certainty," said I, "this must be Eternity, and I am now a free soul! O, that I might behold another soul than mine, and learn somewhat of its mysteries, and reach the understanding of a few of the deeper things of its nature." Scarcely had this desire taken form, than a sense of involuntary motion took possession, and I felt myself slowly and positively rising in space, at an angle of eighty degrees with the horizon. Amazement! The sensation was not unpleasant; but as the ground receded apparently, the novelty of the situation produced emotions that most certainly were. It is impossible to describe one's feelings; nor shall such an attempt be here essayed. Suffice it therefore, that I rose to such a height, that, judging by the faint gleams of the earth-fires in the hills, and the indistinct shimmering of the city itself, I conjectured, that when at the highest point, not less than five miles, in a straight line, separated me from the peak of the tallest mountain within sight. Having reached this altitude, I began to descend the opposite arm of the triangle, whose base was on the earth's surface, and reached the ground in the neighborhood of a city in central New York, distant from my point of departure not less than two hundred miles. Of course, it was impossible to even conjecture either the means by which this journey was accomplished, or the motives prompting the wierd power which effected it; but whatever be the reasons of my coming, one thing is certain—here I am, and nothing remains but to abide the issue, whatever it may be, thought I.
Even during the mental perturbation, which was the natural result of the extraordinary circumstances in which I was placed, the question-asking faculty and propensity of my mind—one of its leading traits—found
