The gift of mediumship is a subject of great significance and profound interest to all students of spiritual matters; and yet it has always been difficult to obtain information about it. Very little has been written, or placed in available form for the inquirer. To this task Mr. Bishop has brought his own splendid gifts as a spiritual teacher, and the result is here given, under the title of “The Divine Gift of Mediumship.” Thus at the start the author shows his realization that mediumship is a divine gift, and the student is prepared for the reverent treatment accorded it in this book. No difficult or technical language is used. The reader is given valuable instruction in spiritual growth, in the one way that is always most acceptable and vitally interesting—namely, in the story of the author’s own development. This story precedes the lectures, laying the foundation for the application of principles brought out by the author’s experiences.

When anyone assumes to teach others, the question always arises: How does he know these things? What is his authority? And finally, there is often the feeling, when the teacher merely expounds and affirms, that the student’s problem is in some way different; that his life is more difficult, his conditions harder than others, and hence that the easy progress indicated by the instructions given is not possible for him. This usual condition is fully met by Mr. Bishop in this book, by the simple and direct way in which he tells the story of his spiritual experiences, from early childhood, to his entrance into public work. It is thus seen that the spiritual growth which he is trying to help others attain, came to him through the daily experiences that are common to all men; through the joys and sorrows that come into every life. Thus the way is made easy, because each one recognizes something of his own intimate life in the story of the author’s life. To be able to tell a personal experience, in a way that appeals to all, is the supreme achievement of the writer. This Mr. Bishop has done with a charm of style that holds the reader’s interest throughout, and a clearness of detail that gives the best possible reason why he is fitted to speak as a teacher, on the subjects of the lectures that follow.

A. H. C