Page:The Diothas, or, A far look ahead (IA diothasorfarlook01macn).pdf/9



" you assert is as incomprehensible as it is strange."

My old friend, usually so earnestly matter-of-fact, now so mysteriously earnest, regarded me with a quiet smile, much as an elder listens to the objections of a child.

"You have it in your power to judge for yourself, subject to the conditions already mentioned."

As I gazed at my interlocutor, his serene confidence began to dispel my incredulity, and produce that condition of trusting belief in his power demanded as an indispensable prerequisite for the purpose in view. What we intensely desire to be true, we strongly, almost inevitably, tend to accept as true.

"I am willing to try the experiment," said I, after a long pause.

"Remember the conditions," was the response. "Your

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