Edward Eldridge

“ She did not even look into the literature which Penloe had lent her that evening. She felt like retiring and thinking. When she laid her head on the pillow that night it seemed as if it was not to sleep; it was to think. The leaven was working in Stella's mind. The truths which she had just received were powerful; it seemed as if she could not get away from them, even if she wished, for truths possess us, we do not possess them. Nothing in the universe is more powerful than truth. ”

“ Your companionship has been that of the truest friendship, for your every act and thought has been to raise me up to a higher plane, and I would not be true to my highest and best nature if I did not tell you that I love you as I can love no other man. You possessed my heart long before to-night. Do you love Stella, Penloe, and do you want her to be your life companion, to help you in your noble work, to love you, and to live the Divine life with you? ”

“ Now, dear friends, I love you all, and that is why I call you dear friends, and that is why I am here this afternoon to talk to you, because I love you all. Yes, every one of you. I don't care what you apparently are. Some of you may be greedy and grasping, and some may be tyrannical and overbearing, or weak and negative; with no backbone or grit or will; or you may be vain, selfish, ambitious, self-conceited, carrying your head too high; or you may be one who lives to dance; loves the whirl and excitement of pleasure ”

“ Could a man be more popular than I was in Orangeville? No. In short, could a man have a much better all round time anywhere than I had in Orangeville? No. Then why am I here in this strange country, away from friends and loved ones? A small voice whispered to Ben West, and said: "It is because of your love for popularity, your greed, and because you are a slave to Julia Hammond." It was the name of Julia Hammond that roused Ben West from his reverie, that caused him to be restless, to rise, to proceed on his journey, and bring his iron will to bear, to overcome all obstacles. ”

“ It is a gift which comes to some in their higher unfoldment. I am very glad you saw Wavernee, for it is an inspiration to see such a person."
Stella replied: "Yes, Penloe, she is all you have described her to me, and much more. Her presence has a remarkable power of elevating. She is my ideal, for she is highly gifted and still only full of pure love. What you have related and what I have seen has been a great revelation to me, and fills me with joy in the thought of being your co-worker in living the life as Wavernee saw us as dispensers of truth, and helpers of humanity through love." ”

“ Now, I beseech each one of you, I beseech you because I love you, start to-day with the soul elevating thought, with this grand truth, that 'You are the Divine,' and live according to your Divine nature and not be ruled by your animal instincts. If ever you are in doubt about what you should do and what you should not do, I would say, do whatever would make you strong physically, whatever would make you strong intellectually, whatever would make you strong spiritually, and do not do what would make you weak physically, intellectually, or spiritually. ”

“ Wheelwright excused themselves when their regular time for retiring came, and as it was such a lovely moonlight evening, Stella invited Penloe to keep her company on the porch, saying, "The evening is so beautiful." Yes, it was beautiful. It was one of those matchless evenings in California that must be seen and enjoyed to be fully appreciated, and by a soul in touch with the sublime. To realize the grandeur of the sky, with its clear atmosphere, on those fine evenings, is to experience one of the richest joys of existence. Language is inadequate to describe such beauty. ”

“ Don't look upon yourself any longer as being that drinking, swearing, lustful man. But look upon yourself as being Divine; that all the qualities of the universe are within you, and in you are all the powers of the universe. That poor woman over there whose life is one of hard, monotonous toil in the house; you are the mother of too many children. Your life is one round of work, care and anxiety, and when you look in the glass you see that work, worry and passion have taken the bloom off your cheeks, the brightness out of your eyes ”

“ I say, and I repeat it again, I don't care what you apparently are, I love you all just the same. I look at you from an entirely different standpoint from which you look at yourselves. Now you all look at yourselves and at others according to sex and your environments. Before me I see men who say of themselves, I am a lawyer; I am a preacher; I am a banker; I am a doctor; I am a merchant; I am a mechanic; I am an artist; I am a musician; I am a farmer; I am a common laborer. Before me I see women who say, I am a dressmaker ”

“ When two persons of that type of character come together in love, giving each other through kisses, the expression of their affection, that kissing is bliss indeed.
After the silence and whisperings of deep love thoughts were over, Stella with her face looking so beautiful, being flushed from the realization of her love, said: "Penloe, dear, I knew that you were different from most men in not being dependent on the love of a woman for your happiness; for you had within you a deep well of living water from whence came all your joy, and you drank deep draughts from it daily. ”

“ They realize daily that "In Him they live, and breathe, and have their being"; that they are immersed in an ocean of Divine love, and that Divine love permeates them all through and through; and that it is in that ocean of Divine love that they realize that they are one. They feel a blessed nearness and dearness and oneness to each other, though separated by oceans and continents, for they have realized through sweet experience that the same intelligent spiritual thought and love pulses through them all as if they were one organism. ”

“ All nature seemed smiling, for was it not its mating season? What was all the chattering going on in the trees and the songs in the bushes, but the feathery tribe making love to each other. It seemed as if on this day all Nature was singing one grand anthem with a hallelujah chorus.
As the happy pair looked at the scene, they forgot for the moment their own happiness in the contemplation of Nature's grandeur.
Before them rose the variegated hills of the Sierras, the sun bringing out the brilliant coloring of the rocks ”

“ To give such a kiss, and even to enjoy receiving it, one must have a very high quality of organism. The cells of the brain, the blood which flows through the arteries and veins, the tissues of the whole body must have been formed and built up by that all powerful agent, thought. And that thought must be of the highest order; it must have emptied itself of all but love, that love which takes in all, and from that thought and life comes the manifestation of harmony, purity, sweetness, truth and love. Blessed, thrice blessed indeed, is such a person. ”

“ Turning to the one on her right she said, 'By a life of self-denial and discipline through prayer and meditation, and in cultivating the spirit of love for all, and in making your life a free will offering to humanity, you attained illumination. The angel now rules the animal and you have arrived now to the state of realization of the Divine within you. Not being in bondage to either the man or the woman, for you see that each is a spiritual being like the other, therefore you look upon me as a spiritual being manifested in the form of a woman. ”

“ Yes, he thought of Penloe's age, it was twenty-two; the very age when most young men think only of gratifying themselves in every little whim and fancy, of catering to their pride and vanity, and spending all their time, all their thought, and all their money on themselves; being lovers of themselves more than lovers of God or any one else. ”

“ Don't you remember his saying, 'I have traveled much, been among people of royalty, title and nobility, have lived among the rich, and great society leaders, also among great politicians, learned men, spiritual giants, business people, also among the poor, also the illiterate, the abandoned, the offscouring, and the outcasts of society; and I have yet to see the person that is not as good as I.' So you see he thinks that you are just as good as he. ”

“ I was surprised when I saw Penloe, for I thought of him as being a man past middle age, with long hair, unkempt beard and slovenly dress; but when I saw the best looking young man I have ever looked upon in my life, and finely dressed, too, I could not help thinking what a fine society man he would make. I am not surprised that Stella is taken with him. Why, if that man would only put his time into making money, he could have his pick of any of our best society young ladies. ”

“ You have all drawn veils over your Divine nature through this illusion, and from this illusion springs all the acts which keep you from realizing your Divine nature. Your greed, your vanity, your self-conceit, your love of praise, your love of self, your attachment to yourself, and all that is yours, your appetites all act as shades over the windows of the soul. ”

“ Again, where the purpose of the union is to live the pure life, then the union belongs to the higher plane. But the highest plane of all is where the two, at the time of marriage, consecrate themselves to each other and to the service of the Lord in His humanity, keeping their bodies, as the temples of God, pure and sacred; where both live above all lustful desires for each other, keeping the life forces for making the mind and body strong, and fitting themselves to be instruments of the Divine. ”

“ When she was not away from home on camping or picnic excursions, she would find time to visit the cabin of an old man who lived alone, and had sore eyes so that he could not see to read. She would read to him whatever he liked, cheer him up by her bright, happy talk, and when she left the old man often thought to himself that her comings were like angels' visits, for she seemed to lift him up completely out of himself into a new world. ”

“ Stella did enjoy the life so very much, and she was rapidly advancing physically, intellectually and spiritually. As for lonesomeness, she and Penloe did not know what that was, their minds being too active to be lonesome. They seemed to be new to each other every morning and fresh every evening, their life being a perfect joy and delight in its highest sense; for they realized each day more and more of their Divine natures. Each day they came in touch with the Infinite, and when they came down from the mountain their faces shone as Moses' did of old ”

“ If a stranger had been in Roseland to-day he certainly would have thought from seeing the livery stables crowded with teams from the country, and every vacant lot and square also filled with teams, and the crowds of people on the streets all going in one direction, that some great attraction was going on, and he would be under the impression that if he went out into the country he would not expect to see a person or a team, for there never was any occasion before that brought such a large gathering of people to Roseland. ”

“ And if there is anything that is real to a boy or girl, it is that he or she is a boy or girl, and if there is anything that is real to a man or a woman, it is that he or she is a man or woman. So strongly has this thought become the life thought of the human race, that the members of each sex look upon themselves as being just what their material forms stand for. That is, a woman believes that she will be a purified woman through all eternity, that the woman is permanent, real, immortal, and that she will continue on, as a woman, with her womanly traits of character greatly expanded. ”

“ My husband and I being at a party one evening given by Mr. and Mrs. Herne in Orangeville, I met a gentleman there by the name of Penloe, who certainly is the most gifted man I ever have met in all my travels. There is a power in his personality that is irresistible; you cannot help being drawn towards him. But his power is of that kind that is uplifting and elevating, and there is something very sweet in his nature. After supper I took a little walk with him about the grounds, and his conversation was exceedingly interesting. I will never forget the talk I had with him. ”

“ You know, dear mother, it is not that I want to know a man as a man, but it is natural that I should want and love an interesting male companion. When I think what Penloe is, and then think how little and insignificant I am, a mere child beside him, and only about four years difference in our ages, it makes me feel discouraged. ”

“ About a month after Ben West had returned to the Klondike, Julia had made new acquaintances of persons who had time, money, and elegant leisure. Returning home from a swell party one evening, Julia said to herself, "What freedom there is in being married. Your market is made, and you can have lots of fun dancing, flirting, and so on; while a girl that is unmarried has to be more careful of herself and her conduct, because it might hinder her making a desirable match. It is fine to be married to a good-natured man." ”

“ They want you to follow up the grand noble work you so heroically commenced, a work so dear to you that you were willing to make every sacrifice in order to be true to yourself and thus free others from bondage. Go into the silence, Stella, ask the Blessed Spirit for light and knowledge and he will show you which path to choose. ”