Her wild longing for solitude, the hatred of society of any kind, her dislike to the city, and her desire to bury herself and her griefs in some uninhabited spot, had surrounded her spirit with this deep forest, within which no step disturbed her lonely vigils. She had realized that she could not kill the soul; she had found herself in this wild spot, alone and unclaimed, and for a time was thankful that no eye could look upon her.
But the silence, gloom, and solitude produced such an effect upon her spirit that a terrible reaction set in. She had had time to reflect, to realize her past life, and the cause of much of her misery. She had wept, and at last even prayed; and here alone with herself she had recognized her dependence upon humanity, and the duties she owed to it and to her own immortal nature. Then came a longing for companionship, a desire to leave this dreadful place, and a wish that she might go away where she could begin a new life, and be happy, innocent, and good like others.
Weary with contending emotions, she had sunk down exhausted, and her guardian spirit, who was no other than her own mother, and who had never left her, threw her into a deep trance, in which we found her, still attended by that mother-soul.
Raising the stricken being in our arms, we three spirits bore her away from the solitude, gloom, and darkness out into a beautiful valley, where the sun shone warmly, the birds warbled in the branches of the trees, the blue waters of a stream gurgled playfully between green banks, where flowers bloomed in fragrance and beauty, and laying her gently upon one of the mossy beds, we assisted the mother-spirit in bringing back the senses of her child.
Soon the blue eyes opened, and as they began to take in the scene around her, they filled with a happy light, and a peaceful smile played around her pallid lips. Very weak was this child of God, and we left her upon the fragrant couch, where balmy breezes bore new healing to her weary frame.
But not long; again and again we visited her, and shortly after found that she had been taken to a tiny, white cottage by her mother, where she was constantly growing stronger and better.
At times, thoughts of the old life would cause her cheek to blanch and frame to shudder; but as she was so thoroughly regretful for whatever had been wrong in her life, and was filled with such a desire to atone for past errors, and to learn the laws of her being, to perform whatever work my friend and teacher appointed her to do, she was so willing to learn and so anxious to aid others, that the memory of earth at last ceased to pain her, and now only serves to deepen in her soul a tender sympathy, and gentle, helpful love for the suffering and sin-tried souls who dwell on earth.
We call her “Charity,” and she has become a tender helper wherever a poor soul is in need of strength or encouragement; she goes out alone into the darkness, where others are suffering, and with her spirit love dispels the gloom, and sends rays of hope and mercy into the lowly depths of degradation and sorrow.
Above I have described scenes I have witnessed in the inner or soul-life of individuals, whose moral perceptions were but insufficiently developed, or had been warped and limited in action during their residence in the material form. Let me attempt to convey to you an idea of a scene I not long since witnessed in connection with a terrible disaster occurring upon the earthly plane.