EXTRA-MUNDANE COMMUNICATIONS 



To have the courage of one's opinions is a grace 

 hardly come by, and often of uncertain advantage ; 

 in the present case it can only be hoped that some 

 credit for, at least, this virtue may be bestowed, since 

 it is more than possible that on all other counts 

 approbation will be withheld, and it may be admitted 

 that in approaching this most controversial of existing 

 controversies, it is fully recognised that the lions in 

 the path are many and fierce. 



It is as singular as it is indisputable that, in a 

 country in which a primary article of creed is an affir- 

 mation as to the Resurrection of the Dead, any effort 

 to contribute evidence in support of the doctrine has 

 the effect of creating an atmosphere in which dis- 

 cussion flames to flashpoint as soon as it is initiated, 

 and what can only be described as a mediaeval intensity 

 of disapproval is immediately disclosed. Is it too 

 much to ask for a reception of the question rather 

 more modern than that accorded to Galileo ? 



It would be superfluous to attempt to give a detailed 

 account of what is generally called Spiritualism, cither 

 historically, in its main outlines, or biographically, in 

 an enumeration of the great names of those who have 

 accepted the reality of its findings. These aspects 

 have been dealt with by many writers of high authority 

 and competence. A strictly personal and auto- 

 biographical point of view is all that can here be 

 offered, whose only merit is its severe adherence to 



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