ature as the eclipse. At present they are
disfranchised of their natural birthright, and those who treat them with
this injustice need not wonder if they take their revenge in "creeps."

The third class of objection takes the ground that there is something
irreligious and contrary to Christianity in the chronicling of such
phenomena. It is fortunate that Mary Magdalene and the early disciples
did not hold that theory. So far from its being irreligious to ascertain
facts, there is a subtle impiety in the refusal to face phenomena,
whether natural or supernatural. Either these things exist or they do
not. If they do not exist, then obviously there can be no harm in a
searching examination of the delusion which possessed the mind of almost
every worthy in the Old Testament, and which was constantly affirmed by
the authors of the New. If, on the other hand, they do exist, and are
perceptible under certain conditions to our senses, it will be difficult
to affirm the impiety of endeavouring to ascertain what is their nature,
and what light they are able to throw upon the kingdom of the Unseen. We
have no right to shut our eyes to facts and close our ears to evidence
merely because Moses forbade the Hebrews to allow witches to live, or
because some of the phenomena carry with them suggestions that do not
altogether harmonise with the conventional orthodox theories of future
life. The whole question that lies at bottom is whether this world is
divine or diabolic. Those who believe it divine are bound by that belief
to regard every phenomenon as a window through which man may gain fresh
glimpses of the wonder and the glory of the Infinite. In this region, as
in all others, faith and fear go ill together.

It is impossible for any impartial man to read the narratives of which
the present book is composed without feeling that we have at least one
hint or suggestion of quite incalculable possibilities in telepathy or
thought transference. If there be, as many of these stories seem to
suggest, a latent capacity in the human mind to communicate with other
minds, entirely regardless of the conditions of time and space, it is
undeniable that this would be a fact of the very first magnitude. It is
quite possible that the telegraph may be to telepathy what the stage
coach is to the steam engine. Neither can we afford to overlook the fact
that these phenomena have in these latter days signally vindicated their
power over the minds of men.