would
be fairer to say that he lays down as a working hypothesis--the
following thesis: Spiritualism involves the existence of mediums, and
mediums for the most part have to make their living by their operations.
They will not be averse to making their incomes as large as possible.
For the purpose of acquiring information as to the affairs of possible
clients, they have, so he asserts, an almost Freemasonic Association by
which all sorts of pieces of intelligence concerning persons of
importance are collected and disseminated amongst the brotherhood. It
did not require much imagination to suppose that the war would add to
the number of their clients, whether their claims had real foundation or
not; what they wanted above all things was some one of undoubted
position who would "boom the movement," in the slang of the day. They
laid all their plans to get their man in the author of _Raymond_, and
they got him. Such is his thesis for what it is worth.

However, it is time to conclude. What I wanted to show was that
Theophobia was the Nemesis of a dreadful type of Protestantism, and that
spiritualism was the Nemesis of the materialism associated with that
Theophobia. There is no need to point out to Catholic readers where the
remedy lies, and where the real Communion of the saints is to be found.
They are not likely to be drawn aside by the "Lo here!" of the "false
Christs" whom we were promised and whom we are getting. It is for those
who have themselves experienced the consolations of the Catholic
religion to do their best, each in his own way, to make known to others
outside our body what things may be found within.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 21: An excellent example may be found in Butler's own
career. Destined for the ministry of the Church of England
(with his own full consent), he was set to teach a class in a
Sunday school. Finding that some of his pupils were unbaptized,
yet no worse-behaved than the others, and obviously quite
ignorant of what baptism meant, he abandoned all belief. His
biographer, equally ignorant, in narrating, with approval, this
change of opinion, says, "Paley had produced evidence of
Christianity, but none so unmistakable as this to the
contrary."]

[Footnote 22: Dr. Johnson once remarked that "to find a
substitution for violated morality was the leading feature in
all perversions of religion."]

III. WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE SYSTEM

Exclusive and long-c