but mental power."

He paused a minute or two, and again went on:

"When you have educated your Will to a certain height of electric
command, you can at your pleasure see at any time, and see plainly, the
spirits who inhabit the air; and also those who, descending to long
distances below the Great Circle, come within the range of human
electricity, or the attractive matter contained in the Earth's
atmosphere. You can converse with them, and they with you. You will
also be able, at your desire, to see the parted spirits of dead
persons, so long as they linger within Earth's radius, which they
seldom do, being always anxious to escape from it as soon as possible.
Love may sometimes detain them, or remorse; but even these have to
yield to the superior longings which possess them the instant they are
set free. You will, in your intercourse with your fellow-mortals, be
able to discern their motives quickly and unerringly--you will at once
discover where you are loved and where you are disliked; and not all
the learning and logic of so-called philosophers shall be able to cloud
your instinct. You will have a keener appreciation of good and
beautiful things--a delightful sense of humour, and invariable
cheerfulness; and whatever you do, unless you make some mistake by your
own folly, will carry with it its success. And, what is perhaps a
greater privilege, you will find that all who are brought into very
close contact with you will be beneficially influenced, or the reverse,
exactly as you choose to exert your power. I do not think, after what
you have seen, you will ever desire to exert a malign influence,
knowing that the Creator of your being is all love and forgiveness. At
any rate, the greatest force in the universe, electricity, is
yours--that is, it has begun to form itself in you--and you have
nothing to do but to encourage its growth, just as you would encourage
a taste for music or the fine arts. Now let me give you the writings."

He unlocked a desk, and took from it two small rolls of parchment, one
tied with a gold ribbon, the other secured in a kind of case with a
clasp. This last he held up before my eyes, and said:

"This contains my private instructions to you. Never make a single one
of them public. The world is not ready for wisdom, and the secrets of
science can only be explained to the few. Therefore keep this parchment
safely under lock and key, and never let any eye but your own look upon
its content