How can this be made to harmonize with your own declaration"The press, generally, has scouted it as a cheat "--which I find in the same connection? Is not the sentiment of the press a fair index to the state of the public mind? And how do the foregoing statements accord with the facts? Who does not absolutely know that thousands have approached the subject with no such impression on their minds, but with the settled conviction that the whole was founded in imposture and delusion? If "every person," who has observed these "multiplied singularities, has been influenced by a preïmpression, more or less distinct, that they are "the work of departed spirits," to what source shall we trace the almost numberless hypotheses, which like a new order of soft plants-a sort of intellectual fungi-have started up in all directions, living, but for a brief hour, to illustrate the ignorance wherein they germinate, and the presumptuous vanity which ministers to their growth? Is it true that even a majority of the people have exhibited this predisposition of mind? And has the whole subject been studied, hitherto, on the theory that it was spirits? Did Dr. Lee, of Buffalo, and his associates, pursue the investigation and elaborate that "scientific report,"(?) with minds thus preoccupied. Did the "impression," of which you speak, prompt Mr. Burr's exposé or determine the conclusion of Dr. Taylor and the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal? Has it moved "the press, generally, to scout it as a cheat?" What had it to do with "Detached Vitalized Electricity"? with the Falling of Water? with Animal Magnetism? Somnambulism? Ventriloquism? Positive and Negative Conditions? the Will Power? Jugglery? or any of the ephemeral creations of popular skepticism? Literally nothing at all; and the minds of men instead of being originally inclined to a belief in the spiritual theory, were strongly inclined in the opposite direction, and have only been driven to accept the spiritual idea when facts have multiplied around them which, in their judgment, could only be referred to earthly causes by 66 a base Abandonment of Reason." I will now proceed to consider the origin of the Mystical Writings, said to be the work of Spirits, with special reference to your objections to the claims of the Autographical Manuscript, executed on the night of Dec., 23d, 1851. As this is deemed the most reliable instance of direct Spiritual agency, to which you have thought proper to refer me in your first communication, I need offer no apology for making it the princi theme of this letter. The following passage sufficiently indicates t ture of your premises, and the rapid and convenient process by which you arrive at the conclusion that Spirits had nothing to do with writing the names on the parchment: "If we are to fall back on the impression left on the public mind, that the spirits did not use the hand of the medium-you will find it difficult, I think, to convince sane men, that spirits wrote that parchment; as, in that case, you will at once be obliged to admit, that they all had a subsultus tendinum. . . . In discussing this point, I shall assume that it is all the work of the medium, conscious or unconscious-I care not which-spirits had nothing to do with it, and the whole is the result of the imitative mechanic power of the medium, brought out by the abnormal magnetic state, which exists while he is writing." It is, indeed, very easy to "assume" that, but the assumption amounts to nothing because it is in opposition to the facts. Uunbelief may repeat the words with a thousand tongues, but the FACTS, with their provoking invincibility, shall remain, unmoved "By this abundance of superfluous breath." Your attention is now respectfully invited to the evidence deemed necessary to authenticate the writings referred to, and, without further preliminaries, I here submit the following communication from Mr. Fowler : STATEMENT OF THE MEDIUM. S. B. BRITTAN: Dear Sir: I have been solicited by a mutual friend to send you a concise statement of my experience, as connected with some mysterious writings which have occurred in my room, a fac simile of one of which appeared in number nine of the SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPH. I comply with the request, though in contrariety to my inclinations, which would prompt me to shrink from any publicity. The original paper containing the autographs I found upon my table, about three o'clock one afternoon, on my return from business; the paper used being a sheet of drawing-paper, which was incidentally left on my table, and which I am sure was blank when I left my room in the forenoon. The succeeding autographical manuscript, a representation of which was published, was executed in my room, on a piece of parchment, left on my table, by direction of the spirits, for that purpose. This was written on during the night, while I was in my room asleep. I would add that, many of the signatures on the parchment, were entirely strange to me, having never seen them before. I have also had several specimens of various oriental languages, written in my room, on paper which I could identify as my own, though the languages were unknown to me These have been written on, both when I have been in my room, and when I have been absent. Several of the languages referred to, I had never seen prior to my acquaintance with them through these mystical manuscripts, and of course did not know what they were, until I had submitted them to a linguist, who read them with facility. The first one which I received was, as I am informed through the kindness of Prof. Bush, a quotation from the Old Testament, written in Hebrew. The execu tion of this occurred about three o'clock in the afternoon, soon after I had returned from my business. I was alone in my room, when, through the sounds which then occurred in my presence, I was requested to leave the room for the space of five minutes, during which interval they-" the spirits"-promised an attempt to write. I obeyed their request, and went into a room below, where sat my sister. I told her what had transpired, and at the expiration of the five minutes, we both ascended to my room. Instead of finding, as we had conjectured we should, some directions, written in English, we discovered this Hebrew quotation, the ink on the paper being still unabsorbed, although after experiments proved that the ink of a hand, heavier than that in which the Hebrew was written, would, on the same kind of paper, invariably dry in from two to three minutes' time. That these writings have not been imposed upon me, I know, because I have seen some of them written, I have seen them written in the day time, as well as in the night; and that I was in no "abnormal magnetic state," I infer from the fact that my consciousness of the circumstances of outward life remained unimpaired. The ringing of the fire-bells, moving of engines, the tolling of the bells at the ferry, the paddling of the boat's wheels, and various other noises common to the City, were no less distinctly heard than at other times. That these writings were not perpetrated by myself, I have many strong proofs. First: I had never seen any specimens of the languages in which most of the manuscripts were written, and even to the present date, I have seen no other specimens of one or two of the languages used. Second: That power which has communicated to us in our Circle, through the rappings and lifting of tables, professes to have performed this writing also. That these rappings and liftings are not the results of an "abnormal magnetic state," I have reason to suppose from the fact that, manifestations have been made in our Circle, in the light, palpable to the various senses of all present, which, by far, surpassed, in point of power, the capability of any one in the Circle. But if this, too, with all the rest, is but a fancy, a dream, then is my whole life but a dream-a very real dream-and not altogether poetical in its course. Had I time and disposition, I might relate facts sufficient to fill a volume, in relation to this matter, the majority of which would favor none other than the Spiritual theory; but as I am no literary character, I will here leave the matter to the numerous others who are, and whose facts are doubtless as much to the point as my own. Yours truly, E. P. FOWLER. NEW-YORK, August, 1352. To the foregoing I beg leave to add the subjoined statement of facts, which has been prepared by Mr. Charles Partridge, chiefly from the minutes of the New-York Circle. The NEW-YORK CIRCLE was organized on the first of August, 1851, for the purpose of making careful observations concerning modern Spiritual phenomena. The Circle was composed of the following named persons: Judge Gray, Edward P. Fowler, Miss A. L. Fowler, Dr. Gray, and lady, Dr. Hull, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Partridge, Dr. Warner, Dr. Hallock, and lady, W. J. Baner, and lady, and Robert T. Shannon, who have been accustomed to hold frequent meetings up to the present time. It will not of course be inferred that all of these parties have been present at every meeting of the Circle, or that they have, in all cases, witnessel precisely the same phenomena. It should be observed, however, that Judge Edmonds, Prof. George Bush, S. B. Brittan, Almond Bof, Saml. Fowler, D. Minthoon, and others, have, on several occasions, participated by invitation. STATEMENT CONCERNING THE MANUSCRIPTS, ETC. The authenticity of the SPIRIT-WRITINGS which have been given to this Circle, through Edward P. Fowler as medium, having been called in question by Dr. Richmond, the undersigned beg leave to state, that they have been in the habit of attending circles with Mr. Fowler, for the investigation of Spiritual phenomena, for the last two years, generally once, and sometimes twice, in a week. During these sessions a great variety of demonstrations of spiritual presence and power have occurred, and numerous communications have been given, some of which may be thus briefly stated: Persons at the circle have been unexpectedly turned round with the chairs in which they were sitting, and moved to and from the table; chairs and sofas have suddenly started, from their positions against the wall, and moved forward to the center of the room, when they were required in the formation of the circle; the persons in the circle have each successively lifted his own side of the table, and the invisible power has raised the opposite side correspondingly; occasionally the spirits have raised the table entirely, and sustained it in air, at a distance of from one to three feet from the floor, so that all could satisfy themselves that no person in the flesh was touching it; lights of various colors have been produced in dark rooms; the table has often been rocked with great violence, and suddenly— and unexpectedly to the whole company-it has been instantly arrested and held firm and immovable, with the upper surface inclined to an angle of some forty-five degrees, when the lamp, pencils and other objects on the table, would slide or roll to the very edge, and there remain fixed as if riveted to the table; a man has been suspended in, and conveyed through, the air, in all a distance of fifty feet or more. The communications have been given in various ways, but chiefly in writings and by the rappings, after the ordinary alphabetical mode. * To establish the authenticity of the Spirit-writings through Mr. Fowler, the following specific statements seem to be required: At the close of the session, held on the 17th of November, 1851, the spirits-through the alphabet, and in their usual manner-said, "We wish to give you a sentence for you to find out and remember," when the following was communicated: "Debemos amar á todo el mundó, aun á nuestros enemigos." No person present on that occasion understood a word of this language, but we were subsequently informed that it was Spanish. At the sitting on the 24th of November, 1851, the spirits commenced with their signal for the alphabet, and the following message was communicated to the Circle: "My dear friends-I am happy to announce to you that the project which has engaged our attention for some years has at last been in part accomplished. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN." I am, Question. Do you refer to what took place with Edward in the nights of Friday and Saturday last? Answer. "Yes." Question. Was the writing in Hebrew-executed in Edward's presencechosen by the spirits as significant of a new Spiritual Era? *On occasion of one of the more remarkable exhibitions of power, here mentioned, Mr. Henry Gordon was in the Circle, and doubtless contributed essentially, by his presence, to the visible displays of what we are accustomed to term physical force. S. B. E The Spirit. « Partially.” Here the colloquy was interrupted, and the spirits charged the medium as follows the alphabetical mode of communication being preserved," Edward, I wish you to get a book and note down very particularly what you have witnessed and will yet see." By Mr. Partridge. If I had been in the room could I have seen what Edward saw ? The Spirit. "Your sphere would not have admitted us to present ourselves, even to Edward." By some one-"Who was the small man that Edward saw in his room?" [The occurrence here referred to was the visible appearance of Spirits as men in Edward's sleeping-room, during the nights of Friday and Saturday. On the last mentioned night, a spirit wrote in Hebrew as follows-(Daniel xii, 12, 13): On Thursday evening, December 11th, 1851, while specimens of writing in Hebrew and Sanscrit-executed by spirits in Edward's room a day or two previous—were under examination, the signal for the alphabet was given and the following communication spelled : Edward, put that paper on your table, and we will write a sentiment and subscribe our names; then you may sign it too." A paper was accordingly placed on the table, and, on the following day, in the absence of Mr. Fowler, the words, "PEACE, BUT NOT WITHOUT FREEDOM" were written on the paper, together with nearly all the autographs which were subsequently executed on parchment-an engraved fac simile of which was published in No. 9 of the SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPH. Subsequently on two separate occasions, viz., on the 18th and 22d of December, remarks were made relative to the paper, and the signing of it by those of the circle who concurred in the sentiment it was supposed to teach. Some had signed it already, but irregularly, and in such a manner as to leave no room to |