All men are my brothers; all women, my sisters; all children, my children; and I am every mortal's child. Deep is our interest in every infant born into earth-life. Its destiny is linked with ours, and our love flows to it free, to all humanity free as God's sunlight.

Let, then, our country be the universe; our home the world; our religion to do good; our rest wherever a human heart beats in harmony with ours; and our desire be to enkindle in the breasts of earth's millions the fires of aspiration, aiding them in their progress up the acclivities of life, even to the very gate of heaven. Let all the love that can be attracted from our inmost being, be appropriated by the poor, and the crushed, and the needy, and the fallen-by you, the world, the angels. Then will be actualized the words of Jesus-" All mine are thine, and thine are mine."

During that precious pentecostal hour, when the divine. afflatus streamed down in rivers of light from angelic abodes, not only "many believed," but they were so baptized into those unselfish loves of the spiritual world, that they resolved to "have all things in common." When these universal love-principles are made practical, the soil will be as free to all to cultivate as the air they breathe; gardens will blossom and bear fruitage for the poor, and orphans find homes in all houses, there drawn by the music of tenderest sympathy; the brows of toiling millions be wreathed with white rosessymbols of perpetual peace.

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. For to one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits.”—Apostle Paul.

"Upspringing from the buried Old

I see the New."- Whittier.

The rapid diffusion of the divine principles involved in modern Spiritualism, startling to conservative Protestants, is unprecedented in the historic annals of any religious movement. An accredited church historian estimates that when Jesus suffered crucifixion, he had, aside from his apostles and a few angular, uneducated disciples, less than three hundred believers. It is certain that when the Nicean Council assembled early in the third century, there were hardly thirty thousand Christians on the face of the earth. Now, at the expiration of twenty years, numbering millions, Spiritualism has entered the domain of science, art, religion and the most acceptable literature of the country. Roman Catholicism, seeing Protestantism crumbling into sectarian fragments, fears only the rapid march of Spiritualism.

Waging a war of ideas, the new against the old-knowledge against creedal faith-science against sectarianism—freedom against dogmatic formulas, and the broadest liberality against an effete theology-denying an arrogant priesthood and a catering public press-reckless of popish bulls and judicial decisions-heedless of the long-established authorities of Church and State-facing fashion with the religious responsibility commonly ascribed to the popular worshipSpiritualism, heaven-born and angel-guarded, has moved forward to a prominent and enviable position, and now shouts in trumpet tones

"Sects must unmask to man's diviner needs,

Kings from their mocking thrones must topple down;
God in thy name, Humanity yet bleeds,

But Truth hath risen, and marcheth to renown."

Spiritualism, a divine eclecticism, is based upon present tangible facts, upon past historic testimonies and the soul's highest intuitions. In addition to a national organization, denominated, "The American Association of Spiritualists," Spiritualism has already several energetic State Conventions; thousands of local societies and circles, sustaining lecturers and media; a large number of flourishing Children's Progressive Lyceums; State Missionary organizations, sending out efficient workers thoroughly imbued with the elements of reform and the heavenly inspirations of the age; and not mentioning those known to fame, it has tens of thousands of media in private families, who purposely hide themselves from the wanton glare of public life. It publishes nine periodicals in the United States-weeklies and monthlies and its publishing and yearly book-trade is rapidly increasing.

Notwithstanding the gathered lore and historic records of the ages, demonstrating the ministry of spirits, in connection with the phenomena of the present, the groping, unthinking multitudes reject Spiritualism-reject it precisely as did men, in high reputed places, the telegraphic discovery of Prof.

Morse. At a banquet in his honor, recently given in New York, Prof. Morse said:

"A brief narrative of certain events in the early history of the invention, when it was a suppliant for aid in the halls of Congress, will give the answer to many questions. I must not detain you with too much detail, but the contrast of then and now cannot fail at least to amuse you. As the narrative is very short, allow me to quote it:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
'February 21, 1843.

เ ELECTRO AND ANIMAL MAGNETISM.

'On motion of Mr. Kennedy, of Maryland, the committee took up the bill to authorize a series of experiments to be made in order to test the merits of Morse's electro magnetic telegraph. The bill appropriates $30,000, to be expended under the direction of the Postmaster General.

Mr. Cave Johnson wished to have a word to say upon the bill. As the present Congress had done much to encourage science, he did not wish to see the science of mesmerism neglected and overlooked. He therefore proposed that one-half of the appropriation be given to Mr. Fisk (a gentleman at that time lecturing in Washington on mesmerism), to enable him to carry on experiments as well as Professor Morse.

Mr. Houston thought that Millerism should also be included in the benefits of the appropriation.

Mr. Stanley said he should have no objections to the appropriation for mesmeric experiments, provided the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Johnson) was the subject. (A laugh.)

Mr. Cave Johnson said he should have no objections, provided the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Stanley) was the operator. (Great laughter.)

Several gentlemen called for the reading of the amendment, and it was read by the clerk, as follows:

Provided that one-half of the said sum shall be appropriated for trying mesmeric experiments under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.'

Mr. Mason (of Ohio) rose to a question of order. He maintained that the amendment was not bona fide, and that such amendments were calculated to injure the character of the House. He appealed to the chair to rule the amendment out of order.

The Chairman said it was not for him to judge of the motives of members in offering amendments, and he could not therefore undertake to pronounce the amendment bona fide. Objections might be raised to it on the ground that it was not sufficiently analogous in character to the bill under consideration; but, in the opinion of the chair, it would require a scientific analysis to determine how far the magnetism of mesmerism was analogous to that to be employed in telegraphs (laughter); he therefore ruled the amendment in order. On taking the vote the

amendment was rejected-ayes 22, noes not counted. The bill was then laid aside to be reported.'

"The temper of the House," says Prof. Morse, "is easily inferred from this narrative. To those who thus ridiculed the telegraph it was a chimera, a visionary dream like mesmerism, rather to be a matter of merriment than seriously entertained. Men of character, men of erudition, men who, in ordinary affairs, had foresight, were wholly unable to forecast the future of the telegraph."

Sectarists and political partisans, at their Belshazzar feasts, make merry over modern Spiritualism in much the same style that those clergy and senators in Congress spit their venom, in the form of dead jokes and witticisms, upon mesmerism and Prof. Morse's telegraphic discoveries. These now stand upon the Congressional records, living and "swift witnesses" against the short-sightedness of their perpetrators. Starved, hunted, persecuted of one generation, to be banqueted and honored with hero-worship in the succeeding, is the world's method of expressing gratitude.

"To-day abhorred; to-morrow adored,
So round and round we run."

When this youth of twenty years-Spiritualism-puts on the full strength of sterling manhood-when it expands into the proportions of a moral giant-when its theories and prophecies have become established facts-when its visions have taken the forms of tangible realities-when, as in the Nazarene's time, the "Rulers of the Pharisees" openly confess the gospel of spirit communication, then will the weak, mimicking masses begin to "banquet" those whom to-day it denominates dreamers and enthusiasts.

As a general definition of Spiritualism, the following is submitted:

Its fundamental idea is, God, the infinite spirit-presence, immanent in all things.

Its fundamental thought is, joyous communion with spirits and angels, and the practical demonstrations of the same through the instrumentality of media.