"At first thought it would seem so," answered Ah Ben. "A mile
certainly appears to be an absolute unchanging quantity of so many
feet, which must always and under every circumstance affect us in the
same way; and yet a little reflection will show that this can not be
so, and that a mile, after all, is only fixed so long as our mind is
fixed. In other words, it is a mental conception, and relative to
other mental conceptions. Let us, for example, suppose that the world
and all its contents, and, in fact, the entire universe, were exactly
twice as large as it is, the mile would then be twice as long as it
is now; and that which we _now_ call a mile would only make the
impression of half as much distance as it now does. And so with all
material conditions; I say _material_, for in the spiritual life we
see these things more truly as they are, and not as they appear.
There is but one class of facts which is absolute. I speak of the
emotions. These are the realities of life--the soul qualities. Could
we measure _love_, _hate_, or _happiness_, the standard would be
fixed."

"Do not forget your promise to show me something more of your power
in the region of occultism," said Henley, "for I am greatly
interested."

"I will keep my word, but I warn you to prepare for a shock!"

"I am ready, and should like nothing better than to witness an
example of your greatest power!"

The old man looked solemn, and then slowly answered:

"You shall be gratified. It is now past midnight. Dorothy is asleep,