From the Foreword.The Introduction on 'Spiritual Vitality' is an enlargement of an article on that subject which I contributed to 'Light, ' of London, and which was published in that Journal on the 9th of July last.The Spirit Band from whom the messages were received, were brought together by my wife, at different times within the two years, or more, after her decease, which occurred on the 21st of May, 1901.The sittings were, at first, in New York City, the medium being Mrs. Mayer, the most powerful of the slate-writing kind I have known in my long experience. She has now passed to the spirit world.Eight years ago, I engaged a Swedish housekeeper, Mrs. Matilda Sjoegren, who had known nothing before of spiritual seances, but had been, early in life, conscious of spirit visitations. During two visits to me from Mrs. Mayer, she became interested in the subject and, after she left, we began to have regular daily sittings at a small table. For some time, the manifestations were only of a physical character. After some months, raps came on the table, and we got answer, 'yes' or 'no' to questions asked, three raps meaning 'yes, ' and one rap, 'no.'After some months, again, there were whispered voices; and these, in time, became fully vocal.At this stage of our progress, the sittings began to be held only twice a week, and so continued for two years' or more, and afterwards but once a week, one of my sons having said that they had all been advanced, that their work would consequently be increased, and that they could come but once a week. The weekly sitting has been continued to the present time.In reply to my question, what was meant by advancement, he said they had passed to a sphere of higher vibrations.It was at the request of the Band that I went to Boston, last September, to have sittings with Mrs. Minnie Meserve Soule, a trance medium of high repute, who had been highly recommended to me by Miss Lilian Whiting, who has written so much, indirectly, on Spiritualism.The object of the request of the Band was, as they explained it, that they could give me long and coherent messages. (The messages received at home were generally not more than a sentence or two, the 'power' not being sufficient for longer messages.)The remarkable messages contained in this book, are the result of twenty-four daily sittings with Mrs. Soule.The names of the spirits constituting the regular Band are those given in the title of the book, with the exception of the four last, Goldwin Smith, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Ewart Gladstone, and Valentine Mott. These four were brought, at different times, to the sitting, by their friends, and special honors were shown them..