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DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD; 
 
 THE HUMAN SOUL, 
 
 ITS MIGRATIONS AND ITS TRANSMIGRATIONS. 
 
 IJjomtb frg % ^mtxntxmx. 
 
 " I have stolen the golden keys of the Egyptians ; I will indulge m> sacred 
 fury."— Kepler. 
 
 " What is here written is truth, therefore it cannot die." — Poe. 
 
 " I have found it ! This night have I read the Mystic Scroll. The Grand Secret 
 of the Age stands revealed. It is mine ! Alone I delved for it, alone I have found 
 it ! Now let the world laugh ! I am immortal I"— P. B. Randolph. 
 
 UTICA, N. Y. : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY M. J. RANDOLPH. 
 
 1861->62. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, 
 
 By ALEXANDER BRADY, 
 
 In the Clek's office of the District Court of the United States for the District of 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO MY FAR OFF AND BEST BELOVED FRIEND, BY WHOSE ROYAL BOUNTY 
 I AM ENABLED TO BRTNtJ THIS BOOK BEFORE THE WORLD ;* AND TO ALL WHO 
 FEEL AND LTKEWISE THTNK J AND TO ALL WHO HAVE SUFFERED ON THEHJ 
 WAY THROUGH THIS WORLD AS I HAVE, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE SON OF FLORA. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Some men are daily dying ; some die ere they have 
 learned how to live ; and some find their truest account 
 in revealing the mysteries of both life and death, — even 
 fhile they themselves perish in the act of revelation, 
 as is most wonderfully done in the remarkable volume 
 now before the reader, — as, alas ! almost seems to be 
 the case with the penman of what herein follows. 
 
 The criterion of the value of a man or woman is the 
 kind and amount of good they do or have done. The 
 standard whereby to judge a thinker, consists in the 
 mental treasures which during life they heap up for the 
 use and benefit cf the age that is, and those which are 
 to be, when the fitful fever of their own sorrowful lives 
 shall be ended, and they have passed away to begin in 
 : tern reality their dealings with the dead. He or she 
 who adds even one new thought to the age becomes 
 ■ at age's great benefactor, to whom in future times 
 grateful men shall erect monuments and statues. Well, 
 here follows the work of a man, for to hand penned 
 
4 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 every line, and the ideas were born of his soul, not- 
 withstanding his own disclaimer, for not every one can 
 understand the mystical Blending by means of which he 
 claims to have reached the ultima thule of human know- 
 ledge, and most readers, while reveling m the delights 
 whereof so rich a store is laid before them, will insist 
 that these glories were begotten of his own soul. Be that 
 as it may, however, here is one, who, measured by the 
 standard of the world itself, merits a monument stronger 
 than iron, more endurable than granite, the gratitude of 
 every soul that sighs for immortality ; for not a single 
 new thought, but whole platoons of them, grand and mag- 
 nificent, hath he here presented, a deathless legacy to 
 the world ; and bye-and-bye these thoughts of ' Cynthia/ 
 these ' Dealings with the Dead/ will become a beacon 
 on the Highway of Thought, and be remembered to the 
 everlasting glory of the sufferer who penned them. 
 Eest, Paschal, rest, my brother ; thou brother and lover 
 of thy race, for thy work is well done ; thy thoughts 
 can never die. The bad will hate,- but all who love 
 Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, will bless thee, and crown 
 thy name with fadeless laurels. G-. D. S. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Dear Reader, your humble servant here presents 
 you with a somewhat curious, novel, yet suggestive and 
 thought-provoking work. So far as mere language is 
 concerned, it might have been sent forth upon its travels 
 up and down the world, clad in better raiment ; but as 
 I had nothing better than linsey-woolsey whereof to 
 fashion its apparel, why, it must e'en take its chance in 
 that. 
 
 A man's coat amounts to but little at the best, com- 
 pared to the man inside it, — and so of books. It is not 
 always your gilt-edged annual that either carries the 
 most precious freight, or does the most good in the 
 world ; hence so far as the verbal clothing of my pre- 
 cious babe, this child of my soul is concerned, so far 
 as relates to the terms wherein that here offered is 
 couched, nothing need be said apologetically. If the 
 dress suits, well and good ; if not, it is even well ; — the 
 writer has done the very best that could be done, no 
 one can do more. In making the assertions, the weird 
 and strange revealments contained within the lids of 
 this book, no one can be better aware of the risk en- 
 countered of being laughed at by the wise people of 
 this wise age, than I am. Doubtless there are those 
 who will cavil, deride, sneer at and condemn the author 
 and the work : but what of that ? My truths, if truths 
 indeed they be, and to me, they are intensly such, will 
 live. Why ? Because they were chipped off the Rock 
 of Truth itself, and therefore will unquestionably sur- 
 
6 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 vive many a laugh, as have other truths ere now. They 
 and their discoverer can well afford being laughed at. 
 The author feels that when the great Beaper, Death, 
 shall have done his work, these same truth-seeds will 
 spring up into Form, Life, and Beauty : — all for the 
 gladdening of the people : — and this feeling, this inner 
 prophecy of and to the soul, contents and satisfies the 
 being. Friendly reader, when this body shall have 
 gone back to the dust whence it sprung in the hopeful 
 years gone by ; when this soul shall be nestling in the 
 bosom of its Saviour and his God, people who then 
 shall read these pages will find, if not before, more in 
 that which the heart-weary one has here written, than 
 either a psychological romance, or the daring specula- 
 tions of undisciplined genius. 
 
 The foregoing observations have reference more es- 
 pecially to the first part of this work, which is pre- 
 sented in the form of Revelations from the Dead. It 
 does not owe its origin to what is ordinarily known 
 as " Spiritualism" : — it did not come -either by the 
 " Baps," " Tips," "Table-turning," "Speaking medium- 
 ship," " Writing," or in any other of the modes so 
 commonly claimed for the mass of " Spiritual" litera- 
 ture, now so widely circulated and read. The pro- 
 cess by which what follows came, is to me as weirdly 
 strange and novel, as anything can well be. I call this 
 process The Blending. 
 
 The people called " Mediums," a singular order among 
 men, set forth that their bodies are, for the time being, 
 vacated by their souls, and that during the vacation, the 
 soul of some one else, one who has died, and yet lives, 
 takes possession of the physical structure, and then pro- 
 ceeds to give forth his or her wisdom or folly for the 
 enlightenment or darkening of men's minds. Another 
 class tell us that they are " impressed" by a departed 
 one to give voice to the Spirit's thought ; others declare 
 that they are " obsessed." "Well, it may all be so, or it 
 may not. I do not assume or presume to decide one way 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 7 
 
 or the other : all that need be said on this point is, that 
 this book does not owe its origin to either or any of 
 these methods. 
 
 Machiavelli, the great Italian diplomat, is said to 
 have gained a thorough and complete knowledge and 
 insight of the state, frame of mind, and intentions of 
 other men, through a wonderful power which he, above 
 most, if not all men, possessed, of completely identify- 
 ing himself by an intense desire and volition, with those 
 with whom he came in contact. To such an extent and 
 degree did he possess this power, that it was an easy 
 task to circumvent and overreach most, if not all his 
 diplomatic opponents. He placed himself by a mental 
 effort, and physical as well, in the exact position occu- 
 pied for the time being by his antagonists, or the person 
 he designed to read. 
 
 No matter what the mood indicated by the physical 
 appearance, or the outward manifestation of what was 
 going on within, away down in the deeps of being, was, 
 he immediately moulded his features by the model thus 
 furnished. " I am now in his place," said he, mentally, 
 " and will see how to act, think and feel from his posi- 
 tion ; and, for the time being, I sink my own personality, 
 my opinions, views, — in short all my self-hood, preju- 
 dices, likes, dislikes, and all else beside ; — in a word, I 
 transmute Machiavelli into the other man : — which 
 being effected, I shall be, to all intents and purposes, 
 that other man for the time being, and of course will 
 feel as he feels, see as he sees, know as he knows, and be 
 impelled to action by the identical motives whereby he 
 is prompted. 
 
 All the world knows that Machiavelli succeeded to 
 a wonderful extent ; and by this power of assumption, 
 this easy, yet mysterious blending, he often, in fact, 
 nearly always, baffled his foes, and the foes of the State, 
 so that now a successful diplomatist is said to be pur- 
 suing the Machiavellian policy. 
 
 Almost any person can make successful experiments 
 
8 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 in this — Science, shall I call it ? — and will be surprised 
 at the results. A man or woman appears before you 
 with features bearing the impress of a certain kind of 
 thought — and you can find out what kind by placing 
 your own features, so far as possible, in the same 
 shape ; keep them thus for several minutes, and you 
 will become absorbed in the same that absorbs the 
 individual before you, and in a short time will become 
 an adept in the art of Soul-reading. 
 
 Many men, and a still greater number of women, who 
 possessed the power alluded to, have existed in all 
 times past ; but, above all others, the age we live in 
 has been prolific of such — so that now it is not at all 
 difficult to find those who will enter at will, almost, the 
 very abysses, labyrinths, and most secret recesses of 
 your being. Indeed, persons abound in nearly all the 
 great cities of the world who attain high honor and re- 
 nown — to say nothing of the benefits of competence, 
 and even wealth — by the exercise of this marvellous 
 faculty. 
 
 There are many wise ones who admit the existence 
 of this power, yet deny its attainability by the many, and 
 who stoutly maintain that it is a special gift of the 
 Creator to a favored few. Against such a verdict the 
 writer begs leave most respectfully to protest ; and 
 these are the grounds upon which that protest is based : 
 
 All human powers and faculties are latent, until time, 
 circumstance, and discipline bring them out. All 
 human beings are created alike in so lar forth as the 
 germinal powers are concerned. All men naturally 
 love sweet sounds, and, if this taste be cultivated at an 
 early day, are capable of musical appreciation, if not 
 of vocal or instrumental execution. The seeds of all 
 unfolding lie jyerdu, or latent, in every human being ; 
 they are the property of Soul ; in Soul-soil they are 
 imbedded, and from that soil they must eventually put 
 forth the shoot, the shrub, the tree, the branch, leaf, 
 blossom, and finally the fruit. Every faculty, strictly 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 9 
 
 human, belongs to, and is a part of, every member of 
 the species ; and that — this fact being admitted, though 
 any given one or more may be manifested most power- 
 fully by some, and not at all by others — all of them are 
 one day to be developed, called out, unfolded, in all, 
 is a plain inference ; nay, an absolute certainty. The 
 power to see without eyes, demonstrated by scores and 
 hundreds of clairvoyants, is not a gift peculiar to a cer- 
 tain man or woman, or to a certain order of people. It 
 is a power that can be had for the trying, as any good 
 mesmerist will affirm and prove. 
 
 It seems to me that the expression of the Crucified, 
 " I and my Father are one," contains a direct affirma- 
 tion of the possibility of this blending. God was to 
 Jesus the very essence of goodness ; Jesus strove to be 
 also most thoroughly good, and succeeded in reaching 
 that point where Himself was in perfect blending with 
 the entire universe of Goodness, and therefore with 
 the Fount of all Excellence. 
 
 Perfect blending is perfect love ; and whether that 
 love be toward the person, the outer self, the body ; or 
 toward the soul, or the mental treasures, or the secret 
 self of another, the results are in degree, if not in kind, 
 the same. 
 
 Mental telegraphy will be a perfect success, when- 
 ever two persons can be found in whom the power of 
 entering the region of Sympathia shall normally exist. 
 A few can transmit thought to, and receive thought 
 back from, others, even now ; but presently scores of 
 people will develop the ability. 
 
 Now, this blending is not a mere magnetic union of 
 physical spheres, but is a Soul-process nearly alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Lov e, in its essence, is a thing of the Spiritual part 
 of us, though, alas ! it is often put to base uses. 
 
 There was once, not many years ago, a woman to 
 whom I felt such a love as that subsisting between 
 affectionate sisters ; for it was deeper, purer, calmer 
 
10 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 than that which binds brothers together. In life, her 
 soul drew near, almost fearfully near, to mine ; she 
 thought my thoughts, read my spirit, sympathized with 
 me in all my joys, my sorrows, and my aspirations. 
 Often have we sat beside each other — that poor sick 
 girl and I ; and though no word broke the stillness of 
 the sacred hour, yet not a region of our souls was there 
 but was explored by the other; not a silent thought that 
 was not mutually understood and replied to. Presently 
 she died — the forms were forever separated, yet not for 
 a day were the mystic soul-links which bound us to- 
 gether severed. No sister was ever more dearly loved 
 than I loved her ; and that love was fully and as 
 purely returned. Everybody called her "Sister" — 
 everybody felt that to them she was truly such. 
 
 Well, she died ; and after a year or two had passed, 
 I began to understand that at times her soul was near 
 me, and many and oft were the periods in which I did 
 not seem to be myself, but had an invincible conviction 
 that I was Cynthia for the time being, instead of who 
 and what I am. By-and-by there came a consciousness 
 of this blending, so deep, so clearly defined, so calm, 
 that at last I began to appreciate a mighty, almost 
 resistless Will and Purpose behind it all; for I was my- 
 self and Cynthia — never simultaneously, as is asserted 
 to be the case with many of the people called " Me- 
 diums " — but in separate instants — now her, then my- 
 self ; at first very imperfectly, but gradually approach- 
 ing an absolute and complete mergement of Soul. 
 
 This continued for nearly two years, at intervals, and 
 after about eighteen months had passed, one portion of 
 the process seemed to have reached completeness — for 
 in a degree it changed, and instead of momentary, as 
 before, the transmutations became longer, until at last, 
 as now, the changes last sixty, and in one instance has 
 reached two hundred and forty-five minutes. 
 
 It may here be asked : " Where are you in the in- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 11 
 
 We are two in one, yet 
 the stronger rules the hour." 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, that this condition is as 
 widely separated from those incident to the " Medi- 
 ums," as theirs is supposed to be different from the 
 ordinary wakeful mood. They reach their state by a 
 sort of retrocession from themselves ; they fall, or claim 
 to fall, into a peculiar kind of slumber, their own facul- 
 ties going, as it were, to sleep. On the contrary, mine 
 is the direct opposite of this, for, instead of a sleep of 
 any sort, there comes an intense wakefulness. Nor is 
 this all in which we differ ; as are the processes and 
 states apart, so also are the results different. 
 
 The revelations of Spiritual existences, moods, modes, 
 and conditions of being, as given by nearly every 
 " Spiritual Medium " of whom I have ever heard or 
 read, are, to say the least, totally unsatisfactory to the 
 great majority of those who seek for information on the 
 vital question of Immortality — how, and why, and to 
 what great end we are thus gifted and endowed? 
 
 Another, and equally important one, is that concern- 
 ing the Soul-world, and the inhabitants thereof — how 
 they live, where they live, and to what end and use ? 
 
 I believe that light is, in this volume, thrown on all 
 these great and vital points ; such light, indeed, as will 
 be hailed and appreciated by all who read and think, 
 as well as by those who read and feel — two widely 
 different classes, but to both of whom these pages are 
 humbly, yet hopefully addressed. 
 
 The process, strange, wierd, and altogether unusual, 
 to which allusion has been made, went on for a long 
 time ; and by slow degrees I felt that my own person- 
 ality was not lost to me, but completely swallowed up, 
 so to speak, in that of a far more potent mentality. A 
 subtlety of thought, perception and understanding be- 
 came mine at times, altogether greater than I had ever 
 known before ; and occasionally, during these strange 
 blendings of my being with another, I felt that other's 
 
12 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 feelings, thought that other's thoughts, read that other's 
 past, aspired with that other's aspirations, and talked, 
 spoke, and reasoned with and under that other's inspi- 
 ration. For a time I attributed these exaltations of 
 Soul to myself alone, and supposed that I was not at all 
 indebted to foreign aid for many of the thoughts to 
 which, at such moments, I frequently gave utterance ; 
 but much study of the matter has at length convinced 
 me, not only that the inhabitants of the Soul-worlds 
 have much to do in moulding the great world's future, 
 but that occasionally they so manage things that their 
 thoughts are often spoken, and their behests, ends, and 
 purposes fulfilled by us mortals, when we imagine that 
 we alone are entitled to the sole credit of much that we 
 say, think, and do, when the fact is, we doubtless are 
 oftentimes merely the proxies of others, and act our 
 allotted role in a drama whose origin is entirely super- 
 natural, and the whole direction of which is conducted 
 by personages beyond the veil.* 
 
 Well, one day, it so happened that I repaired to a 
 beautiful village in one of the New England States, on 
 a visit to some very kind and well-beloved friends — the 
 brother and the sister of the rare maiden whose won- 
 drous thoughts abound in the volume now before the 
 reader ; and while there, the conversation ran on topics 
 wide apart from either Mesmerism or its great cognate, 
 " Spiritualism." During the time that had elapsed since 
 my last visit to the beautiful village, some two years, 
 Death had been busily gathering his harvests in all the 
 regions round about ; nor had he kept aloof from the 
 house on the hill. No ! cruel Death had been over its 
 threshold, and Azrael had carried two precious souls 
 over the Dark Eiver. These were Cynthia and her 
 mother. 
 
 After partaking of a sorrow-seasoned meal, mourn- 
 
 * That many of them are inhabitants of other spheres, beings who 
 never lived on this earth, I am firmly convinced. My reasons will be 
 given in the sequel to this present volume. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 13 
 
 fully, and with aching heart and tearful eye, we, the 
 left-bchind and myself, took our way toward the ground 
 where lay the sacred form of her we loved so deeply, 
 so fully ; and there I wept, and the great salt tears 
 bedewed the sod — for, indeed, my heart, poor, weary, 
 troubled heart, was almost breaking. Soon we re- 
 turned to the house upon the hill, and I lay me down 
 upon the sofa, near the window — the very sofa whereon 
 her sainted form was wont to recline in the days 
 now, alas ! fled, with her, forever and forevermore — 
 that same little sofa whereon she used to sit and 
 converse with us, with her sister Clarinda, the gentle 
 and the good John Hart, and her well-beloved Jona- 
 than, with my humble self, and a few select and sober- 
 minded lovers of the good and true ; used to sit and 
 converse upon the mysteries of the Great Beyond, and 
 touching the realities of that other world, to which 
 Disease was remorselessly, and with relentless purpose, 
 fast urging her life-car. * * * And I threw myself 
 upon the sofa ; and as I lay there, with closed eyes, I 
 beheld the flitting ghosts of iqany a dead day, with all 
 its troops of glad and bitter memories, when suddenly 
 it seemed that I was no longer myself — for so deep and 
 perfect was the blending, that I had not merely an in- 
 surmountable assurance that my body contained, for the 
 time being, two complete souls, but even the very 
 thoughts, modes of expression, and memory of the de- 
 parted one was mine ; and yet this possession did not, 
 for an instant, subvert my own individuality. I was 
 there, and so was she. For the time being, we two 
 were not merely as, but to all intents and purposes, we 
 actually were, one. 
 
 Arising from the recumbent position, my body as- 
 sumed certain singularities of movement peculiar to 
 her before she flew up to her home in the bright em- 
 pyrean, and these words were spoken : " The experi- 
 ences and history of a Soul must be written, for the 
 benefit of the people. I, we, intend to write it. A 
 
14 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 book shall be produced, containing the facts of a living, 
 dying, dead and transfigured human being — containing 
 the reasons why men live after death, and the methods 
 of their after life and being. This book shall contain 
 an account of the experience of two human beings — the 
 one, while temporarily disenthralled ; the other, when 
 permanently so — shall contain the experience of Cyn- 
 thia during her passage from earth to the grave of 
 earthly hope and being, and a history of what befell 
 thereafter." 
 
 These were the spoken words. Once more I resumed 
 my personality, and attended to the affairs of the busy 
 world. In other days the promises were kept, and this 
 first book was written. 
 
 Nothing further need be said by way of introduction 
 to what follows, further than to observe that certain 
 Soul-experiences; related in the second part, were mine 
 — the writer's — while the reasonings are not wholly 
 such. 
 
(tptftte.: %lu gmWmU. 
 
 I purpose to say nothing whatever concerning my 
 life as a denizen of the outside world — of my existence 
 or career while clothed with the garments of mortality. 
 It is of my death that first I wish to speak, and of what 
 took place thereafter — of where and how I found my- 
 self as soon as the icy hand of Death had touched my 
 heart, and frozen up my vitals. While with my friends, 
 from whom the change separated me, I was, so far as 
 frail mortals in my condition of bodily health can be, 
 quite happy and contented — contented to endure, with 
 all possible patience, that for which there was no 
 medicament, no remedy ; and, all things considered, 
 satisfied I lived, and in the self-same spirit died* Died ? 
 No ; I am not dead ! — bodies change ; souls can never 
 die. Why? For the reason that God, who, like 
 human beings, is intelligent and immortal, can Himself 
 be never blotted out of being. He is Mind, Memory, 
 Love, and Will, not one of which can ever perish ; and 
 these being the attributes of man likewise, it follows 
 that, so long as He exists, we must also. 
 
 In the year 1854, being ill of consumption, the 
 person, an account of whose experience is given in these 
 pages, although long previously somewhat familiar 
 
16 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 • 
 
 with, began to take an especial interest in the great 
 subject of an hereafter, as revealed by what purported 
 to be the spirits of departed men and women ; and 
 then, for the first time, as Death's cold presence 
 sensibly approached me afar off, and the sense of 
 going began to quicken in my being, I commenced seri- 
 ously to speculate concerning immortality, and to pay . 
 greater heed to the alleged revelations from the mys- 
 terious Beyond. 
 
 Bye-and-bye, consumption so wasted me, that I grew 
 tired ; and finally, a mist came before my eyes, and shut 
 out the fields, the forests, and the faces of my friends, — my 
 friends — none dearer than whom, were ever clasped to 
 affection's warm heart. * * * * And so I slept, — but 
 woke again from out of that strange, deep sleep, called 
 Death. The awakening was very strange ! — was* such 
 as I had never even imagined to be possible. 
 
 " Where ami?" was asked by myself of that very self. 
 Not mine, but a lower, sweeter, more musical voice, soft 
 and dulcet as the tinkle of a love bell, answered me 
 from out a veil of rosy light, that hung between me, 
 and, whatever was beyond. " In the Divine City of 
 freed souls, — the land of Immortal, but not Eternal 
 rest." * * * * I felt, and knew that I was — dead ! 
 
 As the sense of these words struck upon my soul 
 where this voice came from, seemed very strange to me, 
 for this reason amongst others : I had, to a certain ex- 
 tent, familiarized myself with Physics, and knew that 
 sounds were supposed to be the result of certain aerial 
 vibrations. Now, supposing this theory to be correct, 
 it struck me, that I, a disembodied soul, ought not to be 
 competent to discern sounds, for there was neither tym- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 17 
 
 panuin to receive, auditory nerves to conduct, nor external 
 ear, to collect these waves of sound. 
 
 It seemed to me, that one of the two prevalent theo- 
 ries must be false ; either sound is not material, or that 
 the Spirit of a human being is; — for I had not the shadow 
 of a doubt, but that I was really, and forever, an in- 
 habitant of the soul-world. If sounds are material, how 
 was it possible for me to hear them, being a Spirit ? If 
 a Spirit is but a refined form of matter, then the notion 
 of its eternal durability, is a false one, and there must 
 come a period when it too, like the body, must dissolve 
 away. These things troubled me. I had passed to 
 death, not as a sluggard, and careless of what might 
 await me, but with every faculty keenly awake. Nor 
 do I suppose five minutes elapsed after I emerged from 
 my body, ere I was perfectly alive to all that surround- 
 ed me. 
 
 I distinctly saw certain familiar things, and recognized 
 them; but there was not any difficulty in comprehending 
 the rationale of this; for I perceived that solar light 
 was not the only source of illumination the earth pos- 
 sessed. Indeed, there is no such thing as darkness. 
 The life of all things is light, and although sun, moon, 
 and stars should hide behind an impenetrable veil, yet 
 the things of earth would still be visible to the sight of 
 the soul. 
 
 There are two other sources of light; first, 
 the electrical emanations from every material object 
 illumine them, and whatever maybe near; and second, 
 the air itself, which fleshly lungs inhale, is but the outer 
 garb of a finer and magnetic sea, which not only en- 
 circles the earth, but stretches away in all directions to 
 
18 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the outer limits of creation ; and in this, all things are 
 radiant, all things visible. 
 
 These observations were quickly made ; and in an 
 instant thereafter, I turned toward the fleecy veil pre- 
 viously observed, and saw the figure of an old, gray- 
 haired man emerge therefrom, leading by the hand, a 
 sweet and lovely girl apparently about ten years old. 
 The gleesome smile on that angel's face, the look of 
 bland benevolence on the features of the man, surpassed 
 aught of the kind that I had ever seen before. Both of 
 them approached, and greeted me. I could not return 
 the salutation, because the strangeness and utter novelty, 
 not only of my new situation, but of my sensations, 
 were such that it was impossible to act as in other mo- 
 ments, I feel certain I should have been prompted to. 
 The man spoke, and called me " daughter." The tones 
 were precisely those I had formerly heard ; and two 
 things surprised me : First, tKeir serene and liquid 
 melody, — so very different from those one would na- 
 turally expect to hear from one of his appearance; and 
 second, that very appearance itself: for both the man 
 and child were clothed after the manner and fashion of 
 the earth. 
 
 This was a matter of astonishment, for I had supposed 
 that the clothing of the Spirit was vastly different 
 from that of the body. Evidently, the old man read 
 my mind, and understood the cause of my perplexity. 
 Drawing near to where I stood, he touched my forehead 
 with his finger, and said, " Be clear, my child, be clear." 
 
 As if that touch were magic, there came an instan- 
 taneous change over me ; it was as if I thought to the 
 point I wished, and that with perfect clarity. Things, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 19 
 
 which a moment before were wrapped in the folds of 
 mystery, now became transparent as the plainest I could 
 wish. 
 
 As a matter of course, I took notice of the friends I 
 had just left behind me 1 — yes, behind me, in what was 
 now in very truth a far-off world: — even though not ten 
 yards intervened between myself and the dear ones, 
 who now mourned me; yet in presence of the fact that 
 I have very momentous revelations to make, — revelations 
 that will startle the world, — I cannot now stop to relate 
 my emotions, my sorrows or my joys, for I felt that at 
 last I was in the realm of pure knowledge ; and now 
 feel that this precious opportunity must be improved, to 
 other ends than a mere recital of my emotions and 
 sympathies however acute and tender they may have 
 been. 
 
 The communication between the soul-world and earth 
 is far more difficult and rare than I had believed, or 
 than thousands believe to-day. Much, I learned, that 
 passes among men for spiritual manifestation, really has 
 no such origin, while many things, attributed to an 
 origin purely mundane, are really the work of intelligent 
 beings, beyond the misty veil. 
 
 Long previous to my final illness, I had held many 
 interesting conversations with my friends, concerning 
 the higher life and worlds, and particularly with the 
 one by whose aid I am now enabled to make these dis- 
 closures ; and I had made a solemn compact, to the 
 effect, that if it were possible to return subsequent to 
 death, I would do so, and, reveal such mysteries as I 
 might be enabled or permitted to. This resolution grew 
 out of the fact, that not one of the theories, regarding 
 
20 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the 'post mortem existence of human kind, which I had 
 ever heard or read, gave me the satisfaction that my 
 soul desired. I suspected that many of the current no- 
 tions regarding the lands beyond the curtain, were, to 
 say the least, largely tinctured with the mind of the 
 individuals through whose lips the oracular utterances 
 came ; consequently I became, to a degree, suspicious 
 of all modern eolism and eolists, because I feared their 
 inspirations had not so high and deep a source as they 
 claimed, and is claimed for them. 
 
 My mind, in this respect, is still unchanged. The 
 first lesson that flashed in upon me, after the mysterious 
 clarification of soul to which allusion has been made 
 was this : People on earth spend a great deal of time 
 in acquiring lessons which have to be unlearned, upon 
 their entrance on the upper life ; — must be unlearned, 
 ere they can advance far in the acquisition of the rare 
 treasures of knowledge, to be found only by the true 
 seeker, even in that mighty realm which constitutes the 
 soul-world. 
 
 God has placed all true human joys, there, as well as 
 on the earth, upon high shelves, whence they cannot be 
 taken by proxy ; — they must be reached for by those 
 who would have them \ and the more precious the joy, 
 the higher the shelf; — the more valuable the volume, the 
 greater effort is required to obtain the perusal thereof. 
 This is the first great law. 
 
 Now, in collecting what purported to be scraps of 
 knowledge, from the realm of spiritual existence, I 
 found on my entry there, that I had laid up quite a 
 store of falsities in the magazines of my soul: — laid up 
 great heaps of what I supposed were the gold and dia- 
 
DEALINGS WIIH THE DEAD. 21 
 
 nionds of supernal truth; but which, no sooner had I 
 entered the portals of the vast temple of Eternity, than 
 I found to be the most useless rubbish; and nearly all 
 my treasures proved to be the merest paste and tinsel. 
 The first thing, therefore, which the soul desirous of 
 attaining real proficiency in knowledge, has to do, is to 
 unlearn its follies as quick as possible. 
 
 This process is called by a term signifying vastation, 
 or throwing off. Some do this at once and with ease ; 
 others linger a long time in error, and only attain the 
 great end through great trial and perseverance, just as 
 persons on earth. My desire was ever to, and for the 
 truth ; hence the process, to me was one of comparative 
 ease. The ideas which I had imbibed, and given my 
 heart to, concerning matters spiritual, were the same 
 that are still current amongst those who accept that 
 which is known as modern Spiritualism. Succinctly 
 stated, they were these : first, The spirit of a human 
 being is the product of the physical body ; the human 
 being is a triplicate, composed of soul, or the thinking 
 principle, the body, and an intermediate link, called 
 spirit ; possessing all the organs of, and shaped like 
 the body, and which serves to connect this last with the 
 soul, while on earth, and being its eternal casket after 
 death. The soul, spirit and body are called into being 
 at one time, and that upon the earth. 
 
 The spiritual body, like the physical, is subject both 
 to waste and want, for which ample and due provision 
 has by God been made. It has thirst, hunger, and 
 amatory love, all of which have their appropriate grati- 
 fications in the Spirit-world. This spiritual world itself 
 is on the surface of a zone surrounding the earth, at a 
 
22 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 distance of one hundred miles, more or less ; above this 
 zone, is another and another, to the number of twelve ; 
 each zone is a * Sphere/ and its inhabitants are divide d 
 off into classes, degrees, societies and circles. All the 
 zones are diversified with real and absolute rivers, trees, 
 mountains, lakes, landscapes, cities, and so on, just as is 
 the material globe ; and all these things are fixtures. 
 Such, in brief, are the general ideas on the subject enter- 
 tained t>y the people j and such as I had believed and 
 conceived to be true. But when I came to pass through 
 the change, and to realize the new condition, I ascer- 
 tained that so far from being founded in reality, they 
 were simply — nonsense ! 
 
 According to the foregoing, which is confessedly the 
 most popular conception of the realms beyond, and of 
 its inhabitants, that world is scarcely better than the one 
 that mortals occupy. These notions totally ignore 
 Spirit ; for, according to them, Spirit is nothing more 
 than matter in ah exceedingly refined, or rather, subli- 
 mated, condition ; whereas Spirit is no such thing. True, 
 it animates material things, but itself is not material. 
 It is above, beyond, and discreted from it. Like the 
 asymptotes of an arc, it forever approaches, but never 
 actually contacts matter. The same general theory ac- 
 cords mankind an origin here in space and time merely, 
 and at best predicates but sempiternity, or a future end- 
 less duration for him; whereas, if soul begins to-be at all 
 on the plane of earth and matter, it must have but a very 
 ill-grounded assurance of an endless race, No, this is 
 not correct ; for Soul, like God, is from forever in the 
 past, to forever in the distance ; and so far from origin- 
 ating on the earth, it has for myriads of ssons sped 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 23 
 
 its career through God's infinite Silence Halls, and now 
 merges, whether for the first time or not, is needless to 
 inquire at this point, into the vocal Harmonead. In the 
 life of earth, the soul awakes from its pre-state into one 
 as different as can well be thought of ; and at death, it 
 experiences another waking, quite as startling, but in- 
 finitely more grand. 
 
 The first lesson, then, that I learned was, that with a 
 great deal of- philosophy, I had but very little knowl- 
 edge ; and instead of finding the Soul-world analagous 
 to the earth-world, in fact I found them vastly different, 
 and possessing no one thing in common, so far as the 
 surroundings of the spiritual entrant was concerned. 
 
 All that has been said required several minutes to de- 
 scribe, but not ten seconds to experience. 
 
 Hooked toward the old man and the child,marvelling, as 
 before observed, that they wore clothing after the man 
 ner of the earth-kin, and bore the appearance of ex- 
 treme youth and extreme age. " Is it possible that 
 years affect souls ? Do we grow old, as well as need 
 garments in the other world ? w These queries suggest- 
 ed themselves, and while present in my mind, the old 
 man came to my right side, and took me by my left hand, 
 while the little girl, Nellie, — I subsequently learned she 
 had been called by the dear ones left behind her, took 
 my right hand ; and both said, " Come, Cynthia, they 
 await yoiv: let us go to meet them." 
 
 I now made three important discoveries': First, that 
 I was yet in the room, where my breath had been resign- 
 ed : that I was clothed in precisely such a dress as I 
 had usually worn ; and third, that so far as I could 
 judge, I actually trod upon, and walked over a stratum 
 
24 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 of air, just such air as I had been used to breathe, albeit 
 that was not possible any longer, for the reason that 
 it was all too heavy for the respiratory apparatus of 
 that which now constituted my body, or at least the 
 vehicle of myself — the thinking, acting, living me. My 
 method of locomotion differed essentially from that of 
 my two companions, who did not walk, but seemed to 
 glide along at will through that same air, which was 
 to me quite palpable, for I distinctly noticed that its 
 touch was of a velvety character, and quite elastic. My 
 feet moved ; theirs did not. And so we passed out of 
 the house through the open door, — for a person had 
 just entered. 
 
 From one or two incidental circumstances that took 
 place, not essential to this narrative, and therefore with- 
 held, I became convinced that unless some incarnate 
 man or woman had raised the latch of that door, it 
 must, so far as I was concerned, have remained shut to 
 all eternity, barring wind, decay, accident, or an earth- 
 quake ; for in my then state of enlightenment on the 
 subject, I saw no possible means whereby to effect our 
 liberation. It struck me that unless some such agency 
 as has been named, came to our assistance, we must 
 either make our egress by means of the chimney, or 
 stay pent up there until the elements dissolved a portion 
 of the edifice ; or, supposing it to be proof against de- 
 cay, a dreadful alternative, so it seemed, there we must 
 remain for evermore. Subsequently I learned that even 
 were such a thing possible, and I never got outside of that 
 dwelling, yet it would be far less terrible than fear might 
 lead one to imagine or suspect ; for still there would re- 
 main, not only an infinity of duration, but also a universe 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 25 
 
 to move and be in, quite as infinite in both extent and 
 variety beside; for the Soul,I soondiscovered,was a ^asti- 
 tude in and of itself; and should it happen that not one 
 of the moments of its mighty year be spent in the society 
 of others like unto itself, yet there would be but little occa- 
 sion for ennui; not one lonely minute need be spent, for all 
 its days — if for illustration's sake, I may predicate time of 
 that whereof emotions and states are the minutes and 
 the hours — might be profitably employed in visiting its 
 own treasure houses and in counting the rare jewels there 
 stored away ; besides which, it could perform many a 
 pleasant voyage, visiting mighty continents, rare islands, 
 wondrous cities, and marvellous, countries of its own 
 tremendous being ; — aye ! it could amuse itself for ages 
 in merely glancing at the hills, valleys, caverns — strange 
 deep caverns they are too — the oceans, forests, fields 
 fens, brakes, and marshes of its mighty self; nor would 
 its resources be exhausted at the thither end of the 
 rolling wave of Time ; because time is not to the soul : its 
 duration and successions are of thought, not seconds — ■ 
 so wonderful, so vast, so illimitable, and, taken as a 
 unit, so incomprehensible, save by the Over-soul himself, 
 is the human being. Soul ! thou august thing ! Felt 
 thou mayest be ; understood by none, save God ; and, 
 albeit we may explore a little of thy forelands, yet only 
 He can penetrate thy depths ; only He can trace the 
 streams that water thee to their source, and that source 
 can be no other than His divine heart, who, forever un- 
 seen, is never unfelt ; an invisible worker afar off, yet 
 near at hand ; one who spreadeth the banquet, and pre- 
 pareth the feasters, who worketh ever in secret, yet 
 who doeth all things well ! Soul ! Mighty potentate ! 
 2 
 
 i 
 
26 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Victim at once, and victor of circumstance and time ! 
 Thou enigma, which millions think they have solved, 
 even while thou laughest at them ; who imagining they 
 have untied the knot, have not even found the clue ! 
 Strange riddle ! Thing of which men think they are 
 well informed, because they have learned a few of thy 
 names, and can call thee Psyche, Soul, Spirit, Pneuma 
 and Breath ; word-names, which generally convey about 
 as much of thee to the common understanding, as the 
 name-words Algebra, Geometry, Music and Number, do 
 to the barbarians who hear them pronounced, of the 
 vast realities that underlie the sounds or the signs. 
 Soul ! Existence, whereof eolists and pedants learnedly 
 prate and bluster in long phrase and loud tone, as if 
 thou didst not command silence of him who would 
 approach thee, and seek to know the awful mysteries 
 slumbering beneath thy titles. Soul ! Whereof every- 
 body talks so much, but of which even the wisest of 
 either earth or heaven know so very little. 
 f: "Well, in my ignorance, I felt that unless some one, 
 something material, had opened that door, we must stay 
 imprisoned there in that house upon the hill, forever and 
 for evermore. 
 
 How little, how very little, I then knew or suspected 
 concerning the mighty powers latent, and never yet fully 
 unfolded in auy human being — no matter whom, no 
 matter where located, how high in heaven, on earth, or 
 deep down in the bottomless hell, or the blackest 
 barathrum of the infinitudes of Possibility. No one 
 save God can fathom the profounds of Soul. Why? 
 Because, like Him, it is absolutely Infinite : Him, in 
 Conscious Power — it, in Capability ! Yery imperfect 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 27 
 
 still, and necessarily so, yet my notions of the Soul's 
 powers were then exceedingly vague, crude, and unde- 
 fined. In other and succeeding states to which I subse- 
 quently attained, much of this ignorance was dispelled by 
 new light which constantly broke in upon my being. 
 
 And we passed beyond the portal of the house, my- 
 self crossing at the same instant its threshold, and that 
 of Time ; nor did I once cast a glance toward the frail 
 and decaying shell from which a joyous thrill of super- 
 consciousness told me that I had forever escaped ; in- 
 deed I had no disposition to do so, for the reason that 
 new and strange emotions and sensations crowded so 
 fast upon me, that my whole attention was absorbed 
 thereby ; for they swept like the billows of a wind 
 troubled lake, across the entire sea of my new-born 
 being. One thought, arid one alone, connected with 
 earth, assumed importance, and that was associated 
 with the physical phenomenon of dissolution, and it 
 shaped itself in a hundred ways with the rapidity of 
 lightning — no, not lightning, but quicker, for that is 
 very slow compared to the flashings and the rushings 
 forth of thought, even in the earth-made brain ; how 
 much more rapid, then, from a source around which 
 are no cerebral impediments to obstruct. " Death — this 
 it is to be dead !" thought I. How blind, how deaf we 
 are, not to see, and know, and hear, that all things 
 tell of life, life, life — being, real and true ; while 
 nothing, nothing in the great domain of our God, 
 speaks one word of absolute death, of a blotting out of 
 Soul — Soul, which, while even cramped in coares bodies, 
 sometimes mounts the Capitals of existence, and with 
 far-penetrating vision pierces the profoundest depths of 
 
28 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 space, gazes eagle-like upon the very sun of Glory, 
 laughs death to scorn, and surveys the fields of two 
 eternities — one behind, and one before it. This thing 
 can never die, nor taste a single drop of bitter death ! 
 # * ■* jj ow strange, how wonderfully strange I feel ; 
 yet these sensations are of excellent health, of exhilarant 
 youth, of concentration and power ; nor hath decrep- 
 itude or decay aught therein. 
 
 " I am not faint, but strong ; not sad, but joyous." 
 These were my observations on realizing the great 
 change. Many a time had I read and heard of the 
 capacity human beings have of experiencing joys purely 
 nervous. Nearly all present human pleasures are based 
 upon the fineness and susceptibility of the nerves to re- 
 ceive and impart magnetic impressions. My nerves 
 had aforetime been made to tingle with strange, deep 
 bliss when in the presence of those I loved, after their 
 return from long absence ; I had tasted the exquisite 
 nectar from the lips of an innocent prattling babe, and 
 had known the tumultuous thrill of friendship's joyous 
 meetings ; and yet all these were as blasts of frozen 
 air to what now kept running, leaping, flying, dancing 
 through me. It was the supremely delicious sense of 
 being dead — the voluptuous joy consequent upon dying. 
 
 At first it seemed to me that keener joy, or deeper 
 bliss would be impossible for man or woman to experi- 
 ence than those that now were mine. After a while I 
 learned better. 
 
 Mankind expand from the action of two principles — 
 Intellect and Intuition • the first being the basis of pro- 
 gression, the latter of development. Some, both in and 
 out of the body, are built up by one, some by the other ; 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 29 
 
 and many rise from the combined action of both. Many 
 of the dead pursue the triumphs of intellect and investi- 
 gation, just as when on earth. These are the progres- 
 sionists — vast in number, great in deed,. but constituting 
 an inferior order, as they must ever be secondary to 
 that vaster host and higher order who climb the ladder 
 of intuition. Without egotism, then, but in all humility, 
 I say that great joy was mine on finding myself num- 
 bered with the larger army. It was in allusion to the 
 fact that all the learning a man may acquire on earth, 
 really stands him but little on the other side, that one 
 of old declared that in that upper kingdom the first 
 should be last, and the last be first ; for it often happens 
 that one almost ignorant in a worldly sense, may have 
 the highest and the grandest intuitions of truth, divested 
 of the thick coats wherewith learning often clothes it. 
 People in whom intellect predominates over intuition, 
 naturally gravitate to their true position in the realms 
 beyond. Their destiny is to be for a long time (and of 
 such "time" can justly be predicated) pilgrims in the 
 Spirit-world or middle state, whereas all in whom 
 intuition is exalted, can not only be occasional residents, 
 for redemptive purposes, of the outer Spirit- world, but 
 are intromitted to the deeper and sublime realities of 
 the Soul-world — a world as much different from the 
 merely Spiritual kingdom as is the processes of a musi- 
 cian's soul, when at high tide, superior to the mental 
 operations of a midnight burglar. A veil divides those 
 worlds as completely as does a similar one separate 
 earth from Spirit-land. Two beings there may meet, 
 one a resident of the Soul-realm, the other a denizen of 
 Spirit-land ; the former may be in close propinquity with 
 
30 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the latter, and yet the spheres of their several existences 
 be as far apart as is North from South. The one sees 
 and knows only from appearances, the other from posi- 
 tive rapport. This fact at once explains many of the 
 differences in the accounts which mortals receive, and un- 
 mistakably so, from the lands beyond the swelling flood; 
 the kingdoms o'er the sea. My knowledge flowed in 
 upon me through the channels of intuition, and through 
 them I learned that the hyper-sensational joys to which 
 allusion has been made, are ever experienced in exact 
 ratio to the purity of the past record of the life. Those 
 which I felt were only of the fourth degree, there being 
 three beyond, though how mine should have been so 
 intensified and deepened, was, and, for reasons plainly 
 to be seen, must ever remain, a mystery. The amount, 
 degree, and even kind, of joy felt by any soul upon its 
 passage over the Myst, depends upon three things, and 
 these are : First, the nature of the motives which, pre- 
 vious to the mortuary divorce, prompted to all or any 
 action, either toward the self, the neighbor, or society ; 
 Second, the amount of good a person has done on earth ; 
 and Third, the amount of use, in the higher sense, they 
 may have subserved previous to physical dissolution. 
 
 Nellie and I, and the old gray-haired man who ac- 
 companied her, soon reached the road in front of the 
 house wherein I had lived, and wherein I was born into a 
 newer phase of life. While looking at my companions 
 to find out whither they were going, the child, by the 
 exercise of a power not then fully understood by myself, 
 rose into the air a foot or more, laid her hand gently on 
 my forehead, patted it tenderly, and said : " Come ! 
 VYcixe going to show you your home, and then mine, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 31 
 
 and then Ms !" She said this with a smile, so pure, so 
 radiant, that I instantly divined that there was truth in 
 the theory that every one has a conjugal mate in the 
 universe somewhere, albeit I shrank from, and dreaded 
 to meet mine, if, indeed, I had one, for I had seen some- 
 what of that which passes for love among men ; and, 
 while hailing and delighting in amicive, I felt a shud- 
 dering disgust at anything that assumed the form of 
 amatory love. Love was admired, but its passional 
 phases feared and despised. My tutelage was just 
 begun. 
 
 The touch of the child's hand was as plain, palpable 
 and physical as any touch ever felt before, — quite as 
 much so as was that of the dear sister who smoothed 
 my dying brow. 'After all, then, spirits are material. 
 I feel their fingers, see their forms, hear their words, 
 and I am in all respects as nervously sensitive as ever 
 in the by-gone years of sickness ! Oh, this mystery of 
 the double existence, which, after all, seems to be but 
 two phases of a single state ; when, when shall it be 
 solved?' This thought passed through my mind, nor 
 can there be the least doubt but they both read it quite 
 as well as myself, for the old ma«\ smiled gently and 
 benignly, the girl with half-concealed merriment and 
 glee. 
 
 I now passed off into a strange and peculiar state, 
 but whether what followed resulted from the touch or 
 not, it is impossible to say. At first I was seized with 
 an intense desire to know more of what must be called 
 my physique, and a rapid inspection revealed the fact 
 that I possessed, ail and singular, the organs in the new 
 condition, that had been in the old. There were my 
 
32 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 hands — real, actual hands, evidently, — but they were 
 very thin, pale, emaciated, wrinkled, and of a decidedly 
 blue, consumptive caste, — precisely as they had appeared 
 every day for the past long months of pain and misery. 
 My hair was long, and in all other respects as before ; 
 my feet felt tender ; nor was there any difference be- 
 tween my then, and prior state, except that a nameless, 
 thrilling joy pervaded me, and which left absolutely 
 nothing to be wished for in that respect ; for as the 
 mouth of every nerve drew in the magnetic essence in 
 which I floated, it seemed as if living streams of sense- 
 joy rushed through every channel and avenue of being ; 
 and it struck me that if there were no other reward 
 for having lived and suffered, yet that the sensations 
 consequent upon physical death would fully compensate 
 a life of agony.* 
 
 Soon a sense of vacuity stole over me, and brought 
 the realization, that having passed through two worlds, 
 I was rapidly approaching one still more wonderful 
 and strange. 
 
 Many a time had I been mesmerized by friends, in my 
 far distant-dwelling, by my well-beloved brother J. in par- 
 ticular, who all sought by that means to alleviate my 
 sufferings; and not seldom had I passed into what is 
 popularly termed the Superior State ;f and the feeling 
 
 * All the dead people are not thus favored. Up to the present! 
 was an inhabitant merely of the Spiritual world, but had not yet 
 entered upon the vast domains of the realm of Soul. There are two 
 worlds into which it is possible for man to step into from the portals 
 of the grave, as all will be convinced who either study the subject or 
 give this introductory work a careful perusal. 
 
 f My researches have proved to me, that in nine cases in every 
 ten, taking an entire average, the sleeping subject never once actually 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 33 
 
 induced by Nellie's touch was akin to that, but was far 
 more profound. First there came a sort of mental re- 
 trocession, consequent upon my previous intellectual 
 activity. The soul-principle seemed to bound back 
 from its investigations of the previous moment, to a 
 pinnacle within itself, from whence it as rapidly sunk 
 down into one of the profoundest labyrinths of its own 
 vast caverns. 
 
 Down, down, still lower and deeper into the awful 
 abyss of itself it sank, until at last it stood solitary and 
 alone in one of its own secret halls. The outer realm, 
 with all its pains and joys, cares, sorrows and ambitions, 
 hopes, likes, antipathies and aspirations; all its shadows 
 and fitful gleams of light, were left behind, and naught 
 of the great wide world remained; for its lakes and 
 green trees, its gardens and its tiny brooks, its beetling 
 cliffs and radiant sky grew distant, very distant, until 
 at length a cold and chilling horror crept over me, and 
 suggested that perhaps, after all, the fearful doctrine 
 
 eaters the domain of Spirit at all, during the trance ; but instead 
 thereof, roams and revels in the Fancy Realm of his own, or some one 
 else's soul. A suggestion, — either spontaneous or accepted — serves as 
 the hither end of a clue, the line reaching just where the partially freed 
 mind chooses to direct it. Frequent repetitions of the exercise of this 
 organ of spectral illusion, lead directly to bad results, for the 
 illusions soon impress themselves as realities,- and the grossest and 
 most absurd fanaticisms result ; as witness the thousand phases of 
 spiritual belief. In addition to this, the habit of mesmerizing, or be- 
 ing mesmerized, is a ruinous one to all concerned, producing pestilence 
 and moral death. True, where both parties are good and pure, no 
 'harm may at first ensue, but at last an abnormal susceptibility results 
 by which any man or woman may he led into " the jaws of death, into 
 the mouth of hell." I speak of course concerning indiscriminate mag- 
 netizing. 
 
 2* 
 
34 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 might be true, which declares, that some human beings 
 are Gocl-doomed to annihilation ; and the anguish that 
 this conceit brought with it, was almost unbearable, 
 even by a free-born soul. But, thank God ! this last 
 folly of the philosophers, — last and greatest save one — 
 the doctrine that " whatever is is right/' in every and all 
 senses, is a libel on Himself and His goodness. 
 
 Finally it seemed as if my being had been concentered, 
 or focalized to a single point, and even that soon faded 
 out, and an utter blankness enveloped my soul. How long 
 this continued is impossible to be told, but the next ex- 
 perience was that consequent upon a series of sudden 
 thrills or shocks, like unto those which a person receives 
 who takes hold of the conducting knobs of a highly 
 charged galvanic battery, — or rather when touching 
 the cup of a leyden jar. These instantly aroused me. 
 I started up as from a death-stupor. But what a change, 
 if not in myself, at least in my surroundings ! I was in 
 the center of a new, but limited world. Around me 
 was an atmosphere of mellow rosy light, different from 
 any ever known to me before, — an atmosphere, radiant, 
 sweet, soft, and redolent with perfumes of an order and 
 fineness surpassingly grateful. I was in the Soul-world, 
 — my Soul-world : — a realm whereof God alone was 
 Lord — and I His tributary Queen. The feelings con- 
 sequent on this induction were strange, but pleasant. 
 
 The thoughts that now arose, were not, as formerly, 
 mere shadowy forms, inconsistent and impalpable, nor 
 was the scene of their action within the head; truei 
 they were born there, but that was all. They were 
 no longer subjective merely, fleeting and ephemeral, 
 but were objective, positive and real. I saw, but not 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 35 
 
 alone with eyes, for the simulacrse of the objects wit- 
 nessed within that sphere, even the faint outlines of the 
 most far-off memograph, seemed to stream in upon me 
 through a thousand new doors, and I appeared to ac- 
 quire knowledge by two opposite methods : first by go- 
 ing out involuntarily to whatever was to be known; 
 and second, by absorbing the images of things, — -just 
 as the eye absorbs a landscape. 
 
 A person beholding me at that moment, would have 
 concluded, and rightly too, that I had just arisen from 
 off a sort of cloud-couch near the center of the sphere, 
 toward which my face was turned. On that couch I 
 beheld the exact image, not of my person, but of the 
 clothes, the resemblance of which to those once worn 
 on earth, it will be remembered, had so greatly sur- 
 prised me in the earlier part of this experience. "While 
 yet I gazed upon that ghost of a dress, it slowly faded 
 into nothingness. Desiring to know the rationale of 
 this occurrence, it came to me that the worlds are not 
 only full of objects, but must necessarily be still more 
 full of the images thereof, — images which fix themselves 
 more or less permanently, on whatever plastic material 
 which they may chance to come in contact with. Some- 
 times the* lightning will pass over a body or object; 
 and in passing will fix and bring out into visibility the 
 images of things already there. Nature is full of 
 mirrors. This is the memory of Matter — the Photo- 
 graphy of the substantial universe. Memory is but the 
 photography of soul. Everything, that strikes the eye, or 
 the senses in anyway, leaves an exact image of itself upon 
 the cylinder of Retention, which cylinder winds and 
 unwinds, according as it takes on or gives off the im- 
 
36 DEALINGS WITH TEE DEAD. 
 
 pression, whatever it may be. Thus the image of a 
 tone, a sound, a peculiar trill, as well as of material 
 things, can be, and are photographed upon the soul. 
 Nothing is lost, — not even the myriad images floating 
 off from all things about us, day after day. The 
 amazing beauties of a snow storm, a sleet shower, an 
 autumn forest, a rich garden, the countless flowers on 
 which man's material eye never rested, are all safely 
 cared for by Nature's Daguerrian Artist, and they float 
 about the material worlds until sometimes the frost will 
 pin a few of them to the window-panes in winter, or 
 they are breathed through the spiritual atmosphere into 
 some poetic soul, who incarnates them in canvass, marble, 
 or deathless verse. This revelation, of course, proves 
 that there is a higher world than most men have yet 
 dreamed of, and that too, right around them. In fact, 
 all things and events are but a simple process of what 
 may be called Deific Photography. All forms, all 
 things, all events, are but God's thoughts fixed for a 
 time. These mental images go forth in regular order, 
 and constitute the sublime procession of the ages, and 
 all human events and destinies are but the externaliza- 
 tion of Deific fore-had thoughts. Here is the rationale 
 of vaticination or prophecy. Certain persons are so 
 exalted, that moving in the Spiritual atmosphere, which 
 contains the pre-images of approaching events, they 
 read a few of them, and lo ! in the coming years the 
 occurrences are enacted; for the spiritual phasmas 
 have taken form, — the reflected image of the Deific 
 thought has at last passed through the dark material 
 camera, been fixed by a law of celestial chemistry, 
 brought out to the surface, or ' developed/ by the grand 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 37 
 
 manipulators of Nature's laboratory, and lo ! anew 
 the world and age rejoices, though individuals and com- 
 munities may mourn. 
 
 There is truth, therefore, in the doctrine of fore-ordi- 
 nation. But this truth is general always, and not par- 
 ticular, for while the current and area of events are 
 pre-established, still every soul, in any and all its states, 
 has an absolute sphere of self-itivity ; — the law of 
 Distinctness permits it to take the utmost advantage of 
 conditions for its own improvement. For instance, 
 take that which constitutes a peach tree, or a rose, give 
 it and its successors the best possible chance to unfold 
 its latent properties, and the rose or peach principle 
 will put forth, in the course of two generations, a forest 
 of beauties, an ocean of perfume, a mine of loveliness, 
 which, judging the plants by what appeared originally, 
 they never contained ; and yet nothing is more certain 
 than that every plant, even the prickly pear, the brist- 
 ling thorn, and unsightly thistle, contain the germs of a 
 beauty too vast to be comprehended by mortal man. 
 In the succeeding pages there is an account of God 
 and Monads which will add much to the needed light 
 on this subject. I cannot express them now for lack of 
 suitable conditions, which can only be had in the midst 
 of religious calm, holy solitude, and beneath a more 
 sunny sky than bends over us at the present writing. 
 
 As the appearance of my dress faded away, and the 
 truth just faintly limned, flashed across me, I began 
 to realize somewhat of the majesty of the thing called 
 soul ; and saw that, while the dress was a mere spectral 
 garb, so also were those of the little girl and the old 
 man — they were illusory — mere will-woven garments, 
 
38 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 — nothing but appearances. And yet, had I been ques- 
 tioned in regard to the matter, while in my previous 
 state, I would have freely sworn that all I saw was 
 real, — for in my then unenlightened state, they were so. 
 This suggests the subject of insanity. A man may be 
 in a state wherein he can only behold appearances. To 
 him they are real, to some one else they are false, while 
 to those who can look over the entire ground, both 
 would be deemed right and both wrong. Man is of 
 birthright a creator, and the law of Distinctness forces 
 his creations to resemble himself. If he is poor and 
 lean, so will be the world he fashions around him voli- 
 tionally, or which shall be his natural and spontaneous 
 out-creation. The highest happiness of man is found 
 in the act of creation, whether it be poem, picture, en- 
 gine, system of thought, or anything else. Hence the 
 enfranchised soul, dwelling in its real world, on the 
 thither side of time, has the power of assumption to a 
 degree commensurate with its desire for wisdom, its 
 determining motives, the good it has done, and the 
 ends of use it has accomplished. It can, therefore, 
 assume any form it pleases, — but for the purpose of 
 wrong-doing, or concealing its identity, it is utterly 
 powerless in this respect ; so that while it may mas- 
 querade as much as it chooses to for its amusement, 
 that of others, or to instruct ; yet A must be forever 
 known as A, nor can A ever pass for B, save in cases 
 of insanity, wherein A has a firm conviction that he is 
 really B, in which case, and for redemptive ends, he is 
 sometimes recognized as B, till his cure is effected. It 
 is in accordance with this law of distinctness that the 
 righteous dead, who do really sometimes come back on 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. ^ 39 
 
 visits to tlieir former homes, always appear to men clad 
 as they used to be when incarnated. They arc com- 
 pelled to this course by an integral law of soul, so long 
 as there are any on earth capable of recognizing them, 
 or so long as a good descriptive portrait may exist. If 
 the likelihood of identification does not exist, then the 
 spirits may assume such instructive or beautiful forms 
 as are either the spontaneous expression of tlieir interior 
 state, or as their goodness may suggest, and unfolded 
 wisdom prompt. 
 
 Some of my readers may feel disposed to inquire, 
 " Where was my soul when it made these interesting 
 discoveries?" The response is : not in space, not in 
 time ; for I was in a condition above and beyond these, 
 just as tune is above tone, or as meaning is above and 
 beyond the mere sound of the words conveying it. I 
 sustained the precise relation to time, and space, and 
 matter, that heat does to cold, light to shadow, shape 
 to essence, phantasmata to reality, bulk to number, 
 number to mass, or any two antithetical things whereof 
 men may have ideas. I had become a resident of a new 
 universe, differing as greatly from that upon which 
 man's vision rests, as that itself is different from dream- 
 land. My glad soul had crossed the shores of time 
 and distance, and the barque of its existence was fairly 
 launched upon the vast ocean of a new eternity. 
 
 0,ye babblers of vain philosophy, who nurse folly 
 for aye, and call it wisdom, ye who are so deeply en- 
 grossed in nursing your pet theories — theories planted on 
 nothing, and reaching nowhere, what know ye really of 
 the other stages of human existence ? Nothing I Aye, 
 truly, nothing ! and echo, hollow echo, gives back — 
 
40 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD: 
 
 nothing ! Aye, verily, nearly all your crude specula- 
 tions, and smooth plausibilities are as void of reality, 
 are as hollow as is the shell of an echo when all the 
 sounds have flown ! Your fine-spun hypotheses, con- 
 cerning the origin of the human soul * its nature and 
 the mode of its existence subsequent to physical disso- 
 lution, are too meager and unsound, — aye ! void as is a 
 vacuum of substance and solidity ; nor with all your 
 loudly trumpeted knowledge of the state and status 
 of the soul after its departure from the barbarisms of 
 earthly life, to the true social state in realms where 
 civilization is first truly known, have ye much else 
 than the faintest glimmering of the great reality. Phi- 
 losophers ! Verily, much learning hath made you mad; 
 else would ye have assigned the human soul a better 
 than a merely sensual heaven, where lust should be 
 freely sated, and where appetite and its varied gratifi- 
 cations constitute the sum total of enjoyment. What 
 splendid conceptions ! What a magnificent destiny ! 
 How worthy of the human soul ! How great a reward for 
 years of agony ! 0, philosophy, how very lame thou art ! 
 Thou tellest man, through thy oracles, that the spirit- 
 home is situate upon the upper surfaces of sundry zone- 
 girdles of the planet : and by the same rule we may ex- 
 pect thee to describe God as being so many cubits high, 
 and so many yards across the hips ! Nay, thou migh test as 
 well describe a thought as containing just so many cubic 
 inches, and deal out music to us by the quart or gallon ! 
 
 * Which it is firmly believed is herein briefly stated for the first 
 time since the world began. The meagre outlines hereinafter presented, 
 will be fully drawn and demonstrated in the succeeding volume. — 
 Publisher. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 41 
 
 Philosophy, thou'rt sick ! else thou would est have found 
 a better adapted home for immortal beings, than an 
 electric land formed of the rejected atoms from the 
 various earths. To thee, and in thy light, an oak tree 
 is but an assemblage of material atoms : a rose, its 
 thorns, leaves and. moss, are only such : the wild tiger 
 of the jungle, the humped-back camel of Zahara's sands, 
 the sportive lamb, unsightly toad, the serpent in the 
 grass, the dove in its cote ; the flitting bat, and the flap- 
 winged night-owl, the majestic giraffe, and the beauty- 
 plumed warbler of the forest, are to thee but mere forms 
 of exuberant life ; mere natural products, the sponta- 
 neous gifts of an all-bounteous, but unintelligent, non- 
 conscious natural force. Panthea ! Shame on thee, 
 Philosophy, shame, because with the open book be- 
 fore thee, thou hast steadily refused to read, nor ever 
 even dreamed that each one of these things indicates 
 the stage of out-growth to which a monad — constitut- 
 ing its spiritual center, has arrived on its journey from 
 God, through Matter, back to God through Spirit ! It 
 hath never struck thee that each of these things, and 
 all other objects in the vast material realm, constitute 
 single letters in God's alphabet,* and a letter too, hav- 
 ing a fixed and absolute meaning, significance, and un- 
 alterable value. Weak man! thou dostnot even imagine 
 that all these things are of thyself— thy kind — abiding 
 the epoch wherein they Willis thou hast already sprung, 
 leap forth to light, and new, and proper human life. 
 
 * God said, ' I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.' 
 How beautiful, how grand is the light thrown on this sentence and its 
 deeper meaning, by the few lines to which this note is appended. — 
 Publisher. 
 
42 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Thou dost not realize that they are latent, while thou 
 and thy kind are active, self-moving thoughts of one 
 great eternal thinker ! Thou hast not yet learned that 
 every living thing, vegetable or sentient, is a temporary 
 home of a mighty monad. "But do you not know that 
 scientific men have created conditions which have pro- 
 duced independent, and therefore unknown, undreamed 
 of forms of animal life, as the acarus crossi, and others ?" 
 This objection does not invalidate the truth, nor weak- 
 en the force of the statement. All things have a use. 
 Nothing has been made in vain. Even the most dis- 
 gusting traits in animals, are matched in the human ; 
 and- the poverty and squalor, the obscenity and loatli- 
 liness of many human beings, rival, nay, surpass their 
 correspondents in the lower sentient world. Nature is 
 a system of precise conditions ; nor dare you say that 
 there were not conditions that befell a monad or monads, 
 in which the eternal law did not demand and secretly 
 force the effort of the chemist, which resulted in the 
 productions of an acarus, which may have afforded the 
 necessary requirements of various monads, or human 
 germ-souls, in one point of their career. 
 
 All matter is alive with imprisoned spirit ; every 
 globule of this latter, unique, and existing in innumer- 
 able folds, contains a monad, a germ, concealing within 
 itself capacities quite infinite in number and power. 
 During its long probation it ever seeks to escape its 
 outer bonds, just as certain shell-fish and serpents cast 
 their old envelopes. But in every stage of its unfold- 
 ing, every monad expresses a lesser or higher phase of the 
 one great thought of God — Personality, Coherence? 
 Powc Unity. All the characteristics of the floral, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 43 
 
 vegetable and animal kingdoms, are but elements of 
 something higher, afterwards expressed in the human. 
 Thus a fox means shrewdness — cunning, low cun- 
 ning ; and that some men have not yet outgrown 
 their recollections and applications of fox-craft, is 
 self-evident to the most casual observer. The ass 
 is the natural symbol of patience, the cat of 3upli- 
 city, the lion of firmness ; an elephant stands as gener- 
 osity, the horse is pride ; the peacock, vanity, the dog 
 affection; and so on through an infinite scale of varia- 
 tions. All living things are but developing monads, at 
 whose bottom slumbers what will one clay be an impe- 
 rial human soul ! And these monads develope off their 
 surfaces continually ; the longer and more varied the 
 process, the more beautiful the grand result at each suc- 
 cessive stage. Thus the monad whose highest manifes- 
 tation ten thousand years ago, may have been a thistle, 
 perchance looks up to heaven this day from the glorious 
 eyes of a rose-bush, or a dove. The great truth seems 
 never to have been apprehended by the great army of 
 those who have made thinking a business ; that while 
 beasts, trees and flowers are not, as such, endowed with 
 a specific immortality, yet at every stage of their being 
 they constantly give off images of themselves, which are, 
 and ever will be immortal. These images constitute 
 the pictures of the soul-world ; but the essence, the in- 
 nate force that developed that of which they are the 
 representations, returns to God whence it started, a full 
 and regal human soul. Thus it is seen how and why 
 man is the culmination of nature, and is brother to the 
 flower and the worm. 
 
44 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 " All are but parts of one stupendous whole," 
 All sentient things the body, — man the regal soul ! 
 
 No telescope has yet enabled man to count the rounds 
 in the ladder of luminous worlds ; no microscope re- 
 veals the mysteries imbedded in a grain of wheat. 
 Still Jie may count them, if he will ; may delve into 
 their secrets if he shall so elect; yea, if he will but listen 
 to the fine voice speaking up from his inmost deeps, he 
 may learn somewhat of the 
 
 " Up, up, up, there in the steep and silent heaven 
 there shines a radiant sun, more glorious than even a 
 seraph might tell. Its essence is not matter, but spirit ; 
 and from its surface there go forth three kinds of light; 
 the one in rays, another in waves. Condensed, the former 
 becomes matter, and the latter is the ocean in which it is 
 upborne, — in which the worlds are floating, and in which 
 all things have a being. Aye ! all things ride upon 
 the billows of this infinite sea, even as a shallop or an 
 egg-shell sails upon the tiny wavelets of a lake. The 
 third substance given off from this great sun goes forth 
 in corruscations. The first kind of light proceeds from 
 the surface, the second from the interior, the third 
 from the very heart of this infinite center, — or from God's 
 body, His spirit, and His soul. The first is pure fire, 
 the second pure life, the third is the sea of monads. 
 Every scintilla of that which proceeds from the soul of 
 this sun (like that which proceeds from a human .brain 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 45 
 
 in action) is a thought, shot out into the vast expanse, 
 but destined to return by another pathway, not di- 
 rect, but circuitous and spiral. Well, (says the voice 
 speaking from within to the philosopher who is listen- 
 ing to the revelation) I was one of these monads, and 
 found myself enveloped in a myriad folds and firmly im- 
 bedded in a granite rock, where I remained shut up for 
 long ages, pining constantly for deliverance from the 
 thraldom. Even then I found my monad heart pulsing 
 with a divine life, and ardently longed to celebrate 
 the knowledge; for I knew J. came from Deity, and 
 .longed for my return. 
 
 My first recollections are of a fiery character, for 
 my dwelling was in the very nucleus of a comet that 
 had just been whirled into being. How ? I cannot 
 now stop to explain. Only this will I say : with me 
 there were myriads of others, for in every molecule of 
 spiritual and material substance, was imbedded one of 
 my brethren, all longing to escape and return to the 
 heart of God, whence we had been sent forth to per- 
 fect His great design. 
 
 The comet cooled : became a world, and finally an 
 earthquake threw the block of granite wherein was I, 
 to the surface; and bye-and-bye, after waiting many ages, 
 I found room to move, and did so. The result was 
 that we— the other monads and myself, changed our outer 
 shells into moss. The moss died, and left us free to 
 try what further we could do; for be it known that our 
 forces had not yet been fairly called into action. The 
 next change was a higher one, and afforded scope for 
 the display of a higher order of power. This time I 
 became a plant • and the next time a plant of a higher 
 
46 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 character; at eacli epoch losing one coat;* until at last 
 I could be plant no longer, and so was forced by a law 
 within, as well as laws without myself, to become the 
 center of an animal. And so I ran the gamut of change 
 through countless ages; every new condition being more 
 and more favorable, brought out new properties from 
 within me, and displayed new beauties to the sun's 
 bright eye. I was still a monad, and will ever be such 
 in one sense; albeit Time, after reaching my human form, 
 will be of no account, — only states. Something whis- 
 pered me that I should ever advance toward; but never 
 reach perfection. I felt that, monad though 1 was, 
 yet at my heart, my core, my center, I was the germ of 
 an immortal human soul, and that that soul itself was des- 
 tined to throw off form after form after its material career 
 was ended, just as I had all along the ages. ' And thug 
 I passed through countless changes, exhibited a million 
 characteristics, until at last, I who had at first worn a 
 body of fire, then of granite, then of moss, now put on 
 a higher and nobler dress, and became for the first time, 
 self-conscious, intelligent, and in a degree, intuitive 
 both as to the past, the present, and the future. And 
 all these infinite changes were effected by thro wings off, 
 in regular order, just as material suns throw off ring 
 after ring, which in turn resolve themselves into planet 
 after planet. During all these transmigrations, my monad 
 body was active, my monad soul quiescent, but ripening all 
 
 * An onion is a familiar analogue. As the process went on the mo- 
 nad lost layer after layer, each one developing higher forms of excel- 
 lence and beauty than the preceding, — yet the same monad still. 
 Each layer demanding and creating, so to speak, its proper require- 
 ments and conditions. Here is the germ of a grand system. — Publisher. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 47 
 
 the while ; first in plant, then in the lower and higher 
 forms of fish, reptile, bird, beast and mammcl, — quadruped 
 and bimanal. Thus I had reached the most distant pro- 
 phecy of what I was hereafter to become; and as it may 
 interest you to learn the steps by which I ascended, 
 from the pre-human, to the very human, I will recount 
 them in general. The list is therefore as follows : the 
 first approach to the man was, when I found myself 
 successively animating, -as a central life-point, the forms 
 of Sima3, Satyrii, Troglodyte, the Gibbons, Hylobates, 
 and Cynocephalii, passing through the specific forms of 
 Coluga, Aye-aye, Banca-Tarsier, Maholi, Lemur, 
 Loris, Diadema, Indrus, Marikina, Marmoset, Douro- 
 couli, Saimari, Yarke\ Saki, Couzio, Cacajou, Sajou, Sa- 
 kajou, Araquato, Meriki, Coitii, Marimondi, Charneck, 
 Drill, Mandril, Chucma, (baboon,) Wanderoo, Bhun- 
 der, Togue, Mona, Quesega, Colubii, Budong, Entellus, 
 Kahaw, (developing the human nose,) Gibbon, Siamang ; 
 the Hylobates, Orangs, Chimpanzee, Gorrilla, Nschiego, 
 Troglodyte, Kooloo Kamba, Barbeta, Aitcromba, Ha- 
 maka, (Troglodyte of Mount de Garrow,) Neg ; Bos- 
 jesman, Hottentot* Negro, Malay, Kanaka, Digger, 
 
 * This theory must be true, for an astonishing confirmation thereof 
 is not only found in the marvelous resemblances between human and 
 animal features, but in the still more wonderful fact, that the human 
 foetus assumes at various stages of its increment, successively the ap- 
 pearance of moss, lichen, gelatin, reptile, bird, beast and so on, all 
 the way up to its final human form, and if the gestation in even a 
 perfect female be interrupted at a certain stage, the child is born with 
 the characteristics which distinguish the animal whose natural place 
 upon the ascending plane is that at which the gestation was disturbed. 
 The facial angle of some persons is precisely that of the Lemurs ; the 
 human Lusus Naturae so-called, invariably resemble some beast, bird, 
 reptile or monkey. It is but a.few years ago that a negro woman o 
 
48 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Indian, Tartar, Chinese, Hindoos, Persians, Arabian, 
 Greek, Turk, German, Ganl, Briton, American ! There's 
 the list, in general terms ; specific explanations are not 
 needed at this point. The last eighteen are strictly 
 human, for at the point (Neg) I ceased to develope ani- 
 mal ; and in passing through that highest form of ani- 
 mal existence, I was impelled one step further,' and lo ! 
 the first course of transmigrations were ended ; I 
 awoke to a consciousness of self, and man, the immortal 
 stood revealed ! 
 
 Thus I supply the lost links, Philosophers, which 
 connect you with the worlds above, around, and below 
 the plane on which you move." 
 
 [Note. — The exact order is not stated, for there are many intermediate 
 links connecting the Simiae, with the Lemurs and Troglodytes, — or with 
 that portion of the genus of the Quadrumana comprising the Gorilla, 
 higher Orangs, Nschiegos and Chimpanzees ; yet the chain itself is 
 generally speaking, quite correct.] 
 
 Thus is completed the outlines of the history of 
 a human soul. Let us return to the awakening. 
 ***;#••'*#■■■■*■ I now realized that the Soul 
 and Spirit-worlds were far different from each other, 
 
 Charleston, South Carolina, was delivered, not only of what looked 
 like a monkey — but which was a monkey out and out. The woman 
 had never seen a monkey in her life, so that this w^is not a case of 
 mere mother-marking, but gestation was interrupted in some respects in 
 some way, at about the nineteenth day after conception, while it went 
 on normally in other respects. An additional proof of the truth of this 
 development theory is seen in the fact that ordinary parents often 
 produce extraordinary geniuses 5 thus another negro woman of the 
 same city produced a boy by a black and ignorant father who is to-day 
 one of the most extraordinary musical geniuses the world ever saw. 
 
 Pub. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 49 
 
 for the former is within, but the latter, like the 
 planetary worlds, is without ; — not in the sense of in 
 the house and out of the house, but rather- in the sense 
 of in the bed and in a dream, — not exactly, but ana- 
 logous. The fact is, mankind, albeit many know it not, 
 are living upon the confines, at least, if not occasionally 
 full residents of two or three worlds at the same time — 
 worlds which impinge upon, and interlace each other, 
 just as fine spirit contacts rough matter ; and yet, 
 while this fact is so, it happens likewise that in many 
 respects these worlds are as wide apart, and distant 
 from each other, as is Pleiades from Mazaroth, or distant 
 sun from twinkling planet ; for the reason that states, 
 not miles, separate the denizens of either. Those whose 
 being is in accord with the vast Harmonead, move alike 
 upon the shores of each sphere of being, whence they 
 can catch the echoes and foot-falls of the pilgrims on 
 both banks. Most people are familiar with the stereo- 
 typed assertion that ' Man is a microcosm — a universe 
 in miniature/ than which nothing can be more correct 
 and true. The body is not the man ; neither is the 
 nerve-center of his brain that which constitutes "his 
 personality, any more than the central spiritual sun 
 around which all material systems revolve, is the 
 supreme God himself ; for even as Deity dwells within 
 the centralia of that august luminary, so also does the 
 very man himself hold his court within the bosom of 
 that magic sphere which exists within his skull. In 
 the subjoined descriptfon of the student, — (see part two 
 of this volume) the sentient and conscious point is 
 spoken of under the similitude and figure of a fiery globe. 
 The likeness is imperfect in some respects, for not only 
 3 
 
50 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD.^f 
 
 is man a world within himself, but he is an entire sys- 
 tem of worlds, each one of which is perfect of its order, 
 full and complete. God is at once a center, a Republic 
 and a King. So also is man in a finite degree. His 
 faculties may be said to constitute the distinct members 
 or States or nations of the great confederation, where- 
 of the supreme Ego is sovereign Lord and President, — 
 one, however, who can, if it so elect, assume and wield 
 despotic power over all within the great domain. So 
 far can this power be carried and exerted, that pain 
 may be overcome, and even death itself be kept at bay. 
 The will is Lord of man's accidents and incidents, and 
 if his reason guide it well, nothing can withstand its 
 force. 
 
 As stated previously, all foregone thoughts and deeds 
 of mine became objectified in my new sphere, or on 
 what I can find no descriptive term, good as that 
 of Memorama, for such it truely was, — and the fact of 
 its existence at all ought to become a significant one to 
 mortals, for even as their deeds and thoughts shall be 
 on earth, even so will be the delights or agonies conse- 
 quent upon their inspection of these memory tables on 
 the other shore, whither all must go, whether the voy- 
 age be agreeable or not. Memory constitutes the basis 
 of man's heaven or his hell. On it is founded the su- 
 perstructure of his sorrows or his joys, and woe be to 
 whomsoever shall read, and reading, neglect the caution 
 here imparted. I give it in all love, for I know its im- 
 mense importance. 
 
 My thoughts and actions — even the minutest, passed 
 before me, across the polished surface of my enclosing 
 sphere., standing out in bold relief. The pictures in- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 51 
 
 cessantly altered their aspect, or gave place to new 
 ones, but there was something which did not change, 
 but on the contrary seemed to gather weight and dura- 
 bility all the while. This was the attention point, — 
 the focalization of all the soul's observant powers, nor 
 did it undergo any permutation whatever. I stood, as 
 previously intimated, in the center of a crystaline 
 sphere. It was translucent, but not transparent. No- 
 thing beyond its glory-tinted walls was discernible, but 
 all within it stood revealed in grand and cryptic light, 
 which, as already observed, appeared to proceed from 
 my own head. The vertical diameter of this sphere 
 was not more than fifty yards, its horizontal one some- 
 what more, — for its form was slightly ellipsoidal; Its 
 floor was as a polished mirror, reflecting not only my 
 own image, but those of all things else within its beau- 
 tiful walls. In this mirror-like surface I beheld my 
 person and features most distinctly ; and it was quite 
 a matter of surprise to discover that I was, without the 
 slightest effort on my part, completely and beautifully 
 clothed in garments of a fashion and style which, of 
 all others, I should have selected, had opportunity for 
 so doing been presented. Here is a new mystery of 
 the Soul-world which may well engage the attention of 
 Psychologians. Depending from my neck and shoulders 
 was a long and flowing robe, apparently 'seamless, and 
 woven of lightest gossamer. The -fore-arms and left 
 shoulder joint were bare, and I noticed that they, as 
 well as my hands, had lost the sickly caste, and shrunk- 
 en, shrivelled appearance formerly characterizing them. 
 Now, to my great delight, they were fair, plump, and of 
 the most dazzling and voluptuous mould and propor- 
 
52 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 tions. As I made this happy discovery, there flashed 
 across me something of the deeper meanings slumber- 
 ing beneath the phrases " love, loving, and lovely ; " 
 and I could comprehend why one person should become 
 so en rapport, so obsessed with, and possessed and ab- 
 sorbed by another, as to lose not only all self-control, 
 but self altogether. I could now understand why the 
 most loving must ever remain apart, even in the most 
 interior communion on earth, until there are no dull 
 senses to be bridged, and understand the amazing differ- 
 ence between a love that seeks its solace through sense, 
 and that which brings souls together. While people 
 are enwrapped in flesh and blood, love is often obliged 
 to express itself in modes distasteful to its higher nature, 
 and unworthy of itself. Not so in the Soul-world ; for 
 there the very joy (magnetic, if you please,) which one 
 lover feels in the mere presence of the other, reaches a 
 point of fullness, completion and intensity that mere 
 nervous filaments are incapable of conveying, mere ner- 
 vous exhalations can never give. No body is capable 
 either of giving or receiving, even with the strongest 
 efforts of will, even a foretaste of the joys which the 
 soul, freed therefrom, can and does spontaneously. The 
 keenest Sybarite, — the finest-nerved voluptuary can 
 have no adequate conception, either of the nature or 
 the depth of the joy imparted mutually by two loving 
 souls in the higher worlds. Love, I have said, I knew 
 but little of, and cared less for, previous to my de- 
 parture ; but now, as" I gazed upon myself, and realized 
 for what I was intended, there arose a something with- 
 in assuring me of my boundless — limitless capacity to 
 and for love. And then the gentlediint of Nellie came 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 53 
 
 back, and had the mate assigned me then appeared, I 
 do not think lie would have met a very cold reception. 
 Thereafter all this ended as God decreed it should — 
 rightly. 
 
 Around my waist there was a zone or belt of blue, 
 which kept the fronts of my open robe together, 
 and then fell floorward in two knotted tassels on the 
 left side. The throat and uj^er portions of my bosom 
 were covered with what bore the appearance of finest 
 lace, whiter than the driven snow. The hair hung in 
 luxuriant curl-tresses adown my back and cheeks, which 
 latter, as disclosed by the floor-mirror, were no longer 
 sunken, sallow or emaciated in the least degree ; on 
 the contrary they were round, full, white, fair as the 
 cheeks of daylight, and suffused with the softest and 
 most delicate tints of the newly- opened blossom of the 
 peach tree. The teeth! — I had teeth— were ivory- 
 hued, large and even. The eyes were larger than they 
 had ever seemed before ; their lashes were long, dark 
 and drooping ; and they were shaded by a brow far 
 more delicate and finely pencilled than they ever were 
 on earth. My stature was a trifle less, apparently, 
 than when incarnated, and there was a health, vigor, 
 and freshness, which reminded me of the early days, 
 ere woman's estate had come with all its cares and 
 toils, its miseries and deep griefs. About my head there 
 was a shining band, like nnto the spirit of a silver 
 coronet, pearl and diamond frosted, and flashing back 
 the light from a thousand jeweled points. In the center 
 of this zone was a triangle of ruby hue, surmounted 
 with the cypher " R," and in its center was a crystaline 
 globe, winged, anA bearing the motto, " Try." 
 
 ^ 
 
54 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Curiosity is the soul of advancement ; it is a female 
 element almost exclusively ; and though all else forsake 
 woman, curiosity never will, either on earth or any- 
 where else. It prompted me to the investigations 
 above recounted, and to others which followed hard 
 thereon. I ivondered how my feet and ankles looked! 
 The desire was no sooner formed tlian gratified. The 
 latter were encased in proper attire, but the former 
 not quite so, for instead of a shoe, as I expected to find, 
 there was only a sort of sandal, — a mere sole, light 
 and graceful, fitting perfectly, and seemingly kept in 
 place by narrow red bands, which were laced to the 
 ankles and over the foot and instep. The bands them- 
 selves seemed to be of a material no coarser than cords 
 of braided light. Such, in brief, were the revealments 
 of the mirror. " Mirror ! " exclaims the reader, " why 
 mirrors are adapted only to solar light, and that which 
 proceeds from material combustion. They reflect from 
 their polished surfaces, according to the well-known 
 laws of optics, which laws cannot possibly obtain of 
 the strange world of which you were then an occupant, 
 — which realm lies above and beyond the sphere of 
 their action or influence ; how then could you see the 
 image of yourself ? " Again : " If the first suit of 
 apparel in which you found yourself after death, were 
 only mere appearances, of what nature or character 
 were these last ? If the spirit of a human being is, 
 as we are led to infer from your narrative, in nowise 
 physical, or even hyper-physical, as the Spiritualists 
 assert — and they claim to know all about the matter, 
 • — if it is only a phantasmal projection from the very 
 soul, — an out-attachment of the supreme -self, how do 
 
 mr< 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 55 
 
 you reconcile your statements concerning ' blue-caste 
 hands, wrinkled epidermis, shrivelled appearance/ and 
 so on, with your subsequent assertions that they after- 
 wards became fair, plump and beautiful ? Do shadows 
 grow ? Do phantasms avail themselves of the law of 
 increment ? Please explain ; clear up, elucidate ! " 
 Reply : These are the very points concerning which 
 the people need light ; for assuredly that which they 
 have heretofore received, instead of illumining the sub- 
 jects under consideration, have tended directly to in- 
 crease the already dense obscurity, and only rendered 
 the darkness still more palpable and dense. In order 
 to a clear conception of what lies before us, it will be 
 well to remind each other that both soul and body act 
 under the impetus of two distinct codes of law : the 
 one volitional, the other mechanical, and therefore in- 
 voluntary. An illustration of both is seen in the case 
 of a man who either reading a book or earnestly con- 
 versing as he moves along, takes no notice whatever of 
 passing persons or things, and yet pursues the direct 
 path, nor once misses his way. Both laws are operating 
 simultaneously. The bodily powers are under the same 
 government ; for the heart beats, digestion proceeds, 
 and all the functions of the physical economy are 
 carried on by a power lying altogether back of will. 
 There is also another law, which from voluntary, at 
 length comes to manifest itself altogether involuntarily. 
 I refer to the law of Habit. Now that this law governs 
 both soul and body is proved by a simple reference to 
 the swearing man, who also drinks liquor, chews to- 
 bacco, falls asleep at a given hour and wakes up at an- 
 other. Whosoever hums a tune often, will at length 
 
56 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 be haunted by it, and cannot rid himself of the tor- 
 menting tune-fiend by even the most strenuous resolve and 
 effort to do so. It, like a fever, must, and will run its 
 course. We also habituate ourselves to certain forms 
 of expression, and ideal associations. Thus much by 
 way of preface. 
 
 Now it was the involuntary obedience of my soul to 
 the Habit-law, that caused it to array itself in the sem- 
 blance of the old and well-remembered dress. The 
 law of the association of ideas gave the ' blue caste/ 
 the wrinkles and the emaciation which so surprised me. 
 
 Presently, however, I passed under the operation of 
 higher laws of nature, and more interior ones of my 
 own immortal soul. One of the first, and most im- 
 portant of these last, is the law of Yastation — where- 
 by the soul throws off the old loves, preparatory to 
 entering upon new ones. Its first involuntary act, in 
 the second, as in the first case, was to clothe itself; 
 but no longer subject to the old law of association, and 
 coming under a new one, it rejected, the things of 
 memory, and assumed the garb corresponding to its 
 new-born loves, — all in conformity to a law within it- 
 self. [In dreams, the garb and surroundings are 
 typical or symbolic of mental, moral and esthetic 
 states : therefore it is possible to construct an exact 
 science of dream-interpretation.] And the drapery as- 
 sumed was not merely the result of caprice or an in- 
 voluntary fantastic taste, pride or vainness, but was 
 the legitimate and orderly result of the triple law, 
 whose elements are fitness, expression, and correspond- 
 ence. The white drapery symbolized, if not my ab- 
 solute purity, at least my aspirations thitherward, — 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 57 
 
 (and this explains why all men and women array their 
 breasts in white bosoms, frills and laces. ) The bandeau, 
 the zone, girdle, jewels, all symbolized an affection, as- 
 piration or quality of the inner being ; and as these 
 latter change, so also do the former. The law is im- 
 perative, because it is a thing of the soul itself, whose 
 external manifestations invariably — in the soul- world — 
 represent its inward states : moral, religious and in- 
 tellectual. 
 
 In the light of this explanation, therefore, no one 
 need marvel at the radical changes in my personal ap- 
 pearance. We shall throw much more light on the 
 general subject when next we treat of the mysteries of 
 being. The present undertaking being merely pre- 
 fatory, as a matter of course, confines us to the mere 
 superficialities of a realm whose vastness exceeds all 
 human conception. In reference to the wrinkles of my 
 hands, and their sudden disappearance, enough has been 
 said ; yet for the information of whoso chooses to profit 
 by it, I will merely add here, that as Time only affects 
 man in his outward relations, it cannot, of course, br}ng 
 wrinkles on his features, for souls do not grow old by 
 years ; albeit they do grow old by experiences, — wiUhout 
 reference to duration, but only as to depth and intensity. 
 A single week of mental agony will ripen a soul far 
 more than would fifty centuries of clock-beats, passed 
 free from the sorrows aforesaid. 
 
 Let it not be forgotten that there are two distinct 
 and dissimilar worlds beyond the grave, nor that I had 
 rapidly crossed from the first to the second stage of my 
 transmundane existence. One of these is the mere ex- 
 ternal world of Spirits, wherein a life, analogous to 
 3* 
 
58 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 that of earth is for a period led by the inhabitants 
 thereof. The other is that, concerning the mysteries 
 whereof, J am now treating. 
 
 Millions of beings there are who, although disrobed 
 of fleshly garments, are yet pilgrims in search of the 
 soul-world. The latter is divine and interior, the 
 former natural and merely Spiritual. A man on earth 
 may gaze on the surface of a picture, or mechanically 
 read a book, and yet find' nothing therein ; whereas 
 either of these may lead another person not only into 
 their own beauty-depths, and into the soul of the painter 
 or the author ; but they may serve as clues which his 
 sou} may seize on and follow into realms never even 
 imagined to exist by the poet-painter, or the painter- 
 poet. So also the mere mortuary fact by no means 
 serves as a free ticket or pass into the grand Temple, 
 at the mere vestibule of which grim Death lands those 
 who take passage in the phantom shallop, whereof him- 
 self .is pilot and steersman. The mere post mortem exist- 
 ence does not necessarily entitle one to all the privileges 
 of the Temple, nor make one a resident of, or even 
 spectator of the worlds of Soul. True, there will occur 
 a change in all, whereby they can pass the mystic ferry ; 
 but this change must be worked out from within, and 
 in no wise depend upon outside influences ; it must be 
 volitional, not mechanical. The ferriage must be paid 
 in well-wishing and better doing. The life beyond is 
 a real one, compared to which that of earth is a mere 
 shadow, and the form of Government is an isonomous 
 one ; equal rights, equal laws, impartial justice, ad- 
 ministered, not by external agents of an outward power, 
 but by the very constitutional delegates from the secret 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 59 
 
 soul itself ; for no justice is so very just as that which 
 each soul, by virtue of its own nature, administers to 
 itself, and through which its lower becomes subordinated 
 to its higher and nobler faculties, qualities and powers. 
 And this is the law that keeps many a one from enter- 
 ing the sacred penetralia until properly disciplined 
 and prepared for the change. 
 
 I wondered at first why these truths were not more 
 generally known and appreciated by the people, who, 
 because they have an intellectual perception of the fact 
 of immortality, -call themselves " Spiritualists ; " but as 
 the veil was slowly drawn away, and I saw that much 
 that had to me appeared real, proved now to be but 
 seeming ; there was no more marveling. There was, 
 still is, and for a long time will be, four sorts of Spirit- 
 ualism in the world : First, a mere bodily sensitiveness, 
 nervous acuteness, and susceptibility to magnetic 
 emanations and impressions,— out of which arises a 
 great deal of the stagnant filth and social corruptions so 
 prevalent, — the debaucheries and license, and great evils 
 which pain so greatly the hearts of true men and wo- 
 men. Second, a Spiritualism of the brain alone ; — a 
 cerebral quickening, — a hot-house ripening of faculty, 
 which gives rise to much talking, and sometimes leads 
 to the discovery of many of the elements of the great 
 principia underlying the Harmonead, and prophecies 
 the good time that is yet to be. Third, "compact" 
 Spiritualism, or that wherein and whereby a certain 
 class of sensitives, be they male or female, become the 
 dupes of their own folly, and the victims of disembodied 
 maniacs, lunatics and self-deluded denizens of the middle 
 state — Spirits who wander on the outskirts of three 
 
60 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 worlds, without a permanent resting-place in either. 
 These have been useful, however, inasmuch as they have 
 called, and even compelled attention to phenomena 
 which they produce, and which cannot be explained 
 away, nor accounted for, save by admitting two things ; 
 first, that immortality is a fixed fact ; and second, that 
 it is possible to bridge the hitherto impassable chasm 
 which divides earth from regions which lie beyond. 
 The fourth kind, and truest and best, indeed that which 
 only is truely spiritual, is the growing up into a spiritual- 
 ized, out of the merely physical selfhood ; and this 
 growth of soul necessarily admits the subject of it into 
 the mysteries of being, precisely in accordance with the 
 degree of the person's own unfolding. It is the off- 
 spring of good resolutions, well and faithfully carried 
 out - p ignores pride, talk, lust, hatred, envy, malice, slan- 
 der, and all else which characterizes the other three 
 sorts. Immortality is to such, not an acquired, but an 
 intuitive fact. Such Spiritualists are good, moral, Hu- 
 mane, charitable, merciful, kind and true ; religious, 
 Christian in deed, as well as name ; and such as these 
 are never pulling down, but ever building up the Good, 
 the Beautiful, and the True ; and when such an one dies, 
 his or her stay in the Middle State is very short, for 
 they have paid their ferriage, and are speedily intro- 
 mitted to the mysteries and grandeurs of the world of 
 Soul. 
 
 Such an one is unfolded ; and by'this term is not 
 meant that state to which a man arrives' after packing 
 the contents of two or three libraries on the shelves of 
 his memory ; by that term is not nieant the condition 
 of one who has arrived at honor and distinction by dint 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 61 
 
 of mere acquaintance with learned authorities, and the 
 accumulation and piling up of knowledge of various 
 common and popular sorts ; for it frequently happens 
 that men and women, who are very ignorant of all 
 these things, — and who, so far as they are concerned, 
 are not " progressed " at all, prove on trial to be far 
 more " unfolded " than thousands of those who have 
 grown gray fn the service of Letters, and who have, 
 by persistent assiduity succeeded in transforming them- 
 selves from human beings into locomotive encyclopedias 
 — splendid to look at, interesting to dine with and talk 
 to — but cold, ugheartful encyclopedias after all. Edu- 
 cation is often a mere mechanical mastery of useless 
 abstrusities, — coins, which on the social counters jingle 
 well, — but which are not over and above current in the 
 far-off worlds, — where a boor's earnest prayer weighs 
 far more than the ornate, rhapsodical orisons of scores 
 of learned pedants, who, to judge them by their lan- 
 guage, take God to be a school committee, rather than 
 a loving, tender Parent. 
 
 Thu3 I found true, what had previously been surmised, 
 that a person may know but little, yet approach much 
 nearer the Divine, than one who has -more brain furni- 
 ture, with a great deal less heart. 
 
 It was revealed to my understanding that the great 
 law of Yastation, by whose operation the monad de- 
 veloped moss, threw it off, and brought forth something 
 better and higher, until at last the conscious point — the 
 truly human degree — was, after the lapse of ages, 
 reached, did not cease its functions even after the death 
 of the body, albeit its mode of action was somewhat 
 changed and modified ; for now it was observed by me, 
 
62 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 that while the soul -may, both prior and subsequent to 
 death, draw in knowledge from without — inspiration, 
 progression, procession — it may also expand from within, 
 and enter consecutively domain after domain in the 
 Soul-deeps of its almost infinite being. This is aspira- 
 tion, ^unfolding — development; and -ever will the im- 
 mense, the immortal thing, continue to vastate the bad, 
 the ill, imperfect and untrue, so long as any of such 
 remains to be thrown off, as it has been doing ever since 
 the clock of Time struck one upon the bell on Eternity's 
 tower ! It will continue the process until that tower 
 itself shall topple and fall with hoary age ! 
 
 The figure of an onion, though a homely, is neverthe- 
 less a good one, inasmuch as it offers a familiar illustra- 
 tion of the monad ; for, first, there is the two or three 
 external skins, after which comes layer after layer, until 
 at last we find a center, which center contains an invisi- 
 ble, because a spiritual point, which constitutes the 
 germ or seed-principle, containing, latent in its bosom, 
 countless acres of onions, that are and are not, at the 
 same time — fields of plenty, seeds of mighty harvests, 
 which only need the necessary conditions to prove their 
 power and develop their capacities. 
 
 Philosophers have long sought, with their crude plum- 
 mets, to sound the bottomless abysses of man's immortal 
 soul. Spiritualists, in their turn, have tried to do the 
 same— aye ! and loudly boasted of their success. Suc- 
 cess, forsooth ! Wiry their lead, even when all the line 
 attached thereto was well run out, rested on one or 
 more of [the very topmost ledges of the unfathoma- 
 ble and vast profound — their weights only lodged on 
 the upper crags of one or more of the tiniest moun- 
 
" DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 63' 
 
 tains, whose heads are upreared from the floor of the 
 great ocean Soul. Proclaiming man to be a world in 
 miniature, they have, in their treatment of him and his, 
 not only belied and stultified themselves, but have 
 shown that, after all, he was to be classed with " all 
 other worms of the dust" — a semi-voluntary automa- 
 ton—a skip-jack, to be coaxed, wheedled and driven, 
 just as circumstances might dictate and decree. Theo- 
 retically, to them, he is a God ; practically, a mere ma- 
 chine, whose office and function it is to eat, drink, be 
 merry, sleep, wake up, labor, and beget his kind — whose 
 destiny, in turn, it is to repeat the same identical round, 
 with perhaps a few trifling and unimportant varia- 
 tions — totally forgetful or unconscious of the fact, that 
 when pronouncing him to be a , microcosm, they were 
 uttering a sentence brimfull of God's everlasting truth. 
 Philosophers have a bad habit of saying one thing and 
 meaning another ; for while loudly declaring, they never 
 yet have fairly believed, that howsoever vast the uni- 
 verses without may be, yet all and each of them grow 
 diminutive and contracted when compared with those 
 that exist within the Soul. Nay, they have never real- 
 ized that all that has a being outside of man is met, mas- 
 tered and overmatched by an infinite universe from 
 within ! 
 
 Crime ! folly ! — what are they ? Philosopher, an- 
 swer thou me ! " They are, they are — they are — well, 
 I can hardly tell what they really are." I will tell 
 you : these things frequently mark the career of the 
 ' Progressed ' man — never that of the developed or un- 
 folded one — and in all cases are either the result of 
 impulse, Spirit-obsession, or of a bad calculation. When 
 
64 . DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 nations merely ' Progress/ every jail-yard has its gib- 
 bet ; when the people are ' Unfolded,' temples for God- 
 worship take their places. Philosophers try to explain 
 away all crime and evil, knowing it to be real ; yet at 
 the same time treat the doers of ill-deeds as if they were 
 not fitter subjects for soul-hospitals than for thumb- 
 screws and disgrace. They forget that society gains 
 nothing by making a man think less of himself ! In- 
 stead of pursuing really reformatory methods with those 
 who are vicious or whose souls are sick, they Jiave 
 favored the policy of revenge and atonement, and 
 adopted the lex talionis instead of the lex justitice— 
 as Common Sense, if nothing else, would ever seem to 
 dictate, counsel, and approve. 
 
 The Social Harmonead is yet to be. Discord rules 
 the age. The human soul is unbalanced. Equilibrium 
 and Yirtue come together. By-and-by, Philosophers 
 will realize this truth. Men who gaze intently on the. 
 wonderful perfection of the outer Harmonead, and 
 realize its vast excellence, constantly fail to recognize 
 the fact that the inner world of man would be the same 
 were but Charity and kindly dealing, in thought as well 
 as act, to take precedence of Suspicion and Punishment. 
 As yet the world is but a baby-realm. There are no 
 real saints therein at present, for the reason that the 
 currents of the time are not adapted to the floating of 
 that species of craft ; nor will the social gardens pro- 
 duce that sort of fruit until it is well subsoiled by char- 
 ity plows and common sense. At present, probably but 
 few men or women live on earth, no matter how abste- 
 mious they may be, nor how correct and staid their de- 
 portment, but in whose hearts lurk many a thistle seed, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 65 
 
 ready to spring up and pester the world whenever bad 
 conditions shall call them into active life ; nor can there 
 be a pure saint, until every one of these seeds shall be 
 deprived of life. Then, when this is done, no matter 
 what thq soil may be, it can produce none but beauty- 
 laden forms of excellence. When the great truth is 
 made apparent to the people, that the greatest sin a 
 person can possibly commit — taking the future as well 
 as the present into the account — is the sin against him 
 or herself, society will rapidly purge itself of wrong, 
 and there will be fewer bad memories to haunt and ter- 
 rify them after life's troublous drama shall end, and far 
 fewer leaden-hued pictures be reflected from the mirror- 
 floors of the world of Soul. 
 
 "Wealth, the possession of riches, is, on earth and in 
 all human society, the universal passport to honor and 
 distinction. This is one of the fallacies of man^ and the 
 greatest ; but the good deeds done to the neighbor and 
 the self are hereafter changed into a kind of coin read- 
 ily current in the lands beyond the tomb. 
 
 Now no one thing yet unaccomplished is more certain 
 to come to pass, than that this lesson will yet be learned 
 by the people. When it is mastered, there will be far 
 less strife for the honors and emoluments of office, and 
 the universal cry will be, ' Whom can we get, who shall 
 we persuade to be our Ruler, President, or King?' 
 1 Who can we employ to fill those offices ?' instead of 
 1 Yote for me !' as now. Mankind on earth do not, as 
 we of the Soul-world, seek for joys that are pure, and 
 purely human, too ; they do not, as we, drink from cha- 
 lices at "Whose bottom no dregs are found after the ruby 
 wine has been sipped. Alas, no I but, instead, they 
 
66 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 seek for such joys as are absolutely sure to leave a sting 
 behind, and Repentance, Agony and Remorse are the 
 terrible triplet they are obliged to nurse, for how 
 long ! This is moral and spiritual suicide — so far as 
 super-mundane joys are concerned — suicide, slow but 
 sure ; and such souls, on entering the Middle State, are 
 poor, and thin, and lean, and powerless, for deed&or 
 thoughts either good or great • and memory reflects 
 back but few, if any pleasant images, but, in lieu there- 
 of, presents for inspection and as food for contempla- 
 tion, an array of barren mountains, fierce whirlpools, 
 crags toppling over into dreadful darkness, beetling 
 cliffs, from whose bald summits the vulture and the 
 night-owl shriek and scream. No pleasant pasture lands 
 begem the picture — no sweetly-singing rivers of de- 
 light — but only things of wierdness, rage and fury, set as 
 centers into , pictures representing boisterous and tem- 
 pestuous seas, cold and dreary ice-islands,, or desert 
 sands which swallow up the sunshine, the moisture and 
 the rain, but never smile with a single green or lovely 
 thing. These are symbols and similes of the Soul's 
 states, and are the legitimate and inevitable out-crea- 
 tions of itself ; but, thank God ! not of its inner deeps, 
 else the universe might well run mad, and every living 
 thing curse its God and — die. True it is that none of 
 these frightful things x are the results of the natural and 
 unbiassed choice of any human creature, yet they are 
 none the less real in the second stage of existence, for 
 the reason that Destiny forever compels a man to be 
 himself. Sooner or later he will bring himself volun- 
 tarily to acknowledge, bow, and bend before it ; and 
 the instant that he does so, the- grand Yastatory law 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 67 
 
 comes into play, and he slowly emerges from Hell, and 
 takes the road to Heaven ! 
 
 So far in human history on the'earth, the Devil has 
 proved a lailurc — utter, total A and complete. Not so 
 Evil. This latter works out its mission well, even if it 
 does no more than to convince man that his only, best 
 and truest friends are himself and Jfoe Infinite God 
 whose child he is. 
 
 In the higher realms, to which mankind is destined, 
 his actions are never the result of an applied force from 
 outside himself ; but when voluntarily submitting to 
 the pressure from within, he is irresistibly led from bad 
 to better, and from better to Best. Eeaching this 
 point, he no longer rebels — not against God, but against 
 himself — his higher, nobler, better nature — but, giving 
 up all of mere self, begins to desire nothing so much as 
 to love and be loved, to serve God and minister unto 
 others' good — and at last finds himself standing in > the 
 Door of the Dawn, having emerged from the Hades of 
 his own and others' making, and stepped into his house 
 not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens— house- 
 spheres such as I have partially described, prepared for, 
 and in, and of him, from the foundations of the Ages — 
 houses which are indeed builded upon" very pleasant 
 spots, on sunny glades and love-tinted hillocks on God's 
 Eternal Domain — houses, too, which men often refuse to 
 enter and occupy till after the lapse of years of misery 
 spent in the horrid caves and unsightly huts^ dug and 
 builded by themselves. 
 
 All these things flashed in upon my soul, as I stood 
 gazing into the mirror on the floor, and upon the vivo- 
 graphs of Memory gliding by upon the walls, in which 
 
68 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 every event of my life, no matter how trivial, was 
 clearly represented. Not a good thought or deed, no 
 matter how private — not a single sin, no matter how 
 venial—but was there reproduced for my inspection and 
 instruction— moving, with all their foregone accessories, 
 across the walls of that magic globe. They were living 
 icons, perfect rescripts, of all foredeeds, thoughts, ac- 
 tions — and transcripts, all too faithful, of the volumes 
 of my memory. Soon all this passed along — the last 
 scene being that of my death within the chamber of the 
 house upon the hill. Scarcely had it vanished, whither 
 I knew not, than a blank section moved across the line 
 of vision, almost instantly succeeded by a Phantorama 
 still more wondrous and imposing. Instead of repre- 
 senting myself alone, this second picture revealed the 
 results, both direct and indirect, of my personal influ- 
 ence upon others, whether exerted in a domestic, social, 
 or professional capacity. I could not help being par- 
 ticularly struck with one tableau, which, as it embodies 
 a moral lesson, I will here stop to briefly describe : 
 
 I saw myself in the act of warm disputation with a 
 friend, on a subject well calculated to elicit the best 
 thought of the best thinker. I had the right of the 
 argument, and this was so apparent that my friend with 
 whom I was arguing* lost temper. At the time of the 
 occurrence, I took but little note of the matter, not 
 deeming it a subject of very great importance. Now, 
 however, I saw, what surprised me greatly, that this 
 mental excitement had reacted' physically, and, in run- 
 ning its course, brought on a slight inflammation of the 
 brain— -a sort of slow but positive fever, which, while 
 not confining the patient, yet affected both soul and 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 69 
 
 body to a great extent, and so modified the cerebral 
 constituents, that the immortal soul therein dwelling 
 for a season, could not thereafter manifest itself as for- 
 merly. I now realized that chemistry, in the higher 
 sense, was an efficient force in the human mental, as 
 well as in the material economy — that changes in the 
 physical cells of the brain could be made by intellectual 
 excitations, and that these in a great measure affect 
 the mental and psychical operations, even to the extent 
 of a complete boideversement. In consequence of the 
 change effected in the individual alluded to, projects 
 of various kinds, previously determined on, had to be 
 given up — for which reason the entire current of a life 
 was turned completely ; nor is it for me to say whether 
 greater good or ill will be the ultimate or final result — 
 for the reason that as yet I can neither see the origin 
 nor end. These are only known by the Infinite One 
 above us and beyond. Suffice it, therefore, to observe, 
 that had I known what weight inhered in words, whether 
 lightly, harshly or kindly spoken, especially to the sen- 
 sitive and susceptible natures of many of earth's pil- 
 grims, never would I have uttered $ syllable without 
 well weighing the possible consequences thereof ; espe- 
 cially would I have kept back all which bore the slight- 
 est resemblance to heat or anger. 0, what a wondrous 
 thing is a human soul ! Until now it was not clear to 
 me that, by virtue of both a static and dynamic law of 
 the universe, human happiness is derivative, and ever 
 depends upon the amount and kind bestowed upon or 
 imparted to another. The law is dual, that is, it works 
 both ways ; for even as a man or woman finds joy in 
 the act of causing or of bringing joy to others, so also 
 
70 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the misery and woe which A may cause B, C, D and 
 E to feel or undergo, not only reacts upon A by force 
 and virtue of the great Sympathia, but it is utterly im- 
 possible for A to be happy, so long as the least trace of 
 his or her action mauvaise remains with B, C, D, E, F 
 and G. Nor is this all ; for if these last persons- act 
 badly toward H, I, J and K, said actions being the 
 legitimate result of A's, originally, upon B, C, D, E, F 
 and G, then A cannot escape the consequences, no mat- 
 ter how distant or in whatever corner of God's universe 
 he may be, or in whatever crevice of the great creation 
 he may seek to hide. A wave or ray of agony from B, 
 C, and the rest of the alphabet, will finally reach him ! 
 A lash from the great whip of conscience or remorse 
 will fall on him, when rocks and mountains, though 
 heart-implored, refuse to. Until the law of compensa- 
 tion is satisfied, he shall never fail to hear, peeling into 
 his soul from the lacerated hearts of others, the terrific 
 sentence : ' Thou art the man ! thou hast done it ! Pay 
 what thou owest !' If the reflections shall prove to 
 have been good instead of evil, then .the words which 
 shall be heard will be : ' Even as thou hast done it unto 
 the least of these, my servants, thou hast done*it unto 
 me. Well done, thou good and faithful servant ! enter 
 thou into the joy of thy Lord ! Take up thine abode in 
 the mansions of bliss, prepared from the foundations of 
 the world V The coin of heaven is ever stamped with 
 the seal of a person's deeds, be they good or evil. 
 
 This soul-law is well illustrated by an anecdote which 
 I remember to have heard related prior to my entrance 
 into the wonderful realm, whereof I now found myself 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 71 
 
 a denizen. The story was related by a male friend. 
 Said he : 
 
 " Many years ago, when a mere lad of ten or a dozen 
 years, I lived in the Metropolis of America, where also 
 I was born. One day several lads of us were playing 
 at ball in a street then called ' Chapel/ but since known 
 as West Broadway. In throwing the toy at one of my 
 playmates, it missed him, and crashed through the win- 
 dow of a shoe-mender's shop, the proprietor of which be- 
 came greatly enraged, and in a paroxysm of fury not 
 only cursed and swore most dreadfully at us, but also 
 seized the offending ball, and threw it on his burniug 
 grate ; we, poor mourners, in the mean while looking 
 down into the fiery grave of all our sport. Tears, ex- 
 postulations, and entreaties were all so much wasted 
 breath, and proved utterly unavailing. The ball, un- 
 fortunate ball, was irrevocably doomed to an igneous 
 tomb ; nor could all our prayers, joined as they were, 
 to abundant offers on our part, and that of several 
 pitying on-lookers, to doubly pay the cost of the de- 
 molished glass, soften the obdurate heart of the revenge- 
 ful cobbler in the least degree. Burn that ball he swore 
 to ; utterly consume it he vowed to, and most religiously 
 he kept his promise. 
 
 The ball was burned r but as the smoke of its , sub- 
 stance,— the remains of two worn-out stockings and 
 an. india-rubber shoe, — and of our torment, went up 
 towards heaven, there accompanied it a most dire threat 
 of vengeance from out my boyish heart, — proud, indig- 
 nant little human heart, which then, for the first time, 
 swelled almost to bursting with vindictiveness and rage. 
 In my paroxysm of fury I swore a vendetta more fierce 
 
72 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 and terrible than that of the Orsini against their mortal 
 foes, the Borgias of sunny Italia. I resolved to kill, 
 slay, totally extinguish the whole race of cobblers, — 
 but that one in particular. His doom was, to be killed, 
 slain, cut to pieces, remorselessly and cruelly murder- 
 ed, after which his soul was to be eternally damned, 
 roasted, stewed, broiled and grilled for evermore, upon 
 the gridirons of the infernal pit — all for burning a six- 
 penny ball ! For ten long days and nights I pondered 
 on the subject, and sought to contrive means whereby 
 to carry out my philanthropic design. Having heard 
 and read of battles, bloodshed and gory fields of human 
 slaughter, wherein he who did the most murder was 
 the greatest hero ; having heard and read of human 
 butchers and butchery, my heart had turned from the 
 one, and I shuddered at the picture of the other. Now 
 however, all these images of horror returned. I still 
 hated them, but of all others, it seemed to me that that 
 ball-burning shoe-mender was the most atrocious fiend 
 that ever trod the earth. In my boyish frenzy I vowed 
 he was an ogre, giant, demon, and all else, that was 
 horrible and bad, to rid the earth of whom would be 
 doing an especial and particular favor to God, nature 
 and human kind. Amidst all the scourges and pests 
 who had ever trod the earth frOm Ghengis Khan to^ 
 Lord Jeffries, not one loomed up who was half so cri- 
 minal, half so deserving of the intensest scorn and 
 maledictions of the human race, as was that unfortunate 
 and guilty cobbler. We resolved that he must die, 
 and die by powder and fire ; but in consequence of the 
 fact, that the explosive grains were rather unpopular 
 just then, while both guns and pistols, fire-crackers, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 73 
 
 double-headers, and torpedoes, being strictly prohibited 
 by — the constable round the corner, — we concluded to 
 defer the execution of the malefactor till the ensuing 
 Fourth of July, then a matter of some eight months dis- 
 tant. But at last, it came. Our revenge had slept, 
 but was by no means extinguished. The ogre dwelt in 
 the same place still. The hour for dire retribution 
 drew fearfully near — and at length arrived. The cob- 
 bler's doom was sealed. Our maleficent congress — 
 boys, all under twelve — had resolved that he must die, 
 then or never, so far as we were concerned. Pistols 
 and powder being still as scarce as ever, we assailed 
 the enemy with a large string of ignited Chinese crack- 
 ers, in lieu of guns and bullets — articles de campaign — 
 not procurable, owing to the limited resources of our 
 combined exchequer. 
 
 We suffered a defeat — a rout, total and complete — 
 nor did one of us escape what the cobbler called a 
 1 welting,' for our shoulders tingled many an hour there- 
 after from the application of a strip of leather, wielded 
 by the stalwart right arm of the vindictive man. Now 
 it so happened that, nearly opposite the scene of this 
 farce, there stood a tall flag-staff — ' Tom Riley's Fifth 
 Ward liberty pole' it was called — and with this pole is 
 associated, not only the moral of my story, but also one 
 of the most singular experiences ever undergone by a 
 human soul, while incarnated in a tabernacle of flesh 
 and blood, nerve and sinew, muscle and matter. After 
 mutually smarting from the application of the cobbler's 
 ' welt,' we took counsel and refuge beneath the liberty 
 pole aforesaid ; and the last I remember of the affair is, 
 that, while gazing upon his triumphantlv retreating 
 4 
 
74 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 figure, it struck me that the very quintessence of my 
 felicity on earth would be achieved could I have the 
 exquisite joy and unsurpassable pleasure of hanging 
 him to the weathercock on the summit of that flag-staff. 
 This would be to me — to us, a very heavenly state in- 
 deed. And so I hung him, in fancy, to the north cor - 
 ner of the vane, enjoyed his imaginary struggles for a 
 while, and then went home. * * * * * * Years 
 passed. My childhood's troubles were forgotten, and 
 man's estate had come, with all its griefs, cares and 
 strifes, and, from a student of revenge, I became one of 
 the science of Forgiveness. During one of these latter 
 years I became interested in the question, ' Has man a 
 death-surviving soul, or not ?' and to the solution of this 
 great problem I bent the entire force and energy of my 
 mind, not hesitating to make all sorts of experiments 
 that held out a hope or possibility of my reaching a defi- 
 nite conclusion in regard to the subject. In pursuance 
 of this grand object I one day made an experiment 
 which, in some respects, was but too successful ; it was 
 not by means of drugs or potions, magnetism or spiritual 
 circles. At the end of one of these experiments I became 
 totally lost to the external world, its surroundings and 
 influences, and found myself in the world of Spirit — in the 
 midst of a vast and boundless Chaos, in which no sound 
 struck upon me save the rattling of the bones of a huge 
 and ghastly skeleton which swayed and swung to and 
 fro in the bleak air.from the point of a vane on the top 
 of a vast pole, itself the very spectre of the one on which 
 mentally, I had hung my mortal foe. 
 
 Attracted irresistibly by the ominous sounds, I turned 
 my gaze toward it, when instantly the horrible, ghastly 
 
DEALINGS, WITH THE DEAD. 75 
 
 thing became endowed with life and speech — ventri- 
 loquial power of speech — and it shrieked into my startled 
 ears these terrible, these ominous words : ' Wretch, look 
 upon the work of thy hands ! Here didst thou place 
 me in the years now gone, and here have I hung and 
 swung ; here must I hang and swing during many and 
 many a coming age ! Gaze upon this cord — look on it ; 
 think of it — placed around my neck by you — by you ! 
 The flesh once with these bones which now rattle in 
 your ears — your ears ! — has, by the elements, been 
 changed and dissolved into atoms — do you hear ? — into 
 atoms finer than the flecks of light in a sunbeam — aye, 
 finer than the scintillations of yonder star, the point of 
 the buckle of Orion's belt ; and that star is an eye, and 
 it watches you — watches you ; and, as you see, is the 
 only one in your horizon from zenith to nadir. That 
 star is the sentinel appointed by Him to see to it that 
 you escape not the doom — the doom ! Ha ! ha ! ho ! 
 ho ! Yes, it was I — i" who burnt your ball, in revenge 
 for which you burnt your soul ! — you burnt your soul 1 
 Ha ! ha ! ho ! ho ! And that soul must burn, and keep 
 on burning, in its own self-kindled flames, until their 
 fiery tongues shall have licked your joints — jour joints, 
 your marrow — your very marrow, and keep licking 
 them until — ' 
 
 1 In God's name, what and when V I tremblingly in- 
 quired. And from between the chattering, clattering, 
 horrible jaws of that ghastly thing there hissed back 
 this answer : ' Atom by atom, the elements whereof my 
 body was formed shall once again cleave to these bare 
 bones ; and, of their own volition, persuaded thereto by 
 the spectacle of thy agony, softened by thy prayers, 
 
76 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 T^uit their gambols in space, their festive sport amongst 
 the star-beams, and re-arrange themselves into the origi- 
 nal flesh, and blood, and nerve, and cartilage, and lymph, 
 and muscle, "wherewith these bones were clothed once 
 upon a time in the dead years of an infinite Past!' 
 1 But/ I cried, as the sweat of agony seemed to ooze even 
 out of my spectral cheeks, ' there must be some mistake. 
 The crime imputed was never committed by me. I 
 never slew you, nor any one else. True, I remember 
 you, but I only' — - Wished and willed to do it \ J shrieked 
 my tormentor, from the gibbet ; ' and whatever the soul 
 strongly wills is done, so far as human responsibility is 
 concerned. You wished and willed me to be here ; and 
 here I am, by virtue of a great and mighty law. Hast thou 
 not heard the law laid down, by the sufferer of Calvary, 
 " Whoso looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath al- 
 ready committed adultery in his heart," and must pay the 
 penalty therefor ? And thinkest thou that this is the 
 only application of the great law of justice and com- 
 pensation ? Fool ! know that thy crime is just as great 
 as if thou hadst, with thine own fingers, put the cord of 
 murder about my neck— about my neck ! The crime- 
 thought is as great as the crime-act. So it is with thee, 
 thou murderer ! Man is judged from the desires and 
 motives of his heart, whether these be for good or ill, 
 and never from or for his act alone ; for the reason that 
 actions are often the result of an instantaneous impulse, 
 external pressure and circumstance ; but motives are 
 the creatures of will, the perfect offspring of desire ! ; 
 I groaned in agony, an agony so great that it burst the 
 bonds of sleep, and I awoke from that which was not 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 77 
 
 all a dream. It was an awful lesson, and taught me 
 how to become a wiser and a better man.'* 
 
 Such was the terrific experience of my friend, and I 
 feel that I need say no more on a point so well, so very 
 forcibly illustrated. * * * * '* * 
 
 Still the phantorama glided past upon the wall, re- 
 vealing many a new mystery, and showing me that 
 every human being is more or less responsible for the 
 result of personal influence exerted upon others. 
 
 Much rare and valuable knowledge flowed in while I 
 stood there, in the center of the magic sphere, gazing on 
 the second vivorama, or living picture, delineating the 
 results of my influence on others. Many and many a 
 strange scene passed athwart that globe's interior ; and 
 I saw not only what the result of my influence had been, 
 but also what would have resulted had my action, in a 
 given instance, been different from what it really was. 
 Thus, I saw that had a cross word been spoken to a 
 child, whom I had endeavored to soothe by kindness, 
 that child would have been led to restrain himself, in- 
 stead of, as happened, taking advantage, and attributing 
 my complaisance to fear or something akin thereto. I 
 saw, on that mystic scroll, the simulacra? of every per- 
 son I had ever known, and found that there, in t&e Soul- 
 world, people and things passed at their true, and by 
 no means at a fictitious value, like men and money do 
 on the earth. All mankind are divisible into seven 
 
 * This fearful apocalyptic vision occurred on the night of Feb. 3d, 
 1861, and was the means of inducing a train of thought and feel- 
 ing in the mind of the person who experienced it, which resulted in 
 his conversion from all sorts of philosophism to a belief in the pure 
 and sweet religion of Christ the Saviour. — Pub. 
 
78 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 great Orders, to each, of which there are three sub-or- 
 ders or classes. I shall speak of the Orders, Dot of the 
 classes. Many of those who, when living amongst 
 them, I had ranked with the highest, I now found, in 
 this place, where the secrets of all hearts are in very 
 deed laid open, really belonged to a far lower plane, 
 and, vice versa ; for many a civilizee and aristocrat was 
 now found to belong to the order of barbarians ; whereas 
 not a few of those usually considered low were seen to 
 be better unfolded than thousands with loftier preten- 
 sions. Will it be credited, I even found the purest vir- 
 tue in one whose occupation was harlotry ! Once upon 
 a time, long before I passed through death's cold river, 
 I was walking through a beautiful grove, hard by my 
 dwelling-place, the house upon the hill. It was a gala 
 day, and hundreds had gathered there to celebrate the 
 noon of summer. Mirth, gaiety and sport ruled the 
 hour, and my soul was very glad. 
 
 Amongst the rest who had gathered there, were seve- 
 ral females, whose trade was Sin, and who I supposed 
 came there for their horrid purpose. How mistaken 
 was I ! At that time it did not strike me that beings so 
 lost could have a pure thought, or in any way be tempted 
 to quit the hot pavements of the city to spend an hour 
 in God's great Temple, amidst its living columns — the 
 stately forest trees — without mischief and wrong-doing 
 in view. I looked upon them, especially her with the 
 pale thin lips and large drooping eyelids, with utter 
 loathing. And thus I passed them by ; years fled ; 
 never again did I think of them — much less that such 
 creatures could have aught of goodness in them, or feel 
 the need of God's sunshine, or of a bath in His pure 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 9 
 
 ocean of fresh air. In life they were forgotten, bu 
 now, as that mystic diorama moved forward, I saw that 
 very scene in the grove, reproduced in every minute 
 detail. There sat the courtezans — there walked I past 
 them ; and as she of the large blue eye looked up to- 
 ward me, with a mute demand for one sympathetic 
 glance — one kind word — only one kind word — I turned 
 heedlessly away ; and in doing so, I now saw that a 
 wrong thing had taken place ; for had I spoken kindly, 
 they might have been saved from ruin, so far as the 
 world is concerned — utter and complete. Then, when 
 it was, alas ! too late, I saw how very easily I might 
 have melted and won the heart of the woman with the 
 thin pale cheek, and she would have become a minister- 
 ing spirit for good to many and many a lost and de- 
 graded one. I now saw her antecedents — a young girl, 
 a tender, loving daughter — fair, beautiful and sensitive 
 to the last degree. In her home misery reigned — no 
 work for the father, no bread for her little sisters, a 
 sick mother, and the storms of winter howling in the 
 streets, and the cold wind, sleet-laden, searching for 
 nooks and crannies, that it might freeze the little hands 
 and make the pale lips blue. 
 
 And then father took to drinking, and the pampered 
 servants of the rich lordlings of the great city drove 
 her with the large blue eye from their doors ; andjshe 
 was hungry, very hungry ; and then the foul fiend 
 tempted her to accept a handful of silver from — a male ! 
 for Men never do such things — things so infernal, so 
 hideous, so ineffably mean — in exchange for her body ! 
 •* * * * j^-ftft so s ] ie gQJd ^ — again, and again, and 
 a^ain ! Great God ! she was obliged to sell it, or starve 
 
80 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 in the midst of the granaries of Plenty ! Starve her- 
 self ? Yes, but not only herself— that were easy — but 
 the mother who bore her, in agony — the father, whose 
 reason had for a time deserted its throne — the little 
 ones, clustering about the scanty fire in the little tin 
 stove ; these, all these, must eat or die ! " The Poor- 
 house I" A poor refuge indeed ! for although they may 
 have been better off therein, would she ? Doubtful ! 
 for — well, never mind what ! She sold herself for 
 bread ! 
 
 Presently work came, but the stain was on her. She 
 had run down a declivity so steep that she could never 
 clamber up again, unless some friendly hand be stretched 
 forth to help her. And such hands are very scarce. 
 And now I saw what good might have been done, in 
 the days gone by, had I " only thought." 
 
 This scene passed across the walls of my sphere ; and 
 then there came after it a large blank space, and this 
 taught me that it indicated that some where in my life 
 there had been a corresponding omission. " What can 
 it have been?" Scarce had this query been framed 
 than there appeared a picture, which need not be de- 
 scribed, but the sum of whose teachings may briefly be 
 stated thus : I had never married — had never been 
 hailed by the dear titles ' ; Wife " and " Mother." I 
 had therefore failed in the one supreme womanly duty. 
 Nor can any soul be fully filled with joy who neglects 
 those great commands of God and Nature. Children are 
 the crowns of Heaven ; nor can any one — man or 
 woman — taste the serener and the sweeter joys of Be- 
 ing, who has failed to love and be loved, wed and be 
 wedded ; for this is one and the chiefest of means 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 81 
 
 whereby the soul becomes mellowed, and fit for higher 
 uses in the Soul-home. For these reasons, my joys, 
 though great, were not equal to what they might have 
 been ; and yet, take it all in all, provided the entrance 
 into the upper land is made with a clear and healthy 
 conscience and a fair record be left behind, no sense of 
 clearness, lightness and joy can equal that which is ex- 
 perienced subsequent to the first awakening after Az- 
 rael's decree has severed the marriage between matter 
 and soul. The Senses ! Roses emit sweet odors, grateful 
 to the nostrils ; yet not all the perfumes of the Gulistan 
 is worth one inhalation of the celestial aroma in which the 
 spirit of the good man or woman floats when once fairly 
 over the barriers which separate the worlds. Color ! 
 I never knew the music of hues before I passed away — 
 never conceived of the sublime mysteries, nor realized the 
 great glory whose temple is the chalice of a flower. 
 Touch ! Ah, what language, what pen, what tongue 
 can describe the deep raptures of a soul, when God's 
 sublime atmosphere first laves the immortal being ! The 
 highest, keenest nerve-joy the body can experience must 
 be very, very dull and tame in comparison ; and so on 
 through the Sense-gamuts of Earth and the hyper ones 
 of Spirit. Yet only the good enjoy these pleasures. 
 Sin and pollution, whether of thought or overt act, de- 
 tract from the senses and susceptibility to pleasure in 
 both worlds alike ; and so absolutely true is this, that 
 sin and folly ought to be shunned by the people, if for 
 no other than the selfish desire of being happy from 
 oneself. It is better to live right, die right, and be 
 right after death, than it is to purchase transient pleas- 
 ures on earth by drawing too largely on the bank of life, 
 
82 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 to find one's drafts dishonored at the counters of the 
 world above. Suicides and voluptuaries are on an 
 equality up there. Both are only half-men, half-child- 
 ren, half-women ; nor can they taste of the higher rap- 
 tures, unless they grow to holiness. 
 
 After a while there ceased to be any more pictures, 
 and I became aware of the fact that an unseen force was 
 at work on the outside of the globe, evidently endeavor- 
 ing to break it down, or in some way force a passage 
 through its walls. What this something could be, was 
 a mystery, just so long as I vehemently desired to know, 
 which of course I, like others under similar circum- 
 stances, did. I could not, while thus endeavoring, ob- 
 tain my desire, and therefore I naturally began to wish 
 that Nellie or the old man would come, because, in 
 spite of my matchless surroundings, I felt quite human* 
 in the midst of Spirituality, and the sight even of an- 
 other than myself would have been a solace and a conso- 
 lation. No sooner had my mind placed itself upon a 
 new object, than I made two new and important dis- 
 coveries : First, that loneliness or solitude is one of 
 the most terrible punishments to which either God or 
 man could ever possibly condemn a sinful human being. 
 God pity the lonely man or woman ! 0, it is very 
 dreadful to be compelled to exist alone ! — and there are 
 thousands who walk the great world's streets, who move 
 along in the very midst of a Solitude, as deep, silent 
 and fearful as that which prevails in Zahara's desert 
 wastes, where human footfalls never disturb the awful 
 stillness of the hour. There are those who travel up 
 and down the world's highways, upon whose soul no 
 glad pounds ever fall, and who appear to be condemned 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 83 
 
 to loneliness, as if they were thus expiating* some awful 
 penalty as an atonement for great and undreamed-of 
 crimes, committed either by themselves in some pre- 
 existent state, or by their ancestors when the very world 
 was young. There are those who, while all about and 
 around them are merry and jocund as the bees on a 
 May day, are themselves as far removed from the pale 
 of human sympathy, and as utterly Alone, as if they 
 were shut up in some rock-ribbed cave in the heart of 
 Mont Blanc or the Mountains of the Moon. 0, it is a 
 fearful thing to be shut out from the great Sympathia 
 whose function is to blend in one the chords of all human 
 hearts ! It is a sad fate indeed to be obliged to live 
 amidst the clamor and the clang of Discord, when all 
 other souls are dancing to the glorious sounds of the 
 great Harmonead ; yet many such, aye, far too many 
 such there be, who are thus cut off, shut up, barred out. 
 They might have been let in, had the father given the 
 mother a smile, a caress, a blessing, at the proper mo- 
 ment, instead of a frown, a rudeness and a secret curse, 
 as is, alas ! too often the case ; and yet nothing is more 
 positively certain than that somebody must answer to 
 their own souls, their own consciences, for this most fear- 
 ful entailment of misery, loneliness and woe. See ! yon 
 der is a woman — a wife — big with a man-child, who will 
 ere long see the light ; but she is miserable — is lonely, 
 is perchance cursed for becoming — a mother ; and so 
 she frets, and mopes, and pines — all the while paining 
 to be delivered of her misery and child. At length it 
 sees the day, the sun's bright laugh meets no responsive 
 smile from its pale, thin, tiny lips. It mopes and grows, 
 but is prematurely old at ten years, a man at fifteen, a 
 
84 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 mournful pilgrim at twenty-five, and an old veteran at 
 thirty years ! Who's to blame ? Somebody ! else God's 
 justice is, like man's, a mockery ! 
 
 Brother or sister, who readest these pages, wouldst 
 thou know one of the grand secrets underlying the con- 
 stitution of the great Brotherhood of Crime ? It is 
 because man is a social being, has a mortal and invin- 
 cible hatred and repugnance to solitude, feels the need 
 of associates and sympathy, and will have both if possi- 
 ble, even though obliged to seek them in the very midst 
 of hell itself. Didst thou ever observe that the major- 
 ity, of spiritual mediums are men and women who are 
 sensitive, lonely, bereft and forsaken ? Well, look 
 around, and thou shalt find it so. And these, failing to 
 find sympathy on earth amidst their fellows, search for 
 it in the awful labyrinths that underlie the tomb ; and 
 from the Middle States vast hordes of semi-infernals 
 come trooping at the heart-calls of these wretched ones, 
 who are thus preyed on by vampires from both Eternity 
 and Time ; for embodied wonder-mongers sap them dry, 
 and wear them out, while disembodied demi-devils de- 
 lude them, until the fair Soul-garden either becomes an 
 arid waste, or teems with thistles, thorns, and all un- 
 sightly and unseemly things. When such victims cry 
 aloud unto God, and keep crying, He will send His 
 good angels to comfort, save, cheer and protect. 
 
 Reader, wouldst thou know why millions of women, 
 fair, loveable, and good as ever God's sun shone upon, 
 yearly rush down the mountain's side and plunge neck- 
 deep into the swamps of prostitution and infamy ? It 
 is because their human hearts yearn for sympathy, pine 
 for love, long for something good and kind ; which fail- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 85 
 
 ing to discover and obtain where hope has told them 
 snch things were, they seek for it, at last, in the horrid 
 belly of social damnation. Their motto, ' A short life 
 and a merry is better than a long and lonely one ! ' teUs 
 too truly the story of many a poor girl's heart. My 
 God, my God, have mercy on the lonely ones ! for thou 
 alone knowest that many and many a sin against soci- 
 ety and thee is committed by such and others, not of 
 settled purpose of ill-doing, but because urged on by 
 sheer despair. Many a crime has been committed from 
 a mental aberration caused by the horrors of loneliness. 
 Human tribunals take but little, if any, account of a 
 criminal's antecedents and surroundings. He or she is 
 judged too harshly, in the main ; and thus it will be 
 until mankind learns a deeper lesson of wisdom than 
 yet presides over its courts and councils. Only God 
 can truly know a heart ; and whilst this fact is so 
 clear, it is better to err on charity's side, if error must 
 enter into the account at all. 
 
 In prison there is at least a community of punish- 
 ment, and the sense of this goes far to relieve the tedi- 
 um of incarceration ; for, bad though it be, many a one 
 has found it preferable to the perpetual and dreadful 
 solitude to which liberty condemned them. 
 
 Why are there such vast numbers of deserted wives 
 and husbands ? — so many ruined and cheerless hearths 
 and homes ? The answer is : because neither of the 
 heads of the household has even dreamed that the com- 
 panion had rights which the other was bound to re- 
 spect ; and the greatest of these rights, and the one 
 most disregarded, is the right of being loved by that 
 other — loved tenderly, truly, kindly, humanly. , The 
 
86 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 parties to the domestic compact have severally failed to 
 realize what common sense ought to have suggested 
 from the first — that human happiness is never direct, 
 but is always reflected. When the married find out 
 this great law, and practically apply it, society will 
 redeem itself from all hatred and harlotry, license and 
 libertinism, free-love and folly, madness, murder and 
 meanness.. Ah ! friendly reader, it is a Tearful state, 
 that wherein a woman's or a man's true and generous 
 love and sympathies are driven down and beaten away 
 by those to whom they naturally cling. It is hard to 
 have their human kindness misconstrued, and to have 
 his or her affection crushed by the heedlessness or lack 
 of generosity of those who ought to leap, and hail it 
 with all true human thankfulness. God knows that 
 there is too little real affection in the world, and it is 
 very hard to have that little forced back upon the full, 
 true heart from which it was sent forth on a mission of 
 goodness. This sort of thing it is that freezes up the 
 spirit, and makes man and woman lonely hermits in the 
 very midst of the teeming hives of human life, society 
 and effort. 
 
 It is a terrible thing to be compelled to eat your 
 own heart— to be forced to consume oneself— to hear 
 the harsh, brutal and unfeeling tone, when one should 
 listen to the dulcet notes of generous affections ; for 
 they freeze and chill the spirit, and warp the very lig- 
 aments of Soul. These sad things must be atoned ; 
 the vicarious sacrifice must be self-made by the doer 
 thereof — persons who unthinkingly tear down and 
 wreck their fellows, every soul of whom might be 
 builded up. made strong for the Right, and emulous of 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 87 
 
 all great and good and noble thoughts and deeds which 
 God's human children have ever done — and all by kind- 
 ness, open-hearted conduct and friendly cheer. Heaven! 
 how much misery and crime might be stayed by one 
 kind and loving word ! How many are at this day 
 wading through Perdition, as they tread the pavements 
 of the world's broad streets, and all for want of one 
 kind word ! Wrote Milton : 
 
 Devil with devils damned 
 
 Firm concord hold. Men only disagree." 
 
 There is much pith in this couplet, which is far from 
 being all poetry — that is, if a judgment must be predi- 
 cated upon what the worlds have witnessed of warfare, 
 robbery, slaughter, and rapine, all along the track of 
 ages. Earth is, then, something worse than hell itself ! 
 It ought to be better, for hell cannot be purged nor the 
 Middle State become pure, until earth is purified, and 
 the daily delegations sent across the dark River be of a 
 better, purer and nobler mould than now. 
 
 I remember to have dearly loved the Apostles' Creed, 
 especially my own rendering thereof : 
 
 ' : I believe in the Holy Ghost ; the Holy Church ; . . 
 
 ... the forgiveness of sins ; the resurrection the 
 
 communion of saints ; the life everlasting." Glorious 
 creed of glorious fishermen — repeated daily by millions ! 
 But do these millions really believe the words so freely 
 spoken ? Go ask their conduct in the world's busy 
 market places, where human bodies and human souls 
 are as so many counters in the scale, — not negro 
 bodies and souls, but those of lordly bankers, and mo- 
 nied magnates, who serve as waiters in Moloch's tern- 
 
88 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 pies on the four shores of the two great seas. Pity it is 
 that people do not believe their own religious creeds, 
 for if they did there would be fewer lonely ones on 
 either side of the grave. 
 Sung a poet, quite as good, if not so great as Milton : 
 
 If men cared less for wealth and fame, 
 
 And less for battle-fields of glory ; 
 If writ ia human hearts, a name 
 
 Seemed better than in song or story : 
 If men, instead of nursing pride, 
 
 Would learn to hate it and abhor it ; 
 If more relied on Love to guide, 
 
 The world would be the better for it. 
 
 If men dealt less in stocks and lands, 
 
 And more in bonds and deeds fraternal ; 
 If Love's work had more willing hands 
 
 To link this world to the Supernal ; 
 If men stored up love's oil and wine, 
 
 And on bruised human hearts would pour it, 
 If " yours " and " mine " would once combine, 
 
 The world would be the better for it. 
 
 If more would act the play of Life, 
 
 And fewer spoil it by rehearsal ; 
 If bigotry would sheathe its knife, 
 
 Till good became more universal : 
 If Custom gray with ages grown, 
 
 Had fewer.blind men to adore it : 
 If talent shone in truth alone, 
 
 The world would be the better for it. 
 
 If men were wise in little things, 
 
 Affecting less in all their dealings ; 
 If hearts had fewer rusted strings, 
 
 To violate their kindly feelings : 
 If men, when Wrong beats down the Right, 
 
 Would strike together and restore it : 
 If Right made Rightln^every fight, 
 
 The world would be the better for it. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Ay.e ! that it would, and tvill, brave lover of thy race, 
 when more shall live the spirit thou hast breathed. But 
 Faith is not yet dead ; Hope still lives in human hearts ; 
 Charity is beginning to be a power in the world, and 
 these three — blessed three — will yet work out the world's 
 salvation. Strong hands, clear intellects, willing minds, 
 are all that is needed to develope true human individu- 
 ality, a thing of the future ; and then a man and a wo- 
 man will pass for the self-displayed value, the intrinsic 
 worth manifested by Action. " It is not me they hate 
 and ill-use ; it is the fictitious personality they have 
 given me. They will not take me as I am, but insist 
 that I shall be what themselves desire I should be; and 
 in crushing, slaying, killing this phantom which they 
 choose to attach to my name, they are, alas, crushing, 
 slaying, killing me !" These words were uttered by an 
 almost broken-hearted man f they were true, and true 
 not only of him, but of many a lonely and sensitive one 
 beside. 
 
 In the days when common sense shall reign, the dis- 
 eases of the social body will be eradicated, and then 
 the loneliness of talent and genius will be exceptional 
 to the rule, instead of the reverse, as in these lonesome 
 latter years. If men could but realize that every hu- 
 man groan echoes up through all the starry vaults, even 
 to the eternal throne itself, they would not cause so 
 many as they do, especially when they discover that 
 every one of these groans must be expiated by the 
 causer thereof. If men knew that every pang endured 
 by a human being on earth, sweeps like a whirlwind of 
 
 * Paschal, R. 
 
90 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 agony along the telegraphic lines of infinite space, and 
 that not a soul in God's vast domain but must feel the 
 effects thereof in accordance with the Great Sympathia 
 — itself the nervous system alike of God, Nature, and 
 human kind — they would heartily strive to lessen the 
 amount, and banish all anguish and its producing cause 
 from their midst. 
 
 The human race is a mighty harp ; touch one string 
 rudely, and all the others vibrate; and the finer the 
 chord, the more it responds to the shock. When Jesus 
 groaned on Calvary, the pain of his body and soul was 
 shared in by every creature beneath God's Infinite 
 heaven ; and the agony thrills still go sweeping through 
 the worlds, and will, until all mankind shall go its way 
 and sin no more. No human body is healthy so long 
 as a single atom of disease lurks between the granules 
 of a bone, or between the cells of the most unimportant 
 viscus ; neither can society be calm, or the race be 
 happy on either shore of eternity, so long as one unholy 
 man or woman lives to mar the harmony, and be a dis- 
 cordant note in the Great Sympathia. Thus we dwell- 
 ers of the Soul-worlds are impelled to action in behalf 
 of our brethren below, by the first and greatest law of 
 the universe — self-preservation ; for in making man 
 abjure his errors and turn toward the Right, we lay the 
 surest and firmest foundation whereon to erect the great 
 Temple of Purity wherein all alike shall worship God, 
 do well, and think no evil. The discovery of this great 
 principle of unity, the acquisition of the positive know- 
 ledge that every sensation, painful or pleasant, expe- 
 rienced by any, even the most distant, low and de- 
 graded of the species, was necessarily shared in by all 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 91 
 
 the rest, surprised me greatly ; and from finding that 
 the finest nerved and most sensitive were also the most 
 unhappy, I was led to infer the existence of a great 
 Vicarious law, whose elements were Sympathy. Compen- 
 sation. Distribution. True, some may pass through life, 
 and apparently escape its action — but not forever. 
 God has said substantially, ;: Bear ye one another's bur- 
 dens f and borne they must be. Sensitives bear the 
 greatest portion of misery, and their fate seems at first 
 sight to be a hard one — a life all full of tears, groans 
 and sorrows : yet the law of Compensation is operative 
 in all stages, phases, and planes of being : 
 
 " And he who the weariest path has trod 
 Shall nearest stand to the throne of G. 1." 
 
 There are seasons when men and women of a certain 
 mould, without the least apparent cause, are plunged 
 into the very midst of the blackest barathrum of misery 
 and woe, and who ten times a year pass through the 
 body of a death too fearful in its agonies to be even 
 faintly imagined by those of a different make-up. They 
 complain, and are met with the stereotyped : " Fancy I 
 Hypochondrias! Delusion!*'' Delusion, forsooth! Is 
 that pale and haggard cheek, that pain-thrilled sea of 
 nerv - drops of almost bloody sweat, that utter 
 
 prostration of soul, a mere delusion ? "Will the hypothe- 
 f diseased nerves, liver, heart or stomach account 
 for these things? To the looker-on of surface, Y 
 to the student of the soul and its mysteries, No ! There 
 is a deeper cause, a higher power in operation. Will 
 theory of physical di* sconnt for the instan- 
 
 taneous plunging of a man or woman into the deepest 
 
92 DEALINGS WITPI THE DEAD. 
 
 anguish who, scarce ten seconds before, were in the enjoy- 
 ment of perfect health of spirit, soul and body ? Never ! 
 What means the terrible weight of woe which suddenly 
 leaps upon the soul of the sensitive ? Whence comes 
 this ocean of mental pain and half-sense of retribution, 
 knowing themselves innocent and spotless of all wrong ? 
 I will answer. At that moment some one, somewhere., 
 is undergoing all these pangs from apparent cause. 
 The wave of pain has gone out, and, like the needle to 
 the pole, flies directly to those whose position on the 
 plane of the great sympathetic nerve of the universe fits 
 them to receive it. Some one else receives it in turn ; 
 but it becomes less intense, degree after degree, until 
 at last only a faint and tiny wave reaches the foot of 
 the throne* 
 
 " Eloi, Eloi, lamma Sabbacthani !" groaned the dying 
 Christ j and the throes of his agony went pulsing 
 through the universal human heart, till the most ma- 
 jestic prince of Seraphim quailed with agony. Even 
 so, still, as in the days of yore, is operative the same 
 great vicarious law. 
 
 When the suffering soul turns itself to God, relief 
 comes, but not an instant before. This latter law — for 
 it is one — was well known in ancient times, and amongst 
 the higher classes of the Orient is so still. It and its 
 operation is well set forth by a modern poet of Islam : 
 
 U ( 
 
 Allah, Allah !' cried the sick man, racked with pain the long night 
 
 through 5 
 Till with prayer his heart grew tender, till his lips like honey grew. 
 But at morning came the Tempter ; said, ' Call louder, child of Pain ! 
 See if Allah ever hears, or answers, ' Here am 1,' again." 
 Like a stab the cruel cavil through his brain and pulses went ; 
 To his heart an icy coldness, to his brain a darkness sent. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 93 
 
 Then before him stands Elias ; says, ' My child, why thus dismayed ? 
 
 Dost repent thy former fervor ? Is thy soul of prayer afraid ? 
 
 1 Ah !' he cried, ' I've called so often ; never heard the " Here am I ;" 
 
 And I thought God will not pity ; will not turn on me his eye.' 
 
 Then the grave Elias answered, ' God said, Rise, Elias ; go 
 
 Speak to him, the sorely tempted ; lift him from his gulf of woe. 
 
 Tell him that his very longing is itself an answering cry ; 
 
 That his prayer, " Come, gracious Allah !" is my answer, " Here am I." ' 
 
 Every inmost aspiration is God's angel undefined • 
 
 And in every ' my Father !' slumbers deep a ' Here, my child.' " 
 
 I do not say, nor did I discover that all sensitives, at 
 all times, are the mystic sympathants of those who suf- 
 fer ; for such is not the case. Much suffering comes to 
 them from other causes and sources ; yet that a great 
 deal of mental agony does come from the source stated, 
 I became perfectly convinced. 
 
 The last twenty years, I also saw — by the action of 
 a retrospective faculty of my soul, then discovered and 
 applied for the first time — has been productive of more 
 misery than any period of equal length since the world 
 began : for the reason, among others, that the people's 
 nerves and brains are keener, fuller, quicker in action, 
 and more alive to sensations than in the years prece- 
 dent. The mental and physical culture of the people has 
 been such, that not one civilizee in five thousand en- 
 joys good health in either department of common hu- 
 man nature. Much of the misery extant in the world 
 to-day is solely attributable to the extraordinary sensi- 
 tiveness now characterizing such vast numbers of peo- 
 ple ; and which morbid condition — for there are two 
 kinds of sensitives, the natural and the hot-house 
 growths, the last of which I now allude to — owes its 
 origin to — First, A general overworking of the brain, 
 
94 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 to the total neglect of the muscular system. Second, Im- 
 proper diet, in time, kind and quantity. Third, Heed- 
 lessness in clothing, in reference to color, texture and 
 amount; carelessness in regard to heat, light, cold, 
 sleep, and physical magnetico-electrical influences. 
 Fourth, Personal magnetic influences. Fifth, The 
 metaphysical nature of modern thought and study. 
 Sixth, Irregularity and excess, extending to all things 
 connected with human existence, by reason of which 
 the funds in the bank of life are exhausted at the very 
 time they ought to be most plentiful. Seventh, Mod- 
 ern Spiritualism, which, by reason of its intensity, at- 
 tracts and absorbs nearly all human attention, to the 
 exclusion of every thing else ; causes people to ex- 
 change common sense for ' philosophies' not half so use- 
 ful ; induces a sort of intellectual fever ; lifts a man above 
 the earth ; makes him forgetful of his body, by holding 
 up his spirit to his view ; promises to set his feet on solid 
 rock, and ends by, as it should, throwing out the fac- 
 titious props and stilts whereon he has stood to catch 
 glimpses of what lies on the other side, and letting him 
 fall back upon his own resources finally. 
 
 All these things, the last included, previous to its 
 ultimate effect, have, by inducing morbidness of thought 
 and sentiment, principle and feeling, unfitted man to 
 either live or die. The result has been, the develop- 
 ment of a sensitiveness so acute, that persons are en- 
 abled to penetrate the surface of both things and peo- 
 ple, and the result of this involuntary inspection is the 
 discovery that there is many a rotten spot in the fair- 
 est-looking fruit — many an unworthy motive underly- 
 ing the fairest pretence— nothing but duplicity where 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 95 
 
 friendship was thought to dwell— lust and passion, un- 
 der the guise of esteem and love — and many more such 
 tmveilings of the seeming, and disclosures of the real. 
 This sensitiveness is morbid, but its revelation's are, 
 alas ! quite frequently too true ; and the effect it pro- 
 duces is an inveterate suspicion of all things and peo 
 pie, and an utter loss of confidence in the entire human 
 race. This is the hidden reason why a certain order of 
 those who call themselves Spiritualists are so unhappy 
 and discontented ; and it is this also that has suggested 
 the ten thousand and ten panaceas for all the ills of 
 life now so freely scattered up and down the walks of 
 the social world. To this cause is to be attributed the 
 thousand mad Quixotic schemes for rejuvenating the 
 world — from 'Free-love' to 'Angel-movements,' 'Wo- 
 man's Rights' to 'Land Reform.' This it is that sepa- 
 rates people — engulphs thousands in the sea of idle and 
 useless speculation — entangles thousands more in the 
 meshes of sophistry, under the name of 'Philosophy' — 
 wise and otherwise, "Harmonial' and Harm-only; 
 and this it is that makes people lonely, and throngs the 
 ways of Earth and Spirit-land with pilgrims of Soli- 
 tude, surrounded by millions. 
 
 It is never your boisterous, jolly, rubicund subject 
 who reaches the penetralia of things, and who thence- 
 forth casts off the world in despair, declares the play 
 of life is only a dismal tragedy, and becomes at heart 
 a hermit of the misanthropic order. no ! far from 
 it ! Such belong to the first or lower orders of men — 
 they can find company anywhere, at any time. Careless 
 they, no matter whether it rains or shines ; it's all the 
 same to them, whether school keeps or not. Of those 
 
96 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 who receive little, but little is expected. It is your fine- 
 nerved people, the really great-hearted man or woman — 
 those who pertain to the second or other and higher 
 orders* of mankind — your natural aristocrats of the 
 Soul- worlds — when they get there — who on earth suffer* 
 greatest and undergo the most. 
 
 This general information came to me as I flitted on 
 by the home-sides of those whom I loved, and who, in 
 turn, loved me. Loved me ! What a world in a word ! 
 
 Iu the preceding pages I stated that there were two 
 draughts of knowledge which came to slake my death- 
 less soul-thirst, while I waited and wished for Nellie 
 and the old man who went with her. The law of soul 
 is this : any question, the answer to which can be com- 
 prehended by the asker, may be propounded to itself in 
 the absolute certainty of a correct response, provided 
 the knowledge it conveys be adapted to the ends of 
 good and use, to either the neighbor or the self. This 
 is an integral law of the very being, no matter where 
 that being may be located. On earth men are not pure 
 nor properly situated, hence it is far more difficult for 
 them to elicit the required knowledge, than it is for 
 those who are not embodied ; yet the law is as opera- 
 tive on the lowest earth as in the highest heaven. In 
 accordance with the principle laid down, that which I 
 have faintly set forth came to me ; but the second les- 
 son, which seemed to be a sequential suggestion of what 
 I thought was an attack upon the external wall of my 
 inclosing sphere, conveyed wisdom as well as know- 
 ledge, the good of which will be seen by those who 
 carefully analyze it. 
 
 My glance now fell full and direct upon the point 
 
DEALINGS WITH TPIE DEAD. 97 
 
 where the disturbance of the crystalline barrier was 
 greatest ; and while wondering if it could withstand 
 the effort made by some power on its exterior to breach 
 it, or whether it would remain intact until my wished- 
 for friends arrived, I began to study its composition. 
 It was evidently not material, and yet it was something 
 quite as substantial. Among men the surrounding en- 
 velope of the body is called the ■ odylic sphere ; ; yet 
 odyle is material, therefore this could not be formed of. 
 that. It was not soul-substance, because it was far 
 grosser, and served a greatly inferior purpose. It was 
 not spirit, either. Here then was a demand for useful 
 knowledge ; nor was it long ere that demand was fully 
 supplied ; for it came to me that embodied man repre- 
 sented God in his threefold nature, Body, Spirit, con- 
 scious Soul or Thinking Principle : that each of these 
 must essentially differ from the others, and in a scien- 
 tific sense be high, higher, and most high ; and that too, 
 not by reason of continuity or rarefaction, but by dis- 
 parates, and insulations. Now all three exist in, of, 
 and constitute the same individual; wherefore there 
 must be at least two substances, differing in toto from 
 the three primaries, yet of a nature enabling them to 
 cling to and connect the principals. What were these 
 two substances ? At a glance I saw that the materials 
 of a human body gave forth an atmosphere which 
 serves to connect it with the life, or materio-spiritual 
 part of man, and ties each by soluble links to both the 
 material and spiritual worlds. This is the odylic sphere. 
 What connects soul with spirit ? The second glance 
 revealed to me the fact that every monad, carnate and 
 conscious alike, embodied or free, mere monad or devel- 
 5 
 
98 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 oped soul, was surrounded by an atmosphere of its own, 
 unique, single, atomless, homogeneous, and elastic. 
 This envelope is very etherial, and is called Ethylle ; 
 it connects soul with spirit, and unites all three worlds, 
 body, soul, and spirit together, and constitutes not only 
 the spheres, but the ' Personal Nebulaa, 7 out of which 
 the immortal spark creates its surrounding sphere or 
 world, when disembodied, and whereof it, while in the 
 flesh, erects its stately chateaux en esjpagne — its castles 
 in the air. Here was a new solution of a mystery that 
 had troubled not only myself, but many a philosopher , 
 and a solution, too, in perfect and strict accordance 
 with the principles of the Great Harmonead ; for the 
 Nebulous Ocean enclosing the Spacial Halls of Deity, 
 wherein roll the starry systems, is the ethyllic envelope 
 of the Eternal One > is the material whereof he, through 
 his servants, the Forces, fashioneth the mighty fabrics 
 now floating in the azure. 
 
 Following hard upon the last great discovery, came 
 another, not perhaps so sublime, but quite as useful ; it 
 was this : The mental effort whose results have just 
 been recorded, had the effect of uplifting my soul, and 
 firing it with ambition to such an extent or degree, that, 
 seeing how little I knew, and how vast the fields of the 
 unknown were, I regretted my poor weak human 
 nature, and almost hating it, became impatient of re- 
 straint, because I could not take wing, and, flying to 
 the Grand Centre, merge my being into that of God 
 Himself, and thus become all-knowing, all-Being, all- 
 Life. I was beset with the same sin that hurled Luci- 
 fer down from the empyreal heights of the vast heaven ; 
 and like him too, most bitterly did I regret my daring ; 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 09 
 
 for almost on the very instant that this sacrilegious 
 thought took possession of my soul, my mind lost its 
 clarity, my vision became dim and misty, my equanimity 
 was lost, and was succeeded by a state entirely differ- 
 ent — a sort of childliness of feeling. Almost instantly 
 my soul lost sight of the magnificent field just opened 
 to its inspection, and was forced by a power not then 
 understood, to turn completely round, and direct its 
 gaze earthward. Resistance being vain, I did so, and 
 observed directly opposite the point of attack upon the 
 sphereal wall, a window-like opening, through which I 
 looked down the vista of a lane of light, bounded on 
 either side by an impenetrable amorphous wall. One 
 end of this lane terminated on earth, the other in the 
 Soul-world ; and from the peculiar nature of the lesson 
 shortly conveyed, I became aware of two things : first, 
 that neither knowledge nor joy ever flow into the secret 
 chambers of the soul, unless the receptacle vessels there- 
 in are duly prepared to receive them ; for although 
 knowledge may become a thing of memory, yet it can 
 only remain stored up like corn in a granary, and never 
 become of positive value, or serve as soul-food, until 
 that soul itself is in a condition to digest and assimilate 
 it. Secondly, there could no longer be a doubt but 
 that I was being practically instructed by an invisible 
 being of masterly wisdom and accomplishments ; and 
 from the nature of the emotions within me, to which 
 this thought gave rise, there was but little if any doubt 
 that this invisible teacher was the mysterious ' Him ' to 
 whom Nellie had so mischievously alluded, when she 
 invited me to come with her. 
 
 If a woman is loved, no matter where she be, no mat- 
 
100 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 ter by whom, or where the lover may be, she knows it 
 instantly, without being told of it. It comes to her just 
 as naturally as the yapors sail before the summer breeze. 
 I Jcneiv that somebody loved me ; and that although 
 unseen hitherto, that ' some one ? was loved by me. The 
 telegraph of Affection is swifter and surer than that of 
 electric batteries, and every true woman knows it, no 
 matter whether she be dead or alive. 
 
 As the sense of this flashed over me, my heart went 
 up to God in such a prayer of gratitude as only they 
 can feel and know, whose deathless yearnings have been 
 fully satisfied. My soul rejoiced in its new tutelage, 
 and it praised God for this sense of the presence in 
 action, if not in sight, of one who took an interest in 
 clearing my pathway to Wisdom's coast, thus early on 
 my everlasting journey toward the shores of the Infinite 
 Sea* 
 
 The further end of the lane of light terminated at a 
 spot where was being enacted a scene of a drama where- 
 in the actors were denizens of three worlds — Earth, 
 Soul-world, and Middle State. The lesson taught me 
 was, that very often organization, to a great extent, 
 governs and determines human destiny. 
 
 Before a vast audience, on a Sabbath night, stood a 
 lonely man — one with massive and active brain, but 
 thin, weak and 'puny body — therefore an unbalanced 
 character. The woman who seven and twenty years 
 before had given him birth, had imparted her own sen- 
 sitive nature to her child ; while the man through 
 
 * A revelation concerning which will appear in the sequel ; and 
 one, too, compared to which, the grandest and most beautiful things 
 contained in the present volume, are comparatively trivial. — Pub. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 101 
 
 whose agency God had incarnated the lonely one, was 
 of an ambitious, affectionate, but passionate and passional 
 nature. The son thus congenitally biased and tainted 
 had grown to man's estate, and from various social 
 and other causes, he being a sang melee, had suffered to 
 such a degree that his soul was driven in upon itself to 
 a great extent j which, while rendering him still more 
 sensitive and morbid, also caused his soul to expand 
 knowledge-ward, become wonderfully intuitive and as- 
 piring, yet bound up by the affectional nature within 
 his own personal or individual sphere. But such souls 
 resist this damming up ; hence occasionally the banks 
 overflowed, and he became passional ; forgot his dig- 
 nity ; was led to believe that whoever said love, meant 
 love ; was beset with temptation, and yielded, until at 
 last his heart was torn to pieces, and his enveloping 
 sphere became so tender and weak, that it could not 
 withstand any determined attack thereon ; and thus he, 
 like thousands more whose spheres are thus invalidated 
 and relaxed, became very sensitive to influences of all 
 sorts and characters, and a ready tool and subject for 
 the exploitations and experiments of disembodied in- 
 habitants of the Middle State. He became a medium ! 
 Of course this circumstance and qualification necessarily 
 threw him into the society of those who accept the 
 modern theurgy. 
 
 In proportion to the self-abandonment and personal 
 abnegation, the degree to which the will is vacated, do 
 such persons become good mediums. The more im- 
 mersed in the theurgic studies and novelties they are, 
 the more they lose themselves, and their value ceases 
 to be individual, but only representative. In the last 
 
102 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 sense they inspire a liking in the minds of others, but 
 in their former capacity, none so generous as to really 
 love and pity them ; for, being perfect automata, sub- 
 ject to any and all sorts of influences, they become all 
 things by turns, and nothing long ° hence they are ac- 
 cused of inconsistency and everything else, by the very 
 people, to serve, and amuse, and instruct whom they 
 have vacated themselves, and consented tacitly to be 
 drained of the last drop of man and womanhood by 
 harpies and vampires from both sides of the grave. 
 
 The man before me had been guilty of this supreme 
 folly, and, like many a score of others, had failed to 
 realize that no man or woman can ever be loved alone 
 as the representative or official, but only as man or wo- 
 man ; nor that the more one merges him or herself in 
 an office, the more one sinks the individual in the re- 
 presentative, the less are their chances of being either 
 loved or respected. This is one of the reasons why 
 mediums are, as a class, unhappy and discontented, al- 
 ways craving love and sympathy for their own sakes, 
 and never getting either. As mediums and speakers, 
 they have friends and admirers by the hundred ; but 
 let their gift be lost, or themselves be demented or 
 driven into some silly act, and, lo ! the I friends' drop 
 off like rain from a roof. Of course, there are those 
 who will deny this, but it is true, nevertheless, and will 
 remain so, until these sensitives learn the lesson of self- 
 conservation, and exchange the passive for the active 
 mediumship— the blending for their automacy. 
 
 Let it be observed, that every human being is sur- 
 rounded with an atmosphere emanating from them- 
 selves, and that these enveloping auras are charged 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 103 
 
 by the man or woman with all the qualities, good or 
 bad, pertaining to the individual. Thus, a person's 
 sphere may be fall of snakes, (figuratively speaking), 
 asps, spiders, toads, and all manner of foul, vile, and 
 venom-meaning things ; while, at the same time, the 
 speech and external conduct of these same persons may 
 be of the blandest kind. Now no sensitive can long 
 associate with such without the imminent danger of 
 foul contagion ; which, to the extent that it affects them, 
 is insanity. Let one of them be in company, pure, 
 good, honest and true, and they will be the same ; let 
 them mingle with Atheists, Harmonialists, Infidels, Free 
 Lovers, Catholics, Protestants, Philosophers, Scientists, 
 Christians, no matter whom, and straightway they be- 
 come tinctured with corresponding sentiments and opin- 
 ions. Nor is this all j for people from the transmundane 
 worlds are attracted to persons of corresponding senti- 
 ments, as well as to those who, not so, are yet magnetic 
 sensitives, and most gladly avail themselves of the pres- 
 ence of such, to give forth their opinions on everything 
 in general and nothing in particular. This explains 
 why a certain class of mediums blow hot and cold as 
 the days go by ; for scarce an hour in the week are they 
 properly themselves, but nearly all the time are repre- 
 senting somebody else, either in or out of the body, to 
 whose magnetism they have ingloriously succumbed. 
 
 I was speaking of spheres which encompass individ- 
 uals. They, as all other things in the great Harmonead, 
 are rhythmical. Men and their spheres, like musical 
 notes, are of varying quantity and value. Some are 
 whole notes, double notes, halfs, eighths, sixteenths, 
 thirty-seconds, sixty-fourths, and so on. The last 
 
104 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 four sorts are plentiful ; the first three are rather scarce. 
 The last can never approach the value of the first, al- 
 beit they will reach to heights and values infinitely be- 
 yond where they may chance to be at present ; but 
 when they reach the point now occupied by notes one, 
 two, and three, these latter will have attained a vastly 
 higher place on the infinite scale. Nor is this all ; for 
 the law of physical gravitation has its correspondent 
 in the ^psychical realm. A stone let fall from a height 
 reaches the ground at a constantly accelerating rate of 
 speed, which speed is itself determined by the greater 
 or less amount of density and weight contained within 
 a given bulk. Thus a cubic inch of cork will be longer 
 on the journey than a corresponding cube of solid steel. 
 And so with the human soul. A, B, and C, being more 
 unfolded at the start than E, F, and G, by reason of 
 better antecedents and conditions, will, for all eternity, 
 widen the distance at first separating them. To re- 
 turn. The human notes, (and those of spheres), like 
 their correspondents of the musical staff, and of color, 
 are governed by a law of their own. A perfect human 
 society would be perfectly melodious aiid harmonic, for 
 the reason that every individual would fill his or her 
 proper sphere, and to which they are constitutionally 
 fitted and adapted. Illustration : The sphere of A is 
 sympathetical, and accordant with and to that of C and 
 E, though not with B and F (the law of thirds and 
 fifths), but these latter will accord with other notes, 
 with which also A can assimilate perfectly, and thus 
 the entire human scale can affinitize, and would, were it 
 not that many uncongenial notes are huddled and jum- 
 bled together in that utter distraction and confusion 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 105 
 
 called Society. The sole cause of all the dissatisfaction 
 and discord in the world is to be found in the fact, that 
 human notes, like musical ones, often occupy wrong 
 places on the leger lines of being ; and all that is need- 
 ed to set them right is not, as many world-savers imag- 
 ine, a complete destruction of the existing system, but 
 merely a little judicious transposition, to be effected by 
 the great transposer, Common Sense. 
 
 As I gazed through the lane of light upon the man 
 before the audience, I saw that he, like others, was a 
 good note, capable of filling an important place in the 
 Harmonead, but he was far from being in the right 
 spot, and for two reasons ; one of which was a too vio- 
 lent ambition to know mysteries beyond him, and to 
 change sinners into saints by eloquent speech ; hence 
 he, like myself a few moments before, became impatient, 
 the result of which was a self-doom to lower planes of 
 thought, act and observation. I found that he was un- 
 successful also from another cause. Believing himself 
 to be right; that his knowledge was real ; that his in- 
 tuitions were reliable ; and, knowing that many fields 
 lay open before his soul for exploration which were 
 sealed to others, his spirit grew restive from neglect, 
 and the lack of attention he thought his truths demanded ; 
 and, from the hight of power, he fell to abjectness, because 
 he could not, would not pander to the popular taste and 
 fancy. This last was a * sin' in the right direction truly ; 
 but one that took many a mouthful of bread frotn his 
 wife and little ones, who had been well fed, clothed and 
 cared for, if the spirit of pride had given way to policy, 
 imposture and craft ; three counterpoints which would 
 have brought out, set off and relieved certain beauties 
 
106 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 whose effect would have been ' Popularity' below, but 
 regrets, deep and bitter, in the Soul-world. Fool was 
 he, or was he not ? for refusing to ring the dull changes 
 suited to the edification and advancement of so-called 
 ■ Philosophers and Reformers/ people who hold Jesus 
 up to ridicule, and speak of God as " The chap supposed 
 to dwell beyond the stars I" No ! His true place was as 
 the center of a few prayerful souls, and the wielder of 
 the pen for God's sake, instead of being the mouth-piece 
 and oracle of and for those, who next day would not 
 only forget, but previously curse him for his pains. 
 
 It came to me that such is the fate of nearly all that 
 class of persons who cultivate spiritual acquaintances at 
 the cost of loss of will and complete self-sacrifice. 
 These people, at best, are only the ephemera of the age, 
 and well it is that such is the case. They are sneered 
 at, vilified, scandalized, and traduced — sapped of the 
 last drop of vitality, and then exultingly laughed at for 
 being such fools ; and when the days of hardship come, 
 but very few of those for whom the tremendous sacrifice 
 has been made, will go to their relief. In fact these 
 human-looking and humane-talking people can stand the 
 self-immolated victim's grief and sorrow very well in- 
 deed. The rising tide may engulph the lonely ones, 
 and not a hand of them all be stretched out to save. 
 True, such conduct is in strict accordance with the way 
 of the world, but it is a very bad way, and those who 
 follow it will pay for their folly in the coming ages. 
 
 Instead of using these unfortunates in this manner, 
 the true motto and resolve Of every one should be : 
 1 It may be that God or Destiny is working out some 
 deep and instructive problem through that man or 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 107 
 
 woman, for the world's best good. It is well to be on 
 the safe side, and therefore best to treat them tenderly 
 and kindly ; for it may happen that it shall be said to 
 us hereafter : 'Even as ye have treated the least of 
 these, my servants, ye have also treated me 1' It will 
 be pleasant to know, in the upper worlds, that you have 
 dried some tears and bound up some bleeding wounds 
 in the lower ones." 
 
 Thus I stood and viewed, at one glance, both cause 
 and result. The man's body was haggard, his spirit 
 very, very weary, and the enveloping sphere was liter- 
 ally torn into shreds. These spheres can only be kept 
 intact and entire by the exercise of an active will ; but 
 this man's will, like that of vast numbers of the medi- 
 umistic class — the automata of the dwellers in the Mid- 
 dle State — had slept, and that so soundly that nothing 
 but the echoes of his own misery could break it. Such 
 people let things take their own course, or else rely on 
 Spirits and earthly friends, instead of on themselves and 
 Deity. They pursue the ways of such a false life, heed- 
 less of the inevitable consequences of sorrow and dis- 
 aster that must ensue ; they forget that, to be even a 
 moderately talented man or woman, is infinitely prefer- 
 able to being the mere machine and mouth-piece of the 
 loftiest seraph in the great Yalhalla of the Skies — and 
 that, too, for reasons plainly discernible. 
 
 I saw, with grief and consternation, that not one 
 medium in every ten had a perfect envelope — else they 
 would not be so easily influenced by mortals, nor ob- 
 sessed and possessed by the dead people from the mid- 
 regions beyond the earth. 
 
 Through these openings the bodies and souls of me* 
 
108 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 diums may be and are attacked,* the remnant of will 
 destroyed or lulled, the moral sense stupified, and the 
 entire being subjugated by spectral harpies and human 
 ghouls, who wander on either bank of existence. 
 
 Many people, when reading the Scriptures, are in- 
 clined to explain away many things as- - poetry ' which 
 ought not to be so interpreted. Thus the first chapter 
 of the book of Job contains the following assertions, 
 which it would be well to read oftener and more care- 
 fully : " Now there was a day when the sons of God 
 came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan 
 came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, 
 Whence comest thou ? Then Satan answered the Lord 
 and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from 
 walking up and down in it." 
 
 Satan here undoubtedly means an evil chief of the 
 harpy bands infesting the borders of both worlds, 
 whose sole delight it is to circumvent God and man, 
 and bring all good things to an evil end. Whether 
 this state of things shall continue, depends not upon 
 God or the devils, but upon man, and his actions, influ- 
 ence and aspirations. Those ill-meaning ones who live 
 just beyond the threshold, often attain their ends by 
 subtly infusing a semi-sense of volitional power into 
 the minds of their intended victims ; so that at last 
 they come to believe themselves to be self-acting, when 
 
 * Good spirits do not break the sphere ! They approach the crown of the 
 head and infuse thoughts, else blend themselves with the subject, but 
 never by destroying either consciousness or will. Evil spirits attack 
 the lower brain, the amative organs, the lower passions, and force the 
 spheres of their victims. In a similar way the bad people destroy and 
 ruin good ones, — Pub. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 109 
 
 in fact they arc but the merest shuttlecocks, bandied 
 about between the battled oors of knavish devils on one 
 side, and devilish knaves upon the other ; and between 
 the two, the poor wretches are nearly heart-reft and 
 destroyed. 
 
 For every ill there is a remedy, God-sanctioned and 
 provided ; and the only one in such cases is the re- 
 integration and rejuvenation of the will, and the repair- 
 ing therewith of the disrupted sphere. The way that 
 end is accomplished, is through the instrumentality of 
 prayer and a persistent exercise of will. No person > 
 who is at all reasonable, will for one moment believe 
 that any of the profounder mysteries have yet been 
 revealed by the class of spiritual beings who rap, tip, 
 turn tables, and entrance mediums — the effect of all of 
 which should only be to merely call attention, in well- 
 regulated minds, to a new class of demonstrative evi- 
 dence of the soul's immortality. When the intercourse 
 between the two worlds shall have become normal, 
 healthful and regular, the earth's inhabitants may look 
 for light from beyond, of a nature and character far, 
 very far above aught that yet has come ; and that much 
 of the coming light will reach the earth in the same 
 mode as that which is herein given, must be apparent, 
 because the process is a normal and healthful one, pro- 
 ducing satisfaction and content instead of doubt and 
 distrust,, as has been the case heretofore. 
 
 Mankind, in either world, are as yet only on the bor- 
 ders — the very edges of being and of knowledge — and 
 men must and will come en rapport with the higher life 
 only by living correct lives below. 
 
 The first step toward this normal inspiration and en- 
 
110 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 lightenment consists in gaining a complete mastery of 
 the self, the purpose, and the will. The man or woman 
 who believes what any spiritual being may rap, tip, talk 
 out, or write about, merely because it is a Spirit, has 
 not yet left off childish things. In the coming time, 
 men will derive information directly from the Soul- 
 worlds, and not by the proxy of tables and spirits, as 
 now. 
 
 The course here recommended is the true and only 
 one capable of effecting the redemption and liberation 
 of the obsessed from the terrible thraldom to which, by 
 their own unwise action, they have been subjected. 
 The sufferings of the class alluded to ought to be prima 
 facie evidence to themselves that their methods of 
 dealing with the dead are not the proper ones, nor such 
 as should be adopted by any sane or rational being. 
 Their miseries, as a general thing, are severe enough to 
 excite the pity and commiseration of even a fiend ; yet 
 scarce ten in a hundred of these self-immolated victims 
 receive even the poor meed of thanks, much less food 
 and raiment, for their toil and pains. By self-abnega- 
 tion and resignation of the will, they have brought their 
 misery upon themselves, by opening their spheres for the 
 free entrance of whatever apocryphal philosopher or 
 saint, whose identity they can never prove, may choose 
 to accept their invitation ; and after displacing their own 
 common sense, substitute a very M-common kind in lieu 
 thereof. It is only by an assertion of self, of will — a 
 persistent upbuilding and reparation of the shattered 
 fabric of their personal spheres — that the evil can be 
 kept distant and the good be attracted and entertained. 
 The great mass of obsessing and demonstrating spirits 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. Ill 
 
 are from the Middle Kingdoms ; some of them are very 
 powerful, and are scripturally spoken of as"" Princes 
 and Powers of the Kingdoms of the air." The better 
 class are denizens of the pure Soul-worlds, which is as far 
 removed from the Mid-region as light is from shadow. 
 It is only by beating them off, that mediums can ever 
 hope to regain their self-control, establish a communion 
 with the divine City of pure souls, and successfully pass 
 through the body of their double death, into the calm, 
 sweet and holy atmosphere of the blissful regions which 
 exist above. 
 
 Millions there are, around whose hearts the tendrils 
 of fondest love do cling — whose happiness is centered 
 in some dear one's heart, and to whom life were a dreary 
 waste and barren, were they deprived of the sweet and 
 cheering presence of their lost ones, at least in memory. 
 The question of questions to these is, ' Shall we meet 
 again ? — shall the broken links be reunited in the lands 
 beyond the River ? When Death shall have sealed us 
 apart, comes there ever a time when that seal shall be 
 melted, and we loving ones clasp each other in a fond 
 embrace ?' Such are vital questions, to which different 
 answers must be given. 
 
 One of the secrets which I soon discovered in the 
 Soul-world was that consanguinity, although a very 
 strong bond of union between people, is by no means 
 the strongest. Those souls are nearest who occupy the 
 same position on the plane of development. Thus it 
 often happens that brothers and sisters are really less 
 related than the same persons are to the most distant 
 strangers. Children are often born of the same pa- 
 rents, whose appearance, conversation, deportment, con- 
 
112 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 stitution, habits, disposition and proclivities are as dif- 
 ferent as different can be. Such relations have nothing 
 in common, save that the monad constituting the soul of 
 each becomes incarnate in the same matrix ; that is all. 
 All monads vary ; some are more unfolded and unfold- 
 able than others, and while the intrinsic quality of each 
 corresponds, yet conditions may cause a higher expres- 
 sion of one than another, or that same one under differ- 
 ent circumstances. Thus a monad, be it never so ripe 
 in itself, is forced to surround itself with certain spirit- 
 ual and material envelopes, furnished by the father, on 
 its passage from his soul-cells to the gestative chamber 
 wherein it clothes itself with corporality. Now, what- 
 ever clings to the monad on its passage is totally ex- 
 ternal, and is charged with the man. If he is a sot or 
 libertine, bloodthirsty or ambitious, cheerful or de- 
 spondent, these states are impressed upon all his juices 
 and fluids, nervous, physical or spiritual ; and the en- 
 velopes of the commissioned monad, partaking of these 
 impressions, subsequently develops in the same direc- 
 tion, and, on the principles of attraction and impres- 
 sion, affect the fore-future of the contained monad or 
 germ-soul. That this is true, and that all the ill is im- 
 pressed externally, is proved by the fact that a couple 
 may have children during one decade, wherein the pa- 
 rents live upon a low external plane, which children 
 will be angular, and manifest any but lovely and 
 genial traits. The same persons, during the second 
 decade, may reform and become deeply moved with re- 
 ligious sentiment, such as expresses itself in prayer- 
 meetings, singing, and violent faith-practice. The chil- 
 dren born under this reign will be deeply excitable, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 113 
 
 fervent, ambitious, sensitive, boisterous at times, and, as 
 a general thing, superficial and changeable. During 
 the third decade, when common sense, practical ration- 
 ality, and just and noble views of life and its obligations 
 shall have taken the place of their previous state- 
 when cleanliness, light, air, and sunshine, daily-acted 
 prayers instead of loud-mouthed lip-worship, consti- 
 tute some of the elements of their religion — and when 
 their bodies have become purified by proper living, 
 eating, drinking and labor — their children will be born 
 with larger brain3, better bodies, nobler appearances ; 
 and their career through life will correspond. All this 
 is as true as the Eternal Gospel, and shows that, al- 
 though ill and evil are deeply rooted in the human soil, 
 yet they are by no means ineradicable. 
 
 All men know that they often feel more love and 
 friendship for strangers than they do for their own 
 blood brothers ; and friendship, when real, and not 
 based upon physical properties, or selfish motives, is a 
 thing that unquestionably survives the ordeal of the 
 grave. Persons thus bound together will, and do meet, 
 whether of the same lineage or not. But it often happens 
 that the best of earthly friends belong to and represent two 
 distinct orders of soul ; and it may be that they pertain 
 to orders so widely separated, that on earth, as in the 
 heavens, they must lose each other, and strike hands 
 and hearts over a gulf impassable by either. Do you 
 not see hundreds of proofs of this all around you on the 
 earth? A tender, gentle, delicate girl often clings, with 
 all the desperate energy of idolization, to some rough, 
 coarse, uncouth, unkempt and brutish fellow. The love 
 of that poor heart will redeem that man from many a 
 
114 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 horror in the Middle state, and ensure his speedier en- 
 trance into the lovely gardens of the Soul-world ! The 
 same principle is demonstrated even among the animals, 
 between opposite species of whoni the fondest attach- 
 ments often exist, as is seen in the Happy Families of 
 menageries ; the love of a lion for a tigress, a cat for 
 a rat, a horse for a hog, a serpent for a rabbit, and last 
 and greatest, the love of the dog for man — an affection 
 so deep and pure, that it puts that between human be- 
 ings to the blush of shame by comparison ; for the dog — 
 generous, noble dog ! — everywhere sacrifices every other 
 love, and devotes his entire being to the services of his 
 human friend. -* 
 
 Dogs and birds abound in both the Spirit and the 
 Soul-worlds. In both they are representatives of states 
 — loves, affections — and are found in the former realm 
 quite as often as in the latter, for the reason that the 
 coarsest, most wicked, and brutal man, he who most 
 violently hates his kind, yet must, and does, and will 
 love something, and the dog is almost universally that 
 object, else a bird or fowl ; for how often do you see 
 the drunkard followed by his faithful cur, and how fre- 
 quently the hardest man in a community lavishes the 
 most tender care upon a fowl — a game-cock, a parrot or 
 canary — sweet, beautiful, lovely canary! 
 
 The first reply to the question, l Shall we friends meet 
 again? 7 must be answered affirmatively. You will meet, 
 but whether ye remain together is another question, 
 and depends altogether on the rapidity with which the 
 one shall unfold and develope up to the point occupied 
 by the other. But, if the one friend belongs to one or- 
 der, and the other to a higher, then the electric chain 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 115 
 
 of unity will connect ye over the vastest ocean of infi- 
 nite space. Everything moves in elliptical orbits in the 
 material, spiritual and affectional realms alike. In the 
 Soul-world the foci of this ellipse are Memory and Hope. 
 The lines constituting it are also the lines of the great 
 Harmonead — the vast Sympathia ; every human being, 
 good as well as evil, is located on its plane, and along 
 Its wires forever is flashing love and well-wishing, and 
 every heart must have its pulses quickened by the warm 
 magnetic outflow. The sun's heat falls at an angle 
 which enables Nova Zembla's icebergs to laugh at his 
 efforts to melt them ; they have laughed these myriad 
 centuries ; will laugh, perhaps, for hundreds more ; yet 
 the sun is patient, still shines on, and with such a steady 
 radiance and blandness, that the frozen North begins to 
 quake with apprehension lest its reign be forever closed ; 
 for somehow it begins to feel that the question of its 
 regnancy is only one of time, and that heat is, after all, 
 more powerful than cold, love than hatred ; wherefore 
 it must one day yield — resolve its ices into liquid flow ; 
 cause its frozen heaps to ride upon the waves toward 
 the steaming seas ; relieve the poles ; let the earth 
 swing round, and all surface-earth smile with green 
 gladness. So with the worlds beyond. The rays of 
 goodness have long shone upon the evil ones of the 
 Middle State, and have bounded off again. Still around 
 go the flashes again and again ; for neither God nor true 
 human souls grow tired of loving, even though that love 
 be repelled seven, seventy, or seven myriads of times ! 
 Around goes the flash, and at every circuit some good is 
 done ! Navigators tell you that every year the number 
 and bulk of icebergs from the Northern oceans increase 
 
116 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 in number in the Southern seas. Every one of them is 
 a victory achieved by Persuasion over Force ; and even 
 so the population of the realms of the Soul-worlds is con- 
 stantly increased by the accession of people who, having 
 got tired of Hell, voted it unpleasant, and have deemed 
 it expedient to emigrate to Heaven, a land which, they 
 have learned from missionaries, abounds in milk and 
 honey, and all good things whatsoever. Every one of this 
 host of emigrants is an accession to the Good, and a loss 
 irreparable to the Bad ! Every one is a symbol of the 
 victory of Right over Wrong. Bye-and-bye there will 
 be a total depopulation of the Middle kingdoms, and 
 their places will be supplied with something better ; 
 and the sooner mankind cease to do evil and learn to 
 do well, the quicker will this much-desired hegira take 
 place. 
 
 Pure love changes males into men ; and when men be- 
 come what they are capable of in an upward direction, 
 the Middle State will cease to be replenished by such as 
 love ill. 
 
 Of course, in a work professedly dealing with and ex- 
 plaining the principia, like this, it is impossible to enter 
 fully into specialities ; that task is deferred till another 
 occasion. 
 
 No truer saying ever was uttered than that God helps 
 those who help themselves ; — a work which every one, 
 especially the mediumistic class, are especially called on 
 to perform. 
 
 These being two sides to everything, there is the 
 same to mediumship. The non-injurious kind is that 
 which I advocate, and it consists in the Blending pro- 
 cess already alluded to and explained. No possible 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 117 
 
 harm can result from it. On the contrary, the popular 
 sort, originating in the orient long centuries ago, and 
 now revived in these latter days, can but be injurious 
 to the last degree, because it consists in the usurpation 
 of the living by the UNKNOWN ! There is a better 
 way — a safer road, a thornless route — by means of 
 which to reach all the knowledge, and far more besides, 
 which is sought to be obtained by the other practice. 
 That surer means does not consist in an abandonment 
 of self, or stultification of the moral sense and will, nor 
 in Mesmerism, or the use of hashish — the pestilent 
 thing — nor in the employment of any unhealthful 
 means, but in an increase and strengthening of will, 
 and consciousness, and moral purpose ; not in a loss 
 of consciousness or responsibility, but in an intensifica- 
 tion and growth thereof. This better sort of spiritual- 
 ism is based upon the heart and soul ; not, like the other 
 sort, upon the nerves and body. This better sort pro- 
 tects the sphere from the attacks, amatory and cerebral, 
 to which the acolytes of the other kind are subjected. 
 If people went direct to God for enlightenment, instead 
 of to Spirits, who so frequently deceive, there would be 
 much less, in fact no evil, at all, resulting from the in- 
 tercourse over the bridges of Time and Eternity ; and, 
 by firmly relying on Him whose very existence thou- 
 sands of the inhabitants of the Middle State deny and 
 scout the bare idea of, people would not only be able to 
 preserve their odylic spheres intact, but would be pro- 
 tected from the diabolic influence and machinations of 
 the harpies who infest the Threshold, and frequently 
 deliver long and sounding platitudes from the lips of 
 shut-eyed members of the two sexes ; for they are not 
 
118 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 men and women yet, by a great deal. No one is, who 
 yields the will and resigns both soul and body to any 
 spectral experimenter in phreno-mesmerism who may 
 chance to flit along, in their excursions ' up and down 
 the world/ and who are continually ' going to and fro 
 therein. ' Reasonable people, whether of earth or higher 
 worlds, are beginning to weary of seeing and hetiring 
 sensible-looking men and women, with closed eyes, ' 
 pacing up and down a platform, and, with folly-driven 
 tongue, giving vent to ' philosophy' which neither God, 
 angels nor men can comprehend a word of ! 
 
 Before long, something of the realities of the soul and 
 its hidden history will be known, and then ambitious 
 mouthers will no longer split the ears of the people 
 with senseless harangues — olla-podridas compounded of* 
 moon-shine and nonsense — pseudo-philosophic hash, con- 
 cocted of fish, flesh and fowl — most fotd, gammon of 
 Bacon and Swedenborg essences — whereof the great 
 Seer is as innocent as Peter the Hermit was of slaying 
 Abel. The time approaches when a better state of 
 things shall exist, and more rational views of human 
 immortality be entertained by the masses. People have 
 made a great mistake in supposing that all the high- 
 flown stuff spoken, written or printed, as emanations 
 from the worlds beyond, were really true ; for much of 
 it originated in the brains of the deliverers thereof, 
 whilst more of it is but the result of tricky exploita- 
 tions of disembodied wags, or downright evil spirits. 
 Another and very popular error is, that the advent of 
 Spiritualism constitutes the opening dawn of a New 
 Dispensation ; that it is to supersede Christianity, or to 
 become the nucholi of a new order of sects, or even the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 119 
 
 nucleus or pivot of a single one. No, no ; Spiritualism 
 has not yet produced fruit in the souls of its. believers, 
 at all to be compared to those growing on the tree 
 planted on the stony heights of Calvary nearly two 
 thousand years ago ! It is, in itself, powerless to su- 
 persede a system so infinitely grand and sublime as that 
 founded by the twelve fishermen and their illustrious 
 Lord. Nor is such its mission. Supply and demand wait 
 ever upon each other. The sense of human immortality, 
 in community, the wide world over, had grown dull, 
 vagueand indistinct, lulled by the droning music and 
 somnifying humdrum of theology. Churchianity to a 
 great degree had usurped the office and functions of 
 Christianity, and the sense of an hereafter had so 
 nearly died out. that bad advocates of annihilation 
 preached and printed their infernal libels on the cor- 
 ners of the world's highway, and millions began to seri- 
 ously question wherein man was entitled to what ani- 
 mals were not ; while philosophic hucksters still, with 
 quirk and grimace, howled forth ''Books proving God a 
 myth, Christ a bastard, the Bible a lie, immortality a 
 lame delusion, and virtue mere nonsense I" And then 
 these peddlers bawled : " What pre-eminence hath a 
 man above a brute ? Wherein is he better than the 
 dogs which perish ? Who kaoweth the Spirit of a man 
 that it goeth upward, or the spirit of a beast that it is 
 blotted out and goeth outward like an extinguished 
 lamp, or downward like a lead to the bottom of — non- 
 entity ? Come, buy my books ! come, buy my books !'"' 
 Surely here was a demand for light upon the tre- 
 mendous question, ' Are we to be, or not to be, when 
 life'3 fitful fever is o'er V Here was a question requir- 
 
120 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 ing the lips of the infinite God to answer — and He did ! 
 for with the weakest instruments He confounded earth's 
 greatest and wisest men. Through a harlot's daughter 
 was met and vanquished all opposers of His truth, that 
 " Death was not the destiny of man ;" through a bar- 
 ber's clerk was revealed the Hierarchy of the vast 
 Heaven ; through a country-school teacher was declared 
 the Order and the Majesty of Being ; and through the 
 agency even of the wicked dead was demonstrated 
 man's continued life ! Spiritualism came, not as the su- 
 perseder of the Christ, but as the final demonstrator of 
 His truth. It came to transfuse new energy into man 
 and man's religion ; it comes to point the better way, 
 and to foreshadow the radiant glories now beneath the 
 horizon ; it comes saying, ' Prepare ye the way of the 
 Lord — make His paths straight by straightening thine 
 own ! ' It comes to infuse new and glowing hope in 
 every heart bowed down ; and from the hill-tops and 
 the valleys of the world alike, it points man's vision 
 upward, and bids him, in the midst of all his trouble 
 and sorrow, to - Remember, God is there ! up there ! 
 In the steep and radiant sky He paints the picture of 
 the yet to Be, and sending spiritual duplicates thereof 
 to His children in their deep sleep, bids the dreamer 
 behold them, treasure their memory, and to live — live 
 highly, purely nobly, manfully ! Live, live, and die no 
 more forever !' 
 
 Spiritualism — true Spiritualism — is one expression 
 and element of the soul of the age — an age whose body 
 is exceedingly, corrupt ; and it so quickens the intui- 
 tions of some of the watchers on the tower, that they 
 can already see the glimmer of the rising sun of glad- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 121 
 
 ness — a sun too, whose glorious beams will dissipate 
 all the fogs and mists now bending over human heads, 
 and shutting out the light of higher heavens than op- 
 tician's glass can ever reveal. Aye, truly do some be- 
 hold the hither end of the bow of promise, and these are 
 singing the song of approaching joy : 
 " The wiser time will surely come 
 
 When this fine overplus of night, 
 
 No longer sullen, slow or dumb, 
 
 Shall leap to music and to light. 
 
 In that new childhood" of the world, 
 
 Life of itself shall dance and play, 
 
 Fresh blood through Time's shrunk veins be hurled, 
 
 And Labor meet Delight half-way." 
 
 There can be no doubt but that the days of Evil by 
 God are numbered — those arising from obsession in- 
 cluded. 
 
 Gating still adown the lane of light, I saw that a 
 process had been commenced in the soul of the man 
 upon the stage, who was about to address the assem- 
 bled crowd — a process, too, which would ultimately set 
 him free — for already his sphere ^indicated the begin- 
 ning of the reparatory action ; and in precisely so far 
 as he helped himself, and shook off the influence of 
 others, just so far did one or two attendant and. ra- 
 diantly bright beings, of a high and pure order, assist 
 and protect him ; and, gazing upon the scroll of his des- 
 tiny, I saw that in five years from that day he would 
 complete his apprenticeship, and stand before the world 
 no longer an automaton, but a firm and solid-minded 
 man ; that, no longer lecturing upon useless metaphysi- 
 cal abstractions, he would, for three years, preach the 
 gospel of truth and true Christianity, with a power and 
 effect never to be attained by human machines, but only 
 6 
 
122 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 by good, well-developed, unfolded, and harmonic souls. 
 # * * * Slowly the opening through which this 
 great practical drama was seen, and its beautiful teach- 
 ings conveyed to me, closed up, and once more I stood 
 solitary in the midst of my aural sphere. Looking now 
 toward the point wherefrom I had turned a little while 
 before, my eyes observed that the apparent attack upon 
 its integrity was still going on ; but this was mechanical 
 only, for my mind was dwelling upon things of far more 
 interest and importance. Amongst other lessons gained 
 during the brief time that I had been dead to earth, 
 alive to a higher existence, was this : The terrestrial 
 world itself is really spiritual, could mankind but per- 
 ceive it. For instance, every tree, shrub, flower, plant 
 and animal is not only possessed of an ideal and thought- 
 representative value, but they are themselves essen- 
 tially spiritual ; for the bark, and leaves, and woody 
 fiber, the flower-petals, and all that physical eyes be- 
 hold, are not the things they seem, but are merely the 
 outer-coats and coverings, the cloaks and garments which 
 the things themselves put on ; the nature of the external 
 form being determined by a law integral to the very thing 
 itself, just as a picture is merely the physical embodi- 
 ment of an idea in the artist's mind. Unfavorable con- 
 ditions cramp some trees physically ; but burn the wood, 
 and the spirit of the tree is as perfect as the Infinite 
 One could lashion it. So also with human trees. In- 
 teriorly, many men and women are better than they 
 seem, and many are worse. Still, be it remembered, 
 that beauty and symmetry is natural to trees, even though 
 storms, and snow, and fierce winds dismember and ren- 
 der them hideous ; so also virtue and goodness is natu- 
 ral to the human soul, while vice and deformity are 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 123 
 
 artificial and conditional acquisitions. A man may lose 
 an eye, leg, arm, be disfigured by accident or disease 
 to an extent that will render him hideous to all em- 
 bodied beholders ; but let him die, or, while living, be 
 gazed at by spiritual beings, and his legs, arms, eyes — 
 the whole man stands revealed in all his true propor- 
 tions.* This discovery gave me joy, indeed ; for I had 
 known some whose disfigurements had pained me ex- 
 ceedingly. No maimed forms ascend from gory fields 
 of battle ; no crippled people inhabit the Soul-worlds. 
 Thank God for that ! True, in the regions midway, 
 there are many who, being insane, or immersed in phan- 
 tasies, insist on appearing as they were on earth, or 
 eyen in worse plight ; but this is not necessarily so, any 
 more than the grimaces of a clown or mountebank are 
 the natural expressions of his features. By this time I 
 had also learned that, with the exception stated pre- 
 yiously in reference to the essences of things, the two 
 worlds — earthly and spiritual — were in scarce any one 
 thing alike, as had been taught by those whose books 
 upon the subject I had lost so much valuable time in 
 reading — finely written and eloquent books, truly — 
 yet, after all, I found them now to be filled with : 
 
 " Rich windows that exclude the light 
 And passages that lead to — nothing." 
 
 My experience demonstrated that the two worlds are 
 not equal, continuous, or even resemblant. In fact, 
 they, being disparates, many failures must necessarily 
 be made in attempting, in the present state of the lan- 
 guages at least, to convey adequate verbal representa- 
 
 * A man's spiritual form may be cut, shot, or slashed through ten 
 thousand times, yet never a bullet or knife will injure him ; and this for 
 reasons already set forth in earlier pages of this book. 
 
124 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 tions of things above to those below — not with the col- 
 loquial and literary, nor even with the aid of modern 
 philosophical, scientific, metaphysical nor theological 
 technics now in use amongst thinkers. But the people 
 are longing for information respecting the soul's condi- 
 tion subsequent to its departure from the rudimental 
 scene ; they want to know what a soul is, where it goes, 
 how it gets there, and what are its environments thereaf- 
 ter ; consequently the essay to impart the required in- 
 formation must be made, even at the risk of adding to 
 the hundred failures already made. The word vast, for 
 instance, when I apply it in the description about to be 
 given, is not to be understood in the sense of enormous- 
 ness, but in a different one altogether. "Well then, in 
 a short time, the side of the sphere yielded to the ap- 
 plied force, and broke completely in two from top to bot- 
 tom, and the two sides instantly thereafter resolved them- 
 selves into a vast archway — vast in beauty, grandeur, 
 color, form and symbolic meaning. Toward the invit- 
 ing passage thus presented, as if impelled by an invisi- 
 ble, but powerful force, I slowly moved involuntarily. 
 Upon reaching it, the entire sphere seemed to draw 
 into me. I stepped over the threshold ; turned to look 
 at it — but, lo ! it had vanished. 
 
 This taught me a lesson. I saw that if one chose to 
 do so, he might, while on earth, and in the Middle State, 
 draw his sphere within him, and lie concealed in the 
 deeps of his own being, unreadable by any, save God 
 and the dwellers of the Soul-world. This is effected at 
 first by strong efforts of the will, — (both Napoleons are 
 illustrative instances), — which soon becoming a habit, 
 is effected by the soul mechanically. ' At first, upon find- 
 ing myself alone, and my sphere absorbed, I could not 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. . 125 
 
 comprehend the celestial magic by means of which it 
 was effected. No opportunity, however, was then af- 
 forded for investigations of the mystery, for a crowd of 
 new marvels rolled on me, in such quick succession, 
 that all my soul became at once deeply engaged. My 
 vision was clear, distinct and far-reaching, and thou- 
 sands of objects existed upon all sides to attract it. The 
 scene was the realization of the fairest, brightest Ar- 
 cadie of which wrapt poet ever dreamed. Hundreds upon 
 hundreds of the most beautiful of human creatures that 
 imagination ever pictured were there, in all the glory 
 of ^ fete in Heaven. Not a line of care or sorrow traced 
 its course upon a single cheek or brow of the vast mul- 
 titudes who thronged the glades and gardens of that 
 wondrous realm. It was the actuality of the fairest 
 ideal of earth's noblest poet, and something more ; for 
 there was a nameless something about it that earth can 
 never give. Magnificent and lofty trees, the movement 
 of whose very leaves was sweetest music ; streams of 
 living water, whose ripples flashed back ten thousand 
 magic hues of loveliness, to a stately but unmoving Sun 
 in the mid-heaven ; flowers of rare conformation, whose 
 colors and fragrance put earthly roses to the blush, un- 
 folded their glory-cups to God's bright sentinel, and 
 praised His name in incense-offerings ; bowers of shrubs, 
 resplendent meadows, stately groves, adown the sylvan 
 glades of which scores of merry children trooped, and 
 soul-wed lovers wandered, were a few of the things 
 upon which I gazed in a raptness whereof poets may 
 conceive, but which to colder souls will be mysteries 
 for long. Splendid palaces towered in the distance, 
 while near at hand, on the green banks of many a sing- 
 ing brook, numberless cottages gemmed the scene. 
 
126 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Even animals were there — some of familiar and well- 
 known forms, some of new and singular shape and pe- 
 culiar grace. Birds — rare-birds, of the most brilliant 
 plumage, played amidst the trees, and warbled songs of 
 strange melody and meaning. Such, and a thousand 
 other things beside, not one of which 1 had ever ima- 
 gined to exist, were constituents of the scene upon which 
 my eye now rested for the first time. Taken as a 
 whole, the entire vivorama was, in its nature and ef- 
 fect, at that time, incomprehensible, and at first some- 
 what oppressive ; but this latter feeling was very ephem- 
 eral, and gave place to a delight, at once pure, deep 
 and unalloyed. 
 
 When this scene first burst upon me, my attitude was 
 one of unmingled surprise, and I retained it all the while 
 my soul was drinking in the glory. Casting my eyes 
 groundward, the vision rested upon an opake, cloud-like 
 soil ; and while inwardly wondering whether the soil 
 was really what it seemed to be, or not, I heard my 
 name called in well-remembered tones. Turning has- 
 tily, I found the sounds came from a grove hard by, 
 whence three persons were seen approaching me. They 
 drew nearer, and I had no difficulty in recognizing one 
 of the comers to be Nellie. I knew her by her general 
 air, not from the appearance of her person ; for that was 
 entirely changed, and no longer appearing a mere child, 
 she looked to have reached the happy medium state 
 wherein the girl just begins to be the woman. She was 
 very pretty when she had assumed the status of a child, 
 but now she fairly blazed with a beauty most transcend- 
 ent. By her side moved a young and noble-looking 
 man, yet one around whom there floated an atmosphere 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 127 
 
 of Power, Will, and Intenseness, that inspired me at first 
 with something very akin to awe. 
 
 His garb was decidedly oriental, and became his fea 
 tares wonderfully, while at the same time it imparted a 
 freedom and grace, that added to, instead of detracting 
 from his dignity. Observing that I scrutinized his ap- 
 parel, he smiled, and glanced sidewise at my own. I 
 did the same, and it flashed upon me instantly that my- 
 self, instead of being habited after the fashion of the 
 Occident, I to others must present the appearance of a 
 sultana of the ancient East. Again my eye met his, 
 and in that meeting there was a mingling too, for I felt 
 and knew that he was mine, and I his own ; that we 
 two were henceforward to be as one — for a period at 
 least, if not forever. Poor me — I did not then know 
 how long ■ forever ' is. On earth, in love affairs, the 
 term means two months, more or less. It stands for a 
 longer period here, yet does not include the categories 
 of all the eternities — quite. I had forgotten that states 
 constitute the marks of duration in the Soul-worlds, and 
 not the tickings of a clock ; but so inveterate is the 
 force of habit and ideal associations, that at first it was 
 almost impossible to predicate sequences upon anything 
 else than lapse of time, or to dissociate the memories of 
 the past, and the menstruum of the events whereof they 
 are the shadowy records, from the realities of the then pre- 
 sent, and the action of the New Principia operative in the 
 Soul-world. Besides this, I had been theretofore deeply 
 tinctured with the folly-essence, so much of which has 
 been distilled by modern eolists, and would-be philoso- 
 phers, to addle the brains of sensible people, and to 
 dilute what little of common S3nse themselves — the 
 eolists — might chance to possess. I had with thousands 
 
128 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 of others believed that the doctrine of ' eternal affinities ' 
 was true ; and that every one would somewhere meet 
 with a congenial partner, in whose society all the com- 
 ing cycles of Time would be joyously passed. I have 
 outgrown that folly long since. The doctrine is a false 
 one for this brief reason. God alone is infinite. No 
 human being is infinite, save in capacity for acquire- 
 ment ; therefore the human soul must be fed by that 
 alone which is superior in its nature, at every stage of 
 its growth, progress or unfoldment ; for which reason 
 no one soul can forever supply the demands of another. 
 No two souls develope in equal or parallel lines, or at 
 the same rate, for which reason one must outgrow its 
 affinities for another ; besides which marriage in the 
 Soul-world is an entirely different institution, as to its 
 nature, condition, purpose, result and effect, to what it 
 is on earth. Lust and passion, selfish interests, and ten 
 thousand other things pertain to marriage on the earth, 
 which enter not at all into that of the loftier stages of 
 human existence. On earth, at best, love and affection 
 are plebeian. In the Soul-worlds they are imperial ! 
 In the former these things, go begging — in the latter, 
 never. On earth the person loving often embalms the 
 loved one in his or her own sphere, and then clings to 
 the worthless thing thus infiltrated, thus loving the self 
 and not another. Being therefore all on one side, there 
 is no mutuality. Such is not the case in the Sunny 
 Land! 
 
 The glowing son of the Orient drew near to me, and 
 I to him. Our spheres touched ; they blended — and in 
 an instant I knew more of what love and tenderness 
 really meant, than in all the long years I had lived 
 before. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 129 
 
 When first gazing on my reflected image in the floor- 
 mirror, I had suspected the nature and fervor of the 
 regal passion ; but now, as he touched me — as our 
 spheres blended, and strange thrills went bounding and 
 dancing through, every avenue of my being, I realized 
 that not one half of the reality had ever been imagined, 
 even in a remote degree. 
 
 Among people of the higher orders in human society, 
 the testimony of the ' hear-says ' is not regarded as being 
 of the most satisfactory or convincing kind. This book 
 and those which are to follow it, is, and will be, ad- 
 dressed only to those who think and feel for themselves; 
 are intended for those who can pierce through the mere 
 formalism of narrative and statement, to the solid prin- 
 ciples underlying them. And for this reason, therefore, 
 have I forborne to repeat many strange and wonderful 
 things told me by -him who now stood at my right side 
 notwithstanding that such repetitions would be deeply 
 interesting to those people who believe they have im- 
 mortal souls, but are not quite certain of that fact. It 
 is better to tell what I saw, felt, learned and experi- 
 enced, than to relate what others told me. 
 
 I may remark, en passant, that the sentence ' stood 
 by my side ' appeared to be well founded ; for although 
 I knew my comrades to be spirits, yet they were to me 
 quite as really and palpably human, as was the mother 
 at whose dear breast I drew in life many a long year 
 ago. 
 
 Mention has been made of the fact that knowledge 
 comes to a person in the higher life, just in proportion 
 to that person's fitness for its reception, the Use in 
 the great economy which it will subserve, and the Good 
 that jt will do. I was now in a condition to be taught, 
 
130 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 and therefore the doors of the soul's knowledge-cham- 
 bers were swung wide upon their hinges, so to speak, 
 and into them the following answers flowed naturally 
 and sweetly, in response to self-propounded questions 
 concerning all that had transpired since my emerge- 
 ment from the interior of my personal into the general 
 sphere of that portion of the immense Soul ! world where- 
 in I now found myself. It has already been stated, and 
 understood by the reader, that the sphere in which the 
 memoramic tableaux moved across its diameter, was the 
 personal out-surrounding of the individual. Precisely 
 the same, with the exception of being on a vastly gran- 
 der scale, was this new Soul-realm whereof I had be- 
 come an inhabitant. The fact is, I had been in it from 
 the dawn of the second hour of my disembodiment, only 
 that the opacity of my vision and the walls of my sphere 
 had prevented me from realizing it, just as a person with 
 nebulous eyes is unaware of the glories of a landscape 
 in the midst of which he stands, alongside of a friend 
 whose eyes are clear and good, and whose soul fairly 
 dances with rapture as he scans the sea of loveliness, 
 which is all shut out from the other. 
 
 All truths go'in couples. I had just discovered one, 
 and its mate very soon thereafter appeared. It was this : 
 What I had thought to be an attempt to break down 
 the walls of my circumvallated sphere, prove now not 
 to have been the work of another, but was the result of 
 the operation of a natural law of the soul — that of In- 
 tromission ; but which law does not act until after cer- 
 tain others have effected peculiar changes in the indi" 
 vidual — just as grace and resignation succeed the tumult 
 and agony of repentance and remorse. This law of in- 
 tromission finds its humble analogy in the grub and 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 131 
 
 subsequent gold-winged butterfly ; and also in the 
 chick, whose tiny bill perforates its hard surrounding 
 stone-and-mortar sphere — for it batters and pecks at 
 the sides of its prison-shell and cell when the process of 
 incubation is nearly finished, whereupon the bird en- 
 ters upon a new phase of existence ; and so also does 
 the human soul, when its period is completed. All Na- 
 ture is a system of births. 
 
 These things are stated and these principles laid 
 down, in order to undeceive those who have accepted as 
 true the many crude and materially defective hypotheses 
 purporting to come from 'Royal Circles' in the Soul- 
 world, through scores of modern eolists. My design is 
 to show the rightly dying what they must expect when 
 rightly dead. True, there is an increasing number of 
 Spiritualists and others who accept the revelations of 
 mediums on the principle interdum stultus bene loqui- 
 tur ; yet there are others who accept nine-tenths of 
 what purports to come from the worlds beyond, merely 
 because ofits claim. Truth will bear its own weight; 
 if not now, then in the course of coming time ; still it * 
 is ever and always best for every one to reason well on 
 every proposition or statement offered as coming from 
 the world of spirits — this book's contents, of course, in- 
 cluded. Amongst other notions, which along with my 
 co-believers on earth I had imbibed, was that which 
 declares the Spirit-land to be a fixed revolving zone — 
 • a sort of second edition of the earth and its adjuncts. 
 I had expected to find my last home on one of those 
 aerial belts, occupying space just as a town or city does. 
 What an error ! No two antipodal things can be more 
 unlike — for I found that all the untold magnificence 
 that now lay outspread before me was, just as my former 
 
132 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 sphere, but the general out-creation, -elimination or pro- 
 jection from the countless hosts of beatified and radi- 
 ant souls who dwell together and create their own 
 scenery and surrounding, just as a man creates chateaux 
 en espagne, only that in this latter he exists forever on 
 the outside — in the former, dwells within them. In 
 other words, the realm whereof I was an inhabitant 
 was not physical in any sense, nor were any of its sub- 
 jects or objects ; neither were they phantasmal, but 
 were spiritual, in the sublime sense of that much abused 
 term ; and although not permanant or fixed, as is a 
 town on earth, yet were none the less true and real. 
 
 In order to better comprehend what sort of a place 
 is that world wherein I met Nellie and mine, it will be 
 well if the reader remember that everything save 
 thought is perishable. For instance you have a thought 
 of a pink satin dress, made up in a peculiar style ; your 
 father has a thought of a new cottage, complete in all 
 its parts ; your brother invents a new-modelled car- 
 riage for your mother's use ; while your farmer invents 
 a new building, which will serve at once for carriage- 
 house and barn — and all four of you forthwith proceed 
 to realize your several ideals ; and in a month the new 
 barn stands upon the brookside, the new cottage peeps 
 forth from its bower of elms, the new carriage rolls 
 along, and in it, clad in your pink satin, you enjoy a 
 ride with the dear old mother. Three days thereafter 
 the cottage and barn catch fire, and the dress and car- 
 riage become ashes, and so do all your patterns and 
 models ; yet your thoughts are living, still fresh as 
 ' ever, and all that is necessary, is for all four of you to 
 once more embody them in material garb, and in an- 
 other month a stranger, having seen the first and not 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 133 
 
 knowing of the catastrophe, would swear that what now 
 he beheld was the same formerly so much admired — 
 and he would be right. The ideas are the same, albeit 
 the material raiment is not. John Doc is still John 
 Doc, whether in rags or riches j why not, then, John's 
 thought be the same ? 
 
 It will be well to remember that God is a Thinker — 
 that the vast material universe is the visible result of a 
 single effort of a single faculty-organ of the Deific brain, 
 and — tremendous thought ! — that faculty-organ will yet 
 make myriads of new movements, each one followed by 
 results still more stupendous and magnificent than the 
 vast array of starry suns which now light up the Halls 
 of Silence and of Space ! Again : the spiritual or rather 
 the thinking part of man is all there is of permanency 
 about the human being. His body is the sport of Death, 
 and his aid- de-camp Disease ! but his soul can never be 
 touched by the former, nor forever be harmed by the lat- 
 ter ! for soul is not to be permanently injured by any 
 power subservient to the infinite God. All there is of 
 man is his thought-power ; the Think is himself. By 
 this we know him ; and he who gives forth most of him- 
 self, if he be bad, does the most injury to the species and 
 the world. If he be good, such an one lives longest in 
 men's hearts, on historic page, and in the* traditions of 
 the race. 
 
 The Spiritual Universe ! What a mighty concep- 
 tion ! And yet, even that, grand as it is — for all the 
 material globes of space, chained together, are, after 
 all, but a mere little island floating, like a bottle, upon 
 the crest, of a single wavelet of the Infinite Sea ! — yet, 
 even that Spiritual Universe itself, with its amaz- 
 ing soul realms, made up of countless Soul-systems, 
 
134 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 each of which latter is composed of the blended spheres 
 of innumerable millions of separate dualities — even all 
 this — all these, I say, are but the result of a single effort 
 of another distinct faculty-organ of the gee at brain ; 
 yet even this grand result will be surpassed by every 
 one of the myriad efforts that same faculty-organ is des- 
 tined to put forth. And when it shall have moved more 
 times than there are stars in the sky, grains of sand 
 upon the sea-shores, leaves in the forests, or aspirations 
 in the human soul — greater than all — the end will not 
 be even foreshadowed, nor God's laboratory one whit 
 exhausted! Man himself, generically speaking, wher- 
 ever localized beneath the bending dome of the imperial 
 Heaven, is but the result of another single effort — of 
 another single organ of faculty. [For although man is 
 nidulated in and developed to personal distinctness 
 through matter, yet the very nature of the thinking 
 principle at once forbids the assumption that it sprung 
 from any combination of material" essences, howsoever 
 subtle they may be, and afc once explodes the spiritual- 
 istic doctrine that matter continues on into spirit. No ; 
 soul is discreted from matter by a gulf so wide that an 
 infinite vaccuum exists between the coarsest soul and 
 the most sublimated etherial vapor that ever resulted, 
 or ever will result, from molecular attrition or chemical 
 resolution. Individual monads — all men and women — 
 are scintillas or parts of this third great thought of the 
 Mighty Thinker, God ; they are corruscations from The 
 Over-Soul, while Matter is constituted of etherial ema- 
 nations from God's Infinite Body.""] Now every exist- 
 
 * I regret that the limits adjudged to tnis volume will not permit 
 an amplification of this part of our subject. It must abide the next 
 book. — Author. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 135 
 
 ence represents a thought of Deity ; so also man thinks 
 himself in his actions, and fills the world with his 
 thoughts, variously clothed ; some in iron, steel, wood, 
 paper, ivory, cloth, palaces, engines, ships, houses, parks, 
 gardens, and so on ; so, also, after his disembodiment, 
 will he surround himself with soul-created forms, whose 
 aspect, shape and texture depends altogether on the 
 cleanliness and purity of the loom wherein these mental 
 fabrics are woven. The sole difference between the 
 creations of the mortal and post-mortem artificer is, 
 that, instead of arraying them in gross or coarse ma- 
 terial, as on earth, he in the Soul-worlds, fashions the 
 garments of such stuff as thoughts themselves are made 
 of ; or, to give it still clearer, each thought possesses an 
 inherent vitality of its own, as also form, proportion, 
 and coherence. Thus, if an engineer thinks a locomo- 
 tive, all he has to do. in order to impress his thought 
 on others, is to give it a suit of iron, brass and steel to 
 wear, and, lo ! all .the world hails, and triumphantly ac- 
 knowledges the worth of the offspring of his deathless 
 soul. 
 
 Just as soon as the man has placed metallic parts 
 where only mental ones were previously, all the people 
 see it, feel it, know it to be an engine — that is to say, 
 an incarnate thought of a certain engineer. 
 
 Now, take notice all ye who think, that the combined 
 glories of the separate sections of the great Soul-world 
 are constituted of the general projections of the disem- 
 bodied order, or section of an order, that compose the 
 society around whom the sphere is seen. There are 
 myriads of these societies ; and no one belonging to so- 
 ciety A can enter the sphere of society B, notwithstand- 
 ing both may belong to the same general order. True, 
 
136 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 people can visit each other there as well as anywhere 
 else. But visitors may not be equals for all that. In 
 each society will be found those who love and affect 
 birds ; and just as sure as he or she has a bird in the 
 soul, just so sure will that bircl be born thereof, and be- 
 come, to all intents and purposes (except begetting its 
 kind) a veritable bird. Others love trees, rivers, castles, 
 brooks, hills, dales, vales, vineyards, gardens, groves, 
 cottages, palaces, mountains, animals, and so on, through 
 an interminable list, and interminable combinations of 
 what that list may contain. 
 
 Whatever be the ideal of a man or community, just 
 so will be the out-sphering thereof. Thus, Mohammed 
 (and the Orientals generally) loved woman, for the 
 sake of the sense-gratifications she was found capable 
 of imparting. Accordingly, when his soul was trans- 
 figured, it went directly to that section of the Soul- 
 world where were congregated those like unto him- 
 self ; and, when he came back, he fired his partizans 
 with the deepest and wildest enthusiasm ever known 
 on earth, by telling them that the women of Paradise 
 were fairer than the full moon, more lovely than the 
 dawn, and that every mother's son of the faithful should 
 be rewarded there, for all their earthly sorrows, by the 
 absolute possession of the moderate number of seventy 
 thousand houris. 
 
 Mohammed was not a liar nor an impostor ; he told what 
 he believed to be truth. His houris, like the birds and 
 beasts just spoken of, were out-creations of the sensual- 
 istic mind of the sphere into which he rode on the sad- 
 dle of Al Borak. Every man or woman's mind is an 
 empire, and the higher the position each occupies upon 
 the plane of the Harmonead, the more extensive is the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 137 
 
 domain over which they hold imperial sway. The same 
 laws which govern an individual, also rule a commu- 
 nity ; for a man is a man only to such extent as lie 
 prophecies and represents something higher and better 
 than the present status. The observance of law, by 
 persons and en masse, may be voluntary or habitual, or 
 not. This being understood, it is no marvel that the 
 things resident in the general mind should be objectified 
 therearound as in the case of a single person, nor that 
 in the former, as in the latter case, the things thought 
 of should be present, as well as those which are purely 
 symbolic and representative of the general state, the 
 general love, the general affections and aspirations of 
 the general mind. 
 
 As this and similar light flowed into my soul, that 
 soul involuntarily thanked the Giver for such amazing 
 exhibitions of his loving kindness and careful provi- 
 dence. I could now understand many things that were 
 before quite mysterious, and, amongst others, why Nel- 
 lie and Mine had at first shown themselves to me under 
 the guise of Youth and Age. It was to all the quicker win 
 my esteem and confidence, each of which are prime ele- 
 ments both of friendship and love. Previous to my 
 change, I had often tried to analyze this last-named sen- 
 timent or passion (as you will), as it exists amongst the 
 people of the world. The result of that analysis was, 
 1 Love is a mixed passion ; its orbit is elliptical — friend- 
 ship is at one of the foci, and lust at the other.' Now, 
 however, as my enraptured vision swept the plains of 
 immortality, I found that in the Soul-world it was some- 
 thing more," but that its essential earthly character re- 
 
 * In the succeeding volume, the reader will be carried into a new 
 
138 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 mained the same in the Middle States — or merely spiritu- 
 al kingdom. With penetrating glance I swept the fields 
 of earth, and the result was a complete conviction that 
 ninety-five one-hundredths of that which goes by love's 
 tender, gentle name, was a compound of three constitu- 
 ents — Parentalism, Amative desire, and the softer ele- 
 ment, Friendship. Hence sex, and what comes of it on 
 earth, is at best but the most coarse and external ex- 
 pression of a great soul-law, which can only fully de- 
 monstrate itself in those who are in no one respect abnor- 
 mal or diseased. Sex really means more than people 
 even remotely suspect. In the Soul-world it does not 
 serve the same purposes as on earth. There, sex is of 
 mind — on earth it is of the body mainly. I had sup- 
 posed it to be a fixed physical principle ; and so it is, 
 but it is also something more — for in the higher realms 
 of human being, where everything expresses itself as it 
 really is, and passes at its true value, it is found that 
 many who, as if by accident, had worn the physical 
 characteristics of one, were really, at soul, of the oppo- 
 site sex. For instance, Male means Energy, Wisdom, 
 Knowledge, Power, Creation, Use — Female is the syno- 
 nym of Music, Beauty, Love, Purity, Harmony, Good. 
 Now let two such meet in the Soul-world, and if they 
 are adapted to each other, their spheres — nay, their 
 very lives — blend together ; the result of which is mu- 
 tual improvement, purification, gratification, enjoyment, 
 and happiness — which state of bliss continues until new 
 unfoldings from within shall unfit them for the further 
 continuance of the union ; whereupon there is a mutual 
 
 Soul-region, of which Love is the key ; and then the world will see 
 what a vast deal of knowledge exists of which man has never heard. 
 
 Pub. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 139 
 
 separation — not because they love each other less, but 
 some other one the more ; and that other one, be it 
 male or female, is certain to be ready for the reception 
 of the new love. There is no jar, no ill-feeling, no dis- 
 cord about it. Some of these unions may last for what 
 to man may seem to be long ages, but what the final 
 result will be I have not space here to mention. 
 
 It often happens that human bodies are so diseased > 
 and by mal-practice so distorted from their true uses, 
 that pure and genuine love cannot express itself — 
 wherefore it soon becomes a sealed mystery, and Pas- 
 sion usurps Love's holy throne. He or she whose nerves 
 have become ruined, either by grief or excess, opium, 
 rum, tobacco, Mesmerism, Oppression, Neglect, and 
 things of that order, can never taste the ineffable joys 
 of love that attend on those who in such regard are 
 healthy. 
 
 Love has become either a boyish or girlish sentiment, 
 else a sort of spasmodic fever, which possession speedily 
 and forever chills. 
 
 In human society it has become a purchasable com- 
 modity. Women sell themselves for gew-gaws— for a 
 home — to escape parental tyranny and unjust espionage. 
 Men buy them, and think they are gaining love— not 
 realizing that joys or pleasures bought at any price are 
 not the realities for which the bargain was made, but 
 only counterfeits, which all too soon demonstrate their 
 own worthlessness. Buy a woman ! purchase a man ! 
 bargain for love ! How much is Sunshine worth "a 
 quart ? How does Goodness sell by the barrel ? It is 
 very easy for either man or woman to buy each other's 
 garments, but the souls beneath them must be won by 
 wooing. Physical possession never yet satisfied a soul, 
 
140 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 and never will. Soul naturally shrinks from scales, 
 weights, measures, and yard-tapes ; and it quite as in- 
 tensely despises all protestation. Why ? Because pure 
 love is undemonstrative. Demonstration proceeds from 
 volition, but love flows from a fountain altogether back 
 of will. People may be proud of their property, but the 
 human can have no true deep joys, save such as spring 
 from love, pure, strong, earnest, spontaneous and recip- 
 rocal. Whatever is not thus based is distasteful to the 
 soul in its higher moods. Joys of a tumultuous charac- 
 ter, such as spring from impulsiveness and passion, are 
 both short-lived and exhaustive ; and the pestilent brood 
 of anger, jealousy, hatred, disgust and trouble, ever and 
 always follow in their train — priests of Misery, prime 
 ministers of Evil ! On the other hand, pure manly, 
 womanly, human love, is recuperative, re-creative — is a 
 virtue-exhilarant, tonic of good, vice-dispeilant, and 
 health-promotive ; while contentment of heart, peace of 
 mind, security, trust, calmness and serenity, are its at- 
 tendant ministers. God, who made us, well knows that 
 there is more of good than evil in our hearts, by virtue 
 of our ancestry — Nature and Himself ; yet, for His own 
 grandly-purposed end, He permits us all to wade to 
 Heaven through the malarious swamps of hell ! — permits 
 us all to experiment and suffer, in order that we may 
 grow powerful and strong, and thus be fitted for the 
 tremendous destiny that awaits all who wear the human 
 form on the thither side of Time. People feel before 
 they think, and the act of one single impulsive moment 
 not seldom enshrouds an entire life in gloom. Plave 
 mercy, therefore — always ! Mere thinking without feel- 
 ing is quite as bad — nay, worse ; for it freezes up the 
 fountains of the soul ! Something will grow and bios- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 141 
 
 som even on an arid desert ; but the iceberg is never 
 gladdened by the presence and growth of one green 
 thing upon its crystal sides — not even moss, So with 
 soul ! It is bad to sin from impulse, but far worse to 
 do wrong from settled purpose. There are two classes 
 of persons who err. Those who do so from no evil in- 
 tent at heart, soon vastate their load, and become resi- 
 dents of the Soul-world ; those who sin from the head, 
 pass into the Middle State and become the infesting de- 
 mons of modern spiritual mediums. 
 
 The deepest wrongs of human existence are those 
 against the inward soul and sense of right. Illustra- 
 tion : Whatsoever earthly couple shall assume the 
 dreadful responsibility, not only of imbittering each 
 other's lives, but of incarnating a family of souls in dis- 
 cordant bodies, inevitably fashion a hell-sphere for 
 themselves in the Middle State, whence they shall not 
 go forth until the uttermost farthing is paid. The re- 
 cent partial uplifting of the veil separating earth from 
 regions beyond, has had the effect of removing the 
 sense of accountability from the minds of a great many 
 people, who, having conversed with the dead through 
 raps and tips, and hearing no valid accounts of a burn- 
 ing lake of literal fire and brimstone, straightway fall 
 to laughing at the devil, and snap their fingers at the 
 bare idea of hell. If they could but realize that Devil 
 means Badness, and Hell is the synonym of suffering 
 and self-inflicted torture, the laugh would not be quite 
 so loud and long, nor the finger-snapping near so fre- 
 quent, as at present. 
 
 Such persons reason very superficially — in this re. 
 spect following the lead of one of their self-elected 
 Prophets, a Eegent of Hell itself, and Earthly Prime 
 
142 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Minister to all the chief fiends of the Middle States — 
 and leap to tlie conclusion that all a man's sins are 
 atoned for while embodied — that he is not to be pun- 
 ished at all after death ; and hence they cut off all re- 
 straining cords, give a loose rein to boasting and lying, 
 and solace themselves and blind others with the absurd 
 sophism "that 'Whatever is, is right 7 — murder, robbery, 
 eoncubinage, divorcing two, three, or a dozen, for the 
 sake of obscene dalliance, ami semi-legal infamy — are 
 just the thing to rid the world of evil and make society 
 a bond of fraternal fellowship ! And such a system 
 dares to call itself ' Spiritual/ ' Harmonial, ' Reform- 
 atory ' ! It does. But, thank God ! the days of Pseudo- 
 Spiritualism, in whose train myriads of insanities, 
 wrongs, irreligious of all pestilent sorts, non-immortal- 
 ism, and a host of importations from the pit, follow as 
 harlots follow an army, scattering death, horror and de- 
 vastation on every hand ! Yes, thank Heaven ! the 
 false will soon be succeeded by a true and godly Spir- 
 itualism ; and instead of being possessed and obsessed 
 by the maleficent harpies from the mid-region, as is too 
 often the case now, people will be enlightened, in- 
 structed and saved from ruin, instead of being plunged 
 therein ; for the noble, the true, the religious and pure 
 spirits, from realms where God's presence sanctifies all 
 hearts, will come to aid man in his hour of greatest 
 need. The true spiritualization will bring peace on 
 earth and good will among men, instead of hatred be- 
 tween couples, and absurd envyings and jealousies 
 amongst mediums and believers ; it will effect the de- 
 struction of all spiritualistic and philosophic pretence, 
 the current sophistry of ' AU-rightism/ pretentious cant 
 and mock philanthropy, whereof so much now floats 
 
'- ■' DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 143 
 
 upon the surface of the singular sea called, falsely, 
 1 Spiritualism.' A man is no more a Spiritualist be- 
 cause he believes in physically demonstrated immor- 
 tality, than a child is a horse because born in a stable. 
 
 If people cannot be Spiritualists without submitting 
 to the pestilent control of wretches from the Middle 
 State, or without losing conscience, virtue, and moral 
 cleanliness, they had better let the whole subject alone, 
 and rest as contented as may be with the faiths and 
 creeds bequeathed by their ancestors. It will not do to 
 meddle with things so mysterious as Spiritualism, in its 
 nature, influence and results, unless perfectly fortified 
 in God, with a strong and holy purpose and a resolufe 
 and unbending will. 
 
 As I gazed out upon the surrounding glories of my 
 new world, I could not forbear or repress a desire, if 
 possible, to take one glance at those who yet dwelt in 
 infamy, although disembodied. This wish, though a 
 silent one, was perceived by him who stood near me. 
 Sadly, mournfully, he gazed down into my soul, made 
 no reply in words, but slowly placing me between him- 
 self and Nellie, who had been joined by one to whom 
 she was very dear indeed, directed our steps towards 
 the pleasant grove before alluded to. Passing swiftly 
 through this, we soon came to its outer verge, from 
 which, to my utter astonishment, we could look down 
 into a very gulf of horrors, as if from the edge of a 
 frightful precipice. I knew that I stood upon the bor- 
 ders of the Middle State. Believing that more is to 
 be gained by descriptions of the good and excellent than 
 by exciting the horror of deformity, I forbear, in this 
 introductory volume, to recount the terrors of the awful 
 Hell of the vicious and the self-damned soul. 
 
144 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Suffice it that I beheld scenes of lust, insanity, de- 
 bauchery, and all vileness, sufficiently dreadful to appal 
 the stoutest heart of any sane one who dwells in the 
 same awful phantasies, insanities and evils. Around 
 the heads of those who wandered up and down its noi- 
 some lanes and alleyways, were wreaths of twining, 
 writhing serpents, instead of crowns and coronets of 
 light. There were many who believed in literal hells 
 of fire, and such were surrounded by spheres of flame, 
 and therein must burn and suffer so long as the fearful 
 phantasy shall last, and till they be redeemed by self- 
 effort . Drunkards, libertines, gamblers — all evil things 
 and persons were there, along with atheists and other 
 intellectual sinners. Qn an eminence in the midst of 
 the deepest and most fearful hell, I saw the exact image 
 of one of earth's so-called great philosophers; and it 
 was given me to know that the man there represented 
 was doomed, when his life on earth shall be ended, to 
 expiate his terrible offences against God, nature, reli- 
 gion, and liis own conscience, and his fellow-men, by 
 sufferings too terrible to be adequately described. 
 
 " Men know the right, and well approve it too ; 
 They know the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue."^ 
 
 So with the philosopher. The man knew better than 
 he taught ; and when he dies, unless he shall repent, 
 his doom is a hell whose terrors are indeed fearful ; nor 
 will he be able to emerge thence, before the cries of his 
 scores of thousands of deluded victims, some of whom 
 have been driven to vice, crime, insanity and suicide by 
 his execrable teachings, shall be changed into appeals 
 to God in his behalf. 
 
 One of the punishments after death consists in atoning 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 145 
 
 for one's bad and baleful influence while on earth ; and 
 the more extensive this has been, the more fearful the 
 penalty self-inflicted therefor. The man who has taught 
 millions that God is a revengeful being ; that He ever 
 stands ready to hurl ruin and destruction on the world ; 
 to rain literal fire and brimstone on the earth, and thus 
 frighten people into woe and insanity, must abide the 
 consequences, and in the world beyond be compelled to 
 face the dreadful music himself may have evoked. And 
 so with others, let their influence be what it may. Eter- 
 nal justice rules the destiny of mankind; and sooner or 
 later its behests must and will be accomplished. 
 
 I turned in affright from the horrible scene, but not 
 without reaping a mental treasure from what I had 
 beheld, both of the Soul-world and the Middle-state. It 
 will be remembered that I had asked certain questions, 
 which were not responded to. These questions, and 
 others had been uppermost in my mind all along, and 
 now as our faces were once again turned toward the 
 bright scenes of the Soul-world, -I realized that neither 
 it nor its fearful antipodes were absolute fixtures or 
 fixities. The human soul is kaleidescopic. The scenes 
 it forever conjures up before it from out its mighty deeps, 
 and by which it is surrounded, are constantly and for- 
 ever changing, no matter whether its locality be on 
 earth, in the mid-region of the great world's atmosphere, 
 on the^confines of the two great states, embodied or 
 free ; or whether it be a dweller in the city of divine 
 souls, the law is the same and incessantly operative. 
 Change is written on all things ; and although in es- 
 sence soul can never alter, yet its moods and phases 
 constantly do, else Hell would be a permanency, Earth 
 stand still, and Heaven itself grow monotonous. In 
 
146 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 accordance with this principle, therefore, no scene in 
 the Soul-world is a permanency, but as soon as one has 
 produced all the joy it can to those from whom it is an 
 outgrowth or projection, it changes, but ever toward 
 the higher and more resplendent. 
 
 One question there was, of great weight and import- 
 ance,^ which I asked of my soul, and to which a response 
 after a time flowed in. It was this : Do spiritual beings 
 live eternally as distinct entities, or are they after a 
 time absorbed into Deity, as the higher Brahmins and 
 other orientalists maintain ? The reply to this was : 
 Reasoning from what any human being knows, no matter 
 how lofty he may be in intellect, the decision arrived at 
 must be conjectural at best ; for whether we are to be 
 forever, can only be known to Him who taketh no one 
 into his counsels. But reasoning from what we already 
 know concerning the nature of soul, mind, thought, and 
 capacity, the inference is plain that no absolute absorp- 
 tion will ever take place, but that the double-unit man 
 will forever preserve his distinct and marked person- 
 ality. 
 
 Are idiots immortal ? Answer — All that is born of 
 human parents, all beings who took their external forms 
 through the agency and channels of the male brain, 
 nerves, prostate and testes, and the female matrix, are 
 necessarily immortal. 
 
 Question— But animals have been impregnated by 
 male brutes of the human species, and human females 
 have borne offspring to brutes — if human medical testi- 
 mony, and the confessions of parties implicated are to 
 be credited ; but whether such cases have or have not 
 occurred, suppose it were to take place, would such off- 
 spring, whether begotten of, or by an animal, one of the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. . 147 
 
 parents being undoubtedly human, be immortal ? An- 
 swer — As monsters, no ! Idiots, both of whose parents 
 arc human, are essentially immortal. Idiotcy is but 
 another name for weakness ; and a monad having once 
 put forth its powers sufficient to build itself a full hu- 
 man body, no matter how imperfect, must necessarily put 
 forth more of its inherent energies, if not in one world 
 or sphere, then in another, in the nurseries of the Soul- 
 world ; and as it grows strong it gradually approaches 
 the point of self-ness — the Ego will be attained. It is 
 only a question of time and condition. Not so with 
 semi-brutes. 
 
 Question — But women have conceived from human 
 union, yet owing to some accident or fright, have brought 
 forth monsters. Are these immortal? Answer — No. 
 thing that is not human is immortal, in the sense of 
 self-poisedness. and self-presence. If these monsters 
 are cerebrally human, and their malformation be merely 
 limb-distortion, then that thing is destined to super- 
 mundane existence. 
 
 Question — But human bodies, though brainless ones, 
 have been born of women ? — Well, they are not immor- 
 tal. Violent chemical actions en utero has. destroyed 
 the conditions of successful monad -gestation, while per- 
 petuating the vegetative fcetal life. Of course the 
 thing is soulless. 
 
 Question — But the monad had begun to put forth its 
 energies. What then has become of it ; is it forever 
 blotted out of being ? Answer — There stands a human 
 female, but the body you see is not herself. The soul is 
 her, not the flesh it wears. The monsters treated of in 
 medical works are but the product of body — not of soul. 
 In order to an immortality, the germ or monad must 
 
148 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 pass from the spiritual atmosphere interflowing the 
 material or oxygenic one, into, the nostrlfe and brains 
 and soul of a male, thence through the parts and pro- 
 cesses already mentioned. Now the human form born 
 brainless is of the nature of an abortion ; and the ques- 
 tion arises, are abortions immortal ? The answer is : 
 A human germ, when first planted at the gestative 
 center, undergoes a variety of rapid and extraordinary 
 changes, assuming successively the typal forms of all 
 the lesser orders of animated nature, from the jelly-fish 
 to the perfectly human. In some women these pro- 
 cesses are pushed with extraordinary vigor and speed, 
 so that at the end of a very short period the foetus pos- 
 sesses all the requisites for permanency except physical 
 vigor. If then abortion takes place, the nursling is 
 provided for and grows to comparative perfection, in 
 the Soul-worlds of course. Such beings constitute a 
 distinct and separate order of souls, and are, by the 
 great soul law, condemned to come to earth, and by 
 association and affiliation with embodied persons, 
 through magnetic rapport, experience the pleasures and 
 pains of self- development. These spirits will be treat- 
 ed of hereafter, when I come to write concerning " The 
 Realm of the Fay." 
 
 But to our subject. If abortion take place before 
 the monad has, in the womb, put forth its powers to a 
 degree wherein the human characteristics rise above all 
 the lower forms, before its shape is perfectly formed, 
 then immortality does not follow. 
 
 But what becomes of the monad, the germ, the human 
 point, the divine spark, the pivot ? Answer — It re- 
 mains with and in the foetal body till dissolution and 
 decay shall set it free. Whereupon it floats again in 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 149 
 
 the spiritual atmosphere, until it is inhaled by a human 
 male again, whereupon it is, perhaps, and perhaps not, 
 sent forth upon its mission once again. 
 
 Question — We sometimes see double men, as the twins 
 of Siam ; and others still more remarkable, as one body 
 with two heads ; are there two souls also ? Answer — 
 Every true human brain contains a true and independ- 
 ent human soul. All men's brains contain vast numbers 
 of monads ; hundreds of these seek incarnation on every 
 occasion, but only one or two, very rarely three or more, 
 succeed at that time ! The rest, those that fail, float 
 about as before. 
 
 Question — At what period of life do men begin to at- 
 tract these monads ? Answer — At puberty, owing to pecu- 
 liar chemical changes in the physical constitution • and 
 females are capable of receiving and nursing them when 
 a corresponding change has taken place in them. 
 
 Question — Can impregment occur without physical 
 contact ? Ansiver — Yes ; by aid of artificial means, a 
 monad may be successfully introduced, and life ensue ; 
 but a very weak and imperfect life it must be, of ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 Having once entered upon this grand subject, I deter- 
 mined to make the series of questions nearly, if not 
 quite, exhaustive ; and, therefore, continued my inquiries, 
 receiving answers as before — for, be it again repeated, 
 no well-meaning human being can possibly ask a ques- 
 tion, the answer to which is not recorded somewhere 
 upon the secret tablets of the soul. In response to further 
 interrogatories, many grand truths came flowing forth 
 into the halls of consciousness ; and, amongst other things, 
 I learned that the purpose of sex on the earths was pure 
 cohabitation, in proper human and God-sanctioned mar- 
 
150 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 riage, with prolification, or soul-incarnation, as the re- 
 sult. But I also saw that this purpose was accom- 
 plished on earth, and that that use of sex was ended at 
 death ; that it absolutely does not exist in the Soul- 
 world. But in the Middle State, as a terrible phan- 
 tasy, lust and all other abominations abound ; and I 
 saw that one great cause of the moral looseness of thou- 
 sands of sensitive-nerved people on earth resulted from 
 the infernal possessions and obsessions of their persons 
 by delegations from those realms of darkness and — to 
 all but themselves — unmitigated horror. A sensitive 
 man or woman — no matter how virtuously inclined — 
 may, unless by prayer and constant watchfulness they 
 prevent it, and keep the will active and .the sphere en- 
 tire, be led into the most abominable practices and hab- 
 its. Many of these denizens of the mid-regions of space 
 are insane — in the higher sense all are so — and to them 
 lust and its gratifications, dram-drinking, and mal-prac- 
 tice of all sorts, is a reality, although to others they are 
 cruel phantasies. The belief of these unfortunates re- 
 sults from their former habits, voluntary self-illusion, 
 and their old memories and associations, and they are 
 devil-kings, gamblers, and keepers of seraglios — some- 
 thing on the same principle that a straw-crowned maniac 
 is to himself, and other of his ilk, a regal and potent 
 brow-gemmed monarch — a species of insanity generally 
 the result of personal excess and congenital disease ; 
 and one, also, that it is very difficult to cure, either in the 
 Spirit-world or anywhere else, for the reason that no 
 man can be healed, morally or physically, from or by 
 external applications ; the recreative, work must be 
 commenced and carried on from within, or not at all. 
 Are the destinies of all human beings parallel ? An- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 151 
 
 swer — No. On earth there arc seven distinct orders 
 of mankind, and so there is beyond it. It is diffi- 
 cult to name these last without resorting to Orien- 
 tal terms ; but, as these will serve to convey something 
 of the truth, I will attempt to classify them as follows : 
 1st, Spirits — Angels; 2nd, Seraphs; 3rd, Arsaphs; 
 4th, Eons ; 5th, Arsasaphs ; 6th, Arch-Eons ; 7th, The 
 Antarphim. 
 
 Is this all ? No. For the highest of the last five 
 orders ultimate in a Perfection whereof the human mind 
 cannot conceive. They become Deions, a supreme or- 
 der of creative intelligences and energies, whose power, 
 in combination, is only second to that of the Infinite 
 God Himself. These constitute the towering hierarchy 
 of the supernal Heaven. Their number is infinite. Nor 
 hath ever a man born on earth reached nearer their 
 glorious state than the second on the list, (Seraphs). 
 
 They are creative energies, you say ; if so, where is 
 the field of their activities ? Answer — The Amorphous 
 Universe, circumvolving the material jcreation ! 
 
 Is space then bounded ? Yes ! 
 
 By what ? I have just answered. 
 
 But what proof is there that this tremendous state- 
 ment is correct? Answer — The nebulous masses re- 
 vealed by the telescope ; masses constantly being ladled 
 out. so to speak, of the immense sea of nascent matter, 
 by the awful powers to whom that mighty task is as- 
 signed, and by those same powers changed or condensed 
 into fire-mist, fire, cometary bodies, suns, planets, life- 
 bearing earths ! 
 
 Then man is, in very deed, almost a — God ? — You 
 have said ! 
 
152 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 He creates worlds, and becomes the deity of his cre- 
 ation ? — Man is a godling ! 
 
 These were a few of the answers that came to me, as 
 we turned from the precipice, and moved once more 
 toward the sylvan grove ! 
 
 Measured by earthly clocks, I had been but two hours 
 in the Soul-world, but felt that I had endured for cen- 
 turies. 
 
 I soon discovered the reason of this. There is, as 
 said before, a great sympathetic chain extending from 
 soul to soul, over and through all past time, and up to 
 G-od likewise ; and on the plane of this great Sympathia, 
 at every point, some one stands ; that some one can scan 
 the past, the present, and the future, just in proportion 
 to his or her unfolding ; and the true blending of that 
 soul with some other, puts this last in possession of all 
 the other may have attained. I loved and was loved 
 by one who stood high thereon, and the intuitions of my 
 soul were quickened by his presence. 
 
 Purity is the price of power. * * *J * Years of 
 earth have passed since that auspicious opening of the 
 inner life. Much greater and higher knowledge has 
 since flowed into my soul, portions of which will, ere 
 long, be given to the world by the same pen which in- 
 dited every line this book contains — save the preface. 
 At present I am, with Mfoie, endeavoring to gain wis- 
 dom, as hand in hand, heart bound up in heart, and soul 
 blended with soul, we together are happily, joyously, 
 climbing up the sky. 
 
 c. t. 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 THE DISENTHRALMENT. 
 
 The Dcke. Good Palmer, is thy tale so wondrous strange ? 
 Palmer. Else had I not sought auditor so wise. 
 
 'Tis the best legend ever yet was heard, 
 
 Unless I mar it sadly in the telling. . 
 
 Something very unusual has taken place within a 
 little while ; what it is can scarcely be told, can only 
 dimly be understood, and still more vaguely conveyed 
 to others. This change, this mysterious something, 
 pertains not to body, but to soul, to the inner person ; 
 and while the flesh-form is apparently as ever, the 
 strange inhabitant thereof is conscious that it is not as 
 of yore ; — nay, has passed, as it were, within these few 
 latter days, into a new mood or phase of its wonderful 
 being. 
 
 But a little while ago, the world — this stony world — 
 was far dearer and more highly prized than it is to- 
 day ; and this for the reason that not now, as then, does 
 the airy dweller of the body-house look out upon it as 
 of yore ; — no longer glances over its mountains, vales 
 and salt seas from the windows near the ground. 
 
 It grew suddenly tired of the weight, and gloom, and 
 lead-heavy air — air so light-distorting, which circulates 
 5- 
 
154 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 just above the surface — just high enough to be breathed 
 by those who move along the by-lanes of Vanity Fair : 
 and the Soul took a key from its girdle, and therewith 
 unlocked the door which alone had prevented its ascen- 
 sion to the upper story of the Temple ; and it saw the 
 steps leading toward the Dome — and they were broad, in- 
 viting, well carpeted and lighted. Up the steps it went, 
 and presently reached a lofty apartment, within which 
 there fell a flood of glorious effulgence ; and this light 
 was clear, and pure, and pearly white ; and it streamed 
 into the apartment, — this upper chamber of the soul, — 
 through a glorious arched window, toward which it 
 drew near, and lo ! all the world looked different, as 
 did the stars that hung out upon the night, and the 
 beautiful pale moon, and God's rockets — the meteors 
 — so beautiful ! 
 
 There was an occupant of that chamber, one who had 
 been slumbering on a couch therein for many, many 
 years ; but the grating of the door upon its rusted 
 hinges and the rattle of the keys disturbed this sleeper, 
 and woke it up. . The being was a female — so very beau- 
 tiful that I loved her from the first, for she was very 
 beautiful, and came to me, threw her fair white arms 
 . about my neck, kissed my forehead tenderly, told me 
 that she had slept too long, pent up in that chamber all 
 alone. 
 
 And I loved her dearly, because she was so very 
 pure, so virginal, so fresh and innocent, and withal so 
 very beautiful ! I asked her name. " It is Devotion," 
 she replied. Then folding me to her bosom, her tender, 
 loving bosom, she gently drew me nearer to the win- 
 dow, pointed down toward the ground, and said : " The 
 air is thick, and dank, and dark, and dense, and very 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 155 
 
 murky. It is difficult to catch a glimpse of the bright 
 orb of the Heavens, or to feel his genial ray down there, 
 in that thick and heavy air ; but here, up here, the 
 atmosphere is purer, and, if you look well and steadily 
 through that pane, you will see the Spirit of God as He 
 moves across the mighty deep I" And I looked. A 
 great Glory was at that moment marching across the 
 whole bright sky — a mystic but a nameless glory — and 
 the night was very grand ; the emotions it awoke were 
 very soft and tender, so that tears welled up at the 
 sight from the heart of Devotion, and suffused her 
 beautiful features. Oh, magic tears ! One pearly drop 
 fell on me, and lo ! the icebergs of my soul were melted, 
 and — I wept ; — and the waters, as they flowed, swept 
 away many an obstacle that had thereunto impeded and 
 obstructed my vision, and soon I was able to see the 
 Spirit of God in everything that He had made. Seeing 
 which, the Beautiful Maiden gently chided me for so 
 long delaying the coming up the stairs and the entering 
 of that wondrous upper chamber whose windows look 
 out upon the world below and toward the God above. 
 And she told me how happy I might have been in the 
 years agone, had not the lower strata of the atmosphere 
 hurt my vision, and if I had unlocked the great door 
 sooner. I asked the lovely one to reveal the methods 
 by which, when I descended again, the recollection 
 of the present golden hour might never be effaced. 
 Sweetly she answered : " All that is necessary is to 
 look toward the Dawn, and 
 
 " When the dance of the Shadow at daylight is done, 
 And the cheeks of the Morning are red with the Sun ; 
 When at eve, in his glory, he sinks from the view, 
 And calls up his planets to blaze in the blue, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer, 
 
156 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 " When the beautiful bend of the Bow is above, 
 Like a collar of light on the bosom of Love, 
 When the moon in her brightness is floating on high, 
 Like a Banner of silver hung out in the Sky, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer. 
 
 " In the depths of the darkness unvaried in hue, 
 When shadows are veiling the breast of the blue, 
 When the voice of the Tempest at midnight is still, 
 And the Spirit of Solitude sobs on the hill, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer. 
 
 " In the dawn of the morning when Nature's awake, 
 And calls up her Chorus to chaunt in the brake, 
 7 Mid the voice of the echo unbound in the woods, 
 'Midst the warbling of streams, and the foaming of floods, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer. 
 
 " Where by the pure streamlet the pale lily bends, 
 Like Hope o'er the grave of affectionate friends, 
 When each star in the sky to the bright fancy seems 
 Like an island of light, in an ocean of dreams, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer. 
 
 " When the Tempest is treading the paths of the deep, 
 And the Thunder is up from his cloud-cradled sleep, 
 When the Hurricane sweeps o'er the earth in his wrath, 
 And leaveth the footprints of God in his path, 
 Then pour out thy spirit in prayer." 
 
 And I prayed. 
 
 Since that day* Devotion has been the solace of 
 many and many a weary hour ; for when grief and 
 pain and sorrow with their train afflict the soul, it 
 remembers the key-note and the key, and that glorious 
 upper chamber, with the great Glory that swept the 
 Heavens, even from the rising of the sun to the going 
 down thereof. 
 
 These were the circumstances which brought about 
 
 * Feb. 4th ? 1861, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 157 
 
 the change. It gives a singularly sweet and placid 
 conviction that my long, long night of pain-life is 
 nearly past, the agony-hours nearly at their close ; and 
 so, feeling now emboldened and nerved to the task, the 
 fulfilling of a design long entertained, I determined to 
 mould into the following form certain of my 
 
 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 In presenting what follows, wisdom dictates the nar- 
 rative style rather than any other, for the reason that it 
 is better calculated to entertain, interest, and instruct 
 the reader. 
 
 Not a few people, nor those of the least informed 
 class either, entertain many serious doubts as to the 
 nature, per durability, immortality, and eternality of the 
 human soul. Of the last, probably no one in the body 
 can ever be absolutely certain and assured ; but of the 
 former, all may be ; not, perhaps, by means of what 
 herein ensues concerning the points named, but by rea. 
 son of that greater knowledge whereof what follows is 
 the key. I present the subjoined as seriously as could 
 anything be. To my soul the truths here revealed, 
 transcribed from the experimental knowledge-tablets of 
 that very soul itself, are priceless, and worth as much 
 more than what people generally receive, and accept as 
 truth, from sources whose external manifestation is 
 through the 'Spiritualism 7 of the day r as these last are 
 more valuable than the mere guesses at the truth of im- 
 mortality, current previous to the advent of ' The Fox 
 and Fish Dynasty.' 
 
 Some six hundred and fifty years, more or less, before 
 the birth of Jesus of Nazareth — praises be to his name 
 forever ! — in the thirty-fifth Olympiad, or about two 
 thousand five hundred years ago, there lived in the East 
 
158 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 a famous philosopher, known to lis through history as 
 Thales, the Milesian ; and there is no doubt but that he 
 was one of the first, if not the very first man of great 
 mental rank and caliber, who publicly taught the doc- 
 trine of human immortality. 
 
 * Doubtless the same general train of reasoning re- 
 sorted to by Thales was nearly, if not quite, identical 
 with that which constitutes the basis of nearly all hu- 
 man hope to-day, if we except the modern ' Spiritual' 
 theory, which, while very comforting and satisfactory 
 to great numbers, is far from being so to millions more ; 
 for there are quite a number of questions which a doubting 
 man may ask of those who predicate an hereafter upon 
 the evidence furnished by the ' Spiritualism ' of the day, 
 which those who are asked are not able to clearly and 
 satisfactorily answer. To many, the reasoning of the 
 ' Spiritualists/ like that of the ancient, amounts to " It 
 is quite possible that human beings are immortal f and 
 that is all. Many a man and woman are dying daily 
 deaths from the fearful doubts that constantly arise as 
 to the truth of the Immortality of the Soul ; doubts, too, 
 that will still insist on coming up, in spite of the start- 
 ling phenomena of the ' manifestations' whose origin is 
 attributed to disembodied men and women ; they still 
 leave an aching void — a void which I am about to at- 
 tempt to fill ; and, I believe, successfully. 
 
 After the great Milesian, came other philosophers — 
 men of genius and intuition — who had dim and indis- 
 tinct-glimmerings of the great truth. Feeling, rather 
 than seeing, that there must be a life beyond the body, 
 they strove to impress their convictions upon others ; 
 yet the sum total still amounted to but a probability, at 
 best. As a result of the great search for light upon 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 159 
 
 this mighty subject, many glimmerings of the truth were 
 seen, but they were glimmerings only. By-and-by came 
 Plato upon the stage of the world's theater. He pro- 
 duced ' Phaado ' — a great work, considering the times 
 in which it first saw the light. It still remains so ; and 
 yet, so acute is the logical faculty of the people of the 
 present era, that even that work fails of convincing* 
 It is, view ed by the modern light, far, very far from be- 
 ing a satisfactory performance, considering the immense 
 importance and sublimity of the theme it professes to 
 treat ; yet, nevertheless, Plato did succeed in convinc- 
 ing many of the people of the by-gone ages, as well as 
 of the present, that he had indeed struck the golden 
 vein at the bottom of which the wondrous jewel lies, 
 and in establishing a crude conviction of that great 
 truth, which the present century will doubtless have the 
 supreme honor of perfectly demonstrating. In the final 
 conclusion, to which the world will shortly come, the 
 author of these pages firmly believes that the elements 
 herein given will enter as integers — as a portion and 
 part absolutely essential to the perfect structure. 
 
 Plato, not unlike many of our modern savans, seems 
 to have been sorely troubled — not so much in proving 
 the immortality of the soul, as in assigning it a proper 
 habitation after death. But the soul, like the body, 
 must have a home, he thought, and so he concluded to 
 locate that home within the boundaries of the ' New 
 Atlantis Isle/ situated, nobody, not even the great 
 thinker himself, knew where. The same difficulty pre- 
 sents itself to-day ; a thousand theories, or, more prop- 
 erly speaking, hypotheses, are now slfloat on the surface 
 of the general mind, concerning the locality of the 
 Divine City of Spirits — the home of departed souls. 
 
* 
 
 160 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 The great majority of these suppositions are too mate- 
 rial, crude, shallow and baseless, on their very faces, to 
 even challenge the attention of a thinker for a single 
 moment ; others are too far-fetched ; and not one of 
 them all is there, but presents itself in the face of a 
 dozen objections, from every one of ten thousand ob- 
 jectors. 
 
 That this assertion may not appear groundless, and 
 seem to be dictated by improper reasoning, let us merely 
 glance at the three theories held by the people who 
 claim to know most about the matter — -' Spiritualists*' 
 One of the lights of that class gravely informs us that 
 the spiritual world is located quite a distance on the 
 other side of ' The Milky Way ;' he and his disciples 
 affirm that spirits can and do come back to earth daily ; 
 that our desires draw them, and that they, being there 
 and feeling us draw them, instantly quit the land of 
 bliss, and flit toward us, accomplishing the distance in 
 { no time at all ;' which very indefinite period we may 
 safely assume to be three or four hours, more or less. 
 Now, light coming from the nearest fixed star at the 
 rate of two hundred thousand miles a minute, cannot 
 reach us in less than eighteen years — while light from 
 any star on the further side of the same great belt of 
 suns, requires a period of time too vast for us to com- 
 prehend, ere it can gladden our eyes. , 
 
 The Spirits' dwelling, according to this school, lies 
 beyond even those vastly distant orbs. Supposing, how- 
 ever, that it exists in the neighborhood of the nearest 
 star, any spirit who gets here after a journey of three 
 hours, must travel through space at not less than the 
 rate of twelve thousand three hundred and eighty-seven 
 millions of miles during every second of the awful 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD.° 161 
 
 journey ! — a speed that would annihilate any being less 
 than God himself. What an idea ! 
 
 The next theory, originated and advocated by the 
 same person* is, that the Spirits' home is on a sort of 
 aerial belt circumvolving our globe. Said belt is fifty 
 miles thick ; spirits live on its upper surface, which is 
 very like this earth, seeing that it has cities, houses, 
 streets, waters, oceans, rivers, trees, beasts, birds, and 
 reptiles. At the poles of the earth, according to this 
 same self-dubbed philosopher and his ' school/ there are 
 certain openings or large holes, through which the 
 spirits come and go just when it suits them so to do. 
 When they depart hence, they go 'head up/ of course ; 
 and when they come to us, they must approach ' head- 
 foremost,' or with their feet toward their home — a very 
 immodest way for some spirits to travel, if the dignity 
 of their sex is still retained — and a very undignified 
 mode of traveling for the philosophers and magnates 
 who so often talk to and at us, through the lips of mod- 
 ern eolists. 
 
 This,, like the former theory, is unsatisfactory — but 
 mainly on the ground of its gross materiality, for it 
 makes the second life but a new editioiTof the first one. 
 Common sense must reject this last. Of the two, the 
 first theory is incomparably the most magnificent and 
 grand. The fault is, that it is too much so ; for it re- 
 moves us at one leap from the condition of humanity, 
 and at once endows us with the attributes and power 
 of veritable gods. 
 
 The next hypothesis concerning the matter is, that 
 this world (our globe) is, and must, and will for all eter- 
 
 * A man who; knows most when fast asleep, and then knows tut 
 very little. 
 
162 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 nitj be, the abiding place and scene of activity of all 
 mankind, who ever have been or will be born on it, 
 through all the past and all the future ages. Accord- 
 ing to this school (if I may so dignify it), Spirits are 
 here dwelling amongst us, taking note of all things that 
 occur, — are eating, drinking, and doing all that we do. 
 
 Now, there is more common sense and reasonableness 
 in these latter notions than in all the rest ; for of the 
 many guesses at the truth, this comes nearest to the 
 mark. The faults which this theory has, are, however, 
 very bad ones ; for, first, it materializes the soul ; sec- 
 ond, it confines it here, nor even permits it to leave its 
 prison, to roam the starry fields ; and, third, it does in- 
 justice to God and His omnipotence, inasmuch as it 
 practically doubts His providence, limits His power, 
 and assumes that He was incompetent to provide spir- 
 itual homes for spiritual beings, and was compelled to 
 make this a double world. If a spirit occupies any 
 space at all, then, if this theory be true, not only is the 
 surface above ground one compact mass of Spirits, but 
 they form piles extending far higher than our loftiest 
 mountains ; for, since men have begun to die, they have 
 continued to pass away at the rate of scores of millions 
 every year for at least a hundred centuries. 
 
 I could not help disposing of this doctrine by means 
 of the argumentum ad absurdum, for it was, and ever 
 will be, totally unworthy of any more respectful treat- 
 ment ; and yet, as said before, it contains far more truth 
 than either of the others, as will very shortly be, if not 
 already herein seen. 
 
 People who lived in the days of Plato, Thales, and 
 the great men of the olden time, could not have the 
 same notions that we have ; could not understand many 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 1G3 
 
 of the wonders which we, in this age, fully comprehend. 
 They could not conceive of a balloon, railroad, locomo- 
 tive, steamship, photo-picture, or telegraph, for the very 
 plain and simple reason that the human brain had not, 
 as a general thing, then unfolded many of its wonder- 
 ful and mighty powers. Its immense capacities were 
 as yet nascent, latent, still. True, the seeds of all that 
 it has since proved were there, but in embryo only. In 
 other words, the soul had not the requisite brain-organs, 
 through which it could familiarize itself with all or any 
 of the marvelous things just enumerated. So now, in 
 these days, men and women worry themselves a great 
 deal concerning the locus in quo of their fleshless friends, 
 about the Deity or no-Deity question, and a hundred 
 others of the like, not the least important of which is 
 that concerning the nature, origin, and final destiny 
 of the soul itself. Presently, in the years of the race, 
 if not in those of the individuals on earth to-day, the 
 requisite brain-organs will be developed, the proper 
 function of which shall be the furnishing of the soul 
 with what it wants, in order to take notice of. and com- 
 prehend the principles underlying its own existence, 
 here and hereafter. Till then, the facts it sees must be 
 admitted, even while many of the bases of these very 
 facts remain involved in impenetrable mystery. It must 
 take many things for granted — its own immutability in- 
 cluded — in many instances, without any very perfect or 
 intimate hioivledge of the why ? — on the cogito, ergo sum 
 principle. 
 
 To return to the ancient philosopher : It may be re- 
 marked that, although he had a vague notion of a con- 
 scious life of the soul subsequent to the dissolution of 
 its corporeal investiture, yet, unquestionably, the sort 
 
164 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 of post mortem existence, which he conceived, and Im- 
 mortality — as the brightest intellects of the present age 
 understand it — are two very dissimilar states or modes 
 of being, and widely different in principle, value, nature, 
 
 and results. 
 
 I. 
 
 It may be well to present an abstract and brief chroni- 
 cle of the Platonic idea, in order to clearly indicate the 
 divergences. 
 
 To say nothing concerning Plato's doctrine of the 
 Metempsychosis, or the Transmigration of soul from body 
 to body — (which doctrine contains some truth, as doth 
 nearly every notion man entertains, and which took 
 its rise in the plains of Ohaldea, was there found and 
 adopted by the great Zerdusht, or Zoroaster, from whom 
 Plato borrowed it) — we will merely glance at certain 
 others of his recorded opinions. According to Plato, 
 the soul is double — that is to say, both material, and 
 spiritual ; all souls pre-existed ; originally, they were 
 inhabitants of Heaven, a place somewhere in the sky, 
 whence they emigrated to the earth ; their sole mis- 
 sion is to become '■ developed," which process is effected 
 in this wise : . Each soul must animate successively a 
 prodigious number of bodies, every stage of their ca- 
 reer occupying not less than a " period," which may be 
 set down as one hundred years, and must be repeated 
 an incalculable number of times ; they then return 
 whence they came — to Heaven ; are permitted by the 
 gods to remain there for an allotted term, after the ex- 
 piration of which, they are again compelled to go forth 
 and occupy successive bodies, as before. Consequently, 
 all human souls are, according to the Platonic theory, 
 destined to nearly an everlasting repetition of the same 
 general processes, are fated to an almost endless round 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 165 
 
 of defilements and purifications ; of returns to Heaven, 
 and dismissals to earth — not to speak of sundry sojourns 
 in very bad localities on the route. 
 
 Plato taught that these souls do not entirely forget 
 their experiences, joys, sorrows or ambitions, hopes, 
 cares and anxieties — in short, none of their varied ex- 
 periences during the several incarnations ; and that all, 
 or any portion of human knowledge, at any given point 
 of time, was not the real acquisition of the present, as 
 it seemed, but was composed merely of the memories, 
 or reminiscences of innumerable past careers — the pres- 
 sent recognition of facts and incidents which transpired 
 in some pre-existent stage of their tremendous career. 
 That these are truly magnificent notions, scarce any 
 one who can truly grasp them will deny, even though 
 to some persons they may appear to be the very quin- 
 tessence of poetry. Transmigration, in some form, has 
 certainly been, if not hereafter to be, the lot of man. I 
 do not believe the Platonic conception of this great 
 truth to be the correct one, nor that man will ever un- 
 dergo the doom again ; yet, that the soul has reached 
 its present through many an inferior state, is a self-evi- 
 dent fact to me. At all events, a formidable array of 
 reasons might be presented to account for the faith that 
 is within me. 
 
 This idea of Plato's completely antagonizes two of 
 the most celebrated dogmas that ever held the human 
 reason captive : the first of which is the famous " Monad 
 Theory" of Leibnitz, albeit he came very near the truth, 
 as has been seen ; and the other, the modern doctrine, 
 that souls, like bodies, are formed, made, created here ; 
 and that their origin is a common one — en liter o. 
 
 Before the conclusion of the task assigned me, I shall 
 
166 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 have occasion to revert again to both of these latter 
 doctrines. At present, let them pass. 
 
 Plato maintained that the soul was Divince particu- 
 lum aurce, an emanation from God Himself, a portion of 
 His immaculate Being, detached for a time only, and 
 that after innumerable transmigrations it is re-absorb- 
 ed into Himself again, and loses its own distinctive- 
 ness. Of course, this notion, if it be true, instead of 
 proving immortality, as Plato supposed, in fact dis- 
 proves it altogether ; that is, if immortality be conceded 
 to be a continuance of personal identity, and an indivi- 
 dual duration, subsequent to the demise of the physical 
 body. Immortality means a continued existence of the 
 personality, and not a mere survival of the varied ele- 
 ments whereof a human being is composed. The parti- 
 cular Deific emanations which constitute the souls of 
 A, B, C and D, respectively, as soon as they become 
 souls, are beings totally distinct from all else that 
 exists, and must forever remain so ; and " soul" can be 
 predicated of either, only as beings thus separate, and 
 therefore immortality can be the prerogative of man only 
 so long as God and man are not blended into one single 
 Personality. So long as each soul shall think, feel, suffer, 
 enjoy, cogitate and have a continuity of self-knowing, 
 just so long will it be possessed of an invincible convic- 
 tion of personal identity, under which circumstance 
 alone, and only, can its immortality be truly predicated 
 and affirmed. But. should any soul ever be re-absorbed 
 into Deity — again become a portion of Divinity — an 
 utter, total, and complete annihilation of the individual 
 must ensue ; and that destruction of the human self- 
 hood would be as effective, utter and complete, as if the 
 varied elements entering into it as constituents were 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 107 
 
 whirled absolutely out of the universe and into a blank 
 nothingness. 
 
 A tree sawed into planks is a tree no longer, although 
 the wood, so far as mere essence is concerned, remains 
 as before. The tree as a tree is ruined forever, albeit the 
 wood of it may endure for centuries. To sum up : All 
 the theories of the Platonists, the followers of Thales, 
 and the disciples of every one of the ancient philoso- 
 phers, as well as those of scores of the modern " Spirit- 
 ualists," especially of that peculiar school who prate 
 of immortality and annihilation in one and the same, 
 the very same breath, are unsatisfactory ; for, after all, 
 their boasted demonstrations of immortality amount, in 
 their final results and effects upon our minds, to but 
 very little more than pleasing hopes, and fond desires, 
 and longings after immortality ! In what follows I have 
 endeavored to solve the problem, in a somewhat novel 
 way, it must be admitted ; yet I am in earnest, and 
 have worked up the materials at my command in the 
 most effective manner that was possible. 
 
 The belief in ghosts, spirits, apparitions, wraiths and 
 doubles, is almost universal. Millions of people affect 
 to disbelieve in them ; and yet, deep down in the soul- 
 caverns of these identical millions may be found all that 
 exists in the minds of the most credulous. Disbelief in 
 such things is very near akin to the asserted creeds of 
 atheism. Thousands there be who in tvords deny the ex- 
 istence of a God ; and yet, let any one of these loud- 
 mouthed sceptics become racked with a real, genuine, old- 
 ashioned toothache, and ten tor one he cries out "0, 
 
168 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Lord I" fifty times a day, and as often in the night begs 
 God to have mercy upon his rack-tortured jaws. The 
 fact is, there never yet was, there never will be, such a 
 rara avis as a genuine atheist ; and in spite of all pro- 
 testations to the contrary, there are but few who do 
 not believe to some extent in the existence of spirits. 
 As with the rest of the world, so with myself; for, not- 
 withstanding the chronic and hereditary scepticism of my 
 nature, a scepticism as unbending as iron, as inflexible 
 as stone, I, from early childhood, entertained a certain 
 vague, indefinite belief in the existence of the spectral 
 gentry of another world ; yet with this belief there was 
 not the least realization in my mind that the objects of 
 my belief had the faintest or most distant relationship 
 to the human people in flesh and blood whom I daily 
 saw about me. There was nothing very singular in 
 that, however, for I merely resembled the millions of 
 to-day, who, while entertaining the most undoubted, 
 and, in some respects, salutary belief in ghosts, yet prac- 
 tically seem not to have the most distant idea that in so 
 doing they are fully accepting the mystic's faith, — that 
 these self-same ghosts are but the spirits of mortals 
 who dwell beyond the veil. 
 
 Even in my early days I strove, by inquiry and by 
 reading such books upon the subject as fell in my way, 
 to find out whether this earthly life was the only allot- 
 ment of man, — poor, care-ridden, unhappy man, — or not. 
 Child as I was, I felt the incompleteness of all subsolary 
 things, and longed to know if our experiences here 
 were or were not .all we had to hope for, or look for- 
 ward to. The belief in ghosts did not help me any ; 
 for that ghost and spirit were synonyms, never once 
 struck my mind. To. the innumerable questions pro- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 169 
 
 pounded by me to my elders, in the expectation of 
 eliciting satisfactory replies, the old stereotyped re- 
 sponse was given, — to wit : Mankind have souls, and 
 these souls live when the body is dead and returned 
 into the dust of the ground ; but what the soul was, 
 whence it came, what was its nature, form, shape and 
 size, and whither it went after the loss of its body, I 
 could gain not the slightest information ; for every 
 answer given me was as unsatisfactory as would be the 
 Platonic theory to a modern philosopher of the trans- 
 cendental order. 
 
 After a while these repeated failures produced their 
 legitimate fruit ; at first, a little doubt crept in, and 
 challenged all I had gathered. It grew apace, and 
 finally settled into a sort of atheism, from which I was 
 happily rescued by my sister Harriet, and the good old 
 Father Verella, a Spanish priest," by whom I was duly 
 baptized and received into the bosom of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, in my native city, New York. How 
 long the connection lasted cannot now be told ; but 
 something that occurred disgusted me, • and forthwith 
 the Pope had a new foe in my humble person. Years 
 of doubt again succeeded after this relapse, during 
 which the belief in ghosts grew stronger and still more 
 strong. My mind became subject to certain peculiar 
 states, — a sort of raptness, so to express it, — a condi- 
 tion precisely identical with that now claimed by 
 thousands in the land, to be spiritually induced. The 
 supposition that it is so, may be correct, and it may be 
 that this condition is the result of the development of 
 a new sense or faculty in the mind. It matters not 
 which, albeit I am inclined toward the latter hypothe- 
 sis. In these states to which I became at times subject, 
 8 
 
170 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 it seemed to me that I held converse with the ghosts, 
 but for a long time was totally unable to realize that 
 they were human spirits. Much of the history of my 
 psychical life has for years been before the world, and 
 therefore need not be repeated here ; consequently we 
 will pass over several years, to the date of the first 
 occurrence of the " Rochester Knockings." At the first 
 opportunity that offered itself, I went to Litchfield, 
 Michigan, at which place were two females in whose 
 presence the strange noises were said to occur. I heard 
 them, believed they were produced by a power outside, 
 and independent of the girls, yet could hardly realize 
 that human souls, disembodied, were the makers of the 
 sounds. 
 
 The result was an increased and intensified study, not 
 only of the soul itself, so far as was possible by aid of 
 an active intellect and quickened intuition, but also of 
 its modes of action, its phases, and its moods. And, 
 O, how my spirit loved to dwell upon its possibilities ! 
 Was there any person in the country reputed to have 
 a wealth of knowledge on matters pertaining to the 
 spirit, I spared neither trouble nor expense ; but went 
 forthwith to glean what I could from his or her precious 
 stores. Of the " rappers," " tippers," and " table-turn- 
 ers," I soon became wearied ; for, as a class, they 
 amounted to but little, and, with one or two exceptions, 
 proved unworthy of confidence. 
 
 At last, I went to visit a city in New England, where 
 was published a paper devoted to the illustration and 
 diffusion of spiritual light, the editor of which soon be- 
 came interested in me, (for people said that my ghost- 
 seeing faculty was real, and that I had given ineontesti- 
 ble proofs, not merely of the power indicated, but also 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 171 
 
 of what they were pleased to call clairvoyance). While 
 sojourning in this eastern city, I came across a series 
 of crayon sketches, copied from an old English work 
 by their possessor, illustrative of certain portions of the 
 processes of cosmical formation, according to the Igni- 
 genous Theory. One of these drawings represented a 
 vortical sun, discharging from itself countless hosts of 
 lesser suns— a world-rain from the eternal cornucopia. 
 The idea, even if it be but an idea, is a magnificent — aye, 
 a tremendous one, and it attracted my soul very strongly. 
 Many and many an hour have I sat gazing raptly upon 
 that bit of pasteboard, which to me told a story too 
 supremely vast and grand to ever find expression in 
 human types or language ; and often have I been lost in 
 the lanes of the azure, when striving to reach that al- 
 mighty center of flaming fire, whence starry systems 
 rain clown like snow-flakes in the wintry days. 
 
 This particular crayon set me to thinking in right 
 good earnest ; as a result of which, it appeared that my 
 psychical vision became intensified. Test after test was 
 given of this power, until the list rolled up from tens to 
 hundreds, and people said, " If these descriptions of 
 dead persons, whom you have never seen when living', 
 and whom you profess to behold now, are not proofs of 
 both the immortality of the soul and the ability to scale 
 the walls which divide this from the upper worlds, 
 what in Heaven's name will prove them ? It must be 
 true that you, and hundreds of others as well, do really 
 penetrate the heretofore unlifted veil. 77 The display 
 of these powers satisfied others, but to myself they still 
 remained the weary, weary A's and the barren, barren 
 B's ; for, notwithstanding all that I had seen, heard and 
 read on the subject of the soul's continuance, it was 
 
172 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 utterly impossible to actualize or realize my theoretic be- 
 lief ; and this, too, at the very time that scores of per- 
 sons, through the practical display of what I can but 
 regard as a mere phase of psycho-vision, were trium- 
 phing in a firm, solid, unshaken 'belief in an hereafter ; 
 singular, was it not ? 
 
 That the soul can, at times, act independent of the 
 body, I am firmly convinced. We see daily proofs of 
 it in the mesmerist's art, in mental telegraphy, and in 
 various other ways ; this has long been an accepted fact. 
 How often do we suddenly think of a person, who in- 
 stantly thereafter enters our presence, his spiritual part 
 having preceded the physical 1 How often do we visit 
 places during sleep which, in other days, we recognize 
 externally ! How frequently we dream of persons and 
 things unknown to us, and subsequently encounter these 
 very persons and things when wide awake ! Many per- 
 sons possess this power of independent soul-action, and 
 can exert it at will. The writer has often done so. 
 
 The experience about to be related occurred at a 
 period when the skeptical mood was on my soul ; and 
 it overtook me as I wandered distractedly on the bor- 
 ders of the region of Despair. But this experience, 
 strange, fearful, and even terrible, as portions of it were, 
 had a beneficial effect ; for it lifted my struggling soul 
 to hights of grandeur and glory, from whose sublime 
 summits my vision ' swept the plains of immortality, 
 and pierced the arcana of death itself!' 
 
 Had the wisdom-lessons taught in this immense ex- 
 perience been duly profited by, as they ought, I should 
 have escaped many and many a bitter hour. But, like 
 the majority of people, I refused to learn in any but 
 the severest of all schools. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 173 
 
 It so fell out upon a clay, that, having taken my usual 
 seat before a copy of the marvelous crayon previously 
 alluded to, and which I had rudely sketched, I became 
 impatient at my continual failures to comprehend the 
 subject it represented. Generally this had not been the 
 case. My mind, on that morning, was unusually clear 
 and vigorous ; and yet, despite all efforts, I found it ut- 
 terly impossible to comprehend the stupendous concep- 
 tion — the Birth of a Universe. At last, heart-faint and 
 sick at my failure, I abruptly rose from the chair, re- 
 sumed my walking apparel, left the room, and strolled 
 carelessly and mechanically up the street, and continued 
 listlessly onward, until I found myself beyond the out- 
 skirts of the city, and entering the open country. It 
 was a bright, sunshiny day ; and after wandering about 
 for nearly an hour, and beginning to feel a double op- 
 pression—fatigue of body, for it was very weak and 
 slender — and despondency of spirits — it struck me that 
 I would turn short to the right, and lie down for a 
 while beneath the grateful shade of a natural bower, 
 on the borders of a forest clump, hard by. This I did ; 
 and having reclined upon the rich, green turf, under the 
 leafy canopy afforded by the trees — rare and stately old 
 elms they were — abandoned myself at once to medita- 
 tion, speculation and repose. How long I thus lay it 
 is impossible to tell; it may have been one hour — it 
 may have been two or three : all that I remember of 
 the outer world of wakefulness is the framing of a series 
 of questions, and, amongst others wherewith I interro- 
 gated my deepest soul for responses, were these : " What 
 is the immortality of man ? What is God ? Where 
 does He dwell ? Is the life hereafter a continuance of 
 this, or is it entirely different ? Can. it be only a shift- 
 
174 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 ing of world-scenes, or is it a change as widely apart 
 from our earthly state as is this last from the existence 
 before birth ?" These, and many similar questions, my 
 soul propounded to itself, and sought, by an intense in- 
 troversion of its faculties, to reach the penetralia of its 
 being, where it instinctively felt convinced that all the 
 momentous answers were already registered. Long 
 and persistently was this endeavor continued, until, for 
 the first time in my life, I became aware of something 
 very, very strange, and supremely interesting going on 
 within me. This sensation was somewhat analagous to 
 the falling off into a deep sleep, only that it was the body 
 alone which lost its outward sensibility ; it was the 
 physical senses only that became slowly and gradually 
 benumbed and sealed, while the mighty senses beneath 
 them appeared to intensify themselves, draw together, 
 and coalesce in one grand All-sense ; and this contin- 
 ued going on until it reached a strange and awful de- 
 gree, and a sensation as of approaching death stole over, 
 and, for a little while, frightened and alarmed me. 
 
 With all the clearness of reasoning that I ever possess- 
 ed, I applied myself to the work of fathoming what all 
 this meant ; but the more strenuous the effort, the more 
 signal the failure. Finding that the phenomenon taking 
 place within, was governed by a law which pertained 
 to soul-life alone, and that my ignorance of that mystic 
 realm was too great and dense to permit a full compre- 
 hension of the enigma, nothing remained but to submit, 
 and learn, as time wore on ; and, accordingly, giving 
 over all attempts to shake off that which, by this time, 
 held my entire being within its mighty and resistless 
 grasp, I abided patiently the result. 
 
 Slowly as moves the ice-mounds of Switzerland came 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 175 
 
 the sense of coldness over my limbs ; inch by inch the 
 crafty hand of Mystery gained firmer hold. The feet, 
 the limbs, the vitals, grew cold and leaden, until at last 
 it seemed as if the ventricles of my heart and the blood 
 within them were freezing, slowly, surely freezing ; and 
 the terrible conviction forced itself upon me that I was 
 gradually, but positively — dying ! 
 
 Soon all sense of organization below the neck was 
 lost, and the words 'limb, body, chest/ had no meaning. 
 This was also true of the head generally, but not of a 
 something within that head. The bodily eyes and ears 
 were the last to yield themselves up to the influence 
 of the strange, weird spell. 
 
 With a last, perishing effort, I strove to look forth 
 upon, and listen to the sounds of the world, now perhaps 
 forever being left behind. What a doleful change in a 
 few brief hours ! Where all had been serenely, calmly 
 beautiful before, nothing was now visible but the huge, 
 gaunt skeletons of forms I had seen glowing with living 
 verdure but a little while ago ; the sunlight was changed 
 from silver sheen to a pale and sickly yellow, tinged 
 with ghastly green. The overhanging branches and 
 profuse foliage of the trees hard by had altered their 
 every aspect, and from stately monuments of God's 
 goodness, had become transformed into spectral obe- 
 lisks, upreared on the earth to tell the future ages that 
 He had passed that way in savage and vindictive wrath, 
 once upon a time. When I lay me down and gazed up 
 into the beautiful heaven, the fleecy vapors were play- 
 ing at cloud-gambols on the breast of the vault ; but 
 now they were turned into funereal palls, heavy, black, 
 and gloomy as are the coverlets of Night; and the 
 busy hum of myriad insects, and the gentle murmur of 
 
176 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the zephyr moving through the bushes, no longer pleased 
 the ear by their soft, low buzz, but smote upon my part- 
 ing soul like a last and dirgeful knell ; while the warb- 
 lings of the plumed songsters of the wood sounded to 
 my soul like the sepulchral chants of Eastern story. 
 Very soon the deep black pall, hung out upon the face 
 of heaven, began slowly and remorselessly to come down, 
 down, down, until my nostrils snuffed the vapors and 
 sensed the odors of the grave. The far-off horizon be- 
 gan cautiously to approach me, shutting out first one 
 window of the sky and then another, until at last but 
 a little space of light was left ; and still the cloud-walls 
 drew nearer, nearer still ; the darkness and the fetor 
 grew more fearfully dense by degrees ; I gasped for 
 breath ; the effort pained me, and was fruitless ; and the 
 horrible agony consequent thereupon, for one moment 
 re-illumed the brain ; and the dreadful possibility, nay, 
 the probability, that I *was to die there alone, with no 
 loved hand to^smoothe my brow, no lip to kiss me ' good- 
 bye/ no tearful eye to watch my parting hour, sent a 
 thrill along my brain almost too intense for endurance. 
 The conviction that I must perish, uncared for by kind 
 friends, out there in the wood, beneath the blue sky and 
 the green trees, seized upon my soul, and the cold beads 
 of perspiration that oozed from my brow and trickled 
 down to the ground, attested the degree of mental agony 
 I was undergoing. 'Good-bye, all ye beauties of the 
 sense- world ! farewell, all whom I have loved or been 
 loved by!' I mentally said; and then, by a strong 
 effort of will, nerved my soul for its expected flight. 
 Soon there came a thrill, a shudder, an involuntary 
 1 G-od, receive me ! ' and J felt that I was across the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 177 
 
 My sty River, and stood within the awful gates of — 
 Eternity ! 
 
 The majority of people imagine the Soul- world to be 
 spa dally (to coin a good word) outside of this sphere ; 
 and so it is, in one sense ; but in another, it is not. A 
 notion of what I mean may be had by comparing the 
 other and higher with certain phases of the true dream- 
 life. The scenes of action of either are totally removed 
 from both time and space, and yet the events of each 
 are actual experiences of the soul ; for even in dream- 
 life we suffer and enjoy quite as keenly as in the wake- 
 ful world of grosser sense. A woman who sleeps and 
 dreams, finds herself in two widely-different states within 
 the four-and-twenty hours. Now, the normal spiritual 
 state is very like a prolonged dream-life, to which our 
 world-sense or earthly condition is just the same as is 
 spiritual clairvoyance to an inhabitant of the physical 
 body ; that is to say, it is possible for spiritual beings 
 to become en rapport with this earthly w%rld, and the 
 interests, persons and things thereof; but this is not 
 their normal state or condition, any more than the 
 clairvoyance, induced mesmerically, is the normal state 
 of the subject possessing the faculty. 
 
 It requires long and persistent effort to induce a con- 
 dition in a hnman being, which will for a time intromit 
 him into the greater or lesser Soul-worlds ; and just 
 so it is no easy matter for the inhabitants of those higher 
 and highest worlds to become en rapport with this. 
 
 These remarks are introductory to what follows. 
 
 After the first great thrill of terror had passed over, 
 I became comparatively calm, and soon lost all con- 
 sciousness whatever. Not a sensation ever felt before 
 in all my -life was experienced now, but a new magazine 
 
178 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 of emotions seemed to have suddenly been opened in 
 the depths of my being, and began to usurp the places 
 of the old ones. 
 
 Some years subsequent to the events now detailed, I 
 read the wonderful experiences of several persons, who 
 had taken the oriental drug known as hasheesh, and a 
 few years thereafter was induced to make an experi- 
 ment upon myself with a little of the powerful stimu- 
 lant. I became fully conversant with its influence,- but 
 in no instance was there the least similarity between 
 the condition it brought on and the state in which I was 
 when reclining beneath the bower in the wood. I have 
 known the fullest, deepest, most intense effect of that 
 singular drug ;* but nothing I ever experienced from 
 it — nothing I ever read of as having been experienced 
 by others "who had foolishly taken it — at all resembled 
 the sensations to which I awoke under the trees near 
 that eastern city. Gradually the sense of lostness, which 
 for a time possessed me, passed away, and was succeeded 
 by a consciousness altogether distinct from that of 
 either the dream or the ordinary wakeful condition. 
 Not a sensation ever previously experienced — not even 
 in the very soul-vaults of my being — now swept the 
 nerve-harp within, to solace, actuate or annoy ; but. in- 
 stead, there came an indefinable pleasuke-sense — a 
 sort of hyper-sensual ecstasy, by no means organic, but 
 diffused over the entire being. I have every reason to 
 believe that this feeling is alivays experienced by the 
 newly dead. Persons who have been resuscitated after 
 drowning, suspension by the neck, and asphyxia, all 
 unite in testifying, that so far as their experience went, 
 
 * Nothing on earth could ever induce me to take a drachm of this 
 accursed drug again. . 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 179 
 
 death was a pleasant feeling, and its joys supreme, even 
 in what to spectators may have seemed the terrible 
 passing hour. This sensation, like all others, cannot 
 be verbally described ; it was as if the keenest pleasures 
 known to us in the body were infinitely prolonged and 
 strung out over the entire nerve-sea, instead of a single 
 organ or two. 
 
 I cannot perhaps convey my meaning to some people 
 better than by saying that the sensation was akin to 
 the feeling of an instantaneous relief from the most ex- 
 cruciating pain — the toothache, for instance. I was 
 not, at first, conscious of possessing a body ; not even 
 the ultra-sublimated material one of which we hear so 
 much said in these latter days ; but a higher, nobler 
 consciousness was mine — namely, a supremely radiant 
 soul-majesty. 
 
 My ears did not hear ; but Sound — Nature's music — 
 the delicious, but still melodies of earth and space, and 
 all things else, seemed to pour in upon my ravished 
 soul, in rich full streams, through a thousand avenues. 
 The eye did not see, but I was all sight. There was no 
 organ of locomotion, as on the earth, nor were such 
 needed ; but my spirit seemed to be all motion, and it 
 knew instinctively, that by the power of the thought- 
 wish, it could reach any point within the boundaries of 
 earth where it longed and willed to be ; but not a sin- 
 gle yard beyond it. Let it be here distinctly under- 
 stood, that the condition in which I now found myself, 
 was precisely the same as that of the higher class of 
 spiritual beings, when they are in the peculiar state 
 wherein they can for a limited period, and to a certain 
 extent, become connected with this world, wherein they 
 have once lived, and from which they have^ passed over 
 
180 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the bridge of Death to the brighter realms beyond ; in 
 other words, I was connected with' two worlds, and the 
 states incident to the residents of both, at one and the 
 same time. 
 
 Distinctively and most clearly does memory retain 
 all the marvelous changes from the pre-state of that 
 auspicious afternoon. 
 
 What is especially remarkable, is, that the condition 
 was so peculiar, that the freed soul could, and did, after 
 a time, take close notice of material things, even while 
 that same soul-gaze penetrated the surface, and beheld 
 their essences. The vision was not bounded by the 
 obstacles which impede ordinary sight. Every object 
 was, more or less, transparent ; and one very singular 
 peculiarity of all bodies, of whatever kind, was this : 
 the trees, stones, hills, mountains, everything, appeared 
 as if composed of absolute fire. A certain object I 
 knew, from its shape, to be a large tree, with brown 
 bark, white wood, and green leaves ; yet none of these 
 colors were there now, but instead, the trunk appeared 
 to be a huge cylinder of gray fire, not in one mass, but 
 in interwoven streaks, all actively flaring upward, and 
 bound together by a circle of brighter fire (the inner 
 bark), which in turn was encompassed by a dull brown 
 band of faintly flickering flame. Each leaf was also 
 nothing but a vari-formed disk of purple and orange 
 fire. Thus it was with all that I beheld. 
 
 Eire, in some form, constitutes the life of all beings, 
 of whatsoever nature ; of this I am firmly convinced. 
 These strange sights caused me to reason in this wise : 
 " If dull matter is so filled with the divine luminescence, 
 what must be the appearance of a human being ? Surely 
 a man must present an astonishing sight! Of a cer- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 181 
 
 tainty," said I, " tliis must be Eternity, and I am now a 
 free soul ! 0, that I might behold another soul than 
 mine, and learn somewhat of its mysteries, and reach 
 the understanding of a few of the deeper things of its 
 nature." Scarcely had this desire taken form, than a 
 sense of involuntary motion took possession, and I felt 
 myself slowly and positively rising in space, at a>* angle 
 of eighty degrees with the horizon. Amazement! The 
 sensation was not unpleasant ; but as the ground re- 
 ceded apparently, the novelty of the situation produced 
 emotions that most certainly were. It is impossible to 
 describe one's feelings ; nor shall such an attempt be 
 here essayed. Suffice it therefore, that I rose to such a 
 height, that, judging by the faint gleams of the earth- 
 fires in the hills, and the indistinct shimmering of the 
 city itself, I conjectured, that when at the highest point, 
 not less than five miles, in a straight line, separated me 
 from the peak of the tallest mountain within sight. 
 Having reached this altitude, I began to descend the 
 opposite arm of the triangle, whose base was on the 
 earth's surface, and reached the ground in the neigh- 
 borhood of a city in central New York, distant from 
 my point of departure not less than two hundred miles. 
 Of course, it was impossible to even conjecture either 
 the means by which this journey was accomplished, or 
 the motives prompting the wierd power which effected 
 it ; but whatever be the reasons of my coming, one thing 
 is certain — here I am, and nothing remains but to abide 
 the issue, whatever it may be, thought I. 
 
 Even during the mental perturbation, which was the 
 natural result of the extraordinary circumstances in 
 which I was placed, the question-asking faculty and pro- 
 pensity of my mind — one of its leading traits — found 
 
182 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 sufficient time for exercise ; and many were the " whys," 
 " hows/ 7 and " what fors" which causality propounded, 
 but to which at first there came no response. It is 
 almost impossible to convey an idea of the strange pro- 
 cesses by which knowledge flowed in upon my soul. It 
 seemed to be absorbed. Knowledge, all knowledge 
 may be said to float in the spiritual atmosphere, under- 
 lying the coarser air men breathe ; and in certain 
 states, reachable by every human being, this knowledge 
 is drawn in involuntarily, just as salt absorbs moisture. 
 
 Near the spot over which I hovered, [for the spirit 
 cannot touch gross substance directly, but moves along 
 on the surface of an aerial stratification near the earth : 
 these strata are about sixty feet apart, and there are 
 transverse, vertical and other lanes leading in all direc- 
 tions through them,] stood a house embowered in trees, 
 and in this house was a " study," and in that study I 
 saw the object, above all others, which had been the 
 theme of my longing, prior to the commencement of my 
 aerial journey, namely, a man ; and that man was ap- 
 parently educated and refined — for near where he sat 
 stood a library of books, one of which he was at that 
 moment engaged in reading. The title of the book 
 was " Neander's Life of Christ." 
 
 Calmly read the man ; still more calmly I observed 
 him and his surroundings ; and the result of these ob- 
 servations was a firm conviction that the theories pro- 
 pounded by Newton, and generally admitted to be true, 
 concerning light, color, and sound, are not correct, or 
 even approximately so. 
 
 No amount of disbelief on the part of others ; no 
 amount of cavilling, nor reasoning can ever convince me 
 that the experience now being recorded is anything less 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 183 
 
 than absolute fact — the direct contact of my inner being 
 with the truths here related : hence I hesitate not for 
 an instant in challenging the guesses of even a Newton, 
 and offsetting against them the results of my own per- 
 sonal inspection of the phenomena whereof his Principia 
 treats. In the first place, there are many different kinds 
 of light : in the present instance, there were two sorts 
 in operation ; first, the rays of solar light fell upon the 
 printed page, and with it a still finer, and more subtle, 
 white and velvet light, from the eyes of the man him- 
 self ; which proved to me, that men gain a knowledge 
 of external things by means of an absolute and positive 
 irradiation from the soul itself, whose seat is in the cen- 
 tral brain ; and this, through the medium of the optic 
 nerves, retina and other delicate organs. In proportion 
 to the central power of the soul, it suffuses and bathes 
 everything in, and with, a subtle aura ; and this aura is 
 that mysterious telegraphic apparatus, by means of 
 which it issues its behests, and receives information. 
 
 While gazing upon this beautiful sight I distinctly 
 heard a hell ring ; and yet that bell was not sounded 
 within two hundred miles of the spot where at that 
 very moment the body of the writer lay wrapped in a 
 death-like pall of insensibility, as was proved by the 
 actions of the man within the house, near which I stood, 
 investigating the sublimest of all phenomena — namely, 
 the Human Soul, its phases, modes and nature. 
 
 The student instantly laid down the book and rose to 
 his feet ; not, however, to respond to the ringing, but 
 to bid his three or four little mischief-loving prattlers 
 be quiet, make less noise, put aside the hand-bell, and 
 not disturb him by its tinkling. 
 
 All this was deeply interesting ; but what most at- 
 
184 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 tracted my attention was the discovery of the fact that 
 sound was not, as thousands of scientific men have as- 
 serted, a mere vibration of aerial particles, but, on the 
 contrary, was, and is, a fine, very fine and attenuated 
 substance, which leaves any and all objects that are 
 jarred or struck — and leaves in greater or less volume, 
 in pointed pencil-rays, single rays, broad sheets of 
 various shapes, and in undulatory waves, according to 
 the nature of the object whence it flows, the force of the 
 blow struck, and the character of the object used in 
 striking. It would be quite worth the while for our 
 savants to make experiments . to verify, or, if possible, 
 refute these statements. 
 
 The man resumed his seat ; and I saw that from his 
 internal brain there proceeded to the outer ears innu- 
 merable fibres of pale green light, and that the pencil- 
 rays and sheets of sound, which were at that moment 
 floating through all contiguous space, came in direct 
 contact with the terminals of what, — for want of a better 
 name, — I will call fibres, or, more properly, fibrils ; the 
 contact took place within the rim of the external ear, 
 and the sound was instantaneously transmitted, or tele- 
 graphed, along the auditory nerve to the sanctum 
 sanctorum of his very soul. 
 
 The question naturally arises in the reader's mind at 
 this point : " How was it possible for you to become 
 cognizant of sound under the very peculiar circum- 
 stances and conditions by which you were surrounded 
 for the time being ? You could not hear by means of 
 the outer ear and auditory nerves, for it is plain, if your 
 story be indeed a recital of actual events, and not merely 
 a splendid philosophical fiction, that your material hear- 
 ing apparatus had been left behind you, in the body, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 185 
 
 beneath the trees on the outskirts of the New England 
 city ?" A very fair question this, and one demanding 
 a fair answer. To it I reply thus : The human being, 
 externally, is a multiple thing, at the bottom of which 
 lies the invisible soul : Soul is the thinking, feeling, 
 knowing essence ; spirit is its casket ; the body but its 
 nursery-garments, the clothing of its juvenility. By 
 means of the body, the soul, in which alone all power 
 and faculty inheres, is enabled to come in contact with 
 the material world. By means of its inner or spirit- 
 body, which is but an out-creation, it holds converse 
 with the worlds of Knowledge, Spirit and Principle. 
 The fibrils alluded to are not mere emanations from the 
 physical brain, or its ganglia, but they are wires, one 
 end of which is eternally anchored in the very soul itself, 
 which latter is, of course, the man per se. The wires, 
 though passing through, are by no means rooted in the 
 corporeal structure ; hence, the man or woman, without 
 a flesh-and-blood body, experiences but little, if any, 
 difficulty in hearing sounds made in this material world. 
 As it is with regard to hearing, so also it is, to the 
 same degree, with reference to the power of seeing the 
 corporeal forms of earthly things. The perfection and 
 ease, however, with which this is done, depends upon 
 the normal condition of the disembodied man himself. 
 If he or she, as the case may be, is sound, sane, clear 
 and morally healthy, its powers, as with one yet in the 
 flesh, are augmented and positive ; therefore it can, by 
 processes already sufficiently explained, see, hear, feel, and 
 even read, not only books, but the unexpressed thought 
 of a person still embodied with whom he or she may 
 for the time being be in sympathetic contact. Yery 
 seldom, however, can the recently dead do these things 
 
186 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 with the same ease and facility that others can who 
 have been over the river a longer time. This I have 
 abundantly proved ; and this, too, explains a point 
 which, as certain believers in the Spiritology of the day 
 inform me, has puzzled thousands of investigators, L e. : 
 why some of the dead people, with whom they claim to 
 hold very frequent converse, can only be communicated 
 with by means of hard labor on their part, while others 
 readily understand and respond. Some can faintly, 
 others clearly see and hear ; some can correctly read 
 people's thoughts ; others cannot, and must be addressed 
 vocally ; others still require all questions to be written, 
 in order that they may see and understand. The facul- 
 ties and powers of dead people are doubtless as varied, 
 dissimilar and unevenly developed as are those of per- 
 sons on the hither side of Time. 
 
 The study of the human soul is a great one, and en- 
 tirely worthy of a life's devotion. It has been mine to 
 seek the solution of many of its mysteries, and in a few 
 instances success has crowned the effort and rewarded 
 the laborer. The final answer to the question is this : 
 the sounds were conveyed to my inner being directly, 
 and without the need of any flesh-and-blood organ of 
 sense. Let us now turn toward a far more sublime 
 mystery, namely : The very Soul itself. 
 
 With unmingled astonishment I gazed upon the man 
 as he sat there in his quiet study. I had often been told 
 that man was a microcosm, or a world in miniature ; 
 but closer observation proved to me that he was more 
 than that — for, instead of a world, he was a universe of 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 187 
 
 worlds and mysteries, a few of the latter of which were 
 comprehended by me for the first time. 
 
 Standing thus, I reasoned after this wise : ' Unques- 
 tionably all the faculties and qualities pertaining to 
 man, as we find him upon the earth, are the results of a 
 design on the part of the august Mind which placed him 
 here. The purpose and function of these faculties and 
 qualities, are to subserve man's best interests, his proper, 
 unfolding, and the divine purpose — here ; and, doubt- 
 less, when by death he shall be transported elsewhere, 
 to meet a new destiny and act in a new drama, other 
 qualities and faculties, adapted to his changed position, 
 will be given him ; or, if already latent, will be duly 
 brought into action. Perhaps their seeds are already 
 planted in him • if so, they will assuredly spring up at 
 death, blossom in the Soul-world, and bear golden fruit 
 in that place, and at that period of the infinite year, 
 when God shall so ordain it. We none of us know what 
 we fairly are ; and no one, not even the loftiest seraphs, 
 can tell positively what we shall be ; yet, that man is 
 re-served, and will through all his trials be _pre-served, 
 for some great, some yet undreamed-of destiny or end, 
 there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. Nor will this 
 final end be the mere eternal dwelling in the Valhallas, 
 of which we sometimes dream ; nor in the ■ spheres/ 
 about which ' spiritual mediums ' so glibly talk, nor in 
 the gold-paved cities whereof we so often sing. Our 
 final destiny is none of these. Beyond all question, much 
 of the knowledge acquired in the earth-life will be 
 found at death to have served its purpose here, and 
 will never again come into play. 
 
 Not a single one of the grander, more noble longings 
 and ambitions of the soul can find their field of action 
 
188 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 here ; but they are deathless ; and as God has provided 
 a supply for every proper demand in all things else, so 
 He -has in this instance ; and therefore, though the as- 
 piring soul may pass away with its strong wings droop- 
 ing, and weak for want of exercise, yet, up there — in its 
 grand heaven — the air is pure and the field immense, the 
 mountains tall, and the oceans wide ; and the eagle soul 
 shall essay its loftiest flight, and grow stronger from 
 the trial. What a person acquires here is but a pro- 
 phecy of harvests to be reaped in the great hereafter. 
 
 Man is really a unitary being, but seemingly is du- 
 plex, and even multiple ; but this is seeming only, for 
 in fact there is but one real sense in man — which truth 
 I learned as I gazed upon the student in the chamber ; 
 and that sense is intuition — the human sprout of an in- 
 finite and God-like faculty, dormant in most people, yet 
 incontestibly destined to an immense unfolding in all ; 
 albeit, it is so deeply buried in some that it can only 
 express itself through organs. " And God said, Let 
 us make man in our own image ;" and so He made him ; 
 but God is ubiquitous, omnipresent, omniscient — man is 
 not ; and yet, if Scripture be worthy of our regard, and 
 Progress be not a sham and delusive dream, the tre- 
 mendous prophecy implied in the line from Genesis just 
 quoted is certainly to be realized ; and man is destined 
 to move, through thorny fields — and slowly, it may be — 
 yet still to move, towards Ubiquity and Omniscience ! 
 Intuition is the sprout of which they are the full tree. 
 True, man shall never reach absolute godhood, yet 
 ever will he move toward it. 
 
 "If this be so," says the caviler, " and God be sta- 
 tionary, and not an advancing Being, there must come a 
 time — even though when many a yet unborn eternity 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 189 
 
 shall have grown hoary with age — still there must come 
 a time when man ivill overtake Deity ; and then there 
 can no longer be a God I" Specious this, very ! Why? 
 Because God, though not a progressive Being, as we 
 understand it, yet is infinite ; and man must ever be 
 finite. God's omniscience is what the word proclaims 
 it — all-knowing ; but man shall be much-knowing. He 
 is forced to approach Perfection in straight lines, and 
 when he shall have attained immense power in any 
 given direction, there will still be forever germinating 
 new faculties, before the untold millions of which there 
 shall ever be an infinite stretch, a limitless field, an end- 
 less road. God also is kaleidescopic ; and, supposing it 
 were possible for man to reach the point of greatness at 
 which Deity is .to-day, yet one exertion of His volition — 
 and, lo ! He presents a new aspect to the wondering 
 souls of infinitude, more marvelous than before, and 
 reveals points which will place a new infinity between 
 man and their attainability; and so on for all the 
 epochs yet to be — epochs whereof eternities, as we un- 
 derstand them, shall only count as moments in the ever- 
 lasting year. Death is but an awakening, and there 
 are to be myriads of these. 
 
 All this I knew and felt ; all these mighty foreshad- 
 owings flowed into my soul, as, with clarified intellect, 
 and spirit bowed down with awe, I stood gazing at the 
 man within the chamber. More : Reason, the king- 
 faculty given us here, was only intended to act as our 
 pilot through life, and will have fulfilled its main office 
 when we step into the grave ; but very soon after we 
 step out of it, on the other side, the union of the 
 senses begins to take place, and the Sense — whose ele- 
 ments are the senses — comes into play — the all-absorb- 
 
190 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 ing Intuition. This uni-faculty is not a thing of earthly 
 origin, though it here deepens and grows strong ; it was 
 an integer of the original being — became a part of the 
 soul at the very instant wherein it fell from God ; it is 
 a triple faculty, and its role is Prevision, Present-know- 
 ing, and Reminiscence. 
 
 The skin of a man- is not himself, although whoever 
 sees one, recognizes something human. Beneath this 
 skin is the muscular system, interlaced with a magnifi- 
 cent net-work of nerves, all in the form of, yet by no 
 means the man himself. Next we come to the osseous 
 system — the skeleton — the God-fashioned framework of 
 the house he lives in — and a house only — one, too, that 
 is often let to bad tenants, seeing how zealously they 
 abuse it and batter 'down its walls. Now, when we see 
 a skeleton, we know it is something that points towards 
 the human, yet do not for that reason, even momenta- 
 rily, confound the bones with the individual ; for we 
 instinctively know that the wonderful occupant of this 
 bony edifice is, and to bodily eyes will forever remain 
 invisible. Whoever looks for a man, must go below 
 and above skin, flesh, muscles, and bones, to find him. 
 Well, let the searcher enter the domain of the senses — 
 a country that lies a long distance beyond the nervo- 
 osseous land. Ah ! here is the man, somewhere in this 
 region of sense. Let's see ! one, two, three, five, or a 
 dozen— no matter about counting them — yet nowhere in 
 all this region have we found or can find the man. We 
 are certainly nearer to him than we were awhile ago ; 
 yet, not finding him, we conclude to go a little further 
 in the search. ' He dwells in the Faculties.' Not so ; 
 try again. ' In the passions.' Further still ; not home 
 yet. ' In God-like reason, and the quality-parlors of vir- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 191 
 
 tue, aspiration, expression — each one step nearer the 
 goal.' Go a little deeper, and in the centre of the brain 
 you will find a winged globe op celestial fire, in 
 which dwells the Man ! — his part of God crowded 
 into less than three square inches of surface. Here is 
 the seat of the soul ; here is the Grand Ddpot, at which 
 all the Nerve, and Thought, and Knowing, Thinking 
 and Feeling trains, and telegraphic lines converge and 
 meet ! This Winged Globe is a House of Many Man- 
 sions, eternal in itself ; and the principal parlor, in the 
 grandest palace of them all, is devoted to the Peerless 
 Power — Intuition ! Born in man, it often lies 'perdu, 
 or latent, till the final passage, and never bursts into 
 full activity at once, save in very rare instances, as in 
 the case of those wonderful genii, Newton, La Place, 
 and men of that order ; and even in these, it is only 
 partially active. It requires peculiar conditions for its 
 expansion, just as the reasoning and other faculties re- 
 quire time and exercise. The soul is really a divine 
 monad* a particle, so to speak, of the Divine brain — a 
 celestial corruscation from the Eternal heart ; and, for 
 that reason, an eternal existence — immortality being its 
 very essence, and expansion constituting its majestic na- 
 ture ; and the Soul, this monad, was once an integer of 
 God himself — was sent forth by His fiat — became in- 
 carnated and an individual, separate and distinct from, 
 yet having strong affinities for all things material — 
 stronger for all things spiritual, and for its brethren — 
 
 * Monad — first definition, an ultimate atom 5 a simple substance 
 without parts, indivisible, a primary constituent of matter. Second 
 definition — a monad is not a material, but a formal atom, it being im 
 possible for a thing to be at once material and possessed of a real uni- 
 ty and indivisibility. 
 
192 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 and an attraction toward its ultimate Source stronger 
 than all else beside. Here, then, I lay bare the very 
 corner-stone of the splendid Temple of Progress, whose 
 foundations are laid in Time, but whose turrets catch 
 the gleams from the Eternal Sun of suns, whose warm- 
 ing rays diffuse themselves over every starry island in 
 the tremendous Ocean of Being ! 
 
 Intuition is but an awakening of the inmost soul to 
 an active personal consciousness of what it knew by vir- 
 tue of its Divine genesis. 
 
 Suffering appears to be one means toward this 
 awakening, and the consequent intensification of the 
 individuality ; and the passions of man, labor, and evil, 
 are also agents to this end. 
 
 Man is beset by evil on all sides, doubtless to 
 the end that, in shunning it, and conserving the self- 
 hood, he may effect the earliest possible completion and 
 rounding out of his entire being, and, consequently, Iqe 
 all the better prepared to encounter the immense des- 
 tiny that lies before him in. the Hereafter. ****** 
 And I gazed upon the man within the chamber ; the 
 weather to him — but not to me, for I was totally unaf- 
 fected — seemed to be oppressively warm ; and it was 
 exceedingly difficult for him, after a while, to overcome 
 the somnolent or drowsy influence thus induced, and 
 prevent himself from falling asleep. However, he 
 made strenuous efforts to conquer the tendency, and 
 for a time it was mastered ; but, in the struggle be- 
 tween himself and the slumber-fay, a secret was disclosed 
 to me, and another beautiful arcanum of the human 
 economy revealed. 
 
 The student of these pages will remember that ere- 
 while I mentioned the astonishing fact — one of great 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 193 
 
 value to all who think — that I was as a perfectly dis- 
 embodied soul during the experience now recounted, 
 and could and did behold, at one and the same time, 
 both the external and the essential part of whatever my 
 glance fell upon. The reader will perhaps arrive at a 
 clearer understanding of what is here meant to be 
 conveyed if this double power be thus illustrated : A 
 person may look through one glass vase at several 
 others, many colored, within it, the last of which con- 
 tains the image of a man, in still finer glass, — Ms eye 
 resting upon the surface of each particular vase, yet at 
 the same time penetrating and grasping the whole. 
 Thus it Avas in the present case : I saw, — and what 
 obtained of that student in the room obtains of all im- 
 mortal beings, — the clothes; beneath the clothing his 
 body ; and interfilling that, as water does a sponge, I 
 beheld the spiritual man. 
 
 Here let me define a few terms : Body is that which 
 is purely material, corporeal, dense, weighable, atomical 
 or particled ; spirit is a thing of triplicity : in the most 
 external sense, that which interpenetrates, flows 
 through, from, and constitutes the life of material exist- 
 ences is spirit ; second, the great menstruum in which 
 the universe floats and has its being is spirit, but vastly 
 different from the foregoing ; and third, the mental 
 operations, as well as their results, are spiritual — a 
 man's thought, for instance. Great care must be taken 
 to distinguish these last two from the first, which is the 
 effluvium from, or surrounding aura of all material 
 forms and things. Soul is that more stately principle 
 and thing which thinks, feels, tastes, sees, knows, as- 
 pires, suffers, hates, loves, fears, calculates and enjoys. 
 
 Hoping that these definitions will be retained, and 
 9 
 
194 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 that my meaning only will be given to the terms used, 
 we will now proceed. I became a rapt observer, not of 
 the man in the study, as a. person, but as a rare mechan- 
 ism. The clothes he wore, emitted a dull, faint, leaden- 
 hued cloud, perfectly transparent, and extending about 
 three inches from their surface in all directions. His 
 body was apparently composed of orange-colored flame, 
 and its emanations reached to the distance of fifteen 
 feet on all sides ; it penetrated the wood-work, walls, 
 chairs, tables, — all with which it came in contact ; and 
 I noticed two facts : first, that its form was an oblate 
 spheroid, and second, that a portion of it adhered to 
 whatever he touched. 
 
 Thus it is true that a man leaves a portion of himself 
 wherever he may chance to go : this explains why a dog 
 is enabled to trace his master through the streets of a 
 crowded city. * * * * * When the man rose to silence 
 the noise of his children, I -discerned the form of this 
 sphere, in the centre of a similar one of which every 
 created being stands. Its poles were the head and feet, 
 and its equator, whose bulge exceeded the polar dimen- 
 sions about one-fortieth, was directly on the plane of the 
 abdominal centre. This sphere penetrated that of the 
 clothes ; and, although it was so marvelously fine, still 
 it, like its exemplar — a large soap-bubble — appeared to 
 be particled, or heterogeneous. Within the physical 
 body of the man there was a second,— itself constituting 
 another human form, like the vase within a vase. The 
 substance of this last was beautiful and pearly ; its mass 
 was apparently in perfect coalescence, — indivisible, 
 atomless and unparticled. This was the man's true 
 shell — his house, his home, — the outbirth of, but not 
 the man himself. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 195 
 
 And now the question is asked me : " What consti- 
 tutes the ego: what, is the man?" The answer' is : 
 Soul is a thing sui generis, and unique. Sight, taste, 
 and the senses generally, are some of its properties ; — 
 reflection, reason, and fancy are a few of its qualities ; 
 — judgment its prerogative ; — physical scenes its thea- 
 tre ;— earthly experience its school ; — and the second 
 life its university, whence it will graduate to — what ? 
 This shall bye-and-bye be answered. Time is but one 
 of a vast multitude of other phases of existence, through 
 which it yet must pass. We know something about 
 its propensities, powers, methods and qualities ; but 
 only a very little about the soul itself. We realize 
 somewhat of its accidents and incidents, and not much 
 else beside. Most assuredly, modern " Spiritualism" 
 has not added much to our knowledge ; it may do so 
 in the future, but some of us do not like to wait. 
 
 The human being may be likened unto a circular 
 avenue, divided by a central wall, which separates the 
 known from the unknown. We begin at the centre of 
 this wall, our conscious point, and look toward the 
 outer edge of the circle ; we see one hemisphere, and 
 one only. What pertains to the other hemisphere, — 
 the one behind this conscious point ? Make the trial to 
 ascertain what lies on the thither side ; seek to fathom 
 the soul within you, and what results ? Why the wall 
 is reached, nothing more ; you strike it, think it, feel 
 of it, but cannot recede from nor look behind yourself. 
 But that there is a greater mystery behind tlian the one 
 before you is proved by the fact that your entire being 
 is but the result of an infinite, propulsive power, which 
 whirled you into being, but will never hurl you out. 
 
196 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 There is a point reachable, quite beyond that of outer 
 consciousness. 
 
 Well, the man strove to baffle the tendency to som- 
 nolence. His brain was one living mass of phosphor- 
 like luminescence ; there was a large and brilliant 
 globe, apparently of white fire-mist, encompassing the 
 head. Its center rested exactly on what anatomists 
 call the corpus callosum ; and this body — this central 
 cerebral viscus — I affirm to be the seat of conscious- 
 ness, — the blazing throne of the Immortal Soul ! 
 
 On other occasions I have beheld similar bright 
 globes of what can only be compared to pure fire. 
 Others claim to have witnessed the same ; they have 
 described it, and uniformly, nay, invariably locate this 
 ball on the precise spot indicated. The volume of this 
 singular something, varies in different people, from the 
 bulk of a large pea to some three or four inches in mean 
 diameter, in which latter case it, of course, has only its 
 axis in the place indicated, while its body penetrates 
 the circumjacent brain. The effulgence, as the volume, 
 also varies in different persons. In some it is, compar- 
 atively speaking, no brighter than the flame of a good 
 candle, while in others it is an infinite intensification of 
 the dazzling radiance of the Drummond or the calcium 
 light. In the man before me this globe was nearly a 
 perfect sphere ; in other instances I have observed its 
 shape to be somewhat angular. The better the per- 
 son, the greater the intelligence (intuitive, not mere 
 memory-learning), the larger, smoother, and rounder is 
 this wondrous Soul-Sun.* 
 
 * This central globe is the sun of the microcosm ; a duller globe of 
 fire, situated behind the stomach, in the Solar Plexus, is its moon, and 
 the phreno-organs are the stars ; the Passional organs are the planets ; 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 197 
 
 In the student I beheld the operations of this great 
 mystery ; whenever the drowsiness came over him — 
 and he exerted his will to keep it off— I noticed that 
 one side of this winged globe (for there were two 
 wing-like appendages attached thereto, something like 
 the connections of the uterus) would collapse, and 
 straightway a perfect stream of radiant fire-flecks went 
 forth in the opposite direction, like spark-rays from the 
 sun. These confiscations sped through all parts of the 
 brain, causing ij to sparkle more brightly ; they ran 
 along the nerves, leaped to the muscles, and diffused new- 
 life and animation throughout the body, — which being 
 accomplished, the globe resumed its former shape again. 
 This struck me as being at once both sublime and 
 curious ; but something still more so now took place. 
 
 As I observed above, when he strove to keep awake, 
 the globe became indented, from the outside, which was 
 generally smooth, — albeit a countless multitude of filmy 
 rays of light streamed forth in all directions — the sur- 
 face meanwhile retaining its polished, burnished, and 
 ineffably dazzling general appearance. 
 
 The man laid down his book, lifted a pen, dipped it 
 in the inkstand, held it over the table for a while, and 
 appeared to be concentrating his thoughts ; and while 
 he did so the winged globe within his head began to 
 enlarge until it occupied not less than four times its 
 original space within the brain, This it did gradually, 
 and as gradually resumed its former bulk ; but, in the 
 mean time, his hand had flown over the paper, and the 
 man had indited a Thought ! Anxious to know what 
 
 the Sensations are the meteors, &c, &c, there being not merely a 
 perfect correspondence, but a wonderful similarity, complete and 
 full, between the universe without and the universe within. 
 
198 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 this thought was, I looked upon the paper, and was 
 surprised by observing a very curious phenomenon. 
 The words written upon the paper were : " The an- 
 cients were far behind the moderns in general intelli- 
 gence, but far, very far beyond them in isolated instances 
 of mental power. Probably the simplicity of the lives 
 of devout men of yore had a powerful influence in 
 bringing out the concealed treasures, and in developing 
 the extraordinary conceptive power which not a few of 
 them undoubtedly possessed. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Job and 
 the great Cathayan have never been equaled, in their 
 several specialties, by men of later times ; it is ex- 
 tremely doubtful if they ever will be. Eeally great 
 men are few and scarce in any age, but popular men 
 are plentiful in all eras. It is only the sad-hearted 
 man, — he who stands and walks alone in the crowded 
 cities of the world, shunned, laughed at, derided, 
 scorned and unsupported, — who succeeds in engraving 
 a name upon the walls of Time ; and of all that ever 
 lived, Jesus, the Nazarene, looms up in such magnificent 
 proportions, over the edges of the dead years, that we 
 instinctively know that he was a real personage, — one 
 who lived and loved, suffered and died with, for, and 
 among men ; and we reject the absurdities of Strauss 
 and the Cavilers, and triumphantly proclaim that Jesus 
 was not a myth. He sought to do good, and not to merit 
 the plaudits of the mob, or of those who rule. A popu- 
 lar man is one who keeps just within the front ranks of 
 the human army, leading it whither its fancy and whim 
 may at the moment prompt ; but a great man is one 
 who volunteers to become the pioneer of the race, and 
 is, at the same time, the Herald of the coming age of 
 Goodness. He feels the pulse of God in his heart, — 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 199 
 
 and lie knows to live and lives to know. We are ap- 
 proaching an era when human genius shall be the rule, 
 and not the exception, as now. When that day shall 
 dawn, the earth will fully blossom. It has painfully 
 labored heretofore, and brought forth abortions — per- 
 fect, seemingly, to their contemporaries, but, in view of 
 her yet untested energies, abortions still.' 7 
 
 Now, the ink had scarcely dried upon the paper, and 
 yet the dark violet of the aura, emitted by it when in 
 the inkstand, and which rose from the paper wherever 
 the pen touched it, was almost immediately obscured 
 by a far brighter one, which proceeded from the gene- 
 ral writing ; by which I discovered that thoughts 
 
 WERE LIVING THINGS, ENDOWED WITH A BEING IN THEM- 
 SELVES ! This thought was really a part of the man 
 himself. I beheld a small cell within the winged globe 
 open and emit a line of fire, which leaped to one of the 
 cerebral organs, passing up one of the fibrils and down 
 the other — thence to a nerve along it to the arm, the 
 pen, and to the paper, where it became diffused and 
 sealed in the inky letters. And at that moment it came 
 to me, from the far-off regions of positive Knowledge, 
 that, should the paper containing the ideas be burnt, yet 
 the thought itself could never perish, because it was 
 part and parcel of a Soul ; but it would float about 
 in the human world — at some time be absorbed into a 
 human soul, undergo a new gestation, and in due time 
 be born again into the conscious realm around us. 
 
 Much more the man wrote ; but at length his weary 
 task and the sultry weather overpowered him, and, 
 rising from his seat, he closed the blinds, threw himself 
 upon the lounge, and in a few minutes was fast asleep. 
 While watching the process, I became aware, for the 
 
200 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 first time, that I was being practically educated by a 
 glorious being — an inhabitant of the Soul-world — whose 
 presence was now made clear, direct and palpable. 
 This bright one conversed with me by a process not 
 easily explained, but an idea of which may be gained if 
 we call it infusion of thought. His lips moved not, and 
 yet the full meaning he intended, was transmitted, even 
 more x perfectly than if by the use of words. Such be- 
 ings can speak, but not so effectively as by the silent 
 language. 
 
 The object of his visit, he said, was to instruct me in 
 certain essentials with reference to future usefulness on 
 my part, but principally that the world might gain cer- 
 tain needed light upon the soul, and its career, through 
 a book or books thereafter to be written. His name, 
 he said, was Ramus — that, in history, he was best 
 known as Thothmes, or Thotmor, and that he was an 
 Egyptian, of the second dynasty — a king, and the elev- 
 enth of the line. 
 
 This was all I learned of him at that time ; for after 
 the brief introduction, he pointed toward the man upon 
 the sofa, and bade me " Look !" The man was wrapt 
 in deep sleep, and the winged globe within his head 
 was rapidly altering its shape. First, it flattened out to 
 a disk ; this disc concaved toward the skull ; then it 
 put forth a point in the direction of the medulla oblon- 
 gata, into which it rapidly passed, entered the spinal- 
 marrow, and ran along the vertebrae until it reached 
 the vicinity of the stomach. Here it left, and instantly 
 immerged itself within the solar plexus. The man was in 
 a death-like, dreamless slumber. " The soul/ 7 said Thot- 
 mor, " has gone to infuse new life throughout the physi- 
 cal body, in doing which it also recuperates its own en- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 201 
 
 ergies. Souls can grow tired, but they find rest — not in 
 inactivity, as doth the body, but by a change of action. 
 The mathematician, weary of figures, finds repose by 
 performing chemical experiments or in studying music. 
 That man's soul is now supplying fuel to the body, by 
 converting the essences of his system into the pabulum 
 of life. Presently its task will be finished, whereupon it 
 will again resume its seat upon the regal throne of its 
 own mighty world." ***** 
 
 Thotmor ceased to speak. I turned from the sleeper 
 in wondering awe, and, guided by the rare being at my 
 side, felt that I was once more rising through the air. 
 
 Turn where we will, ask whom we may, for informa- 
 tion, we are sure to be met with the stereotyped " Know 
 thyself." As well tell me to leap over the salt sea ! I 
 ask all mankind, the ocean, land, air, sun, moon, stars, 
 history — everything else, both material and mental, 
 sacred and profane — to point me out a single human 
 being who really knows himself, or even approximately 
 so. Where, I ask, is the wonderful mortal — tell, tell 
 me where ? — and from hollow space the echoes^ mock 
 me — where ? 
 
 To know oneself ! The words- are easily spoken or 
 penned ; but to do it, is, of all things, the hardest and 
 most difficult ; for this very selfhood's personality is, 
 beyond all others, the special acquaintance of whom we 
 know the least. 
 
 The sentence " Know thyself" was written over the 
 porch of an ancient temple. The man who placed it 
 there must have been deeply spiced with satire and cyni- 
 
 Q* 
 
202 dealings With the dead. 
 
 cism, else he certainly would have assigned mankind a 
 task less arduous — a task compared to which the twelve 
 labors of Hercules were mere child's play. Now, al- 
 though this feat may never have been accomplished, still 
 it lies within the range of the possibilities ; and in de- 
 claring that a man may, by study, find out both himself 
 and God, I fly in the face of current philosophy, and 
 deny the truth of the noted dogma of modern sophists, 
 that "It is impossible for a man to explore the laby- 
 rinths of his own nature : — a principle cannot compre- 
 hend itself." Why is the logic of this doctrine faulty ? 
 Because, first, God can certainly comprehend man. All 
 there is of man is mind ; all there is of Deity is the 
 same. A principle thus comprehends itself. 
 
 Man is God's image, and can do on a small what He 
 does on an infinite scale ; and the only difference be- 
 tween Deity and a full man simply is, that the former 
 can comprehend the parts of the Realm separately and 
 together, while the latter can only grasp each truth as 
 it swims to him on the rolling waves of Time's great 
 sea; yet, so far as he goes, he comprehends himself. 
 The day will dawn when, looking back at what he was, 
 he shall fully understand the mystery ; and as he ad- 
 vances, he will continually read the foregone scrolls, 
 while new accrements of being will ever be his — each 
 one in turn to undergo the scrutiny, each one to be fully 
 understood, and so on forever and for aye. Were it 
 not so, Being would be worthless and our existence a 
 dreadful farce. Secondly : Intuition has already been 
 proved to be the shoot, of which Omniscience is the 
 tree — which fact disposes of the absurd dogma just 
 quoted, and forever. 
 
 There are two mighty problems up for solution. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 20/ 
 
 These are : " What and where is God ?" on which I 
 intend to write some day ; and the other is, " What is 
 the Soul ?" which I am now partially solving. This 
 last has proved itself to be the profound est of all ques- 
 tions, and very difficult of solution ; but only so because 
 investigators have mistaken their vocation, and an- 
 alyzed a few of the faculties, qualities, and affections of 
 the mind — all the while imagining the soul itself to be 
 under their microscopes — whereas the soul was calmly, 
 placidly looking on, and wondering why they were so 
 busily intent upon examining the furze and bushes, in- 
 stead of the deep, rich soil whence they sprung. 
 
 Faculty, Fancy and Dream-life are but three of the 
 Soul's most common moods ; and yet metaphysicians 
 have confined themselves to but little else than their 
 analysis. These are but three little rays from amidst 
 a multitude of others, proceeding from one common 
 source ; yet, if even these were all analyzed, understood, 
 and known, the great center whence they emanate 
 would still remain as great a mystery as ever. Nearly 
 all that we know of soul is really not of it, but of its 
 methods of display. 
 
 There is something more of man than life, limb, sense- 
 faculty, affections, feeling and sex. There's a depth 
 beneath them all, and into these deeps I believe it pos- 
 sible to dive, and to bring up many a pearl, and crys- 
 tal, and grains of golden sand from the floor of his 
 being— from out the silver sea of life, whose waters 
 flow soul-ward, and have their rise beneath the throne, 
 whereon sitteth for evermore the Infinite Eternal — the 
 great I am : Aye, it is possible to know oneself, not- 
 withstanding that, to ninety-nine persons in a hundred, 
 there seems to be an impenetrable cloud, circumvolving 
 
204 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 them — an obscurity, thick as darkest night, hemming 
 them in on all sides. Yes, thank Heaven! man can 
 untie the gordian knot, and triumphantly pass the Ru- 
 bicon, but not over the bridge of Mesmerism, obsession, 
 drugs, or any of the ordinary means usually resorted 
 to ; but through the continued exertion of steadfast- 
 ness, attention, purpose, and will — the four golden 
 posts to which are hung the double gates, which open 
 in both worlds. 
 
 Souls are, of course, the subjects of number, and in 
 this sense are "particles," — souls of course being plural; 
 yet soul is not, for although you may subtract forty- 
 eight from forty-nine, and leave a remaining unit, yet 
 that unit is absolutely one; and you could no more dis- 
 member it, than you could find the lost particles of dust 
 upon a midge's wing. Spirit is substance in absolute 
 coalescence ; matter is substance, whose particles never 
 touch each other ; and soul is a developed monad. A 
 thought of a house is, until that thought be actualized — 
 surrounded with matter conforming to its shape — a 
 monad. There was a period when God was alone ;. he 
 thought, and the product of that thought is the material 
 universe, as we see it ; he thought iigain — and lo ! those 
 thoughts, each one complete in itself, took outer gar- 
 ments, and became human beings. Far off, in the past 
 eternities, God's thoughts went forth ; these were the 
 monads. First, they entered into lower forms, then 
 higher and higher, till at last they reached organiza- 
 tions adapted to the perfect ripening of that which had 
 all along been growing. The ripening produced In- 
 telligence : that intelligence is the soil, out of which 
 Intuition grows ; and what this last advances to, we 
 already know. How long, and through what countless 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 205 
 
 numbers of diverse forms, these transmigrations lasted, 
 and passed, it were impossible to tell. We all have 
 indistinct retrovisions, flashes of back-thought, dim and 
 vague reminiscences of a pre-state of existence ; and 
 we also know, that there are marvelous resemblances 
 between men and the animal creation, just as if the 
 soul, on quitting an inferior for a superior form, re- 
 tained something of its former surroundings and char- 
 acteristics. Some men physically resemble the ox, lion, 
 tiger, dog, owl, bat, deer ; and we know that myriads 
 resemble in their mentality the traits of character, hab- 
 its and dispositions pertaining to all these animals, and 
 others, as the fox, snake, eagle, peacock, swine, and so 
 on to the end of a long chapter. "When I was a flow- 
 er,' 7 said a little child. That child had an intuition of 
 a mighty fact ! 
 
 Xow all these astonishing likenesses are not acci- 
 dental, but exist in accordance with the great law of 
 Transmigration. Mind me : I do not say, or believe, 
 that any man or woman was ever a dog, viper, vampire- 
 bat or tiger ; but I do affirm that the monads, which now 
 constitute their souls, once sustained a very close rela- 
 tionship to the beasts of the field, and have not yet got 
 rid of the effects of the alliance. This is a matter too 
 clear to be disputed : else, why these very remarkable 
 resemblances ? I know, that some people will " pooh ! 
 pooh!' 7 at this idea ; but that wont account for the 
 likeness ! A man never was a dog, or an owl ; yet, that 
 both dogs and owls were originally made, in order that 
 the human monad, in passing a sort of gestation period 
 in them, might be ripened slowly, and prepared for what 
 he is now, I have at present no manner of doubt. In- 
 deed, human bodies, both physical and spiritual, are but 
 
206 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 other and higher forms, to which the Winged Globe, 
 Man, has transmigrated in its passage from minus to 
 plus — from bad to better, and from better to best. A 
 dog, owl, bat or human body is only so much matter ; 
 and the sole business of ' matter ? is to furnish so many 
 different sorts of huts, houses, and palaces for spirit- 
 ual tenants, wherein the primary schools maybe attended 
 by the regal student-soul. I Jcnoiu that even the disen- 
 thralled spiritual body is itself but a mere vehicle of 
 Soul, on its next upward transmigration — is still but 
 an adjunct, an out-projection of, and scarcely second 
 cousin to, the tremendous mystery — Soul — the Winged 
 Globe within it. We know that man can live without his 
 carbonaceous body, which is but an incidental assump- 
 tion in his career, a sort of garb, worn at the longest 
 less than a century; that this period is scarce one sec- 
 ond in its immense year ; and that he can see without 
 eyes, and know without cerebral organs. * 
 
 It is an axiom that whatever has one end, must also 
 
 * Many persons desire to know how to produce and cultivate clair- 
 voyance. To such I present the following rules, knowing them to .he 
 efficient, and only requiring patience for success. 1st, Set apart the 
 first hour after retiring to bed nightly. Eat a light supper ; bind a 
 light silk bandage over the entire forehead and eyes, turn the face to- 
 ward the darkest corner of the room, and endeavor to see. 2d, Never 
 call on a spirit to assist you. 3d, Keep the skin pure by daily ablu- 
 tions. 4th, Learn to concentrate the mind on a single object, and 
 keep it there. 5th, Fix it on something good, useful and true. 6th, 
 Pray fervently to God. 7th, Ask a mental question, and desire that 
 the symbolic answer may be given. 8th, Wish well to everything and 
 everybody. 
 
 The results will be — 1st, You will see a dim haze. 2d, A spark of 
 light. 3d, A greater light. 4th, Misty forms will float before you. 
 5th, They will grow distinct. 6th, Answers will flow into your mind. 
 7th, You will gradually merge into a radiant light ; behold the actual 
 dead, converse with them, and realize your soul's desire. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 207 
 
 have another : now, if a human soul has its first begin- 
 ning here, no thins: is more certain than that it will have 
 an end somewhere. But the soul is mind — mind is God : 
 and God is eternal. He ever existed, and ever will ; 
 and the monads, the germ-souls here developed, and 
 hereafter perfected, are also eternal ; they existed in all 
 times past, and can never cease to be, for their very 
 nature is Permanency. All bodies here, or elsewhere, 
 are but accompaniments — instruments, tools of the royal 
 spirit in one or more of its multitudinous phases of ex- 
 istence — that is to say, it creates, uses, and puts them 
 on to serve its purposes, till it can afford to dispense 
 with them : for human existence is a synonym of Eter- 
 nal Duration — is an'immense circle : a circle is but an 
 infinite polygon : and bodily vehicles serve the soul's^ 
 purposes during its passage over a very few of the 
 straight lines whereof this polygon is composed. And, 
 beyond all doubt, the period will arrive— it may be 
 away in the far-off eternities — but nevertheless will 
 arrive, wherein the soul will dispense with all these 
 characteristics of its juvenility. No one associates legs, 
 arms, eyes, stomach, or sexual organs, with the idea of 
 God : why then should such things be eternally predi- 
 cated of man, who is fashioned after the model of the 
 Infinite God Himself? 
 
 The body of a man is a greater thing than any object 
 on earth beside ; is far greater than even the physical 
 world in which he lives, because it is the master pro- 
 duction of all the elements and forces in that world. 
 The spiritual form that man assumes, and to which he 
 may be said to transmigrate after the physical decease, 
 is of far more importance, and altogether greater than 
 is his previous physical and material structure. A 
 
08 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 single faculty of his measureless soul is infinitely greater 
 than the spirit, nor may even an archangel comprehend 
 fully one of these faculties, at a glance, in view of its 
 limitless and expansive power. From one point he may 
 comprehend what the faculty was and is, but not what 
 it can be: yet the soul itself has untold myriads of 
 these ; and only God himself can embrace all at one 
 mental grasp — He alone can fully and perfectly know 
 a soul as it was, is, and is to be. This does not con- 
 flict with previous assertions that a soul can compre- 
 hend itself ; for God's omniscience embraces the past, 
 the present, and the future : manonly seizes upon the 
 first two. Virtue and Vice, and the organs it now 
 uses, are but incidents in the career of this undee-God. 
 These things are of time — are transitory and fleeting ; 
 but the man is forever ! In view of this, what is a vice, 
 what is accident to this majestic being — the perfected 
 work of the viewless L'ord of Infinite Glory? 
 
 They are but flecks upon the rose-leaf — atoms on a 
 moon-beam ! The immortal man is not fashioned of 
 such material as can be forever marred by vice, forever 
 happy in what now constitutes the virtues. Its destiny 
 is Action, and in the perpetual transmigrations, con- 
 trasts and changes of the hereafter, it will find its truest 
 account, and the proper subservence of the purposes of 
 the awful Will which spake it into being. " Eest for 
 the weary," is there ? There is no rest ! Man can 
 never eest ! God does not ; why then should he ? 
 
 The immortal spark within is a thing of ceaseless 
 activities ; not in sins and repentances, but in noble 
 aspirations and high and lofty doing. Great God ! I 
 cower in the presence of the tiniest soul ever spoken 
 into being ; for I feel, by reason of the great unveiling. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 209 
 
 that occurred upon that wonder-filled afternoon, that, 
 insignificant as it may seem, yet within it there are 
 energies that now lie sleeping which shall one day 
 awaken into Power, Beauty and most surpassing Glory. 
 Hell is its experience of the unfit, improper and untrue ; 
 but its wings are too powerful not to lift it, in triumph, 
 above the flames and the deepest pit of all. Earthly 
 virtues are the offspring of contrast ; vice consists in 
 bad calculation, and both will prove in the great Far- 
 off to have been but the disciplines ordained to fit it 
 for the business of Good and Use on the other side 
 the curtain ; — and I clap my poor weak hands in glad- 
 ness ! Who with true heart can help it ? 
 
 Man is supremely greater than, not only law, that he 
 has found it convenient to violate or conform to, but to 
 any and- all that it is possible for him now to con- 
 ceive of or imagine ; because, in the order of the great 
 Unveiling, he will discover and come under the action 
 of new ones, as the Night of Time moves toward the 
 Dawn. 
 
 Those who go about in the exercise of benevolent 
 offices are not always the most virtuous ; nor are they 
 who heal the sick and give of their abundance to the 
 needy • for all these things are often done for fashion's 
 sake. But the man or woman who ever acts up to the 
 highest conviction of Right and Duty, even though 
 rack-threatened, is the most virtuous ; because in so 
 doing the great design of God, which is individualiza- 
 tion, and of intensification of character, is all the 
 sooner carried out. 
 
 Human beings, male and female, talk much of virtue, 
 which means strength, and loudly boast its possession ; 
 yet how very few there are who will stand up and face 
 
210 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the music which their very talk may have evoked? 
 How they shrink when the storm comes down ; how 
 they cower when bitter denunciation and abuse pours 
 in upon them from the ramparts of the world! All 
 hail the giad and coming day, when we shall be what 
 we ought ! When he who wears the garb shall in very 
 deed prove himself a man, the most glorious title on 
 earth save one, and that one is — woman ! 
 
 Once in a while we are greeted by the magnificent 
 spectacle of a female who dares to stand up and prac- 
 tically vindicate her escutcheon, not in loud talk and 
 " strong-minded 77 diatribes against what exists, but in v 
 her daily-lived truth, and the practical knowledge of 
 those tender virtues which so endear all true women to 
 all true men. And whenever such a woman crosses my 
 path, I rejoice ; I rejoice in the presence of such a fact, 
 and fold her as a sister folds another to her soul. 
 People are false to the light within them. It is a 
 great thing to be true to self— to stand forth the cham- 
 pion of your noblest thought, when all fingers point at 
 you with scorn, all heels are upraised to crush the sweet 
 life out of yon, and when only God and your own stout 
 heart are on your side. To do this, — and. thank 
 Heaven ! some there be who dare it, — is to be more 
 than human : is to be divine ; and this heart- wrought 
 divinity allies us to the immortal gods. This it is that 
 I call virtue. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 211 
 
 Ifte g^ttttt— Prowl : 3fe Wmium. 
 
 As previously stated, it was not possible for me to 
 understand the nature of the mysterious power by 
 which, in company of the peerless being, Thotmor, I 
 volitiouless clove the ambient air. "0, it was a pro- 
 jection of your soul," says the modern novitiate of the 
 mystic school. Not so, friend ; for the Ego then and 
 there ascending, under the influence of a power similar 
 in kind, but immensely superior in volume and display 
 to itself, was not a mere psychical phasina — a thing of 
 appearance only, and possessing no substantiality of its 
 own ; it was no flimsy projection from the fancy-fa- 
 culty ; was not a meaningless substance-void image of 
 myself. It was no mere subjective state objectified, 
 but was indeed my very self, wearing the body of im- 
 mortality for a time, during which certain lessons must 
 be and were learned, fully and practically, demon- 
 stratively and perfectly, so far as the lessons went. 
 The man himself, and not his mere shadow or ghost was 
 there, in proper form and essence, to the end, no doubt, 
 that the mysteries there learned might be given, as 
 they now practically are, to the world of thinkers. 
 
 As I, or rather we, ascended toward the zenith, it be- 
 gan to rain ; but this did not incommode us, nor in any 
 way hinder the ascent, which was continued until it be- 
 came necessary to penetrate a dense region of thick, 
 black convolving cloud that was now rolling up in vast 
 and heavy masses from the northern verge of the im- 
 mense horizon, driven by the fierce breath of a mighty 
 blast. Looking earthward, it seemed as if the deep 
 black nightwas suddenly going down ; the wind howled 
 
212 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 through the buildings, and the trees shook, as if with 
 mortal fright and terror ; the sorrowing clouds shed 
 great drops of tears, as if mourning in comfortless grief 
 over poor human frailty, while the soughing and the 
 sighing of the sea was a fitting sympathium to their for- 
 lornness and despair. 
 
 Thicker rolled the dense black pall over the face of 
 the vaulted heaven, hiding all its glories, and shrouding 
 it in the very folds of gloom, whose density was only 
 relieved when the broad glare of the lightnings rushed 
 out upon the sky. The sheets of flame were of various 
 colors — violet, green, white, red and purple. The three 
 former appeared to issue from the earth's surface ; the 
 others, from the space above and immediately around 
 us. There were occasionally lines of purely white fire, 
 and these took the form of chains, every link of which 
 carried ten thousand deaths along with it. These came 
 singly ; and sometimes two separate lines of fire would 
 leap out from the bosom of the clouds simultaneously, 
 but from opposite quarters of the gloom — in which case 
 they appeared to meet in anger, like as if two angry 
 gods were warring with each other, and their junction 
 was instantaneously followed by the most terrific bursts 
 of thunder that ever fell on human hearing since the 
 mighty worlds were made. 
 
 I shook with mortal terror ; and this terror increased 
 and intensified into positive, almost unendurable agony, 
 as crash after crash of horrible roaring, rolling, burst- 
 ing god-cannonry swept down the vast concave, drown- 
 ing the clangor of the mad winds, which were rushing 
 and rumbling through the spaces, striving desperately 
 to rival and surpass the awful voice of the electric god 
 himself. I felt that I was lost ; and in that moment of 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 213 
 
 anguish, from the deeps of my soul there went forth a 
 prayer to Him whose presence and majesty was then 
 recognized, with heart bowed down, and with a fervency 
 never realized before. I feared to be swept into no- 
 thingness by the tempestuous breath of heaven ; I feared 
 to be hurled into destruction by the driving blast ! But 
 no ; for seemingly the wind passed through me, just as 
 the electric current passes through human or any other 
 material bodies, and touched me not destroyingly. The 
 fiercest wind that ever raged can never blow a shadow 
 from its place, neither can it in any way blow away a 
 spirit ! for the reason, amongst others, that spirit is not 
 matter, any more than is a shadow or a sound substan- 
 tial, as this last word is generally defined ; hence wind, 
 which is a material substance, can in no wise touch it. 
 And so I was not blown away before the driving gale. 
 "But suppose a column of wind, just three yards 
 square, and moving at the rate of two hundred miles an 
 hour, sweeps toward the very spot on which a human 
 spirit stands, or is ; it cannot turn this wind aside : 
 How, then, could anything remain unmoved ?" This is 
 the question ; now the answer comes. A bar or column 
 of sunshine streams through the air, and its volume is 
 just three yards square. It will require something far 
 different, and much more powerful than a column of air, 
 moving at the rate of two hundred miles an hour, to 
 blow away that sunshine, or to drive a hole through it ; 
 yet the sunshine would still be there, and so would the 
 wind ! This is my answer to that objection. I lifted 
 up my soul in unspeakable thankfulness and adoration, 
 as I realized that spirit was superior to matter, even in 
 its most subtle and rarified forms — superior even to the 
 glaring, seething, melting, white fire of the clouds, when 
 
214 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the lightning furnaces overflow with fervent heat ! 
 
 Safely, slowly, majestically and holily we passed 
 through this terrible battle-ground of the elements ; and 
 to a question internally framed and put, this answer 
 was given by the illustrious being at my side : 
 
 " That you might practically realize the indestructi- 
 ble nature of the human being ; that something of hu- 
 man majesty might appear to your understanding ; that 
 } ou might be shown somewhat of the dignity of being, 
 and the royalty of things, elements, laws and principles, 
 hast thou been by me brought hither. This is merely 
 a first lesson — the mere Alpha of knowledge ; but others 
 far more important are yet to follow. Fear not !" 
 
 But this last injunction it was utterly impossible for 
 me — and would have been for any human being under 
 similar or analogous circumstances — ^to obey or do ; 
 for what with the dizzy sense of height, the sensations 
 attendant upon the movement through space, the glare 
 of the lightning, the elemental strife, the perfect ob- 
 scuration of my dwelling place (the earth), together 
 with an indefinable dread of a something impending, 
 and which I might never be able to comprehend ; this, 
 all this, had the effect of almost palsying every faculty 
 of being, and blanched my very soul with fear ; for the 
 rush and crush, the horrible din of the tempest, and the 
 thunder, made terror my constant associate. It was as 
 if the trial hour had come ; it was like the breaking up 
 of mighty -mountains ; it was as if a hungry earthquake 
 were feeding on a world ! Instinctively I looked to 
 Thotmor for protection. He smiled at my weakness, 
 and bade me remember that a greater than himself was 
 present. Yes, I realized then that God was there, and 
 I was safe ; for He smiled between His frowns, and 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 215 
 
 whispered " I am here I " - * * * In other 
 da}' s, when I gave my soul and body up to the guidance 
 and control of invisible beings, whom I did not know, 
 whom I did not stop to prove and identify — apocryphal 
 persons, at the best — persons disembodied, if indeed 
 they ever wore clay upon this footstool — beings who 
 seek their own amusement at the expense of human 
 dupes — beings who take supreme pleasure and delight 
 in the exhibition of human weakness — beings who 
 silently, but surely, infuse the most deadly and. destruc- 
 tive venom, in the shape of philosophic assurances — 
 beings who mock at our calamity and laugh when our 
 troubles come, both of which they themselves bring to 
 pass — beings who persuade people to believe in all sorts 
 of inanities, dictate senseless platitudes, and encourage 
 persons to believe themselves philosophers when they 
 are only — fools ! I repeat, when in other days I yielded 
 to this evil influence — in other days, when both God 
 and Thotmor were practically ignored and forgotten — 
 in other days, when the pride and power of Eloquence 
 turned me from the Useful — an eloquence weird and 
 almost magic, that welled up through my soul and went 
 forth from eye, and tongue, and pen, and drew my soul 
 from God, — there came occasional twinges of regret, 
 and an assurance that, in forgetting to profit by the 
 teachings of that afternoon, I had bartered off priceless 
 joys for the empty bauble ' worldly fame and ephemeral 
 glory ' — that for the hollow music of man's praises and a 
 few claps of the hand, I had given up the Key to the 
 magnificent Temple, one of whose apartments I that 
 afternoon entered for the first time. Great God ! how 
 I have suffered for that foolish estrayal— that fearful 
 lege majeste— that sflly vanity and supreme folly ! 
 
216 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 We rose above the fierce turmoil, and for the first 
 time a fair opportunity was presented for a closer scru- 
 tiny of my guide. As I drew nearer to him, he said — 
 not in words, but in the silent language used by the 
 higher citizens of the Eepublic of Souls — " All thoughts 
 have shape : some are sharp, acute and angular, many- 
 pointed, and exceedingly rough. These cut and bore 
 their way through the worlds ; others are flat and disk- 
 like : these are thoughts that must be incarnated in 
 matter ere they become useful ; their mission is to be 
 seen ; others to he felt. Some thoughts are light and 
 fantastic, like bubbles on the sea ; they are beautiful 
 while the sun shines, but the very ray that reveals their 
 beauty also seals their doom — for the heat kills them ; 
 they burst, and forever disappear, being hollow and of 
 but little substance : other thoughts are round, heavy, 
 and solid as a cannon-ball, and like them, too, their 
 mission is to batter down the mounds erected by un- 
 wise men. Words are but the garments of thought. 
 Geometry is the Soul of all Sciences— order, symmetry, 
 and form ! Everything, dine, point, shape, angle and 
 figure, corresponds to something in both the Spirit and 
 the Soul-world (the outward and inward Soul-life), and 
 are, independent of magnitude, absolute and arbitrary 
 symbols, embodying an absolute and fixed principle : 
 and every line, dot, point, shape or angle has a fixed 
 definition in the lexicon of the Starry Heavens.* All 
 pure and good thoughts, being themselves full of sym- 
 
 * What a stupendous revelation is here ! What an astounding idea ! 
 For, if this statement be founded in truth, of which there can be but 
 little if any doubt, what ages must elapse ere we be fully able to read 
 the myriad volumes of God's great library — the boundless Universe of 
 form, color, and sound. — Pub. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 217 
 
 metry and beauty, can only be outwardly conveyed or 
 expressed ; if by the voice, by harmony, music and ryth- 
 mical speech and sound ; if by the pen or type, only in 
 characters themselves geometrically perfect, and harmo- 
 niously so. 
 
 " Now," said Thotmor, " you have seen much — heard 
 much. I have just given you a key, and to prove your 
 proficiency in learning, I propound a question. It is 
 this : What thinkest thou of Nature ?" 
 
 Now I, to whom this was addressed, could not pre- 
 cisely comprehend what lie meant by ' Nature ;' but 
 naturally supposed that reference was had to the ele- 
 mental disturbances and the fearful exhibition of mate- 
 rial energy we were witnessing, and which was at that 
 moment unabated in the least ; for the storm still raged 
 with as much fury as ever — not over the same portion 
 of the earth, it is true, but in its own track, as it moved 
 on its southward march. I, therefore, answered in the 
 same silent language, " that, in view of all that had just 
 been witnessed, it was evident that an overruling power 
 existed, ever wakeful, ever on the watch ; that His 
 power was exercised for the greatest good of all the 
 creatures of his love ; and that God worked mysteri- 
 ously through nature, expressly to effect the good of 
 human kind." To this general answer he responded : 
 " Right : but what think you of Nature ?" 
 
 Here was a repetition of the identical question al- 
 ready propounded. It caused me to ponder a little 
 more deeply, and after a while, thinking that this time 
 he was perfectly understood, I replied : " It seems to 
 me that what we call ' Nature ' is simply God in action ; 
 and that God in the sublimer sense is Deity in repose." 
 
 " Apt learner," said he, " right again. But what 
 10 
 
218 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 thinkest thou of Nature?" Now here was the same 
 interrogation a third time repeated. I now determined 
 to study well ere venturing to reply. This I did, all 
 the while upborne on the air by a force whose nature 
 was not easily understood, but which I inwardly resolved 
 to investigate and explore. The resolution was, as will 
 be hereafter seen, most faithfully kept, with results 
 highly gratifying and satisfactory, which will be pre- 
 sented in the sequel to this volume. 
 
 While delving in the mines of my soul for a proper 
 answer, I took notice that we gently floated off and 
 upward, at an angle of fifty-one degrees with the hor- 
 izon. The storm was going in one direction, and we 
 in the other ; so that in a little time we were entirely 
 beyond its influence, as was also that portion of the 
 earth over which it first began to rage. There was no 
 standard by which the rate of our velocity could be 
 measured ; but it must have been prodigious, judging 
 by the rapidity with which the mountains, rivers and 
 cities of the earth seemingly swept by us — for indeed 
 there was at this point of the experience but very little, 
 if any, sense of motion, — no cutting of the air, — no 
 hissing as we passed through it ; but it seemed as if we 
 were in the center of a large transparent globe or 
 sphere, which itself moved on as if impelled by a force 
 entirely superior to that which governs rude matter. 
 The earth itself, from the elevation we were at, seemed 
 to have lost its general convex shape, and now looked 
 as if it were a huge basin, so singularly did it appear 
 to concave itself. Instinctively I realized that this was 
 the appearance it would naturally assume to a person 
 who looked upon it through bodily eyes from the great 
 height at which we now were ; but it was not so easy 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 219 
 
 to understand why a spirit whose sense of sight was 
 unimpeded by physiological organs or conditions — a 
 spirit to whom the electric atmosphere, which lies em- 
 bosomed in the outer air — served as the vehicle of ocular 
 knowledge, should behold it in the same way. 
 
 But while studying the answer to the first problem, 
 the solution of the second came to me, and I saw that 
 the similarity of phenomena, viewed from opposite 
 states, was attributable solely to the former habitudes 
 of my mind, and to the association of ideas. 
 
 Thotmor saw my embarrassment, and the conclusions 
 on the subject to which I had arrived. "Eight!" 
 said he. " But," — ere another moment elapsed I re- 
 plied : "I think that Nature is a system of active 
 forces, ever radiating from God as beams from a star — 
 that they go out, and as constantly return to the point 
 whence they emanated." " Paradox ! Explain !" " I 
 mean that" — here a sudden thought struck me, and I 
 said to the guide, " You have not dealt fairly by me ; 
 you are not Thotmor, an Egyptian of the early cen- 
 turies ; on the contrary, I am convinced that you have 
 disguised yourself, and for certain reasons and purposes 
 of your own assumed another name. You are — I feel 
 perfectly convinced that you must be Socrates, the 
 philosopher, come back for a time to pursue the old 
 and honorable avocation, — the teaching and enlight- 
 ment of the ignorant ; for Socrates alone, of all earth's 
 great children of yore, was the one who taught by 
 asking questions of such as sought knowledge and wis- 
 dom, where he sat to dispense them. Am I not right ?" 
 
 The rare being gazed tenderly down into my eyes, and 
 Ms countenance glowed with a radiance quite glorious 
 and divine, as he replied : " Yes. — No. I am Socrates 
 
220 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 and not Thotmor ; and still am Thotmor and not So- 
 crates. Here is another enigma. Do you comprehend? 
 Try ; for remember the human soul is infinite in its 
 nature ! Its capacities are boundless. You aspire to 
 comprehend the mighty secret of the Trine. You 
 seek to become an acolyte of the imperial order of the 
 Rosy Cross, and to re-establish it upon the earth ; and 
 no True Rosicrucian dares shrink from attempting 
 the solution of the mysteries and problems that human 
 minds in heaven or on earth may conceive or propound. 
 Our motto — the motto of the great order of which I 
 was a brother on the earth, — an order which has, under 
 a variety of names, existed since the very dawn of civil- 
 ization on the earth— is ' Try. 7 " 
 
 Again the same method ; again this strange weird 
 being not only provokes to mental exertion, but reveals 
 a clue to millions of profound and priceless secrets ! 
 
 He is then the great Ramus, the imperial lord of an 
 imperial order, — that great and mystic brotherhood at 
 whose power kings and potentates have tremblec} most 
 abjectly. And this lordly being condescends to teach 
 a few of the mysteries of Being to my humble self, and 
 through me to the world. How wonderful ! How my 
 soul rejoices ! Yerily, from this day forth I will en- 
 deavor to prove worthy of the kingly favor. 
 
 This was my resolve ; how it was afterward forgotten 
 has already been stated. Men ever neglect and forget 
 their best friends ! But even this forgetfulness, so I have 
 been told, was foreseen ; it was known long years ago 
 that the painful career since accomplished, was the 
 decree of a power above my feebleness, and it was 
 known that all the terrible sufferings, trials, tempta- 
 tions and repentances were to be instruments toward 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 221 
 
 high and noble ends, not yet wholly, but to be wrought 
 out in His own good time, who doeth all things well. 
 
 And now, on this tenth day of February, eighteen 
 hundred and sixty-one, as I look back over the ruins of 
 the dead months, I resolve in my soul to Try — and, a*s 
 near as may be, to approach the standard of goodness 
 and use : for these are the ends sought to be attained 
 by the Order. 
 
 To resume : In reply, I said : " Yes, you are, this 
 time, fully understood ; you are Thotmor, but adopt 
 the methods of Socrates, because they are best calcu- 
 lated for the purposes of teaching ; and these methods 
 are" — " "Wisdom's, — and were applied practically by the 
 great teacher," said he, interrupting the sentence, and 
 completing it for me, but not quite as I had intended. 
 
 " Now, scholar, answer the first question, and tell me 
 what you think of Nature ?" 
 
 " I think that Nature is an emanation from the Glo- 
 rified Person of Deity ! Tell me, truly, is God a per- 
 son ?" 
 
 " As certainly and truly as that you are an individual, 
 just so certain and truly is God an absolute Being — 
 not a mere king — who, seated on the Throne of thrones, 
 watches the procession of the worlds ; but the Inef- 
 fable One is a working God, who pursues His march 
 across the vast Eternities, reducing Chaos as He goes, 
 and leaving a train of luminous worlds behind him. 
 You shall know more of this hereafter. Go on : tell 
 me what you think of Nature !" 
 
 11 The principles, I think, are radiations from Jeho- 
 vah ; the purpose and design of this irradiation must 
 be to perfect the universal organism ; by a commingling 
 of forces and elements, by mutual and diverse action and 
 
222 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 counter action, the end sought is doubtless attained ; 
 and it is through the same agencies that He reduces to 
 Order, Law, and Symmetry the " 
 
 I could go no further, for the reason that my concep- 
 tion and descriptive power had run against the wall. 
 He saw and pitied, while he completed the sentence 
 for me : 
 
 " Nebulous Sy stems, which lie beyond the pale of 
 
 the inhabited and leaking Universe of Forms." 
 
 Whoever reads these pages, and clearly comprehends 
 the meaning of his last fifteen words, can but agree 
 that here was a stretch of thought amazing, and abso- 
 lutely awful to even contemplate. They distinctly im- 
 ply that God is still making worlds — worlds hereafter 
 to be peopled with glowing forms of a life, intellect, 
 and beauty, that shall put to the blush the highest ideal 
 of the loftiest Seraph, now in being, when the present 
 Universe shall have died of hoary age. 
 
 Yes ; Thotmor's thought is a vast and mighty one. 
 Do you not think so, my reader ? Try to compass and 
 master this idea, so terrifically great and sublime, and 
 you will forthwith coincide with me. 
 
 What becomes of many of the ordinary conceptions 
 of God's character now extant among even the philoso- 
 phers — conceptions so unjust, puerile, and even con- 
 temptible, as many of them are ; what becomes of them 
 all, in the presence of the estimate of the great Crea- 
 tive Energy just conveyed to your brain ? They fall 
 and sink into utter nothingness, while this one looms 
 up before our mind's eye in proportions majestic and 
 grand. We catch an intuitive glimpse of its outlines — 
 its edges ; but the whole thought is too great for our 
 puny brains to contain. Try to master it, and ere 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 223 
 
 long your soul, like mine, will fold its wings in pres- 
 ence of its majesty* 
 
 " The Principles and First Elements, after per- 
 forming one round of duty, return to the Fountain 
 Head, become newly charged with portions of His 
 essence, refilled with the Deific energy, and then go 
 forth again to complete and finish what, under a less 
 perfect form, they have before commenced ; for all prin- 
 ciples and elements are at bottom only one — but one 
 which acts under a thousand different forms : — all sci- 
 ence is based on Music, or Harmony ; Harmony is but 
 Geometry and Algebra — these are but Mathematics ; 
 this is but one branch of Celestial Mechanics, which 
 in turn is only Number — but number in action ;" said 
 the august presence at my side, as he completed the 
 magnificent lesson — a lesson so full, so pregnant. with 
 meaning, that my reader will not soon exhaust its treas- 
 ures, even though he most persistently may • Try.' 
 
 Still benignly gazing on me, Thotmor said : " What 
 thinkest thou of Nature ?" 
 
 Great God ! that identical question a fourth time ! 
 How is it possible to answer it? I felt that, clear as my 
 intellect now was, it would be sheerly impossible to 
 proceed one single step further in definition, and was 
 about to abandon the attempt, when a voice, sweeter 
 than the dulcet melody of love, softer than the sounds 
 to which dreaming infants listen, more persuasive than 
 the lip of beauty, whispered : " Try I the Soul groweth 
 tall and comely, and ivaxeth powerful and strong only 
 as it putteth forth its Will I Mankind are of seven great 
 orders : the last and greatest are the Genii of the Earth, 
 the Children of the Star-beam, the Inheritors of the Tem- 
 ple. Weak ones can never enter its vestibules ; but only 
 
224 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 those ivho Try, and trying for a time, at length become 
 victors and enter in. Man fails because of feeble, sleep- 
 ing, idle Will — succeeds, because lie wakes it up and ever 
 keejDS it ivakeful !" 
 
 In an instant I turned to find whence these spoken 
 words proceeded ; and a sight of rare, surpassing 
 beauty, such as ravished every sense of my inner being, 
 fell upon my gaze. A female of regal aspect floated on 
 beside the form of Thotmor ; her radiant mien, beauty 
 of form, loveliness of expression, and the grace of her 
 every movement, were such that the language we apply 
 to embodied woman can never convey an adequate idea 
 of the peerless Queen before me. It was from her lips 
 that the spoken words had come. 
 
 As I gazed in utter bewilderment upon the houri, 
 Thotmor smiled, and said : 
 
 " This is Cynthia, whose sun I am ; my moon she is : 
 she is mine — I am hers— we are one ! On earth her 
 body sleeps ; here her soul is awake, and tuned to the 
 melodies of Heaven. We are working for the World, 
 and in that work find pleasure and excellent joy ; but 
 we only reached the bliss by Trying. Do thou the 
 same, and tell thy earthly brothers to do likewise !" 
 
 Thus recalled to mental effort, I strove to conquer 
 my admiration for the woman, and address myself to 
 thought ; albeit the task was very difficult. 
 
 We are human beings still, whether in or out of the 
 body ; and the same surmises, guesses and wonderments 
 possess us, wheresoever we are. Thus, I could hardly 
 help envying the Egyptian his glorious prize, nor won- 
 dering if he did not see much trouble and come to deep 
 grief on her account. Certain it is, that no man on 
 earth could rest quiet with such a treasure of beauty 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 225 
 
 under his care ; and it struck me that, even in the Soul- 
 world, all people could not be free from all the human 
 passions, as we know them here below ; and that jeal- 
 ousy might disturb the Oriental's peace of mind, I could 
 scarcely doubt. 
 
 He saw my mind ; and, turning to the full moon of 
 beauty who clung to his side, said to her, " Answer for ' 
 me ! ;J She did so, and said : " Purity is the soul of 
 Beauty, Symmetry is its spirit, and Justice is its body. 
 Every human being, in the Soul-worlds or elsewhere, 
 loves nothing so well as to be well thought of by all 
 other human beings. Ambition, Emulation, and Per- 
 sonal Joy are the three bars, which constitute the pivot 
 of all human character. The bad passions, as envy, 
 strife, anger, lust, and revenge, on earth, not only de- 
 stroy the body, but also mar the spirit. Every one of 
 these, and all other evil things, thoughts or deeds', in- 
 evitably leave their marks upon the soul, and deep, sad 
 marks they are. 
 
 " The law of Truth, the law of Individuality, and the 
 law of Distinctness, (by means of which the man is 
 rounded out into a perfect character, and is afterwards 
 kept for all eternity totally distinct from any other 
 being in all the universe), reign in the Soul- world ; nor 
 can they ever be broken or evaded ;— consequently, 
 there can be no mistakes in regard to Identity. Cyn- 
 thia is Cynthia, Thotmor is Thotmor, Clarinda is Cla- 
 rinda, and John is John — and all must remain so till 
 the end of the Ages. It is so now, whatever it may have 
 been in the ages wherein the angels fell. 
 
 " On earth, the real thoughts and sentiments of a soul 
 are hidden beneath the garniture of language and as- 
 sumption ; — not so here in the Soul-world, where every 
 19* 
 
226 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 one must appear to be what he really is at the moment. 
 There are no disguises ; and while any one can do 
 wrongly, if they so elect, yet they cannot mtenil wrong 
 and pretend right, for the presence of an evil thought 
 in the soul, is immediately marked upon its surface— 
 upon its features, by a law of that very soul itself ; and 
 these marks and distortions are so very plain and un- 
 mistakable, that all Heaven can read them at a glance ; 
 and such instantly gravitate to the Middle State. 
 
 " Self-preservation, therefore, and self-respect keep 
 Heaven clear of sin 1 
 
 " In the second place, it is well known here, as it 
 ought to be on earth, that the deceiver is, in all cases, 
 the deceived ; the wrong-doer wrongs himself more than 
 any one else ; and the unhappiness a person may cause 
 another to feel, must be expiated by the causer, not by 
 the victim ! This is a safeguard against jealousy here. 
 No one will do an ill deed if he is aware that it cannot 
 be kept secret, even for a moment. 
 
 " In the next place, I chose Thotmor, and he me, be- 
 cause of all the inhabitants of this starry land, he suited 
 me the best, and I him ; wherefore, there is a stronger 
 attachment between us than there possibly could be be- 
 tween either and any other individual in the great Do- 
 main. All Heaven knows this fact also : hence, no one 
 in Heaven would attempt to sunder a natural tie, be- 
 cause they are well aware, that, even if that were pos- 
 sible, misery, and not contentment, must be the inevita- 
 ble result. Wherefore none in Heaven would attempt 
 such a thing, and no one from other regions could essay 
 it." 
 
 Like drops of water on the sands of Sahara, her 
 blessed words sunk into my soul : the Wisdom-cham- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEA 22? 
 
 bers received a new family of ideas ; and my soul 
 felt exceeding glad of this instalment of the treasures 
 of the upper worlds. 
 
 For a moment, I remained pensive and silent ; and 
 then, inspired by the ineffable presence of Thotmor and 
 his Cynthia, who floated on beside him — his pearly arm 
 engirdling her glorious form in an embrace, which spoke 
 of something higher and holier than we mortals call 
 love— I answered : " It now seems to me that Nature 
 is the birth-place of Affection, the tomb of all evil, the 
 primary school of human souls, the alembic of the Vir- 
 tues, the gymnasia of Thought, the " — 
 
 I was forced to stop again ; nor could I go on. Thot- 
 mor came to my relief, and added : 
 
 " A plane inclined, beginning at Instinct, and ending 
 in Omniscience ; the telegraphic system of all Being, 
 connecting its remotest points ; the workshop of the 
 Infinite and Eternal God ; the grand orchestra of all 
 the Symphonies, and the ladder reaching from Non- 
 entity to the great Dome, beneath which sits in awful 
 majesty the Lawmaker of the Universe, the Great 
 I Am." 
 
 (Sums. 
 
 This book, which after all is but prefatory to a vol- 
 ume on the general subject of the life beyond, which we 
 are, ere long, to give to the world, would be incomplete 
 were we to neglect or omit to answer certain very preg- 
 nant questions, that must arise in the mind of the read- 
 er, as he or she proceeds in its perusal : accordingly, 
 this section, a short one, shall be devoted to that end. 
 
 As I rose in the air, and passed over a sunny region, 
 
228 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 which had not felt the effects of the terrific storm of thun- 
 der and rain, there came a feeling, that there was a vast 
 difference between my then present state, and that in 
 which the aerial journey from the city in the East was 
 accomplished. In both cases, the altitude reached was 
 probably the same, or approximately so ; but in the first 
 flight I was not one-fiftieth part as conscious, or awake, 
 as during the second : there was also a difference in the 
 rapidity of motion. 
 
 The individual calling himself Thotmor, and concern- 
 ing whose reality I am perfectly convinced, now moved 
 through the air at but a slight elevation above me j 
 while formerly, I had not seen him at all, previous to 
 making his acquaintance near the house of the sleepy 
 student. 
 
 At one time, among my other miseries, there pos- 
 sessed me a very uncomfortable apprehension, lest, by 
 some mishap, my guide should be unable to sustain me, 
 and that I should fall. Now the reader will say, " That 
 was impossible ; for a spirit, being lighter than air, 
 must necessarily ascend" Another one will say, " True, 
 so it must ; but being so very much lighter than air, 
 what is to hinder it from going up with a rush — what 
 prevents it from going up vertically with the speed of a 
 rifle ball, seeing that the pressure of air must force it 
 upward with a power almost inconceivable ? How is it 
 that a spirit gets to earth at all, seeing that light bodies 
 cannot displace heavy ones ; and how could a spirit move 
 off at an angle at all V 
 
 These, and a multitude of other questions were pre- 
 sent in my mind, along with many novel suggestions, 
 provoked by the peculiar circumstances in which the 
 narrator of these experiences was placed. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 229 
 
 Let us try to make the matter clear, by remarking, 
 in the first place, that the prevailing sensation was such 
 as is experienced by those who go up into the great 
 deep in balloons, during their novitiate in the business 
 of cloud-climbing. 
 
 Among other questions that arose, and which I put 
 to myself, was this :" Do I as a spirit, for the time 
 being, actually ascend ? Am I really here, on the breast 
 of earth's great cushion — the atmosphere ? or is all this 
 an experience of the soul — an episode of dream-life? 
 Am I really here, or is this, that so resembles me, only 
 an alter ego — a second self — the result of a pushing forth 
 of faculty ? Is it a mere phantom, which my soul has 
 shaped, and sent forth, and then lodged its intelligence 
 in, for a time, by way of experiment and freak ? If so, 
 how is it done ? ' 
 
 " In either case, the question is a grave one ; for if it 
 be not myself, here in the air, but only a soul-created 
 phasma, of what sort of materials is this appearance 
 made, and whence comes the wierd and mighty power 
 that can call these images into being, and endow them 
 with all the resemblance of reality ?" 
 
 These and similar queries suggested themselves to 
 me ; and while the last one was still fresh in my mind, 
 I noticed that the earth beneath me was smiling in 
 glad freshness ; — for the storm had not passed over that 
 part of the land, although even then and there it was 
 raining — a soft, gentle, sweet and sunshiny summer 
 rain, such as happens when the " Devil whips his wife " 
 — I beg pardon — used to whip her ; for, according to 
 modern philosophers, of the " Harmonial " order, he 
 has deceased these eleven years, and, of course, cannot 
 thus chastise her any more. Be that as it may, how- 
 
230 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 ever, it was raining ; and here was an opportunity to 
 solve a much mooted point, namely : " Do spiritual 
 beings get wet in a rain storm ? Do the rain-drops 
 and hail-stones pass through them, or do they bound off 
 as from a solid body f J Most attentively did I make 
 the closest observations, in order to be able to solve 
 the question. I decided that the rain passed through us, 
 yet touched us not at all, as apparently did the wind. 
 Preferring to make every point as clear as possible, I 
 shall attempt to illustrate this one, even at the risk of 
 a little prolixity and repetition. The subject is an in- 
 teresting one, and demands it. 
 
 Now, everybody knows that nothing less dense than 
 water, save air, in violent motion, will turn aside or 
 shed it ; and that which constitutes the spiritual body 
 is, of course, infinitely finer and more Subtle than even 
 the rarest gas, much less the thick and heavy atmo- 
 sphere surrounding this and all other globes. 
 
 This fact being conceded, it follows that all such 
 bodies must be pervious ; and they are so, and not so at 
 the same time. Remember that spirit is not soul ; for- 
 get not that the latter is the Winged Globe, of which I 
 have spoken, and the former is a projection, an out- 
 creation from it. This out-projection or spirit is, of 
 course, perfectly atomless and unparticled. We gaze 
 into a mirror, and behold a semblance of ourselves ; 
 and the same figure may be gazed at by a hundred thou- 
 sand eyes ; everybody will at once acknowledge that 
 the likeness is perfect and real, yet every one knows 
 that not one single atom of any sort of matter enters 
 into its composition. 
 
 It cannot be handled, but everybody can see it ; nor 
 would a pistol ball, shot through the head of that 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 31 
 
 ■figure, harm it in the least degree, because it is not 
 substance, although it is substantial. It is not a sha- 
 dow, for it is real, — which latter fact is proved daily by 
 those who first coax this image to enter a camera, and 
 no sooner does it get fairly in than the clever artist 
 impales it against a tablet of glass, or ivory, and lo ! 
 everybody carries the chained image to his home for 
 everybody else to look at, who chooses so to do. This 
 is Photography. 
 
 Now, the wind and rain, cold and heat, are as power- 
 less and inefficient to act upon a spirit as they are upon 
 the image in the camera, or a mirror. In other words, 
 the spiritual body is a projected image of the soul,— is 
 a sort of objectified subjective state ; or is a fixed idea 
 — an out-creation.* 
 
 The image in the glass is not made up of parts, — it is 
 a unit, — an entity, — is homogeneous. " If so, how can 
 it be scientifically true that the rain passes through it ? 
 If it does so pass, it must make holes through it ; and 
 if holes are made through it, then its homogeneity is at 
 an end for evermore." 
 
 This is a fair, as it certainly is the strongest object- 
 ion that can be urged against the position assumed. 
 But the answer, which forever sets it at rest, is this : 
 " Spirit is not matter." 
 
 The subject may be further illustrated, thus : Suppose 
 a large sheet of flame issuing, not from a jet, but from 
 the edge of a hollow disk, and that the rush of gas is 
 great enough to impel the sheet of flame six feet into the 
 air. Now, try to wet this flame ; it will take some time 
 before you succeed in the enterprise. Take a watering 
 
 * This sublime truth will be elaborated at length in the second 
 volume, of which this is the first.— PuZ>. 
 
232 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 pot and sprinkle it to your heart's content ; but, although 
 the drops of water will reach the ground through the 
 disk, and displace portions thereof, for an infinitesimal 
 space of time, yet they will neither wet nor touch it. 
 
 Every drop of water has an envelope of an electric 
 nature, doubtless ; and that each particle of flame has 
 a corresponding one is self-evident. The respective 
 envelopes may come in contact with each other, but 
 their respective principles — never. 
 
 Now, the spirit is far more difficult to reach ^han 
 would be this flame. As stated before, every perfect 
 thing is globular : the sun, within the brain, I have 
 called by its true name — a winged globe ; the electric 
 moon, whose seat is in, on and about the solar plexus, 
 is literally an electric moon, perfectly globular. The 
 human being, body, soul, spirit, is surrounded by an at- 
 mosphere of the same form, or nearly so ; and this 
 enveloping aura, this spirit-garb, protects its centre — 
 the man — from injury or contact with other things 
 (unless, indeed, it be voluntarily broken down, or yields 
 to assaults from without by the abjectivity of the will). 
 True, a person may be injured magnetically through 
 this sphere, by pressure or malaria, although itself 
 remains unruptured and intact ; just as a pistol ball 
 will kill a man, without actually touching his flesh. If 
 he chance to be dressed in silk, it may drive its bulk 
 into his flesh, yet not a particle of lead shall touch it. 
 
 I observed the aura or sphere which surrounded 
 myself and my two glorified companions. The rain- 
 drops passed through it, as also through portions of our 
 respective persons, just as they would through a sheet 
 of flame-lightning, but without actual contact or wet- 
 ting either. We have every reason to believe that, as 
 
DEALING^ WITH THE DEAD. 233 
 
 we ascend, the air grows colder, until at the height of 
 forty-five miles the cold must be in the neighborhood of 
 three thousand degrees below zero. Now, spirits fre- 
 quently pass through this — they must pass through it to 
 reach us, yet they are unaffected thereby, for the reason 
 that they are superior to all material influences. 
 
 Moses, Elias, the spiritual visitants of the Patriarchs, 
 of the man of Uz, he whom John saw, — and others, had 
 to come through this intense cold ; and the fact that they 
 did so proves that material forces have but little, if 
 any effect upon spirit. It therefore defies one extreme, 
 and consequently ought the other. It does so. For 
 the spirits seen walking about in the fiery furnace, 
 which was heated seven times hotter than its wont, for 
 the especial grilling of Messieurs Shadrach, Meshach 
 and Abednego, bade defiance to fire ; — a fatal fact 
 against the theory of a physical hell — the spirits proving 
 not only water, ice, and wind, but ^re-proof also ! 
 
 Continuing my scrutiny, I observed that never a drop 
 of rain fell upon the centre of the heads of either of the 
 aerial party : for just over the crown of every human 
 being in the body is a thick bone ; out of the body, a mag- 
 netic shield, impenetrable by anything whatever ; for 
 every drop of rain slides off it, as from an iron roof. 
 Place a spirit under a stream of falling water, and the 
 central globe would instantly condense to infinitesimal 
 proportions, so firmly embraced by its. shield as to 
 resemble the original monad ; nor could water ever 
 come in contact with it, any more than the same water 
 could come in contact with a plate of iron at a white 
 heat, which every one knows is a physical impossibility. 
 I humbly trust that I have been understood. 
 
 In reply to " How can a spirit reach earth at all, or 
 
234 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 move through air at any angle up or down ?" I reply : 
 Electrically. It projects an image of itself to where it 
 would be;— every man who thinks of a distant point 
 does the same, only that the thing cannot be seen with 
 earthly eyes. There is a magnetic railway between the 
 projection and the projector, along which this latter 
 moves. 
 
 Throw forth an image by glasses across the street. 
 It will find no difficulty in reaching the spot whither 
 you send it. Analogous to this is the power of soul to 
 go whither it listeth, unimpeded, and of its own free 
 will. 
 
 The ultimatum of all philosophy is, to teach men how 
 to live ; to instruct them how to die ; establish a con- 
 viction of immortality ; and explain how this latter is, 
 and why, and to whither it shall lead. The sole busi- 
 ness of this book, and that which is to follow in due 
 season, is not to controvert any current system of phi- 
 losophy — Harmonial, Spiritualistic, or otherwise — but to 
 present, not a mere theory or hypothesis on the subject 
 of an hereafter and its sequences, but to give forth 
 what I know to be the truth, so far as that truth ex- 
 tends ; nor do I fail to be impressed with a deep assur- 
 ance that, although much herein given necessarily an- 
 tagonizes a few of the popular Spiritual theories, yet 
 I believe that that which I have now given concerning 
 the soul and its destiny, is perfectly true and correct. 
 I care not how much soever the reader may doubt the 
 aerial experiences herein narrated — for these are but 
 illustrative, at best, and in other respects are of little 
 account — yet the Theory I know to be the only true one 
 yet advanced ; and it is to the principles wherein this 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 235 
 
 theory is founded, that I call the attention of the Think- 
 ing World, and challenge its respect. 
 
 Not a human being, whom I ever saw, was fully satis- 
 fied with either Modern Spiritualism, or what is called 
 Harmonial Philosophy ; for the more a man bases his 
 hopes of a life hereafter upon either of them, the more 
 he stands on slippery ground. Doubt after doubt seizes 
 on the mind, until at last people turn away, sad-hearted 
 and desperate, from so-called systems of Immortalism, 
 to take refuge in the church, which erewhile they so 
 loudly berated and condemned — resort once again to 
 the Blessed Book, or else unhappily drift out upon the 
 shoreless, hopeless sea of atheism. There are untold 
 multitudes who will gladly hail anything that promises 
 to remove the dreadful doubts concerning, not only 
 their continued existence, but their chances of bliss be- 
 yond the veil. To such this book and its fellow comes ; 
 for the benefit of such they both are, and are to be sent 
 forth upon the world's great tide. 
 
 Thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the truths here 
 written — with the principles set forth and running like 
 a gold- vein through that portion which is descriptive 
 mainly — no one can help feeling strong in the certitude 
 of an hereafter — this being the only attempt ever yet 
 made in this country to treat of the soul per se, and in 
 its higher and deeper relations, so far as the writer is 
 aware. 
 
 Concerning the absolute origin and final destiny of 
 the soul itself, the answer to the question, What is God, 
 and a few others of equal import, the reader must wait 
 for the second volume ; for, in the present, we have onl^ 
 entered the outskirts of the illimitable course — have 
 scarcely touched the preface of the mighty volume, 
 
236 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Soul. Herein we are only at the top of one of the less- 
 er hills, from which we catch a faint, very faint view, 
 and hear but the distant throbbing pulses of the vast 
 ocean, on whose swelling bosom, and upborne by whose 
 wisdom-crested waves all men shall ere long sail. 
 
 As true lovers of our race, we ask all good people to 
 embark with us anon upon an intellectual voyage across 
 the Deep, in search of facts and truths far more stately 
 and sublime than those usually purporting to come from 
 super-mundane sources. 
 
 All truths are necessarily dogmatic ; nor has any 
 attempt herein been made to hinder their expression 
 from being the same. Our great Master and Exemplar 
 in virtue was dogmatic — why not his followers be the 
 same ? 
 
 It seems essential, at this point, that the writer should 
 say something, not concerning the spiritual realms, but 
 of the man-spirit — the self — the developed and develop- 
 ing monad. Now, what is a monad ? The reply is : 
 Something quite analogous to, but not exactly, the Leib- 
 nitzian ' Particle/ but that which is to universal spirit 
 precisely what an atom is to universal substance or 
 matter — with this difference : you cannot cut an idea 
 into halves or pieces, for it is, was, and ever will be, a 
 unit ; so is a monad. 
 
 An atom of matter is divisible to infinity — a single 
 grain of sand being, by a mental process, capable of 
 disintegration so great, that were each portion to be 
 separated from its fellow by only the millionth of an 
 inch, yet the vast concave of the dome, the walls of the 
 sidereal heaven, the awful height and depths of space, 
 the dizzy steeps of the great Profound, would not afford 
 room to hold them all, even though the worlds were 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 237 
 
 rushed out of being for accommodation's sake. Yet 
 not one of these portions would be spirit, because that 
 is indivisible ; they can never be. It is a philosophic 
 truth, as well as a scientific axiom, that " Matter is 
 divisible forever ; spirit is not." 
 
 Beasts have spirits, but not immortal ones ; for the 
 reason that they are the result of mere physical energy , 
 and natural elements acted on by natural forces. Their 
 mission is to serve certain uses, the greatest of which is 
 that of affording, in some mysterious way, temporary 
 homes for higher beings, or rather for what is there- 
 after to become such — as already alluded to in the ar- 
 ticle on TransmigratioD . 
 
 Nothing material is endowed with perpetuity ; for 
 nothing particled can ever be so. True it is, that the 
 spirit of a beast is many degrees finer in texture, and 
 more sublimated than the luminiferous ether by which we 
 come in contact with colors ; but the soul of a man is 
 myriads of degrees more subtile in constitution than even 
 this essential part of animals. The last is particled, the 
 former homogeneous, sui generis, Deific in origin, pecu- 
 liar in nature, expansive in power, infinite in capacity 
 of acquirement, and probably eternal in duration. 
 
 Comparisons are useful : Suppose, then, that the sacred 
 rite is to be celebrated that shall call a new soul into 
 outer being. Well, at the moment of orgasm, there 
 leaps forth from the very heart of the winged globe a 
 monad ; with the speed of light, it rushes down the 
 spinal column, supplied in its route with a nervo-mag- 
 netic garment — a voluntary contribution from every 
 particle of his physical being. It reaches the neighbor- 
 hood of the prostate gland, passes through it, during 
 which it receives additional envelopes, of a nature easily 
 
238 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 understood. Its next leap is to the prepared ovum, 
 which it only reaches after taking refuge in a hollow, 
 shell, attached to what is called the " head of a sperma- 
 tozoa," which in itself is the half germ (the ovum being 
 the other) of the physical structure. 
 
 Imagine, if you please, a monad just incarnated in 
 many folds. Its color is a pearly white, approaching 
 the hue of pure fire ; its bulk, with its investments 
 about one-tenth that of the head of a small pin ; with- 
 out them, about so much less that probably a million 
 might float without contact in a single drop of water. 
 Its envelopes are the very incarnations and condensa- 
 tions of electricity and magnetism ; and so possess the 
 power of repelling uncongenialities, and of attracting 
 whatever is essential to its development, during and 
 subsequent to its temporary home at the gestative cen- 
 tre. The essences and life of all that the parent may 
 eat and drink, or breathe — as perfumes, odors, and so 
 forth — are gravitative to the precious point ; and so the 
 monad unfolds, and its envelopes grow ; the one des- 
 tined to become a living, active soul — the other, the 
 temple of flesh and blood, in which it will, for three 
 score years and ten, more or less, exercise and improve 
 its faculties and powers. Now, this process is exactly 
 analogous to that whereby God Himself brings humans 
 into being ; only that instead of having a female form 
 to shield them (the monads), He made use of matter in 
 other forms— worlds, and substantial things. It is easy 
 to see how the first human being was brought into ex- 
 istence, albeit the full statement thereof belongs to an- 
 other volume than the present — the first part of the 
 present one merely giving an outline thereof. 
 
 Man's body is of the earth, earthy ; it serves the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 239 
 
 soul's purposes for a time, and when it can no longer do 
 so, we die because it is the nature of matter to decay 
 and change ; but soul being of God, the Honover, Aum, 
 the Sacred, the Holy, the Great Mystery, lives on 
 forever and for evermore ; and in all human probability 
 unfolds continually and incessantly. 
 
 Could you procure a microscopic view of a monad, 
 you would behold a perfect resemblance of a human 
 being of infinitesimal proportions, standing at full 
 length, but with closed eyes, in the midst of a surround- 
 ing and protecting sphere, formed of something a myriad 
 degrees more sublimated than the rarest imponderable 
 known to science.* 
 
 Soul has two methods of increase : first, it feeds on 
 notions, thoughts, sensations, ideas, emotions, hopes, 
 joys, fears and anticipations, based on that which is ex- 
 ternal of itself. The experiences and discipline thus 
 derived, constitute Progression. On the other hand, it 
 creates, moulds, and fashions things from itself, and by 
 the exercise, grows intuitive and strong. This is De- 
 velopment, or Unfolding. Souls are all of the same 
 
 * " Over the graves of the newly dead, may, on dark nights, be seen 
 hovering the forms of those within them — strange, ghastly, ghostly 
 forms they are. The exhalations of the decaying bodies assume the 
 shape and proportions of the living being, and affright the passer3 
 by." — Jung Stilling. 
 
 " Burn a rose, and then mix it3 asheswith water in a bowl ; set it 
 away in a still place, and in a few days a thin, glairy scum will rise 
 upon the surface, and arrange itself in the exact form of the original 
 flower.'"— Report of Acad. Sci., Paris, 1834. fc _ ^ 
 
 The acorn, split in two and exposed to a strong light and high mag- 
 nifying power, will disclose the perfect outlines of an oak tree. The 
 germ of all things contains the likeness of what hereafter they are 
 destined to become, and so also does the germ or monad of a man. 
 
 Pub. 
 
240 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 genesis, but, like trees of the forest, there are vast dif- 
 ferences between them. Men often speak of " full souls, 
 big souls, weak souls, strong souls, lean and fat souls," 
 and so on — thus leaping to a truth by a single bound 
 of intuition. For no greater truths exist than those 
 words convey. People grow weary by labor, that's 
 physical exhaustion ; and of pleasure, that's sen- 
 sational weariness ; and of thinking, hoping, cogitating 
 on a single subject, that's soul-tiredness— for all of 
 which rest is demanded, or rather a change of attention 
 and occupation. 
 
 The body is a laboratory, wherein the most beautiful 
 and useful chemical labors are carried on ; and it ex- 
 tracts and distils the finest essences from all things it 
 manipulates. True it is, that a coarse man will only 
 extract physical energy from beef and wine ; but it is 
 also true that these things contain something far more 
 rare, and so subtle that it requires a stomach of finer 
 texture and more elevated order to extract the higher 
 essences, that go to inspire genius, develope poets, and 
 sustain philosophers in thinking. 
 
 Some persons manufacture bleaching salts and oil of 
 vitriol ; others compound the delicate odors which float 
 upon the air of palaces, and radiate from the garments 
 of refined women ; yet both are chemists. And so of 
 human bodies ; they feed on the essences of food, and 
 convert these essences into the most spiritual forms pos- 
 sible ; this last is duly laid away in numberless maga- 
 zines, or store-houses, which we call the u Nervous Gan- 
 glia." When these -stores are distributed, the body 
 grows strong. When the supply is exhausted, we be- 
 come faint and weary, and finally fall asleep, whereupon 
 the soul-sun sets for a while (vide the case of the stu- 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 241 
 
 dent), withdraws from the brain, passes down the verte- 
 brae, enters the solar plexus, changes the refined essences 
 of the ganglia into pure fire, endows it with portions of 
 its own divine life, sends a supply to every point where 
 the communications are not cut off by disease ; and so 
 increases the vigor, life, and bulk of the body. 
 
 When this recuperative work is done, the soul some- 
 times rests awhile, and remains shut out from this world 
 for hours ; during which time our existence is vegeta- 
 tive only, and we are in a deathly slumber, so far as 
 outward consciousness is concerned. At such times, the 
 soul is making itself familiar with the elements of that 
 lofty and transcendant knowledge which all good human 
 beings are destined to fully acquire after death. It is 
 talking with God, and God is in turn conversing with 
 it. It is perusing its volume of Reminiscences, and 
 these sometimes vaguely, dimly flash forth on the out- 
 ward memory, causing men to doubt the story that they 
 have not pre-existed. Sometimes it is intently listening 
 to the glorious melodies which the seraphim sing, or 
 drinking in the knowledge of archangels j for it is in- 
 deed true that — 
 
 " Sometimes the aerial synod bends, 
 And the mighty choir descends, 
 And the brains of men thenceforth 
 Teem with unaccustomed thoughts." 
 
 The soul returns from the inner to the outer life, and, 
 in spite of philosophy or reasoning to the contrary, will 
 entertain vague memories, indistinct yet half-positive 
 assurances of having been aforetime in some other place 
 than earth, or hell, or heaven ; nor can it get rid of this 
 conviction, because it is true ! We have existed some- 
 where else ! We have lived and acted parts before, 
 11 
 
242 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 long ages ago, before this world was ushered into being 
 from the fiery vortex of the Sun of suns ; we have lived 
 and moved and had' a being in a strange and far-off 
 world. 
 
 A realm of mystery and wonder, memory-filled, sublime ; 
 Not in this world, or hell, heaven, space or time ! 
 
 And so we sleep. At other times, without arousing 
 the body, the soul/ cautiously re-ascends its daily throne, 
 takes advantage of the physical quiescence and slum- 
 ber, and plays many a fantastic trick with the mate- 
 rials in its magazines, — all for its own amusement and 
 that of its phantasmal comrades and lookers on, who 
 do not fail to gather round, the bedside and join the 
 spectral sport. 
 
 Sometimes it overhauls the sheets of memory, sport- 
 ively, racily, jocundly, mixes them all together, puts 
 incongruous events alongside of bitter remembrances ; 
 takes a character here, and one there, and forces them 
 to perform the most ridiculous and absurd dramas 
 imaginable ; nor does imagination itself escape, for the 
 soul touches it, and forthwith it produces, like a fecund 
 mother; and the night-born offspring are forced to mingle 
 themselves in one indescribable medley, along with 
 things of pure memory and reminiscence, thus forming 
 an olla podrida without order, system, head, foot, be- 
 ginning or end. We are dreaming !* 
 
 * An objection may be urged here, to the effect that animals 
 dream, as well as human beings. Dogs bark in their sleep, and mani 
 fest all the phenomena of dreaming. Has the dog, therefore, got a soul 
 that pernoctates, goes abroad, and so forth ? To this I reply : It is by 
 mo means certain that the sleep-barking of dogs and other beasts is 
 anything more or less than a merely physical, nervous agitation. I am 
 not sure that they really do have dreams. Still, on this point I am 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 243 
 
 At other times, having placed proper sentinels to 
 guard the body and telegraph to itself on the least ap- 
 pearance of danger, the royal soul, feeling its high-born 
 nature demanding a supply not to be found within 
 itself always, leaves for a while the scene of its sojourn, 
 and leaps upward to the starry vault, to hold converse 
 with the stars and their holy tenants : Then^we have ■ 
 visions 1 
 
 Again, it takes journeys over the earth's surface, 
 visits old, familiar, or new and unknown places, persons 
 and things : Then we are clairvoyant. 
 
 These are moods and phases of the soul's existence 
 and activities, but they are not the highest ; for, at 
 still other times, it arrays itself in its most regal garb, 
 and, marshaled by an army itself has called into being, 
 solemnly marches forth to attend The Council of the 
 Hours! — and here a holy awe steals over me, as this 
 trait and power of the soul is revealed. At such times 
 we prophecy and become familiar with events, persons, 
 principles, and things yet unborn in time and space ; — 
 we have receded behind the wall of consciousness, and 
 bathed for a time~in the sea of mystery, every billow 
 and wavelet of which constitutes a destiny. For that 
 all things that are yet to be, at this moment exist as 
 monads and uncarnated thoughts in the Mind of Minds, 
 there cannot be a shadow of doubt ; nether can there 
 
 open to conviction, and just as soon as any well-bred dog, not one of 
 your mongrel hounds either, shall tell me what he dreamed, I will an- 
 nounce that highly interesting fact to the world ; but until one shall 
 do so, I shall insist upon the hypothesis, above set forth, that these 
 somnolent exhibitions are in some way connected with what I call the 
 process of monad-gestation, and not to the dreaming of the beast as 
 such. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 be one that man has been, still is, and hereafter will be, 
 intromitted to this sacred labyrinth of knowledge, 
 under certain conditions yet unknown to us. And yet 
 man is a free-acting being. 
 
 Bye-and-bye the sleep is ended, and we return to 
 outer, every-day life. The soul's magazines have been 
 stored full of the needful energies, both for itself and 
 body ; and it can at will, and sometimes by the action 
 of a power lying back of volition, send forth these 
 fiery elements to warm up and invigorate the outer 
 self, as occasion may demand. Thus comes the blush 
 of love, the inspiration of song, and acting, the fire and 
 energy of speech and oratory, the flames of lust and 
 passion, the brutal vigor of the athlete and pugilist, the 
 blaze of anger, and the sudden and awful courage and 
 ferocity of those who, at other times, are poltroons and 
 errant cowards. 
 
 Of course, some people accumulate more of this fire 
 than others, and some are more sensitive to its action — 
 even when it is quiescent — than less fine organizations 
 possibly could be ; and these very sensitive persons 
 will, from the effect this accumulated power has upon 
 them, tell you more of an individual's character from a 
 half hour's association, than others could after a dozen 
 years of intimacy, for they come in almost direct rap- 
 port with the soul itself, with something of which the 
 " sphere" is- charged ; whereas those who are not so 
 sensitive must base their verdict^ on what they see and 
 hear. — the others, on what they feel and know. 
 
 This fact is beginning to be well known ; but there is 
 a consideration arising out of it of vast importance. It 
 is this : Those who are most sensitive are the very ones 
 who absorb deepest of those energies. They draw it in 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 245 
 
 like sponges, and give it out the same, as may be daily 
 seen on the platforms whence " spiritual mediums" ful- 
 minate their doctrines. There you will see a fine, sensi- 
 tive, delicate woman speaking for hours in tones of 
 thunder, and with an energy sufficient to rack a far 
 stouter frame to pieces, — physically sustained by what 
 she draws from the audience, and returns likewise, — 
 with something added from herself. Such persons, sit- 
 ting in " circles," either draw off the very life of those 
 with whom they join hands or come in contact, or else 
 themselves are sponged dry.* Now, one of these sensi- 
 tives will so absorb the sphere of persons with whom 
 they may chance to be, that they may be led to do many 
 a naughty thing, even against their own inclinations 
 and judgment ; — especially is this true with reference 
 to the tender passion. Their conduct may be very 
 reprehensible, their hearts be very pure. Of course 
 this condition is a morbid one, and should be sternly 
 fought against and battled down. 
 
 The question is often asked, " Do spirits eat ?" 
 Answer : In the Middle States, eating is a strong phan- 
 tasy ; the inhabitants believe they eat. In the Soul- 
 world stomachs are useless, as well as the organs of 
 sex, but the soul absorbs nutriment spontaneously. 
 There is no ivaste ! 
 
 Having thus briefly replied to the objections likely to 
 be raised, I now resume the narrative at the point 
 where it was left incomplete. "What further took place 
 will be found in the next section. 
 
 As the splendid sentences of Thotmor, recorded in 
 a previous section, fell upon the hearing of my soul, that 
 
 * For further light on this point see a book called " The Sexual 
 Question," by the writer of this work, and shortly to be published. 
 
246 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. ' 
 
 soul involuntarily bowed itself in awe: and as the ex- 
 pression, " the workshop of the Eternal God ; the orches- 
 tra of the Symphonies, the ladder reaching from Nothing 
 to the .Great Dome, beneath which sits in awful majesty, 
 the Great I am," — reached my understanding, there 
 went up from the soul's deepest profound a desire to 
 know who, what, and where was this supreme Ruler of 
 the starry skies. 
 
 Scarcely was this thought fairly formed, when a deep 
 slumber gently but rapidly stole over me. How long it 
 continued I know not, but when consciousness for a 
 moment returned again, I found myself brushing the 
 dust from my apparel, beneath the trees from which 
 my first journey had commenced. This occupation 
 xould not have lasted more than a minute, when I 
 started off mechanically toward a deeper nook, and 
 more secluded spot among the trees and bushes, appa- 
 rently guided by instinct, or directed by a power above 
 myself. And I lay me down, as if w ear i e d with undue 
 physical labor, and soon a gentle buzzing sound, like 
 unto that made by myriad insects when the Day-God 
 hies him to his slumber, and all the great, big world is 
 still, lulled me into a sweet and soft repose. And a deep 
 sleep fell upon my eyelids ; and in that strange, mys- 
 terious rest, I experienced that which was not all a 
 dream. I hasten to present the result of this last dis- 
 play of power. 
 
 Lightly, as floats the atom on a sunbeam, swiftly as 
 the bird flies, gaily as a laughing child, a spiritual 
 form sailed stilly through the Space. Beneath it rolled 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 247 
 
 the globe, its black mountains, deep valleys, and all its 
 silvery seas ; above it twinkled the starry shield of 
 Heaven ; and afar off, on either hand, great suns looked 
 out to see the moving panoply. 
 
 And still the soul sped on ; until, at last, its earthly 
 home was in the distance, and all around the mighty 
 Silence reigned. And still the soul swept onward ! No 
 dizziness, no faltering, from the awful sense of height, 
 alarmed it ; no fear beset its bounding, joyous, happy 
 heart. That soul was not my own, for the reason that 
 no man can possibly predicate ownership of a soul — the 
 thinking-principle — Mind ; for soul is himself. He can 
 speak of, and say, " my body, limbs, faculties, qualities," 
 and so forth, with correctness and propriety ; for these 
 are his incidents, but soul is himself — that of which these 
 incidents obtain. They are, to coin a word, the out- 
 sphering of the inner being : the soul was me. 
 
 In a little while, the question, " What, and why is 
 this ? and whither am I going ?" rose in my mind. A 
 silvery voice breathed silently into my spirit this re- 
 sponse : " Whoso truly willeth to know, shallknow, by rea- 
 son of the relationship between himself and the other two 
 members of the great Eternal Trine, provided always 
 that the wish is good, and its realization would be pro- 
 ductive of Excellence and Use. 
 
 " No bad man can earnestly wish and will good, while 
 he is bad ; if he does, his failure is certain : not so with 
 the good and lofty soul ! It is always Welcome to the 
 banquet of knowledge ; nor is the gate of Wisdom ever 
 closed to it. The good man can solve all mysteries j 
 the good woman sound the depths of all Music, Love, 
 and Beauty. Thus the saying is literally, perfectly, 
 absolutely true, which affirms that if ye ' Seek first the 
 
248 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Kingdom of God and his righteousness, all things else 
 shall be added unto you ! 7 " 
 
 The voice was that of the fair being, whom Thotmor 
 called his own. Previously intent upon observing the 
 rapid changes about me, I did not, until that moment, 
 realize that both these auroral spirits attended on this, 
 my third flight. 
 
 " Brother/' continued the sweet being, " Forget not 
 the first lesson ; the second, thou art now receiving." 
 
 For a little while, still pondering on what I had been 
 taught, and still moving forward and upward, I made 
 no mental response or observation. Soon recurred to 
 me, the phrase used by the female teacher a little time 
 before : " And the two other members of the great 
 Eternal Trine. 77 I longed to know the meaning ; and 
 at that instant a clearness of perception, power of con- 
 ception, and ability of comprehension, was given to me, 
 such as I never knew before. I asked mentally, how 
 tliis came about, and the answer came to my understand- 
 ing, through the channel of a clear intuition, and shaped 
 itself in the following form, as nearly as words will 
 hold it. 
 
 " The earth is coarse, yet imprisons the refined. It is 
 a dense, gross substance, a heavy rough body, but it has 
 a soul. The soul of the world is spirit. Every atom 
 of matter has a moving, living, active, spiritual centre. 
 The matter enchains the spirit, and the spirit (the prin- 
 ciples of Beauty, Use, Goodness, Music, Odor, Tone. 
 Sound, Rhythm, Shape, Sympathy and Coherence, con- 
 stitute the World-soul or spirit) — and the spirit ever 
 struggles to free itself from its unwilling thraldom. It 
 can only do so by working up the material of its prison 
 house into forms of Excellence, Use, Beauty, Sound, 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 249 
 
 Tone, Shape and Rhythm. When it does so, it escapes 
 its jail, and goes back to God, whence it originally 
 came, through the human organization, and others less 
 perfect, in the form of Odors, Music, Tone, Sound, 
 Beauty (flowers, forests, &c.) Art, Color, and their cog- 
 nates. A rose is that success in its struggle, which at- 
 tends that amount and phase of spirit, working out its 
 liberation, from and through matter, by means of its 
 inherent self — the principles named. 
 
 There are two Realms : Matter, filled with spirit, and 
 Spirit (abave, beyond), free of material encumbrance- — 
 the great Spiritual Ocean, in which all the worlds are 
 floating.* The World-soul is spirit, negative : the 
 great Ocean is spirit, positive. In it floats, rained 
 down from the Infinite, myriads of existences, in the 
 form of Monads — each one a particle of soul given off, 
 so to speak, from the great Eternal Brain. 
 
 These monads are not spirit negative, such as is con- 
 tained in and constitutes the soul of the world, of mat- 
 ter in all its million forms of beasts, birds, reptiles, and 
 vegetation ; nor spirit positive, such as constitutes the 
 Sea whereon the worlds do float, and whose finer breath 
 is the sphere of disembodied souls ; but they are the 
 original soul-germs of immortal beings — they are the 
 sparks which fell, and fall from God himself — particles 
 of the Deific brain, unique, sui generis, unparticled, ho- 
 
 * I realized this tremendous truth. The links of the chain are : Gra- 
 nite Rock, Water, Atmosphere, extending about one hundred and fifty 
 miles upward ; Electrical Sea, above the air, one hundred miles ; Mag- 
 netic Ocean, one hundred more ; above that, each remove being as 
 great as between the first two, the ocean of Electrime, one hundred 
 miles (the figures are approximative only). ' Next an ocean of Magnet- 
 ime, then Ether, then Ethyle, and then the great Ocean of Spirit posi- 
 tive. All the rest are cushions, as it were, to this, our world. 
 
250 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 mogeneous: old as Deity, young as the new-born in- 
 fant ; always existed, ever will exist. They are Pha- 
 souls (Fay-souls,) or Monads. 
 
 I now realized this strange truth : that the conscious 
 soul that constituted me was now beyond, as it were, all 
 the circumvolving material atmospheres surrounding, 
 earth, and that it was rapidly approaching the awful 
 and vast Spiritual Ocean. Presently it ceased its 
 flight, turned earthward, and made the following dis- 
 covery : first, the Spikitual pervaded the Ethylic Sea : 
 this, in turn, the Etherial ; that, the Magnetimic ; that, 
 in turn, Electrimic ; that, the Magnetic ; that, the Elec- 
 tric ; and that, in turn, the Earth Sphere, or ' Odylic' 
 emanation, which in turn pervades the atmospheric or 
 Oxygenic ; so that man really breathes several, instead 
 of a single atmosphere — the highest of which quickens 
 the spirit, as the lower does the body. 
 
 Turning the gaze outward, a fine, glorious, soft, sil- 
 very sea was seen spreading away in all directions ; 
 and the eye had no difficulty in traversing space, as on 
 earth it has, through the corporeal structure and the 
 several earth-airs. In this clear expanse of Spirit floats 
 uncounted globular monads, infinite in number, infini- 
 tesimal in volume ; they are each enveloped in a fine 
 electric substance, which surrounds them perfectly. The 
 spiritual waves bear them on its bosom to the earth ; 
 they, by a mysterious power, are drawn to the human 
 male brain, through the lungs ; they enter it, become 
 lodged, remain till a certain physical work is completed, 
 and then descend and effect their mission through the 
 aid of the prostate gland. At certain times, they quit 
 this, pass into the uterus, enveloped in the prostatic 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 251 
 
 niulse ; are caught up— are carried to the womb, and — 
 the work of incarnation is effected .* 
 
 Here, in these aerial Kingdoms, beyond the domain of 
 matter and the sphere of what we call Nature, or Natu- 
 ral Law, which of course does not govern Spirit, it hav- 
 ing a mode of its own, I found two sorts of monads — 
 the one perfectly globular, which constitutes the germ 
 of the man — the others ovoidal, which constitutes the 
 germ of the female. There are always two together : in 
 couples they come from the Eternal God, in couples 
 they return. 
 
 Placed in the uterus, these come in loving relations 
 with a subtile spirit originally in the female monad, 
 subsequently energized in the woman, condensed in the 
 1 ova/ and there is a blending of elements — the exter- 
 nal of the monad, and the internal of the ova ; and from 
 this blending springs a third something, which is the 
 nucleus of the nervous body, so to speak. This nucleus 
 robs all earthly things of their vital life — plants, flow- 
 ers, food, drink, and so on — through the instrumental- 
 ity of all the bodily organs. - This union produces an 
 improvement in both ; together, they attract the great 
 spiritual substance or atmosphere pervading our air, 
 and then the child is quickened, and rises in the pelvis ; 
 the very instant that the first spark of this great spir- 
 itual atmosphere passes into the babe, the monad in- 
 creases in bulk, bursts its bonds or envelopes, passes 
 from the foetal lungs to its brain, locates in the pineal 
 gland, radiates through the corpus collossum, energizes 
 its body, and, lo ! a soul has entered upon a new career. 
 
 * My business is with facts here ; therefore, I shall briefly state what 
 I beheld, and leave others to theorize — satisfied, as I am, that I have 
 penetrated the Grand Secret, 
 
252 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 As said before, the soul grows — grows in two ways : 
 first, by development — unfolding and awakening ; sec- 
 ond, by acquired knowledge and experience. The lat- 
 ter is of and for the earth, the former is of and for the 
 soul itself. The one depends on circumstance and acci- 
 dent, the other is above and beyond both. There may 
 never be much of the latter, but the former will, must 
 go on to Infinity. Both may go on to a great extent on 
 earth ; one certainly will in the Hereafter. 
 
 All these things I felt, I saw, and knew, as I floated 
 there on the shores of the Spiritual Kingdoms. 
 
 Have you ever beheld the golden rain of a rocket, on 
 a stilly summer night ? You have ? Well, just so God 
 rains monads from Himself ! Spirit is the emanation 
 from God's body ! Monads are corruscations from His 
 Soul ! These truths can never be demonstrated ; all 
 spiritual truth is real, and demonstration is effective 
 only in reference to fleeting appearances. The logical 
 faculty deals with what pertains to us on earth ; that 
 which pertains to the Spiritual, requires some higher 
 power of the soul. It has it — in the Intuitions. The 
 logical faculty deals with Progress ; Intuition with De- 
 velopment — unfolding : organic the one — central-soul 
 the other. Intuition will one day substantiate my dis- 
 coveries — when I am dead, and this writing is a cen- 
 tury old. 
 
 At present there is really no Spiritual Philosophy at 
 all — scarcely an approximation thereto. Wo have not 
 even a spiritual nomenclature, and it is exceedingly 
 difficult to convey spiritual facts or ideas in terms no- 
 toriously adapted only to the expression of transitory 
 earthly knowledge. 
 
 Swedenborg's ideas are worth all others on the great 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 253 
 
 subject, yet he even must be read in Latin or German, 
 to be correctly understood. The English is the tongue 
 of commerce — has too much ring of the dollar in it — to 
 be used to express spiritual things. I shall try to con- 
 vey my experiences so as to be understood ; yet how 
 can I hope to be ?— how make the fact known, that 
 one human soul is actually larger, deeper, greater, than 
 this whole material globe ? — that it has a sun, within 
 the cerebrum • a moon, the solar plexus ; that its sun 
 rises (when we wake), and sets, retires to the vertebral 
 column, sinks within the great ganglion, behind the 
 stomach, when we sleep ; that it has stars, the nerve- 
 villi ; planets, the ganglia ; it has a milky way, the great 
 nervous cord ; comets, and, in short, everything that 
 the outer world has, and much beside. How shall I 
 express these facts so as to be understood ? for the 
 terms I use do not convey the exact meaning. Who 
 can understand that the soul has hills, mountains, val- 
 leys, and so forth ? Yet it hath all these things in a 
 higher and heavenly sense. Still more difficult will it 
 be to prove or show that the Bible saying, that " the 
 kingdom of heaven is within" every one, is a literal 
 truth. The soul, per se, contains within itself the sum 
 total of a dozen universes, each differing from the other, 
 each one overlying that beneath it ; and just as^fast as 
 the soul outgrows, unfolds from, or 'vastates' either of 
 these, new and higher ones become apparent, just as 
 there dwells an appreciation of the refined and beauti- 
 ful in every coarse man or woman ; but, in order that 
 this esthetic sense shall come out and be active, a cer- 
 tain discipline is essential, the result of which is a vas- 
 tation and throwing off of what impeded and obstructed 
 this beauty-sense. This is the end and mission of edu- 
 
254 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 cation or discipline. Our principal life — for we lead 
 several at the same time, is the life of Imagination. 
 "We form, in fact create, by a mystic power not yet un- 
 derstood, whole galleries of paintings, figures, adven- 
 tures and circumstances, ' houses in Spain/ ' castles in 
 the air.' These are our in-creations, because, while yet 
 in the body, they loom up in the deep, distant depths of 
 the mind, as images more or less vague and shadowy. 
 They are as yet within us, pictured, as they are, upon 
 the outer surfaces of the soul, yet within the radius of 
 the spirit. 
 
 After death, these become the realities of our then 
 existence, are the spontaneous out-births or out-crea- 
 tions of our souls, and in them we live, move, and have 
 our being — happy, joyous, pleasant, provided our souls 
 are beautiful, calm, and serene ; but if they be not so, 
 then those out-creations are full of horrors — serpents, 
 noisome things, reptiles and dead men's bones. 
 
 Pew, very few clairvoyants have ever beheld the reali- 
 ties of the spiritual world. I know of but few, contem- 
 poraneous or historical, whom I believe to have ever 
 beheld the mysteries of the other life. Amongst t!Te 
 few, Behmen, Swedenborg, and Harris stand pre-emi- 
 nent. The others — some of them honest, doubtless, but 
 often deluded — have beheld their own out-creations, or 
 the spiritual photographs on the sky-surfaces of things 
 and events pertaining to the earth. Every out-creation 
 differs from all others ; hence arises the annoying dis- 
 crepancies and diverse accounts of the same things, 
 which we are constantly receiving — as, for instance, the 
 spirit-land, the sun, moon, planets, and their occupants, 
 as given by various so-called modern seers. The mem- 
 ory of man is internal to himself while here, but after 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 255 
 
 death it is, as it were, the furniture of the parlor where- 
 in he lives on the other side of time ; and these tableau- 
 vivants, or living pictures, when seen by clairvoyants, 
 are passed off upon men as the revelation of realities, 
 when they are but the ephemera of existence. Spirits 
 tell us of their legs, lungs, bodies, lands, parks, and so 
 forth, — and of their gardens, houses, trees, forests, and 
 the like. All this is very well, and are spiritual facts 
 to them, yet are but the out-creations of the human soul, 
 which really has no legs, arms, and so forth, because the 
 soul is mind, and can have no possible use for these 
 things ;*yet, for a long period, these very things are 
 realities to the spirit and to clairvoyants. 
 
 The fact is, good spirits do not appear one-tenth as 
 often as imagined ; the majority of spiritual appear- 
 ances are but out-creations — subjective images of the 
 seer, objectified— else are psychological projections of 
 other minds — images impressed upon the susceptible 
 person's brain. 
 
 The spiritual world, as it is generally mapped out to 
 us, appears but a few degrees in advance of this one, 
 on the same general plane, if we are to believe the tales 
 told us concerning it ; while the fact is, that world is 
 not like this in any respect. It is not a place, literally 
 speaking, but is a condition — a single one of thousands 
 that have been — of millions yet to be. Dream-life is a 
 good illustration of my meaning. It is a condition of 
 the soul.' In it, we have a life actual, real, absolute ; 
 not in far-off regions, because we are still in our bed- 
 rooms ; but in the midst of our own private domain, 
 our own out-creations, our personal universe, 
 
 The human soul, as said before, is a divine kaleides- 
 cope, which forever changes, yet never exhausts its ca- 
 
256 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 pacity, either for change, or for appreciation for the bliss 
 thence derived, or of trouble encountered. So we have 
 no need of legs in the spirit- world, because our move- 
 ments are not with reference to space— we have done 
 with roads and distances there ; but our changes are of 
 state or condition. Illustration : Anna is a beautiful 
 girl — pious, good, pure, excellent ; sits beside her lover, 
 John — a polished scoundrel in every sense. One bullet 
 kills both, instantly. They die on the spot. Both 
 awake in the other life — in the same room, yet are a 
 million miles apart, because their respective mental 
 states determine their relation to each other there, albeit 
 other things determine it here. 
 
 They may never not only not meet again, but never 
 know aught of each other, so vast is the real distance 
 (condition) between the twain. The spiritual world of 
 the one will abound with forms of beauty, use, goodness : 
 that of the other will abound with toads, swamps, 
 snakes, bugs and unseemly things. Why ? — because 
 each is surrounded with his or her personal out-crea- 
 tions. Each communicating back to earth, will tell 
 what each beholds ; both will be true, yet both fail to 
 give even the ghost of a real notion about the absolute 
 supernal world. Whatever we are, we see ; whatever 
 we want, is there before us — we have. Thus we can 
 ascend in goodness, or sink away to the very depths of 
 hell — both our own, however. * * * * * And all these 
 things came to me there, as I floated on a wave of the 
 sea of knowledge. 
 
 Self-induced psycho-vision often passes as the product 
 of spirits. The line is yet to be drawn between the 
 seeming and the real in this respect. Spirits first are 
 monads— spiritual (psychal) atoms — God-existent from 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 257 
 
 all past eternity : Secondly, they are awakened beings, 
 self-existent to all future states— not times merely : 
 Thirdly, at physical birth they, as monads, cease to be ; 
 at physical death a change as complete and great as the 
 last occurs. And now they have passed through, and 
 across three eternities ; that of monads, matter, and 
 spirit ; and fourthly, they remain in no condition above 
 a century (which accounts for the fact that no well- 
 authenticated instance of intercourse with a spirit over 
 a century dead, has yet been recorded) ; lastly, they 
 ever pass onward, and each condition differs from the 
 last, as does sleep from wakefulness. There are mil- 
 lions of these changes. It takes about a century to 
 graduate and gravitate from one condition to another. 
 When we pass from this world, we take some things 
 with us which we are obliged to unlearn there. Thus, 
 some want drink, others rest, fruit, land, houses, money, 
 and so forth ; some want children and desire to cohabit 
 as on earth. All have just what they want ; only that 
 the children begotten there, are mere phasmas— -just as 
 by a powerful effort we can create a beautiful puppy 
 dog, and hold it as an ideal before our eyes while here. 
 
 A crazy smn's golden crown and throne, although to 
 us nothing but straw and bits of stone, are to him gold 
 and diamonds ; and flash forth the richest scintillations 
 of the most precious jewels. It is a state of the mind. 
 Millions of crazy people inhabit both worlds ; whence - 
 it follows that insanity is a disease of the mind, as well 
 as a result of organic and chemical change and dis- 
 turbance in the body. 
 
 It is hard to describe spiritual things in material 
 language. Amongst all the flood of " Spiritual litera- 
 ture," I know of no single work that gives the faintest 
 
258 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 idea of spiritual actualities.* All that passes current, 
 as such, is far more ideal and material than spiritual, 
 and are referable, as to their origin, to excited ideality, 
 and other peculiar mental states, rather than to the 
 Supernal world. Amidst the three million speeches a 
 year, delivered under professed spirit influence, it is my 
 deliberate conviction, that not over ten in one. thousand 
 has its source in the pure Soul-realm, but many origin- 
 ate in the Middle-states of the spiritual world ; very 
 many of the vivid and beautiful descriptions of spirit 
 life, scenery and so forth, which so please us to hear, are 
 transcripts from the individuals' inner-self, or rather of 
 the out-creations thereof. Of course, these are true 
 to the individual, but to no one else : let it be once 
 remembered that the man is as immortal in the past, as 
 he is now, and will be ; and that during that state (as 
 Monad or Pha-soul) of pre-carnate being, he had an expe- 
 rience as real to him then, as his present is to him now ; 
 and we shall no longer marvel at genius, or at the stu- 
 pendous powers of the human mind. During the sub- 
 lime experiences of my soul, which I am endeavor- 
 ing to recount, I became thoroughly satisfied, not as 
 the medium, not from spiritual teaching, butrfrom soul- 
 observation, that man, like God, had no beginning, as 
 did matter as we know it — and that like Him, he will 
 never positively have an end ; albeit the modes of God, 
 and those of man — for at bottom, they are one, contin- 
 ually change conditions. This brings us to the ques- 
 tion, " What is God ?»**** Up there,t upon 
 
 * If we except Swedenborg, and a fugitive lecture or two, by persons 
 not necessary to be named herein. 
 
 1 1 now discovered that " up" was a condition of soul and spirit — 
 and that to both, time and space did not exist. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 259 
 
 the beautiful ether, all was still and silent music, yet 
 moving in Beauty, Order, and Form — which were out- 
 creations of one Eternal Monad, self-conscious and 
 awful — shone a sun of ineffable glory and majesty — the 
 Omnipotent God. 
 
 This sun shines in the heaven of spirit, just as the 
 comparatively tiny and material suns illuminate the 
 material universe. The spiritual does not glide into 
 the material, but is from and above it, just in the sense 
 that the meaning of a sentence is above the sounds .or 
 characters which convey it — and in no other. The grand 
 procession of material universes constantly sweeps 
 along the Eternities j receive Light, Life and Love 
 thence ; fructify ; incarnate the monad's Beauty, Con- 
 sciousness, Form, Order, Law, Music, and Number, in 
 human souls ; and then exhaustion prepares the self- 
 same material universes — or rather, their bases for a 
 new infiltration — of God-Od, so to speak, differing 
 from the last ; and so on forever. One procession is 
 one Eternity — or rather, Cycle. • Thus it will be seen, 
 by those who can grasp this tremendous thought, that 
 all matter — the amazing system of substance, is after 
 all, but a mere fleck — a mote in the sun-rays — a mere 
 grain o a the awful shores of the stupendous Spiritual 
 Ocean ; nor does all the matter existing, bear a greater 
 proportion to -the spiritual, than an orange does in bulk 
 to the Rocky Mountain Chain. The material systems 
 move near its centre, and the spiritual waves flow on 
 all sides into the Ineffable Beyond. ^ 
 
 The fountain, whence they flow is God ! and this 
 word " God 7 ' is a poor name. Men become " gods" in 
 the great hereafter — gods for Good, Use and Order, 
 or the opposite of these ; but this, of which I speak, the 
 
260 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 Eternal Secret, the awful, yet radiant Mystery, is as 
 far beyond the Ideal Jehovah, as is the human beyond 
 the analid. Let us make a chain : Matter is the first 
 link : Spirit is the second — I speak of Universes now, 
 remember ; Soul — that which constitutes the Human 
 THiNK-principle, is the ihird ; well, this Over-Soul 
 flows through all these, as man's spirit through his 
 body. Now man is conscious only partly ; he knows 
 nothing just on the other side of himself, is ignorant of 
 what life is, and of that august power which governs h is 
 involuntary self. Well, the Over-Soul flows out into 
 the All — into the universe of Think, (I can use no 
 other term,) into that of Soul, Monads, Spirit, Matter ; 
 and while pervading and being imminent in All, is 
 self-conscious at every point ; in the Think, the Monad, 
 the Soul, the Spirit, the Matter, in every particle that is, 
 or can ever be. I hold this, as the truest definition of 
 the Deity yet given ; and in the radiant presence of 
 such a thought, all human things must bow * all human 
 pride stand back, all human ideas pale and fade. * * 
 And these things came to me, and I believe them true. 
 And God is not good, but beyond it ; is not truth, but 
 its foundation ; is not power, nor Life, nor Think, but 
 beyond, beneath, above all these ! Spirit may be repre- 
 sented as the soul of matter : Soul as the inmost of 
 Spirit ; Monad as the base of Soul ; Think, as the 
 essence of Monad ; God as the Soul of Think. Here, 
 let no man smile at these uncouth expressions ; they 
 stand as symbols of mighty truths. I have said that 
 Monads were scintillations from God's brain : They 
 are : That Matter was the proceeding from his body. 
 Monads are forms of thought, and are the bubbles on 
 His ever-rising tide of Soul. Hence, these monads 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE- DEAD. ( 261 
 
 are, so to speak, the givings off of his spirit. God's 
 Spirit is the element, Soul ; but of this Soul, none but 
 Himself knoweth. 
 
 And as I floated there on the sea of knowledge, an 
 impulse sprung up to know more ; and these questions 
 were fashioned in my soul, and that soul derived from 
 out the mystery the answers appended to each question : 
 " Is not man forever in the human form ?" In human 
 form, yes ; in human shape, no : Man was once the 
 monad — a finite sun. He still is so as to himself (see 
 a previous section), and the body which nevuses is but 
 an out-creation, as are his mental pictures ; with the 
 difference that the latter are volitional and circumstan- 
 tial, while the former is constitutional. The shape, — 
 organic, is the very best adapted to the purposes it 
 serves, and it is the effect of a force lying behind the 
 personal consciousness. Its use is for the material ; it 
 could have none in the spiritual world, save as the 
 effect of Soul-habit, or as a means of discipline in the 
 lesser or " lower " departments or conditions thereof. 
 " How of dead infants ?" Infants have spiritual bodies, 
 and retain them till discipline places them beyond the 
 necessity. In all cases, the bodily forms are attach- 
 ments to the human, so long as the human is in the 
 sphere of discipline, — hence moves within the possibili- 
 ties of Good and Evil. When they leave this latter, 
 and merge into the sphere of Uses, the external of the 
 soul corresponds to its new state. A soul is imma- 
 terial, as of the nature of Think, — hence needs no 
 stomach to digest food, lungs to breathe air, legs for 
 locomotion, and so forth ; for all these are principles of 
 the soul, with mere out-created organs. When it needs 
 
262 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 the organs no longer, it dispenses therewith, but the 
 principles underlying them still remain, 
 
 " Unhurt amid the rush of warring elements, 
 The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." 
 
 A man sits in his study, and thinks of his father's 
 house, many, many miles away. He sees it ; — well, 
 brook, barn, trees, garden, flowers,— -all, all just as 
 they really exist. Now, the man's body, being a mere 
 thing of circumstance, still remains in the study, but the 
 man himself is gone ; his body and spirit are in the 
 room, but himself is at the old homestead. Space, time, 
 and flight are not to the soul, — only to forms and 
 things of coarser nature and lesser majesty. 
 
 The soul thinks "I am there," and — there it is. 
 Certain persons, gifted, can see things spiritual 5 all 
 persons can at times, and frequently are sensible of the 
 presence of others, whose bodies are far away. They 
 are made sensible of it by soul-contact. It is possible 
 for a man to project an image of himself to any dis- 
 tance, which image shall be mistaken for himself. 
 These images, being such, of course, cannot speak when 
 questioned by whoever sees them. Whoever can pic- 
 ture the exact simulacrum of himself, can will this 
 figure whither soever he may choose, and then persons 
 who behold this declare they have seen his " spectre," 
 " phantom, 7 ' " ghost," " wraith," or " double." Again, 
 the man of strong will and pure desires may quit the 
 body spiritually, actually, and be perceptible to others 
 at a distance ; may be spoken to, hold conversations, 
 and move material objects, when his body lies scores of 
 leagues away. 
 
 " Are there demons ?" Yes, two kinds : forms of 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 263 
 
 fear, corresponding to a man's bad moral state, — pro- 
 jected out-creations from the wicked self. Such are 
 the fiends, snakes, toads, devils and horrid monsters 
 seen by the victim of delirium tremens. Of the same 
 order, but beautiful, instead of the reverse, are the 
 angels, ghillim, houris, fairy-forms, peris and naiads, 
 seen by the rapt enthusiasts of all ages and climes, but 
 especially of the Orient, when inspired by opium, love, 
 and religion ; out-creations of their inmost soute, — sub- 
 jective images objectified. This species of out-projec- 
 tion pertains to all persons, while under the discipline 
 of good and evil, virtue and vice, and all other material 
 conditions and accidents. " What do you mean by 
 virtue and vice, as material incidents ? " I mean that 
 good and evil are but conditions environing man, while 
 under the sway of his inevitable discipline. 
 
 There is such a thing as the spirit of Community. A 
 mob is a fearful thing, a dreadful power, and it developes 
 a ferocity which does not inhere in any one of the multi- 
 tude composing it — a material energy of awful force. 
 A reasoner can take aside, one by one, an entire 
 audience, and convince them thus of the justice of the 
 cause he advocates ; but, let them be combined, and he 
 shall not be .able to convince the general sense, nor suc- 
 ceed in evoking aught but derisive sneers at his " imbe- 
 cility. " Or conversely : he may not be able to convince 
 the people, taken singly, yet, let him pour out his soul 
 before them, congregated, and he shall sway them as the 
 tempest sways the forest — material energy in both cases. 
 Again : vice is frequently not considered in the act 
 itself, but in the how society views it. Thus, adultery, 
 
264 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 in France, is laughed at as " the mere affair of a sofa ;" 
 in England, its penalty is a black eye or so, and half a 
 crown a week ; in the Orient, it is a matter of course ; 
 in the Southern States, it is a legal and very peculiar 
 institution ; and in New England it is a fearful crime ; 
 and yet is, notwithstanding, a very fashionable vice, in 
 spite of bolts and bars ; one, too, that has lately stained 
 not a few preachers of the gospel. Adultery, so far as 
 individuals are concerned, is, except in rare instances, 
 a thing of terrible moment ; but, alas ! the very ones 
 who make the most noise about it, denounce it the 
 loudest and prosecute the sinners most grievously, are 
 the very ones who are particularly weak in that direc- 
 tion themselves. Many a judge has left the bench, 
 wherefrom he had just sentenced some weak one to long 
 years of penal servitude, to revel in a wanton's arms ! 
 Individuals are governed by personal laws and in- 
 fluences ; but society, community, the mob, develope an 
 "opinion" or "sentiment/ 7 before which all chari- 
 table, just, or personal considerations vanish and are 
 forgotten. Many a jury, if individual preferences 
 were allowed scope, would free the culprit whom the 
 "twelve" consign to dungeon or the gibbet. This is 
 material force ! Again : A fellow hires himself out as 
 a soldier, to commit homicide as often as he can ; — goes 
 out ; does so ; comes back, after making a dozen or 
 two, — perhaps a hundred orphans*; —settles down in 
 life, beneath his " laurels," lives to a good old age, dies, 
 and goes to — hell, — I think, with ne'er a pang or qualm 
 of conscience. Why ? Because the community smiles 
 on him and sustains, as a mass, the very thing — man- 
 killing — that every one of them, taken singly, condemns 
 and must ever disapprove. 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 265 
 
 This personal feeling is Common Sense. The other 
 is Public Opinion. The last is always wrong ; the 
 other is always right. The individual is generally just, 
 the community very seldom. Public opinion is, there- 
 fore, a mere physical power; and as such, eternally 
 changes. Common sense, on the contrary, ever and 
 always accretes and intensifies, spreads and grows 
 stronger as the years and people pass away ; the one is 
 accidental and material ; the other, personal, constitu- 
 tional, and real. Now take a couple of other men, con- 
 stituted precisely as was our soldier : let them, each for 
 himself, commit a genteel murder ; one gets caught at 
 it and is strung up and choked to death in a period of 
 time, varying from four to twenty minutes ; choked till 
 his eyes bulge out, his tongue lolls thick and swollen 
 from his mouth — by a fellow who gets paid for the job. 
 Society says this is right as Society ; but take every 
 one that composes it aside, and let him look on that 
 blue-black throat, at those bulging eye-balls, contorted 
 features, and ghastly carrion ; ten thousand to one, 
 that every man of them will denounce this legal 
 choking affair as a damnable piece of buisness, totally 
 unworthy of a savage, much less civilized (?) men and 
 women. 
 
 Here you see the thing is material — is the monstrous 
 out-creation of the social body, and not at all related 
 to man, as an individual. How happens this out-crea- 
 tion of the body-politic to be so terrible ? just go back 
 a few pages and you will see that "the out-creation 
 always corresponds to the condition of the being 
 whence it emanates." The great mass is barbarous to- 
 day ; and civilization, much less Spiritualization, is the 
 exception to the general rule and order. Bye-and-bye 
 12 
 
266 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 civilization will be the rule, and then we shall have a 
 better "Public Opinion;' 7 therefore, less hanging, and 
 things of that sort. Let us work for it. 
 
 Turn we now to the fellow that earned his ten dollars 
 by performing the choking operation — the nice young 
 gentleman who so gaily looped the rope and pulled the 
 neat little spring which sent a soul to God on a yard 
 of twisted hemp. How does he feel when- the job is 
 over? Why, not at all uneasy. The guilt of doing 
 this wicked thing is not Ms, he feels — albeit, he and I 
 disagree on this point. It is not his, and so he " don't 
 care a fig." That's it exactly. He, like the choked- 
 to-death, whose eyes bulge out, who bleeds at the ears, 
 whose tongue is so largely swollen that it won't stay in 
 his blood-slavered mouth — he, too, I say, has sent a soul 
 prematurely cross-lots home ; but feeleth he remorse ? 
 No more than a good dram of sixpenny damnation will 
 drown — but not forever ! Oh, no ! — for just as sure as 
 God reigns, he must come up to the bar for sentence, 
 and must expiate his error somewhere, at some time. 
 
 The judge, the jury, the legislators — all, just as the 
 executioner, feel that they are clear of even this judicial 
 murder, and at last, we trace the responsibility home to 
 a formless, brainless monster, without a body, yet with 
 a great black soul, whose name is, "Public Opinion." 
 Presently, you and I, sir and madam, will beget a better 
 one — God speed the day ! 
 
 Now for the other murderer. He has too much tact 
 and finesse to be caught, caged, and strung up. Chem- 
 istry can't fasten the deed on him, nor can skilful detec- 
 tives trip him up ; and so he goes along, happy as a 
 lark in the day-time i! But somehow or other his dreams 
 are devilishly unpleasant! Why? — Because in the 
 
DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 267 
 
 silence of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, 
 a spirit passes before his face, bearing a very astonishing 
 resemblance to a former acquaintance of his, now, alas ! 
 deceased ; and, although he is above the weakness 
 of believing in. " spirits," yet he often catches himself ex- 
 claiming, " By God, I believe it's his ghost 1" — an out- 
 creation of his foul within. From this day forward, the 
 invisible fangs of Public Opinion, go deeper and deeper 
 into his -soul — a moral augur, sinking an artesian shaft 
 into his very centre — until, at last, the waters are 
 reached, and burst forth in one full, deep stream of 
 agony — Kemorse. The executed suffered about ten 
 deaths, in expiation of the one life he took ; but this 
 wretch, whose crime is not known, suffers a dozen deaths 
 a day. 
 
 Now, in a community where man-slaying don't count 
 much against a citizen, this fellow would not have 
 suffered one whit more than did the soldier, or Jack 
 Ketch. * * * * I said that there were two kinds 
 of demons. Having described one, we will glance 
 rapidly at the other ; the process is simple enough. A 
 man's elevation on the scale depends upon himself — if 
 he loves disorder more than its opposite, hatred than 
 love, the deformed than the lovely — why, the man, in 
 so far forth as he departs from rectitude of his own 
 purpose and will, just so far does he demonize himself. 
 And as there is no limit to advancement or descension, 
 so he may become guileful to an immense-degree — be a 
 demon. 
 
 There are myriads of such within the compass, and 
 on the confines of the Material .Realms, but none beyond 
 them in the Divine City of Pure Spirit. But within 
 those limits exists a Badness, so awful, so vast, that the 
 
268 DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD. 
 
 soul shrinks before the terrible reality. These beings 
 cannot injure our souls, save by the voluntary co-opera- 
 tion of our own wills and loves. 
 
 I content myself with this brief outline now, promising 
 to take up the subject hereafter. In this book I have 
 touched only a few of the lesser truths of the Universe, 
 and shall go deeper next time. 
 
 All these things came to me as I floated on the air. 
 These practical lessons I received from Thotmor and 
 his Cynthia, and from my own spontaneous Teachings 
 forth. Presently Thotmor looked lovingly upon the 
 maiden at his side, and then upon myself. She turned 
 to me, and said, " This lesson will do for the present. 
 Return once more to, earth." * * * * Again, a 
 deep sense of drowsiness fell upon me, and seemingly, 
 I slept. When next I woke, I was beneath the tree, 
 and the golden sun was setting. 
 
 This was not all I learned ; but my present task is 
 finished. Patience, my reader ! Since these truths were 
 written I have received a message from beyond the sea. 
 I am going to cross it. I shall speedily return and 
 relate to you and all my brethren the things I there 
 have seen. Till then, Adieu ! 
 
CIRCULAR NOTICE. 
 
 POSITIVE HVEEID mOHNTE., 
 I take this method of informing my numerous friends and 
 the public that I am still manufacturing my great curatives, 
 but during the past eight years have, by the aid of the high- 
 est procurable chemical assistance, been enabled to bring 
 them to a state of perfection that leaves nothing to be de- 
 sired in that direction. Now, as in years past, I devote 
 myself to one speciality, viz. : the treatment of nervous and 
 scrofulous diseases. In addition to my own system, that of 
 Dr. P. B. Randolph has been transferred to me by special 
 deed, and the public well know that amongst the thousands 
 of cases of an especial nature treated by him, not two per 
 cent, out of the entire number but were perfectly cured. The 
 combined system is the result of twenty years of pro- 
 found study. The diseases I treat are those whose ravages 
 are indeed fearful, but which are seldom understood, and 
 still more seldom cured by ordinary medical practitioners. 
 My system and my remedies are known only to myself, 
 and, it is needless to state, have, for the last ten years, 
 stood alone and unequalled, and are alike adapted to the 
 wants of either sex. In accordance with my system of Posi- 
 tive Medicine, in every case I furnish just what Nature, the 
 only great Physician, needs, in order to be enabled to effect a 
 cure. There is no guess-work at all about the matter, but I 
 proceed with geometrical precision to a certain and foreseen 
 result, and that too, not by Herb teas, or deleterious com- 
 pounds of any sort, but by means of an Entirely New Class 
 of curative agents. Every one of these compounds is ele- 
 gant in appearance, delicious to the taste, steady and uniform 
 in its effects, and absolutely Positive in curative results, a 
 desideratum never before attained in the history of medicine. 
 Por instance : Chemical research has enabled us to bring to 
 light a hitherto supposed unattainable combination of proxi- 
 mate principles, with certain ultimate elements. The First 
 of which is named 
 
PHYMYLLE. 
 
 It is the only remedy extant for Spermatorrhea or Seminal 
 losses ; is the most efficient agent yet discovered in cases of 
 Atony and morbidity of the vital apparatus in either sex. 
 In Leucorrhea, it stands alone. It is the agent for the cure, 
 not only of the Habit, but of the disastrous effects of igno- 
 rance, even where insanity has resulted ; because it supplies 
 that whereof the body has been drained, and therefore is 
 indicated in all affections of the Brain, Nervous System and 
 Heart. 
 
 There are those who prefer to have written formulas to 
 prepare their own medicines. To such I send them at $5 
 per case. The Second Medicine, my 
 
 IRON AND MANGANESE COMPOUND, 
 
 is a certain cure for Ovarian, Uterine, Prostatic and Yaginal 
 Ulcerations, as well as for Ulcers in the Stomach, Liver and 
 Intestines. There can be no question of the great medicinal 
 value of the ferro-manganic preparations. This syrup is used 
 with success in anaemic cases, scrofulous, syphilitic, and can- 
 cerous affections. Each fluid ounce of the syrup contains 
 fifty grains of the mixed Iodides. Dose, from 10 drops to a 
 fluid drachm. 
 
 The diseases herein named, which I treat, exist, and there- 
 fore ought to be cured. s It is my business to do this, and 
 this is my only apology for advertising in this manner. 
 Knowing my power over them, I feel religiously impelled to 
 use it for the benefit of those who need my skill. 
 
 The two medicines, used conjointly with the third, is a 
 certain and positive cure for Scrofula, Fits, Tape-Worm, 
 Epilepsy, Consumption, Dropsy, Dyspepsia, Liver Disease, 
 Gravel, Canker, Rheumatism, Insanity, Ulcers, Tumors, Salt 
 Rheum, Spermatorrhea or Seminal Weakness, and the various 
 affections of the Stomach, Brain, Lungs and Heart, Piles and 
 Fistula, and all diseases of the blood, all of which morbid 
 conditions can only be removed by vacating the body and 
 
blood of all deleterious substances and humors, and by sup- 
 plying the elements whereof it stands in need. That physi- 
 cian is a fool who claims or expects to" cure two men of oppo- 
 site temperament of the same disease, with one medecine. It 
 cannot be done, and never will be, else Science is at fault ; 
 which cannot be the case, seeing that she absolutely demon- 
 strates that each of the above diseases indicates the absence 
 from the body of one, two, and, in certain cases, no less 
 than seven of the prime elements of the body. My remedies 
 supply these elements of the system, and thus effect the cure. 
 Remedy No. 3 is the 
 
 INVIGORANT. 
 
 Its name suggests its use and office, either alone or in com- 
 bination with the others. It will, to quote the language of a 
 patient, restored by its use, " Put life in hoary age, and fire in 
 the veins of ice !" not by mere stimulations, but by perma- 
 nent invigoration. Persons who have become exhausted by 
 folly, study, over-working of the brain, sedentary habits and 
 excess, have herein their only remedy. No. 4, 
 
 THE EPILEPSY AND FITS CURE, 
 
 certain, positive and invaluable. No. 5, 
 
 POWDERS, 
 
 for the cure of diseases of either sex, arising from colds and 
 derangements of the natural system. They are prepared as 
 ordered only, owing to the high cost of their materials. 
 They are sent in courses at six, ten, twenty and twenty-five 
 dollars — sufficient for one case — except desperate ones, and 
 at these prices are the cheapest medicines in the world ; for 
 they do their work, and do it thoroughly and well. In con- 
 nection with this subject, allow me to state that these reme- 
 dies are sure and certain ; they are not mere catch-pennies — 
 are sold at high prices because they cost high to manufac- 
 ture. One ingredient alone, in numbers one and three, 
 is imported at the cost of 80 cents a drachm. In this con- 
 
nection also, let me state that all persons, sick or well, should 
 read my pamphlet called : 
 
 "LOVE, A PHYSICAL SUBSTANCE." 
 
 A NEW AND STARTLING THEORY. 
 
 Diseases arising from perverted, inverted, retroverted, 
 frozen and fevered love and passion, and how to cure them. 
 Price 25 cents. The work will be re-written, improved and 
 enlarged every six months. 
 
 Address, M. J. Randolph, TJtica, New York. 
 
 IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 "It Isn't All Right." A scorching review of Dr. A. B. 
 Child's new theory that " Whatever is, is Right'Wmurder, 
 robbery, rape, war, falsehood, and all the modern abomina- 
 tions included. The pamphlet rips the horrible fabric all to 
 shreds. Price, 15 cents. 
 
 The Unveiling of Modern Spiritualism. By the Con- 
 verted Medium. No man ever had a more thrilling and ter- 
 rific experience of certain phases of Spiritualism than the 
 author of this pamphlet. It reveals the secret workings of 
 the modern theurgy fuller and better than any work extant, 
 besides a thorough refutation of the assertion that some men 
 are not immortal. Price, 25 cents. 
 
 In preparation : Hashish ; Its Uses and Abuses. Being 
 the experience of three souls during their illumination by 
 means of this terrible drug. The thrilling revelations of this 
 pamphlet exceed anything of the kind ever written. It de- 
 tails the curious effects of Hashish— its clairvoyance power, 
 and what several souls learned while under its wierd and 
 awful influence — How a soul lives a thousand years in a mo- 
 ment of time — Where the Hashish world is. It will con- 
 tain the only solution of this mystery ever attempted — and 
 the true one. Sold to subscribers at 50 cents a copy. A 
 limited number only will be printed. Issued Sept. 1, 1861. 
 Address as above. 
 
University of 
 Connecticut 
 
 Libraries