The Ghost of Guir House

"What check have you upon the unreasoning rapacity of a thief, who

will take ten times as much as he requires?"

"The system operates directly against the development of that trait.

Here, men are only too anxious to have their goods admired and taken;

for, being certain of their own maintenance, they feel a pride in

contributing to that of others, and there is no temptation to take

that which can not be kept, since his neighbor has equal right to

take from him an idle surplus. Here the laws are the reverse of ours,

for here a man is encouraged in the taking, but never in the holding.

Wealth is measured by what a man disburses; hence all are anxious to

part with their individual property for the advancement of the

commonwealth, knowing that the one can only thrive when the many

are prosperous."

They continued their walk amid the marvelous wealth that surrounded

them. There were fabrics of untold value; jewels of indescribable

splendor; men, women, and children with strangely eager faces. They

seated themselves upon revolving chairs in the midst of a great space

to watch the glittering show.

"But tell me what it all means," inquired Paul. "I feel as if it were

a dream, and yet I am absolutely certain that it is not."

"You are right; it is not a dream. Levachan is as real as New York,

Boston, or Chicago, although invisible to men of earth. Its

inhabitants are as conscious of their existence as you and I are of

ours. They are quite as alive to their history and probable destiny

as any well educated citizen of America or Europe."

"But where is Guir House, and all it contained?" repeated Henley,

unable to understand.

"Nothing has been changed by this any more than if you were in your

bed dreaming it all. But to you it is incomprehensible, as I told you

it would be, because your mind has never been trained to think in

these realms."

"No," answered Paul, turning uneasily in his chair, dazed by the

marvelous pageant that moved constantly about them. "No, I admit that

it has not, and that the whole thing is utterly beyond me; and this,

none the less, because I am aware that one of the fundamental facts

of nature is that two things can not occupy the same space at the

same time. My previous education, instead of helping me, makes the

situation more difficult. The Guir estate and this city can not both

be here at once; of that I am sure."