they have a wish for a future life, and a hope with
reference to their dead, rather than a faah with reference
to either. As a consequence,
their minds being con-
vinced that they have had communication with those
beyond the grave, everything relating to the future life
becomes more real and more interesting to them than
ever before. And many such, wholly ignorant of re-
ligious feelings, say to themselves, Now I know what
it is to have faith, and a religions feeling with refer-
ence to the future, and they congratulate themselves
that they have received a great spiritual blessing.
But this is only the fist lesson, and these compar-
atively uplifting experiences belong chiefly toit. Later
experiences will demonstrate, as all Spiritists will free-
ly acknowledge, that there are “evil spirits,” ‘lying
spirits,” which time and again deceive them; and the
messages and revelations, often foolish and nonsensi-
cal, gradually lead the investigator to a disbelief ofthe
Bible and the Creator, while it teaches and exalts “the
spirits” as the only sources of knowledge aside from
nature; and thus the way is paved toward advanced
lessons on “spirit-affinities,”
“free love,” etc But
after the first deception and shaking of confidence the
explanation that there are “both good and bad spirits”
is generally satisfdory; and the poor victim follows
blindly on, because assured that he communes with
some supernatural power.
As an illustration of thia we meation the case of
an old gentleman, a Pittsburger, an avowed spiritist
and an earnest defender of Spiritism, We knew me-
thing of his history through a mutual friend; how that,
while holding a communication through a medium,
supposedly his “evoltlted” Wife, the latter said to him;