found the wicked woman and the guilty king, God causes Samuel

to appear.

Case 125. Samuel, from the Spirit World, Manifests Himself in the Cave at Endor by a Vision and a Voice.

Now Samuel seems to have been actually present in the cave. "Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?" But he had no corporeal form. He was a pure, disembodied spirit. He could no more be seen than could the invisible God, who was also present there as everywhere. We have no right to hold that Samuel assumed any human body for the occasion.

We have but to remember these psychological principles by which human beings of this world, and all classes of beings of the celestial world so easily appear in the personal vision. The Divine Being thus appears. The God-man thus appears, to Ananias, Paul, etc. The angels thus appear to Daniel and Joseph the carpenter. And Samuel, now a holy spirit of the heavenly realms, naturally exhibits this same power that other celestials have a mere natural power possessed and exercised in multitudinous instances by ordinary mortals like ourselves. So Samuel manifests himself by a personal vision. He seems to wear a mantle, as he had been accustomed to do on earth. He transmits a vision of himself in his old familiar guise. And the vision apparently comes up out of the ground. Exactly as such visions now seem to come out of floors, walls, etc. Again this fact fell in with the seeming notion of Saul that Samuel would appear in his old physical form, which of course must be raised from the earth.

Then this vision figure seems to speak. Just as vision figures in the telepathy of nature seem to speak, and as other vision figures that appear to men in the Bible seem to do. But, as we have plainly seen in studying those instances; the vision and the voice are merely a psychic mental transmission. Now we have only to suppose that this voice, telepathically received by the little group there present in the cave, becomes externalized, so it sounds oral and audible; and we have an intelligible, sound, scientific explanation of this event, as regards both the personal manifestation of Samuel and the words he utters.

But he came at the divine behest, and that was supernatural. And another thing was supernatural-the prophetic power by which he foretold the impending fate of Saul. "Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me." (I. Sam. 28; 19). Telepathy is merely a transcendent mode of communication. But this no more implies power of foreseeing the future, than ability to use ordinary speech implies such power.

Then, in the scene upon the Mount of Transfiguration, we find another similar psychic event. (Matt. 17; 1. Mark 9; 2. Luke 9; 28). Elijah never tasted death, but was translated. Had entered heaven, and received his glorified physical nature. Like our Saviour after his resurrection, he could appear and disappear at will. All this is readily understood. But not so with Moses. He had no corporeal form of any kind. And we have no warrant for claiming that he had assumed one for the occasion. Nor was there the slightest need of one. We apply the principles which have been developed, and argue that the incident is described by the sacred penman precisely as it appeared. And here we have

Case 126. Moses, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Manifests Himself by a Telepathic Vision and a Telepathic Voice.

Moses is now a discarnate soul in the spirit world. But he possesses these telepathic faculties; which are exhibited by all classes of celestials, and have been exercised from time immemorial by terrestrials also. For the explanation of his appearance in an apparently corporeal form, we have not the slightest occasion to read into the record anything whatever in the nature of a material frame. We have only to remember these familiar principles of telepathic manifestation, which science so multitudinously illustrates in beings of this world, and Scripture so variously exhibits in beings of the other. Assume Moses to have been personally there. Still his spirit was invisible. But the vision of him, flashed into the mind of the little company, becomes externalized, seeming visible and real. And the words that are transmitted to their minds are externalized; so they also seem oral and audible. There is doubtless a divine command that brought those great personages of the olden covenant to that place. And how much

supernatural and prophetic knowledge they displayed, as they talked about Christ's "decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem," we cannot tell. But, when Elijah appeared in actual, glorified, physical form; with actual, resonant voice; the unquestioned appearance of that actual form, and the audibility of that actual voice; were not one whit more natural, scientific, and unmistakable than were the apparent form of Moses and the apparent tones of his voice. Though these latter were simply a complex telepathic manifestation, which can be duplicated over and over again among the phenomena of modern psychology. We believe in miracles. Any attempt to eliminate them from the Bible must hopelessly fail. But we are not to assume a miracle, where everything can be readily explained by science.

In both the last two incidents, we have assumed that the agents were near the percipients; that the spirit of Samuel was actually in the cave, and the spirit of Moses was literally on the Mount. But we believe that Samuel might have been anywhere else on this planet, or in heaven, or on any distant sphere; he might have been indefinitely if not infinitely remote: yet still have transmitted to the group at Endor the psychic communication which became manifest in a vision and a voice. So Moses might have been anywhere else in the universe, yet have instantly transmitted to the group upon the Mount his vision and his voice. We cannot prove this. But toward it phenomena and principles seem to point.

We regard these incidents as merely illustrative of the usual method of intercourse which goes on forever in the holy, heavenly life. No matter in what part of the cosmos Jesus and Samuel might be, though separated by definite or indefinite distance; surely Jesus could instantaneously manifest himself to Samuel by a mental vision and mental words. Though these might not become externalized; because Samuel is a spirit, as yet without body and without nerves to act in a reflex way. They would be like a dream vision and a dream voice. And Samuel could instantly manifest himself to Jesus by like vision and like voice. And to Jesus, with his perfect glorified physical nature and nervous system to externalize them, they would seem objective and actual. Then Jesus and Samuel could thus converse at length.

So, no matter where Jesus and Moses might be, or however far apart; Jesus could, in precisely the same way, flash a complex psychic message to Moses. But the latter is a pure spirit, with no physical nervous system. He could externalize nothing. He would see a mental vision, and hear a mental voice. And Moses could appear to Jesus, exactly as he did when the little company were upon Mount Hermon. And the two could converse at length. Moreover we argue that presumably Samuel and Moses, no matter though far far apart; could, in this way, instantly communicate with each other. So each would have a mental vision of the other, and receive his mental words. It may be that even infinite distance would prove no barrier to their intercourse.

Elijah could thus communicate with Jesus, or with any other celestial. But a sensory message received by Elijah could be externalized. He has a glorified body, with nervous system like that of the risen Jesus, of the most perfect type. That could act in a reflex way. So to him the vision would be thrown outward, seeming a real and living personality. And the words would seem resonant and musical.

Thus, as we hold, any number of celestials, scattered all through the cosmos, anywhere and everywhere—perhaps no matter how widely they may be parted; can instantly hold intercourse at any time, transmitting to one another the vision and the voice.

And obviously it is understood that transmission of these two things-the vision and the voice, so fundamentally essential to full natural intercourse; is only to promote the transmission of all other mental contents also. Hence we will consider some of these still more complex phenomena.

Case 127. Mr. Morton, Escaping from the Wrecked Carnatic, Appears in Vision in a Boat to his Friend on the Neæra, some Miles away, and Tells him the Situation.

(From Proceedings S. P. R. Vol. XI. p. 400. Unimportant items left out.)

By Mr. George A. Hanscom, of Lowell, Mass., in Harper's Magazine, August, 1880.

This is another of those experiences which go to prove the occasional thinness of the curtain which limits the natural vision of mortals.

*

In 1869 I was in Suez, in command of the British steamship Neæra, belonging to the Bombay and Bengal Steamship Company The Neæra was lying in Suez-roads, the canal being not yet open, awaiting passengers, etc., before sailing on her return voyage to Bombay. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Carnatic was also about ready to sail for the same port, and only waiting mails and passengers. It happened that the passengers for the two steamers came across the Isthmus together, and that two old schoolmates met, the one to join the Neæra, the other the Carnatic.

*

The Carnatic was the first to be ready, and sailed from Suez in the morning; the Neæra left early in the evening, some ten or twelve hours after the mail steamer. The night was fine and at breakfast time we had passed Shaduan Island, were out of the Gulf of Suez, and into the Red Sea proper. Breakfast was served on deck, under double awnings of heavy canvas. The young gentleman who had left his friend the day before said rather anxiously,

66

'Captain, at what time did we stop last night?"

'Stop! we have not stopped since leaving," was the reply.

"Not even to take soundings?"

"No, the engines have not been eased since leaving port."

The young man seemed much surprised, and finally said that he had a most vivid and remarkable dream during the night, and this he proceeded to relate in substance as follows:

"In my dream it appeared to me that the steamer was stopped during the night, and that I went on deck to ascertain the cause. I saw a boat pulling off from an island to intercept us, and a lantern was waved to arrest our attention. As the boat came nearer I saw my friend Morton standing in the stern. As he came up the gangway ladder I said, 'For God's sake, Morton, what brings you here?' I never saw him plainer, nor heard his voice more distinctly than when he said. "The Carnatic has struck a rock and gone down; the passengers and crew are on an island close by, all safe, and we want your ship to take them on board.' I dreamed that our ship stopped until other boats came off with the remainder of the people, and we then proceeded.' * *

On arrival at Aden five days later, before our anchor was down, we were hailed by a boat which had been despatched from the Peninsular and Oriental office, and asked if we had any news of the Carnatic, that ship being a day overdue. We had no news to give; but our "dreamer" quietly remarked to me, "You may find that there is more to my dream than you suppose. ""

A few hours completed our coaling, and we were off again for Bombay. On arrival at that port we heard the news of the loss of the Carnatic, and the circumstances were just as narrated to us two weeks before. The ship struck on a rock near Shaduan Island some twelve hours after leaving Suez. The pas sengers and crew were landed on the island; the steamer subsequently slid off the rock and went down in deep water. During the night a steamer's light was seen by the shipwrecked crew, and a boat was sent out to intercept her. Our "dreamer's" friend, Morton, went in the first boat; the remainder of the people were subsequently taken on board, and the steamer, not the Neæra, rescued the party. The "dreamer" told the story as well as it could be told to-day.

It seems probable that our "dreamer's" vision was shown him at the very moment the shipwrecked people were embarking upon the steamer which came to their aid, and that the Neæra was not ten miles from the scene at the time. [The shipwrecked agent very naturally was thinking about the old school-mate he had just met. And this caused the psychic portrayal of the disaster to that friend. Author.]