and proceed cautiously. He should never allow any spirit,
in or out of the body, to usurp his right of private judgment or
exercise any undue authority over him. Eternal vigilance is the price
of liberty; you must use your own discretion and try the spirits before
you trust to them."

Spirits Are Still Human Beings.

Many persons seem to be under the impression that because a spirit
happens to have passed out of the body he will, of necessity, know the
truth about every subject in the range of human thought, and can make no
mistakes, and can always work miracles. But this is a grave mistake; it
should always be remembered that a decarnate spirit is as much a human
being as is an incarnate spirit such as yourself; and not any better or
worse, on the average, than yourself or other incarnate spirits. One
needs but to remember that all sorts and conditions of people are
constantly passing out on to the spirit plane, and that, at least for
some time, they continue to be practically the same kind of persons that
they were on the earth plane. This being so, it will be seen that it
would be very unwise to surrender oneself indiscriminately to each and
every kind of spirit who happens to manifest his presence at a seance.
Persons in the flesh should talk and reason with those out of the flesh
just as they would were the latter still on the earth-plane of life. A
writer well says: "In a developing circle many things can be tolerated,
because both sides are experimenting and 'feeling their way towards each
other,' and it is difficult at first to know just what is necessary or
possible. But it is a safe rule to follow for one to refuse to be
dictated to by the spirits and to decline to go on blindly."

Beware of Domineering Spirits.

A writer has given the following good advice to young mediums, which
such will do well to heed: "Do not always be ready to be controlled, or
to drop into a trance just because you 'feel the influence,' and 'a
spirit wants to say something,' or to oblige injudicious friends who
'wish you would let him come.' Many people are very inconsiderate, and
although they do not SAY so, they THINK (and the sensitive FEELS their
thought) 'I do wish he would go under control and tell me something.'
You should decline to be controlled EXCEPT at the times when you
voluntarily and with set purpose lay yourself open to the influence of
the spirits, in a properly constituted circle, or when you are prepared
for