plished German scholar. Without
being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and prodigies, her
mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, which lies beyond
the acknowledged boundaries of either faith or knowledge. She seems
to be entirely free from the sectarian spirit; she can look at facts
impartially, without reference to their bearing on favorite dogmas;
nor does she claim such a full, precise and completely-rounded
acquaintance with the mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from
intuition or revelation, as not to believe that there may be more
"things in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy."
In this respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of
certain religious journals in this city, like the _Christian Inquirer_
and _The Independent_, for instance--which have been so fully
initiated into the secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry
into such subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman,
_comme il faut_, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic
delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" in
manifestations which are not accounted for by the New-England Primer.
Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that there may be something
worthy of philosophical investigation in those singular phenomena,
which, surpassing the limits of usual experience, have not yet found
any adequate explanation.

"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the Germans, who
derive it from the language of astronomers, designating the side of
a planet that is turned from the sun, as its night side. The Germans
draw a parallel between our vague and misty perceptions, when deprived
of the light of the sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we
obtain of the vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising
the solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of
almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, the
author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic opinions. She
wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate observation, in order to
gain all possible light on our spiritual nature, both as it now exists
in the flesh and is to exist hereafter out of it.

"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a successful
realization of the purpose thus announced. It presents as full a
collection of facts on the subject as is probably to be found in any
work in the English language, furnishing material