«HMMi LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. blielt . V . UNITED. STATES OF AMERICA. n Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/keytoghostismsciOOmitc Key to Ghostism. Science and Art Unlock its Mysteries. REV. THOMAS MITCHELL. Brooklyn, N. Y., Autlwr of "Philosophy of Cod and the IVoriei," " 7 lu S-jjord oj T/iith," etc. "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have fa- miliar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: for the liv- ing to the dead; should not a people seek imto their God? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." — Isaiah 8: 19, :o. u.jp^::.:,jL. NEW YORK: S. R. WELLS & CO., PUBLISHERS. No. 737 Broadway. 1880. •"T'b TT Copyright. JOHN L. MITCHELL. PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. Searchers for truth are willing to examine all kinds of testimony that leads lo its elucidation, and will read all sides before deciding. In this spirit is this book presented, believing its readers will be able to investigate, and accept or reject in accordance with tlie force of argument presented. INTRODUCTION. LOVE OF THE MARVELLOUS. THERE is perhaps no other human sentiment so prolific of evil consequences to mankind as the love of the marvellous. In the second century the Pagans martyred the Christians as Atheists be- cause they had no symbol of God, no palpable thing to represent " the Mystery,'" as their idols did the un- seen deity ; but that they worshipped Jesus Christ as their God, was too literal, too easy of comprehension, to be tolerated. Had they consented to the compi-o- mise of worshipping Him as a representation or mani- festation of God as He is seen in the godlike charac- ter of His saints, and not as God Himself, the mystery would have remained and the palpable idolatry have satisfied the heathen, and all would have been con- ciliation. Or had the Christians believed the heathen mystery that at death, when every thing appears to be lost, every thing was gained, and that the man proper goes immediately on high, to live with the gods without bodies to all eternity, then also had the Pagans and Christians lived in peace ; but when IV INTRODUCTION. they looked for future rational existence to a resur- rection of the dead — the ver}- body to be made im- mortal — this was too gross, too atheistic, too materi- alistic for the refined spiritual Pagans, and the Christians were martyred v\-ithout mercy. Whoever wishes to satisfy themselves upon this subject can do so by reading the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan, a.d. 98, Marsh's Ecc. History, p. 171. A short time since, in conversation with a modern type of this fondness for the marvellous, he made the remark, while we Vv'ere attempting to explain or to give the scriptural explanation of one of his religious mysteries, " Whenever I can comprehend a thing and it loses its mystery, it also loses its interest for me." There is no community between the two ideas of holding to an opinion beyond our comprehension and one repugnant to it. The first may be a philosophic necessit}', while the other has its source in a morbid credulity utterly unworthy of an intelligent mind. These t3'pes of the appetite for the mar\-ellous are as common among scientists as religionists. Among the latter are minds who reject the idea that a personal God made the world, when all the analo- gies and obser\-ation of nature and history show that intelligent persons can do things, and some of them wonderful things, and that unintelligent nature can originate and make nothing ; and yet the}* can be- lieve the infiniteh' more marvellous idea that dead in- animate matter, lifeless nature, originated and made INTRODUCTION. V herself — that the impersonal made the personal, the inorganic the organic, the unintelligent the intelli- gent, or the lifeless the living. It is a sufficient tax upon human reason to believe that a personal, liv- ing, intelligent Being — whose existence it is much more absurd to deny than to admit — made the world because all these made things exist ; but how much more of a tax to believe the above absurdities, every one of which human reason is as competent to un- derstand to be such, as a man knows himself to be unable to make a thing of life and intelligence ; and who also knows himself to be able to originate and make intricate and delicate machinerj- ; ^^hile na- ture can make nothing, but is absolutely confined to the undeviating task of evolving from herself what some power of which she knows nothing first in- volved in her ! TYPZ3 C" THS IIAHVELLCUS IH CJH TAY. Behold the marvellous types who in our day are called "advanced scientists," possessing the credu- lous belief in the evolution of all things from nature, but rejecting the prior involution of these things, which necessitates a creation, and this a creator ! All the manifestations of nature may unroll from her bosom, but they were never enrolled within her. They may be uncovered and come out of her, but they were never covered up or put into her. A thing may be taken out of another which did not have it within ! Vi INTRODUCTION. It ill becomes such to harp about evidence and reason, as Professor Tyndall does when he slurs Chris- tianity by characterizing its advocates " the believ- ers in ' the Mystery.' " These are the materialists ; these are they who en- slave reason Vo pride of opinion., and pay their devo- tions at the godless shrine of the simplest form of inanimate matter, professing to see in it, through the most marvellous conception, " the form, potency, and promise of life," as it is expressed by Professor Tyndall ; ' ' and which matter, we in our ignorance [he continues] cover with opprobrium,'' but which this great scientist venerates as his god. So far have such men degraded true science, that to dub a man "a scientist" is almost to burlesque him. Under the specious name of " science" these World Worshippers have so poisoned the minds of the young men of our age, that either revealed, Bible, or natural truth, fails to command respect, much less to produce con- viction, especially upon the minds of those educated in the higher schools. They live in a halo of the marvellous and feed upon the highest wrought fiction. Hence the demand for " Novels." These, too, are the men who drink in the wonders of Spiritualism. Around these shrines also the Ghost Worshippers pay their devotions, whose hallucinations are baptized the " New Science," the " New Religion," when it is as old as heathen idolatry, and with its lying revelations has in all ages of the world belittled Christ to the level INTRODUCTION. vii of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and Zoroaster, and de- graded the Bible to the standard of their writings. Knowing the power of these hallucinations, when once woven around the mind, we have no hope of in- ducing the spirit-winged sky travellers to descend to solid truth. But to save, if possible, the uninitiated from the ruinous meshes which disqualify them for answering the purpose of their being both in time and in eternity, was our motive for writing this book. Spiritualism is called ''the Neru Science/' but is it science to contradict physiology by declaring a man is alive when he is dead, and when his lungs are decomposed ? That he thinks when the brain is Ihus destroyed ? That he lives without nourishment, walks without legs, flies without wings, talks with- out organs of speech, and uses the living organs of others, but cannot use his own, simply because he has once vacated them ? The word " philosophy," which gives the reason of things, is carefully avoided in the ghost literature. It is called "the New Religion," and the hope it holds out to its adherents is to make them ghosts ; but they will nevertheless pay the doctors large sums to prevent the metamor- phosis from taking place. O Science ! O Religion ! is this thy work ? TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Publisher's Preface i Introduction iii Love of the Marvellous iii Types of the Marvellous in our Day v Antiquity of Spiritualism 13 Its Evil Effects in our Day 15 What Spiritualism Believes 16 Who are in this Cage of Unclean Birds 17 Modern Spiritualists Subjects of Prophec)' 17 Pharaoh Abandoned by all his Wizard Mediums 20 The Red Sea Catastrophe 20 The Materializations of the Magicians 21 What is Mind ? .* 23 The Spinal Cord, and its Office 25 Facts Established by Phrenology 23 The Brain Double: but Mind a Unit 29 Intellect Depends on Brain 30 Organs of Sense Indispensable to Thought 32 How Came the First Thought of the First Man ? 33 Animal Life Essential to Thought 35 Huxley and Tyndall's Definition of Life 36 Searching in the Wrong Direction for Life 38 No Being is Able to Comprehend Himself sg. The Principle Applied to Evolutionists and Spiritualists. ... 40 John Locke's " Essays on the Human Understanding" 41 Materiality and Immateriality Contrasted 42 Thought Does not Travel 43 Rev. John Wesley on the Relations of Brain and Thought.. 44 Mr. Wesley's Belief 45 Bishop Foster's Belief 45 X CONTENTS. PAGE Luther did not Believe the Soul Immortal 45 Christ is a Material Being 46 Joseph Cook and Wesley 47 Man Relieved of all Moral Responsibility 50 Which ? 50 Thought the Result of Organization 54 The Relation of Thought and Ghostism 56 The Brain and Senses Evolve Mind 59 The Relations of Life and Mind Illustrated 61 Animal and Mineral Magnetism Identical \ 65 Conditions of Breathing 67 The Lungs, Electricity, and Respiration 68 Electricity and the Circulation. 69 The Motions of the Brain and Functions of Life 70 Philosophy of Memory 72 The Brain Grows Rigid by Age. 73 Physical Impressions upon the Brain the Fundamental Principle 73 Illustrated by the Art of Photography 75 The Superiority of the Mental Structure 77 Frauds in Spiritual Phenomena Exposed by Mr. D. D. Home. 76 How the Tricks are Perpetrated 87 Disclosures by the " Spiritual Scientist" 93 The Total Dark Seances 95 The Ghost Caught 99 The Eddys Caught at Last 100 Spiritualism Exposed , 100 The Spirit Materialized loi The Medium's Explanation 102 A Woman Suspended by Magnetism 102 The Telephone and the Human Ear 105 The Phonograph 106 Modern Art Illustrated 108 Dr. Franklin's Theory of Electricity no Dupuy's Theor)' iil Laws Governing Electricity 112 Chemical Composition of Electricity 113 Power of Mental Magnetism 114 The " Experimentum Crucis" , 115 CONTENTS. Xi PAGE Scientific Principle of the Phenomenon ii8 Siatc-Writing 121 " In and Out of the Form" 123 "Try the Spirits" — i John 4:1 125 Mind Reading 125 Real Phenomena of Mr. Home's Book 127 Childish Nature of Spirit Revelations 131 Spirits See no Personal God 134 Mr. Home in Florence 135 Reconciled with Our Principle 143 Acts Covering the Whole Phenomena 146 Serious Questions 147 Do Ghosts Progress, as is Claimed ? 151 How Mediums Read Messages 152 Our Own Experiments 154 Effect of Will upon a Circle 158 Consulting a Clairvo)'ant I5g What a Clairvoyant Sees 160 Why Clairvoyants Excel their Natural Powers 161 A Remarkable Feature of Insanity 164 Unknown Tongues Spoken from Brain Injuries ^ 166 Brain Printing 167 Effects Produced by Fever 169 Mental Faculties Lost and Recovered 170 Infant Impressions Recalled at Mature Age 171 Brain Print Illustrated by Photography 171 Conditions of the Speaking Machine 173 Cultivation of Memory 174 The Witch of En-dor 176 Saul a Full Ghost Believer 180 The Medium Reads Saul's Brain 181 Saul's Faith in Witchcraft the Cause of His Suicide 182 Source of the Intelligence of Home's Ghosts 182 Mental Telegraph 184 , The Philosophy of this Communication 186 Our Own Experiments 189 Practical Tests for Spit itualists 190 No Being can use the Living Organs of Another 193 The Involuntary Organs cannot be Tampered with 195 Xll CONTENTS. Human Intelligence cannot Exist without Brain, or when it Softens ; much Less when Decomposed 197 Review of Henry Kiddle's Book ig8 Monotonous Sameness of Spirit Messages 200 Mr. Kiddle the Sole Ghost 201 Rule of Interpretation 202 Sailing under False Colors 205 God's Kingdom not in the Sky, but on the Earth 207 Ghostism and Future Life Contrasted 209 Kiddle's Doctrines Heathen Philosophy 211 Different Hypotheses of Immortality. 212 The Resurrection Change 213 The Common Hypothesis Absurd 214 Summing up the Argument 216 Swedenborg Adopted , 218 A Ghostly Blasphemer 220 Book on the Brain 222 Swedenborg and Judge Edmonds 225 Do Ghost Children Grow in Ghostland ? 228 Spiritualism is Real Pantheism 232 Superficial Reasoning 234 Apparent Insincerity of Leading Spiritualists 236 Mind Reading and Judge Edmonds 239 Mind Reading Facts 241 Spirit Theory Exploded 244 Another Test of Exposure 245 Ghostism is Annihilation. , 247 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ANTIQUITY OF SPIRITUALISM. IT cannot be denied that Spiritualism is very an- cient ; and, that it may be seen in what esteem it was looked upon by the Author of the Bible, we will here introduce a few passages : "A man, or woman, that hath a familiar spirit [familiarly gliding into other people's minds, read- ing therefrom, and then returning to the same indi- viduals the information in the shape of revelations from the spirits of the dead], or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death : they shall stone them with stones ; their blood shall be upon them" (Lev. 20 : 27). " And Manasseh caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom : also he observed times, and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with 2l familiar spirit, and with wizards : he wrought much evil in the sight of tha Lord, to provoke him to anger" (2 Chron. n '•^)- " And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust" (Isa. 29:4). "Re- gard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek 14 KEY TO GHOSTISM. after wizards, to be defiled by thetn : I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19 : 31). " There shall not be found among you any one that useth divination [or pretend- ers to prophecy], or an observer of times, or an en- chanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord : and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee" (Deut. 18 : 10-12). " Now Samuel was dead ; and Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and wizards, out of the land" (i Sam. 28 : 3). " Moreover, the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away" (2 Kings 23 : 24). A " wizard" is a conjurer ; one who professes to have the power to call spirits back from a supposed unseen world ; an inquirer of the spirits of the dead. An " enchanter" is one who has spirits at his com- mand. A " charmer" is one who has the power of enchantment. A " necromancer" is one who pre- tends to foretell future events, by holding converse with departed spirits, and by making revelations communicated from the spirits of the dead. A " sorcerer" is a conjurer, an enchanter, a magician. Divination is the act of foretelling future events, or discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings. It is effected by a kind of in- spiration, or divine afflatus. Now as modern Spirit- ualism pretends to do all these things, and in all these manners, it is proper to call it by all these names. Those therefore who practise these things are ITS EVIL EFFECTS IN OUR DAY. 1 5 Familiar Spiritualists, Enchanters, Charmers, Ma- gicians, Conjurers, Sorcerers, Wizards, and Diviners. " And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter : should not a people seek unto their God ? [this is a part of what the wizards say] for the living to the dead ?" Then comes the reply by which all these should be answered, and their sorceries tested : " To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa, 8 : 19, 20). After such an array of evidence contained in the Holy Scriptures against ancient familiar spiritualism, in what state of mind and heart must those men be who have the audacity to quote the Bible as approv- ing its practice or inculcating its sentiments ? If the death-penalty, even by stoning, was inflicted upon those who had familiar spirits, and those also who consulted them, in ancient times, we would like to know upon what principle the modern familiar Spiritualists can be considered less guilty ? ITS EVIL EFFECTS IM OUR EAY. If in its dark seances of antiquity the revelations and instructions of God were so effectually opposed, in strengthening the hands of the wicked by its lying wonders, purporting to have come from the suppos- ed spirit world, in those ages of comparative dark- ness, that it brought His curses upon whole nations, what can be said of those who do worse in these days, not only in opposition to the laws of Moses, but to utter subversion of all the doctrines of Christian- ity and her system of religion ? Be astonished, O earth ! while we recount the darkest deeds of infernal l6 KEY TO GHOSTISM. blasphemy, the most subtle and damnable opposition the Gospel has ever been called to confront, from men who with infinite impudence attempt to drag in the Bible for their approval. It is the gathering up of all the artful sentiments scattered around the shrines of the idol gods of the ages and nations of the world ; the myths from all heathen philosophy ; the lying wonders from science " falsely so called ;" the silly fables from every diseased and deranged brain ; the culmination of every mysterious flight of winged fancy ; the product of the marvels of the universe ; and, crowning all, exhibiting infinite pride of opinion and deep-seated hatred to the restraining principles of the Gospel of Christ imposed upon the passions and wills of men. WHAT SPIRITUALISM BELIEVES. Spiritualism believes in the existence of no person- al God except a deified pantheistic universe. It re- duces the Lord Jesus Christ to a spirit medium, with no more claim to Godhead than any of the mediums, and His revelations to no greater authority. The Holy Ghost comprehends all the ghosts or spirits of the dead, of which they make a part. Their revela- tions are superior to those contained in the Bible, as they are later ; and wherever and whenever there is disagreement, the testimony of the spirits is taken in preference. Angels are the spirits of the dead who once dwelt in bodies of men on earth. Christ never died. What is called the death on the cross was only His flight from the carcass which they put in the grave. They also deny His resurrection ; and as these two doctrines are fundamental to the Christ- ian system, there is therefore nothing of it. That SPIRITUALISTS SUBJECTS OF PROrilECY. 1/ Christ's death has anything to do with the salvation of men, is held in utter derision. That the Bible was given by any other inspiration than that common to the familiar spiritualists, is denied. That there is any future punishment for the wicked, except the pur- gatorial discipline of Socrates, is rejected as a fable. That there is to be a future general judgment-day is simply a matter to be scoffed at. That the world is ever to have an end, is also denied. They believe that the spirits of the dead are the guardian angels of the living, taking the place and doing the work of God, Christ, the Holy Ghost, and the Bible, in saving men ; which consists in reducing all to ghosts, and landing them in a ghostly world. WHO ARE III THIS CAGE OF UHCLEAH BIRDS. There are in this cage of unclean birds, Evolution- ists in science. Unitarians and Universalists in relig- ion ; in skepticism, Atheists. Pantheists, Deists, and Infidels of every grade and degree : and all this un- restrained infamy and blasphemy is called " the pro- gressive liberalism of the nineteenth century." Now, if God held the sinners of ancient familiar spiritual- ism to be, as we have seen, not fit to live in the world, much less to live with Him in the world to come, in what esteem must He hold modern familiar spiritual- ists — both those who have the familiar spirit and use it for such a purpose, and those who consult them ? MODERN SPIRITUALISTS SUBJECTS OF PROPHECY That the Spiritualists were to come and do the work they are doing in the last days of the world's history, is made the subject of numerous prophecies, l8 KEY TO GHOSTISM. a single one of which we here introduce, prefacing it with a brief review of the contest between Moses and the Spiritualists in the court of Pharaoh. God was about to send Moses as the instrument of delivering His people from the cruel Egyptian bond- age under which they had suffered four hundred years ; but Moses complained that the king would not believe him, or that it was the voice of God that had spoken to him. " And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand ? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent ; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he caught it, and it became a rod in his hand : that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abra- ham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. " And the Lord said. Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom : and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said. Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he did so, and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. " And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, where- with thou Shalt do signs. See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh •, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and did as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called in his wise men [wizards], and the sorcer- ers. Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments ; for they cast SPIRITUALISTS SUBJECTS OF PROPHECY. IQ down every man his rod, and the}' became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." This imitation of the miracles of Moses by the magicians had the effect to harden the heart of the king, who supposed Moses was another sorcerer, only a little superior to his own wizards. " And the Lord said unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And he did so ; and frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt [and Pharaoh still refused to let the Hebrews go]. And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And Aaron smote the dust of the earth-, and it became lice in man and in beast ; all the dust of the land became lice. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not : so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh : This is the finger of Godr This wonder was too wide-spread and prominent to be the wizard-work of a priest-seance, which even the Egyptian Spiritualists had honesty enough to admit ; but Pharaoh still refused, and was hardened in his unbelief by probably supposing Moses to be only a superior medium. " And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward heaven in the sight of Pha- raoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land 20 KEY TO GHOSTISM. of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt [which he did] ; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses, be- cause of the boils ; for the boil was upon the magic- ians, and upon all the Egyptians." Here the sorcerers gave over the contest. Dark- ened rooms and closed cabinets could not conceal their deceptive tricks. The boils were " upon all the Egyptians.'' Had they been confined to the court of Pharaoh, the necromancers might have still carried on their deception by imitating the miracles of Moses on a small scale ; but now it became folly. PHARAOH ABAHDOHED BY ALL HIS WIZARD HEDIUMS. The pride of Pharaoh, however, was not to be humbled, even though abandoned by all his wizard mediums ; and the most severe and dreadful of the plagues were yet to come. Those having familiar spirits may be convinced of the error of their prac- tice, yet those who surround and impress them with the revelations and inspirations are the stubborn living, and not those of the dead spirits. Hence the magicians said unto Pharaoh [he who carried on his tyrannous government through the deception of his wizards] : " How long shall this man [Moses] be a snare unto us ? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed ?" THE RED SEA CATASTROPHE. There are yet five plagues, but we shall only notice the last. " And Moses stretched out his hand over MATERIALIZATIONS OF THE MAGICIANS. 21 the sea ; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground : and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left, and the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his char- iots, and his horsemen. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and His servant Moses" (Ex- odus, 4th to 14th chapters. THE I.IATERIALIZATIONS OF THE HAGICIAHS. The materialization by the magicians of the ser- pents and frogs — and which was done in the court of Pharaoh — seemed to have produced such a con- viction upon the mind of the king, that all the sub- sequent wonders of Moses failed to remove it, as to its all having been the work either of his own ma- gicians, or of Moses ; and his insane folly was only manifest by the destruction here recorded. The Hebre\v deliverance from Egyptian bondage is typical of the resurrection deliverance of all God's people from the bondage of corruption at the last day, and their immortal translation into the kingdom 22 KEY TO GHOSTISM. of God, the land of promise — the New Heavens and New Earth — the history of which is recorded jn advance of its creation, in the last two chapters of Revelation. Hence the whole redeemed company " sang the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." Therefore, as Israel was re- deemed by judgment and the destruction of their en- emies, so will all true believers be redeemed at the last day. And just as the wickedness and folly of the Egyptian Spiritualists was manifested by the death of Pharaoh and his deluded hosts in the Red Sea, so shall the wickedness and folly of the modern Spiritualists be exposed, and they themselves de- stroyed by Christ the Lord, whom they have slan- dered to such a degree that it seems impossible that they should reverence Him as their God : and not to do this is to trust in the magicians for deliverance. This brings us to the consideration of the prophetic prediction concerning the modern Spiritualists, to which we have referred ; and to see its application to them it seems only necessary to read it, especially in view of what has been recorded concerning the magicians of Pharaoh in their opposition to Moses, and the end of their deceptions. " This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [Paul then goes on to draw the picture of the formal, but godless church of the last days, which imperils its salvation, and then describes the class to which we have alluded.] For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead cap- tive silly women [the mediums who have the " fa- miliar spirit"], laden with sins, led away with divers lusts [the free-love mania], ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as WHAT IS MIND? 23 Jannes and Jambrcs [two of Pharaoh's magicians] withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth : men of corrupt minds, reprobate conccrniih:!; the faith. But they shall proceed no further : for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was" (2 Tim. 3 : i, 6-9). The fulfilment of such a prophecy by modern Spiritualism gives additional evidence that we are in the " last days" of the world's history. The fear- ful fact of this prophecy to the Vv^izard opposers of the truth of God is, that their deception and folly will not be manifest until the great day of final reckoning comes, and when there will be no time left them for repentance ; to which also reference is thus made : " Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make mani- fest the counsels of the hearts" (i Cor. 4 : 5). Then will the folly of the charmers — the familiar spiritual- ists — be apparent ; and their end may be read in the typical destruction of Pharaoh, the great consulter of familiar spiritualists, with the enchanting mediums, when the Lord God whom they have abused takes the reins of government and puts away all His ene- mies. WHAT IS MIND? The first question we propose for discussion is " J//W." There is no dispute about the fact that the word mind is used in the Bible, as elsewhere, to signify the seat and faculty of originating thought. We do not, therefore, propose to consider it, or any other question in this work, in a theological light, but shall 24 KEY TO GHOSTISM. proceed at once to its investigation in a scientific and philosophical point of view. We may define mind to include the existence of all those organs the exer- cise or motion of which are essential to thought ; in fact the exercise is thinking, of which thought is the result : and as intelligence is a result, it must depend upon conditions. The question therefore is, What are the conditions ? The first of these we mention is the existence of brain. This is found inclosed in the cranium, or skull, and forms the most important and most largely developed portion of the nervous sys- tem, and which is known to be the seat of the intel- lect as well as of the emotions. It consists of two larger portions, the cerebrum and cerebellum, and cer- tain smaller parts, situated at the base, from which proceed the spinal marrow. There are thirty pairs of nerves that spring from the spinal marrow : eight from the region of the neck, twelve from that of the back, and five from the pelvis, etc. They arise b}'' two roots, one from the anterior, and one from the posterior column. The fibres of the posterior swell out into ganglion before they unite with the ante- rior. Sir Charles Bell discovered that by opening the spinal canal in a living animal, and dividing the roots of the nerves, the parts to which they are distributed are deprived of feeling. The limb may be pricked or lacerated in any way, without the animal manifesting the least feeling or indication of suffering, while at the same time the power of motion remains. He also found that when the pos- terior roots were divided, sensation was destroyed, but motion remained. One of Majendie's experi- ments is interesting. Availing himself of the fact that the introduction of Nux Vomica into the svstem THE SPINAL CORD, AND ITS OFFICE. 25 produces violent spasms, tremors, and rigidity of the muscles, he administered it to an animal, after having severed the anterior roots of the spinal nerves. The consequence was, that while all the muscles whose nerves remained entire were thrown into a state of violent spasm, those supplied v/ith the nerves whose roots had been divided remained unaffected. That is, they had no power or faculty of feeling or motion. THE SPINAL CORD, AND ITS OFFICE. The spinal cord then serves to connect the brain, which is the common source of sensation and volun- tary motion, with all the sensible parts of the body, and with the muscles, the instruments of loco- motion. We may view it in the sense of forming a channel of communication from a bundle of nerves running from the brain to every part of the system to carry impressions or sensations to the brain, and to trans- mit others back again from the will — as if all the roads and highways in the country should terminate in one grand post-road, connecting them with the seat of government. For instance : suppose, inadver- tently, my hand comes in contact with a hot iron ; an impression is immediately transmitted along the sensiferous nerves to the spinal column, and through that to the brain. The brain takes cognizance of it, and feels a painful sensation which the nerves did not feel till it reached the brain. To be relieved of the pain constitutes the motive for removing the hand from contact with the iron. This conclusion is reached by the process of thought ; and when reached the will is summoned to do its part, and im- 26 ICEY TO GHCSTISM. mediately sends back through the nerves of motion its electric agent adapted to contract the muscles as though they were in contact with a charged galvanic battery ; and through the anterior column of the spinal cord to the motific nerves, distributed to the muscles which go to the hand. The muscles in- stantly obey, and the hand is removed. But the whole process occupies only an instant. Here are two channels of communication — the one trans- mitting the impression by the electricity of the nerves to the brain, the other conveying the pur- poses of the will by the same agency to the muscles necessary to carry them into effect. That such is the well-known function of the spinal marrow, is proved by the fact that if it is divided at any point, that portion of the body, as well as the limbs situated below the seat of the injury, will be paralyzed,- and all sense and power of motion lost, while the parts above the injury will remain unaffected. If the division occur high up in the neck, instant death ensues. This results from the fact that the nerves which go to the diaphragm, and convey to it the electric force necessary to carry on breathing, are separated from their connection with the brain. These nerves leave the spine as high as the third ver- Jebra of the neck. This proves that all sensation and all voluntary motion depend upon the brain. If the medulla oblongata is injured, breathing immediately ceases. If the spinal marrow is severed opposite the second hone of the neck, death also speedily follows, because the nerves of respiration are cut off from their connection with the part above. If the spinal cord be divided as low as the fifth cervical bone, life will not be immediately lost, but the breathing will be THE SPINAL CORD, AND ITS OFFICE. 2/ difficult, because the diaphragm is nearly paralyzed, and death soon follows by suffocation. If it be di- vided above the first dorsal vertebra, life may be main- tained for a considerable time, by the slight action of the diaphragm, although the ribs cannot be elevated, because the intercostal muscles are rendered para- lytic. Dr. A. Lee says : " I have seen a man whose spine was dislocated in this region live seven or eight weeks ; but all sensation and motion were lost in the parts below the seat of the injury, while his reason and senses were perfect." The same author says : " As the heart, ^i^'ig^y larynx, and many of the most important organs of the body are supplied with ner- vous influence by the eii:;/ith pair of nerves, or par Tagi/?fi, shows why it is that a. division of the spinal marrow causes death. This question is easily an- swered by remembering that one of the functions of i\\c. par 7'agu III is to convey to the brain the sense or feeling of the want of air, or of respiration (this is the appetite for oxygenized and electrified air, the spirit stimulus of the animal), and that this stimulus reacts upon those parts of the spinal cord which give rise to the respiratory nerves of the chest. If this communication be cut off, the influence of the brain, or the medulla oblongata, cannot be transmitted so as to excite those muscles which are employed in breathing. That such is the result is also shown by dividing Xh&par vaguin in the neck, which causes palsy of the lungs, and also of the muscles which open the lar- ynx ; in consequence of which the top of the wind- pipe is immediately closed, and death follows from suffocation. Besides, it also prevents transmitting 28 KEY TO GHOSTISM. to the medulla oblongata the sense of the want of res- piration, and thus also preventing the reaction of this part upon the spinal marrow. FACTS ESTABLISHED BY PHRENOLOGY. Phrenology has established the facts, first, that the moral and intellectual faculties are innate. Sec- ond, their exercise, or manifestation, depends upon organization. Third, that the brain is the organ of all the propensities, sentiments, and intellectual faculties. Fourth, that the brain is composed of as many particular organs as there are propensities, sentiments, and faculties, which essentially differ from each other. Dr. Lee says : " These four propo- sitions may be said to constitute the phrenological doctrine ; and they are sustained by such numerous experiments, observations, and facts, that a large proportion of enlightened physiologists of the .pres- ent day acquiesce in their correctness." * And we may remark that his book was published in 1843 ; since which time phrenological investigation has been such that not a physiologist probably can be found who doubts its truthfulness. The Doctor also says : " The brain, like all the organs of the senses, is double : the one side, as in the eyes, ears, and limbs, being exactly similar to the other ; so that it may be said that we have two brains^ as well as two optic nerves and two eyes. ' ' As the structure of the brain x's, fibrous (that is, com- posed of fine threads), in order that the two sets of nerves may co-operate, and constitute a single organ, they pass obliquely across from one side of the brain * Lee's Physiology, p. 130. THE BRAIN DOUBLE ; BUT MIND A UNIT. 29 to the other, and these />n't/j;cs constitute what are called commissures of the brain (a place where two parts meet and unite). It follows from this, that if the right side of the brain receives an injury, it will be felt on the opposite side of the body. The follow- ing case proves this : A piece of wire pierced the brain of a boy just over the n'g/it eye. He immedi- ately lost all motion in the left arm and leg, al- though his sense of feeling was as perfect as ever. There are many such cases on record, which conclu- sively show that the right side of the brain furnishes the nerves of sense and motion to the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain to the right side." THE BRAIN DOUBLE ; BUT HIHD A UIIIT. We may add that it is these commissures or unions of crossing which make thought or mind a unit, while both brains are in active working order, and which continues such when the brain is dead to mo- tion, and also to feeling, as experiments prove. If, then, a portion or the whole of the brain is lost by a wound on one side of the head only, as has hap- pened, and the intellect does not suffer, it does not prove that it is not the organic mental faculty, as the brain is a double organ, or two brains — or, in other words, two sets of mental faculties. The wisdom of the Maker is manifest in thus giving man two chan- ces in the preservation of his intellect, and through it the exercise of his moral faculties. Dr. Abercrombie mentions a case of the disease of the brain in which the entire right lobe had been de- stroyed by suppuration, and without impairing the intellect. 30 KEY TO GHOSTISM. INTELLECT DEPENDS OH BRAIE. He cites the instance to prove that the intellect may exist independent of the brain ; but to prove this it would be necessary to produce a case where both the right and left brains had thus suffered destruction without impairing the intellect. If the whole brain were essential to the existence of a single intellec- tual faculty — say that of sight — then the wounding or destruction of any part would involve that of the whole, as well as that the employment of a single organ would be impossible without that of the whole. "It is a well-established fact in physiology, that different functions are never performed by the same organ, but that each has an organ for itself. Thus the eyes see ; the ears hear ; the tongue tastes ; the nose smells ; the stomach digests food ; the contrac- tions and expansions of the heart circulate the blood ; the liver secretes bile, etc. Even where the function is compound, as in the tongue, where feel- ing, taste, and motion are combined, we find a sepa- rate nerve for each function ; and the same occurs in every part of the body. Now, as no nerve performs two functions, reasoning from analogy, we must con- clude that it is the same with the brain, their source ; that different sentiments, different faculties, and different propensities require for their existence different organs, or portions of cerebral matter. The external senses also have for their exercise not only separate external organs, but as many separate inter- nal organs. Hearing, seeing, smelling, etc., each requiring a different portion of cerebral substance for its exercise, the result is intelligent conceptions of external objects. From analogy we must con- INTELLECT DEPENDS ON BRAIN. 3 1 elude also that there are as many cerebral masses, or nervous systems, as there are special internal senses and particular intellectual and moral faculties. The legitimate inference therefore is, that each faculty does possess in the brain a nervous organ appropri- ated to its production, inasmuch as each sense has its particular nervous organ. The structure of the brain is not homogeneous, but greatly differs in different parts, in composition, form, color, consistence, and arrangement. From which fact we may ask. What object could there have been in all this variety, if the brain acted as a whole, and there was but a single intellectual prin- ciple or faculty ? Indeed, the difference in structure shows that there must be difference in function ; and as the brain has been proved to be the mental organ- ism, it follows that different portions must be em- ployed by the intellectual and moral faculties. In fact, the mental faculties must act before the moral faculties can, as the last is the result of the first. For example, it could not be known whether the hand was in contact with a hot iron or a downy pil- low until a sensitive nerve conveyed a vibration to the brain ; and not then, until the mind had reached the conclusion by comparison as to which it was, and whether it was necessary to move the hand from it or not. If it was the pillow, not ; but if the iron, then to remove it. And there was no intelligence until all these faculties had thus acted. If the sense that the iron was hot was in the hand as well as the power to move it, then there was no necessity for the sensiferous nerves connecting it with the brain, or for the existence of the brain itself. It was how- ever no idea of temperature or quality of substance, 32 KEY TO GHOSTISM. but an electric vibration of a fact that something was felt or touched by the hand. ORGAHS OF SEHSE IHDISPEKSABLE TO TIIOUGST. That we may see the force of this argument in its relation to human intelligence, let us suppose that all the sensific nerves covering the surface of the body, including those of seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting, should suddenly become paralyzed : the re- sult would be that another such vibration from any external object would never be injected into the mind, and which is essential to give rise to thought concerning it ; that mind therefore could never obtain another thought, as thought is the res j It of thinking, and thinking the result of the external object impelled into it through one of the channels of external sense ; and these are forever closed. But let us carry the supposition one step further — that this human being minus all the organs of exter- nal sense had been thus born, the result would have been that he would never have had an idea or the least possible intelligence or power of voluntary mo- tion. If nourishment had been forced down his throat, the stomach would have digested it, and hav- ing all the vital organs he would have, lived ; but he would have had no more mind, though having a perfect brain, than a tree. In order to make the argument still more appre- ciable, we will suppose that the individual of our illustration was Adam, the progenitor of our species, and that he was made a perfect man in every respect, with the exception that he had no external organs of sense. Do we not see that he would have remained a perfect idiot, utterly devoid of even as much in- FIRST THOUGHT OF THE FH-IST MAN. 33 telligence as the most insignificant insect that has the power of voluntary motion ? In fact, it would not have made the result of the impossibility of thought any more certain if the brain also had been left out of his cranium. He might have lived even without the cerebral brain, as perfect idiots have none ; and neither have they the power of self-motion. The division of the objectiv.e world is in accord- ance with the human external senses. Light and color belong to sight. All the varieties of sound produced by organic, artistic, or material motion belong to hearing. All the varieties of scent or odor belong to smell. All those of flavor belong to taste ; and all the varieties of temperature, solidity, roughness, or moisture belong to feeling. This leaves not a thing in the world, or of it, which may not be conveyed to the seat of reason by one of the five senses ; showing also that if a man was endowed with another organ of sense there would be nothing for it to do, and that it could not add to human intelligence. These senses come in contact with the palpable world and convey to the brain all the peculiarities they possess. The brain takes cognizance of these, and by their action arrives at conclusions as to the nature of the difference each thing manifests, tracing their rela- tions, uses, and causes ; thus obtaining and accumu- lating knowledge. HOW CAME THE FIRST THOUGHT OF THE FIRST MAN ? To still further illustrate this important part of our subject, let us suppose that when Adam first opened his eyes he saw an apple-tree and a peach-tree, loaded with ripe fruit ; and there having been planted with- in his organization a feeling of hunger, the appetite 34 KEY TO GHOSTISM. for food, he desired to partake of something which would appease it. But, as the tree did not move toward him, he tried his legs, and found them to be instruments of locomotion ; so he advanced to the tree. The fruit, however, not falling into his mouth, he tried his arms and hands, and found them capable of meeting the necessity ; and he plucked an apple and a peach. The touch of each conveyed different impulses to his brain — the touch simply communicat- ing corresponding notions of the smoothness and roughness they possessed. This motion is the think- ing process, as we shall hereafter show. By this thinking, or comparison, he arrives at the conclusion that these are different kinds of fruit, both in size and roughness ; and now he has his first two ideas. The comparison is continued upon other of the peculiarities of these injected into the seat of reason by the other organs of sense. He smells them, and perceives they have different odors, and has another thought. He submits them to taste, and has an- other. He chews them, and receives another thought regarding the use of his teeth. He swallows them, and increases his intelligence by discovering the use of his throat. The food now in his stomach gives pleasurable sensations, and appeases the painful one of hunger. He is therefore thus far an intelli- gent being. Is it not certain that if he had been deprived of these four organs of external sense, that his mind could not have had one of these ideas, or thoughts ? But in all this mental operation the sense of hear- ing has had nothing to do, and has therefore added nothing to the knowledge thus obtained. Now, how- ever, he meets Eve, who, looking so much like him- ANI.MAL LIFE ESSENTIAL TO THOUGHT. 35 self, he supposes she possesses the same appetites, and communicates to her the intelligence respecting the fruit by speech ; and the sound of his own voice communicated tlirough the auditory nerves the use of his ears, and he has the first idea derived by the aid of the sense of hearing, and the first thought derived from this department of his mind. It should be remarked that the functions of the external organic senses and those of the brain are so distinct from each other, that neither can do the least part of the work of the other. The brain could not touch or see the apple or peach, or distinguish any of their peculiarities. Nor could it have com- municated its knowledge to the mind of Eve, Iinow ing nothing of their existence, until the organs of sense had thus acted. Neither could these organs have had the least intelligence in and of themselves ; for if they could, man would have been intelligent without brains. ANIMAL LIFE ESSENTIAL TO THOUGHT. Now suppose Adam had died before any one of these senses had thus acted, would he have ever had the least intelligence ? It might just as well be contended that he would have been intelligent if he had never lived at all. If, then, the disuse, obstruction, or paralysis of either the brain or the external organs of sense renders the commencement or continuance of thought impossible, how preposterous the suppo- sition that these exist when the whole organic man is resolved back again into the chemical elements out of which he was formed ! or, more preposterous still, that his intelligence existed before he was made or born — we speak of human intelligence. 36 KEY TO GHOSTISM. The true definition, therefore, of the human mind is, that it comprehends the active existence of at least one of the five senses, with its communicating nerves to the brain, unimpaired or obstructed by dis- ease ; and the brain also in the same condition — at least, that department of it which connects with such external sense. This conclusion is as logical as that that which is essential to the existence of a phenom- enon is an integral part of that phenomenon itself. All these faculties are therefore so many conditions upon which the phenomena of intelligence depend ; this being simply the ultimate effect of the appara- tus ; or, in other v/ords, of the operation of the physi- ological machine of God's handiwork. That the so-called external senses are essential parts of the thinking apparatus, is demonstrated by the fact that they convey no impressions or motions to the brain when it is asleep, nor is the brain in the least conscious of any thing with which the senses may be brought in contact while sleeping. And we may also remark, that it is the mental voluntary depart- ment of the man that has its nightly sleeps, and not the involuntary body. We shall, however, recur to this idea. HUXLEY AND T:YIIDALL'S DEFIKITIOK OF LIFE. Another condition of intelligence is the existence of life. In giving us his definition of evolution Professor Huxley also gives his opinion of where life is to be found, or whence it originated, as follows : " The hypothesis of evolution supposes that in any given period in the past we should meet with a state of things more or less similar to those of the present, but less similar in proportion as we go back in time ; DEFINITION OF LIFE. 37 that the physical form of the earth could be traced back in this way to a condition in which its parts were separated as little more than a nebulous cloud making part of a whole in which we find the sun and the other planetary bodies also resolved ; and that if we trace the animal world and the vegetable world far enough back, we should find preceding what now exists animals and plants not identical with them, but like them, only increasing their differ- ences as we go back in time, and at the same time becoming simpler and simpler until finally we should arrive at that gelatinous mass which, so far as our present knowledge goes, is the common foundation of all life. The tendency of science is to justify the speculation that that also could be traced further back, perhaps to the general nebulous origin of mat- ter." — Tribune Extra, p. 16. Upon the same subject Professor Tyndall, in his Bel- fast speech, said : " There was also physical life ask- ing for a solution. How are the different grades and orders of mind to be accounted for ? What is the principle of growth of that mysterious power which on our planet culminates in reason ? I discern in that matter which we in our ignorance have covered with opprobrium, the promise and energy, form and equality, of life. The human un'^erstanding itself is a result of the play between organism and environ- ment through cosmic ranges of time. Here, how- ever, I must quit a theme too great for me to handle ; but it will be handled by the loftiest minds ages after you and I, like streaks of morning cloud, shall have melted into the infinite azxircof the past." 38 KEY TO GHOSTISM. SEARCHIKG IH THE WRONG DIRECTIOH FOR LIFE. In the search after life, Professor Huxley has carried us back in time and space to a supposed condition of matter more sublimated than any form existing in the solar system, and before any of its organic or in- organic elements were in existence, more subtle than even electricity ; for this wonderful substance is com- posed of the real chemical properties of every thing it will decompose — the positives for their negatives, and the negatives for their positives — this being the law of chemical affinity and dissolution. As this nebulous substance is the farthest removed from organization, and as life is the result of organization, and that too of the most complicated mechanism, it is in exactly the opposite direction from that in which it exists. It is only equalled by the absurdity of searching for life in death and death in life, or- ganic forms in disorganization, or existence in non- existence ; while we can prove by the common laws of physiology — and which are just as well known as that animal lungs are essential to breathing, the heart to circulation, or the stomach to digestion — that animal life follows and results from perfect or- ganization, and is incompatible with serious physical derangement ; and that man and all other animals are machines of more or less intelligence and power, including every organic thing possessed of voluntary motion, the least of which are as much higher in the comparative scale of existences than any thing man can make as he is higher than his highest piece of workmanship : and, reasoning from analogy, there must be as great a difference and superiority between the Being who made him as that between him and the highest thing he himself can make. NO BEING ABLE TO COMPREHEND HIMSELF. 39 This definition involves no incongruity whatever, nor any other mystery than that which grows out of incomprehension, the principle of which we may state as follows. KO BEING IS ABLE TO CCMPREHEIID HIMSELF. No being is able to comprehend himself or to un- derstand the powers and capacities of the mechanism involved in his own organic nature. Neither is he capable of comprehending those involved in any machine greater or higher than that which he him- self can make, when given time enough to learn the use of tools. For example, a man conceives all the mechanical principles, parts, and adaptations involved in a locomotive engine, and makes it ; and he must conceive and comprehend all these, or he cannot make them. Now suppose the machine involves the greatest and most complicated piece of mechanism which he is capable to conceive and make, and here we have the limit of his capacity. This machine is just as capable of comprehending the capacities and powers of its maker, as the machine man is of com- prehending those of God, his Maker ; and it is just as absurd for the locomotive to say it was not made by the mechanic man, as for the machine wan to say he was not made by some mechanic able to do the work. What would be thought of the locomotive if it should declare that no material organization was capable of doing the wonderful things it manifests, and therefore there must be some inorganic thing re- siding in it, independent of the organization, capable of putting it in operation, and to whose skill and power all these wonders of manifestation are to be attributed ; and that after the machine is worn out 40 KEY TO GHOSTISM. its capacities and powers are as capacious and un- diminished as ever ? Here we see the poor silly locomotive, not being able to comprehend itself, add to itself another creat- ure of knowledge and power, making in the compli- cation two instead of one, and in the same degree rendering itself so much more incomprehensible to itself. Instead of coming to such a conclusion, it should have reasoned thus : Here are certain powers of which I see the results, and these results depend upon organization, for any serious disarrangement of this prevents the results ; and as I do not understand the organic mechanism, it may be capable of pro- ducing all the manifestations witnessed, and which I would know if I were its maker. If it is difficult for me to comprehend all the powers and phenomena manifested by the organized locomotive, how much more so to comprehend the persistence of all these results when the machine is disorganized, the cylinder smashed, the piston-rod broken, the valves all rusted away, and the boiler exploded ! In view of such reflections we appeal to the more complicated machine, man, whether it would not be the dictate of wisdom and common-sense to take a lesson from the more modest and unpretending machine, and by analogy learn to be more philo- sophic, scientific, and reasonable, and to distrust our own opinion ? THE PRIHCIPLE APPLIED TO EYOLUTIOHISTS AND SPIRITUALISTS. It is easy to see that the Evolutionists and Spiritu- alists agree in holding to the Platonic doctrine, that the life of man existed before man himself — before ESSAYS ON THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. 4I his organization. Being therefore independent, it will exist after the organization is decomposed. It is not that this was God, if He be defined as a personal, intelligent Being, as taught in the Bible and required by nature, and which no one doubts who understands cither of these sources of information ; but that each human being had his prior existing cntit)\ and which produced the living organization. We have shown that human intelligence is the re- sult of organic mind, just as power is the result of the steam-boiler and engine ; and that the mental de- partment has no vital or living organs, and therefore does not, never did, and cannot live ; and that it re- ceives its power to think from the living organism of the involuntary department, just as an engine re- ceives steam from the boiler, impelling the machinery; the result of which is thought in the first instance, and steam-power in the second. JOHN LOCKE'S "ESSAYS ON THE HUMAN UNDERSTAND- ING." Upon this subject we quote the following from the celebrated John Locke's Essays on the Hitman Understanding: "We have the ideas of matter and thinking, but possibly shall never be able to know whether any mere material being thinks or not. It being in respect to our notions not much more re- mote from our comprehension to conceive that God can, if He pleases, superadd to matter a faculty of thinking, than that He should superadd to it another substance of thinking ; since we know not whence thinking consists, nor to what sort of substance the Almighty has been pleased to give that power ; for I see no contradiction in it that the first eternal think- 42 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ing being should, if he pleased, give to certain sys- tems of created senseless matter, put together as he thinks fit, sense, perception, and thought." The only weakness we see in this reasoning is the intimation that although the thinking principle may be matter, yet it may be an element and not an or- ganization ; the latter of which is far less remote to our comprehension than the former, as all the analo- gies of being demonstrate. How much easier, for example, to conceive steam-power as resulting from the whole mechanism of the locomotive, than that it should have another element in it of which we know absolutely nothing, and yet from v/hich the power originates ; and besides, were such the fact, we could have steam - power without the engine. But this great mental philosopher has approximated the near- est to the comprehension of the human mind, and sees the necessity of its being organic ; and we may add that if we cannot comprehend the faculty of an organized mind to think, how much less one that is inorganic ? for the mind manifests power ; power is matter in motion — a material organic mind can set it in motion, as the limbs of the body are moved, pro- ducing its locomotion, which, if resisted, manifests the degree of power with which it moves ; but an immaterial substance, supposing there is such an ex- istence, is utterly incapable of producing the least effect upon a single organ of the animal body. MATERIALITY AHD IMMATERIALITY COHTRASTED. If we would have a proper scientific view of the doctrine of materiality and immateriality, it must be obtained by natural contrasts ; for, in this world, what matter is, immateriality is not. For instance : THOUGHT DOES NOT TRAVEL. 43 Materiality has properties and conditions ; imma- tcrialiry has none. Materiality occupies space ; im- materiality does not. Materiality may move and be moved ; immateriality cannot. Materiality has weight; immateriality has none. Materiality may be an agent, or medium, to move other forms of mat- ter ; but immateriality cannot be. Matter is suscep- tible of organization ; immateriality is not. Materi- ality may be employed as the mind's agent to move other matter, such as the limbs of the body ; imma- teriality cannot be. Materiality has chemical prop- erties ; immateriality has none. Materiality may be organized ; immateriality cannot be. In a word, ma- teriality is something and immateriality is nothing. Materiality is existence ; immateriality is non-exist- ence. It is not annihilation, for this supposes the prior existence of the things it reduces to nothing. If God is immateriality, He fills no part of space, and therefore does not exist. A square inch of empty space is a square inch of immateriality. An imma- terialist is worse than an annihilationist, as the lat- ter only strikes those things out of existence to which he applies the term, while the former declares that immaterialisms never had an existence. If, therefore, the soul, spirit, angels, and God are immateriality, they do not exist and never did. Jesus Christ is a material being, and He is the Christian's God. TH0U3HT DOES NOT TRAVEL. In answer to this it is said, Thought is not matter, and it exists. But thought is not a thing that moves ; it is only an idea of a thing — a conception — and a conception cannot travel. In proof that thought does not travel we heivc the fact that whatever travels 44 KEY TO GHOSTISM. occupies time in travelling, and can go a short jour- ney sooner than a long one ; but to think about the farthest fixed star consumes no longer time than to think about a thing in your hand. It might just as well be said that sight travels, while the fact is you can see, on opening your eyes, the sun ninety-five mil- lions of miles distant, in the same time as the candle in your hand. All such attempts are mere sophisms, either honestly or superficially employed to bolster up this erroneous speculation in palpable contradic- tion to true science, philosophy, and the Bible. No ; thought is something recieved by the mind after a mental process, and does not go on journeys from it. REY. JOHN WESLEY OK THE RELATIOHS OF BRAIH AED THOUGHT. Upon the relations of brain and thought Mr. John Wesley gives us the following : " The organs of the brain very frequently hinder the soul in its opera- tions, and at best serve it very imperfectly ; yet it cannot dispense with its service : an embodied spirit cannot form one thought, but by the mediation of its bodily organs ; for thinking is not, as many suppose, the act of a pure spirit, but the act of a spirit con- nected with a bod)^ and playing upon a set of mate- rial keys. It cannot therefore possibly make any better music than the nature and state of its instru- ments allow it. Hence every disorder of the body, especially of the parts more immediately subservient to thinking, lay an almost insuperable bar in the way of thinking justly." — Wesley s Sermons, p. 34, vol. ii. Here is a great man, a good man, a Christian, and whom some of his followers, the Methodists, would BISHOP FOSTER'S BELIEF. 45 brand as a materialist because he taught that a pure spirit (not connected with a body) could not think, and without the bodily organs could not form a single thought, and therefore must cease to be intelligent at the dissolution of the body, and which must so remain until the reorganization of the body by the resurrection of the dead. MH. V/ESLEY'S BELIEF. If Mr. Wesley was consistent with himself in his teaching, he must also teach that the unthinking spirit, or soul (words which he uses interchangeably) did not go to heaven at death ; and this is exactly what he did teach. Upon this point hear his explicit declaration : "It is indeed very generally supposed that the souls of good men, as soon as they are dis- charged from the body, go directly to heaven ; but this opinion has not the least foundation in the ora- cles of God." — Sermons, p. 416, vol. ii. BISHOP FOSTER'S BELIEF. We might also quote Bishop Foster, one of the present bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and certainly one of the most talented, who was President of the Drew University before being made bishop, and who publicly preaches against the heathen doctrine of the immortal soul, and, with Mr. Wesley, of going to heaven at death, or that there is any future hope for man, except in the resurrection of tlic dead at the last day. LUTHER DID NOT BELIEVE THE SOUL IMMORTAL. We might also quote Luther as denouncing the Papal doctrine of the immortality of the soul as " one of the dunghill decretals of the Pope ;" and 46 KEY TO GHOSTISM. not in all his writings can be found the dogma that a saint goes to heaven, or a sinner to hell, at death ; or that there is any reward or punishment until the general resurrection and judgment at the last day. Here we have the opinions of the two greatest bib- lical scholars and reformers of the world, and which the spiritualistic sentiment of the present day de- nounces as materialism. Indeed, it is materialism to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, who, after His resurrec- tion to immortality — the spiritual embodiment of the Godhead — declared, " I am ;//nycd 7i/>ofi, of which these are the manifes- tations. For the same reasons no man should be reflected upon for his ignorance or esteemed for his knowledge. Now as human intelligence is the result of organi- zation, the demonstration of which is the fact that there never would have been any if there never had existed a man, it must depend upon conditions ; and supposing the conditions to be the existence of this other intelligent being residing in the brain of man, which we have been considering ; and as we have also found the existence of brain and the organic senses to be essential to its manifestation and its re- ception, it follows that this second knowing resident must also be endowed with similar organs by which he himself is rendered capable of communicating his intelligence to man, and also through which he has himself become intelligent, or able to form thoughts. But as these organizations are only instruments, also composed of brain or its equivalents, and organs of sense — it is immaterial of what substance they may be made— this second sentient being must also con- tain within his organs, or presiding over them — all of which are his instruments of manifestation — another just such sentient being ; and for the same reasons, this third creature or spirit must contain a fourth, and so on. It is evident we can never arrive at the original ; and until we can find him we shall 52 KEY TO GHOSTISM. never find the source of responsibility for all or any of the sin or ignorance of mankind. Every thing is instrumental, and moved by inherent fatality. In such a search after the original source of knowl- edge and responsibility, these adopt the course sug- gested by the answer the old lady gave her inquisi- tive grandson, who asked what the world stood on. The reply was, "A big rock." Not exactly satisfied, he asked, " What does that rock stand on ?" " An- other rock," was the answer. Still not getting to the bottom of the question, he asked again, " Well, what does that rock stand on ?" The lady, seeing the folly of her first answer, shifted it to the boy, by the adroit reply, " Why, how dull you are ! Rocks all the way down. ' ' This living knowing creature in man's brain must be either materiality or immateriality. If the latter, he can no more play upon its material keys, which implies their motion, than no matter or immateri- ality can move matter, or nothing move something. It is readily admitted that such a " nothingarian" may dwell in a man's brain, even a million of them, and yet not occupy a particle of its space, and produce no possible effect upon its health or operations ; but if he is materiality, there is no possible room for him to reside ; and it matters not how ethereal are his organs, if forced into it, it would wedge the whole brain, whether as the mental or vital organs, and cause instant death or idiocy. What can be more preposterous than the notion that such a myth, too small or sublimated to be seen by the most powerful microscope, has the faculty of producing all the power man manifests, and of possessing all his knowl- edge before he conveyed it to the man himself ? WHICH? 53 Here we see that all attempts to involve another intelligent being in man, in order to account for his intelligence, upon any other principle than that it is the result of his physical organization, only shifts the conclusion from that of being the result of one or- ganization to that of its being the result of two just such organizations, of which the second (the man) is only the instrument, the fundamental principle being that material organization is indispensable to think- ing, of which thought is the result. WHICH ? Could not God make a Thinking Machine (such as man) out of Matter, easier than out of nothing, or Immateriality ? To question this also involves the arrogance and presumption that the Being who made something capable of thinking could not have made such a one out of matter ; just as though the notion that He could make a thinking being out of no matter, which is immateriality, simplified the work, or brought it any nearer human comprehension. Man can make machines capable of wonderful power out of matter. Is it any more wonderful that God can make machines also out of matter, capable of the wonder- ful phenomena of thinking? God is certainly as much greater than the thinking machine man, than he is greater than the most complicated machine the man himself can make ; and if a man could make a greater machine out of no matter than out of matter, then we might have grounds upon which to reason that God made His greatest machines — and there- fore those capable of intelligence— out of no matter. But when man cannot make the least thing out of 54 KEY TO GHOSTISM. nothing, or have the remotest conception that God could do it, how can he conclude otherwise than that the material organization of man results in thinking, when all his known analogies are also in its favor, and in the same degree repugnant to the opposite view ? That the thinking principle is not organization, and that it produces the organization, implies also the absurdity that the inorganic materials — for in- stance, of a steam-engine — have the faculty of orga- nizing the engine itself ; and not only so, but that of organizing a thing of life and intelligence ; and that this creator dwells in each man's organization, but is no part of that organization. THOUGHT THE RESULT OF ORGAHIZATIOH. That thought is the result of organization may also be established by that of its own nature. Thought is the result of thinking, and therefore involves an operation ; and an operation involves motion, and motion the existence of matter moving. Either thought is the result of a single substance, whether material or spiritual, or it is that of organization, which, in its simplest form, is composed of two substances of different chemical endowment or construction. If the spiritual substance is not susceptible of variety of chemical properties, or of peculiar shapes, as the difference between the retina of the eye and the ear, or its auditory nerves, then it is not susceptible of or- ganization ; and if it is thus susceptible it is only another form of matter. The question therefore is. Does the production of thought involve more parts than a single, simple substance ? If it does, then it is organic, and not inorganic or homogeneous. THOUGHT TIIK RESULT OF ORGANIZATION. 55 To illustrate this principle let us place two objects before the eye — say an apple and a potato. The images of both are instantly struck upon the retina, which is the expansion of the optic nerve, and which would be equally the case if the man was dead, pro- vided the eyelids were open. Hence it is not the eye that sees, although essential to sight. The inward faculty of perception now deals with these two ob- jects ; but it can only look at one at a time, no mat- ter how near they may be placed to each other ; and this shows it to be a single faculty. Here we have two faculties involved in the operation of this thought — the retina and perception. But if there were no other faculties the thinking would end here, and no thought would exist. Now, however, com- parison commences, and investigates the nature of the difference between these objects. But compari- son involves the existence and function of two more organs, or one that is double. Hence we have four organs already operating in the formation of this thought, and still it is no thought ; and these last o;\ly convey what they see to another power, that of judgment. This gives the decision as to the nature of the difference between the two objects, and a thought is the result. Here therefore we have five organs performing five functions, and so related and interdepending, that in the absence or decomposition by disease of either, the thought would have been impossible ; and it will be seen that this conclusion is reached entirely outside of the question as to whether the substance of this organization is material or spiritual, or whatever ideas may be entertained of its nature. Hence we see the fallacy of Mr. Cook's theory, or that of the Spiritualists, or that of natural 56 KEY TO GHOSTISM. immortality. We may just remark that it matters not which of the outward organs of sense conveys the image of the object to the internal organs, they deal with all upon the same principle. THE RELATION OF THOUGHT AKD ORGAKISM. As still further illustrative of the relation of organ- ism and its necessity to thought, we quote the follow- ing extracts from a lecture lately delivered by Dr. William A. Hammond, Ex-Surgeon-General of the United States Army, in Brooklyn : " How are we to prove that the mind of man comes from his brain ? We are to prove it as we would any other scientific principle, by a collection of facts. It is a fact that when an organ is overworked it experi- ences discomfort. If a man receives a blow on his foot, it will injure the faculty of walking ; and if a man's brain is injured, you will see it at once in the character of his thoughts, or the entire cessation of all thought. Strike- a man with a club on the head, and he loses consciousness. So it is with disease. A man has inflammation of the brain, for instance ; he becomes excited, delirious, and oftentimes insane. Another striking proof is that when we over-exert an organ we do it at the expense of the substance of that organ. " If you take the muscles from a frog and connect them with the wires of a galvanic battery, the muscles will contract. When this has been done, weigh the muscle, and you will find it much lighter than before the attachment was made. This same thing is true of man. We can almost always tell how much a man has used his brain in twenty- four hours by the amount of phosphates (which are RELATION OF THOUGHT AND ORGANISM. 57 the ashes of tlie nervous S3'stem) wasted. I notice that some of my clerical friends exhibit more phos- phates than those in other callings ; and that the ac- cumulation is greater on Monday than on any other day, owing to the excessive labor of Sunday, as we know that the tissue is worked to produce them. The mind of man, all other things being equal, is regulated in strength and power by the amount of brains he has ; and as a rule the size of a man's brain indicates his capacity. The brain of the Caucasian weighs fifty ounces, while that of the negro weighs fifteen ounces less, and that of the Tartar one half less. Going into the animal kingdom, we find that the brain of the Chimpanzee or Gorilla is smaller than that of the Negro, and the mental capacity of the animal is correspondingly smaller. Idiots have very small heads. Sometimes their heads seem large, but the size is often due to extraneous enlargements. I have had occasion to examine many small heads, and have found the intellectual development much below the standard. In one case the brain weighed only twenty-five ounces, although the person was thirty years of age, and otherwise perfectly developed ; but her intellect was childish, and she came into my con- sultation room with a rag baby in her arms, to which she paid great attention. " There is a boy on Randall's Island who is a good illustration. His skull is only sixteen inches in cir- cumference, and he does not possess the intelligence of a dog. He knows the value of money so far that if you give him a penny he will buy a cake or an apple ; but I have seen dogs who knew the value of money to this degree. " There is one other proof. When you cut off the 58 KEY TO GHOSTISM. connection between the brain and the central nervous system, you at once prevent the mandates of the will from passing to that point. You might as well cut the telegraph wire that derives its power from the battery and expect to send a communication. When' we divide the wire (nerves) that connects the brain with the several organs, we divest those organs of their power, and they cease to perform their func- tion. I say the central nervous system, because the mind does not all reside in the brain ; but a portion of it resides in the spinal cord. If T knock a man on the head or put a bullet through his brain, and he becomes senseless, he lays stretched on the floor and does not see or hear ; but if I tickle the sole of his foot he will draw it up. The force to do so comes- from the spinal cord. The frog is the best instru- ment upon which to try these experiments ; and any experiment tried upon a frog can be equally applied to man or any other animal. If I cut off the head of a frog he will sit on my hand in his own remarkable way ; but if I tickle the sole of his foot he will draw it up. If I put him on the floor and jab him with a pin, he will jump away, quite as lively without his head as with it. We can prove our proposition from experience with decapitated persons. It is said that Charlotte Corday blushed after her head was cut off, because the executioner slapped her face ; and it is re- ported that at a recent execution in Paris the executed criminal opened his eyes after he had been decapi- tated. " We have shown that the brain dominates the nerv- ous system. Now, what is mind ? I consider it a force divided by nervous action. We can establish the relations of the mind, and we say that the brain THE BRAIN AND SENSES EVOLVE MIND. 59 elaborates the mind just as the candle produces light. The brain is a force by which man is enabled to maintain his relations, and to originate ideas and to have will. Brain force is simply a motive mass, just like galvanism. Although we do not know exactly what the mind is, we have a better knowledge of it than Plato and others had in ancient times. In the modern system we begin with brains. We elaborate them as much as we can, and then we try experi- ments to find out what the mind is. Philosophers, such as Aristotle, Sir William Hamilton, Dugald Stewart, and others of the Scottish school, knew nothing about the mind. We study the mind from the experiments which we perform on animals and men. We perform these upon men through disease and accident, and thereby get at a very exact idea of certain portions of man's brains and mind, and are able to divide it into various divisions. Perception is that mental faculty by wdiich we acquire all of our education in connection with the senses. The will is the great organ by which we act. The will is set in motion by the emotions of the intellect." THE BRAIN AND SENSES EYOLYE MIND. These facts are unintelligible upon any other prin- ciple than that the brain and its connections of nerves charged with magnetic force are the organized mind, the motions or operations of which are thought and intelligence, receiving the animating electric force from the living organism by which it moves and performs volition ; just as the motions and power of the steam-engine are derived from the steam of the boiler. That the different organic capacities, other things being equal, depend upon the size of the 6o KEY TO GHOSTISM. brain, just as those of the engine and boiler thus de- pend. That the waste of the substance of the brain is the waste of the mind, by its degree of action, precisely like the waste of the particles of iron from the operation of the boiler and engine ; and as an ex- plosion ends the functions of the one, and its power, so the disorganization of those of man ends his func- tions of thought and intelligence. The heathen no tion that the organic man is only a rude house in which the living, thinking creature resides, and he is no part of the organization, may be excusable for them, with their crude ideas of physiological science, and without any knowledge of the Bible : it is, how- ever, a gross reflection upon our age, and especially upon those who have the Bible in their hands, every word of which is in perfect accord with God's his- tory of man's creation and destiny, showing that when he dies he is as though he had never lived, and will so remain, without a resurrection ; and that means a re-creation and reorganization of all the faculties of the man. In the case of the face of the woman blushing after her head was severed from the body by being slapped in the face, we do not think it was a blush (which is the result of mental exercise), but that the redness was produced by the slap bringing to the skin the blood which had not yet flown from the head, just as a slap produces this red appearance upon any living person. Nor do we think the case of the man who opened his eyes after the decapitation was an act of volition, or of mind ; but was an involuntary spasm, or contraction of the nerves connected with the lids of the eyes, as often seen in the twitching motion of the muscles of beeves after being halved and hung RELATIONS OF LIFE AND MIND. 6 1 up ; and as we saw once in the case of a man who had died of severe cramps, who threw his arm, which was lying by his side, suddenly upon his breast. Nor does the tickling of the. feet prove that volun- tary motion is possible with the head severed from the body, at least in the case of man ; but that the contractions of the muscles of the leg by the touch || of a living hand was the result of communicating an- imal magnetism to the foot, as we have done scores of times upon the living by a mere act of our will, unknown to the person thus affected. It is, however, different in the case of jabbing the pin into the headless frog ; but this result would never follow in the case of a headless man, and can only be accounted for in the case of the frog from the fact that in its organization it approximates so much nearer to the vegetable kingdom, whose or- ganic life is diffused through every part of the polyp, that it has no special organs of sense, and is capable of multiplying by buds and sections as well as by ova. With such facts and experiments before us, it be- comes an easy task to solve the problem of the con- stitution of life, and to show not only that it depends upon conditions, but what those conditions are. THE RELATIONS CF LIFE AHD HIND ILLUSTRATED. What are the relations of life and mind ? To sim- plify the question, we will confine it to the ultimate functions of each, which are breathing and thinking. As breathing depends upon the existence of lungs, and thinking upon that of brain, it follows that neither could have commenced if the lungs and brain had been left out of the human organization. This 62 KEY TO GHOSTISM. is as certain as that a function or operation presup- poses the existence of the thing performing it. The function of a steam-engine is motion, and motion is power ; but without steam, which it cannot manufac- ture, its machinery could not move, and there would be no power. The function of a steam-boiler is to confine steam until it reaches a pressure that would escape if it had vent. If it escaped into the air as fast as it was made, there would result no m.echanical power ; but now connect the vent in the boiler with a conducting pipe leading into the cylinder of the engine, and the steam at once moves the piston, and the result is power. This result grows out of the combination of the boiler and engine, connected by conducting pipes. It is certain that the engine would never have performed this function, though all its parts were perfectly formed, without the steam furnished by the boiler. Let us now suppose the boiler to be of extraordinary construction, hav- ing a chemical apparatus involved in itself adapted to decompose the air, retaining the oxygen and ex- pelling all the other gases of the atmosphere ; and this gas being the principle of flame, furnished its own fuel to make the steam. It is plain to see that the boiler could perform the function of keeping itself in motion as long as it was surrounded with the common atmosphere, and until some one of its parts either broke or wore out. While therefore the boiler, disconnected and independent of the engine, is dead, because having no life in itself, the boiler lives and keeps itself in motion ; and this is our subject. What the boiler is to the engine the lungs are to the life of man ; and what the engine is to external power. RELATIONS OF LIFE AND MIND. 63 so is his thinking dep^irtment to that of the man. The hings breathe the air, decomposing it, and retain the oxygen, which is the fuel, to set the liv- ing department of the man in motion. And if he has a brain (cerebrum), and the conducting nerves (the parvagum, for instance), leading from the lungs to the brain, and they are connected, it supplies the force to set it in motion, the result of which is thought and voluntary power, carrying about the whole machine and enabling it to perform external acts. But if he has no brain proper, or is a perfect idiot, the breathing and living goes on ; but there is no thinking, and of course no thought or power. In fact, such a creature has not as much intelligence or moral character as the simplest insect ; for it has the faculty of volition, the power of voluntary mo- tion. That the breath is the animating gases of the air, and is common to all self-moving animals, is per- fectly clear from the record of their creation, as well as these physiological facts. The involuntary department begins to perform its functions from the inhalation of the first breath of air, and continues until some one or more of its organs become so deranged that they cease to act ; and then all sleep the sleep of death together. The unknowing says to the thinking knowing organs every night, You must go to sleep, as you have drawn upon me for as much force as I am able to supply for this day, and reserve enough to keep my own organs in motion. I manufacture from the food and air more force than I consume, but I cannot make enough to keep you and myself in operation all the time. If you do not cease your action, you will ex- haust so much of my force that I must go to sleep ; 64 KEY TO GHOSTISM. and if I go to sleep, I shall not awake until the resur- rection. Or if your department gets a fever, so that it cannot sleep for a certain number of days, this also will ^haust my force so that I will not have enough to carry on my own department, and you then com- pel me to go to sleep, and in turn you must sleep also ; for it is only when you sleep and cease to use up my force by thinking, that I reaccumulate force ; and when I have sufficient I wake you and say, My food (fuel) is out, and you must rise and procure a supply ; which if you do not, we will both go to sleep together : for I work while you sleep, but you cannot work when I sleep. And as your work is thinking, and you receive force from my lungs to do it, therefore your operation ceases with that of my lungs. In a word, as you did not begin to think until they began to breathe, so you must cease to think when they cease to breathe. AHIHAL AND HIHERAL MAGHETISM IDEHTICAL. That mineral and animal magnetism are identical, may easily be seen by such facts as the following, as well as that the construction of animals is power- fully electric : " The effect of a galvanic battery composed of large plates and one of small plates — making in all the same extent of surface — is quite different when applied to minerals or animals ; that composed of the large plates having the most intense chemical or heating power, while that consisting of small ones has the greatest effect on the animal system. Thus, a man can bear with little inconvenience the shock from a battery composed of plates six feet long and two feet and a half wide, while he would be stunned, ELECTRICITY AND THE LUNGS. 65 or perhaps killed, by the shock of the same amount of surface were it divided so as to proceed from plates of only two or three inches in diameter. And yet this battery gives the most intensely calorific effects, while the calorific effects from the small plates is com- paratively insignificant." — ComstocJi s Chemistry, p. 71. ELECTRICITY AIID THE LUNGS. It is the law of electrics that the fluid always passes from the negative to the positive, and that in this ex- periment the heaviest shock from the battery com- posed of the smallest plates is the strongest negative in this relation. It also proves that man's lungs be- ing composed of such immense surface and of such small-sized cells as to form the most powerful bat- tery for the decomposition of the atmosphere and the retention of its electrified oxygen, which is sent at every inspiration to the voluntary and involuntary brain, for the purposes of vitality, volition, and thought. It has been calculated by Hales that each air-cell is the one hundredth part of an inch in diameter, and that the amount of surface furnished by them col- lectively is equal to twenty thousand square inches. MuNROE states that it is thirty times the surface of the human body. Lee says, " It should be borne in mind that the office of respiration is to bring the blood in contact with the air ; and accordingly the lungs are so constructed as to allow the largest pos- sible quantity of deteriorated or venous blood to en- joy the fullest intercourse with the largest possible quantity of vital air ; and all the mechanism of bones and muscles which I have described are only sub- servient to this end." 66 KEY TO GHOSTISM. The blood gets to the lungs by means of the pul- monary artery, which springs from the right ven- tricle of the heart, divides into two branches — one for each lung— and again subdivides, and ramifies through the organ in a manner precisely similar to the bronchial tubes. Every branch has a correspond- ing blood-vessel, which tracks it throughout its en- tire course until it reaches the air-vesicle, upon the surface of which the minute vessels expand and ram- ify, forming a network so beautiful that the anato- mist who first discovered it called it " the wonderful network." Thus the air is on one side and the blood on the other of this immense surface of the lungs, which is finer than the most delicate lace or gauze ; and as such is permeable not to compound air as such, but to its gases after decomposition by the lungs ; the oxygen penetrates these surfaces and unites with the blood, while a great portion of the carbon and the other gases, not needed by the ani- mal, but indispensable to the plant, are resisted by the lungs and given off by exhalation. Thus does the blood assume a florid hue from its dark venous color, and become fitted to carry the animating vigor of life to every part of the system. Thus does the mechanism of the lungs, with its small plates and im- mense aggregate surface, correspond with the gal- vanic battery with its small plates, as best adapted to manufacture the magnetic force for the use of the animal system. Another proof that mineral and animal magnetism are identical is the fact that if a vessel of blood be drawn from the veins, and a stream of magnetism from the battery conducted into it, it immediately assumes the florid, arterial hue. CONDITIONS OF BREATHING. 6/ COKDITIOIIS OF BREATHiriG. " We are now," says Lee, " prepared to trace the successive acts of respiration accomplished through the agency of this mechanism. About one second :ind a half after expiration, the muscles of inspiration begin to act, the intercostals contract (and it must be remembered that this contraction is the result of the magnetic force received from the involuntary brain, or the medulla oblongata, this being the machine with its nerve-conductors of which the lungs is the battery for the production of the mag- netism), and, by elevating the ribs, increase the dis- tance between the spine and sternum. As the ribs rise the diaphragm descends, and thus the cavity of the chest is enlarged in every direction. This expan- sion, like that of a bellows, causes a vacuum ; and as the lungs are passive, the air consequently rushes in through the mouth and nostrils to fill it, and this in- flux of air continues until the density of the internal is equal to that of the external air, when the act of inspiration is at an end. Again, the intercostal muscles relax, and the ribs, by their elasticity, are restored to their natural position, while at the same moment the diaphragm lelaxes, and allows the ab- dominal muscles to contract and thrust it up into the chest. Thus the lungs being pressed upon in every direction — below by the diaphragm, before by the sternum and ribs, and behind by the spine and ribs — the air is pressed out." Such is the wonderfully complicated mechanism of breathing. The bones, ligaments, muscles, and cartilages were formed for the sake of these little air- cells ; for it is througli their agency that the blood 68 KEY TO GHOSTISM. undergoes the necessary changes and carries the vitalizing spirit to the whole system, by which to re- pair the waste produced by its motions, both volun- tary and involuntary. When we reflect upon the relative extent of the actual respiratory surface, com- pared with the dimensions of the lungs themselves — that a stratum of blood several hundred feet in sur- face is exposed to a stratum of air still more exten- sive, and pressed within the space of a few inches, we cannot but be filled with admiration and aston- ishment at the wisdom displayed, and vainly search among the contrivances of human skill and genius for a counterpart. THE LUHGS, ELECTRICITY, AKD HE^'IRATIOH. The lungs are the only vital organ which is under the control of the will ; yet it is only in a subordi- nate degree : for no one can long suspend the move- ments of respiration, the vacuum becoming so great that the fifteen pounds' pressure of air to the square inch forces itself into the lungs irresistibly. It is through these voluntary nerves which go direct from the brain to the lungs that it receives its magnetic force to think, without being under the necessity of going through the circulating system of the blood. Another striking proof that the magnetism of the brain and nerves as a consequence is identical with the mineral magnetism of the battery, is the fact that when an organ is over-exerted it is at the expense of the substance of that organ. If you take the muscles (which areprincipally abundle of nerves) from a frog and connect them with the wires of a galvanic bat- tery, the muscles will contract. "When this has been done (as we have seen), weigh the muscles, and you ELECTRICITY AND THE CIRCULATION. 69 will find them to be much lighter than before the at- tachment was made. They have lost a portion of the phosphates, the substance of which the nerves and brain are composed. ELECTRICITY AND THE CIRCULATION. The very nature of electricity is to decompose whatever substance or body it enters. In the atmos- phere it is pure ; but entering a mineral or an animal and carrying on its work of destruction it becomes changed into the chemical properties of these bodies ; indeed, it expands them into a sublimation equal or nearly equal with itself. Electricity therefore be- comes mineral or animal magnetism by its alliance and disposition, and consequently a universal agency of motion ; hence, that of the mind. As oxygen is a chemical positive, so is the blood when oxidized in the lungs, and is attracted to the extremities of the whole system because relatively negative, which on its passage gives off its electric charge, and becoming again negative in relation to the lungs, is attracted back to the lungs, which are kept positive by the continual inhalation of oxygen, and which they ex- pand into electric oxygen. This principle gives us the power by which the blood is circulated, and relieves the subject of the incongruous necessity of investing the heart with the functions of an animal, because performing vol- untary motion, leaving it simply as the regulator and creator of the pulsations whose sudden shocks or motions prevent sediment from settling in the circu- lating vessels, and its contraction and expansions are by the nervous force received from the involuntary brain. The identity of these fluids is also seen in 70 KEY TO GHOSTISM. the phenomenon that if you grasp the poles of a gal- vanic battery, the muscles of the hands and arms will immediately contract, just as they do by the magnetic force received from the brain by a decision of the will ; but if you part the nerves conducting the force from the brain the muscles will no more contract than they will by the artistic battery if the poles are not touched. THE MOTIOHS OF THE BRAIH AND FUHCTIOHS OF LIFE. It is also a fact that the motions of the brain in carrying on the functions of life may be distinctly heard by any two individuals, if they put their ears as close together as possible, shutting off the outside car with their hands. The sound will be like that of wheels in a factory ; but the machinery will move by vibrations corresponding with the pulsations, heavier and lighter, but continuous. Just as some minerals are more or less susceptible to magnetism, or are stronger or weaker positives and negatives in electric relation, so is it with ani- mals. We have magnetized the arm of a man, sim- ply by making passes down it, when in the course of a few moments the arm became as rigid and as hard as a bar of iron. We have seen some, while under the magnetic influence, who, if touched by a third person, would receive shocks which if standing upon their feet would have prostrated them. Othei"s in whom all sensation, power of thought, and volition had passed from them to him who had magnetized them. We have also ourselves affected the vital organs of such by quickening the circulation to the rapidity of a mere flutter, with a corresponding burning fever, all in the course of five minutes ; and allayed it in less THE MOTIO'NS OF THE BRAIN. 7 1 time. It is also a well-known fact that all the volun- tary motions have been produced upon dead men by the galvanic battery ; and in some instances so nat- ural to life, that those engaged in the experiment ac- tually supposed they were coming to life. The difference between the mineral galvanic bat- tery in the rapid waste of its zinc plates by the acid« and the lungs, is that the plates of the latter are re- produced with new particles as rapidly as the waste, and that by their own action. Hence the superiority of the human machine. Here we have certain facts and their logical teach- ing — namcl}^ that the k/Kncing department of man is not the lii'ifig department. That the iJiinking organs receive their magnetic force to act from the living vital organs. When the lungs, heart, etc., are de- stroyed, the thinking ceases. That the separation of the two departm.ents is the extinction of life and thought. That the lungs are the battery which man- ufactures from the air and chyle the force to supply the brain, the organic mind, and the vital organs, by which they are able to perform their functions, re- sulting in life and thought. That mineral and ani- mal magnetism are identical, and are governed by the same laws. That electricity is modified in kind by every thing it enters. That its nature is to de- compose. That the living organism supplies the waste. That when dead, the supply being cut off, the whole man soon returns to dust, or the gases of which he was formed. That the living force is elec- trified oxygen. The mental force received direct by the brain from the lungs is pure magnetism. That breathing is a mechanical operation, life being the result, and thinking the result of life. That life is 72 KEY TO GHOSTISM. organized lungs breathing, thus setting all the other vital organs in motion. What the steam-boiler is to the engine the lungs are to the organic mind. PHILOSOPHY OF MEMORY. The position we assume in relation to Memory- is, that every object with which the mind becomes engaged so as to occupy its attention, its exact im- age is permanently photographed upon the physi- cal tablets of the brain. This faculty does not occu- py a particular location as a mental organ, such as that of Comparison, Individuality, etc., but, on the contrary, Memory is found to be allied with each and every distinct organ of the mental powers ; so that when any of them becomes excited to action, produced by the injection of an external object through any of the senses, the result is a photographic picture of that object on the brain. In connection with this idea, if we take into consideration the fact that the organs of the mind vary in size in different individuals, and that the variation is found to corre- spond with the degree of their activity, and also that the intensity of the impressions (other things being equal) depend upon and correspond with the variety of the development of those organs — or rather, that the development or depression is the result of the activity — we are furnished with a philosophical solution of the fact that the power of memory essen- tially varies among men. One individual may be in possession of a remarkably good memory in relation to all passing events and circumstances connected with financial matters, while those organs in the mind of the same person which give rise to the in- centive to divine worship, by long neglect have be- PHYSICAL IMPRESSIONS UPON THE BRAIN. 73 come so depressed and inactive that scarcely an im- pulse is felt in that direction ; and when it is felt, it is so feeble that it is easily forgotten. Such persons are often heard to complain of having a bad memory when religious topics are the subject of conversation ; but projects concerning money, having become their study by day, and as a consequence the theme of their dreams by night, are memorized, to the exclu- sion of all other subjects within the realm of their intellect. In a word, we remember those things which most interest us, because the}' make the most powerful impressions on our minds. THE BRAIN GROWS RIGID BY AGE. The brain, like every other department of the phys- ical system, grows rigid and hard by age, and gives the reason why youthful impressions are remembered in old age, while those of yesterday arc forgotten. The youthful pictures were burned deeper into the plastic brain. The scientific principle of memory, therefore, can only be established upon the suppo- sition that real physical impressions are produced upon the brain corresponding with all the objects the mind has ever contemplated. This must be re- garded as the fundamental principle of memory. PHYSICAL IMPRESSIONS UPON THE BRAIN THE FUNDA- MENTAL PRINCIPLE. That this is the true idea, is also proved by the philosophy of the association of thought. Let it be supposed that no such physical impressions are pro- duced upon the brain, and how would it be possible for the mind to recall past events and images of ob- jects, with the various scenes of nature and human 74 KEY TO GHOSTISM. occurrence through which individuals pass, and which become not only familiarly associated with, but constitute the record of history ? A person comes in contact with an object, some of whose features he perceives to bear a striking resemblance to those of some other object seen at a former period. This perception results from the comparison now made between the image of the former object on his brain with that which now appears before his eyes. Hence the features of similarity or of dissimilarity between the two are recognized. The only objection having a show of argument against this principle is the supposition that the re- spective images of all the objects with which the mind has ever come in contact from youth to age are retained by being held passively in the thinking powers ; but the law of mind, requiring the dismissal of every other thought to pay the whole attention of the thinking faculties to the one now occupying them, forbids the possibility of such a supposition. The objection is also without force from the fact that the mental faculties are not always in operation ; this being the case in sound sleep, when the intellect is entirely dormant, and consequently every object is dismissed from the realm of thought, not one of which could ever be recalled or recollected upon this principle or any other than that of the existence of permanent images struck upon the brain. An indi- vidual meets another whom he has not seen for twenty years. When recognized, he exclaims, "How you have changed !" How does he know he has changed, only as he compares the photographic pic- ture of the man made on his brain twenty years pre- viously with that now before his eyes ? THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY. 75 It may be objected that the multiplicity of impres- sions or real images of objects which an individual receives during a long life vv^ould mar, confuse, and disfigure each other so as to destroy their identity. In answer we may remark, the objector should be reminded of the fact that one of the most distin- guished features of the mind is, the more its facul- ties are taxed or exercised (within a certain limit), the more is their capacity increased. The objection would hold good against any material surface pre- pared by the ingenuity of man. The last would dis- figure and destroy the identity of that already exist- ing. But are we to infer from this that the great Architect of Creation is incapable of constructing a surface not thus defective ? And where else would we be likely to see such skill displayed as in the or- ganized human brain ? On this sublime arrange- ment, therefore, we conclude, are the beautiful tran- scriptions of all objects, whether received by contact with our own senses, or by description, with which the mind has ever been occupied, which stand pictured without confusion or irregularity. The objection ap- pears still more unfounded and absurd when it is considered that man alone of all the works of God was created in " His own image, after His likeness," and as an intelligent bein'g, although in comparative ruin, still bears the characteristics of his great per- sonal Original. ILLUSTRATED BY THE ART OF PHCTOGRAPHY. The art of photography furnishes so striking an il- lustration of the principle of the production of pic- tures on the brain, that we will here introduce some of its most prominent features. We have denomi- ^6 KEY TO GHOSTISM. nated that agency of the mind by which the will is ca- pable of transferring pictures of objects or impres- sions of feeling from itself to other minds, electrical, simply because of its sublimation, so that it can per- meate all other bodies ; there being nothing in nature impervious to its penetration, or possessed of chem- ical properties necessary to its successful i-esistance. It is this feature which gives it its peculiar adapta- tion to be the mind's agent — the cranium, with all its membraneous surfaces, offering no resistance either to its reception or rejection. Not even an atmo- spheric vacuum possesses the least power to impede its progress. The inventor of the Camera Obscura took the mechanism of the human eye as the pattern after which to construct his machine. In this is placed the plate prepared for the reception of the image of the object. In the formation of the machine there is the convex lens, which, like the retina of the eye, looks at the object placed before it. On this lens the image is struck, and from which it is conveyed into the camera, where it is struck upon the plate ; feature answering feature, as in perfect similitude. So is it with the human eye. Its convex lens receives the image of the object placed before it ; and if the mind is not too much engaged at the time with other matters, it becomes suddenly aroused by the visit of the new object brought into its dark chambers, and after having delineated all its features, re- ceives the imprint of its image on its living and plastic tablets, which is retained, and is therefore susceptible of being called into vivid remembrance by the discovery of another object possessing similar features of identity. The presence of light, with all SUPERIORITY OF THE MENTAL STRUCTURE. 7/ its constituents of hydrogen, oxygen, and electricity, is also indispensable to the success of this art, as well as to that of the phenomena of human vision. No photographs can therefore be taken in the dark. In the transmission of photographic pictures, all the elements entering into the composition of light, and which intervene between the machine of the artist and the object to be photographed, are thrown into motion and formed into lines, circles, and angles, simply by its relative position with the machine be- fore which it is placed. Although there are no mov- ing devices in the machine adapted to convey force to these elements, still, were this not the fact, no other effect could be produced than that of an object before a mirror which would vanish as soon as the object was withdrawn, or when an opaque body was placed between. This achievement of art, therefore, furnishes an illustration which it is easy to compre- hend, showing conclusively the philosophical prin- ciple upon which the mind acts in communicating tangible and intelligent impressions by a mere act of the will to other 'minds, independent, and therefore upon another principle than that by which it acts ordinarily in the intercommunication of intelligence, and, as we see, presents one of the important princi- ples accounting for the intelligence connected with the (so-called) spirit manifestations, without the aid of the spirits of the dead, and which do not exist. THE SUPERIORITY OF THE MENTAL STRUCTURE. To show the superiority of the mental structure in the reception and transmission of the images of ob- jects, it must be remembered that the lens of the eye is connected by the optic nerve from the retina to 78 KEY TO GHOSTISM. the brain, forming an unbroken channel of communi- cation between external scenes and the seat of reason, on whose physical plates, prepared and polished by the skilful hand of the Divine Architect, the images are traced ; whereas no such conducting medium ex- ists between the lenses of the artist's machine and the camera obscura where the images are formed — the intervening atmosphere being compelled to sub- serve the purpose. That the organs of the brain move in the operation of thought, or thinking, such facts as the following establish beyond question : A man received a frac- ture of the skull, and the effect upon his mind was that of perfect insanity. Some time afterward it was ascertained that a piece of the skull had been driven into the brain, acting as a wedge, and preventing its delicate movements. At the time of the accident the individual was engaged in conversation with a friend ; and it was remarked that when the surgeon removed the piece of skull from the brain, he imme- diately resumed the subject of his discourse, and fin- ished the precise sentence which had been cut short by the accident. There was another individual who had a portion of his skull carried away in battle, but who lived for years afterward. He would permit any one, for a small sum, to press his brain with their finger. This would instantly put a stop to thought ; but on removing the pressure it would as instantly com- mence. These facts of experience and scientific principles seem to us to admit of no other conclusion than that all the phenomena of life and intelligence are as really the result of material organization as that FRAUDS IN SPIRITUAL PIII-XOMENA. 79 Steam-power results from the constructed and con- nected boiler and engine, leaving no more room or work for an indwelling knowing inhabitant to per- form in the one case than in the other, such as an m- telligent musician playing upon his organs to make music, or upon his organic brain to make thought ; or that the mysterious person sits concealed among the parts of the steam-engine, compelling them to perform their functions. If we cannot as fully explain the machinery of the organic man working out its wonders of life and m- teUigence as we can that of the steam-engme, it is solely to be attributed to our wantof comprehendmg its entire mechanism. J3ut by the facts of science and of observation, the analogies of nature and the principles of philosophy, we may approximate the solution to such a degree as leaves nothing but igno- rance and superstition to doubt ; and if we were un- able to account for a single phenomenon of Spiritual- ism it would not leave the least grounds for the sup- position of the existence of the spirits of the dead as this only serves to complicate the problem, by add- ing a wheel within a wheel, or a locomotive within a locomotive, in order to explain the capabilities of the f^rst It is like a boy who cannot comprehend the mechanism of a coffee-mill declaring it to be a locomotive, in order to help him out of the dilemma. FRAUDS IH SPIRITUAL PHEIIOHEIIA EXPOSED BY I.IR. D. D. HOME. We shall now, however, attempt to show that what are the real phenomena of Spiritualism find their solution within the laws of natural science. ' That a vast amount of the so-called spint-manifes- 8o KEY TO GHOSTISM. tation is the work of trick and deception, any one can satisfy themselves by reading their exposure in a book called Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism, by D. D. Home, a few of which we introduce below. The author says : " What, for instance, can be done with such Spiritualists as a Frenchman of rank, and advanced in years, whom I style Count Z. ? During the winter of 1875 T heard that he had been boasting of a wonderful medium just discovered by him, and that he was holding seances with the said medium — a gentleman of position and good family, but who, to my certain knowledge, even then pro- fessed atheistical doctrines. It seemed to me, there- fore, that this mediumship must be pretended. I said so ; and a dozen parrot voices at once took up the old cry, ' Home is jealous.' In fact, so much had I to endure that I determined to obtain convinc- ing proof of the truth of the mediumship in question. Meeting Count Z.'s medium in the South of France, I interrogated the gentleman on the subject, and ob- tained from him a certificate, of which the following is a literal translation : " ' May gth, 18.76. — In response to the desire of Mr. Home, I declare by the present document that I have never assumed to myself the power of mediumship. On the contrary, I have always, in those private gatherings where people amuse themselves with Spiritualism, and where it was sought to make me pass for a medium, denied being one ; and have pointed out that, as I am a materialist and atheist, it is impossible for me to believe in the doctrine of Spiritualism. Frederic S.' " I told Count Z.," says Home, " that the whole FRAUDS IN SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA, 8 1 of the manifestations he witnessed in my presence resulted from trickery ; that I was not a medium, and had no belief in the thing. ' Yes, yes,' he re- plied, ' I am sure you are quite honest in thinking you do these things yourself ; but I know better. It is not you, it is the dear spirits, and you are the most wonderful medium in the world.' " When all this began in Paris, I and some ladies who stayed in the same hotel often went into fits of laughter over the Count's credulity. Whilst sitting together, one of us would slyly pat his head or pinch his knee. ' Dear, dear spirits,' he used then to re- mark, ' please do that again.' Often, too, the person nearest the fire-place would watch for an opportunity of giving the sheet-iron screen a kick. Always, when this occurred, the Count would cry out in an exult- ant voice, ' The dear spirits are imitating thunder.' Not only have I told him that these things were done by ourselves for amusement, but explained to him how they were done. ' Those flowers,' I v/ould say, ' which were found on the table last evening, I took from my pocket, and placed there.' Still the only reply was, ' Yes, yes ; you think so, but I know bet- ter. It was the dear spirits, and you are the most wonderful medium in the world.' Nothing could convince him otherwise. Yet Count Z. and such as he are considered supporters of our cause ! " Let me with a few words dismiss the people and the actions that remain to be noticed," says Mr. Home. " There are ' spirits ' who, after having been ' reduced to the necessity of self-release ' from earth, return there to make such communications on behalf of ' materializing mediums ' as the following : ' Be it far from me to keep silence while the belittled 82 KEY TO GHOSTISM. and belittling croakers are doing their best to disgrace and ruin a band of as true and noble workers as the age may boast of, and all for the reason that their sphere of faith, sight, and action is quite above and beyond the reach of microscopic eyes. Do these penny-a-liner journalists, and all the obscene birds for whom they cater, know or think what they are about ? I believe not. If they did, they would see themselves murderers of the most malignant type. They foul the finest character, and then, with long faces and solemn drawl, pronounce it carrion ; and they taint with their foul breath the purest air.' After this the spirit remarks, that ' were his voice clothed with thunder, and his pen armed with lightning, he would make all these skin-deep ex- posurers shiver in their shoes.' Manner and matter continue equally beneath contempt through the whole communication. I dismiss it, therefore, and proceed. What I have given may serve as a specimen of the trash which the most degraded of spirits must blush to find attributed to them. " England, and still more America, have numbers of such advertisements as, ' Madam , Clairvoy- ant on Business, Love, Marriage,' etc. ' Professor , Astrologer, may be consulted daily on the Events of Life.' ' Madam , Magnetic Treatment. Love Powder, one dollar.' These setters of traps for the foolish can in no sense be considered Spiritualists. The only Spiritualists blamable in the matter are the one or two editors who admit such announcements in their columns. " I have already shown what perplexing people from the other world are occasionally reported as presenting themselves at seances. One or two other FRAUDS IN SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA. 83 examples deserve to be touched upon. The follow ing extract introduces and explains itself : " ' A monthly has appeared in Boston — a novelty in the periodical world, for it professes to be edited by a disembodied essence. Nor are the spirits con- tent with spiritual direction, for, with an eye to the loaves and fishes, one of the number acts as business manager, though the visible amanuensis and pub- lisher is a physician. There are angels of darkness as well as angels of light, and in the ' Voice ' a strict impartiality is preserved ; for one of the first angels who has come upon the stage is James Fisk, Jr. ; and now we learn the secret of that speculator's life. He describes himself as having been, when in the flesh, the unconscious medium of a band of reckless spirits who manipulated him as a skilful pianist handles the keys of his instrument ; and he could no more help doing what he did than could the instru- m'ent help discoursing the music of the operator. The editor-in-chief has the spiritual penetration into the weakness of humanity which tells him that, if he would interest the public, he has to give voice to the bad spirits rather than to the good ones. People want to know what the rascal did, and why he did it, and Fisk, Jr., was a good subject to commence with.' " Home says : " Possibly those beings were members of the above band, who at a particular seance caused the instruments to play by ' spirit power ' their favor- ite tunes, Durang's Hornpipe, Yankee Doodle, and the Devil's Dream. We hear, too, of a spirit whose ordinary manifestations are working a sewing- machine and playing upon a mouth-organ." Mrs. Hardinge says: "Another celestial visitor 84 KEY TO GHOSTISM. wrote a letter, directed the envelope, put a stamp on it, and mailed it in the iron box at the street-corner. But such stories are numberless. They have as little of the spiritual in them as have the wild dances in which ' mediums ' (generally females) indulge under the influence of imaginary Indian controls. Like these, they are the products of overheated and morbid minds. I believe that of the many and glaring ab- surdities upon which I have commented in this chap- ter, not a twentieth are attributable to spirits. It is not to drink tea and play on a fiddle, to give blas- phemously ludicrous communications regarding Christ and His apostles, to strut about in skull-caps and yellow boots, to beat people over the head with paper tubes, to throw cushions at sceptics, to hold up murderers as respectable objects, to tell people by what omnibuses to travel, or to describe the next world as a place where humanity deteriorates, that departed spirits return to earth. Their mission is great, their opportunities are limited. What time have they then to waste in idiotisms of which a school-boy would feel ashamed ? " The most severe blows that Spiritualism has sus- tained have been those aimed by unprincipled and avaricious mediums, who, when the manifestations failed to come as freely as the circumstances required, practised imposition to supply the deficiency." So wrote Mrs. Hardinge inherlfisfofy of American Spiritualising and every year fresh evidence testifies to the truth of her assertion. "Wherever the facts of Spiritualism have pene- trated, lying imitations of those facts may be found. The producers of such imitations are of both sexes and every age. They may be divided into three FRAUDS IN SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA. 85 classes. The first is made up of persons who, while reall}' possessing medial gifts, will, when much tempted, resort to fraud. The second class consists also of mediums — but of mediums w^ho, being'utterly unprincipled, rather prefer to cheat than not ; and who will not, therefore, hesitate to lie and deceive even w^hen no encouragement exists to do so. It is with such that the most frequent and damaging ex- posures occur. They are seldom expert conjurers. The difference between the false and the genuine phenomena witnessed in the presence of these is too glaring to escape the notice of any person not blinded by folly and credulity. Soon, therefore, some de- cisive exposure crushes the faith of all but the in- sanely enthusiastic, and Othello, in the shape of the untrustworthy medium, finds his occupation for the present gone. It is true that he almost invariably resumes it when the storm caused by his rascality has blown over ; but, meanwhile, our cause has re- ceived another wound, and the broad and easy way of fraudulent mediumship has been once more dem- onstrated to lead to destruction. " In the third class I place those charlatans who, though destitute of any real claim to the title of me- dium, find it profitable to impose themselves as such upon credulous Spiritualists, and to imitate the phe- nomena by methods of more or less dexterity. This species of impostor usually varies the monotony of his frauds by showing how those frauds were accom- plished, and, after disgracing the Spiritualists who have received him as an exponent of truth, also dis- graces the unbelievers who receive him as an ex- poser, not of Spiritualism, but of his own villany. "The evil has assumed gigantic proportions. 86 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Dishonesty and darkness, its natural ally, are arrayed against honesty and light. It is with plasure that I see signs of an organized attempt to abate the nuisance. Certain enlightened Spiritualists, and a few (alas ! a very few) select mediums who, in the consciousness of their honesty, can afford to en- counter fearlessly investigation and the sun, are banding themselves against those ' children of the night ' who affect carefully darkened rooms, and seances from which all opportunity for inquiry is ex- cluded. To aid in this noble work of putting down imposture and destroying abuses, my present volume is written. The battle in which I and other honest men are engaged will no doubt be hard. Experience has organized trickery to a high pitch, and the dupes are many. Let lovers of truth then do their best to cast light upon the dark places with which Spiritual- ism is cursed. I have acquired from various sources information regarding the fashion in which certain impositions are accomplished, and I proceed now to detail the ?nodus operandi of such fraudulent manifes- tations. Once awakened to these cheats, investigat- ors may with ease guard against their being practised. " The form of fraud at present most in vogue is the simulation of spirit form or forms. To be suc- cessful, such simulation usually requires the aid of a room so illy lighted as practically not to be lighted at all, a ' cabinet ' into which the medium withdraws from the view of the sitters, and various other ' con- ditions ' of the sort. When the rules of such seances are broken awkward discoveries occur. Sometimes the light is turned up suddenly, and the medium is revealed in his or her ' spirit dress.' Sometimes the ' spirit form ' is grasped, and found to be none other now THE TRICKS ARE PERPETRATED. 8/ than the medium. But, should all go well, the cred- ulous are often highly gratified. Figures appear, clad in flowing and parti-colored robes. The dis- play of drapery seems most extensive. Yet when the medium is searched at the conclusion of the seance no trace of this drapery can be found. Whence has it vanished ? The believers presently reply that ' the spirits have de-materialized it.' The sceptics prob- ably examine the cabinet, and are astonished that they find nothing. Perhaps the evidence I have to offer may throw a little light on the concealments sometimes practised. Let me commence with the narrative of an unimpeachable witness, my friend Serjeant Cox : HOY/ THE TRICKS ARE PERPETRATED. " ' Dear Home : I am satisfied that a large amount of fraud has been and still is practised. Some of it is doubtless deliberately planned and ex- ecuted, but some is, I think, done while the medium is in a state of somnambulism (clairvoyance), and therefore unconscious. As all familiar with the phenomena of somnambulism are aware, the patient acts to perfection any part suggested to his mind, but wholly without self-perception at the time, or memory afterwards. But such an explanation serves only to acquit the medium of deliberate imposture ; it does not affect the fact that the apparent manifes- tation is not genuine. The great field for fraud has been offered by the production and presentation of alleged spirit forms. All the conditions imposed are carefully designed to favor fraud if contem- plated, and even to tempt imposture. The curtain is guarded at either end by some friend. The light 88 KEY TO GHOSTISM. is so dim that the features cannot be distinctly seen. A white veil thrown over the body from head to foot is put on and off in a moment, and gives the neces- sary aspect of ethereality. A white band round the head and chin at once conceals the hair and dis- guises the face. A considerable interval precedes the appearance — just as would be necessary for the preparation. A like interval succeeds the retirement of the form before the cabinet is permitted to be opened for inspection. This just enables the ordi- nary dress to be restored. While the preparation is going on behind the curtain the company are always vehemently exhorted to sing. This would con- veniently conceal any sounds of motion in the act of preparation. The spectators are made to promise not to peep behind the curtain, and not to grasp the form. They are solemnly told that if they were to seize the spirit they would kill the medium ! This is an obvious contrivance to deter the onlookers from doing any thing that might cause detection. It is not true. Several spirits have been grasped, and no medium has died of it, although in each case the sup- posed spirit was found to be the medium. That the detected medium was somewhat disturbed in health after such a public detection and exposure, is not at all surprising. Every one of the five [since this was written, says Mr. Home, by Sergeant Cox, the num- bers have greatly increased. I doubt if there remain now five materializing mediums who have not been seized in the act of personating a spirit form] medi- ums who have been actually seized in the act of per- sonating a spirit are now alive and well. There need be no fear for the consequences in putting them to the proof. HOW THE TRICKS ARE PERrETRvVTED, 89 " ' But I have learned how this trick is done, hav- ing seen the description of it given by a medium to another medium who desired instruction. The letter was in her own handwriting, and the whole style of it showed it to be genuine. She informs her friend that she comes to the seance prepared with a dress that is easily taken off with a little practice. She says it may be done in two or three minutes. She wears two shifts (probably for warmth). She brings a muslin veil of thin material (she gives its name,' which I have forgotten). It is carried in her drawers ! It can be compressed into a small space, although when spread it covers the whole person. A pocket- handkerchief pinned round the head keeps back the hair. She states that she takes off all her clothes ex- cept the two shifts, and is covered by the veil. The gown is spread carefully upon the sofa over the pil- lows. In this array she comes out. She makes very merry with the Spiritualists whom she thus gulls, and her language about them is any thing but com- plimentary. This explains the whole business. The question so often asked before was — where the robe could be carried ? It could not be contained in the bosom or in a sleeve. Nobody seems to have thought of the drawers. " ' But it will be asked how we can explain the fact that some persons have been permitted to go behind the curtain when the form was before it, and have asserted that they saw or felt the medium. I am sorry to say the confession to which I have referred states without reserve that those persons knew that it was a trick, and lent themselves to it. I am of course reluctant to adopt such a formidable conclu- sion ; although the so-called " confession " was a con- go KEY TO GHOSTISM. fidenlial communication from one medium to another medium who had asked to be instructed how the trick was done. I prefer to adopt the more charitable conclusion that they were imposed upon ; and it is easy to find how this was likely to be done. The same suspicious precautions against detection were always adopted. The favored visitor was an assured friend — one Avho, if detecting trickery, would shrink from proclaiming the cheat. But one was permitted to enter, and a light was not allowed. There was noth- ing but the darkness visible of the lowered gas-rays struggling through the curtain. I have noted that no one of them ever was permitted to see the face of the medium. It was always wrapped in a shawl. The hands felt a dress, and imagination did the rest. The revealer of the secret above referred to says that when she took off her gown to put on the white veil, she spread it upon the sofa or chair with pillows or something under it ; and this is what they felt, and took for her body ! " ' The lesson to be learned from all this is that no phenomena should be accepted as genuine that are not produced under strict test conditions. Investi- gators should be satisfied with no evidence short of the very best that the circumstances will permit. Why accept the doubtful testimony of one person groping in the dark, when the question can be de- cided beyond dispute once and forever by the simple process of drawing back the curtain while the alleged spirit is outside, and showing the medium inside to the eyes of all present ? Where absolute tests are refused upon any pretence whatever, and where the conditions imposed are just such as are calculated to prevent detection, if trickery is designed, we are now THE TRICKS ARE rERPETRATED. 9 1 bound to look with the utmost suspicion upon all that is done ; and indeed we should refuse to take part in an)-- such unsatisfactory experiment. " ' Yours most truly, " ' Edward Wm. Cox. " ' March 8, 1876.' " Mr. Home says : " The narrative above given bears a peculiar value from the circumstance attend- ing the confession of imposture to which it refers. The exposure meets even the conditions demanded by those enthusiasts who would rather libel a hun- dred spirits than believe one medium guilty of trick- cry. ' The only conclusive proof that a medium has perpetrated fraud,' a philosopher of this class writes, ' is proof that the physical organs of the medium acted in obedience to his or her own will and pur- poses at the time when the seemingly fraudulent acts were performed.' This proof the medium in ques- tion herself affords. But there are numerous other methods by which impostors of this class may suc- cessfully conceal the materials necessary for the de- ceptions they contemplate. To expose those methods, the Religio-Philosop/iical Journal, some months back, printed an article which the Spiritual Scientist promptly copied. The course of these serials was in honorable contrast to that uniformly pursued in such cases by the least creditable of American Spiritual publica- tions, the miscalled Banner of Light. " All the material for bogus mediums to imitate spirit manifestations can be so concealed about the person (the above-named journal points out), that the most rigid search may fail to find it. A common silk necktie tied around the neck under a paper collar will conceal a gauze-like texture, with silk 92 KEY TO GHOSTISM. handkerchiefs, etc., sufficient to produce your sister, mother, or daughter, as the case may be. The ex- pert, too, can conceal them in the lining of his pants, vest, or coat, with threads so arranged as to deceive the eye, and in a moment's time they may be taken out and replaced. Those who have never investigated this matter would be astonished at the small space required for the articles necessary to materialize a first-class spirit. " Tissue paper also acts an important part in bogus materializations, it being used on the head and vari- ous parts of the body to complete the dress. It can be concealed in the lining of the vest, coat, or pants, and you may search for it, but will not discover it easily. It is an easy matter to deceive three out of five who attend these bogus circles. Some people like to be humbugged ; they take pleasure in it, as those did who attended G 's circles in New York. ' ' Mr. Home says : " Such are the means by which pretended materializations are accomplished. The ordinary mode, it will be perceived, is to conceal the ' spirit dress ' about the person. This, however, is not invariably done. A notorious trickster, whose exposure and punishment occupied some time back the attention of the Spiritual press, was accustomed to operate in a different, but equally elaborate man- ner. On entering the seance room his first request would be to see the ' cabinet.' ' Cabinets ' usually contain a chair or a couch. The medium, after a glance round, seated himself on one or the other, and commenced a desultory conversation. Presently he rose, with some remark, as ' It's growing late : we had better begin the seance.' First, he would add, ' Let me retire with some of you, and be searched.' " SPIRITUAL scientist's " DISCLOSURES. 93 The retirement and the search duly took place. Nothing could be found. The medium re-entered the recess, and the circle was arranged. Presently the curtains parted, and a much-draped form ap- peared. Was it possible that all this could be accom- plished by imposture ? After various of these exhi- bitions had taken place, the question received an an- swer in the affirmative. That conversation in the cabinet had a deeper significance than might have at first been supposed. Whilst the impostor's tongue was busy, his hands were by no means idle. The light talk he started was merely intended to afford him time for concealing somewhere about the couch or chair on which he sat a tight little parcel contain- ing his spiritual trappings. This accomplished, he was of course perfectly ready to be searched. The most rigid investigation of his dress was vain. Shawl, veil, etc., all of the lightest and thinnest fabric, awaited him in the cabinet. The number of such swindles is astonishing. DISCLOSURES BY THE "SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST." " The Spiritual Scientist \we\\ remarks, in its leading article of March i6th, 1S76, ' It would be interesting information if any one could tell us of the number of darkened parlors on back streets that are the scenes of frequent seances for spirit materializations. A de- scription of the " wonders " that are here witnessed would be highly interesting to credulous people, but a careful investigator would ask more particularly concerning the conditions under which these mani- festations are obtained. A few words tell the stor3^ They are patterned one after the other — the original being the one that has been the longest in the busi- 94 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ness. The individual who would attend these shows is obliged to make a personal application. He is met at the door by a strong specimen of the genus homo, who informs the humble applicant that his petition will be referred to John King. (John King is the familiar name for the manager on the spiritual side of the show.) The answer of John King will be given to the applicant if he will call at some future day ; and it may be said the success or failure of his attempt to enter the charmed circle will depend greatly on his personal appearance and the number of ladies that are to be present on any evening he may wish to gain admittance. These shrewd man- agers have found that the best conditions are ob- tained when the ladies are in a large majority, and the number of men present does not exceed one to every two friends of the operator or medium. If an applicant should gain admittance, he is assigned a seat in the back part of the room ; the front seats are reserved for the tried friends of the spirits. The sit- ters in the front row hold in their hands and are held by a stout wire bent in the form of a horseshoe. At either end sits a friend of the medium. The medium enters. She may be a small, slender, middle-aged lady, or one that is fat and fair. She takes her seat in one corner of the room, or behind a pair of folding doors in a dark ante-room, or in an alcove furnished with doors opening into closets. Any of these are favorite conditions, and a correct type of several of the apartments of materializing mediums in this city. A curtain now conceals the medium from view. Some one starts a discordant noise which is called singing, and the manifestations commence. The standard stock in trade consists of the materialized THE TOTAL DARK Sl^ANCES. 95 forms of an old woman and a sailor. These you will find at nearly all the seances. In addition each me- dium has an attendant, whose office corresponds to that of the genus homo in the circle. He keeps things in order.' " The above is no exaggeration. It is a faithful representation of the majority of the so-called mate- rializing seances in Boston. Woe to the man or woman who ventures to suggest other conditions ! He or she is sent to Coventry immediately, and is ever afterwards looked upon as a suspected person,, whose presence endangers the success of the enter- prise. There are enough patrons from among the weak and credulous phenomenalists — people who will recognize in the materialized old lady the shade of their grandmother. Better make a few dollars and be safe than endeavor to make a few more by admitting sensible people who will readily discover the imposture. It is a reflection upon Spiritualists that test mediums who are always able to give some message, token of love, or valuable information from the dwellers in the spirit, should be neglected for a darkened room, where forms that may be inflated masks, or something else, flit in an uncertain light at intervals for about an hour and then vanish, leaving the minds of the audience in a state of unpleasant uncertainty. It is no wonder that Spiritualism lan- guishes, and that its adherents are unable to support a single course of lectures in Boston !" THE TOTAL DARK SEANCES. Mr. Home says : " Of another class are the dark Seances at present held. Sometimes the pitchest blackness prevails. Instruments rattle discordantly. 96 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Voices bellow through pasteboard speaking-trum- pets. Persons in various parts of the circle are touched or patted by supposed spirit hands. Noth- ing is offered that can in the slightest degree be con- sidered as approaching a test. The imposture is often of the baldest and grossest character ; yet the ' medium ' is congratulated on the success of the seance, and credulous fools are happy. Perhaps the sitting is for ' materialized ' forms or faces. In such case the proceedings are regulated according to the character of the persons present. Should these be unknown, or regarded as possessing a fair share of common-sense, nothing goes well. The circle is de- scribed as ' inharmonious.' The cabinet is jealously guarded. A distressingly tiny ray of light having been introduced, ' materialization ' takes place. All that the persons present can perceive is something white. Shape or features there are none. If, how- ever, the audience consists of known and enthusiastic dupes, conditions are at once pronounced favorable. A large share of light is admitted. The form appears and moves about among the believers present. Their credulity rapidly mounts to fever heat. Patched and darned shawls are discovered to be ' robes of delicate texture and surpassing gorgeous- ness.' A kerchief twisted round the head becomes an unmistakable turban. False whiskers and India ink produce ' a manly and noble face ; ' rouge and pearl powder, in conjunction with a skilfully arranged head-dress, are sufficient to send the credu- lous into raptures over the ' visions of surpassing loveliness ' presented. The familiarity of the spirit- ual visitors is charming. They have been known to seat themselves at the tea-table, and make a hearty THE TOTAL DARK SEANCES. 97 meal, ' inquiring jocularly whether the muffins were well-buttered.' They have mixed stiff glasses of grog for the sitters, and, not satisfied with mixing, have themselves partaken of them. In such little reunions tests are never employed or mentioned. Not a dupe present but would rather perish than take a suspicious peep into the cabinet whilst the ' materialized form ' is out, and moving about the room. Not one among the party but would rather have his hand cut off than grasp, in detective fashion, at the spirit-form. The spirit is in every respect at home, and may walk in and out of the cabinet as he or she pleases. " The darkness of the seance is proportioned to the sense of the sitters. Where scepticism is rife the most jealous precautions are adopted lest that scepti- cism should behold too much. To meet this con- dition of things various supposed tests have been de- vised. If they be of an inconvenient nature, the im- postor whom they are intended to unmask usually declines them. If, on the other hand, they appear such as may be eluded by jugglery or confederacy, they are at once accepted. The most common method is to fasten the medium by some means — often painful, and almost without exception imper- fect. Such tyings are simply useless. There is no binding submitted to by mediums to which profes- sional conjurers have not also been submitted. The feats accomplished by Maskelyne Cook and his part- ner, in the way of releasing themselves from ropes, etc., have been such as to drive certain credulous Spiritualists to a most audaciously foolish expedient. These persons had again and again put forth jubilant utterances respecting the rapidity with which pet 98 KEY TO GIIOSTISM. mediums of theirs were released by ' the spirits ' from their bonds. Maskelyne and his partner proceeded to yield to a tying at least equally severe, and they released themselves with even greater rapidity. Some enthusiast, jealous for the reputation of his favorite medium, lighted on what was considered a happy idea. The amazed jugglers were gravely con- gratulated on the excellency of their physical medium- ship. Denial availed nothing. In spite of all they could say, print, or prove, rabid credulity con- tinues to rejoice over them as ' the best of living me- diums for the production of strong physical mani- festations.' Surely Spiritualism must have fallen very low, when a couple of professed conjurers are hailed as its best exponents." Mr. Home gives us the following as a sample of the exposures : " Exposures occur with great frequency. One of the most decisive was reported in the Daily Courier of Christmas Day, 1S75. After describing the ' man- ifestations ' witnessed at previous seances, the Courier thus narrates how matters went on the evening of the catastrophe : * Several gentlemen had formed a very strong opinion as to the utter imposture of the whole thing. There was but one chance remaining, and that not availing, the Spiritualists would have achieved a great result. However, the fates were in the other direction, and the spirits themselves must have played against the spirit conjurers. The eager circle gathered together for a final manifestation. The stock-broker was there, hoping probably to get some augury that would help in his speculations. The master - carterish individual was also present, drinking in the wonders with great relish. There THE GHOST CAUGHT. 99 likewise was the clapper young gentleman who had come in his gymnasium dress, laboring, it is be- lieved, under the delusion that the gigantic spirit was that of a noted ex-pugilist named King, with whom he was eager to have a set-to ! THE GHOST CAUGHT. " ' Near the cabinet sat a strange man in specta- cles. The occurrences of the evening were varied. Poor Old Joe and the John Brown Chorus brought forth a baby-spirit, believed by the sceptical to be nothing more than a newspaper sheet. Shortly after- wards a trifling discord marred the harmony of the circle. Some one having tampered with the gas, manifestations were interrupted for a time, but har- mony was restored, and the baby-spirit came again. The end, however, approached. A tube of paper was handed out, presumably by a spirit, and then came the form of John King — first, as if attentative- ly selecting his position, and eventually appearing full at the aperture in the curtain. This was the criti- cal moment ! The strange man in spectacles bounded like a panther towards the cabinet, and made a grab at the spirit. The w^hite draper}'', or whatever it might be, was seen to shrivel up, as if vanishing away. Gracious heavens I could it be a spirit after all ? was the question that overwhelmed for a mo- ment the minds of the spectators. But, at the same instant, the brawny person already described as a master carter sprang from his seat, and seized the medium on the left-hand side, so that the hapless impostor was thus caught in a vice. A howl of ter- ror escaped his lips, and, as the gas was being turned on, another conspirator against the spirits made a lOO KEY TO GHOSTISM. dash at the cabinet, and brought the whole arrange- ment to the floor. The medium was handed out, and disclosed a most ludicrous make-up. About two yards of tarlatan were arranged round his head turban-wise, and covered him in front down to the thighs. On each leg was tied loose a newspaper — both copies of the Daily Courier — and these served as the spirit's pantaloons. In the full blaze of the gas-light they remained like the top-boots of a brigand in a melodrama. When dragged into the light the terri- fied medium was still clutching one end of the strips of tarlatan, doubtless thinking his spirit dress would be some protection to him against the violence of the sceptics." THE EDDYS CAU3HT AT LAST. So many of these spiritualistic materializations have been thus detected and the frauds exposed, that for some time the tricksters have not attempted their repetition in public. But the temptation to make money by the exhibitions was too strong even for the "honest Eddy Brothers," who have so long carried on their deceptions without being detected. They have been caught at last, however, as the following telegram from the New York Herald will show : SPIRITUALISM EXPOSED. A MediTim Detected. Personating the Spirit of an Indian Chief. Great Consternation among the Believers. North Adams, Mass., October 14, 1S79. Last Saturday Webster Eddy (one of the celebrat- ed Eddy Brothers) and his sister, Mary Eddy Hun- toon, came to this village for the purpose of holding a number of spiritualistic seances. They held their first one on Saturday evening, at their boarding- house on State Street,' to which several of our promi- THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. lOI nent cilizens were invited, among Ihem the Rev. Dr. Osborn, pastor of the Baptist church. On Saturday- evening they held their second meeting at the resi- dence of Mr. Sherwin, in Iloughtonville. Monday evening they held their third, and, it is hoped, their last in the village. The Spiritualists of North Adams embrace a large number of influential citizens, such as John F. Arnold, candidate for Lieutenant-Gover- nor on the Butler ticket last year ; Sheriff Hodgkins, Contractor Sherwin, and many others of prominence. The better portion of the community had become somewhat disgusted with these spiritual manifesta- tions, as well as with their demoralizing effects upon those who believed in them, and it was decided to expose the Eddys, if possible. A committee of fif- teen, with the Rev. Dr. Osborn at their head, under- took to detect the trick ; and, to carry out their plans, they arranged every minute particular care- fully. Officer Joel E. Hunter and Sheriff R. G. Walden were engaged to stand outside the door and to enter at the instant their names should be called, to arrest the medium, Mrs. Huntoon. John H. Mabbett was the man selected to seize the medium, on her appear- ance as a spirit. THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. At length she came out in the guise of an Indian chief. Mabbett jumped for her, grasped her by both wrists, and held her tightly. Her brother, who was sitting near, endeavored to release her ; but Mabbett hung on and called the officers. In an instant the door was opened, and a " dark lantern" presented by Officer Walden exposed the whole matter. Officer Walden had a warrant in his possession for the arrest of Eddy and Mrs. Huntoon, but it was thought best by all concerned to let them off, if they would quit the town at once. It would be impossible to de- scribe the consternation pictured on the faces of the believers. They were simply confounded. I02 KEY TO GHOSTISM. THE MEDIUM'S EXPLAHATIOK. Mrs. Huntoon acknowledged before the audience that " Mabbett" caught hold of the Indian spirit outside of the cabinet, and her explanation was that the Indian emanated from her, and after it had been seized returned to her ; consequently Mabbett had Mrs. Huntoon in his arms after the light was turned up. Dr. Osborn visited one of their seances on Satur- day evening last, for the purpose of getting points for the exposure last night. The Spiritualists are very much exercised, and say that they shall hold more meetings in town, under the direction of Eddy and Mrs. Huntoon ; but if they do they will be arrested. There has not been so much excitement in town for years. A WOMAN SUSPEKDED BY MAGNETISM. The astonishing power of mental magnetism not only to move and suspend inanimate objects, but human beings, is now being exhibited in various cities by Professor Philion. Mrs. Emma Philion, his wife, is made to sleep horizontally in mid-air, five feet from the floor, her head resting upon her arm and her arm upon the top of a rod about one and a half inches in diameter, the lower end of which rests in a hole in the floor. She takes her stand upon a stool between two such rods as the one described, upon the top of which her elbows rest. She is then magnetized to sleep by her husband, which occupies about five minutes. The stool is then removed from under her feet, leaving a space between them and the floor of about one foot. One of the rods is then removed, the arm placed by her side, and she hangs perpen- dicularly in the air. She is then moved in a hori- zontal position by her husband, her arm still resting A WOMAN SUSPENDED BY MAGNETISIM. IO3 upon the top of the single rod, with her head reclin- ing on it. She thus hangs suspended upon her side, with her face turned toward the audience, in quiet sleep, of which she knows nothing. ' In this exhibition there are no wires or pulleys, of which every one in the audience is convinced, the Professor taking one of the rods and passing it in every direction around the suspended body. After all are satisfied, she is again lowered into a standing attitude, the other rod placed in the floor, her arm again placed on it, when the stool is placed under her feet. She is then demagnetized, bows pleasingly to the audience, and retires. We may observe that this is no dark seance, but all the lights shine brilliantly in the hall. The lady weighs about one hundred and thirty pounds ; and while thus suspended the attraction of gravitation is completely overcome. Were the rod upon which her head rests fastened into a scale, she would not probably weigh twenty pounds. Indeed, both rods have been removed, and she left hanging in the air without touching an object ; in which case, of course, she would weigh nothing. The science of this phenomena we have already explained. Gravity consists in the attraction of the atmosphere to the earth and by it. This is called atmospheric pressure, which is fifteen pounds to the square inch. The bulk and density of the earth be- ing so much greater than those of the atmosphere, gives all bodies on its surface this superior attractive force to the earth. In order to suspend this woman it was necessary to charge her with electricity, or magnetism, fifteen times higher than that of her normal condition. 104 KEY TO GHOSTISM. This makes her as positive as the earth itself ; and as two positives resist each other, she hangs in the air just, where she is placed. Now if she should be charged higher than this degree, say sixteen pounds to the square inch, she would of herself, without a touch, rise from the floor to the ceiling, or to that locality where she would be in equilibrium with the attractive force of the air ; and until demagnetized would there remain suspended. Reasoning from small to great bodies, this experi- ment shows magnetism to be the force by which the planets in the solar system and the sun itself are held suspended in their several places and orbits. The suspension of the pith balls by the galvanic battery illustrates the same scientific principle ; showing also the identity of mental magnetic agency and that of the mineral emanating from the batter3^ Here we see again how beautifully facts of natural science harmonize, and in this case leaving no room for the supposed work of mysterious spirits. But it is an easier method for thoughtless people to refer all phenomena to mysterious spirit-causes, hence its popularity. As Mr. Home's book thus exposes the great mass of the so-called materializing phenomena of Spiritual- ism as the result of gross fraud, perpetrated by the collusion of the mediums and their manipulators, it somewhat narrows down our task in accounting for many of its pretended marvels. Such exposures may satisfy some that all its phenomena are the work of trick and deception. It will never convince others ; and we are free to confess ourselves to be among this number. The apparent honesty of Mr. Home in making the exposures, and the testimony of his THE TELEPHONE AND THE HUMAN EAR. 105 friends who witnessed the manifestations through liis own mediumship, it seems to us, forbids the idea of collusion, and in our opinion is as unsatisfactory as that it is the work of the spirits of the dead. As we have assumed that all the real phenomena of Spiritualism result from living minds acting upon each other, and are therefore but the highest form of physiology and mental philosophy, we must avail ourselves of all the corresponding phenomena and facts with which we are acquainted, including the latest developments. We have already endeavored to prove the position, from the philosophy of Memory, that every object with which the mind grapples leaves its image per- manently traced on the brain. As additional evi- dence we wish to refer here to some of the very latest acquisitions of art and science, and which seem to leave no ground for further questioning the fact that human intelligence results from physiological organ- ization. THE TELEPHONE AND THE HUMAN EAR. The first of these we mention is what is called the Telephone. This consists simply of a speaking and hearing tube, attached to each end of a wire. These are made of a funnel-shape, or like a hearing- trumpet. Whatever is spoken in one is heard in the other, though miles distant from each other. We have heard a quartette sung in one of these, and every word and sound communicated to the other end, and that too over a single wire. Here are four voices passing simultaneously over a single wire, and each peculiarity of the music conveyed with perfect distinctness. I06 KEY TO GIIOSTISM. If a crude machine like this is thus susceptible, how much more so can we conceive the auditory- nerve to be to convey the sounds struck upon the drum of the ear to the brain, resulting in all the intelligence derived from sound ? THE PHONOGRAPH. Another of these inventions and discoveries is produced by what is called the Phonograph. It is a machine which repeats the words spoken or sung into it, as naturally and audibly as though it were another human voice. It consists of a brass cylinder of about three inches in diameter and six inches long, lying horizontally in a frame, having a crank attached to one end, by which it is turned slowly around while the speaking is going on. Into the cylinder is a groove cut of about one sixteenth of an inch, like the thread of a screw or a worm-feed, covering the entire surface of the cylinder. The thread about one eighth of an inch apart. A slide travels in front of the cylinder, like the carriage of a lathe, corresponding with the speed at which the cylinder is turned. The slide carries a wire of about two inches in length, just as a lathe-head carries the turning tool. One end of this wire is per- mitted to play up and down in the groove while the machine is in operation. Before operation the whole surface of the cylinder is covered with tin-foil. On the opposite end of the wire is fastened a speaking tube. The sounds spoken into this sets the wire vibrating, perhaps three or four times during the pronunciation of each syllable of a word. The vibrations make indentations into the tin-foil corre- sponding in depth and shape to the strength and THE PHONOGRAPH. lO/ peculiarity of the sound at any point of the syllable. After the speech is made, or song sung, the slide is drawn back from the cylinder and it is turned back to the point at which it started when the speaking com- menced. The point of the wire is now placed on the tin-foil over the groove, and another tube is placed upon the one on the wire, with its mouth turned outward toward the audience. There is a spring attached to the wire which draws the point down into the indentations made by the sounds, and they are of such a tapering shape that they force it up as they pass the point. The cylinder is then turned in the same manner as at the first. The point of the wire now moving up and down throws the air into, vibrations, speaking back the words just as they were made by the organs of speech, and repeats the same words and sings the same notes as were spoken or sung into it — and so audibly that a hundred persons can easily hear and understand them. The tin-foil may now be taken off the cylinder and laid away any length of time, and then replaced and the crank turned as at the first, and the machine will speak or sing the same words and make the same music. Another fact in relation to these wonderful phenom- ena is, that a speech may be made and a song sung one after the other, and the impressions consequent- ly made the one upon the other, and it will repeat the speech and song both at once, so that you can distinguish each just as well as you can the speech or song of two individuals if performed simultane- ously in your hearing. In this particular the Pho- nograph seems to be a little in advance of human speech, as no one can make a speech and sing a song at the same time. I08 KEY TO GHOSTISM. If these indentations are examined by the micro- scope, they are found each to have a shape peculiar to itself ; or, in other words, each sound of the human voice is shown to make an image on the tin- foil peculiar in shape to itself. From these facts we have the conclusion, that as the machine reproduces the speech of man from the impressions it made in its reception, and that by a mechanical arrangement, it is the same organic principle upon which the ear re- ceives external sounds and imprints them upon the brain, ready to be repeated by audible speech at any future time, or the intelligent ideas which they repre- sent seen at any time by mental reflection. This principle is in accordance with the mechan- ism of all art and nature, that that which produces the same result is substantially the same cause, MODERN ART ILLUSTRATED. If we take into account the mechanism of the steam Type-setter — the manuscript printer — the Telephone, and now the " Speaker" combined, we have at least an approximate conception that, to once print on the brain the phonetic characters to repre- sent the elements of human speech, the number of which does not exceed fifty, and the eight notes of music, we have the images in depression or relief of all the peculiar sounds capable of being made, to re- produce which certainly involves no more compli- cated machinery than to produce them. In other words, the mechanism that speaks is no more com- plicated than that which hears, which the " ma- chine-speaker " demonstrates by doing both. We have only therefore to suppose that the brain com- bines substantially the mechanism of these machines, MODERN ART IIJ.USTRATED. lOQ and we have the philosophy of two of the greatest human endowments, speech and memory. The conclusion is also irresistible, that if the images derived through the sense of hearing are thus perma- nently traced upon the brain, so likewise are those de- rived through the mechanism of all the other senses. We have already shown that the mechanism of photography is copied from the optical organs of human vision ; and if this art produces permanent pictures of the objects placed before it on plates pre- pared for their reception, so does the mechanism of the human eye upon the plates of the brain. As these phenomena are those of mind, and as mind belongs to the voluntary department of organ- ized man ; and if it is a fact that one individual can by a word or mental effort obtain the entire control of the volition of another mind, and his locomotion, that the latter has the power to produce any impres- sion on the brain of the former he pleases. In other words, the power to use the mental organization of the one has passed into the possession of the other, for the time being. It also proves that the agency by which the will compels the organs to move — as that communicated to the " speaking-machine" by turning the crank — has passed from the one to the other, so that the latter can speak, hear, see, taste, smell, or feel only as the former wills. It is as though a steam-engine was run by the exhaust steam received from another, and not directly from the boiler. The former throws the electric agent of his own mind by his will into the brain of the other, and the talking goes on, just as it does by turning the crank of the " speaking-machine." As the whole operation is the result of the organic no KEY TO GHOSTISM. brain of both the first and second of these individ- uals, and as the spirits of the dead have no such brain, they are therefore incapable of using the brain or organic mind of a living human being. It is also essential that lungs should exist and be employed, to give the air they contain the impulse which is fash- ioned into the image, or conventional signs of that image, of the object to be conveyed while passing through the throat and mouth, in order to make audible speech possible. Or if it is done by the will on the part of the first, still this is the result of a resolution passed by the mind ; and as the lungs are essential to give the organic brain the power to think, and as the spirits have no lungs, they are still incapable of communicating electric power to com- pel another mind to think or speak, or to manifest themselves through human beings, and much less by the motion of inanimate bodies. As electricity is the agent of the mind by which man makes all his voluntary motions, dispatched through the nerves by the decision of the will, in- cluding that by which the will and its control passes to that of another, it becomes important that we should understand its nature and the laws by which it is governed. DR. FRAKKLIK'S THEORY OF ELECTRICITY. The theory of Dr. Franklin is unquestionably cor- rect, " that all terrestrial things contain a certain quantity of this subtle fluid ; and that its effects become apparent only when a substance containing more or less than the natural quantity is brought in contact. This condition is effected by the friction of an electric. Thus, when a piece of glass is rubbed DUI'UY S THEORY. Ill by the hand the equilibrium is lost, the electrical fluid passing from the hand to the glass ; so that the hand contains less and the glass more than its ordi- nary quantity. These conditions implying the (com- parative) presence or absence of electricity, and con- stitute the negative and positive." We may suggest a simpler experiment to illustrate. Let any individual walk over a new parlor carpet, shuflling their feet for a few minutes, and then touch their finger to a gas-burner with the gas turned on, and it will immediately light. Or by thus charging themselves and touching the flesh of another, they will receive a sensible shock as from a battery. EUPUY'S THEORY. Dupuy's theory supposes two kinds of electricity, called the vitreous and resinous, because the former is obtained from glass and the other from resin ; cor- responding to the negative and positive of Franklin. "This theory is illustrated by the fact that two pith balls placed near each other, and touched by an excited piece of glass or sealing-wax, repel each other ; but if one of the balls be touched by the glass and the other by the wax, they will attract each other." We adopt both of these theories, because there are phenomena connected with the science of electrics which cannot be accounted for upon either alone. The theory of Dupuy cannot account for the fact in animal electric phenomena that a powerful electric man cannot magnetize a very weak female, while such a female can so magnetize the most powerful man — even throwing him into the deepest trance — and by a mental decision completely control all his powers of volition. And also that the most powerful can 112 KEY TO GHOSTISM. produce no apparent effect upon the weakest, nor the weakest upon the strongest muscular man. This fact shows that Franklin's theory has no application here. One in whose nervous system is the largest quantity cannot magnetize one who possesses the smallest. Yet here is the strongest negative and posi- tive upon the principle of quantity ; and according to the invariable law of electrics, the negative and positive come together and affect each other. But here Dupuy's theory applies with scientific precision, so that the individual susceptible of this control has his nervous system charged with negative electricity in kind, and can be controlled by all those whose nerves are charged with positive electricity, whether these are weak females or strong males ; and we may add that experience has shown that the proportion of the negatively charged are only about eight per cent of mankind. From this class, however, come all the familiar spiritualists or mediums of the world. LAWS GOYERHIKG ELECTRICITY. The law governing electrics is, first, that two posi- tives resist each other and also two negatives, whether of quantity or quality ; while the negative and positive attract each other. Electricity is the most powerful decomposing agent in all nature. Comstock says : " Before the discovery by Galvani of the exist- ence of animal electricity, or its modification as connected with minerals, called ' galvanism,' after the electrician's name, most if not all the chemical effects of the galvanic battery Were produced by electrici- ty — such as the decomposition of water — long before the discovery of galvanism ; but since that important event the decomposition of the alkalies, and, as a CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ELECTRICITY. II 3 consequence, other discoveries of great value, have been effected. " One of the most extraordinary facts belonging to the agency of galvanism is, that elements of de- composed bodies follow an invariable law in respect to the electric sides on which they arrange them- selves. Thus, in decomposing water, or compounds containing its elements, the hydrogen escapes at the negative pole and the oxygen at the positive. In the decomposition of salts or other compounds, this law in every instance is observed, the same kind of ele- ment being always disengaged at the same pole of the battery." — Chemistry, p. 71. The fact that electricity in the decomposition of substances carries off their peculiar properties ex- panded into its own nature, demonstrates it to be composed of as solid atoms of matter as the sub- stances themselves. In fact its nature becomes mod- ified in its very essence by every form of matter which it decomposes, showing that it has as many shades of quality as there are different chemical sub- stances in nature. CHEIIICAL COMPOSITION OF ELECTRICITY. That electricity will decompose every other sub- stance, shows it to be endowed with the negatives for all positives, and positives for ail negatives. This also gives us the conclusion that if there were a suffi- cient quantity and variety of quality of electricity charging our planet, every thing it contains, as well as the mineral planet itself, would become simple electricity. It is these positive, negative, and chemi- cal properties which adapt electricity to be a uni- versal agent, moved by all minds in proportion to 114 KEY TO GHOSTISM. their order of greatness, and to which all the motions and material phenomena of the universe are to be attributed ; but which supposes the existence of a Being possessing mind and will, frorri whom it received these wonderful functions. POWER OF MENTAL MAGIIETISM. That inanimate bodies may be moved and intelli- gently governed by this mental agency, without human contact — and which is ignorantly supposed to be the work of departed spirits — thousands of people have witnessed. For the benefit of those who have not seen them, we here copy from a paper read some years ago by Dr. Bell, as a report of a com- mittee on the subject, before the Superintendents of the Insane Hospital of the City of Boston, which was published in the Amei-ican Journal of Tnsanity. Dr. Bell commenced by expressing surprise at finding that " although the previous year so large a number of persons were investigating the reciprocal influences of mind and body, scarcely a single mem- ber had bestowed a moment's attention on a topic directly in their way, which, whether regarded as an epidemic, mental delusion, or as a new psychologic science, was producing such momentous effects upon the world ; whose adherents are now said to number over two millions, with an extended literature, a talented periodical press in many forms, and which had taken hold of many minds of soundness and power. I am aware that many are disposed to cast ridicule on those who were engaged in investigating the so-called spiritual phenomena, and especially, when it was being prosecuted seriously by hospital directors ; but if there were any class of men who THE "EXPERIMENTUM CRUCIS." II5 had duties in this direction it, was ourselves. Our reports contain the record of many cases of insanity said to have been produced by it. It was important, therefore, tliat its precise length, breadtli, and nature should be studied, as it is well known that mystery always loses its terrific character when boldly met and exposed to the light of day. THE " EXPERIMEMTUM CRUCIS." " On returning from Washington I had a peculiar wish to verify my previous observations on witness- ing what are technically known as the physical man- ifestations of the new science. I could not, however, doubt my former personal observations, addressed to my senses of sight, hearing, and touch, and sepa- rated, as I believe, from any possibility of error or collusion ; and yet the offer made by Professor Henry of a large sum of money to any person who would make one of his tables in the Smithsonian Institute move, and the obvious incredulity of many of the brothers, had produced an ardent desire to witness a full and unequivocal experiment of this character. An opportunity was not long wanting. On the occasion a well-known gentleman, long connected with the insane, who had never witnessed any of these phe- nomena, was invited to accompany me to a family where a medium of considerable power was visiting. The family was one of the most respectable in the vicinity, the head of it being a gentleman with whom was intrusted millions of dollars of other people's money, as the financial manager of a large banking institution, who, with his wife, had been for years perfectly convinced of the spiritual character of these manifestations. Il6 KEY TO GHOSTISM. " The medium was a young lady of about eighteen years, of a very slight figure, and weighing between eighty and ninety pounds, who had discovered her- self to be a medium while visiting these distant rela- tives. A family of such character and position in society was beyond suspicion or any thing like irregu- larity, collusion, or fraud. We were so fortunate as to find the medium at home, and the circle was com- posed of the five individuals named. The ordinary manifestations of raps, beating of musical instru- ments, and responses to mental questions were remarkable on this occasion, as well as the move- ments of the table under the contact of mere finger- ends. " Finding circumstances so favorable for an exhibi- tion of more astonishing things, I proposed to try the great experimentum crucis of moving the table without human contact. I arranged things to suit myself, beginning by opening the table wider than common and inserting two movable leaves, increas- ing its length to about ten feet. This gave me an opportunity clearly to discover any wires or machin- ery which might have been attached to it, as well as to enable me to answer positively as to their non- existence. The table was a solid structure of black walnut, with six carved legs and casters attached to them, and of such great weight that I could but just move it by a full grasp of the thumb and finger of both hands. " The persons stood three on the one side and two on the other, with a space between them and the table of about eighteen inches. Being tall, I had no difficulty in seeing between the table and all the per- sons present. At a request the table commenced its THE " EXPERIMENTUM CRUCIS." U/ motion with a moderate speed, occasionally halting and then gliding along a foot or two at once. It seemed to me that its motion would have been con- tinuous if the hands above it had followed it in the same position which they occupied at the first. On reaching the iron rod on which the folding doors traversed, which projected a half or three fourths of an inch from the level of the carpet, it rose at once over it, entering the other parlor, through which it passed, until it came near a pier-glass which stood at the opposite side of the room. At a request, the motion was reversed, and it returned until it again reached the iron rod. Here, however, it stuck, although it hove and creaked and struggled, but all in vain — it could not surmount the difficulty. " The medium was then impressed to .write ; and seizing a pencil, hastily wrote that if the forelegs were lifted over the bar, they (the spirits) thought they could push the others over, which was accord- ingly done, and the motion continued. Once or twice during the movement of the table, I requested the whole circle to withdraw a little further from it, in order to see how far the influence would extend ; and it was found that when a greater distance was reached (say two feet) the movement ceased, and a delay of three and four minutes occurred before it commenced, conveying the idea that, if broken off, a certain reaccumulation of force was necessary in order to put it again in motion. "The table finally reached the upper end of the parlor from which it started, about four feet from the meridian line of the room. I expressed my gratitude to the company for the very complete exhibition with which we had been favored ; but remarked that it Il8 KEY TO GHOSTISM. would be enhanced if the spirits would move the table about four feet at right angles, so that the chairs would come right again for their late occu- pants ; which was immediately done. The perform- ance was so perfect and satisfactory, that nothing more was asked on that occasion. This [remarked Dr. Bell] was the sixth time I have seen tables move without human contact, and all under circumstances apparently as free from suspicion as those just described. I might have stated that the table travelled on this occasion over fifty feet. A sagaci- ous clergyman of extraordinary perception took this medium home with him, where she had never been before, and, in the presence of his family alone, one of his own tables was made to go through the fullest locomotion without human contact." SCIEHTIFia PRIKCIPLE OF THE PHEKOMEKON. In order that we may understand the natural prin- ciple upon which tables are thus moved, we must remember that there is a column of atmosphere of fifteen pounds to the square inch pressing upon the whole surface of the earth. It miist also be remem- bered that if a square inch of the air becomes per- meated with electricity, and in part or wholly dis- placed, it forms for the time being a comparative vacuum, and makes that portion of air of less than fifteen pounds pressure. It is also a fact that such vacuums are produced in nature by slow degrees. For example, a very dense cloud becomes surcharged very rapidly, because absorbing the electric rays of the sun by not letting them pass through it. When this reaches a certain degree, it is discharged in the shape of lightning to a cloud less highly charged ; SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLE OF THE PHENOMENON. I I9 but a cloud of less density is only charged to a de- gree that may find its cquilil)rium b)^ a correspond- ingly slow process, and without the flash. A medium is one whose whole mental electric force by which she performs volition in an assembly has passed from her mind and will to some one else in the company, who therefore controls it, either con- sciously or unconsciously. Here, let us suppose, is a l)arty assembled, among whom is such a negative in- dividual called the medium, and it is an appropriate name ; but she is the medium between the spirits or electric powers of the other members of the com- pany, and not those of the dead. The concentration of all the minds present now become fixed upon the medium and the table to be moved. No sooner is this done than the electric agency of all the minds present become agitated and put in motion, acting by expectation directly upon the mind of the medi- um, producing upon that mind the absolute im- pression that the object sought will be accomplished. If the mind of the medium had not lost the power to reason and act independently, such an absurd idea would not be entertained, and she would have rea- soned, I cannot move the table unless I take hold of it ; and in such a case she would not have been a medium. The entire mental force is thus concen- trated and conducted through the nerves of the arms to the finger-ends. If these arc in contact with the table, the communication is unbroken, and it is readily moved ; but if not touched, the intervening air serves as the conductor of the mental force. By this electric force the air above and around the table becomes so electrified that its pressure is neutralized, or balanced, counteracting the specific gravity of 120 KEY TO GHOSTISM. the table ; consequently requiring but the slightest degree of force to suspend or move it in any direc- tion, as well as to compel it to perform intelligent locomotion. Let us suppose that the top surface of the table has but one pound of its atmosphere neutralized by the mental electric force thus thrown upon it, leav- ing fourteen pounds above and fifteen pounds beneath it. Do we not see that the table must move upward as certainly as that fifteen pounds put in one scale and fourteen in the other will preponderate in favor of the former ? And do we not also see that if the mental force is concentrated on any one side of the table, that its motion will be in the direction of the vacuum thus produced ; and as the table moves and the circle with it, so does the vacuum, by the continual displacement of the atmosphere by the electric mental agency ? The fact that the table is compelled to perform intelligent locomotion has its explanation-in the other fact, that the electric mental agency by which the medium performed her own locomotion had passed from her to the table : for it is one of the commonest features of these phenomena that when the mediums go into the trance they have lost all voluntary control, if such be the wish of the controller ; and it is a fact that the limbs of the medium are no more parts of their mind or will than are the legs of the table. Neither is the pen in a man's hand a part of the hand ; and yet it performs intelligent action by the electric agent received from the mind. That one man can throw another into the trance state and compel him to perform every act by a mere mental effort as obediently as he can his own limbs, everybody knows ; and surely the second man SLATE WRITING. 121 is no part of the mind of the first. If one man, there- fore, can be comi)ellcd to act according to the unex- pressed will of another — in his normal state having the power to resist — how much more so may a man thus compel an inanimate table, having no power of resistance, to act according to his will ? Now if the table is made to perform intelligent acts in these phenomena by human influences and according to the reciprocal and electrical laws of minds upon each other and upon such objects, then is it not absurd to attribute any other phase of Spiritism to the ghosts of dead people ? SLATE Y/RITII-ia. That the application of this principle to what is called Slate Writing may be seen, let us briefly con- sider the phenomenon. A double slate is produced which he who wishes to make the experiment may purchase new for the occasion. A small pencil is put within the two slates, and they are closed and held firmly together in the hands of the one making the test. Of course this is in the presence of the medium. This is con- sidered a better test than though the slate lay upon the table without being touched by a human hand, from the fact that it seems impossible in such cir- cumstances that trick would be available ; although legerdemain accomplishes just such tricks, equally deceiving the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. On the supposition that it is a spirit who takes the pencil and thus writes, it must be a material person ; for the only opposites to material persons are immaterialisms, which, if they exist, are unable not only to move the pencil, but the smallest parti- cle of the most sublimated ether in the universe. 122 KEY TO GHOSTISM. This is a fact of natural science as well known and invariable as that of universal gravity. If therefore a spirit took the pencil and wrote, it was a material intelligent person, and as such was endowed with all the organs of life and volition. But the space occu- pied by this individual — for it was not a child, be- cause manifesting the intellect of an adult — was about one fourth of an inch in height. It is another well-known fact of physiology that, outside of certain limits, the smaller the brain the smaller the intellect ; and that a certain amount of brain is indispensable to the possession of the least intellect. The spirit supposed to be within the two slates could not have been larger than a medium-sized fly, and yet this insignificant being possessed the physical power to take a piece of rock larger than itself and write an intelligent communication ! Another fact claimed by Spiritualism is that when the spirits materialize themselves into palpable sub stance, they are uniformly of the same size as when living in the flesh. Hence, according to their own premises, no spirit was ever between the slates, and thus wrote. Physiology says that to dwarf a human being to such dimensions v/ould deprive it of the least intelligence — not even that of a fly ; and that so soft- ening its brain would put an end to all thought. How much further removed must the material spirit be from intellectual exercise and manifestation, which has survived the dissolution of the organic man, and become so ethereal and light in texture, that it did not reduce the weight of the dead man a single ounce ? It may be said that the spirits do not personally go into such small spaces as those between the slates, "IN AND OUT OF THE FORM." I23 but send their mental agency to accomplish the work. In answer we remark, that it only removes one of the fatal objections — that of the size of the spirit — while that of its ethereality remains un- shaken. Besides, it cannot be claimed that the un- seen spirits move inanimate objects, such as the slate- pencil, by an indirect mental force without per- sonal contact, for the Spiritualists tell us that when- ever they materialize themselves and move such objects, the hand is seen and felt in contact with the thing. " The hand of a man was seen carrying the rose across the table, from one lady to the other." " The hand of the child was felt by the lady who put the handkerchief upon her lap," as narrated in Mr. Home's book. Indeed, direct contact is the univer- sal claim in the phenomena of the so-called material- izations. Therefore the material, intelligent person never thus wrote. And it is no more proper to call it a spirit than a man ; for the advocates of the theory clothe it, or him, with the palpability of every organic faculty and function of living men — the only difference between them before and after the separation consisting simply in the density of the matter which forms them, "Iir AND OUT CF THE FORM." The phrase commonly employed by the Spiritual- ists to describe the two persons after the separation called death takes place, is " in and out of the form." But this is shown by their own testimony to be as untrue as it is absurd ; for as the spirits are held to be matter, they necessarily have form, as all modifi- cations and quantitives of matter have some kind of shape or form : and that it is the precise form they 124 I'^EY TO GHOSTISM. had before the separation they declare to be a fact so palpable, that when they materialize themselves their friends know them by their size and features. Admitting the fact that this little pencil within the slates really moves, and writes a communication known only to some one living and to one dead, it no more follows that it was written b}'' the pencil in the hand of some one out of the form, than that a table moves intelligently from place to place in a room without personal contact, and even writes names legibly upon the floor ; or that a smaller table upon a larger one thus writes. I enter the room of the medium with the double slate in my hands, with the pencil within, for the purpose of making this test. My mind may be fixed upon nothing in particular at the time. The medium goes into the accustomed trance and reads familiarly — though ignorant of how the information is obtained — some circumstance pic- tured upon my brain, known only to myself and my dead friend, and returns what is read to me as a communication from this dead friend. Without a word being spoken, the mental electric force of the medium seizes the pencil and writes the facts upon the slate, according to the philosophic and scientific principle already explained. A remarkable instance of this writing was men- tioned to me by a Spiritualist not long since, to the effect that he had known a communication to be thus written, about which no one living in the form had any knowledge — certainly no one present on the oc- casion. Our answer was, " Then it was fictitious. The medium drew upon some one's imagination ; just as we can compel mediums to write any nonsense we please, by a mere desire or act of will, without speak- MIND READING. 1 25 ing a word or making a significant gesture to them. If they wrote that which no one in the form knew, how can it be shown that the writing was done by- one out of the form ?" " TRY THE SPIRITS."-! John 4 : 1. In order to test the ability of the spirits to see and know things beyond our earth and within the solar system, just let them find a new planet or satellite, and show us its place among the stars, so that we may find it ; for some have been discovered since modern spirits began to roam the air, but not b}'- their aid. Let them go to the sun and ascertain the nature of her spots, measure their size, etc., and give astronomers such a diagnosis as will satisfy their in- quiries, as well as those of naturalists, in regard to the effects the spots produce upon the temperature of the globe. Let them employ their superior knowl- edge, and tell us all about the supermundane sphere, and be useful to mankind, instead of making foolish revelations to those who know them already. MIND READING. Another department of the phenomenal intelli- gence connected with this mental science is, that one mind possesses the power to read that of another, and therefore to disclose what the other knows. All the spirit communications miide by the mediums is read from the brain of living men, and then returned to the same individual or others, as communications from the spirits of the dead. We have already shown that the picturesque imagery of all the objects which have impressed the mind and engaged its attention, and the knowledge 126 KEY TO GHOSTISM. derived from thinking about them, are traced upon the brain, and are imprinted there by the electric agency of the nerves and brain ; so that if the mind of one individual obtains control of the electric agency of another, it can read the impressions on the brain of the other just as vi^ell as those upon its own brain. In fact, for the time being, the two minds become one. Another fact of importance to be considered in re- lation to this mental science is, that according to the laws of electricity the negative and positive come in contact, and by their neutralization become one ; but if the contact is of similar kinds, it is only tempora- ry, and each again separates and seeks its own equi- librium in quality. It must also be remembered that the positive is the controlling power. Another fact is that as one individual obtains the control of all the volition of another when both are in these electric conditions, that it also includes the intellectual facul- ties. By the application of these principles it is easy to see that when two such' individuals come in elec- tric contact, the negative electric agency of the one receives the positive electric agency of the other, neutralizing that of his own, and subjecting him to the control of the other — the positive ; and of course all the phenomena it was capable of effecting in his own organization has passed from himself to the other. It is also as obvious that the control of the mental agency of the negative by the positive has opened up a medium of electric communication by which it passed from the negative to the positive, giving the ability to the negative to look into the brain of the positive and read from it all its images, ideas, and imprinted knowledge. It is only an ex- REAL rilENOMENA OF MR. HOME'S BOOK. 12/ tension of the ability to read his own mind by recall- ing the images of past events for present purposes. In a word, all the knc)wledge of the positive mind becomes as familiar to the negative as that of his own. Hence the philosophy of ancient Spiritualism, as well as the Spiritualism of our day ; and indeed which have been common to all ages. It is thus that the Spiritualists obtain their knowledge from the mind of the inquirer, and return it to him as com- munications, visions, and revelations from the spirits of the dead. REAL PHENOMEIIA OF MR. KOT.IE'S BOOK. After the repeated exposures by Mr. Home of fraudulent materializations, he gives us the follow- ing narratives of the phenomena or manifestations which took place through his own mediumship, the first of which occurred in Hartford, Conn. : " At the time in question, the medium who bears a principal part in the ensuing history [meaning him- self] was staying in Springfield, Mass., confined to his bed by a severe attack of illness. His medical man had just paid his customary visit. Hardly was the door closed upon the doctor when a spirit made known its presence to his patient, and delivered the following message : ' You will take the afternoon train to Hartford, It is important for the present and future welfare of yourself, as well as for the advance- ment of the cause. Ask no questions, but do as we direct." The occurrence was made known to the family, and the medical man was recalled and con- sulted. ' Let him go,' said he, on finding his patient determined to act in conformance with the message received. * His death will be on his own head. ' The 128 KEY TO GHOSTISM. medium went, unconscious of the import of his jour- ney, and not knowing what its end would be. As he got out at Hartford, a stranger came up to him. ' I never saw you but once,' said this gentleman, 'and then only for a moment ; but I think you are Mr. Home.' The other replied that he was indeed the person in question, and added, ' I have come here to Hartford ; but for what reason I am perfectly igno- rant.' ' Strange,' said his interlocutor ; ' I was wait- ing here that I might take the next train to Spring- field in quest of you.' He then explained how a well-known and influential family had become desir- ous of investigating the subject of Spiritualism ; and were anxious for a visit from the very medium whose departure from Springfield had taken place under such peculiar circumstances. Here, then, was a foreshadowing of the object of the journey. What had yet to happen rested however in as much mys- tery as before. "After a pleasant drive, the residence of the family alluded to came in view. The master of the house was by chance at the door just then, and thus gave the first welcome to a guest whom he had not expected before the morrow at the soonest. The medium entered the hall, and as he did so, a sound resembling the rustling of a heavy silk dress struck on his ear. He naturally glanced round, and was surprised to see no one. Without making any allu- sion to the incident, he passed on into one of the sit- ting-rooms. There he again heard the rustling of the dress, and was again unable to discover any thing which might account for such a sound. It would seem that the surprise he felt was depicted in his look, for his host remarked, ' You seem frightened. REAL niENOMENA OF iMR. HOME'S BOOK. I 29 What lias startled you ?' Unwilling to make much of an affair which rnight after all prove explica- ble by quite ordinary means, the other replied, that having been very ill, his nervous system was un- doubtedly out of order ; but once reposed from the fatigue of the journey, he would feel more at ease. Hardly were the words uttered when, looking back to the hall, the mediupi savv standing there a bright, active-looking, little elderly lady, clad in a *heavy dress of gray silk. Here, then, was an explanation of the apparent mystery. The medium had heard the movements of this member of the household, but had missed catching sight of her until now. " Again the dress rustled. This time the sound was audible both to the medium and to his host. The latter inquired what such a rustling might mean. ' Oh ! ' said the medium, ' it's caused by the dress of that elderly lady in the gray silk, whom I see in the hall. Who may she be?' — for the appearance was one of such perfect distinctness that he entertained not the slightest suspicion of the little old lady being other than a creature of flesh and blood. The host made no reply to the question asked him, and the medium was diverted from any further remark on the subject by being presented to the small family circle. " Dinner was announced. Once at table, it sur- prised the guest to see no such person as the lady in gray silk present. His curiosity became roused, and she now began seriously to occupy his thoughts. As we were leaving the dining-room, the rustling of a silk dress again made itself audible to the medium. This time nothing could be seen, but he very dis- tinctly heard a voice utter the wonls, ' I cun dis- 130 KEY TO GHOSTISM. pleased that a coffin should have been placed above mine. What is more, I won't have it ! ' This strange message was communicated to the head of the family and his wife. For a moment the pair stared at each other in mute astonishment, and then the gentleman broke silence. ' The style of dress,' said he, ' we can perfectly identify, even to the peculiar color and heavy texture ; but this regarding a coffin being placed on hers, is at once absurd and incorrect.' The perplexed medium could of course answer noth- ing. That speech on quitting the dining-room had been his first intimation as to the old lady of the gray silk having passed from earth ; and he was not even aware in what relation she stood to his host. "An hour slipped by. Suddenly the self-same voice came once more, uttering precisely the same words. This time, however, it added : ' What's more, S had no right to cut that tree down.' Again the medium made known what he had heard. The master of the house seemed greatly perplexed. ' Certainly,' said he, ' this is very strange. My brother S did cut down a tree which rather obstructed the view from the old homestead ; and we all said at the time that the one who claims to speak to you would not have consented to his felling it, had she been on earth. The rest of the message, however, is sheer nonsense.' Just before retiring the same communication was a third time given ; and again the assertion as to the coffin was met by an un- hesitating contradiction. The medium went to his room feeling greatly depressed. Never before had an untrue message been received through him, and even were the statement correct, such close attention on the part of a liberated spirit to the fact that CHILDISH NATURE OF SPIRIT REVELATIONS. I31 another coffin had been placed above hers seemed ridiculously undignified. Golden crowns, spotless raiment, endless harpings, any thing or every thing was preferable to this. He thought of the occurrence the whole sleepless night. [Wc may just remark, that of the great mass of the so-called spirit revela- tions we have heard, nine tenths of it are as ridicu- lous and foolish as this coffin affair.] " The morning arrived, and the medium made known to his host how deeply the affair had affected him. The other replied that he was himself ^ust as sorry, and added, ' I am now going to convince you that if it were the spirit it purports to be, it is sadly mistaken. We will go together to the family vault, and you shall see that, even had we desired to do so, it would be impossible to place another coffin above hers. " Host and guest at once proceeded to the cemetery. The sexton was sent for, since he had the key of the vault in question. He came, and proceeded to open the door. As he placed the key in the lock, how- ever, he seemed to recollect something, and turning round said in a half apologetic tone : ' By the way, Mr. , as' there was just a little room above Mrs. 's coffin, I have placed the coffin of L 's baby there. I suppose it's all right ; but perhaps I should have asked you first about it. I only did it yester- day.' Never has that medium forgotten the look with which his host turned to him, and said, ' My God ! it is all true.' CHILDISH HATURE OF SPIRIT REVELATIONS. "The same evening the spirit once more made known her presence. ' Think not,' ran the message 132 KEY TO GHOSTISM. now delivered, ' that I would care were a pyramid of coffins to be piled on mine. I was anxious to con- vince you of my identity once and forever — to make you sure that I am a living, reasoning being, and the same E that I always was. For that reason alone I have acted thus.' " He to whom her visit was chiefly directed has since joined her in another world. His deeds were as noble as his nature, and his whole career was purity, unspotted by any taint of wrong. Some of the best of Am'erica's sons and daughters gathered around the bier of one whose life and death was felt to add another to the many proofs that ' fhe actions of the just smell sweet, and blossom in the dust.' Spiritu- alism was to him a glory and a joy. He had tested it, and knew it to be real. Yet he was never deluded into enthusiasm or easy credence. With the whole strength of his manly intellect did he winnow the wheat from the chaff, casting away whatever was worthless, holding firmly to the good and true. Now he rejoices in the reward of the course that he ran on earth. Having outsoared the shadow of our night, he can behold clearly things which are dim to mortal eyes. A message communicated by him shortly after his departure from our world is so characteristic, that I have determined to print ex- tracts from it. The remaining portions relate to family affairs, of which the medium through whom the message was received could by no possibility have known any thing, and which served to relatives as excellent proofs of the identity of the author. " The message is as follows ; and we see how much this intellectual mind, while on earth, is still in the dark. Indeed, there is only one thing about which . CHILDISH NATURE OF SPIRIT REVELATIONS. I 33 he is sure, and that is simple existence. But why he exists is enshrouded in haze. [Poor inducement to go to such a world or home.] " ' Well, A , it's the same old story ; and whether we tell it on earth or from the eternal home, it comes to just the same thing, and has exactly the same mystery attached to it. I had hoped to soh'ca little more of this, but bless you I rather feel that it is even now further than ever from me. I am confident the knowledge will eventually be mine ; but will it benefit you and those who are still on earth ? Is it not rather a natural or spiritual influx [a queer way to get knowledge!] adapted only to the condition of the identical spirit, and hence utterly unfitted for another ? I am for the moment inclined to this view of the matter. I am no longer surprised at the lack of distinctness. From my point of view it is perfect- ly clear, but to make it so to others is quite another question. / avi j ive are : but the why and the wherefore remain still enshrouded in the haze of the great unexplored future.' [Before this man w^ent away he professed to ktimv — by the spirit communications such as that relating to the coffins — that he would exist in another world ; but now he says it is a great revelation he has received in the future world, that he exists ! This would seem to cast doubt on the spirit revelations he received while on earth. Besides, what an absur- dity that a man should have received a revelation that he exists ! What would a man think were I to stop him in the street and tell him " I have a won- derful revelation to make — which is, \\\i\\. you exist ''T^ " ' It is, however^ a great revelation to know that we exist ; for existence betokens activity [another 134 KEY TO GHOSTISM. wonderful discovery — that live men move !] and must include the development or unfolding of w^is- dom. [Another scientific error ! for wisdom comes from thinking about and comparing objects of the outer world, and is not developed or unfolded from within a man.] All this is an incentive to well-doing in every stage of existence. [Who did not know that before ? Why make a revelation of that which every youth knows ?] I have seen those I loved, and the recognition was mutual : no hesitancy ; no shadow of doubt. [What a marvellous thing this is to make a revelation of ! What little things there are in the spirit world to communicate! " I met a loved friend, and I knew him, and he knew me." This he knew when a child.] SPIRITS SEE KO PERSONAL GOD. " ' I have seen no personal God. [It is the philo- sophic and scientific error of the Spiritualists, that nature does not reveal the existence of a personal God, And as it was this man's theory, and his family knew it, the medium read it from their minds and returned it to them in the shape of a revelation from their dead friend.] What I may see, I know not. I lift up my thoughts in prayerful praise to a great and benign Creator, for I feel assured that a creative and harmoniously-constructed Power does exist ; but what that may be, is not as yet made clear to me. I wait to be taught ; but, in being taught, I must also ascertain why development stands side by side with a higher perfection, known, as the two are, as Good and Evil. Does the same power produce both ? This, and maijy questions of a like nature, I am ask- ing just as I used to ; only I hope now to have them MR. HOME IN FLORENCE. 1 35 made clear. [Here we sec that his benign Creator was Plato's principle of Good. Whatever was good in the world was to be attributed to the principle of good, and what was evil to the principle of evil ; but that both were of iiaiiii\\ and not a personal God before nature, who made it.] If I can frame in clcarly-to-bc-understood language the replies I have (or rather the knowledge I gain', I will give them t(j you. Of one thing I am already certain : I am !— all unchanged.'" — D. D. Home, \v\. Lights and Shades of Spiritualism^ pp. 446—452. MH. HOME III FLORENCE.* In the episode which furnishes a subject for this concluding chapter of my work I am fortunately able to give every name, date, and circumstance necessary for the complete authentication of the facts recorded. Those who have formed no idea, or but an imperfect one, of what a spiritual seance really is, may enlighten themselves by consulting the following narrative. They will find no magnified trifles in confirmation " strong as Holy Writ ;" no false glare of enthusiasm, no wealth of credulity, and no want of tests. A simple statement of events is made, exactly as those events occurred. That the narrator to whom the spirit world was thus unex- pectedly brought so close should have been rendered happy with complete certainty of the existence of that world, and that the possibility of communion between its inhabitants and ourselves was the natural result of the perfect evidence of identity which the loved ones whom she had lost accorded her. The lady in question, and the author of the follow- ing account, gives me full permission to publish her name and address. I thank her much for the cour- ageous course she has taken, impelled by a high * The remarks in brackets are our own. — Ed. 136 KEY TO GHOSTISM. sense of duty which I could wish were more common than popular prejudices upon the subject of Spiritu- alism have rendered it. She is Madame La Com- tesse Caterina, of Florence, As her narrative has a completeness and an interest to which no words of mine would add any thing, I need say no more. It is the countess who now speaks. " The evening of July 7th, 1874, I had the good for- tune to be present at a seance given by Mr. D. D. Home. His celebrity is so extended, and his posi- tion and high moral worth are so thoroughly recog- nized by a very large circle of friends, whose stand- ing in society renders it impossible for even a breath of suspicion to rest upon their testimony, that any attempt to portray him here would be superfluous. " We seated ourselves, towards 8 p.m., around a large table belonging to the hotel where Mr. Home was staying. The persons present were the March- ioness Bartolomei Passerini, Mrs. Webster, the Chevalier Soffietti, Mr. Mounier, Mrs. and Mr. D. D. Home, and myself. The table about which we were grouped stood in the centre of the drawing-room. In a corner of the apartment, and quite away from the company, was a second table, small, and square in shape. Two wax candles stood on the table where we were seated, and on the other and smaller one was placed a petroleum lamp. The lamp and candles together rendered the room perfectly light. Madame Passerini and myself were on either side of Mr. Home ; she to the right, I to the left. Whilst seating ourselves, and before Mr. Home had done so, a singular tremulous motion of the table became perceptible, to which I, who had placed my hand on the surface, called attention. The motion continued to increase until it was distinctly felt by all present. Then the table rose ; first one side lifting itself from the ground, and then another, until this had been done in every direction. Rappings commenced, and were in some instances very loud. They sounded, not alone on the table, but in various parts of the room, on the floor, and even on the chairs. At last MR. HOME IN FLORENCE. 1 37 five distinct but tiny raps were heard directly under my hands. Mr. Home said that this was an indica- tion of tlie alphabet being required, and commenced to repeat it, whilst another of the party wrote down the letters at which the rappings came. My aston- ishment may be conceived when I found the name of ' Stella ' given in this manner. " I was an utter stranger to Mr. and Mrs. Home. They had been but a few days in Florence, and had heard my name for the first time when an hour or two before a friend asked permission for me to be present at the seance. And now was given in this strange manner a name most precious to me — that of a dearly-loved child who, at the tender age of five years and ten months, had been torn from me after a few days of cruel suffering. [Mr. Home read all this from her mind, and she thought it a spirit communi- cation.] Time had elapsed since her passing from earth, and in my dress there was nothing to indicate the mourning of my bereaved heart. I spoke, asking whether it could be that God in His mercy allowed the angel once so entirely and fondly mine, but now forever freed from earth and its sorrows, to be near me. A perfect shower of gladsome little raps was the instant response. I then begged that, if it were indeed my child, her age at death might be given. It was at once rapped out correctly. My strained attention bent itself with all the eagerness of mater- nal love on those sounds — sounds which brought as it were faint echoes of the music of heaven to cheer my heart.* Tears, that even the presence of stran- gers could not restrain, coursed plentifully down my cheeks. I thought myself in a dream, and feared every instant that I would awaken, and the celestial vision vanish, leaving only an aching void. The rappings continued, and the alphabet was again made use of. The message this time was, ' You must not weep, dear mamma.' At the same time * What a conception of heaven ! To have her child with her would make it ! — Ed. 138 KEY TO GHCSTISM. the handkerchief that I had taken forth to dry my tears, and which now lay before me on the table, moved slowly to the table-edge, and was then drawn underneath. Whilst this was passing, the form of my darling seemed to stand before me. I could dis- tinctly feel as it were the presence of her body, and the folds of my silk dress were disturbed, and rustled so as to be heard by all present. " But a few seconds had elapsed from the disap- pearance of the handkerchief when I felt what seemed to be the touch of a baby hand on my right knee. Almost instinctively I placed my own hand there. To my surprise, the handkerchief was at once laid in it ; and a little hand grasped mine, so perfectly cor- responding to the hand of the tiny form which the grave had hidden from me, that I felt my precious one and no other was beside me. [She was a good medium herself.] Would that the heart of every sor- row-stricken mother could be«gladdened with a ray of the deep joy mine experienced then ! I had not expected such a touch ; I had not been told that I might experience it, and therefore it could by no possibility be the phantasm of an overwrought imagi- nation. Mr. Home's name was, of course, one that I had heard before. I had heard of him, but had never read any details of his seances. On coming, therefore, to the one in question, my supposition was that we would be enshrouded in that utter dark- ness which I knew to be frequently demanded by those terming themselves mediums. Had I sat under such conditions the most palpable touch would have left no other impression on my mind than the suspi- cion of trickery. I sat in a well-lighted room, and could make full use of my eyes. Already, within the short space of half an hour, I had heard sounds which could not have been imitated by a number of electric batteries combined. I had seen movements of the table that even the confederacy of half the persons present could not under the circumstances have ac- complished ; and now came this thrilling touch. " I may state that when the table's movements MR. HOME IN PXORENCE. 1 39 were most active, Mr. Home, placing a light on the floor, not only invited but urgently desired us to look under. So marked was the request, that even had curiosity not prompted us, good breeding would have necessitated compliance with the evident wish of our host. One and all obeyed, and saw the table lift from the floor, but nothing which could solve the mystery. " Our attention would seem to be over-concentrat- ed. For the space of several minutes manifestations ceased, and all was as void of spiritual presence as our ordinary everyday prosaic life. [Jt was not because of over-concentration, but the exhau^tion of the brain-batteries composing the seance.] We were roused by sounds proceeding from the smaller table which I have mentioned as standing in the corner of the room. All present saw it move slowly from its place, and approach the table at which we sat. Again rappings made themselves heard, and a second name— also that of one very near and dear to me— was spelt out by means of the alphabet. An accor- deon lay on the table. It did not belong to Mr. Home, but had been brought by one of the guests present. Mr. Home now desired me to take the in- strument in one hand, that it might be seen whether the spirits could play upon it. Hardly had I touched the accordeon when it began to move ; then sweet, long-drawn sounds issued from it ; and finally a military air was played, while I held the instrument and could see that no other person touched it. "The alphabet was here called for. This time, instead of the usual rappings on the table, the mes- sage was communicated through distinct movements of'my dress. The words were words of consolation and love, and their reference was to an incident known only to the nearest of my relatives, and which none of my fellow-guests at the seance in question could by any possibility have been acquainted with. Just after this communication had been made my eyes rested for a moment on a most beautiful rose worn by Madame Passerini. I said mentally, ' If you I40 KEY TO GHOSTISM. are in reality the spirit you claim to be, I ask you to take that rose from Henrietta, and bring it to me.' The thought had hardly taken shape in my mind when a hand, visible to every one present — the large, nervous hand of a man — grasped the rose, and dis- engaging it, brought it to me, and placed it in my lingers. This was not done in darkness, or in a dim light. The room was well lit, the hands of every person present rested on the table, and there hovered in the air before us a hand as perfect in form as a human hand can be. Not only was it perfect in form, but it had shown its capability for physical action by the unfastening of the rose from the lace to which it had been securely attached, and the carry- ing it a distance of two or three feet. And further, that action indicated the presence of an intelligence able to comprehend a mental request, for I had not uttered a word. I grant most willingly that all this is strange, but I affirm most solemnly that it is true. We were in the presence of beings who could read our thoughts. [Yes, and that was Mr. Home, the medium, although he may have been unconscious of it.] " The names of those long since summoned from earth were given, and the most hidden things con- nected with their earthly lives recapitulated. Not to me alone did these things happen, but to every one. In some instances there had been even forgetfulness on the part of the persons addressed, and attendant circumstances were given, that the incident might be recalled. Thus Mr. Home, passing into a trance, said to the Chevalier Sofifietti, ' There is an old nurse of yours standing beside you — a negro woman.' The Chevalier could recall no such person. ' She says you ought not to forget her,' continued Mr. Home, ' for she saved your life when you were but three and a half years old. You fell into a stream of water near a mill, and were just about to be drawn into a water- wheel when she rescued you.' Chevalier Sofifietti now recalled the whole, and acknowledged the communi- cation to be perfectly correct. He had been wholly MR. HOME IN FLORENCE. I4I unknown to Mr. Home till within three hours of the message being given, and not one of the remaining guests knew any thing of the incident in question. [It was not necessary for any other but the cheva- lier himself to have had the picture of the event im- printed on his brain, in order for Mr. Home the medium to read it there. But if others had known it, he could also have read it from their brain. It was thus he got his informatics, instead of from the spirit of the dead old woman.] I narrate this to show that others were, like m3^self, made happy by proofs of the continued existence of those dear to us. If, indeed, all these things be explainable by some hidden force or forces of nature, then God have pitv on the shipwreck of our hopes of immortality ! [If our hopes of immortality are founded upon such trifling things as these, it is difficult to conceive how they can be more fatally shipwrecked.] If they be dreams, then must our present also be a dream and our future but the continuation of that dream. Prove to me, or to any other present at that most memorable seance, that we were deluded, and I will prove to you that I have not written these words, and that you are not reading them. [Yes, Madam ; but that is not the point with us : for your delusion consists in the supposition that the phenomena is the work of the spirits of the dead, being ignorant of the real cause.] " As I have said, Mr. Home passed into a trance. After the communication to Chevalier Soffietti he addressed himself to me, and gave facts which not only could by no possibility have been previously known, but which were in some instances unknown to any person in the world save myself. [It was the only condition that she herself knew them. If a thing is written upon one brain, it may be read by the familiar spiritualists just as well as though it was upon every brain.] He told me he saw various members of my family. That he did in reality see them, I am unable to affirm ; but that he gave me their names, and most accurately described them, I 142 KEY TO GIIOSTISM. do affirm. [Every person has his name written on his own brain, and which he knows by comparing any handwriting purporting to be his with it, whether it is his own or not.] ' Stella is present,' he said, 'and she says — . ' The words given need not be placed on record. To me they were most touch- ing and precious — to the world they would be un- meaning. I understood them, and greatly do I thank God that in His mercy he permitted them to be given me ; for they have made the burden of my life seem lighter [if she had been a Christian, her life would not have been a burden], and I can await now more patiently the joy of endless reunion with those I love. [Not a word about desiring to meet Christ !] " I will, however, give the conclusion of the message. My darling thus finished what she had to say : ' And I know, mamma, that you took the last- pair of boots I wore, and hid them away with my little white dress, in a box that you had ordered for the purpose. You locked them in that box, and when you are quite alone you take them out, and shed such sad, sad tears over them ! This must not be, for Stella is not dead. I am living, and love you. I am to tell you that you will have a very distinct proof of my presence, and that it will be given you to-morrow. You must not again open the drawer where the box is placed, which contains what you call your treasures, until you hear distinct raps on the bureau.' " Not even my family knew any thing of this box. I had kept the contents as to me most sacred relics, showing tViem to no one, and never by any chance alluding to their existence. Mothers who have been afflicted like me will alone be able to appreciate the sentiment by which I was guided. " The seance ended. I naturally wished to thank Mr. Home for having been the means of giving me so great a joy. He refused to accept my thanks, and said that he was simply an investigator like others, and just as deeply interested in the thorough exami- RECONCILED WITH OUR PRINXII'LE. ]/\^ nation of the subject as I or my friends could he. Tlie phenomena we had witnessed purported to be due to liis presence ; but he was, as we could well testify, simply a passive agent [no ! he was the sole actor] ; deep interest or a strong desire for phenom- ena on his part rather tending to prevent than to bring about manifestations. " Every thing had been foreign to my preconceived ideas. I had expected darkness, or, at the least, very little light ; and some kind of dictatorial arrange- ment called ' conditions.' I was most agreeably dis- appointed. Mr. Home showed himself even more anxious for thorough investigation than were his guests. He was a confirmed invalid, and had just undergone a course of severe treatment. He suffered from a nervous paralysis which rendered his limbs almost powerless. I think it well to mention these facts, having of late read of some of the extraordi- nary theories whereby persons ignorant of the sub- ject seek to show the world how the wonderful things occurring in Mr. Home's presence are accomplished. Mr. Home could not have moved a down pillow with his feet, and the large table at which we sat— and which, I may add, rose entirely from the ground more than once in the course of the evening — was an exceedingly heavy one. We all looked under the table when it became suspended in the air, and noth- ing whatever earthly was in contact with it. As to the hand, which all present saw, being a stuffed glove, I shall believe that when I have become con- vinced that the hand I now write with is a stuffed glove also." [By her own confession, they were all very credulous. ]~D. D. Home, in Z/V///^ am/ Shades of Spintualis7n, pp. 476-482. RECONCILED YUTYL CUR PRINCIPLE. We have shown that as real impressions are pro- duced upon the brain by all the objects with which the senses come in contact while the mind is awake and not engaged at the time with other matters, as 144 I'^EY TO GHOSTISM. any that are taken by the photographic machine of the objects placed before its eyes. That this is as certain as that like mechanical apparatus produce similar effects. That sounds convey exact representations of objects, and imprint them on the brain, is demon- strated by the phonograph and the talking machine reproducing them. That this mechanical arrange- ment is confirmed by the fact of human memory. That these effects are by electrical and chemical agencies set in motion by human wills, reciprocally conveyed and received by each other. That any interference with the brain, nerves, organs of sense, or those of life, as certainly prevents these phe- nomena as they do by similar derangement in the photographic, phonographic, and telegraphic machines. We may also here remark, that when a man wishes to recall any thing to mind he does not look into his hand or foot or stomach, but in his head, for the image. Sometimes after long rum- maging among the pictures of the gallery he finds the one he wants. This picture may have been so long printed and its nature so unimportant that but a faint impression was made by its reception, and hence it required an urgent necessity to look it up, as well as the presentation of the most striking pic- ture of correspondence to recall it ; yet the features and circumstances of the former event to be recalled are so vividly revived by those now before his mind (like that o'f the old colored woman and the cheva- lier), that the supposed forgotten event comes fresh into view. While looking for the lost picture the electric agent of the mind was set in motion by the v/ill ; and it was the same agency employed in its original reception and production. RECONCILED WITH OUR TRINCirLE. I45 It is a fact that one mind has tlie power of abso- lute control over another, compelling it to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, and even think, just what the other wills ; and all this by mere mental effort, with- out speaking a word. These intelligent impressions thus conveyed and received by the two minds being virtually merged in one for the time being, prove that the one has the power to read the thoughts of the other. The one who holds the control of the faculties of the other is the positive in electrical and chemical relation, while the one controlled is the negative ; and as he acts and thinks, the other wills and knows, which demonstrates him to have the ability to see and read all the images of events, and hence to obtain all the knowledge of the other mind. From such facts can there be any thing more certain than that the negative, or medium, may return the knowledge thus obtained to the same individual, or others, as revelations from the spirits of dead friends; and, by not understanding this science and philoso- phy, honestly suppose spirits of the dead to be the originators of the communications ? In the conveyance and reception of intelligence by this principle, two distinct things are to be un- derstood. First : the medium being under the con- trol of the positive mind, is compelled to receive just the impressions and ideas the other wills, and has no power to act contrary to the determination or expec- tation of this other mind ; and that he being the posi- tive, cannot be thus acted upon or influenced by the negative, or medium. Second : that the positive must become passive, in order to enable the nega- tive, or medium, to read his mind ; and of course the more passive or submissive he is at the time to 146 KEY TO GHOSTISM. have his mind read, or to have the (supposed) spirit- ual phenomena manifested, the better is the medium able to read the brain, or, in spirit phraseology, to obtain more striking revelations. It will also be seen that the best mediums are the most extreme negative electrics. Another fact of great importance to enable us to understand this conveyance of intelligence is, that a medium may be put in communication with a third person, not in the house or in the country, by the mention of his name by some one present who knows him, or by the touch of a letter written by him. Thus by thinking of him he comes into communica- tion with his mind, so that the medium is able to read it just as though he were present. In such a case things may be told in relation to the acts, cir- cumstances, and the mind of the other, of which no one present knew any thing, and afterwards prove to be correct. ACTS COYERIHG THE WHOLE PHEKOMEHA. The two seances of which we have the account in Mr. Home's book cover the whole phenomena in modern Spiritualism ; and if we can account for all the facts which we are willing to admit are such, or appeared to be such to the narrators, upon the prin- ciples of natural science — and therefore the work of living, mortal men acting upon each other and upon inanimate bodies — then the idea that it is the work of supposed spirits who once inhabited bodies of flesh cannot be true. The subject divides itself into three parts. First : the intelligent communications made. Second : the motion of inanimate bodies ; and thirdly, the mate- SERIOUS QUESTIONS. I47 rialization of a man's hand ; or, as Mr. Home saw them, living persons. In relation to the intellectual communications \vc must notice the fact that there was nothing revealed but things familiar to some one of the parties named, either present or absent, who were also connected with these transactions. Here is the limitation of the so-called spirit revelations. Thousands of test attempts have been made to foretell events, or to reveal those which have transpired unknown to any member of the seance, or to those of their acquaint- ance ; but with uniform failure. One correct guess out of a thousand failures offers no evidence to sensi- ble people. SERIOUS QUESTIONS. Why do not the Spirits Warn and Guard their Friends ? Spiritualism claims to be a great blessing to man- kind. Its advocates profess to be progressive, and to be doing much to advance human society. If the spirits know what is in progress or is contemplated in relation to their mortal friends — and it is held they can communicate what they know — then why do they not warn them of danger, or induce them not to hesitate in making a risk which would enrich them. for life ? Why not inform them that a certain pre- tended friend is a knave, and what precautions to take in order to avoid ruin ? If a friend is going to be robbed, why not inform him, so that he may have the police on hand to arrest the thief ? If he is going to be assassinated, why not avert the calamity, and have society relieved of the would-be murderer ? In a word, why should not his guardian angel-spirit in- form him of every good and successful enterprise 148 • KEY TO GHOSTISM. which offers itself, and warn him to avoid every bad and losing speculation ? Every one has his guardian spirit ; and if they are not interested in spirit revela- tions themselves, the Spiritualists are so anxious to make converts — especially if they are wealthy and of the higher class — that whenever they lose a friend a seance is called and a communication is received from the living departed who was supposed to be dead. We repeat, if these spirits are able to make revela- tions of things which no mortal knows or ever has known — things absolutely future — and that those engaged in receiving such information are anxious for the best good of mankind, why do they not give the information which will result in the detection of every premeditated criminal act, and prevent the execution of crime ; and if it has been done on the impulse of the moment, why does not the guardian spirit of the sufferer enter some neighboring medi^im and expose the criminal ? Thus, almost at a blow, would the whole face of human society be changed ; for who would be found to commit a crime if he was certain it would be known the next day, and he be arrested for its perpetration ? It is said criminals have been exposed and arrested by this means ; but if we knew all the facts about these professed rare cases, we could trace them either to human suspicion or collusion, for the purpose of giving popularity to the dark art. If the Spiritualists say, by way of extenuation of this failure to do in every case or crime what they profess to do in a few, and would like to have done in all, that there are lying spirits at the other end of the telegraph, then there is a hundred-fold greater proportion of lying spirits in the other world than SERIOUS QUESTIONS. I49 mortal spirits in this ; for the crimes brought to light by the revelations made between man and man in the mortal world are a thousand-fold greater on this side of the " dead line.'" It must also be remembered that there are at least two hundred of these unseen revealers to one mortal man ; and also that accord- ing to spirit doctrine they have all been growing better and wiser from the moment each entered his progressive sphere ; and that some of these have been thus developing for about six thousand years. Let us suppose we had human detectives six thousand years old, and on whom age had as yet left no mark ; who had enjoyed uninterrupted moral and intellect- ual development, without having been dependent on any one for any thing (as the spirits are, not eating, or being clothed) ; how many criminals would escape arrest and exposure ? Besides, if they are so univer- sally lying spirits when " out of the form " — to use the spirit phrase — able, but not willing to make truthful revelations, why should they be believed at all ? And, if in attempting to reveal things about which no mortal has any knowledge allied with the present world, where we may test them, but which are uniformly untrue, why should a single thing they say about the spirit-land be credited ? From such grounds can we come to any other con- clusion than that the spirits know nothing, and there- fore can reveal nothing which is not already known to living mortal men ? We have no fear or hesitancy in saying that not one of the spirits ever discovered a new invention of which the mediums knew nothing, or originated a new idea about any science or art. Benjamin Frank- lin, while connected with the mortal carcass, caught 150 KEY TO GHOSTISM. the electric lightnings from the clouds and bottled them up — the first lesson in telegraphy. Now, since being released from the earthly clogs which only acted as a bar to his disembodied thinking, why did he not at once perfect the great invention of the magnetic telegraph, and not leave it for Morse and House and other material mortals to achieve ? O Common Sense ! hast thou fled the world, and left men to credit these " lying wonders," this child- ish simplicity ? Of what advantage is it to men to be informed by these supposed wingless wanderers of space of what they already know ? In answer it may be said. We thus learn the fact of spirit exist- ence. But it is the existence of ghosts ; and who wants to be a ghost ? That the question is narrowed down to mere existence is certain from the nature of the revelations, which demonstrate that the spirits do not think and have not thought since they left their carcasses. The fact of existence is about the first lesson a child learns, and learns it very soon. But one of the spirits Mr. Home tells us about, who had left a very amiable and intelligent " mortal coil," shortly after his departure made a revelation to his friends ; and all he had really learned was " I am ; I exist." Every human being learns rapidly ; some faster than others. Every one originates thought. In the course of a life of threescore, some seem to know about all that is known. They have made great dis- coveries in science and art, or have made great and useful inventions. This is all the result of thinking; and this, too, as the Spiritualists hold, while the thinking principle has been only clogged and hin- dered in its operation by a material body. DO GHOSTS PROGRESS, AS IS CLAIMED? 151 DO GHOSTS PROGRESS, AS IS CLAIMED? But now one of these men dies, or, as Shakespeare designates it, " shufiles off the mortal coil." Of course he is free from every impediment to thinking. He has now been in that state sixty years — the length of his earthly career. If this was Franklin, he should have been three times the electrician and statesman he was when he got rid of his material clog. But the fact is he has often been called to attend old ladies' seances, and could not talk except by the rapping alphabet ; and by any mode of revelation has not only utterly failed to give us any account of his new discoveries or original thoughts about those things in which he was most interested while a mortal, but he has never written any thing, either in style or originality, equal to his earthly productions. As surely as a man thinks (and he must think if he lives and is awake, as the universal history of man- kind witnesses), so surely he must obtain new ideas, make new discoveries, new inventions, etc., and be always anxious to make known this knowledge to others. But nothing of this has Franklin revealed in his spirit communications. On the contrary, he has shown himself inclined to attend seances at the bid- ding sometimes of little girlish conjurers ; and when there, to rap out by the alphabet how old he was when he died, and other such childish things. May we not ask what else this proves in regard to Dr. Franklin and the dead, except that they have not had a single thought since their demise ; and indeed that they have lost the memory of what they once knew, as well as their dignity ? For who could have induced Dr. Franklin, while a living mortal, to 152 KEY TO GIIOSTISM. attend a seance of fortune-tellers, and to act as one of them in answering test questions about names and ages which they knew themselves, and other such silly things ? But in these communications intelligence is mani- fested and revelations are made of things which no one knows except a single person in the presence of the medium, and which are clearly made known to that person. If it did not come from the spirits, whence was it derived ? — or, to change the question, if it was not derived from some living and known adequate source, how could it come from some inad- equate source, because dead ? HOW MEDIUMS READ MESSAGES. The answer is, it is the medium who reads it from the brain of the inquirer, and returns it to him as a revelation from the spirit of the dead. The mediums or inquirers may not understand the scientific princi- ple involved ; and the mediums, at least, are the last who wish to be informed upon the subject, as it en- dangers the craft by which they make their living. The mediums have what was anciently called the gift of the familiar spirit, because able to glide secretly into the picture-galleries of other minds and read from their brain tableaus the images of every thing and event with which those minds had ever been in- terested. It is therefore the medium himself who is the spirit communicating these secrets of other minds. They are the actors and not mediums in the subtle business. If we would understand this science, there are two prominent facts to be considered, both of which we have ourselves repeatedly demonstrated, both public- now MEDIUMS READ MESSAGES. 1 53 l}"^ and privately, in illustration of these phenomena. First, that one mind is under the perfect control of another while in the medium, trance, mesmeric, or magnetic state — all of which terms mean the same thing. The reason of the medium state, as we have already shown, is, that their nervous system is natur- ally charged with negative electricity or animal mag- netism, modified by its connection with the animal. By a touch of the finger or a decision of the will by others, these are thrown into, the trance state, or after a period of development they go into it of themselves, by only supposing their controlling spirit present, or by any notion they may entertain respect- ing this condition. While in the trance the mind and volition is under the absolute control of the individ- ual who has thrown them into it. They can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel only as the magnetizer wills or suggests. They drink water for wine, or milk for brandy ; and they produce the same effects as though they were real wine and brandy. Thej hear angels sing, and see their forms. They are made to speak in public, and to declare the beauty and truthful- ness of Spiritualism ; or by the will of the control- ling party, immediately to denounce it as the vilest humbug and nonsense. We have frequently com- pelled them to do so before large audiences. The other fact is that the mediums, being negative, have the faculty of gliding into the mental arena of him who is controlling them, and reading therefrom the brain pictures of what he knows ; and of course they are able to return them to the same person, or others, as spirit revelations coming from dead friends, and believed to be such, because known only to those while livini>: and themselves. 154 KEY TO GHOSTISM. OUR OWH EXPERIMENTS A short time since I was staying with a friend in New York who was acquainted with one of these mediums, who, at my request, invited her to spend an evening at his house. There were about a dozen persons present. The lady went into the trance, supposing her control (as the Spiritualists term it) to be the spirit of a dead Indian. That day I had passed through Union Square Park. The spring had been backward, but a few days of warm and beautiful weather had caused the foliage to appear in splendor. I stopped for a few moments to take a good and ex- tended view, drinking in its imagery, and then passed on, thinking no more about it. I took the lady by the hand as we sat facing each other, and requested her to look into my brain and describe what she saw, thinking of nothing in particular which I wished her to see. At first, and for a few moments, she said she saw nothing. I told her to look steadily and examine closely. In a few moments more she ex- claimed, " Oh yes ! I do see. Oh how beautiful !" "What is beautiful? What do you see?" "Oh, such beautiful foliage !" and she left the scenery as reluctantly as I did on leaving the park that day. About the same time, at another private house, I was invited to reproduce some of these experiments, there being about twenty persons present, a number of whom I tested, to ascertain their magnetic state and susceptibility to the control of my will. I finally found the son of the lady of the house to be thus perfectly subjective, although he was entirely uncon- scious of the fact until that time. All his senses and volition were under the most absolute control of my OUR OWN EXPERIMENTS. 1 55 will. He could see, hear, smell, taste, or feel, or even think, only as my will permitted him. Then, as I relaxed this control and submitted my mind to his inspection, he read from my brain object after object which he saw pictured there, which no one knew but myself. By request, I went into another part of the house ; but before going I told the com- pany, unheard by the medium, that as soon as I had retired from the room he would see and describe a certain number of different animals in a certain order, which he did exactly as I had said he would. About the time of the Rochester knockings, or the Fox girls' manifestations, I delivered a course of lectures at Bangor, Me., showing that there were no spirits of the dead connected witli these phenomena. On making the tests to find these personal negative magnets from my audiences, I found, on one of these occasions, a man of about twenty-one 3'ears, by the name of George Frost, who was the best subject for these experiments I have ever met — especially for mind reading. By a mere touch of my finger he would be thrown into trance, but having his eyes open, and, to all appearance, in his usual condition. Before large audiences, and while we were standing twenty feet apart, I have requested any person to come forward and let me know, in a whisper or in writing, any object they wished to have him read from my mind and reveal to the audience ; and on every occasion the individuals would rise in their seats and declare it to be correct. On one of the papers handed me the word "lion" was written. As soon as my eye caught the word my subject read it, and seizing a chair for defence, ran through the hall c.\claiming "A lion ! a lion I" These cxperi- 156 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ments were continued until my audiences were con- vinced that one man could read from the brain of another whatever he knew, and return what he read there as revelations received from the spirits of the dead. Before the Fox manifestations commenced, animal magnetism was popularly practised, and an uncle of mine living in Albany became very much interested in it. He came in contact with a most perfect claii*- voyant, a colored man named John Brown, who had emancipated himself from slavery. In relation to my uncle I may say he v/as a most devoted student of the Bible, and when he heard Mr.. William Miller lecture on prophecy, his attention became more settled in that direction, until he became convinced we were living in the last period of the world's exist- ence, because he found the historic events of the world to have fulfilled the predictions of the proph- ets. My uncle being desirous that I should wit- ness the manifestations by this clairvoyant, brought him to my house at Lansingburg, N. Y, In the even- ing he magnetized him to sleep ; which was no sooner done than the sleeper sang a hymn ; after which he said, " Let us pray." Fie then prayed very fervent- ly, using elegant language and expressing clear and apparently original ideas, in strictly Scriptural phra- seology. He then gave us a lecture on prophecy, especially that relating to the coming of Christ and the end of the world. Before and since that occasion I have heard many such lectures, but never one which equalled that in sublimity and scriptural accu- racy ; and yet this clairvoyant could neither read nor write even his own name. Of this lecture, its matter or manner, the clair- OUR OWN EXPERIMENTS. 1 57 voyant had no knowledge, and did not remember a word of it afterward. The sequel is easily told. He read it all from tlie mind of my uncle, but vastly excelled him in the manner of its delivery. At my uncle's request I magnetized the arm of this man, in order to show some friends of his its rigidity. It became" as hard and firm as an iron bar of the same size. Had my uncle been a skeptic and had thus magnetized this clairvoyant, he too would have been skeptical, and would have given us a transcendental lecture, perhaps on the beauties of the God of nature, confounding Him with it ; or such an one ixs Andrew Jackson Davis gives in his trances. Reading from the minds of the men controlling them, the mediums always do and must reflect their sentiments ; and if we take into account the fact that the supposed spirit mediums have generally been surrounded by skeptics of various shades, we see the reason why the Spiritualists hold Christ and the Bible in such low esteem. Had the Christian minis- try investigated these phenomena, instead of de- nouncing them as the work of the devil, and thus virtually conceding the principal claim of the Spirit- ualists, that they w^ere indeed the work of spirits, because there are bad as well as good ones, which induced thousands to go to their seances to see the devil perform. Had they shown its whole true phe- nomena to have their solution in mental and physi- cal science, instead of spiritual influences, all the untold evils which have resulted from it would have been averted, and the good utilized, in relieving it of much of its mystery by illustrating the power of mind over inanimate matter, and showing that as a human endowment it must have been dcsioned fur 158 KEY TO GHOSTISM. good, although, like every other faculty of man, it may be prostituted to evil. EFFECT OF WILL UPOH A' CIRCLE. At the time I was engaged in experiments with Frost and others, I was detained while passing through Boston, and with him received an invitation to attend a circle, now called a seance. It was in the house of a private family. Though strangers to me, they were to all appearance of the higher class in society. A number of its members were mediums — children from ten to fifteen years of age. The circle was formed around a centre-table in the parlor. It consisted of the family, the gentleman who invited us. Frost, and myself. It was in the evening, and just after a thunder-shower, which was said to favor spirit manifestations. The mode of communication was by the use of the alphabet, which had to be commenced and repeated until a letter was reached in spelling the word being communicated. At the mention of the right letter a slight rap would come on the table. Each member of the circle asked ques- tions and received answers with remarkable accuracy and rapidity as was expected. I excused myself on the ground of merely wishing to witness the phe- nomena, fearing my unbelief would be detected and I be ejected from the presence of the sensitive and stubborn spirits. When the second round was com- menced I determined to block the wheels of the spirit chariots. I fixed my will upon the circle, re- solving there should be no more intelligent revela- tions. Consequently not another word was spelled so that it could be understood, though for nearly an hour strenuous efforts were made to connect the CONSULTING A CLAIRVOYANT. 159 spirit wires ; but occasionally there would come a slight rap. I then fixed my mind and will exclusive- ly upon the single inquirer, intending that no re- sponse should be heard ; after which not a rap was given. This was simply mental effort on my part. Had I informed the company of my antagonism, it would have weakened their power of concentration, and correspondingly increased our own in the sup- pression of the manifestations. Let an ccjual number of those who understand these phenomena to be the results of mind opposing mind and reciprocally act- ing upon each other, determine to oppose each other during a seance, and not a spirit manifestation will be made. This fact shows that either the supposed departed spirits are such poor weak things that they can be deprived of all their ability to communicate with mortals, or that the whole business is between mortals, by a mere act of mortal will. CONSULTIHG A CLAIRVOYANT. At the commencement of these investigations I went with a number of my friends to consult a first- class clairvoyant, living on Green Island, opposite Troy, who had quite a reputation for describing and curing diseases. The husband of the clairvoyant magnetized her, to make the examinations. I re- quested to have a child of mine examined who had lost the use of the shoulder joints by the relaxation of the muscles, resulting from brain fever, of which fe- ver he had recovered. The moment she saw him, or rather saw his picture upon my brain, her arms drop- ped as though they had been struck by paralysis. Of course she described the whole difficulty of the child's limbs just as accurately as I could have done, because l60 KEY TO GIIOSTISM. she read from my brain just what I knew about it. This was clairvoyance, and no one thought of its having any connection with the spirits of the dead ; yet the intelligence obtained and communicated by the mesmerized clairvoyant was just as accurate through intelligent speech by the medium as any given by the Spiritualists through the foolish and childish use of the alphabet and rappings, such as the bill of a little bird would make in picking crumbs from a table. Thus we see that Spiritualism has even belittled and degraded " animal magnetism." In examining one of my friends, she told him that his back had been injured in being struck by the swinging of the boom of a vessel about fifteen years before, which was true. She also accurately related other things connected with his history which no one knew but himself. WHAT A CLAIRYOYAHT SEES. Mediums can see the vital organs of the physical system, and describe disease and derangement as certainly and as easily as they can read the brain, and can therefore explain the physical condition and impressions of both. While lecturing in the city of Belfast, Me., upon this phase of the phenomena, a gentleman came to the rooms occupied by Mr. Frost and myself, and asked for a* private examination without telling us his name. I threw Mr. Frost into the magnetic state by a mere touch of my finger ; and while he held the ulnar nerve of the patient, he spent about fifteen minutes in examining his vital organs, just as a machinist would explore the interior of a machine which had become disabled, putting the man in varj= WHY CLAIRVOYANTS EXCEL THEMSELVES, l6l ous positions — bending his body forward, raising liis arms, cic, apparently watching his lungs all the while. The first thing he said to the man was, " You cut gravestones. The attitude has oppressed your lungs and brought on consumption ; and you must leave that work, or die very soon." The man was satisfied that there was something more than guesswork about such a revelation, and acknowl- edged that his physician had just told him the same thing. We may also state that this clairvoyant. Frost, would not only describe the nature of a disease, but tell the patient what he himself thought of it, and whether his opinion was correct or not ; showing him to have been independent of the influence of other minds in making his investigations. It is a fact that we might have compelled him, by a wish or act of will, to have seen and describe every thing iu any of these examinations differently from what they were ; but we knew that unless the medium was let alone, a correct diagnosis of the physical condi- tion of the patient could not have been made. We cannot but think that if the Spiritualists had not degraded the science by connecting ghosts with it, physicians generally would have availed themselves of the ability of intelligent clairvoyants to ascertain the true nature of the diseases for which they are called to prescribe ; for this is one of the benefits which this natural endowment bestows upon mankind. WHY CLAIRVOYANTS EXCEL THEIR .NATURAL POV/ERS. It may be asked, If such ability characterizes the mediums in a state of trance, why do they excel their ordinary powers ? We answer. As a general thing, l62 KEY TO GHOSTISM. they do not. As a rule, however, they approximate the ability of those minds and their talents under whose control they are supposed to be acting. In illus- trating this phase of the subject I have changed these subjects while in trance, before public audiences, into various characters with whom they were ac- quainted or historically informed, and set them to making speeches which would be a fair imitation of the style of oratory of such persons, or of their con- ception of it ; but if I threw them into the company of supposed idiots, their ideas would be incoherent and their attempted speech idiotic. We have heard the mediums while under the control of supposed Indian or Irish or Dutch spirits, when their ideas and language would be crude and broken — good imi- tations of these supposed controlling spirits. The lecture of the clairvoyant Brown to which we have alluded was not only superior to his own abil- ity, but to that also of my uncle, though it would have been equalled by him in the dreaming condition of partial sleep ; that is, were he to dream of giving a lecture on prophecy. On one occasion, before an audience in the city of Albany, I threw a man into the magnetic trance, and knowing he had committed RoUo's "Address to the Peruvian Army," I changed him into the General himself ; at the same time showing him the army ready to be led against the invaders, suggesting that before the conflict began he should fire his troops with courage, as upon that battle depended the liberty of his nation. At once he delivered the address, in the grandest style of oratory, and with as much eloquence and enthusiasm as if the surrounding scenes were those of the real Rollo and his patriotic army. WHY CLAIRVOYANTS EXCEL THEMSELVES. 163 On another occasion I delivered a lecture on the same subject before the students of the Law College at Albany, at the conclusion of which, and at the re- quest of many, I tried some of the students — perhaps about a dozen — and found one of them so susceptible of the magnetic force, that at my first touch he fell into such contortions that it was difficult to keep him upon his feet. The next day he listened to the law lecture of the late Hon. Ira Harris, and in the even- ing I invited him with a number of the other students to come to my house, which they did. I threw him into the trance, and then by metamorphosis he became the judge himself. At a suggestion he was made to repeat the morning lecture of Mr. Harris, and which the students present who had heard it declared to be a verbatim repetition. When this man (Kimball) heard this lecture in the morning, he could only report a small part of it, not knowing phonogra- phy, and even this he could not repeat without read- ing from his notes ; but w'hen in the trance, and turn- ing his whole attention within himself by shutting off all his senses from outward objects, he was able to read the whole lecture from his own brain — the animal electrotype plates — thus showing it had been im- printed there. That mind is in the highest state of cultivation which has acquired the greatest degree of mental concentration ; that is, of abstracting the intellectual faculties from every subject but the one in hand, and of becoming absorbed with that. This being the normal condition of the clairvoyant state, to a very great extent, gives the reason why they thus excel their ordinary condition ; and according to electric laws gives the positive controlling mind the power 164 KEY TO GHOSTISM. to dispatch the electricity to that of the clairvoyant negative, reducing all its faculties to absolute sub- jection. On the other hand, and according to an- other law, that negatives affect positives, the clair- voyant is reciprocally able to glide within the mental realm of others using the same electric agent with which he looks into his own brain, to find the picture of a forgotten event, name, or date, and reading therefrom any or all of the information he possesses : reading events which have so long ago transpired that it is with great difficulty and only by connecting them with other associations the individual is brought to memorize them himself. Indeed, we may easily conceive of pictures of events so long since traced upon the brain and so disconnected with every thing like them, that by the ordinary exercise of memory can never be recalled. Hence mediums sometimes tell us things which we can only verify by inquiry. Medical books report numerous cases of diseases of the brain, partial paralysis, catalepsy and somnam- bulism, which manifest feats of memory and intellect as unaccountable as any of those of Spiritualism. A REMARKABLE FEATURE OF INSANITY. Upon this subject Dr. Abercrombie says that " a remarkable peculiarity of insanity is, a great activity of mind and rapidity of conception — a tendency to seize rapidly upon incidental or partial relations of things — and often a fertility of imagination which changes the character of the mind, sometimes with- out greatly distorting it. The memory in such cases is entire, and even appears more ready than in health. Old associations are called up with a rapidity quite unknown to the individual in his sound A REMARKABLE FEATURE OF INSANITY. 1 65 State of mind. A gentleman, mentioned by Dr. Willis, who was liable to periodical attacks of in- sanity said he expected the paroxysms with impa- tience, because he enjoyed during them a high degree of pleasure. ' Every thing appeared easy to me,' he said. ' No obstacles presented themselves, either in theory or practice. My memory acquired, all of • sudden, a singular degree of perfection. Long passages of Latin authors occurred to my mind. In general, I have great difficulty in finding rhythmical terminations ; but then I could write verses with as great facility as prose.' " "I have often," says Pinel, "stopped at the chamber door of a gentleman who, during his parox- ysms, appears to soar above the mediocrity of intel- lect that was familiar to him, solely to admire his newly acquired powers of eloquence. He declaimed upon the subject of the Revolution with all the force, dignity, and purity of language that this very interest- ing subject could admit of. At other times he was a man of very ordinary abilities. The peculiar charac ter of insanity, in all its modifications, appears to be, that a certain impression has fixed itself upon the mind in such a manner as to exclude all others, or to exclude them from that influence which they ought to have on the mind in its estimate of the relations of things." — Mental Poiocrs, p. 249, In regard to the memory of languages, a French- man mentioned by Dr. Abernethy, who had spent the greater part of his life in England, had for many years entirely lost the habit of speaking French ; but when under the care of Dr. Abernethy, for an injury of the head, he always spoke French. l66 KEY TO GHOSTISM, UI^IKHOY/H TONGUES SPOKEN FROM BRAIN INJURIES. A similar case occurred in St. Thomas' Hospital, of a man who was in a state of stupor in consequence of a similar injury. On his partial recovery he spoke a language which nobody in the hospital un- derstood, but which was soon ascertained to be Welsh. It was then discovered that he had been thirty years absent from Wales, and, before the acci- dent, had entirely forgotten his native language. On his perfect recovery he completely forgot his Welsh again, and recovered his English. A lady mentioned by Dr. Prichard, when in a state of delirium, spoke a language which nobody about her understood, but which also was discovered to be Welsh. None of her friends could form any concep- tion of the manner in which she had become ac- quainted with that language ; but after much inquiry it was discovered that in her childhood she had a nurse, a native of a district on the coast of Brit- tany, the dialect of which is closely analogous to the Welsh. The lady at that time had learned a good deal of this dialect, but had entirely forgotten it for many years before this attack of fever. The case has also been reported of a lady who was a native of Germany, but married to an English gentleman, and for a considerable time accustomed to speak the English language. During her illness she always spoke German, and could not make her- self understood by her English attendants, except when her husband acted as interpreter. A woman who was a native of the Highlands, but accustomed to speak English, was under the care of Dr. Macintosh, of Edinburgh, on account of an attack LRAIN TRINTIXG. 167 of apoplexy. She was so far recovered as to look around her with an appearance of intelligence, but the doctor could not make her comprehend any thing he said, or answer the simplest question. He then desired one of her friends to address her in Gaelic, when she immediately answered with readiness and fluency. An Italian gentleman, mentioned by Dr. Rush, who died of yellow-fever in New York, in the begin- ning of his illness spoke English ; in the middle of it, French ; but on the day of his death he spoke only Italian. We may here remark that what this Italian learned in his youth was imprinted deepest upon his softer brain. During the second period of his life hs learned French, which made less depth of impres- sion ; while the English spoken in New York, and the last learned, would be the first to be defaced by the burning fever of the brain. In its progress the French would go next, and lastly tlie Italian. A Lutheran clergyman of Philadelphia informed Dr. Rush that Germans and Swedes, of whom he had a considerable number in his congregation, when near death always prayed in their native languages, though some of them he was confident had not spoken those languages for fifty or sixty years. BRAIK PRINTINa. Upon what other principle than that of absolute brain print could these mother-tongues be called to remembrance ? These being the first languages learned in childhood, made the deepest indentations upon the more plastic brain, and would therefore remain to be used after the progress of disease had l68 KEY TO GHCSTISM. obliterated every trace of the subsequently acquired languages. " A case has been related to me," says Dr. Aber- crombie, "of a boy who at the age of four re- ceived a fracture of the skull, for which he under- went the operation of trepanning. He was at the time in a state of perfect stupor, and after his re- covery retained no recollection either of the accident or the operation. At the age of fifteen, during the delirium of a fever, he gave his mother a correct de- scription of the operation and the persons present at the time, with their dress and other minute particu- lars. He had never alluded to it before, and no means were known by which he could have acquired a knowledge of the circumstances which he thus mentioned." Here, after eleven years' interval, the brain of the boy was thrown by fever into a similar condition to that produced by the injury, and now under the delirium, his mind being abstracted from all outward objects and confined within itself, clearly read the pictures printed upon it during the operation of the trepanning, including the photographs of the per- sons present on that occasion. The fact that the injury of the skull in this case produced general intellectual stupor, or prevented parts of the brain from acting, but not those which were engaged in the reception of the minutiae thus imprinted, shows that some of its parts perform intellectual action while others are dormant ; and that while thus engaged the unaffected parts are more acute and accurate than when the whole brain is acting together, as in perfect health. The fact that there is the same amount of electric force received and EFFECTS PRODUCED RV FEVER. 1 69 carried to tlic brain by inlialation, for use in thinking and volition, and that the deranged part of tlie brain does not act, and therefore consumes none of this force, the excess being thrown upon the active parts, increases their capacity, and gives us the scientific reason which accounts for the extraordinary feats of intellectual power which the surcharged brain of the magnetized mediums manifest. EFFECTS PRODUCED BY FEYER. "An eminent medical friend," says Dr. A., "in- forms me that during fever without any delirium, he on one occasion repeated long passages from Homer, which he could not do when in health ; and another friend has mentioned to me, that in a similar situa- tion there were represented to his mind, in a most vivid manner, the circumstances of a journey in the Highlands, which he had performed long before, in- cluding many particulars which he had entirely for- gotten. The late Dr. Gregory was accustomed to mention in his lectures the case of a clergyman who, while laboring under a disease of the brain, spoke nothing but Hebrew, which was ascertained to be the last language he had acquired." In this case we may remark that the disease had not progressed far enough to obliterate from the brain the last and slightest impressions. On the contrary, the excitement it produced only quickened this part of his brain, and thereby increased its capacity for the time being ; and he could speak his Hebrew better on that account than when in health. An English lady, mentioned by Dr. Prichard, in recovering from an apoplectic attack always spoke to her attendants in French, and had actually lost I/O KEY TO GHOSTISM. the knowledge of the English language. This con- tinued about a month. The higher degrees of this condition amount to that state which we call idiot- ism ; and this we find supervening both upon affec- tions of the brain and protracted febrile diseases. The condition so produced is sometimes permanent, but frequently transient. This depends, however, upon its degree. Recovery takes place in some cases gradually; in others very suddenly. MENTAL FACULTIES LOST AND RECOVERED. A man, mentioned by Willis, on recovering from a putrid fever was found to have so entirely lost his mental faculties that he knew nobody, remembered nothing, and understood nothing. He continued in this state for two months, and then gradually recov- ered. Some years ago I attended a young man who, on recovering from a tedious fever, was found to be in a state bordering upon idiotism, which continued after his health was entirely restored. In this state he was taken to the country, where he gradually re- covered, after several months. A gentleman, men- tioned by Wepfer, on coming out of an apoplectic attack, was found to know nobod1f%nd remembered nothing. After several weeks he began to know his friends, to remember words, to repeat the Lord's Prayer, and to read a few words of Latin, rather than German, which was his own language. When urged to read more than a few words at a time, he said that he formerly understood these things, but now he did not. After some time he began to pay more atten- tion to what was passing around him ; but, while thus making slight and gradual progress, he was suddenly cut off by an apoplectic attack. Dr. Prichard, on the authority of the late Dr. Rush, 15RAIN PRINT ILLUSTRATED. 171 of Philadelphia, mentions an American student of considerable attainments, who, on recovering from a fever, was found to have lost all his acquired knowl- edge. When his health was restored, he began to apply to the Latin Grammar, had passed through the elementary parts, and was beginning to construe, when one day, in making a strong effort to recollect a part of his lesson, the whole of his lost impressions suddenly returned to his mind, and he found himself at once in possession of all his former acquirements. That impressions may be imprinted very early in life and only recalled by similar circumstances and locations, is evinced by various facts, one of which is given by Abercrombie thus : INFANT IMPRESSIONS RECALLED AT MATURE AGE. " A lady, in the last stage of a chronic disease, was carried from London to a lodging in the coun- try. There her infant daughter was taken to visit her, and after a short interview carried back to town. The lady died a few days after, and the daughter grew up without any recollection of her mother, till she was of mature age. At this time she happened to be taken into tlie room in which her mother died, without knowing it to have been such. She started on entering it, and when a friend who was with her asked the cause of her agitation, replied, " I have a distinct impression of having been in this room be- fore, and that a lady who lay in that corner and seemed very ill, leaned over me and wept." BRAIN PRINT ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHY. That real and perfect pictures are received upon the retina of the eye, and by its lenses through the optic nerve conveyed to and photographed upon the 1/2 KEY TO GHOSTISM. . brain, may be demonstrated by the artistic construc- tion of the Camera Obscura, in which there is a dark chamber resembling in its mechanism the human eye, wherein the images of external objects, received through a double convex glass, are exhibited dis- tinctly on a white surface placed on the focus of the glass. If this optical machinery, in all its principal features made in imitation of the physiological mech- anism of human vision, will, by the aid of sunlight, burn the picture of objects placed before it perma- nently into a suitable surface prepared for them, why will not the same mechanical principles of the human eye convey pictures into the camera obscura, or dark chamber of the brain, and burn into its plates the permanent images of objects struck upon its convex surface ? Indeed, this result is just as certain as that like mechanical principles produce like effects — than which there is nothing in the art and science of mechanics more universally known and acknowl- edged. It may be objected that in human art one picture upon another mars both. But cannot the Being who made the human eye and brain have con- structed them without this defect ? Behold incor- porated into the little seed of an apple the embryonic tree, with its ripe fruit which evolves from it, and which must have been first involved in it — the pecu- liar wood, bark, leaves, shape and form of the tree as a whole, the coloring matter of its leaves, peculiarity of its sap, shape of its fruit, in all varieties of its color and shade, skin, scent, flavor, limit of its dura- tion, and the tree itself, endowed with a separate mechanical department not essential to the growth and maturity of that single tree, but for the per- petuation of subsequent generations. Behold all CONDITIONS OF THE SPEAKING MACHINE. 173 these wonderful mechanical and chemical principles crowded into this little seed ! — a litde world of won- ders. We repeat the question, cannot a Being with such capacity have made the surfaces and depths of the human brain susceptible of receiving the whole panorama of nature and art as well, without marring or confusion ? CONDITIONS OF THE SPEAKINd MACHINE. In the case of the phonograph, or speaking machine, its power or faculty to repeat human speech depends upon the shape and depth of the indenta- tions made upon the tin-foil of its cylinder by the voice speaking to it. By examining these indenta- tions with a magnifying glass, they are found to be endless in variety. Let a succession of the same sounds be repeated, and a corresponding succession of indentations without variation of shape or depth will be made ; the least increase or decrease in a sound made by the human voice, or by any animal, or by inanimate concussion, will produce an exact corresponding indentation upon the tin-foil, which answers to the human brain. From this it follows that all the variety of sounds capable of being made by the animate and inanimate world may be imprint- ed by permanent indentations upon a single human brain, and repeated by the organs of sound and speech, whenever desire or necessity requires them. So also may the visual images of human optics be re- produced. Dr. Abercrombie relates the following circum- stance, which gives a good illustration of this phe- nomenon : " In the church of St. Peter's, at Cologne, the altar piece is a large and valuable picture by 1/4 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Rubens, representing the martyrdom of the apostle. This picture having been carried away by the French in 1805, to the great regret of the inhabitants, a painter of that city undertook to make a copy of it from recollection ; and succeeded in doing so in such a manner that the most delicate tints of the original are preserved with the most minute accuracy. The original painting has now been restored, but the copy is preserved along with it ; and even when they are rigidly compared, it is scarcely possible to distin- guish the one from the other. I am not aware that this remarkable anecdote has been recorded by any traveller," says the doctor. *' I am indebted for it to my friend Dr. Duncan, of the University of Edin- burgh, who heard it on the spot, in a late visit to the Continent, and saw both pictures." — Intellectual Powers, p. 113. CULTIYATIOK OF MEMORY. In relation to memory, on the same page the doc- tor sums up his argument thus : " The facts which have been briefly referred to, in regard to the phenom- ena of memory, lead to some remarks of a practical nature. These relate to the improvement of atten- tion and memory in persons of adult years, and the cultivation of these powers in the education of the young. " The rules from which benefit is to be derived for the improvement of memory may be chiefly referred to the following heads : I. The cultivation of habits of attention, or of intense application of the mind to whatever is at the time its more immediate object of pursuit. " 2. Habits of correct association. These consist CULTIVATION OF MEMORY. 175 in the constant practice of tracing the relation between new facts and others with which we are pre- viously acquainted ; and of referring facts to princi- ples which they are calculated to illustrate, or to opinions which they tend to confirm or modify, or overturn. This is the operation of what we call a reflecting mind ; and that information which is thus fully contemplated and associated is not likely to be forgotten. " 3. Intimatel}^ connected with both the former rules is the cultivation of that active, inquiring state of mind which is always on the watch for knowledge from every source coming within its reach, either in reading, conversation, or observation. Such a mind is ever ready to refer newly acquired knowl- edge to its proper place. It is thus easily retained, and made to yield those conclusions which arc legiti- mately deduced from it." The doctor gives us the following rules to guide in our investigations : " In forming a collection of facts on which we are to found conclusions, it is always to be kept in mind that fallacy may arise from the absence of important facts, as well as from the reception of statements which are untrue. Hence the erroneous conclusions that may be deduced from statements which are strictly true ; and hence the fallacious systems that are built up with every appearance of plausibility and truth, when facts are collected on one side of a ques- tion, or in support of a particular doctrine. In form- ing a collection of facts, therefore, as the preliminary step in any inquiry, the following rules ought to be 'kept strictly and constantly in view before we ad- vance to any conclusions : 176 KEY TO GHOSTISM. " I. That all the facts be fully ascertained ; that those collected by ourselves be derived from suffici- ent observation ; and that those which we receive from others be received only on the testimony of persons fully qualified to judge of their accuracy, and who have had sufficient opportunities of acquir- ing them. " 2. That the statement include a full and fair view of all the facts which ought to be taken into the in- vestigation ; that none of them be disguised, or modified so as to be made to bear upon a particular doctrine ; and that no essential facts be wanting. " 3. That the statement do not include facts which are trivial, incidental, or foreign to the sub- ject. " 4. That we do not receive as facts statements which are not facts, but opinions or general assump- tions." THE WITCH OF EH-DOR. In view of the facts of the science and philosophy of mind and memory here presented, illustrated by our own experiments and observation, and corrobo- rated by those recorded by eminent medical authori- ties, it needs but little else than their application to clearly elucidate the phenomena of the supposed spiritualism, showing it to be the product of human mental philosophy. Before making their application to the experiments already quoted from Mr. Home's book, we wish to investigate a case of ancient famil- iar spiritualism, which shows it to be the same as the modern. We allude to that of the witch of En-dor,, who is supposed to have I'aised the prophet Samuel from the dead. This practice was prohibited by such THE WITCH OF EN-DOR. 177 divine statutes as the following : " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. 22 : 18). " When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that uscth divination, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a wizard, or a necromancer, or a consulter with familiar spirits : for all that do these things are an abomina- tion unto the Lord." (Deut. 18 : 10-12.) Here we see that the inhibition was as much against those who consulted the familiar spirits as those who possessed them ; and that these terms comprehend every imaginable phase and feature of Spiritualism, which in all ages of the world have been practised by the priests of idolatry, to give a mysterious and false dignity to their various forms of man-degrading superstition and folly. We also see that the modern charmers have selected from this nomenclature " Spiritualism," as the badge of their profession. Notwithstanding this practice was thus prohibited, and by a law of his own kingdom, yet it is recorded of Saul the king, after he found the Lord had forsaken him and he could obtain no more answers, neither by dreams nor by Urim and Thum- mim (God's appointed method of communication), nor by the prophets, said, " Seek me out a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may inquire of her." It is the women who generally possess the familiar spirit. Saul's servants came and reported that they had found such a woman, who dwelt at a place called En-dor, who was probably a witch of great celebrity. So at night (the season most appropriate for the dark business) Saul and his servants went and held a 1/8 KEY TO GHOSTISM. seance at the house of the Spiritualist. The exact account is as follows : " Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem : and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Phi»listines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by proph- ets. Then said Saul to his servants, Seek vie a woman that hath a familiar spirit^ that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said unto him. Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. Ajid Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night : and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. [The Spiritualists had not yet learned the notion afterwards taught by Socrates, that the spirit was the intelligent part of man, and that it went up to heaven at the event the Bible calls death ; but Socrates taught that there is no death, only a separation ; and therefore they associated their spirit communications with dead and buried men, which could only be re- ceived by raising them from the dead. ' Whom shall I bring up unto thee ? And he said. Bring me np Samuel.'] And the woman said unto him, Be- hold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the THE WITCH OF EN-DOR. I79 wizards, out of the land : wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die ? And Saul svvare to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee ? And he said. Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice : and the Avoman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me ? for thou art Saul. [Here we see that the moment the medium went into the electric trance by whose agency she could read the images of her own brain, and gliding upon it, had entered the nerves and brain of Saul, as the neg- ative passes to the positive, she saw the image of Samuel, and instantly that also of Saul himself, pho- tographed upon the brain of the living king. ' Thou art Saul ! ''\ And the king said unto her. Be net afraid : for what sawest thou ? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her. What form is he of ? And she said, An old man cometh up ; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. [It will be noticed that Saul did not see Samuel, but knew it to be him by the description the medium gave. While Samuel was living he was God's mouth-piece to Saul. He had anoFnted him to be king, under the inspiration of God. Samuel had stood in the place of God, and reproved Saul for his wickedness ; and before whom he had often stood in awe and trembling. Saul had therefore come to view Samuel with the same reverence as though he were God. Hence the Spiritualist read this conception imprinted on the brain of Saul, and she said, ' I saw gods ascending out of the earth.'] And he l80 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed him- self. SAUL A FULL GHOST BELIEVER. [Saul was now a full believer in Spiritualism. She had given him the test of discovering him to be the king, calling him by name, which his disguise ren- dered impossible for her to know in the ordinary way. She had also described Samuel the prophet to his entire satisfaction ; which therefore confirmed his conviction that in some way " divinity" was con- nected with these revelations. Hence he had said unto her, " Divine unto me, I pray thee." In such presence therefore he bowed himself to the ground. The clairvoyant now puts Saul in communication with Samuel, and the medium read from the brain of Saul his thoughts, convictions, and apprehensions, and re- turned them to the king in the shape of communica- tions from the dead prophet.] " And Samuel said unto Saul, Why hast thou dis- quieted me, to bring me up ? [This would naturally be the first reproof Saul anticipated.] And Saul answered, I am sore distressed ; for the Philistines make war against me, and God i^ departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams : therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy ? And the Lord hath done to him [to Saul, showing that the communication was about Saul, but through the medium], as he spake by me : for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor David ; because THE MEDIUM READ SAUL'S BRAIN. l8l thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor execut- edsthis fierce wrath upon Amalck, therefore hath tlie Lord done this tiling unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines : and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me ; the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. [It will be seen that the medium only told Saul what he already knew and what he anticipated in the future. Then follov/s the description of the effect this supposed divination had upon the king.] THE MELIUH READ SAUL'S BRAIH, And returned it to him ao a message from. Samuel. " Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel : and there was no strength in him ; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee ; and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him ; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the woman had a fat calf in the house ; and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof : and she brought it before Saul, and his servants ; and they did eat. 1 82 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Then they rose up, and went away that night" (i Sam. 28 : 3-25). SAUL'S FAITH IH WITCHCRAFT THE CAUSE OF HIS SUICIDE. So powerful was this supposed revelation from the dead prophet, that it wrought out its own fulfilment. From that moment Saul could see nothing before him but discomfiture, defeat, and death. On the one hand every source of, encouragement presented to his bewildered imagination dwindled into insignificance as he contemplated it, while on the other the least unfavorable occurrence was magnified into a dark and hideous omen. Thus was the abandoned king rendered an easy prey to his enemies. So confident- ly did he credit the supposed prediction of Samuel, that long before the day passed he is found soliciting his armor-bearer to slay him ; and failing, madly throws himself upon his own sword, and suffered a death which might have been averted, had he not consulted the infamous witch. SOURCE OF THE IHTELLIGtEHCE OF HOME'S GHOSTS. Let us now examine the source of the intelligence manifested by the supposed spirit revelations, the account of which we have already quoted from Mr. Home's book, and we shall clearly understand it to be attributable to the mind-reading faculty of the trance medium, and the controlling power of other minds, compelling the mediums to see and hear things which do not exist ; as, for instance, the hand that took the rose from one of the ladies in one of these seances, and carried it across the table to the other. In such a case the condition is, that all pres- INTELLIGENCE OF IIOME'S GHOSTS. 1 83 ent are mediums, or at least all who see the hand. It is perfectly preposterous that a material hand, cut from a material body, could perform such a volun- tary feat ; and that it was only a hand which did this, demonstrates it was, in appearance, a psycho- logical illusion. Neither could an immaterial spirit, or ghost, have a material hand ; or if it had, it could nut use it for any purpose ; as no matter, or 710/hiiig, cannot move matter. That the rose might have thus moved, and the table also, we can easily under- stand and explain upon scientific principles, as we have already done. We commence with the case of the child's coffin in the vault being placed on the top of that of a lady, whose spirit was supposed to have been very much incensed at such an outrage. Why should the spirit which has been released from its cumber- some carcass, and that forever, be so disquieted and so offended as was this lady spirit at a transaction which, if done by a mortal, would be held as mean and selfish in the last degree — the setting a coffin' of a dead child upon that of another member of the same family ? But it is a common characteristic of the spirits to be childishly quarrelsome and sensi- tive, and that without regard to the time they have been in the spirit land — which is no more land than they are spirits. This fact, however, demonstrates that children spirits make no progress in the fancy spirit land, and the adult spirits retrograde to child- ishness after they get there. If we turn now to the account given by Mr. Home (see pp. 127-143) of the manifestations through his mediumship, we cannot fail to solve their mysteries upon these natural principles ; and if this proves true I84 KEY TO GHOSTISM. in regard to those instances which we have already- quoted from Home's book, it will equally explain the philosophy of all the other intelligence of Spiritualism, without the intervention of spirits. Mr. Home could have been compelled to walk in the winter over the Green Mountains, from Boston to Albany, by the intense wish of a controlling mind. We have ourselves scores of times compelled them to do things they did not wish to do, and which they exerted every effort to refrain from doing. In regard to the distance this mental telegraphy is prac- tical, we have every reason to believe it is as limitless as that of the magnetic telegraph. MENTAL TELEGRAPH. The following is a striking example of this intelli- gent electric transmission. On the day of the death of Lieutenant Dale in Syria (who belonged to the United States' Exploring Expedition to the Dead Sea, which was sent out some years since), his wife, being then in Pennsylvania, remarked to a gentleman, who afterward testified to the fact : " I wish you to note this day. My feelings are so unaccountably strange, and my spirits so depressed, that I am sure some great calamity awaits me. Note it, that it is the 24th day of July," and which afterward proved to be the very day on which her husband, in that far distant land, had expired. Under such circum- stances the mind of her husband, laboring under his afflictions, would naturally be fixed upon his wife, intently desiring she should know his condition, thus producing on her mind the deep depression, and a desire to be thus informed, when, as quick as the lightning's flash, these vague intercommunications MENTAL TELEGRAril. I85 passed back and forth. And wc add, that had she been Mr. Home, or as good a negative or medium as he, she would have received the whole facts of the case. It cannot be said that it was his spirit which brought the message from Syria to the United States after tlie Lieutenant's death ; for I have made more intelligent communications scores of times upon the minds of distant persons, simply by a desire ; and if it had been my spirit by which I live which had left me to carry such a message, I would have died the instant of its departure. We might fill a book with the narration of similar facts ; but they are so famil- iarly known, that it would be useless. Here, there- fore, we have the solution of the communications passing from Hartford to Springfield, and the reason of the journey of Mr. Home. The expectation of his coming shows the gentleman had his mind anxiously fixed on this strange visitor, and probably up n his deceased wife, which he expected would furnish matter for spirit tests. Wc do not see why Mr. Home should have been so sensitive at the undignified character of the coffin occurrence, when in fact ninety-nine hundredths of the purporting spirit communications are equally childish. It will be noticed that every thing about the silk dress — its color and texture — was perfectly known to the Hartford gentleman. He had heard its rustlings as the living lady moved with it on, the sound of which had made its corresponding indenta- tions upon his brain, reading which by the medium as the speaking macliine, repeated back the sound which was heard by the company. In fact, medi- ums are nothing but involuntary repeating machines^ hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling, thinking, 1 86 KEY TO GHOSTISM. speaking, and acting or reacting as they are con- trolled by other mortal minds. The facts relating to the coffin, however, were unknown to this gentleman, and could not have been read from his brain by the medium. Let us mark these incidental facts. It was the day before that the sexton had committed this conscious breach of propriety, and it was the same day Mr. Home was engaged in reading the brain of his guest, whereon he saw these pictured facts of the little old lady ; and while thus engaged the conclusion was formed to go with Mr. Home and the sexton to the vault. This thought about the sexton, whom he saw also pictured on the brain of his host, because know- ing his connection with this matter, brought Mr. Home also in communication with the sexton, from whose mind he caught the information in relation to the coffins. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THIS COMMUNICATIOH. Every one who knows any thing about clairvoyants also knows that it is only necessary for the party con- sulting them to think ahout a third person, to put the medium in communication with that person, and enable them to read equally well from their brain what they also know. In this case the three minds — that of Mr. S., of the medium, and the sexton — were concentrated upon the same subject at the same time, and all in the same neighborhood, rendering it one of the easiest cases for a clairvoyant to read the theme of their investigation from the living tablets of the brain of the others, although ignorant of the natural principle by which they came into possession of the information, and of returning it to the same in- rillLOSOPIIY OF THIS COMMUNICATION. 1 8/ dividuals in the shape of revelations from the spirits of the dead. Thus did this familiar spiritualist, Home, delude himself and deceive his Hartford con- suiter into the interdicted sin of witchcraft. To understand the communications in this seance relating to the dead child of the Countess, it is only necessary to refer to the fact that every item of it was known to the mother, and upon whose brain all its pictures stood impressed, to be read by him who has the faculty of seeing them as easily as they might be ordinarily read from a book. It must be remem- bered that no audible voice speaks to the mediums, but that they receive the intelligence by impressions, from whatever source they come. Here, in the com- pany of this mother, was a famous mind-reader, and upon whose brain he saw the living imprint of what the woman knew, and wrote out, by intelligent raps, the name of the child, its age, etc. The motion of the table we have already explained upon the principle of comparative vacuums of atmospher- ic pressure. That the table in this case was lifted from the floor and another one moved from the corner of the room toward the company without a hand touching it, is to be attributed to the fact of the presence of Mr. Home, one of the best mediums in the world — and this means one of the most per- fect Leyden jars for the reception and transmission of animal electricity. Another fact is,, that the mag- nitude of these results depends upon the number and degree of mediumship present on any occasion ; just as galvanic electrical results depend upon the number and power of the batteries working together at any given time. That such results as the lifting of the table were 1 88 KEY TO GHOSTISM. witnessed on this occasion, leaves us to infer that others of this seance were mediums besides Mr. Home. It is not necessary that it should be known that mediums are such, even to themselves, that through them these noises and movements of objects should take place. These manifestations occur in what are supposed to be haunted houses. Some one of the mediums living in them, or in a neighboring house, though unconscious of their mediumship, are producing the supposed ghostly noises. Houses may also be thus haunted — and it is the only way in which they ever can be haunted — by the design of the familiar spiritualists, or by their conjurers, or living mortal controls, for the purpose of depreciat- ing the value of the property, out of revenge, or for real estate speculation ; and men who will commit these frauds upon the public, in the pretended spirit materializations which have been detected and exposed (and that for making money), would have no misgivings in haunting any house for such pur- poses. We volunteer this information that property owners may be on their guard ; and if they have a haunted house, to ask themselves the question, whether any Spiritualist, medium or believer, has any motive in thus injuring the value of his prop- erty ; and also that when any house is found to be haunted by ghosts, that people may understand it to be simply the antics of mental electricity. The motion of the flower across the table, from one lady to the other, which took place at the seance under consideration, has its explanation in the same cause that moved the small table from the corner of the room toward the circle sitting around the larger table, or that which lifted this into the air. In either OUR OWN EXPERIMENTS. 189 of these cases there was no hand seen to lift or carry them ; and of course it was no more necessary that a hand should carry the rose than the table : indeed, it would seem more unreasonable that the large hand of a man should carry the light rose and not the heavy table or the light one. But the fact that the hand was seen by the company — it does not say by them all — and that the Countess felt the hand of her child under the table, holding it in hers, re- mains to be accounted for otherwise than by trick or misrepresentation, which would seem to be as -im- possible on this occasion as the materialization of the hands themselves. In regard to the mediums seeing any thing the controls wish, or upon which their minds fix, is one of the best known facts of clairvoyance. OUR OkYN EXPERIMENTS. We have shown to the mediums, before large audi- ences, half a dozen witches, ghosts, hobgoblins, and demons, from whom they would fly in terror. None saw them, however, but the charmed mediums. It is not impossible, therefore, that all who saw the hand carry the rose at this seance 7uere the charmed mediums, without knowing it. That the Countess, the mother of the child, was such, we have no doubt, for the materializations centred around her ; and indeed she alone felt one of the hands (that of her child), but without seeing it. In regard to the Spiritualistic Cabinet of Pharaoh who were assembled to imitate the miracles of Moses, he states that when he threw down his rod and it became a serpent, " the sorcerers did so also with their enchantments. They cast down every IQO KEY TO GHOSTISM. man his rod, and they became serpents" (Gen. 7 : 12). In this case one of two things was true : either these wise men of Pharaoh had the power to make living serpents out of inanimate rods, or the enchant- ers threw the whole company into trance, including Moses, who declares they were serpents ; and he could not have done so had they not appeared to be such to him. Moses and Aaron were unconscious mediums, which explains the mystery, and shows that the serpents and the hand that carried the rose were psychologic illusions. If it was a hand as the flower was a flower, it would be as palpable to touch as to sight, and that by every one who could see. It could be taken in hand, just as well as the rose, and could be dissected and severed like the rose. It was made of flesh and bones, just like any hand. It makes no difference what or who materialized it into a human hand ; then it was a material hand, just as any other human hand, with all its organic arrange- ment and palpability. That the hand which grasped the apparition felt something at first and then noth- ing, was only the slight illusion of touch transferred from the deeper illusion of sight. That the hand "thus vanished, demonstrates it was not a materialized hand, but it was like all ghostly apparitions, which are " False creations, arising from the Heat oppressed brain. A dagger Of the mind. There's no such thing. 'Tis the bloody business thus Informs to mine eyes." Shakespeare. PRACTICAL TESTS FOR SPIRITUALISTS. In conclusion, we demand of the Spiritualists that they produce some one or all of the following results : PRACTICAT. TESTS FOR SPIRITUALISTS. 19I When a medium dies from any derangement of the vital, organs — whether of the lungs, heart, or any other — and is pronounced dead by competent physicians, who are not Spiritualists, a seance shall be held, and a spirit- — whether the one who lived in the body before, or not — be conjured to take perma- nent possession of this body, and make it live, think, and act, just as it did before the separation took place. If the doctrines of the Spiritualists are true at all, this is the logical sequence of their teaching, which is that the bodily organs which we call vital, or the seat of life — those on which life depends, and by whose action we live — are not the life, and are no part or parts of it ; but that the life is the spirit which resides among these, as a tenant in a house. It is said that these are only the organs or instru- ments by the use of which the living creature makes himself manifest. Now these instruments are either essential or not essential to the existence of life, or to a living creature. If they arc essential to a living creature, so that it may be known to itself and others that it lives, or that it is thus made manifest that it is a living existence, then they are parts of the life itself, and not instruments at all. If they are not essential to enable the living creature who dwells among them to be seen to be alive — manifestly a liv- ing creature — then he would be such in the absence of the instruments : therefore the man would be manifestly the same creature in whose body the liv- ing spirit dwelt, if not one of these instruments were in it — no lungs, no heart, no stomach or digestive organs, etc. To illustrate this argument, let us suppose that man himself is a living creature — that the organs 192 KEY TO GHOSTISM. and their functions are vital, and that each one em- ployed or acting in the combination is an integral part of life, so that in the absence or serious derange- ment of either, all cease to act, and life is extinct, living ceases because life is not in any one of these — as the breath, heart, lungs, stomach, etc. — but in the combination of all. In a word, life, or being alive, is the result of the whole organization — the whole de- pending upon each, and each upon the whole. Here then we have a living creature. Let us further sup- pose he enters into a furnished house, answering the place of the medium. The family are seated round the room, and the seance commences. Now is it necessary that this living man should use any of the furniture the house contains — a cane with which to rap, another man's legs and arms with which to walk, or to lift and move a table round the room — to convince the company that he is alive, a living creat- ure ? This is as conclusive as though there was not an article in the house nor an instrument to be used. The question is, Why does not this living creature need organs or instruments not parts of himself to demonstrate beyond any doubt the fact that he is a living existence ? We answer, simply because he does live j it is self-evident. Suppose, still further, that surgical skill was equal to the task of removing all the vital organs with their connections from this man's body into another living man's body, and that there was room enough for both in one body, would there not be two identical living creatures liv- ing in the same house, and could the living organs of one be those of the other ? The fundamental fact is, that the vital organs are not instruments, but in- tegral parts of the life itself. Separate these two USE OF THE ORGANS OF ANOTHER. I93 men so skilfully that not a vital organ or connec- tion would have suffered the least derangement or injury in either case, and would they need any organs but their own to make it manifest that they were alive ? And why ? Simply because it was a fact that they did live ; and to attest which, no other phenomena was needed except the fact that they hreaiJicd Here we see that if a creature lives, it not only needs no organs or instruments except its own through which to manifest the fact, but admits of none. Hence creature life is involved by the Creator in the whole vital organs, whether in man or the lower animals, the only test of which is, Do they breathe 1 and if they do, theirexistcnce is satisfactorily demon- strated to every reasonable mind. This demonstra- tion equally settles the question that the spirits do not live after the body is dissolved, because they do not breathe. They cannot breathe without lungs, and the lungs are destroyed by death. no BEING CAN USE THE LIVING ORGANS OF ANOTHER. From these considerations we arrive at the funda- mental fact taught by Spiritualism, namely, that because the spirits live in and of themselves — and these qualifying terms add nothing to strengthen the fact that they live — they are able to enter into a medium from whose body all the vital organs have been removed, and to .compel that body to manifest all the phenomena of life, just as it did before the spirit separated from it. A spirit is no more depend- ent upon instruments outside of its living self, by which to make known the phenomena of life, or that it lives, than a living man is obliged to use and move 194 KEY TO GHOSTISM. the furniture in his house, and in the presence of his family, to prove to them that he is alive. Here, gentlemen Spiritualists, is your self-imposed task. When you perform it, all men will accept your teaching. When a medium dies — or, in your own language, when a house, form, or carcass has been vacated by the spirit, and the living creature has moved out — let there be a seance convoked. From this carcass let the worthless organs which we in our ignorance call vital be removed. Then, with no other medium present, let the spirits be conjured until one enters the empty y*?;-;;;, takes it out of the casket, and, to the delight of the circle, manifests all the phenomena of a living creature as naturally as though there had been no separation, and then pro- ceeds to transact again the same business in the community which he once followed. This perform- ance cannot fail to convince every sensible man of the truth of the doctrines of Spiritualism, and also to correct the error of physiological science, that the heart, lungs, stomach, etc., are vital and essential to life, and will forever establish the fact that it was the spirit alone that lived ! We have confined the accomplishment of this won- derful experiment (self-imposed by the Spiritualists), to the living department of animal life, and not to that which thinks, and therefore knows. The indi- vidual therefore whom the entrance of the spirit made to live, might have been only a perfect idiot who, having all the vital organs, lives, but who, with- out organic brain, knows nothing. Hence, as the most prominent dogma of the Spiritualists is the intelligence which the spirits manifest through the brain, organs of sense, and speech of the mediums, THE INVOLUNTARY ORGANS. I95 the revived man must not only live, but be as in- telligent as before the spirit-removal took place. Now, what are the physical obstacles to be over- come in order to bring back the intellect also ? We have seen, by the well-known teaching of the science of physiology, that organic man is divided into two grand departments, called the " Voluntary " and " Involuntary ;" that .the involuntary is the living but unknowing part, while the thinking, knowing part is the voluntary, having no life. The heart, lungs, and stomach, with all the other vital organs, when taken as a whole, live, but do not think ; while the intellectual organs think, but do not live. THE inVOLUNTARY ORGANS CANNOT BE TAMPERED WITH. It is well for the mediums that the spirits seem to recognize the existence of these departments, and confine their antics to the brain and the intellectual faculties ; for if they tampered thus with the organs of life — the lungs, heart, etc. — compelling them to rattle off thought at the unnaturally rapid rate often witnessed, and then forcing the suspension of thought altogether, thus obliging them to increase their natural motions, the rapid expansions and con- tractions of the heart would send the blood coursing through the system at such speed, that burning fever would result from the friction, and a few repetitions would cause its delicate valves to give way, and the lungs would congest so that the medium would die of heart disease ; or if suspended in carrying on the functions of life, as the functions of the brain of the medium often are in carrying on thought, all would die together. 196 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Another experiment which the Spiritists should be compelled to perform in proof of the phenomena of spirit life, is to suspend the vital < rgans, so that the lungs do not breathe nor the heart beat for an hour, and then restore their functions to their normal con- dition. This would prove that the spirit was the life. This distinction of the two departments gives us the condition upon which the thinking part can act, the result of which is thought. Both being in the same body, the thinking part receives its force from the living part, which the vital organs manu- facture from the breath and food : therefore, if the intellectual department be taken out of the body, having no vital organs to supply them with mental force, they would lose all power of thinking, and of course of intelligence. Upon such a separation of a man's faculties, he would forever cease to be an in- telligent creature, except by a re-creation of all these organic powers, which, we repeat, is the grand re- vealed purpose of man's Creator in the resurrection of the dead. This union of the two departments in the same body, so that man is a living, thinking being, is not only a condition of human thinking in the ordinary manner, but lays an equal barrier in the way of the spirits to manifest the least intelligence through the mental organism of a medium. It is a fact that every intellectual faculty is located in the head of a man. Now let a spirit throw a medium into trance ; then let all his vital organs be removed from the body, leaving the head untouched by the scalpel, and if the medium continues to manifest intelligence — we care not whether it is his own or that of a foreign spirit who has come from the spirit land — then the HUMAN INTELLIGENCE. IQ/ doctrines of the Spiritualists will be established. But if the spirit fails to manifest intelligence, having all the mental organs of the medium at his command, it will demonstrate the other fact, namely, that the vital organs supplied something to the organic brain which the spirit did not possess, to make intelligence possible. Therefore, it is the organic brain, receiv- ing its force from the organs of life, which manifests intelligence, and not the ghosts of spiritism. HUMAN INTELLIGENCE Cannot Exist withoiit Brain, cr when it Softens ; much, less when Ceoomposed. Another condition of intelligence and its manifes- tation is, the existence of the cerebrum, or brain proper. We have seen that the intelligence mani- fested by what are called the mediums is in propor- tion to the intellectual capacity of each, other things being equal, whether in their normal state or in trance ; and that this is also in proportion to the size of such brain, taking into the account the degree of cultivation attained. We have also seen that mediums manifest superior intelligence while in the trance state, and the reason for this we infer from comparative anatomy that if intelligence decreases as the cerebrum diminishes in the size of human heads, then if we should find one without cerebrum there would be no intelligence at all ; and yet with the cerebellum, the source of the organs of life, such a person would live, but not know enough to per- form the least act of volition, which implies think- ing, reason, and will. Now if the Spiritualists will take such a medium who will manifest any intelli- gence at all by a spirit entering into his head, it will 198 KEY TO GHOSTISM. be absolute proof of spirit life and intelligence. Let him, through a perfect idiot, give a good intelligent lecture while in trance, and it will make no difference whether he reads it from the mind of any other person or that it is dictated by a foreign ghost with- in, we will be compelled to give the spirit credit for the performance, and we shall also be compelled to acknowledge that brains are not necessary to the possession of intellectual powers. REYIEW OF HENRY KIDDLE'S BOOK. Although the assumed ghost communications in this book are the most ordinary of their kind, the author continually declares them to be " the most remarkable." It contains nothing demanding par- ticular notice or explanation which is not already included in the more wonderful phenomena which we have examined ; still, our regard for truth will not allow us to pass the book in silence. The author seems to think he is selected from among the ghostly brotherhood to inundate the world with a flood of new light, the belief of which will save all men, or that all will be saved in the end if they do not believe a word of it, although their whole lives are spent in the most gross crime and debauchery ; indeed, that the salvation consists in making the ghosts who accept it the sooner happy. We should say, happier, for there is not any of the supposed ghosts who report perfect happiness for themselves. Indeed, there seems to be none so happy as those who are called by the con- jurers to communicate with mortals again. Theoret- ically the material body is esteemed both by the ghosts and their friends this side of the ghostly river HENRY kiddle's BOOK. I99 a mere clog to their progression, and yet the de- parted all seem to have been tongue-tied, though in ghost-land for thousands of years, until they were blessed with the unspeakable privilege of using the gross organs of Mr. Kiddle's children to give vent to their pent-up desires. What bliss has dawned upon fairyland ! Mr. Kiddle does not assume to be the author of the book, but only its editor — ghost editor of the mes- sages ; yet he is nevertheless the veritable author, as its supposed ghost messages were read from his mind by the " familiar spirits' ' of his daughter and son, and returned to him as spirit messages. We mean that those thus read and returned were those of Mr. Kiddle's dead friends, with whohi he was more or less acquainted, or of Avhom he had been informed by others who knew them, including those of his- toric knowledge. The other messages the mediums caught from the minds of inquirers ; the essential fact being that some one living and in communica- tion with the medium was either acquainted person- ally with those about whom inquiry was made, or had opinions concerning them received from some other source. This knowledge may have been entirely forgotten, and yet its impress being upon the brain, the medium saw and read it to the person, and was able to recall it to their minds by associat- ing it with other circumstances which were remem- bered. Mr. Kiddle seems to think that if the medium did not know about the message, and was unable to comprehend or originate it, it must have been the work of the ghosts ; while the fact is, the medium knows nothing about these messages except as read from the living brain of others. 200 KEY TO GHOSTISM. HOHOTOKOUS SAMEKESS OF SPIRIT MESSAGES. The messages in this book present the peculiarity of sameness both in style and matter in contrast to all other books of a similar character. This is to be accounted for not because they came through the same mediums, but that they came from the mind of a single questioner, Mr. Kiddle himself. If others asked test questions of these mediums of which they had knowledge, they were answered correctly ; but if they related to the doctrines of Spiritism they were fashioned by the controlling opinions of Mr. Kiddle himself. If any of these answers were at variance with his views, they were modified by extorting an explanation from them, which was always given, and their views changed to harmonize with the sugges- tions proposed. The reason is that Mr. Kiddle him- self was the only muddled spirit. At his beck the ghosts of the leading ministers of Christendom were summoned, and were on the spot in a moment's time ; showing, by the way, that ghosts are not such things as travel, or else they were present on the spot, and not in heaven, for even electricity takes a number of minutes to travel around our little globe. When questioned, they all finally agreed with Mr. Kiddle in doctrine, and urged him on in his glorious work of giving the world this wonderful book. He had it on the brain, and the mediums confirmed the conceit, because they could do nothing else. We know nothing of Mr. Kiddle, except as he stands revealed in his book, which shows that if ever a man was inspired with conceit, it is he ; for he brings even the ghosts of Paul and Moses to confirm his preposterous views of a future world ! There are incidental expressions contained in these MR. KIDDLE THE SOLE GHOST. 20I messages which show them to have originated in a single mind : for example, that of " O God !" and which the written prayers Mr. Kiddle offered for the ghosts who were still in torment show was a phrase of his own. In these, however, it is employed in proper construction, proving Mr. Kiddle to be a better scholar than his ghostly friends of a hundred years' progressive development. In proof that we are correct in attributing the sameness in style and sentiment of the messages which this book contains to the all-controlling mind of Mr. Kiddle, let these same questions be put to the same supposed ghosts, and through the same mediums, by men entirely differing with Mr. Kiddle, and not in his presence or that of his sympathizers, and the answers will all be in opposition to those in the book ; or let me question them among my friends, and the same supposed ghosts will give answers in harmony with the views contained in my book. Here is a simple test, which, if true, shows that none of these messages come from ghosts, but are the result of the natural law which we have been discussing. Wich these remarks it is only necessary to give a few examples, with brief comments. MR. KIDDLE THE SOLE GHOST. It is as absurd to say that the communications in this book are revelations from ghosts, as to say that Mr. Kiddle is only its editor, and not its author. This we have already exposed. The following quotation upon the title-page is given such prominence as to show its adoption by the author : " Let no one take offence at the opening of this mystery, as though it brought any thing new into religion ; for it has noth- 202 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ing new in it. It alters no point of Gospel doctrine, but only sets each article of the old Christian faith upon its true ground." We remark, in the first place, that if ever a title- page belied the body of a book, then this does ; and we propose to alter the title to conform with the contents, and thereby make it true : " Let every Christian take offence at this unopened mystery to the ghost seers, as it brings nothing new or old to light ; for it has nothing in it but ghost sayings, which are as true as their apparitions. It alters no point of Gospel doctrine, for this is beyond its power ; but it misstates every Gospel doctrine, and sets forth not a single article of Christian faith." To understand any author he must be permitted to interpret himself ; that is, every thing he says upon any subject must be consulted, if we would under- stand his meaning. The Scriptures therefore must be interpreted by the same rule, and they can only be intelligently investigated in the same manner. Of course this does not admit the adoption of the opin- ions of others as to the meaning of any book, for these might have received their opinions from others for a hundred generations, not one of whom had in- vestigated the book, in order to ascertain what it actually taught. RULE OF IHTERPRETATION. That Mr. Kiddle is one of those who adopt the opinions of others in relation to the Bible, is shown in his book. In every attempt made to give the meaning of Scripture, he gives men's opinions as his authority, and never once quotes other passages of Scripture to illustrate the meaning of the one which RULE Ol'" INTERPRETATION. 203 he quotes, or a garbled part of it. I-'or example, to prove his opinion that Christ did not die, but that while his body was dead he went and preached to the ghosts in darkness, he quotes the following dialogue between himself and the ghost of Judge Edmonds : "St. Peter said ' Christ went and preached unto the spirits in prison.' How do you explain that, Judge?" "Yes; Christ is the heavenly light that dawns upon them now ; for He has left His heavenly rays around their beings forever, and with love- Thus shining they cannot be in darkness." Wonder- ful explanation ! The whole passage is as follows : " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened l)y the Spirit : by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison ; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water" (i Peter 3 : 18, 19). In connection with this we also quote the follow- ing, to show that Christ's resurrection or quickening here referred to was done by the Spirit of God, also called the Spirit of Christ, for they are one. " The Spirit of Christ which was in them [the prophets of old], when it testified beforehand," etc. (i Peter i : 11). " But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8 : 11). Here we are taught that as the Spirit of God quick- ened the mortal body of Christ — and as we learn in other places, into an immortal body — so is He to 204 KEY TO GHOSTISM. quicken or resurrect the dead saints into immortal beings, in the resurrection at the last day. That this preaching was done by Noah and in his days, as declared in the text, we quote also the following : " For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment [not to take them up into heaven again, as Mr. Kiddle's book teaches] ; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter i : 4, 5). Let us now turn to Genesis, and we shall see how God by His Spirit, by which He raised Christ from the dead, accompanied Noah's preaching to the ante- diluvian spirits (the men) in prison, after their doom had been pronounced, and fixed at a hundred and twenty years, through which preaching eight of these spirits were saved. " And the Lord said, Afy Spirit shall not always strive with man, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation" (Gen. 6 : 3 ; 7 : i). Here then we are taught that God by His Spirit, with which He quickened Christ from the dead, strove with the in- habitants of the old world for a hundred and twenty years, while Noah was building the ark, and that it was with the preaching of Noah and through which preaching that eight of these spirits — called also by Peter " souls," eight souls — were saved in the ark ; meaning the eight persons of this righteous man's family. Thus did God by His Spirit go and preach to the spirits (or souls) in the days of Noah, while the SAII-ING UNDER FALSE COLORS. 20$ ark was preparing ; not that Christ went after He was crucified, and while He was dead and not yet quickened, preached to ghosts in the dark. How does this interpretation, by letting the author of the Bible explain Himself, correspond with Kiddle's inter- pretation and Judge EdmOnds' revelation ? Alas for the lying spirits, whether dead or living ! SAILING UNDER FALSE COLORS. The title-page of Mr. Kiddle's book claims it to be a " Revelation of the Future Life, illustrating and confirming the Fundamental Doctrines of the Chris- tian Faith." Any revelation of a future state must consist of definite conceptions and their oral or graph- ic representation, and the ideas conveyed must be literalisms ; that is, they must accord with the words employed as the conventional signs of the ideas or elements of that life ; and these elements must be facts of existing things. If figures or symbols are employed to describe these facts, they must be literal things, which either exist or can be conceived to exist. Hence all intelligent teaching is really literal. The object of using symbols or figures of speech is not to mystify, but to simplify — to render the thing described more comprehensible. If an author uses uncommon symbols and figures, he must explain them himself, in order to make his ideas understood. To show that the Author of the Scriptures is such a teacher, and that the Bible contains a divine reve- lation of the future world, we give a few illustrative examples. In the revelation of Christ to John, He showed him a woman ruling tlie nations of the earth and martyring the saints ; and He said to him, " The 206 KEY TO GHOSTISM. woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17 : 18). In these words the woman was the symbol ; but a woman is a literal thing, and the city symbolized is also a literal thing, therefore the teaching is literal ; that is, according to the letter. Here is another: "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, are peoples, and multi- tudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17 : 15). Here water is the figure ; but water is a fact of exist- ence, a literal thing. The things prefigured are peo- ples, multitudes, nations, and tongues, and are also literalisms ; therefore the whole language, although figurative and symbolical, is also literal. We may mention also the following : " And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Rev. 19 : 8). " Fine linen" is the figure ; but is it not a literal thing ? So also the thing prefigured, "the righteousness of saints," is literal. To draw contrasts, therefore, between figurative and literal language is simply erroneous, more especially if it is attempted thereby to convey the idea that such teaching is mystical ; and for this reason it is still more unjustifiable thus to charac- terize the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. What would be thought of the mental calibre of a man who should say that the " Pilgrim's Progress" — perhaps the most figurative book in existence — could not be understood because its language was figurative ? The doctrines of Scripture are the revelations of the future life ; and as Christ is the teacher of those doc- trines and the dispenser of that life, the system is therefore called Christianity. In opposition to Mr, god's kingdom on earth. 207 Kiddle's declaration that his book illustrates and confirms the doctrines of the Christian faith — even its fundamental doctrines — wc say that there is not a single doctrine of the Christian faith, cither funda- mental or not, adopted, defended, confirmed, or illustrated in his book. Let us contrast its doctrines of a future life witli those of ghostism. Christians are promised an end- less inheritance in a kingdom called " the kingdom of God," "the kingdom of his dear Son," "the kingdom of heaven," to be established by Christ, when He comes at the end of this world for that purpose. At that event the present world is to be dissolved by fire into its elements, and He is to re- create it into a world of endless duration, called " the world to come," the new heavens (or firmament) and new earth, the prehistoric record of which is given in the last two chapters of Revelation. This kingdom is " UNDER the w/iolc heaven'' (Dan. 7 : 27). In antici- pation of this reign, John hears the whole redeemed inhabitants singing " a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seven seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth'' (Rev. 5 : 9, 10). God's Kingdom net in the SKY, but on the EARTH. Ghostism believes that the kingdom is now exist- ing, and is called "the kingdom on high," "the spirit home above," etc. There are no such expres- sions in the whole Bible as " the kingdom of heaven abOi'C," "the kingdom of God on high," or "the 2o8 KEY TO GHOSTISM. heavenly world on high,"" or any thing like them. Jesus Christ is to be this king, and His immortal body, after its resurrection — composed of " flesh and bones," and v/hich He declared was not a spirit — is the embodiment of the Godhead : "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2 : 9). But ghostism robs Christ of all glory, and reduces Him to a mere spirit medium, and it is asserted by some of the most intelligent and oldest Spiritualists that He carried on His deceptions by materializing and dematerializing Himself while on earth ! The immortality brought to light by the Gospel makes it depend upon the resurrection of the dead. Prior to that, all the dead, and even the saints, have perished ; and if the resurrection never occurs the Gospel is a lie, and no sinner can be pardoned. " Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resur- rection of the dead ? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen : and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false wit- nesses of God ; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised : and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then they Mso which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished" (i Cor. 15 : 12-18). The order of the resurrection, chronologically, is thus given in the same chapter : " For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. But every man in his own order : Christ the GIIOSTISM AND FUTURE LIFE CONTRASTED. 2C9 firstfruits : afterward they that are Christ's ai his coming" (i Cor. 15 : 21, 23). Here the doctrine is taught that had Christ re- mained as He was after His crucifixion, dead, the saints would also forever have remained dead, and all had perished. As a consequence, there would have been no Christ alive, no future life for the saints, and therefore no Gospel of such life. This is the fundamental doctrine, therefore, of the Christian system. But ghostism declares not only that there is no resurrection of the dead, but no death at all. The death of Christ to save sinners was not only un- necessary, but it never occurred at all ; and sinners are saved by the spiritual fires of purgatory, as taught by such heathen philosophers as Socrates and Plato, and more prominently defended in Mr. Kiddle's book than in any other exposition of ghost literature. How does such a book " confirm Christian faith, without altering a point of gospel doctrine" ? GHOSTISM AND FUTURE LIFE COKTRASTED. Ghostism says the man proper is immortal, and moves out of the bony carcass at the event we call death. In contradiction to this statement Jesus Christ declares that He alone possesses immortality— " the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality," (iTim. 6: 15). This is an object of Christian faith imd hope to be sought for, and is to be conferred upon the saints in the resurrection at the last day. The Gospel brings the true doctrine of immortality to light, and shows that when it is conferred it abolishes death upon those to whom it is given. Hence we have the following Scripturci : "But is now made 2IO KEY TO GHOSTISM. manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Clirist, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. I : 10). That this great boon, of which the Gospel is the tidings, is to be given by Christ to the saints at the resurrection of the last day, He Himself affirmed when He said, " I am the resurrection, and the LIFE : whosoever believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11 : 25). " Behold, I shew you a mystery ; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [This will make them live forever, because an incorrupti- ble living thing cannot die], and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ?" (i Cor. 15 : 51-55)- It is admitted on all hands that the body is the mortal part of man ; and that that dies, or is dead, when the supposed immortal part is gone out of it. Well then, here we see that it is the mortal part that puts on the immortality ! Hence it is the dead bodies of the saints which are to live again ; and this is the Christian doctrine of resurrection j just as it was the dead body of Christ, the first-fruits of the resur- rection, which lived again. That this is the consummation of the Christian's KIDDLE S DOCTRINES. 211 hope, for which he waits in faitli, is further con- firmed thus : " To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immor- tality, eternal life : but unto them that are conten- tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighte- ousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile" (Rom. 2 : 7-9)- Here we have a plain statement of the Christian doctrine of immortality, eternal life, rewards and punishments, and the resurrection of the dead, which are to take place simultaneously at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and at the end of this world ; every one of which are denied by the ghost messages of Mr. Kiddle's book ; and yet the author says his book " alters not a point of Christian doctrine" ! I wonder if he ever saw or heard of a very old book called " The Bible" ? Having every reason to sup- pose he is a stranger to this book, let me add, for his enlightenment, that the phrases " man's immor- tality," " the immortal soul," " immortal spirit," or the " immortal " any tiling but God, are never once used in the Bible, or promised to the saints. KICDLE'S DOCTRINES ARE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. Mr. Kiddle has doubtless read the discourse of Socrates to his friends on the day of his execution, and that of Plato on " the Formation of the World." These philosophers teach the immortality of the soul, judgment at death, purgatory after death, and a deliverance therefrom by the prayers of the living ; all of which are the doctrines of Mr. Kiddle's book, and of course adopted from these heathen philoso- 212 KEY TO GHOSTISM. phers. This is only a renewal of the old warfare of Heathenism against Christianity, which the adoption of these old heathen fables by this book vindicates. DIFFEREHT HYPOTHESES OF IMMORTALITY. In relation to the question of immortality, there are apparently three hypotheses. The first is that when a man dies he as really goes out of conscious exist- ence as though he had never lived, and so remains until the resurrection at the end of this world ; and this is virtually a new creation of the whole man. The second hypothesis is that what is called death is only a separation of the living, thinking, feeling, and immortal soul from the mortal body in which it as a tenant resides, leaving the body dead. It is to come back and revive it at the end of the world. But this body is really explained to be a spirit, or of such a nature that it does not occupy space. The third hypothesis is that which is held by the Spiritualists : That the spirit is the living, knowing inhabitant of the mortal form, or body, and is by nature immortal ; that it moves out of the body at what we call death, and is never again permanently united to another body ; that the form thus vacated is virtually anni- hilated, or resolved back into its elements, like other perishable bodies. The last two of these hypotheses are so similar that they are virtually but one ; equally denying the resurrection of the real body of flesh and bones, that died. Every item of the Christian doctrine of resurrec- tion is opposed and completely reversed by Spirit- ualism. It teaches that the man proper does not die ; that Christ and His saints did not die. In fact, that there is no death, only separation. The Bible, how- THE RESURRECTION CHANGE. 21 3 ever, teaches tliat unless a man is dead he cannot be raised from the dead, and therefore can have no part in its resurrection. Ghostism teaches that, that form or body which the living man vacates remains thus forever, or is decomposed into its natural elements. It claims that the language of the Bible descriptive of this event admits of an explanation in harmony with these views of the resurrection, and that the living immortal part puts on its resurrection body — what- ever that may be — at the time of this separation. THE RESURRECTION CHANGE. In this light let us examine the language descrip- tive of the changes through which the resurrection body passes at this event. " For one star differelh from another star in glory. So also is the resurrec- tion of the dead. It is sown in corruption [it dies because it is corrupt] ; it is raised in incorruption. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory" (i Cor. 15 : 41, 42, 52-54)- Here we see that it is ihz corruptible which died and was dead that /«/ on the incorruption. But Spiritualism says it was the incorruptible that put on the corruptible ; and another class say the incorrupt- ible puts on the incorruptible, which is grossly absurd. It was the incorruptible in the separation which cast off the corruptible, and now in the resur- rection or reunion it is the incorruptible which returns and puts on the corruptible, and therefore becomes the same corrupt being as before the sepa- 214 KEY TO GHOSTISM. ration took place — consequently, a corrupt living man, just as susceptible of death as ever. " It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." It is that which died in dishonor that was raised in glory, and not that which survived and did not die at all. In death it put on the dishonor, and in the resurrection it put on the glory. But Spiritualism says it was the glorious which put off the dishonora- ble at death, and here it is the glorious which comes back again and puts on the inglorious ; the dishonor- able dead body becoming just such a being as it was before the separation. That which he puts off is the same as that he puts on, in both of these changes. It was the glorious tenant that moved out of the in- glorious house, but now returns and puts it on again : hence is the same man revived. "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power," The man was weak, and therefore fell a victim to death ; but the resurrection change gives him a nature no more liable to weakness or death ; and it is this weak dead body which puts on the powerful resurrected body. Now if it was the powerful body that was separated from the weak carcass, which returns and puts it on again, then the man becomes the same weak creature he was before, with all his previous liabilities. THE COMHOH HYPOTHESIS ABSURD. If it is denied that he ever puts on any thing after he puts it off at death (and it makes no difference to the argument when or what it is), then he who denies puts himself in still greater antagonism to this teach- ing of the Bible. Nothing is clearer than that man is something in the resurrection whiqh he is not in THE COMMON IIYrOTIIESIS ABSURD. 21 5 death ; and that which he receives in every item of the change is not that which he possessed before. " It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." As these two bodies are here contrasted, they cannot be the same. We also see that in this resurrection one of the bodies puts on the other, and of course becomes one with it by incorporation. The doctrine of the Spiritualists is that the spiritual body puts off the natural body at what we call death. That then the natural body has no life or intelli- gence ; but the spiritual body has both. Now as the lifeless unknowing body cannot perform the action which this putting on implies, it must be the spirit- ual body that puts on the natural body, and that makes the nature of the man just what it was before it was put off. The other alternative is that the natural body was raised from the dead and became a spiritual body ; of which Christ's resurrection body was the example, having His own natural flesh and bones — and lie declared He was not a spirit. What He was after His resurrection gives us an exemplifi- cation of a spiritual body. The last item in the resurrection change is thus stated : " And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this mortal shall have put on immortalit}^ then shall be brought to pass the saying," etc. That the immortality is to be put on either at the separation called death or at a future time, proves it was not possessed by the man while he was living in the body ; and therefore that man has not an immortal soul or spirit by nature, or in this life ; and, as it is held that tlie spirit is immortal, it could not put on immortality when the body dies or in the resurrection, come when it will ; for immortality 2l6 KEY TO GHOSTISr cannot put on immortality. Neither can it be that the immortality, or immortal spirit, comes back and takes the mortal body, or puts on mortality, as such an act would make it a mortal spirit, or a mortal man, just as he was before death ; who must there- fore die again, because mortal. Besides, it contra- dicts the doctrine stated, that it is the mortal that/-///^ 071 the immortal ; therefore making the mortal man himself immortal. SUHMIHG UP THE ARaUMEKT. In summing up this argument we call attention to the fact that the Spiritualistic hypothesis puts noth- ing on, but every thing off, when the immortal inhabitant separates from the mortal habitation. We have seen that the Christian doctrine repre- sents man " a natural body." Not having a natural body, but being himself such a body. It is a weak body, a dishonorable body, a corrupt body, and a mortal body. Because of these elements the man falls into the ruins of inglorious death and the victory of the grave. But He who made him has promised to remake His saints, or resurrect them from death and the grave, at the end of this world. In passing through this change the weak comes forth to power, the dis- honorable to glory, the natural to spiritual, the cor- ruptible to incorruption, and the mortal to immor- tality. It is the man who was too weak to live longer, and died, that was raised to power. It was the dishonored with the elements of death — the work of sin, coursing through his system — who was raised to glory. It was the " natural man," inheriting death from Adam, that was raised a spiritual body. It was the corruptible man that died, who came forth SUMMING UP THE ARGUMENT. 21/ the incorruptible. It was the mortal man who died — and he died because he was mortal — that was raised to immortality. This resurrection or vitalization was not produced by the immortal soul, or spirit, enter- ing into the dead, but by the energy of the Creator Himself. Those who believe that the immortal spirit or soul will come again into the dead at the last day, and thus vitalize them, must see that it will be at the expense of their own immortality — that is, if they believe the resurrection is to take place according to the written word of God which we have been consid- ering ; for the incorruptible spirit putting on the corruptible body will make itself corruptible. The immortal soul putting on the mortal body will render the whole mortal, and therefore again susceptible of death. If the spiritual puts on the natural, it will itself become natural. In a word, such a resurrec- tion or reunion, let it take place when it will, brings the man back again to the same nature he now possesses. Those who do not believe in any resurrection at all — such as Svvedenborg, Judge Edmonds, and Mr. Superintendent Kiddle — place themselves in the most perfect contradiction to the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. Does it therefore become any of the authors and defenders of such an hypothesis to print on the title-pages of their books (as Mr. Kiddle has done), that it " presents a revelation of future life, illustrating and confirming the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith," declaring that " it alters not a point of Gospel doctrine"? To give our readers an idea of the supposed im- portance of his book, wc quote the following from 2l8 KEY TO GHOSTISM. Mr. Kiddle's preface : " It is true many other books — some of them of the deepest interest to mankind — have been published, presenting various views of this great subject ; but the time is now ripe for the higher aspects of spirit intercourse to be exhibited ; and hence this book has been dictated. Twenty-three years ago it was predicted : ' Spiritualism will make a new edition of the great volume of Christianity, with additional notes and explanations that shall make the soul's immortality a tangible reality, and will unfold anew the teachings of Jesus to those who seek for it in true godliness, in the spirit of truth, aq,d in purity of heart.' This prediction is, in part at least, realized by the publication of this volume." SWEDSWBORS ADOPTED. It seems very clear to us that the doctrines of Ghostism, as held by Mr. Kiddle, came from Judge Edmonds' book on Spiritualism, published in 1853 ; and equally clear that the Judge did not obtain them from the supposed ghost of Swedenborg, but from his writings. Swedenborg himself was a trance medium, and obtained his doctrines just as Andrew Jackson Davis did ; and instead of being mediums, they are originators of the vagaries that float through their magnetic brain, not a statement of which is worthy of the least confidence unless it is verified by human knowledge. The ghost messages of Judge Edmonds occupy a large portion of Mr. Kiddle's book, urging the latter to make this great book, which would do the work Edmonds thought his own book would do ; and if it failed, how can the vastly weaker production of the Superintendent succeed ? Swedenborg was ignorant SWEDENBORG ADOPTED. 219 of the doctrines of the Bible, and he concocted his speculative theory of a future state from his trance visions. Edmonds, like many of his admirers, was inclined to adopt some religious belief instead of his skepticism at the time his attention was called to Spiritualism. That of Swedenborg being the most congenial, because the most marvellous, he took the shortest cut to make it conform to Ghostism ; for which purpose he obtained the services of a medium by the name of George E. Dexter, M.D., and pursued the investigations between themselves ; the medium reading from the brain of Edmonds returned the information in the shape of messages from Sweden- borg. The mind of the medium always being superior while in the trance state, caught from the brain of the Judge, at the first stage of their work, the crude ideas of Swedenborg's views, reduced them to plausible form, and clothed them with such language as he supposed Swedenborg himself would have used. Hence originated Edmonds' doctrines of Spiritualism. Mr. Kiddle read these productions, and became a convert to the same sentiments. These his son and daughter, who were mediums, read from his brain, and under the control of his mind as the questioner they were returned as communications from the supposed ghosts. Both the questioner and the questioned— or the father and children— labored under a common delusion. Hence the whole of these clairvoyant doctrines originated in the magnetic sleep of Swedenborg, which accounts for the superi- ority of his reasoning and the high order of his sophistry. 220 KEY TO GHOSTISM. A GHOSTLY BLASPHEMER. That these reciprocal influences and effects were thus received and transmitted is certain, as our quo- tations from Mr. Kiddle and Judge Edmonds' books will prove. It is evident from the discovery by Mr. Kiddle of the mediumship of his daughter that he supposed the time had come for him to write a book; and that if a treatise came from a man of his celeb- rity it would accomplish the work of establishing Spiritualism under the guise of Christianity, which Edmonds had expected from his book ; and he was so informed by the spirits. We commence with the following communication, purporting to be from Judge Edmonds : " On a subsequent occasion, only the medium [Mr. Kiddle's daughter Emma] and her husb:and, L, F. Weismann, being present, the latter inquired of the same spirit [that of his dead daughter Mary, famil- iarly called MoUie] in regard to the book published by Judge Edmonds on Spiritualism, Mr. Weismann having recently perused it, and received the follow- ing responses : God is the author of it, through His love to all His people. Judge Edmonds was God's instrument, through whom it was written for the instruction of all God's creatures. Those who do not believe will be sorry, when it will be too late, that they were so blind." Here is the positive averment, from the spirit of Mr. Kiddle's daughter, that God is the author of Edmonds' book. Pray, why should God want Mr. Kiddle to edit a book without an idea in it not already in that of Edmonds, and whose composition is vastly inferior to it ? The following was then A GHOSTLY BLASPHEMER. 221 written by Judge Edmonds : " My dear friends, may God send His holy blessings upon your heads, to help your onward work of God's high love to all good souls of righteousness ! Be good heavenly people — soul and body. Never fear what you know is for good, and hope ever ; for all heavenly benedic- tion will help your cause. Forever we bless you in God's name. Amen." The editor (Mr. Kiddle) then said, " Can you give any advice, in order that these communications may be made to serve God's purposes ?" And it was im- mediately written : " Yes, oh yes ! Help, help, help, always help your people to see the light of Heaven's world of glory. Hope ever to feel the best to favor your praiseworthy mission. Much will be your reward. Never fear to tell because of derision. You have all the means requisite for your purpose. Better prepare a book^ through the medium, as a heavenly proof to show that your light is not forever lost to God's creative powers, with many blessings from all above to show their love and heavenly protection. What possible fear can you have of failure ? Do hasten to help your life to come. Here we are watching, hoping, and praying that we may people our world of happiness by your mighty help through us, your designers of good. This will show that your mind's altitude is above this earthly world, and heaven is your home. Judge." It was then asked by the editor, " Will my friend W. Belden tell me whether or not he is in a happy state of being ?" To this the following response came : " Yes, indeed ! You need scarcely ask me that, when I feel God's love is so strong that I could move a mountain b\' His permission to do so. Be faithful ; your God is 222 KEY TO GHOSTISM. everywhere, to help His creatures to their high life. Will you not strive to do what He almost commands, by ever praying for His aid ? Better write a book as the Judge would wish ; and I am sure you will save many from damnation." BOOK OH THE BRAIK. Then came a change, and it was written : " My dear friend, I, the Judge, am here again. Don't fear that I will intrude often. I wish only to offer my heartiest sympathy, to prepare your mind, and hasten your work for all." " William Belden was an intimate friend and asso- ciate of the editor of this work, for many years. He died about 1857, and wrote the following : ' Better pray for God's assistance with regard to the book you are contemplating ; and you will be astonished with what success you will meet, if your heart is for the benefit of God's souls in darkness. Teach them their blackness of heart, by opening their eyes to their future bright home, with God and heavenly companions. We do not think you need be very particular in your first chapters. Merely a statement of facts coming from you, Henry Kiddle, will be considerable satisfaction for many unbelievers, who need awakening sadly. Their Holy Bible is not sufficient proof of God's life hereafter, with which it is full. Better not speak of that at first : it will only be throwing goodness to the dogs.' " In regard to the awkwardness of these sentences, we may say it is rather uncommon for such messages ; but as it is the work of him who asks and she who answers (principally the former), he is responsible for it. In this case, however, it cannot be attributed BOOK UN THE liRAIX. 223 to the want of intelligence ; and the only way we can account for it is the supposition that conversation on religious matters is rather a new thing with these parties. We have seen this illustrated by the speech of very intelligent men who suddenly became re- ligious, but who at first were scarcely able to frame a smooth sentence about religion. It is also a fact that the grade of intelligence both as to the matter and manner of these messages, though coming from the same ghost, is in proportion to that of the ques- tioner, slightly modified by the supposed medium. Hence, when Swedenborg talks to Mr. Kiddle, and through his medium, the ideas and language are very much more commonplace than with Edmonds through Dr. Dexter, his medium. That this may be seen, we introduce a ghost message from Swedenborg to Kiddle and Edmonds. In Mr. Kiddle's book, on page 281, we have the following : In the small family circle of the 28th of December (and it is of interest to say that no generally impor- tant communication, such as those recorded in this chapter, has been written in the presence of a pro- miscuous company, however small) a desire was expressed to receive a message from the spirit of the illustrious Swedish seer, Emanuel Swedenborg. The f llowing was written : " Swedenborg. I am the man [this spirit says he was a ffiaii] who was in the communion of saints born. [What ambiguity for such an illustrious per- sonage !] My dear kind and humble brethren in God, I am the man called Swedenborg, who lived many years ago in the everlasting truth of God, and having the hope that the world here was to be regen- erated in spirit through the efforts of ourselves, the chosen of God. To me the truth of spirit commu- nion gave a supreme strength, and I felt the light dawn upon mc as a beacon in a dark and stony path ; 224 KEY TO GHOSTISM. and to me at once came the greatness of God which passeth all understanding. Hence, I felt it was my duty to make it the great object of my life, to the best of my strength given to me by God, to help the unenlightened to see the great end and masterly influence of a man's life on earth. But I must con- fess my powers v/ere not adequate to the case ; and O my Saviour, God Almighty ! how can I express my maddening ambition to do more ! — to elevate, to convince, to bring unto God the weak, or falsely instructed as to their great happiness and the great duties of man toward man — to teach him to work for his life to come [his great ambition was to teach men to work for their life to come, and consequently to earn it ; but the Scripture teaches the life to come to be the. gift of God : " for the wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ :" Rom. 6 : 23], to help each to bear his burden, and thus to lighten his ov/n heavy load of trials, which all of us must bear for God and eternity. But man is seliish in aim, he is foolish in pride, he is antagonistic to God and god-like qualities, and he is losing his home in the man- sions above ; and this, alas ! my strength is too small to prevent. [If God had chosen him and his friends Edmonds and Kiddle to regenerate the spiritual world, then it was God who had failed, and not the instruments.] Then, kind friends, be en- treated to seek truth and happiness for yourselves and others ; for by God is your life demanded ; and He, in love, has given you the power to prepare a glad home in which you may meet together above. And only at your own decision does your Master above you wait (but in love only) for you to make the right choice of life. I am only a man, you will say, and have no right to preach ; but God forbid that my mite should be for wrong or falseness ; and, God be praised, I have the strength to benefit the world, if they will open their hearts for the benedic- tion of God. I am, in the esteem which comes from the harmony of the spheres, your humble friend in the work, Swedenborg, in hope." SWEDENBORG AND JUDGE EDMONDS. 225 SWEDENBORG AND JUDGE EDMONDS. An intermission of the writing occurred while this message was read, after which the editor said : " If Swedenborg is here, will he explain the mean- ing of the harmony of the spheres ?" The following response was written : "I am Swedenborg, and I will explain the harmony of the spheres. By har- mony we mean the happy union of kindred souls through the grace of God. We are the spirits born of flesh and blood, now grown into the full force of a spirit, without the distractions of the body — the covering for our proper use on earth. My dear friends, choose the harmony of your lives here, and leave God to set you upon your congenial state after the door of earth is closed upon you. Bring your- selves into the closest harmony in every way with good things, not voluptuous living. Always enjoy earthly things in a moderate degree, and with full thankfulness to the Ordainer of your existence. Many are the congenial offerings we bring one to another. In every sense, both in thought and deed, we reap the fulness of perfection in every thing — such kindness has God bestowed ! — but this, too, only in proportion to the strength with which we have fortified our lives in the world on earth. For many in the spheres of harmony, it is the duty, or, much better, the gratification of their heavenly state, to show, as upon earth, all the brightness and good- heartedness possible ; others are more in the posses- sion of steadiness of spirit, and are comforters to the sick and needy ; while others are gifted with better strength, according to the blessing of God. And for all this we are to prepare, and God will satisfy us forever. Swedenborg." Behold the barrenness of ideas in this long message from the illustrious Emanuel Swedenborg, which may be said in a single sentence, thus : Syinpaihize 226 KEY TO GHOSTISM, «'////, and do good to each other ! Here is the expla- nation of the marvellous harmonial philosophy of Andrew Jackson Davis, and must be the true one, coming, as it does, from its inventor, Swedenborg himself. At least this is Mr. Kiddle's idea of it which his daughter magnetically read from his brain and wrote back for his edification. When, however, we quote from Swedenborg with Judge Edmonds the questioner and Dr. Dexter the medium, we find him discoursing in a very different style, and presenting his philosophy of the harmony of the spheres so much higher intellectually, that no one would sup- pose for a moment it was the same Swedenborg. We quote the following from Judge Edmonds* and Dr. Dexter's book on Spiritualism, published in 1853, at which time we bought and read it : Thursday, April 21, 1853 : At a circle, at Dr. Dexter's house, it was written through him : "In order that we may arrive at a proper understanding of our subject, I would suggest again that Judge Edmonds be selected to propose questions for the circle, that I may answer in this stage of my teach- ings such questions as you may propose. Sweden- borg." I inquired if he wanted us to ask now, or would he defer them to another evening, as I had left my questions at home, and should have to go for them. It was answered : " I am about to conclude a certain portion of one part of my lectures, and therefore I certainly desire that you should ask ques- tions. [Why could the ghost not conclude the lecture without being questioned ? We answer, because the questioner called the mind of the medium to the subject about which he, the ques- tioner, was thinking.] I left the house accordingly, and went to my own home to get my papers. While I was gone, it was written : " But while the Judge is absent, I should say that there is oftentimes an entire SWEDENBORG AND JUDGE EDMONDS. 22/ impossibilitv of communicating with circles. The necessity of having every thing harmonious is so great, that when there is an interruption of the full flow of the electric current, and an entire absence of passiveness of the mind of the medium, that it pre- vents communications, and at the same time develops another principle, which acts antagonistically to the spirit influence. It becomes very important, too, that the minds of the circle should be directed to the sub- ject discussed by the spirits, so that the nervous properties may readily be seized, to open a more free intercourse with the medium. It is said that when the human voice is tuned to the key of any glass body and the voice is continued at a loud tone for any length of time at the key-tone of the glass, the Mass will break into a thousand pieces. Thus with spirit intercourse. When the minds of both circle and spirit correspond, there is a power engendered which seems to break the bonds of materiality, [the illustration of the glass rather establishes the bonds of materialitv, and breaks the supposed spirit inter- course into a thousand pieces !] and opens a new view to both the spirit and man. Yes, my friends, the key- note of the soul is touched, and nature responds through man in one glorious chord of harmony with immortality." Here we have the trance views of the medium him- self ; and if we drop the word spirit as a third party and continue that of electricity, nervous properties, etc., we have the key to the principle of this whole intercourse between the medium and the questioner, or any other member of the circle who makes the strongest impression upon the mind of the medium at the time. It is thus when a number of persons are present in a circle, each desiring to know certain things, that the medium is compelled to leave the particular questioner, and to answer the mental ques- tions of others in the circle. It is thus also thai the 228 KEY TO GHOSTISM. medium discovers surrounding adverse influences which interrupt the electrical mental current, by pressing opposite ideas upon his mind as well as from those ideas they themselves entertain ; thus directing the minds of the circle from discussing the desired subject ; which results, as this medium Dr. Dexter admits, in rendering it impossible to communicate at all. We have ourselves, by a mere mental effort, pre- vented an entire circle from further communicating ; and that, too, in the midst of what was called won- derful manifestations. DO GHOST CHILDREM GROW IH GHOSTLAKD ? But now the Judge has returned with his written questions, and speaks as follows : " After my return to the room, I propounded this question : On Thurs- day you said children do not grow in size in the spirit land faster than on earth. On Friday, I heard read a beautiful and otherwise instructive communi- cation from the spirit world, which says they do. Which is right, and why this discrepancy ? [Were I questioning this ghost of Swedenborg he would have been made to declare that they do thus grow, and they do not thus grow ; and if any one could believe his communications after that, they could believe a false as well as a true witness.] It was answered : I teach you in accordance with God's laws, both on earth and in the spirit world." [While Bishop Hughes is made to renounce Roman- ism, and Bishop Janes Methodism, Swedenborg is permitted to hold to the doctrines he taught on earth. Why is this ? We answer, because Kiddle and Ed- monds desired to have it so. This the mediums read from their brain, as the controlling spirits, and con- no GIlOST CHILDREN GROW IN GIIOSTLANI) ? 229 firmed it by magnetic writing ; for they could do nothing else.] " Therefore, when I have said any thing seemingly incompatible with the operation of those laws, and which to your minds does not correspond with what you know of the effect of laws which is apparent, then you have good right to question the correctness of my teaching. But I have taught you that God has in- stituted laws predicated upon principles coeval with Himself, and therefore He cannot depart from them." This doctrine of Swedenborg was understood both by Dexter and Edmonds, and is that upon which their ideas of an impersonal God, or any God at all except the universe, with which all their writings upon the subject confound Him, rest, making them Pantheists. While Ghostism prates about God — or " good," as Kiddle designates Him — in opposition to materialism, it is itself nothing but materialism ; and when defined by the most intellectual minds among its defenders, shows their conception of God to be the laws, motions, operations, or phenomena of nature. This is expressed in the words we have quoted above as the Swedenborgian doctrine. As the laivs of nature cannot be disconnected from Nature herself, she is enslaved by them. So is this Panthe- istic God thus connected, and equally enslaved. If we pay particular attention to the doctrine here taught, we cannot fail to see that it involves a natural impossibility ; and as it is the basis of the ghostly philosophy, that also is left without a foundation. God instituted laws or principles coeval with Himself. The word coeval means, one of the same age ; one who begins to exist at the same time. Now if God and these laws and principles are coeval, then they 230 KEY TO GHOSTISM. are of twin age, and began to exist together. There- fore one did not produce the other. If God instituted the laws, then He had prior existence, and is no more a part of nature than a thing instituted by a man is a part of the man himself. And if God instituted laws for the disposition and government of matter or the operations of nature, He can change them at His pleasure. He is no more bound by them than a man is bound to continue the operation or existence of his own institutions. But the absurdity here ex- pressed is only a specious sophistry to cover up a heartless profession of belief in God, and betrays the materialistic view that all the God there is came into existence at the same time and is of the same age as the laws and principles of the universe which are coeval with each other, and is therefore the same thing. But we go on with the ghost message : " Now spirit possesses organization, and is subject to the laws of that organization as well as you on earth are subject to the laws of materiality. The effect of the laws operating on our organization is almost precisely the same as the laws operating on yours. We are divested, it is true, of the grosser particles of your nature, and we are spared all the evils which that organization induces, yet we do not live here by any special administration of the power of God, neither is the spirit world conducted by miracle. [This shows there is no God of life or power in their system. There is no miracle in keeping these ghosts alive, or conducting their business ; it is all natural.] Work and live ; we work, we toil, we develop just as you do on earth, only internally [does man on earth develop externally, or grow like an inorganic thing ? DO GHOST CHILDREN GROW IN GIIOSTLAND? 23 I which is the idea conveyed by this contrast], v.liich is the essence of the everlasting principle of God Him- self [as it emanated from Him], expanding in a greater ratio than does the body. [Here God Himself is an essence, a principle ; and is that upon which the ghosts grow, and in a greater ratio than does the body here. It is an emanation from Him, and there- fore a part of Himself. Here again we have Pan- theistic materialism expressed in the strongest man- ner.] Take no statements, therefore, that are not based on laws satisfactory to your judgment ; and depend upon it, that when any revelation is made having the garment of marvellousness wrapped about it, that either it is a compound of the medium's im- a<^ination, or it emanates from some spirit whose ve- racity is to be doubted. [As there is not a single supposed ghost message which has not the garment of the marvellous wrapped about it, therefore the ad- vice of the ghost of Emanuel Swedenborg is to reject them all.] I therefore say there is no discrepancy of statement ; but the fact, nevertheless, was apparent to your mind, Judge ; neither has there been. You have asked this question to reconcile a discrepancy of statement ; but the fact, nevertheless, was as apparent to your mind as the solution of any other question based on the laws which govern the whole of God's universe, of which we claim to be a part." Here, in the clearest possible manner, is an example of the 'medium. Dr. Dexter, reading the mind of Judge Edmonds and telling him what he thought of this apparent discrepancy-a positive discrepancy, but onlv apparently so to his mind, because he so firmly believed in Swedenborg's notion that the little spirits do not grow to be big spirits in the ghostly 232 KEY TO GHOSTISM. spheres. That he did doubt the truthfulness of the message he heard read, is expressed by the phrase, " which was otherwise instructive." SPIRITUALISM IS REAL. PAKTHEISH. We here see that whether it is the ghost of Sweden- borg, Dexter, or the medium who thus reads the mind of Edmonds, by common consent they are all proved to be Pantheists, maintaining that the universe is the supreme God— /d;«, all ; theism^ God ; whence Pantheism, all in God. " What I say is based on the laws which govern the whole universe, of which ive claim to be a part.'" The only real difference between a Pantheist and an Atheist is, that the latter does not profess to believe in a God, but does believe in the universe ; while the former is a hypo- crite, professing to believe in God, but only believing in the universe of whom every thing is a part. If, then, an Atheist is a materialist, so is a Pantheist, and a hypocrite in addition. It will be remembered that Mr. Kiddle's daughter's ghost (MoUie) who figures so prominently in the ed- itor's book, on being asked what she thought of Judge Edmonds' book, said, " God is the author of it.'" Mr. Kiddle not only adopts this Pantheist book, and be- lieves his daughter's ghost when she says God is its author, but he believes Christ's nature to be an attri- bute of the Deity, and hence He also is a part of the universe. This is seen by the following question put to the ghost of Judge Edmonds, and its confirmatory answer : " Was not the Christ nature an attribute of the Deity, coeval with God?" "Yes; that is the truth. He is a created spirit fit to sit with God." The same argument as to God and the laws of the SPIRITUALISM IS REAL TANTHEISM. 233 universe being coeval, applies with equal force in this attempt to reduce Christ to a principle of nature, equally showing the incongruity of the two answers. For if Christ was an attribute of God and coeval with Him, then they are both of an age, and came into existence at the same time ; and if one was created, as is here declared, then it or He had a creator ; and the creator must have existed before the creature ; hence they were not coeval. Here again we discover the erroneous philosophy and defective reasoning of the whole of these spirits, whether dead or living, whether in ghostland or earthland. But as they fully indorse each other — Swedenborg and his books, Ed- monds and his book, Kiddle and his book, and all the ghosts who have been consulted — therefore they are all materialists together ; and in whatever else they conflict, they agree in the harmonial J^hilosophy of driv- ing God out of His universe ! The Judge then propounded the following ques- tion : " The operation of the laws which develop sex is such that about if not exactly, an equal num- ber of each are born. Why is this ? Or rather, I mean to ask, is it not because man — born whenever he may be — is created male and female, and each male must have its female for all eternity ?" It was answered : " Imagine now, God the Eternal, the invisible in form, and possessing the attributes of a person, and you are lost in the comprehension of how that Being, great and omnipotent as He is, could exercise through all nature the power ascribed to Him as a God and Creator. Were He to exist in form. He must have had a correspondence with some Other mighty being preceding Him ; and we might reason thus forever without coming to any idea even 234 KEY TO GHOSTISM. of the nature and attributes of the Creator. But when we view Him as a principle, existing in every thing [here again Pantheism is declared], still re- solving itself into direct and pertinent manifestation of the incomprehensible specialties of His nature, we have a basis from which we can commence our reasoning. Now what is spirit ? Can it ever exist unconnected with some sort of materiality ? Can it ever divest itself of its covering, and stand in the presence of that God from whence it emanated — special, distinct, and pertinent — in form and shape a spirit ? Have you ever seen the spirit of the Creator separated from the works which He has created ? And yet the spirit of the First Cause is as distinctly mani- fest as if it were divested of its covering, and ap- parent to the gaze of all. In this world of ours there is nothing indicating that God is nearer us than on earth. I mean in the localities with which I am con- versant. But the self-same laws and the self-same principles in their effect and exhibition are manifest here as with you. In short, then, God is a principle. He is one self and without any distinctive character- istic as a person or sex." Did Spinoza ever have a more faithful follower ? SUPERFICIAL REASOHIHG. Here we have the arrogance of the thing made try- ing to comprehend its Maker ; and because of its in- capacity confounding Him with the universe, and then, by the use of sophistical and high-sounding words, thinking that because he has covered up his own ignorance it will be supposed he has approxi- mated a conception of his Maker by striking Him out of existence. But he has only changed the Creator SUTERFICIAL REASONING. 235 from one form to another — from an organized person of the size and shape of a man, to a larger thing in the shape of a sphere. He has only divested the one of the gross attributes with which he has clothed the other. He has only deprived the one of a small lo- cality to give the other a larger one. Now suppose we invest the living, moving God Universe with limbs, head, and all the organs of a man, and give him the precise shape of a man, as large as the universe, would he be any the less the living Creator than though h? were still a mere man in form ? The highest created being that exists must be as much lower in the scale of being than the Creator Himself, as the highest created thing of which any of these are capable of making is lower in the same scale than he who made it. What, therefore, would be thought of a machine of man's creation, if it should declare of its maker that he could have had no form, was invisible, was nowhere in particular, but was equally distributed in the universe ; and that if he had a form and place, then there must have ex- isted another being greater than he, who was of a corresponding shape and nature with himself ; and, preceding him, there must have been still another of the same kind ? Here we have an illustration of the famous doctrine of Swedenborgian Correspondence. If this is not so, then the foolish machine would conclude that man, its maker, did not exist at all. Behold the pro- fundity of the wisdom of these ghostly travellers in space, and of the spirit seers yet on this mundane shore, with the little task on their hands of regene- rating the world with the light of Mr. Kiddle's book, into which is crowded all the material and immaterial 236 KEY TO GHOSTISM. brains of Swedenborg, Edmonds, and Kiddle, who were assisted in its composition by all the ghosts of outstretched boundless space ! APPAREETT IHSIHCERITY OF LEADIKG SPIRITUALISTS. That many of the most prominent Spiritualists are really honest, or desire to know the truth in regard to these phenomena, is, we think, at least questionable. In a recent conversation with a prominent Judge in New York, he remarked, " I would give all I am worth to know that the doctrine of a future state as held by the Spiritualists is true." In reply we asked if he would not do the same to be equally convinced that they were not true ; to which he responded emphati- cally, "No." Here is an old and intelligent Spiritual- ist who would pay to be deceived, and that too about a subject upon which hangs his eternal interests ! Nothing can be clearer than that a familiar spiritu- alist, or arconsulter with them, cannot be a Christian. Nothing can be more certain, from the account fur- nished in Judge Edmonds' book, of his investigations, than that from the outset he was strongly predisposed to ghostly interference in the production of these manifestations, as will be seen by the following quo- tation from his book, p. 421 : " The next question isj from whence do these manifestations, whether physical or moral, proceed ? Judge Edmonds was told that they were all according to natural laws, which would in due time be fully developed ; and he was directed to read Von Reichenbach's Dynamics of Magnetisjn ajid Electricity (a book he had never heard of before), as a means of enabling him to un- derstand these laws. I have read the book myself [so says Judge Edmonds]. The writer proves con- APPARENT INSINCERITY. 237 clusively the discovery of a new clement, which he calls od, or odic force. He proves that this element pervades not only the human system, but the ma- terial world and the whole universe. He finds it in the rays of the sun, moon, and stars. Late English writers of high reputation consider the existence of the odic force as well established as that of magnet- ism or electricity. It combines many of the qualities of the two, and is antagonistic to some of them. [The antagonism is only its repellent force, which we have shown to be one of its natural endowments in all its modifications.] It may be presumed, there- fore, that this newly-discovered element enters, in some sort, into these manifestations. It is said that this accounts for the physical manifestations. But no one can show how it produces them. [This, then, is the very thing which should have engaged their attention and enlisted their patient investigation, in- stead of jumping blindly to the conclusion that it was the work of ghosts. Could the}', or have they, shown how the ghosts produce them ?] And even if this were proved, it still remains to account for the intelligence in the communications which are re- ceived. That as the intelligence does not come- from tables, or chairs, or other material objects, it must come from mind, or from a spiritual source ; and this new element may be the medium of conveying it to us." On page 40, referring to this matter. Judge Ed- monds says : " He [Von Reichenbach] named it odic force, and described it as an exceeding subtle fluid, existing with m.agnetism and electricity, found in fire and heat, and produced in the human body by the chemical action of respiration, digestion, and decom- 238 KEY TO GHOSTISM. position, and issuing from the body in the shape of a pale flame, with sparks, and smoke, and material in its nature, though so much sublimated as to be visible only to persons of a peculiar vision. In my experi- ments I have myself once or twice seen it, but I have met with those who could see it as readily as those through whom that German philosopher conducted his examinations. I was given to understand that this power was used in these manifestations, but how or in what manner I have not learned. I was also made to know that electricity and magnetism had something to do with them. In the course of my examination, I asked if I might know how this odic force was used ? I was told that it would be ex- plained to me [this is what he should have studied for himself, as it was a matter of science, and not in- dolently looked to ghosts for the information] ; and it was afterward attempted through the same medium by whose instrumentality I received the teaching which I have just, written. The manifestations on that occasion v/ere of a very extraordinary character. This is as far as I have been able to advance in an- swer to this question. My attention was soon drawn to other matters, namely, to the moral character of the teachings, and I was compelled to leave that in- quiry to others. I have related all I know on that subject, in the earnest hope that some one may pur- sue the investigation until we shall be able to under- stand it as well as we now do the steam-engine or the magnetic telegraph, for surely it must be that the knowledge is equally attainable by man." We venture the remark that had Judge Edmonds pursued this legitimately scientific investigation as patiently and exhaustively as he did the ghostly MIND READING AND JUDGE EDMONDS. 239 phase of the subject, the world would never have been cursed with his book. That he left this work unfin- ished which if fully prosecuted would have demon- strated the folly of there being ghosts connected with these phenomena, showed him to be spirit-winged for the marvellous, and so, shutting his eyes to the light of nature, he plunged into the sea of ghostism ; thus demonstrating that he would rather prefer mak- ing sacrifices to induce self-deception than to know the truth. MIND READIHS AND JUDGE EDMONDS. It cannot be said in defence of the honesty of Judge Edmonds in making these investigations that he left the odic force theory for that of the ghosts, because it only comprehended what he designates as the physical manifestations, nor that he had no clue to the moral and intellectual ; for the power of one mind to read the knowledge of another was also brought to his attention early in his investigations, and that too by the so-called mediums, whom we consider very much less to blame for these " lying wonders" than the questioners who control them. Upon this subject Judge Edmonds, in his book, gives us the following : " Having thus, by a long series of patient inquiries, satisfied myself on this point [that is, a table moving by the odic force, without human contact], my ne.xt inquiry was. Whence comes the intelligence there is behind it ? P'or that intelligence was a remarkable feature of the phenomenon. Thus I have frequently known mental questions answered ; that is, questions merely framed in the mind of the interrogator, and not revealed by him or known to others. Preparatory 240 KEY TO GHOSTISM. to meeting a circle, I have sat down alone in my room and carefully prepared a series of questions to be pro- pounded, and I have been surprised to find my ques- tions answered, and in the precise order in which I wrote them, without my taking my memorandum out of my pocket, and when I knew that not a person present knew that I had prepared questions, much less what they were. My most secret thoughts (those which I have never uttered to mortal man or woman) have been freely spoken as if I had uttered them. Purposes which I have privily entertained have been thus publicly revealed ; and I have been once and again astonished that my very thought was known to, and could be disclosed by, the intelligence which was thus manifesting itself. " I have heard the mediums use Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French words, when I knew they had no knowledge of any language but their own ; and it is a fact that can be attested by many, that often there have been speaking and writing in foreign lan- guages and unknown tongues by those who were unacquainted with either. Still the question oc- curred, May not all this have been, by some mysteri- ous operation, the mere reflex of the mind of some one present ? ' ' When I was absent last winter in Central America, my friends in town heard of my whereabouts and of the state of my health several times ; and on my re- turn, by comparing their information with the entries in my journal, it was found to be invariably correct. So in my recent visit to the West, my whereabouts and my condition were told to a medium in this city while I was travelling on the railroad between Cleve- land and Toledo. [It was only a greater distance at MIXD-READING FACTS. 241 which the medium was reading his mind than though they were in the room together.] So thoughts have been uttered on subjects not then in my mind, and utterly at variance with my own notions. [Not then in his mind; but the only condition is, were they ever in his mind, and did he ever think differently upon the subject now revealed than subsequently ?] This has happened to me and to others, so as fully to establish the fact that it was not our minds that gave birth to or affected the communication." Here is where he was mistaken, and should have experimented. He would then have ascertained not only that the mediums could read thoughts as well at a distance as if present, but that by thinking about the medium, though thus distant, his mind would have conveyed his whereabouts and every circum- stance connected with him or about him, which had engaged his attention, MIIID-RnADIKa FACTS. From the same page we quote the following : " Kindred to this are two well-authenticated cases of persons who can read the thoughts of others in their minds. One is an artist of this city (New York), of high reputation, and the other the editor of a news- paper in a neighboring city. The latter wrote me that in company with three friends he had tried the experiment, and for over forty successive attempts found he could read the secret thoughts of his com- panions as soon as they were formed, and without their being uttered. So, too, there is an instance of two persons, one of them also a resident of this city, who can give a faithful delineation of the character, and even the prevailing mood of mind, of any person, 242 KEY TO GHOSTISiM. however unknown to them, upon whom they fix their attention. These are not apocryphal cases. The parties are at hand, and in our very midst, and any person that pleases may make the investigation, as I have, to satisfy himself." Here, then, was a fact that a medium could read the knowledge of another from his brain ; and what is true of these cases mentioned by Judge Edmonds, is equally true of every clairvoyant, every mesmerized sleeper, and all others susceptible of the wakeful trance condition. How easy, therefore, to understand the source of all the intelligence connected with these phenomena, and which demonstrate there are no ghosts connected with them ! These magnetic nega- tives read every thought, past or present, from the mind of any one upon whom they fix their attention, or to whom their attention has been directed, whether present or absent, and then return what is thus read to the person himself, or others, in any shape they please, either as having thus read it from the mind or as having received it from a ghost of some dead friend of the man whose mind was thus read. In one instance, according to the education of the parties, the message thus read and returned would be known as clairvoyance, mesmerism, or psychology, and in the other a spirit message. If the Spiritualists are honest, we will propose a simple test by which they will know that these mes- sages do not come from ghosts. Let any of them di- rect the attention of any medium to their own mind, and desire them to read whatever thoughts or knowl- edge they find impressed on their brain, and there is not one of them who will be found incapable of read- ing whatever the inquirer knows or has ever known, MIND-READING FACTS. 243 much of which may have passed from his present memory. They will not all read with the same ac- curacy, the difference being the degree of their supposed mediumship for spirit communications. It ma}' be necessary at first to take the medium by the hand — at least some of them — and direct them to ex- amine your brain. Tell them to dismiss the spirit explorations for the time being and attend to the power of mind over mind, and to this faculty which one mind has of reading the thoughts of another. The result of this practice upon both the inquirer whose mind is being thus revealed and the medium who is making the revelations will in a very short time convince both that there are no ghosts, after all, connected with the phenomena. Now if the Spiritualists will not make this simple test to ascer- tain the real facts in the case, does it not prove that they do not wish to be undeceived themselves, and that they are wilfully determined to carry on the de- ception and impose it upon others ? We will here refer to another test which any friend of a medium can try, to convince them both that there are no ghosts connected with this business. Every medium has what they consider a spirit as a control ; but by the will of this friend, while they are in the trance, they can be taken away from this sup- posed control and brought under his own will ; and the new control may make such a positive im- pression on their mind that they will not only never see another ghost, but disbelieve that there are any such in existence. To prove that mediums are under the real control of their living friends, any of these may make any medium deliver a pretended spirit message from the spirit land, and then in a moment's 244 KEY TO GHOSTISM. time make them declare the message was not from a spirit, and that the idea that there are such things at all is the simplest nonsense. Thus are the sup- posed mediums controlled by the ignorance or de- sign of the spirit believers, who are mere pens in the hands of those writing the foolish doctrines of a fu- tui^e state as the controls fancy and wish, and bring out such books of rubbish as Swedenborg's " Clair- voyant Dreams, " Judge Edmonds' and Dr. Dexter's "Spiritualism," Andrew Jackson Davis' "Mesmeric Visions, " and, to crown all for vast expectation and little realization, the volume of which Mr. Kiddle is only the editor ; thus shifting the responsibility from the ghosts to himself. SPIRIT THEORY EXPLODED, That the supposed ghosts are not composed or or- ganized of matter, as Swedenborg contends they are, and whose theory the science of Ghostism adopts, is proved by the fact that when any one of them is called by some individual in a circle, he is always on hand and in any country, whether he is a French, English, or American ghost. The universal law of the motion of matter or a material thing is, that it consumes time in going from one place to another. The rapidity of its motion is in proportion to its bulk and solidity, other things being equal. Electricity is the most sublimated form of matter known, and it consumes some minutes in crossing the Atlantic. If a call is made for a ghost who has reached the highest sphere — which is held by ghost science to be the planet Saturn, whose mean distance from the sun is nearly nine hundred millions of miles, and as far from the earth — he is on the spot as instantaneously as though ANOTHER TEST OF EXPOSURE. 245 he had been in the room at the time. We have an account in the prophecy of Daniel in which the angel Gabriel was sent to make a revelation of a vision which he had previously received, and in which the following passage occurs : " Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days : but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me ; and I remained there with the kings of Persia" (Dan. 10 : 12, 13). Another of the claims of Ghostism is, that the an- gels are all ghosts of dead men. But who ever heard of one of these being detained twenty-one days after a conjuration from a circle in order to transact some other business on the way ? What a monstrous fable that these ghosts are materiality, and yet can be thus present ! It really makes each of them ubiquitous. When did it happen, after the call of a ghost at a seance, that he was tardy, or offered as an apology for delay that he had been in the planet Saturn, and had come as soon as he could ; or that he had just returned to his spherical home from another circle, to which he had been called ? AITOTHER TEST OF KXPCS'JRK. As the Ghostites are so fond of making tests, we will suggest one more, which we demand shall imme- diately be made, and which, in the absence of all other proof, will put an end to the whole ghost mania, namely, that the same spirit — say that of Sweden - borg or Judge Edmonds — be summoned at the same 246 KEY TO GHOSTISM. moment by twenty different circles, in as many lo- calities. If it is the veritable ghost of either, it will not appear at any two of them at the same time ; but it will be found that Edmonds will be at every one of the twenty, or any number of seances, at the same hour, and stay during the whole session, delivering different messages to each. Nothing is more firmly held by the Spiritualists than that of spirit individuality and identity. That it is the real man that lived on earth, and only resided in the bodily form, out of which he moved at the event we call death. That in fact there is no death, only a sep- aration. That the man proper is always living, and knowing what he always knew and feeling what he al- ways felt. In a word, he is the same identical man he was before the separation took place. Granting all this, it follows that the man in ghostland can no more be in two places at the same time than he could when he was in earthland. That he can no more deliver two addresses at the same time and upon different subjects in the spirit state than he could in the mortal state. That he can no more have his intellectual organs engaged upon twenty different subjects at the same time when out of the form than while in it ; and, finally, that this identical Judge Edmonds can no more write — using the medium as his pen, or em- ploying the little slate-pencil — upon twenty different subjects at the same time and hour in the States of Ohio and New York, or (which is the same thing) in the spirit state and in the human state, and be the same person all the time. We believe there are scores of people deceived upon this subject who would be glad to escape the delusion, and here is a test that will accomplish the desirable GHOSTISM IS ANNIHILATION. 247 work. Let any one of these who is acquainted with mediums make an arrangement by which two circles shall be held at the same hour. Then let each call Emanuel Swedenborg, and interrogate him upon different subjects and by different questioners. If they are honest, it will be found, as we have said, that Swedenborg will be present the whole self-same hour at both places ; thus demonstrating to all sen- sible people that he is present at neither. Hence we conclude that there are no ghosts connected with these phenomena, and therefore that they are pro- duced upon the scientific principles presented in this book. GHOSTISM IS AKIIIHILATION. If a man holds to the idea that the same power that made a thing can unmake it — that he who made a man who has failed to answer his pleasure and purpose can decompose him into his elements, or, if he is thus decomposed by the laws of nature, can recreate out of the same kind of elements that iden- tical being, preserving every physical, moral, and mental impression he ever received through a life of three score and ten : we say, if a man holds to this fundamental doctrine of Scripture and the Christian system, he is taunted by the Spiritualists as believing in annihilation. But the fact is that they themselves of all other classes teach the most perfect system of annihilation. Annihilation means to strike a thing out of exist- ence so that it does not occupy space, or that it is dissolved into its elements. That our charge is well founded, will be seen by pressing the question as to how much space a spirit occupies and fills. Let us 248 KEY TO GHOSTISM. take a living man and confine him in a hermetically sealed metallic coffin so closely that no air or gas or the most sublimated ether can escape. The man has been thus confined ten hours, and of course the sepa- ration which the Spiritualists call death has taken place, and, as they also claim, the spirit has escaped into the spirit land ; from which it follows that it was so small that it passed through the atoms of the metal, or between some two of them which would not admit the smallest atom of the finest ether. Hence a spirit is not as large as such an atom. But as electricity can pass freely through such confine- ment, and as this is a modification of matter, the spirit may be this substance and occupy as much space as a given quantity of it does ; though it would take a hundred million of spirits which could pass out of such confinement to fill an area of space equal to a single human body. Let us ask the Spiritualists if the surface of the whole earth would furnish stand- ing room for all the ghosts of the dead ? Would they not answer Yes ? Well, would one half of it furnish sufficient room for their accommodation ? Would one quarter of it ? Would not a single square mile be ample for the purpose ? Still further ; could they not all crowd into a square acre ? Think carefully now, and say, if you can, to your own satisfaction, if all could not find room to sit down in a single square rod ? — in a square yard ? in a square foot ? in a square inch ? Just meditate before you answer, and tell us if they all would fill one inch of space, so that nothing more could be pressed into it than could be put into a square inch of space in which there was an exact square inch of gold ? We do not believe there is one of these spiritualistic philosophers who GHOSTISM IS ANNIHILATION. 249 could be induced publicly to announce that all the spirits of the dead now in their spirit home would thus fill a square inch of space so solidly that no more matter could be pressed into it. Indeed, could they not all stand on the point of a cambric needle, and all the room be left ? And if so, they do not exist in space, and are therefore annihilated. So far as the body, with all its incomprehensible organization, is concerned, the Spiritualists claim it is annihilated. When the spirit goes out of the car- cass it is dead forever. Indeed, it never had any conscious existence, and never will have. Here, therefore, the body and spirit of the man are both' annihilated, or they do not exist in the universe, which is the same thing. Hence Ghostism combines materialism, annihilationism, and all the hateful and degrading forms of unbelief which have ever been arrayed against the Bible and Christianity, both by the heathen and civilized nations of the earth. THE END. Nm'-^»mi^»mml#f^