and mineralogical works to be convinced of this.  In one passage he is seen as the precursor of modern chemistry by the announcement that the productions of organized nature are decomposable and resolve into two simple principles; also that water, air, and fire are not elements.  In another, he goes in a few words to the heart of magnetic mysteries and deprives Mesmer of the honors of a first knowledge of them.

“There,” said Monsieur Becker, pointing to a long shelf against the wall between the stove and the window on which were ranged books of all sizes, “behold him! here are seventeen works from his pen, of which one, his ‘Philosophical and Mineralogical Works,’ published in 1734, is in three folio volumes.  These productions, which prove the incontestable knowledge of Swedenborg, were given to me by Monsieur Seraphitus, his cousin and the father of Seraphita.

“In 1740,” continued Monsieur Becker, after a slight pause, “Swedenborg fell into a state of absolute silence, from which he emerged to bid farewell to all his earthly occupations; after which his thoughts turned exclusively to the Spiritual Life.  He received the first commands of heaven in 1745, and he thus relates the nature of the vocation to which he was called:  One evening, in London, after dining with a great appetite, a thick white mist seemed to fill his room.  When the vapor dispersed a creature in human form rose from one corner of the apartment, and said in a stern tone, ’Do not eat so much.’  He refrained.  The next night the same man returned, radiant in light, and said to him, ’I am sent of God, who has chosen you to explain to men the meaning of his Word and his Creation.  I will tell you what to write.’  The vision lasted but a few moments.  The angel was clothed in purple.  During that night the eyes of his inner man were opened, and he was forced to look into the heavens, into the world of spirits, and into hell,—­three separate spheres; where he encountered persons of his acquaintance who had departed from their human form, some long since, others lately.  Thenceforth Swedenborg lived wholly in the spiritual life, remaining in this world only as the messenger of God.  His mission was ridiculed by the incredulous, but his conduct was plainly that of a being superior to humanity.  In the first place, though limited in means to the bare necessaries of life, he gave away enormous sums, and publicly, in several cities, restored the fortunes of great commercial houses when they were on the brink of failure.  No one ever appealed to his generosity who was not immediately satisfied.  A sceptical Englishman, determined to know the truth, followed him to Paris, and relates that there his doors stood always open.  One day a servant complained of this apparent negligence, which laid him open to suspicion of thefts that might be committed by others.  ’He need feel no anxiety,’ said Swedenborg, smiling.  ’But I do not wonder at his fear; he cannot see the guardian