58 THE SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE. that is, conforms to the universal order of the production of beings below him, he comes in the natural development of time just when the earth is ready for him, just when the atoms are progressed enough to produce him, and he comes like the flora and fauna that have covered the globe, first on the lowest plane of human life. Gradually ascending from this condition of primeval savageism, as he spreads abroad over the earth and multiplies, we find that his vocal organs improve. Where we perceive the aboriginal savage now, we always perceive a deficiency in the vocal organs by which speech is produced, and when we question what is the line of demarcation between man and the animal, we find it is his capacity to walk erect and his power of communicating by speech. This is the chief line of demarcation that separates him from the lower creatures. The aboriginal savage is most commonly imperfect in the methods of communicating by speech, and from the point where he begins to improve in this direction by the inevitable growth and perfection of the species, which seems to be the order of creation generally, from that point we find that by intercommunion of man and man ideas are interchanged, the friction of mind upon mind produces the sparks of intellect, and these lay the foundations of civilization. You will perceive, therefore, that our views of the production of species are to some extent in harmony with the Darwinian theory. To enter fully into this to-night would occupy too much time, therefore, having given you our views of the production of species we shall turn very briefly to the opinions propounded by spirits upon this point. Every spirit as it passes from this earth carries with it just the amount of intelligence which it has gleaned in this rudimental sphere. If that intelligence be of an expansive character, all intelligence gains force and momentum in the spirit-world as in the natural world, and the spirit progresses rapidly beyond his old theories. If perchance he enters the spirit-world very much as too many of us upon this earth do, with his theories bound about him more closely than his winding sheet, cramping his spirit with a predetermination only to admit just such views as conform to his theories, he returns again and yet again to the spirit-circle, repeating the old tale of theory and reindorsing all the narrow and peculiar views with which he left the earth. Now, the corrective to this is the fact that all spirits who appeal to the reason rather than to the demonstration of their presence, point to the observations of science upon such questions as belong to the scientist to explain. Every spirit who does not usurp authority over the human mind and come with a "Thus, saith the Spirit" to dogmatise to you, desires you to prove all things before you hold fast by any; and to do this they point back, aş THE SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE. 59 we would have you do this night, to the observations which science can furnish, assured that the great facts of the universe will never be disturbed by the communications of spirits, in fact they come to restore to you the Scriptures that the All-Father has written; they come to point you back to this original standard, to the works of the Mighty and the Masterful rather than to the assertions which men have made in His name. The old stone book, although we may frequently mistake it in the reading, nevertheless tells a tale which only requires observation and experience to read correctly. Its hieroglyphics never change, its writings never fail. The history of the race is inscribed by the finger of the Infinite himself in the starry Scriptures of the skies, and in every stratum of rock beneath our feet. Those who best learn to explain these those who will guage the heights of air, measure the stars, sound the eternal depths of creation, and fear not to tread upon the pathways which our God has himself marked out for us, observation and experience guided by the lamp of reasonthose who thus read will perceive that species,-animate species, like the flora and fauna of our earth have grown and manifested themselves when the conditions for life and that class of life were afforded; that to afford this the progress of every atom has been absolutely necessary; that not for thousands but for millions of years the great God has worked in the laboratory of creation, and in the crucible of central fires, and in the depths of ancient seas, and in the manufacture of the crust of our earth has prepared atom by atom, until first the rudiments of animated life appear, and then upon the gradually ascending scale every creature has come forth until the coronal glory of man appears, first in the paradisaical state of that rude ignorance which he indeed calls child-like innocence, then in the gradual unfolding of his intellect, until he stands in the glory of civilization. LEVITATION OF THE BODY IN INDIA." Everybody who has been long in India, has seen the same thing done by a poor juggler, without apparatus of any kind. The Indian juggler walks into your garden, and suddenly appears six feet from the ground, sitting cross-legged, with nobody and nothing nearer to him than the grass. How does he do it? We cannot explain, any more than we can explain Mr. Home's achievements."-Daily News. 60 THE SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE. WHAT AN ANGLO-INDIAN HAS RECENTLY SEEN OF SPIRITUALISM IN AMERICA. PART I. MR. ARTHUR WHITTEN is an Anglo-Indian, and his Notes of a Tour in America and Canada during May, June, and July, 1869, printed at the Englishman's Press, Calcutta, 1870, is one of the latest and best books of American travel. These Notes were not originally designed for public circulation, and perhaps are all the better on that account. They are written in the pleasant familiar style of a man writing for friends, and describing all that he saw, and that seemed to him worth noting down-mountains ruins, lakes, and other natural scenery; railways, steam-boats, hotels, churches, public buildings, streetarchitecture, incidents of travel, and whatever else would naturally attract the attention of an intelligent tourist. But besides seeing the country and the people, Mr. Whitten had a special purpose in visiting America. Not very long since, as we learn from a mutual friend, when Spiritualism was brought under his notice, he treated it with that scornful incredulity so common among ignorant persons of the educated classes. Subsequently, however, he saw reason to deem it deserving more respectful consideration; and one purpose he had in view in visiting the United States, was to see and judge of Spiritualism there for himself; and more particularly to visit Dr. Newton, of whose wonderful power as a "healing medium" he had heard so much. There is very little really new in what Mr. Whitten tells us on the subject of Spiritualism, but it fully confirms the previous accounts we have heard; and the independent testimony of so shrewd and intelligent an observer as Mr. Whitten cannot fail to be of interest and value. We therefore extract nearly the whole of his Notes concerning what he witnessed of Spiritualism. And first, we give his account of VISITS TO DR. NEWTON. "Friday, May 14th. We drove this morning to see Dr. Newten and his patients at home.' The house is situated in a quiet street and is approached by a flight of stone steps; leading from the entrance hall are the patients' waiting room and secretary's office. When we arrived, at eleven o'clock, there were thirty or forty persons awaiting his or her turn to come under the doctor's hands. We were conducted to the next floor above, and took our seats to watch the proceedings. The patients were brought up by the secretary three or four at a time, when cured THE SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE. 61 a bell was rung and others came in; each patient was received with kindly words and gentleness of manner; with very few exceptions they were all as perfect strangers to Dr. Newton as to us; they had come far, even from the Southern States, to be treated: there had been no communication between them beforehand, the doctor knew nothing of them or their ailings until placed before him as we saw them. In some cases he would ask the nature of their complaints, and put leading questions as to their sufferings, manner of living, occupation, &c. But not unfrequently he would say You need not tell me what is the matter with you, I know very well.' If the case was one of lung disease he examined the heart and lungs, and by means of a short tube a magnetic current was breathed through their bodies to the point indicated by the doctor's finger, the current being diverted at will from one lung to the other. The effect was described as being like a burning fluid passing through the heart and lungs. Then they were made to raise their arms, to squat right down,' to use the good doctor's own words, and rise again quickly. Then he would throw upon them the magnetic current from his own body, and in the name of God command the disease to depart. "Consumption makes fearful ravages among men and women in America. During this and subsequent visits to Dr. Newton we witnessed the treatment of many persons suffering from this disease, and we remarked that almost every one of them admitted on being interrogated that they were in the habit of sleeping with their arms extended on the pillow above their heads, and all were strictly enjoined to discontinue a practice conducive, more than any other cause, to consumption and disease of the heart. The most interesting case we saw to-day was the treatment of a lunatic woman. We witnessed it from first to last, and can vouch that after two treatments she was restored to a sane and cheerful woman. She was a respectable person about 40 years of age, accompanied by her sister and grown-up daughter. Some late trouble had so preyed upon her mind that she lost her senses; she was not violent, but had to be carefully watched. Her cries and moans were most distressing. From the moment of her entrance she kept using the expression, 'I want to be saved, I want to be saved,' in a whining, idiotic manner; she said nothing else. Her eyes were widely expanded, the eyebrows raised, the face bearing the impress of fear or dread of some impending danger; she had been under medical treatment, but the symptoms had become less favourable, and at length she was brought to Dr. Newton. He examined her and found her a healthy woman, and he now used all his powerful magnetic force to calm and sooth her. After some persuasion, 62 THE SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE. she was taken into the adjoining room where hot and cold water were laid on, and her head being placed over a small reservoir, a stream of water gradually heated up to 120 degrees was poured upon it for a period of fifteen to twenty minutes, it was then dried, and the magnetic process was continued until she ceased talking so wildly. The treatment for the day was then over, she was to be taken home, have hot water applied three or four times to the top of her head and be brought again on the morrow. The doctor went on with other cases as fast as they could be brought to him, and certainly there was no failure. Whether the cure was permanent we could not then of course determine. But as regards the lunatic woman, we were curious to witness the result of the treatment; and without any intimation to the doctor of our intention we paid him another visit at about the same hour on the morning of— "Saturday, 15th.-There was the usual crowd of patients, some with paralyzed arms, hands or feet, some deaf, some suffering with tumour, catarrh, rheumatism, lung disease, cancer, and others perfect cripples. On one woman with a swollen leg, the veins black and the skin of the foot ready to burst, a cure was effected in five minutes. She was helped up stairs, being unable to walk alone, she could not bend her toes or ankle joints, and in less time than it takes to record this she was made to walk about the room and run down stairs like a young girl. Her face was radiant with delight; no medicine, no hot water or any agent whatever was applied besides the doctor's hands. The thing was done without pain too, and instantly. So with a young girl who had a tumor on her neck from which she had suffered for years. By a few strokes of his hand the swelling disappeared like magic and the girl was perfectly cured. I have the names and addresses of all the persons whose cases are referred to, and as they are so remarkable I will dot down a few others. "A young man of 21 years, paralytic from childhood, was conveyed to the doctor's house, and with one treatment was made to walk without limping, and to hold a chair above his head, a thing he had not done in his life before. "An unmarried lady, brought on a couch, suffering from disease of the spine, unable to walk for three years, was cured at once, and walked home. "A man, lame, was cured in fifteen minutes, and walked without limping, leaving his crutch and cane behind him. "A lady with heart disease and bed-ridden for some years was cured in one treatment, and walked away. "A lady with large tumour was brought from her bed so low that her life was despaired of, and perfectly cured. |