Think of it! Think how economical that family was, and how grateful the Nawab ought to have been for the boon of a daughter, all of whose party dresses went into a bag!

Then muse over this to balance it: "It is too provoking ; " said the Nawabess. "It does seem as if your father had no regard whatever for the comfort of the household. But I bide my time; there'll come a day of reckoning yet."

Now Miss Bulgore did not understand her mother, but she sympathized with her entirely; and when her father came home to dinner at six thirty precisely, for he was a punctual man, she was very austere to him, as if, in some underhand way, he was responsible for the failure of the express company or its agent.

He noted (for he had a quick eye to see) the austerity. Dinner was served in silence. After dinner Miss Bulgore, who felt that something must be done, consulted with her mother, and then sought her father in the library. The exact terms in which she made her dilemma known, it is hardly worth while to relate. I assume that she stated the case without prejudice. What reason had she to do otherwise?

"Did you give the address properly?" asked her father, in that cold, heartless way some business men have.

"I did," answered Kaleida, still preserving her austerity of demeanor. "And you wish me to attend to the matter, is that it?" continued the Nawab.

"I want my bag," said Kaleida. Then off she went in a burst of vexation, saying, among other severe things, that it was all the fault of the expressmen, and that they ought to be made to pay heavy damages for the delay.

"My own idea precisely," said her father; "the express company is clearly liable for damages, and if you will leave the whole matter in my hands I will attend to it the first thing to-morrow."

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Well, papa," she responded, somewhat mollified, "I'll leave it all to you; only I must have the bag by three o'clock at the very latest. If it comes after that hour it will be too late."

Of course the Nawab could make his daughter no definite promise. With all the best desires in the world he couldn't do that. With an express company who could? Then, even if he had been in a position to give assurances, such a course was far from his intention. The fact is (I might as well out with it first as last) he had a grievance against the company, and longed to get what the inhabitants of that country called, "a shy" at them.

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Seeing that her father was obdurate respecting promises, Kaleida fell to expostulating. Why won't you listen to reason, papa?" she said. you see how utterly impossible it is for me to do without my

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"Don't

bag?"

"Either leave the whole matter in my hands," replied her father, "or -attend to it yourself."

Words cannot tell the heartlessness of such a speech. But I will say words tried to.

“Take my advice, Kaleida," said a voice outside the door; take my advice and see to the bag yourself."

It was the Nawabess who spoke. All this time she had been in the butler's pantry, ostensibly washing the best china. She had overheard the conversation, and now, pushing open the door, she appeared, and proceeded to give her views.

[To be continued.]

A CONCISE COURSE OF LESSONS ON REGENERATION. LESSON THIRD.

Continued from March Number.

As man is the highest order of creation, he includes all below him; and, being made in the image of God, is the highest expression or externalization of God or Good. The materialist in his theory of evolution, has only gotten at the exterior of the subject. While all creation is by evolution, it is spiritual; the material is only its externalization. So creation, having arrived at that stage where man was made in the image of God, his Father, he (man) also was externalized, and awoke to consciousness on the material plane. All materiality is for the expression of God's creation, which is spiritual, as He can have no other; consequently materiality becomes God's limitation, and where the limitation commences, there commences what we call evil, or darkness. We often compare the Sun of our Solar System to the great centre of spiritual light and life, and this is a truthful correspondence, and illustrates the point of evil very clearly. When one-half the Earth is turned from the Sun, to that half it is night, or darkness, and this is caused by that half being in its own shadow, the Sun's rays being limited by the Earth.

So man, having come to consciousness on the dark or material side of creation, tries to adjust what he finds and sees about him, to himself. He, being made in the image of God, is spiritual, loving, intelligent, wise, good, and endowed with life; but immediately on his awaking, his five senses report to him their observations and experiences, which are of materiality, and man, not yet recognizing himself as spiritual, the opposite of his surroundings, tries to adjust the knowledge gained through the senses to his needs, and finds it brings just the opposite of what he seeks.

This opposite is the evil; the sin, sickness, and death, instead of good, or life, health and happiness, which his spiritual nature craves, and is seeking.

So, in the abstract, evil is the shadow, or darkness resulting from the interception of the light of God by limitation or materiality. In the concrete it is the mistakes and errors man falls into, in his groping to find that which will satisfy the "Divine Unrest" of his spirit. He seeks it in his ignorance in conformity to the teachings of the five senses, which know only materiality. Now, we have learned that evil, the opposite socalled power, is only ignorance of God or Good, and will continue until man shall have come into full consciousness of what he is, and shall recognize his own spiritual nature, and oneness with God, even as Christ did. Then will evil or ignorance vanish, having been overcome or dispelled by the light of God. Then we can say, without fear of successful contradiction, that there is no evil as a power opposed to God. We see that matter and evil are not real, because they are not causes, but effects, just

as we see the shadow on the wall; it is only an effect of an intervening body between the light and the object on which the shadow falls. They are not powers, but negations, and when the soul has come into a complete understanding of this it opens its eyes to the truth of its spiritual nature, and the real, great cause-world in which it lives, moves, and has its being. This leads us to enquire about this individuality which we call man, composed of body, soul, and spirit, or unconscious mind, conscious mind, and spirit.

The unconscious mind is the body; the conscious mind is the soul; and the spirit is the immortal germ made in the image of God. It is the Christ slain from the beginning, by not being recognized. By the descent of the spirit into matter, the soul is born, or conscious mind; and it is by a process of development, or going from ignorance to knowing of its conditions, possibilities, and destiny, that the soul comes to a knowledge that its allegiance is to the spirit, and not to the body.

While the soul lives in the flesh, and is subject to it, it has no perception of the spirit, or of spiritual things. "It knows things, but not their meaning; appearances, but not realities; resultant forms, but not formative ideas; still less, the source of these." The world and man himself are fellow phantoms. But when the sonl learns that this is all phantom, and where to look for the real; and polarizes its will with the spirit, then the spirit redeems it from the power of the unreal, or of appearances, and brings it into consciousness of the real; and this is the process that is of such vital importance to every soul. This process is called regeneration. Generation is coming into the flesh, regeneration coming into the spirit. Generation coming into appearances, regeneration into real life.

The so-called fall of man is his coming into appearances, and not recognizing the truth concerning himself. The redemption is the finding his way back to his spiritual origin, and to the cause-world.

Although man is where he is in virtue of an orderly process in creation. called evolution, he is not an automaton, but is endowed with a will; and when he has grown into the light that enables him to see his true relations to the real and unreal, the soul, or conscious mind, chooses which it will unite its destiny with the man from heaven, who is heir to all things, or the man of appearances only, whose every allurement is deception. If the soul, after having grown into such light that it is capable of choosing between the man from above, and the one from below, persistently choose the unreal, then it sinks itself into the same degradation, and becomes like that to which it has allied itself. Then it is that he who hath not, shall lose even that which he hath. Then the spirit and soul forever part company; the spirit withdraws to its kingdom, and the soul, or conscious mind, becomes a nonentity.

But if, on the other hand, the soul allies itself to the spirit, and becomes one with it, bringing the spirit to bear constant control over the . conscious mind, then the whole being comes in for redemption, because the body is then also controlled through the conscious mind, and the three become one, in virtue of the body and soul becoming indrawn, and subject to the spirit; and this is the atonement that restores man to his heavenly

estate.

By this process matter is brought back to its original substance, being refined and indrawn.

One subject more before we proceed to finding the way back to God.

Who is meant by the devil? This is a term expressing two different meanings, or shades of meanings. We have learned what evil is, and devil is the comprehensive term for all evil. It is not a person, or power, but a negation of the good, - darkness, a lie. Christ said "the father of lies." Then the term " devils" for the same reason is applied to those souls who have persistently refused the good, the real, the spirit, or Christ that would bring them to eternal life, and continue their servitude and alliance to materiality and its delusions, until they sink into darkness, and go out of the body to continue their quest of evil. It is used in both of these senses in the Bible. The term Satan is sometimes used as synonymous with devil, but, strictly speaking, is a term applied to the illusion of the universe, covering all materiality, but not necessiarily evil.

Matter is not evil, it is of God; but it being only the appearance of the real, it leads the soul into error, until the soul gains a knowledge of the truth.

In this lesson of definitions it may be well to take up mortal and immortal mind, or being and existing, as used in spiritual teachings.

The immortal mind is the mind of the spirit; the mortal, or carnal mind is the false beliefs we have, growing out of our living in the senses on the material plane. The one is true, the other is false. The first is real, the second is illusion. The first is the unerring, divine mind that comes to manifestation with Christ, when the conscious mind has divested itself of false beliefs, and the atonement is made. Everything of the carnal mind is just the opposite of truth. It takes the shadow cast by substance as the real, and proceeds to act accordingly, which produces evil. Mortal mind is the dream-life of materiality. We go on believing in all the apparent conditions about us, happy or unhappy, according to circumstances; and so long as we do not know it is a dream, it has all the power over us of truth, but when we wake the power vanishes. We wake to find that we have power and dominion over all the things that we thought had power over us. In the dream we thought we were perhaps poor, but we wake to find ourselves rich, heirs to all that is good. We thought we were little and unknown, but find we are the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, and all the good and pure of earth and heaven, and known by God Himself. The truth of being, or immortal mind, is just the opposite of existing er mortal mind. It is as necessary that man should come into existence on the natural plane, as that the waterfowl should be hatched on land, but the land is not its place, nor has it the conditions that can bring it satisfaction. It must turn its back on all this as soon as it learns it has wings, and away to the air and sea.

So with man as soon as the truth reaches him he awakes from the dream-life of generation, to return to his native atmosphere through regeneration. Turns his back on all his false beliefs in the power of the world, the flesh, and evil over him, or their power to give happiness. Believing in their power brings bondage, suffering, and unrest. The truth brings freedom, rest, and happiness. The conscious mind is mortal mind until the atonement is made, then the spirit comes to manifestation through the conscious mind, and guides in the way of truth. In Christ Jesus this became the expression of God's mind. In us it is only the manifestation. What is expressed is whole, or perfect; what is manifest may be only in part, or imperfect.

OCCIDENT.

VISTÆ VITÆ. (Continued.)

BY M. T. MARTIN, M. D.

BUT they're bound by earthly fetters; pinioned are their mighty souls:
Still, they strive with eager longing, though an unknown fate controls;
Through the grating of their prison anxious arms they ever strain,
Always hoping, vainly reaching for the prize they cannot gain.
They would solve the cause of causes; see the unseen source of years;
They would aid in world-creation, aid the process of the spheres.

They are moved by inspiration deeper than the love of fame:
They would banish pain and weakness, want and sorrow, sin and shame:
They would share their brother's burden, speaking words of joy and cheer:
They would soothe the broken-hearted; they would dry the falling tear.
When a comrade falls beside them they would hold his aching head;
They would wipe his brow so clammy; they would smooth his dying bed.

Great and philanthropic mortals leave all wealth to baser clay;
Let the thoughtless bask in sunshine through life's swiftly passing day.
They renounce the place of power, work for those they ne'er can see;
Work for generations coming, and for nations yet to be;

Work for those who are ungrateful, work for those who gibe and jeer;
Work for others' gain and glory, work for those who scoff and sneer.

In the far advance they're toiling, 'mid the driving sleet and snow,
Where the road is rough and rocky, where the thorns and brambles grow.
They rejoice in patient sowing, though the future golden crop
Will be garnered ages after clods shall strike their coffin's top.
Strong desire surmounts and beckons till they're laid beneath the sod
Lo! the pulse of man is throbbing with the yearnings of a god.

On the blue ethereal ocean of the shoreless realms of space;
Far beyond man's mortal vision, where no telescope can trace;
Where the silent planets wander, and the stars in quiet shine;
Where appears no earthly vestige, not a symbol nor a sign;
Not a form of human outline, not a footfall nor a cry;
Not a sound of merry laughter, not a whisper nor a sigh;

Where the nebulæ in vastness, with an incandescent glow,
Circumvolve a million ages, as they slowly undergo

All the wondrous transmutations which the star-mist ever runs,
From a gas of opalescence, to the fiercely burning suns;
From a cloud of brilliant vapor, to a world with life enshrined;
From a scintillating ether, to the human form and mind.

From the prehistoric æons, from the infancy of Time,
Flows this tide of mystic grandeur in magnificence sublime.
Whirling onward, onward ever, is the vast cerulean train,
Never stopping, never resting, though no goal is there to gain.
Moving on in space all boundless, where the past and future blend
In an everlasting circle, no beginning, and no end.

[To be continned.]