believing listeners, are copied from the Almanac
literatim:—

"Are you Pharaoh, that was King of
Egypt?—Yes. Where do you dwell now?—
In Jupiter. How long have you been there?
—About thirty years. Where did you dwell
till then?—In the Atmosphere, and was
undergoing punishment till then. Were you
King of Egypt when Moses was there?—Yes,
and Aaron too. Did you build the Pyramids?
—Some. Were any built before your time?
—Yes. Do you know how long the first was
built before Christ?—About three hundred
years after Adam; it was building then. Do
you mean that it was built before the flood?—
No, it was not finished; the flood destroyed
them. What was the principal object of
them?—To hold the Kings of Egypt. Were
there Kings of Egypt so soon after the Creation?
—Yes; that was the first country Kings
were in. Were you drowned in the Red Sea?
—Yes."

"On a certain Sunday Alexander the Great
appeared—on horseback—in armour; the
horse also in armour, &c. He is undergoing
his punishment, but looks to be released next
Sunday. Deeply regrets killing Clitus, and
all the murders he perpetrated. Has seen his
father once only; not allowed intercourse
with any Spirit till after next Sunday. Amuses
himself in fighting his battles over again."

In another Crystal dialogue, Emmanuel
Swedenborg objects to capital punishments,
and also to paying tithes to clergymen. He
volunteers information about Sir John Franklin,
which Zadkiel says he should like to see
"for his wife's sake," and not at all with any
hope of reward from the Admiralty!

"What do you wish?" asks Swedenborg.
What is the best way to communicate with
him? replies Zadkiel. "By the natives; they
speak to him sometimes."—Will he be home
next summer? "No."—Why? "Because he
cannot help himself; he is stopped by ice,
but his heart does not fail him; he wants to
explore."—How will he do for provisions?
"He will find bears, dogs, and wolves."—Will
he find the passage? " No; there is a
continent there."—But there is also a passage?
"There is one, but he will not find it." What
latitude does it lie in chiefly? "I do not
know; good bye."

It appears odd that Swedenborg, who knew
so much, did not know this; but we learn in
another place, that "Spirits do not well
understand about latitude and longitude." Orion
seems to have been a trifle more explicit, for
he places the expedition "to the north-east of
Melville Island," where certain young gentlemen
of Zadkiel's acquaintance had just killed
a bear. The voyagers, we are further told,
get "a kind of wolves" (to eat) and "a kind
of turf full of gas" (perhaps to drink).

According to the seer Socrates, for he has
rather a French taste in dress, came forward
in this guise: "A tall, middle-aged man,
rather bald, dressed with striped coarse trowsers,
very loose at the top and tight near the feet; a
kind of frock, open in the front, and without
sleeves." He is generally employed in "singing
praises," but was not quite happy. Like no
other Spirits, he is very polite, for when going,
he said, "Many happy returns of your Birthday."
("It was," says Zadkiel, "the seer's
thirteenth birthday.") It was this young
gentleman who proved a traitor, and
proclaimed that he had imposed on Zadkiel and
all his friends.

It may be objected that the miserable stuff
which we have quoted must prove its own
antidote; but, when we find that its author
boasts of the scores of thousands which he
has sold of his vapid publication, and sets
forth the example set by the higher classes
with the view of selling more—an example
which always finds a certain number of
imitators—we hold, that the pernicious
tendency of the publication calls for exposure.
Observe the direct effect of the following
paragraph, with which Zadkiel sums up the
nature of the success he has experienced in
the course of a few months—the italics are
his own:—

"In concluding this account, I may remark that
numerous children have seen these visions, some
of them the sons and daughters of persons of high
rank; and that several adults have also seen
visions, one of them a lady of title, another a
member of one of the highest families in England.
It will be easily seen that delicacy prevents my
publicly naming individuals; but I can assure my
readers that above one hundred of the nobility, and
several hundreds of other highly respectable ladies
and gentlemen, have examined this wonderful
phenomenon, and have expressed the highest
gratification and astonishment."

What is likely to be the future career
of "children" who have been trained to a
system of imposture? And what may
not be the influence upon persons of weak
minds, of the opinions expressed by
"hundreds of highly respectable ladies and gentlemen," in a community who hold "respectability
in so much reverence ? If "above one
hundred of the nobility" are not likely to find
imitation, amongst their dependents alone,
why do we see daily the shrewdest, money-
making tradesmen of London advertising the
"nobility" as encouragers of their professions,
or purchasers of their wares? The answer is
obvious.

THE HOUSEHOLD NARRATIVE
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