The New York Daily Times (September 11-14).

Spiritualist activities in New York City.

Here is one week’s reporting by The New York Daily Times on spiritualist activities in the New York City area.

The article published on the 14th is an account of a session of the weekly gathering of the New York Conference of Spiritualists, begun in 1854.  More detailed accounts of these sessions were regularly published in the Spiritual Telegraph and then in the Spiritual Age.  In this session Dr. Robert Hallock pleads for what today would be called a “holistic,” as opposed to a merely analytical, approach to science.  Dr. Hallock’s “whole” would include spirit as well as matter, and spirits as well as those still in the flesh.  Here also Charles Partridge describes “psychometry” in terms very close to those used by today’s practitioners of “therapeutic touch.”

The “Razor-strop Man” who appears in these articles was an eccentric character, Henry B. Smith, an English immigrant, and a tinker and peddler, who placed himself at the corner of Pine and Nassau Streets in New York.  He was well known for his overweening and aggressive hustling and his abilities at impromptu street singing and poetizing, and for his ragged and odd costume.  One of his famous lines, which he used to comic effect in displaying a never-ending supply of razor strops for sale, and which the reporter interpolates here, is “There are a few more left, of the same sort.”  [See The Life and Adventures of Henry Smith, the Celebrated Razor Strop Man, embracing a complete collection of his original songs, queer speeches, humorous letters.  Boston: White and Potter, 1848.]  He moved to Rochester and fought in the Civil War, and was wounded at Gettysburg and had his leg amputated as a result.  He was reported, however, to have taken it philosophically, declaring that he still had “one more left.”

Song: The Razor Strop Man (1858)

New York Daily Times, September 11, 1855

Spiritualistic Sunday in Brooklyn.

The Spiritualists of Brooklyn hold their Sunday circles, or, as they may be called, Walpurgis Sabbaths, in the Lyceum Building, in Washington-street.  The Sunday morning circles are devoted mainly to manifestations of various kinds, and the afternoon and evening meetings are more particularly devoted to trance lectures.  Understanding that there were to be some unusually interesting exhibitions at the morning circle, when some diagrams of the present and former appearance of the spiritual regions would be exhibited, we had the curiosity to attend the meeting, for it would be something to boast of to have had even a diagrammatic view of the abodes of the blest.  But in this particular we were disappointed; for some cause or other, which was not explained, the diagrams were not exhibited.

The meeting was held in the Museum of the Lyceum, and the stuffed alligators, petrified snakes and Indian idols, which were ranged round the room in glass cases, rather helped to impart a feeling of awe as we entered the charmed circle.  The hour of admission was passed when we turned the handle of the door—for the Spiritualists do not like to be disturbed in their incantations after the spells begin to work—but, we were admitted as a favor, and, gliding quietly into the silent and mysterious apartment, we took a seat a little distance from the spiritual circle, so that we might be out of reach of the witch element.  At a round walnut table in the centre of the room sat nine or ten persons of both sexes, some quite young, and some with silvery locks; they were silently solemn, with their hands crossed upon the table as if waiting for some manifestations from the table, though they waited in vain, for the table was perfectly well-behaved during the whole sitting and never stirred a leg, nor gave a single knock.  Sitting near the table were some dozen or so of men and women, and apart from the rest were a couple whose convulsions at first alarmed us.  One of them was a tall, gaunt female, with a pale face, long skinny fingers, and sunken eyes.  She was dressed in a light blue gauze gown with flounces, and kept wringing her thin hands violently, as if to jerk something off from them.  Her companion was a short man with long hair, a thick, bushy chestnut beard, high cheek bones, and small, sharp gray eyes, which, however, he kept closed nearly all the time.  His body was a good deal convulsed, he sighed deeply, thumped upon his breast, clasped his hands over the top of his head, and occasionally thrust out his arms horizontally.  These performances continued some minutes, when the gaunt lady in the blue gauze dress rose with her eyes shut, and, after meandering around the room awhile, during which she kept patting her hands together and making a variety of strange motions, she stopped behind the chair of one of the circle at the table, and commenced tapping her between the shoulders, a rather fat lady then arose and came to her assistance, and the two were engaged some minutes in patting the lady at the table, though no explanation was given with respect to it.  Then the seeress, in blue gauze, commenced an oration with her eyes shut, and her hands and arms quavering all the time in a convulsive manner.  She was in a tranced condition, we believe, which might be a sufficient apology for her incoherent and unmeaning remarks.  The only thing she uttered which had anything like a tangible idea involved in it, was, that the mind could not receive the truth unless the body were free from all obstructions to the passage of the electric fluids through the system, from the zenith, tapping the top of the head, to the nadir, running her quivering fingers down her body to her feet.  She said also that people might have an influx of ideas from another without speaking—a fact which there was no necessity of being entranced to learn.  When she sat down an old lady at the table remarked that while the seeress was speaking, she had herself had an influx of something or other, we could not distinctly hear what, and had seen a steeple surrounded by balls of light.  After this there was more silence, and as the room was hot, a considerable rustling of fans, and the long lady and her male companion were a good deal convulsed.  Some of the members of the circle evidently felt a little disconcerted at some non-manifestations which were anticipated, and the fat lady remarked that if people would but keep perfectly quiet it would greatly aid the spirits, and added, that repose was easy enough to those who cultivated that habit of body.  She evidently thought that a few hundred pounds of adipose flesh might be taken on at pleasure, by any spare and nervous person who found it difficult to sit long in one position.

The meeting was becoming rather stupid and sleepy, when the lady in the blue dress commenced operations upon a gentleman, by rubbing his arms and patting his head, which had the effect of closing his eyes and causing him to rise and deliver some very common place remarks, the lady standing at his back all the while, and throwing her arms about like a Pythoness, while her male companion kept up an incessant jerking of his limbs, and flinging imaginary thunderbolts from his hands.

When the entranced speaker could thing of thing more to say, he sat down, and the Pythoness having said something about melody, a young man in a red bear sang a dolorous hymn in a dolorous manner, and the meeting came to an end.  Dr. ORTON announced that there would be entranced lecturing in the afternoon and evening, but the performances of the morning were not of a kind to tempt me to go to another.  As we rose to leave the room we fancied that a stuffed white owl in one of the glass cases winked its round eye at us, and that a stuffed Muscovy duck, with its bill half open, was just going to exclaim, “Quack! quack! quack.”  But we were probably mistaken.

New York Daily Times, September 12, 1855

Spirit Speeches—Spirit Dances—Spirit Sandwiches and Good Strong Tea.

Spiritualism went to Flushing yesterday, and enjoyed what they call, in Camp Meeting, a refreshing season.  It went in three steamboats, or rather it was conveyed in three separate parcels, by one.  The first parcel, or that portion of Spiritualism that gets out of bed first in the morning, was taken on board the Island City at 8 A. M., and by the aid of a train of cars, deposited within one mile of a certain spirit-haunted woods, in the western part of the good old town of Flushing, on Long Island.  The second parcel, with numerous baskets of food, succeeded in getting on board the ten o’clock boat.  The third got its clothes on and appeared in full feather just in time for the 12 P. M. trip.  The whole comprised some three hundred persons.  There was no extraordinary occurrence on the way to the wood, except that a horse ran away from near Winfield, at sight of the second installment of the company.  This was the first undeniable evidence of the presence of spirits.  Ever since Tam O’Shanter’s gray mare Meg lost her tail by the hand of a witch, all horses have had an excusable horror of the disembodied.  They always run fast when they come near, and it was noticed that the horse yesterday kept its tail well down.

For some time after arriving on the ground, appearances were similar to those of ordinary pic-nic parties, but at about 12 o’clock a circle was formed and sundry severe twitchings of the arms and legs of several members informed us that there was a terrible struggle going on between the affected persons and stray spirits that were endeavoring to obtain control over them.  A very powerful spirit wrestled with a young man, who resisted bravely, but after a rough and tumble of five minutes the spirit gave him a sudden trip-and-twitch, and down he went.  He was vanquished.  Considerable money changed hands outside the circle, when the result was announced.  Another spirit took a fancy to the left leg of a lad, who appeared to be about 18 years of age.  He danced on his remaining leg to the amusement of the undeveloped.  But, while he was engaged at his single-toe-jig, there came a second spirit, more vicious than the first, and pulled vigorously at the right side of his mouth, causing him to show his teeth, in a very disagreeable manner.  He held out stoutly against both of them, and finally they gave up the fight.  The lad straightened his leg, adjusted his mouth, and triumphed.  A very feeble attack was now made upon two females, but the hour for dining having arrived, the spirits retired in a most gentlemanly style, and the party dined.  Our reporter had secured an introduction to the prettiest lady present, consequently we find nothing in his notes under head of dinner, except—good strong tea—taper fingers—two large cups—pretty song—three sandwiches—fine voice—encore.

After dinner, Mr. [Henry] SMITH, the gentleman who, when in the razor-strop line, always had one more left of the same sort, got upon a stump and announced in his peculiar way, that he had something of great importance to impart to all present.  Having said this much he awaited the effect, and then proposed a collection for the benefit of the colored man who had brought water for making the tea, and furnished planks for seats.  Mr. SMITH went into the merits of the colored man extensively, repeating them every time he received a sixpence with untiring industry.

Mr. SMITH was followed by Prof. [Samuel Byron] BRITTAN, who in a very pleasing speech, introduced Prof. FOWLER, of Poughkeepsie, as a gentleman who would entertain the audience with a logical disquisition on the great subject in which millions are now interested.

Mr. FOWLER mounted a table, and after stating that if any one expected anything extraordinary from him, he would be disappointed, spoke with much eloquence on the wonderful power of the human mind.  He did not attempt an explanation of the alleged discoveries of the spiritualists, but rather left it to be inferred that as they were yet beyond human comprehension, explanation was not yet to be expected.  After we could account satisfactorily for dreams—tell how it is that when the mortal part is slumbering, the mind wanders toward and converses with old and far distant friends and even forms new acquaintances—how it revels in strange pleasures, sees sights never seen before, and enjoys sensations that are new, we might think of arriving at some solution of the mysteries of spiritualism.

He was followed by Mr. BRITTAN, who spoke in the same strain, and was equally well received.

Mr. [Russell Perkins] AMBLER was next introduced, and, professedly, under spiritual influence, recited a poem, the chief merits of which were sound and gesticulation.  There were several others who addressed the audience, but the above were the most important.

A large circle was now formed, and all prepared for interesting manifestations.  Nearly seventy persons joined the circle, and the developed mediums present were requested to take a position inside.  Some eight or ten entered, among them Mr. SMITH, before mentioned as having become notorious in the razor-strop line.  Mr. SMITH made a very sensible speech, in which he claimed that as those within the circle were honest, respectable persons, they would not behave in a ridiculous manner, if they could help it.  He then behaved very strangely, to say the least.  He crooked his shoulders, as if he thought he had a bag of shavings on his back; screwed up his face to the sticking point and in a loud yet familiar voice, declared he had a letter which he wished some one to read for him, as he could not read a word himself.  A very bold lady, with some wildness of eye, asked, as she swept the sky with her right hand, if the letter was in an unknown tongue.

Mr. SMITH, still maintaining the bag of shavings position, thought that was the most ridiculous question he ever heard.  How the deuce could tell whether it was in an unknown tongue or not, when he could not read any tongue.  He held up both hands, as if the letter were there; several persons outside the circle promised to read the document, if he would hand it over, but instead of doing that he pitched into the entire party on account of its ignorance, not excepting even the developed mediums.  Spiritualism was literally up a stump.  Here was an imaginary letter to be read, and no one equal to the task.  Mr. SMITH, strange though it may seem, rejoiced exceedingly.  Spiritualism was in a quandary.  At length Mr. [Pascal Beverly] RANDOLPH came forward, and in a few minutes was sufficiently under the influence to read the troublesome document.  Mr. RANDOLPH is, perhaps, the best developed medium in this country.  The letter was from a person now in the other world, who, when a child in this, was very beautiful, but had a very bad heart.  He had done about all the evil possible, and died.  The letter was warning to Mr. SMITH not to follow in his footsteps.  Mr. RANDOLPH was so much exhausted by his efforts that he was for a considerable time afterwards not able to stand.  As soon as he left the circle, he who had previously been vanquished by a spirit, tried to break down a young tree but, failing in that, he commenced dancing around it in such a manner that the reputation of his dancing master was in great peril.  Several mediums now went about wildly, uttering short sentences, and throwing their arms about as loosely as if they were superannuated pump-handles.  How long they would have continued there is no knowing, had not the spirit of Paddy Somebody entered a down town clerk, who was at a distance, and, in a rich Irish brogue drawn off the spectators.  Paddy is as quare a boy in the spirit as he was in the flesh.  He gave a very bad report of the whereabouts of the spirit of his priest, illustrated spiritual progression through the spheres by a dark hole with no light in it, which he performed with a small gimbal, and finally made light of.  When Paddy’s medium jumped off the table, the spirit of Paddy did not resent the affront, and the assembly moved to where a man without his coat was getting himself in a sweat over the withered arm of a lady.  He tried to restore it whole as the other, but did not succeed.  It was now nearly time for the late home-train; and spiritualism, delighted with the way in which it had spent the day, packed up its tea kettles and other dishes, and proceeded homeward.  Private circles will be continued as normal in New-York and Brooklyn.

New York Daily Times, September 14, 1855


Spiritual Conference at Stuyvesant Institute, but no Connection with Politics.
Speeches, Stories, Fits,Yells, &c.
An Indian gives Razor-strop Smith Fits.

We were made thankful lately by the receipt of the following, which caused us at once to alter our arrangements for that evening.  For it was night before last, when the “term” was heated to its greatest extent, and time was worth less than it had been for a fortnight, or probably would be again for many a week.


A Conference this evening, Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Stuyvesant Institute, No. 6589 Broadway.  To which all honest seekers of the Truth, as it is in Jesus, are cordially invited.  The seats are free.

Drs. [Robert Titus] HALLOCK, [John Franklin] GRAY and WARNER, and Professors [Samuel Byron] BRITTAIN and [James Jay] MAPES, will probably state their Spiritual Experience.  Several Entranced Mediums may be present.  The Conference will be opened at 7 ½ o’clock.

The meeting was the regular Wednesday evening Conference.  There were, perhaps, one hundred in during the evening, among them several dreamy looking men and free and easy women, sundry honest and inquiring mechanics, a few professed spiritualists, and an unusually large number of men with hairy faces.  Spirits are like bear’s grease for hair.  When a full grown man believes thoroughly in them, he seldom shaves any more, and henceforth nurses his beard.  A black board on the platform announced the objects of the Conference, and the irresponsibility of anybody for what was said, but he only who uttered it.

At 8 o’clock, Dr. GRAY opened the exercises by inviting any reporters present, to walk up and enjoy the tables.  As the table was on the platform, and in altogether the most prominent part of the room, the reporters present humored their native modesty and did not go up.


Dr. HALLOCK took the stand and delivered himself of a speech which lacked neither fluency, vigor nor interest.  Substantially it affirmed that no man who did not believe the teachings of spirits was fit to write a natural history of man.  We would laugh at him who should presume to describe a tree from observing simply a section of it—even though he analyzed it, and could tell definitely the amount of carbon, hydrogen, &c., that entered into its constitution.  Man evidently does not entirely die at his physical death.  He lives then, after that moment has passed with him beyond which human experience can say nothing.  But experience alone is worth anything in evidence upon grave matters.  Spirits only have had an experience of the land and the time that lies beyond the grave.  Hence, without the aid of a trust in the evidence of spirits, we are utterly incompetent to comprehend the nature, end, or destiny of man.  The Doctor, in the course of his argument, remarked that the Church has always read the Bible by authority.  The Spiritualist could not do that.  As BURNS said, “Man is God to the dog,” so the father is the God of the child—his highest and ultimate authority.  But as the child grows he sees higher than the father’s influence reaches—he recognizes his errors and gradually declines to be governed by his authority, however much he may continue to love and to venerate him.  So the man, as he grows in knowledge and gains power to reason, throws off the authority of the Bible, and only believes in it so far as reason sanctions its assertions and confirms its theory.  This would be very strange doctrine for the believers in so irrational a system as “Spiritualism” to preach—so the Doctor preached right on past it, and attempted to show how reason was incompetent to unfold some matters that are important for our knowledge.  Here the spirits step in to aid man who has rejected “authority;” but they came in quite abruptly and we failed to discover how he got them so comfortably instated.

When he had ceased speaking, a Dr. YOUNG arose and tired away in a very rambling, incoherent manner at the clergy and at Christianity, which he seemed to think a humbug.  We asked a Spiritualist near us who DR. Y. might be.  Said he,—“He is a bore.”

Dr. GRAY gave in evidence of Spiritual prompting a fact which he deemed of more value than much tipping or rapping.  It was simply that between himself and an old pupil, a new idea was suggested once upon a time—an idea which each disclaimed—but it faded in exactly with the ideas of an old deceased physician that Dr. GRAY knew.  Hence it was evidence that the old doctor’s spirit was around, and his was the idea!  It did not strike an outsider as an overwhelming point in evidence, yet we think it more conclusive than anything we obtained at two late sittings with the FOXES.

Mr. CHARLES PARTRIDGE next spoke.  He read a letter of a Psychometer touching that science.  Mr. P. showed up the folly of the writer’s assumptions and the sorry weakness of his reasoning.  He admitted the facts such as being able to tell an unknown correspondent’s state of mind and physical condition by laying his letter on the Psychometer’s head and feeling sympathetic excitations through the bumps, but he thought that all such phenomena were the work of the spirits.


But Mr. PARTRIDGE said one thing that was sensible.  Alluding to the pic-nic experiences of last Monday, as faithfully set down in our columns, he said that some persons seemed to be possessed by the spirits of Indians.  He was sure they could not have been the spirits of any persons more fairly developed than the Indians were when they died two centuries ago.  This left it doubtful whether the spirits of the Indians had progressed at all during their two hundred years’ of opportunities as spirits.  At any rate, he asked whether it wouldn’t be more profitable for the persons who suffered at their hands to discourage their return and solicit the presence of gentle and more advanced spirits.  Then if these spirits insisted on coming, it would lift them up a bit, and give them a chance to improve.  This dig at the razor-strop man was highly relished by most present.


At a later state of the meeting, Mr. [Henry] SMITH spoke.  He said that if they could feel as he felt when an Indian spirit got him, they, too, would crook themselves as if they “carried a bag of shavings on their heads.”  He didn’t mean to say that he positively couldn’t help yelling, and twisting, and cutting up as he did at the pic-nic, but this he meant, that when he said, “Indian spirit, now come on and see what you can do with me,” he couldn’t help himself except by jerking off the spiritual influence altogether.


He said other mediums told him that just as he was handled they were handled at first.  He hoped that by use he could become limber enough for them to handle him more easily, and say what they had to in a more respectful manner, and to say something worth hearing, too.  I’d never, said he, allow a spirit to enter me again, if I did not s’pose that by a year from this time I could say to the very spirit that gave me such a shaking then, “O gentle Indian spirit—come now and say something new and impressive to this audience,” and he would come and treat me gently.  But if I’m always to be shook this way, “E jot e Kum—E o ane go! hah! hah! heath! h-e-e-e-ah!  Hi!—“ and Mr. SMITH jumped and twisted and sprung and acted as if he were a cork-screw, turned by some goblin giant, and screamed and at last sat down, foaming.

“He’s got you now, SMITH;” “The spirit of the old fellow has the pure Indian grit;” “Give it up SMITH,” said several, and poor SMITH gave it up.  People that take strychnine haven’t such jumping fits as he had on.  Lockjaw is no touch to his fits.  If SMITH has “any more left of the same sort,” that folks call common sense, he will do well to take Mr. PARTRIDGE’s advice, and put away such spirits as make a fool of a man.


An old gentleman, a Frenchman as we judged, Mr. LEVY, said his maid-servant saw a spirit the day before, and felt one twitch her elbow lately while she was serving the table.  The audience smiled at the relation.

Dr. WARNER went into the philosophy of some clairvoyant experiments—but the interest of the people did not seem to go in with him.


Then a stranger, who hadn’t talked in the conference for a year past, arose.  He said he had studied these questions five years.  He thought it much easier to account for the phenomena spoken of in any other way than by supposed them the result of spiritual influence.  He asked who now present could affirm that he knew there was such a thing as a spirit?  Belief is nothing.

“I do, for one,” said Mr. LEVY; “I know it.”

The stranger reaffirmed his ignorance as to whether there were any spirits, and confessed that if that were infidelity, he was an infidel.

Dr. GRAY naively told him that to get the proofs of spiritual impression it was necessary for one to retire from his “positive state” into the “meditative” condition, and suggested that his young friend try it.

Mrs. [Elizabeth Jane Poorman] FRENCH was invited forward and narrated several common-place miracles, which we did not feel called upon to hear to the end.  About 9 ½ o’clock P. M. the meetings generally break up.  Is there a greater folly extant than is developed and nursed at the Stuyvesant?  Are there in the Empire State a hundred others equally crack-brained—out of Utica or Bloomingdale, or the mad-house?


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