All the studies or sketches in this volume are illustrative of the quest of reality, the search for truth, or the restless striving of the human soul for the satisfaction of its needs, spiritual or philo sophical, mystical or psychical. The subjects are gleaned from the past and present, from east and west; and all of them, each in their different ways, seem to the writer to be of deep interest and great importance, even though some are little known and may appear on first acquaintance somewhat strange.