Here we were joined by a dear sister, who I shall designate as May; like the May-flowers, she is beautiful and sweet; and hand clasped in hand, in silence,—and so far as I was concerned, in awe,—we listened to the enchanting strains of music evoked from stringed and keyed instruments, by the skillful fingers of their manipulators; and to the deep, rich tones, or bird-like, thrilling notes of the singers’ voices. I can never describe it. What I have said is but a faint type of all I witnessed in that marvelous temple; but the music!—the music was so grand, so powerful, so uplifting, and yet so sweet, so subtle, so enchanting, that I seemed floating away, with no thought but to soar upward to the very throne of Life and Love.
All petty affairs of life, all outward sense of existence melted away; and in the pure atmosphere of that celestial melody, my soul asserted itself in all its purest aspirations for the perfect completeness of life.
I love Zencollia for its divine harmony of sweet, inspiring music; and, oh, dear ones I love on earth, could you have been with me in spirit, my bliss would have been complete.
SOCIAL LIFE IN ZENCOLLIA.
In walking through the streets of beautiful Zencollia City, I have observed the perfect freedom of its inhabitants, the undisguised manner of living, the open frankness, and the confidence each one seems to repose in his neighbor, and also the unceremonious hospitality of each household; for every passer-by is welcome to enter, rest, refresh himself, and examine whatever excites an interest in his mind.
I have noticed this, because at first it appeared very strange to me—so at variance with the customs of mortals, who shut themselves up in their homes, becoming sometimes exclusive and ceremonious in their bearing toward others.
But I have learned that while it would be unwise and unsafe for mortals to leave their homes open to the inspection of every curious passer-by, and imprudent in the extreme for them to invite every stranger into their households, it is perfectly safe to do so in the spiritual city Zencollia, whose inhabitants are pure and spotless, who have become purged from all gross and carnal appetites and habits, who do not gossip and slander, who love each other, whose families are bound by the closest ties of tender sympathy and affection, and whose lives are so pure, so devoted to the welfare of others, they have nothing to conceal.
Every home is a shrine of prayerful praise; every family bows at the altar of Infinite Wisdom; each inhabitant has some lesson to repeat, or some experience to rehearse to the new-comer into these high spheres, that will be a guide to his feet; every habitation contains something of interest to the stranger who may have but recently ascended to the upper courts of Zencollia. And there is no risk in entertaining the stranger; for no impure, selfish, worldly-minded spirit can enter Zencollia; he could not breathe its refined atmosphere, the brilliancy of its light would blind him. For while it is true that exalted spirits can descend to lower spheres or conditions, where grossly-minded intelligences dwell, surrounded by the darkness which their mental state throws off, and there minister to the necessities of those earth-bound souls, yet it is as impossible for those spirits to ascend to the upper heights as it is for mortals to pierce the heavenly worlds with their material bodies; for as the physical keeps you down to earth, so the weight of passion keeps those spirits down.
Therefore, no impure spirit enters Zencollia, and none who dwell there fear to entertain the stranger, for all the inhabitants of that celestial city are possessed of clear vision, and they can readily read the interior thought and desire of whoever comes within their sphere.
The dwellers in that happy city associate together in groups, all working for the common good; each obeys the law which all assist in framing; everyone contributes to the welfare of the people, the beautifying of the city, the maintaining of free, open schools of instruction, and in upholding a good government.