assumed the role of a
prophet of this Materialistic faith. But it is not sufficient merely to
call the righteous to repentance, and Gud indulged his imagination to
think of some way to impress the skeptical Spiritualists with the truth
of the Materialist faith.

It was Fidu who gave Gud the idea for the great miracle, for Fidu had
remained close to his master, both of course, in their spiritual beings.

The ghosts were not aware that Fidu was among them, and not being
familiar with dogs they walked right through him, ignoring the poor
beast quite utterly, which was very humiliating to Fidu.

So Gud, in sympathy with the Underdog's humiliation, conceived of a
great idea, and he called the leaders of the Materialist sect together
and asked: "Have any of you ever sensed a material being?"

"No!" answered they, "we have never sensed matter, which is why we have
faith in its existence."

"True," said Gud, "enough for the faithful, but these infidels, some of
whom you neglected to crucify, have not faith without works. Let us
therefore create a material being wherewith to confound them."

"And of what will you create a material being?"

"I usually create things out of nothing," answered Gud.

"But Master," cried the Ghosts, "we have very little of nothing. How
much would it take?"

"It will suffice," said Gud, and he whistled to Fidu and straightway
materialized him.

A real live dog weighing about twenty-seven pounds, running around
through the ghosts, made quite a sensation; and it greatly delighted
those of the Materialist faith and converted most of the Spiritualists.

Gud thought for a time he had converted all the infidels and skeptics in
the realm to the true faith, but he later found that there was one
little band upon whom the materialization of Fidu had made no
impression. This sect denied the spiritual existence that they were
living, and taught that there was no such a thing as the spirit, but
that all was matter.

Gud could not understand why this sect should call themselves
Materio-Spiritists, since they were certainly not Spiritualists, as they
denied the existence of spirit--and yet they were not Materialists, for
they did not believe in matter as matter, but in spirit as matter.

These Materio-Spiritists were not impressed by the miracle Gud had
wrought in the interest of the orthodox Materialist faith. They believed
that all was matter, yet they did not recognize matter when they met it
in th