rest again.
And because it is at rest, I know that I have done well. I believe that
what dear Tom's father desires to do--namely, to spend this night in
the Grey Room--is now within his province and entirely proper to his
profession, and I share his perfect faith and confidence."

"It is you who lack faith, Mary," continued Septimus May. "You lack
faith, otherwise you would appreciate the unquestionable truth of what
your father tells you. Listen," he continued, "and understand something
of what this means from a larger outlook than our own selfish and
immediate interests. Much may come of my action for the Faith at large.
I may find an answer to those grave questions concerning the life beyond
and the whole problem of spiritualism now convulsing the Church and
casting us into opposing sections. It is untrodden and mysterious
ground; but I am called upon to tread it. For my part, I am never
prepared to flout inquirers if they approach these subjects in a
reverent spirit. We must not revile good men because they think
differently from ourselves. We must examine the assertions of such
inquirers as Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Conan Doyle in a mood of reverence
and sympathy. Some men drift away from the truth in vital particulars;
but not so far that they cannot return if the road is made clear to
them.

"We must remember that our conviction of a double existence rests on the
revelation of God through His Son, not on a mere, vague desire toward
a future life common to all sorts and conditions of men. They suspected
and hoped; we know. Science may explain that general desire if it
pleases; it cannot explain, or destroy, the triumphant certainty born
of faith. Spiritualism has succeeded to the biblical record of
'possession,' and I, for my part, of course prefer what my Bible
teaches. I do not myself find that the 'mediums' of modern spiritualism
speak with tongues worthy of much respect up to the present, and it is
certain that rogues abound; but the question is clamant. It demands
to be discussed by our spiritual guides and the fathers of the Church.
Already they recognize this fact and are beginning to approach it--some
priests in a right spirit, some--as at the Church Congress last
month--in a wrong spirit."

"A wrong spirit, May?" asked Sir Walter.

"In my opinion, a wrong spirit," answered the other. "There is much,
even in a meeting of the Church Congress, that makes truly religious men
mourn. They laughed when they