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Strange Visitors / A series of original papers, embracing philosophy, science, government, religion, poetry, art, fiction, satire, humor, narrative, and prophecy, by the spirits of Irving, Willis, Thackeray, Brontë, Richter, Byron, Humboldt, Hawthorne, Wesley, Browning, and others now dwelling in the spirit world; dictated through a clairvoyant, while in an abnormal or trance state cover

Strange Visitors / A series of original papers, embracing philosophy, science, government, religion, poetry, art, fiction, satire, humor, narrative, and prophecy, by the spirits of Irving, Willis, Thackeray, Brontë, Richter, Byron, Humboldt, Hawthorne, Wesley, Browning, and others now dwelling in the spirit world; dictated through a clairvoyant, while in an abnormal or trance state

Chapter 50: ADAH ISAACS MENKEN. _HOLD ME NOT_.
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About This Book

A miscellany of purported spirit communications channeled through a clairvoyant, comprising essays, poems, sketches, satire, fiction, and prophecy. Contributions alternate intimate first-person accounts of dying and arriving in a luminous spirit realm with reflective pieces on religion, philosophy, art, government, and social life. Some entries describe visionary landscapes and modes of spirit travel, while others present critical or satirical commentary on earthly institutions and artistic practice. The collection blends mystical narrative with speculative argument, moving between emotive reminiscence and didactic exposition to explore mortality, moral responsibility, and the continuity imagined between earthly experience and a perceived afterlife.

ADAH ISAACS MENKEN.

_HOLD ME NOT_.

Up to the zenith mount!
Far into space—
Ah! all thy tears I count,
Sad, loving face.

Clasp not my garments so,
Love of my soul;
Clinging, you drag me low,
Where tortures roll.

Soil not my angel wing;
Keep not from rest;
How can I upward spring,
Clasped to thy breast?

Hold me not, lover—friend—
Earth I would fly;
Passion and torture end
In the blest sky!

Life brought but woe to me,
Even thy kiss
Gave me but agony—
Remorse with bliss!

Let go thy earthly hold—
Fain would I fly;
Voices with love untold
Call from on high.

Farewell—the dregs are drank
Of life’s sad cup;
It proved but poison rank;
Life’s lease is up!