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Page:Randolph, Paschal Beverly; Eulis! the history of love.djvu/119

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114
Affectional Alchemy.

snow twice bolted by the northern blast,' through his warped and discolored glasses, wear a mottled hue.

"'A whisper broke the air—
A soft, light tone, and low,
Yet barbed with shame and woe!
Nor might it only perish there,
No farther go!
 
"'Ah, me! a quick and eager ear
Caught up the little meaning sound;
Another voice then wreathed it clear,
And so it wandered round,
From ear to lip, from lip to ear,
Until it reached a gentle heart,
And that—it broke!'"

Now observe that it is inflexibly true that every slanderer, of whatever gender, is nearly always a long, lank, little, lilly-livered, tucked-up, wizenish being, without any plumpness, either of body, spirit or manner; they are invariably disappointed, unloving, three-cornered folks, without the slightest love save that of self; and when modern spiritualism came along thousands of such rushed into its ranks, disgraced the cause and themselves, and foisted their miserable twaddle upon the world as true supernalism, when, in fact, spiritualism really had nothing to do with it whatever. As at present constituted that ism contains, within its ranks, three, nay, four, sorts of people, ist. Those who hail it as the demonstration of human continuance beyond the grave, and the celestial harbinger of the good time coming. These people are true supernalists; and among them have I ever found sympathizers, and people fit for the heaven they seek. 2d. A large class of social revolutionists under various leaderships, who, accepting the facts, are eager to push on toward the realization of the promised good time. These two comprise the army whose iconoclastic blows right and left are demolishing some of the idols of the Past; but they are builders yet, and it remains to be seen what sort of edifice they will give us in lieu of those now crumbling before their fierce artillery. 3d. A smaller class who cling to old traditions; insist upon tying this century to