“Of the spiritual condition of those who enter this state of existence, I can only say to you now that it is identically the same after what you call ‘death,’ as before; neither higher nor lower.  Progress and happiness here, is as it is with you, dependent upon personal effort.  We of the spirit-world have rest and unrest, hope and doubt, according as our states, conditions and surroundings vary.  One of my strongest purposes has been to identify myself to you, my friends, to-night.  I have succeeded beyond a doubt; none can exist in your minds of my identity-my self, for you have never breathed my name to this mortal.  Again will I come to you and tell you of our lovely world which we enjoy, each according to individual development.  I dwell in peace.  Peace I leave with you.  Farewell.”

Dawn passed her hand over her brow, as though trying to recall a vanished thought, and slowly came to her normal condition, while her face shone with a light most beautiful to behold.

“Were you conscious of what has transpired?” asked Miss Bernard.

“Yes; and yet so absorbed in another life, that my own spirit seemed floating, yielding to another’s will and heart pulsations.  This is imperfect, I know, as an explanation, but it is the best I can give.”

“It is something which cannot be explained,” said Basil, and she knew by these words that he fully comprehended her.

O, soul, how thou dost relieve the labor of the mind, seeing with finer vision into the centre of life, and there beholding the countless workings of the inner being.  What an atom of our self do we exhibit in our little sojourn here.  Those of limited sight say we are thus and so, and pass on.  Others measure us by themselves, and call us dull, or lacking vital life, ignorant of the fact that they each take all they know how to appropriate, of our quality.  A lifetime would give them no more, if their receptive states did not change.

“This experience has given our life a new sweetness,” said Basil, seating himself by Dawn.  “We have long believed in these things, but have never had such proof of their truthfulness as to-night.  We need not tell you how happy you have made us, or how much we shall always enjoy your coming; for we enjoy you personally, aside from this thrilling power which your organization embodies.  I, too, have experienced this light, and know well the strange thrill which comes over us, when we meet those who are akin in soul, and assimilate with our mental and spiritual natures.”

“And how the depth is sounded, when we are brought in contact with those who are antagonistic,” said Dawn.

“I presume that those who disharmonize us, aid us to higher states, for they force us out in search of something better.  The divine economy is at work in every phase of life, and our growth of soul is often greater in our night of sorrow than in our day of joy; or rather, we reach forth deeper and stronger after the true life, when the cloud is upon us, than when the sun shines brightly on our path, just as the tree extends its roots farther into the ground, when rocked and swayed by the tempest.”