I noticed that there was quite a number of people seated upon the grass in the grounds, or walking about. They were relatives of those who were undergoing treatment within the hall of rest, and whose awakening was imminent. Although, doubtless, they could have been summoned upon the instant when necessary, yet, following their old Earthly instinct, they preferred to wait close at hand for the happy moment. They were all supremely joyful, and very excited, as could be seen by the expressions on their faces, and many were the friendly smiles we received as we walked among them. Many of them, too, came forward to welcome us among them, thinking that we had come for the same reason as themselves. We told them of our true purpose, however, and they sped us on our way.
I observed that most of the people waiting in the gardens were not habited in their Earth clothes, and I assumed that most of them had been in Spirit for some considerable time. Such was not necessarily the case, Edwin told us. They had the right to wear their Spirit robes by virtue of the fact that they were inhabitants of this realm we were now in. And the robes they wore were eminently suited to both the place and the situation. It is difficult to describe the costume because so much rests in being able to give some comparison with a particular Earthly fabric. Here we have no such materials, and all outward appearances are produced, not by the texture of the material, but by the kind and degree of light that is the essence of a Spirit robe. Those that we now saw were in 'flowing' form and of full length, and the colors - blue and pink in varying degrees of intensity - seemed to interweave themselves throughout the whole substance of the robes. They looked very comfortable to wear, and like everything here, they require no attention to keep them in a state of perfect preservation, the Spirituality of the wearer alone accounting for that.
The three of us were still wearing our Earthly style of raiment, and Edwin suggested that, for our present purposes, we might change to our natural element in the matter of clothes. I was quite willing, of course, to fall in with any suggestion that he might like to make, as I turned to him for everything in my lack of knowledge. Ruth also seemed very keen to try this change, but the question that puzzled us both, was how it was to be accomplished.
Possibly there are people on the Earth-plane who are willing to believe that such a situation as this would involve the ceremony of being formally presented with a Spirit robe in the presence of a goodly gathering of celestial beings, who had come to witness the bestowing of our heavenly reward, and to be officially invited to take our 'eternal rest'!
Let me hasten to say that such was most emphatically not the case.
What did take place was very simply this: immediately I had expressed the wish to follow Edwin's suggestion of discarding my Earthly style of clothes, those very clothes faded away – dissolved - and I was attired in my own particular Spirit robe - of the same description as those I could see about me. Edwin's had changed likewise, and I noticed that his seemed to send out a greater strength of color than mine. Ruth's was the same as mine, and needless to say, she was full of joyful delight with this new manifestation of the Spirit. My old friend had experienced the change before, so his costume was not new to him. But speaking for myself - and I am sure for Ruth - I never at any moment felt the slightest embarrassment or strangeness or self-consciousness in this revolutionary - as it might seem to be - alteration in our external appearance. On the contrary, it seemed quite natural and perfectly in order, and unquestionably it was in proper keeping with our present surroundings, the more so, as I soon discovered when we walked into the home of rest. Nothing would have been more incongruous than Earthly apparel in such a building, which in its interior disposition and accommodations was totally unlike anything to be seen upon the Earth-plane.
As we entered, Edwin was greeted as an old friend by one who came forward to meet us. He briefly explained his mission and our presence there, and we were made welcome to see all that we wished.
An outer vestibule led into a lofty hall of considerable dimensions. The space that would ordinarily be devoted to windows was occupied by tall pillars set some distance apart, and this arrangement was carried out through all four walls. There was very little in the way of interior decoration, but it must not be supposed from this that the apartment had a cold, barrack-like appearance. It was anything but that. The floor was carpeted with some very soft covering in a sober design, and here and there a handsomely-wrought tapestry was hanging upon the walls. Occupying the whole of the floor space were extremely comfortable-looking couches, each of which bore a recumbent form, quite still, and obviously sleeping profoundly. Moving quietly about were a number of men and women intent upon watching the different couches and their burdens.
I noticed as soon as we entered this hall that we came under the influence of the blue ray, and its effect was one of pronounced energizing as well as tranquility. Another noticeable quality was the entire absence of any idea of an institution with its inevitable officialdom. There was no question of patronage, nor did I feel the least shade of being among strangers. Those in attendance upon the sleepers did so, not in the attitude of a certain task to be done willy-nilly, but as though they were performing a labor of love in the sheer joy of doing it. Such, indeed, was precisely the case. The glad awakening of these sleeping souls was an ever- recurrent joy to them, no less than to the people who had come to witness it.
I learned that all the 'patients' in this particular hall had gone through lingering illnesses before passing over. Immediately after their dissolution they are sent gently into a deep sleep. In some cases, the sleep follows instantly - or practically without break - upon the physical death. Long illness prior to passing into the Spirit world has a debilitating effect upon the mind, which in turn has its influence upon the Spirit body.
The latter is not serious, but the mind requires absolute rest of varying duration. Each case is treated individually, and eventually responds perfectly to its treatment. During this sleep-state the mind is completely resting. There are no unpleasant dreams, or fevers of delirium.
While gazing upon this perfect manifestation of Divine Providence, the thought came to me of those absurd Earthly notions of 'eternal rest,' 'everlasting sleep', and the many other equally foolish Earthly conceptions, and I wondered if, by some chance or other, this sleep I was now beholding had been distorted by Earthly minds into a state of eternal slumber, whither all souls pass at dissolution, there to await, in countless years' time, the awful 'last day' - the dread 'Day of Judgment'. Here was the visible refutation of such a senseless belief.
Neither of my two friends had awakened in this - or other - hall of rest, so they told me. Like myself, they had suffered no lengthy illness, and the end of their Earth lives had come quite quickly and quite pleasantly.
The patients resting upon their couches looked very peaceful. Constant watch is kept upon them, and at the first fluttering of returning consciousness, others are summoned, and all is ready for the full awakening. Some will wake up partially, and then sink back again into slumber. Others will shake off their sleep at once, and it is then that those experienced souls in attendance will have, perhaps, their most difficult task. Until that moment, in fact, it has been mostly a matter of watching and waiting. In so many cases it has to be explained to the newly awakened soul that he has 'died' and is alive. They will remember usually their long illness, but some are quite unaware that they have passed over