smaller. These are said to be consecrated to
the Angels of the planets, and are, therefore,
far less powerful than Lady Blessington's
Crystal, which, being consecrated to the
Archangel of the SUN, Michael, may be
consulted during four hours each day, whereas
the others can generally be used only for a
very brief space of time; nor can very potent
spirits be called into them or made to render
themselves visible. It will be seen that in
this large crystal spirits appeared without
being 'called,' as is usual; and that they
give us most important information of the
actual existence of the soul after death, and of
the state in which it exists and will exist until
the Judgment. They confirm all the great
truths of Revelation and of the Christian
religion; and they tell us that we should
take the Holy Scriptures as our guide alone,
and not rely on the dogmas of any Church, or
heed the opinions of any human teachers. They
aver that Prayer and Praise are essential to
salvation, but that forms and ceremonies are
not; and they say that ALL the spirits, and
even the highest Angels in Paradise, do pray
to God, who is always pleased with earnest
prayer."

It is this sort of blasphemy which,
unhappily, makes the most dupes, for weak
minded people mistake it for religion. The
mode in which this delusion was "worked,"
we learn from a friend who accidentally
became acquainted with the imposture. He
says:—

"The first intimation that we received of
the revival of this notable practice of divination
was about six months ago, when we
were casually informed that the son of a
distinguished officer of the Royal Navy was, at
that time, frequently, engaged in developing
before a few privileged friends, the extraordinary
faculty of being able to hold
intercourse with the world of spirits. It was
added that the revelations made through
the medium of this youth were of so
wonderful a nature, and carried such conviction to
the minds of those who listened, that they
were declared to be the result of more than
human power.

"We made inquiry as to the nature
of these revelations, and found—as we
expected—that they were precisely what
might be expected, not from a supernatural
intelligence, but from a naval young
gentleman who carried to the ceremony a fair
proportion of that readiness of belief in
supernatural agency which is, more or less,
characteristic of all sailors. On the subject
in general these gallant oilicers were imaginative
enough, but their specific yearnings
—we are forced to admit—did not display
any very lofty range. Their questions,
instead of turning on

            "'Fate, foreknowledge, and free-will,'

were limited to inquiries as to the personal
appearance of some of our distinguished naval
Commanders, and the spirit who communicated
his replies, through the interposition
of the son of a Captain in the Royal Navy,
must have been somewhat of the chillest
capacity if he could not have satisfied the
ingenuous interlocutor. One specimen of
this sort may serve for a dozen.

"'Ask him,' said Lord——, for such was
the rank of the querist, 'ask him to describe
Lord Nelson!'

"And, accordingly, the spirit, with an
accuracy which was quite astonishing—
considering that no portrait, bust, or statue of
Nelson is known to exist—gave a full, true,
and particular account of England's hero,
describing him as a very thin man, in a
cocked-hat, with only one eye, one arm, &c.;
and the truth of this description was declared
to be something truly marvellous.

"What the spirit of Lord Nelson said we
were not informed, but we have no great
difficulty in believing that it was to the effect
that 'England expects every man to do his
duty,' if, indeed, those memorable words were
not actually used. Something more he might
have added of an equally astonishing nature,
for we have since discovered that there is a
formula in these matters. Whatever it was,
his hearers were perfectly satisfied, and the
fame of this apparition soon got bruited
abroad amongst the relations and friends of
the noble and gallant lord already
adverted to.

"Another boy, also the son of a naval
officer, about thirteen years of age, was a skilful
interpreter; and even if he had not
been an agent between two worlds, must still
have shone forth as something remarkable,
for one young lady, the daughter of a dignitary
in the Church, declared that 'in her
conversation with him, upon metaphysical
subjects, she had been particularly struck by
the depth and clearness of his reasoning!'
The youthful agent had, certainly, the advantage
over his principals in this respect, their
answers being mostly delivered in the hazy
manner which usually characterises
communications of an oracular nature.

"There was, however, on the occasion of a
matinée at the retired naval officer's, who was
and is, the Arch-Priest of this mystery, one
Spirit who spoke plainly enough, but whose
attributes and revelations were at once so
comic and appalling, that we are almost
afraid to transcribe them; still, for the benefit
of our readers, we will venture:—

"A demand was made that the spirit of a
deceased brother of one of the querists should
be summoned to appear.

"The lieutenant's son averted his face, and
bent over the crystal.

"Presently he said, 'I see him he has red,
curly hair, and stoops a good deal. I can't
exactly see his features, but I think he
squints.'

"This account of her late brother's personal
appearance, though not very flattering, satisfied