OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD. LAST FIRE. BY HARGRAVE JENNINGS, 66 AUTHOR OF THE INDIAN RELIGIONS; OR, RESULTS OF PREFACE. WE have sought to write not only a new and a striking, but an entertaining book. It is upon subjects which must ever be most interesting, and which-if any can-shall set a reader musing. Our book will gratify the mind of a peruser. If we have not succeeded in detailing our story in a plain and candid manner, and managed to marshal our illustrations in lucid and effective order, it has been from no want of importance in the things treated of, nor of the great deeplying truth which underplaces the superstructure; but the causes will lie elsewhere. We are aware of the profuse labours of various-and some very clever-persons to set up the real in absolute triumph over that which they choose to call the intangible; to explain miracle into myth; out of science to forge the key which shall unlock all the wonders of the world :-evaporating mystery, in fact. Even if they could succeed, we should grudge them their success. But as it happens that although their body of argument is unanswerable— that, when they appeal to reason, no oneout of the reason-can say them nay; that out of this whole bulk of "good sentences and well pronounced " there is nothing— with no philosophical sword-which you can cut through-and yet that men doubt, we think we are not far wrong in saying that the time is not yet come-if it ever can come-that apparitions shall be dismissed out of the world. The world will yet believe, though it knows it ought not to believe. We consider that, in the course of our book, we give some of the reasons why men cling so to the real-why they cannot endure this idea of there being strange extra-natural things, yet, in the world. Curious Things of the Outside World lie, naturally, out of the range and reach of men's senses. If there be Inner and Outer, the Outer contains the Inner. Now, all our narrations are fortified with abundant proof. We debated with ourselves whether we should, in our confirmation, cite and append the multitudinous authorities wherein lie the support of all our statements, and which constitute the framework of our philosophy. A striking catalogue of works new and old, in languages |