boy (the one who was drowned in that awful manner through carrying out a college jest) without any seeking on her part.  She gave me a minute account of a late manifestation, not seeming to have a doubt in respect to the verity and identity of the spirit.  In fact, secret things were told, reference to private papers made, the evidence was considered most satisfying.  And she says that all of the communications descriptive of the state of that Spirit, though coming from very different mediums (some high Calvinists and others low infidels) tallied exactly.  She spoke very calmly about it, with no dogmatism, but with the strongest disposition to receive the facts of the subject with all their bearings, and at whatever loss of orthodoxy or sacrifice of reputation for common sense.  I have a high appreciation of her power of forming opinions, let me add to this.  It is one of the most vital and growing minds I ever knew.  Besides the inventive, the critical and analytical faculties are strong with her.  How many women do you know who are religious, and yet analyse point by point what they believe in?  She lives in the midst of the traditional churches, and is full of reverence by nature; and yet if you knew how fearlessly that woman has torn up the old cerements and taken note of what is a dead letter within, yet preserved her faith in essential spiritual truth, you would feel more admiration for her than even for writing ‘Uncle Tom.’  There are quantities of irreverent women and men who profess infidelity.  But this is a woman of another order, observe, devout yet brave in the outlook for truth, and considering, not whether a thing be sound, but whether it be true.  Her views are Swedenborgian on some points, beyond him where he departs from orthodoxy on one or two points, adhering to the orthodox creed on certain others.  She used to come to me last winter and open out to me very freely, and I was much interested in the character of her intellect.  Dr. Manning tried his converting power on her.  ‘It might have answered,’ she said, ’if one side of her mind had not confuted what the other side was receptive of.’  In fact, she caught at all the beauty and truth and good of the Roman Catholic symbolism, saw what was better in it than Protestantism, and also, just as clearly, what was worse.  She admired Manning immensely, and was very keen and quick in all her admirations; had no national any more than ecclesiastical prejudices; didn’t take up Anglo-Saxon outcries of superiority in morals and the rest, which makes me so sick from American and English mouths.  By the way (I must tell Sarianna that for M. Milsand!) a clever Englishwoman (married to a Frenchman) told Robert the other day that she believed in ’a special hell for the Anglo-Saxon race on account of its hypocrisy.’...