"But the waves beat no longer unheard upon the beach; and the birds are loved by many for their voices as well as for their plumage. The mother hears her child’s cry, and the lover the footstep of the beloved. "Some, however, are still deaf, and others have not yet learned the language which is breathed so sweetly in the music of the fairies’ songs." *PART II* *CHAPTER VII* It was some weeks before Alan Sydney again returned to the story of his life. We often met, however, during this interval, both at his house and at mine. He seemed anxious to let me become better acquainted with his views and strange philosophy before describing any more of his experiences. So interesting did I find these discussions that, though still wishing to hear the conclusion of the tale, I did not press him to continue it. One evening, however, our conversation led back to the subject. We had been for some time discussing Buddhism; I had pointed out that many of the conclusions at which he had arrived resembled in certain ways the views professed by Eastern adepts. "Truth is to be found in every faith," he replied, "and these occult philosophers have cultivated one side of knowledge which has been overlooked by European scientists. At the same time any one who has taken the trouble personally to examine the foundation on which the reports of marvellous powers possessed by certain Orientals are based will, I feel sure, have arrived at the following conclusions-- "Firstly, the metaphysical knowledge of these men is far in advance of their physical power to make use of it. In other words, they know many secret laws of nature, but usually fail in manipulating these laws to any useful purpose, often to any purpose at all. The reason for this is obvious. They have cultivated one part only of the sixth sense, and have done even this at the expense both of body and mind; instead of perfecting every faculty and keeping their personality evenly balanced, they have become deformed. It is as if a man hitherto deaf and suddenly conscious of the sense of hearing, should shut himself tip in a dark room and refuse to receive any impressions save those conveyed by sound; he would probably make considerable progress in hearing, but he would necessarily suffer deterioration in his other faculties. "The knowledge and foretaste of power, which, through bodily and mental weakness, they can seldom exercise, have led many of the more unscrupulous seers to resort to trickery. Now and again they are able to perform what men call a miracle, and probably every wonder that we read of has at one time or another been performed, more or less accidentally, by some Eastern ascetic, but knowing the powers that do exist, and being unable to control them at will, they too frequently, either for profit or fame, turn for assistance to the most barefaced impostures.