Funeral of a Spiritist.

The following address was delivered by me at the funeral of Mr. Nant, one of our colleagues of the Society of Paris, on September 23, 1865. We publish it at the request of the family, and because, in the circumstances reported in the preceding article, it shows where the true doctrine lies.

“Gentlemen and dear colleagues of the Society of Paris, and all of you, our brothers in belief, here present:

“Barely a month ago, we came to this very place to render our last homages to one of our former colleagues, Mr. Dozon. n The departure of another brother brings us here today. A member of the Society, Mr. Nant has also just delivered to the earth his mortal remains, in order to put on the brilliant envelope of the Spirits. Have we come, according to the consecrated expression, to bid him the last farewell? No, for we know that death is nothing but an entrance into the true life, a bodily separation of a few moments, and that the void it leaves in the home is only apparent. “O sweet and holy belief, which always shows us, at our side, the beings who are dear to us! Even if it were an illusion, it ought to be blessed, because it fills the heart with ineffable consolation! But no; it is not a vain hope, it is a reality, attested daily by the relations that are established between the dead and the living, according to the flesh. Blessed, then, be the science that shows us the tomb as the threshold of liberation, and teaches us to look death in the face and without terror! “Oh! my brothers! Let us lament those whom the veil of incredulity still blinds; it is for them that death has terrible apprehensions! For the survivors, it is more than a separation, it is the eternal destruction of the dearest beings. For one who sees the last hour approaching, it is the abyss of nothingness opening before him! A horrible thought, which legitimizes anguish and despair. “What a difference for one who not only believes in the future life, but understands it and identifies himself with it! He no longer marches with anxiety toward the unknown, but with confidence toward the new way that opens before him; he already glimpses, and counts with composure, the minutes that still separate him from it, like the traveler who approaches the end of the road and knows that, on his arrival, he will find repose and receive the embraces of his friends. “Such was Mr. Nant. His life had been that of the man of good par excellence; his death, that of the just man and of the true Spiritist. His faith in the teachings of our doctrine was sincere and enlightened; from it he drew immense consolations during life, resignation in the sufferings that ended it, and a radiant calm in the last moments. He offered us an admirable example of conscious death; he followed with lucidity the progress of the separation, which was effected without shocks, and, when he felt the last bond break, he blessed those present; then, taking the hands of his grandson, a child of ten years, he placed them upon his eyes, in order to close them himself. A few seconds later he breathed his last sigh, exclaiming: Ah! I see him! “At that moment his grandson, seized with violent emotion, was suddenly put to sleep by the Spirits. In his ecstasy, he saw the soul of his grandfather, accompanied by a multitude of other Spirits, rise into space, but still held to the corporeal envelope by the fluidic cord.

“Thus, as the doors of earthly life closed upon him, those of the spiritual world, whose splendors he glimpsed, opened before him.

“O sublime and touching spectacle! which did not have for witnesses those who at this hour jeer at the science that reveals to us such consoling mysteries! They would have saluted it with respect, instead of ridiculing it. If they cast irony and insult upon it, let us forgive them: it is because they do not know it and go to seek it where it is not to be found.

“For us, let us render thanks to the Lord, who deigned to tear before our eyes the veil that separates us from the future life, since death seems terrible only to those who see nothing in the Beyond. By teaching man whence he comes, where he goes, and why he is on Earth, Spiritism has endowed him with an immense benefit, for it gives him courage, resignation, and hope.

“Dear Mr. Nant, we accompany you in thought into the world of the Spirits, where you are going to gather the fruit of your earthly trials and of the virtues of which you gave the example. Receive our farewell, until the moment when it shall be granted us to be reunited there.

“Without doubt you have seen again our brother who preceded you a short while ago, Mr. Dozon, and who certainly accompanies you at this moment. We unite ourselves to him, in thought, in the prayer that for you we are going to address to God.”

(Here is said the prayer for those who have just left the Earth, which is found in The Gospel According to Spiritism.)

Note. – At the moment of printing this issue, we learned that Mr. Nant, in accordance with a testamentary disposition, bequeathed 2,000 francs to be applied to the propagation of Spiritism.

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Mr. Dozon [Henri Dozon], author of the Revelations from Beyond the Tomb [Révélations d’outre-tombe - Google Books], 4 vols. in-12; died at Passy (Paris), on August 1, 1865.