"Haint you afeared of me, Madam?" With the pirsistent obstinacy of the feminine gender, she refused to notice me. So I thought she was kinder "set up on her pins," and I shouted louder:

"Victoria Brown! Aint you afeared of me? Aint you afeared I'll tell Prince Albert of your dooins?"

At that she gin an awful yell, and flung herself down upon a yaller satin divan, trimed with gold, and slobbered it all over with tears.

I know'd then I had a "mission to perform," and that my fleshless bones were not given me for useless pleasure, but as a "warnin' to my race."

Arter this adventer I left the palace as I had entered it, "leavin' not a trace behind me."

Since that affair, I have bin goin' about "doin' good," frightnin' the wicked into fits, and follerin' in the steps of the parsen, and thus working my way out of Purgatory.



LECTER II.

ARTEMUS WARD.—OUT OF PURGATORY.

Relatives and nabors,—Thinkin' you'll, like to know whether I'd bin roastin' in brimstone, along with Solomen and Lot's wife, and that you might feel consarned to know sumthin' about my further adventers, I'll continoo.

One mornin' soon after this, havin' spent a restless nite, I was thinkin' what I had best do, when I seed, cumin' rite out of a big marble edifice, a nice little woman about as raw-boned as myself. As she carried an open paper in her hand which was certified to by two bishops and three clergeymen that she'd bin baptised and her sins washed away, I felt it would be safe for me to foller her, knowin' I had no such dockerment to admit me into the good graces of Abraham or Peter, or whatever porter might keep the gates of Paradise.

She seemed kinder skeered and tremblin' like for a minit, not knowin' what to do; then with a sudden start she spread herself out just like the eagel of Ameriky, and soared rite up into the sky with nothin' to histe her by. I felt in my heart to foller her, and spread out just as she did, keeping near her on the sly.

As she went on she began to shine like a star, shootin' on through the azure heavens for all the world like a sky-rocket.

That put me on my pluck, and I bust out just like a sky-rocket too. My blazers! If it didn't make my head spin.

When I collected my idees, I thought I'd look and see if I resembled a glow-worm behind, and there, by thunder, was a long stream of light, just like the tail of a comet! I tell you, I felt happy! She's regenerated me, thought I; and I, too, am one of the "shining hosts"! And then directly, without any warnin' or noise of any kind, all around began to look about the color of a yaller sun-flower, and I began to scent a powerful smell of roses and violets.

The female sank down in the golden air, and I kept cluss beside her, and as she kept droppin' she suddenly changed, like the old woman in the fairy-book, into a bouncin' girl, the very pictur of the goddess of liberty!

Arter this, she turned and smiled on me. She looked just like alabaster cream; the most dazzlingest creetur that ever startled the beholder!

I was took quite aback when she held out her little hand for mine; I felt kinder delicate like that she should see my big jints. But howsomever, "here goes," said I, and I stuck out my bony fist, and, by Jupiter, it was kivered with flesh, jest as soft and delicate as Uncle Sam's babies!!!

I stood starin' from my hands to her about a minit, and then she bust out a-laughin', and I bust out a-laughin' too!

"How shaller you be!" said she.

"It's duced amoosin'," said I.

"Who be you?" said she.

"Artemus Ward, the great lecterer on 'Women's Rites and Mormons,'" said I.

At this she seemed mighty tickled.

"I heerd you speak on those momentous subjects in Liverpool," said she.

"And arter that when I read the affectin' account of your death in a strange land, I cried."

"Cried?" said I, "I'm much obleeged to you, but there's nothin' to cry for as I know."

"So there be'nt," said she, puckerin' up her pretty little mouth; "but tell me, now, is this reely you?"

"I don't know," said I, "whether its reely myself or not, for I haven't seed myself—how do I look?"

She naterally blushed and answered:

"Ansom."

That was too much for me. I took her round her waist and whispered—I wont tell you what. She shook her head so that the ringlets fell downall over her neck like the ashes from a tobaccy pipe, and in a mighty reprovin' manner said:

"Artemus Ward, I am a poetess!"

(By Jupiter! that was a stunner.)

"Is it Mrs. Browning?" said I, ready to drop on my knees (thinkin' of Robert).

She shook her head agin, and moved off, and I follered, kinder ashamed of bein' so abrupt. Lookin' loftily at me, she said:

"I must leave you."

"Leave me!" said I, "You cruel monster of beauty! Leave when I am sealed to you?"

(That kinder frightened her—I learned suthin' from bein' among the Mormons.)

"You may foller me," said she, while descendin' in the midst of a garden which opened rite before us. I did as she advised, and stepped rite down in a place where there was a mighty display of trees, flowers, and fountains, and a pretty big sprinklin' of people.

Good Heavens! thought I. Is this the New Jerusalem? and lookin' around timidly for the man with the key, fearin' I might be turned out, but seein' nothin' but common lookin' men and women, and no "flamin' cherubim," and creaters with wings stuck on their heads, and no bodies, such as I had naterally expected to find in such a place, I took courage and stept forward boldly.

The people all commenced cryin' out as loud as they could:

"Artemus Ward! Artemus Ward!"

I felt kinder abashed at this, but advanced and called out, "Hear! hear! Friends, it's an amazin' mystery how you know'd my name." (I felt diffident at not havin' my lecter in my pocket, and not bein' accustomed to speakin' verbatim.) Howsumever, as they continooed to clap their hands and shout, I got together all the brass I used to carry "down East," and jumped right atop of one of the roarin' fountains—the very biggest on 'em all. I surmised it was kinder dangerous, havin' always experienced a religious awe of the "water of life," and not knowin' but what this might be it. "Here goes," said I; "faint heart never won fair lady," for rite at the foot was that bootiful poetess to whom allusion has been made, lookin' straight at me with all her eyes.

I wanted to make a grand impression and let 'em know that I cum from a nation that could fight for the Constitution, and wasn't afeard of spirits. And as for the "gold and pearls," the "jasper and the sardonix," they needn't expect to snub me off with this, for I had been all through the gold and silver regions of Ameriky, and could tell as big a story as any on 'em.

"The fact is, friends and nabors," said I, "it is one thing to read of a place, and another to see it. Now I must say, that geography and book of travels called the 'Bible' is suthin' like 'Gulliver's Travels,' rather loose in description; and, for all I see around me, the grand nation of Ameriky can beat you all holler in wonders."

Havin' thus spoken a good word for my country, I dismissed them, and hurried back to commence these lecters, which is only a beginnin' of what I intend to do for the Amerikan People.



LADY BLESSINGTON.

DISTINGUISHED WOMEN.

It is remarkable to what a degree woman develops her intellect in the spirit world.

Freed from the cares of maternity, she seems like some young goddess fresh from the hand of Jupiter. All nerve, electricity, and motion—her thoughts sparkling and full of flavor, and light, and life, this new-born Eve of the celestial kingdom inspires the down-trodden Eve of earth, and kindles to a blaze the whole male population of the spiritual globe.

Prominent among the women of the times who have emigrated to these shores from populous America, stands Margaret Fuller—a tall and impressive blonde—a woman of strong bias, and resolute as a lion when she has set foot upon a project. Earnest, passionate, and brilliant in conversation, she wields a powerful influence over many minds of a peculiar order; and through the few mediums whom she selects to represent her characteristics, she displays a calmness and coolness of reasoning and an excellence of judgment such as few are able to exhibit thus second handed.

She has, through the exercise of her genius, erected a beautiful villa upon a southern island, wherein she has displayed her poetic taste to advantage. There, in the midst of a luxuriant garden, she resides with her beautiful Angelo, a child of graceful form who was washed ashore from the sad wreck years ago, but now approaching the years of manhood, and in his looks the very personification of a young Mercury, blending the fire and passion of a Southern nature with the zeal and activity of the Northern.

Count Ossoli and his noble wife tear themselves away from the pleasures of this delightful state of existence and devote their sacred energies to the enfranchisement of Italy.

No Roman patriot, neither Garibaldi nor any of his compeers, equals them in their efforts for the freedom of that sunny land.

Madame Ossoli is sanguine of success.

Defeat she considers merely the plough and harrow for the ripe harvest of victory which will follow.

From her own eloquent lips I have heard her address to the Italian soldiers who, defeated and killed, marched to the spirit land.

She told them how she, in the midst of her new-born joy, in sight of her own native land, fought the fierce battle of the briny waves, and felt as she sat dying on the sinking wreck, that all she had striven for was in vain; how she had found that defeat, that engulping billow, had proved in the end a victory, and had placed her where she could watch over the destiny of Italia, her adopted country, and work for its regeneration, and fight for its liberty, as she could not have done had she been more successful in her plans on earth.

Another American woman, of less note, but also a reformer, is Eliza Farnham. She is not so emotional, has less sentiment and considerable originality, and is honest in her opinions and determined in her efforts to uplift her sex and ameliorate their condition.

She wields a powerful influence over a certain clique in the spirit world and on earth, and therefore deserves to be noticed among the women of the times. In person she is of dark complexion, with black hair and eyes, and strongly-marked brows, possessing much vivacity and caustic wit.

She is matron of a large Institution, or Circulorium, erected for the use of those spirits who make a practice of communicating with the inhabitants of earth. They there meet to converse upon the various means which they employ for transmitting intelligence, and to relate their successes and defeats with the various trance and clairvoyant mediums through whom they operate. There congregate those lecturers and orators who discourse through the organisms of numerous trance and inspirational mediums on earth. There also convene physicians and "medicine men" who control the large number of healing mediums who exercise their power throughout the United States and Europe. There, also, gather the prophets and seers, who, with vision clearer than that of ordinary spirits, warn mankind of danger and impress individuals to pursue certain courses of action, to go or come, to undertake and prosecute great designs for the seeming weal or woe of humanity.

From this lofty aviary she still sends forth her delicious, strains. The children of earth hear them in fainter notes through young poets who catch her inspiration. What she is doing for women in the world she inhabits will be felt ere long in both the continents of Europe and America.

Another remarkable person in this coterie of illustrious women must be mentioned—Charlotte Bronte—a lady who feels the true dignity and intellect of her sex with a force akin to manliness. Modest and retiring, she would yet pick up the gauntlet like any knight against the man who should say of a work of literary merit, "that it could never have been penned by a woman."

Soft and delicate, yet strong and full of heroism, she represents woman, quicker to perceive the right than man, and capable of undergoing greater perils in executing her duty.

Charlotte Bronte is a slight, brown-haired girl, with an eye full of clairvoyant power. With her father, sisters, and poor reprobate of a brother, all united like a cluster-diamond, she lives in a home which they have selected, remarkable for its wild and picturesque beauty.

As a family they are like the ancient Scots, clannish—not in a vulgar acceptation of the term, but for the reason that they are kindred souls. The torch of genius flames in every member of that family, but Charlotte is the mover, the inspirer of them all. She possesses a greater degree of concentration and energy, and is more chivalrous and venturesome. She is exceedingly interested in woman, and devotes daily a portion of her time to visiting earth and suggesting ideas and thoughts to those whom she can influence.

In her new home she draws around her a circle of chosen spirits, among whom may be mentioned Thackeray (who esteems her as about the finest specimen of womanhood he has seen), Prince Albert, Scott, Hawthorne, the German Goethe, De Quincy, and others.

Few writers of romance have done more than she towards raising her sex above the frivolities of dress and fortune, and placing them where they shine conspicuous for their intellect and noble affections.

Bold and unsparing in analyzing woman's heart in its uncontaminated simplicity as well as in its subtlety, she lighted a torch in behalf of her sex which flamed throughout the literary world, startling and dazzling the beholder—a light which will never be quenched.

Charlotte Bronte was on earth what is now known as a medium. Her belief in the supernatural she evinced in her works. If she had not indicated so much intellect, the critics would have termed her superstitious. They have inferred that it was the loneliness and sadness of her life which caused her to imagine she saw her beloved dead and heard unearthly voices calling her. But she has since told me that those mysterious influences were not morbid fancies, but realities. Being thus endowed clairvoyantly, and not only receptive but able to impart that which she receives, she exerts at the present moment an influence in the world of letters little dreamed of on earth.

I may here, without infringing on the requirements of good taste, allude to the tale she has dictated through this medium. That it is a story of powerful interest, all who read it will confess.

To many minds it will prove that her power is unabated, but every reader will perceive the characteristics of the Bronte family in the tale—characteristics which cannot be imitated—which are individualized in that family, and breathe of the lone moor on which they spent their earth ife, one of sad struggle of genius against circumstance and destiny.



PROFESSOR OLMSTEAD.

THE LOCALITY OF THE SPIRIT WORLD, AND ITS MAGNETIC RELATIONS TO THIS.

How near is the spirit world to earth? is a question often put by the inquiring mind. Some suppose it lies contiguous, just in the suburbs; others imagine the spirit world to be within the atmosphere of this earth; others again set it afar off in a given locality.

The last theory is correct, and the spirit world is really several billions of miles from earth; yet the suppositions are true (in a certain sense), for the inhabitants of the spirit world are migratory, and there are many millions of them living within the earth's atmosphere, drawn thither on errands of pleasure and duty.

But there is a spiritual earth revolving around its spiritual sun, just as this earth revolves around its sun.

It has shape and form like this planet, and is indeed the spiritual body of the earth.

It existed before the creation of man on this globe, and was ready for the reception of the soul or spirit of the first human being who perished on earth.

As a spirit's body is constructed from the spiritual emanations of man, so the spiritual globe is formed of the magnetic emanations of the earth. The refined gases which were thrown off during the process of the formation of the material globe which man now inhabits, form the basis of the spirit earth.

Each planet in the vast universe has its correspondent spirit world, and invisible magnetic rays are constantly exchanging between the spirit planet and its earth.

These magnetic currents or rays, like waves of silver light, constantly transmit thoughts from the spirit world to this.

All spirit is matter.

The spirit globe, being primarily composed of gases, in revolving around its central sun ultimates in a substance which is similar to the soil of your earth.

The same system which marks the development of the material world also is displayed in the development of the spiritual world.

Order is God. No spirit world can exist without form, neither can it exist without motion. Motion produces the spheroid, and the rotation of the spheroid produces atmosphere and diversity of surface; all these variations characterize the spirit globe.

When these facts are carefully reflected upon and understood, the majesty of the Creator assumes a magnitude most stupendous.

The astronomer searching through space for undiscovered planets and suns, has failed to fix his telescope upon these spiritual worlds, but the day will come when science will discover their existence.

The spirit world is not an arid desert. As I have said, it has soil. It is not a thin, vaporish flat, without depth or density; and its circumference exceeds that of the earth.

One of the component elements of its soil is magnetism. Its vegetation is of rapid growth and beautiful beyond anything that your planet can display.

As the atmosphere of the spirit world is not so dense as yours, and as the rays of the spiritual sun are not obliged to penetrate through so much cloud and vapor, the colors of all objects are sparkling and beautiful in variety and tone.

The specific gravity of the spirit upon his globe is not so great, comparatively, as that of man in the natural world. He can rise in his native air with little difficulty, and can dart with unerring accuracy upon the magnetic current flowing from the spirit world to the one he once inhabited.

The investigator in searching for the spirit world has but to direct his attention to the north star and his eye will embrace, unwittingly, the locality of that world. The north pole is the great gate which leads to it direct.

The aurora borealis or Northern lights is an electric current which flows from that world to earth, and is sent in through the great gate. The scintillations of these rays are caught up by the clouds and vapors and are repeated in many portions of the globe, and faint rays from them are seen even in this temperate climate.



ADAH ISAACS MENKEN.

HOLD ME NOT.

Up to the zenith mount! Far into space— Ah! all thy tears I count, Sad, loving face.

Clasp not my garments so, Love of my soul; Clinging, you drag me low, Where tortures roll.

Soil not my angel wing; Keep not from rest; How can I upward spring, Clasped to thy breast?

Hold me not, lover—friend— Earth I would fly; Passion and torture end In the blest sky!

Life brought but woe to me, Even thy kiss Gave me but agony— Remorse with bliss!

Let go thy earthly hold— Fain would I fly; Voices with love untold Call from on high.

Farewell—the dregs are drank Of life's sad cup; It proved but poison rank; Life's lease is up!



N.P. WILLIS.

OFF-HAND SKETCHES.

Since my friend Morris joined me, we've been as busy as Wall street brokers in a gold panic—eyes and ears, and every sense filled with the novel sights and sounds that greet us on every side in this most delightful, charming, incomparably beautiful summer land.

Whom have we not seen, from Napoleon down to the last suicide?

I have a memorandum which would reach from here to Idlewild, filled with the names of notables and celebrities, whom I have met in the short space of a year.

We do matters quickly here, among the celestials. I used to think life sped fast in the great cities of London, Paris, and New York, but we live faster here. With every means of travelling which human ingenuity can invent—flying machines, balloons, the will and the magnet—we fairly outdo thought and light, which you consider emblems of rapidity on earth.

Morris and I made a point of visiting Byron, Moore, Hunt, Scott, and that clique. You must bear in mind that we do not all live on one point of space here; among so many thousand million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, sextillion, and countless illions, there must be some persons who are further apart than Morris and I, who are side by side!

It is a peculiarity which you Yankees seldom think of, that Englishmen can't endure to live in America. Well, that peculiarity is just as active after they "shuffle off the mortal coil." They must have their little England, even in the spirit world.

So I telegraphed to that quarter of the celestial planet that two strangers from the great emporium of intellect, and civilization, New York City, were about to visit that locality. We so arranged our journey as to arrive about a day after the dispatch had reached them.

It was proposed that we should meet at the beautiful villa belonging to the Countess of Blessington.

I can assure you that on arriving there it was with a slightly palpitating heart I ascended the noble steps of her residence. The Countess met us graciously, and by her vivacity and charming candor dispelled the feeling of modest diffidence as to our merits, naturally awakened by the thought of being presented to those illustrious persons who so long held sway over English literature.

Ere we were aware, we were ushered into the midst of a hilarious group of authors, who welcomed us in a most cordial manner.

I did not need to have them introduced to me by name, as I recognized each readily from likenesses I had seen on earth.

Lord Byron's countenance is much handsomer and more spiritualized in expression than any portrait of him extant. I noticed that the deformity of his foot, which had been a severe affliction to him on earth, was no longer apparent.

Scott looked as good and as jovial as ever, and Tom Moore, the very pink of perfection and elegance.

As for the Countess, when I last saw her on earth I thought her incomparable. But whether it was through the cosmetic influences of the spirit air, or from other causes, she had now become bewitchingly beautiful.

After we had conversed awhile on general topics and I had answered their questions in regard to the changes which had occurred in certain terrestrial localities with which, they were familiar, the Countess invited us out to survey the landscape from her balcony.

The view from this point was extremely romantic. Just beyond the spacious park extended a lovely lake, whose waters were of a rich golden-green color. Upon its limpid bosom several gondolas floated, and gay parties waved their handkerchiefs to us from beneath the silken hangings as they passed.

"Countess," said I, after my eye had surveyed the fine landscape and noble residence, "I am but a wandering Bohemian, and you must excuse my audacity if I ask how it, is possible that in this "world of shadows" you have surrounded yourself by so much that is beautiful and substantial? You could not bring your title and your lands with you from earth. Your jewels and costly raiment you must have left behind; then whence comes all this wealth and luxury?"

The Countess smiled. "Ah," said she, roguishly, "you did not study your Bible lesson well if you did not learn that you could 'lay up treasures in heaven.' Why, all the time I was living on earth I had friends working for me—admirers who had been drawing interest from my youthful talent and had laid it up to my account. We go upon the tithe system here, and 'render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

She told me that works of interest which are published on earth are reproduced in the spirit world and the author credited with a tithe of what accrues from them.

Byron, Scott, and Moore have also been doing double duty while on earth, and have been recompensed for their industry in the spirit world.

Byron, she privately informed me, had been united to the Mary of his early love, and under her sweet womanly influence had lost much of the misanthropy which had annoyed his friends in this life.

As my stay was short, I had only opportunity to converse with these men of mark on general topics.

On the whole, we spent a very interesting morning, and, after partaking of refreshments, we left, having inquired after Count D'Orsay, whom we learned was then on a trip to earth. Bidding adieu to the Countess and her friends, we started for the celebrated island called the "Golden Nest," which lies in a south-westerly direction from the Countess's villa.

After having travelled some hours in our own diligence (i.e., driven through the air by our own will), moving along quite leisurely that we might survey the country beneath us, we reached a group of beautiful lakes, reminding me strongly in size and appearance of lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, the famed lakes of my own native clime.

In the centre of the largest of these lakes lay the island we were seeking. We descended like skilful aeronauts into the centre of a group of happy children, who were playing like little fairies amid the flowers blooming profusely everywhere.

Singling out two of the prettiest, we addressed them.

Directly a merry band gathered about us, answering our questions intelligently and skipping before us to lead the way to the "Golden Nest," as the superb structure was called in which these little soul-birds were sheltered.

Everywhere, as we advanced, our eyes lit upon pretty bands of children; some swinging in the tree-boughs like birds, some waltzing in the air, others sitting upon the green, chattering and singing, filling the surrounding air with their melody.

Certainly it was a most enlivening sight to witness their enjoyment. After having amused ourselves for a while with their gambols, we turned our steps toward the Home.

The building was oval in form, and composed of a golden fleecy incrustation from which it derived it, name. Within, the "Nest" was like Aladdin's palace.

Innumerable compartments, hung with silks and tissues of tender and. harmonious colors, and decorated with birds' plumage of varied hues, arrested the eye. These spacious alcoves were each furnished with a domed skylight, adorned with hanging tassels and glittering ornaments. Ladies were busy in nearly all of these compartments in instructing children under their care.

In some that I entered I was shown new-born babes not an hour old, torn from their mothers' bosoms on earth, and lying upon fleecy pillows, attended by lovely women, who looked the angels which they were.

One of these gay baby-nests in which I lingered was decorated with peculiar tastefulness, and seemed like a perfect aviary. Singular birds of splendid plumage were perched on various projections about the spacious apartment, warbling away like silver bells.

The lady of this chamber was engaged in teaching a little girl of some two summers to mount to the skylight by her will.

This lady, I was informed, was the noble lady R——, so famed for her charity on earth.

She was very gracious and communicative, and told me that some children exercised their ability to rise in air more readily than others; that the difficulties their instructor had to guard against were the fickle, versatile nature of their wills, and their inability for continuous thought. Their wayward minds could not be directed long at one point. They would wander from the path like the poor little Babes in the Wood, and on their way to special destinations, would change their thoughts, unharness their will, and come suddenly down, sometimes in lonely and unfrequented spots.

Owing to this dereliction, it was found difficult to make frequent excursions to earth with them. Those attracted to their terrestrial homes were attended by ladies who had them in charge, and who would kindly accompany them, for one or two weeks, to visit their friends upon earth.

I told her that I had lost a child some years ago, and had thought till recently to find it still an infant.

Many cases of this kind, she said, had occurred under her observation. People did not view the matter rationally. Ladies had called at the "Golden Nest" to inquire for children that had left earth twenty or thirty years ago, and it was painful to witness the distress they exhibited when told that their children were grown men and women.

One lady had called there some three days since, and claimed as her own a little child, an infant about two months old, who had been brought from earth three weeks previous, while the child she had lost had been in the spirit world seventeen years!

But no amount of argument would convince her that her child had grown up, and that the infant she selected was not her own.

She was finally permitted to take the child away, as they knew it would be properly cared for. Many of the children while young were thus adopted.

"It appears marvellous," remarked this noble lady, "that any parent should wish to cramp the body and soul of his child by keeping it in a state of infancy, when, if it had remained on earth, it would necessarily have arrived at years of maturity.

"Nature does not suspend her operations in transplanting from earth to heaven! The soul is formed for expansion, and surely the spirit world is not the place to suppress unfoldment!"

As I listened to her intelligent conversation, I blushed to be reminded of my own error in supposing my own darling, who had reached the spirit world so long before, would greet me with the prattling talk of babyhood!

Pleased with our visit and the information we had received, we bade adieu to Lady R. and the "Golden Nest," and pursued our flight in another direction.

"Do let us next find out," said I to Morris, "what they do here with criminals; there must be many a wicked reprobate who arrives here from earth fresh from murders and villanies of all sorts."

As I spoke, two grave-looking gentlemen, whom I took to be either doctors or judges, crossed the path before us, and I proposed to make these inquiries of them.

Who should they prove to be but William Penn and the omnipresent Benjamin Franklin!

"Yes, yes," said Penn, in reply to our questions shaking his head deprecatingly; "'tis too true; we are obliged to have what Swedenborg calls "our hells," for you send your criminals from earth so hardened that we are compelled to keep them under guard. Come with us and we'll show you how we treat them."

We were very glad of this opportune meeting, and followed with alacrity.

Presently, leaving the beautiful country far behind us, we came upon a desert waste, and as I am extremely sensitive to conditions, I felt somewhat like a criminal in passing through it. Having got safely over, however, there burst upon our sight a scene of surpassing beauty; as far as the eye could reach extended a most highly-cultivated district of country.

Groves of fruit resembling the oranges and pineapples of our tropics, noble trees like the palm, the fig, and date, were to be seen in every quarter, rearing their boughs against the summer sky. The air was laden with fragrance from tree and vine.

Great bunches of purple grapes like the fabled fruit of Canaan in the Old Testament, a single bunch of which required two men to bear it, drooped heavily from twining vines, while from many a bough and twig swung golden, crimson, and cream-colored fruit, which fairly made one's mouth water.

It was a picture rich enough in color for a Claude or Turner.

"This is delicious," said I to Penn. "Do tell us to what fairy prince this magnificent land belongs!"

"We will show you the fairy prince himself, very soon," said he. "Do you see the tip of his castle yonder?"

I looked, and as we moved swiftly in the direction indicated an unexpected spectacle loomed in sight. It was a building so delicate and perfect in its structure that it appeared like a vision.

Pillars and arches, dome and architrave, were wrought in a style exquisitely beautiful; the material of which it was composed seemed like polished sea-shells, so transparent that you could see through it the forms of the inmates.

"This," said William Penn, "is one of our prisons. Let us enter."

We followed in amazement, and were ushered into a hall hung with paintings rich in design and color, while distributed around in various alcoves were cases containing books and articles of curious workmanship, of which I had not yet learned the use.

This hall formed the court within the main building.

From where we stood we could see hundreds of men in white suits moving about. Some seemed engaged in conversation, others in sportive games, and others in various employments.

"You do not mean to tell us that these men are prisoners," said I.

"Yes; they have passed for years on earth a life of evil, yet all the beauty you behold here is the work of their hands. Idleness is the mother of crime. We teach them to become industrious, and surround them with beauty to develop their love of harmony.

"Ignorance and poverty are supposed to be the principal causes of evil on earth. But many fearful offences have been committed in high places from thwarted love and ambition. We have many of that character in this prison, but they are young. This is intended as a place to educate and restrain men who would return to earth and incite impressible beings to evil.

"The material of which this building is composed, though seemingly so fragile, is a non-conductor of thought, and while detained within it the inmates gradually free themselves from their old influences and disorderly desires.

"Cultivating the fruits of the earth calls into action only their most harmonious organs. A great mistake made by the legislators of earth is in employing criminals in stone-cutting, or placing them in gangs, as they do on the Continent, to work the rugged road.

"Employment of this kind awakens the very propensities which should be subdued. The composing, softening influences induced by tilling the soil would go far toward converting your evil men into good citizens."

I was struck with the truthfulness of his suggestions, and put them down in my note-book for the benefit of humanity, and now hand them over to my readers for consideration.

After leaving this place we paid a visit to Edgar A. Poe, whose unfortunate life on earth you are all familiar with. His brilliant imagination we found as active as of old. He welcomed us enthusiastically, and eagerly led us into a small theatre which he had constructed and filled with most marvellous creations from his own fancy. He inherited from his father and mother, who were actors, a love for dramatic effect, and in theatrical impersonations he found some vent for his exuberant imagination.

"Stand here," said he, placing us near the entrance; "I have something curious to show you." He then suspended upon the stage a curtain, whose peculiarity was its pure, soft blue color, like an Italian sky.

"Watch," said he, pointing his uplifted finger to the hanging. Presently appeared upon it figures like shadows on a phantasmagoria.

One form was that of a female sitting upon a low chair, apparently reading a book.

"That," said Poe, "is Miss D. I can control her and will her to reflect her figure upon the curtain; and that man is T.L. Harris. It is my own invention," said he; "I studied it out and applied chemicals to my canvas till it produced this sensitive surface. All I have to do is to send my thoughts to them, and will them to appear, and there they are. Coleridge has a similar curtain, and some few others. But it requires a peculiar spirit brain to magnetize the subject sufficiently." He offered to show me in the same manner any friend of mine with whom he could come in rapport.

This proposition delighted Morris and I, and we spent an agreeable evening in seeing certain of our friends on earth thus revealed.

Some were busy eating at the time, the gourmands! Others, more studious, were poring over books and papers, and one, whose name I shall not mention, was reproduced in the very act of making love!

The, dear old faces awakened such sad memories, and the occupations in which they were engaged were in the main so ludicrous, that we were held between tears and laughter till after midnight. But that is an Irish bull—for you must know that we have no night in the spirit world. Our diurnal revolutions are so rapid, and the atmosphere so magnetically luminous, that it is never dark here. But, however, according to earth's parlance, it was midnight before we got through.

I will now bid adieu to my friends and readers until we meet again.



MARGARET FULLER

CITY OF SPRING GARDEN.

I am at present domiciled with my excellent friend Abraham Lincoln, in the beautiful city of Spring Garden. This place contains between sixty and seventy thousand inhabitants, a majority of whom are engaged in literary and artistic pursuits. It might vie with ancient Athens for the wealth of mind which is concentrated within its precincts. It is not compactly built, the city covering about thrice the surface of ground that would be occupied by one on earth of the same number of inhabitants. The streets are handsome, the pavements being covered with a gay enamel which is formed by dampening a certain yellow powder, which, when hardened, shines like amber. They are laid out in circles, surrounding a large park of several acres, which forms the centre of the city. This park is embellished with trees and flowering plants of every description, and does not differ materially from the extensive parks to be found on earth, except in its management.

Booths are erected at the various gates, which are supplied with fruits and confections free to all who present a ticket to the keeper. These tickets are furnished by the city authorities to those who desire them. This class is composed chiefly of children, and of grown persons who are incompetent to supply by their labor their own wants. Here they can walk through the pleasant grounds, rock themselves in swings, which are numerous, and, when weary with exercise, their appetites stimulated by the refreshing air, which circulates through its hills and dales as freely as in the open country, they can apply for refreshments at any one of the booths or tables within the park. A very delicious drink manufactured from the exudence of a flower not known on earth may here be procured. The grounds are provided with various other apparatus for amusement and pleasure, among which are elegantly-formed sleds on galvanic runners, which glide over the ground with swiftness most exhilarating to the senses. Air carriages are also furnished, and, in short, nothing is wanting for the pleasure and entertainment of the visitors who throng daily the extensive avenues.

Forming an outer circle to the park is the main thoroughfare of the city. The streets, as I have said, are laid out in graduated circles which increase in circumference as they recede from the centre. The outermost circle is bordered by trees, which form a natural wall. This city might be called the circle of palaces, from the numerous magnificent edifices which adorn it at every point.

The buildings are of a light, graceful style of architecture, adapted to the climate and the out-door life which the people generally lead.

The street facing the park is devoted to the display of commodities and creations of the spirit world and its inhabitants.

In this section are exposed to view beautiful fabrics, finer than the web of a spider, glistening like threads of sunbeam and ornamented with most exquisite floral designs taken from nature. Some of these fabrics emblemize the blue heaven glittering with silver stars; others the clouds, with sunlight shimmering through them.

Some have shadowy designs of birds and curious animals strown over a ground of amber or violet. These beautiful devices are photographed on the material; or, as the transcendentalist would say, they are projected there by the will.

Electricity with us is so potent an agent that it is used for this purpose, transferring the image and stamping it there.

These fabrics are more delicate and gossamer-like than any with which you are familiar on earth.

Exquisite materials are not only indulged in by ladies, but male angels robe themselves in attire more fanciful and gorgeous than they have been accustomed to wear in their first life; except, indeed, the Orientals, who more nearly approach us Celestials in that particular.

I will state for the benefit of ladies that we have no millinery establishments, as the females wear simply their own beautiful hair, which they adorn with flowers and a peculiar lace, as thin as a breath. The hair, owing to electrical conditions, is usually abundant and of beautiful texture, forming the chief ornament of the head.

On the street I have described are also many studios for artists. These attelliers are very ornamental in appearance, being placed in the centre of a large court. They are of various fanciful shapes, according to the design of the artist, generally open on the sides, with a dome supported by pillars, and resembling in form an ancient temple. Within, they are hung with rich draperies, which are adjusted at pleasure. The open dome admits the light and may be covered by a screen when necessary.

These studios are all on the ground floor, and usually with airy reception rooms attached, opening upon a court gay with flowers, birds, and fountains, making it a pleasant retreat for the artist and his friends. As my friend H—— gaily suggests, these accessible studios compensate the artist for the attics which he occupied on earth.

The art of painting is here carried to greater perfection than it ever has been on earth.

As the development of the intellect in the material world depends upon the subservience of matter to mind, so in the spirit world, the same principle is the great motor power; for there we have matter (that is, spirit matter), and this we work into forms of beauty as we desire.

Speaking of art, I must digress to allude to the fete which we held in our park in honor of three quite eminent artists, who have recently arrived in the spirit world and taken up their abode in this city.

As they were all new-comers, and but slightly acquainted with our manners and customs, we gave this celebration to surprise them, and also as a token of our appreciation of their efforts to spiritualize humanity; for art we regard as one of our most spiritualizing agencies.

In the centre of the park, I had forgotten to state, we have a temple erected, somewhat resembling those of ancient Greece, and which is for the use of orators and public singers. This temple was beautifully decorated with garlands and paintings by spirit artists. Within it were seated the visitors and a few friends, and without were stationed musicians, with curious instruments of melody, such as are unknown to earth.

Various ingenious machines for locomotion and amusement attracted general attention. Another source of interest were the graceful and picturesque groups of children moving in the air. At intervals, one of the most fascinating of their number would descend with offerings of fruits and flowers for our guests. The amazement expressed by our visitors, as these lovely children would suddenly sweep down through the air like graceful birds of radiant plumage was delightful for us older inhabitants to witness.

This city contains several institutions of learning which are accessible to all; not only those can become inhabitants of this city who have a taste for the beauties and refinements of life, but needy aspirants from earth may be introduced by them into these establishments.

Previous to entering the spirit world I had supposed everything here would be free, but I have found here, as on earth, that nothing can be attained but by exertion, and that the great diversity of talent and of gifts necessarily enforces a system of exchange.

All men are not alike inventive in the spirit world. The inventor, by his fertile brain, constructs an article which the majority desire to possess, and for that article they give him an equivalent. It may be a picture or it may be a song.

Here the artisan is not hampered as on earth; his time—the mere time employed in mechanical labor—is of short duration. Our facilities for creating are so immensely superior to those of earth that but a brief period is required for producing a result. The remaining time is devoted mainly to the development of the mind, to amusement, and to scientific research.

I stated in the beginning of my letter that I was visiting the home of Abraham Lincoln. He is residing here with some members of his family, and appears very happy and contented. The son for whose loss he grieved amid the honors of the White House, is now his friend and companion.

Matters of state, as I learn from conversation with him, occupy his mind but little; but he is deeply interested in humanity, and is anxious to elevate and harmonize the whole human family.

His influence for good is powerful, and he exerts it constantly.

Theodore Parker and Hawthorne both reside in this city. Parker, as I have been told, when he first came here, decided to devote himself to the cultivation of land; but he has drifted again into the rostrum, and twice a week you may see the fair maidens and gallant swains of Spring Garden wending their way to his beautiful little home and garden in the suburbs, where, amid the flowers, he descants to them, in his eloquent way, on life and the attributes of the human soul, and also upon his earth experiences.

So you perceive he exemplifies by his own actions the wise saying, "Once a prophet, always a prophet." His original mind cannot keep silent, and his thoughts find readiest utterance in speech.

Hawthorne is living here with his beautiful daughter, who devotes her attention to art.

His mind is as active as ever. He informs me that many of the mysteries that seemed inexplicable to him while on earth are now cleared up.

I have spoken of the noble buildings of this city, surrounded by spacious gardens and beautified by trees and flowers, fountains and singing birds; but I have not alluded to the way in which property is held, and the reader will naturally inquire if these handsome dwellings are owned by their occupants.

They are not, but are simply loaned to them. Spirits congenial to those at present residing here lived in them ages agone.

It is true, each individual taste may alter and embellish the buildings and surroundings, but these improvements belong to the city and not to the individuals. The titles are vested in the community, and its members can vote, as in the case of Abraham Lincoln, in reference to any individual coming among them.

There are three daily papers issued in the city, and only three. One is especially devoted to reporting news from earth,—revolutions that transpire, changes in state and national politics, recent accidents which have thrown individuals suddenly into the spirit world, and to recording the names, as far as possible, of persons who have deceased from earth.

Disasters that occur on sea and land are immediately telegraphed to the newspapers in Spring Garden and published for the use of the community.

It may be interesting to the curious to know that in cases like the sinking of a vessel, where fifty or a hundred individuals are suddenly ushered into the spirit world, delegates are sent out from this and other cities to meet the sufferers and offer them the hospitalities of the city, in accordance with their individual merits and degrees of development.

Our method of printing newspapers differs materially from that in vogue on earth.

Our papers might be termed photo-telegrams. A much less space is occupied by a communication of a given length than the same would require in your papers. We have a system of short-hand, understood by all, similar to that used by your telegraphic operator.

We have various places of public amusement, two fine theatres which are devoted to dramas originating with the inhabitants of our world, and another appropriated to the representation of dramas familiar to earth. Our places of amusement are of large capacity, hence but few are needed; and the people of this city being congenial in their natures, as many as possible like to assemble in one place.

The several actors who have been famed on earth appear at the theatres in Spring Garden. Garrick, Kean, Kemble, Booth, Vandenhoff, Cooke, Macready, Rachel, and Mrs. Siddons, visit us from time to time.

Among our distinguished actors are many who on earth were clergymen, politicians, and of other occupations.[A]

[Footnote A: I am told that the Rev. Newland Maffit is at present a distinguished actor in the spirit world. ED.]



GILBERT STUART.

ART CONVERSATION.

People are fools in religion, and worship as divine the most stupid monstrosities ever conceived of! Only tell the masses that St. Luke, St. John, or Mary Magdalen was the author of some absurdity, which, if you or I had originated, they would scoff at, and they will clasp their hands in mute admiration over that miracle of art!

So it seems to me to be with Spiritualists. Drawings devoid of taste, hard, and out of proportion, are received by them with acclamations of joy, and credited, if they are figures, to Raphael, and if landscapes, to Claude Lorraine or some other great master of art.

Now I, for one, wish people would use their brains, and not be so easily gulled.

It is truly wonderful that a spirit can make a person draw a straight line who never could draw any but a crooked one. It partakes something of the miraculous, I admit; and that spirits should produce likenesses, and representations of flowers, scrolls, and ornamental designs, and unearthly landscapes, through mediums whose powers of representation and artistic talents have never been developed, is indeed marvellous! but that these drawings should be called works of art, and looked upon as the genuine offspring of those immortal painters, is ridiculous, and a thing to be deprecated by every intelligent spirit and Spiritualist, either here or in any other world!

Why, God Almighty himself could not take a raw, unschooled, undisciplined hand, and produce a work of art!

If a medium is content with what he has done, if he does not comprehend the faults of his work, if his eye and brain are not educated artistically,—then he must stand like a machine working in a groove.

Neither Phidias nor any of his descendants could inspire a high production through such means!

Now I do wish that educated artists would seek to be controlled by us spirits; or that those mediums whom we do influence would go to school, and submit to the drudgery that is necessary to give them skill in design and execution.

Then could we hope to represent something of the progress of art in the spirit world; and would be enabled to depict marvels of landscapes, and the seraphic beauty of the human face with its grace and perfection of form, as it meets us in this artistic land.

Yon ask if we have galleries of art here. I should think so: art-love is immortal! You do not suppose that Benjamin West, Washington Allston, Henry Inman, Copely, Stuart, and we Americans who loved our art, would be satisfied with laying down the brush, and would have contented ourselves with singing and playing on cymbals constantly for the hundred years or so that we've been here? Now, where there is a will there is a way, and having the will, we have found the way to exercise the genius which God gave us.

Speaking of music, the gift is cultivated here to an extent that would set the dilettanti of earth wild with ecstasy!

Music, Poetry, Art, Oratory, and Scientific Research, form the principal occupations of the beings in this immortal world of ours, and language is incapable of conveying an idea of the perfection which our noble and glorious faculties have attained.

Art is about to undergo a revolution. At present too much attention is given to the literal rendering of a fact, and imagination, which is merely a faculty for reaching the immaterial, is checked; but ere long painters will turn their attention to representing scenes in spirit life, and the inspiration which attended the old masters when they gave wings to their fancy and cut loose from identical imitation, will return.

Let the camera and the photograph reproduce the exact outline and minutiae, but let the artist paint with the pencil of imagination and inspiration! Only permit imagination to have root in the material world. As no man can become a good angel who has not developed his physical nature in harmony with his spiritual, so neither painter nor medium can represent the artistic beauties of the natural world, nor of the spirit world, unless he has had a good physical training. It is only through the physical that the imagination can express itself with beauty and correctness. Truth is beauty, and is always proportionate; the light equalizing the dark, precisely as in the perfection of art a mass of shadow is balanced by a proportion of light.

One of the most agreeable places of rest or there-abouts is the artists' rendezvous—a building larger than St. Peter's at Home, magnificent in structure, and filled with wonderful paintings.

Here artists and authors of all nations are to be found. You can step in any morning and have a chat with Lawrence, Reynolds, Lessing, Delaroche Hazlitt, Coleridge, Charles Lamb, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Willis, Irving, Anthon, Sigourney, Osgood, Booth, Kemble, Kean, Cooper, Vandenhoff, Palmerston, Pitt, O'Connel, Lamartine, Napoleon, Margaret Fuller, Charlotte Bronte, Lady Blessington, and others of note, who have made themselves illustrious during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. People of congenial tastes and aspirations can readily obtain admittance, and all freely engage in conversation on topics connected with art and literature.

A large garden is attached to the building, filled with every manner of fruit-tree, and is accessible to all; any poor devil of an artist can go there and some bewitching Houri will present him with all the delicious condiments which his taste or fancy can demand.

In these matters the inhabitants of earth need to take a lesson from us.

I prophesy that America will be a pioneer in these reformations, and will, in some Central Park, erect a building similar to this, where aspiring artists may receive food for the soul and the body, and where artistic minds can meet and interchange ideas.



EDWARD EVERETT.

GOVERNMENT.

The Christianized world supposes that the form of government now existing in the heavenly system is that of a monarchy; that God is the supreme ruler of the whole universe, embracing not only the little planet Earth, but the countless starry worlds and invisible systems that roll through space. But more directly in its imagination does it place him as the sole monarch and kingly ruler of the spirit world. It seats him in fancy upon a gorgeous throne, material in every aspect of its magnificence; a throne of gold and jewels, as described by that Miltonic poet, St. John, in his "Revelations."

This is the prevailing faith of Christendom; a faith which to the majority seems knowledge as positive as the fact that Victoria rules the British people, and sits upon the English throne.

Yet this is the conception of a people fond of barbaric pomp and splendor. A conception unsupported by reason and at variance with fact.

Nearer to the truth was the old Greek nation; a nation which embodied the intellect, the wisdom, and the refinement of the present age.

That nation, in its belief in the government of the spiritual universe, was wholly Polytheistic, believing in many gods, and, as I have said, approached nearer the idea of the form of government as existing in the spirit world, for it is a Republic of Gods.

It is a law of the universe that all vast bodies must be divided and subdivided into smaller ones. Every system is a constellation and every constellation is a congeries.

In accordance with this law, the universal world of spirit is broken up, is divided and subdivided.

In these divisions and subdivisions forms of government ensue, differing slightly one from another, according to the progressive development of the people; and an unlimited monarchy is not known in the spirit world.

There are some clinging to their old habits, associations, and education, who would fain raise the representatives of royalty on earth to the same positions in the spirit world when they become residents there. But the effort, when made, cannot be sustained. The one-man power is incompatible with spiritual laws and spiritual justice.

In a world where the external trappings are torn away and the internal nature of man is exposed to observation, the prerogatives of earthly kings have but little power.

The republican form of government is destined to overthrow all the monarchies of earth. As the world progresses and knowledge becomes universal, individuals will be able to govern themselves.

It has been only through ignorance and superstition, and the limited knowledge of the masses, that the kings and emperors of earth have been enabled to sway their jewelled sceptres over the necks of the people. But their reign is drawing to a close; their glories have culminated; and the day is rapidly approaching when earth will be governed even as the heavens above are governed. As in the world of nature, "the same chance happens alike to all," and every child in time may become a man and every infant a father, and the experience of one becomes the experience of all, so in the government of the spirit world, every man can rise and become for a space of time the patriarchal dictator of a republic.

The prevailing form of our republic differs from that of the American republic in many particulars. Our term of office is of shorter duration than with you. Our directors while in office make friendly excursions to other republics. Matters of state with us are not so weighty or complicated as with you, nor are encroachments and reprisals so common. We are not compelled to sustain such vast armies and navies, involving the necessity of directing and superintending them.

As a rule, people who have entered the second stage of existence desire a change. They desire to live with more simplicity and freedom, and are eager to begin their new life with nobler aspirations. Therefore, they assimilate with comparative ease with our form of government.

Our directors are our fathers. The nearest approach to our system is the government of the Mormons in Utah. Pardon me, if, in making this statement, I offend any delicate sensibility. I allude not to their creed, but to their mode of public administration.

As I have stated, the inhabitants of the spirit world are divided and subdivided into associations, or bodies, which in your world would be termed nations and states. For example, the nation to which I belong is represented by the American people. The nationalities of earth present different traits and characteristics which set them apart, though in a general aspect they present one whole. Even as in the ornithological world different species of birds represent the feathered race, and though differing in many particulars and forming separate varieties, yet assimilate as a whole, so nations migrating to the spirit world form separate nationalities. And, as I have stated, some of them, educated in the belief of the divine right of kings, choose a form of rule nearer approaching the monarchial than the republican. Among such often arises a Napoleon, a man of powerful intellect, a mind to grasp all circumstances, and a will to direct, who succeeds in placing himself in a position which he retains for years.

But as the hereditary right of kings cannot exist in the spirit world, the emperor or dictator is chosen by the people, as was the custom of the ancient Romans.

Intercourse of nations with us is not bounded by the obstacles that exist on earth. Prominent ideas prevailing among the most intelligent masses of spirits become the views of the whole. This your own world exemplifies. As the means of communication become more facile, as the various arts of locomotion obliterate distance, the remote and barbarous nations, brought into proximity with the civilized, assume their habits, adopt their modes of action, and follow their form of government.

I can safely predict for you a similar result. In the spirit world those nations once most tenacious of kingly rights and of the majesty of the throne, lay quietly down their regal crowns, and assume the unostentatious cap of the republic. So will all the nations of earth follow their spiritual leaders and hurl out from the round globe the crumbling thrones and sceptres of kings and emperors and the tottering papal chair of Rome, down, down, into the vast tomb of antiquity!



FREDERIKA BREMER

FLIGHT TO MY STARRY HOME.

I was in Stockholm when the ambassador, who is sent by the all-wise Father to pilot his children to the unknown land of roses, called for me, and I was obliged to part with the body which, though homely and unattractive, like the dear, good "family roof,"[A] had rendered me service in many a stormy day.

[Footnote A: Swedish term for umbrella.]

The feeling I experienced in taking my departure was like that of going out into a pitiless storm, and it was followed by an intense prickling sensation, similar to that familiarly known as the "foot asleep." This, I afterwards understood, was occasioned by the electrical current passing through my spirit as it assumed shape upon emerging from its old frame.

Some twenty minutes perhaps elapsed after the breath leaving the body before I became perfectly conscious in my new form. Upon recovering the use of my senses, my whole attention was drawn from myself to the friends who had gathered in the room which had so recently been my sick chamber.

As I watched them combing the hair and attiring the white, stiff figure that lay so solemnly stretched upon the couch, my emotions were indescribable. I endeavored to speak, but my voice gave but a faint sound, which they evidently did not hear—as a spirit, I attracted no attention. This caused me deep grief, for I desired them all to see me still living.

My sad emotions were presently dispelled by the sound of most mellifluous music bursting upon my senses; and as I turned my eyes to discover the source from whence it proceeded, I beheld, resurrected before me, a group of dear old friends, whose bodies were already dust and ashes in the Swedish grave-yards, and in the cemeteries of the old and new worlds. A hearty burst of joy escaped from my lips as I recognized them. We laughed, cried, shook hands, and kissed first on one cheek and then on the other, with the same enthusiasm and naturalness we would have shown had we been inhabitants of dear old mother Earth.

"Come, Frederika! Dear Frederika! don't stay gazing on that old body! Leave friends who cannot talk with you and come with us!" they clamored on all sides. Their voices were like a full orchestra; besides, some had instruments of music, upon which they improvised little songs to my honor. I was fairly bewildered. Presently they formed a circle about me and commenced whirling rapidly around and around. I felt as in a hammock swayed by the wind; a dreamy lethargy stole over me, and I gradually became unconscious; and thus, I am told, they bore me through the earth's atmosphere, out in the stellar spaces, to a new world—a world not of the earth, earthy, but the New Jerusalem which I had so often pictured to my fancy.

A soft, pleasant breeze blowing directly upon my face, restored me to consciousness. I opened my eyes, and, lo! I was reclining upon a divan in a great pavilion. The friends whom I had previously recognized were around me, some making magnetic passes over me, others engaged in preparations for my comfort. Upon seeing me awaken, several friends approached with flowers and fruits. The term "flowers," though a beautiful appellation, gives but a faint idea of these marvellous creations.

My attention was particularly attracted to one whose corolla was of deep violet striped with gold, having long silvery filaments spreading out from the cup in lines of light like the luminous trail of a comet.

In a state of delicious languor, I watched the varied wonders before me. The pavilion, which was of silver lace or filagree woven in the most exquisite patterns, was a hundred or more feet in circumference, and adorned with open arches and columns on its several sides. These columns and arches were of coral and gold, which contrasted with the silver network, and the blossoms and foliage of curious plants and vines which graced the interior, forming altogether a structure of singular elegance and beauty.

Numberless forms like the fabled peris and gods of mythology glided in and out of these arches, and approached me with offerings of welcome. One blooming Venetian maiden presented me with a crystal containing a golden liquid, which she said was the elixir of the poets and painters of her nation. The name she gave it was "The Poet's Fancy," and she informed me that it was distilled from a plant which fed upon or absorbed the emanations which the active mentalities of these poetic beings exhaled.

This information was quite new to me, and gave me pleasure, as it accorded with my ideas of correspondence. So I sipped the "Poet's Fancy," and imagined that its delicious, aromatic flavor vivified me like rays of sunshine. If, previously, I had been charmed, I now certainly experienced a power of enjoyment and quickness of perception tenfold increased.

I then inquired for Swedenborg, Spurzheim, and Lavatar. "You will meet them further on," said she, smiling. "They are not here." I was so well pleased with her that I twined my arm around her fairy-like form and we glided away together. As I desired to obtain a peep at the outside of the beautiful pavilion, my companion led the way, pausing here and there to present me to groups who had advanced for that purpose. The company I found to be composed of writers and painters, interspersed with a few of my own personal friends; and I felt gratified to find myself so well received by those whom I had known on earth as celebrities.

"'Tis strange," I remarked to my companion, "that such choice minds should all be gathered together in one place."

"They are spirits congenial to your own," said she. "Like attracts like, and they have come from their respective homes in the spirit world to welcome you here."

"Ah," said I, "I now begin to understand what all this fine company means! This is my reception."

As we were leaving the pavilion we were joined by Herr Von ——, the celebrated Swedish naturalist who had recently entered the spirit world. He congratulated me upon my safe arrival, and kindly offered to act as cicerone and to point out to me the marvels by which I was surrounded.

To my astonishment, on reaching the open air I discovered that the pavilion was located upon the summit of a lofty mountain. The face of this mountain was of many colors and glistened like precious stones. My friend led me to the point of a precipice on one side and bade me look down. This I did, and beheld phosphorescent rays issuing from the sides.

"What wonder is this?" I asked. He informed me the mountain was magnetic in its character, and that it was, so to speak, the first station from earth, and a point easily attained by a spirit newly arriving from that planet. He said I was not permanently to remain upon the mountain, but was placed there until I should become acclimated to the spirit atmosphere, and to acquire strength before travelling to that portion of the spirit land which would form my permanent abode.

The apex of the mountain formed a flat plain about two miles in extent. We walked onward some distance, when he pointed out to me another pavilion, much larger than the one to which I had been borne. The exterior form of each was alike, and resembled a Turkish mosque; the crown-like canopy which formed the top being surmounted by a ball so dazzling in brightness that I was obliged to turn my gaze from it. This ball was composed of an electric combination, which shed its rays far through space. "And," said the good Herr Von ——, "as the pavilion is used for the reception of the friendless and the homeless, they are attracted and guided to it by its coruscations."

We proceeded some steps further, and he showed me how the mountain, which is steep and precipitous on the northern exposure, sloped into broken chains and lower elevations on the southern; and from this point, looking down, I beheld through the clear atmosphere a billowy landscape, clothed with soft, rich verdure, more fresh and green to the eye than that which covers dear mother Earth.

"How wonderful are thy works, O God!" I exclaimed, as we retraced our steps. And I could not but reflect upon the singular trait exhibited by Jesus of frequenting a high mountain to pray. Surely, altitude elevates one into the spiritual state, and no doubt Christ felt nearer to the spirit world when elevated far above Jerusalem, on the mountain-top, amid the clouds. Thus, looking down from the sublime height, I realized for the first time that I too was a spirit and an inhabitant of the world in which Jesus dwelt!



LYMAN BEECHER.

THE SABBATH.

In the days of my ministrations on earth, it was pretty generally believed that the Sabbath day was one of peculiar sanctity; and that the Creator, having completed the creation of the earth in six days, had rested upon the seventh from the labor attendant on that work. But science, which is ever at war with the Jewish record, has established the fact that the world was not created in that short space of time.

The multiplicity of worlds created also disprove the idea that the Creator could have rested during any set period of time.

Some zealous skeptics, to counteract the belief in the sanctity of the Sabbath, have asserted that mind can never rest, and that as God is a spirit, rest to him is impossible.

Even granting this hypothesis, history and research have proven the wisdom and utility of the Jewish Sabbath, as established by the great lawgiver, Moses.

The Jews at that time were an active, restless, laboring people. Their industry had enriched Egypt, and having escaped from her oppressive bondage, they were liable, in their efforts to found a nation of their own, to carry their habits of industry to excess.

Probably they overworked their slaves, their cattle, themselves, and the "stranger within their gates." Their wise lawgiver, under the direct influence of spiritual guides, promulgated this law: "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy man-servant, thy maid-servant, thy cattle, nor the stranger within thy gates."

And this commandment has been handed down from the Jewish to the Christian nations. With the early Jews it was a day of recreation, of dancing, and of song. The early Christians employed the day at first in social intercourse, afterwards it became a day of sacred ordinance; and, as copies of the Scriptures were rare, they met on that day to hear them read, and in their simple faith would select passages and apply them to their own necessities.

When the Christian religion invaded Pagan countries and became established, the days which had formerly been appropriated to feasting and sacrificing to the gods and goddesses became the fast-days of the Romish Church.

When Protestantism arose, she swept off from her calendar these fast-days, and returned to the simplicity of the Jewish Sabbath.

Puritanism followed and gave a literal meaning to the text, "Thou shalt do no work." Under her reign, all labor was suspended on the seventh day. A strict watch was set upon the actions of the individual: household duties were neglected: fires were not lighted or food cooked. The great world of activity stood still.

Rest so severe embittered men's judgment, and the Sabbath became a day for prying into the derelictions of each other. A rigid observance was placed upon men's actions, and stringent laws were made to punish the offender against this enforced rest.

So tyrannous and exacting did the Puritan observers of the Sabbath become, that their rigid formulas created a rebellion in the minds of the succeeding generation, and so great has been the reaction, that in our day it has become a common assertion that "all days are alike," and the steam-car and the horse-car, the coach, and the hack, ply their busy wheels through the streets of our large cities, and the church-goers travel thereon to their different sanctuaries.

"All days are alike to God," says the reformer; "why should we observe the Sabbath more than any other day?" I will tell you why: a concentration of the spiritual nature of men throughout Christendom necessarily creates a magnetic atmosphere through which spiritual beings can approach. The sincere and devout worshippers in every land congregating in churches upon one day, send forth waves of magnetic light which extend into the world of spirits. The music and the prayers are borne upward on this current, and great batteries are thereby formed that cannot but affect the souls in Paradise. They respond to the music and the prayers, and worshippers in the churches feel their magnetic influences. Those who are sincere in their religious faith say that they feel "heaven opened to them." Even those who attend church from fashion, or for the purpose of meeting their friends and neighbors, are there brought in contact with spiritual influences which could reach them in no other way.

The experience I have gained since my entrance into my spiritual home has given me more liberal ideas of the uses of the Sabbath, and taught me that to the working man it is a necessary day of recreation. But I lift my voice against its becoming one of beer-drinking and boisterous sports. The workman who is confined to the bench or the workshop, in the midst of a crowded city, for six days of the week, will certainly be benefited by seeking the green fields and healthful influences of the country; but on reaching that desirable Eden, let means be provided for his instruction; so, while sitting under the leafy trees, his mind may be benefited, and his bodily organism rested, rather than injured by feasting and rioting in the public gardens and parks.

Field preaching should become a regular institution of the Sabbath; and discourses instructing the mind in morals and sciences should be given in the tent, or under trees, in parks and woods set apart for that purpose. Then would, the object of the Sabbath be attained. As I have said, the spiritual nature is more open to the reception of truth on that day.

The state of sleepiness, which is a well-known attendant on the Sabbath, is indicative of the magnetic influence; and those who discard the day, and secretly pursue their active employments, would do well to heed the remarks I have made.

Before I close, I wish to make some observations upon the present style of preaching as compared with the sermonizing of my day. When I occupied the pulpit, the doctrines of election and predestination were the principal themes that engaged the attention of ministers.

Free will and coerced will were questions which puzzled the theologian. Looking upon the Bible as an inspired book, the most careless sentence therein expressed became a word of weighty import. We engaged the minds of our hearers with abstract questionings and reasonings. But we never could make the doctrine of predestination accord with that of free will. Nor could we clearly account for the presence of evil, while we believed the Creator to be all wise, all powerful, and cognizant of the end from the beginning. Yet these were the topics which the minister of my day discussed and endeavored to make clear to the comprehension of his hearers. We did not treat of every-day life; the pulpit we considered too sacred for such topics. Religion with the masses became an abstract state of holiness. Men assumed long faces and sober bearings upon the seventh day; but their every-day life was something different, which the minister and his ministering did not reach.

But the pulpits of to-day are platforms of another kind. They have altered, even as their shape has altered. Their outward construction corresponds to their teachings. In my day the pulpit was narrow and straight, and was lifted high above the people. But at the present day a step only separates it from the congregation. It is broad, low, and open. The teachings received from it correspond with its change of form. The ministers of to-day are one with their flock. Their discourses are practical, relating to every-day affairs. They no more discuss the questions of Satan, of angels, and archangels, nor arouse an undefined fear by descanting on the mysterious prophecies of Daniel: they talk to you like human beings.

I remember being somewhat shocked while listening to sermons preached by my son, H.W. Beecher. I recall sitting near his pulpit, and longing to get up and tell the congregation my views of texts and matters of which he was discoursing. I thought then it was because the race was going backward—becoming less intellectual—that men should be content to listen to sermons that contained so little theology. But experience in spirit life has caused me to change my opinion.

I now see that Beecher, Spurgeon, and a vast host of others, are teaching human souls the great truths which will fit them for life hereafter. I have done now with endeavoring to solve improbable problems, and with simple faith in man's efforts for his own progression, I give my testimony as to the uses of the Sabbath, and the advantages of religion in advancing their progress, and in preparing the spirit for its future home.



PROFESSOR GEORGE BUSH.

LIFE AND MARRIAGE IN THE SPIRIT WORLD.

The two worlds—the spiritual and the material—are like twin sisters whom I have seen, so similar that their acquaintances could not distinguish between them, and yet so dissimilar that an intimate friend would wonder why one should ever be mistaken for the other.

I propose to give a short account of the society and conditions of life in the spiritual spheres.

The Swedenborgian Society of which I was a member while on earth, continues to exist as a body in the spirit world, though Swedenborg, the great seer and founder of that sect, is not a leader among them. He has his country seat in Swedenborgia, a beautiful and intellectual settlement named after him, where he retires within himself, and directs his great mind in developing his science of correspondences, which he proposes to arrange so systematically that it will become a part of the teachings of earth's children.

It was never his design to become the leader of a sect, but his desire was simply to reveal like a telescope that which was unknown. He is deeply interested in the political condition of Sweden, Norway, and Germany, and exerts his vast intellect towards emancipating the minds of those nations from the bondage of church and state.

It is curious to witness with what fidelity Swedenborg described in many instances the condition of the soul after death; and also to perceive in other instances how utterly he misinterpreted the visions presented.

Such discrepancies are incidental to all clairvoyant states; and this is not surprising, for it is incidental to humanity.

Man sees clearly when the prejudices of education and the influence of his loves do not pervert his vision.

What political economist, strongly biased in favor of one mode of government, can contemplate dispassionately an opposing form?

The theological belief which Swedenborg imbibed in his early youth, tinctured his description of the heavens and hells of the spirit world, causing him to represent the soul as reaching a period in its love of evil when it cannot retrace its steps. The hells of the spirit are similar to the hells of earth, being like them the result of the ignorance and perverted loves of animal man.

What hell more fearful than the hell of licentiousness? Yet it is merely the animal side of the heaven of love.

Swedenborg discovered hells in spiritual existence, where the inmates lived lives of prostitution. His statement concerning such hells is true. Individuals who have lived such lives upon earth cannot suddenly be transformed. Their habits become spiritual diseases with them.

Now, as to marriage, the mere form does not make the wife different from the courtezan, but her love exalts her above that condition. If she be united to a man who is repulsive to her nature, and yet submits to his embraces for the considerations of family, or home, or public opinion, she is on the same plane with the courtezan.

It is a proposition generally believed, that there is a soul-mate for every human being, and it is usually supposed that in the spirit world those mates are found, and that those united there live together inseparably. But as there exists in the spirit world the same states, the same variety of progressive development among men and women as in this world, so unions are formed there in which one soul develops beyond the capacity of the other, and in such cases changes must ensue.

I will now speak of marriages more in detail.

In the summer land the union of the man with the woman occurs from very similar causes to those which bring about like unions upon earth—the man is drawn to the woman and the woman to the man through the operation of a natural law. If instinct were not so impaired by the cultivation of the external faculties, there would arise but little difficulty—on earth in selecting partners adapted to each other. Considerations of wealth and position are permitted to influence your selections rather than the idea of congeniality and adaptability.

In spirit life this method is reversed, and the marriages formed there are productive of greater happiness than those among men in the first condition of life.

But as I have stated, marriage in the spirit world is not an indissoluble bond. Some minds associate together in harmony and expand in the same direction, and with these the union is permanent. I have seen such in the spirit world,—beautiful and noble souls intertwined and aspiring together.

There be others whose states and conditions after a time become changed. Such seek new companions, and this is permitted without discredit to the individuals.

Many forms of marriage ceremonies are extant in the different societies and countries. Garlands of flowers and symphonies of divine music are bestowed upon the bride and groom. Bright bands of spirits from the celestial heavens attend them, for they represent in their love and in their wedded joy the harmonies of nature!

While they love, sin, sorrow, darkness, and all evils shrink from sight.

From these spiritual marriages are born soul attributes. Human beings are never generated in the second condition; they need what is known as the material world for their nurture and growth; and yet I understand that in some of the more refined spiritual existences births have occurred. The beings born there are indigenous—not generated by earth parents, but offspring of those refined conditions.

I know not of this as a fact; yet if we take the old Jewish Bible as a history, we find an analogous statement there in the assertion that Christ was born of God in a spiritual state of existence previous to entering this earth plane.

Spirit soils and atmosphere interblend and produce trees, shrubs, flowers, and the cereals, but the human being, after the second birth, ceases to reproduce his species. His children are thoughts born of the spirit. After birth succeeds death. The soul passes through many stages of existence in the process of refinement. The next state of existence to the material, I term the spiritual, and the one beyond that the celestial, and beyond that the seraphic.

In the next state, to which I in common with all men who have not passed some hundreds of years in the spirit world belong, individuals pass through a condition analogous to death upon the earth.

Spiritual bodies are subject to a process of refinement and decay; and the soul, as the winged butterfly to which it is likened, throws off its cerement and assumes a new form.

But with us the transmigration is not veiled in darkness and mystery as with you. We can watch the transformation; we can see the spirit emerge from its old casement more ethereal than ourselves, but still visible; and we can hold communion with it.