Like
Saint Catherine of Sienna, Saint Teresa, and other holy women, she was
specially attracted to the spiritual and devotional aspect of the
Catholic Faith. Neither did her devotion to the spiritual element
unfit her for the practical side of things: quite the contrary. Like
Saint Teresa, side by side with her religious life, she was a remarkably
shrewd woman of business. It need scarcely be added that between so-
called "spiritualism" as practised in England and the Catholicism of
Lady Burton there was a great gulf fixed, and one which she proved to
be unbridgable. This lower form of spiritualism, to use her own words,
"can only act as a decoy to a crowd of sensation-seekers, who yearn
to see a ghost as they would go to see a pantomime." Such things she
considered, when not absolutely farcical, worked for evil, and not for
good. As she wrote to a friend:
"That faculty you have about the spirits, though you may ignore it, is
the cause of your constant misfortunes. I have great experience and
knowledge in these matters. As soon as you are happy these demons of
envy, spite, and malicious intention attack you for evil ends, and ruin
your happiness to get hold of your body and soul. Never practise or
interest yourself in these matters, and debar them from your house by
prayer and absolute non-hearing or seeing them. . . . Do not treat my
words lightly, because I have had experience of it myself, and I had
untold misfortune until I did as I advise you.
Pages:
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406