CHAPTER XIII
 EARTHBOUND

THERE were few nights during the years of scientific investigation that I did not talk with earthbound spirit people, usually with several, and I have learned much of their condition.

"What creates the earthbound condition?" is the first question properly asked. I answer, as I have been answered thousands of times:

"The lives they led, and the conditions they created for themselves, for as a man sows so shall he reap."

The laws of nature, the laws under which we live, are not only fixed and definite, but eternally just.

Thoughts are things, and every moment as they emanate from each individual something is added to his character. It is enriched or impoverished, and if no light emanates from it one is held at his dissolution within the lower planes that circle this globe. The selfish character, like the miser in the "Chimes of Normandy," the cruel, the immoral and wanton, the thief, the murderer,--is it not just that they be herded together until they have lived over each wrong act, lived it aright and made compensation, thus qualifying themselves for association with a finer group? The justice that meets human souls at the frontier is complete. They enter into a condition which is of their own creation. They find such light as they radiate, and no more. There is no escape in 'the after life from the consequences of things done and performed in this. In this plane, so close about the earth that in reality it is a part of it, the wicked, the malicious and base, and all those who have acquired no spiritual development, are held. This plane has various stages. Some are in total darkness, some in half light; all in all, it is at most a twilight zone between the spiritual and physical worlds. Here old appetites, thoughts and desires hold sway as before. In this zone a great mass of undeveloped people of the same general character, with a desire for spirituality no greater than when living in the physical body, remain. Their condition is much worse than in this world, for there is not the opportunity for reformation that there was before. There the great law of attraction holds together those of a similar character, so that these live in mental poverty until they have a desire for better things. Then the way is shown and they work slowly out by their own efforts, but the labor is long and the path dim that leads to the zones of happiness and peace. Bruno said:

"Whatever good a man has to his credit, whether it be much or little, is the seed from which he grows eternally."

In my talks with earthbound spirit people I never found two exactly alike, any more than they can be found alike here. That change did not alter or improve them. This is evidently Hell, so much talked of and feared.

I recall so many earthbound that have told of the horror of their condition, that it is with difficulty I choose specific individuals, for I had speech with: such a great number. It is like seeing the paintings in the principal galleries of Europe. There are many, but some stand out prominently. This is the story told by one:

"I was not a good man among men. I was selfish, cruel, took human life, and was, as I now know, killed while committing a crime. When I awoke it was very dark, and, not knowing what had happened, I called in anger, but my companions did not come. My voice echoed back to me again and again, and I began to think I was in a cave. I arose and groped about in the darkness, but I could not find the walls, though I walked for hours. I did not feel hunger or thirst, and days and months passed, while I was ever searching for the walls that threw back the echo of my call. Can you imagine the sensation that you would have, to be lost in an open forest with the sun in the sky, to say nothing of being lost in darkness? My sensations and suffering beggar description.

"After a very long time I saw a light, and as it approached I saw that it shone or radiated from the form of a man. 'My brother,' the man said, 'you are in spiritual darkness; how can I help you?' He came and, putting forth his hands, would have touched me, but I was speechless and rushed away in fear. Thereafter when I saw a light I would hide, fearing I would be arrested, for at that time I did not know I had left my physical body. I became desperate, and the next time a light approached I waited. Coming to me, a man from whose body light radiated, as before, said, 'What do you wish?' I replied, 'I want to get out of this prison.' 'You are not in prison; you are dead.' I cursed him for making such fool statements, and he was gone.

"Again I was alone in darkness. How long this continued I know not, for, there being no day, I could not count time. Again there came one to me and again I demanded that I be released from my prison. He calmly and kindly replied, 'You are not in prison; you are a spirit.' That seemed to me the height of absurdity, for I was very much alive; but I listened and he told me 'that I had made the change' and brought another, an artist, who drew pictures of my youth and the faces of my boyhood friends, and, one by one sketched those acts and deeds and wrongs that I had done. Then the light faded and they were gone and I was left alone to think.

"When I had fully come to appreciate my condition and to regret the wrong done and the suffering caused by me, there came a desire to do what I could to make reparation. Then came other spirit people to encourage me and suggest what I must do to obtain spiritual growth and with it, the light. Not one offered to take my burden, or to undo the wrong that I had done; that was for me; they only pointed out the way. I was told there were none to forgive me, except the injured; no savior but himself.

"Step by step I went forward; hour by hour I made reparation and lived again each wrong and lived it right; and day by day, as you count time, I undid my wrong and added to the right. The way was long, the labor intense, but in it I found a happiness I had never known before. For I was building my character; the atom of good was striving for its spirituality. Now that is all behind me, and I live in the glorious and effulgent light of the spirit world, laboring among congenial souls. I was seared by the fire of selfishness and wrong. I paid, and paid to the last farthing, the penalty. Now I am at peace with all. the spirit world, as it is with me.

"I send this message back to the world of men: 'There is not in the universe a method by which 'any one can escape the penalty of wrong.' Had I known this fact, I would have lived among you honestly and been fair with my fellow men. I did not know it, and I have paid in full, as all will pay in full, for ignorance will not excuse.

"It has been a privilege to tell through you of my experience in the earthbound zone of the spirit world. If one man will hesitate when contemplating a single selfish or wrong act, and turn from it because of better understanding, it will reflect upon me and better my condition."

The following statement as to earthbound conditions is from another spirit:

"The belts or zones that lie close around your earth are designed for the habitation of undeveloped spirits when out of the body; as they outgrow the passions of earth and become more refined, they pass to another or higher zone. Many remain in the first or earth zone for years.

"We of the higher zones try to teach them that they must forgive and forget the wrongs of earth and in that work advance out of the earthbound condition, but many turn a deaf ear to our suggestions and try to revenge the wrong done to them when on earth; all this is intensely human, and this zone, so. like the physical, is very real.

"Those who have progressed, those who in the beginning passed directly through this belt, because of their spirituality, would never come back into that atmosphere, were it not for their love for and desire to help humanity:'

In explanation of this condition another spirit said:

"Many on leaving the mortal body are still in earthly conditions, found on the grosser spiritual side you call the lower sphere, where the spiritual senses are not yet awakened to susceptibility of spiritual discernment."

Again, one said:

"I find a great many come from earth life in a very darkened condition; and, of course, they gravitate or are drawn to localities of corresponding conditions. They don't know just where they ought to go or what to do. In fact, many are ignorant of any other than the condition in which they find themselves. Many, too many, are in a condition of slumbering, some in a "deep sleep which lasts a long time, and great effort is put forth to awake such spirit people."

This is the experience of another spirit:

"I had been in the after life a number of years when I was taken into the lowest sphere, and what I saw has lingered in my memory ever since. I was taken by a guide accustomed to work in the earthbound plane. We move, as you know, with the rapidity of thought. My first impression was of a descent in the dark, all about me gloom, and to add to the horror I could hear voices though I could not see any one. After a time, when as it seemed, I grew accustomed to the darkness, I could see people about me, poor men and women who did not realize they had left the physical body--some shrieking because they could not escape their victims; those they had wronged were not there, it was their awakening consciousness that brought such vision. The guide spoke gently to them. Some answered with coarse jests, others with mirthless laughter; but a few came close and listened while he told them of their condition and what must be done to work out of this darkness, which was of their own creation. We have as much trouble in making these poor spirit people understand conditions beyond their sight and touch, as you have with earth people."

In the beginning when I talked with spirits who did not know they were dead, as that word is commonly used, it staggered my thought. I could not then conceive that one could be in that condition and not know it. I did not then know that the next life was so material, so tangible, and, in the lower spheres, so like our own; neither did I know that here and now we possess an inner body, which, when separated from the outer flesh garment, is identically the same as before, with the same feature, expression and thoughts. With the first or lower sphere actually blending with our world as it does, how can those who have just gone understand their condition, if they possess no knowledge concerning this change?

In the presence of such known facts, the question of the continuity of life no longer remains, and we advance to the more important proposition of what are the conditions the so-called dead meet when they cross the border. Where is the border? Where is the after life and what is the new environment? These questions are vital and are being answered from day to day, though few ask the question, and of those who do ask, a less number understand. The world is too busy getting money to give this subject serious thought.

Let it not be understood that all the living dead are earthbound and held in such zone of darkness; of all that go, only a few of the many are there held. But let it be remembered that conditions in spirit planes vary as the varying characters of men, and that each reaches that environment for which his earth life has fitted him. 'There he will live until by growth be has earned a more advanced zone.

The experiences of these spirits were unusual, terrible in severity, and possibly extreme, but they are necessary to illustrate what the degenerate and wicked must expect. Others have told of the wonders and delights of the next conditions, as they were enabled to feel and visualize them in the beginning. Where spirit people are, what they see and enjoy, depends on just what their earth. life earned. How many know this fact?

The fortunate should help the unfortunate; the strong should defend the weak; the intellectual should lead with gentle hands the mental poor.. This is the highest conception of religion in both worlds, and a necessary process if we would enrich ourselves in either.

A spirit has said:

"You can have no idea of the nature and extent of punishment which some spirits have to undergo. There is no hell, nor is torture inflicted in the spirit world. Every one that comes brings the punishment with him in his own nature. When a spirit passes from the earth to this world, every trait of his natural habits, principles and passions is delineated on his spirit features. There can be no deceptions with us.

You will be placed with those of similar character, whose natures correspond with yours.

"There is no night here, and consequently no day, at least not as I once measured, and as you still measure time. Time here is measured only by emotions, events and deeds. There are dark places and darker souls, as there are on earth."

CHAPTER XIV
 HELPING THE DEAD

IN my early work I was told much that baffled understanding. Things which now appear simple, then seemed impossible. The statement that there were many in the after life who did not know that they had made the great change and were out of their physical bodies, was beyond my comprehension, though many whom I identified so stated.

At this period of my work I had the usual indefinite, hazy notion that Heaven, so-called, was far away, that something survived dissolution, but what it was I had never been able even to define, any more than the average Christian can define it today. I did not then know that this inner body at dissolution advanced to material spirit zones that encircle this earth, and that those whose spirituality did not carry them into the the higher spheres did not for a long time get beyond the earthbound plane, and that many were able to go in and out of our homes and offices as before, though they could not make us answer them or realize their presence.

Some are in such a state that the helpers in the higher life cannot reach them, and it is only by uniting our forces and working together that these poor, souls are brought to consciousness and shown how they can develop and progress. Those earthbound ones are the spirit people who need our help.

When I state that one-half of each of the evenings --during all the years of my work was devoted, with the help of the spirit group working with me, to helping this class of spirits, one may get an idea of the great necessity for it.

Bear in mind that Mrs. French, the psychist in whose presence this work was done, did not do the talking. She was not in a trance, but contributed psychic force necessary in our work. Bear in mind, again, that, when out of the physical housing, spirit people have vocal and respiratory organs as in earth life, and can speak as before, being heard by mortal ear when conditions are as I learned to make them.

Usually some learned spirit spoke on some phase or condition of the next life, which discourse, at such times as I was able to procure the services of a stenographer who could write in the dark, was taken in shorthand. Then came what we called our "Mission Work."

Thousands upon thousands of spirit people spoke in this work and never any two in the same condition or with similar ideas or experiences, for they were different as in this life. Many were awakened apparently after long periods of time; others were in darkness, and could not find the light; others did not realize that they had left the old earth body; others knew they had, but found nothing as they expected. Some had a craving for liquor and a desire to satisfy old appetites; while others came for suggestions and advancement. The procession was endless and the need beyond description.

Those who are advanced in the after life are ever ready and anxious to help any below them, and they do a wonderful work. But there are many whom they can not reach, and it is only by blending their forces with ours that a condition was created where these poor souls could be brought to a realization of their condition and started toward a higher development. Spirit people are not infinite; they are limited in their sphere, as we are in ours, and so, for twenty-two years, we worked together to help earthbound spirits. It was the most important work I ever did, beside which all my professional achievements sink into obscurity and are as nothing. This was a real pleasure and a great privilege. Let me illustrate the character of this work.

I was in my own home one evening, alone with Mrs. French. A storm had passed and there could be heard the low moaning wind in the great trees outside. It was absolutely dark in the room where we sat facing each other with only a small table between us. The discourse on the scientific aspect of the next state was finished; then came silence and expectancy.

"I have wandered, for years, searching, searching, searching," a voice distressed and low, came out of the darkness; "and traveled, traveled, traveled; and I have found nothing but vegetation, and I am so weary." Then this benighted spirit apparently realized that I was visible, and he seemed to turn toward me, and said: "I don't understand. I am seeking my Savior;

I was told He would meet me, but I can't find Him, and I am lost."

I replied: "No man is ever lost." He replied: "I will be lost, if I don't find my Savior. I have searched so long!"

"Did it ever occur to you that you have no Savior but yourself?" I asked. "That cannot be," he said. "All my earth life I relied on Him to save me, and I must find Him."

"Would it not be better to try to save yourself," I said.

"No man can be saved except he believe in Christ," he answered.

"We have no Savior but ourselves, and until we understand that fact and help ourselves and others, we don't find a very desirable after life. How do you account for the fact that you have traveled so far, met no people, and seen nothing but vegetation?" I asked.

"I don't know; I don't understand," he answered.

"I know and I understand," another spirit voice answered. "This man lived a narrow, selfish Christian life, simply relying on the Bible teachings, believing that the Savior would carry his burden and lead him to the great white throne, and when he realized he had passed the portal of death his first thought was to find that Savior that he had been taught to depend upon. This idea became an obsession and he started traveling with only one thought in mind. So intent was he, so centered was his thought, he saw nothing of the people or the wonders of the sphere in which he had advanced. He could not find what he sought, and he could not see or sense what he was not seeking. His journey will not end until he realizes that he is his own savior."

"That is a new idea. Who is that man?" he asked.

"A spirit like yourself," I answered.

"Is what he said true?" he asked.

"Has it not occurred to you in all this time, that, if your teaching were true, your Savior would have met you, and has not the fact that you were not so met, caused you to question your belief?" I said in reply.

"It has not before, but let me think. Have I been wrong in my belief? When I came over and failed to find Him, I should have questioned; but I did not. I thought I must search and I have searched so long," be said.

I had learned that when a spirit was really awakened in the condition we had created where the earth and spirit spheres blend together, friends could come and help. I asked: "Don't you want to stop traveling, and see some of your family or friends?"

"I certainly do.--If I am wrong and have been wasting my life, I should like to know it," he replied.

"Look," I said: "It is growing light. How beautiful! See great throngs of people."

He said, "They are coming toward me, men and women, dead men and women, but they don't look dead. They appear just as they did before, and so do I. There comes a friend who beckons me. May I go?"

"Yes," I answered. "The thought that dominated you is broken and now you are free. Go with those who have come to help you, and they will show you how to help yourself."

He was gone, then silence again, the night wind and the darkness; while in the room tiny non-luminous points of light appeared, and substance like faint clouds in a summer sky floated and visibly formed into indefinite shapes, * as the spirit chemist restored conditions to the psychic normal. Again the stress and the expectant speech. We could always feel the effort that was apparently necessary to clothe with ectoplasm a spirit's vocal organs, so that its voice would sound in our atmosphere.

"What are you trying to do?" another voice spoke. "I have been watching these manipulations with great interest; a gentleman told me to ask and I am curious."

"This lady and myself," I replied, "come together each week and with spirit aid create a condition where we can talk, voice to voice, with dead people:,

"That is positively a most absurd statement. The dead can't talk," he said.

"Do you know that to be a fact?" I asked. "No," he answered, "I don't know it to be a fact, but if it were possible, I should have heard of it."

"Have you ever heard of obtaining messages from departed spirit people?" I asked. "Yes," be said, "I have heard such claims, but never for a moment did I consider it worthy of the slightest consideration."

"Did you ever really consider what would happen to you in the death change?" I asked. "No, that was a subject I did not care to think about. I have the cares of my business, which are enough," he replied.

"Stop and think for a moment; where are you now?" I said.

 "I don't know; this is not my office and the surroundings are strange. I don't quite comprehend this most unusual situation. Nor do I recognize you or this lady," he answered.

"Do you recall your name and recent events?" I asked.

"Certainly," he replied, "my name is ... , my office . . . , and, as I recall, I had just concluded an important conference; but this is neither my office nor my home. Where am I and how did I get here, and who are you? I have no recollection of meeting you or leaving my place of business."

"I am Mr. Randall, and you are in my home in Buffalo, and this lady and myself, with the aid of a spirit group, talk at times with those who have left the physical body, just as we are now talking to you," I replied.

 "I don't understand why you speak to me in that manner. I am not dead," he said.

 "Look at your body," I said.

"I am looking at it. I see no change," he answered.

"Look again. Hold up your hand to the light,"

I said. "My God! What has happened? My whole body is natural but it is transparent. I can see through it. What does this mean?" he asked.

"Does it not dawn on you what we are trying to convey? Recall your last sensation," I said.

"I am," he replied. "I was in my office--a feeling of great weakness came over me. I had a sensation of falling, and I don't recall anything more, until I found myself here. Do you intend to convey the suggestion that I am dead?. Is that what this talk leads to?"

"There is no death, there are no dead," I answered. "There is only change. In dissolution the inner body, released from the flesh housing, passes to the next or spirit plane,. which is as material and natural as the earth life, and so similar that in the beginning many don't realize it any more than you do, and I am inclined to believe from this talk that you never developed your better self to any degree, for which reason you don't understand what is actually being done now, nor the condition in which you find yourself."

"Can it be," he replied, "that death comes without our knowing it, and that we continue to live in a world similar to that of the earth? It is a most astounding proposition. Have I really ceased to live the earth life?"

"I should infer from your statements," I answered, "that you passed out of the body suddenly, possibly with a stroke of apoplexy. What is the date?"

"This is January 20th," he replied.

"No," I answered. "It is April, and for three months you have been unconscious."

"The suggestion stirs me beyond expression," he said. "Let me think. I was in good bodily health, as I thought, engrossed in business affairs, and the idea that death would come to me never was seriously considered, and now you tell me it has overtaken me, and that I am no more of earth, and that as a spirit I can actually talk to you still in the old life. I want to think it over--I am not fully satisfied. It would seem to me if I was a spirit I would meet other spirit people. Why don't I?"

"Look about you again," I said. "While we have been talking, possibly you have not noticed what has taken place."

"Why it is growing more light, and I can see about me many I thought dead and gone," he said; "and they tell me they have come to help me out of darkness, teach me the laws that control in this sphere of life, and point out the method by which I can develop my spirit, which I have so long neglected. This thought and their presence overwhelms me, and I must have time to realize it all."

"You have been awakened," I said, "and put in touch with those who will help you. Go with them and all will be well with you."

"Good night," he said. "I thank you.

These cases illustrate the condition in which some spirit people find themselves, the method employed in bringing them to a realization of the change that has taken place, and something of the results obtained in this mission work. Volumes could be written from the records obtained, which would further show the urgent need of work of this character.

CHAPTER XV
MISSION WORK AGAIN

AMONG the many thousand cases that I In came into our mission work, some teaching great lessons stand out prominently. There lived in my home city a few years ago a man of great wealth. He had reached the age of four-score and ten, was of unimpeachable character and at the head of some of our largest financial institutions, but he was close in money matters, very close, and saved the pennies as well as the dollars. I knew him intimately, for I had an office for some years in the same building and saw him frequently. He was counted a good citizen, but not much given to relieving distress,--such was the public estimation of his character.

The day came when he passed from the world of men, and was soon forgotten. Five years elapsed, during which period I went on with my work, helping those whom my co-workers brought, regardless of who or what they were, for in the democracy of death wealth and worldly distinction are lost, and only character survives.

I recall vividly the evening I shall describe, for it taught one of the greatest lessons I have ever had from this source. This night I was not alone with Mrs. French; I had as a guest Louis P. Kirchmeyer, who had psychic sight and could actually see spirit people before they spoke, as could Mrs. French. If a spirit was personally known, either could call him by name, and if I knew him well, I could usually recognize his voice. This condition made identity in such cases beyond question.

Again, this . chapel in my home where my work was carried on, with the non-luminous ribbon of light above our heads, indicated that conditions were favorable. There was never a night when we knew who would come or what we should be called upon to do, as much depended on our mental and physical condition, and then atmospheric conditions had to be considered. I seldom asked for any particular individual,--ours was a scientific work, and those who needed help were brought in after the lecture, usually.

"It is so cold and dark," a voice came out of the darkness. Mr. Kirchmeyer and Mrs. French both psychically saw and recognized the gentleman mentioned above, and told me his name. After he spoke, I recognized his voice, which was somewhat peculiar. I had a high regard for this man, and, considering the lapse of five years since his passing on, was startled by what he said.

"Mr. W ," I said, "I am surprised after this lapse of years to hear you make such a statement. Tell me more of your condition."

"There is around and about me a wall of money, nothing but money; it shuts out the light. It is so dark, and wherever I go I cannot get away from it, around it or over it," he replied.

"This man," said one of the spirit group who was helping in the work, "spent his whole life in accumulating money. It dominated his whole thought, it was all he builded, and in coming into this life he found only the condition he had created, and, never having developed his spirit, he sheds no light on his pathway."

Having from experience learned how to help in such cases by suggestion, I said, "Mr. W, I think you can see light if you will look. What do you see?"

"It is coming," he said, "just a ray, but wait, I see a highway leading away in the distance."

"And what do you see on that highway?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered, "not a living thing."

"Look again," I replied.

"Yes," he said, "I now see sign boards along the sides as far as the eye will reach."

"And what, if anything, is printed on those sign boards?" I asked.

"I can only read on the first one the word 'charity.' What does it mean?" he said.

"I will tell him what it means," the same spirit who had spoken before answered. "This man never thought of charity, which is the helping of others, either by kindly words or by material aid, so with all his millions of money he came into this world a spiritual pauper. He has now found the light, will realize his mis-spent life, and must learn what charity is. When he has practiced it, he can read the second, sign. That highway is his to travel; it is long, but it will ultimately lead him to happiness and to a wealth he has never known."

This experience teaches us that we owe something to our fellow men, and that the more we have the more we owe to those less fortunate.

The following incident occurred on another night, and illustrates that all who pass out are not earthbound, in fact, the great majority pass at once to a higher spiritual plane and more comprehensive life. All find just what they make for themselves, be it good or bad, and enter into the particular condition for which they are fitted. The power of money is no more; the only wealth carried beyond is that given away here.

''My years have gone swiftly," another said, "since my earth friends said farewell, and I journeyed on. I was glad to make the change for myself, but regretted I could not make those left behind understand that I was not dead and that it was for my good that I stepped out of the tenement of clay and put on the garb of the immortals. I realized at once that I was out of the body, but I stayed about the home for some days before I was taken away, when I took up the work of helping those in the lower spheres. I have been familiar with your work for a long time, and am permitted to bring a soul that you can help. When his vocal organs are clothed, he will speak:

"I understand fully," another spirit said, "that I have left my physical body. I was fully conscious when the change was taking place. My first thought was that I did not want a post-mortem of my earth body, and I was relieved when I knew it was not to be done. This is a beautiful world, in which I live, with opportunities beyond your conception. When earth conditions do not bind me, I can attend great lectures, and in temples of music hear celestial song. But I am bound to earth by the sorrow of my father and mother. They brood and weep, and sorrow--for me as one dead, and that holds me like bands of steel, so that I can only at times do what other boys do. They don't understand that I am more alive than ever before, but until they give me happier thoughts my progression is stayed and I am as unhappy as they are. And I could be so happy and accomplish so much, if they would let me go. Won't you go and tell them what I have said, and change their thoughts? Tell them that death is life boundless and endless, and our sphere is filled with happiness. Please promise."

I did promise, and I did go and do what I could, but human nature loves to sorrow for the so-called dead.

How miraculous, how marvelous, you say, is this work. Not at all, it is no more marvelous than what you observe from day to day, and to which you give little thought. You plant a tiny seed in the dark ground, and in a little time you see a plant full of beautiful blossoms. You plant a kernel of corn and see. grain reproduced. You note the reproduction of man himself. Do you suppose that the laws which do all these most mysterious things are not able to clothe temporarily a spirit body so that he can speak and be heard by mortal man?

I remember how stubborn I was in the beginning of my psychic investigation. For a long time I would not admit to myself, much less to the public, the conviction that was growing within me. I had not the capacity to comprehend these simple truths. Every one who walks in the woodland, stands by the sea, reads a book, looks at a picture, or hears a lecture, gets all the intellectual wealth he is capable of receiving, and no more.

CHAPTER XVI
SPIRIT INFLUENCE

HAVE spirit people any influence or control over our thought or action? If so, to what extent and by what process?

To bring ourselves intelligently to the question, we must appreciate, as we have never done before, that those out of the physical body are people,--as they were before dissolution; that they live and inhabit material belts or zones about the earth; that they walk upon the city's streets; go into and out of homes, as freely as before; and are silent witnesses of our daily thought and action. They travel at will along the old highways, stay about the homes they built, see us and know our daily rants, desires and ambitions, and are familiar with the discords, as well as the harmonies, of our lives. Many become co-workers with us. I know the limitations of the human mind and its inability to grasp this simple proposition, more important than the accumulation of wealth, and I wish for many tongues that I might speak in all of nature's dialects and languages. If this fact could be brought home to all the men and women who inhabit this globe, it would revolutionize the conduct of mankind and enrich the world.

There are some truths that cannot be told too often; there are truths that, no matter how often told, seem to make no impression; there are some soils which, regardless of how perfect the seed or how thickly sown, give little return; and so, in many ways, we tell over and over again what follows dissolution, finding now and then a fertile brain.

All knowledge is the result of suggestion, which may be divided into three classes--physical, mental and spiritual. (a) Physical suggestion is objective. Everything we see or hear in nature makes its impression on our minds. Something is by that process suggested to our senses, and, to the extent that we grasp and understand, we make it our own and thereby increase the sum-total of our knowledge. One in spirit life, who has given many lectures, said on this subject:

'Come with me through the walks of life, and see the manner of men we can help. It is not the arrogant fool who says in his heart, 'My way is the only way,' nor yet the man who weakly fears to trust his own instinct and vacillates falteringly between the opinions of man; but it is the sane, quiet thinker, who is willing to listen to all arguments and to choose wisely those that appeal alike to his heart and brain. Such we can assist by spirit-suggestion. Without his being conscious of it, we can often guide his thought along the right lines, because he is fair-minded.

"Suggestion is one of the strong factors in the lifeforce. As you said this morning, all things have their power of suggestion. Does not a low saloon throw out its vile suggestion to all men? Whether this emanation entices or repels, depends upon the man, but its surrounding influence is felt strongly, and the suggestion is evil. A beautiful rural scene is . helpful, with its suggestion of peace and harmonious coloring. And so it is through all phases of life. Hence all should seek the best, and unconsciously all do aspire to it."

(b) Mental suggestion is the deduction or reasoning from one known cause to its effect, by which something more is suggested. By this method we prove to ourselves facts previously unknown. An illustration of deductive reasoning occurs when we accept the contention that "nothing in nature can be destroyed." From this accepted hypothesis, positing that the mind is a part of nature, just as much as the earth itself, though more important, we reason that the Master Mind which created all things has not planned the annihilation of its higher forms and preserved the lower. To do so would be both unreasonable and unjust, and in nature there is no injustice nor unreason. Man has proved that it is impossible to destroy an atom. We assert, therefore, by the process of deductive reasoning, which is really the most purely mental form of demonstration, that a human soul can not be annihilated. It follows, by laws as certain as those pertaining to the physical, that no spirit of man has ever been destroyed. This we know, also inductively, because in company with many others who understand the elementary laws of vibration, we have talked with those who have survived the supposed destruction of death. The inductive method, then, will help to confirm the conclusions of the deductive on the subject. We know by experiment that it is possible for earth dwellers to communicate with those who have left the earth. Franklin was able to demonstrate the two methods; inductively he showed that lightning and electricity are identical, and, deductively, that houses may be protected by lightning rods. Vice versa, then, if spirit can be seen by induction to be identical with mind, deduction will enable us to conclude that spirits, still in the flesh, can have direct relations with spirits out of the flesh.

(a) Spiritual suggestion is the method of the after life. With spirit people, thought is such a positive force, and takes such definite form and shape, that it is visible. Their language is a thought language and is as well understood among them as words are among us. They soon lose all desire for physical touch or expression, finding the purely mental so much more intense; and, as they move in and out among the people of earth and see when and where they can do good, they, by a purely mental process, suggest to us often what to do and what not to do. Thus the suggestion of those who have passed out of earth life comes to us as a moral guide, whose true origin many ignore because they have absolutely no knowledge of what happens after dissolution. This form of suggestion we call intuition, impulse, inspiration.

Spirit suggestion comes through our sub-conscious brain. Mind, whether in or beyond the physical, is a positive force in. nature. Spirit people,--desiring to influence our conduct to some desired end, retard their mental vibrations, and, at the same time, ours increase until our vibrations and theirs pulsate more or less in harmony; then it is possible for them to make their thought our thought, and when we, guided by their suggestion, do some good deed with their co-operation, we increase in some, degrees the sum of Universal Good. . But, because those beyond the physical are not always spiritual, some being, on the contrary, of a low order of mentality and often depraved, with low instincts and base appetites, as when in the body, they, if our thoughts and desires are of a similar character, can reach our sub-conscious brains, and suggest that which will satisfy their desires. The results are base actions produced by both them and us. Man is not a mere automaton, but a personality, deriving his progression from suggestions of people both in and out of the body; and it is difficult, so subtle is spirit suggestion, --to tell with any certainty whether the thought that preceded the act was one's own conception or that of some spirit working through one's brain to do good or to satisfy his own selfish desires. For this reason, one should weigh well what he has an impulse or desire to do. Good always precedes evil. First impressions are better than those which follow, because they are more spiritual.

The whole process of thought is the result of suggestion, without which ideas could be neither formulated nor expressed. Knowledge would be suppressed and evolution impossible, were it not for suggestion. The influence of the spirit world is far greater than any mortal can comprehend, because we are unable, so faint is the line of demarcation, to tell the origin, or source, of any thought.

In formulating this philosophy, I am unable to say to what extent intelligences beyond the physical have influenced my mind. My brain may have been, so to speak, a conduit of thought, and my hand an instrument to give physical expression to natural laws not at present generally understood by man. I can not tell; I have not been conscious of any suggestions; but, knowing, from my conversation. with spirit-people, the subtle power of suggestion,. I would not say that they have not had a very great influence in shaping this

work. I have the greatest respect and love for many who have, voice to voice, proved their identity, and given me their knowledge. What they have taught I know; to just what extent they can influence our daily conduct and thought depends on their mental conditions and ours. It is, therefore, largely an unknown influence, but an important one, which all should understand.

The life of spirits is intensely active and real; they have their work along those lines for which their experience in earth life has best fitted them; they labor where there is the greatest need, where most good can be done. The ignorance of those in the physical world on this subject is very great and, as a result, their condition is so inferior to what it might be, that spirit people, realizing the deplorable situation, spend much time on the earth plane, striving to enlighten mankind and to make them live better individual lives, a task which impedes their own progress.

I recall listening, not many years ago, to a boy not more than fourteen years old, playing a great masterpiece on. a violin, with marvelous technical skill. His intellect was not above the average, nor had he received any special artistic training, yet he could execute the most difficult music. One of our standard law books, recognized as an authority, was written by a boy while at college. Fiske wrote philosophy in his teens. We have always had prodigies who were able without much education, to accomplish great things. But there is nothing remarkable in this, after all; it means only that a master in spirit is able either to suggest or to work through their subconscious brains.

In some instances, like the boy violinist and Blind Tom, spirits take actual possession of the body and brain, which, for the time being, are used by them as an instrument to give physical expression to their attainments.

What is true of the boy, is true likewise of the man. It is difficult, so great is the power of spirit minds, so fine is the line of demarcation between self and their suggestion, to tell, at all times, what is self and what is suggestion. This mind of ours is like a stream having its source among the hills and flowing toward the sea. A thought from the right finds its way to the channel; another one comes from the left and joins the current, adding volume and character; and when the stream reaches the sea of expression, it is hard to say how much of it came from the original source, how much is our own, or how much flowed in from surrounding conditions.

We hear a voice calling our name; we turn and listen; it suggests that some one would speak to us. We hesitate while the thought finds lodgment in the brain; and it, too, sets in action a line of reasoning. That thought may have been generated by a process of reasoning, and, again, it may have been the suggestion of some spirit interested in our welfare. Spirits can call as well as those in the physical body. Both can be heard, the first by the mind itself, and the latter by the physical sense of hearing. And it is difficult for any one to say, such is the feasibility and possibility of spirit suggestion, whether one originates or obeys. Inspiration is spirit aid and suggestion, nothing more.

CHAPTER XVII
 DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CHARITY

CHARITY, in its general. acceptation, has been identified with alms-giving. Spirit people, with their higher intelligence, contend that charity means giving to those in need our best and purest thought; and they have pointed .out that on the earth plane it is rather a mechanical than a spiritual action to distribute material things to others. How many, when they help those in need, give their best thought as well as material aid? True, material assistance is often indispensable; but nevertheless, it should be only a stepping stone to something higher and nobler. A charitable thought, sent out and transmitted by waves of . psychic ether, will reach many souls in despair; and, perhaps, lift them to higher conditions in the material as well as in the spirit spheres. There are persons in earth life who are too poor to give material aid, but who, out of the richness of their benevolent hearts, give that which is better, more precious, more Godlike, loving words and kindly deeds.

Such as these are never too tired to offer sympathy, never too weary to speak a cheery word to struggling neighbors. Such persons radiate happiness around them, and are continually sending forth the purest and best of which a soul is capable, and, when they go out into the after life, they find that the bread of thought cast upon the waters does return.

It is my custom to ask of spirit people to give some expression of their views on subjects under consideration, and in reply to an inquiry about charity one said:

"And the greatest of all is charity of thought, without which the utmost gifts of money become as pebbles in the mouths of the hungry. Think of all as you would have all think of you. A thought once born grows to its fullness, not only by the good done to the individual, but by its strength and good ness. It circles around, and after encompassing many in its kind embrace, rebounds to enrich the originator. Cultivate the desire to think kindly of your fellow men.

"Some thought dominates all actions. Those who have evil thoughts are in danger of becoming evil themselves, though they may be unconscious of the fact. The mind flings out a radiance which, to some extent, sheds light on every avenue of life. If that radiance should grow feeble and your life selfish, you would long remain in the twilight, and your outlook would be limited. But, if kindness and true charity dominate your thoughts, the radiance will continue rich and bright till its emanations reach the boundaries of hope, and your soul is illumined by the crowning sun of happiness.

"The best way to judge character is to watch the faces of children who turn toward men. A good man loves them and has patience with them, and they turn to him as naturally as a flower follows the warmth of the sun. A bad man realizes their helplessness, and brutally vents his malignity on their small defenseless heads. Such a man is not to be trusted in any walk of life.

"Again be generous to those to whom nature has limited her gifts, for nature compensates, and the time 'will come when all shall be equal. The poorly equipped for earth life will more easily acquire the lessons to be learned in the next, for those of patience and humility are learned already. Those who think differently are to be enlightened, not censured or ridiculed, for all who understand this truth of life's progression are entrusted with the great responsibility of teaching all who can understand; and you must get as close as possible to the lives of others, that your words may have weight.

"Let your hearts be fallow ground, plant therein the seeds of love, charity and purity; nourish them daily with the clear water of tenderness; and you will have a wonderful garden filled with fragrance and white with blossoms, and your life will become a; part of the great life principle."

A spirit, well known when in earth life, said one evening to a gentleman who worked with me, and who helped obtain the information now given the public:

"The intense satisfaction that is the constant result of right doing, based on honest purpose, is, in itself, sufficient reward for action. Of all the trite sayings of the Bible, the one that reads, 'What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and yet lose his own soul?' is one with the greatest meaning.

"Wealth brings many opportunities for good and for evil; in fact, there are more for the latter than for the former, as the besetting sin of mortal man is selfishness and the possession of great riches allows free expression of that greatest of all sources of trouble. The true and full meaning of the word 'selfishness' is in every way opposite to the most beautiful word in your language, 'charity.' Shorn of their meaning, as applied to money, they are the negative and positive of man's character. The fullest opportunity of giving expression to these two opposite words comes with the possession of great wealth. The understanding of the full meaning of these two words is the truest index of a man's character. The ability to make one's life the embodiment of that wonderful word 'charity,' and to understand that other word 'selfishness' so as to avoid it, is the true test of mortal man's ability to. control himself.

"Self-control is man's perfect condition. To know charity and practice its meaning; to know selfishness and keep it from you; this is self-control. This state of existence is as near perfection as the earthtied mortal can hope to get. You have been chosen one among many on your side of life to bring certain great truths to the people of the world. In advance of time, you are to be prepared for the time of your usefulness, and this is one of the moments of laying before you certain truths. To teach the truth, the teacher must be truthful; to induce others to accept pure and honest principles, the teacher must be pure and honest himself; to set certain facts before others, the teacher must be above criticism.

"You may honestly atone for those things that have so far occurred in your life, by making amends to those to whom you are indebted. So far as the errors of your past life are concerned, you have well and strongly conquered their chief cause, and you need no longer fear them. You have henceforth no excuse to do otherwise than follow the honorable and ennobling instincts of your nature. Guard well your actions, that they may not be open to criticism from others; and particularly from the one of all others from whom you cannot escape, your own self. You have been, and you are being, weighed in the balance; and so much is expected of you, that you must not be found wanting.

"Remember that wealth brings the opportunity to give expression to what is best in your nature, and that you will find the only reward for doing good in that intense feeling of satisfaction that can come only as the result of a good deed, unselfishly done. It is well that man should earn his daily bread. It is the intention of nature that every mortal should struggle, for by no other means can he progress in the scale of being. This being so, one so situated that he can live without a proper exertion on his part, is unfortunate. Never forget this principle; the waste of money is not charity, but foolishness. You will find many practical ways to do good and to do it in the right way. A clean tenant demands a clean habitation. A pure heart and a pure mind are the results of your own efforts so to keep them.

"Charity is not a formula; it is thought, clothed with a kind act. Cultivate charity in judging others; try to draw out the latent good in them, rather than to discover the hidden evil. We must do this if we would rise to the full glory of our privilege, to the dignity of true living, to the supreme charity of the world."

CHAPTER XVIII
FRAGMENTS

NOT WITHSTANDING the many years of this research, we were always careful to utilize our strength to the best possible advantage. Little time was spent with tests and personalities, none with frivolities. It was a dignified, scientific work, wherein we sought knowledge to the utmost.

At times there would come concrete and definite statements with great rapidity and of tremendous import. It seemed as if the group of spirit people wanted to say as much as possible in the fewest words. Frequently I asked slower speech, so that my stenographer might get the statements correctly, and I recall being told:

"that it was impossible at times to slow the message; when conditions were right they had to send them through or lose the opportunity."

I have gathered from my records short, terse statements from various communications received from those in the after life, some beyond worldly teaching, that seem worthy of publication. The following are but a few of thousands, mere fragments of spirit philosophy:

"Force wherever found or how expressed, is life."

"Each change in spirit existence is partly hidden from the plane below, because the conditions of each change make it best for the soul 'to fit itself for progression without absolute knowledge of the next step."

"When the intellect ceases to be enslaved, the body becomes free."

"The supreme need of each man is to reason and to remain, ever after, true to his convictions. Where reason leads, each should follow publicly and openly. This is the highest conception of duty."

"Man's conscience is his judgment seat, and reparation for wrong cannot begin too soon. Love for humanity is the basis upon which mankind must stand to gain ultimate good. Brood well upon that with which you store your mind. Each grain of knowledge will grow and bear its fruit."

"Dissolution is simply the throwing aside of the physical garment, the outer covering composed of flesh compounds, whereupon the individual becomes an inhabitant of another sphere of usefulness, differing only in its intensity:'

"Inhabitants of this material world cannot see the spirit form while in the body; neither can they see it when separated from the body."

"All life has intelligence; all intelligence has language; all language, expression."

"One who does right and has the courage of his convictions, will find in the after life a radiant happiness, and the censure of this little world will fail to sting."

"A thought born . in your. mind is for good or evil, a thing to be reckoned with again in the after life, when it will confront you face to face, and claim you as its author."

"Do you not think that the great intelligence that planned millions of worlds, and made them move with perfect harmony and precision, that peopled them, that fixed and marked each one's course, and lighted its pathway in infinite space, knows what is best?"

"At dissolution, each sense is quickened, and all that fills space is visible to the spiritual senses and tangible

to spiritual touch and brain. Space must then take form, substance and reality,--a world of thought, boundless and endless."

"The rains will come. when they are timed. They will replenish the green of the harvest and make it richer. The storms of life may beat upon you, but you will find they only break down the dead branches, and you will be more straight and fair for their passing."

"All about this material world there exists actually the psychic or spiritual universe, more active and real than this, peopled with all the countless dead, who, no longer burdened with a physical body, move at will within the boundaries of their sphere, in what appears as space to mortal man."

"In the kingdom of the mind there can be no personal dictation; there is no God but universal good; no Savior but oneself; no trinity but matter, force and mind."

"Life beyond the grave is the promise that hope has ever whispered to all who have lived."

"The sovereignty of the individual must be gained by effort. The weak must be taught; the strongest at some time must bend and obey."

"To every mortal who thinks rightly, Nature's laws become natural laws."

"Dissolution is a step in evolution, and involves no mental change, adding nothing, subtracting nothing, but simply increasing the opportunities for observation and learning."

"Men who deny to others the right of public speech are not qualified for speech themselves."

"If you would impress your thought on others, and spread the truth, make that thought the highest expression of truth."

"Make yourself attuned to the most harmonious vibrations, so that your impulses will be good, and then obey them. They are apt to be the suggestions of a fellow soul working out his salvation."

"Mind is the aggregate of all thoughts. Mind is the universal thought. As a drop of water signifies but one infinitesimal part of the great ocean, so a thought is but one infinitesimal part of the great ocean of mind."

"Deeds are thoughts grown to maturity, and yet a thought unspoken or unlived, will exist through all the ages, as though expressed."

"Everything is governed by law; nothing happens by . chance; cause and effect are as potent in the spirit plane as in the earth plane."

"There are sounds that our ears have never heard; there is light that our physical eyes can never see; there is an invisible world filled with people that few have ever imagined."

"Life would be but a futile thing, and all effort useless, if the future did not. stretch before us, endless and unlimited in its possibilities."

"The justice that meets the naked soul, on the threshold of its spirit life, is terrible in its completeness."

"The tendency of all life, wheresoever found or howsoever clothed, is to perfect, improve, increase and extend its sphere of usefulness. This is evolution. It is a fact, a law and not a theory, and its possibilities are as boundless as the imagination."

"The atom, alone, has eternal duration of form, for it alone has the power to enter and dominate all other forms. It has no master except force, and to force alone is it amenable."

"The wealth that all in this physical world should seek, has not the ring of gold; it is gathered by right living and by helping others to live right."

"It is far better to have committed an honest error and reaped no profit, than to have great profit and to have honesty gone from your own heart."

"Selfishness in the human heart is the cause of all evil; where selfishness dwells, love can not abide. Selfishness and love can not occupy the same place at the same time."

"An atom from the great ocean of spirit finds lodgment in a physical organism and behold, a man!"

"Mortal needs spirit suggestion, but spirits indeed of mortal thought have just as great a need."

"Life enough is given to rule each day in our kingdom, but not enough for tomorrow."'

"Wisdom is born in the soul of man when he recognizes that natural law governs and accounts for all things."

"If a man is clean, he feels clean, and keeping clean inspires him to clean deeds."

"Wisdom, power, beneficence, and the peace, that passeth all understanding--these come not from above, but from within."

"If a man can make himself habitually right in his thought and desire, right in his will and purpose, he must become right in the tissues built up out of the mind's action."

"Power is born of desire; no man can earnestly desire to live upon a high plane and yet be compelled to live upon a low plane, since we live in that state of development that we create for ourselves."

"Every life is placed exactly where it should be, and is in touch with the environment needed at that hour to unfold itself."

"It is thought that builds the body. Thought is food, thought is force--the motor power, by means of which the soul expresses itself in physical form."

CHAPTER XIX
INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS

AT the funeral of John G: Mills on April 15, 1883, Robert G. Ingersoll, the great agnostic said:

"Again we stand face to face with the great mystery that shrouds the world. We question, but there is no :reply. Out on the wide waste seas, there drifts no spar. Over the desert of death the Sphinx gazes forever, but does not speak. All wish for happiness beyond this life, all hope to meet again the loved and lost. Immortality is a word that Hope through all the ages has been whispering to Love. The mystery of life and death, we cannot understand. The golden bridge of life from gloom emerges, and on shadow rests. Beyond this we do not know. Fate is speechless, destiny is dumb, and the secret of the future has never yet been told. We love, we wait, we hope.

"What can we say of death? What can we say of the dead? Where they have gone, reason can not go, and from thence revelation has not come."

This is a fair statement by a fair man of the general understanding of that subject at that time.

Since those words were uttered, more progress has been made than in the thousand years prior to that time. The telephone has come into practical use, the automobile has displaced the horse, electricity lights the world and propels our engines and cars. The human voice is heard across the continent and over the ocean. We navigate the air, and ships call to each other over the waters for help when in distress. Progress has not been confined to things physical. Within that time we have also come to know what that change called death is, and are able to comprehend the process involved and to explain it scientifically. Its mystery, like all other mysteries, disappears when the simple natural law is understood. Earnest men have called and questioned, the dead have answered, and life and death is, in a measure, understood. We find there is no golden bridge, no dark stream, to cross; all life is one on different planes.

Where the so-called dead have gone, reason has now followed, and the revelation has come from those who live and labor beyond our vision and touch. We now know what physical change takes place at the time of dissolution, and, when conditions are properly met, we now may talk with those who seem to have left us, voice to voice.

This is not the discovery of any one man. For the last decade and more, great thinkers have devoted their thought and energy to discover what before was a mystery, and have had the courage to give the world the result of their scientific investigations. More has been written on this subject in the last twenty years than on perhaps any other, but only a small percentage of those classed as thinkers know it--only those who think for themselves read this class of literature. The great majority never give this subject a thought and do not want to know, though it is of more vital importance than any other matter. Some there are who face the east and sincerely welcome the light; others stand with their backs to the sunrise and worship the sunset of the day before.

Among well known scholars who stand for this great truth may be mentioned Wallace, Crookes, Rear-Admiral Moore, Stead, Lodge and Doyle, of England; Richet, of France; Lombroso, of Italy; Stanford, of Australia; Wu Ting Tang, of China; Carrington, Funk and Professor Hyslop, of America. All these have written on their individual discoveries, based on evidential facts. This field has been fully covered. The continuity of life has been proved and as well established as any other fact in nature. But these facts and incidents are so out of the ordinary that the human mind has difficulty in grasping them. It is difficult to comprehend what one has not actually experienced.

I do not intend to make this presentation technically evidential, except as the incidents related and the source of my knowledge carry conviction. I want to come to the public through the valley of reason, so to present my facts that they appeal to all, for when they are found reasonable and in accordance with nature's law and purpose, they will be accepted. They must be accepted, for the facts have been gathered from those who are now in the after life; and who can better describe what death, so-called, is than those who have passed through it? Who can better explain the conditions under which they live, and the place, than men of earth who now live there?

I was able to do this work, because of the assistance of Emily S. French, then the world's finest voice psychic, who gave the latter years of her life to this work and to me, without money and without price. She was so deaf that she seldom heard the spirit voices, and during the latter years frail and blind; but in her presence the dead spoke, and all within sound of spirit voices could hear as well as I could, and hundreds at my invitation did so.

Interest in this subject has grown tremendously of late years. There are circles of investigators in almost every town and city, as well as in many private homes. In this manner the work is carried forward.

It has been my privilege to talk with Ingersoll, from whose speech I have quoted, on many occasions. I have heard his spirit voice ring with the volume of his earlier years. His eloquence no man ever equaled. He established identity and told of his work in the after life, as well as of his mission in this, which was to arouse and make people think. He is doing the same work now, only with greater understanding, and, because of this privilege and because of his answer to the doubts he expressed, I quote from his speech. He has answered all the questions he asked when here, and in these chapters, though I seldom use names, are various statements made by him as to conditions which he finds in that life.

With all my research and opportunity, I have come to know just a little of the conditions in and along the Frontier. Ages will be required to come into full knowledge. Nature puts before our eyes more than we can see, in our ears more than we can hear, and to the mind more than it: can comprehend. We gather what we sow, gain what we work for, and have no right to expect something for nothing. We can not get knowledge without study, understanding without thinking, but right thinking slowly and surely brings knowledge. What I hope to do is to set in motion a line of reasoning, based on the facts that I have stated, which will appeal to all who read this work, and through such process and original research, lead to understanding. Then shall we do those things that will enrich beyond the grave, and enable one to enter the new life with dignity and credit. In view of the progress in knowledge that has been made in this field, it is not unreasonable for me to hope to do this.

The thinking mind should not require proof of survival. We know nothing can be destroyed, as nothing in nature ever has been. The idea that man can be annihilated, when a clod of earth can not be, is preposterous. The thinker should start with the proposition that man survives, and then bend his efforts to know in what invisible plane he functions. It is really not a question of whether life continues, but where and how. Darwin, foremost among naturalists, Wagner, the greatest of composers, Hugo, poet and patriot, Huxley and Faraday, among the scientists, Chopin, Mendelsohn, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini, Verdi and Liszt, among the musicians, Gladstone, Lincoln and Roosevelt, the world's great statesmen, are not dead. These mighty rivers of intellectual thought and beauty have not ceased to flow, for in death they reach the sea. In other fields of opportunity these great minds labor on--such individualities can never die; this earth life but prepared them for a greater work. How absurd, too, for one to think that the Master Intelligence, working through nature would produce such great souls and then, just in the fullness of their mentality, destroy them.

It seems almost presumption for me to undertake to prove continuity, so certain to the thinking mind.

The only justification I can find is in the fact that this whole subject has been given little consideration by the many and is, therefore, little known. In making this presentation, I recognize no distinction among men. It is equally important that the non-thinker should understand what earth life leads to, as it is for the intellectual. In the democracy of death, only spirituality counts.

When we look up into the sky, and see nothing between us and the stars, we are really looking through a realm as rich in detail as the landscape we can see on a fine day from a mountain top. This region is inhabited by myriads of the human family, among them many we have loved and lost and will rejoin in due time. And this is not guesswork nor metaphysical speculation but the definite result of observation, as scientific in character as that concerned with astronomy or spectroscopic analysis.

CHAPTER XX
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

THE Book is made." At a dinner given by the Buffalo Bar Association, these words fell from the lips of its guest of honor, one of the most distinguished lawyers in America. It was a notable gathering. He had returned from a larger field of endeavor, rich in worldly goods. His career had been remarkable. In the fullness of his success, with a record of seventy years behind him, he had come back for a day to meet those whom he knew in other times.

This man, generous to a fault, friendly in manner, ever ready to serve the public good, candid and masterful in speech, a great citizen, intellectually honest, thoroughly informed in worldly affairs, but without a particle of knowledge beyond this world of men, having all the glory that could come from professional life, seeing nothing beyond, sadly said, to that eager group that came to do him honor, "The Book is made."

This great mind, engrossed in the affairs of the present, like the great majority of mankind, had not had time to inquire, much less to learn, what this life leads to.

Knowing nothing of a future, he felt his life work was finished. It was December; the sun was so low that the shadows fell in front, and his thoughts went back in memory to dreams of youth. Had he known that all his years of labor but prepared him for a life of more intense reality, following upon the heels of this, he would have said:

"The foreword has been written, and in the great beyond I will write the book in acts and kindly deeds."

We, who have come in touch with life in the great beyond, look with a sorrow that. words cannot express upon those who neither know nor care; and those who fear what they call death we would lead from darkness into light and knowledge. Why should we fear that which has or will come to all, in accordance with nature's law? We cannot tell which is the greater blessing, birth or dissolution; both are good. It has been a great privilege to have had birth and growth and love, with all the joy that has been ours. All has been in accordance with nature, and nature is God. But the end comes not with that natural change so long called death, which we know to be according to nature. Even if we did not actually know what followed, any thinking mind should appreciate that all changes in nature are for our good. Over every cradle Nature bends and smiles, and tenderly to those whom we think dead she beckons and welcomes. For into this zone we pass bodily, our inner body the same as now, holding all the failures and triumphs met with in this journey. Those conditions no honest man should fear.

The idea of immortality, like the sea, has ebbed and flowed in the human heart, beating with endless waves, since time began. All hope that they may reach the shore, but the words hope and faith concede that the fact is unknown. Uncertainty and ignorance breed fear. If one must rest his salvation on belief alone, let it be the gospel of help; a kind act is better than a theory.

This life is designed to fit us for a greater work. I do not criticize Nature, or the Master Intelligence that planned our progression. I have not arrived at the state of mind where I feel competent to criticize any natural law. All others are conceded for our good. Why not the last? And if that be true, why weep and shed bitter tears, when in this change we advance to another and higher existence?

The microscope discovered a new world, the telescope millions more. Everywhere has been found infinite life. In all explorations there has been found nothing independent of, or superior to, Nature, and in that presence I find God.

Common notions about death are all wrong. Nothing ever dies. None who have gone ever want to come back.. Must not that life be most engaging and fair? When a good man goes, his soul is filled with light, for his good deeds shine like stars. A noble life enriches itself and all the world. But all lives are not lived worthily. Think of the vast multitude, the endless procession, that hourly pass, leaving no thought, no truth, as a legacy of mankind.

From the frontiers of the after life, from that belt or zone where spirit people live, they send us cheering messages, they speak in full toned voice and write, as when they lived among us. And so we come to know the dead have never died.

And then again we are told, that in the next plane, the continuation of this, the basest soul will find its way and have the everlasting chance of doing right, and that the better souls, the finer men and women, pass at once to opportunity and happiness.

In these chapters I have stated facts and narrated incidents as I have come to know them from those actually living in the after life. With all the strength that I possess, with all the personality that lies behind a life of effort, I vouch for the truth of what I have written. I sought in the beginning to bring to the understanding propositions of vital importance, though practically new to every thinking mind. I restate them as follows:

1. Here and now, within our physical 'and visible bodies, is an invisible, living, active, inner body, composed and made up of substance or material which we term ether; it is this body that is permanent, holding form, feature and expression, while the outer flesh covering, with which it is clothed, changes from hour to hour; death or dissolution is but the final separation of the inner body, which is invisible before as well as after, from the physical body. The spirit body passes into the next etheric plane of existence, vibrating in harmony with all that is there, where all is just as tangible and material to them as this plane is to us who are still in the physical. This change is Nature's process for advancing our plane of activity, and is not to be feared any more than birth.

2. The next fact that .I would bring to human consciousness is the location of this after life, where spirit people live. No subject is :so little known and so vital to our understanding. Let me restate this condition as follows:

Around and about the earth are belts or zones of exceeding fine matter, a substance called ether, varying in character or density, very similar to those belts or zones that the telescope has discovered about the planets Jupiter and Saturn. They are all just as much substance as the earth itself, the outer belts or zones being higher in vibration and lighter than those that touch and really blend with the earth itself. In those zones, from the substance that composes them, all structures and things are builded and formed naturally, as here. They have fields and meadow land, rugged mountains and deep forests, homes, buildings, books, paintings, music, sculpture and institutions of learning. What we have are imperfect imitations of what exists, and first existed, there.

Too long we have held the thought that the universe was specially created for us. The infinite mind which formed and fashioned this planet, who fixed its pathways and made the definite law through which mankind should obtain his development, had the wisdom, power and intelligence to create and provide conditions and a place in nature for man to finish what was here begun. Because we have not heretofore discovered and located the boundaries of the next life, should not lead us to the conclusion that such place or condition has not existed from the beginning. Men did not know of the continent of America until 1492, but it had been here millions of years before. We have not had actual knowledge of the after life until of late, but it too has existed for all time.

If this book serves the purpose for which it is designed, it will bring to the consciousness of those who reason the two propositions, if nothing more. Visualizing the future, I see the churches that have not kept pace in the march of progress, opening their doors to the demonstration and proof of what they teach. I see the abandonment of creeds and faith and all beliefs, knowledge taking their place, and ministers aiding psychic research. I see a world coming to understand the inexorable laws of nature, and realizing that the only wealth worthy of effort comes from helping others and adding to the happiness of mankind, understanding that by such acts we spiritualize, refine and enrich the soul, and clothe the inner body with a garment woven from the fabric of love and generous deeds. I see psychic investigation reduced to a greater science commanding the attention of our best minds. This field of exploration transcends all that have been discovered, and its possibilities are unlimited. I see selfishness and greed lessen, as we come to know that for every. act of oppression and advantage we in the end must pay the price, for the laws of nature require exact compensation. I see the coming of the time when one who is called upon to act will inquire of himself, "Is it just and fair?"

Looking again, I see a world of people living nobler and finer lives, helped by the teaching of their spirit kinsmen, who bring home to human consciousness the necessity of living this life according to our ideals if we would not go poor into the after life of opportunity.

I see fear of dissolution gone from the human heart, understanding taking its place, as we appreciate that in dissolution the Master Intelligence has planned a method, like birth, by which we may take a step in our eternal progression.

In the last analysis, there comes to each the question of where, at the journey's end, he will find himself. Many never permit themselves to think about it, hoping, possibly, by so doing, that they may escape something, ignoring the fact that earth life is designed to fit us for that most important event, and that each is accountable for the opportunities that have been his.

This is a matter of scientific fact. Faith will not take the place of acts, beliefs will not help, confession will not change conditions that a lifetime has made, for it will take as long to change what we have created for ourselves as it did to build.

Dissolution will not add to or subtract from the conditions we have made. If we have been criminal or debased, the great law of attraction will draw us with those of similar character, separate and apart from others. If we have lived immoral lives, we shall find ourselves herded among those of like kind. If we have been idle and have not improved our minds, we shall find ourselves among the indolent. If we have been selfish, then the dark, with only selfish companions, for the only light one carries radiates from his own etheric body. If we have lived cleanly and fairly, been charitable and helpful to those less fortunate than we, and have done right according to our understanding, our souls become spiritualized;. they will radiate light, by which we may see he glories of the after life as we enter into the fullness thereof. Nature metes out exact justice to every one. We inherit what we have created, and nothing more.

I see good in every act of kindness, in all the words of tenderness that fall from human lips, and to me the sum of all the good in all the world is God.