Did our souls exist before we were born?

I had to see all that was possible, for I could not be sure of ever coming again, so I looked very anxiously to perceive if the wee souls had any real difference—or were simply forms of purest life, and as the thought crossed my mind, a soft billow of mist came close to me, for we were obliged to stop a little way off, and as the folds parted, in the midst was such a marvellous angel of a woman.