SOUTHWICK, February 20, 1854.
701. _Dear Sir_: Your letter of February 8th is before me. You did not
say whether you believed in the soul’s immortality or not! This is the
most important of all questions to me, and how is it to be settled? If
the Bible is not to be depended upon, and we have no communications
from the spirit world, what evidence have we of our immortality? I have
been greatly afflicted with doubts upon this subject. It has exceeded
all other afflictions that I have met with. You will of course see at
once how desirous I am that these apparent communications should prove
to be in _reality_ from the spirit world, as that would settle the
question. I seize upon every thing that seems to have a bearing upon
the question of immortality, and I confess that I have strong hopes
that Spiritualism, as it is termed, will settle this question. If it be
true that there is physical force and intelligence, neither of which
proceed from the medium, how is it to be explained? You doubt these
two, but I am as well assured of them as I can be of any thing.
702. If spirits communicate, it is certain that some of them deceive.
It would appear that there are all sorts of characters, the same as
there are in this world. If you should become satisfied of the two
facts that I mentioned, I should like to have you and other men of
science try your skill at explanation.
703. I will relate what took place at the first sitting that I ever
attended. It was in Boston, and I went as a perfect stranger. Before
the sitting commenced, and but few had collected, a strolling musician
came along and commenced playing at the door, and every tune played
at the door was beaten or rapped on the table. The medium was in the
room; I saw her walk up to the table and lay her hand on it, and then
walk away, but it made no difference with the raps on the table; they
continued, without any person near it, as long as the tunes were played
at the door. When it came my turn to question, I asked, Are any of my
relatives present? _Ans._ Yes. Will you rap at each letter of your
name, if the alphabet is called over. _Ans._ Yes! The alphabet was
called, and there was a rap at A, one at L, one at F, one at R, one
at E, and one at D,—Alfred: a son that died at the age of twenty-two
years. Among a great many questions, I asked, How many years since you
died. Is it twelve? Is it eleven? Is it ten? Is it nine? Is it eight?
Is it seven? There was a rap at seven, but I asked, Is it six? and
instantly there were rapped........; the seventh was fainter. I said,
He probably means that it is six and a piece, when instantly they were
repeated ........; the last the faintest. The raps were equidistant,
like the ticking of a clock, and about as loud. I supposed at the time
that it was _less_ than seven. After the sitting was over, and we were
preparing to leave, I said, It is possible that we may have mistaken
the time since my son’s death? There was instantly a loud rap on the
table. I then asked, Did you mean seven? and there was instantly an
affirmative. I inquired for the odd months, and the answer was four.
When I got home, I found the true time was seven years, four months,
and two days. These last raps were when no person was within _six feet_
of the table. I confess myself unable to explain the foregoing without
admitting that it was my son who responded. If you could have such an
opportunity, and inquire for some dear friend whom you loved in life, I
think you would witness what would interest you.
704. I mention the foregoing as a specimen. I have received a great
many communications purporting to be both from my son and a daughter,
who died at the age of eighteen, quite as remarkable as the above. Now,
admitting the two facts of physical force and intelligence, I don’t
know even then that spirits are the agents; but it seems probable,
because I doubt whether any other explanation can be given, that
will appear at all reasonable. It is very evident that there is an
intelligence that governs the world; but if that intelligence has
given us no revelation excepting what is in nature, then it appears
to me that every thing that can give us any knowledge of what we are
to be hereafter, is valuable beyond all price. Uncertainty upon this
matter is painful, but then we know so little about the Deity, that I
think there is great uncertainty in our views of what he does, either
to prevent or bring to pass the good and evil that we see around us.
Yours, very respectfully,
AMASA HOLCOMB.
_Some parts of a letter to Mr. Holcomb, in reply to the parts of his
letter relating to Spiritualism._
PHILADELPHIA, February 24, 1854.
705. _Dear Sir_: There is a great resemblance in your sentiments,
as described in your letter of the 20th, (just received,) and those
which I entertain, excepting that while I am very desirous—I may say
extremely desirous—to learn something which may prove another state of
existence, I am not unhappy at my not being able to find out the truth.
If I have less hopes, I have also less fears, than those who have
heaven and hell both to encounter. I do not envy those who are placed
in the situation of depending upon the estimate which may be formed of
them hereafter, whether they are to be placed among the “_sheep_” or
“_the goats_.”
706. It is true that the gospel holds out the idea on one hand that
intense belief, called faith, will wash away sin; but on the other,
it is said, that “he who knoweth his Master’s will, yet doeth it
not,” shall be beaten with many stripes, while he who is ignorant of
that will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with few. Under these
circumstances, who can escape flagellation? Who is it that does the
will of God, as enumerated by Christ? Who loves his neighbour as
himself? Who presents a second cheek on receiving a blow on one? Who
gives his coat, when his cloak has been taken? Who returns good for
evil? Who acts as if it were as hard for a rich man to go to heaven as
for a camel to get through the eye of a needle?
707. Unless our missionaries can make better Christians abroad than
they leave at home, it were inhuman to add to the number, who are to be
pre-eminently punished for their neglect of their Master’s will, while
fully apprized of it. In many cases a pagan will be better off than his
nominally Christian instructor, although he should not prove a convert
to Christianity.
708. My sentiments are much like those which Socrates expressed. _I
hope for a future world, and therein to have a happier existence._ All
those reasons which have been advanced by wise and good men in favour
of such futurity, operate upon my mind as upon theirs; but if there be
no such a state of future existence, I shall _never wake up to feel my
disappointment_. It _will only be a prolongation of a state of oblivion
analogous to that which we enter upon transiently, every night_.
709. The incentives which have acted upon you, act also upon me, and
I have seen some of the manifestations on which you rely; but not so
satisfactorily. The answers which I have received have not been worthy
of the other world.
710. A message from my own father, amounted to this: “_Oh, my son,
listen to reason_;” and there it ended. Several similar nugatory
sentences have been manifested through the alphabet.
711. I have, however, constructed an instrument to put the question of
independency of intelligence to the test. It works independently of any
control of the medium, as the letters, which must be seen to bring them
correctly under the index, are concealed by a screen. (Plate I.)