again from beneath my feet. And at the instant I fell, as if shot
down like a meteor from a vast height; and with the swiftness and
shock of the fall I awoke.

--Hinton, Sept. 1877

-----------------
* The book referred to was a volume entitled Fruit and Bread, which
had been sent anonymously on the previous morning. The fig-tree,
which both with the Hebrews and the Greeks was the type of intuitional
perception, was an especial symbol of Hermes, called by the Hebrews
Raphael. The plural used by the seer included myself as the partner
of her literary and other studies. The term virgin in its mystical
sense signifies a soul pure from admixture of matter.--(Ed.)
-----------------------





X. The Difficult Path




Having fallen asleep last night while in a state of great perplexity
about the care and education of my daughter, I dreamt as follows.

I was walking with the child along the border of a high cliff, at
the foot of which was the sea. The path was exceedingly narrow,