J. Heddon—S. Chamberlain—John E. Robinson—A. Underhill—George Lee, M.D.

The two following letters, from Mr. Heddon and Judge Chamberlain to me, I take from The Cleveland Plaindealer, in which paper they are thus prefaced by the editor:

“More Testimony.—Some friends of Mrs. Fish, on learning her intended visit to this city, gave her many flattering letters, signifying their great esteem for her and confidence in the ‘good cause,’ as they call it, of the doctrine of Spiritualism. Among the many such testimonials we select the following from J. Heddon, Esq., and Judge Chamberlain, men of the first standing in their community.”

J. HEDDON.

“Stafford, May 9, 1851.

“Respected Madam: As Mr. Chamberlain and myself left Rochester before we had an opportunity of copying those Spiritual manifestations, I will now transcribe and send them to you by mail, and Mr. Chamberlain engages to do the same. You are at perfect liberty to make any use you may think proper of mine, including or omitting the name, as you may think best; for I am alike indifferent to frowns or flattery. I feel a lively interest in the cause, and I believe many of my friends will be induced to pay you a visit on your return from the West; and most assuredly your humble servant among the rest. The communications I copy verbatim on the other side of the sheet.

“Wishing you a pleasant and successful visit to Cleveland, I am

“Your most ob’t servant,
“J. Heddon.”

“Stafford, May 9, 1851.

“You are aware that, for the first time, I had manifestations on my person of the presence of Spirits at your house on Thursday last, after which I received the following communication from my Spirit friends. My wife thus addressed me:

“‘My dear: I am with you always; in the silent hour of midnight, when all is quiet, I rest upon your bosom and bless you, and keep you safe.’

“Message to her Child.—‘Teach her to know her mother watches over her; tell her she has a mother “still living,” teach her to know that death hath no terror—the transition from Earth to Heaven is past description; we shall all be again united. All is well.’

“The Spirit of my father then said: ‘I sanction all she has said—the Truth will rise triumphant—the cause is good. God rules victorious.’

“In answer to a question whether I should have manifestations at home, my wife replied, ‘I will make sounds upon your pillows.’

“The Spirit of a recently departed brother said, ‘Tell her (our mother) I thought of her when I was dying, and desired to see you all, but when my soul was released I came to your abode, and was greatly delighted with my privileges. Things will change with you, and you will rejoice and know the truth.’

“The numerous test questions I kept no record of, and consequently they are omitted here.

“J. Heddon.

“N.B. My brother died far away from home, which accounts for the above message to his mother.”

S. CHAMBERLAIN.

“Le Roy, N.Y., May 10, 1851.

“Mrs. A.L. Fish:

“I herewith annex a copy of an account of some incidents which occurred at your house on the 7th inst. The following mental questions were asked and replied to by the Spirits in the usual manner.

“I asked if the Spirit I then had in my mind were present? Answer, ‘Yes.’

“I then asked if the Spirit would give me a message. The alphabet was called for and the following was spelled out:

“‘I used to oppose the subject. I departed this life within the last year; I am convinced of the reality of these things now. I visited Mrs. Fish soon after I left the mortal body, and was pleased with my interview. I scorned the idea of visiting her when I lived on earth, but now I am delighted to call occasionally and listen to the communications. I wish I had known something more about these things before I left the earth.’

“I asked him to give me the letters of his name; which he did. This I considered a good test, as no one present could know whom I had in my mind; and the fact of his death and opinions on this subject were true, as I had been intimately acquainted with him for a period of twenty years, and had had many interviews with him on the subject.

“I then asked, mentally, for the Spirit of a new acquaintance, with whom I had a misunderstanding while in life, which was not settled at his death. I asked him, mentally, what he had to say on the subject? The alphabet was called for, and said, ‘We are good friends again. All differences are now settled forever.’

“I then said, mentally, ‘Perhaps I was wrong.’ He said, ‘No, I was in fault.’ I asked him to spell his first name, which he did. I asked the Spirit of my father-in-law if I should have a medium in my family. He answered, by alphabet, ‘You have a medium in your family already;’ which was true. I asked in what way. He replied, ‘A medium in writing.’ This was also true. I asked him to spell his name, which he declined. I asked him why the Spirits declined, generally, to give their names. He answered, ‘That would convince the sceptic too easily.’ He then said, ‘No good thing can be obtained without some labor—the husbandman must till his ground before it will bring forth much fruit.’ There were many other questions and answers that I consider equally good tests, but have no time to give them now.

“Wishing you much pleasure and true friends through life,

I am very sincerely yours,
“S. Chamberlain.”

This Judge Chamberlain was one of the most respectable citizens of Le Roy, N.Y.

JOHN E. ROBINSON.

“Rochester, May 23, 1851.

“Dear Friend Leah: Your letter was received two days since, and I thank your punctuality in thus early remembering not to forget me. The accompanying half-sheet was very welcome to Rachel. You could hardly have written more, under the circumstances. I will therefore excuse you for not giving me a particular account of things up to the date when yours was penned. I shall, however, expect a long letter from you soon, written all to me, and as the warfare has, by this time, fairly opened between our friends, the Spirits, and their antagonists in Cleveland, you will have enough to tell me. The result of the ‘passage at arms’ is, of course, not doubtful to any who, like me, are aware of the temper of the weapons which the Spirits wield against their opponents. But we are all interested, exceedingly so, in looking on, while the battle is waged in a new field, with fresh antagonists confident in their own strength because ignorant of the power of the opposing force. It is amusing, this confidence of inflated ignorance! but it is such a universal weakness, that we can hardly any longer wonder at its manifestation. You have so often witnessed it, and have so often triumphed over those who came to sneer and scoff at you, that I think you can well afford now to keep your temper well harnessed on such occasions, and let your auditors see how calm, how confident you are, while awaiting their overthrow. Why, Leah, you can afford to wear a smile and confront, with an unflashing eye, the deriding, sneering sceptic, or even the enraged bigot, who backs his authoritative condemnation by relating falsehoods that have been a thousand times refuted. ‘But it is difficult,’ say you, ‘for me to be more than mortal.’ I know it, and doubt very much if I could be half as patient as you are. But I am at a safe distance, and have hazarded giving you (very modestly) this quiet hint. The application of whalebone to a man’s back may help his manners and regulate the movements of his tongue and pen, but it is not very apt to convince his reason. Mr. Sackett, probably, is quite aware of this; and his administration of the corrective was evidently intended for the moral improvement of the Herald man. You wish he (Mr. S.) would come and mete out such justice to the Rochester editorial fraternity. I do not. They are not worth the trouble of horse-whipping, and besides, only be patient, Leah, and you will see them yet so confoundedly trounced by the Spirits, that it will last them till the orthodox judgment day damns them. It is to be hoped you are wise enough to retire from company sufficiently early in the evening to give you time for rest. There is scarcely anything which more destroys one’s equanimity of mind than this neglect of rest. Now will you remember and take care of yourself? I have not yet done with you, for this reason—you need scolding once in a while, and have but few friends who are willing to do it; so I shall remind you, on all proper occasions, of your delinquencies. It occurred to me the other day that we were wrong in so often thinking, latterly, that Spiritualism had made but little advance in some time. It is true, so far as our knowledge is concerned; and the number of mediums for Spiritual communications seems very limited. But all this while the subject has been taking hold of people’s minds in all parts of the country. They do not stop thinking because a few church conferences and priest-ridden journalists tell them to. Editors who have some independence will write, and their readers will digest anything which is made palatable by the semblance of candor. There is, perhaps, no one subject which is more thought of throughout this country and Europe at this very time than these Spirit, demonstrations. I believe you will go to England and France; but when, and how, and under what auspices, I will not try to guess. Tell Calvin I am obliged for the papers sent by him. I have not seen any of the inmates of your house since you left. I would call there if there were any necessity, but you have left matters in safe custody.

“Say to your sister Maria I hope the journey affords her pleasure, both in seeing a part of the beauties of the great West and in rendering you assistance, who so often want a sister upon whom you can lean and rely with confidence.

“My best regards to her and Calvin, as well as yourself.

“Yours truly,
“J.E.R.”

A. UNDERHILL.

“Cleveland, O., June 19, 1851.

“My Dear Friend Leah:

“I trust you will appreciate the motive that prompts me to write this to you. I have thought much on the subject, and will make a few suggestions. Your position, as a family, before the world, is now of great importance. The fact of communicating with Spirits has not only been fully established in the minds of a few, but is becoming generally acknowledged by the intelligent world. Your record will necessarily form a great part of the history of the world from this time onward, and though your present trials and perplexities seem past endurance, yet patience and perseverance, until a final triumph overtakes you, should be your polar star and watchword.

“There ever have been martyrs for truth’s sake, and ever will be; and though it may be grievous to bear the taunts and sneers of the ignorant, self-wise, and conceited bigot, yet, if the cause demands it we must endure the sacrifice and look beyond for the reward. I, who have battled for years with the enemies of progress, have become inured to their unblushing insolence, and while I handle their errors without much mercy, I pity their ignorance. You are differently situated, and severely tried on every hand, but you are enlisted in the good cause, and you must not look back but upward and onward. Thousands are joining your ranks, and your banner floats over the world. We are all fighting the good fight of faith, and our motto is, ‘Truth and justice to all mankind.’

“Other mediums are being developed, and their name will soon be legion, their power and influence irresistible. Already might you as well try to turn back the waters of the Niagara as to stay the onward march of the cause in which you and your family have been selected to take the lead and ‘fight the good fight.’ My dear Leah, remember the ‘wise man’ who ‘built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.’ Let ‘false prophets’ arise (as I know they will) and ‘come to you in sheep’s clothing.’ You are in the right and have nothing to fear. Many, too, will try to usurp your rights, but trust in God. ‘Fear not, neither be dismayed.’ Take courage, then, my dear friend, and do not despair. Fight with reason, truth, and prudence, but never surrender to cowardly slander or bigoted insolence; never, never!

“Now, what I wish to say is this: The relations in which you stand to the origin of this unbounded subject, make it highly important that your whole history should be carefully preserved. In fact, you should keep a daily journal, and record therein the progress and developments of this new (and to many) startling science—for so I deem it. The fact is that your names must form an inseparable part of the history of modern Spiritualism, and it is important that you should have that justice which the truth alone can give you. Hence, while it is fresh in the mind, your mother, yourself, or some one should carefully collect and arrange these early facts, in such a way as to secure them and place them where they belong, beyond all doubt or argument; and also, as far as is in your power, you should enter daily, if but two or three times, the distinguished names of your daily investigators, the names of the places you visit, and the thousand calls ‘to come’ from every part of the United States and from Europe. Do not neglect or deem it unimportant, for the time will come when it will be deeply regretted (if not by you) by those who come after you. Without saying more at this time, please accept my best wishes, and be assured of my co-operation and willingness to share with you all the jeers and taunts of sceptics or obstinate bigots. I much prefer the former, as there is more hope for the sceptic than the bigot. I choose to stand with a few who are in the right rather than with the many in the wrong. Smiles or frowns are alike unheeded when they come from the ignorant or self-wise.

“Most truly and respectfully your friend,
“A. Underhill.”

GEORGE LEE, M.D.

“BarrÉ, Mass., June 30, 1851.

“Mrs. Ann L. Fish:

“Dear Madam—I address you almost as a stranger, although I had the honor of a short acquaintance at your place in Rochester, last September. I was at your house on the same day with several clergymen from Massachusetts. I was then on my way to Mt. Morris on business. A lady from Mt. Morris visited you, a Mrs. Mashon (an acquaintance of yours). While I was stopping there at her house, she informed me that yourself and sisters were about to leave home for a time, and I was much disappointed on finding you were all absent when I returned, as I was then anxious to further investigate those mysterious manifestations. I felt that I had been severely scathed in this world by the loss of all our children; and although I was educated strictly in the orthodox church and its tenets, yet I was somewhat sceptical in regard to the soul’s immortality. You cannot wonder that I should seek confirmation of the soul’s future life.

“When, therefore, I heard those mysterious sounds for the first time at your house, it produced a thrill of joy, as being the strongest evidence of a future life that I had ever met with; and though I was satisfied that there was no trick, no collusion in the sounds, yet I have not been so certain that it might not be some newly developed or newly elaborated electrical effect; yet the evidence is in favor of its Spirituality. It is the most natural solution of the whole subject, and I should regret, as much as any one, to have it prove otherwise.

“I am satisfied that the mediums are honest and unconscious of the primary cause of the phenomena. I am somewhat acquainted with Swedenborg’s writings, and very well acquainted with A.J. Davis and his writings. I consider Davis and his writings among the greatest wonders of the world. That a young man, without education, without even having read books, should have given to the world such far-reaching thought and profound philosophy, upon the most abstruse and metaphysical subjects, is a marvel indeed! The history of mankind cannot produce a parallel fact. And yet we do not suppose he has no errors. He does not claim infallibility. In ‘Nature’s Divine Revelations’ he says, ‘Let then what I am impressed to state, be received as true or rejected as false, as it addresses itself to your judgment, or according to its appeals to your reason.’

“The highest angel in the universe could not give the whole philosophy of the universe, because that Spirit does not possess a perfect knowledge of all things; and I have seen many criticisms of Mr. Davis’s writings, but they generally show that the writers of them do not comprehend him; and although some strictures may be just, the great majority of them evince a real misapprehension on the part of their authors.

“Le Roy Sunderland has made two: one upon Mr. Davis’s recent work, ‘The Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse.’ In both of Mr. Sunderland’s criticisms he shows his own want of discrimination. Dr. Gridley has another article in The Spirit World as a criticism of Davis. It darkens knowledge with words. They do not take a very comprehensive view of Davis’s philosophy. They seem to forget that Davis uses language figuratively.

“I am somewhat acquainted with Mr. Sunderland, have been at his house recently, and heard the rappings in presence of his daughter, Mrs. Cooper, as a medium. The rappings are obscure—not more than one-quarter as loud or as distinct as I have heard them at your house—much of the time so light as scarcely to be heard; yet I was satisfied at the time that they were the same kind of sounds. I have been before several other mediums; the sounds are all much smaller than at your house.

“Mr. Sunderland seems to be unsettled in his mind about the Spirit world, and about the Spirits being good or bad, or how much evil; and is rather disposed to fall in with Swedenborg, at present, on that subject. Mr. Sunderland will do some good with his paper, but I regret some of his articles. This criticism upon Davis is most unjust and uncalled for.

“I am confident Mr. Davis is more correct, more consistent in his philosophy of the Bible and the Spirit world, than Swedenborg.

“Nature and Reason is the standard whereby Davis directs to test all these subjects. God manifesting himself in Nature, in the Universe, is a true revelation to man, and whatever corresponds to the philosophy as discovered in Nature is truth.

“If a revelation is given us not in harmony with philosophy which is known to be true, then that revelation is false. Davis’s standard and general philosophy cannot be overthrown; Davis sometimes being himself in sympathy with higher or purer Spirits, may use language to convey too high or too pure conceptions of the Spirit world; but if Davis is too high, Swedenborg is too low. His hells are inconsistent with a God of wisdom; and if the doctrine of progressive development can be established, or is true, as I think it is, then Swedenborg’s doctrines are not all true; but that is the great doctrine of Davis’s philosophy, and if it is true, it is all we need. Ultimately we must all become right.

“Although Swedenborg was a very learned and good man, and was Spiritually enlightened while on earth, yet his mind was trammelled by his preconceived theological views. Davis’s mind is under less bias, and more free. I am well convinced his writings are destined to produce a great effect upon Christendom. Such men, or writers, as Sunderland, Farrald, and others who follow Swedenborg in part, do not seem to take in the whole ground in one view. They view the Universe in fragmentary parts. They do not seem to consider that a certain relation exists between all things. That

that Law is necessary as Light; all is an effect of the same interior cause. The higher could not exist without the lower; and surely without the lower there could be no progress, and without the parts the whole could not exist. Higher and lower, evil and good, heat and cold, are relative terms, comparatively positive or negative. I have not written one word of what I intended to write, and what I especially requested a reply to. So you see that nearly my whole letter is a digression. But now to the subject.

“I correspond with the Rev. A. Wilder, of Syracuse, N.Y., who lately wrote to me that a Doctor Boynton, an itinerant lecturer, had been at Syracuse and informed him and Prof. Bush, of New York City, and others, that he, the said Boynton, had been at your place at Rochester, and was there informed by a cousin to yourself (a lady) how the rappings were made, and that it was all a trick done in various ways, by the toes and by the fingers, etc. Dr. Boynton said that he pretended to be friendly, got communication with his father’s Spirit (who was not dead), and then he detected this lady in rapping and charged her with it; and she owned up to him and taught him how to rap, which he was practising. To me this seemed absurd and like a falsehood. I replied to my friend, and used some pretty strong language to convince him that Dr. Boynton was an impostor, a deceiver, a liar, and unworthy of credit. I said to him that a man who went to your place and was permitted to investigate the matter fairly, ‘without money and without price,’ and then went around the country telling such stories, would not need his ears much lengthened to bray, and what I wondered most at was, that Prof. Bush and Rev. A. Wilder, M.D.—for he has both letters prefixed to his name—should give any credit to him. But, notwithstanding this, friend Wilder writes me again and says he has no reason to question the veracity of Dr. Boynton.

“Now I wish you to reply to me and give me the facts in this case, so that I may be able to know them, and relate them to my friends, Doctor Wilder and Prof. Bush. These two men are both Swedenborgian preachers, and Dr. Wilder is also a medical lecturer in the medical school in Syracuse. A.J. Davis says, in his recent work on Spiritual intercourse, that the mediums sometimes may produce the rapping or other manifestations unconsciously to themselves: being impressed by the Spirits or a strong desire to do what the Spirits are about to do, or what they greatly desire themselves. Whether anything of the kind occurs with yourself or sisters, I never learned. If so, candidly and honestly inform me.

“There are things which we shall all better understand by and by.

“I saw Mr. A.J. Davis a few days ago. He says, ‘There is a better time coming.’ I don’t know whether this will reach you at Rochester. I believe you are much absent. I heard from you in Buffalo through a Mrs. Bond, of Mt. Morris. You will recollect a rather tall, light-complexioned lady who had lost a sister and infant. She read to me her questions and answers to them before yourself and sister Margaretta. This lady is talented, one of earth’s progressive spirits. She first informed me of the opposition you met with in Buffalo. Since then I have noticed in the papers your reply, etc., to Doctors Lee, Flint, and Coventry.

“You have my sympathy in your trials. It appears to me that you have great reason to rejoice that you were instrumental, in the hands of Supreme Powers, in giving to the world a more substantial assurance of an immortality, and you have, through the tests you freely submitted to, forever silenced the theory of C. Chauncy Burr, and put to shame his emissaries. I have but little fellowship with Dr. Charles A. Lee, of Buffalo, although I bear the same title and am a relative of his. Mrs. Mashon, of Mt. Morris, is a friend to you, and said she was formerly a neighbor of yours. Her testimony gave you a good moral character. It might be useful, if necessary, in your case with Burr.

“I do not know what your intentions may be with C. C. Burr, but am glad you noticed him as you did. He is a great impostor. Mr. Grimes is another.

“Yours fraternally,
“Geo. W. Lee, M.D.”

JOHN E. ROBINSON.

“Rochester, March 23, 1852.

“Dear Friend Leah: It is alike a pleasure and a duty for me to thank you for your very welcome letter, which came to hand this morning. A letter from you had become of so rare occurrence, that this was, I assure you, particularly pleasant to me. It reminded me forcibly of some favors of the kind which past years bear record of, and which served, in no slight degree, to give me those more pleasurable emotions in which consists the happiness of life. I thank you very much for the message transmitted. There is something in the communication very like that sister from whom it purports to come. So like, that after reading it and pondering upon the language, I fell into a half reverie, and imagined I could see through the veil that separates us, and could read in the eyes that looked lovingly upon her brother, a confirmation of that which your pen transcribed for me. I will keep it a long time, as a remembrance, and will be again obliged, whenever a repetition of the favor may be experienced without taxing your patience and generosity beyond its friendly bounds. I presume I should have become a medium long ago if my condition had been suitable; I have no doubt of the wisdom of the Spirits in refraining from intrusting me with the commission such mediumship would have imposed. My nervous temperament is somewhat peculiar, and I am quite satisfied now that I would have been a poor servant of the cause, if anything like a position in the front ranks of it had been assigned me.

“As it is I am as ever a deeply interested spectator of the events as they transpire, and looking, with entire and unflagging confidence, for the time coming when the more glorious fruits of these newly developed truths will ripen for the eye best fitted to appreciate them. I think, sometimes, that this Spiritualism advances upon the world of mind as the inflowing tide of ocean floods the shore. It seems to come in waves; each succeeding one beats further upon the strand than its predecessor. Is it not so? And is there not in the one an approximation to the grandeur of the other? But you never stood, when a child, on Newport beach, and may not see the meaning of my remark. I have tried to watch these things clearly, and, without a spirit of assumption, I think I may say I have made no great mistake in the matter in its earliest stage. I predicted the very course, on the part of the priesthood, which they have since taken (see Charles Beecher’s report). I claim no shrewdness for this, because it is the only one they can take and maintain themselves to their last hour. It is their last stronghold! and when that falls they fall with it. Now of your proposed visit to Rochester. The friends will, of course, be very glad to see you, and will expect you to make less haste to get away. I told Isaac what you said about it, but have not yet seen Amy. Her health is much improved, and she is the same blessed woman she ever was, and, I know, wants to have a good visit from you and Katie Fox.

“Yours truly,
“J.E.R.”

SAME.

“Rochester, May 23, 1852.

“Dear Friend Leah:

“So you have really broken your long and persevering silence! I am obliged to you for the letter, which was received last evening, and especially for the postscript added thereunto. You know it is said that a woman’s letter is never finished without a P. S.; but it is seldom so generous in its dimensions, or so full of sentiment, as to outweigh that to which it is appended.

“What a dishonest world this is! Your letter is half cheerful, half sad; and I, who know your life about as well as any one, do not wonder that it should be so. I am thankful, Leah, that the Recording Angel always tells a straight story upon the pages of his manuscript; thankful for myself, for you, and for others, that we are not to be judged in that Court whose sentence is final upon ex-parte evidence. Had my lot in early life been cast as yours was, I do not think I should be as good as you are, or even as happy.

“And this task which the Spirits have imposed upon you of late years, is anything but a light one. It has its brighter side, as I well know, its lightening influences; and were this not the case, no one, not even yourself, could endure the wear constant and severe, upon the mind, for a single year. I can only advise you (just here), as I often have, to devote sufficient time to rest; and do not rob yourself of that which nature demands, and which she will have or impose a penalty.

“I am glad to know that you find friends, whom you do so much prize, among your lady visitors. You and I agree in one thing at least, that a true and noble-souled woman is worth a thousand of the average standard; and it is something to be able to appreciate and love such a character. Do you not think so?

“Isaac and Amy received your letter to them to-day and sent it to me to read.

“Your friend,
“J.E.R.”