SECTION XV.

SPIRIT POWER.

Wisdom is judiciously applied Knowledge.

We are soon to enter into the examination of the proofs to be tendered to the materialist, on the one hand, so as to convince him of a futurity; and to the Christian, on the other, to show him that God is the same in action to-day, as yesterday; and that there has been no suspension of his energy through the agency of his messengers-his angels, up to the year 1860. And no manifestation of angelic power is to be guaged by its character, but by its result on men's minds. I have seen men convinced of a supernatural power acting on visible substance; by the simple gliding of a ponderous eight-legged table along a carpeted floor, a table that could not be moved by the phy

sical energy of one man. I have seen others convinced by the

tremulous motion given to that table as if it were a steamvessel vibrating with the action of machinery.

I have heard the laugh, and seen the sneer, at the absurdity of supposing that spirits would come from heaven to move tables, and rap on them; and yet those very persons are conceited enough to think, that the "Lord Jesus" will come from heaven, and enter into their bodies, and guide them in business matters. If God the Lord will so come, surely his inferiors, the angels, may; if by doing so they can minister to to man's mental comfort. God is a Spirit; man was made a little lower than the angels, yet he is a Spirit. God said, "Let us make man in our own image"-therefore, angels must be also of the same image; and they must be in affinity, in sympathy with us; and now, as out of the mouth of two or three witnesses truth is established; I, in the following pages, tender myself one of those witnesses; and, moreover, I am in the position of being able to state that I know scores of individuals in the metropolis ready to attach their signatures, and

take an oath for confirmation sake, before the proper legal authorities, as to the truth of what they have felt or seen in their own houses, of spirit power manifestations; and those persons not obscure in society, but men who are the commercial, legal, and literary celebrities of England at this hour. Many, very many of them, were rank materialists, who, up to the hour of their conversion, had not the slightest belief in a hereafter for man, or of the existence of unseen intelligences, good or bad. They have been convinced, as we have just said, by detonations on the table called raps, followed by other proofs of supernatural power; and it is no use to change the mode of attack, and mimic the Jews of old, by stating they are produced by "Beelzebub, the prince of the devils"-where picked they up that secret? Has the devil, or the Deity, by voice or by vision, made them the oracles of truth? Sit at the feet of facts, and learn wisdom.

The proofs of spirit power are so numerous in classic history, in modern history, and in every-day life, that the difficulty is not in collection, but in selection; if I were to narrate the facts which have come under the observation of myself and friends, it would be necessary that several volumes be issued as large as this, and still there would be a surplus.

This power has been marvellously developed in America, and many instruments, or mediums, have been developed there; but the proofs from that country will be sparingly copied, because of the by-word name it has, of attaching to trifles the word "astounding," and of creating the superlative out of nothing. Yet America is yielding its great and its noble in science, in art, and in literature; and many of those great and noble have become converts to the truth of these phenomena. Strange to say it has been the infidel, the disbelievers in angelic life, who have most fearlessly entered into the subject, fully conscious of their power to detect the imposture, and so prove the fallacy of man's immortality; yet those men, on having their previous educational belief destroyed by observing the truthfulness of the phenomena of

spirit power, have fearlessly, manfully declared their belief in it; and through good report and evil report have acted upon society, so far as their influence extended.

While testing the manifestations with their friends and relatives, many persons found that they were mediums, by phenomena arising continually while they were investigating; this was also the result with many Christians, and ever and anon the exclamation was like that of old, "Is Saul among the prophets?" "Is become a spiritualist ?"

As in previous sections, I have shown that it requires a given amount of chemical force to produce results; and some human beings possessing more of that than others, the result was, that mediums were of various power-some so feeble as to be almost useless, others so strong as to startle the several circles they attend. Out of thousands of mediums in America and Europe, three or four have stood, and still stand, as the best. D. D. Home stands at present as the first-there are Messrs. Gordon, Geo. A. Redman, T. L. Harris, Koon, Linton, Davis, Fowler, Squire, Irish, Miss Fox, Miss E. Rymer.

I do not give them in the order of their merit, but as the names arise in my mind. After them are hosts of mediums, and they become classified, according to the character of the phenomena which takes place in their presence.

In Mr. Home's presence, the principal Spirit phenomena are -His being raised off the floor to the ceiling of the room in the quiet of domestic life.

Tables raised off the ground to a considerable height in the air, no human hand attached thereto.

Musical instruments played, no human hand touching the keys, and carried about, and put into the hands of the sitters.

Detonations on and under the table, called raps.

The incarnation of hands seen, and FELT-represented and believed to be the soul (apparitional) hands, of deceased relatives and others.

Trance, when conversation is carried on through his voice,

by some disembodied relative of one or more of the company, the medium being acted upon as Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest was, when he prophesied that one should die for the people, and this he said "not of himself."

Mr. Home is a Scotchman, born near Edinburgh, but, when a youth, went with his family to America, and was there developed as a medium. He left America in 1855, and has, after staying a few months in England, visited all the countries in Europe, and had sittings for the production of Spirit-power with the Emperors of Russia and France, with the kings and queens, princes, and nobles, merchants, tradesmen, and workmen of Europe; has been presented with diamond, ruby, and emerald rings, pins, chains of gold, ornaments, gold cups, &c.;-the heart offerings of the noble and the wealthy, in grateful acknowledgment of the spiritual good he has been the instrument of effecting in them; giving them the foundation of a Christian's hope, the practical belief in the present existence of their deceased relatives, and their own immortality; instead of the flimsy, sentimental acknowledgments of educational belief in the dogmas of the church. He has married the sister of one of the wealthiest of the Russian families, and is now in London without an idle nerve in his body, without any recompense but heart pleasure, accepting, up to and beyond his strength, invitations from the leading statesmen, nobles, literateurs, merchants, and artisans, to sit in circle; happy and joyous when the spirit-power is so strong as to upset the preconceived opinions of Infidels, whether in or out of the churches.

Mr. Home is now doing a work among the leading authors which will tinge the future literature of England, and the world-despise physical manifestations who may; physical manifestations were the foundation stones of the Church of Christianity, when it erected its crest towards Heaven. Despise them who may, the stones, the mortar, the concrete, may not have not the elaborate sculpture ornamentation or filigree arabesque, to surprise and please the feather-cloud intellects of some; but they are the solid, which give con

fidence to the mind, that the mansion is trustworthy-that its walls and its flooring will defend and give shelter when the hurricanes and mental storms of life are passing over them. It is now some six years since I first saw Mr. Home, then about twenty-one and a half years of age-and the results of my first day's sittings with him has had an important influence on my sentiments, feelings, and actions ever since.

Possibly an article written by me in January, 1857, may be interesting to many-the more so as it was made the text for several of the editors of daily and weekly newspapers—as well as for simple magazine literature-it will show how simple truth and knowledge come when given by a higher power. The reader will find it under the Section Sounds, page 317.

Mr. Henry Gordon is a medium for similar manifestations of spirit-power; he resides in America, and has never been in Europe.

Mr. Redman of America, is a physical medium of peculiar power. An investigator comes into his room, wishes proof of futurity. He requests them to write the names of deceased relatives on slips of paper, roll them up in little balls or pellets, and scatter them on the table. He then takes up pellet by pellet, and asks if the spirit named in the pellet is in the room, till yes is given by a sound. Mr. Redman's hand is then moved, and without any volition of his own mind, the arm and hand is acted upon, and he writes out a name which, when the pellet is opened, is found to be the name as written by Mr. Redman. His hand is then acted upon, and the spirit gives tests by naming the age-time of death, or some incident in his past life which convinces the inquirer: the spirit then writes out a message. (Since the above was written, Mr. Redman has been in England. I have seen and recorded a portion of my seeings in the Section "Movings.")

Mr. Koon, of America, is a plain country farmer-has rooms free to all inquirers-the phenomena is music, played upon instruments, and the instruments go up to the ceiling, and whirl round the room, and even when mentally wished