SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 798, 7 December 1853, Page 4

SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS.

(From " Blackwood's Magazine" for May.)

Is it not possible that some of these phenomena may fee -.trriln'.«!-,:<• to natural agencies, such as magnetism, fi...'Vteiirv. k".. 'bc/i'gh tb"ir operation is not yi t understood » That ia a very fair question ; and we, who doteat" ilr-.finatism almost as -thoroughly as deception, have no obiection to answer it. Onr experience of the nast warrants us in ettrlwMa* that the.e are many natural azehctea with which we ore imperfectly ac,l'nrf A.-long the most important of these is electri -it •• whether it emanates from animated or inanirrate dtectl - aria no man. we think, i* Entitled to deny the vtmuimnesa of alleged phenomena, on account of their siffVulafiiy or startling nature, so long as they can he a'tributed to a natural source. Thus, if it were alleged tint through the operation of magnetism, luminous I), : its or sparkles were made to appear in a darkened we sbituld not be justified in sneering at the element, simply because it is contrary to our own experience. Nav, we shall go even further. It is not inWwble, tuOU * L certainly iraprohable, that an object, • orb as a table, may be so impregnated and surcharged with electricity, as to be moved, without visible power from i»< place. But to tell us. that handkerchiefs can »pnnti»ri«M*dy tie themselves into knots, and hairfcrushis rush of their own accord to people's heads is a direct itwult to the understanding, and is indeed ad mi'ted to he so by the illuminati. They are obliged to have r, cou.se to spirits ; and not bvpothetically 10 ac-co-int for some wonderful phenomenon, but direuily, from pnstive revelations vouchsafed to themselves. Now, with this science hns nothing at all to do. They are asserting, not natural, hut supernatural agencies; and these we utterly deny. Let it be observed that we do not express a disbelief in reported results, sol'-y because the spiritualists choose to ref-r thorn to preternatural causes. It is possible that a table might move, or lights be exhibited, without spiritual inter* ention; hut these men have cut the ground from beneath their own feet. They do not argue that there phenomena may have been produced by spiritual intervention, but they cltclare that they were so produced; and, with singnlar audacity they huve undertaken to prove that position. The reader, who bns hitherto been introduced to * rap-.. nin.'S ' locomotive furniture, self-acting hair-brushes, and"tortuous handkerchiefs, must now prepare hiroselt for something stronger. We r< commend him to take a eaulker by way of fortifying himself for the revelation^ The Spirits can make themselves visible ! yea—indeed they can ; and, what is more, they can sign their names. Here is the statement as to the laner fact: , "At one of a % r »es of meetings more particularly described), convened for the purpose of'epimnal interco-n-e,' attoe residenceof Mr. Charles Part-rid-e, New-York, the subject of Kossuth's mission was referred to, and fwhether from a uisire to know how Inr 'material aid' might h<« safely accorded, or from idle cariosity as to the miEsing crown of Hungary) pressed somewhat eagerly upon the notice of the spirits. The Jailer, however rut all questioss short, by addressing the medium, Mr. Edward P. Fowler, thus—- " « Edward, place a paper on your table, and we will write ft sentiment upon this matter, and subscribe it with our names. You will then sign it also.' " The result reported was as follows :—- " In accordance with tho above directions, Edward placed a paper on his table, in his sleeping-room, which was duly written upon in '.he course of the night, and signed bu forty-three spirits. I 1 was subsequently signed by the members of the circle ; hut owing to the omission of the a his?ory, and the i.-r. gularmode of affixing the signaluresV the members, the spiritß made the following communication at the succeeding regular meeting—•Burn that, and we will write upon another.' " Accordingly, the first paper was destroyed, and a parchment was procured, and placed upon the tablf, on bis retiring for tho night. On the morning of the 23d of December, when the medium rose, he f>und the sentiment, * Pence, but not without freedom,' and the signatures ini-criretl on the parchment. '"At the meeting of the circle held on the 25th of December, Dr. Hall asked the spirits whether each spirit executed his or her own name, as they occurred on the parchment, VvM.en the spirits answered emphatically-' Yes !' " We hope that document will be preserve I with as much care as the original Declaration of Independence. It outfit to he ; for who do you think signed it among other.-.? Why—Benjamin Fbakbun! Don't be surprised, clear reader—wc shall get to Washington by and by. Edward B. Fowler, it would appear, is a remarkably gifted seer—quite a Joe Smi'.h in his way—and Franklin, or rather the spirit of that illustrious man, requested him to get a book and note down V;'ry particularly his experiences. Charles Patridge, who was present, inspired by a natural jealousy of the preference shown to the Fowler, inquired—Tather impertinently, as we think— whether, if he had been in the room he could hav-p gem fwhat Edward saw ? The reader must understand tint by this time, the Spirits had vouchsafed to appear as carnalities to Fowler. Franklin's reply conveys a dignified and proper rebuke. ' Your sphere would not have permitted us to present ourselves even to Edward.' Tho Partridge was caught in his own snare—a victim to the Fowbr. It so happened, however, that the latter had mentioned the apparition of a queer little man in his room Oti a previous evening, and another of the party requested to know what name be bore in the flesh. Franklin couneously replied 'The small man was Hahnemann.' We wonder whether any deceased allopathist is permitted to walk. No ;we protest that it is no hoax of ours. Spicer may be hoaxing us, for as we said befoje, he is a funny and facetious fellow, but we quote accurately from his volume.

May we be caught up and suspended from the ceiling, like Daniel D. Hume, if we stand, this any 1: nger ! These Transatlantic ghosts are (superlative idiots; let us try we cann :t elicit something better from a native" apparition. For the last quarter of an hour there has been an incessant rapping on our tabl<-—there i* an odour of usquebdi in our apartment, and we hear the droning of a spiritual bagpipe. The shade of old Qnha awaits us ! At the comer of the street there Httult a first-rate medium, Dugald Macvnrich by name, ai dhe also is of the race of the hards. Him we emice, by the promise of a boitle of whisky,and a quartor of a round of pigtail, into our study ; and having explained to bim our wishes, which he readily comprehends—for his fa'lwr's sister's husband's cousin bad he the gift of tha second sight, and it may be in the family— we give him a single dram, by way of composiug draught, and patiently await the result. Dugald pecbs. That, though a familiar magnetic symptom may bo accounted for raturality, the spirit being considerably above proof. But now a fine agitation convulses his furrowed features. His hair begins to bristle,Jand his legs are jerked as if he were executing a strathspey ! There car. be no doubt of it now; he is fully possessed by tbe ancient Caledonian muse. Starting to bis feet, he catches up a pair of bellows, which inserted beneath his left arm, mak.-s no contemptible substitute for the bagpipe; und narcbing round the apartment, ho del vers the follow. . i£ ruagniScent fragment, which we hope will 6ilence '■ r ever the puny piping of the Yankee spirits:— MACTAVISH AND THE «UEBN Of PHAErtJK. A HIGHLAND BALLAD. Communicated by the shade of Outan. I will sing voh Bongs To make your heart-strings tingle; They are made by me, Owiaa sen of Kings), In honour of a chief, Called Forquhard Mhor Mactavish ; To wno ro the females were Of their attention slavish. Half-way up the glen, Near tiia Spring* of Aven Where the black-cock builds As also t?n« the rr.veit — There H henchman, Jan, Found him on Hie heather, With his flask of spirit* Emptied altogether 1 such a thing an thi» V/.-.s indeed uncommon, i'or the C'nief could drink With any son of woman And it did ppt.»r To tb'H b«nehman( lan, •'hat some wondrous sight The Chieftain had been seeing. /ater on his .'ace His foster-brother cplutterd, :.l;it a prayer or two To orl Saint FiUan utteiftl; : ill Mactavish gave bigns of animation, fl :..! could undertake 'he task cf his narration, t is ',nis nose he fed 7ith a pinch of sr.ow.han, :v. n he thus n.: -rked, ■'l hnva 6een a vision ! 1 it. H tell you all,. That ycu may. judge five fitness. .* 5 things whereof I have been th r > witness 1 Vhad not consumed '.ore than naif t gallon, :.h Roy oig M'Craw, >nd Angus, son o, Allan;

And wag walking home In this same position, When my eyes beheld A beauteous apparition. From a tuft of rushes nose a splendid figure. About a salmon's height, Perhaps a little bigger. She was dressed in green, Her arms were rather hairy, And I knew at once It was the Queen of Phaerie >." At this point, owing to an unlucky accident, the recii.iiioi terminated. A large chair originally from Dunstaffage. became- greatly .-xcited by the strain ; an i after attempting to dance a jig, rushed furiously across the room, and came in violent contact with Macvurich's shins. The inspired medium went down like a nine-pin, nor could we again brii>g him to the scratch. That he was under spiritual influence, however, there can be nodoubt; indeed he muttered something, though incoherently, about the * spirits'—employiug to denote them the Gaelic synouyue of Rerintvsh. It is to he hoped that, on the samo future occasion, the shade of Ossian will condescend to dictate tberemainder of this delectable poem.

The Force of Imagination.—Buokland, the distinguished geologist, one day gave a dinner, after dissecting a Mississippi alligator, having asked a good many of the most distinguished of his classes to dine with him. HU house and all his establishment were in good stvle and taste. His guests congregated. The dinner table looked splendidly, with glass, china, and plate, and the meal commenced with soup, •'Mow do you I ke the soup?" asked the Doctor, after finishing his own plate, addressing a famous gourmand of the day. •'Very good, indeed," answered the other; 'turtle, is it not? I only ask because I. do not find any green fat." The Docter shook his head. "I think it has somewhat of a muskv tas'e," said another; "not unpleasant, but peculiar." "All alligators have," replied Buckland ; ♦« the cayman peculiarly so; the fellow whom I dissected this morning, and whom you have just been eating ." There was a general rout of the whole guests. Every one turned pale; half-a-dozen started up from the tab'e; two or three ron out of tberoom; and only those who bad stout stomachs remained to the close of an excellent entertainment. " See what imagination is,"said Buokland; "if I bad told them it was turlle. or terrapin, or birds' nest soup, Bait-water amphilia or fiesh, or tl a glutten of u fish from the maw of a sea-bird, they would have pronounced it excellent, and their digestion been none the*worse. Such is prejudice." "But t.as it r.ally an alligator ?" asked a lady. "As good a calf's head as ever wore a coronet!" answered Buckland.— Anecdotes of Professor Buckland.