irement or kept in concealment the most beautiful and holy
phenomena that were ever known on earth. Angels do not confront the
hissing mob. But their visits to-day are neither few nor far between.
In every bower of perfect spiritual purity they come. Let but this
brutal opposition of men and fluent scorn of women cease, and the
universal air will be fragrant as the spiritual beauty now hidden
shall become a part of our social life, and even the fastidious Miss
Phelps will be satisfied and delighted.

[NOTE.--Miss Phelps, if she had due respect for her grandfather, the
Rev. Dr. Phelps of Stratford, Conn., ought to be an earnest champion
of spiritualism, for it was at his house that the most wonderful
phenomena were realized, when invisible spirits carried on their
pranks with the furniture like human beings. Dr. Phelps was a thorough
spiritualist, and introduced the spiritual doctrine into his sermons,
though exercising the worldly wisdom of not using the word
_spiritualism_.]

SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA.

ABRAM JAMES--MAN AND MEDIUM.

It was in the summer of 1863 that I first met this marvelous medium,
one of the very best in the way of intellectual development that I
ever saw. James was born in Pennsylvania, of Quaker parentage. He
inherited the simplicity, candor, and truthfulness of the sect. He had
absolutely no guile in his nature. He had had but six months' common
school education, but, possessing considerable natural ability, he had
to some degree remedied his deficiencies in this particular. He wrote
a fair hand, spelled well and conversed with some facility on ordinary
topics, but was absolutely ignorant of any language but his native
English, and had no knowledge whatever of scientific subjects; this I
know to be a fact. James was above the medium height, very thin and
spare, blonde complexion, light hair and blue eyes--a natural negative
organization. When I first made his acquaintance he was employed in
the yards of one of the railroad companies in Chicago, making up
trains, or some employment of that character.

Of James's original development as a medium I know nothing, as I first
knew him in his abnormal character, in which he was truly marvelous,
being perfectly familiar with all languages, living and dead, and with
all subjects--religion, science, philosophy, and ethics.

I have heard this man speak and deliver long discourses in German,
Spanish, Italian, French, Latin, Greek, and other tongues