Rocky Nook is not a cold, bleak, barren place, though, as its name indicates, there are plenty of rocks or stones to be found there. These stones are round, smooth, and shining, of varied colors and different sizes; they are so clear and beautiful you can see the white sand shining through them, and when the sunlight falls upon them they glow with all the colors of the rainbow, and sparkle like precious gems. Rocky Nook is really a beach, composed of gleaming white sand and covered with these shining stones. Here also may be found delicate rose-tinted and snowy shells of different forms, which are more beautiful than any shell you ever saw on earth. The water is clear as crystal, and when it is quiet reflects the blue sky and spotless clouds; moss and anemones grow in the limpid depths that have the appearance of a great flower garden, so beautiful is the vegetable growth therein. Sometimes the sea comes roaring to the shore in great foamy billows, making a musical sound like the chiming of many bells, that is very pleasant to hear. Little boats or shallops may be seen upon this shining water, filled with groups of many children who love to float upon the bosom of the great deep. These little ones are never afraid, for there is nothing to fear. Should the boats be tipped over, which, however, I think never occurs, nothing more than a dip in the water would happen to their inmates, as spirits cannot drown; and the children often take their bath in this great basin, sporting with the waves and laughing with great glee.
Rocky Nook extends its shiny length for some distance along the shore. Here and there we perceive little pavilions built of the shining stones, each one laid with precision and skill. Some of these little temples are circular in form, and others are of the octagon shape; but all are beautiful in appearance. These little buildings have been erected by the children who live here, and serve as play-houses for them. This work gives them a knowledge of architecture and design, and will serve as models for something grander to be attempted by-and-bye. In walking over the smooth stones, which are not rugged to our feet, we reach a great structure built of snow-white coral, and are surprised to learn that here in the spirit world must exist those tiny creatures who form this strange, perforated substance, since the coral could not be there had there been no coral-builders to create it.
Today I found a group of happy children who were laughing, dancing, and singing in great glee. Their hearts were merry and glad; not a frown marred the beauty of their faces, nor an ungentle word ruffled the silvery flow of speech and song that issued from their lips. Yet these little ones had known suffering, pain, and misery; their earthly homes had been filled with poverty and cruelty; many times they had felt the biting cold of winter, and suffered for the want of something to eat. Their parents were poor and ignorant, who neglected their children and could not properly care for them. So the little ones pined away and “died,”—that is, their little bodies perished, but their spirits were taken to the Summer-land and placed under the care of loving and tender women, who ministered to their wants, attended to them assiduously, taught them lessons of love and truth, until they have outgrown the unhappy condition which their earth life surrounded them with, and are the joyous, gentle children whom I today saw smiling and singing with glee.
These are the little folks who dwell in Rocky Nook. Here, by the side of the clear and sparkling water, they live in little houses built far back from the sands, surrounded by groves of trees and beds of flowers. They have the benefit of the clear and bracing air that blows across the bright waters, and can also enjoy the shady retreats of the old trees that wave their branches a little way inland. Every day the children gather on the sands and study the composition of the rocks and shells and corals, or sail in their “floats,” or bathe in the cool, refreshing sea. They have erected the structure of coral of which I have spoken, with great nicety and skill, fitting piece by piece into each other with the utmost precision, and have left it upon the sand as a shining beacon to their playmates and friends who dwell on Sunny Isle, a beautiful spot across the water.
I suppose my little friends on earth know that when people are cramped by ignorance and poverty, they have to bend all their energies in struggling to live, and that the spiritual part of their natures, not having opportunity to grow, becomes dwarfed and stunted. When the little folks who live in Rocky Nook first came to the Summer-land, they were pale and puny in appearance, weak and languid; but the bracing air of this beautiful sea-side home, the enjoyments of its outdoor sports, the loving care and instructions of its keepers, the bewitching study of the lessons it has to teach, soon tone up the entire system of the children brought here, and they grow strong and active, anxious to learn the lessons, to help each other, and to become smart and good men and women. And thus it is the children who might have grown up on earth in an atmosphere of sin and evil, becoming depraved men and women, when taken to the Summer-land are cared for and educated to be useful and honorable members of society.
The children of Rocky Nook have all the advantages of the highest instruction that life affords. All branches of education are open to them, and they advance rapidly in knowledge; for, like all spirits who are not confined to the earth, they are quick to grasp and retain information, their powers of perception and observation being very keen. As these children grow in stature and wisdom, and arrive at the stage of early manhood or womanhood, they leave the homes and schools of Rocky Nook, and enter into association with advanced spirits who have long labored in connection with good people on earth to lessen human ignorance, and teach mortals how to live better lives. Their places at the beautiful sea-side resort are quickly filled by other waifs from earthly life, who are carried there to receive instruction and growth, and prepare themselves to become teachers and guides to ignorant and suffering ones of earth.
The little children who live in Rocky Nook seldom come back to earth. The memory of their mortal life is unpleasant, and they do not like to think of it; but as they grow and become wise and good, and learn of the sad condition of many poor people who live here, they have a desire to help them. Then these bright spirits find their mission, which is to lift up some lowly one, to make strong some person who does wrong, so that he or she can resist evil temptation. They then prepare themselves for the work before them, and when the time comes they leave their pleasant home by the water and seek the company of those spirits who are experienced in working for humanity, by whom they are guided in their labor of benefiting mortals.
Let me tell you something, dear children, that perhaps you have never heard. You know, I suppose, that there are many little ones on earth who are growing up in ignorance and amid the dreadful conditions of extreme poverty and crime. Well, the dark and immoral surroundings of their lives attract undeveloped spirits who have not outgrown their evil inclinations; and such spirits live over again their lives of sin in connection with those who grow up amid such adverse conditions. But, while the unfortunate children are thus unpleasantly situated, each is attended by a guardian angel or messenger of light, who watches every opportunity to benefit and bless them, and who will be with them until they emerge from sin and unhappiness to a condition of purity and peace, even though it be not until they have passed from earth and lived many years in the spirit world.
Such spirits as those who live in Rocky Nook are the guardian angels of the poor, ignorant, unclean, and miserable children of earth; their mission is to attend these unhappy creatures, and to work in their behalf, prompting a good thought or generous impulse in their hearts whenever conditions are favorable; watching over and looking after them, visiting the more fortunate ones of earth and influencing them to pity, assist, and teach their miserable fellow-beings. Thus they toil on, attending their charge even though it live a life of error, going with it to the spirit world and working upon its sensibilities, until at last, in some way, it recognizes the presence of the good angels, turns from the evil ones around it, repents of the past, seeks for light, finds it, and begins to labor for the good of others. And so Rocky Nook is a school of preparation where teachers become qualified to minister to the needs of the lowliest of earth; it is a beautiful spot, and well worthy a place in the Summer-land. The labor that its inmates perform is destined to out-work grand results to humanity; and when earth’s favored children co-operate with them, the victory over ignorance and evil will soon be won.
Sunny Isle is a beautiful island that is covered with the greenest of grass, and spangled with the sweetest and prettiest of flowers. The sun sheds its golden rays upon a number of cosy homes on this radiant island, in which little children dwell together in harmony and love. The houses on Sunny Isle are circular in form, and composed of a white material which resembles the marble of earth, only more transparent; the roofs are supported by pillars, around which flowering vines twine, shedding their fragrance upon the balmy air. The interiors of these homes are decorated with beautiful pictures and statuary, and furnished with pretty yet simple furniture for comfort and convenience of the inmates.