All this time Iole, because of the influence she had acquired over the great chief, had been his almost constant companion. There was no concealing the fact, he was in love with her. I knew this to be the case, but quenching the fires of jealousy resolved to let things take their course. Although I loved her better than all else on earth, I trusted that the fates would give me my dues, and kept her never-to-be-forgotten warning—"to forget self"—constantly in mind. During the five years of conflict I was now here and now there; now a communicating spy, and now a commander of forces. I had risen to the rank of general and was held in the highest esteem by my army. Peace having been once more declared I was again at Paris—Paris of the twentieth century; Paris, the capital of the United Republic of Europe; Paris, with her four millions of people and her boulevards and palaces. Two schools, one "Iole, my virgin love, what is your aspiration?" "To accomplish the end for which all souls exist, perfection and enlightenment," she answered with a sweet but serious smile. "Then our paths still lie together," I replied, as we reached our waiting-room. And now for the first time was I allowed to meet my father and mother; both received me with an affectionate kiss, but few words were spoken. Souls that understand each other need no recourse to speech, their "Alphonso Colono and his sister Iole," interrupted the caller, and as we passed out I said: "Most nobly said, my own true brother; if need be we will tear from our hearts the last thought of each other, and concentrate every thought for the good of man." As she thus spoke we paused for a moment before the door of the council-chamber; then clasping hands and kissing each other as though for final separation, we entered. "Brother and sister," said St. Germain, when we were seated opposite him at the table, "you have asked a high and most exalted privilege; a privilege few beings on earth possess; a privilege which can be given only after many lives of toil and labor for mankind's elevation; you ask for admission into the 'Third Degree.' If, heretofore, your duties have been arduous, in this degree they pass all comprehension and your lives become a ceaseless labor. Mark well this truth, I tell you now in time; this degree, instead of pleasure, bringeth pain, yet a pain that bringeth joy. For here you learn the ecstasy of pain when the result of efforts to bring happiness to others. This is the mystery of the suffering of Christ; this the reward of the Masters of compassion with whom pain, because brought in loving work for others, becomes the source of joy." He spoke in a deep, slow and solemn manner, and looking toward the Oriental who sat close As if moved by a common impulse we both answered with one voice: "That which will make us the most effective instruments, and enable us to do the most good for man." "Then two fields of action lie open before you; brother, let us first hear your choice. We see our way clear to make you Governor of Italy, in which position you can do much good; and after your term is served we will make you Napoleon's successor as President of Europe. Here, indeed, will your opportunities be vast for good. This is the first path. By the second you become a wandering monk with healing powers, and go begging from place to place, healing disease and teaching men the truths of life. Which do you choose?" "Can you find others to fill the places of the first?" I asked. "Then let others take these places of fame and power, but let me humbly administer to mankind's wants and be a reliever of their woes. I choose path the second." Without reply he turned to Iole and said: "Sister, we have an opportunity for you to do much good, and have a request to ask; this request is not of necessity your lot, and you can, if you desire, refuse it." "Any requests you may ask are granted in advance," she answered. "Grant not before you know; what we ask may be more than you expect—so hear. Napoleon loves you; the mighty genius thinks that in you he has found one worthy of his love; and, as a result, you possess great power and influence over him. Now, although made great by us, he is no brother, and is selfish in his nature; but if you will be his wife your just and unselfish commands will be his laws. Through him you can do much good, and at the same time can purify and elevate his nature. Will you be his wife?" Despite my utmost efforts, an agonizing pang tore through my heart; had she conquered all her heart's temptations, overcome all trials and spent her life for naught? Was she to be shut out of the Great Degree and linked to a man to save
"If I can do good and be of benefit to my fellow-creatures, your request is granted and I will be his wife." She answered clearly and firmly, but there was a sad resignation in her voice. "And will you love him?" "As I love all men," she answered, "but the love that comes to kindred souls it is not within my power to make." "But all souls are kindred in the universal Soul," he answered. "Truly, but vibrations make them different. If he should make the number of his soul the same as mine, then I would love, not because I willed it, but because I must; and he likewise would love, because sympathetic souls must from their very nature love." "Most truly do you speak, my sister," replied the count; "if all men and women would attune their souls to the universal Soul, or the same vibration, all souls would love with purest love; not because they willed it, but because they, by their nature, must." All this time the piercing eyes of the unknown Oriental had been resting upon us; but now for the first time he spoke, addressing St. Germain: "This sister shall not marry, not even Marleon; "The Master's word is law, and from henceforth you are in his charge." Then turning to me, he said: "Brother Alphonso, your sister Iole goes to the East; if you persevere and do your chosen duty it will be your privilege to join her later. Her labor from now on shall be through the invisible world of mind and soul. Although apparently separated from the world, she will impress and influence all creatures and men. The great hierarchy have adopted her into their inner lodge, and she leaves you until you have the power to join her; but remember that, though separate in body, you are never apart in soul." He ceased, and at his motion Iole, giving me one long, soul-communicating gaze left the chamber with the Oriental. "Now, brother," said St. Germain, "you are under the jurisdiction of Eral and the western council, which you see here; meet them to-morrow morning at the château of Count Du Bois. Now you may go." At his motion of dismissal I left the room and proceeded to the Durant mansion. Some time Thus her final lecture closed, and with a farewell caress she left the room, and I was alone in her apartments. For over a year I had perceived a change in my body; it was filled with an airy feeling and pervaded with n, wonderful lightness. I seemed never to tire, and, strange to say, day after day required less and less food. But as I eras now left alone a still greater sense of bodily freedom came to me; being filled with a tingling sensation I seemed to have no weight, and almost before I knew it fell into a dozing sleep. The next morning, with nothing but my wearing apparel and a long cape cloak of indigo color, I commenced my pilgrimage. In this attire I passed through the city without being recognized. After fourteen years I again crossed the Atlantic and arrived at New York. Here, without revealing my identity, but on the strength of my otherwise evident position, I called together the American council, and asked their co-operation in the formation of a "League of Justice and Mercy;" justice for the innocent and mercy for the suffering and helpless. Visiting all the lodges I went By request of your other self you have been granted some experiences in the 'Third Degree.'" As he spoke he held a mirror up before me, and "And where is Iole?" I asked. "She is in New Orleans, and you are now in Lhassa." "And how long will this exchange continue?" "Until you both consent to re-exchange." "And did I consent to this transfer into her pure and holy body while she takes my impure form?" "Most certainly you did, or it never could have happened. The soul is master of the form it tenants, and no power can drive it therefrom or replace it against its will. Your body has by your labors been made pure; otherwise Iole, pure soul, could not have entered it." "And are such exchanges always good?" I asked. "All we sanction, yes; many others, no," he answered. "Many people by becoming passive and surrendering their will, or by degrading "And whence all these strange memories and this wonderful knowledge and light now breaking on my mind?" I asked, as a train of ceaseless thought throbbed through my brain. "As member of the 'Third Degree,' it is within your power to recall your past existences extending back through the vast and shoreless sea of time. These memories, registered deep in the immortal soul, are locked and withheld from untrained minds, for, with memory limited to one short life, how many precious hours are spent in useless lingering on scenes gone by. Only those who realize their soul and sink their minds into its depths, can read this endless record. To us who can control our minds and attune them to our souls, these memories, and the vast store of knowledge gathered through many lives gone by, are not withheld. Dim and uncertain is the memory which comes through the brain alone; the greatest portion of most men's lives is blank, and what they are conscious of to-day is lost to-morrow. Within the eternal memory of the soul are stored the As he spoke the mystery of Iole's words about past lives became explained; for, carefully watched by St. Germain, my mind went back into the past. Once more I was a Benedictine monk, laboring on the fields of Poitiers, and all that life was recalled. "Suffer not regret to disturb your mind," warned St. Germain, as I saw myself once more in the convent on the Pyrenees; "the past is beyond recall; go back." And, as by the magic of his words, I was again Cleomedes in beautiful Attica. "Suffer not emotion to disturb your mind's serenity," warned my guide, and once more I proceeded backward. And to! An Egyptian priestess in the halls of Thebes; then another lifetime back, and still a priestess in the land beside the "Now fix thy mind upon the yellow chakram and read and see; go to any place on earth thou wilt." No sooner had the adept spoken than my vision seemed to ignore the quality of place, and I was looking at a sleeping form reposing in a little cottage room in New Orleans. It is myself—no, my former temple, now in charge of sister. "Hasten!" commanded my guide; and from place to place, continent to continent, even to the impossible and secluded places do I fly; all the world is open to my vision. "Cross not the depths of space, thy will has not sufficient strength; much higher yet must thou go before thou canst its mysteries know, unless thou learnest them from their presence in the world, and that little world—thyself. Return!" Again I came back to consciousness within the court. "Brother," said St. Germain, "you have seen a few of the mysteries of life, but only the smallest portion of the whole." "O that men could realize the grandeur ofLHASSA.