Correspondence.

Charles Dickens as a Spiritualist.

(To the Editor of Frecthought.)

Sir,—It has come to my ears that objections have been taken to my claiming Charles Dickens as a Spiritualist. I am well aware that at one time of his life he scoffed at mediums, but, nevertheless, I contend that the only intelligible expressions of faith to be found in his works are purely Spiritualistic in their nature, and it is on these grounds that I claim him. Should this method of procedure not be approved of, I can only reply that I have the highest orthodox authority for it, for Professor Lightfoot, now Bishop of Durham, in reviewing the first volumes of "Supernatural Religion," makes use of the following expression : "In spite of our author's repudiation, 1 boldly claim the writer of the concluding chapter of ' Supernatural Religion ' as a believer in a personal God."^* And in like manner I claim Dickens as a Spiritualist. At present my studies are in a different direction, and I cannot spare the time to go through his works, but at some future date I may give you a paper on "Charles Dickens, the Spiritualist."