"Girod knew that in another moment he would not sink, faint, or fall, but that he would,-oh! much worse! he would smile!

"At this very instant a name, -a familiar name, and one which the infernal worshippers had made frequent use of, but which he had never remarked before,— struck his ear; the name of Christ!

"Where had he heard it? He could not tell. It was the name of a young man; he could remember that and nothing more.

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Again the name sounded, 'Christ.'

"There was another word like Christ, which seemed at some time to have brought an idea first of great suffering and then of great peace.

"Ay, peace, but no pleasure. No DELIGHT LIKE THIS SHED FROM THOSE MARVELLOUS BLUE EYES!!

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'Again the name sounded, 'Christ.'

"Ah! the other word was cross-croix-he remembered now; a long thing with a short thing across it.

"Was it that as he thought of these things the blue eyes lessened in intensity? We dare not say! but as some faint conception of what a cross was flitted through the Abbé's brain, although he could think of no prayer-nay, of no distinct use of this cross-he drew his right hand slowly up, for it was pinioned as if by paralysis to his side, and feebly and half mechanically made the sign across his breast.

"The vision vanished."

Now if this had been an impersonation of Satan himself, or a "materialization" produced by him, the

1

object in either case was the same-to produce in the mind of the beholder, a sympathizing pity, if I might so say, for Satan himself; with a corresponding stirring up of the "enmity" of "the carnal mind "1 against the Christ of God, on the lying assumption that God had dealt hardly with Satan himself-an awful, and a hellish temptation, which only those who have gone down deep into their nature's evil, and understand something of "the depths of Satan," have ever been subject to !3

The writer concludes his narrative thus: "The men adoring ceased their clamour and lay crouched up one against another, as if some strong electric power had been taken from them and great weakness had succeeded, while, at the same time, the throbbing of the thousand voiceless harps was hushed!

"The pause lasted but for a moment, and then the men rose, stumbling, trembling, and with loosened hands, and stood feebly gazing at the Abbé, who felt faint and exhausted, and heeded them not. With extraordinary presence of mind the Prince walked quickly up to him, pushed him out of the door by which they had entered, followed him, and locked the door behind them, thus precluding the possibility of being immediately pursued by the others.

3 See the writer's "Dutlines of Prophetic Truth," p. 300; and his History and Personality of Satan,” pp. 53-55, 215, 216.

4 My readers will have noticed, in several previous accounts of séances, that this effect was produced over and over again.

"Once in the adjoining room, the Abbé and Pomerantseff paused for an instant to recover breath, for the swiftness of their flight had exhausted them, worn out as they both were mentally and physically; but during this brief interval the Prince, who appeared. to be retaining his presence of mind by a purely mechanical effort, carefully replaced over his friend's eyes the bandage which the Abbé still held tightly grasped in his hand. Then he led him on, and it was not till the cold air struck them, that they noticed they had left their hats behind.

"N'importe!' muttered Pomerantseff.

It would be dangerous to return;" and hurrying the Abbé into the carriage which awaited them, he bade the coachman speed them away—' au grand galop!'

"Not a word was spoken; the Abbé lay back as one in a swoon, and heeded nothing until he felt the carriage stop, and the Prince uncovered his eyes and told him he had reached home; then he alighted in silence, and passed into his house without a word.

"How he reached his apartment he never knew; but the following morning found him raging with fever and delirious.

"When he had sufficiently recovered, after the lapse of a few days, to admit of his reading the numerous letters awaiting his attention, one was put into his hand which had been brought on the second night after the one of the memorable séance.

"It ran as follows:

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Jockey Club, January 26, 18-.

"Mon cher Abbé,—I am afraid our little adventure was too much for you-in fact, I myself was very unwell all yesterday, and nothing but a Turkish bath has pulled me together. I can hardly wonder at this, however, for I have never in my life been present AT SO POWERFUL A SEANCE, and you may comfort yourself with the reflection that SA MAJESTE [i.e., Satan]

HAS NEVER HONORED ANYONE WITH HIS PRESENCE FOR SO LONG A SPACE OF TIME BEFORE!

"Never fear, mon cher, about your illness. It is purely nervous exhaustion, and you will be well soon; but such evenings must not often be indulged in if you are not desirous OF SHORTENING YOUR LIFE. I shall hope to meet you at Mme. de Metternich's on Monday. Tout à vous, Pomerantseff.'

"Whether or no Girod was sufficiently recovered to meet his friend at the Austrian Embassy on the evening named we do not know," adds the writer, "nor does it concern us; but he is certainly enjoying excellent health now."

And now I will conclude with

VII. Some admonitions and exhortations, which naturally arise out of the subject itself.

1. As we have seen that "Spiritualism," so-called, is nothing more nor less than ancient necromancy ; which springs from those "works of the flesh," "witchcraft" and "idolatry," with which it is essentially connected; and that these practices are strongly condemned in the Word of God: while those persons who

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engage in them in these days, are branded by the Holy Ghost as "apostates from the faith," and are said thereby to "give heed to seducing spirits,' speaking lies in hypocrisy ;" and that they are under such "strong delusion," as to "believe" in their "lies: it is manifest that the system itself must of necessity be essentially evil and devilish; and that God's curse must rest upon it! Nay, even Spiritualists themselves. have discovered that they have been, occasionally (as they suppose) imposed upon by evil spirits: for William Howitt said, "There is need of caution in consulting spirits; for some spirits personating the departed, have confessed themselves devils, when adjured in Jesu's name!" This we have also seen in some of the instances before referred to;1 and the demons themselves in their "teachings," have likewise asserted the same thing. But how then do Spiritualists suppose that they are able to distinguish between good and evil spirits? Simply, by the testimony of the lying demon himself! Can infatuation equal this: when the Holy Ghost solemnly assures us, that such practices are diabolical in themselves; and that all such spirits are "lying," seducing' spirits-demons, under the direction and control of "the Prince of the demons," Satan himself! For thus speaketh the Holy Ghost in the Old Testament:-" When they say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits," the Ohvoth,3 "and unto wizards," Yid-d""goh-neem, "that peep and

2

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1 See pages 107-112. 2 Sec pages 197, 198. 3 See page 4. 4 See page 5.