pBy way of introduction, the author confesses ... It so chanced that some years ago, in my younger days, whether of authorship or life, I felt the desire to make myself acquainted with the true origins and tenets of the singular sect known by the name of Rosicrucians. A manuscript came into his hands written in the most unintelligible cipher, a manuscript which through the author's own interpretation became Zanoni. One of the peculiarities of Bulwer was his passion for occult studies. They had a charm for him early in life, and he pursued them with the earnestness which characterized his pursuit of other studies. He became absorbed in wizard lore he equipped himself with magical implements, -- with rods for transmitting influence, and crystal balls in which to discern coming scenes and persons and communed with spiritualists and mediums. The fruit of these mystic studies is seen in Zanoni and A Strange Story, romances which were a labor of love to the author, and into which he threw al