ag covered with pink roses!_

It seems that Mrs. Owen had two chintz bags, one for ordinary sewing,
one for darning, and in the latter bag, hanging on a nail behind the
bureau, where the doctor's wife had absent-mindedly hidden it, the
missing jewel box was discovered.

"This beats the devil!" exclaimed the doctor when he heard the good
news. And an hour later he sent the following telegram to Seraphine:
"Jewels found, thanks to you. We are very grateful. I have reconsidered
the matter and accept your invitation for tonight. Will call at eight
o'clock."

CHAPTER VIII

WHITE SHAPES

(_From Penelope's Diary_)

_New York January 31, 1919._

An extraordinary thing happened on Monday night at Seraphine's
apartment. I must write down the details before they fade from my
memory. Seraphine telephoned Monday morning that there was to be a
meeting of her occult class in the evening and she wanted me to come as
Dr. Owen had promised to be there. She regarded this as a great
opportunity to help me. Darling Seraphine! Of course I could not refuse,
although I abhor spiritualism. I love Seraphine for what she is, and in
spite of her queer beliefs.

When we were gathered together and after introductions to her class
(there were six or seven devout believers), Seraphine explained that it
was difficult to obtain psychic manifestations in the presence of active
disbelief, and she begged us to maintain an attitude of friendly
open-mindedness. I am afraid I did not do this all the time.

We had first some psychic reminiscences and Seraphine described in
detail how on a certain night years ago she and her sister were sleeping
together in a heavy mahogany fourposter bed, when the whole bed with
the two women was lifted several inches from the floor and rocked about,
and was then held suspended in the air while the chamber resounded with
strange music. In my opinion, this was a dream or an illusion.

I am also skeptical about the testimony of one of the group, a New York
minister, who told us that his dead wife has come to him in the night on
several occasions in materialized form and has spoken to him, kissed
him, and taken loving counsel with him about the children and about
other matters. I am sure this minister was the victim of some kind of
hallucination.

And I cannot believe a statement of Seraphine's regarding a Southern
woman who is possessed by an evil spirit that forces her to drinking
excesses so that she has