n evening, before a turf fire
in the room used by the tanner and his wife. Two or three relations
were invited to this family council, and among others Louis' maternal
great-grandfather, an old laborer, much bent, but with a venerable and
dignified countenance, bright eyes, and a bald, yellow head, on which
grew a few locks of thin, white hair. Like the Obi of the Negroes, or
the Sagamore of the Indian savages, he was a sort of oracle, consulted
on important occasions. His land was tilled by his grandchildren, who
fed and served him; he predicted rain and fine weather, and told them
when to mow the hay and gather the crops. The barometric exactitude of
his forecasts was quite famous, and added to the confidence and respect
he inspired. For whole days he would sit immovable in his armchair. This
state of rapt meditation often came upon him since his wife's death; he
had been attached to her in the truest and most faithful affection.

This discussion was held in his presence, but he did not seem to give
much heed to it.

"My children," said he, when he was asked for his opinion, "this is too
serious a matter for me to decide on alone. I must go and consult my
wife."

The old man rose, took his stick, and went out, to the great
astonishment of the others, who thought him daft. He presently came back
and said:

"I did not have to go so far as the graveyard; your mother came to
meet me; I found her by the brook. She tells me that you will find some
receipts in the hands of a notary at Blois, which will enable you to
gain your suit."

The words were spoken in a firm tone; the old man's demeanor and
countenance showed that such an apparition was habitual with him.
In fact, the disputed receipts were found, and the lawsuit was not
attempted.

This event, under his father's roof and to his own knowledge, when Louis
was nine years old, contributed largely to his belief in Swedenborg's
miraculous visions, for in the course of that philosopher's life he
repeatedly gave proof of the power of sight developed in his Inner
Being. As he grew older, and as his intelligence was developed, Lambert
was naturally led to seek in the laws of nature for the causes of the
miracle which, in his childhood, had captivated his attention. What name
can be given to the chance which brought within his ken so many facts
and books bearing on such phenomena, and made him the principal subject
and actor in such marvelous manifestations of mind?