or science, or from the observation and investigation of nature's beauties and miracles, in order to get, through wealth, the power, and honest right to indulge. But while pursuing this great object, in the first instance only as the means of attaining other objects, good or bad, they grow old in the chase; their passions burn out, while avarice originates as it were from their ashes, not, phoenix-like, to replace one parental being, but a horrid monster, having nothing in common with a plurality of progenitors, but the selfish, ardent love of money, unmitigated by any redeeming aspiration. A being so actuated—or, in other words, a miser—would certainly find it as difficult to reach a higher sphere in the spirit world, as it were for a camel to get through the needle's eye.

919. As swine accumulate fat to bequeath to those to whom they leave their carcasses, so the avaricious accumulate wealth, to hoard until it can no longer be retained. They die with an immense amount of negative sin; since all their omissions to do good, which is within their power, is carried to their debit in the spirit world. Their poverty in the spirit world will be proportioned to their ill-used wealth in this temporal abode.

920. When this is well brought home to mankind, there will be less avarice, and fewer of those crimes which arise from selfish cupidity, or ambition.

MRS. GOURLAY'S NARRATIVE.

921. THE following is a narrative of the circumstances which led to the conversion to a belief in Spiritualism, of my esteemed friend, Mrs. M. B. Gourlay, through whose high attributes as an intellectual medium, I am in a great measure indebted for my conversion. I do most devoutly believe that the information received from my spirit father, through her mediumship, would, if duly credited, be of more value to true religion and morality, than the forty millions of dollars annually expended upon the Church of England.

To Professor Robert Hare:

PHILADELPHIA, May 20, 1855.

922. My Dear Sir: Pursuant to your request, I have the pleasure to present you the following particulars of my experience and observation in relation to the phenomena of spiritual intercourse,-phenomena which engage, at the present time, the serious and profound attention of thousands of intelligent minds; manifestations that are rapidly and steadily spreading their influence over the entire continent, and carrying with them the evidence of their spiritual origin, while impressing receptive minds with the truth of their sacred importance to an extent unexampled in the history of any other movement.

923. My attention was attracted to the phenomena in question, about five years since, by reading sundry reports in the New York Tribune, of certain mysterious sounds which had occurred in the city of Rochester, and purported to have been made by the spirits of the departed.

924. I regarded the subject at first with great distrust, supposing it a mere imposition on the credulity of the public, and considered it entirely unworthy of serious thought.

925. Finding, however, that it was eliciting considerable notice, and knowing that facts are sometimes stranger than fiction, I deemed it consonant with reason to suspend my judgment till more conversant with the facts.

926. Having been admonished by a much-loved, intelligent, and, I would add, practical Christian mother to worship at the altar of truth, while exercising my reason on all subjects presented to my mind, I was, as might be presumed, nearly, if not entirely, free from the shackles of bigotry, superstition, and dogmatism, and was thus prepared, so far at least as these barriers to mental and moral progression are concerned, to investigate any subject within the range of my capacity.

927. Hearing of the spread of the manifestations, and their actual occurrence in the city of Bangor, Maine, where I then resided, I resolved, with the first favourable opportunity, to investigate the matter for myself.

928. Not many days had elapsed after forming this resolution, before I met an intimate friend, an exemplary and respected member of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, who informed me that she was interested in spiritual manifestations, and desired to investigate them. But alas! she was bound by the galling fetters of sectarian and priestly bondage, and dared not move in such an investigation. Her pastor had said that the "arch deceiver," the veritable Satan, was the prime instigator in this scheme, and, moreover, that to participate in a movement so diabolical in its character would render her liable not only to loss of membership in the church, but expose her to divine wrath in this world, as well as endless torment in the world to come.

929. I believed such an intolerant and persecuting spirit, to be diametrically opposed to every principle of true Christianity, and repugnant to the claims of reason; and deprecating any doctrine, orthodox though called, that would thus stifle free thought and inquiry, and consign to eternal misery the children of our heavenly Father, even however depraved, I advised my friend to exercise her reason, with which she was by nature endowed, and regardless of the sneers of a time-serving multitude, or the anathemas of the church, to obey the injunction of the apostle"Prove all things-hold fast that which is good."

930. She consented; and a few days subsequent to this interview, she extended to me an invitation to attend a spiritual circle to be convened

at the house of a highly respectable family, members of the Unitarian Church, and much esteemed by a large circle of friends for their many virtues.

931. The invitation was gladly accepted, and the ensuing evening found us seated at a table in the domicile of our worthy friends, Mr. and Mrs. T-, with some six or eight intelligent persons of both sexes.

932. Having, agreeably to request, placed our hands on the table, we silently raised our thoughts in solemn and sincere aspirations to the great Father of spirits, and desired to be brought into more harmonious relation with the spirits of our dear departed friends, and hoping that these might thereby be better able to manifest themselves to their friends still in the earthly habiliments of humanity.

933. We had not remained long in this position, before we heard distinct sounds like the falling of drops of water on the table. Imagine our surprise and inexpressible delight, when first aroused to a vital consciousness of the presence of celestial visitants in our midst! I shall never forget the glorious expression of pleasure which illumined the countenances of that little band of seekers for truth, nor the electric thrill of joy which I experienced on this happy occasion.

934. The sounds continued to respond to our inquiries; three expressing the affirmative, and one the negative. It was suggested by a member of the circle to use the alphabet as a means of communication; and that on passing a pencil slowly over the card, the spirits would indicate, by the sounds, the letters required to convey their thoughts. In this manner we received many convincing evidences of spirit intercourse; such as getting the names of our spirit friends, the particular localities of their birth and death, and the precise time of their departure from this world, with many other proofs of their presence and identity.

935. We were soon informed by the communicating intelligence that a much more rapid mode of communication would now be established between us. On inquiring its nature, it was spelt out-Let Welthea (referring to my friend) take the pen, and we will write through her hand.* To all of us this was a new and unexpected revelation. My friend, being very timid and retiring in her nature, was evidently confused by this announcement. At our very earnest solicitation, however, she lifted the pen from the table. Her hand was now seized by an invisible and intelligent power, and being in a normal state, several beautiful stanzas,† touching

To meet the curiosity of the reader, it may be well to say that communications by the pen are either impressional—that is, resulting from the volition of the writer, aided in the matter by the influence of a spirit-or they are automatic; that is, produced by the mechanical action of the spirits on the hand of the medium, entirely independent of the medium's volition.

I would state, on the authority of this lady and her relatives, many of whom were opposed to Spiritualism, that this was the first time that she had ever produced a poetical effusion; though it has not been an uncommon circumstance for her, since then, when

her mission in this glorious cause, resulted from this first and, to all of us, astounding performance.

936. This, to us, was a new phase of the manifestations, and to myself and friend was very wonderful, since, I am certain, she had never thought of becoming a medium for spiritual intercommunion.

937. Soon after writing the stanzas alluded to, her hand was again influenced to write a communication to a gentleman present. He was a stranger to my friend, now regarded as a medium, and the communication. was from the spirit of a sister who had passed from earth about thirty years before, the name, in full, of the spirit being appended.

938. After receiving instructions from the spirits, in regard to the manner of conducting our circle, we adjourned to the time appointed for our next meeting.

939. On the succeeding day I visited my friend at her residence, and received many additional evidences of the presence and identity of spirits. My father, mother, and sister, and many other loved spirit friends with whom the medium had no acquaintance, and whose names even were not known to her, communicated, and reminded me of many incidents of their life on earth of which my friend was wholly ignorant, and some of them I had myself almost forgotten.

940. At subsequent and frequent interviews with this lady, I received many indubitable proofs of the presence and guardianship of angels; of which the following is an example:

941. Some weeks after our first interview, and while discussing the ordinary topics of the day, her hand was influenced to write these

sentences:

942. "My dear M: You will be surprised and pleased to learn that an old schoolmate is present; one that you never, while on earth, anticipated hearing from again. Many years have fled since our last meeting. I have come from the realms of the unseen, to renew the acquaintance with you begun in childhood, and to advise you in relation to your spiritual development. You are destined to become a good impressional medium for spiritual truth. Follow the directions which we from time to time shall give you, and you will progress rapidly, and be greatly profited thereby. Elevate your mind to the source of light and truth, and seek to be saved from every thing that might hinder your spiritual advancement. Devote a portion of each day to the development of your spirit, and investigate the principles which govern the physical and spiritual departments of the universe. You are living in the light of an advanced age, and are surrounded by many advantages. Improve the privileges that you enjoy, for the benefit of yourself and others. LYDIA MANLY."

under spiritual influence, to write page after page of extremely beautiful and excellent composition, both in prose and verse, far surpassing in elegance of language her natural powers of thought and fancy.

943. The communication being finished, my friend handed it to me, saying, "I am not acquainted with this name." I said, on glancing at the signature, that I never knew any one of the name of Hanly. It was immediately written, "Let Margaret look again, and she will find that she is mistaken in the name; it is Manly, not Hanly." Imagine my astonishment on recognising the name of a schoolmate whom I had not seen, heard, nor thought of, for many years. This was to me, and might be

to any one, a full and satisfactory confirmation of spiritual communion. 944. On a subsequent occasion, it was written, through my friend, by my spirit sister, "Do you want instruction? I will talk to you of friendship this time. Let the basis of your friendship be esteem, and by all means seek to have this sure foundation. Friendship is a source of the greatest pleasure, and when begun in a right manner, ends not on earth, but continues to increase with unabated interest throughout eternity. Yours has thus far been characterized by firmness and sincerity. Oh! if you knew with what interest I look upon you, my dear sisters, watching the progress of your affections, and seeking a close intimacy with your spirits, it would awaken in both of your minds a lively interest for heavenly objects, and incite you to the pursuit of solid happiness. Friendship should begin in time to continue in eternity. Oh! could I convey to you the worth of time when viewed in this light!

945. “I am watching your silent communings. The lofty aspirations of your souls are not of an earthly nature. Your minds are being enlightened and seeking communion with God. Be encouraged, my dear sisters; we shall all be united in love. Be well grounded in the spiritual faith, and let your motto be-Onward in the divine life. MARY."

946. Again, it was written, "Sing with the spirit! Sister, let thy heart make tuneful melody with an angel choir who now surround you! Sing a song to immortality; how the dear departed, clothed in robes of victory, now stand on heavenly hills, enwrapt in glorious visions of the Great Eternal, bowing before the throne! Sing, 'Death, where is thy sting? oh! grave, where is thy victory?'

947. "While here you meet, guardian angels are in attendance. Here is a gray-haired sire, a mother, and a sweet-lipped babe. All have come, with noiseless wing, to listen to thee. Precious moments! Improve them in converse sweet of heaven, and blessings, richer far than earthly treasures, we will pour upon you."

948. The reminiscences of the hours devoted with my friend to the investigation of this sublime subject are among the happiest of my life. They serve to awaken the purest, holiest, and most affectionate sentiments and sympathies of my nature, and thereby lead me into closer communion with the loved ones who have gone before me.

949. But in reference to my family, I was for a season destined to be alone in my happy belief. It is true, my husband did not reject the sub