objects and persons altogether unlooked for, and which often draw from them exclamations of surprise and astonishment; conveying the fullest impression of reality and truth, and without leaving any doubt as to the integrity of the senses.

"It has been recommended not to continue the experiments longer than 15 minutes at a time.

"The mirrors which I use, are 19 centimètres in height (about 7 inches) and 14 in width (5 inches). They are fixed on pieces of pasteboard covered with black paper in order to form borders, they are then united on one side by a piece of linen, which allows of their being closed one over the other like the leaves of a book, and are thus rendered portable.

"With an apparatus of larger dimensions the size of the images will be proportionately increased.

"These phenomena are not new. Nostradamus* caused Catherine de Medecis to see in a similar manner the first of the Bourbons who was to sit on the throne of France; and Cagliostro, by the same means, obtained the presence of spirits which he evoked. Amongst the 'Arabs a somewhat similar system is in operation at the present time.

"We desire to see these facts-old as the world-subjected to the test of consecutive and well-arranged experiments, taking care that they are divested of all connection with superstitious notions which too often accompany them. We must dismiss every idea of mystery, that the subject may be brought fairly to the light, and that the great fact be correctly appreciated, of the human soul being endowed with a peculiar faculty by virtue of which our two lives are brought into intimate relation.

"It is necessary to show that the present state of our being is but a moment in comparison with the life to which we shall succeed-an eternal future; and the aim of our studies should be to establish that truth, that so by enlarging the sphere of spiritual phenomena we may hasten the advent of the day when Spiritualism shall be accepted by all."

I venture to add, that without a spiritual life in the present there could be none in the future; and further, that according to the uses made of the opportunity afforded by the present will the condition of the future be determined.

* The celebrated physician of Provence, whose predictions became so notorious in the early part of the 16th century, particularly after the description which he published of the manner of the death of Henry II. of France, who was killed in a tournament in 1557, that not only Catherine but the Duke of Savoy and Princess Margaret of France, Charles IX., and the highest nobles of the land sought to do him honour.

AN EVENING WITH THE SPIRITS.

IN the May number of the New Church Independent and Monthly Review, published at Laporte, Indiana, U.S.A., its editor, Mr. Weller, reports his first and only evening with the spirits. He tells us that on the afternoon of April 3rd, he visited the office of Dr. S. B. Collins, of Laporte, on a business errand. In the course of conversation, Dr. Collins mentioned that a medium, Mrs. Maud Lord, of Chicago, was his guest, and that a séance was to be held at his house that evening, and invited Mr. Weller and his wife to join the party. They consented, "This being," says Mr. Weller, "the first and only time that we had ever been invited to or had ever entered a genuine spiritual circle, with a live professional medium in the centre of it." The guests assembled, and after talking politics and spirit photographs, they entered the séance room. We leave Mr. Weller to tell the rest of the story in his own words. He says:

"On our right were seated C. G. Powell, of the Laporte Herald, and wife; next beyond, Porter W. Taylor, son of B. F. Taylor, and Mrs. B. F. Taylor. Further on still was T. G. Turner, former editor of the Cleveland Leader. On our left were Mr. Taylor, of the Herald Company, Mortimer Nye, a Laporte lawyer, Dr. S. B. Collins, Mrs. Farrand, Messrs. Clark, Swan, and two or three others, between whom were sandwiched several pretty girls in the early bloom of youth, a complacent blonde and a roguish brunette making our vis-à-vis.

After Mr. Lord had properly arranged the sitters, he retired, and our dark-eyed Queen of the Fairies seated herself in the centre of the circle-the axle around which this magnetic wheel was to rotate. Our Miriam, who has just such a voice as would have enraptured Shakspeare, now addresses us:

"There are, no doubt, some in this circle who are strangers to Spiritualism. To these I would say, You have only to sit passively in your places, and try to bring yourselves in harmony with others present, that you may be as one family. This will facilitate the manifestations. I shall remain quietly in this chair, patting my hands thus, that you may know I take no part physically in what occurs.'

"As these remarks were being made, our wife and Mrs. Powell, seated next to us, were looking nervously at the guitar, which lay across our knees, the same having moved once or twice without any apparent cause. We assured them, however, that we were at the bottom of the movement. Now the gas was turned off, and we sat in Cimmerian darkness.

"Will some one sing?' asked Mrs. L. One of the ladies

opposite to us began Nearer my God to thee,' in which nearly all in the circle joined. During the singing, the guitar which lay in our lap floated up, glancing by our forehead, and sailed round the room, the meanwhile playing an accompaniment to the singing. The tambourine also went on an aerial voyage, and finally paused to beat time on the toe of P. W. Taylor. Mr. T. states that it followed his foot wherever he moved it, and continued the tattoo. All this looked a little frivolous; and, had the entertainment ended here, we should have been annoyed and disappointed, to say the least. Exclamations began to come now from all parts of the ring: 'Here is some one touching my hand!' 'Who is smoothing my hair?' 'Ah, here is a little hand patting me on my face! Hark! did you hear that whisper?' &c., &c. In the meanwhile, Mrs. L. continued to pat her hands, and began describing people whom she saw around the sitters In a moment, there came to us a short, evanescent, hurried whisper: 'Papa! papa!' Now, the cold, mysterious touch of two little hands upon our own; then, passing to our face, a series of loving pats were given, and the hair smoothed down. We bent forward to grasp, to embrace; but the evanescent thing was gone! What were these little phantom hands, whose magic touch had sent through us such a strange, unearthly thrill of pleasure? Whence came that whisper? Was it all a cheat? We asked, 'Mrs. Lord, do you see any one near me?' 'Yes; there is an old gentleman and two children—a little boy and girl.' She then described a person answering, in every particular, to our father. Several in the room recognized it at once-especially where she referred to his cravat, and the peculiar manner in which he usually tied it. A description was also given of a lady near our wifeevidently her mother-which we regard as very wonderful, as there were several peculiarities in her person and dress which few other persons possess. We again inquired, Mrs. Lord, in what manner do these spirit-forms manifest themselves to you?' She answered, 'At first there is the appearance of a light luminous cloud, which is soon transformed into the human shape. Then the features and dress come out, sometimes very distinct, at other times more dimly. They often speak by whispered intonations, or give their names in luminous letters.' From further remarks, and her rapid, successive description of persons around the circle, it was quite evident that she sat in the midst of a transformation scene, where the disenchanted dead were coming and going, in the old familiar garbs of mortality, like dissolving views in a diorama.

"There is a child riding horse on my foot!' exclaimed a gentleman to our right. Crossing our leg, we answered, 'Let

him come here and play horse.' Immediately there was the sensation of a child bouncing up and down astride our boot, and a perceptible weight. Again we bent forward to grasp, and again it fled like a will-o'-the-wisp. There! some spirit has taken the ring from my little finger!' said a gentleman on the opposite side of the circle from us. 'Will the spirit bring it here, and place it on my finger?' we asked. In a second the ring was slipped on our first finger. The owner called for it again, and it was as quickly returned, and put on the little finger. We held in one of our hands a Kansas newspaper called The Shaft, which was switched away from us and fanned about the room in a mysterious manner, and finally returned. A little Indian girl was described near Dr. Collins, whom Mrs. L. called 'Snow-Drop.' She has taken my watch,' said the Doctor. He then asked, 'Snow-Drop, will you please hand the watch to Mr. Weller?' 'We heard the chain rattling along, and presently it dropped upon our hand. We reached for the watch, but it was quickly withdrawn and returned to the Doctor. Why did you not give it to Mr. Weller?' he asked.. 'Was 'fraid he steal it!' came in whispered response. It was brought to us a second time, and placed in our hands, where it remained till the gas was turned on. Previous to this, a letter had been passed round, and was finally placed in our hands. We held it tight till the circle broke up. On looking at it, we found it to be an envelope containing a reprint article from the New York Herald, on 'Nature and Revelation,' by Dr. John Ellis. This had been taken from our inside coat-pocket, unknown to us. How, is more than we can tell. We cannot conceive of the most adroit pickpocket doing such a thing without our knowledge. In addition to this class of phenomena, meteoric lights would occasionally appear above or near where the medium was seated. A very sceptical gentleman in the company was violently shaken and thumped on the back, till he exclaimed, 'There! that'll do—I'm satisfied!'

Many other interesting and strange things occurred during our sitting, which we have not space to recount. We had spent nearly two hours in this ghostly intercourse, when a rap upon the door from Mr. Lord, who had devoted himself to the baby, warned us that it was time to break the charm of this magic circle. Mrs. L. was also much exhausted, as was plainly indicated by her heavy breathing. The door was opened, the gas lighted, and the company dispersed. Thus ended our evening with the spirits.

"In conclusion, we will say that a subsequent conversation and slight acquaintance with Mrs. L. have convinced us that she is a high-toned Christian lady, artless and innocent as a child.

Her wonderful experiences began in her twelfth year. She is now twenty-two.

"This was the first, it may be the last séance we shall ever attend. We venture no opinion upon the modus operandi of these phenomena, or their disorder. That they are the work of spirits, we cannot doubt. God, in his providence, knows for what good they are permitted. There is much that is fleeting, evanescent and unsatisfactory in these physical outbreaks from the realm of spirits, which are but the foamy waves from the great ocean of spiritual existence, breaking upon the rocks and shoals of Time. We would not recall our evening with the invisible company. The memory of it will linger with us as the echoes from some sweet and pleasant dream, in which the angels came down to us like those on Jacob's ladder; where the little hands of our loved ones touched us, and their whispering voices assured us that immortality is not a fiction, but a grand and beautiful reality."

DOES THE WORLD ACCREDIT ITS OWN EXPRESSED FAITH IN THE SPIRITUAL?

By CARLOS D. STUART.

I HAVE been thinking how strange it is, that all the world having spoken and written its belief in God, in some form or other, and in a world of spirits only separated from our own by a thin veil of sense that veil thrust aside in Eden, and at epochs ever since, so that man communed not only with angels, but with God-the denial should be so universal, whenever it is claimed that communion with the invisible world has been and may be realised. I cannot understand this mixture of theoretical faith and practical atheism. And I cannot forbear asking if the great voice of the world, so united in its testimony as to the theory, be only a delusion and a lie, when we come to the practice? In its superabounding ideal of a relation, near and intimate, between God and man, and between heaven and earth, is there no reality? If so, what a mockery is the prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," and the utterance, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven," and the saying, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." What a mockery too, the cradle song, the pulpit teaching, the saintly consolation poured in the ear of sorrow, and the story told to the dying. Either the Scriptures are false, and the prophets and oracles

N.S.-VII.

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