The Spiritualist newspaper > No.160, September 17th 1875

Sept. 17, 1875,
THE SPIRITUALIST.
137
FAREWELL ADDRESS BY MRS. TAPPAN.
Mrs. Cora L. Y. Tappan having suddenly resolved to return
to the United States, in order to escape the severity of an
English •winter, returned to London a few days ago to deliver a
farewell discourse last Sunday evening at Doughty Hall, Bed¬
ford-row. The hall, which will seat from 200 to 250 persons,-
was well filled. After a few words from Dr. Hallock and Mr.
Burns, the latter of whom read a chapter from the Bible,
Mrs. Tappan rose and delivered the following inspirational
prayer: Our Father who art in heaven, Thou divine light,
Thou perfect soul, we remember Thy presence, always uplifting
our hands to Thee in praise, and asking for Thy strength and
love to be poured out upon us. At all times and in all places
Thy spirit is near, wherever we may be, whatever may be our
occupations or the thoughts of our minds. Whether sea or
land divide Thy children, or whether we be divided by that
greater sea of death, Thou dost bridge over all with the bright
rainbow of hope, and faith, and love. Time to Thee is nought,
for Thou art eternity; space to Thee is nought, for Thou art
omnipresent; death to Thee is nought, for Thou art life. What
is time to the soul ? The soul robbed of its outer tenement is
a living flame of light, that mounts upwards on the wings of
thought, and abideth for ever. There is no death. Time
changes the seed to the forest tree ; the soul suffuses the outer
frame and kindles the flame of life for a time, and Thy children
are afterwards bom in loftier forms. 0 Thou who hast raised
up prophets in ancient days to reveal Thy truth, let us feel Thy
presence here. Kindle Thou a flame of sacred fire ; make an
altar in every heart that nothing of earth can destroy. Wher¬
ever we may be, whether striving with the earth or with the
errors of man, may we be made for evermore pure with the
light of Thy presence through ministering angels, through
teachers sent of Thee, and may we know that our own hearts
abide with Thee for ever. Amen.
Mrs. Tappan, still in the tranco state, went on to say that it
was almost twenty-four months to a day since the first public
utterances through her lips were made in England. No epoch
since Spiritualism in its modern form had dawned upon the
earth thirty years ago had presented so hopeful an appearance
as the present; never before had there been so much candid
inquiry, or such a longing desire to know the absolute truth
about the origin and destiny of the human soul. In Spiritualism
facts, philosophy, and religion were reconciled; for once in the
history of the world the gap between science and religion—or
that which under the name of theology was supposed to be
religion—was bridged. There were facts enough in connection
with Spiritualism to prove or disprove any material philosophy
in the world; these facts had given evidence to persons
of every form of thought of the reality of immortality,
and this result showed how perfectly the world of spiritual
beings had done its work—a work which was not of mortal
mould. The spiritual world came knocking for the recognition
of mortals at a time when there was scarcely a voice to bid the
visitors to enter; yet they succeeded in making themselves
heard, and in establishing the fact of immortality so that it could
not be denied. How much they had done by the instru¬
ment through whom they wore speaking they left the listeners
to judge, and what the hearers had to do was to make known to
mankind scientific facts combined with the sublime and religious
system of spiritual truth which underlies the foundations of
existence. If nature was not governed by intelligence, man,
the outgrowth of nature, could not be governed by intelligence.
The vast mechanical appliances of the earth, the ships upon the
ocean freighted with the fruits of human toil, the electrical
spark which performs the bidding of man, the printing press and
all such material things, were but the appliances of the spirit
in its work of directing matter to the unfoldment of itself; thus
every work of science became a work of religion upon earth.
The world of spirit was a world of law; spirit obeyed the laws
of spiritual creation just as matter obeyed the laws of material
creation. Behind the mask which men called life the man or
woman sits controlling the mechanism which God has given to
the soul, to be used to the glory and well-being of earth and of
the spirit. The knowledge instead of the hope of immortality
was such a blessing that the ages alone could bear testimony to
its importance, and the angels alone could compass its won¬
derful meaning. That m^n should be sure of eternal existence
was so important for time and for eternity, that if all
the world had been engaged in the attempt to solve that one
problem, a successful result would be more than an adequate
recompense for all the means employed. If the theologian
stands beside a grave and tells a weeping mother that there is
no hope except in the little shred of creed which he holds in
his hand, she can now reply, “ I have heard the voice and seen
the form,” and the world could not rob her of the knowledge of
that truth. Knowledge of immortality applied a new charge of
fervour and enthusiasm to altars which had been waning for along
time for the want of flame. What wonder if the expiring Church
of Rome should gradually flicker into flame! What wonder if the
Church of England, with all its discord, should now have within it
a quiet body of workers who see hope for the spirit if not for the
body of the Church! So interblendedwere the spheres of human
life, that if there were misery in the outermost court of London
city they should not pause or rest until every individual step
had been taken to alleviate that misery; whilst one soul was
in trouble or spiritual darkness, no angel in the highest heavens
could rest until, through intermediate messengers from the
world of light, a message had been sent to relieve that spirit in pri¬
son. On behalf of themselves—the twelve guides of the medium—
on behalf of the friends above of the listeners present, on behalf
of the truth, which though forms and mediums perished would
still survive, they thanked the friends before them.
After a few remarks from Mr. Burns, Dr. Hallock, and Mr.
Enmore Jones,
Mrs. Tappan (still in the trance state) said that in consequence
of her sudden departure only one positive engagement to speak
in the provinces had been suspended, and as to the other en¬
gagements which were in progress, they fully expected—indeed,
could almost pledge—that she would return to fulfil them.
Nothing but the nature of the climate compelled them to take
their medium away in the midst of so much labour; but English
Spiritualists would not be left without those who would carry
on the work, for they expected the listeners to do it themselves.
Mr. Ward then sang, “ My peace I leave with you,” and ac¬
companied himself on the harmonium, after which Mrs. Tappan
extemporaneously delivered the following inspirational poem:—
Out of one day a golden hour
Was chosen onee by a loving soul,
Wherein with potent and perfect power
Her life might show God’s higher control;
And the golden hour grew to a sphere,
And gladdened the place with living light,
Until the surroundings far and near
Were radiant in that darksome night.
Out of the year a golden month
Was chosen to reap in the harvest time;
For, behold ! the seed had all been sown
And ripened beneath the sunny clime.
And the golden month grew to a year,
And the harvest increased throughout the land;
And the perfect gold of the sun’s bright sphere
Guarded and guided GodN faithful band.
And the year increased into a life,
And the life expanded to an age,
And man with man forgot his strife,
And all the sorrows of life’s page
Were changed into a song of j oy,
And the gloom became gold without alloy.
A drop descended into the sea
As pure and bright as the stars above ;
And the waves went out with wonderful glee,
And the water shone with resplendent love.
And the sea forgot its storms and winds,
And the voice above it was one of peace—
And no ships went down freighted with lives,
But only souls went up with release,
x For the little drop was a crystal tear
That brightened the pure soul’s atmosphere,
Because it was made of sympathy
Of the glorious light that is to be.
And the golden hour, and the golden month,
And the golden harvest of the year
Are those which all souls shall possess,
When throughout the world this atmosphere
Of peace and light and life shall dwell,
And no more strife or hate abide;
Only the golden ray of light—
Only pure water and its tide.
O Thou that guideth the wingfcd orbs
With rays of light from sphere to sphere,
Until the space is bridged across
And distant suns become most near—
Span Thou all spaces which divide
Thy children frond each kindred soul
Make them united far and wide,
By sympathy whose blest control
Shall make all hearts and nations one
Beneath Thy great and golden sun!
National Association Prize Essays.—Those competing for
the prize medals offered by tho National Association of Spirit¬
ualists, as advertised in another column, for the best essay “ On
the Probable Effect of Spiritualism on the Social, Moral, and
Religious Condition of Society,” are reminded that such essays
should be forwarded not later than the first of next month
(October) to the Secretary of the Association, 38, Great Russell-
street.