Prev | Current Page 202 | Next

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864

"Passages from the English Notebooks, Volume 1."

"]

July 6th.--The day after my arrival, by way of Lichfield and Uttoxeter,
at Liverpool, the door of the Consulate opened, and in came the very
sociable personage who accosted me at the railway station at Leamington.
He was on his way towards Edinburgh, to deliver a course of lectures or a
lecture, and had called, he said, to talk with me about spiritualism,
being desirous of having the judgment of a sincere mind on the subject.
In his own mind, I should suppose, he is past the stage of doubt and
inquiry; for he told me that in every action of his life he is governed
by the counsels received from the spiritual world through a medium. I
did not inquire whether this medium (who is a small boy) had suggested
his visit to me. My remarks to him were quite of a sceptical character
in regard to the faith to which he had surrendered himself. He has
formerly lived in America, and had had a son born there. He gave me a
pamphlet written by himself, on the cure of consumption and other
diseases by antiseptic remedies. I hope he will not bore me any more,
though he seems to be a very sincere and good man; but these enthusiasts
who adopt such extravagant ideas appear to one to lack imagination,
instead of being misled by it, as they are generally supposed to be.

NEWBY BRIDGE.--FOOT OF WINDERMERE.

July 13th.--I left Liverpool on Saturday last, by the London and
Northwestern Railway, for Leamington, spent Sunday there, and started on
Monday for the English lakes, with the whole family.


Pages:
190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214