And so one little wayside blossom dared to lift its head above the arid soil, and to shed its fragrance over a bitter life,—the flower of Sympathy, which is so near akin to Love, that the angels consider them twin lilies blooming from one stem.
At this blessed moment, those earnest spirits who had longed for this surrounded the woman, dissipating the shadows with their brilliant presence, and revealing her to herself as she was. Horror, shame, anguish filled her spirit for a time; remorse for the good she had left undone pierced her through and through; but possessing strength, endurance, and energy, and assisted by her friends, she at length rallied and emerged from her old condition into a brighter one; her old garments dropped away, and womanly robes of simple fashion clothed her form, which soon rounded out in beauty of expression and symmetrical proportions. She is still growing, seeking to learn more of her new life, and to benefit others; and it is her delight to impress the receivers of her former fortune to expend a part of it for the benefit of others.
Thus have the wayside flowers of sympathy, love, benevolence, humility, and peace blossomed out from the defilement of selfishness and pride.
CHILDREN’S PROGRESSIVE LYCEUMS.
In this chapter, which I have devoted to the recital of scenes and incidents that occur in the spirit land, I must mention something concerning the Children’s Progressive Lyceums of that world, which are in session at this hour. I will give a description of that school which daily convenes in the massive temple at Spring Garden City, dedicated to Truth and Education. In this, as in all of our spirit lyceums, spiritual principles and aspirations are inculcated, and a knowledge of the laws of life instilled into the young minds who throng its spacious halls.
In that delightful temple, adorned with the artistic expressions of grace and beauty, where snowy statuary gleam out from nook and corner, displaying the sculptor’s skill, marvelous creations of ideality, representing all the grace and loveliness of human conception; where beautiful paintings adorn the crystal walls: scenes of natural beauty, glowing landscapes, gleaming water pictures, representations of calm and peaceful life, which the artist-soul has caused to speak a lesson from inert canvas; where the ceiling is carved in delicate forms of beauty, and the open walls invite the perfume of the flower and the balm of the passing breeze; where in truth all the surroundings are calculated to awaken only thoughts of the good, to develop a love of the beautiful in the growing mind, and to cause sensation to glow and blossom under the light of Purity;—groups of spirit children meet to learn the lessons of life, develop all the highest, noblest attributes of mind, and to cultivate the strongest, purest health for the outward form.
There spirit teachers gather, to give instruction to these young souls; to draw forth the inner powers of the undeveloped minds under their charge, and to inculcate on them the principles of true spirituality, which are love, purity, fidelity to truth, and a sense of justice.
And these groups of innocent children, from the prattling babe to the laughing youth or maiden, present a picture at once sublime and inviting. Whether chanting in chorus their beautiful spiritual hymns, which awaken devotion, or delivering in concert their golden-chain recitations, which tell of the wisdom and boundless love of our Father; whether relating some simple story of actual experience, or transmitting the grand and soul-inspiring utterances of others; whether exercising the limbs in wing movements, or performing the graceful and strengthening evolutions of the grand triumphal march; in each and all of these they present a picture of youthful beauty and innocence, of developing power and purpose, which strikes the beholder with the conviction that these groups of spirits are yet to wield a mighty power. By-and-bye those young souls will depart to take their places as teachers, guides, and helpers to the needy and lowly of earth, or to the ignorant, darkened minds who enter spirit life covered with the pall of superstition and fear; and to such beings they will prove a light that will brighten the highway to knowledge.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN SPIRIT LYCEUMS.
These spirit lyceums are schools of education where thought is developed and love awakened; where beautiful sights and sounds arouse the young spirit into activity, and draw it into a condition of perfect harmony. The lessons are all instructive while entertaining, and are drawn from some natural object of bird or blossom, or taken from some beautiful painting, or group of statuary, which represents the idea to be conveyed to the mind grasping for knowledge.