VASTNESS AND ISOLATION.
("TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:1
SIR,—When I was a young girl between fifteen and sixteen, I frequently experienced to the full the almost indescribable mental condition alluded to by the writer of the above-named article, in which he says : "The material world seems to fall away from the person who experiences this strange mental condition, and he stands a naked soul in a limitless cosmos thrilled by the sense of immensity." In my case the con- dition was one of wonderful and intense joy. I seemed to be niught up in the spirit to an unknown region of the purest and most ecstatic spiritual bliss, which took possession of my whole being and made me gasp with wonder and delight,—
" The earth and every common sight
To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light, The freshness and the glory of a dream,"
And I wondered whether, like St. Paul, I had been "caught up into Paradise and had heard unspeakable words." This strange experience came upon me quite suddenly and lasted generally for a few minutes only, and it was usually on bright and beautiful days in spring that I experienced it. I often tried to induce a repetition by keeping very still and detaching my mind from all but the purest influences of spirit or Nature. I wrote down my sensations at the time, as they seemed to me so wonderful, but I afterwards destroyed the account for fear lest some one should read and ridicule them. I have often wondered whether others have had a similar experience, and was greatly interested in reading the article on the subject in last week's Spectator.—.I am, Sir, &c., E.G. F.
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