210 WESTERN PHILOSOPHY. Book II. 
even a spirit cannot be in two places at the same time. 
Now, when God sends the angels upon earth for the 
service of man, and gives them a commission, they will have 
to convey information and receive fresh instructions ; and 
the question is, how quickly they are able to do this : 
for if they are to help man, and have first to fly away 
and fetch instructions, this might take too much time, 
and the help come too late." 
The minister sought to remove these scruples by ob- 
serving that spirits can receive instructions in any place, 
since they are everywhere "in that spiritual atmosphere 
which unites them with the Lord." The farmer, however, 
seemed to take a peculiar pleasure in his casuistry, and to 
be little satisfied with this reasoning. 
The conversation here took a turn, and passed to the 
rapping spirits and the Misses Fox of Rochester, when a 
third gentleman joined the party. All three were entirely 
opposed to the theory. The farmer said he would believe 
the ladies if they did not take money ; but, as it was> he 
considered the rapping of their spirits a mere money spe- 
culation. " And the chief speculation is still to come," 
added the minister, who had evidently some experience in 
such matters. u A book will be written, containing a 
collection of the revelations of spirits ; the book will be 
declared a sacred one, and much money will be obtained 
by its sale." He appeared to have a prejudice against 
unorthodox spirits, but at the same time made this scien- 
tific observation, — that whenever a sound was made, like the 
spirit-rapping, it could only be in accordance with natural 
laws. " The matter," observed the farmer, " is the cause of 
much unhappiness ;" adding, that " in the lunatic asvlum 
of the State of Kentucky there were fifteen lacnos who 
had gone insane from these spiritual tricks. A young lady 
