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Mtnral Cabinet, VOL. 11. THE CABINET Is published every (Saturday by P. L BUB IAS ON, Warrenton , Geo. at three dollars per annum, which may be discharged by two dollars and jiffy cents i f paid within sixty days of the time of subscribing. FROM THE ITINERANT. ‘‘And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak,’’ The following;, while it affords a strik ing illustration of the exercise of divine grace upon a poor, illiterate, and as we must suppose, penitent sinner, furnishes a strong proof of that supernatural agency. ■which to the infidel is ‘foolishness,’ but t*> many, ‘the wisdom and the power of God ’ It has come to us with evidence sufficient to warrant confidence in any fact in histo ry; and to douot it under such circum stances, would argue an affected scrupu losity, as foreign from the can- and caution of a Christian as it would be from the ere dulity of a Heathen. To *h® fuprrhneJitul Christian, tbio simple narrative will oe no more‘marvel ous’than are all the works of God. His faith solves difficulties where the reso :r ces of philosophy are exhausted—whert the future is blindness. His whole ex perience is a living testimony of a divine and supernatural influence. And, if a miracle be a •deviation from the laws ot nature,’ the miracle of regeneration which has passed upon his h< art, is no less the effect of the immediate and special opera tion of the Holy Spirit acting duectly and positively upon the >oul. than the creation of the world is the effect of omnipoten> power. But whether every conversation b considered a miracle or not, we per Same this will be thought such, by all wao dare to believe it; as it is a ‘deviation from those general ‘laws’ of Divine Prov idence, as known and defined from the wo>d of God and the common experience of Christians. FOR THE ITINERANT. Mr, Cox: —The following extraordina ry Narrative was put into my hands for perusal by a friend of high respectability, vouches for the correctness of the co py from the original, now in the possession 1 of the family of th*; comtrfander of the shin *f war. The name of the parties, with the exception of the deceased, you will please suppress, as I believe they are all now living; and it would not be proper without their consent, to give their names, or the name of the shp t<> the public. A VOICE FROM THE DEAD to the liviilg— a spirit from the eternal world proclaim ing that he had seen unutterable things, and that he hail been ‘commissioned by God,’ and ‘sent back to earth,’ to call to repentance and reformation his former comrades—discoursing, eloquently, upon eternal things, causing, the stoutest hear - to quake and fear, and every eye to weep, was methinks, calculated to leave an en during impession, and produce a raotal and religious change in the character, of not only his astonished audience, but all that, should ever hear of the ‘message en trusted to him.’ ! therefore regret exceedingly, with the narrator, that the addresses of this embod ied or disembodied spirit—l know not which—were not‘taken down at the time,’ for the benefit of those who think they night be influenced by a voice from the grave. But alas! we are informed, at the close of the narration, that the monitory void* of the messenger who had declared “he had seen the g’ories of the world of spirits ’ with all the solemn and appaling incidents which seem°d to occur to fasten more deeply the exhortations and warn ings upon ihe hearts and memoiies of the a-tonished sp°ctitors, produced, for a time, a remarkable change in the morals of the crew, but the effects of w hich aftei a while‘wore off by degrees;’ and long before this, it is more than probable, that the survivors who v itnessed those awful scenes, remember them only as the ‘base less fabric of a vision * In the very fact of the forgetfulness of so awful a warning we have a scriptural tru’h illustrated and established, which, no doubt, many have received w ith scep ticism. ‘lf they hear not Moses , and the Warrenton, August <S, I8?9. Prophets , neither will they be persuaded , though one rose from die dead To the inquisitive and enquiring inind, there ait* some circumstances wanting to elucidate and satisfactorily explain at wh it time the great moral change was produced in the heart and mind of Kemble; and whether it was gradual or instantaneous. It see tlfogether to have escaped the notice of th surgeon, who appears only intent on pic turing the general character, the supernat ural eloquence, and the extraordinary incidents in the case of the deceased. It was quite easy for the surgeon of a large ship of war, to pass unnoticed th spiritual workings of a poor illiterate sailor, whom he visited only for a mo merit, professionally; and it is also quit* probable that however strong & powerfu were his convictions and repentance, tha f lie would scarcely have made them known to any but a spiritual adviser; and it is no less probable that at the close ot his life, his debility was so great from the di charge of blood, that he wa3 unable t . raise his voice, above a whisper, and hi aspirations to heaven broke forth in con trite sighs, which God alone heard. It instances of death bed repentance ar -a'd to be rare, perhaps it is because that grace and mercy have been often offered and rejected by us, when in the enjoy merit of health and in the vigor of our mental faculties; but if there ever was a -object for the exercise of grace anu and mercy in a dying hour, it is just such a case, I should conceive, as th sos the youtl ful, ignorant and illiterate Kemble -hit off, as he was by his profession, from the enjoyment of hearing the word of God, with ail the crude and imperfect notions of God and those obligations to i lim, which such a person might be sup posed to entertain, the spirit ot the go* pel would prompt us to believe, that b* who said to the penitent thief on th cross, ‘ This day shalt thou be with me i< Paradise,’ might have said to the dying Kemble ‘Thy sins, which were many, are all forgiven thee.’ When, there fore, his first cries to God were heard with the characteristic feeling of a converted man, his next was tor Ins poor shipmates; that he might be permit ted to warn them to flee from the wrath to come. reprove their wicked practices t* li them of ‘heir moral and religious duties; and as far as he was permitted, the gin ries of the world of spirits.’ The ways >d God are unsearchable and past finding out. B-* MIRACLE OF MERCY Although the event-* now for the first tim<* recorded occurred ten years ago, they are s it I fresh in my recollection, and have made so -trong an impression upon my mind, that time can never obliterat vellous, that 1 would not dare to commit them to paper, were there not so man) living witnesses to the truth *l the sac s narrated; some of them of the greatest respectability, and even sanctioned by Commodore The story is consider ed by all who have heard it, too interest ing to be lost. I therefore proceed to the task, while those are in existence who can confirm it. Living in an enlightened age and coun try, where bigotry and superstition hav* nearly lost their influence over the minds of men. particularly among the citizens of this republic, where knowledge is so uni versaliy diffused, l have often been deter red from relating a circum-tance, so won derful as to stagger the b lief ot the m-*st credulous; but facts are stuborn things, and the weight of testimony in this case, cannot be resisted. Unable, for the want of time or room, to ente as fur into particulars as I could wish, I will give to thp best of my recollection the most prominent and stiking occurrences, * in the order in wh ch they took place, with out comment or embellishment. *Since the above was handed to us, we have been informed by P. that he submit ed the narrative to gome members of the | fhrn’ily of the Commodore of the the ship : distinguished for their respe tabiiity and intcll <• nee, who express* <; their convict lions of the truth of this n ost singular | occurence. Same time in the hitter part of Decern-, her, 1813, a man by the name of William Kemble, aged about ‘23 years, a seamen on board of the United States’ frigate ,! commanded bv Commodore , on cruise, then near fte W stern Islands, was brought to me fimn one of the tops,} in which lie had beer\ stationed, having mrsted a vessel in hislungs. Being, at hat time, in great danger of instant death the blood gushing with g\**at violence from his mouth and nostrils, \t was with much Uliculty th t I succeeded in stopping the discharge. He was immediately put on he use of remedies suite! to hi- case. I *.-isited him often, and had ihe best oppor- ! tunity of becoming acquainted with his einper, habits and intellectual attam uents, and under all circumstances during lis illness, found his language and behav iour such as stamped him the rough, pro ane and illiterate sailor. If is my belief, 1 though I cannot positively isseit it, that ie could not either read or writ *. It p certain that his conversation never differ- i e.l in the least from ’hat of the most igno-j ‘ant am! abandoned of his associates— constantly mixed w*th oaths and the low-j est vulgarity. II id Ik possessed tal ents or learning, lie must have betrayed it to me during his long confinement. In the early pat of Januaiv, a vessel, bore down upon us with eve*y appear- 1 • nee of being an English frigate. All hands were called to quarters; and after a short and animat’ and address by the Commodore to the crew, all prepared lo do their duty. B. fore I descended to the cockpit, well knowing K nibleS spir it, and how anxious he would be to par take in the glory of the victory (defeat never entering our thought** ) I thought it better to visit him. After stating to him tiie peculiar situ it ion he was in, and the g eat danger lie would be exposed to, by l ie least emotion, I entreated him, and , ••rdcred lmn not to stir, during the action, | vtiich tie pioinised to observe. Wei were soon after ob'iged to fire. At the sound of the first gun, he could restrain himself n > longer —r gardless of :ny ad monition, and of his own danger, he rushed upon deck and flew to his gun. laying hold to help to run her out. A fresh, and tremendioua dischaige from his lungs was the consequence, and he was brought down to me again, in a most de plorable state. I apprehended immediate death; hut by the application of the prop er remedies, l succeeded, once more, in stopping the hemorrhage, by winch lie was reduced to a state of extreme debility. Being near the equator, and suffering much from heat, his hammock was hung upon the gun deck, between the ports, as affording the be-tcircula tion of air. He continued some tun free frorfi hemorrhage, but was un der the constant use of mod c:nes, and was confined to a particular diet. i bis made him fretful, and he would frequent ly Charge my motes with starving him, and at the same time damning them in the irue sailor style. After some time, being again called to quarters at night, he was necessarily removed below to the sick birth, (commonly called boy;) this wa< followed by auother discharge of blood from his lungs, which was renewed, at intervals, until hi* death. On the 17th ol January, in the afternoon, Ur* , (ray fir-,t mate,) came to me on deck, ami reported Kemble to be dead. I directed him to see that his messmates did what w.is usual on such occasions, preparat >ry to committing his remains to the and ep. About two hours after this, Ur —, again called upon me, and said that Kern bie had come to life, and was holding forth to the sailors in a strange way. i directly went down, where I witnessed one of the most remarkable and unac countable transaction*, that perhaps has ever fallen the lot of man to behold. Kemble had awakened, as it were, from sleep, raised himself up, and called for his messmates in particular, and those : men who were not ou duty, to attend to I Ins words. He told them he had experi-; enced death; but was allowed a short! space of time to return, and give them, as, well as the officers, some directions fur their fntu e conduct in life. In this situ ation I found him, surrounded by the j crew, all mute with astonishment, and paying the most s* rious att nti m to every word thaf esiaped from his lips. The j oldest men were in tears—not a dry eye was to be seen, or a whisper to b** heard— ■ all was as solemn and silent a* the grave. His whole body wa* as cold as death could make it. There was no puGat'ofl in the wrists, the temples, Or the chest, peiceptible. His voice was clear and powerful; his eyes uncommonly b illiant land animated After a short and pertin ent address to the medical gentle en. lie told me in a peremptory manner, to bring I Commodore —— to him, as lie had anme i thing to sav to him before he finall > left us. The Commodore consented to go with me, when a was presented truly novel and indiscribable, and •ah U lated to fill with awe the slowest heart. The sick (boy or birth) in which he lav is entirely set apart to the use of those win* are co fin id to their b**ds by illness d b\ the surgeon**, surrounded by his *ee i> g &. as toni-hed comrades, a crowd of looking thro* the IntMce wo; k which n closed the room, a common j tpanned lamp, throwing out a siklv Mg't, anti a vatu iff held opposite his face by an at e* da-it, was the situation of tilings, when our wor thy Commodore made his appear aice; And well does he remember the effect produ el by so uncommon a spectu* le, especially wheo followed by the Jtteranre of tnese words, from the nio'*:h of <*ne lung supposed to have been de ul! *o< tn modore , I have sent fur you, sir, being commissioned hy a higher power to addiess you for a short time, and io deliv er the message, ent: u.-teil to m*, when I was permitted to revi-it the earth. Once [ trernbl and in y<*ur p esence, and was ear ger to obey you* commands, but now I am your superior, being no longer an in habitant ofthia earth I have seen the glories of the world of spirits lam not permitted to make k town what I have beheld Indeed wore I not fin hidden, language would be mad quate to the tusk, *Tis enough for you and ih- crew to know that l have been sent b, k to earth to ie animate, for a few hour*- m* Id I body, commissioned by God, to perform the work lam now engaged in.’ He then, hi langn *g“ so chaste and appropriate, as would not have disgi iced the lips or th** pen of a Di ine, took a ha-tv view of all the mural and religious duties in cumbent upon the cornmauder of a "ip of war; he reviewed the vices prevalent on boaid a ship; pointed out the relative duties of offi* era and men, and o iiludod by urging the necessity of refo (nation and repentance. He did not, a* as feared by our brave Commodore, attempt ‘o prove the sinfulness *f fighting and wars; hut on the contrary, warmly re commended to ihe men the performance of their duty to their country with cour se and fidelity. His spee* he- occup ed about three quarters of an huu ; and if the whole could have been taken down at the time, they would have made a considerable pamphlet, which vould, no doubt, have been in great demand- Doctor ———, now at Bos ton heard all the a.dresses, 1 only the last. When he finished with the Commodore, iiis head dripped Upon his breast, his eyes clo-e.d and he appeared to pass through a second death; no pul -atiou nor the bast degree of warmth could be perceived during the time he wag •(leaking. I ordered him to be laid a side, and left him. I was soon cal led into the cabin, the Commodore required from me an ex planation of the ca*e on rational & philo sophical principles. This I endeavored to give-l but in part succeeded, it would swell this narrative too much to repeat all I said, in endeavoring to elucidate the sub ject; at least it proved a lame att, mpt. for, when a-k“d, how this man, witoout education or reading, or mixing in other society than that of common sailor*; -houid acquire the command ot the puiest language properly arranged, and d* iiv* ered clearly, with much animation and great effect, I gave no reply; as it was, and v • will remain, inexplicable, with out admitting supernatural agency: The days ot miracles are passed, and l know N 0., 9.