of health or impurity, in like manner is there around
the spiritual body a sphere of its quality, that may
be discerned by the spiritual senses. And now
come back to the philosophy of first impressions,
a matter so little understood by the world. These
first impressions are rarely at fault, and why?
Because the spiritual quality is at once discerned
by the spiritual sense. But, as this kind of
perception does not fall into the region of thought,
it is little heeded by the many. Some, in all
times, have observed it more closely than others,
and we have proverbs that could only have originated
from such observation. We are warned to beware
of that man from whose presence a little child shrinks.
The reason to me is plain. The innocent spirit
of the child is affected by the evil sphere of the
man, as its body would be if brought near to a noxious
plant that was filling the air with its poisonous vapours.
And now, dear Fanny,”—Mr. Allison
took the maiden’s hand in his, and spoke in
a most impressive voice—“think closely
and earnestly on what I have said. If I have
taxed your mind with graver thoughts than are altogether
pleasant, it is because I desire most sincerely to
do you good. The world into which you are about
stepping, is a false and evil world, and along all
its highways and byways are scattered the sad remains
of those who have perished ere half their years were
numbered; and of the crowd that pressed onward, even
to the farthest verge of natural life, how few escape
the too common lot of wretchedness! The danger
that most threatens you, in the fast-approaching future,
is that which threatens every young maiden. Your
happiness or misery hangs nicely poised, and if you
have not a wise discrimination, the scale may take
a wrong preponderance. Alas! if it should be
so!”
Mr. Allison paused a moment, and then said:
“Shall I go on?”
“Oh, yes! Speak freely. I am listening
to your words as if they came from the lips of my
own father.”
“An error in marriage is one of life’s
saddest errors, said Mr. Allison.
“I believe that,” was the maiden’s
calm remark; yet Mr. Allison saw that her eyes grew
instantly brighter, and the hue of her cheeks warmer.
“In a true marriage, there must be good
moral qualities. No pure-minded woman can love
a man for an instant after she discovers that he is
impure, selfish, and evil. It matters not how
high his rank, how brilliant his intellect, how attractive
his exterior person, how perfect his accomplishments.
In her inmost spirit she will shrink from him, and
feel his presence as a sphere of suffocation.
Oh! can the thought imagine a sadder lot for a true-hearted
woman! And there is no way of escape. Her
own hands have wrought the chains that bind her in
a most fearful bondage.”
Again Mr. Allison paused, and regarded his young companion
with a look of intense interest.
“May heaven spare you from such a lot!”
he said, in a low, subdued voice.