d to the needs of the sick and poor, throws a
new light upon the souls of our contemporaries. There seems to exist
in every human being, no matter how deeply hidden, an inexhaustible
desire for contact with the Infinite. And this desire can be as easily
played upon by the tricks of impostors as by the holiness of saints, or
the divine grace of saviours.

PART III

THE DEPTHS OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

CHAPTER I

SECTS IN FRANCE AND ELSEWHERE

During the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the
twentieth century, scarcely a single country has been free from
religious manifestations of the most varied kind, all concerned with
new ways and means of attaining salvation; and if one were to include
all the different phases of occultism as well, one would be astounded
at the mystical ardour of which modern humanity is possessed.

From the spiritualists and the theosophists to the crystal-gazers and
the palmists, all these occult practices are, in reality, merely the
result of a more or less intensified desire to communicate with the
spiritual worlds.

France, although considered a country pre-eminently sceptical, has not
escaped the general tendency, for even in what appeared to be the most
rationalistic epoch--that of the Revolution--the "Cult of Reason" was
founded, to be succeeded by the "Religion of the Supreme Being"
introduced by Robespierre. And what numbers of new sects and religions
can be recorded since then!

There was, first of all, the _Theophilanthropy_ of Jean-Baptiste Chemin
and Valentine Hauy, representing the faith of those who love man in
God, and God in so far as He loves man. The Empire, in persecuting
this doctrine, only added to its vitality, for it has hot even yet
completely died out.

The religion of Father Enfantin, which had a great vogue in the last
century, conformed in many respects to the name of its founder. Man
and woman, united by religion, were to form priests "in duplicate" for
the guidance of their flock, young and old, lovers and married couples
alike. The Saint-Simonites--so admirable in some ways--allied
themselves to this doctrine, and succeeded in attracting a number of
sympathisers.

The life of French sects has always been of short duration, though
there have existed among them many that in other countries would
certainly have won for their founders the laurel-wreath of fame. Such
was, for instance, the _Church of France_, inaugurated by the