“Dear brothers and sisters of the earth-life!  On pearly wings of gossamer-down we float down from our shining speers to bring you messages of the higher life.  Let your earth-soul be lifted to meet our sperrut-soul; let your earth-heart blend in sweet accordion with our heaven-heart; that the beautiful and the true in this weary earth-life may receive the bammy influence of the Eden flowrets, and rise, through speers of disclosure, to the plane where all is beautiful and all is true.”

He continued in this strain for some time, to the evident edification of his audience, who listened with the same conventional tolerance, the same trust that it is doing your neighbor good, with which the ordinary audience sits under an ordinary sermon.  Maud, having a special reason for being alert, listened with a real interest.  But during his speech proper he made no allusion to the subject on which she had asked for light.  It was after he had finished his harangue, and had gone through an entr’acte of sighs and shudders, that he announced himself once more in the hands of the higher intelligences, and ready to answer questions.  “It does not need,” he whined, “the word of the month or the speech of the tongue to tell the sperruts what your souls desire.  The burden of your soul is open to the sperrut-eye.  There sits in this room a pure and lovely soul in quest of light.  Its query is, How does heart meet heart in mutual knowledge?”

Maud’s cheek grew pale and then red, and her heart beat violently.  But no one noticed her, and the seer went on.  “If a true heart longs for another, there is no rest but in knowledge, there is no knowledge but in trewth, there is no trewth but in trust.  Oh, my brother, if you love a female, tell your love.  Oh, my sister, if you love—­hum—­if you love—­hum—­an individual of the opposite sex—­oh, tell your love!—­Down with the shams of a false-hearted society; down with the chains of silence that crushes your soul to the dust!  If the object of your hearts’ throbs is noble, he will respond.  Love claims love.  Love has a right to love.  If he is base, go to a worthier one.  But from your brave and fiery heart a light will kindle his, and dual flames will wrap two chosen natures in high-menial melodies, when once the revelating word is spoke.”

With these words he subsided into a deep trance, which lasted till the faithful grew tired of waiting, and shuffled slowly out of the door.  When the last guest had gone, he rose from his chair, with no pretence of spiritual dignity, and counted his money and his tickets.  He stretched himself in two chairs, drew his fingers admiringly through his lank locks, while a fatuous grin of perfect content spread over his face, as he said aloud to himself, “She has got it bad.  I wonder whether she will have the nerve to ask me.  I’ll wait awhile, anyhow.  I’ll lose nothing by waiting.”

Meanwhile, Maud was walking rapidly home with Sam.  She was excited and perplexed, and did not care to answer Sam’s rather heavy pleasantries over the evening’s performance.  He ridiculed the spirit-lights, the voices, and the jugglery, without provoking a reply, and at last he said: