Death of Mr. Guillaume Renaud, of Lyon.

— On Sunday, February 1st, the funeral rites of Mr. Guillaume Renaud were held in Lyon. He was a former officer, decorated with the medal of Saint Helena and one of the oldest and most fervent Spiritists of that city, well known among his brothers in belief. Although on certain points of form, which we for our part contest, and which are moreover of little importance and do not affect the doctrine, he professed particular ideas that were not shared by all, he was no less loved and esteemed for the goodness of his character and for his eminent moral qualities; and we ourselves, had we been in Lyon on that occasion, would have taken pleasure in casting a few flowers upon his grave. May he receive here, as well as his family and particular friends, the testimony of our affectionate remembrance. A simple and modest man, Mr. Renaud was scarcely known outside Lyon. Nevertheless, his death echoed even in a little village of the Haute-Saône, where it was recounted from the pulpit, on Sunday, February 8th, in the following manner:

The parish vicar, entertaining the parishioners with the horrors of Spiritism, added that “the head of the Spiritists of Lyon had died three or four days earlier; that he had refused the sacraments; that at his burial no more than two or three Spiritists had appeared, without relatives or priests; that if the head of the Spiritists (alluding to Mr. Allan Kardec) were to die, he would lament it, were he to do as the one in Lyon did. Then he concluded by saying that he denied nothing of this doctrine, affirmed nothing, except that it was the demon who acted against the will of God.”

If we wished to refute all the falsehoods attributed to Spiritism, in the attempt to unmask its purpose and its character, we would fill our Review. As this hardly disturbs us, let us allow them to speak, limiting ourselves to gathering the notes that are sent to us, so as to use them later – should there be occasion – in the history of Spiritism. In the circumstances we have just mentioned, it is a matter of a material fact, about which the vicar was no doubt poorly informed, for we do not wish to suppose that he consciously intended to lead anyone into error. He would certainly have done better had he acted with less ardor and waited for more exact information.

We will add that, not long ago, on the occasion of the death of one of its inhabitants, a rumor was spread in that commune, certainly in very bad taste, that the Society of the Rapping Brothers, composed of seven or eight individuals of the commune, wished to resurrect the dead by placing on their foreheads plasters made with an ointment prepared by the Spiritist Society of Paris; that this society of rapping brothers went every night to visit the cemetery to give new life to the dead. The women and the young people of the neighborhood were so terrified that they no longer dared leave their homes, for fear of meeting the deceased.

Unfortunately, no more than this was needed to make an impression on some weak or sickly brain, and, had an accident occurred, care would soon have been taken to charge it to the account of Spiritism.

Let us return to Mr. Renaud. During his illness, useless efforts were made to get him to make an authentic abjuration of his Spiritist beliefs. Despite this, a venerable priest heard his confession and gave him absolution. It is true that afterward they wished to withdraw the certificate of confession, and the absolution was declared null by the clergy of Saint Jean, as having been given precipitately. It is a case of conscience that we will not take it upon ourselves to resolve. Hence this very just reflection, made in public, that whoever receives absolution before dying cannot know whether it is valid or not, for with the best intention a priest may give it in a precipitate manner. The clergy, then, obstinately refused to receive the body into the church, because Mr. Renaud would not retract any of the convictions that had given him so many consolations and made him bear the trials of life with resignation. From a feeling of propriety, which will be appreciated, and on account of the persons we would be forced to name, we pass over in silence the lamentable maneuvers that were attempted, the lies that were invented to provoke disorder in this circumstance. We limit ourselves merely to saying that they were completely thwarted by the good sense and prudence of the Spiritists, who, in this regard, received proofs of the benevolence of the authorities. Recommendations had been made by all the heads of groups, so that no provocation would be answered.

In the face of the clergy's refusal to grant the prayers of the Church, the body was carried directly from the house to the cemetery, followed by nearly a thousand people, among whom were about fifty ladies and young women, which is not the custom in Lyon. Over the grave, and appropriate to the circumstance, a prayer was read by one of those present and heard by all, heads uncovered, in religious recollection. Then the crowd withdrew, in silence, and, as it had begun, everything ended in the most perfect order.

— As a contrast, we will say that Mr. Sanson, our former colleague, received all the sacraments before dying; that he was carried to the church and accompanied by a priest to the cemetery, although he had previously declared in formal terms that he was a Spiritist and would not renounce any of his convictions. “Nevertheless,” the priest said to him, “if I were to make absolution conditional on this denial, what would you do? – I would greatly regret it,” answered Mr. Sanson, “but I would persist, for your absolution would be worth nothing. – How so? Do you then not believe in the efficacy of absolution? – Yes, but I do not believe in the virtue of an absolution received through hypocrisy. Hear me: for me Spiritism is not merely a belief, an article of faith; it is a fact as evident as life. How can you expect me to deny a fact that is demonstrated to me like the day that lights us, and to which I owe the miraculous cure of my leg? If I did so, it would be with the lips and not with the heart; I would be a perjurer. Thus, you would be giving absolution to a traitor. I say it would be worth nothing because you would give it pro forma and not in substance. That is why I would prefer to be dispensed from it. – My son,” replied the priest, “you are more of a Christian than many who claim to be.” We gathered these words from Mr. Sanson himself.

Circumstances similar to those of Mr. Renaud may present themselves here or elsewhere. We hope, then, that all Spiritists will follow the example of the brethren of Lyon, and that in no case will they abandon the moderation that is a consequence of the principles of the doctrine and the best answer to give to its detractors, who seek only pretexts to motivate their attacks.

— Evoked in a central group of Lyon, thirty-six hours after his death, Mr. Renaud gave the following communication:

“I am still a little embarrassed in communicating, and, although I find here friendly faces and sympathetic hearts, I feel almost ashamed or, to put it better, my thought is a little immature. Oh! Madame B…, what a difference and how much change in my position! Many thanks for your constant affection; thank you, Madame V.., for your kind visits, for your consideration.

“You ask and wish to know what has happened to me since yesterday. I began to detach myself from the body in the morning. It seemed that I was evaporating; I felt the blood coagulating in my veins and thought I was going to be annihilated. Little by little I lost the perception of ideas and fell asleep with a certain compressive pain; then I awoke, and then I saw around me Spirits who surrounded me and celebrated me; then I experienced some confusion: I did not clearly distinguish the dead and the living; the tears and the joys disturbed my head a little, and from all sides they called me, as they still call me at this moment. Yes, thanks to the true friends who protected me, having evoked and encouraged me in this hard passage, for there is suffering in the detachment, and it is not without very keen pain that the Spirit leaves the body, I understand the cry of arrival and explain to myself the sigh of departure. I have already been evoked several times and am as fatigued as a traveler who has journeyed through the night. “Before departing, would you permit me to return and shake your hand?”

G. Renaud.

Mr. Renaud was evoked at the Society of Paris. The lack of space obliges us to postpone the publication. [Publication not found.]