O me, it seems strange that in this age of reason, when the supernatural is rejected by normal minds and the church hastens to harmonize its teachings with those of science, that a sect or coterie of thinkers—brilliant ones, too—should attempt to foist upon the world such fantastic infractions of natural law."

"But Charley, they do no such thing. While miracles of the adepts may seem infractions to the uninitiated, they themselves do not endorse them as such. As the wonders of to day would have been miracles to a past age, so do the marvels they produce, appear to science in its present stage. They merely contend that their so-called miracles are but the manifestations of eternal laws, too subtle for the present day physicists to grasp, but which, through ultimate evolution, they will some day not only accept but demonstrate."

"With all respect to our friend, I still hold that their propositions are absurd, and that hypothetical possibilities, such as yours, may be carried beyond the limits of legitimate scientific speculation. For instance, take Madame Blavatsky's miracle of the plate. The set was of a peculiar make, no duplicates of which were to be found in all India. At a picnic lunch, having received an unforseen addition to their number, they are one dish short. She calls the adepts—at that moment in the Himalayas or Thibet—to her aid. They project an intense psychic force across oceans and continents to Germany, where, in the factory, are to be found the only duplicates. There, with successful ascendancy of mind over matter, they break the cohesion which holds the molecules of a certain plate together; disintergrate the molecules to atoms, till it becomes merely a force or the extremest refinement of matter; and bring these vaporous constituents of the plate to India. All this time, which is in the twinkling of an eye, the manipulators have remained in their mountain fastnesses. When the disembodied plate arrives at the picnic ground, it reintegrates; each molecule resumes its old position relative to all companion molecules; and deposits itself under the bushes, where it is the next instant discovered by one of the party. If that is not the wildest of poppy-cock, I leave it to our friend, who is certainly deep enough in theosophic lore, to set me aright."

The person thus addressed, a middle-aged gentleman, whose face combined the brooding wisdom of the Sphynx and the mysterious solemnity of a Monte Cristo, replied:

"You are right and you are wrong: right, by the glasses through which you view the phenomena of the universe; wrong, because of the narrow limitations inherent with such lenses. You acknowledge the philosophical axiom, that the finite cannot contemplate the infinite? Then, as the finite evolves and increases its powers of reception and conception, the field of its contemplation widens; as witness the science of to day, which you have mentioned. Since this contemplative or conceptionate territory which the world at present enjoys is greater than that of the preceding century, may not the same difference be found between individuals existing contemporaneously? Thus, one hundred years ago, telegraphy was beyond practical conception; and thus, to day the disintegration and reintegration of form by psychic impulses, is beyond both yours and the popular conception. You consider it hypothetically irreasonable. But is your fiat absolute? Do you take upon yourself the infinite knowledge necessary to declare that such is infinitely impossible? Surely you would not be so egotistical. On this point, then, your only consistent attitude must be that of agnosticism—you do not know but would like to know. Do you follow me?"

"Yes," returned Charley, "but such a passive position, long continued, is not compatible with my positive temperament: I inevitably slip into the illogical ratiocinations of skepticism. If I were to receive demonstrations, proofs, occasionally, I would not lapse. But there's the rub—how am I to obtain them?"

"Perhaps I can aid you," replied the mysterious personage. "I have profoundly studied the tenents and natural philosophy of esoteric Buddhism; nay, though this be a secret, I have not only served my adeptship in that weird brotherhood, but have become a full-fledged mahatma. It is in my power to convince you, and I shall so do if you are willing. Shall I tear your astral form from its sublunary habitation and send it gasping through the empyrean? But these celestial peregrinations are tiresome rot after all—can you not think of something original?

"While I must confess that I never looked upon you in the light of a Heliobas the Second, I'll take your word for it. There is nothing I would like better than to leave this mundane sphere for a space; to gaze from afar, upon this clayey habitation of mine; to—but I have it—best of all! Jack, you remember that little wish you uttered, sailing home yesterday?"

"What wish? You know they are legion. Was it that castle of mine in Spain? Or the Duchess—fond creature of my imagination?"

"No, no. Come back to earth. Can't you recollect? Haydee and Dora, you and I?"

"Oh! the very thing!" Turning to the mahatma—"we may as well let you into our little secret: perhaps you can help us. Charley has a sister—an adorable creature—far prettier than her pretty name, Haydee, and as good as she is beautiful. I also have a sister, Dora, over whom Charley likewise raves. Charley and I like each other; but we love each other's sister. We are not bashful—er—that is, we don't know how exactly—ah—well, we don't know each other's sister as well as we should. Not that we are not well enough acquainted, but we don't know the right way to go at it—you comprehend. Now if I were Charley, that is, if Charley were to propose to his sister, he would understand her so well that he would know just how to do it. The same is true of me and my sister. So if Charley and I could change places for awhile, we could carry off things swimmingly, then change back again, and hail for the wedding day!"

"Ah! I see," interposed the mahatma. "What you would desire is that each proposes to the other's sister by proxy, the brother of the girl proposed to, to be the proxy. I believe that I cam arrange it. I have merely to separate your astral forms from your bodies; then to return them, each into the other's corporosity. Thus: the spirit personality of Jack shall inhabit and actuate the material personality of Charley and vice a versa. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" in chorus.

"To be translated."

The chums glanced at each other in surprise and trepidation, then burst into hearty laughter, while the mahatma regarded them with imperturbable expectancy. Their laughter died away and his solemnity begat a similar seriousness with them. Again he asked if they were ready, but this time received a skeptical affirmation.

The process was simple. Placing them side by side on a divan, he literally stared each in turn out of countenance, and incidentally, consciousness. What he then did was of a too esoteric nature to be revealed to the vulgar mind; but it was evident that he had succeeded, for with a smile of satisfaction he put on his gloves, took his hat and walking stick, and went down town, leaving them on deep slumber.

The shadows lengthened across the room and the afternoon had worn well along, before the stentorian breathing of the sleepers ceased. Awakening, they regarded each other with wondering eyes, each acutely susceptible to the fact that change had been accomplished.

"Who would have believed it," cried Charley, "that we could so successfully swap souls!"

"That involves a doubt," Jack replied, as he drew from his pocket and dubiously regarded a packet of pet cigarettes. "Which is the dominant factor? The body or the soul? If it is the latter, we have merely swapped bodies, and incidentally, clothes. By the way, take theses cigarettes and feel in my pockets, or rather, in the pockets of my agrments, which clothe my body, but which you now inhabit, and pass me my cigar case. I never could stand those coffin nails of yours."

"Let's trade the contents of our pockets at once."

"No. I had not thought of it before, buut it would be absurd. Think of me appearing at my—I mean your house—and every body taking me to be you, with all my things in your pockets. And vice a versa: think of yourself at my house, and considered by my family as myself, with all of your belongings in my pockets—O pshaw! This commingling of the first and second persons is too puzzling to allow perspicuity of diction; but you see my point I hope."

"O yes, I can grasp it quickly as an abstraction, but fail in lucidity were I to attempt a concrete analysis. It is like the process of assigning the quantities of X and Y when constructing an equation. Let's see if we can make a formula—one easy to remember:

X Jack's soul

Y Charley's soul A Jack's body

B Charley's body

Therefore X A Jack

and Y B Charley.

But Jack is now]] X A] A] B or X B

And Charley is]] Y B] B] A or Y A

"Do you now comprehend who and what you are, Jack?"

"O yes, and I'll never forget it. I am X A B A. And you are—"

"Y B A B."

"Well, since we have settled our identities, let's go home—here! that's my hat!"

"No, it is not. Don't you remember I am Y A and this is A's hat, or your body's hat, but your hat for you are X B and must take B's hat."

"Oh! I see."

And they awkwardly exchanged chapeaux, and as awkwardly descended the stairs; for at first it was quite difficult to navigate each other's bodies. Acquaintances who passed them on the street, thought that they were behaving rather strangely. For instance, Careleton, a friend of Charley's but unacquainted with Jack, was surprised when Charley passed him with a stoney stare, while Jack affably nodded.

1897