my grave no marble slab or monument, but simply flowers and a fruit-tree, that even my very dust may be of practical use still in blessing those who stand there and wonder whose the owner."

Writing a poetical article for "The Banner of Light," Mr. Pee bles says,

16 WHEN I GO HENCE.

"Life and death are two golden links in the chain of endless being; demonstrating the goodness of the Divine Existence. That was a beautiful superstition, those everburning lamps in ancient tombs, imaging immortality, and the upward tendency of all things. Death is but the severing of the physical and the spiritual, -a passing point in the drama of each soul's endless experiences, -a withdrawing of the curtain to show us those we love. It may be likened to a star, that, fading from our skies, illumes some summer clime in the sidereal heavens; or to a rose twining up the garden wall to bloom the other side; or to a grand triumphal archway, through which millions yearly walk to those sunlit islands of God, where, among the mountains of the beautiful and delicious perfumes, praises ascend with matin and vesper. Musing thus, I sung in better rhyme than rhythm:

"When I go, let no wail in the mansion be heard,

No wavelet on soul-sea or heart-chord be stirred;

But may calmness and trust their faith-offerings bring,
To blend with the triumph, 'O death! where's thy sting?

"Let the hour be morn: while the first breeze is stealing
O'er forest and flower, in sweet voices revealing
The soul's aspirations, like hymns in the air,
That rise with the incense of flowers bent in prayer.

"O'er the tomb let no willow in minor tones moan,

Nor the false phrase, 'died,' be carved on the stone;
For such breathe not the truths that gleam through the portals,
That gladden evermore the homes of immortals.

." Oh, these death-scenes are sweet! for the soul then receives
Vast volumes of thought on its unwritten leaves;

While each throe of despair, of sorrow and pain,
Will have burnished the links in Life's mystical chain.

"Let the harp of the 'morn-queen' be newly re-strung;
There's mirth to be made, there are songs to be sung;
For a mortal has passed from the care-lands of earth
To the realms of the loved, where music had birth.

"Oh! 'tis joy to stand near this glorified throng,

Whose goodness and love are the themes of each song; Where the cross proved a crown, that to angels is given, With the 'worthy' who glide through the azure of heaven. "Rockford, Ill., 1864."

CHAPTER XV.

LITERARY LIFE.

"He finds the laurel budding yet,

From Love transfigured and tear-wet:
They are his life drops turned to flowers

That make so sweet this world of ours!"

In June, 1866, Mr. Peebles was unexpectedly invited to the editorship of the Western department of "The Banner of Light." The spirits as the oracles of this stable paper so ordered. Adapted to this work, heartily sympathizing with the reforms of this journal, he entered upon his mission here with enthusiasm, winning laurels by his pen, touched with burning love. "The Banner" became more popular than ever. It was a success. We extract from his editorials some of his thoughts, bubbling with the freshness of inspiration:

66 SALUTATORY.

"Readers, grace be with you from the Infinite, peace from the angel-world, blessings from those beautiful spirits cominissioned to minister unto mortals, and a conscious fellowship with the good, the beautiful, and the true, be yours now and evermore! . . .

"Earnest in the advocacy of what I deem right, true, and reformatory, I shall be tolerant to differences of opinion; holding the olive-branch of peace; exercising that charity which thinketh no evil; encouraging all mediatorial persons whose aims are highly purposed; and glorying ever in that freedom of discussion so natural to Western life and enterprise, yet insisting that it be conducted in the spirit of sincerity, kindness, and brotherly love; considering myself responsible for only such articles as I may furnish." . . .

The "Banner" firm Wm. White, chairman of circle-room; Luther Colby, editor-in-chief; Isaac B. Rich, treasurer; in connection with the others interested editorially or officially with this leading spiritual journal, and Mr. Peebles "editor of the Western department were indeed a "band of brothers," confiding as school-fellows, faithful as teachers, true to the polarity of that institutionthe ministry of spirits to which they ever appealed for advice in

matters of importance. The reminiscences of those councils together in the "circle-rooms," whose central figure is Mrs. J. H. Conant, are all beautiful with affections best known and felt in the heaven of heavens.

"As friction from the contact of flint and steel eliminates the spark, so mind is the result of two conditions of substance, physical and spiritual. Essential spirit, the positive principle, is everywhere dependent upon matter for the production of manifestations, and the molding of forms visible to the sensuous eye. Births from blendings is the universal law.

66

Though absolute spirit can not become less than spirit, and though philosophically true that nothing can affect it in its nature and essence, it is equally true that it may be buried, clogged, and its legitimate aims and efforts for a season be thwarted. It is generally conceded by sound thinkers and scientists, that gross thoughts, gaming saloons, alcoholic drinks, and licentious practices, not only destroy the health and harmonies of the body, but ruin the mind; that is, ruin it practically for high, divine uses.

"The organ that manifests mind in the highest degree is the brain, and the nerves are the channels through which it transmits to, and receives impressions from, all parts of the vital domain. Moreover, the delicate tissues, nerves, fluids, and forces of the human mechanism are so connected with the brain, that whatever affects one must necessarily affect the other. Mediumship, as well as physiology and psychology, demonstrate this. Psychologic, impressional, and inspirational mediumship has vastly more to do with the brain than the body; but the brain can not be well balanced, healthy in action, and harmonious in relation, when the body is physically diseased or contaminated with immoral practices. It is very important that mediums understand this. Some have already lost, while others have greatly impaired, their mediumistic gifts, through perverted appetites and passions; while others, from love of gain, for selfish ends, and varied misdirections, have come into sympathetic relations with less unfolded, evil spirits, opening the way for obsessions and temporary mental shipwreck. Compensation is certain; as mortals make their beds, whether of thorns or roses, so they must lie.

"The blessed spirits, the very tread of whose white feet make music in the heavens that overshadow us, are anxious, oh! so anxious to have their mediums live in strict accordance with the physical, mental, and spiritual laws of their being; for upon favorable conditions and the purity of mediumistic life depends, to a very great extent, the character of the communications, the body being the sounding-board, and the brainorgans the keys and strings to the instrument.

"Place in the hands of Vieux Temps an elegantly made, rich-toned, four-stringed violin, and give to Ole Bull a broken, rickety, shattered, ill-fashioned fiddle: while one would discourse most delicious music, the other would only grate out wretched discord; and yet both excellent musicians. Well, the body is that exquisite instrument upon which the mind plays; and both body and mind combined as one-wheel within a wheel constitute a mediumistic instrument for angelic fingers to touch in demonstration of immortality, and sweet communion, too, from the loved dwellers of the hea venly land."

"The apostles did not wait in Jerusalem for 'calls' to go and preach the gospel of the risen Nazarene, but a divine enthusiasm, streaming like golden glory into their souls,

forced them to go into all the world, dispensing evangels of truth and love. Did Peter the Hermit, with bared head and sandaled feet, wait for a 'call' to go and rescue that sainted Syrian tomb from the ruthless hand of the Turk? Did those Jesuit fathers in Louis's time, all afire with the missionary spirit, wait for invitations from India and China? This waiting to be invited, waiting to get a call, is hardly in keeping with the glowing inspiration of the new dispensation.

66

'My brother, start, strike out; take up your carpet-sack and walk! Up and away, making every school-house, hall, and church resound! . . . Cold hearts require re-kindling; the dead, buried in worldliness, need raising; the sleepy, awakening; the shiftless, arousing; the indifferent, a new baptism. The time is auspicious. The world is crying for our liberal, loving gospel, fresh from the spirit-world. It does not want doubt and fear, but demonstrations of immortality, devotion, trust, love. . . . Here's our hand, brother, warm, cordial. List, go forth, work for the truth; live it each day; rise to the height of the occasion; lift and bear others' burdens; make full proof of your ministry, and friends will flock around you, while, from the arched heavens, angels will shower upon you unfading blooms and immortal blessings."

66 YOUNG SPEAKERS.

"We desire to see more encouragement given to our young speakers, those just com ing before the public. Many in the field are bearing the marks of age, will soon pass to the land of the 'Hereafter;' and our young brothers and sisters must be encouraged and supported. Committees should give them warm hands, and cheering words of hope and confidence. Among lecturers and mediums there should be no envy, no jealousy, and no rivalries, save only as to who shall do the most good. We are all workers upon the spiritual temple. Frescoing and tinseling are less important than laying the foundation stones. Each in place, and all for the general good. Such life-consecration should be the divine aim. . .

"Charles Dickens, writing of Thackeray the humorist, says, 'He had a particular delight in young boys, always wanting to give them sovereigns to aid them in their literary course.' There are young men and women in the range of our acquaintance, gifted, inspired, entranced at times by spirits, waiting for some friendly hand to be extended, helping them to start, helping them to finance and the means of culture, preparatory to achieving distinction in the lecture-field. Will not wealthy Spiritualists help such? A little aid at the proper time, and these young media may become stars in the horizon of thought, lighting, beckoning others up the mountains of the beautiful. "Our older speakers, - those long in our ranks, banishing all jealousies and unworthy ambitions, should manifest a deeper interest in young lecturers. Youth is no crime. The more aged are doubtless the better counselors; but all the gathered lore of the ages is not hived in their craniums. Under the entrancing and inspiring power of angels, these youth often completely eclipse their seniors; and this should and will gladden the soul of every true disciple of the Spiritual Philosophy."

66 ONLY FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENTS.

"Not wise and energetic, as most of our sister-lecturers, a brother speaker writes from the East:

"Can't you get me a series of first-class engagements in the West? If so, I should like to undertake the journey as far as the Mississippi.. What do they pay per Sunday, and provide entertainment?'

"The phrase 'first-class engagements' seriously puzzles us. Were Jesus' of this character, when, with a Syrian sun-scorched face and sandaled feet, he walked home

less by Galilee's shores doing good? Were Peter the Hermit's, who, thrilled by the in spirations of the hour, traveled, fasted, and preached till fainting by the wayside? Were Wesley's, preaching by roadsides and in the graveyards of England? Were John Murray's, lifting up his voice in mud-hovels, school-houses, and 'stoned' at that? Pray, what your grade of clay? what the superior constituents of your being?

"Brother, get up from your bed of ease: pray the gods to infill you with wisdom, energy, enthusiasm; then, putting your 'pants in your boots,' taking your carpet-sack in your hand, start light-hearted as a bird for the great, glorious West. The angels know their commissioned; the people are sensible and appreciative. The way will open as you journey. The 'pay' is generally good, — considered spiritually, it is absolutely splendid. The entertainment, though diverse, is excellent; social circles are cordial, and Western hearts warm. The moral fields are white, and hundreds of harvesters are needed Any true and faithful man or woman could build up and sustain a congregation in almost any locality. But that sentence, 'first-class engagements,' rings in our Had we been privileged a walk in Judea some twenty centuries since, we should have hinted to Jesus the addition of another beatitude, - Blessed are the modest, for they shall be promoted."

ears.

66 FOLLOW YOUR STRONGEST ATTRACTIONS.

"Yes, follow them, and go to the 'd-.' 'Do not rivers flow toward the ocean?' 'Do not steel and magnet follow the law of attraction?' 'Do not birds in spring-time, and four-footed beasts mating, follow the law of attraction?' Certainly.

"If men and women are nothing more than rivers, magnets, needles, and four-footed beasts, they will do well also to follow their attractions. Are they no more? To ask, is to answer the inquiry.

"Men and women are moral actors, made in the divine image. They are conscious beings, endowed with reasoning and rational faculties; and, instead of being psychologized, or blindly following their attractions, they should be guided by reason, and the spirit's highest, purest promptings. Weighing every motive, exercising the best judgment, and following the Arabula, — the Christ within, - they should be careful to distinguish between the voice of God and the voice of passion.

"Rocks roll down hill because they are rocks. Obedient to gravitation, they follow their 'strongest attractions.' It is well for alkalies and acids, well for minerals, to seek their affinities. Such seeking becomes the mineral plane of existence. Birds, beasts of the forests, and the Adamic propensities, sitting like sirens in the back-brain department of the soul-house, are ever clamorously inclined to follow their attractions. There are diviner counsels. God, Christ, angels, philosophy, and science, considering men and women intellectual, moral, and responsible beings, unite in saying, Be guided by reason and the soundest practical judgment."

66 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

66 'Capital punishment, a relic of barbarism, as a governmental policy, is at once mistaken, ruinous, and unwarranted. The history of criminality proves its inefficiency to secure the results desired; and, moreover, every sympathetic prompting of our nature inclines us to intercede in behalf of the unfortunate murderer, that he may live out his natural life. A prison punishment, disciplinary and reformatory, is not only more efficacious for good, but infinitely more in keeping with the gentle spirit of Jesus and the humane tendencies of the age.

66

Hanging kills no one. It is simply a retaliatory Mosaic method of punishment, an unnatural process of severing the co-partnership existing between the earthly organ