its career through God's infinite Silence Halls, and now merges, whether for the first time or not, is needless to inquire at this point, into the vocal Harmonead. In the life of earth, the soul awakes from its pre-state into one as different as can well be thought of; and at death, it experiences another waking, quite as startling, but infinitely more grand.
The first lesson, then, that I learned was, that with a great deal of philosophy, I had but very little knowledge; and instead of finding the Soul-world analagous to the earth-world, in, fact I found them vastly different, and possessing no one thing in common, so far as the surroundings o£ the spiritual entrant was concerned.
All that has been said required several minutes to describe, but not ten seconds to experience.
Hooked toward the old man and the child, marvelling, as before observed, that they wore clothing after the manner of the earth-kin, and bore the appearance of extreme youth and extreme age. "Is it possible that years affect souls? Do we grow old, as well as need garments in the other world?" These queries suggested themselves, and while present in my mind, the old man came to my right side, and took me by my left hand, while the little girl, Nellie,—I subsequently learned she had been called by the dear ones left behind her, took my right hand; and both said, "Come, Cynthia, they await you: let us go to meet them."
I now made three important discoveries: First, that I was yet in the room, where my breath had been resigned: that I was clothed in precisely such a dress as I had usually worn; and third, that so far as I could judge, I actually trod upon, and walked over a stratum
