contemporaries who think it 
 no blasphemy to charge God with 
 roasting countless millions of his 
 children in unextinguishable fire 
 and brimstone for innumerable 
 age, "is blasphemous. It aban- 
 dons God," they say, " to worship 
 angels, to hold communion with 
 
 " Christianity," said the 
 equally wise people of its time, 
 " is a delusion." They denounced 
 its founder as a deceiver. ",We 
 remember that deceiver" (Matt, 
 xxvii. 63). 
 
 Christianity had the same ver- 
 dict from the Jews. It was "to 
 the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 to the Greeks foolishness." 
 
 Christianity was declared, by 
 the Naugles of the time of its 
 advent, also of the Devil. They 
 said to Christ, " Thou hast a 
 devil." " Thou dost thy mira- 
 cles by the power of Beelzebub, 
 the prince of the devils " (Matt, 
 xii. 24). 
 
 " Christianity," said the Jews, 
 " is totally unnecessary. We 
 have Moses and the prophets." 
 
 Christianity was by the Jews 
 declared blasphemous. Its found- 
 er was charged with blasphemy 
 by the highest clerical authority 
 of Judaea, — the high priest : " He 
 hath spoken blasphemy : ye have 
 heard his blasphemy" (Matt. 
 xxvi. 65). On various occasions, 
 the Jews took up stones to stone 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 57 
 
 lower spirits than himself : " which 
 latter thing, we say, they must 
 do, if there be " 
 spirits " and 
 saints." 
 
 ministering 
 
 " communion of 
 
 Spiritualism divides families, 
 creating conflicts of opinions, and 
 setting, in many cases, the father, 
 mother, sons, daughters, hus- 
 bands, wives, against each other; 
 therefore, according to the reason- 
 ing of opponents, showing that 
 it is evil. 
 
 Christ, because, they said, he 
 spoke blasphemy (John viii. 59). 
 " Christianity," said the pagans, 
 " was blasphemy against the gods. 
 It abandoned the worship of the 
 Divinity to worship a man." 
 
 "Think not I come," said 
 Christ, "to send peace on the earth. 
 From henceforth there shall be 
 five in one house divided, — three 
 
 against 
 
 two, and two 
 
 against 
 
 three, — the father against the 
 son, the son against the father ; 
 the mother against the daughter, 
 the daughter against the mother," 
 &c. Is the religion of Christ 
 therefore evil ? 
 
 " If Spiritualism were true and 
 divine," say our contemporaries, 
 "it would not come to us in so mis- 
 erable a shape as table-rappings, 
 showing of hands and faces, &c. 
 Therefore," say our learned men, 
 " Spiritualism is a base and grovel- 
 ing superstition." 
 
 Spiritualism is caricatured by 
 the English press as "a belief en- 
 tertainable only by fools." 
 
 " Spiritualists," say our contem- 
 poraries, " are mad, and fill the 
 mad - houses with patients ; " 
 though this assertion has been 
 refuted on statistical evidence, 
 over and over. 
 
 " If God," said the Roman phi- 
 losophers, "intended to reveal him- 
 self to man, he would not come as 
 a baby in a cow-shed, or as a car- 
 penter's boy ; but he would come 
 in his own divine majesty, and 
 convince everybody. Would the in- 
 finite God," they ask, "allow him- 
 self to be insulted and killed by the 
 creations of his own hands ?" The 
 great historian, Tacitus, said that 
 Christianity was a vile and per- 
 nicious superstition. Is Christi- 
 anity therefore, we ask, contemp- 
 tible or untrue ? Is it a base and 
 groveling superstition ? 
 
 Christ was caricatured in an- 
 cient Rome as a man with an ass's 
 head crucified. 
 
 The kinsmen of Christ came 
 to take him away ; for they said, 
 " He is beside himself, or mad " 
 (Mark iii. 21). " Paul, thou art 
 beside thyself," said Festus : 
 " much learning doth make thee 
 mad." 
 
58 
 
 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 " Spiritualists," according to 
 many, "set forth strange spirits, 
 and babble much nonsense about 
 them." 
 
 " Spiritualism teaches nothing 
 new," we are told, as a very fine 
 argument against it. Spiritualism 
 is the Nazareth of our modern 
 scribes and Pharisees. 
 
 " Spiritualists," say our worn- 
 out theologians, " are attempting 
 to overturn all the established 
 doctrines, beliefs, and institutions 
 of the churches ; amongst others, 
 the blessed doctrine of eternal 
 damnation." 
 
 Spiritualism comes with signs 
 and wonders, after a protestant 
 period of repudiation of such 
 things of upwards of two hun- 
 dred years. 
 
 " What will this babbler say ? " 
 asked the learned Epicureans in 
 Athens on the arrival of St. 
 Paul ; and added to him, " Thou 
 seemest a setter-forth of strange 
 gods." 
 
 " What good can come out of 
 Nazareth?" asked the Jews when 
 Christianity first astonished their 
 ears. It taught them nothing 
 new, they said: "We have Moses 
 and the prophets." 
 
 "They who have turned the 
 world upside down," said the 
 Jews of Thessalonica, " are come 
 hither also " (Acts xvii. 6). 
 
 Christianity came with signs 
 and wonders after they had ceased 
 two hundred years amongst the 
 Jews. 
 
 Spiritualism, in spite of the Christianity was persecuted on 
 boasted civilization of the nine- all sides. Its leaders and teach- 
 teenth century, has been perse- ers were imprisoned, stoned, and 
 cuted on all sides ; has been de- put to death, 
 nounced as blasphemous and 
 damnable as Christianity by the 
 Jews. It is true, none of its ad- 
 vocates have been put to death ; 
 but their murder has been repeat- 
 edly attempted. The Fox sisters 
 in America were menaced with 
 assassination ; and a band of men, 
 chiefly Irish, took an oath to kill 
 them, as the Jews did in the case 
 of St. Paul. The livelihood of 
 Mrs. Fish, one of the Foxes, by 
 teaching, was quite destroyed. 
 
 In this country, the professors 
 of no - miracle Christianity not 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 69 
 
 only destroyed the cabinet, and 
 stole the property, of the Daven- 
 ports twice, but, in Liverpool, pur- 
 sued them through the streets 
 with yells and stones ; flung one 
 of them down on the steps of the 
 inn, and would have killed him 
 but for a timely rescue. 
 
 Short of killing, every kind of 
 persecution has been practiced 
 against Spiritualists, — killing of 
 their characters, belying, ma- 
 ligning, and insulting them by 
 every species of opprobrious epi- 
 thets. Justice has been denied 
 them by the whole press, which 
 in England will retail any foolish 
 or lying story against them, but 
 will not allow a word in defense. 
 
 Nicodemus still, for fear of the 
 same sort of people, comes to 
 Spiritualism by night. Tens of 
 thousands at this time conceal 
 their sentiments for fear of the 
 consequences of their avowal in 
 one shape or another. Either Mrs. 
 Grundy or some pious bigot holds 
 them in terrorem ; their liveli- 
 hood, if not their lives, their 
 standing in society, being at their 
 mercy, if the truth were known. 
 And this in a country where pro- 
 fessed religion says, "Judge not, 
 lest ye be judged." 
 
 Notwithstanding ail this, Spir- Christianity flourished in its 
 itualism flourishes ; as day. 
 
 Nicodemus, for fear of the 
 Jews, came to Christ by night. 
 
 Having drawn this parallel, we may safely draw the con- 
 clusion, that as the fortunes of Spiritualism and Christianity 
 have been so remarkably similar, so their natures must have 
 alike the principle of perpetuity in them ; that the friends 
 of Spiritualism may dismiss all fears of its growth, and its 
 enemies all hopes of its destruction. This will save every 
 
60 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 trouble to both parties. Where opposition is evidently use- 
 less, it is wisdom to abandon it. No one likes to be too con- 
 spicuous on the losing side. Spiritualism, now having reached 
 its millions of adherents, is beyond the influence of opponents ; 
 and they had better turn their attacks on something more 
 within the reach of their power. 
 
 REVIEW OF RECENT PROGRESS. 
 
 Progress is an accelerating force. The savage, from gene- 
 ration to generation, reinains without perceptible change. 
 With few ideas, there is torpidity of mind; and these few 
 gather but slowly others around them. As the horizon en- 
 larges, the power accumulates. In the hour of dawn, the light 
 grows imperceptibly ; but, when the sun nears the horizon, it 
 rapidly increases, and bursts on the wondering world in a 
 flood of brilliancy. Philosophers have plodded from one thou- 
 sand years to another by slow and painful steps. The achieve- 
 ments of all have been garnered ; and each succeeding thinker 
 has taken up the subject where his predecessor left off, — as 
 though one man had lived through all past ages, and came up 
 to the present time with their complete wisdom, but retaining 
 youthful vigor, and elasticity of thought. 
 
 We are led to these reflections by a review of what has been 
 accomplished in the last six years ; we may say, in the last 
 three ; for nearly all the great conquests of which we shall 
 speak have been made in that period. It would not be diffi- 
 cult to point out an interval of five hundred years in the past, 
 during which less has been accomplished than in these last two. 
 This may appear a vain boast ; but a cursory view of the facts 
 proves it, not a boast, but an impartial statement of the truth. 
 So vast is the present field of labor, so diversified mechanical 
 pursuits, and ramified the branches of science, in all of which 
 ardent students are pressing forward, that it is difficult to 
 give in a brief article a view of the field, or even to catalogue 
 their inventions and discoveries. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 61 
 
 The vaunted Pyramids and every other herculean effort of 
 the ancients have been eclipsed by the unequaled engineering of 
 to-day. The passage of the Alps by Hannibal was one of the 
 wonders of classical times : the tunnel through them is almost 
 completed. No labor seems impossible. Even with Ameri- 
 cans, who usually look to the easiest method of meeting their 
 ends, boring mountains has become almost a mania. The 
 Housatonic rivals the Alpine excavation. 
 
 One unbroken railway spans the continent, from the Atlan- 
 tic to the Pacific ; and another is projected, and will soon be 
 completed. Like iron shuttles, locomotives ply between New 
 York and the Golden Gate ; coursing over the interminable 
 prairies, and scaling the rugged hights of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains and the sunny Sierras. There they are met by ocean- 
 steamers, connecting direct for China and the island-world of 
 the Pacific. Tickets are sold for pleasure-trips around the 
 world. 
 
 The past year has witnessed the completion of that gigantic 
 effort of engineering, the Suez Canal, to which the works of 
 ancient days become the play of children. The necessities of 
 commerce will compel the opening of a similar work across 
 the Isthmus of Panama, of greater magnitude, but of vital im- 
 portance in preserving the solidarity of the American Repub- 
 lic and the friendly relations of the world. 
 
 The Victoria Bridge and the Niagara Suspension belong to 
 the last few years. That across the Mississippi, and the mag- 
 nificent Chicago Tunnel, belong to the last three. 
 
 The proposed tunnel under the English Channel, connecting 
 England and France, will probably not be undertaken, simply 
 because the cost is too great to make the enterprise pay. It is 
 not doubted that engineering talent is fully equal to the her- 
 culean labor ; and that the project is seriously proposed, and 
 not executed for the reason of its unprofitableness, rather 
 than impossibility, is a characteristic of the times. 
 
 Cables stretch under the ocean, connecting the great cen- 
 ters of intelligence. We have witnessed the greatest triumph 
 in this direction, — the spanning of the Atlantic ; and to such 
 perfection has telegraphing been brought, that with a battery 
 formed from a lady's thimble, or even a gun-cap, signals can 
 
02 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 be sent across the Atlantic, and returned. The heart swelled 
 with a' conscious pride in the power of human intellect when 
 it learned that the cable, like a great thought-nerve, bound the 
 Old World to the New. Uncoiled from the great ship into the 
 sea, it gave no response, except as the electric currents of 
 the earth acted on it ; and the operator at the shore-end, watch- 
 ing anxiously the delicate needle, read only the incoherent, 
 the wild, insane mutterings of the storm-lashed deep. Sudden- 
 ly mind flashed, through the uncoiled wire. The watcher read 
 from the now inspired needle, " Canning to Glass." The 
 cable had found a" safe home on the floor of the ocean ; and the 
 two worlds were talking together. 
 
 In the arts, steel made by the Bessemer process is fast tak- 
 ing the place of iron. Stronger and more reliable in every 
 way, it is destined to be employed in all machinery, and in 
 almost every place where iron is now used. A steel rail will 
 wear out thirty iron ones. In ship -building, in plating their 
 hulks and internal parts, steel is supplanting iron, adding to 
 the strength and safety of the vessels. In iron-clad war-ves- 
 sels, structures originated and perfected during our late war, 
 steel is the only material which renders them invulnerable. If 
 the art of defense has made good advance, that of destruction 
 has kept pace ; and it would seem that the perfection of can- 
 non and of small-arms has been reached, at least until a new 
 system has been adopted. The case-hardened cast and steel 
 bolts, the shells, and ingeniously-constructed balls, are very 
 near perfection in their direction. 
 
 Nitro-glycerine has been introduced as the most economical 
 blasting-material. From its intense explosive power, and the 
 ease with which it is evoked, accidents have not been rare ; 
 but, now that it is better understood, it has become of inval- 
 uable service. 
 
 The refinement of petroleum, and the employment of its 
 waste products in the arts, especially as coloring-material, has 
 been greatly perfected. The true nature of oxygen, on which 
 life itself depends, has been revealed; and its active form as 
 ozone has become a disinfectant, and, in skillful hands, is almost 
 a perfect safety against contagious diseases. 
 
 The vast generalization of Darwin, on the origin of species, 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. G3 
 
 lias gathered a host of facts around it, and, notwithstanding 
 the childish attacks of Agassiz and others, has become the 
 received doctrine of all the great thinkers of the day. Living 
 beings are reduced to first elements, — the cell, which in the 
 blade of grass, the lion, or man, is alike. All living structures 
 are built out of cells. The idea that species, genera, and 
 families have limits, has become obsolete. The practical idea 
 of a chain of beings, from the sponge to man, is the cardi- 
 nal doctrine of natural history. Physiology has made won- 
 derful progress by means of the microscope and chemistry. 
 
 The doctrine of the conservation and correlation of force 
 is unhesitatingly received. Matter is eternal ; force is eternal. 
 
 Light, heat, magnetism, electricity, are varying forms of 
 motion, mutually convertible into each other and into motion. 
 Heat, by means of the engine, is converted into mechanical 
 power. By using the power so obtained, in a proper manner, 
 we can reproduce the expended heat. The light of the sun is 
 converted into mechanical power. Such is the beautiful theory. 
 In France, the problem of converting motion into light has 
 been solved ; and, by means of revolving magnets, a light five 
 times brighter than the noonday sun has been obtained. 
 Photographers are now using this light as more manageable 
 than sunlight. In ten years' time, the perpetual electric light- 
 machine will be in every house ; and all the attention it will 
 require will be the winding it up like a clock, to yield the light 
 of noonday. It will take the place of all other artificial light, 
 .and modify that of all other heating apparatus. 
 
 Wonderful results have flowed from the researches of 
 KirchhofT, Bnnsen, and Draper, into the physical constitution 
 of light, whereby the elemental composition of the stars and 
 worlds of space has been determined. 
 
 The great obstacle to aerial navigation is the want of a 
 strong propelling power without the immense weight of the 
 steam-engine. As now constituted, even in its most perfect 
 form, it does not save one-half the heat employed : it has 
 been estimated that it wastes all but five per cent. What 
 would be its capacity if it saved all ? If this result can be 
 secured, or an electro-motor invented condensing great power 
 into small space and weight, aerial navigation becomes at 
 
64 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 once possible ; and voyages can be made in time proportional 
 to the less resistance offered by the air than water. 
 
 In every department of the arts there is perfection of pro- 
 cess, and a steady movement to substitute machinery for 
 human labor ; thereby allowing more and more time for mental 
 improvement by obviating the necessity for physical toil. 
 
 Socially and politically, the years betoken great events. 
 America has witnessed the final extinction of slavery, and the 
 recognition of the rights of man as superior to color, caste, 
 or condition. For the first time, she is free. The question 
 that now darkens her political horizon is the exact status the 
 negro is to take in the future ; for he is still a child, and must 
 be guarded by the government wisely and well. A still 
 greater question is the Chinese position as an alien or citizen, 
 which must soon be met. Another is, Shall the negro and 
 the foreigner vote, and our wives, mothers, and daughters be 
 denied? The feudal notion, born of brute-force, that the hus- 
 band, is the ruler of the wife, is fast disappearing; and the 
 next decade is to witness the entire people, regardless of color, 
 sex, or condition, at the polls, basing their vote simply on their 
 rights as human beings. 
 
 In Europe, the Czar has broken the chains of serfdom ; 
 Italy has become free ; and Turkish barbarism is about to be 
 rolled back on Asia. The opening of the great Pacific trade 
 will powerfully affect the dormant peoples of that dreaming 
 continent, and may yield unlooked-for results. 
 
 Italy is free in having a tyrant of her own ; and Spain has, 
 lost the opportunity forced on her of establishing a republican 
 government. A king, undoubtedly, is better for Spain. 
 There are a few who would know how to use freedom ; but the 
 masses are so wedded to the old, — to the divinity of kings, 
 and superstition of the priests, — that republicanism would 
 doubtless prove an experiment terminating in ruin, on which 
 kingly rule would become more firmly seated. 
 
 The liberal spirit manifested in England is worthy of com- 
 mendation ; and it is to be hoped liberalism will extend to the 
 abolishment of all church laws whereby men are compelled 
 to support a church teaching doctrines they consider false, and 
 allow every one freedom to maintain his own. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. C5 
 
 We should be assured, after taking this review, that the 
 " world moves," and be satisfied with our progress. If we 
 are to go on at the same speed for the next thirty-two years, 
 none but a visionary would dare dream the realities of the 
 year 1900. 
 
 The broader and deeper views we now entertain of human 
 demands and human destiny, the grand breaking-up of the 
 old by the wide dissemination of the new spiritual philosophy, 
 are hopeful signs of the coming day. 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S PROGRESSIVE LYCEUM. 
 
 BY J. O. BARRETT. 
 
 The spiritual movement, inaugurating a new religion, that 
 gathers its good from all sources of revelation, like other re- 
 formatory revolutions, involves an educative work, that wins 
 the heart by the sweet persuasion of the beautiful, the musical, 
 the artistic. Children are our social poetry ; they make the 
 heaven we are aspiring for. They are the soul of the body 
 politic, the descent of " the new Jerusalem from God." 
 
 When Spiritualists, awakened to a moral sense of their 
 perils, seriously comprehended the ecclesiastic slaveries in 
 which they had been schooled, dashing from them the riven 
 chains of church-dogmas, a deep sympathy, rising as true 
 prayer to heaven, moved their hearts toward the imperiled 
 children, pleading that they might escape those slaveries. 
 Then was evoked a stern and positive demand for a new sys- 
 tem of education. America, where Spiritualism first assumed 
 practical form, was then under the cloud of war. Liberty 
 was grappling at the throat of slavery. As oppression grew 
 weaker, and the shout of victory in the right rose up to 
 heaven just as it expired, the angels pressed nearer, and pic- 
 tured on the brain of A. J. Davis the long-wished-for system, 
 designed to build from the ruins a more fraternal and spiritu- 
 al government. Calm amid the political storm, he ascended 
 
66 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 elairvoyantly into the angel-spheres, and, under the leadership 
 'of his faithful guides, visited the different associations and 
 brotherhoods of that " Summer-Land." He found that these, 
 in name and use, correspond with affections ; and that educa- 
 tion there is natural and progressive, consisting of exercises 
 of the most inspirational order. 
 
 On the 25th of January, 1863, in Dodsworth Hall, New 
 York, Mr. Davis addressed a body of thoughtful, construc- 
 tive Spiritualists, delineating the system of education in 
 the spirit-world, its magnificent extension, its adaptation to 
 the needs of emancipated pilgrims from different planetary 
 worlds, and his copy of the same. His plan was heartily in- 
 dorsed ; and then and there a Children's Progressive Lyceum 
 was organized for the first time in the history of our world. 
 A brief extract from Mr. Davis's lecture will give the reader 
 a better idea of this system : — 
 
 "The plan is not original with me. It is an attempt to unfold 
 and actualize on earth, partially at least, a progressive juvenile assem- 
 blage like those in the Summer-Land, whither children are con- 
 stantly going from earth, and where they are received into groups 
 for improvement, growth, and graduation. In those heavenly socie- 
 ties and spheres, the young grow and bloom in love as well as in 
 wisdom, in affection as well as in true knowledge. 
 
 "This Sunday meeting of the young may, .therefore, be appropri- 
 ately styled ' The Children's Progressive Lyceum.' It is something 
 truer and higher than what is ordinarily called a ( Sunday school.' 
 It embraces within its plan the healthful development of the bodily 
 functions, the conscientious exercise of the reasoning faculties, and 
 the progressive unfolding of the social and divine affections, by har- 
 monious and happy methods. 
 
 "Here let me mention, that, in the Summer-Land, these ( groups ' 
 are arranged, classified, and designated in accordance with the immor- 
 tal laws of music. A group, at first, simply represents a note ; after- 
 wards, when the members are more advanced, it represents an oc- 
 tave ; and ultimately, when harmony is established, the whole assem- 
 blage constitutes, so to say, a musical instrument of twelve octaves, 
 instead of six and a half or seven, as we have here in the popular 
 piano or church-organ. It is beyond the power of earthly language 
 to describe the celestial melody, 'the fairy-like music,' of this hu- 
 man musical instrument. Truly, by such a combination of angel- 
 voices, the 'morning stars' may be taught to sing their part in the 
 anthem of the spheres. 
 
 " In these assemblages the children are always enthusiastic, niutu- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 67 
 
 ally affectionate, and full of beautiful happiness. Those who never 
 truly sung a note on earth soon learn to sing harmoniously, as well 
 as to think intuitively and accurately. The little ones sing and 
 think with as much spontaneous melody and healthful happiness as 
 do birds in the forest-trees, or children in the glee and enjoyment of 
 their common sports. 
 
 u Music, therefore, is to be an invariable and prominent element of 
 our terrestrial Progressive Lyceums. The plan is to unfold the groups 
 into an 'harmonial choir' of the first magnitude and importance. 
 
 "These groups of young people are representative of family cir- 
 cles and progressive communities. They are planets and satellites ; 
 and they also signify other bodies, and higher degrees of nature. 
 For example: The first group is called ' Fountain Group;' next 
 a 'Stream,' flowing from the fountain; then a ' River,' into 
 which the stream widens; next a 'Lake;' then, from the lake, 
 a 'Sea;' then onward into the 'Ocean;' now we safely gain 
 the 'Shore;' next we joyously behold a 'Beacon' on the shore; 
 then a 'Banner' of progress is waving in the free air. At this 
 point we look above, and discover a new ' Star ' in the heavens ; 
 then an aspiring 'Excelsior' spirit enters the heart; and lastly, 
 having passed upward from the fountain, we begin to realize 
 internally something of the ' Liberty' of the sons of wisdom, truth, 
 and righteousness." 
 
 These groups, also arranged for a second Lyceum, with 
 equally significant names, have their representative colors, 
 and other emblems, graduated according to age and qualifica- 
 tion, presenting a most beautiful scene when in order. The 
 exercises consist of marches with banners, lessons, questions 
 and answers, invocations, silver-chain recitations, hymns, and 
 songs. A systematic and well-conducted Lyceum is the most 
 attractive thing in the world, always commanding the rapt 
 attention of visitors, and exerting a most salutary influence 
 upon all concerned. 
 
 Within a year after this Lyceum was organized in New 
 York, — though, at first, meeting a bitter opposition from the 
 iconoclastic ranks, — others were established in different parts 
 of the country, swelling in importance and popularity, until 
 its claims were agitated in our conventions, which gave the 
 movement a new impetus. Agreeably to the general demand, 
 Mr. Davis issued a Manual for the guidance of the Lyceums, 
 which has served a noble purpose in instituting order and sys- 
 
68 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 tern. Under the auspices of the Religio-Philosophical Pub- 
 lishing Association, a Lyceum Monthly was published, 
 entitled u The Little Bouquet," devoted to the interests of 
 the Lyceums ; afterwards changed to " The Lyceum Banner," 
 a beautiful semi-monthly, published by Lou H. Kimball, 
 Chicago, 111., and edited by Mrs. H. F. M. Brown. Having 
 also the fostering care of Spiritualist societies, the Lyceums, 
 as might be anticipated under such assistance, increased to 
 hundreds East and West ; popular in every liberal commu- 
 nity ; holding, in fact, the prerogative of influence in the 
 Spiritual philosophy ; evincing a wonderful tenacity of life, 
 even where the societies wilted ; and often assuming the re- 
 sponsibility of supporting lectures. Thus the beautiful child 
 has become the foster-parent of Spiritualism. 
 
 The moral efficacy of a well-conducted Lyceum is immeas- 
 urable. What the children here learn they do not have to 
 unlearn afterwards ; for their lessons are naturally suggested, 
 and appertain to the real welfare of humanity in its most sa- 
 cred relations of life. Theology discarded, reason is the guid- 
 ing light ; and love, the summer of unfoldment. The Lyceum 
 is designed to cultivate the whole being, to lay the basis of 
 character in the spiritual nature, rounded out in the physical 
 and practical for the ends of a perfect harmony. The chil- 
 dren are taught, not only in the laws of life, but in the appli- 
 cation of these laws in usefulness, that they may be fit 
 companions of angels, who guide them safely through earth's 
 conflicts up to celestial victory. It is not too much to say of 
 the Children's Progressive Lyceum, that under the tender 
 care of heaven, whence it came, it is the heart's nursery of 
 a world religion. 
 
 All machinery, all methods of labor and culture, all govern- 
 ments and institutions, are susceptible of improvement. In 
 accordance with the laws of progress, supplying a general 
 demand, a new manual, entitled " The Lyceum Guide," has 
 just been published, fresh and vigorous in spirit, calculated 
 not only to perpetuate this natural system of education, but 
 to simplify it more and more as an agency of reform, as an 
 inspiring incentive to continual progress, " after the patterns 
 shown us in the mount." 
 
 Glen Beulah, Wis., May, 1870. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 69 
 
 THE LAW OF RE-INCARNATION.* 
 
 BY ANNA BLACKWELL. 
 
 Re -incarnation is a necessary consequence of the law of 
 progress ; for, unless the spirits who have already lived upon 
 the earth come back again, how can we explain the difference 
 which exists between our present social state and that of the 
 ao-es of barbarism ? If souls are created at the same time as 
 the bodies they animate, those of the children born to-day 
 must be just as new, just as primitive, as those of the people 
 who lived thousands of years ago ; and moreover, as, in that 
 case, they would be completely independent of each other, 
 there can be no necessary connection or relation between 
 them. Why, then, should the souls of those who are born 
 to-day be more richly endowed by God than those of their 
 predecessors ? How is it that they learn more easily ? that 
 they have more refined instincts and gentler tendencies ? 
 that they possess the intuition of certain things without hav- 
 ing learned them ? We defy our opponents to escape from 
 this dilemma, unless they assume that God creates souls of 
 different qualities, according to the times and places in which 
 they are born, — an assumption which is totally irreconcilable 
 with the idea of the Sovereign Justice. If, on the contrary, 
 we admit that the souls of the men and women of to-day 
 have already lived in past ages ; that they were formerly bar- 
 barous, like the periods in which they formerly lived ; that 
 they bring back into each new earthly life the sum of the 
 faculties they have acquired in those former lives ; that, con- 
 sequently, the souls born into a state of civilization are not 
 souls that have been created more perfect than those who 
 were born into a state of barbarism, but are those same souls 
 improved, through their own efforts, during the lapse of ages, 
 — then we have the only acceptable explanation of the fact of 
 human progress. ... If there be no re-incarnation, we can 
 
 * The quotations are from Allan Kardec. 
 
70 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 have but one corporeal existence ; and, if our present corpo- 
 real life be our only one, the soul of each individual must 
 have been created at the same time with his body ; unless, 
 indeed, we assume the anteriority of the soul ; in which case 
 we should have to inquire what was the state of the soul 
 before its union with the body, and whether that state did 
 not constitute an existence. There is no middle ground. 
 Either the soul existed before its union with the body, or it 
 did not exist. If it existed, what was its situation ? Was 
 it possessed of self-consciousness ? If not, its state must have 
 been nearly equivalent to non-existence. If possessed of 
 individuality, it must have been either progressive or station- 
 ary : in either case, what was its degree of advancement on 
 uniting itself to its body ? Jf it be assumed, according to the 
 general belief, that the soul is born into existence at the same 
 time as its body, or that, previous to the birth of its body, 
 it possesses only negative faculties, we have to propose the 
 following questions : — 
 
 1. Why do souls manifest so great a diversity of attributes 
 independently of the ideas acquired by education ? 
 
 2. Whence comes the extra-normal aptitude displayed by 
 many children, while still very young, for certain arts and 
 sciences, while others remain in a state of inferiority or medi- 
 ocrity all their life ? 
 
 3. Whence do certain individuals derive the innate or 
 intuitive ideas that are lacking in others ? 
 
 4. Whence do certain children derive the precocious in- 
 stincts of vice or of virtue, the innate sentiments of dignity 
 or of baseness, which often contrast so strikingly with the 
 circumstances into which they are born ? 
 
 5. How is it that some persons, independently of education, 
 are more developed than others ? 
 
 6. How is it, that, among the races that people the globe, 
 some are savage, and others civilized ? If you took a Hot- 
 tentot baby from its mother's breast, and brought it up in 
 our most renowned schools, could you ever succeed in making 
 it a Laplace or a Newton ? 
 
 What is the philosophy or the theosophy that can solve these 
 problems ? Either the souls of men are equal at their birth, 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 71 
 
 or they are unequal. If they are equal, why these diversities 
 of aptitude ? Will it be said that these diversities depend on 
 the corporeal organization of each child ? But such a doc- 
 trine would be the most monstrous and the most immoral 
 of hypotheses : for, in that case, man would be only a machine, 
 the sport of matter ; he would not be responsible for his ac- 
 tions, but would have the right to throw all the blame of his 
 wrong-doing on the imperfections of his physical frame. If, 
 on the other hand, souls are created unequal, God must have 
 created them so ; but, in that case, why is it that this innate 
 superiority is accorded to some, and denied to others ? And 
 would such partiality be conformable with the justice of God, 
 and the equal love he bears to all his creatures ? Admit, on 
 the contrary, a succession of anterior existences, and every 
 thing is explained. Men bring with them, at their birth in 
 flesh, the amount of intuition they have previously acquired ; 
 they are more or less advanced according to the number of 
 existences they have already accomplished, according as they 
 are nearer to or farther from the common starting-point ; 
 exactly as, in a company made up of individuals of every age, 
 each will have a degree of development in proportion with 
 the number of years he has already lived, the succession of 
 years being to the life of the body what the succession of 
 existences is to the life of the soul. Bring together in the 
 same place, at the same time, a thousand individuals of all 
 ages, from the new-born babe to the patriarch of eighty. 
 Suppose that a veil is thrown over the past, and that you, in 
 your ignorance of that past, imagine them all to have been 
 born on the same day. You would naturally wonder how it 
 could be that some should be big, and others little ; that some 
 should be withered, and others fresh ; that some should be 
 learned, and others ignorant: but if the cloud which hid their 
 past were dissipated, and you discovered that some had lived 
 longer than others, all these differences* would be explained. 
 God, in his justice, could not create souls more or less per- 
 fect. But, granting the plurality of our corporeal existences, 
 there is nothing, in the differences of quality which *we see 
 around us, in any way inconsistent with the most rigorous 
 equity ; for what we see around us is then perceived to have 
 
72 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 its roots, not in the present, but in the past. Is this 
 argument based on any preconceived system or gratuitous 
 supposition ? No. We start from a fact that is patent and 
 incontestable, — viz., the inequality of aptitudes, and of intel- 
 lectual and moral development, — and we find this fact to be 
 inexplicable by any of the theories in vogue ; while the expla- 
 nation of this fact afforded by another theory is at once simple, 
 natural, and logical. Is it reasonable to prefer a theory which 
 does not explain this fact to one that does ? 
 
 In regard to the sixth question, it will doubtless be re- 
 plied, that the Hottentot is of an inferior race : in which case, 
 we beg to inquire whether a Hottentot is, or is not, a man ? 
 If he be not a man, why try to make him a Christian ? If he 
 be a man, why has God deprived him and his race of the 
 privileges accorded to the Caucasian race? The Spiritist 
 philosophy is too broad to admit of there being several species 
 of men : it recognizes only men whose spiritual portion is 
 more or less backward, but who are all susceptible of the 
 same'progress. Is not this view of humanity more conform- 
 able with the justice of God? 
 
 We have been considering the soul in its past and in its 
 present : if we consider it in regard to the future, we find the 
 same difficulties. 
 
 1. If our future destiny is to be decided solely by our pres- 
 ent existence, what will be, in the future, the respective 
 positions of savage and of civilized men ? Will they be on 
 the same level ? or will there be a difference in the sum of 
 their eternal felicity ? 
 
 2. Will the man who has diligently labored all his life to 
 improve himself find himself in the same category with the 
 man, who, not through his own fault, but because he has had 
 neither the time nor the opportunity of improving himself, 
 has remained at a lower point ? 
 
 3. Can the man who has done wrong because the means 
 of enlightenment have been denied him be justly punished 
 for wrong-doing which has not been the result of his own 
 will? 
 
 4. We endeavor to enlighten, moralize, and civilize man- 
 kind ; but, for one whom we are able to enlighten, there are 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 73 
 
 millions who die every year without the light having reached 
 them. What is to be the fate of these ? Are they to be 
 treated as reprobates ? and, if not, what have they done to 
 deserve to be placed in the same category with those who 
 have become enlightened and moralized? 
 
 5. What is to be the fate of children who die before they 
 have been able to do either good or evil ? If they are to be 
 received among the elect, why should this favor be granted 
 them without their having done any thing to deserve it ? 
 and in virtue of what privilege are they exempted from un- 
 dergoing the tribulations of the earthly life ? 
 
 Which of the doctrines hitherto propounded can solve 
 these problems ? But, if we admit the fact of our consecu- 
 tive existences, all these problems are solved in conformity 
 with the divine justice. What we are not able to do in one 
 existence, we do in another. None are exempted from the 
 action of the law of progress ; each is rewarded progressively, 
 according to his deserts ; and no one is excluded from the 
 eventual attainment of the highest felicity, no matter what 
 may be the obstacles he has to encounter on the road. 
 
 Many persons admit the plurality of our existences, but 
 suppose that these existences are accomplished in different 
 globes or spheres, in each of which the spirit lives only once. 
 This doctrine would be admissible if all the inhabitants of the 
 earth were exactly at the same intellectual and moral level ; 
 for in that case, as they could only progress by going into 
 another world, their re-incarnation upon our globe would be 
 without utility ; and God does nothing uselessly. But, since 
 we find upon our earth every degree of intelligence and of 
 morality, — from the savagery akin to animality up to the 
 highest degree of civilization, — it may well be asked why 
 the savage should be compelled to seek in another sphere the 
 degree of progress next above his own, when the conditions 
 necessary to the attainment of that degree, and of all the 
 successive degrees above him, exist here, ready to his hand ; 
 and why the most advanced member of the humanity of 
 this globe may not have accomplished the earlier degrees of 
 his education here, since the analogues of those degrees are 
 found here at the present day, and since examples of all the 
 
74 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 various degrees of development are furnished, not only by 
 the different races of the humanity of our globe, but by 
 different individuals of the same race, the same nation, and 
 the same family. The various conditions of life in our 
 planet offering a vast field for progress, there would be no 
 more advantage in a spirit's changing its planetary abode at 
 each stage of its education than there would be in a school- 
 boy's changing his school each time he has to go up into a 
 higher class : and, so far from such changes of residence 
 being beneficial to the spirit, they would be a hinderance to 
 its advancement ; for it would thus be deprived of the bene- 
 fit of the example offered to it by the presence of those who 
 are superior to itself, and of the possibility of making the 
 reparation for its former wrong-doing in the scene of that 
 wrong-doing, and to those whom it has Wronged ; which is 
 one of the most effectual means of progress. Moreover, if 
 the spirits inhabiting the planet at any given time were 
 thus, after living together only for the brief space of a single 
 lifetime, to be dispersed among different worlds, and thus to 
 lose sight of one another, the ties of family and of friendship, 
 not having the time to become consolidated, would have no 
 duration, and the globe would always be peopled by 
 strangers. That, on the one hand, spirits who obstinately 
 refuse to avail themselves of the possibilities of progress 
 afforded by the planet in which they find themselves should 
 at length be compelled to incarnate themselves in a lower 
 one ; and, on the other hand, that spirits whose diligent 
 efforts have exhausted the possibilities of a planet should 
 quit, for a higher one, the globe in which there no longer re- 
 mains for them any knowledge to acquire, — is both natural and 
 logical : and such is, in principle, the law which decides the 
 scene of our successive incarnations. But, for those who are 
 steadily pursuing the career of progress, there is an . evident 
 advantage in repeated returns to the same earth, as they are 
 thus enabled to carry on the undertakings they had left un- 
 finished in previous incarnations, often in the same family, 
 and in contact with the same persons ; for they are thus en- 
 abled to labor more efficiently for the amelioration and ad- 
 vancement of the planet with which they are connected, to 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 75 
 
 expiate and atone for their previous wrong-doing, to obtain 
 the forgiveness of those they may have injured, to convert 
 foes into friends, and to aid those with whom they have 
 already been united by the ties of affection. If certain spir- 
 its quit the earth before they have exhausted the possibilities 
 of progress which it offers, such departures are doubtless 
 the result of special circumstances, in .regard to which the 
 overruling Wisdom will have decided for the best. 
 
 Each spirit, on quitting its fleshly envelope, enters the 
 rluidic region corresponding to its real advancement in sci- 
 ence and purity. In this state, designated by the Spiritist 
 school as that of " errabicity" or wandering, it develops the 
 knowledge acquired in its previous lives ; recovering the 
 consciousness of such of its faculties and scientific acquire- 
 ments as may have been purposely placed in a state of cata- 
 lepsy during its last incarnation, in order to concentrate its 
 tendencies and action on the special lesson which that incar- 
 nation was intended to teach it. But it can only acquire 
 new ideas through a new contact with matter in a new in- 
 carnation, and, if interrogated as to its opinions and experi- 
 ences b} r friends on the earth, will necessarily reply accord- 
 ing to the state of its own ideas and perceptions : so that, if, 
 at the time of quitting its last earthly body, it were still 
 ignorant of the law of re-incarnation (which, it is stated, is 
 only now, in the order of providential development, begin- 
 ning to be made known in the fluidic sphere of our planet, 
 through the return thither of those who have learned the 
 existence of that law during their recent incarnations), it 
 will naturally deny the fact of our successive returns into 
 the flesh, and will shape its anticipations of future develop- 
 ment according to whatever theory it may have arrived at as 
 the result of its previous experience, — a law of spirit-life 
 which accounts for the otherwise inexplicable discrepancies 
 and contradictions of spirits and of media, and shows the 
 absolute necessity of submitting all the theories put forth 
 by spirits, as by ourselves, to the test of general principles 
 of science and of reason. 
 
 The duration of the state of erraticity between our successive 
 incarnations may vary from a few hours to many thousands 
 
76 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 of centuries ; but its usual length appears to be from two to 
 three hundred years, coinciding with the period of the ap- 
 pearance of "the thirdand fourth generation," upon whom, 
 according to the Mosaic declaration, " the sins of the fathers " 
 are " visited on the children," who, as re-incarnations of the 
 spirits of those "fathers," are justly compelled to expiate 
 and to repair their former wrong-doing. But however per- 
 sistently the state of erraticity may be prolonged in certain 
 cases, and from various motives, it is always brought to an 
 end, sooner or later, either by the quickening of the spirit's 
 desire for progress, or by the compulsory action of its guides. 
 
 The soul is composed of a spiritual substance, whose origi- 
 nal mode of existence is that of an undefined essence, inca- 
 pable of exercising any direct influence upon matter, which 
 it can only act upon through an intermediary. This inter- 
 mediary is supplied b} r the fluidic envelope, which, from the 
 time of its formation, becomes an integral part of the being 
 we«call a " spirit," — an envelope of a semi-material nature, 
 partaking of the nature of matter through its origin, and of 
 that of spirit through its state of ethereality. Like all other 
 natural substances, it is derived from the universal cosmic fluid, 
 which, for its production, undergoes a special modification. 
 This envelope, designated by the Spiritist school as the per- 
 esprit, constitutes the personality of the spirit ; and (through 
 its fluidic nature, which participates in the qualities which 
 render the imponderable fluids the most powerful of motors) 
 enables it to act upon tangible matter. 
 
 The perespritic fluid is, therefore, the link between the 
 spirit's soul and its material body, and, through this body, 
 with the material world. During the spirit's union with its 
 body, that fluid is the vehicle by which its thought transmits 
 movement to those parts of its material organism that act 
 under the impulse of its will, and by which the sensations 
 produced by external agents are transmitted to the perception 
 of the spirit. It has for its conductors the nervous system ; 
 as, in the case of the telegraph, the electric fluid has for con- 
 ductors the metallic wires. When a spirit in erraticity is 
 about to incarnate itself into human body, a fluidic cord, 
 which is nothing else than an expansion of the molecules of 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. U 
 
 its perespritic, connects it with the germ of that future body, 
 towards which it is drawn by an irresistible effect of mag- 
 netic attraction from the first instant of conception. In 
 proportion as the fleshly germ is developed, the fluidic union 
 between it and the spirit which is to animate it becomes 
 closer and closer ; and, under the influence of the vito- 
 material principle of the germ, each molecule of the peres- 
 prit (which possesses certain properties of matter) unites 
 itself with a molecule of the fleshly body which is in process 
 of formation : so that the spirit may be said, through the 
 intermediary of its peresprit, to take root in the new body as 
 a plant takes root in the earth. When the germ is fully 
 developed, the union between the spirit and its fleshly en- 
 velope is complete ; and it wakens from the lethargy in which 
 it has been plunged during gestation to the consciousness of 
 life in the material world. Contrariwise, this union of the 
 spirit with carnal matter, which has been accomplished 
 through the action of the vital principle of the germ, ceases 
 when, through the disorganization of the body, the union 
 between the two is no longer maintained. The vitality of 
 the body ceasing to act upon the peresprit, the latter disen- 
 gages itself, molecule by molecule, from the grasp of the 
 flesh; and the spirit is thus restored to the freedom of the 
 fluidic life. Thus it is not the departure of the spirit that 
 causes the death of the body, but the death of the body that 
 causes the departure of the spirit. The observation of the 
 phenomena that accompany this separation shows us that it 
 is sometimes rapid, easy, gentle, insensible, and at others 
 very slow, laborious, and horribly painful, according to the 
 moral state of the spirit ; and that it may last for months, 
 and even for years, after the apparent death of the body. 
 Observation also shows us, that, as soon as the fluidic link is 
 established between a spirit and 'the germ of the human body 
 it is to animate, a sort of cloud comes over its consciousness ; 
 that this state of confusion becomes denser with the progressive 
 contraction of the fluidic link ; and that, during the latter 
 portion of the gestatory period, the spirit's self-consciousness 
 is entirely in abeyance, so that it is never aware of the cir- 
 cumstances of its birth. From the first breath of the new- 
 
78 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 born infant, the spirit which animates it begins to make use 
 of the instruments of thought and volition afforded by the ma- 
 terial organization to which its activities are now restricted, 
 and through which alone it can now manifest itself. And 
 herein we have a striking manifestation of the wisdom that 
 presides over every department of the work of creation. A 
 too great activity of the faculties inherent in the spirit would 
 wear out or break down the delicate organs, which as yet 
 may be said to exist only in outline ; and the energy of their 
 action is therefore proportioned to the force of resistance of 
 the incipient organization. 
 
 But, while the spirit is slowly acquiring the consciousness 
 of itself in connection with the powers and limitations of the 
 organs with which it is now conjoined, it loses, for the time 
 being, the remembrance of its past, but without losing the 
 faculties, qualities, and aptitudes it has previously acquired, 
 and which, after remaining latent during the formation of 
 its new envelope of flesh, will now afford it the means of doing 
 more and better than it has hitherto done. The man is thus 
 reborn into his new earth-life such as he has made himself 
 by his action in his previous existences, and sets out from 
 this new starting-point to win for himself a yet higher grade 
 of progress. 
 
 Contact with matter in its tangible state being only a 
 condition of spirit-progress in its earlier stages, the attain- 
 ment of a certain degree of knowledge and purity relieves 
 the spirit from the painful necessity of incarnation in the 
 " vile bodies " of putrescible flesh that are the sign and cor- 
 respondential effect of its inferiority. In proportion as a 
 spirit advances in science and virtue, it assumes bodies of a 
 nature progressively less and less gross, and is thus able to 
 live in planets of progressively higher order, until it has 
 reached the grade of advancement which enables it to 
 assume the "glorified body" of the celestial degree, when — 
 being freed from the necessity of planetar}^ incorporations, 
 and therefore exempted from any further undergoing of the 
 corporeal crisis which we call "death" — it passes upwards 
 into spheres of celestial existence of which we can now form 
 no adequate conception ; and, having thus attained to the 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. <9 
 
 stale of wisdom and purity which brings it into immediate 
 receptivity of the divine thought, it enters upon the illimita- 
 ble splendors, activities, and happiness of the definitive soul- 
 life Of IMMORTALITY. 
 Paris, May 31, 1870. 
 
 SIGNIFICANCE OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 BY EDWARD S. WHEELER. 
 
 The discovery and application of truth is the constant prob- 
 lem of human intellect : thus investigation is found to be the 
 precedent of all progress ; research, the requisite of all happi- 
 ness. 
 
 Investigation, when naturally conducted, is by a dual or 
 double reasoning, — from ideas, from facts ; thus deduction and 
 induction. Ideas are creatures of the mind, dependent upon 
 conditions and impression. Impression is also dual in man- 
 ner, — by the external senses in common use, by preter-sensu- 
 ous faculties in extraordinary development and action. The 
 senses introduce to the mind definitions of things and 
 phenomena. The faculties cognize principles and relations, 
 and this clairvoyantly, as in the third degree of that unfold- 
 ing. From the faculties and their perception, vision, and 
 comparison, ideas, thoughts, theories, — deduction. From 
 the use of the senses, observation of phenomena, knowledge 
 of facts, — induction. The conceit of " the eye of faith" is 
 not all unreal ; for, as the animal world have instincts allied to 
 the highest demands of their existence, man has intuitions 
 which serve spiritual necessities. As the wild fowl of unper- 
 verted nature is instinctively guided toward the pole, the 
 spirit of man is drawn intuitively to the true, the good, the 
 beautiful. Hence the natural dual method of reason, of in- 
 vestigation. 
 
 The time has come for generalization, for comprehension, 
 for summing up. The mistake has been in a failure to make 
 
80 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 application of any complete method of reason to the total of 
 things. In theology, the deductive has been assumed as a 
 fully perfect, and the only allowable way. " Science," it has 
 been said, "has nothing to do with religion." Lacking science, 
 lacking induction, theology has been built upon mere theo- 
 ry, dogmas founded on assumptions based on conceit, " a 
 house of clouds " with pillars of smoke, and turrets of fog. 
 As theology has taken cognizance of the ideal only, science 
 has been confined to the external and palpable : from this has 
 resulted imperfection in either. Science has remained " soul- 
 less ; " and the best use of the spiritual faculties and powers, 
 without reference to the actual, has but resulted in a corrupted 
 superstition in the name of religion. 
 
 Each special science is based upon a particular class of facts, 
 to which it refers, and which it is its province to illustrate. 
 
 " Religion," as a form of belief, must become a matter of 
 science before it can command the respect and devotion of the 
 intelligent. It is too great an insult to offer the intuitions of 
 the ages to suppose that that which is intended by the word 
 " religion " has no existence. What the seers and prophets, 
 the saints and redeemers, have sensed, felt, and taught, has 
 being in some form, though imperfectly reported it may be, 
 because but partially seen or understood. The developments 
 of mind must extend the domain of absolute knowledge over 
 all realities : there must be to the special science of the spir- 
 itual a basis of particular facts for special reference in inductive 
 reasoning concerning religion. These facts are found in the 
 phenomena, manifestations, and communications actually pro- 
 duced by spirits through mediumistic agencies. 
 
 Upon these the structure of Spiritualism has tangible basis, 
 and thus is unfolded the inductive argument of positive 
 " religion." 
 
 Spiritualism is evidently something more than " a signifi- 
 cant fact : " it is a range of facts, a class of phenomena, a 
 matter of observation, a subject of knowledge. Admitting of 
 demonstration and classification, it presents the opportunities 
 of a science. Upon this ground of science philosophic 
 analysis establishes itself, and penetrates to the elements of 
 natural method, of principle, of law. " Religion," in the only 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 81 
 
 sense it is any thing, is a perception and cognition of the uni- 
 versal truth, goodness, and beauty, and an appreciation of 
 our relationship thereunto, with the consequent morality. 
 
 To achieve this is the highest growth of the human being, 
 including all minor features of greatness. 
 
 For it, impression, inspiration, vision, " faith," must bestow 
 ideas, which offer suggestions, stimulate speculations, and es- 
 tablish theories, which, when of unperverted growth, are the 
 basic outlines of natural systems. 
 
 The astronomer may be misled by appearances, or deceived 
 by the imperfections of his instrument : so every vision of the 
 seer, every assumed revelation of the prophet, must be tested 
 by reference to the fixed stars of fact, that the harmonies of 
 exact truth may unite the principles of religious spiritualism, 
 as the influx of spirit-inspiration should be allowed to stimu- 
 late the progress of science. 
 
 Spiritualism may be considered, not only as a fact of signi- 
 ficance primarily, but as a comprehensive, universal system 
 in its ultimate expression. As such a system, it presents its 
 essential, characteristic, central idea, around which all crys- 
 tallizes and aggregates : this is the idea of universal harmony, 
 consistency, and law. To the genius of Spiritualism nothing 
 is supernatural, because all is in order ; nothing is miraculous, 
 because natural order covers all contingencies : the only mira- 
 cle is progress ; " the only mystery, ignorance." 
 
 The value of a fact is double, direct, from the immediate 
 use of knowledge ; and related, from its importance as an 
 index pointing to law, suggesting truth. Thus there is 
 double utility in the facts of Spiritualism ; and their relative 
 value is greatest, their indirect use of most importance. They 
 are of consequence as a solace and encouragement to mortals, 
 but of inestimable import as the corner-stones of the natural 
 temple of humanity. 
 
 It is requisite that theologists, forgetting their arrogance, 
 cease the attempt to ignore, and, confessing their ignorance, 
 abstain from misrepresentation. Let science neither neglect 
 nor " despair ; " let aspiration, honesty, and diligence be made 
 manifest by all observers and thinkers: thus shall we put 
 under our feet the stepping-stones of demonstration, and rise 
 
 6 
 
82 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 to the empire of love and wisdom through labor, as earnest 
 servants of the actual and true. 
 
 May the heavenly inspirations guide us by the highways 
 of science to the groves of philosophy, the temple of natural 
 theology, and the religion of love, to worship in that ritual 
 whose forms of service are earnest efforts for the common- 
 weal and commonwealth ! 
 
 FROM THE HIGHLANDS OF HEAVEN. 
 
 BY EMMA TUTTLE. 
 
 Silent and sorrowful, outward I wandered, 
 
 Through the gate Beautiful, up in the skies : 
 Earth all the wealth of my grief had not squandered ; 
 
 Death had not banished the tears from my eyes. 
 Turning, and gazing adown the blue spaces 
 
 Whence I had come from my sickness and pain, 
 Catching the glimpses of agonized faces, 
 
 Heaven with its beauties enticed me in vain. 
 
 Up where a high headland meltingly glistened, 
 
 Looking far out o'er the fathomless sea, 
 Homesick and silent, I longed and I listened, 
 
 Hoping the winds would bear something to me; 
 Praying the sighs from the wide seas would bring me 
 
 Something to lighten the weight of my woe, — 
 Messages sweeter than angels could sing me, 
 
 Wavering up from my loved ones below. 
 
 Love can not die : and my mother-soul, yearning, 
 
 Leaned from the sunny hights whither it must ; 
 All its intensity constantly turning 
 
 Back to its treasures in garments of dust. 
 Mournfulest tremblements crept o'er the water, 
 
 Shaping themselves to the sound of my name, 
 All floating up in my sad ears to loiter, — 
 
 Up from the lands whence, a spirit, I came. 
 
 Tears from my eyes gemmed the fair phantom-blossoms, 
 
 Melting and dream-like, which grew at my feet, 
 Such as the happy ones wear on their bosoms, 
 
 And weave round the heads of the children they greet. 
 Softly a prayer was breathed into my being; 
 
 Sacred with love was the sighing refrain : 
 " Father, my Father ! all-wise and all-seeing, 
 
 Send me the soul of my mother again 1 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 83 
 
 " Open the gates where she walked into glory ; 
 
 Let her come back like her dear self again, 
 Crownless and harpless, and hark to my story, 
 
 Full of such loneliness, doubtings, and pain." 
 Sweeping above me in gracefulest whiteness, 
 
 Figures were cleaving the balm-laden air : 
 " Father ! I ask not their beauty or brightness J 
 
 But I would answer the wailings of prayer. 
 
 " Delicate robings, like amethyst tinted, 
 
 Dreamiest azures, or shadowy rose, 
 Whereon the souls of fair blossoms are printed, — 
 
 I am not longing for any of those. 
 Crown-leaves would burden a brow which is aching ; 
 
 Harp-notes were dissonant music to me : 
 May I return to the hearts which are breaking, 
 
 Mute and invisible though I may be ? " 
 
 Coming more near me in soothing compassion, 
 
 Dew-on-the-lilies spake soft to my soul, 
 Giving me strength in the tenderest fashion, 
 
 Lulling my anguish to stillest control. 
 " Go ! " sang my fellow-immortals ; " all heaven 
 
 Knows not a labor more sacred than this : 
 Love's precious chain is not tarnished nor riven ; 
 
 Heaven and earth link in sorrow and bliss 1 " 
 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Give him a place to stand, and Archimedes boasted that he 
 could move the world. Some Spiritualists can perform this 
 wonderful feat without a standing-place. They believe 
 Spiritualism, receive its doctrines, and hold that the Church 
 organizations are all false ; yet they propose to elevate the 
 world by means of these same false organizations, or none at 
 all. The churches do exert an immeasurable power, for the 
 very reason that they have foundations on which to rest. 
 They inaugurate missionary enterprises, found colleges, 
 asylums, and carry forward for their own aggrandizement a 
 thousand schemes, simply because they labor as a body, and 
 not as individuals. It is often asked, Why do not Spiritualists 
 take hold of some of these necessary purposes? Because 
 they, as a body, have no place to stand, and, as individuals, 
 
84 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 subscribe to assist the churches in carrying forward theirs. 
 With organization, which simply means combined strength, 
 the money and influence which is now given for purposes 
 which are at the time believed to be pernicious or valueless 
 would be given with interest to that organization.' 
 
 S. B. M'Cracken, President of the Detroit Society, Michi- 
 gan, well observes, — 
 
 " The observing Spiritualist need not go to the outside world to 
 learn that Spiritualism stands greatly in need of a wholesome purga- 
 tion. Spiritualism, up to the present time, has been almost entirely 
 philosophical and factitive. These phases, while they may have 
 equally convinced finely-organized moral natures, have failed to at- 
 tract them in large numbers to its support. In the clamor for { free- 
 dom,' the tendency has been to eschew all organization and all form ; 
 and the spiritual camp has resembled so greatly a mob of crazy 
 bedlamites, as to frighten awaj', to a great extent, well-ordered 
 spirits. ' Many vicious men, who either know nothing of or care 
 nothing for the laws of spiritual life, have embraced Spiritualism 
 because they found no orthodox hell in its moral code, and who, in 
 their disordered fancy, found it an excuse and apology for every vile- 
 ness. They fancied Spiritualism a mazy mesh, where every sweating 
 impulse might find expression, instead of what it really is, — the very 
 essence of moral purity. And these errors of opinion, which many 
 professed Spiritualists hold, are formed more from the slanders of 
 opposers than from any thing inherent in Spiritualism." 
 
 Mrs. D. M. Brown, Secretary of the Battle-creek Society, 
 pertinently writes, — 
 
 " Organization, not for the purpose of putting forth a creed, 
 but to enable Spiritualists to act efficiently in supporting and promul- 
 gating their beautiful, soulful, soul-satisfying, and soul-saving reli- 
 gion ; for Spiritualism is religion in its most comprehensive sense. 
 There must be organization on a substantial basis, or, as a society, 
 we have no power nor ability for extended action or usefulness, except 
 in a very limited degree ; and, while we indorse the 'largest liberty' 
 and individuality for all, we will not sanction disorder, irreligion, or 
 license. 
 
 " We must have suitable places for our meetings, and fill and sur- 
 round them with attractive conditions, so that the weary, wayfaring 
 soul, tossed to and fro, will find a haven of repose and recuperation ; 
 and others, who have never felt the need of aught beyond or above 
 themselves, shall feel the inspiration of beautiful surroundings, and 
 in them will be induced an aspiration for purer, better, and higher 
 lives. Our religion, though Heaven-sent, and preached by angels, 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 85 
 
 if taught in uncomfortable third-story halls, will be slow to reach the 
 people. Comfortably-seated and richly-furnished churches, with 
 sweet music, will enable those wearied with the week's cares and 
 duties to pass an hour agreeably ; and those who are not earnestly 
 'hungering and thirsting' after ' the bread and waters of life' will 
 not trouble themselves about the theology taught; and so error will 
 continue. And, if we wish to spread what we believe to be the truth, 
 we must pursue a different course from that of the past : if we do not, 
 as a society, Spiritualists are dead, — past resurrection. The truths 
 of our grand religion (I like that word) are eternal ; but they will be 
 incorporated in and taught by the churches, diluted and adulterated : 
 and so another decade, or series of decades, must revplve ere ' the 
 truth comes uppermost,' if Spiritualists as a society do not see to it, 
 and that speedily. 
 
 " Is there any other way than for those who feel the importance of 
 the movement to organize ? 
 
 "Let all true Spiritualists set themselves in stern opposition to 
 what you so appropriately designate ' floating trash and free-love 
 immoralities.' Purity and truth are alone worthy the glorious name 
 of Spiritualism." 
 
 PERMANENT ENGAGEMENT OF SPEAKERS. 
 
 Next to organization, Spiritualists at first opposed settled 
 speaking. In the indecision incident to the reception of a 
 new system, they desired a ceaseless succession of new men, 
 that, perchance, some one would be strong enough to settle 
 them in their new position. Hence arose the itinerant system 
 of lectures ; and speakers made the circuit from Portland, 
 Me., to San Francisco. Since that time, speakers and peo- 
 ple have learned wisdom ; and, although slowly acquired, the 
 majority have gained a better knowledge of their needs, and 
 see the wastefulness and loss of that system. 
 
 It is almost the universal voice, that it has been found best 
 for the interests of societies to employ speakers for long periods. 
 
 That well-tried supporter of Spiritualism, Benjamin Star- 
 buck of Troy, N.Y., writing of the necessity of more culture 
 among our speakers, and their longer engagement, says, — 
 
 "Our society flourished best during the year and a half that 
 Brother S. J. Finney was with us; and I think, had he remained, we 
 
86 YEAR-BOOK OP SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 should now have been a power. . . . We do indeed need more cul- 
 ture, more refinement, more intellectuality, less rant and tear-down, 
 and more of the build-up, principle amongst us." 
 
 Mrs. S. A. Horton, at the close of a six-months' engage- 
 ment at East Saginaw, Mich., writes, — 
 
 "It is the almost universal expression of the Spiritualists in that 
 city, that six-months or yearly engagements are pre-eminently more 
 profitable than weekly or monthly. They also consider music, devo- 
 tion, and religious culture, necessary adjuncts to their prosperity." 
 
 Hon. J. G. Wait, President American Association of Spiritu- 
 alists, writes, — 
 
 " After years of experience, we are thoroughly convinced that 
 yearly engagements are more profitable than constant changes. Mr. 
 Fishbacjs: has been with us for eighteen months ; and we have flour- 
 ished under his ministrations. The great want among us is energy, 
 unity of action, and a more fervent cultivation of the devotional 
 element. We also lack order, system, punctuality, and more com- 
 plete consecration to our noble principles." 
 
 Mr. I. Lake, President Norwalk Society, Ohio, assures us 
 that their prosperity is the result of the determination of the 
 society to secure the best speakers, and retain them for long 
 terms of engagement. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Fish, President of the Milan (Ohio) Society and 
 Lyceum, informs us that they are disgusted with unreliable 
 itinerant lecturers, and that the present extremely prosperous 
 condition of the society is the result of their reliance on one 
 speaker ; and that they will under no circumstances employ 
 any speaker, unless he come well recommended, and having 
 the capabilities to teach. 
 
 J. O. Barrett adds his testimony to the overwhelming 
 measure, that societies best flourish when their speakers are 
 permanently engaged. 
 
 S. B. M'Cracken, President Detroit Society, Mich., says, — 
 
 " The most substantial members of our society are heartily weary 
 of this monthly change of speakers. It incites to instability, and 
 the drawing of odious comparisons between the merits of different 
 lecturers." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 87 
 
 Organization and order are demanded by every social con- 
 sideration, and are inevitable from the nature of things. It is 
 equally in the nature of things that the most advanced and 
 spiritualized minds must contribute the controlling force of 
 organization and the evolution of order. In this regenerating 
 or formative process, the baser elements must go where they 
 belong ; but we can not shut them out of the synagogue. 
 They, no less than the finer elements, are necessary constitu- 
 ents of the Father's great temple. Let the better influences 
 in our ranks come forward, and do their work. 
 
 N. T. Waterman of Cold water, Mich., the tried friend of 
 our cause, remarks, — 
 
 " Short lecture-engagements do not work well here. Our motto 
 is, not less than three months, and as many more as we can raise the 
 funds ; for the longer, the better for speaker and people." 
 
 Mrs. D. M. Brown, Secretary of the Battle-creek (Michigan) 
 Society, still more emphatically expresses the conclusions at 
 which they have arrived after years of experience : — 
 
 " We never had as large and attentive audiences, and every thing 
 appertaining to our society go on with as much interest and spirit, 
 as when we have had a regular speaker by the year, or from three 
 to six months. There has always been, under these conditions, an 
 increasing interest and attendance. 
 
 " Second, our society in Battle Creek has only been in a flourish- 
 ing condition, financially and otherwise, when we did sustain speak- 
 ing year after year" 
 
 Emma Hardinge, in her lecture on " The Priest and Physi- 
 cian," speaks inspired words of truth and wisdom : — 
 
 "Experience has convinced me that there are more sick souls in 
 the world than sick bodies, more consumptions of the heart than 
 of the lungs, more angularities of the mind and temper than of the 
 skeleton or viscera. Nay, more : where the tendencies of the organism 
 incline to diseased conditions, it is a question to the good psycholo- 
 gist, how far the mind is the origin of the disturbance ; and, where- 
 ever disease has set in, corresponding mental conditions almost 
 invariably demand the exercise of mental ministrations : in a word, 
 the offices of the priest and physician must ultimately become one, 
 or so closely related in effect (as they already are in cause), that the 
 two must co-operate. And it is in this direction, as well as many 
 
88 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 others, that the gifts of the spirit-medium could be exerted with in- 
 valuable potency : in fact, I do not now recognize any functionary on 
 earth, but those endowed with spiritual powers and perceptions, who 
 could become as instrumental in comforting the afflicted, strengthen- 
 ing the weak, counseling the doubting, and reclaiming the vicious. 
 From experience, too, I know that demands for this kind of service 
 are poured in upon the itinerant mediums by the thousand. Letters, 
 calls, and supplications for advice, besiege these unfortunate mission- 
 aries on every side. Before the speaker's voice has ceased its vibra- 
 tions, their platforms are thronged with these afflicted ones, entreating 
 a few words, a private interview, a special answer to their questions. 
 To resist these appeals for the bread of life, which has been so boun- 
 tifully dealt out to us, seems like quenching the Spirit, and denying 
 alms to the perishing. But how to answer all the letters that fill our 
 desks, and respond to all the calls that are made upon our time, is a 
 problem which can never be solved until we can be so positioned as 
 to systematize time and effort by a more permanent residence in one 
 place. Whilst our time, means, clothes, and energies are being 
 wasted in traveling around to meet our next engagements, we might 
 be making and receiving visits with the sick and afflicted. The 
 strength which is exhausted in constant fatigue, and the wearisome 
 efforts to adapt ourselves to new people, scenes, and places, should all 
 be husbanded for the daily demands of one vicinity. On the one 
 hand, I feel, with man3 r others of my co-workers, that the duties of 
 the Spiritual lecturer only begin on the rostrum ; and / on the other, 
 I see multitudes, who, having cut loose from all church-organizations, 
 and the restraints which they impose, yet feel the imperative need 
 of strengthening themselves with just such spiritual ministry as none 
 but the medium or speaker can dispense." 
 
 How can the demand and supply come into rapport so long as the 
 supply is incarnated in the person of a poor, tired, harassed wan- 
 derer, whose unresting feet have moved away before the demand can 
 reach them, or when it is impossible, in the haste and urgency of 
 travel, to receive a due and considerate response? Until the teachers 
 of the Spiritual rostrum shall be privileged to concentrate their 
 labors for at least one year in the same place, and, in the surroundings 
 of their own homes, to be themselves for a time, rather than 
 always the somebody else with whom they are sojourning, the 
 world has no right to expect them to be any thing more than theo- 
 rists on the wing; and, until the practical uses and blessings of 
 Spiritualism can be demonstrated in the persons of its exponents, 
 we have no right to ask the world to accept of theories which the 
 teachers thereof can not practically prove. To build up a society 
 requires the social as well as intellectual and moral influence of 
 the speaker. Engaged for a month, he can little more than become 
 acquainted with the members : he in no sense becomes one of their 
 number; has little interest in strengthening it. He comes hurriedly 
 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 89 
 
 from his last engagement, receives his pay, and as hastily leaves for 
 his next, giving place to another. Suppose Theodore Parker, instead 
 of possessing the great advantages furnished by Boston for culture, 
 had been taken from his desk in Music Hall, and sent itinerating 
 from Mexico to Nova Scotia : is there any one who will have the 
 hardihood to assert that he would have become the ripe scholar, the 
 great thinker, he became, or that his influence would have been 
 greater? Henry Ward Beecher or Chapin would lose the major 
 portion of their influence if compelled to consume the week in plan- 
 ning and getting to their appointments. Plymouth Church could 
 not be induced to adopt itinerancy. Plymouth pulpit is now a 
 power : in the other case, it would be nothing. Spiritualists demand 
 culture, refinement, the ability to teach, of those who profess the high 
 office of instructors. When a society finds one thus qualified, it has a 
 tower of strength, and becomes a widely-extending power. While 
 engaging a series of lectures, however well qualified to amuse and 
 instruct, it is little more than a lecture committee, without any deep 
 interest to hold its members together. The lecturer falls into the 
 habit of repeating his lectures ; and perhaps the same set speeches 
 are made year in and year out. Then, again, the society mistakes the 
 eagerness of the crowd for the novel, for interest in Spiritualism, and, 
 instead of lecturers, brings showmen on its platform. On the other 
 hand, the lecturer who holds his position for the year has the in- 
 terest of the society as a part of his business, and must educate him- 
 self to meet the wants of his hearers. One method pays a premiun 
 on indolence : the other demands earnest and continual effort. 
 
 Even were itinerancy preferable, societies are ever liable to impo- 
 sition ; and no number of good lecturers in succession can efface the 
 impression of one disreputable. 
 
 If Spiritualism is to exert an influence for good, it must do so 
 through refinement and culture. In no other way can its speakers 
 meet this demand, except by being engaged for a series of months or 
 years. 
 
 In this matter, different societies must decide for themselves. 
 Owing to the small number of believers in some localities, itinerancy 
 becomes a temporary necessity. These pilgrims, like the early 
 Methodists, sow the seeds, that, in after-years, bear golden harvests. 
 
90 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 SPIRIT-CHORUS. 
 
 Like the gleams of the morn 
 
 To the pale frozen earth, 
 Bringing light to the soul 
 
 Of its immortal birth, 
 Come the angels who tread the star-dusted floor, 
 Calling us thitherward to their bright shore : 
 
 Come in your dark hours ; 
 Come in your sadness ; 
 
 Come in your bright hours ; 
 Come in your gladness ; 
 Come, come, come, to the loved and adored. 
 
 Like the breath of the wind 
 
 In an Eden of flowers, 
 Bringing joy to the soul 
 
 In the saddest of hours, 
 Comes the presence of those we love and adore, 
 Calling us thitherward to their bright shore. 
 
 As the gilt of the light 
 
 Made the cold Memnon sing; 
 So the light of their love 
 They over us fling, 
 And our souls are responsive to those we adore, 
 Calling us thitherward to their bright shore. 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT. — EMANCIPATION. 
 
 BY G. B. STEBBINS. 
 
 We can not fully comprehend the power and significance 
 of the Spiritual movement of the last twenty years. It is too 
 near and too new ; and our idea thereof is imperfect, our vis- 
 ion partial and incomplete. We see facts and phenomena 
 telling of the life beyond ; and these convince reason and 
 judgment, satisfy conscience and intuition, and are full of 
 consolation and tender joy fox the affections. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 91 
 
 These are of signal value ; but, if they were all, the power 
 and benefit of this movement would be lessened, and bigots 
 and creed-worshipers would not fear it as they do. Com- 
 munication and communion are more frequent than ever, 
 because man's spiritual nature has grown from within, and 
 must have better conditions and more ready rapport. Mag- 
 netism, clairvoyance, and spirit-communication, come as blos- 
 som and flower and fruit follow each other, — as results of 
 germinal forces. The spirit asserts itself as shaper and builder 
 of the body, master of the senses, and as chiefly to live when 
 the body dies. With the growth of these phenomena comes 
 emancipation from external authority, — the one natural and 
 inevitable as the other ; for, in the divine order, the time has 
 come for both. 
 
 Creeds or books or priesthoods are not to be infallible 
 guides : helps they may be, when intuition and reason ap- 
 prove, but masters and tyrants no more. Thus the Spiritual 
 movement modifies theology, helps to banish superstition, to 
 pulverize sectarianism. As it increases, these must decrease ; 
 and in their place will come reverence for the truth within us 
 and around us, wise allegiance to ideas and principles, and 
 laws infinite and divine, and a free use of our own mental 
 and spiritual faculties for the discovery and application of 
 truth. 
 
 The day is passing, never to return, when books and creeds 
 and priests can overawe the soul ; and the day is Coming, 
 most blessed since the world began, when we begin to see 
 and feel that the more complete and noble our ideal of man's 
 powers and possibilities here and hereafter, the grander 
 human achievement, the higher human excellence, and the 
 wiser all reforms. And of this day there are many signs ; none 
 more significant than this help and harbinger and dawn there- 
 of, which is called Spiritualism. 
 
 At the North-Collins Yearly Meeting, held in the rustic 
 Hemlock Hall, in a beautiful grove in the quiet country, 
 twenty miles south of Buffalo, N.Y., last August, were from 
 fifteen hundred to twenty-five hundred people, mostly Spirit- 
 ualists, assembled for three days of free and earnest discus- 
 sion. 
 
92 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The following resolutions, passed with hearty unanimity, 
 illustrate the tendency of thought and life, not only there, but 
 in a far wider range : — 
 
 " Resolved, That in the beautiful and cheering faith of spirit 
 presence, communication, and communion, we find confirmation of 
 the desire for the immortal life within us, incentive to higher wisdom 
 and harmony of daily life, stimulus to freedom of thought, and eman- 
 cipation from all superstitious and childish belief in supernatural 
 miracles. 
 
 u Resolved, That while cheered by many signs of progress, and 
 renewing our efforts for greater practical reform, we deem it of high 
 importance, as foundation for character and growth, that freedom of 
 the soul be asserted and maintained inviolate, — such freedom as is 
 loyal to the truths of the spirit within us ; truths divine and immortal, 
 and which will grow in power and beauty as superstitions decay, as 
 creeds are put aside, and books are used as helps, but never accepted 
 as masters of the soul. 
 
 " Resolved, That we urge upon all, and especially the young, that 
 knowledge and obedience to physical laws, that control and guidance 
 of appetite and passion, that temperance in all of food or drink that 
 benefits, and that abstinence from all that injures, which may be 
 termed ' the religion of the body,' and which shall lead to such rever- 
 ence of its sacred offices as shall make it fit for the use, and worthy 
 to be the pure temple, of the immortal spirit." 
 
 In June last, the eleventh anniversary of the opening of the 
 Free Church in the pleasant village of Sturgis, in Southern 
 Michigan, called together a large and intelligent audience, 
 filling and overflowing the house for the last two days, and 
 mostly Spiritualists. 
 
 As a test of their former beliefs, those who had been Meth- 
 odists, and were Spiritualists, were asked to rise ; and fifty or 
 sixty stood in their places, and about an equal, or nearly equal, 
 proportion from other denominations, including a dozen or 
 so who had been Universalists. 
 
 All these were emancipated from their old bondage to 
 creeds and books ; and this illustrates like emancipation of 
 millions. Those who had been atheists or materialists were 
 asked to rise ; and a dozen stood in their places. These had 
 passed from doubt and negation to knowledge, to reverent 
 allegiance to spiritual laws, and to a consciousness of the 
 fullness and immortality of life that met their hopes and as- 
 pirations. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 93 
 
 • 
 
 The interest in practical reforms, and the basing such re- 
 forms on principles of right in the soul, rather than on the 
 precepts of book or creed, is shown by the following resolve, 
 passed cordially, and without dissent, by the Sturgis meet- 
 ing : — 
 
 " Resolved, That we favor suffrage for women equal and impar- 
 tial as for man, as just, and therefore beneficial ; and believe that 
 such change would help to a truer state and church and domestic 
 life, wherein manly and womanly influence would meet to form a 
 more perfect whole." 
 
 Of course there are those, trying to be Spiritualists, who 
 fail to realize even their own ideal, save in a very imperfect 
 manner ; but all effort and aspiration helps and saves, here or 
 hereafter. I am but showing the tendency and spirit of a 
 great movement. 
 
 It is but just to remember how much and well the work 
 of spiritual freedom and growth is helped, in our daj^, by 
 many who would not be called Spiritualists. The " signs of 
 the times " abound and increase ; but the Spiritual movement 
 has spread wider, and wrought more for emancipation, than 
 any other. But it is not enough simply to emancipate ; and 
 it is well to know that the growth is constructive ; and, for its 
 work of helping to build up a truer life, it must have more 
 perfect knowledge and truer ideal of this nature of ours, hu- 
 man yet divine, touching the material and perishable on one 
 side, and yet closely allied by its most vital and interior and 
 creative elements with the spiritual, the infinite, and the im- 
 mortal. 
 
 Our researches therein will not only give us light from the 
 life beyond, but will teach us of those subtile powers and 
 influences for good or evil, for health or sickness of body or 
 soul, which ever come and go from man to man the world 
 over ; to the benefits of which we can be receptive, and against 
 the ills of which we can be positive and strong. 
 
 The latest science, the best intuition, the finest clairvoy- 
 ance, the most convincing fact, and the sweetest and wisest 
 word purporting to come from those " not lost, but gone be- 
 fore," must be compared and tested. Thus shall be estab- 
 lished a knowledge of human powers, and an abiding confi- 
 
94 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 dence in immortality, based on facts which confirm the soul's 
 desires, and a wisdom and harmony of life on earth such as, 
 in the olden time, 
 
 " Priests and prophets waited for, 
 And sought, but never found." 
 
 The great struggle in the religious world will be between 
 the multitude who advocate external and infallible authori- 
 ty, — whether of pope or book or creed, — and the grow- 
 ing host who assert and maintain the freedom and suprem- 
 acy of the soul, and the sacredness of truth over authority. 
 We need men and women who shall be, not merely sentimen- 
 tal believers in spiritual phenomena, but strong in knowledge 
 of the immortal life, and firm for justice and freedom; and 
 the number of such increases. 
 
 Detroit, Mich. 
 
 THE NUMBER OF SPIRITUALISTS IN THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Theue are many and great difficulties in the way of a cor- 
 rect estimate of the number of Spiritualists. An approxi- 
 mation is all that can be expected. The definition of a Spirit- 
 ualist we receive greatly affects the results. In its broadest 
 sense, the whole Christian world afe such, as the belief in the 
 capabilities of spiritual beings to communicate with mortals is 
 received by the Catholic, and is not foreign to the Protestant 
 churches. The circle is still wide, drawn by the logical con- 
 clusion, that, if spiritual beings could communicate in ancient, 
 they can in modern times, and the reception of certain great 
 principles relating to the methods of the future life. But a 
 line must be drawn somewhere ; and we class as Spiritualists 
 all who believe that their departed friends can and do com- 
 municate. They may be members, in good standing, of the 
 Catholic or Protestant churches, receiving as true the dogmas 
 thereby imposed ; or they may entertain the extreme ideas of 
 infidelity : if they receive this as true, they are Spiritualists. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 95 
 
 Having thus defined Spiritualism in its widest sense, we 
 are, in a measure, prepared to estimate the number who en- 
 tertain it. The apparently high numbers of Judge Edmonds, 
 in an article on the subject, widely published, has called forth 
 severe criticism ; but, after carefully collating the facts we 
 have gathered, we are compelled to acknowledge that it is 
 essentially correct. In a letter, Judge Edmonds observes, — 
 
 " I was myself surprised at the statement ; but it came to me in 
 such a form, that I could not doubt it. I was careful not only to give 
 myself as the writer, but to state the source of my information, so that, 
 if there was any error, it might be exposed. Preparatory to the 
 Ecumenical Council, the pope desired to learn the religious conviction 
 of Christendom ; and the Catholic hierarchy of this country took 
 pains to obtain it through its numerous priesthood ; and the result 
 of inquiry was what I obtained, and gave to the world : so that 
 it was not our statement of our strength, but that of our adversa- 
 ries j and they have never contradicted or in any way questioned it." 
 
 His reasons for the estimate of eleven millions of Spiritual- 
 ists in the United States, as expressed in the article referred 
 to, are as follows : — 
 
 "1. In 1854, I devoted several months to lecturing on this sub- 
 ject, in different parts of the country, through a territory extending 
 from Boston on the Atlantic shore to St. Louis on the Mississippi, 
 going as far south as Cincinnati on the Ohio River, and as far north 
 as Milwaukie on Lake Michigan; embracing an area of some 
 twelve hundred miles long by two hundred miles wide, and that the 
 most populous and best educated part of the nation. I delivered 
 some seventy discourses ; and at my public meetings, and in social 
 and private intercourse, saw many thousands of the people. 
 
 " The conclusion I came to was, that we were then (in 1854) 
 some three millions in this country. So thorough was my convic- 
 tion of the accuracy of my estimate, that I told a gentleman, who is 
 now a conspicuous member of Congress from one of our Western 
 States, that, if he was ambitious' of political distinction, he must 
 take the antislavery side in politics ; for I had seen enough to assure 
 me that every Spiritualist would vote on the antislavery side when- 
 ever an opportunity should be afforded that we were already so 
 numerous as nearly to hold the balance of power, and were increas- 
 ing so fast, that we should ultimately hold it completely. I then be- 
 longed to the dominant Democratic party ; and my prophecy as to its 
 overthrow has been verified by subsequent events. In 1856, the 
 antislavery candidate for the Presidency came very near being elect- 
 ed, and in 1860 was elected. 
 
98 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 " 2. Some two or three years before the death of Theodore Par- 
 ker, whose popularity as a public speaker took him to all parts of 
 the country, he told his congregation that at least two-thirds of all 
 the people of New England were Spiritualists. He was no Spiritu- 
 alist himself, and uttered this as a warning. 
 
 " 3. Some six or eight years ago, I bought me a country-place 
 in the wild and romantic region of Lake George, and spend my 
 summers there. Gov. Marcy, who had been Secretary at War 
 and Secretary of State, spent his summers at Ballston Spa, about 
 forty miles from me ; and there he died. He was no Spiritualist, but 
 said that he saw almost all the people were Spiritualists in that vi- 
 cinity because I had located there. He was right as to the fact, but 
 wrong as to the cause of it; for I had had no hand in their conver- 
 sion, but had found such a state of things when I went there. 
 
 '•'4. My correspondence has been very voluminous. For now 
 some ten or fifteen years, letters have poured in upon me by the hun- 
 dreds from all parts of the country, telling me of the spread of our 
 belief in places and among people of whom I had no previous infor- 
 mation*. 
 
 "5. Wherever T go, and in my daily intercourse with people, I 
 am spoken to by persons of whose belief in Spiritualism I had no 
 conception. They speak to me more freely than they would to a 
 stranger, or even to their ordinary acquaintances, because I am so 
 openly an avowed Spiritualist. 
 
 "6. From all these sources, and from the information which I 
 get from our public speakers and newspapers, I can form something 
 of an idea of the spread of our doctrines : and therefore it was that 
 I estimated that we were some five or six millions. 
 
 " 7. The churches (so called) or religious sects are professedly 
 hostile to us, yet bear strong testimony to our increase. Several in- 
 stances have come to my knowledge, where the preachers have freely 
 denounced our heresy, yet, after doing so, have been waited upon by 
 their hearers, and have been assured, much to their surprise, that 
 the most of their congregations were believers. The effect generally 
 has been to cause such attacks to cease; but, in one case, — that of 
 the most popular preacher in the country, — it was followed by an 
 open avowal of belief on his part. Many priests of different de- 
 nominations have called on me to consult on the subject, avowing 
 their belief, and some of them asking of me whether it was not their 
 duty to abandon their position, and enter upon the task of preaching 
 Spiritualism. 
 
 " 8. "But, above all, comes to me this information. Within the 
 last two or three months, there has been at Baltimore a convocation 
 of the B/oman-Catholic bishops and archbishops of this country. 
 One of the most interesting subjects for their consideration was the 
 statistical religious condition of our people. Each diocese brought 
 its information ; and the result was, that while Romanism and Prot- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 97 
 
 estantism combined numbered from eight to nine millions, with 
 some forty-live thousand preachers, Spiritualism numbered between 
 ten and eleven millions, with fifty thousand mediums. 
 
 " Recollect, now, that this estimate comes, not from us, but from our 
 opponents ; is not the product of our imaginations, but the result 
 of the severe scrutiny of those who have no sympathy with us. I 
 confess, however, that I believe it to be accurate ; all my information 
 goes to confirm it ; and my error was in estimating the number too 
 low, lest I might be accused of exaggeration." 
 
 CHIPS. 
 
 BY CEPHAS B. LYNN. 
 
 0« 
 
 Spiritualism is the only system whose special element is 
 susceptible of universal application. The special element in 1 f 
 Spiritualism consists of the manifestations given through 
 media. 
 
 Spiritualism belongs to all races. In America, it has a de- 
 velopment unlike that upon any other soil. American Spirit- 
 ualists, as a class, affirm, (1.) That a new religious philosophy 
 can be elaborated from the facts of modern mediumship. 
 (2.) That the recognition of the facts of mediumship, morally 
 obligates one to accept, and be publicly identified with, the 
 conclusions legitimately drawn therefrom. 
 
 Spiritualism is a finality. And why ? Because it is not 
 based upon any individual incarnation. 
 
 Spiritualism (the modern type) takes its stand with the 
 historic religions. It excels all others ; and for this reason, — 
 it subjects its revelations to the scrutiny of reason, and abides 
 by the judgments of science. 
 
 Spiritualism is the first system to make religion educational. 
 
 Spiritualism looks to find the individual. By Catholicism, 
 the individual is lost in the Church ; by Protestantism, in 
 
 7 
 
98 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Christ Jesus. Spiritualism teaches individualism, — the in- 
 dividual's individual powers : that is what Spiritualism is 
 after. 
 
 Spiritualism teaches us of an independent moral condition, 
 which is impregnable, — a condition unconquerable by demons, 
 fleshed or unfleshed. When we reach this blessed state, we 
 know what we are talking about when we say that Spiritual- 
 ism is the positive religion of the soul. 
 
 The idea of spirit-communion is not the sensational part of 
 the Spiritual philosophy : it is one of the foundation-stones. 
 
 The universe would be incomplete could a single human 
 soul be blotted out of existence. 
 
 Texts from which to elaborate a hundred discourses, - — 
 
 1. -Religion is not that which comes from God to man: it 
 is that which goes from man to God. 
 
 2. Beliefs in God and immortality are all-essential to mo- 
 rality. 
 
 3. God, immortality, and spirit-communion are to be fun- 
 damental rather than incidental ideas in religion. 
 
 Nd j 
 
 The sooner we take our stand, as Spiritualists, with the sects 
 of the world, and acknowledge ourselves to be one of the 
 many instrumentalities laboring for human good, the better. 
 
 " Sectarianism, sectarianism ! " — what does the term signi- 
 fy ? Simply an organic force ; and as such it has been, now is, 
 and ever will be, an essential element in the progress of the 
 world. This fear of the term " sectarian " is childish, and 
 unworthy of those who aspire to blend philosophy and inspi- 
 ration. We use the term in its organic sense always. 
 
 Instrumentalities are as necessary as principles. Christian- 
 ity, considered organically, is, comparatively speaking, perfec- 
 tion. The question of the hour is not one of instrumentali- 
 ties, of forms ; but one of principles, of forces. Spiritualists, 
 therefore, should adopt the methods of the Church. 
 
 Sectarianism in business has been a success, and a cause of 
 progress ; but, in the so-called religious world, it has been di- 
 rectly the reverse. The reason is obvious. In all that per- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. C9 
 
 tained to earthly interests, the organization has been subordi- 
 nate to man ; while, relative to spiritual and heavenly things, 
 man has been subordinate to the organization. Now, how- 
 ever, in the light of wisdom, Spiritualists propose to regard 
 the sect or the organization which they establish as though 
 it was made for them, not they for it. Spiritualists intend to 
 stand outside of their instrumentalities, not inside after the 
 manner of Christians. Progress is the secured and continual 
 inspiration made a natural result. 
 
 It is unphilosophical, then, to assume, that, if Spiritualises 
 become sectarian, they necessarily become bigoted, and cease 
 to progress. 
 
 It is obligatory upon us to assist in the diffusion of truth 
 as it exists in our own consciousness. 
 
 The leading truths of Spiritualism are active agents, posi- 
 tive potencies, in and of themselves : consequently, as far as 
 mere existence goes, they are not dependent upon any form 
 of organization. But when Spiritualists talk about making 
 the music of the grand affirmations of the Spiritual philoso- 
 phy resound through the world, to the end that all mankind 
 may enjoy freedom of soul, then the utility of sectarian means 
 — nay, the utter impossibility of accomplishing this purpose 
 without them — is a matter clear to any philosophical mind. 
 
 Some are continually calling for primitive Christianity. Why 
 not call for primitive civilization ? Has the law of progress 
 ceased to act ? 
 
 Modern thinkers, radical and spiritualistic, claim that they 
 have outgrown the Christ idea. They want to stand upon 
 their own feet, pay their own penalties, and earn their own 
 salvation. 
 
 Some time, morality will be fundamental to mediumship. 
 
 Idiots are never Spiritualists. It takes a fair amount of 
 mental activity to comprehend the first principles of the Spir- 
 itual philosophy ; and then a man is obliged to keep his 
 intellectual fires alive to be up with the advancing steps of 
 the new gospel. 
 
100 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 CULTURE. 
 
 BY J. H. POWELL. 
 
 Life is king over death and dust : it is a complete diction- 
 ary of all possible words and things. 
 
 We are all children, ever growing by the acquisition of 
 lassons in life's great school. 
 
 He who learns most, not merely of dead languages, but of 
 living principles, and can apply them to soul-growth, is the 
 best student. 
 
 Titian, the Italian painter, at ninety-nine years regretted 
 his failing sight and unsteady touch, because he felt that he 
 had jus*t begun to learn to paint. 
 
 " Knowledge," says Pope, " is to know how little can be 
 known." 
 
 Only those whose conceit supplies the place of culture 
 boast of their own mental attainments, perversely blind to 
 the genius of others. % 
 
 Rugged natures, like diamonds in the rough, are sterling : 
 culture polishes, false teaching injures them. 
 
 Tom Thumb is as complete in brain and body as Chang, 
 the Chinese giant. Size claims no additional constructive 
 skill on the part of the Master-Hand ; yet there may be marked 
 differences in culture. 
 
 Ignoramuses, failing to appreciate men of culture, puzzle 
 themselves to know why such ever store their minds with 
 lore. Knowledge is the sure antidote to ignorance. 
 
 Man is dual, — body and spirit. The body needs bread; 
 the spirit, culture. 
 
 He who fills his body to repletion, and starves his spirit, is 
 of the earth, earthy, and little removed from animal life. 
 
 On the other hand, he who neglects his body, and surfeits 
 his soul, loses his equipoise, and grows insane. 
 
 Our whole nature, not a mere part, needs nourishing diet. 
 
 Culture is ever the teacher, gleaning from the fields of 
 history, science, ethics, and religion, all that is good for man. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 101 
 
 Culture is a strict monitor : it drills our faculties, and cuts 
 off from us all acerbities and angularities. 
 
 Discovering that we owe it to our natures to cultivate, 
 and thereby improve them, we are necessarily led to regard 
 our duties to others : in this, culture serves us. 
 
 The mere possession of data and facts, ancient and modern, 
 or the aggregation of philosophical and scientific discoveries, 
 will not do the work of culture ; whose office it is to shape 
 the life, and adorn the character. 
 
 He who can govern himself, checking wild passion, is 
 above all ambitious men, — the true king. When Jesus was 
 reviled, he reviled not again. 
 
 I suppose Plato to have been a normal thinker, drawing 
 inspiration from the inner life, as all thinkers do, more or 
 less. 
 
 Chatterton and Dr. Watts, doubtless, were in a partially 
 abnormal state. Inspiration flowed upon them : the result is 
 known to the world. 
 
 Whatever theory we may adopt to account for the idiosyn- 
 crasies of genius, we act only wise when we think out posi- 
 tions for ourselves. 
 
 Culture silently breaks away all walls of prejudice, and 
 gradually frees the soul from malice, slander, and uncharita- 
 bleness. Its mission is not only to adorn, but to purify. 
 
 Always recognizing principles and objects, not as they 
 are dressed or painted, but as they are, to-day and for ever, 
 it takes the stand of eternal truth. 
 
 THE LIFE OF FAITH. 
 
 BY J. MURRAY SPEAR. 
 
 There is what may be justly termed the life of faith. 
 There are persons who are governed and guided by influences 
 which to them are invisible. They do not see the springs 
 of action ; yet they act intelligently, perseveringly, consecu- 
 tively, and often reach important ends. 
 
102 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The past is full of instruction. Noble men and earnest 
 women, moved upon by unseen influences, have gone forth, 
 and unselfishly engaged in the labors that have opened before 
 them. They have not always comprehended the great ends 
 for which they were laboring; but they have had internal 
 promptings, divine monitions ; and by these they have been 
 guided. 
 
 These persons have not been comprehended in their times : 
 frequently their motives have been misjudged ; and some- 
 times they have been sadly abused. Occasionally they have 
 been led to the stake, or made to mount the scaffold, or 
 have been left to perish in penury and want ; and yet they 
 have made their mark, — left impressions which could not be 
 eradicated. 
 
 By their devotion to truth and duty, these persons have 
 become* the saviors, redeemers, and regenerators of man ; 
 have been to their race a cloud by day, and pillar of fire by 
 night ; and, long after their bodies have moldered back to 
 their original dust, their influence has been felt, and they 
 have become the models of generations succeeding them. 
 Unto such, costly monuments have been raised, and before 
 them grateful millions have reverently bowed. A single 
 noble woman, or a faithful, unselfish man, may become the 
 instrument of leading countless thousands to lives of purity, 
 goodness, and truth. 
 
 How great the responsibility resting upon every individual, 
 in view of the fact that he does not live simply to himself ! 
 And it should also be ever kept in mind that myriads of 
 unseen intelligences are made happier by the purity, har- 
 mony, and goodness of the humblest individual. How im- 
 portant, then, is it that each person should act up to his or 
 her highest standard of rectitude ! To-day the voice of the 
 faithful may not be regarded ; to-day his example may not 
 be followed : but there will come an hour when his words 
 will be recalled, and his deeds will be imitated ; and they will 
 become sources of new inspirations. 
 
 Science is the savior I worship. My criterion of truth is 
 the universe. The way of truth consists in clearing up the 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 103 
 
 avenues that lead from Nature to the mysterious power that 
 thinks, in establishing communication. The portals of many 
 minds are blockaded by prejudice and superstition, and the 
 light shut out. We want to know what is, what lias been, 
 what will be. There is no safe foundation but knowledge. 
 No system of belief or policy will promote human happiness, 
 unless its basis is one of facts. — J. W. Pike. 
 
 HEALING. 
 
 BY J. R. NEWTON. 
 
 All persons are more or less susceptible to spirit-influence ; 
 and as is the life of each, so will their spiritual unfoldment be. 
 For m3 r self, I have always been quite susceptible to spirit-in- 
 fluence from my earliest childhood ; although I was not then 
 aware of the source, or cause, of my peculiar sensations. It 
 was not until 1852 that I had a knowledge that spirits of the 
 so-called dead, but truly living, could return, and, under 
 proper conditions, influence and control mortals. It was 
 not until 1856 that I became aware that I was peculiarly 
 organized, and especially adapted to heal the sick. Find- 
 ing it indispensably necessary to live in harmony with cer- 
 tain laws in order to be under i^ood control or influence, I 
 have endeavored to obey these laws up to the present time. 
 It is not by faith alone, but by works also ; and as we 
 live, so shall we attract corresponding influences, or spirits, 
 and be controlled more or less by them. If we live a selfish 
 and wicked life, we attract wicked or undeveloped influences ; 
 but if we live a pure, just, and holy life, having sympathy 
 and love for all, then the bright, the pure, the holy angels, 
 or spirits, will by God's laws (immutable and unchangeable) 
 be attracted to influence and control us for the benefit of suf- 
 fering humanity. Even the spirit of the pure, loving, and 
 gentle Nazarene, as he has promised to do, can come and con- 
 trol a human organism as well as any other spirit. Why 
 
104 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 not ? But be sure he could not, except under the conditions 
 I have named. A continued effort, on my part, to progress in 
 truth and righteousness, and live every day true to myself 
 and humanity, as though it were my last on earth, has culmi- 
 nated in my being controlled by the individual spirit of Jesus. 
 This is a matter, of knowledge on my part, else I would not 
 dare to say it : neither dare I deny it ; for Jesus saith, " But 
 whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny be- 
 fore my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. x. 33). Now, 
 if we live, like Aim, a pure and harmonious life, — and oth- 
 ers may even excel him as he manifested himself in earth- 
 life ; for he said he was not perfect, — we may expect to imi- 
 tate his works. Now, judging from his life, and taking his 
 word for it, others may and shall do greater works than he 
 did, and hence attain to a higher state of perfection in the 
 manifestations of human life. So by striving to lead a perfect 
 life here, and seeking a higher and still higher development, 
 the spirit of Jesus the Christ, having progressed in spirit-life 
 far in advance of his earth-life, will be attracted to us, and he 
 will manifest himself. Finally, we can all be what we live 
 for and wish to be. It is but one step from darkness to light, 
 from the lesser to the greater good. There is but a thin veil 
 between time and eternity ; and why, why is it, O Father, 
 Spirit of love ! that thy children of earth will not live in love 
 this little space of time, to enjoy a heaven for eternity ? 
 
 FACTS. 
 
 SPIRIT-PAINTING. 
 
 Mrs. S. L. Woodard, Deerplain, 111., contributes the follow- 
 ing interesting narrative : — 
 
 " Ten years ago, our little daughter Leona passed to the home of 
 the angels ; being then but two years of age. We never had any like- 
 ness of her taken previous to her entrance into spirit-life. I have 
 had the unspeakable pleasure of seeing and talking with her all 
 these years, watching the tender bud as it gradually unfolds in 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 105 
 
 beauty. Her father was very anxious for her picture, as he could 
 not see her, often asking her if she would not sit for it. She prom- 
 ised to do so, and to let us know when she could do it. Two years 
 ago, the 1st of December, she came to us, telling me that she would 
 sit the eve after Christinas, at the residence of Mr. J. B. Fayette 
 of Oswego, N.Y. (he being a spirit-painter) ; telling her father 
 she was going to be painted as she was then, instead of as she was 
 when she passed away from earth-life. This he had always request- 
 ed her to do. I wrote to Mr. Fayette, telling him what time she 
 would sit, and asking him if it would be convenient for him. He re- 
 plied to me that it would. Previous to my writing to him, she (our 
 spirit-daughter) went to her aunt at Belvidere, 111. (Mrs. R. W. 
 Dean, who is a medium like myself), and asked her if she did not 
 think she would look nice to be dressed in white, with blue ribbons, 
 when she set for her picture. Her aunt told her she did, as she 
 was a little blonde. She was much pleased at this, and went away. 
 Neither my sister (the aunt) nor myself have ever seen Mr. Fay- 
 ette. A few days after Christmas came a letter from Mr. Fayette, 
 stating that he had painted a picture of a little girl at the time 
 stated, and asking if he should send it to me. It came ; and there 
 on the canvas was the picture, or shadow as she calls it, of our dar- 
 ling Leona, — white dress, blue ribbons, and all, — perfectly satis- 
 factory to us all." 
 
 FULFILLMENT OF SPIRIT-PROPHECY. 
 
 The following prophecy was written through J. D. Stiles, 
 by a spirit signing himself " Washington," in 1859, and pub- 
 lished in that year in the book entitled " Twelve Messages 
 from the Spirit of John Quincy Adams." The wording of 
 the prophecy is unmistakable, and its date unimpeachable. 
 
 '•'We 'are able to discern the period, rapidly approximating, when 
 man will take up arms against his fellow-man, and go forth to con- 
 tend with the enemies of republican liberty, and assert at the point 
 of the bayonet those rights of which so large a portion of their 
 fellow-creatures are deprived. Again will the soil of America be 
 saturated with the blood of freedom-loving children; and her noble 
 monuments, those sublime attestations of patriotic will and determi- 
 nation, will tremble from base to summit with the heavy roar of 
 artillery and the thunder of cannon. The trials of that internal war 
 will far exceed those of the war of the Revolution ; while the cause 
 
106 YEAK-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 contended for will equal, if not excel, in sublimity and power, that 
 for which, the children of 1776 fought. 
 
 "But when the battle-smoke shall disappear, and the cannon's 
 fearful tones be heard no more, then will mankind more fully realize 
 the blessing outflowing from the mighty struggle in which they so 
 valiantly contended. No longer will their eyes meet with those 
 bound in the chains of physical slavery, or their ears listen to the 
 heavy sobs of the oppressed child of God; but over a land dedicated 
 to the principles of impartial liberty the king of day will rise and 
 set, and hearts now oppressed with care and sorrow will rejoice in 
 the blessings of uninterrupted freedom. 
 
 " In this eventful revolution, what the patriots of the past failed 
 to accomplish, their descendants will perform, with the timely assist- 
 ance of invisible powers. By their sides the heavenly hosts will 
 labor, imparting courage and fortitude in each hour of despondency, 
 and urging them onward to a speed}*- and magnificent triumph. De- 
 ploring as we do the existence of slavery, and the means to be em- 
 ployed to purge it from America, yet our sympathies will culminate 
 in tha cause of right and justice, and give strength to those 
 
 ' Who seek to set the captive free, 
 And crush the monster Slavery/ 
 
 "The picture which I have presented is, indeed, a hideous one. 
 You may think that I speak with too much assurance when I thus 
 boldly prophesy the dissolution of the American Confederacy, and, 
 through it, the destruction of that gigantic structure, — human 
 slavery ; but this knowledge was not the result of a moment's or an 
 hours gleaning, but nearly half a century's existence in the seraph- 
 life. I have carefully watched my country's rising progress ; and I 
 am thoroughly convinced that it can not always exist under the pres- 
 ent Federal Constitution, and the pressure of that most terrible sin, 
 slavery." 
 
 ANSWERING SEALED LETTERS. 
 
 Mrs. J. B. Clarke, in " The Universe," records the follow- 
 ing remarkable test of the mediumistic power of Mr. Heddon 
 of Dawagiac, Mich. : — 
 
 " On one occasion, a gentleman who had received an answer to a 
 sealed letter came to the house of the medium to show how he had 
 secured the letter. After writing his questions, he had spread paste 
 upon the page written upon ; and, folding it while wet, it had dried 
 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 107 
 
 the folds together, so that the writer had to pick it all to pieces to 
 find the writing; and then it could not be deciphered, of course. He 
 stated that the reply which he received was an exact copy of his 
 questions, with an appropriate answer to each. 
 
 " Mr. Heddon has never advertised as a professional medium. As 
 far as he is known to the public, it has been through the agency of 
 those, who, like myself, have tested his powers, and wished to give 
 others the same opportunity. 
 
 SPIRIT-DETECTION. 
 
 It is not often that spirits will consent to become detec- 
 tives ; but sometimes they will do so with signal success, as 
 the following fact, given by Mr. H. D. Bissell in " The Ban- 
 ner of Light," clearly shows : — 
 
 " On Christmas Eve last, the residence of Mr. John Dunning of 
 Cliftonpark Township, Saratoga County, N.Y., was entered, and 
 robbed of forty dollars. After unsuccessful efforts to obtain any clew 
 to the thief, Mr. Dunning visited one of our spirit-mediums, a Mrs. 
 J. W. Foster, formerly of West Danville, Me., now a resident of Ball- 
 ston Spa. Mr. Dunning stated that he had come to test her powers, 
 and meant business. The controlling influence, an Indian styling 
 himself ' Old King,' described the robbery, the amount, the thief, his 
 dress and appearance, and where he lived. He directed Dunning to 
 see the man, and charge him w r ith the theft; stating that the man 
 would deny it, but he must persist, and threaten him with the law ; 
 when the man would acknowledge it. Dunning was convinced. It 
 was an exact description of one whom he knew. Returning home, 
 he sent for the man, and charged him with the theft. The man 
 denied it: he persisted, and he then threatened him. The man 
 finally confessed he had taken the money, had spent it for rum and 
 various things, but would repay as soon as he could earn the 
 money." 
 
108 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 SPIRIT-IDENTITY. — A PERSONAL INCIDENT. 
 
 BY H. T. 
 
 Requiring a leading article for " The American Spiritual- 
 ist," I cut out a section from the work I was then writing, and 
 heading it, " From whence the Authority of the Church ? " gave 
 it to the printers. I had often felt the presence of Theodore 
 Parker while writing, and believed, in, fact knew, that he 
 composed the section I had thus appropriated ; but I had 
 never mentioned my impression to even my nearest friends, 
 nor expressed them in any manner. From the writing of the 
 article, no correspondence had taken place between myself 
 and. the office of "The Banner of Light." What was my 
 surprise, almost immediately after the appearance of the arti- 
 cle, to receive a letter from Mr. Colb}^ of " The Banner," 
 stating, that, at their circle, Theodore Parker had. presented 
 himself, and told them that he was the author of the article 
 in question, and desired them to insert it in " The Banner," 
 which they had accordingly done ! 
 
 It is exceedingly difficult to account for this accurate trans- 
 mission of intelligence in any other manner than by direct 
 spirit-control ; but by this it becomes as clear as daylight. 
 If Parker actually wrote, and then went personally to " The 
 Banner" office with his message, there is no mystery or ob- 
 scurity in the otherwise wonderful fact. 
 
 THE RING-MANIFESTATION. 
 
 This manifestation, of which full particulars were published 
 in " The Banner of Light," was so carefully observed and test- 
 ed, while its astonishing character so strongly attracted atten- 
 tion, that the editors of " The Year-Book" considered it of 
 extreme value, and wrote Mr. Danskin that possibly he might 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 109 
 
 furnish still more incontrovertible evidence of its genuineness. 
 To this he kindly replied, — 
 
 " ' The ring-manifestation ' was an unmistakable genuine spirit- 
 effort to demonstrate to us their superior knowledge of the laws of 
 Nature. 
 
 " I have never in any other instance offered corroborative testimony 
 to any statement of mine ; but as this was so entirely outside of 
 the known laws of Nature, extended so far into the regions of the 
 impossible, and was so valuable in its character, I obtained the 
 signatures of a number of those who had witnessed the manifesta- 
 tion, and have published a full account of this wonderful phenome- 
 non in the last edition of ' How and Why I became a Spiritualist.' " 
 
 By permission, we insert from the above-mentioned work 
 the description of this " test," and the evidence of its truth- 
 fulness. 
 
 " On the 20th of January, 1867, a youth, apparently about nineteen 
 or twenty years of age, introduced himself to me, and stated that 
 he, like the Davenports, could free himself, no matter how securely 
 he might be tied. After conversing with him sufficiently to convince 
 myself of the probability both of his honesty and his mediumship, 
 I proposed to investigate his claims that evening, provided he would 
 submit to any test I might deem proper to apply. He readily 
 assented, and presented himself at my dwelling at the appointed 
 hour. Meanwhile I had procured a pair of handcuffs, ninety-six 
 feet of small rope, and a board about the hight and width of his 
 body, with twenty-five holes in it, each large enough to pass the rope 
 through. 
 
 " He was first handcuffed, then placed with his back against the 
 board ; and the ropes, securely fastened about his limbs and body, 
 were then passed through the holes, and tied on the outside. A large 
 and powerful man was present, and aided me in tying the youth. 
 We both worked diligently for twenty-five minutes, and were both 
 confident that no unaided mortal could free himself from such bond- 
 age. 
 
 " He was then carried into an adjoining room, and left there in the 
 dark ; and, in four and a half minutes, he walked in among us with 
 the board under his arm, and the handcuffs dangling from his finger. 
 
 "At this time, the First Spiritualist Congregation of Baltimore 
 were holding weekly social meetings at Saratoga Hall ; which, after 
 some further experiments at my dwelling, I induced the medium to 
 attend. The exhibitions there were perfectly successful. On one 
 occasion, an experienced sea-captain was one of the committee on 
 tying ; and, being skillful in handling the ropes, he did the work more 
 
110 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 perfectly and artistically, perhaps, than usual. Besides some ten or 
 a dozen knots which were tied behind the board, there were two 
 loops around the neck, drawn nearly as close as could be borne with- 
 out strangulation, and tied with all the skill of this skeptical mariner. 
 But the medium came from under the cover after a few minutes, 
 entirely free, and without any of the knots being untied. The 
 greatest sensation, however, was created by the fact, that the loops 
 which had been around the neck were not at all enlarged, but still 
 remained some six or seven inches smaller than the medium's head. 
 
 " This singular occurrence made so strong an impression upon a 
 gentleman present, that on the next day he went to a coach-smith's 
 shop, and had an iron ring made some seven inches smaller in cir- 
 cumference than the medium's head; and, bringing it to me, asked 
 if I would place it, when next sitting with the medium, in connec- 
 tion with the ropes and handcuffs, and see what result would follow. 
 I did so on three or four occasions without effect : but on Sunday 
 night, some ten days after the ring was first placed in my possession, 
 the medium was sitting in my dressing-room ; a number of friends 
 were* in the adjoining chamber ; and, after some forty minutes passed 
 in the dark, he called me to come to him, his voice indicating fear 
 or mental excitement. Upon entering the room, we found him tied 
 securely to a chair, the iron ring around his neck, and a portion of 
 the rope wrapped around the ring. After carefully examining the 
 ring, we extinguished the light, and left him again alone in the room ; 
 and the same power that had produced this wonderful phenomenon 
 released him from his fetters. 
 
 " After this manifestation had occurred some five or six times in 
 connection with the ropes and handcuffs, I tried the experiment 
 with the ring alone, ; and sometimes he would remain in the dark 
 only two or three minutes before the ring would be around his neck.' 
 At other sittings, fifteen or twenty minutes would pass before it was 
 accomplished ; and occasionally the effort would be unsuccessful, no 
 manifestation occurring. 
 
 "The gentleman who suggested the ring, and the smith who made 
 it, entered into a conspiracy to test the matter most effectually. 
 
 "Another ring, precisely similar in appearance, was made, marked 
 by four indentations while the metal was soft, and brought to the 
 hall at one of our public exhibitions, without the knowledge of my- 
 self or the medium. Watching their opportunity, they substituted 
 the marked ring for the one originally used, and placed it under 
 cover with the medium. 
 
 " The manifestation was successfully given ; but the time was some- 
 what extended, and the medium was very much exhausted. The 
 first ring had been thoroughly magnetized by our invisible friends, 
 and the other had not. Had I known the purpose of the parties, I 
 would not have permitted it ; for although the intention was, proba- 
 bly, not unkind, it might have caused much annoyance and injury 
 to the medium. 
 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. Ill 
 
 " I append to this article the certificate of some thirty persons who 
 have witnessed the manifestation, not because I deem it necessary 
 to offer any corroboration of my own statement, — for it is entirely 
 immaterial to myself personally who accepts or who rejects the facts 
 here narrated, — but because, in presenting an account of this re- 
 markable phenomenon, I desire to have the evidence perfect and 
 complete. 
 
 " By special invitation, a party of eighteen or twenty gentlemen 
 was assembled in my parlors one evening for the purpose of investi- 
 gating this wonder that was now exciting the public mind; and 
 among them was one of the most learned and eminent of our medical 
 men, — a man who stands foremost among the scientific celebrities 
 of our city. He, with two others forming the committee, carefully 
 examined and marked the ring previous to the manifestation. The 
 medium retired to the adjoining room, and in a few minutes returned 
 with the ring around his neck, and remained in the parlor among 
 my guests some fifteen or twenty minutes, giving ample opportunity 
 for the most careful scrutin}^. 
 
 " The distinguished gentleman to whom I have before alluded, after 
 submitting the ring to the closest examination, after passing the 
 edge of his penknife around the entire circumference of the ring 
 while it was upon the medium's neck, said to me, — 
 
 " ' Mr. Danskin, I will not attempt to say by what power this effect 
 is produced ; for it is beyond the known laws of Nature : but I do 
 say, sir, that the fact to which you invited our attention has been 
 unquestionably established. , 
 
 11 Once, when only three persons were present, — the medium, a 
 friend, and myself (we sat together in a dark room ; I held the left 
 hand of the medium, my friend held his right hand, our other hands 
 being joined), — and, while thus sitting, the ring, which I had thrown 
 some distance from us on the floor, suddenly came around my arm. 
 I had never loosened my hold upon the medium ; yet that solid iron 
 ring, by an invisible power, was made to clasp my arm, thus demon- 
 strating the power of our unseen friends to separate and re-unite, as 
 well as to expand, the particles of which the ring was composed. 
 
 " In the earlier manifestations of this remarkable phenomenon, 
 when a portion of the rope was wrapped around the ring, some 
 cavilers, more captious than wise, suggested that a joint in the ring 
 might be concealed by the rope ; but when the rope was dispensed 
 with, and the naked ring was used alone, then all intelligent skepti- 
 cism was silenced. 
 
 " In conclusion, permit me to say that this simple fact, occurring as 
 it does outside and independent of all the known laws of Nature, is 
 not only potent in its defiance of those maligners of physical medi- 
 ums who call themselves Spiritualists, but it appeals with direct and 
 irresistible power to every phase of skepticism but two, — the one being 
 based upon hopeless imbecility, and the other the result of invincible 
 
112 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 hostility : and with neither condition do I desire to interfere ; my 
 personal efforts for the propagation of our divine philosophy being 
 directed only to those who have sufficient intelligence to appreciate 
 its value, or sufficient candor to avow their convictions. 
 
 " Wash. A. Danskin. 
 "Baltimore, Md., Nov. 24, 1867. 
 
 " This manifestation is attested by Robert Y. Wilson, John J. 
 Kurtz, E. L. Kurtz, L. Z. Lyon, Henry C. Lynch, P. T. Eaton, 
 L. H. Hyzer, Wm. Cooper, Dr. D. Bruce, John T. Rote, Jacob 
 Weaver, J. H. Weaver, Charles Held, John M. Potts, Levi Weaver, 
 Benj. McClellan, C. W. G. Baughman,0. L. Mathiot, Uriah Jones, 
 Wm. Brooks, A. V. Foose, John Frist, Wm. Pridgeon, James Frist, 
 Orlando G. White, Z. S. Purrington, John F. Edmondson, Preston 
 C. Weaver, C. E. Dimmitt, Robert Booth, Francis H. Smith." 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 BY GEORGE A. BACON. 
 
 Spiritualism, distinctively as such, came, in our day and 
 generation, without the blowing of trumpets and beating of 
 drums, — came humbly and modestly, like all great, important, 
 and epochal events. It has pursued the even and uneven 
 tenor of its way, until now it is recognized, even by its bitter- 
 est opponents, as a dominant and yet augmenting power in 
 the land, — recognized as having begun a revolution in human 
 thought, already visible in literature, medicine, art, science, 
 and in religion ; and it is destined to go forward, conquer- 
 ing and to conquer, turning and overturning, until the spiritual 
 truths it came to teach shall be everywhere recognized, ac- 
 cepted, and appreciated. 
 
 Its work is destructive, constructive, and reconstructive. 
 It came as a regenerator, an educator, and a consoler. It 
 already has been, now is, and will be to many multitudes 
 more, a holy comforter indeed, — the veritable spirit of truth. 
 
 At first it came to the head, convincing the understanding, 
 enabling it to speak as one having authority, — came to 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 113 
 
 deepen and widen and enlarge the boundaries of man's mental 
 vision. 
 
 Next it came to bring comfort to the heart, joy to the 
 mourner ; came to enrich by intensification man's affectional 
 nature ; came to prove the dearest and greatest of earthly 
 blessings, — the continuity and perpetuity of human love 
 through and over death and the grave : and, lastly, it came 
 to the spirit of man ; came with its magnetic processes of 
 illumination and purification ; came inspiring, refining, and 
 baptizing all. 
 
 Amid the Sahara of mortal pilgrimage, are not these inter- 
 ests worth bidding it welcome? worth rejoicing over? worth 
 imparting and extending the knowledge thereof? 
 
 Through the mists of its surroundings, consequent, in part, 
 upon the imperfection of media, consequent in part, also, on a 
 lack of correct knowledge even by those who profess to know 
 most about it, all who are in any way interested are advised, 
 both by mortals and immortals, to separate and appropriate 
 only the good, the beautiful, and the true. Assimilating this 
 with their daily thought and life, they may grow up unto the 
 stature of perfect manhood and womanhood, even unto the 
 stature of angelhood, while yet dwellers in the flesh. Man 
 can and must match with the angels. It is his high and holy 
 prerogative to call down grace from love, and light from truth, 
 which, impregnating, shall angelize him. 
 
 THE PROPHECY. 
 
 BY EMMA SCARR LEDSHAM. 
 
 An angel, with the prophet's far-off look, 
 Uttered these words in my attentive ear : 
 " Child, in the darksome ages of the past, 
 A chilling vapor overspread the world; 
 And only those who had the strength and will 
 To scale the loftiest mountains could perceive 
 The dawn that heralded the near approach 
 Of that most glorious orb, the sun of knowledge. 
 8 
 
114 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Those seers, of whom part were to good inclined, 
 
 And part to evil, having learned some things 
 
 More than their brethren of the vales and plains, 
 
 Came down among them to impart the news, 
 
 So wondrous, of a grand and perfect day 
 
 That soon should bathe them in celestial light. 
 
 But now the evil-minded prophets taught 
 
 That they possessed the supernatural power 
 
 To hasten or retard the blest event, 
 
 For which all looked with upturned, anxious eyes. 
 
 Then did the trembling, awestruck multitude 
 
 With reverence gather round these self-styled. gods, 
 
 And do them homage. Thus their thrones were built 
 
 Upon credulity, and they became 
 
 Tyrants and libertines. The earth with blood 
 
 Was deluged ; and peace sought in vain to teach 
 
 The useful and the ornamental arts. 
 
 Slowly the sun ascended ; and across 
 
 The murky sky the swift cloud-couriers sped, 
 
 Bearing their lustrous banners stamped with words 
 
 So legible, that all might read with ease, — 
 
 1 Justice, Equality, and Love and Truth ; 
 
 Emancipation" from the festering chains 
 
 Of selfishness and sin and ignorance ; 
 
 Freedom for all to worship, as they list, 
 
 The soul divine that Nature animates.' 
 
 Such were the mottoes on those flags of light ; 
 
 And they became enstamped upon the minds 
 
 Of all whose aspirations upward turned. 
 
 Higher the sun ascended, and the hills 
 
 Were wreathed with splendor ; and Darkness cowered, 
 
 And clung in terror to the skirts of Earth. 
 
 Electric thrills of expectation stirred 
 
 The depths of human feeling. Men began 
 
 To think, and closely question one another. 
 
 Reason was heard with calmness and respect ; 
 
 While Superstition drooped her sable wings, 
 
 Bewailing her unhappy future lot, 
 
 Since universal and despotic power 
 
 Might ne'er be hers to wield at will again. 
 
 Still higher climbs the sun ; and now the brows — 
 
 The upturned foreheads of the multitude — 
 
 Are bathed in his pellucid waves of light. 
 
 Men, wondering, learn of things they dreamed not of 
 
 While groping in the darkness of the past. 
 
 They see the vastness of their sphere of life, 
 
 That further reaches than e'en thought itself 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 115 
 
 Into the measureless deep on every side. 
 
 They see the shining opportunities 
 
 Bejeweling the mantle of the future. 
 
 They see each other's weakness ; and they learn 
 
 To lean on the Creator, not the creature. 
 
 They see the footprints of the Deity 
 
 Impressed on Nature everywhere. They see 
 
 Their former soulless idols, shattered, fall 
 
 Before Progression, who in trumpet-tones 
 
 Cries, ' Men and women ! these momentous times, 
 
 Foretold so oft by prophets in the past, 
 
 Are now revealing to your startled view 
 
 Their marvelous creations. Live and learn. 
 
 Ere long, yon golden beams shall flood the earth, 
 
 And swallow all the lingering shades of night : 
 
 Then will heaven stoop to clasp in fond embrace 
 
 The enraptured world, and crown her placid brow 
 
 With fair Perfection's never-fading wreath. 
 
 Take courage, ye who with despondence mourn 
 
 The piteous wrongs of poor humanity ; 
 
 Lift up your drooping heads : the blessed hour — 
 
 The hour of change — draws nigh ; the hour draws nigh? * 
 
 SPIRIT- COMMUNION. 
 
 BY GEORGE CHILD. 
 
 While my brother Edward was growing from childhood, 
 I did not seek to force the subject of Spiritualism, which 
 deeply interested me, on his attention. One evening, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Everett were at my house ; and he called in, by chance, 
 after our seance was over. While at supper, a table, a little 
 distance from Mrs. Everett, moved towards her, without con- 
 tact. I called his attention to this ; and, on her placing her 
 hands on it, loud raps were heard, and the name " George 
 William " spelled. This was the name of a child I had lost 
 about six years previously. 
 
 My brother was deeply interested, and told me that after- 
 wards it came into his mind that he could procure rappings 
 
116 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 as well as others ; and, while alone in his house, he sat, and 
 the sounds came on the table. 
 
 I proposed that we should sit, and, on so doing, soon heard 
 the mysterious sounds. On calling the alphabet, " George 
 William " was given. Then followed these sentences : 
 " Quite happy : I am ever with you." " Dear ma, rest." 
 His mother, being • fatigued, was not present ; and I was 
 pleased with the latter remark, indicating in a few words 
 his gentle, thoughtful nature, — childlike, and attentive al- 
 ways to his mother. Then was spelled, " Pa dear, wait in 
 hope : I am always with you." The peculiarity of the ex- 
 pressions, " Pa dear, ma dear," was very characteristic. 
 
 Then we received, " Postman-game ; I used to play with 
 me." I could not understand this, and asked for an explana- 
 tion. There was then spelled " u-o-y " (" you " backwards), 
 which was an explanation ; for, by substituting " you " in 
 place of" I," I corrected the preceding message. I asked 
 for further explanation, when I received, " Back-room, fold- 
 ing-doors, double knock ; " the whole making, " Postman- 
 game, you used to play with me ; back-room ; folding-doors ; 
 double knock." I could not recollect the events to which 
 this leferred; but Mrs. Child recalled the childish game he 
 used to play by taking an envelope that had been used, 
 closing the folding-doors, knock, double knock, in imitation 
 of the postman, and give the letter to me, saying, " Letter 
 for Mr. Childs." 
 
 He farther spelled, " Nannie dear, sleep so fearfully." 
 This referred to his youngest sister, who was then asleep in 
 an upper room. Then, " Thanks, dear uncle, for riting 
 through pa." The phonographic spelling of writing, to me, 
 was a test of my child's identity. My brother, nor myself, 
 who were the mediums, would not, consciously or uncon- 
 sciously, have made such blunders ; and I refer this fact to 
 those who explain the phenomena by automatic or reflex 
 action. There also appears to, be a little confusion in the 
 sentence ; which should be, " Thanks, dear uncle, for writing, 
 through you, to pa." 
 
 I was told, by writing, to have an old and intimate friend, 
 Mr. Jones, sit with us. When my brother, Mrs. Childs, and 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 117 
 
 myself, sat, the control had been harmonious ; but the intro- 
 duction of my friend caused confusion. At last, I received 
 a communication directing us to join hands. On complying, 
 the raps spelled, " All is right ; much will be given ; have 
 patience." The room was darkened. After a time, we heard 
 the pencil writing, and then some sheets of paper fall under 
 the table. These were folded, and thrown at each of us. 
 Those under the table were failures. " Go " was written on 
 one; on another, "I am her," — evidently intended for "I 
 am here." On the one by Mr. Jones was written the initials 
 of the name of his niece, and " Dear Mr. Jones, we are 
 here." On the one by me, " Dear pa, all is well ; we are hap- 
 py ; " and, " Can you read my writing ? I am obliged to 
 write thus." This referred to the writing being all written 
 backwards. 
 
 On another occasion, on being asked if he would not give 
 a communication for his mother, he wrote, "Dear ma, bless 
 you ! I do not forget you." His gentle words we highly 
 prize. What glorious truth ! what consolation for our sor- 
 row ! Often by my hand I received messages from my 
 spirit-child. When I asked him if he desired to come back, 
 he replied, " I can not pain you, pa dear, by saying I do not 
 want to come back ; but I am happy here." 
 
 He persevered in his attempt to speak in an audible voice 
 for a long time, and at length was successful. I could hear 
 his essays, which sounded exactly like puffing out a candle. 
 At last we heard the words, " Pa, ma," so peculiar and em- 
 phatic, that I scarcely can describe them. 
 
 By patient investigation, we have come to the conclusion 
 that these wonderful manifestations are the work of spirits. 
 They have been witnessed and described by Emma Hardinge 
 and J. M. Peebles. 
 
 That these pages may cheer the heart of some fond 
 mother or bereaved father, that they may induce the mate- 
 rialist to pause before he pronounces judgment, is the sin- 
 cere hope of the writer. 
 
 London, England. 
 
118 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 PHASE OF MEDIUMSHIP. 
 
 BY MARIA M. KING. 
 
 I am a conscious inspirational or impressional medium. I 
 write and speak for the spirit controlling me, with my own 
 mind held entirely in abeyance, and yet entirely conscious 
 of what is passing through my brain from the mind of 
 another. I judge of what I speak or write as another would 
 judge of it ; it being no more the product of my own brain 
 than of that of a reader or a hearer of it, only in the sense 
 that the quality of my brain must decide the quality of mani- 
 festations which are produced through it. 
 
 I have pne spirit-guide, who is the only one that controls 
 my organization for public teaching ; and whatever spirit 
 wishes to speak through my organization to. men in the flesh 
 does it through this one as controller. 
 
 I write many communications from different spirits ; but 
 they are all given through this one, whom I term my teacher. 
 He is my teacher in all things that pertain to " the life that 
 now is, and that which is to come," I can most truly say. 
 His manner of instructing me in the principles of the Spiritual 
 philosophy has been such as to imprint what knowledge I 
 have acquired of it so indelibly in my nature, that neither 
 time nor circumstance can efface it. It is mine, as all truth 
 must ultimately become, — made so by the experiences through 
 which I have lived since I became a medium, and before ; 
 which latter have been applied by the teacher since he gained 
 power over my organization through my development. I 
 value the education I have received from this teacher as 
 above all price ; and I know by experience that mediumship, 
 conducted by such as he, blesses the medium above what any 
 thing else can, and, I believe, blesses mankind. 
 
 The psychological power of my controller over me is so 
 complete, that, when he attempts to give expression to his own 
 thoughts through my brain, he can do so without the inter- 
 ference of my own mind. I do not yield my reason, or my 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. Ill) 
 
 privilege of judging for myself as an individual, to him or 
 any other spirit ; and yet I know tnat perfect control can only 
 be maintained while the controlling spirit commands, psj^cho- 
 logically, the instrument he is using. 
 
 The science of development, as understood by experienced 
 spirits, the world, and Spiritualists in particular, need to un- 
 derstand better than they do at present ; and I believe a com- 
 parison of experiences of different mediums will be a great 
 aid to thinking minds in coming to correct conclusions con- 
 cerning the phenomena and laws of mediumship. 
 
 Hammoxdton, N.J. 
 
 MRS. J. H. CONANT. 
 
 The name of " The Banner of Light " was given through 
 the mediumship of Mrs. Conant some months previous to its 
 first issue. Its famous "message-department" was suggested, 
 and has since been uninterruptedly sustained, in the same man- 
 ner. We are aware that the literary merits and utility of those 
 messages have been severely criticised, but, we believe, always 
 by those who have not comprehended their purpose. They 
 are not to be judged by ordinary rules. They are the spon- 
 taneous expression of spirits who usually there find their first 
 opportunity of communicating with earth. If their diction 
 was perfect, how soon would the critics carp at the incon- 
 gruity ! Each speaks in his own language, and relates his 
 own story. That a medium can relate these experiences, fill- 
 ing one folio page of a journal like " The Banner," week after 
 week, and year after year, and never repeat, we consider, of 
 itself, an insurmountable obstacle to any theory short of its 
 spiritual origin. They are unique. The history of the world 
 presents nothing like them ; and, were they bound in one huge 
 volume with their verifications, they would form the most 
 overwhelming evidence to be drawn from the realm of mental 
 phenomena. 
 
 Those who attend her circles have the evidence of their 
 senses. She is a delicate, retiring lady, who shrinks from 
 
120 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 contact with the world. When she is controlled by the 
 spirits, her manner and voice correspond to their character. 
 She speaks in the soft modulations of childhood and the harsh 
 tones of rudest men, in the feeble accents of age and the 
 coarse notes of sternest health. During the delivery of each 
 message, she is, for the time, the representative of the spirit 
 who is communicating ; and her features correspond to the 
 character controlling her. 
 
 She is, probably, one of the finest illustrations of sensitive- 
 ness in the long list of mediums, and a notable instance of 
 the perfect control spirits may acquire over the physical or- 
 ganism when allowed freely to perfect their purposes. 
 
 They who live to see the day when truth shall be the 
 presiding genius of every household ; when honesty shall be 
 more than a reluctant conformity to selfish customs of .com- 
 mercial trade ; when practical morality shall be something 
 better than that now exacted by fear of God and Satan ; 
 when the bankrupt laws of heaven shall be repealed, whereby 
 men's sins are canceled with a pen dipped in the " blood of 
 atonement ; " when the bond of society shall be mutual love, 
 instead of chains and glittering bayonets ; when woman shall 
 realize all her just and equal rights ; when intelligence, puri- 
 ty, and happiness shall beam from every countenance, — need 
 not be told that such is the results of the labors of those self- 
 sacrificing reformers known as Spiritualists. — K. Graves. 
 
 CALIFORNIA, — ITS WAYS AND WORKERS. 
 
 BY MRS. H. F. M. BROWN. 
 
 California as a State is still in her teens. Like Young 
 America, she has ignored bonds and boundaries : she has been 
 in truth a law unto herself, going the way she chose, doing 
 as she would. Culture and experience will by and by place 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 121 
 
 her in the front ranks of reform. Fortunately, the young 
 State has never put on the iron yoke of conservatism : she 
 has, consequently, been free to accept whatever seemed worthy 
 of attention. 
 
 In 1849, California had no building worthy the name of 
 church. The Catholics had established a few missions for the 
 benefit of the natives ; but the white population gave little 
 heed to the doctrines taught by the fathers. San Francisco 
 was then the gambler's paradise. Gold in its plenitude came 
 and went like April snows. Sunday was the people's gala- 
 day. The gambler plied his vocation at the street-corners, 
 and in the best halls and finest houses. The theaters were 
 then, and are now, open on Sunday. 
 
 The fabulous stories of California gold set the tide of emi- 
 gration towards its shores. The Occident and Orient became 
 represented. All nationalities are here congregated. When 
 the gold-excitement subsided, the soul naturally enough as- 
 serted itself. The religious element, the saving power, came 
 to the rescue of those who failed to find rest and riches in 
 the new country. No Puritan laws have been enacted here, 
 saying to the soul, " Thus far, and no farther." Every wor- 
 shiper can build his own altar, and consecrate it to any god 
 he may choose. The Jew has built his synagogue, the Chi- 
 nese his temple, the Buddhist his shrine, the Christian his 
 church. Each went his way without molestation. 
 
 But, with all these altars and various creeds, half the popu- 
 lation are still churchless. Munificent Nature has been the 
 priestess, law-giver, teacher. The Sierra Nevadas, the Yo- 
 Semite, the broad vallevs, the wealth of waters, are su^gr es . 
 tive of a father's generous love and ever-protective care. 
 
 The old garments seem quite too small ; and patching and 
 piecing are not in accordance with California custom. But 
 in ignoring the old faith, in refusing to pay blind homage to 
 the " unknown gods," the soul has not denied allegiance to 
 truth : it has loved, hoped, waited. 
 
 When California was yet a Territory, when men lived in 
 mining-camps and canvas-tents, they were reciprocants of 
 angels' visits. In many of the mining-districts there were 
 men who saw visions, who dreamed pleasant and prophetic 
 
122 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 dreams, — men who communicated by means of table-tipping 
 and raps, and spoke in " new tongues." Not a few faint 
 hearts gathered strength from the good words the angels 
 spoke. Wandering souls heard and heeded the spirit's gen- 
 tle warning ; the sorrowing were made glad, the mourner was 
 comforted. Rough miners have many a time gathered under 
 the friendly branches of a forest-tree to listen while some 
 one of their number read from a well-worn newspaper tidings 
 from the land of souls, or to the inspired words of one of their 
 own number. The Californians learned by " the angel Past " 
 that the bearers of spirit-messages were coming to them. They 
 hoped and waited. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza W. Farnham, author of "Woman and her 
 Era," " The Ideal Attained," and other works, came in an 
 early and dark day. She was among the first to accept 
 angel-teachings, and the first to give a lecture in the interest 
 of Spiritualism in the territory. Her words of love, the new 
 faith she proclaimed, won for her the esteem of the good and 
 the curses of the bigot. Her heart beats in heaven 'now. 
 She bore to that better land the blessings of the souls she 
 saved. 
 
 Miss Munson, in 1856, came to the golden shore. A good 
 medium, she gave heed to the famishing souls of many, and 
 went on to another labor-field. 
 
 J. V. Mansfield, a remarkable writing-medium, came 
 next. He spoke to the investigator in his native tongue. 
 The Chinese, the German, the Jew, — all heard from their 
 loved ones who had gone to the hereafter. In blessing he 
 was blessed. 
 
 Mrs. Ada Foy, a good rapping and writing medium, has 
 resided here five years, doing missionary-work among the 
 churches. 
 
 Dr. John Allyn has been on the coast some ten years. 
 His time is not given altogether to the promulgation of 
 Spiritualism ; yet he is a good and faithful servant, speaking 
 ever for a cause that is dear to his soul. 
 
 Hon. J. M. Peebles, the well-known author and speaker, 
 visited California in 1861. He came in search of healing balm. 
 But the field demanded laborers ; and he was pressed into 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 123 
 
 service, working with a will, — mostly in Woodland and Sacra- 
 mento. Though frail and negative, what of vitality he had 
 was consecrated to humanity and the dissemination of the 
 Spiritual philosophy. His earth-work, we are glad to say, did 
 not end on this coast. He is now United*States consul to 
 Trebizond, Turkey in Asia, where he is doing government 
 duty, and prosecuting exhaustive researches into the Spirit- 
 ualism of the East. During four years previous to his leaving 
 America for the Old World, he was connected editorially with 
 " The Banner of Light." 
 
 Benjamin Torm was here some two or three years, speak- 
 ing, and publishing " The Banner of Progress." He has per- 
 formed bold service in putting down the old, in excavating 
 and laying the foundations for the new temple. He is now 
 in Oregon as missionary. 
 
 Emma Hardinge gave one of her best years to this State. 
 She went from mountain to valley, from hamlet to city, 
 heeding neither summer's heat nor winter's storms. The 
 people called ; the angels said, " Go, the bearer of good news 
 and grand thoughts." She went and worked just as Emma 
 Hardinge will work. 
 
 Laura de Force Gordon, a clear-headed, strong-handed 
 woman, has been here and there some two years. Nothing 
 intimidates her. When work is to be done, she will do it, and 
 do it well ; some one says, with a rush. She has spoken thir- 
 teen out of fourteen consecutive nights. The woman's-suf- 
 frage cause has enlisted her services ; but she is not lost to 
 ours. 
 
 Mrs. C. M. Stowe has been five years in the State. She 
 devotes her time and energies to healing the sick, and speak- 
 ing to the people. She has averaged two lectures a week 
 for five years. 
 
 J. M. Spear has been here for some months, speaking, heal- 
 ing, and aiding all charitable works. Mrs. C. H. Spear is 
 ever at her husband's side, helping by her loving words and 
 tender sympathy. 
 
 Mrs. Laura Cuppy Smith. A literary gentleman of San 
 Francisco, in a private note, says, " Mrs. Smith has labored 
 in California some five years, — three in San Francisco. Dur- 
 
121 YEAK-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 ing these years, she has delivered over five hundred lectures. 
 Her platform has always been broad and independent. It 
 embraces not . only the fact and philosophy of invisible 
 intelligence and manifestations, but all suggestions of an ele- 
 vating and reforming tendency. She is true to truth as she 
 understands it. She is not nor will be wedded to party or 
 sect. As an orator she has no superior. She wins all hearts 
 by her sweet and persuasive voice." The crowding of large 
 halls, when she speaks, is testimony enough to her worth. 
 
 Miss Eliza Howe Fuller, a young lady from Maine, has, 
 by preaching, and by living the doctrines she preaches, done 
 a good and very acceptable work in San Francisco. 
 
 Rev. J. S. Loveland has commenced a course of lectures 
 in San Francisco. It is hoped that he will be induced to 
 remain, — a minister of the New Dispensation. 
 
 J. S. Finney has been an eloquent defender of our faith ; 
 and would be still, no doubt, were he not called in another 
 direction. 
 
 Mrs. Amanda D. Wiggin of Los Angeles is a fine clair- 
 voyant and good trance-speaker. It is to be hoped that she 
 will devote her time to the cause so dear to her soul. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Beach of San Jose possesses rare clairvoyant 
 gifts. She has done excellent missionary work in various 
 places. She once met a band of hostile Indians. She was 
 powerless. A shocking fate seemed inevitable ; but the 
 angels were with her. An old chief who had gone to the 
 u happy hunting-grounds " came and spoke, through her, to 
 the red men, calling them " children." One of them said in 
 broken English, u You white squaw know my father. You 
 see him. He talk to us. We no hurt you." 
 
 These apostles of the New Philosophy have scattered far 
 and wide the germs of truth. There are a number of socie- 
 ties, but only two Children's Lyceums yet established; but 
 there is a grand future for California. 
 
 San Francisco, Cal. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 125 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN WASHINGTON, D.C. 
 
 VERAX. 
 
 Here, in the capital of the nation, Spiritualism is an estab- 
 lished fact, and is daily growing in the estimation of an intel- 
 ligent public. Through much opposition, and great persecution, 
 the friends — few in number, but with large hearts, — rallied 
 around their chosen leaders, John Mayhew and Rev. George 
 White ; who, thus sustained, faced the storm, mildly forbearing, 
 and never returning railing for railing, and by their steady, 
 unflinching, and consistent course have gained the esteem and 
 confidence of all. Through their instrumentality, the angels 
 have thus far carried forward their designs, and realized the 
 fruit of their labors. The society called the First Society of 
 Progressive Spiritualists was organized on the last Tuesday 
 of May, 1867 ; from which time, to the present, Brother May- 
 hew has stood at its head, with marked success in all that has 
 pertained to the financial and spiritual affairs of the society. 
 This society has no creed, no limitation to the growth of mind. 
 From its organization to the present, it has been regularly 
 supplied with acceptable speakers, from Oct. 1 to May 31, 
 each season ; their platform entirely free. The following 
 speakers have occupied their desk : Sarah A. Horton, Miss 
 Bennett, Thomas Gales Forster, J. M. Peebles, Nellie T. Brig- 
 ham, Mary J. Wilcoxson, Alcinda Wilhelm, Cora L. V. 
 Tappan, Anna M. Middlebrook, Nettie Pease, N. F. White, 
 Clair R. De Vere, Susie M. Johnson, E. V. Wilson, Emma 
 Hardinge, Giles B. Stebbins, Moses Hull, and Isaac Rehn. 
 During the past season, the president has succeeded in keep- 
 ing the facts of spiritual intercourse before the people through 
 the medinmship of C. R. De Vere, E. V. Wilson, Charles H. 
 Reed, and Mr. Keene, who have visited this city for this espe- 
 cial purpose. Other excellent mediums resident here have 
 also done their share well and nobly in this good work. 
 Among these last should be named, with honor, Mary J. 
 Lanston (now on a mission-work in Nebraska and Iowa), 
 
126 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Mrs. Hull, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Sawyer, Miss Betts, Mrs. 
 Young, Dr. Kline, and others, whose names are not now re- 
 called. 
 
 The weekly conference-meetings during the entire three 
 } 7 ears have been of great interest and benefit to those who 
 participated therein. 
 
 The society has now a leased hall, well furnished and 
 decorated by themselves, which will be their permanent home 
 for the rest of their lease, — three years unexpired, — by which 
 time it is hoped that- the ability may be found to erect a per- 
 manent temple. 
 
 There are a great many Spiritualists among the senators 
 and members of Congress. From careful computation, based 
 on personal knowledge, there are at least twenty-two out of 
 sixty-seven in the Senate. It may be that the proportion of 
 members of Congress may be as large, but perhaps not more 
 than fifty out of two hundred and five. These, for the most part, 
 are free to acknowledge themselves Spiritualists among Spirit- 
 ualists, but nowhere else ; they are so much afraid of losing caste 
 by so doing. If they would be honest to themselves and the 
 world by declaring their convictions, and boldly placing them- 
 selves by our side, it is morally certain that the Spiritualists 
 would have the largest society in the city. Besides the above, 
 we have high government officials, and officials of all grades, 
 judges, 'auditors, commissioners, generals, &c, none of whom 
 would at present thank you for publishing their names, or any 
 person for reporting them. Our Children's Progressive Lyceum 
 has been quite interesting, though not so prosperous as we could 
 have desired. It has been under the management of George 
 B. Davis, conductor, and Mary B. Hosmer, guardian ; both of 
 whom have recently relinquished their offices, — Mr. Davis to 
 take up his residence far away. Thus much it was thought 
 well to give you for your " Year-Book." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 127 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 BY HENRY T. CHILD, M.D. 
 
 When the reports of the Rochester rappings were sent 
 over the land, a few persons in this city, who had been en- 
 gaged in investigations in magnetism and psychology, were 
 ready to examine into the matter carefully. 
 
 Andrew Jackson Davis's great work, " Nature's Divine 
 Revelations," had been before the public, and was creating 
 considerable interest. 
 
 An association was formed in 1850 for the purpose of 
 reading this book in public ; and, in the autumn of that year, a 
 circle was formed for the purpose of obtaining spiritual com- 
 munications. A clairvoyant medium had given directions as to 
 the sittings; and, for four months, they continued their meet- 
 ings with great regularity. At the end of that time, about 
 the 1st of February, 1851, the first well-defined manifesta- 
 tions were received in the form of raps. The writer was not 
 a member of the circle, but was pursuing similar investiga- 
 tions, and received communications through a private medium, 
 by means of the raps, about the same time. There were three 
 places in our city where the raps occurred within two weeks 
 of the 1st of February, 1851. Mediums were developed in 
 various places, and considerable excitement created. 
 
 An association was formed in this year for the purpose of 
 securing lecturers, which was continued in existence up to the 
 present time, and is now known as " The First Association 
 of Spiritualists of Philadelphia." It has leased the church 
 formerly known as Stockton's Church : it is a plain building, 
 neatly fitted up, and capable of seating one thousand persons. 
 They have adopted the name of Harmonial Hall for it. 
 Regular meetings are held as follows : Lectures on Sunday 
 morning and evening, and Friday evenings ; L}^ceum No. 1 
 on Sunday afternoon ; conferences on Wednesday evenings. 
 
 There is a society, which owns, and holds its meetings at, 
 the Thompson-street Church. This was formerly a Universal- 
 
128 YEAPw-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 ist church, but is now dedicated as "The First Spiritualist 
 Church." They hold meetings and public circles on Sun- 
 days, and occasionally on other evenings. 
 
 An organization known as " The Spiritual Union " occupied 
 Washington Hall. 
 
 There are three Children's Lyceums in the city. No. 1 
 is the largest and most successful. It was instituted in 1864, 
 under the auspices of S. J. Finney; and, for nearly six years, 
 was under the able conductorship of Michael B. Dyott, aided 
 by his earnest and devoted wife, Mary J. Dyott, and a corps 
 of excellent leaders. At one time, it had three hundred 
 members. 
 
 Lyceum No. 2 has been in existence several years, and has 
 about one hundred members. 
 
 The Spiritual Union had a very successful Lyceum under 
 the conductorship of Damon Y. Kilgore, but has adjourned, 
 subject to the call of the officers. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate the number of Spiritualists in our 
 city. The Catholic council, in estimating the number of Spirit- 
 ualists of the country at eleven millions, must have depended 
 mainly in their estimates upon information obtained in the 
 large cities. One of the liberal papers estimates the number 
 in our city at thirty thousand. 
 
 I believe, that, taking the three fundamental positions of 
 Spiritualism, — 1st, That man is a spirit now and here ; 2d, 
 That that spirit has unbroken and continued existence ; and, 
 3d, That it can, under favorable conditions, communicate with 
 those in the form, — one hundred thousand persons in this 
 city will willingly indorse them. 
 
 I estimate the number in the State at two hundred and 
 fifty thousand. There are, I think, three hundred public and 
 private mediums in this city, and six hundred in other parts 
 of the State. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 129 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN DUBLIN, IRELAND. 
 
 BY IVER MACDONNELL. 
 
 Spiritualism, so far as I am aware, was first introduced into 
 Dublin, about fourteen years ago, by Capt. Casement, — a 
 gentleman who took much interest in the subject, and brought 
 an uneducated medium from Lancashire, named Alexander. 
 Neither the table-moving manifestations of this medium, nor 
 the persuasion of the captain, had any influence beyond excit- 
 ing a temporary interest with a few, and producing contempt 
 and ridicule with most who witnessed his experiments. I ob- 
 tained a private sitting with him ; when it was intimated by a 
 female spirit, in reply to my question as to her reason of 
 coming to me, " Because you will yet be the means of for- 
 warding this truth in Ireland." A course of study and prac- 
 tice of mesmerism prepared me for receiving the experiments 
 of the Davenport Brothers as genuine some time after, — in 
 the early part of 1866. Struck by their phenomena, I formed 
 a circle of the members of my family and a few friends, and 
 succeeded in developing three writing-mediums, — one a gentle- 
 man, through whom the spirits of Charlotte Bronte and of the 
 poet Shelley purported to communicate. Although no logical 
 evidence or demonstration of the reality of these authors could 
 be given of their real presence, yet the highly poetic and 
 purely moral tone of their communications was sufficient to 
 satisfy my mind of the truth of the pretension. I carried on 
 a private course of study with another medium meanwhile, 
 observing the similarity of the phenomena, and not letting the 
 mediums ever see each other ; I myself exhibiting no me- 
 diumistic power whatever. For nine months, this circle gave 
 weekly evidence of the truth. After a lapse of nearly two 
 years, I formed a second circle, of entirely new elements, and 
 found quite similar results, — only of a higher order, and more 
 voluminous. I kept a careful record of every question and 
 answer during all this time, and now have several manuscript 
 volumes, which I value highly, and from which I make ex- 
 tracts herewith. 
 
 9 
 
130 YEAE-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 On all occasions, I invited inquirers of all sorts to be pres- 
 ent, several of whom formed circles of their own afterwards. 
 And so the subject is fairly started in Dublin, but, as yet, utter- 
 ly disbelieved by the public ; while the adherents may be in- 
 cluded in a couple of dozen. 
 
 Some of our believers admit " intelligence outside our- 
 selves;" others fear that " even our best communications may 
 be only delusions by evil spirits," and that "it is as well to 
 let the matter alone altogether." I and a few others think 
 that good thoughts can emanate only from good minds ; and 
 that the high moral elevation and intelligence which charac- 
 terize the communications justify us in believing their state- 
 ments of their identity, — the more particularly as the objectors 
 are as silent, when asked to explain the phenomena, as they 
 are talkative in their opposition. 
 
 My own opinion is, that, all other means having failed to 
 raise men's thoughts beyond the things of earth and time, it 
 is found necessary to meet the practical mind of this day by 
 experimenting in spirit-intercourse, and thereby supply facts 
 to prove what there was no faith to receive ; for that prac- 
 tical infidelity as to future existence, responsibility, and prog- 
 ress, prevails, none can deny, — except, indeed, among the so- 
 called ignorant classes. 
 
 Ireland will yet be, I believe, a grand field for Spiritualism, 
 as its people have ever been truly religious. The very supersti- 
 tions so abundant in its history, the fairy-lore, the charms, mi- 
 raculous power of relics, &c, prove the existence of the mind 
 susceptible to this science, as contrasted with the metaphysi- 
 cal, reasoning head of the Scotchman, and the materialistic, 
 matter-of-fact, sensuous character of the Englishman. 
 
 The effect of the study of Spiritualism on my mind, and on 
 those of several others I know, has been to verify many in- 
 credible passages in the Scriptures ; to reconcile the character 
 of Deity to goodness and love ; to create a living belief, which 
 affects our lives, of the transient nature of this human life, 
 and the awful reality of that approaching ; as well as to lift 
 us out of the influence of human teaching on religious subjects 
 by the practice of holy spirit-communion. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 131 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF CIRCLES. 
 
 PERCY B. SHELLEY, THROUGH 0. DEDRICKSON. 
 
 "The air is full of ever-active spirits; 
 
 The perfume from the stricken rosebud lingers: 
 And shall the higher life that man inherits 
 
 Be swept away by Death's all-changing fingers? " 
 
 Question to Shelley. — What are your present views of your 
 writings ? 
 
 Answer. — There is much that I have written that I 
 could, oh ! I could, wish I had never penned. They were 
 the sincere expressions of a boy, who, goaded by the mockery 
 of dead forms and narrow-minded professors, confounded 
 the withered branches with the living tree. Am I not a 
 proof against my own works ? I thank God, who has, 
 through Spiritualism and other means, permitted me to coun- 
 teract what I wrote. Oh the bitterness to sit beneath the 
 tree, spreading its darkening branches to the sun, whose seed 
 we've set in the ground, and watered by the tears of earnest- 
 ness and hope, — the bitterness to see what we had hoped 
 would give forth fruit to all, become in other hands life-taking 
 drugs, like dark clouds round the sun ! 
 
 Question. — Is poetry, which flows from imagination, of as 
 much advantage to mankind as philosophy, which is founded 
 on fact ? 
 
 Answer. — Poetry is that which leads the soul to good. 
 Philosophy examines things of earth. The poet leads the soul 
 by degrees to the throne of God ; the philosopher leads the 
 soul from that throne, from the great First Cause, to lower 
 details : but the true poet is always a philosopher. 
 
 Question. — What is your view now on predestination and 
 free-will ? 
 
 Answer. — Actions free, within a destined path. 
 
132 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN PARIS. 
 
 " Mr. J. Burns. Sir, — In offering you ray thanks for your 
 friendly notice of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, which, 
 since the last annual election of its officers and board, I have the 
 honor of representing, I beg to inform you tliat this society is not in 
 any sense a new one, but is, on the contrary, the same society 
 that was founded in 1857 by M. Allan Kardec, and which, so far 
 from having fallen into ruins, has not only constantly maintained 
 its primitive organization, and held its usual meetings, but has ac- 
 cepted the additional responsibility that has devolved upon it through 
 the loss of its revered and regretted founder, as a motive for increased 
 diligence in the great work which Spiritists and Spiritualists have 
 equally at heart. 'Compelled to take other premises by the ex- 
 piration of the lease of those formerly occupied by our society in the 
 Rue Ste. Anne, we are about to establish its headquarters at No. 27, 
 Rue M^liere (close to the Palais Royal), where we hope that our 
 English friends who may visit this capital will not forget to inscribe 
 their name and address, in order that those, who, on both sides of the 
 Channel, are laboring for a common end, may have the opportunity 
 of becoming acquainted with one another. — Your faithful servant, 
 
 Eugene Bonnemere, 
 
 Acting President of the Society Parisienne des Etudes Spirites. 
 31 Rue de Boulogne, Paris, March 8, 1870. 
 
 English Spiritualists will be interested in learning that the 
 Honorary President of the Kardec Society is the eminent 
 young astronomer, M. Camille Flammarion of the Paris Ob- 
 servatory, member of the Bureau des Longitudes, and of half 
 the learned societies of Europe ; many of whose works (as 
 " Les Merveilles Celestes," " La Plurality des Mondes Habi- 
 te's," " Dieu dans la Nature," &c), though purely scientific, 
 may be considered to constitute an important element of 
 Spiritist literature, by the clearness with which they demon- 
 strate the reality of the divine action in the production of the 
 phenomena of the universe, and by the evidence they in- 
 directly furnish of the existence of an invisible world in con- 
 nection with our own. 
 
 M. Flammarion being prevented, by his onerous and ab- 
 sorbing scientific occupations, from taking any active part in 
 the administration of the society, the latter devolves mainly 
 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 133 
 
 on its amiable and excellent acting president, M. Bonnemere, 
 well known to the literary world of France by his important 
 historical works, among which may be cited " LTIistoire des 
 Paysans,'" " La France sous Louis XIV.," " La Vendue en 
 1793, " ' k Les Dragonnades," &c. Madame Bonnemere, one 
 of the rare examples of purely mechanical mediumship, has 
 published two remarkably interesting and charming novels, 
 " Le Roman de l'Avenir " and " Louis Hubert," written b}^ 
 her hand in a perfectly unconscious state of trance. Among 
 the members of the committee is our countrywoman, Miss 
 Anna Blackwell ; and among the members of the society are 
 our countrymen, Dr. Love and Mr. J. H. Gledstanes. We 
 hope to be able, from time to time, to give to the readers of 
 " Human Nature " notices of the doings and discussions of 
 the society, together with some of the spirit-communications 
 obtained by its mediums. 
 
 Our Paris friends are evidently not going to sleep since the 
 loss of their late leader. A joint-stock company QSocietS 
 Anonyrne), Avhose offices are at No. 7, Rue de Lille, has re- 
 cently been incorporated, under the auspices of Madame Kar- 
 dec, for the sale of .the Kardec books and the other works of 
 the Spiritist School. We strongly advise all Spiritualists who 
 may find themselves in Paris to call at the offices of both these 
 organizations, knowing from our own experience that they will 
 meet with a cordial welcome from our Paris brethren. 
 
 " La Liberte," M. Emile de Girardin's paper, states that the 
 Marquise de Boissy (Countess Guiccioli) declares that her 
 intercourse with Lord Byron has never ceased. She writes to 
 the great poet, places before herself a large sheet of blue- 
 woven paper, as Byron liked it, falls into a kind of ecstasy, and 
 lifts up her eyes to the ceiling ; and a few minutes afterwards 
 her hand runs on the paper involuntarily, without her look- 
 ing at it, and the answer comes. Dr. Cerise (a well-known 
 French physician), it appears, witnessed the phenomenon 
 two years ago ; and that very day Lord Byron's letter an- 
 nounced that "an American author was preparing to write on 
 his life a book full of false and horrible things." — Human 
 Nature. 
 
134 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 We are informed, from reliable sources, that the number of 
 outspoken Spiritualists in Paris exceeds fifty thousand, and 
 that there are at least ten thousand in Lyons. The number 
 is not as great proportionally in the rural districts ; showing 
 that in France, as everywhere else, its receivers are among the 
 best cultured minds. 
 
 Mr. H. D. Jencken, becoming acquainted with M. Dufay- 
 ette, the patron of the Zouave Jacob, noted numerous cases 
 of cures that have been performed at the business-place of 
 that gentleman. Jacob occupies nearly the same position, as 
 healer, in France, that Dr. Newton does in America. 
 
 There is no public trance-speaking in Paris, and can not be 
 under the present system of government espionage. There 
 are thousands of media in the city ; but they appropriate their 
 gifts to private families and their own edification. There was 
 but one professional medium for manifestations last September 
 in Paris. This lady charged five francs a seance, Jesse B. 
 H. Shepherd, the celebrated musical medium, was quite suc- 
 cessful while sojourning for some ten months in Paris. He 
 was patronized by the elite of the spiritualistic public. 
 
 Among the distinguished Spiritualists of Paris who do not 
 accept the re-incarnation theory of Kardec are M. L6on 
 Favre, Consul-General of France, Baron De La Taille, and 
 Z. J. Pierart of the " Revue Spiritualiste." 
 
 The Baroness Kischendorf (formerly Madame Stoltz, queen 
 of the Grand Opera of Paris) has gone strenuously over into 
 devotion, and has published a book entitled " Dicte*es Spirites," 
 which she puts forth as having been written under the imme- 
 diate inspiration of Queen Marie Antoinette. 
 
 M. Pierart of the " Revue Spiritualiste " occupied a com- 
 manding position in the public schools of Paris until the ut- 
 terance of his republican convictions, — just before the attempt 
 of Dec. 11, 1861. He is author of a fine epic poem entitled 
 " The Drama of Waterloo," and quite famous for his research 
 into ancient history and archaeology. It is hoped that there 
 may soon be more union between the two schools of French 
 Spiritualists. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 135 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN SMYRNA, ASIA MINOR. 
 
 This city, golden with the memories of early Christian 
 teachings, sits to-day like a queen upon the border-lands of 
 the Orient. 
 
 Passing the Greek Church, a modern structure, the Arme- 
 nian houses, and a drove of burdened camels, to the suburbs 
 of the city, I commenced ascending the hill towards the old 
 castle, accompanied by a dragoman. It was nearly noon 
 when I reached the tomb of Potycarp, the ancient Smyrnian 
 bishop, the good Christian martyr, the acquaintance and fer- 
 vent admirer of the apostle John. This tomb, held semi- 
 sacred by both Mohammedans and Christians, overlooks the 
 two hundred thousand souls that constitute the present city 
 of Smyrna. 
 
 The panorama of vale and city, sea and mountain, as seen 
 from the old Genoese castle, was absolutely entrancing. The 
 " early rains," to use a scriptural phrase, had touched with 
 bright tints the leaves of the orange-fields and the gardens 
 of the valleys ; and eveiy shrub and bush and blade of 
 grass, glowing with the hectic flush of a resurrection-life, 
 seemed to say, like the burning bush of Midian, " Take thy 
 shoes from thy feet ; for the place on which thou standest is 
 holy ground." During the last six months, I have seen the 
 lordly North and the sunny South ; at my feet have lain 
 matchless ruins, and rolled tideless rivers ; around me have 
 stood monuments of valor and patriotism, and the scattered 
 remnants of Hellenic grandeur. Greece became poetically 
 rhythmic through the songs of Byron and the heroic strains of 
 Schiller ; and Italy by the poesy of the inspired Tasso, and the 
 melody of Rossini : still I can not feel that such sacredness 
 attaches to these countries as to America, enclosing the ashes 
 of Washington and Lincoln ; to Asia Minor, honored with the 
 tombs of Poly carp and John, — that " disciple whom Jesus 
 loved." 
 
 Reaching Smyrna, we speedily found ourself in the society 
 of several prominent Spiritualists. Among these we may 
 
136 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 mention M. C. J. Constant and M. E. H. Rossi. Calling at 
 Mr. Constant's palatial residence, in front of which is a beau- 
 tiful garden, fringed with fig, lemon, and orange trees, we 
 were, after taking our seat upon a most inviting divan, treated 
 to a cup of Turkish coffee, fruits, and delicious preserves. 
 This Js the Oriental custom. Everywhere in the East, hospi- 
 tality is as profuse as commendable. Among other kindnesses 
 conferred, we are indebted to this gentleman for a choice piece 
 of original music, written under inspiration, and entitled " The 
 Spirit Souvenir." 
 
 The Smyrnian Spiritualists, divided upon the subject of re- 
 incarnation, hold seances during the winter months. Anxious 
 for an increase of knowledge and a greater variety of spirit- 
 manifestations, they desire books from England and America, 
 and the development of more native media. How many 
 Americans were aware of circles, seances, spiritual music, and 
 gatherings of Spiritualists in Smyrna, the seat of one of the 
 original seven churches of Asia ! How true that 
 
 " God sends his teachers unto every age, 
 To every clime, and every race of men " ! 
 
 There are distinguished Spiritualists in Damascus, and more 
 in Beirut. Among these are M. Ladislas Mystkowski, Lieut. 
 Dragons Ottomans, Dr. G. Felice Granie, Col. Toufau Bey 
 Gosiiminski, M. C. St. Galatti, and others, who rejoice in 
 the teachings of Spiritualism. These patronize the French 
 rather than the English or American Spiritual publications. 
 
 It is with pleasure we present the following translation of a 
 letter from C. Constant on the status of Spiritualism in 
 Smyrna, bearing date June, 1870 : — 
 
 "Editors Year,-Book, — . . . For the present, I can only give 
 you the following information. Our Spiritualists never have had any 
 thing like a form of constitution. . . . The believers in Spiritualism 
 are not to he counted : they are multitudes, entertaining different 
 views and opinions ; and it is difficult to classify them : besides, we 
 are in a country where there is great want of intellectual and moral 
 culture. 
 
 " As to mediums, we have only one very good one. She wrote me- 
 chanically, and was clairvoyant j but she has lost the gift with the 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 137 
 
 loss of health. . . . We have no other medium of real worth; and 
 this is one of the eauses of our want of success in our Spiritual society. 
 As to Spiritual documents, we preserve all the prominent facts ; but 
 these notes are the exclusive property of our Spiritual society, and 
 we intend to publish them ourselves. As to our doctrine, the facts, 
 as seen and comprehended by us, cause us to favor Allan Kardec's 
 school of Spiritualism." 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN ITALY. 
 
 Italy, though abounding in monuments of antiquity, mag- 
 nificent cathedrals, gorgeous palaces, and splendid galleries of 
 art, is in chains. A Roman-Catholic priesthood has busied 
 itself for centuries in forging them. Thinkers are planning to 
 rend them asunder. In Florence, Spiritualists are thorough- 
 ly organized, having a fine society. In this city, " The 
 Aurora" is published by that indefatigable worker, Giralamo 
 Parisi. 
 
 Baron S. S. Kirkup has resided in Italy, in Rome or Flor- 
 ence, for the last fifty years, devoting his life to painting and 
 the collection of rare pictures. He was well acquainted with 
 the eminent artist Blake, whom contemporary artists consid- 
 ered half insane because he professed to see spirits, and trans- 
 fer spirit-scenery to canvas. The baron has an extensive 
 library, treating of magic, the occult sciences, and the mysti- 
 cisms of the Neo-Platonists. Though he had previously been 
 knighted, Victor Emanuel conferred upon him, last year, 
 the order of La Carona a" Italia. Early accepting mesmer- 
 ism, he has been for fifteen years an avowed Spiritualist. His 
 own daughter is the principal medium he consults. The poet 
 Longfellow, visiting the baron, expressed great satisfaction in 
 the manifestations he received. The distinguished sculptor, 
 Hiram Powers, is also a firm Spiritualist. Positive evidence 
 forced this conviction upon his mind. Referring to some very 
 unpleasant experiences, he expressed deep regret over the de- 
 ception and weakness of certain Spiritual media, and wished 
 to see Spiritual literature more high-toned and solid. 
 
\ 
 
 138 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Naples has quite a large circle of believers in the Spiritual 
 philosophy, among whom is Baron Caparera, who has trans- 
 lated into the Italian, and published, several important works 
 of Allan Kardec. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN ITALY. 
 
 BY G. DAMIANI. 
 
 Editors of the Year-Book. Dear Sirs, — From the time 
 I promised to furnish you with some data as to the status and 
 prospects of Spiritualism in Italy, I have made every possible 
 inquiry on the subject. I have visited the principal towns, 
 and consulted many of the leading men of the movement, in 
 the Peninsula; and I now feel confident that I am laying be- 
 fore your readers a fair statement of the present condition 
 and future hopes of the new philosophy in this country. 
 
 This great luminary of modern Spiritualism, having risen 
 in the West, made its appearance on our horizon much later 
 in the day. Fifteen years ago, when its rays had already lighted 
 and warmed the Western hemisphere, it had scarcely dawned 
 on this side of the Alps. Would that I could say it has 
 advanced here in the same ratio ! But it has not ; and, to 
 account for this backwardness, numerous and more potent 
 reasons than its later appearance on our shores are to be 
 assigned. 
 
 The history of Spiritualism in Italy, as elsewhere, is but the 
 history of a great struggle : here, however, where priestly 
 domination has had fuller sway over the minds of the people, 
 and where it still reigns supreme over the soul of woman, to 
 a degree unparalleled, perhaps, in the history of nations, the 
 struggle has been more severe than anywhere else. 
 
 Rent and distracted for centuries by tyrants and priests, 
 fair Italia has but recently entered into the family of nations ; 
 and her Titanic efforts to liberate herself could not but leave 
 her in a perplexed and prostrate condition. 
 
 Financial embarrassment, party strife, the undeveloped 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 139 
 
 state of the press, the insufficiency of Spiritual literature, the 
 ignorant condition of the masses,* and lastly, though most 
 serious (and as the natural re-action against arbitrary and 
 repulsive theological teachings), the widely-spread contagion of 
 materialism, infecting all classes of society, — these have been, 
 and are still, apart from and in addition to priestly influence 
 and theological prejudice, the obstacles in the path of Spirit- 
 ualism in Italy ; and these are the reasons why it is yet in its 
 infancy amongst us. 
 
 Let not this somber picture, however, fill you with dismay : 
 the foregoing has more reference to the past and present than 
 to the future. The gifted race inhabiting the shores of the 
 Adriatic and the Mediterranean is making great efforts to 
 regain the lost time, and advancing with mighty strides 
 towards a brilliant future ; and, if Spiritualism is yet in its 
 childhood here, it is evincing great strength and vitality. Like 
 the infant Hercules, it has already strangled many of. the 
 pythons which endeavored to crush it in its cradle ; and I will 
 venture to predict that it will soon attain growth and power 
 enough to dispose of all minor reptiles, and to wield the club 
 of adolescent strength. 
 
 The knowledge of the New Philosophy is not evenly diffused 
 through the several regions constituting the kingdom of Italy. 
 Lowest in the scale of advancement are to be found Sicily 
 and Naples, where the populace is less enlightened, and priest- 
 craft has more hold on the will and understanding of woman, 
 than in the north of the Peninsula. 
 
 To give some idea of the kind of warfare the priests are 
 waging against Spiritualism in the Two Sicilies, I will report 
 a few sentences which fell from the lips of a gentleman of 
 the tonsured tribe in a fashionable church at Naples, on the 
 10th of April, in this year of grace and enlightenment. In 
 the congregation, as usual, the fair sex greatly predominated, 
 and the preacher was considered astoundingly eloquent : 
 " Go, go, and indulge in the diabolical practices of Spiritual- 
 ism ; go and lift the veil which God has drawn between 
 you and things eternal, and which he has explicitly forbidden 
 
 * According to the latest statistics, of twenty-six millions of Italians, only one-fifth 
 have been allowed bv the Jesuits to know their letters. 
 
140 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 yon to touch; and, when that veil shall be really lifted 
 for yon to pass, you will find yourselves swimming in a lake 
 of liquid fire. Ha ! God is merciful, think ye ? Offend him, 
 then trust to his mercy, and you will find him more cruel than 
 an executioner (piu crudele cFun carnefice [siT?]). Do not 
 indulge in the belief that hell consists in the absence of God ! 
 No : the sinners shall see him ; they shall see him blow the 
 fire he has prepared for their eternal torment." Let these 
 facts be registered in the annals of Spiritualism, that the 
 world may know the causes which retard the progress of the 
 new science in Italy. A soil accustomed to receive such flow- 
 ers of eloquence as these must be hard indeed to prepare for 
 the reception and growth of truth. 
 
 The atmospheric conditions of the Two Sicilies are far more 
 favorable for the production of the Spiritual phenomena than 
 the north. The numerous mediums to be met with in the 
 south are of a vastly superior order, and the people are more 
 spiritually inclined ; yet no societies of Spiritualists, no organ- 
 izations, are to be found there : generous and repeated efforts 
 to establish a Spiritual press have miserably failed, and the 
 circles are held as secretly as though they were for conspiracy 
 or treason. Slowly, but steadily, however, the heavenly truth 
 is making its way, and awaiting better times both in Naples 
 and Sicily. 
 
 In Florence, whence I am writing, things assume a more 
 cheering aspect. Since the year 1865, a society has been estab- 
 lished here, comprising about one hundred members, the 
 greater part of whom are men and women of learning and 
 high position. Signor Felix Scifoni, from Rome, President of 
 the society ; Baron Kirkup, an Englishman, distinguished for 
 his great services to art and literature in Europe ; and Signor 
 Parisi, a very earnest Spiritualist, and most telling writer, — are 
 the veteran leaders of the movement here. The members meet 
 every Tuesday and Friday. An array of excellent mediums, of 
 both sexes, places the society in communion with very high 
 Spiritual intelligences ; and the seances, at many of which I have 
 assisted, are models of the kind. The Florence Society has 
 from its foundation edited a periodical, " Gli Annali dello 
 Spiritismo in Italia; " being the earliest publication of the kind 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRIT UALISM. ?41 
 
 in Italy, and a true chronicler of the New Philosophy in the 
 Peninsula. The " Annali " are destined to furnish valuable 
 materials for the compilation of the history of Spiritualism in 
 this part of the world. Another bi-monthly review of Spirit- 
 ualism, called "Aurora" (dawn), was started here in March 
 last, under the able editorship of Signor Parisi and Count 
 Maggiani. The matter and st}de of this review are of great 
 excellence. The valuable contributions from the pen of Signer 
 De Witt, and the mediumistic communications through the 
 Count Maggiani, render this periodical commendable to all 
 Spiritualists who read the Italian language. Besides the 
 periodical seances of the society, numerous others are held in 
 private houses in Florence, — some accessible, others kept 
 strictly exclusive through fear of public opinion ; although 
 the highest personages of the land make no secret of the 
 seances regularly held at the palace. 
 
 Of the northern provinces of Italy, — Piedmont, Lombardy, 
 Venetia, &c, — I am unable to report from personal observa- 
 tion ; the state of my health, and the advanced season, having 
 forbidden my longer stay in Italy : but I am assured by many 
 members of the Florence Society, who are natives of those prov- 
 inces, that Spiritualism is spreading there like wildfire, being 
 warmly taken up by all classes. Unfortunately, through the 
 illiterate condition of the masses, the phenomenal part of the 
 science is alone cultivated by the majority ; and the only good 
 periodical published in those regions, " L'Epoca Nuova," of 
 Turin, after two years of struggle, has just ceased to exist. 
 In the opinion of the best informed, however, in consequence 
 of education now being widely diffused among the people, 
 Spiritual publications will soon become a necessity ; and 
 the disappearance of the good " Epoca " must be looked upon 
 as a momentary eclipse. 
 
 In Rome, things are going on most cheeringly on the seven 
 hills. Spiritualism is so flourishing and established there, that 
 even pretty exact statistics of its votaries can be given. 
 Reckon all the high dignitaries of the church, — the popes 
 (Greek and Roman), the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, 
 the Jesuits, the superior clergy, the minor, the abbds, and 
 the monks, the whole, summed up, constituting no small pro- 
 
142 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 portion of the population of Rome, — and you have a grand 
 total of confirmed Spiritualists in the Eternal City. This as- 
 sertion will shortly receive " confirmation strong " by the 
 elaborate decree of excommunication, in course of prepara- 
 tion by the Ecumenical Council, against all " pratiche diabo- 
 liche dello Spiritismo" We, the Spiritualists ' of Italy, are 
 looking impatiently forward to the promulgation of the Ro- 
 man anathema, from the date of which will spring a new era 
 of progress for this troublesome diabolismo amongst us. The 
 Italians have for a long time fallen into the detestable habit of 
 tasting of the fruit forbidden by the Vatican, and of looking 
 on its thunderbolts as on a display of harmless fireworks. It 
 therefore requires no prophet to foretell the result of this 
 tremendous fulmination. Modern Papal Rome is smitten with 
 that blindness and infatuation which invariably and infallibly 
 precedes ruin. 
 
 As to the, phenomena of Spiritualism in Italy, they are 
 scarcely inferior to those occurring in England, or even 
 America. Independently of every kind of known Spiritual 
 telegraphy, I may mention, First, Trance and clairvoyance.* 
 Second, Writing in foreign or dead languages. Third, 
 The motion and levitation of ponderous objects against all 
 the known laws of gravitation. f Fourth, The introduction 
 of material, and even living objects through walls or closed 
 doors. $ Fifth, Direct spirit writing and drawing.§ Sixth, 
 Spirit-photography. || Seventh, Long-continued abstinence 
 from food in the person of a trance and writing medium.*[[ 
 
 * The writer has seen clairvoyance of the most genuine character practiced in the 
 public squares of many of the towns in Italy. 
 
 f For three consecutive nights, I have seen a very heavy table, laden with all the 
 provisions for a meal, rise from one to two feet from the ground: this occurred at the 
 Baron Kirkup's residence, May 21, 22, and 23, 1870. The baron also informed me, that, 
 a few days previously, the same table rose so high as to allow Col. Bowen, a tall man, 
 to pass under it. 
 
 % Through the mediumship of a child, a living lamb was introduced into a closed 
 room in the residence of the above-named baron, as reported by the baron himself in 
 " Human Nature," edited and published by J. Burns, 15 Southampton Row, London. 
 
 § The head of Dante, drawn in pencil, with his name written underneath, and pur- 
 porting to be the work of the spirit of the great Italian bard, can be seen at the residence 
 of the baron, 2 Ponte Vecchio, Florence. It was obtained by placing the paper in a 
 closed box by direction of the spirit. 
 
 || Through the mediumship of Signor De Witt, spirit-photographs were obtained in a 
 room where all light was excluded. 
 
 Tf This medium, a lady of distinction, was placed under the treatment of Dr. Cer- 
 vello of Palermo, who has recorded the facts in a pamphlet. She drew sustenance 
 from raw meat and other kinds of food, which she directed to be placed on the back of 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 143 
 
 As to the number of Spiritualists in Italy, it is utterly im- 
 possible to form even a vague opinion, as from no source have 
 I been able to derive the slightest reliable information. Un- 
 til Spiritualism is practiced more openly in Italy, until more 
 societies are formed, and more periodicals see the light, any 
 attempt at statistics would only mislead the inquirer. 
 
 As an Italian, let me conclude this brief notice by stating 
 my opinion respecting the future of Spiritualism in my 
 country. The liberty of the press and the rostrum ; the 
 rapid spread of public instruction ; the decline of blind cre- 
 dence and priestly influence ; the love of the novel and the 
 marvelous, inherent in the Celtic race ; the inspiring sky ; the 
 favorable condition of the atmosphere for the production of 
 the Spiritual phenomena ; the quick intelligence, the spiritual 
 nature, and the physical constitution, of my countrymen, — 
 must, ere long, induce a rapid growth of the new science, and 
 place us on a level with those nations where Spiritualism has 
 had its birth under more benign and favorable auspices. 
 
 In the hope that my reports of the future will confirm my 
 present vaticinations, and wishing you and all fellow-workers 
 and believers all the happiness which our glorious philosophy 
 is so well calculated to impart, 
 
 I remain, &c. 
 
 Flobence, 1870. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN SICILY. 
 
 There are quite a number of Spiritualists in Scordia and 
 other cities of Sicily. Signor Damiani, a Sicilian gentleman, 
 well known to the best literary circles of Europe, relates, that 
 whilst in Sicily, quite recently, a most telling poem, two hun- 
 dred lines long, in the Sicilian dialect, besides communications 
 in German, French, Latin, and English, have been received 
 
 her hands, and never used her digestive apparatus for more than twelve months. In her 
 trance-state, she would prescribe, in Latin and in the regular pharmaceutical form, all 
 the medicines she was to take. She recovered her normal condition, married, and has 
 now a large family. 
 
144 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 in his presence ; the medium in this case being a singularly 
 illiterate person of the artisan class. He further says, — 
 
 "I have met with a boy-medium, between ten and eleven years 
 of age, who would write long essays on Spiritual philosophy; the 
 matter and manner of these essays being such as would have been 
 accepted from any accomplished writer of mature age who was con- 
 versant with the. subject. I took the well-known Alessandro Ga- 
 vazzi to a seance with this youthful medium. The acute polemist 
 put various abstruse metaphysical and theological questions to the 
 medium, or rather to the medium's controlling spirit, and received 
 replies so deep and learned as to convince him that it was no mere 
 case of 'clever boy.' This young medium — whose writings now 
 extant would fill a dozen volumes — exhibited a different handwrit- 
 ing for every controlling spirit by whom he was directed, and wrote 
 occasionally in several of the dead languages." 
 
 A highly-intelligent lady residing in Scordia, Sicily, after 
 describing the beauties of her country, and reflecting on its 
 past* writes hopefully of its future : — 
 
 " In 1865 was formed in this town, according to the instructions 
 contained in the works of Allan Kardec, a little society of friends, 
 believers in Spiritualism, which, scorning the threats of the priests, 
 courageously followed its investigation ; and, after long exercise, 
 signs of mediumship showed themselves in the persons of some who 
 composed the circle. Baroness Cristofaro, nee Helena Thovez, 
 English by birth, obtained most happy results from the very begin- 
 ning of her mediumship. Through her, with the planch ette, we held 
 communication of a superior kind. After some time, this lady, one 
 evening, became spontaneously inspired ; and the spirit dictated, 
 through her, long discourses of moral philosophy. Our journal, to 
 our great indignation, was stopped, because the hostilit}^ of the cler- 
 gy increased every day ; besides, there were no subscribers at all 
 in Sicily, there being only a few subscribers in Upper Italy, — 
 not enough to cover the printing-expenses. The seances, though, 
 were continued all the same ; and our society is in possession of most 
 valuable spirit-communications, which now bear a very profound 
 character of new arguments in philosophy. We have two other in- 
 spired mediums in Dr. Jos. Macaronio and Dr. S. Gargano. We 
 fervently desire to obtain physical phenomena to attract more gen- 
 eral attention : we have no physical mediums. In the town of Mil- 
 lotello-Val-di-noto, which is about a league from Scordia, there lives 
 a young man named Mr. Philip Sciri, who had a little instruction in 
 our society, and has now become an inspired medium. The latter, 
 under the guidance of his guardian spirits, is occupied in giving an 
 explanation of the Old Testament. The books of Genesis are nearly 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 145 
 
 finished. What causes great wonder is, that this young man is 
 neither very intelligent nor instructed, and is unable to write; and 
 yet, in his moments of inspiration (always on biblical subjects), he 
 evinces a power of eloquence, and a force in his arguments, united to 
 a profound philosophy, which confound the greatest intellects. Not 
 far from Milibur is the town of Mirco, which has two other mediums, 
 — the deacon of the chapter of that foundation. Father Tamburini, 
 trance and seeing medium ; as also the solicitor, Mr. Alessandro Bal- 
 biro, a most lettered man, who possesses the same gifts. But Dea- 
 con Tamburini, although a zealous Spiritualist, as a priest of the 
 Romish Church, fears the anger of his superiors ; for which reason he 
 exercises his mediumship in secret. In the chief town of Cataria, 
 there is no actual society established ; but seances are held at the 
 house of Mrs. Perati, wife of the engineer Perati, Italian by birth. 
 She is an intelligent writing-medium. 
 
 " The number of believers, on the whole, is but small. Whether 
 the light has not shown itself plainly enough on our shores, or wheth- 
 er it is that these inhabitants are not prepared to receive it, it is 
 quite certain that the few apostles of Spiritualism are held up to 
 ridicule, and do not gain any thing by their generous labors but 
 the name of raving maniacs. I believe that the total ignorance of 
 the English language contributes very much to prevent the desired 
 diffusion of Spiritualism. The journals of America and England, 
 where this great movement is chiefly carried on, if they could ever 
 be translated into Italian, would greatly help, I am sure, its progress ; 
 and # they would find a good number of subscribers. The absolute 
 absence of physical phenomena, which only can convince the public 
 mind, — these phenomena, so necessary to the introduction of Spirit- 
 ualism, would convince a great many people in the person of Mr. 
 Home or other positive Mediums of the daj 7 . The society at Scor- 
 dia was instructed from English papers, principally ' Human Nature/ 
 by the assistance of the Baroness Cristofaro, who read us, several 
 evenings, the best pieces, and new proofs of the spreading of the 
 truth. The means which we adopt for its diffusion consist in the 
 invitation we give to all people, without distinction of class or rank, — 
 to whosoever wishes to come. Mrs. Sciri, assisted by her guide, an- 
 swers numerous letters which reach her from different parts of the 
 island to ask advice and information on the subject ; and she spares 
 neither time nor trouble to help her brethren." 
 
 Scordia, April 20, 1870. 
 
 [This correspondent will accept the thanks of the editors 
 for the excellent communication from the spirit of Benjamin 
 Franklin, which we are compelled to omit for want of 
 space. — Eds.] 
 
 10 
 
146 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN WALES, GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 Until about a year ago, very little about Spiritualism was 
 known in South Wales, though here and there in the district 
 there were a few spirit-circles held in strict privacy. Prac- 
 tically speaking, the movement began to spread in Wales 
 about nine months ago, in consequence of some lectures de- 
 livered in the district by Mr. James Burns, in which he inci- 
 dentally introduced the subject of Spiritualism. This at- 
 tracted the attention of some few persons in Merthyr ; and 
 the result was the formation of three or four spirit-circles. 
 Some of the ordinary manifestations were soon obtained ; then 
 many other circles were started : so that, at the present time, 
 ,a great deal of interest in Spiritualism has been excited in 
 Merthyr, Aberdare, and Hirwain. Mr. Burns went to Mer- 
 thyr to lecture in the early part of this month, and had a 
 ■crowded audience in the largest building in the town for 
 public meetings. In a short time, as the local mediums be- 
 •come more fully developed, some of the more striking mani- 
 festations will be obtained. The Mertlryr district is the tnost 
 populous. one in the whole of Wales. 
 
 Some little interest in Spiritualism is felt by a few persons 
 in Cardiff, as two deputations met Mr. Burns there to ques- 
 tion him on the subject. Very few people in Swansea as yet 
 know any thing about the reality and the importance of the 
 movement ; but in Llanelly it has begun to gain ground, and 
 this paper has a small circulation there. We do not know 
 any thing about Spiritualism in Newport. The rest of the towns 
 in South Wales, other than those mentioned, are small ; and 
 the majority of them, being dependent upon the agricultural 
 districts around them for support, are necessarily declining in 
 prosperity as the depopulation progresses, and as the wealth 
 accumulates in fewer hands. The great mines and ironworks 
 around Merthyr and Aberdare are the chief sources of pros- 
 perity in Wales : the other sources of strength are the cop- 
 per-smelting works at Swansea and Llanelly. Cardiff and 
 Newport are dependent upon the shipping-trade, the coal 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 147 
 
 and iron from the hill districts of Wales being brought down 
 to these ports for further transport. The places in which 
 something about Spiritualism has been known in Wales, for a 
 few years past, are Llanell}' and Hirwain; and there they first 
 became known through the publications issued by Mr. Burns. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN RUSSIA. 
 
 It is well known to the readers of Spiritual literature that 
 D. D. Home and the Davenports have visited St. Petersburg, 
 giving seances to the members of the royal family and nobility. 
 While near our consular post, we met several Russian uni- 
 versity-students, who were visiting Turkey in disguise for the 
 purpose of studying its social characteristics. 
 
 These gentlemen, seemingly delighted to meet an Ameri- 
 can, gave us much useful information. They were dressed 
 in a singularly neat yet peculiar costume. They wore 
 long hair, brushed straight back like German students ; and, 
 despising aristocracy, they declared themselves charmed 
 with American democracy and equality. They favored the 
 complete emancipation of woman, and were acquainted with 
 that excellent work, John Stuart Mill's " Subjection of Wo- 
 man." They despise the " Religious Lectures " in the Uni- 
 versity course, and read the works of Huxlej^, Darwin, Draper, 
 Buckle, Biichner, and other freethinkers of Europe. They 
 mock at the word " pope," pity Poland, despise Napoleon III., 
 and swear by the radical parties of America. They were ac- 
 quainted somewhat with Spiritualism. One of them had 
 attended the Davenport Brothers' circles, and others had 
 read Spiritualists' works in French and English. The sister 
 of one of these students is a test and trance medium. The 
 nobles and Russian Government, as a whole, fear these stu- 
 dents ; for they are liberal and radical. There are nine uni- 
 versities in Russia, — at Odessa, Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, 
 Kier, Kharker, Dorpal, Helsingvers, and Warsaw. These, 
 with other educational institutions, constitute the hope of the 
 
148 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 country. Odessa has one large public Spiritual circle, and 
 several branch-circles. A Russian general, exercising great 
 influence at the seat of government, acquainted with D. D. 
 Home and the Davenports, told us he had recently attended 
 a sSance in Odessa, witnessing remarkable physical manifes- 
 tations. The medium was a delicate young lady. These 
 spirits teach re-incarnation. In Smyrna we were introduced 
 to Col. E. Wastchenko, a Russian gentleman, a firm Spiritu- 
 alist, and chief inspector of the Northern Navigation Steam- 
 boat Company. He had frequently attended seances in 
 Odessa and other Russian cities, witnessing such phases as 
 tipping, writing, and trance mediumship. In St. Petersburg, 
 Spiritualists have a large and well-organized society. The 
 members of this society have suffered persecution through 
 the influence of the Greek priests, who, admitting the facts, 
 declare that the manifestations are from pagan spirits in 
 Hades, — the "last device of the Devil." Spiritualism is 
 spreading rapidly in Russia ; but most of the seances are held 
 in secret, or in private families. These students expressed 
 an ardent desire to receive and read the works of English 
 and American Spiritualists. Oh that we had more of that 
 missionary spirit which characterizes sectarists ! When will 
 American and English Spiritualists become thoroughly aroused 
 to the work, — the duty of the day and the hour ? 
 
 Rev. M. D. Conway, resident of London, after an exten- 
 sive tour through Russia, related many interesting circum- 
 stances relating to Spiritualism in Russia. It pertains almost 
 exclusively to the educated classes. A French countess 
 wrote a lady friend in Paris, October last, that nearly all the 
 members of the imperial family were Spiritualists, and that 
 no monarch of Europe received the Davenports with as much 
 enthusiasm as Alexander of the Russias. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 149 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN GERMANY. 
 
 Hitherto, Spiritualism has made no progress in Germany. 
 Now, however, it is beginning to show signs of life, even 
 among " the nation of thinkers." In Leipsic, the most prac- 
 tical and realistic of all German towns, a Count Poninski 
 delivered the first of two letters on the subject, the other 
 evening, before a large and appreciative audience. This in- 
 tellectual nobleman began his lecture by assuring his hearers 
 that he had called them together, not for the purpose of 
 amusement, but to enter upon serious investigations. Never 
 so much as now, he said, when humanity is oppressed by so 
 many social evils, was there greater need for direct inter- 
 course with the spiritual world. 
 
 Count Poninski is in earnest in his efforts to spread the light 
 of Spiritualism ; and his efforts are already widely appreciated. 
 The translation of " The Arcana of Nature " of Hudson Tut- 
 tle by one of the finest scientific students of Germany ren- 
 dered it available ; and the influence it has exerted has been 
 incomparably greater than even that which it has wielded in 
 America. Not only has it been a text-book with Spiritual- 
 ists, but, strange to say, uncompromising materialists study it 
 with eagerness. Buchner, who, for boldness, leads that school, 
 founds whole chapters in his celebrated work, " Matter and 
 Force," on texts it furnishes, quoting it as authority. 
 
 Luos, a spirit whose name is familiar to all Europe, sends 
 us a friendly letter for " The Year-Book," written by him auto- 
 matically by the planchette, —• Mrs. Emma Kyd and M. A. 
 Boyd, mediums : — 
 
 " The glorious truths of the Spiritual philosophy are spreading 
 so rapidly amongst all classes of people, both in high and low posi- 
 tions, in all parts of the habitable world, that the doctrines and 
 errors of the ancient theologies must flee before the bright light that 
 shines into the innermost recesses of men's hearts, awakening the 
 torpid sense of self-consciousness, and causing them to exercise the 
 God-given faculty of reason; enabling them to discern the true from 
 the false, and to reject the erroneous teachings of unenlightened 
 guides and shepherds of past ages, and to embrace the heavenly 
 
150 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 instructions which angelic spirits from exalted spheres are commis- 
 sioned to bring to the children of the great Father of spirits who 
 are enveloped in darkness and sitting in the shadow of death. 
 They say to all souls who are willing to open their ears to the call, 
 1 Arise, shine ; for the light is coming, the dayspring from on high ap- 
 pears : rejoice. And again we say unto ye, Rejoice with exceeding 
 great joy : mourn no longer, as those without hope, for loved ones who 
 have passed away from your mortal sight. This glorious gospel 
 which we teach brings life and immortality to light ; and the blessed 
 certainty that there is no death, that those you love are living still, 
 and are ever near you, will fill your hearts with gratitude, and re- 
 move all the fears and doubts that have held you so. long captive, 
 and weighed down your souls as a burden too heavy to bear. This 
 grand new dispensation will finally triumph over all the present re- 
 ligions existing in the world. In spite of opposition and obstacles di- 
 rected against it, and the wicked attempts of bigots and sectarians, 
 of every church and creed, to crush it out, their efforts will fail ; for 
 God's truth must prevail.' By the spirit-guide of the mediums, 
 
 "Luos. 
 " Badhn-Baden, April 11, 1870." 
 
 Karl Baron von Reichenbach, whose death occurred in 
 1869, deserves honorable mention as one of the pioneers in 
 the Spiritual movement. He attained the ripe age of eighty- 
 one years. In early life, he won distinction for his scientific 
 abilities. He discovered many new combinations of hydrogen 
 and carbon, among them paraffine and creosote, which are now 
 valuable in mechanical art. He pursued, especially in later 
 years, the investigation of animal magnetism, which he at- 
 tributed to a subtile force he named od. His researches are 
 models of accuracy in the untrodden paths he pursued. The 
 future will reward his courage, patience, and excessive labor. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN SPAIN. 
 
 The tendency of the Spanish Government, under Isabella, 
 was towards conservatism and the most narrow phase of 
 Roman Catholicism. Since her reign, and the extension of 
 more republican influences, Liberalism and Spiritualism are 
 producing their educative effects on the masses. Mr. Polam, 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 151 
 
 a Spanish writer of some fame, says, " that, besides sympathiz- 
 ing with Isabella and the conservatives generally, these Span- 
 ish Spiritualists are all re-incarnationists." They have excel- 
 lent media, and hold many private seances. The Countess 
 Medina de Pomar, a Spanish lady of fortune residing in Lon- 
 don, is a devoted Spiritualist, accepting the Kardec doctrine. 
 Spanish Spiritualists publish two periodicals, devoted princi- 
 pally to a record of phenomena, — trance, clairvoyance, and 
 vision, — matters that no Roman Catholic even has ever dis- 
 puted. English and American publications should be read by 
 Spanish, Italian, and French Spiritualists. Such interchange 
 of thought, and reciprocity of researches, would prove mutu- 
 ally beneficial. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM IN TURKEY. 
 
 Trance, vision, and prophecy seem natural to the Eastern 
 nations. The clear skies and mountainous scenery conduce 
 to the development of these phenomena. Mrs. Webster, 
 daughter of a distinguished doctor of divinity in London, 
 in a volume written by her after extensive travels in the 
 Orient, says that Spiritualism prevails quite universally in 
 some portions of the Eastern countries. This our experi- 
 ence corroborates. Reaching Constantinople in October, and 
 securing as interpreter a dragoman recommended by Mr. 
 Goodnow, our American consul-general, we attended the 
 meetings, public and private, of the dancing and " howling " 
 dervishes, witnessing the strangest and the most wonderful 
 Spiritual manifestations. These dervishes, reducing them- 
 selves physically by subsisting upon two and three olives a 
 day, perform the most remarkable deeds during their holy 
 month of Ramazan. We saw them form their circle for the 
 healing of the sick. When prepared by gesticulation, wear- 
 ing motions, chants, and prayers, the sheiks — that is, the 
 elders — healed by touch, by the use of "Mohammed's brass 
 hand," and by treading, literally treading, in this state of 
 ecstasy, upon the crippled limbs and diseased bodies of the 
 
152 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 sick, some of which were infants. If the diseases were locat- 
 ed in the eyes, throat, or brain, they pathetized them. The 
 Crown Prince of Prussia stood by our side, " unshod," after 
 the Mohammedan custom, while witnessing the healings and 
 instrumental feats of this primitive people in their consecrated 
 room. I attended these meetings of the dervishes in Con- 
 stantinople, Scutaria, and other localities, several times. 
 Through my interpreter, who spoke Arabic and Persian as 
 well as Turkish, I held long conversations with the sheiks 
 concerning the origin of their orders, their worship, their 
 visions, their knowledge of the spirit-world, and their gifts 
 of healing. Taking copious notes, we shall, in due time, 
 write them out in full. 
 
 Bearing letters from Paris to M. Repos, a French attorney 
 in Constantinople and zealous Spiritist, and to M. Sillerman, 
 a Spiritualist, and partner in a large German mercantile estab- 
 lishment, I soon found myself quite at home in this cosmo- 
 politan city. These gentlemen, with others, not wishing their 
 names to appear, because holding high official positions in 
 their respective governments, gave me valuable information 
 concerning the condition and progress of Spiritualism in this 
 city and other cities of Asia Minor and Syria. There are ex- 
 cellent media in Constantinople. During the winter season, 
 they hold regular circles in Pera, the European part of the 
 city. Writing and trance are the usual forms of manifesta- 
 tion. These spirits, with a few exceptions, teach re-incarna- 
 tion. Invited, we addressed the Spiritualists in the hall of the 
 Chambre de Commerce. The attention they gave, and the 
 interest they manifested, were truly inspiring. There are 
 many Spiritualists in Beirut, and some in Damascus, one 
 of which is a foreign consul. 
 
 Hon. J. P. Brown, Secretary of the American Legation, 
 Constantinople, mentioned to us many remarkable Spiritual 
 manifestations that he had personally witnessed among the 
 Mohammedan dervishes. In a letter published in " The 
 Universe," Feb. 10, 1870, Mr. Brown says,— 
 
 "There are mediums and Spiritualists here, as well as in other 
 countries ; and I have been a witness to many very extraordinary re- 
 sults, of which the actors were innocent of any attempt at deception. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 153 
 
 There is here, for example, a young Israelite female, who can, by 
 placing her hand on the surface of a table of medium proportions, put 
 it in motion, cause it to move over the floor, and mount upon a sofa 
 two or more feet high ; then cause it again to descend upon the floor, 
 and regain its place in the center of the apartment. I myself saw 
 such a table, when her hands were on its surface, rise up in the air 
 as far as her own hight, and the length of her arms, permitted. I 
 have, also seen a similar table, under the influence of her hands, beat 
 time to an alphabet, so as to spell out words, and even answer ques- 
 tions ; and many of her replies were certainly very surprising. In 
 all this she was wholly free from any desire to impose upon her wit- 
 nesses, the most of whom were her personal friends, — some of whom, 
 at least, fully believe that these feats were the result of her spiritual 
 powers, or the work of spirits acting through her spirit as their me- 
 dium. Ignorant of the source of her strange faculty, she allows 
 others to ascribe them to whatever they please. 
 
 "I know here, also, another young woman, an Armenian, who pos- 
 sesses somewhat similar powers ; and, in her case, they are, or were, 
 accompanied by the impression that they were connected with her 
 spirit, and that other spirits responded to her will. She gave, 
 through the medium of a table, very remarkable replies to wanted 
 inquiries ; and did this to myself. Whether her spiritual powers 
 enabled her to penetrate into and comprehend what was passing in 
 my mind or spirit, I will not attempt to decide. Perhaps her suc- 
 cess was only accidental? 
 
 "Having seen the exhibitions of both of these mediums, I am in- 
 clined to think best of the Spiritualism of my Moslem friends as 
 a theory ; though probably many excellent and conscientious persons 
 will say they are equally of a spiritual character, and consequently 
 worthy of respect and confidence." 
 
 VICTOR HUGO. 
 
 The principles of the Spiritual philosophy run like golden 
 threads through nearly all the writings of this gifted man. 
 The following words, pronounced over M. Hennett de Kesler, 
 his companion in exile, are truly eloquent : — 
 
 " Let me honor this talented author and this gallant man. He 
 possessed all forms of courage, — from the lively courage of the com- 
 bat, even to the slow courage of endurance ; from the bravery which 
 faces the cannon, to the heroism which accepts the loss of home. He 
 
154 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 was a champion and a sufferer. Like many men in this country, — 
 like myself, who now address you, — he had been a Royalist and a 
 Catholic, No one is responsible for the beginning. The error of the 
 beginning renders more meritorious the truth of the end. Kesler 
 had been the victim of that hateful teaching which is a sort of snare 
 held out for childhood, which conceals history from youthful intelli- 
 gence, which falsifies facts, and warps the mind ; the result being blind 
 generations. Let a despot come, and he will be able to cheat an ig- 
 norant nation out of every tiling, — even their consent. He can cheat 
 them even with universal suffrage ; and then is seen the phenomenon 
 of a people governed by extorted signatures, which is called a ple- 
 biscite. Kesler had, like many of us, educated himself over again. 
 Matured in years, and warned by reality, and set right by logic, from 
 being a Royalist, he became a Republican. Once he had seen the 
 truth, he devoted himself to it. Never was there more profound and 
 tenacious devotion than his. < Although affected with love of home, 
 he refused the amnesty ; he ratified his faith by his death. 
 
 " Behold him here at last, asleep ! Asleep, — no : I withdraw that 
 word. Death does not sleep. Death lives. Death is a splendid 
 realization. Death touches man in two ways, — it freezes him ; then it 
 resuscitates him. His breath is extinct. Yes ; but it again revives. 
 We see the eyes which it closes : we do not see those which it opens. 
 
 " Adieu, my old companion ! Thou art going now to live in the 
 true life. Thou art going to find justice, truth, brotherhood, har- 
 mony, and love in the sphere of immense serenity. Behold ! thou 
 art taking wing to the light. Thou art going to live the sacred and 
 eternal life of the stars. Thou art going where live all the bright 
 spirits which have enlightened and lived, — where dwell thinkers, 
 martyrs, apostles, prophets, and liberators. Thou art going to see 
 all these great souls shining in the radiant form which death has 
 given them. Listen ! say to Jean-Jacques Rousseau that human 
 reason is beaten with rods ; tell Peccaia that law has arrived at that 
 degree of shame, that it hides itself when it kills ; tell Mirabeau 
 that '89 is tied to the pillory ; tell Danton that the land is invaded 
 by a horde worse than the stranger ; tell Saint Just that the people 
 have not the right to speak; Morceau, that the army have not the right 
 to think ; tell Robespierre that the Republic has been stabbed ; and 
 Canaille Desmoulins, that justice is dead. And tell them all that all 
 is well ; and that in France an intrepid legion fights more ardently 
 than ever ; and that away from France, we, the voluntary sacrifices, 
 — we, the handful of the proscribed who survive, — still persevere, 
 and are resolved, standing on that great breach which is called exile, 
 never to surrender, with our convictions and their phantoms." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 155 
 
 BABOO CHUNDER SEN. 
 
 This educated and gentlemanly missionary from India, 
 attired in the vesture of his native land, made quite a sensa- 
 tion when reaching the great metropolis of her Majesty's do- 
 mains. In caste, he is a physician. The " Brahmo Somaj," 
 a class of Indian reformers, whose cardinal doctrine is Mono- 
 theism, has no more distinguished leader. Mr. Sen and his 
 co-workers have established a number of churches, with no 
 creed but love to God, and love to man. Their purpose 
 seems to be to overthrow the idolatry of the pagan and the 
 trinity of the churchman ; to break down caste, and promote 
 mental freedom. 
 
 Baboo Sen's theological views are far in advance of those 
 of the English Church. He believes that Jesus was a man 
 and a brother ; that inspiration is universal, and progress a 
 law in all states of existence ; and he is laboring, as are Spir- 
 itualists, to disinthrall mankind from sectarian caste, and the 
 galling chains of ignorance and superstition. 
 
 During a deeply-interesting interview of Mr. Burns and 
 myself with him, we learned that he was well acquainted with 
 Peary, Chand, Mittra, and other leading Spiritualists of India. 
 Multitudes in this distant country accept the central thought 
 of Spiritualism ; that is, intercourse with departed spirits. 
 But there is no organization, nor other initiative methods, for 
 the propagation of the principles. 
 
 In the Theistic Society formed a while since in London, 
 Baboo Chunder Sen and Baboo Kakal Chunder Roy are prom- 
 inent members, with several avowed Spiritualists. It is a 
 promising sign of the times to see such cultivation of fraternal 
 relations. 
 
156 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 NAMES OF PROMINENT SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 W. J. Champernowne, Kingston-on-Thames, in a letter 
 referring to distinguished individuals accepting Spiritual com- 
 munion as a truth, says, — 
 
 "Among investigators we may number divines, logicians, and teach- 
 ers in our schools of learning ; physicians and lawyers ; men of note in 
 the arts, sciences, and literature ; statesmen, princes, and emperors. 
 I may mention, in proof of these statements, the names of the late 
 Archbishop Whately ; Prof. De Morgan ; the late Prof. William 
 Gregory of Edinburgh ; the poet-laureate and his brother ; the poets 
 Longfellow, Sheldon Chadwick, and Gerald Massey; Thackeray; 
 Ruskin; Mr. and Mrs. William Howitt; Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hail; 
 Catherine Crowe ; Mr. and Mrs. Newton Crossland ; Lord Lytton ; 
 Robert Chambers ; the Rev. J. G. Wood, the eminent writer on natural 
 history ; Baron S. S. Kirkup ; Lord Lindsay ; Lord Dunraven ; Lord 
 Adair; Dr. J. M. Gulley ; Dr. J. J. Garth Wilkinson ; Hon. George 
 Thompson ; Hon. Robert Dale Owen ; Prof. A. R. Wallace, an emi- 
 nent scientist ; Profs. Varley, Crooks, De Morgan, Gunning, Denton ; 
 Epes Sargent ; Miss Sedgewick ; the late painters, Blake and Flaxman ; 
 Hiram Powers the sculptor, and others ; the late Sir Charles Napier ; 
 Lady Paulet ; Lady Power ; Lady Eardley ; Hon. Mrs. Cowper ; Mrs. 
 Milner Gibson ; Louis Kossuth; Garibaldi; Mazzini ; Victor Hugo; 
 M. Guizot ; MM. Leon and Jules Favre ; Lord Lyndhurst ; the 
 late Rev. Isaac Taylor ; Rev. Dr. Jabez Burns ; Dr. Campbell ; Dr. 
 Cumming ; Capt. Burton ; Sir Roderick J. Murchison ; Drs. Ash- 
 burner ; Spencer T. Hall ; Elliotson ; the Marquis de Mirville ; 
 Leon Favre, Consul-General of France ; the Emperor of the French ; 
 the Emperor and Grand Dukes of Russia; the late President Lin- 
 coln; Judge Edmonds, Judge Lawrence, and others on the bench ; 
 W. Lloyd Garrison ; Hon. B. F. Wade ; Senators Howard, Harris, 
 and other Congressmen." 
 
 MEDIUMSHIP OF MRS. EVERITT. 
 
 26 PENTON STREET, PENTONVILLE, LONDON. 
 
 Remarkable Spiritual manifestations have occurred in 
 the presence of Mrs. T. Everitt for nearly fourteen years. 
 She was the only daughter of estimable and strictly religious 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 157 
 
 parents. Trained with scrupulous reference to truthfulness, 
 and to the worship of God in spirit and in truth, she was 
 eminently successful as a Sunday-school teacher. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Everitt both excelled in this branch of religious cultiva- 
 tion. They are still members of a Christian church, and 
 patterns of moral excellence. They resolved, many years 
 since, to enter upon no enterprise, nor pursue any plan in life, 
 that they could not call upon God to bless them in the under- 
 taking. To this end, they never hold a seance without open- 
 ing the same with prayer. In this spirit of sincerity and 
 prayer, they pursued, from the first, their investigations touch- 
 ing the phenomena of Spiritualism, and, up to the present 
 time, have never received a farthing from those admitted to 
 their seances. Their work has been, from the beginning, a 
 labor of love. Hundreds of letters sent them from different 
 quarters glow with gratitude and appreciation. Skeptics and 
 atheists (many of them) have in these seances been con- 
 verted to a belief in the divine existence and a conscious im- 
 mortality. The good that this family has done to both 
 mortals and spirits is absolutely incalculable. 
 
 The Everitts were first made acquainted with Spiritualism 
 in 1857 ; since which, they have held daily intercourse with 
 heavenly intelligences. These orderly circles, abounding in 
 remarkable phenomena, have reformed the erring, and con- 
 vinced thousands of the certainty of spirit-communion. 
 Spirits brought to these seances, by their guardians, for in- 
 struction, often return with hearts brimming in gratitude for 
 the good they have received, and for the prayers offered in 
 their behalf. Thus do the living benefit the so-called dead. 
 
 Among other wonderful manifestations, the following may 
 be named. Numbers of living witnesses will testify to their 
 reality. At one time, five were sitting at a mahogany-table, 
 in full gaslight, when suddenly the table began to crack, and 
 make various noises. This was followed by a portion of the 
 surface rising up in a conical form some twelve inches, with 
 something darting from the apex. Each present saw the 
 phenomenon. The table was neither splintered nor injured. 
 Frequently the power would be so strong, that the spirits 
 would shake the whole house from cellar to garret ; and the 
 
158 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 vibrations at last loosened the hold of the ends of the rafters 
 in the brick-work of the front of the house, so that the floors 
 of the upper bedrooms were in danger of falling through. 
 Mr. Everitt accordingly was obliged to have the brickwork of 
 the two upper stories of the front of his house wholly rebuilt ; 
 and, after this expensive operation was performed, he was told 
 by the spirits that the damage had been done to give evidence 
 that the manifestations were real, and not mental impressions. 
 Since the rebuilding, the house has not been shaken so vio- 
 lently, although the vibrations are often powerful. A large 
 music-box placed upon a massive table moves, while playing, 
 with the greatest ease, the table keeping time to the music. 
 Chairs and other furniture have been moved about the room 
 hundreds of times without mortal contact, and that, too, in 
 broad daylight or gaslight. For three years, they have had 
 audible spirit-voices in their seances. More than twenty dif- 
 ferent spirits have spoken, several of them fully identifying 
 themselves to their friends. 
 
 It was in November, 1867, that the audible spirit-voice was 
 first obtained through the mediumship of Mrs. Everitt. Miss 
 Nichols (now Mrs. Guppy) called upon Mrs. Everitt ; and 
 they had a dark seance. Fruit and flowers were brought by 
 the spirits, who then changed the places of the sitters, and 
 asked Mrs. Everitt to go to the other side of the room. A 
 peculiar low whisper was then heard, as if somebody were 
 trying to articulate. This frightened Mrs. Everitt and Mrs. 
 Guppy : but the former was then thrown into a trance-sleep 
 for the first time ; and the spirit of John Watt first made him- 
 self known to the mortals present. He gave an account of him- 
 self, saying that he was a native of Torquay ; that he was an 
 engineer by trade ; that he left this world at the age of thirty 
 years : he was not married in this world, but has since met 
 with his conjugal partner, whose spirit-name is Mercia. He 
 speaks of her as a pure spirit ; for she never breathed in this 
 world, as she was still-born. During the next ten or twelve 
 sittings, John Watt always refused to use a paper tube ; but 
 at last he took it, and then could speak very much louder. 
 Later still, other voices were obtained through Mrs. Everitt's 
 mediumship. John Watt often sends an assistant of his to 
 
YE ATI-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 150 
 
 talk to the circle when his other work will not let him come 
 himself. 
 
 In connection with this lady's medinmship, a very curious 
 circumstance once took place, showing that there may have 
 been a deep truth underlying the Eastern belief in the efficacy 
 of charms and amulets. 
 
 On the 25th March, 1868, Mrs. Everitt went to a seance at 
 the house of Mrs. Gregory, near Hyde Park ; and a ring was 
 taken off her finger in the course of the sitting. When she 
 came home, she searched for it; but it could not be found. 
 Next day, March 26, John Watt said that the ring was in 
 his possession, and that Mrs. Everitt's spirits were throwing 
 their influence into the ring to strengthen her mediumship. 
 For three or four weeks afterwards, John Watt's voice and 
 the other manifestations were very weak ; and John Watt said 
 that the power could not be* regained till she had the ring 
 back again. Twenty-nine days after the ring was taken, Mrs. 
 Everitt was at a dark seance at the house of Mr. Childs, 21 
 Offord Road, Islington, and was told that the ring had been 
 brought back. A light was struck ; but they could not see 
 the ring on the table, or anywhere else ; and a seeing medium 
 who was present said, " Look under the Bible." There, sure 
 enough, was the ring, returned in a house several miles dis- 
 tant from that at which it was taken off. The spirits said 
 that they would put the ring on again when the light was ex- 
 tinguished. The ring was placed on the table ; the light was 
 put out ; and instantly Mrs. Everitt said, " It's on ! " A light 
 was struck ; and the ring was found on her finger, behind 
 another ring of exactly the same size ; though whether it 
 passed over, under, or through it, or neither, nobody knows. 
 It was done instantaneously ; and Mrs. Everitt felt herself 
 lifted from the chair at the instant it surrounded her finder. 
 From the day of the return of this ring, Mrs. Everitt has 
 been in better health than she ever was before ; for, up to that 
 time, she was generally ill the day after a seance. Often, 
 afterwards, while narrating this story of the ring to others, 
 Mrs. Everitt would take it off her finger to show to the lis- 
 teners. John Watt said, last October, he would prevent her 
 from doing that again, as the influence of those who took the 
 
160 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 ring marred its beneficial effects upon Mrs. Everitt. Accord- 
 ingly, on awaking one morning, she found the ring on another 
 finger, and discovered that it fitted very closely, and could 
 not be slipped over the first joint to be taken off : in fact, the 
 only way to get it off now is by the file, or by chemical re- 
 agents. 
 
 There seems to be no boundary to spirit-power when con- 
 ditions are favorable, and the aim divine use. In these seances 
 they have spirit-lights remaining visible a considerable time, 
 and also direct writing, — writing without the agency of 
 human hands. This is a startling phenomenon ; two hundred 
 and sixty-four words being written in five seconds, two hun- 
 dred and ninety-eight words in seven seconds, and fourteen 
 hundred words in twenty-seven seconds of time. The writ- 
 ings are either historical or pre-eminently spiritual. Mrs. 
 James Burns, a most excellent clairvoyant, not only saw the 
 spirits produce the writing, but fill the room with the perfume 
 of flowers. The odor was susceptible to all present. Other 
 media with open vision have witnessed the same wonderful 
 process. 
 
 It is a pleasure, as well as justice done, to say that the con- 
 trolling intelligence of this circle, John Watt, is a most exalted 
 and truthful spirit. It is heaven on earth to converse with 
 him upon life and scenery in the world of spirits. He dwells 
 in the love-sphere of immortality, and has fully proved him- 
 self worthy the appellation of ministering angel. 
 
 PRESENTIMENT AND FACTS. 
 
 BY J. C. LUXMORE. 
 
 In the latter end of November, 1867, about eight o'clock, 
 a.m., I was in bed, and quite awake, when I very distinctly 
 heard the word " death" pronounced. I was not well myself; 
 and I thought possibly I was called to cross the beautiful river. 
 I became quite well : but, in a few days, a friend of mine was 
 taken dangerously ill, and I supposed she was to pass away ; 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 161 
 
 but she recovered, and is still alive and well. Another very 
 dear friend came to spend Christmas. She was in perfect 
 health, and remained in town until the 10th of January, when 
 she left in her usual health, with the exception of a slight 
 cold ; but she passed away on the 17th of the same month. 
 I am happy to say that she has frequently communicatee! 
 with me through different media : indeed, the record of expe- 
 rience I propose making is connected with her. On the 17th 
 of last January, a friend, who is now in America, was writ- 
 ing to me, and was interrupted in her letter by the spirit 
 above alluded to, telling her to let me know that she had 
 just entered into a higher sphere. Now, the curious part 
 of the matter is, that on the very same day, in my dressing-room, 
 at Grloster Square, she gave me precisely the same information 
 through another medium. How this should come to pass so 
 many of thousands of miles apart, the two mediums being 
 almost entire strangers, never having met but once, unless it 
 is admitted that the same spirit gave both messages, I leave 
 our opponents, the savans, to explain. 
 Hyde Pakk, England. 
 
 MR. JAMES J. MORSE. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 This young man, now two years a medium, occupies much 
 the same relative position to " The Medium and Daybreak " 
 and " The Progressive Library," 15 Southampton Row, that 
 Mrs. Conant does to " The Banner of Light." His attention 
 was first called to the subject of Spiritualism during the cele- 
 brated trial of Lyon vs. Home. Soon after, he conversed with 
 a lady friend upon the possibility and certainty of spirit-com- 
 munion, and became deeply interested in the sincerity and 
 importance of her statements. This induced him to read 
 " Cooper's Experience with the Davenports," and " Six 
 
 Months' Experience in Spirit-Communion at Home," by Rev. 
 li 
 
162 YEARBOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 J. Page Hopps, a Unitarian clergyman now settled in Glas- 
 gow. The lady above referred to was Mrs. Hopps ; and the 
 manifestations occurred through the organism of her daughter, 
 sister of the clergyman. The facts and theories of the books 
 charmed him. " What is the origin of the facts ? " he inquired. 
 " Mesmerism, mind-reading, demonism, Spiritualism, — what ? 
 To see, to comprehend, is to know." Obtaining the address 
 of Mr. Cogman, a somewhat noted medium, he repaired to 
 his house, one Sunday evening, to witness something of the 
 phenomena. The residence was fine, and the company seemed 
 intelligent and dignified. A chapter was read from the Bible, 
 a hymn was sung, and then all was quiet. Presently one 
 arose with closed eyes, and commenced to speak. The intelli- 
 gence announced himself as Dr. Young ; but, not seeing the 
 " ghost," it failed to convince him. Then a lady rose, and 
 talked very loud and boisterous. This disgusted him ; and he 
 mentally said, " Deception." Soon, however, his head, begin- 
 ning to pain him, seemed ready to burst. A strange, chilly 
 feeling crept over him ; his eyes closed ; he became spas- 
 modic, and finally continued to shout and roar, like a half- 
 conscious maniac, for three-quarters of an hour, to the annoy- 
 ance of the company and the disgust of himself. " This is cer- 
 tainly not humbug," said he. " There's a force, a producing 
 power, that causes these results." Shortly after, his parents 
 were described to him by a clairvoyant, and unmistakable 
 evidence given of their identity. Yielding to the influence, 
 his parents controlled him, foretelling many things, some of 
 which have already come to pass. His guardian is a Chinese 
 spirit, far-seeing and logical. An actor also influences him 
 in a most instructive manner characteristic of the stage. 
 Mr. Morse owes much to Mr. Burns for encouragement and 
 personal kindness. He holds a seance each week in " The 
 Progressive Library" rooms, giving tests, voicing lectures, and 
 answering metaphysical questions. This publishing-house, 
 15 Southampton Row, under the supervision of Mr. Burns, is 
 the central rallying-place of London Spiritualists. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 163 
 
 C. F. VARLEY. 
 
 The consulting scientist in the Atlantic-Cable enterprise 
 — Prof. C. F. Varley, C.E., F.R.G.S., M.R.L— is, in all 
 probability, the most competent practical electrician in the 
 world. Savans upon the Continent often seek his advice and 
 counsel. Being an independent thinker, and accustomed to 
 scientific methods, he embraced Spiritualism several years 
 since. In the famous suit of Lyon vs. Home, he testified as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I have been a student of electricity, chemistry, and natural phi- 
 losophy, for twenty-six years, and a telegraphic engineer by profes- 
 sion for twenty-one years; and I am the consulting electrician of the 
 Atlantic Telegraph Company and of the Electric and International 
 Company. 
 
 "About nine or ten years ago, having had my attention directed 
 to the subject of Spiritualism by its spontaneous and unexpected 
 development, in my own family, in the form of clairvoyant visions 
 and communications, I determined to test the truth of the alleged 
 physical phenomena to the best of my ability, and to ascertain, if 
 possible, the nature of the force which produced them. 
 
 " Accordingly, about eight years ago, I called on Mr. Home, the 
 defendant in this suit, and stated that I had not yet witnessed any 
 of the physical phenomena, but that I was a scientific man, and 
 wished to investigate them carefully. 
 
 " He immediately gave me every facility for the purpose, and 
 desired me to satisfy myself in every possible way ; and I have been 
 with him on divers occasions when the phenomena have occurred. 
 I have examined and tested them w T ith him and with others, under 
 conditions of my own choice, — under a bright light, — and have made 
 the most zealous and searching scrutiny. I have been, since then, 
 for seven months in America, where the subject attracts great atten- 
 tion and study, and where it is cultivated b} r some of the ablest men; 
 and having experimented with and compared the forces with elec- 
 tricity and magnetism, and having applied mechanical and mental 
 tests, I entertain no doubt whatever that the manifestations which I 
 have myself examined were not due to the operation of any of the 
 recognized physical laws of Nature, and that there has been present 
 on the occasions above mentioned some intelligence other than that 
 of the medium and observers. 
 
 " I know of several instances, both in Europe and America, in 
 which this course of study has awakened the perception of the purest 
 
164 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 and loftiest truths and principles. There have been, no doubt, cases 
 in which the intellect has been too feeble for the stimulus, and has 
 been overpowered by it, -^-just as frequently results from excessive 
 application to religion and other exciting topics ; but such cases have 
 not come within my own observation." 
 
 Prof. Varley exhibited the moral bravery of a true manhood 
 in giving evidence, when called before the committee of the 
 Dialectical Society, of which Sir John Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 
 is the president. His testimony in favor of Spiritual 
 manifestations, though as mild as manly, was misrepresented 
 by the penny-a-liner contributors to the provincial press. 
 To the editor of " The Eastern Post " he replied in this 
 wise : — 
 
 " I have never courted publicity, — on the contrary, have avoided 
 it as much as possible ; and have only volunteered to detail the results 
 of my investigations, extending over a period of more than twelve 
 years, when people anxious about the matter have pressed me to 
 help them. The fate of Socrates, Galileo, Baron Beichenbach, Dr. 
 Elliotson, Dr. Ashburner, and many others, is sufficient warning to 
 all not to avow publicly convictions dissonant with popular preju- 
 dices. 
 
 "The day has gone by for the infliction of social persecution upon 
 those who investigate the facts of the material universe. Human 
 knowledge has progressed, during the last fifty years, to such an 
 extent, that he seems ridiculous who attempts to indicate any bound- 
 ary beyond which man's intellect will never be able to pass. Who 
 would have believed, in the commencement of this nineteenth cen- 
 tury, that light, chemicals, and lenses would produce portraits; that 
 anybody could travel from London to Glasgow in a comfortable 
 carriage in ten and a half hours ; or that messages could be rapped 
 out from London to San Francisco on the one hand, and to China 
 and India on the other, in less than an hour? I have sent a message 
 from London, by my own hand, direct to Omsk, in Siberia, and 
 received an answer back in less than three minutes. This message 
 was rapped out by electricity in Siberia in a manner not much unlike 
 that by which Spiritual communications are often transmitted by 
 sounds through living media; the only difference being, that while, in 
 the former case, the power used lias received the name of ' electricity,' 
 and the channel that of ' metal wire,' in the latter case the power 
 employed has not as yet been christened, its nature is not under- 
 stood, and its medium of communication is only partially known." 
 
 After speaking of his communication to Prof. Tyndall re- 
 lating to the Spiritual phenomena, he continues : — 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 1G5 
 
 "Notwithstanding the vastness of the field of inquiry, there are 
 certain facts which almost any one can with care and patience estab- 
 lish. 
 
 " 1st, That those who have died, so far as the flesh-and-blood body 
 is concerned, do still exist, and can, under certain conditions, make 
 known to those still in the earthly body that they live, and retain 
 their identity and individuality. 
 
 " 2d, That the next stage of our existence is one of progress, — 
 rapid with those who have been kindly natured and active here, 
 and who act up to the law promulgated by Confucius two thousand 
 three hundred years ago, and adopted by every great subsequent 
 lawgiver ; namely, ' Do you unto another what you would that that 
 other should do unto you.' Progress is slow with those who have 
 been brutal, slanderous, and guilty of high crimes causing great 
 suffering ; such, for instance, as that imperfectly expressed by the 
 phrase ' sharp practice.' 
 
 "3d, It further seeing to be beyond doubt, that, in man's next stage 
 of existence, he is unable to conceal his true nature, his body in that 
 state being formed of what was his memory in this life. The whole 
 of his acts and thoughts while on earth are constantly before him- 
 self and his neighbors, so long as the consequences of these acts and 
 thoughts remain in action. 
 
 " In conclusion, when I was pressed by the Dialectical Soctity to 
 explain to them the results at which I had arrived, I cautioned 
 them not to accept them as any thing better than the merest conjec- 
 tures, or attempts at hypotheses. That spiritual phenomena exist, 
 any man possessed of common sense can prove for himself by experi- 
 ment. " 
 
 " I have yet to learn that it is irrational to endeavor to discover 
 the causes of unexplained phenomena; and no amount of adverse 
 public opinion will deter me in my endeavor to clear up this ques- 
 tion.'' 
 
 In evidence before the Dialectical Society, Mr. Varley 
 further said, that, — 
 
 "While experimenting with earthenware, I was attacked with 
 spasms in the throat from the fumes of fluoric acid. I had to use 
 chloroform, which I generally applied by holding the cloths so that 
 it fell on the ground, when insensibility supervened. One night, 
 however, I rolled on my back ; and the cloth rested on my face. 
 Mrs. Varley was in the room, nursing a sick child. I became con- 
 scious, and saw my body on its back. I went to my wife above, 
 and roused her by making a distinct impression on her brain. She 
 came down ; and I used my body, and spoke to her. She took 
 off the cloth, and was much alarmed. I said, 'I shall forget how 
 this came to pass ; but be sure to ask me all about what made 
 you come down, and I shall then recall it.' She did so; but I could 
 
166 YEAK-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 not recollect any thing. During the day, by degrees, my recollection 
 came back. 
 
 " A Member. — Where was your spirit while you were on your 
 back ? 
 
 11 Mr. Varley. — In the room. Mrs. Varley has had similar 
 experiences. 
 
 "At Harbor Grace, when I arrived in the evening, I was very 
 cordially received. There was a supper and speeches, and so forth. 
 I was fearful of not waking in time to catch the steamer next morn- 
 ing ; and I therefore willed strongly that I should awake. In the 
 morning I saw myself asleep, and tried all the means to arouse my- 
 self. I saw two men lift up a plank ; and I made my body dream 
 that they were going to explode a bomb. When the plank fell, I 
 dreamed that the bomb was exploded ; and I awoke. I laughed at 
 the device; but, seeing that it would be well to test the matter, I went 
 to the window, and there I saw the two men and the pile of timber. 
 I had no previous knowledge that there was any timber at all there. 
 It was evident, then, that I had seen the timber and the men while 
 my body lay in bed asleep." 
 
 Mr. Varley then related several instances in which his 
 children, and he himself, had been cured of illness by the 
 direction of spirits. He also detailed a number of scientific 
 experiments which he had instituted to see whether the mes- 
 meric or spirit force was the same as magnetism or electricity ; 
 and he found that it was quite distinct. The odic force of 
 Reiehenbach was similar or identical, and was quite distinct 
 from magnetism and electricity. 
 
 BRAVE WORDS FROM A CLERGYMAN. 
 
 About the time of Dr. Newton's arrival in London, the 
 Rev. Dr. Jabez Burns preached upon ** The Healing Power 
 in the Church," from 1 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 9 : " The gifts of healing by the same Spirit." 
 He gave the subject, says the reporter, a rapid scriptural re- 
 view, and showed how God had given the healing power in 
 all ages of the world, — to Moses and to the prophets and 
 others ; to Jesus, who began, continued, and concluded his 
 ministry with it (from Matt. iv. 23 to the healing of 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 1G7 
 
 the high priest's servant's ear, — Matt. xxvi. 51). Yet he 
 noticed Christ did not always employ this power (Matt. 
 xiii. 53), and that he could not always (as stated Mark vi. 
 4-6). This arose from the unbelief of the people, which 
 could not draw out of him his restoring energy. This power 
 he transmitted to his apostles (Matt. x. 1-8) and to the 
 seventy disciples (Luke x. 1). This healing power Peter 
 and John employed, restoring the lame cripple (Acts iii. 7). 
 So Paul, by the handkerchiefs and aprons being brought to 
 him (Acts xix. 12) ; and also in the case of Publius (xxviii. 
 8) ; Philip the evangelist, who in Samaria preached Christ, 
 and healed tha sick (Acts viii. 5-7). James, in his Epistle, 
 gives orders how prayer and faith, and the anointing oil, 
 were to raise up the sick (v. 14, 15). He then said 
 there was abundant evidence that this power remained in the 
 Church during all the dark ages up to the time of the Refor- 
 mation, and from that period to the present. He mentioned 
 Savonarola, St. Bernard, and the late cure of Cars, near 
 Lyons, in France. He referred also to John Wesley's jour- 
 nal, where various diseases, and, among the rest, cancers, had 
 thus been cured, and where names and dates were given by 
 that eminently holy man. He referred to the visit of Dr. 
 Newton, whose life had been so signally useful in America, 
 and had recently exhibited in a most remarkable manner this 
 healing power in Liverpool, London, and other places. He 
 defended his reputation from the vile aspersions of skeptics 
 and revilers. To some of the objections he thus replied : 
 First, That it was mere mesmeric influence on the imagina- 
 tion, which he thought was as good a way of curing as any 
 other, and much cheaper and better than by drugs, &c. 
 Second, That Dr. Newton did not cure all : neither, said he, 
 did Jesus. Third, That many intelligent persons did not 
 believe in Dr. Newton : so it was with the intelligent scribes 
 and Pharisees. And Jesus Christ's disciples would have 
 prevented the man casting out devils, because he did not go 
 with them ; whom Jesus defended, and would not forbid his 
 work of mercy, as it was in harmony with his own good doing 
 (Luke ix. 4). 
 
168 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Burns, connected with the Baptist denomi- 
 nation, has a fine church, and is a noted preacher, in London. 
 His tolerance and liberality are worthy of all imitation. 
 
 A SUGGESTIVE THOUGHT. 
 
 BY J. S. LOVELAND. 
 
 Deeming, as I do, that our danger lies in the direction of 
 extreme philosophizing (for ignorance is always prone to pur- 
 sue that road), I shall more especially insist upon scientific 
 culture as constituting our only safety. We are all agreed 
 that the basic fact of our movement is spirit-manifestation, 
 as their naturalness constitutes the fundamental idea. No 
 man can be in harmony who rejects one or the other. Ac- 
 cepting, the first without the second makes him a fanatic : 
 rejecting the first makes him a mere carping skeptic. 
 
 We have already seen that we must conquer, or be con- 
 quered: the world must be converted to Spiritualism, or 
 Spiritualism must cease to be. This conversion must be 
 wrought by demonstration. To make that demonstration, it 
 is absolutely necessary that the masses should be thoroughly 
 cultivated in science as well as philosophy. We, as Spirit- 
 ualists, must be scientific, in order to make the demonstra- 
 tion : so must the world be to comprehend it. 
 
 GERALD MASSEY. 
 
 The productions of few English poets have been more ex- 
 tensively read, or exerted a wider influence in America, than 
 those of Mr. Massey. His late work, entitled " Shakspeare's 
 Sonnets," whom Mrs. Browning not inaptly termed divine, 
 reveal the master-mind. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 169 
 
 Before the committee of the Dialectical Society, London, 
 Mr. Massey made the following statements, " as a leaf from 
 the book of his life that had yet to be written : " — 
 
 44 When he was twenty-two, he married the daughter of the 
 Rev. Jabez Burns, D.D. ; and he first threw her into a mag- 
 netic sleep. Her clairvoyant perceptions and abnormal vision 
 were wonderful. 
 
 44 Eighteen months before her death, a dissenting minister, 
 having seen things written out by a stool, said he thought 
 Mis. Massey could work with it very well ; and a trial was 
 made. A pencil was tied to a leg of the stool, and the name 
 4 Shakspeare ' was written. A few months before, he (Mr. 
 Massey) had written in 4 The Quarterly Review ' (it was in 
 the year 1834) on the Shakspearian sonnets. There was a 
 mystery connected with a portion of them, which he could 
 not fathom. He did not think Mrs. Massey had read one of 
 them. He had propounded a theory relative to them, which 
 had never been answered ; but still there was a point on 
 which he wanted information. The stool spelt out 4 age in 
 love,' which was a line constituting a difficulty ; for, accord- 
 ing to his theoiy, the author must have been young, and 
 could not have been 4 age in love.' Well, he 'was directed 
 to an edition which he had not before examined ; and he found 
 that the two sonnets which constituted the difficulty did not 
 appear in it. Thus he was, as a literary man, helped in his 
 work by the communication. Again : his housekeeper could 
 not sleep for noises in the kitchen. The door was slammed so 
 violently, that the key flew out. Well, a communication was 
 made that a child had been murdered nine years before, and 
 buried in the garden. He went into the garden ; and, at the 
 spot described, he dug down, and found the bones. He was 
 not, at the moment, sure whether they were human ; and he 
 hid them in the lawn. That night, there were the sounds of 
 four men working outside. The noise of one man was like 
 that of a man hammering with a pickax on the doorstep. 
 He jumped up, and, taking his gun, ran out ; but there was 
 no one there. His wife went into a trance ; and there was 
 evidence that the noises were made by four spirits, in conse- 
 quence of the bones of the murdered child having been dis- 
 
170 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 turbed. As his wife went on towards death, the spirits often 
 took possession of her. 
 
 " He might mention, that her powers were tested at Stafford 
 House by the Duke of Argyll, Sir David Brewster, and oth- 
 ers. The duke held her eyes ; and Sir David Brewster placed 
 over her head a paper, which she read correctly. That took 
 place in 1852. • He had himself seen cases of utter imposture 
 in Paris. He always tested such phenomena with severity 
 and skepticism ; but the cases he had mentioned were such as 
 quite convinced him of their reality." 
 
 REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF SPIRIT- IDENTITY. 
 
 " The London Spiritual Magazine," justly distinguished 
 for collecting reliable testimonies and gathering important 
 facts relating to the manifestations and identity of spirits, 
 published the following : — 
 
 "The Hon. J. M. Peebles, the newly-appointed United-States con- 
 sul to Trebizond, at a public reception given to him in London, at 
 the Spiritual Institute, Sept. 15, related the following circum- 
 stance : — 
 
 " ' On reaching this country, instead of pushing to London, the 
 world's metropolis, I speedily made my way toward York, via Man- 
 chester, Huddersfield, and Brotherton, to identify and localize a 
 spirit with whom I had conversed frequently and intimately for some 
 eleven years. This spirit first entranced a young man of Battle 
 Creek, Mich. (E. C. Dunn, at present a prominent lecturer and 
 healer), giving his name as Aaron Knight. He said he passed 
 into the spirit-world about a hundred and seventy years since. 
 His brother's name was James Knight, an English clergyman 
 of considerable eminence, who had preached in York and Lon- 
 don. He intimately described the county of Yorkshire ; the city of 
 York; the B-iver Ouse; the ruins of St. Mary's "Abbe} T ; the Minster, 
 the position it stood in relative to the points of the compass ; the 
 beautiful window-designs ; the location of the Virgin Mary, with the 
 hissing serpent under her feet ; and the general geographical position 
 of the country, &c, — all of which we found as he had often described 
 them. After faithful research in the annals and histories of York- 
 shire, I repaired, in company with Robert Green, Esq., to the Will 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 171 
 
 Office, where, aided by the clerk, I found upon the records the 
 brother's name, ' — Rev. James Knight. We have the full Latin 
 copy in the clerk's own hand. This is the translation : " 2&th of 
 October, 1714. — James Knight, A.M., teas ordained deacon in the 
 Saroi/ Chapel. London, and priest in the same chapel on the fol- 
 lowing Sunday." (From the Institution Book in the Archiepiscopal 
 Registry, York, England.) The confirmation of the localities, and 
 the identification of the spirit, were most satisfactorjr.'" 
 
 Such proofs of individuality and spirit identity give Spirit- 
 ualism infinite value. Mr. Knight had frequently told us 
 that he was young, and unknown to fame himself, when pass- 
 ing, by an accident, to the world of spirits ; but his father, 
 and his brother, James Knight, were eminent clergymen in 
 the English Church. This gave the clew to the investigation, 
 and the satisfactory result. 
 
 SIR DAVID BREWSTER AND SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 It appears well for those occupying high social positions in 
 English society, as well as for some of the more distinguished 
 savans, to engage in investigating the claims of Spiritualism. 
 
 A book has just been published, entitled " The Home-Life 
 of Sir David Brewster," and is written by his daughter, Mrs. 
 Gordon. In that part of the book relating to his experiences 
 in Spiritualism, extracts from his own letters and diary are 
 given ; from which we quote the most interesting portions : — 
 
 "London, May, 1851. — I have been at two mesmeric seances ; 
 one with Dr. Macdonald and the Duke of Argyll, at a Mrs. Holmes's, 
 who utterly failed in her clairvoyant pretensions. A Count Possenti 
 mesmerized her. The other was at Dr. Ashburner's, where I saw 
 tilings that confounded me." 
 
 In a letter dated London, April 25, 1851, he tells of a 
 breakfast-party at the house of Chevalier Biinsen, and sa} r s 
 that the great subject of talk was spirit-rapping and the mov- 
 ing of tables. He adds, — 
 
 " Just as we were discussing the subject, Mr. Biinsen received a 
 letter from the King of Prussia, saying that the experiment was 
 
172 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 made at the palace by the royal part}?-, who were alone, and no con- 
 juror present. Three of the young ladies had each letters from Ber- 
 lin, mentioning these experiments, which sometimes fail. One letter 
 stated that it succeeded three times out of seven." 
 
 The following is the most important note of all : — - 
 
 " London, June, 1855. — Last of all, I went with Lord Brougham 
 to a seance of the new spirit-rapper, Mr. Home, a lad of twenty, 
 the son of a brother of the late Earl of Home. He went to America 
 at the age of seven, and, though a naturalized American, is actually 
 a Scotchman. Mr. Home lives in Cox's Hotel, Jermyn Street; and 
 Mr. Cox, who knows Lord Brougham, invited me to accompany him 
 in order to assist in finding out the trick. We four sat down at a 
 moderately-sized table, the structure of which we were invited to ex- 
 amine. In a short time the table shuddered, and a tremulous motion 
 ran up all our arms. At our bidding, these motions ceased and re- 
 turned. 
 
 " The most unaccountable rappings were produced in various parts 
 of the, table ; and the table actually rose from the ground when no 
 hand was upon it. A larger table was produced, and exhibited simi- 
 lar movements. 
 
 " An accordeon was held in Lord Brougham's hand, and gave out 
 a single note ; but the experiment was a failure : it would not play 
 either in his hand or mine. 
 
 "A small hand-bell was then laid down with its mouth on the car- 
 pet ; and, after lying for some time, it actually rang when nothing 
 could have touched it. The bell was then placed on the other side, 
 still upon the carpet ; and it came over to me, and placed itself in my 
 hand. It did the same to Lord Brougham. 
 
 " These were the principal experiments. We could give no expla- 
 nation of them, and could not conjecture how they could be produced 
 by any kind of mechanism. Hands are sometimes seen and felt. 
 The hand often grasps another, and melts away, as it were, under the 
 grasp." 
 
 LORD BROUGHAM'S SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 It will be denied from no quarter, that Lord Brougham in- 
 vestigated, believed, and died a Spiritualist. 
 
 A work entitled " The book of Nature," by Mr. Charles O. 
 Groom Napier, F.C.S., published a few months since, has a 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 17.'* 
 
 preface by the late Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux ; which 
 preface closes with the following sentence : — 
 
 " There is but one question I would ask the author : Is the Spiritu- 
 alism of this work foreign to our materialistic, manufacturing age? 
 No ; for amidst the varieties of mind which divers circumstances pro- 
 duce are found those who cultivate man's highest faculties : to these 
 the author addresses himself. But, even in the most cloudless skies 
 of skepticism, I see a rain-cloud, if it be no bigger than a man's 
 hand : it is modern Spiritualism." 
 
 Many were the noble acts and deeds of Lord Brougham ; 
 but the foregoing outspoken statement shows how, even in 
 his later days, he was in advance of many of our younger 
 and more energetic philosophers and statesmen, both in knowl- 
 edge of facts, and in fearlessly and honestly publishing that 
 knowledge. 
 
 MANIFESTATIONS AT THE GUPPYS' IN NAPLES. 
 
 Spending a portion of last November and December in 
 Southern Italy, on the return from Asia Minor, I was privi- 
 leged to frequently witness remarkable Spiritual manifesta- 
 tions, through the organism of Mrs. Guppy, wife of Mr. 
 Samuel Guppy, formerly a merchant in India, but better 
 known of late as author of " Mary Jane," and another equally 
 unique volume, entitled " Katy." This latter treats of poli- 
 tics, religion, and Spiritualism. The startling manifestations 
 occurring in this family are generally considered superior, in 
 some directions, to those of any other in Europe. Mrs. Gup- 
 py had, in December last, given seances within a few months 
 to Princess Marghirita, Princess De Pie de Monde, Princess 
 Aquilla, Princess Theodora, the Duchess of Somerset, Prince 
 Moliterni, and others connected with the crowned heads of 
 the Continent. During one of these seances in Naples, when 
 Baron Caprara, a firm Spiritualist, and other individuals of 
 rank, were present, we not only received satisfactory tests, 
 but the furniture was lifted and moved somewhat roughly, 
 flowers and fruit were brought, the house vibrated, spirit- 
 
174 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 lights flashed, and the whole apartment seemed alive with 
 intelligences as weird as powerful. 
 
 Subjected to suspicion, as all media are liable to be, Mrs. 
 Guppy once permitted herself to be disrobed of her rich 
 moire-antique, in a Neapolitan palace, by the waiting-maids, 
 and then to be attired in a lady's dressing-gown. Thus ves- 
 tured, she was conducted into the seance-mom, where, while 
 a princess and the Duchess St. Arpino held her hands, music 
 and rappings were heard ; and finally there came a whole 
 shower of flowers and rosebuds, fresh and beautiful, upon 
 the table. The next morning, Mrs. Guppy received a very 
 kind letter from Mrs. Locke, thanking her for submitting to 
 the condition of disrobement, &c. The letter is in our pos- 
 session. 
 
 Signor Damiani, in a communication to the Dialectical Com- 
 mittee, writes, — 
 
 " I have assisted at seances, where, the windows being closed and 
 the doors locked, fresh flowers have been showered on the company 
 just previously to their departure. It was at Baron Guldenstubbe's 
 in London, in the year i867, that I first remember having witnessed 
 this. The flowers would have tilled a large basket ; and the fact of 
 their being perfectly fresh, and besprinkled with dew, — the medium, 
 Mrs. Guppy {nee Nicholl), having been with us continuously for at 
 least two hours before the seance commenced, — in itself, and apart 
 from the lady's great respectability, precludes any the faintest 
 suspicion of 'crinoline mystification' or sleight of hand. I must 
 not omit mentioning, that on examining the flowers, some of which 
 still remain in my possession, we perceived that the ends of the 
 stems presented a blackened and burnt appearance. On our asking 
 the invisible intelligences the reason of this, we were told that elec- 
 tricity had been the potent ' nipper ' employed. 
 
 "In the year 1866, at a 'dark seance' held at the Spiritual 
 Athenaeum in London, I distinctly saw Miss Nicholl raised on her 
 chair from the ground by some unseen agency, and placed on the 
 table round which I and many others were sitting. A gap in a fold- 
 ing-door, through which the light flickered, enabled me, from where 
 I sat, to distinctly see her carried aloft through the air with extreme 
 swiftness." 
 
 The poet Longfellow, when making his European tour 
 last season, attended several of Mrs. Guppy's seances in 
 Naples. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 175 
 
 DAMIANFS CHALLENGE. 
 
 Signor G. Damiani, a Sicilian gentleman, celebrated as lin- 
 guist and author, spending his winters in Italy, and summers 
 in Clifton, Eng., has written a spicy pamphlet, for sale by 
 James Burns, 15 Southampton Row, London, in which he se- 
 verely censures Prof. Tyndall, Mr. G. H. Lewes, and others 
 like them, for refusing to investigate the subject of Spiritual- 
 ism. He further offers a reward of a thousand guineas to 
 any respectable scientific or educated men who will investi- 
 gate the subject, and prove it to be an imposture. The fol- 
 lowing are his words : — 
 
 " I now offer you two challenges : — 
 
 11 First, I challenge you, or either of you, or any of the public, 
 who, like you, disbelieve in the genuine character of Spiritualistic 
 phenomena, to deposit in the hands of any well-known London 
 banker, whom you or they may name, the sum of five hundred 
 guineas ; and I pledge myself to immediately deposit in the same 
 bank a like amount: the ownership of such sum of a thousand 
 guineas to depend upon my proving, by evidence sufficient to estab- 
 lish any fact in history, or in a criminal or civil court of justice, — 
 
 "1. That intelligent communications, and answers to questions 
 put, proceed from dead and inert matter in a manner inexplicable by 
 any generally-recognized law of Nature. 
 
 i( 2. That dead and inert matter does move without the aid 
 of any mechanical or known chemical agency, and in defiance of all 
 the admitted laws of gravitation. 
 
 " 3. That voices appertaining to no one in the flesh are heard to 
 speak, and hold rational converse with men. 
 
 " A jury of twenty-four gentlemen, twelve to be chosen by each 
 party (such jury to consist exclusively of members of the learned 
 professions and literary men), to decide whether or not the facts con- 
 tained in the above propositions are conclusively proved per testes; 
 i.e., by witnesses of established character. A majority of the twen- 
 ty-four to decide. If the verdict be that these facts have not been 
 established, the thousand guineas are to belong to the party accept- 
 ing this challenge : if the verdict be that these facts are established, 
 the thousand guineas to be mine. 
 
 " Second, Immediately after the above wager being decided, 
 either way, I offer a like challenge of five hundred guineas (to be 
 met on the other side in like manner as above); the ownership of the 
 second sum of one thousand guineas to depend upon the establish- 
 
1TG year-book: of spiritualism. 
 
 ment of the facts contained in the propositions already given, by ex- 
 periments conducted in the actual presence of the twenty-four gen- 
 tlemen who have decided the previous wager. The verdict of the 
 majority to decide in this case likewise. 
 
 " In either case, the seances are to be conducted in any public or 
 private building which the jury may select, and which may be 
 available for the purpose. 
 
 " The result of these challenges (if accepted and decided) to be 
 advertised by the victorious party, at the expense of the defeated 
 party, in all the London daily papers. 
 
 "I hope this is plain English. 
 
 " Awaiting a reply to this letter, and to the challenge with which 
 it concludes, I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 
 
 " G. Damiani. 
 
 "Clifton, Oct. 1, 1868." 
 
 CRYSTAL-SEEING. 
 
 This form of mediumship, though quite common in some 
 portions of England, is little practiced in other countries. 
 The subject is deeply interesting for psychologic study. Es- 
 pecially is this true to those who have investigated od, or 
 " odic force," as recognized and delineated by Baron Reich- 
 enbach. The electric emanations from rock-crystals seem 
 peculiarly adapted to induce a certain grade of clairvoyance. 
 
 Our attention was first called to this subject by F. Hockley, 
 a highly-intelligent gentleman and mystic of London, whose 
 library contains not only valuable manuscripts received by 
 the aid of the crystal and a seeress, but many rare works 
 tipon the occult sciences. The Earl of Stanhope devoted 
 much time to the investigation of crystal-seeing. Mr. K. R. 
 H. Mackensie, F.S.A., F.R.S.L., delivered several lectures 
 the past winter, in the Spiritual Institution rooms of Mr. 
 James Burns, upon the phenomena of crystal-seeing, connect- 
 ing it directly with clairvoyant vision and Spiritualism. 
 
 The general method of getting communications is as fol- 
 lows : A crystal or mirror is placed before the eyes of the 
 medium, or sensitive, who first sees a dense cloud form in 
 the mirror, followed by blackness; afterwards come flashes 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 177 
 
 of fire or light ; and then come visions of distant places, per- 
 sons, and spirits. 
 
 Crystals and mirrors were used by the alchemists of the 
 middle ages, and by the Chinese and Aryan races afar back 
 in Time's earlier mornings. The incantations and extrava- 
 gant ceremonies connected with crystal-seeing in past ages 
 detracted from the uses it might have subserved had it fallen 
 into the hands of more practical thinkers. The independent 
 clairvoyant has no need of brooch, magic ring, or crystal, to see 
 visions, or converse with those who people the heavenly world ; 
 and yet crystal-seeing is a deeply-interesting subject for psy- 
 chometric investigation. 
 
 REALITY OF SPIRIT- LIFE. 
 
 Mrs. De Morgan is the author of the excellent volume 
 denominated " From Matter to Spirit." The book was ably 
 prefaced by Prof. De Morgan, President of the London 
 Mathematical Society. Owing to ill health, Mrs. De Morgan 
 was unable to contribute to " The Year-Book. " She will accept 
 our thanks for the kind note laden with good wishes. This 
 lady furnished the following spirit-message for " The Medium 
 and Daybreak : " — 
 
 "The subject of the locality of the spirit-land is, in truth, beyond 
 the power of the finite mind to comprehend. As I have told you 
 many times, your earthly atmosphere teems with the spirits who are 
 in sympathy with the lower order of development or spirit-life found 
 there. But on your earth, in the body also, are many pure and as- 
 spiring spirits, who are in closer communion with the far and higher 
 regions than any of the undeveloped disembodied spirits who readily 
 communicate their ignorance through their earthly mediums. The 
 casting-aside of the earthly frame does not exalt the spirit that is 
 not exalted by its aspirations and longings to attain the higher God- 
 spheres, — spheres and localities beyond the ken of mankind. Think 
 not that any can solve the deep and high mysteries of the higher 
 spirit-spheres : for only they who have attained thereto can form a 
 conception of what they are ; the spiritual sphere being not only lo- 
 calized, but a state far more than a locality. I would teach you 
 12 
 
178 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 that the teachings of the spirits are really true. Your earth, in its 
 objectiveness, is the type of this sphere. You take from us, not we 
 from you. All the varied descriptions must truly be in accordance 
 with the medium's own power of perception and reception ; but to 
 each medium comes the spirit most suited to his powers, and all is 
 true in the description of our home. It is very real. We need, 
 spiritually, in our early spirit-life, the same things that we long for 
 on earth in a higher and fuller degree. Life is purer and truer; but 
 it is as real, objectively and subjectively, as on your earth. We 
 have all the adjuncts here ; but, as we advance, they become purer 
 and more ethereal. When we speak of curtains, we mean, liter- 
 ally, a light division between the parts of the room in the same way 
 as you use such on earth. But we have such, as all else, in the most 
 ethereal and beautiful material, formed from the essence of the 
 flowers around. This is a very favorite material, to use your earthly 
 words, with us. Our dresses are formed of it ; and, as they float in 
 the ether, they give out sweetness and harmony in accordance with 
 all around. It is truly impossible so to impress our earthly medium 
 as to give you an idea of the fullness of the beauty of our home ; but 
 nothing can too fully assure you of the reality and substantiality of 
 it." — Given through F. J. T. 
 
 THE LONDON DIALECTICAL SOCIETY AND 
 SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 This literary society was established some three years since 
 to consider " all subjects with a view to the elucidation of 
 truth ; " taking up questions not ordinarily investigated by 
 other scientific societies. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 
 is the president of the society ; and among the vice-presidents 
 are Prof. Huxley, F.R.S., Lord Amberley, Mr. G. H. Lewes, 
 and Miss Frances Power Cobbe. At one of the meetings, 
 a physician read a paper on some very extraordinary phe- 
 nomena which he had witnessed himself ; and it was stated 
 that the physical and other facts of Spiritualism were believed 
 to be real by Prof. De Morgan (President of the Mathe- 
 matical Society of London), Mr. C. F. Yarley, C.E., F.R.G.S., 
 Mr. Robert Chambers, Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall, Mr. William 
 Howitt, and others of like eminence. A somewhat acrimoni- 
 ous debate followed ; and a committee of thirty persons was 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 179 
 
 appointed to " investigate the phenomena alleged to be Spirit- 
 ual manifestations, and to report thereon." This committee, 
 under the chairmanship of Dr. Edmunds, comprises members 
 of the legal, medical, and clerical professions, as well as a few 
 engineers and architects, and several gentlemen of eminent 
 scientific and literary attainments. 
 
 The following, a little in advance of the printed copy, is a 
 portion of this experimental sub-committee's report. The 
 intelligence and high social positions of the parties, as well as 
 the momentous nature of the subject itself, give it impor- 
 tance : — 
 
 " Since their appointment, on the 16th of February, 1869, your 
 sub-committee have held forty meetings for purposes of experiment 
 and test. These meetings were held at the private residences of 
 members of the committee, purposely to preclude the possibility of pre- 
 arranged mechanism or contrivance. 
 
 (: The furniture of the room in which the experiments were con- 
 ducted was, on every occasion, its accustomed furniture. 
 
 " The tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables, requiring a 
 strong effort to move them. The smallest was five feet nine inches 
 long by four feet wide ; and the largest, nine feet three inches long 
 and four feet and a half wide, and of proportionate weight. 
 
 " The rooms, tables, and furniture generally, were repeatedly sub- 
 jected to careful examination before, during, and after the experi- 
 ments, to ascertain that no concealed machinery, instrument, or other 
 contrivance, existed, by means of which the sounds or movements 
 hereinafter mentioned could be caused. 
 
 " The experiments were conducted in the light of gas, except on 
 the few occasions specially noted in the minutes. 
 
 "Your committee have avoided the employment of professional 
 or paid mediums ; the mediumship developed being that of members 
 of your sub-committee, — persons of good social position, and of unim- 
 peachable integrity, having no pecuniary object to serve, and noth- 
 ing to gain by deception. 
 
 " Your committee have held some meetings without the presence 
 of a medium (it being understood, that, throughout this report, the 
 word ' medium ' is used simply to designate an individual without 
 whose presence the phenomena described either do not occur at all, 
 or with greatly diminished force and frequency), purposely to try if 
 they could produce, by any efforts, effects similar to those witnessed 
 when a medium was present. By no endeavors were they enabled 
 to produce any thing at all resembling the manifestations that took 
 place in the presence of a medium. 
 
 " Every test that the combined intelligence of your committee 
 
180 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 could devise has been tried with patience and perseverance. The 
 experiments were conducted under a great variety of conditions ; and 
 ingenuity has been exerted in devising plans by which your com- 
 mittee might verify their observations, and preclude the possibility 
 of imposture or of delusion. 
 
 " Your committee have confined their report to facts witnessed 
 by them in tbeir collective capacity; which facts were palpable to the 
 senses, and their reality capable of demonstrative proof. 
 
 " Of the members of your sub-committee, about four-fifths en- 
 tered upon the investigation wholly skeptical as to the reality of the 
 alleged phenomena; firmly believing them to be the result either of 
 imposture, or of delusion, or of involuntary muscular action. It 
 was only by irresistible evidence, under conditions that precluded 
 the possibility of either of these solutions, and after trial and test 
 many times repeated, that the most skeptical of your sub-committee 
 were slowly and reluctantly convinced that the phenomena exhibited 
 in the course of their protracted inquiry were veritable facts. 
 
 "The result of their long-continued and carefully-conducted ex- 
 periments, after trial by every detective test they could devise, has 
 been to establish conclusively, — 
 
 " First, That, under certain bodily or mental conditions of one or 
 more of the persons present, a force is exhibited sufficient to put 
 heavy substances in motion without the employment of any muscu- 
 lar force, without contact or material connection of any kind between 
 such substances and the body of any person present. 
 
 " Second, That this force can make distinctly audible sounds to 
 proceed from solid substances not in contact with, nor having any 
 visible or material connection with, the body of any person present; 
 and which sounds are proved to proceed from such substances by the 
 vibrations which are distinctly felt when they are touched. 
 
 " Third, That this force is frequently directed by intelligence. 
 
 "At thirty-four out of the forty meetings of your committee, 
 some of these phenomena occurred. 
 
 " Delusion was out of the question. The motions took place in 
 various directions, and were witnessed simultaneously by all present. 
 They were matters of measurement, and not of opinion or of fancy ; 
 and they occurred so often, under so many and such various condi- 
 tions, with such safeguards against error or deception, and with such 
 invariable results, as to satisfy the members of your committee by 
 whom the experiments were tried, wholly skeptical as most of them 
 were when they entered upon the investigation, that there is a force 
 capable of moving heavy bodies without material contact, and which 
 force is in some unknown manner dependent upon the presence of 
 human beings. 
 
 " In conclusion, your committee express their unanimous opinion 
 that the one important physical fact thus proved to exist — that 
 motion may be produced in solid bodies without material contact, by 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 181 
 
 some hitherto unrecognized force operating within an undefined 
 distance from the human organization, and beyond the range of 
 muscular action — should be subjected to further scientific investiga- 
 tion, with a view to ascertain, if possible, its true source, nature, 
 and power." 
 
 u The London Globe," in a May issue, said, " During the 
 past four weeks, meetings of the Dialectical Committee on 
 Spiritualism have been held with closed doors, without the 
 members being able to agree as to the report which they will 
 issue. All the reports of the experimental sub-committees 
 have, however, been received and adopted. These all bear 
 strong testimony in favor of the reality of the manifestations ; 
 and a report based on the reports of these sub-committees is 
 now in process of preparation." 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 BY H. DOHERTY, M.D. 
 
 Moses rejected all the religions of his time, but retained J s 
 
 the Book of Genesis, &c, as authoritative scripture. *\ 
 
 Christ rejected all Jewish sects and teachings, but con- /^ 
 firmed the books of Moses and the prophets as authoritative 
 scripture. 
 
 European Spiritualists renounce all Pagan, Jewish, and 
 Christian sects and systems, but adhere to ancient oracles of 
 truth, — to Moses and the prophets, and especially to Jesus 
 and the gospel. 
 
 American Spiritualists accept nothing but what they derive 
 from their own experience and from the inspiration of spirits. 
 
 None of these phases of progress in the development of 
 religious truth can be deemed final and complete, however 
 valuable as beacon-lights in the midst of human darkness. 
 
 Paris, France. 
 
182 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 THE GOOD TIME COMING. 
 
 BY A. CROSS. 
 
 An unreasoning Spiritualist is more reprehensible than an 
 unreasoning materialist. The latter is necessarily unreasona- 
 ble and illogical because of the imperfection of his premises. 
 The former, starting on a proper basis, is much to blame if he 
 does not reach truthful conclusions. The materialist may 
 reason correctly, granting his data ; but, these being false, his 
 conclusions must be so. The Spiritualist must arrive at cor- 
 rect deductions if he reason correctly, as his premises are 
 right. I know that there are unreasoning Spiritualists, who 
 are bigoted in their ignorance, stupidly superstitious, and 
 never ready to give a reason for the faith that is in them, for- 
 getful that the reign of reason is the millennium. 
 
 We find, for instance, one class calling themselves Chris- 
 tian. They are a variety of Spiritualists, but deny it. They 
 say, that last year, or last century, or at some distant period 
 and place, miracles were wrought, prophecies uttered, &c, 
 but all occurred " over the hills, and far away," and were 
 caused by a suspension or violation of Nature's laws ; and that, 
 though they happened once, they never can again. Is this 
 reasonable ? They believe nothing outside the boards of the 
 Bible, and quietly very little inside. They hold the great 
 Law-Maker in the working of miracles to have broken his 
 own laws. Is this reasonable? While, to crown their un- 
 reasoning and illogical position, they assert with one breath 
 the supreme authority of the Bible, its absolute perfection of 
 truth and purity, and deny in toto the statement of Christ, 
 that these signs should follow them who believe : " In my 
 name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak with new 
 tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and, if they drink any 
 deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on 
 the sick, and they shall recover " (Mark xvi. 17, 18). Such 
 Spiritualists are drags on the wheels of progress. 
 
 There are those of a more advanced type, who also retard our 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 183 
 
 progress. Their enlightenment renders their want of reason 
 and charity the more conspicuous. Are there not those who 
 boast that they have shaken themselves free from an heredi- 
 tary faith ? yet, like Rome and her reformers and re-reformers, 
 have they not made their opinions the truth, and themselves 
 the men ? Their roots are Roman, and their fruits are Roman. 
 But the people and the age have broken that yoke, and will 
 break all yokes. We shall be pinned to no creed, nor tied to 
 any policy. Terror and tyranny are sinking in peace. Aris- 
 tocracy and monarchy are dying from the effects of their 
 vicious lives. Caste is doomed. Even now I see Revolution 
 stalk stealthily among the people. I hear him whisper, 
 "Shall this man be your king?" And the nation answers, 
 "We will not have this man to reign over us." Enough; 
 perhaps we speak too loud : but, when the face of the country 
 seems calm, its troubled spirit gazes wistfully toward the land 
 of the setting sun ; and I hear it pledge itself ere long to taste 
 the fruits then deemed so sweet. We breathlessly await the 
 time. Then shall rule the aristocracy of intellect. Then 
 shall be the reign of love, and Reason shall sway her scepter 
 over the hearts of the people. Then Rome and all the little 
 Romes shall be no more ; and philosophy will furnish the creed 
 of the nation. 
 
 Then let us, as Spiritualists, in virtue of our advancement, 
 forgetting: our little differences, and no longer seeking; the 
 glory to ourselves or our opinions, seek the general good by 
 unitedly toiling for the grand result. Revolution, as the ser- 
 vant of God, stands, sword in hand, to force (if denied) the 
 demands of the people. Come, then, let. us reason together, 
 that if possible, without bloodshed, we may have our swords 
 beaten into plowshares, and our spears into pruning-hooks. 
 
 Bradford, England. 
 
184 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 SPIRITUALISM A WELCOME FACT. 
 
 BY MILO A. TOWNSEND. 
 
 One would think that a single sound from the everlasting 
 shore would be hailed by earth's inhabitants with songs and 
 hosannas of rejoicing. Here we have been wandering for 
 long, long ages, in darkness and night ; our minds vacil- 
 lating between hope and fear, and thousands feeling the want 
 of positive evidence of the immortality of their existence. 
 The world seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into mate- 
 rialism and skepticism, the abstract speculations and the 
 vague assumptions of much of the theology of the day afford- 
 ing no living evidence to multitudes of minds of any life 
 beyond ; while even many of those claiming to have knowl- 
 edge of our spiritual nature and relations, and to occupy the 
 position of teachers and instructors, were not without their 
 doubts and apprehensions. Dim and shadowy was the way. 
 Vasrue and uncertain was the future. Vast multitudes were 
 constantly passing away into the obscure unknown ; and no 
 voice, no sound, came to tell us that they live again. Soli- 
 tude, anxiety, and gloom weigh down the doubting heart as 
 " friend after friend departs." Sorrow and wailing are heard 
 as Death drives his chariot over the world. Doubt deepens 
 into desolation, and desolation into despair. At length, after 
 ten thousand anxious inquiries of the " watcher on the 
 tower" to give us some faint hope of the day-dawn, of a 
 gleam of light to guide our steps, and point us to. the golden 
 sunshine on the eternal shore ; after the many, many heart- 
 throbs and surgings of anguish, and the long, sad nights and 
 weary days, — in the providence of God, there comes the cry 
 of departed friends from the everlasting shore, proclaiming, 
 '''•All is well: we live again! Hosanna to the Highest!" That 
 voice rings like the music of heaven on the listening ear of 
 the lonely doubter, and vibrates back through the hearts of 
 rejoicing angels, who sing anew the advent of the world's de- 
 liverance from bondage, darkness, and wrong. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 185 
 
 Immortality is thus proved, — demonstrated beyond the 
 shadow of a doubt. What was once a cherished hope, a 
 longing of the soul, is shown to be a palpable reality. We 
 have renewed assurance that we shall live and progress for 
 ever in a world of beauty, love, and harmony. We need 
 only to live here pure and just and aspiring lives, to become 
 receptive of the mighty truths whose onflow is to regenerate 
 and enlighten and biess the world. We need but look with 
 trustful and truthful hearts to the great Fountain, to be in- 
 spired by God's angels, and to be made the instruments of his 
 will in effecting the consummation of his glorious designs. 
 
 Yet thousands, instead of receiving these things as " glad 
 tidings " from the spirit-shore, as a hailing sign from a newly- 
 discovered and immortal land of joy and beauty, — instead of 
 this, they scout it all as a wild delusion, and without knowing 
 what they are condemning, and are ready to curse the spirits, 
 and to condemn all who are willing to hear them ; and with 
 words of folly on their lips, and pride and arrogance in their 
 hearts, they are found in the paths of the scoffer and reviler. 
 
 Allow me to suggest to those who have never examined 
 this subject, that they may save themselves many a bitter and 
 unavailable regret " in the world to which they go " by relax- 
 ing their opposition to things they do not understand, and be 
 willing to admit that they may not be quite so wise as they 
 suppose themselves ; that there may be some laws in Nature 
 yet undiscovered, some principles connected with our im- 
 mortal and spiritual being yet unlearned, and some spots in 
 the widespread gardens of God yet unexplored. 
 
 PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS. 
 
 It appears to be the object of a certain party of Spiritualists 
 to ignore and speak disrespectfully of the physical phenomena 
 of Spiritualism. While we detest pretenders and deceivers 
 as much as it is possible for any one to do, we confess to little 
 sjonpathy with those who would thus disown the elements of 
 
186 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 our philosophy. We had supposed that the essential benefit 
 of Spiritualism was its bringing forward facts in place of 
 theories, and substituting knowledge for blind belief, or faith. 
 
 The facts thus produced are the phenomena, divisible into 
 two classes, — the physical and mental; the first of which, once 
 accepted, for ever sets at rest all doubts of our immortality. 
 The mental phenomena are secondary, and dependent on the 
 physical. Even the theories of those who ignore the latter 
 are based on the facts they furnish. Say what we will, our 
 knowledge rests on the rappings and the movings of inanimate 
 objects intelligently. We could better dispense with all our 
 books and lectures than with these living witnesses ; for with 
 them our philosophy surely develops itself : but without them, 
 where are we ? It is said that the physical phase is receiv- 
 ing less attention than formerly. This is entirely errone- 
 ous. Less publicity is, perhaps, given to the result of seances; 
 for the people are becoming accustomed to them, and no 
 longer regard them as wonderful and supernatural. The deep 
 interest which has made such so common as to pass without 
 exciting astonishment is mistaken for the loss of interest. 
 Few Spiritualists are so " highly developed " that they would 
 not prefer a series of physical tests to a lecture on their 
 philosophy. What, then, is the claim of those who are just 
 awakening, or are yet una wakened, to Spiritual truth ? 
 
 It is scarcely a score of years since the rappings began. 
 Let us not commence the cant of the metaphysicians, and 
 attempt again the solution of immortality by vain array of 
 words and hair-drawn theories. This can not be, were it de- 
 sired : for the rappings are not dead prophets of the past ; 
 their oracle has not deserted, but is ever with us, ready for 
 consultation. However exalted the science of Spiritualism 
 may become, the physical manifestations will necessarily re- 
 main the ever-present witnesses of its truthfulness. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 18.7 
 
 TO WHOM SHALL WE GIVE? 
 
 During the forty-three years that the American Tract Society 
 has been in existence, it has issued 22,877,379 volumes, 200,000,000 
 tracts, and 100,000,000 periodicals, in 141 different dialects. Since 
 the close of the war, it has organized 1,900 sabbath or secular schools, 
 which are attended by 110,000 scholars. Upward of 279,000 copies 
 of the United-States Primer have been disseminated throughout the 
 country. On the work in the South alone, $89,000 have been ex- 
 pended. — Ex. 
 
 If Spiritualists as deeply felt the necessity of extending 
 their belief as the churches do theirs, if they as liberally re- 
 sponded' to the calls for money, how rapidly would their 
 philosophy extend its empire ! While the churches circu- 
 late tracts by the ton, nauseatingly filled with their dogmas, 
 Spiritualists have done almost nothing in the direction of 
 gratuitous publications. They still contribute to the cause 
 which scorns them, and subscribe towards the building of 
 churches with tall steeples, and bells and organs, and the 
 salaries of preachers, — churches from whose pulpit a Spirit- 
 ualist teacher can not declaim, and preachers whose forte is 
 abusing the miserable infidel. This should not be. We 
 should stand firm, and give not one dollar to the old cause of 
 error. What we do give should go to that cause in which we 
 believe. The money contributed by Spiritualists last year 
 towards defraying the expenses of the churches in which 
 they have no faith whatever would place two missionaries in 
 every State, publish all the Spiritual journals free, and trebly 
 pay all the Spiritual lecturers in the field. 
 
 Money is made a power by the churches, and it can be made 
 so by us. Let us all say with one voice, " We are Spiritual- 
 ists ; and every dollar we can spare goes to the aid of our own 
 religion, and not to that which scorns us as infidel." Do not 
 think you gain respect by subscribing at the deacon's call. 
 Liberalism can never gain respect in this manner. When it 
 unites its scattered forces, then, and not till then, will it be- 
 come a power in the land. When the Church fears, it will 
 respect it. 
 
188 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 HUMBOLDT. 
 
 The birthday of a great man has passed ; we had almost 
 said, of the great man ; for none other like to him is left us. 
 His was a mind reaching through all Nature, understanding 
 the ways of the minutest mollusk, or the gyrations of the 
 farthest star. His eulogium has been pronounced by a thou- 
 sand tongues and pens. The lions of eloquence have roared 
 over his grave. 
 
 A question has presented itself, of more vital consequence 
 than all his revelations of Nature. The Christian world are 
 deeply troubled about his orthodoxy, — whether he believed 
 in a God, or no. 
 
 Why this anxiety ? This we know, that Humboldt never 
 communicated with any church. His whole life was a protest 
 against dogmatism. Why the necessity of vindication ? or 
 would he be better if unequivocal testimony could be produced 
 that he believed in the existence of a God ? The hyena dis- 
 inters the corpse, and feeds his hungry maw on decay ; but 
 these human hyenas would contaminate the immortal spirit, 
 and thus satisfy their contemptible meanness. 
 
 The last words of the great man should silence all cavil : 
 44 How grand the sunlight! it seems to beckon earth to 
 heaven." It was a prayer, a spontaneous burst of adoration, 
 from him whose forehead was already bathed in the light of 
 the eternal spheres. 
 
 No whining priest was there to interrupt the grand apothe- 
 osis. Peacefully as a babe falls into slumber, he sank into 
 the arms of Nature, and was wafted on the wings of that light 
 he so much loved. 
 
 A life of almost a century without a fault or a blemish — 
 ah ! it is time it be proved that he was not an atheist. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 189 
 
 HOW TO FORM SPIRIT- CIRCLES. 
 
 FROM THE LONDON SPIRITUALIST. 
 
 An experimental trial at home, among family friends and 
 relatives, often gives the most satisfactory evidence of the 
 reality of Spiritual phenomena : at the same time, as no fully- 
 developed medium is present among those who have never 
 obtained manifestations before, the probability is that there 
 Trill be no results. Nevertheless, it is a very common thing 
 for striking manifestations to be obtained in this way at the 
 first sitting of a family-circle. Perhaps, for every one success- 
 ful new circle thus started without a medium, there are six 
 or seven failures ; but no accurate statistics on this point 
 have yet been collected. When once manifestations have 
 been obtained, they will gradually increase in power and relia- 
 bility at successive sittings. The following is a good plan of 
 action : — 
 
 1. Let the room be of a comfortable temperature, but cool rather 
 than warm ; let arrangements be made that nobody shall enter it, 
 and that there shall be no interruption, for one hour, — during the sit- 
 ting of the circle. Wet, damp, and foggy weather is bad for the 
 production of physical phenomena. 
 
 2. Let the circle consist of four, five, or six individuals, — about 
 the same number of each sex. Sit round an uncovered wooden 
 table, with all the palms of the hands in contact with its top surface. 
 Whether the hands touch each other, or not, is usually of no impor- 
 tance. Any table will do, — just large enough to conveniently accom- 
 modate the sitters. The removal of a hand from the table for a few 
 seconds does no harm; but, when one of the sitters breaks the circle 
 by leaving the table, it sometimes, but not always, very considerably 
 delays the manifestations. 
 
 3. Before the sitting begins, place some pointed lead-pencils, and 
 some sheets of clean writing-paper, on the table, to write down any 
 communications that may be obtained. 
 
 4. People who do not like each other should not sit in the same 
 circle ; for such a want of harmony tends to prevent manifestations, 
 except with well-developed physical mediums : it is not yet known 
 why. Belief or unbelief has no influence on the manifestations ; but 
 an acrid feeling against them is a weakening influence. 
 
190 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 5. Before the manifestations begin, it is well to engage in gen- 
 eral conversation or in singing ; and it is best that neither should be 
 of a frivolous nature. A prayerful, earnest feeling among the mem- 
 bers of the circle is likely to attract a higher and more pleasing class 
 of spirits. 
 
 6. The first sympton of the invisible power at work is often a 
 feeling like a cool wind sweeping over the hands. The first manifes- 
 tations will probably be table-tiltings or raps. 
 
 7. When motions of the table or sounds are produced freely, to 
 avoid confusion, let one person only speak, and talk to the table as 
 to an intelligent being. Let him tell the table that three tilts or 
 raps mean " Yes," one means "No," and two mean "Doubtful ; " and 
 ask whether the arrangement is understood. If three signals be 
 given in answer, then say, " If I speak the letters of the alphabet 
 slowly, will you signal every time I come to the letter you want, and 
 spell us out a message? " Should three signals be given, set to work 
 on the plan proposed j and from this time an intelligent system of 
 communication is established. 
 
 8. Afterwards the question should be put, "Are we sitting in 
 the right order to get the best manifestations?" Probably some 
 members of the circle will then be told to change seats with each 
 other ; and the signals will be afterwards strengthened. Next ask, 
 "Who is the medium ?" When spirits come, asserting themselves to 
 be related or known to anybody present, well-chosen questions should 
 be put to test the accuracy of the statements, as spirits out of the 
 body have all the virtues and all the failings of spirits in the body. 
 
 THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ADVENT OF MOD- 
 ERN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIRST OF MARCH. 
 
 Having incidentally learned that Mr. Lawrence of Cleve- 
 land, O., was the first to suggest the observance of an anni- 
 versary-day, we addressed him the following note : — 
 
 "Mr. James Lawrence. Dear Sir, — Will you be so kind as to 
 furnish for ' The Year-Book * the exact circumstances connected with 
 the origination and presentation of the idea of an anniversary to be 
 held in commemoration of the advent of modern Spiritualism ? " 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 191 
 
 To this request we received the following reply : — 
 
 Cleveland, O., May 2, 1870. 
 
 My Friends Tuttle and Peebles, — Yours of the 20th of 
 April was duly received. The suggestion for a public celebration, 
 commemorative of the advent of modern Spiritualism through the 
 rappings at Hydesville, emanated from myself. The particulars, in 
 brief, are these. On the twelfth day of November I was using the 
 spirit-dial, known as Prof. Hare's dial. I received a communication 
 of which I had no previous thought : consequently it could not be 
 deemed a design of my own, and hence must be recognized as an 
 emanation from those who are freed from earth's encumbrances. 
 
 At the National Convention the following year, by the advice 
 of my spirit-friends and my own convictions, I brought it before the 
 delegates as a resolution, which was accepted, not as mine, but under 
 angel-guidance, — as coming from the higher realm, to keep alive the 
 gratitude of those who can accept and comprehend the glorious boon 
 — the assurance of immortality — furnished by Spiritualism. To that 
 God whose ways are inscrutable, and beyond the ken of mortal minds, 
 would I express my gratitude for being made the humble instrument, 
 through angel-promptings, to impart the thought that millions now 
 existing, and millions yet unborn, may hail with gratitude unbounded 
 the opportunity to celebrate an event more joyous in its character 
 than mortal eyes have ever witnessed. 
 
 Your friend and brother, 
 
 James Lawrence. 
 
 The resolution alluded to was as follows : — 
 
 " Whereas Spiritualism has become a power in the land, and 
 may be deemed the great growing religious idea of the country ; 
 and whereas it is well to revert to the time of small beginnings, 
 and hold in remembrance the first pioneers in this Spiritual move- 
 ment : therefore Resolved, That this convention recommend to all 
 State conventions and local societies to make the time of the appear- 
 ance of the Rochester rappings an anniversary-day, — the services 
 of that day to be conducted in each locality as may be deemed most 
 practical." 
 
 To this Mr. Lawrence responded by reading the communi- 
 cation he had received through his dial, a portion of which 
 we insert : — 
 
 "... Some acknowledgment should be made for this most glorious 
 change, the advent of which has never yet been celebrated as a 
 matter of public rejoicing by the assembled multitudes of Spiritual- 
 ists thoughout the land. Shall all the minor circumstances of earth- 
 
192 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 life have their days of commemoration, and this glorious, new, and 
 holy dispensation be neglected ? ... It is time some such tribute 
 sbould be paid to those who have thus presented to the world a 
 means of emancipation from error, such as will meet the requirements 
 of all, — a day of universal jubilee, to be observed though all coming 
 time." 
 
 Mr. Lawrence has already passed the term of years said 
 to be allotted to man. His snow-white hair and beard, con- 
 nected as they are with a singularly erect and manly bearing, 
 make him a conspicuous personage at the assemblies of the 
 Spiritualists in his city. Widely and honorably connected, the 
 most bigoted opposer would not dare to charge him with 
 knowing imposture. 
 
 The suggestion was timely, and was at once acted upon. 
 The 31st of March, 1870, was almost universally observed, not 
 only by the societies in the cities, but by the smaller and less 
 conspicuous. The programme adopted was nearly the same 
 in all cases; speaking occupying the early evening, followed 
 by a social. 
 
 Every society which claims to be based in any wise on the 
 reception of Spiritualism should celebrate this auspicious day, 
 and make it, for the future, incomparably more suggestive than 
 Christmas has been in the past. 
 
 " The Banner of Light," in an editorial on this twenty- 
 second anniversary, beautifully remarks, — 
 
 " The truth as it is in Nature has spread its warming rays ; and 
 thousands of hearts all over our broad nation, the countries of the 
 Old World, and, indeed, the far-off islands of the sea, are to-day 
 rejoicing in its advancing light. How appropriate, then, in the 
 language of a contemporary, that we should celebrate the anniversary 
 of 'the coming of that first mysterious rap, which, exciting only 
 derision in those narrow souls whose mental horizon is bounded by 
 their bodily vision, sounded throughout all space the knell of super- 
 stition and the birth of the new Prometheus of science, the future 
 God, who will rule the universe by a knowledge of its laws' ! 
 
 " But, while we rejoice in the triumphs of our cause, let us remem- 
 ber the work which we, as co-operative agents with the angels, must 
 perform. There are Gethsemanes and Calvaries, and thorns and 
 crosses, even in this our lower world, for the brave disciples of a 
 maturing good to humanity. As in ancient days, so now, the Great 
 Spirit has spoken, not in the whirlwind of Horeb, but in the ' still 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 193 
 
 small voice ; ' and thus, rather in quiet, earnest devotion to principle, 
 than in stormy and vindictive denunciation of those differing with 
 us, shall our cause 'have its due course, and be glorified.' With the 
 earnest prayer that the spirit of that charity which ' suffereth long, 
 aud is kind,' may abide with and be exercised by the believers in 
 our philosophy in the year that is to come, — both with regard to 
 their brethren and sisters of the faith, and the outer world as well, 
 — we close the volume of the past, and enter hopefully upon the 
 deeds and duties of the future." 
 
 SPIRITUALISTIC LITERATURE. 
 
 The past year has been one of great activity in Spiritualistic 
 literature, — in the number of new works issued from the press, 
 and their circulation. ' The demand steadily and rapidly in- 
 creases ; and new editions of many books out of print have 
 been called for. 
 
 The Spiritual journals have rapidly increased their circula- 
 tions, and the leading ones become firmly established. 
 
 The oldest and most widely circulated, " The Banner of 
 Light," has become a household necessity with all Spiritual- 
 ists. It has worked its way upwards through great difficulties, 
 edited by Luther Colby with inimitable vigor, charity, and 
 unflinching honesty, and seconded by its publishers, who are 
 now reaping the reward of persistently adhering to the right. 
 
 " The American Spiritualist " was at first started as the 
 organ of a State association. It has since been enlarged to a 
 sixteen-page, beautifully-printed fortnightly, with the assur- 
 ance of commencing its next volume as a weekly. It is fear- 
 less, radical, and uncompromising. 
 
 " The Religio-Philosophical Journal " takes the place 
 of " The Banner," in the West. It, too, has waged a hard 
 battle, but is at length triumphant ; and its circulation nearly 
 equals that of the former journal. 
 
 " The Present Age," under the management of Col. D. 
 M. Fox, is a beautifully-printed folio, weekly, and deserves 
 the esteem and confidence it has gained. The polished essays 
 
 13 
 
104 YEAH-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 of J. S. Loveland, Wadsworth, and others, and the scientific 
 articles by Prof. E. Whipple, are a marked feature of " The 
 Age." 
 
 " The New Life " is the name of the latest candidate for 
 the patronage of Spiritualists. It is devoted to literature, 
 current news, and Spiritualism. It presents a .fine appear- 
 ance. Published weekly at Baltimore. 
 
 " The Universe " was devoted to all reforms ; Spiritualism 
 being one only of the many issues it made. Daring and fear- 
 less, it made many firm friends, and as bitter enemies. It has 
 now been changed to a monthly, and is the only one at pres- 
 ent published devoted to Spiritualism in the West. 
 
 The " Tafelrunde " ("Round Table") is a new fort- 
 nightly, in the German language, published at Washington, 
 D.C. Edited by P. L. Schuckling, M.D. Its object is the out- 
 spoken defense of Spiritualism and free religion, and meets a 
 •demand long felt by the German freethinkers of America. Its 
 high character may be learned from the distinguished German 
 scholars who contribute to its pages, — Frederic Munch, Dr. 
 Gerau, Dr, Tiedeman, Dr. Cyriax, Casper Butz, and others. 
 
 " Le Salut " (" Salvation ") is a monthly, edited by E. T. 
 Simmons, Published at New Orleans. It meets a local want 
 by being partly printed in the French language. 
 
 "The Lyceum Banner" is the only child's paper issued 
 by and for Spiritualists. Mrs. Lou Kimball deserves the 
 gratitude of all Spiritualists for her untiring energy and sac- 
 rificing devotion in establishing this journal for their children. 
 Its pages are clear of the dogmatic insolence and unpardona- 
 ble misstatements which mar the pages of like character 
 issued in the interest of the various sects. 
 
 For profundity of thought, or elegance of expression, the 
 articles appearing in the pages of these journals compare 
 favorably with those of any other class whatever, and, in 
 originality, greatly excel them ; while the editorial ability dis- 
 played is only equaled by the great journals standing side by 
 side in other fields of literature. The power they severally 
 and combined exert is immeasurable. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the European journals devoted to Spirit- 
 ualism compare favorably with the American. In solidity and 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 195 
 
 execution they are models, embodying the most advanced 
 thought in connection with the Spiritual philosophy. 
 
 " Human Nature," spanning the physical, mental, and 
 spiritual constitution of man, is rightly named. Its editor 
 rightly conceives Spiritualism as underlying the best interests 
 of our common humanity. To this end, its contributors de- 
 velop the principles of physiology, ethnology, in connection 
 with, and evolution of, man's spiritual nature. The rapid in- 
 crease of its circulation shows that it meets the demand of the 
 times, and is up with the genius of the age. 
 
 " The Spiritual Magazine " is an important organ for the 
 dissemination of the records of Spiritual phenomena. It is 
 properly a fact-gatherer, sometimes overlooking the considera- 
 tion that mere facts, unless arranged and systematized, are 
 quite valueless. The ability of its editors and contributors, 
 however, with the prestige of its well-earned reputation, 
 gives it a wide influence for good. 
 
 " The Medium and Daybreak." — This is a live periodical, 
 aglow with startling phenomena, treating of the live issues 
 of the day, and supplying the weekly wants of a large body 
 of Englishmen interested in the phenomena and philosophy of 
 Spiritualism. It is broad and tolerant, and rapidly increasing 
 in circulation. 
 
 " The Spiritualist " is devoted to the scientific aspect of 
 the Spiritual movement. Its matter is carefully selected, and 
 handsomely arranged, presenting an attractive appearance. 
 
 " La Revue Spirite." — This monthly has a more exten- 
 sive circulation than any other Spiritual journal in France. 
 While giving due consideration to the physical phenomena, — 
 trance, vision, and prophecy, — one of its leading features is 
 the inculcation of the doctrine of re-incarnation as taught by 
 Allan Kardec. 
 
 " La Revue Spiritualiste." — The editor of this monthly 
 is thoroughly read in the theories of the old philosophers, and 
 dwells largely upon ancient Spiritualism and the general 
 progress of the races. He repudiates re-incarnation, and 
 teaches doctrines similar to those entertained by American 
 Spiritualists. 
 
 " The Aurora " and other Italian and Spanish journals 
 
196 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 devote a large portion of their pages to 'the general principles 
 taught by the Allan Karclec school ; while the Germans dwell 
 On the psychological and philosophical phases of Spiritualism, 
 and harmonize in their general teachings with the Spiritual 
 philosophy as enunciated by the great body of believers in 
 other portions of the world. 
 
 Of the books issued during the year, only the leading ones 
 can be noticed. The titles are given in the proper catalogue. 
 
 The leading work, which has attracted most attention, as 
 bringing twenty-one years' history within an available and at- 
 tractive form, is " Modern American Spiritualism,' ' by Emma 
 Hardinge. This work may be said to mark an era in Spiritual- 
 istic literature. Faultless in mechanical execution, its exterior 
 is as attractive as its contents are interesting. 
 
 " Planchette, the Despair of Science," by the well- 
 known and popular author Epes Sargent, for its style and spirit 
 is one of the most valuable. It presents, at a glance, a compen- 
 dium of the facts and philosophy of Spiritualism ; and, in con- 
 sequence, it has been of incalculable service to the cause. 
 The wide reputation of its author, as well as its own merits, 
 has given it an extensive sale both in America and Europe. 
 
 Mrs. Maria M. King has written several works in widely- 
 different departments. "The Philosophy of Nature" un- 
 dertakes the solution of problems underlying the mechanism 
 of the universe ; while her "Real Life in the Spirit-Land" 
 is as airy as a romance, and at the same time instructive, and 
 replete with solid matter. 
 
 " Miracles, Past and Present," by William Mountfort, an 
 able work issued by the leading publishing-house of Boston, 
 in its application of Spiritualism to the past, is a significant 
 indication of the widespread potentiality of the New Philoso- 
 phy- 
 
 New editions of the remarkable works of A. J. Davis have 
 
 been demanded. The publication of his " Tale of a Physi- 
 cian " falls not within the year ; but we notice with pleasure 
 the steady sale of this startling and absorbing revelation of 
 crime, its cause and prevention. 
 
 Of stories woven with a woof of philosophy, there has 
 been a great number. Miss Lizzie Doten has published " My 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 197 
 
 Affinity, and Other Stories." Those who read the first 
 story, which gives its name to the book, will never forget it. 
 She writes vigorously, at times flashing with meteoric bright- 
 ness. 
 
 " Alice Vail," by Lois Waisbrooker, is a pleasing attempt 
 to introduce the Spiritual philosoplry in the form of a story. 
 
 " The Chester Family," by Julia M. Friend, is a pleas- 
 antly-written book in the interests of temperance. 
 
 " Intuition," by Mrs. Frances Kingman, is an exceedingly 
 interesting story, replete with the wisdom the Spiritual phi- 
 losophy only can bestow. 
 
 " The Question Settled," by Moses Hull. The author 
 says, " Our only aim has been to faithfully compare the Bible 
 with modern phenomena and philosophy." The book is 
 valuable to that class who rely on biblical evidence, and is a 
 magazine from which an army can be supplied with weapons 
 of that character. 
 
 Spiritualists are generally too much in earnest to be inter- 
 ested in the nights of the Muses. They demand the truth 
 only, and perhaps are not sufficiently critical in the manner 
 in their ardor for the matter. If poetry is the most intense 
 form of expression in which to present a truth, assuredly 
 there is loss in not calling its aid. The Spiritual philosophy 
 stretches into the realm of poesy ; and none other can as well 
 invoke its assistance. From the union we anticipate a new 
 order of poetry, written not only to please by the faultless 
 flow of its measure, but fraught with golden truth. The old 
 is threadbare ; and only the infusion of this new Spiritual 
 life can resuscitate the drooping genius of song. 
 
 " The Three Voices " by Barlow have been justly appre- 
 ciated, as well as " Life-Pictures " by J. H. Powell. 
 
 Some of the inspirational poems given through Mrs. Tap- 
 pan, Lizzie Doten, and others, indicate what may be expected 
 in this department when the medium is capable of respond- 
 ing to the delicate touch of angel-harmony. 
 
 " The Seers of the Ages," by J. M. Peebles, is a work 
 of great merit, and the fruit of years of patient research. 
 It shows that Spiritualism is not of to-day, but is woven like 
 golden threads into the history of the past. This work has 
 
198 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 a European influence, hiving been republished by J. Burns, 
 London ; and no work devoted to the subject has created a 
 deeper interest. In some quarters it evoked severest criti- 
 cism, so unjust, that the author, while in England, issued a 
 pamphlet, •• Jesus, Myth, Man or God," supplementing his 
 larger volume, and completely answering the carping of his 
 critics. This valuable contribution is to be republished in 
 America. 
 
 The Children's Progressive Lyceum has become the vital 
 institution of Spiritualism. Its inauguration was accom- 
 plished through the clairvoyant mediumship of A. J. Davis ; 
 and, wherever received, its catholic spirit, its boundless oppor- 
 tunities for growth, its elasticity to meet the requirements of 
 all circumstances, its freedom from creed, dogma, or trammel 
 whatever, gives it devoted adherents. 
 
 "The Manual," furnished by Mr. Davis, did not meet all 
 wants. Incomparable in many ways, its small size precluded 
 accompanying music, and did not furnish a lasting variety. 
 It £$ive the direction and form, relying on the officers and 
 members to fill up the structure. This is the true method : 
 internal, central growth, not foreign accretion, is demanded by 
 the New Philosophy. It was thought a vacancy existed ; that 
 a new book might be furnished to give still further assistance : 
 and hence " The Lyceum Guide," by J. M. Peebles, J. O. 
 Barrett, J. G. Clark, and Emma Tuttle. 
 
 The musical department was edited by Mr. Clark, and 
 contains, not only his best compositions, but the best selec- 
 tions elsewhere obtainable. Emma Tuttle supervised the 
 poetic portion, arranging the songs, silver chains, &c. 
 
 The Lyceum is thus furnished, in one book, with songs 
 and music for all occasions. 
 
 The calisthenics are finely illustrated, and arranged with 
 special regard to the wants of the Lyceum. 
 
 Its general introduction must give the Lyceum cause a 
 fresh and vigorous impulse. 
 
 The three volumes of Hudson Tuttle — " Career of the 
 God-Idea in History," w * Career of the Christ-Idea in 
 History," w * Career of Religious Ideas in History" — have 
 produced a profound impression for their daring utterances 
 and unswerving statement of truth. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 199 
 
 " The Arcana of Spiritualism," by the same author, pre- 
 sents a summary of the Spiritual philosophy. 
 
 "The Spiritual Harp," by J. M. Peebles, J. O. Barrett, 
 and E. II. Bailey, prepared at the expense of much mental 
 labor, is justly appreciated by such Spiritualists and Spiritual- 
 ist societies as appreciate and feel the necessity of cultivating 
 music. Owing to its freedom from theological taint, as well 
 as choice selections, with original and popular melodies adapted 
 to the social circle, congregational singing, and public wor- 
 ship generally, it is by far the most attractive work of the 
 kind ever published. An abridgment has just been issued 
 at a reduced price. 
 
 Those who have carefully studied the progress of this 
 movement can not fail to discern a great improvement in its 
 literature. The increase of numbers, together with the de- 
 mand for the best expression of cultured thought, calls for 
 the ablest productions from the most gifted writers connected 
 with the Spiritual philosophy. 
 
 The idea once prevalent, and still entertained by many, that 
 inspiration or mediumship scaled at one bound the bights of 
 knowledge, and that communications from spirits are inde- 
 pendent of the mental condition of the medium, is losing 
 ground. There is no royal road to learning except by per- 
 sonal effort. The gods help those who help themselves. 
 Colleges and other institutions of education, under the man- 
 agement of Spiritualists, are indispensable to the prosperity 
 of the cause. If knowledge is better than ignorance, wis- 
 dom than folly, sound logical discourses than ranting, then 
 is it indispensable to give speakers and writers that cultiva- 
 tion the spirit of the age demands of its teachers. Resting 
 upon mere phenomena is not conducive to the highest Spirit- 
 ual attainments. Science, in connection with the principles 
 of our philosophy made practical, is among the necessities 
 keenly felt. The bare fact of spirit-presence and the presen- 
 tation of tests is as common among the Red Indians, and the 
 Mohammedans of the Orient, as are furnished by a class of 
 test-mediums to Spiritualists. It is ours to build the Spirit- 
 ual temple upon the base furnished by the facts and phi- 
 losophies of the past and present. Not demolition, but 
 construction, is the watchword of the age. 
 
200 YEAE-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 THE MASSACHUSETTS LIBERAL TRACT 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 Inaugurated and supported by such earnest workers as 
 Dr. Gardner, Messrs. Wetherbee, Richards, Dole, Carpenter, 
 Reed, Hatch, Williams, Bacon, Dr. Storer, and others, this 
 society must exert a great influence in the diffusion of Spirit- 
 ual knowledge and liberal ideas. The publication and dis- 
 tribution of tracts has been found a potent engine by the 
 churches : it will be found of greater influence in spreading 
 the truth. 
 
 "THE WHITE BANNER;" ITS PURPOSE AND 
 BRIEF HISTORY. 
 
 BY WILLIAM D. REICHNER. 
 
 We suppose, in all enterprises of any moment, there is a 
 dual histor}^, — an outer or public history, and an inner, in all 
 of which it is not expected that the public will feel a great 
 deal of interest. There is a history of " The White Banner " 
 yet to be written much more elaborately than your very valu- 
 able space in " The Year-Book of Spiritualism " will permit of. 
 
 Fresh from the busy workshop, as we take our pen the 
 thought flits quick through the brain, that, had the conception 
 and birth of our paper been from a source less obscure, it 
 would have leaped, mayhap, at once into popular favor, and 
 proved of incalcuable good to the harmonial cause, especially 
 in Pennsylvania. And this our soul knoweth would have af- 
 forded us inestimable pleasure, even though others should 
 enjoy all the public glory of having conducted the enterprise. 
 But it is past. Smiling Hope cheerfully whispers, " Try 
 again." 
 
 The leading purpose of the publication of " The White 
 Banner" was unfolded in a few lines, as contained in our fra- 
 ternal greeting in the first number of the paper : — 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 201 
 
 "We have waited for a long time, hoping that some of our more 
 solid men, older in the Spiritual movement, would take earnest hold, 
 and establish a proper organ of our philosophy in Philadelphia. 
 
 " The past year has added to the list of liberal newspapers out- 
 side of our city several ably-conducted contemporaries ; and yet 
 there appears a strata of mind — a large class — unreached by these 
 higher-toned and higher-priced periodicals, to whom we feel called 
 to minister. Our aim shall be to make our peaceful ' Banner 'a 
 welcome visitor to every humble household willing to admit the 
 sweet sunshine of progressive Spiritual literature. Ever seeking to 
 keep pace with the rapid progress of the race, our motto shall be, 
 'Enmity toward none, but charity for all; justice without fear, 
 and the greatest good for the whole number.' 
 
 " ' The White Banner ' was an eight-page paper, printed from 
 clear, readable type, on good white paper, and issued every two weeks, 
 for one dollar per year, — intended to reach the masses of the poor. 
 It was sprung, suddenly and unheralded, upon the Spiritual State 
 organization, at their halls of public meeting, the first Sunday after 
 its issue. It was issued without a single subscription, but was seized 
 with avidity by the hungering poor and the mediums, at their circles 
 and hall-gatherings, at the price of, single copies, five cents. 
 
 "We thought we had a partner ' financially ' equal with us ; but — 
 angels steady his timid soul! — he unfurled 'the white feather' in 
 lieu of 'The White Banner' ere the issue of its first number: and, 
 in answer to his (we suppose) well-meant advice to suppress, we an- 
 swered, 'Brother, we have set our foot upon the plowshare; we are 
 in for it, and will go through with the enterprise while there is a 
 dollar in the exchequer.' He left us; and angels know our struggles, 
 for they ministered to us oft. 
 
 " The second number came out enlarged and every way much im- 
 proved, and, many said, far more spirited than the first. Subscriptions 
 commenced slowly coming in. Entering the work with renewed 
 energy, we wrote out a brief and honest appeal to Spiritualists and 
 liberalists, to be read by the chairman presiding at our hall-meet- 
 ings. It was rejected. 
 
 " We published six numbers of ' The Banner,' and, possessing no 
 more cash to cast away, ceased to publish ; and, to give our subscribers 
 full consideration, we effected an arrangement with the proprietors 
 of 'The Present Age,' to whom we shall ever feel fraternally grateful." 
 
 [Note. — Feeling that failure, as well as success, has its les- 
 son in this great movement, we insert this histor} r of the brief 
 career of " The White Banner," by its editor and proprietor. 
 — Eds.] 
 
202 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF 
 
 SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 BY HENRY T. CHILD, M.D. 
 
 On the 5th, 6th, and 7th of August, 1859, a convention 
 was held at Plymouth, Mass., at which the following officers 
 were chosen : — 
 
 President. — H. P. Gardner, M.D., of Boston, Mass. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. — Rev. J. S. Loveland of Medford, Mass. ; 
 Henry C. Wright of Boston, Mass. ; B. P. Shillaber of Boston, 
 Mass.; Hon. J. M. Kinney of Wareham, Mass. 
 
 Secretaries. — A. B. Child, M.D., of Boston, Mass.; G. Johnson 
 of Middle borough, Mass. ; B. H. Crandon of Plymouth, Mass. 
 
 This convention adopted a declaration of sentiment. 
 The following preamble and resolution, presented by Col. 
 S. D. Fay of Texas, were adopted by the convention : — 
 
 u Whereas, The phenomena of modern Spiritualism, by their star- 
 tling significance and world-wide diffusion, have assumed, in the 
 opinion of this convention, an importance worthy the earnest con- 
 sideration of all rational minds, demonstrating as they do the im- 
 mortality of the soul, and inaugurating a purer theology and a 
 deeper philosophy than humanity has hitherto attained, and all 
 pointing to the slow but certain approach of the long-promised era 
 of peace on earth, and good-will to man; and whereas the exist- 
 ence of these phenomena is, by the great majority of both the 
 learned and unlearned, utterly ignored, or else met with ridicule and 
 harsh opposition ; and whereas some organization, or concentrated 
 effort, for the purpose of spreading the facts of Spiritualism broadly 
 before the world, is a desideratum with every Spiritual reformer: 
 be it therefore 
 
 " Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed, whose duty it 
 shall be to call a National Convention, at such time and place as 
 shall be deemed expedient, for the purpose of canying into effect 
 the objects above mentioned, and for taking into consideration the 
 interests of Spiritualism generally." 
 
 It does not appear that this committee accomplished any 
 thing. But in March, 1864, at a convention of Spiritualists 
 of New England, held at Boston, Mass., a series of resolu- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 203 
 
 tions in regard to organization were unanimously adopted ; 
 and a committee of five were appointed to call a National 
 Convention, at some central point in the Great West, during 
 the coming summer. 
 
 This committee issued a call for a convention to be held in 
 the city of Chicago on the ninth day of August, 1864 ; and 
 invited all Spiritualists throughout the country to meet 
 there. In response to this call, a large mass convention 
 assembled. 
 
 Dr. Gardner was appointed temporary Chairman; and J. S. 
 Loveland, Secretary. The Spiritualists from each State pres- 
 ent were requested to select two of their number to consti- 
 tute a committee on permanent organization. 
 
 S. S. Jones was elected President ; and F. L. Wadsworth, 
 H. B. Storer, Mrs. L. M. Patterson, and Mrs. A. Buffum, 
 Secretaries. 
 
 This convention, which had a list of six hundred and sixty- 
 two members, — from twenty States, the District of Columbia, 
 and Canada, — was, in reality, a mass meeting, in which there 
 was a great deal of confusion. Some of the best minds of the 
 country were there ; but it was evident that the meeting was 
 too unwieldy to accomplish any great work. 
 
 Many resolutions were discussed and passed, and some 
 valuable documents were read and published, in -their pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 The Second National Convention of Spiritualists met at 
 Concert Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, on Tuesday, the 
 17th of October, 1865. 
 
 This convention was to be composed of delegates, one from 
 each local organization, and an additional one for every fifty 
 members, or every fraction over fifty. All Spiritualists, and 
 other reformers throughout the world, were requested to send 
 delegates. 
 
 Pursuant to this call, one hundred and eighty-eight dele- 
 gates assembled, representing thirteen States and the District 
 of Columbia. 
 
 Rev. John Pierpont was elected President; and H. T. 
 Childs, Secretary. 
 
 This convention published an address to the world. 
 
204 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 A plan of organization, so far as national conventions were 
 concerned, making them delegate conventions, was adopted 
 by a vote of 101 to 24. 
 
 The Executive Committee, having received an invitation to 
 hold the Third National Convention at Providence, R.I., is- 
 sued a call for a delegate convention, to meet at Pratt's Hall, 
 in that city, on Tuesday, the twenty-first day of August, 
 1866. 
 
 This was called to order at that time by the venerable John 
 Pierpont, then in his eighty-first year. 
 
 There were present two hundred and ninety-nine dele- 
 gates. 
 
 Newman Weeks of Vermont was elected President ; and 
 J. A. Rowland, D. C, Secretary. 
 
 This convention adopted a resolution, proposing a series of 
 subjects to be reported upon at the next convention. These 
 were as follows : — 
 
 1: The origin and progress of modern Spiritualism. 
 
 2. Ancient historic Spiritualism. Referred to J. M. Peebles. 
 
 3. The type of Spiritual philosophy. Is it a new type ? What is 
 its type or genus ? Referred to S. J. Finney. 
 
 4. Relations of Spiritual philosophy to the other so-called systems 
 of philosophy. Referred to S. J. Finney. 
 
 5. The .religion of the Spiritual movement. Referred to Henry 
 T. Child, M.D. 
 
 6. Spiritual idea of man and his relations. Referred to J. S. 
 Loveland. 
 
 7. Spiritual idea and methods of education. Referred to Mary 
 F. Davis. 
 
 8. Reforms growing out of the Spiritual ideas and movements. 
 Referred to Mrs. M. S. Townsend. 
 
 9. On the philosophy of mediumship. Referred to J. S. Love- 
 land. 
 
 The Executive Committee received an invitation from the 
 friends in Cleveland, O. ; and issued a call for the Fourth 
 National Convention, to be held at Brainard Hall, in that city, 
 on Tuesday, the third day of September, 1867. 
 
 This convention was called to order by the President, New- 
 man Weeks. In the absence of the Secretary, Henry T. 
 Child, M.D., was appointed Secretary pro tern. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 205 
 
 There were three hundred and twenty delegates present 
 from twenty States. 
 
 Isaac Rehn of Pennsylvania was elected President ; and 
 Henry T. Child, M.D., Secretary. 
 
 Several of the essays were read at this convention ; and a 
 report on the Spiritual phenomena was read by Frank L. 
 Wads worth, which created considerable excitement, but was 
 not adopted by the convention. 
 
 The Fifth National Convention was called by the Executive 
 Committee, to meet in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, N.Y., on 
 Tuesday, the 25th of August, 1868. There were present 
 two hundred and sixty-five delegates from seventeen States 
 and Canada. 
 
 Col. Dorus M. Fox, Michigan, was elected President ; and 
 H. T. Child, M.D., Secretary. 
 
 A committee was appointed to report a plan of organiza- 
 tion. The constitution reported was unanimously adopted. 
 On motion, it was 
 
 Voted, That this convention resolve itself into, and resign 
 all its assets to, the American Association of Spiritualists. 
 
 The Sixth National Convention, or the American Associa- 
 tion of Spiritualists, convened in the city of Buffalo, N.Y., 
 on the 31st of August, 1869. There were one hundred and 
 thirty-seven delegates present from eleven States. By the 
 report of the trustees, it appears that they had published ten 
 thousand copies of a pamphlet containing the constitution 
 of the association, the resolutions adopted at the conven- 
 tion of 1868, and an address on the subject of Spiritualism. 
 About six thousand of these had been distributed. 
 
 They had also employed three missionaries, — N. Frank 
 White for the Eastern District, Almon B. French for the 
 Western, and Hannah F. M. Brown for California. 
 
 By the report of the Treasurer, it appears that he had re- 
 ceived the sum of $2,621.13, and paid out 12,589.05. 
 
 A revision of the constitution took place at this meeting. 
 Article III., on membership, was changed so as to fix the fee 
 for membership at one dollar per year, instead of five. 
 
 The term of office of the President, Secretary, and Treas- 
 urer, was made to expire at the close of the convention, at 
 which their successors shall be elected. 
 
206 YEAE-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The officers elected at this meeting were, — President, John 
 G. Wait, Mich, ; Secretary, Henry T. Child, M.D., Penn. ; 
 Treasurer, Levi Weaver, Md. Members of the Board, J. S. 
 Loveland and Dorus M. Fox, elected for three years. The 
 members of the Board who continued in office were Almon 
 B. French and Robert T. Hallock, whose terms expire in 
 1871 ; and H. F. M. Brown and George A. Bacon, whose 
 terms expire in 18T0. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA STATE SOCIETY. 
 
 BY HENRY T. CHILD, M.D. 
 
 Pursuant to a call signed by many distinguished Spirit- 
 ualists, a State convention met in Samson-street Hall, Phila- 
 delphia, on the 22d and 23d of May, 1866, for the purpose of 
 forming a State society. A preamble and constitution were 
 adopted ; Isaac Rehu elected President ; and H. T. Child, 
 Secretary. The Board employed J. G. Fish as missionary for 
 a short time, but were compelled to withdraw from this field 
 for want of funds. At the second annual meeting, held on 
 the 14th and 15th of October, 1868, Henry T. Child was 
 elected President ; and William White, M.D., Secretary. 
 
 The Board authorized H. T. Child to act as missionary, and 
 also employed Mrs. Hannah T. Stearns, and appointed a com- 
 mittee to hold public circles under the auspices of the society. 
 At the third annual meeting, this committee reported having 
 held twenty-three circles ; and the missionaries reported giv- 
 ing eighty-three lectures. The receipts of the society had 
 been $477.36 ; and its expenditures, 1486.70. 
 
 Henry T. Child was elected President ; and Caroline A. 
 Grimes, Secretary. Henry T. Child and Mrs. Hannah T. 
 Stearns were employed as missionaries for the present year. 
 
 The membership of the societj^ is increasing ; and we have 
 every reason to pursue our labors with increased energy. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 207 
 
 THE OHIO STATE ASSOCIATION OF SPIRIT- 
 UALISTS. 
 
 The Fourth National Convention, held in Cleveland, O., 
 elected one vice-president for each State represented, and in- 
 structed them to urge forward organic movement in their 
 several States. A preliminary meeting for Ohio was held in 
 Cleveland while the National Convention was in session ; and 
 a provisional constitution was adopted, and officers were 
 elected. Dr. Rose of Springfield was elected President ; and 
 Hudson Tuttle, Secretary. The First State Convention was 
 held at Clyde. A. B. French was elected President; Hudson 
 and Emma Tuttle, Secretaries. A. A. Wheelock was made 
 State Missionary, and performed the pioneer-work assigned 
 him with untiring energy and unexampled zeal. 
 
 At the Second Convention, held in Cleveland, 1868, these 
 officers were retained. Cephas B. Lynn was appointed an 
 assistant to Mr. Wheelock, and lectured most acceptably 
 through the State. At the Third, held at Akron in 1869, 
 Hudson Tuttle was elected President ; George W. Wilson, 
 Recording Secretary ; Emma Tuttle, Corresponding Secre- 
 tary. 
 
 All these conventions have been largely attended, and the 
 deepest interest manifested. 
 
 Workers. — The State has many able lecturers who have 
 devoted their lives to the dissemination of the philosophy of 
 Spiritualism. A. B. French and O. P. Kellogg, similarly de- 
 veloped through unconscious trance-control, speak with an 
 eloquence which touches the popular heart. S. J. Finney 
 was similarly developed ; and, although no longer a citizen of 
 the State, her Spiritualists are proud to claim him. Wher- 
 ever he may be, they feel assured his unsurpassed eloquence 
 will stand uncompromising on truth and justice. In the 
 southern portion of the State, Dr. James Cooper of Belle- 
 fontaine has waged a single-handed warfare, and is reaping 
 the fruits of his ceaseless toil. 
 
 A. A. Wheelock of Cleveland, a trance-speaker, now in- 
 
208 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 spirational, stands first in earnestness, devotion, and elo- 
 quence. Hudson Tuttle, educated by spirit-control, finds 
 leisure from his other duties to speak occasionally in different 
 localities. With Emrna, whose sweet songs are among the 
 most charming productions of Spiritualism, he resides on their 
 farm, which diverts their minds from the literary pursuits in 
 which they are engaged. 
 
 .0. L. Sutliff was one of the first who came boldly out for 
 the truth. An earnest and amusing speaker, he will doubt- 
 less depart in harness. May he be spared us these many days ! 
 
 Space will not allow of even a mention of the names of all 
 those who have devoted themselves to this cause. Dr. Un- 
 derbill of Akron was nearly made a martyr by most brutal 
 persecution. Joel Tiffany, then of Cleveland, by his able 
 •ectures, gave dignity to the movement in its infancy. In 
 various parts, workers are not idle. Mrs. S. M. Thompson, 
 Mrs. Lucia Coles and Mr. Hager of Chardon, Mr. H. Barnum 
 and Mrs. M. Lane of Braceville, devote to the cause more or 
 less, of their time. 
 
 Prof. E. Whipple is untiring in his efforts to present the 
 facts of science to the people, and is very successful. Such 
 able exponents of scientific truth as Prof. Whipple and L. 
 W. Pike are greatly needed, and everywhere command atten- 
 tion. 
 
 To the list of workers must be added the countless media 
 who are unknown beyond their family-circles, but whose com- 
 bined influence is of immeasurable power. 
 
 EDITORIAL NOTES AND CLIPPINGS. 
 
 Dr. C. Jouis writes from Suresnes, France, — 
 
 " Your l Year-Book ' will be valuable to the future, as a record of 
 the progress and rapid growth of Spiritualism in its infancy (if I am 
 allowed to speak thus of so ancient a doctrine), compared to what it 
 will be years hence ; for the ebbs and flows are not to be found in 
 the physical laws only, but in the spiritual ones too. The alternation 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 209 
 
 of ages of belief with ages of incredulity is a fact which history 
 teaches us as happening, at intervals, in the long-run of centuries 
 ami thousand of years. We are just emerging from such a period 
 of unbelief to reach another and more consoling age; although the 
 struggle between error and truth bids fair to be dreadful, in our 
 Europe at least, where materialism has yet such a hold on the 
 minds of men.''' 
 
 From Florence, Baron Kirkup writes, — 
 
 u We lately have had no phenomena but the usual ones of the 
 table. It answers all our questions by rising, and rapping on the 
 floor. . . . When they have more to communicate beyond yes or no, I 
 give the child a pen ; and they write with her hand. I do not 
 entirely trust either writing or trance mediums. My table can not 
 be a trick, for it is well scrutinized ; and the trumpet still less, mov- 
 ing about and sounding with violence close to the ceiling, which is 
 seventeen feet high, and witnessed by live persons : so that it could 
 not be my imagination ; for I saw it (with plenty of candles), 
 heard it (deaf as I am), and touched it, and picked up the pieces 
 after it had dropped on the floor, and broken." 
 
 The Rev. S. E. Bengough of London condenses " The 
 Results of Seven Years' Earnest Thought upon the Relations 
 of Spiritualism to the Religion of the Future : " — 
 
 " I believe that a study of the science of religion proves religion 
 to be, in its most primitive form, an expression of some rude theory 
 of causation. In its most developed shape, religion will be found to 
 be the symbolization of man's universal relations ; and is, therefore, 
 distinct from morality, which concerns man in his finite relations. 
 Our consciousness and our reason testify that we have relations with 
 an order of beings beyond the range of any laws whose operation 
 can be tested by experiment in this sphere of existence. This order 
 we characterize vaguely as the infinite, spiritual, immaterial, &c. 
 We know little or nothing about our relations to it. Hence arises 
 religion. The proper field appears to "be that partially known order 
 of things which man feels to be related to, but not comprehended by 
 him. Filled with awe and wonder, men in every age have fallen 
 back upon symbolism of various kinds for their expression of relation- 
 ship to ' the powers that be.' But most of the religious symbolisms 
 popular at present are clearly absolute, and all but devoid of living 
 influence. It seems to me that Spiritualistic phenomena may per- 
 form a twofold service, positive and negative, in preparing the way 
 for some religion of the future, — not to come to maturity, perhaps, 
 until the era 2000. 
 
 " 1st, They act like the wires and springs of theatrical mechanism. 
 Seen by daylight, they disenchant the mind, and rob the ghost-world 
 
 14 
 
210 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 of religious bogies of all its terrors, and more than half its influ- 
 ence. 2d, They suggest and demonstrate the existence of a sphere 
 of natural law, so etherealized, and so remotely related to all natural 
 law at present known to us, that imagination finds here a stimulus 
 to renewed idealization of the unseen, and religious minds a consola- 
 tory assurance that man's endeavors to sacrifice the transient to the 
 permanent, the flesh to the spirit, groveling inclination to lofty in- 
 spiration, will hereafter meet with its reward and satisfaction." 
 
 Mr. W. J. Terrey of Melbourne, Australia, in a letter dated 
 May, 1870, gives a list of twenty-five or thirty mediums of 
 varied powers, some of whom prefer to remain unknown to 
 the public at present. His mediumship is somewhat peculiar; 
 he is able to converse with spirits mentally. The eyes close : 
 there is a tension on the forehead, and gentle shocks signifi- 
 cant of yes or no ; and, in this condition, he takes the diagnosis 
 of diseases, and prescribes accordingly. He proposes to enter 
 the field as a lecturer on Spiritualism, as there is a great 
 demand in his country for a better understanding of its phe- 
 nomena and philosophy. The only lecturer who has heretofore 
 taken the field is Mr. B. S. Nayler, an able and earnest be- 
 liever. 
 
 From Calcutta, India, Pearychand Mittra sends friendly 
 greeting to the Spiritualists of America, and remarks, — 
 
 "... I have been a Spiritualist for many years. My knowledge 
 of the Spiritual philosophy in different parts of the country is quite 
 limited, and, I fear, can not be of much service to you. I have never 
 taken much interest in external manifestations, preferring to devote 
 my attention to the study of my soul, and its varied phenomena in 
 connection with the external world. This study is ennobling, inas- 
 much as it raises us above all creeds and sects, and brings us into 
 intimate communion with God, his will, his providence, and his 
 angels. I have got to say a great deal on the subject of Spiritualism 
 from my own experience, which with me is an accomplished fact. 
 Though I have read a large number of books upon Spiritualism, I 
 confess I have found in most of them a great deal of error, or what 
 I have known otherwise in my own experience." 
 
 W. L. Sammons writes from Cape Town, Cape of Good 
 Hope, South Africa, — 
 
 " . . . Cape Town is but a place of yesterday ; and has but little 
 philosophy, either mental or spiritual. It is quite destitute of the 
 poetic element, and deficient in the fine arts. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 211 
 
 "It is not right, therefore, under such circumstances, to anticipate 
 from Cape Town any great development of either the philosophical, 
 the psychical, or spiritual power; although it lies in embryo, and, if 
 properly and forcibly roused, might blaze out wonderfully in the 
 future tenso. 
 
 " We form no phalanx, nor constitute a brotherhood ; there is no 
 connecting link either of interest or taste, nor sympathetic chain, to 
 bind or produce harmony or uniformity of action: yet, despite these, 
 I think I can perceive that the early dawn and sun of Spiritualism 
 are just tinging the summit of the old Table Mountain and the 
 Lion's Head with her bright and glorious rays, although the valleys 
 beneath are cast in shade, and partly obscured. There is a faint 
 * breeze afloat, and a whisper and a buzz as to what these things 
 mean, now daybreak is opening upon us. The monthly steamers 
 bring a few numbers of that old pioneer, ' The Spiritual Magazine/ 
 and 'Human Nature,' with 'Daybreak' and 'The Spiritualist;' and 
 other standard works are ordered privately, and read. Even opposi- 
 tion is indicative of presence and importance ; for actually a lecture 
 on modern Spiritualism was given in the Mutual Hall, Cape Town, 
 for the first time since the Cape was discovered, on Thursday, March 
 10, 1870. And although it ridiculed the science, and linked Spiritual- 
 ism with the fanatics and the skeptics, the Mormonites, and the 
 followers of the notorious Prince, and his Agapemone and Halls of 
 Love, making the illustrious Swedenborg, as usual, the target and 
 pivot at which to aim and wind all their follies and pranks, it formed 
 a capital advertisement for any future Hardin ge or modern lecturer 
 that may visit these shores. And perhaps some star may feel disposed 
 to come nearer the Southern Cross ; although, the farther you travel 
 south, the more you find that Spiritualists come from the North. 
 
 "But perhaps 'The Year-Book of Spiritualism for 1871' will be 
 able to explain and unravel these mysteries, and put many doubts 
 and difficulties at rest that have so long perplexed your obedient ser- 
 vant. 
 
 " May 20, 1870." 
 
 Prof. Strieff writes from Chartres, France, — 
 
 "Among the Spiritists of this department, — that is, the best 
 Spiritualists, — count, if you please, Strieff, professor at the College 
 of Chartres, Rue de l'Eperuier, 7; Fischer, Docteur en Medecine; 
 Mr. Bernerow, wife, and daughter; Mr. Godefroy, Mayor of Yerres; 
 Madame Yarguet ; and Mr. Grezelle and family. 
 
 A private letter from Mrs. Emma Kid, who has, with 
 Mrs. Boyd, a European reputation, manifests the feelings 
 entertained by German Spiritualists, as well as the aflec- 
 
212 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 tion which mediums sometimes feel for their controlling 
 spirits : — 
 
 " Last night, Mrs. Boyd took the planchette ; and, after laying 
 your letter on the table, we placed our hands on the ' Morceau de 
 Bois,' and Luos came, and wrote, ' Bead the letter/ As soon as it 
 was read, Luos began to write to you ; when he suddenly stopped, and 
 the planchette became violently agitated under our hands. It new 
 off to a round table, and began apparently resisting and warding 
 off something very adverse to the power. It seemed to be talking 
 emphatically to something invisible to our eyes. It raised itself 
 erect, flew off, passing the lamp, and then bending its course under the 
 table. I never saw any thing so extraordinary and unexpected. The 
 movements continued for half an hour, when it wrote, ' Disturbing 
 influences prevent communication for the present/ Dear Luos would 
 so rejoice to write to you ! He is our controlling guardian, and never 
 would suffer frivolity or trifling. 
 
 " Baden-Baden." 
 
 Girolamo Parisi, an excellent and self-sacrificing man, 
 editor of " The Aurora," Florence, Italy, a man who has 
 devoted the declining years of his life to Spiritualism, has 
 written a letter, from which a brief extract is here given. 
 Parisi feels that he has a great mission to perform, — that of 
 uniting the Spiritualists of the world in one body. This he 
 proposes to accomplish by the universal reception of the Kar- 
 dec doctrine of re-incarnation. 
 
 "I give the subject of re-incarnation so much prominence because 
 of my desire to unite the two schools of Spiritisme and Spiritualism. 
 Can not the articles in 'The Aurora 7 be translated into English, and 
 published in America? The purpose of my earnest work is to do 
 what little I can towards the construction of this edifice. I have 
 already distributed, gratis, a great number of ' The Aurora/ I am 
 disposed to sustain some loss for the splendid reward I am sure will 
 be enjoyed by my spirit in the spheres. I am satisfied at the results 
 of my publication. It has made an impression that it is not an illu- 
 sion, but a new philosophy deserving of study." 
 
 From Barripoore, South Calcutta, Deberdroloomar Roy 
 Chowdhry, a man of great learning, wealth, and influence, 
 in a lengthy letter in which he propounds many important 
 questions, remarks, — 
 
 " I write you from the Farther East. In such a dark country as 
 this in which I live, the glorious rays of truth can scarcely pene- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 213 
 
 trate the thick skulls of men who are only busy about attaining 
 sublunary pleasures. The anti-Spiritualists of my country mock us 
 by saying, ' Let us see spirit-works, and then we will believe.' " 
 
 The rapidity with which Spiritualism has extended its do- 
 main, penetrating, in a brief decade, to the other side of the 
 globe, is one of its remarkable features. 
 
 " Charlestown was one of the first places in Massachusetts where 
 Spiritualism was publicly brought before the people. Since that time, 
 it lias done a mighty work. We have, at this time, some twenty 
 •public mediums. I was developed some twelve years ago as a mag- 
 netic healer, and have practiced successfully for the last four j^ears ; 
 being the only one who makes healing by laying on of hands a speci- 
 ality. There are probably three thousand Spiritualists in our city, 
 and private mediums without number." — Dr. A. H. Richardson. 
 
 " I am seventy-three years old, and have been from my youth, until 
 fourteen years since, a member of an Orthodox church, and, for twenty 
 years, a deacon in the close-communion Baptist Church of Pontiac, 
 Mich. But the angels taught me the glorious truth ; and I immedi- 
 ately withdrew from their communion, and have been denounced as 
 an infidel bej^ond redemption by the Church. They say I shall be 
 reclaimed before I pass over Jordan ; but my faith and knowledge 
 grow brighter day by day." — John Southard. 
 
 The following expresses a very common form of impressi- 
 bility : — 
 
 " My first experience was being entranced by a circle of spirits, — 
 one holding on the opposite side of the circle of spirits by holding a 
 card with the word on it they desired me to speak ; and, as soon as 
 the word was spoken, it was removed, and another shown in its place : 
 and so on to the close. After being thus controlled for a few times, 
 the words were omitted, and I seemed to speak by impression." — 
 Dr. Harvey Morgan. 
 
 The following contains a good and practical suggestion : — 
 
 " The Spiritualists of Willimantic own a house with an upper hall, 
 dedicated to lectures, furnished with permanent seats, cushioned, 
 carpeted, frescoed, provided with organ, and books for singing ; a 
 lower hall for the use of the Lyceum, dedicated to Lyceum improve- 
 ment, amusements, sociables, &c, with movable seats, with pantry 
 and cook-room. . . . We have a Lyceum, not as large as when the 
 movement was new, and drew people merely from curiosity, but with 
 
214 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 a good number of members ; and much good is being done by it." — 
 William C. Fuller. 
 
 Elijah Woodworth, now eighty years of age, who has given 
 the vigorous period of his life to the promulgation of atheism, 
 and who, becoming a medium in ±853, has since devoted 
 himself with equal zeal to teaching Spiritualism, thus presents 
 his principles : — 
 
 "Some of the sentiments I teach are, — First, The Bible is a 
 mytho-theological history personified. Second, The Bible God is 
 a myth, — an idea personified. Third, Theology is another name 
 for mythology. Fourth, The Bible does not offer us any proof of im- 
 mortality." 
 
 The following letter indicates the true method of attaining 
 mediumship. The writer was suffering from disease when he 
 became enlisted in Spiritualism. 
 
 " I gave myself entirely to the influence once each day, from one 
 to two hours ; retiring by myself, and sincerely and earnestly praying 
 the angels to assist me, and remove my bodily disease, and, if possi- 
 ble, develop me as a healing-medium. The angels heard my prayer, 
 and restored me to health ; and, on returning home, I restored to per- 
 fect health my sister, who had been pronounced incurable by her 
 physicians, and also my child, who was in a critical condition. . . . 
 I now practice entirely as I am impressed, claiming no honor for my 
 success ; for I am merely an agent. I strive to keep myself as pure, 
 both in body and mind, as possible, so that I can be used by my in- 
 visible friends as a healer more perfectly. I eat no flesh of any 
 kind, use no tobacco, and drink no whisky." — J. M. Ozier. 
 
 11 1 have no hesitancy about acknowledging my faith in Spiritual- 
 ism ; and I look upon mediumship as a gift to prize, and not to be 
 ashamed of." — Elizabeth Coit, Columbus, 0. 
 
 " It is difficult to estimate the number of mediums in £he State 
 (Ohio), including those who maintain their former relations to the 
 Church, and are publicly silent, as well as open-hearted and out- 
 spoken. I do not believe that ten thousand would be too large an 
 estimate. The number of actual believers in the State must exceed 
 two hundred and fifty thousand." — 0. L. Sutliff. 
 
 " I have been a medium from early life. When about seven years 
 old, I was pushed into the water, and, after some time, taken out by 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 215 
 
 other parties, apparently lifeless. Efforts were made to resuscitate 
 me, and persevered in until my recovery was despaired of and I was 
 considered dead. At that time, my spiritual vision was open ; and my 
 own spirit had so far left my body, that I was a visitor in the sum- 
 mer-land. 
 
 " I saw (and to this day distinctly remember the vision) my sis- 
 ter, cousins, and other children I had previously known, with numbers 
 I never knew in the form, in one of the loveliest spots the mind can 
 conceive of, engaged in acquiring knowledge in the spirit-land. 
 They were in a garden whose beauties no pen can picture, sur- 
 rounded by flowers, magnilicent groves, and sparkling fountains; 
 and the air was melodious with the songs of birds whose feathers 
 glittered with purple and crimson and gold. 
 
 " Their teacher, with a kind yet commanding dignity, controlled 
 them all with the magnetism of a single glance. 
 
 " After I had been kindly entertained for an hour or so, I was 
 sent back to my apparently lifeless body again, with the assurance that 
 there was work for me to do upon the earth, and that I must remain 
 for years in this sphere ere I could become a resident in that beau- 
 tiful land. 
 
 " I implored to remain ; but from the teacher's decision there was 
 no appeal ; and, in mental agony, my spirit returned to resuscitate 
 my inanimate form to a season of physical suffering. 
 
 "From that time until 1850, a period of eighteen years, I was 
 frequently under positive control; but the most noticeable, per- 
 haps, was the following : — 
 
 u When about eleven years old, our family physician called at our 
 house, and informed my mother that Mrs. , one of her inti- 
 mate friends, could not live three days longer. The next morning, 
 I accompanied my mother to the house of her friend ; and, while both 
 were weeping over the expected separation, my interior sight was 
 opened, and the cure presented. 
 
 '•'On telling them I could cure her, my mother ordered me from 
 the room ; but my controlling guides made me positive, and I re- 
 peated it with emphasis, ' I can cure her,'' giving the proper reme- 
 dies. Suffice it to say, my prescription was adopted, and the patient 
 restored." — D. P. Kayner, M.D. 
 
 Harvey Jones, conductor of the Rock-Island Lyceum, men- 
 tions the main difficulty in the way of permanently maintain- 
 ing Lyceums, — a difficulty which will not be lessened until 
 Spiritualists learn that duty should be superior to interest : — 
 
 " The greatest difficulty with which we have to contend is the 
 lack of suitable and competent leaders, — a difficulty which might be 
 easily overcome if the avowed Spiritualists would but do their duty. 
 
216 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 We have wealth and talent enough to make our Lyceum a grand 
 success if we could only concentrate it." 
 
 A. Wolcott, writing from Keokuk, Io., says, — 
 
 " We have no organized society ; but could one be established, 
 giving evidence of permanency, it would soon outnumber any church 
 society in this city." 
 
 N. Frank White briefly gives an account of his medium- 
 ship, which is significant as an outline of the general course 
 of development when mediumship is persistently followed : — 
 
 "I first became a rapping-medium, twenty years ago; in about 
 six months, began to write, and, in the course of a year from that 
 time, was entranced, and have since passed through almost every 
 phase of mediumship. I commenced giving public lectures about 
 eleven years ago, speaking in an unconscious trance. After about 
 six months, I passed into a conscious trance, and from that gradually 
 into inspirational speaking. When speaking, I feel a powerful influ- 
 ence upon me, growing more intense from the commencement to the 
 close of my lectures, which usually culminate in allegorical poems." 
 
 There is the force of truth in these words of Harrison 
 Augir : — 
 
 " I feel, like A. J. Davis, that I do not want the churches to ab- 
 sorb our Spiritualism, and retain their organization. I like to see 
 people come out, like Parker, Chase, Denton, and a host of others, 
 on the independent stand. This blending of Spiritualism and the- 
 ology is deteriorating, and corrupting to our beautiful philosophy." 
 
 J. J. Fishback, Victoria, Mo., writes, — 
 
 " I am now resting. For twelve years, I have labored without 
 rest, — seven and a half years as a Universalist minister, and four 
 and a half as a Spiritualist. I am worn out, body and mind. I am 
 rapidly recovering, and, by September next, shall be all right for 
 work again." 
 
 J. L. Potter, Missionary Agent for Minnesota, writes, — 
 
 " Our State Association is supported by membership-fees. Gen- 
 tlemen pay one dollar at the time they subscribe their names, and 
 fifty cents quarterly. Ladies become members without paying any 
 stipulated sum, but donate whatever they please. The agent is au- 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 217 
 
 thorized to raise subscriptions and collections for the furtherance of 
 the cause. . . . The general status of Spiritualism in this State is 
 above par, and its success certain. I am glad that you are making 
 an effort to gather the fragments now scattered to the four winds." 
 
 F. L. Crane, M.D., Topeka, Kan., writes, — 
 
 " The evidences in this State are unmistakable that our beneficent 
 cause is gaining ground rapidly, and that emancipation from the 
 bonds of mental slavery is fast following physical emancipation. 
 Our services, conducted by Mrs. Thomas, are attractive and edifying. 
 The choir is said to be the best in the city. Most of our people 
 favor long rather than short engagements of our speakers. Among 
 our needs are unity of action, and a more rational cultivation of the 
 religious nature." 
 
 Willie F. Wentworth, Schenectady, N.Y., writes, — 
 
 u I think I have recently been passing through a sort of develop- 
 ing process. Spirit-power around and upon me has been intense. 
 The time has come when I feel, and that deeply, that I must be 
 about my Father's business. But where shall I begin ? how recom- 
 mence the work ? Considered from some points, the Spiritual 
 movement seems dark. There must be a change. Stars are not 
 extinguished when clouds hang over the sky; flowers bloom where 
 late the white snow lay : so from the grave of every withered hope 
 will spring blossoms of beauty, usefulness, and sympathy. The an- 
 gels would have Spiritualists more devotional and religious. Are we 
 not passing through a crisis ? n 
 
 Dean Clark, who was reared a farmer's boy, and received 
 only a common-school education, but who now ranks among 
 the most influential of our lecturers and writers, thus briefly 
 records the labor of his life : — 
 
 " Since entering the field, I have devoted my entire time to our 
 cause ; have lectured in ten of the Northern States, and acted as 
 State Missionary in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. Was 
 engaged as Associate Editor of " The Present Age " for about four 
 months. All the rest of my time has been spent as an itinerant 
 lecturer, and correspondent of our various Spiritualist papers. 
 
 " I have a frail physical organization ; and the hardships of an 
 itinerant life have at times almost incapacitated me for effective 
 labor. But my ever-watchful guardians have constantly strength- 
 ened me ; and, though yet delicate in health, my powers as a speaker 
 are gradually increasing. I have never been entranced, but am often 
 as perfectly controlled, both physically and mentally, as though un- 
 conscious. 
 
218 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 "I take no special thought concerning what I shall speak: a" : 
 nearly all of my lectures are given impronipU^y- 
 
 "The effect of the spirit-power while operating for speaking, 
 sometimes, is to partially insulate my mind from the avenues of sen- 
 sation, so that my consciousness is absorbed in the thought being 
 uttered : my eyes are then sometimes closed by the controlling influ- 
 ence. • But, ordinarily, it operates as a quickening power, intensifying 
 my own mentality ; and many, if not most, of the thoughts uttered, 
 are more or less familiar.- 
 
 " I have never been controlled to give historical or scientific facts 
 wholly unknown to myself; but latent knowledge is brought forth, 
 and spontaneous ideas evoked, that I have no conscious volition in 
 producing.^- 
 
 " I have several times spoken prophetically ; and some of the fore- 
 shadowed events near at hand have come to pass. 
 
 " I am frequently used as a developing-medium, and ■ occasionally 
 as a healer ; but, as this is usually followed by some nervous exhaus- 
 tion, I seldom act in that capacity. I have an enthusiastic tempera- 
 ment, but am naturally skeptical, and have always guarded against 
 fanaticism, taking this sentiment as my motto: 'It is better to 
 believe ever so much too little than ever so little too much.' " 
 
 Of the mediums' and speakers' conventions, J. W. Seaver 
 writes, — 
 
 "The first of the series was called, by spirit-suggestion, in jthe 
 spring of 1867, at Batavia; which was attended by about eighty 
 mediums and speakers. Since that, others have been held at John- 
 son's Creek, Rochester, Gowanda, Buffalo, Avon, LeBoy, and again 
 at Batavia and Johnson's Creek and Growanda ; all of which have 
 been seasons of much interest. 
 
 " There is no organization, further than a President, Secretary, 
 and a Committee of three to call further conventions. The original 
 
 o 
 
 object was to call together, in numbers, these finely-attuned harps 
 of a thousand strings, upon which the angels play, that they might 
 be attuned to harmony, establish acquaintance and fraternity, and 
 counsel together concerning the welfare and progress of this heaven- 
 born work. Becently they have assumed more the character of 
 other conventions of Spiritualists, with the conference and medium- 
 istic phase ; more free and tolerant. Wherever held, they have given 
 good satisfaction, and left a favorable impression." 
 
 Wash. A. Danskin presents some interesting facts in the 
 mediumship of Mrs. Danskin : — 
 
 " She is entranced, and manifests every degree of mental develop- 
 ment, — from the little one just able to prattle, up to minds like that 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 219 
 
 of Swedenborg, — each control clear and distinctly marked, and all 
 under the careful supervision of my spirit-father, who would prevent 
 any exhibition of an improper or injurious character. I mean, when 
 a spirit addicted to profanity was allowed to control, all impropriety 
 of expression was avoided, no matter how forcibly he may have given 
 utteranco to his feelings. 
 
 " In this range of manifestation, there has been wonderful versa- 
 tility. 
 
 " She has been controlled for speech in four languages with which 
 she has no acquaintance ; has given the different parts of an Italian 
 opera, improvising both words and music. 
 
 "She has been controlled, unconsciously, at the piano, and played 
 with a force rarely equaled. She has no knowledge of music, either 
 vocal or instrumental. ... A lounge on which she was lying was 
 once moved back and forth, and sidewise across the room, without 
 other contact." 
 
 "Frivolous meetings are seriously objectionable for novices, inas- 
 much as they give them a false idea of the character of Spiritism. 
 Those who have only been present at meetings of this description 
 are unable to entertain with seriousness a subject they see treated jest- 
 ingly by those who profess themselves adepts. Preliminary study 
 will teach them justly to appreciate what they see, and judge of the 
 good and the bad. The same reasoning applies to those who judge 
 Spiritism by certain eccentric works that only show it in a ridicu- 
 lous and incomplete light. Serious Spiritism is no more responsible 
 for those who understand it amiss, or practice it absurdly, than poetry 
 is responsible for the poetasters. It is grievous that such works 
 should exist, for they injure the true science ; and doubtless it would 
 be preferable to have none but good books : nevertheless, the chief 
 fault lies with those who will not take the trouble to study deeply. 
 Moreover, all arts, all sciences, are in the same dilemma. Have we 
 not, on the most serious subjects, tracts full of absurdity and error? 
 Why should Spiritism be privileged in this respect above all in its 
 beginning? If those who criticise it did not judge superficially, 
 they would learn what it does admit, and what it rejects, and would 
 not tax Spiritism with that which it condemns in the name of rea- 
 son and experience." — Allan Kardec. 
 
220 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 APOTHEOSIS. 
 
 We are called to record the names of several earnest work- 
 ers who have been translated to a higher field of labor. 
 They are not dead, but awakened to a new life of intense ac- 
 tivity. They not only live in our memories by their great 
 thoughts, noble deeds, and well-accomplished missions, but in 
 spirit have tasted the reality of which this life is the shadow. 
 
 Henry C. Wright, Jesse B. Ferguson, and Alcinda Wil- 
 helm Slade, three gifted ones, leave by their departure a wide 
 breach in our phalanx of speakers. Their places can not soon 
 be supplied. 
 
 JESSE B. FERGUSON. 
 
 Warren Chase writes, in " The Banner of Light," — 
 
 " For him we can not regret the change ; but for his numerous 
 friends here who miss his genial and social society, and for 
 the cause he had such power to help, we regret the necessity 
 for so early a departure. To know Jesse B. Ferguson intimately 
 was to love and admire him. His words, both spoken and written, 
 will long remain to encourage and strengthen the inquirers after 
 Spiritual truth. His ' Supramundane Facts ' is one of the best books 
 in our literature; and his lectures have ever been highly appreciated 
 by those who could accept the philosophy of Spiritual life and inter- 
 course. The assurances we have from him authorize us to say he 
 will still interest himself in, and give a portion of his time to, the 
 work which has entirely occupied us, and mostly him, for many years 
 past ; and that we may expect to hear from him occasionally, as op- 
 portunity offers for him to do so. He is numbered with the blessed, 
 for which many more are waiting. His departure took place Sept. 3, 
 at the age of fifty-two." 
 
 HENRY C. WRIGHT. 
 
 Of this noble, battle-scarred veteran, A. A. Wheelock, in 
 " The American Spiritualist," writes, — 
 
 "The sudden departure of the veteran reformer, humanity's 
 friend, Henry C. Wright, for the world of spirits, will be, to a host 
 of friends in more lands than one, the saddest news of all the year. 
 He was stricken down unexpectedly, of apoplexy, on Monday, the 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 2:1 
 
 loth inst., at Pawtucket, R.I. He has finalty Teached the goal to 
 which all the aspirations of his great soul so unerringly pointed, and 
 the rewards a just and blameless life most certainly bring its pos- 
 sessor. Brave, pure, noble, great-souled man and brother, we love 
 thee still! Thy memory — thy noble, self-sacrificing life — is as sa- 
 cred to us as our own heart-throbs. The presence of thy spirit will 
 be a continual blessing, a baptism from on high of love, peace, 
 and good will." 
 
 ALCLNDA WILHELM SLADE, 
 
 A noble and true woman, devoted her life to the education 
 of the people in the doctrines of Spiritualism, and fell, worn- 
 out by her untiring zeal. 
 
 J. B. CONKLIN. 
 
 " J. B. Conklin, for many years a prominent test-medium in New 
 York, has ceased from his labors here, and passed into that wider 
 field where provision for the physical form does not retard the ex- 
 pansion and development of the spiritual nature. 
 
 " Mr. Conklin spent some time in Baltimore, twelve or fourteen 
 years ago ; and some of our friends received their first evidences of 
 the truth of Spiritualism through his instrumentality. 7 ' — The New 
 Life, Baltimore. 
 
 " Brother Conklin was an excellent medium ; and we venture to say 
 thousands have been convinced of the truths of Spiritualism through 
 his instrumentality. He possessed a highly sensitive nature ; and, 
 consequently, his life here was one of constant martyrdom. But he 
 has been translated in spirit to a purer atmosphere, to continue the 
 good work with more power than ever, we trust, for the amelioration 
 of the human race from the chains of ignorance, bigotry, and super- 
 stition." — Banner of Light. 
 
 DR. HAHN. 
 
 G. Damiani records the death of this eminent European 
 Spiritualist : — 
 
 "A dear brother-Spiritualist has just left us. Dr. Hahn of Stutt- 
 gart, of whom I gave you a brief notice in 'Human Nature' of 
 February last, has gone to join the host of our kindly helpers in the 
 summer-land. In a letter dated 9th inst., his widow writes to me, 
 '1 remain desolate; but he is gone to that state of being which he 
 so ardently desired to attain.' Dr. Hahn was a very remarkable 
 man. Of an exceedingly handsome person, learned, and of great 
 
222 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 renown in his profession as a physician, an unsurpassable inspira- 
 tional artist, a great musician, and, above all, a medium with mani- 
 fold gifts, he was the only Spiritualist in the capital of Wurtem- 
 berg ; but he, amidst the pity, the derision, and the skepticism of 
 his fellow-citizens, calmly yet firml}'' maintained the grand truth of 
 spirit-communion. May the blissful state of being which he pre- 
 conceived be fully realized for him in the brightness of his sphere ! " 
 
 DR. JOHN C. GRINNELL, 
 
 " Passed to the spirit-world, from Newport, R.I., on the 9th of 
 September, 1870, Dr. John C. Grinnell, in the thirty-ninth year 
 of his age, after a life of physical suffering caused by the malpractice of 
 physicians in his early years, by which the joints and tissues of his 
 system became so impregnated with mercury, that even the host of 
 spirit-friends, with whom he was in close and almost constant rapport 
 for the last fourteen years of his life, were unable to restore him to 
 health. There are but few .persons in Newport whose loss will be 
 more widely felt than Dr. Grinnell. His healing-gifts were of the 
 highest order; and in one speciality — that 'of curing cancers — 
 probably his seemingly miraculous powers will never be surpassed. 
 Nor were his spirit-gifts confined to healing alone. Such was their 
 versatility, that all earthly things — past, present, and to come — 
 seemed to pass before his clairvoyant vision, sometimes but as reali- 
 ties ' viewed through a glass darkly,' but at others almost as clear 
 and vivid as material objects. 
 
 " It was the writer's privilege to have enjoyed probably more than 
 a thousand seances with Dr. Grinnell, scarcely one of which tran- 
 spired wherein some new light was not thrown upon spirit-phe- 
 nomena, or some additional knowledge elicited. Although almost 
 wholly uneducated, and unread in history and biography, under cer- 
 tain semi- trance conditions it required but the placing before him 
 the written name of any biblical or historical personage to elicit a 
 graphic synopsis of the individual character, together with a minute 
 description of his dress, regalia, armor, ornaments, or other personal 
 peculiarities, incident to the period in which he lived. Although 
 Dr. Grinnell's organs of language were weak, while entranced his 
 discourses were very interesting, and at times affecting and eloquent. 
 Up to almost the last, and as long as conscious, he manifested joy, 
 rather than regret, at the approaching crisis, which he spoke of as a 
 passing from one apartment to another ; and there is no doubt that 
 he is greatly benefited by the change of spheres." 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 223 
 
 STATE ORGANIZATIONS OF SPIRITUALISTS. 
 
 The American Association of Spiritualists. — Mrs. nr. P. M. Bre *«i, President; 
 H. T. Child, Secretary. 
 
 Colorado State Association. 
 
 Connecticut State Association. — Allen Hitchcock, Winsted, President ; E. Annie 
 Hinman, Agent; Lyman Baldwin, Secretary. 
 
 Delaware State Association. — S. N. Fogg, President ; Miss L. Brooks, Secretary. 
 
 Indiana. — Samuel Maxwell of Richmond, President; Jared R. Buell of In- 
 dianapolis, Secretary. 
 
 Kansas State Association of Spiritualists. — F. L. Crane, M.D., President. 
 
 Louisiana, Central Association of Spiritualists of. — J. W. Allen, President; Emile 
 F. Simon, Secretary. 
 
 Man/land State Association. — Levi Weaver, President; George Broom, Secre- 
 tary, Baltimore. 
 
 Massachusetts Spiritual Association. — Wm. White, President; H. S.Williams, 
 Secretary ; A. E. Carpenter, State Missionary Agent. 
 
 Michigan State Spiritual Association. — D. M. Fox, President; LP. Averill, 
 Secretary. 
 
 Minnesota. — E. K. Bangs, President ; Harriet E. Pope, Morristown, Corre- 
 sponding and Recording Secretary; J. L. Potter, Missionary Agent. 
 
 Nebraska. — Alonzo Rodgers, Corresponding Secretary, Lincoln. 
 
 New Jersey. — Susan C. Waters. President of Society, and President of Execu- 
 tive Committee ; Stacy Taylor, Crosswicks, N. J., President of Executive Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 New -York State Association. — A. C. Woodruff, Missionary Agent, Eagle Har- 
 bor, N.Y. 
 
 Ohio. — Hudson Tuttle, President ; George W. Wilson, Recording Secretary ; 
 Emma Tuttle, Corresponding Secretary ; A. A. Wheelock, General Missionary 
 Agent. 
 
 Pennsylvania State Society of Spiritualists. — Clementina G. John, President; 
 Henry F Child, M.D., Secretary. 
 
 Southern Wisconsin State Organization. — Mrs. M. L. Whitney, President, Pal- 
 myra ; E. Winchester Stephens, Secretary, Janesville. 
 
 Vermont. — Helen M. Slocum, President; George Dutton, M.D., Secretary, 
 West Randolph. 
 
 Wisconsin Northern Association of Spiritualists. — Mason Prist, Secretary. 
 
 Wisconsin State Association of Spiritualists. — D. U. Hamilton, President; J. M. 
 Trowbridge, Secretary; J. O. Barrett, Missionary Agent, Glen Beulah. 
 
 LIST OF SOCIETIES OF SPIRITUALISTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Ancora, N.J. — First Spiritualist Society. — H. P. Fairfield, President ; J. Mad- 
 ison Allen, Secretary. 
 
 Andover (0.), Lyceum and Society. — Col. W. S. Morlcy, President; Byron 
 D. Morley, Secretary ; I. S. Morley, Conductor; Mrs. I. A. Knapp, Guardian. 
 
 Akron (0.), Society and Lyceum. — Julius A. Sumner, President. 
 
 Alliance Society and Lyceum. — O. S. G. Haines, President; Mrs. Bailey, Sec- 
 retary; A. Bailey, Conductor; Mrs. Bailey, Guardian. 
 
 Ashley (0.), Society and Lyceum. — J. H. Rosevelt, President; T. M. Leeds, 
 Secretary; W. Granger, Conductor; Mrs. Granger, Guardian. 
 
224 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Atlanta {III), Free-Thought Society. — Dr. Gardner, President; Mrs. G. M. 
 Tefft, Secretary. 
 
 Baltimore (Md.), The Maryland State Association of Spiritualists. — Correspond- 
 ent Hall. 
 
 Baltimore {Md.), First Spiritualist Congregation. — Saratoga Hall. 
 
 Beloit, 111. 
 
 Boston (Mass.), Spiritualist Meetings. — Music Hall. — Lewis B. Wilson, Man- 
 ager. 
 
 Boston (Mass.), First Spiritualistic Association. — Mercantile Hall. — M. T. 
 Dole, President; M. T. Dole, Secretary. 
 
 Bostwick Lake. — Dr. D. C. Pratt, President; A. W. Davis, Clerk. 
 
 Bucks -County Association, Penn. — Nathan Preston, President, Gardenville; 
 Mary W. E. Roberts, Secretary, Carversville. 
 
 Buffalo, JV.F. — H. D. Fitzgerald, President; G. F. Kittridge, Secretary. 
 
 Bucks-County Society, Penn. 
 
 Cambridgeport, Mass. — E. A. Albee, Conductor. 
 
 Cardington, 0. — Chancey Ensign, President ; M. M. Gray, Secretary. 
 
 Chelsea, Mass. — Granite-Hall Meetings. — B. T. Marlin, President ; "Dr. H. B. 
 Crandon, Secretary. 
 
 Chelsea (Mass.), Bible Christian Spiritualists. — D. J. Ricker, Superintendent. 
 
 Charlestown, Mass. — G. W. Knapp, President ; Dr. A. H. Richardson, Cor- 
 responding Secretary. 
 
 Cleveland (0.), Society and Lyceum. — D.U.Pratt, President; R. C. Gillson, 
 Secretary; C. I. Thatcher, Conductor; Miss Williams, Guardian. 
 
 Cincinnati, 0. — George Kates, Secretary. 
 
 Clyde (0.), Lyceum and Society. — R. E. Betts, President; J. H. Randall, Con- 
 ductor ; Mrs. S. E. Ganson, Guardian ; Mrs. Herraia Russell, Corresponding 
 Secretary. 
 
 Ddh/ton, 0. 
 
 Deanville, N. Y. 
 
 Detroit, Mich. — Hall on Grand-River Street. — S. >B. McCracken, Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 Delaware (0.), Society and Lyceum. — W. W. Willis, President ; A. J. Rolloson, 
 Secretary ; Mr. Willis, Conductor ; Mrs. H. M. McPherson, Guardian. 
 
 Dorchester, Mass. — Union-Hall Meetings. 
 
 Farmington, 0. — E. F. Curtis, Secretary. 
 
 Farmington, Mich. — Norton Lapham, President. 
 
 Farmington, Minn. — S. Jenkins, President ; Mrs. W. A. Carpenter, Secretary. 
 
 Fort Scott, Kan. 
 
 Geneva (0.), Lyceum and Society. — B. Webb, jun., President; A. C. Lane, 
 Secretary ; W. H. Saxton, Conductor ; Mrs. Emma Caswell, Guardian. 
 
 Hannibal, Mo. — N. O. Archer, President ; S. Hemenway, Secretary. 
 
 Harrisburg. — Dr. Washington Barr, President. 
 
 Jefferson, 0. — W. H. Crowell, Secretary. 
 
 Kalamazoo (Mich.) County Circle. — Dr. Wm. Wey burn, President. 
 
 Kirtland (0.), Society and Lyceum. — R. P. Harmon, President; Alex. Wil- 
 liams, Secretary; Asa Smith, Conductor; Mrs. Makepeace, Guardian. 
 
 Lawrence, Kan. — — — 
 
 Lakeville, Minn. - 
 
 Leominster, Mass. — W. H. Yeaw, Secretary. 
 
 Leneroce- County Circle. — (Meets quarterly.) — S. M. Martin, President; C. H. 
 Case, Secretary. 
 
 Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Lowell, Mass. — J. S. Whitney, Conductor. 
 
 Jjynn, Mass. — — 
 
 Manchester, N.H. — Stephen Austin, President ; A. W. Cheney, Secretary. 
 
 Manhattan, Kan. 
 
 Madisonville, La. — J. W. Allen, President; E. S. Semens, Secretary. 
 
 Mt. Vernon Society, Mo. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 225 
 
 Monroe (0.), Lyceum and Society. — L. B. Howard, Secretary. 
 
 Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 Milan, 0. — I. M. Tattle, President ; Lee Van Scotus, Secretary. 
 
 Miffiinville, 0. — J. Parks, President. 
 
 Morristoum, Minn. — T. R. Chapman, President; Harriet E. Pope, Secretary. 
 /•-Jersey State Society of Spiritualists and Friends of Progress. — Stacy 
 Taylor, President; Susan C. Waters, Secretary. 
 
 New Orleans, La. — Dr. J. W. Allen, President; James Wingard, Vice- 
 President ; E. F. Simons, Secretary. 
 
 Newburyport, Mass. — Adjutant-Captain Abner Lane, or J. F. Loring. 
 
 ■-York City Society of Progressive Spiritualists. — P. E. Farnsworth, Sec- 
 retarv. 
 
 North-Scituate Spiritualist Association, — D. J. Bates, President and Correspond- 
 ing Secretary, Cohasset. 
 
 Narwalk (0.), First Society of Spiritualists. — Ira Lake, President; Orlando 
 Bassett, Secretary. 
 
 Nunica, Mich. — Arza Bartholomew. 
 
 Ola 'he, Kan. 
 
 Ober/in, 0. — N. E. Masey, President ; M. M. Hall, Secretary. 
 
 Painsville (0.), Lyceum and Society. — M. J. R. Hall, President; E. R. Dewey, 
 Secretary ; A. G. Smith, Conductor ; Mrs. Mary Dewey, Guardian. 
 
 Philadelphia (Penn.), First Society of Spiritualists. — H. T. Child, M.D., Presi- 
 dent ; Caroline A. Grimes, Secretary. 
 
 Philadelphia (Penn.), The First Spiritual Church. — Trustees. 
 
 Philadelphia (Penn.), Spiritual Union. — A. D. Bylis, President; James M. 
 Shumway, Secretary. 
 ' Plymouth, Mass. — L. L. Bullard, President ; Mrs. T. Bartlett, Secretary. 
 
 Port Huron, Mich. — J. H. White, Secretary. 
 
 Portland (Me.), Congress- Hall Association. — J. B. Hall, President; Mrs. J. K. 
 King, Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 Ravenna, 0. 
 
 Rensselaer (Ind.), Society of Progressive Spiritualists. — J. N. Stockhouse, Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 Richfield ( West), 0. — S. S. Clarke, President ; J. N. Chandler, Secretary. 
 
 Richmond, Penn. — C. W. Jucht, Secretary. 
 
 Richmond, Ind. 
 
 Roclcford, III. — D. S. Bartlett ; Wm. Hicks, Clerk. 
 
 Salem, Mass. — Walter Harris, President; Henry M. Robinson, Secretary. 
 
 Sacramento, Cal. — Pioneer Hall, Conference. 
 
 San Bernardino, Cal. 
 
 Seattle, Wash. Ter. — D. C. Crane, President ; G. T. Kenworthy, Secretary. 
 
 Seville (0.), Lyceum and Society. — Mrs. Louise Crouise, Secretary; E. E. 
 Andrews, Conductor ; Mrs. Andrews, Guardian. 
 
 Stillwater, Minn. — J. H. Soule, Chairman of Trustees. 
 
 Scituate (North), Mass. 
 
 Springfield, III. 
 
 St. Anthony, Minn. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 Sturgis, Mich. 
 
 S wanton, 0. — A. Warren, Secretary. 
 
 Terre Haute, Ind. — I. H. Stanley, President ; L. B. Denchie, Secretary. 
 
 Toledo (0.), Society, arid Lyceum. — Oliver Stephens, President; S. S. Linton, 
 Secretary. 
 
 To'peka, Kan. 
 
 Thompson, 0. — Henry Hurburt, President; Erastus Sumner, Secretary. 
 
 Watfcins,N.Y. 
 
 Washington (D. C), First Society of Progressive Spiritualists. — John Mayhew, 
 President. 
 
 Waltham, Mass. — C. 0. Jennison, President; P. Jennison, Secretary. 
 
 15 
 
226 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Waldoborough, Me. — Calvin H. Castner. 
 
 Westonvilie, 0. — John Grimes, President ; Wm. Sharp, Secretary. 
 Worcester, Mass. — Leander Eaton, President. 
 
 Wisconsin Southern Spiritualist Association. — Mrs. M. L. Whitney, President ; 
 E. W. Stevens, Secretary. 
 
 Willimantic, Conn. — L. H. Clark, President ; Wm. C. Fuller, Secretary. 
 Williamsburg, N. Y. — H. Witt, Secretary. 
 
 Worthington, 0. — S. L. Skeels, President; S. M. Davis, Secretary. 
 Vineland, N.J. — C. B. Campbell, President ; John Gage. Secretary. 
 Vergennes, Mich. — Benjamin Lewitt, President ; Mrs. S. Slaght, Secretary. 
 Youngstown, 0. — W. S. Thorn, President ; John B. Walker, Secretary. 
 
 LIST OF LYCEUMS. 
 
 Ancora, N.J. — Eben W. Bond, Conductor ; Mrs. Emelihe E. S. Wood, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Akron, 0. —J. A. Sumner, Conductor; Mrs. L. Barnhardt, Guardian. 
 
 Allegan, Mich. — Albert Stegeman, Conductor. 
 
 Alliance, 0. — A. Bailey, Conductor. 
 
 Ashley, 0. — W. Granger, Conductor ; Mrs. Granger, Guardian. 
 
 Andover, 0. — I. S. Morley, Conductor; Mrs. I. A. Knapp, Guardian. 
 
 Baltimore, Md. — Levi Weaver; Mrs. Walcott, Guardian. 
 
 Beloit, Wis. — William H. Calvert, Conductor. 
 
 Boston, of the First Spiritualist Association. — Mercantile Hall. — D.N. Ford, 
 Conductor; Miss Mary A. Sanborn, Guardian. 
 
 , Boylston-street Spiritualist Association. — Temple Hall. — J. W. McGuire, 
 
 Conductor; Harriet Dana, Guardian. 
 
 Bradley, Me. — J. S. Harris. 
 
 Bridgeport, Conn. — Mrs. James Wilson, Guardian. 
 
 Brooklyn, N.Y. — A. S. Kipp, Conductor. 
 
 Buffalo, N.Y. — Lester Brooks, Conductor ; Mrs. Mary Lane, Guardian. 
 
 Charlestown, Mass. — Washington Hall. — Stephen R. Cole, Conductor; Miss 
 H. S. Abbott, Guardian. 
 
 Cambridgeport, Mass. — W. H. Bettinson, Conductor ; Miss A. R. Martain, 
 Guardian. 
 
 Camden, N.J. — E. N. Dougherty, Conductor; Mrs. Fanny Brown, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Chicago, III. — Dr. S. J. Avery, Conductor. 
 
 Cleveland, 0. — C. J. Thatcher, Conductor ; Miss Williams, Guardian. 
 
 Clyde, 0. — A. B. French, Conductor ; Mrs. S. E. Ganson, Guardian. 
 
 Cardington, 0. 
 
 Corry, Penn. 
 
 Du Quoin, III. — J. P. Cowens, Conductor ; Mrs. Melroy, Guardian. 
 
 East Abington, Mass. — Freeman Gurney, Conductor ; Mrs. Consuella Hallett, 
 Guardian. 
 
 Eel River, Cal. — Samuel Strong. 
 
 Evansville, Wis. — Eva Spencer, Guardian. 
 
 Fort Dodge, lo. — Mrs. James Swan, Guardian. 
 
 Foxborough, Mass. — C. F. Howard, Conductor ; Mrs. N. F. Howard, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Foxcrq/i, Me. — Mrs. A. K. P. Gray, Guardian. 
 
 Geneva, 0. — W. M. Saxton, Conductor ; Mrs. Emma Caswell, Guardian. 
 
 Hammonton, N.J. — J. O. Ranson, Conductor; Mrs. J. M. Peebles, Guardian. 
 
 Hingham, Mass. — E. Wilder, Conductor ; Ada A. Clark, Guardian. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 227 
 
 Rutland, 0. — Mrs. P. M. Green, Guardian. 
 
 La Porte, lnd. — Albert Eastman. 
 
 Lowdl, Ufass. —J. S. Whitney, Conductor; Mrs. True Morton, Guardian. 
 
 Manchester, X.IL —Mrs. M. A. Smith. 
 
 Medina, Minn. 
 
 Milan, 0. — Hudson Tuttle, Conductor ; Emma Tuttle, Guardian. 
 
 Mil ford, Mass. — Prescott West, Conductor ; Maria L. Buxton, Guardian. 
 
 Mil ford, N.H. — Joshua M. Holt, Conductor. 
 
 McLean, N.Y. — Alonzo Randall, Conductor. 
 
 Monroe Center, 0. — Mrs. Lucia Felch, Guardian. 
 
 Muncia, Lnd. 
 
 Newburyport, Mass. — D. W. Green, Conductor; Mrs. S. L. Farr, Guardian. 
 
 New -York City. — Dr. D. U. Martin, Conductor. 
 
 North Scituate, Mass. — 1). J. Bates, Conductor ; Miss Deborah N. Merritt, 
 Guardian. 
 
 Oakland, Cal. 
 
 Oswego, N. Y. 
 
 Painesville, 0. — A. G. Smith, Conductor ; Mrs. Whitmore, Guardian. 
 
 Philadelphia (Penn.), Lyceum No. 1. — Dr. James Truman, Conductor; Mrs. 
 Mary A. Truman, Guardian. 
 
 Philadelphia, Lyceum No. 2. — Elias H. Shaw, Conductor; Sarah Hartley, 
 Guardian. 
 
 Philadelphia, Spiritual Union Lyceum. — Damon Y. Kilgore, Conductor ; Mrs. 
 Anabella Zallenger, Guardian. 
 
 Portland, Me. — J. B. Hall, Conductor ; Mrs. R. I. Hull, Guardian. 
 
 Plymouth, Mass. — L. L. Bullard, Conductor. 
 
 Putnam, Conn. — A. S. Davis, Conductor. 
 
 Ravenna, 0. Mrs. S. M. Bassett. 
 
 Richmond, Lnd. — E. F. Brown, Conductor. 
 
 Rock Lsland, III. — Henry Jones, Conductor ; Mrs. Major Wilson, Guardian. 
 
 San Francisco, Cal. — Mrs. L. C. Williams, Guardian. 
 
 Seville, 0. — E. E. Andrews, Conductor. 
 
 Springfield, Lll. — W. H. Planck, Conductor ; Mrs. Planck, Guardian. 
 
 Stone Bluff, Lnd. — Sarah A. Galloway, Guardian. 
 
 Stoneham, Mass. — E. T. Whittier, Conductor ; Ida Herson, Guardian. 
 
 Sturgis, Mich. — Mrs. Nellie Smith, Guardian. 
 
 Sycamore, Lll. — Harvy A. Jones, Conductor ; Mrs. H. A. Jones, Guardian. 
 
 Terre Haute, lnd. — Mrs. Emma Shoultz, Conductor; Louisa Peuce, Guardian. 
 
 Thompson, 0. 
 
 Toledo, 0. — C. B. Eels ; Mrs. Cyrus Green, Guardian. 
 
 Troy, N.Y. — Benjamin Starbuck, Conductor; 'Miss Libbie McCoy, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Waltham, Mass. — M. P. Wyatt, Conductor; Mrs. E. Wetherbee, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Washington, D.C. — T. B. Cad well, Conductor; Miss Marion Litchfield, 
 Guardian. 
 
 Wiliimantic, Conn. — S. A. Hunt, Conductor ; Miss Annie H. Tingley, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Vineland N.J. — Dr. David Allen, Conductor; Mrs. Julia Brigham, Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 
228 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 LIST OF LECTURERS ON SPIRITUALISM AND RELATING 
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 Adams, Mrs. N. A., Inspirational, box 277, Fitchburg, Mass. 
 Allvn, Jobn, San Francisco, Cal. • ^ /iAJXVVV J 
 
 Allyn, C. Fannie, Stoneham, Mass. . . \J^f** yV 
 Allen, J. Madison, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Alexander, J. Madison, Inspirational, Trance, Chicago, 111. 
 Akely, Harrison, M.D., 194 S. Clark Street, Chicago, 111. , 
 Andross, Mrs. N. K., Trance, Delton, "Wis. 
 Andrews, Charles A., Battle Creek, Mich. 
 Amos, Dr. J. T., 2001 Rochester, N.Y. 
 Augir, Harrison, Inspirational, Charles City, Io. 
 
 Britten, Emma Hardinge, London, England ; or 229 East Sixtieth Street, 
 New- York City. 
 
 Baker, Joseph, Inspirational, Janesville, Wis. 
 
 Barrett, Rev. J. 0., Normal, Inspirational, Glen Beulah, Wis. 
 
 Ballou, Addie L., Inspirational, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Barstow, Henry, Inspirational, Duxbury, Mass. 
 
 Bailey, Dr. James K., box 382, Laporte, Ind. 
 
 Barnum, H., Inspirational, Braceville, O. 
 
 Barnes, J. M, Normal, Clover Depot, Va. 
 
 Bent, M. C, Inspirational, Almond, Wis. 
 
 Beach, Mrs. Mary E., Trance, San Jose, Cal. 
 
 Bickford, J. II., Inspirational, Charlestown, Mass. 
 
 Bowman, A. P., Inspirational, Richmond, Io. 
 
 Bradbury, Mrs. P. D., Normal, North Madison, Me. 
 
 Brown, Mrs. H. F. M. (care "Lyceum Banner"), Chicago, 111. 
 
 Brown, Z. J., M.D., Cacheville, Cal. 
 
 Brown, Mrs. M. A. C, West Randolph, Vt. 
 
 Brown, Mrs. A. P., Trance, St. Johnsbury Center, Vt. 
 
 Brigham, Mrs. Nellie J. T., Elm Grove, Coleraine, Mass. 
 
 Bryan, Wm., box 53, Camden, Mich. 
 
 Burnham, Mrs. Abby N., Inspirational, No. 10 Chapman Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Bush, Wm., 163 Clarke Street, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Bushnell, A., Inspirational, Napola, N.Y. 
 
 Bullene, Mrs. Emma F. Jay, 151 West Twelfth Street, New York. 
 
 Butler, Jesse, Trance, Ontario, Wis. 
 
 Byrnes, Mrs., Sarah A., 87 Spring Street, East Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Carpenter, Albert E. (care "Banner of Light"), Boston, Mass. 
 
 Campbell, Mrs. Archy, Fairhaven, Mass. 
 
 Carver, Mrs. Annie Mi, Trance, Cincinnati, O. 
 
 Chamberlain, Mrs. Bell A., Trance, Claremont, Minn. 
 
 Chase, Warren, 601 North Fifth Street, St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Cheney, Simeon P., Normal, Maple Grove, Dorset, Vt. 
 
 Child, Dr. A. B., 50 School Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Child, Dr. Henry T., 634 Race Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Choate, J. M., Trance and Inspirational, 56 Poplar Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Clark, Dean, Boston, Mass. (care of "Banner of Light"). 
 
 Clark, Mrs. Lennette J., 155 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Colyer, Mr. and Mrs., Inspirational, Kendallsville, Ind. 
 
 Cook, George Willis, Normal, Jefferson, Wis.' 
 
 Cooper, Dr. James, Normal, Bellefontaine, O. 
 
 Corwin, John, Normal, Five Corners, N.Y. 
 
 Cowles, Lucia H., Inspirational, Chardon, O. 
 
 Cross, Mrs. Marietta F., Trance, Bradford, Mass. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 229 
 
 Currier, Dr. J. H., 39 Wall Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Cushman, Mrs. Carrie M., Trance, Hillsborough Bridge, N.H. 
 
 Daniels, Mrs. E. L., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Danforth, Mrs. E. B., M.D., Trance, Lawrence, Kan. 
 
 Davis, A. J., Orange, N.Y. 
 
 Davis, Mrs. Mary F., Orange, N.J. 
 
 Davis, Mrs. Agnes M., 2S9~Main Street, Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 
 Davis, Miss Nellie L., 49 Buttertield Sneer, Lowell, Mass. 
 
 Davis, Mrs. Addie P., White Hall, 111. 
 
 Davis, Miss Susie, Inspirational, Lowell, Mass. 
 
 Denton, Prof. Win., Wellesley, Mass. 
 
 Dickson, Miss S. E., Inspirational, Vineland, N.J. 
 
 Doten, Miss Lizzie, Pavilion, 57 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Doty, J. R., M.D., Normal, New Orleans, La. 
 
 Dunn, Dr. E. C, Trance, Inspirational, Rockford, 111. 
 
 Durgin, Henry J., Inspirational, Cardington, O. 
 
 Dutton, George, M.D., Normal, West Randolph, Vt. 
 
 Druiumond, Dr. T. M., Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 D wight, Frank, Montana, Io. 
 
 Edmunds, Mr. A. C, Newton, Io. 
 
 Ellis, Charles, Rationalist, Salem, O. 
 
 Emery, Dr. H. E., South Coventry, Conn. 
 
 Fairfield. Dr. H. P., Ancora, N.J. 
 
 Farlin, Charles D., Inspirational, Deerfield, Mich. 
 
 Fish, Rev. J. G., Inspirational, Hammonton, N.J. 
 
 Fishback, Rev. A. J., Inspirational, Port Huron, Mich. 
 
 Field, Mrs. Crara A., Newport, Me. 
 
 Feiton, Mrs. Fannie B., South Maiden, Mass. 
 
 Foss, Andrew T., Manchester, N.H. 
 
 Forster, Thomas Gales, Inspirational, 736 Eighth Street, Washington, D.C. 
 
 Francis, Rev. J., Ogdensburg, N.Y. 
 
 French, Mrs. M. L., Trance and Inspirational, 34 Wave Street, Boston. 
 
 French, A. B., Inspirational, Clyde, O. 
 
 Fuller, Eliza Howe, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Fuller, Mrs., Inspirational, Elk River, Minn. 
 
 Garamage, Dr., 134 South Seventh Street, Williamsburg, N.Y. 
 
 Garter, Mr., , Vergennes, Mich. 
 
 Gilman, Mrs., Inspirational, Lexington, Ind. 
 
 Gill, Rev. Joseph C, Belvidere, 111. 
 
 Giles, J. G., Princeton, Mo. 
 
 Gordon, Mrs. Laura De Force, box 2123, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Graves, Kersey, Richmond, Ind. 
 
 Graves, Sarah, Inspirational, Berlin, Mich. 
 
 Greenleaf, N. S., Lowell, Mass. 
 
 Greenleaf, Isaac P., 1061 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Griggs, Dr. L. P., Inspirational, box 409, Fort Wayne, Ind. 
 
 Guild, John P., Lawrence, Mass. 
 
 Harris, James H., box 919, Abington, Mass. 
 
 Hastings, Zella S., Inspirational, East Whately, Mass. 
 
 Hardinge, Thomas, Inspirational, Sturgis, Mich. 
 
 Hazeltine, O. B., Trance, Mazomanie, Wis. 
 
 Hayes, Mrs., , Inspirational, Waterloo, Wis. 
 
 Hinman, E. Annie, Falis Village, Conn. 
 
 Hoadley, Mrs. M. S., Fitchburg, Mass. 
 
 Horton, Mrs. S. A., Chicago, 111. (care of "Present Age' ) 
 
 Holdcn, E. B., Inspirational and Physician, North Clarendon, Vt. 
 
 Holt, Charles, Inspirational, Warren, Penn. 
 
 Howe, Lyman C, Inspirational, Fredonia, N.Y. 
 
 Hutchinson, Mrs. L., Inspirational, Owensville, Cal. 
 
230 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Hume, Wm. A. D., West Side, P. 0., Cleveland, O. 
 
 Hubbard, Miss Julia J., Portsmouth, N.H. 
 
 Hull, Moses, Inspirational, Hobart, Ind. 
 
 Hull, D. W., Inspirational, Hobart, Ind. 
 
 Hyzer, Mrs. F. O., 122 East Madison Street, Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Jamieson, W. F., Lake City, Minn. . / 
 
 Jackson, Dr. C. W., Oswego, 111. 
 
 James, Abraham, Pleasantville, Penn. 
 
 Johnston, Wm. H., Cony, Penn. 
 
 Johnson, Dr. P. T., Ypsflanti, Mich. 
 
 Johnson, Miss Susie M., Milford, Mass. 
 
 Jones, Harvey A., Sycamore, 111. 
 
 Kates, George, Dayton, O. 
 
 Kellogg, O. P., Inspirational, East Trumbull, O. 
 
 Kittridge, Geo. F., Buffalo, N.Y. 
 
 Knowles, Mrs. Frank Reed, Inspirational, Breedsville, Mich. 
 
 Kutz, Mrs. M. J., Bostwick Lake, Mich. 
 
 Lane, Mrs. Mercia, Inspirational, Braceville, O. 
 
 Lambert, Mrs. A. L., Trance and Inspirational, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Leonard, H. T., Trance, Taunton, Mass. 
 
 Lewis, Joseph B., Inspirational, Yellow Spring, O. 
 
 Loveland, J. S., 350 Jessie Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Longdon, Mary E., Inspirational, 60 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, N.J. 
 
 Logan, Mrs. F. A., Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Lusk, G. W., Battle Creek, Mich. 
 
 Lynn, Cephas B., 9 Sever Street, Charlestown, Mass. 
 
 Leys, Miss Jennie, Inspirational, 4 Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Mayhew, Dr. John, box 607, Washington, D.C. 
 
 Manchester, Mrs. Lizzie, Inspirational and Singer, West Randolph, Vt. 
 
 Matthews, Mrs. Sarah H., Quincy. Mass. 
 
 Marsh, Charles S., Semi-Trance, Wonewoc, Wis. 
 
 Martin, Emma M., Inspirational, Birmingham, Mich. 
 
 Mason, Mr. F. H., Inspirational, North Conway, N.H. 
 
 Martin, Dr. W. H. C, Hartford, Conn. 
 
 Mathews, J. W., Heyworth, 111. 
 
 Maynard, Mrs. Nettie Colburn, White Plains, N.Y. 
 
 Mills, P. C, Normal, West Buxton, Me. 
 
 Middlebrook, Mrs. Anna M., box 778, Bridgeport, Conn. 
 
 Moody, Joel, Inspirational, Mound City, Kan. 
 
 M'Cord, Prof. R. M., Centralia, 111. 
 
 Moore, Mrs. Tamozine, Vineyards, Needham, Mass. 
 
 Morse, Mrs. Hannah, Trance, Joliet, 111. 
 
 Morrison, Dr. James, McHenry, 111. 
 
 Morgan, Dr. Harvey, Trance, Randolph, N.Y. 
 
 Mossop, Mrs., Inspirational, Dayton, O. 
 
 Nash, A. L. E., Rochester, N.Y. 
 
 Nash, Riley C, Inspirational, Deerfield, Mich. 
 
 Namee, J. Wm. Van*, Trance, 420 Fourth Avenue, New York. 
 
 Newcomer, G. W., M.D., 228 Superior Street, Cleveland, O. 
 
 Norwood, C, Inspirational, Ottawa, 111. 
 
 Parry, Mrs. Martha Hulett, Trance, Beloit, Wis. 
 
 Palmer, W. H., Big Flats, N.Y. 
 
 Palmer, Mrs. E. N., Big Flats, N.Y. 
 
 Palmer, Edward, Trance, Cambridge, Me. 
 
 Pace, Dr. S. D., Port Huron, Mich. 
 
 Paul, Mrs. Emma L. Morse, Trance, Alstead, N.H. 
 
 Packhard, Henry, 377 Dorchester Avenue, Washington Village, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Payne, Dr. O. B., Trance, Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 Peebles, J. M., Hammonton, N.J. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 231 
 
 Perkins, Mrs. L. H., Trance, Kansas City, Mo. 
 Pease, Miss Nettie M., Trance, New Albany, Ind. 
 Pearsall, Lydia Ann, Inspirational, Disco, Mich. 
 Pierce, Dr. II. C, Normal, Nacogdoches, Tex. 
 Pierce, G. A., box 87, Auburn, Me. 
 Pike, Wm. C, Boston, Mass. 
 Pike, J. Eva, Crown Point, N.Y. 
 Pope, Harriet E., Trance, Morristown, Minn. 
 Powell, J. H., Boston, Mass. 
 Pond, A. A., Inspirational, Rochester Depot, O. 
 Potts, Mrs. Anna M. L., M.D., Adrian, Mich. 
 Potter, J. L., Trance, Morristown, Minn. 
 Pratt, Mrs. E. A., Trance, East Granville, Vt. 
 Puffer, Mrs. J., Trance, South Hanover, Mass. 
 Randolph, Dr. P. B., 89 Court Street, Boston, Mass. 
 Randall, Dr. J. H., Inspirational, Clyde, O. - 
 
 Robinson, A. C, Salem, Mass. 
 Robinson, Mrs. Olive N., Normal, Big Flats, N.Y. 
 Rose, William, M.D., Inspirational, Louisville, Ky. 
 Robbins, Mrs. C. A., Inspirational, Watkins, N.Y. 
 Rudd, Mrs. Jennie S., 140 North Main Street, Providence, R.I. 
 Ruggles, Mrs. Elvira Wheelock, Havana, 111. 
 Sawyer, Mrs. M. E. B., Fitchburg, Mass. 
 Schlcsinger, Louis, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 Seaver, J. W., Inspirational, Byron, N.Y. 
 Sherwin, Mrs. C. A., Townsend Center, Mass. 
 Sickle, Selah Van, Greenbush, Mich. 
 Simmons, Austin E., Trance, Woodstock, Vt. 
 Slight, Mrs. S. E., Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 Smith, Abram, Inspirational, Sturgis, Mich. 
 Smith, Fannie Davis, Inspirational, Brandon, Vt. 
 Smith, Mrs. Almira W., 36 Salem Street, Portland, Me. 
 Smith, Mrs. Laura Cuppy, San Francisco, Cal. 
 Smith, H. H., Inspirational, Osseo, Minn, 
 Southworth, N. H., Trance, New Lisbon, Wis. 
 Sprague, Dr. E., Inspirational, Schenectady, N.Y. 
 Sprague, Dr. 0. Clark, Rochester, N.Y. 
 Starbird, D. J., Milan, O. 
 
 Stephens, Rev. D. P., Normal, Nacogdoches, Tex. 
 Stevens, E. Winchester, Inspirational, Janesville, Wis. 
 Stevens, Miss Mary, Trance, North Montpelier, Vt. 
 Stevens, Rev. D. P., Inspirational, Nacogdoches, Tex. 
 
 Stearns, Mrs. H. T., State Missionary for Pennyslvania, 634 Race Street, 
 Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Storer, Dr. H. B., 69 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Stowe, Mrs. C. M., San Jose, Cal. 
 
 Sturtevant, Miss M. S., Trance, Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 
 Stiles, Joseph D., Danville, Vt. 
 
 Sutliff, O. L., Inspirational, Ravenna, 0. . 
 
 Swackhamer, E. R., 128 South Third Street, Brooklyn, New- York City. 
 
 Swain, Mrs. L. A. F., Inspirational, Union Lakes, Minn. 
 
 Talmadge, Mrs. Esther N., Trance, Westville, Ind. 
 
 Tanner, Mrs. Fanny, Trance, Montpelier, Vt. 
 
 Tappan, Mrs. Cora L. V., Washington, D.C. » 
 
 Taylor, M. Evangelus, Inspirational, Jackson, Mich. 
 
 Thayer, Mrs., Trance, Osseo, Minn. 
 
 Thwing, Miss Mattie, Conway, Mass. 
 
 Thomas, Dr. S. A., Chaska, Minn. 
 
 Thompson, Mrs. Sarah M., Inspirational, 161 St. Clair Street, Cleveland, O. 
 
232 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM.' 
 
 Timmons, Mrs. Robert, Mexico, Mo. 
 
 Toohey, J. H. W., Providence, R.I. 
 
 Todd, Benjamin, Portland, Oregon. 
 
 Trask, James, Kenduskeag, Me. 
 
 Tuttle, Hudson, Berlin Heights, O. 
 
 Tyson, Alice, Trance, Inspirational, 1362 Hanover Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Warner, Mrs. S. E., Trance, Cordova, 111. 
 
 Wadsworth, F. L., 399 South Morgan Street, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Waisbrooker, Lois, Des Moines, Io. 
 
 Wells, Dr. R. G., Trance, Beaufort, N.C. 
 
 Williams, Mrs. E. A., Hannibal, N.Y. 
 
 Wilcoxson, Mrs. Mary J. (care " R. P. Journal "), Chicago, 111. 
 
 Wilsey, Dr. J. C, Burlington, Io. 
 
 Willis, Mrs. S. A», Lawrence, Mass. 
 
 Willis, Mrs. N. J., Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 
 Willis, F. L. H., M.D., Glenora, N.Y. 
 
 Wilson, Mrs. Hattie E., 46 Carver Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Wilson, E. V., Lombard, 111. 
 
 Williams, Mrs. E. A., Inspirational, Deansville, N.Y. 
 
 Withee, Mrs. Mary E., Holliston, Mass. 
 
 Wiggins, Mrs. Amanda D-, Trance, Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Wingard, Mrs. , New Orleans, La. 
 
 Whiting, A. B., Inspirational, Albion, Mich. 
 
 White, Daniel, M.D., box 2507; St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 White, N. Frank, Inspirational, Seymour, Conn. 
 
 Whitney, J. G., Inspirational, Rock-grove City, Io. 
 
 Whipple, Prof. E., Clyde, O. 
 
 Whittaker, Charles H., Normal, North Scituate, Mass. 
 
 Wheelock, Rev. Dr., Inspirational, State Center, Io. 
 
 Wheelock, A. A., Inspirational, 47^- Prospect Street, Cleveland, O. 
 
 Wheeler, E. S., Inspirational (care "American Spiritualist"), Cleveland, O. 
 
 Woodruff, A. C. and Mrs. Eliza C, Eagle Harbor, N.Y. 
 
 Woolson, Warren, Trance, Hastings, N.Y. 
 
 Wolcott, Mrs. E. M., Canton, N.Y. 
 
 Woodsworth, Elijah, Inspirational, .Leslie, Mich. 
 
 Wortman, S. H., box 1454, Buffalo, N.Y. 
 
 Wright, M., Inspirational, Middleville, Mich. 
 
 Wright, Mr. N. M., Inspirational, care " Banner of Light," Boston. 
 
 Yeaw, Juliette, Inspirational, Northborough, Mass. 
 
 Young, Mrs. Fannie T., Trance, Center Strafford, N.H. 
 
 Young, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. J., Boise City, Idaho Ter. 
 
 LIST OF MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH POST-OFFICE 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 [Abbreviations. — Ph., physical ; tr., trance ; cl., clairvoyant ; see., seeing ; 
 h., healing; bu., business; sing., singing; im., improvisational ; med., medical; 
 wr., writing ; mu., musical ; dev., developing ; insp., inspirational ; psy., psycho- 
 logical ; sp., spirit ; mag., magic] 
 
 Abbott, Mrs. , dev., 148 Fourth Avenue, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Alberly, Mrs. Ann, h., Lockport, N.Y. 
 
 Allen, Henry (" The Allen Boy "), musical and ph., Morrisville, Vt. 
 
 Allen, D. C, im., Lawrenceburg, Mo. 
 
 Allyn, Mrs. C. Fannie, im., tr., Stoneham, Mass. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 233 
 
 Allen, Mrs. Buffington, wr. and tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Angel, A. A., healing, Green Garden, 111. 
 
 Andrews, L. M., tr., Mount Vernon, Mo. 
 
 Anson, I). B., test, Convis Belleview, Mich. 
 
 Andrews, Marshall A., h. and test, Gowanda, N.Y. 
 
 Anthony, Mrs. Susan B., med., cl., and test, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Abbott, Mrs. Orrin, dev., Peoria, 111. 
 
 Armstrong, Mr. , Columbus, O. 
 
 Ay res, Mrs. S. B., h., Keokuk, Io. 
 
 Bates, Mrs. I). J. f test, Cohassct, Mass. 
 
 Beals, Bishop A., tr., test, and musical, Versailles, N.Y. 
 
 Beach, Mary, clairvoyant, San Jose, Cal. 
 
 Beitel, Peter, mag. h., No. 229 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Beckwith, Miss Eliza, unconscious tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Beckwith, Pearl S., healer, Milan, O. 
 
 Betts, Miss Sarah S., Washington, D.C. 
 
 Blaker, Pye, tr. and test, 855 North I Oth, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Bokcr, Mrs. Amy, h., Morristown, Minn. 
 
 Bouncy, Eleanor, clairvoyant, Avon Springs, N.Y. 
 
 Bradford, Mrs. J., tr., N. Scituate, Mass. 
 
 B own, Dr., clairvoyant and h., Kendallville, Ind. 
 
 Brown, Elisha, h., Versailles, N.Y. 
 
 Brewster, Dr., healing, Morrisville, Vt. 
 
 Bryant, Dr. J. P., h., 325 West 34th Street, New- York City. 
 
 Burnell, Mrs., wr., Lexington, Ind. 
 
 Butler, Mrs. A. J., clairvoyant and tr., 410 Kearny Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Cad well, Georgia, test, personating, Aurora, Minn. 
 
 Cates, Mrs. J. M., healer, wr., dev., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Caul kins, Mrs. R., healing, Green Garden, 111. 
 
 Cain, M. A., seeing and writing, Christiana, Penn. 
 
 Clark, Mrs. Jennette J., clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Chamberlain, Annie Lord, ph. and tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Chamberlain, Mrs. S., h., Lc Roy, N.Y. 
 
 Chamberlain, Mrs. Belle, speaking, Claremont, Minn. 
 
 Caiman, Dr., healer, Ladoga, Ind. 
 
 Chamberlin, Mrs. S., h., Le Roy, N.Y. 
 
 Child, Henry T., M.D., 634 Race Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Cimrehul, Enos, h., Dansville, Wis. 
 
 Coit, Mrs. E., clairvoyant, Columbus, O. 
 
 Conant, Mrs. J. H., clairvoyant, test ("Banner of Light"), Boston, Mass. 
 
 Cooper, Dr. James, h., Bellefontainc, O. 
 
 Cutter, Mrs., ph., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Currier, Dr. J. II., h., med., andbu. clairvoyant, 39 Wall Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Cushman, Mrs. W. H., musical, Melrose, Mass. 
 
 Davenport, Mrs., unconscious tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Darling, Dr., healing, Glover, Vt. 
 
 Davis, Mrs., tr., Rochester, N.Y. 
 
 Davison, Flora, insp., Gowanda, N.Y. 
 
 Davison, Mrs. Mercy, h., Gowanda, N.Y. 
 
 Dean, Mrs. R. W., clairvoyant, Belvidere, 111. 
 
 Dexter, Mrs. A., clairvoyant, No. 21G West 17th Street, New- York City. 
 
 Emorv, Mrs. M., clairvovant and speaking, Prophetstown, Mo. 
 
 English, Mr. A. C, h., Batavia, N.Y. 
 
 Farquhar, Ellen D., tr. and test, Litchfield, 111. 
 
 Fayette, J. B., sp. artist, Oswego, N.Y. 
 
 Foley, Miss Blanche, clairvoyant and tr., 634 Third Avenue, New- York City. 
 
 Foye, Mrs. Ada, tr., 416 Post Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Ford, Mrs. Sarah, tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Foy, Mrs. E., test, No. 1106, Buttonwood Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
234 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 French, Mrs. H. J., cl. and mag., No. 1325, Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 French, M. A., visionist and clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Freeman, Dr. Benj., healing, Columbus, 0. 
 
 Freeman, Dr. T. J., h. and clairvoyant, Milwaukee, Mich. 
 
 Friend, Julia M., med. and clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Floyd, Mrs., clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Fuller, Eliza Howe, h., 925 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Fuller, Mrs., test and sp., Elk River, Minn. 
 
 Gay, Miss M. C, cl., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Gibbs, Mrs. Geo., tr., Batavia, N.Y. 
 
 Gibson, Dr. J., mag. physician, 652 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Glanding, Mrs., tr. and test, Oxford, below 11th, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Goodfellow, Mrs. Anne, tr., t., 412 Enterprise Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Goodman, Mr. and Mrs., h., test, wr., Columbus, 0. 
 
 Graham, Mrs., personating, Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 Grasmuck, Mrs. A., wr., Weston, Mo. 
 
 Gray, Mrs., tr., test, 746 South Front Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Green, Mrs. J., unconscious tr. and h., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Green, Mr. and Mrs. Benj., clairvoyant and mag. h., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Gregory, E., h. and wr., Lockport, N.Y. 
 
 Grover, Dr. Samuel, h., 23 Dix Place, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hall, Miss J., h., Gowanda, N.Y. 
 
 Hamilton, U. S., healing, Beloit, Wis. 
 
 Hazelton, Mrs., drawing, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hatch, Freeman, h. and dev., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hatch, Miss Mary S., tr., test, and bu., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hatch, Mrs. Laura Hastings, musical, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Harrison, Geo. T., clairvoyant, test, Gowanda, N.Y. 
 
 Hayward, A. S., mag. h., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hardy, Mrs. M. M., tr. and test, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hedon, James, test, Dawagiac, Mich. 
 
 Hendee, Miss M. I., cl. and mag. physician, 102 Post Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Hebbard, L. E., improvisation al, West Salem, Wis. 
 
 Hendrick, E. M., healing and im., Mount Vernon, O. 
 
 Herrick, Dr. Henry, healing, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Herrick, M<rs., tr., test, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Herring, Dr. W. W., mag. and clairvoyant h., 490 Market Street, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Heal, D. E., healing, Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 Hill, V. T., h. and im., St. Francisville, Mo. 
 
 Hill, Barry, clairvoyant healing, North Fairfield, O. 
 
 Hooker, Mrs. M., healing, Macon, Ga. 
 
 Hodge, M., tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Hough, DeWitt Clinton, ph. 2108 Mt. Vernon Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Howe, Dr. and Mrs., clairvoyant physicians, Volney, Io. 
 
 Howland, Mrs. E., tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Howard, O., healing, Lexington, Ind. 
 
 Howard, Mrs. H. A., seeress, Evansville, Wis. ; North Barton, N.Y. 
 
 Howell, Mrs. U. C, h. and psychometric. 
 
 Hull, Annie M., tr., psy., and business, Hobart, Ind. 
 
 Hull, Mrs. A., tr., test, 851 North 10th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Hull, Mrs. D. W., psychometric, Hobart, Ind. 
 
 Hutson, Lloyd, rap. and tip., Green Garden, 111. 
 
 Hyde, Mrs. L. F., test, 453 Sixth Avenue, New- York City. 
 
 Jenison, Charles O., ph., Waltham, Mass. 
 
 Judd, Mrs. E. M., clairvoyant and test, Volney, Io. 
 
 Kane, Margaretta Fox, rapping, 102 West 29th Street, New- York City. 
 
 Kayner, Dr. D. P., cl., med., Erie, Penn. 
 
 Keen, Ed., tr., test, 1355 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Kegwin, Mrs., test and ph., Jeffersonville, Ind. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 235 
 
 Kelly, E. S., healing and sp., Lcttsville, Io. 
 
 Keizer, Lizzie, tr., test, Cincinnati, O. 
 
 Kimball, Mrs. S. A. U., tr., Saekett's Harbor, N.Y. 
 
 Kingslcy, Mrs. , h., Brighton, lnd. 
 
 Lambert, Mrs. A. L., cl., test, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Latham, Mrs. A. C, med., clair., and h., 292 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Laws, Mrs. R. E., el. and psychometrist, 20G Kearny Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Lawson, Mrs., clairvoyant, Kendallville, lnd. 
 
 Lawrence, James, wr., Cleveland, O. 
 
 Learcns, Miss Henrietta, wr., Berkshire Center, Vt. 
 
 Lepper, Mrs., h., Araka, Minn. 
 
 Lewis, E. W. and M.D., h., Watkins, N.Y. 
 
 Lewis, Mr?. C. C, test, North Scitnate, Mass. 
 
 Lincoln, Mr. M. V., tr. and clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Littlejohn, Mrs., 354 Trcmont Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Lougee, Mrs. S., tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Lord, Mrs. M. Barrack, ph., test, Fond dn Lac, Wis. 
 
 Lunt, Henry, tr., test, bu., Plymouth, Mass. 
 
 Lnsk, G. W., healer, Battle Creek, Mich. 
 
 Mansfield, J. V., tr. and wr., 102 West 15th Street, New-York City. 
 
 Martin, Mrs. C. M., im. and h., Rutland, Wis. 
 
 McPherson, Mrs. II. M., trance, Delaware City, 0. 
 
 McKain, Mrs., tr. and h., Oakland, Mich. 
 
 McMastcrs, II. P., insp., Eden, 0. 
 
 McNeil, Mrs. E., cl. and trance, No. 1346 Hanover Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Mackinley, Mrs. Frances E., clairvoyant, 972 6th Avenue, New- York City. 
 
 Marks, Mrs., test, 1009 Federal Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Martin, Mrs. Jennie, cl. and rap., 1315 North 10th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Medus, A. H., clairvovant and tr., St. Francisville, Mo. 
 
 Mixer, Mrs. S., h., Milford, N.H. 
 
 Mileson, N., sp. artist, 658 Broadway, N.Y. 
 
 Miles, Mrs. Nancy, healing, Janesville, Wis. 
 
 Michener, Mr. and Mrs., seeing and wr., Christiana, Penn. 
 
 Mock, Mrs., 612 North 12th, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Moliere. Mrs., trance, test, Toledo, O. 
 
 Morse, J. M., unconscious tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Mumlcr, Mrs. Wm. F., tr. and h., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Murr, Mrs., med., clairvoyant, 322 North Front Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Newton, J. R., M.D., h., Newport, R.I. 
 
 Nelson, Mrs. Nellie E., tr., test, bu., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Newhall, Mrs. E., h. and tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Newcomer, G. W., M.D., healer, 228 Superior Street, Cleveland, O. 
 
 Newcomb, Dr. Geo. L., ph., North Scituate, Mass. 
 
 Orr, Mrs. Mattie M., clairvoyant, Keokuk, Io. 
 
 Owen, Mrs. J. P., healer, Amesville, O. 
 
 Ozicr, J. M., heaiing, Olensburg, 0. 
 
 Paine, Amasa, physical test, Hardwich, Vt. 
 
 Payne, Dr. O. B. and Mrs., tr. and clairvoyant, Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 Palmer, Mrs. Mary, med., clairvoyant, 1450 North 11th, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Persons, Dr. W., St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Pierce, Dr. A. P., clairvoyant and med., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Pierce, Mrs. Dr., test., writing, and clairvoyant, Nacogdoches, Tex. 
 
 Plumb, Mrs. J. L., clair., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Porter, Mrs. Mary A., med., bu., clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Pound, Mrs Elijah, psychometrist and h., Eau Claire, Wis. 
 
 Pope, Harriet E., trance-speaker, Morristown, Minn. 
 
 Pope, Isaac, h., Morristown, Minn. 
 
 Post, Dr. R., h., St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 Powell, Mrs., tr., test, and rap., 1134 South 5th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
236 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Phelps, Dr. E. C, St. Anthony, Minn. 
 
 Powell, Mrs. J. H., sp. dancer, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Priest, J. B., h., Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 Prescott, Mrs. J., tr., Quincy, Mass. 
 
 Preston, Mrs. L. O., h., Avon Springs, N.Y. 
 
 Eamsdell, Mrs. Maria, h., Laoni, N.Y. 
 
 Reed, Mrs., test, Columbus, O. 
 
 Reilly, Mather, test, 303 Wood Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Reynolds, Mrs., tr., test, 1013 Parrish Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Rhodes, Joel H., M.D., clairvoyant and h., 1135 Race Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Rice, Diantha E., insp., Boston, Erie County, N.Y. 
 
 Richardson, Dr. A. H., h., Charlestown, Mass. ■* 
 
 Rockwood, Mrs. Wm., tr. and med., 47 East Springfield Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Robiuson, Katie B., .cl. and test, 2123 Brandywine S.treet, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Rodgers, Prof., 327 Gaskell Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Rowley, Mrs., speaking, Earmington, Minn. 
 
 Ruttley, J. H., M.D., h., Health Institute, 1111 Girard Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Seaver, J. W., personating, wr., and sp., Byron, N.Y. 
 
 Seymour, Mrs. H. S., test, 140 Blocker Street, New-Yo?k City. 
 
 Severance, Mrs. A. B., psychomeirist, White Water, Wis. 
 
 Severance, Dr. A. B., psychometrist, White Water, Wis. 
 
 Severance, Mrs. J. H. S., psychometrist and test, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Severance, Miss Lizzie A., tr., test, and bu., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Severance, Sarah T., unconscious tr. and clairvoyant, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Sherland, Mrs., personating, Tucker, Cal. 
 
 Shephard, S. J., tr. and wr., Weston, Mo. 
 
 Shephard, Jesse B. H., musical. 
 
 Sibley, Mrs., test, tr., Toledo, O. 
 
 Sladc* Dr. H., Kalamazoo, Mich. 
 
 £ locum, Mrs. Helen, see. and test, Rutland, Vt. 
 
 Smedley, Dr. L. G., trance physician, Avon Springs, N.Y. 
 
 Smith, H. H., wr., Osseo, Minn. 
 
 Smith, S., tr. and speaking, Rockford, 111. 
 
 Smith, Mrs. A., writing, Prophetstown, Mo. 
 
 Smith, Ransel J. and Emma J., test, East Liberty, O. 
 
 Sraythe, Alex., wr., tr., Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Somerby, Sarah E., test and h., 410 Eighth Avenue, New- York City. 
 
 Spear, J. M., San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Starr, N. B., artist, Port Huron, Mich. 
 
 Stevens, Mrs., h., Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 Southard, John, wr. and improvisational, Pontiac, Mich. 
 
 Steel, A., im. and clairvoyant, Green Garden, 111. 
 
 Stoddard, Miss Susan, tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Stoddart, Mrs., clairvoyant and test, 2108 Mt. Vernon Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Stowell, Mrs. H. A., im., Green Garden, 111. 
 
 Stewart, W., writing and personating, Prophetstown, Mo. 
 
 Stephenson, Mrs. C. B., seeing and tr., Farmer's Creek, Mo. 
 
 Stephens, E. H., healing and sp., Lettsville, Io. 
 
 Stephens, Miss Sarah, insp., wr., Batavia, N.Y. 
 
 Stephens, Mrs. P. W., test, Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 Sullivan, Charles W., see. and sing., tr., cl., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Sumner, Miss P. J., test, M'ConncIlsville, O. 
 
 Thurston, Mrs., speaking, Convis Belleview, Mich. 
 
 Til ton, William, seer, Le Roy, N.Y. 
 
 Todd, S. H., healing, Delton, Wis. 
 
 Trego, Emily, tr., test, 657 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Tomkins, Miss Nettie, musical, Byron, N.Y. 
 
 Underbill, J. H., h. and personating, Boston, N.Y. 
 
 Underhill, Phoebe L., insp. and wr., Boston, N.Y. 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRIT CALTSM. 237 
 
 Van Namee, J. Wm., clairvoyant. 420 Fourth Avenue, New York. 
 Vail, Mrs. Win., tost, Cohasset, Mass. 
 
 Vanciele. Mrs. Mary, ph., , Delaware County, O. 
 
 Wakefield, Wm., h., Eden Prairie, Minn. 
 
 Waterman, Mrs. S. A., psychometrist and test. 
 
 Walcott, Mr., artist and clairvoyant. Columbus, O. 
 
 Waldo, Ellon, insp. and mil, Alexandria, N.Y. 
 
 Walker, Mis. L., developing medium, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Waukinhaw, Mrs., insp., Batavia, N.Y. 
 
 Webster, Mis. Sarah, test, Keokuk, Io. 
 
 Webster, Dr. D., h., Keokuk, Io. 
 
 Weeks, Newman, wr. and sp., Rutland, Vt. 
 
 Webb, Mrs. Jennie Lord, ph. and musical, Boston, Mass. 
 
 West, Peter, clairvoyant, test, 189 Clark Street, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Wetherbee, Mrs. Lizzie, clairvoyant and h., Boston, Mass. 
 
 White, Mrs., test, 1207 Wood Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 White, Mrs. S., wr. and seeing, Saugatnck, Mich. 
 
 Wilder, Mrs. A. A., cl. and h., 631 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Wilson, Mrs. Hattie E. (colored), tr., med., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Wiggins, Mrs. Amanda D., trance and clairvoyant, Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Wolcott, A., h., magnetic physician, Keokuk, Io. 
 
 Worcester, Mrs. Lizzie, unconscious tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Worcester, Mrs. S., tr., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Woodward, Annetta, sp. and clairvoyant, Lettsville, Io. 
 
 Woodard, Mrs. Sylvina L., cl. and clairaudient, Fruitland, Deer Plain, 111. 
 
 Wykoff, Miss, tr.," test, 253 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 Xavier, Mrs., te?t, Winter Street, below 4th, Philadelphia, Penn. 
 
 York, Dr. C. C, h. and test, Charlestown, Mass. 
 
 SPIRIT-ARTISTS. 
 
 W. P. Anderson, 204 East 46th Street, N.Y. 
 
 N. B. Starr, Port Huron, Mich. 
 
 M. Milcson, 658 Broadway, New- York City. 
 
 Mrs. E. A. Blair, 166 Bridge Street, Salem, Mass. 
 
 A. D. Willis, Crawfordsville, Ind. 
 
 Mrs.. J. M. Peebles, Hammonton, N.J. 
 
 Mrs. Catherine Berry, Hyde Park Hotel, London, Eng. 
 
 Miss Georgiana Houghton, 20 Delamere Crescent, Westbourne Square, London, 
 
 Eng. 
 Mrs. Plunkett, London, Eng. 
 H. F. Rippon, Ryde, Isle of Wight. 
 David Duquid, Glasgow, Scotland. 
 
 Paints in oil, in trance, eyes shut and bandaged, in full light or total darkness. 
 The presence of believers or skeptics in no wise affects these remarkable pictures. 
 
 JOURNALS DEVOTED TO SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 1. Banner of Light. Weekly. Boston, Mass. 
 
 2. American Spiritualist. Fortnightly. Cleveland, O. 
 
 3. Present Age. Weekly. Chicago, 111. 
 
 4. Religio-Philosophical Journal. Weekly. Chicago, 111. 
 
238 YEAR-BOOK OF SPIEITUALISM. 
 
 5. The New Life. Weekly. Baltimore, Md. 
 
 6. The Spiritual Helper. Monthly. Lake Mills, Wis. 
 
 7. The Tafelrunde (Round Table), (German). Fortnightly. Edited by P. J. 
 
 Shackling, M.D. Washington, D.C. 
 
 8. Human Nature. Monthly. J. Burns, 15 Southampton Row, London. 
 
 9. The Spiritual Magazine. Monthly. Wilkinson and Shorter, Editors. 
 
 J. Burns, 15 Southampton Row, Publisher. 
 
 10. The Medium and Daybreak. Weekly. J. Burns, Editor and Proprietor, 
 
 15 Southampton Row. 
 
 11. The Spiritualist. Semi-Monthly. W. H. Harrison, Editor. E. W. Allen, 
 
 Publisher, Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's Churchyard, E.C., London. 
 
 12. Revue Spirite. Published by the Allan-Kardec Society. Paris, Rue de Lille. 
 
 13. Revue Spiritualiste. M. Pierart, Joinville le Pont, 2, Paris,. 
 
 14. Le Magnetiseur Universel. Once or more monthly. Paris, 15 Rue J. J. 
 
 Rousseau. 
 
 15. Spiritisme a Lyon. Fortnightly. Lyons, Cours Lafayette. 
 
 16. La Ve'rite. Lyons, 48 Rue de la Charite. 
 
 17. Le Magnetisuer. Monthly. Geneva, 9 Rue de Mont Blanc. 
 
 1 8. L'Union Spirite. Bordeaux, 57 Cowes de Acquitaine. 
 
 19. Licht des Jenseits." Monthly. Vienna, 7 Singerstrasse. ■ 
 
 20. Psyche. P. H. Hoffner. Grossen, Hayne, Saxony. 
 
 21. Le Salut. Semi-Monthly. Bologna, 1748 via Venezia. 
 
 22. Anuali dello Spiritism. Monthly. Turin, 2 via S. Dominico. 
 
 23. L'Epoca Nicova. Turin, via Nuova. 
 
 24. La Voce de Dio. Monthly. ' Signor G. Modica, Scordi, Sicily. 
 
 25. El Criterio Espiritista. Madrid, Calle del Vico Santa Maria, 25. 
 
 26. El Spiritism. Semi-Monthly. Seville, Calle de Jcnova, 54. 
 
 27. Revista Espiritista. Barcelona, Calle de Basea, 30. 
 
 28. . The Aurora. Florence, Italy. Monthly. Edited and Published by Sig. 
 
 Parisi. i 
 
 29. The Glowworm. Monthly. Edited and published by N. S. Naylor, Melbourne, 
 
 Australia. 
 
 It is reported that there are upwards of twenty spirit-mediums in Melbourne, 
 Australia ; many of whom belong to the upper ranks of society, including the 
 legislature. 
 
 CATALOGUE OF WORKS ON SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 PRICE. POSTAGE. 
 
 Approaching Crisis. By A. J. Davis $1.00 $0.16 
 
 A Revelation of Departed Spirits among the Shakers 25 .04 
 
 Arcana of Nature. Vol. I. History and Laws of Creation. By 
 
 Hudson Tuttle ' 1.25 .16 
 
 Arcana of Nature. Vol. II. Philosophy of Spiritual Existence 
 
 and the Spirit -World 1.25 .16 
 
 Arcana of Spiritualism. By Hudson Tuttle 2.00 .20 
 
 Artificial Somnambulism. By Dr. Fahnestock 1.50 .20 
 
 A Review of Dod's Involuntary Theory. By VV. S. Courtney ... .50 .04 
 Answers to Charges of Belief in Modern Revelations. By Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. A. E. Newton 10 .02 
 
 Brittan's and Richmond's Discussion. 400 pp. 8vo. 2.50 .28 
 
 Brittan's Review of Beechcr's Report 75 .08 
 
 Death and the After-Life. By A. J. Davis 75 .12 
 
 Dealings with the Dead. P.B.Randolph 75 12 
 
 Dialogues and Recitations for Children's Progressive Lyceums. 
 
 Mrs. Louisa Shepard 50 .08 
 
 Disembodied Man. By P. B. Randolph 1.50 .24 
 
YEAR-BOOK OF SPIRITUALISM. 239 
 
 PRICE. POSTAGE. 
 
 Evidences of Modern Spiritualism. Being a Debate held at De- 
 catur, Mich., between A. B. Whiting and Rev. Joseph Jones. $0.40 $0.06 
 Familiar Spirits and Spiritual Manifestations. By Dr. Enoch Pond, .20 .04 
 Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World. By R. D. Owen, 1.75 .24 
 
 Gist of Spiritualism. By Warren Chase 50 .04 
 
 Instructive Communication from Spirit-Life. Mrs. S. E. Park .. 1,25 .16 
 
 Intuition. Mrs. F. Kingman. 250 pp. 24mo 1.25 .16 
 
 Is it the Despair of Science 7 By W. D. Gunning 15 .02 
 
 How and Why I became a Spiritualist. By Wash. A. Danskin . .75 .12 
 
 Light from the Spirit -World. By Rev. Charles Hammond 1.25 .12 
 
 Ministry of Angels realized. Bv A. E. Newton 25 .02 
 
 Miracles ; Past and Present. Bv Wm. Mountford 2.00 .24 
 
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 My Experience ; or, Footprints of a Presbyterian to Spiritualism. 
 
 By Francis H. Smith 60 .10 
 
 Modern American Spiritualism. By Emma Hardinge 3.75 .50 
 
 Morsels of the Bread of Life ; Inspirational ly given through D. S. 
 
 Cadwallader. 24 pp 
 
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 of Dr. John C. Grinned .' 50 .04 
 
 Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse. By A. J. Davis 1.00 .16 
 
 Penetralia. By A. J. Davis 1.75 .24 
 
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 THE FOUNTAIN; with Jets of New Meanings. Illustrated with 142 engravings. 
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 Published by William White & Co., 158 Washington St,, Boston. 
 
WORKS OP HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 ARCANA OF NATURE. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 The History and Laws of Creation. 
 
 BY HUDSON TUTTLE. . 
 
 " This work professes to explain the fundamental laws of the creation. Among "the 
 books that claim a similar origin (Spiritual), it is certainly one of the most remarkable we 
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 PRICE $1.25. POSTAGE, 16 CENTS. 
 
 ARCANA OF NATURE. 
 
 VOLUME II. 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF 
 
 SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE AND THE SPIRIT-WORLD. 
 
 BY HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
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 phy of the first into a deeper and more mysterious domain. . . . The spirits stoop to 
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 For sale by WILLIAM WHITE & GO., Boston, Mass. 
 
" The Kingdom of Heaven is Within you,' 9 
 
 Poems fro 
 
 BY MISS LIZZIE DOTEK 
 
 ** I have realized, that, in the mysterious depths of the inner life, all souls can hold com* 
 munion with those invisible beings who are our companions both in time and eternity." 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Part I. — A Word to the World; Prefatory. The Prayer of the Sorrowing. The Song 
 of Truth. The Embarkation. Kepler's Vision. Love and Latin. The Song of the 
 North. The Burial of Webster. The Parting of Sigurd and Gerda. The Meeting of 
 Sigurd and Gerda. 
 
 Part II. — The Spirit-Child; by "Jennie." The Revelation. Hope for the Sorrowing. 
 Compensation. The Eagle of Freedom. Mistress Glenare; by Marian. Little Johnny. 
 " Birdie's" Spirit-Song. My Spirit-Home; A.W. Sprague. I Still Live; A.W. Sprague. 
 Life; Shakspeare. Love; Shakspcare. For a' That; Burns. Words o' Cheer; Burns. 
 Resurrexi; Toe. The Prophecy of Vala; Poe. The Kingdom; Poe. The Cradle or 
 Coffin; Poe. The Streets of Baltimore; Poe. The Mysteries of Godliness; a Lecture. 
 Farewell to Earth ; Poe. 
 
 Seven editions of this splendid collection of Miss Doten's Poems have been rapidly ex- 
 hausted. While their literary merit is universally acknowledged by competent critics, there 
 is a delicate spiritual sense pervading them all, that brings to the reader a breath of that 
 inner life from which they come. As intrinsic evidence of the truth of Spiritual communion, 
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 of publication is in harmony with the contents of the book ; and both render it particularly 
 appropriate for a gift-book. 
 
 Cloth, plain, $1.25 : postage 16 cents. Cloth, full gilt, $2.00 ; postage free. 
 «♦* 
 
 sxxss Ri^zna aons's 
 
 MY AFFENBTY, AND OTHER STORSES. 
 
 COMPRISING 
 Madame Bonnifleur and her Roses. Women and Wisdom. The Faith of Hasupha. The 
 Bachelor's Defeat. The Great Carbuncle. Marrying for Money. The Prophet and the 
 Pilgrims. Mr. Silverbury's Experience. Geraidine. Dr. Purdie's Patient. The Sun- 
 shine of Love. The Elfin Spring. 
 
 [Price $1.50. Postage 20 cents. 
 
 " The leading story of this very interesting collection of tales and sketches is an amusing 
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 with them, without whom there would be an ' incompleteness.' and with whom can only 
 come the ' indissoluble,' that shall last ' throughout the ages of eternity.' " — Portland Press. 
 
 "There are noble thoughts and inspirations running through the whole of these tales; 
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 soul's attributes." — Haverhill Publisher. 
 
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 .AJSTID OTEBB POEM& 
 
 BY ACHSA W. SPRAGUE. 
 
 This beautiful collection of poems will be prized by thousands as a memento of one of 
 the purest women, and most highly-appreciated mediums, whose inspirations have served 
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 are philanthropic and reformatory, abounding in bold imagery, and breathing a spirit as free 
 as the winds that sweep her native hills. 
 
 Price $1.50. Postage 20 cents. 
 
" W03K3 OF PECULIAR AND INTENSE INTEREST." 
 
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 a 
 
This Jiook'has wnrm friends and bitter enemies. 
 
 U 
 
 THE VOICES." 
 
 BY 
 
 WARREN SUMNER BARLOW. 
 
 Third Thousand. On Tinted Paper. With Steel-Plate Likeness of the Author. 
 
 THE VOICE OF NATURE is founded 00 the idea of 
 
 " Oik: (1o<1. witli one revokcless plan, 
 Embracing every world and man; 
 That man should learn to comprehend 
 That all to good results doth tend." 
 
 THE VOICE OF A PEBBLE. Aims to teach the individuality of matter and mind, 
 fraternal charity, and love. 
 
 THE VOICE OF SUPERSTITION. IVesents the conflict that many suppose exists 
 hetween their Maker and an imaginary evil being. 
 
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 shoulders of Warren Sumner Parlow." 
 
 J' A live book."— William 11. llurleigh. 
 
 " The author ban a rational philosophy of the relation of matter and mind; and his 
 theology is atonqe natural and charitable/' — Newark Courier 
 
 Judge Barkkr nays, "Viewed as a didactic work, it would unquestionably cause the 
 author to be classed among the ablest and most gifted didactic poets of the age." 
 
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 Voltaire." — Washington Sunday 'Morning Gazette. 
 
 " ' The Voice of Nature ' and ' The Voice of a Pebble ' are the outspoken thoughts of a 
 mind deeply symi)athetic with the world of man, and realm of causation." Am. Spirit- 
 
 uaUtt . 
 
 " We challenge any man or woman of literary taste to take up the book and read a few 
 pages without feeling an irrepressible desire to finish it." — Spiritual /(antrum. 
 
 " Whoever peruses the different ' Voieus.' beginning with 'The Voice of Nature,' in 
 
 which reason and philosophy set aside the ignorance which goes hand in hand with super- 
 stition, and follows the author faithfully through 'The Voice of Kuperstition,' in which be 
 shown so clearly the absurdity of the common Conception of <Jod, and the myth that the 
 
 Creator of the world uses it for a mere battle-ground with an enemy be can not successfully 
 
 overthrow, will have to admit that the tank proponed Inns been skillfully done, and with 
 
 genuine power; and the further fact, that he has hit the mark in the very center." — Banner 
 of Light. 
 
 " It Ih a literary jewel, a garland of fresh thoughts, woven by the master-hand of a poet. 
 Bach leaf is a literary treasure, ft is all meat: there is no shell tO crack, no circumlocutory 
 verbosity to wade through in order to come to an oasis of real truth. The author's Ideas are 
 pointed, Clear, and Concise J his narrative is beautiful, musical, and bubbling over wit h the 
 emotions of a soul that is inspired from the central source of truth." — ReltgiO' Philosophical 
 Journal. 
 
 PRICE $1.25. POSTAGE 16 CENTS. 
 
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Third Edition, Price $1.30. Postage 20 cents. 
 
 THE FUTURE LIFE, 
 
 AS DESCRIBED AND PORTRAYED BY SPIRITS 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 MRS. ELIZABETH SWEET. 
 
 INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 JUDGE J. W. EDMONDS. 
 
 CONTESTS. — The Holy City; Spiritual Message; The Spirit-Echo; Powers and Responsi- 
 bilities of Mind ; Communication from a Spirit ; Spirit-Life ; A Picture of the Future ; Mar- 
 garet Fuller; Reasonable Words ; Interview with Pollok; New Desires; John C. Cal- 
 houn; Interview with Webster; A Second Visit; Another Interview; Reformation; The 
 Path of Progression; Valley of the Shadow of Death; A Mirror; The Book of Life; 
 A Beautiful Lesson ; Retrospection; The Mechanic; The Preacher; Reception of Spirit- 
 ualism; The Drunkard; The Organ-Boy; The Man of Ease and Fashion; The Self- 
 Satisfied; Natural Development of the Soul; Voltaire andWolsey; The Cynic; The 
 Second Birth ; The Slave; The Queen ; A Scene in Spirit-Land ; The Miser; Spiritual 
 Influence; The New City; The Erring One; The Idler; The Beggar; Insignificance of 
 Man; Capabilities of the Soul; The Skeptic; Realities of Spirit-Life : The Convict; The 
 Soul's Aspiration; The Dying Girl; The Inner Temple; The Foolish Mother, The 
 Disobedient Son; Cardinal Richelieu; Practical Nature of Spirit-Life; Glimpse of a 
 Higher Life; Communication; A Word from Voltaire ; Home of Unhappy Spirits ; Ex- 
 perience of Voltaire; Appendix. 
 
 Of this volume. Judge Edmonds says, " I can vouch for the genuineness of these com- 
 munications. They are no fabrications for a sinister purpose, no contrivances to deceive 
 or mislead; but they are, to my knowledge, teachings given through her (Mrs. Sweet) at the 
 times they purport to have been sriven. ' To reveal to us what is the nature and condition 
 of the life into which we pass after death,' these communications directly tend; and, to the 
 reflecting mind, they furnish a mass of evidence on that topic of infinite value." 
 
 " It is calculated to throw much light from the higher life upon our mortal darkness; 
 and by it the clouds of error and doubt must be dispelled, and the realities of the world of 
 spirits must impress themselves deeply upon the reader." — Present Age. 
 
 " Interesting and useful." — Spiritual Rostrum. 
 
 % 
 
 " To the believer in Spirit-communion, this book will afford a fund of interesting reading ; 
 while to the unbeliever, who peruses its pages to learn ' what says the spirit,' the pure and 
 exalted sentiments with which the revelations are clothed can hardly fail to give a pleasing 
 and attractive interest." — Haverhill Publisher. 
 
 " Those who believe in modern Spiritualism, and its multifarious developments, will find 
 thi* volume an agreeable companion when they feel tired of this hard prosy life and its ever- 
 increasing cares." — Boston Traveller. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE & CO., 
 
 "BANNER OF LIGHT" BOOKSTORE, 
 158 Washington Street, Boston, Mass, 
 
.The Wobzs oie 1 J". IML Peebles. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Just Published. 
 
 ■5^1 )M r j^l "'■>>. 
 
 im 
 
 ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, AND MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 .A. Book of GJ-reat Besearch. 
 
 This volume, of nearly four hundred 8vo pages, traces the phenomena of Spirituaiism 
 through India, Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, Persia, Greece, Rome, down to Christ's time. 
 
 Treating of the Mythic Jesus, 
 " " " Churchal Jesus, 
 
 " " " Natural Jesus. 
 
 How Begotten ? Where was he from twelve to thirty ? Was he an JEssenian ? 
 
 MEDOEVAE SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Gymnosophists, Hierophants, Magicians, Prophets, Apostles, Seers, Sibyls, &c. ; Spirit- 
 ual Mediums, their Persecutions by the Christian Church, and frequent Martyrdom. 
 
 MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 The "Wave commencing in Rochester; its Present Altitude; Admissions from the Press 
 in its favor ; Testimonies of the Poets ; Testimonies of its Truth from the Clergy, — Beecher, 
 Chapin, Hepworth, &c. 
 
 ITS DOCTRINES SYSTEMATIZED. 
 
 What Spiritualists believe concerning 
 
 Cod, Jesus Christ, The Holy Ghost, 
 Baptism, Faith, Repentance, 
 
 Inspiration, Heaven, Hell, Evil Spirits, 
 
 Judgment, Punishment, Salvation, 
 
 Progression, T.ie Spirit-World, The Nature of Love. 
 
 THE GENIUS, TENDENCY, AND DESTINY OF THE SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT. 
 
 Dedicated to AARON" NITE, a Spirit, with Horoscope by Rev. J. O. Barrett. 
 Bound in beveled boards. Price $2.00. Postage 24 cts. 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE & CO., Publishers. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HARP. 
 
 THE NEW MUSIC-BOOK FOR THE 
 
 Choir, Congregation, and Social Circle. 
 
 By J. M. PEEBLES and J. 0. BARRETT. 
 E. H. BAILEY, - - - Musical Editor. 
 
 Fourth Edition. 
 
 This work has been prepared for the press at great expense and much mental labor, in 
 order to meet the wants of Spiritualist societies in every portion of the country. It needs 
 only to be examined to merit commendation. 
 
 The growing interests of Spiritualism demanded an original singing-book. Everywhere 
 the call was loud and earnest. The authors have endeavored to meet this demand in the 
 beautiful gift of the Spiritual Harp. 
 
 Culled from a wide field of literature with the most critical care, free from all theological 
 taint, throbbing with the soul of inspiration, embodying the principles and virtues of the 
 Spiritual philosophy, set to the most cheerful and popular music, it is, doubtless, the most 
 attractive work of the kind ever published. 
 
 The Harp contains music for all occasions, particularly for the social relations of life, 
 both religious and domestic. Its beautiful songs, duets, and quartets, with piano, organ, 
 or melodeon accompaniment, if purchased in sheet-form, would cost many times the price of 
 the book. These are very choice, sweet, and aspiring. Among them may be mentioned 
 '•Sparkling Waters," '-Dreaming To-night," "Nothing but Water to Drink," "Heart- 
 Song," " The Heart and the Hearth," Make Home Pleasant," " Sail On," " Angel Watcher's 
 Serenade," "The Song that I Love," " Maternity," "Translation," "Build Him a Monu- 
 ment." "Where the Roses ne'er shall Wither," "Gentle Spirits," " I Stand on Memory's 
 Golden Shore," &c. The Harp, therefore, will be sought by every family of liberal thought, 
 irrespective of religious association, as a choice compilation of original and eclectic songs for 
 the social circle. 
 
 Although not specially prepared for the Lyceum, yet its musical claims have been heart- 
 ily supplied with a rich variety of music appropriate for children. Let its heavenly harmo- 
 nies be sung in all our Lyceums throughout the country ! 
 
 The authors have also arranged an all-singing system for the congregation. Hence 
 every Spiritual family, every speaker, medium, and friend of Spiritualism, should have the 
 Harp, not only for the home-circle, but for public meetings, that all may partake together of 
 the feast of soul. It becomes the more needful because of the " Silver Chain Recitations," 
 introduced in an improved form, under the title of •' Spirit-Echoes," containing statements 
 of principles uttered by the wise and good of different ages, arranged in classified order, with 
 choruses and chants interspersed; thus blending music with reading in most inspiring effect 
 upon speaker and congregation. 
 
 Over one-third of its poetry, and three-quarters of its music, are original. Some of Amer- 
 ica's most gifted and popular musicians have written expressly for it. 
 
 Price $3.00. - Postage 20 cents. 
 
 An Abridged Edition, just published. Price $1.00. Postage 12 cents. 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE & CO., Publishers. 
 
JESUS; 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 POPULAR THEOLOGY AND THE POSITIVE RELIGION CONTRASTED. 
 
 By «J. 3X. PEEBLES, 
 
 Author of " SEERS OF THE AGES," &c, &c. 
 
 Given as a Supplement to the Purchasers of " Human Nature " for June, at Is. ; post free, 
 
 Is. 2d. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. — Evidences of the Existence of Jesus. 
 
 Pompeii and Herculaneum. — The Nucerenians. — Jesus Christ caricatured. — The Scrawl; 
 How and Where found. — Testimonies of Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, and Others. — Celsus, 
 the Epicurean Philosopher. — Opinions of Valentinus, Basilides, Marcion, and Porphyry, 
 the Old Man of Tyre. — Writings of Julian and Ravat el Saffa concerning Jesus. — Original 
 Documents. — Taylor's Diegesis not authoritative. — Josephus' Paragraph relative to 
 Jesus: is it Genuine? — His Mention of John the Baptist. — The Testimony of Aaron 
 Knight, a Spirit, and A. J. Davis, the Clairvoyant, in Proof of Jesus' Existence. — The 
 Summing-up of Statements. v 
 
 Chapter II. — The Origin and Mission of Jesds. 
 
 What Appellations are applied to him in the Scriptures. — The Athanasian Creed. — Chris- 
 tian Spiritualism through the " Raps." — Swedenborg and the Council of Nice. — Jesus 
 demanding " Belief" as a Condition for Healing. — His Essenian Education. — His Clair- 
 voyance, and Marvelous " Works " promised to Others. — His Beautiful Faith and Trust 
 in "the Infinite Presence. — His Final Victory. 
 
 Chapter HI, — The Morae Teachings of Jesds Compared with the Oed Phi- 
 losophers . 
 
 Paul Jewish to the Last. — Quotation from William Howitt in "The Spiritual Magazine " 
 criticised. — Tertullian rejoicing over the Prospect of Eternal Torments. — Character of the 
 Christian Fathers. — The Vedas and Immortality. — The Old Testament and a Future Exist- 
 ence. — Max Miiller and the Primitive Religions. — Zoroaster, Thales, Socrates, Pythagoras, 
 and the Druids' Teachings of the Future Life. — Slandering the Heathen. — Christian Spir- 
 itualists. — William Howitt vs. Godfrey Higgins. — The Old-Testament Writers do not 
 prophesy of Jesus Christ. — Reasons for Krishna's Incarnation. — The Immoralities of the 
 Old-Testament Scriptures. — Jehovah aMediative Angel. — The Bible; Different Versions; 
 Revision of. — Councils. — Conduct of the Bishops. — Scientists generally Infidels. — The 
 Inspirations and Truths of the Bible Immortal. 
 
 Chapter IV. — Influence of Christianity. 
 
 The First Followers of Jesus. — Immoralities of the Corinthian Christians. — Christianity 
 Nationalized under Constantine. — His Murderous Deeds. — Destruction of Pagan Temples 
 by Christians. — Their Persecutions justified by Caivin, Beza, John Knox, &c — The 
 Christian Crusades. — The Inquisition. — Witches ; why hung ?— Spanish Christians and 
 the Indian Races. — Baboo K. C. Sen's Estimate cf Christian Dogmas. — The Natural Reli- 
 gion of African Natives. — Criticisms of "The Spiritual Magazine." — What is meant by 
 Christian Spiritualism. — Christianity a Failure. —William Howitt and Christian Spiritual- 
 ists.— The Conductof ChristianNations.— Is it related to the Life and Teachings of Jesus ? 
 
 Chapter V. — Jesus and the Positive Religion. 
 
 His Seership. — True Worship, Creeds, and Outward Forms. — The American Shakers. — 
 Jesus' Superiority over Others.— The Identity of the Positive Religion and Spiritualism. — 
 Not Doctrine, but Life, not Faith, but Works, that Save. — Tendency towards a Fuller 
 Fellowship of Progressive Minds. — John's Love-Nature. — The Present Mission of Jesus. 
 — The Coming Millennium. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY J. BURNS, LONDON. 
 
 For sale by WILLIAM WHITE & CO., 
 
 158 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, 
 
 PRICE SO CENTS. 
 
WORKS OP HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 The Origin and Antiquity of Physical Man, 
 
 SCIENTIFICALLY CONSIDEEED. 
 
 Proving man to have been contemporary with the Mastodon ; 
 detailing the history of his development, and dispersion, by 
 great waves of emigration, from Central Asia. 
 
 BY HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 M He has read widely, writes clearly, and reasons well." — Boston Post. 
 
 " The writer has a touch of that high imaginative reason which is most needed in 
 science, —a quality of mind which we hope and believe is one day to be especially character- 
 istic of America." — Ex. 
 
 u With ' one fell swoop' it carries away the Mosaic creation, and the darling dogma of 
 man's primitive perfection, proving the Adams ot early times to have been brutal savages. 
 What, then, becomes of 7iia»'a fall, his redemption, and all of that? Why, they are rudely 
 thrust into mythology. . . . Well for the author that he lived not a century in the past." — 
 Eeligio • Philosophical Journal. 
 
 PRICE $1.50. POSTAGE »0 CENTS. 
 
 GAZELLE: 
 
 A TALE OF THE GEEAT EEBELLIOK 
 
 BY EMMA TUTTLE, 
 
 Author of " The Unseen City;" " My Lost Darling? &*c. 
 
 u The genius of Emma Tuttle is essentially lyrical. Her poetry of itself is music." 
 Price : Muslin, gilt\op, $1.25; full gilt, $2.00. Postage 16 cents. 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE & 00., Publishers, 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 [PREPARING.] 
 
 STORIES IN PROSE AND VERSE. 
 
 Especially designed for the children of Spiritualists and Liberalise. 
 BY HUBSON AND EMMA TUTTXE. 
 
THE QUESTION SETTialSBa 
 
 A CAREFUL COMPARISON OP 
 
 Biblical and Modern Spiritualism. 
 
 BY REV. MOSES HULL, 
 
 Formerly a Noted Second-Advent Minister. 
 
 This concise and masterly work considers " The Adaptation of Spiritualism to the "Wants 
 of Humanity," " The Moral Tendency of Spiritualism," " Bible Doctrine of Angel Minis- 
 try," " The Three Pillars of Spiritualism," " The Birth of the Spirit," " Are we Infidels ?" 
 " Are we Deluded ? " " Objections Answered." 
 
 A Book of '235 pages. Beautifully printed. Cloth. Beveled boards. Price $1.50. 
 
 Postage 20 cents. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 " The volume before us is not only a great accession to the literature of Spiritualism, hut 
 will prove a text-book for all who desire to know what the Bible says about it."— Lyceum 
 Banner. 
 
 '* We commend the book as a pioneer-worker where the Bible is considered the ' rule 
 of faith and practice,' unimpeached and unimpeachable, and Spiritualism the last scheme of 
 the Devil." — Universe. 
 
 "The appearance of this volume does credit to its publishers. . . . The author takes the 
 Bible as it is, and makes good use of it. The book will be valued by that class who rely on 
 "biblical evidence, and is a magazine from which an army can be supplied with keenest 
 weapons of that character." — American Spiritualist. 
 
 • " The book is one which will be read with much interest by and is well worth the atten- 
 tion of students of the literature of modern Spiritualism." — AniisLivery Standard. 
 
 " The author has made his examination very thorough, and produced a great number of 
 texts to prove the identity of ancient or biblical and modern Spiritualism. He evidences a 
 close attention to the Bible, which was to have been expected, as he was formerly one of the 
 accepted ministers of the Advent failh. There is a sincerity pervading the discussion, which 
 is pleasing." — Providence Evening Press. 
 
 " Those who desire to post themselves in order to successfully meet the Orthodox oppo- 
 nents of Spiritualism on their own platform should consult this work; for they will find 
 therein all the information they desire." — li. P. Journal. 
 
 "The mechanical appearance of the volume is fine; and we know of no man better 
 qualified than is Moses Hull to elucidate the subject. ' The Question Settled ' ought to 
 be in the library of every Spiritualist." — Present Age. 
 
 THE BOOKS REJECTED BY THE COMPILERS OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 THE APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Being all the Gospels, Epistles, and other Pieces now extant, attributed, in the first four 
 centuries, to Jesus Christ, his Apostles, and their Companions, and not included 
 in the New Testament by its compilers. Translated, and now first collected into one 
 volume, with prefaces and tables, and various notes and references. 
 
 Of this volume the compiler says, "He who possesses this and the New Testament, 
 has, in the two volumes, a collection of all the historical records relative to Christ and his 
 apostles now in existence, and considered sacred by Christians during the first four cen- 
 turies after his birth." , 
 
 A beautiful reprint of the last London edition. Price $1.25; postage 16 cents. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 mL WHITE & CO., "Banner of Light" Bookstore, 
 
 158 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 
 
Seed- i houghts for Future Harvests, 
 
 IN THE WORKS OF 
 
 H. C. WRIGHT AND WARREN CHASE. 
 
 These books are eminently worthy of the large circulation 
 which they have attained. Their authors are widely known 
 as radical thinkers and humanitarians ; and the ennobling and 
 reformatory ideas presented are expressed with great plain- 
 ness and vigor, pervaded by the deepest sympathy, and interest 
 for human improvement. They are books to be circulated by 
 reformers, and should be read by all persons who are interested 
 in the practical improvement of the race. 
 
 WORKS OF HENRY C. WRIGHT. 
 
 A KISS FOR A BLOW. A new edition, on fine tinted paper. Small edition, 63 cents, 
 
 postage 8 cents ; large edition 1 , SI. 50. postage 12 cents. Pronounced by Wendell Phillips 
 
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 EMPIRE OP THE MOTHER OVER THE CHARACTER AND DES- 
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 ERRORS OP THE BIBLE, Demonstrated by the Truths of Nature; or, Man's only 
 
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 THE LIVING PRESENT AND HEAD PAST; or, God made Manifest and Useful 
 
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 UNWELCOME CHILD; or, The crime of an Undesigned and Undesired Maternity. 
 
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 FUGITIVE WIPE. Paper 35 cents, postage 4 cents; cloth 60 cents, postage 8 cents. 
 A Criticism on Marriage, Adultery, and Divorce. 
 
 GIST OP SPIRITUALISM. Being a Course of Five Lectures delivered in Washing- 
 ton. 50 cents, postage 4 cents. An excellent work for the perusal of thoughtful investi- 
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 LIFE-LINE OF THE TONE OXE; or. Autobiography of the World's Child. New 
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 PUBLISHED BY 
 
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WORKS OF HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 < ■»» — » 
 
 ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM 
 
 A. MANTJAJLi OF 
 
 SPIRITUAL SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 BY HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 When Alps dissolve, and worlds shall fade away, 
 When suns go out. and stars no longer blaze, ' 
 
 I scarcely shall have reached my primal day. 
 I, only I, can claim to be the real : 
 I am the type of Nature, — her Ideal. 
 
 Spirit. 
 The Soul is immortal. — Pythagoras. 
 
 Among the subjects thoroughly discussed in this volume are, — 
 
 The Evidences of Spiritualism, 
 
 The Relations of Spirit to Force, 
 
 Clairvoyance in all its Forms, 
 
 The Phases of Mediumship, 
 
 Sow Mediumship can be obtained, 
 
 Philosophy of Spirit- Existence, 
 
 The Teachings of Spiritualism, <0c, &c. 
 
 This last and greatest work of Hudson Tuttle should find its way into the hands of 
 every Spiritualist, and be eagerly perused by the opposer and skeptic. It embodies the 
 deepest researches and the inspiration of years of mediumship. The author's characteristic, 
 brief, and pointed style, so admirably adapted to condense facts and philosophy in the 
 smallest compass, has allowed him to compress in this an astonishing amount of informa- 
 tion ; and it is difficult to ask a question relative to Spiritualism that is not answered in its 
 pages. 
 
 CONTAINING A FINE PHOTOGRAPH OF HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 Price $2.00. Postage 20 cents. 
 
 ADAMS & CO., Publishers, 
 
 BOSTON, MA«S. 
 
WORKS OF HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GOD-IDEA IN HISTORY. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction. — The God-Idea of the Hindoos, of the Egyp- 
 tians, Chaldaeans, Persians, of the Jews, of the Arabians, 
 of the Greeks and Romans, of the Alexandrian School and 
 Early Christianity, of the Later Philosophers, of the Bible, 
 of the Chinese, Druids, Scandinavians, and Aztecs. — Con- 
 clusion. — Ultimate of the God-Idea. 
 
 Price $1.35. Postage 16 cents. 
 
 "A work of remarkable interest." — Philadelphia City News. 
 
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 there would be good reason to anticipate that the graduates of those institutions would be 
 more intelligent and more charitable than former ones." — A. E. Giles, in Banner of Light. 
 
 The Career of the Christ-Idea in History. 
 
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 to the world from the pen of the talented author, and must find its way into every well- 
 stocked library." — Lyceum Banner. 
 
 " The book presents the same remarkably neat, plain, and artistic style of execution 
 which characterized the former volume. . . . There are few lessons the world needs 
 more to learn than the plain, unvarnished truths 60 bravely uttered in this little volume; 
 and, if the demand should correspond with its intrinsic merit, it will be found upon the table 
 of every lover of truth." — Religio - Philosophical Journal. 
 
 " A vigorous impeachment of Christianity." — Boston Commonwealth. 
 
 "The typographical appearance of the book is excellent. The book itself is but the 
 natural result of free-thinking." — Ileal -Estate Journal. 
 
 " A mine of valuable information relative to the old moss-grown systems, he gives in a 
 very small space." — Am. Spiritualist. 
 
 " The above-mentioned works (The Career of the God and Christ Ideas) are mutually 
 supplementarv. and furnish a golden key to the problems of theology." — Die Tafelrunde 
 (The Hound Table). 
 
 price: $1.23. postage: is cents. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 ADAMS & CO., Boston, Mass. 
 
CAREER OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS. 
 
 THEIR ULTIMATE: THE RELIGION OF SCIENCE. 
 
 BY HUDSON TUTTLE. 
 
 " Historians of that which is, we cannot fail, except when we cease to relate the truth." 
 — Ettenne Geoffroy St. Hieaire. 
 
 "How beautiful this light! it seems to beckon earth to heaven." — Alexander Hum- 
 
 BOEDT. 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 io 
 
 ii 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 i'5 
 1 6 
 
 ' OOZsTTEHsTTS. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 What is Religion ? 
 
 Dawn of Religious Ideas. 
 
 Historical Review : Feticism. 
 
 Historical Review : Polytheism. 
 
 Historical Review : Monotheism. 
 
 Value of the Old and New Testaments as Authority. 
 
 . Influence of Sacred Books on Man's Moral Progress. 
 
 Progress of Morality dependent on Intellectual Growth. 
 
 First Great Theological Problem : The Origin of Evil. 
 
 Second Great Theological Problem : The Nature of God. 
 
 Third Great Theological Problem : The Future State. 
 
 Man's Fall, and the Christian Scheme for his Redemption. 
 
 Man's Position: Free- Will, Free-Agency, Fate, Neces- 
 sity, and Responsibility. 
 
 Man's Duties and Relations to God, his Fellows, and 
 Himself. 
 
 The Ultimate. 
 
 This work forms the third and closing volume of this remarkable series. The three 
 make a compendium of religious knowledge and information. There is a daring freedom 
 from conventionality, a precedent regard for the sacred and revered, approaching audacity; 
 yet he is self-poised, calm, and, when most presumptive, the farthest removed from the en- 
 thusiast. This volume is more radical, if possible, than the preceding, yet is marked by 
 the same close adhesion to history and reason, and the unflinching statement of deductions. 
 
 Price $1.25. Postage 16 cents. 
 
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 " The world will, perhaps, pronounce the philosophy of this book sentimental, and, in its 
 treatment of social evils that are made sacred by conventional neglect, see a threat of harm ; 
 but its views are sound nevertheless, and the truth will bear its weight. Dawn, the hero- 
 ine, is a woman with a mission, — a true, gentle, loving creature, led by the higher and purer 
 influences through severe experiences, but sowing seed of good, and strewing flowers, along 
 the way she goes, with an abandon of unselfishness. She presents in herself a model of spirit- 
 ual graces that ray her as the ancient painters portrayed their saints; and the world would 
 be better if it had more such teachers as she is represented to be." — Patriot, Barnstable, 
 Mass. 
 
 " This work bears the sharp, decisive impress of thoughts which strike out like pioneers 
 towards new social and religious platforms. As a part of a widespread movement of the 
 age in the investigation of mental phenomena, and the nature and powers of the human 
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 are clearly indifidualized; and its pages sparkle here and there with gems of wisdom." — 
 Chronicle, J'enn Yan, X. Y. 
 
 " Whoever the writer may be, either he or she has written a very interesting and spirit- 
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 touches the profoundest depths of the human heart, portraying with graceful pen the finer 
 and subtler sensibilities and passions. The book is moral and spiritual in tone, and should 
 command a wide circle of readers." — Northern Budget, Troy, N. Y. 
 
 " As a tale, this book possesses unusual interest from its characters and characteristics; 
 and it is not putting our estimate of it too high to say that it will gradually take rank very 
 near to that singular novel, ' Jane Eyre.' It is barely possible that the ideas of the gifted 
 author may, in some instances, be thought too radical, even to the verge of rashness, socially 
 considered ; but, as the reader becomes familiar with its positions and purposes, he will dis- 
 cover that it is all but in advocacy of that advance movement which forms the character- 
 istic of this active time." — Banner of Light, Boston. 
 
 " Whether by a new hand, or by an old hand writing anonymously, is more than we 
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 in this instance. The tale is cleverly planned, and as cleverly executed; and the tone of the 
 work is high, and well sustained." — Traveller, Boston. 
 
 H Truly a most thrilling and wonderful book. The plot is well laid, and the story in- 
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 " We consider this work one of the most readable publications of the present time." — 
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 " A novel novel, somewhat out of the usual character of such works." — Journal, Syra- 
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 25 BBOMFIELD STEEET, BOSTON. 
 
THE PSALMS OF LIFE. 
 
 A COMPSLATION 
 
 Of Psalms, Hymns, Anthems, Chants, &c, embodying the 
 
 Spiritual, Progressive, and Reformatory Sentiment 
 
 of the Present Age. 
 
 By JOHN" S. ADAMS. 
 
 Price : Paper, 50 cents. Boards, 65 cents. Cloth, 80 cents. 
 
 This work has been prepared with special reference to the large and increasing demand 
 for a volume expressing the sentiments and views of advanced minds of the present time, 
 and meeting the requirements of every species of reform. It is entirely free of sectarianism, 
 of all the theological dogmas of the past, and fully recognizes the presence and ministration 
 of spirits in every condition of life on earth. 
 
 " We can conceive of nothing so earnestly and so long wanted as an improvement in 
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 sprr "in.g up like bright llowcrs all around us, breathing out their inspirations of love and 
 charily ad good-will, the harsh, gloomy offsprings of ignorance a.:d superstition have still 
 held u:(li puted sway, until the very tunes to whose music our infant pulses beat time have 
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 mony of the present " — Banner of Light. 
 
 "The editor seems to have gone over the whole range of poetry, and exercised a fine 
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 it is sold." — Boston Transcript. 
 
 "It comprises much of the living poetry of the day, and such of the ancient as possesses 
 vitality; treating upon living subjects to operate upon the hearts of living men." — Evening 
 Gazette. 
 
 " We have never met with a more complete or beautiful collection of sacred melody." — 
 Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 " We have no hesitation in pronouncing it superior to any thing of the kind now pub- 
 lished." — Christian Spiritualist. 
 
 " The book evinces good taste, and a just appreciation of the wants of the community. 
 One glorious recommendation to it is, that it is entirely free from sectarianism." — Salem 
 Register. 
 
 " It is an offering to the progressive spirits of the day, and can not but be acceptable to 
 them, embodying as it does some of the finest strains of poetry in our language. For social 
 and reformatory gatherings, this book supplies a want long felt." — Cambridge Chronicle. 
 
 " I think there is in the book a greater proportion — no, T think I ought to say a greater 
 amount — of beautiful and truly spiritual poetry than in any other collection I have scon., 
 whatever the size of the volume." — Rev. John Pierpont. 
 
 This book contains five hundred and twenty-two choice Selections of Poetry, with suit- 
 able Music on each page from Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and other distinguished composers. 
 It combines the advantage of "Hymn" and ''Tune" Book; is prefaced with a Classifica- 
 tion of Subjects, and Complete Indexes of First Lines, Tunes, and Meters; and, being of 
 convenient size, is generally accepted as the Standard Music-Book of Spiritualism, Radical- 
 ism, and General Reform, alike desirable for the Lecture-Rooms and the Homes of the 
 people. 
 
 Mailed, post paid, on receipt of price. 
 
 ADAMS & CO., Publishers, 
 
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THE LYCEUM GUIDE: 
 
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 MARCHES AND CALISTHENICS. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
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 The whole designed for the use of 
 
 PROGRESSIVE SUNDAY LYCEUMS. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. M. PEEBLES, J. 0. BARRETT, AND EMMA TUTTLE. 
 
 The Musical Department by James G. Clark. 
 
 riltuS new book for Sunday Liyceums contains all the excellent features of previous 
 works, with such improvements as the practical experience of Lyceums during the past 
 six years has suggested. Its Appendix contains a large number of letters from conduct- 
 ors of Lyceums and friends of the Institution, illustrating its beneficial influence, and giving 
 much valuable information relating thereto. 
 
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FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF MODERN AMERICAN 
 
 PIBITUAIiIfUI. 
 
 -*•*- 
 
 A Twenty- Years' Record of the Astounding and Unprecedented 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 Earth, and the World of Spirits. 
 
 One Volume, Large Octavo, Six Hundred Pages. 
 
 Nineteen Superb Steel Engravings. 
 Autographs of Spirits, 
 
 Diagram of the Spheres, Executed by Spirits. 
 
 Wood-Cuts and Lithographic Plates. 
 
 The whole splendidly printed, on tinted paper, with extra fine binding. 
 •» Price S3. 75. Postage 50 cents. 
 
 The Portraits include admirable likenesses of 
 
 CORA L. B. SCOTT, 
 THE AUTHOR, 
 KATE FOX, 
 PROF. HARE, 
 JUDGE EDMONDS, 
 
 MRS. METETER, 
 DR. NEWTON, 
 CHAS. PARTRIDGE, 
 PROF. MAPES, 
 PROF. BRITTAN, 
 
 And many of the most distinguised Pioneers of the Spiritual movement. 
 
 The materials for this wonderful work have been collected by the author during ten 
 years' travel through thirty-two States, and are drawn from rare MSS., Pamphlets, Journals, 
 and works now out of print, and inaccessible to any other compiler. 
 
 The facts have been sifted and verified with the most scrupulous care ; accounts of new, 
 rare, and occult phenomena, are recorded for the first time in print; and no pains, skill, 
 or research, has been spared to make this book an Encyclopedia of Spiritualism, and a 
 Standard "Work of Reference for the present and all future generations. 
 
 Hundreds of notices from the secular press testify that this is the most " wonderful and 
 startling book of the age," and forms " the most valuable contribution to Spiritual as well as 
 historical literature that the nineteenth century has presented." 
 
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 and bookstores. 
 
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 J. M. PEEBLES, ESQ,, AND A. A. WHEELOCK, ESQ., 
 
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 REPORTS OF SPIRITUAL, LECTURES.- By able Trance and Normal Speakers. 
 ORIGINAL ESSAYS upon Spiritual, Philosophical, and Scientific subjects. 
 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. — Subjects of General Interest; the Spiritual Philoso- 
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 MESSAGE DEPARTMENT. — A page of Spirit-Messages from the departed to their 
 friends in earth-life, given through the mediumshipof Mrs. J.H. Conant; proving direct 
 spirit-intercourse between the Mundane and Super-Mundane Worlds. 
 
 All which features render this journal a popular Family Paper, and at the same time 
 the harbinger of a glorious scientific religion. 
 
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 44 
 
 \eliqio=ffiiloHO^hical ^jjonrmU' 
 
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 The above-named weekly Newspaper is now widely known as the special advocate of 
 
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'tt&mi 
 
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THE PROGRESSIVE LIBRARY 
 
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 SPIRITUALIST DEPOSITORY 
 
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 SPIRITUALISM IS LIBERALLY AND IMPARTIALLY INVESTIGATED IN 
 
 HUMJLBJ NATURE: 
 
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 "JP^ Jfiedimq nn& §jit}ibrenk t " 
 
 A WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO THE 
 
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 OP 
 
 SPIRITUALISM. 
 
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