CHAPTER XXXIII.

"THE MISSING LINK." _An Improvisation._ BY MRS. HELEN J. T. BRIGHAM. Dark night lay over the land, O'er the graves of all the dead, And all hearts were stirred, and filled With feelings deep and dread; Not without doubt and fearing, But as chilled by sudden gloom,-- No ray of comfort peering Through the door-way of the tomb! Their souls were sad and trembling On the river's dreary brink, They prayed that in death's shadows They might find the Missing Link! Yet love still seemed to be lost, Or like bird with broken wing, So weak, and lone, and helpless, That it could not soar and sing. How could this mouldered body Be renewed again, they said, When the golden day goes down To the midnight of the dead? See the little tender heart That love had so softly pressed, With its tiny dimpled hands Folded on its icy breast, While the mother's soul of love, Bends over the precious dead. Is it now by death transplanted Where no bitter tears are shed? Where, in answer to her prayer, In a region bright and fair, Safe beyond all earthly care, Angels lead her over there? Dear ones stood with broken heart, Torn from all their loves apart, Fathers, mothers with their dead, While their hopeless words were said! O land of crape and mourning, Land dark with midnight gloom, Is there no hope beyond us, And beyond the silent tomb? A land where there are no dead, Where no farewell tears are shed, Where there is no funeral pall Evermore--Does death end all? Like an infant's cradle rocking, Then there came a gentle knocking, And little children's hand Opened up the Spirit-land. O Missing Link! O blessed hand! That opened wide the heav'nly land! Those who once filled earth's fond places Watch and wait with angel faces. God speed thee, Book, that bears this truth-- Eternal life, eternal youth! Go, bear the gratitude of souls Far as Truth's endless being rolls![25] [25] It is generally known that the "inspirational speaker," Mrs. Nellie J. T. Brigham, has for several years conducted, at Republican Hall, West 33d Street, the religious services of the "First Association of Spiritualists" of New York, on Sunday mornings and evenings, with an improvised eloquence of extraordinary sweetness, strength, and holiness. The custom is this: After a prayer, etc., she improvises responses to questions or topics proposed by the audience, and also poems on subjects suggested by them on the spot. In the evening she improvises a single consecutive discourse, or what may be called a sermon, on some subject prompted to her by her Spirit guides. The practice in the morning is that as many of the promiscuous audience as choose deposit on the desk their questions, tending usually to the elucidation of topics more or less connected with Spiritualism. She has possessed and exercised this Spiritual gift since very early childhood. A few weeks ago, among the subjects for poems thus laid on her table was a copy of the title-page of this volume. Her improvisation in regard to it was the above poem, introduced by the following prefatory remarks. "We have with us this morning a lady, a Medium, who has been known for years among the Spiritualists as one who has sown the seed in the early forming of our faith, and scattered it with open heart and hand. This lady, well known to you as Mrs. Underhill, Leah Fox, has written a book, to be called 'The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism,' which you will soon have an opportunity of reading for yourselves. The dedication of it is most beautiful, as follows: 'To my husband, Daniel Underhill, who, before I had other claims than those of the Truth and the Right, when other friends wavered, nobly sustained me, this narrative is dedicated, gratefully and lovingly.' This is an expression of just appreciation. It is the soul of the Worker, and the soul of Justice, and the soul of a Wife. Nothing is needed to be added to it, but this is suggested as a subject for a poem." She then proceeded to deliver it. Two other subjects having been also suggested at the same time, she responded to them as follows: "THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL. "A drop from the infinite ocean, a ray from the infinite light, One thought from the God eternal, one impulse of his love and might, Held by the love of the Father in His circling arm's embrace, One grain of sand on the wide-spread land, is a soul in this human race. It cannot fall from his being, it never can die from sight, For His soul is ever in it, and eternity is His light." * * * * * "THE BENEFICENCE OF SUFFERING. "No pain can be in vain, no loss an endless cross, From every earthly grief shall come a sure relief, From every leaden sorrow the jewel of to-morrow." In the ranks of Mediumship there are no small number of noble men and women possessing this splendid power. They are called Inspirational or Trance Speakers. They speak as the mouth-pieces of Spirit guides, using not the singular pronoun, but the collective "We." The only two whom I happen to know are Mrs. Brigham and Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten. One of the most competent of judges has said of Mrs. Britten: "No living orator could improvise, on half a dozen different high and deep subjects, in style to compare with her. I have heard most of the great orators of our times, pulpit, forensic, and parliamentary, and she is the most eloquent man of them all." She and Mrs. Brigham have been well called "the Eagle and the Dove." [Illustration: _A. Leah Underhill._] FINALE. This volume has lengthened itself out much beyond the author's intention, and it is more than time to close it with the word which, in human life, is rarely uttered without some tone of pain in the trembling voice. It is only as I write it that I myself realize all there has been of nearness and of feeling, constituting a link of personal relation and sympathy between writer and reader; at least on her humble side. It seems as though, throughout the double process, reciprocal in its nature, we have come, by a sort of Spiritual communion, to know each other as friends--speaking for myself, I had almost said of loving friends. But "finale" is a less melancholy word to the Spiritualist than it is to those who are less penetrated with his knowledge that what men mistakenly shrink from as "death" is but the beginning of higher and happier life, developed in re-birth, like that which gives its bright wings to what was the creeping worm. And now, in thus gratefully taking leave of the readers who may have accompanied me, hand in hand, through pages of which every one has proceeded from my very heart and soul, I think I may also ask them to accompany me one single step further, in the following, which was once, letter by letter, dictated through me by Spirits at a circle in New York. I give it now as copied from the By-Laws of Circle No. 1. PRAYER. "Almighty and most merciful Father, who hast created us in thy wisdom, and sustained us by thy love, look down with compassion upon thy children here assembled, and assist us, we beseech thee, in our search after Thy truth. "Roll from our minds the clouds of error, ignorance, and superstition, that the light of Thy wisdom may shine upon us, cheering our hearts, enlightening our understandings, and rendering bright our pathway to Thy holy mansions, eternal in the heavens. "Suffer Thy holy Spirits to minister unto us, as our guardians and guides, to lead us from darkness to light, and place us on the plane of everlasting progression. "Drive far from us the darkness of our own errors and the mischiefs of our evil imaginings, and endue us with wisdom to receive and to know Thy truth. Teach us to seek knowledge with a single eye to our advancement and Thy glory, and defend us from all false doctrine. Enable us to know and to feel Thy love, and that, through Thy ministering Spirits, it is shielding us by day and watching over us by night, so that when we take our departure from this sphere, we may realize that the love of the Lord is the feast of the soul." [Illustration: THE HOUSE AT HYDESVILLE. Now (by the act of its wealthy and respected owner, Artemas W. Hyde, Esq.), bearing the inscription, "Here Spiritualism Originated, in 1848."] Transcriber's Note In this txt-version text in italics was surrounded with _underscores_, text in small capitals was changed to all capitals. Footnotes were placed after the paragraph they belong to. Transcriptions to the handwritten letters were added, words surrounded by = signs were =underlined= in the original. Anomalies and inconsistencies in the original have been preserved, for instance: the name of one of the Fox Sisters, Catherine, was spelled in many different ways: Cathie, Kate, Katy, etc. Errors in punctuation were silently corrected. Also the following corrections were made, on page 69 "preivous" changed to "previous" (except by previous arrangement.) 74 "paternal" changed to "maternal" (Her maternal grandfather was French) 269 "became" changed to "become" (having become open and) 278 "betwen" changed to "between" (sobbing between the children) 401 "apppendage" changed to "appendage" (lost that important appendage) 422 "stea's" changed to "steals" (that steals upon my frame).