stand well on its own feet and make a circle for itself?  Think of that rather.  For my part, there’s nothing to be done with me, as I said; that is, there’s nothing to be done with my publishers, who just do as they like with my books, and don’t like to do much good for me with them, whatever they may do for themselves.  I am misanthropical in respect to the booksellers.  They manage one as they please, and not at all to please one.  I have no more to say to the fate of my books than you have—­and not much more to pocket.  This third edition, for instance, which should have been out four or five months ago, they are keeping, I suppose, for the millennium, encouraged probably by the spiritual manifestations; and my personal manifestations meanwhile have as much weight with them as facts have with Faraday, or the theory of fair play with the London ‘Athenaeum.’  I am sick of it all, indeed.  I look down on it all as the epicurean gods do on the world without putting out a finger to save an empire; perhaps because they can’t.  Long live the ——­, who are kings of us.  It’s the best thing possible, I conclude, in this best of possible social economies, though for ourselves individually it may not be a very good thing; not precisely what we should choose.  Think of the separate book of outlines.  Seriously, Robert and I recommend you to consider it.  You might make a book for drawing-room tables which would be generally acceptable if not too expensive.  And Mr. Spicer is bringing me more?  How kind of you.  And when is he coming?  Scarcely could anyone come as a stranger whom I desire more to see, and I do hope he will bring me facts and fantasies too on the great subject which is interesting me so deeply.  His book of ’Sights and Sounds’ we have read, but the new book has not penetrated to us.  ‘Sights and Sounds’ is very curious, and the authenticity of its facts has been confirmed to me by various testimonies, but the author is too clever for his position; I mean too full of flash and wit.  There’s an air of levity, and of effective writing, without which the book would have been more impressive and convincing; don’t you think so?  And here we get to the heart of most of the difficulties of the subject.  Why do we make no quicker advances, do you say?  Why are our communications chiefly trivial?  Why, but because we ourselves are trivial, and don’t bring serious souls and concentrated attentions and holy aspirations to the spirits who are waiting for these things?  Spirit comes to spirit by affinity, says Swedenborg; but our cousinship is not with the high and noble.  We try experiments from curiosity, just as children play with the loadstone; our ducks swim, but they don’t get beyond that, and won’t, unless we do better. To prove what I say, consider what you say yourself, that you couldn’t manage to draw the same persons together again (these very persons being persuaded of the verity of the spiritual communications they were in reach of) on account of the difficulties of the London season.  Difficulties of the London season!  The inconsequence of human nature is more wonderful to me than the ingress of any spirits could be.  This instance is scarcely credible....