Andrew Jackson Davis and the calm philosophy of Judge Edmonds, and will not fail to note how completely the latter is now superseded by modern writers, who are gradually engrafting upon the indigenous stem the most luxurious branches of the Oriental tree. What their philosophy will be in coming years can be conjectured only by those who observe what evolution has done for the Oriental philosophy during the thousands of years of its existence. The process of this evolution is easy to understand. The earlier mediums adopted the doctrines of Swedenborg, with certain amendments which seemed to them to be more in accord with reason and Divine justice. Those who followed, in turn adopted the main ideas of their predecessors, with amendments of their own. Each writer in succession amended the work of his predecessors in those respects in which it seemed to him to be imperfect, and each one had authority from the spirit-world which sanctioned the amendment. And thus the system grows in magnitude and perfection, and will continue to grow as long as men believe themselves to be inspired by extramundane intelligences. Now, the noteworthy facts connected with this evolutionary process are, first, that all believe that they obtain their authority for every statement of fact and every new idea direct from the spirits of the dead; and secondly, that every man who evolves a new idea, or is possessed of an old one, can easily have it confirmed by consulting a spirit medium, providing the proper suggestion is made to said medium. And this is true of all classes and ranks of mediums, from the common table-tipper to the Oriental ecstatic. If the medium is possessed of ideas of his own, and no outside suggestion is made, he will obtain information from the spirit world in exact accordance with his ideas. The same is true of all trance-seers, by whatever means the trance is brought about. Thus, Cahagnet, the French mesmerist, who devoted his life to mesmerizing subjects for the sole purpose of ascertaining what was going on in heaven, once mesmerized a French peasant, and directed him to visit the abode of the blest. This he promptly did, and reported that he saw a great white throne, surrounded by a great throng of people, all dressed in the most gorgeous apparel. On the throne was seated a man who was much larger than any of the rest, and who was further distinguished by the superior cut, make, fit, and material of his clothes. The peasant was sure that he had seen the Almighty, and so reported. It is obvious that he had simply seen a vision representing a peasant's idea of heaven. Cahagnet assured him that he must be mistaken, and quoted Bible authority to show that God himself has said, "There shall no man see me, and live." This was convincing to the simple-minded peasant, and Cahagnet advised him, the next time he was entranced, to ascertain if it was not a conclave of leading spirits that he saw, who were assembled for some purpose connected with the