Labadie, Jean : A fanatic of the seventeenth century, born in 1610 at Bourg, on the Dordogne. He declared himself a second John the Baptist, sent to announce the second coming of the Messiah. He even went so far as to claim some measure of divinity for himself. But to his ambition as a votary he joined a taste for more worldly pleasures, which he indulged under the mask of religion. He died in 1674. Among his works (which were condemned) was Le Veritable Exorcisme, au l'unique moyen de chasser le diable du, monde chretien..

Labartu : (See Babylonia, also Semites.)

Laburum : is a kabbalistic sign, embodied in the Great Magical Monogram which is the seventh and most important pantacle of the Enchiridion.

Lacteus : A stone applied to rheumatic eyes.

Lady-bird : A rustic mode of divination was that practised with the lady-bird or lady-fly. The lady-bird was captured by a maid and bidden to fly "north, south, or east, or west" in the direction in which her lover lived. Whichever way the insect flew, there dwelt her future husband.

Lady of Lawers : One of the Breadalbane family. of Scottish origin, and married to Campbell of Lawers. This gentle-woman was believed to be gifted with prophetic powers, and her prophecies are said to be written in a book shaped like a barrel and kept in the charter room of Taymouth Castle: it is named " The Red Book of Balloch." These forecasts all have reference to the house and lands of Breadalbane; we give the following as an example :-" When the red cairn on Ben Lawers fell the church would split. In the same year that the cairn, built by the sappers and miners on Ben Lawers, fell, the Disruption in the Church of Scotland took place."

Lam : A magical word in Hindu yoga practice.

Lamb : Dr. Lamb was a noted sorcerer in the time of Charles the First. The famous Richard Baxter, in his Certainty of the World of Spirits, printed in 1691, has recorded an appropriate instance of the miraculous performance of this man. Meeting two of his acquaintance in the street, and they having intimated a desire to witness some examples of his skill, he invited them home with him. He then conducted them into an inner room, where presently, to their no small surprise, they saw a tree spring up in the middle of the apartment. They had scarcely ceased wondering at this phenomenon, when in a moment there appeared three diminutive men, with little axes in their hands for the purpose of cutting down this tree. The tree was felled; and the doctor dismissed his guests, fully satisfied of the solidity of his pretensions. That very night, however, a tremendous hurricane arose, causing the house of one of the guests to rock from side to side, with every appearance that the building would come down, and bury him and his wife in the ruins. The wife in great terror asked " Were you not at Dr. Lamb's to-day?" The husband confessed it was true. "And did you not bring something away from his house ?" The husband owned that, when the little men felled the tree, he had picked up some of the chips, and put them in his pocket. Nothing now remained to be done but to produce the chips, and get rid of them as fast as they could. This ceremony performed, the whirlwind immediately ceased, and the remainder of the night passed quietly.

Dr. Lamb at length became so odious by his reputation for these infernal practices, that the populace rose upon him in 1640, and tore him to pieces in the streets. Nor did the effects of his ill-fame -terminate here. Thirteen years after, a woman, who had been his servant maid, was apprehended on a charge of witchcraft, was tried, and in expiation of her crime was executed at Tyburn.

Lamps, Magic : There dwelt at Paris in the time of St. Louis, a famous Jewish Rabbi called Jachiel, a great manufacturer of prodigies, who was regarded by the Jews as one of their saints, and by the Parisians as a sorcerer. During the night when everyone was asleep, he was wont to work by the light of a magic lamp which cast through his chamber a glow like that - of day itself. He never replenished this lamp with oil, nor otherwise attended to it, and folks began to hint that he had acquired it through diabolic agencies. If anyone chanced to knock at his door during the night they noticed that the lamp threw out sparks of light of various colours, but if they continued to rap the lamp failed and the Rabbi turning from his work touched a large nail in the middle of his table which connected magically with the knocker on the street-door, giving to the person who rapped upon it something of the nature of an electric shock. (See France.)

Lamps of this description were supposed to be known to the Rosicrucians, and it is said that in opening the tomb of a daughter of Cicero several lamps were found burning upon it. It is of course possible that the light from these was luminous or phosphorescent and not living flame.

The magic lamp of Aladdin will occur to everyone in this connection; and romance abounds in such vehicles of light.

Lancashire Witches : A story with many pathetic and pitiable features, and one which is eloquent of the ignorance and credulity of the age, is that of the Lancashire Witches. Not very far from Manchester lies Pendelbury Forest, a gloomy though romantic and picturesque spot. At the time when it was inhabited by the witches-that is to say, about the beginning of the 17th century-it was held in such terror by law-abiding folks that they scarcely dared to approach it. They imagined it to be the haunt of witches and demons, the scene of all sorts of frightful orgies and diabolical rites. So that when Roger Nowel, a country magistrate, hit upon the plan of routing the witches out of their den, and thus ridding the district of their malevolent influence, he fancied he would be doing a public-spirited and laudable action. He promptly began by seizing Elizabeth Demdike and Ann Chattox, two women of eighty years of age, one of them blind, and the other threatened with blindness, both of them living in squalor and abject poverty. Demdike's daughter, Elizabeth Device, and her grandchildren, James and Alison Device, were included in the accusation, and Ann Redferne, daughter of Chattox was apprehended with her mother. Others were seized in quick succession-Jane Bulcock and her son John, Alice Nutter, Catherine Hewitt, and Isabel Roby. All of them were seduced-by what means it were better not to enquire too closely-to make a more or less detailed confession of their communication with the Devil. When this had been extorted from them. they were sent to prison in Lancaster Castle, some fifty miles away, there to await trial for their misdeeds.

They had not lain in prison very long when the authorities were informed that about twenty witches had assembled on Good Friday, at Malkin's Tower, the home of Elizabeth Device, in order to compass the death of one Covel, to blow up the castle in which their companions were confined, and rescue the prisoners, and also to kill a man called Lister, which last purpose they accomplished by means of diabolical agency. In the summer assizes of 1612 the prisoners were tried for witchcraft, and were all found guilty. The woman Demdike had died in prison, and thus escaped a more ignominious death at the gallows. The principal witnesses who appeared against Elizabeth Device were her grandchildren, James and Jennet Device. Directly the latter entered the witness-box her grandmother set up a terrible yelling punctuated by bitter execrations. The child, who was only nine years of age, begged that the prisoner might be removed as she could not otherwise proceed with her evidence. Her request was granted, and she and her brother swore that the Devil had visited their grandmother in the shape of a black dog, and asked what were her wishes. She had intimated that she desired the death of one John Robinson, whereupon the fiend told leer to make a clay image of Robinson and gradually crumble it to pieces, saying that as she did so the man's life would decay and finally perish. On such evidence ten persons were hanged, including the aged Ann Chattox.

It is shocking to reflect that, at a period when literature and learning were at their height, such cruelty could be tolerated, not only by the vulgar and uneducated, but by the learned judges who pronounced the sentence. The women were old and ignorant and probably weak-minded. No doubt they began in time to invest themselves with those powers, which their neighbours credited to them, and to believe themselves fit objects for the awe and terror of the people. It is even possible that they may have seen some sort of visions, or hallucinations, which they persuaded themselves were evil spirits attending on them Thus their own cunning and ignorance may have hastened their downfall.

Twenty-two years later a similar outrage, on the same spot, was narrowly avoided, by the shrewdness of the judge who tried the case. A certain misguided man, by name Edmund Robinson, thought to profit by the general belief in witchcraft. To this end he taught his young son, a boy of eleven to say that one day he encountered in the fields two dogs, with which he tried to catch a hare. But the animals would not obey his bidding, and at length he tied them to a post and whipped them, when they immediately turned into a witch and her imp. This monstrous story gained such credence that when Robinson declared that his son possessed a sort of second-sight, which enabled him to distinguish a witch at a glance, no one thought of denying his statement. Accordingly, he took the boy to the neighbouring churches, set him on a bench, and bade him point out the witches. No less than seventeen persons were thus accused and might have been hanged had not the judge's suspicions been aroused by the story, for the jury did not hesitate to convict them. However, the doubts of the worthy judge gained a respite for the prisoners, some of whom were sent to London for examination by the King's physician and by the king himself. The boy's story was investigated and found to be merely a tissue of lies, as, indeed, the child himself confessed it to be. (See Whitaker, The History of Whalley, p.215.)

Lapis Exilis : A name applied to the Graal itself. It is this stone which causes the phoenix to renew her youth. Lapis Exilis, according to Wolfram von Eschenbach, was synonymous with the Holy Grail.

Lapis Judaicus : Also identified with the Graal and the Talismanic stone of inexhaustible feeding power. It is sometimes called Theolithos, and seems but another name for the Lapis Exilis (q.v.) It has been confounded with the Phoenix stone. Another legend clings to it: it is said to have fallen from the crown of Lucifer, as he was banished from heaven, and remains in the keeping of the angels of the air.

Lapland : The Laplanders have a reputation for magical practice which is almost proverbial throughout Europe, and certainly so among the peoples of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Indeed the Finns still credit them with extraordinary power in sorcery and divination. Many Scandinavian scions of nobility were in ancient times sent to Lapland to obtain a magical reputation, and Eric the son of Harold Haarfager found Gunhild, daughter of Asur Tote, sonjourning among the Lapps in A.D. 922 for that purpose. English literature abounds with reference to Lapland witches. But Sorcery in Lapland was a preserve of the male shamans or magicians. Like the Celtic witches the Lapps were addicted to the selling of wind or tempests in knotted ropes.

Scheffer in his Lapponia (1674) writing of Lapp magic says :-" The melancholic constitution of the Laplanders, renders them subject to frightful apparitions and dreams, which they look upon as infallible presages made to them by the Genius of what is to befall them. Thus they are frequently seen lying upon the ground asleep, some singing with a full voice, others howling and making a hideous noise not unlike wolves.

"Their superstitions may be imputed partly to their living in solitudes, forests, and among the wild beasts partly to their solitary way of dwelling separately from the society of others, except who belong to their own families sometimes several leagues distance. Hereafter it may be added. that their daily exercise is hunting, it being observed that this kind of life is apt to draw people into various superstitions, and at last to a correspondence with spirits. For those who lead a solitary life being frequently destitute of human aid, have oft-times recourse to forbidden means, in hopes to find that aid and help among the spirits, which they cannot find among men; and what encourages them in it is impunity, these things being committed by them, without as much as the fear of any witnesses; which moved Mr. Rheen to allege, among sundry reasons which he gives for the continuance of the impious superstitions of the Laplanders, this for one: because they live among inaccessible mountains, and at a great distance from the conversation of other men. Another reason is the good opinion they constantly entertain of their ancestors, whom they cannot imagine to have been so stupid as not to understand what God they ought to worship, wherefore they judge they should be wanting in their reverence due to them, if, by receding from their institutions, they should reprove them of impiety and ignorance.

"The parents are the masters, who instruct their own sons in the magical art. 'Those,' says Tornaeus, 'who have attained to this magical art by instructions receive it either from their parents, or from somebody else, and that by degrees which they put in practice as often as an opportunity offers. Thus they accomplish themselves in this art, especially if their genius leads them to it. For they don't look upon every one as a fit scholar; nay, some are accounted quite incapable of it, notwithstanding they have been sufficiently instructed, as I have been informed by very credible people.' And Job. Tornaeus confirms it by these words: ' As the Laplanders are naturally of different inclinations, so are they not equally capable of attaining to this art.' And in another passage, they bequeath the demons as part of their inheritance, which is the reason that one family excels the other in this magical art. From whence it is evident, that certain whole families have their own demons, not only differing from the familiar spirits of others, but also quite contrary and opposite to them. Besides this, not only whole families, but also particular persons, have sometimes one, sometimes more spirits belonging to them, to secure them against the designs of other demons, or else to hurt others. Claus Petri Niurenius speaks to this effect, when he says – ‘ They are attended by a certain number of spirits, some by three, others by two, or at least by one. The last is intended for their security, the other to hurt others. The first commands all the rest. Some of those they acquire with a great deal of pains and prayers, some without much trouble, being their attendants from their infancy.' Joh. Tornaeus gives us a very large account of it. 'There are some,' says he, 'who naturally are magicians; an abominable tiling indeed. For those who the devil knows which will prove very serviceable to him in this art, he seizes on in their very infancy with certain distemper, when they are haunted with apparitions and visions, by which they are, in proportion of their age, instructed in the rudiments of this art. Those who are a second time taken with this distemper, have more apparitions coming before them than in the first, by which they receive much more insight into it than before. But if they are seized a third time with this disease, which then proves very dangerous, and often not without the hazard of their lives, then it is they see all the apparitions the devil is able to contrive, to accomplish them in the magical art. Those are arrived to such a degree of perfection, that without the help of the drum (see infra), they can foretell things to come a great while before; and are so strongly possessed by the devil, that they foresee things even against their will. Thus, not long ago, a certain Laplander, who is still alive, did voluntarily deliver his drum to me, which I had often desired of him before; notwithstanding all this, he told me in a very melancholy posture, that though he had put away his drum, nor intended to have any other hereafter, yet he could foresee everything without it, as he had done before. As an instance of it, he told me truly all the particular accidents that had happened to me in my journey into Lapland, making at the same time heavy complaints, that he did not know what use to make of his eyes those things being presented to his sight much against his will.'

"Lundius observes, that some of the Laplanders are seized upon by a demon, when they are arrived to a middle age, in the following manner: -Whilst they are busy in the woods, the spirit appears to them, where they discourse concerning the conditions, upon which the demon offers them his assistance, which done, he teaches them a certain song, which they are obliged to keep in constant remembrance. They must return the next day to the same place, where the same spirit appears to them again, and repeats the former song, in case he takes a fancy to the person; if not, he does not appear at all. These spirits make their appearances under different shapes, some like fishes, some like birds, others like a serpent or dragon, others in the shape of a pigmee. about a yard high; being attended by three, four, or five other pigmees of the same bigness, sometimes by more, but never exceeding nine. No sooner are they seized by the Genius, but they appear in the most surprising posture, like madmen, before bereaved of the use of reason. This continues for six months; during which time they don't suffer any of their kindred to come near them, not 50 much as their own wives and children. They spend most of this time in the woods and other solitary places, being very melancholy and thoughtful scarce taking any food, which makes them extremely weak. It you ask their children, where and how their parents sustain themselves, they will tell you, that they receive their sustenance from their Genii. The same author gives us a remarkable instance of this kind in a young Laplander called Olaus, being then a scholar in the school of Liksala, of about eighteen years of age. This young fellow fell mad on a sudden, making most dreadful postures and outcries, that he was in hell, and his spirit tormented beyond what could be expressed. If he took a book in hand; so soon as he met with the name of Jesus, he threw the book upon tile ground in great fury, which after some time being passed over, they used to ask him whether he had seen any vision during this ecstacy ? He answered that abundance of things had appeared to him, and that a mad dog being tied to his foot, followed him wherever he stirred. In his lucid intervals he would tell them, that the first beginning of it happened to him one day, as he was going out of the door of his dwelling, when a great flame passed before his eyes and touching his ears, a certain person appeared to him all naked. The next day he was seized with a most terrible headache, so that he made most lamentable outcries, and broke everything that came under his hands. This unfortunate person's face was as black as coal, and he used to say, that the devil most commonly appeared to him in the habit of a minister, in a long cloak; during his fits he would say that he was surrounded by nine or ten fellows of a low stature, who did use him very barbarously, though at the same time the standers-by did not perceive the least thing. like it. He would often climb to the top of the highest fir trees, with as much swiftness as a squirrel, and leap down again to the ground, without receiving the least hurt. He always loved solitude, flying the conversation of other men. He would run as swift as a horse, it being impossible for anybody to overtake him. He used to talk amongst the woods to himself no otherwise than if several persons had been in his company.

I am apt to believe, that those spirits were not altogether unknown to the ancients, and that they are the same which were called by Tertullian Paredri, and are mentioned by Monsieur Valois, in his Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius.

Whenever a Laplander has occasion for his familiar spirit, he calls to him, and makes him come by only singing the song he taught him at their first interview; by which means he has him at his service as often as he pleases. And because they know them obsequious and serviceable, they call them Sveie, which signifies as much in their tongue, as the companions of their labour, or their helpmates. Lundius has made another observation, very well worth taking notice of, viz. -That those spirits or demons never appear to the women, or enter into their service, of which I don't pretend to allege the true cause, unless one might say, that perhaps they do it out of pride, or a natural aversion they have to the female sex, subject to so many infirmities."

For the purposes of augury or divination the Lapps employed a magic drum, which, indeed, was in use among several Arctic peoples. Writing in 1827, De Capell Brooke states that the ceremonies connected with this instrument had almost quite disappeared at that date. The encroachments of Lutheranism had been long threatening the existence of the native shamanism. In 1671 the Lapp drum was formally banned by Swedish law, and several magicians were apprehended and their instruments burnt. But before that date the religion which the drum represented was in full vigour. The Lapps called their drum Kannus (Regnard, 1681), also Kaunus, Kabdas, Kabdes Gabdas, and Keure (Von Duben, 1873.) its Scandinavian designations being troll-trumma, or Ruec-bomme," magic or runic drum," otherwise Spa-trumma, fortune-telling drum." J. A. Friis has shown that the sampo of the Finnish Kelevala is the same instrument. According to Von Duben, the best pictures and explanations of the drum are to be found in Friss's Lappisk Mythologi (Christiania, 1871), pp. 30-47, but there are good descriptions in Von Duben's own work (On Lapland, och Lapparne, Stockholm, 1873), as also in the books of Scheffer, Leem, Jessen, and others. The appearance of the Lapp drum is thus described by Regnard in 1681 -This instrument is made of a single piece of wood, hollowed in its thickest part in an oval form, the under part of which is convex, in which they make two apertures long enough to suffer the fingers to pass through, for the purpose of holding it more firmly. The upper part is covered with the skin of the reindeer, on which they paint in red a number of figures, and from whence several brass rings are seen hanging, and some pieces of the bone of the reindeer." A wooden hammer, or, as among the Samoyeds (1614), a hare's foot was used as a drum-stick in the course of the incantation. An arpa or divining-rod was placed on a definite spot showing from its position after sounding the drum what magic inference might be drawn. By means of the drum, the priest could be placed en rapport with the spirit world, and was thus enabled to divine the future; to ascertain synchronous events occurring at remote distances ; to forecast the measure of success attending the day's hunting; to heal the sick; or to inflict people with disease and cause death. Although obsolete in Lapland these rites are still performed among the Samoyeds and other races of Arctic Asia and America. It is interesting to note how exactly the procedure among the Vaigatz Samoyeds in 1556 (Pinkerton's Voyages, London, 1808, I.63) tallies with that of the Saklialin Amos in 1883 (J. M. Dixon in Trans, Asiatic Soc. of Japan, Yokohama, 1883, 47). The same practices can be traced eastward through Arctic America, and the drum is used in the same fashion by the Eskimo shaman priests in Greenland (Henry Rink's Tales, etc., 1875, 60-61.) The shape of the drum varies a little according to locality. The form of the Eskimo drum is that of a tambourine.

"Their most valuable instrument of enchantment," says Tornaeus, " is this sorcerer's kettle-drum, which they call Kannas or Quobdas. They cut it in one entire piece out of a thick tree stem, the fibres of which run upwards in the same direction as the course of the sun. The drum is covered with the skin of an animal; and in the bottom holes are cut by which it may be held. Upon the skins are many figures painted, often Christ and the Apostles, with the heathen gods, Thor, Noorjunkar, and others jumbled together; the picture of the sun, shapes of animals, lands and waters, cities and roads, in short, all kinds of drawings according to their various uses. Upon the drum there is placed an indicator, which they call Arpa, which consists of a bundle of metallic rings. The drumstick is, generally, a reindeer's horn. This drum they preserve with the most vigilant care, and guard it especially from the touch of a woman. When they will make known what is taking place at a distance,-as to how the chase shall succeed, how business will answer, what result a sickness will have, what is necessary for the cure of it, and the like, they kneel down, and the sorcerer heats the drum; at first with light strokes, but as he proceeds, with ever louder stronger ones, round the index, either till this has moved in a direction or to a figure which he regards as the answer which he has sought, or till he himself falls into ecstasy, when he generally lays the kettle-drum on his head. Then he sings with a loud voice a song which they call Jogke, and the men and woven who stand round sing songs, which they call Daura, in which the name of the place whence they desire information frequently occurs. The sorcerer lies in the ecstatic state for some time, frequently for many hours, apparently dead, with rigid features ; sometimes with perspiration bursting out upon him. In the meantime the bystanders continue their incantations, which have for their object that the sleeper shall not lose any part of his vision from memory; at the same time they guard him carefully that nothing living may touch him- not even a fly. When he again awakes to consciousness, he relates his vision, answers the questions put to him, and gives unmistakable evidence of having seen distant and unknown things. The inquiry of the oracle does not always take place so solemnly and completely. In everyday matters as regards the chase, etc., the Lapp consults his drum without falling into the somnambulic crisis. On the other hand, a more highly developed state of prophet vision may take place without this instrument, as has already been stated. Claudi relates, that at Bergen, in Norway, the clerk of a German merchant demanded of a Norwegian Finn-Laplander what his master was doing in Germany. The Finn promised to give him the intelligence. He began then to cry out like a drunken man, and to run round in a circle, till he fell, as one dead, to the earth. After a while he woke again, and gave the answer, which time showed to be correct. Finally, that many, while wholly awake, free from convulsions and a state of unconsciousness, are able to become clairvoyant, is placed beyond all doubt by the account of Tornaeus.

"The use which they make of their power of clairvoyance, and their magic arts, is, for the most part, good and innocent; that of curing sick men and animals; inquiring into far-off and future things, which in the confined sphere of their existence is important to them. There are instances however, in which the magic art is turned to the injury of others."

In addition to the works quoted, see Jessen's Norske Finners og Leppers Hedenske Religion (1765); Sioborg's Tympanum Schamanico-lepponicum (1808); Petitot's Les Grands Esquimaux (1887), and Abercromby's Pre- and Proto-historic Finns (1898.)

Larvae : (See Magic.)

Lascaris : (Alchemist of the Eighteenth Century.) It is impossible to determine the date at which this mysterious personage was born, or to say, exactly, whence he came and where he chiefly lived. He is commonly supposed to have been active about the beginning of the eighteenth century, while Germany is held to have been the principal scene of his activities; but everything recorded concerning him reads like a romance, and suggests the middle ages rather than the day before yesterday. Sometimes he assured people that he was of Oriental origin, sometimes he maintained that his native land was the Ionian Isles, and that he was a scion of the Greek royal house of Lascaris; while on other occasions he declared that he was an archimandrite of a convent in the Island of Mytilene, and that his object in coming to Europe was to solicit alms for the ransom of Christian prisoners in the East. Such was his tale when, about 1700, he commenced wandering in Germany, and, while sojourning at Berlin, he happened to fall ill and sent for medical aid. This appeared shortly in the shape of a young apothecary, Johann Friedrich Botticher by name, who chanced to be deeply interested in alchemy. so a friendship sprang up between physician and patient and ere Lascaris left the Prussian capital he gave Botticher a packet of transmuting powder, at the same time instructing him how to use it successfully, yet refraining from telling him how to manufacture the powder itself. Nothing daunted, Botticher set to work speedily, concocted considerable quantities of gold and silver, grew rich, and was raised to the peerage; while simultaneously he began to find his society, and more especially his services as a scientist, courted by kings and nobles. Meanwhile, however, his supply of the precious powder had run short, and being unable to make more he found his reputation waning apace; while worse still, he had spent his newly-acquired wealth speedily, and now he found himself reduced to penury. Ultimately he was incarcerated, but during his period of durance vile he set himself to the manufacture of porcelain, and by the sale of this he eventually restored his fallen fortunes.

We presume naturally that it was gratitude to his physician which inspired the crafty alchemist to give Botticher the powder, but why did Lascaris make an analogous present at a later date ? The recipient on this occasion being one Schmolz de Dierbach, a lieutenant-colonel in the Polish Army. He, like the German apothecary, succeeded in making a quantity of gold, and, though we hear no more about him after this transmutation, we learn that a certain Baron de Creux was likewise favoured by Lascaris, the Baron's experiments proving just as successful as those of the others aforesaid. Nor were these the only people on whom our alchemist bestowed his indulgence, for one Domenico Manuel, the son of a Neapolitan mason, was likewise given a packet of transmutatory powder, and, armed thus, he wandered through Spain, Belgium, and Austria, performing operations before princes and noblemen, and reaping wealth accordingly. Pride was the inevitable result of this, and though there is no reason to suppose that any patent of nobility was ever conferred on Domenico, we find him styling himself now Comte Gautano, now Comte di Ruggiero; while in one town he maintained that he was a Prussian major-general, and elsewhere he declared that he was field-marshal of the Bavarian forces. Going to Berlin in the course of his perambulations, he offered to make gold in the presence of the king; but alas I his operation proved utterly futile, and he was hanged as a charlatan in consequence. This was in 1709, and in the same year, according to tradition, Lascaris himself performed some successful transmutations before a German politician named Liebknech, a citizen of Wurtembourg. Nothing further is heard of the mysterious Greek alchemist, however, so it may be assumed that he died soon after these events. His was a curious career indeed : his generosity having scarcely a parallel in the whole history of hermetic philosophy.

Latent Impressions : (See Telepathy.)

Launay, Jean : A celebrated doctor of the Sorbonne, born in 1603 at Valderic, in the diocese of Contanas. He has left a pedantic dissertation On the Vision of St. Simon Stock, which he could not understand, being something of a Jansenist, It was published in Paris, in 1653 and 1663.

Laurel : A tree which Apuleius classes among the plants which preserve men from the influence of evil spirits. It was also believed to give protection from lightning.

Laurin or Der Kleine Rosengarten : A Tyrolese romance of the late thirteenth century. Laurin, a dwarf, possesses a magic rose-garden into which no one may enter without the loss of a hand or a foot. Dietrich and his follower Witege, enter it, and the latter rides through the rose bushes. Laurin, the dwarf, appears, on horseback and dismounts Witege. He is challenged by Dietrich and, assuming his cloak of invisibility, wounds him. Dietrich now persuades him to a wrestling match and wrenches off the dwarf's belt which gives him super-human strength. Thus he overthrows Laurin. Laurin then invites Dietrich and his followers to his mountain home, prepares them a banquet, makes them tipsy, and throws them all into a dungeon. They are released by Kunhild, a mortal woman, who restores their weapons. They take Laurin prisoner and carry him to Bern where he becomes a Christian convert and receives Kunhild in marriage.

Law, William : English Mystic and Theologian (1686-1761.) William Law was born at Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire, in the year 1686. His father followed the humble calling of a grocer, but it is manifest that he was in tolerably affluent circumstances nevertheless, and ambitious besides, for in 1705 William was sent to Cambridge University. Entering Emmanuel College, he became a fellow thereof in 1711, but on the accession of George I. he felt himself unable to subscribe the oath of allegiance, the inevitable consequence being that he forfeited his fellowship. In 1727 he went to Putney, having acquired there the post of tutor to the father of Edmund Gibbon, the historian of the Roman Empire in decline, and he acted in this capacity for ten years, winning universal esteem the while for his piety and his theological erudition. In 1737, on the death of his employer, Law retired to his native village of Kingscliffe, and it would seem that thenceforth he was chiefly supported by the purses of some of his devotees, notably Miss Hester Gibbon, sister of his guardian pupil, and a widow named Mrs. Hutcheson. These two ladies had a united income of fully £3000 a year, so Law must have been comfortable indeed, yet wealth and luxury did not tend to corrupt his piety, and it is recorded that he was wont to get up every morning at five, and spend several hours before breakfast in prayer and meditations. At a considerably earlier stage in his career he had begun publishing theses on mysticism, and on religion in general; and now, being blessed with abundance of leisure, and having acquired fresh inspiration from reading the works of Jacob Boehme, he produced year after year a considerable mass of writing. Thus his life passed away placidly, and he died in 1761.

Law's works amount in all to some twenty volumes. His debut as a writer was made in 1717, with an examination of certain tenets lately promulgated from the pulpit by the Bishop of Bangor; and this was followed soon afterwards by a number of analogous writings, while in 1726 he employed his pen to attack the theatre, bringing out a book entitled The Absolute Unlawfulness of the Stage Entertainment fully Demonstrated. In the same year he issued A Practical Treatise upon Christian Perfection, and this was followed shortly by A Serious Call to: a Devout and Holy Life, adapted to the State and Condition of all Orders of Christians. This last is the best-known of his works, but others which it behoves to cite are The Grounds and Reason of Christian Regeneration (1739), The Spirit of Prayer (1749), The Way to Divine Knowledge (1752), The Spirit of Love (1752), and Of Justification by Faith and Works (1760). Most of the foregoing, but especially the Serious Call, have been reprinted again and again; while in 1762 a collected edition of Law's works was published, and in 1893 there appeared a sort of anthology, made up of extracts from the writer, chosen by Dr. Alexander Whyte. In his preface the editor speaks of Law's " golden books," while he adds that "In sheer intellectual strength Law is fully abreast of the very foremost of his illustrious contemporaries, while in that fertilising touch which is the true test of genius, Law stands simply alone." Numerous other encomiums no less enthusiastic than this have been offered to the mystic, and it is noteworthy that he has engaged the interest of many great writers. Sir Leslie Stephen, for example, deals with him in his History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century, and again in his pleasant Studies of a Biographer; while the mystic figures also in the brilliant pages of W. E. H. Lecky, and in Gibbon's Autobiography he is hailed as "a worthy and pious man, who believed all that he professed, and practised all that he enjoined."

Laya Yoga : That practice of the yogi by which he listens to sounds which can be heard within his own body when the ears are closed. These sounds are termed" The Nada," and are of all kinds, from the roar of the ocean to the humming of bees.

Lazare, Denys : A prince of Serbia who lived in the year of the Hegira, 788. He was author of a work entitled Dreams, published in 1686. He himself claimed to have had nocturnal visions.

Le Normand, Marie : Known as "The Sybil of the Faubourg Saint Germain," was born at Alencon in 1772 and died at Paris in 1843. She was one of the most famous occultists and diviners of her day; but it might justly be said that her art was much more the product of sound judgment than of any supernatural gift. She predicted their futures to Marat, Robespierre, and St. Just, but we hear no more of her under the Directory. When Josephine Beauharnais came into prominence as the intended wife of Napoleon, Mile. La Normand was received at all those houses and salons where the future empress had any influence. Josephine was extremely credulous, and used to read her own fortunes to herself on the cards; but when she found that MIle. Le Normand was an adept at this art, she often had her in attendance to assist her in it. Even Napoleon himself who was not without his own superstitions, had his horoscope read by her. She soon set up her own salon in Paris where she read people's fortunes by means of the cards. It is not stated whether these cards were of the nature of Tarot cards, but it is more than likely that they were; but we know that she occasionally divined the fortunes of others through playing the games of piquet, sept, and other card games. She did not hide her methods from others, but the Parisian society of her day appears to have thought that her power of divination lay not in the cards she manipulated but in her personality. It has been stated by Migne that she did use the Tarot, but as he calls them " German cards," one cannot attach much importance to his statement. After the fall of the Emperor she was the rage amongst the Russian, German and English officers in Paris, and even the Emperor Alexander and other potentates consulted her. Shortly after this she went to Brussels, where she read the fortune of the Prince of Orange, but as she tried to cheat the customs she soon found herself the occupant of a Belgian prison. By the year 1830 she had become quite forgotten, and when the newspapers announced her death on June 25th, 1843, the majority of people failed to remember her name. There is very little doubt that she was a harmless charlatan, though several contemporary historians appear to consider that she possessed mischievous tendencies ; but the air of omniscience and mystery with which she surrounded herself was 50 absurd that by the majority of people she was looked upon, probably with justice, as a mere impostor.

Leannan Sith : Gaelic words meaning fairy sweetheart" who may be of either sex. Mortals are advised to have nothing to do with such beings, as no good ever comes of the connection; so long as the fairy lover is pleased with his or her mortal, all goes well, but when offended, life may be the forfeit.

Lebrun, Charles : A celebrated painter, born at Paris in 1619, died in 1690. He wrote a Traite sur la physionomie humaine comparee avec celle des aminaux.

Lebrun. Pierre : An orator, born at Brignolles in 1661, died in 1729. He has left two works, namely, Lettres qui decouvrent l'illusion des philosophes sur la baquette, et qui ditruisent leurs systemes (1693), and Histoire critique des pratiques superstitieuses qui ont seduit les peuples et embarrasse les savants (1702).

Ledivi : (See Assassins.)

Leg Cake : The name given in the Highlands of Scotland to a cake given to a herd when he came with the news that a mare had foaled, or to a dairy-maid when she brought word that a cow had calved.

Legions of Demons : (See Demonology.)

Lehman, Mr. , of Copenhagen : (See Telepathy.)

Leicester, Earl of : (See Dee.)

Leippya : or soul. (See Burma.)

Lemegeton : (See Key of Solomon.)

Leo, Pope: (See Enchiridion.)

Lescoriere, Marie: A witch of the sixteenth century, arrested at the age of ninety years. On being examined she declared that she was no longer a witch; that she prayed daily; and that she had not visited the Sabbath for forty years. Questioned on the subject of the Sabbath, she confessed that she had seen the devil, and that he had visited her in the shape of a dog or a cat. On one occasion, she said, she had killed a neighbour by praying to the devil.

Leshy : (See Slavs.)

Lesser Key of Solomon : (See Key of Solomon.)

Levi, Eliphas : Alphonse Louis Constant, better known by his pen-name of Eliphas Levi, was a French occultist of the nineteenth century, who has been called "the last of the magi." He was born about 1810, the son of a shoemaker, and through the good offices of the parish priest was educated for the church at St. Sulpice. In due course he became a deacon, taking a vow of celibacy. Shortly after this he was expelled from St. Sulpice for teaching doctrines contrary to those of the Church. How he lived during the ensuing years is not known, but about 1839 under the influence of a political and socialistic prophet named Ganneau, he wrote a pamphlet entitled The Gospel of Liberty, for which he received six months imprisonment. In Paris, notwithstanding his vow of celibacy, he married a beautiful girl of sixteen, who afterwards bad the marriage annulled. It was probably not until Madame Constant had left him that he studied the occult sciences. At all events his writings previous to this show little trace of occult influence. In 1855 he published his Doctrine of Transcendental Magic, followed in 1856 by the Ritual of Transcendental Magic; in 1860 was issued his History of Magic ; in 1861 The Key of the Grand Mysteries ; Fables and Symbols in 1864; Le Sorcier de Mendon and La Science des Esprits in 1865. Most of his works have been translated by Mr. A. E. Waite. He died in 1875.

Levi's knowledge of the occult sciences was much more imaginative than circumstantial, and in perusing his works the reader requires to be on his guard against the adoption of hasty generalisations and hypotheses.

Leviathan : (See Devil.)

Levitation : A term in use among spiritualists to denote the raising in the air of the human body or other objects without visible means, and presumably through the agency of disembodied spirits. Thus the levitation of tables and other more or less weighty objects is a common feat among physical" mediums, whether or not a supernatural explanation be required. The witches of olden times, too, were popularly supposed to make use of some occult mode of locomotion in their nocturnal travels, being transported through the air by the arts of their master, the Devil. And the poltergeist was also thought to suspend in the air, without visible means of support, the agent through whom he manifested himself. As a spiritualistic phenomenon levitation of the human body became known at an early stage of the movement, being recorded in connection with the medium Gordon so early as 185:. But the most important of levitated. mediums was D. D. Home, and many accounts of his feats in this direction are given by witnesses who were themselves convinced of their genuineness. It may be noted, however, that levitations usually occurred in a darkened seance-room, when the only indication of any untoward happening was furnished by the medium's own exclamations, by the fact that his voice seemed to come from high in the air, and sometimes by his boots scraping the back of a chair or the hand of one of the sitters. The Rev. Stainton Moses, who also was levitated on several occasions, seems to have held his seances in darkness also, or at most by the light of the fire. Mrs. Guppy (see Nicholls) was before her marriage several times levitated, notwithstanding the fact that she was extremely stout, and a curious story concerning a later levitation is told in a letter in the Echo of June 8th, 1871, for whose (anonymous) author's trustworthiness the editor vouches. About that time the writer attended a circle with Messrs. Herne and Williams as mediums, the spirits present being the famous John and Katie King. One of the sitters jokingly expressed a wish that Mrs. Guppy (then in her home some three miles distant might be brought to the seance-room, and to this Katie King was heard to assent. While the company were laughing at the absurdity of the idea, there was a loud bump, followed by shrieks and exclamations. A match was struck, and there in the centre of the table stood Mrs. Guppy, an account-book in one hand, a pen in the other, and apparently in a state of trance. Less than three minutes elapsed between the expression of the wish and the appearance of Mrs. Guppy. The writer adds: "The possibility of her being concealed in the room is as absurd as the idea of her acting in collusion with the media."

Pseudo-historical instances of levitation may be found in abundance, especially among the early saints. St. Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, was observed to rise from the ground shortly before his death in 988. St. Bernard Ptolomei, St. Philip Benitas, St. Albert of Sicily, and St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order, were all seen to be levitated while engaged in their devotions. An ecstatic nun "rose from the ground with so much impetuosity, that five or six of the sisters could hardly hold her down." It is related by his biographers that Savonarola, shortly before he perished at the stake, remained suspended at a considerable height above the floor of his dungeon, absorbed in prayer. And such instances might easily be multiplied.

Leviticon : A gospel adopted by the French Templars, and alleged by them to have been discovered in the Temple at Paris, along with other objects. It was supposed to have been composed in the fifteenth century by a Greek monk, Nicephorus, who sought to combine Moslem tenets with Christianity.

Lewis, Matthew Gregory : Commonly known as "Monk" Lewis, English Author (1775-1818). Matthew Gregory Lewis was born in London in 1775. His father was Matthew Lewis, deputy secretary of war, and proprietor of several valuable estates in Jamaica; while his mother was Anna Maria Sewell, a lady of cultured tastes, devoted to music and various other arts. The future author showed precocity while yet a child, and on reaching boyhood he was sent to Westminster School, but while he was there an ugly cloud rose to dim his horizon, his parents quarrelling and agreeing to separate. Matthew contrived to remain friendly with both his father and mother, and in 1771 he visited Paris, while about the same time he made his first literary efforts, and in 1792 he went to Weimar in Germany where he made the acquaintance of Goethe, and also learnt German thoroughly. Two years later he was appointed attache to the British Embassy at the Hague, and while staying there he wrote his mystical story, Ambrosio, or the Monk, which earned him his now familiar sobriquet of" Monk Lewis "while in 1796 he entered Parliament as member for Hindon, in Wiltshire, and during the next few years he necessarily resided chiefly in London, or near it, becoming friendly the while with most of the notable people of the day. Meantime his interest in the occult had been developing apace, and in 1798 there was staged at Drury Lane a play of his, Castle Spectre, in which ghosts and the like play a prominent part, and which won great popularity among people interested in things of that nature; while in 1788 lie issued his Tales of Terror, and in 1801 a volume entitled Tales of Wonder, this being virtually an anthology of popular occult verses, some of which were supplied by Sir Walter Scott.

In 1812 Lewis's father died, and the author accordingly found himself a very rich man. His conscience was troubled, nevertheless, by the fact that his wealth was derived from slave labour, and so, in 1815, he sailed to Jamaica, intent on making arrangements for the generous treatment of the negroes on his estates. Returning to England in 1816, he went soon afterwards to Geneva, where he met Byron and Shelley, while in 1818 he paid a last visit to the West Indies, and died at sea while returning home.

Libellus Merlini : (Little Book of Merlin.) A Latin tract on the subject of the prophecies of Merlin written by Geoffrey of Monmouth about 1135. Geoffrey prefaces his account of the prophecies with one concerning the deeds of a supernatural youth named Ambrosius whom he deliberately confounded with Merlin. Vortigern, King of the Britons, asks Ambrose Merlin the meaning of a vision in which appear two dragons red and white in combat. Merlin replies that the Red Dragon signifies the British race which would be conquered by the Saxon, represented by the White Dragon. A long prophetic rhapsody follows, relating chiefly to the Saxon wars, and with this the work, as given in the Seventh Book of Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae, concludes. It was, however, known in Iceland before 1218 in a form independent of the Historia. (H. C. Leach, Modern Philology, viii., pp.607 et seq.) This tract must not be confounded with the Vita Merlini (1145 or 1148) generally attributed to Geoffrey.

Licking, a Charm : The following was believed to be a remedy for enchantment : to lick the child's forehead first upward, then across, and lastly up again; and then to spit behind its back.

It is said that if on licking a child's forehead with the tongue a salt taste is perceived, this is an infallible proof of fascination.

Life Waves : according to Theosophists, are three in number. It is necessary to remember that the Deity, the Logos (q.v.) has three aspects corresponding to the Christian Trinity. These aspects are first that of Will ; second, that of Wisdom; and third, that of Activity, and each has its definite scope in the creation of a universe. When the Logos Sets about the great work of creation he sends the first life wave through his aspect of Activity into the multitude of bobbles in the ether, and thereby forms the various kinds of matter. The universe having been thus far prepared, he through his aspect of Wisdom sends the second life wave, which bringing with it life as we usually understand that term and penetrating matter from above, gradually descends to the grosser forms and again ascends to the finer forms. In its descent, this life wave makes for an ever-increasing heterogeneity, but in its ascent the process is reversed and it makes for an ever increasing homogeneity. The work of creation is now far enough advanced to permit of the creation of man, for matter has now been infused with the capacity of form and provided with life, and the Logos, therefore, through his aspect of Will, bears forth the Divine Spark, the Monad, and, along with the form and the life, ensouls man. (See Theosophy, Logos, Ether, Evolution, Solar System, Monad.)

Light : Spiritualistic Journal. (See Spiritualism.)

Lignite : is a beautiful stone like glass; being hung about a child it preserves it from witchcraft, and if bound on the forehead it stops the bleeding of the nose, restores the loss of senses, and helps to foretell future events.

Likho : (See Slavs.)

Lilith : According to Wierus and other demonologists; Lilith was the prince or princess who presided over the demons known as succubi. The demons under Lilith bore the same name as their chief, and sought to destroy newborn infants. For this reason the Jews wrote on the four corners of a birth-chamber a formula to drive Lilith away. (See Babylonia.)

Limachie : This little curiosity, resembling a chip of a man's nail, is to be squeezed out of the head of a slug, which must be done the instant it is seen. It is a good amulet to preserve from fever.

Linton Charles : (See Automatic Writing and Speaking.)

Lippares or Liparia : He who has this stone " needs no other invention to catch wild beasts." On the other hand, no animal can be attacked by dogs or huntsman if it look upon it.

Liquor Alkahest : (See Philalethes.)

Litanies of the Sabbath : On Wednesdays and Saturdays, if the accounts speak truly, it was the custom to sing at the witches' Sabbath the following Litanies :-Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, have pity on us. Baal, prince of the seraphim; Baalberith, prince of the cherubim; Astaroth, prince of the thrones; Rosier, prince of denominations; Carreau, prince of the powers; Belial, prince of the vertues ; Perrier, prince of the principalities; Oliver, prince of the arch angels ; Junier, prince of the angels; Sarcueil, Fume-bouche, Pierre-le-Feu, Carniveau, Terrier, Contellier, Candelier, Behemoth, Oilette, Belpuegor, Sabathan, Garandier, Dolers, Pierre-Fort, Axaphat, Prisier, Kakos, Lucesme, pray for us.

It must be remarked that Satan is evoked in these litanies only in company with a crowd of others.

Lithomancy : A species of divination performed by stones, but in what manner it is difficult to ascertain. Gale, in a "note upon lamblichus," confesses that he does not clearly understand the nature of it ; whether it refers to certain motions observable in idols, or to an insight into futurity obtained by demons (familiars) enclosed in particular stones. That these supernatural beings might be so commanded is clear from a passage of Nicephorus. The Rabbis have attributed Lev. XXVI., I to Lithomancy; but the prohibition of stones there given is most probably directed against idolatry in general. Bulenger has a short chapter on Lithomancy. He shows from Tzetzes, that Helenus ascertained the fall of Troy by the employment of a magnet, and that if a magnet be washed in spring water, and interrogated, a voice like that of a sucking child will reply.

The pseudo-Orpheus has related at length this legend of Helenus. "To him," he says, " Apollo gave the true and vocal sideritis, which others call the animated ophites, a Stone possessing fatal qualities, rough, hard, black, and heavy, graven everywhere with veins like wrinkles. For

one and twenty days Helenus abstained from the nuptial couch from the bath, and from animal food. Then, washing ibis intelligent stone in a living fountain, he cherished it as a babe in soft clothing; and having propitiated it as a god, he at length gave it breath by his hymn of mighty virtue. Having lighted lamps in his own purified house, he fondled the divine stone in his hands, bearing it about as a mother bears her infant; and you, if ye wish to hear the voice of the gods, in like manner provoke a similar miracle, for when ye have sedulously wiped and dandled the stone in your arms, on a sudden it will utter the cry of a new-born child seeking milk from the breast of its nurse. Beware, however, of fear, for if you drop the stone upon the ground, you will rouse the anger of the immortals. Ask boldly of things future, and it will reply. Place it near your eyes when it has been washed, look steadily at it, and you will perceive it divinely breathing. Thus it was that Helenus, confiding in this fearful stone, learned that his country would be overthrown by the Atridae."

Photius, in his abstract of the life of Isodorus by Damascius, a credulous physician of the age of Justinian, speaks of - an oracular stone, the baetulum, to which Lithomancy was attributed. A physician named Eusebius used to carry one of these wonder-working stones about with him. One night it seems, actuated by an unaccountable impulse, he wandered Out from the city Emesa to the summit of a mountain dignified by a temple of Minerva. There, as he sat down fatigued by his walk, he saw a globe of fire falling from the sky and a lion standing by it. The lion disappeared, the fire was extinguished, and Eusebius ran and picked up a baetulum. He asked it to what god it appertamed, and it readily answered, to Gennaeus, a deity worshipped by the Heliopolitae, under the form of a lion in the temple of Jupiter. During this night, Eusebius said he travelled not less than 210 stadia, more than 26 miles. He never became perfectly master of the baetulum, but was obliged very humbly to solicit its responses. It was of a handsome, globular shape, white, a palm in diameter, though sometimes it appeared more, sometimes less; occasionally, also, it was of purple colour. Characters were to be read on it, impressed in the colour called tingaribinus. Its answer seemed as if proceeding from a shrill pipe, and Eusebius himself interpreted the sounds. Damascius believed its animating spirit to be divine; Isodorus, on the other hand, thought it demoniacal, that is, not belonging to evil or material demons, not yet to those which are quite pure and immaterial. It was with one of these stones, according to Hesychius, that Rhea fed Saturnus, when he fancied that he was devouring Jupiter, its name being derived from the skin in which it was wrapped, and such the commentator supposed to have been the Lapides divi, or vivi, which the insane monster Heliogabalus wished to carry off from the temple of Diana, built by Orestes at Laodicea. Bochart traces the name and the reverence paid to the baetylia, to the stone which Jacob anointed at Bethel. Many of these baetylia, Photius assures us from Damascius, were to be found on Mount Libanus.

Little, Robert Wentworth : (See Rosicrucians.)

Little World : The name given to a secret society which conspired in England, in the eighteenth century, to reestablish the Stuart dynasty. Many stories are told of this society-as, for instance, that the devil presided over their assemblies in person. The members were Freemasons.

Loathly Damsel : The Kundrie or Kundry. The Grail Messenger. One would imagine that the holder of such an office would be saint-like, but Christian describes her as a damsel more hideous than could be pictured outside hell." Wolfram refers to her in his work as " Kundri la Sorciere." Kundry in Wagner's music-drama " Parsifal" represents sin.

Lodestone : A precious stone believed to possess magical properties of diverse kinds. If one is ill, one must hold it in one's hands and shake it well. It cures wounds, snake-bites, weak eyes, headaches and restores hearing. The possessor of the lodestone may walk through reptiles in safety, even when they are accompanied by" black death." Orpheus says that" with this stone you can hear the voices of the gods and learn many wonderful things; " that it has the property of unfolding the future; and if held close to the eyes it will inspire with a divine spirit.

Lodge, Sir Oliver : (See Spiritualism.)

Logos : Fohat-is the term very commonly used in theosophy to designate the Deity. Along with the great religions, theosophy has as the beginning of its scheme a Deity who, in Himself, is altogether beyond human knowledge or' conception, whether in the ordinary or the clairvoyant states. But when the Deity manifests Himself to man through his works of creation, He is known as the Logos. Essentially He is infinite but when He encloses a "ring pass-not" within which to build a kosmos, He has set limits to Himself, and what we can know of Him is contained in these limits. To us He appears in a triple aspect-the Christian Trinity-but this is, of course, merely an appearance, and in reality He is a unity. This triple aspect shews Him as Will, Wisdom and Activity, and from each of these came forth one of the creative life waves which formed the universe. From the third came the wave which created matter, from the second, the wave which aggregated diffuse matter into form, and from the first, the wave which brought with it the Monad; that scintillation of Himself which took posession of formed matter, to start thereby the evolutionary process.

Loiseant : (See France.)

Loki : (See Devil.)

Lombroso, Professor Cesare : A celebrated Italian anthropologist. A few years before his death be took up the study of spiritualism and experimented extensively with the well-known medium Eusapia Palladino, in company with Messieurs Richet, Maxwell, Flammarion, and Professor Schiaparelli. He embodied the results of his investigations in several well-known works, and concluded that although man was probably not immortal, his "shell" or shadow, a mere conglomeration of thought forces, remained on earth behind him for some considerable time after his demise. (See "After Death-What?" 1909.)

London Dialectical Society : In 1869 an important enquiry into the phenomena of spiritualism was undertaken by the London Dialectical Society. A committee of more than thirty members-including Alfred Russel Wallace, Sergeant Cox, Charles Bradlaugh, H. G. Atkinson, and Dr. James Edmunds-was formed, and resolved itself into six subcommittees. During the eighteen months over which their' labours extended, the committee received a large quantity of evidence from believers in the phenomena, but very little from those antagonistic to the spirit hypothesis. In "The Dialectical Society's Report on Spiritualism," published by the Society, particulars are given both of the members' own experiences and of testimonies from witnesses whose character and position made their evidence valuable. Practically every form of manifestation, both physical and automatic, is covered in the report, which concluded thus:

"In presenting their report, your Committee, taking into consideration the high character and great intelligence of many of the witnesses to the more extraordinary facts, the extent to which their testimony is supported by the reports of the sub-committees, and the absence of any proof of imposture or delusion as regards a large portion of the phenomena; and further, having regard to the exceptional character of the phenomena, and the large number of persons of every grade of society and over the whole civilised world who are more or less influenced by a belief in their supernatural origin, and to the fact that no philosophical explanation of them has yet been arrived at, deem it incumbent upon them to state their conviction that the subject is worthy of more serious attention and careful investigation than it has hitherto received."

The Dialectical Society's investigations are noteworthy as the first organised attempt to elucidate the problem of spiritualistic phenomena.

Lopez, Senor Manoel : (See Spain.)

Lopoukine, Chevalier : A Russian theologian to whom is attributed a tract, said to be translated from the Russian and entitled Characteristics of the Interior Church (1801). His teaching is similar to that of Eckhartshausen whose work has elsewhere been briefly described-it is a kind of Christian transcendentalism and in its tenour, resembles the higher literature of the Graal.

Lords of the Flame or Children of the Fire Mist : are, according to theosophists, adepts sent from the planet Venus to aid terrestrial evolution. It is necessary to explain that, in the evolution of the Solar System (q.v.) Venus is considerably in advance of the Earth, but by the efforts of these adepts directed towards intellectual development-the inhabitants of the earth are now really farther advanced than in ordinary course they would be. These adepts are not permanently inhabitants of the Earth, and, while a few yet remain, most of them have returned whence they came, the time of crisis at which they assisted having now passed. (See Theosophy, Evolution, Chains.)

Lost Word of Kabbalism : Lost Word in Masonry. A word relating to some mystic plan, which though it is held to have disappeared, will at some time be restored, and will then make the whole system plain. It is not really lost, only withheld for a season. In the same way the Graal was not lost, but withdrawn to its own place and the search for it occupied the noblest figures in chivalry. It represents the Key to the enigma of Creation; in terms of Christianity, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Loudun, Nuns of : In the year 1633, the convent of Ursulines established at Loudun in France was the scene of an outbreak of diabolical possession. The numerous nuns who inhabited the convent showed signs of diabolic possession, spoke with tongues. and behaved in the most extraordinary and hysterical manner. The affair grew in volume until practically all the nuns belonging to the institution were in the same condition of temporary insanity. The Mother Superior of the convent, Jeanne de Belfiel, appears to have been of hysterical temperament, and she was not long in infecting the other inmates of the institution. She, with a sister named Claire and five other nuns, were the first to be obsessed by the so-called evil spirits. The outbreak spread to the neighbouring town and so scandalous did the whole affair become that Richelieu appointed a commission to examine into it. The devils were subjected to the process of exorcism, which, however. proved to be fruitless in this instance. and the attacks of the nuns continued. But on a more imposing ceremony being held, they took themselves off, but only for a little while, returning again with greater violence than ever. Suspicion, or rather injustice, fixed upon the person of Urbain Grandier (q.v.), confessor. of the convent, as the head and source of the whole affair. He was arrested and accused of giving over the nuns to the possession of the Devil by means of the practice of sorcery. The truth is that the neighbouring clergy were madly jealous of Grandier because he had obtained two benefices in their diocese, of which lie was not a native, and they had made up their minds to compass his destruction at the first possible moment. Despite his protests of innocence, the unfortunate priest was haled before a council of judges of the neighbouring presidencies, who found upon his body the various marks which were the undoubted signs of a sorcerer, and it is said that the inquest brought to light the fact that Grandier had none too good a reputation. We must be very careful, however, to refrain from believing the worst about him, as the sources regarding this are undoubtedly tainted by religious prejudice. It is said that on his papers being seized much matter subversive of religious practice was found amongst them. They failed, however, to find that pact with Satan for which they had looked, although afterwards several versions of it were published by more or less credulous persons and sold as broadsheets. The unfortunate man was condemned to be burnt at the stake-a sentence which was duly carried out. After his death, however, the possession of the hysterical sisters did not cease ; the demons became more obstreperous than ever and flippantly answered to their names of Asmodeus, Leviathan, and Behemoth, and so forth. A very holy Brother called Surin was delegated to put an end to the affair. Frail and unhealthy, he possessed, however, an indomitable spirit, and after much wrestling in prayer succeeded in finally exorcising the demons. The whole affair is set forth in the Historie des Diables de Loudun, published in 1839. which gave a detailed account of one of the most extraordinary obsessions of modern times.

Loutherburg : (See Spiritualism.)

Loyer, Pierre Le : Sieur de la Brosse, royal councillor and demonographer, was born at Huille in Anjou in 1550. He was the author of a work entitled Discours et histoires des spectres, visions et apparitions des esprits, anges, demons et ames se montrant aux hommes. The work is divided into eight books dealing with the marvellous visions and prodigies of all the centuries. and the most celebrated authors sacred as well as profane, who have dealt with occult subjects, the cause of apparitions, the nature of good and evil spirits, of demons, of ecstasy, of the essence, nature and origin of souls, of magicians and sorcerers, of the manner of their communication, of evil spirits, and of impostors It was published at Paris in 1605 in one quarto volume. The first book deals with spectres, apparitions and spirits; the second with the physics of Loyer's time, the illusions to which the senses are prone, wonders, the elixirs and metamorphases of sorceries and of philtres ; the third book establishes the degrees, grades and honours of spirits, gives a resume of the history of Philinnion and of Polycrites, and recounts diverse adventures-with spectres and demons; the fourth book gives many examples of spectral appearances, of the speech of persons possessed of demons, of the countries and dwelling-places of these spectres and demons, of marvellous portents, and so forth ; the fifth treats of the science of the soul, of its origin, nature, its state after death, and of haunting ghosts; the sixth division is entirely taken up with the apparition of souls, and shows how the happy do not return to earth, but only those whose souls are burning in purgatory; in the seventh book the case of the Witch of Endor, and the evocation of the soul of Samuel, are dealt with, as is evocation in general and the methods practised by wizards and sorcerers in this science ; the last book gives some account of exorcism, fumigations, prayers, and other methods of casting out devils, and the usual means employed by exorcists to destroy these. The work as a whole is exceedingly curious if disputatious and a little dull in parts, and throws considerable light upon the occult science of the times.

Lubin : The fish whose gall was used by Tobias to restore his father's sight. It is said to be very powerful against ophthalmia, and its heart is potent in driving away demons.

Lucifer : Literally light-bringer, a name applied to the conception of the devil, who has often been likened to a fallen star or angel. The Miltonic conception of Lucifer as a force potent for good or evil, one who might have done good greatly, intensely proud and powerful exceedingly, is one which is inconsistent with enlightenment. He represents simply the absence of good; a negative not a positive entity.

He presides over the east, according to the ideas of the old magicians. He was invoked on Mondays, in a circle in the centre of which was his name. As the price of his complaisance in appearing to the magician he asked only a mouse. Lucifer commands Europeans and Asiatics. He appears in the shape of a beautiful child. When he is angry his face is flushed, but there is nothing monstrous about him. He is, according to some students of demonology, the grand justiciary of Hades. He is the first to be invoked in the litanies of the Sabbath. (See Devil-worship.)

Lugh : In Irish romance, son of Kian, and father of Cuchulain. He was brought up by his uncle Goban, the Smith, and by Duach, King of Fairyland. It was prophesied of Lugh that he should eventually overcome his father's old enemy Balor, his own grandfather. So instead of killing the three murderers of his father, Kian, he put them on oath to obtain certain wonders, including the magical spear of the King of " Persia" and the pig-skin of the King of Greece, which, if laid on a patient, would heal him of his wound or cure him of his sickness. Thus equipped, Lugh entered the Battle of Moytura, against the Fomorians, and by hurling a stone which pierced through the eye to the brain of Balor, fulfilled the druidic prophecy. Lugh was the Irish Sun-god; his final conquest of the Fomorians and their leader symbolises the victory of light and intellect over darkness. Balor was god of darkness, and brute force as embodied in the Fomorians. By his title of Ildanach, or " All Craftsman," Lugh is comparable to the Greek Apollo. He was widely worshipped by Continental Celts.

Lully, Raymond : The life of this alchemist was a curious and eventful one, and all its diverse chapters bespeak him a man of titanic physical and mental energy, quite incapable of doing anything in dilettante fashion, but instead throwing himself heart and soul into every quest which chanced to appeal to him. Raymond's father was a Spanish knight, who, having won the approval of John I.. King of Arragon. was granted an estate in Majorca; and it was in that island of the Balearic group that the future alchemist was born, probably in the year 1229. but the date is uncertain. Thanks to the royal favour which his father enjoyed, Raymond was appointed Seneschal of the Isles while he was still a mere youth; but hardly had he acquired this position ere, much to the chagrin of his parents, he began to show a strong predilection for debauchery. He paid amorous addresses to women of all sorts, while at length. becoming enamoured of a married lady named Eleonora de Castello, he began to follow her wherever she went, making no attempt to conceal his illicit passion. On one occasion, indeed, he actually sought the lady while she was attending mass. And, so loud was the outcry against this bold, if not sacrilegious act, that Eleonora found it essential to write in peremptory style to her cavaliere servente, bidding him desist from his present course. The letter failed to cool the youth's ardour, but anon, when it transpired that the lady was smitten with the deadly complaint of cancer, her admirer's frame of mind began to alter speedily. Sobered by the frustration of his hopes, he vowed that henceforth he would live differently, consecrating his days to the service of God.

So Raymond espoused holy orders, but, as was natural in the case of a man of such active and impetuous temperament, he felt small inclination for monastic life. His aim was to carry the Gospel far afield, converting the children of Mahomet, and with this in view he began to study

Arabic; while having mastered that tongue he proceeded to Rome, eager to enlist the Pope's sympathy in his project. Raymond failed in the latter particular, yet, nothing daunted he embarked on his own account at Genoa about the yeas 1291, and having reached Tunis he commenced his crusade. His ardour resulted in his being fiercely persecuted and ultimately banished so perforce he returned for a while to Europe, visiting Paris, Naples and Pisa, and exhorting all good Christians to aid his beloved enterprise. But in 1308 he ventured to go back to Africa, and at Algiers he made a host of converts, yet was once more forced to fly for his life before the angry Mussulmans. He repaired to Tunis, thinking to escape thence to Italy, but his former activities in the town were remembered, and consequently he was seized and thrown into prison. Here he languished for a long time, never failing to seize every opportunity which presented itself of preaching the gospel, but at last some Genoese merchants contrived to procure his release, and so he sailed back to Italy. Proceeding to Rome, he made further and strenuous efforts towards obtaining the Pope's support of a well-equipped foreign mission; but Raymond's importunity herein proved abortive, and, after resting for a brief space at his native Majorca, the heroic zealot took his life in his hands, and returned to Tunis. Here he even proclaimed his presence publicly, but scarcely had he begun preaching when he reaped the inevitable harvest, and after being savagely attacked he was left lying on the sea-shore, his assailants imagining him dead. He was still breathing, however, when some Genoese found him, and carrying him to a ship they set sail for Majorca. But the missionary did not rally, and he died while in sight of his home, the date being 1315.

Raymond's proselytising ardour had made his name familiar throughout Europe, and, while many people regarded him as a heretic because he had undertaken a mission without the pope's sanction, there were others who admired him so much that they sought to make him a saint. But he was never canonized, and the reason, perhaps, lay in the well-known fact that he had engaged in alchemy. He is reported to have made a large sum of gold for the English king, and, while there is really no proof that he ever visited Britain, the remaining part of the story holds a certain significance. For it is said that Lully made the money on the strict understanding that it should be utilised for equipping a large and powerful band of missionaries, and the likelihood is that he thought to. employ his chymical skill on behalf of his beloved object, and approached some European Sovereign with this in view, thus giving rise to the tradition about his dealings with the English monarch. Be that as it may, Raymond's voluminous writings certainly include a number of aichem-istic works, notably Alchimia Magic Naturalis, De Aquis Super Accurtationes, De Secretis Medicina Magna and De Conservatione Vitae; and it is interesting to find that several of these won considerable popularity and were-repeatedly reprinted, while so late as 1673 two volumes of Opera Alchima purporting to be from Raymond's pen were issued at London. Five years before this a biography by Vernon had been published at Paris, while at a later date a German historian of chemistry, Gruelin, referred to Lully as a scientist of exceptional skill, and mentioned him as the first man to distil rosemary oil.

Luminous Bodies : Dead bodies are frequently supposed to glow in the dark with a sort of phosphorescent light. Possibly the belief arose from the idea that the soul was like a fire dwelling in the body.

Luther, Martin : The Rosicrucian. (See Rosicrucians.)

Lutin, The : The Lutin of Normandy in many respects resembled Robin Goodfellow. Like him he had many names and like him had the power of assuming many forms. but the Lutin's pranks were usually of a more serious nature than those of the tricky spirit of Merrie England. Many a man laid his ruin at the Lutin's door, although it must be confessed that in these cases neighbours were uncharitable enough to say, that the Lutin had less to do with it than habits of Want-of-Thrift and Self-Indulgence. Thus, on market days, when a farmer lingered late over his ale, whether in driving a close bargain or in enjoying the society of a boon companion, he declared the Lutin was sure to play him some spiteful trick on his way home his horse would stumble-he would be thrown-he would lose his purse-or else his way. If the farmer persisted in these habits, more serious would become the Lutin's tricks; the sheep-pens would be unfastened, the cow-house and stable doors left open, and the flocks and cattle be found moving among the standing corn and unmown hay; while every servant on the farm would swear to his own innocence, and unhesitatingly lay the blame on the Lutin. Similar tricks were played on the fishermen by the Nain Rouge-another name for the Lutin. He opened the meshes of the nets and set the fish free ; he removed the floats and let the nets sink to the bottom, or the sinkers, and let the nets float away on the retiring tide. True, if closely questioned, the fishermen would confess that on these occasions the night was dark and stormy, the botby warm, and the grog plentiful, and that instead of drawing their nets at the proper time, they had delayed it till mornmg. Again, he would appear like a black nag, ready bridled and saddled, quietly feeding by the way-side; but woe to the luckless wight who mounted him !-unless, indeed, he did so for some charitable or holy purpose, in which case he was borne with the speed of the wind to his destination. In this form the Lutin played his wildest pranks and was called Le Cheval Bayard.

Lux : (See Spain.)

Lycanthropy : The transformation of a human being into an animal. The term is derived from the Greek words, lukos a wolf, and anthropos a man, but it is employed regarding a transformation into any animal shape. It is chiefly in these countries where wolves are numerous that we find such tales concerning them. (See Wer-wolf.) But in India, and some parts of Asia, the tiger takes the place of the wolf; in Russia and elsewhere the bear, and in Africa the leopard.

It is usually savage animals regarding which these beliefs are prevalent, but even harmless ones also figure in them. There is considerable confusion as to whether such transformations were voluntary, or involuntary, temporary or permanent. The man as transformed into the animal may be the very individual himself, or, on the other hand may be only his double, that is his spirit may enter the animal and his body remain unchanged. Magicians and witches were credited with the power of transforming themselves into wolves and other animal shapes, and it was asserted that if the animal were wounded that the marks of the wound would be discovered upon the wizard's body.

The belief is current amongst many savage tribes that every individual possesses an animal form which he enters at death, or at will. This is effected either by magic or natural agency.

As has been said, the wolf is a common form of animal transformation in Europe. In ancient Greece the belief was associated with the dog, which took the place of the wolf. Other similar beliefs are found in India and Java and in the former country we find the wer-wolf in a sort of vampire form.

Guyon relates the history of an enchanter who used to change himself into different beasts.

"Certain people," said he, "persuaded Ferdinand, first Emperor of that name, to command the presence of a Polish enchanter and magician in the town of Nuremberg to learn the result of a difference he had with the Turks, concerning the kingdom of Hungary; and not only did the magician make use of divination, but performed various other marvels, so that the king did not wish to see him, but the courtiers introduced him into his chamber. There he did many wonderful things, among others, he transformed himself into a horse, anointing himself with some grease, then he took the shape of an ox, and thirdly that of a lion, all in less than an hour. The emperor was so terrified by these transformations that he commanded that the magician should be immediately dismissed, and declined to hear the future from the lips of such a rascal."

"It need no longer be doubted," adds the same writer, "that Lucius Apuleius Plato was a sorcerer, and that he was transformed into an ass, forasmuch as he was charged with it before the proconsul of Africa, in the time of the Emperor Antonine I., in the year 150 A.D., as Apollonius of Tyana, long before, in the year 60, was charged before Domitian with the same crime. And more than three years after, the rumour persisted to the time of St. Augustine, who was an African, who has written and confirmed it; as also in his time the father of one Prestantius was transformed into a horse, as the said Prestantius declared. Augustine's father having died, in a short time the son had wasted the greater part of his inheritance in the pursuit of the magic arts, and in order to flee poverty he sought to marry a rich widow named Pudentille, for such a long time that at length she consented. Soon after her only son and heir, the child of her former marriage, died. These things came about in a manner which led people to think that he had by means of magic entrapped Pudentille, who had been wooed in vain by several illustrious people, in order to obtain the wealth of her son. It was also said that the profound knowledge he possessed-for he was able to solve difficult questions which left other men bewildered-was obtained from a demon or familiar spirit he possessed. Further, certain people said they had seen him do many marvellous things, such as making himself invisible, transforming himself into a horse or into a bird, piercing his body with a sword without wounding himself, and similar performances. He was at last accused by one Sicilius OEmilianus, the censor, before Claudius Maximus, proconsul of Africa, who was said to be a Christian; but nothing was found against him.

Now, that he had been transformed into an ass, St. Augustine regards as indubitable, he having read it in certain true and trustworthy authors, and being besides of the same country; and this transformation happened to him in Thessaly before he was versed in magic, through the spell of a sorceress, who sold him, and who recovered him to his former shape after he had served in the capacity of an ass for some years, having the same powers and habits of eating and braying as other asses, but with a mind still sane and reasonable as he himself attested. And at last to show forth his case, and to lend probability to the rumour, he wrote a book entitled The Golden Ass, a melange of fables and dialogues, to expose the vices of the men of his time, which he had heard of, or seen, during his transformation, with many of the labours and troubles he had suffered while in the shape of an ass.

"However that may be, St. Augustine in the book of the City of God, book XVIII., chapters XVII. and XVIII., relates that in his time there were in the Alps certain sorceresses who gave a particular kind of cheese to the passers by, who, on partaking of it, were immediately changed into asses or other beasts of burden, and were made to carry heavy weights to certain places. When their task was over, they were permitted to regain their human shape."

"The bishop of Tyre, historian, writes that in his time, probably about 1220, some Englishmen were sent by their king to the aid of the Christians who were fighting in the Holy Land, and that on their arrival in a haven of the island of Cyprus a sorceress transformed a young English soldier into an ass. He, wishing to return to his companions in the ship, was chased away with blows from a stick, whereupon he returned to the sorceress who made use of him, until someone noticed that the ass kneeled in a church and did various other things which only a reasoning being could do. The sorceress who followed him was taken on suspicion before the authorities, was obliged to give him his human form three years after his transformation, and was forthwith executed."

"We read," says Loys Guyon, "that Ammonius, a peripatetic philosopher, about the time of Lucius

Septimius Severus, in the year 196 A.D., had present at his lessons an ass whom he taught. I should think that this ass had been at one time a man, and that he quite understood what Ammonius taught, for these transformed persons retain their reason unimpaired, as St. Augustine and other writers have assured us."

"Fulgose writes, book VIII., chapter II., that in the time of Pope Leon, who lived about the year 930, there were in Germany two sorceresses who used thus to change their guests into beasts, and on one occasion she changed a young mountebank into an ass, who, preserving his human understanding, gave a great deal of amusement to the passers-by. A neighbour of the sorceresses bought the ass at a good price, but was warned by them that he must not take the beast to a river, or he would lose it. Now the ass escaped one day and running to a near-by lake plunged into the water, when he returned to his own shape. Apuleirs says that he regained his human form by eating roses.

"There are still to be seen in Egypt asses which are led into the market-place to perform various feats of agility and tricks, understanding all the commands they receive, and executing them: such as to point out the most beautiful woman of the company, and many other things that one would hardly believe; and Belon, a physician, relates in his observations that lie has seen them, and others also, who have been there, and who have affirmed the same to me."

"One day there was brought to St. Macarius, the Egyptian," says Calmet, "an honest woman who had been transformed into a mare by the wicked art of a magician. Her husband and all who beheld her believed that she had really been changed into a mare. This woman remained for three days without taking any food, whether suitable for a horse or for a human being. She was brought to the priests of the place, who could suggest no remedy. So they led her to the cell of St. Macarius, to whom God had revealed that she was about to come. His disciples wished to send her away, thinking her a mare, and they warned the saint of her approach, and the reason for her journey. He said to them: ' It is you who are the animals, who think you see that which is not; this woman is not changed, but your eyes are bewitched." As he spoke he scattered holy water on the head of the woman, and all those present saw her in her true shape. He had something given her to eat and sent her away safe and sound with her husband."

Lytton, Bulwer : Author (1803-1873). According to his baptismal certificate, the full name of this once famous author was Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, and in signing some of his early writings he used all these names with occasional variations in their order, an act which was regarded by many people as springing from pride and pompousness, and which elicited the withering satire of Thackeray in Punch. Lytton was born at London in 1803, and his father was a Norfolk squire, Bulwer of Heydon Hall; while his mother was Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, a lady who claimed kinship with Cadwaladr Vendigaid, the semi-mythical hero who led the Strathclyde Welsh against the Angles in the seventh century. As a child the future novelist was delicate, but he learnt to read at a surprisingly early age, and began to write verses before he was ten years old. Going first to a small private school at Fulham, he soon passed on to another one at Rottingdean; and here he continued to manifest literary tastes, Byron and Scott being his chief idols at this time. So clever was the boy thought, indeed, that his relations decided it would be a mistake to send him to a public school; and accordingly he was placed with a tutor at Ealing, under whose care he progressed rapidly with his studies. Thereafter he proceeded to Cambridge, where he took his degree easily; and won many academic laurels, while on leaving the University he travelled for a while in Scotland and in France, and then bought a commission in the army. He sold it soon afterwards, however, while in 1827 he was married, and now he began to devote himself seriously to writing, his first publications of note being the novels of Falkland, Pelkam and Eugene Aram. These won an instant success, and placed considerable wealth in the author's hands, the result being that in 1831 he entered parliament as liberal member for St. Ives, Huntingdonshire; and during the next ten years he was an active politician yet found time to produce a host of stories, for instance The Last Days of Pompei and Ernest Maltravers, Zanoni and The Last of the Barons. These were followed shortly by The Cartons, and simultaneously Lytton achieved some fame as a dramatist, perhaps his best play being The Lady of Lyons; while in 1851 he was instrumental in founding a scheme for pensioning authors, in 1862 he increased his reputation greatly by his novel entitled A Strange Story, and four years later his services to literature and politics were rewarded by a peerage. He now began to work at yet another story, Kenelm Chillingly, but his health was beginning to fail, and he died in 1873 at Torquay.

The works cited above constitute but a fragment of Lytton's voluminous achievement. Besides further novels too numerous to mention, he issued several volumes of verses notably Ismael and The New Union, while he did translations from German, Spanish and Italian, he produced a history of Athens, he contributed to endless periodicals, and was at one time editor of The New Monthly Magazine. But albeit so busy throughout the whole of his career, and while winning vast fame and opulence, Lytton's life was not really a happy one, various causes conducing to make it otherwise. Long before meeting his wife he fell in love with a young girl who died prematurely, and this loss seems to have left an indelible scar on his heart, while his marriage was anything but a successful one, the pair being divorced comparatively soon after their union. Now as a mere child Lytton had evinced a predilection for mysticism, while he had surprised his mother once by asking her whether she was "not sometimes overcome by the sense of her own identity" (almost exactly the same question was put to his nurse in boyhood by another mystic, William Bell Scott) ; Lytton sedulously developed his leaning towards the occult, and it is everywhere manifest in his literary output. It transpires, for example, in his poem The Tale of a Dreamer, and again in Kenelm Chillingly, while in A Strange Story he tries to give a scientific colouring to old-fashioned magic; but neither this essay nor those others are really to be called triumphant in the artistic sense, and, as Sir Leslie Stephen shrewdly observes, Lytton's " attempts at the mysterious too often remind us of spirit-rapping rather than excite the thrill of supernatural awe." In a word Lytton's outlook on life was theatrical and his mysticism was not a little stagey.