--April 15, 1893





The Secret of Power




It is not merely because it is extraordinary that I wish to tell
you this story. I think mere weirdness, grotesque or unusual character,
are not sufficient reasons for making public incidents in which
there is an element of the superhuman. The world, in spite of its
desire to understand the nature of the occult is sick of and refuses
to listen to stories of apparitions which betray no spiritual
character or reveal no spiritual law. The incident here related is
burned into my mind and life, not because of its dramatic intensity
or personal character, but because it was a revelation of the secret
of power, a secret which the wise in good and the wise in evil alike
have knowledge of.

My friend Felix was strangely disturbed; not only were his material
affairs unsettled, but he was also passing through a crisis in his
spiritual life. Two paths were open before him; On one side lay
the dazzling mystery of passion; on the other "the small old path"
held out its secret and spiritual allurements. I had hope that
he would choose the latter, and as I was keenly interested in his