ObituaryMr. Quinemant, from Sétif
This was sent to us from Sétif (Algeria):
“I come to inform you of the death of an avid follower of Spiritism, Mr. Quinemant, who died on Holy Saturday, April 20th, 1867. He was the first to deal with it in Sétif, with me; he constantly defended it against its detractors, regardless of their attacks or ridicule. He was, at the same time, a very good magnetizer, and he rendered many services to people in suffering, through his selfless devotion.
He had been ill since November; he had a fever every other day, and when he didn't, he was constantly salivating. He ate and digested well, found everything he took to be good, and despite this, he was losing weight visibly; a man of quite a strong build, his limbs had reached the size of those of a child. He was slowly fading away and understood his position very well; he said he wanted to die on the day that Christ died. He retained all his lucidity of mind and chatted as if he had not been ill. He died, almost without suffering, with the tranquility and resignation of a Spiritist, telling his wife to console herself, that they would meet again in the world of the Spirits. However, at his last moments, he asked for the parish priest, although he did not like priests in general, and he had quite lively altercations with him regarding Spiritism.
You will do me a great favor by evoking him, if possible; I have no doubt that he will be happy to attend to your call, and as he was an enlightened and sensible man, I think he will be able to give us some useful advice. His opinion was that Spiritism would grow, despite all the obstacles placed before it. Please also ask him the cause of his illness, that nobody knew.
Dumas”
Mr. Quinemant, first evoked in particular, gave the following communication, and the next day he spontaneously gave to the Society the one we are publishing separately, with the title: Le Magnétisme et le Spiritisme (Magnetism and Spiritism).
(Paris, May 16, 1867. Medium, M. Desliens.)
I hasten to respond to your call, with great facility, for since the burial of my mortal remains, I have come to all your meetings. I had a great desire to judge the development of the doctrine in its natural center, and if I did not do so during the lifetime of my body, my material affairs were the only cause. I warmly thank my friend Dumas for the benevolent thought that led him to inform you of my departure and to ask you for my evocation; he could not give me a greater pleasure.
Although my return to the world of the Spirits is recent, I am sufficiently detached to communicate with ease; the ideas that I had about the invisible world, my belief in communications, and the reading of the Spiritist works had prepared me to see without astonishment, but not without infinite happiness, the spectacle that awaited me. I am happy for the confirmation of my innermost thoughts. I was convinced, by reasoning, of the further development, and of the importance to future generations, of the doctrine of the Spirits; but unfortunately I saw many obstacles, and I assigned an indefinitely distant epoch to the predominance of our ideas: the effect of my short sight and of the limits assigned by matter to my conception of the future. Today I have more than conviction, I have certainty. Not long ago I only saw effects that were too slow to suit my wishes; I see today, I touch the causes of these effects, and my feelings have changed. Yes, it will take a long time for our land to be a Spiritist land, in the full sense of the word; but it will take a relatively very short time to bring about a considerable change in the way of being of individuals and nationalities.
The teachings that I have gathered from you, the important development of certain faculties, the spiritual meetings that I have been allowed to attend since my arrival here, have convinced me that great events are near, and that in a short period of time, a number of latent forces would be put into activity, to help with the general renovation. The fire is smoldering everywhere under the ashes; let a spark fly, and it will fly, and the conflagration will become universal.
Current spiritual elements, crushed in the immense furnace of the physical and moral cataclysms that are preparing, some more refined follow the upward movement, the others, thrown out with the coarsest scoria, will have to undergo several more successive distillations, before joining their more advanced brothers. Ah! I understand, faced with the events that the future has in store for us, these words of the son of Mary: There will be tears and grinding of teeth. So, make sure my friends, that you are all invited to the banquet of intelligence and that you do not belong to those that will be cast into outer darkness.
Before dying, I gave in to one last weakness, I obeyed a prejudice, not that my belief had weakened in the face of fear of the unknown, but so as not to stand out. Hey! After all, the word of a man who speaks to you about the future is good to hear at the time of the great journey; this word is surrounded by old teachings, worn out practices, I agree, but it is nonetheless the word of hope and consolation.
Ah! I see with the eyes of the spirit, I see a time when the Spiritist, at his departure, will also be surrounded by brothers who will talk to him about the future, about the hope of happiness! My God, thank you, since you have allowed me to see the light of truth in my last moments; thank you, for this softening of my trials. If I have done any good, it is to this blessed belief that I owe it, it is what gave me the faith, the material vigor and the moral power necessary to heal; it was what kept my lucidity of mind until my last moments, that allowed me to endure without murmuring the cruel illness that took me away.
You ask what is this disease that took me down; o my God, it's very simple; the viscera in which the assimilation of new elements takes place, no longer having the necessary force to act, the molecules, worn out by the vital action, were eliminated without others coming to replace them. But what does it matter the disease from which one dies when death is freedom! Thank you again, dear friend, for the good thought that led you to ask for my evocation; tell my wife that I am happy, that she will always find the loving one again, and that while awaiting her return, I will not cease to surround her with my love and to help her with my advice.
Now a few words for you personally, my dear Dumas. You were among the first ones called to plant the flag of doctrine in this country, and quite naturally you encountered obstacles, difficulties; if your zeal has not been rewarded with as much success as you expected, and that the beginnings seemed to promise, it is because it takes time to uproot prejudices and routine in an environment completely given over to material life; one must be advanced already to quickly assimilate new ideas that change habits. Remember that the first pioneer that sows is very seldom the one that harvests; he prepares the ground for those who come after him. You were this pioneer: it was your mission; it was an honor and happiness that I could share a little, and that you will appreciate one day, as I can do today, because your efforts will be taken into account. But do not think that we have gone to unnecessary trouble; no, none of the seeds we have sown is lost; they will germinate and bear fruit when the time comes to sprout. The idea is launched, and it will gain ground; congratulate yourself on having been one of the workers chosen for this work. You have had setbacks and deceptions: it was the test of your faith and your perseverance, otherwise, where would be the merit of accomplishing a mission if all you could find were roses on your way?
So don't let disappointments take you down; above all, do not give in to discouragement and remember these words of Christ: "Blessed are those who persevere to the end" and this one: "Blessed are those who will suffer for my name.” So persevere dear friend, carry on with your work and remember that the fruits that are gathered in the world where I am now, are better than those that are harvested on Earth, where they are left when we depart.
Say, I beg you, to all those who have shown me affection and keep me a good place in their memory, that I do not forget them and that I am often among them; tell those who still reject our beliefs, that when they are where I am, they will recognize that it was the truth, and that they will bitterly regret having disregarded it, for they will have to restart painful trials; tell those who have hurt me that I forgive them and that I pray to God to forgive them.
"The one who will always be devoted to you,
E. Quinemant.”
