w, who pictured with their distorted minds an
implacable torturer as the Ruler of the Universe!

The truth of what is told us as to the life beyond can in its very
nature never be absolutely established. It is far nearer to complete
proof, however, than any religious revelation which has ever preceded
it. We have the fact that these accounts are mixed up with others
concerning our present life which are often absolutely true. If a
spirit can tell the truth about our sphere, it is difficult to suppose
that he is entirely false about his own. Then, again, there is a very
great similarity about such accounts, though their origin may be from
people very far apart. Thus though "non-veridical," to use the modern
jargon, they do conform to all our canons of evidence. A series of
books which have attracted far less attention than they deserve have
drawn the coming life in very close detail. These books are not found
on railway bookstalls or in popular libraries, but the successive
editions through which they pass show that there is a deeper public
which gets what it wants in spite of artificial obstacles.

Looking over the list of my reading I find, besides nearly a dozen very
interesting and detailed manuscript accounts, such published narratives
as "Claude's Book," purporting to come from a young British aviator;
"Thy Son Liveth," from an American soldier, "Private Dowding";
"Raymond," from a British soldier; "Do Thoughts Perish?" which contains
accounts from several British soldiers and others; "I Heard a Voice,"
where a well-known K.C., through the mediumship of his two young
daughters, has a very full revelation of the life beyond; "After
Death," with the alleged experiences of the famous Miss Julia Ames;
"The Seven Purposes," from an American pressman, and many others. They
differ much in literary skill and are not all equally impressive, but
the point which must strike any impartial mind is the general agreement
of these various accounts as to the conditions of spirit life. An
examination would show that some of them must have been in the press at
the same time, so that they could not have each inspired the other.
"Claude's Book" and "Thy Son Liveth" appeared at nearly the same time
on different sides of the Atlantic, but they agree very closely.
"Raymond" and "Do Thoughts Perish?" must also have been in the press
together, but the scheme of things is exactly the same. Surely the
agreement of witnesses must h