venturing an opinion as to their nature or origin. So many have told me that from long observation they were convinced that these communications could come only from the other world, and, from my own observation, being wholly unable to account for them on any other supposition, I am quite unable to deny what is claimed for them by those most competent to judge of their character and origin. Time will no doubt throw new light upon what must of course seem to us so strange and unaccountable. We have supposed that all direct intercourse between the two worlds ceased when Christ ascended into Heaven; but as, in the natural world, the discoveries of Science have been shedding new and wonderful light upon what was before dark and unintelligible, so from the Spiritual world may come new light, by which may be solved the mysteries of a future state, making that certain which was before only hoped for, turning faith into sight, so that as before we saw only through a glass darkly, we may now see face to face before entering upon the future life, and come to know even as we are known.

THE ENGLISHMAN.

WITHOUT doubt the English are the wisest people now inhabiting the earth. No nation is so shrewd in discovering its own interests, or so steady in the pursuit of them. The English are no schemers or visionary theorists. They value experience more than untried experiment. They are cool, calculating, unimaginative, proud of home, fond of themselves, their aristocracy and their government. They love to walk upon the old ways, and are careful about removing the ancient landmarks. They do not reform hastily, at least at home, where they are most concerned and most easily affected by changes. They are naturally and wisely conservative, innovating only so far as they can see their way clear. Not given to enthusiasm and excitement, they pursue an even tenor, buy, sell and get gain until they make the world tributary to their great capital, the central point of wealth, refinement and luxury, where the four quarters of the world meet and do homage to the genius of this wonderful people.

How is it that we, their descendants, exhibit traits

so unlike those of our Norman and Saxon progenitors? With us, change is the rule, instead of being, as with them, the exception. We are eternally speculating and theorizing, averse to what is settled, and seeking always for something new, fond of experiment, and bent on reforming the world, especially that part of it which lies farthest from ourselves. We take a fancy to the theory of free trade, and follow it, until, like a jack-a-lantern, it leads us into a ditch. In our zeal to reform our southern neighbors we make ourselves the slaves of anti-slavery, and become most intemperate in the pursuit of temperance. To-day we are all know-nothings, and to-morrow all free-soilers. National pride, which in England glories in the honor, wealth and renown of the nation of which each one feels himself a part, is here dissipated by sectional jealousies and mutual distrust. Each pursues his own hobby, and strives to distinguish himself by some utopian theory or some new reform.

In the meantime, England remains as before, the "fast anchored isle of the ocean,"-fast anchored in her conservatism, patriotism and good sense. She chooses to dance and grow rich, that others may play the fiddle and grow poor. The Englishman knows on which side his bread is buttered. He is led aside by no theories, but pursues a straightforward course, turning neither to the right nor to the left. England

has protected her own industry until she can buy and sell half Europe if it is necessary, and control the destinies of half the world. She can afford to cry out for free trade, having no longer any fear of the introduction of foreign manufactures, and having no objection to the raw materials which she works up, or the grain and provisions that feed her operatives. The accumulation of capital in London exceeds anything known in the history of the world. Wealth is there piled up in heaps that astonish and bewilder the eye unaccustomed to such sights. London is the wrist where you may feel the pulse of the world, or rather the heart itself, which pours forth its living tide into the farthest extremities of the globe.

Literature, philosophy, poetry, wealth, refinement and luxury unite to make England the foremost among the nations. Everything that can cultivate the taste, improve the intellect, adorn and embellish social life, refine the morals and improve the heart, is there to be found in the greatest abundance and profusion. England is the chosen seat of science and of genius, and her great wealth commands the finest works of ancient and modern art from all parts of Europe. Wealth is power, and brings together, in a common centre, the material and intellectual products of the world. Commerce returns laden with the riches of the East and of the West; gold from California and Australia, teas and silks from China,