སཨསv ལ་ ཅ་

when they themselves wish it.

p▪

But says one who has hardly spent an hour in making the test, and who has got wrong answers: "They are proved to be lying spirits." Perhaps such an argument is good. If it is in this case it will also prove all men to be liars, because we meet untruthful persons occasionally, or often. The logic is as good in one case as the other. To all who have seen fit to accuse these manifestations of evil we would put this question. Did you ever know of an answer given, or a message, or a sentence spelled out that had a tendency to evil? We know of none who have been able to answer in the affirmative. We know of those who think the theological teaching wrong, but that cannot be proved; and there is abundance of proof of right direction and pos itive good in the matter. Some will answer that "evil spirits act thus in order the more effectually to deceive." Well, we insist that as long as they act in accordance with goodness and truth they are not to be condemned as evil on the surmise of some bigoted devil-believers.

We find nothing alarming in the theological teachings of these spirits. Others may. On these points there will be differences among men until they reach a more perfect state of knowledge than they at present possess. Their general theology is that of Davis, Swedenborg, and others who have claimed to receive their impressions from spirits. They generally use the term higher and lower spheres instead of Heaven and Hell. They say that all persons pass to a condition superior

.5

It may be well to remark that many times v these spirits are communicating, the alphabet wi called for and some name, perhaps one of the al and perhaps some other spelled, as the one who w to communicate. Often it is a name which the co ny had not thought of. They generally deliver useful and interesting message when such is the The following are questions which are frequently as and we give the answers as they have been spelled We might fill a volume with questions and answe Q. What is your mission to the world?

Ans. To do good. The time will come when we communicate universally.

Q. Of what benefit will it be to mankind?

Ans. We can reveal truths to the world—and will become more harmonious and better prepare the higher spheres.

Q. Some persons imagine that the spirits are and that Satan is transformed into an Angel of to deceive us. What shall we say to them?

Ans. Tell them some of their bigotry will hav be dispensed with before they can believe we are spirits. Ask them why they refuse to investi They are not as wise as they suppose themselves t Q. Can ignorant spirits rap?

Ans. Yes. (An ignorant spirit rapped and the ference was very plain between that and the other Q. Are these sounds made by rapping?

Ans. No. They are made by the will of the sp causing a concussion of the atmosphere and ma the sounds appear in whatever place they please.

up

ing it. We have attempted to give what testimony we are in possession of, touching the matter of good and evil-truth and falsehood. We ask no one to look on this as all infallible, for reasons before stated. Investigate with care, and if you learn more of the origin of these sounds than we have, let the world have the benefit of it.

NOTE. In our first edition a definition of the word Hell was given to one of the authors of this work by a person who received it and related it from memory, and which since then we have learned was not verbatim et literatim. Up to the time of going to press with this edition we have been unable to get the definition as written down at the time it was spelled out and we are compelled to delay its publication until we issue a future work upon this subject.

CHAPTER IX.

DISPLAY OF PHYSICAL POWER-MOVING OF ARTICLES-PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, ETC., ETC.

We now come to a part of the subject which is thought to be still harder to believe, and is scouted at still more than anything in the foregoing narrative. We, ourselves, when first hearing of the "mysterious sounds," were far from receiving it as truth, and thought the story very improbable. We thought the story of the power and will to move articles still more so. But we were destined to be convinced by positive proof. This must convince the mass of those who ever become convinced of so strange a matter, unless the true philosophy of such occurrences is discovered and laid before the world. We hope this may soon be the case. But we are to deal with facts,

'Tis true, 'tis strange,

Yet stranger 'tis, 'tis true.'

That there is a power as well as a will in whatever produces these sounds, is evident to those who have had fair opportunities to investigate the subject. We, with others, have many times been witness to the moving of tables, chairs and other articles, with no visible power to move them. We do not believe they were moved without something to do it. We simply say that the power was to us intangible and beyond our vision; we also KNOW that no person or machinery had any agency in producing the phenomena. Those things, like the sounds, are not confined to any particular room

MYSTERIOUS NOISES.

169

or house; but appear in various places. We have experienced them when but two or three were present, and those of our own family, and when entirely unexpected and uncalled for. It would be the heighth of absurdity to suppose that we would sit down for the purpose of deceiving ourselves.

The following are extracts from E. W. CAPRON'S private journal. All the phenomena there recorded took place in presence of a number of witnesses who are ready to testify to the facts when called upon. occurrences took place in Auburn.

The

At

"WEDNESDAY EVENING, June 20th. Present six persons and none of the family of Mr. Fox in town. The rapping was heard very freely by all. The table moved on the floor with no person touching it-moyed to the distance of a foot or more and back, in various directions. our request, the table (which was a very light one,) was held down to the floor so that it required the whole strength of a man to move it from its position. We also held one side, and requested, if there was power to do it, that it would be drawn away from us; this was done, and our strength was not sufficient to hold it. On the light being taken out of the room, (the persons in the room placing themselves in a position where each would know if any others moved,) the table cloth was taken from the table and very compactly stowed away under it, near one corner. A hat which was on the table was turned over the table cloth in a manner that nearly hid it from view. The table was then raised from the floor on one side, and there stood, although we used considerable strength to push it down. While the table stood in that position, by placing our hands upon it we would feel a quick, tremulous motion, like the action of a galvanic battery. The witnesses present at this time were Miss Mary M. Bennett, H. D. Barron, Mrs. Mary Miller, Miss Amanda Hoskins, Mrs. Sarah A. Tamlin, and E. W. Capron."

This feeling of electricity seems to pervade nearly everything connected with these phenomena. When the rapping is heard, the peculiar jar is felt-differing from the jar produced by a blow, and in various other ways we are reminded of the use of this subtil agent. We often see in a dark room, bright electric flashes on the wall and other places.

We, and all who have taken pains to get at the truth of all these demonstrations, have frequently had a hand laid on their arms, shoulders or head, when no person would or could do it, having all their hands