,note3 ,images of the original pages are
 available through       ,internet      
,archive_/,american ,libraries4 ,see    
http3_/_/www4archive4org_/details_/beyon
dbe#jj;hubbrich   ,transcriber's note3  
,text enclosed by underscores is in     
italics 7italics74      ,,beyond  by    
,,henry ,,seward ,,hubbard              
,illustration  ,boston ,arena           
,publishing ,company ,copley ,square    
#ahif  ,copyrighted1 #ahif1 by ,henry   
,seward ,hubbard4  ,all ,rights         
,reserved4  ,arena ,press4     ,,beyond 
,,to   ,,lovers ,,of ,,the ,,truth1     
,,whatever   ,,land ,,may ,,claim ,,them
 ,,for ,,its ,,own1   ,,to ,,the        
,,earnest ,,men ,,and ,,women   ,,of    
,,my ,,time1   ,,this ,,book ,,is       
,,respectfully   ,,dedicated4           
,,preface4   ,a word of explanation in  
reference to my title may be            
appropriately given here4 ,by ,beyond1  
,i mean what is sometimes called the    
unseen world1 but which might better be 
called the immaterial world1 since that 

which distinguishes it from the world   
proper is not merely that it is         
invisible1 but that it cannot be made   
visible to mortal eyes4  ,however1 ,i   
have not assumed to treat of all that   
the word might be made to cover1 but    
have confined myself mostly to that     
territory1 with the entrance to it1     
which may be said to adjoin the earth1  
and which therefore is more immediately 
interesting and important to be         
acquainted with1 and have addressed     
myself especially to those who seem to  
be constitutionally unable to perceive  
the reality of this other world1        
although willing and anxious to be      
convinced4  ,if there is any one thing  
more than another which ,i hope to      
convey1 it is that the truths which     
pertain to the superior life do not     
conflict with common sense1 however they
 may rise beyond the perfect grasp of   
that power of the mind4                 
,,henry ,,seward ,,hubbard4             
,,introduction4  ,,to ,,my ,,brothers   

,,and ,,sisters1  ,greeting4   ,i had   
known for some time that ,i had a book  
to write1 but not exactly how ,i was    
going to set about it1 when there fell  
under my notice the following appeal1   
whose unique and touching eloquence1 ,i 
venture to say1 is without a parallel in
 our literature4  ,there have always    
been those1 and now they are more       
numerous than ever1 who maintain that   
the dead do return4  ,far be it from me 
to dogmatically negative the assertions 
of honest1 earnest men engaged in the   
study of a subject so awful1 so         
reverent1 so solemn1 where the student  
stands with a foot on each side of the  
boundary-line between two worlds4  ,we  
know a little of the hither1 can we know
 aught of the thither world8 ',how pure 
in heart1 how sound in head1 with what  
affections bold1' should be the explorer
 on a voyage so sublime6 ,never from    
'peak of ,darien' did the flag of       
exploration fly over the opening up of a
 realm so mighty4  ,how stale and trite 

the fleet of a ,magellan to the         
adventurous soul who would              
circumnavigate the archipelagoes of the 
dead6  ,how commonplace ,pizarro to him 
who would launch forth on that black and
 trackless ,pacific across the expanse  
of which has ever lain the dread and the
 hope of our race6  ,they know little   
who are robed in university gowns4 ,what
 know they who are robed in shrouds8 ,we
 gather but little from the platform2   
what can we learn from the grave8 ,the  
wisdom of the press is foolishness4 ,is 
there no voice from the sepulchre8 ,it  
is we1 not you1 who are in darkness1 ,o 
ye dead6 ,the splendor of the iris of   
eternity has flashed on your plane of   
vision2 but our heavy eyelids droop in  
the shadow of the nimbus of time4  ,can 
you tell us naught8 ,can we never know  
your secret till1 in the dust1 we lay   
down our bones with yours8  ,we are here
 in the care1 the poverty1 the sin1 and1
 above all1 in the darkness4 ,oh1 if ye 
can1 have mercy on us2 shed a ray from  

your shekinah-light athwart the darkness
 of our desolation4 ,we are trodden down
 by our brothers among the living4 ,help
 us1 our fathers from the dead4,a  ,how 
profoundly these words moved me cannot  
easily be told1 for my entire life1 up  
to this point1 seems to have been made  
up of the various stages of a           
preparation enabling me to respond to   
just such an appeal as this1 echoed1 as 
,i know full well it is1 from the hearts
 of thousands of my fellow-beings4 ,yet 
one who should enter the rose-embowered 
cottage by the sea where ,i sit writing1
 would never dream that ,i guard        
treasures of knowledge gathered in the  
hidden realm that lies beyond the sense4
  ,for years have passed1 and lonely    
life has changed to family life1 and    
there have been times when ,i have felt 
almost at home again within the confines
 of the purely earthly realm of thoughts
 and things4 ,not quite1 however1 for   
that would be impossible4 ,and now1     
shall ,i branch out in a tale of strange

 adventure8 ,shall ,i seek to convey to 
my readers what led to those experiences
 which have so isolated me in thought8  
,shall ,i describe their outward aspect1
 the channel through which they were    
received1 as for instance1 a dream1 a   
trance1 a vision1 or other ways less    
known8  ,to do so might amuse or        
entertain1 but that is not my object4   
,besides1 ,i understand thoroughly that 
in these modern days it is the truth1   
and not the truth-teller1 that is       
wanted4 ,if a man has anything to say1  
let him say it1 and if it bear the stamp
 of truth1 if it will stand the test of 
analysis the most severe1 it will be    
accepted4 ,if not1 he may show a ticket 
of his travels beyond the moon1 but that
 will not avail him4  ,all that ,i ask  
of my readers is that they will permit  
me to write of that realm which is so   
hidden from mortals that many of them   
deny its very existence1 as though ,i   
knew all about it4 ,whether ,i do or    
not1 no mere statement1 in the absence  

of other evidence1 could in the least   
decide4                                 
,,the ,,author4     ,,beyond4           
,,chapter ,i4   ,in the world of thought
 to-day1 few things are more significant
 than the extent to which the religious 
dogmas of the past are being questioned1
 analyzed1 and1 in general1 made to give
 account of themselves4  ,people are    
discovering that it is lawful to use the
 mind as a crucible1 and to submit any  
and all statements1 irrespective of     
their age1 to the electric current of   
modern fearlessness of thought1 before  
accepting them as truth4  ,scientific   
formulas1 many of them1 fare little     
better1 and are made to yield up the    
kernel of fact they contain1 stripped of
 the husk of theory in which it has long
 been buried4  ,for the living truth is 
demanded such value as we obtain in our 
own life-experiences1 if possible2 and  
whenever this can be obtained without   
paying the price it costs us in life1 of
 pain1 or loss1 or a mortgaged future1  

then1 indeed1 the demand becomes        
imperious4  ,and this has become        
especially true of late years in regard 
to things occult4 ,formerly the         
boundaries of the earth-life marked the 
limit of thought and aspiration1 and    
those who seemed to have the widest     
experience within those bounds were     
often the loudest in proclaiming their  
utter failure to find any lasting       
satisfaction in all that life could     
give4 ,vanity of vanities1 all is       
vanity1 was echoed and re-echoed until  
the gloomy thought spread like a cloud  
over the sky1 chilling all noble effort1
 and blighting the aspirations of the   
young and hopeful4 ,but a brighter day  
has dawned4 ,these boundaries1 which    
formerly seemed like walls impenetrable1
 have grown thin and shadowy1 and it is 
astonishing to note how people          
everywhere are asking1 as with open     
mind1 ,is this future life we have heard
 of so long1 an actual fact8 ,if so1    
what is the nature of it8 ,what are its 

relations to present facts8 and how may 
,i obtain a common-sense view of it8    
,just what are its relations to me1 and 
what are mine to a future life8 ,where  
can ,i obtain clear light on the        
subject8  ,this condition of things     
brings it to pass that a peculiar       
responsibility rests upon one1 like the 
writer1 to whom has been given          
extraordinary facilities for acquiring  
the knowledge now so greatly in demand4 
,to relate what those facilities were1  
how or why given1 and what price in the 
currency of the hidden realm was paid   
for so much of its treasures as was     
brought away1 might interest the        
curious1 as ,i have suggested1 but it   
would not materially affect the value of
 what is to be given4 ,that must stand  
or fall by its intrinsic worth1 not by  
the circumstances associated with its   
acquirement4  ,it may be imparted1      
however1 that this knowledge was        
obtained at a period separated from the 
present by an interval of fourteen      

years1 that so momentous were the       
personal experiences associated         
therewith1 that the few weeks during    
which they occurred1 together with those
 immediately preceding and following1   
seem to constitute1 as it were1 a       
separate existence1 whose length1 if it 
were to be measured by such events as   
leave their indelible impress on the    
soul1 far exceeds the entire remainder  
of my life4  ,that ,i have kept this    
knowledge locked up so long has been due
 to various causes beyond my control1   
and ,i am more than glad that ,i am at  
last able to put on record some         
fragments of it1 at least1 whose value  
,i do not underestimate1 although very  
rarely in the history of the world has  
it been given out in this way4          
,,chapter ,,ii4   ,perhaps ,i cannot    
open my subject in any better way than  
by giving a few reasons why a knowledge 
of ,the ,beyond has remained a sealed   
book for centuries4  ,my first reason   
will not be a very satisfactory one1    

because ,i cannot now enter into it as  
fully as ,i could wish2 but it belongs  
first1 and cannot be omitted4 ,a        
knowledge of ,the ,beyond has remained  
hidden from men1 first1 because those   
intelligences who were capable of       
imparting it have refrained from doing  
so4 ,some of these intelligences were   
actuated by selfish motives4 ,they could
 more easily control those whom they    
hoped to enslave1 by keeping them       
ignorant4 ,others have remained silent  
out of respect for an edict proceeding  
from a far height at a time when all men
 were believers in a future state1 and  
so many of them were absorbed in        
speculating upon it1 and holding        
communications with the departed1 that  
the earth was neglected1 and in danger  
of going to waste4 ,hence the edict1    
which was promulgated through the kings 
who were able themselves to see the need
 of it4  ,another very important reason 
why this knowledge has remained hidden1 
is because to embody it in a language   

appropriate to it1 and1 at the same     
time1 avoid obscurity1 is exceedingly   
difficult4  ,why8 ,because it belongs to
 a different world1 a world which has no
 nearer relation to this one than       
thoughts have to things4 ,to illustrate 
what ,i mean by this1 suppose you should
 wake up some night and find yourself in
 silent darkness and unable to move a   
muscle4 ,suppose you could not even feel
 the bed under you1 being conscious only
 of being supported in a horizontal     
position4 ,so long as these avenues of  
sense remained closed1 the world of     
things would not exist to you1 and you  
could not say1 of your own knowledge1   
that it continued to exist for anyone   
else4  ,while the situation would be a  
startling one without doubt1 ,i am going
 to assume that you would have a        
sufficient degree of self-control to    
keep your mental balance4 ,this would be
 the easier as you discovered that your 
mental vision was as clear as ever1 and 
that your real self1 which is back of   

all your senses1 had received no shock  
or injury4 ,you would naturally wish to 
know just what had happened1 and it     
would be apt to disturb you somewhat to 
find that your reasoning powers failed  
to respond when you called upon them to 
solve the problem1 as naturally they    
would1 since the brain1 with which they 
do their work1 would share the inaction 
of the body4 ,now1 if the world of      
things had thus vanished1 what could    
remain8 ,in the first place1 memory4    
,you would be able to call up the       
pictures of the past1 and live over     
again in your mind any scene there      
depicted4 ,but you would not be confined
 to living in the past4 ,although unable
 to see or to hear1 you would be able to
 assume the mental attitude either of   
looking or listening1 and as you sought 
to penetrate the gloom of your          
surroundings1 you would be conscious of 
lifting eyelids which perhaps had never 
been raised before1 and the mystic light
 of another world would dawn upon you4  

,shadowy forms of graceful outline would
 be seen1 at first dimly1 then with     
greater clearness4 ,you would not       
mistake them for mortals1 and1 having no
 acquaintance with other-world          
intelligences1 you might take them for  
moving pictures1 destitute of any kind  
of life4  ,presently you would become   
aware that connected thoughts were      
passing through your mind1 without      
conscious volition on your part1 and    
assuming the attitude of a listener you 
would discover that the inner world of  
sound was opening to you4 ,the subject  
treated of might not relate to you      
personally1 but you would hail with     
delight the opportunity to prove        
yourself in communication with other    
minds4  ,presently some sentiment is    
expressed which you do not approve1 and 
you put forth an impulse of will-power  
in protest4 ,instantly comes a          
thought-message directly to you4 ,who   
has arrested my current of thought8 ,the
 meaning of this is at once apparent4   

,you are like a telegraph operator who  
has been listening to a passing message1
 containing a false statement1 and has  
stopped it4 ,you might now withdraw your
 protest and allow the message to pass  
as something which did not concern you1 
or you might assert your individuality  
and reply to the sharp question by      
saying1 ,because ,i allow nothing to    
pass through my mind which ,i do not    
approve4 ,if you adopted the first      
course1 you might be let off with a     
curse1 and told to mind your own        
business hereafter2 but if you should   
manifest the temerity indicated by the  
second1 a thundering ,what8 might fall  
upon your new sense1 and you would      
discover that you had a fight on your   
hands4 ,it may be supposed that you     
would mentally assume an upright        
position1 which in that world           
corresponds to the act of rising here1  
and brace yourself for the contest4 ,but
 it is not necessary to carry the       
illustration any farther at this time4  

,i merely wished to show how thoughts   
may take the place of things in the     
mind's arena when1 for any reason1      
things are shut out4  ,a third reason   
why a knowledge of ,the ,beyond is not  
more generally disseminated1 is that    
false ideas in regard to death are so   
predominant that it has become a habit  
with the great majority to dismiss from 
the mind all thoughts having1 or that   
are supposed to have1 any possible      
connection with it1 and therefore the   
avenue of approach to the minds of such 
is kept closed by themselves4  ,it may  
be asked why the solitary student is not
 able to attain to a satisfactory       
solution of the great problem1 although 
seeking it with utmost earnestness4 ,and
 ,i answer1 first1 because he probably  
seeks for it in the same way that he    
would seek for earth-knowledge1 which is
 an error2 and1 secondly1 because those 
who would otherwise gladly give it to   
him are able to read his motives1 and   
finding them purely selfish1 they turn  

away and leave him1 while those spirits 
who have occult knowledge to sell1      
demand pay in a coin which the student  
is seldom willing to give1 namely1 a    
certain degree of control over him4     
,,chapter ,,iii4   ,mathematicians have 
frequently discussed the possibility of 
what is called a fourth dimension4      
,they have shown by clear reasoning that
 if we could suppose a person to be     
acquainted only with objects of two     
dimensions1 that is1 plane surfaces1 the
 possibility of a third would be as     
difficult to comprehend as now are the  
speculations on a possible fourth4 ,for 
instance1 it would be as mysterious an  
operation to transfer anything from one 
point to another without moving it along
 the surface that lay between1 as is now
 the manipulation of solid objects1 like
 the passage of matter through matter1  
by the masters of occult science4  ,this
 fine example of reasoning from the     
known to the unknown may be compared to 
,leverrier's researches in one respect1 

and that the most important one1 namely1
 that the looked-for fact in all verity 
awaits discovery1 and that the scientist
 who shall first boldly declare that the
 objective world about us1 which seems  
to occupy and does occupy all of space  
that we can reach by ordinary means of  
thought1 is merely a veil which hides a 
world just as real1 and having just as  
real relations to us1 as the first is   
supposed to monopolize1 and which1 in   
its essential nature1 is independent of 
space1 and its concomitant1             
time1--whoever1 ,i say1 shall first     
boldly declare this1 will fairly win a  
crown of laurel4  ,when ,i say that this
 world has real relations to us1 ,i do  
not mean us as mere aggregations of     
matter in a highly organized form2 ,i   
mean us1 the creatures of hope and fear1
 of joy and depression1 gay at heart or 
careworn with responsibility2 us to whom
 friendship1 love1 and purity are       
realities and not mere names1 and who   
cherish the firm belief that loyalty to 

our ideals and devotion to truth are    
immortal in their nature1 and that it   
may be possible that we ourselves may   
yet become as impassive to the assaults 
of time4  ,shall ,i say us1 also1 the   
creatures of doubt and despair1 whose   
sky is hopelessly clouded1 and to whom  
anything resembling happiness has become
 only a memory8 ,the world of which ,i  
speak has the same direct relations to  
us all4  ,the idea is a common one that 
this invisible world is to be sought1 if
 at all1 among the imponderable gases1  
that if it have objectivity1 as it is   
supposed it must have1 the nature of it 
will resemble these forms of matter2 and
 that by traveling out in thought1 so to
 speak1 along this line1 we shall       
presently arrive at a sufficiently      
accurate concept of what these invisible
 realities are like4  ,it is this       
delusion1 that the unseen is by so much 
the unreal1 instead of the contrary1    
that ,i hope to do something to destroy4
  ,let me give an example of occult     

power of a scientific sort1 as exercised
 by free spirits4  ,one wishes to speak 
to a friend4 ,what does he do8 ,he      
simply speaks the name of that friend in
 his mind4 ,immediately1 and without    
further effort on his part1 there       
appears before his mental vision a clear
 outline representation of the form of  
that friend1 ready to answer with       
perfect distinctness any question that  
may be asked of him4 ,it is telephone   
communication without apparatus1 and    
with the appearance of the friend4 ,were
 the two in close sympathy1 perhaps     
engaged in the same kind of spiritual   
labor1 so that the question would be of 
a kind not unexpected1 the rapidity of  
action common to spirits would make it  
possible to ask the question and receive
 the answer in an infinitesimal fraction
 of a second4  ,i have called this      
occult power of a scientific sort4 ,by  
this ,i mean to indicate1 what is       
sometimes forgotten1 that ,the ,beyond  
has its science as well as religion1 and

 that it is only because its science has
 been a sealed book so long and the     
corruption of revealed religion has been
 so great1 that1 as a result1 the       
acceptance of occult science itself as  
truth is called1 by some1 religion1     
although removed from it as by infinity4
 ,it is true1 however1 that the devotee 
to occult science who shall persistently
 declare its genuineness in the face of 
opposition1 scorn1 or even persecution1 
is on the road to illumination1 and he  
may himself become a gateway between    
physical life and death1 through which  
may pass and repass the message1 the    
tone1 or even the phantom form which    
testifies of a world beyond the grave4  
,to such a one1 his belief becomes a    
sure and certain knowledge of a         
scientific fact1 as verified by         
sympathetic experience times without    
number2 and the time is not far distant 
when these attainments will receive the 
same recognition1 as belonging to the   
domain of reality1 as those of physical 

science now do4     ,,chapter ,,iv4     
,science1 as such1 is a knowledge of    
physical facts4 ,religion1 as such1 is  
an apprehension of spiritual truths4    
,the work of the scientist is to        
separate facts from delusions1 and then 
to arrange and classify his knowledge4  
,the work of the religionist is to      
separate truth from error1 to make it   
effectual in practice1 and give it to   
the world4  ,in their essence1 science  
and religion are neither enemies nor    
friends4 ,they are not necessarily      
associates1 but their respective domains
 are included in the domain of thought1 
and thought is an attribute of the ego4 
,the ego in us1 then1 is in touch with  
both religion and science3 with science1
 primarily1 through this material body1 
which1 surcharged with vital magnetism1 
moves at its will2 and with religion    
through that inner conscious self which 
so avoids expression through matter1    
that it may remain contentedly under    
lock for more than half a lifetime1 and 

which1 even when released1 may need a   
special impulse to induce it to express 
itself in words4  ,the religious nature 
in man is1 in fact1 so hidden that it   
seems at times impossible to draw it out
 in any manifestation whatever1 which   
fact causes many to deny its existence  
altogether2 and there is to-day a widely
 prevalent doctrine1 world-wide ,i might
 say among scholars1 that all the facts 
observable which could possibly be      
grouped under the head of religion may  
readily be distributed among mere       
physical phenomena on the one hand1 and 
scientific or intellectual on the other4
  ,the skepticism in regard to the      
verbal authority of the sacred writings 
is intimately associated with the same  
doctrine1 as is shown by the way the    
errors and the truth of the ,bible are  
made to seem one1 and the whole is      
rejected as error4  ,it is taught1 in   
effect1 that all which goes by the name 
of religion is unworthy the serious     
attention of the thoughtful1 that it had

 its origin in the barbarous stage of   
our development as a race1 and ought to 
be laid aside as a garment outgrown4    
,the days of this particular form of    
unbelief are numbered4  ,why8 ,because  
it is to be demonstrated that religion  
is something more than moonlight        
vaporings of the credulous1 something   
other than the simple faith of children2
 that religion is not only a spiritual  
reality1 but that it has a body of its  
own4  ,in order that the meaning of this
 statement may not be mistaken1 let it  
be remembered that some of the most     
powerful forms of matter1 electricity1  
for example1 are entirely invisible4    
,therefore1 when ,i say that religion   
has a body of its own1 it is not        
necessary to go delving for anything4   
,that body itself may be undiscoverable 
by any sense save feeling4 ,have you    
ever been in the presence of a man who  
could fairly be said to embody religion8
 ,of those who manifest its spirit so   
pure and unselfish1 there are           

comparatively few in the world1 but of  
those who1 to that spirit1 add a full   
manly or womanly strength1 the number is
 brought so low that multitudes of      
people may perhaps never have come in   
contact with any4 ,such as these bear   
about with them a consciousness of power
 so great as to utterly destroy every   
kind of fear save one1 the fear of doing
 wrong4 ,the name of ,savonarola will   
occur to many of my readers4  ,it ought 
not to be necessary to add that ,i am   
using the word religion in a different  
sense from that attaching to it in such 
a phrase as the ,world's ,parliament of 
,religions4  ,if ,i should say1 ,there  
are many sciences1 yet science is one1  
,i should expect to be fairly well      
understood4  ,i would make the parallel 
declaration1 ,there are many religions1 
but religion is one4     ,,chapter ,v4  
,is there any common ground on which    
science and religion meet8 ,there is4   
,they meet in modern ,spiritualism4     
,but because modern ,spiritualism       

consists of a body of facts and theories
 on the one hand1 and a countless number
 of soul-stirring experiences on the    
other1 it follows that it takes a great 
many different people to fairly         
represent modern ,spiritualism4  ,some  
have devoted themselves to it           
exclusively on the religious side1      
others as exclusively on the scientific 
side4 ,according to the bent of their   
nature1 and with an equal degree of     
courage1 the earnest1 devoted students  
of science1 on the one hand1 and those  
of religion1 on the other1 are          
approaching from opposite poles this    
forbidden ground4  ,disregarding the    
warnings of the older religious         
teachers1 that evil1 and only evil1     
haunts the grewsome place1 one wing of  
the army of truth-seekers is making the 
discovery that if all the manifestations
 of modern spiritualism are to be       
attributed to one source1 and that an   
evil one1 then never was a house so     
divided against itself before4 ,they are

 prepared to show that some of its most 
astonishing phenomena begin and end in  
good to all who witness them1 and they  
declare that only a culpable misuse of  
the powers of the mind would lead to any
 other inference than that these good   
results come originally from good       
sources1 and are therefore worthy of    
that reverence which of right belongs to
 the good1 wherever it appears4  ,the   
other wing of the army of truth-seekers 
also contains its heroes4 ,have you not 
told us1 they say to the great          
scientists who have laid down the       
principles on which investigations of   
all kinds should be conducted1 that     
science claims the world for its field1 
and especially the world of phenomena8  
,why1 then1 do so many of our captains  
and colonels1 who should represent the  
thought of the higher officers1 so      
persistently endeavor to prevent us from
 obtaining for ourselves the store of   
facts upon which1 we are told1 the      
theories of spiritualism are based8  ,is

 it possible for us to have intelligent 
opinions even1 to say nothing of        
carefully-drawn conclusions on this     
matter1 without following the usual     
course1 so strenuously insisted on in   
all other branches of scientific        
research1 that of personally observing  
the phenomena for ourselves8 ,and so    
when they get no answer to this1 or no  
answer which satisfies those who love   
the truth for its own sake1 they        
proceed1 these scientific explorers1 and
 with caution enter the unknown country1
 avoiding1 as far as possible1 that     
portion which they recognize as         
especially occupied by the other        
division of truth-seekers before        
described4  ,and they find no lack of   
material upon which to exercise the     
keenest faculties of their minds1 while 
their interest becomes so great that    
they are soon ready to exclaim1 ,why was
 ,i kept away from here so long8  ,all  
indications1 say they1 favor the idea   
that in this direction rather than in   

any other is to be sought the solution  
of that profoundest of mysteries1 the   
problem of life1 and1 with faces aglow  
with interest1 they pursue their        
explorations1 always ready1 however1 to 
declare that they have not changed their
 course1 they are still in the pursuit  
of science and have not the slightest   
idea of joining hands with religionists 
on any pretext whatever4  ,all of which 
goes to show that the realm of the      
occult may be conveniently divided into 
two grand divisions1 one of which may be
 called occult science1 and the other   
occult religion2 and that part of both  
which has been recently brought to view 
is the domain known as modern           
,spiritualism1 where1 as ,i have said1  
science and religion meet4 ,i wish it   
could be said that scientists1 as such1 
and religious teachers1 as such1 have   
also not only met1 but shaken hands     
across the narrow line which still      
divides them even here1 on this which ,i
 have called a common ground4  ,but it  

is to be feared that there is all too   
little thought of any possible terms of 
peace between the opposing forces4  ,let
 us hope that out from the cloudy       
mysteries of the debatable land itself  
may come the gleam of a star whose      
brightness shall illumine all who lift  
their eyes1 and whose pure1 sweet       
influence shall change foes to friends1 
as heart shall answer heart beneath its 
shining4     ,,chapter ,,vi4   ,there   
are many1 however1 who have an          
invincible repugnance to this method of 
research1 and ,i would here say for the 
benefit of such1 that while ,i am on    
friendly terms with spiritualists       
generally1 ,i am not indebted to them   
for what ,i have to give4 ,my           
observations of the phenomena of        
spiritualism1 although wide and varied1 
have all been made since ,i came to     
know1 independently1 that there are     
intelligences above man1 and that there 
is a world distinctly different from    
this1 where they have their home4       

,spiritualistic phenomena1 as observed  
through mediums1 have1 in a general way1
 confirmed what ,i knew in regard to the
 other world1 but ,i find many of the   
prevalent ideas which are supposably    
based on these phenomena to be erroneous
 in the extreme4 ,for instance1 it is   
taught as a doctrine that there is no   
death1 and those who teach it point     
triumphantly to the demonstrations of   
the survival of those whose mortal part 
has been laid in the grave1 not         
realizing that in so doing they prove   
themselves to be still in bondage to the
 old error1 that death and annihilation 
are one and the same1 and that          
consequently whoever has escaped the    
one1 must necessarily have escaped the  
other4  ,to prove that a man who has    
severed his connection with the mortal  
state has not suffered annihilation1    
proves nothing whatever as to his       
acquaintance with death4  ,even the     
passing from one world to the other1    
which is commonly associated with death1

 is not the same thing1 for many possess
 the power of so passing while still    
tenants of the clay4  ,if death1 then1  
is not annihilation1 nor the mere       
passing from one kind of life into      
another1 what is it8 ,it is the severing
 of the magnetic bonds which unite the  
body of the individual to the body of   
the race as a whole4  ,we do not often  
consider what an important element in   
our lives are these magnetic currents   
which link us to our fellows4  ,silent  
and invisible as they are1 they hold us 
with a tremendous power4 ,what our      
friends1 our neighbors1 our relatives   
think us capable of doing1 that we can  
do with comparative ease2 but anything  
out of the common1 calling for the      
exercise of ability which they do not   
suppose us to possess--how nearly       
impossible it is for us to do it1       
however conscious we may be of the      
inherent power6  ,as a part of the race 
we are bound to it by magnetic currents 
so long as our mortal life continues1   

and the cutting off of these currents by
 death may be to our consciousness the  
greatest misfortune or the greatest     
happiness we have ever known4  ,now ,i  
am not preaching1 ,i am simply stating  
that which ,i know to be true4 ,i know  
it in the same way that ,i know anything
 wherein experience shuts out even the  
shadow of a doubt4  ,to speak of the    
misfortune of death3 suppose you were a 
clock which for twenty-five years had   
been a part of the world's life1 keeping
 good time and always on duty4 ,then    
suppose you were suddenly laid away in  
the dark and dusty attic of a warehouse 
until some estate should be settled that
 would require an indefinite number of  
years4  ,the comparison is not perfect4 
,the clock is not only mostly automatic1
 as we are1 but entirely so4 ,that in   
our nature which is essentially free is 
not even touched by death1 but the      
bodily activities and associations may  
be our only field of action1 and these  
are cut off absolutely1 while memory    

recalls every event of the life that is 
finished1 and especially every decision 
which has had the slightest influence   
upon our destiny4 ,the positive element 
in us which has found constant vent in  
physical action is rendered helpless by 
the complete paralysis of all the motor 
nerves4 ,we cannot even think1 for this 
requires some movement of the brain4 ,a 
consciousness of being left behind while
 the world travels on1 a feeling that   
this experience had not been foreseen in
 the least1 nor in any way provided     
against1 spite of warnings which now    
seem to echo and re-echo through the    
darkness--these are what is left us in  
place of the sunlight1 the breezes of   
evening1 the voices of children1 the    
light of the stars4  ,but death may be  
release1 it may be happiness1 it may be 
ecstasy beyond the power of words to    
tell4 ,we may have cast the long look   
ahead in time4 ,we may have decided that
 since bodily life is limited at best1  
it shall not be first in our regards3   

its appetites1 its demands1 shall not   
take precedence above those calls which 
find their answer in the depths of      
being1 calls to rise out of the mire of 
reckless self-indulgence1 and clothe    
ourselves in the garb of a true manhood 
and womanhood1 taking for our model     
those who count not their life dear unto
 them1 but reach out for eternal values4
  ,the pathway is not wide1 and they who
 pursue it may find themselves at close 
of life 7,i am not speaking especially  
of old age7 almost alone4 ,the energies 
of the spirit have grown by constant    
exercise1 and the soul has grown strong1
 imparting its vibrations to the body1  
which has so responded that1 one after  
another1 the magnetic links which have  
held it to the slower progress of the   
race have snapped asunder4 ,we are far  
ahead1 and the spirit longs for purer   
air than it can find on earth4 ,we have 
anticipated all the pains of death4 ,we 
have endured them in our struggle for   
the mastery of ourselves4 ,death now but

 sets the seal upon our victory1 gives  
us the freedom we have earned1 ushers us
 into the society for which we have     
prepared ourselves1 crowns us heirs of  
immortality4  ,now1 whether death shall 
be this happiness or that misery1 in    
either case it will be remembered as a  
great fact of consciousness1 the        
greatest ever known1 and the doctrine   
that there is no death will never be    
able to find lodgment in the minds of   
those who have experienced it4          
,,chapter ,,vii4   ,it may be worth our 
while to inquire how this extremely     
modern doctrine came into being1 and if 
we can solve the problem1 it may reflect
 light upon the genesis of other        
doctrines very much older and equally   
erroneous4  ,there is something so      
startling1 so unexpected1 in the phrase1
 ,there is no death1 that we are quite  
safe in assuming that it did not        
originate in the mind of a mortal4 ,in  
fact1 one would be obliged first to     
disown his mortality before he could    

utter it with any consciousness of      
speaking the truth4 ,if1 then1 the words
 have come from the ,beyond1 it would   
appear that some super-mundane          
intelligence has been promulgating      
error4 ,but let us not be too hasty4    
,let us remember that in our            
grandfather's time the great majority of
 people looked upon death as the        
termination of existence4 ,it was an    
impenetrable darkness4 ,those who       
claimed to know anything different were 
so few1 and their evidence was so       
mysterious1 as to have a scarcely       
perceptible effect on this portion of   
our race4 ,death had come to mean       
annihilation1 and when the age-long     
dictum1 shutting the two worlds apart1  
was removed1 those spirit-teachers who  
were commissioned to scatter the        
darkness were obliged to use expedients4
 ,laying aside their own understanding  
of the word death1 and taking up the    
erroneous meaning attached to it by     
those whom they wished to reach1 they   

sent out this incisive denial1 ,there is
 no death4 ,the paraphrase would be1    
,there is no such death as you believe  
in1 which was the truth1 and had the    
effect of truth upon the minds of those 
who heard it1 lifting them out of the   
darkness1 flashing upon them1 light4    
,the word was a medicine of wonderful   
effect1 but it was not intended as a    
food1 and spiritualists of to-day who   
make it a part of their daily diet are  
most seriously injured thereby4 ,who    
that has ever attended the average      
seance but can recall the careless      
trifling1 the insensate levity1 of many 
while waiting for the hour4 ,by their   
conduct they seem to say1 ,what is death
 more than a mere journey to another    
country8 ,or a seance1 what is it more  
than a telephone office8 ,most startling
 will be the event to such as these4    
,,chapter ,,viii4   ,but it is time that
 we took a comprehensive view of this   
outer world which lies beyond the domain
 of sense4  ,what is the most striking  

difference between that world and this  
one8 ,i answer1 the world we are now    
living in is a material world1 which to 
understand most thoroughly we must      
acquire a knowledge of the properties of
 matter4 ,this we begin to do in        
earliest childhood by the use of our    
senses1 and this we continue to do1 to a
 greater or less extent1 as long as we  
live1 calling into play the reason1     
highest sense of all1 as soon as it is  
developed2 and by the use of this1 the  
royal sense1 with the others as its     
servitors1 we may arrive at a very      
thorough comprehension of the world of  
matter1 so far as its relation to our   
needs is concerned4  ,on the other hand1
 the world that lies before us is1 above
 all else1 an immaterial world1 using   
the phrase to denote an almost entire   
absence of matter1 but not in the least 
to indicate any absence of reality4 ,no1
 for this future life is a reality more 
positive in its character than the      
foundations of the pyramids1 and its    

manifestations1 being neither more nor  
less than the manifestations of living  
beings1 can only be understood when that
 fact is kept in mind4 ,they do not lend
 themselves to the inspection of the    
curious1 these denizens of another life1
 but when conditions favor1 they take   
hold of human instrumentalities and     
wield them with a power and skill that  
defy all resistance for the time1 and   
leave on all who are present an         
ineffaceable mark4  ,it may be objected 
that this statement is incapable of     
proof1 that1 of all who have crossed the
 line between life and death1 none have 
returned to bring positive evidence of  
the existence of such an unknown        
country1 inhabited in such a way4 ,the  
contrary is asserted1 and while facts do
 not need the bolster of argument1      
whoever is in possession of a fact can  
present arguments relating thereto      
tending to throw light upon it4 ,it is  
asserted by those who claim to know1 of 
whom the writer is one1 that an         

inhabited domain is in immediate touch  
with the earth1 although not            
discoverable by any of the scientific   
instruments of investigation1 such as   
the telescope1 the microscope1 or the   
spectroscope1 nor yet by the surgeon's  
scalpel4  ,the camera1 however1 which   
may be called an instrument of record1  
has1 at certain times1 produced evidence
 which has excited a vast amount of     
argument pro and con4  ,this will not   
now be entered into1 but attention is   
called to a very important consideration
 bearing upon the whole subject4        
,,chapter ,,ix4   ,i hold in my hand a  
lens4 ,this lens1 in its shape1         
resembles a certain other lens through  
which ,i look in examining it4 ,it was1 
indeed1 modeled after the other1 which  
is a part of my organ of vision4 ,i     
place the glass lens in a microscope1   
and a hitherto unknown world is revealed
 to me4 ,it was there before1 but ,i    
could not see it4 ,do ,i see it now with
 the lens8 ,it is evident that the lens 

is merely an aid to vision1 since the   
lens in my eye is also necessary to     
convey the picture to my mind4  ,but now
 another question3 ,do ,i see with the  
lens which is a part of my eye8 ,is not 
that also merely an aid to vision8 ,let 
us consider4 ,since ,i have two eyes1 ,i
 may lose one of them without losing the
 power to see4 ,if ,i am so unfortunate 
as to lose one1 then1 if the eye is not 
merely an aid to vision1 but part of the
 vision itself1 it would naturally      
follow that ,i should see only half as  
well as before2 but this1 very          
evidently1 is not true4  ,i can read as 
well as ever4 ,for the examination of   
anything on a flat surface1 one eye is  
as good as two4  ,notice1 also1 that the
 lens of the eye and the glass lens are 
not only alike in shape and             
transparency1 but that both are composed
 of material substances that can be     
analyzed1 and that both are used to     
acquire knowledge of such substances and
 the relations existing between them4   

,the glass lens is merely a supplement  
to the lens of the eye4 ,it is one step 
further removed from the vision1 but    
even the lens of the eye itself is not  
the seeing power4 ,that lies back of    
all4  ,take now the ear-trumpet1 a      
contrivance to concentrate sound to a   
given point4 ,it is intended as an aid  
to hearing1 but it is not inseparably   
associated with the power to hear4 ,a   
person with normal senses does very well
 without it4 ,how about the ear itself8 
,does that constitute a part of the     
hearing power of a man8 ,if it does1    
what is the necessity of the auditory   
nerve8 ,if the hearing and the ear were 
one and the same1 there would be no need
 of this connecting link with the brain4
 ,the external and the internal ear1    
like the ear-trumpet1 are purely        
material1 and by means of them we are   
able to cognize those material          
emanations called sound4  ,i speak of   
sound as a material emanation1 because  
whatever sound comes to us through the  

ear comes from some material source4    
,the ear1 being material1 is adapted to 
convey such emanations to the brain1    
through which the mind becomes conscious
 of their existence4  ,the sense of     
touch1 also1 is exclusively adapted to  
the acquainting of its owner with still 
another aspect of things material4      
,hardness1 softness1 smoothness1        
roughness1 heat1 cold1 and other        
attributes of matter become known       
through this sense1 and it may be       
considered a rule without exception that
 when the sense of touch is excited1    
some material object is responsible4    
,the same thing is true of the senses of
 smell and taste1 but as their field of 
action is comparatively limited1 ,i will
 allow the first three named to         
represent the whole number4  ,the organs
 of sight1 hearing1 and touch1 then1 are
 the three principal avenues through    
which we obtain knowledge of matter1    
they themselves1 however highly         
organized1 being also material4  ,now1  

,i have said that there is an inhabited 
domain in immediate touch with the      
earth1 although not discoverable by any 
of the scientific instruments of        
investigation4 ,sight1 hearing1 and     
touch do not sustain this1 and declare  
such a domain non-existent4 ,if we bear 
in mind that these organs deal with     
matter only1 it may be freely admitted  
that they speak the truth4 ,the world   
whose existence we are asserting is an  
immaterial world1 and although it be    
immaterial1 it can be shown that it has1
 nevertheless1 a claim upon our profound
 attention4  ,certainly1 after what has 
been shown1 it ought not to lose in     
interest on that account4 ,for1 if our  
bodily senses are1 by their very        
constitution1 unable to bring us any    
reports save such as pertain to matter1 
their silence in regard to the world we 
speak of counts for nothing4  ,but it   
may be said that all entities are       
material4 ,this is a specious plea1 but 
the generalization is too broad4 ,let us

 test it in a familiar way4 ,benjamin   
,franklin was one of the signers of the 
,declaration of ,independence1 and      
attached his name to the immortal       
document in a clear and legible manner4 
,all this has to do with matter4 ,even  
the emotions which he may be supposed to
 have experienced while affixing his    
name1 although not in themselves        
material1 had a material effect upon his
 frame4  ,i say that those emotions were
 not in themselves material4 ,i might   
take my stand here1 but prefer to go one
 step further1 and put a question3 ,what
 were those emotions8 and then add1     
,this question is not in itself         
material4  ,it might be made a subject  
of thought4 ,an essay might be written  
upon it1 which would be esteemed good1  
bad1 or indifferent1 according as the   
author rightly apprehended the character
 of the man4  ,the question may never   
have been put into language before1 but 
it is now a real entity1 and our mental 
powers1 acting freely1 will have no     

trouble in so regarding it4 ,it will be 
seen that1 while it may become          
associated with things material1 may be 
written so as to be seen1 spoken so as  
to be heard1 or even stamped to reach   
the apprehension of the blind1 these    
material associations are no essential  
part of the question1 since it might    
arise in the mind without any such aid1 
and be examined there without calling   
into play any one of the bodily senses1 
or any combination of them4  ,it may be 
said that this is an idle question1     
unworthy to take an important place in  
an argument1 but it cannot be said that 
it is a foolish question2 and it may    
well stand as a representative of other 
questions1 questions which might have   
been substituted2 questions which have  
arisen in many minds at the same time1  
and the answering of which has involved 
the overthrow of kingdoms1 thereby      
demonstrating1 if necessary1 the reality
 of their existence4     ,,chapter ,x4  
,in order to make progress in the search

 for wisdom1 it is necessary that we    
should bind ourselves to follow where   
truth may lead4  ,we cannot maintain our
 name as followers of the truth1 if1    
whenever her footsteps turn in some     
particular direction1 we refuse to      
follow1 or if1 whenever the path leads  
in the direction in which we have       
predetermined not to travel1 we begin to
 cast aspersions on the sincerity of our
 leader4  ,all who would attain the     
freedom which large possessions give1   
must learn sometimes to lay aside       
prejudice of every kind1 and follow     
according to the general law which bids 
us proceed until some real obstacle     
presents itself1 or some real danger    
confronts us4  ,my illustration has led 
us to the point where it appears that we
 are able to say1 ,realities are not    
always material in their nature4 ,in    
other words1 materiality and reality are
 not inseparably associated4 ,they may  
be separately considered1 and dealt with
 as though not related4 ,the question1  

,what were ,franklin's emotions when    
signing the ,declaration of             
,independence8 is a real question4 ,in  
the world of mind it has a reason for   
existence1 and because the world of mind
 is associated with the world of matter1
 and1 in some ways at least1 takes      
precedence1 that which is real in its   
domain may be asserted as real in the   
presence and by use of some of the      
appliances of the latter4  ,the converse
 of the truth1 that realities may be    
devoid of materiality1 may be given here
 as an aid to the understanding4        
,material things are not always real in 
their nature4 ,the scenery of the stage1
 the portrait in oil1 effigies in wax   
are familiar illustrations1 and it will 
be observed that none of these are      
intended to deceive4 ,they are merely   
examples of material things used in an  
unreal way4  ,in looking at them1 we    
may1 by the powers of mind which we     
possess1 endow them with a temporary    
reality1 which will aid in producing    

mental results1 or we may refuse to so  
endow them1 in which case they remain   
barren of effect upon us4 ,i have given 
examples of things real but not         
material1 and of things material but not
 real4 ,take another example of the     
first of these3 ,the ,society for the   
,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals     
rests upon a basis that is not material4
 ,it rests upon an idea4 ,if the idea   
that cruelty to animals is harmful1 not 
only to them1 but to those who inflict  
it upon them1 could be at some future   
time disproved1 then we should expect   
that the society would disappear4 ,at   
present it is sufficient to say that the
 society has a real foundation which is 
in no danger of being destroyed4        
,,chapter ,,xi4   ,it will readily be   
seen that to take firmly the position   
that realities may be devoid of         
materiality involves a great deal1 and  
those who endeavor to prevent this      
thought from taking root in any         
particular mind are apt to hold up      

before him examples of the immaterial   
which are not real4 ,most dreams are of 
this nature4 ,their confused outlines   
make temporary impressions on the memory
 and are then forgotten4 ,but we have   
not to do with such as these4 ,we       
recognize that real things may be       
material1 such as certain houses1 lands1
 or mountains1 and that unreal things   
may be immaterial1 like passing dreams  
just spoken of2 but the immaterial which
 is none the less real is what we bring 
into view4 ,and if we are ready to      
admit1 or to go further and declare1    
that reality and materiality are not    
necessarily conjoined1 we are then ready
 to give a fair hearing to the statement
 that a real but immaterial world1      
inhabited by real but immaterial beings1
 is in closest relations with our own4  
,these real but immaterial beings1      
because they are real and intelligent1  
are possessed of the primal attributes  
of all intelligent beings3 they have    
memory1 feeling1 emotion1 will4  ,in    

power they differ widely from each      
other1 and in their essential character 
there are as many shades of difference  
as with mortals4  ,let us speak first of
 their power4 ,this is mostly exercised 
in their own field1 that of the         
immaterial1 yet to suppose that it is   
any the less real in its effects upon   
our lives is to forget how small a part 
our senses directly play in influencing 
our motives4 ,the end and object of our 
efforts may be to obtain the means to   
gratify our senses or those of our      
friends1 but the process through which  
we are obliged to work is so            
complicated1 it involves the play of so 
many forces1 it brings us into relations
 with so many people1 each with his own 
plans and purposes1 that we are         
continually making decisions based upon 
what we consider as probable1 rather    
than certain1 results4 ,this is the     
opportunity of the spirits1 and we often
 discover that all our efforts have     
simply tended to the advancement of     

others1 while we are left in the lurch4 
,the man who keeps his temper under such
 circumstances may be favored by the    
receipt of a thought-message4 ,it enters
 his mind as ideas do1 with a flash1 and
 if he is wise he will carefully        
elaborate it into words4 ,i have been   
working for myself only1 bending        
everything as far as possible to my own 
enrichment4 ,others have been doing the 
same4 ,what right have ,i to complain if
 they have done with me1 by their       
superior power and foresight1 what ,i   
have tried to do with them8 ,none at    
all4  ,morally we are on the same level4
 ,let this misfortune be a lesson to me4
 ,henceforth ,i will at least make an   
effort to do as ,i would be done by4    
,as he makes this resolution1 a warm    
glow suddenly pervades his being4 ,he   
feels at once lighter and stronger1 and 
then perhaps he does a little thinking  
for himself4 ,if ,i believed in angels1 
,i should say that they were near1 and  
touched me then2 ,i never felt anything 

like it4 ,little does he suspect the    
truth1 that the whole idea which he so  
carefully elaborated in his mind had    
been flashed into it from without by an 
angel-friend1 and that when it had borne
 its natural fruit in a good resolution1
 it became possible for the same friend 
to convey to him a touch of her own     
delight4  ,it may be objected that      
illustrations like these prove nothing  
as to the source of the experience2 that
 to deny that invisible intelligences so
 play upon men is as rational1 or more  
so1 as to say they do4 ,but we are not  
limited to such comparatively indefinite
 evidence4 ,for nearly fifty years it   
has been permitted1 or commanded1 or    
both1 that these invisible beings should
 demonstrate the reality of continued   
existence1 and they have been doing so  
in a great variety of ways4 ,for        
particulars1 reference is made to the   
periodical literature devoted to the    
subject1 and to the scores of books     
which have been written upon it4  ,it is

 not my purpose1 however1 to enter into 
this field of evidence with any approach
 to minutiae1 for it was not here that  
,i acquired the ability to say1 ,the    
occult world is a real1 inhabited       
domain4 ,i know whereof ,i speak4       
,,chapter ,,xii4   ,in searching for    
truth in the fields of thought1 we often
 run counter to our own prejudices1 and 
almost unconsciously call a halt4 ,there
 are some whose self-conceit is so great
 that they invariably do so the moment  
that any of their prejudices is in the  
slightest danger of a shock4 ,but it is 
rather to the seeker who has in part    
divested himself from this hampering    
load1 which he had perhaps inherited    
like a humor of the blood1 that ,i now  
speak4  ,what is to be done8 ,how       
proceed in such a case8 ,the remedy is  
simple4 ,whenever you are dealing with  
abstract ideas1 and find one that is    
refractory1 either in itself for want of
 further analysis1 or because of some   
special weakness of yours which         

incapacitates you from subduing it1     
never give it up2 if you do1 you will   
find yourself under it like a toad under
 a stone for an indefinite length of    
time4 ,no1 the right thing to do is to  
pass at once from the abstract to the   
concrete1 and find in material things   
the counterpart of the truth under      
examination1 and then proceed4 ,the     
effect is often wonderful4  ,to         
illustrate4 ,suppose you are examining  
the abstract idea of the expediency of  
doing right4 ,you may have some         
particular case in mind1 probably will  
have1 if the decision is to count for   
anything in your life4 ,you may call to 
mind the famous saying1 ,it is better to
 be right1 than to be president4 ,you   
will recognize the principle involved in
 this1 but is it of universal           
application8 you may inquire4 ,is there 
not some way by which ,i can take the   
free-and-easy course and yet incur no   
penalty8 ,a great many people appear to 
be able to1 why should not ,i8 ,this is 

the point where you need to transfer the
 case from the abstract to the concrete 
form1 and ask yourself1 ,suppose ,i were
 mixing chemicals according to a certain
 formula to produce a certain compound1 
and suppose one of the ingredients were 
wanting4 ,should ,i go ahead and trust  
to luck1 and expect to get the compound 
just the same as though ,i followed the 
directions8 ,surely not4 ,what would the
 science of chemistry amount to if such 
a thing were possible8 ,how could       
anything new be discovered if the       
governing principles could not be       
depended on1 or1 in other words1 if like
 causes did not always produce like     
effects1 and unlike causes1 unlike      
effects8  ,the most intrepid explorer in
 the scientific field might well despair
 of the prospect in such a case4 ,but   
this is chemistry1 and the laws of      
conduct are not so rigid1 you may say4  
,that is just where you miss the path4  
,until you attain to a belief in the    
unity pervading all things1 from the    

lowest to the highest1 this unity       
differing in outward appearance or      
manifestation only1 and not in essential
 character1 you will find no peace nor  
rest4 ,the laws of conduct less rigid   
than the laws of chemistry8 ,say1       
rather1 infinitely more so4 ,for the    
higher the plane of action1 the less    
likelihood is there of any superior     
force interposing to divert the current 
of events from its natural course2 and  
the laws of conduct1 remember1 pertain  
to the life of the soul1 which makes    
them higher than the laws of chemistry  
by two removes1 for the laws of health  
relating to the physical body come in   
between4  ,but the laws of conduct are  
not well understood1 you say4 ,that1    
indeed1 is true4 ,we have only a few    
keys opening into this realm of the     
soul1 and most people are content to    
take public opinion as a sufficient     
guide rather than to take the trouble to
 explore for themselves4  ,but it is the
 plane just below this1 that of bodily  

life and death1 which we are attempting 
more especially to elucidate4 ,there    
seems to be no systematic teaching in   
regard to this that is worthy of the    
name of science4  ,the problem of life  
itself1 what it is as a force differing 
from other forces1 how to deduce from   
the manifestations of vitality what     
vitality is1 remains unsolved4 ,and why 
so8 ,for a very simple reason4 ,because 
those who attempt the problem are       
unwilling or unable to conform to the   
conditions which they recognize as      
necessary in all other departments of   
scientific research4 ,they do not study 
life objectively4 ,they may think they  
do4 ,they may think that to study life  
in other men or in animals is a truly   
objective method1 but this is a fallacy4
  ,the theory that life needs to be     
studied from an outside standpoint in   
order to be comprehended1 is all right1 
but the man who uses his own life-force 
in studying that of other men or animals
 is not outside the subject of his      

thought at all4 ,the active currents of 
his own being continually intervene to  
obscure the processes of thought and    
render his conclusions valueless4  ,it  
may be true that no other method which  
can be called objective is immediately  
apparent1 but it does not follow that   
there is no other2 and if we simply     
enlarge our ideas of what is possible1  
we shall find the true method to be just
 what we ought rationally to expect1 and
 that is this3 ,the student who wishes  
to solve this problem1 either for his   
own satisfaction or for the             
enlightenment of others1 must eliminate 
from the problem the one disturbing     
element1 his personal life-force4       
,,chapter ,,xiii4   ,does it seem absurd
 to say that1 in order to study life1 a 
man must die8 ,for that is what this    
method amounts to in the last analysis4 
,now1 ,i beg of you not to be           
unnecessarily alarmed4 ,i have said     
nothing about burial4 ,if death were    
only another name for annihilation1 then

 death and burial would be inseparably  
associated1 no doubt4 ,but suppose it   
should be true that it is an error to   
associate the thought of annihilation   
with any man1 is it not clear that      
whoever permits that error to have any  
place in his mind is sure to give a     
meaning to the word death which does not
 belong to it8 ,is it not evident that  
the thought of death in that case must  
borrow blackness and mystery of a kind  
that does not pertain to it8 ,most      
surely4 ,but let it be said again1 that 
death is a reality2 it is not a fiction1
 nor a mere seeming4 ,a man cannot      
possess bodily life and at the same time
 be dead4 ,the two conditions are       
incompatible4 ,otherwise there would be 
no advantage to be gained toward the    
study of life by experiencing its       
opposite4  ,shall ,i try to tell you1   
from the standpoint of experience1 what 
death is8 ,perhaps it will be best to   
tell you first what it is not4 ,it is   
not a snuffing-out like a candle1 unless

 we could suppose one where the spark   
should remain quietly alive until the   
candle was relighted4  ,it is not a     
going to sleep1 unless we assume it     
possible for the dream-life to be woven 
on to the daytime consciousness at both 
ends without a break1 so that the       
dreamer1 however strange may have been  
his dreams1 and whatever the testimony  
of others may be1 is able to say1 with  
conscious truthfulness1 ,i have not     
slept at all4  ,death includes1 without 
question1 an entire suspension of bodily
 sensations and activities4 ,the        
consciousness of being1 however1        
remains1 and with it1 as a necessary    
consequence1 the consciousness of being 
alive1 however shut in by the enclosing 
walls of a senseless frame4  ,what is to
 follow does not occur to the mind4 ,a  
peace that is absolute belongs to a     
death that is clean4 ,appetite of every 
kind is dead with the body4 ,desire is  
not2 resignation takes its place4 ,what 
is this resignation like8 ,it includes a

 consciousness of a more potent yet     
kindly will1 and contentment with the   
result of the action of that will4  ,the
 ,giver has resumed ,his gift1 the gift 
of life1 for the benefit of him who has 
parted with it4 ,the resulting peace is 
permeated with gratitude1 not different 
in kind1 although different in          
manifestation1 from that which the      
little child expresses in every motion  
of his happy little body1 when he seems 
to say continuously1 ,i am glad to be   
alive4 ,the man is glad to be dead4  ,do
 you think it impossible that such an   
experience could come to any one who    
should afterwards recover life to       
describe it8 ,very likely4 ,but stop for
 a moment and consider4 ,when a man     
dies1 the result may be said to manifest
 in a twofold way4 ,first3 ,to the man  
himself1 who is1 to say the the least1  
cut off from his customary outward      
activities4 ,second3 ,to the world at   
large1 where the word is passed around1 
,such a one is dead2 and one            

acquaintance after another1 as he hears 
the news1 turns to a certain part of his
 mental organism and marks it down in   
black where it is not likely to be      
forgotten4 ,henceforth he will send out 
toward that friend1 now become a name or
 memory1 a different kind of mental     
current4  ,but wait3 the word comes1    
,not dead after all--a false report4    
,immediately the operation is reversed4 
,the black marks are rubbed out1 the    
little switch is re-turned1 and the     
friends all agree1 to save troublesome  
thought1 that the man who was supposed  
to be dead was not really so1 and the   
old question asked by ,job1 ,if a man   
die1 shall he live again8 is prevented  
once more from obtruding itself4        
,,chapter ,,xiv4   ,my aim is to make   
this book practical1 that is1 to clothe 
its thought in such garb as to render it
 available for use1 not to scholars     
merely1 but to all thoughtful minds4  ,i
 shall endeavor in this chapter to      
gather up a few missing links in my     

train of thought1 and afterwards        
endeavor to give you a glimpse of the   
,beyond4 ,the question ,i seem called   
upon to answer is1 ,how can a man be    
alive and dead at the same time8 and in 
order to answer it1 it will be necessary
 to analyze the thought called death1   
and separate it into its various parts4 
,the man is dead1 says local report1 and
 the consciousness of society undergoes 
that natural change in regard to the man
 which ,i have described4  ,his name    
becomes associated with things that     
were1 but no longer are4 ,even those who
 theoretically believe that the man     
continues to live either in happiness or
 misery1 have1 most of them1 so little  
confidence in the theory which they have
 subscribed to1 that they never dream of
 putting forth a mental current based on
 the theory4 ,to all intents and        
purposes1 society consigns the average  
man to annihilation1 with a             
half-careless ,poor fellow1 so he's     
gone4 ,we'll see no more of him4 ,well1 

no time to weep1 seeing as he didn't    
leave me anything4 ,what new device for 
entrapping the elusive dollar shall ,i  
conjure up to-day8  ,i am dead1 says the
 man himself as the shadows which have  
been gathering upon his senses culminate
 in a rayless silence1 and every thought
 of motion becomes a recollection1 a    
mere theory of fancy1 that will not even
 approach the dominion of the will4     
,death1 as a state of consciousness1 is 
a thing entirely new to him1 but he     
cannot reason on the subject4 ,to reason
 is to live1 to set the brain in motion1
 to perform mental operations2 this is  
no longer possible4  ,what shall this   
state be compared to8 ,it is like that  
of one isolated in a secret cell of his 
own house1 the key turned on him from   
the outside1 every avenue of            
communication cut off1 dead to the world
 and all that it contains4 ,if a total  
loss of appetite can be associated with 
the state1 it might continue for an     
indefinite period2 and if the power of  

thought-transference comes in1 a new    
kind of life has been begun4  ,but      
science says that no man is really dead 
who still retains his consciousness1 by 
which statement science belies its name4
 ,calling itself knowledge1 it spreads  
abroad its own ignorance4 ,how many a   
post-mortem has been held in the hope of
 finding the secret chamber wherein that
 part of man which cannot die has gone  
to rest6 ,how often the sweet peace of  
death has become a conscious madness1 by
 this means1 ,god only knows4           
,gentlemen1 desist4  ,to find a chamber 
whose occupant is invisible debars you  
forever from obtaining the proof that   
you have found it4 ,but perhaps it is   
not the soul itself that is the object  
of this search1 but rather some special 
physical representative that might be   
found still quivering with life and so  
betray its master4 ,all folly4  ,the    
soul when uncontaminated informs the    
whole outward body4 ,it has its pains   
and illnesses1 more or less affecting   

the outer form1 yet all unrecognized in 
materia medica1 and when its mortal     
brother is struck with death1 bends all 
its energies to make escape1 lest it1   
too1 take on mortality4 ,failing in its 
effort to make a doorway for its exit1  
it suffers for awhile through sympathy1 
till the final moment sets it free from 
pain within its small dark house1 no    
longer small1 because made clear1       
transparent1 by the touch of death1 when
 the dying has been brave4 ,no trace of 
foreign matter may remain to start a    
dissolution1 in which case the soul     
preserves the body from decay without   
more trouble than a little watchful     
care4  ,sight1 hearing1 touch1 through  
vibratory currents reach round the world
 and even touch the clouds2 the body has
 become1 in fact1 a mansion perfectly   
adapted to the needs of its proprietor1 
who finds a new world open to his       
delighted consciousness1 and thanks ,god
 fervently for his perfect victory over 
death1 as well as for his comfort and   

protection within the white1 still walls
 which form1 in fact1 the first         
abiding-place of the spirit4  ,with this
 still form as passive aid1 the soul1   
with little pain1 is able to make the   
mental transition which its change of   
circumstance requires4 ,no longer       
concerned directly with any thought     
based on material needs or material     
changes1 it finds itself in touch with  
the moral causes which underlie these   
changes2 and because moral force is most
 familiarly manifest in and through     
people1 these1 and their relations to   
itself1 fill all the mental horizon4    
,in this new field of perception1       
nothing impresses more than the enormous
 differences in spiritual rank and      
attainment existing among mortals who1  
judged by tape-line and scale1 stood    
fairly equal1 and whom human law        
necessarily places on a plane of perfect
 equality1 or perhaps1 through its      
deference to wealth1 makes unequal in   
the wrong way4  ,the thoroughness with  

which past illusions are stripped away  
from the mind tends to leave the spirit 
fairly aghast at its previous blindness4
  ,frequently forgetting that the motor 
nerves of the physical form are no      
longer responsive to its touch1 it      
starts to rise1 that it may go and tell 
the world of these wonders just         
discovered1 but finds itself in the firm
 and quiet grasp of death1 a touch that 
seems to speak and say3  ,never mind2   
that is all right4 ,you forget you are  
not free4 ,lie still and learn your     
lesson4  ,but shall ,i not return8      
,possibly1 but the mortal life is no    
concern of yours at present4 ,you are   
dead4  ,all this as in a flash1 for     
words do not belong to this state1 ideas
 rather1 the spiritual essences of      
thought that seem to need no time       
whatever to make their mark upon the    
mind4  ,to some of these the mind is so 
receptive that they sink at once to the 
very core of being1 while others are    
held upon the surface4  ,this last      

communication1 ,you are dead1 is sure to
 be so held4 ,it seems such an evident  
conclusion to respond1 ,if ,i am dead1  
there is no death but this seems such a 
contradiction to life's long lesson1    
namely1 that amidst a wilderness of     
uncertainties1 death is the one thing   
certain4 ,and then the recollection of  
the shrinking of the soul at thought of 
death1 how to account for that1 if there
 were no reality behind appearances so  
countless8  ,this in another flash of   
ideation that leaves a sense of mystery 
as of a problem not worked out1 and     
which may not be while death as a       
condition rests upon the form4 ,i say1  
may not be1 but would not be understood 
to mean that the hindrance is mechanical
 in this case4 ,a pure soul1 even in    
death1 has certain reserve forces which 
can be put in action if the need is     
great enough1 but the consciousness of  
being in a friend's control1 especially 
when that control is apparently         
absolute1 will tend to check all        

restless impulse in this region of the  
dark1 till now all unexplored4          
,,chapter ,,xv4   ,but if the soul might
 not take up and solve the problem for  
want of time and space1 we at this      
writing are not so limited4  ,first1 let
 us state it clearly4 ,if death does not
 mean a loss of consciousness           
necessarily1 what is its distinguishing 
feature as compared with life8 ,and     
what1 if anything1 is there in it to    
dread8 ,the confusion of mind so general
 on these topics can be accounted for in
 a very simple manner4  ,the body has   
its life and its death1 and the soul has
 its life and its death1 and we have but
 two words to describe the four         
conditions4 ,this makes it so nearly    
impossible to generalize on the subject 
and at the same time maintain clearness4
  ,for while the student of natural     
history attributes life and death to the
 body alone1 and the idealist goes to   
the other extreme and makes life and    
death purely subjective--attributes of  

mind1 not matter--the philosopher who   
would have his mind open on both sides1 
not only to those thoughts which enter  
unheralded1 but also to those which seem
 to have their origin in physical       
vibrations and enter the sensorium      
through the body1--the philosopher1 ,i  
say1 finds it necessary to discriminate 
carefully in the use of these words1    
life and death1 and to make it clear    
which is meant1 the body or the soul1   
whenever he attributes either condition 
to man4  ,i have said the two words     
cover four conditions4 ,what are they8  
,in the first the body is alive1 and the
 soul is alive4 ,beautiful condition of 
ingenuous youth6 ,in the second1 the    
body is alive1 and the soul dead4 ,the  
man who by a course of persistent       
indulgence in all manner of crime and   
sensuality has stifled the voice of     
conscience1 and finally reached the     
point where he is ready to say1 ,evil1  
be thou my good1 attains to a form of   
quiet4  ,the soul dies1 and its decaying

 powers are absorbed by the body1 which 
becomes henceforth an embodied poison1  
most dangerous and even deadly to the   
contact of the sensitive4  ,the third   
condition is that of the soul first     
described1 in which the body has either 
temporarily or permanently parted with  
its life1 while the soul remains intact4
 ,still a part of the world's seething  
life1 because action and reaction of the
 powerful causative soul-currents       
continue with such a soul1 the interment
 of the body will decide whether the    
temporary physical death shall become   
permanent or not4 ,in those exceptional 
cases where the body is preserved from  
the paroxysms of a blind grief which1   
when they include contact1 tend to snap 
the last thread of vitality1 or1 still  
more important1 from the embalmer's     
ignorant knife1 which slays unnumbered  
thousands--when the body is preserved   
from both these dangers by a previous   
isolation1 great possibilities are in   
store4  ,a forty-days' fast in the      

wilderness was the experience of one    
such soul1 after which he was able to   
say of his bodily life1 ,no man taketh  
it from me1 but ,i lay it down of       
myself4 ,i have power to lay it down1   
and ,i have power to take it again4     
,for his bodily life was restored to    
him1 and death of the body had no more  
terrors to the man who had attained     
superhuman powers4  ,the fourth and last
 case1 that where the death of the body 
follows that of the soul1 will not be   
enlarged on4  ,there are such cases1 but
 such can receive no lessons from a     
printed page4 ,the language of events   
alone can reach them1 and even when the 
soul is not dead1 but rather entombed in
 the body1 and rendered torpid for want 
of air to breathe1 the effect is the    
same1 so far as reaching them is        
concerned2 the death of the body wakens 
such imprisoned spirits1 only to plunge 
them into an untold agony of despair as 
they discover that life1 with all its   
opportunities1 has been worse than      

wasted1 and a bare existence alone      
remains1 minus friends1 minus hope1     
minus resource of any kind even to      
conceal the abject poverty which is seen
 to be the direct result of wilful and  
persistent wrongdoing all the way to the
 bitter end4  ,if we can suppose that   
such a soul1 at this twelfth hour1 under
 the tremendous pressure of this        
awakening1 should suddenly resolve to   
accept the situation1 and to brace every
 nerve to endure the horrors of the     
event without complaint1 while it would 
not be possible to say when there would 
be any change for the better for such a 
one1 the reason would be because time is
 not to such a soul2 while it still     
remains true that mercy is as truly an  
attribute of infinite power1 as justice 
must always be4  ,if1 on the other hand1
 we suppose that such a soul breaks out 
into rage at the discovery of its loss1 
hurling anathemas at the author of its  
being1 it will thereby plunge itself    
into darker depths1 parting with one    

after another of its faculties1 until   
final extinction of the individuality   
closes the scene4  ,i have now shown the
 four conditions which our dual         
constitution in relation to life and    
death makes possible4 ,some enlarging on
 these topics1 which concern us all1 may
 not be unprofitable4 ,we all enter life
 in the first described condition1 with 
body and soul both alive1 the body      
visible and tangible1 the soul more or  
less so1 according as its environments  
since conception have favored its       
growth4  ,comparatively few of us ever  
reach the second condition ,i have      
described1 in which the body remains    
alive while the soul is utterly dead4   
,the protests of this1 which is called  
the immortal part of us1 because the    
death of the body in itself does not    
impair its vigor1 usually prevent so    
great a calamity from occurring4  ,some 
kind of a compromise is entered into1 by
 which the soul is allowed a certain    
amount of freedom1 on condition that the

 body shall remain undisturbed in its   
favorite pleasures4 ,sometimes one day  
in the week is selected1 in which the   
soul is permitted to rule4  ,sometimes a
 single department of life's activities 
is placed under its charge1 and to meet 
the man on the favored day1 or to have  
dealings with him in this favored       
department1 gives you a very exalted    
idea of the individual4 ,sometimes in   
his business relations a man will be    
found conscientious in the extreme1     
while in his family he acts the tyrant  
and the brute4 ,sometimes his family    
almost worship him1 while thousands     
speak his name with detestation4 ,in    
either case the body1 not the soul1 the 
outer and visible1 not the inner        
invisible self1 is the leading factor in
 the man1 and the court of last resort4 
,the man is still in slavery to the     
mortal2 he has no knowledge of any life 
except the earth-life2 the              
faith-knowledge which he might have1    
were his soul given its freedom and     

permitted to use its higher powers1 is  
shut out by the disorder of his         
condition1 wherein a servant in rank1   
the body1 rules over the prince entitled
 to the throne4  ,this is the prevailing
 condition of the human family to-day1  
the difference between most people in   
this respect being merely one of degree1
 some giving the prince more1 and some  
less of freedom4 ,a few millions at most
 have given the nominal power into his  
hands1 retaining the real for bodily    
uses4 ,to curry favor with these1 tens  
of millions profess to have done the    
same4 ,in thousands only is the soul    
truly regnant1 and these are widely     
scattered1 and more or less hidden1 lest
 they be driven out of life4            
,,chapter ,,xvi4   ,when ,i say that ,i 
have been outside and have returned1 ,i 
speak the truth1 and yet my words seem  
to express an untruth4 ,it is because1  
as ,i have said before1 that other kind 
of existence is so different from this  
that it uses a different language to    

express even a simple idea1 a language  
which the kind we know as figurative    
most nearly resembles1 although that is 
far enough from being the same4 ,i      
should therefore use figurative language
 to embody what ,i have to say in regard
 to that other life1 if literary        
considerations were alone to be         
regarded2 but my aim is to benefit1 and 
,i decline to use a form of speech which
 has been so often sold as merchandise  
that many people no longer believe there
 is any truth attached to it4 ,i use    
instead the plain1 everyday speech1 and 
say without qualification that ,i have  
been away1 that ,i am acquainted with   
the conditions that follow after death1 
that ,i lean on no man's theories1 not  
even on those which ,i might make1 if ,i
 were given to theorizing1 which ,i am  
not4 ,no1 ,i rest on facts1 plain1 cold 
facts1 which are none the less so       
because they are registered in the mind 
of one man instead of many2 facts of    
consciousness not to be gainsaid1       

although1 in order to express them so as
 to make them most useful here1 it is   
necessary to translate them into a      
language so far from the original1 that 
only those who keep the fact of the     
translation in mind can hope to receive 
the truth in something like its purity4 
,i am well aware that ,i can scarcely   
hope to convince my reader that it could
 be possible under any circumstances for
 one to enter the kingdom of the dead1  
to take on the powers and conditions    
belonging to that realm1 to become a    
component part of that world of mystery 
to the extent of dismissing all care in 
regard to the possibility of return1 and
 even to transmit such a thought-message
 as this4 ,the responsibility for my    
being out of place rests upon you all2  
,i was compelled to undergo the pain of 
the passage at your will2 and now that  
you repent and ask me to return1 ,i will
 take my time and think about it4 ,i am 
well housed in a good body on this side4
 ,i do not know that ,i would go back if

 ,i could4  ,that1 after all this1 and  
after a succession of spiritual events  
which1 measured by their effect on one's
 consciousness1 should correspond to a  
period of centuries on earth1 one should
 actually make his way back and take up 
again the broken threads of his earthly 
life1 and weave them into something     
resembling an orderly design once       
more1--to convince my readers of the    
possibility of this is so nearly        
impossible that ,i shall not seriously  
attempt it1 although it is true4  ,it   
will be said that even though ,i suppose
 that this is actually true of myself1  
it does not follow that ,i am not       
suffering from an hallucination4  ,it   
will be argued very naturally that in so
 far as ,i am now a tangible1 actual    
human being1 just so far is it          
impossible that ,i should ever have been
 actually dead2 and as to becoming      
habituated to the kind of life which may
 remain after the body loses its        
animation1 for any one now living to    

make such a claim is the height of      
absurdity4  ,any one who shall take this
 stand will need to be reminded that    
bodily consciousness is one thing1 and  
soul-consciousness another1 and that    
there may be spiritual existence beyond 
that4 ,comparatively few mortals have   
not at some time in their lives awakened
 at least momentarily to                
soul-consciousness1 and can remember1 if
 they care to try1 how suddenly and     
completely the bodily consciousness     
retired into the background at its      
coming4  ,thousands can testify that    
this soul-consciousness in them so      
dominates that of the body as to render 
bodily pains powerless to disturb the   
regnant soul4  ,these may be able to    
understand that in the world toward     
which they hasten1 another advance will 
become possible1 wherein the            
soul-consciousness shall become         
subordinate to the higher life of the   
spirit4  ,to make this a little clearer 
let me say that what you are now        

conscious of as your soul1 the sensitive
 inner nature1 that feels a slight as   
though it were a blow1 that spurs the   
organism to years of anxious toil in the
 hope of gaining independence1 that     
scorns to beg1 yet in the hour of danger
 sometimes feels to pray--this inner    
self is to be your body when death shall
 come to break the tie that holds you   
captive in the dust4 ,every             
consideration to which your soul is now 
sensitive shall become1 as it were1 the 
laws of nature then4 ,you will suddenly 
discover that ill-will1 for instance1 is
 a current actually tangible1 as much so
 as an electric current was to your     
physical body4 ,you will learn          
experimentally that kindliness of       
spirit1 good-will1 and gratitude are    
equally tangible to your new and finer  
senses4 ,you will perceive that a       
generous spirit diffuses light1 and a   
selfish one dwells in his own darkness1 
and this kind of light and darkness you 
will be astonished to discover has taken

 the place of what you formerly knew by 
those names4 ,you will soon perceive    
that a deceiving spirit knows how to    
wear a false light as he pretends to a  
genuine interest in your welfare1 and   
that a truly friendly one will sometimes
 hide his light1 if thereby he can      
obtain advantage for your benefit4  ,if 
your life has been little more than a   
revolution around yourself1 measuring   
everything by its relation to your      
personal advantage as you saw it1 you   
will be surprised to find how small and 
dark a space will bound your being2 and 
it may be a long time before you cease  
to dwell upon the memories of the world 
left behind1 or cease to hope that in   
some way you can return to make a better
 use of its opportunities4 ,and when you
 shall fairly come to understand that   
you have been living in the generous air
 and sunshine of the spirit of ,god1 and
 that1 instead of seeking to imitate    
,him by making your life a blessing to  
those less favored than yourself1 you   

have employed your brief span in the    
effort to appropriate to your private   
use everything that could be lawfully   
seized on1 you will wonder why the      
certainty that earth-life is limited had
 not impressed you more2 and when you   
perceive1 through the soul-consciousness
 which has taken the place of the       
bodily1 that you have no data whatever  
upon which to base even a surmise as to 
how long your new kind of life is to    
continue1 such measureless despair may  
fall upon you as shall even make tears  
impossible4     ,,chapter ,,xvii4   ,on 
the other hand1 if anywhere along your  
life-journey you have scattered any     
seeds of kindness1 they will every one  
of them bear fruit in the ,beyond4      
,from the moment when you perceive and  
acknowledge to yourself that you are not
 in every way fitted to enter the courts
 of heaven and become associated with   
those to whom selfish thoughts have     
become simply memories1 you are likely  
to have experiences tending to refine   

and purify your nature4 ,no longer      
active in the outward1 you must bear    
what influences come upon you from      
without as best you may4 ,an infant in  
the cradle is not more helpless than the
 great majority of those who enter the  
,beyond2 and the invisible nurse that   
may have you in charge will not ask you 
what kind of medicine is most agreeable1
 but will administer what is best for   
you4  ,picture to your mind1 if         
possible1 what it would be like to lie  
physically helpless1 with your outward  
consciousness telling you that you no   
longer appear as a man1 or as a woman1  
but only as an infant to any eyes able  
to see you1 while at the same time your 
mental vision is perfectly clear and    
takes in all your past life in every    
aspect of its relation to other lives1  
and especially in its relations to the  
great all-pervading life which seems now
 to be somehow lost out of all possible 
reach4  ,suppose that while those       
reactions called pain and pleasure are  

more vitally potent than ever1 because  
of a vastly heightened sensitiveness1   
mental as well as physical exertion has 
become impossible1 a succession of      
states of consciousness taking their    
place2 and then suppose a master hand1  
with all the resources of mesmerism at  
his command1 should begin playing upon  
your organism1 proving to you by every  
touch that not a line of all your past  
history but is an open book to him1 and 
his only aim is to bring you to a       
willingness to confess your weaknesses  
and follies1 your neglect of duties1 as 
well as your open transgressions--one   
thing at least would surely result3 you 
would discover1 and never forget1 that  
spiritual things are not less1 but      
immensely more real than any physical   
entities with which you ever came in    
contact4  ,it is such a great mistake to
 suppose that because you have nothing  
in your experience corresponding to such
 a condition as that which ,i have just 
described1 therefore you never will     

have4  ,what kind of reasoning can be   
weaker than this8 ,have you not two     
kinds of consciousness1 one of the world
 and all it contains1 and one of        
personal existence in its various       
relations8 ,do you not perceive that    
your body1 vitally active as it is1 and 
swayed by every thought you send out1   
belongs properly to the first of these  
fields of consciousness1 while that     
which makes up your character--your     
preferences1 your predilections1 your   
faults1 your foibles1 your beliefs1 and 
your prejudices--belongs to the second8 
,can you not see that a suspension of   
the outward consciousness1 in other     
words1 a suspension of your power to    
sense the material world through your   
material senses1 has no necessary       
connection with any suspension of your  
inner consciousness by which you might  
be able to say1 ,i cannot move2 ,i      
cannot see1 hear1 or feel anything1 but 
,i am still a white man1 ready to swear 
by the flag and by my right to my       

personal liberty1 and if any one takes  
the trouble to hunt me out he will find 
me the same man ,i always was8          
,hundreds of thousands thus lie in their
 graves1 thankful if they know its      
location1 and waiting as only the dead  
can for the time of their deliverance4  
,,chapter ,,xviii4   ,accept another    
glimpse of the ,beyond4 ,one of the most
 distinctive characteristics of this    
country or state of being is activity of
 mind4 ,let me explain why ,i say       
country or state of being4 ,it is either
 the one or the other to the            
consciousness according to the point of 
view4 ,looked at externally1 it is seen 
to be a new environment1 a different    
kind of life2 but when its atmosphere   
becomes yours1 the effect upon your     
mental organism will be so great that   
you will rightly regard it as a state of
 being to which earth-life bears the    
relation of a pre-natal one4 ,this      
comparison1 however1 has one defect1 for
 while we of the earth have no conscious

 memory of our pre-natal life1 they of  
the ,beyond recall every leading event  
of earth-life as clearly as though no   
time had intervened4  ,the change of    
state brings on the mental activity     
spoken of1 the effect of which on the   
material side manifests as heat or      
magnetism1 or both4  ,the lifting off of
 the weight of dead matter causes a     
feeling of buoyancy1 and the vibrations 
of the particles of the gaseous body may
 be so great that it will seem to expand
 until one seems everywhere present over
 a vast territory in the same way that  
we are now present in all parts of our  
physical bodies4  ,the first event of   
prime importance to you will be the     
demonstrating and establishing of your  
spiritual rank4 ,just where do you      
belong8 ,in the society of what people1 
or what class of people1 are you        
content8 ,does any accusation lie       
against you8 ,if so1 what have you to   
say in regard to it8  ,are there any    
special credits that you claim which    

seem never to have been acknowledged8   
,is there anything you wish to confess8 
,to what concealment do you claim a     
right8  ,the answering of these         
questions may be a very simple matter1  
or may involve the welfare of nations4  
,while the friends left behind will     
contribute their quota of evidence1     
those with whom you have been associated
 who have preceded you to the unknown   
country will be the most actively       
interested in your case4 ,you will find 
some waiting for your testimony on some 
point involving their own status1 and   
when you come to speak of the matter you
 may have to struggle against a tumult  
of voices before you succeed in         
testifying4 ,where questions of fact are
 involved1 of sufficient importance to  
justify it1 most wonderful agencies can 
be set in motion to determine them      
correctly in the region of the ,beyond4 
,that precise point in the ether where  
the event occurred1 and which has long  
since been left behind by the passage of

 the solar system through space1 can be 
visited and made to yield up its record 
as by kinetograph2 or the surroundings  
may be reproduced as on a stage1 and the
 one who persists in falsifying is      
suddenly placed there and told to act   
his part again according to his own     
story4 ,he will find it very difficult  
to play a false part in the presence of 
those who know the truth4  ,it may be   
noted that this picture of a soul on    
trial is quite different from that given
 before1 where it is held as the        
prisoner of death2 but it is only       
necessary to bear in mind that events   
may succeed each other even in a country
 where time is not1 and that such       
succession marks the stages of one's    
growth4  ,if any of your faculties are  
in a dull or torpid state because the   
circumstances of your life have been    
such that they never have been given a  
field of action1 the invisible actors of
 the ,beyond who may have you in charge 
will know how to awaken1 stimulate1 and 

call these faculties into an active     
state before the final decision is      
rendered1 to the end that no injustice  
may be done you on their account4       
,should the verdict of the lower court  
be such that you are not willing to     
abide by it1 you may take an appeal to a
 higher court4  ,at the last you may    
even appeal from the judgment of angels 
altogether1 and demand a trial by the   
great ,spirit of the universe1 but you  
will not do this recklessly when you    
know that it involves a trial by ordeal1
 or a contest of sheer will-power1      
sustained by conscious innocence alone1 
with planetary forces4  ,not brief nor  
trifling is a contest such as this2 not 
once in a thousand years does such a    
thing occur2 but the fact that the way  
to it is always open in the ,beyond     
proves with what infinite tenderness the
 individual is guarded against          
injustice4  ,but it is impossible that  
,i should know of what ,i am speaking1  
some reader says4 ,i grant you that it  

seems so1 but would discussion settle   
it8 ,is it not time the door was opened8
 ,is there no need8     ,,chapter ,,xix4
   ,an illustration of the difficulty of
 generalizing when speaking of matters  
on the spirit-side just now occurs to   
me4  ,suppose that you as a mortal were 
permitted to witness a combat between a 
soul on its way upward and a foul spirit
 seeking to gain control4 ,the spirit   
may be able to take on any form it      
pleases1 and approaches in the guise of 
a friend4 ,but the soul receives a      
warning touch and speaks out sharply3   
,stand2 keep your distance4 ,who are    
you8 and what do you want8 ,with every  
smooth and crafty method of tone and    
word the spirit seeks to convince that  
he is what he claims to be1 a friend1   
and entitled to approach4 ,the soul1    
with its senses sharpened by fear1 uses 
every effort to discern the character of
 the stranger1 weighs and analyzes      
instantly every expression of the wily  
foe1 and before the answer is completed1

 decides positively and prepares to     
strike4 ,the spirit perceives the motion
 and shifts his footing in time to      
escape the blow--a thought-impulse1     
weighted to kill4 ,does the spirit      
respond in anger8 ,oh1 no2 his object is
 not to injure1 but to gain control1 so 
he remonstrates1 with pretended grief1  
that one whom he loves should so mistake
 him4 ,but the soul is not to be        
deceived1 and gathers up its strength   
for another blow4 ,the spirit pours out 
a perfect stream of flattering words1   
intended to lull his intended victim    
into a momentary lack of vigilance1 and 
ventures a little nearer1 hoping to     
touch the aura and disappear from view1 
only to become manifest as an invisible 
power within the soul1 an active agent  
in undermining its powers until the     
opportunity shall present to seize the  
very throne itself and revel in the     
possessions of its victim4  ,but the    
soul is cautious1 and in virtue strong1 
and so1 conscious of invisible          

protection1 suddenly fixes the demon    
with his eye1 and before he can escape  
launches at him a bolt that leaves him  
helpless and writhing1 dead as a spirit 
can be4 ,i killed him1 says the exulting
 soul1 as it passes on its way4  ,you   
would be apt to say1 ,he did not kill   
him at all2 he only disabled him4  ,now1
 while it is true that what ,i have     
described corresponds in appearance to  
what we should here call disablement    
merely1 its full meaning cannot be      
understood without entering the         
consciousness of the spirit who was     
struck down4  ,to such a one activity1  
or the ability to act1 constitutes life2
 inactivity1 or the inability to act1   
constitutes death1 not death as we know 
it1 but a living death1 in which the    
fierce vibrations of a life that knows  
no end1 being confined as though by a   
broken wheel in its carriage1--being    
confined1 ,i say1 to the gaseous        
envelope1 the propulsion of which has   
absorbed half its fire1 soon heats the  

envelope to a torturing degree4         
,illustrating in another way1 the evil  
spirit1 being disabled from continuing  
his customary activity1 is forced to    
reflect1 to look back over his course1  
and face the evils he has done4 ,horrors
 take hold of him4 ,the most poignant   
dread of being overtaken by those whom  
he has despoiled of all that made life  
dear1 until in despair they have        
committed suicide1 and started out to   
find their tormentor1 takes hold of the 
miserable wreck1 who has not even the   
consolation of looking forward to some  
certain end to his sufferings1 because  
neither time nor the last sleep are     
known in the region of the dead4  ,is   
this experience1 do you think1 any less 
to be dreaded by a selfish spirit than  
is death by a mortal who is consciously 
not ready8 ,it is therefore properly    
called death in the language of the     
spirit1 made up1 as that language is1 of
 ideas only4  ,but in calling it death  
on the earth-plane we are using a word  

that has a much different meaning here4 
,when we say1 ,the man is dead1 a       
funeral1 or at least a burial is        
suggested4 ,not so there4  ,in this we  
have an example of the difficulty of    
conveying information in regard to the  
conditions of the ,beyond1 without using
 words that are liable to be            
misunderstood4  ,only those who have    
attained to the ability to converse in  
the light1 eye to eye1 without words1   
are entirely free from these            
obstructions to mental intercourse4     
,,chapter ,,xx4   ,astronomy teaches us 
that our earth1 together with the other 
members of the solar system1 is         
traveling through space1 at the rate of 
eight miles per second1 around a distant
 center1 in an orbit requiring many     
thousands of years to complete4  ,we    
learn from this that we are constantly  
changing our place in the universe1 and 
are entering new etherean fields1 not   
only every year1 but every day and hour4
 ,since we are unconscious of this      

motion1 it may seem to have no vital    
relation to us1 yet1 by a knowledge of  
the fact1 we may gain an insight into   
the wonderful resources of this great   
machine for recording events4  ,every   
thought and feeling of which we are     
conscious makes its mark1 not only upon 
our bodies1 both the outer and the      
inner1 but also upon the ether through  
which we are passing4 ,i am alluding not
 to the words in which we clothe or     
perhaps conceal our thoughts or feelings
 when communicating with one another1   
but to the thought-current itself at the
 point of origin4  ,this would be the   
same in the minds of all men of equal   
intelligence1 without regard to         
nationality2 and those beings who are   
able to read the marks left by these    
currents would find them written in     
unmistakable characters1 and of a size  
proportionate to our rate of travel1 on 
the fair ethereal page4  ,in one respect
 we are at an enormous disadvantage in  
our relations1 conscious or unconscious1

 with the denizens of the ,beyond4  ,our
 thought-motions compared with theirs   
are like an ox-team to a locomotive4 ,it
 is a fact1 and there is no use in      
quarreling with it4 ,on the other hand1 
through our association with matter we  
are able1 without permanent injury1 to  
bear oppressions of the spirit which    
would be death itself to them2 and those
 among them who would take delight in   
insulting us are deterred from doing so 
by our insensibility to the stinging    
thought-current4 ,we ourselves would not
 insult a post for being one4  ,these   
oppressions of spirit1 or depressions1  
as we blindly call them1 are a part of  
the system by and through which we are  
made to manifest what manner of person  
we are2 and our blindness as to the real
 meaning of the life we have come into  
possession of1 our persistent mistaking 
it for an end1 instead of a means to an 
end1 brings it to pass that the tests we
 undergo as to our fitness for this or  
that position in the real though hidden 

life that awaits us all1 are real and   
genuine tests1 which they could not be1 
to their full extent1 if we clearly     
understood at the time just what was    
being done4 ,every thoughtful man and   
woman looking back over life can discern
 how this or that decision has been a   
turning-point leading on to unexpected  
success or paving the way to disaster or
 defeat4 ,when the test is complete1    
some inkling of its meaning often dawns 
upon us1 and we resolve to be on guard  
next time1 and then perhaps we start off
 on some rainbow chase1 only to discover
 that we are the prey of delusion once  
more4 ,then1 perhaps1 we get angry and  
curse the whole machine as the product  
of some stupid blunderer1 thereby       
avoiding the confession of any mental   
obliquity on our own part4  ,not all of 
the delusions of mortality are of a kind
 that lead to such a result4 ,some have 
been imposed upon us by our risen       
brothers of the other sphere1 and have  
held sway over our minds1 as they did   

over our fathers' minds1 and over their 
fathers' before them1 none of us living 
long enough on the mortal side1 or      
obtaining sufficiently clear independent
 light1 to enable us to become free4    
,the shaking off of the fetters of this 
mental bondage is a special             
characteristic of our own day2 and those
 who have listened to the torrents of   
eloquence poured from the lips of the   
young mediums upon this subject1 know   
that this work1 the necessity for which1
 as ,i have indicated1 is largely due to
 other-world intelligences1 is now being
 forwarded from the same quarter with   
tremendous power4 ,verily1 there must   
have been a revolution in the heavens1  
or this would not be4 ,and such1 indeed1
 is the case4 ,the tremendous power of  
an organized hierarchy under the        
controlling influence of a single mind  
so prominently in evidence here1 is     
without a counterpart on the other side 
to-day1 although the sins against       
humanity which have been charged against

 the priesthood of past ages should more
 properly be laid at the door of their  
invisible inspirers1 then in the height 
of that power which is no longer theirs4
 ,to-day the enemies of racial progress 
are to be sought for on earth1 where the
 intoxicating dreams of power without   
responsibility have found lodgment and  
worked their corrupting influence in the
 minds of not a few of our brothers1 who
 seem to forget that they are still     
members of the race they are seeking to 
enslave1 and that their responsibility  
for misusing the power entrusted to them
 will be accounted all the greater in   
consequence4     ,,chapter ,,xxi4   ,the
 range of subjects coming within the    
scope of my title is so great that ,i   
cannot undertake an exhaustive treatment
 of any within reasonable limits1 but ,i
 hope to supply a few keys by the use of
 which reverent minds of any and every  
school of thought may be able to enter  
upon successful explorations4  ,the     
amount of evidence necessary to convince

 a sincere inquirer that this           
earth-life1 important as it is1 is but  
the threshold of existence1 is not very 
great1 but it must needs be adapted to  
the individual mind4  ,to obtain this   
evidence is worth more to any man or    
woman than any other purely mental      
acquirement can be4  ,for it is a mental
 acquisition1 the possession of which is
 related to1 and has a natural influence
 over1 every other we can call our own4 
,yet it has not1 in itself1 any         
transforming effect upon the life and   
character4  ,when such a result follows1
 other influences share in the work4 ,he
 who has lost friends that were a part  
of his life1 the mother whose children  
have fainted away into the world of     
mystery1 the philosopher who has given  
the strength of his years to the search 
for truth1 are all profoundly affected  
by the discovery2 while those in whom   
the affections are less strongly        
developed1 or whose mental powers give  
them no adequate perception of the      

profound and far-reaching relations of  
this great truth1 may hold it as lightly
 as they do their dreams1 and receive   
from it no more benefit than they do    
from them4  ,whoever is capable of      
analyzing a thought or the expression of
 a thought1 can find evidence of the    
world beyond strewn along his path on   
every hand4  ,all figurative expressions
 are merely unconscious devices to give 
to thought somewhat of the objective    
reality it possesses to dwellers in the 
,beyond4 ,for instance3  ,there are     
names which carry with them something of
 a charm4 ,we have but to say ',athens1'
 and all the great deeds of antiquity   
break upon our hearts like a sudden     
gleam of sunshine2 ',florence1' and the 
magnificence and passionate agitation of
 ,italy's prime send forth their        
fragrance towards us like blossom-laden 
boughs1 from whose dusky shadows we     
catch whispers of the beautiful tongue4 
,is it doubted that the ,athens of which
 the author speaks will be found        

embodied in forms real and tangible in  
that other world which takes to itself  
all that attains to immortality in this 
one8  ,why do authors speak of a cold   
greeting1 of walls of reserve1 rivers of
 kindness1 or the sunshine of love8     
,they may not be able fully to explain1 
but expressions like these point to     
features of the landscape in that world 
where the inner becomes the outer and   
takes on those garments of reality which
 belong to it by right4  ,the things    
which are seen are temporal1 but the    
things which are unseen are eternal1 and
 when we have broken connection with our
 temporal bodies1 or attained a true and
 perfect control over them1 we may enter
 into this knowledge1 to find it truly a
 heavenly inheritance4  ,but it is not  
alone through figurative and poetic     
language that we may discover evidence  
of the existence of an immaterial world4
  ,the broad fields of philosophy and   
literary criticism receive their light1 
their water1 and their air1 outside the 

world of sense almost entirely4 ,scarce 
anything in these domains has any       
causative relation with the world of    
matter4  ,for instance1 take this       
passage from one of the magazines3  ,but
 what does the work of higher criticism 
really mean8 ,it means1 briefly1 as     
applied to the ,old ,testament1 the     
revision of certain traditions          
concerning the structure1 the date1 the 
authorship of the books--traditions     
which had their origin in the fanciful  
and uncritical circles of ,judaism just 
before1 or soon after1 the ,christian   
era4,b  ,a careful analysis of the      
meaning of this will show that it begins
 and ends in the domain of abstract     
thought4 ,to use a figurative           
expression1 it does not touch the ground
 anywhere4 ,if our bodies and their     
needs1 if the earth and its products    
which minister to those needs1 if1 in   
brief1 the material universe really     
comprised the all that is1 such a       
thought as is contained in the passage  

quoted could never have come into being4
 ,for it has no practical relation to   
things as such4  ,yet there is nothing  
especially obscure about it4 ,it was    
written for men and women of ordinary   
intelligence1 who are supposed to take  
an interest not merely in sacred truths1
 which1 indeed1 are not dealt with in   
the article from which ,i quote1 but the
 structural forms containing those      
truths4  ,all of which1 rightly         
interpreted1 points to another phase of 
existence1 which is either near to or   
far from us according to the stage of   
our development1 a phase which may      
become measurably real to us even before
 we enter fully upon it1 and which has  
the strongest possible claims upon our  
attention4     ,,chapter ,,xxii4        
,there is no more fruitful source of    
error to the student of occult          
philosophy than the assumption which he 
continually makes1 that the race and the
 individual may be treated as one when  
their relations to a higher power are   

being considered4  ,it appears that the 
study of the laws of chemistry may be   
partly responsible for this4 ,a molecule
 of any substance1 having in itself all 
the properties of that substance1 may be
 reasoned upon and regarded as though it
 were1 as it is1 an epitome of the mass4
 ,in the same way it is assumed that    
man1 the individual1 is an epitome of   
the race1 and that1 in endeavoring to   
obtain a philosophical view of him1 we  
may pass in review before the mind what 
we know of the race1 and what we know of
 the individual in a general way1       
without drawing any line of distinction 
between what is true of the one and what
 is true of the other4  ,now1 while this
 mental process may have a certain value
 when both are considered externally1   
those who attempt to solve the deeper   
problems of the race or the man1 by     
means of it1 are sure to fall into      
error4  ,it is not borne in mind that   
our race is scarcely conscious of itself
 as a unit1 and if it were1 it would in 

the present state of knowledge regard   
itself as alone in the universe1 flying 
through space on a revolving globe with 
enormous velocity1 along an unknown     
orbit4 ,there may be other inhabited    
worlds peopled by other races of beings1
 but as a race we do not know this to be
 true2 and only a dim perception of the 
survival of a few of its own members    
that have lived their little lives and  
passed away since time began1 relieves  
the sense of isolation with which the   
race looks out into the surrounding     
darkness4  ,the student of history      
contemplates the rise and fall of       
nations and traces the causes which have
 led to their overthrow4 ,he observes   
the same influences at work to-day as in
 the olden time1 and when the           
premonition of like disasters comes home
 to him1 he is ready to exclaim1 ,there 
is no hope6 ,there is no ,god6 ,and in  
so speaking he gives utterance to the   
soul of our race1 which is still groping
 in the darkness for light and a place  

of rest4  ,how much of this is true of  
man as an individual8 ,very little1     
comparatively1 as we shall see4 ,in the 
first place1 as individuals1 we are     
conscious of companionship4 ,we look    
around us and out over the world and see
 great numbers of our fellows whose life
 and surroundings are comparable with   
our own4 ,such differences as we        
perceive in each other only give        
evidence that our fellow-beings are     
real1 not simply reflections of         
ourselves2 are objective entities1 not  
elusive shadows4 ,and by as much as we  
are conscious of an individuality apart 
from that of our race1 by so much may we
 hope to separate the thread of our     
destiny from the tangled mass4 ,examples
 of such a separation are to be found   
among the great names of the earth2 and 
a study of their lives will teach us how
 best to shape our own4 ,it will also   
teach us that race-life and individual  
life are not necessarily the same1 that 
the individual may absorb light for     

which the race is not yet ready1 and set
 his standards of thought and action far
 beyond what is yet possible to the race
 as a whole4  ,if1 now1 we form our     
conceptions of the character of the     
power overruling us1 by an exclusive    
study of those events which affect great
 numbers1 we are liable to serious      
error4 ,if the sound of thunders        
intended for the ear of the race be     
concentrated so as to fall upon our     
individual hearing1 they will certainly 
deafen us completely4  ,on the other    
hand1 those whose narrower vision sees  
only the play of events as they affect  
the lives of individuals are also liable
 to error in forming their estimate of  
the character of the overruling power4  
,here tragedy visible and invisible     
plays its part1 and sometimes injustice 
in the extreme appears to triumph4      
,there is no possibility of avoiding    
error in judgment from this point of    
view1 without constantly bearing in mind
 at least three things3 first1 that     

outward disaster is sometimes an        
inevitable result of long-hidden crime2 
second1 that to the innocent1 death is a
 release from prison1 a promotion from a
 lower to a higher sphere of action1 and
 that those who are able to look beyond 
the instruments used to break their     
fetters1 to the kindness that sets them 
free1 can mount on the wings of delight 
to a diviner air2 and third1 that the   
dwarfing of the faculties of a soul     
during the short space of earth-life    
will turn out to be a far less serious  
matter to the soul than to the one      
responsible for it4     ,,chapter       
,,xxiii4   ,the question may be asked1  
,wherein lies the difference between man
 the unit1 and the race which is an     
aggregation of these units8 ,what       
philosophical difference is possible8   
,in answer1 ,i would say that while the 
individual and the race alike possess   
body and soul1 the individual at times  
manifests a power of becoming greater in
 every respect than the influence of    

heredity or surroundings can at all     
account for4 ,such individuals tell us  
of some powerful influence descending   
upon them1 as it were1 from a higher    
sphere1 and to this they attribute the  
changes in their life and powers which  
make all their friends to marvel4 ,no   
such stimulating and transforming       
influence has ever manifested itself on 
so broad a scale as to affect our entire
 race at once1 and we must conclude that
 the time has not come for such an      
event4 ,as a race1 our eyes are not     
lifted above the earth4 ,we care little 
about our origin1 and still less about  
our destiny4 ,the love of war and       
bloodshed1 delight in the flowing bowl  
and all its attendant revelry1 are still
 characteristic of our race1 and the    
heavy clouds that are gathering in our  
sky are not yet black enough with       
impending evil to arrest us in our      
downward course4  ,ah6 well for us it is
 that we are not to be left alone to    
rush headlong to destruction in our     

blind folly4 ,terrible as are the forces
 we have invoked against ourselves1     
those which shall save us from death by 
all manner of intoxication are          
infinitely greater4  ,the wasting fever 
of war undoubtedly must come1 such war  
as the world has never seen before1 but 
when the coveted excitement1 changed to 
agony untold1 is at last over1 when our 
physical forces are entirely exhausted1 
the loving ,parent whose outstretched   
hand we have always refused1 will show a
 pitying face4 ,a draught of infinite   
peace will be imparted to our spirit1   
and we shall rise in newness of life to 
enjoy the forgotten delights of obedient
 childhood1 and make this old world over
 into one entirely new4     ,,chapter   
,,xxiv4   ,i had not thought to touch   
this strain when ,i began to write of   
the ,beyond1 but some things almost     
write themselves1 and ,i have not       
forgotten the closing words of the      
appeal with which this book opens4 ,we  
are trodden down by our brothers among  

the living4 ,help us1 our fathers from  
the dead4  ,ah6 if the wire which       
carries this petition outward can bear  
the strength of the return current1 it  
may possibly convey such tidings as     
words are not able to express1 for is it
 not true that the sweetest strains are 
cradled within a silence which speaks   
more profoundly to the soul than does   
the music to the ear8 ,let us hearken4  
,do you wish to know what stands in the 
way of our coming to the rescue8        
,nothing but your unbelief in the       
possibility of our coming4 ,thank ,god  
that unbelief is growing weak4 ,could   
you know what exhausting labor is ours  
in our efforts to reach you1 you would  
pray rather for light to enable you to  
do your part4 ,believe1 oh1 believe that
 we have not forgotten4 ,in agony of    
spirit we are striving to awaken you    
from slumber1 to instil into your minds 
the supreme truth1 that no good thing   
that can be named is impossible of      
occurrence4 ,you are ready to believe it

 for the material1 why not accept it in 
the spiritual8  ,religious liberty is   
your priceless privilege4 ,can you      
possibly gain it by setting foot on     
religion itself8 ,be sane4 ,learn to    
discriminate4 ,throw away the chaff1 but
 keep the wheat4 ,death is a magician1  
not a murderer4 ,the pain all comes     
beforehand4 ,the passage itself is not  
painful4 ,death merely turns the key in 
a door you never saw before1 and you    
step out into such a freedom as you     
never dreamed of4 ',be thou faithful    
unto death1 and ,i will give thee a     
crown of life1' suggests a great truth4 
,try to get hold of it4 ,no man1 and no 
body of men1 no spirit1 nor any         
combination of them1 can prevent you    
from making your life a success4 ,there 
are prizes to be won4 ,why not try for  
them8  ,but you say you are trying4     
,sword in hand1 you are battling for the
 right4 ,yes1 we know1 and sometimes you
 are wounded1 and help seems never to   
come4 ,hold fast4 ,we are building a    

road4  ,it is already finished1 and the 
cars are on the track4 ,you shall not   
die of wounds like these4 ,help is near4
 ,your prayer is heard4 ,we knew it     
would be4 ,from the heights beyond the  
heights has come the order1 ',descend in
 power4 ,earth's children are ready to  
receive you4' ,and we are not few nor   
weak4 ,our phalanx moves in a light     
which nothing can withstand4 ,believe   
it1 and stand upon your feet4 ,we are   
already here4     ,,chapter ,,xxv4      
,there is another grand division of my  
subject1 but the difficulty of          
presenting it through the medium of     
written language is even greater than   
that already dealt with1 and only a     
slight attempt will now be made4 ,not   
only do thoughts take the place of      
timings in the ,beyond1 but emotions    
take the place of forces4 ,by emotions  
in this connection ,i mean those        
currents of energy which have their rise
 in1 and are more or less under the     
control of individualized intelligence1 

as love and hate1 joy and sorrow1 hope  
and fear1 happiness and distress2 and by
 forces ,i mean those which are         
sometimes called blind forces1 such as  
attraction in its various forms1 heat1  
electric vibration1 and the like4 ,as   
these last pertain especially to matter1
 we should expect them to retire into   
the background in a world where         
mind-realities1 or facts of             
consciousness1 absolutely dominate4 ,and
 so they do4 ,and here may be a good    
place to indicate what part matter      
really plays in this immaterial world4  
,let me call attention to the world of  
art4 ,let us recall its great names1 and
 the masterpieces which have given them 
fame1 the wonderful poems1 the          
paintings1 the sculpture1 and the       
musical creations that will never die1  
and then pause and consider how slight  
are the demands made by this            
wonder-world on the lower world of      
matter4 ,the poet and the musician call 
for writing materials1 the sculptor     

needs some clay and a few modeling      
tools1 the painter some pigments and    
brushes1 and a bit of canvas4 ,with     
these slight aids the noble conceptions 
of genius are materialized for the      
delight of future generations4  ,take   
another illustration4 ,when a ship goes 
out of the harbor1 it is to be assumed  
that she takes her anchor with her1 and 
carefully guards it against possible    
loss4  ,it is likewise true that within 
the scope of the great and splendid     
activities of a free spirit1 a material 
anchor is somewhere safely cared for1   
yet such an anchor has no more prominent
 relation to the activities of the      
spirit than the anchor of a ship has to 
the ship's power to cross the sea4 ,if  
we could think of a ship with nothing   
else to do but to lie around the harbor1
 the relative importance of the anchor  
would increase very much2 and if it had 
no anchor of its own1 it might attempt  
to tie up to some other vessel that had 
one4 ,and so with earth-bound spirits   

whose testimony is sometimes quoted to  
the effect that spirit-life is as       
dependent on matter as any other4 ,most 
of them are blissfully ignorant of their
 own poverty1 and move about the earth1 
that is to say in the lower or earthly  
strata of thoughts and feelings1 because
 they have no desires above them4  ,they
 remember this life as a lost heaven1   
and are continually bemoaning that loss 
in secret1 while their activities take  
the form of influencing mortals to this 
or that kind of sensual indulgence1     
which they wish to share through        
sympathy4 ,every impulse and desire is  
bent upon a possible recovery of the    
earth-life1 and they are so ignorant of1
 and indifferent to1 any higher form of 
life1 that it remains without existence 
to them4  ,i would not say they are     
insensible to the enlargement of their  
powers consequent upon their release    
from the confinement of an earthly body4
 ,they could not be4 ,their discovery   
that death does not destroy the inner   

consciousness was a great surprise to   
them1 but the novelty of the discovery  
soon wore away4 ,what seemed so strange 
at first1 became a truism1 a simple     
scientific fact1 previously unknown1 and
 unable in itself to supply any stimulus
 to their higher powers4  ,it is evident
 that the testimony of these upon the   
subject is worthless1 while those who   
have battled for and won the prize of   
recognition in a higher sphere give     
abundant evidence of their freedom from 
the bondage of matter1 and the desires  
that have material things for their     
object4  ,resuming my subject1 not only 
matter1 but those forces which are      
inseparably associated with it1 retire  
into the background1 nay1 almost        
disappear1 in the ,beyond4 ,emotions    
take their place4  ,the atmosphere1 or  
that which corresponds to what we know  
by the term1 seems charged with some    
powerful element1 resembling electricity
 in its effects1 but differing from it  
in that it seems to be sensitive to     

thought1 and to be capable of responding
 to it with dynamic force4 ,a shock from
 this element is in every respect as    
real to the consciousness as an electric
 shock is to us4 ,it comes from without 
and expends its force upon the gaseous  
body4 ,being sensitive to thought1 it   
does not impress one as being capricious
 in its nature1 but as though acting    
according to some law which it is of the
 highest importance to discover1 if     
possible4  ,with the perceptive and     
intuitional faculties wrought up to the 
highest state of activity1 it is        
presently discovered that it is not     
thought in the abstract1 but thought    
surcharged with feeling or with devotion
 to a principle1 some cherished         
sentiment of the soul1 which has the    
power to excite this hitherto unknown   
element2 and gradually it dawns on the  
mind that this element corresponds to   
public opinion on earth1 that it        
emanates from the inhabitants of that   
part of the spirit-realm1 and that if   

your mind does not happen to be in      
accord with theirs1 you must either get 
away or do battle for your life4 ,by    
life1 ,i mean your power and freedom of 
expression1 the very breath of the      
spirit1 what a printing-press is to a   
newspaper1 cut off from which1 the paper
 is dead4  ,manifestations of emotion1  
both in kind and degree1 depend upon two
 things1 our spiritual state or         
condition1 and the nature of our        
surroundings4 ,passing over the first of
 these1 it is evident that              
earth-surroundings greatly limit the    
expression of emotion2 and when we      
observe the effect of a powerful current
 of this kind upon the physical tissues 
of the body1 weakening and consuming    
them as by a flame1 we see that the     
length of our stay here is involved in  
our ability to control our emotions4    
,not so in the ,beyond1 where our stay  
is without assignable limits1 and where 
the pent-up emotions of a lifetime at   
last find vent1 and pour themselves out 

as by flood-gates to the sea4  ,and it  
is here that music plays its part in    
that wonder-world4 ,for as ideas have   
each their appropriate form1 so every   
emotion has a musical strain peculiar to
 it4  ,and who can describe the healing 
power of music under a master's hand8   
,reading the mind and soul as an open   
book1 and informing every tone with the 
vibrations of a perfect sympathy born of
 knowledge1 he administers to the soul  
whose life has been a tragedy           
long-drawn-out1 such throbbing waves of 
strength and consolation1 himself       
remaining hidden1 as seem to issue from 
the very stars1 and drown the memory of 
that age-long pain in an ocean of       
oblivion4  ,ah6 believe me1 it is       
another world1 where the powers of this 
one do not rule4     ,,chapter ,,xxvi4  
,and yet1 as ,i have indicated1 it is   
possible to live so far below one's     
moral and spiritual possibilities1 that 
the loss of life will seem the loss of  
heaven1 and the men of power on earth   

whom one has envied will come to seem   
very gods1 worthy of being worshipped4  
,such a delusion as this is in part due 
to the absence of a common time-element4
  ,duration is measured only by the     
succession of various states of         
consciousness1 and these change so      
rapidly under the influence of the      
vibratory intensity of the new life1    
that the events of a day lengthen it out
 until it seems like a year upon earth2 
and day and night being one in the      
,beyond1 so far as activity is          
concerned1 although they differ somewhat
 in magnetic conditions1 when one of    
these year-long days is past1 the       
spirit1 glancing across into earth-life1
 at some money king1 with thirty years  
of active life before him1 can scarcely 
avoid endowing him with a kind of       
immortality1 and may devote the fiery   
energies of the soul to building up the 
fortunes of such a one1 with no higher  
object than that of keeping the mental  
balance and avoiding reflection4  ,this 

necessity for keeping the balance       
supplies motive for a great deal that is
 done by spirits in the lower strata of 
life in the ,beyond4 ,it is not1        
strictly speaking1 mental balance1 but  
organic1 affecting the whole being4 ,a  
spirit possessed of any conscious       
individuality whatever must generate a  
certain interior force to maintain it4  
,this keeps his body in a state of      
equilibrium between the inner and outer 
pressure1 and the body of a spirit is   
naturally as valuable to him as ours is 
to us4 ,it protects him against currents
 of thought and emotion that are not    
adapted to his needs1 and when evenly   
balanced he is able to put forth        
effective will-power along the plane of 
his development and below4  ,any one who
 has not learned what soul-action is    
will have it to learn soon after the    
exchange of worlds4 ,no other form of   
activity is possible there4 ,no spirit  
strikes another with his hand1 nor      
presents him with a visible token of    

wealth1 yet battles are fought and      
presents given4 ,as a suggestion3 when  
you say to your friend1 ,good-bye and   
good-luck to you1 you are making him a  
spiritual present1 although you may not 
be aware of it4  ,whenever you launch a 
curse1 if only in thought1 you strike a 
blow1 against which conscious rectitude 
is an actual armor1 and the only one4   
,the very slightest impulse of ill-will 
directed toward any one is an action of 
the soul that may do real harm1 and     
certainly makes a record4  ,these       
statements will commend themselves as   
true to most of my readers1 many of     
whom1 however1 would not be able to     
explain why they are so sure of what    
they have learned from no teacher1 and  
cannot recall from the pages of         
experience4 ,let me suggest4  ,from six 
to nine hours' sleep is an essential    
part of our daily lives4 ,we suppose    
ourselves to actually sleep1 not only in
 body but in mind and soul as well4     
,perhaps some who have very little mind 

and even less spirit1 do sleep when     
their body sleeps1 but there are very   
large numbers of people who1 the moment 
the brain becomes quiescent1 enter at   
once on the most active part of their   
daily existence4  ,this is especially   
true of such as during their waking     
hours have attained some knowledge of   
spiritual values1 and have taken their  
stand on this or that platform of       
principles1 religious1 moral1 or even   
political1 and who would be ready to    
contend in argument1 or even1 if        
necessary1 take up arms1 in defense of  
their positions2 in other words1 who    
have a conscious location in some field 
of thought or fortress of belief4  ,the 
extent to which we influence others1 or 
are influenced by them1 during our      
sleeping hours1 very few realize1       
because unable to recall1 when waking1  
the experiences of the night just       
passed2 but be sure that no reform can  
ever make much progress until the       
agitation for it becomes sufficiently   

powerful to link the day to the night1  
and engage the activities of partially  
freed spirits while their bodily        
consciousness is lost in slumber4  ,it  
is here that lessons are learned and    
impressions made1 the recalling of the  
results of which may surprise us as to  
the extent1 and puzzle us as to the     
origin1 of our knowledge4  ,readers of  
,emerson will find this a key to some of
 his mysterious yet delightful sayings4 
,,chapter ,,xxvii4   ,those who have    
never entered into any kind of associate
 life where they might learn to think   
and act for others as well as for       
themselves1 will have a particularly    
hard time on the other side4  ,for no   
one can go through life without becoming
 responsible for innumerable acts1 even 
if he does nothing more than make room  
for himself1 and defend his own footing2
 and if he persists in living for       
himself1 it follows that his motives    
will never rise above the care of       
himself1 and1 possibly1 of those who    

contribute to his comfort4  ,if such a  
man1 by speculation or otherwise1       
becomes able to surround himself with   
the tokens of wealth1 there will not be 
wanting those who will bow low to him2  
and when he is called out of life1 with 
perhaps no particularly heavy weight on 
his conscience1 he will strut into      
another world carrying with him a very  
large sense of his own importance4      
,now1 there is no need to enlarge upon  
the emotions he will arouse1 the intense
 though secret hilarity with which he   
will be taken in hand1 and the endless  
variety of hazing operations to which he
 will be subjected2 but he will be sure 
to make the unexpected discovery that   
death is a lost friend1 long before the 
last spark of self-conceit is           
extinguished within him4  ,it is        
scarcely possible to convey an idea of  
how small a part individual egotism is  
allowed to play in the world beyond4    
,in this world our race1 as a race1 is  
under protection4 ,we are all more or   

less conscious of this in our own       
person4  ,even the most stolid1 when    
suddenly reduced to the extremity of    
distress1 find themselves calling upon  
,god1 almost without conscious volition4
  ,if it were not so1 if this protection
 were withdrawn1 our race would shortly 
cease to be4  ,in the spirit-world1 or  
in that part of it which adjoins this1  
figuratively speaking1 which we enter as
 individuals1 this sense of a general   
protection disappears4 ,we find we are  
to stand or fall on our own individual  
record4 ,we cannot lose ourselves in the
 mass4 ,there is no mass4 ,time and     
space no longer exist for us4 ,they are 
gone with the bodily senses and         
mathematical reasoning to which they    
were a prime necessity4  ,sight1        
hearing1 and touch of the soul have     
awakened1 however1 and how to use these 
new senses whose field of action is so  
immensely greater than the senses we    
have parted with1 engages our attention4
  ,their first reports are so different 

from anything we have known that we     
discredit them entirely1 are sure we    
must be dreaming1 and put forth strong  
efforts to wake up4 ,failing in this1 we
 look about us and endeavor to get our  
bearings4  ,although time and space have
 left us1 eternity and infinity have    
taken their place1 and a feeling of awe 
steals over us at the realization1 a    
feeling that extends in part to         
ourselves as we discover a certain      
element within us which now for the     
first time recognizes its home4  ,then1 
in a flash1 we perceive as never before1
 the essential narrowness of the limits 
of earth-life1 and our mental vision    
shows us that whatever may have raised  
that phase of existence above the merely
 sensual or animal1 had its home in the 
,beyond1 and was only a visitor on      
earth4  ,we find ourselves ushered into 
the domain of causes1 and a thousand    
perplexities of memory disappear in a   
magical way1 as we become sensible of   
the tremendous force of the activities  

at work in this heretofore hidden realm4
  ,a spirit sometimes finds himself as  
if on a stage1 and the pressure of a    
powerful will bids him to act out his   
own character4 ,he consents1 for why    
should he not8 ,scene follows scene2 men
 and women from every walk of life1     
those whom he has known1 and those of   
whom he has read1 appear and act their  
part2 kings and courtiers come and go1  
prophets and peasants1 soldiers and     
merchants2 and he finds some link       
connecting him with them all4 ,perhaps a
 plot is formed to destroy his          
reputation2 thread by thread the web is 
wound about him4 ,how shall he get free8
 ,is it not all a dream8 ,but he is made
 to feel that he must not insist upon   
knowing4 ,something like an electric    
shock answers his thought1 and bids him 
to consider his surroundings real1      
whether they are or not1 and forbids him
 to think of such a thing as applying a 
test4 ,and1 indeed1 there is small      
leisure for anything of that kind4 ,he  

finds himself obliged to put forth      
energies he never dreamed of possessing1
 to keep from going distracted4 ,the    
stage widens until it becomes the floor 
of a world4 ,the audience swells to     
millions4 ,he reaches out for their     
sympathy1 but they do not respond4 ,they
 do not pretend to know whether he is a 
true man or a scoundrel4 ,if he cries1  
,i am true1 they answer1 ,prove it4     
,what can ,i do to prove it8 ,but they  
turn away unconcerned1 while another    
strand of falsehood is thrown around him
 and he is brought to his knees1 where  
he is made the target for scorn and     
contempt1 which come like arrows to     
pierce his form4 ,in the depth of his   
despair1 he sends out a piercing cry to 
the spheres above him for help4  ,just  
then he discovers that he is clothed in 
armor1 with a good sword at his side4   
,he did not know it before1 he could not
 possibly say how or whence it came1 but
 it is not a time for curious questions4
 ,he seizes the blade and with one sweep

 severs the cords that bound him1 stands
 upon his feet1 and then1 in a voice    
that startles himself1 he calls upon his
 enemies to show themselves4 ,instead of
 that he hears their retreating feet1   
the clouds lift1 the applause of the    
audience gives him back his lost        
strength1 and he is ready for the next  
ordeal4  ,now it may not be supposed    
that during such a scene as this1 it    
would be possible for the spirit to     
receive and answer thought-messages from
 his friends on earth1 but it is even   
so4 ,a spirit with a heart will at least
 make the effort to respond to every    
demand made upon it1 but if among the   
circle of his friends one sends out the 
message1 ,come now1 if you care anything
 about me1 ,i wish you would help me    
find this gold-mine4 ,what do you have  
to do anyhow8 the spirit may be excused 
if he fails to respond1 and does not    
immediately proceed to explain just what
 he has to do4   ,,the ,,end4           
,,footnotes3  ,footnote ,a3 ,editor ,the

 ,agnostic ,journal1 ,london1 ,england4 
,footnote ,b3 ,the ,arena1 ,january1    
#ahid1 ,the ,higher ,criticism4         
,vision of ,thyrza3  ,,the ,,gift ,,of  
,,the ,,hills4  ,by ,,iris4   ,the      
author is convinced that war1 strife1   
poverty1 misery1 disease1 and death are 
the result of man's reckless            
self-indulgence2 and that so long as he 
shall be actuated by greed and          
selfishness in his tillage of the soil1 
in the various industrial pursuits1 and 
in the marts of trade1 he will sow the  
wind and reap the whirlwind4  ,but the  
lamentable state of things will not     
continue forever4 ,the author1 with     
prophetic mind1 perceives that the time 
will come when man will live in harmony 
with ,nature1 and yield himself to the  
guidance of ,divine ,love4 ,so guided   
and inspired1 he will refine1 purify1   
and ennoble the life of his fellow-men4 
,then agriculture will be restored to   
right uses and held in its pristine     
honor2 and the earth will yield its     

fruits abundantly4 ,a noble simplicity  
and wholesomeness will characterize the 
life of man1 and universal peace will   
gladden his heart4 ,the whole world will
 rejoice in the return of the ,golden   
,age4    ,cloth1 #ge ,cents4    ,the    
,arena ,publishing ,company1    ,,copley
 ,,square1 ,,boston1 ,,mass4     ,his   
,perpetual ,adoration2  --,,or1--  ,,the
 ,,chaplain',s ,,old ,,diary4  ,,by     
,,rev4 ,,joseph ,f4 ,,flint4   ,this is 
an extremely interesting and realistic  
war story1 told in the form of a diary  
left at his death by a veteran who had  
been a captain in the ,northern army1   
and with ,grant at ,vicksburg and       
,sherman on his march to the sea4 ,two  
or three of the great events of the war 
are told in stirring fashion1 but the   
narrative deals mainly with the inside  
life of the soldier in war time1 and its
 physical and moral difficulties4 ,a    
fine love story runs throughout1 the    
hero having plighted his troth before   
setting out for the front4 ,being       

wounded in ,georgia1 he is cared for in 
the home of a ,southerner1 who is at the
 front with ,lee's army1 but who has in 
some way earned the bitter hatred of the
 wife whom he has left at home4 ,she    
falls desperately in love with her      
wounded guest1 and to him there comes   
the sorest temptation of his life4 ,how 
he comes out of the ordeal must be left 
to the reader of the story to discover4 
,cloth1 #a4be2 ,paper1 #ej ,cents4      
,the ,arena ,publishing ,co41           
,,copley ,,square1 ,,boston1 ,,mass4    
,,the ,,land ,,of ,,nada4  ,,by ,,bonnie
 ,,scotland4   ,the ,land of ,nada1 the 
scene of this charming fairy story1 is  
an enchanted country1 ruled over by     
,king ,whitcombo and the beautiful      
,queen ,haywarda4 ,prince ,trueheart and
 his blue-eyed baby sister1 ,princess   
,dorothy1 and their wonderful           
adventures2 the enchanted cows and      
chickens1 the wonderful lemon tree whose
 trunk yields three different kinds of  
beverages1 are some of the wonders of   

this delightful land2 as are1 also1 the 
doings of fairies1 genii1 goblins1 and  
enchanted hawks4 ,how the blind prince  
recovers his sight1 how the baby        
princess is spirited away1 cared for1   
and finally restored to her home1 and   
how the wicked goblin and the two hawks 
that spirited her away are punished1 may
 be read in this delightful fairy story1
 which teems with graceful conceits and 
charming fancies1 and which can be read1
 not only by children of tender years1  
but by those of larger growth4  ,the    
style in which the book is gotten up    
makes it very suitable for a ,christmas 
present4    ,cloth1 #ge ,cents2 ,paper1 
#be ,cents4    ,the ,arena ,publishing  
,company1    ,copley ,square1 ,boston1  
,mass4     ,,nicodemus3 ,a ,,poem4  ,by 
,grace ,shaw ,duff4   ,in this fine     
blank-verse poem1 written by the        
well-known ,new ,york authoress1 ,mrs4  
,grace ,shaw ,duff1 is given1 in        
autobiographic form as from the lips of 
,nicodemus himself1 a poetic account of 

the two episodes between that ruler of  
the ,jews and ,jesus1 as related in the 
third and seventh chapters of ,john's   
gospel4 ,the poem is full of local      
color1 and opens with a striking        
description of sunrise on the morning of
 the last day of the feast of the       
,passover in ,jerusalem4 ,then follows a
 picture of the unusual stir in the city
 due to the crowds attending the feast1 
after which there is a fine word        
painting of the scene in the temple1    
with its motley throngs of maimed and   
halt1 of venders of unsavory wares1 of  
idlers1 and of graver men4  ,the        
description of the midnight visit of    
,nicodemus to ,jesus may be quoted in   
full as a typical specimen of the tone1 
manner1 and fine musical versification  
of the whole poem3--    ,one night from 
sleepless bed ,i rose1 and went   ,to   
where ,he lodged1 and bade the porter   
say   ,one ,nicodemus--ruler--came1 and 
speech   ,would have with ,him4 ,there  
was no moon1 but hosts   ,of stars1 and 

soft1 pale glow from shaded lamps       
,made silver light4 ,the air was still1 
with just   ,enough of light to waft at 
times a faint   ,sweet oleander scent1  
and gently float   ,some loosened petals
 down4 ,i heard no sound   ,but sudden  
knew another presence near1   ,and      
turned to where ,he stood2 one hand held
 back   ,the curtain's fold2 the other  
clasped a roll4   ,no ,king could gently
 bear a prouder mien2   ,and when ,i    
gracious rose to offer meet   ,respect  
to one whose words had won for ,him     
,regard1 ,i strangely felt like loyal   
slave1   ,and almost ',master6' trembled
 on my lips4   ,a deep1 brave look shone
 in his eyes1 as if   ,he saw the whole 
of mankind's needs1 yet dared   ,to bid 
him hope2 and when he spoke1 his words  
,and voice seemed fitted parts of some  
great psalm4  ,the book is beautifully  
printed on first-class paper1 and is    
finely illustrated with numerous        
half-tones1 after sepia-wash drawings by
 that excellent artist ,fredrick ,c4    

,gordon2 and each section of the poem   
has a charmingly artistic vignette for  
the initial capital letter4 ,the binding
 is in keeping with the general get-up1 
and the book would make an admirable    
,christmas present4    ,,cloth1 #ge     
,,cents4    ,the ,arena ,publishing     
,co41 ,copley ,sq41 ,boston1 ,mass4     
,the ,woman-,suffrage ,movement  ,,in   
,,the ,,united ,,states4  ,by ,a        
,,lawyer4   ,the author of this book    
believes that the ,bible is the inspired
 word of ,god1 and that those who accept
 its teachings as authoritative must be 
opposed to the woman-suffrage movement4 
,though he bases his arguments mainly on
 the teachings of ,holy ,scripture1 he  
does not overlook the lessons of        
history4 ,but history only confirms him 
in his contention that marriage is      
something more than a civil contract    
terminable at the pleasure of the       
partners4 ,from the true point of view  
marriage is an ordinance of ,god4       
,should it ever become the general      

belief that it is other than a          
sacrament1 there would be no protection1
 no honorable or elevated position1 no  
high social plane or place for woman4   
,and if marriage is a sacrament1 there  
is but one valid cause for divorce--the 
one laid down in the ,word of ,god4 ,the
 husband is the head of the household1  
and his commands should be respected and
 obeyed1 for obedience and protection   
are correlative terms2 the interests of 
husband and wife should be identical4   
,the various cries of the advocates of  
woman suffrage1 as taxation without     
representation1 liberty1 fraternity1 and
 equality1 are considered and declared  
to be without force1 and this           
declaration is supported by cogent      
reasons4 ,the author is confident that  
if woman suffrage were enacted into law 
it would not only harden women but work 
irreparable injury to man1 for those now
 opposed to the movement would then     
reconcile the principle and its effects 
upon their environment with the ,bible  

by throwing the ,bible away4 ,thus1 the 
attack strikes at the root of all moral 
and religious training4  ,the book      
merits a wide circulation4 ,candid      
advocates of the movement will desire to
 know what can be said against it2 and  
its opponents will be glad to have at   
hand reasons so forcible and            
illustrations so apt in condemnation of 
woman suffrage4  ,we cheerfully say so  
much for the book1 though1 as is well   
known1 we are strongly in favor of the  
movement towards a larger liberty of    
action for woman2 and we are looking    
earnestly and expectantly for the coming
 of the day when woman emancipated and  
enfranchised shall work out her destiny 
in perfect freedom4    #aed pp4 ,cloth1 
#ge cents2 ,paper1 #be cents4    ,the   
,arena ,publishing ,company1    ,copley 
,square1 ,boston1 ,mass4     ,the ,heart
 of ,old ,hickory4  ,by ,,will ,,allen  
,,dromgoole4   ,eight charming and      
popular stories by this gifted young    
,tennessee writer are collected in this 

beautiful volume4 ,each of these stories
 is a study that reveals a different    
phase of human character1 and each study
 is a work of art4 ,several show the    
author's subtle skill in                
dialect-writing1 and all reveal the hand
 of a master in delineating character4  
,here we have inimitable humor1 gleeful 
fun1 delightful sallies of wit1 and     
genuine pathos1 all combined with       
extraordinary descriptive powers4       
,raciness1 strength1 vividness1 and     
felicity of expression characterize the 
author's style4 ,he is to be pitied who 
can read these stories without being    
widened in his sympathies1 elevated in  
thought1 quickened in conscience1 and   
ennobled in soul4 ,the stories are the  
work of a literary genius1 and go far to
 justify an admirer of her writings1 who
 has himself no mean fame as editor1    
author1 and critic1 in calling ,will    
,allen ,dromgoole the ,charles ,dickens 
of the ,new ,south4    ,cloth1 #a4be2   
,paper1 #ej ,cents4    ,the ,arena      

,publishing ,company1    ,copley        
,square1 ,boston1 ,mass4     ,,which    
,,way1 ,,sirs1 ,,the ,,better8  ,a      
,story of ,our ,toilers4  ,by ,,james   
,m4 ,,martin4   ,this is the story of a 
labor strike1 its causes and            
consequences4 ,the chief character1     
,robert ,belden1 is a self-made man1    
who1 from being office-boy in the       
,duncan ,iron ,works at ,beldendale1    
,pa41 had risen1 by dint of             
intelligence1 hard work1 and attention  
to business1 to be partner and business 
manager of the concern4  ,a temporary   
depression in the iron trade makes it   
necessary for him to give notice of a   
reduction of ten per cent in the wages  
of his employees4 ,the latter are       
dissatisfied1 and1 after calling a      
meeting of their union1 demand from him 
an inspection of the books of concern by
 a committee on their behalf1 so that   
they may have the assurance that the    
reduction is necessary4 ,as the         
disclosure would injure the business1   

the manager refuses to comply with this 
demand1 and the workmen go out on       
strike4 ,thereupon the manager1 in order
 to fill his contracts1 employs laborers
 from a distance1 and hires a band of   
fifty guards from a detective agency to 
protect them and his works4 ,a dreadful 
riot ensues1 with bloodshed and loss of 
life1 and the works are closed4  ,after 
a time the manager proposes a new       
arrangement with his former workmen1    
whereby1 under the system of            
profit-sharing1 they shall receive a    
share of the profits in addition to     
their wages4 ,the plan works admirably4 
,in a comparatively brief period the    
workmen become well-to-do and contented1
 many owning their own homes1 and       
,beldendale becomes the model of a      
prosperous and happy manufacturing town4
  ,the story has evidently been         
suggested by the terrible strikes and   
riots in the coke fields of             
,pennsylvania1 and the later ones at    
,homestead and ,buffalo1 and the        

author's object is to show the          
uselessness and the evil results of     
strikes1 and to propose a better way for
 the solution of the perennial conflict 
between capital and labor4 ,his         
admirable story does this most          
effectively4 ,it is written in that     
unassuming1 straightforward style which 
is so impressive when dealing with the  
short and simple annals of the poor1 and
 it should be read and pondered over and
 taken to heart by every capitalist and 
employer of labor in the country1 on the
 one hand1 and by every workingman1 on  
the other4  ,cloth1 #ge ,cents2 ,paper1 
#be ,cents4  ,the ,arena ,publishing    
,company1  ,,copley ,,square1 ,,boston1 
,,mass4           99      99      99    
99      99      99     ,transcriber's   
note3     ,obvious typographical errors 
have been corrected4