prospects soon began to look promising. As was
quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated.
But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met
with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of
certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his
profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury
helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his
spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of
business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the
coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his
marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April.

It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr.
Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr.
Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me,
had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days.
"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall
resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to
take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be
dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our
seances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the
complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally
materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at
least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this
subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written
very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand
exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed
experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make
public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most
greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary
for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him
will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his
co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that
it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are
about to do."

When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my
hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that
the spiritualists had utterl