Those who have never entered into any kind of associate life where they
might learn to think and act for others as well as for themselves, will
have a particularly hard time on the other side.
For no one can go through life without becoming responsible for
innumerable acts, even if he does nothing more than make room for
himself, and defend his own footing; and if he persists in living for
himself, it follows that his motives will never rise above the care of
himself, and, possibly, of those who contribute to his comfort.
If such a man, by speculation or otherwise, becomes able to surround
himself with the tokens of wealth, there will not be wanting those who
will bow low to him; and when he is called out of life, with perhaps no
particularly heavy weight on his conscience, he will strut into another
world carrying with him a very large sense of his own importance.
Now, there is no need to enlarge upon the emotions he will arouse, the
intense though secret hilarity with which he will be taken in hand, and
the endless variety of hazing operations to which he will be subjected;
but he will be sure to make the unexpected discovery that death is a
lost friend, long before the last spark of self-conceit is extinguished
within him.
It is scarcely possible to convey an idea of how small a part individual
egotism is allowed to play in the world beyond.
In this world our race, as a race, is under protection. We are all more
or less conscious of this in our own person.
Even the most stolid, when suddenly reduced to the extremity of
distress, find themselves calling upon God, almost without conscious
volition.
If it were not so, if this protection were withdrawn, our race would
shortly cease to be.
In the spirit-world, or in that part of it which adjoins this,
figuratively speaking, which we enter as individuals, this sense of a
general protection disappears. We find we are to stand or fall on our
own individual record. We cannot lose ourselves in the mass. There is no
mass. Time and space no longer exist for us. They are gone with the
bodily senses and mathematical reasoning to which they were a prime
necessity.
Sight, hearing, and touch of the soul have awakened, however, and how to
use these new senses whose field of action is so immensely greater than
the senses we have parted with, engages our attention.
Their first reports are so different from anything we have known that we
discredit them entirely, are sure we must be dreaming, and put forth
strong efforts to wake up. Failing in this, we look about us and
endeavor to get our bearings.
Although time and space have left us, eternity and infinity have taken
their place, and a feeling of awe steals over us at the realization, a
feeling that extends in part to ourselves as we discover a certain
element within us which now for the first time recognizes its home.
Then, in a flash, we perceive as never before, the essential narrowness
of the limits of earth-life, and our mental vision shows us that
whatever may have raised that phase of existence above the merely
sensual or animal, had its home in the Beyond, and was only a visitor on
earth.
We find ourselves ushered into the domain of causes, and a thousand
perplexities of memory disappear in a magical way, as we become sensible
of the tremendous force of the activities at work in this heretofore
hidden realm.
A spirit sometimes finds himself as if on a stage, and the pressure of a
powerful will bids him to act out his own character. He consents, for
why should he not? Scene follows scene; men and women from every walk of
life, those whom he has known, and those of whom he has read, appear and
act their part; kings and courtiers come and go, prophets and peasants,
soldiers and merchants; and he finds some link connecting him with them
all. Perhaps a plot is formed to destroy his reputation; thread by
thread the web is wound about him. How shall he get free? Is it not all
a dream? But he is made to feel that he must not insist upon knowing.
Something like an electric shock answers his thought, and bids him to
consider his surroundings real, whether they are or not, and forbids him
to think of such a thing as applying a test. And, indeed, there is small
leisure for anything of that kind. He finds himself obliged to put forth
energies he never dreamed of possessing, to keep from going distracted.
The stage widens until it becomes the floor of a world. The audience
swells to millions. He reaches out for their sympathy, but they do not
respond. They do not pretend to know whether he is a true man or a
scoundrel. If he cries, "I am true," they answer, "Prove it." What can I
do to prove it? But they turn away unconcerned, while another strand of
falsehood is thrown around him and he is brought to his knees, where he
is made the target for scorn and contempt, which come like arrows to
pierce his form. In the depth of his despair, he sends out a piercing
cry to the spheres above him for help.
Just then he discovers that he is clothed in armor, with a good sword at
his side. He did not know it before, he could not possibly say how or
whence it came, but it is not a time for curious questions. He seizes
the blade and with one sweep severs the cords that bound him, stands
upon his feet, and then, in a voice that startles himself, he calls upon
his enemies to show themselves. Instead of that he hears their
retreating feet, the clouds lift, the applause of the audience gives him
back his lost strength, and he is ready for the next ordeal.
Now it may not be supposed that during such a scene as this, it would be
possible for the spirit to receive and answer thought-messages from his
friends on earth, but it is even so. A spirit with a heart will at least
make the effort to respond to every demand made upon it, but if among
the circle of his friends one sends out the message, "Come now, if you
care anything about me, I wish you would help me find this gold-mine.
What do you have to do anyhow?" the spirit may be excused if he fails to
respond, and does not immediately proceed to explain just what he has to
do.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: Editor _The Agnostic Journal_, London, England.]
[Footnote B: _The Arena_, January, 1894, "The Higher Criticism."]
Vision of Thyrza:
THE GIFT OF THE HILLS.
By IRIS.
The author is convinced that war, strife, poverty, misery, disease, and
death are the result of man's reckless self-indulgence; and that so long
as he shall be actuated by greed and selfishness in his tillage of the
soil, in the various industrial pursuits, and in the marts of trade, he
will "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind."
But the lamentable state of things will not continue forever. The
author, with "prophetic mind," perceives that the time will come when
man will live in harmony with Nature, and yield himself to the guidance
of "Divine Love." So guided and inspired, he will refine, purify, and
ennoble the life of his fellow-men. Then agriculture will be "restored
to right uses" and held in its pristine honor; and the earth will yield
its fruits abundantly. A noble simplicity and wholesomeness will
characterize the life of man, and universal peace will gladden his
heart. The whole world will rejoice in the return of the Golden Age.
Cloth, 75 Cents.
The Arena Publishing Company,
COPLEY SQUARE, BOSTON, MASS.
His Perpetual Adoration;
--OR,--
THE CHAPLAIN'S OLD DIARY.
BY REV. JOSEPH F. FLINT.
This is an extremely interesting and realistic war story, told in the
form of a diary left at his death by a veteran who had been a captain in
the Northern army, and with Grant at Vicksburg and Sherman on his march
to the sea. Two or three of the great events of the war are told in
stirring fashion, but the narrative deals mainly with the inside life of
the soldier in war time, and its physical and moral difficulties. A fine
love story runs throughout, the hero having plighted his troth before
setting out for the front. Being wounded in Georgia, he is cared for in
the home of a Southerner, who is at the front with Lee's army, but who
has in some way earned the bitter hatred of the wife whom he has left at
home. She falls desperately in love with her wounded guest, and to him
there comes the sorest temptation of his life. How he comes out of the
ordeal must be left to the reader of the story to discover.
Cloth, $1.25; Paper, 50 Cents.
The Arena Publishing Co.,
COPLEY SQUARE, BOSTON, MASS.
THE LAND OF NADA.
BY BONNIE SCOTLAND.
The Land of Nada, the scene of this charming fairy story, is an
enchanted country, ruled over by King Whitcombo and the beautiful Queen
Haywarda. Prince Trueheart and his blue-eyed baby sister, Princess
Dorothy, and their wonderful adventures; the enchanted cows and
chickens, the wonderful lemon tree whose trunk yields three different
kinds of beverages, are some of the wonders of this delightful land; as
are, also, the doings of fairies, genii, goblins, and enchanted hawks.
How the blind prince recovers his sight, how the baby princess is
spirited away, cared for, and finally restored to her home, and how the
wicked goblin and the two hawks that spirited her away are punished, may
be read in this delightful fairy story, which teems with graceful
conceits and charming fancies, and which can be read, not only by
children of tender years, but by those of larger growth.
The style in which the book is gotten up makes it very suitable for a
Christmas present.
Cloth, 75 Cents; Paper, 25 Cents.
The Arena Publishing Company,
Copley Square, Boston, Mass.
NICODEMUS: A POEM.
By Grace Shaw Duff.
In this fine blank-verse poem, written by the well-known New York
authoress, Mrs. Grace Shaw Duff, is given, in autobiographic form as
from the lips of Nicodemus himself, a poetic account of the two episodes
between that ruler of the Jews and Jesus, as related in the third and
seventh chapters of John's gospel. The poem is full of local color, and
opens with a striking description of sunrise on the morning of the last
day of the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. Then follows a picture of
the unusual stir in the city due to the crowds attending the feast,
after which there is a fine word painting of the scene in the temple,
with its motley throngs of maimed and halt, of venders of unsavory
wares, of idlers, and of graver men.
The description of the midnight visit of Nicodemus to Jesus may be
quoted in full as a typical specimen of the tone, manner, and fine
musical versification of the whole poem:--
"One night from sleepless bed I rose, and went
To where He lodged, and bade the porter say
One Nicodemus--ruler--came, and speech
Would have with Him. There was no moon, but hosts
Of stars, and soft, pale glow from shaded lamps
Made silver light. The air was still, with just
Enough of light to waft at times a faint
Sweet oleander scent, and gently float
Some loosened petals down. I heard no sound
But sudden knew another presence near,
And turned to where He stood; one hand held back
The curtain's fold; the other clasped a roll.
No King could gently bear a prouder mien;
And when I gracious rose to offer meet
Respect to one whose words had won for Him
Regard, I strangely felt like loyal slave,
And almost 'Master!' trembled on my lips.
A deep, brave look shone in his eyes, as if
He saw the whole of mankind's needs, yet dared
To bid him hope; and when he spoke, his words
And voice seemed fitted parts of some great psalm."
The book is beautifully printed on first-class paper, and is finely
illustrated with numerous half-tones, after sepia-wash drawings by that
excellent artist Fredrick C. Gordon; and each section of the poem has a
charmingly artistic vignette for the initial capital letter. The binding
is in keeping with the general get-up, and the book would make an
admirable Christmas present.
CLOTH, 75 CENTS.
The Arena Publishing Co., Copley Sq., Boston, Mass.
The Woman-Suffrage Movement
IN THE UNITED STATES.
By A LAWYER.
The author of this book believes that the Bible is the inspired word of
God, and that those who accept its teachings as authoritative must be
opposed to the woman-suffrage movement. Though he bases his arguments
mainly on the teachings of Holy Scripture, he does not overlook the
lessons of history. But history only confirms him in his contention that
marriage is something more than a civil contract terminable at the
pleasure of the partners. From the true point of view marriage is an
ordinance of God. Should it ever become the general belief that it is
other than a sacrament, there would be "no protection, no honorable or
elevated position, no high social plane or place for woman." And if
marriage is a sacrament, there is but one valid cause for divorce--the
one laid down in the Word of God. The husband is the head of the
household, and his commands should be respected and obeyed, for
obedience and protection are correlative terms; the interests of husband
and wife should be identical.
The various "cries" of the advocates of woman suffrage, as "taxation
without representation," "liberty, fraternity, and equality," are
considered and declared to be without force, and this declaration is
supported by cogent reasons. The author is confident that if woman
suffrage were enacted into law it would not only harden women but work
irreparable injury to man, for those now opposed to the movement would
then "reconcile the principle and its effects upon their environment
with the Bible by throwing the Bible away." Thus, the "attack strikes at
the root of all moral and religious training."
The book merits a wide circulation. Candid advocates of the movement
will desire to know what can be said against it; and its opponents will
be glad to have at hand reasons so forcible and illustrations so apt in
condemnation of woman suffrage.
We cheerfully say so much for the book, though, as is well known, we are
strongly in favor of the movement towards a larger liberty of action for
woman; and we are looking earnestly and expectantly for the coming of
the day when woman emancipated and enfranchised shall work out her
destiny in perfect freedom.
154 pp. Cloth, 75 cents; Paper, 25 cents.
The Arena Publishing Company,
Copley Square, Boston, Mass.
The Heart of Old Hickory.
By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE.
Eight charming and popular stories by this gifted young Tennessee writer
are collected in this beautiful volume. Each of these stories is a study
that reveals a different phase of human character, and each study is a
work of art. Several show the author's subtle skill in dialect-writing,
and all reveal the hand of a master in delineating character. Here we
have inimitable humor, gleeful fun, delightful sallies of wit, and
genuine pathos, all combined with extraordinary descriptive powers.
Raciness, strength, vividness, and felicity of expression characterize
the author's style. He is to be pitied who can read these stories
without being widened in his sympathies, elevated in thought, quickened
in conscience, and ennobled in soul. The stories are the work of a
literary genius, and go far to justify an admirer of her writings, who
has himself no mean fame as editor, author, and critic, in calling Will
Allen Dromgoole the "Charles Dickens of the New South."
Cloth, $1.25; Paper, 50 Cents.
The Arena Publishing Company,
Copley Square, Boston, Mass.
WHICH WAY, SIRS, THE BETTER?
A Story of Our Toilers.
By JAMES M. MARTIN.
This is the story of a labor strike, its causes and consequences. The
chief character, Robert Belden, is a self-made man, who, from being
office-boy in the Duncan Iron Works at Beldendale, Pa., had risen, by
dint of intelligence, hard work, and attention to business, to be
partner and business manager of the concern.
A temporary depression in the iron trade makes it necessary for him to
give notice of a reduction of ten per cent in the wages of his
employees. The latter are dissatisfied, and, after calling a meeting of
their union, demand from him an inspection of the books of concern by a
committee on their behalf, so that they may have the assurance that the
reduction is necessary. As the disclosure would injure the business, the
manager refuses to comply with this demand, and the workmen go out on
strike. Thereupon the manager, in order to fill his contracts, employs
laborers from a distance, and hires a band of fifty guards from a
detective agency to protect them and his works. A dreadful riot ensues,
with bloodshed and loss of life, and the works are closed.
After a time the manager proposes a new arrangement with his former
workmen, whereby, under the system of profit-sharing, they shall receive
a share of the profits in addition to their wages. The plan works
admirably. In a comparatively brief period the workmen become well-to-do
and contented, many owning their own homes, and Beldendale becomes the
model of a prosperous and happy manufacturing town.
The story has evidently been suggested by the terrible strikes and riots
in the coke fields of Pennsylvania, and the later ones at Homestead and
Buffalo, and the author's object is to show the uselessness and the evil
results of strikes, and to propose "a better way for the solution of the
perennial conflict between capital and labor." His admirable story does
this most effectively. It is written in that unassuming, straightforward
style which is so impressive when dealing with "the short and simple
annals of the poor," and it should be read and pondered over and taken
to heart by every capitalist and employer of labor in the country, on
the one hand, and by every workingman, on the other.
Cloth, 75 Cents; Paper, 25 Cents.
The Arena Publishing Company,
COPLEY SQUARE, BOSTON, MASS.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.